WEDNESDAY, JULY 22, 2026

Good Morning! On July 22, 1776, North Carolina’s Council of Safety, meeting in Halifax, received word that the Declaration of Independence had been signed in Philadelphia. The council immediately adopted a resolution declaring North Carolinians “absolved from all Allegiance to the British Crown,” following the earlier Halifax Resolves supporting independence.

From elk to bats, we’ve got a fair amount of wildlife news to share with you today. Check out Top Stories and Et Cetera to learn more.

The Carolinas have a long, complicated history with El Niño winters, and forecasters say another chapter is on the horizon. Odds now stand at 81% that this one reaches "very strong" status by winter, potentially one of the largest on record. When the pattern peaks, the entire southern storm track shifts, and North Carolina is right in the lane. In today’s episode of The Flyover Podcast, Ayla breaks down the five ways forecasters say this El Niño will shape the months ahead. So what should North Carolina brace for when it hits full strength? Tune in here!

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Elections Board Tightens Absentee Ballot Rules

North Carolina’s State Board of Elections voted 3-2 along party lines Monday to adopt permanent absentee ballot rules that can void a mail ballot if the inner “container return envelope” isn't sealed.

The board's three Republicans—chairman Francis De Luca, Angela Hawkins, and Stacy “Four” Eggers IV—backed the changes, while Democrats Jeff Carmon and Siobhan Millen opposed them.

Supporters cast the rules as security measures, arguing that spoiling and reissuing an unsealed ballot is the surest way to see that a vote counts. Democrats warned the added steps could burden elderly, rural, disabled, and military voters. “I'm afraid it's going to chill the vote,” Carmon said.

The board adopted six rules, including four definitions clarifying absentee voting rules, after roughly 650 public comments. They take effect Sept. 1 if the Republican-controlled Rules Review Commission signs off.

Prison Releases Shadow Cooper Senate Bid

A 2021 court settlement that freed at least 3,500 North Carolina inmates during the COVID-19 pandemic has become a central line of attack in former Gov. Roy Cooper’s U.S. Senate race.

A new report reveals that more than 700 additional prisoners were released beyond the 3,500, including some who were later charged with homicide, sex offenses, or other violent felonies.

Cooper, a Democrat leading Republican Michael Whatley in the polls, says the court forced the releases and that he fought them. “Prison officials made the decisions regarding specific prisoners,” he said.

In April, Republican lawmakers, led by House Speaker Destin Hall, R-Caldwell, opened an oversight committee to examine the settlement.

Whatley calls it “a deliberate, reckless choice that prioritized violent criminals.” Cooper's campaign says officials modeled the releases on federal COVID releases under President Trump.

NC Approves First Modern Elk Hunt

Gov. Josh Stein signed a law on July 7 authorizing North Carolina’s first modern elk hunt, with two permits set to be awarded for the 2027 season.

House Bill 747 allows the state Wildlife Resources Commission to issue one permit through a public raffle at $20 a ticket for residents, and one through an auction run by a conservation nonprofit to generate dedicated conservation funding for elk management.

Proceeds go toward managing the herd, and at least half of any raffle permits are reserved for North Carolina residents.

Eastern elk were wiped out in the state by about 1800 and reintroduced to the Great Smoky Mountains in 2001. The herd now numbers roughly 200 to 250 in the western mountains.

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➤ Statewide: North Carolina ranks 33rd for its share of seniors, with 17.9% of residents 65 or older—just above the 17.7% national average, according to U.S. Census data. (See Map)

➤ Western NC: FEMA approved an additional $25 million for North Carolina’s recovery from Hurricane Helene and Tropical Storm Chantal, funding 35 projects including debris removal, infrastructure repairs, and property buyouts. (More)

➤ Charlotte: Police announced that a two-day Queen City Overwatch operation resulted in 73 arrests and 2,209 citations issued. The joint effort by local and state agencies targeted reckless driving and unsafe conditions on area interstates to boost road safety. (More)

➤ Wake County’s public schools need about $2 billion in facility work over the next five years—and $4.4 billion over the decade—to address aging buildings, failing HVAC systems, and overcrowding, according to a draft survey. A proposed $600 million bond could cover part of it. (More)

➤ New Hanover County’s Board of Adjustment delayed review of Copper Builders’ 1,800-home Hilton Bluffs development in Castle Hayne until September, after the developer settled one appeal and agreed to revise the plan to drop connections to two neighborhood roads. (More)

➤ Rockingham County asked the North Carolina Supreme Court to throw out a lawsuit challenging its 2023 rezoning tied to a proposed casino, arguing the plaintiffs didn't show the special damages state law requires to contest a legislative zoning decision. (More)

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➤ NC State is hosting Guns N’ Roses tomorrow and a sold-out Noah Kahan show Saturday at Carter-Finley Stadium, part of an effort to generate new revenue for an athletics department facing a projected $18 million deficit. (More)

➤ The Carolina Panthers named Charlotte's WSOC-TV their official broadcast partner through the 2030 season. The deal gives the ABC affiliate exclusive local rights to the team’s three preseason games and year-round original programming. (More)

➤ Hurricanes goalie Brandon Bussi married his college sweetheart Mary Raclawski last week in Cambridge, Massachusetts, a month after helping Carolina win the Stanley Cup. (More)

➤ The ACC and seven other Division I leagues formed a women’s basketball officiating alliance to share and develop referees, led by newly named ACC supervisor of officials Pualani Spurlock-Welsh. (More)

➤ Yesterday’s Results: MLB | WNBA

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➤ Duke Energy Carolinas agreed to cut its proposed North Carolina rate increase by more than half, trimming a roughly 18% two-year residential request to about 9.5% under a settlement with the North Carolina Public Staff. (More)

➤ JetZero signed a letter of interest with the U.S. Export-Import Bank to explore up to $3 billion in financing for its Greensboro campus, where it broke ground last month on a planned $4.7 billion, 14,500-job plant. (More)

➤ Richmond County approved Amazon’s $10 billion Amazon Web Services (AWS) data center—a 500-job, 20-building campus 80 miles east of Charlotte—after weighing water, power, and jobs. (See Details)

➤ North Wilkesboro businesses saw a surge during NASCAR’s Window World 450 weekend at the reopened North Wilkesboro Speedway, with hotels and shops like Wilkes Coffee Company reporting full houses as race fans filled the town. (More)

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➤ Disney will film a pilot in the area for a series based on the 2006 movie Aquamarine, shooting at the Kure Beach Pier and the Seven Seas Inn, involving temporary road and beach closures during production. (More)

➤ Travel + Leisure named Chimney Rock, the 315-foot granite spire near Asheville, North Carolina’s best state park, praising its 404-foot Hickory Nut Falls and Blue Ridge views. The park and its village are still rebuilding from Hurricane Helene. (More)

➤ Biologists captured federally endangered Indiana bats for the first time in more than 10 years in Nantahala National Forest after finding five reproductive females and tracking two to a roost of about 24 bats in the Joyce Kilmer-Slickrock Wilderness area. (See Photo)

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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. Clicking the links will take you directly to these stories:

➤ Forecasters warn a record-strength El Niño could decide whether your state floods or dries out. (Hear Details)

➤ Mass shootings swept through eight states last weekend, leaving dozens of victims as investigators continue to search for suspects. (Hear Episode)

➤ The Secret Service officer who took a bullet stopping a gunman at the White House Correspondents' Dinner is being honored. (Listen Now)