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NC News Oct. 29, 2026

State Health Plan Taps Retiree Fund

North Carolina’s State Health Plan trustees voted unanimously Tuesday to double the plan’s monthly pull from the Retiree Health Benefit Fund to $600 per retiree, to keep it from running out of cash.

The temporary increase, retroactive from July through December, is expected to raise about $415 million before year’s end. The plan had been projected to run out of money by late 2026 or early 2027.

The plan, which insures teachers, state employees, and retirees, faced a roughly $500 million shortfall this year amid rising hospital and pharmacy costs. Executive Administrator Tom Friedman said the plan must tackle health care costs rather than treat the shortfall purely as a revenue problem.

Treasurer Brad Briner, who chairs the board, also announced a deal to bring remaining Atrium Health hospitals and physicians into the plan’s in-network tier.

Article Icon 1Homeland Security Chief Visits Lumbee Tribe

Department of Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin met Oct. 23 with Lumbee Tribe leaders in Robeson County to discuss drug enforcement, disaster response, and the tribe’s next steps after winning federal recognition.

A law signed in December 2025 added the Lumbee to the list of federally recognized tribes, ending a fight tribal leaders say spanned more than 130 years. Mullin, a Cherokee Nation member and the first Native American to lead DHS, credited the tribe’s persistence.

Tribal Chairman John Lowery pressed federal and local officials to do more against drugs, which he called one of the community’s biggest problems.

U.S. Rep. David Rouzer, R-NC7, who joined the visit, said recognition is the starting point, and congressional support is still needed for tribal courts, land, law enforcement, education, health care, infrastructure, and other issues. The Lumbee are based mainly in Robeson County and Southeastern North Carolina.

Article Icon 1Explosion Uncovers Wilkes Moonshine Still

An explosion and fire Monday at a property in Wilkes County led state Alcohol Law Enforcement (ALE) agents to an active moonshine operation.

Inside, agents found a 200-gallon still, 1,800 gallons of mash, and 161 gallons of finished moonshine.

They charged 69-year-old Billy Ray Anderson of North Wilkesboro, who lives at the site, with six counts, including manufacturing non-taxpaid liquor and possessing distillery equipment.

ALE investigates illegal-liquor cases across North Carolina. Wilkes County has a deep moonshining history linked to the fast cars its bootleggers drove, which helped give rise to stock car racing.