NC Nursing Homes Earn 1-Star Rankings

Federal ratings from Medicare.gov reveal multiple one-star nursing homes across North Carolina as of September 2026. 

In the Charlotte area, 14 facilities within 25 miles earned the lowest rating—including five in Charlotte itself—such as Pine Crest Health & Rehabilitation and University Place Nursing and Rehabilitation Center. One Concord facility, Copperfield Health & Rehabilitation, also recorded abuse-related citations.

In the Triangle, several homes received one-star ratings, with Fuquay-Varina Health and Rehabilitation Center, Siler City Center, and Southpoint Rehabilitation and Healthcare Center in Durham cited for abuse. Other low-rated facilities include Sunnybrook Rehabilitation Center in Raleigh and Highfield Nursing and Rehabilitation in Cary. 

Ratings factor in health inspections, staffing, safety, and infection control. The annual cost of a private room in a North Carolina skilled nursing facility averages $129,575, or about $10,798 monthly. 

85+ Car Break-ins Being Investigated

Chapel Hill police are investigating nearly 60 vehicle break-ins reported in the area over Friday night, most of them in hotel and apartment lots along Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard and Raleigh Road.

In many cases, thieves smashed windows to get inside. Chief Celisa Lehew asked residents to check home and business cameras and to call 911 with any footage.

Investigators are weighing whether the cases connect to a wider string across the Triangle. More than 25 cars were hit around the same time at Brier Creek hotel lots in Raleigh, part of a run of thefts at hotels and apartment complexes stretching back more than a month.

Police made several arrests Aug. 25 in earlier Chapel Hill break-ins. Police urged drivers to lock up, take valuables inside, and never leave a gun in a vehicle.

NC State Lands $20M Grant for AI Tools

The National Science Foundation awarded NC State a five-year, $20 million grant to develop AI tools that build interactive stories to help K-12 students learn.

The award renews the National Science Foundation AI Institute for Engaged Learning (EngageAI), which NC State has led for five years alongside Vanderbilt, UNC-Chapel Hill, Indiana University, and the nonprofit Digital Promise.

The next phase aims to build a system that keeps improving over a school year and uses emerging “world model” AI to generate stories teachers and students can tailor to their classrooms.

Lead investigator James Lester, a Goodnight Distinguished Professor in AI, said the research will yield technologies that “fundamentally improve both the learning process and learning outcomes for K-12 students.” The university announced the renewal last week.

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➤ Statewide: A Trump-linked super PAC has reserved about $5 million to boost Republican Michael Whatley in North Carolina’s U.S. Senate race against Democrat Roy Cooper, ranking the state fifth among contests the group is funding. (More)

➤ Also Statewide: Cooper leads Whatley 49% to 38% among likely voters in the latest Elon University Poll, released this week. The former governor also holds a wide name-recognition edge, and 54% of registered voters expect him to win the Nov. 3 election. (See Poll)

➤ Triad: North Carolina House Democrats and the Guilford County party dropped support for nominee Shelly Headen after posts on accounts in her name promoted political violence and likened Trump supporters to Nazis. (More)

➤ Charlotte: DeCarlos Brown Jr., charged in the fatal stabbing of Iryna Zarutska on a Charlotte light rail train, was moved to the federal medical center in Butner on Sept. 9 after being found incompetent to stand trial. (More)

➤ Greensboro: A staff member at the Woods of Terror haunted attraction died after a medical emergency on the season’s opening night Friday. The owners said firefighters and EMS could not save the worker despite life-saving efforts. (More)

➤ Raleigh: NC State’s Brickyard—the red-and-white plaza at the heart of campus since 1968—is reopening after nearly three years of being fenced off during Woodson Hall construction. (See Photo)

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➤ The Carolina Panthers lost a shootout, 59-37, to the Chicago Bears yesterday in their season opener. Third-year receiver Jalen Coker led the way for Carolina with 138 receiving yards. (More)

➤ UNC basketball made the top seven for five-star guard Adan Diggs, a 2027 recruit from Arizona who trimmed his list to UNC, Duke, Arizona, Arkansas, Kansas, Kentucky, and USC. Diggs, rated the nation’s No. 1 shooting guard, visits Arizona on Sept. 25. (More)

➤ Charlotte Hornets forward Brandon Miller hosted hundreds of kids at his youth basketball camp in Indian Trail on Saturday, running on-court drills and a Q&A. Miller and his family hold camps each year in the Charlotte area and Nashville. (More)

➤ Short-track racing legend Gary Myers, who won 38 NASCAR Modified races at Winston-Salem’s Bowman Gray Stadium, died Sept. 10 at 76. Myers was a founding member of the SMART Modified Tour and passed his craft to sons Burt and Jason. (More)

➤ Yesterday’s Results: US Open | NFL | MLB | NASCAR | F1 | Soccer | FIBA

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➤ Electric-vehicle maker VinFast is fighting North Carolina’s bid to reclaim its Chatham County megasite, calling the state’s lawsuit premature. Attorney General Jeff Jackson sued in May, alleging the automaker missed a construction deadline. (More)

➤ Guard and Grace, the Michelin-recommended steakhouse, opens its Charlotte location Oct. 1 on the 10th floor of the Vivian tower at Queensbridge Collective, a mixed-use development on Tryon Street between uptown and South End. (More)

➤ North Carolina-based Krispy Kreme’s apple cider glazed doughnut ran only through Sunday, but its Fall & Football Dozen—featuring football-shaped, pumpkin spice, and maple cheesecake doughnuts—is sticking around for the season. (More and See Photos)

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[ACT FAST] This Robotics Stock’s Price Changes Thursday

Fresh off two major product acquisitions, including from a once-SoftBank-backed robotics pioneer, Miso Robotics’ share price will change Thursday. 

From those acquisitions alone, Miso added new customers like Jersey Mike’s, Cinnabon, and Auntie Anne’s and grew its patent portfolio 10X overnight. 

And that’s not all Miso’s done this year. In addition to major restaurant chains, Miso’s robots are now being deployed on college campuses and even an NBA arena.

Everyday people like you who don’t want to miss the robot boom have already invested more than 44,000 times to date. Industry powerhouse Ecolab even invested too. 

Hurry to join them before Miso’s price changes from $5.48/share Thursday night.

This is a paid advertisement for Miso Robotics Regulation A offering. Please read the offering circular at invest.misorobotics.com

➤ A new mural along Reynolds Boulevard in Winston-Salem—billed as the largest on the East Coast—traces R.J. Reynolds Tobacco’s 150-year history and the city it built. Artists Leo Rucker and Joey Allen spent about 2,000 hours and 9,000 spray cans creating it. (See Photos)

➤ UNC Athletics rolled out its first officially licensed line of Tar Heel spirits, Spirit of Carolina. Made by Cape Fear Distillery, the lineup includes Chapel Thrill Vodka, Old East Whiskey, Rams Head Silver Rum, and Best Blue Coconut Cream. (See Photo)

➤ The Farmers’ Almanac reports that the southern Appalachians will be among the earliest areas of North Carolina to receive snow this year, while the Piedmont and coast may have to wait until December. (More and See Map)

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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. 

➤ Two best friends of 30 years took DNA tests, and what came back explains why everyone said they had the same laugh. (Hear Story)

➤ A New York honors student was suspended on the first day of school over a cup of coffee. (Hear More)

➤ MIT scientists found a simple sound, played while you sleep, that may help your brain wash itself clean. (Listen Now)

Have you been to a Michelin-recommended restaurant?

1. Yes
2. No
3. Not sure

Yesterday’s Results:

 What’s your favorite food from the Northeast?

1. Pizza: 32%
2. New England clam chowder: 26%
3. Philly cheesesteak: 23%
4. Bagels: 12%
5. Other: 4%
6. Boston cream pie: 3%

What are NC State students told to look for near the Brickyard at the end of each semester?

Show me the answer