State Health Plan Board Approves Overhaul

The board overseeing North Carolina’s State Health Plan approved a sweeping overhaul on Friday that raises premiums 5% for 2027 and sorts hospitals into new “preferred” and “non-preferred” tiers.

The plan covers roughly 750,000 teachers, state employees, retirees, and their families. Treasurer Brad Briner, who oversees it, said the changes pull the plan back from a projected $507 million shortfall that had threatened insolvency.

UNC Health, Novant Health, and Iredell Health System made the top tier; Atrium Health, Granville Health, and some Duke LifePoint facilities did not. Officials said members who stick with preferred providers could save up to $7,000 a year.

The board also handed its administrator and pharmacy contracts to Blue Cross Blue Shield of North Carolina beginning in 2028. Briner said the real story is member savings, not the roughly $2 to $4 monthly premium increase.

NC Slips to No. 2 for Business

North Carolina slipped to No. 2 in CNBC’s 2026 ranking of the best states for business, behind Ohio and just ahead of Virginia.

It’s the sixth straight year the state has finished in the top two. North Carolina ranked first in CNBC’s economy category and third in the workforce category, and it climbed to eighth in technology and innovation.

The state lost ground elsewhere, falling to 35th in cost of living, 34th in quality of life, and 13th in infrastructure, the category CNBC weighted most heavily this year.

Gov. Josh Stein, a Democrat, called the ranking a “proof” that the state “can’t rest on our laurels,” citing housing and infrastructure costs. John Locke Foundation president Donald Bryson credited years of “pro-growth tax reform” and responsible budgeting.

Whatley Wraps up 100-County Tour

Republican U.S. Senate candidate Michael Whatley finished his 100-county tour of North Carolina on Saturday in Yancey County, where he toured a high school program building homes for Hurricane Helene victims.

Whatley, the former Republican National Committee chairman. also stopped in Transylvania and Jackson counties. At Mountain Heritage High School, he praised the Pillars Program, whose students build homes for families displaced by the 2024 storm, and said housing remains one of the state’s biggest challenges.

Whatley faces former Gov. Roy Cooper, a Democrat, in November for the seat Sen. Thom Tillis is leaving. Cooper has toured the state on a “Make Stuff Cost Less” message, arguing the administration puts affordability and health care gains at risk.

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➤ Statewide: North Carolina will eliminate physical vehicle registration cards and license plate renewal stickers, transitioning to electronic registration on Oct. 1 to cut costs and streamline processes. (More)

➤ Western NC: North Carolina has been awarded $48 million in new FEMA funding for recovery projects, nearly two years after Hurricane Helene devastated the mountain regions. Leaders are pushing to rebuild and lure tourists ahead of peak season. (More)

➤ NC Colleges: The names of college students found responsible for sexual assault at North Carolina’s public universities and community colleges are no longer public record under a provision in the new state budget that reverses a state Supreme Court ruling that had required their release. (More)

➤ Cleveland County: The National Weather Service confirmed an EF-1 tornado with 90 mph winds touched down 3 miles north-northeast of Casar during Friday’s storms. Surveyors also confirmed tornado damage in neighboring Lincoln and Catawba counties. (More)

➤ Greensboro: Norwegian soccer star Erling Haaland and teammates Sander Berge and Jørgen Strand Larsen played a round at Sedgefield Country Club, home of the PGA Tour’s Wyndham Championship, while Norway’s national team trained at UNC-Greensboro before the World Cup. (More)

➤ Outer Banks: Bioluminescent phytoplankton are creating electric blue glowing waves and glittery water off North Carolina’s Outer Banks this summer, best viewed by kayak in dark sounds near Cape Hatteras. (More)

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➤ North Carolina schools saw eight collegiate athletes have their names called on Day 1 of the MLB Draft, including UNC’s Jake Schaffner, who was picked the highest, going at No. 20 overall to the Boston Red Sox. (See Results)

➤ Meanwhile, Wake Forest took a recruiting hit when Southside Christian pitcher and Wake Forest commit Carson Bolemon was selected No. 29 overall by the San Francisco Giants. (More)

➤ Former Duke men’s basketball standout Isaiah Evans struggled in his NBA Summer League debut on Saturday, shooting just 2 for 15 from the field, including a 0 for 9 performance from three-point range. (More)

➤ Charlotte Hornets General Manager Jeff Peterson publicly addressed the trade sending LaMelo Ball to the Minnesota Timberwolves for Naz Reid, calling it the hardest decision of his career and part of a long-term rebuild. (More)

➤ Yesterday’s Results: Wimbledon | MLB | WNBA | NASCAR | Golf

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➤ North Carolina lawmakers allocated $3 million to establish the UNC Kenan Institute’s new Economic Forecasting Initiative, providing statewide and county-level nowcasts and projections for GDP, employment, housing, and job skills. (More)

➤ The new state budget raises North Carolina’s tax on sports-betting revenue from 18% to 23% and steers more of it to public university athletics. It also creates a 6% tax on prediction-market operators. (More)

➤ Attorney General Jeff Jackson is leading a coalition of 49 attorneys general urging the FCC to tighten rules that let scammers obtain legitimate phone numbers, citing the 29.6 billion scam calls Americans received last year. (More)

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➤ The Grandfather Mountain Highland Games wrapped their 70th anniversary this weekend at MacRae Meadows near Linville, drawing 108 Scottish clans and families for caber tosses, bagpipes, and Highland dancing. Organizers call it the oldest Highland Games in the South. (See Photos)

➤ The Network for Endangered Sea Turtles logged its 34th nest of the 2026 season on Friday after finding a loggerhead nest in Duck. Volunteers say the count is running a bit ahead of the seasonal average. (See Photos)

➤ The Dix Park sunflowers in Raleigh hit peak bloom amid a celebration on Saturday featuring live music, activities, and food trucks that drew thousands to the field. (See Photos)

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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. Clicking the links will take you directly to these stories:

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