SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 20, 2026

Good Morning! On this day in 1956, actress Debbi Morgan was born in Dunn. She moved to New York as an infant and is best known as Angie Baxter on All My Children, a role for which she won a Daytime Emmy. She also starred in Roots: The Next Generation and Eve’s Bayou.

A petition to save a bear nicknamed Dolly has had positive results, with state wildlife officials now saying they'll spare her. Learn more in Et Cetera.

In case you missed it on The Flyover Podcast, Christopher revealed the six exercises physical therapists actually recommend to their patients. Most people don't notice their strength and balance slipping until something as simple as standing up from a chair gets hard. But when therapists were asked what really works, the same six simple moves came up again and again, and we walked through each one, including one you can do while waiting for your morning coffee. Tune in here!

Today’s sponsor, Incogni, helps protect your privacy by removing sensitive personal information from web before it can fall into the wrong hands.

DA Asks for Investigation into CMS

Mecklenburg County District Attorney Spencer Merriweather asked the State Bureau of Investigation on Friday to open a criminal probe into Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools finances.

The request covers transactions from fiscal year 2026 into the current one and follows an informal inquiry opened last month. Merriweather said it targets no single person and confirms no wrongdoing.

It came a day after Superintendent Crystal Hill handed the board a 200-page memo. Channel 9 found CMS paid consultant Raki McGregor and his family more than $1 million since 2024, much of it routed through a Raleigh law firm after Hill ended his contract.

Hill says board Chair Stephanie Sneed circumvented contracting rules to hide McGregor's involvement. She also says she was told to resign or face public allegations, and she considers this extortion.

Vice Chair Dee Rankin denied it, saying "that is not behavior that this board has participated in." The board's findings on Hill go public Tuesday.

Regulators Reject Duke Energy Gas Turbine

The North Carolina Utilities Commission denied Duke Energy's request to build a $584 million gas turbine at the Smith Energy Complex in Richmond County.

The 240-megawatt turbine would have been the sixth at the complex near Hamlet, across the road from Amazon's incoming data center campus. It would have run as a "peaker," firing up on the hottest days and coldest nights.

Filings called the half-billion-dollar price tag staggering. The bigger doubt was whether the demand Duke Energy forecasts, most of it from data centers, will materialize at all.

Commissioner Donald van der Vaart wanted the utility to prove cheaper options like battery storage couldn't do the job on the same timeline. One commissioner dissented, siding with Duke Energy that a delay costs ratepayers more.

Duke Energy said it is "disappointed" and weighing next steps. The commission left the door open for a new filing that answers its cost concerns.

Vance to Attend Rally in Greensboro Monday

Vice President JD Vance will headline a rally for Republican candidates at Greensboro's Koury Convention Center at 11 a.m. Monday.

Doors open at 9 a.m., and attendees must register in advance. The visit comes a week after President Trump campaigned in Gastonia.

The marquee race is for the Senate seat retiring Republican Thom Tillis is giving up, where former Republican National Committee Chairman Michael Whatley faces former Gov. Roy Cooper, D.

Cooper has led recent public polling. An East Carolina University survey this month had him up 46% to 39%, with the economy and cost of living the top issue for 43% of likely voters.

A Carolina Journal poll released this week put the gap wider, 49.2% to 34.1%, though 31.6% of voters still have no opinion of Whatley or haven't heard of him.

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➤ Fayetteville: Fayetteville State University landed a $10 million Department of Defense grant, the largest research award in its history, to build a Ph.D. program in applied AI for air defense systems, logistics, and biomanufacturing. It's one of five schools nationwide chosen. (See Details)

➤ Chapel Hill: A judge ruled Friday that Tailei Qi met the legal standard for insanity when he shot and killed UNC professor Zijie Yan in a campus science building in 2023. The murder charge will be dismissed and Qi involuntarily committed. (More)

➤ Chatham County: A Superior Court judge ruled Thursday that Eco TIP West can build its data center at the Moncure megasite despite the county's year-long moratorium on new data centers, granting the company summary judgment and attorney's fees. Chatham argued the moratorium was validly adopted. (See Report)

➤ Wilmington: New Hanover County Schools meets with Hoggard High families Wednesday about mold and air quality problems traced to HVAC failures and summer heat. The district closed the cafeteria this month after discoloration appeared on the kitchen ceiling; full remediation is estimated at $470,000. (More)

➤ Raleigh: Downtown's circular former Holiday Inn on Hillsborough Street, the 1969 landmark locals call the hair curler, reopens in October as a 204-room Hotel Indigo after a $36 million renovation. The top-floor bar comes back with it. (Read Story)

➤ Dare County: Voters decide Nov. 3 whether to raise the sales tax a quarter cent, from 6.75% to 7%, to fund about $6.1 million a year in parks work. The county hosts explanatory meetings in Buxton, Manteo, and Kill Devil Hills in early October. (See Schedule)

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➤ The Carolina Panthers will fight for NFC South position today as they take on the Atlanta Falcons. Carolina showcased an excellent offense last week, but will need to improve on the other side of the ball. (More)

➤ NC State squandered a 17-point lead and lost to Vanderbilt on a last-second defensive touchdown after the Commodores forced a fumble as the Wolfpack appeared to attempt an intentional safety to run out the clock. (Watch Play)

➤ North Carolina surrendered a fourth-quarter lead following a lengthy weather delay, falling 28-20 at Clemson. (More)

➤ Nate Sheppard scored three touchdowns and ran for 154 yards as unbeaten Duke handled Stanford 35-7, its fifth straight Atlantic Coast Conference opener win. (More)

➤ App State football looked to improve to 3-0 yesterday against an in-state rival in Charlotte, while ECU looked for its first win of the season against ODU. (See Scores)

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That scam call wasn’t random

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➤ The free North Carolina Folk Festival in Greensboro runs through today, filling 12 blocks of downtown with more than 100 musical acts and food vendors. Organizers expect 150,000 people and more than $10 million in economic impact. (See Details)

➤ Forsyth County deputies launched the county's C.A.R.E. sticker program Friday. The decals are meant to flag for arriving first responders that someone at the scene is hearing-impaired or autistic, so they can adjust how they approach. (More)

➤ State wildlife officials said Friday they won't euthanize the bear that injured a north Asheville resident in August after entering a home through an unlocked door. A petition to spare her, nicknamed Dolly, drew more than 21,000 signatures; the North Carolina Zoo will house her if she's caught alive. (Read Story)

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The following stories are featured exclusively on The Flyover Podcast—a daily show that gives you the most important headlines in under 15 minutes, straight from the heart of the country.

➤ The world’s most valuable company wants the AI race to move even faster. (Hear More)

➤ SpaceX scored another massive NASA deal to keep astronauts flying through 2030. (Listen Now)

➤ Two mighty whacks opened the taps at the world’s biggest beer celebration. (Podcast Available)