WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 19, 2026

Good Morning! On this day in 1927, Jim Broyhill was born in Lenoir. The son of a furniture magnate, he’d go on to spend 24 years in Congress as a Republican representing North Carolina’s western foothills.

A kidnapped missionary pilot serving a Charlotte-based Christian mission in West Africa has been released. Learn more in Top Stories, then reply to let us know if you’ve ever served as an international missionary.

Where did margarine go? Why did an entire country stop eating liver almost overnight? The food industry doesn't advertise these changes, but the answers are out there, buried in USDA consumption data, FDA rulings, and a peer-reviewed study that flipped decades of nutrition advice on its head. Today on The Flyover Podcast, Ayla counts down five foods that quietly vanished from the American table, and reveals the one swap science actually got backward. Tune in here!

Today’s sponsor, Oricle Hearing Aids, is helping readers hear more clearly without the sky-high prices—offering a tiny, easy-to-use hearing aid with clear sound and all-day power for under $100.

NC Missionary Pilot Freed in Niger

Kevin Rideout, a 50-year-old missionary pilot with Charlotte-based Serving in Mission, is free after being held captive for more than nine months in the West African nation of Niger.

Rideout had served as a Christian missionary in Niger for 19 years when he was abducted outside his home in the capital, Niamey, on Oct. 21, 2025. SIM said he is in good health and in the care of U.S. officials.

President Donald Trump announced the release on Truth Social, saying Rideout was back in United States custody after being kidnapped by Jihadi terrorists in West Africa.

U.S. Sen. Ted Budd, R-NC, welcomed the news, and evangelist Franklin Graham called it “an answer to prayer.” Rideout arrived at Ramstein Air Base in Germany for evaluation ahead of a reunion with his wife and four children.

Stein Vetoes GOP Elections Bill

Gov. Josh Stein, a Democrat, vetoed House Bill 958 on Monday, a Republican elections measure that would cut a week from early voting in primaries.

The bill would shorten primary early voting from 17 days to 10, require the state auditor to run post-election audits in randomly chosen counties, and use federal databases to purge noncitizens and dead voters from the rolls.

Stein called it “anti-voter legislation” that makes voting harder and “invites sore losers” to overturn results, and urged residents to press lawmakers to sustain the veto. Rep. Hugh Blackwell, R-Burke, said the veto “puts politics ahead of common sense,” and state Auditor Dave Boliek said election access in North Carolina has expanded this year.

Lawmakers don’t return to Raleigh until November. House Speaker Destin Hall, R-Caldwell, has vowed to seek an override.

Audit Reveals CATS Transit Loses Millions

A state audit found Charlotte’s CATS transit system loses an estimated $5 million to $6.5 million a year to fare evasion, with nearly half of riders not paying.

The report from state Auditor Dave Boliek’s office estimates about 45% of riders skip the fare—roughly 60% on the Lynx Blue Line—yet the system collected just $550 in light-rail evasion fines in fiscal 2025.

Auditors said CATS has no turnstiles or gates, and citations dropped from 4,763 in 2023 to 2,018 in 2025 after drivers were told not to enforce fares over fears of assaults.

The review followed the 2025 murder of 23-year-old Iryna Zarutska aboard the Blue Line. It also flagged unspent safety funds and weak police coordination, with just two Charlotte-Mecklenburg officers on a joint transit unit.

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➤ Statewide: North Carolina has deployed 700 traps baited with grape juice, brown sugar, and water to fight an invasion of yellow-legged hornets, which pluck honeybees from the air to feed their brood. State agriculture officials and beekeepers warn the predator threatens the state's hives. (More)

➤ Western NC: A House Ethics Committee report indicates U.S. Rep. Chuck Edwards, R-NC11, allegedly used campaign funds for a November trip to Las Vegas with a female staffer. Edwards is not seeking re-election. (More)

➤ I-277: The south off-ramp in Charlotte will close for more than a year while the city builds a $24 million pedestrian bridge over I-277 to link Uptown and South End along the Rail Trail. (More)

➤ Wake County Public School System added nine schools to its parent-transport list amid a bus-driver shortage, pushing to 130 the number of schools with nontransportation zones where families must arrange their own rides. (See Details)

➤ Charlotte: Two women face charges in a street-racing crash on Interstate 85 that killed a 17-year-old motorcyclist. One driver, from Burlington, was allegedly traveling 130 mph. (More)

➤ Hatteras Island: Dare County Schools has set up satellite learning hubs across Hatteras Island so students can keep learning when N.C. 12—the lone highway linking the island—is closed. (More)

➤ Wilmington: The new Cape Fear Museum of History and Science opened its downtown campus on Grace Street after a decade of planning, adding a 60-seat planetarium and more than double its old exhibit space. (More)

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➤ Concord-based Hendrick Motorsports signed NASCAR Cup Series rookie Connor Zilisch to a multiyear deal to drive the No. 48 Chevrolet starting in 2028. He’ll replace Alex Bowman, who will step away from full-time competition after next season. (More)

➤ The Carolina Blaze, Durham’s professional women’s softball team, generated nearly $6 million in economic impact during their inaugural season, including over 23,000 tickets sold across 13 home games at Duke’s Smith Family Stadium. (More)

➤ Mooresville’s Kaden Craft, one of the top quarterback recruits in the country for the 2028 class, committed to Tennessee this week. The Lake Norman High School junior is the Vols’ first pledge in the class. (More)

➤ Charlotte FC named Frigidaire as its first-ever back-of-jersey sponsor in a multiyear deal. The MLS club also added Mt. Olive Pickle Company as an official partner, naming the North Carolina brand its official “pickle“ and “pickle juicer.“ (See Frigidaire and Mt. Olive Details)

➤ Yesterday’s Results: MLB | WNBA | Tennis

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➤ UNC Health rebranded its strategic investment arm as UNC Health Ventures, formerly Rex Health Ventures, which launched in 2012 with $10 million and now manages $125 million across about 30 healthcare investments. (More)

➤ Asheville-based HomeTrust Bancshares agreed to buy Richmond’s Blue Ridge Bankshares in an all-stock deal worth about $448 million, creating a roughly $7 billion-asset bank with more than 60 Southeast locations. The deal is expected to close in early 2027. (More)

➤ Ryder will lay off 73 workers when it closes its Fayetteville truck operation at 2486 Gillespie Street, effective Oct. 12. The company said it will keep serving the area through another logistics provider. (See Details)

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➤ NC State and Gaston College will lead FutureTEX, a Department of War manufacturing institute for military textiles headquartered at Gaston’s Kimbrell Campus in Belmont. The award starts at $36 million and could reach $480 million over a decade. (More)

➤ Duke University is offering its community free AI tools including ChatGPT for Education, its own DukeGPT platform trained on internal university knowledge, and an AI Gateway. The university says it does not access users’ prompts. (More)

➤ The Ocracoke Seafood Festival returns Sept. 5 for its fifth year, bringing food, music, and the day’s local catch to the island. (See Details)

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➤ What Do These 7 Common Symptoms Have in Common? Muscle cramps, restless nights, and brain fog are often blamed on stress, aging, or lack of sleep. But researchers are exploring another factor that may connect these everyday complaints. Magnesium could be part of the picture, and certain medications may make the signs easier to overlook. Discover the 7 signs to watch for >>

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:

➤ Your childhood kitchen held these five staples that America has abandoned, and experts now say one is healthier than butter. (See Foods)

➤ Fraternity pledges were allegedly forced to cut and bag cocaine for a sprawling drug ring at Penn State. (Hear Details)

➤ Reports of worsening conditions aboard the USS Abraham Lincoln are raising serious questions about life on the warship. (Listen Now)