Saturday, December 13, 2025

Good Morning! On this day in 1903, Ella Baker, a civil rights icon who grew up in North Carolina, was born in Norfolk, Virginia. In 1927, Baker graduated as valedictorian from Shaw University in Raleigh, where she later organized the founding meeting of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee.

In one Raleigh neighborhood, Christmas lights do more than sparkle—they bring neighbors together to raise donations for those in need. See how this community captures the holiday spirit in today’s Et Cetera.

🎁 When you need gifts people will actually love, The Flyover Christmas Guide is your shortcut.

Keep an eye on your inbox later today: we’re sending a partner message from Incogni about how scammers get your data and what you can do to protect yourself.

If you’re curious about emerging beauty trends backed by early laboratory research, today’s sponsor, Prime Biome, has a new presentation spotlighting a buzzed-about technique many people are exploring to improve the look of their skin.

Don’t feel like reading the national edition of The Flyover? Tune in to The Flyover Podcast! New episodes drop daily—watch on YouTube or listen on Spotify and Apple Podcasts, all in under 15 minutes.

Charlotte Breaks Tourism Record

Charlotte generated $1.2 billion in economic impact in 2025, driven by leisure travel, sports, and conventions, according to a Charlotte Regional Visitors Authority report.

The report shows that visitors booked 473,000 hotel rooms through leisure marketing, while 119,786 hotel rooms were booked in connection with events held at the Charlotte Convention Center.

The report also shows that taxes from visitor spending help households save about $356 in taxes per year. Leisure travel was the largest driver, generating $640.2 million.

Charlotte officials expects a surge of visitors as major events, including the Pop Warner Championships, draw an estimated 20,000 people to the city throughout December.

Audit Reveals State’s Financial Strength

An audit of the State of North Carolina’s Annual Comprehensive Financial Report revealed increases in revenue and capital assets, as well as a slight increase in long-term debt.

The report revealed that the state’s net position increased by $6 billion, up by 6.51%. Individual, corporate, sales, and use tax revenue were all up, and include 3.87% growth in income tax due to higher wages and lower unemployment rates.

The state holds a AAA bond rating from the three major rating agencies, reflecting the state’s strong financial standing.

Immigration to the state has helped to increase overall revenue. Reports reveal that North Carolina is behind only Texas and Florida for migration from other states.

List: Top NC-Made Food Gifts

A 2025 holiday gift guide highlights the best made-in-North Carolina food gifts, featuring options from coffee and gin to barbecue sauce and chocolate.

Botanist & Barrel, the South’s only natural cidery, was one of three beverage makers on the list, using North Carolina heirloom apples to produce wild-fermented, unfiltered, and unpasteurized ciders. Its Cedar Grove location offers guided and private tastings of its ciders and wine.

Desserts dominated the guide, led by Artie Bars, a three-layer treat with homemade shortbread, hand-crafted caramel, and scratch-made chocolate ganache. Panettones from Union Special in Raleigh were listed for their use of Raleigh farmers market ingredients and Muddy Pond Sorghum from Tennessee.

Eastern North Carolina is also represented with Sam Jones BBQ sauces and rubs. See the full list here.

This method has been vetted by scientists from the University College Cork.

Their studies, conducted on 674 women with deep wrinkles, dark spots, and sagging skin, clearly showed that by simply doing this for 10 seconds in the mirror, they dramatically improved their appearance in under a few weeks.

This odd method is so effective that scientists have deemed it to be 10 times better than retinol, but with none of the side effects.

Just watch the video below and see how easy it is to look 10, 1,5, or even 20 years younger:

10X better than retinol (with none of the side effects!)

➤ Statewide: The North Carolina Film and Entertainment Grants approved for several productions, creating more than 4,900 jobs, generating $113 million in spending, and funding projects including Season 2 of The Hunting Wives. (More)

➤ Durham: Drugmaker Novartis broke ground Thursday for its 700,000 square foot expansion in the Research Triangle. The expansion will add to current facilities, build new ones, and will create 700 jobs. (More)

➤ Nash County: A car belonging to a man who went missing on Christmas Eve 2003 was found underwater this week. The investigation is ongoing, though police believe foul play may have been involved. (More)

➤ Salisbury: The FBI arrested Christian Wolfe Daniels after Facebook posts threatened President Trump, Vice President Vance, and others, including calls for “public execution.” If convicted, Daniels could face up to 15 years in prison. (More)

➤ Charlotte: A 16-year-old charged as an adult faces 275 charges in North and South Carolina, including dozens of car break-ins and armed vehicle thefts, with investigators linking the suspect to nearly 80 cases. (More)

➤ Brunswick County: Dosher Memorial Hospital announced it will soon be opening an expanded emergency unit, doubling the size of the current one to 8,000 square feet. (More)

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➤ NC State basketball hosts No. 19 Kansas tonight, testing its perfect 6-0 home record, with tipoff set for 5:30 p.m. (More)

➤ UNC offensive coordinator Freddie Kitchens has been let go by the program after a brutal year that saw the Tar Heels ranked 129th in FBS in total offense. (More)

➤ The Carolina Hurricanes now sit atop the Eastern Conference standings after winning an overtime shootout against the Washington Capitals. The biggest star of their season so far has been rookie goaltender Brandon Bussi, who’s 10-1 in his first 11 NHL starts. (More)

➤ The U.S. men’s national team will face Senegal in a World Cup tune-up friendly on May 31 at Bank of America Stadium in Charlotte. Tickets are on sale. (More)

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Who would’ve thought that something so mind-blowingly easy, like rubbing this dental product on your face for a couple of minutes…

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Dermatologists are still clueless as to why this dirt-cheap method works so incredibly well…

But the amazing results that over 16,500 women have experienced so far are just too unbelievable not to try this trick at least once…

The page below explains it in simple steps:

Use this dental product to erase dark spots and wrinkles

➤ A Raleigh neighborhood hosts an annual holiday tradition, drawing crowds with dazzling Christmas light displays while raising donations for Triangle Spokes Group, which provides bikes for children. (More)

➤ Cary Academy, a private school in Raleigh, is launching Chargers Promise, an initiative offering reduced or free tuition to families in need and grants to help students cover the cost of extracurricular activities. (More)

➤ The Wilmington Fire Department expanded its mental health and wellness program with a new crisis response facility dog, London, who will serve alongside firefighters at Station 5 on A Shift. (More)

Flying together with our sponsor

➤ For 500 years, this bowel relief massage trick was kept locked and sealed… But the TRUTH is finally out! By pressing this knee pressure point for exactly 10 seconds… You can dramatically improve bowel movement… So you can poop instantly, no matter how constipated you are! But only a few people know where this tricky pressure point is exactly located… Watch this video to see where this pressure point is and how easy it is to get rid of digestive problems!