North Carolina
The brewing recovery in Western North Carolina : The Indicator from Planet Money
Sean Rayford/Getty Images

Sean Rayford/Getty Images
The Federal Reserve’s last Beige Book of 2024 is like Spotify Wrapped but for the economy. There’s a little bit of everything inside — labor markets, inflation and even natural disasters. On today’s show, we spotlight Western North Carolina’s challenging recovery after Hurricane Helene, and check in with an Asheville malt manufacturer on the impact to local businesses.
For sponsor-free episodes of The Indicator from Planet Money, subscribe to Planet Money+ via Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org.
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North Carolina
North Carolina man extradited to Pa. for $100,000 ATM theft spree: police
A 42-year-old North Carolina man on Tuesday was extradited to Pennsylvania after state police said he stole more than $100,000 from ATMs in Snyder and Union counties.
Between Sept. 30 and Oct. 1, Antoni J. Garcia-Cordoba, of Raleigh, North Carolina, stole from four ATMs at Central Penn Bank and Trust locations, state police said.
In a five-hour span, Garcia-Cordoba took $43,000 from three separate ATMs in Snyder and Union counties, according to a police report. On Oct. 1, he stole an additional $58,000 from an ATM in Titusville, bringing the total amount stolen to $101,000.
Garcia-Cordoba is charged with two counts of corrupt organizations – employee, a first-degree felony, and two counts of theft by unlawful taking, a third-degree felony.
After being in custody at a jail in Boone County, Missouri, Garcia-Cordoba was extradited to Union County on Tuesday.
He is being held in the Union County Prison after being unable to post $100,000 bail. A preliminary hearing is scheduled for Jan. 13, 2026.
North Carolina
11 firefighters and 2 others injured after North Carolina house fire and explosion
SALISBURY, N.C. — Eleven firefighters and two other people were injured in a house fire explosion in the Piedmont region of North Carolina, officials said.
Salisbury Fire Chief Bob Parnell said firefighters did not have life-threatening injuries but were getting treated for contusions, concussions and smoke inhalation following the fire Monday evening. Two other people were taken to the hospital, but Parnell said he didn’t know their conditions and couldn’t confirm whether they were in the house at the time of the fire.
The Salisbury Fire Department responded to the single-family home around 5 p.m. and found it engulfed in flames.
Eleven of the 22 firefighters at the scene went inside the house to search for occupants and “get water on that fire,” which preceded the explosion, Panell said at a news conference.
“It was enough force that the outside walls blew out, the roof came up and went back down,” Parnell said.
An investigation of the fire and explosion is continuing.
North Carolina
Harrison Bertos scores in OT to help Washington beat N.C. State 3-2 and win first Men’s College Cup
CARY, N.C. (AP) — Harrison Bertos scored 1:54 into overtime after Washington blew a two-goal lead in the second half, and the Huskies beat North Carolina State 3-2 to win the Men’s College Cup at First Horizon Stadium on Monday night.
It was the first national championship for unseeded Washington (16-6-2), who became the first team to win six road matches in the tournament — beating six seeded teams along the way under the guidance of coach Jamie Clark. The Huskies won in their second trip to the final after losing 2-0 to Clemson in 2021.
No. 15 seed N.C. State (16-3-4) made the final for the first time behind coach Marc Hubbard. The Wolfpack were aiming for the school’s first national championship since Jim Valvano led the men’s basketball team to the title in 1983.
Zach Ramsey scored unassisted with 1:12 remaining in the first half and Washington took a 1-0 lead into the break. It was only the second time this season that N.C. State trailed at halftime.
Ramsey scored into an empty net after Wolfpack goalkeeper Logan Erb couldn’t corral the ball at the top of the box. It was Ramsey’s second goal of the tournament.
Richie Aman sent a cross to the center of the goal and Joe Dale knocked it in for a 2-0 lead in the 62nd minute.
Donavan Phillip answered in the 66th, scoring with an assist from Nikola Markovic to cut it to 2-1 with his fourth goal of the tournament. The Wolfpack entered 11-0-1 when Phillip scores.
Taig Healy scored the equalizer with 3:28 remaining with assists from Justin Mclean and Calem Tommy.
Egor Akulov had an assist on Bertos’ winner.
Huskies keeper Jadon Bowton, the only remaining player from the 2021 squad, had five saves.
Erb saved six shots for N.C. State, which was the last school to concede a goal this season.
The temperature was 28 degrees when the match between two teams that had never faced each other began.
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