THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 10, 2026

Good Morning! On this day in 1934, Charles Kuralt was born in Wilmington. The CBS newsman spent decades wandering America’s back roads in a motor home, making the On the Road series.

Flag football officially kicked off across North Carolina yesterday. Learn more in Top Stories, then reply to let us know if your high school is among those that once hosted powder-puff tag football teams for girls.

There has been no shortage of noise around the Lindsay Clancy trial. Conspiracy theories, hot takes, and bad legal analyses have drowned out the actual facts. So we stripped away the bias and the agenda and laid out what really happened, including the courtroom decision everyone was talking about last week. Plus, what three jurors just revealed about the chaos inside that deliberation room. Join Ayla on The Flyover Podcast for the story without the spin. Tune in here!

Later today, watch for an email from our partner, Insurify, about a quick way to compare car insurance rates from more than 100 companies and potentially save up to $1,100 a year.

Today's edition is brought to you by Cacao Bliss. Try their delicious, heart-healthy hot cocoa superfood drink.

Grades Climb as NC Weighs System Overhaul

The share of North Carolina schools earning a D or F fell from 31% to 23% this year, even as the State Board of Education moves to overhaul how those grades are calculated.

Preliminary results presented Sept. 2 showed 162 fewer low-performing schools and a record 88.8% graduation rate. Students improved on 17 of 18 state exams, though about 4 in 10 still aren’t working at grade level.

Board Chairman Eric Davis said the numbers “tell only part of the story,” and a task force is building a system less reliant on standardized tests that measures the “whole child.”

The current A-F formula—with 80% based on test scores and 20% based on student growth—has been law since 2013. Skeptics note lawmakers have rejected similar rewrites before, and any new plan would again need sign-off from a General Assembly that has said no.

Lottery Sales Soar, Education Share Slips

North Carolinians spent a record $6.6 billion on the lottery in fiscal 2025, but the share reaching public schools fell from 23% to 16%, a new state audit found.

Sales jumped about 53% in two years, while education disbursements only moved from $1.02 billion to $1.08 billion. State Auditor Dave Boliek tied the gap to digital instant games, which went from zero to $2.6 billion in sales with payouts as high as 87%.

The lottery is legally supposed to send 38% of revenue to schools “to the extent practicable.” Boliek said that target may need a reset: “If the business climate doesn’t allow for it to be close to 38%, then a reset of those expectations is in order.”

Lottery CEO Mark Michalko said his staff will review the data with the State Lottery Commission, then “develop a plan to advance these important conversations.”

Girls Flag Football Kicks off Statewide

Girls flag football took the field as an official North Carolina high school sport for the first time Wednesday, with teams from Fuquay-Varina to Charlotte opening the inaugural North Carolina High School Athletic Association season.

The NCHSAA sanctioned the sport in May, making North Carolina the 22nd state to add it. More than 200 high schools and 3,000-plus athletes now play across the Carolinas, up from 19 schools and about 500 in North Carolina in 2022.

Much of that growth traces to the Carolina Panthers and the David & Nicole Tepper Foundation, which has invested more than $1.5 million across the Carolinas and pledged another $1 million after the vote. In Guilford County, all 15 high schools field teams.

Games stream on the NFHS Network, and the first state championship is set for late 2026. Flag football makes its Olympic debut at the 2028 Los Angeles Games.

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Longevity breakfast dessert enjoyed by Blue Zone Costa Ricans helps them live to 100?

Most Americans think eating sweets for breakfast is unhealthy.

But according to Stanford researchers, there's one delicious “dessert” food that Costa Ricans in the famous "blue zone" eat each morning that:

✅ Keeps them lean even into their 70s, 80s, and 90s
✅ Slows blood sugar spikes and maintains healthy insulin sensitivity
✅ Keeps their blood pressure at normal, healthy levels
✅ Keeps their hearts and arteries strong and clean well into old age, with a striking lack of heart disease in their population
✅ Even helps them have seven times more centenarians than in Japan

So what's the No. 1 “dessert” food that helps Costa Ricans live healthy, lean, and energetic past 100?

Click below to discover Costa Rica's Blue Zone secret:

>> Eat this Costa Rican longevity "dessert" for breakfast.

P.S. Here's the crazy part: while Costa Ricans are living longer with this morning ritual, Americans trying it are losing 7 lbs in a couple of weeks as a "side effect." Not a bad bonus, right?

➤ Statewide: North Carolina diesel prices hit a record $5.82 a gallon, up 32 cents in a single week, according to AAA. (See Details)

➤ NC Schools: North Carolina will begin printing crisis and suicide prevention resources on student IDs for grades 6-12 and college, under the Student Helpline Act, putting the 988 lifeline in students’ pockets. (More)

➤ Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools Superintendent Crystal Hill said an investigation into her two-month paid leave found no policy violations, illegal conduct, or unethical behavior—her fullest account yet of the events behind her suspension. (More)

➤ Asheville: The city unveiled a plan to rebuild riverfront parks along the Swannanoa River destroyed by Hurricane Helene, with a competition pool, sports courts, a dog park, a new loop trail, and a sturdier Gashes Creek Bridge. (See Rendering)

➤ Durham: The city council approved protected bike lanes on West Main Street and Martin Luther King Jr. Parkway, with installation due within 240 days of a signed contract—potentially in time for Bike Month in May. (More)

➤ Mooresville: Mayor Chris Carney announced he will retire at the end of September, ending his tenure after months of controversy and lawsuits tied to an alleged “pantless” incident at town hall. (More)

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➤ NC State football hosts Richmond in their home opener Friday night at Carter-Finley Stadium, looking to rebound from a 34-8 season-opening loss at Virginia. Kickoff is at 7 p.m. on ESPNU. (More)

➤ UNC welcomes East Tennessee State to Kenan Stadium on Saturday for their home opener, aiming to start 2-0 after a 15-10 win over TCU in Dublin. Kickoff is at noon on the ACC Network. (More)

➤ Meanwhile, UNC football will not host any recruits for Saturday’s home opener as punishment for a self-reported recruiting violation from last season. (More)

➤ The Triple-A Charlotte Knights are asking for $26.6 million in public money—split between Mecklenburg County and the city of Charlotte—to renovate Truist Field, with the team pledging $13.3 million of its own. (More)

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➤ The Truth About Tylenol Is All Over the News. You've seen the headlines—Tylenol's warning labels keep growing and the risks aren't small. It doesn't fix the problem, just masks pain temporarily. Now researchers point to a natural, gentler option that supports comfort without the harsh side effects. Learn More

➤ Raleigh-based AGEYE uses AI and robotics to grow produce indoors in stacked, climate-controlled trays, cutting harvest time to 21 to 24 days. Its fully automated systems supply restaurants and hotels worldwide, including the Ritz-Carlton Hotel in Dubai. (More)

➤ Dallas-based Corgan, an architecture firm, acquired Durham’s DudaPaine Architects, adding the design practice to its national footprint Sept. 1. (More)

➤ Second Harvest Food Bank of Metrolina in Charlotte received 270,000 eggs through Attorney General Jeff Jackson’s antitrust settlement with producers Cal-Maine, Hickman’s, and Versova, following earlier deliveries in Raleigh and Winston-Salem. (More)

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One Cup of This Morning Drink Floods Your Body with Stem Cells. Harvard Researchers found that people who drank this hot morning drink had a 47% improvement in blood vessel function, a sharp drop in blood pressure, and a 220% increase in stem cells. See which drink here.

➤ NC By Train, the state-run passenger rail service, now offers free local transit connections in Raleigh, Charlotte, and other stops along its corridor through a new Rail & Ride pass. Riders get a code by email when they buy a ticket. (More)

➤ Three UNC Army ROTC cadets—Jackson Carmichael, Naomi Clatworthy, and Carson Vitt—earned the rare RECONDO badge, awarded to the top 6% of over 5,500 cadets nationwide, during summer training at Fort Knox, Kentucky. (More)

➤ North Carolina ranks 13th among U.S. states for health care costs in 2026, with an index of 108.4—about 8.4% above the national average of 100—according to new cost-of-living data. (See Map)

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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.

➤ Jurors from the Lindsay Clancy trial are breaking their silence about what really derailed a verdict. (Hear Breakdown)

➤ Today marks one year since Charlie Kirk's assassination, as his wife Erika reflects on a year of grief. (Hear Details)

➤ Newly released disclosures show that President Trump gave tens of thousands of dollars in holiday cash gifts to four White House aides. (Listen Now)