MONDAY, MARCH 17, 2025

Good morning! On this day in 1756, during the second year of conflict between British and French forces in North America, delegates of the Cherokee tribe in western North Carolina reached an alliance with representatives of Virginia.

Today marks The Flyover's second anniversary! We sent our very first national issue on March 17, 2023, and never turned off the afterburners. Over 2 million Americans take off with us every morning, including those of you in North Carolina, and we're honored to have you aboard.

Later today, you'll receive a special note from our founder recounting our journey. In the meantime, please enjoy today’s top story about our journey from an idea to one of America's largest and fastest-growing news organizations—thanks to you! Check it out below.

We're sponsored today by Audien Atom Hearing Aids, offering affordable hearing aids with crystal clear sound.

The Flyover Celebrates 2nd Anniversary

Two years ago today, the first national edition of The Flyover was delivered to 47 people.

Our writing, editing, and proofreading staff consisted of just one person, Cole. Today, ten editions of The Flyover reach more than 2.1 million readers daily, and we have a full team of writers, editors, and proofreaders across the country—along with sales, technology, and customer support staff.

We've learned a lot in two years, but as you can see in our first edition—the goal has always been to cover the day's news in a direct and unbiased way.

In 2024, we added our Rotator section along with our special coverage section (Olympics, Election, Holiday, etc.) We also listened closely to your feedback, and we worked hard to improve our news coverage.

Growth brought new opportunities. Texas got the first Flyover state edition in January 2024, and that's grown to over 300,000 readers. Since then, we've added eight more state editions including North Carolina on Aug. 21, 2024.

The Flyover's success is due to you, our readers, and we can't thank you enough for sticking with us.

We've got big plans for year three—including new state editions and a big new project that you'll hear more about soon. (Hint: it's a podcast )

If you like The Flyover, find value in it, and appreciate our work—we would love for you to support us financially if you can. We know everyone isn't able, but your financial support means a lot to us. You can do that by clicking here. It's a huge help!

Storms Scatter Wind Damage Across NC

Tornado watches and wind advisories kept North Carolinians on guard Sunday as storms responsible for at least 34 deaths in six states moved across the Southeast.

Fayetteville Regional Airport clocked wind gusts at 61 mph—powerful enough to dislodge an HVAC system at Cape Fear Valley Medical Center and blow it through the windows of two patient rooms.

A tornado warning issued in Stanly County near Big Lick produced no reported damage as of Sunday afternoon.

Winds gusted up to 84 mph at Grandfather Mountain in Avery County, while downtown Asheville experienced 65 mph gusts and Asheville Regional Airport dealt with 59 mph gusts. Trees were blown onto a home in Northern Cherokee County.

Just over 13,000 people were without power as of 7 p.m. Sunday evening.

Duke Men Win 23rd ACC Basketball Title

Blue and white confetti rained down in Charlotte's Spectrum Center moments after Duke clinched its 23rd ACC men's basketball title Saturday night.

The Blue Devils earned the 73-62 win over Louisville without key players Cooper Flagg and Maliq Brown, who suffered injuries during the quarterfinal game against Georgia Tech on Thursday. Tyrese Proctor and Kon Knueppel stepped up to fill in the gaps, with Proctor scoring 19 points—including six three-pointers—and Knueppel banking 18 points to propel Duke to the win.

Flagg, who rolled his ankle Thursday, is expected to play in the NCAA tournament, but Brown's shoulder injury could keep him on the bench.

This is the first year since 2006 that Duke men's basketball won both the regular season conference title and the tournament conference title. Duke is the No. 1 seed in the East Region going into the NCAA tournament, which begins Tuesday.

Do you have any friends or family who would like to receive Flyover North Carolina? Feel free to refer us to them!

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➤ Durham: Duke is among 45 universities the U.S. Department of Education's Office for Civil Rights is investigating due to its partnership with "The Ph.D. Project," which limits eligibility based on race. (More)

➤ Triangle: Since 2020, the Raleigh-Cary area has grown by 10.2% and the Durham-Chapel Hill metro has grown by 6.6%, compared to the U.S. growing by 2.6%. (More)

➤ Cape Hatteras: A highly pathogenic avian influenza, a strain of bird flu, killed 329 brown pelicans, 66 seagulls, a loon, and a dovekie in late February, with most pelican deaths occurring on Cora June Island. (More)

➤ Wake County: State Supreme Court marshals are investigating death threats received by Republican state Supreme Court candidate Jefferson Griffin and his family at their home regarding Griffin's challenge of 65,000 votes. (More)

➤ Raleigh: The FBI announced that 63-year-old David Bohmerwald, an electronic resale business owner, faces up to 20 years in prison for attempting to export accelerometer technology with military applications to China without a license. (More)

➤ Greenville: The North Carolina State Highway Patrol says there are no survivors from a Friday morning crash involving a Beech A36 Bonanza aircraft carrying two people. (More)

➤ Duke earned the No. 1 seed in the East Region of this year's March Madness bracket, while UNC will be one of the First Four teams as a No. 11 seed. High Point University also made school history, with its men's and women's teams both making the tournament in the same year for the first time ever. (More)

➤ The Charlotte Hornets broke a franchise record Friday night by making 26 three-pointers in one game, propelling them to a 145-134 victory over the San Antonio Spurs. (More)

➤ The Carolina Hurricanes extended their winning streak to six games Friday night by defeating the Detroit Red Wings 4-2. The Canes are now 31-0-3 when leading after two periods. (More)

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➤ North Carolina's Department of Information Technology will purchase Starlink satellite connectivity products and services from SpaceX to boost internet coverage and infrastructure for state agencies. (More)

➤ Lowes CEO Marvin Ellison and his wife Sharyn sold their Mediterranean-style home in Mecklenburg County's gated Seven Eagles neighborhood for $5.7 million. (See Details and Listing)

➤ The U.S. Postal Service will reduce its workforce by 10,000 through a voluntary early retirement program. North Carolina is one of 14 states employing at least 7,330 postal workers. (See Details and Map)

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➤ Southern Living named Asheville No. 3 and Wilmington No. 13 on its list of The South's Best Cities 2025. The magazine also recognized Asheville's Omni Grove Park Inn & Spa and The Inn on Biltmore Estate as readers' favorite resorts in the South. (See Best Cities and Resorts)

➤ Granite Falls native Carson Webb and Charlotte native Josh King both auditioned on American Idol on Sunday. (See Details and Results)

➤ The Wizard of Oz theme park will remain closed in 2025 due to recovery from Hurricane Helene and continuing efforts to improve the park's long-term sustainability. (More)

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