FRIDAY, JUNE 12, 2026

Good Morning! On this day in 2006, a severe hailstorm struck Eastern North Carolina in the late afternoon, with softball-sized hail up to 4.25 inches reported near New Bern in Craven County. The storms, fueled by a cold front and high instability, caused extensive vehicle damage and destroyed 879 acres of crops in Pamlico County.

Congratulations to the Carolina Hurricanes on their Stanley Cup Final Game 5 win last night in Raleigh! Read more in Sports.

Before you grab another last-minute tie, take a look at The Flyover Father’s Day Gift Guide. We have smarter picks he’ll actually use, including a portable pressure washer for cleaning up cars, patios, gear, and more.

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SBC Votes To Advance Ban on Women Pastors

Thousands of Southern Baptists voted overwhelmingly this week to advance an amendment formally banning women from serving as pastors in the nation’s largest Protestant denomination.

North Carolina had 833,748 Southern Baptist church members in 2025, placing it among the top states for Southern Baptist Convention (SBC) membership, behind Texas, Georgia, Tennessee, and Alabama.

The vote at the Southern Baptist Annual Meeting in Orlando was 6,028 to 2,026—a three-to-one margin that easily exceeded the required two-thirds majority. The measure, known as the “Truth and Unity Amendment,” was sponsored by R. Albert Mohler Jr., president of The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary.

The amendment must pass a similar two-thirds vote at next year‘s annual meeting to become part of the SBC constitution. Critics argue it will accelerate a years-long membership decline.

NC’s First Buc-ee’s Breaks Ground

Buc-ee's broke ground earlier this week on its first North Carolina location—in Mebane off the I-40/I-85 interchange in Alamance County.

The 74,000-square-foot travel center at 1425 Trollingwood-Hawfields Road will feature 120 fuel pumps and bring at least 200 full-time jobs. Opening is targeted for November 2027.

For years, North Carolina road trippers have had to cross into Tennessee, Virginia, South Carolina, or Georgia for their Buc-ee’s fix—famous for massive stores, spotless restrooms, and towers of snacks.

Mebane’s spot on the I-40/85 corridor puts it squarely on a major regional travel route. View a list of all Buc-ee’s locations here.

CSU Downgrades Hurricane Forecast

Colorado State University (CSU) lowered its storm forecast, and now calls for 11 named storms, five hurricanes, and two major hurricanes—down from its April outlook of 13 named storms.

The research team cited a rapidly developing El Niño as the main driver. A strong El Niño increases wind shear across the Atlantic basin, disrupting storm formation and suppressing hurricane development during peak season.

The news arrives as a source of relative comfort to North Carolinians still recovering from Hurricane Helene, which caused catastrophic damage across Western North Carolina in fall 2024. The Outer Banks, Wilmington, and the coastal plain remain especially attentive to seasonal forecasts each June.

CSU emphasized that a below-normal forecast still means dangerous storms are possible. The university will issue a mid-season forecast in August.

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➤ Statewide: North Carolina has declined to officially participate in President Trump’s Great American State Fair for the nation’s 250th birthday, citing high costs and limited resources better directed toward in-state America 250 events. (More)

➤ Also Statewide: The North Carolina House sent a property tax reappraisal delay bill to Gov. Josh Stein’s desk, giving nine counties a reprieve from sharp assessed-value increases. (More)

➤ Western NC: FEMA announced $298 million in additional funding for North Carolina this week, supporting debris removal, infrastructure repairs, and mitigation projects after Hurricane Helene, pushing total public assistance aid over $2 billion. (More)

➤ Zebulon: Republican U.S. Senate candidate Michael Whatley highlighted the benefits of “no tax on tips” at a campaign event, noting it helps the state’s 264,000 tipped workers keep more earnings while contrasting his tax relief stance with opponent Roy Cooper. (More)

➤ UNC-Chapel Hill: The athletics department deleted a Pride Month social media post on X, citing the UNC System Equality Policy on institutional neutrality. (More)

➤ Outer Banks: Joe O’Grady of Coastal Kayak Touring is calling for awareness after an alligator was found dead from bullet wounds in a canal, saying he hopes the death becomes a conservation learning moment. (More)

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➤ The Carolina Hurricanes beat the Golden Knights 4-2 in Game 5 of the Stanley Cup Final last night, giving them a 3-2 lead in the series. They’re now one win away from hoisting the trophy. (More)

➤ UNC baseball opens College World Series play tonight against Ole Miss in Omaha. It’s the program’s 13th trip to the tournament, but they’re still chasing their first national championship. (More)

➤ NC State is investigating potential legal claims against LSU over the departure of men’s basketball coach Will Wade. The school suspects LSU may have improperly influenced Wade to break his contract and manipulated the timing to trigger a lower buyout. (More)

➤ Germany flew their national soccer team’s groundskeeper into Winston-Salem this week to maintain the World Cup training pitch at Wake Forest. (More)

➤ Yesterday’s Results: World Cup | NHL | MLB | WNBA | Golf

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➤ The North Carolina House backed a bill requiring licensing and fraud refunds for crypto ATMs, citing FBI data showing $389 million in national crypto ATM losses last year—a 58% spike from 2024. The bill now goes to the Senate. (More)

➤ North Carolina restaurants and a spirits distributor are pushing back against a potential ABC Commission pricing change that could raise costs for businesses purchasing liquor through the state’s government-controlled system. (More)

➤ Carolina Beach-based Skillmaker, an AI workforce training startup, closed an oversubscribed $4.5 million seed round to expand its immersive auto technician program with NAPA Auto Care and scale into additional trades. (More)

➤ Attorney General Jeff Jackson filed suit against Brenntag Mid-South, a Durham chemical distributor, alleging it illegally released industrial chemicals into a Third Fork Creek tributary for decades, threatening Jordan Lake drinking water near an elementary school. (More)

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➤ Rare Bird Farm, a 98-acre working farm and arts community near the Blue Ridge Mountains in Madison County, is drawing creatives and visitors from across the region, blending agriculture with a resident artist community. (More)

➤ The Scotland national soccer team, based at Atrium Health Performance Park ahead of the FIFA World Cup, visited a Carolina Panthers practice earlier this week and got tips on kicking, blocking, and what to order at Bojangles. (More)

➤ UNC-Chapel Hill astronomers helped crack a long-standing cosmic mystery involving a dense, dead star that was tearing material from a companion star, which turned out to be the key to explaining fast radio bursts, one of the universe’s most perplexing phenomena. (More)

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