Have you ever thought about the difference between paying rent and owning a home? When you rent, your monthly payment helps cover the cost of living there, but it usually doesn't build anything for your future. Home ownership is different. Each payment you make on a home may help build equity, which is the value you own in the property over time. As that equity grows, it can become a financial asset that may support your long-term goals.
Owning a home can also provide stability. You have a place that's yours where you can build memories, establish roots, and truly make the space your own. And the good news is that many people are surprised to learn there are programs designed to help first-time homebuyers get started, including grants and assistance programs that may help with down payments or closing costs. Learning about your options is the first step toward making an informed decision about your future. Visit ToolsForHomeOwnership.com.
It's 505 and welcome in to a Monday edition of the Carolina Journal News Hour on Charlotte's FM News Talk, 107.9 FM, WBT. I'm Nick Craig. Good morning to you.
Well, a lot of attention, a lot of attention on North Carolina over the last couple of days and for the next few, as world financial leaders are in Asheville, North Carolina this weekend and the early part of this week as the city hosts a G20 financial track meeting. putting Western North Carolina back on the international spotlight as we come very close to approaching nearly two years since Hurricane Helene devastated that area of Western North Carolina. The gathering runs Saturday through Tuesday, joined by financial ministers and central bank governors from the world's largest economies, along with an estimated 500 attendees, including delegates, staff, and international media. Meetings did begin this weekend with financial and central bank deputies followed by finance ministers and central bank governors starting on Sunday. Many top administration officials flying into Western North Carolina throughout the day yesterday.
The Omni Grove Park Inn is hosting some of the sessions. The locations of those other meetings are not necessarily publicly available. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessett announced Asheville as a host city back in February. We covered that right here on the show. The Carolina Journal News Hour and over on our website, CarolinaJournal.com, saying that the choice was tied directly to the region's ongoing recovery from Hurricane Helene.
At the time, he said the selection of historic Asheville reflects the Trump administration's commitment to revitalizing and resilience of western North Carolina, which will continue to rebuild after the devastating impacts from Hurricane Helene. The Treasury Secretary said the United States, which is a leader of the G20 financial track this year, is pushing a results-oriented approach, focusing on modernizing financial regulation, addressing global economic imbalances, improving a debt transparency, supporting digital assets, strengthening cross-border payments, combating payment fraud, and promoting financial literacy. Asheville is one of the stops on the global circuit of meetings that are taking place throughout the year and have taken place throughout the year already. Very cool stuff going on there. Vic Eisley, who is the president and CEO of Explore Asheville and the Buncombe County Tourism Development Authority, said that the meetings mean both a direct economic boost and a broader marketing opportunity for the region, saying in a statement recently, having the G20 financial track choose Asheville for this high-profile event.
means not only millions of dollars in direct spending for the area businesses, but it also means eyes from all over the world being on Asheville in western North Carolina to demonstrate the beauty, resilience, and creativity of our community. According to Explore Asheville, of which he is the CEO, preliminary estimates put direct spending from the event between $1.5 million and $2 million based on projected attendance and length of stays. Eisley said that the estimate has continued to grow in the days leading up to the meeting. Nevertheless, some significant financial investment out there in western North Carolina. The Asheville meetings are only half of North Carolina.
On the world stage this week, a separate G20 meeting focused on artificial intelligence and its role as it relates to economic growth are set for September 1st and the 2nd in Chapel Hill as that group will be keeping things close to the research triangle area as that discussion will take place in the RTP area. According to Aaron Brown, Undersecretary for International Affairs at the United States Department of Treasury said that the back-to-back meetings in North Carolina were designed to show off two different sides of the state. With Brown saying North Carolina has a lot to offer in terms of a real microcosm for what the rest of the world is. of the world can benefit from, noting that the state checks the boxes on finance, technology, and advanced manufacturing. We're going to be keeping a close eye on the G20.
Any news that comes out of that that is irrelevant, we will of course bring you the latest details right here on the Carolina Journal News Hour. In some other statewide news we are tracking this morning, Fort Bragg is among five installations that have been selected by the United States Army to host nuclear micro-reactors as part of a program known as Janus. The goal of the program is to provide uninterrupted, independent baseload power directly to domestic military bases. This reduces the reliance on public commercial power grids, which are highly vulnerable to things like natural disasters and cyber attacks. A company by the name of Entreras Nuclear will perform the work at Fort Bragg.
Other vendors and installations include Include BWXT Advanced Technologies. They will be working at Fort Campbell, Kentucky. General Atomics Electromagnetic Systems will be operating in Fort Hood, excuse me, Texas. Radiant Industries at Fort Bennington, Georgia, and Westinghouse Government Services at Fort Drum, New York. The governor here in North Carolina, Josh Stein, chimed in on the announcement last week, saying the United States Army has selected Fort Bragg, the largest military base in the country, as one of five initial installations to host nuclear micro reactors under the Janus program.
This positive news will strengthen national security by delivering safe, reliable, and clean power to our military. According to a press release, the Army, in partnership with the Department of War Innovation Unit, also known as DIU, is awarding up to a combined $2.2 billion to own, construct, and operate these nuclear microreactors at installations across the United States. The release says in part, these vendors will deliver safe, secure, and reliable nuclear power, strengthening the Army's ability to protect power globally while supporting the revitalization of American industrial capacity and technological leadership. With the private sector funding expected among these government dollars, the Army expects more than 20 total nuclear microreactors will be built and operated across Department of War installations. The goal is to have at least one of these reactors up and running by September the 30th, 2028.
So still. A couple of years down the road, but about a two-year goal out from right now, according to details from the Department of War. The Army also notes that more than 20 additional nuclear micro reactors are expected to be built at other military installations across the country. According to Dan Driscoll, who is the Secretary of the Army, he said in a recent press release: Since launching the Janus program, our mandate from President Trump and Secretary Hegseth has been clear: secure the power our warfighters need to train, deploy, and win. Awarding these contracts accelerates our ability to deliver safe, reliable baseload power directly to our installations.
We are building the energy resilience necessary to protect, to project rather, combat power globally without relying on potential vulnerable external grids. The Army noted that the vendors will receive government funding only after successfully hitting specific technical goals. John Sanders, who is the director of the Center for Food, Power and Life at the John Locke Foundation, said that this decision is laudable. Nuclear reliability is top-notch and goes without question that keeping our military bases powered is a matter of national security. He noted that it will also be interesting to see Fort Bragg's experience with a microreactor and see what lessons it holds for North Carolina policymakers, large industrial sites, and utilities across the state.
The investment model brings together approximately $2.2 billion across the fiscal year 2027 through 2031, along with significant capital investments from each vendor. According to the Army, this technology development model will speed up the delivery of next-generation energy solutions to the warfighters and promote innovation while ensuring accountability. The prototype reactors will be contractor-owned and operated. According to the press release here, we heard from Jason Kraft, who is the Janus program manager, who said the Army is leading the nation in its return to nuclear prominence via the Janus program. Our selected industry, awards, Awardees represent the most viable technologies to achieve this capacity, setting the conditions for both installation energy resilience and operational energy solutions.
Pretty cool announcement here. We will see Fort Bragg selected out of one of just five military installations to be part of this brand new pilot program to install these uninterrupted nuclear micro reactors across the United States. This will be a long-term project. It's something that we will be keeping an eye on in the years to come. You can read more on this story by visiting our website this morning, CarolinaJournal.com.
Look for the story with the headline: Fort Bragg selected to host Army Nuclear Micro Reactor. Mm-hmm. Many people believe buying a home requires a large down payment and years of saving, but that's not always the case. Across the country, there are programs designed to help first-time homebuyers take the next step toward home ownership.
Some of these programs offer down payment assistance or grant funding that may help cover part of the upfront cost of purchasing a home. Grants are especially helpful because they generally do not have to be repaid. There are also organizations that provide homebuyer education, financial counseling, and guidance to help individuals understand the home buying process before they begin. The goal is simple: to help more families become informed and prepared for home ownership. If owning a home is something you've been thinking about, start by visiting toolsforhomeownership.com.
This message is brought to you by the National Foundation for Credit Counseling's Paving the Way Forward initiative. This is Matt Rogers from Los Culturistas with Matt Rogers and Bo and Yang. This is Bo and Yang from Los Culturistos with Matt Rogers and Bo and Yang. You know when people try a new food and suddenly it's like, wait. That's the reaction a lot of people are having when they first try Cupie Mayo.
It's the one with the red cap and the little baby on the bottle. You've probably seen it in the grocery store before. And if you've ever just walked past it, some people would say that's a huge mistake. Because this mayo is different. Most mayonnaise uses whole eggs.
Cupie only uses egg yolks, which gives it this rich umami flavor. It's smoother, deeper, and almost buttery. Once people try it, they start putting it on everything. Egg sandwiches, fries, burgers.
Some fans even swear by dipping pizza crust in it. And once you notice it, you start seeing it everywhere. Chefs use it, restaurants use it. People who really care about flavor use it. Never tried it?
Grab the bottle with the red cap next time you're at the store. Store. Put it on just about anything. Then you'll understand. Cupie, the original Japanese mayonnaise.
It's 521. Welcome back to the Carolina Journal News Hour, Charlotte's FM News Talk 107.9 FM, WBT, days after the United States Supreme Court voted 6-3 to allow two provisions from President Donald Trump's executive order targeting restrictions on mail and voting to proceed, a federal judge halted that order late last week. U.S. District Judge Inadira Tawani blocked the United States Postal Service from moving ahead with plans to regulate mail ballots for at least 14 days while she reviews a possible permanent ban. In her order, she said that the plaintiffs state that sued to stop the rule from going forward face irreparable harm if they proceed with the regulation that says it is unconstitutional and nearly impossible to comply with this given that the 2026 midterm election cycles.
Are just over two months away. The judge in her 11-page order wrote: Most plaintiffs, states have already ordered their mail ballots, and some are required by state law to send them to eligible voters as early as next week. The states have neither time nor funds to design new mail ballots, seek approval of the new designs, order productions of mail ballots, updates their own election management system, train election officials to use the USPS portal and upload citizen data to the portal all before the midterms. It is important to note that this executive order was, in fact, signed by President Donald Trump back in March due to litigation it has dragged out to this period of time. This was issued back in March of 2026.
The lawsuit in which the United States District Judge from Massachusetts is referring to is one that North Carolina Attorney General Jeff Jackson signed on to, along with attorney generals from 22 states. The district Of Columbia and the governor of Pennsylvania. Jackson commented on the new ruling on a social media post late last week, saying, We just want a temporary restraining order in our election case. This means that the Postal Service can't force a new rule giving it the power to deny your ballot. Just one week before ballots go out.
The court said that the rule would cause irreparable harm, which was practically impossible to comply with and likely unconstitutional. It would have caused chaos in our elections. We stopped it for now and we'll fight to defend free and fair elections, wrote Jackson on social media. President Donald Trump signed the executive order in late March that includes three provisions. The first instructs the Department of Homeland Security to come up with lists of U.S.
citizens in each state and send the lists to the states for at least 60 days before a federal election. The second involves having the U.S. Attorney General prioritize prosecution of state and local officials who may issue ballots to ineligible voters. And finally, the third requires states to give the United States Postal Service a list of voters the states intends to send mail-in ballots to and prohibits the Postal Service from mailing ballots to voters who are not on the lists of enrolled voters that the Postal Service will create and manage. The Supreme Court ruling one week ago allowed the first two provisions in the order to proceed, while the third is on hold due to a separate ruling by this same district court judge out of Massachusetts.
Attorney General Jeff Jackson and other plaintiffs in the case argue that the executive order conflicts with provisions in the Constitution that give states the power to determine voter eligibility and set the time, place, and manner of holding congressional elections. Attorney General Jeff Jackson said in a press release last week, the Constitution is clear. The states have the authority over elections, not the Postal Service. Not only is this last-minute rule change against the law, but it threatens North Carolinians' voting rights and imposes a whole new process right before an election. We're taking the Postal Service to court to stop it.
Jackson argues that the changes come only days before North Carolina County Board of Elections will begin sending out ballots for the midterms and that eligible voters won't receive lawful requested absentee ballots in time to be returned and counted. He said in North Carolina, hundreds of thousands of eligible citizens vote in midterm elections by mail. Those voters include elderly people, people with disabilities, people who are recovering from natural disasters like Hurricane Helene, and service members who are stationed overseas. With mail-in ballots required to go out to eligible voters starting on September the 4th, the new requirement risks their ability to receive their ballot in time for the upcoming election. Again, I will note that this executive order was signed back in March, and the process for that could have played out as early as then due to ongoing lawfare from these attorney generals and the governor of Pennsylvania.
That decision was dragged out and delayed up until last week when the United States Supreme Court ruled 6-3. Jackson stressed that the new rules require states to enroll nearly all mail-in voters in an electronic portal, something that the United States Postal Service has never used before, and neither its employees nor election officials have been trained on it. The rule also requires a County Board of Election to provide the Postal Service with a barcode for each voter's ballot envelope. And if election officials try and mail ballots to voters whose barcodes the Postal Service cannot find, the United States Postal Service will refuse to mail those ballots. He said it will be nearly impossible for county boards to implement these changes within the next week and is asking the court to declare the rule unlawful and permanently stop it from being implemented and enforced.
The attorney general said that this is the next step in his ongoing lawsuit challenging the president's executive order. As I mentioned, 22 attorney generals, including Jeff Jackson, are in on this order. They include the states of California and their attorney general, Massachusetts, Nevada, Washington, Arizona, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont, Virginia, and Wisconsin. The governor of Pennsylvania, Josh Sapiro, also in on this suit with North Carolina's Attorney General, Jeff Jackson. The federal judge in this case, Tawani, has set a September the 3rd hearing on a request for preliminary injunction.
An appeal by the Trump administration back to the Supreme Court is likely due to the fact that the court ruled 6-3 on Monday of last week to allow the first two portions of the president's executive order. Order to move forward as were written. Just a couple of days later, flashing forward to Thursday of last week, that is when the district judge from Massachusetts blocked the Postal Service from moving ahead. No question about it. We are very close to the election at this point.
And according to the Attorney General, and he is accurate when he says that mail and ballots will begin the process of going out to voters across the state of North Carolina in the latter half of this week, ahead of an early voting deadline here, an early voting start date, I should say, in North Carolina, which kicks off on October the 15th. This will be one of the national stories that we are following this week, which does involve North Carolina's Attorney General and Jeff Jackson. We'll be keeping an eye on the details right here on the Carolina Journal News Hour. And as always, bring you continuing coverage around the clock over on our website, CarolinaJournal.com. Many people believe buying a home requires a large down payment and years of saving, but that's not always the case.
Across the country, there are programs designed to help first-time homebuyers take the next step toward home ownership.
Some of these programs offer down payment assistance or grant funding that may help cover part of the upfront cost of purchasing a home. Grants are especially helpful because they generally do not have to be repaid. There are also organizations that provide homebuyer education, financial counseling, and guidance to help individuals understand the home buying process before they begin. The goal is simple: to help more families become informed and prepared for home ownership. If owning a home is something you've been thinking about, start by visiting toolsforhomeownership.com.
This message is brought to you by the National Foundation for Credit Counseling's Paving the Way Forward initiative. This is Matt Rogers from Los Culturistas with Matt Rogers and Bo and Yang. This is Bo and Yang from Los Culturistas with Matt Rogers and Bo and Yang. You know when people try a new food and suddenly it's like, wait. That's the reaction a lot of people are having when they first try Cupie Mayo.
It's the one with the red cap and the little baby on the bottle. You've probably seen it in the grocery store before. And if you've ever just walked past it, some people would say that's a huge mistake. Because this mayo is different. Most mayonnaise uses whole eggs.
Cupie only uses egg yolks, which gives it this rich umami flavor. It's smoother, deeper, and almost buttery. Once people try it, they start putting it on everything. Egg sandwiches, fries, burgers.
Some fans even swear by dipping pizza crust in it. And once you notice it, you start seeing it everywhere. Chefs use it, restaurants use it, people who really care about flavor use it. Never tried it? Grab the bottle with the red cap next time you're at the store.
Store. Put it on just about anything. Then you'll understand. Cupie, the original Japanese mayonnaise. Um It's 5:36.
Welcome back to the Carolina Journal News Hour, Charlotte's FM News Talk, 107.9 FM, WBT. I'm Nick Craig. A good Monday morning to you. We have got a brand new report out this morning from the North Carolina Chamber looking at some of the details and the state's competitiveness against others as it relates to business across the Tar Heel State. To walk us through some of the details in that report, it's my pleasure to welcome Andrew Pomerance, CarolinaJournal.com to the news hour this morning.
Andrew, I guess for those that follow national headlines, CNBC has consistently had North Carolina in the first or second slot in terms of a top states in the nation for business over the last five or six years, falling unfortunately to the Buckeye State this year in Ohio. But nevertheless, business climate's still pretty good here in North Carolina. What's the latest that you're following? Yeah, hey Nick, good morning. Like you mentioned, just a couple of weeks ago, North Carolina was named CNBC's number two state in business, having been number one last year.
Ohio jumping up the rankings this year, and Virginia falling down to third right behind us. And so, you know, continuingly to be economically competitive here in the mid-Atlantic, both between us and Virginia in terms of business competitiveness. And this new North Carolina Chamber Foundation report points to some of those reasons why North Carolina continues to be one of those top states for business and a reason why businesses continue to want to come to North Carolina. You know, it's important for those that have watched our coverage of the General Assembly both last year and here during the short session, a lot of the discussion, a lot of the arguments from Democrats as it relates to continued tax policy here in North Carolina, Andrew, is that businesses are getting these massive breaks as it relates to taxes.
However, looking at this report from the North Carolina chamber, it seems like that business tax rate is what's putting us in the position to drive this continued business to the state. It is. And you know what? As the corporate income tax has continued to decline from about 6% back in 2014 to where it is now and just above 2.5% and going down to 2% for this year, those reductions actually come along with increases in the total amount of corporate income tax collected.
So the total amount collected, despite that decrease, has been up over 15% over the past decade.
So that's more tax revenue flowing into the state, right? As those tax rates continue to come down as well, individual income tax collections have increased by over 60% and sales and use tax has grown by 109%, right?
So we continue to see, you know, as we lower those corporate tax rates here across the state of North Carolina, we see an increase in both corporate taxes and then also individual income taxes, right, that the state has been able to use to reinvest in things like education and our policing across the state of North Carolina. Yeah, the more competitive the climate, at least that's what many conservatives and those on the political right will argue, the more business that you can lure to the state even at a lower rate will increase that. Of course, many of those businesses hiring employees, those employees paying a personal income tax rate here in North Carolina, a little bit of a rising tide kind of raises all ships analogy. Yeah, and you know the report found that the total effective business tax rate, so the TEBRT or TR, sorry, there, was 3.2% in fiscal year 2024.
So these are all 2024 numbers, right? And that is below the national average of 4.5%. And I think most importantly, the lowest among all 50%.
So that measure compares state and local taxes paid by businesses with the state's economic size.
So it's looking at the overall tax burden on businesses. And it's importantly for states like North Carolina, where we have a smaller population maybe compared to a Texas or a Florida or California that have larger populations and so have naturally larger tax bases. And so to be number one in that category, I think in particular is something that the chamber will point to and say this, as a state, North Carolina continues to aggressively be a leading state for business and a state that will continue to be moving forward. And obviously we've seen that change pretty dramatically over the last 15 years or so. Let's go back to the North Carolina Chamber.
The president there, the president of the North Carolina Chamber Foundation, said that this is a direct result of some of these policy changes we've seen from lawmakers in Raleigh since 2010. Yeah, right. It's all about the continued smart tax incentives and structures that have been put in place by the North Carolina General Assembly now under the leadership of outgoing Senate Majority Leader Phil Berger over the past 15 years, right? This has been something that he has been leaser focused on. In comparison, comparing ourselves with other states across the East Coast to remain competitive, they note that North Carolina has continued to provide a clearer picture for businesses about where North Carolina aims to be and where they currently are.
And we have, as a state, continued to adjust legislation to make that happen. We talk about the corporate income tax rate and some of these other tax rates. We saw the House take up Senate Bill 1080 this year that would lower the rate on both personal and corporate income taxes from 7% to 3.5%.
Now, that is a constitutional amendment that. Voters will see on the ballots come November, right? And so that passed out both chambers with overwhelming majorities: 30 to 18 out of the Senate and 73 to 46 out of the House. And, you know, we are already below that. I'm sure a lot of us are thinking we're already below that 3.5% rate here in North Carolina.
But that cap would actually go into effect for the future and make sure that we can't bounce back above it. If, you know, if partisan leadership changes or if the state wants to go in a different way, this keeps North Carolina as a state that businesses will want to come to and continue to invest in going forward. Andrew, you have spent a lot of time down at the legislature, especially here in 2026 during the legislative short session, which has been relatively long, all things in comparison. Is it fair to say that Republican lawmakers that push forward this constitutional amendment, and truly in fact the more than 7.6 million voters registered here across the state will have the opportunity to vote on, but that they would argue that this is a necessary constitutional amendment due to some of these reports, like we're seeing out of the North Carolina Chamber, that these policies essentially need to be cemented in stone? I think that's the argument they continue to make, right, Nick?
It's that these policies have worked. We've continued to see them work. And to provide stability, which the Chamber acknowledges is one of the most important things you can do for business climates across the state, to provide the stability and the comfort for businesses to know they can come invest here in North Carolina and have a future set up to do so, make those big, big investments that we all want to see come to North Carolina. This type of cap allows them that security and that knowledge, knowing that where North Carolina is is where they continue to be going forward. As we've already mentioned, North Carolina is already number one in the nation for this.
So many folks might think, all right, everything's going great. No room for improvement. But there is some detail in this report about some things that North Carolina could improve on, which would seemingly only guarantee our continued spot in these rankings or these percentages. One of the things that we've talked about a lot over the last couple of years, the franchise tax. That is something that is pretty unique here in North Carolina and affects all businesses, big and small.
Yeah, something that the John Locke Foundation, along with the chambers, continued to point out as a potential roadblock for why North Carolina could see challenges going forward is this franchise tax, right? And unlike a corporate income tax, which is based on just standard profits, the North Carolina franchise tax is actually imposed based on a corporate tax base tied to net worth.
So, meaning, you know, a company can actually owe franchise tax in a year or that didn't generate a profit at all. Maybe they were just investing into the state. And this is a pretty small tax in all things comparison. It's only 10% of 1%, but in comparison to a national average, right, that is five times more than the national average. And so it's a pretty stark difference for a state that claims to be so pro-business that we still have this sort of outdated franchise tax on the books.
And as we've kind of moved into a more modern tax-based structure, this is something that a lot of states have gotten rid of. And North Carolina remains one of only A handful of states that still has this sort of tax in place. And so, something that both the Chamber and the John Locke Foundation, speaking with Brian Bow for, would like to get rid of as a way that North Carolina can preserve and improve North Carolina's competitiveness for job investment and creation. And, Andrew, this might be an opportunity to take a step back. And when we talk about business here in North Carolina, many folks probably close their eyes and think of, you know, their local brick and mortar stores, maybe some of the larger businesses.
But especially as the economy has kind of transitioned over the last 15 or 20 years, you've got a lot of self-employed individuals, a lot of 1099 contractors that run sums of money through LLCs here in North Carolina. These are regular, everyday individuals that are operating under this LLC business structure that are paying this franchise tax, as you noted, even if they don't have a profit. Yeah, you know, we talk about continually both in the large business sector in North Carolina looking at things like pharmaceuticals or those new and emerging technologies that North Carolina has invested so heavily to bring to the state. You know, those may not turn profits for years on end. We talk about the opportunity and data centers going forward.
You know, those are high-cost businesses up front. And then we talk about those LLCs and everyone in between, whether that be small independent contractors or those looking to start their own businesses. This is a tax that only generates 1.8% of the state's total tax revenue.
So less than 2%. I mean, we would feel it for sure, but it's something that. Yeah, either to lower or to get rid of would only make a small dent in the state's total tax revenue compared to other things. And so an opportunity for North Carolina to continue to push forward on. Becoming this pro-business state, bringing jobs, bringing investment to the state.
And, you know, the chamber points out this is actually an opportunity and a risk, right? This could turn away a lot of those large businesses that are looking to move into the state going forward as states like Virginia and Georgia and South Carolina get rid of this tax altogether. And so for North Carolina to continue to maintain that place, even down the CNBC ranking, either one or two, right, for now, six years in a row, they're going to have to do things like get rid of the franchise tax. It's obviously something that we will keep an eye on as we head into the legislative long session coming up in 2027. We've got a full copy of this report from the North Carolina Chamber Foundation.
That's linked up over on our website, CarolinaJournal.com. We appreciate the update. Andrew Pomerantz joins us on the Carolina Journal News Hour. Have you ever thought about the difference between paying rent and owning a home? When you rent, your monthly payment helps cover the cost of living there, but it usually doesn't build anything for your future.
Home ownership is different. Each payment you make on a home may help build equity, which is the value you own in the property over time. As that equity grows, it can become a financial asset that may support your long-term goals. Owning a home can also provide stability. You have a place that's yours where you can build memories, establish roots, and truly make the space your own.
And the good news is that many people are surprised to learn there are programs designed to help first-time homebuyers get started, including grants and assistance programs that may help with down payments or closing costs. Learning about your options is the first step toward making an informed decision about your future. Visit toolsforhomeownership.com. This is Matt Rogers from Lost Culturistas with Matt Rogers and Bo and Yang. This is Bo and Yang from Lost Culturistas with Matt Rogers and Boen Yang.
You know when people try a new food and suddenly it's like, wait. That's the reaction a lot of people are having when they first try Cupie Mayo. It's the one with the red cap and the little baby on the bottle. You've probably seen it in the grocery store before. And if you've ever just walked past it, some people would say that's a huge mistake.
Because this mayo is different. Most mayonnaise uses whole eggs. Cupie only uses egg yolks, which gives it this rich umami flavor. It's smoother, deeper, and almost buttery. Once people try it, they start putting it on everything.
Egg sandwiches, fries, burgers.
Some fans even swear by dipping pizza crust in it. And once you notice it, you start seeing it everywhere. Chefs use it, restaurants use it, people who really care about flavor use it. Never tried it? Grab the bottle with the red cap next time you're at the store.
Put it on just about anything. Then you'll understand. Cupie, the original Japanese mayonnaise. It's 553. Good morning again, and welcome back to the Carolina Journal News Hour, Charlotte's FM News Talk, 107.9 FM, WBT, and rounding out our program here on this Monday morning.
87% of North Carolina parents with a child and after-school program say that the programs offer some sort of STEM instruction. That is up pretty dramatically from 53% in 2014. This is according to the 2025 After America 3 p.m. survey released by the After School Alliance. Math is the most common offering.
84% of North Carolina parents said that their child's program covers it. Computer science trailed at 67%, roughly two in three programs. The After School Alliance is a Washington, D.C.-based advocacy group that pushes for public funding of after-school programs. Its report After-school STEM Takes Off is based on a survey of more than 30,000 parents nationwide, including 102 here in North Carolina, conducted by a group called Edge Research between January and April of 2025. Jody Grant, the alliance's executive director, said in a statement, in North Carolina and across the country, after-school programs are providing the STEM education and engagement that students need to be successful in school and in life.
By the group's count, 163,354 North Carolina students get some form of STEM in their after-school program, with 55% of North Carolina parents saying that their children work in STEM at least two or three times a week, compared to 54% nationally. The computer science number lands as the state phases in new graduation requirements. House Bill 8, which the General Assembly passed in 2023, requires every high school student to complete a computer science course to earn a diploma. As Carolina Journal reported at the time, back just a couple of years ago, the bill swapped an earth science requirement for one in computer science. The gaps are widest by geography and income.
70% of rural parents nationwide said that their children's program offer computer science compared to 88% of those that are described as urban parents. Fewer than half of low-income parents, 48% said that their children engages in STEM more than once a week, compared to 60% of described higher-income parents. The alliance did not release North Carolina's breakdown by income or region. The alliance also used the release to make its case for more money. It says nearly four in five North Carolina children whose parents want an after-school program are not enrolled in one.
A figure it's October 2020 from its October 2025 report. That report puts North Carolina after-school enrollment at about 188,000 across the Tar Hill State, down from 192,000 in the year 2020. Elizabeth Anderson, director of the North Carolina Center for After School Programs, said in a recent press release, we need the resources to do more to ensure that all of our state's young people can access the after-school and summer learning programs that will help them thrive. Previous America After 3 p.m. surveys were conducted in 2004, 2009, 2014, and 2020.
The Alliance is expected to release additional state-level findings from its 2025 survey later this year. We'll be keeping an eye on those details over on our website. site CarolinaJournal dot com. That's going to do it for a Monday edition. WBT News is next, followed by Good Morning BT.
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