$29.3B proposed by NC Gov. Cooper for state budget: Thursday, May 12

North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper said his proposed state budget for fiscal year 2022-2023 has sights set on everything from early childhood education to healthcare, while still cutting down on taxes. The price tag: $29,284,765,214.Cooper was joined in a Wednesday afternoon news conference by Charlie Perusse, the state budget director, to discuss the details of the budget during an afternoon news conference. As he opened up his conference, Cooper applauded Republicans in the state General Assembly for working with Democrats and his office last year to come up with a budget and says they're doing the same thing in 2022.This year's proposed budget, themed "Building on Success", includes an expansion in Medicaid, a key goal for Cooper after 2021's approved budget ended up not including it.READ MORE: https://www.wcnc.com/article/news/politics/north-carolina-politics/nc-budget-recommendation-cooper-government-politics/275-d4a82d27-8228-4a87-b35f-2f45ef1139d0Atrium Health announced Wednesday that it will merge with Advocate Aurora Health to provide a leading health care system for patients in the U.S. Together, the two companies will form Advocate Health. Atrium Health, which is one of Charlotte's largest employers, will nearly double in size as part of this merger. The company will serve more than 5 million patients across 1,000 sites and 67 hospitals. Advocate Health's headquarters will be based in Charlotte. It will have locations in Alabama, Georgia, Illinois, North Carolina, South Carolina and Wisconsin. The company will employ over 7,600 doctors, 41,000 nurses and 148,000 total employees.READ MORE: https://www.wcnc.com/article/money/business/atrium-health-advocate-aurora-health-merger-charlotte-headquarters/275-0bb988a8-6209-45e1-a3dc-1e220a03769cWatch Wake Up Charlotte each weekday morning from 4:30 to 7 a.m. on WCNC Charlotte, and as always, join the conversation on social media using #WakeUpCLT!