Thursday, August 28, 2025

Good Morning! On this day in 1861, Hatteras Village residents witnessed a Union fleet bombarding Confederate Forts Hatteras and Clark, small earthwork forts built by enslaved labor that were defended by 700 men under Confederate commander William F. Martin.

Police are making progress in a string of car break-ins across Wake County. Learn more in Top Stories, and hit reply to let us know if your car has ever been broken into.

Later this afternoon, keep an eye on your inbox for a special story from our founder. It's about his dad, Grandpa Jim, and the life-changing difference a simple pair of hearing aids made. We can't wait to share this heartfelt message with you.

Learn about these 11 weird little hacks Costco shoppers should know about, courtesy of today's sponsor, FinanceBuzz.

Take The Flyover with you. Busy day? Listen to our daily 15-minute podcast while commuting, cooking, or walking the dog—your Flyover fix, anywhere.

NC Universities Work Toward DEI Compliance

UNC System leaders continue making changes to diversity, equity, and inclusion programs at North Carolina public universities in compliance with the system's new equality policy.

UNC-Chapel Hill eliminated 61 full-time and part-time positions, reassigned 27 positions to perform policy-compliant work, shut down its DEI office, and discontinued DEI training on bias and microaggressions. UNC-CH also renamed its "Power, Difference and Inequality" general education requirement to "Power and Society" and revised its learning outcomes to align with the new policy.

North Carolina Central University in Durham reallocated three DEI positions to its newly established Office of Student Development and Support, and removed DEI signage from campus and online properties. NCCU also converted DEI-focused centers into student wellness lounges and will redirect $174,000 to well-being and retention initiatives. It will also reassign nearly $45,000 in student activity fees to student success programs.

You can read the UNC System equality policy here.

Wake Schools to Adjust Title IX Rules, Library Lists

The Wake County Board of Education's policy committee agreed Tuesday to send four policy changes to the board that focus on how schools manage room assignments involving transgender students during field trips, library book lists, and lesson assignments, in compliance with a new state law and Trump administration changes to Title IX.

Two policy changes would require parental permission when students of different sexes—namely, a cisgender girl and a transgender girl—may be assigned to share a room on an overnight school trip, unless the students are siblings.

Other policy changes comply with House Bill 805, which requires schools to provide public access to both classroom and school library book lists. The law also allows parents to list books they don't want their children to check out.

HB 805 also allows parents to withdraw students from assignments for religious reasons and gives those students access to assignments in advance, along with a process for requesting alternative assignments.

Teens Behind 100+ Car Break-Ins

Raleigh police linked a 17-year-old to more than 100 vehicle break-ins, eight stolen cars, and several stolen firearms and credit cards in July. The teen, arrested after a police pursuit, is connected to break-ins at Walnut Creek Amphitheatre and Lifetime Fitness.

On Tuesday morning, Cary police discovered five vehicles broken into on Ansley Stream Lane, sparking a chain of events involving three juveniles driving two stolen Kias. The incident led to a chase into Apex, two crashes, and three arrests.

Last month, four adults were arrested for breaking into a car at Crowder Park in Apex, facing charges for property damage and felony break-ins. Stolen items were later recovered in Virginia, with possible links to East Coast thefts.

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➤ Statewide: Gov. Josh Stein issued an executive order Tuesday to create the North Carolina Energy Policy Task Force to strengthen the state's electricity infrastructure and energy affordability while pushing for renewable energy sources. (More)

➤ Western NC: Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem announced an additional $28 million in reimbursement funds for North Carolina's Hurricane Helene disaster recovery Sunday, bringing the total in August alone to $124 million. (More)

➤ Asheville: City Council, meanwhile, approved measures for Helene recovery Tuesday, including water system upgrades, infrastructure repairs, federal funding oversight, budget amendments, and new recovery boards. (More)

➤ Charlotte: City Council member meeting absences have more than doubled over the past decade, according to a Charlotte Observer analysis of 79 meetings since the current term began in December 2023. (See Details)

➤ Holly Ridge: The town canceled a Sept. 2 public information session on the annexation of 1,226 acres in parts of Onslow and Pender counties after the issue was pulled from the Sept. 9 Town Council agenda. Concerns can be discussed at the Sept. 10 Citizen Town Hall. (More and See Details)

➤ Edgecombe County: House Democrat Shelly Willingham says he'll vote with Republicans to override Gov. Josh Stein's veto of House Bill 87, which enables a federal tax credit for donations to private school vouchers. (More)

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➤ Three East Carolina football players had their indefinite suspensions lifted this week, just in time for tonight's season opener against NC State. (More)

➤ Meanwhile, NC State will be without two players for the first half of tonight's game due to ejections from last season's brawl-filled matchup against ECU. (More)

➤ The Carolina Panthers have trimmed their roster down to 53 players for the 2025 season. (See Who Made the Cut)

➤ Yesterday's Results: MLB | Soccer | WNBA | U.S. Open

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➤ Charlotte-based IperionX was awarded $47.1 million from the Department of Defense to expand U.S. titanium production. So far, $12.5 million has been committed to scaling the company's Virginia campus to reduce reliance on foreign supply chains. (More)

➤ The North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality denied Carter Quarry's mining permit after a judge ordered Horizon 30, LLC to stop unpermitted mining along NC-197 earlier this month. The site began reclamation following the court order. (More)

➤ Frontier Airlines announced two new routes from Charlotte Douglas International Airport. Flights to Detroit begin Nov. 23, operating twice weekly with fares from $49. Flights to Fort Lauderdale begin Nov. 21, operating three times per week, also with fares from $49. (More)

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➤ A 12-foot-long, 600-pound female great hammerhead shark recently washed up on Carolina Beach. Biologists collected DNA samples from the shark, and its head was sent to the North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences. (See Photo)

➤ North Carolina ranks sixth among the country's most religious states based on faith activity, religious education, and the presence of religion-affiliated organizations. Virginia, Tennessee, Alabama, South Carolina, and Texas comprised the top five. (More)

➤ Iredell County Sheriff Darren Campbell's Church Shield program offers free active shooter training for North Carolina churches, addressing vulnerabilities like sanctuary design. So far, over 700 congregations have participated. The next session is on Sept. 1. (More)

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