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This message is brought to you by the National Foundation for Credit Counseling's Paving the Way Forward initiative. It's 5.05 and welcome in to a Tuesday 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. We just start off with some interesting higher education news across the state of North Carolina this morning as the Trump administration has found that Duke University School of Medicine illegally discriminated against white and Asian applicants as it relates to admissions. The United States Department of Health and Human Services Office for Civil Rights announced the findings this week after more than a year-long investigation into Duke's admission practices.
The agency concluded that the medical school continued using race and what it called race-revealing proxies after the United States Supreme Court restricted race-conscious college admissions back in 2023. You'll remember that major decision from the nation's high court. HHS said that the practice violates Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and sections 15-57 of the Affordable Care Act, both of which prohibits certain forms of discrimination by recipients of federal funding. According to details, the Office of Civil Rights within the Department of Health and Human Services at the federal level found that the Duke School of Medicine intentionally discriminates against applicants by granting and denying admission based on the applicant's race. That is according to OCR Director Paula Stannard, who said in a press release with the findings, in the Trump administration, we are committed to ensuring that every applicant to a medical school is treated equally.
Any kind of discrimination throughout the admission process is unacceptable. Ending the quote there from her. Duke has disputed the premise that it continues to consider race in admissions during the investigation. The university told federal officials that race and ethnicity have played no role in admissions since the Supreme Court's decision and that racial information is hidden from the admissions committee members, those that are actually determining who or will or will not get into Duke Medical School. A Duke spokesperson said that the university is in the process of reviewing the findings and remains committed to complying with federal law in a manner consistent with its academic mission.
Let's go back to the start here. The investigation began in July of 2025. That was following a complaint alleging that Dukes Medical School and Health System maintained discriminatory practices after the United States Supreme Court's landmark decision in a case called Students for Fair Admission v. Harvard. As part of the investigation, Duke provided applicant level admission data for incoming medical school classes from the years 2020 through 2025.
They also turned over internal documents and internal communications. Federal investigators focused in part on differences in acceptance rates, acceptance rates, excuse me, and academic credentials among racial groups. For the 24-25 admission cycle, according to the Department of Health and Human Services and their Department of the Office of Civil Rights, said that 3.3% of white applicants and 3.4% of Asian applicants were admitted into the medical school, compared to 10% of black applicants and 6.7% of those defined as Hispanic into the school. The agency also pointed to differences in average medical college admission tests those are also known as the MCAT scores among the students admitted. Black students admitted during that cycle had an average MCAT score in the 87th percentile, and Hispanic students averaged in the 89th percentile.
Comparably, the white students applying for the school were in the 97th percentile, Asian students in the 98th. The agency also said that it asked a Duke to explain the differences in MCAT scores and grade point averages among racial groups.
However, the university did not respond and provide any sort of reasonable explanation to the Department of Health and Human Services. As it relates to some of those questions, however, it is important to note that those differences alone do not establish discrimination.
However, Health and Human Services says that its analysis of individual applications and applicants found that race remained associated with statistically significant advantages or disadvantages at key stages of Duke's admission process, even after accounting for available academic application and admission stage variables. HHS also cited internal communications from Duke officials. This was pretty shortly after that 2023 Supreme Court decision, which made it illegal to ask about race and go use race or ethnicity on a college application. Duke says that applicants self-reported race and ethnicity. Those are now hidden from the admission screener, so they do not see those.
Federal investigators argue that essays, personal statements, and criteria such as overcoming hardship or quote social justice advocacy could reveal an applicant's race and allow it to influence the admission decision and the admission process. According to the findings letter, a Duke Admission Committee member wrote in January of 2024 that the school should encourage applicants from underrepresented groups to discuss the challenges that they faced. HHS interpreted that communication as evidence that the admission officials could identify race from the applicant's essay, despite having formally removed racial classifications from materials reviewed by screeners. HHS said that the combination of those communications, admission material, and statistical findings led it to its decision to conclude that Duke quote used and continues to use race and race-revealing proxies after the Supreme Court ruling, end quote. The medical school finding is the latest federal scrutiny of race and admission practices at Duke.
We go back to last year in July of 2025. Carolina Journal reported at the time that the Duke Law Journal faced criticism after a confidential memo was reportedly distributed to minority applicants offering specific guidance on how to strengthen their applications. The journal's personal statement rubric allowed applicants to receive additional points for explaining how membership in an underrepresented group could contribute, quote, to promoting diverse voices. While additional points were available for holding leadership positions within an affinity group, that material was reportedly not uh given out or distributed to all applicants, just those in certain groups that the Duke uh law uh Duke Law Journal, uh I guess, deemed to be in an underrepresented group. That controversy was followed this August by a separate Justice Department finding against Duke Law School itself.
The DOJ concluded that Duke Law intentionally discriminated on race in admissions for its incoming classes from the 23 through 25 school year, alleging that the school used diversity-related essays and other information to preserve race-conscious admissions after the Supreme Court made it abundantly clear that they couldn't do that. Duke said at the time that it was reviewing the findings and remained committed to complying with the law. HHS has now formally notified Duke of its findings of noncompliance and is seeking to resolve the medical school case voluntarily. Duke and Duke Health have 10 business days from when this report was officially transmitted to the school. That was September the 8th, so that'll be September the 18th.
That notice to indicate whether they are willing to enter a voluntary resolution agreement acceptable to the federal government. If no agreement is reached or Duke blows that off, HHS said that it can pursue further and further enforcement, including referring the matter to the full Department of Justice. This is something that we have been watching for a couple of years here in North Carolina since that 2023 United States Supreme Court case as it relates to race and ethnicity on the college application and college admission process. We've got more details on this story available over on our website this morning. CarolinaJournal.com.
Look for the headline: Federal probe finds discrimination in Duke Medical School Admissions.
Okay. 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. Good morning again. It's 5:22. Welcome back to the Carolina Journal News Hour, Charlotte's FM News Talk 107.9 FM, WBT tracking some other statewide news this morning. The latest search warrant in the State Bureau of Investigations look into a group called Greater Carolina indicates that investigators are now examining the nonprofits' underlying accounting records and explicitly identifying embezzlement, which falls under North Carolina general statutes 14-90 as a suspected crime.
The State Bureau of Investigations obtained Greater Carolina's QuickBook records from Intuit, that's their parent company, under the search warrant that was executed on August the 19th and returned to the court on September the 8th. This marks a Another step in an investigation that has expanded from allegations surrounding Greater Carolina's 2024 Kentucky Bourbon Trail Trips into a broader examination of the nonprofit's finances. In July, a separate warrant revealed investigators were examining nearly $80,000 in spending, including money spent on Carolina Panthers tickets, a vacation rental, and charges at a business associated with adult entertainment venues in Florida. According to details in the Wake County Superior Court search warrant, the SBI wants to go inside the organization's QuickBooks accounts, seeking not only the transactions, but also who entered or changed records, when the changes occurred, any sort of deleted transactions, login activity, IP addresses and device information, tax filings, receipts, contracts, and any sort of related communications. The affidavit does not name any person as a target or accuse any person of embezzlement.
Rather, the SBI says it's seeking Greater Carolina's underlying accounting records as potential evidence that its investigation that its investigators are looking for as it relates to the possibility of embezzlement. The warrant also says that David Cobble, the a director and former treasurer of Greater Carolina, contacted the organization's outside tax preparer, a group known as Apex Business Consulting. That was back in the month of May, because he was unsure whether the organization's 2025 books were accurate. Apex told Cobble there were problems in the 2025 books, including unreconciled accounts, uncategorized transactions, and needed amendments to the group's 23, 24, and 25 tax returns. Cobble then categorized the previously uncategorized transactions.
The updated financial statement showed $34,000 that was, quote, due from an officer, according to the alphadavit. Cobble identified transactions he said were personal expenditures resulting from his inadvertent use of Greater Carolina's credit or debit card for personal purchases. When SBI later interviewed the owners of Apex, they said that their reconciliation showed approximately $30,000 in personal transactions made by Cobble. The affidavit says that he repaid Greater Carolina in 2026, and it does not allege that Cobble had any charges, has any charged with embezzlement, or that the repayment itself constitutes or is considered any sort of crime, just as they're digging through some of those financial records with Greater Carolina. We are keeping a close eye on this story.
We've got extensive coverage of it over the last couple of months over on our website, CarolinaJournal.com. Look for the headline: New Warrant Reveals SBI probe into possible embezzlement. In some other statewide news this morning, some business news, Steelfab Incorporated has announced plans to invest some $19 million and create thirty eight new jobs in Cumberland County. expanding the steel fabrication company's operations in Fayetteville. This project will be partially funded, as we see with many of these announcements, by a performance based grant of $125,000 from the One North Carolina Fund.
The One North Carolina Fund provides taxpayer money to local governments for economic development. It is important to note that the companies do not receive the money upfront and must meet hiring and investment targets to receive payments. Local governments are required to match 1NC grants, and awards are contingent upon that match. Brian Balfour, the vice president of research at the John Locke Foundation, told the Carolina Journal: Steelfab takes in nearly $400 million a year in revenue by some industry estimates. The state handing in $125,000 of taxpayer money makes virtually no noticeable difference in their bottom line.
Such giveaways are pure political gamesmanship, so that government bureaucrats and the governor can issue a press release for promising jobs that may or may not materialize, taking credit for an investment most likely to occur anyway. The state should end this practice of taxpayer handouts to politically selected corporations and instead focus on reducing taxes across the board for businesses and allow them to compete for consumer dollars rather than lobby for taxpayer dollars. Operating facilities and 17 offices across the United States, Steelfab is the largest structural steel fabricator in the nation, with the company using state-of-the-art technology to fabricate up to 2,000 ton material, which is then assembled and delivered for both industrial and commercial projects. In this facility that was going to be built in Fayetteville or in Cumberland County, three fabrication bays, two prep bays, two shape lines, an office and a break room will be included in the 108,000 square foot expansion. Steelfab said in a press release, Steelfab looks forward to substantially growing our business in Fayetteville.
That is according to Rob Burlington, who is the regional president of Steelfab, continuing on and saying, The grants from Fayetteville, Cumberland County Economic Development Commission, also known as FCEDC, and the state of North Carolina, were extremely helpful in helping us realize our goal of a new manufacturing facility and growing workforce. We are excited to continue our tradition as a North Carolina-founded, privately owned steel manufacturer supplying projects in communities across the state and the East Coast. Wages will vary by position, but the average projected salary will be $70,106 a year, exceeding Cumberland County's average salary of $47,000 by almost $23,000 a year, according to the press release. Governor Stein jumping in on the announcement saying North Carolina is a place where businesses like Steelfab can grow. Cumberland County is home to a world-class workforce, legacy of manufacturing excellence, and a convenient East Coast location.
We are grateful that Steelfab is doubling down in Cumberland County. We will be keeping a close eye on this as well, as we have seen over the last year or so.
So many of these projects, whether they are getting money through the Job Development Investment Grant or the JDIG program, or whether they are receiving money through the One North Carolina Fund, unfortunately, so many of these projects are falling short, going on to not hire a single individual, not go on to conduct any portion of their expansion that was originally promised in many of these press releases and announcements. We will add Steelfab to the list of companies that we keep an eye on. We'll keep you up to date with details on that right here on the Carolina Journal News Hour. And as always, over on our website, CarolinaJournal.com. For many people, renting is a convenient option.
It offers flexibility and may require less responsibility for maintenance. But owning a home can offer a different set of long-term benefits. Instead of paying rent to a landlord each month, homeowners are investing in a property that can potentially increase in value over time. That means your home may become an asset as you continue to live in it. Home ownership can also provide more control over your living space, from decorating to renovations that really fit your lifestyle.
And here's something that many people don't realize: there are education programs and financial assistance options available for first-time homebuyers.
Some of these programs even offer grant funding that may help cover part of the upfront cost, and grants typically don't have to be repaid. That's why learning about home ownership options can be an important step toward making the best decision for you and your family. To learn more, visit toolsforhomeownership.com. Yeah. I am holding a bacon beast burger.
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I'm Nick Craig. Good Tuesday morning to you. We've got some news this morning on the state health plan as Atrium Health is joining the ranks of the state health plan's access provider list after coming to an agreement on providing health care services including rural care, children's hospitals, primary care, emergency care, behavioral health services, and specialty care for patients with complex medical needs. This means that members using some of the primary care providers within atrium health will be able to continue that care at no change in cost or benefit. And it includes behavioral health office visits and for emergencies.
If a member has an emergency, members should always go to their nearest emergency department. and it will be covered at the same benefit as members have had today. 12 atrium health hospitals and associated clinics will be added to the access list for planned members starting on January the 1st of next year, according to a press release issued on Monday. They include atrium health rural hospitals in Allegheny, Anson, Cleveland, which covers Shelby and Kings Mountain, Columbus, Lincoln, Scotland, Stanley, or Wilkes counties, which includes Hugh Chatham Health. And planned member benefits will be almost identical to the benefits that members have had this year for out-of-pocket and deductible costs.
The agreement also moves the Levin Children's Hospital in Charlotte, Jeff Gordon's Children's Hospital in Concord, and Bernard Children's Hospital in the Triad area into the access level, again, for those that are members of the state health plan. Atrium Health and the State Health Plan have been engaging in constructive discussions since mid-July, according to the press release, and that during this negotiation, the state health plan clarified any confusion that prior to the launch of the preferred provider tiering, atrium health was no more expensive than other leading health systems in North Carolina. State Treasurer Brad Breiner, who oversees the state health plan, said in the Monday press release, our objective has always been clear and consistent. We must offer our members high quality care for affordable prices. For the plan, referring to the state health plan, that must include reduced prices from providers as compared to what they are charging today.
This agreement includes meaningful affordability commitments from Atrium Health that helps us improve access for members while supporting the long-term sustainability of the plan. This new provider tier system, which has now forged partnerships with all of the state's leading hospital systems, is putting us on the right path. Ending quote, the quote there from state treasurer Brad Breiner. On July the 10th, the North Carolina State Health Plan Board of Trustees voted on what was being called monumental changes to the plan over the next few years, including preferred provider hospital systems, benefit changes, and premiums for the 2027 calendar year, as well as the announcement of a third-party administrator known as a TPA and a pharmacy benefit manager for 2027 and 2028. All of this in an effort to make improvements and reduce overall costs for the nearly 750,000 members that are covered by the state health plan.
A new provider lists include preferred, access, and non-preferred alongside out of network was voted on in July with UNC Health and Novant Health making the cut for the preferred tier, joining the Iredale Health System, Granville Health, and some Duke LifePoint healthcare facilities falling into the non-preferred category. Atrium at the time, again, this was back in July, also fell into that category. A week later, the State Health Plan and Duke Health announced an agreement that would make Duke Health an access provider under the plan's new tiering system across the state, with a primary emphasis on the triangle in the central part of the state. The goal of the tiered structure is to have as many members as possible use preferred providers, which will save the state health plan and the members their most amount of money possible, with an estimated savings of one-third of out-of-pocket costs for the plan. You add that up with the more than 750,000 members, and you're talking about some serious money.
State Treasurer Brad Briner continued in the press release saying, Atrium Health is nationally recognized for its patient-centric care, leveraging clinical research and education, which gives North Carolinians access to cutting-edge expertise and care. And I'm grateful for their leadership for presenting multiple proposals for consideration to be part of the plan. The addition of a dozen of their hospitals will give our members an affordable choice to take advantage of this expertise. Patients needing treatment for cancer, cystic fibrosis, unique heart and transplant care will still have access to advanced clinical care available throughout the atrium health system. Similarly, pregnant members will not be asked to change any of their delivery plans for 2027.
Members who qualify for these situations Will or already have received notifications from the state health plan. With this new partnership, both entities will continue to work together on refining the list and granting benefit exemptions to members who have already had things planned and scheduled out prior to the open enrollment period. State health plan officials say with the new agreement, there is now participation from all the state's major health care system in the state health plan's tiered network strategy. Also, at the July meeting, the SHP board awarded the third-party administrator and pharmacy benefit manager contracts to Blue Cross Blue Shield of North Carolina. That will be effective come January of 2028.
And this will bring back a Blue Cross as the TPA after a three-year hiatus. CVS Care Mark is the current pharmacy benefit manager for the state health plan. That will be changing in January of 2028 as well. We have covered in great detail over the last almost now two years of the Carolina Journal News Hour some of the major problems as it relates to the state health plan. State Treasurer Brad Breiner winning his election in November of 2024.
Getting sworn into office in early January and beginning the process, one of his many, one of the many things that he is responsible for, dealing with significant issues within the state health plan, looking at billions of dollars worth of being in the red in just the next couple of years, big-time deficits on the plans, pricing and premiums not rising for multiple years at a time, painting a very grim picture for the health plan that more than 750,000 people across the state of North Carolina rely on. We've seen some very dough some very tough decisions from him and the state health plan board over the last couple of months. We'll keep an eye on as things continue to progress there. Over on our website, CarolinaJournal.com, if you've got questions about what's going on here with atrium, you can check out the article over on our website, CarolinaJournal.com. Look for the headline: SHP adds 12 atrium high.
hospitals to access provider tier. For many people, renting is a convenient option. It offers flexibility and may require less responsibility for maintenance. But owning a home can offer a different set of long-term benefits. Instead of paying rent to a landlord each month, homeowners are investing in a property that can potentially increase in value over time.
That means your home may become an asset as you continue to live in it. Home ownership can also provide more control over your living space, from decorating to renovations that really fit your lifestyle. And here's something that many people don't realize: there are education programs and financial assistance options available for first-time homebuyers.
Some of these programs even offer grant funding that may help cover part of the upfront cost, and grants typically don't have to be repaid. That's why learning about home ownership options can be an important step toward making the best decision for you and your family. To learn more, visit toolsforhomeownership.com. This is Troy Millings from Earn Your Leisure. On Earn Your Leisure, we're all about smart money moves, and here's one most people skip.
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Good morning again. It's 5:53. Welcome back to the Carolina Journal News Hour, Charlotte's FM News Talk, 107.9 FM, WBT, President Donald Trump's political operation has now reserved more than $68 million in advertising to support Republican candidates across the country.
However, North Carolina's very closely watched U.S. Senate race is receiving a substantially smaller investment than other Senate contests. The No Going Back PAC Incorporated, a newly formed super PAC connected to President Donald Trump's MAGA Incorporated operation, has reserved roughly $5 million in North Carolina's race between Republican Michael Watley and former Democrat Governor Roy Cooper, according to the company Ad Impact, which tracks political spending on television and radio. The latest reservation puts North Carolina fifth among the six Senate races receiving money from the group. The PAC reserved $15.8 million in Michigan, $11.1 million in Ohio, $10.7 million in New Hampshire, $9.1 million in Alaska, with only Georgia at about $2.1 million receiving less than North Carolina.
The overall advertising commitment has grown rapidly since the PAC began placing reservations earlier last week. The reservations were initially reported to be at roughly $25.8 million on Tuesday of last week and grew to $49 million by Wednesday, surpassing $68 million by Thursday.
Some major multi-digit campaign ad placements taking place from this group. North Carolina's allocation has grown as part of the expansion, rising from an initial one point nine million to about five million over just a couple of days last week.
However, even with that increase, Trump's political operation has allocated more than three times as much In some of those other states, like we talked about, Michigan, Ohio, and New Hampshire. Dr. Andy Jackson, who is the director of the Civitas Center for Public Integrity at the John Locke Foundation, cautioned against drawing a single conclusion from the disparity between the reservation levels in different states, saying, When you look at these buys, several factors are in play: how strongly the PAC supports the candidates, how close the race is perceived to be, how expensive the media markets in each of those states are, and what other groups are doing. Any one of those could be a main reason that no going back is spending less in North Carolina than in those other states. It's hard to pin down to just one single cause.
Jackson added that the spending patterns do not necessarily mean that North Carolina has fallen off the president's political map. With Jackson saying, I suspect that he at least that he that the least likely of those factors is that no going back has written off North Carolina. It is more likely that they see opportunities and races that they are more excited about in other states. And that is adding up as the president will be in North Carolina this week. We did receive some information last week from the president and from the Michael Watley campaign that, in fact, President Donald Trump will be campaigning in the Tar Hill state coming up later on this week.
We will be keeping a very close eye on that as we get into the heat of the election cycle here. We are going to be seeing more and more political polling that will determine whether this race will remain in the anywhere between 8 to 11 point advantage for four. Former Democrat Governor Roy Cooper, or if that race will begin to tighten and where Republican candidate Michael Watley is in striking distance, the most comprehensive coverage of the 2026 midterm elections will continue right here on the Carolina Journal News Hour. That's going to do it for a Tuesday edition. WBT News is next, followed by Good Morning BT.
We're back with you tomorrow morning, 5 to 6, right here on Charlotte's FM News Talk, 107.9 FM, WBT.
