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NC News Oct. 9, 2026

Lawmakers Vote To Pause Gas Tax

North Carolina lawmakers voted Wednesday to drop the state’s 41-cent-a-gallon gas tax to zero through Nov. 30.

The House passed House Bill 3, the Relief at the Pump Act, 111-1, and the Senate passed it 41-0. The vote came in a one-day special session called by Senate leader Phil Berger, R-Rockingham, and House Speaker Destin Hall, R-Caldwell. Rep. Mike Schietzelt, R-Wake, said the suspension helps families with the approaching travel holidays.

Regular gas averaged $4.12 a gallon in the state Wednesday morning and diesel $5.99. The pause is expected to cost about $362.3 million in road funding, which lawmakers will replace from a state reserve.

Democrats overwhelmingly supported the bill but questioned its timing, with early voting about a week away. Gov. Josh Stein said he would act on the bill today.

Article Icon 1HUD Investigates Wells Fargo Lending Programs

Federal housing officials opened an investigation into Wells Fargo on Wednesday, asking whether the bank’s mortgage programs for black borrowers violated the Fair Housing Act.

The Department of Housing and Urban Development’s letter to CEO Charlie Scharf targets a special credit program and the bank’s 2017 pledge to lend $60 billion to create 250,000 black homeowners by 2027.

Wells Fargo, which currently employs about 27,000 people in the Charlotte area, started those efforts after years of discrimination complaints, including a $175 million settlement with the U.S. Department of Justice in 2012.

HUD Secretary Scott Turner said the bank’s “practice of dividing Americans based on race is immoral, unethical and un-American.” Wells Fargo, which hasn’t commented on the probe, said in 2022 its programs would help close the homeownership gap between white and minority families.

Article Icon 1Charlotte Airport Pitches Gates and Tunnel

Charlotte Douglas International Airport (CLT) wants to add gates to Concourse C and dig a passenger tunnel linking it to the main terminal.

The gates and tunnel anchor a package of nearly a dozen projects, called CLT Beyond, that the airport is folding into its new lease with American, Delta, Frontier, Southwest, and United. The airport hasn’t said what it all costs, and city council will hear the pitch Monday before voting at a later meeting.

Also in the mix: a renovated international arrivals area, electrical upgrades, and airfield work to prepare for the $1 billion fourth parallel runway, a 10,000-foot strip due to open in fall 2027.

CLT’s last big terminal job, the $241 million Concourse A expansion, opened in September 2024 with 10 new gates. Work on Concourses D and E is still underway.