North State Journal Vol 8, Issue 32

the BRIEF this week

New rates in e ect for Duke Energy Progress customers

Charlotte

Duke Energy Progress

implemented new rates for North Carolina customers on Oct. 1.

The company says the new rates remain below the national average as the company completes approximately $6.3 billion in upgrades. Rates for customers will increase by an expected 17.2% over the next three years.

The North Carolina Utilities Commission approved the plan in late September.

For the rst time, the approval covers multiyear rates and includes incentives and penalties based on performance metrics.

“We’ve made major infrastructure enhancements in recent years to meet our customers’ needs and expectations, and this order will enable even more improvement while limiting annual rate increases and giving customers more cost certainty,” said Kendal Bowman, Duke Energy’s North Carolina president, in a statement.

NSJ

Hurricanes’ Dundon wants to bring MLB to Raleigh

Raleigh Tom Dundon has already revived one major sports franchise in North Carolina. Now he says he wants to build one from the ground up. The Carolina Hurricanes owner told David Glenn of the North Carolina Sports Network that he wants to bring Major League Baseball to N.C.

“I know I’m biased, but I think Raleigh is the best place in the country for a new MLB team,” Dundon said in an interview with Glenn. “And when I say that, I think we have the facts to back that up.”

MLB, which currently has 30 teams, has been eyeing expansion after seeing the success both the NHL and NFL have had in new markets. Charlotte has often been mentioned as a darkhorse candidate to be in the running for an MLB team, but having a billionaire backing its bid could make Raleigh a frontrunner in North Carolina over the Queen City.

MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred has said an entry fee for an expansion team could be around $2.2 billion.

NSJ

State Superintendent discusses Parents’ Bill of Rights implementation, Parent Advisory Commission

By A.P. Dillon North State Journal

—

RALEIGH

In a recent interview with North State Journal, State Superintendent Catherine Truitt discussed updates on her Parent Advisory Commission, her position on the implementation of the Parents’ Bill of Rights and conrmed her plans to run for reelection in 2024.

In January, the Parent Advisory Commission will be passing the two-year mark since it started meeting, which Truitt called “a labor of love.”

“One of the things that I realized when we started meeting with the parents is how little information parents have about or how little knowledge they have about how education policy happens, who is in control of what, what is the role of

Local district attorney les bar complaint against Attorney General Stein

Michael Hardin, DA in

Moore and Hoke Counties, alleges con ict of interest

By Matt Mercer North State Journal

the local superintendent versus the local school board, county commissioners versus the legislature, versus DPI versus the State Board of Education,” Truitt said. Truitt said the initial meetings of the commission focused mainly on bringing parents up to speed on how things work in education policy as well as clearing up information disconnects.

“We know from national data that there is a disconnect between what parents know and what schools do,” Truitt said. “For example, when I’ve seen research that shows what do teachers value versus what do parents value — and they’re not aligned.”

Truitt added that a parent, for example, is very concerned

See TRUITT, page A8

RALEIGH — District Attorney Michael Hardin (R-Moore/ Hoke) has lodged a formal complaint against state Attorney General Josh Stein with the N.C. State Bar, alleging a conict of interest in Stein’s representation of him and other district attorneys in a lawsuit.

The complaint stems from a 2020 lawsuit initiated by the North Carolina A. Philip Randolph Institute (APRI) and Action NC against Stein. The groups sought an injunction against the enforcement of a state statute that prohibits convicted felons from voting until their citizenship rights have been reinstated. In response to the lawsuit, Stein’s o ce moved to dismiss the case, contending that the Attorney General was not the appropriate party for the lawsuit. The motion stated, “The Attorney General has never been called upon to defend a conviction under this statute nor has he ever issued an Attorney General Opinion on this statute.” In February 2021, APRI

amended its complaint, excluding the Attorney General and incorporating all N.C. district attorneys, including Hardin, as defendants. In court lings, APRI stated that “after extensive brie ng and negotiation” with the Attorney General’s ofce, APRI agreed to replace the Attorney General and add the state’s district attorneys. Hardin’s complaint alleges the Attorney General’s o ce did not inform the state’s district attorneys of the negotiation or that they were being sued. This move, Hardin believes, has led to potential con icts of interest.

In one of the communications cited in the complaint, the Attorney General’s O ce told Hardin, “We believe that the Attorney General’s O ce can continue to represent you and the other district attorneys in this matter without a con ict.” Despite this assurance, Hardin’s concerns persisted.

According to the State Bar, the organization that regulates the practice of law, “All North Carolina lawyers must follow a code of ethics called the North Carolina Rules of Professional Conduct.” The State Bar oversees the investigation and, if deemed necessary, the prosecution of lawyers who deviate from

See STEIN, page A2

Pro-life pregnancy centers see millions in budget proposal

By A.P. Dillon North State Journal

RALEIGH — Crisis pregnancy centers and related pregnancy prevention services will receive tens of millions in the currentstate budget.

Under the proposed budget, $6.25 million in recurring funds for each year of the budget would be appropriated to theDivision of Public Healthunder theN.C.Department ofHealth and Human Services(NCDHHS). Thedivision is directed to allocate that funding to the nonpro t groupCarolina Pregnancy Care Fellowship(CPCF)

The spending breakdown of the $12.5 million in total funding to CPCF includes $2.9 millionto provide grants for services

to pregnancy centersoperating in the state, $1 million in grants to centers for buyingdurable medical equipmentand topay for pregnancy care training and training on the use ofthe equipment purchased, half a million for grants to cover costs of nonreligious, nonsectarian educational training and resources regarding pregnancy, and $4.2 millionto fund operation of CPCF’sCircle of CareProgram.

Another $3 millionover the two-year budgetwas appropriated from the American Rescue Plan’s Temporary Savings Fund toNCDHHS’s Public Health Divisionto beallocated to The Human Coalition for its statewide “Continuum of Care” program, which o ers women ”long-term assistance through a network of support services.”

“Pregnancy care centers are a vital resource supporting pregnant women and their babies,” NC Values Executive Director Tami Fitzgerald said in a statement praising the spending.

“The ability to see your child on an ultrasound before making a life and death decision for your child is imperative, so funding ultrasound machines was an important component of this appropriation.”

The budget also codi es limitations on state funds used for abortion services, stating that no funds can be used by a state agency “to renew or extend existing contracts or enter into new contracts for the provision of family planning services, pregnancy prevention activities, or adolescent parenting programs with any provider

that performs abortions.” An exception to that limitation ispayments tohealth care providers for services authorized under the State Health Plan for Teachers and State Employees or the Medicaid program.

Under Maternal and Child Health Block grants, fundsappropriated to NCDHH’s Division of Public Health are listed as$3,538,541 for 2024-24 and 2024-25. Of those funds, Teen

See PREGNANCY, page A2

“The o ce of Speaker of the House is hereby declared vacant”

Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) was removed as Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives by a 216-210 vote on Tuesday, Oct. 3, 2023. North Carolina Rep. Patrick McHenry (NC-10) took over as acting speaker pro tempore to oversee the election of a new speaker, which must be done before any other House business can be conducted.

POSTMASTER:

PREGNANCY from page 1

Pregnancy PreventionInitiativeswill receive$650,000,Perinatal and Neonatal OutreachCoordinator Contractswill get$440,000,andMountain AreaPregnancy Serviceswill receive$50,000.At least 90% of the funds allocated toMountain Area Pregnancy Services is to beused for direct services.

Mountain Area Pregnancy Services was attacked by vandals in the days following the U.S. Supreme Court’s ruling in the Dobbs case which returned abortion decisions to the states.

North Carolina U.S. Sens. Thom Tillis and Ted Budd, both Republicans, issueda letterto state Attorney General Josh

“But He said to me: ‘My grace is su cient for you, for My power is made perfect in weakness.’ Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me. For the sake of Christ, then, I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities. For when I am weak, then I am strong.”

2 Corinthians 12:9-10

If none of God’s saints were poor and tried, we would not know the consolations of divine grace half so well.

When we nd the wanderer who does not have a place to lay his head, who yet can say, “Still I will trust in the Lord”; when we see the pauper starving on bread and water, who still glories in Jesus; when we see the bereaved widow overwhelmed in a iction, and yet relying on Christ—oh what honor it re ects on the Gospel.

God’s grace is illustrated and magni ed in the poverty and trials of believers.

Saints bear up under every discouragement, believing that all things work together for their good, and that out of apparent evils a real blessing shall ultimately spring. They know that their God will either work a deliverance for them speedily—or most assuredly support them in the trouble, as long as He is pleased to keep them in it. This perseverance of the saints proves the power of divine grace.

He who would glorify God, must

Stein, a Democrat, asking him to protect crisis pregnancy centers in the state as well as investigate the Mountain Area attack. Stein’sresponsewas to dodge the inquiry about investigating the attack and told the senators that “any North Carolinian who fears for their safety should contact locallaw enforcement immediately.”

Earlier this year, the U.S. House passeda resolutioncondemning attacks on crisis pregnancy centers by a vote of 222-208. All but three House Democrats voted against the resolution includingall Democratic members of North Carolina’s U.S. House congressional delegation. The state’s Republican members voted yes.

reckon upon meeting with many trials. No man can be illustrious before the Lord, unless his con icts are many. If then yours is a much-tried path, rejoice in it because you will better show forth the all-su cient grace of God. As for His failing you, never dream of it—hate the thought. The God who has been su cient until now, should be trusted to the end.

“No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it

produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it.” Hebrews 12:11

Charles Spurgeon (1834-1892) is one of the most widely read preachers in history and is known by many as the Prince of Preachers. Spurgeon was pastor of the New Park Street Chapel (later the Metropolitan Tabernacle) in London. His works are now in the public domain.

The state legislative building in Raleigh is shown in this photo. The 202325 state budget went into e ect on Monday, Oct. 2, 2023.

STEIN from page 1 these rules. The disciplinary process is initiated when allegations of potential professional misconduct are brought against lawyers. Grievances, or formal complaints, can be initiated by anyone, from clients and lawyers to judges and the general public. Once a grievance is lodged, it undergoes a review process. If there’s probable cause to believe a violation transpired, the grievance is escalated to the State Bar’s Grievance Committee. Based on the ndings, the case might be further referred to the Disciplinary Hearing Commission (DHC) for additional proceedings.

Hardin’s complaint outlines his interactions with the Attorney General’s O ce, underscoring his escalating concerns about potential con icts of interest. According to a copy of the complaint obtained by North State Journal, Hardin believes that Stein’s initial role as a defendant, followed by his

subsequent recommendation to include the district attorneys as defendants, raises ethical questions.

In email communications included with the complaint, Hardin expressed his reservations about Stein’s o ce representing him in the case, saying, “Given the history and status of the case, I believe there’s an undeniable con ict of interest in your representation.”

Hardin’s complaint alleges Stein violated four separate rules of professional conduct, including rules that bar attorneys from making decisions in a lawsuit based on the interests of other clients and revealing con dential information.

According to his complaint, Hardin’s goal is to have the State Bar declare a con ict of interest in further representation by Stein.

Stein’s o ce has not issued a public response to the complaint and has not yet responded to a request for comment from North State Journal.

WAKE AND JOHNSTON COUNTIES

CLAYTON - U.S. 70 between Garner and Morehead City is being upgraded to interstate standards. As sections are upgraded, a request is sent to the American Association of State Highway and Transportation

https://Publicinput.com/US70-NC42-Clayton. presentation.

Oct. 12 at Oakland Presbyterian Church 5 and 7 p.m.

US70-NC42-Clayton@PublicInput.com

October 26, 2023.

Bailey M. Harden

984-205-6615 project code 3374

pdwilson1@ncdot.gov

“The Storm on the Sea of Galilee” (1633) by Rembrandt was stolen in 1990 from the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum in Boston, in what is considered one of the largest art heists in history.

FILE PHOTO

N.C. DEPT. OF PUBLIC SAFETY

Attorney General Josh Stein speaks in Raleigh in this undated le photo.

NC Council of State roundup for September

By A.P. Dillon North State Journal

RALEIGH — This month’s Council of State news update includes raises, a retirement, complaints about a major health care system, state employee association membership levels and discussions about K-12 math achievement as well as State Board of Education policy disputes surrounding charter schools.

E ective July 1, 2024, all Council of State positions will be receiving raises. The current salaries for these positions of $157,403 will rise 6.98% to$168,384.

The governor is also getting a raise from$198,120 to$203,073 annually starting July 1, 2024. The raise is approximately 2.5%.

The North CarolinaCouncil of State(COS) is an administrative body of 10 elected o cials who are heads of their departments. Council members include the governor, lieutenant governor, attorney general, commissioner of agriculture, commissioner of insurance, commissioner of labor, secretary of state, state auditor, state treasurer and superintendent of public instruction. The governor typically leads COS meetings.

Gov. Roy Cooperannouncedthe retirement of North Carolina Department of Transportation Secretary Eric Boyette on Sept. 6.Joseph R. “Joey” Hopkins, the current NCDOT chief operating o cer, replacedBoyette on Oct. 1. The governor also released$1 millionin funding to the N.C. Department of Transportation to train more school bus drivers. Cooper released another$8 millionfor N.C. Pre-K program funding. The money for both items came from thefederal Emergency Assistance for Non-Public Schools (EANS) funds that have reverted to the Governor’s Emergency Education Relief (GEER) fund.

Lt. Gov. Mark Robinson attended aribbon-cutting ceremony for a new expansion at Case Farms Processing Plant in Morganton. He also participated in theState Board of Community Colleges strategic planning session held at Wayne Community College in Goldsboro. Robinson was one of three members of the State Board of Education voting down the board’snew policyto do an end-run around the law creating the new Charter Review Board, which he called “dishonest” and “being headed up by political appointees who are only trying to serve an agenda.”

One audit on the membership count of state employeeassociations was released by State Auditor Beth Wood’s o ce in September. The audit showed drops in membership for the state’s two largest employeeassociations, the State Employees Association of North Carolina and the North

Carolina Association of Educators.

Wood also con rmed she plans to run for reelection in 2024 despite pleading guilty earlier this year to charges related to her hitand-run accident using a stateowned vehicle. In pleading guilty, Wood admitted in court she had two glasses of wine at a holiday party but claimed she wasn’t impaired when she crashed into a parked car near the corner ofSalisbury and Hargett streets in Raleigh.

In Agriculture news, Commissioner Steve Troxler’so ce promoted North Carolina’s Mountain State Fair, which ran Sept. 6-15 and saw a total attendance of 147,278. On Sept. 20, Troxler’s agency reminded the public that the ea market held every weekend at the state fairgrounds would be closing on Sept. 25 for this year’s N.C. State Fair. The ea market will return on Nov. 4.

Attorney General Josh Stein announced two more opioid settlements — a $35 million agreement with Leasing Company Tempoe and a $1.37 billion settlement in principle with Kroger. He is also asking the public in the western part of the state to le complaints with his o ce if they are a ected by the lack of certain cancer treatments for adults with leukemia and lymphoma at Mission Hospital in Asheville. Stein said his o ce isinvestigating concerns that the provider, HCA

Healthcare, may not be meeting the agreements it made when it purchased Mission, and it has issueda letterto HCA on the matter.

State Treasurer Dale Folwell reacted to Stein’s involvement in the HCA complaints by telling North State Journal he had spoken to Stein “years ago about protecting all North Carolinians from the health care cartel.”

“Stein’s is the only ngerprint on the disastrous takeover of Mission Health by HCA,” said Folwell, who provided a January 2019 letter from Stein to Mission Health System’s president Donald R. Esposito Jr. in which the attorney general wrote he “does not object to the proposed transaction.”

“Citizens in Western NC are under siege because he didn’t do his job,” Folwell said. “It’s time to put this transaction into ‘re-MISSION.’”

Folwell’so ce also issued a new reportdetailing issues with the lack of transparency in pricing by hospitals in the state.Among the ndings in the report are “extreme variations” in hospital pricing, large price markups on Medicare rates, and “widespread failures” in pricing transparency for treatment and procedures, as well as wide price disparities.

Secretary of State Elaine Marshall announced new business creations in the state for July and August had set new records compared to those months in past

What’s in the state budget: Over $363M for agriculture, natural resource priorities

By A.P. Dillon

North State Journal

RALEIGH — With the passage of the state budget last month, state agriculture and natural resource priorities will see investments of more than $363 million.

The net appropriation set aside in the budget for Agriculture and Natural Resources is $180,926,866 for FY 2023-23 and $182,244,062 for FY 202425.

“Overall, I am pleased with the 2023-2024 State Budget and I am grateful for the legislature’s continued investment in and support of agriculture, agribusinesses and our farmers,” State Agriculture Commissioner Steve Troxler said in an email statement to North State Journal.

“Speci cally, that includes $25 million in funding for Farmland Preservation e orts, which I believe is critically needed; $20 million in the Stream ow Rehabilitation Assistance Program, which is focused on reducing downstream ooding from tropical storms and hurricanes; $20 million for the N.C. Agriculture Manufacturing and Processing Initiative, a new project to attract and facilitate more agribusiness development; and, near-

ly $8 million in funding for our agricultural research stations. I believe these are practical and smart investments bene ting our whole state.”

Topline gures include $12 million for food banks, $20 million for stream maintenance and restoration, $25 million for farmland preservation programs, $37.5 million for disaster resiliency and ood mitigation issues, and $56 million in grants for the conservation of land, parks and trails.

Items with recurring funds over the two-year budget include $260,000 for the Large Animal Health Enhancement Fund, $300,000 for The Christmas Tree Genetics Program, $1 million for N.C. Sweet Potato promotion, and $7.95 million for the Research Stations Operating Fund.

The Agriculture Analytics Platform Initiative run by SAS Institute at NC State will see recurring funds of $650,000 in year one of the budget and another $1 million in year two. Similarly, at NC A&T, SAS’ analytics program will receive $1 million in recurring funds for both years of the budget.

Farmland preservation, a longtime priority of NC Agricul-

Commissioner Steve Trox-

ler, will get $10 million in year one and $15 million in year two. The funding is nonrecurring. Also under farmland preservation, the Tobacco Trust Fund will receive $7M each year overall.

One of the largest appropriations is $20 million in nonrecurring funds during year one of the budget for Stream ow Rehabilitation Assistance Program, which provides grants for projects aimed at reducing ooding and restoring streams across the state.

The N.C. Department of Commerce will get half a million in year one to spend on a study of N.C. Agribusiness Economic Development.

Education-wise, $2 million each year in nonrecurring funds will be used for Career and Technical Education (CTE) grants for middle and high school students studying agriculture through NC State University’s Agriculture Extension.

Under the budget, the oversight of the Tobacco Farm Life Museum is moved to the Department of Natural and Cultural Resources. The money set aside for the museum in year one is $375,000 in a mix of recurring and nonrecurring funding and $350,000 in recurring funds in year two.

years. Nearly 16,133 new businesses were created in August and 14,324 in July. Per thesecretary’s o ce, the previous records were 15,169 in August 2020 and 13,910 in July 2021.

“Currently, 2023 is on pace to be the second highest year on record for new business creations, totaling 121,062 between Jan. 1, 2023 and Aug. 31, 2023,” according to a press release by Marshall’s o ce. “New business creations have jumped a staggering 76% since 2019 when the total through August was fewer than 69,000.”

While Marshall touts records of business activity, a warning about processing times banner on the front page of her agency’s website states, “Due to staing shortages, the Agency continues to work through its business registration mail backlog from the recently ended busy ling season.” The warning also says that in somecases, “mailed-in documents may take up to 8 weeks to process,”urges the public to le their documents online and to have patience while they bring business registration processing times “back to the Agency goal of 3 to 5 days.”

Labor Commissioner Josh Dobson and some of his sta attended the 2023 Mountain State Fair on Sept. 12. Dobson also participated in theCarolina Star Safety Conferenceheld Sept. 2022 at theKoury Convention Cen-

ter in Greensboro.

In September, the Department of Insurance Commissioner Mike Causey kicked o a Child Passenger Safety Week event in Greensboro. The event helped parents properly install child car seats and o ered free car seats to families who could not a ord one. Causey also announced the formation of a newinvestigative unit aimed at combatting disability fraud. Per a press release from Causey’s o ce, the new unit will be operated and sta ed by the “United States Social Security Administration’s Ofce of the Inspector General, the SSA’s regional o ce in Atlanta, Georgia, the N.C. Department of Insurance’s Criminal Investigations Division and the North Carolina Disability Determination Services Division, which is a part of the N.C. Department of Health and Human Services.”

State Superintendent Catherine Truitt presented student achievement and school grade data to the State Board of Education. Thestudent datashowed continued improvement, although students have not yet regained pre-pandemic achievement levels. In aninterviewwith North State Journal, Truitt outlined her concerns on student achievement in math as well as actions she believes the legislature will take to rectify the endrun around the new Charter Review Board by the State Board of Education.

What’s in the budget: COVID-19 vaccination prohibitions

By A.P. Dillon North State Journal

RALEIGH — With the passage of the state budget by lawmakers last month and its enactment without Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper’s signature, one provision will bar state entities from requiring a COVID-19 vaccination or proof of one.

The language adopted in the state budget appears to be thesame as languagecontained in the Medical Freedom Act,House Bill 98.The act, which also originally banned mask mandates for K-12 students, did not advance beyond passage by the House.

for Medicare and Medicaid Services.

Under the budget, state employers are prohibited from requiring individuals to get a COVID-19 vaccination or present proof either to get a job or stay in a current job.

State employers are prohibited from requiring individuals to get a COVID-19 vaccination or present proof either toget a job or stay in a current job.

The vaccination prohibition language has exceptions related to direct federal work or positions that are federally funded, speci cally naming the Centers

Additionally, all schools that receive public funds, both K-12 and post-secondary, are banned from requiring proof of a shot or the shot itself to attend.

Both prohibitions give speci c exemptions if there is a requirement for vaccination or proof of vaccination to participate in a program of study, ful lling education requirements for a program, or “requires working, volunteering, or training in a facility certi ed by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services.”

AP PHOTO

North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper speaks with reporters after a Council of State meeting at the Department of Transportation headquarters in Raleigh last month.

Neal Robbins, publisher | Frank Hill, senior opinion editor

EDITORIAL | FRANK HILL

Raleigh’s broken glass

DOWNTOWN RALEIGH used to be cool.

But not any longer. Raleigh, along with many other major cities, is currently trapped in the “broken window” loop of crime. The broken window theory states if smaller crimes such as breaking windows are observed as not being punishable o enses, then other more serious crimes are committed by people assuming they, too, will not be prosecuted or punished.

San Francisco is the poster child for the broken glass theory.

Business owners are having to clean up human feces outside of our shops, needles from our patios and deal with folks exposing themselves inside their bars midafternoon.

California Gov. Gavin Newsom and his liberal Democrat colleagues don’t believe in punishing anyone who steals products up to $999 in value and ― as night follows day ― Nordstrom’s, Target and other major department chains are shuttering stores and eeing the state.

Nothing destroys cities quicker than looting, crime and murder. Do progressive lefties really not understand that basic fact of life?

Raleigh has experienced the same thing as San Francisco, albeit on a smaller scale.

Following the George Floyd riots on Memorial Day 2020 and the recent spate of violent crime along the Glenwood Avenue South corridor, citizens of Raleigh have had enough. Local business owners recently testi ed before a City Council meeting that many of their employees are afraid to come downtown out of fear for their personal safety.

“A lot of our business owners are having to clean up human feces outside of our shops, needles from our patios, and deal with folks exposing themselves inside their bars mid-afternoons,” one owner said.

“My sta has been spit on; my sta has been thrown up against glass windows, my sta has been sexually groped, my sta has been threatened with bricks and they have had their lives threatened on a regular basis,” said another.

None of this had to happen. All of it could have been avoided had Raleigh Mayor Mary Ann Baldwin and the City Council allowed the police to do their job during the Floyd riots and set the tone that violence against anyone’s personal life or property would be prosecuted and convicted.

There is no moral, ethical or religious reason which can justify anyone’s claim to unilaterally in ict damage to anyone else’s body or property. There is not any rationale to support in icting harm or bodily injury on any innocent bystander — ever. Use of force for self-defense, sure ― but there was no self-defense for any of the so-called “mostly peaceful” protestors in Raleigh or any other city during the summer of

EDITORIAL | STACEY MATTHEWS

2020. Raleigh was not cool in the 1970s or 1980s. Downtown Raleigh looked like a ghost town until the city council nally wised up and got rid of the ban on automobile tra c and abolished the downtown mall concept ― simply because no one was walking in or around downtown Raleigh, and especially not after dark.

The real boom in downtown Raleigh activity and panache came after the turn of the century when Greg Hatem started investing in near-empty o ce buildings and restaurants on Fayetteville and Hargett streets after no one else did. After surviving the Crash of 2008-10, Hatem and other developers such as John Kane, with the support of business-friendly elected city councils, laid the framework and foundations for a veritable boom in downtown Raleigh as well as surrounding areas in Wake County.

It took a lot of work, creative thinking and major risk-taking and investment on behalf of developers and small business owners to make Raleigh cool and a safe and fun place to work, shop and eat. Tens of thousands of people went to First Friday night celebrations every month. Great restaurants popped up everywhere. There was even a mini-boom in small boutique clothing shops and stores which had not been seen in downtown Raleigh since the 1960s.

Today, most of those once-hustling and bustling shops and restaurants downtown are gone. Everyone who supported the wanton damage to other people’s businesses and livelihoods from Gov. Roy Cooper on down had a hand in driving entrepreneurs and tenants out of downtown Raleigh and relocating as far away as Emerald Isle, North Carolina.

There is no amount of back lling or retroactive actions that can be taken by the current council to undo what they allowed to happen in 2020. None of them had any personal property destroyed by the rioters — as far as they were concerned, violence was OK as long as someone else’s property and person were harmed.

The only way to correct the situation is to replace every local elected o cial with new representatives in the next election. Every candidate can campaign as a slate on one slogan under one banner: “We will keep you safe.” It should be a landslide.

The GOP presidential race ain’t over ’til it’s over

WITH TWO DEBATES DOWN and three and a half months to go before the Iowa caucuses, the Republican presidential race remains largely a two-person competition, with former President Donald Trump still well ahead in national and statewide polling and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis trailing him at a distant second in most polls.

Hillary Clinton was easily ahead of her Democratic primary opponents in 2007 by 20 points plus on average until a late surge from then-Sen. Barack Obama propelled him ahead.

Trump being a former president is a big advantage for him. But the four indictments against him are undoubtedly what is fueling his campaign the most, with many GOP voters viewing the charges as the equivalent of election interference allegedly being orchestrated by the Biden administration to try and thwart a potential 2024 general election opponent.

Trump’s signi cantly higher polling leads have led him to decline participation in the presidential debates, with Trump saying it’s no contest and that it’s time to unite in order to begin the process of taking on the Democratic war machine that will try to drag Joe Biden and Kamala Harris over the nish line one more time.

The other candidates, not surprisingly, beg to di er and have spent the last two debates and countless days in critical early states like Iowa, New Hampshire and South Carolina trying to make their cases to primary voters as to why they and not Trump should be the ones to lead the party on to the general election against Biden.

While the rst debate was for the most part substantive, the second one was described by some as a dumpster re, at one point devolving into former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley and Sen. Tim Scott, also from the Palmetto State, shouting at each other over a $50,000 curtain purchase made for the home in which United States ambassadors to the United Nations reside.

Haley was the ambassador in 2018 when the story broke, but it was later noted that the purchase was actually made under the Obama administration.

Haley has been described by some political observers as having “breakout moments” in both debates, with her numbers in one New Hampshire poll now showing her in second place. But polls taken by The Washington Post after both debates show DeSantis was the winner according to a plurality of poll participants.

Trump’s refusal to take part in the debates (the next one is in Miami on Nov. 8) has prompted DeSantis to challenge him to a oneon-one, which DeSantis called for last week after the Reagan Library debate and which he suggested in subsequent interviews.

“It’s one thing to [attack me] behind a keyboard. Step up on stage and do it to my face,” DeSantis stated on Fox News the day after the second debate.

“I’m ready for it. You used to say I was a great governor. Now all of a sudden you’re saying the opposite. Let’s have that discussion. And we could do it one-on-one.”

While Trump is unlikely to take him up on the challenge, DeSantis is set to take part in another one-on-one debate that has been months in the making between himself and California Gov. Gavin Newsom. That debate, which some have dubbed the “red state/blue state debate” will take place Nov. 30 on Fox News during Sean Hannity’s program. As for the polling and Trump’s seemingly insurmountable lead, it has been pointed out that there have been others in similar positions who did not go on to win their party’s nomination.

An example of that is Hillary Clinton, who was easily ahead of her Democratic primary opponents in 2007 by 20 points plus on average until a late surge from then-Sen. Barack Obama propelled him ahead, setting them up for a protracted and brutal battle for the nomination that went all the way to June 2008.

In other words, it ain’t over ’til it’s over. Stay tuned.

North Carolina native Stacey Matthews has also written under the pseudonym Sister Toldjah and is a media analyst and regular contributor to RedState and Legal Insurrection.

COLUMN | MICHAEL BARONE

NET ZERO is in trouble. In utterly predictable trouble, in the king’s-wearing-noclothes trouble.

emissions and return to subsistence agriculture “wouldn’t make the slightest di erence to the climate.”

Denmark’s most widely known business, Lego, has thrown in the gurative towel in its e ort to manufacture net-zero bricks. Keep moving forward with reforms that better focus our higher education system on preparing students to succeed in the workforce.

The signs are all around. Governments from coastal America to Communist China and businesses from automakers to toymakers have promised that they will produce no net carbon emissions by some date conveniently far in the future. But as years have gone on, those dates have come to seem inconveniently near. Something has to give.

Political scientist Francis Fukuyama has described the process of improving societies — making them more politically democratic, economically advanced and culturally tolerant — as “getting to Denmark.” And in fact, Denmark, though far from perfect, has done a better job of getting there than just about any other country.

Which makes it interesting that Denmark’s most widely known business, Lego, has thrown in the gurative towel in its e ort to manufacture net-zero bricks. It turns out, as The Wall Street Journal’s Dominic Chopping reports, bricks made of corn were “too soft,” bricks made of wheat “didn’t look right” and bricks made of other materials “proved too hard to pull apart or lost their grip.”

Plus, sad to say, bricks made of recycled bottles would emit more carbon than its current processes. Lacking the power of a government to require consumers, at least outside tiny Denmark, to buy a palpably inferior product, Lego will go on emitting just as much carbon per brick as before.

Like the Danish King Canute who brushed aside his English courtiers’ urgings that he stop the incoming tide, British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak delayed from 2030 to 2035 the ban on the sale of gasoline-powered automobiles and also postponed a ban on gas- red furnaces and water heaters.

Sunak’s Conservative Party seems unlikely to win the general election, which must be held by January 2025, but he evidently calculated that its chances would be reduced if voters thought his party would within a ve-year term force them to buy expensive electric cars that could run out of charge on cold days or expensive heat pumps that produce little heat.

Similarly, Germany’s socialist-Green coalition government limited its ban on gas heaters, Poland is suing the European Union over its 2035 gas car ban, and Dutch voters gave rst place to a new political party protesting limits on the nation’s highly e cient farmers’ nitrogen emissions.

Of course, imposing such privations on ordinary citizens is just the point for climate activists who combine a penchant for aristocratic private jet travel with a loathing for the plebeian tastes of low- and middle-income consumers. As The Wall Street Journal’s Gerard Baker points out, a British ban on carbon

COLUMN | MARK ROBINSON

The problems with net zero Overturning DEI in North Carolina’s higher education

NORTH CAROLINA DESERVES the best system of higher education in the country.

That’s why I applaud lawmakers for their recent override of Gov. Roy Cooper’s veto in enacting a groundbreaking law that reforms our taxpayer-funded public institutions, including our colleges and universities. This legislation is an important step toward rooting out radical politics from our public institutions. In our government, and in higher education, this will reorient our systems to focus on educating and preparing our students for the future.

One of this bill’s most important reforms is tackling the radical ideology of so-called “Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion”.

As the rst Black lieutenant governor of North Carolina, I wholeheartedly stand for equal treatment and equal opportunity across our State and Country. I can con dently say, the problem with DEI programs and policies are that they do not stand for these same principles.

Despite its name, DEI has come to represent unequal treatment based on race, and exclusion - especially toward conservatives. That philosophy has no place on campus, or in any public institution. Yet, many North Carolina schools have more-or-less fully bought into these extreme positions.

The state’s new law stops public institutions, including colleges and universities, from hiring based on their adherence to DEI. This is common sense: professors should be hired because they’re experts, not because they toe the party line. The law also prevents institutions from forcing professors and sta from going through “implicit bias training,” which says white people are oppressors and black and brown people are victims. That’s racist and insulting. And it’s news to me, as a Black man who holds the second-highest elected o ce in the state. People aren’t de ned by their skin color.

What should our lawmakers and elected leaders do next? The answer is simple: keep moving forward with reforms that better focus our higher education system on preparing students to succeed in the workforce.

To build on the progress we’ve made, North Carolina can continue to lead in higher education reform by enacting legislation that will: better protect freedom of speech and assembly around campus; improve admissions

There’s similar resistance in the United States, and not just on the Right. Matt Huber, leftist author of “Climate Change as Class War,” decries net-zero “climate-minded policymakers” who have moved from “policy tools” to discourage driving and meat-eating to “outright coercion: banning fossil-fuel boilers, gas stoves, internal combustion engines ...”

Speaking of which, one reason the United Auto Workers is on strike against the Big Three — General Motors, Ford and Stellantis (Chrysler) — is to bolster its current members against the job losses inevitable if the Biden administration’s net zero-inspired electric vehicle policies go into e ect. EVs require only 70% as much labor as — and maybe less than — gasoline-powered vehicles.

Administration policy aims at a 67% sales share for electric vehicles in the 2030s, astronomically higher than the 7% this year.

Ford announced this week it was “pausing” construction of a battery plant with Chinese technology in Marshall, Michigan, and nonunionized Tesla and foreign-based EV and battery manufacturing is scheduled for nonunionized Sun Belt plants.

President Joe Biden may have marched brie y on the UAW picket line in Michigan, but, writes Michigan-based auto journalist Dale Buss, he is “no ally” of the strike. The UAW has conspicuously not endorsed Biden for reelection.

Net-zero policies get good marks from a uent voters in polls, but as American Enterprise Institute’s Ruy Teixeira writes, “The working class did not really sign up for the rapid green transition envisioned by Biden and most Democrats” — what Rep. Nancy Pelosi referred to in 2019 as “the Green Dream or whatever they call it.”

New York Democrats seeking to phase out gas stoves, California Democrats seeking to ban nonelectric trucks, national Democrats forcing production of electric cars without provision for needed electricity production, transmission lines and charging stations — these are reasons that, to the puzzlement of liberal pundits, more voters see Biden-era Democrats than Trumpera Republicans as “extreme.”

Net zero helps to explain why noncollege whites are less supportive of liberal economic policies than white college graduates. Workingclass voters see Democrats not o ering them free stu but instead piling on costs and preventing them from buying things they want. Net zero indeed.

Michael Barone is a senior political analyst for the Washington Examiner, resident fellow at the American Enterprise Institute and longtime co-author of “The Almanac of American Politics.”

The American people want to cut spending

THE AMERICAN PEOPLE want government spending cut.

At America’s New Majority Project, we have the views of more than 100,000 people in a database going back to 2018. We have original polling and focus group results. We also track other polls on public policy. Americans’ desires are abundantly clear in the data.

When asked if they want to cut spending to balance the budget and reduce in ation, 78% say “yes” and only 11% disagree.

When asked if there should be a work requirement for able-bodied people getting federal aid, 75% say “yes.” Only 14% oppose work requirements.

More than two in three Americans want to cut federal spending (69% — including 86% of Republicans, 68% of independents and 53% of Democrats).

In fact, even if it takes a temporary shutdown, 57% want to reduce spending rather than have continued increases (77% of Republicans, 57% of independents and 39% of Democrats).

All too many U.S. Senate Republicans don’t understand any of this. They want spending as usual and to avoid con ict with President Joe Biden and their Democrat colleagues.

However, when Americans are asked if they would prefer a Republican who wants to cut spending — even if it leads to a shutdown — or a Democrat who wants to increase spending and avoid a shutdown, they favor the Republican candidate by 51% to 34%. This is a 4% increase for Republicans over their current generic ballot (47% among likely voters) but a 7% drop for Democrats (from 42%). Republicans particularly gain among independents (plus 13%) and Asian Americans (plus 12%).

This desire to balance the budget validates the hard work of House Budget Committee Chairman Jodey Arrington and his Republican colleagues. They wrote the Balanced Budget bill and reported it out last week.

The mood that is building in the country was captured this weekend by a Washington Post/ABC News poll showing former President Donald Trump beating Biden 52% to 42%. Even more shocking, while Trump is ahead of all his Republican competitors for the GOP nomination by 54% to 43%, Biden is in desperate trouble with Democrats. They want to nominate someone other than Biden by 62% to 33%. I can’t remember any incumbent president running for re-election who had two-thirds of his party hoping someone else could be the nominee.

So, the House Republicans seem to be the only group in Washington trying to do what the American people want. As they wrestle, argue and negotiate, we must remember what they are trying to do is incredibly hard. They have a narrow majority. Cutting spending is always challenging.

standards to better serve students of all backgrounds and walks of life; further promote academic freedom and the free exchange of ideas; and increase transparency in curricula and coursework.

We need laws that better protect freedom of speech and assembly on campus — even if liberal administrators, professors, and activists don’t agree. We need to ensure that students paying for an education aren’t being force-fed extreme and divisive ideas like DEI or Critical Race Theory, instead of preparing for the workforce. And in institutions where whole departments exist to propagate these concepts, like agencies and bureaus dedicated solely to DEI — we need to abolish them outright.

The healthcare nonpro t Do No Harm has shown how the DEI department at the University of North Carolina School of Medicine spreads radical ideas that detract from training medical professionals. The sooner these departments are closed, the better.

To better prepare students for their careers, we need to abolish licensure requirements that involve DEI buzzwords — these are a backdoor attempt to put radical politics back front and center, and our students deserve better.

In light of the recent U.S. Supreme Court ruling that rightly put an end to so-called “a rmative action”, North Carolina should be enacting laws that make it harder for bureaucrats to nd ways to skirt the law of the land within the admissions process.

Higher education institutions should be transparent about curricula and coursework by publishing this information publicly. Measures like this will help students and families better understand the requirements for a degree, and how a given program of study can help prepare them for a career in today’s dynamic workforce.

North Carolina lawmakers have taken an important step forward in reforming our government and our higher education system by passing this legislation and overriding Democrat Gov. Roy Cooper’s veto. Now we need to keep building on this progress by passing more bold reforms that keep North Carolina’s colleges and universities the envy of the nation and the world.

Mark Robinson is the 35th Lieutenant Governor of North Carolina.

With a much larger majority, we were able to pass the only four balanced budgets in your lifetime when I was speaker. It was unbelievably di cult. Chairman Arrington has pointed the right direction, and Speaker Kevin McCarthy is steadily, patiently — and with great resilience — moving the House Republicans toward passing a Continuing Resolution with spending cuts.

As a sign of how out-of-touch the leftwing media is, even the Washington Post/ ABC News poll indicates the Democrats would get blamed for a shutdown. This is what happened when we shut the government twice in 1995 and went on to become the rst reelected House Republican majority since 1928 because people could tell we were serious about change.

According to the Post/ABC poll, “The issue of aid to Ukraine is just one of several issues that have split House Republicans, making the possibility of a government shutdown at the end of next week increasingly likely. But when asked whom they would blame if that were to happen, 40 percent say Biden and the Democrats while 33 percent say Republicans in Congress.”

Sadly, the Senate Republicans seem split. A small group wants to cut spending and represent the wishes of the American people. A slightly larger group wants to go along to get along and is comfortable with giant de cits and no reforms. Think of them as the Biden Republicans.

As the party of Abraham Lincoln, all Republicans should remember his warning that with public sentiment anything is possible, without public sentiment nothing is possible. Republicans should also remember that we stand for “government of the people, by the people and for the people.”

The people have spoken. They want less spending. House Republicans are moving in the right direction. Senate Republicans should realize that being a McCarthy Republican is going to be a lot more popular than being a Biden Republican.

NATION & WORLD

Southern Republicans look to nationalize 2023

The Associated Press

governors’

races by invoking Biden

LOUISVILLE, Ky. — President Joe Biden’s name won’t appear on the ballot anywhere in 2023, but you wouldn’t know it from the campaigns that Republican candidates for governor are running in Kentucky and Mississippi.

GOP nominees in both states — Kentucky Attorney General Daniel Cameron and rst-term Mississippi Gov. Tate Reeves — are just as likely to mention the Democratic president as they are to name the person they face in the Nov. 7 general election.

Tying candidates for governor to national political gures is a well-worn strategy but also re ects an era of deepening ideological divides, according to Carrie Archie Russell, an expert on Southern politics at Vanderbilt University. She says forging such links, even when there’s no evidence of a strong connection, allows candidates to create a “mental shortcut for identifying individuals as ‘us’ or ‘them.’”

In 2020, then-President Donald Trump won 62% of the vote in Kentucky and 58% in Mississippi in his loss to Biden.

“If you’re the Republican Party in these states and you’re hoping to generate large voter turnout for your Republican candidate, it makes sense to certainly vilify Joe Biden,” Russell said.

The Kentucky and Mississippi gubernatorial campaigns might well serve as messaging test drives for the 2024 presidential election year, when Biden is expected to be on the ballot. And while there’s a Republican incumbent in Mississippi and it’s a Democrat seeking a second term in Kentucky, the competitions bear striking similarities to each other.

In each state, the Democrat has a previously existing brand that could help distinguish them from the Republican e ort to dene them as Biden allies.

First-term Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear is as apt to be referred to by his rst name as his last. He’s a well-known gure in state politics who rst ap-

peared on the scene as the son of the last Democrat to win the governor’s o ce, Steve Beshear. He emerged from serving as the state’s attorney general to unseat the incumbent Republican governor, Matt Bevin, four years ago.

In Mississippi, it’s the opponent’s last name that carries additional weight. Democrat Brandon Presley is a cousin of rock ‘n’ roll legend Elvis Presley — which may explain why voters are just as likely to hear Biden’s name in attacks from Republicans. Rather than say Presley’s name during a recent appearance, Reeves referred to him as “that individual.”

Beshear has experience overcoming GOP e orts to nationalize a state campaign, narrowly defeating a Trump ally in 2019. Known as a disciplined campaigner who sticks closely to his script, he rarely mentions Biden or Trump and generally avoids wading into national politics, insisting there’s nothing partisan about a good job or new bridge.

Beshear has appeared with

Biden during times of tragedy, consoling victims of tornadoes and ooding that hit Kentucky. In Mississippi, Reeves put aside anti-Biden rhetoric when he appeared with the president to survey tornado damage in March.

Cameron lumps Beshear with Biden on pocketbook issues. Beshear counters by touting his stewardship of the state during a period of record-setting growth in economic development.

“We can do something really special together to lift up every single family while moving our state forward,” Beshear said at a recent Jessamine County rally.

“When I say every family, I mean it. Listen, I run as a proud Democrat. But the moment I’m done, I take o that hat and I serve every single Kentucky family as governor. I believe my job isn’t to move a state to the right or the left, but to move it forward for all of our people.”

Just as Reeves does in Mississippi, Cameron blames Biden’s economic policies for fueling sharply higher consumer prices

that strain family budgets. Cam-

eron wants voter dissatisfaction with Biden to extend to Beshear.

“They call it ‘Bidenomics.’ I think the rest of us just call it 40-year high, record in ation,” Cameron said during a recent gubernatorial forum hosted by the Kentucky Chamber of Commerce. Cameron has also set his sights on Biden’s energy policies, saying the results would be devastating in coal-producing Kentucky. The coal industry has declined considerably but is still viewed by many as a cornerstone of the Bluegrass State’s economy. Biden wants to convert the U.S. economy to renewable energy such as wind and solar power, while turning away from coal and other fossil fuels that produce planet-warming greenhouse gas emissions.

In vowing to push back, Cameron said: “You need somebody that is willing to go against the grain of the far left and the environmentalists that are trying to destroy our fossil fuels industry.”

National Security Agency is starting an arti cial intelligence security center

Washington, D.C.

The National Security Agency is starting an arti cial intelligence security center — a crucial mission as AI capabilities are increasingly acquired, developed and integrated into U.S. defense and intelligence systems, the agency’s outgoing director announced.

Army Gen. Paul Nakasone said the center would be incorporated into the NSA’s Cybersecurity Collaboration Center, where it works with private industry and international partners to harden the U.S. defenseindustrial base against threats from adversaries led by China and Russia.

“We maintain an advantage in AI in the United States today. That AI advantage should not be taken for granted,” Nakasone said at the National Press Club, emphasizing the threat from Beijing in particular.

China has in recent months stepped up cyber operations focused on U.S. and allied institutions that may include pre-positioning malware designed to disrupt military communications, cybersecurity researchers say. On Wednesday, the U.S. and Japan issued an alert saying Chinese hackers were targeting government, industrial, telecommunications and other entities that support their militaries.

The AI security center’s establishment follows an NSA study that identi ed securing AI models from theft and sabotage as a major national security challenge, especially as generative AI technologies emerge with immense transformative potential for both good and evil.

Nakasone said it would work closely with U.S. industry, national labs, academia and the Department of Defense as well as international partners.

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

with the report card whereas the teacher might be looking more at test scores.

“At one of our meetings, we took about two hours to take parents through an early draft of the Parents’ Bill of Rights,” said Truitt. “And what I learned from that exercise is that parents are not a monolith.”

She elaborated by saying some parents think the community should play a role in educating their children while other parents don’t want any government involvement, and there were some parents with opinions of “everything in between.”

“But we’re all parents,” Truitt said. “Coming together is what they want to do... what’s best for their child. And that’s the one thing that I think this group has in common. That they all want to do what is best and right for their child.”

The superintendent said the commission had created ve groups focused on speci c topics of interest to them, including policy issues and, in particular, school safety.

The commission meets about three times a year, and Truitt believes many parents on the commission are “working locally in their region to impart information to parents.”

On the implementation of the Parents’ Bill of Rights, Truitt had suggested pushing back the deadline to Jan. 1 at the September State Board of Education meeting to give districts more time to digest it and work on policies related to it.

Truitt said the law is “very speci c” on what districts need to be doing, but said the biggest piece

of the legislation, the parents’ guide to achievement, will need to be voted on by the state board.

“When this bill was passed, the agenda by law had already been set, and so we have to get something on the agenda for October,” said Truitt. “And then if the board passes it, then we get it. And then we’re talking about Nov. 4. I mean, districts have to put together signi cant written materials for the new pieces of law.”

She added she had updated the state board with highlights from a memo she sent to districts about the Parents’ Bill of Rights.

The memo included a copy of the new law and a summary of the legislation, as well as a chart outlining the preexisting laws and the new legislation.

“The key to anything is that it has to be implemented correctly,” Truitt said. “And this would not be implemented correctly if we just tossed it over to districts and said, ‘In a week you have to get this up and running.’”

She added there was a lot in the law to cover and wanted to be sure “we do it well, and that when we give it to districts, there’s no excuses.”

Some critics of the new law have complained there is no funding associated with implementation of the Parents’ Bill of Rights, but Truitt says money isn’t needed.

“They don’t need money to do anything that’s in this bill. Districts don’t need more money for this,” said Truitt. She added she had met with all 115 superintendents in a virtual meeting along with the school superintendents’ association leadership to walk them through everything in the bill and what was expected of them.

Truitt also con rmed she is running for reelection in 2024.

“I ran for this job with the express intent of leading public education in North Carolina,” said Truitt. “I’ve built an incredible team that has partnered well with the State Board of Education as well as with the legislature.

“We’ve brought in parent voices in a way that hasn’t been done before. We’ve prioritized parent voices, we’ve prioritized student voices, we’ve prioritized the voice of the business community, of teachers and principals, and we’ve prioritized data so that our districts can make data-driven decisions.”

She went on to say no administration has given the State Board of Education more data than hers, but there’s more work to be done.

“My team and I need another four years to nish what we’ve started, which is to say, changing the way we de ne what school quality and student success look like,” Truitt said, listing things like getting the right professional development for teachers, chang-

ing teacher compensation to provide a ladder of promotion and opportunity, and reorienting the purpose of K-12 education to align with the workforce to help students be successful after high school.

“There are lots of big picture changes to the system that we want to make that I think will bene t our students and their families in the long run,” said Truitt, adding “this administration has shown an incredible commitment to putting students rst.”

“We were very intentional. I was very intentional when I created Operation Polaris about making students the North Star,” she said. “The North Star is not just aspirational, but it’s navigational. It’s what re-centers us because it’s easy to get o track with all the noise, but we have prioritized students and their parents in a way that was more necessary than ever before coming out of the pandemic. And we started by working with the legislature to reopen schools. It was the very rst thing we did.”

When asked what she had learned from her current term that would carry over if reelected, Truitt said “authentic relationships and being true to one’s own convictions are always the way to go because constituents can smell a fraud a mile away.”

In terms of leading the agency, Truitt said she thinks more consensus-building on the big issues is a must between the state board, parents and the legislature.

“When the state board and DPI and the legislature are ghting, kids and teachers lose,” said Truitt.

Second Republican presidential debate draws fewer viewers than rst, with 9.5M watching New York

The second Republican presidential debate last week attracted fewer viewers than the rst debate in August, with an estimated 9.5 million tuning in.

The debate was the second in a row that the frontrunner, former President Donald Trump, skipped to have the spotlight follow him instead of his distant rivals.

Viewership was down from the 12.8 million who tuned into August’s debate, which marked the rst time much of America heard from the other Republicans hoping to take on Trump.

The 9.5 million who watched Wednesday’s twohour debate, held at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library in California, included those who watched on two Fox News channels, partner Univision and its streaming service, the Nielsen company said.

The debate, moderated by Fox News Channel’s Dana Perino, Fox Business Network’s Stuart Varney and Univision’s Ilia Calderón, largely didn’t include discussion of Trump, much like the rst debate. But a few candidates, including Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, joined former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie in being more critical of the former president.

Trump’s rst presidential debate in August 2015 drew 24 million viewers.

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

AP PHOTO

Kentucky Attorney General Daniel Cameron responds to a question from a moderator during the Gubernatorial Forum at the 2023 Kentucky Chamber of Commerce annual meeting dinner in Louisville, Ky., Wednesday, Sept. 20, 2023.

TRUITT from page 1

“My team and I need another four years to nish what we’ve started, which is to say, changing the way we de ne what school quality and student success look like.”

State Superintendent Catherine Truitt

$107,187,103

$112,753,158

The bill passed Saturday increases federal disaster assistance by $16 billion, meeting Biden’s full request, but the lack of funding for Ukraine could set the stage for a fresh round of ghts in the coming weeks.

“We cannot under any circumstances allow American support for Ukraine to be interrupted,” Biden said. “I fully expect the Speaker will keep his commitment to the people of Ukraine and secure passage of the support needed to help Ukraine at this critical moment.”

The White House messaging e ort this week received no shortage of unintended help from Republicans themselves, with moderates criticizing their hard-right colleagues.

Rep. Mike Lawler, R-New York, said “just throwing a temper tantrum and stomping your feet — frankly, not only is it wrong — it’s just pathetic.”

Even McCarthy acknowledged recently that some members of his caucus “just want to burn the whole place down.”

At a Wednesday fundraiser outside San Francisco, Biden said McCarthy cares more about protecting his job as speaker than keeping the government open.

“The fact is that I think that the speaker is making a choice between his speakership and American interests,” Biden said.

Romina Boccia, a veteran of Washington scal debates and the director of budget and entitlement policy at the Cato Institute, said this situation was much di erent than the government shutdown in 2013.

At that time, Republicans were united around trying to block implementation of the A ordable Care Act. And even then, it didn’t work. Once the shutdown happened, Boccia recalled, “it didn’t provide any more leverage,” and “Republicans caved and reopened the government when they learned the hard way that they weren’t going to get their way.”

This time, she said, “it’s not clear what they’re trying to get out of a government shutdown. It just seems dysfunctional all around.”

Some polls conducted ahead of the expected shutdown suggest Biden and Democrats in Congress could bear a substantial portion of the blame had a closure occurred.

Political pundits noted that shutdown threat overlapped with Biden ramping up next year’s reelection campaign as emerging set of risks are on the horizon and most U.S. adults still feel pessimistic about the country’s direction.

Mortgage rates are at a 22year high. Oil prices are nearly $91 a barrel, pushing up the cost of gasoline. Unionized autoworkers are likely entering a third week of strikes. Student loan repayments are restarting. Pandemic-related money for child care centers is set to end, potentially triggering a set of closures that could hit working parents.

FDA wants to regulate thousands of lab tests that have long skirted oversight

The Associated Press WASHINGTON, D.C. — The Food and Drug Administration on Friday laid out a proposal to begin regulating laboratory medical tests, a multibillion-dollar industry that the agency says poses a growing risk to patients because of potentially inaccurate results.

The proposed rule would end decades of regulatory ambiguity and formally bring thousands of tests performed in large laboratories under FDA oversight. FDA Commissioner Robert Cali said the change will help ensure tests used to diagnose cancer, heart disease and many other conditions are safe, accurate and reliable.

“A growing number of clinical diagnostic tests are being o ered as laboratory-developed tests without assurance that they work,” Cali said in a statement. He added that the agency has long worried that many tests o ered by laboratories are not as accurate or reliable as those that undergo FDA review.

Here’s a look at the history and background of the testing issue:

What are laboratory-developed tests?

Most Americans are familiar with medical tests like those used to screen for COVID-19, strep throat and other health conditions. Those tests are developed by a handful of large manufacturers that undergo FDA review before selling their test kits to hospitals, doctors o ces or pharmacies.

The tests targeted by the FDA’s latest action are developed and used by high-tech laboratories, including those at academic medical centers and companies such as Quest Diagnostics. They include tests for complex diseases like cancer, as well as simpler conditions like high cholesterol and sexually transmitted infections.

In the 1970s and ‘80s, most lab-based tests were “lower

risk, small volume” products used mostly for local patients, the FDA noted Friday.

Over time, laboratory-developed tests have grown into a multibillion-dollar nationwide business, with labs processing thousands of blood, urine and other samples per week from hospitals and clinics. Others advertise directly to consumers — including some claiming to measure the risk of developing ailments like Alzheimer’s and autism.

Laboratory-developed tests have long skirted FDA oversight, though the agency has always maintained that it has the authority to step in. Debate over regulating the space stretches back to the 1990s, with several government advisory groups recommending greater FDA oversight.

Why does the FDA want to regulate them now?

Many lab-developed tests are staples of medical care, used to make important decisions about pregnancy, nutrition and many other health issues.

FDA o cials have long

voiced concerns about the accuracy of some tests, pointing to patients who have received inaccurate results for heart disease, Lyme disease, cancer and other conditions. Inaccurate tests can lead to patients getting an incorrect diagnosis, skipping treatments or receiving unnecessary medication or surgery.

More than a decade ago, the agency drafted tougher guidelines for the industry, but they were never nalized.

The tests attracted new scrutiny with the downfall of Theranos CEO and founder Elizabeth Holmes, who was sentenced to prison last year for misleading investors about the potential of her company’s blood testing technology.

During the pandemic, the FDA also agged accuracy problems with dozens of COVID-19 tests that were rushed out by U.S. laboratories without federal oversight.

Recent scrutiny has focused on pregnancy tests that purport to screen for mutations that can lead to Down syndrome, cystic brosis and ge -

netic defects. Several studies and reports have identi ed tests that misstate or exaggerate the risks of those problems.

What do test makers say?

The laboratory industry has long argued that FDA regulation would sti e their ability to quickly innovate and develop new tests. They also say that additional federal regulation is unnecessary because it would duplicate existing requirements.

Under a quirk of federal law, testing laboratories are currently overseen by the same agency that runs Medicare and Medicaid, the government health plans for seniors, the disabled and the poor. Inspectors evaluate the general conditions and procedures at labs, but not speci c tests or the claims used to market them.

Lawmakers in Congress drafted a bill last year — backed by FDA o cials — that would have given the FDA explicit authority to regulate high-risk tests. But the measure failed to pass the House or the Senate amid opposition by testing industry lobbyists.

What is the FDA proposing?

Under the new proposal, FDA would gradually phase in tighter regulation of lab tests over ve years. The agency is considering exempting some existing tests already on the market from review but is seeking public input on its approach. At the end of the process, most new tests would be subject to FDA standards and regulatory review before launching.

The new regulations should reduce health care costs due to fewer “unsafe or ine ective tests, including tests promoted with false or misleading claims,” the agency says.

The agency will take comments on its proposal for 60 days before beginning to draft a nal rule. There is no deadline for completion and the process can typically take months or years.

Microsoft CEO says unfair practices by Google led to

dominance as a search engine

The Associated Press WASHINGTON, D.C. — Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella said Monday that unfair tactics used by Google led to its dominance as a search engine, tactics that in turn have thwarted his company’s rival program, Bing.

Nadella testi ed in a packed Washington, D.C., courtroom as part of the government’s landmark antitrust trial against Google’s parent company, Alphabet. The Justice Department alleges Google has abused the dominance of its ubiquitous search engine to throttle competition and innovation at the expense of consumers, allegations that echo a similar case brought against Microsoft in the late 1990s.

Nadella said Google’s dominance was due to agreements that made it the default browser on smartphones and computers. He downplayed the idea that arti cial intelligence or more niche search engines like Amazon or social media sites have meaningfully changed the market in which Microsoft competes with Google.

Nadella said users fundamentally don’t have much choice in switching out of default web browsers on cell phones and computers.

“We are one of the alternatives but we’re not the default,” he said.

Google’s lead litigator John Schmidtlein questioned Nadella about instances when users switched from Bing to Google even when Microsoft’s search engine had default status on their devices — arguing that Microsoft made missteps with Bing that prevented it from rivaling Google.

When questioned, Nadella denied that Bing’s adoption of arti cial intelligence had led to dramatic shifts in its market

share. Google has argued that arti cial intelligence programs like chatbot ChatGPT have increased competition in the search engine market.

“Even the app store downloads are interesting but not ... something you write home about,” Nadella said about Microsoft’s revamped search engine enhanced with arti cial intelligence.

Nadella was called to the witness stand as the biggest U.S. antitrust trial in the past quarter-century moved into its fourth week of testimony before U.S. District Judge Amit Mehta, who isn’t expected to issue a decision in the case until next year.

The Justice Department’s antitrust case against Google centers on deals the company struck with Apple and other device makers to use Google’s

search engine.

In the 1990s, Microsoft faced accusations it set up its Windows software in ways that walled o applications made by other tech companies, just as Google is now facing accusations of shelling out billions of dollars each year to lock in its search engine as the go-to place for nding online information on smartphones and web browsers.

In an ironic twist, the constraints and distractions posed by the government’s antitrust case against Microsoft helped provide a springboard for Google to turn its search engine into a dominant force. By the time Microsoft started its scramble to develop its own search engine, Google had already become synonymous with looking things up on the internet.

But Microsoft nevertheless

has poured billions of dollars trying to mount a serious challenge to Google with Bing and, at one point, even tried to buy Yahoo for more than $40 billion in a bid that was rejected while Steve Ballmer was still the software maker’s CEO. Nadella, who was working at Microsoft during the late 1990s antitrust showdown with the Justice Department, succeeded Ballmer as CEO in 2014. During his tenure, he has steered to Microsoft huge gains in personal and cloud computing that have boosted the company’s stock price by nearly nine -fold since he took over while creating more than $2 trillion in shareholder wealth.

Despite all that success, he hasn’t been able to make any signi cant inroads in search against Google, with Bing still a distant second in the market.

its

Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella speaks, Feb. 7, 2023, in Redmond, Wash.

AP PHOTO

A sign for the Food and Drug Administration is displayed outside their o ces in Silver Spring, Md., on Dec. 10, 2020.

Net ix’s DVD-by-mail service bows out as its red-and-white envelopes make their nal trip

The Associated Press

The curtain is nally coming down on Net ix’s once-iconic DVD-by-mail service, a quarter century after two Silicon Valley entrepreneurs came up with a concept that obliterated Blockbuster video stores while providing a springboard into video streaming that has transformed entertainment.

The DVD service that has been steadily shrinking in the shadow of Net ix’s video streaming service has shut down after its ve remaining distribution centers in California, Texas, Georgia and New Jersey mailed out their nal discs Friday.

The fewer than 1 million recipients who still subscribe to the DVD service will be able to keep the nal discs that land in their mailboxes.

“It’s sad,” longtime Net ix DVD subscriber Amanda Konkle said Thursday as she waited the arrival for her nal disc, “The Nightcomers,” a 1971 British horror lm featuring Marlon Brando. “It’s makes me feel nostalgic. Getting these DVDs has been part of my routine for decades.”

Some of the remaining DVD diehards will get up to 10 discs as a going away present to loyal customers such as Konkle, 41, who has watched more than 900 titles since signing up for the service in 2006. In hopes of being picked for the 10 DVD giveaway, Konkle set up her queue to highlight for more movies starring Brando and older lms that are di cult to nd on streaming.

At its peak, the DVD boasted more than 20 million subscribers who could choose from more than 100,000 titles stocked in

the Net ix library. But in 2011, Net ix made the pivotal decision to separate the DVD side business from a streaming business that now boasts 238 million worldwide subscribers and generated $31.5 billion in revenue year. The DVD service, in contrast, brought in just $146 million in revenue last year, making

its eventual closure inevitable against a backdrop of sti ening competition in video streaming that has forced Net ix to whittle expenses to boost its pro ts.

“It is very bittersweet,” said Marc Randolph, Net ix’s CEO when the company shipped its rst DVD, “Beetlejuice,” in April 1998. “We knew this day was coming, but the miraculous

thing is that it didn’t come 15 years ago.”

Although he hasn’t been involved in Net ix’s day-to-day operations for 20 years, Randolph came up with the idea for a DVD-by-service in 1997 with his friend and fellow entrepreneur, Reed Hastings, who eventually succeeded him as CEO — a job Hastings held until stepping

aside earlier this year.

Back when Randolph and Hastings were mulling the concept, the DVD format was such a nascent technology that there were only about 300 titles available at the time.

In 1997, DVDs were so hard to nd that when they decided to test whether a disc could make it thorough the U.S. Postal Service that Randolph wound up slipping a CD containing Patsy Cline’s greatest hits into a pink envelope and dropping it in the mail to Hastings from the Santa Cruz, California, post o ce.

Randolph paid just 32 cents for the stamp to mail that CD, less than half the current cost of 66 cents for a rst-class stamp.

Net ix quickly built a base of loyal movie fans while relying on a then-novel monthly subscription model that allowed customers to keep discs for as long as they wanted without facing the late fees that Blockbuster imposed for tardy returns.

Renting DVDs through the mail became so popular that Net ix once ranked as the U.S. Postal Service’s fth largest customer while mailing millions of discs each week from nearly 60 U.S. distribution centers at its peak.

Along the way, the red-andwhite envelopes that delivered the DVDs to subscribers’ homes became an eagerly anticipated piece of mail that turned enjoying a “Net ix night” into a cultural phenomenon. The DVD service also spelled the end of Blockbuster, which went bankrupt in 2010 after its management turned down an opportunity to buy Net ix instead of trying to compete against it.

“From Day One, we knew that DVDs would go away, that this was transitory step,” Randolph said. “And the DVD service did that job miraculously well. It was like an unsung booster rocket that got Net ix into orbit and then dropped back to earth after 25 years. That’s pretty impressive.”

Once rivals, now partners: Peloton and Lululemon to collaborate on connected tness and apparel

The Associated Press

PELOTON and athletic wear maker Lululemon have announced a ve-year partnership, e ectively closing the curtain on Lululemon’s recently acquired connected tness device, Mirror. The interactive tness company steps in to become the exclusive digital tness content provider for Lululemon, which in turn becomes the primary athletic apparel partner to New York-based Peloton. Vancouver, British Colum-

bia-based Lululemon, known in its early days for mostly making yoga gear, broadened its athletic apparel o erings and then bought at-home exercise startup Mirror for $500 million in June of 2020, just months into the COVID-19 pandemic.

Lululemon’s challenge to Peloton in the connected tness arena was short-lived. Lululemon said Wednesday that it would discontinue selling Mirror before the end of the year but would continue to provide service and support to users.

Mirror, which launched in 2018, sold a $1,500 interactive, 56-inch tall screen that streamed live and on-demand workout classes as well as immersive one-on-one personal training.

Beginning next month, Peloton retail and online stores will begin selling co-branded Lululemon apparel. In November, Lululemon studio all-access subscribers will be able to take Peloton classes for the same price they currently pay for Mirror o erings.

Peloton enjoyed incredible sales growth during the height of the coronavirus pandemic and its share price multiplied by more than ve times in 2020 amid lockdowns. But sales of its pricey bikes and treadmills began to slow in 2021 as vaccines gave people more freedom to get out of their homes, including visits to the gym.

Early in 2022, CEO Barry McCarthy replaced Peloton founder John Foley to right a business that has had numerous stumbles, from marketing missteps

to recalls. This spring, the company announced a signi cant rebrand, shedding its identity as a seller of luxury exercise bikes and equipment while shifting toward an image of a more inclusive health technology company.

Peloton shares rose about 2% Wednesday morning after jumping as much as 15% in o -hours trading after the partnership was announced late Wednesday. Trading at less than $5 per share early Thursday, they have lost about three-quarters of their value from 2023 highs of close to $18 in February. Shares peaked at around $171 each in early 2021.

Shares of Lululemon ticked down less than a quarter of one percent, to $378.30 in Monday trading.

AP PHOTO

Mei Michelson prepares to watch a Net ix DVD at her home in Palo Alto, Calif.

Pictured is the sign on a Lululemon store in Pittsburgh.

The Associated Press

LOS ANGELES — Latenight talk shows began their return to the air after a ve-month absence brought on by the Hollywood writers strike, while actors completed the rst day of talks that could end their own long work walk-o .

CBS’s “ The Late Show With Stephen Colbert,” ABC’s “ Jimmy Kimmel Live! “ and NBC’s “ The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon “ were the rst shows to leave the air when the writers strike began on May 2, and were among the rst to return with fresh airings Monday night.

Colbert blew a leaping kiss to his audience, which chanted his name as he took the stage at the Ed Sullivan Theater in New York for the early evening taping of his show that airs at 11:35 p.m. Eastern.

“It feels good to be back,” the host said. “Now the writers strike is over with a new contract that includes protections against AI, cost of living increases, better pay for streaming, plus, thanks to the picket lines, my writers got fresh air and sunshine, and they do not care for that. Now they’re back

safely in their joke holes.”

In a cold open to his show, Kimmel was shown on a psychiatrist’s couch.

“The strike has been going on so long, I just don’t know if I’ll be back,” Kimmel said. The shot then reveals that the therapist is his rst guest Arnold Schwarzenegger, who declares, in a variation on his best-known catchphrase: “You’ll be back.”

Fallon taped segments for his show with Matthew McConaughey and John Mayer. He then said a third guest would be Bono from U2, who played the opening of the new Sphere venue in Las Vegas over the weekend.

A phony Bono came out encased in a small sphere. The bit fell at, and Fallon suggested it may take some time to shake the rust o .

“I should mention not all the writers are back,” he said.

Seth Meyers, the former “Saturday Night Live” head writer whose show follows Fallon’s, praised the union’s negotiators for the deal they won, and the chance to return.

“I am so happy to be back in a room with my writers, everybody. I missed my writers so

much,” he said. Then joked, “I will admit by lunch I was a little over it.”

Colbert lamented having been unable to weigh in with jokes about so much news for so many months. “I believe we have been o the air for 154 indictments,” he said. “It was a crazy summer to be o . It was just packed with events.”

The hosts haven’t been entirely idle. They teamed up for a podcast, “ Strike Force Five,” during the strike.

Meanwhile, the Screen Actors Guild-American Federation of Television and Radio Artists began negotiations Monday with the same group, the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers, for the rst time since they joined writers in a historic dual strike on July 14. The two sides will resume talks Wednesday.

The writers were allowed to return to work last week after the Writers Guild of America reached an agreement on a three-year contract with an alliance of the industry’s biggest studios, streaming services and production companies.

Union leaders touted the deal as a clear win on issues includ-

ing pay, size of sta s and the use of arti cial intelligence that made the months o worth it. The writers themselves will vote on the contract in a week of balloting that began Monday.

Actors walked o the job over many of the same issues as writers, and SAG-AFTRA leaders said they would look closely at the gains and compromises of the WGA’s deal, but emphasized that their demands would remain the same as they were when the strike began.

The two sides said in a joint statement that “several executives” from studios would be in on the talks, without providing names. But Disney CEO Bob Iger, Net ix co-CEO Ted Sarandos, Warner Bros. Discovery chief David Zaslav, and NBCU-

U2 concert uses stunning visuals to open massive Sphere venue in Las Vegas

The Associated Press

LAS VEGAS — It looked like a typical U2 outdoor concert: Two helicopters zoomed through the starlit sky before producing spotlights over a Las Vegas desert and frontman Bono, who kneeled to the ground while singing the band’s 2004 hit “Vertigo.”

This scene may seem customary, but the visuals were created by oor-to-ceiling graphics inside the immersive Sphere. It was one of the several impressive moments during U2’s “UV Achtung Baby” residency launch show at the high-tech, globeshaped venue, which opened for the rst time Friday night.

The legendary rock band, which has won 22 Grammys, performed for two hours inside the massive, state-of-theart spherical venue with crystal-clear audio. Throughout the night, there were a plethora of attractive visuals — including

kaleidoscope images, a burning ag and Las Vegas’ skyline, taking the more than 18,000 attendees on U2’s epic musical journey.

“What a fancy pad,” said Bono, who was accompanied onstage with guitarists The Edge and Adam Clayton along with drummer Bram van den Berg. He then stared at the high-resolution LED screen that projected a larger version of himself along with a few praying hands and bells.

Bono then paid homage to the late Elvis Presley, who was a Las Vegas entertainment staple. The band has rocked in the city as far back as 1987 when they lmed the music video for “I Still Haven’t Found What I’m Looking For” on the Strip during a tour in 1987.

“Look at all this stu . … Elvis has de nitely not left this building,” he continued. “It’s an Elvis chapel. It’s an Elvis cathedral. Tonight, the entry into this

cathedral is a password: irtation.”

U2 made their presence felt at the $2.3 billion Sphere, which stands 366-feet (111 meters) high and 516-feet (157 meters) wide. With superb visual e ects, the band’s 25-show residency opened with a splash performing a slew of hits including “Mysterious Ways,” “Zoo Station,” “All I Want is You,” “Desire” and new single “Atomic City.”

On many occasions, the U2 band members were so large on screen that it felt like Bono intimately sang to the audience on one side while The Edge strummed his guitar to others on a di erent side.

The crowd included many entertainers and athletes: Oprah, LeBron James, Matt Damon, Andre Agassi, Ava DuVernay, Josh Duhamel, Jason Bateman, Jon Hamm, Bryan Cranston, Aaron Paul, Oscar de la Hoya, Henrik Lundqvist, Flava Flav,

Diplo, Dakota Fanning, Orlando Bloom and Mario Lopez.

After wrapping up The Beatles’ jam “Love Me Do,” Bono recognized Paul McCartney, who was in attendance, saying “Macca is in the house tonight.”

He acknowledged Sphere owner James Dolan’s e orts for spearheading a venue that’s pushing forward the live concert audio landscape with 160,000 high-quality speakers and 260 million video pixels.

The Sphere is the brainchild of Dolan, the executive chair of Madison Square Garden and owner of the New York Knicks and Rangers. He sketched the rst drawing of the venue on notebook paper.

“I’m thinking the that the Sphere may have come into existence because of Jim Dolan trying to solve the problem that The Beatles started when they played Shea Stadium,” Bono said. “Nobody could hear you. You couldn’t hear yourselves.

niversal Studio Group Chief Content O cer Donna Langley all took part directly in the negotiations with writers.

The late-night shows will have signi cant limits on their guest lists. Their bread and butter, actors appearing to promote projects, will not be allowed to appear if the movies and shows are for studios that are the subject of the strikes.

But exceptions abound. McConaughey, for example, appeared with Fallon to promote his children’s book, “Just Because.”

And SAG-AFTRA has granted interim agreements allowing actors to work on many productions, and with that comes the right of actors to publicly promote them.

Well, the Sphere’s here. … Can you hear us?”

The U2 frontman pointed into the crowd and shouted out Dr. Dre, Snoop Dogg and Jimmy Iovine. At one point he became emotional when he dedicated a song to the late Jimmy Bu ett’s family, who were also in attendance.

Afterward Bono spoke about performing onstage for the rst time without drummer Larry Mullen Jr., who is recovering from back surgery. He acknowledged Dutch drummer Bram van den Berg’s birthday and him lling in for Mullen.

“I would like to introduce you to the only man who could stand, well, sit in his shoes,” said Bono, who walked toward Berg as some in the crowd began to sing “Happy Birthday.” He handed the microphone to Berg, who o ered a few words.

“Let there be no mistake, there is only one Larry Mullen Jr,” Berg said.

As U2 wrapped up the show, a bright light shined from the ceiling and the massive screen began to ll with images of birds, insects and reptiles above a lake. The band closed its rst Sphere concert with “Beautiful Day,” which won three Grammys in 2001.

Late-night shows return after writers strike as actors resume talks that could end their stando

AP PHOTO

SAG-AFTRA member John Schmitt, second from right, and others carry signs on the picket line outside Net ix on Wednesday, Sept. 27, 2023, in Los Angeles.

AP PHOTO

People take pictures during the opening night of the Sphere, Friday, Sept. 29, 2023, in Las Vegas.

MLS

Unbeaten Revolution

beat Charlotte FC 2-1

Foxborough, Mass.

Dave Romney scored a go -ahead goal in the 85th minute and the New England Revolution beat Charlotte 2-1 on Saturday night to become the 10th team in MLS history to go unbeaten through their rst 15 home matches of a season. New England (14 -6-10) is the only team without a home loss this regular season, with 11 wins and four draws.

The Revs have won three of its four meetings with Charlotte, including a 1- 0 victory on the opening day of the season. Charlotte (7-11-12) su ered just its fourth loss in the last 18 matches in all competitions, with 11 draws. Noel Buck opened the scoring for New England in the 64th minute.

Karol Swiderski tied it at 1-all in the 84th before Romney headed home a cross. Charlotte hosts Toronto on Wednesday at Bank of America Stadium.

MLB

Sylva’s Cal Raleigh apologizes for criticism of Mariners

Seattle Seattle catcher Cal Raleigh apologized to his teammates and coaches on Sunday for his strong comments about the team’s commitment to winning after the Mariners were eliminated from postseason contention. Raleigh, a native of Sylva, spoke for about 90 seconds and did not take questions a day after Seattle lost to Texas and was eliminated from postseason contention. “Obviously yesterday was a really emotional day for everybody. I just want to apologize to my teammates, my coaches, fans. It wasn’t a time to talk about what-ifs in that scenario,” Raleigh said. “That being said, I’m not going to apologize for wanting to win and wanting to bring a World Series to the city.”

Wake brings nation’s best pass rush duo to Death Valley

Jasheen Davis and Jacob Roberts lead the country in sacks

By Shawn Krest North State Journal

WAKE FOREST travels to Death Valley this Saturday looking to end a string of futility against Clemson that has lasted 14 years. The last time the Deacs beat Clemson was 2008. The last time Wake beat the Tigers in the shadow of Howard’s Rock? That goes all the way back to 1998.

Of course, if anyone can put an end to recent history, it’s this year’s Demon Deacons squad. For years under coach Dave Clawson, Wake has been known for its explosive o enses. With Sam Hartman throwing passes before he headed o to Notre Dame, the Deacs o ense re-

wrote the school record book in a big way, demolishing old records for scoring, passing and overall o ensive production. This year, however, when looking at the NCAA leaders on o ense, an observer needs to locate the scroll button on their computer. Wake is all the way down at No. 48 on total o ense. The Deacs are No. 53 in passing. In the scoring rankings, someone would need to nd the “next page” arrow — Wake comes in at No. 68. For the rst time since 2016, when current Duke coach and national coach of the year candidate Mike Elko was running the Deacs’ defense, Wake could end up ranked higher in total defense than total o ense. Wake is on its third defensive coordinator since Elko departed — Brad Lambert, the former Charlotte head coach who took over a no-

“Coach gave me the opportunity to go out there and do my thing.”

Jacob Roberts, Wake Forest linebacker

toriously porous Wake defense prior to last season.

“We’re in year two with Brad,” Clawson said. “Our players now know the defense. Across the board, we’re playing faster. It allows us to make adjustments. In year one, players are just trying to learn it. At halftime, if you want to pull out this thing we ran two weeks ago in the third quarter, the rst year, you’re not able to do that. You don’t have the accumulated reps and his-

tory. We’re now able to do more. We’ve been able to do more multiple upfront and create better matchups for our guys up front.”

That’s putting it mildly. Wake has been a wrecking machine up front. Through four games, the Deacs already have 16 sacks. Only the bye week last Saturday kept Wake o the opposing quarterback, and it also knocked them from the top spot nationally when it comes to pass rushing. Wake is currently tied for third in the country in sacks with Tennessee, TCU and USC. After three games, the Deacs had a six-sack lead on the rest of the ACC and had already gotten halfway to last season’s full-year sack total.

Wake was the rst team in the country to record 10 sacks in a game, which they did in Week 3

See WAKE FOREST, page B3

Highs, lows of ACC basketball schedule

An unbalanced schedule and short turnarounds give ample cause for complaint

By Shawn Krest North State Journal

THE ACC HELD its annual basketball schedule release, and once again the league will play a 20-game unbalanced schedule, leading to every coach and fanbase being convinced their team got the raw deal when it came to opponent distribution.

The league once again will have an early December opening conference game, then pick up conference play in earnest at the turn of the new year. The ACC schedule will consist of midweek games on Tuesday or Wednesday and a Saturday game, with one wildly unpopular Monday matchup each week.

With a focus on the four instate teams, here’s a look at the highs and lows of the upcoming hoops season.

The new guys: Three teams feature new coaches. Notre Dame replaced Mike Brey with Micah Shrewsberry. Syracuse

saw legend Jim Boeheim leave, replaced by Adrian Autry, and Georgia Tech welcomes Damon Stoudamire. The league is certainly not easing any of the new guys into things. Syracuse opens ACC play at Virginia and

AP PHOTO

then heads to Duke for its third league game. Notre Dame travels to Miami to open things, followed by home games against Virginia, NC State and Duke. Shrewsberry’s rst trip to North Carolina will come at Duke

on Feb. 7. Tech opens at home against Duke on Dec. 2 and then heads to Duke in early January.

Big, bad Monday: The league’s TV contract requires two teams a week to do the quick Saturday to Monday turnaround, meaning two coaches a week will conclude that the ACC has it in for them. Duke may have the biggest gripe as the Blue Devils appear on Big Monday three times, the most of any ACC team. Two of those three are road games at venues where Duke lost last season — Virginia Tech and NC State. The third is a home tilt with Wake Forest. UNC and Wake Forest appear twice, along with Virginia, Virginia Tech and Miami. Teams that dodged a Monday game are Florida State, Syracuse, Georgia Tech, Clemson, Louisville and Pitt.

Unbalanced schedule: Duke gets paid back for its many Monday games with the opponents it plays twice. The Blue Devils get home and away games against Notre Dame, Georgia Tech and Louisville, all expected to be

See ACC SCHEDULE, page B4

UNC and Duke will play Feb. 3 in Chapel Hill and close the regular in Durham on March 9.

AP PHOTO

Elon quarterback Matthew Downing, bottom, is sacked by Wake Forest linebacker Jacob Roberts during their game Aug. 31 in Winton-Salem.

TRENDING

Tim Wake eld: The knuckleballing workhorse of the Red Sox pitching sta who bounced back after giving up a season-ending home run to the Yankees in the 2003 playo s to help Boston win its curse-busting World Series title the following year has died at 57, the team announced Sunday. Wake eld had brain cancer, according to ex-teammate Curt Schilling, who revealed the illness last week.

Walt Bell: The Indiana Hoosiers o ensive coordinator was red Sunday, less than 24 hours after a 44-17 loss at unbeaten Maryland. Indiana was shut out in the rst half against Louisville in Week 3 and then blew a chance to force overtime when a fourth down call near the goal line was stopped in the back eld. Bell served on Larry Fedora’s sta at UNC from 2012 to 2013.

Chris Snow: The Flames assistant general manager died Saturday after a lengthy public battle with Lou Gehrig’s disease. He was 42. His wife, Kelsie, said Snow went into cardiac arrest and su ered a catastrophic brain injury from a lack of oxygen. The Snow family became a source of inspiration within the hockey community since he was diagnosed with ALS in June 2019.

Beyond the box score

POTENT QUOTABLES

NASCAR

Ryan Blaney beat Kevin Harvick to the Talladega Superspeedway nish line by 0.012 seconds Sunday to advance into the round of eight of NASCAR’s Cup Series playo s. Harvick was disquali ed after the race when his car failed inspection. The remaining eld of 12 playo drivers will be pared next Sunday to eight following the race on The Roval at Charlotte Motor Speedway.

Notre Dame quarterback Sam Hartman on Duke counterpart Riley Leonard after the Blue Devils’ quarterback was injured on Duke’s nal o ensive play in the Irish’s 21-14 win.

Panthers coach Frank Reich after Carolina’s 21-13 home loss to the Vikings dropped the team to 0-4 on the season.

PRIME NUMBER

54

Length, in yards, of the game-winning eld goal App State kicker Michael Hughes made as time expired Saturday to give the Mountaineers a 41-40 win over Louisiana-Monroe in their Sun Belt Conference opener. It’s the longest eld goal by an App kicker since the program jumped to FBS and third longest overall in program history.

The Mets red manager Buck Showalter on Sunday after a disappointing season in which baseball’s highest-spending team tumbled from contention by midsummer. The 67-year-old’s exit leaves the Mets searching for a new manager for the fth time in six seasons.

The Hornets announced that 2021 rst-round draft pick Kai Jones will not participate in training camp due to personal reasons. The forward/center had a bizarre post on Instagram Live where he danced and rambled incoherently. The Hornets said in a statement there was no timetable for his return.

Brandon Sutter, a second-generation player who was selected 11th overall by the Hurricanes in 2007, announced his retirement Sunday. The 34-year-old center, who was attempting a comeback after missing the last two seasons with long COVID, was released from a professional tryout with the Oilers. He played 13 seasons in NHL, including his rst four with Carolina.

MLB NBA

NOAH K. MURRAY | AP PHOTO JOHN LOCHER | AP PHOTO

“He played a hell of a game. … He’s got to keep going.”

BEN MCKEOWN | AP PHOTO

“We’re in the results business.”

JACOB KUPFERMAN | AP PHOTO

JULIE BENNETT | AP PHOTO

NHL

JASON FRANSON | AP PHOTO

Bill Cowher inducted into NC State Ring of Honor

The Hall of Fame coach played linebacker for the Wolfpack in the 1970s

By Ryan Henkel North State Journal

RALEIGH — NC State inducted legendary NFL coach Bill Cowher into its Ring of Honor between the rst and second quarter of its game last Friday against the Louisville Cardinals.

“When Boo [Corrigan] and Dave [Doeren] told me that they were going to do this tonight, I was doing a coaching clinic down here during spring training,” Cowher said. “It was very moving. I came here as a boy from Pittsburgh — Crafton, Pennsylvania. I came down here in the most formative years of my life, and a lot of it was me growing up to be a man on that football eld down there. It has shaped my entire life. I met the mother of my three daughters. I have seven grandkids to this date. So coming back here is very, very special. I feel very humbled by it all.”

Cowher is the 12th inductee into the Ring of Honor — joining Dick Christy, Roman Gabriel, Dennis Byrd, Bill Yoest, Ted Brown, Jim Ritcher, Torry Holt, Philip Rivers, Mario Williams, Russell Wilson and Bradley Chubb — and the rst who’s also a member of the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

Cowher was recruited by coach Lou Holt and was a starting linebacker for the Wolfpack from 1975-78. His 195 stops in 1978 are NC State’s single-season record, and his 371 career tackles rank seventh in school history.

“Throughout his career, Bill Cowher has epitomized what Wolfpack football is all about,”

Doeren said in the initial release. “He is a true mentor, leader, and icon in the coaching profession, and we are so proud to be able to honor him in Carter-Finley Stadium alongside other NC State legends.”

Cowher went on to play ve seasons in the NFL with the Philadelphia Eagles and Cleveland Browns before starting his NFL coaching career as a special teams coach with the Browns.

But before giving coaching in the NFL a shot, Cowher rst circled back to his alma mater.

“Bo Ryan gave me a chance to come back when I got cut in Philadelphia to become a grad assistant,” Cowher said. “Actually, my rst indoctrination into coaching was coaching down

Bill Cowher on his time at NC State

here as a GA.” Cowher then had a stint with the Kansas City Chiefs as defensive coordinator, but at just 35 years old, he was hired as head coach of the Pittsburgh Steelers, replacing Chuck Noll in 1992.

As the Steelers’ coach, Cowher led his team for 15 seasons, capturing eight division titles, two conference titles and a Super Bowl championship in 2006. He was named NFL Coach of the Year in 1992 and 2004, and he became the youngest coach (38) in NFL history to lead his team to a Super Bowl in 1995.

“I just remember my teammates,” Cowher said of his time at NC State. “As much as I remember anything, I just remember the camaraderie that we had, the closeness we had and the brotherhood we had. We had a close team. We were a tough team. We had each other’s backs. I just remember that part of it.

“Leaving here and nding myself coaching ve or six years

later, I just remember that was the kind of culture that I wanted to build. It takes time to get the right people who believe in the same things and are committed to the right things, and that was forged here.”

Cowher further credited his time at NC State, and more speci cally the College of Education, as the building blocks of his coaching philosophy.

“I graduated from [the College of Education] and I’m very proud to be from there,” Cowher said. “I always said that coaching is teaching, and I learned so much being here through that. So I think that my time here — the four and a half years I spent — was very, very instrumental in my upbringing.

“I may have grown on that eld, but I probably grew even more o the eld. I just had the chance to share what this area is all about and what the Triangle is all about and what this university is all about. It’s a little blue-collar to me. I grew up in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, worked in a steel mill, and somehow, when I come back down here to Raleigh, North Carolina, I still feel that same sense of blue-collar. That same sense of work ethic, pride, commitment, trust and opportunity. That’s what this school, to me, o ers. It gives you a little bit of everything and that’s what you need in life to be successful.”

After retiring from coaching in 2006, Cowher moved on to broadcasting, becoming a studio analyst for “The NFL Today.”

“Bill Cowher has left an indelible mark on the game of football and is certainly beloved by Wolfpack Nation,” Corrigan said. “It is an absolute privilege to recognize his remarkable contributions and celebrate his outstanding career.”

Krzyzewski appears with Adam Silver at a forum on sports in global politics

By Shawn Krest North State Journal

FROM THE SOUND of it, coach Mike Krzyzewski got out of college athletics just in time.

The former Duke coach and basketball hall of famer was highly critical of the current NCAA environment when he appeared on a panel discussion on America’s role in global sports.

“To me, it looks like right now we’re taking care of the best TV contracts,” he said. “It’s really kind of ridiculous that we’re going to have teams traveling from the West Coast to the East Coast and that there’s no Pac-12. Like, what the hell are we doing? Really. We should be ashamed really of where we’re at right now.”

As he did numerous times while still coaching the Blue Devils, Krzyzewski criticized college sports for not having clear leadership and one voice.

“That’s where we’re at right now,” he repeated. “And wherever you’re at, that’s where you’re at. Now, you have to gure out where are we going. Right now, there’s not a clear-cut course about where we are going. We need to set the course.”

Duke as part of the Ambassador Dave and Kay Phillips Family International Lecture series. Also on the panel were NBA commissioner and Duke graduate Adam Silver, former chairman of the Joint Chiefs of sta and Duke graduate Gen. Martin Dempsey, and CEO of the U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Committee and Duke graduate Sarah Hirshland.

monies like the national anthem to stage political protests and the use of sports to break down barriers between di erent political systems.

test during the anthem.

“When’s the last time you heard the national anthem other than at a sporting event? You’d probably be hard-pressed to recall,” he said. “I spent 41 years defending people’s right to individual expression. It’s one of the foundational pillars of democracy. I understand in moments of great tension and emotion, someone might choose to not live up to the ritual (of standing during the anthem). Can someone not participate in the ritual? Of course. Should they? Of course. “I told the athletes,” he continued, “when you play for the Knicks, you represent the 17 million people in that city. When you’re playing for us, you represent the whole country, the people who agree with you and those who don’t. Yes, the country has issues. You can help us rise above them.”

“He introduced them to military members,” Dempsey said. “We lined up 16 soldiers and the 12 players and four coaches, and the soldiers tore the Velcro ag o their uniform and closed ranks with the athletes to give them the ag and said, ‘This is it. This is what you’re going to do. We do it every day. Now you get to do it for a while.’”

“They also gave them their dog tags,” Krzyzewski added. “They wore them everywhere. They still have them. We wanted our guys, when the national anthem was played, to know they represented the person who just gave them that patch or dog tag.

“In Beijing, when we put the team together,” Coach K continued, “the rst night, I told them, ‘When you go back to your suites, I want you to be 16 years old again for one minute.’ And we had laid their Olympic uniform on their beds. I wanted them to look at it and think about what it means.”

Later that night, Krzyzewski said he was playing video poker when he got a tap on his shoulder. He turned and saw Kobe Bryant.

“What’s up?” he asked.

“Coach,” Bryant said. “I did what you asked me to do.”

“What happened?”

“I cried.”

“There are bad people in the world,” Silver said. “There may be points where wars are necessary, where military might is necessary. To me, at least, the goal is to do everything possible to avoid that. I think sports is one of those ways. Yeah, we may have di erent systems, but how can we nd places to create empathy?”

Krzyzewski discussed how he handled the anthem issue as longtime coach of the national team.

“In international competition, you have to remember, two anthems are played before every game — yours and the opponent’s,” he said. “And you show respect for both.”

The group discussed a wide range of topics, including the wisdom of boycotting international sporting competitions like the Olympics for political reasons, using sporting event cere-

“There’s that level of emotion playing for your country,” Krzyzewski said. “It gets to a different part of them, where they don’t just hear and see, but they feel, and they own it. And if they own it, they’re going to perform at a higher level.”

Krzyzewski appeared at the forum, which was hosted by

Dempsey raised the issue of kneeling and other forms of pro-

Coach K spent a great deal of time and attention making sure the members of Team USA understood the gravity of representing their country.

“You can tell guys are more comfortable,” Clawson said. “They’re playing faster thinking less and reacting more.”

Leading the way for the Deacs are linebacker Jacob Roberts and defensive end Jasheen Davis, who ranked one-two in the country in sacks after the ODU game, when they each brought down the quarterback three times, tying each other for the second-best sack game in school

history.

The e ort earned both players ACC Player of the Week honors at their respective positions. Roberts was also named the Walter Camp national defensive player of the week.

“I’m just playing football,” Roberts said of his success.

“Sometimes the ball can fall in your hands.”

Roberts has ve sacks on the season, which puts him at No. 4 nationally. Davis has three solo sacks and has assisted on three others for 4.5 sacks, which ties

him for fth in the nation.

The pair are far and away the best pass-rushing tandem of the early season. They’ve combined for 9.5 sacks, which is a sack and a half better than the next-best duo (Alabama’s Chris Braswell and Dallas Turner, as well as Toledo’s Jeremiah Peters and Judge Culpepper).

While Clawson credits the team’s experience in Lambert’s defensive system, it’s all new for Roberts, who arrived as a transfer after graduating from NC A&T. As a sophomore, he was

named MVP of the Celebration Bowl that earned the team a claim to the HBCU national title, but he always had his eyes to the west.

“It’s special for me,” he said in an appearance on the ACC Network. “To nish at my dream school. It’s a dream come true for me to play for the team I always wanted to play for.”

Davis, meanwhile, is in his fourth season as a Deac, although he only played sparingly in his redshirt year of 2020. He entered the year No. 11 on the

school’s career sacks list and has already jumped to No. 7.

Now, if only Krzyzewski could inspire the powers that run college athletics to nd a higher level. against Old Dominion.

The duo will be tasked with chasing down Clemson quarterback Cade Klubnik this week. The Tigers have only allowed nine sacks on the season, which is a good week for Davis, Roberts and company.

“I’m just making plays,” Roberts said. “Coach gave me the opportunity to go out there and do my thing.”

It’s enough to make people forget that Wake is an o ense- rst team.

Coach K on college sports: ‘What the hell are we doing? We should be ashamed’

AP PHOTO

Steelers coach Bill Cowher celebrates after Pittsburgh’s 21-10 win over the Seahawks in the 2006 Super Bowl.

AP PHOTO

Duke men’s basketball coach Mike Krzyzewski talks with U.S. men’s Olympic basketball team forward Kobe Bryant in 2012. Krzyzewski took part in a panel that also included NBA Commissioner Adam Silver about sports’ role in global politics.

“As much as I remember anything, I just remember the camaraderie that we had, the closeness we had and the brotherhood we had.”

Hurricanes navigate nal week of training camp

Carolina still has questions to answer before next Wednesday’s season opener

By Cory Lavalette North State Journal

RALEIGH — The Hurricanes are a week away from opening the 2023-24 NHL season by hosting the Ottawa Senators at PNC Arena next Wednesday before setting o on their annual State Fair road trip to the West Coast.

There are still a handful of questions to be answered before then.

Will Svechnikov be ready?

The biggest unknown as the season approaches is whether star winger Andrei Svechnikov will be ready for the start of it. The 23-year-old remains in a yellow no-contact jersey during practices as he recovers from knee surgery following a season-ending injury in March.

Svechnikov, entering his sixth NHL season, has not been limited in practices. During skating drills, he often leads a pack of players up and down the ice. And while his jersey protects him from being pushed, bumped and checked during practice, the 6-foot-2, 195-pound Russian has still snuck in a shoulder or two of his own here and there during practices.

The eye test says he’s ready, but the Hurricanes will certainly be careful with one of their cornerstone players.

“They’re testing him again today,” Carolina coach Rod Brind’Amour said when asked about Svechnikov’s progress Monday. “Everything is going to be determined on when he’s 100% ready. He’s right there, but we still have some time.”

The Hurricanes used Mon-

day’s practice to try out some lines in the event Svechnikov isn’t ready. Teuvo Teravainen moved into Svechnikov’s normal spot opposite Martin Necas on the second line centered by Jesperi Kotkaniemi, while Jesper Fast was bumped up and reunited with Jordan Staal and Jordan Martinook on Carolina’s shutdown line.

Michael Bunting moved to the top power play unit, and Kotkaniemi was added to the second group to make up for Svechnikov’s removal.

Svechnikov rotated in on the fourth line during practice and was a penalty killer during the power play drills.

“We’re preparing for it a little bit,” Brind’amour said of trying the combinations that subtracted Svechnikov from the equa-

tion. “You don’t want to put all the reps there and then he can’t go. So we’re just given some different looks at things and see where it goes.”

Roster decisions

If Svechnikov isn’t ready for the start of the season, it could give some of the players on a professional tryout a glimmer of hope at getting a contract. Without Svechnikov, the Hurricanes NHL group at camp has 12 forwards, with Brendan Lemieux presumably holding the nal spot.

But Carolina likely won’t want to hit the road for six games in 11 days without reinforcements. There are internal options like Jamieson Rees that could work, or the Hurricanes

could opt to give one of their

PTO forwards — Zach Aston-Reese, Brandon Perlini and Jayden Halbgewachs are a few of the options — a contract and go that route.

Carolina also has a wealth of defensemen, and going with 11 forwards and seven D is also a possibility if another injury should pop up.

Feeling Felix

It’s a long shot, but the Hurricanes could also use Felix Unger Sorum as an extra forward as a reward for his impressive rst training camp. A second-round pick in this summer’s draft, the Swede who just turned 18 has looked like he belongs and impressed coaches, sta and the front o ce with his mature play

MLB games 24 minutes shorter, stolen bases up

Baseball’s new rules had a tangible e ect on the regular season

By Shawn Krest North State Journal

NEW YORK — The average time of a nine-inning major league game dropped to 2 hours, 40 minutes in the rst year of the pitch clock, a 24-minute decrease in a season of change that resulted in a spike in batting average and the most stolen bases in nearly 40 years.

Left-handed hitters bene tted from the new restrictions on defensive shifts, runners took advantage of the slightly decreased distance between bases, and average fastball velocity set another record.

The average game time dropped to its 1985 level after passing 3 hours for the rst time in 2016. It reached a record 3:10 in 2021 before the introduction of the PitchCom electronic pitch-calling device helped bring it down to 3:04 last year. Over the objections of the players’ association, MLB instituted a pitch clock set at 15 seconds with the bases empty and 20 seconds with runners on base.

“It took some getting used to, but once you get used to it the game’s a lot faster,” Minnesota shortstop Carlos Correa said.

ACC SCHEDULE from page B1

near the bottom of the league. They also only have one game against contenders Virginia and Miami. UNC has two each against Duke, Miami and FSU. NC State has two against Virginia but only gets one game apiece against league doormats Louisville, Notre Dame and Georgia Tech. Wake and UNC only play each other once.

Tough and not-so-tough stretches for N.C. teams: Things are set up for Duke to get o to a running start in the league. The Blue Devils open at home against Georgia Tech and Syracuse. Then their rst

“There’s not wasted time. The pace was great, so I think it’s here to stay.”

There were nine 3½-hour games, down from a record 390 in 2021.

“I think it’s gone smoothly,” Los Angeles Dodgers catcher Will Smith said. “It’s nice for you to get home a bit earlier. You don’t have the 4-hour games anymore.”

Miami had the fastest average at just under 2:35, while Baltimore and San Diego topped the majors at 2:44.

MLB’s clock will remain the same for the postseason, which averaged 3:23 for nine-inning games last year.

“There are bigger moments,

three road games are at Notre Dame, Pitt and Louisville, with home games against Georgia Tech and Pitt mixed in. Pitt is the only team in the group that had a winning league record last year. The other opening opponents combined to go 27-73 in ACC games. The toughest stretch for the Blue Devils comes in mid-February. The Monday home game against Wake Forest is followed by trips to Florida State, Miami and Wake Forest in a seven-day span. Duke also closes the schedule home against Virginia, Monday at NC State and home against UNC. UNC opens the January ACC schedule with three

bigger times where we do need to step back and think about something we just did or think about something that we’re going to be doing pitch-wise or swing-wise,” said Zack Wheeler, who starts Philadelphia’s playo s opener against Miami on Tuesday. “I’m not a big fan of the pitch clock, but it is what it is.”

Phillies catcher J.T. Realmuto thought about how to cope with the clock in October.

“We are going to have to be a little more cognizant of taking the time and maybe using our extra mound visits or nding ways to slow the game down for our pitchers,” he said.

As part of the clock, MLB instituted penalties for violations

straight trips: To Pitt, Clemson and NC State, three teams that went 40-20 in ACC games last year. They also have a tough closing stretch, with trips to UVA and Duke bookending home games against Miami, NC State and Notre Dame. NC State closes January with a daunting three-game stretch, at UVA, at Syracuse and home against Miami. The Wolfpack also closes February and starts March with games at Florida State, at UNC and home against Duke on a Saturday-Monday turnaround.

Wake gets an early December bye in the ACC schedule, but early January is problematic

and skill set.

Carolina could play Unger Sorum for up to nine games without burning a year of his three-year entry-level contract. One would have to think Svechnikov would be ready by then as long as there are no setbacks in his recovery.

Brind’Amour said the last two preseason games — Thursday at Nashville and Friday against the Predators at home — will help the team decide what path to take with the roster.

“We’re still trying to make an assessment on, really, other guys,” he said. “So we’ve got a couple games here to gure that out.”

Contract distractions

Carolina has several players entering the nal year of their respective contracts, including pending big-ticket RFAs Martin Necas and Seth Jarvis, and several UFAs — Teravainen, Martinook, Stefan Noesen and four of the team’s top seven defensemen.

Two of those defensemen — Brett Pesce and Brady Skjei — have been mentioned in trade rumors, but neither felt their contract situation would be a distraction.

“Honestly, I think I’ve done a pretty good job so far just not worrying about it at all,” Skjei said. “I’m going throughout the season doing the same thing. I know If I play the way I know I can play, all that stu takes care of itself.”

Pesce’s name has been among the most circulated in trade rumors around the league, but the newly married 28-year-old is focused on the task at hand.

“Yeah, super easy,” he said when asked if it was easy to put aside the o -ice distractions. “I’m here. It’s where I want to be. So I’m just focusing on hockey.”

right-handed hitters rose by two percentage points to .249.

that included balls against pitchers and strikes against batters. The New York Mets led with 57 violations, followed by Tampa Bay (52), Pittsburgh (51), San Diego (48) and Miami (47). Seattle had the fewest with 15.

The Pirates topped pitcher violations with 41, followed by the Yankees with 37 and the Mets and Rays with 36 each. The Mariners had the fewest with six. Washington led batter violations with 17, one more than the Mets and Miami. St. Louis had just two, one fewer than Baltimore and the Chicago White Sox.

Philadelphia reliever Craig Kimbrel had the most individual violations with 13, followed by Toronto starter Chris Bassitt with 12 and the Pirates’ Johan Oviedo with 11.

Washington’s Ildemaro Vargas led batters with ve.

There were just four violations of the shift rule requiring two inelders to be on the in eld dirt on each side of second base when a pitch is thrown: one each by the Dodgers, Mets, Padres and White Sox.

The major league batting average rose to .248 from .243 last year, which had been its lowest since 1968. The average for left-handed batters, who bene ted most from the shift restrictions, increased 11 percentage points to .247, its highest in four years. The average for

with Miami at home, followed by a trip to FSU, then Virginia at home and a trip to State. The home game against State then starts a mid-February meat grinder with trips to Duke and Virginia, followed by Pitt and Duke again, this time in Winston-Salem. Nonconference games to watch: Wake heads to Georgia in the second game of the season, then faces Utah to start a tournament in Charleston. The Deacs also have Florida and Rutgers at home. NC State has up to four power conference foes with Vanderbilt and possibly Arizona State in a Las Vegas event, a trip to Ole Miss for the ACC/SEC

Runs increased to an average of 9.2 per game from 8.6 and stolen bases to 1.4 from 1.0 following the introduction of 18-inch square bases, up from 15 inches. That reduced the distance between rst and second, and second and third, by 4½ inches. The 3,503 steals were up from 2,486 last year and the most since 1987. The 80.2% success rate was the highest in big league history, topping the 75.7% in 2021, according to the Elias Sports Bureau.

Home runs increased to 5,868 from 5,215 but remained well below the record 6,776 in 2019.

Batters struck out 41,844 times, up from 40,812, but down from the peak of 42,823 in 2019 when they set a record for the 12th straight season.

Four-seam fastballs averaged 94.2 mph, up from 93.9 mph last year and 93.1 mph in 2015, the rst year Statcast started tracking.

There were 3,880 pitches of 100 mph or more, an increase from 3,368 last year and 1,829 in 2021. Pitchers threw four-seam fastballs 32.2% of the time, down from 33.2% in 2022 and a Statcast-era peak of 36% in 2016.

Visiting teams went 105-96 in extra-inning games in the rst year the rule starting extra innings with a runner on second was made permanent. Visitors have a 368-358 edge in extra innings since the rule was rst adopted as a pandemic alteration in 2020; from 2017-19, home teams had a 312-294 advantage.

Challenge, and a game against Tennessee in Texas. Duke plays Arizona at Cameron in a home game against a power conference foe. Even more notable, the Blue Devils will return the favor and head to Arizona to play next year. The Blue Devils also have Michigan State in Chicago, a trip to Arkansas for the Challenge and an MSG game against Baylor. Carolina could face Villanova and either Arkansas, Memphis or Michigan in the Battle 4 Atlantis. The Heels’ Challenge foe is Tennessee in Chapel Hill. Then UNC plays a tough threegame stretch of UConn in New York, Kentucky in Atlanta and Oklahoma in Charlotte.

AP PHOTO

The Hurricanes haven’t yet determined if star winger Andrei Svechnikov will be ready for opening night next Wednesday.

AP PHOTO

The pitch clock is seen as Rays out elder Luke Raley stands near the on-deck circle during a game against the Orioles last month in Baltimore.

By Emmie Brooks North State Journal

AS THE CALENDAR turns to October, the mountain region of North Carolina once again proves itself to be a kaleidoscope of nature’s colors. The annual display of leaves changing from bright greens to deep reds, oranges, and yellows has begun.

Appalachian State University Professor, Howard Neufeld, has been teaching students and the public about the fall color change for decades. Professor Neufeld joined Appalachian State University in 1987 as an ecologist; teaching courses such as Introduction to Ecology, Environmental Sciences and Introduction to Biology.

“Right after I got here the Plant Physiologist who was here retired,” Neufeld said. “Then I started teaching Plant Physiology also.”

The hills and valleys of North Carolina’s mountain region are in the midst of their annual metamorphosis, shedding their

summer greens in favor of vibrant autumnal hues. Professor Neufeld has been studying this transition since 2007.

“The trees that have the most noticeable change are the trees that turn red,” Neufeld said. “The red pigment is not there in the summer, it’s actually made in the fall.”

For those interested in viewing this spectacular transformation, there are many prime viewing spots throughout the mountain region. Places such as the Blue Ridge Parkway and Grandfather Mountain, are re-

nowned for their scenic viewing spots that o er unbeatable views of the fall foliage.

“If you’re coming up soon, start at the higher elevations because that’s where the best color will be, above 4,500 feet is where we’re already seeing it the most,” Neufeld said. “You can really rst begin to see the color at the higher elevations, that wave of color will move downward slowly, the lower you get the warmer it is so the colors come later.”

Neufeld believes that 2022 was one of the best seasons the mountain area has had for the fall color change in 15 years.

“It was not only right on time, it was also exceptionally vibrant,” Neufeld said. “However I think this year may be just as good because we have not had any abnormally warm weather.”

Whether a lifelong resident or a rst-time visitor, North Carolina’s mountain region is a sight to behold and an experience not to be missed.

“Getting people out in nature gets people a better appreciation of the beauty of nature and the fragility of nature,” Neufeld said. “I think that the most important thing that fall color can do is get people who otherwise wouldn’t think about nature or how to protect it come up and see the colors and realize they want their children to see what they saw.”

“Getting people out in nature gets people a better appreciation of the beauty of nature and the fragility of nature.”

Professor Howard Neufeld, Appalachian State Univ.

Expect fall foliage across NC to be ‘exceptionally vibrant’ again this year

PHOTOS COURTESY HOWARD NEUFELD

Amazon Prime Video will soon come with ads, or a $2.99 monthly charge to dodge them

The Associated Press

AMAZON PRIME VIDEO will include advertising during shows and movies starting early next year, joining other streaming services that have added different tiers of subscriptions.

Members of Amazon Prime can pay $2.99 per month in the U.S. to keep their service ad-free, the company said Friday. Streaming services are in a heated tug-of-war over viewers and users are growing more adept at jumping in and out of those services, often depending on price. The platforms risk losing customers with price hikes, but they could lose them if they don’t generate new content that wins over users.

Disney will begin charging $13.99 a month in the U.S. for ad-free Disney+ in mid-October, 75% more than the ad-supported service. Net ix already charges $15.49 per month for its adfree plan, more than twice the monthly subscription for Net ix with ads.

Amazon said limited advertisements will be aired during shows and movies starting early next year so that it can “continue investing in compelling content and keep increasing that investment over a long period of time.”

Live events on Amazon Prime, like sports, already include advertising.

Ads in Prime Video content will start in the U.S., U.K., Germany, and Canada in early 2024, followed by France, Italy, Spain, Mexico, and Australia later in the year.

Amazon said that it’s not making changes to the price of Prime

TAKE NOTICE

membership next year. It plans to announce pricing for ad-free programming for countries other than the U.S. at a later time.

For U.S. users, Amazon said it will send out an email to Prime members several weeks before

ads are introduced into its programs with information on how to sign up for the ad-free option if they choose to do so.

Amazon’s Prime Video is part of a much bigger slate of perks that come with Amazon Prime

membership. Members also get free shipping for goods bought on Amazon.com, groceries, online music and more.

In June Amazon was accused by the Federal Trade Commission for allegedly engaging in a

yearslong e ort to enroll consumers without consent into Amazon Prime and making it di cult for them to cancel their subscriptions. An Amazon spokesperson said at the time that the FTC’s claims were false.

Amazon’s Prime Video streaming app as see on an iPad. Amazon says that it will now start charging $2.99 per month in order for users in the U.S. to watch Prime Video ad free.

North Stanly keeps rolling

North Stanly’s Shalyn Bell spikes the ball against Piedmont during a conference matcha at L.R. Chandler Gymnasium at North Stanly high school in New London on Monday. North Stanly got a 3-0 victory to extend their winning streak to 17 in a row.

COUNTY NEWS

Invasive Apple Snails o cially con rmed in North Carolina

On Monday, the N.C. Wildlife Resources Commission (NCWRC) announced that Apple Snails, a harmful invasive aquatic species, have been identi ed along the Lumber River in Lumberton. Native to South America, this is the rst known population of Apple Snails in the state. Globally, Apple Snails are a problematic invasive species, which have been introduced in Europe, Asia, and multiple states within the U.S. A concerned citizen sent photographs of suspected Apple Snail clusters to the NCWRC. An NCWRC biologist inspected multiple sites along the Lumber River and collected additional egg masses for submission to the N.C. Museum of Natural Science, which con rmed the identi cation of Apple Snail eggs. Apple Snail grazing habits can damage plants used by many native aquatic species, and they have been observed feeding on amphibian eggs. Additionally, Apple Snails can present human health risks. They may carry rat lungworm, which can cause a potentially fatal disease in humans if the snails are eaten raw or undercooked. The snail’s egg masses also contain a toxin, which can cause skin and eye rashes. Apple Snails are most easily recognizable by their distinctive large, bright pink clusters, which are laid on solid surfaces, such as tree trunks, concrete, or other vegetation, above the waterline along the edges of streams, rivers, or ponds. The NCWRC is requesting that citizens report suspected apple snails and egg masses (with photos) online. For more information, please visit https://www. ncwildlife.org/.

Stanly commissioners approve demolition order for mobile home park

By Jesse Deal North State Journal

ALBEMARLE — At its Oct.

2 meeting, the Stanly County Board of Commissioners voted to demolish and remove six mobile homes at 30545 Tom Road in Albemarle. County code enforcement o cials had declared the homes un t for human habitation.

Zoning Code Enforcement Of-

cer Tim Swaringen explained to the Commissioners that the rental units, owned by local landlord Richard Huneycutt, do not meet minimum housing requirements set by Stanly County’s Minimum Housing and High Grass Standards Ordinance.

“We don’t get to this point in code enforcement very often, but unfortunately, we nd ourselves there tonight,” Swaringen said. Code enforcement sta began investigating the property in February before ordering the homes vacated in April.

“We’ve received complaints concerning the conditions of

the manufactured homes at the Huneycutt Mobile Home Park,” said Swaringen. “We gave Mr. Huneycutt 90 days to either correct the violations or to demolish and remove those mobile homes. That deadline was July 12.”

As no progress has been made, he continued, the next step is for the commissioners to order the demolition and removal of the units.

Multiple tenants living at the Tom Road properties spoke to the commissioners, explaining their living situations and frustrations with the landlord’s ongoing refusal to x issues. One tenant stated that a portion of her roof had collapsed from prolonged mold and water damage, while another linked breathing issues to unclean air in the buildings.

Paperwork led by Swaringen claimed numerous code violations, including a lack of an approved, permanent source of heat; faulty electrical wiring and plumbing; structural decay; and unsanitary conditions through-

“We don’t get to this point in code enforcement very often, but unfortunately, we nd ourselves there tonight.”

Tim Swaringen

out the premises.

Though the order to vacate was issued in April, many residents claimed that Huneycutt had not been forthright about the dire status of their rentals and that more time was needed to move to a new location.

Vice Chairman Mike Barbee said he was not in favor of Mr. Huneycutt getting by, but noted the di culty for people who can’t a ord to move and the waiting lists everywhere. “It’ll probably be three months before these people can nd another place. I don’t like what Mr. Huney-

Hospice of Stanly rebrands to Tillery Compassionate Care

North State Journal

Hospice of Stanly has rebranded its name and logo, saying the new mission will better re ect the range of services it provides to the county’s residents. The new name will be Tillery Compassionate Care.

“Although we have a new name that better re ects both our services and service areas,” said CEO Lori Thayer, RHIA, CLE, in a statement. “We are maintain-

ing our corporate name, Hospice of Stanly County, Inc., to honor the history of the hard work and determination of many dedicated people. We will continue delivering the same quality care to this community as we have done for more than 40 years.”

The hospice currently has a 5-star rating from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, achieving recognition as a Hospice Honors program, scoring 10 of 10 hospice quality measures,

and being named by Modern Healthcare as a “Best Place to Work.”

“The name Tillery was intentional and signi es our focus and commitment to Montgomery and Stanly Counties,” Thayer added.

Since 1981, Hospice of Stanly County has provided care to more than 7,500 seriously ill residents.

The new name went into e ect on Monday, Oct. 2.

cutt has done. I think he needs to straighten things up, and we need to condemn his place, but I can’t look at these people and run them out of their homes either.”

The board was tasked with forming a compromise in an emotionally charged setting, as residents admitted they didn’t know where they would live. Commissioner Peter Asciutto said, “I’ve been a commissioner for a long time, but this is a situation that I don’t think we’ve dealt with.”

Citing the need to remove unsafe housing while also expressing a desire to help the current tenants, the commissioners ultimately voted to proceed with the demolition process, to give tenants about four months, until Jan. 31, 2024, to vacate. After that, an eviction process will begin with the threat of criminal penalties for violations

The board is set to hold its next regular meeting Oct. 16 in the Gene McIntyre Meeting Room at Stanly Commons.

“The name Tillery was intentional and signi es our focus and commitment to Montgomery and Stanly Counties.”

CEO Lori Thayer, RHIA, CLE

$2.00

PJ WARD-BROWN | NORTH STATE JOURNAL

“Join

Apple says it will x software problems blamed for making iPhone 15 models too hot to handle

The Associated Press

APPLE IS BLAMING a software bug and other issues tied to popular apps such as Instagram and Uber for causing its recently released iPhone 15 models to heat up and spark complaints about becoming too hot to handle.

The Cupertino, California, company said Saturday that it is working on an update to the iOS17 system that powers the iPhone 15 lineup to prevent the devices from becoming uncomfortably hot and is working with apps that are running in ways “causing them to overload the system.”

Instagram, owned by Meta Platforms, modi ed its social media app earlier this week to prevent it from heating up the device on the latest iPhone operating system.

Uber and other apps such as the video game Asphalt 9 are still in the process of rolling out their updates, Apple said. It didn’t specify a timeline for when its own software x would be issued but said no safety is-

sues should prevent iPhone 15 owners from using their devices while awaiting the update.

“We have identi ed a few conditions which can cause iPhone to run warmer than expected,” Apple in a short statement provided to The Associated Press after media reports detailed overheating complaints that are peppering online message boards.

The Wall Street Journal ampli ed the worries in a story citing the overheating problem in its own testing of the new iPhones, which went on sale a week ago.

It’s not unusual for new iPhones to get uncomfortably warm during the rst few days of use or when they are being restored with backup information stored in the cloud — issues that Apple already ags for users. The devices also can get hot when using apps such as video games and augmented reality technology that require a lot of processing power, but the heating issues with the iPhone 15 models have gone beyond those typical situations.

Apple is working on an update to the iOS17 system that powers the iPhone 15 lineup to prevent the devices from becoming uncomfortably hot and is working with apps that are running in ways “causing them to overload the system.”

In its acknowledgement, Apple stressed that the trouble isn’t related to the sleek titanium casing that houses the high-end iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 15 Pro Max instead of the stainless steel used on older smartphones.

Apple also dismissed speculation that the overheating problem in the new models might be tied to a shift from its proprietary Lightning charging cable to the more widely used

USB-C port that allowed it to comply with a mandate issued by European regulators.

Although Apple expressed con dence that the overheating issue can be quickly xed with the upcoming software updates, the problem still could dampen sales of its marquee product at time when the company has faced three consecutive quarters of year-over-year declines in overall sales.

The downturn has a ected iPhone sales, which fell by a combined 4% in the nine months covered by Apple’s past three scal quarters compared with a year earlier.

Apple is trying to pump up its sales in part by raising the starting price for its top-of-the-line iPhone 15 Pro Max to $1,200, an increase of $100, or 9%, from last year’s comparable model.

Investor worries about Apple’s uncharacteristic sales funk already have wiped out more than $300 billion in shareholder wealth since the company’s market value closed at $3 trillion for the rst time in late June.

CRIME LOG

TAYLOR, TOMMY

LEE (W /M/22), ASSAULT ON FEMALE, 10/02/2023, Stanly County Sheriff’s Office

ALLEN, ANTHONY REYNARD (B /M/25), FIRST DEGREE MURDER, 09/29/2023, Stanly County Sheriff’s Office

GAUTIER, ZACHARY RANDALL (W /M/30),

RESISTING PUBLIC OFFICER, 09/29/2023, Stanly County Sheriff’s Office

PITTS, MARQUEZ BRYANT (B /M/25), FELONY LARCENY, 09/29/2023, Stanly County Sheriff’s Office

WATSON, CHRISTOPHER CORTEZ (B /M/24), FELONY LARCENY, 09/29/2023,

Stanly County Sheriff’s Office

LOVE, DOMINIQUE CARDELL (B /M/26), OBTAIN PROPERTY FALSE PRETENSE, 09/28/2023, Stanly County Sheriff’s Office PERRY, DUANE LAMONT (B /M/47), ASSAULT ON FEMALE, 09/28/2023, Stanly County Sheriff’s Office

BORDEAUX, XAVIER MONTREAL (B /M/28), ASSAULT PHY INJ DETENTION EMP, 09/27/2023, Stanly County Sheriff’s Office JACKSON, TONY BERNARD (B /M/51), SECOND DEGREE KIDNAPPING, 09/27/2023, Stanly County Sheriff’s Office

POLK, ELIJAH LEE (B /M/33), RESISTING PUBLIC OFFICER, 09/27/2023, Stanly County Sheriff’s Office DYE, JAMES CHASE (W /M/23), SIMPLE ASSAULT, 09/26/2023, Stanly County Sheriff’s Office

rap rival, Biggie Smalls.

Last living suspect in

1996 drive-by shooting of Tupac Shakur indicted in Las Vegas on murder charge

The Associated Press

LAS VEGAS — A man who prosecutors say ordered the 1996 killing of rapper Tupac Shakur was arrested and charged with murder Friday in a long-awaited breakthrough in one of hip-hop’s most enduring mysteries.

Duane “Ke e D” Davis has long been known to investigators as one of four suspects identi ed early in the investigation. He isn’t the accused gunman but was described as the group’s ringleader by authorities Friday at a news conference and in court. In Nevada you can be charged with a crime, including murder, if you help someone commit the crime.

“Duane Davis was the shot caller for this group of individuals that committed this crime,” said Las Vegas police homicide Lt. Jason Johansson, “and he orchestrated the plan that was carried out.”

Davis himself has admitted in interviews and in his 2019 tellall memoir, “Compton Street Legend,” that he provided the gun used in the drive-by shooting.

Authorities said Friday that Davis’ own public comments revived the investigation.

Davis, now 60, was arrested early Friday while on a walk near his home on the outskirts of Las

Vegas, hours before prosecutors announced in court that a Nevada grand jury had indicted the self-described “gangster” on one count of murder with a deadly weapon. He is due in court next week. The grand jury also voted to add a sentencing enhancement

to the murder charge for gang activity that could add up to 20 additional years if he’s convicted.

Hundreds of pages of transcripts released Friday provide a view into the rst month of grand jury proceedings, which began in late July with testimony from former associates of Da-

vis, friends of Shakur and a slate of retired police o cers involved in the case early on. Their testimony painted a picture for the jurors of a deep, escalating rift between Shakur’s music label Death Row Records and Bad Boy Records, which had ties to Davis and represented Shakur’s

“It started the whole West Coast/East Coast” rivalry that primarily de ned the hip-hop scene during the mid-1990s, one of Davis’ former associates testied.

The rst-ever arrest in the case came after Las Vegas police in mid-July raided Davis’ home in the nearby city of Henderson for items they described at the time as “concerning the murder of Tupac Shakur.”

Davis denied an interview request Friday from jail, and court records don’t list an attorney who can comment on his behalf. Phone and text messages to Davis and his wife on Friday and in the months since the July 17 search weren’t returned.

In a statement Friday, Sekyiwa “Set” Shakur, the rapper’s sister, described the arrest as a victory.

“This is no doubt a pivotal moment. The silence of the past 27 years surrounding this case has spoken loudly in our community,” she said. “It’s important to me that the world, the country, the justice system, and our people acknowledge the gravity of the passing of this man, my brother, my mother’s son, my father’s son.”

On the night of Sept. 7, 1996, Shakur was in a BMW driven by Death Row Records founder Marion “Suge” Knight. They were waiting at a red light near the Las Vegas Strip when a white Cadillac pulled up next to them and gun re erupted.

Shakur was shot multiple times and died a week later at the age of 25.

AP PHOTO

From left, Las Vegas police Lt. Jason Johansson, Sheri Kevin McMahill and Clark County District Attorney Steve Wolfson attends a news conference on an indictment in the 1996 murder of rapper Tupac Shakur.

Neal Robbins, publisher | Frank Hill, senior opinion editor

North Carolina’s key to improving maternal mortality rates

Doctors licensed outside the United States must currently nd a faculty position at a North Carolina medical school or else repeat multi-year residency training before they can obtain a medical license.

MATERNAL MORTALITY rates in North Carolina are climbing at an alarming rate.

The CDC reports that over just a two-year span, the number of women who have died within six weeks of giving birth doubled — jumping from 22 deaths per 100,000 births to a staggering 44. And the growing lack of access to care as rural hospitals close maternity wards or shut down altogether, often because of sta ng shortages, is at least partially to blame. The distressing situation leaves rural mothers no choice but to commute further to nd care, increasing health risks for themselves and their newborn babies.

This crisis is not isolated to North Carolina but extends across the nation, where the demand for healthcare services outpaces our ability to supply enough physicians to meet that demand.

By 2030, the United States is projected to face a staggering 120,000 physician shortage. That means thousands of people, mostly in rural areas, will lose their doctors. And with the added concern that nearly 40 percent of American physicians will reach retirement age by that year, the data paint a worrisome picture of the future of healthcare access.

North Carolina is especially vulnerable as a signi cant portion of the state, a total of 100 counties, already grapples with a scarcity of primary care physicians. By 2030, the Tar Heel State will face a shortage of 1,885 primary care physicians. This shortage disproportionately impacts rural areas, which could leave more than 600 small towns without a doctor altogether. Given the highstakes nature of pregnancy and childbirth, these challenges pose life-threatening consequences. But there are ways forward.

Training more physicians and healthcare providers nationwide is crucial to address the increasing demand for medical services. Internationally licensed physicians o er one solution that can immediately assist patients in North Carolina. Thousands of highly skilled healthcare professionals, both within the United States and abroad, are eager to contribute to the well-being of North Carolinians. However, doctors licensed outside the United States must currently nd a faculty position at a North Carolina medical school or else repeat multi-year residency training before they can obtain a medical license.

Increasing accessibility to pathways for internationally licensed doctors to practice in rural states like North Carolina would increase access for those who need it most — without compromising the care they receive. Legislation currently being negotiated in the state legislature would do just that by allowing

COLUMN | STEPHEN MOORE

physicians licensed in another country to practice in the state without having to repeat their entire training regimen. And it has already cleared the state senate.

Under this law, all North Carolina hospitals and rural healthcare facilities would be able to hire high-quality, internationally trained physicians who meet the State Medical Board’s standards, but those doctors would not have to repeat their three-plus years of postmedical graduate training in the United States. North Carolina already lets medical school faculty members treat patients without repeating residency, so this bill simply opens more doors for rural clinics and hospitals across the state to do the same by hiring talented doctors to meet the desperate and growing need.

Tennessee recently passed a similar law that allows healthcare providers to sponsor high-quality international doctors for provisional licenses, converts provisional licenses to full licenses after two years of successful practice, and preserves the Medical Examining Board’s authority to ensure that internationally trained physicians possess the requisite skills, test scores, and experience to provide exceptional care. Neither Tennessee’s law nor the North Carolina Senate’s proposal requires physicians to repeat a threeyear or longer residency training program.

But the demand extends beyond doctors residing abroad; there are already thousands of skilled healthcare professionals living in the United States. This bill simpli es the paths for these healthcare workers to fully utilize their medical expertise to help meet the growing need. Remarkably, a recent study revealed that nearly 40 percent of the international U.S. labor force holding healthcare professional and doctorate degrees are working in jobs outside healthcare. Removing repetitive training requirements for foreign-licensed doctors bene ts refugees, immigrants pursuing citizenship, U.S. citizens with foreign medical training, and North Carolina patients most at risk of losing access to essential care.

North Carolina moms need better access to doctors to improve their health outcomes. Internationally trained doctors can and should be part of the solution to both rising maternal mortality and rural physician shortages. North Carolina can tackle the physician shortage and promote a healthier future for all its residents by supporting this commonsense solution to streamlining pathways to practice for international doctors.

Ally Perkins is a Research Assistant and Jonathan Wolfson is the Chief Legal O cer & Policy Director at the Cicero Institute.

Washington’s credit card price controls will hurt consumers

What’s demoralizing is that many Senate Republicans have signed on to this bill to regulate an industry that works for everyone.

WHY HAS SEN. DICK DURBIN (D-ILL.) declared war on credit cards?

Americans are in love with paying with plastic.

Perhaps too much so — given that credit card debt now exceeds $1 trillion.

But paying with plastic has become a sort of American pastime — so popular and convenient (especially reward programs that o er cash-back payments, frequent yer miles and other discounts) that there are now an estimated 500 million to 1 billion credit cards in circulation and close to another 1 billion debit cards. This means there are multiple more credit and debit cards than there are adults in the U.S.

That’s a big change from 20-to-30 years ago when only upperincome Americans had access to plastic cards for swiping (and now tapping), while middle- and especially lower-income Americans had to carry around wads of cash for transactions or go to a loan shark for emergency money.

But you know another group that loves the convenience of credit cards? Stores, restaurants, merchants, online services. They have vastly expanded retailers’ transactions and sales. This year, there will be nearly $5 billion of plastic card (or cellphone) nancial transactions, two to three times the amount in 2012.

Some smaller stores don’t accept credit cards, but those numbers are dwindling. Even corner shoe-shiners are accepting plastic these days. Taking Visa, Mastercard, American Express or any of the dozens of other credit cards also reduces the burden of handling cash, reduces theft at the cash register, and in most cases, the credit card companies assume the risk of nonpayment. They do all this for an “interchange fee” charged to merchants that averages around 2%.

What retailers don’t like is paying that fee.

They’ve run to Congress for help, and Durbin has obliged with his

so-called Credit Card Competition Act. Given that there are dozens of cards to choose from, and that retailers are free to create their own credit cards for customers (as used to be the case with Sears and J.C. Penney cards), the argument that Visa and Mastercard lack competition is a bit far-fetched.

Durbin’s bill would impose implicit price controls on credit cards by mandating that every Visa and Mastercard card also carry the logo of a cut-rate competitor’s network. This is like requiring McDonald’s to show its customers the Burger King and Wendy’s menu and prices. What’s demoralizing is that many Senate Republicans have signed on to this bill to regulate an industry that works for everyone.

Last week, the senators released a “study” claiming that this bill would save the average consumer $1,000 a year. But this was the very same claim Durbin made about his debit card price controls. The consumers didn’t save money; the merchants pocketed nearly all the money and it nearly ended “free checking” services by banks.

To the extent that there are cash savings passed on to consumers, The Wall Street Journal has noted that this would likely come at the expense of fewer reward points for credit card holders.

And if swiping fees are such a nancial burden on small and large retailers, let’s see them go for a few weeks without them.

The credit card market isn’t broken; it’s ourishing as America moves rapidly to becoming a nation where nearly everyone has access to the convenience of cheap credit at their ngertips. The last thing consumers and sellers need is for Congress to “ x it.”

Stephen Moore is a senior fellow at the Heritage Foundation and a chief economist at Freedom Works. His latest book is: “Govzilla: How the Relentless Growth of Government is Devouring our Economy.”

COLUMN | ALLY PERKINS AND JONATHAN WOLFSON

SIDELINE REPORT

NASCAR Gas can erupts into ames during Talladega race

Talladega, Ala. There was a ery moment during the Cup Series race at Talladega

Superspeedway when a gas can erupted into ames on pit road. Ty Gibbs pulled out of his pit stall Sunday with the gas can still dangling from his Toyota and the fuel can dislodged in the middle of pit road. It sparked when it hit the pavement and then caught re. Other drivers had to swerve around the burning gas can as emergency workers waited until pit road was clear to approach the re. They extinguished the ames and the race resumed.

NHL New Ducks forward

Killorn out with broken nger

Anaheim

New Ducks forward

Alex Killorn will be sidelined for four to six weeks with a broken nger. Killorn broke his nger Wednesday night in an exhibition game against San Jose. He signed a four-year, $25 million deal with Anaheim in July after playing the previous 11 seasons with Tampa Bay.

Killorn won two Stanley Cup championships and scored 198 goals with the Lightning. He was signed to bring a winning veteran presence to the Ducks, who have missed the playo s in a franchiserecord ve consecutive seasons.

NFL Chiefs’ Mahomes

fastest to reach 200 TD passes

East Rutherford, N.J. Kansas City’s Patrick

Mahomes threw the 200th touchdown pass of his career Sunday, reaching the milestone in his 84th game to break

Dan Marino’s NFL record.

Mahomes connected with Noah Gray on a 34yard touchdown that gave the Chiefs a 17-0 lead with 3:24 left in the rst quarter against the Jets.

Marino threw his 200th TD pass in his 89th NFL game with Miami in 1989.

Mahomes surpassed 25,000 yards passing last week in Kansas City’s win over Chicago. He accomplished that in 83 games, seven faster than Matthew Sta ord’s record.

GOLF

Rookie Ryu wins

rst LPGA Tour title

Rogers, Ark.

Hae Ran Ryu completed a wire-to-wire run to her rst LPGA Tour title for a three-shot victory Sunday at the Walmart NW Arkansas Championship.

The 22-year-old rookie from South Korea had four birdies and an eagle in her last nine holes at Pinnacle Country Club to shoot a 5-under 66 and nish at 19-under 194.

Ryu became the fth rookie to win this year.

Linnea Strom nished second after a nal-round 64

Blaney wins at Talladega to advance in playo s

drivers refusing to lift as a crash broke out behind them.

son. NASCAR said nearly two hours after the race that his Ford had been disquali ed because the fasteners on his windshield were not secure.

The Associated Press TALLADEGA, Ala. — In a battle of Ford drivers, Ryan Blaney held o Kevin Harvick at the Talladega Superspeedway nish line to advance into the round of eight of the Cup Series playo s.

Harvick, who is retiring at the end of the year, remained winless on the season and was disquali ed after the race when his car failed inspection.

Blaney used a crossover move from the outside lane to the inside to nudge ahead of Harvick with two laps remaining. Blaney in his Ford for Team Penske and Harvick in a Ford for Stewart-Haas Racing nished essentially in a drag race with both

“I’ve won it by more than I have the last couple years. That one might have been by 4 feet, the others were by 2 but you just don’t know,” said Blaney, a three-time winner at Talladega.

“You just kind of drag race a line and hope you get help.”

Blaney joined William Byron as the two drivers locked into the round of eight. The eld of 12 will be pared next Sunday to eight following the race on The Roval at Charlotte Motor Speedway.

Blaney boss Roger Penske praised the strategy of the Ford camp to work together to ensure a Ford victory as the Chevrolets from Hendrick Motorsports were making a quick challenge.

“For Harvick, who it was his last race here, working like he did with Ryan, it was amazing to see that,” said Penske.

“The Hendrick freight train was coming and we all stayed

Guide to MLB playo s

The postseason began Tuesday

The Associated Press

MAJOR LEAGUE BASEBALL’S playo s opened Tuesday with Toronto at Minnesota, Texas at Tampa Bay, Arizona at Milwaukee and Miami at Philadelphia.

Defending champion Houston gets ve days o until the Division Series start, as do Atlanta, Baltimore and the Los Angeles Dodgers. There will be a lot of familiar faces in October, particularly in the National League.

The speedy and strong Ronald Acuña Jr. — the one and only member of the 40-70 club — will lead the Braves as they try to win their second title in three years. Mookie Betts, Freddie Freeman and the Dodgers also look like a tough out.

Over in the American League, the upstart Orioles will try to build on their 100-win season with a deep run in the playo s. The franchise lost 110 games just two seasons ago.

Houston will be trying to become the rst repeat champion since the 1998-2000 New York Yankees won three in a row.

Here’s a look at what’s coming as October approaches.

How does baseball’s wild card round work?

The best-of-three wild card format is in its second season. The format was changed in 2022 from the sudden death one-game format that was in place since 2012 with the exception of the COVID-19 pandemic-a ected 2020 season. Six teams each from the American League and National League quali ed for the postseason, including the three division winners in each league. The three wild card teams in each league are the teams with the best records that didn’t win their division.

The top two division winners with the best records in each league got a bye and don’t have to play in the wild card round. One big advantage for the higher seed in those wild card series is they get to host all three games.

The Rangers-Rays winner faces Baltimore in the Division Series, the Twins-Blue Jays winner plays Houston, the Phillies-Marlins winner starts at Atlanta and the Brewers-Diamondbacks winner gets a matchup with the Dodgers.

Rule changes

Many of baseball’s recent rule

together, that was the call that Ford had earlier in the day when we talked. It was just perfect execution.”

Ford has won 10 playo races at Talladega, most at any track, and Team Penske has won 10 of the last 18 races at the 2.66-mile Alabama oval.

Blaney, winner of the Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte in May, now has multiple wins in a season for the second time in his career. But he’s got a lopsided stat this season in that he has only ve top- ve nishes, but two wins.

“It was a pretty wild restart, let alone the last couple of laps, losing momentum and getting it back, just getting clear to the bottom to get to the front row and drag race it out with Kevin,” said Blaney. “To win here three times at Talladega is super cool.”

Harvick nished second as his winless streak stretched to 43 races dating back to last sea-

The Harvick disquali cation dropped him to last in the eld. Byron, in a Chevrolet for Hendrick Motorsports, moved up to second and Denny Hamlin, who rallied from a lap down, moved up to third in a Toyota for Joe Gibbs Racing.

Hamlin led three laps during the second stage but was agged for speeding on pit road — a troubling habit of the threetime Daytona 500 winner considered the best driver to never win a Cup championship — and the penalty contributed to him falling a lap o the pace. It was Hamlin’s fourth speeding penalty of the season, and it took him most of the race to earn his position back on the lead lap and then drove through the eld to secure his nish.

“Not how we drew it up, but a dub is a dub and that was a dub in our book — it’s as close as it gets to it,” Hamlin said. “A topve is a long way from where we were with about 15 laps to go.”

Corey LaJoie, who is not in the playo s, moved up to fourth in a Chevrolet for Spire Motorsports. Blaney teammate Austin Cindric moved to fth.

changes will still be in e ect during the postseason, including the pitch clock, a ban on extreme in eld shifts and a limit to how many times a pitcher can disengage from the rubber. The pitch clock was a huge change for the sport and widely celebrated, cutting average game time by more than 20 minutes this season. There is one rule that won’t make the postseason cut: the socalled “ghost runner” in extra innings.

During the MLB regular season, if a game goes to extra innings, a runner is placed at second base to start the 10th inning when each team bats. That won’t happen in the postseason. Extra

innings will be played just like the previous nine.

Betting favorites

The Braves are the current betting favorites to win the World Series at +260, followed by the Dodgers (+420) and Orioles (+700), according to FanDuel Sportsbook.

How to watch

The wild card rounds will be broadcast on ABC, ESPN and ESPN. The later rounds will be split among Fox, FS1 and TBS. The World Series is scheduled for Oct. 27-Nov. 4.

Kevin Harvick was later disquali ed after being edged by the winner at the nish line

AP PHOTO

Ryan Blaney (12) pulls into the lead on the last lap to win Sunday’s NASCAR Cup Series playo race at Talladega.

AP PHOTO

Tampa Bay’s Randy Arozarena scores on an RBI single by Harold Ramirez against Toronto on Sept. 22 in St. Petersburg, Florida.

Aniston Talbert

West Stanly takes down Piedmont in conference opener

The Colts bounced back from consecutive losses

By Jesse Deal North State Journal

West Stanly opened Rocky River Conference play with a 25-12 home win Friday over Piedmont, snapping a twogame skid while picking its rst conference victory since Oct. 29, 2021.

The Colts (4-2, 1-0 RRC) outgained the Panthers (15, 0-1 RRC) 358-200 and amassed a season-high 296 rushing yards on 48 carries.

West senior running back Rene Salazar ran the ball 22 times for a team-high 184 yards and a score, while junior Darrell Bynum added 70 yards on 13 carries. Senior quarterback Jett Thomas added 105 passing yards and connected with senior tight end Austin Eudy and junior wideout Gavyn E rd for touchdowns.

North Stanly, volleyball

Aniston Talbert is a senior middle hitter on the North Stanly volleyball team.

Talbert led the way as the Comets knocked o Union Academy and Gray Stone Day last week to extend their winning streak to 16 straight. North Stanly is 18-1, 7-0 in the Yadkin Valley Conference.

In both wins, Talbert led or shared the team lead in aces and blocks. She nished the week with 28 kills, 5 aces, 19 points, 6 blocks and 14 digs in the two games.

For the season, she leads the Comets in aces and hit percentage and is second in kills.

Bills safety Damar Hamlin shouts while warming up prior to Sunday’s game against the Dolphins in Orchard Park, New York.

After capitalizing on an early score to go up 8-0, the Panthers used a 50-yard pass from quarterback Zach Dilworth to set up a touchdown and cut the lead to 8-6. The Colts scored 17 consecutive points to take control before Piedmont added a late touchdown. West next travels to Forest Hills (5-1, 0-1 RRC) on Oct. 6 to face the Yellow Jackets, who are hoping to rebound after a 28-0 road loss at Monroe.

North Stanly 38, Union Academy 0

North Stanly also easily handled a one-win team in its

Bu alo’s Damar Hamlin returns to action

The Bills safety played in the regular season for the rst time since going into cardiac arrest during a Jan. 2 game

The Associated Press

ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. —

Damar Hamlin was the last Buffalo Bills player to exit the tunnel and ran the length of the eld with his arms spread out wide at his sides as if he were ying. He might as well have been airborne on Sunday. Hamlin’s emotions soared as

he suited up for his rst regular season game some nine months since having a near-death experience on the eld at Cincinnati.

“Really big. That moment was everything to me,” Hamlin said following a 48-20 win over the Miami Dolphins.

“I think it was more so about promising to myself than anything else, just showing myself that I have the courage, I have the strength, that I have the pride, everything, all those words, in me to be able to go through something traumatic and to be able to come back from it,” he added. “To be able to still do what I love at the highest level

in the world is amazing.”

Hamlin’s comeback from one the most terrifying moments in NFL history — he went into cardiac arrest and was resuscitated during a game at the Bengals on Jan. 2 — is now complete. The third-year player took the eld on the opening kicko as part of Bu alo’s return team. Hamlin didn’t register a tackle with his role limited to special teams duty. It was still playing football, something the 25-yearold vowed he’d do after being cleared by doctors in April.

“Well, it was a choice I made, so I knew it would come someday,” Hamlin said. “Just all about

conference opener, going on the road and blanking Union Academy 38-0.

Senior running back Jay Jackson led the way Comets (4-2, 1-0 YVC), powering North to a 17-0 halftime with a pair of touchdowns in the Yadkin Valley Conference opener against the Cardinals (1-5, 0-1 YVC). Sophomore back Juice Lilly also scored.

The Comets host Lake Norman Charter (4-2) in a nonconference game Friday before closing the season with three straight YVC games.

Mount Pleasant 41, South Stanly 6

South Stanly’s hot stretch of three wins in four games suffered a setback Friday as the Rowdy Rebel Bulls were blown out 41-6 on the road by Mount Pleasant.

Coupled with their 28-20 win over West Stanly on Sept. 15, the Tigers (4-2, 1-0 YVC) have now knocked o two Stanly teams this season. The only points for South Stanly (3-3, 0-1 YVC) came late in the second quarter when quarterback Drew Gaddy found Kaleb Richardson in the end zone to make it a 20-6 game.

The Bulls will look for their rst conference win since Oct. 29, 2021, when they host Albemarle (2-4) on Oct. 6.

Albemarle — bye

The Bulldogs (2-4) had a bye and now prepare for a road trip to South Stanly for their Yadkin Valley Conference opener.

staying ready and being ready to do my part. That’s been my goal ever since I became a Bill.”

After being a healthy scratch through the rst three weeks of the season, Hamlin’s chance to play came after starting safety Jordan Poyer was sidelined by a knee injury this week.

After running out onto the eld, Hamlin came to a stop in the far end zone, where he threw up his arms before a cheering crowd, and then knelt in prayer.

Hamlin has shown no signs of tentativeness. He passed every on- eld test he faced before making the Bills’ 53-player roster in August. He played in

all three of Bu alo’s preseason games, totaling nine tackles. His heart stopped as a result of commotio cordis, which happens when a direct blow at a speci c point in a heartbeat causes cardiac arrest. Doctors have assured Hamlin he can resume playing without any fear of setbacks or reoccurrence.

Coach Sean McDermott was overjoyed and called it a “surreal moment” to watch cameras crowd around Hamlin as he huddled with his teammates in the tunnel before heading out for pregame warmups.

“He deserves the attention he gets. I love the fact that he makes it about the team in so many ways,” McDermott said. “What, nine months ago, this young man is in the situation he was in, and now he’s back.”

AP PHOTO

PJ WARD-BROWN | NORTH STATE JOURNAL

AP PHOTO by Petersburg,

Judge blocks 2 provisions in North Carolina’s new abortion law; 12-week near-ban remains in place

The Associated Press

RALEIGH — A federal judge on Saturday blocked two portions of North Carolina’s new abortion law from taking e ect while a lawsuit continues. But nearly all of the restrictions approved by the legislature this year, including a near-ban after 12 weeks of pregnancy, aren’t being speci cally challenged and remain intact.

U.S. District Judge Catherine Eagles issued an order halting enforcement of a provision to require surgical abortions that occur after 12 weeks — those for cases of rape and incest, for example — be performed only in hospitals, not abortion clinics. That limitation would have otherwise taken e ect on Sunday.

And in the same preliminary injunction, Eagles extended beyond her temporary decision in June an order preventing enforcement of a rule that doctors must document the existence of a pregnancy within the uterus before prescribing a medication abortion.

Short of successful appeals by Republican legislative leaders defending the laws, the order will remain in e ect until a lawsuit led by Planned Parenthood South Atlantic and a physician who performs abortions challenging the sections are resolved. The lawsuit also seeks to have clari ed whether medications can be used during the second trimester to induce labor of a fetus that can’t survive outside the uterus.

The litigation doesn’t directly seek to topple the crux of the abortion law enacted in May af-

ter GOP legislators overrode Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper’s veto. North Carolina had a ban on most abortions after 20 weeks before July 1, when the law scaled it back to 12 weeks.

The law, a response to the 2022 U.S. Supreme Court ruling that struck down Roe v. Wade, also added new exceptions for abortions through 20 weeks for cases of rape and incest and through 24 weeks for “life-limiting” fetal anomalies. A medical emergency exception also stayed in place.

On medication abortions, which bill sponsors say also are

permitted through 12 weeks of pregnancy, the new law says a physician prescribing an abortion-inducing drug must rst “document in the woman’s medical chart the ... intrauterine location of the pregnancy.”

Eagles wrote the plainti s were likely to be successful on their claim that the law is so vague as to subject abortion providers to claims that they broke the law if they can’t locate an embryo through an ultrasound because the pregnancy is so new.

“Providers cannot know if medical abortion is authorized

at any point through the twelfth week, as the statute explicitly says, or if the procedure is implicitly banned early in pregnancy,” said Eagles, who was nominated to the bench by then-President Barack Obama.

And Eagles wrote the plainti s o ered “uncontradicted” evidence that procedures for surgical abortions — also known as procedural abortions — after 12 weeks of pregnancy are the same as those used for managing miscarriages at that time period. Yet women with miscarriages aren’t required to receive those proce-

dures in the hospital, she added. Republican legislative leaders defending the law in court “have o ered no explanation or evidence — that is, no rational basis — for this di ering treatment,” Eagles said in her order.

Abortion-rights advocates still opposed to the new 12-week restrictions praised Saturday’s ruling.

“We applaud the court’s decision to block a few of the onerous barriers to essential reproductive health care that have no basis in medicine,” said Dr. Beverly Gray, an OB-GYN and a named plainti in the case.

A spokesperson for Senate leader Phil Berger, one of the legislative defendants, said Saturday that Eagles’ order was still being reviewed.

Lawyers for Republican legislative leaders said in court documents in September that the provision requiring the documentation of an intrauterine pregnancy was designed to ensure the pregnancy was not ectopic, which can be dangerous. And “North Carolina rationally sought to help ensure the safety of women who may require hospitalization for complications from surgical abortions,” a legal brief from the lawmakers read.

State Attorney General Josh Stein, a Democrat, abortion-rights supporter and 2024 candidate for governor, is o cially a lawsuit defendant. But lawyers from his o ce asked Eagles to block the two provisions, largely agreeing with Planned Parenthood’s arguments. Stein said Saturday he was encouraged by Eagles’ ruling.

US education chief considers new ways to discourage college admissions preference for kids of alumni

The Associated Press

WASHINGTON, D.C. —

President Joe Biden’s education chief said he’s open to using “whatever levers” are available — including federal money — to discourage colleges from giving admissions preference to the children of alumni and donors.

Education Secretary Miguel Cardona said last week legacy admissions must be revisited for the sake of diversity on campuses following the recent Supreme Court ruling against a rmative action. In a step beyond his previous comments, Cardona said he would consider taking stronger action to deter the practice.

“I would be interested in pulling whatever levers I can pull as secretary of Education to ensure that, especially if we’re giving out nancial aid and loans, that we’re doing it for institutions that are providing value,” Cardona said. He made the remark when asked about using federal money as a carrot or rod on legacy admissions.

Legacy admissions, long seen as a perk for the white and wealthy at selective colleges, have come under renewed re since the ruling in June that col-

leges can no longer consider the race of applicants. By banning a rmative action but allowing legacy preferences, critics say the court left admissions even more lopsided against students of color.

Cardona didn’t elaborate on his options, but the federal government oversees vast sums of

money that go to colleges in the form of student nancial aid and research grants. The Education Department can also issue nes for civil rights violations, including racial discrimination.

The agency recently opened an investigation at Harvard University after a federal complaint alleged that legacy ad-

missions amount to racial discrimination.

A handful of small colleges have disavowed legacy admissions in the wake of the a rmative action decision, but there’s been no sign of change in the upper echelons of America’s universities.

Some colleges and alumni defend the practice, saying it builds community and encourages fundraising. And as campuses become more diverse, they argue, the bene t increasingly extends to students of color and their families.

Cardona, who attended a technical high school and earned his bachelor’s degree from Central Connecticut State University, has added his voice to the advocates, civil rights groups and Democratic lawmakers denouncing the practice.

“Your last name could get you into a school, or the fact that you can write a check could get you into a school,” he said. But using a rmative action to promote diversity — “that tool was taken away.”

Still, he shied away from supporting a ban of the type proposed by some Democrats in Congress and in several states.

Cardona sees it as a matter of local control, with universities having the nal decision.

“There is no edict coming from the Secretary of Education,” he said.

Without action, Cardona warned that the nation could face the same setbacks seen in California after it ended afrmative action in 1996. The state’s most selective colleges saw steep decreases in Black and Latino enrollment, and the numbers never fully rebounded.

“If we go the route that California went when they abolished a rmative action, what chance do we have competing against China?” Cardona said. “This is more than just ensuring diverse learning environments. This is about our strength as a country.”

Advocates have also pushed the Education Department to start collecting data showing the number and demographics of legacy students.

“I was hopeful we’d be seeing more colleges volunteering to drop it,” said James Murphy, a deputy director at Education Reform Now, a nonpro t think tank. “I think I think they’ve got to keep the pressure on and shine a light on it.”

AP PHOTO

Abortion rights protesters are removed after becoming vocal, Tuesday, May 16, 2023, in Raleigh, N.C., after North Carolina House members voted to override Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper’s veto of a bill that would change the state’s ban on nearly all abortions from those after 20 weeks of pregnancy to those after 12 weeks of pregnancy.

AP PHOTO

Education Secretary Miguel Cardona speaks during an interview with The Associated Press in his o ce at the Department of Education, Wednesday, Sept. 20, 2023 in Washington, D.C.

STATE & NATION

House Republicans make their case for Biden impeachment inquiry at rst hearing

The Associated Press

WASHINGTON, D.C. —

House Republicans launched a formal impeachment hearing Thursday against President Joe Biden, promising to “provide accountability” as they probe the family nances and lucrative business dealings of his son Hunter and make their case to the public, colleagues and a skeptical Senate.

The chairmen of the Oversight, Judiciary, and Ways and Means committees used the opening hearing to review the constitutional and legal questions involved with impeachment. They are trying to show what they say are links to Biden’s son Hunter’s overseas businesses, though key witnesses said they do not yet see hard evidence of impeachable o enses.

Rep. James Comer, R-Ky, the Oversight chairman, said the lawmakers have “a mountain of evidence” that will show that the elder Biden “abused his public o ce for his family’snancial gain.”

Hours after the hearing wrapped, Comer issued subpoenas for additional banking records from the personal and business accounts of Hunter Biden and the president’s brother, James Biden. He said the panel will continue to “fol-

low the money and the evidence to provide accountability.”

The White House pushed back with statements throughout the hearing saying nothing can distract from the Republicans’ inability to govern as the shutdown loomed. Spokesperson Sharon Yang called the hearing a “baseless stunt” and said, “President Biden will always stay focused on the priorities of the American people — not these political games.”

The more than six-hour hearing came as House Republicans face scattered resistance to an impeachment inquiry from their own ranks and deep reluctance in the Senate from

Republicans who worry about political rami cations and say Biden’s conviction and removal from o ce are unlikely.

A top Republican-called witness, Jonathan Turley, a George Washington University law professor who is an expert in impeachment issues, said he believed the House had passed the threshold for an inquiry but the current evidence was not enough for charges. “I do not believe that the current evidence would support articles of impeachment,” Turley said.

Still, questions remain as Republicans dig into the Biden family nances and the over -

seas business dealings of Hunter Biden, who has acknowledged being a drug user during much of the time under scrutiny. The president’s brother, James, was also involved in some work with Hunter.

Republicans have been investigating Hunter Biden for years, since his father was vice president. And while there have been questions raised about the ethics around the family’s international business, none of the evidence so far has proven that the president, in his current or previous o ce, abused his role, accepted bribes or both.

Turley told the lawmakers the question remains, “Was the president involved?”

In the run-up to the hearing, Republicans unveiled a tranche of new documents and bank records that detail wire transfers from a Chinese businessman to Hunter Biden in 2019. Hunter Biden had listed his father’s address on the wire transfer form, which Republicans say provided a clear link to the president.

Abbe Lowell, an attorney for Hunter Biden, said the address on the wire transfer, which he says was a loan, was listed to the president’s Delaware home because it was the address on Hunter Biden’s driver’s license and “his only permanent address at the time.”

Gen. Milley swipes at Trump in farewell address

The Associated Press

JOINT BASE MYER-HENDERSON HALL, Va. — Under cloudy skies at Joint Base Myer-Henderson Hall, Army Gen. Mark Milley never mentioned former President Donald Trump by name but he practically shouted on two di erent occasions that the U.S. military swears to protect the Constitution “against ALL enemies, foreign AND domestic” during a packed ceremony on Friday as he closed out his four, often tumultuous years as chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Sta .

“We don’t take an oath to a king or a queen or to a tyrant or a dictator. And we don’t take an oath to a wannabe dictator,” he said. “We don’t take an oath to an individual. We take an oath to the Constitution, and we take an oath to the idea that is America, and we’re willing to die to protect it.”

Milley is retiring after more than four decades of military service, including multiple combat deployments and two often turbulent years as Joint Chiefs chairman under Trump. And it was those years, and the battles he fought against Trump, that formed much of the underpinning of his farewell address and

also were sprinkled throughout other speeches in the ceremony.

As chairman, Milley pushed back against a host of Trump’s plans, including demands to pull all troops out of Iraq and Syria and his desire to put active-duty troops on Washington’s streets to counter racial protests. Several books have described Milley’s deep concerns about Trump’s tness as commander in chief and his worries that Trump would try to use the military to help block President Joe Biden’s election.

Just a week ago, Trump railed

against Milley in a post on Truth Social, condemning him as a treasonous, “Woke train wreck” whose actions have been “so egregious that, in times gone by, the punishment would have been DEATH!” The post, which some interpreted as a threat, has prompted Milley to ensure his family has adequate protection. But seemingly in response, Milley said, his voice booming, the military will protect the Constitution, no matter the personal price, and “we are not easily intimidated.” Biden, who spoke at the cer-

emony praised Milley’s staunch defense of the Constitution, which “has always been Mark’s North Star.” And he said the general has been a steady hand guiding the military during one of the most complex national security environments.

The farewell tribute on the base just outside Washington was both rousing and somber, with marching bands, troop salutes and speeches.

Air Force Gen. CQ Brown took over command on Sunday. Milley is retiring after nearly 44 years of service.

Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin recalled Milley as a battle buddy, noting with a grin that he was always “eager to get into the ght. And I’ve seen that rsthand over our long history of working together, including one time when he got me blown up. Literally.”

When Austin was commanding the 10th Mountain Division during the Iraq War he visited Milley, one of his brigade commanders, who suggested they go to the hospital to see a wounded soldier.

“So we took Route Irish in Baghdad, which was known as the most dangerous road in the world. And we promptly got hit by an IED,” Austin told the

“Once again Rep. Comer peddles lies to support a premise — some wrongdoing by Hunter Biden or his family — that evaporates in thin air the moment facts come out,” Lowell said in a statement.

House Republicans are also looking into the Justice Department investigation into Hunter Biden’s taxes and gun use that began in 2018. Two IRS whistleblowers came forward to Congress in the spring with claims that department ocials thwarted their e orts to fully investigate Hunter Biden and that they faced retaliation when they pushed back.

The claims have since been disputed by the Department of Justice, the IRS and FBI agents who worked on the case.

“The Biden Justice Department protected the Biden family brand.” said Rep. Jason Smith, a Missouri Republican and Ways and Means chairman.

The hearing is expected to be the rst of many as House Republicans explore whether or not they will pursue articles of impeachment against the president.

It’s unclear if McCarthy has support from his slim Republican majority to impeach Biden. If Biden was impeached, the charges would then be sent to the Senate for a trial.

crowd. “Afterwards, I asked, ‘Hey general, has this happened to you before?’ And Mark said, ‘Oh yes sir — I’ve been blown up about ve times now.’”

The crowd of about 1,800 included past and current U.S. and international dignitaries and military leaders, families, friends, troops, veterans, wounded warriors and Gold Star families who lost loved ones in the wars.

One of the opening performances was a stirring rendition of “God Bless America” by Army Capt. Luis Avila, who was severely injured and lost a leg in a bomb blast in Afghanistan. Milley’s choice of Avila was a tribute to wounded troops but also served as a pointed jab at Trump. Milley has said Trump made disparaging remarks about Avila, who sang from his wheelchair at a ceremony for Milley in 2019. Milley said Trump asked him at the time, “Why do you bring people like that here? No one wants to see that, the wounded.”

Milley, 65, is a native of Winchester, Massachusetts. He commanded troops at all levels, including in Iraq and Afghanistan. He became Army chief of sta in 2015 and launched several initiatives, including the creation of Security Force Assistance Brigades, which train foreign forces, and the opening of Army Futures Command in Austin, Texas, to pursue new technologies.

AP PHOTO

President Joe Biden, right, shakes hands with outgoing Joint Chiefs Chairman Gen. Mark Milley, during an Armed Forces Farewell Tribute in honor of Milley at Joint Base Myer–Henderson Hall, Friday, Sept. 29, 2023, in Fort Meyer, Va.

AP PHOTO

Witnesses are sworn in before the House Oversight Committee impeachment inquiry into President Joe Biden, Thursday, Sept. 28, 2023, on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C.

Randolph record

NASCAR Day Festival rolls into town

Randleman’s Annual NASCAR Day Festival took place Saturday Sept. 30, paying homage to the city’s racing heritage as the home to racing legend Richard Petty. The event, which has been running for more than 30 years, featured food trucks, rids, racing memorabilia, a corn hole competition, and several stages of live entertainment. New this year was a “Racin’ to Randleman Car Show.”

WHAT’S HAPPENING

Invasive Apple Snails o cially con rmed in North Carolina

On Monday, the N.C. Wildlife Resources Commission (NCWRC) announced that Apple Snails, a harmful invasive aquatic species, have been identi ed along the Lumber River in Lumberton. Native to South America, this is the rst known population of Apple Snails in the state. Globally, Apple Snails are a problematic invasive species, which have been introduced in Europe, Asia, and multiple states within the U.S. A concerned citizen sent photographs of suspected Apple Snail clusters to the NCWRC. An NCWRC biologist inspected multiple sites along the Lumber River and collected additional egg masses for submission to the N.C. Museum of Natural Science, which con rmed the identi cation of Apple Snail eggs. Subsequent surveys by an NCWRC biologist detected adult snails and eggs near the I-95 bridge crossing of the Lumber River, at the High Hill Boating Access Area, and in Fivemile Branch, a tributary to the Lumber River. Apple Snail grazing habits can damage plants used by many native aquatic species, and they have been observed feeding on amphibian eggs. Additionally, Apple Snails can present human health risks. They may carry rat lungworm, which can cause a potentially fatal disease in humans if the snails are eaten raw or undercooked. The snail’s egg masses also contain a toxin, which can cause skin and eye rashes. Apple Snails are most easily recognizable by their distinctive large, bright pink clusters, which are laid on solid surfaces, such as tree trunks, concrete, or other vegetation, above the waterline along the edges of streams, rivers, or ponds. The NCWRC is requesting that citizens report suspected apple snails and egg masses (with photos) online. For more information, please visit https://www.ncwildlife. org/.

County to hire water/sewer construction chief, updates waste management ordinance

Also addressed were COVID-19 vaccine costs and wastewater permit fees

By Ryan Henkel North State Journal

ASHEBORO – The Randolph County Board of Commissioners met Monday, Oct. 2, with various updates on waste management and fee schedules.

The board was presented with an update on their partnership with Waste Management through an annual report.

“Our original contract called for an upfront payment of $3.5 million, and that money was used to buy property at the mega site,” said Chairman Darrell Frye. “Our rst full year, the contract called for a minimum annual payment of $1 mil-

lion, and our rst check was for $1,007,000. This year, in July, we received $1,742,616, and that money has been used in strategic planning issues and programs and services around the county. Literally from door-to-door, corner-to-corner in this county. It’s been a great bene t to this county.”

“Since 2014, after our original $3.5 million payment to the county, including that, Waste Management has made over $14 million in payments to Randolph County, and we’ve paid over $7 million in taxes over that period of time,” said Waste Management Governmental Relations Bob Peeler. “It adds up, and I think it makes a di erence for all of Randolph County.”

The board then held a public hearing in order to amend the Waste Management Franchise Agreement Ordinance.

“The county adopted the

waste management franchise ordinance in 2014, and we’ve modi ed it once before in 2019,” said Associate County Attorney Aimee Scotton. “Waste Management has requested for further modi cations of the ordinance.”

The changes to the ordinance include that the property covered by the franchise will include the entire 190-acre land ll area, including both the eastern and western sides of the power line, updating the list of convenience centers that the county has in operation and increasing the projected useful life of the land ll to 25-30 years to re ect the use of the entire site.

“This does not change the overall footprint of the land ll,” Frye said. “It’s about 190 acres out of about 670 acres. That hasn’t changed. The issue was brought forward because there is 115 acres in front of the power lines and about 75 acres behind

the power lines. So, for them to have access to everything that was agreed upon originally, those power lines have to be moved, and that could take several years. So it’s a matter of just getting that process started.”

Following the public hearing, the board approved the amendment, although a second vote must still take place for the ordinance to take e ect due to state law.

The board then made updates to the Public Health fee schedule.

The rst update was related to the environmental health fee schedule.

“Wastewater permitting is becoming more and more privatized,” said Environmental Health Director Wayne Jones. “So, there’s options now for cit-

See COMMISSIONER , page 2

Jury duty scam reported in Randolph County

Randolph Record

SILER CITY

— An ongoing scam involving jury duty has surfaced in Randolph County and surrounding counties. Last week Sheri Greg Seabolt’s O ce issued a cautionary alert to residents in the area concerning the scam with information how to handle the calls and voicemails used to propagate the scam.

According to the sheri ’s ofce, they received several reports of residents being contacted by scammers falsely posing as representatives of the sheri ’s ofce. These fraudulent callers have also been found to spoof the Sheri ’s O ce telephone number to lend an air of authenticity to their deceitful calls.

In each reported case, the impostor caller informs the recipient that they have failed to fulll their jury duty obligation and must promptly pay a ne to prevent imminent arrest and potential incarceration. Several residents noted that the scammers left voicemail messages when

their calls were unanswered. The scammer often asks for a credit card number or provides directions to deposit money into a Bitcoin ATM.

The sheri ’s o ce is urging anyone who receives such a call to hang up immediately without divulging any personal information or taking any action as instructed by the caller. “We will never charge you a fee for missing jury duty. No law enforcement agency will charge a fee for missing jury duty,” said the sheri ’s release.

Across the state of North Carolina, instances of individuals falling victim to jury duty scams have been reported, resulting in signi cant nancial losses. Disobeying a jury summons in North Carolina can result in a penalty of $50.00 for each instance of failure to appear. Notably, o cial jury summonses and failure to appear notices are always dispatched to residents’ homes or post o ce boxes through rst-class mail in North Carolina.

The North Carolina Administrative O ce of the Courts has issued several advisories about jury duty scams this year. The court system and law enforcement agencies identi ed fraudulent activity in Carteret County in January, Johnston County in March, Mecklenburg County in August, and Chatham and Davidson counties in September.

According to the state court system, “the scammers are very convincing and often have your name and address, use the name of a real judge and / or law enforcement o cers, and refer to local locations to make you believe the call is legitimate.

“These deceptive individuals prey on the fear of arrest and exploit our sense of civic responsibility,” said Chatham County Sheri Mike Roberson. “The Sheri ’s O ce will never call you to demand payment for missed jury duty. If you receive such a call, please report it to our ofce immediately. Together we can protect our community from these fraudulent schemes.”

“We will never charge you a fee for missing jury duty. No law enforcement agency will charge a fee for missing jury duty.”

Randolph County Sheri ’s O ce

PJ WARD-BROWN | NORTH STATE JOURNAL

WEEKLY FORECAST SPONSORED BY 336-629-7588

Asheboro Fly-in

Model airplanes from the Central Carolina RC Modelers on display at the NC Aviation Museum & Hall of Fame’s annual Fly-In at the Asheboro Airport. In its 27th year, the Fly-In featuring everything from antique warplanes to home-built ying machines. The RC planes above are radio-controlled scale aircraft powered by electricity, gas, or other fuels.

Miss Randolph pageant is coming soon

Randolph Record

ASHEBORO – The time is approaching for the Miss Randolph County Teen Scholarship Pageant and the Miss Randolph County pageant.

The event will take place at 6 p.m. Oct. 14 at Randleman Elementary School’s auditorium.

The Miss Randolph County pageant is for women ages 18-26 who live, attend school or work in Randolph, Guilford, Alamance, Chatham, Moore Montgomery or Davidson counties.

A teen division is for ages 1317.

COMMISSIONER from page 1

izens to be able to hire private consultants to obtain their wastewater permits. All of which goes through our department; some we have more oversight on than others. These fee changes are actually reductions in fees. If a citizen chooses to use a private party consultant, it reduces the workload we have to put into those particular sites and therefore the reduction in fees.”

The second was related to the cost of COVID-19 vaccines.

“When the COVID-19 vaccine came on the scene in December of 2020, the federal government provided that to health departments at no cost,” said Public Health Director Tara Aker. “Now we are beyond the public health emer-

19%

HI 67 LOW 43 PRECIP 24%

LOG

Curtis, Paul Sr. (M, 70), Arrested on charge of Second Degree Trespass, on 9/27, at 1109 Angel Fire

Trl.

Davis, Martrez (M, 21), Arrested on charge of Possess Stolen Motor Vehicle, on 9/27, at 1799 Interstate HWY 85.

Pierce, Travis (M, 45),

Arrested on charge of Flee to Elude Arrest w/ MV, Possess Stolen Motor Vehicle, on 9/27, at 1507 Mt View Church Rd.

Wilkes, Tyreese (M, 22), Arrested on charge of Flee to Elude Arrest w/ Motor Vehicle, Possess Stolen Motor Vehicle, AWDW Government Official, on 9/27, at 1799 Interstate HWY 85.

Contestant entry is $100. Spectator admission is $10. The event is sponsored by the Kiwanis Club of Asheboro and directed by the Miss Randolph County scholarship committee. Pageant winners will represent Randolph County in the Miss North Carolina and North Carolina Teen pageants next June. Miss Randolph County receives a $1,000 scholarship, and Miss Randolph County Teen is awarded a $500 scholarship. Reigning Miss Randolph County Tori Gross will crown the winner.

gency, and with the end of that comes the end of all that federal aid. This brought the privatization of the COVID-19 vaccine. That means if we’re going to o er the COVID-19 vaccine, we have to pay for it, and if we have to pay for it, we need to add a fee to our fee schedule.”

The new fee will be $150 per dose for P zer and Moderna vaccines.

Finally, the board approved the addition of a County Infrastructure Coordinator position to the classi cation plan.

“In the past 10 years, the role of our county government has changed in so many ways to address the growth of Randolph County to issues like the pandemic and COVID,” said County Manager Hal Johnson. “The role of our agencies has changed, but one of the areas that is impacting Ran-

Miss Randolph County receives a $1,000 scholarship, and Miss Randolph County Teen is awarded a $500 scholarship.

dolph County the greatest and the role of county government the greatest is going to be infrastructure and the county government’s role in the provision of infrastructure into areas that were previously unserved.”

According to Johnson, the position will be responsible for working and coordinating water and sewer construction projects that are ongoing - and will be ongoing for many years - and working with the county engineer and the assistant county manager in coordinating the complex water and sewer planning programs.

“The water and sewer projects have a lot of moving parts and it requires daily attention,” Frye said. “We certainly believe this position is warranted. This is a much needed position for us.”

The Randolph Guide is a quick look at what’s going on in Randolph County.

October 5

Asheboro City Council Meeting

7pm

The Asheboro City Council will hold its next meeting on October 5 at the Asheboro City Hall Council Chamber, located at 146 N. Church Street.

October 7

Asheboro Farmers Market

7am – 1pm

Come out to the Asheboro Downtown Farmers Market, located at 134 S. Church Street. This event is free and open to the public!

48th Annual Asheboro Fall Festival

9am – 6pm

The 48th Annual Fall Festival is back! The Randolph Arts Guild Board of Directors and Historic Downtown Asheboro will welcome vendors, artists, musicians, artisans and festival goers for this one-day event!

Adopt & Play

Saturday

10am – 2pm

Randolph County Animal Services will be hosting its monthly Adopt & Play event this Saturday. There will be fun activities and plenty of furry friends looking for forever homes. Adoption fees on speci c animals has been reduced for this event.

October 9

2023 Countywide Senior Bingo

1pm

Zuniga, Jamie (F, 32), Arrested on charge of Larceny of Firearm, Possession of Firearm by Felon, Obtain Property False Pretense, on 9/27, at South Lake Dr. Aviles, Harley (M, 22), Arrested on charge of Carrying Concealed Gun, Assault by Pointing Gun, on 9/26, at 1055 E Dixie Dr. Jackson, Tyler (M, ?), Arrested on charge of PWISD Marijuana, Felony Possession Marijuana, Carrying Concealed Gun, on 9/26, at Interstate 85 NB. Reyes, Zoet (F, 23), Arrested on charge of Possess Meth, Possess Marijuana up to 1/2oz, Possess Marijuana Paraphernalia, Simple Possess Schedule IV CS, Possess Drug Paraphernalia, on 9/27, at

Old Glenola Rd & Delwood Dr.

Watson, Neil (M, 42), Arrested on charge of Felony Larceny, on 9/26, at 1049 Ingram Dr. Bennett, Nelson (M, 30), Arrested on charge of Carrying Concealed Gun, Misdemeanor Poss Schedule VI CS, Possess Marijuana Paraphernalia, on 9/25, at Interstate HWY 85.

Godoy, Sergio (M, 60), Arrested on charge of AWDW, on 9/25, at 632 Hillary Ct. Smith, Matthew (M, 33), Arrested on charge of Second Degree Trespass, Breaking or Entering, on 9/25, at 6557 Kerr Dr.

Senior Bingo is set to take place on the second Monday of each month at the Randolph Senior Adults Association, located at 374 West Salisbury St. in Asheboro. Refreshments will be served at 1pm, and Bingo will begin at 1:30pm.

Bobby Lawrence Moffitt, age 75 of Asheboro, died Monday, September 25, 2023 at his home with his loving wife and son by his side.

Rodney Eric Sparks, age 39 of Asheboro, died Sunday, September 24, 2023 at UNC Hospitals in Chapel Hill.

Marvin Everette Coffey, age 73 of Asheboro, died September 27, 2023 at Randolph Health Hospital.

PJ WARD-BROWN | NORTH STATE JOURNAL

Neal Robbins, publisher | Frank Hill, senior opinion editor

North Carolina’s key to improving maternal mortality rates

Doctors licensed outside the United States must currently nd a faculty position at a North Carolina medical school or else repeat multi-year residency training before they can obtain a medical license.

MATERNAL MORTALITY rates in North Carolina are climbing at an alarming rate.

The CDC reports that over just a two-year span, the number of women who have died within six weeks of giving birth doubled — jumping from 22 deaths per 100,000 births to a staggering 44. And the growing lack of access to care as rural hospitals close maternity wards or shut down altogether, often because of sta ng shortages, is at least partially to blame. The distressing situation leaves rural mothers no choice but to commute further to nd care, increasing health risks for themselves and their newborn babies.

This crisis is not isolated to North Carolina but extends across the nation, where the demand for healthcare services outpaces our ability to supply enough physicians to meet that demand.

By 2030, the United States is projected to face a staggering 120,000 physician shortage. That means thousands of people, mostly in rural areas, will lose their doctors. And with the added concern that nearly 40 percent of American physicians will reach retirement age by that year, the data paint a worrisome picture of the future of healthcare access.

North Carolina is especially vulnerable as a signi cant portion of the state, a total of 100 counties, already grapples with a scarcity of primary care physicians. By 2030, the Tar Heel State will face a shortage of 1,885 primary care physicians. This shortage disproportionately impacts rural areas, which could leave more than 600 small towns without a doctor altogether. Given the highstakes nature of pregnancy and childbirth, these challenges pose life-threatening consequences. But there are ways forward.

Training more physicians and healthcare providers nationwide is crucial to address the increasing demand for medical services. Internationally licensed physicians o er one solution that can immediately assist patients in North Carolina. Thousands of highly skilled healthcare professionals, both within the United States and abroad, are eager to contribute to the well-being of North Carolinians. However, doctors licensed outside the United States must currently nd a faculty position at a North Carolina medical school or else repeat multi-year residency training before they can obtain a medical license.

Increasing accessibility to pathways for internationally licensed doctors to practice in rural states like North Carolina would increase access for those who need it most — without compromising the care they receive. Legislation currently being negotiated in the state legislature would do just that by allowing

COLUMN | STEPHEN MOORE

physicians licensed in another country to practice in the state without having to repeat their entire training regimen. And it has already cleared the state senate.

Under this law, all North Carolina hospitals and rural healthcare facilities would be able to hire high-quality, internationally trained physicians who meet the State Medical Board’s standards, but those doctors would not have to repeat their three-plus years of postmedical graduate training in the United States. North Carolina already lets medical school faculty members treat patients without repeating residency, so this bill simply opens more doors for rural clinics and hospitals across the state to do the same by hiring talented doctors to meet the desperate and growing need.

Tennessee recently passed a similar law that allows healthcare providers to sponsor high-quality international doctors for provisional licenses, converts provisional licenses to full licenses after two years of successful practice, and preserves the Medical Examining Board’s authority to ensure that internationally trained physicians possess the requisite skills, test scores, and experience to provide exceptional care. Neither Tennessee’s law nor the North Carolina Senate’s proposal requires physicians to repeat a threeyear or longer residency training program.

But the demand extends beyond doctors residing abroad; there are already thousands of skilled healthcare professionals living in the United States. This bill simpli es the paths for these healthcare workers to fully utilize their medical expertise to help meet the growing need. Remarkably, a recent study revealed that nearly 40 percent of the international U.S. labor force holding healthcare professional and doctorate degrees are working in jobs outside healthcare. Removing repetitive training requirements for foreign-licensed doctors bene ts refugees, immigrants pursuing citizenship, U.S. citizens with foreign medical training, and North Carolina patients most at risk of losing access to essential care.

North Carolina moms need better access to doctors to improve their health outcomes. Internationally trained doctors can and should be part of the solution to both rising maternal mortality and rural physician shortages. North Carolina can tackle the physician shortage and promote a healthier future for all its residents by supporting this commonsense solution to streamlining pathways to practice for international doctors.

Ally Perkins is a Research Assistant and Jonathan Wolfson is the Chief Legal O cer & Policy Director at the Cicero Institute.

Washington’s credit card price controls will hurt consumers

What’s demoralizing is that many Senate Republicans have signed on to this bill to regulate an industry that works for everyone.

WHY HAS SEN. DICK DURBIN (D-ILL.) declared war on credit cards?

Americans are in love with paying with plastic.

Perhaps too much so — given that credit card debt now exceeds $1 trillion. But paying with plastic has become a sort of American pastime — so popular and convenient (especially reward programs that o er cash-back payments, frequent yer miles and other discounts) that there are now an estimated 500 million to 1 billion credit cards in circulation and close to another 1 billion debit cards. This means there are multiple more credit and debit cards than there are adults in the U.S.

That’s a big change from 20-to-30 years ago when only upperincome Americans had access to plastic cards for swiping (and now tapping), while middle- and especially lower-income Americans had to carry around wads of cash for transactions or go to a loan shark for emergency money.

But you know another group that loves the convenience of credit cards? Stores, restaurants, merchants, online services. They have vastly expanded retailers’ transactions and sales. This year, there will be nearly $5 billion of plastic card (or cellphone) nancial transactions, two to three times the amount in 2012.

Some smaller stores don’t accept credit cards, but those numbers are dwindling. Even corner shoe-shiners are accepting plastic these days. Taking Visa, Mastercard, American Express or any of the dozens of other credit cards also reduces the burden of handling cash, reduces theft at the cash register, and in most cases, the credit card companies assume the risk of nonpayment. They do all this for an “interchange fee” charged to merchants that averages around 2%.

What retailers don’t like is paying that fee.

They’ve run to Congress for help, and Durbin has obliged with his

so-called Credit Card Competition Act. Given that there are dozens of cards to choose from, and that retailers are free to create their own credit cards for customers (as used to be the case with Sears and J.C. Penney cards), the argument that Visa and Mastercard lack competition is a bit far-fetched.

Durbin’s bill would impose implicit price controls on credit cards by mandating that every Visa and Mastercard card also carry the logo of a cut-rate competitor’s network. This is like requiring McDonald’s to show its customers the Burger King and Wendy’s menu and prices. What’s demoralizing is that many Senate Republicans have signed on to this bill to regulate an industry that works for everyone.

Last week, the senators released a “study” claiming that this bill would save the average consumer $1,000 a year. But this was the very same claim Durbin made about his debit card price controls. The consumers didn’t save money; the merchants pocketed nearly all the money and it nearly ended “free checking” services by banks.

To the extent that there are cash savings passed on to consumers, The Wall Street Journal has noted that this would likely come at the expense of fewer reward points for credit card holders.

And if swiping fees are such a nancial burden on small and large retailers, let’s see them go for a few weeks without them.

The credit card market isn’t broken; it’s ourishing as America moves rapidly to becoming a nation where nearly everyone has access to the convenience of cheap credit at their ngertips. The last thing consumers and sellers need is for Congress to “ x it.”

Stephen Moore is a senior fellow at the Heritage Foundation and a chief economist at Freedom Works. His latest book is: “Govzilla: How the Relentless Growth of Government is Devouring our Economy.”

COLUMN | ALLY PERKINS AND JONATHAN WOLFSON

STATE JOURNAL

with from

SIDELINE REPORT

NASCAR

Gas can erupts into ames during Talladega race

Talladega, Ala.

There was a ery moment during the Cup Series race at Talladega Superspeedway when a gas can erupted into ames on pit road. Ty Gibbs pulled out of his pit stall Sunday with the gas can still dangling from his Toyota and the fuel can dislodged in the middle of pit road. It sparked when it hit the pavement and then caught re. Other drivers had to swerve around the burning gas can as emergency workers waited until pit road was clear to approach the re. They extinguished the ames and the race resumed.

NHL New Ducks forward Killorn out with broken nger

Anaheim New Ducks forward

Alex Killorn will be sidelined for four to six weeks with a broken nger. Killorn broke his nger Wednesday night in an exhibition game against San Jose. He signed a four-year, $25 million deal with Anaheim in July after playing the previous 11 seasons with Tampa Bay.

Killorn won two Stanley Cup championships and scored 198 goals with the Lightning. He was signed to bring a winning veteran presence to the Ducks, who have missed the playo s in a franchiserecord ve consecutive seasons.

NFL Chiefs’ Mahomes

fastest to reach 200 TD passes

East Rutherford, N.J.

Kansas City’s Patrick

Mahomes threw the 200th touchdown pass of his career Sunday, reaching the milestone in his 84th game to break Dan Marino’s NFL record.

Mahomes connected with Noah Gray on a 34yard touchdown that gave the Chiefs a 17-0 lead with 3:24 left in the rst quarter against the Jets.

Marino threw his 200th TD pass in his 89th NFL game with Miami in 1989. Mahomes surpassed 25,000 yards passing last week in Kansas City’s win over Chicago. He accomplished that in 83 games, seven faster than Matthew Sta ord’s record.

GOLF Rookie Ryu wins

rst LPGA Tour title

Rogers, Ark.

Hae Ran Ryu completed a wire-to-wire run to her rst LPGA Tour title for a three-shot victory Sunday at the Walmart NW Arkansas Championship.

The 22-year-old rookie from South Korea had four birdies and an eagle in her last nine holes at Pinnacle Country Club to shoot a 5-under 66 and nish at 19-under 194. Ryu became the fth rookie to win this year.

Linnea Strom nished second after a nal-round

Blaney wins at Talladega to advance in playo s

Kevin Harvick was later disquali ed after being edged by the winner at the nish line

The Associated Press

TALLADEGA, Ala. — In a battle of Ford drivers, Ryan Blaney held o Kevin Harvick at the Talladega Superspeedway nish line to advance into the round of eight of the Cup Series playo s.

Harvick, who is retiring at the end of the year, remained winless on the season and was disquali ed after the race when his car failed inspection.

Blaney used a crossover move from the outside lane to the inside to nudge ahead of Harvick with two laps remaining. Blaney in his Ford for Team Penske and Harvick in a Ford for Stewart-Haas Racing nished essentially in a drag race with both

drivers refusing to lift as a crash broke out behind them.

“I’ve won it by more than I have the last couple years. That one might have been by 4 feet, the others were by 2 but you just don’t know,” said Blaney, a three-time winner at Talladega. “You just kind of drag race a line and hope you get help.”

Blaney joined William Byron as the two drivers locked into the round of eight. The eld of 12 will be pared next Sunday to eight following the race on The Roval at Charlotte Motor Speedway.

Blaney boss Roger Penske praised the strategy of the Ford camp to work together to ensure a Ford victory as the Chevrolets from Hendrick Motorsports were making a quick challenge.

“For Harvick, who it was his last race here, working like he did with Ryan, it was amazing to see that,” said Penske.

“The Hendrick freight train was coming and we all stayed

Guide to MLB playo s

The postseason began Tuesday

The Associated Press MAJOR LEAGUE BASEBALL’S playo s opened Tuesday with Toronto at Minnesota, Texas at Tampa Bay, Arizona at Milwaukee and Miami at Philadelphia.

Defending champion Houston gets ve days o until the Division Series start, as do Atlanta, Baltimore and the Los Angeles Dodgers.

There will be a lot of familiar faces in October, particularly in the National League. The speedy and strong Ronald Acuña Jr. — the one and only member of the 40-70 club — will lead the Braves as they try to win their second title in three years. Mookie Betts, Freddie Freeman and the Dodgers also look like a tough out. Over in the American League, the upstart Orioles will try to build on their 100-win season with a deep run in the playo s. The franchise lost 110 games just two seasons ago.

Houston will be trying to become the rst repeat champion since the 1998-2000 New York Yankees won three in a row.

Here’s a look at what’s coming as October approaches.

How does baseball’s wild card round work?

The best-of-three wild card format is in its second season. The format was changed in 2022 from the sudden death one-game format that was in place since 2012 with the exception of the COVID-19 pandemic-a ected 2020 season. Six teams each from the American League and National League quali ed for the postseason, including the three division winners in each league. The three wild card teams in each league are the teams with the best records that didn’t win their division.

The top two division winners with the best records in each league got a bye and don’t have to play in the wild card round. One big advantage for the higher seed in those wild card series is they get to host all three games. The Rangers-Rays winner faces Baltimore in the Division Series, the Twins-Blue Jays winner plays Houston, the Phillies-Marlins winner starts at Atlanta and the Brewers-Diamondbacks winner gets a matchup with the Dodgers.

Rule changes

Many of baseball’s recent rule

together, that was the call that Ford had earlier in the day when we talked. It was just perfect execution.”

Ford has won 10 playo races at Talladega, most at any track, and Team Penske has won 10 of the last 18 races at the 2.66-mile Alabama oval.

Blaney, winner of the Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte in May, now has multiple wins in a season for the second time in his career. But he’s got a lopsided stat this season in that he has only ve top- ve nishes, but two wins.

“It was a pretty wild restart, let alone the last couple of laps, losing momentum and getting it back, just getting clear to the bottom to get to the front row and drag race it out with Kevin,” said Blaney. “To win here three times at Talladega is super cool.”

Harvick nished second as his winless streak stretched to 43 races dating back to last sea-

son. NASCAR said nearly two hours after the race that his Ford had been disquali ed because the fasteners on his windshield were not secure.

The Harvick disquali cation dropped him to last in the eld. Byron, in a Chevrolet for Hendrick Motorsports, moved up to second and Denny Hamlin, who rallied from a lap down, moved up to third in a Toyota for Joe Gibbs Racing.

Hamlin led three laps during the second stage but was agged for speeding on pit road — a troubling habit of the threetime Daytona 500 winner considered the best driver to never win a Cup championship — and the penalty contributed to him falling a lap o the pace. It was Hamlin’s fourth speeding penalty of the season, and it took him most of the race to earn his position back on the lead lap and then drove through the eld to secure his nish.

“Not how we drew it up, but a dub is a dub and that was a dub in our book — it’s as close as it gets to it,” Hamlin said. “A topve is a long way from where we were with about 15 laps to go.”

Corey LaJoie, who is not in the playo s, moved up to fourth in a Chevrolet for Spire Motorsports. Blaney teammate Austin Cindric moved to fth.

changes will still be in e ect during the postseason, including the pitch clock, a ban on extreme in eld shifts and a limit to how many times a pitcher can disengage from the rubber. The pitch clock was a huge change for the sport and widely celebrated, cutting average game time by more than 20 minutes this season. There is one rule that won’t make the postseason cut: the socalled “ghost runner” in extra innings.

During the MLB regular season, if a game goes to extra innings, a runner is placed at second base to start the 10th inning when each team bats. That won’t happen in the postseason. Extra

innings will be played just like the previous nine.

Betting favorites

The Braves are the current betting favorites to win the World Series at +260, followed by the Dodgers (+420) and Orioles (+700), according to FanDuel Sportsbook.

How to watch

The wild card rounds will be broadcast on ABC, ESPN and ESPN. The later rounds will be split among Fox, FS1 and TBS. The World Series is scheduled for Oct. 27-Nov. 4.

AP PHOTO

Ryan Blaney (12) pulls into the lead on the last lap to win Sunday’s NASCAR Cup Series playo race at Talladega.

AP PHOTO

Tampa Bay’s Randy Arozarena scores on an RBI single by Harold Ramirez against Toronto on Sept. 22 in St. Petersburg, Florida.

Patriots cruise in tennis; Soccer showdown ends in tie

Randolph Record

PROVIDENCE GROVE’S

girls’ tennis team won the Piedmont Athletic Conference championship by going undefeated with one match remaining.

Last week’s victories for the Patriots came by 8-1 scores against both Trinity and Randleman. In both of those matches, Audrey Frazier, Maya Barber, Noelle Swaim, Abby Greeson and Caroline Tidwell were singles winners for Providence Grove.

Boys’ soccer

A showdown between Asheboro and host Southwestern Randolph didn’t solve a whole lot in a matchup of teams with the top two overall victory totals among Randolph County teams.

The teams nished in a 1-1 tie in the non-conference game Friday night.

Alan Alcantara scored for Asheboro, with Daniel Resendez assisting. Fernando Hernandez had the Southwestern Randolph goal, with Kaleb Freeman credited with an assist.

** Asheboro is o to a 2-0 start in Mid-Piedmont Conference play, topping host Oak Grove 2-0 with goals from Car-

Soccer and volleyball teams are in key parts of their seasons as conference standings take shape.

los Gonzalez and Tyler Smith.

Then came a 5-0 whipping of visiting Central Davidson with Alcantara scoring twice and Smith, Arath Gomez and Diego Bustamante had the other goals. Bustamante supplied three assists.

** Randleman made it through half of its PAC schedule with a perfect 6-0 mark.

That included Owen Leonard scoring all the goals in a 4-0 trouncing of visiting Providence Grove and a 1-0 nipping of host Trinity. Chris Lopez had two assists.

In the Trinity game, Ivan Collazo scored o Leonard’s assist.

** Wheatmore’s Hayden Hemming scored three goals in a 5-3 loss to visiting Southwestern Randolph and four goals in his team’s rst PAC victory of the season in a 5-3 result against host Uwharrie Charter Academy.

Volleyball

Southwestern Randolph stayed on pace in the PAC by ending Trinity’s seven-match winning streak with a 25-21, 25-22, 25-20 road victory as Gracie Hodgin registered 14 kills, Coley Shi et made 29 digs and Madelyn Smith provided 11 kills and 10 digs.

The Cougars followed that by sweeping visiting Randleman with Hodgin notching nine kills, Smith had eight kills and Riley Key racked up seven kills.

Earlier in the week, Southwestern Randolph swept visiting Asheboro in a non-conference match despite Eva Vuncannon’s 14 assists and Piper Davidson’s 11 digs and ve kills for the Blue Comets.

** Uwharrie Charter Academy also topped Trinity with a home sweep boosted by Lizah Moore’s 14 kills, Kenzie Hill’s 12 digs and four aces and Chloe Painter’s 19 assists, seven kills and six aces.

** The last victory in Trinity’s winning streak came after dropping the rst set and then winning at Jordan-Matthews as Avalynn Johnson provided 24 assists and Kaitlyn McCoy had 16 kills and six aces. Against Southwestern Randolph, Johnson had 20 assists and Faith Powell had 17 digs.

Hayden Hemming

Wheatmore, boys’ soccer

Hemming turned in an incredible week by scoring seven goals across two games.

The sophomore mid elder scored three goals in a 5-3 loss to visiting Southwestern Randoph. Then Hemming was even more productive two days later by posting four goals in a 5-3 victory against host Uwharrie Charter Academy.

That result marked the Warriors’ rst PAC victory of the year and their third triumph overall.

Hemming has been Wheatmore’s leading scorer, with about half of the team’s total goals this season.

A year ago on the Warriors’ powerhouse team, Hemming was credited with nine goals in his freshman season. That was the team’s top goal total among non-seniors. His seven assists in 2022 were the fourth-highest total on the team.

Caraway returns to action with various divisions

Randolph Record

SOPHIA – Racing resumes Saturday night at Caraway Speedway in select divisions.

Wildcats, Tigers start strong in PAC play

Randolph Record

RAMSEUR – Nicah Taylor returned two interceptions for touchdowns and two-time defending Piedmont Athletic Conference champion Eastern Randolph exed in its league opener by shredding visiting Southwestern Randolph 41-0 on Friday night.

The Wildcats (5-1) also returned a blocked punt for a touchdown.

Quarterback Carter Revelle ran for a touchdown from 16 yards out to begin the scoring. Lucas Smith had a 5-yard touchdown run to complete a short drive after a special teams miscue by Southwestern Randolph late in the rst quarter.

In the nal three minutes of the rst half, Taylor returned an interception 35 yards for a touchdown, XXX Walker returned a block punt 20 yards for a score and Taylor sprinted 95 yards with another interception as time expired before halftime.

Rayden West made a touchdown catch.

PREP FOOTBALL — WEEK 8

Friday night’s games

Providence Grove at Randleman

Eastern Randolph at Trinity

Wheatmore at Southwestern Randolph

Central Davidson at Asheboro

Southwestern Randolph (42) has dropped two of its last three games.

Randleman 36, Wheatmore 7: At Trinity, John Kirkpatrick threw for four touchdowns as the visiting Tigers (6-0) won their PAC opener.

Two of the touchdown throws went to Amari Ferdna in the rst half on plays of 18 and 44 yards. Two more scoring throws went to Tyshaun Goldston for 12 and 39 yards in the third quarter. Edison Hernandez gained 130 rushing yards on 10 carries and scored on a 1-yard run.

Kirkpatrick ended up with 246 passing yards by complet-

ing 17 of 23 passes.

Wheatmore (2-4) scored the nal points of the game. Randleman held a 452-148 edge in total o ense.

Providence Grove 20,

Trinity 9: At Climax, Logan Fox scored on runs of 7 and 2 yards and the host Patriots opened PAC play with a solid outing on homecoming.

The only second-half scoring came on a pair of Tucker Batten eld goals for Providence Grove (5-1).

Trinity (3-3) scored on Dominic Payne’s run and a safety when Javeion Holmes made a tackle in the end zone..

Oak Grove 57, Asheboro

14: At Winston-Salem, the start of Mid-Piedmont Conference play didn’t go well for the visiting Blue Comets (1-5). Defending league champion Oak Grove (5-1) led 50-7 at halftime.

Asheboro’s rst touchdown came with Elijah Woodle returning a fumble in the rst quarter and the other came on a 69-yard pass play from Logan Laughlin to Amare Godwin in the fourth quarter.

Twin features are slated for Challenges, UCARs and Modi eds. There also will be racing in Mini Stocks, Legends and Bandoleros.

This racing card is the track’s second-to-last of the year that includes regular divisions in the championship portion of the season.

Lowder claims victory in North Wilkesboro race

North Wilkesboro Josh Lowder, who has won three times in Modi eds this year at Caraway Speedway, captured rst place in the Carolina Crate Modi ed Series Central Logistics 75 on Saturday at North Wilkesboro Speedway.

Jaxson Casper, who also has multiple victories at Caraway Speedway, was second in the race. Lowder and Casper were followed by Paul Hartwig III, Eric Goodale and Cody Norman.

Matt Hirschman, a past winner of the North-South Shootout at Caraway Speedway, captured the main event Saturday by taking the Brushy Mountain Powersports 150 as part of the NASCAR Whelen Modi ed Tour. Bobby Labonte, a former

NASCAR champion, wrecked and ended up 33rd.

Randleman alum Poole makes another interception

Charleston, S.C.

The Citadel defensive back Dominick Poole of Randleman had his second interception of the season in Saturday’s loss to visiting Western Carolina.

The Bulldogs dropped to 0-5 overall with the 49-14 loss in Southern Conference play. Poole, a redshirt junior, has seven career interceptions.

Asheboro golfer Parks places in Carolinas Super Senior tourney

Blowing Rock

Charlie Parks of Asheboro and Doug Owens of Albemarle teamed up for a tie for sixth place in the Carolinas Super Senior Four-Ball Championship last week at Blowing Rock Country Club.

They shot 3-under-par 69 in the 65-plus division of the Carolinas Golf Association competition. The anticipated two-round tournament was reduced to 18 holes because of long fog-related delays for two days.

Tim Teaster of Cayce, S.C., and Rick Cloninger of Rock Hill, S.C., won the division at 8-under 64.

PJ WARD-BROWN | NORTH STATE JOURNAL Wheatmore’s Hayden Hemming makes a play during last week’s road game against Uwharrie Charter Academy.

PJ WARD-BROWN | NORTH STATE JOURNAL Providence Grove’s Logan Fox runs the ball against Trinity’s Jason Brown on Friday night.

AP PHOTO by Petersburg,

NC Zoo Celebrates National Drive Electric Week

The North Carolina Zoo celebrates its new electric tractor with a ribbon cutting at an event celebrating National Drive Electric Week on Sept. 29 at the Zoo in Asheboro. The event showcased how the Zoo is using electric vehicles and attendees got to see and test electric cars, scooters, and more.

Bottom photo: Walker Mo tt, Mayor Pro Tempore and member of the NC Zoo Council, Patricia Simmons, Director and CEO at North Carolina Zoo, and Eddie Burks, Asheboro City Council member,

(left to right) cut the ribbon. PHOTOS BY SCOTT PELKEY | NORTH STATE JOURNAL

Oscar Linwood Priest

February 28, 1933 — September 30, 2023

Oscar Linwood Priest, Jr., 90, of Asheboro passed away Saturday, September 30, 2023, at his home.

Lynn was born in Whiteville, North Carolina on February 28, 1933, son of the late Oscar L. Priest, Sr. and Mollie Oldham Priest. When Lynn was a young child, his family relocated to Asheboro where he attended Fayetteville Street School, later attending Asheboro High School where he was part of the rst graduating class in 1951. After high school, Lynn attended Lenoir-Ryne College on a partial football scholarship, attending only one year when Uncle Sam called him to serve his country during the Korean Con ict. While serving, Lynn was a radio operator, sending morse code. He also helped string phone lines out across all the cold, snowy mountains of Korea. After returning home, Lynn met Martha Powers as he was leaving church. Martha would become the love of his life, marrying in 1955. Lynn and Martha celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary on November 12, 2005, before Martha passed away the following January.

While selling furniture for Burkhead Furniture, and working as an operations clerk at Randolph Electric Membership, Lynn received a degree in Business Administration from Asheboro Commercial College. In 1965, Lynn took a job as a technician with Klopman Mills, working there until 1972 when he became a housing inspector for the city of Asheboro. Over the years, Lynn has served as a Planning Technician, Code Enforcement O cer, and Community Development Director, committing a total of 37 years to the city of Asheboro. Mr. Priest took great pride in the developments that he helped contribute to for the city, including the development of Bicentennial Park, the Asheboro Farmer’s Market, the Church Street sidewalks, and Sunset Streetscape.

Mr. Priest was a community driven man, serving as the Vice President of the Asheboro Jaycees and was a member of the Randolph Rotary Club. He was also a charter member of the East Hog Eye Yacht Club. Lynn enjoyed all types of shing, as well as working in the yard and playing golf. He was always very proud of the hundreds of boys he has helped coach over the years on little league baseball and football teams.

In addition to his parents, Mr. Priest was preceded in death by his wife, Martha Powers Priest; daughter, Lori Leigh Priest-Dehart; and brother, Daniel Russell Priest. Mr. Priest is survived by his daughter, Vicki Draughn (Doug Fairrington) of Asheboro, and grandson Andrew Ryan See.

In lieu of owers, memorials may be made to Gentiva Hospice of Asheboro.

Norman Cecil Trogdon

July 27, 1929 — September 30, 2023

Norman Cecil Trogdon, 94, passed away on Saturday, September 30, 2023, at Cross Road Memory Care. He was born on July 27, 1929, to Cecil McKay Trogdon and Mozelle Voncannon Trogdon and was the eldest of eight children.

Norman was a native and lifelong resident of Randolph County and a graduate of Asheboro High School. He proudly served his country in the US Army and continued in Civil Service at the US Postal Service until retirement. He was a dedicated member of the community and First Wesleyan Church of Asheboro his entire life. He met everyone with a friendly smile and never failed to make everyone around him feel appreciated.

Norman was well known for his love of the outdoors. He raised a wide variety of vegetables, fruit, and muscadines that he always enjoyed sharing with his family and friends. Norman rarely missed his children and grandchildren’s sporting events and recitals. He also enjoyed playing golf, bee keeping, bird watching, as well as shing, waterskiing and boating with his family at his High Rock Lake cabin.

Norman was devoted to his entire family, especially to his beloved late wife of 69 years, Doris Jean Buie Trogdon. In addition to his wife and parents, Norman was predeceased by his ve brothers Gilbert, Joe, Jimmy, Stanton, and Ronnie Trogdon, and his brother-in-law, Laris Allred, as well as many other dear family members and friends.

He is survived by his sons Steven (Steve) Cecil Trogdon and wife, Robin, and Edward (Eddie) Lee Trogdon and wife, Marty, of Asheboro, and daughter Donna Trogdon Pendergrast and husband, Walter, of Wilmington, NC. He is also survived by his cherished eight grandchildren Kimberly Terry (Russ), Hank Trogdon (Jordan), Emily Taylor (John), Thomas Pendergrast, Ronald Trogdon, Daniel Trogdon, Benjamin Trogdon, and Andrew Trogdon, as well as eleven great-grandchildren: Natalie and Nathaniel Terry, Molly, Clara, and Annie Trogdon, and Charles, Ingrid, Peter, Lucy, Reed and Thomas Taylor. Norman is also survived by his two very devoted sisters, Martha Watson (Ken) and Nancy Allred, as well as many other family members who were all very special to him.

The family wishes to extend a heartfelt thank-you to Norman’s special home caregivers Ellen Parnell, Wilma McNeill and late Terri Tourdot and to the dedicated sta at Cross Road Memory Care.

Memorials may be made to Asheboro First Wesleyan Church, PO Box 338, Asheboro, NC 27204.

Dorothy Mae Hill Brim

February 1, 1936 — September 29, 2023

Mrs. Dorothy Mae Hill Brim, 87 of Asheboro passed away peacefully September 29th, 2023 at the Clapps Nursing Home in Asheboro. Mrs. Brim was preceded in death by her husband of 36 years Jackey Brim and an infant son Timothy Lloyd Swaney. Mrs. Brim worked in the textile industry and prior to retirement was a sewing supervisor. Mrs Brim is survived by 2 sons, Thomas Swaney (Teresa) of Asheboro and Sammy Brim(Lori) of Asheboro. 4 Daughters Debra Dixon of Asheboro, Susan Kennedy of Durham, Janice Latham(Bruce) of Seagrove and Michelle Belford(Don) of Lexington. 16 Grandchildren, 37 Great Grandchildren and 11 GreatGreat Grandchildren.

Steven Lee Wishon

November 26, 1987 — September 28, 2023

Steven Lee Wishon, 35, passed away at home on September 28, 2023. He was born in Guilford County, NC on November 26, 1987 to Steven Wayne Wishon and Julie Marie McIntyre Wishon.

Steven was a 2006 graduate of Randleman High School. He was the manager over all the car wash locations for Je Schwarz as well as a proud employee of the family car dealership, Transportation Jewels. He was known for his love of being outdoors, being an avid sherman, playing baseball and riding motorcycles. On his downtime he enjoyed listening to music and playing video games.

Steven is survived by his daughter, Bailey Elizabeth Wishon; parents, Steven Wayne and Julie Marie Wishon; brother, Joshua David Wishon; sister-in-law, Crystal Marie Suttles Wishon; nieces and nephews, Jacob, June, Gage Wishon; paternal grandmother, Connie McClure; maternal grandparents, Charles and Shirley Miles; several aunts and uncles.

Morris Lavern Fivecoat

April 26, 1947 — September 27, 2023

Morris Lavern Fivecoat passed away Wednesday 9/27/2023 at his home. Morris was born on 4/26/1947 in Cash, Arkansas. Son of Harry Franklin Fivecoat and Veda Page Farlow (Fivecoat). He is survived by his loving wife of 29 years, Martha Routh Fivecoat, step-daughter Donna Phillips (husband Wayne), grandchildren Christopher and Leah Fivecoat, stepgrandchildren Drew Rumbley and Cheyenne Hall, stepgreat-grandchildren, Mara and Autumn Rumbley, brothers Michael and Samuel Fivecoat, sister Joan Wortham, along with several Nieces and Nephews.

He was preceded in death by his parents, son Eric Morris Fivecoat, and brothers Don, Neal, and Deon Fivecoat. He was a member of North Asheboro Church of God. Morris was a 1965 graduate of Cave City HS in Arkansas. He loved being with people, playing the guitar, ying, and shing. Morris was known as a caring, intelligent, optimistic man. He was an astute problem solver and planner, able to overcome any obstacle regardless of the situation. Morris was a loving and devoted husband and father. He loved spending time with his family, especially tracing his ancestral heritage.

Melinda Henry Shuler

July 19, 1960 — September 22, 2023

Melinda Henry Shuler, age 63 of Asheboro, passed away on Friday, September 22, 2023, at her home.

Melinda was born in Athens, TN on July 19, 1960, to Jesse Ross Henry and Delores Crowder Woods. Melinda worked 24 years with Asheboro City Schools at Donna Lee Lo in Elementary School as a teacher’s assistant. Her students meant the world to her. Melinda loved butter ies, gardening her owers, and doing crochet. In addition to her parents, Melinda is preceded in death by her husband of 37 years, Vance Shuler.

Melinda is survived by her children, Katrina (Clayton) Cranford, Jesse (Jacquelynn) Henry, Sandi (Anthony) Henry, Tinna Prater, Ricky Shuler, Shirley (Jackie) Wilkins, Lisa (Jimmy Powers) Davenport, and Stephanie (Brian) Bell; grandchildren, Courtney, Mercedes, Zack, Eerie, Levi, Christion, Michael, Theresa, Amanda, Dylan, Vance, Jackie Jr., Cody, Eddie, Joshua, Jeremiah, Leslie, Charles, Dakota, and Chelsea; 25 great grandchildren; brother, Wade Henry; sister, Regina Womac; and several nieces and nephews. The family requests memorials be made in Melinda’s honor to National Fibromyalgia Association (3857 Birch Street, Suite 312 Newport Beach, CA 92660) or to the Autism Foundation.

Doris “Grandma” Anna Hazel Ruehl Miller

December 13, 1930 — September 25, 2023

On Monday, September 25th, 2023, Doris “Grandma” Anna Hazel Ruehl Miller, loving and caring mother to ve children passed away peacefully surrounded by her family. She went home to the loving arms of her Jesus Lord and Savior and waiting for her was her husband Al, son Dennis and best friend Marie.

Doris was born on December 13th, 1930 in Union City, NJ to Dorothy Speiker and Fredrick Ruehl. She graduated from Emerson High School in 1947. She then continued her education and graduated from college at the age of 70 years old from Randolph Community College to earn her Early Childhood associate degree.

Doris and her beloved husband, Al, raised their 5 children in West New York, NJ, until they both relocated with their youngest daughter Kathleen to Asheboro, NC in August of 1983. She was a lifetime member of 60 years to Eastern Star, member of Red Hats association, faithful member of First United Methodist Church.

Doris was a fabulous baker. Her favorite thing to bake was Pound cakes and for her grandchildren peanut butter and chocolate squares. Her faith in God was so important to her, she would always say, “The Man upstairs always write the book and you need to have faith and prayer each day.” She loved making scrapbooks, knitting, playing cards with her family and friends, recently she started making playing card holders, she loved being around children which kept her young, for those that knew her they would call her “Grandma”, she loved parties, she loved pizza and beer, she loved her “hot” tea and milk and her food always had to be “hot”, her favorite thing was to send cards to everyone for birthdays, holidays, anniversaries, just because, and she would also nd a cartoon and write your names on them to put into her cards, she loved her typewriter and her white out and throughout the years she would always wrap gifts with at least a whole roll of tape, she also loved to make blankets for her grandchildren when they graduated high school and for their friends.

She was proceeded in death by her parents Dorothy Ruehl and Fredrick Ruehl, husband of 43 years, Floyd “Al” Herman Miller, her son Dennis William Miller and her brother.

She is survived by her loving sister, Barbara Savino and her brother in law Albie Savino, her loving daughters Nora “Cookie” Traphofner, (Jack Deceased) Deborah “Debbie” Gilley, (Bob Deceased) Candy Mercer, Kathleen Vuncannon (Darrell), 17 grandchildren, Kim Threet, Alisa Scoggins, Loretta Traphofner, Maryanne Risner, Joanne Davis, Charlie Traphofner, Dennis Miller Jr. (Marie), Michael Miller, Candy Jones, James Havens, Stacy Steady, James Howard Jr. (Jessica), Heather Cruz (Juan), Melissa Ramos (Arnoldo) Justin Mercer, Christopher Vuncannon (Kayleigh) Ashley Arnet (Joey). She was also a Great Grandma (Double G) Great, Great, Grandma, Great, Great, Great grandma, and Great Great Great Great Grandma.

Her favorite quote that she lived by which was always on her Refrigerator was “Live your life and forget about your Age.”

STATE & NATION

House Republicans make their case for Biden impeachment inquiry at rst hearing

The Associated Press

WASHINGTON, D.C. —

House Republicans launched a formal impeachment hearing Thursday against President Joe Biden, promising to “provide accountability” as they probe the family nances and lucrative business dealings of his son Hunter and make their case to the public, colleagues and a skeptical Senate.

The chairmen of the Oversight, Judiciary, and Ways and Means committees used the opening hearing to review the constitutional and legal questions involved with impeachment. They are trying to show what they say are links to Biden’s son Hunter’s overseas businesses, though key witnesses said they do not yet see hard evidence of impeachable o enses.

Rep. James Comer, R-Ky, the Oversight chairman, said the lawmakers have “a mountain of evidence” that will show that the elder Biden “abused his public o ce for his family’snancial gain.”

Hours after the hearing wrapped, Comer issued subpoenas for additional banking records from the personal and business accounts of Hunter Biden and the president’s brother, James Biden. He said the panel will continue to “fol-

low the money and the evidence to provide accountability.”

The White House pushed back with statements throughout the hearing saying nothing can distract from the Republicans’ inability to govern as the shutdown loomed. Spokesperson Sharon Yang called the hearing a “baseless stunt” and said, “President Biden will always stay focused on the priorities of the American people — not these political games.”

The more than six-hour hearing came as House Republicans face scattered resistance to an impeachment inquiry from their own ranks and deep reluctance in the Senate from

Republicans who worry about political rami cations and say Biden’s conviction and removal from o ce are unlikely.

A top Republican-called witness, Jonathan Turley, a George Washington University law professor who is an expert in impeachment issues, said he believed the House had passed the threshold for an inquiry but the current evidence was not enough for charges. “I do not believe that the current evidence would support articles of impeachment,” Turley said.

Still, questions remain as Republicans dig into the Biden family nances and the over -

seas business dealings of Hunter Biden, who has acknowledged being a drug user during much of the time under scrutiny. The president’s brother, James, was also involved in some work with Hunter.

Republicans have been investigating Hunter Biden for years, since his father was vice president. And while there have been questions raised about the ethics around the family’s international business, none of the evidence so far has proven that the president, in his current or previous o ce, abused his role, accepted bribes or both.

Turley told the lawmakers the question remains, “Was the president involved?”

In the run-up to the hearing, Republicans unveiled a tranche of new documents and bank records that detail wire transfers from a Chinese businessman to Hunter Biden in 2019. Hunter Biden had listed his father’s address on the wire transfer form, which Republicans say provided a clear link to the president.

Abbe Lowell, an attorney for Hunter Biden, said the address on the wire transfer, which he says was a loan, was listed to the president’s Delaware home because it was the address on Hunter Biden’s driver’s license and “his only permanent address at the time.”

Gen. Milley swipes at Trump in farewell address

The Associated Press

JOINT BASE MYER-HENDERSON HALL, Va. — Under cloudy skies at Joint Base Myer-Henderson Hall, Army Gen. Mark Milley never mentioned former President Donald Trump by name but he practically shouted on two di erent occasions that the U.S. military swears to protect the Constitution “against ALL enemies, foreign AND domestic” during a packed ceremony on Friday as he closed out his four, often tumultuous years as chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Sta . “We don’t take an oath to a king or a queen or to a tyrant or a dictator. And we don’t take an oath to a wannabe dictator,” he said. “We don’t take an oath to an individual. We take an oath to the Constitution, and we take an oath to the idea that is America, and we’re willing to die to protect it.”

Milley is retiring after more than four decades of military service, including multiple combat deployments and two often turbulent years as Joint Chiefs chairman under Trump. And it was those years, and the battles he fought against Trump, that formed much of the underpinning of his farewell address and

also were sprinkled throughout other speeches in the ceremony.

As chairman, Milley pushed back against a host of Trump’s plans, including demands to pull all troops out of Iraq and Syria and his desire to put active-duty troops on Washington’s streets to counter racial protests. Several books have described Milley’s deep concerns about Trump’s tness as commander in chief and his worries that Trump would try to use the military to help block President Joe Biden’s election.

Just a week ago, Trump railed

against Milley in a post on Truth Social, condemning him as a treasonous, “Woke train wreck” whose actions have been “so egregious that, in times gone by, the punishment would have been DEATH!” The post, which some interpreted as a threat, has prompted Milley to ensure his family has adequate protection. But seemingly in response, Milley said, his voice booming, the military will protect the Constitution, no matter the personal price, and “we are not easily intimidated.” Biden, who spoke at the cer-

emony praised Milley’s staunch defense of the Constitution, which “has always been Mark’s North Star.” And he said the general has been a steady hand guiding the military during one of the most complex national security environments.

The farewell tribute on the base just outside Washington was both rousing and somber, with marching bands, troop salutes and speeches.

Air Force Gen. CQ Brown took over command on Sunday. Milley is retiring after nearly 44 years of service.

Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin recalled Milley as a battle buddy, noting with a grin that he was always “eager to get into the ght. And I’ve seen that rsthand over our long history of working together, including one time when he got me blown up. Literally.”

When Austin was commanding the 10th Mountain Division during the Iraq War he visited Milley, one of his brigade commanders, who suggested they go to the hospital to see a wounded soldier. “So we took Route Irish in Baghdad, which was known as the most dangerous road in the world. And we promptly got hit by an IED,” Austin told the

“Once again Rep. Comer peddles lies to support a premise — some wrongdoing by Hunter Biden or his family — that evaporates in thin air the moment facts come out,” Lowell said in a statement.

House Republicans are also looking into the Justice Department investigation into Hunter Biden’s taxes and gun use that began in 2018. Two IRS whistleblowers came forward to Congress in the spring with claims that department ocials thwarted their e orts to fully investigate Hunter Biden and that they faced retaliation when they pushed back.

The claims have since been disputed by the Department of Justice, the IRS and FBI agents who worked on the case.

“The Biden Justice Department protected the Biden family brand.” said Rep. Jason Smith, a Missouri Republican and Ways and Means chairman.

The hearing is expected to be the rst of many as House Republicans explore whether or not they will pursue articles of impeachment against the president.

It’s unclear if McCarthy has support from his slim Republican majority to impeach Biden. If Biden was impeached, the charges would then be sent to the Senate for a trial.

crowd. “Afterwards, I asked, ‘Hey general, has this happened to you before?’ And Mark said, ‘Oh yes sir — I’ve been blown up about ve times now.’”

The crowd of about 1,800 included past and current U.S. and international dignitaries and military leaders, families, friends, troops, veterans, wounded warriors and Gold Star families who lost loved ones in the wars.

One of the opening performances was a stirring rendition of “God Bless America” by Army Capt. Luis Avila, who was severely injured and lost a leg in a bomb blast in Afghanistan. Milley’s choice of Avila was a tribute to wounded troops but also served as a pointed jab at Trump. Milley has said Trump made disparaging remarks about Avila, who sang from his wheelchair at a ceremony for Milley in 2019. Milley said Trump asked him at the time, “Why do you bring people like that here? No one wants to see that, the wounded.”

Milley, 65, is a native of Winchester, Massachusetts. He commanded troops at all levels, including in Iraq and Afghanistan. He became Army chief of sta in 2015 and launched several initiatives, including the creation of Security Force Assistance Brigades, which train foreign forces, and the opening of Army Futures Command in Austin, Texas, to pursue new technologies.

AP PHOTO

President Joe Biden, right, shakes hands with outgoing Joint Chiefs Chairman Gen. Mark Milley, during an Armed Forces Farewell Tribute in honor of Milley at Joint Base Myer–Henderson Hall, Friday, Sept. 29, 2023, in Fort Meyer, Va.

AP PHOTO

Witnesses are sworn in before the House Oversight Committee impeachment inquiry into President Joe Biden, Thursday, Sept. 28, 2023, on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C.

HOKE COUNTY

Clearing The Field

Hoke County and Richmond wait for the smoke from pregame introductions to clear before they begin their Senior Night showdown on Friday. Richmond got a win over the Bucks, 41-0.

WHAT’S HAPPENING

Lumber Bridge man buys winning lottery ticket in Hoke County

A Robeson County man is feeling lucky after buying a lottery ticket in Hoke County a few weeks ago.

According to the North Carolina Education Lottery, Robert Jones, of Lumber Bridge, turned a $3 Quick Pick ticket into a $150,000 prize. The winning ticket was purchased at the Shop N Save on Harris Avenue Raeford. Jones, who took home $106,876 after paying the required state and federal tax withholdings, claimed his winnings on Monday, September 25. To win his prize, Jones matched the numbers on four white balls and the red Powerball, as well as hit a 3X multiple.

Fall Festival still accepting arts/crafts and commercial vendors

The annual North Carolina Fall Festival will be held again in Downtown Raeford this October. The event, which is set to take place on Saturday, October 21, will host a variety of food trucks, arts and crafts activities, live music, and commercial vendors.

Additional sponsored events include the NCFF Turkey Bowl on Friday, October 13, the 3rd annual Marvin Johnson Memorial Golf Tournament at the newly renovated Bayonet at Puppy Creek (349 S. Parker Church Road), the Melissa Kaye Senior Bingo Day will take place Wednesday, October 18, at the Raeford Civic Center from 10 am until 2 pm, and the NCFF Parade on Thursday, October 19. At this time, the festival is still accepting applications for arts/crafts and commercial vendors. The deadline to apply is October 9. Interested parties can contact NCFallFestivalRaeford@ gmail.com or call (910) 9042424 for more details.

North Carolina Gov. Cooper vetoes 2 more bills, letting others become law

The Associated Press RALEIGH — North Carolina

Gov. Roy Cooper vetoed on Monday both an energy bill and the legislature’s annual regulatory reform measure.

The vetoed measures now return to the General Assembly, where Republicans hold narrow veto-proof majorities and could hold override votes this month. Before Monday, Cooper had vetoed 17 bills this year, and Republicans had overridden all but three, which are still expected to be acted upon.

The governor can sign a bill he receives into law or veto it. Otherwise, a bill becomes law if he fails to act within 10 days. Cooper said Monday that he signed seven of the remaining bills and declined to sign three others.

The governor had already announced Sept. 22 his decision not to sign on one of those three bills, the two-year state budget bill, which became law e ective Tuesday.

Cooper had said there were many spending and policy provisions within the budget that he strongly disliked. But several months ago, lawmakers set an enacted budget as the trigger necessary for Cooper’s administration to implement the expansion of Medicaid coverage to hundreds of thousands of low-income adults. So by letting the budget become law, Medicaid expansion, which has been one of Cooper’s top priorities, will launch Dec. 1.

The energy bill that Cooper

vetoed would encourage more nuclear energy in North Carolina by including that the power produced from nuclear plants and fusion energy be counted toward percentages of electricity that utilities like Duke Energy must generate from renewable sources.

The bill would relabel “renewable energy resources” needed to meet the portfolio standards as “clean energy resources.” Duke Energy already is proposing to state electricity regulators that some coal- red plants going ofine in the future be replaced with a smaller-scale nuclear

plants.

Cooper’s veto message said the bill attempts to take the state o a “bipartisan path to removing carbon from our electric power sector in the most cost-e ective way,” to the bene t of utility company pro ts. A 2021 law already is pushing Duke Energy toward eliminating carbon dioxide emissions by 2050 in part by increasing solar and wind-power generation.

“North Carolina should consider all pathways to decarbonize, rather than putting a thumb on the scale in favor of building new conventional generation,”

Cooper wrote.

Senate Majority Leader Paul Newton of Cabarrus County, a former Duke Energy executive and bill sponsor, said Cooper’s “hardline opposition to nuclear power is a slap in the face to North Carolina’s energy industry.” The bill, Newton said, would help create a reliable electrical grid.

As for the legislature’s annual regulatory bill, Cooper called it “a hodgepodge of bad provisions that will result in dirtier water, discriminatory permitting and

See COOPER , page 2

Hoke County unemployment rate stays under 5%

North State Journal

RAEFORD — August 2023

gures show Hoke County’s unemployment rate stayed steady at 4.8% in the month of August.

Unemployment rates increased in 41 of North Carolina’s counties in August 2023, decreased in 28 and remained unchanged in 31. Hoke’s neighboring county, Scotland, had

the highest unemployment rate at 6.2%, while Swain County had the lowest at 2.7%.

Hoke County’s ranking came in #88 among North Carolina’s 100 counties. That gure represents an improvement over one year ago when the county’s unemployment rate stood at 5.7%.

The number of workers employed statewide (not seasonally

adjusted) decreased slightly in August but remains ahead of August 2022.

A dashboard provided by NC Works, which is a liated with the N.C. Department of Commerce and the North Carolina Association of Workforce Development, shows around 250 open positions listed for Hoke County. The NC Works Career Cen-

North Carolina Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper speaks March 27, 2023, outside the Executive Mansion in Raleigh.

Singletary, Vanaster (B/M/46), Communicate Threats, 10/03/2023, Hoke County Sheriff’s Office

Stewart, Kevin Louise (B/M/36), Assault on a Female, 10/01/2023, Hoke County Sheriff’s Office

Winston, Jarel Nakeem (B/M/34), Arson - First Degree, 09/30/2023, Hoke County Sheriff’s Office

Barrett, Jemareontae Keywan (B/M/20), Possess Stolen Firearm, 09/29/2023, Hoke County Sheriff’s Office

Smith, Trevaughn Leon (B/M/36), PWIMSD Schedule VI CS, 09/29/2023, Hoke County Sheriff’s Office

Johnson, Jose Fernandez (B/M/45), Assault on Child Under 12, 09/26/2023, Hoke County Sheriff’s Office

Do you have a birthday, wedding, engagement or other milestone to celebrate? Contact us at celebrations@northstatejournal.com

threats to North Carolina’s environment.”

Environmentalists have criticized the measure for certain state permitting changes that they say could assist the approval of a proposed natural gas pipeline that would enter the state from Virginia. Another provision would adjust state law about how waste management systems for hogs and other animals on farms are permitted.

GOP Rep. Je Zenger of Forsyth County, a regulatory reform bill sponsor, said Cooper “sided with radical, environmentalist, job crushing bureaucrats over the people of North Carolina” with the veto.

Cooper also cited a provision in the measure that blocked administrative rules from taking e ect that describe good-faith e orts to

engage minority-owned businesses and others considered “historically underutilized” in state contracting.

The governor signed into law a bill that will create a computer science course requirement to graduate from high school and soon demands adult age veri cation on websites that publish sexually explicit material.

Another bill Cooper signed will increase criminal penalties against K-12 educators who commit certain sex offenses against students and will educate children in upper grades through a video about what constitutes child abuse and neglect.

And another law with Cooper’s signature in part will make the intentional dissemination of obscenity a higher grade of felony when it is committed knowingly in a child’s presence.

Neal Robbins, publisher | Frank Hill, senior opinion editor

North Carolina’s key to improving maternal mortality rates

Doctors licensed outside the United States must currently nd a faculty position at a North Carolina medical school or else repeat multi-year residency training before they can obtain a medical license.

MATERNAL MORTALITY rates in North Carolina are climbing at an alarming rate.

The CDC reports that over just a two-year span, the number of women who have died within six weeks of giving birth doubled — jumping from 22 deaths per 100,000 births to a staggering 44. And the growing lack of access to care as rural hospitals close maternity wards or shut down altogether, often because of sta ng shortages, is at least partially to blame. The distressing situation leaves rural mothers no choice but to commute further to nd care, increasing health risks for themselves and their newborn babies.

This crisis is not isolated to North Carolina but extends across the nation, where the demand for healthcare services outpaces our ability to supply enough physicians to meet that demand. By 2030, the United States is projected to face a staggering 120,000 physician shortage. That means thousands of people, mostly in rural areas, will lose their doctors. And with the added concern that nearly 40 percent of American physicians will reach retirement age by that year, the data paint a worrisome picture of the future of healthcare access.

North Carolina is especially vulnerable as a signi cant portion of the state, a total of 100 counties, already grapples with a scarcity of primary care physicians. By 2030, the Tar Heel State will face a shortage of 1,885 primary care physicians. This shortage disproportionately impacts rural areas, which could leave more than 600 small towns without a doctor altogether. Given the highstakes nature of pregnancy and childbirth, these challenges pose life-threatening consequences. But there are ways forward.

Training more physicians and healthcare providers nationwide is crucial to address the increasing demand for medical services. Internationally licensed physicians o er one solution that can immediately assist patients in North Carolina. Thousands of highly skilled healthcare professionals, both within the United States and abroad, are eager to contribute to the well-being of North Carolinians. However, doctors licensed outside the United States must currently nd a faculty position at a North Carolina medical school or else repeat multi-year residency training before they can obtain a medical license.

Increasing accessibility to pathways for internationally licensed doctors to practice in rural states like North Carolina would increase access for those who need it most — without compromising the care they receive. Legislation currently being negotiated in the state legislature would do just that by allowing

COLUMN | STEPHEN MOORE

physicians licensed in another country to practice in the state without having to repeat their entire training regimen. And it has already cleared the state senate.

Under this law, all North Carolina hospitals and rural healthcare facilities would be able to hire high-quality, internationally trained physicians who meet the State Medical Board’s standards, but those doctors would not have to repeat their three-plus years of postmedical graduate training in the United States. North Carolina already lets medical school faculty members treat patients without repeating residency, so this bill simply opens more doors for rural clinics and hospitals across the state to do the same by hiring talented doctors to meet the desperate and growing need.

Tennessee recently passed a similar law that allows healthcare providers to sponsor high-quality international doctors for provisional licenses, converts provisional licenses to full licenses after two years of successful practice, and preserves the Medical Examining Board’s authority to ensure that internationally trained physicians possess the requisite skills, test scores, and experience to provide exceptional care. Neither Tennessee’s law nor the North Carolina Senate’s proposal requires physicians to repeat a threeyear or longer residency training program.

But the demand extends beyond doctors residing abroad; there are already thousands of skilled healthcare professionals living in the United States. This bill simpli es the paths for these healthcare workers to fully utilize their medical expertise to help meet the growing need. Remarkably, a recent study revealed that nearly 40 percent of the international U.S. labor force holding healthcare professional and doctorate degrees are working in jobs outside healthcare. Removing repetitive training requirements for foreign-licensed doctors bene ts refugees, immigrants pursuing citizenship, U.S. citizens with foreign medical training, and North Carolina patients most at risk of losing access to essential care.

North Carolina moms need better access to doctors to improve their health outcomes. Internationally trained doctors can and should be part of the solution to both rising maternal mortality and rural physician shortages. North Carolina can tackle the physician shortage and promote a healthier future for all its residents by supporting this commonsense solution to streamlining pathways to practice for international doctors.

Ally Perkins is a Research Assistant and Jonathan Wolfson is the Chief Legal O cer & Policy Director at the Cicero Institute.

Washington’s credit card price controls will hurt consumers

What’s demoralizing is that many Senate Republicans have signed on to this bill to regulate an industry that works for everyone.

WHY HAS SEN. DICK DURBIN (D-ILL.) declared war on credit cards?

Americans are in love with paying with plastic.

Perhaps too much so — given that credit card debt now exceeds $1 trillion.

But paying with plastic has become a sort of American pastime — so popular and convenient (especially reward programs that o er cash-back payments, frequent yer miles and other discounts) that there are now an estimated 500 million to 1 billion credit cards in circulation and close to another 1 billion debit cards. This means there are multiple more credit and debit cards than there are adults in the U.S.

That’s a big change from 20-to-30 years ago when only upperincome Americans had access to plastic cards for swiping (and now tapping), while middle- and especially lower-income Americans had to carry around wads of cash for transactions or go to a loan shark for emergency money.

But you know another group that loves the convenience of credit cards? Stores, restaurants, merchants, online services. They have vastly expanded retailers’ transactions and sales. This year, there will be nearly $5 billion of plastic card (or cellphone) nancial transactions, two to three times the amount in 2012.

Some smaller stores don’t accept credit cards, but those numbers are dwindling. Even corner shoe-shiners are accepting plastic these days. Taking Visa, Mastercard, American Express or any of the dozens of other credit cards also reduces the burden of handling cash, reduces theft at the cash register, and in most cases, the credit card companies assume the risk of nonpayment. They do all this for an “interchange fee” charged to merchants that averages around 2%.

What retailers don’t like is paying that fee.

They’ve run to Congress for help, and Durbin has obliged with his

so-called Credit Card Competition Act. Given that there are dozens of cards to choose from, and that retailers are free to create their own credit cards for customers (as used to be the case with Sears and J.C. Penney cards), the argument that Visa and Mastercard lack competition is a bit far-fetched.

Durbin’s bill would impose implicit price controls on credit cards by mandating that every Visa and Mastercard card also carry the logo of a cut-rate competitor’s network. This is like requiring McDonald’s to show its customers the Burger King and Wendy’s menu and prices. What’s demoralizing is that many Senate Republicans have signed on to this bill to regulate an industry that works for everyone.

Last week, the senators released a “study” claiming that this bill would save the average consumer $1,000 a year. But this was the very same claim Durbin made about his debit card price controls. The consumers didn’t save money; the merchants pocketed nearly all the money and it nearly ended “free checking” services by banks.

To the extent that there are cash savings passed on to consumers, The Wall Street Journal has noted that this would likely come at the expense of fewer reward points for credit card holders.

And if swiping fees are such a nancial burden on small and large retailers, let’s see them go for a few weeks without them.

The credit card market isn’t broken; it’s ourishing as America moves rapidly to becoming a nation where nearly everyone has access to the convenience of cheap credit at their ngertips. The last thing consumers and sellers need is for Congress to “ x it.”

Stephen Moore is a senior fellow at the Heritage Foundation and a chief economist at Freedom Works. His latest book is: “Govzilla: How the Relentless Growth of Government is Devouring our Economy.”

COLUMN | ALLY PERKINS AND JONATHAN WOLFSON

SIDELINE REPORT

NASCAR

Gas can erupts into ames during Talladega race

Talladega, Ala.

There was a ery moment during the Cup Series race at Talladega Superspeedway when a gas can erupted into ames on pit road. Ty Gibbs pulled out of his pit stall Sunday with the gas can still dangling from his Toyota and the fuel can dislodged in the middle of pit road. It sparked when it hit the pavement and then caught re. Other drivers had to swerve around the burning gas can as emergency workers waited until pit road was clear to approach the re. They extinguished the ames and the race resumed.

NHL

New Ducks forward

Killorn out with broken nger

Anaheim New Ducks forward Alex Killorn will be sidelined for four to six weeks with a broken nger. Killorn broke his nger Wednesday night in an exhibition game against San Jose. He signed a fouryear, $25 million deal with Anaheim in July after playing the previous 11 seasons with Tampa Bay. Killorn won two Stanley Cup championships and scored 198 goals with the Lightning. He was signed to bring a winning veteran presence to the Ducks, who have missed the playo s in a franchise-record ve consecutive seasons.

NFL Chiefs’ Mahomes

fastest to reach 200 TD passes

East Rutherford, N.J.

Kansas City’s Patrick Mahomes threw the 200th touchdown pass of his career Sunday, reaching the milestone in his 84th game to break Dan Marino’s NFL record. Mahomes connected with Noah Gray on a 34yard touchdown that gave the Chiefs a 17-0 lead with 3:24 left in the rst quarter against the Jets. Marino threw his 200th TD pass in his 89th NFL game with Miami in 1989. Mahomes surpassed 25,000 yards passing last week in Kansas City’s win over Chicago. He accomplished that in 83 games, seven faster than Matthew Sta ord’s record.

Blaney wins at Talladega to advance in playo s

disquali ed after being edged by the winner at the nish line

The Associated Press TALLADEGA, Ala. — In a battle of Ford drivers, Ryan Blaney held o Kevin Harvick at the Talladega Superspeedway nish line to advance into the round of eight of the Cup Series playo s.

Harvick, who is retiring at the end of the year, remained winless on the season and was disquali ed after the race when his car failed inspection.

Blaney used a crossover move from the outside lane to the inside to nudge ahead of Harvick with two laps remaining. Blaney in his Ford for Team Penske and Harvick in a Ford for Stewart-Haas Racing nished essentially in a drag race with both

drivers refusing to lift as a crash broke out behind them.

“I’ve won it by more than I have the last couple years. That one might have been by 4 feet, the others were by 2 but you just don’t know,” said Blaney, a three-time winner at Talladega.

“You just kind of drag race a line and hope you get help.”

Blaney joined William Byron as the two drivers locked into the round of eight. The eld of 12 will be pared next Sunday to eight following the race on The Roval at Charlotte Motor Speedway.

Blaney boss Roger Penske praised the strategy of the Ford camp to work together to ensure a Ford victory as the Chevrolets from Hendrick Motorsports were making a quick challenge.

“For Harvick, who it was his last race here, working like he did with Ryan, it was amazing to see that,” said Penske.

“The Hendrick freight train was coming and we all stayed

together, that was the call that Ford had earlier in the day when we talked. It was just perfect execution.”

Ford has won 10 playo races at Talladega, most at any track, and Team Penske has won 10 of the last 18 races at the 2.66-mile Alabama oval.

Blaney, winner of the Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte in May, now has multiple wins in a season for the second time in his career. But he’s got a lopsided stat this season in that he has only ve top- ve nishes, but two wins.

“It was a pretty wild restart, let alone the last couple of laps, losing momentum and getting it back, just getting clear to the bottom to get to the front row and drag race it out with Kevin,” said Blaney. “To win here three times at Talladega is super cool.”

Harvick nished second as his winless streak stretched to 43 races dating back to last sea-

son. NASCAR said nearly two hours after the race that his Ford had been disquali ed because the fasteners on his windshield were not secure.

The Harvick disquali cation dropped him to last in the eld. Byron, in a Chevrolet for Hendrick Motorsports, moved up to second and Denny Hamlin, who rallied from a lap down, moved up to third in a Toyota for Joe Gibbs Racing.

Hamlin led three laps during the second stage but was agged for speeding on pit road — a troubling habit of the threetime Daytona 500 winner considered the best driver to never win a Cup championship — and the penalty contributed to him falling a lap o the pace. It was Hamlin’s fourth speeding penalty of the season, and it took him most of the race to earn his position back on the lead lap and then drove through the eld to secure his nish.

“Not how we drew it up, but a dub is a dub and that was a dub in our book — it’s as close as it gets to it,” Hamlin said. “A topve is a long way from where we were with about 15 laps to go.”

Corey LaJoie, who is not in the playo s, moved up to fourth in a Chevrolet for Spire Motorsports. Blaney teammate Austin Cindric moved to fth.

Kevin Harvick was later

Ryan Blaney (12) pulls into the lead on the last lap to win Sunday’s NASCAR Cup Series playo race at Talladega.

Hoke County su ers shutout loss on senior night

North State Journal

HOKE COUNTY su ered its fourth straight loss on Friday, falling to Richmond, 41-0 at home. The shutout loss spoiled senior night for the Bucks and continued a losing streak to the Raiders which dates back to 2012 and hit a dozen games in a row. Richmond racked up 225 yards on the ground, scoring four rushing touchdowns. They were led by Jaliel Green, who had 135 yards and two scores.

The Raiders improved to 2-5 on the year, 2-1 in the Sandhills Conference, while the Bucks fell to 2-5, 0-3 in conference.

Hoke has one more home game this season but chose to honor its seniors prior to the game against

Richmond. Among the seniors on the team (according to the roster published on Max Preps) are linebackers Jamarie Brown, Orion Becton, Breyon Marshall, Zion Smith and JaKobeion Mc-

Coy, receivers Seriyon Wilson, Jadan Rivers, Tre’jan Williams and Z’Zavier Stephens-McIntosh, running backs Q’monte Allen and Jairo Ortiz, corner Darius Smith, kicker/punter Josue Hernandez-Lima, tight end Joey Castaneda, defensive linemen Anthony Morris, Dexter Foster and Randolph Sanders, o ensive linemen Jesus Gomez and Malik Moore and safety Xavier Wells.

Hoke will hit the road to try to end its slide this Friday with a game at Southern Lee. The Cavaliers are 3-4 on the year and are also looking for their rst Sandhills win, at 0-3. Hoke has beaten Southern Lee three times in the last four years, including each of the last two seasons as conference rivals.

Hoke County, women’s volleyball

Kayeliana Bonner is a junior outside hitter and defensive specialist on the Hoke County women’s volleyball team.

The Bucks went 1-2 last week, beating Lee County and losing to Richmond in conference games, sandwiched around a non-conference loss at South View.

Kicker Josue Hernandez-Lima poses with his family and a Mexican ag as Hoke County celebrated its seniors last Friday.

Bonner leads the team in service aces and aces per set and is among the team’s top three in kills, blocks, digs, receptions and hitting percentage.

Bu alo’s Damar Hamlin returns to action

The Bills safety played in the regular season for the rst time since going into cardiac arrest during a Jan. 2 game

The Associated Press

ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. —

Damar Hamlin was the last Buffalo Bills player to exit the tunnel and ran the length of the eld with his arms spread out wide at his sides as if he were ying.

He might as well have been airborne on Sunday.

Hamlin’s emotions soared as he suited up for his rst regular season game some nine months since having a near-death experience on the eld at Cincinnati.

“Really big. That moment was everything to me,” Hamlin said following a 48-20 win over the Miami Dolphins.

“I think it was more so about promising to myself than anything else, just showing myself that I have the courage, I have the strength, that I have the pride, everything, all those words, in me to be able to go through something traumatic and to be able to come back from it,” he added. “To be able to still

do what I love at the highest level in the world is amazing.”

Hamlin’s comeback from one the most terrifying moments in NFL history — he went into cardiac arrest and was resuscitated during a game at the Bengals on

Jan. 2 — is now complete.

The third-year player took the eld on the opening kicko as part of Bu alo’s return team. Hamlin didn’t register a tackle with his role limited to special teams duty. It was still playing

football, something the 25-yearold vowed he’d do after being cleared by doctors in April.

“Well, it was a choice I made, so I knew it would come someday,” Hamlin said. “Just all about staying ready and being ready to

do my part. That’s been my goal ever since I became a Bill.”

After being a healthy scratch through the rst three weeks of the season, Hamlin’s chance to play came after starting safety Jordan Poyer was sidelined by a knee injury this week.

After running out onto the eld, Hamlin came to a stop in the far end zone, where he threw up his arms before a cheering crowd, and then knelt in prayer.

Hamlin has shown no signs of tentativeness. He passed every on- eld test he faced before making the Bills’ 53-player roster in August. He played in all three of Bu alo’s preseason games, totaling nine tackles.

His heart stopped as a result of commotio cordis, which happens when a direct blow at a speci c point in a heartbeat causes cardiac arrest. Doctors have assured Hamlin he can resume playing without any fear of setbacks or reoccurrence.

Coach Sean McDermott was overjoyed and called it a “surreal moment” to watch cameras crowd around Hamlin as he huddled with his teammates in the tunnel before heading out for pregame warmups.

“He deserves the attention he gets. I love the fact that he makes it about the team in so many ways,” McDermott said. “What, nine months ago, this young man is in the situation he was in, and now he’s back.”

PJ WARD-BROWN | NORTH STATE JOURNAL

AP PHOTO

Bills safety Damar Hamlin shouts while warming up prior to Sunday’s game against the Dolphins in Orchard Park, New York.

Judge blocks 2 provisions in North Carolina’s new abortion law; 12-week near-ban remains in place

The Associated Press

RALEIGH — A federal judge on Saturday blocked two portions of North Carolina’s new abortion law from taking e ect while a lawsuit continues. But nearly all of the restrictions approved by the legislature this year, including a near-ban after 12 weeks of pregnancy, aren’t being specically challenged and remain intact.

U.S. District Judge Catherine Eagles issued an order halting enforcement of a provision to require surgical abortions that occur after 12 weeks — those for cases of rape and incest, for example — be performed only in hospitals, not abortion clinics. That limitation would have otherwise taken e ect on Sunday.

And in the same preliminary injunction, Eagles extended beyond her temporary decision in June an order preventing enforcement of a rule that doctors must document the existence of a pregnancy within the uterus before prescribing a medication abortion.

Short of successful appeals by Republican legislative leaders defending the laws, the order will remain in e ect until a lawsuit led by Planned Parenthood South Atlantic and a physician who performs abortions challenging the sections are re-

solved. The lawsuit also seeks to have clari ed whether medications can be used during the second trimester to induce labor of a fetus that can’t survive outside the uterus.

The litigation doesn’t directly seek to topple the crux of the abortion law enacted in May after GOP legislators overrode Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper’s veto. North Carolina had a ban on most abortions after 20 weeks before July 1, when the law scaled

it back to 12 weeks.

The law, a response to the 2022 U.S. Supreme Court ruling that struck down Roe v. Wade, also added new exceptions for abortions through 20 weeks for cases of rape and incest and through 24 weeks for “life-limiting” fetal anomalies. A medical emergency exception also stayed in place.

On medication abortions, which bill sponsors say also are permitted through 12 weeks of pregnancy, the new law says a

physician prescribing an abortion-inducing drug must rst “document in the woman’s medical chart the ... intrauterine location of the pregnancy.”

Eagles wrote the plainti s were likely to be successful on their claim that the law is so vague as to subject abortion providers to claims that they broke the law if they can’t locate an embryo through an ultrasound because the pregnancy is so new.

“Providers cannot know if medical abortion is authorized at any point through the twelfth week, as the statute explicitly says, or if the procedure is implicitly banned early in pregnancy,” said Eagles, who was nominated to the bench by then-President Barack Obama.

And Eagles wrote the plainti s o ered “uncontradicted” evidence that procedures for surgical abortions — also known as procedural abortions — after 12 weeks of pregnancy are the same as those used for managing miscarriages at that time period. Yet women with miscarriages aren’t required to receive those procedures in the hospital, she added.

Republican legislative leaders defending the law in court “have o ered no explanation or evidence — that is, no rational basis — for this di ering treatment,” Eagles said in her order.

Abortion-rights advocates still

opposed to the new 12-week restrictions praised Saturday’s ruling.

“We applaud the court’s decision to block a few of the onerous barriers to essential reproductive health care that have no basis in medicine,” said Dr. Beverly Gray, an OB-GYN and a named plainti in the case.

A spokesperson for Senate leader Phil Berger, one of the legislative defendants, said Saturday that Eagles’ order was still being reviewed.

Lawyers for Republican legislative leaders said in court documents in September that the provision requiring the documentation of an intrauterine pregnancy was designed to ensure the pregnancy was not ectopic, which can be dangerous. And “North Carolina rationally sought to help ensure the safety of women who may require hospitalization for complications from surgical abortions,” a legal brief from the lawmakers read.

State Attorney General Josh Stein, a Democrat, abortion-rights supporter and 2024 candidate for governor, is o cially a lawsuit defendant. But lawyers from his o ce asked Eagles to block the two provisions, largely agreeing with Planned Parenthood’s arguments. Stein said Saturday he was encouraged by Eagles’ ruling.

US education chief considers new ways to discourage college admissions preference for kids of alumni

The Associated Press

WASHINGTON, D.C. —

President Joe Biden’s education chief said he’s open to using “whatever levers” are available — including federal money — to discourage colleges from giving admissions preference to the children of alumni and donors.

Education Secretary Miguel Cardona said last week legacy admissions must be revisited for the sake of diversity on campuses following the recent Supreme Court ruling against a rmative action. In a step beyond his previous comments, Cardona said he would consider taking stronger action to deter the practice.

“I would be interested in pulling whatever levers I can pull as secretary of Education to ensure that, especially if we’re giving out nancial aid and loans, that we’re doing it for institutions that are providing value,” Cardona said. He made the remark when asked about using federal money as a carrot or rod on legacy admissions.

Legacy admissions, long seen as a perk for the white and wealthy at selective colleges, have come under renewed re since the ruling in June that col-

leges can no longer consider the race of applicants. By banning a rmative action but allowing legacy preferences, critics say the court left admissions even more lopsided against students of color.

Cardona didn’t elaborate on his options, but the federal government oversees vast sums of

money that go to colleges in the form of student nancial aid and research grants. The Education Department can also issue nes for civil rights violations, including racial discrimination.

The agency recently opened an investigation at Harvard University after a federal complaint alleged that legacy ad-

missions amount to racial discrimination.

A handful of small colleges have disavowed legacy admissions in the wake of the a rmative action decision, but there’s been no sign of change in the upper echelons of America’s universities.

Some colleges and alumni defend the practice, saying it builds community and encourages fundraising. And as campuses become more diverse, they argue, the bene t increasingly extends to students of color and their families.

Cardona, who attended a technical high school and earned his bachelor’s degree from Central Connecticut State University, has added his voice to the advocates, civil rights groups and Democratic lawmakers denouncing the practice.

“Your last name could get you into a school, or the fact that you can write a check could get you into a school,” he said. But using a rmative action to promote diversity — “that tool was taken away.”

Still, he shied away from supporting a ban of the type proposed by some Democrats in Congress and in several states.

Cardona sees it as a matter of local control, with universities having the nal decision.

“There is no edict coming from the Secretary of Education,” he said.

Without action, Cardona warned that the nation could face the same setbacks seen in California after it ended afrmative action in 1996. The state’s most selective colleges saw steep decreases in Black and Latino enrollment, and the numbers never fully rebounded.

“If we go the route that California went when they abolished a rmative action, what chance do we have competing against China?” Cardona said. “This is more than just ensuring diverse learning environments. This is about our strength as a country.”

Advocates have also pushed the Education Department to start collecting data showing the number and demographics of legacy students.

“I was hopeful we’d be seeing more colleges volunteering to drop it,” said James Murphy, a deputy director at Education Reform Now, a nonpro t think tank. “I think I think they’ve got to keep the pressure on and shine a light on it.”

AP PHOTO

Abortion rights protesters are removed after becoming vocal, Tuesday, May 16, 2023, in Raleigh, N.C., after North Carolina House members voted to override Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper’s veto of a bill that would change the state’s ban on nearly all abortions from those after 20 weeks of pregnancy to those after 12 weeks of pregnancy.

AP PHOTO

Education Secretary Miguel Cardona speaks during an interview with The Associated Press in his o ce at the Department of Education, Wednesday, Sept. 20, 2023 in Washington, D.C.

Dorothy Francis (Hardin) Sergent

March 1, 1935 ~ September 24, 2023

Dorothy Francis Hardin

Sergent went to be with her Lord and Savior on Sunday, September 24, 2023, at the age of 88.

Dorothy was born in West Liberty, Kentucky on March 01, 1935, to the late Clayton and Deedie Hardin.

Along with her parents, she was preceded in death by her husband, Calvin Sergent; and six siblings.

She loved cooking and baking, sewing, and making quilts. She babysat many children over the years and adored her grandchildren.

She is survived by her children, Timothy Sergent (Stella), and Rene Hinkel (Bryan); grandchildren, Cindy Richardson (John), Amanda Sergent (Lee), David Hinkel, Mary Altman (Mason), and Sarah Kennedy (Kade); six great grandchildren; and three siblings.

Toshiko W. Matyga

March 15, 1926 ~ September 25, 2023

Toshiko W. Matyga, of Raeford, NC passed away peacefully in her sleep on Monday, September 25, 2023, at the age of 97.

She was born in Hokkaido, Japan on March 15, 1926 to the late Tatsuo and Nobue Watanabe.

Along with her parents, she is preceded in death by her husband, Joseph C. Matyga; and four siblings.

She was a dedicated member of the S.G.I Community for over 60 years. She was also a seamstress for most of her life.

Toshiko was a strong, vibrant, sel ess, and amazing woman. She is survived by her six children, George Shutika (Laura), Sharon Shutika Reynolds (Jerome), David Shutika (Robin), Marcia Matyga, Debbie Matyga, and Vicky Blumer (James); grandchildren, Michael Shutika (Megan), Karen Braquet (Johnathan), Katie Theaux (Tyler), and Nicholas Shutika, David Watson (Darren Chapman), Nikolas Reynolds, Jakeb Reynolds, Adam Shutika, Travis Shutika (Brooke), Sophie

Shutika, Jessica Zimmerman (James), Jennifer Kerrick (Daniel), Joshua Detlie; greatgrandchildren, Isabelle Miller, Lorelei, Desmond and Juno Theaux, Lily and Laci Dickson, Madeleine and Parker Braquet, Charlotte McClintock, Wyatt Zimmerman, Scarlett Kerrick, Jaxon and Maddison Detlie.

In lieu of owers, please plant a tree in Toshiko’s memory.

Costella McLeod

December 11, 1960 ~ September 21, 2023

It is with great sadness that we announce the earthly transition of Ms. Costella McLeod, who entered into eternal rest on September 21, 2023.

She leaves to cherish her memories, her siblings, James(Shanelle) McLeod, Dennis(Carol) McLeod, and Gloria(Van) McIntosh.

Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid. John 14:27

Lois Alexander Austin

November 18, 1923

October 1, 2023

Mrs. Lois Alexander Austin of Supply, formerly of Raeford, passed away on Sunday, October 1, 2023, at the age of 99.

Mrs. Austin was born in Robeson County on November 18, 1923, to the late William Lona Alexander and Bessie Florence Turlington Alexander. She was preceded in death by her husband, Truman Austin. Mrs. Austin was a member of the Raeford Presbyterian Church in Raeford.

She is survived by three daughters, Judy Maultsby (Sam Ferguson) of Supply, NC, Jane Herron of Raeford, NC and Jennifer Austin of Raeford, NC, a son John Maultsby (Mabel) of NV, a brother Robert Alexander (Somai) of GA.

Michael “Mike” Anthony Lewis

January 1, 1952 ~ September 30, 2023

It is with great sadness in our hearts, to announce the passing of a strong, hard-working and devoted family man on Saturday, September 30, 2023. Mike courageously fought and lost the battle to Cholesterol Emboli Syndrome at the age of 71, with family surrounding him.

Mike is survived by his loving wife Sandy (Corey) of 51 wonderful years married; 2 daughters, Gina Jones (Bobby) and Aimee’ Lewis (Sean). He loved being a Papa to 5 grandchildren, Tyler (Alyssa), McKenzie, Joshua, Jada (Cameron), Robby Along with 3 bonus grandchildren, Halie, Luke & Jack. 5 great grandchildren, Addilyn, Maddox, Avery, Chason & Rosalia. As well as three brothers, Jim (Carol), Terry and George Jr. (Robert). Two sisters, Kathy (Doug) and Judy. His four-legged furry best friend of 12 years, Bojangles (Bo). He is leaving behind so much more of who he was.

An Uncle, Godfather, and a friend to many that will miss him dearly. Mike is predeceased and welcomed into heaven by his parents George (Robert) & Elizabeth (Betty) Lewis, as well as his Mother-in-Law Geraldine Corey, who loved him dearly.

Ronnie Davis, Jr.

July 9, 1970 ~ September 28, 2023

It is with great sadness we announce the passing of Ronnie Davis Jr, beloved husband of Nancy Alderete-Davis, who entered eternal life on Wednesday September 28th at the age of 53.

Ronnie was born on July 9th, 1970 in Lumberton North Carolina to Ronnie and Nancy Davis.

Ronnie had a lifelong love of learning. He attended Hoke High School and North Carolina State University, receiving his associates degree in livestock and poultry science, followed by a degree in business management from Ashworth College in Norcross Georgia, graduating with honors in both programs. In 2018 he earned his Master of Arts in Ministry from Piedmont International University, graduating Suma cum Laude.

Ronnie’s patriotism ran strong and in 2005 Ronnie felt the call to serve his country, joining the United States Army as a combat medic. He was assigned to the MP unit in Raleigh, North Carolina.

Ronnie built a successful business in the construction industry but his real passion was teaching. He took pride in his school and his students; his dedication to learning and opening young minds to their possibilities earned him the love and respect from all who had the pleasure of working with him.

Nancy was the love of Ronnie’s life; they were married on December 28th 2005 in Fayetteville and together they built a life lled with faith, joy and the simple pleasure of being together.

Ronnie had a knack for building, restoring and xing things. He loved to garden and was an avid music lover, preferring Mozart and Vivaldi as his driving companions. Ancient history and World War II documentaries were two favorite hobbies, in addition to his love for British television shows, but his favorite pastime was restoring the home he and Nancy shared.

He will be remembered for his gentle and compassionate spirit and his love of rescuing shelter dogs that became four-legged children. Ronnie believed you should always share your bed with at least 2 dogs!

Ronnie is survived by his parents and his brother Mark. His legacy lives on in his students, who will live life to the fullest because Mr. Ronnie was their teacher.

STATE & NATION

House Republicans make their case for Biden impeachment inquiry at rst hearing

The Associated Press

WASHINGTON, D.C. —

House Republicans launched a formal impeachment hearing Thursday against President Joe Biden, promising to “provide accountability” as they probe the family nances and lucrative business dealings of his son Hunter and make their case to the public, colleagues and a skeptical Senate.

The chairmen of the Oversight, Judiciary, and Ways and Means committees used the opening hearing to review the constitutional and legal questions involved with impeachment. They are trying to show what they say are links to Biden’s son Hunter’s overseas businesses, though key witnesses said they do not yet see hard evidence of impeachable o enses.

Rep. James Comer, R-Ky, the Oversight chairman, said the lawmakers have “a mountain of evidence” that will show that the elder Biden “abused his public o ce for his family’snancial gain.”

Hours after the hearing wrapped, Comer issued subpoenas for additional banking records from the personal and business accounts of Hunter Biden and the president’s brother, James Biden. He said the panel will continue to “fol-

low the money and the evidence to provide accountability.”

The White House pushed back with statements throughout the hearing saying nothing can distract from the Republicans’ inability to govern as the shutdown loomed. Spokesperson Sharon Yang called the hearing a “baseless stunt” and said, “President Biden will always stay focused on the priorities of the American people — not these political games.”

The more than six-hour hearing came as House Republicans face scattered resistance to an impeachment inquiry from their own ranks and deep reluctance in the Senate from

Republicans who worry about political rami cations and say Biden’s conviction and removal from o ce are unlikely.

A top Republican-called witness, Jonathan Turley, a George Washington University law professor who is an expert in impeachment issues, said he believed the House had passed the threshold for an inquiry but the current evidence was not enough for charges. “I do not believe that the current evidence would support articles of impeachment,” Turley said.

Still, questions remain as Republicans dig into the Biden family nances and the over -

seas business dealings of Hunter Biden, who has acknowledged being a drug user during much of the time under scrutiny. The president’s brother, James, was also involved in some work with Hunter.

Republicans have been investigating Hunter Biden for years, since his father was vice president. And while there have been questions raised about the ethics around the family’s international business, none of the evidence so far has proven that the president, in his current or previous o ce, abused his role, accepted bribes or both.

Turley told the lawmakers the question remains, “Was the president involved?”

In the run-up to the hearing, Republicans unveiled a tranche of new documents and bank records that detail wire transfers from a Chinese businessman to Hunter Biden in 2019. Hunter Biden had listed his father’s address on the wire transfer form, which Republicans say provided a clear link to the president.

Abbe Lowell, an attorney for Hunter Biden, said the address on the wire transfer, which he says was a loan, was listed to the president’s Delaware home because it was the address on Hunter Biden’s driver’s license and “his only permanent address at the time.”

Gen. Milley swipes at Trump in farewell address

The Associated Press

JOINT BASE MYER-HENDERSON HALL, Va. — Under cloudy skies at Joint Base Myer-Henderson Hall, Army Gen. Mark Milley never mentioned former President Donald Trump by name but he practically shouted on two di erent occasions that the U.S. military swears to protect the Constitution “against ALL enemies, foreign AND domestic” during a packed ceremony on Friday as he closed out his four, often tumultuous years as chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Sta .

“We don’t take an oath to a king or a queen or to a tyrant or a dictator. And we don’t take an oath to a wannabe dictator,” he said. “We don’t take an oath to an individual. We take an oath to the Constitution, and we take an oath to the idea that is America, and we’re willing to die to protect it.”

Milley is retiring after more than four decades of military service, including multiple combat deployments and two often turbulent years as Joint Chiefs chairman under Trump. And it was those years, and the battles he fought against Trump, that formed much of the underpinning of his farewell address and

also were sprinkled throughout other speeches in the ceremony.

As chairman, Milley pushed back against a host of Trump’s plans, including demands to pull all troops out of Iraq and Syria and his desire to put active-duty troops on Washington’s streets to counter racial protests. Several books have described Milley’s deep concerns about Trump’s tness as commander in chief and his worries that Trump would try to use the military to help block President Joe Biden’s election.

Just a week ago, Trump railed

against Milley in a post on Truth Social, condemning him as a treasonous, “Woke train wreck” whose actions have been “so egregious that, in times gone by, the punishment would have been DEATH!” The post, which some interpreted as a threat, has prompted Milley to ensure his family has adequate protection. But seemingly in response, Milley said, his voice booming, the military will protect the Constitution, no matter the personal price, and “we are not easily intimidated.” Biden, who spoke at the cer-

emony praised Milley’s staunch defense of the Constitution, which “has always been Mark’s North Star.” And he said the general has been a steady hand guiding the military during one of the most complex national security environments.

The farewell tribute on the base just outside Washington was both rousing and somber, with marching bands, troop salutes and speeches.

Air Force Gen. CQ Brown took over command on Sunday. Milley is retiring after nearly 44 years of service.

Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin recalled Milley as a battle buddy, noting with a grin that he was always “eager to get into the ght. And I’ve seen that rsthand over our long history of working together, including one time when he got me blown up. Literally.”

When Austin was commanding the 10th Mountain Division during the Iraq War he visited Milley, one of his brigade commanders, who suggested they go to the hospital to see a wounded soldier.

“So we took Route Irish in Baghdad, which was known as the most dangerous road in the world. And we promptly got hit by an IED,” Austin told the

“Once again Rep. Comer peddles lies to support a premise — some wrongdoing by Hunter Biden or his family — that evaporates in thin air the moment facts come out,” Lowell said in a statement.

House Republicans are also looking into the Justice Department investigation into Hunter Biden’s taxes and gun use that began in 2018. Two IRS whistleblowers came forward to Congress in the spring with claims that department ocials thwarted their e orts to fully investigate Hunter Biden and that they faced retaliation when they pushed back.

The claims have since been disputed by the Department of Justice, the IRS and FBI agents who worked on the case.

“The Biden Justice Department protected the Biden family brand.” said Rep. Jason Smith, a Missouri Republican and Ways and Means chairman.

The hearing is expected to be the rst of many as House Republicans explore whether or not they will pursue articles of impeachment against the president.

It’s unclear if McCarthy has support from his slim Republican majority to impeach Biden. If Biden was impeached, the charges would then be sent to the Senate for a trial.

crowd. “Afterwards, I asked, ‘Hey general, has this happened to you before?’ And Mark said, ‘Oh yes sir — I’ve been blown up about ve times now.’”

The crowd of about 1,800 included past and current U.S. and international dignitaries and military leaders, families, friends, troops, veterans, wounded warriors and Gold Star families who lost loved ones in the wars.

One of the opening performances was a stirring rendition of “God Bless America” by Army Capt. Luis Avila, who was severely injured and lost a leg in a bomb blast in Afghanistan. Milley’s choice of Avila was a tribute to wounded troops but also served as a pointed jab at Trump. Milley has said Trump made disparaging remarks about Avila, who sang from his wheelchair at a ceremony for Milley in 2019. Milley said Trump asked him at the time, “Why do you bring people like that here? No one wants to see that, the wounded.”

Milley, 65, is a native of Winchester, Massachusetts. He commanded troops at all levels, including in Iraq and Afghanistan. He became Army chief of sta in 2015 and launched several initiatives, including the creation of Security Force Assistance Brigades, which train foreign forces, and the opening of Army Futures Command in Austin, Texas, to pursue new technologies.

AP PHOTO

President Joe Biden, right, shakes hands with outgoing Joint Chiefs Chairman Gen. Mark Milley, during an Armed Forces Farewell Tribute in honor of Milley at Joint Base Myer–Henderson Hall, Friday, Sept. 29, 2023, in Fort Meyer, Va.

AP PHOTO

Witnesses are sworn in before the House Oversight Committee impeachment inquiry into President Joe Biden, Thursday, Sept. 28, 2023, on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C.

pregnancy.

COUNTY NEWS

Carolina Classic Fair has best opening day in last decade

Winston-Salem

With attendance at just under a total of 18,000, Friday, Sept. 29, was the largest opening day attendance at the Carolina Classic Fair since 2013.

Celebrating its 141st year, the Carolina Classic Fair features musical entertainment, livestock and poultry exhibits, arts and crafts, and carnival games and rides. This year’s fair runs through Sunday, Oct. 8.

Forsyth Public Health to give fall COVID, u shots starting Oct. 2

Winston-Salem

The Forsyth County Department of Public Health, located at 799 N. Highland Ave, will be o ering the latest nocost u and COVID-19 vaccinations starting on October 2. The walk-in vaccination clinic hours will be open from 8:30 a.m.-4:30 p.m. MondayFriday. No appointment, insurance or ID is needed and individuals can receive both the u and COVID vaccines at the same time. The department states that if you have had a previous dose of COVID vaccine, you should wait at least two months to get the fall vaccine. Individuals will still need to stay for a 15-minute observation period after receiving the COVID vaccine.

Judge blocks 2 provisions in new abortion law in NC; 12-week near-ban remains in place

The Associated Press RALEIGH — A federal judge on Saturday blocked two portions of North Carolina’s new abortion law from taking e ect while a lawsuit continues. But nearly all of the restrictions approved by the legislature this year, including most procedures banned after 12 weeks of pregnancy, aren’t being speci cally challenged and remain intact.

U.S. District Judge Catherine Eagles issued an order halting enforcement of a provision to require surgical abortions that occur after 12 weeks — those for cases of rape and incest, for example — be performed only in hospitals, not abortion clinics. That limitation would have otherwise taken e ect on Sunday.

And in the same preliminary injunction, Eagles extended be-

yond her temporary decision in June an order preventing enforcement of a rule that doctors must document the existence of a pregnancy within the uterus before prescribing a medication abortion.

Short of successful appeals by Republican legislative leaders defending the laws, the order will remain in e ect until a lawsuit led by Planned Parenthood South Atlantic and a physician who performs abortions challenging the sections are resolved. The lawsuit also seeks to have clari ed whether medications can be used during the second trimester to induce labor of a fetus that can’t survive outside the uterus.

The litigation doesn’t directly seek to topple the crux of the abortion law enacted in May after GOP legislators overrode Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper’s veto.

WSFCS establishes 21-member Facility Advisory Committee

District’s dual-enrollment numbers steadily increasing

By Ryan Henkel North State Journal

WINSTON-SALEM – The Winston-Salem/Forsyth County Schools Board of Education met Tuesday, Sept. 26, with various updates being presented to the board.

The rst update the board received was on the appointments to the newly formed Facility Ad-

visory Committee.

“We had two di erent methods, which we would select members by,” said Chief Planning and Construction O cer Darrell Walker. “One was that each member of the board of education would select someone from the community, and the other was a survey that was put together and sent out to our community.

“I was really shocked to nd out we had 615 applicants, which is great. It tells you that this is a supportive community that cares about everything

“We applaud the court’s decision to block a few of the onerous barriers to essential reproductive health care that have no basis in medicine.”

Dr. Beverly Gray, an OB-GYN

North Carolina had a ban on most abortions after 20 weeks before July 1, when the law scaled it back to 12 weeks.

The law, a response to the 2022 U.S. Supreme Court ruling that struck down Roe v. Wade, also added new exceptions for abortions through 20 weeks for cases

we do. Really tough decisions to get it down to a nal list. It went from 615 to 214 to 42 to 21 for the nal, and those are really challenging. For the most part, it was a very inspirational process to go through to see that people cared and wanted to be a part of this process.”

According to Walker, the applicants were selected based on work and life experiences within the community, demographics, ethnicities, and zip codes in order to make sure the committee was diverse and spread out throughout the community.

The board was then given an update on the dual enrollment status of students throughout the district.

“The opportunity to take college courses while you’re in high school is very, very important, and I think it helps the trajectory of our students if they want to succeed when they want to succeed and how they want to see

of rape and incest and through 24 weeks for “life-limiting” fetal anomalies. A medical emergency exception also stayed in place.

On medication abortions, which bill sponsors say also are permitted through 12 weeks of pregnancy, the new law says a physician prescribing an abortion-inducing drug must rst “document in the woman’s medical chart the ... intrauterine location of the pregnancy.”

Eagles wrote the plainti s were likely to be successful on their claim that the law is so vague as to subject abortion providers to claims that they broke the law if they can’t locate an embryo through an ultrasound because the pregnancy is so new.

“Providers cannot know if medical abortion is authorized at any

See ABORTION, page 4

it,” said Chief O cer of Student Services Clinton Wilson.

Career and College Promise, North Carolina’s dual enrollment program, encompasses cooperative innovative high schools – early and middle colleges – college transfer pathways – which are general education college courses that can transfer to a two or four-year school – career and technical education pathways – which is a career pathway to an industry-recognized credential, certi cate or diploma – and workforce pathways.

See BOE , page 2

Abortion rights protesters are removed after becoming vocal, Tuesday, May 16, 2023, in Raleigh, N.C., after North Carolina House members voted to override Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper’s veto of a bill that would change the state’s ban on nearly all abortions from those after 20 weeks of pregnancy to those after 12 weeks of

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North Carolina’s key to improving maternal mortality rates

MATERNAL MORTALITY rates in North Carolina are climbing at an alarming rate.

The CDC reports that over just a twoyear span, the number of women who have died within six weeks of giving birth doubled — jumping from 22 deaths per 100,000 births to a staggering 44. And the growing lack of access to care as rural hospitals close maternity wards or shut down altogether, often because of sta ng shortages, is at least partially to blame. The distressing situation leaves rural mothers no choice but to commute further to nd care, increasing health risks for themselves and their newborn babies.

This crisis is not isolated to North Carolina but extends across the nation, where the demand for healthcare services outpaces our ability to supply enough physicians to meet that demand. By 2030, the United States is projected to face a staggering 120,000 physician shortage. That means thousands of people, mostly in rural areas, will lose their doctors. And with the added concern that nearly 40 percent of American physicians will reach retirement age by that year, the data paint a worrisome picture of the future of healthcare access.

North Carolina is especially vulnerable as a signi cant portion of the state, a total of 100 counties, already grapples with a scarcity of primary care physicians.

By 2030, the Tar Heel State will face a shortage of 1,885 primary care physicians. This shortage disproportionately impacts rural areas, which could leave more than 600 small towns without a doctor altogether. Given the high-stakes nature of pregnancy and childbirth, these challenges pose life-threatening consequences. But there are ways forward.

providers nationwide is crucial to address the increasing demand for medical services. Internationally licensed physicians o er one solution that can immediately assist patients in North Carolina. Thousands of highly skilled healthcare professionals, both within the United States and abroad, are eager to contribute to the well-being of North Carolinians. However, doctors licensed outside the United States must currently nd a faculty position at a North Carolina medical school or else repeat multi-year residency training before they can obtain a medical license.

Increasing accessibility to pathways for internationally licensed doctors to practice in rural states like North Carolina would increase access for those who need it most — without compromising the care they receive. Legislation currently being negotiated in the state legislature would do just that by allowing physicians licensed in another country to practice in the state without having to repeat their entire training regimen. And it has already cleared the state senate.

Under this law, all North Carolina hospitals and rural healthcare facilities would be able to hire high-quality, internationally trained physicians who meet the State Medical Board’s standards, but those doctors would not have to repeat their three-plus years of post-medical graduate training in the United States. North Carolina already lets medical school faculty members treat patients without repeating residency, so this bill simply opens more doors for rural clinics and hospitals across the state to do the same by hiring talented doctors to meet the desperate and growing need.

provisional licenses, converts provisional licenses to full licenses after two years of successful practice, and preserves the Medical Examining Board’s authority to ensure that internationally trained physicians possess the requisite skills, test scores, and experience to provide exceptional care. Neither Tennessee’s law nor the North Carolina Senate’s proposal requires physicians to repeat a three-year or longer residency training program.

But the demand extends beyond doctors residing abroad; there are already thousands of skilled healthcare professionals living in the United States. This bill simpli es the paths for these healthcare workers to fully utilize their medical expertise to help meet the growing need. Remarkably, a recent study revealed that nearly 40 percent of the international U.S. labor force holding healthcare professional and doctorate degrees are working in jobs outside healthcare.

Removing repetitive training requirements for foreign-licensed doctors bene ts refugees, immigrants pursuing citizenship, U.S. citizens with foreign medical training, and North Carolina patients most at risk of losing access to essential care.

North Carolina moms need better access to doctors to improve their health outcomes. Internationally trained doctors can and should be part of the solution to both rising maternal mortality and rural physician shortages. North Carolina can tackle the physician shortage and promote a healthier future for all its residents by supporting this commonsense solution to streamlining pathways to practice for international doctors.

nsjonline.com

Training more physicians and healthcare

Tennessee recently passed a similar law that allows healthcare providers to sponsor high-quality international doctors for

Ally Perkins is a Research Assistant and Jonathan Wolfson is the Chief Legal O cer & Policy Director at the Cicero Institute.

Last living suspect in 1996 drive-by shooting of Tupac Shakur indicted in Las Vegas on murder charge

The Associated Press

LAS VEGAS — A man who prosecutors say ordered the 1996 killing of rapper Tupac Shakur was arrested and charged with murder Friday in a long-awaited breakthrough in one of hip-hop’s most enduring mysteries.

Duane “Ke e D” Davis has long been known to investigators as one of four suspects identi ed early in the investigation. He isn’t the accused gunman but was described as the group’s ringleader by authorities Friday at a news conference and in court. In Nevada you can be charged with a crime, including murder, if you help someone commit the crime.

“Duane Davis was the shot caller for this group of individuals that committed this crime,” said Las Vegas police homicide Lt. Jason Johansson, “and he orchestrated the plan that was carried out.”

Davis himself has admitted in interviews and in his 2019 tellall memoir, “Compton Street Legend,” that he provided the

BOE from page 1

To be eligible for CCP, students must have 2.8 unweighted GPA or substantive college readiness test scores or, for the CTE segments, a written justication.

“There are plenty of bene ts to Career and College Promise,” Wilson said. “It creates that college-going culture, provides transferable college credits for free, saves time and money, promotes proactive learning, in-

gun used in the drive-by shooting.

Authorities said Friday that Davis’ own public comments revived the investigation. Davis, now 60, was arrested

creases high school graduation because they see where they can be, and promotes post-secondary success as well.”

According to Wilson, CCP enrollment is growing, having gone from 543 in 2019-20 to currently 958 enrolled in 2023-24. The nal update the board received was in regard to the district’s ESSER II/III funding.

“There were three pieces of legislation for ESSER,” said Chief Federal Programs O cer Kelly Hales. “ESSER I has al-

early Friday while on a walk near his home on the outskirts of Las Vegas, hours before prosecutors announced in court that a Nevada grand jury had indicted the self-described “gangster” on one

ready expired, ESSER II expires in a few days and then we have ESSER III remaining. Overall, the district received $215 million through ESSER I, II and III.”

According to Hales, the district utilized $65 million for recruitment, development, and retention of talent, $90.5 million for accelerated learning for students, $9.1 million for social, emotional behavior, and mental health supports for students, $14.7 million for operations and facilities and $300k for evaluat-

count of murder with a deadly weapon. He is due in court next week.

The grand jury also voted to add a sentencing enhancement to the murder charge for gang activity that could add up to 20 additional years if he’s convicted.

Hundreds of pages of transcripts released Friday provide a view into the rst month of grand jury proceedings, which began in late July with testimony from former associates of Davis, friends of Shakur and a slate of retired police o cers involved in the case early on. Their testimony painted a picture for the jurors of a deep, escalating rift between Shakur’s music label Death Row Records and Bad Boy Records, which had ties to Davis and represented Shakur’s rap rival, Biggie Smalls.

“It started the whole West Coast/East Coast” rivalry that primarily de ned the hip-hop scene during the mid-1990s, one of Davis’ former associates testied. The rst-ever arrest in the case came after Las Vegas police

ing ESSER funded initiatives.

For FY24, the ESSER budget is $46,432,719.86.

“The priorities for this year are continuing our accelerated student learning, continuing our ongoing enrichment, extra-curricular activities through the schools’ ELP programs, and the additional and continued support for mental and behavioral health needs of students, which are all continued impacts from the pandemic,” Hales said.

Finally, the board approved

in mid-July raided Davis’ home in the nearby city of Henderson for items they described at the time as “concerning the murder of Tupac Shakur.”

Davis denied an interview request Friday from jail, and court records don’t list an attorney who can comment on his behalf. Phone and text messages to Davis and his wife on Friday and in the months since the July 17 search weren’t returned.

In a statement Friday, Sekyiwa “Set” Shakur, the rapper’s sister, described the arrest as a victory.

“This is no doubt a pivotal moment. The silence of the past 27 years surrounding this case has spoken loudly in our community,” she said. “It’s important to me that the world, the country, the justice system, and our people acknowledge the gravity of the passing of this man, my brother, my mother’s son, my father’s son.”

On the night of Sept. 7, 1996, Shakur was in a BMW driven by Death Row Records founder Marion “Suge” Knight. They were waiting at a red light near the Las Vegas Strip when a white Cadillac pulled up next to them and gun re erupted.

Shakur was shot multiple times and died a week later at the age of 25.

updates to Policy 6164 - Educating Students with Disabilities, to align with both federal and state regulations as well as to clarify information related to support for those students. The policy hadn’t been updated since the 1980s.

The board also approved a $194,714 subscription to Goalbook, which is a toolkit for teachers to help design learning goals and instructional plans. The WSFCS Board of Education will next meet Oct. 10.

COLUMN | ALLY PERKINS AND JONATHAN WOLFSON

AP PHOTO

From left, Las Vegas police Lt. Jason Johansson, Sheri Kevin McMahill and Clark County District Attorney Steve Wolfson attends a news conference on an indictment in the 1996 murder of rapper Tupac Shakur.

SPORTS

SIDELINE REPORT

NASCAR Gas can erupts into ames during Talladega race

Talladega, Ala.

There was a ery moment during the Cup Series race at Talladega Superspeedway when a gas can erupted into ames on pit road. Ty Gibbs pulled out of his pit stall Sunday with the gas can still dangling from his Toyota and the fuel can dislodged in the middle of pit road. It sparked when it hit the pavement and then caught re. Other drivers had to swerve around the burning gas can as emergency workers waited until pit road was clear to approach the re. They extinguished the ames and the race resumed.

NHL New Ducks forward

Killorn out with broken nger

Anaheim

New Ducks forward

Alex Killorn will be sidelined for four to six weeks with a broken nger. Killorn broke his nger Wednesday night in an exhibition game against San Jose. He signed a four-year, $25 million deal with Anaheim in July after playing the previous 11 seasons with Tampa Bay.

Killorn won two Stanley Cup championships and scored 198 goals with the Lightning. He was signed to bring a winning veteran presence to the Ducks, who have missed the playo s in a franchiserecord ve consecutive seasons.

NFL Chiefs’ Mahomes fastest to reach 200 TD passes

East Rutherford, N.J. Kansas City’s Patrick Mahomes threw the 200th touchdown pass of his career Sunday, reaching the milestone in his 84th game to break Dan Marino’s NFL record.

Mahomes connected with Noah Gray on a 34yard touchdown that gave the Chiefs a 17-0 lead with 3:24 left in the rst quarter against the Jets.

Marino threw his 200th TD pass in his 89th NFL game with Miami in 1989.

Mahomes surpassed 25,000 yards passing last week in Kansas City’s win over Chicago. He accomplished that in 83 games, seven faster than Matthew Sta ord’s record.

GOLF

Rookie Ryu wins

rst LPGA Tour title

Rogers, Ark.

Hae Ran Ryu completed a wire-to-wire run to her rst LPGA Tour title for a three-shot victory Sunday at the Walmart NW Arkansas Championship.

The 22-year-old rookie from South Korea had four birdies and an eagle in her last nine holes at Pinnacle Country Club to shoot a 5-under 66 and nish at 19-under 194.

Ryu became the fth rookie to win this year.

Linnea Strom nished second after a nal-round 64

Blaney wins at Talladega to advance in playo s

drivers refusing to lift as a crash broke out behind them.

SPONSORED BY thebetterpartofthelastyeartry ingtoearnacceptancetothesein stitutions,”Uralsaid,but“ don’tknowwhatwe’rebuyingright now.” Theoutbreakhasupendedplans formillionsofstudents,whoare takingvirtualtoursofschools whilealsodealingwithconcerns abouttuitionpaymentsinaneco

The Associated Press TALLADEGA, Ala. — In a battle of Ford drivers, Ryan Blaney held o Kevin Harvick at the Talladega Superspeedway nish line to advance into the round of eight of the Cup Series playo s. Harvick, who is retiring at the end of the year, remained winless on the season and was disquali ed after the race when his car failed inspection.

Blaney used a crossover move from the outside lane to the inside to nudge ahead of Harvick with two laps remaining. Blaney in his Ford for Team Penske and Harvick in a Ford for Stewart-Haas Racing nished essentially in a drag race with both

“I’ve won it by more than I have the last couple years. That one might have been by 4 feet, the others were by 2 but you just don’t know,” said Blaney, a three-time winner at Talladega. “You just kind of drag race a line and hope you get help.”

Blaney joined William Byron as the two drivers locked into the round of eight. The eld of 12 will be pared next Sunday to eight following the race on The Roval at Charlotte Motor Speedway.

Blaney boss Roger Penske praised the strategy of the Ford camp to work together to ensure a Ford victory as the Chevrolets from Hendrick Motorsports were making a quick challenge.

“For Harvick, who it was his last race here, working like he did with Ryan, it was amazing to see that,” said Penske.

“The Hendrick freight train was coming and we all stayed

Guide to MLB playo s

The postseason began Tuesday

The Associated Press

MAJOR LEAGUE BASEBALL’S playo s opened Tuesday with Toronto at Minnesota, Texas at Tampa Bay, Arizona at Milwaukee and Miami at Philadelphia.

Defending champion Houston gets ve days o until the Division Series start, as do Atlanta, Baltimore and the Los Angeles Dodgers. There will be a lot of familiar faces in October, particularly in the National League.

The speedy and strong Ronald Acuña Jr. — the one and only member of the 40-70 club — will lead the Braves as they try to win their second title in three years. Mookie Betts, Freddie Freeman and the Dodgers also look like a tough out.

Over in the American League, the upstart Orioles will try to build on their 100-win season with a deep run in the playo s. The franchise lost 110 games just two seasons ago.

Houston will be trying to become the rst repeat champion since the 1998-2000 New York Yankees won three in a row.

Here’s a look at what’s coming as October approaches.

How does baseball’s wild card round work?

The best-of-three wild card format is in its second season. The format was changed in 2022 from the sudden death one-game format that was in place since 2012 with the exception of the COVID-19 pandemic-a ected 2020 season.

Six teams each from the American League and National League quali ed for the postseason, including the three division winners in each league. The three wild card teams in each league are the teams with the best records that didn’t win their division.

The top two division winners with the best records in each league got a bye and don’t have to play in the wild card round. One big advantage for the higher seed in those wild card series is they get to host all three games.

The Rangers-Rays winner faces Baltimore in the Division Series, the Twins-Blue Jays winner plays Houston, the Phillies-Marlins winner starts at Atlanta and the Brewers-Diamondbacks winner gets a matchup with the Dodgers.

Rule changes

Many of baseball’s recent rule

together, that was the call that Ford had earlier in the day when we talked. It was just perfect execution.”

Ford has won 10 playo races at Talladega, most at any track, and Team Penske has won 10 of the last 18 races at the 2.66-mile Alabama oval.

Blaney, winner of the Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte in May, now has multiple wins in a season for the second time in his career. But he’s got a lopsided stat this season in that he has only ve top- ve nishes, but two wins.

“It was a pretty wild restart, let alone the last couple of laps, losing momentum and getting it back, just getting clear to the bottom to get to the front row and drag race it out with Kevin,” said Blaney. “To win here three times at Talladega is super cool.”

Harvick nished second as his winless streak stretched to 43 races dating back to last sea-

son. NASCAR said nearly two hours after the race that his Ford had been disquali ed because the fasteners on his windshield were not secure.

The Harvick disquali cation dropped him to last in the eld.

Byron, in a Chevrolet for Hendrick Motorsports, moved up to second and Denny Hamlin, who rallied from a lap down, moved up to third in a Toyota for Joe Gibbs Racing.

Hamlin led three laps during the second stage but was agged for speeding on pit road — a troubling habit of the threetime Daytona 500 winner considered the best driver to never win a Cup championship — and the penalty contributed to him falling a lap o the pace. It was Hamlin’s fourth speeding penalty of the season, and it took him most of the race to earn his position back on the lead lap and then drove through the eld to secure his nish.

“Not how we drew it up, but a dub is a dub and that was a dub in our book — it’s as close as it gets to it,” Hamlin said. “A topve is a long way from where we were with about 15 laps to go.”

Corey LaJoie, who is not in the playo s, moved up to fourth in a Chevrolet for Spire Motorsports. Blaney teammate Austin Cindric moved to fth.

changes will still be in e ect during the postseason, including the pitch clock, a ban on extreme in eld shifts and a limit to how many times a pitcher can disengage from the rubber. The pitch clock was a huge change for the sport and widely celebrated, cutting average game time by more than 20 minutes this season. There is one rule that won’t make the postseason cut: the socalled “ghost runner” in extra innings.

During the MLB regular season, if a game goes to extra innings, a runner is placed at second base to start the 10th inning when each team bats. That won’t happen in the postseason. Extra

innings will be played just like the previous nine.

Betting favorites

The Braves are the current betting favorites to win the World Series at +260, followed by the Dodgers (+420) and Orioles (+700), according to FanDuel Sportsbook.

How to watch

The wild card rounds will be broadcast on ABC, ESPN and ESPN. The later rounds will be split among Fox, FS1 and TBS. The World Series is scheduled for Oct. 27-Nov. 4.

Kevin Harvick was later disquali ed after being edged by the winner at the nish line

SPONSORED BY AP PHOTO

Ryan Blaney (12) pulls into the lead on the last lap to win Sunday’s NASCAR Cup Series playo race at Talladega.

AP PHOTO

Tampa Bay’s Randy Arozarena scores on an RBI single by Harold Ramirez against Toronto on Sept. 22 in St. Petersburg, Florida.

STATE & NATION

House Republicans make their case for Biden impeachment inquiry at rst hearing

The Associated Press

WASHINGTON, D.C. —

House Republicans launched a formal impeachment hearing Thursday against President Joe Biden, promising to “provide accountability” as they probe the family nances and lucrative business dealings of his son Hunter and make their case to the public, colleagues and a skeptical Senate.

The chairmen of the Oversight, Judiciary, and Ways and Means committees used the opening hearing to review the constitutional and legal questions involved with impeachment. They are trying to show what they say are links to Biden’s son Hunter’s overseas businesses, though key witnesses said they do not yet see hard evidence of impeachable o enses.

Rep. James Comer, R-Ky, the Oversight chairman, said the lawmakers have “a mountain of evidence” that will show that the elder Biden “abused his public o ce for his family’snancial gain.”

Hours after the hearing wrapped, Comer issued subpoenas for additional banking records from the personal and business accounts of Hunter Biden and the president’s brother, James Biden. He said the panel will continue to “follow the money and the evidence to provide accountability.”

The White House pushed back with statements throughout the hearing saying nothing can distract from the Republicans’ inability to govern as the shutdown loomed. Spokesperson Sharon Yang called the hearing a “baseless stunt” and said, “President Biden will always stay focused on the priorities of the American people — not these political games.”

The more than six-hour hearing came as House Republicans face scattered resistance to an impeachment inquiry from their own ranks and deep reluctance in the Senate from Republicans who worry about political rami cations and say Biden’s conviction and removal from o ce are unlikely.

A top Republican-called wit-

ness, Jonathan Turley, a George Washington University law professor who is an expert in impeachment issues, said he believed the House had passed the threshold for an inquiry but the current evidence was not enough for charges.

“I do not believe that the current evidence would support articles of impeachment,” Turley said.

Still, questions remain as Republicans dig into the Biden family nances and the overseas business dealings of Hunter Biden, who has acknowledged being a drug user during much of the time under scrutiny. The president’s brother, James, was also involved in some work with Hunter.

Republicans have been investigating Hunter Biden for years, since his father was vice president. And while there have been questions raised about the ethics around the family’s international business, none of the evidence so far has proven that the president, in his current or previous o ce, abused his role, accepted bribes or

both.

Turley told the lawmakers the question remains, “Was the president involved?”

In the run-up to the hearing, Republicans unveiled a tranche of new documents and bank records that detail wire transfers from a Chinese businessman to Hunter Biden in 2019. Hunter Biden had listed his father’s address on the wire transfer form, which Republicans say provided a clear link to the president.

Abbe Lowell, an attorney for Hunter Biden, said the address on the wire transfer, which he says was a loan, was listed to the president’s Delaware home because it was the address on Hunter Biden’s driver’s license and “his only permanent address at the time.”

“Once again Rep. Comer peddles lies to support a premise — some wrongdoing by Hunter Biden or his family — that evaporates in thin air the moment facts come out,” Lowell said in a statement.

House Republicans are also looking into the Justice Department investigation into Hunt-

Gen. Milley swipes at Trump in farewell address

The Associated Press JOINT BASE MYER-HENDERSON HALL, Va. — Under cloudy skies at Joint Base Myer-Henderson Hall, Army Gen. Mark Milley never mentioned former President Donald Trump by name but he practically shouted on two di erent occasions that the U.S. military swears to protect the Constitution “against ALL enemies, foreign AND domestic” during a packed ceremony on Friday as he closed out his four, often tumultuous years as chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Sta .

“We don’t take an oath to a king or a queen or to a tyrant or a dictator. And we don’t take an oath to a wannabe dictator,” he said. “We don’t take an oath to an individual. We take an oath to the Constitution, and we take an oath to the idea that is America, and we’re willing to die to protect it.”

Milley is retiring after more

ABORTION from page 1 point through the twelfth week, as the statute explicitly says, or if the procedure is implicitly banned early in pregnancy,” said Eagles, who was nominated to the bench by then-President Barack Obama. And Eagles wrote the plainti s o ered “uncontradicted” evidence that procedures for surgical abortions — also known as procedural abortions — after 12 weeks of

than four decades of military service, including multiple combat deployments and two often turbulent years as Joint Chiefs chairman under Trump. And it was those years, and the battles he fought against Trump, that formed much of the underpinning of his farewell address and also were sprinkled throughout other speeches in the ceremony. As chairman, Milley pushed back against a host of Trump’s plans, including demands to pull all troops out of Iraq and Syria and his desire to put active-duty troops on Washington’s streets to counter racial protests. Several books have described Milley’s deep concerns about Trump’s tness as commander in chief and his worries that Trump would try to use the military to help block President Joe Biden’s election.

Just a week ago, Trump railed against Milley in a post on Truth Social, condemning him as a treasonous, “Woke train wreck” whose actions have been “so

pregnancy are the same as those used for managing miscarriages at that time period. Yet women with miscarriages aren’t required to receive those procedures in the hospital, she added.

Republican legislative leaders defending the law in court “have o ered no explanation or evidence — that is, no rational basis — for this di ering treatment,” Eagles said in her order.

Abortion-rights advocates still

egregious that, in times gone by, the punishment would have been DEATH!” The post, which some interpreted as a threat, has prompted Milley to ensure his family has adequate protection.

But seemingly in response, Milley said, his voice booming, the military will protect the Constitution, no matter the personal price, and “we are not easily intimidated.”

Biden, who spoke at the ceremony praised Milley’s staunch defense of the Constitution, which “has always been Mark’s North Star.” And he said the general has been a steady hand guiding the military during one of the most complex national security environments.

The farewell tribute on the base just outside Washington was both rousing and somber, with marching bands, troop salutes and speeches.

Air Force Gen. CQ Brown took over command on Sunday. Milley is retiring after nearly 44 years of

opposed to the new 12-week restrictions praised Saturday’s ruling.

“We applaud the court’s decision to block a few of the onerous barriers to essential reproductive health care that have no basis in medicine,” said Dr. Beverly Gray, an OB-GYN and a named plainti in the case.

A spokesperson for Senate leader Phil Berger, one of the legislative defendants, said Saturday

service.

Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin recalled Milley as a battle buddy, noting with a grin that he was always “eager to get into the ght. And I’ve seen that rsthand over our long history of working together, including one time when he got me blown up. Literally.”

When Austin was commanding the 10th Mountain Division during the Iraq War he visited Milley, one of his brigade commanders, who suggested they go to the hospital to see a wounded soldier.

“So we took Route Irish in Baghdad, which was known as the most dangerous road in the world. And we promptly got hit by an IED,” Austin told the crowd. “Afterwards, I asked, ‘Hey general, has this happened to you before?’ And Mark said, ‘Oh yes sir — I’ve been blown up about ve times now.’”

The crowd of about 1,800 included past and current U.S. and

that Eagles’ order was still being reviewed.

Lawyers for Republican legislative leaders said in court documents in September that the provision requiring the documentation of an intrauterine pregnancy was designed to ensure the pregnancy was not ectopic, which can be dangerous. And “North Carolina rationally sought to help ensure the safety of women who may require hospitalization for

er Biden’s taxes and gun use that began in 2018. Two IRS whistleblowers came forward to Congress in the spring with claims that department ocials thwarted their e orts to fully investigate Hunter Biden and that they faced retaliation when they pushed back.

The claims have since been disputed by the Department of Justice, the IRS and FBI agents who worked on the case.

“The Biden Justice Department protected the Biden family brand.” said Rep. Jason Smith, a Missouri Republican and Ways and Means chairman.

The hearing is expected to be the rst of many as House Republicans explore whether or not they will pursue articles of impeachment against the president.

It’s unclear if McCarthy has support from his slim Republican majority to impeach Biden. If Biden was impeached, the charges would then be sent to the Senate for a trial.

international dignitaries and military leaders, families, friends, troops, veterans, wounded warriors and Gold Star families who lost loved ones in the wars.

One of the opening performances was a stirring rendition of “God Bless America” by Army Capt. Luis Avila, who was severely injured and lost a leg in a bomb blast in Afghanistan. Milley’s choice of Avila was a tribute to wounded troops but also served as a pointed jab at Trump.

Milley has said Trump made disparaging remarks about Avila, who sang from his wheelchair at a ceremony for Milley in 2019. Milley said Trump asked him at the time, “Why do you bring people like that here? No one wants to see that, the wounded.”

Milley, 65, is a native of Winchester, Massachusetts. He commanded troops at all levels, including in Iraq and Afghanistan. He became Army chief of sta in 2015 and launched several initiatives, including the creation of Security Force Assistance Brigades, which train foreign forces, and the opening of Army Futures Command in Austin, Texas, to pursue new technologies.

complications from surgical abortions,” a legal brief from the lawmakers read.

State Attorney General Josh Stein, a Democrat, abortion-rights supporter and 2024 candidate for governor, is o cially a lawsuit defendant. But lawyers from his o ce asked Eagles to block the two provisions, largely agreeing with Planned Parenthood’s arguments. Stein said Saturday he was encouraged by Eagles’ ruling.

MOORE COUNTY

Serving up a win

Union Pines Allie Bauer serves the ball against Seaforth during a non conference match at Seaforth high school in Pittsboro, on September 25, 2023. Bauer’s four aces and 17 points helped lead the Vikings to a 3-1 victory.

WHAT’S HAPPENING

Invasive Apple Snails o cially con rmed in North Carolina

On Monday, the N.C. Wildlife Resources Commission (NCWRC) announced that Apple Snails, a harmful invasive aquatic species, have been identi ed along the Lumber River in Lumberton. Native to South America, this is the rst known population of Apple Snails in the state.

Globally, Apple Snails are a problematic invasive species, which have been introduced in Europe, Asia, and multiple states within the U.S. A concerned citizen sent photographs of suspected Apple Snail clusters to the NCWRC. An NCWRC biologist inspected multiple sites along the Lumber River and collected additional egg masses for submission to the N.C. Museum of Natural Science, which con rmed the identi cation of Apple Snail eggs. Subsequent surveys by an NCWRC biologist detected adult snails and eggs near the I-95 bridge crossing of the Lumber River, at the High Hill Boating Access Area, and in Fivemile Branch, a tributary to the Lumber River. Apple Snail grazing habits can damage plants used by many native aquatic species, and they have been observed feeding on amphibian eggs.

Additionally, Apple Snails can present human health risks. They may carry rat lungworm, which can cause a potentially fatal disease in humans if the snails are eaten raw or undercooked. The snail’s egg masses also contain a toxin, which can cause skin and eye rashes. Apple Snails are most easily recognizable by their distinctive large, bright pink clusters, which are laid on solid surfaces, such as tree trunks, concrete, or other vegetation, above the waterline along the edges of streams, rivers, or ponds. The NCWRC is requesting that citizens report suspected apple snails and egg masses (with photos) online. For more information, please visit https://www.ncwildlife. org/.

CDP for S. Bennett Street mixed-use development nally approved by council

Southern Pines approves 2040 Comprehensive Plan

By Ryan Henkel North State Journal

SOUTHERN PINES — The Town of Southern Pines Council met Tuesday, Sept. 12, with multiple developmental items on the agenda.

In terms of action items, the council was rst presented with a request for an architectural compliance permit for seven four-bedroom cottages and three eight-bedroom cottages o Country Club Circle for the Southern Pines Golf Club.

The permit sought deviations

from two architectural compliance standards, those being ones for building materials, as over 20% of the building contains stucco features, and one for windows because the style and choice re ect residential instead of commercial standards.

However, due to the absence of Mayor Carol Haney, who is recovering from a recent surgery, and the recusal of council member Bill Pate, the council reached an impasse due to not having enough voting members to pass a decision after council member Ann Petersen voted against the request due to what she perceived as a lack of variance in the cottage designs.

“What we have here is ve, es-

sentially the same buildings with some di erent attributes on the facade,” Petersen said. “I think the only diversity we have right now is just di erent window dressing on the front of the buildings. It’s the same building over ve times. It’s such an eclectic neighborhood that I’m not sure ve of the same buildings with di erent facades address anything that is similar to the character of the neighborhood.” As such, the decision was moved to the council’s next work session on Sept. 26.

“The statute on voting says it takes a majority of the council members not excused from voting to pass any item that has the e ect of an ordinance,” said Town

Attorney Mac McCarley. “My be-

lief is that this has the e ect of an ordinance because it allows the project to move forward. So a 2-1 vote does not pass it, but it also does not defeat it. It’s basically a no-action. This can come back on the agenda at some point when all four voting members are present, and you can consider it again.”

The council then once again took up the conceptual development plan for the mixed-use development on the west side of S. Bennett Street between New York Avenue and Pennsylvania Avenue, which had been continued across several meetings.

“All the changes that the applicant made were in an attempt to address that which was brought out during the public hearing, and the revisions that were made after the close of the public hearing were in direct response to discussion by the town council,” said Planning Director BJ Grieve.

The council voted 3-1 in favor of approving the CDP, with Petersen again being the lone dissent, citing concerns with stormwater runo and soil con-

See SOUTHERN PINES page 2

Moore Regional Hospital among nation’s top hospitals for the third straight year

North State Journal Sta

PINEHURST — Moore

County’s primary healthcare unit has once again been named one of the nation’s 100 top hospitals after an independent quality assessment conducted by a national technology company.

According to PINC AI, the technology and services brand of Charlotte-based Premier, Inc., Moore Regional Hospital is the only hospital in North Carolina to achieve this prestigious designation as one of the top 100 hospitals in the country. This marks the third consecutive year and the eighth year overall that Moore Regional has been honored as one of the nation’s premier healthcare institutions. The list was rst published in Forbes.

The compilation of this exclusive list relied on an objective quantitative analysis of publicly available data to identify the top-performing hospitals. According to a release from PINC AI, the primary aim of the ranking program is to inspire leaders in the healthcare industry to pursue higher levels of performance

and deliver enhanced value to patients and communities. Organizations do not apply to participate in the study.

“Today’s announcement marks the rst time in FirstHealth’s history that Moore Regional has earned this distinction three years in a row,” said FirstHealth CEO Mickey W. Foster in a statement. “This repeated accomplishment is a testament to the hard work and dedication of our employees, providers and volunteers, and their unwavering commitment to excellence. Their exceptional skill, compassion, and teamwork continue to keep our health system at the forefront of healthcare and among the nation’s best.”

When comparing the winners to a peer group of similar non-winning hospitals, the top hospitals demonstrated better health outcomes with more efcient and cost-e ective operations. According to PINC AI, hospitals on the top 100 list had a 31% reduction in mortality rates and 9% reduction in patient complications versus hospitals not on the list. Beyond the

“This incredible organization… provides exceptional care and compassion to our community and stands as a beacon of excellence.”

Gary VonCannon, First Health of the

healthcare outcomes, the group reported that ranked hospitals had approximately 20% lower inpatient expenses per discharge.

“It is an incredible honor for FirstHealth to earn this designation year after year. I am humbled and profoundly proud to serve this incredible organization, one that provides exceptional care and compassion to our community and stands as a beacon of excellence,” said Gary VonCannon, Chair of the FirstHealth of the Carolinas Board of Directors. Beyond North Carolina, Grand Strand Medical Center in

Myrtle Beach and Chippenham Hospital in Richmond were also included on the top 100 list.

“As hospitals continue to share the nation’s focus on changing healthcare for the better, hospitals and health systems are recognizing the importance of identifying areas within their walls for quality improvement,” said Leigh Anderson, Premier’s Chief Operating O cer. “The transparent and nonbiased measures this study provides help leaders make informed decisions for change and prove that Moore Regional excels across a range of core performance indicators, which can directly lead to signicantly higher quality patient outcomes, with fewer readmissions and complications.”

Carolinas

DAVID SINCLAIR, FOR NORTH STATE JOURNAL

tamination.

The council then held three public hearings, with the rst being a request for voluntary annexation of 1.01 acres of property located west of Cli Court, the second being for the conveyance of 7.73 acres of property located at the corner of Henley Street and Morganton Road to the YMCA of the Sandhills and the third on the draft 2040 Comprehensive Plan.

“Our goal throughout this process has been that the plan itself

Washington’s credit card price controls will hurt consumers

WHY HAS SEN. DICK DURBIN (D-Ill.) declared war on credit cards?

Americans are in love with paying with plastic.

Perhaps too much so — given that credit card debt now exceeds $1 trillion.

But paying with plastic has become a sort of American pastime — so popular and convenient (especially reward programs that o er cash-back payments, frequent yer miles and other discounts) that there are now an estimated 500 million to 1 billion credit cards in circulation and close to another 1 billion debit cards. This means there are multiple more credit and debit cards than there are adults in the U.S.

That’s a big change from 20-to-30 years ago when only upper-income Americans had access to plastic cards for swiping (and now tapping), while middle- and especially lower-income Americans had to carry around wads of cash for transactions or go to a loan shark for emergency money.

But you know another group that loves the convenience of credit cards? Stores, restaurants, merchants, online services. They have vastly expanded retailers’ transactions and sales. This year, there will be nearly $5 billion of plastic card (or cellphone) nancial transactions, two to three times the amount in 2012.

Some smaller stores don’t accept credit cards, but those numbers are dwindling. Even corner shoe-shiners are accepting plastic these days.

Taking Visa, Mastercard, American Express or any of the dozens of other credit cards also reduces the burden of handling cash, reduces theft at the cash register, and in most cases, the credit card companies assume the risk of nonpayment. They

do all this for an “interchange fee” charged to merchants that averages around 2%.

What retailers don’t like is paying that fee.

They’ve run to Congress for help, and Durbin has obliged with his so-called Credit Card Competition Act. Given that there are dozens of cards to choose from, and that retailers are free to create their own credit cards for customers (as used to be the case with Sears and J.C. Penney cards), the argument that Visa and Mastercard lack competition is a bit far-fetched.

Last week, the senators released a “study” claiming that this bill would save the average consumer $1,000 a year. But this was the very same claim Durbin made about his debit card price controls. The consumers didn’t save money; the merchants pocketed nearly all the money and it nearly ended “free checking” services by banks.

To the extent that there are cash savings passed on to consumers, The Wall Street Journal has noted that this would likely come at the expense of fewer reward points for credit card holders.

And if swiping fees are such a nancial burden on small and large retailers, let’s see them go for a few weeks without them. The credit card market isn’t broken; it’s ourishing as America moves rapidly to becoming a nation where nearly everyone has access to the convenience of cheap credit at their ngertips. The last thing consumers and sellers need is for Congress to “ x it.”

Stephen Moore is a senior fellow at the Heritage Foundation and a chief economist at FreedomWorks.

MOORE COUNTY

moore happening

Here’s a quick look at what’s coming up in Moore County:

Oct. 5

Trivia Thursday at the Brewery

6pm

Come out for Trivia at the Southern Pines Brewery!

Enjoy fun and prizes each Thursday. Southern Pines Brewing Company is located at 565 Air Tool Dr., Southern Pines, NC.

Thursday Night Music Bingo

7pm

Come out to James Creek Cider House for Music Bingo with Lauren! James Creek is located at 172 US Hwy 1 Bus. in Cameron. A food truck will be on site at 8!

Oct. 6

Carthage Farmers Market

2pm – 6pm

Come out and support your local farmers at the brand-new farmers market in Carthage! The market features fresh produce, meats, eggs, and handmade goods! The market will be set up on S. Ray Street in the parking lot across from the post o ce.

Oct. 7

Moore County Farmers Market

8am – 12pm

Enjoy the Moore County Farmers Market at the Downtown Park, which is located at 145 SE Broad Street in Southern Pines! Buy local and fresh seasonal produce and products every Saturday morning from 8am until 12pm! Sandhills Farmers Market

10am – 1pm

Come out for the Sandhills Farmers Market in the heart of the Village of Pinehurst! The market features many wonderful farms, nurseries, bakeries, meat and egg providers, cheesemakers, and specialty food producers in the area.

should be shaped by the people who live, work and play in Southern Pines,” said Planning and Community Development Specialist Rachel Mann. “We wanted to talk to as many people as humanly possible because we know that anybody who spends time in Southern Pines realizes how special of a place it is, and they would all have a vision and goals for what this town should look like.”

The comprehensive plan is a long-range land use plan that aims to help guide the council’s decisions related to land develop-

ment.

“We started this process over a year ago because we were hearing from the people of Southern Pines that they weren’t happy with the way we were growing and changing, and I think we all knew we could do better,” said council member Taylor Clement. “We reached out, we asked and we listened. It’s not a plan to overhaul what’s already here, but to protect what we have and protect what we love about Southern Pines.”

Following the hearings, the

council approved all three.

Finally, the council held a quasi-judicial hearing for a preliminary development plan for Morganton Park South Phase 3.

The application, which involves a planned development district, includes a 101,840-squarefoot wholesale retail building, a fuel service station and a 2,050-square-foot drive-through restaurant on 13.89 acres of property.

However, due to concerns over the deviation requests and presented plans, the council voted

to continue the hearing until the 26th.

“The only issue outstanding that the town council has to make a decision on is, do you want to grant a deviation to be in excess of the Morganton Road Overlay maximum parking spaces,” said Grieve. “And the UDO and planned developments are supposed to prioritize or encourage the use of shared parking. And to us, this does not look like shared parking.”

The Town of Southern Pines Council will next meet Oct. 10.

Pinecrest, North Moore record wins

North State Journal

TWO OF THE THREE FOOTBALL teams in Moore County won their games on Friday. Pinecrest improved to 6-0 on the season, while North Moore won its second straight. Union Pines was the lone team on the wrong side of the ledger, falling for the second time in the last three games.

Pinecrest 49, Southern Lee 7: The Patriots moved to 6-0 on the year, their best start to a season since winning their rst seven in 2016. Pinecrest hammered Southern Lee for their ninth straight win over the Cavaliers.

Chris Najm piled up 270 rushing yards, scoring three touchdowns, to lead the Patriots. Elijah Melton added a pair of touchdown catches. Makhi Carey caught a touchdown, and Cody Hansen rushed for one to round out the scoring.

Jadin Baptist led the defense with three tackles for loss, 11 total tackles and a safety.

Pinecrest plays another home conference game this Friday, against Lee County. The Yellow Jackets are 4-2, 1-1 in conference, while Pinecrest is 2-0 in conference play.

North Moore 41, Bartlett Yancey 6: North Moore won its second straight game by beating the Buccaneers for the third year in a row.

The Mustangs scored all six of their touchdowns on the ground, racking up 469 rushing yards for a 9.8 yards per carry average. Four ball carriers found the end zone and three recorded 100 yards or more on the ground.

Nathan Rogers had 165 yards rushing and scored a pair of touchdowns.

Kolby Ritchie added 155 yards on 13 carries and one score. Jakarey Gillis also hit the century mark with 142 yards. He scored a pair of touchdowns. On defense, Bailey Blue had 3 sacks, and Elliott Furr added two tackles for loss and a blocked eld goal attempt.

North Moore improved to 4-2, 3-1 in conference. The Mustangs will look to win their third straight at home against Seaforth on Friday.

Union Pines 0, Scotland 45: The Vikings ran into a buzz saw, falling behind 21-0 in the rst quarter on their way to a shutout loss at the hands of the unbeaten Fighting Scots.

Zay Jones showed why he’s the state’s leading rusher, carrying the ball 16 times for 303 yards and ve

Jacey Olsen

PREP FOOTBALL — WEEK 8

Friday Oct. 6, 7:30 PM, Pinecrest Patriots (6-0, 2-0) home vs. Lee County Yellow Jackets (4-2, 1-1)

*Conference Game*

Friday Oct. 6, 7:30 PM, North Moore Mustangs (4-2, 3-1) home vs. Seaforth Hawks (2-4,2-2)

*Conference Game

Friday Sept. 29, 7:30 PM, Union Pines Vikings (2-4, 1-1) home vs. Richmond Raiders (2-5, 2-1)

*Conference Game*

touchdowns to lead Scotland.

Jeremiah Womack had the defensive highlight for Union Pines, recovering a fumble inside the Scotland 10 yard line in the rst quarter. The Vikings weren’t able to convert the turnover into points, however, as the o ense was stopped on a goal-line stand.

Union Pines fell to 2-4, 1-1 in the conference. The Vikings will try to bounce back this week with a home game against Richmond. The Vikings have lost to the Raiders each of the last two seasons.

Pinecrest, volleyball

Jacey Olsen is a senior outside hitter and team captain for the Pinecrest volleyball team.

Pinecrest volleyball went 2-1 last week, sweeping conference foes Richmond and Southern Lee, while dropping a non-conference tilt at Green Hope. The Patriots moved to 13-6 on the season and a perfect 8-0 in the Sandhills Conference, putting them in rst place by a full two matches.

Olsen led the way in the win over Richmond, getting a team-high 20 kills, to go with her 3 aces and 5 blocks, both second-most on the team, and her 8 digs, which were good for third. She also had 6 kills and 5 digs against Green Hope. For the season, she leads the team in kills and is among the top three in aces, digs, hitting percentage and receptions.

DAVID SINCLAIR | FOR NORTH STATE JOURNAL

Pinecrest senior linebacker Jadin Baptist (18) makes a tackle during the Patriots’ 49-7 win over Southern Lee.

DAVID SINCLAIR | FOR NORTH STATE JOURNAL

Kathleen A. Nelson

November 27, 1931 - September 28, 2023

Kathleen A. Nelson, 91, of Pinehurst, died peacefully surrounded by her family on Thursday, Sept. 28, 2023.

Kathleen was born on Nov. 27, 1931, in Syracuse, N.Y., to Edward and Margaret (Kennedy) Byrne. On Aug. 20, 1955, she married her husband of 62 years, William A. Nelson, who preceded her in death on July 30, 2018.

She is survived by her sons, William E. Nelson, MD; Robert Nelson (Oliver), Mark Nelson (Sharon), Kevin Nelson (JoAnne), Brendon Nelson; her daughter, Anne Nelson. She is also survived by her grandchildren, Justin Nelson (Kerri), Kyle Nelson (Rachel) Miranda Nelson, Sheridan Nelson, Felicia Zepp, Dylan Zepp, Dakotah Nelson and Parker Nelson; and her greatgrandchildren, Haley Nelson, Mason Nelson, Kendra Colon and Keira Serrani; as well as her sister, Patricia Field.

William Steven Woolard

January 9, 1951 - September 25, 2023

William Steven Woolard, 72, of Pinehurst, passed peacefully at his home, surrounded by his family and friends on Monday, Sept. 25th, 2023. He was a “walking-talking-miracle.”

He was a ghter at heart, persevering through a 5-yearbattle with stage 4 lung cancer and de ed the odds with an unwavering faith, hope, and determination. His positive spirit never surrendered to the thought that his circumstances weren’t fair, and he never complained. He just refused to give up!

Born in Washington, NC, he was the son of the late Henry Stewart and Ella Mae Smith Woolard. After high school graduation, Steve earned his Bachelor of Wood Science and Technology from NC State University. He began his career at Weyerhaeuser as a Plant Manager, a career that spanned over 25 years. Steve went on to work for several other wood products companies before nishing his career with Armstrong World Industries. Throughout his career, his skills would see him transferred to plants in West Virginia, Macon, GA, Mississippi, Pennsylvania, as well as Plymouth, Williamston and New Bern, NC. Steve was the recipient of a multitude of distinguished awards throughout his career.

Diane McDonald Vest

September 18, 1959September 28, 2023

Diane McDonald Vest, 64, of West End, passed peacefully on Thursday, September 28th at the FirstHealth Moore Regional Hospital.

A lifelong resident of Moore County, Diane was born in Pinehurst, Sept. 18, 1959, she was the daughter of the late Jerry and Shirley Jenkins McDonald. She was in the rst graduating class from Pinecrest High School and later went on to work at Seven Lakes Hardware

She was the loving wife of Andy Vest. She was the mother of Crissy Skipper, husband Joe, and Jason Vest, wife Deanna. She is survived by ve grandchildren: Austyn, Gracie, Ayden, Lawson and Jayla. She is also survived by her brothers Scott McDonald and Greg McDonald and sisters Sharon Street and Karen Cockman.

Helen Rose (Morgan) Frye

January 7, 1939 - September 27, 2023

Helen Rose (Morgan) Frye, 84 of Aberdeen, passed away on Wednesday, September 27, 2023, at The Greens of Pinehurst. Mrs. Frye was born January 7, 1939, in Moore County to the late Alexander and Irene (Garner) Morgan. She retired from Carolina Telephone Company after 30 plus years of service. Helen enjoyed traveling with her late husband Melvin Frye until his passing January 7, 2008. She enjoyed the beach and the mountains. Her love for animals was unending. She always fed the birds and squirrels. She was a member of Pleasant Hill Baptist Church.

Mrs. Frye was preceded in death by her husband of over 40 years, Melvin Frye and her sister Coleen Grower. She is survived by her niece Zada Tyeann Wicker and husband Dr. J. Burton Browning of Holden Beach, NC. Along with many other nieces and nephews.

Patricia Nadine Ault

August 6, 1934 - September 24, 2023

Patricia Nadine Ault, 89 of Pinehurst, passed away on September 24, 2023 at Fox Hollow Assisted Living.

Born on August 6, 1934 in E ngham, Illinois to the late Arthur and Irene Spraggins, she grew up in Casey, Illinois where she met the love of her life, Don. Patricia and her husband, Don lived in numerous major cities to support his career as an airline Pilot. The family eventually settled in Farmers Branch, TX and remained there for over 40 years. In Farmers Branch, Patricia was on a bowling league which she enjoyed tremendously. She was a friendly, outgoing lady who had a wonderful sense of humor. She will be greatly missed by her friends and family.

In addition to her parents, she was preceded in death by her husband, Donald Dean Ault and her son, Michael Wayne Ault.

She is survived by one brother-in-law, Ron Ault; three nieces, Danelle Petero (Clay), Michelle Grant (John) and Angie Carlisle (Steve); great nieces and nephews, Megan and Nick Petero, Josie and Jackson Grant, Madison and Lauren Alexander.

Gloria Eleanor Yanick

February 18, 1951 - September 25, 2023

Gloria Eleanor Yanick, 72 of Aberdeen, passed away on September 25, 2023 at her home.

Born on February 18, 1951 in Scranton, Pennsylvania to the late Stanley and Eleanor Mahalik. Gloria was a faithful member of St. Adalbert’s PNCC in Dickson City, Pennsylvania where she was part of the Woman’s Adoration Society. She also enjoyed singing in the Lutnia Choir and was very involved with the youth of the church. She had so much faith, and love in her heart to share that often the children she worked with could be heard calling her “mom”. Gloria was also a member of the Ladies Auxiliary at the Eagle Hose Co., Dickson City Volunteer Fire Department. She loved her family above all else and made the move to North Carolina to be close to her grandchildren whom she adored. She was an avid reader and fabulous baker. Gloria enjoyed watching and cheering for Penn State Football.

Steve was a humble man who taught through example. He was proud of the mentorship he shared with his teams and took pride in helping others succeed in their own endeavors. Steve had an incredible career and leaves a legacy of leaders in all the places he worked. While his professional accomplishments were full of superlatives, his greatest accomplishment was his walk with the Lord. This good man, great man, was most proud that he became a Godly man. He always saw his cancer as a chance to share with others the blessings he felt with each new day.

Steve was the loving husband of Patricia “Pattie” Eisenzimmer Woolard for 32 blessed years. He was brother of Jerry Woolard, of Mableton, GA. He was the proud father of Kellie Wallace, husband Adam, Erin Terry, husband Mike, and Blair Hofmann, husband Joseph. He is also survived by his grandchildren: Noah Wallace, Fischer Terry and Joseph and Oliver Hofmann as well as a number nieces and nephews.

In lieu of owers, the family asks that donations be made to The Cancer CARE Fund via the Foundation at FirstHealth.

Barry Lee Weitzel, Sr.

October 2, 1955 - September 25, 2023

Barry Lee Weitzel, Sr, 67 passed away into Jesus arms on Monday September 25, 2023 at the home of his son and daughterin-law in Pinehurst, NC

Mr. Weitzel was born October 2, 1955 in Ephrata, PA to Harold and Fay (Snader) Weitzel. He retired from Astro Machine Works in Ephrata after 37 years in 2021. He volunteered and served as Troop leader of Boy Scout troop 95 for 16 years.

Mr. Weitzel is survived by his wife of 47 years, Adele Theresa “Terri” Eberhart Weitzel. Two sons, Barry Weitzel, Jr. and wife Mary of Pinehurst, and Kyle Weitzel of Stevens, PA; an awesome grandson, Max Weitzel; his mother, Fay Weitzel of Stevens, PA; a sister, Debbie also of Stevens, PA. He was preceded in death by his father, Harold Weitzel.

The family would like to thank the sta of Fox Hollow Assisted Living and Sondra Williamson of FirstHealth Palliative Care for the outstanding care and support they provided to Patricia and her loved ones.

She is survived by her loving husband, Michael Yanick; three children, Katherine Yanick, Ann Rondomanski (Rick) and Michael Yanick (Amy); two brothers, Stanley Mahalik (Karen), George Mahalik (Ann); three grandchildren, Olivia, Bryson and Trevor; also survived by numerous cousins, nieces, nephews and a multitude of “adopted “children. In lieu of owers, the family asks that donations be made to either the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society or Multiple Sclerosis Association of America.