Exciting game on Saturday. As a Canes fan, it was hard to watch the Hurricanes claw their way back from a 4-0 deficit only to lose in double overtime.

Still, if there's one takeaway from Game 3, it's that this team doesn't quit. Carolina erased four goals, set a Stanley Cup Final record with three goals in 39 seconds, and nearly stole a game that looked completely out of reach. The series isn't over yet.

In today’s Port City Pulse:

• NC Had a Chance to Buy Into the Hurricanes — and Said No.

• Wrightsville Beach May Tighten Dog Rules

NC Had a Chance to Buy Into the Hurricanes — and Said no. Now They're in the Finals.

Carolina Journal As the Carolina Hurricanes compete in their first Stanley Cup Final since 2006, State Treasurer Brad Briner revealed the state had the opportunity to purchase a 12.5% stake in the franchise last year — and passed. Briner called it "embarrassing" given the timing, explaining that while the Hurricanes are "an amazing franchise," the investment didn't meet the state pension system's risk and return objectives. The team, now valued at $2.66 billion, sold that stake to three minority partners after owner Tom Dundon reached a deal in March. Briner cited Yogi Berra: "It's tough to make predictions, particularly about the future."
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Bringing Your Dog to Wrightsville Beach? Fines Could Double to $500 Under New Proposal

WECT Wrightsville Beach's Board of Aldermen will consider proposed changes to the town's dog ordinance at its June 9 meeting, including doubling the civil penalty for violations from $250 to $500. A working group that included residents, town staff, and reps from Audubon NC and the Sea Turtle Project unanimously backed the fine increase, plus adding waste stations at beach access points and boosting public education. The group narrowly supported allowing dogs on the beach from 6 to 9 a.m. during the April 1–Sept. 30 restriction period, though the Planning Board previously recommended keeping the current ordinance with increased fines only.
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News Roundup

Local News

A vehicle drove into the Wilmington Farmers Market on Oleander Drive Saturday morning, striking multiple pedestrians; several were transported to Novant NHRMC with non-life-threatening injuries as investigators believe the driver may have experienced a medical episode. WECT

An Amber Alert for two Brunswick County boys was canceled Friday after the children were found safe and their father, Brandon Wilcox, was arrested on two counts of felony child abduction; court records show prior charges of child abuse, domestic violence, and witness intimidation. WECT

Wrightsville Beach Ocean Rescue has logged about 50 rip current rescues since Memorial Day — one of the busiest season starts on record; two swimmers have gone missing in southeastern NC so far, and lifeguards advise floating on your back first before swimming parallel to shore to escape a rip current. WECT

What You Should Know

President Trump signed an executive order reclassifying 8,000 senior federal workers as at-will employees, tripling to 12,000 the total who can be dismissed without cause; critics warn the order enables partisan loyalty tests across the civil service. Daily Mail

"Teen takeovers" — large social media-organized youth gatherings — are prompting police crackdowns across the U.S. this summer, with a Clearwater, FL event drawing 500+ teens and ending in a shooting, and federal prosecutors in D.C. moving to charge the parents of teens involved. Yahoo News

Iran's military announced it was halting offensive operations Monday after Israel and Iran traded strikes for the first time since an April ceasefire, spiking oil prices to nearly $100 a barrel; Trump told both sides to "immediately stop shooting" and diplomats are scrambling to salvage the ceasefire as Houthi rebels in Yemen also fired missiles at Israel. AP News

What Might Surprise You

Steven Spielberg says he believes humanity will discover extraterrestrial life within our lifetime, speaking at the UK premiere of Disclosure Day — his new sci-fi thriller starring Emily Blunt that imagines a world on the brink of revealing proof of non-human intelligence. BBC

A humanoid robot performing a martial arts demonstration at a botanical garden in China executed a spinning roundhouse kick that struck a young boy directly in the stomach, sending him stumbling backward before the robot recovered and continued its performance. Daily Mail

President Trump walked off a Meet the Press interview mid-sentence Sunday after NBC's Kristen Welker repeatedly fact-checked his claims on Jan. 6, election fraud, and the "anti-weaponization" fund, telling her "I've had enough" and calling her "crooked" before departing. Mediaite