Republican U.S. Senate candidate Michael Whatley's campaign tells Axios he would support making members of Congress divest from their individual stock ownership — including his own holdings like Duke Energy — if elected.

Why it matters: Democratic U.S. Senate candidate Roy Cooper's campaign has pushed for a ban on stock trading among members of Congress and has repeatedly pointed to Whatley's ties to Duke Energy, both as a lobbyist and as an owner of its stock, in its messaging against him.

• Since Congress passes laws that affect companies across many industries, banning stock trading is extremely popular with voters, Axios reported last year. But no bills have passed yet.

Driving the news: Last week, Democratic state Sens. Natalie Murdock and Caleb Theodros sent a letter to the Whatley campaign asking him to divest his stock ownership in Duke Energy and denounce the company's rate increase application in North Carolina.

• "I think he should divest, and I think that is the best way to make North Carolinians believe he is not going to be biased toward this company," Murdock tells Axios.

Context: The rate hike doesn't go through Congress. Approval is done by the North Carolina Utilities Commission, whose members are appointed by the governor, the General Assembly and the state treasurer.

State of play: The Cooper campaign has said that it doesn't think Duke Energy's rate increase request should be approved.

• The Whatley campaign did not give a stance to Axios on the Duke Energy rate proposal.
• For its part, Duke Energy says the rate increase is needed due to major investments the company has made into strengthening and improving the state's energy grid.

What they're saying: "Michael Whatley supports commonsense reforms to either not own stocks or to place their assets in qualified blind trusts, meaning the Elected Official does not control how those assets are invested," DJ Griffin, a spokesperson for the Whatley campaign, said in a statement.

Between the lines: Whatley's family owns a long list of individual stocks, including somewhere between $163,000 and $445,000 worth of Duke Energy stock, according to financial disclosures.

• Cooper also owns a significant number of stocks, but his holdings are all in mutual funds and index funds.
• The Whatley campaign, however, has pointed to the Cooper family's ownership of a solar farm in Nash County as being a conflict of interest when weighing in on energy policy.
• Cooper co-owned a company with his brother that leased land to Strata Solar until 2014, when he sold his stake in the company, WBTV reported.

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Surrounded by award-winning musicians, U.S. Rep. Deborah Ross, a Democrat from Wake County, made the case Thursday for legislation that would give musicians more power to collectively bargain against music streaming and artificial intelligence companies.

Why it matters: At a press conference at The Pour House in Raleigh, local musicians like Tift Merritt, Shirlette Ammons and Rissi Palmer, as well as Merge Records co-founder Laura Ballance, said low payouts on streaming platforms are making it harder for artists to make a living.

• On top of that, they worry that AI companies are using their art without compensation to train models that make music that will crowd out human artists.

Driving the news: Earlier this month, Ross introduced the "Protect Working Musicians Act of 2026," which she says would give independent musicians more of an ability to collectively bargain over streaming payouts or compensation from AI companies for training their models off their songs.

Friction point: AI artists have even begun charting on country music charts, Axios Nashville reported. And the AI music company Suno, which allows users to create full pieces of music with AI, recently raised money at a $5 billion valuation.

• "All I see is a new way to steal and a new way to cut [musicians] out, and I'm not OK with that," Palmer, a country artist from Durham, said.

What's next: The bill is unlikely to pass this year, Ross admitted, but she is hopeful it could gain more momentum if Democrats take a majority in the House.

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🤖 A new robot in development at Duke University has 20 legs, letting it move quickly in any direction. The "roly-poly robot" is named Argus. (WUNC)

🏘️ Raleigh-Durham International Airport is advocating against a housing development proposed in Raleigh near the airport. (News & Observer)

🏗️ Kane Realty filed plans for 350 apartments in Downtown South. If built, they would be the first buildings on the site. (Triangle Business Journal 🔒)

🚰 Recent rains eased — somewhat — the severity of the drought. North Carolina still needs a lot more rain. (WRAL)

It's an exceptionally busy year for Tift Merritt, who is releasing a new album, advocating for pro-musician legislation and helping open The Gables, a boutique hotel in Raleigh.

Why it matters: After years of renovating the historic but vacant Gables Motor Lodge, The Gables is now accepting reservations beginning Sept. 15.

• Earlier reservations are expected to be added when the hotel officially opens this summer.

Zoom in: The 18-room boutique hotel in the Mordecai neighborhood is the result of a team effort from Merritt, Daniel Robinson of The Durham Hotel, and Sarah Yarborough of Heyday Studios.

• In addition to guest rooms, the hotel will also have a neighborhood bar called The Alcove.

Location: 1217 Wake Forest Road

⚽️ Head to Cary to watch The Soccer Tournament.

🥁 Snag tickets to "Hamilton." It's playing at DPAC through mid-June.

🎸 Go to Boxyard RTP this evening for food, drinks and live music from the Durham band Sonder.

🎶 Hang out at The Carolina Inn tonight for Fridays on the Front Porch.

👧 Bring the kids to an International Children's Day celebration and bilingual book fair in downtown Raleigh.

🎹 Go to the Ben Folds benefit concert in Raleigh on Saturday.

🤘 See Young the Giant and Cold War Kids perform at Red Hat Amphitheater.

🧢 Score some vintage clothing and items at Wolfe & Porter's market Sunday in Raleigh.

🤡 Catch Insane Clown Posse at The Ritz on Sunday.