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NC News Sept. 11, 2026 (DUPLICATE)

NC Nursing Homes Earn 1-Star Rankings

Federal ratings from Medicare.gov reveal multiple one-star nursing homes across North Carolina as of September 2026.

In the Charlotte area, 14 facilities within 25 miles earned the lowest rating—including five in Charlotte itself—such as Pine Crest Health & Rehabilitation and University Place Nursing and Rehabilitation Center. One Concord facility, Copperfield Health & Rehabilitation, also recorded abuse-related citations.

In the Triangle, several homes received one-star ratings, with Fuquay-Varina Health and Rehabilitation Center, Siler City Center, and Southpoint Rehabilitation and Healthcare Center in Durham cited for abuse. Other low-rated facilities include Sunnybrook Rehabilitation Center in Raleigh and Highfield Nursing and Rehabilitation in Cary.

Ratings factor in health inspections, staffing, safety, and infection control. The annual cost of a private room in a North Carolina skilled nursing facility averages $129,575, or about $10,798 monthly.

Article Icon 185+ Car Break-ins Being Investigated

Chapel Hill police are investigating nearly 60 vehicle break-ins reported in the area over Friday night, most of them in hotel and apartment lots along Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard and Raleigh Road.

In many cases, thieves smashed windows to get inside. Chief Celisa Lehew asked residents to check home and business cameras and to call 911 with any footage.

Investigators are weighing whether the cases connect to a wider string across the Triangle. More than 25 cars were hit around the same time at Brier Creek hotel lots in Raleigh, part of a run of thefts at hotels and apartment complexes stretching back more than a month.

Police made several arrests Aug. 25 in earlier Chapel Hill break-ins. Police urged drivers to lock up, take valuables inside, and never leave a gun in a vehicle.

Article Icon 1NC State Lands $20M Grant for AI Tools

The National Science Foundation awarded NC State a five-year, $20 million grant to develop AI tools that build interactive stories to help K-12 students learn.

The award renews the National Science Foundation AI Institute for Engaged Learning (EngageAI), which NC State has led for five years alongside Vanderbilt, UNC-Chapel Hill, Indiana University, and the nonprofit Digital Promise.

The next phase aims to build a system that keeps improving over a school year and uses emerging “world model” AI to generate stories teachers and students can tailor to their classrooms.

Lead investigator James Lester, a Goodnight Distinguished Professor in AI, said the research will yield technologies that “fundamentally improve both the learning process and learning outcomes for K-12 students.” The university announced the renewal last week.