Friday, September 4, 2026

FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 4, 2026

Good Morning! On this day in 1957, 15-year-old Dorothy Counts walked through a hostile crowd to enroll at Charlotte’s Harding High School as one of the first black students to integrate the city’s schools.

The I-40 rebuild project over the Pigeon River Gorge just went up in price and may not conclude until 2029. Learn more in Top Stories.

Today’s sponsor is AutoCamp, bringing boutique hotel comfort to the growing outdoor lodging market through major partnerships with Hilton and Airstream while offering investors a chance to participate in its expansion.

Midterm Mail-In Ballots Go Out Today

North Carolina’s 100 county boards of elections begin mailing absentee ballots to voters today, making the state the first in the nation to send ballots for the 2026 midterm.

Election Day is Nov. 3. Any registered voter can request an absentee ballot through the state’s portal or by mail, with requests due by 5 p.m. Oct. 20.

Completed ballots must reach county boards by 7:30 p.m. on Election Day. Voters must seal the envelope, have two witnesses or a notary sign it, and enclose a photocopy of an accepted photo ID. In-person early voting runs Oct. 15-31 with same-day registration, and the regular registration deadline is Oct. 9.

The rollout comes as the State Board of Elections delayed guidance on some absentee rules amid a court fight and now weighs a workaround.

I-40 Rebuild Cost Hits $2.8 Billion

The cost to rebuild the Helene-wrecked stretch of I-40 through the Pigeon River Gorge has climbed to about $2.8 billion, up from $2 billion, NCDOT said Wednesday.

Deeper bedrock found in new testing requires longer steel piles, driving up both the price and timeline. NCDOT now expects to restore four lanes by late 2029.

Crews are rebuilding the roughly 5-mile section in Haywood County with reinforced structures designed to withstand the Pigeon River and reduce the risk of future flooding and slope failures.

Helene’s floodwaters tore out sections of the interstate near the Tennessee line in September 2024, severing a key freight and travel corridor between the two states. Officials say they’re exploring options to speed up the work.

Labor Day Travel Costs Rise

Charlotte Douglas International Airport anticipates more than 920,000 passengers between Wednesday of this week and Tuesday of next week as Labor Day ends the summer travel season.

Airlines have scheduled over 4,400 departing flights, with peak days expected yesterday, today, and Monday. Officials urge travelers to reserve parking early and arrive prepared for busy conditions.

AAA reports higher costs nationwide, including North Carolina gas averaging about $3.85 per gallon—roughly a dollar more than last year. Domestic airfare is up 2% overall and nearly 20% to top destinations, while hotel rates have climbed about 9%. Traffic is forecast to peak Thursday afternoon and Friday.

Despite elevated prices for fuel, flights, and lodging, demand remains strong for getaways to places like Seattle, Orlando, and international spots such as Rome and London. Cruises offer a relative bargain, down 4%.

Flying together with our sponsor

Hilton Hotels Enter High-Growth World of Outdoor Lodging

Hilton Hotels didn’t become a global hospitality giant by standing still. When they see a category worth backing, they move.

So it didn’t take long for them to form a first-of-its-kind partnership with AutoCamp.

AutoCamp brings boutique hotel comfort to the great outdoors, an industry estimated to be $732B. As the first outdoor lodging brand ever bookable on Hilton.com, AutoCamp’s 700+ rooms are in front of 200M+ Hilton Honors members who can earn and redeem points on every stay.

In fact, direct AutoCamp bookings on the Hilton channel are up 30% year-over-year.

It’s not just Hilton Hotels partnering with Autocamp, either. Iconic American travel brand Airstream also formed an exclusive partnership. In total, AutoCamp’s model has earned more than $150M in location revenue since inception.

For investors, it’s a signal: some of the travel industry’s largest players are partnering with AutoCamp in the outdoor lodging race. Become an AutoCamp shareholder before they expand to 10,000+ rooms.

➤ Mecklenburg County unveiled a $2.5 million plan to overhaul child safety after the death of 6-year-old Dominique Moody, whose case state investigators tied to “systemic” failures in the county’s social services department. (See Details)

➤ Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools reported test scores topping pre-pandemic levels for the first time, with 136 schools earning A, B, or C grades. The gains followed a turbulent summer for district leadership. (More)

➤ Triad: Meanwhile, new state report cards showed academic gains across the Guilford County, Winston-Salem/Forsyth County, and Alamance-Burlington districts as well, with higher graduation rates and stronger test results. (More)

➤ Littleton: The state Local Government Commission is withholding Littleton’s sales tax distributions after it missed multiple audits, with four still outstanding. (More)

➤ NC State: Business Court Judge Graham Shirley will oversee three lawsuits tied to health problems at shuttered Poe Hall, consolidating the cases before a single judge. (More)

➤ Durham: Auditions are open for a production of NUTCRACKER: Magical Christmas Ballet, giving local dancers a shot at the holiday classic this season. (More)

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➤ Wake Forest won its season opener at home against Akron 38-16 last night, with Jake Dickert starting year two after a nine-win debut. (More)

➤ North Carolina A&T plays Georgia State in Atlanta tonight at 7 p.m. Georgia State is favored by 28.5 points, with quarterback Cameran Brown leading a stronger supporting cast. (See Pregame Stats)

➤ The defending ACC champion Duke Blue Devils open the season Saturday against Tulane at Wallace Wade Stadium—a rematch of last year’s 34-27 loss to the Green Wave in New Orleans. Duke is roughly a touchdown-plus favorite. (More)

➤ Gardner-Webb fired head football coach Kris McCullough on Wednesday, days after suspending him pending an off-field investigation and one game into his tenure. His lone game was a 35-17 loss to Austin Peay. Pete Bennett takes over as interim head coach. (More)

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➤ OpenAI’s Sam Altman and Nvidia’s Jensen Huang pressed countries to treat AI as core infrastructure at the G20 Innovation Ministerial in Chapel Hill this week. The talks unfolded as data center proposals draw debate across the Triangle. (More)

➤ A Wake County nurse practitioner sued to overturn North Carolina’s requirement that nurse practitioners hold a collaborative practice agreement with a physician before practicing, arguing the mandate blocks care despite her 17 years of experience. (More)

➤ Attorney General Jeff Jackson is seeking nearly $1.7 million in penalties and restitution against Holly Christina Photography, accused of taking payment from hundreds of couples, failing to deliver photos, then defying a court order. (More)

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How Solving Camping’s Biggest Problem Earned $150M+

Most people love the idea of being outdoors. Almost nobody loves what it takes to get there.

Campsites book months in advance. Gear’s expensive and collects dust. RV ownership’s a financial and logistical burden. Hotels are comfortable, but lose the very thing people were chasing in the first place.

AutoCamp solves all that. Guests arrive with a suitcase, check in like a hotel, and wake up at an iconic outdoor destination like Yosemite or Joshua Tree. But instead of hard ground and outhouses, they have a boutique room or custom-designed Airstream trailer with a spa-inspired bathroom.

And travelers can’t get enough, with 1M+ happy campers so far. That’s earned $150M+ in location revenue for property owners operating with the Company’s Brands since inception.

Now you can invest as AutoCamp works to scale from 9 locations to 100+.

This is a paid advertisement for AutoCamp’s Regulation CF offering. Please read the offering circular at invest.autocamp.com

➤ Six Medal of Honor recipients visited Fort Bragg on Wednesday as part of the second annual American Airlines Valor Tour, sharing stories of service and taking part in a reenlistment ceremony. (Watch Report)

➤ NC State researchers unveiled a carbon-capture technology that traps carbon dioxide from compost and converts it into a marketable product. (See Photos)

➤ Forecasters say Western North Carolina’s fall foliage should stay near schedule after a hot start to September, with the mountains landing in an “equal chances” zone for temperatures in the latest seasonal outlook. (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.

➤ The U.S. military destroyed another vessel accused of refueling drug traffickers off the coast of South America. (Full Story)

➤ Popular baby wipes have been recalled after federal testing revealed bacteria that can cause life-threatening infections in infants. (Hear Details)

➤ The nation’s largest school district has pulled the plug on artificial intelligence for most of its students. (Listen Now)