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Wrightsville × Wilmington
Monday, August 24, 2026
Monday Edition · 5 Min Read
Good morning, Wilmington.
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In The Loop
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U.S.-Canada trade talks collapsed this week, and Canada says retaliatory tariffs start Sept. 8 — here's what that means for your wallet. |
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Leland's newest shopping center just signed 11 new tenants, making it one of the bigger retail expansions on the Cape Fear in recent memory. |
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The AI industry's political honeymoon is officially over — data centers have become the 2026 midterms' hottest punching bag. |
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A Wilmington skate park got a new name this week, and the story behind it is worth a few minutes of your Monday. |
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Markets
| Name |
Value |
Change |
YTD |
| Nasdaq |
26,180.46 |
+0.43% |
+12.67% |
| S&P 500 |
7,674.37 |
+0.43% |
+11.90% |
| Dow |
53,277.01 |
+0.98% |
+10.12% |
| 10-Year Treasury |
4.738% |
+0.89% |
+13.16% |
| Bitcoin |
$77,305.34 |
+0.30% |
-12.88% |
Data provided by Yahoo Finance · Market data as of most recent close
Markets managed a modest green finish to close the week, but the gains feel tentative with the 10-Year Treasury yield creeping toward 4.74% — a number that tends to make investors nervous about valuations on high-growth names. The U.S.-Canada trade war blowing up in the background didn't help sentiment, and with retaliatory tariffs now on the calendar for September, expect rate and trade noise to dominate headlines heading into the fall.
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Top Story
U.S.-Canada Trade Talks Are Over. The Bill Comes Due Sept. 8.
After a brief pause that gave negotiators a few extra days to work something out, U.S.-Canada trade talks collapsed this week with no deal in hand. The Trump administration's 50% tariffs on Canadian goods are now in effect, and Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney — who has described his country as being 'at war' with the U.S. — says retaliatory tariffs will kick in on September 8. The list of newly taxed Canadian goods runs from whisky to hockey sticks to lumber, the last of which hits the construction industry particularly hard. For a Wilmington market still working through elevated home prices, any new pressure on building materials is worth watching closely. The breakdown also underscores a recurring tension in the administration's trade strategy: aggressive tariff threats are effective leverage right up until a trading partner decides to call the bluff.
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Quick Hits
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Leland's Shopping Center Just Landed 11 New Tenants at Once
A Leland shopping center has signed on 11 new retailers and restaurants in one fell swoop, a sign that Brunswick County's growth story is still very much in motion. No word yet on which names are coming, but the volume of signings suggests the center's owners aren't having any trouble filling space.
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Skate Park Gets a New Name — and a Story Worth Knowing
A Wilmington skate park was officially renamed this week in memory of a local skater, with the community turning out to honor someone by all accounts deeply loved. Sometimes a name change is just a name change; this one sounds like it meant something.
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TikTok Just Wrote a $400 Million Check to Make a Lawsuit Go Away
The DOJ and TikTok settled a children's privacy suit this week for $400 million — one of the largest penalties of its kind ever. The case centered on allegations that TikTok collected data on minors without proper consent, and the nine-figure number suggests the government wasn't bluffing.
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Prescription Drug Prices Are Actually Falling — Here's Why
Medicare drug price negotiations are starting to show up at the pharmacy counter, with prescription prices declining more than many analysts expected. It's one of the more tangible consumer wins in an otherwise tough cost-of-living environment, and it's worth understanding what's driving it.
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National Story with a Local Angle
Data Centers Went From Economic Win to Political Liability Overnight
What started as a race to attract AI data center investment has turned into a full-blown political backlash, and it's scrambling midterm races from Texas to Virginia. Texas Governor Greg Abbott — once a champion of the boom — said this week that data centers 'dug their own grave' by straining power grids and driving up electricity costs for residents. North Carolina has been one of the more aggressive states in courting this kind of infrastructure investment, and the Wilmington region has seen its share of industrial and tech-adjacent development interest. The question now is whether local and state leaders are watching Texas's cautionary tale closely enough to get ahead of the grid and community concerns before voters do.
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What Else Is In The Loop
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America's National Debt Just Crossed $40 Trillion
The U.S. national debt surpassed $40 trillion this week, and the interest payments alone are now crowding out spending on just about everything else in the federal budget. Ray Dalio weighed in, recommending gold and bitcoin as hedges, and warning that a debt crisis is closer than Washington seems to realize.
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Moderna and Merck's Cancer Vaccine Just Had a Very Good Week
Shares of Moderna and Merck surged after new data on their joint mRNA cancer vaccine showed strong results, reigniting investor enthusiasm for a treatment that could be a genuine medical breakthrough. The vaccine targets personalized tumor antigens, meaning it's tailored to individual patients — a level of precision that would have seemed like science fiction a decade ago.
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The Job Market Is Broken in a New and Specific Way
A new report finds that AI has made applying for jobs faster and easier than ever — which has paradoxically made the job search itself significantly worse. Companies are drowning in AI-generated applications, ghost jobs are proliferating, and actual human hiring decisions are getting slower, leaving candidates in a frustrating limbo that is eroding trust in the whole process.
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Business Beat
A New Facility on N. 23rd Street Is About to Give One Wilmington Firm Room to Grow
A Wilmington-area company is building a new facility on North 23rd Street, with the project designed specifically to support the firm's expansion plans. Details on the business and the scope of the build are still limited, but new commercial construction on that corridor is always worth watching as the city's industrial footprint continues to evolve.
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One More Thing
Lamar Odom Is Coming to Wilmington, and the Reason Is a Good One
Two-time NBA champion Lamar Odom will headline a fundraising luncheon for Coastal Horizons, the local nonprofit that provides substance abuse treatment and mental health services across the Cape Fear region. Odom's own very public battle with addiction makes him a genuinely meaningful choice for this kind of event, not just a celebrity booking. If you've got any connection to the recovery community or just want to hear a compelling story told in person, this one's worth a look.
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Weekend Events
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Adult Story Hour for Cape Fear Literacy Council
Adult Story Hour returns to benefit the Cape Fear Literacy Council, pairing a good cause with the kind of low-key community event that's easy to show up for.
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Quote of the Week
“When the world pushes you to your knees, you're in the perfect position to pray.”
— Rumi
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The Loop
Wilmington’s Morning Briefing
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The Loop · 7304 Edith Court · Wilmington, NC 28411
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