Is it just me, or has it felt like this week has gone on forever? I think it’s because of all the dreary, rainy weather we’ve had. Fortunately, it looks like this weekend will be a bit sunnier. 

And speaking of sunshine, we are bringing you our weekly dose of written sunshine in the form of Good News Friday, which you can read below. It’s got some feel-good news I think we can all benefit from. 

Here’s what you’ll find in today’s newsletter:

Iconic North Carolina tourist attraction damaged by Helene will be demolished

A path ends abruptly at the heavily damaged Flowering Bridge in Lake Lure, NC, on Tuesday, May 13, 2025. (AP Photo/Allen G. Breed)

By The Associated Press 

Nearly a year after Hurricane Helene’s devastating pathway through western North Carolina, a vibrant tourist attraction offering visitors a serene escape in the Blue Ridge Mountains is being torn down.

Like many other beloved sites in the region, the Lake Lure Flowering Bridge in Rutherford County crumpled from the relentless floods and winds from remnants of Helene last September. Now, the town of Lake Lure said last week that it will start its demolition of the historic structure later this month.

While the three-arched bridge dates back to 1925, it didn’t become the Lake Lure Flowering Bridge until almost a century later. Once the bridge was decommissioned, a group of local volunteers, Friends of the Lake Lure Flowering Bridge, worked to enhance it by adding its iconic gardens in 2013, according to the group’s website. The bridge attracted more than 150,000 visitors annually, said Linda Reandeau, a master gardener and the group’s marketing chair.

But then Helene brought destruction to western North Carolina last year, with the Lake Lure area—which served as a backdrop for a few scenes in “Dirty Dancing”—sustaining some of the worst damage. The town of Lake Lure and Chimney Rock Village, as well as the lake itself, were covered in a layer of disfigured debris. The area still hasn’t recovered, but tourist attractions such as Chimney Rock State Park have reopened.

1. President Abraham Lincoln believed to be born in North Carolina. WBTV

“If you’re looking for documents, like a birth certificate, there are none. But there is a curious photo of another one of Abraham Enloe’s son. His name was Wesley. He’s unusually tall and lanky. He looks strikingly similar to what could be his half-brother.”

2. North Carolina will cut Medicaid rates in October, putting care at risk. Cardinal & Pine

“The North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services will slash Medicaid spending by $319 million effective Oct. 1, Secretary Devdutta ‘Dev’ Sangvai wrote in a letter to General Assembly leaders Monday.”

3. Duke Energy asks regulators for permission to merge Carolina utilities. NC Newsline

“The Charlotte-based utility said in its announcement that such a merger would save customers even more than the $1 billion in savings it has seen in the 13 years since Duke Energy merged with Raleigh-based Progress Energy.”

4. VIDEO: Trump cuts threaten your phone’s weather alert system. Cardinal & Pine

“We are now officially in peak hurricane season, and a storm in the Atlantic is expected to become Hurricane Erin sometime this week. At the same time, the Trump administration has threatened to dismantle the federal departments that track major storms and help tell North Carolinians how to keep safe.”

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