Good morning Wilmington!

If you haven't made plans for this weekend yet, here's one to circle on the calendar.

Port City Rock Jam returns to Bowstring on Saturday, August 1, with 13 hours of live music, local artists, food vendors, and plenty of reasons to stick around from morning until night. Even better, every ticket helps support Play It Forward Wilmington, which provides instruments and music education to local kids, and Eden Village, a tiny-home community serving the chronically homeless.

Great music is always better when it supports a great cause.

In today’s Port City Pulse:

• NC Elections Board Makes It Easier to Throw Out Mail-In Ballots

• ICE Plans to Open a Major Detention Center in NC

NC Elections Board Makes It Easier to Throw Out Mail-In Ballots

NC Newsline The NC State Board of Elections voted 3-2 along party lines to allow county staff to disqualify absentee ballots with "irregularities" — such as a ballot not properly sealed or in the wrong envelope — before the 2026 midterms. Democrats warn it could disenfranchise legitimate voters and be applied with political motives. The change still needs approval from the Rules Review Commission. This follows a similar rule the board passed the previous week on photo ID ballots.

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ICE Plans to Open a Major Detention Center in Rural Eastern NC

WUNC ICE plans to convert the closed Rivers Correctional Institution in Winton (Hertford County) into a 1,400-bed immigration detention center — one of the largest on the East Coast. Gov. Josh Stein opposes it. The facility, owned by The GEO Group, was previously cited by the Justice Department for some of the worst conditions in the federal system. It closed in 2021.

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News Roundup

Local News

North Carolina's new state budget eliminates the 30-year-old Office of Environmental Education. The program had trained more than 1,600 environmental educators across the state. The cut came without public debate as part of broader budget reductions. NC Health News

A Durham museum just named five red wolf pups after the Carolina Hurricanes' 2026 Stanley Cup championship. The Museum of Life & Science selected names from public nominations: Cane, Champ, Puck, Stormy, and Whaler — three males, two females. A win for hockey bragging rights and red wolf conservation. WECT

What You Should Know

Medicare now offers GLP-1 weight-loss drugs for as little as $50/month through a new Bridge Program. Eligible Medicare Part D recipients qualify with BMI 35+, or BMI 30+ with uncontrolled blood pressure, chronic kidney disease, or certain heart failure conditions, or BMI 27+ with prediabetes, a history of heart attack/stroke, or peripheral arterial disease. WECT

A Guardian investigation reveals just how extensively Flock Safety cameras are tracking Americans' daily movements — and how often that data is misused. The interactive piece documents how license plate readers, operating at key entry and exit points across hundreds of cities, are used to track millions of people — with documented cases of officers using the system to stalk partners and monitor individuals without cause. The Guardian

Rand Paul has released 1,100+ pages of Anthony Fauci's private pandemic diary — and says what Fauci wrote privately "and what he told the country are two different stories." The diary (Dec 2019–Dec 2022) shows that as early as January 31, 2020, Fauci was told by top virologists that the virus's furin cleavage site looked "constructed," with about half the scientists on that initial call believing a lab origin was plausible — even as he publicly dismissed the theory. The release came ahead of Fauci's expected Senate testimony July 29. The Hill

What Might Surprise You

A California man who set out for a solo Pacific crossing in June was rescued after 33 days adrift — surviving on oatmeal, fish, squid, and collected rainwater. Kai Sato, 39, left the Catalina Islands on June 7 for his first solo sail across the Pacific. His mast snapped two weeks in, leaving him without power or navigation. He managed to drift back into a busy shipping lane, where the cargo ship M/V George III spotted him about 900 miles from Hawaii on July 21. The Mirror

The first Kenyan to play in the NFL has been deported to Kenya by ICE after a decade in the U.S. Daniel Adongo, a former Indianapolis Colts linebacker who made the leap from rugby in South Africa to American football in 2013, was deported June 20 following a March 2026 removal order. ICE says his visa expired in 2016; a 2020 criminal mischief conviction also factored in. The case is drawing renewed attention to what analysts describe as deportation rates for Black migrants that far exceed their share of the undocumented population. The Guardian

Port City Rock Jam 2026 🎨

Event by Port City Rock Jam hosted by RuKus and Bowstring - Bar and Music Venue

1002 Princess St, Wilmington, NC 28401-4334, United States

🎸 Port City Rock Jam 2026 🎨

Rock for a Cause

Get ready for an unforgettable day of live music, local art, and community impact at Port City Rock Jam 2026!

Bowstring Bar & Music Venue Saturday August 1 from 11 AM to Midnight

Join us as talented bands, musicians, and artists come together to celebrate creativity and give back. This high-energy festival isn’t just about great music—it’s about making a difference right here in our community.

✨ What to expect:

• Live performances from amazing local and regional bands

• Interactive art and creative experiences

• Food, drinks, and local vendors

• A fun, family-friendly atmosphere with a kids area

Bring your friends, bring your family, and come be part of something bigger. Let’s rock out for a great cause! 🤘

📍 Learn more, get involved, or donate: www.portcityrockjam.com

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