North State Journal Vol. 9, Issue 6

the BRIEF this week

Simmons picked as NCGOP chairman

Selma The North Carolina Republican Party’s Executive Committee elected Jason Simmons as state chairman last week, choosing the party’s executive director to succeed Michael Whatley after he was elevated to lead the Republican National Committee in early March.

Simmons beat Lee County party Chairman Jim Womack by a more than 2-to-1 margin in the vote, a party spokesperson said. Simmons had received an endorsement for the job from former President Donald Trump, who had made Whatley — who had resigned from his state chairman’s position earlier in the day — his handpicked choice to succeed longtime RNC Chairwoman Ronna McDaniel. Simmons worked as state director on Trump’s 2016 presidential campaign in North Carolina and oversaw Trump campaign operations in some Southeast states in 2020.

Krispy Kreme embraces solar eclipse

Charlotte

More and more businesses are taking advantage of the total solar eclipse set to dim skies across North America next week. In the snacks department alone, Krispy Kreme is embracing Monday’s solar eclipse as a marketing opportunity In 2017, the last time the U.S. saw a big slice of a total solar eclipse, scores of companies used the event for special promotions — including Krispy Kreme. The Charlottebased company previously rolled out limited-edition chocolate glazed doughnuts for the 2017 eclipse, and those treats have made a few returns since. But that might not be the case for this year’s “Total Solar Eclipse Doughnut.” The Krispy Kreme-Oreo combo is set to be available from Friday through Monday, according to an announcement from the chain this week.

Hospitals must now obtain written consent for pelvic exams

Washington, D.C.

New federal guidance says hospitals must obtain written informed consent from patients before subjecting them to pelvic exams and exams of other sensitive areas — especially if an exam will be done while the patient is unconscious. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services says consent is needed for exams that are for “educational and training purposes.” Federal regulations previously mentioned obtaining consent for “important tasks” related to surgeries.

The plainti s accused the legislature of violating the Voting Rights Act

By Gary D. Robertson The Associated Press

RALEIGH — A federal appeals court declined Thursday to order North Carolina legislators to redraw some state Senate districts, rejecting arguments that clear evidence has been presented showing Republican manipulation of boundaries means black voters there are prevented from electing their favored candidates.

In a 2-1 decision, a panel of the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Richmond, Virginia, upheld a trial court judge’s decision in January that refused to issue a preliminary injunction preventing the use of two Senate districts and to order the General Assembly to redraw them.

Two black voters who sued in November contend that the GOP-controlled legislature violated the Voting Rights Act last fall by fracturing a politically cohesive unit known as the “Black Belt” region when it redrew the two northeastern districts.

U.S. District Judge James Dever had decided in part that lawyers for the voters had not

shown that voting in close to 20 counites was racially polarized at legally signi cant levels to justify new districts. And Dever said it was too late in the 2024 election cycle — legislative primaries were held March 5 — to order new lines, citing a legal principle discouraging voting-rule changes close to elections.

When the three circuit judges heard oral arguments last month, two sounded hesitant to reverse Dever, including Circuit Judge Allison Rushing, who wrote Thursday’s majority opinion. It’s possible the voters can accumulate evidence for a trial that shows the Voting Rights Act was violated and a majority-minority district should be created in the area, she said.

“But the standard for winning relief before trial ... while elections are underway is high indeed, and Plainti s have not satis ed it with the record they have developed thus far,” Rushing wrote. Circuit Judge J. Harvie Wilkinson joined in her opinion.

Circuit Judge Roger Gregory, writing a dissenting opinion, said Dever misconstrued the legal standard to determine a Voting Rights Act violation,

The Wolfpack ended a 41-year drought and is two wins in Arizona away from a title

By Shawn Krest North State Journal

DALLAS — There was Spud Webb and Staats Battle and Cat Barber and Scooter Sherrill. Welcome back.

And Rodney Purvis and Chris Washburn and Dennis Smith. It’s been a while. NC State has played 1,231 basketball games over the last 41 years. Including overtimes, that’s 49,630 minutes of basketball. Over what would be 34½ days of end-to-end, nonstop basketball, 233 men have suited up for the Wolfpack.

And Tom Gugliotta and Charles Shackleford and Todd Fuller and Chucky Brown.

On Sunday night, 16 of them did what their 217 predecessors in the red and white could not — they cut down the nets to signify a spot in college basketball’s Final Four.

And Migjen Bakalli and Omer Yurtseven and Lakista McCuller.

The Wolfpack did it by playing nine must-win games over 19 days, the most recent one a 76-64 win over Duke that sent State to the nal weekend of the college basketball season. Land that only four teams get to tread.

“Nine elimination games or you go home,” said coach Kevin Keatts, who, for nearly half of those nine games, had more at risk than just going home since there was a good chance the school would be sending him on his way to nd a new home elsewhere.

BRANDON WADE / AP PHOTO

NC State’s Ben Middlebrooks holds up the South Regional trophy after the Wolfpack beat Duke 76-64 on Sunday in Dallas to advance to the Final Four.

We stand corrected

To report an error or a suspected error, please email: corrections@nsjonline.com with “Correction request” in the subject line.

“He is not here, but is risen: remember how he spake unto you when he was yet in Galilee, Saying, The Son of man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men, and be cruci ed, and the third day rise again.”

Luke 24:6-7

The resurrection of Christ is one of the great foundation-stones of the Christian religion. In practical importance, it is second only to the cruci xion. Luke Chapter 24 directs our mind to the evidence of the resurrection. It contains unanswerable proof that Jesus not only died but rose again.

We see, in the verses before us — the reality of Christ’s resurrection. Certain women came to the tomb in which the body of Jesus had been laid, in order to anoint Him. But when they came to the place, “they found the stone rolled away.”

This simple fact is the starting point in the history of the resurrection of Christ. On Friday morning His body was safe in the tomb. On Sunday morning His body was gone. By whose hands had it been taken away? Who had removed it? Not the priests, scribes and enemies of Christ. If they had Christ’s body to disprove his resurrection — they would surely have shown it. The Apostles and other disciples were too frightened and dispirited to attempt such an action and they had nothing to gain by it.

One explanation, and one only, can meet the circumstance of the case. That explanation is the one supplied by the angels in the verse before us. Christ “had risen” from the grave. He had arisen, and was soon seen alive and conversing, by many credible witnesses.

The resurrection of Christ is con rmed by testimony of every kind, sort, and description. The plain unvarnished story which the Gospel writers tell about it — is one which cannot be overthrown. If we choose to deny the truth of their account — then we may deny everything in the world. It is not as certain that Julius Caesar once lived — as it is that Christ rose again.

Let us cling rmly to the resurrection of Christ, as one of the pillars of the Gospel. Our faith does not depend merely on a set of texts and doctrines. It is founded on a mighty historical fact which the skeptic has never been able to overturn.

It ought to assure us of the certainty of the resurrection of our own bodies after death. If our Master has risen from the grave — then we need not doubt that His disciples shall rise again at the last day. Who can condemn us? Our Great Surety has not only died for us but risen again. (Romans 8:34.)

We also see how dull the memory of the disciples was about some of our Lord’s teachings. We are told that the angels who appeared to the women, reminded them of their Master’s words in Galilee, foretelling His own cruci xion and resurrection. And then we read, “They remembered his words.” They had heard them

Gaskin retires from vet a airs post, Cooper taps former legislator

Grier Martin, who served 17 years in the N.C. House, takes over

The Associated Press

RALEIGH — Walter Gaskin, a retired three-star Marine Corps general, stepped down as secretary of the North Carolina Department of Military and Veteran A airs, and Gov. Roy Cooper has named former state Rep. Grier Martin as his successor. Cooper’s o ce announced Gaskin’s retirement Thursday, and Martin took over the Cabinet post on Monday.

DISTRICTS from page A1

leading to an insurmountable roadblock for the voters who sued to be successful. And the legislature wouldn’t be required to draw a minority-majority district to address the racial bias, Gregory said. “The North Carolina General Assembly enacted a map that cracked the state’s Black Belt right down the middle,” Gregory wrote. “Yet the district court concluded that this new map was unlikely to dilute Black voters’ power.”

Alterations to even two Senate districts could a ect efforts this fall by Republicans to retain the party’s current narrow veto-proof majority in the chamber. The two senators representing the region are Republicans. A ruling ultimately favoring the plainti s could help a Democrat win one of the seats. Further court appeals are possible.

Eddie Speas, one of the plainti s’ attorneys, said he was still

Gaskin, a Georgia native, was also commanding general of the 2nd Marine Division at Camp Lejeune from June 2006 until July 2008.

Martin, 55, had been the assistant secretary of defense for Manpower and Reserve A airs. A retired Army Reserve soldier, Martin, served two stints, totaling 17 years, in the state House as a Wake County Democrat going back to 2005 before resigning in 2022 to work in the Pentagon. Martin is a Charlotte native who earned a bachelor’s degree from Davidson College and law degree from the University of North Carolina School of Law. “As a soldier, state representa-

“But the standard for winning relief before trial ... while elections are underway is high indeed, and Plainti s have not satis ed it with the record they have developed thus far.”

Allison Rushing, 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals judge

reviewing the ruling late Thursday.

There were no March 5 primaries for the 1st and 2nd Senate Districts being challenged. The voters’ lawyers have said there would be enough time for the legislature to redraw the lines and hold primary elections, if needed, in replacement districts. But attorneys for the GOP lawmakers said state redistricting rules could precipitate the redrawing

— but made no use of them. When the women told the apostles, “their words seemed to them as idle tales.” In spite of the plainest declarations from their Master’s own lips, that He would rise again the third day — credible witnesses, angels, the empty tomb — these eleven faithless ones would not believe.

We see around us in the Christian Churches, a mass of unbelief far more unreasonable and far more blameworthy than that of the apostles. We see myriads of professing Christians who seem not to believe that Jesus died, rose again and is coming to judge the world. No wonder our Lord said, “When the Son of man comes — shall He nd faith on the earth?” (Luke 18:8.)

Admire the wisdom of God, which can bring great good out of seeming evil. The unbelief of the apostles is one of the strongest indirect evidences that Jesus rose from the dead. If the disciples were at rst skeptical and were at last so thoroughly persuaded of its truth, that they preached it everywhere — then Christ must have risen indeed. The rst preachers were men who were convinced, in spite of themselves, and in spite of determined, obstinate unwillingness to believe. If the apostles at last believed — then the resurrection must be true.

John Charles Ryle (1816-1900) was an English evangelical Anglican bishop and the rst Anglican bishop of Liverpool. Ryle was a strong supporter of the evangelical school and a critic of ritualism. His works include Christian Leaders of the Eighteenth Century, Expository Thoughts on the Gospels, and Principles for Churchmen. His works are in the public domain.

PARKING from page A1

for parking. The state’s second-largest district, Charlotte-Mecklenburg, charges “a price not to exceed $25.00,” according to its board policies.

tive and leader at the Pentagon, Grier Martin has been a erce advocate for our veterans and military communities,” Cooper said in a statement, “and I am con dent he will continue our e orts to make North Carolina the most military and veteran friendly state in the nation.”

The Department of Military and Veterans A airs manages state veterans’ nursing homes and cemeteries, and it promotes activities to support military installations in North Carolina and the quality of life for current and retired service members. The secretary’s post, like other Cabinet positions, is subject to state Senate con rmation.

of more Senate districts and more new elections.

Much of Thursday’s opinions, which totaled more than 90 pages, focused on the ndings from an expert that the plainti s used to build their case. Dever found the expert’s report “unreliable, incomplete, and contradicted by other evidence,” Rushing wrote. Gregory said that Dever was wrong to discount the expert’s analysis.

Rushing was nominated to the court by Donald Trump and Wilkinson by Ronald Reagan. Gregory was rst appointed to the court by Bill Clinton.

One of the black voters who sued, Rodney Pierce, narrowly defeated incumbent Rep. Michael Wray in the 27th District Democratic primary last month. Pierce faces no Republican opposition this fall.

The General Assembly redrew the state’s congressional and legislative district maps in October.

At least three other redistricting lawsuits challenging those lines are pending.

Buncombe County Public Schools charges $60. The district told North State Journal those fees go to “help to o set costs associated with security guards at each high school.” Triangle area districts like Durham, Johnston and Orange all charge $75. Wake County Public Schools (WCPSS), however, has the highest-priced student parking in the state, charging $200 for an annual student parking pass.

That is just $20 less than an annual student parking pass at NC State University or the same cost as a person prepaying for parking at eight Carolina Hurricane hockey games.

For the Fiscal Year 2023, WCPSS’ collected more than $1.84 million, a 62% increase on the nearly $1.14 million from 2013.

At the March 18 meeting of the WCPSS school board, new district Superintendent Robert Taylor’s budget proposal included cutting the student parking rate by $25. The fee had been raised $30 by the board in 2018, bringing the fee to its current $200 price tag.

Taylor’s proposal seeks an 8% increase ($702.6 million) in funding from county commissioners and an overall budget increase of $58.3 million to the district’s current $2.2 billion budget. The current budget is nearly 49% higher than it was 10 years ago when the district’s budget was over $1.475 billion. WCPSS did not speci cally say how the money raised from student parking fees is used.

“The parking fees are recorded as district revenue which is used to balance the entire budget,” WCPSS Communications Director Lisa

Luten said in an email response. “Funds are not specically designated for a line item in the budget.”

To date, the district has only provided top-line budget spending and has never provided the public with a breakdown of line-item spending details.

“Insane!” was how WCPSS parent Kristi Moyer characterized the parking fee. Similarly, a parent of a southeast Raleigh student who wished to remain anonymous said the cost of the parking permit was “out of their budget,” and the fee “prices out lower-income families” from being able to allow their child to drive to school.

“There should be a state law capping the amount an N.C. school district can charge students for a parking pass,” said Amy Marshall, the parent of driving-age students who attend WCPSS and also the founder and president of the Carolina Teachers Association, a teacher support organization that is an alternative to the union-a liated N.C. Association of Educators.

“Also, there should be enough parking spots to easily accommodate all students at any given school,” Marshall said. “I’d be interested to know what other county districts are charging students. I personally think it should be capped at $25 per student — if students are charged at all for a spot.” WCPSS, like most districts in the state, has been plagued by bus driver shortages. The district at one point had asked parents to apply to be trained as bus drivers to ll the gaps. Earlier this year, WCPSS set up a transportation survey to gain feedback on the reliability and safety of its busing system. The survey included a question asking parents if they would be open to hiring a private driving service,

“Holy Women at Christ’s Tomb” by Annibale Carracci (circa 1590) is a painting in the collection of The Hermitage Museum, Saint Petersburg, Russia.

Nearly $200M bet in rst week NC’s legalized sports wagering

The state receives 18% in taxes on revenue made by sportsbooks

By Gary D. Robertson

Press

Associated

The

RALEIGH — Legalized statewide sports wagering in North Carolina from smartphones and desktops that began two weeks ago is o to a “strong start,” a state lottery o cial said last Wednesday, likely buoyed by betting on college basketball at its season’s apex.

Preliminary monetary numbers for the rst day and rst week of sports wagering were presented at a meeting of the State Lottery Commission, which was directed in last June’s sports wagering law to license operators and suppliers and set rules.

Eight interactive sports wagering operators could begin taking bets at noon on March 11, the day before the men’s Atlantic Coast Conference basketball tournament began. The rst week ended just after brackets for the men’s and women’s NCAA tournaments were released.

By midnight March 11, more than $23.9 million had been wagered, of which almost $12.4 million were “promotional wagers” — incentives for new customers o ered by the companies once an initial bet is made. And bettors were paid $12.2 million in winnings during the rst 12 hours, according to the commission presentation.

es and rules to permit live horse racing. Before the law was carried out, sports gambling was legal in North Carolina only at three casinos operated by two American Indian tribes.

Among North Carolina Education Lottery games, the full commission also heard about the early popularity of “digital instants” that the lottery launched on Nov. 15. Accessed through a login-protected computer or smartphone screen, the instants play in part like slot machines, with various number and symbol matchings resulting in cash prizes.

Through January, digital instant game sales — reduced by distributed prize proceeds — are more than ve times the amount that was projected in the lottery’s annual budget, according to a presentation. Over 147,000 people have played digital instants since the launch, helping overall lottery gaming revenue, with multistate draw games not included, increase so far this scal year compared to last year rather than decrease.

Commission Deputy Executive Director Randy Spielman attributed the high sales numbers in part to the lottery already selling draw-game tickets to customers online and a longtime lottery player rewards program on its website.

Sterl Carpenter, a commission executive overseeing sports gambling, said it was too early to make informed comparisons of the launch to those in other states, but he did say that North Carolina’s launch appeared “on par” with last year’s rollout in Massachusetts.

Through the rst week, over $198.1 million had been wagered, with $141.6 million in bet winnings paid. “Gross wagering revenue” — the base upon which the state will receive its 18% cut in taxes — was close to $42.7 million.

Still, “by all accounts, mobile sports wagering in North Carolina is o to a strong start,” Carpenter said, citing public comments by some operators. And he said the early level of winnings “has to do with NC State and North Carolina doing pretty well” in the basketball postseason.

The NC State men’s team won its rst ACC title since 1987 on March 16 by winning ve games in a row, capped by a tournament championship victory over the rival Tar Heels. The Wolfpack have since reached the Final Four in the NCAA Tournament.

Louisville, who won titles in years three and 30 of State’s drought; Syracuse, who won in year 20; Virginia, who won in year 36; and, of course, Duke and Carolina. Those ve wins gave Keatts a second life on the Wolfpack bench and State an unexpected trip to what quickly has become the maddest March in … well … in 41 years.

Amazingly, 115 di erent Blue Devils and 130 di erent Tar Heels have played on Final Four teams over that time span. That’s 245 strands clipped o of nets in arenas around the country, while 233 Wolfpack players wandered, watched and waited, red-faced and green with envy, while the blue bloods celebrated.

There was Chris Corchiani and Braxton Beverly and Richard Howell. Then came the 19 days that will live forever. State beat them all:

And Damien Wilkins and Ishua Benjamin and Cozell McQueen. After winning three tournament games, State had to defeat Duke in a rematch to make it to the Final Four. The Blue Devils were favored, but the Wolfpack were not to be denied. They faced adversity — Mohamed Diarra, who had four straight double-doubles, got in early foul trouble and managed just three points. A quick-trigger technical foul was called on Keatts, allowing Duke to put togeth-

“Man, I love this team, I love this group, and I’ve always loved them.”

Casey Morsell, NC State guard

er a second-half rally. And DJ Funderburk and BeeJay Anya and CJ Leslie and JJ Hickson.

DJ Burns dominated in the post, shredding Duke’s interior defense as they tried to play him straight up.

Burns had 29 points on 13-of19 shooting on his way to the Regional Most Outstanding Player award. He also had four rebounds and three assists while fouling out Kyle Filipowski and Mark Mitchell.

“I’m not sure what the game plan was,” said NC State’s Ben

The 2023 sports gambling legislation, signed into law by Gov. Roy Cooper, also authorizes future in-person wagering, statewide betting on horse rac-

“Our success can be attributed to how long we’ve been kind of engaging our players from a digital standpoint,” Spielman said.

The education lottery took in record sales of more than $4.3 billion during the scal year ending last June 30, resulting in net earnings of $1.015 billion, also a record.

Middlebrooks. “I’m not sure what they were doing there, but if you’re going to guard single in the post, I don’t see too many teams guarding us like that.”

Middlebrooks added seven points and ve rebounds.

DJ Horne added 20 points and joined Burns on the All-Regional team.

And Manny Bates and Cli Crawford and Cedric Simmons and Anthony Grundy.

The Pack also clamped down on defense, holding Duke to 33.3% shooting, including an 0-for-9 night by Tyrese Proctor. It was the second straight game that State guards held opponents with visions of the NBA in check. The Wolfpack had a similar shutdown performance on Marquette two days earlier.

Now the Pack heads to Phoenix for the Final Four. They have more losses (14) than any team that’s ever made it there, and the

Pack will face the highest remaining seed in the eld in No. 1 Purdue.

And Rodney Monroe and Julius Hodge and TJ Warren.

But the prospect of that is the subject for another night. On Sunday, the focus was on coming out of the desert, sipping the milk and tasting the honey. “I’m still trying to put everything into words,” said Casey Morsell. “It’s been a crazy season, it’s been a roller coaster, been a lot of ups and downs, and man, we got it going at the right time. We stayed connected through the good and the bad. That was just a display of hard work, a display of beating the odds. Man, I love this team, I love this group, and I’ve always loved them, through the losses and not just the wins. We’re going to keep this thing going. This is for Raleigh.” It’s also for the 217 that came before them.

AP PHOTOS

Left: NC State forward Mohamed Diarra dunks against Duke during the Wolfpack’s Elite Eight win Sunday in Dallas.

Top right: NC State coach Kevin Keatts wears the net after the Wolfpack beat Duke 76-64 in the South Regional nal.

Bottom right: South Regional Most Outstanding Player DJ Burns Jr. celebrates after NC State advance to the Final Four in Phoenix.

NSJ IMAGE

Legalized sports betting in North Carolina started March 11.

THE CONVERSATION

Neal Robbins, publisher | Frank Hill, senior opinion editor

EDITORIAL | FRANK HILL

Where all the Joe Liebermans have gone

Lieberman was a devout Jew who never campaigned on the Jewish Sabbath.

FORMER U.S. SENATOR and Al Gore’s 2000 vice presidential candidate Joe Lieberman (D-Conn.) passed away last week from complications due to a recent fall at age 82.

He has been universally praised as a decent man of honor and integrity ― and deservedly so. He was considered a strong Democrat supporter of our national defense and a fervent supporter of Israel. He was willing to consider spending cuts as part of an overall package to balance budgets. He frequently would work with Republicans to get important legislation passed.

He could never get nominated or elected as a Democrat today.

Questions: Where have all these guys gone? And what made him so e ective in the rst place?

Two books can help answer those questions: “The Coddling of the American Mind” by Jonathan Haidt and “The City of Man” by Michael Gerson. The return to respectable leadership from our elected leaders in both major parties will require men and women of high character; personal achievement, con dence and a public spiritedness ― and as Joe Lieberman proved, it can be done. It might have to be in a new party or as an independent ― but American politics has always been a uid meandering stream, so maybe we are due for another political avulsion such as when the Whig Party took over American politics in the mid-19th century. Haidt lays out the psychological and emotional tools the American populace is going to need to get American governance back on track. He is a huge proponent of cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) which not only would leaven our public civil discourse but could lead to less acrimony on Capitol Hill and in state

capitals where political division has taken productive politics o the rails and into the brambles in the ditch below.

In his book, he focuses on nine cognitive distortions people need to recognize rst before they can correct their thinking. By correcting their thinking to a more mature, reasoned approach, our politics can be restored to the important echelon it should occupy in our national life together.

Three are important to this consideration. Our new leaders will have to abandon heavy reliance on emotional reasoning, which is where an individual lets their feelings determine their outlook on life, not reality. New leaders will have to stop blaming other people for all the problems and take responsibility for any negative feelings they may have. Our new leaders will have to stop overgeneralizing everything based on single instances, such as when liberals say everyone who supports Donald Trump after a particularly incendiary comment “can’t be a Christian.”

If you don’t have time to read Haidt’s book, it can all be boiled down to being a grown-up, mature person. When I worked on Capitol Hill from 1985-95, the halls of Congress were lled with men and women of integrity and grace who, while they could disagree on public policy matters, could at least maintain a spirit of comity and charity toward one another.

Lieberman was a devout Jew who never campaigned on the Jewish Sabbath. He led an interfaith, multidenominational weekly Bible study with other senators on Capitol Hill. He shared a set of generally accepted common American beliefs about the importance of faith, a strong family unit and responsible governance which made it easier to work together with Republicans, compromise and strike acceptable legislative deals.

Squatting becomes a thing, and some states are taking action

A DeKalb resident said he’d been away from home to take care of his sick spouse when he discovered squatters had taken over the home he had been trying to rent out.

RECENT STORIES in the news have had concerned property/homeowners wondering what rights, if any, they have to combat squatting.

Dictionary.com’s de nition of a squatter is “a person who settles on land or occupies property without title, right, or payment of rent.”

While most people would understandably assume that anyone squatting on their property would be considered trespassers who they could immediately have kicked out by local law enforcement, that’s not necessarily the case.

In an interview with ABC News’ “Nightline” program, real estate attorney Dionna Reynolds said the squatter occupying the property could claim “adverse possession,” which allows them to “take that property on as their own.”

“And they do have certain legal rights,” Reynolds also noted, according to “Nightline.”

The courts usually have to become involved, which can turn into a huge, costly nightmarish experience for the property owner depending on the situation, which sheri ’s o ces typically describe as a “civil matter” they can’t do much, if anything, about.

The typical squatting scenario involves properties that have been vacant for even a short period of time due to the death of a homeowner, a move, a temporary job transfer or other similar circumstances that require

the homeowner to be away for enough time for someone to come in and take over.

In states like Georgia and New York, reports of rampant squatting and what property owners and nearby neighbors have tried to do to counter it are the stu of nightmares.

In one recent story, a DeKalb resident said he’d been away from home to take care of his sick spouse when he discovered squatters had taken over the home he had been trying to rent out.

The man told WSB-TV “Basically, these people came in Friday, broke into my house and had a U-Haul move all their stu in. It’s frustrating. It’s very frustrating. I can’t even sleep.”

In New York City, a squatter situation tragically turned deadly for one woman, who visited her deceased mother’s apartment to get it ready for new tenants when she was confronted by alleged squatters who allegedly murdered her and then stu ed her remains into a du el bag.

The squatting situation took on even more of a sense of urgency when TikTok videos by Venezuelan illegal immigrant Leonel Moreno — who is considered a “migrant in uencer” — advising other illegal immigrants on how to squat in someone’s home went viral.

According to Fox News, “Moreno previously

After all, it is really di cult to demonize someone from the other side if you are praying with them every week and reading the Old Testament together.

Gerson used ve points to close his book subtitled “Religion and Politics in a New Era” for Christian persuaders when engaged in the public square which are also helpful to remember. Each Christian politician and activist should maintain self-awareness, spiritual grounding, perspective, involvement with an active church community and a spirit of grace and reconciliation. It is hard to persuade others as to the righteousness of your argument when they feel demeaned, insulted and o ended by not only what you say but how you say it.

Jesus didn’t “insult” His way into people’s hearts and souls. He spoke plainly but always in a spirit of love.

Sen. Joe Lieberman t that mold. So did my former bosses, Congressman Alex McMillan of Charlotte and U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Dole.

Where are all the Joe Liebermans, you ask? They are right here reading this short epistle.

Your country is just begging you to put your amazing talents to work this critical election year. Work as a poll observer during early voting and on Election Day. Speak out as often as possible with friends, colleagues and, yes, people you don’t agree with all the time on the critical issues of the day. Contribute money to the best candidates.

Consider replacing people in o ce who don’t rise to the high standards we all say we want in public o ce ― perhaps even with yourself.

Just don’t do nothing ― to turn the Nike slogan on its head.

told his audience he planned to make a business out of ‘invading’ abandoned houses and taking them over with squatters’ rights laws, then selling them for a pro t.”

The same states that have been in the news over squatting incidents have in turn taken action to make it harder for squatters to claim so-called “squatters’ rights.”

In New York state, a bill was introduced last month that would ease the burden on homeowners who try to evict squatters.

As of this writing, the Georgia “Squatter Reform Act,” which was supported unanimously by both parties in the state legislature, is on its way to Gov. Brian Kemp for his signature.

And just last week, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis signed into law a similar bill that was also supported unanimously, saying the days of squatters asserting rights over property that wasn’t theirs were over.

“We are putting an end to the squatters scam in Florida,” DeSantis stated during a billsigning presser. “While other states are siding with the squatters, we are protecting property owners and punishing criminals looking to game the system.”

That’s great news for law-abiding citizens and bad news for people who have weaponized socalled “squatters’ rights” laws to victimize them.

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.

| MICHAEL BARONE

Today’s leaders are not living up to constitutional norms

HOW ARE AMERICA’S leaders measuring up against the standards set by the Constitution and the examples of the Founding Fathers? It’s a question I’ve been asking as I seek refuge from contemporary politics in reading and occasionally writing, in my 2023 book “Mental Maps of the Founders,” about the early years of the republic.

One answer is that neither former President Donald Trump nor President Joe Biden measures up well — but not necessarily in the ways their critics think.

For example, many people, including me, are dismayed by Trump’s trash-talking his opponents: his disparagement of recent Republican presidents and nominees, his insulting nicknames for opponents of both parties, his unfair but successful diminishment of Gov. Ron DeSantis (R-Fla.).

Others, including me, are put o by Biden’s dismissal of “MAGA Republicans” and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton’s dismissal of “deplorables” as beyond the pale of decent citizens.

Such trash-talking is against the political norms of the middle and late 20th century. President John F. Kennedy didn’t disparage fellow Democrats or President Dwight D. Eisenhower. Presidents who defeated incumbents — Jimmy Carter, Ronald Reagan, Bill Clinton — didn’t whine about the messes their predecessors left behind.

The Founders were not so prim. George Washington complained about Je ersonian “self-created societies.” Thomas Je erson called Alexander Hamilton a “monarchist,” and Hamilton wrote of the “great and intrinsic” defects in the character of John Adams. Much of the name-calling came in pamphlets either anonymously or under pseudonyms that everyone saw through.

However, when it came to obeying the Constitution’s rules, the Founders did. The transfer of power from Adams to Je erson in 1801 was grudging but peaceful — a de ning moment not just in American history but in world history. This was in obvious contrast to the riot at the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021. This wasn’t an “insurrection” like the secession proclamations of 1860-61, and it could have been prevented if Capitol authorities had su cient forces on hand.

As I wrote at the time, “While President Trump’s exact words to the crowd on the Ellipse didn’t constitute a criminal incitement, they were uttered with a reckless disregard for the possibility that they would provoke violence, which any reasonable person could nd impeachable.”

In fact, many reasonable members of Congress, all Democrats and some Republicans, found Trump’s conduct contrary to the president’s constitutional duty to faithfully execute the laws, and they voted to impeach. A majority, 57 of 100, of senators voted for conviction, short of the two-thirds required by the framers of the Constitution for the dire penalties of removal and disquali cation from o ce.

Similarly, Je ersonians’ impeachment of a Supreme Court justice fell short of two-thirds for removal in the Senate. Absent the constitutionally required consensus, a drastic remedy is not in order.

Facebook and pre-Elon Musk Twitter, cheered on

by Democrats and law professors, almost immediately suspended Trump. That wasn’t unconstitutional, but it’s in tension with the animating spirit of the First Amendment. Even more so was the propagation by federal o cials and Democratic o ceholders, starting years before Jan. 6, of the Russia collusion hoax.

In the rst decades of the young republic, the Founders traded accusations of foreign allegiances. That’s because they faced a world war for all but a few months between 1793 and 1815 between revolutionary France and mercantile Britain, with many Americans favoring each side. Once that con ict was settled, charges of foreign allegiance disappeared.

Similarly, in the early years of the Cold War, accusations of allegiance to Stalinist Russia, some justi ed and many not, were common in American politics. The partisan and press propagators of the Russia collusion hoax had no such excuse: Russia is an unfriendly power, but the Cold War is over, and the evidence behind the charge was imsy to the point of being laughable.

Just as imsy have been the “lawfare” legal actions brought against Trump by Democratic local and special federal prosecutors. Most egregious is the lawsuit under a novel interpretation of a New York law in which Trump was ned $454 million, reduced to a picayune $175 million by an appeals court, for an inaccurate loan application that directly defrauded no one.

The obvious unfairness of the charges strengthened Trump’s candidacy. Days after the Manhattan district attorney brought the rst case against Trump, his poll lead over DeSantis doubled from a close 15 points to an insuperable 32 points.

Voters seem to understand that using government to bankrupt a political opponent is contrary, certainly to the spirit, and arguably to the letter, of the Constitution. “Excessive bail shall not be required, nor excessive nes imposed,” reads the Eighth Amendment. That in turn was inspired by England’s 1689 Declaration of Right, which banned “excessive bail,” “excessive nes” and “unusual punishments.”

That was inspired by the ousted King James II’s lawfare against his political opponents, as I recounted in my 2007 book “Our First Revolution.” Coincidentally, it was James who, as Duke of York, ordered the capture of Nieuw Amsterdam, which has been named after him ever after.

This violation of constitutional norms evidently has Biden chortling and calling Trump “Broke Don,” much as he chortled over the Supreme Court’s rejection of his potentially $50 billion student loan forgiveness order as spending money without a constitutionally required appropriation by Congress.

America’s two presidents vying for a second term grew up in an America far closer in time to the Founding Fathers than any possible successor, but both have shown a reckless disregard for constitutional norms.

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.”

How to land a job at Equity

MY FIRST ENCOUNTER with the leftist ideologues who would transform American universities came in March 1987 during a conference in Atlanta.

English professors from universities nationwide arrived sporting T-shirts with the caption “Dead White Males” in a circle with a line drawn through it. Thirty-seven years later, the heirs of their anti-Western, anti-white male animus have tightened their grip on a university system that thrives on slogans, cronyism and a great big dose of left-wing dogma.

1987 was also the year Chicago professor Allan Bloom held leftist ideologues responsible for The Closing of the American Mind. Bloom’s assessment of professors who see themselves as the “agents of the rare, the re ned and the superior” still holds true, but his prediction that “this fad will pass” is dead wrong. Not only have the leftist ideologues survived three decades of erce opposition to their rule, but they have succeeded in their mission to keep right-leaning scholars out of our universities.

New York Times columnist Paul Krugman has argued that conservatives simply aren’t smart enough to teach college-level courses, but the truth can be found in the games search committees play during the hiring process. It’s easy to guess what goes on when they meet to review applications for a tenure-track position, let’s say, in the English department at UNC Chapel Hill.

Quoting bits from articles by and about academe’s radicals, I shall take guessing one step further and imagine what might ensue in a search committee meeting whose members have attended an “equityminded hiring” seminar to make sure they choose a candidate who has had “experience acting as an equity advocate.” My made-up committee is comprised of three members: two women, Drs. Frick and Frack, and one white male, Dr. Wright, will play the role of antagonist in my little drama.

Dr. Frick opens the meeting chortling that she has devised a workaround for the Board of Trustees’ new rule that prohibits requiring candidates to submit a DEI statement with their applications. Dr. Frick has found that having candidates name their role models, living or dead, works just as well as the rubric they’d been using for “assessing candidate contributions to diversity, equity, inclusion and belonging.”

Ignoring Dr. Wright’s joke that she has simply invented a new way to compute a candidate’s “woke score,” Dr. Frick blasts the Board of Trustee’s “hardright appointees” who, over faculty objections, have

Ufounded a School of Civic Life and Leadership. Drs. Frick and Frack decry the board’s “attack on academic freedom” and fear it will derail their mission to “decenter the narrative of white, cisgender, heterosexual men.”

When Dr. Wright reminds his colleagues that the idea for the new school originated with the faculty, Dr. Frick hu s that’s all the more reason to spot candidates who might wield an “anti-intellectual conservatism” on campus. Dr. Frack agrees and proposes that on those grounds they should nix one of the semi nalists upfront.

The o ending candidate had applauded UNC’s plan to revive student interest in their Western heritage and noted that C.S. Lewis was among the rst to oppose the “uncritical acceptance of the intellectual climate common to our own age and the assumption that whatever has gone out of date is on that account discredited.”

When Drs. Frick and Frack argue that to admire C.S. Lewis is to self-identify as a “Christofascist,” Dr. Wright counters that renowned historian Andrew Roberts also thinks students should “study the glories of Western civilization in a way that is unembarrassed, unashamed and not saddled with accusations of guilt for centuriesold crimes.”

Dr. Frick would have Dr. Wright know that students feel “harmed by white Western civilization” and that the candidate they favor will model her career on 18thcentury philosopher Jean-Jacques Rousseau’s belief that “he who dares to undertake the making of a people’s institutions ought to feel himself capable of changing human nature, of transforming each individual.”

Seeing that a nalist for the job opening had been predetermined, Dr. Wright excuses himself, leaving Drs. Frick and Frack to ponder his heresy. Before they adjourn, they decide to alert their dean that Dr. Wright has created “a hostile work environment” during their meetings and should henceforth be excluded from the hiring process.

The games the hard left plays during the hiring process call to mind the Test Act, which Great Britain enacted in 1673 to exclude from public o ce candidates who did not conform to the established religion. Academe’s established religion involves keeping conservatives out of our universities. Contained within that one word is the sum of all the hard left’s fears.

Nan Miller lives in Raleigh.

A prophet without honor

THE FAMILIAR WORDS of Jesus, “A prophet is not without honor save in his own country,” have been applied to many political situations down through the centuries. Perhaps no such application was more apt than the admonition o ered to the Democratic Party at the outset of The New Deal and sadly ignored in subsequent decades.

On the eve of the 1932 election, in a New York Times lead article, John W. Davis wrote “Why I am a Democrat.” As the Democratic presidential nominee in 1924, Davis was still a leading party gure in 1932 and had authored the 1932 party platform. In this article, Davis con dently wrote, “If the Democratic party is successful (in the 1932 election), it will balance the budget; it will lop o useless bureaus, which those who created them are naturally reluctant to destroy … and it will take the strait-jacket o the trade and commerce of the nation.” He added, “Instead of striving to give every man a share of governmental help, borrowing from impoverished Peter to pay poverty-stricken Paul, it will aim to make it possible for every man to help himself.”

Again, on March 5, 1933, the day after Franklin Roosevelt’s inauguration, Davis took to the pages of The New York Times in a lengthy feature article titled “The Torch Democracy Keeps Alight.” He declared, “Policies come and go, but principles remain” and sought to anchor the new administration to the Democratic Party’s historic principles rst laid out by Thomas Je erson. Davis reminded his fellow Democrats, “The chief aim of all government is to preserve the freedom of the citizen. His control over his person, his property, his movements, his business should be restrained only so far as the public welfare imperatively demands. The world is in more danger of being governed too much than too little.”

Davis warned the government to refrain from any activity “which private initiative is willing and able to conduct.” He then extolled the importance of local self-governance as “indispensable to liberty. A centralized and distant bureaucracy is the worst of all tyranny.”

Davis next turned to taxation and the need for government restraint. He set forth the traditional Democratic principle of taxation: “To tax one person, class, or section for the bene t of another is none the less robbery because done under the form of law and called taxation.” He exhorted the incoming administration to exercise “the courage to refuse and the willingness to forego expenditures which, even though desired by many people, are not demanded by absolute justice and necessity.”

Davis saw the undergirding principle of his party as constitutionalism. He observed, “Since men do not lose their frailties by being chosen for o ce, Constitutions are necessary to prevent the exercise of arbitrary power.” In the face of receiving an overwhelming electoral mandate in the 1932 election, Davis warned his fellow Democrats that “No majority, however large, and no argument, however plausible, can justify depriving a single citizen of any right guaranteed to him by the Constitution.”

Finally, Davis sought to focus his party on the “pole star by which the Democrat must steer.” All of the foregoing principles point in one direction: toward the worth and dignity of the individual. “This regard for the individual, his powers, his rights, his opportunities, lies at the very root of the Democratic creed.” Traditional Democrats should reject any notion that the state is “the distributor of special grants of money or of privilege to chosen persons or selected classes.”

The end of this story is the sad validation of Jesus’ words. Davis was indeed a prophet not without honor save in his own party. The ink was hardly dry on his March 1933 New York Times article before it became apparent that FDR had no intention of honoring the 1932 Democratic Party platform. A balanced budget, tax reduction and bureaucratic restraint were all abandoned.

As the senior partner of Davis, Polk and Wardwell, a top-drawer Wall Street law rm, Davis went on to become the “lawyer’s lawyer,” arguing more cases (141 in total) before the Supreme Court than any American except Daniel Webster. In 1936, Davis backed Alf Landon’s candidacy against FDR.

From that point on until his death in 1955, Davis never endorsed another Democrat nationally. He became the leading advocate of conservative causes before the Supreme Court and was labeled by FDR as “Public Enemy No.1.” Asked by a reporter shortly before his death if he was still a Democrat, Davis responded, “Yes. Damn still…”

Since his death, the Democratic Party has steadily moved leftward, showing no inclination to return to the Je ersonian principles so dear to John W. Davis. His prophetic warning continues to fall on deaf ears: “The genuine Democrat is a traditional liberal, with a liberal’s outlook on life: loving freedom for freedom’s sake; believing in the wholesome virtue of self-help; hating privilege in whatever form; wishing nothing for himself from the government that his neighbor cannot enjoy; willing to think of the rights and interests of other men equally with his own…”

Sadly, his was a prophetic voice crying in the wilderness.

Garland S. Tucker III is the retired founder and CEO of Triangle Capital Corporation and author of “The High Tide of American Conservatism: Davis, Coolidge, and the 1924 Election” and “Conservative Heroes: Fourteen Leaders Who Shaped America, from Je erson to Reagan.”

COLUMN

COLUMN | NAN MILLER

Murphy to Manteo Jones & Blount

Get out and smell the owers

Without a doubt, spring in North Carolina is glorious, and opportunities abound across the state to enjoy new growth, beautiful owers and gorgeous green spaces before the heat and humidity of summer take over. Some of the most enchanting spots during this season are the state’s numerous botanical gardens that o er everything from region-speci c native specimens to immersive and historic landscape design surroundings. Whether traveling through the mountains, across the Piedmont and Sandhills, or along the coast and coastal plain of Eastern N.C., a North Carolina botanical garden, historic estate or arboretum is nearby.

Elementary school secretary charged with embezzlement

Caldwell County

The head secretary of Gamewell Elementary School has been charged with embezzlement. Tykia Caldwell Davenport was arrested last Tuesday for allegedly stealing $10,000, according to the Caldwell County Sheri ’s O ce. According to deputies, Davenport’s arrest was prompted by an investigation that started after a report made by the Caldwell County Board of Education last week. She was suspended without pay that same day and then red last Thursday. Davenport had been employed by the school since 2016, according to local reports. WBTV

Pinwheel garden “planted” to raise child abuse awareness

Henderson County April is National Child Abuse Prevention Month. To raise awareness, a pinwheel garden has been planted at AdventHealth’s Hendersonville campus. This annual event is one the sta hopes will encourage the community, families, friends and neighbors to create a nurturing and supportive environment for children and families. AdventHealth is a longtime partner of Safelight Hope and Healing for Families and their Child Advocacy Center. NSJ

Teen employee killed at Jack in the Box Mecklenburg County A 17-year-old Jack in the Box employee was shot and killed inside the fast-food restaurant last week by two masked men, Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police said in a press statement. Authorities believe the deadly shooting was a targeted attack. It was the third reported homicide in the city within 24 hours. According to CMPD, o cers responded to the Jack in the Box at the corner in northwest Charlotte for reports of an assault with a deadly weapon with injury. Inside, they found a 17-year-old employee who had been shot multiple times, and the teen was pronounced deceased at the scene. Police have not publicly identi ed the victim. CMPD’s Operations Command, Victims Services, Medic and the Charlotte Fire Department all responded Friday evening.

April Fools’ school shooting calls deemed swatting

Davidson County

Calls about a school shooting in the Triad were found to be fraudulent, according to o cers with the Thomasville Police Department. On April 1 just before 9:30 a.m., Thomasville o cers began receiving reports of a shooting at Thomasville High School. Davidson County 911 Communications also received reports of gunshots heard o campus. O cers arrived at the school just minutes later and began looking for a gunman. It was quickly con rmed there were no injuries or even a gunman. During the investigation, it was learned the “swatting” call was fraudulent.

WBTV

High Point receives federal grant for major tra c study

Over $3M in drugs, guns seized in February

Forsyth County

More than $3.5 million worth of drugs were seized in Forsyth County in February, according to a press release from the Forsyth County Sheri ’s O ce. Deputies say the FCSO’s Special Investigative Services Division and Forsyth County Drug Task Force collectively seized the following: 21 pounds of methamphetamine worth around $2.383 million; 56 pounds of cocaine and crack cocaine worth around $492,000; marijuana and THC products (gummies, wax, plants and vapes) valued at $10,200; 17 handguns and one long gun.

NSJ

Guilford County High Point city leaders are hoping a tra c study could improve the ow of red lights across the city. City o cials announced the High Point Metropolitan Planning Organization has received $1.3 million in federal funds for the project, citing ongoing community concerns that the tra c signals in High Point are too slow or too fast. Leaders will study how they can further improve the 232 tra c signals in the city, to mitigate congestion and improve air quality. Some heavily traveled corridors that will be evaluated include Eastchester Drive, North Main Street and South Main Street. The study will cost the city about $300,000 and, once approved, will start in May.

WGHP

Chris Brown out, 50 Cent in at Dreamville Festival

Wake County

A major lineup change was announced Monday for this weekend’s Dreamville Festival in Raleigh. Organizers announced Chris Brown was being replaced by 50 Cent. Brown was set to headline the rst day of the festival alongside SZA. The announcement initially caused some confusion as many thought it was an April Fools’ Day joke, but Dreamville organizers con rmed the changes on o cial media platforms. The Dreamville Festival is planned for April 6-7 at Dix Park in Raleigh.

NSJ

School resource o cer seriously injured by student ght on bus

Lenoir County

Benson businessman receives prison sentence for drug tra cking

Johnston County

A business owner in Johnston County has been sentenced to 14 years in prison for leading a drug tra cking organization that operated out of his downtown business. Federal authorities announced that 59-year-old Jimmy Waylon Johnson, who owns the gambling machine business Benson Arcade in downtown Benson, has been sentenced to 179 months in prison and a $50,000 ne. Johnson was charged as the leader of a drug tra cking organization that distributed pounds of methamphetamine and cocaine across Eastern North Carolina.

WNCN

The Lenoir County Sheri ’s O ce said the deputy had to get more than a dozen staples in his head due to injuries he su ered breaking up the ght between students on a school bus last week. The sheri ’s o ce was called at around 8:30 a.m. by Dep. Christopher Little asking for help with a ght at the Lenoir County Learning Academy, o cials told reporters. Deputies said Little stepped in to break up the ght and was assaulted. Little was taken by ambulance to UNC Health Lenoir where he received 18 staples in the head to close a wound, o cials said. The juveniles involved were both charged with felony assault on a law enforcement o cer, in icting serious injury, resisting arrest and damage to county property, according to deputies. WXII

The six-term representative served Guilford County since 2012

By Cory Lavalette North State Journal

RALEIGH — After more than a decade in the General Assembly, Rep. John Hardister is resigning from the N.C. House.

“I’ve been told before by others who’ve served in public o ce that when the time comes and it’s time for you to step away, you’ll know. You’ll have clarity,” Hardister, a Republican from Guilford County, told North State Journal. His nal day representing the 59th District will be April 8.

Hardister, who has represented Guilford County since 2012, ran for Labor commissioner but lost the Republican primary last month to Luke Fairly, who had 36.94% of the vote in a four-candidate race with Hardister (28.05%), Chuck Stanley (21.6%) and Travis J. Wilson (13.41%). Hardister had been endorsed by outgoing Labor Commissioner Josh Dobson. Farley will face Braxton Winston II, who won the Democratic primary uncontested, in the general election.

I ran for Labor commissioner, by virtue of doing that, I had to give up my seat in the House. … Once the primary was held and I had time to process it all, think about it, I decided that this is the time for me to step away.” Hardister said the decision came down to wanting to spend more time with his family, particularly his parents, and return to the private sector. That includes returning to work with his father at the mortgage company owned and operated by his family.

“I have a family business I work in,” said Hardister, who also said his mother’s battle with lung cancer in uenced his decision. “I’ve been largely absent from that over the last decade-plus because I’ve been serving in the General Assembly. I’ve been involved, but it’s hard because when you serve in the General Assembly you’ve got to put a tremendous amount of time and energy into that.”

“Once the primary was held and I had time to process it all, think about it, I decided that this is the time for me to step away.”

N.C. Rep. John Hardister (R-Guilford)

A replacement for the remainder of Hardister’s House term, which concludes at the end of the year, will be named by the Guilford County Republican Party. That party will hold a meeting next Monday, and Hardister expects Alan Branson, the Republican nominee for his 59th District seat, to be selected.

During his time in the General Assembly, Hardister worked closely with state House Majority Leader John Bell and was the longest-serving majority whip in N.C. House history before deciding to run for Labor commissioner.

“The decision for me to exit the House had already been made,” Hardister said. “When

Hardister said he rst ran for o ce in 2008 because of the impact of the Great Recession, and he’s most proud of the GOP’s commitment to the state’s economic growth and scal responsibility. “The recession hit North Carolina very hard,” he said. “That was really, I think, the catalyst that propelled me into public service. … I had the honor of serving and playing a role in cutting our taxes by over a billion dollars, paying o over $3 billion in debt, balancing the budget, creating a budget surplus and bringing a lot of new jobs to North Carolina — tens of thousands of jobs have been created. “And CNBC rated North Carolina No. 1 for business two years in a row. I mean, that’s an incredible story.”

As for Hardister’s next chapter, he hasn’t ruled out a return to public service down the road.

“I’ll certainly consider getting back into running for o ce,” he said, “but that just depends on how things play out.”

NATION & WORLD

Ships with more aid head toward Gaza

The food and supplies could provide 1 million meals in the region

The Associated Press

JERUSALEM — A three-ship convoy left a port in Cyprus on Saturday with 400 tons of food and other supplies for Gaza as concerns about hunger in the territory soar.

The World Central Kitchen charity said the vessels and a barge carried enough to prepare more than 1 million meals from items like rice, pasta, our, legumes, canned vegetables and proteins. Also on board were dates, traditionally eaten to break the daily fast during the holy month of Ramadan.

It was not clear when the ships would reach Gaza. The rst ship earlier this month delivered 200 tons of food, water and other aid.

The United Nations and partners have warned that famine could occur in devastated, largely isolated northern Gaza. Humanitarian o cials say deliveries by sea and air are not enough and that Israel must allow far

more aid by road. The top U.N. court has ordered Israel to open more land crossings and take other measures to address the crisis.

Just one weeklong cease- re has been achieved in the war that began after Hamas-led militants stormed across southern Israel on Oct. 7, killing 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and taking about 250 others hostage. On Saturday, some Israelis again rallied to show frustration with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government and urge him to resign.

Families of hostages vowed to take to the streets across Israel. “Give the negotiations team a wide mandate and tell them, ‘Don’t come home without a deal, bring back our loved ones,’” said Raz Ben Ami, wife of hostage Ohad Ben Ami.

Nearly six months of war has destroyed critical infrastructure in Gaza including hospitals, schools and homes as well as roads, sewage systems and the electrical grid. Over 80% of Gaza’s population of 2.3 million has been displaced, the U.N. and international aid agencies say.

Gaza’s Health Ministry says 32,705 Palestinians have been killed. The Health Ministry doesn’t distinguish between civilians and combatants in its toll but has said the majority of those killed have been women and children.

Israel says over one-third of the dead are militants, though it has not provided evidence to support that, and it blames Hamas for civilian casualties because the group operates in residential areas.

Israel’s military on Saturday acknowledged shooting dead two Palestinians and wounding a third on Gaza’s beach, responding to a video broadcast earlier this week by Al Jazeera that showed one man falling to the ground after walking in an open area and a bulldozer pushing two bodies into the garbage-strewn sand. The military said troops opened re after the men allegedly ignored warning shots.

Israel’s military said it continued to strike dozens of targets in Gaza, days after the United Nations Security Council issued its rst demand for a cease- re.

Aid also fell on Gaza. The U.S. military during an airdrop on Friday said it had released more than 100,000 pounds of aid that day and almost a million pounds overall, part of a multicountry e ort.

The United States also welcomed the formation of a new Palestinian autonomy government, signaling it was accepting a revised Cabinet lineup as a step toward political reform.

The Biden administration has called for “revitalizing” the West Bank-based Palestinian Authority in the hope that it can also administer Gaza once the war ends.

The authority is headed by Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, who chose U.S.-educated economist Mohammad Mustafa as prime minister this month.

But both Israel and Hamas — which drove Abbas’ security forces from Gaza in a 2007 takeover — reject the idea of it administering Gaza. The authority also has little popular support or legitimacy among Palestinians because of its security cooperation with Israel in the West Bank.

Trump camp assails Biden for transgender support declaration

The annual Transgender Day of Visibility fell on Easter this year

By Josh Boak The Associated Press

WASHINGTON, D.C. —

President Joe Biden is facing criticism from Donald Trump’s campaign and religious conservatives for proclaiming March 31 — which corresponds with Easter Sunday this year — as “Transgender Day of Visibility.”

The Democratic president issued the proclamation on Friday, calling on “all Americans to join us in lifting up the lives and voices of transgender people throughout our Nation and to work toward eliminating violence and discrimination based on gender identity.”

But in 2024, the March 31 designation overlaps with Easter, one of Christianity’s holiest celebrations. Trump’s campaign accused Biden, a Roman Catholic, of being insensitive to religion, and fellow Republicans piled on.

ing the dignity and freedoms of every American,” Bates said. “President Biden will never abuse his faith for political purposes or for pro t.”

The advocacy group GLAAD said in a statement that people can both celebrate Easter and show their support for the trans community.

“The date of Easter moves each year, while Trans Day of Visibility is always recognized on March 31, but this year right-wing politicians and talking heads are using the coincidental timing to overshadow the hope and joy that Easter represents,” said Sarah Kate Ellis, GLAAD president and CEO.

Biden rst issued a proclamation on transgender visibility in 2021. Proclamations are generally statements about public policy by the president. But this year’s overlap with Easter and the heated tensions from the presidential campaign made the latest transgender proclamation a way for many Republicans to question the Democrat’s religious faith.

Calif. rolls out $20 minimum wage for fast-food workers

Livermore, Calif.

Most fast-food workers in California will now be paid at least $20 an hour when a new law kicked in Monday giving more nancial security to a historically low-paying profession while threatening to raise prices in a state already known for its high cost of living. Democrats in the state Legislature passed the law last year in part as an acknowledgment that many of the more than 500,000 people who work in fast-food restaurants are not teenagers earning some spending money, but adults working to support their families. The law was supported by the trade association representing fast-food franchise owners.

Israelis stage largest protest since start of war

Jerusalem

Tens of thousands of Israelis thronged central Jerusalem on Sunday in the largest anti-government protest since the country went to war in October. Protesters urged the government to reach a cease- re deal to free dozens of hostages held in Gaza by Hamas militants and to hold early elections. Israeli society was broadly united immediately after Oct. 7, when Hamas killed some 1,200 people during a cross-border attack and took 250 others hostage. Nearly six months of con ict have renewed divisions over the leadership of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, though the country remains largely in favor of the war.

Former U.S. Rep. Delahunt from Mass. dies at age 82

Quincy, Mass.

Longtime U.S. Rep. William D. Delahunt of Massachusetts, a Democratic stalwart who postponed his retirement from Washington to help pass former President Barack Obama’s legislative agenda, has died Saturday at his home in Quincy, Massachusetts, following a long-term illness, his family announced. He was 82. Delahunt served 14 years in the U.S. House of Representatives, from 1997 to 2011, for Massachusetts’s 10th congressional district. He also was the Norfolk County district attorney from 1975 to 1996 after serving in the Massachusetts House of Representatives from 1973 to 1975. The Delahunt family issued a statement Saturday saying he passed away “peacefully” but did not disclose his speci c cause of death, news reports said.

Ukraine’s Zelenskyy

res more aides

“We call on Joe Biden’s failing campaign and White House to issue an apology to the millions of Catholics and Christians across America who believe tomorrow is for one celebration only — the resurrection of Jesus Christ,” said Karoline Leavitt, the Trump campaign’s press secretary. She assailed what she called the Biden administration’s “years-long assault on the Christian faith.”

Easter” and called the decision “outrageous and abhorrent.”

White House spokesperson Andrew Bates said the Republicans criticizing Biden “are seeking to divide and weaken our country with cruel, hateful and dishonest rhetoric.”

House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., said on social media that the “Biden White House has betrayed the central tenet of

“As a Christian who celebrates Easter with family, President Biden stands for bringing people together and uphold-

Biden devoutly attends Mass and considers his Catholic upbringing to be a core part of his morality and identity. In 2021, he met with Pope Francis at the Vatican and afterward told reporters that the ponti said he was a “good Catholic” who should keep receiving Communion. But Biden’s political stances on gay marriage and support for women having the right to abortion have put him at odds with many conservative Christians.

Kyiv, Ukraine Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy dismissed a longtime aide and several advisers on Saturday in a continuing reshu e while Russia unleashed fresh attacks overnight. Zelenskyy dismissed top aide Serhiy She r from his post of rst assistant, where he had served since 2019. The Ukrainian president also let go three advisers, along with two presidential representatives overseeing volunteer activities and soldiers’ rights. No explanation was given immediately for the latest changes in a wide-reaching personnel shakeup over recent months.

ISMAEL ABU DAYYAH / AP PHOTO

Palestinians inspect the damage to a residential building after an Israeli airstrike in the Maghazi refugee camp in central Gaza Strip last Friday.

CAROLYN KASTER / AP PHOTO

Equality March for Unity and Pride participants march past the White House in 2017. President Joe Biden proclaimed Sunday “Transgender Day of Visibility,” drawing criticism from the Trump campaign because the annual recognition fell on Easter this year.

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questions about when normal

shelter-in-place or stay-at-home majority of Americans normal.” end of this month.

we begin to get back to normal

China lied about the origin of the tried to tell the world there were only worldwide panic, economic collapse and being thrown out of work. taxpayer at least $2.4 trillion in added Reserve backup liquidity to the the U.S. dollar were not the reserve fund any of these emergency of rampant in ation and currency aberrant ways and decisions through Diplomacy has obviously not worked world of 21st century health, hygiene communist regimes never take the blame remorse, because that is not what take advantage of every weakness pushing until they win or the event happens such as the Chernobyl believe that event, not the Star Wars the dissolution of the Soviet Union Chernobyl. already talking about the possibility debt we owe them as one way to get they have caused the US. Don’t hold your “Jubilee” to happen but ask your elected accountable in tangible nancial ways for expected to operate as responsible citizens of nation.

Cooper stated during know yet” if the asked as to the vague ones like “we of this state who undetermined thousands of cases asked and then questions about asked, there is people to treat those start getting back are people who sick. levels become a bad society were supposed course, is my family. I’m worried I will. After 2009 pandemic, of this brings up prefer not to repeat. most everyone has

under

WALTER E. WILLIAMS

How China will pay for this COVID-19 catastrophe

The 3 big questions nobody

The comfort

WITH MOST STATES under either shelter-in-place or stay-at-home orders thanks to local or state governments, a majority of Americans are having to adjust to what is being called the “new normal.”

ONE THING IS CERTAIN; after this COVID-19 virus dissipates around the globe and in the United States, China will pay for this catastrophe one way or another.

fallen into place. I understand the seriousness of the virus and the need to take precautions, but I’m uneasy with how people who simply ask questions about the data, and when things can start getting back to normal are treated in some circles with contempt.

They’re treated as though we as a society simply must accept without question what the government tells us about when it’s safe to begin the process of returning back to normalcy.

Fixing college corruption

Perhaps COVID-19 is China’s Chernobyl.

No. The government works for us, and we have the right to ask those questions. And the longer stay-at-home orders are in place all over the country, and the stricter some of them get in states, such as Michigan, the more people, sitting at home feeling isolated and/or anxious about when they can get back to providing for their families, will demand answers.

AMERICA’S COLLEGES are rife with corruption. The nancial squeeze resulting from COVID-19 o ers opportunities for a bit of remediation. Let’s rst examine what might be the root of academic corruption, suggested by the title of a recent study, “Academic Grievance Studies and the Corruption of Scholarship.” The study was done by Areo, an opinion and analysis digital magazine. By the way, Areo is short for Areopagitica, a speech delivered by John Milton in defense of free speech.

Raleigh

business & economy

In order to put the crisis caused by China in perspective, zero worldwide pandemics can trace their source to the United States over our 231-year history. At least four in the 20th century alone can be directly traced to China: 1957 “Asian u,” 1968 “Hong Kong u,” 1977 “Russian u” and the 2002 SARS outbreak. There is evidence that the massive 1918 “Spanish u” pandemic also had its origins in China.

Leaders at the local and state levels should be as forthcoming as they can be with those answers — and again, not vague answers, but answer with details that give their statements believability.

Sponsored by App oved Logos

Sponsored by

More adults now on Medicaid

Not one little bit.

Enrollment in North Carolina’s new Medicaid coverage for low-income adults has surpassed 400,000 in the expansion program’s rst four months, according to a release from the state on Monday.

Authors Helen Pluckrose, James A. Lindsay and Peter Boghossian say that something has gone drastically wrong in academia, especially within certain elds within the humanities. They call these elds “grievance studies,” where scholarship is not so much based upon nding truth but upon attending to social grievances. Grievance scholars bully students, administrators and other departments into adhering to their worldview. The worldview they promote is neither scienti c nor rigorous. Grievance studies consist of disciplines such as sociology, anthropology, gender studies, queer studies, sexuality and critical race studies.

Virginia’s stay-at-home orders go into June.

We should all continue to do what we can to keep our families, ourselves, and our communities safe. But we should also still continue to ask questions about the data, because while reasonable stay-at-home measures are understandable, they should also have an expiration date.

Since when did questioning government at all levels become a bad thing? That is what free citizens living in a free society were supposed to do, last I checked.

This is all new to Americans, and it is not normal. Not in any way, shape, or form. So while we should remain vigilant and stay safe, at the same time we shouldn’t get comfortable with this so-called “new normal.”

The full health bene ts coverage for some adults ages 19-64 who earn too much to qualify for traditional Medicaid began on Dec. 1, roughly two months after the General Assembly completed the last step to implement Medicaid expansion. Medicaid eligibility includes adults aged 19 to 64 with incomes up to 138% of the federal poverty line. As an example, that could include individuals earning around $20,000 per year or a family of three with an income of about $34,000 per year.

seriousness of the virus and the need uneasy with how people who simply ask when things can start getting back to with contempt. a society simply must accept without tells us about when it’s safe to begin the normalcy. us, and we have the right to ask those stay-at-home orders are in place all over the them get in states, such as Michigan, feeling isolated and/or anxious about providing for their families, will demand levels should be as forthcoming as they again, not vague answers, but answer statements believability. what we can to keep our families, safe. But we should also still continue because while reasonable stay-at-home they should also have an expiration date. and it is not normal. Not in any way, should remain vigilant and stay safe, at comfortable with this so-called “new

In 2017 and 2018, authors Pluckrose, Lindsay and Boghossian started submitting bogus academic papers to academic journals in cultural, queer, race, gender, fat and sexuality studies to determine if they would pass peer review and be accepted for publication. Acceptance of dubious research that journal editors found sympathetic to their intersectional or postmodern leftist vision of the world would prove the problem of low academic standards.

Nearly 273,000 people, most of whom had been receiving Medicaid for familyplanning coverage alone, were covered on the rst day of enrollment. Since then, North Carolina has enrolled an average of more than 1,000 people a day — a rate Gov. Roy Cooper’s o ce says outpaces other states that have expanded Medicaid.

Cooper’s Department of Health and Human Services projects that the state’s enrollment under expansion will reach 600,000 within two years. DHHS is working with an array of health organizations and nonpro ts to recruit more enrollees.

Several of the fake research papers were accepted for publication. The Fat Studies journal published a hoax paper that argued the term bodybuilding was exclusionary and should be replaced with “fat bodybuilding, as a fat-inclusive politicized performance.” One reviewer said, “I thoroughly enjoyed reading this article and believe it has an important contribution to make to the eld and this journal.”

the pseudonym Sister Toldjah RedState and Legal Insurrection.

Many enrollees are young adults or disproportionately live in rural communities, according to the news release, which added that expansion recipients already have bene ted from over 700,000 prescriptions and generated more than $11 million in dental service claims.

The federal government pays 90% of the cost of expansion, with the remainder paid by an increased assessment on hospitals.

The cavalier manner in virus, covered up its spread 3,341 related deaths has millions of Americans needlessly

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

Some of these orders extend at least through the end of this month.

THIS WEEK, according to members of and state and local governments, Americans the curve in the novel coronavirus outbreak. muted — after all, trends can easily reverse have abided by recommendations and orders. to stay at home; they’ve practiced social distancing; they’ve donned masks.

Here in North Carolina, Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper stated during a recent coronavirus press brie ng that “we just don’t know yet” if state’s stay-at-home orders will extend into May.

There is 100% agreement, outside of China, that COVID-19 originated in Wuhan Province probably from the completely unregulated and unsanitary wet markets. Some believe it came out of a biowarfare lab run by the communist Chinese army.

Until China adopts rigorous veri able policing and regulation of their food safety and health protocols, American business has no other choice than to build redundant manufacturing plants elsewhere purely for national security and safety reasons as well as supply and delivery reliability concerns.

In November, 102 eligible hospitals in the state began receiving payments through the Healthcare Access and Stabilization Program (HASP). These funds, administered by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, reimburse health providers closer to the actual cost of care according to a state-speci c formula. Nearly $2.6 billion in funds were distributed across the state. The goal of the program is enable hospitals to then pay for non-federal share costs of expansion.

We need transparency and honesty from our scienti c experts — we need to know what they know, what they don’t and when they hope to know what they don’t.

The crisis has cost the debt plus trillions more in markets and nancial outlets. currency, we would not be measures without immediate depreciation.

A tugboat and fuel barge were the rst vessels to use the new channel

By Lea Skene The Associated Press

“Our Struggle Is My Struggle: Solidarity Feminism as an Intersectional Reply to Neoliberal and Choice Feminism,” was accepted for publication by A lia, a feminist journal for social workers. The paper consisted in part of a rewritten passage from Mein Kampf. Two other hoax papers were published, including “Rape Culture and Queer Performativity at Urban Dog Parks.” This paper’s subject was dog-on-dog rape. But the dog rape paper eventually forced Boghossian, Pluckrose and Lindsay to prematurely out themselves. A Wall Street Journal writer had gured out what they were doing.

Some papers accepted for publication in academic journals advocated training men like dogs and punishing white male college students for historical slavery by asking them to sit in silence on the oor in chains during class and to be expected to learn from the discomfort. Other papers celebrated morbid obesity as a healthy life choice and advocated treating privately conducted masturbation as a form of sexual violence against women. Typically, academic journal editors send submitted papers out to referees for review. In recommending acceptance for publication, many reviewers gave these papers glowing praise.

Medicaid Expansion and HASP will be nanced through new assessments on North Carolina hospitals and will subsequently allow the state to draw down more than $8 billion each year from the federal government based on expected expansion enrollment when completed.

Enrollment also means North Carolina is poised to receive a $1.8 billion bonus over two years from the federal government. DHHS told lawmakers last month that it had already distributed $198 million of that money to nearly 50 government, health, education or nonpro t initiatives.

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

Since when did questioning government at all levels become a bad thing?

That is what free citizens living in a free society were supposed to do, last I checked.

BALTIMORE — A tugboat pushing a fuel barge was the rst vessel to use an alternate channel to bypass the wreckage of Baltimore’s collapsed Francis Scott Key Bridge, which had blocked tra c along the vital port’s main shipping channel. The barge supplying jet fuel to the Department of Defense left late Monday and was destined for Delaware’s Dover Air Force Base, though o cials have said the temporary chan-

North Carolina unemployment is better than the national average

By Paul Wiseman The Associated Press

Political scientist Zach Goldberg ran certain grievance studies concepts through the Lexis/Nexis database, to see how often they appeared in our press over the years. He found huge increases in the usages of “white privilege,” “unconscious bias,” “critical race theory” and “whiteness.” All of this is being taught to college students, many of whom become primary and secondary school teachers who then indoctrinate our young people.

I doubt whether the coronaviruscaused nancial crunch will give college and university administrators, who are a crossbreed between a parrot and jelly sh, the guts and backbone to restore academic respectability. Far too often, they get much of their political support from campus grievance people who are members of the faculty and diversity and multicultural administrative o ces.

If he does decide to extend it, questions should be asked as to the justi cation for it. And the answers should not be vague ones like “we must do this out of an abundance of caution.”

The result: a reduction in expected hospitalization

According to the University of Washington Metrics and Evaluation model most oft cited Trump administration, the expected need peak outbreak was revised down by over 120,000, ventilators by nearly 13,000 and the number August by nearly 12,000.

“THIS IS in it” (Psalm I know that working from be glad” as the and dad, the have to be thankful pandemic. For me, my making. As Corinthians a iction, so a iction, with God.”

It will need to be explained in detail to the people of this state who are being told to remain jobless and at home for an undetermined amount of time why models predicting hundreds of thousands of cases are reliable.

The most direct way to make China “pay” for this disaster is to o er U.S. tax credits to companies who will source at least half of their production back in the United States. There is approximately $120 billion worth of American direct investment in plants and equipment in China. Chinese direct investment in the U.S. is about $65 billion by comparison.

China has to pay for their economic and nancial means. to bring China into the civilized and fair trade. Totalitarian or express sincere regret totalitarian governments they nd in adversaries and adversaries push back.

To date, I’ve gone along with what the state has asked and then mandated that we do, but along the way I’ve also had questions about the data. State Republican leaders have, too.

Here’s the problem: We still don’t know questions that will allow the economy to reopen.

An investment tax credit of 30% on half of U.S. investment in China today, or $60 billion, applied to repatriated American manufacturing investment to the U.S. would cost the U.S. Treasury $18 billion in tax revenue spread over a few years. $18 billion in lost revenue is decimal dust compared to the $6 trillion+ Marshall Plan we are now undertaking to save our own economy, not of defeated enemies as in the past.

Lenten and Easter seasons provide a message of hope that we will once again enjoy sporting events, concerts, family gatherings, church services and many more after our own temporary sacri ces are over.

Unfortunately, when certain types of questions get asked, there sometimes a disturbing tendency among some people to treat those simply questioning the data and asking when we can start getting to normal as though they are conspiracy theorists or are people who otherwise don’t care if they get themselves or others sick.

First, what is the true coronavirus fatality important because it determines whether be open or closed, whether we ought to pursue more liberalized society that presumes wide ought to lock down further.

If you are re ect on this God’s example this di cult con dent we In this same neighbors helping In Concord, money to buy health care workers

north STA

That is, unless an exogenous meltdown in 1986. Some program of Reagan, led directly in 1989. Perhaps COVID-19 is China’s Senators in Washington of China forgiving $1.2 trillion China to “pay” for the damage breath waiting for a Chinese representatives to hold China this disaster.

Since when did questioning government at all levels become a bad thing? That is what free citizens living in a free society were supposed to do, last I checked.

My rst concern as we go along in all this, of course, is my family. worried about them catching the virus, and I’m worried I will. After su ering from the H1N1 virus (swine u) during the 2009 pandemic, I’ve been trying to take extra precautions, because all of this brings way too many memories of a painful experience I’d prefer not to repeat.

We’ve seen case fatality rates — the number the number of identi ed COVID-19 cases and the denominator are likely wrong. We people have actually died of coronavirus. number has been overestimated, given that of death, particularly among elderly patients, sources suggest the number is dramatically many people are dying at home.

China has been cheating, stealing, pirating and pillaging American business now for the past 30 years. They have made no secret that they intend to replace the U.S. as the premier superpower in the world and replace the dollar as the reserve currency with their renminbi.

VISUAL VOICE S

It is about time they are the world like any other modern

But what also makes me lose sleep is how easily most everyone has

Even more importantly, we have no clue actually have coronavirus. Some scientists of identi ed cases could be an order of magnitude number of people who have had coronavirus

| REP. RICHARD HUDSON

It’s okay to ask questions about when we begin to get back to normal

The comfort and hope

WITH MOST STATES under either shelter-in-place or stay-at-home orders thanks to local or state governments, a majority of Americans are having to adjust to what is being called the “new normal.”

Temporary channel created after Baltimore bridge collapse

WASHINGTON, D.C. — U.S. job openings changed little in February, staying at historically high levels in a sign that the American job market remains strong.

The Labor Department reported Tuesday that employers posted 8.76 million job vacancies in February, up modestly from 8.75 million in January and about what economists had forecast.

But the Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey, or JOLTS, showed that layo s ticked up to 1.7 million in February from 1.6 million in January, highest since March 2023. The number of Americans quitting their jobs – a sign of con dence they can nd better pay or working conditions elsewhere – rose modestly to 3.5 million.

The best hope lies with boards of trustees, though many serve as yes-men for the university president. I think that a good start would be to nd 1950s or 1960s catalogs. Look at the course o erings at a time when college graduates knew how to read, write and compute, and make them today’s curricula. Another helpful tool would be to give careful consideration to eliminating all classes/majors/minors containing the word “studies,” such as women, Asian, black or queer studies. I’d bet that by restoring the traditional academic mission to colleges, they would put a serious dent into the COVID-19 budget shortfall.

Monthly job openings are down from a peak of 12.2 million in March 2022 but are still at a high level. Before 2021, they’d never topped 8 million.

The high level of vacancies is a sign of the job market’s strength and endurance. When the Federal Reserve began raising its benchmark interest rates two years ago to combat in ation, most economists expected

“THIS IS THE DAY the lord has made, in it” (Psalm 118:24).

Some of these orders extend at least through the end of this month. Virginia’s stay-at-home orders go into June.

Here in North Carolina, Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper stated during a recent coronavirus press brie ng that “we just don’t know yet” if the state’s stay-at-home orders will extend into May.

nel is open primarily to vessels that are helping with the cleanup e ort. Some barges and tugs that have been stuck in the Port of Baltimore since the collapse are also scheduled to pass through the channel.

I know that during this challenging time working from home or losing a job, it may be glad” as the Bible tells us to do. However, and dad, the Easter holiday has reminded have to be thankful and hopeful for, even pandemic.

If he does decide to extend it, questions should be asked as to the justi cation for it. And the answers should not be vague ones like “we must do this out of an abundance of caution.”

caused by the disruption of the bridge collapse.

It will need to be explained in detail to the people of this state who are being told to remain jobless and at home for an undetermined amount of time why models predicting hundreds of thousands of cases are reliable.

Brian Clark, North Carolina

executive director

fallen into place. I understand to take precautions, but I’m questions about the data, normal are treated in some They’re treated as though question what the government process of returning back No. The government works questions. And the longer country, and the stricter the more people, sitting at when they can get back to answers.

For me, my faith is an important part of making. As I celebrated Easter with my family, Corinthians 1:4, which reminds us our Lord a iction, so that we may be able to comfort a iction, with the comfort which we ourselves God.”

O cials said they’re working on a second channel on the southwest side of the main channel that will allow for deeper draft vessels, but they didn’t say when that might open.

To date, I’ve gone along with what the state has asked and then mandated that we do, but along the way I’ve also had questions about the data. State Republican leaders have, too.

Lenten and Easter seasons provide a message of hope that we will once again enjoy sporting events, concerts, family gatherings, church services and many more after our own temporary sacri ces are over.

In Annapolis, a hearing was scheduled Tuesday for a bill authorizing the use of state reserves to provide nancial assistance to port employees who are out of work because of the bridge collapse. Lawmakers are working to pass the bill quickly in the last week of their legislative session, which ends Monday.

If you are celebrating the Easter season, re ect on this message and be comforted, God’s example and comfort all those in need this di cult time. Through faith and by helping con dent we will emerge out of this pandemic

Unfortunately, when certain types of questions get asked, there is sometimes a disturbing tendency among some people to treat those simply questioning the data and asking when we can start getting back to normal as though they are conspiracy theorists or are people who otherwise don’t care if they get themselves or others sick.

North Carolina’s ports in Wilmington and Morehead City could see additional trafc due to route adjustments following the bridge collapse. “Customers are now evaluating their supply chain options and NC Ports stands ready to assist and support the larger supply chain network as needed,” said North Carolina Ports Executive Director Brian Clark in a statement. Maryland Gov. Wes Moore was set Tuesday to visit one of two centers that the Small Business Administration opened in the area to help companies get loans to assist them with losses

In this same spirit, I continue to be inspired neighbors helping neighbors.

Since when did questioning government at all levels become a bad thing? That is what free citizens living in a free society were supposed to do, last I checked.

Crews are undertaking the complicated work of removing steel and concrete at the site of the bridge’s deadly collapse after a container ship lost power and crashed into a supporting column. On Sunday, dive teams

My rst concern as we go along in all this, of course, is my family. I’m worried about them catching the virus, and I’m worried I will. After su ering from the H1N1 virus (swine u) during the 2009 pandemic, I’ve been trying to take extra precautions, because all of this brings up way too many memories of a painful experience I’d prefer not to repeat.

US job openings rise to 8.8M

In Concord, a high school senior named money to buy a 3-D printer and plastic to health care workers out of his own home.

Leaders at the local and can be with those answers with details that give their We should all continue ourselves, and our communities to ask questions about the measures are understandable, This is all new to Americans, shape, or form. So while the same time we shouldn’t normal.”

Not one little bit.

See BALTIMORE, page A10

Stacey Matthews has also and is a regular contributor

But what also makes me lose sleep is how easily most everyone has

the higher borrowing costs to send the United States into recession. Instead, the economy has continued to grow and employers have been seeking new workers and holding on to the ones they already have. Although the unemployment rate rose to 3.9% in February, it’s come in below 4% for 25 straight months, longest such streak since the 1960s. North Carolina’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate was 3.5% in January, according to the N.C. Department of Commerce. The number of people employed in the state increased 3,135 in January to 5,071,461

and increased 50,979 the past 12 months.

Seasonally adjusted Total Nonfarm employment, as gathered through the monthly establishment survey, increased 5,800 to 4,981,500 in February. Major industries experiencing increases were other services, 2,300; trade, transportation and utilities, 1,700; education and health services, 1,300; professional and business services, 1,200; government, 1,000;nancial activities, 200; and information, 200. Major industries experiencing decreases were construction, 900; manufacturing, 900; leisure and hospitality services, 200; and min-

ing and logging, 100. At the same time, the higher rates have brought in ation down. In February, consumer prices were up 3.2% from a year earlier — down from a four-decade high year-over-year peak of 9.1% in June 2022.

The combination of easing in ation and sturdy job growth has raised hopes the Fed is managing to pull o a “soft landing’’ — taming in ation without triggering a recession. The Fed stopped raising rates last July and has signaled that it plans to reverse course and cut rates three times in 2024. But it appears to be in no hurry to start, given the economy’s strength and with in ation still above the central bank’s 2% target.

“Job openings are still elevated relative to pre-pandemic readings, signaling stillstrong demand for workers,’’ said Rubeela Farooqi, chief U.S. economist at High Frequency Economics. “A strong labor market backdrop coupled with in ation receding but remaining above target supports the (Fed’s) current patient stance on future policy decisions.’’

Compared to layo s, the steady drop in job openings is a painless way to cool a labor market that has been red hot, easing upward pressure on wages that can lead to higher prices.

Hiring likely remained healthy last month. Economists expect the March jobs report, out Friday, to show that employers added nearly 193,000 jobs and that the unemployment dipped to 3.8%, according to a survey of forecasters by the data rm FactSet.

COLUMN

Ja

Neal Robbins, publisher | Frank Hill, senior

KAITLIN NEWMAN / THE BALTIMORE BANNER VIA AP

A section of the damaged and collapsed Francis Scott Key Bridge is seen Monday in the Baltimore port.

“NC Ports stands ready to assist and support the larger supply chain network as needed.”

Ports

Tropicana casino will be demolished

The 67 year-old hotel was the third-oldest casino in Las Vegas

By Rio Yamat The Associated Press

LAS VEGAS — In the 1971 lm “Diamonds are Forever,”

James Bond stays in a swanky suite at the Tropicana Las Vegas.

“I hear that the Hotel Tropicana is quite comfortable,” Agent 007 says.

It was the Tropicana’s heyday. The lavish casino was a frequent haunt of the legendary Rat Pack, while its past under the mob cemented its place in Vegas lore.

But after welcoming guests for 67 years, the doors to the Las Vegas Strip’s third-oldest casino will be chained shut at noon Tuesday and demolition is slated for October to make room for a $1.5 billion Major League Baseball stadium — part of the city’s latest rebrand as a hub for sports entertainment.

“It’s time. It’s ran its course,” Charlie Granado, a bartender at the Tropicana for 38 years, said of the casino’s closure. “It makes me sad, but on the other hand, it’s a happy ending.”

The population of Clark County, which includes Las Vegas, had just surpassed 100,000 when the Tropicana opened on a Strip surrounded by vast, open desert. It cost $15 million to build three stories with 300 rooms split into two wings.

Its manicured lawns and elegant showroom earned it the nickname “Ti any of the Strip.” There was a towering tulip-shaped fountain near the entrance, mosaic tiles and mahogany-paneled walls throughout.

Black and white photographs from that time give a view into what it was like inside the Tropicana at its height, when it frequently hosted A-list stars in its showroom — from Elizabeth Taylor and Debbie Reynolds to Frank Sinatra and Sammy Davis Jr. Mel Tormé and Eddie Fisher performed at the Tropicana. Gladys Knight and Wayne Newton have held residencies there.

In a city known for reinvention, the Tropicana itself underwent major changes as Las Vegas evolved. Two hotel tow-

ers were added in later years. In 1979, a $1 million green-andamber stained glass ceiling was installed above the casino oor.

Barbara Boggess was 26 when she started working at the Tropicana in 1978 as a linen room attendant.

“The Tropicana was pretty much sitting here all by itself,” Boggess said. “It was desert all around. It used to take me 10 minutes to get to work. Now it takes an hour.”

Now 72, Boggess has seen the Tropicana through its many iterations. There was the 1980s rebrand as “The Island of Las

Vegas,” with a swim-up blackjack table at the pool, and the South Beach-themed renovation completed in 2011.

Today, only the low-rise hotel room wings remain of the original Tropicana structure. Yet the casino still conjures up vintage Vegas nostalgia. Behind the scenes of the casino’s opening decades ago, the Tropicana had ties to organized crime, largely through reputed mobster Frank Costello.

Weeks after the grand opening, Costello was shot in the head in New York. Police found in his coat pocket a piece of pa-

Trump posts bond in real estate nance case

If the former president wins his appeal, he won’t have to pay the state anything and will get his cash back

By Michael R. Sisak

and Jennifer Peltz

The Associated Press

NEW YORK — Donald Trump posted a $175 million bond on Monday in his New York civil fraud case, halting collection of the more than $454 million he owes and preventing the state from seizing his assets to satisfy the debt while he appeals, according to a court ling. A New York appellate court had given the former president 10 days to put up the money after a panel of judges agreed last month to slash the amount needed to stop the clock on enforcement.

The bond Trump is posting with the court now is essentially a placeholder, meant to guarantee payment if the judgment is upheld. If that happens, the presumptive Republican presidential nominee will have to pay the state the whole sum, which grows with daily interest.

If Trump wins, he won’t have to pay the state anything and will get back the money he has put up now.

“As promised, President Trump has posted bond. He looks forward to vindicating his rights on appeal and overturning this unjust verdict,” said one of Trump’s lawyers, Alina Habba.

surveyed parts of the bridge and checked the ship, and workers in lifts used torches to cut above-water parts of the twisted steel superstructure.

Authorities believe six workers plunged to their deaths in the collapse, including two whose bodies were recovered last week. Two other workers survived.

Moore, a Democrat, said at a Monday afternoon news conference that his top priority is recovering the four remaining

Until the appeals court intervened to lower the required bond, New York Attorney General Letitia James had been poised to initiate e orts to collect the judgment, possibly by seizing some of Trump’s marquee properties. James, a Democrat, brought the lawsuit on the state’s behalf. Her o ce declined to comment Monday.

The court ruled after Trump’s lawyers complained it was “a practical impossibility” to get an underwriter to sign o on a bond for the $454 million, plus interest, that he owes.

The company that underwrote the bond is Knight Specialty Insurance, which is part

bodies, followed by reopening shipping channels. He said that he understands the urgency but that the risks are signi cant. Crews have described the mangled steel girders of the fallen bridge as “chaotic wreckage,” he said. “What we’re nding is it is more complicated than we hoped for initially,” said U.S. Coast Guard Rear Admiral Shannon Gilreath.

Meanwhile, the ship remains stationary, and its 21 crew members remain on board for now, o cials said.

of the Knight Insurance Group.

The chairman of that company, billionaire Don Hankey, told The Associated Press that both cash and bonds were used as collateral for Trump’s appellate bond.

“This is what we do at Knight Insurance, and we’re happy to do this for anyone who needs a bond,” said Hankey, who is best known in the business world for making high-risk, high-interest loans to car buyers with awed credit histories. Hankey told the AP he has never met or spoken with Trump.

Trump is ghting to overturn a judge’s Feb. 16 nding that he lied about his wealth as he fostered the real estate empire that

The bridge fell as the cargo ship Dali lost power March 26 shortly after leaving Baltimore on its way to Sri Lanka. The ship issued a mayday alert, which allowed just enough time for police to stop tra c, but not enough to save a roadwork crew lling potholes on the bridge.

The Dali is managed by Synergy Marine Group and owned by Grace Ocean Private Ltd., both of Singapore. Danish shipping giant Maersk chartered the Dali.

Synergy and Grace Ocean led a court petition Monday

per with the Tropicana’s exact earnings gure. The note also mentioned “money to be skimmed” for Costello’s associates, according to a post on The Mob Museum’s website looking back on the Tropicana’s history.

By the 1970s, federal authorities investigating mobsters in Kansas City charged more than a dozen mob operatives with conspiring to skim nearly $2 million in gambling revenue from Las Vegas casinos, including the Tropicana.

But the famed hotel-casino also saw many years of mobfree success. It was home to the city’s longest running show, “Folies Bergere.” The topless revue, imported from Paris, featured what is now one of the most recognizable Las Vegas icons: the feathered showgirl.

During its nearly 50-year run, “Folies Bergere” featured elaborate costumes and stage sets, original music that at one time was played by a live orchestra, line dancers, magic shows, acrobats and comedy. The cabaret was featured in the 1964 Elvis Presley lm “Viva Las Vegas.” Magicians Siegfried Fischbacher and Roy Horn got their start in the show.

Today, the site at the south end of the Las Vegas Strip intersects with a major thoroughfare named for the Tropicana. It is surrounded by the towering megaresorts that Las Vegas is now known for.

But nearby are the homes of the NFL’s Las Vegas Raiders, who left Oakland, California, in 2020, and the city’s rst major league professional team, the NHL’s Vegas Golden Knights.

The ballpark planned for the land beneath the Tropicana is expected to open in 2028.

“There’s a lot of controversy as far as if it should stay or should it go,” Seumala said. “But the thing that I do love about Vegas is that it’s always reinventing itself.”

appeal generally doesn’t hold o enforcement of a judgment. But there’s an automatic pause if the person or entity obtains a bond guaranteeing payment of what’s owed.

Courts sometimes grant exceptions and lower the amount required for a stay, as in Trump’s case.

Trump’s lawyers had told the appeals court more than 30 bonding companies were unwilling to take a mix of cash and real estate as collateral for a $454 million-plus bond. Underwriters insisted on only cash, stocks or other liquid assets, the attorneys said.

They said most bonding companies require collateral covering 120% of the amount owed.

Trump recently claimed to have almost a half-billion dollars in cash — along with billions of dollars’ worth of real estate and other assets — but said he wanted to have some cash available for his presidential run.

Recent legal debts have taken a sizable chunk out of Trump’s cash reserves.

launched him to stardom and the presidency. The trial focused on how Trump’s assets were valued on nancial statements that went to bankers and insurers to get loans and deals.

Trump denies any wrongdoing, saying the statements actually lowballed his fortune, came with disclaimers and weren’t taken at face value by the institutions that lent to or insured him.

The state courts’ Appellate Division has said it would hear arguments in September. A speci c date has not been set. If the schedule holds, it will fall in the nal weeks of the presidential race.

Under New York law, ling an

seeking to limit their legal liability, a routine but important procedure for cases litigated under U.S. maritime law. A federal court in Maryland will ultimately decide who is responsible and how much they owe. The ling seeks to cap the companies’ liability at roughly $43.6 million. It estimates that the vessel itself is valued at up to $90 million and was owed over $1.1 million in income from freight. The estimate also deducts two major expenses: at least $28 million in repair costs and at least $19.5 million in

In addition to the $175 million he had to put up in the New York case, Trump has posted a bond and cash worth more than $97 million to cover money he owes to writer E. Jean Carroll while he appeals verdicts in a pair of federal civil trials.

Trump could eventually generate cash by selling some of the nearly 60% of stock he owns in his newly public social media company, Trump Media & Technology Group — but that would be a longer-term play. Trump’s stake could be worth billions of dollars, but a “lock-up” provision prevents insiders like him from selling their shares for six months.

salvage costs. O cials are trying to determine how to rebuild the major bridge, which was completed in 1977. It carried Interstate 695 around southeast Baltimore and became a symbol of the city’s working-class roots and maritime culture.

Congress is expected to consider aid packages to help people who lose jobs or businesses because of the prolonged closure of the Port of Baltimore. The port handles more cars and farm equipment than any other U.S. facility.

JOHN LOCHER / AP PHOTO

The Tropicana hotel-casino closed on Tuesday and will be demolished.

TERRY RENNA / AP PHOTO

Donald Trump speaks during the Club Golf Awards on March 24 at Trump International Golf Course in West Palm Beach, Florida.

Tesla sales fell nearly 9% to start the year

By Lea Skene The Associated Press

DETROIT — Tesla sales fell sharply last quarter as competition increased worldwide, electric vehicle sales growth slowed, and price cuts failed to draw more buyers.

The Austin, Texas, company said it delivered 386,810 vehicles from January through March, almost 9% below the 423,000 it sold in the same quarter of last year.

Sales also fell short of even the most bearish Wall Street analyst’s expectations. Analysts polled by FactSet expected Tesla Inc. to deliver 457,000 vehicles.

The company blamed the decline in part on phasing in an updated version of the Model 3 sedan at its Fremont, California, factory, plant shutdowns due to shipping diversions in the Red Sea, and an arson attack that knocked out power to its German factory.

In its letter to investors in January, Tesla predicted “notably lower” sales growth this year. The letter said Tesla is between two big growth waves, one from global expansion of the Models 3 and Y, and a sec-

ond coming from the Model 2, a new smaller and less expensive vehicle.

Last year Tesla dramatically lowered U.S. prices by up to $20,000 for some models. In March it temporarily knocked $1,000 o the Model Y, its top-selling vehicle. The reductions cut into the company’s pro t margins, which spooked investors.

Shares of Tesla tumbled 5.5% in Tuesday morning trading to $165.60, continuing an extended decline. Investors have shaved about 34% o the value of the company so far this year, dumping shares after growing leery of the tremendous growth story that Tesla has been telling. Wedbush analyst Dan Ives, normally bullish on the stock, wrote in an investor note Tuesday that the sales were far worse than expected. “This was an unmitigated disaster 1Q that is hard to explain away,” he wrote.

He wrote that the quarter was a “seminal moment” in the Tesla growth story, and that CEO Elon Musk will have to turn the company around. “Otherwise, some darker days could clearly be ahead that could disrupt the long-term Tesla narrative.”

Ives maintained his Outperform rating and cut his one-year price target from $315 to $300.

“Street criticism is warranted

as growth has been sluggish and (pro t) margins showing compression with China a horror show and competition increasing from all angles,” Ives wrote.

During the quarter, Tesla lost production time in Germany after a suspected arson attack cut its power supply. U.S. production was slowed by an upgrade to the Model 3, and Ives estimated that China sales slid 3% to 4% during the period.

Deliveries of the Models 3 and Y, which are by far Tesla’s top sellers, fell 10.3% year over year to 369,783. Sales of the company’s other models, the aging X and S and the new Cybertruck, rose almost 60% to 17,027. Tes-

la produced 10% more vehicles than it sold during the rst quarter.

Softer than expected rstquarter sales are reducing analyst expectations for quarterly earnings when they are released on April 23. Citi Analyst Itay Michaeli cut his full year 2024 earnings per share estimate to $2.71 from $2.78.

Tesla’s sales come against the backdrop of a slowing market for electric vehicles in the U.S. EV sales grew 47% last year to a record 1.19 million as EV market share rose to 7.6%. But sales growth slowed toward the end of the year. In December, they rose 34%.

Google collected billions of records from more than 136 million people in the U.S. sur ng the internet through its Chrome web browser

By Michael Liedtke

The Associated Press

SAN FRANCISCO — Google has agreed to purge billions of records containing personal information collected from more than 136 million people in the U.S. sur ng the internet through its Chrome web browser.

The massive housecleaning comes as part of a settlement in a lawsuit accusing the search giant of illegal surveillance.

The details of the deal emerged in a court ling Monday, more than three months after Google and the attorneys handling the class-action case disclosed they had resolved a June 2020 lawsuit targeting Chrome’s privacy controls.

Among other allegations, the lawsuit accused Google of tracking Chrome users’ internet activity even when they had switched

As part of a lawsuit settlement, Google will expunge data collected from the company’s Chrome web browser.

the browser to the “Incognito” setting that is supposed to shield them from being shadowed by the Mountain View, California, company.

Google vigorously fought the lawsuit until U.S. District Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers rejected a request to dismiss the case last August, setting up a potential trial. The settlement was negotiated during the next four months, culminating in Monday’s disclosure of the terms, which Rogers still must approve during a hearing scheduled for July 30 in Oakland, California, federal court.

The settlement requires Google to expunge billions of personal records stored in its data centers and make more prominent privacy disclosures about Chrome’s Incognito option when it is activated. It also imposes other controls designed to limit Google’s collection of personal information. Consumers represented in the class-action lawsuit won’t receive any damages or any other payments in the settlement.

“We are pleased to settle this lawsuit, which we always believed was meritless,” Google said. The company asserted it is only being required to “delete old

personal technical data that was never associated with an individual and was never used for any form of personalization.”

In court papers, the attorneys representing Chrome users painted a much di erent picture, depicting the settlement as a major victory for personal privacy in an age of ever-increasing digital surveillance.

The lawyers valued the settlement at $4.75 billion to $7.8 billion, relying on calculations based primarily on the potential ad sales that the personal information collected through Chrome could have generated in the past and future without the new restrictions.

The settlement also doesn’t shield Google from more lawsuits revolving around the same issues covered in the class-action case. That means individual consumers can still pursue damages against the company by ling their own civil complaints in state courts around the U.S.

Austin Chambers, a lawyer specializing in data privacy issues at the rm Dorsey & Whitney, described the settlement terms in the Chrome case as a “welcome development” that could a ect

the way personal information is collected online in the future.

“This prevents companies from pro ting o of that data, and also requires them to undertake complex and costly data deletion e orts,” Chambers said. “In some cases, this could have a dramatic impact on products built around those datasets.”

Google is still facing legal threats on the regulatory frontier that could have a far bigger impact on its business, depending on the outcomes.

After the U.S. Justice Department outlined its allegations that the company is abusing the dominance of its search engine to thwart competition and innovation during a trial last fall, a federal judge is scheduled to hear closing arguments in the case May 1 before issuing a ruling anticipated in the autumn.

Google is also facing potential changes to its app store for smartphones powered by its Android software after a

U.S. for the postal service following a transition period, according to UPS. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.

Israel clears way to expel Al Jazeera

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has vowed to shut down Al Jazeera’s operations in Israel, calling it a “terror channel” that spreads incitement, after parliament passed a law clearing the way for the closure. Netanyahu’s pledge escalates Israel’s longrunning feud against Al Jazeera. But it also threatens to heighten tensions with Qatar, which owns the channel, at a time when the Doha government is playing a key role in mediation e orts to halt the war in Gaza. The broadcaster condemned Netanyahu’s incitement claim as a “dangerous ludicrous lie.” Al Jazeera said it holds Netanyahu responsible for the safety of its sta and o ces and would continue what it described as its bold and professional coverage.

College newspaper buys two small newspapers

Student journalists across the United States have done their bit to cover small town news for years, but a college paper in Iowa is taking a bigger swing at it. The Daily Iowan of the University of Iowa just bought two struggling weekly papers for an undisclosed price. It’s a deal believed to be the rst of its kind. The students are already redoing the newspaper websites and soon plan to add interns to help write stories. The young journalists will get real-world experience while bringing the towns more news. Campus papers in other American communities are also being distributed more widely to help ll the gap left by disappearing newspapers.

Hyundai, Kia recall repairs lagging

The carmakers said 3.4 million vehicles are at risk of catching re

By Tom Krisher The Associated Press

DETROIT — In September, Hyundai and Kia issued a recall of 3.4 million of its vehicles in the United States with an ominous warning: The vehicles should be parked outdoors and away from buildings because they risked catching re, whether the engines were on or o . Six months later, most of those autos remain on the road — unrepaired — putting their owners, their families and potentially other people in danger of res that could spread to garages, houses or other vehicles. Hyundai and Kia have acknowledged that there’s little hope of repairing most of the a ected vehicles until June or later, roughly nine months after they announced the recalls. (Hyundai owns part of Kia, though the two companies operate independently.)

The two companies attributed the delays, in part, to the huge number of vehicles involved, among the largest recalls they’ve ever done. The res, they say, have occurred when brake uid leaked onto the circuit boards of antilock braking systems, triggering an electrical short and igniting the uid.

The companies say they’ve been unable to obtain enough of the needed parts — fuses that reduce the boards’ electrical currents — to x most of the a ected vehicles. Among them are some of their top-selling models for the 2010 through 2017 years, including Hyundai’s Santa Fe and Elantra and Kia’s Sportage and Forte. Hyundai and Kia have urged the vehicles’ owners to contact the companies or dealers if they see dashboard warning lights or smell something burning. In the meantime, both companies contend that despite the ongoing risks, the cars remain safe to drive.

When they announced the recalls in September, the two automakers reported that the defect had caused 56 vehicle res and “thermal incidents,” which include burning, melting and smoking. No injuries or deaths

have been reported, either before or since the recalls were announced.

Safety advocates complain, though, that the repairs are taking far longer than xes from auto recalls normally do. Typically, such repairs begin in 10 weeks or less, though some can take longer if automakers cannot quickly determine the cause, which isn’t the case with the Hyundai-Kia problem.

While awaiting repairs, owners of the a ected vehicles need to park outside and away from other vehicles to minimize the risks. In the meantime, safety advocates note that if too much brake uid leaks, it could impair braking or lengthen the distance required to stop a car.

The long-delayed repairs mark the latest in a long series of recalls involving engine res on Hyundai and Kia vehicles that have bedeviled the two Korean automakers since 2015. All told, 13 million of their vehicles have been recalled for engine problems since 2010.

With the current recall, auto safety advocates say they’re mysti ed about why it’s taking so long for Hyundai and Kia to

obtain the necessary fuses, a relatively simple part. Some also question whether a fuse will reliably solve the brake uid leak. Some critics say the companies may be trying to save money by identifying the solution as a new fuse, which is far less expensive than xing the uid leaks.

“They’re putting a Band-Aid on this thing,” said Michael Brooks, executive director of the nonpro t Center for Auto Safety. “It looks like it’s a cheap x instead of repairing the entire antilock brake system.”

Advocates say they wonder, too, why regulators at the National Highway Tra c Safety Administration haven’t forced the companies to repair the leaks.

A NHTSA spokeswoman said the agency is monitoring the effectiveness of the recalls and “is working with the automakers to ensure the highest level of safety.”

Hyundai has said that repairing the a ected vehicles requires an intricate fuse assembly, with new covers and labels. Although just one fuse will be added to each vehicle, both automakers said they must obtain multiple types of new fuses to cover all models.

“To expedite the remedy,” Hyundai said in a statement, “we are working closely with multiple suppliers, emphasizing the high priority of the recall, and ensuring quality for the replacement fuses.”

A schedule that Hyundai led with the government shows that owners won’t start receiving letters advising them to take their cars in for repairs until April 22 at the earliest. Most of them won’t get the letters until May or June — eight or nine months after the recalls were announced. Some owners of the a ected Kia vehicles might not be noti ed until the end of June, documents say.

In a statement, Kia said the new fuses it’s seeking were developed to prevent res “regardless of what the cause of the electrical short circuit condition may be.” It said it’s working with parts suppliers to accelerate production of the fuses.

Both companies said that besides adding a new fuse, dealers will x any brake uid leaks that might be found during inspections. Brake uid can leak if O-rings, which seal the uid, lose strength if exposed to moisture, dirt or other contaminants in the uid, according to Hyundai documents led with NHTSA. If the uid level drops signi cantly, Hyundai said, the driver would see a warning light.

Since September, more than 500 owners have led complaints accusing the automakers of taking an unreasonable amount of time to make repairs, a review of NHTSA records shows. The Hyundai and Kia res have continued to occur while owners await repairs; at least ve complainants have reported engine compartment res.

Several complainants said they fear driving the vehicles and want NHTSA to force the companies to provide loaner cars or at least speed up the pace of repairs. Hyundai told dealers last year that they should provide loaners — at Hyundai’s expense — for owners who don’t feel safe driving their vehicles. After an inquiry from a reporter, Kia said it, too, would provide loaners.

Some complainants say they were confused by Hyundai statements saying the recalled vehicles can be driven even though they can catch re while the engines are running.

“This safety recall sounds urgent and incredibly dangerous,” an owner of a 2012 Hyundai Accent from Burbank, California, wrote in a complaint to NHTSA in December. (People who le complaints aren’t identi ed in the NHTSA database.) The owner couldn’t understand why Hyundai would say the Accent is safe to drive yet admit that it can still catch re while being driven. Both companies said that while res remain rare, if they do happen, owners would smell smoke or see warning lights on the dashboard. The warnings would “allow for a safe exit

Pickleball Pro-Am coming to Cary, B3

Redemption: Two years after heartbreak, Wolfpack women headed to Final Four

MLS Cincinnati earn last-minute draw with Charlotte

Aaron Boupendza scored in the second minute of stoppage time and FC Cincinnati rallied for a 1-1 draw with Charlotte FC. Charlotte’s Kerwin Vargas drew a yellow card in the 90th minute for a foul on goalkeeper Roman Celentano, setting up a free kick. Neither team scored until Djibril Diani netted the rst goal of his career on a penalty kick in the 60th minute. Roman Celentano nished with one save for Cincinnati (3-0-3). Kristijan Kahlina saved four shots for Charlotte (2-2-2).

NCAA BASKETBALL

Seattle U beats High Point for CBI championship

Third-seeded Seattle U closed on an 11-0 run to beat top-seed High Point 77-67 for the CBI championship. Seattle, which trailed with 1:56 remaining after Kezza Gi a sank a 3-pointer to give High Point a 67-66 lead, scored the nal 11 points. High Point (27-9) nished with the most wins by a rst-year head coach, Alan Huss, in program history. Juslin Bodo Bodo nished with 18 points, 16 rebounds and three blocks for the Panthers. Gi a added 18 points and Duke Miles had 16.

WOMEN’S SOCCER

Courage goalie chosen for U.S. team

Courage goalkeeper Casey Murphy was named to the U.S. national team for the upcoming SheBelieves Cup. The 23-player roster will compete in the event next month against Japan, Canada and Brazil. It opens on April 6 in Atlanta. All four teams are ranked in the top 10 in the world and have quali ed for this summer’s Olympics in France. The roster also includes former Tar Heels Crystal Dunn, Emily Fox and Lindsey Horan.

NC State is in national semi nals for the rst time in 26 years

By Ryan Henkel North State Journal

FOR THE FIRST time since 1998 and the tenure of legendary coach Kay Yow, the NC State women’s basketball team is headed to the Final Four.

“I’m just so proud of these young ladies,” said NC State coach Wes Moore, who will be coaching in his rst ever Final Four. “It’s a long season, we had a little stretch in February where we lost a few road games and everybody thought we were going to fall apart or whatever, and these players just kept working and stuck together.

“Their chemistry is so good and they really pull for each other and when you get into a

situation like this, that really pays o .”

The Wolfpack won both of their weekend matchups by double digits, overcoming a 10-point halftime de cit to defeat No. 2 Stanford in the Sweet Sixteen and then blitzing No. 1 Texas in the Elite Eight to punch their card to the Final Four. Aziaha James, who led the region in scoring, was named Most Outstanding Player for the Portland Region.

“Her freshman year, [James] was a great player out of high school,” Moore said. “I mean, big-time player. But that freshman year, she had to work her way in. Last year, she got more time and probably should have gotten even more if I hadn’t been so adamant about playing veterans. Now here she is, reaping the bene ts. It’s really awesome. She’s worked so hard over the summer. Her

“There’s just a ood of emotions and thoughts.”

Wes Moore, NC State coach

con dence, she used to maybe hang her head if things didn’t go well or a shot didn’t go in or if I got on her. But now, she is a woman. She handles adversity and keeps coming back.”

Between the games against Stanford and Texas, James averaged 28 points, 4.5 assists and one 1 turnover and in the game against the Longhorns, she went seven-for-nine from beyond the arc, which was a career high.

“I just keep my head up,” James said. “You never know what can happen and I just kept going. My con dence was going up as my shots were go -

Former NC high school, college athletes to compete in Final Four

Familiar faces will play in men’s and women’s Final Fours

By Asheebo Rojas North State Journal

WITH NC STATE sending both a men’s and women’s team to the Final Four for the rst time in school history, there will be plenty of North Carolina basketball fans cheering for some former local stars this weekend.

Eleven athletes with ties to the hoop state through high school or former college destinations will compete for a national title appearance in both tournaments. Most of them are homegrown talent for the Wolfpack, but there’s some big names at other Final Four programs as well.

Here’s a rundown of those athletes and where to nd them on the biggest stage of college basketball:

Alabama’s 6-foot-11 freshman, Jarin Stevenson, has emerged as a key piece and an

ing in. Later in the game, they just kept hitting for me so I just kept shooting.”

It’s a special moment for the program, but perhaps even more so with how close they were just two years earlier.

The Pack came up short in the Elite Eight in 2022 in a double overtime thriller to the UConn Huskies, but that loss wasn’t without controversy as despite being the one seed for the region, NC State was put in the same bracket as the second seed Huskies… in Bridgeport.

But in Portland, the Wolfpack were not going to be denied.

“There’s just a ood of emotions and thoughts,” Moore said. “I think of Kay Yow, 34 years at NC State, having taken this program to a Final Four in 1998. I think of the players two years ago that were a double overtime game away

See REDEMPTION, page B4

classi ed to the class of 2023 last year for an opportunity to play immediately at Alabama.

In the Crimson Tide’s Elite Eight victory over Clemson Saturday, Stevenson made ve threes and scored 19 points to help Alabama overcome a 13-point rst half de cit and close out the Tigers, 89-82. As of Thursday, Stevenson has averaged 5.5 points and 2.7 rebounds per game in his rst college season.

DJ

NC State guard

DJ Horne has made plenty of stops on his way back home to Raleigh, playing two years each at Illinois State and Arizona State before joining the Wolfpack. Horne played at Cary High School and Trinity Christian for his senior year, averaging 12.4 points, four rebounds and 2.6 assists per game in his nal prep season.

Now, things have come full circle for Horne who’s playing his best basketball for his hometown team. Horne is shooting 45% from the oor and 41% from three this season, while leading the Wolfpack in scoring with a career-high 17.4 points

Jarin Stevenson (Alabama, Seaforth)

unexpected hero in the Crimson

Tide’s Final Four run. Stevenson, a Chapel Hill native, played his high school ball at Seaforth in Pittsboro and was supposed graduate this spring, but he re-

Horne (NC State, Trinity Christian, Cary)

RYAN SUN / AP PHOTO

Alabama forward Jarin Stevenson elds questions ahead of the team’s Sweet Sixteen game against UNC. The Tar Heels also recruited the Seaforth standout.

JENNY

NC State guard Madison Hayes holds the trophy after the Wolfpack’s 76-66 win over Texas on Sunday in Portland, Oregon. NC State reached the Final Four for the rst time since 1998 and second time in program history.

TRENDING

Monte Ki n:

The longtime NFL assistant coach was honored by the Pro Football Hall of Fame as part of its Awards for Excellence program recognizing behind-the-scenes contributors. Ki n, a former NC State head coach, was one of the architects, along with Tony Dungy, of Tampa Bay’s “Tampa 2” defense that won the Super Bowl in the 2002 and was copied around the league.

Brian Snitker: The Atlanta Braves manager and former Durham Bulls skipper had his family stay home instead of attending Atlanta’s Opening Day game in Philadelphia. Snitker called out Phillies fans in spring training for what he said was objectionable behavior from them in the playo s toward his wife and other Atlanta friends and family members, calling them “by far the most hostile crowd.”

Reed Rohlman: The former Clemson all-ACC out elder died in Florida at age 29. Rohlman was picked in the 35th round by Kansas City in 2017 and played three seasons in the Royals organization, including one with Burlington, which was then a Royals a liate. Rohlman nished third in the ACC with a .356 batting average in 2015. He was part of Clemson’s ACC Tournament champions in 2016.

Beyond the box score

POTENT QUOTABLES

“There is really no ceiling with a guy like that.”

Patriots coach Jerod Mayo on UNC quarterback Drake Maye (pictured). New England is projected to draft Maye with the third overall pick.

“We kind of created this monster. Now hopefully we can stop it.”

NASCAR

Denny Hamlin recorded his second NASCAR Cup Series race of the year and the fth of his career at what he considers his home track, Richmond Raceway. Hamlin got the win in overtime after a caution with two laps to go forced a restart. Gibbs teammate Martin Truex Jr. dominated the second half of the race but nished third, behind Hamlin and Joey Logano.

The Panthers agreed to terms with free agent Jadeveon Clowney, the top pick in the 2014 draft. The 31-year-old Rock Hill, South Carolina, native had 9½ sacks last season for the Ravens, his fth team in 10 NFL seasons. Clowney agreed to a two-year, $20 million contract worth up to $24 million with incentives.

Pat Kelsey demonstrated plenty of energy and passion when he was introduced as the Louisville Cardinals’ coach. Kelsey succeeds Kenny Payne, who was red after going 12-52 in two seasons. Kelsey, a Wake Forest assistant for six years from 2004-09, went 75-28 in three seasons at Charleston.

PRIME NUMBER

27.8%

Portion of players on MLB Opening Day rosters who were born outside the United States. That’s down from 29.8% last year and the lowest percentage since 2016. The Dominican Republic had the most players, at 108. Venezuela (58), Cuba (18) and Puerto Rico (17) were next.

WOMEN’S BASKETBALL

Notre Dame

All-American Hannah Hidalgo missed more than four minutes of the Irish’s Sweet 16 loss after o cials made her remove a nose ring. Trainers had trouble removing it, bloodying her nose. Hidalgo ripped the referees afterward, saying, “I thought it was B.S. I think they were worried about the wrong things. They should have re ed the game.”

NFL

NCAA BASKETBALL

GARY MCCULLOUGH / AP PHOTO

MARY ALTAFFER / AP PHOTO

TED S. WARREN / AP PHOTO

KARL B. DEBLAKER / AP PHOTO

Duke’s Mark Mitchell before facing NC State in the Elite 8, a rematch of an ACC Tournament loss.

MARY ALTAFFER / AP PHOTO

MIKE CAUDILL / AP PHOTO

Pickleball tour, pro-am come to Cary

Former Hurricanes players

Rod Brind’Amour, Justin Williams and Cam Ward will compete in Saturday’s exhibition, along with pros Genie Bouchard and Jack Sock

By Cory Lavalette North State Journal

LEGENDARY COMEDIAN

George Carlin once opined that all racket games are derivatives of pingpong, with tennis simply being pingpong while standing on the table.

Carlin didn’t live to see pickleball storm onto the sports scene, but “the fastest-growing sport in the United States” is probably more deserving of the “pingpong while playing on the table,” and for multiple reasons.

Both are played with a paddle rather than a string racket. The ball is plastic, not rubber and felt, though a pickleball is just shy of 3 inches in diameter and an ounce in weight while riddled with circular holes reminiscent of a whi e ball.

And the thing that makes pickleball most like pingpoing? It’s accessibility. While you can’t put a court in your garage the way you’d set up a pingpong table, getting started playing is inexpensive, makeshift and dedicated courts are cropping up everywhere, and the competition level can be either friendly and casual or fast-paced and erce.

“It’s a great game because everybody can play it,” said Carolina Hurricanes coach Rod Brind’Amour, who will be among the competitors in the North Carolina Pickleball Pro-Am on Saturday at 2 p.m. at Cary Ten-

nis Park. “You don’t exert a ton of energy, age is not a factor, you don’t have to move if you don’t really want to. It has that skill component to it, but I think it’s a lot more fun because more people can do it.”

The event is being put on by the Professional Pickleball Association (PPA), the governing body for professional pickleball that is majority owned by Hurricanes owner Tom Dundon, and is part of a full week of the sport in Cary. The PPA Tour’s North Carolina Cup began Monday and runs through next weekend, featuring tennis-turned-pick-

nie Bouchard,

topranked

Ben Johns and Anna Leigh Waters.

Bouchard and Sock will compete in the Pro-Am and be joined by Brind’Amour, his former Hurricanes teammates Justin Williams and Cam Ward, and UNC basketball icon Tyler Hansbrough. The stakes won’t be as high, but you can bet the competitive juices will be owing.

“I don’t know that I am an athlete anymore,” Brind’Amour said. “But it’ll be good to be around the guys a little bit there and hopefully we’ll have fun. I don’t know

how serious this is. I’m sure when we get in there, it’ll get a little serious. I should get some sort of, like golf you get the handicap, you get a 10-point lead or something. I know it only goes to 11.”

Brind’Amour didn’t seem worried about facing the other celebrity amateurs but realizes Bouchard and Sock are at another level.

“I’ve got no problem with those guys,” Brind’Amour says of potentially facing Williams — his former teammate on Carolina’s 2006 Stanley Cup team who returned to the Hurricanes and captained the team in Brind’Amour’s rst year as coach

Changes in store as Duke, UNC move on from losses

Key Blue Devils and Tar Heels have decisions to make on their futures

By Shawn Krest North State Journal

A FEW HUNDRED yards from where NC State was busy cutting down the nets, the Duke Blue Devils sat in stunned silence. They faced the end of their season, and, for many, the end of their tenure at Duke.

It’s a scene that 67 of the 68 teams that receive bids to March Madness will live through. Eventually, the NCAA representative doesn’t bring the giant bracket into your locker room, so cameras can capture your team representative advancing your school to the next round. Eventually, there won’t be another opponent to get ready for in a ridiculously short time frame, and the only last-minute travel plans left to make are the ones that take you back to campus. The odds are overwhelmingly in favor of that happening for every team, meaning the goal of March is really to put o the all-but-inevitable for as long as possible.

The catch is, the closer a team gets to being the one that beats those odds, the harder it is to face the end. For Duke, as well as ACC rivals UNC and Clemson, that moment came last weekend, as the tournament eld was cut from 16 to four. The names of the rounds emphasize the feelings surrounding each new elimination cut. The eld went from Sweet to Elite to Final.

FINAL FOUR from page B1 per game. During NC State’s Final Four run, Horne has been just what the Wolfpack needed — a perimeter threat and second option to compliment DJ Burns down low. Horne has put up 16.5 points per game in the tournament, including a 20-point performance in the win over Duke in the Elite Eight.

Saniya Rivers (NC State, Ashley)

Coming out of Ashley High School in Wilmington and rat-

For Duke, that nality was on full display. Tyrese Proctor sat in the corner of the locker room, his legs up on the bench in front of him, a towel covering his head. Freshman TJ Power sat next to him, realized that no words could help ease the pain of Proctor’s 0-for-9 night in the loss, so he just sat next to his teammate, staring o into the middle distance.

Jeremy Roach returned from the postgame press conference and seemed to crumple into a chair in front of his locker. He put a towel over his own head and sat in a tiny ball.

Eyes gleaming with tears, Jared McCain quietly answered questions from a gaggle of reporters. Eventually, Roach removed the towel and did the same.

“We just weren’t us, today,” he said.

That’s all it takes—one o day, 40 minutes where things don’t quite click, and a team gets sent home to be broken up by the transfer portal, NBA Draft and graduation. Roach’s fourth year at Duke had just ended, one game short of his second Final Four, a second season ended by a Triangle rival.

“I just put my heart and soul in this program,” he said. “Duke gave me everything.”

A few days earlier, UNC faced a similar scene after being eliminated by Alabama in the Sweet 16. Armando Bacot saw the end of his ve-year UNC career.

“I’m de nitely hurt,” he said. “I think we all are, a little shocked.”

That leaves the two programs that so often had been the last

ed as the No. 3 overall player in the class of 2021 by ESPN, NC State junior Saniya Rivers started her collegiate career at South Carolina. She joined the Wolfpack in 2022, made an immediate impact o the bench and was named the 2023 ACC Sixth Player of the Year, averaging 8.6 points and 2.9 assists per game.

Now in a starter role in the Wolfpack’s backcourt, Rivers’ value to the team has been even greater in the 2023-24 season. Rivers is the team’s second leading scorer (12.7 points per game) behind Aziaha James (16.7 points per game), and she’s tied for second in rebounds

ACC teams dancing, looking at their futures, while NC State is the team going on to the Final Four.

Here’s a look at the changes on the horizon for each of the in-state teams that fell over the weekend.

UNC: De nitely gone are Bacot, the school’s all-time leading rebounder, as well as one-year grad transfers Cormac Ryan and Paxton Wojcik.

per game, averaging just over six boards. She makes a living on the defensive side of the ball, however, leading the team with 74 steals and a second-best 32 blocks this season. In NC State’s Final Four run so far, Rivers has accumulated six steals and six blocks all while scoring in double-digits in each round.

Tristen Newton (UConn, East Carolina)

UConn’s starting guard Tristen Newton is from El Paso, Texas, however, he spent his rst three college seasons at

“It’s a great game because everybody can play it. … It has that skill component to it, but I think it’s a lot more fun because more people can do it.”

— and the other amateurs. “I don’t think I’m at the other level that some of the pros are.”

In January 2023, Dundon hosted the Hurricanes in Dallas during an o -day pickleball outing, giving the players an appreciation for the sport.

“Those pros, they’re unreal,” Hurricanes forward Martin Necas, an avid tennis player, said. “It’s a little version of tennis, and I feel like it’s getting more popular here. We actually went to play a couple times here in Raleigh and all the courts were packed. So I feel like it’s getting really popular here and good for the sport.”

Necas predicted Williams will be the former Hurricanes player to beat in the Pro-Am.

“I’ve never seen Cam or Roddy play tennis,” Necas said, “and I’ve played with Willy a couple of times, and he’s good. I think the rst time I beat him, the second time he beat me this summer. … He’s kind of an allaround athlete.”

The Hurricanes plan to set up pickleball courts outside of PNC Arena before Thursday’s game against the Boston Bruins to illustrate how you don’t have to be a world-class athlete to join the millions who are already playing.

“In pickleball, it kind of evens out,” Necas said, “and it’s a little easier.”

Elliot Cadeau seems a likely candidate to stay, but far from a 100% sure thing.

Seth Trimble, Jae’Lyn Withers and Jalen Washington were all key reserve players but may want to nd a spot that o ers more playing time.

If a large portion of those players leave, Davis could be back working the transfer portal like last season. He has a strong recruiting class entering in Drake Powell and Ian Jackson. Best case for the Heels would be for Cadeau, Withers, Ingram, Trimble and the freshmen to form the core of an ACC contender.

Duke: Reserve big man Ryan

Young is the only player whose eligibility expired. Roach certainly seemed to be contemplating the end of his Duke career immediately after the game. Center Kyle Filipowski will likely try his chances at the next level, and there’s a good chance that with two 30-point games in March Madness, Jared McCain might as well.

RJ Davis, who won ACC Player of the Year, could return for his fth COVID year. Our best guess is that he goes out on the ACC POY award season and tries his hand at the next level.

Just about everyone else on the roster faces similar choices, as Hubert Davis will have to re-recruit just about the entire team. Harrison Ingram was a key contributor and could return, but he has options as well.

ECU. Newton averaged 17.7 points and ve assists per game in his nal year with the Pirates and transferred to UConn in 2022. A key part of the Huskies’ 2023 title run just a year ago, he’s once again in the Final Four looking to repeat. In an o ense that can look to numerous options and score in many ways, Newton’s scoring and assist numbers have made a huge jump from last season to now, as he’s averaging 15 points (10.4 last year) and 6.1 assists (4.8 last year) per game. During this year’s tournament, Newton has shot 44% from the oor,

Mark Mitchell and Tyrese Proctor are the two remaining starters. Both could return, but a case could be made that both will be departing as well. There was a minor controversy around Mitchell earlier this season when family members posted messages on social media that some interpreted as being critical of the coaching sta . Proctor may be ready to try his hand at the pros, either in the NBA or overseas, or he may be tempted to transfer to nd an o ense he feels better showcases his skills.

Regardless, Duke is well positioned to handle a large number of defections, with a sixman signing class that is the top-ranked recruiting haul in the nation.

and he put on a 20-point, 10-assist double-double in the second round against Northwestern. Other local North Carolina names in this year’s Final Four include (including injured players): Davin Cosby Jr.

Christian

of

leball stars Jack Sock and Ge-

along with

players

(Alabama, Word

God

Academy), LJ Thomas (NC State, Bull Durham Prep), Breon Pass (NC State, Reidsville), KJ Keatts (NC State, Grace Christian School), Alex Nunnally (NC State, Cary Academy), Jordan Snell (NC State, Panther Creek), Alyssa Lewis (NC State, Hickory Ridge), MJ Rice (NC State, Durham Academy).

PHOTO COURTESY PPA TOUR

Genie Bouchard, the 54th-ranked women’s singles player on the PPA Tour and a Wimbledon nalist in 2014, will participate in Saturday’s North Carolina Pickleball Pro-Am at Cary Tennis Park.

SHAWN KREST / NORTH STATE JOURNAL

Duke senior Jeremy Roach buries his head in a towel after returning to the locker room following the Blue Devils’ season-ending loss.

Carolina Hurricanes coach Rod Brind’Amour on pickleball

Brandon Miller continues to impress in rookie season

The 21-year-old is averaging 17 points and 4.3 rebounds

By Jesse Deal North State Journal

CHARLOTTE — When the Charlotte Hornets selected Brandon Miller last June with the second-overall pick in the draft, the rookie was asked by reporters who he considered his primary in uence as a player.

The former Alabama star was adamant that LA Clippers star Paul George was not only the league veteran he modeled his game after, but his personal “G.O.A.T. of basketball.”

This past Sunday, Miller and George were able to play on the court together for the rst time — often tasked with guarding each other — in the Hornets’ 130-118 loss to the Clippers.

George got the better of the rookie, scoring 41 points while shooting 8-of-12 from behind the 3-point arc. However, Miller still posted a valiant e ort, nishing with 22 points, six rebounds, four assists and one block across 40 minutes.

After a post-game jersey swap between the two players, both re ected on the signicance of Miller becoming a heralded performer by the time he played his basketball idol.

“It’s a dream come true to have your favorite player’s jersey just hanging up in your house. I think that’s a great accomplishment,” Miller said. “Being on the court with those types of guys — (Russell) Westbrook, PG, (James) Harden and Kawhi (Leonard) — is just a blessing. I’m always going out there with the mindset of competing, and that’s what we do every night.”

“It’s a dream come true to have your favorite player’s jersey just hanging up in your house.”

Brandon Miller, Hornets forward

Miller noted that although the Hornets are sitting at a 1856 record and will not be in the playo s, he still considered the nal seven games of the season to be meaningful to the team.

“I feel like everybody’s coming here to try to get better for next season. We’re not playing for playo s or anything, but we’re playing to make each other better and build stronger bonds. I think we’ll be great.”

While Miller employed humility in the situation, George was highly complementary of the former as a player and said he enjoyed being able to play against him.

“It was fun. He’s got a ton of game, and a ton of talent and I’m in his corner,” George said. “I can’t wait to see him fully blossom and be one of those guys that carried the league for a long time. He can do a little bit of everything.”

“He can play, score, and shoot it from deep. He can put the ball on the ground, and he’s still guring his body out. He really hasn’t grown into himself yet, so he’s got a ton of upside. But what’s most impressive is all the things that he can do for his age, and at some point he’s going to gure everything out.”

With the injuries sustained by star point guard LaMelo Ball and center Mark Williams this season, Miller and forward Miles Bridges have often been

the focal point of Charlotte’s offensive attack. On March 27, Miller made a career-high seven 3-pointers and nished with 31 points as the Hornets bested Cleveland in a 118-111 home matchup.

Hornets coach Steve Clifford was asked last week how he thinks Miller has responded in the light of Ball’s extended absence on the court.

“It’s put a lot of pressure on him and I don’t think he couldn’t have responded any better,” Cli ord said. “He’s getting double teamed and almost always has the other team’s best defender on him. He’s guarding primary scorers, so the responsibilities he has for our team to have a chance to play well is immense.”

Miller has now scored at least 20 points in four of his last six games and is now averaging 17 points and 4.3 rebounds.

“He just works his way through it and competes hard every night,” Cli ord continued. “He likes to play and he likes the competition and you can see it when he’s on the court. You can’t teach that, and it’s an enormous trait to have. He’s done it really since Day 1, and he obviously has a world of potential.”

Despite the Hornets taking part in a season that has left them at a lowly 13th place in the Eastern Conference standings, it’s hard to argue with the team placing such a high draft value on the small forward from Antioch, TN, who has proven to be a valuable commodity in just one professional season.

Going forward, Miller’s talent level and catch-and-shoot capacity as a playmaker has indicated that he has the ability to possibly become the team’s main o ensive threat at some point in his career.

REDEMPTION from page B1

from being in this same exact spot. And then I think of these players overcoming all the doubts and questions. Final Four, y’all. This is my 35th year as a head coach and it’s amazing. Very emotional.”

Next up on the agenda though is the No. 1 overall seed and still undefeated South Carolina Gamecocks.

The Gamecocks, who are in their fourth consecutive Final Four appearance, have not lost a game this season and have won each of their rst

four tournament games by an average of 28.75 points. If NC State wants to continue to defy the odds and qualify for its rst ever NCAA Tournament nal in program history, it’ll need everyone locked in. The Duke Blue Devils also represented the Triangle well, making it all the way to the Sweet Sixteen, before falling to Paige Bueckers and the UCONN Huskies. Duke perhaps could have had a better chance to pull o yet another upset on the heels of their victory over No. 2

Junior Caminero headlines talented Durham Bulls roster

The top minor league prospect will open the season in Triple-A

By Shawn Krest North State Journal

THE DURHAM BULLS are expected to be one of the top contenders in the International League this year. They’ll also have one of the top prospects in all of minor league baseball on their roster to start the season.

Stop us if you’ve heard this one before.

Since a liating with the Tampa Bay Rays 26 years ago, the Bulls have won 16 division titles and eight International League crowns, including most recently in 2021 and 2022.

That was under manager Brady Williams, who got promoted to MLB after four years and two rings in Durham. He’s currently the Rays third-base coach, while Morgan Ensberg, who hit 110 home runs in an MLB career with the Astros, Padres and Yankees, moves up from Double-A. Ensberg returns to North Carolina after previously managing the Buies Creek Astros to the 2018 Carolina League title.

overriding with the Rays is just we have such good players and such good talent,” Ensberg said. “And our scouts do such an incredible job of getting us talent. They really make the coaches and managers look good, right?

I mean, when we have excellent players to coach, teah, we can do some things that are a little bit more advanced, and that’s more advanced at each level. So I’m very thankful. I’m extremely aware of how lucky I have it and how lucky we have it. But it’s just really an honor to be able to play or to be able to coach such great players.”

“The fans are going to absolutely love this guy.”

Bulls manager Morgan Ensberg on Junior Caminero

Now he makes his Triple-A managing debut and is excited to be doing it in a place with a baseball pedigree like the Bull City.

“Everybody in the organization and people that I know have been speaking so highly of it,” he said. “I kind of think of it as kind of a kid who’s never been to Disneyland, and everybody’s telling them you know, ‘Have you been to Disneyland? It’s awesome,’ and I haven’t been there. So it’s been nice to get in here, and it’s much better than I even expected.”

Ohio State if not for their extensive o ensive struggles. The Blue Devils outrebounded the Huskies 43-28 and held one of the NCAA’s top teams to just 53 points, but Duke had just 13 points in the rst half, turned the ball over 23 times and shot 32.7% from the eld.

However, despite trailing the entire game and by as much as 20 at one point, Duke nearly rallied at the end, closing the gap to just ve points with under two minutes to go, but the de cit proved too much to overcome.

Making it even more awesome, Ensberg inherits a roster packed with talent. Returning Bulls include slugging out elder Ruben Cardenas and top-30 Rays prospects Kameron Misner (26) and in elder Ronny Simon (27). Out elder Oselvis Basabe, who has spent time with the Rays on the big league roster, is also starting the year in Durham.

The pitching sta is also loaded with returnees Trevor Brigden and Justin Sterner, top 40 prospects Mason Montgomery (9), Jacob Lopez (14) and Joe Rock (19). Jake Odorizzi, who pitched the Bulls to the 2013 title before winning 74 MLB games, returns to Durham as a veteran leader. “I think the one thing that’s

The most promising name on the roster, however, is a 20-yearold who is likely headed for bigger things very soon. Junior Caminero actually skipped Triple-A Durham altogether, getting promoted from Double-A last year to help contribute to the Rays’ postseason run. Now he’s back and is arguably one of the top two prospects in all of minor league baseball. Odds are good that he will be headed to the big leagues to stay after a month or two more seasoning, following the same path that Wil Myers, Wander Franco and other Rays stars did in previous years.

“He’s an exciting player,” Ensberg said. “I mean, depending on where you get your information, he’s anywhere from third to sixth-fastest bat speed and all baseball. He’s somebody that really works hard, but he is a tremendous talent, and we see this as an incredible responsibility. You know, he has things to work on, and we’re going to work on him. But he’s a hard worker, and he is an absolute great kid. And I’m telling you the fans are going to absolutely love this guy.”

The Dominican-born Caminero said he wants to work on his defense, as he makes the switch to third base after spending most of his time at shortstop so far. As for the timeline of when he gets the call to the bigs, he said, through an interpreter, “I want to play the best and as hard as I can. I don’t control how much time I’m going to be here.”

He’ll also have plenty of support while he’s here.

“My family is here with me,” he said. “My mother, my father, my little brother and my girlfriend. We are staying at a house. My mom does the cooking for me.”

Having already hit his rst Triple-A home run during the Bulls’ season-opening road series, Caminero is clearly ready to start cooking for himself on the eld.

ENA SELLERS / LA VOZ

20-year-old Junior Caminero is expected to have a brief stay in Durham before heading back to Tampa Bay to join the Rays.

Charlotte Hornets rookie forward Brandon Miller reacts to the team’s win over the Cleveland Cavaliers in late March.

NELL REDMOND / AP PHOTO

‘Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire” roars to an $80M box o ce opening

“Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire” was second with $15.7 million for a twoweek total of $73.4 million

By Andrew Dalton

The Associated Press

LOS ANGELES — The Godzilla-King Kong combo stomped on expectations as “Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire” roared to an $80 million opening on 3,861 North American screens, according to Sunday studio estimates.

The monster merger from Warner Bros. and Legendary Pictures starring Rebecca Hall and Brian Tyree Henry brought the second-highest opening in what has been a robust year, falling just short of the $81.5 million debut of “Dune: Part 2.”

Projections had put the opening weekend of “Godzilla x Kong:

The New Empire,” which sees the monsters teaming up instead of squaring up, at closer to $50 million. “It’s a cinematic event, and we’re seeing these iconic characters doing things we’ve never seen them do before,” said Mary Parent, chairman of worldwide production for Legendary. “There’s big swaths of the lm that don’t have any dialogue, where we put you with the characters, it’s a very mythic experience.”

Last week’s No. 1 at the box ofce, “Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire,” was second with $15.7 million for a two-week total of $73.4 million.

“Dune: Part Two ” stayed strong in its fth week, falling in the third spot with an $11.1 million take and a domestic total of $252.4 million. The last matchup of the two monsters from Warner Bros. and Legendary, 2021’s “Godzil-

la vs. Kong,” had a much smaller opening weekend of $48.5 million, but for a lm slowed by the coronavirus pandemic and released simultaneously on HBO Max, it was a serious success that signaled what was to come for the pairing.

“It was a really big number all things considered,” Parent said.

The newer lm had the second biggest opening of the studios’ broader MonsterVerse franchise. “Godzilla” brought in $93.2 million in 2014. It was the biggest earner in the nearly 70-year cinematic history of the creature that originated and spent most of its screen life in Japan. It earned more than $200 million in North America and more than $500 million globally.

“Godzilla x Kong” comes just four months after the most recent Japanese rendition, the critical favorite and Oscar winner “Godzilla Minus One.”

But there was clearly no

Godzilla glut for audiences, many of whom were willing to pay extra for IMAX and other special formats.

“These are literally two of the biggest movie stars in the world, and you have to see them on the biggest screen possible with the biggest sound possible,” said Paul Dergarabedian, senior media analyst for data rm Comscore.

The combination of “Godzilla x Kong,” “Dune: Part Two” and “Ghostbusters” has put the year to date 6% behind 2023, while it was 20% behind on the eve of the March 1 release of the “Dune” sequel.

“The industry was feeling pretty glum right before ‘Dune: Part 2’ opened, but they’ve made up a lot of ground,” said Dergarabedian.

The summer is full of titles that are not guaranteed megahits but could break big, including Ryan Gosling’s “The Fall

Swift, Kelce earn Webby Award nominations

Swift was nominated for an Instagram message encouraging her followers to register to vote

By Mark Kennedy

The Associated Press

NEW YORK — Taylor Swift and her Super Bowl-winning boyfriend Travis Kelce, along with Sydney Sweeney, Ryan Gosling and Timothee Chalamet, are among the nominees for this year’s Webby Awards, recognizing the best internet content and creators. The International Academy of Digital Arts & Sciences announced the nominees on Tuesday, the result of 13,000 entries from over 70 countries. The Associated Press got an early look.

Swift’s Instagram message encouraging her 283 million followers to register to vote was nominated in the best creator or in uencer category. The website she directed her fans to — the nonpartisan Vote.org — recorded more than 35,000 registrations, according to the organization. Kelce, got a nomination in the best sports podcast category for teaming up with his brother Jason for their “New Heights” show. Speaking of couples, Michelle Obama got a nod for her “The Light Podcast,” while her husband, former President Barack Obama, was nominated for his work with LinkedIn. The awards are selected by the Academy, while The Webby People’s Voice Award is voted on by fans around the world. Voting for that award is open now

until April 18. Winners for all awards will be announced May 13 at a ceremony hosted by “Late Night with Seth Meyers” writer and comedian Amber Ru n. Sweeney got a nod for collaborating with Ford Motor Company for a contest with the winner getting a 2024 custom Mustang GT designed by the actor. Paris Hilton was nominated for her 10-minute TikTok post about her family’s hotel brand.

“Ted Lasso” star Brett Goldstein got a nod for his podcast

“Films to Be Buried With,” in which he brings on guests to discuss the movies that have most impacted their lives. He faces competition in the TV and lm podcast category from podcasts about “The Crown,” “The Last of Us,” “Endeavor” and “And Just Like That...”

Chalamet was nominated in the media and entertainment branded content category for his ad for Apple TV+, a follow-up to last year’s campaign with Jon Hamm. The ad shows the “Dune” star enjoying the programming on Apple’s streaming service and wondering if he could do the projects. “Severance’ is weird. I could do weird,” Chalamet says. Chalamet will face o against Ryan Gosling, who admitted his Barbie character, Ken, may have “stolen” one of BTS member Jimin’s signature looks. Gosling gave Ken’s prized guitar to Jimin to apologize. Music video nominations were handed out to Doja Cat’s “Paint the Town Red,” Lil Nas X’s “J Christ,” Megan Thee Stallion’s “Cobra,” Olivia Rodrigo’s “Vampire” and new best new

Guy” and the next installments of “Planet of the Apes,” “Mad Max,” “Inside Out” and “Deadpool.”

That brings cause for optimism as the theatrical movie business seeks to hang on, though it’s highly unlikely it will surpass 2023, which saw “Barbie” surpass $1 billion globally with its release-date mate “Oppenheimer” not far behind.

“‘Barbenheimer’ is kind of a once-in-a-lifetime event,” Dergarabedian said.

Estimated ticket sales are for Friday through Sunday at U.S. and Canadian theaters, according to Comscore.

1. “Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire,” $80 million

2. “Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire,” $15.7 million

3. “Dune: Part Two,” $11.1 million

4. “Kung Fu Panda 4,” $10.2. million

5. “Immaculate,” $3.3 million

6. “Arthur the King,” $2.4 million

7. “Late Night With the Devil,”

8. $2.2 million

8. “Tillu Square,” $1.8 million

9. “Crew,” $1.5 million

10. “Imaginary,” $1.4 million

artist Grammy-winner Victoria Monet’s “On My Mama.”

The category of best overall social presence is stu ed with familiar names — Bravo, “Jimmy Kimmel Live!,” “Saturday Night Live,” “Sesame Street” and “The Kelly Clarkson Show.”

The gravitational pull of the hit movie “Barbie” also made it into the Webby nominations, with Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer promoting a darkhaired version of Barbie dressed in a pink pantsuit earning a nod in the public service and activism category and Mattel getting one for its social media movie tie-ins.

The list of nominations also illustrate the impact of Articial Intelligence, with several new categories for AI apps and experiences, like Burger King’s cheeseburger nuggets.

Companies earning the highest number of nominations are PBS with 20, Warner Bros. Discovery with 18, Net ix at 14, CNN with 13, and three tied with 11 each — Paramount, The Washington Post and MTV Entertainment.

Academy members include musician and writer Questlove, writer and actor Quinta Brunson, rapper and actor Tobe Nwigwe, writer and producer Roxane Gay, Pepsi Co. executive Todd Kaplan, and Yann LeCun, an AI scientist with Meta.

CHRIS PIZZELLO / AP PHOTO

Taylor Swift poses at the world premiere of the concert lm “Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour” last October.

WARNER BROS. PICTURES VIA AP

Godzilla, left, and Kong in a scene from “Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire.”

The famous statue is in the public domain

By Colleen Barry

Associated Press

The

FLORENCE, Italy — Michelangelo’s David has been a towering gure in Italian culture since its completion in 1504. But in the current era of the quick buck, curators worry the marble statue’s religious and political signi cance is being diminished by the thousands of refrigerator magnets and other souvenirs sold around Florence focusing on David’s genitalia.

The Galleria dell’Accademia’s director, Cecilie Hollberg, has positioned herself as David’s defender since her arrival at the museum in 2015, taking swift aim at those proteering from his image, often in ways she nds “debasing.”

In that way, she is a bit of a David herself against the Goliath of unfettered capitalism with its army of street vendors

and souvenir shop operators hawking aprons of the statue’s nude gure, T-shirts of it engaged in obscene gestures, and ubiquitous gurines, often in Pop Art neon. At Hollberg’s behest, the state’s attorney o ce in Florence has launched a series of court cases invoking Italy’s landmark cultural heritage code, which protects artistic treasures from disparaging and unauthorized commercial use. The Accademia has won hundreds of thousands of euros in damages since 2017, Hollberg said. “There was great joy throughout all the world for this truly unique victory that we managed to achieve, and questions and queries from all over about how we did it, to ask advice on how to move,” she told The Associated Press.

Legal action has followed to protect masterpieces at other museums, not without debate, including Leonardo’s “Vitruvian Man,” Donatello’s David and Botticelli’s “Birth of Venus.”

‘Mr.

This will be Bob Uecker’s

By Steve Megargee The Associated Press

MILWAUKEE

—

Bob

Uec-

ker received a hearty ovation from fans chanting “Ueck” when the legendary broadcaster appeared on the American Family Field video board early in the Milwaukee Brewers’ home opener Tuesday. Brewers fans don’t know how many more times they’ll get to continue cheering the presence of “Mr. Baseball.”

Uecker was back at the ballpark handling play-by-play on the radio broadcast of Milwaukee’s game with the Minnesota Twins as team o cials remained circumspect about the 90-year-old’s workload for the rest of the year.

This will be Uecker’s 54th season broadcasting Brewers baseball, though he has limited himself to home games for the last several years.

“Ueck is very focused on always being at a Hall of Fame level,” Brewers principal owner Mark Attanasio said before Tuesday’s game with the Min-

nesota Twins. “He doesn’t want to just be in the booth to be in the booth …. I say to him, ‘Ueck, you don’t have to do the play-byplay for nine innings or seven of the nine. You can do less.’ And so what he wants to do is just see how it goes this year, and we’ll see.” Attanasio’s comments essentially echoed a statement Brewers president of business operations Rick Schlesinger had issued on social media a week earlier. Schlesinger noted that Uecker would be part of the Brewers’ radio coverage for Tuesday’s home opener with the Minnesota Twins and that “he’ll take it one day at a time after that.” Uecker became the voice of the Brewers in 1971 and has been part of their broadcast team ever since. Uecker regularly makes appearances on the eld and in the locker room conversing with players and coaches.

He participated in the locker-room celebration last year when the Brewers won their NL Central title, just as he had done when the team clinched its other recent postseason berths.

“It’s always great to have Ueck around,” Brewers out elder and 2018 NL MVP Christian

The decisions challenge a widely held practice that intellectual property rights are protected for a speci ed period before entering the public domain — the artist’s lifetime plus 70 years, according to the Berne Convention signed by more than 180 countries including Italy.

More broadly, the decisions raise the question of whether institutions should be the arbiters of taste, and to what extent freedom of expression is being limited.

“It raises not just legal issues, but also philosophical issues. What does cultural patrimony mean? How much of a stranglehold do you want to give institutions over ideas and images that are in the public domain?’’ said Thomas C. Danziger, an art market lawyer based in New York.

He pointed to Andy Warhol’s famous series inspired by Leonardo’s “Last Supper.” “Are you going to prevent artists like Warhol from creating what is a derivative work?’’ Danziger

asked. “Many people would view this as a land grab by the Italian courts to control and monetize artworks in the public domain that were never intended to be charged for.”

Italy’s cultural code is unusual in its scope, essentially extending in perpetuity the author’s copyright to the museum or institution that owns it. The Vatican has similar legislative protections on its masterpieces and seeks remedies through its court system for any unauthorized reproduction, including for commercial use and for damaging the dignity of the work, a spokesman said.

Elsewhere in Europe, Greece has a similar law, adopted in 2020, which requires a permit to use images of historic sites or artifacts for commercial use, and forbids the use of images that “alter” or “o end” the monuments in any way.

France’s Louvre museum, home to some oft-replicated masterpieces like the “Mona Lisa” and Venus de Milo, notes that its collection mostly dates

Yelich said. “I’ve gotten to know him fairly well over the last seven years. I think each year we’ve gotten closer. Anytime you hear from him, whether it’s via text or just seeing him in person at the ballpark, I think it makes everybody’s day better. I think he loves being around the team, and we love having him. He’s obviously a baseball legend, a

Brewer legend.”

Uecker played in the majors from 1962-67 with the Milwaukee/Atlanta Braves, St. Louis Cardinals and Philadelphia Phillies, but it was after his playing career that he became a national celebrity. He worked as a national color commentator for ABC and NBC baseball telecasts and earned fame beyond that of the usual broadcaster following his appearances in late-night talk shows, beer commercials and the movie “Major League.” He also starred in “Mr. Belvedere,” an ABC sitcom that aired over 100 episodes from 1985-90. Uecker showcased his sense of humor early in Tuesday’s broadcast by focusing on his own lack of playing success, a frequent source of his comedy. Uecker noted that he had begun his MLB playing career “just across the parking lot” from American Family Field at the old Milwaukee County Stadium. That site now is the home of Helfaer Field, which hosts youth baseball games. “That’s where I started my major league career — in a Little League park,” Uecker quipped. Uecker is particularly well known in Milwaukee, where

from before 1848, which puts them in the public domain under French law.

Court cases have debated whether Italy’s law violates a 2019 European Union directive stating that any artwork no longer protected by copyright falls into the public domain, meaning that “everybody should be free to make, use and share copies of that work.”

The EU Commission has not addressed the issue, but a spokesman told the AP that it is currently checking “conformity of the national laws implementing the copyright directive” and would look at whether Italy’s cultural heritage code interferes with its application.

Hollberg won her rst case against ticket scalpers using David’s image to sell markedup entrance packages outside the Accademia’s doors. She also has targeted GQ Italia for imposing a model’s face on David’s body, and luxury fashion brand Longchamp’s cheeky Florence edition of its trademark “Le Pliage” bag featuring David’s more intimate details.

Longchamp noted the depiction was “not without irony” and said the bag was “an opportunity to express with amused lightness the creative force that has always animated this wonderful city.’’

he has become synonymous with Brewers baseball. Attanasio said the rst two people he called after buying the Brewers were Uecker and Hall of Famer Robin Yount. “Ueck’s in the Hall of Fame as a broadcaster for a reason,” Attanasio said. “He’s exceptional at his craft. It’s not just the great stories he tells.” The Brewers have honored him with two statues, one that’s outside American Family Field and another in the back row of the terrace level, a nod to the old Miller Lite commercial in

54th season broadcasting Brewers baseball

Michelangelo’s 16th century statue of David is on display at the Accademia gallery in Florence, Italy.

Broadcaster Bob Uecker speaks before a 2022 baseball game between the Milwaukee Brewers and Cincinnati Reds.

Robert Woolard Clark

December 5, 1934 –March 25, 2024

ROBERT WOOLARD “Bobby” Clark died in the early morning hours of March 25, 2024, surrounded by his loving children and their spouses. To say he will be missed is the understatement of the century. Bobby was born at home as the sixth of seven children to Essie Woolard and Lee Andrew Clark of Everetts, N.C., on Dec. 5, 1934. Bobby was predeceased by ve of his six siblings with only Ellen Clark Woodard (96) surviving. He grew up in Everetts where he attended Everetts Elementary School and Everetts Christian Church. His early years were marked by a love for the outdoors. As a young boy, he earned spending money selling drinks at the Everetts Cubs semi-pro baseball games. Trains fascinated him, and he could tell wonderful stories about the steam locomotives that passed through Everetts during his early years. He was very close to his siblings and maintained loving relationships with them throughout his life. He became an avid hunter, sherman and gardener with his mother. He also loved the water, including boating and water skiing.

One of his greatest joys was spending time at the family cottage on the Pamlico River near Bath, N.C. He was thrilled to be involved in the construction of the cottage the winter he turned 16 in 1950. He also avidly supported the NC State Wolfpack and took great pleasure and pride in their athletic accomplishments. Sunday afternoons in the fall were often lled watching the Washington Redskins or Carolina Panthers on television.

In 1971 following the construction of the Martin County Airport, he earned his private pilot’s license. In later years, he enjoyed ying with his brother Dr. Daniel Clark. He had an array of pets over the years and especially loved the many dogs that kept him company around the farm.

In 1953, he graduated from Robersonville High School and left Martin County that fall to attend North Carolina State College in Raleigh. He majored in eld crops and graduated with a bachelor’s degree in May 1957. Soon after graduation, he began a farming part-

nership with his father, L.A. Clark, on the Wild Cat Road near Everetts. On April 5, 1959, he married Betty Jean Davenport of Robersonville who survives. Betty Jean was the love of his life and for the last 65 years, they farmed and raised their family in the Everetts community. They were blessed with four children: Robert W. Clark Jr., Janet Clark Smith (Robert), Charlotte Clark White (Brian), and Essie Clark (Beth) Robbins (Neal). They both deeply loved their eight grandchildren: Emmy, Lawrence (wife, Lacey), Eason, Adam, Alex, Ashley, Everett and James. Known as Daddy Bobby, he doted on his grandchildren and wanted to know about and be involved in every aspect of their lives.

Happy times at Thanksgiving, Christmas, birthdays, church events and lazy summer days on the Pamlico River with his family created much love and happiness for Bobby, and he returned that love generously.

As a farmer, Bobby did it all and loved every minute of it. He raised hogs, cattle, tobacco, peanuts, corn and soybeans. Hot summers in the tobacco patch followed by a brisk fall of harvest yielding the fruits of his labor. He developed deep a ection for the many people who worked with him, and he cherished their memories and friendships. Several have predeceased him, and he often talked about how much they meant to him. These included Tom Taylor, Tom Wynn, William Henry Daniels and Robert Wynn, to name a few.

A deeply held family ritual was the annual “putting up corn” day in the summer where friends and neighbors were invited to break as many ears of sweet corn as they liked for themselves. He o ered peanuts from his elds and pecans from his pecan grove to everyone and never accepted payment of any kind. Many cold winter nights brought friends to his equipment shop for oyster roasts, pig pickings and grilled chicken. Bobby also hosted his famous breakfasts for early rising men in the community starting around 5 a.m. and ending by 7 a.m. At times, 40 to 50 men gathered before dawn to enjoy co ee, breakfast and fellowship with one another. An invitation to one of his breakfasts was coveted by many. In later years, one of his favorite things to do

was enjoying BBQ from B’s in Greenville or The Skylight Inn in Ayden. Bobby and Betty Jean were devoted members of Everetts Christian Church. His church and church family were very near and dear to his heart.

There was rarely a time the church doors opened that he wasn’t in attendance. He served on the board for many years and was Sunday School superintendent as a young man. He also served dutifully as a faithful member of the Everetts Ruritan

club. The Ruritans recognized him in January of this year for his many years of service and dedication.

The void of his passing will be felt for a long time by his family, church and community. The impression he made on everyone is immeasurable, and his many positive in uences on our lives will remain a part of us forever. The family would especially like to thank Gail Outlaw and Laverne Rodgers for their kindness and support in the last few years.

Versatile actress Barbara Rush dies at 97

By Bob Thomas The Associated Press

LOS ANGELES — Barbara Rush, a popular leading actor in the 1950 and 1960s who co-starred with Frank Sinatra, Paul Newman and other top lm performers and later had a thriving TV career, has died. She was 97.

Rush’s death was announced by her daughter, Fox News reporter Claudia Cowan, who posted on Instagram that her mother died on Easter Sunday. Additional details were not immediately available.

Cowan praised her mother as “among the last of ”Old Hollywood Royalty” and called herself her mother’s “biggest fan.”

Spotted in a play at the Pasadena Playhouse, Rush was given a contract at Paramount Studios in 1950 and made her lm debut that same year with a small role in “The Goldbergs,” based on the radio and TV series of the same name.

She would leave Paramount soon after, however, going to work for Universal International and later 20th Century Fox. “Paramount wasn’t geared for developing new talent,” she recalled in 1954. “Every time a good role came along, they tried to borrow Elizabeth Taylor.”

Rush went on to appear in a wide range of lms. She starred

DON BRINN / AP PHOTO

The family received friends at the home on Thursday, March 28 from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. The funeral service was held at Everetts Christian Church on Friday, March 29 at 11 a.m. with burial at Martin Memorial Gardens.

In lieu of owers, the family requests that donations be made to The Everetts Christian Church, P.O. Box 245 Everetts, NC 27825, or the Pamlico Beach Fire Department and Rescue Squad at 382 Old Pamlico Beach Road West, Belhaven NC 27810.

ble Sahara Desert between 40 and 60 when you went from ingenue to old lady,” she remarked in 1962. “You either didn’t work or you pretended you were 20.”

Instead, Rush took on roles in such series as “Peyton Place,” “All My Children,” “The New Dick Van Dyke Show” and “7th Heaven.”

“I’m one of those kinds of people who will perform the minute you open the refrigerator door and the light goes on,” she cracked in a 1997 interview. Her rst play was the road company version of “Forty Carats,” a comedy that had been a hit in New York. The director, Abe Burrows, helped her with comedic acting. “It was very, very di cult for me to learn timing at rst, especially the business of waiting for a laugh,” she remarked in 1970. But she learned, and the show lasted a year in Chicago and months more on the road.

She went on to appear in such tours as “Same Time, Next Year,” “Father’s Day,” “Steel Magnolias” and her solo show, “A Woman of Independent Means.”

opposite Rock Hudson in “Captain Lightfoot” and in Douglas Sirk’s acclaimed remake of “Magni cent Obsession,” Audie Murphy in “World in My Corner” and Richard Carlson in the 3-D science- ction classic “It Came From Outer Space,” for which she received a Golden Globe for most promising newcomer. Other lm credits included the Nicholas Ray classic “Bigger Than Life”; “The Young Lions,” with Marlon Brando, Dean Martin and Montgomery Clift and “The Young Philadelphians” with Newman. She made two lms with Sinatra, “Come Blow Your Horn” and

the Rat Pack spoof “Robin and the Seven Hoods,” which also featured Martin and Sammy Davis Jr. Rush, who had made TV guest appearances for years, recalled fully making the transition as she approached middle age. “There used to be this terri-

Born in Denver, Rush spent her rst 10 years on the move while her father, a mining company lawyer, was assigned from town to town. The familynally settled in Santa Barbara, California, where young Barbara played a mythical dryad in a school play and fell in love with acting.

Rush was married and divorced three times — to screen star Je rey Hunter, Hollywood publicity executive Warren Cowan and sculptor James Gruzalski.

Her career started in the 1950s

Frank Sinatra, left, appears with Barbara Rush in a scene from the lm “Come Blow Your Horn” in 1962.

Caring for gifted plants

Potted plants can thrive for years

By Jessica Damiano The Associated Press

IF YOU celebrated Easter last weekend, you might be reading this beside a cellophaneor foil-covered pot of lilies, hydrangeas, hyacinths or da odils. Typically, spring gift plants like these are enjoyed until their owers fade, and then are thrown away like stale Peeps.

But, if you treat them right, these gift plants can thrive in your garden, often for years to come.

Your rst step should be to remove the pot’s wrapper, which traps the water draining from the hole at the bottom of the container, placing the plant at risk for root rot.

Then, set the plant by a sunny window and water lightly whenever the soil dries. Snip o spent owers as they fade and continue to care for plants indoors until the danger of frost has passed.

Plant lilies in a sunny garden spot at the same depth as they

were growing in the pot. Water thoroughly, apply mulch to retain soil moisture and suppress weeds, and feed with a 10-10-10 fertilizer.

Repeat feedings monthly throughout the growing season. Although you may see new growth during spring and summer, the plant will not likely bloom again this year.

Plant gift hydrangeas similarly, then provide one dose of a slow-release, balanced fertilizer (10-10-10). No further fertilization should be needed for the remainder of the season. The plant should bloom next year.

When hyacinth foliage turns yellow (this may be well after the danger of frost has passed), dig a hole as deep as the container and toss in a handful of bone meal before planting. Water, mulch and fertilize with a 1010-10 product weekly throughout summer to provide energy that the underground bulb will store to produce next year’s owers.

Tulips aren’t very reliable rebloomers outside of their native range of Central Asia and Turkey. Gardeners in most other regions face diminishing returns

CUMBERLAND

A peace lily can be transplanted into your garden.

for a few years until, one day, nothing but leaves and stems show up. Because of this, many gardeners treat tulips as annuals, planting new bulbs every year. Still, there’s nothing to lose

by experimenting: Plant tulips outdoors following the guidelines for hyacinths – and hope for the best next spring.

Warning: All of these plants are toxic to cats. Chewing on

one lily leaf or simply licking its pollen can lead to kidney failure. If you suspect your cat may have ingested any part of a toxic plant, no matter how small, call your veterinarian immediately.

WHAT’S HAPPENING

The March 5 election results are o cial, with a handful of key incumbents losing and a few U.S. House and statewide nominee races heading to runo s.

The State Board of Elections voted unanimously last week to certify counts for scores of ballot items from across the state, from nominations for president and governor to the legislature and judgeships.

The primaries also marked the rst statewide election under new voter identi cation and absentee ballot deadline law. About 1.8 million primary votes were counted. Around 1,200 voters cast provisional ballots, with 700 ultimately counting. The vast majority of the 477 remaining uncounted ballots were set aside because voters failed to return to their county board with ID.

Boom Supersonic makes test ight

A startup plane maker with North Carolina ties has taken its rst steps towards the skies.

Boom Supersonic is developing the rst commercial jet that can y faster than sound since the Concorde last ew in 2003.

The company’s X-B1 prototype took its rst ight last week over the Mojave Desert, a major step in the development of its Overture jet that will be built at a new “superfactory” at PTI Airport in Greensboro.

That facility could employ more than 1,700 workers by 2030, further burnishing North Carolina’s aviation legacy.

A commemorative anniversary exhibit is open to the public

By Jesse Deal Stanly County Journal

ALBEMARLE — The Stanly County Arts Council commemorated its 50th anniversary last week with a grand opening of a new retrospective exhibit at the Stanly County History Center.

Unveiled by the Stanly County Chamber of Commerce in a ribbon-cutting event on March 27, the new exhibit — “Fifty Years of Cultivating Creativity” — will be open through the summer. The free display documents the e orts of local art organi-

zations and Stanly County artists, as well as the success stories and the NC Music Hall of Fame exhibits for Lou Donaldson and Kellie Pickler.

“We’re very happy to be here today,” Chamber Board Chairman Wil Huneycutt said in an introduction prior to the ribbon cutting. “I just want to thank the Arts Council for being members, and for all that the volunteers and supporters do to support the arts in our community. It’s a very important part of our community and the Chamber of Commerce is very appreciative of that, so thank you very much.”

The Stanly Arts Council was established on April 1, 1974, and has served a mission to encourage and promote cultur-

“For a county of our size and population, we are quite fortunate to have such diverse arts organizations.”

Arts Council Board Chairman David Cartrette

al and educational activities in the arts throughout the county. Arts Council Board Chairman David Cartrette told event attendees that having a new exhibit at the Stanly County History Center was a top priority for the council’s board of directors and the executive director

when they started planning for 2024.

“The focus of the exhibit is primarily and correctly on the arts organizations that call Stanly County home, and secondly to highlight the role of the Arts Council as a means to cultivate creativity,” Cartrette said. “Arts organizations such as the Uwharrie Players, the Stanly County Concert Band, the Stanly County Chorale, the Stanly Arts Guild, and many others have provided artifacts for the displays that demonstrate their own unique histories.”

The council chairman mentioned the importance of the county having an arts guild for visual artists and a concert association that brings professional bands to town, also citing the cultural bene ts of having a concert band, a chorale, a ballet organization, and two theater groups that present comedies, musicals and dramas.

324 feet of Lighthouse Road will be maintained by the company rather than the county

By Jesse Deal Stanly County Journal

ALBEMARLE — The Stanly County Board of Commissioners approved a request by NCDOT to abandon a 324-foot section of Lighthouse Road in Oakboro at the board’s meeting on Monday. NCDOT had asked the county to formally approve turning over the public road adjacent to the Charlotte Pipe property so the company can maintain that section of road rather than it residing under the taxpayer-funded state maintenance system. The board voted 5-2 in favor. Chairman Scott E rd and

Commissioners Bill Lawhon, Patty Crump, Peter Asciutto and Trent Hatley voted in favor, while Vice Chairman Mike Barbee and Commissioner Brandon King were the two nay votes.

Roddey Dowd Jr., former company CEO and current vice chairman of the Board of Charlotte Pipe, spoke to the board prior to its vote on the matter.

“I know you are going to be talking about the road closure tonight and I appreciate your consideration of that,” Dowd said. “Oakboro has voted for abandonment and they own the biggest part of that… We think it’s important for the safety of our employees and the safety of people in the county to close it down.”

The same request failed to pass at a meeting earlier in March, where the commissioners voted 4-3 against supporting the resolution, citing con-

cerns with how the NCDOT had handled the situation. The department had already built a fence around the discussed section of the road and blocked it o without county approval. At the time, the acceptance of the resolution was blocked in a majority vote by Barbee, Asciutto, Crump and King. When the topic was reintroduced to the commissioners by County Manager Andy Lucas on Monday, he apologized for not making sure the board was fully reminded of the ne print in the county’s contract with Charlotte Pipe.

“The last time this item was presented, I made some assumptions regarding everyone’s knowledge of our performance agreement with Charlotte Pipe,” Lucas said.

“There were several members of the board that weren’t here in May of 2020 when that agreement was approved, and

so I did not provide enough information to help the board make an informed decision.” Per the economic development agreement with the company executed in May 2020, the county must work to promptly process Charlotte Pipe’s request to close a portion of Lighthouse Road. An email from Charlotte Pipe’s attorney Steve

page 2

Arts Council Board Chairman David Cartrette cuts a ribbon at the exhibit’s grand opening last week.

We stand

To report an error or a suspected error, please email: corrections@nsjonline. com with “Correction request” in the subject line.

Man wanted for shooting in Albemarle turns himself in

Any information can be anonymously reported at 704-984-9511

Stanly County Journal Sta

COUNCIL from page 1

American Farmland Trust experts talk about agriculture

By Ena Sellers North State Journal

CARY — Last week regional and state agricultural leaders gathered for NC Ag Leads: Imagine Agriculture Day at the SAS campus in Cary, to talk about agriculture, challenges and how to move the industry forward.

Cris Co n, National Ag Land Network Director and Senior Policy Advisor and Dr. Courtney Owens, Southeast Regional Director, both with American Farmland Trust were among the speakers who engaged participants in a thought-provoking conversation about the shrinking agricultural land base in North Carolina.

“We are doing a lot more work in the regenerative agriculture space and keeping farmers on the land because we understand that there is no farmland without farmers,” said Co n. “We really believe

ALBEMARLE — A suspect wanted in a domestic-related shooting in Albemarle turned himself in to authorities Monday afternoon. On Monday morning, Larry Jamaar Pemberton was identi ed as the suspect in the Albemarle Police Department’s investigation into a shooting case that happened on Sunday night.

Pemberton, 40, was wanted for assault with a deadly weapon with intent to kill in icting serious injury and discharging

Growing state, shrinking farmland

that farmers and ranchers want to do right by their land and their businesses and that we just need to be helping to encourage and facilitate and support their work.”

Co n shared that every state in the U.S. is losing farmland.

“We need to do something about it… let’s focus on building that capacity of folks around the country to be able to save land,” said Co n, adding that this was not just about land protection but also about stabilizing the land base.

Owens shared that North Carolina is one of the states that has not passed the Uniform Partition Heirs’ Property Act, which helps farmers or the next generation “save their farmland,” and “prohibits the sale or partition of land.”

He explained that the south is the most threatened farmland in the country and North Carolina ranks number two in the group of states that have been identi ed.

46% of Stanly County’s conversion is projected to occur on the county’s best agricultural land

a rearm within city limits. Around 9:30 p.m. on Sunday, o cers were called to the 500 block of Arey Avenue, where they discovered a man who had been shot and was later taken to the hospital. The unnamed gunshot victim is reportedly in stable condition. After a search on Sunday night and the following day, o cials con rmed that Pemberton turned himself in at the Magistrate’s O ce around 3:40 p.m. Monday. Anyone with further information related to this case is asked to contact the APD at 704-984-9500 or at an anonymous tip line at 704-984-9511.

in these rural areas, and so the farm that was once thriving and providing for communities, fresh fruits and local food, is no longer there,” he explained adding that the recommended scenario is the better built cities model, which emphasizes “planning for agriculture, planning around productive agricultural land, not bulldozing that land and taking it out of production.”

“That these organizations exist is a clear indication that the arts in Stanly County is a team e ort and largely a volunteer one,” Cartrette continued. “For a county of our size and population, we are quite fortunate to have such diverse arts organizations. As you will see as you take a look at the exhibits, all of the outside cases visually describe each of these organizations’ missions and histories. In the center, you can learn more about the role of the Arts Council itself. In many ways, we are a quiet supporter of the aforementioned organizations and several other entities.” The new exhibit can be viewed during the Stanly County History Center’s regular hours of 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Monday through Friday, as well as 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. on the last Saturday of each month; the center is located at 157 North Second Street in Albemarle.

OAKBORO from page 1

doning the portion of the road inside its jurisdiction.

While Crump and Ascuitto ipped their votes to now support the NCDOT resolution, Barbee and King opted to vote against it once again.

Barbee said he had received many phone calls over the last month from concerned citizens about the legality of government o cials giving away a public road.

“This is going in reverse form. This is the state asking us,” he said, referencing the NCDOT’s request to permit an action it had already engaged in. “I understand this was part of a bargaining agreement that was carried on. I’m not in objection to the road, but I am in

the way the bargaining went with the authority these people have in obtaining the road. I don’t have a problem with who got the road — just a problem with the way it went about being taken over.”

The commissioners are set to hold their next regular meeting on April 15 at 6 p.m. inside the Gene McIntyre Meeting Room at Stanly County Commons.

Share with your community! Send us your births, deaths, marriages, graduations and other announcements: community@stanlyjournal.com | Weekly deadline is Monday at Noon

Owens spoke about three future scenarios they have identi ed through their research: business as usual, runaway sprawl and better built cities.

“The business-as-usual model, is basically poor planning of agriculture and development and low density residential sprawl; The runaway model is the less e cient way of protecting farmland, and it also displaces farms… there’s larger lots of homes being developed

“There are 3.9 million acres that could be at loss if nothing is done,” said Owens. “The breakdown goes to a million acres of land that can no longer [be used in] farming practice.”

CRIME LOG

March 25

John Joseph Tiernan, 40 years-old, was arrested and booked into the Stanly County Jail on charges of assault and battery.

Trenton James Gaddy, 18 years-old, was arrested and booked into the Stanly County Jail on a charge of assault with a deadly weapon.

March 26

Shannon Ashley, 28 yearsold, was arrested and booked into the Stanly County Jail on charges of misdemeanor crime of domestic violence, simple assault, and communicating threats.

March 28

Gregory Alan Laton, 53 years-old, was arrested and booked into the Stanly County Jail on charges of possession with intent to manufacture, sell, or deliver cocaine, possession with intent to manufacture, sell, or deliver Schedule III controlled substances, maintaining a vehicle/ dwelling/place for controlled substances, and possession of drug paraphernalia.

March 29

Data provided by Owens to North State Journal shows that only 11% of Moore County’s conversion is projected to occur on the county’s best agricultural land according to the business-as-usual scenario. Statewide, 1,197,300 acres of farmland and rangeland will be converted to urban and highly developed and low-density residential land if we continue as we have been.

Co n and Owens emphasized the need for ag leaders to work together to protect the state’s farmland and help the farmers and future generation of farmers, because the choices that are made at the local, state and federal levels will have a tremendous impact on the future of agriculture and the land that sustains us. Visit farmland.org for more.

Tommy Lee Deese, 61 yearsold, was arrested and booked for the charge of injury to personal property.

Brock Maston Deese, 19 years-old, was arrested and booked for the charge of injury to personal property.

March 30

Timothy Wayne Hurley, 60 years-old, was arrested and booked into the Stanly County Jail on charges of simple possession of Schedule IV controlled substances and possession of drug paraphernalia.

Michael Alexander Dabbs, 32 years-old, was arrested and booked into the Stanly County Jail on charges of breaking and entering, larceny after breaking and entering, injury to real property, injury to personal property, and possession of a firearm by a felon.

Chinedu David Ngwu, 39 years-old, was arrested and booked into the Stanly County Jail on charges of possession with intent to sell or deliver marijuana, maintaining a vehicle/ dwelling/place for controlled substances, possession of drug paraphernalia, possession of a firearm by a felon, and altering or removing a firearm serial number.

ALBEMARLE POLICE DEPARTMENT

Larry Jamaar Pemberton

THE CONVERSATION

Neal Robbins, publisher | Frank Hill, senior opinion editor

The Biden Middle East delusion

THIS WEEK, the Biden administration took the first step toward what appears to be an inevitable break with Israel in Israel’s war to extirpate the terrorist group Hamas from the Gaza Strip.

Since Hamas’ vicious terror assault on Israel on Oct. 7 — an attack that killed at least 1,200 Israelis and left 250 Israeli hostages in Hamas’ hands — Israel has taken extraordinary measures to protect civilian life in Gaza while destroying Hamas’ military capacity. In the process, Israel has lost nearly 300 of its own soldiers, with thousands wounded. Despite total air superiority, Israel’s care on the ground has meant a successful terroristto-civilian kill ratio unprecedented in the history of modern warfare.

Nonetheless, the Biden administration has been champing at the bit to hamstring Israel in its efforts to defend itself. In the last two weeks, the Biden White House has activated Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer to call for the ouster of the sitting Israeli government; deployed Vice President Kamala Harris to publicly warn Israel about the dangers of a military operation in the last Hamas stronghold, Rafah; and abstained from a United Nations Security Council resolution separating calls for a ceasefire from calls

for a hostage release.

None of this makes sense if the United States wishes Israel to finish off Hamas. It all makes perfect sense if the Biden administration is seeking to placate its far-left wing, particularly the pro-Hamas voters in Dearborn, Michigan. Biden is currently losing Michigan handily to Republican nominee Donald Trump. If he loses Michigan, he almost certainly loses the election. And Biden believes that he cannot win if he does not outperform among the state’s approximately 200,000 Muslim American voters. By polling data, 49% of Muslim Americans believe Hamas’ rationale for the Oct. 7 terror attack was valid; 21% of Muslim Americans approve of the Oct. 7 attacks themselves.

But Biden isn’t losing Michigan because he’s losing Muslim American voters. Those voters will overwhelmingly vote for him, because the alternative is the most pro-Israel president in American history, Donald Trump. Not only that: Michigan is home to approximately 105,000 Jewish voters, and millions of Christian voters, many of whom Biden is risking by undercutting Israel in its existential war.

But Biden has been captured by his left flank. He has been told that he must pander to the most radical members of his

coalition, getting them out to vote, rather than reaching out to political moderates and independents. That’s idiocy. The real reason he’s losing Michigan isn’t his lack of popularity among blue-collar voters — the same lack of popularity that explains his lagging poll numbers in states with lower Muslim populations like Pennsylvania and Wisconsin and Nevada.

All of this foolish political manipulation is the result of a Democratic myth fostered by Barack Obama’s successful 2012 campaign: the myth that Democrats can win simply by appealing to their minority coalition, along with hard-left white women in the suburbs. Obama was able to push that coalition to victory because he was a unique candidate; Democrats ever since have been attempting to mimic that strategy, to their electoral detriment.

Here’s the reality: Joe Biden will never be a favorite among leftist radicals. It was his supposed moderation that lifted him to victory in 2020. Abandoning that moderation likely means that he will find himself out of a job come January 2025.

Ben Shapiro, 39, is a graduate of UCLA and Harvard Law School, host of “The Ben Shapiro Show,” and co-founder of Daily Wire+.

The Supreme Court, Justice Breyer and abortion

IT MIGHT JUST BE a coincidence that former Justice Stephen Breyer’s new book had its o cial publication date on the same day the court heard argument on the biggest abortion case since Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, which overruled Roe v. Wade.

In his important new book, “Reading the Constitution: Why I Chose Pragmatism, Not Textualism,” and in published interviews, Breyer takes on the theories of originalism and textualism, which the new justices appointed by Donald Trump have adopted in interpreting the Constitution. Breyer does not question the good faith of these new members of the court. He does not argue that they are simply voting based on the partisan politics of the man who appointed them, a position which, I must admit, I sometimes think is sadly responsible for the extremism of this court. Rather, he gives them their due: that they are in fact guided by two theories of constitutional interpretation that are quite simply wrong. Originalism means that the Constitution should be interpreted according to the intent and understanding of the white male property owners who wrote it, rather than in light of contemporary values and understanding, and the practical consequences of their decision. Textualism focuses on the actual words, including punctuation, of the Constitution, in their original context.

The illusion of these theories is that they provide clear answers to hard case, thus limiting the extent to which a judge’s personal politics and values dictate the

answers. It’s an illusion because judges aren’t historians, and even if they were, the world has changed drastically, and in unimaginable ways, in the centuries since the Constitution was drafted. There was no internet in the 18th century, and neither originalism nor textualism can tell you how it should be regulated consistent with the First Amendment.

Breyer dissented in Dobbs, not because he is personally pro-choice, but because he believes in respect for established precedent and a living Constitution that is broad enough to recognize a right to privacy for women. The majority, he argues, wrongly assumed that in overruling Roe, the court would return abortion decision-making to the states and the political process, taking judges out of the process. But that is clearly not the case, nor will it be.

“The Dobbs majority’s hope that legislatures and not courts will decide the abortion question will not be realized,” he wrote.

He was more forceful in his interview with the New York Times. “There are too many questions,” he said. “Are they really going to allow women to die on the table because they won’t allow an abortion which would save her life? I mean, really, no one would do that. And they wouldn’t do that. And there’ll be dozens of questions like that.”

One of those questions was before the court on Tuesday, when a majority of the justices expressed skepticism about what was clearly a partisan political e ort to curtail the availability of medicated abortion. The suit was brought by a group of anti-

abortion doctors, in a district in Texas with exactly one judge, an outspoken opponent of abortion, Judge Matthew J. Kacsmaryk, who, as they hoped, invalidated the FDA’s approval of mifepristone. In August, a panel of conservative judges on the 5th circuit ruled that the medication should remain legal but imposed signi cant restrictions on access. The anti-abortion forces were hoping to reinstate the original ban, a position opposed by a 2-1 margin, or more, in public opinion polls. Justices Clarence Thomas and Samuel Alito were sympathetic to a position that, if adopted, would further reduce public trust in the court, as Dobbs did.

The court majority -- minus Thomas and Alito -- may be able to avoid another ruling as unpopular as Dobbs by focusing on the narrow ground of whether the plainti doctors have “standing” to challenge the mifepristone rules -- whether they can show that they su er any harm as a result of it -but no such obvious escape path will be open to them later next month when they face the unprecedented argument that Donald Trump should enjoy absolute immunity from criminal prosecution.

Will partisan politics win out? Will the court purport to play historians in search of an answer? Trust in the court is at an all-time low. The rule of law demands as a precondition that even those who disagree with a particular result accept its force. That principle will be at stake. Breyer’s pragmatic approach yields only one answer. It will be up to the three Trump appointees, and the chief justice, to decide. Hopefully, they will read Breyer’s book before they do.

COLUMN BEN SHAPIRO

COLUMN | SUSAN ESTRICH

STANLY SPORTS

Pfei er baseball to host home series with Greensboro

The Falcons are 2-7 in USA South conference play

By Jesse Deal Stanly County Journal

MISENHEIMER — With only two wins in nine USA South conference matchups so far, the Pfei er Falcons baseball team is looking to bounce back as it hosts a three-game home series with Greensboro College this weekend.

The Falcons (9-12, 2-7 USA South) and Pride (16-10, 5-4 USA South) will meet at Misenheimer’s Joe Ferebee Field for Game 1 on Friday at 4 p.m. and on Saturday for Game 2 (2:30 p.m.) and Game 3 (5:30 p.m.).

Pfei er is a combined 16-7 in matchups against Greensboro since 2018; the teams split four head-to-head games last season.

The Falcons recently picked up a win in a recent threegame home series with conference-leading Brevard (14-9, 7-2 USA South) — followed by one out of three in versus Southern Virginia (6-13, 3-6 USA South) — but the team has now

dropped down to seventh place in the conference rankings.

Coming o back-to-back 1820 seasons, Pfei er still managed a winning conference record in both 2022 (13-8) and 2023 (12-9), nishing in third place and fth place, respectively.

Fourth-year coach Craig Bolton now has a 58-62 record as the team’s head coach after ve seasons in an assistant role.

To date, the Falcons’ top seasons in program history are a 31-7 campaign in 2018 and a 30-8 campaign in 2019.

Junior in elder Wilson Lohrer and sixth-year out elder Zach Ferrell have emerged as two of the Falcons’ top threats at the plate this year. The former leads the team in batting average (.386) and hits (34) while the latter leads Pfei er in runs (27) and extra-base hits (30).

Lohrer hit two homers in

the Falcons’ recent 19-7 win at Southern Virginia, propelling the team to its highest run total of the year.

On the mound, however, the Falcons have struggled to keep opposing lineups in check, allowing at least 10 runs in 11 of 21 games and surrendering 209 total runs — the second highest of any team in the conference.

Freshman pitcher Ivan Delp has posted a team-best 5.93 ERA in 30.1 innings pitched as sophomore Jake Blevins has recorded a team-high 23 strikeouts.

Delp is a reigning USA South Athlete of the Week. The Sparta, NC, native earned the win in the Falcons’ recent 13-8 victory over Brevard, where he pitched the rst ve innings and allowed ve runs (four earned) on eight hits with a walk and a strikeout.

Following Pfei er’s upcoming series with Greensboro, the Falcons are set for a road series at Mary Baldwin (5-16, 2-7 USA South), a home series with Methodist (14-12, 6-3 USA South), and a road series at William Peace (9-14, 5-4 USA South) to round out the 2024 season schedule before the conference tournament begins in May.

West Stanly, girls’ soccer

Stella Wayne is a sophomore for the West Stanly girls’ soccer team.

The Colts are

Hijab-wearing players in women’s NCAA Tournament hope to inspire others

NC State’s Jannah Eissa has raised awareness by wearing the symbolic headdress

By Doug Feinberg The Associated Press

NC STATE’S Jannah Eissa and UC Irvine’s Diaba Konate are bringing visibility and inspiration to some Muslim women by wearing hjiabs while they play basketball.

They aren’t the rst women to do it in NCAA Tournament play, but with record viewership and attendance they are certainly getting noticed.

“Representation really matters,” said Konate. “Just having people, young Muslim women wearing the hijab, we’re not there yet. Just seeing us play, I think it makes me really happy because I used to have people that I was looking up to. Now having people that look up to me makes me happy.”

Konate admires Bilqis Abdul-Qaadir, who made NCAA history by being the rst to wear a hijab in college basketball when she played for Memphis a decade ago. Abdul-Qaadir was

instrumental in getting FIBA, the International Basketball Federation, to overturn its own ban on headgear in 2017. Former UConn player Batouly Camara, who was one of the rst to wear a hijab in Spain’s LF1 league, has enjoyed seeing Eissa and Konate repre -

sent their religion.

“It’s truly inspiring to witness these two Muslim athletes competing at the highest level. This tournament serves as a signicant moment, shining a spotlight on the best teams simultaneously with their faith,” said Camara. “It sends a powerful message to

girls worldwide, a rming that they belong on the sports eld, regardless of economic class, race, culture and more.” Konate moved to the U.S. from France after receiving a scholarship from Idaho State. She transferred to UC Irvine as a junior.

She’d like a chance to play in a hijab at home in France, where she won two medals playing on their youth teams. But currently, the French Federation of Basketball prohibits the wearing of “any equipment with a religious or political connotation.”

Eissa and Konate have never met but are aware of each other.

Eissa, who turned 18 in February, was a walk-on at NC State. She joined the team after trying out in September. She didn’t play much this season — appearing in 11 games and hitting one 3-pointer.

Earlier this season, a group of young Muslim girls came to her game. They also showed up a few more times to support her.

“I’d love to say I was a role model to them. Never thought I could be a role model for someone I didn’t know,” said Eissa, who grew up in Cairo before coming to NC State. “Never knew one person could make such an impact. They were so young girls and girls my age looking up to me and I was so happy.”

Eissa chose NC State because her father got his PhD there and her two older sisters attend the university.

She said when having a bad day or an o day, she’d remember her young fans and it would bring a smile.

“If they see someone giving them hope, I’m happy that I’m the person to give it to them,” Eissa said. “I want to make it as far as I can for the image of women in hijabs.”

BEN MCKEOWN/AP PHOTO

NC State’s Jannah Eissa warms up in her hijab prior to a second-round NCAA Tournament game against Tennessee.

SIDELINE REPORT

MINOR LEAGUE BASEBALL Top prospect

Holliday rips Bulls

Norfolk, Va.

Jackson Holliday is the top prospect in baseball, but the Orioles sent him to the minors to start the season in a move many suspect was nancially motivated. Holliday responded by homering leading o the rst inning of the season. He had three hits and four RBIs, helping Baltimore’s Norfolk Tides beat Tampa Bay’s Durham Bulls in the International League. A son of seven-time All-Star Matt Holliday, Jackson was the top pick in the 2022 amateur draft. The 20-yearold second baseman hit .323 with 12 homers, 75 RBIs and 24 stolen bases at four minor league levels last year.

NFL Jets trade for pass rusher Reddick

New York

The New York Jets have acquired two-time Pro Bowl edge rusher Haason Reddick from the Philadelphia Eagles for a conditional thirdround pick in 2026. The pick reportedly becomes a second-rounder if Reddick plays 67.5% of defensive snaps and gets 10 sacks in 2024. Reddick, a rstround pick by Arizona in 2017, has recorded doubledigit sacks in four straight seasons, including the past two years with the Eagles and in 2021, his one season with the Carolina Panthers. He’s entering the nal year of a $45 million, threeyear contract and was given permission by the Eagles to seek a trade this o season.

WOMEN’S BASKETBALL

LSU’s Mulkey doesn’t plan to read article on her Albany, NY

LSU coach Kim Mulkey says she probably won’t read The Washington Post pro le over which she has threatened to le a defamation lawsuit, but she did question the timing of its release. In the article, Mulkey’s estranged family members and former players are quoted about her personality and how she runs her programs. It was published about an hour before LSU played UCLA in the Sweet 16. Mulkey defended her players against portrayals in the media, referring to a Los Angeles Times column that called her players “villains” and “dirty debutantes.” She said, “How dare people attack kids like that?”

NFL

Despite having Jones, Giants evaluating quarterbacks

New York

The New York Giants’ belief in Daniel Jones won’t preclude them from considering drafting a quarterback. They could take one with the sixth pick in the NFL draft, where J.J. McCarthy could be available.

Bo Nix and Michael Penix Jr. are considered the next tier and the Giants could slide back and have either. Coach Brian Daboll is studying them all and said he loves evaluating quarterbacks.

Owner John Mara said that he supports Jones, who signed a $160 million, fouryear extension last year, but he would be willing to use New York’s rst pick on a quarterback.

Late caution gives Hamlin a second chance at Richmond Raceway

The No. 11 driver held o Joey Logano and Martin Truex Jr. for his second win of year

By Hank Kurz Jr. The Associated Press

RICHMOND, Va. — Denny Hamlin won the race o pit road with Joe Gibbs Racing teammate Martin Truex Jr. after a caution with two laps to go and won in overtime at Richmond Raceway on Sunday night. Truex dominated the second half of the NASCAR Cup Series race — he led 288 laps — and seemed poised to hold o challenges by Joey Logano and Hamlin for the nal two laps when Kyle Larson got nudged from behind on the front straightaway and skidded into the in eld, causing the caution.

“I needed that kind of situation at the end to happen to win it,” Hamlin said. Larson had been fading from contention before the spin.

“I was a little bit loose and then I got a shot there,” Larson said of the bump from Bubba Wallace that almost certainly cost Truex his fourth victory at Richmond.

On the restart, Hamlin got a good jump from the inside lane, withstood a challenge from the outside from Truex and held o Truex and two other challengers for the surprise victory.

“This is a team win for sure,” Hamlin said after climbing from his car. “The trophy needs to go to each one of these pit crew members. They just did amazing job. They’ve been killing it all year.”

Hamlin’s victory was his second this season, the fth of his

career at what he considers his home track, and the 53rd of his career, but it left Truex unhappy with several drivers involved.

“We got beat out of the pits and he jumped the restart,” Truex said of Hamlin. “Had a car capable of winning. So just have to come back next week trying to get him again.”

NASCAR said they reviewed the restart and it was within the rules.

After the race, a frustrated Truex door-slammed Larson as they coasted into the rst turn, then bumped Hamlin from behind three times.

“I think he just gets more mad at Denny, but I was the closest one to take his anger out on,” Larson said. “It’s all good. I hope he doesn’t have any hard feelings for me, because I denitely don’t towards him.”

The victory pulled the four

Steelers’ Mike Tomlin says Russell Wilson has ‘pole position’ for starting QB job

Pittsburgh signed the former Wolfpack quarterback in o season

By Rob Maaddi The Associated Press

ORLANDO, Fla. — Russell Wilson’s resume and experience give him the edge over Justin Fields.

Steelers coach Mike Tomlin said Wilson is considered Pittsburgh’s starting quarterback but Fields will get a chance to compete.

“We’re not resistant to competition, but as I’ve mentioned several times of late, I just think it’s appropriate to establish positioning. ... and the term that I’ve used is Russell has pole position,” Tomlin said. “And why do I use that term? Because during this time where we are not formally working, I just think it’s bene cial. His experience in the National Football League, his process has been honed and perfected.

“Talking about over a 12-month calendar, it’s not only good for him, it’s good for teams, it’s good for receivers, tight ends, running backs, etc.

All the things that people really committed to winning do this time of the year, Russell has those resources, that structure.

And so that’s why I say he has pole position. It just creates a synergy that I think is good for

this time of year. When it’s time to compete and we get in training camp-like settings and we’re going to stadiums and so forth, obviously Justin be given an opportunity to show people.”

The Steelers revamped their quarterback room earlier this month, signing Wilson to the

$1.21 million veteran’s minimum after the nine-time Pro Bowl quarterback was released by Denver. The 35-year-old Wilson was 11-19 in two seasons with the Broncos after being acquired in a trade from Seattle. He bounced back from a dread-

Gibbs Toyota teams even with the four Chevrolet teams from Hendrick Motorsports with three victories each through seven races.

Larson, who won this race last year, barely beat Truex o pit road during green ag stops with 65 laps to go, but Truex quickly caught him and pulled away as he had many times earlier.

Logano, who started the race 22nd in points with just one top 10 nish, worked his way into the lead pack in the second half, tried to run down Hamlin in the two-lap dash to the nish and was second, followed by Larson and Truex. It matched Ford’s best nish this season.

A spin by Daniel Suarez on lap 64 brought out another caution, and NASCAR decided to nish the 70-lap rst stage under caution, making Larson the stage winner.

ful 2022 season and threw for 3,070 yards, 26 touchdowns and only eight interceptions, but still lost his job to Jarrett Stidham after going 7-8 in coach Sean Payton’s rst season last year.

Wilson led Seattle to eight playo appearances and a Super Bowl title in 10 seasons with the Seahawks.

“When the free agency process began, we only had one quarterback on our roster and so we were looking at every available person on the market,” Tomlin said. “It was just part of our process. Obviously when we got into it, and after (Wilson) got permission to talk. ... the conversations were very uid and natural. He did his appropriate research on us, and I think that’s probably one of the more impressive things about the process from my perspective. His level of preparedness in terms of knowing us and who we are and how he might potentially t just really put us at ease over the process.”

Fields was 10-28 on lousy teams in Chicago but showed ashes of being a special player. He completed 60.3% of his passes and threw for 40 touchdown with 30 interceptions. Plus, he ran for 2,220 yards and 14 scores.

“He oozes talent and potential,” Tomlin said. “He’s worn the responsibility of being a franchise quarterback, but still he gets an opportunity to come into a community-like situation and learn from a guy that’s been doing it for over a decade. Man, there’s a lot of meat left on that bone and I’m just excited.”

MIKE CAUDILL / AP PHOTO

Denny Hamlin celebrates after winning Sunday’s NASCAR Cup Series race at Richmond Raceway.

The South Carolina lawyer is already serving life for killing his wife and son

By Je rey Collins

Associated Press

The

CHARLESTON, S.C. — For maybe the last time, Alex Murdaugh, in a prison jumpsuit instead of the suit he used to wear, shu ed into a courtroom Monday in South Carolina and was sentenced to 40 years in federal prison.

Murdaugh was punished — this time in federal court — for stealing from clients and his law rm. The 55-year-old disbarred attorney is already serving a life sentence without parole in a state prison for killing his wife and son.

Federal agents had recommended a sentence from 17½ to just under 22 years.

Murdaugh also pleaded guilty in state court to nancial crimes and was ordered to spend 27 years in prison. The federal sentence will run at the same time as his state prison term and he likely will have to serve all 40 years if his murder convictions are overturned on appeal.

U.S. District Judge Richard Gergel said he sentenced Murdaugh to a harsher punishment than suggested because he stole from “the most needy, vulnerable people,” including a client who became a quadriplegic after a crash, a state trooper who was injured on the job, and a trust fund intended for children whose parents were killed in a wreck.

Murdaugh stole from people who “placed all their problems

and all their hopes” on him, Gergel said. The 22 federal counts are the nal charges outstanding for Murdaugh, who three years ago was an established lawyer negotiating multimillion-dollar settlements in tiny Hampton County, where members of his family served as elected prosecutors and ran the area’s premier law rm for nearly a century.

Murdaugh will also have to pay nearly $9 million in restitution.

“There is a staggering human

toll to every cent,” said attorney Justin Bamberg, who represented several of Murdaugh’s victims. Prosecutors asked the judge to give Murdaugh a harsher sentence because FBI agents think he is not telling the whole truth about what happened to $6 million he stole and whether a sofar unnamed attorney helped his criminal schemes.

Murdaugh’s largest scheme involved the sons of his longtime housekeeper Gloria Satter-

eld. She died in a fall at the family home. Murdaugh promised to take care of Satter eld’s family, then worked with a lawyer friend who pleaded guilty to a scheme to steal $4 million in a wrongful death settlement with the family’s insurer. In all, Murdaugh took settlement money from or in ated fees or expenses for more than two dozen clients. Prosecutors said the FBI found 11 more victims than the state investigation found and that Murdaugh stole

nearly $1.3 million from them.

Murdaugh again apologized to his victims at his sentencing Monday, saying he felt “guilt, sorrow, shame, embarrassment, humiliation.” He o ered to meet with victims so they can say what they want to say and “more closely inspect my sincerity.”

“There’s not enough time and I don’t possess a su cient vocabulary to adequately portray to you in words the magnitude of how I feel about the things I did,” Murdaugh said.

Murdaugh blamed nearly two decades of addiction to opioids and said he was proud he has been clean for 937 days.

Gergel sco ed at this explanation.

“No truly impaired person could pull o these complex transactions,” the judge said of the maze of fake accounts, juggled checks and money movements that hid the thefts for nearly 20 years.

Prosecutor Emily Limehouse said Murdaugh’s claims don’t make sense because he told the FBI he was taking the same amount of pills as he did when his addiction started in 2008, but the amount of money he stole increased rapidly in the years before his arrest.

“He was adamant all of the money was spent on drugs. It doesn’t add up,” Limehouse said.

Murdaugh was convicted a year ago of killing his younger son Paul with a shotgun and his wife, Maggie, with a ri e. While he has pleaded guilty to dozens of nancial crimes, he adamantly denies he killed them and testi ed in his own defense. There will be years of appeals in the murder cases.

Girl, 8, only survivor of bus crash that kills 45 in South Africa

The group was making a pilgrimage to an Easter festival

By Gerald Imray and Nqobile Ntshangase

The Associated Press

MMAMATLAKALA, South Africa — An 8-year-old girl was the lone survivor after a bus full of pilgrims making their way to a popular Easter festival in rural South Africa slammed into a bridge on a mountain pass and plunged into a ravine before bursting into ames, killing all 45 others onboard.

It was a tragic reminder of how deadly South Africa’s roads become during the Easter period when millions crisscross the country during the long holiday weekend. Authorities repeatedly warn motorists of the danger and had issued multiple messages urging caution just a day before Thursday’s horri c crash.

The girl somehow survived after the bus carrying worshippers from neighboring Botswana careened o the bridge, fell more than 150 feet and caught re as it hit the rocks below, according to authorities.

The girl was in a stable condition in the hospital after being admitted with serious injuries and was “in safe hands,” an o cial with the local health department said Friday. Details of her injuries were not released.

Forensic investigators retrieved what they believed were 34 of the 45 bodies but couldn’t be certain of the exact number, re ecting the gruesome nature of the crash. Many of the victims trapped inside the bus were burned beyond recognition, authorities said.

Dr. Phophi Ramathuba, an o cial with the Limpopo provincial health department, said only nine of the bodies recovered were likely to be identiable.

South African President Cyril Ramaphosa said the victims, who appeared to all be from Botswana, were on their way to the rustic town of Moria in Limpopo province for the Easter weekend pilgrimage that attracts hundreds of thousands of followers of the Zion Christian Church.

The church has its headquarters in Moria and it was the rst time the full pilgrimage was being held since the

COVID-19 pandemic. Worshippers ocked to the small town which features a giant star — the church’s emblem — and the words “Zion City Moria” painted in white on a hillside. The church was formed in South Africa in the early 1900s as a Christian denomination that also retains some African traditions. It has an estimated 7 million followers across the southern African region. Ramathuba said South African authorities had asked church leaders from Botswana to come and help identify the victims.

252

People who died in road crashes in South Africa in 2023 during the days around Easter

Good Friday and Easter Monday are national holidays in South Africa and many of its neighbors, when millions travel into, out of and across the nation. For some South Africans, it’s a chance to return to their hometowns and villages from jobs in the cities. Migrants also travel back to their home countries to see family. Some, like the pilgrims who died on Thursday, make religious trips. Road travel can be treacherous; South Africa’s Road Trafc Management Corporation reported that 252 people died in road crashes between Holy

Thursday and Easter Monday

last year.

Authorities said it appeared the bus driver lost control and the vehicle slammed into the barriers along the side of the bridge and then went over the edge. The driver was among the dead. Ramathuba said she had been at an Easter prayer meeting when she was called to the crash scene on the Mmamatlakala bridge near the town of Mokopane, which is about 125 miles north of the South African administrative capital of Pretoria.

“I attended the scene of the accident, but now our focus as the health department is on the brave little survivor. She is in safe hands in a hospital with experts looking after her,” Ramathuba told reporters. She declined to give details of the

child’s injuries, but authorities released a photograph of the child lying in a hospital bed and being examined by a doctor.

Ramathuba also declined to say if the child’s parents or other family members were on the bus, saying authorities needed time to trace and inform families of the dead, who were mostly in Botswana.

Meanwhile, forensic investigators worked through the wreckage amid the rocks and cli s. At least 11 bodies were believed still inside what was left of the charred bus, which was almost crushed at.

“We were at the scene,” said local Simone Mayema, who said he was one of the rst to arrive after the crash. “We tried to help (but) there was nothing we could do because there was ames.”

Alex Murdaugh, pictured crying while addressing the court last November during his sentencing for stealing from 18 clients, was sentenced Monday to 40 years in federal prison on nancial crime charges. He is already serving a life sentence in South Carolina for the murder of his wife and son.

wreckage of a bus lays in a ravine Friday, a day after it plunged o a bridge on the Mmamatlakala mountain pass about 190 miles north of Johannesburg, South Africa, killing at least 45 worshippers on a long-distance trip from Botswana to an Easter weekend church gathering.

Barbara Jean (Taylor) Drye

Carol Lynn Burris

April 17, 1936 ~ January 14, 2023

January 1, 1946 — March 22, 2024

Barbara Jean Taylor Drye, 86, of Oakboro, passed away Saturday, January 14, 2023 at her home.

Barbara was born April 17, 1936 in North Carolina to the late Robert Lee Taylor and the late Eva Belle Watts Taylor. She was also preceded in death by husband of 61 years, Keith Furr Drye, and brothers, Robert Lee Taylor, Jr. and George Kenneth Taylor. Survivors include children, Debbie (Mike) Williams of Albemarle, Teresa (Tom) Curry of Oakboro, Douglas (Tammy) Drye of Oakboro; grandchildren, Melissa (Don) Parrish of Albemarle, Samantha (Destiny) Smith of Oakboro, Bradley Smith of Oakboro, Jonathan Stover of Peachland, and Jessie Stover of Lylesville; sisterin-law, Beatrice Goodman; many nieces and nephews; and her beloved cats, Bo and Gar eld.

Barbara was a member of Oakboro Baptist Church for over 60 years. She worked over 30 years at Stanly Knitting Mills. After just two years of retirement, she began managing the Oakboro Senior Center and did that for 18 years until this past week. Barbara was known for her good cooking and always taking care of others. She also loved going on day long shopping trips - she could out walk and out shop people half her age. She kept her mind and body active through gardening, word searches, and various other hobbies.

Carol Lynn Burris, 78, of Albemarle, passed away on Friday, March 22, 2024, at Spring Arbor of Albemarle. Mrs. Burris was born on January 1, 1946, to the late James Paul and Martha Robertson Lunsford. In addition to her parents, she was also preceded in death by an infant son and her sister, Patricia Ann Queen. Carol devoted her life to her children while they were younger. Lynn enjoyed making and selling crafts and was in the President's Club for Avon. She also worked at the Senior Center, assisting with the elderly. Carol never met a stranger and loved people. She enjoyed traveling but most enjoyed spending time with her family and grandchildren. Survivors include, husband, Wayne Burris; sons, Tim Burris, Terry Burris and wife, Janice, Phillip Burris and nance, Shawna Wheeler; grandchildren, Garrett Burris, Keshia Burris, Dylan Childers, Brittney Childers, Brandon Coggins; ve greatgrandchildren; brother, Larry Paul Lunsford and wife, Marie.

Mary Ann Barnhardt

September 6, 1938 — March 23, 2024

Mary Ann Barnhardt, 85, passed away peacefully on March 23, 2024.

Mary Ann was born

September 6, 1938, in Ohio to the late Nettie Gates Mapes and the late Kenneth Seth Mapes. She was also preceded in death by her husband, Eugene C Barnhardt, sister, Betty M. Stotlar and brother, David P. Mapes. Survivors include sister, Donna Epprecht, daughter Cindy S Tesmer, son Daniel J. Can eld and wife Beth, daughter Melody

L Can eld and husband T Dale Brunk, grandchildren TesVonMayhem and husband Randy White, Abby Conner and husband Mike Conner, great -grandchildren Dominic A Tesmer and Wilhelmina A Conner.

James Howard Plowman

Dwight Farmer

January 24, 1939 ~ January 15, 2023

January 25, 1932 — March 23, 2024

Dwight Britten Farmer Sr., 83, of Norwood died Sunday morning, January 15, 2023 at Forrest Oakes.

James Howard Plowman, 92, of Albemarle, passed away Saturday, March 23, 2024, at Atrium Health Stanly Hospital.

Dwight was born January 24, 1939 in Stanly County to the late Walter Virgil and Martha Adkins Farmer. He was a 1957 graduate of Norwood High School and was a United States Army Veteran.

He was a member of Cedar Grove United Methodist Church where he had served as church treasurer and choir member. He began his career with the Stanly County Sheri ’s Department moving to the Norwood Police Department and retiring as Chief of Police with the Town of Norwood after many years of service.

Dwight was an avid gardener, bird watcher and Carolina fan.

James was born January 25, 1932, in Stanly County, North Carolina to the late Kemp Lee Plowman and the late Martha Catherine Furr Plowman. He was also preceded in death by wife, Janet Carmeleta Mauldin Plowman and his three brothers and two sisters. Survivors include children, Debbie (Arthur) Whitley of Albemarle, NC, Kathy Plowman (Jack) Barbee of Albemarle, NC, Kevin (Kennitha) Plowman of Mt. Pleasant, NC, and Larry Plowman of Sneads Ferry, NC; numerous grandchildren and great-grandchildren; and special friend, Hazel Taylor.

He is survived by his wife Hilda Whitley Farmer; one son D. Britten Farmer Jr. (Mary) of McLeansville, NC; one daughter Sharon Farmer Lowe (David) of Norwood; one sister Geraldine Dennis of Troy; two grandchildren, Dwight Britten “Dee” Farmer III and Whitley Rose Hui

Lowe.

James loyally served Fairview Baptist Church as Sunday School Superintendent and served Grace Baptist Church as Deacon and Sunday School member, attending as long as his health allowed.

He was preceded in death by his son Alex, brothers, Tommy and Jimmy, sisters, Nancy, Cornelia Annabell, Glennie Mae, and Betty. Memorials may be made to Cedar Grove United Methodist Church, Cemetery or Choir Fund c/o Pam Smith 36071 Rocky River Springs Road, Norwood, NC 28128.

William Edward Stevens, Jr.

July 5, 1955 — March 27, 2024

William (Billy) Edward Stevens, Jr. was called to his Heavenly home while sleeping peacefully on March 27, 2024. He was born July 5, 1955, in Danville, Virginia but resided most of his young life in Hopewell, Virginia. Billy was preceded in death by his father, William Edward Stevens, Sr., mother, Edna Lee Stophel Stevens and sister, Rhonda Lee Stevens. His departure left behind his loving wife of 47 years, Patricia Allen Stevens; two daughters, Christina (Je ) Dement and Terica (Patrick) Gordon; his four grandchildren held a special place in his heart, all they had to do was ask Papaw, Kaylee, Mason, Harper Dement and Turner Barringer. He shared a close relationship with his brother, Curtis Stevens and his family. It was always about family with Billy. He also had several aunts, uncles, and cousins living in Eden, NC.

James Roseboro

Elizabeth Ann Drake

June 23, 1967 ~ January 10, 2023

May 2, 1942 — March 23, 2024

James Arthur Roseboro, 55, of Albemarle, passed away Tuesday, January 10, 2023 at Anson Health and Rehab.

Mr. Roseboro was born on June 23, 1967 to the late Robert and Delena Shipp Roseboro. He graduated from South Stanly High School and was employed by Triangle Brick. He enjoyed watching football and basketball, especially the Carolina TarHeels and Miami.

In addition to his parents he is preceded in death by his brothers and sisters: Barbara Lee Roseboro, Dorothy Brown, Verna Roseboro, Henrietta Ingram, and Harold Roseboro.

He is survived by his sisters: Helen (James) Roseboro Edwards of Albemarle, Mary Roseboro of Washington DC, and Marion Morrison of Albemarle; brothers: Thomas D. Roseboro of Charlotte, Robert Roseboro (Patricia) of Norwood, and Van Horne; a special friend of over 40 years, Michelle McLendon of the home; special nieces: Nybrea Montague, Knya Little, and Laquanza Crump; special nephews: Robert Jr., Desmond Roseboro, and Marcus Lilly; and God daughter, Daphne Johnson; and special friends, Vetrella Johnson and Ben McLendon.

Elizabeth Ann Drake, 81, of Charlotte, passed away Saturday, March 23, 2024. Ann was born May 2, 1942, in Cooper Gap, to the late James Floyd James and the late Gaynor Dimsdale James. She was also preceded in death by her beloved husband, Jerry Morris Drake and brother, Bob James. Ann attended R-S Central High School in Rutherfordton, NC. After her years of high school she moved to Charlotte, NC, where she met her husband of 56 years. Ann loved spending time with her grandchildren, especially going to the beach. She loved eating ice cream and watching the Hummingbirds outside her window. Survivors include Ann's son, Jerry (Susan) Drake, II of Concord; brother, Jerry James of AL; 2 sisters, Terri Cole of Spindale, NC and Frankie Cole of Fort Wayne, Indiana; 4 grandchildren, Sarah, William, Jason (Lisa) and Jordan; 3 great-grandchildren; several nieces, nephews, and close friends; and sister-in-law, Linda Fite.

Darrick Baldwin

January 7, 1973 ~ January 8, 2023

Dennis "Dunnie"

June

Nash

October 18, 1958 — March 28, 2024

Darrick Vashon Baldwin, age 50, entered eternal rest, Sunday, January 8, 2023, Albemarle, North Carolina. Born January 7, 1973, in Stanly County, North Carolina, Darrick was the son of Eddie James Baldwin Sr. and the late Phyllis Blue Baldwin. Darrick enjoyed life, always kept things lively and enjoyed making others smile. His presence is no longer in our midst, but his memory will forever live in our hearts.

He was educated in the Stanly County public schools and attended Albemarle Senior High School, Albemarle.

He was a great conversationalist and loved meeting people. Darrick never met a stranger and always showed love and compassion for his fellowman. He also loved his dog, Rocky.

Dennis June Nash, 65, of Concord, passed away Thursday, March 28, 2024. Dunnie was born October 18, 1958, in North Carolina to the late Henry Ellis Nash Jr. and the late Callie Lucille Price. He was also preceded in death by brother, Gary Nash. Dunnie was a joyous man who loved life. Some of his favorite pastimes included woodworking, going to the beach and mountains, riding 4 wheelers, racing go-carts, and sharing stories about his 65' Chevy which he restored.

He will be sorely missed by all who knew him, but he now shares his light with those who preceded his entry into heaven. Survivors include his love of 18 years, Tonjue Burleson, and a multitude of close friends including Michael and Delores Shepherd.

He is survived by his father, Eddie J. Baldwin Sr.; sisters: Crystal (Eric) Jackson, LaFondra (Stoney) Medley, and Morgan Baldwin; brothers: Eddie Baldwin Jr., Anton Baldwin, and Lamont Baldwin; a host of other relatives and friends. A limb has fallen from our family tree. We will not grieve Darrick’s death; we will celebrate his life. We give thanksgiving for the many shared memories.

John B. Kluttz

Je ery Wade Hinson

March 23, 1935 - January 9, 2023

February 7, 1960 — March 26, 2024

John grew up in the Millingport community where he drove a school bus and worked at the local gas station during his High School years. He graduated from Millingport High in 1954 and entered into service with the US Airforce immediately afterward. Upon return from the service, he and his high school sweetheart Julie were married in 1956. He graduated from Nashville Auto Diesel College later in 1959 and began his career as a diesel mechanic at Mitchell Distributing Company, moving his growing family to Charlotte where they lived until their retirement.

Dean Taylor Whitley

Doris Jones Coleman

December 26, 1945 — March 26, 2024

October 11, 1944 - January 10, 2023

Je ery Wade Hinson, 64, of Oakboro, passed away Tuesday, March 26, 2024, at home. Je was born February 7, 1960, in North Carolina to the late Wade Elvin Hinson and the late Willene Hinson. Je was a loving husband, father, grandfather, and great-grandfather. He loved gardening and taking care of his home. But Je 's best pastimes included the time that he got to spend with his family, especially his grandchildren. Je was an outstanding man who will be missed by all who knew him. Survivors include wife, Donna Hinson; sons, Brandon (Kailey) Hinson, Bradley (Savannah) Hinson, Je rey (Emily) Hatley; grandchildren; Sophia and Autumn Hinson (with another wonderful little granddaughter to come in a few months), Kaitlin (Brandon) Furr, Breanna (Chase) Hatley, Justin (Ciera) Hatley; greatgrandchildren, Braylen and Lane Furr, Raeleigh Hatley.

When John purchased his rst Model A Ford at the age of 17, he said that he took the car to the community mechanic when he had a small problem.The mechanic told him that if he was going to keep the car, he needed to learn to work on it. This is when John’s passion for Model A Fords began and how he spent his happiest days with his best friends from around the globe for the rest of his life!

At age 50, after years as a Detroit Diesel Mechanic he and Julie decided to take the plunge and open a full Model A Restoration Shop. They thrived at their shop in Cornelius, NC until their retirement in 1998 when they moved back to Cabarrus County. John once again set up shop in his back yard garage where he attracted a loyal group of

John also began a lifelong love with restored his Dad’s tractor and began

Louise

Almond Hardister

July 18, 1929 - March 26, 2024

prestigious award from MARC, The Henry for a restoration that garnered top points. He was also presented with the Ken Brady Service Awardthe highest award given to members at the national level. This is what John’s Model A Community had to say upon learning of his death: He was an active member of Wesley Chapel Methodist Church where he loved serving as greeter on Sunday mornings. He also belonged to the United Methodist Men. John is survived by his wife Julie Ussery Kluttz, for 66 years of the home. He is also survived by a son John David Kluttz (Kim) of Oakboro, NC; two daughters, Sally Simerson of Denver, CO and Betsy Tusa (John) of Lafayette, CO; three grandchildren, Bonnie Kluttz Sammons (Ben) of Rich eld, NC

John Alexander McKinnon (Sarah) of Asheville, NC and Seth William McKinnon (Amanda) of Germany; ve great-grandchildren, Charlotte, Meredith, Grant, Victoria and Ronan. John is also preceded in death by his parents, J.S. Kluttz and Mary Wyatt Clayton Kluttz; a large and loving group of brothers and sisters, Jack Methias Kluttz, Annie Lou Kluttz Honeycutt, Jake Nelson Kluttz, Julius Kluttz, Mary Patricia Phillips and a grandson, Kevin Fowler Kluttz.

Louise Hardister, 94 of Albemarle, passed away Tuesday, March 26, 2024, at Trinity Place. Ms. Hardister was born July 18, 1929, in Stanly County, NC to the late Grover and Lessie Amond. She was a member of Prospect Baptist Church, where she sang in the choir and taught Sunday School. She was a great mother and aunt to her family. She loved gardening and loved being outside. Ms. Hardister is survived by a son, Ronnie Hardister of Albemarle; favorite sisterin-law, Pat Almond of New London, NC, Nephews; Darnell Almond (Stefanie) and Jeremy Almond (Bonnie); great nieces, Sarah Almond, Brook Welker (Seth), Jaicee Tucker (Brevan) and one great nephew; Jerry Wayne Almond. She is preceded in death by a husband Robert Edger Hardister and a son, Robert Edward Hardister.

Doris Elaine Jones Coleman, 78, went home into God’s presence on January 10 after a sudden illness and a valiant week-long ght in ICU.

Doris was born on October 11, 1944, in the mountains of Marion, NC while her father was away ghting in the US Navy during World War II. Raymond Jones was so proud to return after the war and meet his little girl! Doris grew up in Durham, NC and graduated from Durham High School. She furthered her studies at Watts Hospital School of Nursing in Durham and graduated as a Registered Nurse in 1966.

Dean Taylor Whitley, 78, of Monroe, passed away Tuesday, March 26, 2024, at her home. Dean was born December 26, 1945, in North Carolina to the late Fairley Lee Taylor and Minnie Faye Taylor. She was also preceded in death by sister, Minnie Louise Taylor, brothers, Willis "Bill" Lee Taylor, J.T Taylor, and Everette Taylor. Survivors include husband of 58 years James Whitley; daughter, Angela Whitley Rodriguez (Chris); grandchildren Erika Morgan Lott (Ben), Christina Alexis Rodriguez; great grandchildren Jackson Lott, Joshua Lott, Jonah Lott, and Joseph Lott who will make his appearance in May; sistersin-law Marie Taylor, Peggy Taylor, Edith Taylor; brothersin-law John Whitley (Saundra) and Leon Whitley(Cindy); nieces and nephews Michael Taylor, Richard Taylor, Lori Cauthen, Randy Taylor, Eric Taylor, Wendy Honeycutt, Emily Smith, Joseph Whitley, Meredith Slaughter.

Doris married Rev. Dr. Ted Coleman in 1966 and had two daughters Amy and Laura. Doris raised Amy and Laura in North Augusta, SC. Doris was an incredible neonatal intensive care nurse for most of her career, and this was her passion. The Augusta Chronicle did a feature on her in 1985. She was a clinical nurse manager in Augusta, Georgia at University Hospital NICU and worked there for 20 years. During this time, Doris mentored young nurses and assisted in saving the lives of so many babies. She also worked for Pediatrician Dr. William A. Wilkes in Augusta for several years prior to her NICU career. Doris retired from the mother/baby area at Atrium Stanly in 2007 after over 40

Vernon Eugene Lambert

December 6, 1938 — March 29, 2024

spirit and loved her Lord. She never met a stranger, and she always left with her. She would often claim that she had “adopted” friends into her immediate family, and honestly, she never made a distinction between the two. Positivity radiated from her like sunlight. She was sel ess, funny, smart, and sentimental. During her lifetime she was an active member of First Baptist Church of Durham, First Baptist Church of Augusta, Most Holy Trinity Catholic Church in Augusta, and Palestine United Methodist Church in Albemarle. She especially loved helping at church with older adults, youth, and children.

She was especially talented at sewing from a young age and made gifts for friends, Christmas ornaments, Halloween Costumes, doll clothes, pageant dresses, prom dresses, coats, tote bags, scarves, out ts for Amy and Laura, and Christening gowns for each of her grandchildren.

Doris was preceded in death by her father Arthur Raymond Jones, her mother Mary Ellen Cameron Jones, and her sister Maryanne Jones Brantley. Survivors include her two precious daughters: Amy Cameron Coleman (partner Dr. Edward Neal Chernault) of Albemarle, NC, and Laura Lindahl Coleman Oliverio (husband David) of Cincinnati, Ohio; seven grandchildren: Cameron David Oliverio, Stephanie Jae Dejak, Luca Beatty Oliverio, Coleman John Dejak, Carson Joseph Oliverio, Ryan Nicholas Dejak, and Jadon Richard Oliverio; and numerous in-laws, nieces, nephews, cousins, and loved ones.

Vernon Eugene Lambert "Moose", 85, of Concord, passed away peacefully, surrounded by his loving family on Friday, March 29, 2024. Moose was born December 6, 1938 in Wadesboro, North Carolina to the late Fred Lee Lambert and Carrie Helen Lambert. He was also preceded in death by his brothers, Tommy Lambert, Fred Lambert, Charles Lambert, and Paul Lambert, sisters, Doris Connell, and Linda Blue, and great grandson Baxter Newton. Survivors include his wife of 63 years, Mary Ann Lambert of Concord, NC, daughter, Kim Newton (Jerry) of Concord, NC, son, Billy Lambert (Samantha) of Lexington, NC, grandchildren, Shane Newton (Amber), Trent Newton, Haley Cottrell (Daniel), Chandler High, and Colton High, great grandchildren, Skylar Newton, Brylie Newton, Riplee Newton, McCoy Cottrell, and Jackson Cottrell.

STATE & NATION

Biden outpacing Trump in fundraising

The president’s campaign is trying to overcome his predecessor’s ability to gain free publicity

By Seung Min Kim

and Brian Slodysko

Press

The Associated

WASHINGTON, D.C. —

President Joe Biden’s reelection campaign is raising gobs of cash. And it has an election-year strategy that, in a nutshell, aims to spend more — and spend faster.

Not only has Biden aimed to show himself o as a fundraising juggernaut this month, but his campaign is also making signi cant early investments both on the ground and on the airwaves — hoping to create a massive organizational advantage that leaves Republican Donald Trump scrambling to catch up.

But while the money pouring in has given Biden and the Democrats a major cash advantage, it’s also becoming clear Biden will need it. Throughout his life in business and politics, Trump’s provocations have earned him near limitless free media attention. Biden, meanwhile, has often struggled to cut through the noise with his own message despite holding the presidency.

That means Biden is going to need oodles of cash to blan-

ket battleground states where a few thousand votes could mean the di erence between victory or defeat. Add to that the challenge of reaching millennials, as well as even younger voters, who formed an important part of his 2020 coalition, in a far more fractured media ecosystem that skews toward streaming services over conventional broadcast and cable.

Biden’s organizational and outreach e ort began in earnest this month, with the campaign

using his State of the Union address as a launching pad to open 100 new eld o ces nationwide and boosting the number of paid sta in battleground states to 350 people. It’s also currently in the middle of a $30 million television and digital advertising campaign targeting speci c communities such as black, Hispanic and Asian voters.

In one example of the incumbent president’s organizational advantage, his reelection campaign in February had 480 sta -

ers on the ground, compared with 311 to that of Trump and the Republican National Committee, according to Biden campaign o cials.

“We’re ramping up campaign headquarters and eld o ces, hiring sta all across the country before Trump and his MAGA Republicans have even opened one single o ce,” Biden boasted Friday in New York during a meeting of his national nance committee, which included 200 of his largest donors and fundraisers from in and around the city.

A massive ground game disadvantage didn’t prevent Trump from winning the presidency in 2016, a fact Democrats keenly remember.

“It’s one of the stubborn challenges of Trump,” said Robby Mook, campaign manager for Hillary Clinton’s 2016 presidential bid. “Trump is Trump’s best organizer, and Trump can motivate people from the podium.”

But, Mook added, the Biden campaign is doing what it needs to do, pointing to the State of the Union as a powerful example of how to e ectively mobilize the base and harness the anti-Trump energy that will inevitably motivate many Democrats this year.

“The most magical and the scariest part of politics is, you never know until Election Day,”

UNLV releases video of December campus shooter

A former ECU professor killed three before being shot by campus police

By Ken Ritter The Associated Press

LAS VEGAS — Images of a campus police o cer diving behind a patrol vehicle to escape gun re and then fatally shooting a gunman outside a building at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, are among footage in newly released video of a deadly rampage that left three professors dead and a fourth badly wounded last December.

The deadly shootout captured by campus surveillance cameras ended what authorities say was 10 minutes of terror unleashed by a 67-year-old former East Carolina University business professor whose applications to teach at UNLV had been rejected.

The gunman, Anthony Polito, was armed with a legally purchased 9 mm handgun, carried nine bullet magazines, and had a target list of names, although none of the people shot was on that list, police said.

The university on Thursday released 20 hours of footage from campus security and o cer body cameras, along with more than an hour of recordings of 911 calls made to campus police.

Sounds of the gun re that killed three people in the upper oors of the ve-story business school sent people eeing from the nearby Student Union just before noon on a sunny day. Video shows a campus police o cer, running across the plaza toward the business school building, arrived within 78 seconds of the shooting. “It is di cult to listen to these recordings and watch the videos and not re ect on the tragic events that day,” university Vice President of Public Safety Adam Garcia said in a statement accompanying the release of the material in response to public records requests.

Two gunshots are heard early in more than an hour of 911 recordings that include one father calling to say he got a text from his daughter who was hiding in a classroom. “Is there an active shooter there?” he asks. “Yes,” the male dispatcher replies, adding that police are at the scene. “So just tell your daughter to stay where she’s at.” New video shows campus se-

Mook said. “And so I wouldn’t want to leave anything on the table if I were them, and the great part about having a resource advantage is, you get to have all these di erent things.”

Even Biden’s bricks-and-mortar campaign is likely to be far more costly this year.

Unlike 2020, when many Americans were hunkered down due to the pandemic, Biden will need to travel more while also building a political infrastructure that will be far more expensive than the socially distanced, virtual campaign he waged from his basement the last time around.

His reelection campaign will also have expenses that Trump won’t have to confront, such as reimbursing the federal government for use of Air Force One. So far, it has reimbursed $4.5 million for use of the ocial presidential aircraft for political activity, according to the campaign.

Trump campaign o cials concede that Biden and the Democrats will likely have more cash to spend, though they argue that Trump will still be able to run an e ective campaign given his ability to attract media coverage.

“Our digital online fundraising continues to skyrocket, our major donor investments are climbing, and Democrats are running scared of the fundraising prowess of President Trump,” said Steven Cheung, communications director for the Trump campaign.

curity o cers immediately entering the business school building as Las Vegas police swarm the area near the center-campus Student Union while young people stream the other way.

Video footage from a parking lot shows the gunman get out of a black sedan wearing a black trench coat and retrieve something from a passenger compartment before walking calmly toward the business school building.

A di erent video shows ocers helping a badly wounded professor who walked out of the same building before collapsing on a sidewalk behind a patrol car.

UNLV President Keith Whiteld told the university community this month the man, a visiting professor, was “improving daily ... doing rehab and out of the hospital.” He has not been identi ed by name.

Las Vegas police began releasing video and audio recordings in December showing ocers from throughout southern Nevada spending hours going door to door in campus buildings, releasing students and faculty members in waves, before declaring the gunman had acted alone and there was no further threat.

The shooting occurred just a few miles from the site of the deadliest mass shooting in modern U.S. history: An Oct. 1, 2017, massacre that had a gunman open re from windows of the high-rise Mandalay Bay resort into a crowd of 20,000 people at an outdoor music festival below. Sixty people died and hundreds were wounded or injured.

ALEX BRANDON / AP PHOTO

President Joe Biden, center, and former presidents Barack Obama and Bill Clinton participate in a fundraising event with Stephen Colbert at Radio City Music Hall last Thursday in New York.

UNIVERSITY OF NEVADA, LAS VEGAS VIA AP

This image from a campus surveillance video released by UNLV, shows gunman Anthony Polito, top right, moments before being fatally shot by a campus police o cer on Dec. 6, 2023.

Randolph record

Got one!

Trevor Felts helps his son Axel, both of Seagrove, secure an Easter Egg at Millstone Creek Orchards in Ramseur. The Orchard held its third annual Easter Eggstavaganza on Sunday, complete with Easter Egg Hunt, visits with the Easter Bunny, hayrides and an egg-decorating contest.

WHAT’S HAPPENING RCSS Board of Education passes support for growth plan, facilities

Primary election results certi ed

The March 5 election results are o cial, with a handful of key incumbents losing and a few U.S. House and statewide nominee races heading to runo s.

The State Board of Elections voted unanimously last week to certify counts for scores of ballot items from across the state, from nominations for president and governor to the legislature and judgeships.

The primaries also marked the rst statewide election under new voter identi cation and absentee ballot deadline law. About 1.8 million primary votes were counted.

Around 1,200 voters cast provisional ballots, with 700 ultimately counting. The vast majority of the 477 remaining uncounted ballots were set aside because voters failed to return to their county board with ID.

Boom Supersonic makes test ight

A startup plane maker with North Carolina ties has taken its rst steps toward the skies.

Boom Supersonic is developing the rst commercial jet that can y faster than sound since the Concorde last ew in 2003. The company’s X-B1 prototype took its rst ight last week over the Mojave Desert, a major step in the development of its Overture jet that will be built at a new “superfactory” at PTI Airport in Greensboro.

That facility could employ more than 1,700 workers by 2030, further burnishing North Carolina’s aviation legacy.

New buildings for Liberty Elementary and Randleman High are top priorities

By Ryan Henkel Randolph Record

THE RANDOLPH County Schools Board of Education

met Monday, March 18.

The board approved Phase 1 of the Growth Plan for the Randolph County School System.

“Phase 1 of our growth plan is really focused on facility and student assignment needs associated with our current school facilities,” said superintendent Stephen Gainey.

The primary two items on the plan include the construc -

tion of a new Liberty Elementary School and a new Randleman High School.

“The preference will be to build Randleman High School and Liberty Elementary at the same time,” Gainey said. “Both projects are going to be built on new sites and we don’t need those sites nished to have school at those two places because those students will be in their existing schools until we get the two new schools built.

“Another thing is, it keeps our plan going. If we can get going with the nancial side of it with the commissioners, then there’s no reason why we won’t be able to start working towards where we might be with the renovations of Southwestern, Eastern and Trinity. We need this plan to keep mov-

ing because we don’t want to be stuck in phase one when all the growth starts and we’re looking for other sites.”

According to Gainey, the plan is to start looking for land for those schools starting on April 1 and the process is expected to take six months.

Additional items in phase 1 of the growth plan include the renovation of Eastern Randolph High School, Southwestern Randolph High School and Trinity High School, the demolition of Braxton Craven School, the assessment of the current attendance zones and school assignment process to identify any needed adjustments.

“We need a Randleman school, we need a Liberty school, but we got to quit pushing these other traditional high

school’s back,” said board member Phillip Lanier. “We’ve got to make sure that when we agree to go this route, that we take care of their needs because they’ve been told, told and told and nothing’s happened.”

The board then approved the Summer 2024 Reading Camp fee for pro cient students.

“Our second and third grade students who meet a set criteria and are deemed not procient across the district are invited to attend a summer camp for 72 hours in the summer at no charge,” said director of elementary education Ashley Barr. “But Senate Bill 387, which is the Excellent Public Schools Act, is written to provide opportunity for our stu-

Concert series to bring back popular band

The number of Sunday events have been reduced, but shows will be longer

By Bob Sutton Randolph Record

ASHEBORO — One band is returning based on popular demand, while there’s a bit of a revamped schedule for spring and summer concerts in Asheboro. Downtown Asheboro Inc. and the City of Asheboro have put together a lineup of Friday and Sunday concerts at Bicentennial Park.

First things rst: On the Border is coming back as the leado for the Friday night series.

“There were multiple requests to bring them back,” said Addie Corder, executive director of Down Asheboro Inc. “They had the availability and they love playing in Asheboro.”

On the Border is an Eagles tribute band, drawing an estimated crowd of 5,500 for last

year’s show in Asheboro. The band comes to the city May 31.

There’s a theme for the Friday events, everything from 1970s era through recent decades. Those shows begin at 6:30 p.m.

“It’s going to be another great lineup,” Corder said. “We worked really hard to provide a good lineup.”

The June 28 show features the 1990/2000s with Larger than Life (boys band tribute) and July 12 has a 1990s vibe with Doug Brewin’s tribute to Alan Jackson (country). On Aug. 23, there should be a 1980s feel with Cassette Rewind.

Cassette Rewind is quite a production, Corder said, with a lights show involved.

“Very high-energy show,” she said. “They put on a high-impact show.”

There are changes to the setup for the Sunday Summer Concert series. The number of concerts has been reduced from nine to ve.

The Sunday concerts have

“It’s going to be another great lineup. We worked really hard to provide a good lineup.”

Addie Corder, Downtown Asheboro Inc.

been expanded in duration from about 90-minute shows in 2023 to two hours. “It was becoming harder to coordinate nine Sunday shows with how busy Bicentennial Park was getting,” Corder said. “And it wasn’t easy nding bands for every month.” Sunday concerts begin at 6 p.m. Here’s the lineup: BlackWater Band (May 19), North Tower (June 9), Special Occasion Band (July 21), EnVision (Aug. 11), and too MUCH SyLviA (Sept. 8). The city added the Friday

night series in addition to the Sunday events

PJ WARD-BROWN / RANDOLPH RECORD

Early voting set for second primary

Randolph Record Sta

ASHEBORO — Early voting for the special second primary election will be open April 25May 11 in Randolph County.

The Randolph County Board of Elections set those dates for the May 14 second primary.

Early voting will have just one site as opposed to four sites used in advance of the March primary. The early voting will be held at the Randolph County Board of Elections o ce on North Fayetteville Street in Asheboro.

The times for early voting will be 8 a.m.-5 p.m. daily, ex-

CRIME LOG

March 22

Monica Nicole Stickler, 26, was arrested by the Randolph County Sheriff’s Office on charges of 19 counts of felony larceny by employee. The magistrate issued a $45,000 secured bond,

March 23

Juston Taylor Crabtree, 43, of Asheboro, was arrested by the Asheboro Police Department on charges of larceny and possession of stolen goods/property. He was released on a written citation.

cept for May 11, when voting ends at 3 p.m. That nal date will be the only weekend day used as there’s no early voting April 27-28 or May 4-5.

On May 14, voters will have to cast ballots at their assigned voting precinct.

On the ballots in the second primary are the Republican nomination for lieutenant governor (Hal Weatherman and Jim O’Neill) and Republican nomination for state auditor (Jack Clark and Dave Boliek).

Voters are eligible to vote in the second primary if registered with the political party of the candidates in the

criminal evidence, and possession of drug paraphernalia. He was also served a warrant for possessing a firearm as a felon. Bond was denied.

Christopher Dane Allred, 39, of Asheboro, was arrested by the Asheboro Police Department on charges of breaking and entering a motor vehicle, attempted larceny, and injury to personal property. He was also served a warrant for failure to appear. No bond was set.

March 25

second primary. Also, una liated voters who didn’t vote in the rst primary or voted the ballot of the party for which the second primary is being held are eligible to vote in the second primary. A second primary can be requested by the second-place candidate if no candidate received more than 30 percent of votes cast from the rst primary.

Next week’s Randolph County Board of Elections meeting has been cancelled. That makes the next scheduled meeting to address absentee voting is set for 5 p.m. April 16 at the board’s o ce.

while license revoked, and a window tinting violation. No bond was issued.

March 27

Matthew Thomas Watts, 28, of Asheboro, was arrested by the Asheboro Police Department on a charge of assault on a female. No bond was issued due to the domestic nature of the charge.

Guide

April 5

Jazz Fest – Art Blakey & The Jazz Messengers

7 p.m.

Jazz Fest comes to the Sunset Theater in Asheboro. Night one will feature Kendrik McKinney, an Oklahoma City-based keyboard player, pianist, arranger and bandleader, along with David Gibson, who is currently active on the New York music scene as a trombonist, composer, arranger, educator and more. Tickets are $20 per night, or $35 for both nights. Visit sunsettheatre. org for more information.

Red Cross Blood Drive

2 – 6 p.m.

The Red Cross will be holding a blood drive at Asheboro Friends Meeting, located at 230 E. Kivett St. Walk-ins welcome or make an appointment at redcrossblood.org

Latervius Kewaun Luck, 26, of Troy, was arrested by the Asheboro Police Department on charges of possession of a reckless driving, possession of marijuana, possession of marijuana paraphernalia, resisting/ delaying/ or obstructing an officer, fleeing to elude arrest, possessing a Schedule-I controlled substance, maintaining a vehicle for the purposes of controlled substance, destroying

BOE from page 1

dents that are deemed procient to attend for a fee that is set by the board of education.

“Last summer’s camp cost was a total of $170,989 and we had 345 students who attended. Based on that number, I’m recommending a fee of $496 per student. That is the lowest fee to date that we’ve had and it’s considerably under the cap of $825 which is allowable by the state.”

The board also approved the 2024-25 school calendar for Randolph Early College High School.

“The early college high school calendar aligns with the Randolph Community College schedule,” said director of instructional support Larry Chappell. “Early college programs have exibility with their calendar guidelines that

Jameal Shufon Matthews, 33, was arrested by the Randolph County Sheriff’s Office on charges of felony possession with intent to sell/deliver cocaine, misdemeanor possession of drug paraphernalia, misdemeanor possession of marijuana, misdemeanor possession of marijuana paraphernalia, misdemeanor open container violation, misdemeanor driving

Christina Michelle Foster, 48, of Asheboro, was arrested by the Asheboro Police Department on charges of possessing methamphetamine and possessing drug paraphernalia. A secure bond of $1,500 was issued.

March 28

Charles Edward Roberts, Jr., 66, was arrested by the Randolph County Sheriff’s Office on charges of felony assault with a deadly weapon with intent to kill and felony discharge a weapon into an occupied vehicle. Bond was denied. We

traditional schools do not.”

The school year for students will start Aug. 8 with the rst semester ending Dec. 20 and the last day of school being May 21, 2024.

The board was presented with two grants received by the RCSS.

Both grants were from the North Carolina Outdoor Heritage Advisory Council Go Outside Grant in the amount of $1,650 for Franklinville Elementary and $1,500 for Tabernacle Elementary

“The grant will be used for the fth grade classes to go on a trip to Camp Caraway,” Chappell said. “That’s where they’ll do outdoor science, hands-on activities. They will spend all day there and it’s an extended day.”

The board was also presented with nine contracts that were approved by the su-

perintendent. Those included a $58,125 contract with Gaggle.net for student safety management (managing emails and Google suites), a $65,000 contract with Tire Solutions for bus tires, a $75,000 contract with Carolina Thomas for bus repairs, a $75,000 contract with White’s International also for bus repairs, a $92,391.71 contract with Learning.com for digital literacy curriculum, a $144,985 contract with Carolina Thomas for a yellow bus replacement, a $145,735 contract with Gregory Poole also for a yellow bus replacement, a $175,000 contract with Go Energies for diesel fuel and gasoline and a $606,719.91 contract with White’s International for four yellow bus replacements. The RCSS Board of Education will next meet April 15.

April 6

Adopt & Play Saturdays

10 a.m. – 2 p.m.

Randolph County Animal Services hosts its Adopt & Play Event on the rst Saturday of each month. Come out to the Animal Services Adoption Center, located at 1370 County Land Rd. in Randleman for fun activities and plenty of furry friends looking for forever homes. Contact (336) 683-8235 for more information.

Jazz Fest – Eve Cornelious Ensemble

7 p.m.

Jazz Fest comes to the Sunset Theater in Asheboro. Eve Cornelious has an elegant, passionate, beautiful and dynamic jazz sound with an innovative ensemble of high-class composers and improvisers. Tickets are $20 per night or $35 for both nights. Visit sunsettheatre.org for more information.

April 10

Medical Assisting Open House 4 – 6 p.m.

Explore the world of Medical Assisting and discover the incredible opportunities that await you! Whether you’re a friend or family member of a Medical Assisting student or interested in pursuing a career in this eld, you’re welcome to attend! The event takes place at the Allied Health Center at 606 Industrial Park Ave. in Asheboro, across from the main campus. For more information, contact

THE CONVERSATION

Neal Robbins, publisher | Frank Hill, senior opinion editor

Hope for our future this Easter

As my family and I celebrate the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, we nd renewed hope not only for ourselves but also for our nation.

SPRING IS JUST AROUND the corner, but that’s not the only reason to rejoice. For my family, like many of you, this time is especially joyous because it’s Easter.

Every Easter, I re ect on the hope and redemption that Jesus’s resurrection brings, and how even out of darkness, there is new light. Even during this hopeful season, it is di cult to ignore the many challenges you and your family continue to face, including higher energy prices.

Right now, gas prices are up nearly 20 cents a gallon, which means families traveling for the Easter holiday are spending more at the pump. Too many folks are already struggling to make ends meet, and this is the last thing they need.

Unfortunately, since President Biden took o ce, he has continued to implement disastrous America-last energy policies causing these higher costs. From stopping clean natural gas

COLUMN | SUSAN ESTRICH

exports to our allies in Europe — crushing American jobs and creating a windfall for Putin’s war machine — to killing the Keystone XL pipeline to depleting our emergency oil reserves, President Biden has crushed American energy production and hiked up energy prices for you and your family.

This energy crisis is not the only hardship facing our nation. Month after month, the crisis Biden created at our southern border continues to get worse with no end in sight.

This past February, there were 189,922 illegal crossings at our southern border — the highest number ever recorded in February. This brings the total number of illegal border crossings nationwide to over 9 million, in addition to over 1.8 million known “gotaways” who avoided getting caught and are in an unknown location in our country.

It’s clear the Biden Administration’s failed open border policies are to blame for this invasion at our border. Earlier this year, House Republicans passed the

Secure the Border Act (H.R. 2), which will end the Biden Administration’s open border policies like catch-andrelease, beef up Border Patrol agents, and restart construction of the border wall.

Whether it’s rising gas prices or the crisis at our border, things right now can often feel overwhelming. However, my faith keeps me hopeful for the future.

This Easter season, as my family and I celebrate the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, we nd renewed hope not only for ourselves but also for our nation.

As you gather with your loved ones during this special time, I encourage you to seek refuge in your faith and remember that brighter days are ahead. Please also keep in mind our military families — especially those who could not be together this Easter. May God bless you, our military families, and our great nation.

Richard Hudson represents the 9th Congressional District of North Carolina

The Supreme Court, Justice Breyer and abortion

The majority, he argues, wrongly assumed that in overruling Roe, the court would return abortion decisionmaking to the states and the political process, taking judges out of the process.

IT MIGHT JUST BE a coincidence that former Justice Stephen Breyer’s new book had its o cial publication date on the same day the court heard argument on the biggest abortion case since Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, which overruled Roe v. Wade.

In his important new book, “Reading the Constitution: Why I Chose Pragmatism, Not Textualism,” and in published interviews, Breyer takes on the theories of originalism and textualism, which the new justices appointed by Donald Trump have adopted in interpreting the Constitution. Breyer does not question the good faith of these new members of the court. He does not argue that they are simply voting based on the partisan politics of the man who appointed them, a position which, I must admit, I sometimes think is sadly responsible for the extremism of this court. Rather, he gives them their due: that they are in fact guided by two theories of constitutional interpretation that are quite simply wrong.

Originalism means that the Constitution should be interpreted according to the intent and understanding of the white male property owners who wrote it, rather than in light of contemporary values and understanding, and the practical consequences of their decision.

Textualism focuses on the actual words, including punctuation, of the Constitution, in their original context.

The illusion of these theories is that they provide clear answers to hard case, thus limiting the extent to which a judge’s personal politics and values

dictate the answers. It’s an illusion because judges aren’t historians, and even if they were, the world has changed drastically, and in unimaginable ways, in the centuries since the Constitution was drafted. There was no internet in the 18th century, and neither originalism nor textualism can tell you how it should be regulated consistent with the First Amendment.

Breyer dissented in Dobbs, not because he is personally pro-choice, but because he believes in respect for established precedent and a living Constitution that is broad enough to recognize a right to privacy for women. The majority, he argues, wrongly assumed that in overruling Roe, the court would return abortion decisionmaking to the states and the political process, taking judges out of the process. But that is clearly not the case, nor will it be.

“The Dobbs majority’s hope that legislatures and not courts will decide the abortion question will not be realized,” he wrote.

He was more forceful in his interview with the New York Times. “There are too many questions,” he said. “Are they really going to allow women to die on the table because they won’t allow an abortion which would save her life? I mean, really, no one would do that. And they wouldn’t do that. And there’ll be dozens of questions like that.”

One of those questions was before the court on Tuesday, when a majority of the justices expressed skepticism about what was clearly a partisan political e ort to curtail the availability of medicated abortion. The suit was brought by a group of anti-abortion

doctors, in a district in Texas with exactly one judge, an outspoken opponent of abortion, Judge Matthew J. Kacsmaryk, who, as they hoped, invalidated the FDA’s approval of mifepristone. In August, a panel of conservative judges on the 5th circuit ruled that the medication should remain legal but imposed signi cant restrictions on access. The anti-abortion forces were hoping to reinstate the original ban, a position opposed by a 2-1 margin, or more, in public opinion polls. Justices Clarence Thomas and Samuel Alito were sympathetic to a position that, if adopted, would further reduce public trust in the court, as Dobbs did. The court majority -- minus Thomas and Alito -- may be able to avoid another ruling as unpopular as Dobbs by focusing on the narrow ground of whether the plainti doctors have “standing” to challenge the mifepristone rules -- whether they can show that they su er any harm as a result of it -- but no such obvious escape path will be open to them later next month when they face the unprecedented argument that Donald Trump should enjoy absolute immunity from criminal prosecution. Will partisan politics win out? Will the court purport to play historians in search of an answer? Trust in the court is at an all-time low. The rule of law demands as a precondition that even those who disagree with a particular result accept its force. That principle will be at stake. Breyer’s pragmatic approach yields only one answer. It will be up to the three Trump appointees, and the chief justice, to decide. Hopefully, they will read Breyer’s book before they do.

COLUMN | RICHARD HUDSON

Wheatmore’s Garrison sets state record with special goal

By Bob Sutton Randolph Record

TRINITY — There are lots of ways to score a goal in soccer, and Ellie Garrison’s state-record tally ranked up there as quite unique.

The Wheatmore senior became North Carolina’s girls’ record holder for goals by scoring against Bishop McGuinness last week.

The record came shortly after the Warriors gave up a goal. Garrison wanted to receive the rst pass when play resumed.

“She noticed the goalie was way o the line,’ Wheatmore coach Rick Maness said. “She struck it, one touch.”

And the ball went an estimated 55 to 60 yards and into the net.

“First time I’ve seen that,” Maness said. “What a way to set the record. She scored that and that was the record right there.”

That was the rst of two goals in that game for Garrison. And there could be plenty more for Garrison, who’s signed to play collegiately at Appalachian State.

“We got a lot of season left,” Maness said.

Garrison scored 77 goals as a sophomore as the Warriors won the Class 2-A state championship. Last year, she established a single-season state record with

96 as the Warriors nished as the state runners-up.

Adding in 29 goals from her freshman season, which was an abbreviated version because of the pandemic, she had 202 goals entering this season.

Now, she has 219.

Carolyn Lindsay of South View, a 2003 graduate who later played at UNC Greensboro, had 217 goals for the most listed by the North Carolina High School Athletic Association. Garrison tied the state record

March 13 at Trinity before her record pursuit went on pause a couple of weeks ago. She played with a club team in a weekend tournament in Virginia, returning with a sprained ankle.

That caused her to miss games against Randleman and Eastern Randolph. Garrison was back for the game vs. visiting Bishop McGuinness, which won 6-3.

Now that the record has been set, there could be more.

“I just hope she’ll play and have fun now,” Maness said.

Yet it won’t be any easier.

“Anytime she gets the ball, she draws two or three or four defenders,” Maness said. “She’s a magnet.”

Garrison is the fourth member of her family to play for Maness, who has also coached the boys’ team at Wheatmore. His current star has been able to maintain a high level of play.

“She stays t and that’s probably what has helped her out over the years,” he said.

There are 11 more games on the Warriors’ regular-season schedule.

Wheatmore, which doesn’t have a game this week because of spring break, holds a 4-3 overall record. The Warriors have games on three consecutive days next week beginning April 9 in a make-up game vs. Southwestern Randolph.

Randleman edges UCA in tight baseball tilts

Randolph Record Sta

THERE WAS a reduced number of competitions last week in high school sports around Randolph County, largely because of weather-related postponements or cancelations.

This week, schedules are limited in many cases because of spring break at many schools.

Here are some the highlights from last week’s events:

Baseball

Randleman swept a Piedmont Athletic Conference doubleheader from Uwharrie Charter Academy, winning 1-0 and then 3-1 in nine innings in a matchup of recent state champions.

Jake Riddle pitched the rst game for host Randleman, which received Seth Way’s sacri ce y to account for the run.

In the second game, with Randleman the designated visiting team on its home eld, Way’s two-run home run in the ninth inning broke the tie.

Randleman won Class 1-A state titles in 2021 and 2022 and UCA claimed the Class 1-A state title last year.

• UCA defeated visiting Providence Grove 4-2 earlier in the week in a PAC make-up game with Brett Smith the winning pitcher.

• Providence Grove and Trinity split a PAC doubleheader at Trinity.

Providence Grove won 1-0 as Jayten Beasley pitched a three-hitter and drove in the game’s only run in the rst inning.

Trinity countered to win 5-4 in the nightcap.

• At High Point, Southwestern Randolph’s Jonah Campbell as the Cougars topped Eastern Randolph 7-0 in a PAC game played at Truist Point, which is home to the High Point Rockers.

Brady Arm eld homered and Zack Scruggs rapped a two-run triple for Southwestern Randolph.

That outcome avenged Eastern Randolph’s 7-4 home victory when Sam Asbill struck out 10 batters in 5 2/3 innings.

• Wheatmore won for the third time in a four-game stretch by defeating host West Davidson 4-3 with Sean Jennison, Ayden Byrd and Parker Kines all logging time on the mound and providing hits.

BEST OVERALL ATHLETE OF THE WEEK

Macy Allred

Macy Allred of Southwestern Randolph, shown here last season, has been a big o ensive threat in girls’ soccer across three seasons.

Southwestern Randolph, girls’ soccer

Allred is on pace to lead the Cougars in goals again as she has provided some strong outputs this season. She has been among the team’s top goal scorers since her freshman season. The Cougars racked up their second-highest goal total of the season in last week’s 7-5 victory against visiting Eastern Randolph. Allred had ve goals and one assist in that game in what became Southwestern Randolph’s rst victory against another Randolph County team in ve tries this season.

The Cougars are o this week because of spring break. They hold a 5-5-1 overall record and 1-2-1 mark in Piedmont Athletic Conference play. Allred also has been a member of Southwestern Randolph’s highly successful girls’ basketball program.

COLLEGE NOTES

Coleman leads ACC in softball batting

By Bob Sutton Randolph Record

SOUTHWESTERN Ran-

Softball

Lyric Chriscoe homered as Randleman topped visiting Eastern Randolph 8-3 in a PAC game. Winning pitcher Kinzie Ivey struck out nine batters.

• Southwestern Randolph shut down visiting Trinity 16-0 with Micah Wilson and Chloe Eudy combining for a three-inning no-hitter. Maddie Strider tripled twice and drove in three runs.

Southwestern Randolph edged Uwharrie Charter Academy 2-1 behind Macie Crutcheld’s pitching and Alyssa Harris’ two runs batted in.

• Eastern Randolph defeated visiting Providence Grove 7-1 with Addie Flinchum racking up 11 strikeouts.

• Carmen Turgeon’s complete-game pitching boosted Wheatmore past host Trinity 120.

Girls’ soccer

Jaira Arellano scored three goals as Asheboro drubbed visiting East Rowan 7-0 in a non-conference game to extend its winning streak to four games.

• Kendall Jarrell scored three goals as Uwharrie Charter Academy topped host Eastern Randolph 9-0.

• Southwestern Randolph’s Macy Allred supplied ve goals in a 7-5 PAC victory against visiting Eastern Randolph.

• Taryn Waugh’s three goals led Providence Grove past visiting Trinity 5-1.

dolph alum Alex Coleman, an out elder for North Carolina’s softball team, is the Atlantic Coast Conference’s leading batter more than halfway through the season. Coleman checked at .495 entering this week. Her numbers re ect a conference-leading 53 hits in 107 o cial at-bats with three doubles. The Tar Heels leado batter also has drawn 14 walks with only eight strikeouts. Behind Coleman in batting average is Florida State’s Jaysoni Beachum at .470.

Coleman’s 37 runs scored rate second in the ACC. She’s also 20-for-21 on stolen-base attempts to rank tied for second in total stolen bases.

Coleman is a transfer from Marshall, following coach Megan Smith Lyon, who left the Thundering Herd after the 2023 season to return to her alma mater when there was a coaching opening. North Carolina won two of three games against visiting Notre Dame last week to push its record to 24-9 overall and 6-6 in the ACC. This week, the Tar Heels

visit rst-place Duke for ACC games Friday, Saturday and Sunday.

Oakley posts two victories in NCAA championships

Appalachian State’s Ethan Oakley went 2-2 in the NCAA championships in Kansas City last month.

Oakley, a Wheatmore alum, nished the season with a 28-9 record. He’s a 133-pounder and the Southern Conference champion.

Oakley opened the NCAAs by upsetting Virginia Tech’s Sam Latona, a multi-time All-American. Oakley’s takedown with less than 80 seconds remaining gave him the lead in his eventual 8-7 victory. Latona led 6-3 in the second period.

From there, Oakley suffered an 11-5 loss to fth-seeded Dylan Ragusin of Michigan State to complete his rst day of competition.

On the second day of the tournament, Oakley controlled Lock Haven’s Gable Strickland for an 8-2 decision.

He couldn’t keep it going against Bucknell’s Kurt Phipps, who won 6-0. That ended Oakley’s season, though he has two seasons of eligibility remaining.

PJ WARD-BROWN / RANDOLPH RECORD

Wheatmore’s Payton Mooney makes contact during the Warriors’ 4-3 baseball victory at West Davidson last week. COURTESY

Alex Coleman COURTESY

Ethan Oakley

GIRLS’ SWIMMING

ALL-CONFERENCE

Randleman: Bella Byman, Audra Petty, Chenleigh Robinson

BOYS’ BASKETBALL

Player of the Year: Dominic Payne (Trinity)

Coach of the Year: Daniel Mitchell (Randleman)

ALL-CONFERENCE

Eastern Randolph: Julian Brooks, Timothy Brower, Nicah Taylor

Providence Grove: Brady Collins, James Ellis

Randleman: Connor Cassidy, Tyshaun Goldston, Greg Price

Southwestern Randolph: Nathan Ellis, Marcus Robertson

Trinity: Brandon Campbell, Jacob Hodges, Dominic Payne

Uwharrie Charter Academy: Braeden Lamb

Wheatmore: Parker Kines

GIRLS’ BASKETBALL

Player of the Year: Audra Petty (Randleman)

Coach of the Year: Steve Rightmyer (Randleman)

Eastern Randolph: Ziera Watson, Kenly Whitaker

Providence Grove: Brooke Ingram, Jada Nixon

Trinity: Ava Nance

Southwestern Randolph: Jordin George, Caressa King, Maddie Strider

Uwharrie Charter Academy: Chloe Painter, Nevaeh Staples

Wheatmore: Brianna Hill, Kynnedi Routh BOYS’ SWIMMING

Swimmer of the Year: Nathan Clendinen (UCA)

Coach of the Year: Kristi Hall (Wheatmore)

ALL-CONFERENCE

Wheatmore: Zachary Hazelwood, Colton Osborne, Jack Toby, Alexis Vega-Torres

Providence Grove: Ashton Taylor, Grant Underwood, Austin Williams, Cooper Wright

Uwharrie Charter Academy: Nathan Clendinen

Swimmer of the Year: Paislee Holli eld (Wheatmore)

Coach of the Year: Kristi Hall (Wheatmore)

ALL-CONFERENCE

Wheatmore: Emily Cribbs, Sydney Hall, Paisley Holli eld, Ava Williamson, Sophie Williamson

Providence Grove: Mia Browder, Olivia Coleman, Aubrie Goodman, Chloe Toomes

Randleman: Emma Herring, Kendall Fortson, Samantha Marin

Uwharrie Charter Academy: Megan Becker

WRESTLING

Lower Weight Wrestler of the Year: Spencer May (Trinity)

Upper Weight Wrestler of the Year: Gavin Hardister (Trinity)

Coach of the Year: Brandon Coggins (Trinity)

ALL-CONFERENCE

Eastern Randolph: Maddox

Carson, Trevor Coltrane, David Lambright

Randleman: Kolby Garner, Braxton Walker

Southwestern Randolph: Jose Flores, Erick Lopez

Trinity: Jayden Allred, Aiden Burkholder,

Dennis,

Uwharrie Charter

Alston,

Hines, Jack McArthur, Alek Millikan, Carson Robinson, Caleb Saldana, Brennan Worrell

Wheatmore: Noland Hammonds, Dominic Hittepole, Zack Starkweather, Trey Swaney

Lawson Coltrane, Levi

Brayden Hall, Gavin Hardister, Baron Justice, Spencer May, Bear Schaefer, Joseph Trahan, Edgar Vasquez

Academy: Lorenzo

Caden Bond, Ethan

PHOTOS BY PJ WARD-BROWN / RANDOLPH RECORD

Top, Randleman’s Audra Petty makes a move against Lincoln Charter in the state playo s for girls’ basketball. Bottom left, Trinity’s Dominic Payne goes up for a shot against Jordan-Matthews’ Sean Price in boys’ basketball. Bottom right, Trinity wrestler Spencer May, right, wraps up Seaforth’s Layne Armstrong.

Late caution gives Hamlin second chance at Richmond Raceway

“I needed that kind of situation at the end to happen to win it,” Hamlin said.

Larson had been fading from contention before the spin.

By Hank Kurz Jr. The Associated Press

RICHMOND, Va. — Denny Hamlin won the race o pit road with Joe Gibbs Racing teammate Martin Truex Jr. after a caution with two laps to go and won in overtime at Richmond Raceway on Sunday night. Truex dominated the second half of the NASCAR Cup Series race — he led 288 laps — and seemed poised to hold o challenges by Joey Logano and Hamlin for the nal two laps when Kyle Larson got nudged from behind on the front straightaway and skidded into the in eld, causing the caution.

“I was a little bit loose and then I got a shot there,” Larson said of the bump from Bubba Wallace that almost certainly cost Truex his fourth victory at Richmond.

On the restart, Hamlin got a good jump from the inside lane, withstood a challenge from the outside from Truex and held o Truex and two other challengers for the surprise victory. “This is a team win for sure,” Hamlin said after climbing from his car. “The trophy needs to go to each one of these pit crew members. They just did amazing job. They’ve been killing it all year.”

Hamlin’s victory was his second this season, the fth of

his career at what he considers his home track, and the 53rd of his career, but it left Truex unhappy with several drivers involved.

“We got beat out of the pits and he jumped the restart,” Truex said of Hamlin. “Had a car capable of winning. So just have to come back next week trying to get him again.”

NASCAR said they reviewed the restart and it was within the rules.

After the race, a frustrated Truex door-slammed Larson as they coasted into the rst turn, then bumped Hamlin from behind three times.

“I think he just gets more mad at Denny, but I was the closest one to take his anger out on,” Larson said. “It’s all good. I hope he doesn’t have any hard feelings for me, because I denitely don’t towards him.”

The victory pulled the four

Gibbs Toyota teams even with the four Chevrolet teams from Hendrick Motorsports with three victories each through seven races.

Larson, who won this race last year, barely beat Truex o pit road during green ag stops with 65 laps to go, but Truex quickly caught him and pulled away as he had many times earlier.

Logano, who started the race 22nd in points with just one top 10 nish, worked his way into the lead pack in the second half, tried to run down Hamlin in the two-lap dash to the nish and was second, followed by Larson and Truex. It matched Ford’s best nish this season.

A spin by Daniel Suarez on lap 64 brought out another caution, and NASCAR decided to nish the 70-lap rst stage under caution, making Larson the stage winner.

MINOR LEAGUE BASEBALL

Top prospect Holliday rips Bulls

Norfolk, Va. Jackson Holliday is the top prospect in baseball, but the Orioles sent him to the minors to start the season in a move many suspect was nancially motivated. Holliday responded by homering leading o the rst inning of the season. He had three hits and four RBIs, helping Baltimore’s Norfolk Tides beat Tampa Bay’s Durham Bulls in the International League. A son of seven-time All-Star Matt Holliday, Jackson was the top pick in the 2022 amateur draft. The 20-yearold second baseman hit .323 with 12 homers, 75 RBIs and 24 stolen bases at four minor league levels last year.

NFL Jets trade for pass rusher Reddick

New York

The New York Jets have acquired two-time Pro Bowl edge rusher Haason Reddick from the Philadelphia Eagles for a conditional thirdround pick in 2026. The pick reportedly becomes a secondrounder if Reddick plays 67.5% of defensive snaps and gets 10 sacks in 2024. Reddick, a rst-round pick by Arizona in 2017, has recorded double-digit sacks in four straight seasons, including the past two years with the Eagles and in 2021, his one season with the Carolina Panthers. He’s entering the nal year of a $45 million, three-year contract and was given permission by the Eagles to seek a trade this o season.

WOMEN’S BASKETBALL

LSU’s Mulkey doesn’t plan to read article on her Albany, NY

LSU coach Kim Mulkey says she probably won’t read The Washington Post pro le over which she has threatened to le a defamation lawsuit, but she did question the timing of its release. In the article, Mulkey’s estranged family members and former players are quoted about her personality and how she runs her programs. It was published about an hour before LSU played UCLA in the Sweet 16. Mulkey defended her players against portrayals in the media, referring to a Los Angeles Times column that called her players “villains” and “dirty debutantes.” She said, “How dare people attack kids like that?”

MIKE CAUDILL / AP PHOTO

Denny Hamlin celebrates after winning Sunday’s NASCAR Cup Series race at Richmond Raceway.

Kenneth Dwain Robbins

April 1, 1960 — March 30, 2024

Kenneth Dwain Robbins, 63, of Sophia passed away Saturday, March 30, 2024, at his home. Kenneth was born in Randolph County on April 1, 1960, son of Lloyd Kenneth Robbins and Nancy Freeman Robbins. Mr. Robbins was a 1978 graduate of Asheboro High School. He later graduated from Randolph Community College with certi cates in Automotive Mechanics, Painting and Auto Body, and Small Engine Repair. He was employed with Prestige Fabricators for 29 years. Mr. Robbins was preceded in death by his father, Lloyd Kenneth Robbins and his wife, Tonja Robbins. Kenneth is survived by his children, Michael Robbins and wife Kelly of Asheboro, Karen McSwain and husband Richard of Siler City, and Justin Robbins and wife Julie of Franklinville; step-son, Ryan Fox of Mooresville; mother, Ms. Nancy Ann Robbins of Asheboro; grandchildren, Tylor, Sarah, Jalen, Isaiah, Ean, Eli, and Evan; sister, Kimberly Tysinger and husband David of High Point; mother-in-law, Dottie Rollins of Sophia; fatherin-law, Larry Swaim and wife Lola of Franklinville; brotherin-law, Kevin Rollins and wife Jeanette of Asheboro; sister-inlaw Anita Cole and husband Jim of Hickory; and several nieces and nephews.

Robert Lavel Blackburn

September 2, 1930 - March 20, 2024

Mr. Robert “Bob” Lavel Blackburn, born on September 2, 1930, in Ogden, Utah, peacefully passed away on March 20, 2024, in Asheboro, NC. He was surrounded by his loving family at the time of his passing. Bob was 93 years old. Bob’s dedication to hard work began early in life as he supported his family by working on his father and uncles’ farm. After marrying his rst wife, Pam Ray Blackburn, he worked at a local service station in Chowchilla, CA. Following the birth of their rst daughter, he moved to southern CA and found joy working for Ventura Coastal on a citrus ranch in Oxnard, CA. Bob’s career in citrus farming ourished, eventually leading him to retire as a manager with Ventura Coastal after working for various ranches throughout the years. Bob is preceded in death by two brothers, three sisters, his rst wife Pam Ray Blackburn, second wife Lois Cook Blackburn, and daughter Conny Ferguson. He is survived by his daughter Kathy Blackburn of Asheboro, grandchildren Michael Ordas, John Ordas, Cheryl Hendershot, Diana Gill, William Milosky, Caitlyn Milosky, and Marion Milosky; as well as ten greatgrandchildren.

obituaries

James “Bud” Fulton Scott

March 31, 1939 — March 29, 2024

James “Bud” Fulton Scott, 84, of Randleman passed away Friday, March 29, 2024, at Randolph Hospital. Mr. Scott was born in Robinson County on March 31, 1939, son of the late James Scott and Retha Lowry. Bud grew up in Pembroke, North Carolina and was proud of his Lumbee Heritage. He was a hard worker and was the owner and operator of Scott’s Trucking and Jimmy’s Custom Paint and Body, and was a martial arts sensei. Mr. Scott was known by many as “Uncle Bud” and was deeply loved by his family. He loved to piddle and was a jokester at heart, loving to tell stories. He often broke bricks with his hands for the neighborhood kids and spent time working on cars. Bud enjoyed watching Hee Haw and listened to old school country music, and eating homemade banana ice cream, and poundcake. In addition to his parents, Bud was preceded in death by his wife of 60 years, Judy B. Scott and brother, Hubert Scott. Mr. Scott is survived by his children, Sharon Kenney of Randleman, Denise Lawrence and husband Shannon of Winston Salem, and Christopher Scott and wife Lee of Pleasant Garden; grandchildren, Nichole McMillan and Tyler Kenney; great-grandchildren, Ava Toal and Alaina Toal; brothers, Arnold Scott and wife Shirley and Billy Scott and wife Frances, both of Pembroke; and sisters, Jenny Scott and Lisa Oxendine, both of Pembroke.

Mary Magleen Williamson Gray

April 27, 1933 - March 20, 2024

Mary Magleen Williamson

Gray, age 90, of Asheboro passed away March 20, 2024. She was born April 27, 1933, in Troy, North Carolina, the daughter of the late Wilburn Williamson and Nancy Jane Lucas. She is also preceded in death by her beloved husband, Bill Gray; daughter, Diane Welsh; daughterin-law, Brenda Lee; and a host of brothers and sisters. Above all, Mary cherished her role as a devoted mother and grandmother, leaving behind a legacy of love and warmth. Left to cherish her memory are her daughter, Judy Edwards and husband Terry; son, Timmy Lee; grandchildren, Jennifer Weissman and husband Howard, Kristin Edwards, and B.J. Pugh and wife Amber; great grandchildren, Carlie, Tucker, and Drew Weissman, and Ben Adam Pugh; sister, Ruby Brown; brother, James Williamson; and numerous other beloved family and friends.

Mary Edythe Maness Parks

November 22, 1929 — March 28, 2024

Mary Edythe Parks, age 94, went home to be with her Lord on Thursday, March 28, 2024, at Cross Road Assisted Living. She was born on November 22, 1929, in Randolph County to Coble and Ola Maness. Mary Edythe was a graduate of Asheboro High School and Asheboro Commercial College. She worked at Acme McCrary Corporation for thirty-eight years, ending her career as an executive secretary. As a member of First Wesleyan Church of Asheboro, she served as a pianist and organist for eighty years. As a ten-year old she became the pianist for First Wesleyan but knew only three hymns. Each week she learned a new hymn until the congregation had a selection from which to choose. She continued in this capacity until the age of ninety. She also served as a Sunday School and Bible School teacher. In addition to her parents, Mary Edythe was preceded in death by her husband of sixty-eight years, Leonard Parks; brother, Wesley Maness; and son-in-law, Pat Henry. She is survived by her daughter, Beckie Henry; grandson, David Henry and wife Angelica; great-grandchildren, Shai Henry, David (Eagle) Henry, Jozelyn Henry, and Jayla Henry.

Lawrence Daniel Cepuran

April 18, 1962 - March 21, 2024

Lawrence (Larry) Cepuran, age 61, was taken too soon on March 21st, 2024, by Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), also known as Lou Gehrig’s disease. ALS is a fatal neurological disease with no treatment or cure. Larry was born April 18, 1962, to Patricia Williamsen and the late Joseph Cepuran in Tallahassee, Florida. After graduation from Wayne State University, Larry began his career in Silicon Valley as an electrical engineer at a video company start-up, Prime Image. He continued working in various hardware design jobs at Motorola, Rockwell, Ford Motor Company, OnStar, and as an Engineering Manager at General Motors. Larry was gifted in the tech eld and was granted 18 patents during his successful engineering career. Larry is survived by his loving wife of 36 years, Laura, his son Colin (Lauren), daughter Claire (Skylar), mother Patricia Cepuran, sister Christine (Douglas) Chaney and brother Brian (Kathleen) Cepuran. Others left to cherish his memory include brothers-inLaw Joe (Cathy) and Terry (Carol) Bishop. Loving uncle of Allyson (Stephen), Lydia, Christine, James, Anna (Marty), Brionna, Tre, Kate, Elly, Margot, and Penelope. He is preceded in death by father Joseph Cepuran and maternal grandparents Ann and Clarence “Bud” Williamsen.

Walter Monroe Pope, Jr.

March 1, 1940 — March 26, 2024

Walter Monroe Pope, Jr., age 84, of Asheboro passed away on March 26, 2024, at High Point Medical Center. Mr. Pope was born in Raeford, NC on March 1, 1940, to Walter and Lucy Russ Pope and was a 1957 graduate of Seagrove School. He married Sylvia Ann Cox on June 9, 1963. Walter served his country in the U.S. Air Force for 5 years. He was employed with Union Carbide, which later became Energizer, retiring in 2002. Walter was a member of Mt. Lebanon Baptist Church. In addition to his parents, Walter was preceded in death by his brothers, Danny and Lloyd Pope. Walter was always there to help anyone in need and loved the Lord with all of his heart. He is survived by his wife, of 60 years, Ann Cox Pope; daughter, Melissa Moore and husband Je of Asheboro; granddaughter, Haylee Moore; and sisters, Nancy King of Asheboro and Deborah Short and husband Mike of Fort Mill, SC.

John V. Horne II

December 22, 1948 - March 22, 2024

John Vance Horne II, age 75, of Wilmington, North Carolina passed away on March 22, 2024, at the Randolph Hospice House. He was born December 22, 1948, in Wilmington, North Carolina, the son of the late John Vance Horne and Leasie Katrina Streeter Horne. Also, preceding him in death are his son, David Kelly; daughter, Janice Kelly Rose; brother, Cecil Millis; and sisters, Louise Streeter and Hyacinth Lucas. John served his country with honor in the United States Navy. His hands knew the hard work of the ooring industry and symbolized his resilience in life. A devoted husband, father, and grandfather, John’s love for his family knew no bounds. John had a kind heart and a giving spirt. He loved all things outdoors and was an avid hunter and sherman. John had a passion for gardening, cooking and canning. He loved to cook for those close to him, the bigger the crowd the better; whether an oyster roast, sh fry or grilling, feeding others brought him joy. Left to cherish his memory are his beloved wife of 23 years, Margaret Kelly Horne; daughters, Lisa Sutton and husband Je and Nicole Smith and husband John; son-in-law, David Rose; grandchildren, Ashton Sutton, Josh Sutton, Preston Smith, Haley Smith, Dillon Smith, Parker Rose, Phillip Rose and Jamal Moore; brother, Paul Horne and wife Dixie; sister, Rose Yopp; special friend, Teresa Flowers; canine companion, Zoe; and numerous other family and friends.

Gary Wayne Robertson

November 18, 1965 - March 29, 2024

Gary Wayne Robertson

“Fatboy”, age 58, of Asheboro passed away March 29, 2024, at The Randolph Hospice House surrounded by his family. He was born November 18, 1965, in Knoxville, Tennessee, the son of the late Wayne Robertson and Phyllis Ann Lovely Robertson. Gary worked for 37 years with Northgate Mu er Distributors and enjoyed his career and work family. He loved racing Enduro cars at Caraway Speedway and racing RC cars with his son, daughter, and grandchildren. Gary had an outgoing and friendly nature that made it easy for him to make friends everywhere he went. Family time was precious to him, especially when it involved his beloved grandchildren, who held a special place in his heart. Left to cherish his memory are his daughter, Ashley Sidey and husband Matt; son, Clifton Robertson and ancé Brooke Harris; grandchildren, Devin Sidey, Chelsea Sidey and Xander Sidey; and numerous other beloved family and friends.

Stuart Alan Jones

November 21, 1943 - March 28, 2024

Stuart Alan Jones, a distinguished ne artist and landscape architect, passed away on March 26, 2024, in Randolph County, NC. He was born on November 21, 1943, in Elgin, IL. Stuart was 80 years old at the time of his passing. Stuart’s career spanned various artistic elds, including work as a commercial artist, engraver, and landscape architect. His passion for painting led him to turn his hobby into a successful profession in 1983 when he became a ne artist specializing in watercolor, oil, and pen & ink. Over the years, Stuart created numerous works of art commissioned by notable individuals and organizations such as Eddie VanHalen, the National Park Service, Remington Arms, the U.S. Forest Service, and the University of Colorado. Stuart pursued his education at the University of Colorado School of Architecture, where he earned his bachelor’s degree while receiving instruction in biology and ne arts. Stuart is survived by his loving wife, Mary C Voss of Asheboro, NC, stepson Jerry Schlo man, and stepdaughter Heather Saurwein, both residing in Colorado. Stuart Alan Jones will be remembered for his artistic talents, dedication to his craft, and the beauty he brought into the world through his creations. He will be deeply missed by all who knew and admired him.

pen STATE & NATION

Biden outpacing Trump in fundraising

The president’s campaign is trying to overcome his predecessor’s ability to gain free publicity

By Seung Min Kim

and Brian Slodysko

The Associated Press

WASHINGTON, D.C. —

President Joe Biden’s reelection campaign is raising gobs of cash. And it has an election-year strategy that, in a nutshell, aims to spend more — and spend faster.

Not only has Biden aimed to show himself o as a fundraising juggernaut this month, but his campaign is also making signi cant early investments both on the ground and on the airwaves — hoping to create a massive organizational advantage that leaves Republican Donald Trump scrambling to catch up.

But while the money pouring in has given Biden and the Democrats a major cash advantage, it’s also becoming clear Biden will need it. Throughout his life in business and politics, Trump’s provocations have earned him near limitless free media attention. Biden, meanwhile, has often struggled to cut through the noise with his own message despite holding the presidency.

That means Biden is going to need oodles of cash to blan-

ket battleground states where a few thousand votes could mean the di erence between victory or defeat. Add to that the challenge of reaching millennials, as well as even younger voters, who formed an important part of his 2020 coalition, in a far more fractured media ecosystem that skews toward streaming services over conventional broadcast and cable.

Biden’s organizational and outreach e ort began in earnest this month, with the campaign

using his State of the Union address as a launching pad to open 100 new eld o ces nationwide and boosting the number of paid sta in battleground states to 350 people. It’s also currently in the middle of a $30 million television and digital advertising campaign targeting speci c communities such as black, Hispanic and Asian voters.

In one example of the incumbent president’s organizational advantage, his reelection campaign in February had 480 sta -

ers on the ground, compared with 311 to that of Trump and the Republican National Committee, according to Biden campaign o cials.

“We’re ramping up campaign headquarters and eld o ces, hiring sta all across the country before Trump and his MAGA Republicans have even opened one single o ce,” Biden boasted Friday in New York during a meeting of his national nance committee, which included 200 of his largest donors and fundraisers from in and around the city.

A massive ground game disadvantage didn’t prevent Trump from winning the presidency in 2016, a fact Democrats keenly remember.

“It’s one of the stubborn challenges of Trump,” said Robby Mook, campaign manager for Hillary Clinton’s 2016 presidential bid. “Trump is Trump’s best organizer, and Trump can motivate people from the podium.”

But, Mook added, the Biden campaign is doing what it needs to do, pointing to the State of the Union as a powerful example of how to e ectively mobilize the base and harness the anti-Trump energy that will inevitably motivate many Democrats this year. “The most magical and the scariest part of politics is, you never know until Election Day,”

UNLV releases video of December campus shooter

A former ECU professor killed three before being shot by campus police

By Ken Ritter The Associated Press

LAS VEGAS — Images of a campus police o cer diving behind a patrol vehicle to escape gun re and then fatally shooting a gunman outside a building at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, are among footage in newly released video of a deadly rampage that left three professors dead and a fourth badly wounded last December.

The deadly shootout captured by campus surveillance cameras ended what authorities say was 10 minutes of terror unleashed by a 67-year-old former East Carolina University business professor whose applications to teach at UNLV had been rejected.

The gunman, Anthony Polito, was armed with a legally purchased 9 mm handgun, carried nine bullet magazines, and had a target list of names, although none of the people shot was on that list, police said.

The university on Thursday released 20 hours of footage from campus security and o cer body cameras, along with more than an hour of recordings of 911 calls made to campus police.

Sounds of the gun re that killed three people in the upper oors of the ve-story business school sent people eeing from the nearby Student Union just before noon on a sunny day. Video shows a campus police o cer, running across the plaza toward the business school building, arrived within 78 seconds of the shooting. “It is di cult to listen to these recordings and watch the videos and not re ect on the tragic events that day,” university Vice President of Public Safety Adam Garcia said in a statement accompanying the release of the material in response to public records requests.

Two gunshots are heard early in more than an hour of 911 recordings that include one father calling to say he got a text from his daughter who was hiding in a classroom. “Is there an active shooter there?” he asks. “Yes,” the male dispatcher replies, adding that police are at the scene. “So just tell your daughter to stay where she’s at.” New video shows campus se-

Mook said. “And so I wouldn’t want to leave anything on the table if I were them, and the great part about having a resource advantage is, you get to have all these di erent things.”

Even Biden’s bricks-and-mortar campaign is likely to be far more costly this year.

Unlike 2020, when many Americans were hunkered down due to the pandemic, Biden will need to travel more while also building a political infrastructure that will be far more expensive than the socially distanced, virtual campaign he waged from his basement the last time around.

His reelection campaign will also have expenses that Trump won’t have to confront, such as reimbursing the federal government for use of Air Force One. So far, it has reimbursed $4.5 million for use of the ocial presidential aircraft for political activity, according to the campaign.

Trump campaign o cials concede that Biden and the Democrats will likely have more cash to spend, though they argue that Trump will still be able to run an e ective campaign given his ability to attract media coverage.

“Our digital online fundraising continues to skyrocket, our major donor investments are climbing, and Democrats are running scared of the fundraising prowess of President Trump,” said Steven Cheung, communications director for the Trump campaign.

curity o cers immediately entering the business school building as Las Vegas police swarm the area near the center-campus Student Union while young people stream the other way.

Video footage from a parking lot shows the gunman get out of a black sedan wearing a black trench coat and retrieve something from a passenger compartment before walking calmly toward the business school building.

A di erent video shows ocers helping a badly wounded professor who walked out of the same building before collapsing on a sidewalk behind a patrol car.

UNLV President Keith Whiteld told the university community this month the man, a visiting professor, was “improving daily ... doing rehab and out of the hospital.” He has not been identi ed by name.

Las Vegas police began releasing video and audio recordings in December showing ocers from throughout southern Nevada spending hours going door to door in campus buildings, releasing students and faculty members in waves, before declaring the gunman had acted alone and there was no further threat.

The shooting occurred just a few miles from the site of the deadliest mass shooting in modern U.S. history: An Oct. 1, 2017, massacre that had a gunman open re from windows of the high-rise Mandalay Bay resort into a crowd of 20,000 people at an outdoor music festival below. Sixty people died and hundreds were wounded or injured.

ALEX BRANDON / AP PHOTO

President Joe Biden, center, and former presidents Barack Obama and Bill Clinton participate in a fundraising event with Stephen Colbert at Radio City Music Hall last Thursday in New York.

UNIVERSITY OF NEVADA, LAS VEGAS VIA AP

This image from a campus surveillance video released by UNLV, shows gunman Anthony Polito, top right, moments before being fatally shot by a campus police o cer on Dec. 6, 2023.

pen & paper pursuits

this week in history Reagan attacked, Three Mile Island has partial meltdown

The Associated Press

‘THIS WEEK’ looks back at the key events from this week in history

MARCH 28

1797: Nathaniel Briggs of New Hampshire received a patent for a washing machine.

1898: The U.S. Supreme Court, in United States v. Wong Kim Ark, ruled 6-2 that Wong, who was born in the United States to Chinese immigrants, was an American citizen.

1979: America’s worst commercial nuclear accident occurred with a partial meltdown inside the Unit 2 reactor at the Three Mile Island plant near Middletown, Pennsylvania.

MARCH 29

1867: Britain’s Parliament passed, and Queen Victoria signed, the British North America Act creating the Dominion of Canada, which came into being the following July.

1973: The last United States combat troops left South Vietnam, ending America’s direct military involvement in the Vietnam War.

1984: Under cover of early morning darkness, the Baltimore Colts football team left its home city of three decades and moved to Indianapolis.

MARCH 30

1822: Florida became a United States territory.

1867: U.S. Secretary of State

William H. Seward reached agreement with Russia to purchase the territory of Alaska for $7.2 million, a deal ridiculed by critics as “Seward’s Folly.”

1870: The 15th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, which

prohibited denying citizens the right to vote and hold o ce on the basis of race, was declared in e ect by Secretary of State Hamilton Fish.

1981: President Ronald Reagan was shot and seriously injured outside a Washington, D.C., hotel by John W. Hinckley Jr.

MARCH 31

1492: King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella of Spain issued an edict expelling Jews from Spanish soil, except those willing to convert to Christianity.

1814: Paris was occupied by a coalition of Russian, Prussian and Austrian forces; the surrender of the French capital forced the abdication of Emperor Napoleon.

2005: Terri Schiavo, 41, died at a hospice in Pinellas Park, Florida, 13 days after her feeding tube was removed in a wrenching right-to-die court ght.

APRIL 1

1891: The Wrigley Co. was founded in Chicago by William Wrigley, Jr.

1924: Adolf Hitler was sentenced to ve years in prison for his role in the Beer Hall Putsch in Munich. (Hitler was released in December 1924; during his time behind bars, he wrote his autobiographical screed, “Mein Kampf.”)

1976: Apple Computer was founded by Steve Jobs, Steve Wozniak and Ronald Wayne.

APRIL 2

1792: Congress passed the Coinage Act, which authorized establishment of the U.S. Mint.

1917: President Woodrow Wilson asked Congress to declare war against Germany, saying, “The world must be made safe for democracy.” (Congress declared war four days later.)

1982: Several thousand troops from Argentina seized the disputed Falkland Islands, located in the south Atlantic, from Britain. (Britain seized the islands back the following June.)

APRIL 3

1882: Outlaw Jesse James was shot to death in St. Joseph, Missouri, by Robert Ford, a member of James’ gang.

1944: The U.S. Supreme Court, in Smith v. Allwright, struck down a Democratic Party of Texas rule that allowed only white voters to participate in Democratic primaries.

1948: President Harry S. Truman signed the Marshall Plan, designed to help European allies rebuild after World War II and resist communism.

An unidenti ed secret agent, automatic weapon drawn, yells orders after shots were red at President Ronald Reagan March 30, 1981, outside a Washington, D.C., hotel.

AP PHOTOS

Left, the American ag is furled at a ceremony marking o cial deactivation of the Military Assistance Command-Vietnam (MACV) in Saigon, after more than 11 years in South Vietnam on March 29, 1973. Right, the Metropolitan Edison nuclear power plant on Three Mile Island near Harrisburg, Pa., after the plant was shut down following an accident. Some radiation escaped into the atmosphere Wednesday, March 28, 1979.

City of Ruins’ completes a masterful Don Winslow trilogy

The book follows Winslow’s “City on Fire” and “City of Dreams”

By Bruce Desilva The Associated Press

YEARS AGO, when novelist Don Winslow rst read Aeschylus, he recognized that the Greek father of literary tragedies had explored every major theme found in modern crime ction, from murder, vengeance, and corruption to power, justice and redemption. He became obsessed, he said recently, with the idea of retelling the ancient stories in a modern-crime ction trilogy.

For the last 30 years, while churning out a succession of books that include some of the best crime novels ever written, he worked on the ambitious project in ts and starts, sometimes despairing but never giving up.

“City of Ruins” marks the conclusion of his saga of Rhode Island mobster turned Las Vegas gambling tycoon Danny Ryan. If Winslow is to be believed, it is also the last novel he will ever write as he turns his considerable talents to political activism.

The trilogy opened with “City on Fire” (2021) as Ryan and a handful of allies ed Providence, Rhode Island, after losing a gang war to the Italian Ma a. It continued with “City of Dreams” (2023) as Ryan tried, and failed, to build a new life in Los Angeles.

As “City in Ruins” opens, we nd an older Ryan operating as a silent partner in two Las Vegas casinos. A man who was once a dock worker and underworld strong arm in Providence is now rich beyond his dreams, but he still wants more.

Why, he wonders. Is it greed? No. Not that.

“Be honest with yourself,” he says. “You want more money because money is power and power is safety. And you can never be safe enough. Not in this world.”

After all, the Italian mob and the FBI are still out there, hell bent on revenge and/or justice for the crimes he’s committed. For the people he has killed.

So Danny overreaches.

He schemes to purchase a prime piece of real estate on the Las Vegas strip to build a fabulous gambling resort, putting him in con ict with the city’s power brokers including a rival casino owner who has mob connections of his own.

Soon, the old enemies also are circling. Danny does what he can to prevent the power struggle from turning violent,

but through a series of miscalculations, bullets start ying, endangering not only his gambling empire but his life and the lives of those he loves.

While “City in Ruins” can be read as a standalone, readers would be best served by reading the trilogy from the beginning. With his compelling characters, his vivid prose, and his exploration of universal themes, Winslow has produced a masterpiece of modern crime ction.

Don Winslow’s books “The Death and The Life Of Bobby Z” and “Savages” were released as lms and “The Force” is being produced by Ridley Scott for Fox.

In addition to his novels, Winslow has published numerous short stories in anthologies and magazines such as Esquire, the L.A. Times Magazine and Playboy. His columns have appeared in the Vanity Fair, Vulture, Hu ngton Post, CNN Online, and other outlets.

Winslow is the recipient of the Raymond Chandler Award (Italy), the LA Times Book Prize, the Ian Fleming Silver Dagger (UK) and The RBA Literary Prize (Spain).

Bruce DeSilva, winner of the Mystery Writers of America’s Edgar Award, is the author of the Mulligan crime novels including “The Dread Line.”

Top Paid Books

1. “The #1 Lawyer”

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9. “Worth Dying For” by Lee Child

10. “James”

famous birthdays this week

Shelby native, guitarist Josh McSwain of Parmalee turns 49

Bob Crawford of the Avett Brothers turns 53 this week The Associated Press

March 31: Musician Herb Alpert is 89. Actor Christopher Walken is 81. Bassist Bob Crawford of The Avett Brothers is 53. Actor Ewan McGregor is 53.

April 1: Director Barry Sonnenfeld (“Get Shorty,” “Men in Black”) is 71. Singer Susan Boyle is 63. Rapper-actor Method Man is 53.

April 2: Singer Emmylou Harris is 77. Country singer Billy Dean is 62. Actor Pedro Pascal (“The Mandalorian”) is 49. Actor Michael Fassbender (“Shame,” ″Inglourious Basterds”) is 47.

April 3: Singer Wayne Newton is 82. Singer Tony Orlando is 80. Guitarist Mick Mars of Motley Crue is 68. Actor David Hyde Pierce (“Frasier”) is 65.

Comedian-actor Eddie Murphy is 63. Actor Jennie Garth (“Beverly Hills 90210″) is 52. Actor Adam Scott (“Severance,” “Parks and Recreation”) is 51.

April 4: Actor Craig T. Nelson is 80. Actor Christine Lahti (“Chicago Hope”) is 74. Singer

Steve Gatlin of the Gatlin Brothers is 73. Actor Hugo Weaving (“The Matrix,” ″Lord of the Rings”) is 64. Actor Robert Downey Junior is 59. Guitarist Josh McSwain of Parmalee is 49.

April 5: Actor Krista Allen (“Baywatch,” ″What About Brian”) is 53. Country singer Pat Green is 52. Rapperproducer Pharrell Williams is 51.

April 6: Actor Billy Dee Williams is 87. Actor Michael Rooker (“Guardians of the Galaxy”) is 69. Actor Paul Rudd is 55. Actor Jason Hervey (“The Wonder Years”) is 52. Actor Zach Bra (“Scrubs”) is 49. Actor Candace Cameron Bure (“Full House”) is 48.

the stream

‘The Zone of Interest’ hits small screens, Sheila E. goes salsa

Colin Farrell plays a private investigator in the new series “Sugar”

The Associated Press

THIS WEEK’S new streaming entertainment releases include albums from hip-hop hitmaker Bryson Tiller and percussion master Sheila E., Andrew Scott plays a killer in Net ix’s “Ripley” and Jonathan Glazer’s best-picture nominee “The Zone of Interest” arrives on Max. “Lopez vs. Lopez,” a comedy starring George Lopez and his daughter Mayan Lopez, returns for season two on NBC. Colin Farrell plays a private investigator in the new series “Sugar” for Apple TV+, while golf and auto racing combine in the new video game Turbo Golf Racing.

MOVIES TO STREAM

Jonathan Glazer’s best-picture nominee “The Zone of Interest” arrives on Max on Friday, April 5. The lm, haunting and formalist, depicts the daily life of Rudolf Höss (Christian Friedel),and his wife, Hedwig (Sandra Hüller) while living in their home next door to Auschwitz. Since its premiere at last year’s Cannes Film Festival, “The Zone of Interest” has been hailed as harrowing drama about human capacity for compartmentalizing atrocity. In her review, AP’s Jocelyn Noveck wrote that “the horror assaults our senses in other, deeper ways.”

At the Oscars, where “The Zone of Interest” won best international lm, Glazer spoke out against Israel’s war in Gaza, sparking a backlash from some in Hollywood. A non- ction highlight of the year, Jesse Moss and Amanda McBaine’s “Girls State” premieres Friday, April 5, on Apple TV+. The lm is a companion piece to their prize-winning 2020 documentary “Boys State.” Like that lm, “Girls State” follows a handful of teenagers over a week in a mock-government program.

Disney Animation’s “Wish” lands on Disney+ on Wednesday. Released last fall in theaters, “Wish” — an origin story for the wishing star, stu ed with nods to past Disney classics — seemed like quintessential Mouse House

magic but zzled with critics and audiences.AP Film Writer Lindsey Bahr called it “more concept than story, a strained and forgettable attempt to pay homage to the studio’s 100 years.” The voice cast includes Ariana DeBose and Chris Pine.

MUSIC TO STREAM

Sheila E., the Prince-mentored Queen of Percussion, will release her rst-ever salsa album, titled

“Bailar,” on Friday, April 5. “Bailar” is a celebration of the genre — and a new chapter in Sheila E.’s rich musical history, beginning with a reimagination of “Bemba Colorá,” originally performed by Celia Cruz, now featuring Gloria Estefan and Mimy Succar and, of course, a drum solo. Ruben Blades, Gilberto Santa Rosa, and Luis Enrique are also featured on the album. He’s a lonely dancer, so dance with him so he doesn’t cry! Gen

Z musician Conan Gray’s third studio album, “Found Heaven,” deepens his penchant for synth-pop. Max Martin is a producer (known for his work with Katy Perry, Taylor Swift, Ariana Grande, Britney Spears, The Backstreet Boys, and others). And the lead single, the ’80s revisionist “Lonely Dancers,” is an earworm for the ages. “Your lover left, broke up tonight/My lover’s busy, kissing other guys/We’re both alone now, tears in our eyes,” he sings. “We’re lonely dancers, there’s no need to hide/We’re lonely dancers, baby/Dance with me so we don’t cry.” If it is ascendent depressive tunes with a musical theater sensibility you’re after, well, you’ve found it!

The Grammy nominated R&B and hip-hop hitmaker Bryson Tiller ’s eponymous fourth studio album is a bit of a mystery. His last album, “Anniversary,” was released four years ago, and little is known about his new era. A week before it drops, only one song has been released, “Whatever She Wants” — which Tiller has said doesn’t sound like anything on the album — and the only confirmed feature is Grammy best new artist winner Victoria Monét. Both are reason enough to get excited.

SHOWS TO STREAM

“Lopez vs. Lopez,” a comedy starring George Lopez and his daughter Mayan Lopez, returns for season two on Tuesday on NBC. The show is based on the ups-and-downs in George and Mayan’s real-life relationship. Guest stars include Gabriel “Flu y” Iglesias and Jaime Camil. Episodes also stream on Peacock. As the CW looks to establish a new identity as a major network, one of the four originals renewed for this TV season premieres the rst week of April. Jared Padalecki’s “Walker,” debuts season four on Wednesday. “Walker” streams on Max. “Ted Lasso” may be dunzo (although it’s good to have a dream) but there are still a number of feel-good shows on Apple TV+ worth checking out. “Loot,” starring Maya Rudolph, falls under that category. Debuting its second season Wednesday, Rudolph plays Molly, the ex-wife of a billionaire (Adam Scott) who decides to donate a majority of her money to good causes. The show also stars Michaela Jaé Rodriguez, Joel Kim Booster, Ron Funches and Nat Faxon.

We’ve seen him as a so-called hot priest, but if you watched Andrew Scott as Moriarty on “Sherlock,” you know he’s also great at playing bad. This time, Scott steps into the role of Tim Ripley, the fraudster-turned-killer created by author Patricia Highsmith, for a limited-series. “Ripley” premieres Thursday on Net ix.

Colin Farrell plays a private investigator in the new series “Sugar” for Apple TV+, where the central mystery is to locate the missing granddaughter of a big time Hollywood producer. Reviews are already screaming about a plot twist so proceed with caution online if you don’t want spoilers. “Sugar” debuts Friday, April 5.

VIDEO GAMES TO PLAY

Don’t love golf or auto racing games? How about combining the two in a video game? Now you’re talking! In Turbo Golf Racing, your job is to guide a ball across a hazard- lled course, keeping it in bounds and eventually knocking it into a hole. But the ball is enormous, you’re striking it with a car rather than a club, and other vehicles are battling you on the fairway at the same time. Oh, and sometimes the hazards explode. The U.K.’s Hugecalf Studios hopes the result is the kind of multiplayer mayhem that made Rocket League (soccer plus demolition derby) a hit. Tee time is Thursday on

APPLE TV+/APPLE TV+/NBC

Dakota Fanning, from left, Johnny Flynn and Andrew Scott are pictured in a scene from “Ripley.”

NETFLIX

Andrew Scott as Tom Ripley in a scene from “Ripley.”

NETFLIX/DISNEY

Promotional art for the new series “Ripley,” left, and the animated lm “Wish.”

True meaning of Easter

Hannah Hendrix, Anna Bryant and Sarah Bryant carry a cross down Main Street in Raeford on Good Friday. Raeford Ministerial Association held the “Carry Your Cross” event on Main Street and Harris Avenue, down to the library stage where scripture, songs and prayer were held. Some 60 people were in attendance at the sun-soaked gathering.

WHAT’S HAPPENING HOKE COUNTY

Primary election results certi ed

The March 5 election results are o cial, with a handful of key incumbents losing and a few U.S. House and statewide nominee races heading to runo s.

The State Board of Elections voted unanimously last week to certify counts for scores of ballot items from across the state, from nominations for president and governor to the legislature and judgeships.

The primaries also marked the rst statewide election under new voter identi cation and absentee ballot deadline law. About 1.8 million primary votes were counted.

Around 1,200 voters cast provisional ballots, with 700 ultimately counting. The vast majority of the 477 remaining uncounted ballots were set aside because voters failed to return to their county board with ID.

Boom Supersonic makes test ight

A startup plane maker with North Carolina ties has taken its rst steps towards the skies.

Boom Supersonic is developing the rst commercial jet that can y faster than sound since the Concorde last ew in 2003.

The company’s X-B1 prototype took its rst ight last week over the Mojave Desert, a major step in the development of its Overture jet that will be built at a new “superfactory” at PTI Airport in Greensboro.

That facility could employ more than 1,700 workers by 2030, further burnishing North Carolina’s aviation legacy.

Two new subdivisions also saw sign-o s

By Ryan Henkel North State Journal

THE HOKE COUNTY Board of Commissioners met Monday and started by addressing a series of rezoning and waiver requests on several di erent property developments.

The rst hearing was a continuation from last month for a rezoning of 31.2 acres of property on Lally Circle from RA20 to Industrial for new storage buildings at a gravel company.

Commissioners approve rezoning on Lally Circle Growing state, shrinking farmland

The board approved the request on the condition that the allowable number of lots in phase one will be contingent on what the utility director says that the current water system can support.

The second hearing was for a special use permit for the use of a convenience store on 0.52 acres of property located at 2512 Blue Springs Rd, however the request was denied when the applicant did not show up.

“In the past, when someone didn’t show up, we generally gave them another month,” said commissioner Tony Hunt. “It’s neither here nor there for me, but I’m just saying, that’s generally been our consensus as far as I can remember.” A preliminary plat was approved for a 68-lot major subdi-

The board approved the request after an agreement was reached between the property owner and local neighbors for a 120-foot, industrial-free bu er zone from the southern boundary with 30-foot bu ers on the east and west sides as well.

“Our priority is to make sure that every household that is already in Hoke County has water rst.”

Board Chair James Leach

vision named Upland Trace, on 47 acres at 192 Wedgewood Dr. Finally, the board held a hearing for the nal preliminary plat approval request for an 80-lot phase one of a 411-lot subdivision named Neill Sinclair Road Subdivision located on 383 acres of property located on Neill Sinclair Road.

“Our priority is to make sure that every household that is already in Hoke County has water rst,” said Board Chair James Leach. “So the priority for our water right now, is to make sure that every household in Hoke County has water and plenty of it. The site is good. We’d take the land and all, but we’re talking about maybe $5 million more to build a well and put in the water tank and all that stu . So the land is the least bit we’re worried about.”

The board also approved a change to the electronic health record vendor for the Hoke County Health Department from Patagonia Health to CureMD.

“We’ve been with Patagonia for 10 years since we start-

American Farmland Trust experts talk agriculture

By Ena Sellers North State Journal

CARY — Last week regional and state agricultural leaders gathered for NC Ag Leads: Imagine Agriculture Day at the SAS campus in Cary, to talk about agriculture, challenges and how to move the industry forward.

Cris Co n, National Ag Land Network Director and Senior Policy Advisor and Dr. Courtney Owens, Southeast Regional Director, both with American Farmland Trust were among the speakers who engaged participants in a thought-provoking conversation about the shrinking ag-

ricultural land base in North Carolina.

“We are doing a lot more work in the regenerative agriculture space and keeping farmers on the land because we understand that there is no farmland without farmers,” said Co n. “We really believe that farmers and ranchers want to do right by their land and their businesses and that we just need to be helping to encourage and facilitate and support their work.”

Co n shared that every state in the U.S. is losing farmland.

“We need to do something about it… let’s focus on building that capacity of folks around the country to be able to save land,” said Co n, adding that this was not just about land protection but also about stabilizing the land base.

Owens shared that North Carolina is one of the states that has not passed the Uniform Partition Heirs’ Property Act, which helps farmers or the next generation “save their farmland,” and “prohibits the sale or partition of land.” He explained that the south is the most threatened farmland in the country and North Carolina ranks number two in the group of states that have been identi ed.

“There are 3.9 million acres that could be at loss if nothing is done,” said Owens. “The breakdown goes to a million acres of land that can no longer [be used in] farming practice.”

Owens spoke about three future scenarios they have identi ed through their research: business as usual, runaway sprawl and better built cities.

“The business-as-usual model, is basically poor planning of agriculture and development and low density residential sprawl; The runaway model is the less e cient way of protecting farmland, and it also displaces farms… there’s larger lots of homes being developed in these rural areas, and so the farm that was once thriving and providing for communities, fresh fruits and local food, is no longer there,” he explained adding that the recommended scenario is the better built cities model, which emphasizes “planning for agriculture, planning around pro -

PHOTO COURTESY JODIE JOHNSON

BOARD from page 1

ed on the electronic health records and one of the things that we’ve had a problem with is just the increase in cost every year,” said health director Helene Edwards. “Patagonia is going to cost us $58,000 a year. If we get any new additional users, new sta , new providers that come in that we want to add to the list, that’s $1,200” more per year.

CureMD will instead cost $35,364 a year, but with onetime costs and other fees, the total amount of the contract will be $49,619 and according to Edwards, will be funded through expiring state funds.

In total, the county is expected to save around $23,000 per year, according to Edwards.

The Hoke County Board of Commissioners will next meet April 15.

Hoke County Jail on charges of being a fugitive from justice. Bond was set at $25,000.

March 30

Harley Elizabeth Jacobs, 24, was booked into the Hoke County Jail on charges of possessing methamphetamine. No bond was set.

Amor Rasoul Rogers, 30, was booked into the Hoke County Jail on charges of violating a domestic violence protective order (two counts) and assaulting a female. Bond was denied.

March 31

Johathan Narciso James Morgan, 23, was booked into the Hoke County Jail on a charge of seconddegree trespassing. Bond was set at $2,000.

Kianna Colone Barbour, 43, was booked into the Hoke County Jail on charges of fleeing or eluding arrest with a motor vehicle and was served with three warrants for failure to appear. Bond was set at $42,500.

Summer Lynn Locklear, 30, was booked into the Hoke County Jail on a charge of simple assault. No bond was set.

Vonshai Tray Broughton, 30, was booked into the Hoke County Jail on a charge of fleeing or eluding arrest with a motor vehicle. A secure bond was set at $25,000.

Cheyenne Dwayne Woods, 34, was booked into the Hoke County Jail on charges of possession with intent to manufacture, sell, or deliver methamphetamine. Bond amount is $21,000.

FARMLAND from page 1

ductive agricultural land, not bulldozing that land and taking it out of production.”

Data provided by Owens to North State Journal shows that only 11% of Moore County’s conversion is projected to occur on the county’s best agricultural land according to the business-as-usual scenario. Statewide, 1,197,300 acres of farmland and rangeland will be converted to urban and highly developed and low-density residential land if we continue as we have been.

Co n and Owens emphasized the need for ag leaders to work together to protect the state’s farmland and help the farmers and future generation of farmers, because the choices that are made at the local, state and federal levels will have a tremendous impact on the future of agriculture and the land that sustains us. Visit farmland.org for more.

THE CONVERSATION

Neal Robbins, publisher | Frank Hill, senior opinion editor

Hope for our future this Easter

As my family and I celebrate the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, we nd renewed hope not only for ourselves but also for our nation.

SPRING IS JUST AROUND the corner, but that’s not the only reason to rejoice. For my family, like many of you, this time is especially joyous because it’s Easter.

Every Easter, I re ect on the hope and redemption that Jesus’s resurrection brings, and how even out of darkness, there is new light. Even during this hopeful season, it is di cult to ignore the many challenges you and your family continue to face, including higher energy prices.

Right now, gas prices are up nearly 20 cents a gallon, which means families traveling for the Easter holiday are spending more at the pump. Too many folks are already struggling to make ends meet, and this is the last thing they need.

Unfortunately, since President Biden took o ce, he has continued to implement disastrous America-last energy policies causing these higher costs. From stopping clean natural gas

COLUMN | SUSAN ESTRICH

exports to our allies in Europe — crushing American jobs and creating a windfall for Putin’s war machine — to killing the Keystone XL pipeline to depleting our emergency oil reserves, President Biden has crushed American energy production and hiked up energy prices for you and your family.

This energy crisis is not the only hardship facing our nation. Month after month, the crisis Biden created at our southern border continues to get worse with no end in sight.

This past February, there were 189,922 illegal crossings at our southern border — the highest number ever recorded in February. This brings the total number of illegal border crossings nationwide to over 9 million, in addition to over 1.8 million known “gotaways” who avoided getting caught and are in an unknown location in our country.

It’s clear the Biden Administration’s failed open border policies are to blame for this invasion at our border. Earlier this year, House Republicans passed the

Secure the Border Act (H.R. 2), which will end the Biden Administration’s open border policies like catch-andrelease, beef up Border Patrol agents, and restart construction of the border wall.

Whether it’s rising gas prices or the crisis at our border, things right now can often feel overwhelming. However, my faith keeps me hopeful for the future.

This Easter season, as my family and I celebrate the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, we nd renewed hope not only for ourselves but also for our nation.

As you gather with your loved ones during this special time, I encourage you to seek refuge in your faith and remember that brighter days are ahead. Please also keep in mind our military families — especially those who could not be together this Easter. May God bless you, our military families, and our great nation.

Richard Hudson represents the 9th Congressional District of North Carolina

The Supreme Court, Justice Breyer and abortion

The majority, he argues, wrongly assumed that in overruling Roe, the court would return abortion decisionmaking to the states and the political process, taking judges out of the process.

IT MIGHT JUST BE a coincidence that former Justice Stephen Breyer’s new book had its o cial publication date on the same day the court heard argument on the biggest abortion case since Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, which overruled Roe v. Wade.

In his important new book, “Reading the Constitution: Why I Chose Pragmatism, Not Textualism,” and in published interviews, Breyer takes on the theories of originalism and textualism, which the new justices appointed by Donald Trump have adopted in interpreting the Constitution. Breyer does not question the good faith of these new members of the court. He does not argue that they are simply voting based on the partisan politics of the man who appointed them, a position which, I must admit, I sometimes think is sadly responsible for the extremism of this court. Rather, he gives them their due: that they are in fact guided by two theories of constitutional interpretation that are quite simply wrong.

Originalism means that the Constitution should be interpreted according to the intent and understanding of the white male property owners who wrote it, rather than in light of contemporary values and understanding, and the practical consequences of their decision.

Textualism focuses on the actual words, including punctuation, of the Constitution, in their original context.

The illusion of these theories is that they provide clear answers to hard case, thus limiting the extent to which a judge’s personal politics and values

dictate the answers. It’s an illusion because judges aren’t historians, and even if they were, the world has changed drastically, and in unimaginable ways, in the centuries since the Constitution was drafted. There was no internet in the 18th century, and neither originalism nor textualism can tell you how it should be regulated consistent with the First Amendment.

Breyer dissented in Dobbs, not because he is personally pro-choice, but because he believes in respect for established precedent and a living Constitution that is broad enough to recognize a right to privacy for women. The majority, he argues, wrongly assumed that in overruling Roe, the court would return abortion decisionmaking to the states and the political process, taking judges out of the process. But that is clearly not the case, nor will it be.

“The Dobbs majority’s hope that legislatures and not courts will decide the abortion question will not be realized,” he wrote.

He was more forceful in his interview with the New York Times. “There are too many questions,” he said. “Are they really going to allow women to die on the table because they won’t allow an abortion which would save her life? I mean, really, no one would do that. And they wouldn’t do that. And there’ll be dozens of questions like that.”

One of those questions was before the court on Tuesday, when a majority of the justices expressed skepticism about what was clearly a partisan political e ort to curtail the availability of medicated abortion. The suit was brought by a group of anti-abortion

doctors, in a district in Texas with exactly one judge, an outspoken opponent of abortion, Judge Matthew J. Kacsmaryk, who, as they hoped, invalidated the FDA’s approval of mifepristone. In August, a panel of conservative judges on the 5th circuit ruled that the medication should remain legal but imposed signi cant restrictions on access. The anti-abortion forces were hoping to reinstate the original ban, a position opposed by a 2-1 margin, or more, in public opinion polls. Justices Clarence Thomas and Samuel Alito were sympathetic to a position that, if adopted, would further reduce public trust in the court, as Dobbs did. The court majority -- minus Thomas and Alito -- may be able to avoid another ruling as unpopular as Dobbs by focusing on the narrow ground of whether the plainti doctors have “standing” to challenge the mifepristone rules -- whether they can show that they su er any harm as a result of it -- but no such obvious escape path will be open to them later next month when they face the unprecedented argument that Donald Trump should enjoy absolute immunity from criminal prosecution. Will partisan politics win out? Will the court purport to play historians in search of an answer? Trust in the court is at an all-time low. The rule of law demands as a precondition that even those who disagree with a particular result accept its force. That principle will be at stake. Breyer’s pragmatic approach yields only one answer. It will be up to the three Trump appointees, and the chief justice, to decide. Hopefully, they will read Breyer’s book before they do.

COLUMN | RICHARD HUDSON

HOKE SPORTS

Baseball earns rst wins of year

Softball and soccer had winning weeks

North State Journal Sta

HERE’S A LOOK at the week that was in Hoke County sports, including the rst two wins of the year for the baseball team.

Softball

The Hoke County girls’ softball team had a 2-1 week to improve to 8-5 on the season, 2-4 in the Sandhills Conference. The Bucs opened the week with an 11-2 win over Jack Britt. Kalea Parker and McKenzie Freeman each drove in three runs in the game.

In the next game, Hoke fell at St. Pauls, 4-3. Parker and Chica Amador each drove in runs in the loss, while Chayna Locklear had two hits.

Hoke nished the week with a 10-9 win over North Brunswick. Parker drove in three runs and Locklear two.

Hoke will nish o the Robeson Slugfest this week then play

at Fairmont before taking a week o .

Baseball

The Hoke County baseball team got its rst two wins of the season last week. After losing 10 straight to start the year, the Bucks broke into the win column, 2-0 over Jack Britt. Owen Autry went seven shutout innings to earn the win, while Eric (EJ) Carter drove in a run.

Once the ice was broken, it didn’t take long for the second win to arrive. After losing a homeand-home to Southern Lee, 10-0 and 14-0, Hoke beat Fairmont, 8-1. Carter drove in two more runs and Autry went 6.2 innings with 12 strikeouts for the win.

The Bucks closed out a 2-3 week with a 6-3 loss to North Brunswick, but Hoke has now matched or exceeded its win total for each of the last four seasons.

The Bucks enter the week at 2-13 and are still looking for their rst Sandhills win at 0-8. Hoke has a game against Heide Trask remaining this week and will be back in conference play next Tuesday.

Girls’ soccer

In their lone game this past week, the Bucks beat Red Springs, 5-1. Sophomore Jaelyn Gimenez had three goals for Hoke County, while freshman Evalynn Groemm and senior Mimi Mathews each added one. Mathews also had an assist, as did junior Jasira McLean, senior Desi McDonough and senior Sachi Mathews.

The win snapped a threegame losing streak and improved Hoke to 3-6-2, 1-2 in the Sandhills. It also allowed the Bucks to enter a prolonged break on a positive note.

Hoke is in the midst of a 17-day stretch with no games. The Bucks will take the field again on April 11, against Pinecrest.

Also on the schedule

Like most of the other athletic teams at Hoke County, boys’ golf, boys’ tennis and boys’ and girls’ track and field are off for the week as Bucks students enjoy spring break.

Hoke County, softball

Kalea Parker is a junior for the Hoke County softball team. She also plays tennis for the Bucks. Parker leads the Bucks in RBIs and doubles, and is in the top three in slugging, steals and hits. In three games last week, Parker went 4-for-13, scoring two runs. She had RBIs in each of the three games, totaling seven, and also doubled in each game. Parker added a pair of stolen bases.

Hijab-wearing players in women’s NCAA Tournament hope to inspire others

NC State’s Jannah Eissa has raised awareness by wearing the symbolic headdress

By Doug Feinberg

The Associated Press

NC STATE’S Jannah Eissa and UC Irvine’s Diaba Konate are bringing visibility and inspiration to some Muslim women by wearing hjiabs while they play basketball.

They aren’t the rst women to do it in NCAA Tournament play, but with record viewership and attendance they are cer-

tainly getting noticed. “Representation really matters,” said Konate. “Just having people, young Muslim women wearing the hijab, we’re not there yet. Just seeing us play, I think it makes me really happy because I used to have people that I was looking up to. Now having people that look up to me makes me happy.”

Konate admires Bilqis Abdul-Qaadir, who made NCAA history by being the rst to wear a hijab in college basketball when she played for Memphis a decade ago. Abdul-Qaadir was instrumental in getting FIBA, the International Basketball Federation, to overturn its own

ban on headgear in 2017.

Former UConn player Batouly Camara, who was one of the rst to wear a hijab in Spain’s LF1 league, has enjoyed seeing Eissa and Konate represent their religion.

“It’s truly inspiring to witness these two Muslim athletes competing at the highest level. This tournament serves as a signicant moment, shining a spotlight on the best teams simultaneously with their faith,” said Camara. “It sends a powerful message to girls worldwide, a rming that they belong on the sports eld, regardless of economic class, race, culture and more.”

Konate moved to the U.S.

from France after receiving a scholarship from Idaho State. She transferred to UC Irvine as a junior.

She’d like a chance to play in a hijab at home in France, where she won two medals playing on their youth teams. But currently, the French Federation of Basketball prohibits the wearing of “any equipment with a religious or political connotation.”

Eissa and Konate have never met but are aware of each other.

Eissa, who turned 18 in February, was a walk-on at NC State. She joined the team after trying out in September. She didn’t play much this season — appearing in 11 games and hit-

ting one 3-pointer. Earlier this season, a group of young Muslim girls came to her game. They also showed up a few more times to support her.

“I’d love to say I was a role model to them. Never thought I could be a role model for someone I didn’t know,” said Eissa, who grew up in Cairo before coming to NC State. “Never knew one person could make such an impact. They were so young girls and girls my age looking up to me and I was so happy.”

Eissa chose NC State because her father got his PhD there and her two older sisters attend the university.

She said when having a bad day or an o day, she’d remember her young fans and it would bring a smile.

“If they see someone giving them hope, I’m happy that I’m the person to give it to them,” Eissa said. “I want to make it as far as I can for the image of women in hijabs.”

PHOTO COURTESY HCHS BUCKS SOFTBALL TWITTER/X ACCOUNT

The Hoke County softball team poses for a team photo after a recent game.

SIDELINE REPORT

MINOR LEAGUE BASEBALL

Top prospect

Holliday rips Bulls

Norfolk, Va.

Jackson Holliday is the top prospect in baseball, but the Orioles sent him to the minors to start the season in a move many suspect was nancially motivated. Holliday responded by homering leading o the rst inning of the season. He had three hits and four RBIs, helping Baltimore’s Norfolk Tides beat Tampa Bay’s Durham Bulls in the International League. A son of seven-time All-Star Matt Holliday, Jackson was the top pick in the 2022 amateur draft. The 20-yearold second baseman hit .323 with 12 homers, 75 RBIs and 24 stolen bases at four minor league levels last year.

NFL Jets trade for pass rusher Reddick

New York

The New York Jets have acquired two-time Pro Bowl edge rusher Haason Reddick from the Philadelphia Eagles for a conditional thirdround pick in 2026. The pick reportedly becomes a second-rounder if Reddick plays 67.5% of defensive snaps and gets 10 sacks in 2024. Reddick, a rstround pick by Arizona in 2017, has recorded doubledigit sacks in four straight seasons, including the past two years with the Eagles and in 2021, his one season with the Carolina Panthers. He’s entering the nal year of a $45 million, threeyear contract and was given permission by the Eagles to seek a trade this o season.

WOMEN’S BASKETBALL

LSU’s Mulkey doesn’t plan to read article on her Albany, NY

LSU coach Kim Mulkey says she probably won’t read The Washington Post pro le over which she has threatened to le a defamation lawsuit, but she did question the timing of its release. In the article, Mulkey’s estranged family members and former players are quoted about her personality and how she runs her programs. It was published about an hour before LSU played UCLA in the Sweet 16. Mulkey defended her players against portrayals in the media, referring to a Los Angeles Times column that called her players “villains” and “dirty debutantes.” She said, “How dare people attack kids like that?”

NFL

Despite having Jones, Giants evaluating quarterbacks

New York

The New York Giants’ belief in Daniel Jones won’t preclude them from considering drafting a quarterback. They could take one with the sixth pick in the NFL draft, where J.J. McCarthy could be available.

Bo Nix and Michael Penix Jr. are considered the next tier and the Giants could slide back and have either. Coach Brian Daboll is studying them all and said he loves evaluating quarterbacks.

Owner John Mara said that he supports Jones, who signed a $160 million, fouryear extension last year, but he would be willing to use New York’s rst pick on a quarterback.

Late caution gives Hamlin a second chance at Richmond Raceway

The No. 11 driver held o Joey Logano and Martin Truex Jr. for his second win of year

By Hank Kurz Jr. The Associated Press

RICHMOND, Va. — Denny Hamlin won the race o pit road with Joe Gibbs Racing teammate Martin Truex Jr. after a caution with two laps to go and won in overtime at Richmond Raceway on Sunday night. Truex dominated the second half of the NASCAR Cup Series race — he led 288 laps — and seemed poised to hold o challenges by Joey Logano and Hamlin for the nal two laps when Kyle Larson got nudged from behind on the front straightaway and skidded into the in eld, causing the caution.

“I needed that kind of situation at the end to happen to win it,” Hamlin said.

Larson had been fading from contention before the spin.

“I was a little bit loose and then I got a shot there,” Larson said of the bump from Bubba Wallace that almost certainly cost Truex his fourth victory at Richmond.

On the restart, Hamlin got a good jump from the inside lane, withstood a challenge from the outside from Truex and held o Truex and two other challengers for the surprise victory.

“This is a team win for sure,” Hamlin said after climbing from his car. “The trophy needs to go to each one of these pit crew members. They just did amazing job. They’ve been killing it all year.”

Hamlin’s victory was his second this season, the fth of his

career at what he considers his home track, and the 53rd of his career, but it left Truex unhappy with several drivers involved.

“We got beat out of the pits and he jumped the restart,” Truex said of Hamlin. “Had a car capable of winning. So just have to come back next week trying to get him again.”

NASCAR said they reviewed the restart and it was within the rules.

After the race, a frustrated Truex door-slammed Larson as they coasted into the rst turn, then bumped Hamlin from behind three times.

“I think he just gets more mad at Denny, but I was the closest one to take his anger out on,” Larson said. “It’s all good. I hope he doesn’t have any hard feelings for me, because I denitely don’t towards him.”

The victory pulled the four

Steelers’ Mike Tomlin says Russell Wilson has ‘pole position’ for starting QB job

Pittsburgh signed the former Wolfpack quarterback in o season

By Rob Maaddi The Associated Press

ORLANDO, Fla. — Russell Wilson’s resume and experience give him the edge over Justin Fields. Steelers coach Mike Tomlin said Wilson is considered Pittsburgh’s starting quarterback but Fields will get a chance to compete. “We’re not resistant to competition, but as I’ve mentioned several times of late, I just think it’s appropriate to establish positioning. ... and the term that I’ve used is Russell has pole position,” Tomlin said. “And why do I use that term? Because during this time where we are not formally working, I just think it’s bene cial. His experience in the National Football League, his process has been honed and perfected. “Talking about over a 12-month calendar, it’s not only good for him, it’s good for teams, it’s good for receivers, tight ends, running backs, etc.

All the things that people really committed to winning do this time of the year, Russell has those resources, that structure.

And so that’s why I say he has pole position. It just creates a synergy that I think is good for

this time of year. When it’s time to compete and we get in training camp-like settings and we’re going to stadiums and so forth, obviously Justin be given an opportunity to show people.”

The Steelers revamped their quarterback room earlier this month, signing Wilson to the

$1.21 million veteran’s minimum after the nine-time Pro Bowl quarterback was released by Denver. The 35-year-old Wilson was 11-19 in two seasons with the Broncos after being acquired in a trade from Seattle. He bounced back from a dread-

Gibbs Toyota teams even with the four Chevrolet teams from Hendrick Motorsports with three victories each through seven races.

Larson, who won this race last year, barely beat Truex o pit road during green ag stops with 65 laps to go, but Truex quickly caught him and pulled away as he had many times earlier.

Logano, who started the race 22nd in points with just one top 10 nish, worked his way into the lead pack in the second half, tried to run down Hamlin in the two-lap dash to the nish and was second, followed by Larson and Truex. It matched Ford’s best nish this season.

A spin by Daniel Suarez on lap 64 brought out another caution, and NASCAR decided to nish the 70-lap rst stage under caution, making Larson the stage winner.

ful 2022 season and threw for 3,070 yards, 26 touchdowns and only eight interceptions, but still lost his job to Jarrett Stidham after going 7-8 in coach Sean Payton’s rst season last year.

Wilson led Seattle to eight playo appearances and a Super Bowl title in 10 seasons with the Seahawks.

“When the free agency process began, we only had one quarterback on our roster and so we were looking at every available person on the market,” Tomlin said. “It was just part of our process. Obviously when we got into it, and after (Wilson) got permission to talk. ... the conversations were very uid and natural. He did his appropriate research on us, and I think that’s probably one of the more impressive things about the process from my perspective. His level of preparedness in terms of knowing us and who we are and how he might potentially t just really put us at ease over the process.” Fields was 10-28 on lousy teams in Chicago but showed ashes of being a special player. He completed 60.3% of his passes and threw for 40 touchdown with 30 interceptions. Plus, he ran for 2,220 yards and 14 scores.

“He oozes talent and potential,” Tomlin said. “He’s worn the responsibility of being a franchise quarterback, but still he gets an opportunity to come into a community-like situation and learn from a guy that’s been doing it for over a decade. Man, there’s a lot of meat left on that bone and I’m just excited.”

MIKE CAUDILL / AP PHOTO

Denny Hamlin celebrates after winning Sunday’s NASCAR Cup Series race at Richmond Raceway.

Murdaugh gets 40 years for stealing from clients, law rm

The South Carolina lawyer is already serving life in prison for killing his wife and son

By Jeffrey Collins The Associated Press

CHARLESTON, S.C. — For maybe the last time, Alex Murdaugh, in a prison jumpsuit instead of the suit he used to wear, shuffled into a courtroom Monday in South Carolina and was sentenced to 40 years in federal prison.

Murdaugh was punished — this time in federal court — for stealing from clients and his law firm. The 55-year-old disbarred attorney is already serving a life sentence without parole in a state prison for killing his wife and son.

Federal agents had recommended a sentence from 17½ to just under 22 years.

Murdaugh also pleaded guilty in state court to financial crimes and was ordered to spend 27 years in prison. The federal sentence will run at the same time as his state prison term and he likely will have to serve all 40 years if his murder convictions are overturned on appeal.

U.S. District Judge Richard Gergel said he sentenced Murdaugh to a harsher punishment than suggested because he stole from “the most needy, vulnerable people,” including a client who became a quadriplegic after a crash, a state trooper who was injured on the job, and a trust fund intended for children whose parents were killed in a wreck.

Murdaugh stole from people who “placed all their problems

and all their hopes” on him, Gergel said.

The 22 federal counts are the final charges outstanding for Murdaugh, who three years ago was an established lawyer negotiating multimillion-dollar settlements in tiny Hampton County, where members of his family served as elected prosecutors and ran the area’s premier law firm for nearly a century.

Murdaugh will also have to pay nearly $9 million in restitution.

“There is a staggering hu-

man toll to every cent,” said attorney Justin Bamberg, who represented several of Murdaugh’s victims.

Prosecutors asked the judge to give Murdaugh a harsher sentence because FBI agents think he is not telling the whole truth about what happened to $6 million he stole and whether a so-far unnamed attorney helped his criminal schemes.

Murdaugh’s largest scheme involved the sons of his longtime housekeeper Gloria Satterfield. She died in a fall at

the family home. Murdaugh promised to take care of Satterfield’s family, then worked with a lawyer friend who pleaded guilty to a scheme to steal $4 million in a wrongful death settlement with the family’s insurer.

In all, Murdaugh took settlement money from or inflated fees or expenses for more than two dozen clients. Prosecutors said the FBI found 11 more victims than the state investigation found and that Murdaugh stole nearly $1.3 million from them.

Murdaugh again apologized to his victims at his sentencing Monday, saying he felt “guilt, sorrow, shame, embarrassment, humiliation.” He offered to meet with victims so they can say what they want to say and “more closely inspect my sincerity.”

“There’s not enough time and I don’t possess a sufficient vocabulary to adequately portray to you in words the magnitude of how I feel about the things I did,” Murdaugh said.

Murdaugh blamed nearly two decades of addiction to opioids and said he was proud he has been clean for 937 days.

Gergel scoffed at this explanation.

“No truly impaired person could pull off these complex transactions,” the judge said of the maze of fake accounts, juggled checks and money movements that hid the thefts for nearly 20 years.

Prosecutor Emily Limehouse said Murdaugh’s claims don’t make sense because he told the FBI he was taking the same amount of pills as he did when his addiction started in 2008, but the amount of money he stole increased rapidly in the years before his arrest.

“He was adamant all of the money was spent on drugs. It doesn’t add up,” Limehouse said.

Murdaugh was convicted a year ago of killing his younger son Paul with a shotgun and his wife, Maggie, with a rifle. While he has pleaded guilty to dozens of financial crimes, he adamantly denies he killed them and testified in his own defense. There will be years of appeals in the murder cases.

Girl, 8, only survivor of bus crash that kills 45 in South Africa

The group was making a pilgrimage to an Easter festival

By Gerald Imray and Nqobile Ntshangase

The Associated Press

MMAMATLAKALA, South Africa — An 8-year-old girl was the lone survivor after a bus full of pilgrims making their way to a popular Easter festival in rural South Africa slammed into a bridge on a mountain pass and plunged into a ravine before bursting into ames, killing all 45 others onboard.

It was a tragic reminder of how deadly South Africa’s roads become during the Easter period when millions crisscross the country during the long holiday weekend. Authorities repeatedly warn motorists of the danger and had issued multiple messages urging caution just a day before Thursday’s horri c crash.

The girl somehow survived after the bus carrying worship -

pers from neighboring Botswana careened o the bridge, fell more than 150 feet and caught re as it hit the rocks below, according to authorities.

The girl was in a stable condition in the hospital after being admitted with serious injuries and was “in safe hands,” an o cial with the local health department said Friday. Details of her injuries were not released.

Forensic investigators retrieved what they believed were 34 of the 45 bodies but couldn’t be certain of the exact number, re ecting the gruesome nature of the crash. Many of the victims trapped inside the bus were burned beyond recognition, authorities said.

Dr. Phophi Ramathuba, an o cial with the Limpopo provincial health department, said only nine of the bodies recovered were likely to be identiable.

South African President Cyril Ramaphosa said the victims, who appeared to all be from Botswana, were on their way to the rustic town of Mo -

ria in Limpopo province for the Easter weekend pilgrimage that attracts hundreds of thousands of followers of the Zion Christian Church.

The church has its headquarters in Moria and it was the rst time the full pilgrimage was being held since the COVID-19 pandemic. Worshippers ocked to the small town which features a giant star — the church’s emblem — and the words “Zion City Moria” painted in white on a hillside.

The church was formed in South Africa in the early 1900s as a Christian denomination that also retains some African traditions. It has an estimated 7 million followers across the southern African region.

Ramathuba said South African authorities had asked church leaders from Botswana to come and help identify the victims.

Good Friday and Easter Monday are national holidays in South Africa and many of its neighbors, when millions travel into, out of and across the

252

nation. For some South Africans, it’s a chance to return to their hometowns and villages from jobs in the cities. Migrants also travel back to their home countries to see family. Some, like the pilgrims who died on Thursday, make religious trips.

Road travel can be treacherous; South Africa’s Road Trafc Management Corporation reported that 252 people died in road crashes between Holy Thursday and Easter Monday last year.

Authorities said it appeared the bus driver lost control and the vehicle slammed into the barriers along the side of the bridge and then went over the edge. The driver was among the dead.

Ramathuba said she had been at an Easter prayer meeting when she was called to the crash scene on the Mmamatlakala bridge near the town of Mokopane, which is about 125 miles north of the South African administrative capital of Pretoria.

Ramathuba also declined to say if the child’s parents or other family members were on the bus, saying authorities needed time to trace and inform families of the dead, who were mostly in Botswana.

Meanwhile, forensic investigators worked through the wreckage amid the rocks and cli s. At least 11 bodies were believed still inside what was left of the charred bus, which was almost crushed at.

“We were at the scene,” said local Simone Mayema, who said he was one of the rst to arrive after the crash. “We tried to help (but) there was nothing we could do because there was ames.”

“I attended the scene of the accident, but now our focus as the health department is on the brave little survivor. She is in safe hands in a hospital with experts looking after her,” Ramathuba told reporters. She declined to give details of the child’s injuries, but authorities released a photograph of the child lying in a hospital bed and being examined by a doctor.

ANDREW J. WHITAKER / THE POST AND COURIER VIA AP

Alex Murdaugh, pictured crying while addressing the court last November during his sentencing for stealing from 18 clients, was sentenced Monday to 40 years in federal prison on nancial crime charges. He is already serving a life sentence in South Carolina for the murder of his wife and son.

People who died in road crashes in South Africa in 2023 during the days around Easter

Elizabeth Baldwin

December 12, 1959 - March 25, 2024

Ms. Elizabeth M. Baldwin age, 64 went home to be with her Heavenly Father on March 25, 2024. She leaves to cherish her loving memories her children: Lamonrick Baldwin, Ebony France, Derek Baldwin, Kiara Awe; sisters: Doloris Billinger, Brenda Mack, Gloria Baldwin, Marva Baldwin; eight grandchildren along with a host of other family and friends. Elizabeth will be greatly missed.

obituaries

Kimberly Ann (Miller) Avina

December 3, 1966 - March 28, 2024

Kimberly Ann Avina of Raeford went home to be with her Lord and Savior on Thursday, March 28, 2024, at the age of 57. Kimberly was born in Cumberland County on December 3, 1966, to Frances Wright Davis. Kimberly, better known as Kim, Mom or Meme was a beloved Wife, Mother, and Grandmother. Kim enjoyed spending time with her family, gardening, crafting

and tending to her animals. You could always nd her with a cup full of co ee by her side and more times than not, she would be outdoors enjoying the fruits of her labor. Kimberly was preceded in death by her Son-in-law Philip Lee. She leaves behind a legacy of love and laughter to be cherished by her beloved Husband David Avina Jr. of Raeford; Son Brandon Dyer & Wife Lisandra of Raeford; Daughter Ti any Avina-Lee of Raeford; Son David Avina III of Raeford; Son Wyatt Avina of Raeford; Grandchildren Layla Dyer, Annabelle Lee, Mason Lee and Colton Lee, all of Raeford. As well as many other relatives and friends whom she loved dearly.

Lieberman remembered for bridging political divides

The former U.S. senator was Al Gore’s running mate in the 2000 presidential election

By Cedar Attanasio

Associated Press

The

STAMFORD, Conn. — The late Joe Lieberman on Friday was remembered by political allies and even a former foe as a “mensch” who both bridged and de ed partisan political divides, during a funeral service for the four-term U.S. senator.

Former Vice President Al Gore, who ran for president on a Democratic ticket with Lieberman in the disputed 2000 election, told mourners at the Stamford, Connecticut, synagogue that there is no English equivalent for the Yiddish term. But, he said, they could nd its de nition by looking at Lieberman, who passed away this week at 82.

“They nd it in the way Joe Lieberman lived his life: friendship over anger, reconciliation as a form of grace,” Gore said. “We can learn from Joe Lieberman’s life some critical lessons about how we might heal the rancor in our nation today.”

A socially progressive foreign policy hawk, Lieberman was long known for his pragmatic, independent streak, which Gore noted sometimes “left him exposed to partisan anger from both sides.”

Gore, who said he rst knew Lieberman as Connecticut’s attorney general in the 1980s, praised him for being “ready to reclaim friendships that had been seared by disagreements” — including their own after their political paths diverged following the 2000 loss.

Embodying Lieberman’s conciliatory powers, Connecticut Gov. Ned Lamont delivered a stirring eulogy despite the two having engaged in a contentious battle for the Democratic nomination for Lieberman’s Senate seat in 2006. The race drew national attention by focusing on Lieberman’s support for the war in Iraq. Lieberman lost the primary but defeated Lamont as an independent.

Joking that they started on “an inauspicious note,” Lamont described Lieberman as a “bridge over troubled waters” amid “partisan sniping from both directions.” Lamont noted that Lieberman loved Frank Sinatra songs, especially “My Way.” “He did it his way,” Lamont said. “He never quite t in that Republican or Democratic box. I think

maybe in an odd way I helped liberate him because when he beat me — he beat me pretty good, by the way — he won as an independent.”

Other top Connecticut Democrats, including Sens. Richard Blumenthal and Chris Murphy, also spoke at the service, which was attended by Republican Maine U.S. Sen. Susan Collins, former Democratic Gov. Dannel Malloy and former New Jersey U.S. Sen. Bill Bradley.

Blumenthal said Lieberman’s accomplishments included helping to form the Department of Homeland Security and championing civil rights, voting rights, women’s reproductive freedom and LGBTQ rights. “But the greatest accomplishment of his life was his marriage to Hadassah and their children and grandchildren,” Blumenthal said, addressing Lieberman’s widow before descending to join hands with her.

The service was held at Congregation Agudath Sholom, his hometown synagogue. Lieberman was a self-described observant Jew who followed the rules of the Jewish Sabbath

from sundown Friday to sundown Saturday. While somber, Lieberman’s eulogists, family and friends shared hearty laughs and celebrated his good humor. Lamont, for example, relayed stories from a former colleague about the challenges of nding kosher food on the campaign trail in Utah.

When Lieberman’s children spoke, the tears began to ow. Cousins dabbed tears as daughter Hani Lowenstein described his kindness to all, and his commitment to the Jewish principles of “tikkun olam,” which means repairing the damage in the world.

Lowenstein, who moved to Israel in 2018 with her family, said tearfully that she had prayed, “Please God, give my father many more years. Let him see all of my kids’ bar mitzvahs, their weddings, his great-grandchildren.” But she said God “had other plans.”

Lowenstein said her father would walk 5 miles in order to abide by the Jewish Sabbath’s prohibition on riding in a car. “You were literally someone who was sanctifying God’s

name by everything you did,”

she said, as his casket lay below her, draped in a black blanket with a white star of David.

Matthew Lieberman, the former senator’s son from his rst marriage, said Lieberman “was a blessing for all of us” but “a solid slice of people” nevertheless developed a hate for him. His father never hated them back, he said. “We’re not the Hat elds and McCoys here,” Matthew Lieberman said. “We’re Americans, we’re fellow citizens in the greatest country in the history of the world. We’re all humans and we’re all we’ve got.”

As Gore’s running mate, Joe Lieberman came tantalizingly close to winning the vice presidency in the contentious 2000 presidential contest that was decided by a 537-vote margin victory for George W. Bush over Gore in Florida after a drawnout recount, legal challenges and a Supreme Court decision. Lieberman was the rst Jewish candidate on a major party’s presidential ticket.

After losing the chance to serve as vice president with the Democrat Gore, Lieberman

came close to becoming Republican John McCain’s running mate in 2008. However, conservatives balked at the idea of tapping Lieberman, who was known for supporting socially liberal causes while taking a hawkish stand on military and national security matters.

Over the last decade, Lieberman helped lead No Labels, a centrist third-party movement that has said it will o er asyet-unnamed candidates for president and vice president this year. Some groups aligned with Democrats oppose the effort, fearing it will help presumptive Republican nominee Donald Trump win the White House.

President Joe Biden on Thursday called Lieberman a friend, someone who was “principled, steadfast and unafraid to stand up for what he thought was right.”

“Joe believed in a shared purpose of serving something bigger than ourselves,” Biden, who served 20 years in the Senate with Lieberman, said in his statement. “He lived the values of his faith as he worked to repair the wounds of the world.”

BRYAN WOOLSTON / AP PHOTO

Former Vice President Al Gore speaks at the funeral for former Sen. Joe Lieberman on Friday in Stamford, Connecticut.

STATE & NATION

Biden outpacing Trump in fundraising

The president’s campaign is trying to overcome his predecessor’s ability to gain free publicity

By Seung Min Kim and Brian Slodysko

The Associated Press

WASHINGTON, D.C. —

President Joe Biden’s reelection campaign is raising gobs of cash. And it has an election-year strategy that, in a nutshell, aims to spend more — and spend faster.

Not only has Biden aimed to show himself o as a fundraising juggernaut this month, but his campaign is also making signi cant early investments both on the ground and on the airwaves — hoping to create a massive organizational advantage that leaves Republican Donald Trump scrambling to catch up.

But while the money pouring in has given Biden and the Democrats a major cash advantage, it’s also becoming clear Biden will need it. Throughout his life in business and politics, Trump’s provocations have earned him near limitless free media attention. Biden, meanwhile, has often struggled to cut through the noise with his own message despite holding the presidency.

That means Biden is going to need oodles of cash to blan-

ket battleground states where a few thousand votes could mean the di erence between victory or defeat. Add to that the challenge of reaching millennials, as well as even younger voters, who formed an important part of his 2020 coalition, in a far more fractured media ecosystem that skews toward streaming services over conventional broadcast and cable.

Biden’s organizational and outreach e ort began in earnest this month, with the campaign

using his State of the Union address as a launching pad to open 100 new eld o ces nationwide and boosting the number of paid sta in battleground states to 350 people. It’s also currently in the middle of a $30 million television and digital advertising campaign targeting speci c communities such as black, Hispanic and Asian voters.

In one example of the incumbent president’s organizational advantage, his reelection campaign in February had 480 sta -

ers on the ground, compared with 311 to that of Trump and the Republican National Committee, according to Biden campaign o cials.

“We’re ramping up campaign headquarters and eld o ces, hiring sta all across the country before Trump and his MAGA Republicans have even opened one single o ce,” Biden boasted Friday in New York during a meeting of his national nance committee, which included 200 of his largest donors and fundraisers from in and around the city.

A massive ground game disadvantage didn’t prevent Trump from winning the presidency in 2016, a fact Democrats keenly remember.

“It’s one of the stubborn challenges of Trump,” said Robby Mook, campaign manager for Hillary Clinton’s 2016 presidential bid. “Trump is Trump’s best organizer, and Trump can motivate people from the podium.”

But, Mook added, the Biden campaign is doing what it needs to do, pointing to the State of the Union as a powerful example of how to e ectively mobilize the base and harness the anti-Trump energy that will inevitably motivate many Democrats this year.

“The most magical and the scariest part of politics is, you never know until Election Day,”

UNLV releases video of December campus shooter

A former ECU professor killed three before being shot by campus police

By Ken Ritter The Associated Press

LAS VEGAS — Images of a campus police o cer diving behind a patrol vehicle to escape gun re and then fatally shooting a gunman outside a building at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, are among footage in newly released video of a deadly rampage that left three professors dead and a fourth badly wounded last December.

The deadly shootout captured by campus surveillance cameras ended what authorities say was 10 minutes of terror unleashed by a 67-year-old former East Carolina University business professor whose applications to teach at UNLV had been rejected.

The gunman, Anthony Polito, was armed with a legally purchased 9 mm handgun, carried nine bullet magazines, and had a target list of names, although none of the people shot was on that list, police said.

The university on Thursday released 20 hours of footage from campus security and o cer body cameras, along with more than an hour of recordings of 911 calls made to campus police.

Sounds of the gun re that killed three people in the upper oors of the ve-story business school sent people eeing from the nearby Student Union just before noon on a sunny day. Video shows a campus police o cer, running across the plaza toward the business school building, arrived within 78 seconds of the shooting. “It is di cult to listen to these recordings and watch the videos and not re ect on the tragic events that day,” university Vice President of Public Safety Adam Garcia said in a statement accompanying the release of the material in response to public records requests.

Two gunshots are heard early in more than an hour of 911 recordings that include one father calling to say he got a text from his daughter who was hiding in a classroom. “Is there an active shooter there?” he asks. “Yes,” the male dispatcher replies, adding that police are at the scene. “So just tell your daughter to stay where she’s at.” New video shows campus se-

Mook said. “And so I wouldn’t want to leave anything on the table if I were them, and the great part about having a resource advantage is, you get to have all these di erent things.”

Even Biden’s bricks-and-mortar campaign is likely to be far more costly this year.

Unlike 2020, when many Americans were hunkered down due to the pandemic, Biden will need to travel more while also building a political infrastructure that will be far more expensive than the socially distanced, virtual campaign he waged from his basement the last time around.

His reelection campaign will also have expenses that Trump won’t have to confront, such as reimbursing the federal government for use of Air Force One. So far, it has reimbursed $4.5 million for use of the ocial presidential aircraft for political activity, according to the campaign.

Trump campaign o cials concede that Biden and the Democrats will likely have more cash to spend, though they argue that Trump will still be able to run an e ective campaign given his ability to attract media coverage.

“Our digital online fundraising continues to skyrocket, our major donor investments are climbing, and Democrats are running scared of the fundraising prowess of President Trump,” said Steven Cheung, communications director for the Trump campaign.

curity o cers immediately entering the business school building as Las Vegas police swarm the area near the center-campus Student Union while young people stream the other way.

Video footage from a parking lot shows the gunman get out of a black sedan wearing a black trench coat and retrieve something from a passenger compartment before walking calmly toward the business school building.

A di erent video shows ocers helping a badly wounded professor who walked out of the same building before collapsing on a sidewalk behind a patrol car.

UNLV President Keith Whiteld told the university community this month the man, a visiting professor, was “improving daily ... doing rehab and out of the hospital.” He has not been identi ed by name.

Las Vegas police began releasing video and audio recordings in December showing ocers from throughout southern Nevada spending hours going door to door in campus buildings, releasing students and faculty members in waves, before declaring the gunman had acted alone and there was no further threat.

The shooting occurred just a few miles from the site of the deadliest mass shooting in modern U.S. history: An Oct. 1, 2017, massacre that had a gunman open re from windows of the high-rise Mandalay Bay resort into a crowd of 20,000 people at an outdoor music festival below. Sixty people died and hundreds were wounded or injured.

ALEX BRANDON / AP PHOTO

President Joe Biden, center, and former presidents Barack Obama and Bill Clinton participate in a fundraising event with Stephen Colbert at Radio City Music Hall last Thursday in New York.

UNIVERSITY OF NEVADA, LAS VEGAS VIA AP

This image from a campus surveillance video released by UNLV, shows gunman Anthony Polito, top right, moments before being fatally shot by a campus police o cer on Dec. 6, 2023.

The boys are back

The Winston-Salem Dash’s season starts this week with a three-game set at Asheville starting Friday, and the rst home game is on Tuesday. The home opener, against the Greensboro Grasshoppers, features a “Night for Vets” promotion, allowing local veterans and their families to attend the game free of charge. Call 336-331-3733 or email josh.vannoy@wsdash.com to get tickets or with any questions.

WHAT’S HAPPENING Teachers to get extra bonus from WSFCS

Primary election results certi ed

The March 5 election results are o cial, with a handful of key incumbents losing and a few U.S. House and statewide nominee races heading to runo s.

The State Board of Elections voted unanimously last week to certify counts for scores of ballot items from across the state, from nominations for president and governor to the legislature and judgeships.

The primaries also marked the rst statewide election under new voter identi cation and absentee ballot deadline law. About 1.8 million primary votes were counted.

Around 1,200 voters cast provisional ballots, with 700 ultimately counting. The vast majority of the 477 remaining uncounted ballots were set aside because voters failed to return to their county board with ID.

Boom Supersonic makes test ight

A startup plane maker with North Carolina ties has taken its rst steps towards the skies.

Boom Supersonic is developing the rst commercial jet that can y faster than sound since the Concorde last ew in 2003.

The company’s X-B1 prototype took its rst ight last week over the Mojave Desert, a major step in the development of its Overture jet that will be built at a new “superfactory” at PTI Airport in Greensboro.

That facility could employ more than 1,700 workers by 2030, further burnishing North Carolina’s aviation legacy.

The state-funded supplements will see certi ed teachers getting an extra $951.50

By Ryan Henkel Twin City Herald

THE WINSTON-SALEM/ Forsyth County Schools Board of Education approved the distribution of supplemental state funds for teacher compensation at its March 26 meeting.

“Last year, we received $4.2 million dollars in funds that are speci cally for certi ed teachers and that’s the only source that they can be used for,” said WSFCS CFO Tommy Kranz. “There’s a maximum amount that can be distributed

to any particular eligible employee and in my time here, we’ve done it in a straightline method where everyone got the same thing. This year, the amount went up to $5.288 million.”

According to Kranz, each certified teacher in the district will receive $951.50 before taxes.

The funding is limited to certi ed teachers per state requirements, and the district does not have the funds to o er similar bonuses to other employees.

“I want to make sure we exhaust all possibilities, either through foundations or asking the county, to try and get that supplement for our other employees as well,” said board member Leah Crowley.

The board approved a ninemonth extension for the district’s custodial services contract with SSC, at a cost of some $5.7 million through Dec. 31.

“We originally contracted 55 sites, 44 schools, and that

out of production.”

‘Growing

state, shrinking farmland’

American Farmland Trust experts talk agriculture

By Ena Sellers Twin City Herald

CARY — Last week regional and state agricultural leaders gathered for NC Ag Leads: Imagine Agriculture Day at the SAS campus in Cary, to talk about agriculture, challenges and how to move the industry forward.

Cris Co n, National Ag Land Network Director and Courtney Owens, Southeast Regional Director, both with American Farmland Trust were among the speakers who engaged participants in a thought-provoking conversation during their presentation “Growing State, Shrinking Farmland” about the agricultural land base in North Carolina.

“We are doing a lot more work in the regenerative agriculture space and keeping farmers on the land because we understand that there is no farmland without

farmers,” said Co n. “We really believe that farmers and ranchers want to do right by their land and their businesses and that we just need to be helping to encourage and facilitate and support their work.”

Co n shared that every state in the U.S. is losing farmland.

“We need to do something about it… let’s focus on building that capacity of folks around the country to be able to save land,” said Co n, adding that this was not just about land protection but also about stabilizing the land base.

Owens shared that North Carolina is one of the states that has not passed the Uniform Partition Heirs’ Property Act, which helps farmers or the next generation “save their farmland,” and “prohibits the sale or partition of land.”

He explained that the south is the most threatened farmland in the country and North Carolina ranks number two in the group of states that have been identi ed.

“There are 3.9 million acres that could be at loss if nothing is done,” said Owens. “The breakdown goes to a million acres of land that can no longer [be used in] farming practice.”

Owens spoke about three future scenarios they have identi ed through their research: business as usual, runaway sprawl and better built cities. “The business-as-usual model, is basically poor planning of agriculture and development and low density residential sprawl; The runaway model is the less e cient way of protecting farmland, and it also displaces farms… there’s larger lots of homes being developed in these rural areas, and so the farm that was once thriving and providing for communities, fresh fruits and local food, is no longer there,” he explained adding that the recommended scenario is the better built cities model, which emphasizes “planning for agriculture, planning around productive agricultural land, not bulldozing that land and taking it

Data provided by Owens to Twin City Herald shows that 46% of Forsyth County’s conversion is projected to occur on the county’s best agricultural land according to the business-as-usual scenario. Statewide, 1,197,300 acres of farmland and rangeland will be converted to urban and highly developed and low-density residential land if we continue as we have been.

Co n and Owens emphasized the need for ag leaders to work together to protect the state’s farmland and help the farmers and future generation of farmers, because the choices that are made at the local, state and federal levels will have a tremendous impact on the future of agriculture and the land that sustains us. Visit farmland.org for more.

BRETT FRIEDLANDER / TWIN CITY HERALD

WSFCS / YOUTUBE

The Winston-Salem/Forsyth County Schools Board of Education met March 26 for its regular business meeting. See BOARD, page 2

The 16th-century French satirical comedy was once once banned in Paris

Twin City Herald sta

NORTH CAROLINA A&T

State University’s Theatre Arts Program is set to conclude its season with a production of Moliere’s satirical comedy “Tartu e.” The 16th-century French play, once banned in Paris for its sharp critique of political and religious hypocrisy, will take the stage at the Paul Robeson Theatre from April 18-21.

“Tartu e” follows the story of a wealthy French family duped by the titular character, a fraudulent holy man who charms his way into their household. As the patriarch, Orgon, falls under Tartu e’s spell, he begins to ne-

glect his family’s needs in favor of his newfound devotion.

Director Xulee Vanecia J, a classical theatre lecturer at A&T, aims to engage audiences with the play’s timeless themes and farcical elements. The production promises to explore questions of faith, morality, and the dangers of blind loyalty, all while delivering plenty of laughs.

Evening performances are scheduled for 7:30 p.m., with matinees at 3:00 p.m. Ticket prices vary, with discounts available for senior citizens, non-A&T students, and children. A&T students can attend for free with their Aggie One Card.

To purchase tickets or for more information, interested patrons can call 336-334-7749 or visit ncataggies.com.

COLUMN | SUSAN ESTRICH

The Supreme Court, Justice Breyer and abortion

The majority, he argues, wrongly assumed that in overruling Roe, the court would return abortion decisionmaking to the states and the political process, taking judges out of the process.

IT MIGHT JUST BE a coincidence that former Justice Stephen Breyer’s new book had its o cial publication date on the same day the court heard argument on the biggest abortion case since Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, which overruled Roe v. Wade.

In his important new book, “Reading the Constitution: Why I Chose Pragmatism, Not Textualism,” and in published interviews, Breyer takes on the theories of originalism and textualism, which the new justices appointed by Donald Trump have adopted in interpreting the Constitution. Breyer does not question the good faith of these new members of the court. He does not argue that they are simply voting based on the partisan politics of the man who appointed them, a position which, I must admit, I sometimes think is sadly responsible for the extremism of this court. Rather, he gives them their due: that they are in fact guided by two theories of constitutional interpretation that are quite simply wrong. Originalism means that the Constitution should be interpreted according to the intent and understanding of the white male property owners who wrote it, rather than in light of contemporary values and understanding, and the practical consequences of their decision. Textualism focuses on the actual words, including punctuation, of the Constitution, in their original context.

The illusion of these theories is that they provide clear answers to hard case, thus limiting the extent to which a judge’s personal politics and values dictate the answers. It’s an illusion because judges aren’t historians, and even if they were, the world has changed drastically, and in unimaginable ways, in the centuries since the Constitution was drafted. There was no internet in the 18th century, and neither originalism nor textualism can tell you how it should be regulated consistent with the First Amendment.

Breyer dissented in Dobbs, not because he is personally pro-choice, but because he believes in respect for established precedent and a living Constitution that is broad enough to recognize a right to privacy for women. The majority, he argues, wrongly assumed that in overruling Roe, the court would return abortion decision-making to the states and the political process, taking judges out of the process. But that is clearly not the case, nor will it be.

BOARD from page 1

contract had a start up period starting on Dec. 19, 2022, and we entered into a full year contract beginning Jan. 1, 2023, through Dec. 31, 2023,”

Justin Dyson, executive director of facilities, said. “We did have some di culties that we brought here to the board and despite those, we elected to extend that contract for three additional months through March 31. We’re approaching that end of term because we need to either renew, extend or make other decisions.”

“The Dobbs majority’s hope that legislatures and not courts will decide the abortion question will not be realized,” he wrote.

He was more forceful in his interview with the New York Times. “There are too many questions,” he said. “Are they really going to allow women to die on the table because they won’t allow an abortion which would save her life? I mean, really, no one would do that. And they wouldn’t do that. And there’ll be dozens of questions like that.”

One of those questions was before the court on Tuesday, when a majority of the justices expressed skepticism about what was clearly a partisan political e ort to curtail the availability of medicated abortion. The suit was brought by a group of anti-abortion doctors, in a district in Texas with exactly one judge, an outspoken opponent of abortion, Judge Matthew J. Kacsmaryk, who, as they hoped, invalidated the FDA’s approval of mifepristone. In August, a panel of conservative judges on the 5th circuit ruled that the medication should remain legal but imposed signi cant restrictions on access. The anti-abortion forces were hoping to reinstate the original ban, a position opposed by a 2-1 margin, or more, in public opinion polls. Justices Clarence Thomas and Samuel Alito were sympathetic to a position that, if adopted, would further reduce public trust in the court, as Dobbs did.

The court majority -- minus Thomas and Alito -- may be able to avoid another ruling as unpopular as Dobbs by focusing on the narrow ground of whether the plainti doctors have “standing” to challenge the mifepristone rules -whether they can show that they su er any harm as a result of it -- but no such obvious escape path will be open to them later next month when they face the unprecedented argument that Donald Trump should enjoy absolute immunity from criminal prosecution.

Will partisan politics win out? Will the court purport to play historians in search of an answer? Trust in the court is at an all-time low. The rule of law demands as a precondition that even those who disagree with a particular result accept its force. That principle will be at stake. Breyer’s pragmatic approach yields only one answer. It will be up to the three Trump appointees, and the chief justice, to decide. Hopefully, they will read Breyer’s book before they do.

Board members Trevonia Brown-Gaither, Sabrina Coone and Richard Watts opposed the extension. Also approved was the transfer of lottery funds to help cover debt from past school bonds.

“In the lottery process, there’s two main categories that lottery funds ow into the school system,” Krantz said. “One is through DPI — to the tune of $13 million to this system — and then on the construction side, it ows from us. Historically, the relationship between the school system and the county is that we then have those funds go to the county and the county then uses that to help with their debt services.” The district will allocate $3.7 million to the 2013 School Bond Debt and $3 million for the 2015 School Bond Debt. The WSFCS Board of Education will next meet April 9.

Forsyth SPORTS

SIDELINE REPORT

MINOR LEAGUE BASEBALL

Top prospect

Holliday rips Bulls

Norfolk, Va.

Jackson Holliday is the top prospect in baseball, but the Orioles sent him to the minors to start the season in a move many suspect was nancially motivated. Holliday responded by homering leading o the rst inning of the season. He had three hits and four RBIs, helping Baltimore’s Norfolk Tides beat Tampa Bay’s Durham Bulls in the International League. A son of seven-time All-Star Matt Holliday, Jackson was the top pick in the 2022 amateur draft. The 20-yearold second baseman hit .323 with 12 homers, 75 RBIs and 24 stolen bases at four minor league levels last year.

NFL Jets trade for pass rusher Reddick

New York

The New York Jets have acquired two-time Pro Bowl edge rusher Haason Reddick from the Philadelphia Eagles for a conditional thirdround pick in 2026. The pick reportedly becomes a secondrounder if Reddick plays 67.5% of defensive snaps and gets 10 sacks in 2024. Reddick, a rst-round pick by Arizona in 2017, has recorded double-digit sacks in four straight seasons, including the past two years with the Eagles and in 2021, his one season with the Carolina Panthers. He’s entering the nal year of a $45 million, three-year contract and was given permission by the Eagles to seek a trade this o season.

WOMEN’S BASKETBALL

LSU’s Mulkey doesn’t plan to read article on her Albany, NY

LSU coach Kim Mulkey says she probably won’t read The Washington Post pro le over which she has threatened to le a defamation lawsuit, but she did question the timing of its release. In the article, Mulkey’s estranged family members and former players are quoted about her personality and how she runs her programs. It was published about an hour before LSU played UCLA in the Sweet 16. Mulkey defended her players against portrayals in the media, referring to a Los Angeles Times column that called her players “villains” and “dirty debutantes.”

NFL

Despite having Jones, Giants evaluating quarterbacks

New York

The New York Giants’ belief in Daniel Jones won’t preclude them from considering drafting a quarterback. They could take one with the sixth pick in the NFL draft, where J.J. McCarthy could be available. Bo Nix and Michael Penix Jr. are considered the next tier and the Giants could slide back and have either. Coach Brian Daboll is studying them all and said he loves evaluating quarterbacks.

Owner John Mara said that he supports Jones, who signed a $160 million, fouryear extension last year, but he would be willing to use New York’s rst pick on a quarterback.

Late caution gives Hamlin a second chance at Richmond Raceway

The No. 11 driver held o Joey Logano and Martin Truex Jr. for his second win of year

By Hank Kurz Jr. The Associated Press

RICHMOND, Va. — Denny Hamlin won the race o pit road with Joe Gibbs Racing teammate Martin Truex Jr. after a caution with two laps to go and won in overtime at Richmond Raceway on Sunday night.

Truex dominated the second half of the NASCAR Cup Series race — he led 288 laps — and seemed poised to hold o challenges by Joey Logano and Hamlin for the nal two laps when Kyle Larson got nudged from behind on the front straightaway and skidded into the in eld, causing the caution.

“I needed that kind of situation at the end to happen to win it,” Hamlin said.

Larson had been fading from contention before the spin.

“I was a little bit loose and then I got a shot there,” Larson said of the bump from Bubba Wallace that almost certainly cost Truex his fourth victory at Richmond.

On the restart, Hamlin got a good jump from the inside lane, withstood a challenge from the outside from Truex and held o Truex and two other challengers for the surprise victory.

“This is a team win for sure,” Hamlin said after climbing from his car. “The trophy needs to go to each one of these pit crew members. They just did amazing job. They’ve been killing it all year.”

Hamlin’s victory was his second this

season, the fth of his career at what he considers his home track, and the 53rd of his career, but it left Truex unhappy with several drivers involved.

“We got beat out of the pits and he jumped the restart,” Truex said of Hamlin. “Had a car capable of winning. So just have to come back next week trying to get him again.”

NASCAR said they reviewed the restart and it was within the rules.

After the race, a frustrated Truex doorslammed Larson as they coasted into the rst turn, then bumped Hamlin from behind three times.

“I think he just gets more mad at Denny, but I was the closest one to take his anger out on,” Larson said. “It’s all good. I hope he doesn’t have any hard feelings for me, because I de nitely don’t towards him.”

The victory pulled the four Gibbs Toyota teams even with the four Chevrolet teams from Hendrick Motorsports with three victories each through seven races.

Larson, who won this race last year, barely beat Truex o pit road during green ag stops with 65 laps to go, but Truex quickly caught him and pulled away as he had many times earlier.

Logano, who started the race 22nd in points with just one top 10 nish, worked his way into the lead pack in the second half, tried to run down Hamlin in the two-lap dash to the nish and was second, followed by Larson and Truex. It matched Ford’s best nish this season.

A spin by Daniel Suarez on lap 64 brought out another caution, and NASCAR decided to nish the 70-lap rst stage under caution, making Larson the stage winner.

West Forsyth, girls’ soccer

Aislynn Maguire is a junior for the West Forsyth girls’ soccer team.

The Titans won both games last week, beating Reagan and Davie to improve to 6-2-1 on the year and a perfect 5-0 in the Central Piedmont conference.

Maguire scored goals in both games and added an assist in the win at Davie. The performances added to her team lead in goals (14) and points (32).

Steelers’ Mike Tomlin says Russell Wilson has ‘pole position’ for starting QB job

By Rob Maaddi The Associated

Press ORLANDO, Fla. — Russell Wilson’s resume and experience give him the edge over Justin Fields.

Steelers coach Mike Tomlin said Wilson is considered Pittsburgh’s starting quarterback but Fields will get a chance to compete. “We’re not resistant to competition, but as I’ve mentioned several times of late, I just think it’s appropriate to establish positioning. ... and the term that I’ve used is Russell has pole position,” Tomlin said. “And why do I use that term? Because during this time where we are not formally working, I just think it’s bene cial. His experience in the National Football League, his process has been honed and perfected. “Talking about over a 12-month calendar, it’s not only good for him, it’s good for teams, it’s good for receivers, tight ends, running backs, etc.

All the things that people really committed to winning do this time of the year, Russell has those resources, that structure. And so that’s why I say he has pole position. It just creates a synergy that I think is good for

this time of year. When it’s time to compete and we get in training camp-like settings and we’re going to stadiums and so forth, obviously Justin be given an opportunity to show people.”

The Steelers revamped their quarterback room earlier this month, signing Wilson to the

$1.21 million veteran’s minimum after the nine-time Pro Bowl quarterback was released by Denver. The 35-year-old Wilson was 11-19 in two seasons with the Broncos after being acquired in a trade from Seattle. He bounced back from a dread-

ful 2022 season and threw for 3,070 yards, 26 touchdowns and only eight interceptions, but still lost his job to Jarrett Stidham after going 7-8 in coach Sean Payton’s rst season last year.

Wilson led Seattle to eight playo appearances and a Super Bowl title in 10 seasons with the Seahawks.

“When the free agency process began, we only had one quarterback on our roster and so we were looking at every available person on the market,” Tomlin said. “It was just part of our process. Obviously when we got into it, and after (Wilson) got permission to talk. ... the conversations were very uid and natural. He did his appropriate research on us, and I think that’s probably one of the more impressive things about the process from my perspective. His level of preparedness in terms of knowing us and who we are and how he might potentially t just really put us at ease over the process.”

Fields was 10-28 on lousy teams in Chicago but showed ashes of being a special player. He completed 60.3% of his passes and threw for 40 touchdown with 30 interceptions. Plus, he ran for 2,220 yards and 14 scores.

“He oozes talent and potential,” Tomlin said. “He’s worn the responsibility of being a franchise quarterback, but still he gets an opportunity to come into a community-like situation and learn from a guy that’s been doing it for over a decade. Man, there’s a lot of meat left on that bone and I’m just excited.”

Denny Hamlin celebrates after winning Sunday’s NASCAR Cup Series race at Richmond Raceway.

Pittsburgh signed the former Wolfpack quarterback in o season

STATE & NATION

Biden outpacing Trump in fundraising

The president’s campaign is trying to overcome his predecessor’s ability to gain free publicity

By Seung Min Kim and Brian Slodysko

Press

The Associated

WASHINGTON, D.C. —

President Joe Biden’s reelection campaign is raising gobs of cash. And it has an election-year strategy that, in a nutshell, aims to spend more — and spend faster.

Not only has Biden aimed to show himself o as a fundraising juggernaut this month, but his campaign is also making signi cant early investments both on the ground and on the airwaves — hoping to create a massive organizational advantage that leaves Republican Donald Trump scrambling to catch up.

But while the money pouring in has given Biden and the Democrats a major cash advantage, it’s also becoming clear Biden will need it. Throughout his life in business and politics, Trump’s provocations have earned him near limitless free media attention. Biden, meanwhile, has often struggled to cut through the noise with his own message despite holding the presidency.

That means Biden is going to need oodles of cash to blan-

ket battleground states where a few thousand votes could mean the di erence between victory or defeat. Add to that the challenge of reaching millennials, as well as even younger voters, who formed an important part of his 2020 coalition, in a far more fractured media ecosystem that skews toward streaming services over conventional broadcast and cable.

Biden’s organizational and outreach e ort began in earnest this month, with the campaign

using his State of the Union address as a launching pad to open 100 new eld o ces nationwide and boosting the number of paid sta in battleground states to 350 people. It’s also currently in the middle of a $30 million television and digital advertising campaign targeting speci c communities such as black, Hispanic and Asian voters.

In one example of the incumbent president’s organizational advantage, his reelection campaign in February had 480 sta -

ers on the ground, compared with 311 to that of Trump and the Republican National Committee, according to Biden campaign o cials.

“We’re ramping up campaign headquarters and eld o ces, hiring sta all across the country before Trump and his MAGA Republicans have even opened one single o ce,” Biden boasted Friday in New York during a meeting of his national nance committee, which included 200 of his largest donors and fundraisers from in and around the city.

A massive ground game disadvantage didn’t prevent Trump from winning the presidency in 2016, a fact Democrats keenly remember.

“It’s one of the stubborn challenges of Trump,” said Robby Mook, campaign manager for Hillary Clinton’s 2016 presidential bid. “Trump is Trump’s best organizer, and Trump can motivate people from the podium.”

But, Mook added, the Biden campaign is doing what it needs to do, pointing to the State of the Union as a powerful example of how to e ectively mobilize the base and harness the anti-Trump energy that will inevitably motivate many Democrats this year.

“The most magical and the scariest part of politics is, you never know until Election Day,”

UNLV releases video of December campus shooter

A former ECU professor killed three before being shot by campus police

By Ken Ritter The Associated Press

LAS VEGAS — Images of a campus police o cer diving behind a patrol vehicle to escape gun re and then fatally shooting a gunman outside a building at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, are among footage in newly released video of a deadly rampage that left three professors dead and a fourth badly wounded last December.

The deadly shootout captured by campus surveillance cameras ended what authorities say was 10 minutes of terror unleashed by a 67-year-old former East Carolina University business professor whose applications to teach at UNLV had been rejected.

The gunman, Anthony Polito, was armed with a legally purchased 9 mm handgun, carried nine bullet magazines, and had a target list of names, although none of the people shot was on that list, police said.

The university on Thursday released 20 hours of footage from campus security and o cer body cameras, along with more than an hour of recordings of 911 calls made to campus police.

Sounds of the gun re that killed three people in the upper oors of the ve-story business school sent people eeing from the nearby Student Union just before noon on a sunny day. Video shows a campus police o cer, running across the plaza toward the business school building, arrived within 78 seconds of the shooting. “It is di cult to listen to these recordings and watch the videos and not re ect on the tragic events that day,” university Vice President of Public Safety Adam Garcia said in a statement accompanying the release of the material in response to public records requests.

Two gunshots are heard early in more than an hour of 911 recordings that include one father calling to say he got a text from his daughter who was hiding in a classroom. “Is there an active shooter there?” he asks. “Yes,” the male dispatcher replies, adding that police are at the scene. “So just tell your daughter to stay where she’s at.” New video shows campus se-

Mook said. “And so I wouldn’t want to leave anything on the table if I were them, and the great part about having a resource advantage is, you get to have all these di erent things.”

Even Biden’s bricks-and-mortar campaign is likely to be far more costly this year.

Unlike 2020, when many Americans were hunkered down due to the pandemic, Biden will need to travel more while also building a political infrastructure that will be far more expensive than the socially distanced, virtual campaign he waged from his basement the last time around.

His reelection campaign will also have expenses that Trump won’t have to confront, such as reimbursing the federal government for use of Air Force One. So far, it has reimbursed $4.5 million for use of the ocial presidential aircraft for political activity, according to the campaign.

Trump campaign o cials concede that Biden and the Democrats will likely have more cash to spend, though they argue that Trump will still be able to run an e ective campaign given his ability to attract media coverage.

“Our digital online fundraising continues to skyrocket, our major donor investments are climbing, and Democrats are running scared of the fundraising prowess of President Trump,” said Steven Cheung, communications director for the Trump campaign.

curity o cers immediately entering the business school building as Las Vegas police swarm the area near the center-campus Student Union while young people stream the other way.

Video footage from a parking lot shows the gunman get out of a black sedan wearing a black trench coat and retrieve something from a passenger compartment before walking calmly toward the business school building.

A di erent video shows ocers helping a badly wounded professor who walked out of the same building before collapsing on a sidewalk behind a patrol car.

UNLV President Keith Whiteld told the university community this month the man, a visiting professor, was “improving daily ... doing rehab and out of the hospital.” He has not been identi ed by name.

Las Vegas police began releasing video and audio recordings in December showing ocers from throughout southern Nevada spending hours going door to door in campus buildings, releasing students and faculty members in waves, before declaring the gunman had acted alone and there was no further threat.

The shooting occurred just a few miles from the site of the deadliest mass shooting in modern U.S. history: An Oct. 1, 2017, massacre that had a gunman open re from windows of the high-rise Mandalay Bay resort into a crowd of 20,000 people at an outdoor music festival below. Sixty people died and hundreds were wounded or injured.

ALEX BRANDON / AP PHOTO

President Joe Biden, center, and former presidents Barack Obama and Bill Clinton participate in a fundraising event with Stephen Colbert at Radio City Music Hall last Thursday in New York.

UNIVERSITY OF NEVADA, LAS VEGAS VIA AP

This image from a campus surveillance video released by UNLV, shows gunman Anthony Polito, top right, moments before being fatally shot by a campus police o cer on Dec. 6, 2023.

Scramble to the bag

Pinecrest senior Dylan Floyd scrambles to second base to force a Lee County runner in a bizarre play that saw a sharply hit ball ricochet o the third base bag directly to Floyd at short. He got the force out and the Patriots went on to beat the Yellow Jackets 3-2 at home on March 26.

WHAT’S HAPPENING Pinehurst opens hiring for new village manager

Primary election results certi ed

The March 5 election results are o cial, with a handful of key incumbents losing and a few U.S. House and statewide nominee races heading to runo s.

The State Board of Elections voted unanimously last week to certify counts for scores of ballot items from across the state, from nominations for president and governor to the legislature and judgeships.

The primaries also marked the rst statewide election under new voter identi cation and absentee ballot deadline law. About 1.8 million primary votes were counted.

Around 1,200 voters cast provisional ballots, with 700 ultimately counting. The vast majority of the 477 remaining uncounted ballots were set aside because voters failed to return to their county board with ID.

Boom Supersonic makes test ight

A startup plane maker with North Carolina ties has taken its rst steps towards the skies.

Boom Supersonic is developing the rst commercial jet that can y faster than sound since the Concorde last ew in 2003.

The company’s X-B1 prototype took its rst ight last week over the Mojave Desert, a major step in the development of its Overture jet that will be built at a new “superfactory” at PTI Airport in Greensboro.

That facility could employ more than 1,700 workers by 2030, further burnishing North Carolina’s aviation legacy.

The new village manager is expected to begin in the role in November

By Ryan Henkel North State Journal

PINEHURST WILL have a new village manager before the close of 2024 according to a timeline adopted by the Village of Pinehurst Council at its regular meeting on March 26.

Current Village Manager Je Sanborn announced his intention to resign e ective October 25, so the goal is to have his replacement start in November.

“Leading our exceptional Village sta has been one of the most rewarding professional experiences I have had in my

life,” Sanborn said in the Feb. 29 press release announcing his upcoming departure. “I know that we have the right people and systems in place to ensure continued success after I am gone.”

“If we need to take more time, it’s a critically important hire, so we should do that.”

Mayor Pro Tem John Taylor

we’ll put together a tentative list of quali ed candidates for you,” Sanborn said. “We will be giving you a product in the form of a binder that has all the applications on top for the people we thought were the most quali ed candidates, and everybody else would be behind that for your own review. The process, if you agree with that methodology, should allow for that time to go through a detailed analysis of all the applications and put together something for you.”

“If we need to take more time, it’s a critically important hire, so we should do that,” said Mayor Pro Tem John Taylor.

The position is currently posted on the Village of Pinehurst’s website and applications are open until May 31.

The council has chosen to do the hiring itself rather than with a headhunter, and Sanborn will be working to get a list of candidates together so the council can choose his replacement.

The timeline calls for the position to be posted from April through May 31, with the council reviewing applications — in closed session and sending advancing candidates a series of supplemental questions. Finally, candidates will be picked for interviews between July 22 through August 4, with thenal candidates picked and given an o er by September. The hope is to get the o er signed, complete a background check and vote on the chosen candidate in open session by October. The new village manager would then begin in November after Sanborn departs.

“When the listing closes…

Growing state, shrinking farmland

American Farmland Trust experts talk agriculture

By Ena Sellers North State Journal

CARY — Last week regional and state agricultural leaders gathered for NC Ag Leads: Imagine Agriculture Day at the SAS campus in Cary, to talk about agriculture, challenges and how to move the industry forward.

Cris Co n, National Ag Land Network Director and Senior Policy Advisor and Dr. Courtney Owens, Southeast Regional Director, both with American Farmland Trust were among the speakers who engaged participants in a thought-provoking conversation about the shrinking agricultural land base in North Carolina.

“We are doing a lot more work in the regenerative agriculture space and keeping farmers on the land because

we understand that there is no farmland without farmers,” said Co n. “We really believe that farmers and ranchers want to do right by their land and their businesses and that we just need to be helping to encourage and facilitate and support their work.”

Co n shared that every state in the U.S. is losing farmland. “We need to do something about it… let’s focus on building that capacity of folks around the country to be able to save land,” said Co n, adding that this was not just about land protection but also about stabilizing the land base.

Owens shared that North Carolina is one of the states that has not passed the Uniform Partition Heirs’ Property Act, which helps farmers or the next generation “save their farmland,” and “prohibits the sale or partition of land.”

He explained that the south is the most threatened farmland in the country and North

11% of Moore County’s conversion is projected to occur on the county’s best agricultural land

Carolina ranks number two in the group of states that have been identi ed.

“There are 3.9 million acres that could be at loss if nothing is done,” said Owens. “The breakdown goes to a million acres of land that can no longer [be used in] farming practice.”

Owens spoke about three future scenarios they have identi ed through their research: business as usual, runaway sprawl and better built cities.

The job is in charge of all municipal operations, developing and implementing budgets, policies, intergovernmental relations and other administrative activities under the direction of the elected Council.

“The employee works to de -

See COUNCIL , page 2

“The business-as-usual model, is basically poor planning of agriculture and development and low density residential sprawl; The runaway model is the less e cient way of protecting farmland, and it also displaces farms… there’s larger lots of homes being developed in these rural areas, and so the farm that was once thriving and providing for communities, fresh fruits and local food, is no longer there,” he explained adding that the recommended scenario is the better built cities model, which emphasizes “planning for agriculture, planning around productive agricultural land, not bulldozing that land and taking it out of production.”

DAVID SINCLAIR FOR NORTH STATE JOURNAL

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Moore County Edition of North State Journal

CRIME LOG

Office on a charge of possessing drug paraphernalia.

Lucas Allyn Woody, 22, was arrested by the Carthage Police Department on a charge of misdemeanor crime of domestic violence.

March 29

Cayleigh Raye Agee, 22, was arrested by the Carthage Police Department on a charge of possessing a Schedule I controlled substance.

Jeremy Ray Davidson, 29, was arrested by the Moore County Sheriff’s Office on a charge of conspiracy to commit felony larceny.

March 30

Robert Bruce MacLeod, 58, was arrested by the Carthage Police Department on a charge of assault with a deadly weapon.

Hope for our future this Easter

SPRING IS JUST AROUND the corner, but that’s not the only reason to rejoice. For my family, like many of you, this time is especially joyous because it’s Easter.

Every Easter, I re ect on the hope and redemption that Jesus’s resurrection brings, and how even out of darkness, there is new light. Even during this hopeful season, it is di cult to ignore the many challenges you and your family continue to face, including higher energy prices.

Right now, gas prices are up nearly 20 cents a gallon, which means families traveling for the Easter holiday are spending more at the pump. Too many folks are already struggling to make ends meet, and this is the last thing they need.

Unfortunately, since President Biden took o ce, he has continued to implement disastrous America-last energy policies causing these higher costs.

From stopping clean natural gas exports to our allies in Europe — crushing American jobs and creating a windfall for Putin’s war machine — to killing the Keystone XL pipeline to depleting our emergency oil reserves, President Biden has crushed American energy production and hiked up energy prices for you and your family.

This energy crisis is not the only hardship facing our nation. Month after month, the crisis Biden created at our southern border continues to get worse with no end in sight.

This past February, there were 189,922 illegal crossings at our southern border — the

Richard Hudson represents the 9th Congressional District of North Carolina COLUMN | RICHARD HUDSON

highest number ever recorded in February. This brings the total number of illegal border crossings nationwide to over 9 million, in addition to over 1.8 million known “gotaways” who avoided getting caught and are in an unknown location in our country.

It’s clear the Biden Administration’s failed open border policies are to blame for this invasion at our border. Earlier this year, House Republicans passed the Secure the Border Act (H.R. 2), which will end the Biden Administration’s open border policies like catch-and-release, beef up Border Patrol agents, and restart construction of the border wall.

Whether it’s rising gas prices or the crisis at our border, things right now can often feel overwhelming. However, my faith keeps me hopeful for the future.

This Easter season, as my family and I celebrate the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, we nd renewed hope not only for ourselves but also for our nation.

As you gather with your loved ones during this special time, I encourage you to seek refuge in your faith and remember that brighter days are ahead. Please also keep in mind our military families — especially those who could not be together this Easter. May God bless you, our military families, and our great nation.

velop organizational values, principles, and climate conducive to organizational excellence as well as programs and processes to enhance organizational e ciency and effectiveness,” the job listing reads. “Work requires sensitivity to the needs of the total municipal organization, advising Council, citizens and Village sta on a wide range of issues and programs, and use of sound judgment in maintaining con dentiality.”

FARMLAND from page 1

Data provided by Owens to North State Journal shows that only 11% of Moore County’s conversion is projected to occur on the county’s best agricultural land according to the business-as-usual scenar-

Potential hires are expected to have a master’s degree in urban planning, public or business administration, political science or a closely related eld, and a minimum of ve years of progressively responsible experience in the eld of city or county administration, business administration, public planning, public works or public nance or an equivalent combination of education and experience.

io. Statewide, 1,197,300 acres of farmland and rangeland will be converted to urban and highly developed and low-density residential land if we continue as we have been.

Co n and Owens emphasized the need for ag leaders to work together to protect the

The Council will next meet on April 9.

state’s farmland and help the farmers and future generation of farmers, because the choices that are made at the local, state and federal levels will have a tremendous impact on the future of agriculture and the land that sustains us. Visit farmland.org for more.

MOORE CITIZENS FOR FREEDOM

MOORE COUNTY

Remember that we live in the best country, the best state, and by far the best county.

MOORE COUNTY, WHAT A GREAT PLACE TO LIVE!

Share with your community! Send us your births, deaths, marriages, graduations and other announcements:

moorecommunity@northstatejournal.com

Weekly deadline is Monday at Noon

at 145 SE Broad St. Enjoy shopping from fresh and locally grown produce, meats, honey, eggs, seasonal items and more. Many vendors will be set up each week, some providing free samples. Live music is provided 10 a.m. to noon.

Consecutive wins by Pinecrest girls’ soccer to move over .500 on the year

Slow week as weather, spring break limit games

North State Journal Sta WEATHER AND SPRING breaks for districts around the state played havoc with many of the spring sports schedules last week. Here’s a look at how local teams did in the games that they managed to get in.

Baseball

North Moore played the road end of a scheduled home-and-home series with Bartlett-Yancey, dropping an 8-4 decision in their only game of the week. The Mustangs are now 8-2 on the year, 5-2 in the Mid-Carolina Conference. They’re back at it this week with games against Lee County, Dunkirk and Seaforth, all at home.

Pinecrest was able to complete a busy schedule of four games, going 3-1. The Patriots swept a home-and-home with Lee County, 3-2 and 22-4. They dropped a 3-1 game against Gray’s Creek, then beat Wayne Country Day, 9-4.

Pinecrest is now 10-3, 5-1 in the Sandhills Conference.

Pinecrest has another tournament game to start the week, then travels to Heritage and Scotland.

Union Pines dropped an 8-1 game against Richmond in their only action of the week. The Vikings are now 4-7, 1-4 in conference with a home-and-home this week against Trinity.

Softball

Union Pines split a pair of games this week, beating Greenbrier East, 11-6, then falling to James Madison, 8-7. The Vikings are now 8-3, 5-1 in the Sandhills. North Moore had the week o for softball action this week to start a 19-day break in the schedule. They’ll be back at it with a trip to Jordan-Matthews on April 9.

The Mustangs are 6-3 and in third place in the Mid-Carolina Conference at 6-1.

Pinecrest softball also didn’t play last week, as part of a two-week break in the schedule. The Patriots are 0-9 on the year, 0-6 in the Sandhills Conference. They’ll try to get their rst win with a game against Green Hope this week.

Girls’ soccer

Pinecrest won its fourth game in a row and moved above .500 on the year for the rst time this season. The Patriots blew out Scotland, 9-0 at home. Jadyn Lamielle scored two goals and had two assists in the win, while seven other Pinecrest players added goals. Pinecrest tries to keep the hot streak rolling with a game at Lee County this week.

Union Pines is riding a two-match winning streak, but the Vikings will need to hope that their momentum continues after a break in the schedule. Union Pines last played on March 20 and sits at 4-2-1 on the year, 1-1 in the Sandhills. They’ll hit the eld again this week with home games against Athens Drive and Southern Lee. North Moore is in the midst of a three-week break in the soccer schedule. The Mustangs haven’t played since March 20. They are still looking for a win on the season, sitting at 0-4-2 overall and 0-2-1 in the Mid-Carolina Conference. North Moore will have

to wait at least another week, as they aren’t scheduled to retake the pitch until April 10, at home against Northwood.

Lacrosse

The last thing a hot team wants to do is take a break, but that’s what happened to both Pinecrest’s boys’ and girls’ lacrosse. The boys have won ve straight to reach 7-2, 3-0 in conference, while the girls are on a seven-game hot streak and sit at 7-1, 3-0. Neither team has played since March 21, however. Both teams will play a home-and-home against Union Pines this week, as well as a home game against Hoggard. The Union Pines boys played the only lacrosse game in the county this week, losing to Carrboro, 10-1. The Vikings are now 4-3, 3-0 in conference. The girls haven’t played since March 11 and will put their unbeaten 4-0, 2-0 record back on the line this week. Both teams will play a home-and-home with Pinecrest, The boys will also travel to Willow Spring.

Natalie Auman

Union Pines softball

Natalie Auman is a senior for the Union Pines softball team. She was also the top 3-point shooter on the Vikings’ girls’ basketball team in the winter. Union Pines split two games last week, and Auman had big games in both outings. In a win over Greenbrier East, she went 4-for-5 with two runs scored and three driven in while adding a double and a stolen base. Against James Madison, she went 3-for-3 with three runs scored and a pair of steals.

PJ WARD-BROWN / NORTH STATE JOURNAL

DAVID SINCLAIR FOR NORTH STATE JOURNAL

Pinecrest’s Jadyn Lamielle scores one of her two goals in a 9-0 win over Scotland.

obituaries

Lewis Oswald Butler

November 9, 1955–March 22, 2024

Lewis Oswald Butler, passed peacefully from this life to eternity on Friday March 22, 2024. Lewis was born

November 9, 1955 to the late Milton Cooley Jr. and Willie Virginia Walker. Lewis grew up and lived in West End, NC. He attended Vineland Elementary, West End Middle School, and Pinecrest High School. He was an amazing individual that could do just about anything he set his mind to. Lewis was your mechanic, your electrician, your plumber but most of all his passion was landscaping. He had a true green thumb that could grow any and every plant he laid his hands upon. Lewis was one of the rst members of God’s House of Worship Ministries. He was ready and willing to do whatever needed to be done. He not only gave of himself but sowed into the ministry every week. Even when he was in the hospital, he wanted his o erings to be sowed into ministry. Lewis will truly be missed by all the members of God’s House of Worship Ministries. The love he showed toward his family and his church family will always be remembered. Lewis was preceded in death by his father Milton Cooley Jr.; one sister, Lisa Butler; one brother-inlaw, Jay Headen Sr.; one uncle, Selvester Butler; three aunts, Dorothy Butler, Iola Butler, and Jean Thompson; and four lifelong friends, Mitchell Goins, Paul Ross, Johnny Marsh and Chris Thompson. Lewis leaves to cherish fond memories, his mother, Virginia Walker of Southern Pines, NC; his brother and friend, Kenneth G. Butler (Loretta) of West End, NC; two sisters, Teresa McLaughlin of West End, NC and Zenobia Headen of Taylortown, NC. One uncle, George Roberson (Kathy) of Southern Pines, NC one aunt, JoAnn Butler of Silver Springs, MD; two special friends, Steve and Connie Goodrums of West End, NC, and a host of very special nieces, nephews, relatives, and friends.

James John Hilderbrand

September 16, 1936–March 22, 2024

James John Hilderbrand of Pinehurst, NC passed on Friday, March 22, 2024, at his residence. Jim was born September 16,1936 to the late George and Adelaide Hilderbrand in Ben Avon, Pennsylvania but lived most of his early years in Willoughby, Ohio. After high school, Jim attended Purdue University on football and golf scholarships. He entered the U.S. Army in 1958 and was stationed at Ft. Riley, Kansas where he met his wife, Glenda. They were married for 63 years. They have 3 daughters: Tracey Fierst and husband Eric, Molly Pasca and husband Calin, and Megan May and partner Randall Wilson; and six grandchildren: Emry, Logan ( ance, Amanda), Dylan (wife, Ava), and Tory Fierst; Ryan and Amanda Pasca ( ance, Jared). Jim worked for Kennametal, Inc. for 38 years, rst as a draftsman, then a salesman, and later as a sales manager. Jim completed his college degree at Ashland University in 1972 while still working for Kennametal. He played on the college golf team and won the NCAA golf championship for small colleges. He frequently took his young family along to amateur tournaments up and down the east coast. In his sales career, Jim relocated his family from Ohio to Alabama, Texas, Pennsylvania, and North Carolina. In his golf career, Jim played in tournaments all over the U.S. plus Canada, England and Scotland; he quali ed and played in three U.S. Open tournaments (two U.S. Senior Opens.) After retiring in 1999, he enjoyed life in Pinehurst, volunteering at the hospital, playing golf and gathering with family.

Doris Carter Baker

July 8, 1931–March 24, 2024

Doris Carter Baker, 92, of Southern Pines, passed away peacefully on Sunday, March 24, 2024 at the Terra Bella Memory Care Facility. She was born July 8, 1931 in Cumberland County, NC to the late Thomas and Clydia Strickland Carter. Doris was a loving wife, mother, grandmother, great grandmother and great great grandmother. She and her husband, Jack, moved to Southern Pines more than 40 years ago to be near their children and grandchildren. She is survived by her daughters, Deborah Huggins of Southern Pines and Sharon Clary (Greg) of Whispering Pines; grandchildren, Christina Wilson (Brian) of Hampstead, Christopher Huggins (Jessica) of Sanford and Ben Clary of Carrboro; great grandchildren, Ashley Wilson, Brandon Huggins (Stephanie), Kara Briggs (Alex), Marissa Wilson and Joshua Huggins; and great great grandson, Brandon Spencer Huggins; also survived by her sister, Maxine Lavender of Ohio and many nieces and nephews. In addition to her parents, Doris was preceded in death by her loving husband of 61 years, Jack Baker and siblings, Mildred Strickland, Floyd “Buck” Carter, Robert Carter and Lucille Strickland. She was Secretary of the Joy Sunday School Class at First Baptist Church of Southern Pines where she was a member for more than 40 years and she dearly loved her church family. Doris enjoyed a career in retail and was an avid card player. She also took great pleasure in many areas crafting and antique collecting.

Susan Barbara Di ly

May 15, 1939–March 24, 2024

It was a warm early summer day in 1939 when the late Angela (Stetcher) and Fredrich Wilms decided to attend the World‚Äôs Fair, hosted that year in Flushing Meadows, Queens, NY. Susan had other plans for the day. Forcing her parents to rush from the Fair to Presbyterian Hospital in Manhattan, NY, Susan Barbara (Wilms) Di ly made her entrance into the world just a few hours later on May 15, 1939. After 84 years and a life well lived, Susan Di ly of Seven Lakes passed away on Sunday, March 24, 2024 at the FirstHealth Hospice House in Pinehurst. Susan is survived by her husband of 58 years, John “Jack” Joachim Di ly, III; a son, Kevin Di ly of Pittsburgh, PA; daughters Kristine McKenna of Seven Lakes, NC and Kelly Di ly (husband Steven Kenney) of Philadelphia, PA; and three grandchildren, Ferdinand Sawyer, Kayla McKenna, and Nora Di ly-Kenney. She was preceded in death by a brother, Frederick Wilms and a sister, Linda Kiernan. Susan completed her Bachelor’s degree at SUNY Cortland and was an elementary school teacher for almost ve years before taking on the job she occupied for the next three decades: raising her three Susan was an avid and talented crafter who was particularly passionate about quilting. She readily shared those talents with others, teaching so many classes that she lovingly became known as “The Craft Lady.” Susan and Jack relocated to the Seven Lakes area for their retirement in 1997. She also gave generously to this community via both her time and by making substantial charitable donations. Susan was a founding member of The Sandhills Interfaith Hospitality Network, a legacy that continues to this day, as the organization (now known as Family Promise of Moore County) still provides shelter and assistance to Moore County families experiencing homelessness. Susan was a four-time cancer survivor who also courageously battled depression and anxiety during the latter decades of her life. She was committed to natural healing and the wellness community. She was deeply faithful and a proud member of Our Saviour Lutheran Church.

Laura Leigh Spence

July 10, 1951–March 26, 2024

Laura Leigh Spence, formerly of Pinehurst, NC, died March 26, 2024, at Bladen County Hospital in Elizabethtown, NC. Laura was born July 10, 1951 in Richmond, Va. and grew up in Michigan and Kansas. Laura graduated from Pittsburg State University, Pittsburg, Kansas, and went on to obtain both Masters’ and Doctorate Degrees in Educational Administration while working in the public schools of North Carolina. She retired from the public school system where she had served as a teacher, Supervisor and Director for Special Education programs for 30 years in Cumberland, New Hanover and Sampson counties. Upon retirement she became a case manager for nonpro t mental health programs in Moore County. She enjoyed helping people and was loved by the people that she served. Laura was a member of the Temperance Smith Alston Chapter of the National Society of Daughters of the American Revolution in Pinehurst, NC and served for several years as the Vice Regent. Laura had a long history with Moore County as her father was one of the original developers of Whispering Pines in the 1950s. She had fond memories of the summers spent swimming and boating on Thaggard Lake, watching the mill work beside the dam and making objects out of the clay as the roads for Whispering Pines were being cut out. Laura’s parents were Dr. and Mrs. William P. Spence who retired to Pinehurst in Pinewild many years ago from the Midwest. She had one Daughter, Trisha L. Canady, Additionally, she had two granddaughters: Brittney Nicole and Taylor Leigh Sims, and four great grandchildren, who she enjoyed entertaining during their childhood years in Fayetteville, NC.