Saturday, June 6, 2026

SATURDAY, JUNE 6, 2026

Good morning! On this day in 1940, composer and educator Phillip Carl Rhodes was born in Forest City. Rhodes blends contemporary classical techniques with Appalachian folk influences and has earned numerous national awards and commissions.

An AMBER Alert was canceled Friday morning after two boys, ages 9 and 11, were found safe. Learn more in Around North Carolina.

A fast food restaurant is taking a victory lap after the candidate it endorsed beat a Trump-backed rival, handing the president his first major statewide primary loss of the 2026 midterms. So how did a burger chain end up in a governor’s race, and why is it bragging now? Today on The Flyover Podcast, Amy digs into the story and the politics behind it. Tune in here!

Today’s sponsor, EnergyX, is positioning itself at the center of America’s growing lithium boom with patented extraction technology, major industry backing, and access to millions of tons of untapped lithium reserves across the Americas.

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.

Hurricane Helene’s Homeless Toll Lingers

Roughly 20 months after Hurricane Helene devastated Western North Carolina, advocates say the homelessness crisis it unleashed will take years—not months—to resolve.

A U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development report found North Carolina’s homeless population jumped 33% in 2025—the highest annual increase of any state in the country—while the nationwide number actually declined. In Buncombe County alone, the unsheltered population rose 50%.

“Anybody who is already on the edge, that is a devastating blow, and so we’ll see that playing out over years,” said Eric Jackson with the Asheville-Buncombe Continuum of Care. More than 30% of Buncombe County residents are cost-burdened, spending over 30% of their income on housing.

Jackson’s longer-term prescription is straightforward: more affordable housing supply. He said prevention and rapid rehousing programs help, but only building more affordable units addresses the root problem.

NC AG Demands Answers from Ticketmaster

North Carolina Attorney General Jeff Jackson formally demanded answers from Ticketmaster Thursday after a technical meltdown locked Carolina Hurricanes season ticket holders out of buying Stanley Cup Final tickets before they sold out.

Jackson gave the company seven days to respond to written questions about presale queues, technical failures, and how it monitors sales. “If it wants to collect the fees, it can answer the questions,” Jackson said.

The ticket chaos extended beyond the Cup Final—watch party sales at Lenovo Center in Raleigh also went poorly for many fans, WRAL reported. Affected fans can file a complaint at ncdoj.gov.

Jackson is also warning Caniacs to watch for counterfeit tickets circulating ahead of Game 3 tonight in Las Vegas. The Hurricanes are making their third Stanley Cup Final appearance in franchise history—and their first since winning the Cup in 2006.

Battleship NC Lights Up for D-Day

The Battleship North Carolina will be illuminated at sunset Saturday evening in Wilmington to mark the 82nd anniversary of D-Day.

The commemorative lighting honors the more than 156,000 Allied troops who stormed the beaches of Normandy on June 6, 1944, in Operation Overlord—the largest amphibious invasion in military history. The uplighting will be visible from downtown Wilmington and the Cape Fear River waterfront all evening.

USS North Carolina (BB-55) was commissioned in 1941 and earned distinction as America’s most decorated World War II battleship. The memorial honors more than 11,000 North Carolinians who lost their lives during the war and the 10,000-plus sailors who served aboard her.

“Their actions helped secure the freedoms we enjoy today,” said Dr. Jay C. Martin, executive director of the Battleship North Carolina Memorial. The ship is permanently moored on Eagles Island and operates as a memorial and museum.

The Hidden Cost of ChatGPT: A Lithium Crisis

That ChatGPT answer you just got? It ran on electricity. A lot of it.

OpenAI’s data centers consume more power than some small countries, and every one of them runs rows of lithium-ion battery backup systems to keep servers alive if the grid hiccups.

The world isn’t producing enough lithium to keep up. And one company is making major moves to fill the gap.

EnergyX just announced plans for a second lithium project in the United States, sitting on approximately 2.4 million tons of lithium in Utah. They’re projecting $600M+ in annual revenue at full scale, and retail investors can currently claim an early-stage stake.

Here’s why the timing matters.

Demand is projected to hit 5.5 million tons by 2040. And that was before the AI buildout got priced in.

McKinsey now projects battery demand growing 30% annually through 2030. The supply gap is widening and not going away.

EnergyX is positioned at the center of it.

Invest before the 7/16 deadline.

➤ Statewide: Legislative leaders are expected to vote next week on a bill allowing homeowners to build granny flats in cities, escalating a debate over whether the state or local governments should control growth. (More)

➤ Greensboro: Boomerang Greensboro, which offers relocation incentives and job connections to lure former residents back, is generating $26.1 million annually in economic activity, per a new report—and drawing interest from other mid-size cities. (More)

➤ Wilmington: The New Hanover Community Endowment held a public listening session Wednesday, drawing praise and sharp questions about transparency for the $1.35 billion endowment born from the 2019 sale of New Hanover Regional Medical Center. (More)

➤ Henderson: Michael Lewis Miles Jr. and Lishawn Knott escaped the Vance County Detention Center Wednesday afternoon. The FBI joined the search, and authorities are offering up to $40,000 in reward money for information leading to their capture. (More)

➤ Chapel Hill: Chapel Hill-Carrboro City Schools voted 7-0 to close Glenwood Elementary for the 2027-2028 school year, with board officials citing building conditions and long-term sustainability. (More)

➤ Brunswick County: An AMBER Alert for two missing children has been canceled after both were found safe, deputies said. Their father was arrested. (More)

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➤ The Carolina Hurricanes play Game 3 of the Stanley Cup Final at Vegas tonight with the series tied 1-1. (How to Watch)

➤ UNC will collect $1 million from South Carolina for canceling their 2028-29 football series, a casualty of the ACC and SEC both moving to nine-game conference schedules. (More)

➤ Duke’s basketball game against Michigan next December is moving from Madison Square Garden to the Miami Marlins’ ballpark. The shift was driven by a broadcast-rights dispute with the Blue Devils’ Amazon streaming deal. (More)

➤ Former NC State quarterback Russell Wilson retired from the NFL after 14 seasons and will join CBS Sports as an analyst on The NFL Today. (More)

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Discovered: 328 Years Worth of Lithium

The United States just discovered a massive lithium reserve in the Appalachia region, a 328-year supply based on America’s 2025 import totals.

With Morgan Stanley forecasting an 80,000-ton shortage this year alone, the sooner we can tap into it the better.

For companies like EnergyX, that spells opportunity.

Their patented technology can recover lithium 500X faster than traditional methods. It’s why industry leaders like General Motors have already invested.

Now, they hold rights to up to 13 million tons of untapped lithium across the Americas. And they just announced plans for their second U.S. lithium production facility.

All of which puts them on the short list of companies capable of turning massive reserves into fast results.

Claim your piece of this lithium boom as an early-stage EnergyX investor before the 7/16 deadline.

➤ Durham hosts four North Carolina choreographers—Courtney Liu, Jabu Graybeal, Tracey Durbin, and Amanda K. Miller—whose Made in NC commissions premiere at the American Dance Festival on June 22. (Details)

➤ Charlotte’s Youth Civics Foundation has grown from a local student project to reaching 15,000 readers across 38 states, led entirely by high schoolers. (See Video)

➤ Asheville has a packed weekend lineup of festivals, live music, outdoor events, and family activities across Western North Carolina. (See List)

Flying together with our sponsor

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