SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 5, 2026

Good Morning! On this day in 1953, NC State activated the world’s first nuclear research reactor designed, built, and operated by an academic institution. The 10-kilowatt R-1 reactor in Burlington Laboratory gave nuclear engineering students hands-on experience with reactor operations.

Residents gathered on the 35th anniversary of the workplace disaster in Hamlet to honor those lost. Learn more in Around North Carolina.

Alzheimer's disease can now be detected with a simple blood test, and for the first time, two new drugs can actually slow its progression. On The Flyover Podcast, Amy counts down the five numbers behind the biggest shift in Alzheimer's care in a generation, including one that could catch the disease before symptoms even start. Tune in here!

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NC Test Scores Rise, Gaps Remain

North Carolina students improved on 17 of 18 state exams last year and graduated at a record 88.8%, according to preliminary data presented to the State Board of Education on Sept. 2.

Statewide, 59.2% of students passed their end-of-grade and end-of-course exams, up from 55% a year earlier. The share of schools graded D or F fell from 31% to 23%, and the number of low-performing districts dropped from 23 to 10, the fewest since the 2018-19 school year.

State Superintendent Mo Green credited "the incredible work happening across North Carolina's public schools." Robert Luebke of the John Locke Foundation cautioned that the gains are measured against pandemic-era lows, with four in 10 students still not performing at grade level.

Charlotte-Mecklenburg said its scores topped pre-pandemic levels for the first time. The figures are preliminary, with corrections due Sept. 11 and a final board vote Oct. 1.

NC Updates Absentee Ballot Cure Rules

The State Board of Elections issued new statewide guidance Friday telling county officials how to handle absentee ballots that arrive unsigned, without photo ID documentation, or otherwise deficient.

Trained staff must review each returned ballot within one business day. Fixable problems, such as an unsigned application or an unreadable ID, trigger a mailed cure notice, with documents due by noon on the fifth business day after Election Day.

Ballots that can't be fixed, including those signed by someone other than the voter, get spoiled and replaced when there's time. North Carolina is the first state to mail 2026 general election ballots.

That start comes amid a fight over President Trump's March executive order requiring states to log mail voters in a Postal Service portal. The administration wants the Supreme Court to let the rules take effect; Attorney General Jeff Jackson and voting-rights groups say Washington lacks the authority.

UNC Football GM Lombardi Resigns

Michael Lombardi resigned Thursday as UNC's football general manager, ending a paid leave that began July 27 while the university investigated him.

Lombardi, 67, arrived with Bill Belichick in December 2024 on a three-year deal paying $1.5 million a year, the richest GM contract in college football. "I have decided it's best for me to resign my position as GM to allow the team to focus on the '26 season," he said through his attorney.

UNC said the investigation continues. Lawyers hired by the university have also questioned people about whether defensive coordinator Steve Belichick used drugs on the job and about relationships between staff and players, people familiar with the probe told WRAL.

Tom Mars, Lombardi's attorney, has called the inquiry a "witch hunt." Neither Lombardi nor Steve Belichick, who is on medical leave, traveled to Dublin for the Tar Heels' 15-10 season-opening win over TCU.

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➤ Statewide: North Carolina Supreme Court Justice Phil Berger Jr., 54, won't seek a second eight-year term in 2028 and hasn't ruled out running for chief justice. Republicans hold a 5-2 majority on the court, and all three seats up in 2028 are theirs. (See Details)

➤ Guilford County: Commissioners signed off Thursday on the Piedmont Triad Airport Authority issuing up to $300 million in revenue bonds to renovate PTI's ticket lobby, TSA screening, baggage claim and concourses. (See Details)

➤ Hamlet: Thirty-five years after a hydraulic line ruptured near a fryer at the Imperial Foods chicken plant and workers found the emergency exits locked from the outside, residents gathered at the site Thursday. A monument bearing all 25 victims' names now stands where the plant did. (Read Story)

➤ Greensboro: The state's Local Government Commission added Greensboro to its Unit Assistance List after the city's rainy-day fund fell short of a 25% goal, and the council called an emergency meeting Thursday to weigh cuts. (See Details)

➤ New Hanover County: A Columbus County inmate jumped from a moving transport van around 3:30 p.m. Thursday while being driven to the county detention facility and was back in custody before backup arrived. Sheriff Bill Rogers ordered a review of Columbus County's transport procedures. (More)

➤ Charlotte: Storm water crews have filled sinkholes around a manhole that erupts and floods a Myers Park condo complex in heavy rain, but the permanent fix is still in design and isn't scheduled until late 2028. Owners have complained since 2018. (More)

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➤ Michael Malone, the first-year head coach of the University of North Carolina men's basketball team, has completed the hiring of his coaching and basketball staff. (More)

➤ UNCW women's soccer stayed unbeaten at 3-0-3 after a scoreless draw with East Carolina on Thursday night in Wilmington, outshooting the Pirates 13-3. UNCW won the CAA South Division last season. (More)

➤ Alphonso Smith Jr., a former Wake Forest cornerback, died Wednesday at 40, the school said. Smith picked off 21 passes for the Demon Deacons, earned consensus All-American honors in 2008, went to Denver in the second round of the 2009 draft, and joined Wake's hall of fame in 2022. (See Details)

➤ Yesterday’s Results: US Open | MLB | NCAAF | Soccer

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➤ Fort Bragg will close the main greens at Stryker Golf Course by Sept. 30, ending nearly 80 years of play, after morale and welfare officials said the post can't sustain two courses at $750,000 a year. A petition to save it has 400-plus signatures. (Read Story)

➤ Eleven breweries from Wilmington, Leland, Brunswick County, and beyond took home awards at the 2026 North Carolina Brewers Cup, sweeping the light international lager category. North Carolina has more than 400 breweries, about 20 of them in the southeast. (See List)

➤ A rare Alcantarea imperialis once owned by the late Dolly Parton is pushing out a towering flower spike in UNC Charlotte's McMillan Greenhouse. The species blooms once, at the end of its life; an Ashe County nursery donated the plant after a May expo in Kernersville. (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.

➤ A simple blood test is rewriting how early Alzheimer's can be caught and treated. (Listen Now)

➤ Social Security overpaid a retiree $35,000 and gave her just 30 days to pay it back. (Hear Details)

➤ AAA predicts drivers will face the highest Labor Day gas prices on record this holiday weekend. (Podcast Available)