In the US, we have maybe the best physicians in the world. But the system that gets us in to see them is a mess. 

It’s one of the reasons why in rural Halifax County, North Carolina, the life expectancy for women and men is 74.5 and 66.6, respectively. Compare that to Wake County, which is home to Raleigh. People in Wake County can expect to live a decade or more than folks in Halifax County. 

A decade or more. Soak that in. 

The reason is complicated. But access to health care is at the top of the list. In a new report for Cardinal & Pine’s “Bad Medicine” project, Dylan Rhoney examines NC’s medical deserts. What he found is remarkable. 

In Pamlico County, Vicki Gable, left, cares for her son, Chris, who has been diagnosed with autism. They’ve struggled to find affordable health care near their rural home.

We missed you this Presidents Day. Hope you are one mattress richer because of it.

Here’s what’s in today’s Cardinal & Pine newsletter: 

I love this picture from Cardinal & Pine reader Jere Baxter in Charlotte. It says to me: We live in NC. We didn’t sign up for this. 😂

Send us your views from NC, folks. You could see it featured here in front of Cardinal & Pine’s 100,000+ readers. 

That’s the look on all of our faces when we look at the prices today. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel)

At Cardinal & Pine, we spend very little time reporting on polls. More often than not, the media is reporting on election polls, and they forget to tell us about the issues that are at stake.

But this series of polls is worth your time.

Cardinal & Pine’s Michael McElroy wrote about several polls. They show clear signs of economic distress that are piling up in our state. Inflation has leveled off at the start of 2026, but the impact of President Donald Trump’s tariffs is apparent to all but the very wealthy few who don’t count their pennies. 

As McElroy notes, the most recent of the polls—released earlier this month— found that 63% of North Carolinians say prices are higher than a year ago. And 54% said that they were having trouble affording “their regular monthly expenses” as a result. Take a look at what we found.

1. Republicans and NC elections board settle federal voter registration lawsuit. NC Newsline

“Under the settlement filed Monday, the state agreed to continue its Registration Repair project seeking to collect the missing information and to reject registration applications where voters don’t supply government ID numbers or check a box indicating they don’t have one.”

2. 1,300-plus hogs killed in fire at North Carolina farm. WBTV

“Sister-station WITN reported that the Sunday, Feb. 15 blaze broke out around 7 a.m. off Kinston Highway in Onslow County. The hog house was already engulfed in flames by the time firefighters arrived.”

3. Measles spreads across North Carolina with 22 reported cases. Daily Tar Heel

“The N.C. Department of Health and Human Services’ data shows that the surge is currently concentrated among the state’s youth and those that are not fully vaccinated against measles. Eighteen of the 21 reported cases are from children aged 17 and younger.”

The late Rev. Jessie Jackson, speaking in Chicago in 1973. (John H. White, Public Domain)

Jessie Jackson was a child of South Carolina and a graduate of NC A&T, the nation’s largest historically Black college, in Greensboro. But growing up here, he was still not a popular name for people in my house.

The late Martin Luther King Jr. was generally celebrated. But Jackson didn’t get the same treatment, even though he was a close ally of King’s and he advocated for many of the same things.

Jackson’s death Tuesday gave a lot of folks time to rethink his legacy. As Cardinal & Pine’s Jessica F. Simmons notes, Jackson is well-known because of his two campaigns for president.

But he came up in the Civil Rights Movement, leading “Operation Breadbasket” at King’s Southern Christian Leadership Conference. 

Operation Breadbasket led boycotts of white-owned corporations and businesses that didn’t extend equal service to Black patrons and refused to hire Black workers. The program helped create economic justice and opportunities for Black communities nationwide.

There’s a lot more to Jackson than that, though. His runs for the White House in 1984 and 1988—when no one considered it possible for America to elect a Black man president—paved the way for Barack Obama’s successful campaign in 2008. Join the conversation on Jackson’s legacy here or by tapping the button below.

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Thanks for reading. This newsletter was written by Billy Ball. I’m an NC native and journalist. I tend to lean left on opinion, but I lean no way on facts. Today’s edition includes stories from Dylan Rhoney, Michael McElroy, and Jessica F. Simmons. It was edited by Paula Solis.

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