Trump Rallies for Whatley in Gastonia

President Trump will headline a rally for Republican U.S. Senate candidate Michael Whatley at Gastonia Municipal Airport tonight at 7 p.m. Police are warning drivers to expect significant traffic impacts in the area.

It’s Trump’s third Gastonia stop, after rallies there in 2020 and 2024, and comes as Whatley trails in the contest for retiring Sen. Thom Tillis’ open seat. A September Elon University poll put Democrat and former Gov. Roy Cooper ahead 49% to 38%, with 8% undecided.

Cooper has also outraised Whatley, campaign finance filings show. State GOP Chairman Jason Simmons said Trump can “reengage” voters no one else turns out.

North Carolina Democratic Party Chair Anderson Clayton said the visit shows “how scared Republicans are,” adding that her party is “not ceding any ground.”

Independents Dominate New Voter Registrations

Nearly 9 in 10 new North Carolina voter registrations since the March primary—124,207 of 138,096—have gone to unaffiliated voters rather than a party.

North Carolina State Board of Elections figures show Democrats added 6,957 registrations and Republicans 6,687 since March. It was the first time since the primary that Democrats out-registered Republicans in a weekly update.

Unaffiliated voters now account for 40.1% of the state’s 7.8 million registrations, ahead of Republicans at 29.7% and Democrats at 29.6%. The independent bloc has swelled by more than 186,000 since Election Day 2024, while both parties’ rolls shrank, partly from routine list maintenance.

The trend underscores North Carolina’s battleground status: Republican-leaning for president, a Democrat-held governor’s office, and one of the nation’s most-watched Senate races on the November ballot.

Elon Poll Reveals Deep AI Anxieties

A new Elon University nationwide survey found 64% of U.S. adults believe AI will undermine people’s sense of purpose and meaning by replacing them in most tasks.

The poll from the Alamance County school’s Imagining the Digital Future Center also found 69% think AI will weaken human-to-human connections. Adoption keeps climbing anyway: 65% said they used a chatbot in the past week, up from 52% in early 2025.

Users reported plenty of upside, too. Some 88% said they routinely learn something valuable from the tools, though about half admitted feeling they were taking shortcuts or growing too dependent.

Center director Lee Rainie said the findings show a country “continuing to embrace AI, reaping tangible benefits, yet feeling deeply anxious” about what it means to be human.

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➤ Statewide: Nearly 60,000 North Carolinians requested absentee ballots in the first week of 2026 general election voting, which opened Sept. 4, with Democrats leading at about 25,000 ahead of unaffiliated voters and Republicans. (More)

➤ Also Statewide: A new search warrant shows the State Bureau of Investigation is now examining possible embezzlement in its probe of the nonprofit Greater Carolina, pulling the group’s QuickBooks records from Intuit. The affidavit names no target. (More)

➤ Cabarrus County: The school board wants a federal court to dismiss three families’ suit over a Cox Mill High School policy that lets a student who identifies as transgender use restrooms consistent with that identity, stating it follows federal law. (More)

➤ Siler City: UNC Health Chatham welcomed its 1,000th baby on Sept. 8—the 25-bed hospital’s sixth anniversary—when Baby Maylin arrived at the Maternity Care Center. (More)

➤ Fuquay-Varina: Makai, a 12-year-old seventh grader who trains with the elite Carolina Swarm soccer club, has reached the top five in Russell Wilson’s national Youth Athlete of the Year competition, which honors young athletes who give back. (More)

➤ Wilmington: Residents at a Cape Fear Memorial Bridge hearing overwhelmingly rejected the taller fixed-span replacement option, preferring a movable bridge similar to the current one while opposing any tolls. (More)

➤ Duke University: The Pratt School of Engineering won a $24 million U.S. Army award to lead a six-year effort developing defenses against increasingly autonomous drones, partnering with six other universities and Lockheed Martin. (More)

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➤ App State football has sold out Saturday’s home game against Charlotte at Kidd Brewer Stadium, the 17th sellout in the Mountaineers’ last 19 home games. Kickoff is set for 6 p.m. on ESPN+. (More)

➤ Duke running back Nate Sheppard and offensive tackle Nick Del Grande earned ACC weekly honors after Saturday’s win at Illinois. Sheppard is the ACC’s first running back to win the award in back-to-back weeks since 2023. (More)

➤ Public records from UNC reveal the ACC has been quietly lobbying Senate offices on the Protect College Sports Act, a bill that would set federal rules for college athlete pay. The records show the league coordinated on gambling enforcement, realignment, and the bill’s language. (More)

➤ Carolina Hurricanes defenseman Alexander Nikishin requested a trade after last season’s Stanley Cup run, and that request remains in place with training camp opening this week. The 24-year-old posted 33 points as a rookie last season. (More)

➤ Yesterday’s Results: MLB | Soccer | NCWVB

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➤ The Trump administration announced $16 million to train more mining engineers during a tour of Albemarle’s dormant lithium mine in Kings Mountain, part of a broader $100 million initiative to strengthen domestic supply chains. (More)

➤ The State Health Plan added 12 Atrium Health hospitals to its provider tier after a negotiation, allowing members to continue receiving care at Atrium sites, including rural hospitals and children’s hospitals in Charlotte and Concord, with no change in cost, effective Jan. 1. (More)

➤ North Carolina’s 1971 certificate-of-need law, which requires state approval before adding medical facilities, is drawing fresh scrutiny as research questions whether it controls costs or mainly shields existing hospitals from competition in growing communities. (More)

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➤ North Carolina counts about 443 trees per resident, ranking 32nd nationally, according to a new state-by-state map—a reminder that population, not just forest cover, drives the numbers. Tree-rich, thinly settled Alaska tops the list at 43,401. (See Map)

➤ Fury 325, Carowinds’ 325-foot, 95-mph roller coaster, which crosses the North Carolina–South Carolina line and is considered North America’s longest steel coaster, was named the world’s best steel coaster for an 11th straight year at the Golden Ticket Awards. (See Photos)

➤ DJ Diesel, the stage name of NBA Hall of Famer Shaquille O’Neal, will headline Elon University’s Rock the Block homecoming concert on Oct. 9. (More)

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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. 

➤ Doctors say prediabetes can show warning signs years before a diagnosis, and most people miss them completely. (Five Findings)

➤ The Anthropic and Nvidia CEOs took the same stage hours apart and collided over whether AI is moving too fast. (Hear Story)

➤ Prosecutors have shifted course in the case against Rob Reiner’s son, Nick, accused of murdering his parents. (Hear Details)

How do you feel about riding roller coasters?

1. The bigger, the better
2. I’ll ride, but nothing extreme
3. Hard pass

Yesterday’s Results:

Would you buy an electric vehicle?

1. Maybe a hybrid: 43%
2. No way: 37%
3. I’d consider it: 10%
4. I already did: 5%
5. Sure: 5%

What was North Carolina’s first roller coaster?

Show me the answer