UNC Suit Could Benefit 12K D1 Tennis Players

Chief U.S. District Judge Catherine Eagles certified two classes of college tennis players Monday in a lawsuit filed by UNC-Chapel Hill’s Reese Brantmeier and former University of Texas player Maya Joint against NCAA prize money restrictions.

Prospective Division I players can accept up to $10,000 annually plus expenses, but current D1 players are limited to expenses only. Brantmeier’s 2024 suit says she was forced to give up nearly $50,000 she won playing in the U.S. Open.

The ruling covers players who have competed since March 19, 2020, or were deemed ineligible due to the prize money rules. It could benefit 12,000 players, including those who forfeited prize money during the same period.

A trial is proposed for summer 2026.

Mexico, India Top Sources of Immigrants in NC

A list of countries from which immigrants move to North Carolina, based on U.S. Census Bureau data, ranks Mexico No. 1 with 226,263 residents, or 24.5%, and India No. 2 with 83,103 residents, or 8.99%.

Rounding out the top five are Honduras, with 49,492 residents, or 5.36%; El Salvador, with 36,568 residents, or 3.96%; and China, with 34,351 residents, or 3.72%. Guatemala, Vietnam, Colombia, the United Kingdom (including Crown Dependencies), and the Philippines fill out the top 10, respectively.

The list ranks countries based on five-year estimates made in 2023, the most recent data as of 2025. It credits “more equitable” immigration laws for bringing “the rewards of innovation in business, music, art, literature, dance, food, societal norms, entertainment, and sports” to America.

Asheville Pays $361K for Oprah Daily Partnership

Buncombe County Tourism Development’s Explore Asheville organization spent $361,400 for Oprah Daily to highlight the city’s “hidden charms.”

Oprah Daily, a digital and print media platform launched by Oprah Winfrey, evolved from O, The Oprah Magazine.

As part of the partnership, Oprah Daily Creative Director Adam Glassman and TV personality Gayle King visited and reported on places like Biltmore Estate, North Asheville Tailgate Market, the North Carolina Arboretum, and sites within the city’s art and food scene. They also crashed a wedding at the Omni Grove Park Inn.

Ashley Greenstein, spokesperson for the Buncombe County Tourism Development Authority, said the feature has “delivered more than 6 million impressions and counting.” View the report here.

➤ Statewide: North Carolina State Health Plan members can now get certain elective surgeries, like knee replacements, at no cost thanks to a partnership with Dallas-based Lantern, which connects patients to a statewide network of surgeons using a market-based model. (More)

➤ Wake County: Former Congressman Wiley Nickel dropped out of the U.S. Senate race Tuesday and endorsed former Gov. Roy Cooper. He is reportedly considering a run for the Democratic nomination for Wake County district attorney. (More)

➤ Western North Carolina: Magistrates Gilbert Breedlove and Thomas Holland won $1.3 million in a religious discrimination case after resigning in 2014 over performing same-sex marriage ceremonies. The judge also ordered Holland’s immediate reinstatement in Graham County. (More)

➤ Raleigh: A woman who won $321,419 from the North Carolina Education Lottery on July 23 plans to use her winnings to fly to Los Angeles to watch Lakers star LeBron James play in person. (More)

➤ Wilmington: Officials met Monday to explore options for filling a $773 million funding gap for the Cape Fear Memorial Bridge replacement, with possibilities of a bond referendum, sales tax, vehicle fees, or tolling on the table. (More)

➤ Dare County received a $95,000 grant to design a living shoreline project to protect Rodanthe Harbor and its emergency ferry channel from erosion and shoaling, ensuring access during hurricanes when N.C. 12 becomes impassable. (More)

➤ Cape Hatteras: The Dare County Sheriff’s Office arrested the owner of a sailboat grounded on the beach on Cape Hatteras National Seashore on a Carteret County warrant for felony larceny and possession of stolen goods. (More)

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➤ The NC State men’s basketball team will play in the Maui Invitational this November, opening the tournament with a game against Seton Hall. (More)

➤ NASCAR driver Austin Hill, who races for North Carolina-based Richard Childress Racing, was suspended from this weekend’s Xfinity Series race after allegedly wrecking another car on purpose during last Saturday’s race at Indianapolis. (See Wreck)

➤ Bowman Gray Stadium in Winston-Salem disqualified the top four finishers of the Sportsman 100-lap race on July 26—three for illegal tire modifications and one for failing to submit his car for post-race inspection. (More)

➤ Yesterday’s Results: MLB | Soccer | WNBA

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➤ The 2025-26 U.S. News and World Report list of best hospitals, released Tuesday, ranks Duke University Hospital No. 1 in North Carolina and No. 35 nationally, with UNC Hospitals No. 2 in the state and No. 48 nationally. UNC Health Rex in Raleigh is ranked No. 4 in the state. (More)

➤ Meanwhile, HCA Healthcare faces potential noncompliance with its 2019 acquisition of Asheville-based Mission Health for diminished emergency/trauma and oncology services, Medicare standing issues, and charity care policies. (More)

➤ Developer David Couch wants Greensboro to annex and approve zoning for 898 acres of his land for higher-density residential and commercial development in northwestern Guilford County. (More)

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➤ A list of locations where Netflix’s The Hunting Wives was filmed in the Charlotte area includes Main Street in Mooresville, Coyote Joe’s in Charlotte, and Lake Norman in Iredell County. (See List)

➤ USS Battleship North Carolina staff set up breezer stations, hydration points, and a shipboard cooling station to ensure visitor safety amid a heat index reaching 113 degrees in Wilmington this week. (More)

➤ Two North Carolina bars, Little Jumbo in Asheville and The Blind Elephant in Wilmington, made USA TODAY’s 2025 list of the 29 best bars in the country. (See List)

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Who has the best chance of winning North Carolina’s open 2026 U.S. Senate seat?

1. Roy Cooper
2. Michael Whatley
3. Other
4. Don’t care

Yesterday’s Results:

Do you ride roller coasters?

1. Used to: 43%
2. Never: 23%
3. Always: 22%
4. Haven’t yet: 12%

What North Carolina city was Martin Luther King Jr. scheduled to visit on April 4, 1968, the day he was assassinated?

Show me the answer