North State Journal — Vol. 2., Issue 17

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VOLUME 2 ISSUE 17

www.NSJONLINE.com | wednesday, April 26, 2017

In sports Dale Jr. announces 2017 retirement, page B1

YURI GRIPAS | reuters

James Lamb (second from left), of Lamb Farms and Prestage Farms from Clinton, N.C., and Steve Troxler (center) and Ray Starling (second from right), special assistant to the president on Agriculture, pose for a photo after President Donald Trump’s roundtable discussion with farmers at the White House in Washington on April 25.

the mid-week

News BRIEFing 8 inches of rain snarls traffic in central N.C. Raleigh Storms have dumped up to 8 inches of rain on parts of central N.C. since Sunday, causing widespread flash flooding and prompting high water rescues of stranded motorists. Flash flood watches posted by the National Weather Service had expired by Tuesday afternoon in much of central N.C., except in Raleigh, where Crabtree Creek rose 17 feet in 24 hours. Flood warnings were posted for rivers in 33 eastern counties.

Lawmakers move forward with bill to study shrinking school districts Raleigh The House Education Committee passed a measure that would launch a study into whether N.C.’s school systems could be broken up into smaller districts. Supporters of the measure say that smaller city and town-based districts would be easier to manage, as opposed to the county-based systems that have been combined into larger ones in recent years.

DHHS wants public input on Medicaid Raleigh The N.C. Department of Health and Human Services announced Tuesday that it is launching a one-month public comment period on Medicaid reform. The department will also hold four May information sessions in Greensboro, Greenville, Asheville and Raleigh. Comments can be emailed to MedicaidReform@ dhhs.nc.gov.

NORTH

STATE

JOURNaL ELEVATE THE CONVERSATION

NC election audit finds 500-plus cases of irregularity in 2016 vote Board of Elections says results not impacted, education key to limiting ineligible ballots

By Cory Lavalette North State Journal RALEIGH — Of the nearly 4.8 million votes cast in the state in the 2016 election 508, or 0.01 percent, were by ineligible voters, an audit released last week by the North Carolina State Board of Elections found.

The audit concluded there was not any organized, widespread attempt to impact the state’s election, calling most incidents “isolated and uncoordinated.”

“The evidence suggests that participation by ineligible voters is neither rampant nor nonexistent in North Carolina,” the report stated. The audit said no election results were impacted.

Nearly 79 percent of the 508

instances were made by felons who were ineligible to vote, according to the audit. The remainder were made up of a mix of noncitizens, double-voting and two cases of voter impersonation.

The audit listed 76 of North Carolina’s 100 counties as having at least one instance of voter irregularity, with the most coming in Guilford County (63).

“We appreciate the State Board of Elections’ efforts to investigate these types of irregularities, which undermine confidence in the integrity of our elections, and to share their findings with the public,” said Rep. Phil Berger (R-Rockingham), the leader of the Senate.

“If even one fraudulently cast ballot effectively disenfranchises a legitimate voter, then that is one too many, and that’s why we continue to support commonSee audit, page A3

Bee Downtown is partnering with businesses around the Triangle and other urban centers to bring back the bees.

$2.00

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By Donna King North State Journal WASHINGTON, D.C. — On Tuesday N.C.’s Commissioner of Agriculture Steve Troxler joined President Donald Trump, his newly confirmed Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue and the president’s special assistant on agriculture, Autryville native Ray Starling, at the White House. The group announced Trump’s latest executive order which represents what may be a new outlook on U.S. agriculture policy. This is the first time a group of farmers has met with a U.S. president in such a high-profile setting since the early Reagan years.

“Everybody was amazed at how engaged the president was, and the vice president was with him,” said Troxler in an interview with the North State Journal just after leaving the White House. “We really came away with a feeling that this is something we have never seen from a president in many, many years.

“We wanted to make our key points immigration reform, trade, regulatory reform and transportation infrastructure. We got all those point across and he really listened and got them. I think it went extremely well,” he added.

“Farmers led the way across the Great Plains,” said Trump after signing the executive order Promoting Agriculture and Rural Prosperity in America. “Now, they not only feed the country but the entire world.”

The order directs a six-month review of regulations across several federal agencies that impact agriculture, regulations critics say are stifling economic prosperity in rural America. Trump signed the order after holding a roundtable in the Roosevelt Room with 15 farmers from across the country, including Troxler, and James Lamb, a hog farmer for Prestage

madeline gray | North State Journal

“We really came away with a feeling that this is something we have never seen from a president in many, many years.”

N.C. Commissioner of Agriculture Steve Troxler

See troxler, page A2

More to state budgeting than meets the eye

By Jeff Moore North State Journal

the good life Page C5

20177 52016

Executive order directs 180-day review of industry regulations to improve rural focus and food security

The conflict between projected costs and revenues rests on multiple assumptions and perspectives

INSIDE

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Troxler joins Trump call to rethink agriculture policy

RALEIGH — A Republican tax reduction plan has received attention in the media and criticism from Democrats for apparent revenue shortfalls in coming years as projected by the Fiscal Research Division of the legislature in recent report. To better understand the nuances of budgeting on both sides of the ledger and afford readers context of the budgeting process, North State Journal spoke with fiscal policy expert and senior fellow at the John Locke

Foundation Joseph Coletti for his insights on revenue concerns and budgeting overall.

“The first thing is, even $600 million is about 2 percent of the budget, which is within the range of normal fluctuation,” said Coletti. “We’ve had billion dollar surpluses. We’re at $400 million in excess revenue so far this year and potentially more after we get the final numbers. So $600 million is not necessarily a huge amount when taking a look at a $22 billion budget. It’s a lot of money in real terms, but given what we’re taking a look at it’s within the range of error.”

The Fiscal Research Division uses a continuation budget method to project the ever-growing costs of state government proSee budget, page A8

North State Journal for Wednesday, April 26, 2017

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Gold Star family receives mortgage-free home

wednesday

04.26.17 #73

Neighbors, community leaders gather to celebrate a new sort of homecoming

By Olivia Burnette For the North State Journal aleigh — During a beautifully sunny April morning, R the front yard of the Palmer fami-

“Elevate the conversation”

ly’s future home began to fill with buzzing onlookers, waiting to catch a glimpse of the pure joy that was about to happen. Some notable members of the crowd were Larry Hall, secretary of the North Carolina Department of Military and Veterans Affairs, and Nancy McFarlane, the mayor of Raleigh.

They were there to see Tanya Palmer, along with children Brenden and Rebecca, and grandson Zackery, arrive at their future home in North Raleigh. The home is a gift from SunTrust Banks recognizing their sacrifice as a Gold Star Family. Gold Star Families are those who lost a family member military combat.

When asked if they had peeked at the house beforehand, Tanya Palmer admitted, “Kind of. We stalked it on Google!”

This was the eighth home given

by SunTrust through the Military Warrior Support Foundation, an organization that helps provide assistance to wounded veterans and Gold Star Families. While SunTrust has donated houses in Fayetteville, as well in Virginia, Georgia and South Carolina, this will be the first house located in the Triangle area. This is also the first home SunTrust Banks has provided for a Gold Star family.

Tanya Palmer married Marine Cpl. Charles Palmer in January 2006 after he was already in the Marine Corps. In 1995 he was stationed at Marine Corps Base Camp Lejeune located in Jacksonville, N.C., assigned to the 8th Communication Battalion. He re-enlisted in 2006 and served in Iraq.

However, in 2007 Palmer and another Marine were killed while in Al Anbar province in Iraq when a roadside bomb exploded near their Humvee. Charles Palmer was posthumously awarded the Purple Heart.

“Just to be able to welcome them into our community along with our incredible partners like SunTrust Banks, and to see all of their neighbors coming out to greet them really shows how Raleigh is as a community,” said Raleigh Mayor Nancy McFarlane.

The Palmer family is moving to Raleigh from Hubert, N.C., and Tanya Palmer will pursue a career in real estate.

“I feel like it was a really good

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North State Journal (USPS PP 166) (ISSN 2471-1365) Neal Robbins Publisher Donna King Managing Editor Drew Elliot Opinion Editor Will Brinson Sports Editor Published each Wednesday and Saturday by North State Media, LLC 819 W. Hargett Street, Raleigh, N.C. 27603 TO SUBSCRIBE: 866-458-7184 or online at nsjonline.com Annual Subscription Price: $100.00 Periodicals Postage Paid at Raleigh, N.C. and at additional mailing offices.

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Troxler from page A1

Farms from Sampson County.

The executive order also sunsets the Rural Council, formed in 2012, and replaces it with a new task force of White House and government officials from across different agencies to examine key issues facing farmers and rural communities. It will focus on biotechnology, environmental regulation, labor needs and boosting international trade. Farmers said

their primary hurdles come from agencies where few people understand agriculture.

“We obviously grow more food than we can eat in the United States,” said Starling. “So our real potential for economic growth is either talking you all into eating more, or to finding new markets for our products overseas.”

He said striking a balance between promoting rural economies and protecting national security through access to safe and ad-

Photos by madeline gray | North State Journal

Tanya Palmer, right, holds her grandson Zackery while touring her new home with her daughter Rebecca Tomlinson, center, and Katie Slattery, left, of Military Warriors Support Foundation, on April 22 in Raleigh.

Tanya Palmer holds her grandson Zackery while standing with her two children Rebecca and Brendan as Pat Polson, right, Senior Vice President of SunTrust Mortgage, presents the family with a mortgage free home.

decision to move back here because I am getting back into work after 10 years and I think being here will allow me to be more successful,” she said.

Katie Slattery, a financial and family mentor for Military Warriors Support Foundation, helped

coordinate the Palmers’ move, but her work with them doesn’t end when they move in. In addition to a home the program provides ongoing family and financial mentoring.

“I will work with Tanya for the next three years on a monthly basis and help her feel really settled into the home,” said Slattery.

Palmer and her family also had some goodies waiting for them when they moved in: a gift basket filled with donations from area retailers including Chick-fil-A, Dunkin Donuts, Home Depot, LaVida Massage, Food Lion and the Raleigh Mortgage Bankers Association was waiting for them.

As the family posed with their large, blue key before entering their new home, a neighbor shouted out, “Welcome to the neighborhood!” bringing laughter from the crowd.

Military Warriors Support Foundation has facilitated more than 700 homes to wounded veterans or Gold Star Families since it was founded in 2007. Its mission is to help ease the transition for injured veterans and their families during a time of recovery and crisis. Beyond homes, the organization also helps with career counseling, transportation and recreational activities for hundreds of veterans each year.

equate food supplies may mean tough policy choices ahead.

“In these rural communities, the best thing we can do to make them grow quickly and economically is to focus on agriculture because it is the No. 1 driver in most of these rural communities, but we certainly understand that’s not the only silver bullet,” said Starling. “One of the things the task force is charged with doing is looking at those rural communities and also making recommen-

dations with regard to what we can do to promote their economic stability as well.”

The new focus on America’s growers also comes as Perdue, the former Republican governor of Georgia, was confirmed Monday night by the U.S. Senate, 87 to 11, as the new U.S. secretary of Agriculture. Both of N.C.’s senators voted in favor of confirming Perdue. The confirmation leaves just one member of Trump’s cabinet still to be confirmed; labor secre-

tary nominee Alex Acosta.

“The president gave some directives in the meeting to the new secretary, and I think with his help and with the help of Ray Starling, we are going to really make some progress,” said Troxler.

Perdue’s confirmation also comes as N.C.’s Washington delegation works in Congress to formulate a new farm bill to help American food producers, particularly as global food demand is expected to spike by 2050.

700+ homes facilitated by Military Warriors Support Foundation since 2007

May 12th, 2017 – Raleigh, N.C. Sheraton Raleigh Hotel

Foreign Policy and Trade Challenges in the Age of Trump featuring

Senator Burr*, Senator Thom Tillis*, Ambassador John Bolton*, and White House National Economic Council Director Gary Cohn For agenda, ticket and sponsorship infomation, visit us at www.JesseHelmsCenter.org Hosted by the John William Pope Foundation & The Jesse Helms Center Foundation Any additional questions please email info@jessehelmscenter.org *Confirmed speakers

North State Journal for Wednesday, April 26, 2017

A3 The Waters of the United States (WOTUS) rule grants regulatory control over virtually all waters by effectively eliminating the term “navigable” previously imposed on the U.S. Army Corp of Engineers and the EPA’s jurisdiction.

Critics say it is a scope of authority that Congress has not authorized.

Farm advocates are concerned that their land could fall under federal control.

file photo

Cooper administration withdraws from Waters of the U.S. lawsuit Stakeholders, including farming advocates, caught off guard by decision

By Mollie Young North State Journal ALEIGH — In a quiet move last week, the Cooper adminR istration retreated from litigation

that challenges a series of aggressive Obama-era environmental regulations.

Last Thursday, North Carolina Attorney General Josh Stein filed a petition on behalf of N.C. Department of Environmental Quality’s Secretary Michael Regan to withdraw North Carolina from the multi-state lawsuit challenging the Waters of the U.S. (WOTUS) rule.

Major stakeholders say they were left in the dark.

Under former Republican Gov. Pat McCrory, North Carolina challenged an interpretation of the Clean Water Act which expanded federal authority over small streams and wetlands, a regulation which farmers, developers and their advocates said went too far.

The Clean Water Act dates back to the 1970s and, among other things, outlined that the federal government had jurisdiction over navigable waters — waters deep and wide enough for a boat to pass through. However, in 2015 the Obama administration instituted the Waters of the U.S. rule, or “Clean Water Rule,” that expanded jurisdiction to include streams and marshes they felt affected those big waters.

“We cannot protect the down-

madeline gray | North State Journal

Gov. Roy Cooper gives the State of the State address at the North Carolina House of Representatives on March 13.

stream, float-a-boat Mississippi River unless we protect all the little streams and wetlands that feed into that river,” Jan Goldman-Carter, an attorney for the National Wildlife Federation and a former EPA official, told NPR in February.

But agriculture and rural advocates fought hard against the order, most notably through the U.S. Farm Bureau’s “Ditch the Rule” campaign.

“It is an overreach of federal authority on private property,” said Larry Wooten, president of the North Carolina Farm Bureau. “It gives the federal government control of farm land in North Carolina. We all support clean water, but

this is more than about clean water — it’s about control of the land.”

Wooten said he was not notified by anyone within Gov. Roy Cooper’s administration about the withdrawal.

North Carolina originally signed on with 30 other states to sue the EPA and Army Corps of Engineers for what they felt was a federal overreach. The case was stayed in the 6th Circuit Court of Appeals in August, and by January opponents of the rule had another major ally on their team — President Donald Trump.

Trump ordered a review of the WOTUS rule in an executive order only one month into his presidency.

“A few years ago, the EPA decided that navigable waters can mean nearly every puddle or every ditch on a farmer’s land, or any place else that they decide,” Trump said before signing the order. “It was a massive power grab. The EPA’s regulators are putting people out of jobs by the hundreds of thousands.”

Cooper administration officials pointed to those recent orders as motivation for pulling out of both the Clean Power Plan litigation in February and the Clean Water Rule litigation this month.

“The N.C. Department of Environmental Quality felt it prudent to withdraw from this case because the EPA has announced its intention to rescind or revise the rule,” said DEQ spokesperson Jamie Kritzer.

But stakeholders were left in the dark and opponents say the move, which was not publicized like the Clean Power Plan in February, sends the wrong message.

“If the rule was dead and buried, then lawsuits might not be necessary,” said Commissioner Steve Troxler, head of the N.C. Department of Agriculture. “But until then, I don’t think North Carolina should back off of fighting something we know is bad for our farmers,” “It is an unwise decision,” said Rep. Jimmy Dixon (R-Duplin), a strong advocate for farmers in the state legislature. “I would favor staying in the lawsuit, irregardless of what he may think now may not happen. We need to remain in a position of strength.”

Some worry that the parallel moves with the Clean Power and Clean Water Plans could indicate there is a broader Cooper agenda at play. Dixon said if the withdrawals signal a pivot to similar state-powered protections, that they “would meet with great resistance at the General Assembly.”

Audit from page A1

sense policies like voter ID that improve voter confidence.”

The vast majority of cases — 441 in all — were by ineligible felons.

North Carolina law states convicted felons can have their voting rights restored, but only once their entire sentence — prison time, parole, probation and/or restitution — is complete.

The report stated some of those votes were made by people who did know they had lost their right to submit a ballot due to their conviction. Under state law, a felon can still be convicted for voting illegally even if they were unaware that their voting rights had been taken away. So far, 16 cases of felons illegally voting in the 2016 election have been referred to district attorneys, and 425 were still being investigated and expected to be referred, the audit stated.

The audit said educating felons on their voting rights and updating elections software are two steps that could alleviate the problem.

In all, 41 non-U.S. citizens from 28 different countries voted illegally in North Carolina. They came from every continent but Antarctica. Two of the 41 were listed as coming from an unknown country of origin.

The North Carolina election audit said some of the 24 cases of double-voting appeared to be “testers” trying to find a way to beat the system, while others attempted to “brush past the law to sup-

508

Cases of voter irregularity in N.C. in the 2016 election

41

non-U.S. citizens from 28 different countries voted illegally in N.C.

76

of North Carolina’s 100 counties as having at least one instance of voter irregularity, port their candidate by any means necessary.” Some voted twice because they believed their property ownership in multiple districts should allow them to cast ballots in each, the audit stated.

The two reported cases of voter impersonation were the result of a family member voting for a deceased relative.

In one case, an investigation found a woman mailed in an absentee ballot for her hospitalized husband after she and his family witnessed him show his desire to vote. She purposely left the ballot unsigned, saying she misunderstood the directions. Following her husband’s death, she received another ballot from her county board of elections — all names and locations were redacted from the

eamon queeney | North State Journal file

The North Carolina State Board of Elections released an audit of the 2016 election.

report — to be completed because the initial ballot was not signed, and she later signed his name and hand-delivered it.

In the other instance, a woman said she cast a vote for Donald Trump for her deceased mother as a fulfillment of her dying wish.

Using her power of attorney, the daughter cast the ballot following her mother’s death because an absentee ballot had not arrived in time. Prosecutors have already decided not to pursue that case.

Trump, who won the presiden-

cy with 304 electoral votes, called for a “major investigation” of voter fraud after it was revealed he lost the popular vote to Democrat Hillary Clinton by nearly 3 million. Trump’s claims of “millions of people who voted illegally” have thus far been unsubstantiated and there has not yet been a federal investigation.

Of the 508 illegal votes, 326 (54 percent) were registered Democrats, compared to 91 Republican (15 percent), 87 unaffiliated (14 percent) and four Libertarians.

Trump’s tax duo to brief senior congressional leaders White House is expected to release a proposed tax plan on Wednesday

By Susan Cornwell and Ginger Gibson Reuters WASHINGTON, D.C. — President Donald Trump’s two tax policy chiefs were slated to go to Capitol Hill late on Tuesday to meet with top lawmakers as Washington dug for details on an impending Trump tax plan.

Due out on Wednesday, the plan is expected to include only broad principles of tax changes, not formal legislation, and a proposal to slash the U.S. corporate income tax rate, with additional components still the subject of much speculation.

One veteran tax lobbyist said Congress and the White House were still likely to strike a tax deal this year.

Simply by releasing a plan Trump is demonstrating that he is “interested, engaged” and even if it does not match the House plan, it will spark further discussions, the lobbyist said.

Lawmakers were waiting to see whether Trump will include items that could attract Democratic votes, such as a proposal to fund infrastructure spending or a child-care tax credit as proposed by his daughter Ivanka.

Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin and National Economic Council Director Gary Cohn, both veterans of investment bank Goldman Sachs, were scheduled to present the plan at the office of Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.).

Trump’s plan will reportedly include a sharp cut in the top tax rate on pass-through businesses, including many small business partnerships and sole proprietorships, to 15 percent from 39.6 percent.

Meeting Mnuchin and Cohn along with McConnell will be House Speaker Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) and the chairmen of the Senate and House tax committees: Orrin Hatch (R-Utah) and Kevin Brady (R-Texas), respectively.

Trump has directed aides to move quickly on a plan to cut the corporate income tax rate to 15 percent from 35 percent, a Trump administration official said on Monday.

Analysts said the Trump plan could also cap the individual top tax rate at 33 percent, repeal the estate and alternative minimum taxes, and cut taxes for the middle class.

Mnuchin has said Trump’s tax plan will “pay for itself” by stimulating economic growth.

The House Republican plan, championed by Ryan and Brady, did include such “pay-fors,” but they were controversial, divided the business community and undermined support for the plan.

One of these “pay-fors” was a controversial proposed “border adjustment” tax that would cut taxes on exports and raise them on imports. Analysts said this was not expected to be in Trump’s document. N.C. lobbyists business owners have been vocal opponents of the boarder adjustment tax.

The Ryan-Brady plan proposed a 20 percent corporate tax rate. Many U.S. corporations, especially large multinationals, already pay well below the statutory 35 percent tax rate, but have been campaigning for a formal rate cut for many years.

Trump’s plan may also include a proposal to let multinationals bring foreign profits being held abroad into the United States at a steeply discounted income tax rate, another long-standing goal of the corporate tax lobbying community.

Any changes in the tax code must be approved by Congress, which has a Republican majority in both chambers.

North State Journal for Wednesday, April 26, 2017

A4

North State Journal for Wednesday, April 26, 2017

Murphy to Manteo

A5

Jones & Blount jonesandblount.com @JonesandBlount

Holmes Hendersonville

PHOTO COURTESY OF HOLMES EDUCATIONAL STATE FOREST FACEBOOK

Located in Henderson County, Holmes’ rugged Blue Ridge terrain provides visitors with a unique assortment of hardwoods, scenic vistas, rock outcroppings, rhododendrons, flame azaleas and wildflowers.

The well-marked trails make accessing and viewing these features easy. Various exhibits help educate on the ecology of the diverse forest.

Rendezvous Mountain Purlear

Clemmons Clayton

Jordan Lake Chapel Hill

Tuttle Lenoir

Mount Holly

Elizabethtown

Arbor Day, which is a nationally recognized holiday occurring Friday, April 28, encourages people to celebrate the natural and wondrous beauty of the Earth starting with the essential — trees. On Arbor Day, individuals and groups are encouraged to plant and care for trees. Aside from producing oxygen, trees provide habitats for birds, squirrels and other species found throughout the world. Arbor Day started in 1872 by J. Sterling Morton with a simple concept — set aside a special day for planting a tree.

Today, families and children alike can celebrate and

Polk County The state Department of Transportation is asking for public opinion on a new Interstate 26 interchange that will provide a direct connection to U.S. 74.

One goal of the project is to improve access prior to the EFI World Equestrian Games taking place in Tryon over two weeks in September. A public meeting was held Tuesday but comments can be made by mail until May 25 to Kenneth McDowell, project engineer, NCDOT Highway Division 14, 253 Webster Road, Sylva, N.C. 28770, or by email to kjmcdowell@ncdot.gov.

ABC13 WLOS

Watauga County The closure of RadioShack in Boone Mall is confirmed with the closing date unknown. The closing of the mall’s J.C. Penney store is likely to be pushed back another month or so with several “going out of business” signs already posted.

Currently, seven out of 29 retail spaces in the mall are available for lease with recent closures including Maurices, Belk Home Store, and Reigs Salon. C.K. Golden-Fields, Boone Mall manager, said the closures don’t indicate struggles with businesses or the mall, just changing times.

Watauga Democrat

PHOTO COURTESY OF CLEMMONS EDUCATIONAL STATE FOREST FACEBOOK

learn more about Arbor Day at one of our seven North Carolina Educational State Forests. ESFs are designed to educate the public about the forest environment. Centered toward education of younger ages, the forests feature specially trained rangers who conduct tours for school classes and youth groups.

The 30-minute program highlights all aspects of the forest environment like soil, water, timber and forest management.

For those wanting to explore on their own, each ESF also features self-guided trails including exhibits, tree indication signs, a talking tree trail and forest education center.

PIEDMONT

Library establishes endowment fund Catawba County The Catawba County Library System announced the establishment of an endowment fund last week to help keep a prosperous future for libraries in the area. Library director Suzanne White said the endowment will allow residents to give back and make a difference, and she also noted their partnership with N.C. Community Foundation to establish and manage the fund. Besides books and literacy, the Catawba County Library System also offers educational programs and services like 3-D printing.

Those who donate $1,000 or more will receive acknowledgement on the library endowment plaque.

Hickory Daily Record

Another store closes in Boone Mall

RALEIGH — N.C. legislative leaders filed a request that a three-judge panel and the N.C. Court of Appeals affirm that Senate Bill 68 complies with the law and to dismiss a lawsuit filed by Gov. Roy Cooper. The filings come the day after the N.C. Senate voted to override Cooper’s veto of Senate Bill 68. The bill creates an ethics and elections enforcement board with eight members, half Democrats and half Republicans, all appointed by the governor.

Senate Bill 68 was a second attempt by the Republican-led General Assembly to reform the State Board of Elections after Cooper sued and a judicial panel ruled a previous bill violated the constitutionally mandated separation of powers. Tuesday’s filing requests that the same three-judge panel vacate their prior ruling.

Lawmakers adjusted the legislation to address judges concerns. In addition to giving

Turnbull Creek

Arbor Day map title

NCDOT seeks public opinion

By Donna King North State Journal

Opening in 1976, Clemmons was North Carolina's first Educational State Forest. Located in Johnston County between the Piedmont and Coastal Plains, the pine stands and hardwoods are situated on a tranquil environment full of rolling hills, streams and rock formations.

Mountain Island

west

Cooper gets a veto override and criticism over H.B. 2

Vance County State auditor Beth Wood reported last week that Henderson-based nonprofit Franklin Vance Warren Opportunity Inc. misused $350,000 in funds intended for pre-K education. The nonprofit serves low-income families and more than three-quarters of its funding come from state and federal governments.

The report shows over a four-year period the amount was diverted away from pre-K programs and used for other purposes like computer equipment and legal services. In a response letter, the nonprofit disagreed with Wood, claiming the state misunderstood its contractual relationship with other entities, but did not dispute the findings about the chief executive’s salary and legal expenses.

Greensboro News & Record

Forest City shooter still on the run Rutherford County Forest City police are asking for public assistance in search of a person involved in a Saturday night shooting at 309 Harmon St. Nathaniel Whitesides, 32, was shot in the abdomen then airlifted to Spartanburg Regional Hospital where he is in stable condition. Whitesides did not live at the house where the shooting occurred. Det. Chris Weeks said Whitesides and the suspect had an altercation before the shooting, and police have also received calls at the same house about drug use.

WLOS

Cooper accused of political games after tapping Court of Appeals replacement

Woman confesses to lying about viral snake ball picture

State auditor finds misuse of nonprofit funds

Man rescued from flood waters Wilkes County A man was rescued Monday morning from atop the cab of his Ford pickup truck after flood waters swept the vehicle off the low-water bridge over Roaring River. Roaring River Firefighter Anthony Sweat tied a rope to his waist with the other end tied to another firefighter.

Sweat had to wade about 20 feet to reach the pickup and help the man to safety.

A flood warning was in effect for Wilkes County until 3 p.m. Monday.

Cooper the appointment powers, a simple majority vote — down from a supermajority of six to just five out of eight — would now be required to make decisions regarding elections and ethics issues, a move legislators hope will encourage bipartisan cooperation.

“It is ironic that Gov. Cooper lectured the legislature about pursuing ‘partisan power grabs’ when he vetoed a bill creating a bipartisan board to ensure our ethics and elections laws are enforced fairly — and for no other reason than to strengthen his own political advantage,” said Senate Rules Committee Chairman Bill Rabon (R-Brunswick) in a statement following the override vote. “I am confident this change — which actually answers the court’s call to let the governor make all appointments to that board — is a step in the right direction for North Carolina.”

However, Cooper said the issue will go back to court. Following his veto last week Cooper threatened to sue again if the legislature should override his veto.

Mecklenburg County Charlotte native Christina Proffitt, 23, who posted the picture of a “snake mating ball” which made it to national publications confessed last week she did not take the picture. The picture was originally taken by Jessica Jackson who sent it to Proffitt. Two other friends encouraged Proffitt to post it and claim it as her own. One even persuaded her in hopes of landing a job at WBTV. The original picture has been removed from Twitter and Proffitt issued a public apology.

Fox8 WGHP

EAST Date turns into robbery, stabbing Cumberland County What was supposed to be a nice Saturday night date turned violent between Lechonte-Andrea Ilima Day and Sylvanus Ralls. Day asked Ralls to drive her home and upon arriving at the residence, Nikita Fuquell Creech came out of the home with a knife. Ralls suffered two stab wounds to the back, including one that punctured his liver, and his phone, car keys, credit cards and $300 in cash were stolen. He was taken to an unidentified hospital with serious injuries. Day originally claimed she didn’t know Creech, but text messages revealed the two plotted the robbery.

Both are being held on a $10,000 bail.

Fayetteville Observer

Golf course to become park Forsyth County Winston-Salem City Council members voted Monday to approve 164 acres of the former Long Creek Golf Club as new park land. The land is located north of Bethania and the city plans to buy 100 acres at $503,000 while the Conservation Fund will buy the remaining 64 acres for $236,500.

William Royston, director of Recreation & Parks for Winston-Salem, said the city will have both public meetings and bring in a consultant to decide what the park will have. One thing to be expected is the reopening of the golf course pool, walking trails and possibly disc golf.

Bear causes school lockdown Halifax County Roanoke Rapids High School went into a soft lockdown April 20 after a bear was spotted roaming campus. Manning Elementary was also notified as the bear was headed toward the school but never spotted. It was the third bear sighting in a week in Roanoke Rapids.

ABC11

Governor named John Arrowood within minutes of judge’s resignation and days after vetoing bill to shrink the court

Otters get birthday surprise Dare County Two male otters, Finn and Banks, who reside at Roanoke Island’s Aquarium got a special third birthday surprise on Thursday — frozen birthday cake.

The cakes were made from fish, blackberries, carrots and other otter edibles. The female otters were also able to join in the treat. The otters flipped the cakes, took bites and played while aquarium visitors were treated to the show.

WAVY-TV

New towing regulations issued Currituck County New regulations will require towers to register before they can work and tow stranded vehicles out of four-wheel drive areas north of Corolla. The ordinance, passed April 17 by commissioners, will also require towers to be licensed by the state Division of Motor Vehicles, carry proper insurance for a towing company, and be based in Currituck or an adjacent county with proper storage for vehicles and equipment. The ordinance is issued only for those trying to operate a towing service on the beach, not for a passing Good Samaritan who offers to help a stranded vehicle for no compensation.

By Donna King North State Journal RALEIGH — Judge John Arrowood was sworn onto the N.C. Court of Appeals Monday to fill the vacancy of Judge Douglas McCullough, who resigned effective Monday morning. McCullough served on the Court of Appeals for 14 years and faced mandatory retirement next month due to his age.

Gov. Roy Cooper appointed Arrowood less than an hour after receiving notice of McCullough’s resignation.

The appointment tips the balance on the state’s John Arrowood second-highest court and was an opportunity to fill a seat with a political ally while the state’s Republican-led legislature weighed plans to override Cooper’s Friday veto. Last week Cooper vetoed a bill to reduce the N.C. Court of Appeals by three judges, to 12 total.

Insiders believe Arrowood, an openly gay judge, was a strategic choice after Cooper’s

fallout with the LGBT community in the wake of the H.B. 2 repeal and his support for compromise bill, H.B. 142. Arrowood was previously appointed to the Court of Appeals in 2007 by then-N.C. Gov. Mike Easley, a Democrat. However, he was defeated for re-election in 2014.

“After his nonstop rhetoric about ‘partisan politics having no place on the judges’ bench,’ Gov. Cooper needs to explain why he put his partisan allegiance above the voters by singlehandedly changing the party makeup of the Court of Appeals with a Democrat who was soundly rejected by them in 2014,” said Amy Auth, spokeswoman for Senate Leader Phil Berger (R-Rockingham).

The measure Cooper vetoed, H.B. 239, directed that as seats become vacant on the bench they not be filled until the number of judges is reduced. Unless the state legislature votes to override the veto, the N.C. Court of Appeals will remain at 15 judges serving on three-judge panels.

Arrowood graduated from Catawba College and received his law degree at UNC Chapel Hill School of Law. He clerked for Judge Gerald Arnold at the N.C. Court of Appeals and served under then-Attorney General Cooper on the N.C. Attorney General’s Advisory Commission on Statutes.

“His experience as a judge on this court makes him uniquely qualified to hit the ground running and ensure that justice is swiftly delivered,” said Cooper of Arrowood on Monday.

Outer Banks Voice

Winston-Salem Journal

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North State Journal for Wednesday, April 26, 2017

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north STATEment Neal Robbins, publisher | Drew Elliot, opinion editor | Ray Nothstine, deputy opinion editor

Visual Voices

EDITORIAL | Drew Elliot

Cooper whiffs big with appeals court choice Cooper had a once-in-alifetime chance to show he was above partisanship and tweak Republicans in the General Assembly at the same time.

Since his middle-of-the-night swearing in on Jan. 1, Gov. Roy Cooper has told North Carolinians that he is too respectful of the judiciary to play partisan games with it. Thus he opposed the Republican effort to reinstate party labels for some judicial seats, and he has opposed GOP efforts to let attrition shrink the Court of Appeals from 15 judges to 12.

To be sure, voters would need short memories to believe that his motivations were pure rather than merely convenient. Both the removal of party labels and the expansion of the appeals court were orchestrated for partisan reasons: by Democrats, for Democrats. Cooper should know, since he was one of the architects of the latter strategy when he was a member of the General Assembly. But at least it sounded good to newcomers and those who don’t know their state history.

On April 24, Cooper seemingly continued his work for a nonpartisan judiciary when he made a deal with sitting Court of Appeals Judge Doug McCullough. Under a bill that Cooper recently vetoed, when McCullough reached mandatory retirement age in June, his seat would not have been filled. Since the General Assembly was almost certain to override the veto, the scheme allowed Cooper to appoint someone to the seat who would not age out so soon, frustrating legislative efforts to shrink the court.

McCullough is a Republican, so his agreeing to the plan set Cooper up for a big win. The governor could make himself look like the bigger man, maintaining the number of judges on the court as a matter of principle.

(McCullough said in public statements that, since the Court of Appeals works in teams of three to hear cases, it didn’t make logistical sense to have 14 or 13 judges. Apparently it didn’t occur to McCullough — who was about to retire anyway — that the law was written that way to avoid having to cut any judge’s tenure short.)

But just when everything was moving Cooper’s way, he managed to bungle it.

Instead of appointing a Republican or a politically unaffiliated lawyer to the bench, Cooper appointed John S. Arrowood, a Charlotte lawyer originally from Burnsville in Yancey County. Arrowood has been a registered and active Democrat for decades.

Arrowood certainly has an impressive resume, having been on staff and served as a judge on of the Court of Appeals as an appointee of Gov. Mike Easley. He has also served on numerous state-level commissions and boards.

There are few professions with more politically astute and active members than the legal field. And if you were building a list of Democrats with unassailable credentials for appointment, Arrowood would be an excellent choice. In normal circumstances Cooper, as a Democrat, should be expected to appoint Democrats. (Elections have consequences, even if you win by less than 0.2 percent of the vote.)

But here, Cooper had a once-in-a-lifetime chance to show he was above partisanship and tweak Republicans in the General Assembly at the same time. Appointing a Republican or an independent would have been a masterstroke.

It probably would have taken so much wind

out of the legislature’s sails that his veto would have stood. It would have been the first unmitigated win of Cooper’s tenure as governor.

Think about it. If Cooper had appointed a Republican, he could have said: “The integrity of the 15-member court is sacred. I voted to increase the court to 15, that was the right thing to do then and it is still right.”

If Cooper had appointed an independent, he could have said: “The nonpartisan character of the court is sacred. Because of the special circumstances of this vacancy, it was important not to let a political spoils system come into play.”

But instead, Cooper appointed a Democrat, saying “Judge Arrowood was at the top of the list.”

I didn’t make that last one up. Cooper said that — verbatim.

Presented with a golden chance to rise above the partisan game, Cooper blew it. Now, he looks just as petty as the legislature — or, for those who know the history of the judiciary in North Carolina, even more petty.

Circumstances threw Cooper a belt-high fastball, and Cooper whiffed. The game goes on.

EDITORIAL | Ray Nothstine

Removing Confederate monuments from our history Lawmakers made the right call a couple of years ago to add protections to monuments in the Old North State.

Trying to write anything about Confederate history or monuments is an enormous task in today’s hyper-partisan and sensitive culture. Nearly impossible is attempting to discuss the topic in a public forum. Any conversation immediately results in frantic yelling, and shouts of “racist,” “Nazis,” or much worse. No matter what position somebody takes, stupidity on both sides quickly reigns.

In his brilliant book “Paul Revere’s Ride,” historian David Hackett Fischer wrote that the “only creature less fashionable in academe than the stereotypical dead white male is a dead white male on horseback.” However, far below that in our current politicized culture is anyone in history with ties to the Confederacy.

That escalation continued this week in dramatic fashion with the removal of the first of four Confederate monuments in New Orleans. Around 1:30 a.m. on Monday, workers wearing flak jackets, masks, and helmets removed a controversial Liberty Place monument that was erected in the heyday of post-Civil War Anti-Reconstructionist uprisings. Some news organizations even highlighted the presence of police barricades and snipers to aid the stealth-like removal process.

With a more direct tie to white supremacist ideology and thought, the Liberty Place monument is certainly the most problematic of the four. The mayor has refused to negotiate in any way to contextualize any of the pieces and has vowed to not disclose what is coming down next and when. He claims such disclosure

would threaten public safety given the reports of death threats.

Three other monuments, of Gen. Robert E. Lee, Gen. P.G.T. Beauregard, and Confederate States of America President Jefferson Davis, are slated too for removal by the city of New Orleans. The Lee statue was cited as one of the 11 must-see statues in New Orleans Magazine as recently as 2011. But now it is another monument destined for a storage bin. Although the mayor concedes one day a suitable alternative location might be found, he is only able to add a “maybe” caveat.

Confederate monuments in New Orleans, like many across the South, are being defaced by a rising tide of vandals. Recently and again, Silent Sam on the UNC Chapel Hill campus was spray painted by somebody or a group protesting “hate.”

Of course, monuments are being removed other places. A statue of Jefferson Davis was already removed from University of Texas at Austin, and Gen. Lee is being removed from downtown Charlottesville, Virginia. Those are only a few examples.

More level-headed skeptics of the removals, not the ones blindly yelling “heritage not hate,” are asking, “Where does it end?” New Orleans native and Jazz musician Winston Marsalis supported the memorial removals and said those figures don’t represent the heroes of New Orleans. Ironically he cited Andrew Jackson as one of those heroes, which he was and is, but he was also a slaveholder. Jackson’s views on race were much less progressive than Beauregard. The “Little Napoleon” as he

was sometimes called, supported civil rights measures, and after the war he served his hometown of New Orleans in myriad ways before his death.

The point is not to defend the Confederacy — some of its characteristics and principles are indeed indefensible. But as students and studiers of history know, the past is always much more nuanced than what may first appear. Should Birmingham, Alabama one day wipe away the statue and landmarks of Civil Rights icon Fred Shuttlesworth because he opposed gay marriage? Should Milwaukee remove its Gandhi statue because of his views and attitudes toward “inferior” black Africans?

North Carolina lawmakers made the right call a couple of years ago to add protections to monuments in the Old North State.

Hopefully we can avoid the political fiasco of using Confederate monuments as political scapegoats for deeper problems ingrained in culture or within the human heart. After all, it’s not the past that can be changed, but the future. In a nation that is divided possibly more than any time since the Civil War, visible reminders of the enormous cost can only benefit all of us.

North State Journal for Wednesday, April 26, 2017

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Guest Opinion | DAVID MCGOWAn

Natural gas lowers emissions, helps economy The Atlantic Coast Pipeline will provide a critical resource and do so in an area of the state which so badly needs the economic development.

Most people don’t know it, but the United States leads the world in reduction of carbon emissions while also leading the world in production and refining of oil and natural gas. Energy-related carbon dioxide emissions for 2016 dropped 1.7 percent below 2015 levels, according to data from the Energy Information Administration. EIA notes the downward trajectory is “consistent with a decade-long trend, with energy-related CO2 emissions 14 percent below the 2005 level in 2016.”

The historic link between rising CO2 emissions and economic growth has been broken, thanks primarily to greater availability of clean-burning natural gas. The rise in the use of natural gas is market-driven, not regulationdriven. It doesn’t take top-down mandates from Washington to recognize the benefits of natural gas as an affordable, reliable, and abundant power source. That’s not the only way America’s oil and natural gas sector is contributing to cleaner air.

Here in North Carolina, CO2 emissions from the electric sector have dropped by 24 percent over the last decade, while at the same time natural gas generation has increased from less than 5,000 gigawatt-hours per year to 40,000 GWh per year. Natural gas is helping clean our air while providing reliable and affordable energy to fuel our economy.

Another benefit of market-driven emissions reductions: it was achieved without increased costs for American families and businesses. In fact, Americans have saved on energy costs.

Drivers saved over $550 at the pump in 2015, while household budgets saved $1,337 on utility bills and energy-related expenses. U.S. industrial electricity costs are 30-50 percent lower than those of our foreign competitors, spurring a manufacturing renaissance. The facts demonstrate we don’t have to choose

between energy security and environmental progress. With forward-thinking, market-based energy policies, the U.S. energy renaissance can continue to provide benefits for American consumers, workers and the environment.

In fact, we have an example of that right here in North Carolina with the proposed Atlantic Coast Pipeline in eastern North Carolina along the Interstate 95 corridor. Looking at a map of North Carolina’s existing natural gas infrastructure, there are large portions of the state that do not have access to this low-cost resource, and the whole state desperately needs diversity of supply for energy security, reliability, and affordability. Right now, we are limited to one network of pipelines for all of our natural gas needs. The Atlantic Coast Pipeline will provide a critical secondary source and do so in an area of the state which so badly needs the economic development that will be spurred by low cost, cleaner burning, reliable, domestically produced natural gas.

North Carolinians have an opportunity before them to support a project that will economically transform impoverished communities while leading to environmental benefits and enhanced energy resiliency.

Many opponents to this and other necessary infrastructure projects would have you believe this must be an either/or decision, but that is a fallacy. We can enjoy the many benefits domestic natural gas provides and do so while being sensitive to private property rights as well as the cherished environment around us.

Those two things aren’t mutually exclusive. In fact, they are values we all care about deeply as North Carolinians.

A North Carolina native, David McGowan is executive director of the North Carolina Petroleum Council.

Penn State graduate students inspect a natural gas pipeline in 2013.

Environmentalists are dead wrong ach year, Earth Day is accompanied by predictions of doom.

E Let’s take a look at past predictions to

determine just how much confidence we can have in today’s environmentalists’ predictions.

In 1970, when Earth Day was conceived, the late George Wald, a Nobel laureate biology professor at Harvard University, predicted, “Civilization will end within 15 or 30 years unless immediate action is taken against problems facing mankind.”

Also in 1970, Paul Ehrlich, a Stanford University biologist and best-selling author of “The Population Bomb,” declared that the world’s population would soon outstrip food supplies. In an article for The Progressive, he predicted, “The death rate will increase until at least 100-200 million people per year will be starving to death during the next ten years.” He gave this warning in 1969 to Britain’s Institute of Biology: “If I were a gambler, I would take even money that England will not exist in the year 2000.” On the first Earth Day, Ehrlich warned, “In 10 years, all important animal life in the sea will be extinct.” Despite such predictions, Ehrlich has won no fewer than 16 awards, including the 1990 Crafoord Prize, the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences’ highest award.

In International Wildlife (July 1975), Nigel Calder warned, “The threat of a new ice age must now stand alongside nuclear war as a likely source of wholesale death and misery for mankind.” In Science News (1975), C.C. Wallen of the World Meteorological Organization is reported as saying, “The cooling since 1940 has been large enough and consistent enough that it will not soon be reversed.”

In 2000, climate researcher David Viner told The Independent, a British newspaper,

In 1989 Stephen Schneider told Discover magazine: “We have to offer up scary scenarios, make simplified, dramatic statements, and make little mention of any doubts we might have.”

PHOTO COURTESY OF Penn State/Lillie Langlois

column | CAL THOMAS

The police vs. the PC police Cheurfi should have been back in jail for parole violations.

Enough red flags were raised to warrant action.

WALTER WILLIAMS

As is almost always the case, signs of trouble preceded the latest shooting in Paris, which left one police officer dead and wounded two bystanders before police killed the gunman, later identified as French national Karim Cheurfi, a known criminal with a long, violent record. ISIS claimed to be behind the attack. According to police, a note praising ISIS fell out of Cheurfi’s pocket when he fell.

Cheurfi was of Algerian descent, born in a Paris suburb.

The Washington Post reported he had a criminal record and was known to authorities. His rap sheet included four arrests and convictions since 2003. He had spent nearly 14 years in prison for crimes that included burglary, theft and attempted murder.

When Cheurfi attempted to buy weapons French authorities took notice, especially when he made statements about wishing to kill police officers. After he traveled to Algeria earlier this year, Paris prosecutor Francois Molins said Cheurfi was interviewed, but a judge refused to revoke his probation. It makes one question not only France’s probation laws, but the types of background checks in place that ought to have prevented Cheurfi from legally acquiring any firearm (if he bought it legally), much less the Kalashnikov rifle he allegedly used.

French and other European politicians immediately

expressed concern over what effect the shooting and the terrorist attacks that preceded it might have on France’s choice of a new president. Rightist candidates immediately tried to exploit the issue, but it has been a subject on the minds of French voters, particularly in Paris, where a major enclave of immigrants from Muslim countries continue to be seen by many as a threat to the French way of life.

Cheurfi should have been back in jail for parole violations. Given his record, his statements and the trip to Algeria, enough red flags were raised to warrant action.

A side note. While Algeria has not been a main source of terrorism in the world, the human rights agency Algeria Watch has noted: “Although Algerian nationals were not among the suicide bombers of 11 September 2001, they have featured prominently in subsequent investigations into al-Qaida activities in North America and Europe. In the UK, where an Algerian community has grown as a largely unknown minority in recent years, several dozen Algerians have been arrested since mid-2001 in localities as widely spread as Leicester, Glasgow, Edinburgh, London, and Manchester. Arrests in London in January 2003 uncovered a cell producing ricin, while in Manchester, one of the Algerian detainees, 27-year-old

Kamel Bourgass, was responsible for killing a police officer — the first victim in the UK’s post11 September anti-terrorist campaign.”

In the United States and other countries in the West, most often someone has to actually break the law before they can be arrested. Given the tactics of terrorists, it might be worth discussing whether to invoke a doctrine of pre-emption, which is sometimes employed when an enemy nation appears to be an imminent threat. If that is an option to prevent death and destruction from countries, why can’t we impose something similar for people who have violent criminal records and who openly state, as Cheurfi did, that he intends to kill police?

Western reluctance to adapt such a practice shows there is one force more powerful than the uniformed police. It is the “PC police.” These are people who care more about how they feel than for the innocent people gunned down in our streets.

Don’t innocents have the right to be protected from fanatics who so often claim to be doing God’s work? With ongoing investigations by the Department of Homeland Security into radical terrorists in every state, it’s long past time to get them before they get any more of us.

Cal Thomas is a nationally syndicated columnist.

that within “a few years,” snowfall would become “a very rare and exciting event” in Britain. “Children just aren’t going to know what snow is,” he said. “Snowfalls are now just a thing of the past.” In the following years, the U.K. saw some of its largest snowfalls and lowest temperatures since records started being kept in 1914.

In 1970, ecologist Kenneth Watt told a Swarthmore College audience: “The world has been chilling sharply for about 20 years.

If present trends continue, the world will be about 4 degrees colder for the global mean temperature in 1990 but 11 degrees colder in the year 2000. This is about twice what it would take to put us into an ice age.”

Also in 1970, Sen. Gaylord Nelson wrote in Look magazine: “Dr. S. Dillon Ripley, secretary of the Smithsonian (Institution), believes that in 25 years, somewhere between 75 and 80 percent of all the species of living animals will be extinct.”

Scientist Harrison Brown published a chart in Scientific American that year estimating that mankind would run out of copper shortly after 2000. Lead, zinc, tin, gold, and silver were to disappear before 1990.

Erroneous predictions didn’t start with Earth Day. In 1939, the U.S. Department of the Interior said American oil supplies would last for only another 13 years. In 1949, the secretary of the interior said the end of U.S. oil supplies was in sight. Having learned nothing from its earlier erroneous claims, in 1974 the U.S. Geological Survey said that the U.S. had only a 10-year supply of natural gas. The fact of the matter, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration, is that as of 2014, we had 2.47 quadrillion cubic feet of natural gas, which should last about a century.

Hoodwinking Americans is part of the environmentalist agenda. Environmental activist Stephen Schneider told Discover magazine in 1989: “We have to offer up scary scenarios, make simplified, dramatic statements, and make little mention of any doubts we might have. ... Each of us has to decide what the right balance is between being effective and being honest.”

In 1988, then-Sen. Timothy Wirth, D-Colo., said: “We’ve got to ... try to ride the global warming issue. Even if the theory of global warming is wrong ... we will be doing the right thing anyway in terms of economic policy and environmental policy.”

Americans have paid a steep price for buying into environmental deception and lies.

Walter E. Williams is a professor of economics at George Mason University.

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North State Journal for Wednesday, April 26, 2017

Nation & WORLD the BRIEF

week in images

Final numbers in French presidential elections give Macron an edge

Ibraheem Abu Mustafa | reuters

Palestinian beekeepers collect honey at a farm in Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip on April 25.

david ryder | reuters

A protestor holds a sign in support of science during the March For Science in Seattle, Washington on April 22.

Paris Centrist Emmanuel Macron won 24.01 percent of the votes in the first round of the French presidential election on Sunday, final results from the interior ministry showed on Monday.

Conservative candidate Marine Le Pen came in a close second with 21.3 percent, conservative candidate Francois Fillon was third with 20.01 percent and far-left candidate Jean-Luc Melenchon received 19.58 percent. The results were considered historic as they shifted power away from the parties that have dominated French politics for more than 60 years. Le Pen and Macron will face off May 7 in a final vote for the presidency.

May’s Conservatives on track for historic election win in Wales

RICARDO MORAES | reuters

Juliana Rotich, Anne Finucane, Chrystia Freeland, Ivanka Trump, Stephanie Bschorr, German Chancellor Angela Merkel, Queen Maxima of the Netherlands, Mona Kueppers, Manuela Schwesig, Christine Lagarde, and Dr. Nicola Leibinger-Kammüller at the W20 Summit under the motto “Inspiring women: scaling up women’s entrepreneurship” in Berlin, Germany, April 25, 2017.

Cris Toala Olivares | reuters

Farmer Piet Warmerdam picks up a yellow tulip from a red flower field as its growth could damage the rest, in Den Helderin, Netherlands April 22.

Trump examines 100 days while looking toward spending deal, tax reform The flurry of White House activity continues this week as the symbolic milestone nears

By Donna King North State Journal ASHINGTON, D.C. — As his symbolic 100-day milestone W approaches on Saturday for Pres-

ident Donald Trump, the White House and critics are taking stock of his progress to date. While 100 days represents less than 2 percent of a president’s first term, the mark was set by President Franklin D. Roosevelt in 1933 when he swore his entire cabinet in at once, passed 76 bills and launched his New Deal in his first 100 days in office. It has been a milestone for every president since.

While critics point to legal battles over immigration, the failed first attempt at health care reform, and his controversial comments, supporters point to Trump’s Contract with the American Voter, released in October, that outlined his 100-day plan.

They say the 28 bills he’s signed into law, his cabinet picks, his work to seat Judge Neil Gorsuch on the Supreme Court, his grow-

budget from page A1

grams.

“The traditional way of looking at the budget is based on the [current] law and based on everything we’ve been doing,” explained Coletti. “If we were to continue this, what would it look like? With that you say population increases by this much, the number of people in poverty, and Medicaid, and the number of students at teach level of education — what happens with costs.

“Every year the legislature has to go in and make choices about how they spend money and how they raise money, and if you start with a continuation budget kind of approach — we’re going to do the same stuff, the same way for more people, at a higher cost — that’s going to affect one side of the ledger. That’s what we could be spending. If that happens, we have to make choices.”

However, lawmakers often start budgeting from a different perspective and emphasizing alter-

ing list of 25 executive orders, and missile strikes against Syria and ISIS are all in line with his campaign trail pledges. Many of those pledges were aimed at starting to unravel eight years of Barack Obama’s presidency.

“They didn’t pass the one big one in health care, but he has gotten a lot of things done that people aren’t aware of,” said former Speaker of the House and early Trump supporter Newt Gingrich in a televised interview Monday. “I think he’s probably got a year, year and a half learning curve involved because it’s such a big, complicated job, but overall, he’s done very well.”

Trump is expected to continue the flurry of activity that has become a hallmark of the new White House culture. His final cabinet member, Alexander Acosta, is expected to be confirmed Friday to serve as labor secretary. Also, in addition to the order signed Tuesday that promotes agriculture and rural communities, three more executive orders are expected by week’s end, along with a proposed tax reform proposal. The orders are reported to ease regulations on offshore energy, protect whistleblowers at Veterans Affairs, and re-examine the process of designating land as national “monuments.”

nate spending choices.

“What became the basis each year in doing the budget is, what did we spend last year,” said Coletti. “What were things that we cut on a one-time basis and what are things we added on a one-time basis; let’s adjust for those. What are things we added midyear; let’s make those full year — now that’s our starting point. In those cases we’re working like a normal family or we’re working like a normal business — here’s our revenue side, how do we get costs in line with that? Or do we go with, this is what our costs are and what they’re going to be, if we don’t make changes at all in how we do things, how do we raise the money to cover that?”

Coletti believes continuation is a legitimate way to project future needs and helps set boundaries, but cautions that it results in a higher level of projected costs and thus exacerbates the perception of revenue shortfalls when compared to legislative budget plans.

“There are about three different ways that you can take a look at it,”

Trump has promised that his tax proposal, expected out later this week, will be “massive” and represent relief for middle class Americans. The proposal will be just that though, while the president negotiates with Congress for a final tax reform deal expected in late June.

However, the next battle looming for Trump is a government spending measure and his proposed border wall with Mexico, a centerpiece of his campaign. On Tuesday evening Trump backed off pressuring Democrats to include funds for his promised border wall with Mexico in spending legislation as lawmakers worked to avoid a possible shutdown of the federal government. Instead he said he will work to include a down payment on the wall in a spending blueprint for the fiscal year that starts Oct. 1.

His comment eased tension as lawmakers work on a spending measure covering April 29 to Sept.

30. It must in be in place before Saturday or government funds will halt and some federal employees could be temporarily laid off. However, short-term funding measures — known as continuing resolutions — have been used to avert government shutdowns in the past.

“Are we going to keep the dollar amount that we ask from citizens at the same level, even as we get more people.”

Joseph Coletti, John Locke Foundation, on the many considerations in budgeting said Coletti. “We’re just going to draw a flat line from this point on; you can say we’re going to grow it the same rate of population and inflation; or we’re going to take a look at historically how the budget has grown. All three of those are most likely going to be lower than the continuation side.”

While spending has been less than the growth of population plus inflation and more than flat recently, even the complete state budgeting process doesn’t show the full picture. According to Co-

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) said on the Senate floor Tuesday that bipartisan talks were continuing on the spending bill.

“I look forward to more productive conversation with senators, our House colleagues, and the White House so that we can get this important work done quite soon,” McConnell said.

“It’s really good news that the president seems to be taking the wall off the table in the negotiations we’re having on an appropriations bill this week,” said Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.).

Although the White House said on Monday that another vote to repeal and replace Obama’s signature health care law could not come for weeks, Trump has offered to include $7 billion in Obamacare subsidies that allow low-income people to pay for health care insurance in exchange for Democratic backing of $1.5 billion in funding to begin construction of a barrier on the U.S.-Mexico border.

“The president has made very clear that he’s got two priorities in this continuing resolution: No. 1, the increase in funding for the military; and No. 2, for our homeland security and the wall,” White House spokesman Sean Spicer told reporters this week.

Trump is expected to spend his 100th day in office Saturday attending a agriculture rally in Pennsylvania and at the National Rifle Association annual meeting in Atlanta.

letti there is about a 60/40 breakdown between state and federal dollars spent each year, representing a total of approximately $55 billion annually.

“One thing that legislature has consciously done over the last few years, and Gov. [Roy] Cooper would have done it even more, is that while state appropriations have been growing at about the rate of inflation and population, so about the same in real dollars per person, there’s been a lot of additional money coming into the state by relying more on federal dollars,” said Coletti. “It’s from a number of sources, and so in keeping the state spending in check, you cut a program that is entirely state funded and you shift that burden to something that has a federal component to it. So federal dollars end up as a lager portion of total spending.”

As budget and tax considerations continue to progress in Raleigh, stay tuned for how, and where, the burden is shifting for taxpayers in the Old North State.

London British Prime Minister Theresa May’s Conservatives are on track to win the majority of parliamentary seats in Wales for the first time in more than 100 years, according to a YouGov poll published this week. The poll of more than 1,000 U.K. voters projected the Conservatives would win 21 of the 40 seats in Wales, with Labour second with 15. Voters in Wales backed leaving the EU at last year’s referendum, and May has said she is holding the election to win support for her Brexit strategy and strengthen her hand in upcoming negotiations.

U.S. sanctions 271 employees of Syrian research center Washington, D.C. The U.S. Treasury Department on Monday blacklisted 271 employees of a Syrian government’s Scientific Studies and Research Center, an agency that Washington says develops chemical weapons for the government of Bashar alAssad, weeks after a poison gas attack killed scores of people.

Some of the people blacklisted had worked on Syria’s chemical weapons program for more than five years, the Treasury Department said. The sanction orders U.S. banks to freeze the assets of any employees named, and bans American companies from conducting business with them.

Bomb attack hits U.S. base in eastern Afghanistan Khost, Afghanistan Suspected Taliban insurgents on Monday attacked a U.S.operated base in Afghanistan’s eastern province of Khost, officials said. The attackers had detonated a car bomb at an entrance to Camp Chapman, a secretive facility manned

by U.S. forces and private military contractors, said Mubarez Mohammad Zadran, a spokesman for the provincial governor.

St. Louis wins U.S. approval to explore airport privatization St. Louis The U.S. Transportation Department said on Monday it has granted preliminary approval to St. Louis to explore putting its city-owned airport under private management.

The announcement could help gauge private sector interest in the Trump administration’s calls for investors to boost infrastructure. The Missouri airport would become the second major U.S. airport — after San Juan, Puerto Rico — to operate under private management. A 1996 law that allows the Federal Aviation Administration to approve up to 10 pilot airport privatization projects.

SECTION B | wednesday, april 26, 2017

Junior walks away NASCAR Cup Series driver Dale Earnhardt Jr. (88) before the 2017 Daytona 500 at Daytona International Speedway.

the Wednesday Sideline report

SPORTS

NFL

Michigan DB/LB Peppers failed test at combine Former Michigan standout and hybrid defensive back/ linebacker Jabrill Peppers tested positive for a diluted sample just at the NFL combine it was revealed just days before the 2017 NFL Draft. Peppers was projected as a first- or second-round pick by most accounts. His representatives at CAA released a statement saying he was “being pumped with fluids” after dealing with cramping and getting sick while flying from San Diego.

By R. Cory Smith North State Journal he world of NASCAR was rocked Tuesday morning when Dale Earnhardt Jr., the sport’s T most popular driver, announced he was walking

Kerr could miss more time with back injury

mlb

Derek Ryan named a Masterton Trophy finalist Derek Ryan, who spent eight seasons playing Canadian university hockey and overseas before becoming a full-time NHLer this season with the Carolina Hurricanes at age 30, was named one of this season’s three finalists for the Bill Masterton Memorial Trophy to be awarded June 21 in Las Vegas. The Masterton Trophy is given to the player who best exemplifies perseverance, sportsmanship and dedication to hockey. Ryan was recalled from the AHL in November and stayed with the team, finishing with 29 points in 67 games. Ottawa goalie Craig Anderson and Anaheim forward Andrew Cogliano are the other two finalists. nfl

Former No. 1 overall pick Long retires from football Former first-overall pick Jake Long retired from the NFL, the offensive lineman announced on Twitter Monday. Long, the No. 1 pick in the 2008 NFL Draft out of Michigan by the Miami Dolphins, was taken ahead of Chris Long (Rams) and Matt Ryan (Falcons). Long has struggled with injuries recently and said that “my body is telling me” that it was probably time to walk away.

Earnhardt Jr. retiring from NASCAR after 2017 season Why the NASCAR star is walking away from racing and who could potentially replace him

NBA

Warriors head coach Steve Kerr, who missed the final two games of Golden State’s firstround matchup against the Portland Trailblazers, could miss a substantial amount of the NBA postseason, and potentially the rest of the playoffs, according to reports.

Kerr suffered a reaggravation of a back injury that has plagued him for several years now and featured a recent surgical procedure.

JASEN VINLOVE | USA TODAY SPORTS

Rob Goldberg | via east carolina

East Carolina’s spring game was a high-flying affair that was largely focused on getting the fundamentals.

ECU shows progress in spring football game despite tie Coach Scottie Montgomery is more worried about his team understanding why they’re doing what they’re doing than just doing it

By Brett Friedlander North State Journal The one thing that can be said with any amount of certainty when it comes to college football spring games is that the home team is guaranteed to win.

Except at East Carolina on Saturday, it didn’t.

Using an offense versus defense format with the first and second teams facing one another, the Pirates played to a 17-17 tie in their annual Purple-Gold scrimmage at Dowdy-Ficklen Stadium.

It was a game that featured big plays and missed opportunities on both sides of the ball. But in the eyes of coach Scottie Montgomery, execution was secondary to the improved grasp his players had on what they were doing compared to their first spring practice together a year ago.

“I really think that our team did just a completely different job of understanding our system through-

out the spring,” Montgomery said, adding that his team still has a long way to go before being ready to open the 2017 season against defending FCS champion James Madison on Sept. 2. “The way that we go to class, the way that we work in the weight room, everything. I think the system is in place now and we’re headed in the right direction, definitely.”

As optimistic as Montgomery is about the progress of his team, he’s less committal about the progress of the competition for its starting quarterback job.

Semi-incumbent Gardner Minshew, who started last year’s season finale at Temple, had by far the best day Saturday of the three candidates currently in camp. He completed 21 of 36 passes for 265 and two touchdowns for the Purple team. But he was also intercepted once and admittedly missed several potential big plays on downfield throws.

Redshirt freshman Reid Herring was 13 of 17 for 138 yards and a score, but he and his Gold team converted only two of seven third down situations.

Early arriving freshman Kingsley Ifedi played sparingly, completing one of his two passes for just two See ECU, page B7

away from the sport after the 2017 season. The 42-year-old drive will conclude an 18-year career, with the last decade spent driving for Hendrick Motorsports.

Earnhardt, a two-time Daytona 500 winner and 14-time Most Popular Driver Award winner, said while he is “at peace” and “comfortable” with the decision he is also “very sad” about leaving NASCAR. “I’m at peace with the decision. I’m very comfortable with it. I’m more concerned with the fallout of it,” Earnhardt said. “I’m very sad, because I know it’s definitely disappointing for a lot of people to wake up to that news this morning.”

Junior’s career took a turn for the scary in 2016, as he experienced health issues stemming from a concussion that kept him out of racing for half of the season. He announced his return for 2017 and said he hoped to make a run at a championship and then walk way, but that simply was not in the cards.

Earnhardt is not currently in contention for making the NASCAR playoffs, much less competing for a championship, this season, but still felt compelled to retire, an indication that his personal health has weighed heavily on him for some time.

Indeed, Earnhardt, who thanked many members of his family including his late father, said at his press conference Tuesday he told Rick Hendrick back on March 29 that he intended to step away from the sport.

“The fan support that I received straight out

4

Wins at Daytona International Speedway, most by any active driver.

26

Career wins, 29th all-time

7

Finishes inside the top 10 in points.

14

Times he won NASCAR’s Most Popular Driver Award consecutively

See earnhardt jr., page B7

get buckets

USA TODAY Sports

T.J. Warren’s national profile remains pretty low after completing the third season of his NBA career. But those in and around the Triangle and North Carolina know full well what “Tony Buckets” is capable of doing on the basketball court. And the Phoenix Suns are starting to figure it out too, with Warren playing well down the stretch and giving them a glimpse of a superstar. Brett Friedlander caught up with Warren in Phoenix. Page B3

North State Journal for Wednesday, April 26, 2017

B2

beyond the box score

WEDNESDAY

04.26.17

Trending

Gordon Hayward: Jazz star left Game 4 of the team’s firstround matchup against the Clippers with food poisoning. Utah would win thanks to the return of Rudy Gobert and even the series at 2-2.

Mike Kitchen: Blackhawks assistant coach was fired by the team after Chicago failed to make it past the first round after being swept by the Nashville Predators in the first round of the playoffs.

Dion Waters: Miami Heat guard opened up about his life outside of basketball, his struggles growing up and why he decided to sign with the Heat (to learn from Pat Riley) last offseason in an impressive and lengthy article in the Players’ Tribune.

POTENT QUOTABLES

mlb

Despite all of his detractors, Mets minor league player Tim Tebow just continues to quietly impress both in the batter’s box and in the stands.

Tebow hit .286 last week (6-for-21) to raise his season average to .218 with two home runs. And more importantly, the Columbia Fireflies are seeing big attendance and merchandise sales numbers for Tebow gear.

Brett Davis | Usa Today Sports images

“Take your loss and go back to your hotel.”

Hawks forward Paul Millsap responding to Wizards forward Markieff Morris calling him a “crybaby” amid the heated AtlantaWashington first-round playoff series. After Morris’ comments, the Hawks stormed back with to tie the series at 2-2.

Joshua S. Kelly | Usa Today Sports images

mlb

Jay Cutler: The former Bears quarterback was the subject of retirement rumors recently, but his agent Bus Cook told ESPN that Cutler has “never mentioned retirement to me” and that Cutler “is ready to play and wants to play, and his skillset is as good as any quarterback in the league.”

Mike Gillislee: The former Bills running back became the latest Buffalo player to depart for New England via restricted free agency as the Bills declined to match the Patriots offer sheet, sending Gillislee to New England for a fifthround pick.

Drake: The rapper was announced as the host of the inaugural NBA Awards, which will take place on June 26th on TNT and feature the MVP winner and other awards. Nominees will come later this week.

NHL

Kirby Lee | Usa Today Sports images

“I’ve said this time and time again: We aren’t looking for angels.”

Atlanta Falcons general manager Thomas Dimitroff in a pre-draft conference call with reporters asked about Oklahoma running back Joe Mixon. Dimitroff admitted Mixon is off Atlanta’s board.

soccer

500

Steve Dykes | Usa Today Sports images

“The Captain” might need to get a new nickname, because he’s going to be an owner soon, as former Yankees star Derek Jeter was part of a group including Jeb Bush that reportedly is set to move forward with a purchase of the Marlins for more than $1 billion.

via twitter | @NJDEVILS

The New Jersey Devils invited fans onto the ice to help show their support for their favorite hockey team after the season ended, coming onto the ice and creating a mural for the team by painting thank you notes to various players at the Prudential Center.

tennis

After teasing she might be pregnant with a side selfie on Snapchat Serena Williams confirmed the news (meaning she won a grand slam event while being pregnant, an impossible feat if there ever was one) with an Instagram post and a touching note to her future child.

She wrote that the child “gave me the strength I didn’t know I had” and “taught me the true meaning of serenity and peace” while thanking “the world’s youngest number one.”

Number of goals scored by Lionel Messi in his career with FC Barcelona after putting away the gamewinning goal during El Clasico this past week.

Messi, widely considered the world’s best soccer player, drew praise from all corners of the Internet when it came to what was his 47th goal of the season.

He was often portrayed as Superman during various photoshops online.

Instagram | @SerenaWilliams

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North State Journal for Wednesday, April 26, 2017

B3

T.J. Warren’s star rising after third season with Suns Warren finished the season on a high and stands poised to cash in on the potential that made him the 14th overall pick in 2014

By Brett Friedlander North State Journal HOENIX — No one has ever doubted T.J. Warren’s ability to P put the ball in the basket.

His nickname is Tony Buckets, after all.

The overriding question that followed the former NC State star to the NBA when he entered the draft after his sophomore season was how far the other areas of his game would allow him to go. Three seasons into his career with the Phoenix Suns, he appears ready to provide an answer.

Warren posted improved numbers in virtually every statistical category this year and showed significant growth as both a rebounder and defender from his small forward position. Although his skillset is still evolving and his team failed to make the playoffs, he finished the season on a high and stands poised to cash in on the potential that made him the 14th overall pick in 2014.

“I’ve got this talent and I want to take advantage of everything I can do,” Warren said. “I want to stay consistent with that. I know the type of scorer I can be in this league. I feel like I showed a glimpse of what kind of rebounder I can be and that I can do other things too.”

Warren’s blossoming as an NBA player has taken longer than expected, in part because of injuries that have helped slow the process.

After splitting his rookie campaign between the Suns and the D League’s Bakersfield Jam, the 2014 ACC Player of the Year appeared to be on the verge of a breakthrough when he suffered fractured right foot midway through his second year.

He also missed 13 games this season with what was termed a “mi-

JEREMY BREVARD | USA TODAY SPORTS

Phoenix Suns forward TJ Warren (12) shoots the ball against Charlotte Hornets guard Nicolas Batum (5).

nor head injury,” But since playing his way back into shape and having his role increased following a trade deadline deal that sent fellow small forward P.J. Tucker to Toronto, Warren responded by playing the best basketball of his young career.

Against Oklahoma City on April 7, he hit for 23 points and 16 rebounds in a 120-99 rout of Russell Westbrook and the playoff-bound Thunder. Two nights later, he became the first Suns player since Steve Nash in 2011 to score at least 20 points while not missing either a field goal or free throw by going 8 for 8 from the floor and 3 for 3 from the line in a 21-point performance against the Dallas Mavericks.

“He was amazing,” Suns coach Earl Watson said after that game.

“He was chasing down rebounds, perfect from the field. He defended great. His presence is continuing to grow.”

In 25 games after the NBA AllStar break, Warren averaged 17.6 points and 7.8 rebounds per game.

The latter stat is by far the most

Warriors breeze by Portland with casual first round sweep Golden State advanced to the second round of the NBA playoffs

By Kerry Eggers The Sports XChange PORTLAND, Ore. — The Golden State Warriors wasted no time exerting their authority in Game 4 of their first-round playoff series with the Portland Trail Blazers.

With Stephen Curry leading the way and each of his teammates doing his part, the Warriors dominated from the opening tip in a 128-103 rout of the Trail Blazers Monday night at Moda Center.

The two-time defending Western Conference champions swept the best-of-seven series. The Warriors now await the winner of the first-round series between the Utah Jazz and the Los Angeles Clippers, which is tied at two games apiece.

Curry bombed in 37 points, dished out eight assists and grabbed seven rebounds despite sitting out the entire fourth quarter.

The Warriors jumped out to a 14-0 lead in the game’s first three minutes and never looked back.

Golden State led 45-22 after one period, tying the NBA record for the most points scored in the first quarter of a playoff game.

“There was a sense of urgency,” said Curry, who made 12 of 20 shots from the field, including 7 of 11 from 3-point range. “There was a nice energy to us before the game. We were kind of loose but focused. It showed in the first six minutes, and we never let up.”

Draymond Green scored 21 points and Klay Thompson added 18 for the Warriors, who shot 53.5 percent from the field, including 17 of 29 (58.6 percent) from 3-point range.

“We wanted to finish the series here,” said Thompson, who scored 16 of his 18 points in the first half.

“We didn’t want to go back to (Oakland for a Game 5).”

Kevin Durant returned to the Warriors’ lineup after missing two games with a left calf injury, and he scored 10 points and hit both his 3-point attempts in just 20 minutes of action.

Damian Lillard scored 34 points and Al-Farouq Aminu had 25 for the Trail Blazers. "(The Warriors) showed their championship pedigree tonight,” Lillard said. “When you can’t sustain your mental focus against them, in five minutes you can be down 25 points.”

That nearly happened Monday night. Portland started 1 of 11 from the field; the Warriors hit 12 of their first 14 attempts, and their lead was 28-5 six minutes into the game.

“Indescribable,” Portland coach Terry Stotts said of the Warriors’ start. “They came out energized, focused. We were slow to react and couldn’t get it going.”

The Warriors hiked the difference to 41-13 with 2 1/2 minutes left in the first quarter. With Curry scoring 21 points, Golden State carried a 72-48 advantage into the half.

Golden State scored the first six points of the third quarter to forge a 78-48 lead. The Warriors increased the edge to 91-58 on a Curry 3-pointer with seven minutes left in the third quarter.

Portland got no closer than 23 points the rest of the way.

“That was unbelievable,” acting Golden State coach Mike Brown said. “Our guys were locked in on both ends of the floor. Everything we did, we tried to do at a high level, and it worked.”

Portland shot only 38.8 percent from the field and never made a serious run at the Warriors.

“I think it was much more about them and how good they are,” Stotts said. “We didn’t play as well as we need to, but they showed why they’re a championship team.”

The Warriors wanted to end the series Monday night for several reasons.

“You don’t want to let go of the rope and give the other team any kind of confidence or momentum,” Curry said. “The way we showed up in the first quarter said a lot about our mindset and focus. The way we played tonight on both ends of the floor is a great recipe for success down the road — moving the ball, swarming on defense, turning defense into easy offense and using all the talent that we have on the floor.”

impressive, considering that the 6-foot-8 wing never averaged more than 3.1 rebounds per game in his first two seasons.

“What I like best is he’s getting defensive rebounds in traffic over starting power forwards,” Watson said. “To me, that’s what stands out.

His motor to get defensive rebounds has changed dramatically.”

That’s not the only thing that’s changed.

According to Watson, Warren’s newfound aggressiveness on the court has helped bring about a positive change in his off-the-court demeanor as well.

“You see him growing a lot in self-confidence as far as being a player and being a young adult and just evolving all around from talking to wearing earrings in his ears,” the Suns coach said. “You can just see the confidence come in. Hopefully, we can continue to build on that.”

Watson referred to Warren as “a throwback player” who he compared favorably to future Hall of Famer Paul Pierce.

In order to reach that kind of elite status, though, Warren must still prove he’s capable of staying healthy for an entire 82-game schedule. He also needs to improve on a perimeter shooting touch that saw him make only 26.5 percent of his 3-point attempts. That compares poorly to his 59 percent accuracy from 2-point range.

He finished the season averaging 14.1 points, 5.1 rebounds and 1.2 steals in a career-high 66 games.

“I feel like I’m making a name for myself,” Warren said. “I feel like I have a lot more work to do and I want to continue to be that player I know I can be in this league.

“I feel like the game was really slowing down. I’m picking my spots. I know my strengths. I know where I can be effective. I’m going to continue to be efficient, I’m going to continue to play good defense and continue to prove myself. The best is yet to come.”

As he has the past two years, Warren plans to return home to Raleigh to do his offseason work amid

friends and familiar surroundings.

Not everything is the same as the last time he left, though, thanks to a shakeup that saw NC State fire his college coach Mark Gottfried and replace him with UNC Wilmington’s Kevin Keatts.

It’s a situation Warren said he followed from afar with both interest and sadness.

“It was tough, because Gottfried had a great run,” the Wolfpack alumnus said. “The time I was there was great and unbelievable. It was sad to see my coach get fired, but I understand it’s a business and it’s tough sometimes. I’m happy for Coach Keatts. I’ve known him from when he was recruiting me at Louisville and when he was at Hargrave. I know him a little bit and I’m happy for him and where the program is headed.”

Warren is even more excited about the direction of his current team. Despite finishing with a 2458 record, the Suns have build a solid young nucleus of first, second and third-year players such as Warren, Devin Booker, Tyler Ullis and Dragan Bender.

They’ll also have a high pick in this year’s draft.

But with high-profile small forwards Jason Tatum and Josh Jackson likely to be available and Warren’s rookie contract now eligible to be renegotiated or extended, the possibility exists that he could get moved to another team before the start of next season.

Warren said he’d understand if that happens because like Gottfried’s firing, basketball at the highest level is a business. But he’d prefer to stay right where he is.

“I’ll just wait and see right now,” he said. “I want to be in Phoenix and build with this young core. I feel like I’m a part of that core and I want to continue to move forward.”

His teammates would like that too, if for no other reason than his uncanny ability for putting the ball in the basket.

“He gets buckets,” veteran point guard Eric Bledsoe said. “‘Tony Buckets’ is his name.”

LeBron, Cavs run first-round streak up with sweep of Pacers The Cavaliers swept the Pacers in the first round of the 2017 NBA playoffs

By Jeff Washburn The Sports XChange INDIANAPOLIS — When the Cleveland Cavaliers limped into the NBA playoffs with a fourgame losing streak to finish the regular season, some wondered if the reigning champions were vulnerable.

LeBron James — at least for one series — removed all doubts.

James scored 33 points, including the go-ahead 3-pointer with 1:08 remaining, and Cleveland defeated the Indiana Pacers 106-102 on Sunday afternoon, completing a four-game sweep in the opening-round series.

“Once again, we just had to weather the storm,” said James, who made 13 of 25 field-goal attempts and added 10 rebounds, four assists, four steals and two blocks. “We beat a very good team.

We had to make plays at the end, and we did.”

Cleveland’s four victories came by an average of four points, tying the smallest average margin of victory in a four-game series sweep, also set in the 1975 NBA Finals when the Golden State Warriors defeated the then-Washington Bullets.

The Cavaliers also finished — regular season and playoffs — 7-1 against Indiana, winning the last seven in a row, although this one certainly wasn’t easy.

“Offensively, we were not that good,” Cleveland coach Tyronn Lue said. “We didn’t play with the same spunk and pace. But defensively, I thought we were really good. We did a great job on Paul George. We kept him to 15 points.”

Indiana, which never had been swept in a seven-game series, took a 102-100 lead on a Thaddeus Young tip-in with 1:31 to play, but the Cavaliers scored the game’s final six points to advance to the second round of the Eastern Conference.

For James, it was his 21st consecutive first-round playoff game victory, breaking Magic Johnson’s record of 20 set in the mid-1980s.

James’ 3-pointer gave Cleve-

BRIAN SPURLOCK | USA TODAY SPORTS

Cleveland Cavaliers forward LeBron James (23) watches as the Indiana Pacers shoot free throws.

land a 103-102 lead, and Kyle Korver made two free throws with 19.1 seconds left for a 105-102 lead. George missed a potential game-tying 3-pointer with one second left, and James got the rebound and was fouled. He made 1 of 2 free throws to account for the final score.

Kyrie Irving added 28 points, Deron Williams scored 14 and Kevin Love had five points and 16 rebounds.

Lance Stephenson led Indiana with 22 points, Myles Turner had 20 and George finished with 15 on only 5-of- 21 shooting. George averaged 32.3 points during the series’ first three games.

“Paul’s shots were short today, which is a sign that he was worn down,” Indiana coach Nate McMillan said. “He had carried us so much in the last month, plus in this series, we asked him to guard LeBron some, too.

“We showed heart, but it was a very difficult game emotionally.

Give Cleveland credit. They made shots and got big rebounds when they needed to.”

Indiana closed to within 9690 with 8:09 remaining, and a George 3-pointer sliced the deficit to 98-93 with 6:26 to play. With 4:17 remaining, the Pacers were within 100-98.

“It’s really frustrating to continue losing to the same team or the same person (James),” George said. “It’s what I work hard for in the summers to try to help lead a team along and ultimately, it’s who I am always going to see and face.

But again, we just came up short

and didn’t do enough.”

When asked if he hopes to remain with the Pacers, George, whose future has been discussed frequently in Indiana, said, “I ain’t even at that point yet. Next question.”

The Cavaliers increased their lead to 81-69 with 4:46 remaining in the third quarter. Cleveland outscored Indiana 30-25 during the third period and led 88-77 with 12 minutes remaining. James and Irving each had 26 points through 36 minutes, including 16 from Irving during the third quarter.

After the Pacers pulled even at 50 in the second quarter, the Cavaliers finished the first half on an 8-2 run to lead 58-52 through 24 minutes. Cleveland outscored Indiana 36-28 during the second period, getting 12 points from James and 12 from Williams.

The Cavaliers shot 52.2 percent (12 of 23) in the second quarter and held George without a field goal on 0-of-4 shooting.

James finished the first half with 20 points, six rebounds and two assists. Love had 11 first-half rebounds. Stephenson led Indiana in the first half with 14 points, and Jeff Teague had 10.

Indiana led 24-22 after one quarter despite shooting only 43.5 percent (10 of 23) and turning the ball over five times. Teague had six first-quarter points, and George and Stephenson each added five.

Cleveland got 10 first-quarter points from Irving and eight from James but was 0 of 6 from 3-point range.

B4

North State Journal for Wednesday, April 26, 2017

North State Journal for Wednesday, April 26, 2017

B5

2017 NFL Draft The 2017 NFL Draft kicks off Thursday night and could be one of the wilder drafts in recent memory, which is saying something when the top-overall prospect in the 2016 NFL Draft fell a long way down the draft board because a video of him smoking marijuana through of a gas mask popped up online during the opening minutes of the first round.

The wildness in this draft comes from the unknown: Myles Garrett is clearly the No. 1 propsect in this class but after that, things get murky quickly. There are roughly 25 prospects who could end up filling up the rest of the top 10 on Thursday night.

With that in mind, let’s examine some players who could be chosen in the top part of the draft, not including Garrett, who will very likely be the top-overall pick.

Let’s look at some of the standouts who could have their names called early in the draft.

JERRY LAI | USA TODAY SPORTS

Kamil Krzaczynski | USA TODAY SPORTS

Ezekiel Elliott takes a selfie with NFL commissioner Roger Goodell at the 2016 NFL Draft (above) and Vernon Butler poses with Goodell after being selected by the Carolina Panthers (left).

Mitchell Trubisky

Deshaun Watson

UNC, QB

Clemson, QB

Leonard Fournette

Christian McCaffrey

O.J. Howard

LSU, RB

Stanford, RB

Alabama, TE

Considered the top overall quarterback on many draft boards, Trubiksy comes into the 2017 NFL Draft with just 13 college starts to his name. But those starts featured a lot of tantalizing throws and athleticism, and in a league where you’re only as good as your quarterback, Trubisky is a very interesting option for a number of teams in search of a franchise single caller.

He has a number of mistakes he’s made in reading coverage that people can point to, but he also has a host of throws that showcase his upside.

What does Watson need to do in order to win over scouts and personnel men? Because, apparently, beating Nick Saban’s defense on the biggest possible stage isn’t enough. Nevermind there are multiple firstround picks on Alabama’s defense every year or that Watson almost pulled the feat off twice.

He’s been unfairly underrated and is pretty clearly a winner capable of leading a team to titles.

There is not a more chic pick in NFL mock drafts than the association of Fournette, the hyper talented back out of LSU, with the Carolina Panthers. Many believe he could be the answer to the Panthers offensive woes from a year ago, pairing him with Cam Newton to formulate the most terrifying read-option combo the NFL has ever seen.

Wherever Fournette lands, he will bring talent and devastating power in the run game. Fournette ran for 1,953 yards on 300 carries two years ago before being limited in his final season with LSU to “just” 843 rushing yards on 129 carries in seven games.

The former Heisman Trophy candidate and son of former Broncos receiver Ed McCaffrey is one of the most intriguing athletes in this entire draft, both because of his skillset and the position he plays.

McCaffrey is a remarkable athlete, capable of playing all four downs because of his pass-catching skills and punt return ability. He is marvelously shifty and he can absolutely break off huge gains at any moment.

But no one knows exactly what he is: he is technically a running back, but conversion to a slot receiver would not be a surprise. He is a chess piece and will be dominant if he’s put in the right hands.

Howard is a fascinating case of talent running headlong into the Nick Saban school of offense. When Howard put up big numbers, he went absolutely massive, including the title game victory over Clemson two years ago when he caught five passes for 208 yards and a pair of touchdowns.

Taken as a whole, he just did not have that much production in college, catching just 114 passes for 1,726 yards over his four-year career.

What makes that really interesting, though, is that he was so often used as a blocker in a run-heavy offense. That attribute should make him attractive to multiple teams drafting early this year.

Where’s his ceiling in he draft?

Where’s his ceiling in he draft?

McCaffrey can’t go No. 2 in this draft (right?) and he probably will not go to the Bears. It is fairly difficult to imagine him going off the board before Fournette as well, although it’s not out of the question, so being a top-10 pick is probably him maxing out. The Chargers at No. 7 and the Panthers at No. 8 would be pretty sensible landing spots for McCaffrey and not at all a reach.

The earliest you will probably see Howard come off the board on Thursday night is No. 4 to Jacksonville. They just traded Julius Thomas to the Dolphins for Branden Albert; they could use an upgrade over Marcedes Lewis. Howard would help blocking for the run game, help protect Blake Bortles and give the quarterback a safety valve as well.

Where’s his ceiling in the draft?

There is roughly a one percent chance, and that may be reaching, for Trubisky to go No. 1 overall in this draft. If the Browns panic, or if owner Jimmy Haslam loves Trubisky and decides to get involved, it’s possible he could be the first guy taken. But more than likely it will be Myles Garrett going first overall. Trubisky could potentially land with the 49ers at No. 2 and the Bears absolutely need a quarterback at No. 3, though they have been rumored and connected with Deshaun Watson throughout the draft process.

Where’s his ceiling in the draft?

Watson is not going to be the top pick in this draft and it would be pretty stunning if he was a top-five pick, honestly. There are two spots where he could end up going really high, however: the Bears and the Jaguars.

Chicago signed Mike Glennon but it is essentially a one-year deal. Tom Coughlin, now running the show in Jacksonville, is apparently a big fan of Watson’s.

Both of those teams could see him as a guy who can start for them in 2018.

Where’s his floor in he draft?

Trubisky shouldn’t fall any further than No. 12 overall, which is where the Browns will be picking for the second time in the first round, barring a trade. He’s a Cleveland native and they need a quarterback.

Honestly, it would not be that stunning to see Watson fall out of the first round. He is one of the two best quarterbacks in this draft, but his perceived upside and issues migrating to a pro-style system could hurt his case for some teams. But the guess here is he will not make it past either Arizona (13), Houston (25) or Kansas City (27) if he falls that far.

Where’s his floor in he draft?

Where’s his ceiling in he draft?

The idea of taking a running back with a top-five pick fell out of popularity in recent years, but the production of Ezekiel Elliott with the Cowboys has made it vogue again. Fournette could go No. 2 to the 49ers, but the realistic earliest spot for him is No. 4 to the Jaguars, who need to get some help in a backfield that features T.J. Yeldon and Chris Ivory. The Panthers at No. 8 would not be a surprise at all either.

Where’s his floor in he draft?

There is a small chance that Fournette could drop in the draft when things get moving on Thursday, but it is pretty hard to imagine him getting past Carolina. Cleveland (12) and Philadelphia (14) could be parachute points if he does drop.

Where’s his floor in he draft?

Even if he ends up getting past San Diego and Carolina, McCaffrey will go in the top 15. New Orleans could snag him at 11 and the Eagles at 14 feel like his furthest drop.

Where’s his floor in he draft?

Is is really difficult to see Howard getting past the Jets, Panthers and Bills, but if he fell out of the top 10, the Browns (12) and Ravens (16) could make a lot of sense as landing spots for the talented Alabama product.

Solomon Thomas

Jonathan Allen

Stanford, DE

Alabama, DE

Jamal Adams

Malik Hooker

Marshon Lattimore

LSU, S

Ohio State, S

Ohio State, S

Thomas has come on like gangbusters during the process leading up to the 2017 NFL Draft, with people falling in love with his athleticism, measurables and upside. There is a question about where he plays (many believe he would be too small to play as a 4-3 end and might best slot as a 3-4 end with his run-stuffing ability) but his raw athleticism and potential will eliminated most concerns.

Each year in the draft process, there is a victim to teams, fans and media overthinking production in college and falling in love with the performance during the process. Allen is one of those victims, as people tend to look at him as a “safe” pick with a high floor and low ceiling. He was simply dominant on one of the best defenses in football, and will probably make an impact from Day 1 provided all of his medicals check out fine.

The phrase that has been thrown out a lot with Adams is “leader” because of how he commanded the locker room while playing for LSU and how impressed NFL teams were with his interview skills and general persona at the combine. He’s a hard-hitting, versatile player who will impact almost any secondary right away.

If Adams is the safer safety prospect who will step in right away and make an impact in multiple facets of the game, Hooker is a slight enigma with incredible ballskills who has ridiculous range and a whole heaping of upside.

Considered the top overall cornerback on many boards, the Ohio State product is part of the problem for his buddy Hooker. Along with Gareon Conley, the Buckeyes had three first-round defensive backs in this draft. Think about that for a second. Lattimore has the look of a lock-down corner and those don’t last long when draft day rolls around.

Where’s his ceiling in the draft?

A borderline consensus emerged that Thomas could end up going as the second player overall in this draft.

That is particularly true if the 49ers are unable to trade out of the second spot. After Garrett goes one, they may simply be forced to take the best player on their board, even at a position where they don’t have a need. That would probably be Thomas.

Where’s his ceiling in the draft?

It would hardly be a surprise if the 49ers took Allen second overall, and the Bears are a team people have been pegging as a location for Allen as well. The Jaguars could throw him into their budding defensive line as well if he fell, but top five is a fairly likely scenario.

Where’s his floor in he draft?

Where’s his floor in he draft?

The absolutely lowest anyone could really see Thomas going would be No. 8 to the Panthers. That would be a dream scenario for Dave Gettleman, who might injure himself getting the card to the podium. Thomas would give Carolina the best defensive line in the NFL.

If the medicals did not come back clean for some of the clubs at the top of the draft and if running backs and quarterbacks get taken early, Allen could absolutely fall. He would not make it past the Redskins (17) or Titans (18) in his worst-case scenario.

Where’s his ceiling in the draft?

Again, No. 2 is in play here. That is a really high pick for a safety, but if new 49ers GM John Lynch, a Hall of Fame-caliber safety himself, believes that he sees franchise-changing traits in Adams, there is nothing wrong with pulling the trigger with second overall. If you can’t trade out, take the talent. Adams feels like a top-five pick regardless though.

Where’s his floor in he draft?

Maybe he falls out of the top five. It’s a big maybe: if he does the Jets (6) would love to scoop him up, and the Chargers (7) or Panthers (8) would be really hard pressed to pass up on a talent like Adams if he fell to them in a surprising spot. The Titans (5) are a good candidate to take him as well.

Where’s his ceiling in the draft?

He probably will not end up going to the 49ers with the second pick, because of the other players available and some concerns over him only starting one year as well as potentially injury issues. But the Titans, Jets and Chargers all look like very reasonable destinations for Hooker. If things break oddly in the draft he could be there for the Panthers at No. 8 too.

Where’s his floor in he draft?

Again, it’s impossible to know how every team feels about a guy like Hooker. Some may question how he fits in their scheme and some may question how he will perform after just a single year of starting.

If things went south for him, he could fall, but the Redskins (17) and Titans (18) look like solid landing spots should things go particularly weird in the draft on Thursday night.

Where’s his ceiling in the draft?

Third to the Bears looks like not just a reasonable destination for Lattimore, but a likely one. Chicago needs to improve on defense and, even though they spent a top pick on Kyle Fuller in recent years, would benefit immediately from Lattimore being added to their roster.

Where’s his floor in he draft?

Lattimore is not going to fall far, even in a draft that is stuffed full of talent at the defensive back position.

There are multiple landing spots in the top ten for the cornerback, including the Titans (5), Jets (6) and Chargers (7). The Bengals don’t get mentioned with Lattimore but might scoop him up if he somehow made it to No. 9.

B6

North State Journal for Wednesday, April 26, 2017

NFL NOTEBOOK

MLB notebook

Peterson signs with Saints, Pats unlikely to deal CB Butler The Sports XChange

49ers ‘strongly considering’ QB at No. 2 in draft

RB Peterson signs two-year deal to join Saints

The San Francisco 49ers are “still strongly considering” taking a quarterback with the No. 2 overall pick in this week’s NFL Draft.

Ian Rapoport of NFL Network also reported the 49ers have done “extensive homework” on the draft’s top quarterbacks, highlighted by North Carolina’s Mitch Trubisky and Clemson’s Deshaun Watson.

According to the report, the 49ers taking a quarterback would be somewhat of a surprise, considering they signed presumptive starter Brian Hoyer and Matt Barkley in the offseason — and they have Washington Redskins quarterback Kirk Cousins potentially as an option for 2018.

The 2017 draft will be the first under the 49ers’ new regime of general manager John Lynch and head coach Kyle Shanahan.

Shanahan has yet to commit to Hoyer as his starter, but the two-year, $12 million agreement — with $6.95 million guaranteed — is a strong indication he is the early front-runner.

Texas A&M defensive end Myles Garrett may be the favorite for the Cleveland Browns as the No. 1 overall draft pick, but Trubisky is reportedly still under serious consideration.

Adrian Peterson is set to begin his next chapter in New Orleans.

The seven-time Pro Bowl running back has agreed on a two-year deal to join the Saints pending a physical, according to multiple reports. NFL.com reports Peterson’s deal is worth $7 million, including $3.5 million guaranteed.

Peterson, 32, confirmed that the signing was finalized on Monday.

“I am excited to be joining the New Orleans Saints,” Peterson told ESPN. “I’m really looking forward to this opportunity.

Most importantly, I chose this team because it just felt right within my spirit.”

According to ESPN, Peterson’s deal is a one-year deal with a one-year option.

He will receive $1 million in guaranteed salary and a $2.5 million signing bonus in 2017. He is owed $3.5 million in 2018, none of which is guaranteed.

The maximum Peterson could receive with incentives is $8.25 million.

Peterson’s 2017 option was not picked up by the Vikings on Feb. 28 after he spent his first 10 seasons in Minnesota, becoming the franchise’s all-time leader in rushing yards (11,747) and touchdowns (97).

In 2016, Peterson was limited to 72 yards on 37 carries in just three games. He missed 13 games after undergoing surgery to repair a torn meniscus in his right knee.

Peterson also had a mild LCL sprain in his right knee.

Pats look unlikely to deal CB Butler The New England Patriots appear unlikely to trade cornerback Malcolm Butler this offseason.

Butler, who was a restricted free agent, could not be traded until he signed the $3.91 million tender last week for the 2017 season. He visited with just one team, the New Orleans Saints, during free agency.

Peter King of TheMMQB.com reported Monday that the Saints still have interest in the cornerback but “the thought of dealing one or more picks for Butler, then paying him a huge contract, is less attractive than it once seemed.”

The Saints have picks 11, 32, 42, 76 and 103 in the first three rounds of the 2017 draft, which will be held Thursday through Saturday in Philadelphia.

Butler previously did not sign his tender in hopes that another NFL team might sign him to an offer sheet before last Friday’s deadline.

It is now highly unlikely Butler will be traded, sources confirmed to ESPN’s Adam Schefter.

Saints coach Sean Payton said at the NFL meetings last month the team plans to add two cornerbacks this offseason and showed his interest in the 27-year-old Butler after the visit.

Giants to exercise WR Beckham’s fifth-year option before deadline In what hardly rates as a surprise, the New York Giants are planning to pick up the fifth-year option on star wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr., multiple media outlets reported Monday.

New York has until May 3 to pick up the option on Beckham’s rookie contract, a move considered procedural given that failing to do so would allow Beckham to become an unrestricted free agent in 2018.

“Of course we will,” SportsNet New York quoted a team source as to the plans to keep Beckham in the fold.

Beckham has hauled in double-digit touchdowns and eclipsed 1,300 yards in each of his first three seasons, but the former first-round pick (No. 12 overall) has drawn the ire of management for a lack of discipline on the field.

General manager Jerry Reese in the past expressed the need for Beckham to control his temper on the field and last week declined to say that picking up Beckham’s option is a certainly.

“We are going to discuss that when the time gets closer,” Reese said last week.

Father of FSU WR Rudolph killed in accident Florida State wide receiver Travis Rudolph, a 2017 NFL Draft hopeful, received tragic news when his father was killed in an accidental shooting.

The Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office said in a statement Monday that Darryl Rudolph, 55, was shot Friday morning while working on repairs inside a nightclub in West Palm Beach, Fla. The sheriff’s office said Rudolph was hit in the neck/back area when a gun in an adjacent room went off accidentally.

He later died after being transported to a local hospital.

Travis Rudolph, who spent three seasons at FSU, hopes to be selected in this year’s draft, which will be held Thursday through Saturday in Philadelphia. He is projected to go in the sixth or seventh round as the 30thranked wide receiver and No. 223 overall

by NFLDraftScout.com.

Rudolph starred at Cardinal Newman High School in West Palm Beach. He finished his college career with the Seminoles as a top 10 receiver in team history, with 153 receptions (seventh) and 2,311 yards receiving (eighth). He also scored 18 career touchdowns, tied for 13th on FSU’s all-time list.

Travis Rudolph made national headlines last season at Florida State for his actions off the field after a photo of him having lunch with an autistic boy went viral on social media. Rudolph developed a close friendship throughout the season with the boy, Bo Paske, a Tallahassee middle school student who was sitting by himself during lunch on a school day.

Alabama LB Foster not invited to draft after combine incident Even though he is very likely to be chosen in the first round, Alabama linebacker Reuben Foster will not be invited to the 2017 NFL Draft, according to a report from ESPN. Foster, who could go as high as the top 10 in the draft, will not be invited as a result of a combine incident that occurred with medical workers in March during his trip to Indianapolis.

The linebacker was sent home from the combine after an incident with a hospital worker during medical checkups, according to reports, although the NFL would only later say he was sent home for “medical reasons.”

Foster also tested positive for a diluted urine sample while at the combine, which he said was a result of excessive water intake while trying to combat illness.

JORDAN JOHNSON | USA TODAY SPORTS

Minnesota Twins third baseman Miguel Sano (22) throws to first for the out during the fifth inning against the Cleveland Indians at Target Field.

Sano suspended one game, Cubs explode against Pirates The Sports XChange Cubs knock around Kuhl in offensive explosion Chad Kuhl said it was “one of those nights” after he got pushed around by the Chicago Cubs.

Chicago right fielder Ja son Heyward had one of those nights, too, this one much different from the one experienced by the Pittsburgh Pirates’ starting pitcher.

Heyward hit a three-run homer and drove in four runs in the Cubs’ 14-3 victory, a game that was over almost before it began Monday night at PNC Park.

The Cubs led 10-1 after two innings.

In addition to Heyward’s work, Addison Russell had four of the Cubs’ 17 hits, his first major league four-hit game.

Every Cubs starter had at least one hit except first baseman Anthony Rizzo, who came in with a 12-game hitting streak, the longest active streak in the majors. Miguel Montero and Kris Bryant collected three hits apiece.

Twins’ Sano suspended one game for “aggressive actions” Minnesota third baseman Miguel Sano was suspended one game by Major League Baseball on Monday for what the league termed “aggressive actions” that caused benches to clear during the Twins’ Saturday game against the Detroit Tigers.

The players’ association appealed the suspension, so the discipline issued to Sano will be held in abeyance until the process is complete.

Sano was in the lineup on Monday for the opener of a three-game series against the Texas Rangers.

“It makes me happy that they (the players’ association) support me that way,” the 23-year-old Dominican said through a team translator, via the Twin Cities Pioneer Press. “It (stinks) that I’ve been suspended but it’s part of the deal. It’s in MLB’s hands, and they’ll take care of it.”

Detroit’s JaCoby Jones was drilled in the face by a pitch from right-hander Justin Haley in the third inning on Saturday, raising tension between the American League Central rivals. Matthew Boyd threw behind Sano two innings later, prompting the latter to point his bat and yell toward the Tigers left-hander.

Detroit catcher James McCann attempted to intervene, but Sano reacted by launching a right hand to McCann’s chest.

Red Sox RHP Barnes gets four-game suspension for pitch Boston Red Sox right-hander Matt Barnes was suspended four games and fined an undisclosed amount by Major League Baseball on Monday for intentionally throwing a pitch in the area of the head of Baltimore Orioles star Manny Machado.

Barnes, who was ejected after the pitch in the eighth inning on Saturday, has decided to appeal the suspension.

Therefore, the discipline issued to the 26-year-old Barnes will be held in abeyance until the process in complete.

Barnes’ offering may have been in retaliation to Machado’s slide into second base that sidelined four-time All-Star second baseman Dustin Pedroia in the series opener on Friday. Pedroia has missed his team’s last two games and is considered day to day with a calf and ankle injury.

Barnes has posted a 2-0 record with a 3.60 ERA in nine appearances this season.

Pirates promote Lithuanian RHP Neverauskas

MARK D. SMITH | USA TODAY SPORTS

NFL running back Adrian Peterson signs autographs for fans during the spring game at Gaylord Family - Oklahoma Memorial Stadium.

The Pittsburgh Pirates called up Dovydas Neverauskas from Triple-A Indianapolis on Monday, giving the right-

hander an opportunity to become the second Lithuanian-born player to compete in the majors in 74 years.

Pittsburgh placed outfielder/infielder Adam Frazier on the 10-day disabled list with a left hamstring strain to make an available roster spot for Neverauskas.

Neverauskas, who appeared in the All-Star Futures Game last summer, secured one save and posted an 0.00 ERA in five relief appearances this season with Indianapolis.

The 24-year-old will look to join Joe Zapustas of the Philadelphia Athletics in 1933 as the only Lithuanian-born players to appear in a major league game. Zapustas was born in Lithuania but grew up in Boston.

Frazier is batting .306 with one homer and five RBIs this season. The move to the disabled list was made retroactive to Sunday.

Phillies place RHP Nola on DL Philadelphia Phillies right-hander Aaron Nola was placed on the 10-day disabled list Monday with a lower back strain.

The move was made retroactive to Friday.

Nola has posted a 2-0 record with a 4.50 ERA in his first three starts this season, but the 23-year-old admitted to feeling soreness while picking up the win in his last start on Thursday against the New York Mets.

Philadelphia did not make a corresponding roster move, however. CSN Philly’s Jim Salisbury reported the team is likely to call up right-hander Nick Pivetta from Triple-A Lehigh Valley to make his major league debut on Wednesday against the Miami Marlins.

Pivetta owns a 3-0 mark with an 0.95 ERA in three starts this season with the IronPigs. The 24-year-old has yielded two earned runs and 12 hits with 24 strikeouts in 19 innings.

Sandoval headed back to DL The Boston Red Sox third baseman was placed on the 10-day DL with a right knee sprain on Tuesday and infielder Josh Rutledge was recalled from Triple-A Pawtucket before Tuesday’s series opener against the New York Yankees.

Sandoval, 30, sustained the injury while fielding a ground ball in the sixth inning of Sunday’s 6-2 win against the Orioles in Baltimore.

The three-time World Series champion and former World Series MVP with the San Francisco Giants played just three games last season before landing on the DL with a shoulder strain and later undergoing season-ending surgery.

Sandoval missed 195 of a possible 324 games over his first two seasons of a fiveyear, $95 million deal with the Red Sox. Cain looks sharp in defeat of Dodgers Former Giants ace and three-time All-Star Matt Cain turned back the clock on Monday night, pitching six scoreless innings for San Francisco in a 2-1 Giants victory over their chief rival, the Dodgers.

It was a massive win for a reeling Giants team that moved to just 7-13 on the season amid turmoil surrounding an injury to ace Madison Bumgarner, who still has no timetable for his return.

Cain, whose 5.64 ERA was the eighth highest in the majors last season among pitchers with more than 15 starts, threw his third consecutive strong game, allowing only two hits and one walk. He struck out three.

He has now allowed just two runs in his past three starts, all of which resulted in Giants wins.

North State Journal for Wednesday, April 26, 2017

North Carolina looks to extend state’s long NFL Draft history More than 900 players from 20 different N.C. college have been drafted

By Shawn Krest North State Journal f the latest rumors are to be believed, UNC quarterback IMitchell Trubisky will be one of

the first players selected in the NFL Draft later this week, and there’s a chance he’ll be taken first overall.

If so, he’ll become just the third player from a college in North Carolina to go first overall, and the first who didn’t come from NC State.

The Wolfpack have produced the only two top picks in the draft — Mario Williams to Houston in 2006 and Roman Gabriel to the Raiders in the AFC Draft in 1962.

All four ACC teams from North Carolina have had a player go in the top two in the draft.

UNC has seen running back Ken Willard (1965), linebacker Lawrence Taylor (1981) and defensive end Julius Peppers (2002) chosen with the second pick. Duke had running back George McAfee go second overall back in 1940, and Wake Forest’s Norm Snead was picked number two in 1961.

Overall, North Carolina schools have produced 53 firstround picks. UNC has the most, with 23, followed by NC State’s

EARNHARDT JR. from pageB1 of the gate was in large part because of my famous last name, but throughout the ups and downs that occured to me, the fans stuck it out,” Earnhardt Jr. said. “And the new ones that joined us, they were there because of the person I was and not who they wanted me to be.”

Currently sitting at 24th overall, Junior is coming off another DNF in Bristol and likely needs a win to get himself back into contention for the postseason. While this year was looked at as a comeback season for Earnhardt, it has quickly turned into a rough one for the entire team.

Regardless of how this season finishes out, Earnhardt will hang up his helmet with a more-thansolid career behind the wheel. He won’t ever match the success behind the wheel of his late father, but few to ever sit behind the wheel will.

Junior built an empire in racing, one that includes JR Motorsports, where Earnhardt is expected to remain active. As for Hendrick, let’s examine some of the possible replacements for Junior.

Alex Bowman One of the top names that will likely be high on Hendrick’s list will be Alex Bowman. The 24-year-

ECU from pageB1

15. In addition to the Big Four, East Carolina, NC Central, NC A&T and Elon have all had first rounders.

Of the Big Four teams, NC State has the longest first-round drought. Duke (Laken Tomlinson) and Wake (Kevin Johnson) had players taken in the first round last year. UNC (Eric Ebron) had one the year before.

John McCargo, the third of three Wolfpack first rounders in 2006, JEFF HANISCH | USA TODAY SPORTS was the last NC State player taken in the first round.

Green Bay Packers linebacker Julius Peppers (56) during the game Duke has the longest drought against the Seattle Seahawks at Lambeau Field. Green Bay won 38-10. since having a player taken in the second round (Lennie Friedman, 1999) and third round (Anthony drafted more Carolina players a player drafted by every NFL than anyone else: 17. The Car- team.

Dilweg, 1989).

Assuming Trubisky is drafted Twenty North Carolina col- dinals have also taken 19 Duke leges have had at least one play- players and 15 Demon Deacons at some point, he’ll be the seventh Tar Heel quarterback selected. er drafted into the NFL, and the in the draft.

The Steelers, Redskins and That will match NC State for the state has had 905 players chosen.

Giants also have a long history of second-most quarterbacks seUNC tops the list with 227.

Cleveland, San Francisco, doing their draft shopping in the lected (although, according to the way draft picks are announced, Chicago and the Jets have all state.

While some teams return to State doesn’t get credit for Rusbeen mentioned as potential landing spots for Trubisky. Draft the area time and time again, sell Wilson). Duke, with 12, is the history doesn’t give much help in others have turned up their noses state’s Quarterback U. Wake has only had three passers drafted determining where he’ll end up. at North Carolina talent.

The Panthers may be based and none since Mike Elkins in The Browns, Niners and Bears have all taken eight UNC players, in Charlotte, but they’ve nev- 1989.

State is Wide Receiver and er drafted a Duke, NC State or while the Jets have drafted five.

Perhaps the Cardinals are a Wake Forest player. The Ravens Defensive Back U, with 14 and good dark-horse pick for Tru- have ignored Duke and State, 29 drafted, respectively. North bisky’s landing spot. Arizona sent while the Titans and Raiders Carolina has had the most runits quarterback coach to UNC’s have yet to draft a Blue Devil or ning backs (22), tight ends (11), offensive linemen (59), defensive pro day and also scheduled a one- Demon Deacon.

The Tar Heels are the only linemen (31) and linebackers (30) on-one meeting with the quarterback. And the Cardinals have team in the state to have had taken.

old driver has the most experience at the Sprint Cup level of all the options and certainly proved he has the talent. Last year, Bowman replaced Earnhardt for 10 races while he dealt with concussion symptoms. Bowman struggled at the start, but found his groove during the Chase with three top10 results and five top-15 finishes while racing in eight of the final 10 events of the season.

Prior to his time with Hendrick in 2016, Bowman was a full-time driver for Tommy Baldwin Racing in 2015 and BK Racing in 2014. The results, of course, were far less promising than his time with Hendrick in lesser equipment with the two smaller teams.

Bowman might not be a rising star like the next name on this list, but he’s a steady driver capable of making the leap for Hendrick and keeping the team competitive.

William Byron Rick Hendrick has gambled on young drivers in the past, and he’s rarely been wrong. Whether it was a 22-year-old Jeff Gordon in 1993, a 20-year-old Chase Elliott last season or even a 20-year-old Kyle Busch in 2005, Hendrick has a history of bringing up young drivers with a championship pedigree.

B7

I’m at peace with the decision. I’m very comfortable with it.

I’m more concerned with the fallout of it.

I’m very sad, because I know it’s definitely disappointing for a lot of people to wake up to that news this morning.”

— Dale Earnhardt Jr. With Earnhardt on the way out, the door may be open for yet another young gun to make the jump into the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series. That driver is William Byron, who is already driving with JR Motorsports this season at the Xfinity Series level as a development driver for Hendrick.

Not only does Byron have the talent — he just won five Trucks Series races last year at 18 — he’s also already entrenched with several large sponsors like Axalta and could attract more in the No. 88 car.

Just two years after Elliott was thrust into the spotlight after the

retirement of Gordon, could Byron be the next to replace a legend?

Thanks to his talent and being at the right place at the right time after joining Hendrick last fall, Byron looks like Hendrick’s next young star.

Justin Allgaier OK, this one might be the sexiest option, but it makes sense on several different levels. Justin Allgaier has two years of Cup experience, several large sponsors and has proven his talent at the Xfinity Series level for the past two years.

He also happens to be one of JR Motorsports drivers along with Byron, putting him in line for a potential move up by Hendrick.

While he may be 30 years old, the oldest of the potential targets, he’s also the most accomplished with a top-30 points finish at NASCAR’s top level and four wins in the Xfinity Series.

Much like Bowman, Allgaier was unable to prove his mettle at the Cup level with an underfunded team in HScott Motorsports in 2014 and 2015. But thanks to his success at the lower level — he’s never finished worse than sixth in the standings in Xfinity — Allgaier could do some serious damage with the No. 88 team.

yards while rushing four times for 16 yards.

Minshew entered the spring as Montgomery’s designated starter.

But with graduate transfer Thomas Sirk scheduled to arrive from Duke this summer with immediate eligibility, Minshew understands that his job is anything but secure.

Although he said he wasn’t satisfied with his performance Saturday, he was proud of the way he and his team recovered from two early turnovers and a 14-0 deficit to tie the score on a 36-yard strike to Jimmy Williams and an 18-yard pass to Quay Johnson.

“It was frustrating in the beginning, but we bounced back and started hitting a little bit,” he said.

“We just missed a few too many big plays.”

“I started to settle in and started hitting my throws, just give it a chance with these great receivers that I have, putting the ball in their hands and their make good things happen.”

Despite losing record-setting pass catcher Zay Jones to graduation, ECU’s depth and talent at wide receiver was on full display in the spring game with six players catching four or more balls. Johnson led the way with seven receptions for 105 yards.

The most impressive offensive performances, however, came from a pair of running backs whose contributions could go a long way toward shoring up a ground game that was one of the Pirates’ biggest weaknesses while going 3-9 a year ago.

Derrell Scott, a Havelock native who transferred from Tennessee but didn’t play a down from scrimmage in 2016, rushed for 51 yards on five carries before suffering what Montgomery called “a bad laceration on his hand.” His 27-yard touchdown run in the first half was one of the highlights of the scrimmage.

Redshirt freshman Hussein Howe was also impressive, gaining 92 yards on 10 tries.

“I challenged Derrell last December to come in at a little bit of a lower weight and to work on his flexibility,” Montgomery said. “This kid has done everything and that’s what ends up happening when you sacrifice.

“I thought that was a great performance by him all around. There were some blitz pickups that we saw, there were some great runs that we saw as well as there were some great runs by Hussein Howe. There were some great runs by all our guys, but I really think (Scott) did a great job today.”

He was one of several youngsters and newcomers that stood out Saturday.

Wide receiver Tahj Deans caught five passes for 98 yards. Seldom-used junior Malik Gray caught a touchdown from Herring.

Defensively, Montgomery singled out redshirt freshman Aaron Ramseur as a key to his new 4-2-5 scheme. The second-year coach also had high praise for early arriving freshman end Taijh Alston and the positive impact he could have on the Pirates’ pedestrian pass rush.

“We’ve got a lot of young players that are trying to get on the field,” Montgomery said. “Come fall, with the people we have coming in and the people we will continue to recruit to come in, it will be competitive at every position.”

Want to learn more about North Carolina Agriculture?

The First Furrow www.FirstFurrow.com

Project:

United Health Group

Campaign: 2017 United Health Group Creative:

Here to Serve

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Proofs:

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North State Journal for Wednesday, April 26 2017

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At UnitedHealth Group, we’re honored to serve those in North Carolina working to improve health care. How? By rewarding quality and affordability, by providing doctors with data and insights to prevent and treat illness, and by developing technology that helps consumers manage their own health care. These are just a few of the ways the more than 5,000 of us in North Carolina are working to make health care more modern, high-performing and simpler.

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4/14/17 2:09 PM

Raleigh raises a glass at Brewgaloo! Page 3

WEDNESDAY

04.26.17

NORTH

STATE

JOURNaL

play list

April 27-30 MerleFest Wilkesboro

the good life IN A NORTH STATE OF MIND

Celebrating its 30th anniversary in 2017, MerleFest boasts a lineup includes The Zac Brown Band, The Avett Brothers, Marty Stuart, Del McCoury Band, Sam Bush Band, Kruger Brothers and the Steep Canyon Rangers. Also, Transatlantic Sessions hosted

by Jerry Douglas and Aly Bain with special guests James Taylor, Sarah Jarosz, John Doyle and more. The four-day festival hosts numerous artists performing on 13 stages. merlefest.org

April 28

‘Bee Downtown’ | Raleigh

Honey I’m home!

4th Annual Arts & Craft Beer at Sawtooth Winston-Salem This event combines craft beer tasting, art demonstrations, art making and live music.

Tastings of the area’s best craft brews will be provided by Foothills Brewing, Hoots Beer Co., Wicked Weed Brewing, Burial Beer Co., Birdsong Brewing Co., Devils Backbone Brewing Company, Appalachian Mountain Brewery, Ponysaurus Brewing, and Four Saints.

Admission: $20 in advance; $25 at the door

April 28-30 Fayetteville Dogwood Festival Fayetteville The Fayetteville Dogwood Festival is a spectacular three-day event with concerts, a street fair with arts and crafts, food vendors, and the Partnership’s KidStuff area.

April 29 Bee Downtown, with the support of Bandwidth, Freudenberg IT & MP, Soul Garden, AndyAlbright.com, and departments at NC State, install hives at a new apiary on NC State’s campus on April 21.

Big annual bash at Dale Earnhardt Inc. (DEI) celebrating the famed NASCAR driver's birthday includes special tours, celebrity guests, food, vendors and special exhibits.

By Clayton Abernathy North State Journal ities across North Carolina will have a new buzz this spring as a DurhamC based startup is locating honey bee popu-

lations on business and college campuses.

The company, Bee Downtown, is focused on increasing the honey bee population in cities across the U.S. In 2016, Bee Downtown installed 24 hives in Durham and Raleigh, including the state’s largest observation hive at Burt’s Bees headquarters in the American Tobacco Campus.

This year the company plans to install more than 50 new beehives at businesses across North Carolina.

Each participating business receives empounds of ployee education training honey is on bees, agriculture and produced by food production. While Downtown does not a mature hive Bee harvest honey in the first in one season year of a hive installation, a mature hive can produce 40 pounds of honey in a season. That honey goes to the sponsor of the hive. Bee Downtown also plans to sell honey produced by its own hives and from honey not used by sponsors. The company will begin selling in stores throughout the Triangle and online once they take their first honey for the year.

Bee Downtown is the brainchild of entrepreneur and fourth-generation beekeeper Leigh-Kathryn Bonner, who developed her hive habit on her family’s farm in the Pitt County town of Farmville. Bonner’s family farm is called Country Square Ranch which transitioned from growing tobacco and is now primarily used for cattle, bees and soy beans.

“When a business installs one of our hives, it is communicating a commitment to our environment, while also rebuilding healthy honey bee populations,” the 24-year-old Bonner said.

Dale Earnhardt Day Mooresville

May 1-7 Wells Fargo Championship Wilmington

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Photos By Madeline GrAY | North State Journal

Leigh-Kathryn Bonner, founder and CEO of Bee Downtown, discusses the new NC State apiary.

Communication and marketing is a key part of Bee Downtown’s business, and the company provides education programs on bees and their positive effect on agriculture and the environment.

“Bee Downtown’s rooftop and observation hives have become a staple attraction at the American Tobacco Campus,” said American Tobacco Campus vice president of real estate Michael Goodmon. “They serve as an effective marketing tool for multiple businesses on the campus and have created quite the buzz of excitement for the Durham community as a whole.”

The buzz has caught the attention of some of North Carolina’s largest businesses, including Blue Cross Blue Shield of North Carolina, Bandwidth, IBM and SAS. Bonner’s alma mater, NC State University, has eight hives on its Centennial Campus.

Businesses who sponsor hives can expect

visits from Bee Downtown staffers weekly during the spring and summer months and once a month during the fall and winter.

While Bee Downtown is focused on a mission of doing good for people and the environment, they are a for-profit company and each hive costs the sponsoring business $10,000.

Businesses receive a custom-painted hive including the bees, the honey produced starting in the second year and seasonal hive updates.

Bee Downtown also reinvests some of its profits into a nonprofit arm that focuses on bee education in schools.

For businesses concerned about safety, Bee Downtown states on their web site that unlike wasps or yellow jackets, honey bees sting only as a last resort — since they die as a result.

Bee Downtown currently has hives in Raleigh, Durham, Cary, Chapel Hill, Rocky Mount and Charlotte.

Wilmington hosts the PGA Tour’s 2017 Wells Fargo Championship at the exclusive Eagle Point Golf Club. This will mark the first time a PGA Tour event has been played in Wilmington since the Azalea Open (1946-1971). Official competition is Thursday through Sunday. Past champions include Jim Furyk, Vijay Singh, Tiger Woods, J.B. Holmes and two-time winner Rory McIlroy.

coming up We’re making soap, riding trains and understanding the life of an adult with autism. the good life

North State Journal for Wednesday April 26, 2017

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NeCessities! history marked

down the aisle Time-honored Southern wedding traditions can be used in any wedding whether your big day falls below the Mason-Dixon line or not. Sarah Lindh suggests some staples of Southern nuptials to incorporate into your big day.

Burying the bourbon — Legend has it that if a couple

courtesy the wolfpacker

April 28, 1993 Jimmy V dies Jim Valvano died of cancer at the age of 47 on April 28, 1993. Valvano was born in Queens, N.Y., and played basketball for Rutgers University. Valvano took several coaching positions before coming to North Carolina State University in 1980 as head coach. He led the “Cardiac Pack” to the NCAA Championship in 1983, upsetting heavily favored Houston on a last-second dunk by Lorenzo Charles.

Valvano was diagnosed with cancer in 1992 and he established the Jimmy V Foundation for Cancer Research. To this day the Jimmy V Foundation has raised more than $150 million and awarded cancer research grants in 38 states and the District of Columbia.

April 29, 1956 First rock climb takes place at Chimney Rock The first “King of the Hill,” an uphill car race at Chimney Rock in which drivers compete against the clock, took place at Chimney Rock. Originally organized by the then-owners of Chimney Rock, the Morse Family, and the Sports Car Club of America, the hill climb occurred in the spring and sometimes the fall. Over the years the course changed from 2.7 miles to 1.8 miles. The narrow, sometimes dangerous access road that climbed from 1,100 to 2,200 feet above sea level in less than three miles sometimes took drivers over the edge, yet no serious injuries ever occurred. In 1995, the race came to an end due to safety and liability issues.

April 29, 1951 Dale Earnhardt born in Kannapolis NASCAR great Dale Earnhardt was born in Kannapolis. Earnhardt followed in his father’s footsteps and dropped out of school in ninth grade to pursue racing. He made his stock car debut at Charlotte Motor Speedway in 1975 and finished 22nd. His aggressive driving style gave him the nickname of “The Intimidator.”

Throughout the years Earnhardt won seven Winston Cups, three IROC titles, and was named American Driver of the Year twice and National Motorsports Press Association Driver of the Year five times. Earnhardt was killed in the final lap of the 2001 Daytona 500, on Feb. 18, at the age of 49.

buries a full bottle of bourbon upside down one month before their wedding day at the location where they’ll say “I do,” they’ll be blessed with sunny skies on the big day. After covering up the bottle, don’t forget to mark the spot, as it should be dug up and enjoyed with the wedding party on the wedding day (usually after the ceremony), making this a winwin tradition, no matter the skies.

The second line — Leave it to New Orleans, where

the motto is laissez les bons temps rouler, to be the birthplace of one of the most lively and fun Southern wedding traditions! The second line stems from an old tradition at African-American jazz funerals, where a brass band paraded to honor the life of the deceased while loved ones followed the band, dancing to add to the spirit and celebration of the procession. Weddings with a NOLA connection have flipped this tradition on its head, using a second line parade to signify the beginning of new life for the bride and groom. A second line usually takes place between the ceremony and reception, with the newly married couple leading the way and a brass band and wedding party following right behind. Though second lines begin with just invited guests, they often attract passers-by to join the fun! Make sure to pick up a black parasol for the groom, a white parasol for the bride, and handkerchiefs for each guest to wave.

A house party — Only so many bridesmaids can fit

at the front of a church! But what to do if you can’t bear to leave any of your best girls out? Enter the house party — the South’s answer for big, extended families, sororities and more. Members of a house party are often assigned wedding day tasks, such as passing out programs or helping the bride get ready, and are invited to the bachelorette party and bridal showers. The only thing a house party traditionally does not do is stand at the altar with the bride — that spot is reserved for bridesmaids. HP gals can be seated in the first or second row, just behind family.

Dress up — and have some options! For a more formal,

coordinated look, some brides choose the same dress for all of the HP gals, in a color that’s different but complementary to the color of the bridesmaid dresses. Another popular option is to ask the house party to wear little black dresses, since most girls will already have an option or two in their closets.

Finally, you can simply tell the house party your wedding color scheme and ask them to dress in something that coordinates.

The cake pull — If you’re looking for a fun and sweet

activity for your bridesmaids’ luncheon or bridal shower, try the cake pull. It hails from Victorian days, when charms of luck and good fortune (and sometimes not-so-good fortune) were set into the wedding cake by the bride to predict the future of her single friends. These days, pulls are often placed in a small cake at a pre-wedding get-together, and bridesmaids and close female friends (not only singles!) are given the opportunity to pull a charm from the cake just before it’s cut. A few of our favorite charms and their meanings: a hot-air balloon (adventure and travel), the fleur de lis (love and prosperity), the four-leaf clover (good luck), and a diamond ring (next to be married).

The groom’s cake — While many wedding details err

on the feminine side, a groom’s cake is a fun and (literally) sweet way to do something extra special just for the gent of honor. Collaborate with your baker to get creative and surprise your beau with a cake that reflects his hobbies, favorite sports team, occupation or alma mater, to be served alongside the wedding cake at the reception. Or try a “cake” that isn’t a cake at all — instead, set out a tower of Oreos, a stack of doughnuts or trays of his favorite childhood treats. If he’s a Southern boy through and through, go with the classic: a bleedin’ armadillo cake, just like the one in Steel Magnolias.

just a pinch Mosquitos making your time spent outdoors miserable?

Try mixing a few drops of tea tree oil (which can be found at any local drugstore) with a 1:1 ratio of water and witch hazel in a spray bottle for a natural bug spray for both humans and pets.

Tea tree oil is also effective in treating itching and burning bites caused by mosquitos. Just apply a drop to the bite for quick relief!

this week on home video Underworld: Blood Wars: Kate Beckinsale (Pearl Harbor) reprises her role as Selene in the fifth installment in the Underworld franchise and the sequel to Underworld: Awakening (2012). Anna Foerster makes her directorial debut and the main cast also includes Theo James (Divergent Trilogy), Lara Pulver (True Blood) and James Faulkner (Downton Abbey).

La La Land: Emma Stone, who won an Oscar for her role as Mia, stars with Ryan Gosling (The Notebook) as an aspiring actress and a musician who meet and fall in love in Los Angeles.

The musical, which received an

Academy Award nomination for best picture, was directed by Damien Chazelle, who won the Oscar for best director for his work on the film.

The Girl With All The Gifts: Starring Gemma Arterton (Quantum of Solace), Paddy Considine (Bourne Ultimatum), Glenn Close (The Natural) and Sennia Nanua in her feature film debut, the movie depicts a dystopian future following a breakdown of society after most of humanity is wiped out by a fungal infection. Directed by Colm McCarthy (Sherlock) and written

by M.R. Carey adapted from his novel of the same name.

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North State Journal for Wednesday, April 26, 2017

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the brew | north carolina

Photo By Madeline Gray | North State Journal

Top left, Allison Vita, center, dances with her friends during Brewgaloo on April 22. Top right, Lines form at food trucks and beer tents as crowds make their choice from nearly 100 breweries and more than 50 food vendors. Bottom left, Thousands of people line Fayetteville Street for Brewgaloo, which has been listed as one of downtown Raleigh’s largest events. Bottom right, Brad Smith serves beer at the Mother Earth Brewing tent.

Best beers from Brewgaloo 2017

By R. Cory Smith North State Journal RALEIGH — Prior to the massive downpour in Raleigh and the surrounding areas, Brewgaloo filled Fayetteville Street with 100 North Carolina breweries on a sun-drenched afternoon that led to a warm night in downtown Raleigh.

I’m not going to lie and say I was able to sample every single beer from all 100 breweries — mostly because I have limitations and wanted to at least be able to walk home under my own power.

However, of the myriad breweries that my group did sample, there were a handful of beers that topped the list. Here’s a look back at some of the best beer straight from the tap at Brewgaloo, starting with a Kinston favorite.

Mother Earth Endless River Kolsch

Summer is coming, and with it comes delicious, crisp beers to crush on a hot afternoon.

That was on full display on a

warm Saturday at Brewgaloo with a Mother Earth Endless River in your glass. This Kolsch has been around for years, but never fails to satisfy craft beer lovers of all varieties with its unmistakably smooth flavor.

Despite walking past several tents of breweries that I’ve frequented in the past, it’s nearly impossible to pass up Mother Earth when Endless River is on tap.

Birdsong Jalapeno Ale

Bombshell Strawberries & Cream Summer Ale

Continuing with the seasonal beers from Saturday, Bombshell brings us a fruity beer that is as smooth as it is tasty. This was my wife’s favorite beer because it wasn’t too overpowering with a fruity flavor, but offered just the right amount of strawberry aftertaste until the next swig.

Bombshell was founded by three “bombshell” women in 2012 and has been rolling out a variety of delicious beers since. With a beer perfectly catered to nearly any beer drinker looking for something different this summer, Bombshell has a winner in the Strawberries & Cream Summer Ale.

back for another full beer just to, you know, confirm my original assessment.

The Swinestein has a perfect blend of citrus notes and is left unfiltered, giving it a thicker color in the glass. It’s a perfect complement to the Boar Brown, Pig Pounder’s gold medal-winning English Style brown ale that was also a huge hit at Brewgaloo.

NC State Brewing Chancellor’s Choice IPA

This was another beer that Birdsong has rolled out in the past, but it’s still as unique as any that were found on Fayetteville Street. With a great ale flavor and distinct peppery, jalapeno aftertaste, Birdsong packs a lot of punch in one beer.

While the jalapeno notes are not for everyone, they are not overpowering in the beer either.

The jalapeno ale is perfect for an afternoon of golf or heading to the beach with this drinkable brew that comes in four packs if you can’t get to Charlotte to get it straight from the tap.

Pig Pounder Swinestein Wit

CNN anchor alleges Fox News ex-CEO Roger Ailes also harassed her

Apple delays release of first original series ‘Carpool Karaoke’

Writers guild authorizes strike

New York Television journalist Alisyn Camerota said on Sunday she was a target of sexual harassment by Roger Ailes when she worked at Fox News, joining other former colleagues at the cable channel who have accused their ex-boss of inappropriate behavior.

Camerota, now co-host of CNN’s “New Day,” told the network’s Brian Stelter in an interview that Ailes suggested they might have to get to “know each other better” at a hotel if she wanted to succeed at Fox News. Ailes resigned from Fox News last July amid several claims of sexual harassment. software and services Eddy Cue showed a trailer for the series featuring celebrities.

Los Angeles Apple has delayed the release of its first original video series, an adaptation of comedian James Corden’s popular “Carpool Karaoke” segment, the company said. At the Code Media conference in February, Apple said the show would debut in April and be available only to Apple Music subscribers. Apple’s senior vice president of internet software and services Eddy Cue showed a trailer for the series featuring celebrities such as Will Smith, John Legend, Ariana Grande and Alicia Keys. Apple Music is a $9.99 per month subscription streaming service.

More than 96 percent of the voting members of the Writers Guild of America have authorized a strike against production companies. The WGA released the results Monday, a day ahead of the resumption of contract negotiations on a master contract with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers. A work stoppage could start as early as May 2, after the current three-year master contract has expired.

A total of 6,310 ballots were cast and 67.5 percent of eligible WGA members voted. The support was similar to the 2007 strike authorization, which received backing from 90 percent of voters.

This brewery is admittedly one I hadn’t tried prior to Saturday afternoon at Brewgaloo. I regretted every second of never trying Pig Pounder after sampling the Swinestein Belgium Wit. Oh, then after sampling I went

Tucked away on Martin Street just off to the side of Fayetteville Street was NC State Brewing, which brought two beers from the Sheppard Brewing Lab. Both were tasty, but the Chancellor’s Choice IPA was first class.

Already an award winner at the N.C. Brewer’s Cup for the top overall IPA in the state, the Chancellor’s Choice is a hoppy beer perfect for the summer. While it doesn’t offer any deviation from some of the top IPAs in the craft beer scene, NC State has a great staple to build around for the future.

entertainment | in brief ‘Fate of the Furious’ stays on top; ‘Unforgettable,’ ‘The Promise’ bomb Los Angeles “The Fate of the Furious” is racing to defend its title at the top of the box office, while a number of new releases, including “The Promise” and “Unforgettable,” are being left in the dust. Universal’s eighth installment in the Fast and Furious franchise proved to be a global box office titan when it opened last weekend to a recordshattering $532.5 million.

This time around looks to tell mostly the same story — while domestic grosses slipped 61 percent from its first to second weekend, the movie is still easily topping the box office with $38.7 million from 4,329 locations.

Hillary Clinton makes surprise appearance at New York film panel New York Hillary Clinton, who until recently had avoided the spotlight in the wake of her election defeat in November, made a surprise appearance at New York’s Tribeca Film Festival on Saturday as a panelist to discuss illegal elephant poaching. The discussion followed the premiere of Academy Awardwinning director Kathryn Bigelow’s virtual reality documentary “The Protectors: Walk in the Rangers’ Shoes.”

The eight-minute film allows viewers to experience what it is like to work as a park ranger trying to save elephants in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

Los Angeles

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North State Journal for Wednesday, April 26, 2017

pen & Paper pursuits Janric classic sudoku

COLOR YOUR STATE!

North Carolina state insect: the honeybee

Solutions from 4.22.17

the BRIEF

WEDNESDAY, April 26, 2017

Corn fungus forces largest pork producer to outsource feed grain

Photo courtesy of Neal Davis, Photographer Phoebe Hyatt

Neal Davis stands outside Revolution Mill in Greensboro where his new company Dais X is located.

BUSINESS

A small business helping small businesses Launching four weeks ago, Dais X seeks to be a digital roadmap for small to mid-size companies

By Emory Rakestraw For the North State Journal REENSBORO, N.C. — How do you identify and adapt to growing digital needs across multiple, G sometimes intimidating platforms? Neal Davis, founder

CHRISTINE T. NGUYEN | NORTH STATE JOURNAL

The BB&T branch on Hillsborough St. in Raleigh is among branches the bank has closed recently as part of the company’s ongoing restructuring.

BB&T reports strong earning and projection of branch closures Triad-based bank proposes leaner organization following strong first quarter earnings

By Laura Ashley Lamm North State Journal WINSTON – SALEM — The BB&T Corporation reports strong earnings for the first quarter of 2017 noting the earnings were driven by record quarterly reviews and expense control.

BB&T released financials noting the net income available to common shareholders was $378 million, down 28.3 percent from the first quarter of 2016. Excluding losses on the pre-tax merger-related and restructuring and charges excess tax benefits from equity-based compensation plans, net income available to common shareholders was $611 million, or $0.74 per diluted share.

Net income available to common shareholders was $592 million ($0.72 per diluted share) for the fourth quarter of 2016 and $527 million ($0.67 per diluted share) for the first quarter of 2016.

“We are pleased to report strong earnings for the first quarter,” said Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Kelly S. King.

“During the quarter, we terminated $2.9 billion of higher-cost FHLB advances, re-

sulting in a pre-tax loss on early extinguishment of $392 million, or $0.30 per diluted share. This strategic action lowers our future borrowing costs and provides a boost to future margins and earnings.

“Taxable-equivalent revenues were a record $2.8 billion, up 9.1 percent compared to the first quarter of 2016,” King said. “Net interest income was up $81 million and noninterest income was up $155 million from last year as we continue to capitalize on our acquisitions. In addition, revenues were up 7.6 percent, from the fourth quarter of 2016.

“Expenses were $2.1 billion and included over $400 million in debt extinguishment and merger-related and restructuring charges,” King said. “Excluding these items, our adjusted efficiency ratio is at its lowest level since 2014, reflecting strong expense control, leverage from our acquisitions and excellent asset quality.”

Though BB&T is pleased with earnings, King shared with financial analysts the projected closing of approximately 100 branches this year as part of the company’s emphasis of a digital platform, U by BB&T, in addition to the consolidation of teller and banker roles in more branches.

Currently, BB&T has 2,193 branches and reports 60 percent of customers are actively using the digital platform for transactions.

of Dais X, thinks he has the answer. Focusing on small to mid-size companies under a billion-dollars, Davis looks to be the digital leader in an otherwise untouchable market. For many small businesses, prices of outsourcing for digital assistance prevent growth.

“These companies face challenges that big companies face as well...but there’s not a lot of people focused holistically on helping the small and medium-sized growth companies because the bigger management consultancies, they’re pricy. It’s not reasonable and feasible for these types of companies.” Their entry point also focuses on family-owned businesses that have achieved a state or regional market lead status for more than 20 years but now face new competition.

“Now there’s new entrance emerging in the marketplace that are crushing historical paradigms. A lot of times the leadership [of small companies] is laying awake at night thinking ‘What am I going to do to compete? We’re going to have to revamp our business model.’" said Davis. “Many cases they don’t know what to ask for at that stage. What we do is we help to take the pressure off.”

Davis is the former Chief Marketing Officer of Shift Now Inc., an advertising agency with offices in Greensboro, N.C. and Atlanta, Ga. Davis launched Dais X four weeks ago stating, “The time is now for companies that are faced with the magnitude of what digital transformation involves.”

Dais X operates on three main platforms, Dais Consult, Dais Ignite (software engineering) and Dais Digital. The consulting phase creates a strategic roadmap and Davis notes, “The other divisions are there to pull across from the internal resources and expertise to help implement the road map we create.”

Dais X is a beacon for businesses stuck in a changing digital market unsure of the next step. More than digital, Dais X takes the foundation of a shifting climate and molds it into profitable returns for companies identifying opportunities to create new sources of revenue.

To understand the role a small business plays, the U.S. Small Business Administration reports that 99.7 percent of businesses in the U.S. identify as small businesses (500 or fewer employees). Since 1982, the number of small businesses has increased by 49 percent and while using a mix of traditional and digital marketing, six out of 10 businesses have yet to establish an online presence.

Currently, the company is working with five clients; three in Dais Consult, one internal client in Ignite and two in Dais Digital. Their target customers are in sectors of financial, health care, consumer goods, retail, manufacturing, hospitality, utilities and energy. In May, they will be headquartered at Revolution Mill in Greensboro. Davis hopes with the growing company, Dais X will also be able to grow into the new space.

Smithfield, Va and Tar Heel, N.C. A vessel carrying a shipment of corn from Paraguay is due next month at a North Carolina port used

by Smithfield Foods Inc, the world’s largest pork producer. A fungus that causes “vomitoxin” has been found in some U.S. corn harvested last year, forcing poultry and pork farmers to test their grain, and giving headaches to grain growers already wrestling with massive supplies and low prices. The plant toxin sickens livestock and can also make humans and pets fall ill. Smithfield would not confirm it had ordered the corn from Paraguay, but two independent grain trading sources said Smithfield was the likely buyer. A company source said corn Smithfield has brought in from Indiana and Ohio, to feed pigs in North Carolina, has been “horrible quality” due to the presence of mycotoxins.

Smithfield’s Tar Heel, N.C. plant is the world’s largest slaughterhouse.

American Airlines apologizes for onboard clash over stroller Ft. Worth, Texas American Airlines on Saturday apologized to a female passenger and suspended an employee after a video showing an onboard clash over a baby stroller went viral, in the latest embarrassment for a U.S. carrier over how it treated a customer. The clip, posted on Facebook on Friday by a bystander aboard the flight, shows a woman in tears with a young child in her arms, and a man emerging from his seat to confront a male flight attendant who apparently wrested the stroller from the woman.

Landmark study to track health data starting at Duke and Stanford Durham, N.C. and Stanford, Cali.

Verily, a life sciences business owned by Alphabet Inc (parent company of Google), said it was launching a four-year study with about 10,000 participants to understand how people transition from being healthy to becoming sick, and to identify additional risk factors for diseases. Verily is partnering with Duke University and Stanford Medicine in the United States to enroll participants from varying backgrounds at sites in California and North Carolina within the next few months. The study is the first initiative of Project Baseline, a broader effort to develop a reference, or a “baseline,” for what “health” refers to, and will collect data, as well as biological samples such as blood and saliva. The sites will gather data from participants through repeat clinical visits, a wristwatch that monitors heart rate and activity levels, as well as participation in surveys and polls.

North State Journal for Wednesday, April 26, 2017

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n.c.

FAST FACTS

New economic data ranks states based on economic outlook

Sponsored by

By NSJ Staff

Now that spring is officially upon us, the N.C. Department of Agriculture has issued some guidlines for farmers and gardeners as they seeek to safeguard their plots, large and small, against the various organisms that pose a threat to bountiful harvests.

Approved Logos

April is National Plant Pest Awareness Month, which is intended to educate the public about the threat that certain insects, plant diseases and weeds pose to crops, forests, the environment, and our economy. Here is some helpful bug info for North Carolina commercial growers or back yard green thumbs:

Noah Berger | REUTERS

Pedestrians pass a Rite Aid store in Oakland, California

Employees’ phobias may not relieve them of essential job duties An employment law expert offers insight into the legal limits of the ADA

North Carolina has federal quarantines for four invasive plant pests: witchweed, the emerald ash borer, the European gypsy moth and the imported fire ant.

Invasive pests are considered the secondgreatest threat to biological diversity after habitat loss.

If plant pests become established in a state, they increase food and fiber costs. They also can increase pesticide use and damage native species of plants and animals, forests, watersheds, lakes and rivers.

Plant pests can spread in various ways. They can hitchhike from one place to another on firewood, hay bales, plants, outdoor gear, trucks and other vehicles, and even in luggage.

By Ashley Parr For the North State Journal rom agoraphobia to xenophobia, employers should F be well aware that there is a long

Ashley Parr is an employment and labor law attorney in Nexsen Pruet’s Greenville, S.C. office. In her practice, she counsels businesses and organizations on issues ranging from policy implementation to claims of discrimination. In addition to her experience in employment and labor matters, Ashley also supports clients with their business litigation needs.

What can you do to help?

Well, if you are traveling to another state or country, do not bring back any fruits, vegetables, nuts, seeds, plants or other natural items unless they have been cleared by appropriate officials.

list of phobias—including more common disorders such as social anxiety disorder—that can be considered disabilities under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). Recently, however, the Second Circuit Court of Appeals overturned a $1.8 million jury verdict and ruled that a drug store chain did not violate the ADA when it terminated a pharmacist who suffered from trypanophobia—a fear of needles. The case, Stevens v. Rite Aid Corporation, arose from Rite Aid’s 2011 decision to require all pharmacists to give immunization injections to customers.

After Rite Aid revised the essential functions of its pharmacist job description accordingly, a pharmacist who had worked for the pharmacy for 34 years obtained a doctor’s note stating that he was needle-phobic and unable to administer injections.

Rite Aid engaged in an interactive process with the pharmacist to determine if there was any possible accommodation that would allow the pharmacist to administer injections, but, ultimately, his doctor concluded that there was no such accommodation where the pharmacist could administer the injections safely. Rite Aid also offered the pharmacist a transfer to another position, which the pharmacist declined. Ultimately, Rite Aid terminated the pharmacist based on the fact that giving immunizations was an essential function of his job. The pharmacist filed suit against Rite Aid for

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wrongful termination, retaliation, and failure to accommodate him under the ADA. Overturning the jury verdict for the pharmacist, the court of appeals held that Rite Aid had not violated the ADA. Specifically, the appeals court found that immunization injections were an essential job requirement for Rite Aid pharmacists at the time of the pharmacist’s discharge. The court also found that the pharmacist had failed to prove that a reasonable accommodation existed at the time of his termination, confirming, among other things, that Rite Aid was not required to eliminate an essential function of the pharmacist’s job, such as administering injections, as a reasonable accommodation, nor was it required to force other employees, instead of the pharmacist, to administer the injections.

The case reinforces the principle that there are limits to the burden an employer should have to bear in accommodating employees with disabilities. It also provides some practical takeaways for employers: Clearly state the essential functions of a position in a job description and amend the job description as needed to reflect any new essential job functions; Engage in an interactive process with employees who provide notice of a potential disability under the ADA; Consider offering a job transfer before terminating employees who cannot perform essential job functions; and Document each step of the decision making process.

With these guidelines in mind, employers can take steps to prepare and protect themselves if, and when, an employee’s disability prevents him or her from performing an essential job function.

For the 10th year in a row, Utah earns the top spot for best economic outlook, followed by Indiana, North Carolina, North Dakota and Tennessee, according to recently released data by the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC). According to the annual publication Rich States, Poor States: ALEC-Laffer State Economic Competitiveness Index, New York retains the unwelcomed achievement of ranking 50th in economic outlook for the fourth consecutive year, followed by Vermont, New Jersey, California and Connecticut.

State lawmakers have relied upon Rich States, Poor States as a guide for measuring the economic competitiveness of their states since 2008. The publication is authored

by Dr. Arthur B. Laffer, a member of Ronald Reagan’s Economic Policy Advisory Board, Stephen Moore, distinguished visiting fellow at The Heritage Foundation, and Jonathan Williams, ALEC Chief Economist and Vice President of the ALEC Center for State Fiscal Reform.

“As we celebrate the 10th edition of Rich States, Poor States, the presented data remains consistent in its message. State governments are constantly competing for Americans and jobs, and in this fast-moving environment, standing still is enough to get left behind,” said Jonathan Williams. “States that have adopted pro-growth policies have enjoyed robust economic expansion, with greater wage growth and more opportunities for citizens. The facts remain clear that pro-growth policies are working and there is a clear trend in favor of market-oriented reforms. Along with my co-authors, Dr. Art Laffer and Stephen Moore, I look forward to continuing this important work for years to come.”

In celebration of its 10th edition, ALEC has launched a new website alongside current state economic rankings. This site gives users the ability to compare and contrast economic policy and performance trends of the last decade, featuring a new tool showing how particular policy adjustments can change the economic outlook ranking of an individual state, including various tax rates, regulatory burdens and labor policies.

According to www.richstatespoorstates.org, many states significantly improved or fell in the Index. Delaware rose seven spots but still remains at a dismal 37th. West Virginia also climbed six spots from 37th to 31st. On the other hand, Oklahoma dropped six places from 10th to 16th, whereas Wisconsin, Mississippi and Alaska all fell five places in the Index to 14th, 22ndand 30th respectively.

Visit www.richstatespoorstates. org to see individual state data and to compare economic outlook over time.

North State Journal for Wednesday, April 26, 2017

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TECH BEAT

Technology addiction reaching new high 90 percent of respondents in a new study say they “need” to constantly check email, texts and social media

By NSJ Staff NEW YORK — Did your spouse check email just as you were about to deliver a punch line? Did your friend reply to a text while you were describing your boss’ broadside? Is your child so engrossed in whatever she’s doing on her iPhone that you must ask her multiple times to please pass the salt?

And do you find yourself incapable of controlling an incessant urge to look at your smartphone or other electronic device?

You’ve got company.

Nearly nine out of 10 Americans report being so tethered to their digital gadgets that they constantly or often check their email, texts and social media accounts, a new poll shows.

“The information overload and notifications actually impair our ability to concentrate. They make us less productive. They make us feel not really present. So people report feeling disconnected from others,” says C. Vaile Wright, PhD, Director, Practice Re“If you’re search and Policy for the American out to Psychological Association.

Nearly one-fifth of Americans dinner identified technology as a significant with your source of stress, according to the friends, survey of more than 3,500 adults living in the U.S. keep your Even when those who described cellphone in themselves as constant checkers your pocket were with family members, 44 percent reported feeling disconnected. or your Nearly two-thirds of those polled purse.” strongly agreed that periodically unplugging from digital devices would boost their mental health. But only Psychologist 28 percent said they actually took Vaile Wright digital holidays.

“Our access to our technology, particularly our mobile technology, is very positively reinforcing,” Wright said. You ask a question, and the device immediately answers.

“And so we keep going back for more,” she said.

She recommends regular digital breaks.

“It’s actually important to not just rely on willpower,” Wright said. “If you’re out to dinner with your friends, keep your cellphone in your pocket or your purse.”

Psychologist Ethan Kross, a professor at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor says smartphones “instantly activate the desire to check,” he said. Turn off sound notifications as well as vibrations and put the device into a desk drawer, or somewhere else you won’t see it, he suggested.

“The real challenge is to figure out what are the healthy versus the harmful ways of interacting with these technologies. The hope is that we optimize how they influence people’s well being,” he said.

Hannibal Hanschke | REUTERS

First daughter Ivanka Trump speaks at the W20 Summit in Berlin, Germany, April 25, 2017.

Ivanka Trump says still defining role, wants to help empower women First daughter is easing into unique role as presidential adviser, influencer while maintaining focus on opportunities for women

By Michelle Martin Reuters ERLIN — Ivanka Trump said on Tuesday she was still in the proB cess of defining her role as an informal

White House adviser to her father Donald, and wanted to use her influence to help empower women.

During a podium discussion in Berlin at a women’s summit on April 25 organized by the Group of 20 major economies, Trump said she was still defining how she could make an impact and trying to learn from others.

Asked whether she represented the president, the American people or her business, she replied: “Well certainly not the latter, and I am rather unfamiliar with this role as it is quite new to me too, it has been a little under 100 days.”

She later added: “This is very early for me. I’m listening, I’m learning, I’m defining the ways in which I think that I’ll be able to have impact. I’m seeking the counsel .. . of informed and thoughtful women and men and I’m really striving to think about how best to empower women in the economy, both domestically and across the globe.”

Ivanka Trump is seen as an increas-

“This is very early for me. I’m listening, I’m learning, I’m defining the ways in which I think that I’ll be able to have impact. I’m seeking the counsel ... of informed and thoughtful women and men and I’m really striving to think about how best to empower women in the economy, both domestically and across the globe.”

— Ivanka Trump ingly important influence on her father, but her appointment as an adviser, with access to classified information, was highly unusual for the daughter of a president. Seeking to allay ethics concerns, the 35-year-old said last month she would serve in the White House in an unpaid, informal role.

At the Berlin event, she discussed support for women entrepreneurs with German Chancellor Angela Merkel and International Monetary Fund head Christine Lagarde, among others.

Last month she was pictured sitting next to Merkel during the German

leader’s visit to Washington, which was characterized by awkward body language between the president and the chancellor as they tried to play down their differences on issues such as trade.

Proud father During the Berlin discussion, Donald Trump tweeted that he was “proud” of Ivanka for “her leadership on these important issues.”

During last year’s presidential election, Trump found himself at the center of a furious controversy when a 2005 video emerged in which he boasted about grabbing women’s genitals.

Asked about whether some of the attitudes expressed by her father might beg the question whether he really wanted to empower women, Ivanka said her personal experience, as well as that of thousands of women who had worked with or for Trump, showed he believed in women’s potential.

“I grew up in a house where there were no barriers to what I could accomplish ... there was no difference for me and my brothers and I think as a business leader you saw that and as a president you’ll absolutely see that,” she said.

Her visit has provoked strong media interest. The newspaper Berliner Zeitung, which has described her as “the president’s whisperer,” said German officials would “certainly be hoping that the president’s daughter will convey a positive image of Germany to her father as a result of her short visit.”

KACPER PEMPEL | REUTERS

Microsoft’s Nadella banks on LinkedIn data to challenge Salesforce Improvements to sales software follow Microsoft’s $26 billion gamble on LinkedIn

By Stephen Nellis North State Journal SAN FRANCISCO — Microsoft Corp is rolling out upgrades to its sales software that integrates data from LinkedIn, an initiative that Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella told Reuters was central to the company’s long-term strategy for building specialized business software.

The improvements to Dynamics 365, as Microsoft’s sales software is called, are a challenge to market leader Salesforce.com and represent the first major product initiative to spring from Microsoft’s $26 billion acquisition of LinkedIn, the business-focused social network.

The new features will comb through a salesperson’s email, calendar and LinkedIn relationships to help gauge how warm their relationship is with a potential customer. The system will recommend ways to save an at-risk Robert Galbraith | REuters deal, like calling in a co-worker who is The logo for LinkedIn Corporation is shown in Mountain View, California. connected to the potential customer on LinkedIn. Nadella’s bigger vision is to have all The enhancements, which will be company ranks fourth - far behind available this summer, will require Mi- Salesforce.com and other rivals Oracle products take advantage of a common crosoft Dynamics customers to also be Corp and SAP - with just 4.3 percent set of business data that can be mined of the market in 2015, the most recent for new insights with artificial intelliLinkedIn customers.

The artificial intelligence, or AI, ca- year for which figures are available, ac- gence.

“I think that’s the only way to longpabilities of the software would be cen- cording to research firm Gartner.

Salesforce declined to comment on term change this game, because if all tral, Nadella said. “I want to be able to we did was replace somebody else’s democratize AI so that any customer Microsoft’s competing software.

But Nadella said specialized appli- (sales), or (finance) application, that’s using these products is able to, in fact, take their own data and load it into AI cations in fields like sales and finance of no value, quite frankly,” he said.

Microsoft pointed to Visa as a sucare critical to the company’s future. He for themselves,” he said.

While Microsoft is a behemoth in bills them as Microsoft’s “third cloud,” cess story. Earlier this year Visa was in the market for operating systems and the first two being Office 365 for gener- the process of choosing a cloud-based productivity software like Office, it is al productivity like email and Azure for customer service software system and picked Microsoft’s over Salesforce. a small player in sales software. The computing and databases.

Rajat Taneja, executive vice president of technology at Visa, said Nadella’s three-cloud strategy was the deciding factor.

But Microsoft has a long way to go.

The company has never released a revenue figure for Dynamics, though the former head of Dynamics said publicly in 2015 that it was a $2 billion business unit.

That compares with Salesforce revenue of $8.3 billion overall and $3 billion for its sales software specifically.

Dynamics also grew more slowly than Salesforce last year - Dynamics revenue grew just 4 percent versus 26 percent for Salesforce, which is also rolling out artificial intelligence features.

Nadella is under pressure to show that the pricey LinkedIn acquisition in mid-2016 was worthwhile. R “Ray” Wang, founder of analyst firm Constellation Research, said LinkedIn-powered features, combined with popular programs like Office and Skype, could help.

“Microsoft is putting together the contextual business data people need to be more efficient and build better relationships,” Wang said.

Nadella said Microsoft will also continue offering certain LinkedIn data to other companies, including Salesforce, as LinkedIn did before its acquisition.

Salesforce had urged European regulators to probe the Microsft-LinkedIn deal, which they ultimately declined to do.

“That ecosystem approach is something that we will absolutely maintain and, in fact, if anything keep continuing to evangelize,” Nadella said.

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North State Journal for Wednesday, April 26, 2017