NC Medicaid Spending Nears $42B

North Carolina’s Medicaid program is on pace to spend a record $41.6 billion this year, an increase of nearly 93% over the past four years.

The growth traces largely to the state’s December 2023 Medicaid expansion, which added more than 730,000 people to the rolls. Medicaid now consumes nearly 22% of the state’s General Fund, up from 16% a decade ago.

House Speaker Destin Hall, a Republican, called the program’s trajectory unsustainable and said lawmakers need better metrics for how many people leave Medicaid, not just how many join. He also pointed to a roughly $1 billion cost overrun that forced budget negotiators to act.

Gov. Josh Stein, a Democrat, has defended the expansion as protecting more than 725,000 North Carolinians’ coverage while pledging to curb fraud and waste. The budget adds $2.5 million for state auditors and requires quarterly Medicaid eligibility checks starting in October.

NC Board Reviews Flagged Voter Rolls

The North Carolina State Board of Elections is reviewing federal data flagging 1,599 potential non-U.S. citizens among the state’s 7.8 million registered voters.

Executive Director Sam Hayes said staff will cross-reference state and county records and contact flagged registrants directly about their citizenship status. No one will be removed from the rolls before due process is completed, he said.

The review follows a nationwide push by the Department of Homeland Security, whose secretary, Markwayne Mullin, warned Friday that officials who don’t cooperate with federal voter-roll checks could face prosecution. House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries dismissed the focus as a distraction from a debunked conspiracy theory.

Hayes said the discrepancies represent only a small fraction of the state’s voter rolls, but called even one ineligible registration “one too many.” Noncitizen voting is rare nationally, and SAVE’s reliability has drawn scrutiny after erroneous flags in other states.

Consumers Cautious as Cyclospora Cases Rise

North Carolina’s cyclosporiasis outbreak has grown to 307 cases since May, but downtown Raleigh restaurants stayed packed with diners this week anyway.

Wake County accounts for 216 of the state’s cases, and officials still haven’t traced a single food source, though many patients linked their illness to lettuce, cilantro, or parsley.

Raleigh diners like Shaelynn and Josh Wade said they’re steering clear of raw greens and rethinking fast food after a friend fell sick. Local chefs, including Irregardless Café’s Adam Masters, said they’re triple-washing produce and cooking flagged items like lettuce and herbs instead of serving them raw.

The rise mirrors a national trend: the CDC has logged 1,645 confirmed domestic cases since May, more than six times last year’s pace. Officials say the NC outbreak isn’t linked to the nationwide Taco Bell lettuce recall.

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➤ Statewide: Duke Energy Carolinas reached a deal for a 3.7% average annual rate increase over two years, pending North Carolina Utilities Commission approval this fall. (More)

➤ Brunswick County: Officials adjusted regulations for the county’s Stage 3 Water Shortage Warning to allow automatic irrigation once a week on a staggered schedule by address. (Details)

➤ Wilmington: The FBI and New Hanover County Sheriff’s Office are investigating a threat against the Islamic Center of Wilmington after security video showed a man banging on the building and threatening to tear it down. (See Video)

➤ Stokes County: Commissioners voted down a six-month moratorium on new data centers, clearing a path for the developer behind Project Delta to resubmit its rezoning bid near Walnut Cove after a legal challenge voided the original approval. (Details)

➤ Union County: Marvin Ridge High School reversed course and will let a senior paint an American flag on his parking spot, after initially denying the request over U.S. Flag Code concerns and facing viral backlash from his mother online. (See Video)

➤ Western NC: All four westbound lanes of I-26 south of Asheville are officially open after a years-long widening project, NCDOT announced Friday, easing a notorious truck bottleneck near the Blue Ridge Parkway bridge. (More)

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➤ Charlotte Hornets 2026 first-round pick Hannes Steinbach continued to show promise in the team’s NBA Summer League consolation game, scoring 22 points and bringing in 11 rebounds. (More)

➤ The NASCAR Truck Series continued yesterday at North Carolina’s North Wilkesboro Speedway with the FaithFest 250. The Cup Series will continue today with the Window World 450 at 7 p.m. at the same venue. (See Results)

➤ The Carolina Panthers have re-signed veteran offensive lineman Brady Christensen, who has started 34 games for the team over the last five seasons. (More)

➤ Yesterday’s Results: World Cup | The Open | MLB | WNBA

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➤ A flea infestation has shut down Public Beach Access #25 in Surf City indefinitely while crews treat the area. (More)

➤ Charlotte woodworker Seth Alverson turned his own new-dad furniture builds into a nonprofit, Hand-Joined Family Furniture, crafting free heirloom-quality pieces for families facing housing instability, Hurricane Helene recovery challenges, or visual impairment. (See Video)

➤ Mooresville’s Sue Rowley couldn’t sleep, so she picked up her phone and dropped $30 into an NC Lottery digital game—and hit a $150,000 prize on Tumbling Treasures. She called the win “not a normal occurrence.” (See Photo)

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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, straight from the heart of the country. Clicking the link will take you directly to these stories:

➤ A legal battle over mail-in ballots took a major turn. (Hear More)

➤ A 94-year-old Chick-fil-A employee celebrated 20 remarkable years on the job. (Listen Now)

➤  Actor Gary Sinise found healing by helping others. (Podcast Available)

Do you have any superstitions?

1. Yes
2. No
3. Not yet

Yesterday’s Results:

How many of the North Carolina icons in our Saturday edition’s meme have you visited or experienced?

1. Nearly all: 32%
2. About half: 30%
3. Just a few: 28%
4. None: 10%

How did the Tar River get its name?

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