North Carolina
Judge temporarily halts NC Medicaid cuts for autism treatment
RALEIGH, N.C. (WTVD) — As state lawmakers have stalled coming up with a budget, some of the most vulnerable North Carolinians have been caught in limbo.
After the General Assembly couldn’t come up with a budget that would include enough funding for Medicaid, ABA, or behavioral therapy for autism was facing a steep 10% cut for Medicaid reimbursement, higher than other programs facing a 3% cut.
After a lawsuit a judge issued an injunction to keep that funding going, but for families caught in the middle it’s still a difficult road ahead.
Marissa Scheetz from Franklinton, says her son Charlie has been through a lot by the age of 5.
“We kind of suspected about two years old that he did have autism. He wasn’t kind of meeting his milestones and that sort of thing,” she says.
Diagnosed with autism and non-verbal, ABA therapy was a gamechanger.
“He’s really come a long way. He’s starting to be able to communicate his emotions, which is really big from where he came from,” she says.
It’s sometimes been a maze of waitlists, and finding the right fit, and working with Medicaid, but now amid cuts, she’s worried he could lose the breakthrough care that finally helped him open up his world.
“I’m scared for my child. I’m scared that, you know, maybe it won’t necessarily lose all of the services, but it is a potential that he could start receiving cuts,” she says.
DHHS cut Medicaid reimbursements in October, including ABA by 10%, prompting 21 families to file suit to stop the cuts. A judge granting a temporary order.
Former U.S. Attorney Michael Easley, Jr. who worked on the case, says it’s about making sure valuable progress isn’t lost.
“Every month that those kids don’t receive that care is a month that these patterns and habits associated with their autism begin to calcify and can result in them not being able to speak or interact in a way that can allow them to be self-sufficient and productive members of society,” Easley says.
But it’s only temporary and other DHHS cuts are still in effect, until lawmakers can sort out a budget.
State Representative Zack Hawkins (D-Durham) has two sons with autism himself, and is calling on lawmakers to come to the table.
“And so, again, this this injunction is, again, a time to me to pause and just see sort of where we are, what we need and allow so that the department and legislators and others to think about and understand just how critical these services are to families across North Carolina who desperately need care,” says Hawkins.
DHHS did respond in a statement, saying:
“The North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services will comply with the temporary restraining order related to provider rate reductions for Research Based Behavioral Health Treatment Services. At this time, we are still awaiting the written order to be issued by the Court.
This order makes the need for the General Assembly to fund Medicaid even more urgent. Any reinstatement or reversal of the provider cuts without additional funding from the General Assembly means the program will run out of funding sooner, putting the entire state Medicaid system at risk.
Without additional funding and implementation of the October 1 rate cuts, North Carolina could run out of NC Medicaid funds as early as April 2026. If the NCGA fully funds NC Medicaid, the Department will reevaluate all cuts and take action to reverse or modify cuts to ensure NC Medicaid can operate within the appropriated budget.
We understand these provider rate cuts are devastating to people, providers and communities that rely on NC Medicaid. NCDHHS did not want to take this extremely difficult step of making these significant reductions for NC Medicaid services, however without additional funding from the General Assembly, it was unavoidable.”
As it stands right now, Medicaid rebates are only guaranteed to be funded through April.
Meantime, the next hearing in this lawsuit it set for Monday.
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(WLOS) — In a tragic update, one of the baby barn owls being monitored by the North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission has died after a great horned owl entered the barn and killed the owlet. The barn owlets had attracted worldwide attention through the wildlife commission’s ongoing observation efforts.
Officials with N.C. Wildlife said it is not yet clear which owlet was killed, but confirmed it was one of the three youngest.
The wildlife commission said it captured a photo of the great horned owl and the adult female barn owl fighting on top of the box, calling it an “extremely rare encounter to capture on camera.”
PHOTOS: OWLETS ‘HOO’ GAINED WORLDWIDE FAME ARE GROWING QUICKLY INTO YOUNG ADULTS
The wildlife commission said that while this loss is tragic, it is a common encounter because great horned owls are a top predator of barn owls. Officials also said this will likely not be the last encounter.
Over the next few weeks, the commission said viewers will likely see the remaining owlets start exploring, leaving the barn and learning to hunt. The fledglings may leave the barn as early as July to start hunting on their own, according to the commission.
You’ve got to feel terrible for former North Carolina standout Henri Veesaar right now. When he announced that he was leaving Chapel Hill to take his game to the NBA, plenty of eyebrows were raised. However, he was getting first-round grades, which made the decision a bit easy for him. That call has come back to backfire on him.
The first round of the NBA Draft has wrapped up, and the star big man never heard his name called. You’ve got to be kidding. There was always a bit of a worry that Veesaar would fall to the second round, but the recent buzz calmed worries there. Now, though, this setback has surely proverbially slapped him in the face a bit:
UNC’s Henri Veesaar does not get selected in the first round of the 2026 NBA Draft. He slips into the second round.
Turned down between $3-4 million to return to UNC? Maybe more?
— Ross Martin (@RossMartinNC) June 24, 2026
Henri Veesaar falling to the second round of the NBA Draft is a bit of a stunner
It’s no secret that Michael Malone and his new UNC staff were quite aggressive in their pursuits of bringing him back to Chapel Hill, as he would have easily had the Tar Heels in the Top 15-20 conversation. At first, with mock drafts popping up with him as a second-rounder, it felt like a return to the ACC was going to be in the works. The narrative changed there not long after, though.
He indeed bolted for the NBA Draft, with the assumption that he was going to be a first-rounder. Veesaar took a bit of a chance there, and things just did not go to plan for him. Let’s make one thing clear here too: we’re not happy in any way. With Veesaar leaving, Carolina fans were wishing him the best, the same way they were for Caleb Wilson.
Wilson ended up getting his life-changing news early during draft night, with the Chicago Bulls taking him off the board at No. 4 overall. Things were only made better for Wilson and North Carolina as a whole with Hubert Davis on hand for the former 5-star freshman’s big moment. It was a surprise not many of us were ready for.
On the flip side of things, Veesaar was left waiting for his special moment, but it never arrived. Is it possible that he’s having some serious regrets over things? We don’t want to speak for Veesaar or make any assumptions, but this just sucks as a whole for him. After averaging 17 points and eight rebounds per game, while taking home all-conference honors, it’s a bit of a stunner that his draft slide has taken place like this.
Had Veesaar returned to school, North Carolina’s 2026-27 outlook would have been looking much stronger. Instead, Malone went overseas to bring in Sayon Keita and Alexandros Samodurov to help carry the load near the glass. That helps, but replacing Veesaar was always going to be a difficult task, as he’s a dominant force. We can play the ‘what if’ game all we want had he stayed in Chapel Hill for one more season, but that’s pointless. Still, it’s now feeling like Veesaar got some bad advice, and that playing for Malone would have been the best thing for him next campaign.
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This spring, more than 62,000 people from North Carolina and
around the world watched as six barn owl eggs hatched live on the North Carolina Wild Life Resource Commission’s “Owl Cam.”
“We have folks who have watched from almost every
state, as well as Canada, Switzerland, Germany, the UK, France, the
Netherlands, Portugal, New Zealand, Italy, Estonia, Ireland, Argentina, Sweden,
Spain and more,” said Wildlife Conservation Engagement Coordinator Austin
Hill.
When asked what he thinks people connect with most while
watching the owls, Hill said the camera offers a rare look into the lives of
barn owls.
“We don’t see them too often at all, and it’s giving
people a glimpse into the life of a barn owl,” Hill said. “It’s very
rare that we’re able to see inside the nest of any creature that’s hidden in a
cavity.”
Hill said viewers enjoyed watching the owlets hatch, grow,
learn to fly and experience all the clumsy moments in between.
At this time all the owls have fledged, meaning they have all learned how to
fly.
“The oldest three owls fledged on the (June)
15th, they’re all females and then the male, the youngest, fledged on
the (June) 20th and you’ll start to see them popping around the
barn,” Hill said.
The webcam will continue to show the adult owls delivering
food to the nest as the owls prepare to leave the barn and learn to hunt.
The
young owls will learn by watching the behaviors of their parents. Depending on their development, the owls could
leave as early as July or as late as September or October.
NCWRC installed the owl nest box in 2011.
It was installed in an undisclosed remote location in Western North Carolina
and used for agency monitoring.
The idea of having a live webcam was a recent idea
created during and Educational Division
meeting.
“It allows us to see what happens in the nest of an
elusive raptor and behaviors we wouldn’t be able to observe from outside the
box,” Hill said. “We’re building out some K-12 curriculum to go along
with the camera so it can extend into the classroom.”
Once the young owls leave, the camera will go offline sometime this fall.
Hill
said staff will perform maintenance on the barn, relocate one of the cameras
and then put the system back in place in hopes that the same owl pair returns
this winter to begin its courtship and mating season. If that happens, the
process can start all over again.
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