VOLUME 11 ISSUE 15 | THURSDAY, JUNE 4, 2026
NSJONLINE.COM
STAN GILLILAND / FOR NORTH STATE JOURNAL
Stanley Cup final returns to Raleigh The Hurricanes hosted the Vegas Golden Knights in Game 1 of the Stanley Cup final Tuesday, 20 years after the team’s coach, Rod Brind’Amour, led Carolina to its only championship as captain in 2006.
Bill nixes Sunday alcohol sales, makes other ABC changes
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BRIEF this week
White House correspondents’ dinner rescheduled for July, Trump to attend New York The White House Correspondents Association dinner has been rescheduled for July 24. The event was initially disrupted in April by an assassination attempt on President Donald Trump. Weijia Jiang, president of the White House Correspondents’ Association, announced the new date and emphasized enhanced safety measures and new access procedures. Trump revealed on his Truth Social platform that the dinner would be held at the Waldorf Astoria Hotel. He said he has accepted an invitation to speak and called the rescheduling a sign of strength. Jiang highlighted the dinner’s purpose as a celebration of a free press and democracy, despite some critics questioning whether it should be held at all.
U.S. job openings climb to 7.6M in April Washington, D.C. U.S. job openings jumped in April as the labor market looked resilient despite economic uncertainty caused by the Iran war. The Labor Department reported Tuesday that U.S. employers posted 7.6 million job vacancies in April, up from 6.9 million in March and much higher than the 6.8 million economists had forecast. Layoffs fell, but so did the number of Americans quitting their jobs — a sign of confidence in their prospects. The American job market has been recovering from a dismal 2025. Last year, companies, nonprofits and government agencies added fewer than 10,000 jobs a month, least outside a recession since 2002.
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House Bill 921 would make significant changes to state law
House targets rate increases related to data centers The Ratepayer Protection Act addresses hyperscaler facilities By A.P. Dillon North State Journal RALEIGH — A measure to protect consumers from rate increases potentially driven by data centers was recently introduced by statehouse Rep. Matthew Winslow (R-Franklin).
According to a press release, the Ratepayer Protection Act (Senate Bill 730) is a “comprehensive package of reforms” created to “protect North Carolina families, small businesses, and taxpayers from skyrocketing utility rates driven by unchecked data center development and energy policy mandates.” “North Carolinians are already feeling the pinch of See ELECTRICITY, page A8
By A.P. Dillon North State Journal RALEIGH — North Carolina lawmakers advanced an overhaul of several state alcoholic beverage regulations during a May 19 committee meeting. The legislative Alcoholic Beverage Control Committee approved a Proposed Committee Substitute (PCS) for House Bill 921 that would ease several restrictions on spirits, expand business opportunities, and loosen rules around nonprofits and gaming while dropping a controversial proposal for Sunday ABC store sales. The bill was first introduced in April 2025. Among the original provisions was Sunday ABC store sales, creating a new framework for pre-
Trump administration announces grant competition to reinvest in civic education The grant program will fund colleges, nonprofits and for-profits By Jessica Taylor For North State Journal RALEIGH — The U.S. Department of Education and U.S. Department of Labor recently announced a grant competition called the American History and Civics – National Activities Program. The program will support grantees and provide educators with high-quality professional development and instructional strategies, ac-
cording to the press release. The program aims to strengthen instruction that teaches American history, civics, government and geography. The Department of Education plans to award approximately $19.8 million to institutions that implement changes to benefit low-income students and underserved populations through the AHC-NA Program. The program is expected to deliver 10 awards. The program plans to reinvest in education to create a well-educated and self-reliant citizenship that will continue See CIVICS, page A2
“These grants will help revitalize history and civics education in classrooms across the nation.” Kirsten Baseler
mixed/ready-to-drink (RTDs) cocktails and increased game nights for qualifying nonprofits. The PCS version keeps most of those original ideas but significantly expands and refines them. Many of the changes would take effect in mid-to-late 2026. Changes from the original bill include removal of the Sunday sales option, which would have let counties and municipalities vote to allow ABC stores to open on Sundays. The alcohol by volume (ABV) cap on premixed/ ready-to-drink cocktails was also lowered, from 13% in the original to 9.9% in the PCS. The revised bill also creates a separate category for premixed cocktails, moving them out of the state’s spirituous liquor system and into a beer-and-wine-style three-tier distribution model See ABC, page A8