Of truth and trust: Lack of accountability haunts charitable hurricane relief efforts

After Hurricane Helene completed its devastating march from the Gulf of Mexico to the Great Smoky Mountains, the struggles of disaster survivors — from environmental devastation and bureaucratic hurdles to inadequate recovery support — have exposed a broken cycle of aid and accountability, where truth and trust become enveloped in a murky ethical mist that consists, at least partially, of exploitative promises made worse by false premises and finger-pointing.

Months after passing away, Haywood child wins national award

Less than six months after her death at just over two years old, Charlotte Joy Norris is posthumously receiving an award for her courage in the face of a dire situation she wasn’t even old enough to understand.

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