North Carolina
Days after CrowdStrike outage, North Carolina woman still stuck at MSP Airport
MINNEAPOLIS — A North Carolina woman is still trying to get home after last week’s CrowdStrike outage waylaid her at Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport.
Melissa Vestal is from Raleigh, North Carolina, and went with a group of 16 other travelers to Anchorage, Alaska, for a cruise. On their way home, they got stuck at MSP due to widespread tech issues caused by a technical problem with global cybersecurity firm CrowdStrike.
“We would like to go back to Raleigh, but we are open for whatever flight that we can actually fly home,” Vestal said.
Vestal said she actually got on a plane Sunday night and was on the tarmac, but they had to leave the plane after the crew announced the pilots could not fly.
“I’m hoping that we can find some luck today,” she said.
Vestal has a flight booked Monday, but others in her party have not been so lucky. She’s hoping to get home as soon as possible because she needs medications refilled, and she wants to see her family.
Vestal said her experience with airport employees has been very positive — including with one worker who had been on the clock for 48 hours.
“We are just very appreciative, we’re calling them essential workers,” she said.
As of 7:30 a.m. Monday, more than 100 arriving and departing flights had been canceled at MSP.
CrowdStrike provides antivirus software to Microsoft for its Windows devices, and many industries globally — from banking to retail to health care — use the company’s software to protect against breaches and hackers. CrowdStrike said it has since identified the problem in its software and stressed this was not a cyber attack.
North Carolina
The North Carolina Arboretum’s “Spring Into the Arb” returns for year two
ASHEVILLE, N.C. (WLOS) — The North Carolina Arboretum has announced a new season of “Spring Into the Arb!”
The “Spring Into the Arb!” is in its second year, with its series of plant shows and sales, science and nature activities, music, and art, allowing people to reemerge and reconnect with nature.
The season begins with Nature Play Day on Saturday, March 14, continuing through April, May, and June with new activities every weekend.
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According to a news release, throughout the season, guests can enjoy the following:
- Asheville Orchid Festival, annual Ikebana and Rose shows
- Purchase plants at the Spring Plant Sale and Market
- Get back to their native roots with Native Azalea Day, Mountain Science Expo, and Nature Play Day
The series culminates with Bonsai in the Blue Ridge in June, according to the release.
The release says guests and members are invited to drop in on the newly-opened Arbor Eatery in the Arboretum’s Education Center, which is open from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. daily. Hours extend to 5 p.m. beginning April 1.
Spring Into the Arb events and programs are included with the regular Arboretum parking fee of $25 per vehicle. Arboretum Society Members get in free.
NC ARBORETUM MARKS BIRD DAY WITH WALKS, DEMOS AHEAD OF GREAT BACKYARD BIRD COUNT
According to the release, additional admission is required for the Asheville Orchid Festival and Bonsai in the Blue Ridge.
A full list of the Spring Into the Arb 2026 events includes:
- Nature Play Day: March 14
- Asheville Orchid Festival: March 28 to 29
- Music in the Mountains Day: April 4
- Arbor Day Celebration: April 11
- Native Azalea Day: April 18
- Mountain Science Expo: April 25
- World Bonsai Day: May 9
- Change of Seasons: Spring into Ikebana: May 16 to 17
- The Asheville-Blue Ridge Rose Society Exhibition: May 22 to 24
- The Arb in Focus: 40 Views for 40 Years: Opening May 23
- Spring Plant Sale and Market: May 29 to 30
- Bonsai in the Blue Ridge: June 4 to 7
For more information, visit here.
North Carolina
Michael Jordan North Carolina “Sports Illustrated” cover sells for record $229k
A copy of Michael Jordan’s 1983 “Sports Illustrated” cover debut sold for $229,360 on Saturday night at Goldin, obliterating the previous record for a graded magazine.
Before Saturday, the previous record was the $126,000 paid for Jordan’s 1984 SI debut in a Bulls uniform entitled “A Star Is Born.”
“Sports Illustrated” magazines are very common and people kept them, but collectors narrowed the category by making rarer newsstand copies most collectible, and graded condition of those copies to narrow the most desirable down further.
Then, in July, came PSA to challenge CGC in the grading space.
The record UNC Jordan, with teammate Sam Perkins on the cover, was the only PSA 9.6. The question is, with PSA’s grading just beginning, are there others our there?
It’s possible, but that Jordan issue presents a challenge because it has a gatefold that makes it more challenging to press out defects.
The big price will likely create a group of opportunists who will now take raw subscription copies of this issue and get them graded for potential arbitrage.
But it won’t be that easy. A CGC 8.0 newsstand edition sold for $4,636 in October.
Whether the big price also creates more grading and selling of rare magazines remains to be seen, but PSA’s entrance into the space has definitely turned heads.
PSA has graded more than 50 of this particular issue, the second most commonly graded after the “Star is Born” issue.
Darren Rovell is the founder of cllct and one of the country’s leading reporters on the collectibles market. He previously worked for ESPN, CNBC and The Action Network.
North Carolina
End of 2025-26 NC ski season: Resorts announce closing dates
Warmer temperatures are bringing North Carolina’s ski season to a close, with several mountain resorts announcing closing dates. Beech Mountain will close after its annual Pond Skim on March 14, while Appalachian Ski Mountain plans to stay open through March 15 for its Meltdown Games.
Web Editor : Mark Bergin
Reporter : Eric Miller
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