Entertainment

Things to do in Asheville and WNC: May 29-31

Events in Asheville and Western North Carolina this weekend include Cold Mountain Music Festival, WNC Whiskey Festival, live music, outdoor activities, community events and stage performances.

2 days ago in Entertainment, Trending

Matthew Perry’s assistant gets more than 3 years in prison for central role in his ketamine death

Matthew Perry's live-in personal assistant, who had a central role in the "Friends" star's descent into ketamine addiction and injected him with the fatal dose of the drug, was sentenced Wednesday to three years and five months in prison.

2 days ago in Entertainment, Music

The Chicks announce intimate ‘Taking the Long Way’ 20th Anniversary Tour. ‘This is our lives’

Call it a comeback, a crossover moment, or both. Twenty years ago, The Chicks released their blockbuster 2006 album "Taking the Long Way" — their first full-length after the country music industry turned their backs on them — and one of the biggest of their career.

3 days ago in Entertainment

What tastes like a Korean pancake and is purple all over? An Oreo inspired by K-pop group BTS

Oreo is teaming up with K-pop supergroup BTS for a bit of marketing dynamite that capitalizes on consumers' growing interest in global flavors.

3 days ago in Entertainment

Scripps National Spelling Bee guide: How to watch, who the notable spellers are, rules and prizes

The best young spellers in the English language are competing at the Scripps National Spelling Bee this week, continuing a more than century-old tradition. The three-day competition began Tuesday and concludes Thursday night.

3 days ago in Entertainment

Jim Henson’s Creature Shop opens for tours. Here’s what’s inside the once-hidden puppet studio

Deep in a cavernous New York City warehouse, the artisans behind some of the world's most beloved children's characters have been fashioning costumes and puppets for years in relative anonymity. Now Jim Henson's Creature Shop, the workshop founded by the legendary creator of the Muppets, is drawing back the curtain.

National

6 hours ago in National

Pam Bondi faces a closed-door questioning from House lawmakers over the Epstein files

Former Attorney General Pam Bondi is testifying before House lawmakers investigating Jeffrey Epstein's sexual abuse cases, a long-awaited appearance that brings fresh scrutiny of the Trump administration's botched release of the Epstein case files.

23 hours ago in National

A large fire has erupted at an apartment complex in Dallas

Firefighters battled a large fire that erupted Thursday at an apartment complex in Dallas, where debris from one collapsed building lay heaped on the ground while flames and black smoke billowed into the sky. Neighbors reported hearing a loud boom like an explosion.

1 day ago in National

Justice Department opens investigation into E. Jean Carroll, who accused Trump of assault: AP source

The Justice Department has opened an investigation into whether E. Jean Carroll, the longtime advice columnist who has said Donald Trump sexually assaulted her in a Manhattan department store 30 years ago, lied during the course of civil litigation against the Republican president, according to a person familiar with the matter.

7 days ago in National

FDA staff blindsided by move allowing more e-cigarettes and nicotine pouches onto US market

Senior officials in the Food and Drug Administration's tobacco center were blindsided by a recent decision that opens the door to allowing more unauthorized electronic cigarettes and nicotine pouches onto the U.S. market, The Associated Press has learned.

1 week ago in National

What to watch in Tuesday’s primaries as Trump’s endorsement is put to the test

Is there a future in politics for Republicans who cross President Donald Trump? The signs this year suggest no, and Trump has convinced his voters to defeat his adversaries again and again.

2 weeks ago in National, Trending

Prosecutors to retry Alex Murdaugh in deaths of wife and son after high court overturned convictions

Alex Murdaugh's murder convictions and life sentence for the deaths of his wife and son were overturned Wednesday by the South Carolina Supreme Court because the court clerk at his trial suggested he was guilty. But the disgraced lawyer won't be leaving prison anytime soon.

World

24 hours ago in World

Taylor Swift concert attack plot suspect found guilty by Austrian court

An Austrian court on Thursday convicted a man of planning to attack a Taylor Swift concert in Vienna nearly two years ago.

1 day ago in World

Think it’s hot now? The next five years will smash records, UN says

In the next five years, the Earth is overwhelmingly likely to surge again and again past the international climate threshold set as safe and shatter its hottest-year record along the way, according to new United Nations climate projections.

3 days ago in World

Exceptionally early heat wave shatters records and brings deaths in Europe

The United Kingdom smashed a century-old temperature record for the second time in 24 hours on Tuesday as a spring heat wave continued to scorch parts of Western Europe, triggering government warnings about risks to life.

7 days ago in World

Congo curtails funeral wakes in Ebola outbreak as WHO upgrades risk assessment

Authorities in northeastern Congo banned funeral wakes and gatherings of more than 50 people Friday in an effort to curb a rapidly spreading Ebola outbreak in a region where medical workers have struggled with a lack of resources and pushback from angry residents.

1 week ago in World

US announces charges against former Cuban leader Raúl Castro in 1996 aircraft shootdown

Federal prosecutors on Wednesday announced charges against former Cuban President Raúl Castro in the 1996 downing of civilian planes flown by Miami-based exiles as the Trump administration escalated pressure on the island's socialist government.

1 week ago in World

Congo reports sharp rise in Ebola cases as WHO worries about outbreak’s scale and speed

The World Health Organization director-general openly worried Tuesday over the "scale and speed" of an outbreak of a rare type of Ebola in eastern Congo, where authorities reported a sharp increase in suspected deaths — to at least 131 — and over 500 suspected cases.

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1 hour ago in Crime & Safety, Local

Former women’s prison officer arrested on felony sex crime charge

Fresh

Mugshot portrait of an older man wearing an orange-and-white shirt, set against a gray background with 828 News Now branding above on a teal-green gradient.

James Allen Mathes, 66, a former officer at Western Correctional Center for Women in Swannanoa, was arrested by Buncombe County Sheriff's Office detectives after an investigation revealed a relationship between Mathes and a detainee at WCCW.

4 hours ago in Local, Native Advertising, Outdoors

Thunderstorms, heavy rain target Asheville area through Saturday

Forecasters say the unsettled pattern will continue into Monday before cooler, drier air arrives

9 hours ago in Local, Politics

Buncombe election board split over access to high-security areas

Election help station set up in a bright community room with voting equipment, a Help Station sign, and tangled cables on tables.

Some members argued broader access is necessary for oversight, while others warned it could undermine trust

1 day ago in Crime & Safety, Local

Asheville wants bigger flood warning system after Helene failures

Conference room with long wooden tables arranged in a U-shape, black chairs, phones, and wall-mounted TVs above the glass wall panels.

Asheville leaders discussed delayed flood alerts, emergency coordination and new plans for sirens, gauges and evacuation systems during Thursday’s Public Safety Committee meeting

1 day ago in Local

Here’s where Swannanoa’s new post office will be

The former Family Dollar store is expected to house the new USPS facility

1 day ago in Local, Native Advertising, Outdoors

More rain ahead for Asheville area as drought slowly eases

Forecasters say Western North Carolina will see on-and-off showers through the weekend, with a short-lived break in rain Friday

News

1 day ago in Lifestyle

Why your co-worker might be listening to music tuned to 432 hertz

Music recorded in 432 hertz (cycles per second) is taking off on social media platforms and music streaming services, where users can find an increasing number of tracks and playlists employing the alternate tuning, everything from meditation soundscapes to reggae songs recorded by Ziggy Marley.

2 days ago in Lifestyle

Independent bookstores are multiplying, although many people still think they’re dying out

Allison Hill, CEO of the American Booksellers Association, is used to strangers expressing sympathy when they learn what she does for a living. "It's all so funny," she says. "When I tell them I run the trade association for independent stores, they'll say, 'It's just so sad that they're disappearing.'

2 days ago in Entertainment, Music

The Chicks announce intimate ‘Taking the Long Way’ 20th Anniversary Tour. ‘This is our lives’

3 days ago in Community, Lifestyle, Local, Native Advertising, Outdoors

Hikes of WNC: Lookout Trail

Mountain valley with green forest, rolling hills, and a blue sky framed by pine branches in the foreground.

As peak hiking season hits Western North Carolina, trek out to Montreat outside of Black Mountain, N.C. for a climb up Lookout Trail. The technical route requires stamina and some rock scrambling, but its views of the Swannanoa Valley are unmatched.

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7 days ago in Features

A proposed additive ban could change New York’s pizza and bagels, some say for the better

After more than a decade of mixing and kneading dough in his family's Brooklyn pizzeria, Salvatore Lo Duca recently made a distressing discovery: A key component of their thin-crust pies, bromated flour, contained a suspected carcinogen already banned in much of the world.

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