Home Care In Raleigh, NC

Raleigh, North Carolina, is the top US city for job opportunities and earning potential, according to the results of a new study.

The tech company Checkr revealed its findings after analyzing America’s 100 largest US metro areas in seven key categories, including labor force growth, percentage of jobs open, real per capita personal income, and 10-year income growth.

The results are sure to shock those who believe the Big Apple is still one of the top cities for career opportunities and progression.

“The best places to earn a strong paycheck are no longer limited to traditional coastal centers,” the study’s authors declared, noting that the New York City metro ranked at a dismal number 42 on the list.

Raleigh ranked number one with an overall score of 84.2 “thanks to its booming tech and life sciences industries.”

“With a steady influx of skilled workers from local universities and a strong entrepreneurial culture, Raleigh offers both job security and upward mobility,” the authors enthused.

It’s just one of several southern cities that are thriving when it comes to career opportunities and earning potential.

The Nashville metro area came in second spot, with the study noting that it has one of the “most dynamic job markets in the US.”

“While long known for music and tourism, Nashville has rapidly diversified into healthcare, education, and logistics, offering an increasingly balanced and opportunity-rich economy,” the authors asserted.

Austin, Texas, rounded out the top three, thanks to the tech boom that has occurred there over the past decade, although Checkr did admit that there have recently been “some industry slowdowns.”

However, the city still has one of the fastest-growing job markets in the country and boasts “a continued investment in innovation.”

On the other hand, Rochester, New York, ranked among the worst of the 100 big cities analyzed when it comes to career and earning opportunities.

The Flower City came in at number 94, with a laughably low overall score of 27.8.

10 Best US Cities for Job Opportunities and Earning Potential

An awkward affair ensued at the North Carolina Courage’s weekly pre-match media conference on Thursday after the club announced the firing of head coach Sean Nahas late Wednesday evening.

What was originally intended to preview the team’s game versus the Houston Dash on Friday night, instead saw Sporting Director and Chief Soccer Officer Ceri Bowley dodging questions about the circumstances of Nahas’ firing and the team’s next steps.

“It was a multitude of factors that go into such a decision, and clearly we’re looking forward to finishing the season strong,” Bowley said. “We’re on the cusp of the playoffs, so our primary focus is to finish the season strong and hopefully at the end of it, achieve our goals.”

At 7:45 p.m. Wednesday night, the Courage posted on social media the club terminated Nahas’ contract “effective immediately.”

“The North Carolina Courage remain focused on the continued development of the team and maintaining a professional, competitive environment for players, staff and supporters,” the statement said.

Throughout Thursday’s media conference, Bowley refused to offer clarity as to whether club performance or an internal investigation influenced the decision, insisting and repeating it was a “multitude of factors.” When asked if an investigation resulted in Nahas’ termination, members of the team’s communication team repeatedly shook their head to signal Bowley not to reply outside of the general statement.

The National Women’s Soccer League mandates teams to make the head coach and one to two players available for a pre-match press conference one or day days ahead of the game. Failure to follow this rule results in a fine.

Thackeray takes over for now

Assistant coach Nathan Thackeray will serve as acting head coach for Friday’s match, then Bowley said the team will “give some proper thought to what the next steps look like.” There has “absolutely not” been a discussion of who will be the next head coach at this stage, according to Bowley.

Thackeray has stepped in to lead the team during matches and practices when Nahas has not been available. For example, in June, Thackeray assumed coaching duties “due to unforeseen medical reasons” for Nahas ahead of a match against the Washington Spirit. It is unclear how long he will now serve as acting head coach.

“The standards of this club are extremely high and it was felt that there were reasons that we needed to make a [coaching] change in order to uphold the standards that we expect of North Carolina Courage,” Bowley said.

The team also declined to comment on when players were notified of the decision, with a spokesperson intervening and stating, “We won’t discuss the internal process of it.”

Coaching change came suddenly

Only hours before the dismissal announcement, Nahas posted on his Instagram story a selfie on the flooded practice field of himself, players and staff in soaked rain rackets with the caption: “I don’t rate this weather at all! But I rate the staff! When rain jackets become useless, well you know it’s gunna be a day. Players were top today. And yes to the left is standing water. On turf!”

Nahas joined the Courage as an assistant in 2017 and was named interim coach in fall 2021 after the club fired Paul Riley, following allegations of sexual coercion from former players and the NWSL player’s union call for investigation. The investigation’s report led to the NWSL permanently banning Riley from participation in the league in January 2023.

Nahas became full-time head coach before the 2022 season, leading the Courage to two NWSL Challenge Cup titles and two playoff appearances.

As of Thursday morning, Nahas’ Instagram bio still says he is the head coach of the Courage, further highlighting the suddenness of the decision. Nahas was removed from the Courage’s website.

A spokesperson from the NWSL players union said the association refers to the Courage’s statement.

The Courage sit at a 5-4-5 record and ninth in the table, below the playoff’s cutoff. The team’s last match on Saturday resulted in a draw with the fourth-ranked San Diego Wave.

In the first two months of the season, the Cary-based club struggled, recording two draws, two losses and one win across six matches. Nahas has a 36-35-19 overall record with the Courage.

His brother, Damon, took over the UNC women’s soccer team after long-time, legendary coach Anson Dorrance retired. During his first year leading the program, Damon Nahas propelled the Tar Heels to a national championship in 2024, ending a 12-year drought.

Alpha School, an “AI-powered” private school, is preparing to make its mark on Charlotte and Raleigh this year.

North Carolina is part of an expansion into five additional states this fall for the private school company, which currently operates Texas and Florida. It plans to expand into Puerto Rico in 2026.

How does the school operate, and what do education experts have to say about it?

Co-founder MacKenzie Price told Carolina Public Press a typical day at Alpha begins with a 15 minute exercise to get students excited for the day and encourage a growth mindset. These exercises are led by Alpha’s classroom guides — at Alpha, there are no teachers. Then students transition to a two-hour learning block where they split that time between core subjects like math, reading, science and language. This is conducted entirely via AI software and apps.

By lunchtime, students are done with their academic work for the day. The rest of the day is spent learning life skills like leadership, public speaking, financial literacy and entrepreneurship through workshops led by the guides.

Alpha utilizes a mastery-based approach to learning, so children in the same classroom could all be on different levels of the same lesson depending on how each child moves through the material. The AI “tutor” is designed to recognize what each student is grasping well and what they need more work on.

“Let’s say you only need five repetitions of a concept to understand that concept,” Price said. “I teach you a basic lesson on fractions, and then I give you five problems, and you show ‘yeah, I understand this well,’ then you move forward to the next concept.

“But if I need 15 repetitions to understand that, then I shouldn’t only get five or 10. I should be able to get 15. That’s the beauty of personalized learning — each child does have a tutor that is going at their pace.”

Executive Director of the North Carolina Association of Independent Schools Stephanie Keaney said this is a strategy known as differentiation, which teachers have done for decades. But instead of teachers or Alpha’s guides, it’s artificial intelligence.

While students are taught a standard common core curriculum, they aren’t being given traditional grades. K-8 students’ progress is measured three times a year through the Northwest Evaluation Association’s MAP assessment test. High school students’ success is tracked by SAT scores and Advance Placement exams.

The North Carolina campuses each come with a $45,000 price tag and will offer K-3 for the first year of operation with plans to expand to K-8 during its second year. Price said students are already enrolled in Charlotte and Raleigh, and families are eagerly awaiting their first day at Alpha.

Krista Glazewski, the executive director of NC State’s Friday Institute for Educational Innovation, said there is a long history of AI in the classroom. It’s important to acknowledge the historical use of intelligent tutoring software to not cause confusion and to be clear about some of its limitations, she said.

“Some of the limitations are that they have a narrow area of scope,” Glazewski said. “Intelligent tutoring isn’t always going to be sensitive to the kind of learning that might be happening, so it certainly would not be the only thing that you would want to use in a learning environment.

“Alpha’s not saying that’s their only instructional model. In fact, if I’m bringing my lens to what they’re doing, I think they would argue that they are able to select from some impactful instructional models. … I would say they’re probably choosing the best from different instructional pedagogical models and applying them in some thoughtful and seemingly creative ways.”

Glazewski has been researching AI in education for more than a decade, but she is also a parent herself, so she understands hesitancy and skepticism about using AI for learning.

When implementing more technology into education, she said it’s important to ensure schools are using it thoughtfully to meet specific goals and for the purpose it was intended. Schools should also take steps to ensure student privacy is protected.

“We are now going to have a generation of learners that are going to have metrics and instrumentation about their learning that could follow them throughout their whole schooling career, so we want to make sure that the right day data privacy agreements are in place, that those agreements are held if companies either fold or are reserved into other companies,” Glazewski said.

“We want to make sure that over a child’s life in schooling, that they are not being monitored in a way that parents haven’t consented to and that their information is not being used in ways that, again, parents haven’t consented to.”

As a parent, Glazewski said she would be wondering what the guides are doing to support her child’s social emotional growth, curiosity and development. Price said since the guides are not directly teaching the academics, they are fully dedicated to providing motivational and emotional support to students.

When people hear of AI in education, they often think of robots in front of a classroom teaching students, Price said. But she said the technology actually makes it so this is the opposite of true.

“What artificial intelligence is allowing us to do is create personalized learning programs that meet a student at the level and pace that is best for that student, and it allows our teachers to be able to focus on that emotional and motivational aspect of a student, which is critical to creating a successful learner,” Price said.

“What it’s really enabling is our teachers to be able to do what only humans can do, which is connect with the child and get to know that child and help them develop their interests and growth mindset strategies.”

When it comes to innovation in education, Glazewski said it’s critical to explore promising creative approaches to learning. But that also means asking questions like how can we ensure everyone has access to innovative instructional models, what would this look like if it was implemented on a broader level and what metrics are we basing “promising” models on?

Alpha markets eye-catching statistics like its students’ ability to learn two times as much content in two hours as their peers do and consistently placing in the 99th percentile. Glazewski said parents should consider whether these results are tied to true academic progress or an inherent selection bias that comes along with the school’s hefty tuition.

“At that kind of price point, what we can readily infer is that that’s a very narrow demographic,” Glazewski said. “So I would be interested in the question of selection effects here, whether these outcomes are due to the program itself or the background and the abilities of the learners that they’re admitting.”

Price isn’t yet sure whether Alpha’s North Carolina campuses will be able to collect school vouchers, which have been the subject of controversy after recent changes to North Carolina’s Opportunity Scholarships. She is personally a fan of school choice, however, and is hopeful Alpha will be able to participate in the program.

It’s possible North Carolina is seeing a rise in new education options like Alpha because of the loosening of restrictions on school vouchers, Glazewski said. Being a private institution also means more freedom to implement innovative approaches and cutting edge technology that would take much longer to approve and fund in public districts.

While every independent school is different and has its own approach, many private schools and educators are leveraging AI to better their classrooms in some way, Keaney said. Because independent schools are consistently smaller than an entire public school district, they have the opportunity to be more nimble and offer more autonomy to teachers in the classroom.

Artificial intelligence sometimes scares people off, but Price said it’s the most exciting development in education right now because of its benefits to both students and teachers and the ability to give back the most valuable resource — time.

“There has never been a more exciting time to be a five year old than now because of what’s going to be available through artificial intelligence,” Price said.

“I also think this is going to be the best era for teachers, because teachers are finally going to be freed up to be able to spend their time doing what they do best, which is connect with students, instead of having to plan time doing lecturing and lesson planning and grading papers and homework. This is a really wonderful time in education.”

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License. You may republish our stories for free, online or in print. Simply copy and paste the article contents from the box below. Note, some images and interactive features may not be included here.

Kate Denning is a Carolina Public Press intern whose reporting focuses on education issues. She is a 2025 graduate of North Carolina State University. Email [email protected] to contact her.

Trips to the North Carolina Department of Motor Vehicles have become synonymous for most residents with long lines, a lack of appointment availability and staffing shortages. That rings true even for N.C. State’s new basketball coaches.

Wolfpack men’s basketball assistant Brandon Chambers recently shared a series of humorous social media posts that summed up the experience of updating his drivers license that included multiple hours and four different locations on two separate days.

Chambers arrived at the Cary DMV location at 5:45 a.m. Tuesday, hoping to snag a walk-in spot. The line was already stretched around the building, with 27 people in front of him. Chambers got on the virtual waitlist but didn’t leave until nearly 2:15 p.m. — 8 ½ hours later.

Two hours later... I can see the front door :raised_hands::skin-tone-3:The Department of Motor Vehicles thought they had me in the 1st Half… But we play a full 40 over here! https://t.co/4q2q8PVc00 pic.twitter.com/12H0ll19nS

— Brandon Chambers (@chambershoops) August 5, 2025

During that time, Chambers chronicled his milestones. It took two hours for him to see the door and six hours to get inside the building.

At roughly 1 p.m., Chambers had Dunkin’ Donuts delivered for the other customers and DMV staff.

“Morale was low. Brought in reinforcements. Donuts turned the tide for the rest of the team and DMV workers,” Chambers tweeted. He splurged, according to a tweet, and spent $57 on the treats, which included some of the company’s specialty donuts.

“Hey coach, thanks for the donuts and for your patience,” a spokesperson for the North Carolina Department of Transportation wrote in a tweet on Wednesday morning. “We got a new coaching staff, too, earlier this year at DMV and are hoping to have things turned around and heading in the right direction by tournament time. #GoPack.”

His tweets gained attention from a wide audience, including fans of other schools and even the daughter of N.C. State offensive line coach Garrett Tujague. Savannah Tujague replied to one of Chambers’ with an apology to her father.

“I thought @Coach2J was being dramatic, [not gonna lie],” she wrote. “I stand corrected LOL.”

Chambers said he was unaware of the recent DMV audit and longtime challenges with the department. He simply was trying to provide levity and perspective during a stressful situation.

In another tweet, Chambers described one employee who helped a woman working a kiosk, handled the phone, set up an English Second Language driving test and greeted everyone who entered.

“The people here, it’s not their fault — the DMV workers,” he said in a TV interview, following the completion of his visit. “They’re doing the absolute best job that they can with the resources that they have.They were great. They were very helpful.”

Chambers’ visit was his second attempt at updating his license. He tried three different locations on July 31 but was unsuccessful. Some advised him to go to the Cary location, while others recommended he try one of the rural locations.

“For better or for worse, North Carolina is stuck with me for quite some time,” Chambers tweeted, “For the sole reason I am not putting myself through that again.”

NC politicians take on DMV issues

Long wait times and challenges scheduling appointments is not a unique experience for North Carolinians. New and longtime residents have faced challenges whether they attempted to schedule a visit or walked in. The significant processing delays come from a lack of staffing and ineffective structure.

An audit released on Monday states the DMV needs more autonomy and control over its budget, the News & Observer reported. In a 435-page report, State Auditor Dave Boliek recommended the DMV become a separate agency. It is currently part of the Department of Transportation. The report also includes specific suggestions for improving customer service, developing a plan for employee retention, determining the proper number of DMV employees and creating an online dashboard to track DMV performance and wait times.

“It’s just not acceptable for somebody to have to spend their entire day off going to a DMV. Can’t think of much worse,” House Speaker Destin Hall said. “It’s something we’ve got to get a hold on and figure out some comprehensive reforms and solve the issue. I mean, it just continues and it’s been that way for a long time, and we need to do what we can to fix it.”

North Carolina lawmakers recently approved Senate Bill 245, which reduced the number of times residents would need to renew their drivers license or identification card in person. It also eliminated a visit to the DMV for teenagers trying to obtain their full provisional license.

Lawmakers also approved Senate Bill 391 last month, which allows drivers an additional two years to renew their license. It went into effect immediately and lasts until 2027. Residents are still advised to update their license as quickly as possible, because the grace period only applies to driving in state.

Provisions in the budget mini bill includes 40 new full-time driver’s license examiner positions this year and another 21 jobs in the second year. It also funds new DMV offices in Brunswick County, Cabarrus County, Fuquay-Varina in Wake County and Garland in Sampson County.

“I’m a dog with a bone,” Boliek said. “We are going to continue to shine a light on the DMV and put this forward, front and center, on the front burner until it’s fixed.”

After a month of record-high temperatures in the Triangle, August is off to a cooler start.

With an average temperature of 84 degrees, July was the hottest on record at Raleigh-Durham International Airport, The News & Observer previously reported.

But in a briefing Monday, Aug. 4, the National Weather Service Forecast Office in Raleigh said temperatures would be near or below normal throughout the week.

Despite this cooldown, weather experts are warning us not to get our hopes up. Both The Old Farmer’s Almanac and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Association are predicting above normal temperatures for the rest of the year.

Here’s what to expect from the weather over the next few months.

When is the first day of fall 2025?

Don’t be fooled by the sub-80 temperatures and cloudy skies: It is very much still summer. And not just summer, but the dog days of summer, according to The Old Farmer’s Almanac.

Astronomical fall begins with the September equinox, when the center of the sun crosses over the plane of Earth’s equator. This year, it’s Monday, Sept. 22.

Equinoxes and solstices mark astronomical seasons, and these events vary by year.

But meteorological seasons don’t change. Every year, meteorological fall — the transitional period between summer, the warmest time of year, and winter, the coldest — begins Sept. 1 and ends Nov. 30.

Fall forecast for North Carolina

Meteorologists at The Old Farmer’s Almanac predict that most of North Carolina will get a warm, dry fall.

The westernmost part of the state, however will be cooler and drier than normal in September and October, the meteorologists predict.

To make its long-range forecasts, The Old Farmer’s Almanac studies sunspots and solar activity, climatology and meteorology, comparing solar patterns and historical weather conditions with current solar activity.

The National Weather Service’s Climate Prediction Center also predicts above normal temperatures in North Carolina for September, October and November. It differs from The Old Farmer’s Almanac prediction for precipitation, though. The Climate Prediction Center is forecasting that North Carolina will receive above normal precipitation this season.

AccuWeather meteorologists predict that North Carolina will experience a slower transition to cooler fall weather, with heat and humidity sticking around for longer. Extended dry periods could mean some parts of North Carolina could see an increased fire risk this fall, according to AccuWeather. And tornadoes tied to tropical systems could hit Florida and the Southeast in coming months.

Hurricane season 2025

Weather experts are predicting above normal hurricane activity in the Atlantic this year.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Association said in its late May forecast that there would likely be 13 to 19 named storms this hurricane season, which runs from June through November.

Of those, between six and 10 would be hurricanes, including three to five major hurricanes, NOAA said. Major hurricanes are classified as category 3, 4 or 5 storms, with winds of 111 mph or greater.

So far, four storms have been named this year, including Tropical Storm Dexter, which is moving northeastward across the Atlantic, away from the U.S. coast.

But the National Hurricane Center is tracking two disturbances that may develop into tropical cyclones in coming days.

Have a question about your community you’d like answered? Or maybe a tip or story idea you’d like to share? The service journalism teams at The News & Observer and The Charlotte Observer want to hear from you.