North State Journal Vol. 9, Issue 50

Call to action

Gov. Josh Stein called on the General Assembly to allocate $100.7 billion for Hurricane Helene relief during a press conference at MANNA Food Bank on Monday in Mills River. “As these organizations continue the daily work of supporting their community, we have a responsibility to support them,” Stein said in his state budget request aimed at assisting western North Carolina.

the BRIEF this week

U.S. job openings fall to 7.6M in December Washington, D.C. U.S. job openings fell in December, a sign that the labor market is cooling but still healthy. Openings fell to 7.6 million, from 8.2 million in November, the Labor Department reported Tuesday. They were down from 8.9 million a year earlier and a peak of 12.2 million in March 2022 when the economy was rebounding from COVID-19 lockdowns.

The openings fell short of the 7.9 million that economists had expected. The number of layoffs fell, suggesting that Americans enjoy unusual job security. The number of people quitting their jobs rose modestly but stayed below pre-pandemic levels. After surging in 2021 and 2022, quits have come down as workers lose confidence in their ability to find better pay or working conditions elsewhere.

China counters with tariffs on U.S. products

Beijing China announced retaliatory tariffs on select American imports and an antitrust investigation into Google on Tuesday, just minutes after a sweeping levy on Chinese products imposed by U.S. President Donald Trump took effect. American tariffs on imports from Canada and Mexico were also set to go into effect Tuesday before Trump agreed to a 30-day pause, as the two countries acted to address his concerns about border security and drug trafficking. Trump planned to talk with Chinese President Xi Jinping in the next few days.

Education Department ends DEI practices

The Trump administration also said all complaints related to book removals would be dropped

By A.P. Dillon North State Journal

RALEIGH — President Donald Trump’s Department of Education has taken action to eliminate diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives, as well as ending former President Joe Biden’s “Book Ban Hoax,” according to press statements released by the agency.

The U.S. Department of Education’s (USDOE) elimination of diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) initiatives follows Trump’s executive orders dismantling DEI, which his administration considers to be a “divisive ideology.”

Specific actions taken by the USDOE include dissolving both the Diversity and Inclusion Council and the Employee Engagement Diversity Equity Inclusion Accessibility Council, canceling DEI training contracts worth more than $2.6

Hurricane hearings held at NCGA

Gov. Josh Stein’s GROW NC and funding updates were heard; the NCORR’s director was grilled

By A.P. Dillon North State Journal

RALEIGH — Back-to-back hearings on hurricane recovery were held at the General Assembly last week.

The first hearing was held Jan. 29 by the House Select Committee on Helene Recovery, and the second hearing was held the following day by the Joint Legislative Commission on Governmental Operations’ Subcommittee on Hurricane Response and Recovery.

The House Select Committee’s meeting focused on Gov. Josh Stein’s newly created Governor’s Recovery Office for Western North Carolina (GROW NC). The committee heard from GROW NC Director Matt Calabria and recovery adviser Jonathan Krebs on Hurricane Helene efforts.

Reading, math struggles continue for US children

“The news is not good. We are not seeing the progress we need to regain the ground our students lost during the pandemic.”

Peggy Carr, commissioner of

the National Center for Education Statistics

Charlotte-Mecklenburg and Guilford County Schools were included in the large cities report

By Collin Brinkley The Associated Press

WASHINGTON, D.C.

— America’s children have continued to lose ground on reading skills in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic and have made little improvement in math, according to the latest results of an exam known as the nation’s report card.

The findings are yet another setback for U.S. schools and reflect the myriad challenges that have upended education, from pandemic school closures to a youth

mental health crisis and high rates of chronic absenteeism. The national exam results also show growing inequality: While the highest-performing students have started to regain lost ground, lower-performing students are falling further behind. Every two years, the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP), also known as the Nation’s Report Card, is administered to fourth and eighth grade students around the country. The 2024 NAEP tests are given in the states, the District of Columbia, Department of Defense schools and 26 participating large urban districts in math and reading.

Calabria and Krebbs indicated there were $59.6 billion in total estimated damages and needs, with an estimated $44.4 billion in direct costs, $9.4 billion in indirect costs, and $5.8 billion for strengthening and mitigation efforts.

The GROW NC officials also noted a gap in funding, with federal funds requested at $25.7 billion versus the $15.7 billion in federal funds received so far as of January 2025. Calabria and Krebbs also cited Helene’s 105 fatalities, an estimated 74,000 damaged homes, 5,000 miles of state roads impacted, and 7,000 damaged private roads, bridges and culverts. The presentation also said the storm caused 50 million cubic yards of debris. According to GROW NC, critical areas that need immediate attention include debris removal—particularly from waterways and right-of-way routes—and temporary and permanent housing solutions.

IZZY LAVALETTE FOR NORTH STATE JOURNAL

the word | The image in the mirror

TESTING from page A1

“The news is not good,” said Peggy Carr, commissioner of the National Center for Education Statistics, which oversees the assessment. “We are not seeing the progress we need to regain the ground our students lost during the pandemic.”

Among the few bright spots was an improvement in fourth grade math, where the average score ticked up 2 points on a scale of 500. It’s still 3 points lower than the 2019 pre-pandemic average, yet some states and districts made significant strides, including in Washington, D.C., where the average score increased 10 points.

For the most part, however, American schools have not yet begun to make progress.

The average math score for eighth grade students remained unchanged from 2022, while reading scores fell 2 points at both grade levels. One-third of eighth grade students scored below “basic” in reading, more than ever in the history of the assessment.

Students are considered below basic if they are missing fundamental skills. For example, eighth grade students who scored below basic in reading were typically unable to make a simple inference about a character’s motivation after reading a short story, and some were unable to identify that the word “industrious” means “to be hard working.”

Especially alarming to officials was the divide between higherand lower-performing students, which has grown wider than ever. Students with the highest scores outperformed their peers from two years ago, making up some ground lost during the pandemic. But the lowest performers are scoring even lower, falling further behind.

It was most pronounced in eighth grade math: While the top 10% of students saw their scores increased by 3 points, the lowest 10% decreased by 6 points.

“We are deeply concerned about our low-performing students,” said Lesley Muldoon, executive director of the National Assessment Governing Board, which sets policies for the exam.

“For a decade, these students have been on the decline. They need our urgent attention and our best effort.”

The

The mirror is a very common object. We have all seen our images in mirrors, as well as those of other people and objects. Two things are evident about these images. First, there must be an object to be mirrored, or there will be no image. Second, the image we see may be a perfect or imperfect reflection of the object. The quality of the mirror determines how clear and accurate the image will be. An old quicksilver mirror exposed to sunlight may become damaged, making the reflection indistinct. Other mirrors distort images, changing their size or shape. The character of the mirror is important — especially when it comes to our spiritual mirror.

What is our spiritual mirror? Our minds are our spiritual mirrors. We cannot see God directly, but we form a mental image of Him. Instead of viewing Him as He truly is, we see Him as He is reflected in our minds. Paul speaks of this, saying, “Beholding as in a mirror, the glory of the Lord” (2 Corinthians 3:18).

God works in us and around us, and our mental image of Him has a profound effect on our attitude toward Him. If we have a wrong idea of God, we will have a distorted image of Him, which will shape our relationship with Him. A misunderstanding of God’s character can lead to unnecessary fear, doubt, and distance.

We see varied ideas of God and Christ reflected in the New Testament. Some said of Christ, “He is a good man.” Others said, “He deceives the people.” One writer of Scripture described Him as altogether lovely, the fairest among ten thousand. Others viewed Him with fear and dread.

In one of Christ’s parables, a servant said to his master, “You are an austere man.” Because he saw his master as severe and exacting, he was afraid. Many today have this same perception of God. They see Him only as a strict judge, ready to punish, rather than a loving Father. Their image of God emphasizes His justice but leaves out His mercy and kindness.

A person with this view of God may try to obey Him out of fear but will never be able to love Him fully. They may tremble at the thought of standing before Him, rather than drawing near in trust and confidence.

Just as we can misjudge God, we can misjudge people. Early in my Christian life, I met a minister who looked very stern. For days, I was in his company, feeling uneasy and intimidated. I thought his piercing eyes could see right through me. But as I got to know him, I realized he was kind and tenderhearted. Eventually, he became like a father to me, someone I could trust and approach freely.

A wrong idea of God has this same effect. It makes us afraid to come to Him. But when we see His true character — His fatherly love, His compassion, and His enduring mercy — we approach Him with joy rather than fear.

If your mental mirror shows God as an “austere man,” remember, the problem is not with God but with the mirror. It is essential to correct our understanding of Him. Some believe God has little time for them or He is only interested in pointing out their faults. This false image makes their spiritual life one of bondage and discouragement.

God knows we are weak and imperfect. His concern is not to condemn but to help us grow. A loving mother does not constantly search for faults in her child — she nurtures and encourages. Likewise, God’s love is patient and enduring.

At times, we may feel that our failures make God impatient with us, as though He is ready to give up on us. But this is not true. Such thinking comes from a distorted image of God. The real God, as revealed in Scripture, is full of grace and love.

a historic backslide in 2022.

In that year’s exam, student achievement fell across both subjects and grade levels, in some cases by unprecedented levels.

This round of testing again featured students whose lives were disrupted by the pandemic. When COVID-19 hit in 2020, the fourth graders were in kindergarten, while the eighth graders were in fourth grade.

But Carr said poor results can no longer be blamed solely on the pandemic, warning that the nation’s education system faces “complex challenges.”

A survey done alongside the exam found in 2022 that fewer young students were reading for enjoyment, which is linked to lower reading scores. And new survey results found that students often absent from class — a persistent problem nationwide — are struggling the most.

“The data are clear,” Carr said. “Students who don’t come to school are not improving.”

The results provide fresh fuel for a national debate over the impact of pandemic school closures, though they’re unlikely to add clarity. Some studies have found that longer closures led to bigger academic setbacks. Those slower to reopen were often in urban and Democratic-led areas, while more rural and Republican-led areas were quicker.

The new results don’t show a “direct link” on the topic, Carr said, though she noted students clearly do better when they’re in school.

Florida and Arizona, among the states that saw reading scores fall in 2024, were among the first to return to the classroom during the pandemic. Meanwhile, some big school systems that had longer closures, including Los Angeles and New York City, made strides in fourth grade math.

The success of big urban districts — 14 of which saw notable improvement in fourthgrade math when the nation as a whole saw only minor gains — can be credited to academic recovery efforts funded by federal pandemic relief, said Ray Hart, executive director of the Council of Great City Schools. Investing in efforts like intensive tutoring programs and curriculum updates is “really proving to make a difference,” he said.

Republicans in Congress were quick to cast blame on Democrats and former Presi-

The Bible reflects God accurately. When our view of Him does not align with Scripture, we must reject our own flawed perceptions and trust what the Bible reveals. Isaiah 54:10 gives us a beautiful picture of God’s unchanging love:

“For the mountains shall depart, and the hills be removed; but my kindness shall not depart from you, neither shall the covenant of my peace be removed, says the Lord that has mercy on you.”

Troubled heart, look upon this image. Let it be reflected in your mind. See God as He truly is.

Charles Wesley Naylor is considered one of the most prolific and inspiring songwriters of the Church of God. He was bedridden for much of his adult life but wrote eight books, a newspaper column and more than 150 songs. Many of his writings are in the public domain.

dent Joe Biden’s administration.

Rep. Tim Walberg (R-Mich.), chair of the House Education and Workforce Committee, said the decline is “clearly a reflection of the education bureaucracy continuing to focus on woke policies rather than helping students learn and grow.”

“I’m thankful we have an administration that is looking to reverse course,” he said in a reference to President Donald Trump.

Compared with 2019 results, eighth grade reading scores

are now down 8 points. Reading scores are down 5 points in both grades. And in fourth grade math, scores are down 3 points.

Yet officials say there’s reason to be optimistic. Carr highlighted improvement in Louisiana, where fourth grade reading is now back above pre-pandemic levels, and in Alabama, which accomplished that feat in fourth grade math.

Carr was especially laudatory of Louisiana, where a campaign to improve reading proficien-

cy resulted in both higher- and lower-performing students exceeding 2019 scores.

“I would not say that hope is lost, and I would not say that we cannot turn this around,” Carr said. “It’s been demonstrated that we can.”

North Carolina’s Charlotte-Mecklenburg Public Schools and Guilford County Public Schools were among the 26 urban areas included in this year’s report. For extended details on North Carolina’s results and data, go to NSJOnline.com.

NCDOT to Hold Virtual Public Meetings Regarding the Multimodal Connected Vehicle Pilot Project in Wake County

RALEIGH - The public is invited to a meeting with the N.C. Department of Transportation this month to discuss the Multimodal Connected Vehicle (CV) Pilot project that proposes to create a connected environment in west Raleigh to test the safety benefits of CV technology.

The proposed project, State Transportation Improvement Program Project No. HO-0001AA will update road infrastructure, introduce a new mobile app for cyclists, pedestrians and drivers and use smart transportation systems to evaluate these technologies. The pilot aims to improve safety, mobility and environmental sustainability by boosting bus use and cutting down on car idling with better traffic light timing.

Meeting registration and project details, including a map of the pilot area can be found on the NCDOT project webpage at https://publicinput.com/mmcvp-raleigh.

Two virtual meetings will be held at 6 -7:30 p.m. on Tuesday, Feb. 11 and Thursday, Feb. 13, 2025. Interested residents can attend either meeting online or by phone to learn more about the pilot, have questions answered and talk with NCDOT representatives. There will be a formal presentation beginning promptly at 6 p.m.

People may also submit comments by phone, email or mail by March 31, 2025.

For more information, contact NCDOT ITS Manager Alex Stewart, PE at 910231-6528; adstewart2@ncdot.gov; or 1561 Mail Service Center in Raleigh

NCDOT will provide auxiliary aids and services under the Americans with Disabilities Act for disabled people who wish to participate in this workshop. Anyone requiring special services should contact Jamille Robbins, Environmental Analysis Unit, at 1598 Mail Service Center in Raleigh; 919707-6085; or jarobbins@ncdot.gov as early as possible so that arrangements can be made.

Those

PUBLIC DOMAIN

“The Penitent Magdalen” by Georges de La Tour (ca. 1640) is a painting in the collection the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York.

Briner addresses State Health Plan deficit

The state treasurer also discussed the pension fund’s performance

By A.P. Dillon North State Journal

RALEIGH — New North Carolina State Treasurer Brett Briner discussed the State Health Plan and the status of the pension fund during his first “Open Access” call with media on Jan. 27.

In his initial remarks, Briner said his department is responsible for managing approximately $250 billion in assets, distributing 375,000 pension checks monthly and providing health benefits to 760,000 individuals.

The treasurer said the State Health Plan (SHP) is facing a

$507 million deficit in 2026 and will “require belt-tightening,” which may include increased premiums.

Briner was asked if an increase might be $15 or $20, responding that a $20 premium increase was “not far off from” what’s been communicated publicly already. He added the increase would be “at the bottom end of the income distribution,” and a premium increase would be more for those with higher incomes. He added that the SHP board would look at its options at an upcoming meeting.

Briner mentioned that the health plan board is considering the ability to charge differential premiums based on income, allowing for a more equitable distribution of costs among SHP members. He added he thinks that the idea “en-

“We aspire to make this health plan better for all the members over time.”

Brett Briner, state treasurer

joys substantial support across the entire board.”

“We aspire to make this health plan better for all the members over time,” Briner said.

Briner also indicated he was open to revisiting GLP-1 weight loss drugs being covered under the SHP in 2026.

Briner also highlighted issues with the pension plan’s performance and said it is facing a $16 billion deficit.

“On the investment man-

State House announces new government efficiency committee

Reps. John Torbett and Keith Kidwell will chair the committee

By A.P. Dillon North State Journal

RALEIGH — North Carolina Speaker of the House Destin Hall (R-Granite Falls) has announced the formation of a new interim committee on government efficiency.

The Select Committee on Government Efficiency will be chaired by Reps. John Torbett (R-Gaston) and Keith Kidwell

DEI from page A1

million, withdrawing the Department’s Equity Action Plan, placing DEI-focused staff on paid administrative leave, and identifying over 200 DEI-related web pages for removal.

In a Jan. 23 press release, the USDOE stated it will continue reviewing its programs and services to identify and address additional DEI initiatives, including those that may use “coded or imprecise language.”

The following day, on Jan. 24, the USDOE’s Office for Civil Rights (OCR) issued a press statement announcing the dismissal of 11 complaints over “book bans.”

“The complaints alleged that local school districts’ removal of age-inappropriate, sexually explicit, or obscene materials from their school libraries created a hostile environment for students – a meritless claim premised upon a dubious legal theory,” the USDOE OCR statement reads.

“Effective Jan. 24, 2025, OCR has rescinded all department guidance issued under the theory that a school district’s removal of age-inappropriate books from its libraries may violate civil rights laws.”

OCR will dismiss six additional book-banning allegations and remove the “book ban coordinator” put in place during 2023 under the Biden adminis-

(R-Beaufort). The committee does not yet have a dedicated page on the General Assembly’s committee listing page.

“Unnecessary government bloat and waste hurt North Carolina taxpayers’ wallets and divert funds that could be used for core functions such as public safety and education,” Hall said in a press release. “I am excited to appoint Reps. Torbett and Kidwell to this select committee as the North Carolina House seeks to restore state and local governments across North Carolina to their proper, limited roles.”

tration that was in charge of investigating complaints involving obscene material in schools, per the statement.

“By dismissing these complaints and eliminating the position and authorities of a so-called ‘book ban coordinator,’ the department is beginning the process of restoring the fundamental rights of parents to direct their children’s education,” Acting Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights Craig Trainor said in the press statement.

“The department adheres to the deeply rooted American principle that local control over public education best allows parents and teachers alike to assess the educational needs of their children and communities,” Trainor said. “Parents and school boards have broad discretion to fulfill that important responsibility. These decisions will no longer be second-guessed by the Office for Civil Rights at the U.S. Department of Education.”

The policy change regarding the alleged book bans stems from a review initiated by incoming OCR leadership on Jan. 20, 2025, which determined that these cases involved parental and community judgment rather than civil rights issues.

The book bans origins involving OCR trace back to February 2022, when a complaint was filed against Forsyth County School District in Georgia.

The committee is “authorized to look at DEI policies, excess state property, and other potential wastes of taxpayer dollars,” the release said. DEI stands for diversity, equity and inclusion.

According to Hall’s press release, the House’s standing State and Local Government committee will also have authorization to consider legislation on the same topics during the current long session.

“North Carolinians deserve a state government that works for them,” said Torbett. “Unfortunately, our government agencies and public universities have

While regional OCR officials initially sought to dismiss the complaint, Biden administration appointees overruled the decision and, in a settlement agreement, required the district to implement various measures, including posting statements about DEI. Under the policy change, the agreement imposed on Forsyth County School District will be terminated.

An organization called PEN America claims to have documented more than 10,000 instances of book bans involving some 4,200 titles, many of which contain graphic violence and sexual content.

Two of the books regularly objected to are “Lawn Boy” and “Gender Queer.” Both titles have been removed from shelves in numerous schools around the country due to sexually explicit material. “Gender Queer” has been objected to not just for its text, but also for its imagery.

PEN America admits it has a broad definition of a book ban. On its website, PEN America defines a ban as “any action taken against a book based on its content and as a result of parent or community challenges, administrative decisions, or in response to direct or threatened action by lawmakers or other governmental officials, that leads to a previously accessible book being either completely removed from availability to students, or where

agement side, if you look at the Boston College Center for Retirement Research, they provide this data that North Carolina is either 49th or 50th in investment performance over any period,” said Briner. “That challenge manifests the inability to provide cost-of-living adjustments to our retirees over time. That is something that we are actively seeking to change.”

Briner indicated he plans to adjust the pension’s asset allocation from its current 48% equity/52% cash and fixed income split closer to the national average of 70/30. He said he’s also hired four new Investment Advisory Committee members to work on the issues.

As chair of the Local Government Commission, Briner said he’d like to address restrictions municipalities face

been bogged down by bad policies and programs, like DEI, limiting their ability to enact their core purpose: serving citizens. I am proud to chair this committee alongside Rep. Kidwell to continue improving our state.”

Kidwell highlighted the connection to President Donald Trump’s executive order creating the Department of Government Efficiency, which is tasked with “modernizing Federal technology and software to maximize governmental efficiency and productivity.”

“As the new Trump administration rightfully takes aim at Washington D.C.’s wasteful spending and inefficient bureaucracy, it is time for us in Raleigh to do the same,” said Kidwell. “This committee will investigate ways our state government can maximize value

access to a book is restricted or diminished.”

In North Carolina, the push to remove books with pornographic and violent content has continued. Last May, a group of lawmakers, school board members and advocacy groups led by the conservative nonprofit NC Values Coalition held a press conference calling for changes to state laws regarding books in schools.

“Now it’s time for a statewide solution,” NC Values President Tami Fitzgerald said during the May 2024 press event. “We should adopt a statewide criteria for book selection to ensure books are educationally and age-appropriate and to require schools to comply with North Carolina’s obscenity laws.”

Wake County Public Schools (WCPSS) Board Member Cheryl Caulfield asked the news outlet covering the press event, “Can you show this in your newspaper or your broadcasts? If not, why is it OK for our minors to read it?”

In 2023, WCPSS’s board shut down book challenges by parents by instituting a two-year challenge moratorium policy. Under that policy, once a title has been challenged, no one can file an objection to it for two years despite North Carolina law giving parents the right to inspect and object to any materials used by their child’s school, including books.

School closures and mask

in seeking funding by modernizing bond-selling practices and making the process more flexible.

Addressing the SHP’s Clear Pricing Project (CPP), Briner noted the program was up for review in 2026 and that though there were multiple deadlines for providers to enroll, many failed to comply.

CPP was created in 2018 under former Treasurer Dale Folwell with the aim of getting health providers to be transparent in their pricing and billing. SHP members enjoyed no or low copays for providers who joined the CPP. The CPP was voluntary and had no enforcement functions.

“We have to work with all stakeholders,” Briner said of pricing transparency and finding a better long-term solution.

“Unnecessary government bloat and waste hurt North Carolina taxpayers’ wallets and divert funds that could be used for core functions such as public safety and education.”

N.C. House Speaker Destin Hall (R-Granite Falls)

for North Carolina taxpayers, protect constitutional rights, and end the weaponization of state power.”

Trump has also issued an executive order dismantling DEI programs and spending in all federal agencies and the military.

mandates during the 2020 pandemic prompted some parents from around the country to protest at school board meetings. In the years that have followed, parents have continued to speak out at school board meetings over the use of Critical Race Theory (CRT) and DEI, as well as criticizing books in K-12 school libraries and classrooms that contain sexual content.

In October 2021, then-U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland issued a memo directing the Federal Bureau of Investigation and U.S. Attorneys’ Offices to investigate parents protesting at school board meetings.

The Garland parent memo prompted several congressional hearings, during which time it was learned that the memo was prompted by a letter sent to former President Joe Biden by the National School Boards Association (NSBA) that compared parent protests to domestic terrorism and that the FBI was employing counterterrorism tactics on parents.

An NSBA report later revealed that Biden had personally called NSBA Board of Directors President Viola Garcia after the letter became public and that Garland was aware of Biden’s involvement.

Backlash followed, with dozens of state school board associations dropping their NSBA membership, including North Carolina.

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THE CONVERSATION

Neal Robbins, publisher | Frank Hill, senior opinion editor

VISUAL VOICES

EDITORIAL | FRANK HILL

Trump chemotherapy

It is not personal. It’s just politics.

HAS IT REALLY only been 17 days since President Donald Trump was sworn back in office?

More positive things have been done (extraditing dangerous criminals, bringing American hostages home alive, ending wasteful spending) in a fortnight than in the entire somnambulant Biden administration.

Even Trump’s critics have come around. We were at a wedding celebration in Charlotte recently, and a woman we have known for years grabbed my wrist in an earnest manner and proceeded to tell me her thoughts on Trump.

“I don’t like the way he talks to people,” she said. “I don’t like his mean tweets. I did not vote for him in 2016, and I didn’t vote for him in 2020 either. I was led to believe Joe Biden was going to be a moderating influence in the White House and bring all sides today as a healer, not a divider.

“And boy, oh boy, was I ever wrong!

“I voted enthusiastically for President Trump this time around, and you want to know why?

“Trump is like chemotherapy! Chemotherapy is harsh, but if you have cancer, you have to kill it, and the only way to kill it is with chemotherapy! Biden and progressive liberal Democratic policies were a cancer on America, and Trump was elected to get rid of it all!”

Anyone who has had chemotherapy or seen a loved one go through chemo treatment knows it is unpleasant at best and horrible at worst. It is no joking matter.

However, the analogy holds true. The caustic nature of chemo treatment kills off many cells, but as long as it destroys the growing cancer cells in the body so the patient can survive, it is deemed to be worthwhile.

Trump is using his executive power like chemotherapy to unwind as much of the Biden/

progressive socialist Democrat agenda as he can, much of it instituted by executive action in the first place.

That is all understandable and supportable. The ultimate wish would be for Trump to sign one massive final executive order to end all executive orders and declare: “I hereby rescind every one of the remaining 50,000 numbered and unnumbered executive orders signed by every previous president going back to George Washington and render them null and void. If Congress wants to reinstate any of them for any purpose, they can pass legislation doing so, and I will consider signing it into law as the Constitution intended”.

Then he can sheathe his executive pen, and the Golden Age of Legislative Supremacy in America can take root once again and flourish going forward.

America should never want, need or encourage any president to take so many important matters into his own hands ever again when Congress is the appropriate channel to make laws in this country.

There has not been a Republican president or governor with the brains and guts to do what Trump is doing since Calvin Coolidge in 1925. Coolidge, a flinty parsimonious New Englander if there ever was one, left the federal government 30% smaller in terms of cost and headcount in 1929 when he retired.

No so-called “conservative” Republican president since then ― Nixon, Reagan, Bush 41 or 43 or Trump in his first term ― had the kahunas to shrink the size of government. It grew under each one.

Trump has offered 2 million federal employees the chance to resign with full pay until September if they don’t want to return to the office. If 10% of the federal workforce takes

The ‘Captain America’ movie controversy explained

There was a lot of pushback, with fans accusing Mackie of going “full woke.”

ON FEB. 14, 2025, the new Captain America movie, “A Brave New World,” comes out in theaters.

As has been the case with many Marvel movies, the promotional tour leading up to this one has not been without some controversy.

The lead actor, Anthony Mackie, plays Sam Wilson/Captain America. Previously, the Steve Rogers version of Captain America was played by actor Chris Evans, who handed his vibranium shield over to the Wilson (aka “Falcon”) character in “Avengers: Endgame.”

During a press tour in Rome on Jan. 27 for the upcoming movie, Mackie was discussing what he felt Captain America represented when he made the following comments:

“For me, Captain America represents a lot of different things, and I don’t think the term, you know, ‘America’ should be one of those representations. Like, it’s about a man who keeps his word, who has honor, dignity and integrity. Someone who is trustworthy and dependable.”

It sounded a lot like Mackie was wholly distancing himself from the unique patriotic values Captain America embodied for so many fans of both the comic and the movies over the last several decades.

Understandably, there was a lot of pushback, with fans accusing Mackie of going “full woke,” an accusation he faced during the airing of the

2021 “Falcon and the Winter Soldier” TV series on Disney+ as well after his character gave what some at the time called the “wokest” speech in Marvel history in the season finale.

Mackie quickly backtracked after outrage ensued over his Rome remarks, writing on Instagram, “I’m a proud American and taking on the shield of a hero like Cap is the honor of a lifetime.”

“I have the utmost respect for those who serve and have served our country,” he wrote. “Cap has universal characteristics that people all over the world can relate to.”

Amid the uproar over what Mackie initially said, his defenders have said his comments were not unlike some made by Evans during promotional work he’d done for the Cap movies in which he’d starred.

Others noted that the comic book version of Captain America and the movie version at one point fought against the American government in the court of public opinion not because he hated America but because, as he said, he knew that “liberty could as easily be snuffed out here as in Nazi Germany,” something he said “nearly” happened. It doesn’t matter. Mackie could have avoided this controversy and all the bad press it brought the movie and franchise simply by leaving out his comments about “America” altogether and saying something like this instead:

this action, it could save $100 billion.

If 100,000 employees living in Northern Virginia accept the offer and move to The Villages in Florida, Virginia may turn red in 2028.

Political appointees are not indispensable to the execution of government. They are there to push forward the political ideals and agenda of the person and party who got them there, not to be a true impartial public servant. It is not personal. It’s just politics.

Trump and his team are shutting down federal agencies where left-wing idealogues have infected spending with their overt radical progressive socialist political agendas. They treat your taxpayer funds like their political piggy bank.

God only knows what magnitude of wasteful spending the Department of Government Efficiency will find when they unleash AI on every federal agency budget.

Think of Trump as being a surgeon trained to remove the malignant tumors that have been growing for decades.

Trump is the chemotherapy needed to stop the cancer from spreading further or returning. Breast cancer patients have a 91% chance of surviving five years after treatment.

America needs the Trump chemotherapy to guarantee our survival 100% as the last great bastion of freedom, free speech and free enterprise in the world.

“For me, Captain America represents a lot of different things, some of which are universal. Like, it’s about a man who keeps his word, who has honor, dignity and integrity. Someone who is trustworthy and dependable.”

Perhaps it was because he was in a different country and in front of an international audience that Mackie felt the need to clarify that honor, dignity and integrity weren’t uniquely American.

But considering he’s playing a character who literally has the word “America” in his name and who also wears a red, white and blue costume symbolic of the American flag, I don’t think it was too much to ask of him to put away the woke for five seconds and act proud of both the role he played and his country, too.

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

COLUMN

Making America Great Again requires more babies

High-income households have a lower birth rate than lowerincome households.

THERE’S LITTLE NEED to become an interplanetary country if we can’t populate the country we already have.

President Donald Trump’s inaugural address didn’t just include an amazing list of things he wants to do. It cast an aspirational vision for Americans to rally around.

“The United States will once again consider itself a growing nation,” he said.

“And we will pursue our manifest destiny into the stars, launching American astronauts to plant the Stars and Stripes on the planet Mars.”

That would be incredible. Given all that Elon Musk and SpaceX have done, it even seems possible. From the start, Americans have been exploring, pushing boundaries and creating new settlements. Instead of apologizing for the things that made America great, Trump is embracing them. Trump is proud to be an American, and he wants you to be, too.

But making America — and Mars — great again requires something else.

More babies.

Last April, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention announced that America’s fertility rate had dropped to a “historic low.” The total fertility rate was 1,616.5 births per 1,000 women. The country needs 2,100 births per 1,000 women to maintain its population.

America’s fertility rate “has generally been below replacement since 1971 and consistently below replacement since 2007,” a CDC report stated.

A shrinking population presents major challenges. Even with technological advantages, the country needs young adults to serve in the military. Some of tomorrow’s greatest innovators aren’t being born. As people age, they become more dependent on others and less economically productive. The country’s massive national debt and unfunded pension obligations will exacerbate this demographic problem.

The human cost will be brutal, too. Even though parenting can be exhausting, children bring meaning and purpose. Many will miss out on the chance to become grandparents. Each year, tens of thousands of people die without someone to claim the body. If births keep falling, that number will only increase.

COLUMN | BEN SHAPIRO

The

Chinese Sputnik

Lowering the barrier to entry for AI means wider innovation, which means faster development overall.

CHINA SHOCKED the West with its announcement of DeepSeek, an artificial intelligence network capable of competing with OpenAI, Meta and Google.

The fact that China was able to develop DeepSeek without a heavy supply of sophisticated microchips from Nvidia sent Nvidia stock spiraling, along with the other major tech companies in the United States. China seems to have cracked the code to bringing down the cost of AI development radically, in the process ending-around sanctions against their access to those microchips. In the words of former Intel Chief Executive Pat Gelsinger, “Engineering is about constraints. The Chinese engineers had limited resources, and they had to find creative solutions.”

Now, it remains to be seen just how revolutionary DeepSeek’s development was. China has a bad habit of both stealing intellectual property and lying about its own technological development. Suffice it to say, however, that China has demonstrated once again that America exists in a competitive world — a world of enemies determined to outcompete the United States.

Some, like investor Marc Andreessen, have likened China’s announcement to the Soviet announcement of the launch of the satellite Sputnik in 1957, a development that shocked the American people out of their postwar arrogance and led to the creation of the American space program. It’s time for the U.S. to take the initiative again. And that means it is time for America to unshackle its innovators.

This is something President Donald Trump understands well. He called DeepSeek a “wake-up” call for American industry, explaining “we need to be laser-focused on competing.” He added, “If you could do it cheaper, if you could do it (for) less (and) get to the same end result. I think that’s a good thing for us.”

He is not wrong. Lowering the barrier to entry for AI means wider innovation, which means faster development overall. But such development could be at odds with Trump’s self-stated goal of reshoring actual manufacturing to the United States: The same day he noted DeepSeek’s game-changing revelation, he announced that the United States would “be placing tariffs on foreign production of computer

Legal immigration can paper over some of these economic problems. But it isn’t a cure-all. Assimilation doesn’t happen when immigrants arrive in such numbers that they overwhelm the melting pot.

Low fertility is often seen as primarily a financial issue. But the data doesn’t show that. High-income households have a lower birth rate than lower-income households. Also, the U.S. is the richest country in the history of the world. If wealth resulted in more children, this wouldn’t be an issue.

Fundamentally, the problem is cultural. Our society urges young people to prioritize their careers over forming families. It tells young women to dream about being “girl bosses,” not stay-at-home moms. A major argument for abortion is that women will be hurt financially if they can’t slaughter their unborn children. Religious women have more children, but an increasing number of women are nonreligious.

Another factor is that more people aren’t getting married. Nearly half of women who have never married by their early 40s have not had children.

Among married women, it’s 9%. But even couples that do tie the knot are waiting until their early 30s on average, giving them fewer fertile years together.

Reversing these trends would improve birth rates. There’s no magic button here, but culture can change rapidly. Look at how quickly DEI is fading in the private sector as Trump roots out racial discrimination in the federal government.

Trump should use his marketing genius to give social status to moms, especially those with four or more children. Send them a medal or give them special parking privileges. Anything to signal to them that society sees motherhood as uniquely valuable and worth aspiring to.

Trump should also directly encourage his younger, married supporters to have one more child than they were planning to.

Who knows? That baby could grow up to be the one who plants the American flag on Mars.

Victor Joecks is a columnist for the Las Vegas Review-Journal.

Ben Shapiro’s new collection, “Facts and Furious: The Facts About America and Why They Make Leftists Furious,” is available now. Shapiro is a graduate of UCLA and Harvard Law School, host of “The Ben Shapiro Show,” and co-founder of Daily Wire+. COLUMN

chips, semiconductors ... to return production of these essential goods to the United States of America.” The goal would be the forced relocation of factories from countries like Taiwan back inside America’s borders.

The problem with this, of course, is that such relocation is both expensive and burdensome, adding time and cash to the list of hurdles American companies must clear to compete with DeepSeek and China. It would be wonderful if more semiconductors were produced in America. It is also years off. Giving up any competitive advantage — and Taiwan’s opposition to China means that it is oriented toward the U.S., thus granting us a competitive advantage — is a mistake.

One of the great advantages of the United States during the Cold War era was the Soviets’ addiction to economic autarky. The United States’ economic growth during the post-World War II era was attributable both to its relatively undamaged status during WWII and to its far more robust network of trade and security alliances, ranging from West Germany to Britain to Canada to Japan. If the United States wishes to outcompete China in AI — and everything else — it would be counterproductive to threaten the very relationships that grant us inherent advantage.

No doubt Trump knows that. TSMC, the Taiwanese semiconductor manufacturer that leads the world in production of sophisticated microchips, has already vowed tens of billions of dollars in investment in the United States. Trump is utilitarian in his approach; he has no interest in losing the AI race to China over tariffs or anything else and may well be using the threat of tariffs to pry concessions from companies like TSMC.

Whatever the case, America cannot afford to lose the AI race. China has fired the first shot in the AI battle. Now it’s time for America to do what we do best: win the war.

MICHAEL BARONE

Trump is moving fast and breaking things

MOVE FAST and break things.

That’s the original operating philosophy of Facebook founder and Meta mogul Mark Zuckerberg.

It seems to be the operating procedure of President Donald Trump in these first weeks of his second term. That makes a certain sense. In a largely successful society, unrocked by revolution, institutions come to be in need of repair, revamping and reconstitution. Just as tools rust, barnacles adhere and roofs leak, institutions and professions, government agencies and private industries need to be reformed or even abolished.

The high-tech firms that now dominate the American — indeed, world — equity markets moved fast and broke many of the business plans of many long-established entities in the early 2000s. Now, with the sudden support of many of their leaders, Trump — in the first two weeks of his second term — is moving fast and breaking things.

And so far with surprisingly little backlash. As these major changes go into effect, it’s a fair question to ask about the long-term consequences.

Start with Trump’s executive orders dismantling the misnamed diversity, equity and inclusion apparatus. Opponents started changing the names of DEI programs, and someone in the Air Force said the order required nonmention of the Tuskegee Airmen. That’s a variation of what the late Washington Monthly editor Charlie Peters called the “shut down the Washington Monument” strategy, to which incoming Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth quickly put the kibosh.

More importantly, Trump’s executive order repeals the 1965 Lyndon Johnson order that got the government and large parts of the private sector fighting racial discrimination with racial discrimination. DEI bureaucracies and enforcement were stepped up after the death of George Floyd in May 2020. Now private companies, subject to lawsuits for discriminating against Asians and whites, are scrambling to defund their DEI commissars.

Not many will miss them. Polling and referenda in California have shown a large majority disapproving of racial preferences. Controversies over Black Lives Matter’s leaders’ purchase of a $6 million house and the implosion of Ibram X. Kendi’s academic center suggest a weariness even among DEI recipients.

DEI repeals seem likely to be, as Christopher Caldwell writes, “the most significant policy change of this century.”

Likely in second place are the highly publicized deportations of criminal and other illegal immigrants from so-called sanctuary cities. Illegal border crossings, already vastly reduced last spring when then-President Joe Biden, facing defeat, started using powers he had said he didn’t have and changed the open-borders policy evidently inspired by those in-this-house-we-believe-no-humanbeing-is-illegal signs you see all over affluent metro Washington, D.C., neighborhoods.

Now illegal border crossings are reduced to a trickle, and Trump’s first-term “Remain in Mexico” policy seems back in force. Trump’s X post last Sunday afternoon threatening 25% tariffs and visa shutdowns had Colombia’s left-wing president reversing within minutes his ban on incoming deportees. Venezuela’s left-wing president reciprocated preemptively this week.

My bet is that the threat of further deportations and workplace enforcement will prompt hundreds of thousands of illegal immigrants to, as Mitt Romney put it in 2012, “self-deport” to the Americas and Middle East, just as the housing market collapse prompted similar numbers of illegal immigrants to self-deport to Mexico after 2006.

That effect may be reduced if the courts, as I think likely and justifiably, reject Trump’s assertion that the 14th Amendment does not confer birthright citizenship. The excesses of Biden immigration policy have reduced public support of Democratic politicians’ demand for the mass legalization advanced as necessary for compromise immigration bills in decades past.

A third change that didn’t get front page headlines but is likely to endure will come from incoming Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy’s overturning of the Biden electric vehicle regulations. These were effectively, though not labeled as such, bans on gasoline-powered cars in the 2030s.

This may cause short-term problems for Detroit-ba sed auto manufacturers who have been muscled to ramp up production of money-losing EVs. But over the longer run, they’re likely to be grateful: It’s easier to sell cars consumers want.

In the meantime, the case that outlawing gas-powered SUVs will preserve the planet is being undercut by events. Whether EVs reduce emissions depends on how the electricity that powers them is produced, and the artificial intelligence boom threatens huge increases in demand for electricity, fulfillable perhaps only by emission-emitting coal.

Simultaneously, the Los Angeles County wildfires have shown that the green policies for which California politicians preen themselves don’t cut net emissions if those politicians don’t fulfill their less glamorous duties to fill reservoirs and cut back flammable brush.

Not all the Trump initiatives are likely to be successful, and his Democratic and journalistic opponents — as the reaction to his aid cutoff proposals showed — are ready to pounce on any ambiguity or weakness. But it’s striking so far how subdued the response has been to the volley of Trump’s recent actions.

Now, as Trump moves and breaks things, they are responding not with a bang but a whimper.

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.”

Murphy to Manteo Jones

A spotlight on NC wetlands

purchases at luxur y retail stores including Louis Vuitton, Gucci, Neiman Marcus and vacations, including multiple stays in the Ritz-Carlton hotel. WXI

Civil Rights Museum receives national landmark status

Guilford County Saturday marked 65 years since four black college students (David Richmond Frank McCain Ezel

U.S.

(R-N.C.)

NATION & WORLD

Robinson drops CNN suit, won’t pursue elected office

The former lieutenant governor had been floated as a possible primary opponent to Sen. Thom Tillis

By Cory Lavalette North State Jounral

RALEIGH — Former Lt.

Gov. Mark Robinson, whose gubernatorial campaign last year unraveled after a CNN report alleged he made racist and sexual posts on an online pornography forum, announced he was dropping his defamation lawsuit against the news network and that he would not pursue office in the future.

“The fact of the matter is this: the price we have paid in entering the political arena will never be recognized,” Robinson said in a release. “There is no dollar amount high enough. While it has been the honor of a lifetime to serve the people of North Carolina, the continued political persecution of my family and loved ones is a cost I am unwilling to continue to bear.”

Robinson, a Republican, added that while he plans to continue to promote political causes he supports, he does not intend

Durham

to run for office in the future.

“I will not run next year, nor do I have plans to seek elected office in the future,” he said. Robinson had been rumored to be a possible 2026 primary challenger to U.S. Sen. Thom Tillis. Tillis said in September, following the publication of the CNN report, that he would not vote for Robinson in the gubernatorial race.

The mid-September CNN report alleged that Robinson made scandalous posts on several online forums and social media sites, including posts on the pornography site Nude Africa from 2008 to 2012 under the username minisoldr.

Republican Lt. Gov. Mark Robinson speaks at an election night watch party in Raleigh after his defeat in the gubernatorial race to Attorney General Josh Stein.

Many of the posts in the CNN story contradicted Robinson’s public stances on issues. The posts attributed to Robinson — who is black — by CNN included support for bringing back slavery, criticism of the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr., a post claiming “I’m a black NAZI,” claims of adultery and an affinity for transgender pornography.

As lieutenant governor and during the gubernatorial campaign, Robinson had positioned himself as a proponent of “family values’ and also spoken out against transgender rights and called the LGBTQ+ community “filth.”

Army captain

killed in

Despite the outcry after the release of the story and reports that the campaign of then-presidential candidate Donald Trump — who had praised Robinson and included him in campaign rallies in North Carolina — and others had pushed for him to bow out of the race for governor, Robinson denied the report and continued campaigning.

Robinson’s polling numbers dropped, and in mid-October, he filed a defamation lawsuit against CNN in Wake County, calling the report a “high-tech lynching.”

Attorney General Josh Stein, a Democrat, handily defeated Robinson in November’s election, winning 54.9% of the vote to Robinson’s 40.1%. No other Republican in a statewide race lost by more than 3% last November.

In his announcement Friday saying he would no longer pursue the lawsuit, Robinson said the cost and “political gamesmanship” involved in continuing with the suit was “a futile effort.”

“The investigation of CNN and their ‘sources’ yielded tremendous results and brought closure to our family during what has been an unimaginably dark situation,” Robinson said.

“To the number of courageous whistleblowers who came forward with their tips, evidence, and information, I appreciate you more than you know. You too have brought us tremendous closure and peace.”

midair

collision was ‘brilliant and fearless’ patriot

Rebecca M. Lobach was killed in the D.C. crash

By Michael R. Sisak and Lolita C. Baldor

The Associated Press

WASHINGTON, D.C. —

The U.S. Army captain from North Carolina who died in last Wednesday’s midair collision of a Black Hawk helicopter and an American Airlines jet was “brilliant and fearless” and “meticulous in everything she did,” friends and fellow soldiers said.

Capt. Rebecca M. Lobach, of Durham, was identified by the Army on Saturday as one of three soldiers killed in the crash near Reagan National Airport

HEARINGS from page A1

Additionally, economic revitalization for businesses and repairing both public and private roads and bridges were cited as priorities.

One item GROW NC stressed was engaging Congress to amend the Stafford Act so repairs to private roads and bridges can qualify for FEMA funding.

North Carolina’s Congressional members are also working on that issue.

Republican Sens. Ted Budd and Thom Tillis and Reps. Chuck Edwards (R-N.C.) and Don Davis (D-N.C.) introduced the Restoring Access to Mountain Homes Act, which would allow for FEMA funds to be used for permanent repair of private roads and bridges impacted by Helene.

During President Donald Trump’s visit to western North Carolina on Jan. 24, Stein asked the president to help extend the 100% federal cost-share period for the applicable streams of FEMA funding for another six months and to direct Housing and Urban Development to fast-track approval of North Carolina’s Action Plan for accessing CDBG-DR funding for rebuilding.

Other presentations included a FEMA Temporary Hous-

just outside Washington, D.C. In all, 67 people died, including the jet’s 60 passengers and 4 crew members.

Lobach had served as an Army aviation officer since July 2019, earning an Army commendation medal and an achievement medal after graduating from UNC Chapel Hill as a distinguished military graduate in the top 20% of ROTC cadets nationwide, her family said.

Last month, she escorted fashion designer Ralph Lauren at the White House when he was honored with the Presidential Medal of Freedom.

USA Today White House correspondent Davis Winkie trained with Lobach in the UNC ROTC program. They

ing Update from N.C Emergency Management Director Will Ray and a briefing on what the Federal Recovery Resources and the American Relief Act (ARA) of 2025 cover from Mark White of the legislature’s Fiscal Research Division.

Last December, former President Joe Biden signed ARA, which appropriated $100 billion in disaster recovery support for various natural disasters, including $28 billion for the FEMA Disaster Relief Fund. Of the ARA funds, North Carolina is to receive $1.65 billion.

The hearing held by the Joint Legislative Commission on Governmental Operations’ Subcommittee on Hurricane Response and Recovery lasted more than four hours. The majority of the time was spent grilling Pryor Gibson, director of the N.C. Office of Recovery and Resilience (NCORR), about NCORR’s money issues and continued inability to finish over 1,150 homes for victims of Hurricanes Matthew (2016) and Florence (2018).

During his sworn testimony, Gibson provided a presentation to lawmakers that included the status of 1,179 homes needing completion with a total unmet cost of $187 million. The presentation showed that 540 homes included in that figure are still not under construc-

were in the same training platoon at Fort Knox, Kentucky, in 2018 and were friends since.

“Rebecca was brilliant and fearless, a talented pilot and a PT stud,” Winkie wrote in a social media post, using an abbreviation for physical training.

In a statement released by the Army, Lobach’s family said she had more than 450 hours of flight time and earned “certification as a pilot-in-command after extensive testing by the most senior and experienced pilots in her battalion.”

The Army released the names of the two other Black Hawk soldiers last Friday but withheld Lobach’s name until Saturday at the request of her family. Staff Sgt. Ryan Austin O’Hara, 28, of Lilburn, Geor-

tion, and 639 are in some stage of construction.

Gibson said NCORR’s total unmet funding needs total more than $216.5 million, and funding uncertainty has slowed contract awards and notices to proceed.

“Contractors don’t think they’re going to be paid,” Gibson said. It was revealed in former Gov. Roy Cooper’s Hurricane Helene funding proposal in September that NCORR had a budget shortfall of $175 million. In the following months, that figure rose to $230 million, with the General Assembly approving $80 million last November.

“So we’re now eight years out from Hurricane Matthew, six years from Florence, and we still have families across this state waiting for a home. This is unacceptable,” Subcommittee Co-Chair Rep. Brendan Jones (R-Columbus) told Gibson at the beginning of the hearing.

Jones also recounted how NCORR’s former director, Laura Hogshead, went on the record stating the agency could complete its work for less than $265 million, including the $80 million NCORR had already received from the General Assembly. Hogshead was asked to resign during the Subcommittee’s prior meeting on Nov. 18. She re-

Double-digit arrests in deadly Honolulu fireworks explosion

Honolulu

The total number of people arrested in the deadly explosion of illegal fireworks in a Honolulu neighborhood on New Year’s Eve has grown to 10, and more arrests are expected. The explosion killed three women, one man and a 3-year-old boy and injured about 20 others. It happened when a lit bundle of mortar-style aerials tipped over and shot into crates of unlit fireworks, causing a rapid-fire series of blasts. The igniting of illegal fireworks has become increasingly common in Hawaii in recent years.

Marching protestors block major Los Angeles freeway

Los Angeles

Thousands of people protesting mass deportations planned by President Donald Trump marched in Southern California on Sunday, including in downtown Los Angeles, where demonstrators blocked a major freeway for several hours. Protesters gathered in the morning on LA’s historic Olvera Street, which dates to Spanish and Mexican rule, before marching to City Hall. They called for immigration reform and carried banners with slogans like “Nobody is illegal.” By the afternoon, marchers had blocked all lanes of U.S. 101, causing traffic to back up in both directions and on surface streets.

gia, was the crew chief. Chief Warrant Officer 2 Andrew Loyd Eaves, 39, of Great Mills, Maryland, was the pilot. Lobach “was a patriot, she loved her country,” her close friend, Sam Brown, told WNCN-TV.

Lobach’s family noted that she served as a certified sexual harassment/assault response and prevention victim advocate and hoped to become a physician when she got out of the Army.

“We are devastated by the loss of our beloved Rebecca. She was a bright star in all our lives. She was kind, generous, brilliant, funny, ambitious and strong. No one dreamed bigger or worked harder to achieve her goals,” the statement said.

fused at that time, but the N.C. Department of Public Safety, under which NCORR is housed, issued a statement just days later that Hogshead was no longer employed. Gibson, who had been Cooper’s senior legislative adviser, was installed by the governor to fix NCORR’s issues in January 2024.

“That’s why we’re here today because none of it’s happened,” Jones continued. “Instead, this is what we’ve seen: NCORR has stopped issuing new contracts, stopped issuing notices to proceed, and the production has grinded to a halt. And now, instead of the $265 million, we were told it was the maximum needed. It’s our understanding you’re asking for $300 million.” Gibson responded by apologizing to the families waiting for homes and said, “Chairman Jones is exactly right. It’s inexcusable.”

Jones repeatedly asked Gibson for an end date for when the homes would be completed while expressing frustration each time he did not receive an answer.

“I will commit to getting every single home I can by (the end of) ’25. And I think I can get the greatest majority of them,” Gibson said when Jones pressed him for a third time. “I cannot tell you if it’ll be 1,150, but it will be close.”

Turkey to join fight against Islamic State group in Syria

Istanbul

Turkey, Syria, Iraq and Jordan will come together to fight the remnants of the Islamic State group, a move that would allow the United States to cut ties with Kurdish militants in Syria, the Turkish foreign minister said Sunday. Washington’s decadelong relationship with Kurdish-led forces in Syria is opposed by Turkey. Ankara says the People’s Defense Units, or YPG, are tied to another Kurdish group listed as a terrorist organization by Turkey, the U.S. and the European Union. The YPG, which spearheads the U.S.-backed Syrian Democratic Forces, has played a central role in fighting IS alongside American special forces and now guards thousands of IS prisoners in northeast Syria.

Multiple earthquakes rattling Greek island of Santorini

Athens, Greece

Multiple earthquakes are rattling Santorini, a volcanic island in Greece, prompting authorities to dispatch rescuers with tents, a sniffer dog and drones, and to shut schools on four islands. Residents have been warned to avoid indoor gatherings, check escape routes, stay away from cliffs and drain swimming pools to reduce potential structural damage to buildings in the event of a large earthquake. Earthquakes are frequent, though the vast majority cause no injuries and little or no damage About 200 quakes with magnitudes between 3 and 4.9 were registered from Saturday to Monday afternoon between Santorini and the nearby island of Amorgos, authorities said.

CHUCK BURTON / AP PHOTO

catastrophe

questions about when normal

How China will pay for this COVID-19

we begin to get back to normal

The 3 big questions

The comfort

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.

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

taxpayer at least $2.4 trillion in added Federal Reserve backup liquidity to the the U.S. dollar were not the reserve to fund any of these emergency fear 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 They take advantage of every weakness pushing until they win or the event happens such as the Chernobyl believe that event, not the Star Wars to the dissolution of the Soviet Union Chernobyl. already talking about the possibility in 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 don’t know yet” if the be asked as to the vague ones like “we people of this state who undetermined thousands of cases asked and then had questions about get asked, there is people to treat those can start getting back or are people who sick. levels become a bad society were supposed course, is my family. I’m worried I will. After the 2009 pandemic, all of this brings up prefer not to repeat. most everyone has

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.

WALTER E. WILLIAMS

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.

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

n.c. FAST FACTS

N.C.,

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, Charlotte near top in best places

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.

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.

Not one little bit.

survey

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.

According to Clever Real Estate’s new survey, geographical preferences are broadly shifting from the Northeast and the West Coast to the South. Places like New York City, Los Angeles and California have long been viewed as desirable for families and young professionals, but they all rank at the bottom of Clever’s overall list. On the other hand, upand-comers like North Carolina — and its two biggest cities, Raleigh and Charlotte — Montana and South Carolina all landed in the top five.

The top 10 cities to live, according to Americans, are:

1. Nashville, Tennessee

2. Denver, Colorado

The cavalier manner virus, covered up its spread

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

business & economy

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 seriousness of the virus and the need uneasy with how people who simply ask when things can start getting back to circles with contempt. as 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 and 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.

3. Raleigh, North Carolina

4. Charlotte, North Carolina

5. Virginia Beach, Virginia

6. Orlando, Florida

7. Memphis, Tennessee

8. Jacksonville, Florida

9. New Orleans

10. Austin, Texas

In third and fourth place are two North Carolina cities — Raleigh and Charlotte, respectively — ranking in the top six for nicest residents and most underrated cities. Rounding out the top five is Virginia Beach, Virginia, which earned high marks for the niceness of its residents and its natural beauty.

The top 10 states to live, according to Americans, are:

1. North Carolina

2. Montana

3. South Carolina

4. Maine 5. Hawaii

written under the pseudonym Sister Toldjah RedState and Legal Insurrection.

6. Tennessee

8. Kentucky 9. Colorado

10. Missouri

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

7. New Hampshire

With Raleigh and Charlotte ranking in the top five on the best cities list, it’s no surprise North Carolina clinched the top spot on the best states list. Most respondents lauded its natural beauty and the friendliness of its residents. Second-place Montana is, in many ways, North Carolina’s western counterpart. The state is full of natural beauty and laid-back residents, but its more populous and well-known neighbors often overshadow it.

3,341 related deaths has millions of Americans needlessly

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

THIS WEEK, according to members 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 they’ve donned masks.

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.

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.

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.

“THIS IS in it” (Psalm I know that working from be glad” as and dad, the have to be pandemic.

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.

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.”

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 must do this out of an abundance of caution.”

The rest of the top five consists of three states — South Carolina, Maine and Hawaii — known for their excellent beaches, green spaces and respectful, hospitable residents.

The result: a reduction in expected hospitalization According to the University of Washington Metrics and Evaluation model most oft Trump administration, the expected need peak outbreak was revised down by over ventilators by nearly 13,000 and the number August by nearly 12,000.

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.

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

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.

The crisis has cost the debt plus trillions more markets and nancial outlets. currency, we would not measures without immediate depreciation. China has to pay for their economic and nancial to bring China into the and fair trade. Totalitarian or express sincere regret totalitarian governments they nd in adversaries adversaries push back. That is, unless an exogenous meltdown in 1986. Some program of Reagan, led in 1989.

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

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.

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.

For me, making. As Corinthians a iction, so a iction, with God.” If you are re ect on this God’s example this di cult con dent we In this same neighbors In Concord, money to buy health care

north STA

Euharlee, Georgia, running until 2035 or 2038.

Environmentalists say Georgia Power is choosing a costly option

“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.

for Wednesday, April 15,

Since when did questioning government at all levels become a 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

Perhaps COVID-19 is Senators in Washington of China forgiving $1.2 China to “pay” for the damage breath waiting for a Chinese representatives to hold this disaster. It is about time they are the world like any other

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 VOICES

To meet electricity demands, Georgia Power wants to keep Plant Bowen, commonly

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

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

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

The comfort and hope

Georgia Power wants to keep coal plants alive to meet electricity demand

By Jeff Amy The Associated Press

ATLANTA — Georgia Power Co. says it wants to keep burning coal to meet what it forecasts as the state’s increasing electrical demand.

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.

Georgia’s only private electrical utility says electrical demand is forecast to grow rapidly in the state, with much of the jump coming from power-hungry data centers. It’s just one example of how increasing electrical demand is pressuring electrical infrastructure in the United States and endangering the country’s ability to cut emissions of climate-changing carbon dioxide.

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.

The unit of Atlanta-based Southern Co. filed a required plan with regulators on how it would generate and transmit power in the future. Georgia’s Public Service Commission, composed of five elected Republicans, will hold hear-

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.

Attorneys for Google cited Epic Games’ case against the Apple app store

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.”

ings and vote on the plan. Then Georgia Power will propose a rate plan for how it will pay for the investments over the next three years, with commissioners likely to vote on rates in December. The company didn’t say Friday how much its proposals would cost or how they would filter down to bills.

“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.

The likely bill impacts could matter a lot because two commissioners — Tim Echols and Fitz Johnson — are up for reelection in November. Their unusual odd-year election dates resulted from a failed legal challenge to Georgia’s system of electing commissioners statewide.

ward in the integrated resource plan it filed last Friday. That’s nearly as much electricity as both of the new nuclear reactors at Plant Vogtle near Augusta are supposed to generate in a year. Overall, it says it needs to generate 8,000 additional megawatts per year in the near future.

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.

ing for even more methane gas is incompatible with the future Georgians want and businesses are demanding.”

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.”

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.

A typical Georgia Power residential customer is currently paying an average of $163.57 a month before taxes. Bill increases, driven by factors including a jump in the cost of natural gas and the cost of two new nuclear reactors at Plant Vogtle near Augusta, have outstripped inflation. In 2019, customers paid $123.31 a month.

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.

fallen into place. I understand to take precautions, but 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 questions. And the longer country, and the stricter the more people, sitting when they can get back answers.

For me, my faith is an important part making. As I celebrated Easter with my 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.”

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.

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.

“The 2025 IRP provides a comprehensive plan to support Georgia’s continued economic growth and serve Georgians with clean, safe, reliable and affordable energy well into the future,” Georgia Power CEO Kim Greene said in a statement. But the reliance on coal, and the carbon dioxide that coal-fueled generation produces, alarmed others. They said Georgia Power is choosing a costly option.

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

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.

Instead of closing a coal-fueled unit at Plant Scherer north of Macon in 2028, Georgia Power now wants to keep it running until 2035 or 2038. No closing date had been determined for the massive coal-fueled Plant Bowen, northwest of Atlanta in Euharlee. Georgia Power wants to keep it running until 2035 or 2038 as well. The company also wants to keep Alabama’s Plant Gaston, which it co-owns with sister company Alabama Power, running through 2034 instead of closing it in 2028. Gaston runs mostly on natural gas but with some coal.

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.”

In this same spirit, I continue to be inspired neighbors helping neighbors. In Concord, a high school senior named money to buy a 3-D printer and plastic health care workers out of his own home.

Not one little bit.

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.

Georgia Power increased its demand forecast by 2,000 megawatts a year going for-

“We’re the number one state to do business and one of the U.S.’s fastest growing tech hubs. Are we really going to power progress with gas and coal?” Jennifer Whitfield, an attorney for the Southern Environmental Law Center, said in a statement. “Coal hasn’t been economic for years, and pay-

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

Georgia Power proposed burning natural gas alongside coal at Plant Scherer and Plant Bowen, which would somewhat reduce carbon emissions. It’s also proposing changes that would increase output at its Vogtle and Hatch nuclear power plants without building new reactors and increase capacity at its Plant McIntosh natural gas plant near Savannah.

Stacey Matthews has also and is a regular contributor

Google makes appeal to overturn jury verdict in Play Store monopoly case

consent to that process and demanded the case be decided by a judge instead, as had the trial by Apple.

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.

By Michael Liedtke The Associated Press

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.

The bottom of the rankings shows how much public opinion has shifted on where people want to live. New York and California, long considered among the best states in America, have plunged to the bottom of the rankings. Americans rank California as the fourth-worst state and New York as the second-worst state. New Jersey came in last at No. 50. Americans consider Detroit the worst city, followed by Philadelphia, Cleveland, Ohio, and Riverside, California. Three out of these four cities are in the long-declining Rust Belt. No region of the United States fared worse over the postwar period than this area of the country — mostly because of the decline of manufacturing, according to the Federal Reserve. But Rust Belt cities are among the most affordable places to buy a home, suggesting there’s more to desirability than simple affordability.

I’d bet that by restoring the traditional academic mission to colleges, they would put a serious dent into the COVID-19 budget shortfall.

BY FRANKLIN SCHNEIDER, WEALTH OF GEEKS

SAN FRANCISCO — Google went to appeals court Monday in an attempt to convince a three-judge panel to overturn a jury’s verdict declaring its app store for Android smartphones as an illegal monopoly and block the penalties imposed by a federal judge to stop the misbehavior. Carybased video game maker Epic Games, which brought the case alleging Google’s Play Store has been abusing its stranglehold over the Android app market, countered with arguments outlining why both the verdict and punishment should be affirmed to foster more innovation and lower prices.

In a nearly hour-long presentation in San Francisco’s 9th Circuit Court of Appeals,

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

Tech giant Google

and

for

to

Google lawyer Jessica Ellsworth explained why the company believes the judge overseeing a month-long trial in 2023 improperly allowed the market in its case to be defined differently than it had in a sim-

ilar antitrust trial revolving around Apple’s antitrust trial in 2021. Ellsworth also asserted the trial shouldn’t have been decided by a jury in the first place because Google exercised its

Epic, the maker of the popular Fortnite video game, filed separate antitrust cases against Apple and Google on the same day in August 2020 and culminated in dramatically different outcomes. Unlike the jury in Google’s trial in San Francisco, U.S. District Judge Yvonne Gonzalez-Rogers largely sided with Apple in a 185-page decision that defined the Play Store and Apple’s iPhone app store as part of a broader competitive market.

Ellsworth told the appeals court that U.S. District Judge James Donato improperly allowed Epic to turn the Google trial into a “do-over” that excluded the Apple app store as a rival in the market definition that led to the jury’s verdict in its case.

“You can’t just lose an issue that was fully litigated the first time (in the Apple case) and then pretend it didn’t happen,” Ellsworth said. She said the competition that Google and Apple engage in while making the two operating systems that power virtually all of the world’s smartphones “sufficiently disciplines” their

MIKE STEWART / AP PHOTO

known as Bowen Steam Plant, in

RICHARD DREW / AP PHOTO

appeared before a panel of three judges

appealed

overturn a jury’s verdict declaring its app store

Android smartphones as an illegal monopoly.

COLUMN | REP. RICHARD HUDSON

Jason

North State Journa l

Neal Robbins, publisher | Frank Hill, senio

Gates reflects on vaccine backlash, Intel’s woes, Google’s antitrust battle

The Microsoft founder was dumbfounded by conspiracy theories that erupted during the pandemic

By Michael Liedtke

The Associated Press

ALTHOUGH MICROSOFT

founder Bill Gates sat down for an interview with The Associated Press to discuss his new memoir, “Source Code: My Beginnings,” he also shared his views on a variety of other topics, including vaccine conspiracy views about him, his thoughts on the struggles of longtime computer chipmaker Intel and his take on the antitrust challenges facing Google.

Having poured billions of dollars into diseases such as polio and malaria through his foundation, Gates was dumbfounded about the conspiracy theories that erupted during the pandemic about the COVID-19 vaccine being tied to his efforts to kill people or other sinister agendas.

Although he remains puzzled by it all, Gates isn’t too worried yet, even if outspoken vaccine skeptic Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is confirmed as secretary of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

“Things don’t always go in a straight line,” Gates said. “If you had said to me that at a time where we’ve cut child’s deaths in

half since the turn of the century, and the main reason is vaccines, but their reputation would be more confused today than ever, I would have said, ‘Are you kidding? These are miracles.’”

“For somebody with a logical view like I try to have, it is confounding you have those conspiracy theories. I hope that dies down. I don’t think we will have something bad happen. Because these infectious diseases are at very low levels in the U.S., you don’t have this immediate, ‘Oh my, God, we didn’t take measles vaccines,’ and sadly, here are

Target pulls back diversity programs, civil rights activists call for boycott

The retailer joined Walmart and several major brands scaling back on DEI initiatives

By Steve Karnowski

The Associated Press

MINNEAPOLIS — Civ-

il rights activists gathered outside the headquarters of Target Corp. last Thursday to call for a national boycott of the retailing giant over its decision to phase out its diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives.

Target announced it would join competitor Walmart and a number of other prominent American brands in scaling back their DEI initiatives, which have come under attack from conservatives and the new White House of President Donald Trump.

Nekima Levy Armstrong, a veteran civil rights lawyer in Minneapolis and founder of the Racial Justice Network, joined other local activists and their supporters at a news conference to urge people to begin the boycott on Saturday, the first day of Black History Month. Many of the participants were regular Target shoppers until now, she said.

Levy Armstrong said they were “stunned” that Target,

from page A9

actions in the app market.

But the appeals judges indicated they believed the market definitions could differ in the separate app store cases because Apple bundles all its software and the iPhone together — creating what has become known as a “walled garden” — while Google licenses the Android software that includes its Play Store to a wide variety of smartphone makers.

“There are clearly some factual differences between the Android world and Apple world,”

which increased its commitment to building a more diverse workforce in the aftermath of the police killing of George Floyd, a black man, in Minneapolis in 2020, backed away from its support of racial equity.

“We thought that they would hold the line. We thought that they would continue to stand for the values that we all hold dear,” she said. “But instead, they acted cowardly, and they made the decision to bow down to the Trump administration. Well, we are here today saying we will not bow down. We will not step back, and we will not turn around.”

Jaylani Hussein, executive director of the Minnesota chapter of the Council on Islamic-American Relations, said that as a company based in the city where Floyd’s murder sparked a national reckoning with racial injustice, Target must be called out.

“We here in Minneapolis today, the good people of the state, are saying to our friends all over the country, ‘If you were moved to do something good after the murder of George Floyd, it is time for you to stand up and boycott Target,’“ Hussein said. The organizers of the boycott include local Black Lives Matter groups. During the boycott announcement, some speak-

these people who died. In Africa, that happens very quickly because measles is everywhere, and kids are malnourished. So it just takes a little bit longer that sadly people have to see deaths before they get reconnected to the miraculous value that vaccines provide.”

Gates might have gone down a different career path if Intel hadn’t made the technological breakthroughs that created a tiny chip capable of powering a personal computer during the early 1970s. That advance created the need for programs to use

“For somebody with a logical view like I try to have, it is confounding you have those conspiracy theories. I hope that dies down.”

Bill Gates

the computer, prompting Gates and Paul Allen to launch Micro-Soft, a name derived from microprocessor and software (the hyphen was later dropped).

That’s why Gates has a soft spot for Intel, which missed the shift from PCs to smartphones 18 years ago, just as Microsoft did. But Microsoft has bounced back while Intel’s troubles have deteriorated to the point that it’s looking for a new CEO since the abrupt departure of Pat Gelsinger in December, raising worries about whether the company will survive.

“I am stunned that Intel basically lost its way,” Gates said. “(Intel co-founder) Gordon Moore always kept Intel at the state of the art. And now they are kind of behind in terms of chip design and they are kind of behind in chip fabrication. And both of those are very capital intensive. They missed the AI chip revolution, and with their fabrication capabilities, they don’t even use standards that peo-

ple like Nvidia and Qualcomm find easy. I thought Pat Gelsinger was very brave to say, ‘No, I am going to fix the design side, I am going to fix the fab side.’ I was hoping for his sake, for the country’s sake, that he would be successful. I hope Intel recovers, but it looks pretty tough for them at this stage.”

Gates spent his final years as Microsoft’s CEO entangled in a high-profile antitrust case brought by the U.S. Justice Department to break up the software maker. Although Microsoft remained intact, the company was declared an illegal monopoly, and the case caused a major distraction that paved the way for a then-cuddly startup Google to build a search engine that became a household word and then diversify into other areas, including making the Android software.

A quarter century later, Google’s search franchise has been branded an illegal monopoly by another federal judge in another Justice Department case that unfolded during the rise of artificial intelligence — a field where Microsoft has been making significant inroads as part of the partnership. The Justice Department has now proposed imposing various restrictions designed to undercut Google’s power and also is seeking a court order to force the company to sell its Chrome web browser.

“The success of Google is an amazing thing; they led the way on search,” Gates said. “The area that Google did well in that would not have happened had I not been distracted is Android, where it was a natural thing for me. I was trying, although what I didn’t do well enough is provide the operating system for the phone. That was ours for the taking.”

ers cut up their distinctive red Target charge cards, while others called on DEI supporters to shop at Costco, which reaffirmed its commitment to DEI last week.

Despite the anger with Target, the news conference-turned-rally took on a festive atmosphere, with a New Orleans-style brass band playing protest songs like Bob Marley’s “Get Up, Stand Up.” Participants circled up for a prayer before the speeches began. Target, which long was viewed as a strong advocate for the rights of black and LGBTQ+ people, did not immediately respond to a request for comment last Thursday on the call for a boycott. But in a memo to employees last week, Kiera Fernandez, Target’s chief community impact and equity officer, described the company’s decision to retire its diversity goals as a “next chapter” in the company’s human resource and

Judge Danielle J. Forrest told Ellsworth.

Judge Gabriel Sanchez also sounded skeptical about Google’s claims about being lumped with an improper market definition in its trial.

“Even if Google vigorously competes with Apple (in smartphone operating systems), that doesn’t mean it can’t cre-

ate a different ecosystem where it’s a monopolist,” Sanchez interjected during Ellsworth’s presentation.

Epic attorney Gary Bornstein painted Google’s arguments as a desperate and unfounded ef-

fort to preserve the system that boosts Google’s profits with price-gouging commissions ranging from 15% to 30% on in-app purchases flowing from software downloaded through the Play Store.

The penalties that Donato imposed in October and subsequently postponed while Google pursues its appeal would impose a series of sweeping changes that include making the Play Store’s entire library of 2 million apps available to potential competitors — a move expected to result in lower commission rates.

The appeals court hasn’t set a

customer engagement strategy.

“And as a retailer that serves millions of consumers every day, we understand the importance of staying in step with the evolving external landscape, now and in the future,” she wrote.

Levy Armstrong said Target has not reached out to her or other local black leaders. She said they expected more from Target and now feel like everything it had done in support of people of color was just window dressing. The starting point for any conversation, she said, would be for the company to reverse its decision immediately.

Community members gather at a news conference organized by Black Lives Matter Minnesota outside Target Corporation’s headquarters in Minneapolis.

timeline for issuing a ruling in the Play Store case, but it typically takes several months before a decision is reached.

In Monday’s two-hour hearing, Bornstein contended that Google never tried to define the Android app market during the trial the way it presented it during its appeal and reminded the three-judge panel that the bar should be set high before reversing a jury’s verdict and the ensuing punishment ordered by a lower court judge.

“The benefit of the doubt does not go to the wrongdoer,” Bornstein said.

Speakers also called on long-established civil rights groups that have benefited from Target’s philanthropy, such as the NAACP and the Urban League, to join the opposition to Target’s decision. Levy Armstrong and Hussein said they plan to partner with other national organizations to get the word out about the boycott and to take other steps they were not yet ready to share publicly.

Ever since calls for a boycott began circulating on social media, the founders of several black-owned businesses that sell their products in Target stores or through the company’s online platforms have expressed concern that a broad boycott might hurt them. They included the owners of hair care brands The Doux and Camille Rose, and the cosmetics brand Lip Bar.

“Target knows what its presence and its commitment to diversity, equity and inclusion means to this community,” Levy Armstrong said. “So that is why we are focusing on Target first. But that does not mean that those other businesses should not also be held accountable. All of those businesses should be held accountable, and they should not have access to our dollars.”

The judges seemed more troubled by Donato’s decision to stick with a jury trial after the case changed shortly before the Epic trial when Google settled lawsuits brought by attorneys general across the U.S. and another prominent app developer, Match Group. An agreement for a jury trial had been reached when the attorneys general and Match cases were going to be combined with Epic’s, but Google wanted to revert to having a judge decide the outcome after settling some of the claims, only to be rebuffed by Donato.

GOOGLE

JAE C. HONG / AP PHOTO

Bill Gates speaks during an interview with The Associated Press in Indian Wells, California, on Jan. 8.

ELLEN SCHMIDT / AP PHOTO

Despite highly anticipated AI rollout, iPhone holiday season sales slipped

iPhone revenue dropped roughly 1% with an 11% sales decrease in China

By Michael Liedtke

The Associated Press

SAN FRANCISCO — Last Thursday, Apple disclosed its iPhone sales dipped slightly during the holiday season quarter, signaling a sluggish start to the trendsetting company’s effort to catch up to the rest of Big Tech in the race to bring artificial intelligence to the masses.

The iPhone’s roughly 1% drop in revenue from the previous year’s October-December period wasn’t entirely unexpected, given the first software update enabling the device’s AI features didn’t arrive until just before Halloween, and the technology still isn’t available in many markets outside the U.S.

The countries still awaiting Apple’s AI suite include China, a key market where the company continued to lose ground. Although he didn’t mention China, Apple CEO Tim Cook told investors on a conference call that a software upgrade enabling the AI features in more European markets, as well as Japan and Korea will be rolling out in April.

But in the past quarter Apple also was only able to eke out a modest revenue gain across its entire business, although the results came in ahead of the analyst projections that guide investors. The Cupertino, California, company earned $36.3 billion, or $2.40 per share, a 7% increase from the previous year. Revenue edged up from the previous year by 4% to $124.3 billion.

Those numbers included iPhone revenue of $69.1 billion. In China, Apple’s total revenue registered $18.5 billion, an 11% decrease from the previous year.

Part of that erosion in China reflected the iPhone’s shrinking market share in that country, where homegrown companies have been making more headway. Apple’s iPhone yearover-year shipments in China declined nearly 10% in the most recent quarter, while native companies Huawei and Xiaomi posted year-over-year increases of more than 20%, according to the research firm International Data Corp. “While China is a potential risk, we think the appeal of Apple products as a luxury product and the potential of AI innovations will keep demand steady in the country,”

Edward Jones analyst Logan Purk wrote in a research note assessing the company’s quarterly report.

The holiday season results

served to confirm bringing AI to the iPhone and Apple’s other products may not boost the company’s recently lackluster growth as much as investors initially thought it might after Cook unveiled the technology before a rapt crowd last June.

The anticipation that an AI-infused iPhone would prod hordes of consumers to ditch their current devices and splurge on an upgrade is the main reason Apple’s stock price surged by 30% last year. But the sinking realization that an uptick in demand may take longer than expected has caused Apple’s shares to backtrack by 5% during the first month of the new year. The stock initially slipped slightly in extended trading after the numbers came out but later reversed course and rose by more than 3% after Cook said Apple is seeing a record number of people upgrading their iPhones.

“I could not feel more optimistic about our product pipe -

line,” Cook said during the conference call. “So I think there’s a lot of innovation left on the smartphone.”

A management forecast calling for revenue that will at least match or exceed analyst projections for the January-March quarter also seemed to bolster investor confidence in the company.

The concerns hovering around Apple’s weakening iPhone sales come against broader worries about whether AI will be as lucrative for U.S. tech companies as once envisioned after Chinese startup DeepSeek released a version of the technology that was built at a far lower cost than had been previously thought possible.

Unlike tech peers such as Microsoft, Google corporate parent Alphabet Inc. and Facebook corporate parent Meta Platforms, Apple hasn’t been investing as heavily in AI – one of the reasons it has been seen as an industry laggard. But that restraint could work to its advantage if DeepSeek’s early breakthroughs in driving down AI costs gain momentum.

Apple’s services division remained the company’s biggest moneymaker outside the iPhone, with revenue of $26.3 billion in the past quarter, a 14% increase from the previous year. Although the services division has been thriving for years, it generates more than $20 billion annually by locking in Google as the automatic search engine on the iPhone and other products. That deal is now under threat of being banned as part of the proposed punishment for Google’s search engine being declared an illegal monopoly.

In Kentucky bourbon country, threat of trade war feels like lasting hangover

The EU is set to reinstate tariffs on American whiskey at a 50% rate

By Bruce Schreiner

The Associated Press

LAWRENCEBURG, Ky. —

In the rolling hills of Kentucky where most of the world’s bourbon supply is crafted, the prospect of a new trade war feels like an aching hangover that won’t go away.

Kentucky bourbon producers again find themselves in the crosshairs as a target for retaliation after President Donald Trump ordered new tariffs on U.S. neighbors Canada and Mexico. On Monday, Trump struck deals with Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau put their planned tariffs on hold for a month to give time for further negotiations.

American whiskey exports slumped badly amid an earlier trade dispute during Trump’s first term.

The latest back-and-forth is a sobering prospect for Kentucky bourbon producers and their supporters. The bourbon industry pumps $9 billion into the Bluegrass State’s economy each year, creating more jobs and attracting more tourists than ever before, according to a study released last year. Kentucky distillers produce 95% of the global bourbon supply, according to the Kentucky Distillers’ Association.

Kentucky Democratic Gov. Andy Beshear warned that tariffs will hurt working families in a state that voted overwhelmingly last November to return Trump to the White House. The pain will not be limited to distilleries but will include every segment contributing to bourbon production, said Beshear, who is widely seen by political observers as a potential candidate for president in 2028.

“A state that voted for this president by more than 30 points is going to feel the impact of these actions. Think about the farmers that support the industry. The people in the bottling plants and the cooperages. These are our families, our neighbors,” Beshear said in a recent social media post, referring to cooperages where barrels are made.

Republican U.S. Rep. Andy Barr, whose district spans the heart of Kentucky bourbon production country, remained supportive of Trump amid the uncertainty hanging over the industry.

“Other nations have forgotten that the United States is the world’s superpower, and under President Trump’s leadership, they are quickly remembering that we will no longer be taken advantage of,” Barr said in a statement Monday.

Barr noted that discussions were continuing on the trade front and said he was commit-

ted to protecting the bourbon industry.

“Our distilleries are not just a proud part of our state’s heritage but also a vital engine of jobs and economic growth,” he said. “I will continue to advocate for our bourbon producers to ensure they are not unfairly impacted as we take necessary steps to safeguard America’s economic interests.”

Chris Swonger, president and CEO of the Distilled Spirits Council of the United States, hopes the U.S. and Canada can continue to work together so the spirits industries in both countries can thrive. Many producers would be boxed in by tariffs, he said.

“Some spirits are recognized as ‘distinctive products’ by the U.S. and Canada and can only be made in their designated countries, such as bourbon and Tennessee Whiskey in the U.S. and Canadian Whisky in Canada,” Swonger said in a statement. “As a result, the production of these products cannot

SoftBank, OpenAI set up joint company

Tokyo Japanese technology giant SoftBank Group and OpenAI are stepping up their partnership in artificial intelligence, setting up a 50 -50 held company called SB OpenAI Japan. SoftBank Chief Masayoshi Son and OpenAI Chief Sam Altman appeared together at an event in Tokyo on Monday. Son said AI service Cristal will first roll out in the SoftBank Group companies, which include Arm, a semiconductor and software company, and PayPay, an electronic payment service. SoftBank said it plans to spend $3 billion annually to integrate Cristal across its companies.

Costco, Teamsters reach tentative contract agreement

Issaquah, Wash. Costco and the Teamsters union have reached a tentative agreement on a new contract, avoiding a strike. Teamsters’ spokesman Matthew McQuaid confirmed the agreement, which will have to be approved by members. Details of the agreement weren’t immediately available. The Teamsters union represents 18,000 Costco workers in six states: California, Washington, Maryland, Virginia, New Jersey and New York. Overall, Costco has 219,000 U.S. employees and 617 U.S. stores. The company said its labor agreement with the Teamsters applies to less than 10% of those stores.

Tennessee Valley Authority CEO plans to retire

Nashville, Tenn.

The CEO of the nation’s largest public utility plans to retire by September after nearly six years. The Tennessee Valley Authority announced Jeff Lyash’s planned departure as president and CEO. During Lyash’s tenure, the federal utility has focused on nuclear power, worked toward retiring all its coal-fired plants by 2035, and kept retail rates 80% lower than the rest of the U.S. But Lyash also was criticized for plans to replace several coal plants with another fossil fuel in gas.

DOJ sues to block

$14B Hewlett Packard, Juniper buyout

U.S. government regulators sued to block Hewlett Packard Enterprise’s $14 billion acquisition of rival Juniper Networks last Thursday, saying the combination would eliminate competition, raise prices and reduce innovation.

simply be moved to another country or region.”

American whiskey producers faced headwinds even before the new trade dispute. It comes as the industry has massive inventories of aging whiskeys that will someday reach the market. In Kentucky, a record 14.3 million barrels of bourbon were aging, the Kentucky Distillers’ Association said recently. That inventory is awaiting bottling at a time when alcohol consumption by younger adults appears to be trending down.

The biggest threat could be looming overseas, where the European Union is set to reinstate tariffs on American whiskey at a 50% rate in late March if nothing is done to head it off. Trump told reporters Sunday that import taxes will “definitely happen” with the European Union and possibly with the United Kingdom as well. Swonger has said the return of tariffs in the biggest export market for American whiskey would be devastating.

The Justice Department’s complaint alleges that Hewlett Packard, under increased competitive pressure from the fast-r ising Juniper, was forced to discount products and services and invest more in its own innovation, eventually leading the company to buy its rival. The Justice Department’s intervention comes as somewhat of a surprise since many predicted a second Trump administration to ease up on antitrust enforcement and be more receptive to mergers than the previous administration.

NCDOT CASH REPORT FOR THE WEEK ENDING JAN 31

Beginning Cash $2,700,283,486

Receipts (income) $98,764,310

Disbursements

$166,506,280

Cash Balance

$2,632,606,394

GENE J. PUSKAR / AP PHOTO

In a race to lead the global market in artificial intelligence, Apple has seen weakening iPhone sales.

TIMOTHY D. EASLEY / AP PHOTO

The Old Forester water tower sits atop the Brown Forman distillery in Louisville, Kentucky.

NC’s Super Bowl connections

the Thursday SIDELINE REPORT

NFL NFL looking into allegations by massage therapists about Tucker’s behavior

Baltimore The NFL will look into allegations that Baltimore Ravens kicker Justin Tucker behaved inappropriately toward massage therapists at four spas and wellness centers in the Baltimore area. Six massage therapists recounted firsthand experiences with Tucker from 2012 to 2016. Several ended Tucker’s sessions early or refused to work on him again, and management from two spas banned him from returning. Tucker called the allegations “unequivocally false.”

MLB Vincent, baseball commissioner during 3 years of turmoil, dead at 86

New York

Fay Vincent, who became baseball commissioner in 1989 and then was forced out three years later by owners intent on a labor confrontation with players, has died. He was 86. Vincent had undergone radiation and chemotherapy for bladder cancer and developed complications, according to his wife, Christina.

NBA Ball snubbed on

NBA All-Star rosters

New York Charlotte’s LaMelo Ball was the backcourt player who got the most votes from fans in the Eastern Conference by a wide margin. But he missed being a starter after finishing third in player voting and seventh in the media — then missed out on being a reserve, voted by coaches. He’s the first player to win the fan voting at his position but not get a spot on the team.

Elliott wins Clash at Bowman Gray

The Cup Series returned to Winston-Salem classic track for the first time since 1971

By Jenna Fryer

The Associated Press

WINSTON-SALEM

— NA-

SCAR returned to its roots with a fight-free preseason exhibition at Bowman Gray Stadium and a popular victory with Chase Elliott winning The Clash on Sunday night. Elliott won his heat Saturday night to start from the pole and essentially dominate on the quarter-mile track where NASCAR’s Cup Series last raced in 1971.

NASCAR’s reigning most popular driver won The Clash for the first time in his career and joined his father, Bill, as winners of the unofficial season-opener. Bill Elliott won The Clash in 1987 and then parlayed that victory into a win in the Daytona 500 one week later.

Chase Elliott gets his chance to repeat his father’s dominance when the Cup Series season officially opens Feb. 16 at Daytona International Speedway.

“Excited to get to Daytona. It’s a great way to start the season,” Elliott said. “I know

Blue Devils overwhelm reeling Tar Heels

A late rally helped UNC avoid record-setting rivalry game loss

By Shawn Krest North State Journal

AT SOME POINT during most Duke-Carolina games, observers will exclaim that the rivalry “always delivers.”

There was certainly a delivery on Saturday night, but for most of the evening, Duke was the only team bringing it. The Blue Devils led by as many as 32 points and cruised to an 87-70 win over the reeling Tar Heels at Cameron Indoor Stadium. UNC had two turnovers on its first four possessions and three in the first seven as Duke jumped out to a quick lead. The Blue Devils never trailed and used two separate first-half runs of 11-0 and 16-0 to take a 22-point halftime lead — the most lopsided Tar Heel half against Duke since 2010. RJ

Davis missed his first four shots and didn’t score until 4:54 before halftime, with Duke holding a 40-15 lead.

“I think the nature of this game, it’s exciting, right?” said Duke coach Jon Scheyer. “There’s anticipation, there’s going to be a great crowd, so you can feel happy, but really the team that has an edge has won this game. That’s something we kept talking about: our edge, our focus, and these guys had it. That was really what it was about. Not just starting that way, but continuing to compete the whole way, having an edge.”

UNC had nine first-half turnovers and 14 for the game, leading to 19 Duke points.

“I thought that’s what started off the game for us — our defensive intensity,” said Cooper Flagg, who had 21 points, eight rebounds, seven assists, two blocks and three steals, all but the points total leading the team. “We were getting into the

it’s not a points race, but it is nice to win, for sure. Just really proud of our team for just continuing to keep our heads down and push forward, for sure.”

The Clash is a nonpoints event that was held at Daytona International Speedway from

“It

1979 to 2021 as the warm-up act to the Daytona 500. NASCAR stepped outside the box in 2022 and moved it across the country to Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum, which was transformed into a temporary short track for three seasons.

NASCAR this year moved it to Bowman Gray in a throwback to grassroots racing. The Cup Series ran at Bowman Gray from 1958 to 1971 and the stadium is now used for weekly local racing and is the football field for Winston-Salem State University.

The track is so small NASCAR recently made a video highlighting what can and can’t fit inside Bowman Gray. Among

See CLASH, page B3

“That’s the nature of this game — the team that has an edge has won.” Duke coach Jon Scheyer

passing lanes and that turned into easy offense, so I thought that really got us going tonight. The defense turned into some early, easy offense for us “ Graduate transfer Maliq

Brown returned to the floor after missing the last four games with injury. A key to Duke’s aggressive, switching defense all year, he made an immediate impact, stealing the first pass he saw and finishing with three rebounds, two steals and a presence Scheyer said doesn’t show up in the box score.

“I thought the talk and the switching was terrific,” Scheyer said. “It’s a game that was calling

BEN MCKEOWN / AP PHOTO Duke’s Cooper Flagg (2) celebrates after hitting a 3-pointer against North Carolina during an epic first-half run in the rivalry game.

JAMES JACKSON / FOR NORTH STATE JOURNAL

The NASCAR Cup Series made its return to Bowman Gray over the weekend with its first action there since 1971. The drivers got to experience the tight conditions at one of the sport’s classic tracks.

JAMES JACKSON FOR NORTH STATE JOURNAL

Noah Gragson (4), Justin Haley (7) and Kyle Busch (8) collide while trying to navigate the tight confines at Bowman Gray.

was fun for me, at least. We’ll hopefully come back here one day.” Chase Elliott

TRENDING

Terr y Rozier:

The former Hornets guard is the subject of an investigation by federal prosecutors due to unusual betting patterns surrounding his play nearly two years ago. Rozier — who plays for the Miami Heat — has not been charged with a crime or accused of wrongdoing. The NBA said it looked into the matter at the time and determined no league rules were broken.

Josh Grizzard:

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers have promoted the Lizard Lick coordinator, replacing Liam Coen. Grizzard becomes the fourth play-caller for the Buccaneers in four years. The previous two became head coaches after had Pro Bowl seasons under their guidance. Grizzard was a two-sport athlete at East Wake and a graduate assistant and quality control coach at Duke from 2013-16.

Jeison Pena:

The free agent pitcher has been suspended for 80 games under baseball’s minor league drug program. He tested positive for the performanceenhancing substance Stanozolol, the commissioner’s pitched for the Carolina Mudcats from 2022-24, going 11-3 with four saves.

Beyond the box score

POTENT QUOTABLES NBA

“No one is alone, and together, we’ll rise stronger.”

Roy Williams, who is helping Verizon inform 6,500 western North Carolinians that the company is wiping out a total of $10 million in consumer debt to help them recover from Hurricane Helene.

“Something about Bowman Gray that brings out the worst in people, or the best.”

Wood Brothers Racing co-owner Eddie Wood.

The Dalla s Mavericks traded Luka Doncic (right) to the Los Angeles Lakers for Lakers, while Ma x Christie is going to Dallas The Utah Jazz are also involved in the deal Doncic hasn’t played since Christma s due to a strained lef t calf, while Davis ha s been out with an abdominal injury.

The New York Jets hired Steve Wilks as defensive coordinator. The 55-year-old Wilks was out of the NFL this season and served as a volunteer adviser for the Charlotte 49ers He was San Francisco’s defensive coordinator in 2023 and also served as the Panthers’ interim coach in 2022.

The Nebraska spring game won’t be held going forward because of concerns about other teams poaching the Cornhuskers’ players Coach Matt Rhule says it doesn’t make sense to showcase players for other schools. his players opportunities after their performances in the spring game.

UNC senior Ethan Strand’s time in the mile at the BU Terrier Classic, a collegiate record and the third-fastest indoor time for that distance in history.

Tim Cindric (left), president of Team Penske and Roger Penske’s longtime right-hand man, will step back as the overall leader of the organization but remain president of the IndyCar program Cindric joined the Penske organization in 1999 and oversaw the operations in NA SCAR, IndyCar, and sports car racing in IMSA and the World Endurance Championship series.

DARRON CUMMINGS

Handful of local products looking to make history in Super Bowl LIX

The state has produced quite a few champions, whether it’s been homegrown talent or collegiate players

By Ryan Henkel North State Journal

THE KANSAS City Chiefs and Philadelphia Eagles are once again squaring off in a Super Bowl.

Super Bowl LIX, which will take place Sunday, will be a rematch from two years prior, when the Chiefs won 38-35 in a tight contest in Arizona.

Kansas City will be looking for the three-peat, while Philadelphia looks to dethrone yet another dynasty and win just their second championship.

While football in North Carolina hasn’t been up to snuff as of late, there are still quite a few players heading to the big game with local ties.

Kansas City Chiefs

The most notable Chiefs connection to the Old North State is offensive lineman Joe Thuney, who was once a member of the NC State Wolfpack (2011-15).

Thuney is a four-time Super Bowl champion and has now been to the second most Super Bowls in NFL history with six appearances between his time with

Kansas City Chiefs cornerback Joshua

is introduced before the divisional playoff game against the Houston Texans. The first Fayetteville State player drafted since 1973, he’s seeking his third Super Bowl ring.

the New England Patriots and Kansas City.

The veteran lineman has protected arguably two of the best quarterbacks in the game in Tom Brady and Patrick Mahomes, and he now has a chance to become just the third player in league history to have enough rings for every finger on his hand.

Cornerback Joshua Williams, who grew up in Fayetteville, is also a multitime Super Bowl champion, having been to the big dance now in each of his three seasons in the league.

Williams was drafted in the fourth round of the 2022 draft,

becoming the first player drafted out of Fayetteville State since 1973, and he has the opportunity to make history with Super Bowl championships in each of his first three seasons.

“For a rookie to make it to the Super Bowl is almost unheard of,” Williams said on the “Up & Adams Show.” “And to win it?

That’s a blessing. To do it twice is super, super, super rare, so to be able to do it three times and to have your name and your legacy in the history books, I don’t even know how to explain it, but I’m just trying to make sure I do my part and everything I can to

make sure we do end up hitting that goal.”

Offensive tackle D.J. Humphries was born in Union, South Carolina, but grew up in Charlotte and attended high school at Mallard Creek, where he did not allow a sack over his final three seasons. A five-star recruit, Humphries played three years at Florida before being drafted by the Arizona Cardinals in the first round of the 2015 draft.

Backup quarterback Carson Wentz — who was once the starter for the Eagles before losing the job to current starter Jalen Hurts — was born in Raleigh, but his family moved to North Dakota when he was three. Tight end Noah Gray played collegiately at Duke (2017-20).

Philadelphia Eagles

The biggest name on the Eagles with N.C. ties has to be offensive guard Landon Dickerson, the highest-paid guard in NFL history.

Dickerson is from Hickory and played high school ball at South Caldwell. The veteran has been selected to three straight Pro Bowls and is a key piece of Philadelphia’s offensive line — i.e. the Tush Push unit. There have been some concerns over Dickerson’s health heading into the Super Bowl, but he believes he’ll be good to go.

“Knee’s good. We’re gonna be good,” Dickerson told CBS Philadelphia following the NFC championship game. “You get a little banged up, that’s football.”

On the other side of the ball, defensive tackle Jordan Davis is from Charlotte and played at Hopewell High School and Mallard Creek. Davis played college football at Georgia, where he helped the Bulldogs win the 2022 National Championship, securing both the Chuck Bednarik Award and John Outland Trophy that year.

The lone North Carolina rookie taking part in the Super Bowl this year will be running back Will Shipley.

From Weddington, Shipley was a touted recruit out of high school but shockingly elected to go just out of state for college, signing with the Clemson Tigers, where he was a standout talent.

A fourth-round pick of the Eagles, the 22-year-old has managed to already play a big role in the Eagles’ trip to the Super Bowl.

In the NFC championship game against the Washington Commanders, Shipley collected 88 kick return yards, forced a fumble toward the end of the second quarter when it was still a one-possession game and then scored his first career touchdown right at the end.

“It’s just a dream come true and to do it in the NFC championship,” Shipley said on Good Morning America. “Couldn’t be more thankful, couldn’t be more blessed, and to be able to share that with my teammates, my coaches, my friends and family who were able to come and watch the game was a special moment and one that I’ll remember for the rest of my life.”

After Hurricanes trade, not everything fits like a glove

Carolina’s additions are adjusting to their new team — and figuring out their equipment

By Cory Lavalette North State Journal

RALEIGH — New Hurricanes forward Taylor Hall rustled through his bag Monday, pulled out two gloves and turned them over.

Along the side of the left glove’s pinky finger was embroidered “Svechnikov,” and the inside of the wrist on the right-handed glove read “Necas.”

“They were all just laying out there when I got traded,” Hall said, “and these ones kind of felt the best.”

When an athlete is traded from one team to another, there is plenty to figure out: finding a place to live, getting to know new teammates and coaches, and learning the team’s playing style and systems.

And while fans often have visions of equipment managers feverishly sewing numbers and letters on the jersey of a newcomer at the last minute, it’s all the other equipment that can prove difficult and even elusive.

Mikko Rantanen, for example, wore a different helmet in his first game with the Hurricanes than in his second. His regular gloves, custom CCM HG12s, are all he’s worn throughout his 10-season NHL career — until the trade.

“I played with the same gloves since I got drafted, so it’s been a long time,” Rantanen said following Monday’s practice. “I haven’t even tried other gloves, re-

from page B1

things that could possibly be squeezed in? A Buc-ee’s convenience store and a Bass Pro Shops store were ruled “barely,” while the Team Penske race shop, at over 300,000-squarefeet, was a definite no.

The tight confines mean accidents are often — Saturday afternoon’s modified race didn’t even make it one lap without its first wreck — and tempers flare at the track called the “Mecca of Madhouse” for the fireworks produced by the action.

Kyle Busch, one of the Cup Series’ more volatile drivers, joked the field met with NASCAR earlier Saturday and “they already

ally, because I like them. So this one actually surprised me. I was kind of scared of how it was going to feel, if it’s going to feel the same, but after wearing them a couple times in practice and once you kind of break them in, it feels pretty good.”

It’s not the brewing international trade war keeping Hall and Rantanen from getting their preferred gloves but rather something simpler: Chinese factories are closed to celebrate the start of the Year of the Snake.

“Chinese New Year is a big thing with gloves and sticks,” said Hall of the 15-day observance that this year runs from Jan. 29 to Feb. 12. “And then Bauer skates are made in Quebec, so right around the holidays, you’ve got to make sure that you have a few skates on order or just a few in stock.”

It’s enough to keep the equipment managers’ heads spinning, though the players say the inconvenience is forgotten come game time.

“When you’re not thinking about it at all, it feels normal,” Rantanen said.

Hall offered an even better explanation.

“Once you get some sweating in the glove, it’s not a big deal,” he said. “I’ve played plenty of terrible games with all my own gear.”

And slowly — custom gloves from China withstanding — both players are getting gear that feels normal, even if the logo on the front still takes some getting used to.

“The first game, the pants were different, everything,” Rantanen said. “Now I’m getting used to it, so it feels better and better every game, and now I

gave us the list of who’s supposed to fight with who.” However, the track made it through two days of NASCAR racing without a single brawl.

“This environment is special. This is a place that has had deep history in NASCAR,” Elliott said. “I think they deserve this event, truthfully. I hope we didn’t disappoint. It was fun for me, at least. We’ll hopefully come back here one day.”

Elliott led 172 of the 200 laps in his Chevrolet from Hendrick Motorsports to win the event in front of an adoring sold-out crowd of 17,000 fans.

Most spectators were on their feet every time Elliott picked off a lapped car while bat-

have my own pants and helmet.”

It’s just a tiny part of what happens when a player switches organizations. Not only are the faces in the locker room different, and equipment is hit or miss to start, but there’s also an entire support staff that’s new to them.

“I know from going through it,” Hurricanes coach Rod Brind’Amour said. “It’s a little different for both guys because one guy’s been kind of through it a few times, and then one guy hasn’t.

“So everything’s new. And you take for granted, like, ‘Where’s the meal room?’ and ‘How does that work? and ‘Who’s in charge of this? and ‘Who do you ask for about that?’ There’s a lot of things that you don’t really think about that go into making someone feel like they

tling door-to-door with Denny Hamlin and then holding off Ryan Blaney at the end.

“Thanks everybody for coming out,” Elliott told the crowd. “Y’all made for a really cool environment for us. We don’t race in stadiums like this, so this is just really cool and appreciate you making the moment special for me and my team. I hope it was a good show for you.

“Had a tough race. Ryan kept me honest there at the end,” he continued. “Denny was really good at the second half of that break. I just felt like he was kind of riding, and I was afraid to lose control of the race and not be able to get it back. Fortunately it worked out.

Hurricanes winger Taylor Hall holds two gloves — one embroidered with the name of Andrei Svechnikov, the other Martin Necas — that he is using while he waits for his custom ones to arrive from China.

always do it for me, which is obviously nice, and I’m very grateful for that.”

Even something as seemingly customary as team meals can be an adjustment.

“I played on one team where the pregame meal was ultra, ultra healthy, said Hall, who is with his seventh NHL franchise. “Like, they didn’t have beef bolognese; it was only turkey bolognese. And the ranch was light ranch, which sucks.”

Rantanen seemed more at ease Monday than he was during the initial maelstrom of being traded for the first time 10 days earlier. Time helps.

don’t have to worry about stuff.” Hall and Rantanen used the word “routine” to describe acclimating since arriving in Carolina.

“All the other stuff is just, like, routine-based,” Hall said. “Just everyone, every team does things differently. Like our strength coach (Bill Burniston) seems awesome here. He makes a lot of drinks for the guys and is really involved, so it’s been fun getting to know him. Just little things like that, you just kind of maybe change or adapt as you go along.”

Rantanen added, “So just to get used to the routines, and obviously they’ve been really great here: the medical staff and the equipment guys, strength coaches, everybody. They’ve asked me questions too, like, what I like to do. Every request I’ve had, they

Great way to start the season.” Kyle Larson and Josh Berry raced their way into The Clash earlier Sunday night by going 1-2 in the crash-filled last chance qualifying, and Blaney earned a spot based on points scored last season to complete the 23-driver field.

This year’s race marked the Cup Series’ first race at the “Mecca of Madhouse” but didn’t produce the off-track temper tantrums the Bowman Gray regulars are used to watching during weekly grassroots racing. But the event was still special. Richard Childress hails from just 15 minutes away, and as a youngster, the Hall of Fame

“When you play a lot of games in the league like I have, it’s just like you have certain things you like,” he said. “You don’t want to be asking too much, and I don’t feel like I have, but everything I’ve asked for, they’ve been getting it for me. But to get to know the guys, it takes a little while.”

And the feverish sweater stitching can still require a little work.

Rantanen got new teammate Jack Roslovic to switch to No. 98 so he could wear his usual No. 96, while Hall texted injured Jesper Fast about wearing No. 71 — “He was like, ‘Yeah, you should wear that number,’” Hall said of his exchange with Fast. Pulling on the same number can at least bring comfort in a situation where everything is different.

“It’s just one more thing that you don’t have to change and get used to,” Hall said. “I know it seems a bit silly, but I guess at least when your number’s written up on the board, you don’t have to do a double take.”

team owner sold peanuts in the grandstands. He was in the stands Sunday night watching, and before the race began, he stopped by the Fox Sports booth to deliver peanuts and popcorn to the broadcast crew.

“As a kid we jumped the fence and come in and sell peanuts and popcorn, then I’d hang out with all the race drivers, and we had a heck of a time,” Childress said. “I said ‘Man, as much fun as they are having, I’ve got to be a race driver.’ We’d come over here for a fight and a race would break out.”

Blaney finished second in a Ford for Team Penske and was followed by Hamlin in a Toyota for Joe Gibbs Racing.

REED HOFFMANN / AP PHOTO

Williams

CORY LAVALETTE / NORTH STATE JOURNAL CLASH

Duke, UNC basketball commits named as 2025 McDonald’s All-Americans

Six star seniors have committed to playing collegiately in North Carolina

By Jesse Deal North State Journal

SIX OF THE 48 STAR high school basketball players recently selected for this spring’s 48th Annual All-American Games will be playing at the collegiate level in North Carolina later this year.

It was announced last week that four Duke basketball signees and two UNC commits are among this year’s selections for the prestigious exhibition contests that bring together elite talent throughout the country.

For nearly 50 years, the annual event has been the premier all-star game for more than 1,600 high school seniors — many of whom have included future professional stars.

“The McDonald’s All-American Games are headed to the basketball mecca of Brooklyn, NY, for the first time ever, descending on Barclays Center for a showdown featuring basketball’s future all-stars,” McDonald’s All-American Games announced in a Jan. 27 press release.

“The final group of 24 girls

and 24 boys were hand selected by a collection of the game’s top analysts, prep scouts, media and coaches, from hundreds of potential high school players. This next generation of players represent communities from across the nation, each looking to make their own unique mark on the Games’ rich history, continuing a 48-year legacy of impact both on and off the court.”

On the boys’ side, two Duke recruits representing the East team will square off against a UNC recruit and another Duke

UpShot League set to bring women’s basketball back to NC

Charlotte and Greensboro will be two of the league’s inaugural markets

By Asheebo Rojas North State Journal

PROFESSIONAL women’s basketball will return to North Carolina in a little over a year.

Zawyer Sports & Entertainment, the sports managing group that owns the Gastonia Ghost Peppers, the Charlotte Checkers and the newly formed Greensboro Gargoyles hockey team, announced last week that Greensboro and Charlotte will be home to two of the original teams in its UpShot League, a professional women’s basketball league set to begin play in May 2026.

Greensboro and Charlotte join Jacksonville, Florida and Savannah, Georgia, as the four markets that will play during the inaugural season. Charlotte will play its home games at Bojangles Coliseum, and Greensboro will play at Novant Health Fieldhouse.

“Charlotte has long been a city where sports thrive, boasting a rich tapestry of teams and events that cater to a diverse fan base and contribute to our vibrant sports culture,” Steve Bagwell, CEO of the Charlotte Regional Visitors Authority said. “Bojangles Coliseum is a venue with deep roots in our city’s history, and we are honored to host the UpShot League, where they will undoubtedly create new and exciting memories for our community.”

Said Greensboro Mayor Nancy Vaughan, “To see the explosion of women’s basketball on TV has been amazing in the last two years. Great personalities.

DUKE from page B1 for Maliq Brown. It really was. He comes in and on the first play, he comes up with the ball and we get something from it.”

Duke also got a team-high 22 points from Kon Knueppel, who scored the first six points of the second half as the Tar Heels dropped off of him to try to double team Flagg. Tyrese Proctor added 17 as Duke hit 10 of 20 from 3. The win was Duke’s 15th in

Women play every bit as hard as men, and I think people are beginning to see that they’re physical, they’re fast, they’re talented, they’re committed. So, it’s wonderful that we will have a new UpShot team here to complement the Swarm.”

Charlotte has a name-theteam contest at theupshotcharlotte.com, while the naming contest for the Greensboro team is underway at theupshotgreensboro.com.

The UpShot League’s regular season will consist of 40 games with 20 played at home and 20 played away.

Season ticket options will start at $44 per seat, a price based on the new 44 open player positions that the league will create.

Charlotte and Greensboro will look to fill the void left behind by the Charlotte Sting, the former WNBA franchise that folded in 2007. The Sting, which drafted Women’s Basketball Hall of Famer Dawn Staley in 1999, played 10 seasons and made an appearance in the WNBA Finals in 2001.

Since then, women’s basketball in North Carolina has centered around its college programs, with NC State, Duke and UNC producing some of the nation’s top players and teams over the years.

“The Upshot league is fueled by the growth of women’s sports globally, but more specifically here in the United States,” Alex Reed, the director of communications and team services at Zawyer Sports, said during Greensboro’s team announcement. “The mission statement is to build upon the movement of women’s sports upward and through the vitality of women while building and

recruit over on the West team.

The twin sons of former Blue Devils star Carlos Boozer — 6-foot-9 five-star power forward Cameron Boozer and 6-foot-4 four-star point guard Cayden Boozer — both lived up to their family name playing at Christopher Columbus High School in Miami before committing to Duke last October.

The former is averaging 22.4 points and 12.1 rebounds per game this season, while the latter is averaging 12.9 points and 7.2 assists.

The Boozers will play against their future teammate Nikolas Khamenia, a 6-foot-8 four-star small forward from Harvard-Westlake School in Los Angeles.

With a high school record of 116-10, Khamenia has been the main force behind a juggernaut team that is now hoping to win its third consecutive state title; Duke coach Jon Scheyer has been intrigued by what the California star could bring to the Blue Devils for the 2025-26 season.

“Those dudes are winners,” Khamenia said of his upcoming Durham days with the Boozer twins. “I have actually talked to them about it and how they are on and off the court. Those two are really good players. It will be really cool to play with them. They are winners like myself and like to win games.”

Joining him on the West team is UNC recruit and 6-foot-9 five-star power forward Caleb Wilson, who currently plays for Holy Innocents Episcopal School in Atlanta. The 18-year- old recently made an appearance on “NBA on TNT” to announce his commitment to coach Hubert Davis and the Tar Heels.

“I want to thank God, I want to thank my family, my coaches ... everybody who’s really sup -

ported me and helped me make this decision and get to the level I’m at today,” Wilson told “NBA on TNT.” “I’ll be taking my talents to Chapel Hill.”

Over in the girls’ game, 6-foot-1 five-star wing Nyla Brooks — a UNC commit from Bishop Ireton High School in Alexandria, Virginia — will represent the East team as she challenges the West team’s Emilee Skinner, who is Duke’s 6-foot five-star point guard from Ridgeline High School in Millville, Utah.

Brooks, averaging 17.9 points and 7.7 rebounds per game, will be the fifth UNC signee during the tenure of coach Courtney Banghart to earn the honor of playing in the McDonald’s All-American Game.

Meanwhile, Skinner is the No. 7-rated player in the 2025 class and will be the Blue Devils’ third espnW top-10 player signed in the last three seasons. Duke coach Kara Lawson’s future player has averaged 26.2 points, 10.1 rebounds, five assists and 3.7 steals per game during the 2024-25 season.

“I’m so excited to play for Duke. It feels great to have officially signed,” Skinner said after her signing in November. “I cannot wait to play for Coach Kara and to be a part of The Sisterhood. This is a great opportunity for me to grow as a player and to contribute to the team’s success.”

The 2025 McDonald’s All-American Games are scheduled for April 1, with the girls’ game tipping off at 6:30 p.m. followed by the boys’ game at 9 p.m.

celebrating our communities.”

Said Reed, “It’s something where you look at the success of the WNBA recently. Obviously, it has really kind of ignited the sport, but there’s only so many positions there, and there’s so many talented athletes looking to play professionally. And, the UpShot is going to give these women an opportunity to do so.”

UpShot commissioner Donna Orender, a former professional women’s basketball player and a former president of the WNBA, said the interest to invest in the league has been “really robust.”

Members of the UpShot League investment group include Women’s Basketball Hall of Famer Cheryl Miller, former women’s basketball player and WNBA and NBA executive Ann Meyers Drysdale, former WBA boxing champion Seniesa Estrada, former University of Florida basketball player and founder of PY4 Foundation Patric Young, American actress Annie Q. and American film producer Chris Robert.

“The UpShot league is about investing in people, in athletes,

in coaches, front offices,” Orender said. “It’s about bringing new ownership in.” Said Orender, “What we’re also proud of is all the new women who are now sitting at ownership tables, and we want to continue that.” Orender also said that the UpShot League will bring her Generation W and Generation WOW programs to the communities in which the league plays in. Generation W is a community of women who aim to educate and

a row, improving the Blue Devils to 11-0 in the ACC and 13-0 at home. Duke now faces a trip to Syracuse on Wednesday, followed by a game at second-place Clemson next weekend. The Tar Heels, meanwhile, started the game on the wrong side of the NCAA bubble and didn’t do much to make a case that they should be in the field. UNC lost its second straight and fourth in five games, with only a comeback over time win over 2-8 Boston

College breaking up the skid.

UNC next has Pitt, who beat the Tar Heels earlier this week, followed by games at Clemson and Syracuse and a home bout with rival NC State in a brutal stretch of the February schedule.

“There’s frustration,” said head coach Hubert Davis. “But I’ve told the guys this, and I specifically told them tonight, the only thing that you have control over in anything is how you react and how you respond. I told them this is a great lesson in

life. There are going to be speed bumps and traffic and wind and rain. How do you react? How do you respond, when it’s a sunny day and when it’s a windy day?” Davis focused on UNC’s second-half run. After Duke led 77-45 at the nine-minute mark, Carolina went on an 18-2 run to avoid a rivalry record-setting defeat and cut the Blue Devils lead in half. The Tar Heels outscored Duke by five in the second half as Duke lost that edge Scheyer

connect with each other on relevant issues while also fostering a community of women leadership. Generation WOW emphasizes the growth of young girls, focusing on leadership, mental well-being, financial literacy and career planning.

“I can’t wait to be able to be here with all of those girls, those women and our boys to not only elevate the shot of the women on the court, but all of our kids, our fans and perhaps all of you off the court as well,” Orender said.

credited for the team’s big lead.

“I was really proud of our fight and our perseverance in the second half,” Davis said. “I thought we did some good things on both ends of the floor in the second half that can move us positively forward, and that’s something that I communicated to the team throughout the second half and after the game in the locker room.”

It’s a small

but one the Tar

as

building block,

Heels will need

they try to salvage the season.

GREGORY PAYAN / AP PHOTO

Cameron Boozer dunks during the 2023 Hoophall Classic. He will be playing college ball with his twin brother at Duke, his dad’s alma mater.

“The UpShot league is about investing in people, in athletes, in coaches, front offices.”

Donna Orender, commissioner of the UpShot League

WAYNE PARRY / AP PHOTO

Donna Orender, former president of the WNBA, is now commissioner of the UpShot League.

Beyoncé’s ‘Cowboy Carter’ wins album of the year at 2025 Grammys

Viewers contributed over $7 million to wildfire relief efforts

By Maria Sherman The Associated Press

LOS ANGELES — Beyoncé won album of the year for “Cowboy Carter” at Sunday’s Grammys, delivering her — at last — the show’s elusive top award.

The superstar, who is both the most awarded and nominated artist in Grammys history, has been up for the category four times before, and many feel she has been snubbed by its top honors. In winning album of the year with “Cowboy Carter,” Beyoncé has become the first black woman to win the top prize in the 21st century. The last was Lauryn Hill with “The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill” 26 years ago. Before her was Natalie Cole and Whitney Houston.

Members of the Los Angeles Fire Department presented Beyoncé with the trophy, one of several times the show reflected the recent wildfires that burned thousands of homes.

“It’s been many, many years,” Beyoncé said in her speech. “I want to dedicate this to Ms. Martell,” she said, referencing Linda Martell, the performer who became the first black woman to play the Grand Ole Opry. “

We finally saw it happen, everyone,” host Trevor Noah said, nodding to the long overdue achievement for one of music’s transcendent artists.

Kendrick Lamar won song and record of the year for his diss track “Not Like Us,” taking home two of the night’s most prestigious awards. “

We’re gonna dedicate this one to the city,” Lamar said before shouting out Los Angeles area neighborhoods.

Chappell Roan was named best new artist. She read a speech from a notebook, speak-

try album to Beyoncé. She became the first black woman to ever win in the category.

“Genre is a cold word to keep us in our place as artists,” she said in her speech. “I’m still in shock. Thank you so much for this honor.”

A little bit of the wild west, a little bit of West Hollywood. Roan brought a rocking version of her “Pink Pony Club” to the Grammy stage. Joined by a posse of dancing clown cowboys, she sang from atop a giant pink horse.

“We love you LA,” she told the crowd at the end of the set.

The show kicked off with a powerful opening performance of Randy Newman’s “I Love L.A.” by Dawes — whose members were directly affected by the Eaton fire — backed by John Legend, Brad Paisley, Sheryl Crow, Brittany Howard and St. Vincent.

Will Smith introduced a tribute to late legendary producer Quincy Jones.

“In his 91 years, Q touched countless lives, but I have to say he changed mine forever,” he said. “You probably wouldn’t even know who Will Smith was without Quincy Jones.” Jones died in November at age 91.

Executor’s Notice IN THE GENERAL COURT OF JUSTICE SUPERIOR COURT DIVISION ESTATE FILE 24E000984-250 State of North Carolina Cumberland County

NOTICE TO CREDITORS

The undersigned, having qualified as the Executor of the Estate of Janet D. Adams, late of Cumberland County, North Carolina, does hereby notify all persons, firms or corporations having claims against said estate to present them to the undersigned at 2138 Baywater Drive, Fayetteville, North Carolina 28304, on or before April 23, 2025, or this notice will be pleaded in bar of their recovery. All persons indebted to the estate will please make immediate payment to the undersigned. This the 23rd day of January, 2025. Edward Mitchell Adams Executor of the Estate of Janet D. Adams, Deceased c/o Gilliam Law Firm, PLLC J. Duane Gilliam, Jr., Attorney PO Box 53555 Fayetteville, NC 28305

1/23/2025, 1/30/2025, 2/06/2025 and 2/13/2025

NOTICE TO CREDITORS

ESTATE OF MARLENE BRUDVIG CUMBERLAND County Estate File No. 24E002976-250 All persons, firms and corporations having claims against Marlene Brudvig, deceased, of Cumberland County, North Carolina, are notified to present their claims to Ronda Johnson, Executor, at 1949 Saint Pauls Ave., Fayetteville, NC 28304, on or before the 17th day of April, 2025 (which date is three months after the day of the first publication of this notice), or this notice will be pleaded in bar of their recovery. Debtors of the Decedent are requested to make immediate payment to the Executor named above. This the 13th day of January, 2025. Ronda Johnson Executor of the Estate of Marlene Brudvig Davis W. Puryear Hutchens Law Firm Attorneys for the Estate 4317 Ramsey Street Fayetteville, NC 28311 Run dates: January 16, January 23, January 30 and February 6, 2025

NOTICE TO CREDITORS

ESTATE OF RANDALL MATTHEW GABBERT CUMBERLAND COUNTY Estate File No. 24E1132 Having qualified as Executor of the estate of Randall Gabbert, deceased, of Cumberland County, North Carolina, the undersigned does hereby notify all persons, firms, and corporations having claims against the estate of said decedent to exhibit them to the undersigned at 645 Country Club Rd. Salemburg, NC 28385, on or before April 16th, 2025 or this notice will be pleaded in bar of their recovery. All persons, firms, and corporations indebted to the said Estate will please make immediate payment to the undersigned. Dated this 16th

NOTICE In The General Court of Justice Superior Court Division Before the Clerk Estate File #24-E002670-250 STATE OF NORTH CAROLINA CUMBERLAND COUNTY ADMINISTRATOR

NOTICE Having qualified as executor of the estate of Candace M. Cox, deceased, late of Cumberland County, this is to notify all persons having claims against said estate to present them to the undersigned on or before April 16th,2025 or this notice will be pleaded in bar of their recovery. All persons indebted to the estate will please make immediate payment to the undersigned. This is the 16th day of January, 2025. Cameron T. Cox 7009 Byerly Drive, Hope Mills, North Carolina, 28348 Executor of the estate of Candace M. Cox

NOTICE

STATE OF NORTH CAROLINA In The General Court of Justice County of Cumberland Superior Court Division Estate File # 23E001726-250 Administrator’s/Executor’s Notice The undersigned, having qualified as Administrator of the Estate of James B. Head, deceased, late of Cumberland County, hereby notifies all persons, firms, and undersigned on or before the 16th day of April 2025, (which date is three months after the day of the first publication of this notice) or this notice will be pleaded in bar of the recovery. All Debtors of the decedent are requested to make immediate payment to the undersigned. This 8th day of January 2025. Beatrice Head Robinson Administrator/Executor 3100 Fernfield Rd Address Fayetteville, NC 28306 City, State, Zip Of the Estate of James B. Head, Deceased.

NOTICE

STATE OF NORTH CAROLINA Cumberland County IN THE GENERAL COURT OF JUSTICE SUPERIOR COURT DIVISION 24E1235 Having qualified as Administrator of the Estate of Wilfredo Rivera Hernandez, deceased, late of Cumberland County, North Carolina, this is to notify all persons, firms and corporations having claims against the Estate of said Wilfredo Rivera Hernandez to present them to the undersigned on or before the 23rd of April, 2025 or same will be pleaded in bar of their recovery. All persons indebted to said Estate please make immediate payment. This the 23rd day of January 2025. Norva L. Rivera 4034 Dickens Ave., Hope Mills NC 28348 Administrator of the Estate of Wilfredo Rivera Hernandez, deceased June 29, 2024

NOTICE

In The General Court of Justice Superior Division Before the Clerk Estate File 2024 E 000472, STATE OF NORTH CAROLINA CUMBERLAND COUNTY ADMINISTRATOR NOTICE The undersigned having qualified as Executor of the Estate of ITERIA JONES MCMILLIAN, deceased, late of Cumberland County, this is to notify all persons having claims against said estate to present them to the undersigned on or before 21st day of May 2025, (which date is three months after the day of the first publication of this notice) or this notice will be pleaded in bar of their recovery. All persons indebted to the estate will please make immediate payment to the undersigned. This the 8th day of January , 2025. 4640 Weaverhall Drive, Fayetteville NC 28314.

ing directly to major labels and the music industry, instructing them to “offer a living wage and health care, especially to developing artists.” She described getting signed as a minor, getting dropped and entering the workforce during COVID-19 with no work experience and no health care. She asked them to treat artists like “valuable employees.”

“Labels, we got you,” she concluded her speech. “But do you got us?”

In one of the biggest moments of the evening, Taylor Swift presented the award for best coun-

NOTICE TO CREDITORS

IN THE GENERAL COURT OF JUSTICE

SUPERIOR COURT DIVISION

ESTATE FILE NO. 25E000050-250

STATE OF NORTH CAROLINA COUNTY OF CUMBERLAND

Having qualified as Executor of the Estate of Thomas C. Herring, Jr., late of Cumberland County, North Carolina, the undersigned does hereby notify all persons, firms, and corporations having claims against the estate of said decedent to exhibit them to the undersigned at 2517 Raeford Road, Fayetteville, NC 28305, on or before May 6, 2025, or this notice will be pleaded in bar of their recovery. All persons, firms, and corporations indebted to the said Estate will please make immediate payment to the undersigned. Dated this 6th day of February, 2025. Susan J. Jordan, Executor of the Estate of Estate of Thomas C. Herring, Jr. NICOLE A. CORLEY MURRAY & CORLEY, P.A.

N.C. BAR NO. 56459 2517 RAEFORD ROAD FAYETTEVILLE, NC 28305 – 3007 (910) 483 – 4990 COUNSEL FOR EXECUTOR

NOTICE

STATE OF NORTH CAROLINA

In The General Court of Justice County of Cumberland Superior Court Division Estate File#: 23001231-250

Administrator’s/Executor’s Notice

The undersigned, having qualified as Executor of the Estate of Terry Yi McCray, deceased, late of Cumberland County, hereby notifies all persons, firms, and corporations having claims against said estate is present their claim to the undersigned on or before the 1st day of May, 2025, (which date is three months after the day of the first publication of this notice) or this notice will be pleaded in bar of their recovery. All Debtors of the decedent are requested to make immediate payment to the undersigned. This 30 day of January 2025. Cortney McCray Administrator/Executor 316 W. Willow Creek Dr. Address Saratoga Springs, UT 84045 City, State, Zip Of the Estate of Terry Yi McCray, Deceased

NOTICE

In the General Court of Justice Superior Court Division Estate File # 25E000090-250 State of North Carolina County of Cumberland Administrator’s / Executor’s Notice The undersigned, having qualified as Executor of the Estate of Edna McLaurin aka Edna L. McLaurin, deceased, late of Cumberland County, hereby notifies all persons, firms, and corporations having claims against said estate to present their claim to the undersigned on or before the 30th day of April, 2025, (which date is three months after the day of the first publication of this notice) or this notice will be pleaded in bar of their recovery. All Debtors of the decedent are requested to make immediate payment to the undersigned. This the 30th day of January, 2025. David Merel McLaurin-Executor of the Estate of Edna McLaurin aka Edna L. McLaurin 2077 Wilbur Street Eastover, NC 28312

NOTICE

The undersigned, having qualified as Administrator of the estate of Emma McEachern Willis, deceased, late of Cumberland County, this is to notify all persons, firms, and corporations having claims against said estate to present them to the undersigned on or before the 16th day of April, 2025, ( which date is three months after the day of the first publication of this notice) or this notice will be pleaded in bar of their recovery. All debtors of the decedent are requested to make immediate payment to the undersigned. This 16th day of April 2025. Dionne Willis Charles, Administrator, 5116 Lime Street, Fayetteville, NC, 28314. Of the estate of Emma McEachern Willis.

In incorporating the wildfires throughout the show, the Grammys put the spotlight on the city’s resiliency. Noah’s opening speech was dedicated to those affected by the fires, promising a show that not only celebrates them, but one that also celebrates “the city that brought us so much of that music.” The Grammys also allotted ad time to be used by local businesses affected by the fires. As the show neared its end, Noah announced that viewers had contributed $7 million to relief efforts Sunday night. On a stage set up to look like the mountains of Los Angeles, the LA born-and-raised Billie Eilish and her brother/collaborator Finneas performed her hit “Birds of a Feather.” It was one of a number of ways the show sought to salute the city.

NOTICE

In The General Court of Justice Superior Court Division Before the Clerk Estate File #25E-000025-250 STATE OF NORTH CAROLINA CUMBERLAND COUNTY ADMINISTRATOR NOTICE

The undersigned having qualified as Executor of the estate of Carol K. Nunnery, deceased, late of Cumberland County, this is to notify all persons having claims against said estate to present them to the undersigned on or before the 30st day of April, 2025 (which date is three months after the day of the first public notice) or this notice will be pleaded in bar of their recovery. All persons indebted to the estate will please make immediate payment to the undersigned. This the 30st day of January, 2025. Administrator of the Estate of Carol K. Nunnery Donna Mason Truett Canady 304 W. Broad St. P.O. Box 7 St. Pauls, NC 28384

NOTICE TO CREDITORS

ESTATE OF JOHN F. PENROSE, SR. CUMBERLAND County Estate File No. 23E000501-250 All persons, firms and corporations having claims against John F. Penrose, Sr., deceased, of Cumberland County, North Carolina, are notified to present their claims to Davis W. Puryear, Administrator, at 4317 Ramsey Street, Fayetteville, NC 28311, on or before the 7th day of May, 2025 (which date is three months after the day of the first publication of this notice), or this notice will be pleaded in bar of their recovery. Debtors of the Decedent are requested to make immediate payment to the Administrator named above. This the 29th day of January, 2025. Davis W. Puryear Administrator of the Estate of John F. Penrose, Sr. Davis W. Puryear Hutchens Law Firm Attorneys for the Estate 4317 Ramsey Street Fayetteville, NC 28311

Run dates: February 6, February 13, February 20 and February 27, 2025

NOTICE TO CREDITORS IN THE GENERAL COURT OF JUSTICE SUPERIOR COURT DIVISION ESTATE FILE NO. 25E000085-250 STATE OF NORTH CAROLINA COUNTY OF CUMBERLAND Having qualified as Executor of the Estate of Elsie Lou Doris Rainey, late of Cumberland County, North Carolina, the undersigned does hereby notify all persons, firms, and corporations having claims against the estate of said decedent to exhibit them to the undersigned at 2517 Raeford Road, Fayetteville, NC 28305, on or before April 30, 2025, or this notice will be pleaded in bar of their recovery. All persons, firms, and corporations indebted to the said Estate will please make immediate payment to the undersigned. Dated this 30th day of January, 2025. Donald Rainey, Executor of the Estate of Elsie Lou Doris Rainey NICOLE A. CORLEY MURRAY & CORLEY, P.A. N.C. BAR NO. 56459 2517 RAEFORD ROAD FAYETTEVILLE, NC 28305 – 3007 (910) 483 – 4990 COUNSEL FOR EXECUTOR

Kicked off by Cynthia Erivo, accompanied by Herbie Hancock on piano, the “Wicked” star sang Frank Sinatra’s “Fly Me to the Moon.” Then came Lainey Wilson and Jacob Collier with “Let the Good Times Roll,” followed by Stevie Wonder and Hancock busting out “Bluesette” and “We Are The World.” For the latter, they were joined by student singers from two schools that were lost in the LA-area fires.

The Beatles’ “Now and Then,” which used AI technology, took home best rock performance. Sean Lennon accepted the award on behalf of his late father, John Lennon. “As far as I’m concerned, it’s the best band of all time,” he said of the Beatles.

The Red Hot Chili Peppers’ Anthony Kiedis and Chad Smith led the crowd in a short singalong of their hit “Under the Bridge,” reminding the crowd to “support their friends and neighbors as they rebuild their lives,” said Kiedis.

NOTICE TO CREDITORS Estate of Elma Florence Walker Cumberland County Estate File No. 24E002978-50 All persons and corporations having claims against Elma Florence Walker, Deceased, of Cumberland County, North Carolina, are notified to present their claims to Pamela W. Briggs, Co-Administrator of the Estate of Elma Florence Walker, at 623 Galloway

Administrator’s/ Executor’s Notice The undersigned, having qualified as Administrator_____________________ of the Estate of Octavia Tara George__________________ , deceased, late of Cumberland County, hereby notifies all persons, firms, and corporations having claims against said estate to present their claim to the

CHRIS PIZZELLO / AP PHOTO

Beyonce accepts the award for album of the year for “Cowboy Carter” during the 67th annual Grammy Awards on Sunday. Blue Ivy Carter looks on from right.

yearold Black female with dark brown hair hair and brown eyes. Ms. Parker reports that the putative birth father is Jorge Armando Sevilla and that conception occurred in Durham County, North Carolina. PLEASE TAKE NOTICE that you are required to file a response to such pleading not later than 40 days from the first day of publication of this notice, that date being January 23, 2025, and upon your failure to do so the Petitioner will apply to the Court for relief sought in the Petition. Any parental rights you may have will be terminated upon the entry of the decree of adoption. Kelly T. Dempsey, Attorney for Petitioners, 101 S. Tryon Street, Suite 1700, Charlotte NC 28280.

NEW HANOVER NOTICE

NORTH CAROLINA NEW HANOVER COUNTY NOTICE TO CREDITORS THE UNDERSIGNED, Norman F. Lavigne, Sr., having qualified on the 8th day of January 2025, as Executor of the Estate of Heather Jo Lavigne (2025-E-34), deceased, does hereby notify all persons, firms, and corporations having claims against said Estate that they must present them to the undersigned at DAVID E. ANDERSON, PLLC, 9111 Market Street, Suite A, Wilmington, North Carolina, 28411, on or before the 5th day of May, 2025, or the claims will be forever barred thereafter, and this notice will be pleaded in bar of recovery. All persons, firms, and corporations indebted to said Estate will please make prompt payment to the undersigned at the above address. This 30th day of January 2025. Norman F. Lavigne, Sr. Executor ESTATE OF HEATHER JO LAVIGNE David Anderson Attorney at Law 9111 Market St, Ste A Wilmington, NC 28411 Publish: January 30, 2025, February 6, 2025, February 13, 2025, February 20, 2025

NOTICE

All persons, firms, and corporations having claims against JEAN HUNNICUTT ELLIS, deceased of New Hanover County, N.C. are notified to exhibit the same to the undersigned on or before May 5, 2025, or this notice will be pleaded in bar of recovery. Debtors of the decedent are asked to make immediate payment to the undersigned. This 24th day of January, 2025. Janice Ellis Jenkins, Executor PO Box 1087 Holly Springs, NC 27540

NOTICE

NORTH CAROLINA NEW HANOVER COUNTY NOTICE TO CREDITORS THE UNDERSIGNED, David B. Reitblatt, having qualified on the 6th day of December 2024, as Executor of the Estate of Zita G. Reitblatt (2024-E-1680), deceased, does hereby notify all persons, firms, and corporations having claims against said Estate that they must present them to the undersigned at DAVID E. ANDERSON, PLLC, 9111 Market Street, Suite A, Wilmington, North Carolina, 28411, on or before the 5th day of May, 2025, or the claims will be forever barred thereafter, and this notice will be pleaded in bar of recovery. All persons, firms, and corporations indebted to said Estate will please make prompt payment to the undersigned at the above address.

This 30th day of January 2025. David B. Reitblatt

Executor ESTATE OF ZITA G. REITBLATT

David Anderson Attorney at Law 9111 Market St, Ste A Wilmington, NC 28411 Publish: January 30, 2025 February 6, 2025 February 13, 2025 February 20, 2025

NOTICE TO CREDITORS

Having qualified as Executor of the Estate of Kathryn Garner Craven, late of Randolph County, North Carolina, the undersigned does hereby notify all persons, firms, and corporations having claims against the estate of said decedent to exhibit them to the undersigned at P.O. Box 5994, Greensboro, North Carolina 27435, on or before the 6th day of May 2025, or this notice will be pleaded in bar of their recovery. All persons, firms, and corporations indebted to the said estate will please make immediate payment to the undersigned. This the 6th day of February 2025.

Richard Ernest Brady

Executor of the Estate of Kathryn Garner Craven.

J. Taylor Moody Attorney at Law Spangler Estate Planning P.O. Box 5994 Greensboro, NC 27435

NOTICE OF FORECLOSURE SALE NORTH CAROLINA, CABARRUS COUNTY 24 SP 000400-120

Under and by virtue of a Power of Sale contained in that certain Deed of Trust executed by CLTBuyers LLC, Mortgagor(s), in the original amount of $193,500.00, to Kiavi Funding, Inc., Mortgagee, dated November 7th, 2022 and recorded on November 10th, 2022 in Book 16275, Page 0295, as instrument number 32312, Cabarrus County Registry. Default having been made in the payment of the note thereby secured by the said Deed of Trust and the undersigned, Anchor Trustee Services, LLC having been substituted as Trustee in said Deed of Trust by an instrument duly recorded in the Office of the Register of Deeds of Cabarrus County, North Carolina, and the holder

of the note evidencing said indebtedness having directed that the Deed of Trust be foreclosed, the undersigned Substitute Trustee will offer for sale at the courthouse door or other usual place of sale in Cabarrus County, North Carolina, at 2:00PM on February 11, 2025, and will sell to the highest bidder for cash the following described property, to wit: Being all of Lot 23 of Stones Throw Subdivision as shown on a map thereof recorded in Map Book 42 at Page 12 of the Cabarrus County Public Registry. Commonly Known as Address: 9619 Sandstone Court, Concord, NC 28025 Parcel ID: 5526-52-1144-0000 Together with improvements located hereon; said property being located at 9619 Sandstone Court, Concord, NC 28025 Tax ID: 01-021A-0023.00 Third party purchasers must pay the recording costs of the trustee’s deed, any land transfer taxes, the excise tax, pursuant North Carolina General Statutes §105228.30, in the amount of One Dollar ($1.00) per each Five Hundred Dollars ($500.00) or fractional part thereof, and the Clerk

A. TILLER, SR. DATED APRIL 13, 2012 AND RECORDED IN BOOK 8878 AT PAGE 23 IN THE CUMBERLAND COUNTY PUBLIC REGISTRY, NORTH CAROLINA NOTICE OF SALE Under and by virtue of the power and authority contained in the above-referenced

NOTICE OF FORECLOSURE SALE

NORTH CAROLINA, CUMBERLAND COUNTY 24 SP 001913-250

Under and by virtue of a Power of Sale contained in that certain Deed of Trust executed by Caldwell Owen Jackson, Jr and Tracie Robinson, Mortgagor(s), in the original amount of $343,660.00, to Mortgage Electronic Registration Systems, Inc., (“MERS”) as beneficiary, as nominee for Cornerstone Home Lending, Inc., Mortgagee, dated March 8th, 2022 and recorded on March 9th, 2022 in Book 11413, Page 0284, as instrument number 09877, Cumberland County Registry.

Default having been made in the payment of the note thereby secured by the said Deed of Trust and the undersigned, Anchor Trustee Services, LLC having been substituted as Trustee in said Deed of Trust by an instrument duly recorded in the Office of the Register of Deeds of

and, pursuant to demand of the holder of the secured debt, the undersigned will expose for sale at public auction at the usual place of sale at the Cumberland County courthouse at 11:00AM on February 18, 2025, the following described real estate and any improvements situated thereon, in Cumberland County, North Carolina, and being more particularly described in that certain Deed of Trust executed Darryl A. Tiller, Sr., dated April 13, 2012 to secure the original principal amount of $118,655.00, and recorded in Book 8878 at Page 23 of the Cumberland County Public Registry. The terms of the said Deed of Trust may be modified by other instruments appearing in the public record. Additional identifying information regarding the collateral property is below and is believed to be accurate, but no representation or warranty is intended. Address of property: 3812 Casper Street, Hope Mills, NC 28348 Tax Parcel ID: 0414-44-6917

Cumberland County, North Carolina, and the holder of the note evidencing said indebtedness having directed that the Deed of Trust be foreclosed, the undersigned Substitute Trustee will offer for sale at the courthouse door or other usual place of sale in Cumberland County, North Carolina, at 1:30 PM on February 19th, 2025, and will sell to the highest bidder for cash the following described property, to wit: BEING all of Lot 12 as shown on a plat entitled “THE SENTINELS, LOTS 1-12, 4955 AND 94-104” duly recorded in Plat Book 145, Page 149 Cumberland County Registry. Together with improvements located hereon; said property being located at 5432 Mountain Run Drive, Hope Mills, NC 28348 Tax ID: 0442-00-7632 Third party purchasers must pay the recording costs of the trustee’s deed, any land transfer taxes, the excise tax, pursuant North Carolina General Statutes §105228.30, in the amount of One Dollar ($1.00) per each Five Hundred Dollars ($500.00) or fractional part thereof, and the Clerk of Courts fee, pursuant to North Carolina General Statutes §7A-308, in the amount

NOTICE OF SERVICE OF PROCESS BY PUBLICATION

STATE OF NORTH CAROLINA RANDOLPH COUNTY IN THE GENERAL COURT OF JUSTICE SUPERIOR COURT

DIVISION BEFORE THE CLERK FILE NO. 24 SP 208 FOR THE ADOPTION OF A FEMALE MINOR

TO: Kansas Nicole Lassiter, the biological mother of Minor Child Davis, a female child, born on July 28, 2010 in Corydon, Indiana. Take notice that a Petition for Adoption was filed with the Clerk of Superior Court for Randolph County, North Carolina in the above entitled special proceeding. The Petition relates to Minor Child Davis, a female child, born on July 28, 2010 in Corydon, Indiana. The biological mother is “Kansas Nicole Lassiter” and that the last known location of the biological mother is unknown. PLEASE TAKE NOTICE that you are required to file a response to such pleading not later than 40 days from the first day of publication of this notice, that date being January 23, 2025, and upon your failure to do so the Petitioner will apply to the Court for relief sought in the Petition. Any parental rights you may have will be terminated upon the entry of the decree of adoption. Kelly T. Dempsey, Attorney for Petitioners, 101 S Tryon Street, Charlotte, North Carolina 28280.

NOTICE OF SERVICE OF PROCESS BY PUBLICATION

STATE OF NORTH CAROLINA RANDOLPH COUNTY IN THE GENERAL COURT OF JUSTICE SUPERIOR COURT

DIVISION BEFORE THE CLERK FILE NO. 24 SP 207 FOR THE ADOPTION OF A FEMALE MINOR

TO: Christopher Lassiter, the legal father of Minor Child Lassiter, a female child, born on November 01, 2018 in Valdosta, Georgia, to Kansas Nicole Lassiter.

Take notice that a Petition for Adoption was filed with the Clerk of Superior Court for Randolph County, North Carolina in the above entitled special proceeding. The Petition relates to Minor Child Lassiter, a female child, born on November 01, 2018 in Valdosta, Georgia, to Kansas Nicole Lassiter. The legal father is “Christopher Lassiter” and that the last known location of the legal father is unknown. PLEASE TAKE NOTICE that you are required to file a response to such pleading not later than 40 days from the first day of publication of this notice, that date being January 23, 2025, and upon your failure to do so the Petitioner will apply to the Court for relief sought in the Petition. Any parental rights you may have will be terminated upon the entry of the decree of adoption.

Kelly T. Dempsey, Attorney for Petitioners, 101 S Tryon Street, Charlotte, North Carolina 28280.

Notice to Creditors

Having qualified as executor on the estate of Jane Boudin Strother, deceased, late of Randolph County, North Carolina, this is to notify all persons having claims against the estate of said deceased to exhibit them to the undersigned at 777 Honeysuckle Rd, Asheboro, NC 27203 on or before the 7th day of May, 2025, or this notice will be pleaded in bar of their recovery. All persons indebted to said estate will please make immediate payment. This 22nd day of January, 2025.

Litha Charles Carpenter Executor of the Estate of Jane Boudin Strother

of Courts fee, pursuant to North Carolina General Statutes §7A-308, in the amount of Forty-five Cents (0.45) per each One Hundred Dollars ($100.00) or fractional part thereof with a maximum amount of Five Hundred Dollars ($500.00). A deposit of five percent (5%) of the bid or Seven Hundred Fifty Dollars ($750.00), whichever is greater, will be required at the time of the sale and must be tendered in the form of certified funds. Following the expiration of the statutory upset bid period, all the remaining amounts will be immediately due and owing. Said property to be offered pursuant to this Notice of Sale is being offered for sale, transfer and conveyance AS IS WHERE IS. There are no representations of warranty relating to the title or any physical, environmental, health or safety conditions existing in, on, at, or relating to the property being offered for sale. This sale is made subject to all prior liens, unpaid taxes, special assessments, land transfer taxes, if any, and encumbrances of record. To the best of the knowledge and belief of the undersigned, the current owner(s) of the

Present Record Owners: Darryl A. Tiller Sr. The record owner(s) of the property, according to the records of the Register of Deeds, is/are Darryl A. Tiller Sr. The property to be offered pursuant to this notice of sale is being offered for sale, transfer and conveyance AS IS, WHERE IS. Neither the Trustee nor the holder of the note secured by the deed of trust being foreclosed, nor the officers, directors, attorneys, employees, agents or authorized representative of either the Trustee or the holder of the note make any representation or warranty relating to the title or any physical, environmental, health or safety conditions existing in, on, at or relating to the property offered for sale. Any and all responsibilities or liabilities arising out of or in any way relating to any such condition expressly are disclaimed. This sale is subject to all prior liens and encumbrances and unpaid taxes and assessments including any transfer tax associated with the foreclosure. A deposit

of Forty-five Cents (0.45) per each One Hundred Dollars ($100.00) or fractional part thereof with a maximum amount of Five Hundred Dollars ($500.00). A deposit of five percent (5%) of the bid or Seven Hundred Fifty Dollars ($750.00), whichever is greater, will be required at the time of the sale and must be tendered in the form of certified funds. Following the expiration of the statutory upset bid period, all the remaining amounts will be immediately due and owing. Said property to be offered pursuant to this Notice of Sale is being offered for sale, transfer and conveyance AS IS WHERE IS. There are no representations of warranty relating to the title or any physical, environmental, health or safety conditions existing in, on, at, or relating to the property being offered for sale. This sale is made subject to all prior liens, unpaid taxes, special assessments, land transfer taxes, if any, and encumbrances of record. To the best of the knowledge and belief of the undersigned, the current owner(s) of the property is/are Caldwell Owen Jackson, Jr. and Tracie Robinson.

NOTICE OF SERVICE OF PROCESS BY PUBLICATION STATE OF NORTH CAROLINA RANDOLPH COUNTY IN THE GENERAL COURT OF JUSTICE SUPERIOR COURT DIVISION BEFORE THE CLERK FILE NO. 24 SP 208 FOR THE ADOPTION OF A FEMALE MINOR TO: Christopher Lassiter, the legal father of Minor Child Davis, a female child, born on July 28, 2010 in Corydon, Indiana, to Kansas Nicole Lassiter. Take notice that a Petition for Adoption was filed with the Clerk of Superior Court for Randolph County, North Carolina in the above entitled special proceeding. The Petition relates to Minor Child Davis, a female child, born on July 28, 2010 in Corydon, Indiana, to Kansas Nicole Lassiter. The

property are Marlon Bertoni Galves Morales and Sayda Marianela Pacheco. PLEASE TAKE NOTICE: An order for possession of the property may be issued pursuant to North Carolina General Statutes §45-21.29 in favor of the purchaser and against the party or parties in possession by the Clerk of Superior Court of the county in which the property is sold.

Any person who occupies the property pursuant to a rental agreement entered into or renewed on or after October 1, 2007, may, after receiving the notice of sale, terminate the rental agreement by providing written notice of termination to the landlord, to be effective on a date stated in the notice that is at least 10 days, but no more than 90 days, after the sale date contained in the notice of sale, provided that the mortgagor has not cured the default at the time the tenant provides the notice of termination (North Carolina General Statutes §4521.16A(b)(2)). Upon termination of a rental agreement, the tenant is liable for rent due under the rental agreement prorated to the effective date of termination. If the Trustee is

of five percent (5%) of the amount of the bid or seven hundred fifty dollars ($750.00), whichever is greater, is required from the highest bidder and must be tendered in the form of certified funds at the time of the sale. Cash will not be accepted. This sale will be held open ten days for upset bids as required by law. After the expiration of the upset period, all remaining amounts are IMMEDIATELY DUE AND OWING. Failure to remit funds in a timely manner will result in a Declaration of Default and any deposit will be frozen pending the outcome of any resale. If the sale is set

unable to convey title to this property for any reason, the sole remedy of the purchaser is the return of the deposit. Reasons of such inability to convey include, but are not limited to, the filing of a bankruptcy petition prior to the confirmation of the sale and reinstatement of the loan without the

PLEASE TAKE NOTICE: An order for possession of the property may be issued pursuant to North Carolina General Statutes §45-21.29 in favor of the purchaser and against the party or parties in possession by the Clerk of Superior Court of the county in which the property is sold. Any person who occupies the property pursuant to a rental agreement entered into or renewed on or after October 1, 2007, may, after receiving the notice of sale, terminate the rental agreement by providing written notice of termination to the landlord, to be effective on a date stated in the notice that is at least 10 days, but no more than 90 days, after the sale date contained in the notice of sale, provided that the mortgagor has not cured the default at the time the tenant provides the notice of termination (North Carolina General Statutes §4521.16A(b)(2)). Upon termination of a rental agreement, the tenant is liable for rent due under the rental agreement prorated

RANDOLPH

IN THE MATTER OF THE FORECLOSURE OF A DEED OF TRUST EXECUTED BY EMMA KIMMER COOKE AND HARRY RAMSEY COOKE, JR. DATED JUNE 23, 2004 AND RECORDED IN BOOK 1008 AT PAGE 469 IN THE STANLY COUNTY PUBLIC REGISTRY, NORTH CAROLINA NOTICE OF SALE Under and by virtue of the power and authority contained in the above-referenced deed of trust and because of default in payment of the secured debt and failure to perform the agreements contained therein and, pursuant to demand of the holder of the secured debt, the undersigned will expose for sale at public auction at the usual place of sale at the Stanly County courthouse at 11:00AM on February 11, 2025, the following described real estate and any improvements situated thereon, in Stanly County, North Carolina, and being more particularly described in that certain Deed of Trust executed Emma Kimmer Cooke and Harry Ramsey Cooke, Jr., dated June 23, 2004 to secure the original principal amount of $117,725.00, and recorded in Book 1008 at Page 469 of the Stanly County Public Registry. The terms of the said Deed of Trust may be modified by other instruments appearing in the public record. Additional identifying information regarding the collateral property is below and is believed to be accurate, but no representation or warranty is intended. Address of property: 35643 City Lake Drive, Albemarle, NC 28001 Tax Parcel ID: 653803038915

IN THE GENERAL COURT OF JUSTICE OF NORTH CAROLINA SUPERIOR COURT DIVISION STANLY COUNTY 24SP001145-830

NOTICE OF FORECLOSURE SALE

24SP001045-910

Under and by virtue of the power of sale contained in a certain Deed of Trust made by Robert Dennis Whitlock (PRESENT RECORD OWNER(S): Robert Dennis Whitlock) to Michael Lyon, Trustee(s), dated October 21, 2016, and recorded in Book No. 016579, at Page 02421 in Wake County Registry, North Carolina, default having been made in the payment of the promissory note secured by the said Deed of Trust and the undersigned, Substitute Trustee Services, Inc. having been substituted as Trustee in said Deed of Trust by an instrument duly recorded in the Office of the Register of Deeds Wake County, North Carolina and the holder of the note evidencing said indebtedness having directed that the Deed of Trust be foreclosed, the undersigned Substitute Trustee will offer for sale at the Wake County Courthouse door, the Salisbury Street entrance in Raleigh, Wake County, North Carolina, or the customary location designated for foreclosure sales, at 1:30 PM on February 10, 2025 and will sell to the highest bidder for cash the following real estate situated in Raleigh in the County of Wake, North Carolina, and being more particularly described as follows: Tax Id Number(s): 0110484 Land Situated in the City of Raleigh in the County of Wake in the State of NC. Land Situated in the Township of Meredith in the County of Wake in the State of NC. Beginning at a point in the southern line of a 20-foot private concrete road, said point being the common corner of lots 94 and 95; thence along a new line through Lot 94 South 51 deg. 05’ West 70.57 feet to a point in Lot 96; thence North 22 deg. 26’ West 18.5 feet to a common corner of Lots 96 and 97; thence North 73 deg. 11’ West 55.0 feet to the southeast corner of Lot 93; thence North 29 deg. 58’ East 136.23 feet to the common corner of Lots 93 and 94; thence along the southern line of the private concrete road 12.43 feet; thence continuing along the line of the 20-foot private concrete road along a curve to the left having a radius of 118.8 feet, a distance of 107.95 feet to the point and place of beginning, and being the greater part of Lot 94 and a small portion of Lot 96 and Sans Famille Subdivision, Section 6, as shown on map recorded in Book of Maps 1979,Page 386, Wake County Registry. Together with improvements located thereon; said property being located at 2852 Rue Sans Famille, Raleigh,

IN THE GENERAL COURT OF JUSTICE OF NORTH CAROLINA SUPERIOR COURT DIVISION WAKE COUNTY

23SP001955-910

IN THE MATTER OF THE FORECLOSURE OF A DEED OF TRUST EXECUTED BY SABINO ESCORZA DATED APRIL 10, 2006 AND RECORDED IN BOOK 11909 AT PAGE 2543 IN THE WAKE COUNTY PUBLIC REGISTRY, NORTH CAROLINA NOTICE OF SALE Under and by virtue of the power and authority contained in the above-referenced deed of trust and because of default in payment of the secured debt and failure to perform the agreements contained therein and, pursuant to demand of the holder of the secured debt, the undersigned will expose for sale at public auction at the usual place of sale at the Wake County

NOTICE OF FORECLOSURE SALE 24SP002066-910 Under and by virtue of the power of sale contained in a certain Deed of Trust made by Eric W. Cusack (PRESENT RECORD OWNER(S): Eric W. Cusack) to Coastal Federal Financial Group LLC, Trustee(s), dated April 7, 2009, and recorded in Book No. 013485, at Page 02148 in Wake County Registry, North Carolina, default having been made in the payment of the promissory note secured by the said Deed of Trust and the undersigned, Substitute Trustee Services, Inc. having been substituted as Trustee in said Deed of Trust by an instrument duly recorded in the Office of the Register of Deeds Wake County, North Carolina and the holder of the note evidencing said indebtedness having directed that the Deed of Trust be foreclosed, the undersigned Substitute Trustee will offer for sale at the Wake County Courthouse door, the Salisbury Street entrance in Raleigh, Wake County, North Carolina, or the customary location designated for foreclosure sales, at 1:30

courthouse at 11:00AM on February 11, 2025, the following described real estate and any improvements situated thereon, in Wake County, North Carolina, and being more particularly described in that certain Deed of Trust executed Sabino Escorza, dated April 10, 2006 to secure the original principal amount of $100,750.00, and recorded in Book 11909 at Page 2543 of the Wake County Public Registry. The terms of the said Deed of Trust may be modified by other instruments appearing in the public record. Additional identifying information regarding the collateral property is below and is believed to be accurate, but no representation or warranty is intended. Address of property: 101 Bainbridge Cir, Garner, NC 27529 Tax Parcel ID: 1710860760 / 98410 Present Record Owners: The Heirs of Sabino Escorza The record owner(s) of the property, according to the records of the Register of Deeds, is/are The Heirs of Sabino Escorza.

PM on February 10, 2025 and will sell to the highest bidder for cash the following real estate situated in Morrisville in the County of Wake, North Carolina, and being more particularly described as follows: BEING all of Lot 13, the Park at Breckenridge Subdivision, Phase Two, as shown on plat thereof recorded in Book of Maps 2000, Page 775, Wake County Registry. Together with improvements located thereon; said property being located at 109 Powder Ridge Court, Morrisville, North Carolina. BEING the same property conveyed to Eric W. Cusack, an unmarried man by deed from Pulte Home Corporation recorded 01/02/2001 in Deed Book 8772 Page 599, in the Register of Deeds Office of Wake County, North Carolina. Trustee may, in the Trustee’s sole discretion, delay the sale for up to one hour as provided in N.C.G.S. §45-21.23. Should the property be purchased by a third party, that party must pay the excise tax, as well as the court costs of Forty-Five Cents ($0.45) per One Hundred Dollars ($100.00) required by N.C.G.S. §7A-308(a)(1).

11454, at Page 1977 in Wake County Registry, North Carolina, default having been made in the payment of the promissory note secured by the said Deed of Trust and the undersigned, Substitute Trustee Services, Inc. having been substituted as Trustee in said Deed of Trust by an instrument duly recorded in the Office of the Register of Deeds Wake County, North Carolina and the holder of the note evidencing said indebtedness having directed that the Deed of Trust be foreclosed, the undersigned Substitute Trustee will offer for sale at the Wake County Courthouse door, the Salisbury Street entrance in Raleigh, Wake County, North Carolina, or the customary location designated for foreclosure sales, at 1:30 PM on February 17, 2025 and will sell to the highest bidder for cash the following real estate situated in Raleigh in the County of Wake, North Carolina, and being more particularly described as follows: Being all of Lot 285, Brier Creek Country Club, Phase 5, as shown on a map thereof recorded in Book of Maps 2000, Page 1892, Wake County Registry. Together with improvements located thereon; said property being located at 9112 Mission Hills Court, Raleigh, North Carolina. Trustee may, in the Trustee’s sole discretion, delay the sale for up to one hour as provided in N.C.G.S. §45-21.23. Should the property be purchased by a third party, that party must pay the excise tax, as well as the court costs of Forty-Five Cents ($0.45) per One Hundred Dollars ($100.00) required by N.C.G.S. §7A-308(a)(1). The property to be offered pursuant to this notice of sale is being

The property to be offered pursuant to this notice of sale is being offered for sale, transfer and conveyance AS IS, WHERE IS. Neither the Trustee nor the holder of the note secured by the deed of trust being foreclosed, nor the officers, directors, attorneys, employees, agents or authorized representative of either the Trustee or the holder of the note make any representation or warranty relating to the title or any physical, environmental, health or

Present Record Owners: The Estate of Emma Kimmer Cooke The record owner(s) of the property, according to the records of the Register of Deeds, is/are The Estate of Emma Kimmer Cooke. The property to be offered pursuant to this notice of sale is being offered for sale, transfer and conveyance AS IS, WHERE IS. Neither the Trustee nor the holder of the note secured by the deed of trust being foreclosed, nor the officers, directors, attorneys, employees, agents or authorized representative of either the Trustee or the holder of the note make any representation or warranty relating to the title or any physical, environmental, health or safety conditions existing in, on, at or relating to the property offered for

North Carolina. THE PROPERTY ADDRESS AND TAX PARCEL IDENTIFICATION NUMBER LISTED ARE PROVIDED SOLELY FOR INFORMATIONAL PURPOSES.

NOTE: .The Company is prohibited from insuring the area or quantity of the land. The Company does not represent that any acreage or footage calculations are correct.

References to quantity are for identification purposes only.

Commonly known as: 2852 Rue Sans Famille, Raleigh, NC 27607-3049 Trustee may, in the Trustee’s sole discretion, delay the sale for up to one hour as provided in N.C.G.S. §45-21.23. Should the property be purchased by a third party, that party must pay the excise tax, as well as the court costs of Forty-Five Cents ($0.45) per One Hundred Dollars ($100.00) required by N.C.G.S. §7A-308(a)(1). The property to be offered pursuant to this notice of sale is being offered for sale, transfer and conveyance

“AS IS, WHERE IS.” Neither the Trustee nor the holder of the note secured by the deed of trust/security agreement, or both, being foreclosed, nor the officers, directors, attorneys, employees, agents or authorized representative of either the Trustee or the holder of the note make any representation or warranty relating to the title or any

The property to be offered pursuant to this notice of sale is being offered for sale, transfer and conveyance AS IS, WHERE IS. Neither the Trustee nor the holder of the note secured by the deed of trust being foreclosed, nor the officers, directors, attorneys, employees, agents or authorized representative of either the Trustee or the holder of the note make any representation or warranty relating to the title or any physical, environmental, health or safety conditions existing in, on, at or relating to the property offered for sale. Any and all responsibilities or liabilities arising out of or in any way relating to any such condition expressly are disclaimed. This sale is subject to all prior liens and encumbrances and unpaid taxes and assessments including any transfer tax associated with the foreclosure. A deposit of five percent (5%) of the amount of the bid or seven hundred fifty dollars ($750.00), whichever is greater, is required from the highest bidder and must be tendered in the form of certified funds at the time of the

The property to be offered pursuant to this notice of sale is being offered for sale, transfer and conveyance “AS IS, WHERE IS.” Neither the Trustee nor the holder of the note secured by the deed of trust/security agreement, or both, being foreclosed, nor the officers, directors, attorneys, employees, agents or authorized representative of either the Trustee or the holder of the note make any representation or warranty relating to the title or any physical, environmental, health or safety conditions existing in, on, at or relating to the property being offered for sale, and any and all responsibilities or liabilities arising out of or in any way relating to any such condition are expressly disclaimed. Also, this property is being sold subject to all taxes, special assessments, and prior liens or prior encumbrances of record and any recorded releases. Said property is also being sold subject to applicable Federal and State laws. A deposit of five percent (5%) of the purchase price, or seven hundred fifty dollars ($750.00), whichever is greater, is required and must be tendered in the form

offered for sale, transfer and conveyance

“AS IS, WHERE IS.” Neither the Trustee nor the holder of the note secured by the deed of trust/security agreement, or both, being foreclosed, nor the officers, directors, attorneys, employees, agents or authorized representative of either the Trustee or the holder of the note make any representation or warranty relating to the title or any physical, environmental, health or safety conditions existing in, on, at or relating to the property being offered for sale, and any and all responsibilities or liabilities arising out of or in any way relating to any such condition are expressly disclaimed. Also, this property is being sold subject to all taxes, special assessments, and prior liens or prior encumbrances of record and any recorded releases. Said property is also being sold subject to applicable Federal and State laws. A deposit of five percent (5%) of the purchase price, or seven hundred fifty dollars ($750.00), whichever is greater, is required and must be tendered in the form of certified funds at the time of the sale.

physical, environmental, health or safety conditions existing in, on, at or relating to the property being offered for sale, and any and all responsibilities or liabilities arising out of or in any way relating to any such condition are expressly disclaimed. Also, this property is being sold subject to all taxes, special assessments, and prior liens or prior encumbrances of record and any recorded releases. Said property is also being sold subject to applicable Federal and State laws. A deposit of five percent (5%) of the purchase price, or seven hundred fifty dollars ($750.00), whichever is greater, is required and must be tendered in the form of certified funds at the time of the sale. If the trustee is unable to convey title to this property for any reason, the sole remedy of the purchaser is the return of the deposit. Reasons of such inability to convey include, but are not limited to, the filing of a bankruptcy petition prior to the confirmation of the sale and reinstatement of the loan without the knowledge of the trustee. If the validity of the sale is challenged by any party, the trustee, in its sole discretion, if it believes the challenge to have merit, may request the court to declare the sale to be void and return the deposit. The purchaser will have no further remedy. Additional Notice for Residential Property with Less than 15 rental units, including Single-Family Residential Real Property

sale. Cash will not be accepted. This sale will be held open ten days for upset bids as required by law. After the expiration of the upset period, all remaining amounts are IMMEDIATELY DUE AND OWING. Failure to remit funds in a timely manner will result in a Declaration of Default and any deposit will be frozen pending the outcome of any resale. If the sale is set aside for any reason, the Purchaser at the sale shall be entitled only to a return of the deposit paid. The Purchaser shall have no further recourse against the Mortgagor, the Mortgagee, the Substitute Trustee or the attorney of any of the foregoing. SPECIAL NOTICE FOR LEASEHOLD TENANTS residing at the property: be advised that an Order for Possession of the property may be issued in favor of the purchaser. Also, if your lease began or was renewed on or after October 1, 2007, be advised that you may terminate the rental agreement upon 10 days written notice to the landlord. You may be liable for rent due under the agreement prorated to the effective date of the termination. The date of this Notice is

of certified funds at the time of the sale.

If the trustee is unable to convey title to this property for any reason, the sole remedy of the purchaser is the return of the deposit. Reasons of such inability to convey include, but are not limited to, the filing of a bankruptcy petition prior to the confirmation of the sale and reinstatement of the loan without the knowledge of the trustee. If the validity of the sale is challenged by any party, the trustee, in its sole discretion, if it believes the challenge to have merit, may request the court to declare the sale to be void and return the deposit. The purchaser will have no further remedy. Additional Notice for Residential Property with Less than 15 rental

If the trustee is unable to convey title to this property for any reason, the sole remedy of the purchaser is the return of the deposit. Reasons of such inability to convey include, but are not limited to, the filing of a bankruptcy petition prior to the confirmation of the sale and reinstatement of the loan without the knowledge of the trustee. If the validity of the sale is challenged by any party, the trustee, in its sole discretion, if it believes the challenge to have merit,

ROBESON

Deed of Trust and the undersigned, Substitute Trustee Services, Inc. having been substituted as Trustee in said Deed of Trust by an instrument duly recorded in the Office of the Register of Deeds Wake County, North Carolina and the holder of the note evidencing said indebtedness having directed that the Deed of Trust be

NOTICE OF FORECLOSURE SALE 23SP001405-910

foreclosed, the undersigned Substitute Trustee will offer for sale at the Wake County Courthouse door, the Salisbury Street entrance in Raleigh, Wake County, North Carolina, or the customary location designated for foreclosure sales, at 1:30 PM on February 10, 2025 and will sell to the highest bidder for cash the following real estate situated in Knightdale in the County of Wake, North Carolina, and being more particularly described as follows: BEING all of Lot 11, Huntsboro Subdivision, as depicted on a plat thereof recorded in Book of Maps 1995, Page 1214, Wake County Registry. Together with improvements located thereon; said property being located 920 Knotts Hill Place, Knightdale, North Carolina. Trustee may, in the Trustee’s sole discretion, delay the sale for up to one hour as provided in N.C.G.S. §45-21.23. Should the property be purchased by a third party, that party must pay the excise tax, as well as the court costs of Forty-Five Cents ($0.45) per One Hundred Dollars ($100.00) required by N.C.G.S. §7A-308(a)(1). The property to be offered pursuant to this notice of sale is being offered for sale, transfer and conveyance “AS IS, WHERE IS.” Neither the Trustee nor the holder of the note secured by the deed of trust/security agreement, or both, being foreclosed, nor the officers, directors, attorneys, employees, agents or authorized representative of either the Trustee or the holder of the note make any representation or warranty relating to the title or any physical, environmental, health or safety conditions existing in, on, at or relating to the property being offered for sale, and any and all responsibilities or liabilities arising out of or in any way relating to any such condition are expressly disclaimed. Also, this property is being sold subject to all taxes, special assessments, and prior liens or prior encumbrances of record and any recorded releases. Said property is also being sold subject to applicable Federal and State laws. A deposit of five percent (5%) of the purchase price, or seven hundred fifty dollars ($750.00), whichever is greater, is required and must be tendered in the form of certified funds at the time of the sale. If the trustee is unable to

Under and by virtue of the power of sale contained in a certain Deed of Trust made by Zachary V. Anderton and Rebecca W. Anderton (PRESENT RECORD OWNER(S): Zachary V. Anderton and Rebecca W. Anderton) to William R. Echols, Trustee(s), dated March 11, 2016, and recorded in Book No. 016320, at Page 01962 in Wake County Registry, North Carolina, default having been made in the payment of the promissory note secured by the said Deed of Trust and the undersigned, Substitute Trustee Services, Inc. having been substituted as Trustee in said Deed of Trust by an instrument duly recorded in the Office of the Register of Deeds Wake County, North Carolina and the holder of the note evidencing said indebtedness having directed that the Deed of Trust be foreclosed, the undersigned Substitute Trustee will offer for sale at in Raleigh, Wake County, North Carolina, or the customary location designated for foreclosure sales, at 1:30 PM on February 17, 2025 and will sell to the highest bidder for cash the following real estate situated in Raleigh in the County of Wake, North Carolina, and being more particularly described as follows: PROPERTY ADDRESS: 8109 Greywinds Drive, Raleigh, NC 27615 TAX ID: PIN #: 0174552 Lying and being in the City of Raleigh, Wake County, North Carolina containing acres, more or less, and being more particularly described as follows: BEING all of Lot 214, Emerald Chase Subdivision, as recorded in Book of Maps 1987, Page, 1598, Wake County Registry, as re-recorded in Book of Maps 1988 Page 1761, Wake County Registry. Together with improvements located thereon; said property being located at 8109 Greywinds Drive, Raleigh, North Carolina. Trustee may, in the Trustee’s sole discretion, delay the sale for up to one hour as provided in N.C.G.S. §45-21.23. Should the property be purchased by a third party, that party must pay the excise tax, as well as the court

NOTICE OF FORECLOSURE SALE

24SP000575-910

Under and by virtue of the power of sale contained in a certain Deed of Trust made by Chasity Jones (PRESENT RECORD OWNER(S): Chasity Jones) to PRLAP, Inc., Trustee(s), dated April 19, 2007, and recorded in Book No. 012507, at Page 02454 in Wake County Registry, North Carolina, default having been made in the payment of the promissory note secured by the said Deed of Trust and the undersigned, Substitute Trustee Services, Inc. having been substituted as Trustee in said Deed of Trust by an instrument duly recorded in the Office of the Register of Deeds Wake County, North Carolina and the holder of the note evidencing said indebtedness having directed that the Deed of Trust be foreclosed, the undersigned Substitute Trustee will offer for sale at the Wake County Courthouse door, the Salisbury Street entrance in Raleigh, Wake County, North Carolina, or the customary

1382434

NOTICE OF SUBSTITUTE TRUSTEE’S

SALE OF REAL PROPERTY UNDER AND BY VIRTUE of the power and authority contained in that certain Deed of Trust and Assignment of Rents (hereinafter “Deed of Trust”) executed and delivered by Real Estate Staging Plus, LLC and Sarah Delmonego (hereinafter collectively “Borrowers”) dated February 27, 2024 and filed on February 29, 2024 and recorded in Book 19549 at Page 1129 in the Office of the Register of Deeds of Wake County, North Carolina; and because of the default in the payment of the indebtedness secured thereby and failure to carry out and perform the stipulations and agreements contained therein and, pursuant to demand of the holder of the indebtedness secured by the Deed of Trust, the undersigned Substitute Trustee will place for sale, at

24SP002184-910

NOTICE OF FORECLOSURE SALE NORTH CAROLINA, WAKE COUNTY

location designated for foreclosure sales, at 1:30 PM on February 17, 2025 and will sell to the highest bidder for cash the following real estate situated in Raleigh in the County of Wake, North Carolina, and being more particularly described as follows: Being all of Lot 129, Pearl Ridge Subdivision, Phase 2, as shown on the plat recorded Book of Maps 2001, Pages 1728 and 1729, Wake County Registry. Together with improvements located thereon; said property being located at 5505 Armada Drive, Raleigh, North Carolina. Parcel ID Number: 1732001741 Trustee may, in the Trustee’s sole discretion, delay the sale for up to one hour as provided in N.C.G.S. §45-21.23. Should the property be purchased by a third party, that party must pay the excise tax, as well as the court costs of Forty-Five Cents ($0.45) per One Hundred Dollars ($100.00) required by N.C.G.S. §7A-308(a)(1).

The property to be offered pursuant to this notice of sale is being

public auction, to the highest bidder for cash at the usual place of sale at the Wake County Courthouse, 316 Fayetteville Street, Raleigh, North Carolina on MONDAY, FEBRUARY 10, 2025, AT 1:30 O’CLOCK P.M., all of Borrowers’ right, title and interest to the real property described hereinbelow, together with any improvements and fixtures existing or hereafter placed on or attached to the real property, and all other appurtenant rights and privileges, situated, lying and being in Wake County, State of North Carolina, and being more particularly described as follows: BEING ALL of Lot 5-G Wayneridge-Lot 5 as the same is shown on plat thereof recorded in Book of Maps 1983 Page 1555 Wake Registry. TOGETHER WITH rights of ingress, regress and egress in common with other owners of Lots 5-A through 5-H over and across the shared access easement as shown on the above reference plat. Address of property: 5333 Wayne Street, Raleigh, NC 27606

Under and by virtue of a Power of Sale contained in that certain Deed of Trust executed by Obinna J. Achumba and Tabitha K. Mbaka to First American Title Insurance Company, Trustee(s), which was dated December 21, 2006 and recorded on December 22, 2006 in Book 12328 at Page 2257, Wake County Registry, North Carolina. Default having been made of the note thereby secured by the said Deed of Trust and the undersigned, Trustee Services of Carolina, LLC, having been substituted as Trustee in said Deed of Trust, and the holder of the note evidencing said default having directed that the Deed of Trust be foreclosed, the undersigned Substitute Trustee will offer for sale at the courthouse door of the county courthouse where the property is located, or the usual and customary location at the county courthouse for conducting the sale on February 19, 2025 at 10:00 AM, and will sell to the highest bidder for cash the following described property situated in Wake County, North Carolina, to wit: LOT 6 GARNER PLACE TOWNHOMES, BM 2005-1780, WAKE COUNTY REGISTRY. Save and except any releases, deeds of release or prior conveyances of record. Said property is commonly known as 526 Bradkin Court, Raleigh, NC 27610. A Certified Check ONLY (no personal checks) of five percent (5%) of the purchase price, or Seven Hundred Fifty Dollars ($750.00), whichever is greater, will be required at the time of the sale. Following the expiration of the statutory upset bid period, all the remaining amounts are immediately due and owing. THIRD PARTY PURCHASERS MUST PAY THE EXCISE TAX AND THE RECORDING COSTS FOR THEIR DEED.

CAROLINA, WAKE COUNTY 24 SP 2095 Under and by virtue of a Power of Sale contained in that certain Deed of Trust executed by Wendy Shull, Mortgagor(s), in the original amount of $88,600.00, to Great Southern Mortgage Corp, Mortgagee, dated July 30th, 2003 and recorded on August 4th, 2003 in Book 010339, Page 00590, Wake County Registry. Default having been made in the payment of the note thereby secured by the said Deed of Trust and the undersigned, Anchor Trustee Services, LLC having been substituted as Trustee in said Deed of Trust by an instrument duly recorded in the Office of the Register of Deeds of Wake County, North Carolina, and the holder of the note evidencing said indebtedness having directed that the Deed of Trust be foreclosed, the undersigned Substitute Trustee will offer for sale at the courthouse

door or other usual place of sale in Wake County, North Carolina, at 10:00 AM on February 19th, 2025, and will sell to the highest bidder for cash the following described property, to wit: Being all of Lot 161, Brittany Woods Subdivision, according to plat of same recorded in Book of Maps 1986, Page 1109, Wake County Registry. Together with improvements located hereon; said property being located at 7104 Kinross Drive, Raleigh, NC 27613 Tax ID: 0150142 Third party purchasers must pay the recording costs of the trustee’s deed, any land transfer taxes, the excise tax, pursuant North Carolina General Statutes §105228.30, in the amount of One Dollar ($1.00) per each Five Hundred Dollars ($500.00) or fractional part thereof, and the Clerk of Courts fee, pursuant to North Carolina General Statutes §7A-308, in the amount of Forty-five Cents (0.45) per each One Hundred Dollars ($100.00) or fractional part thereof with a maximum amount of Five Hundred Dollars ($500.00). A deposit

costs of Forty-Five Cents ($0.45) per One Hundred Dollars ($100.00) required by N.C.G.S. §7A-308(a)(1). The property to be offered pursuant to this notice of sale is being offered for sale, transfer and conveyance

“AS IS, WHERE IS.” Neither the Trustee nor the holder of the note secured by the deed of trust/security agreement, or both, being foreclosed, nor the officers, directors, attorneys, employees, agents or authorized representative of either the Trustee or the holder of the note make any representation or warranty relating to the title or any physical, environmental, health or safety conditions existing in, on, at or relating to the property being offered for sale, and any and all responsibilities or liabilities arising out of or in any way relating to any such condition are expressly disclaimed. Also, this property is being sold subject to all taxes, special assessments, and prior liens or prior encumbrances of record and any recorded releases. Said property is also being sold subject to applicable Federal and State laws. A deposit of five percent (5%) of

offered for sale, transfer and conveyance “AS IS, WHERE IS.” Neither the Trustee nor the holder of the note secured by the deed of trust/security agreement, or both, being foreclosed, nor the officers, directors, attorneys, employees, agents or authorized representative of either the Trustee or the holder of the note make any representation or warranty relating to the title or any physical, environmental, health or safety conditions existing in, on, at or relating to the property being offered for sale, and any and all responsibilities or liabilities arising out of or in any way relating to any such condition are expressly disclaimed. Also, this property is being sold subject to all taxes, special assessments, and prior liens or prior encumbrances of record and any recorded releases. Said property is also being sold subject to applicable Federal and State laws. A deposit of five percent (5%) of the purchase price, or seven hundred fifty dollars ($750.00), whichever is greater, is required and must be tendered in the form of certified funds at the time of the sale.

Tax Parcel ID: 0783.17-11-9846 0133293 Present Record Owners: Real Estate Staging Plus, LLC and Sarah Delmonego The terms of the sale are that the real property hereinbefore described will be sold for cash to the highest bidder. The Substitute Trustee reserves the right to require a cash deposit or a certified check not to exceed the greater of five percent (5%) of the amount of the bid or Seven Hundred Fifty Dollars ($750.00). In the event that the note holder or its intended assignee is exempt from paying the same, the successful bidder shall be required to pay revenue stamps on the Trustee’s Deed, any Land Transfer Tax, and the tax required by N.C.G.S. §7A-308(a)(1). The real property hereinabove described is being offered for sale “AS IS, WHERE IS” and will be sold subject to all superior liens, unpaid taxes, and special assessments. Other conditions will be announced at the sale. The sale will be held open for ten (10)

Said property to be offered pursuant to this Notice of Sale is being offered for sale, transfer and conveyance “AS IS WHERE IS.” There are no representations of warranty relating to the title or any physical, environmental, health or safety conditions existing in, on, at, or relating to the property being offered for sale. Substitute Trustee does not have possession of the property and cannot grant access, prior to or after the sale, for purposes of inspection and/ or appraisal. This sale is made subject to all prior liens, unpaid taxes, any unpaid land transfer taxes, special assessments, easements, rights of way, deeds of release, and any other encumbrances or exceptions of record. To the best of the knowledge and belief of the undersigned, the current owner(s) of the property is/are Dash Group Properties, Inc. An Order for possession of the property may be issued pursuant to G.S. 45-21.29 in favor of the purchaser and against the party or parties in possession by the clerk of superior

of five percent (5%) of the bid or Seven Hundred Fifty Dollars ($750.00), whichever is greater, will be required at the time of the sale and must be tendered in the form of certified funds. Following the expiration of the statutory upset bid period, all the remaining amounts will be immediately due and owing. Said property to be offered pursuant to this Notice of Sale is being offered for sale, transfer and conveyance AS IS WHERE IS. There are no representations of warranty relating to the title or any physical, environmental, health or safety conditions existing in, on, at, or relating to the property being offered for sale. This sale is made subject to all prior liens, unpaid taxes, special assessments, land transfer taxes, if any, and encumbrances of record. To the best of the knowledge and belief of the undersigned, the current owner(s) of the property is The Successor Trustee of the Wendy R. Shull Revocable Trust dated the 21st day of July, 2003. PLEASE TAKE NOTICE: An order for possession of the property may be issued

If the trustee is unable to convey title to this property for any reason, the sole remedy of the purchaser is the return of the deposit. Reasons of such inability to convey include, but are not limited to, the filing of a bankruptcy petition prior to the confirmation of the sale and reinstatement of the loan without the knowledge of the trustee. If the validity of the sale is challenged by any party, the trustee, in its sole discretion, if it believes the challenge to have merit, may request the court to declare the sale to be void and return the deposit. The purchaser will have no further remedy. Additional Notice for Residential Property with Less than 15 rental units, including Single-Family Residential Real Property An order for possession of the property may be issued pursuant to N.C.G.S. § 45-21.29

days for upset bids as by law required. If the Trustee is unable to convey title to this property for any reason, the sole remedy of the purchaser is the return of the deposit. Reasons of such inability to convey include, but are not limited to, the filing of a bankruptcy petition prior to the sale and reinstatement of the loan without the knowledge of the Trustee. If the validity of the sale is challenged by any party, the Trustee, in their sole discretion, if they believe the challenge to have merit, may declare the sale to be void and return the deposit. The purchaser will have no further remedy. Additional Notice Where the Real Property is Residential With Less Than 15 Rental Units: An order for possession of the property may be issued pursuant to N.C.G.S. §45-21.29 in favor of the purchaser and against the party or parties in possession by the clerk of superior court of the county in which the property is sold. Any person who occupies the property

pursuant to a rental agreement entered into or renewed on or after October 1, 2007, may after receiving the notice of foreclosure sale, terminate the rental agreement by providing written notice of termination to the landlord, to be effective on a date stated in the notice that is at least 10 days but not more than 90 days, after the sale date contained in the this notice of sale, provided that the mortgagor has not cured the default at the time the tenant provides the notice of termination. Upon termination of a rental agreement, the tenant is liable for rent due under the rental agreement prorated to the effective date of the termination. William Walt Pettit Attorney for Substitute Trustee Services, Inc. Hutchens Law Firm, LLP 6230 Fairview Road, Suite 315 Charlotte, NC 28210 Telephone: (704) 362-9255 Email: walt.pettit@hutchenslawfirm.com

court of the county in which the property is sold. Any person who occupies the property pursuant to a rental agreement entered into or renewed on or after October 1, 2007, may, after receiving the notice of sale, terminate the rental agreement by providing written notice of termination to the landlord, to be effective on a date stated in the notice that is at least 10 days, but no more than 90 days, after the sale date contained in the notice of sale, provided that the mortgagor has not cured the default at the time the tenant provides the notice of termination [NCGS § 45-21.16A(b)(2)]. Upon termination of a rental agreement, the tenant is liable for rent due under the rental agreement prorated to the effective date of the termination. Pursuant to NCGS §45-21.25A, this sale may be subject to remote bids placed by bidders not physically present at the place of sale, which may be accepted by the person conducting the sale, or their agent”. If the trustee is unable to convey title to this property for any reason, the sole remedy of the purchaser is the return of the deposit. Reasons of such inability to convey include, but are not limited to, the filing of a bankruptcy petition prior to the confirmation of the sale and reinstatement of the loan without the knowledge of the trustee. If the validity of the sale is challenged by any party, the trustee, in their sole discretion, if

pursuant to North Carolina General Statutes §45-21.29 in favor of the purchaser and against the party or parties in possession by the Clerk of Superior Court of the county in which the property is sold.

Any person who occupies the property pursuant to a rental agreement entered into or renewed on or after October 1, 2007, may, after receiving the notice of sale, terminate the rental agreement by providing written notice of termination to the landlord, to be effective on a date stated in the notice that is at least 10 days, but no more than 90 days, after the sale date contained in the notice of sale, provided that the mortgagor has not cured the default at the time the tenant provides the notice of termination (North Carolina General Statutes §4521.16A(b)(2)). Upon

Reasons

THE STANLY COUNTY EDITION OF NORTH STATE JOURNAL

Rollin’ at Bowman

Tim Brown (15) and William Byron (24) compete in the Clash at Bowman Gray on Sunday, the NASCAR Cup Series’ first event at the classic Winston-Salem track since 1971.

WHAT’S HAPPENING

Trump orders creation of U.S. sovereign wealth fund, says it could own part of TikTok Washington, D.C.

President Donald Trump on Monday signed an executive order directing the U.S. to take steps to start developing a government-owned investment fund that he said could be used to profit off of TikTok if he’s successful at finding the company an American buyer. Trump signed an order on his first day office to grant the Chinese- owned TikTok until early April to find a domestic partner or buyer, but he’s said he’s looking for the U.S. to take a 50% stake in the massive social media platform. He said Monday that TikTok was an example of what he could put in a new U.S. sovereign wealth fund.

Trump talks so much even stenographers struggle to keep up Washington, D.C.

The most obvious shift from Joe Biden to Donald Trump has been the flood of talking from the White House. Trump is speaking publicly far more than his predecessor, overwhelming his opponents and leaving them struggling to get a word in edgewise. Even White House stenographers responsible for transcribing a president’s remarks are racing to keep up with him. According to Factbase, Trump spoke 81,235 words in his first week in office, up from 24,259 in the same timespan for Biden.

Albemarle introduces new police chief, assistant fire chief

Both started their new city positions on Monday

By Jesse Deal Stanly County Journal

ALBEMARLE — Two public safety officials in Albemarle officially began their new positions this week.

At the Albemarle City Council meeting held on Monday night, Police Chief Ryan Manley and Assistant Fire Chief Brad Jenkins were both formally introduced before the council after starting their new roles with the city earlier that day.

City Manager Todd Clark provided an introduction for Manley, who is now the Albe-

marle Police Department’s first full-time chief since former APD Chief Jason Bollhorst resigned last October after three years with the department.

“We had 55 applicants total for the position,” Clark said. “It was a very rigorous assessment process that we went through with three different interview panels for those who were selected to be interviewed, so Ryan really stepped up and did a wonderful job.”

Penny Dunn served as interim chief during the hiring process for the full-time position, which will now culminate in a ceremonial swearing-in event for Manley on Feb. 20.

“This is an honor and a privilege,” Manley told the council. “I guess you could say

“This is an honor and a privilege.”

Ryan Manley, Albemarle police chief

this is the pinnacle of my aspirations in this profession. It’s very humbling. Over the past few weeks, I’ve got to know the men and women of my agency, and they’re an amazing group. They’re very dedicated to this community.”

Following the introduction of Albemarle’s new police chief, Fire Chief Kenny Kendall Jr. provided a brief presentation recognizing Jenkins as his new assistant chief.

Locust Police Department releases its 2024 review

The department has a positive assessment of its new crime report

By Jesse Deal Stanly County Journal

LOCUST — According to a 2024 crime report, Locust has sustained its low overall level of criminal activity despite city growth resulting in increased activity and calls for service.

On Jan. 27, the Locust Police Department provided its annual statistics report, analysis report and incident clearance statistics report for the past year — all of which are available to view on the department’s website.

Within the reports, Locust Police Chief Jeff Shew provided his written analysis on the

“Activities in 2024 continue to show Locust is a wonderful place to live that is very blessed with a low overall level of criminal activity.”

Jeff Shew, Locust police chief

data and results for 2024, concluding that a slight uptick in arrests compared to 2023 was proportional to area growth and expanded patrolling.

“Activities in 2024 continue to show Locust is a wonderful place to live that is very blessed with a low overall level of criminal activity,” Shew said. “With the criminal incidents that do occur, Locust officers re-

spond quickly and investigate every incident until all practical leads are exhausted. Every criminal action is treated with a desire to bring the offender to justice, and for our officers to do everything they possibly can to successfully clear incidents at a high rate.”

The crime report shows that LPD officers fielded the second-highest number of calls and activities in 2024 (7,048) since the department began monitoring call activity. With 680 total arrests, there were 89 more arrest charges compared to 2023, while a continued focus on elevated traffic enforcement in the city resulted in officers conducting 3,657 traffic stops with more than 4,600 traffic citations and warnings; officers patrolled Locust neighborhoods

“Chief Jenkins has risen through the ranks, starting first as a firefighter in 2000,” Kendall said. “He has worked in the city of Albemarle for a quarter of a century, and he is deeply committed to serving his community. He has prepared himself for the role and is deeply passionate about advancing the safety and the success of the department and the city of Albemarle.” Jenkins has served as the city’s battalion fire chief for the past nine years prior to his recent promotion.

“I look forward to working alongside Chief Kendall and the challenges that this city faces with the growth and

and businesses at a greater rate than 2023.

There were 32,032 business and neighborhood patrols in 2024, equating to a daily average of 87.8 patrols. Reported traffic crashes increased by 12 for the year (258), including roadway crashes, minor parking lot crashes and single-vehicle crashes involving deer. Additionally, reported assaults in the city remained low with 20 reported in 2024, matching the same number as 2023. There was a 14.2% reduction in reported property crime and fraud offenses (291) this past year compared to 2023.

The LPD’s clearance report shows a slight increase (93.7%) in overall positive clearance over 2023 (93.1%), while both the department’s clearance for confirmed criminal incidents (86.7%) and property crime incidents (78.6%) were department records.

“Locust officers still patrolled Locust neighborhoods

JAMES

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North State Journal

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ALBEMARLE from page A1

development that we have,” Jenkins said. “I look forward to working with our department.”

Along with the introductions given to Manley and Jenkins on Monday, the Albemarle City Council also heard a presentation from Joseph Graziano, senior public safety risk management consultant for the North Carolina League of Municipalities.

The APD was formally recognized with a plaque for completing the Law Enforcement Risk Review Process conducted by NCLM, highlighting the department’s commitment to adhering to risk management and public safety industry standards.

Graziano explained that process was a comprehensive agency review of more than 40 high risk, high-liability areas to ensure the agency executes industry standards related to police pursuits, use of force, employment practices and training.

“I want to say thank you to the entire police department for working on this and making this a reality,” Albemarle Mayor Ronnie Michael said.

The Albemarle City Council is set to meet again on Feb. 17 at 6:30 p.m. in the City Hall Council Chambers.

LOCUST from page A1

and businesses at a greater rate than 2023 with over 32,000 patrols completed, participated in extensive training classes in various disciplines, engaged in numerous community service endeavors, and continued to make connections with our city’s businesses and residents with a community policing approach that is always a top priority,” Shew said. “I am always extremely proud to work with each one of our officers, and they continued to do an outstanding job in 2024.”

Hostage from Chapel Hill finally released from Gaza

Fifteen months after being abducted, Keith Siegel is free

By Melanie Lidman The Associated Press

JERUSALEM — Three men held hostage in the Gaza Strip for more than 15 months were freed Saturday, bringing to 18 the number of captives released by militants since the ceasefire between Israel and Hamas began Jan. 19.

Among those freed was Yarden Bibas, 35, the father of the two youngest hostages in Gaza, whose plight has become a rallying cry for Israelis. The Bibas sons — 4 years old and 9 months old at the time of their abduction — and their mother, Shiri, are still in captivity, and feared dead. Shiri Bibas and the two children are the last woman and

children held in captivity in Gaza who have not been confirmed dead by Israel.

The other hostages released Saturday were American-Israeli Keith Siegel, 65, and French-Israeli Ofer Kalderon, 54, also household names in Israel after highly visible campaigns to free them.

Keith Siegel, from Chapel Hill, was abducted with his wife, Aviva Siegel, from Kibbutz Kfar Aza, a communal farming village heavily damaged by the attack. She was freed during the November 2023 ceasefire deal and has campaigned across the world for the release of her husband and other hostages.

Keith Siegel worked as an a occupational therapist and loves spending time with his grandchildren, according to

Trump administration opens antisemitism inquiries at 5 schools

Columbia, Berkeley, and Northwestern are among the schools being investigated

By Collin Binkley The Associated Press

WASHINGTON, D.C. —

The Trump administration is opening new investigations into allegations of antisemitism at five U.S. universities including Columbia and the University of California, Berkeley, the Education Department announced Monday. It’s part of President Donald Trump’s promise to take a tougher stance against campus antisemitism and deal out harsher penalties than the Biden administration, which settled a flurry of cases with universities in its final weeks. It comes the same day the Justice Department announced a new task force to root out antisemitism on college campuses. In an order signed last week, Trump called for aggressive action to fight anti-Jewish bias on campuses, including the deportation of foreign stu-

CRIME LOG

Jan. 28

• James Birchelle Wyand, 74, was arrested for attempted first degree murder.

Jan. 29

• Jacob Erin Johnson, 23, was arrested for assault on a female, misdemeanor domestic violence, misdemeanor larceny, and assault with a deadly weapon.

• Heather Ann Ridenhour, 37, was arrested for second degree trespass.

• Carl Lee Pinkston, 58, was arrested for possession with intent to manufacture/sell/ deliver Schedule II controlled substance, maintaining a vehicle/dwelling for controlled substances,

dents who have participated in pro-Palestinian protests.

Along with Columbia and Berkeley, the department is now investigating the University of Minnesota, Northwestern University and Portland State University. The cases were opened using the department’s power to launch its own civil rights reviews, unlike the majority of investigations, which stem from complaints.

Messages seeking comment were left with all five universities.

A statement from the Education Department criticized colleges for tolerating antisemitism after Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023, attack on Israel and a wave of pro-Palestinian protests that followed. It also criticized the Biden administration for negotiating “toothless” resolutions that failed to hold schools accountable.

“Today, the Department is putting universities, colleges, and K-12 schools on notice: this administration will not tolerate continued institutional indifference to the wellbeing of Jewish students on American campuses,” said Craig Trainor, the agency’s acting assistant secretary for civil rights.

and possession of drug paraphernalia.

• Brian Dwayne Sanders, 40, was arrested for felony possession of Schedule II controlled substance, possession of drug paraphernalia, and misdemeanor larceny.

• James D Sneed, 53, was arrested on a civil order for arrest for child support.

• Cody Dylan Riley, 25, was arrested for assault with a deadly weapon and assault causing serious bodily injury.

Jan. 30

• Debra Jean Hartsell, 33, was arrested for injury to real property.

• Joseph Thomas Lowder, 45, was arrested for assault with

“This administration will not tolerate continued institutional indifference to the wellbeing of Jewish students on American campuses.”

Craig Trainor, acting assistant secretary for civil rights, US Dept. of Education

The department didn’t provide details about the inquiries or how it decided which schools are being targeted.

Presidents of Columbia and Northwestern were among those called to testify on Capitol Hill last year as Republicans sought accountability for allegations of antisemitism. The searing hearings contributed to the resignation of multiple university presidents, including Columbia’s Minouche Shafik.

An October report from House Republicans accused Columbia of failing to punish pro-Palestinian students who took over a campus build-

a deadly weapon with intent to kill inflicting serious injury, communicating threats, and misdemeanor larceny.

• Heather Danielle Green, 28, was arrested for financial card fraud.

Jan. 31

• Amanda Rose Davis, 66, was arrested for possession with intent to manufacture/sell/ deliver Schedule II controlled substance, possession with intent to manufacture/ sell/deliver Schedule III controlled substance, maintaining a vehicle/ dwelling for controlled substances, and possession of drug paraphernalia.

Feb. 1

• Justin Wayne Waldroup, 39,

the forum representing the hostage families.

Aviva Siegel said that she was held hostage with her husband during her 51 days in captivity. She said she took comfort from having her husband by her side as they were moved from tunnel to tunnel, the two given almost no food or water. Her parting words to him were, “Be strong for me.”

In the ceasefire’s first phase, a total of 33 hostages in Gaza will be released in exchange for almost 2,000 Palestinian prisoners held by Israel.

The ceasefire and release of hostages has sparked both hope and fear among Israelis. Many worry that the deal could collapse before all the hostages return or that those released will arrive in poor health. Others worry that the number of captives who have died is higher than expected. Some 250 people were taken hostage during Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack. Around 80 remain in Gaza, although at least a third are believed to be dead. The others were released, rescued or their bodies were recovered.

ing, and it called Northwestern’s negotiations with student protesters a “stunning capitulation.”

House Republicans applauded the new investigations. Rep. Tim Walberg, chair of the Education and Workforce Committee, said he was “glad that we finally have an administration who is taking action to protect Jewish students.”

Trump’s order also calls for a full review of antisemitism complaints filed with the Education Department since Oct. 7, 2023, including pending and resolved cases from the Biden administration. It encourages the Justice Department to take action to enforce civil rights laws.

Last week’s order drew backlash from civil rights groups who said it violated First Amendment rights that protect political speech.

The new task force announced Monday includes the Justice and Education departments along with Health and Human Services.

“The Department takes seriously our responsibility to eradicate this hatred wherever it is found,” said Leo Terrell, assistant attorney general for civil rights. “The Task Force to Combat Anti-Semitism is the first step in giving life to President Trump’s renewed commitment to ending anti-Semitism in our schools.”

was arrested for assault and battery and two counts of surrender of defendant by surety.

• Timothy Raynard Bivens, 63, was arrested for possession of methamphetamine, felony possession of cocaine, maintaining a vehicle/ dwelling for controlled substances, and simple possession of Schedule VI controlled substance.

Feb. 2

• Lorenzo Devonte Gray, 32, was arrested for resisting a public officer and breaking and entering.

Feb. 3

• Kelley Gerald Lowder, 55, was arrested for indecent exposure.

HOSTAGES FAMILY FORUM VIA AP

This undated photo provided by Hostages Family Forum shows Keith Siegel, who was abducted and brought to Gaza on Oct. 7, 2023.

THE CONVERSATION

Neal Robbins, publisher | Frank Hill, senior opinion editor

VISUAL VOICES

Trump it is

He’s still in campaign mode, running for president instead of being president.

IT’S ENOUGH to make you — and certainly me — sick.

In the midst of a national tragedy, he can’t help himself. At a time when almost nothing was known for certain about the cause of the terrifying plane crash in Washington, D.C., he couldn’t stop himself from playing the blame game.

There was absolutely no evidence that it had anything to do with the federal government’s DEI policies — some of which were initiated by him — but that didn’t stop the president from claiming that they did.

How about offering some comfort to the families of the victims? How about promising Americans that he will do what it takes to make the skies safe?

That’s what a leader should do, without regard to party or politics.

But Donald Trump is not that kind of leader, and it’s painfully clear that he won’t do what it takes. He’s too busy trying to decapitate the federal workforce. He’s still in campaign mode, looking to score points against his foes, running for president instead of being president. He’s so keen on divide and conquer that he lacks the skill or inclination to unify and comfort a grieving and frightened country.

The crash comes on the heels of Trump’s Muskian effort to slash the federal workforce. While the air traffic

controllers are, reportedly, not the targets of the buyout plan, they have been the subject of a hiring freeze and are clearly overworked. One thing we learned as a result of the crash is how lucky we are that there haven’t been more. The number of near misses in midair above Reagan National Airport is simply terrifying. Knowledgeable folks have apparently been warning for some time about the risks of a fatal crash, with good reason. Is Trump going to do anything about that?

Trump has castigated federal employees, as if people who devote their lives to public service are serving someone else. They serve us. They are literally lifesavers. Really, is the air too clear, the water supply too clean, the skies too safe? Are cars too safe? Is the food we eat too healthy?

What will cutting 2 million federal workers do to those of us — which is all of us — who depend on those federal employees to protect us from the hazards that individuals cannot deal with on our own? What will it do to the most vulnerable among us, who literally depend on federal programs to survive?

And what will it do to the morale of people who have spent their entire careers doing the public’s work, to those who have depended on the civil service system to protect them from having to

choose sides every four years in order to keep their jobs? As is clear from his high-level appointees, for Trump, experience and accomplishments don’t count for anything at all.

All that matters, quite literally, is loyalty to Trump. What else qualifies a Pete Hegseth to run the Defense Department, or a Tulsi Gabbard to run all our intelligence operations, or RFK Jr. to be in charge of public health? It is painful to watch Republican senators turn themselves into pretzels in these confirmation hearings. They know better, but they are cowards. Will they do their jobs, or are they too afraid of Elon Musk and his money — and the threat to primary anyone who doesn’t toe the line — to insist that the people who run the federal bureaucracy have more than their loyalty to Trump to qualify them?

Checks and balances don’t mean much if the people who are supposed to be applying those checks and providing that balance are afraid to be seen as disloyal. So far, it is only the judiciary that has had the guts to say no to Trump. And what scares me most is that at the end of the day, a president who has shown such contempt for the rule of law will not obey the law.

Susan Estrich is a lawyer, professor, author and political commentator.

Better trade deals for North Carolinians means excluding nonessential industries

A price increase due to tariffs would hurt North Carolinians trying to rebuild their lives and finances.

NOW THAT DONALD TRUMP has taken the oath of office, expectations are high among his supporters in North Carolina and across the country. Those supporters are eager for him to clean up the mess left behind by his predecessor.

I hope his next four years in office will be an economic windfall for the nation, and Trump can make that a reality through strategic, sensible economic policies.

A crucial step Trump promised on the path to prosperity includes negotiating better trade deals. Like any good deal, pragmatism should be involved, especially regarding the president’s proposed tariffs on China, Canada and Mexico. As the author of “The Art of the Deal,” Trump is the man we want at the negotiating table.

He is right to push for a more fair playing field with these trading partners. However, unless certain industries are excluded, there is a risk of forcing higher prices on North Carolina families with tariffs alone.

Inflation has been no joke in North

Carolina; a High Point University study found that 52% of residents said inflation concerns were affecting their spending decisions. A price increase due to tariffs would hurt North Carolinians trying to rebuild their lives and finances, many of whom voted for Trump in the fall.

We’ve already seen evidence that Trump is looking closely at how best to achieve his desired outcomes on issues across the board without negatively impacting everyday Americans. Tariffs are no different, and it is clear that Trump wants to utilize tariffs to achieve his goals without harming regular, nonstrategic consumer goods.

By excluding nonessential sectors that don’t pose a security threat to the United States, he greatly reduces the risk of inflating prices for Americans who have suffered enough paying for expensive goods. Toys, for instance, are mainly produced in China and Mexico before being exported to the U.S. Those countries have the infrastructure

to deliver safe, inexpensive, quality toys.

A broad tariff policy could easily hike those prices for families here. Toys are not the strategic industry Trump is after, but sweeping tariffs could wipe out small businesses and jack up prices at more prominent brands, leaving consumers with fewer options and higher prices.

This scenario contradicts Trump’s campaign promises to keep prices down for American consumers. Children and small retailers shouldn’t be caught in the crossfire of a trade war, but only applying tariffs to sectors with high stakes can guarantee such an outcome never happens.

Trump soundly won North Carolina because voters are confident that he will deliver on stabilizing the economy. I firmly believe in better trade deals to help accomplish this, just as the president will do the right thing and apply his tariffs wisely when negotiating.

Brandon Barnes is CEO of Capital Games LLC in Raleigh.

COLUMN | SUSAN ESTRICH

NASA’s 2 stuck astronauts take 1st spacewalk together

Oldest evidence for lead pollution comes from ancient Greece

“Lead released from smelting is the world’s first form of toxic or industrial pollution.”

Joseph Manning, Yale historian

It came as a byproduct of silver smelting

By Christina Larson The Associated Press

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Ancient Greece produced the earliest records of democracy, western philosophy — and, it turns out, lead pollution.

Researchers studying sediment cores recovered from mainland Greece and the Aegean Sea have found the oldest known evidence of lead pollution in the environment dating to around 5,200 years ago.

That’s 1,200 years older than the previous earliest recorded lead pollution, which was found in a peatbog in Serbia.

In antiquity, lead was released into the atmosphere as a byproduct of smelting ore for copper and silver. The toxic metal later condensed as dust and settled onto the soil.

“Silver was used for jewelry, for special objects — but it wasn’t found in a pure state” but mined in ore combined with lead, said Heidelberg University archaeologist Joseph Maran, co-author of a new study published Thursday in Communications Earth and Environment.

The site with the earliest signs of lead contamination is located in northeastern Greece, near the island of Thasos. Prior archaeological evidence suggests Thasos was one of the region’s most significant sites for silver mining and metalwork, said Maran.

“Lead released from smelting is the world’s first form of toxic or industrial pollution,” said Yale historian Joseph Manning, who was not involved in the study.

The researchers found that levels of lead contamination remained fairly low and localized in ancient Greece, considered the cradle of European civilization, throughout the Bronze Age, the Classical period and the Hellenistic period. The Classical period is famous for Athenian democracy, Socrates and Plato, and the Hellenistic period saw Greek cultural influence peak across the Mediterranean region.

But around 2,150 years ago, the researchers detected “a very strong and abrupt increase” in lead emissions caused by human activities across Greece, said co-author Andreas Koutsodendris at Heidelberg University.

Around that time, in 146 B.C., the Roman army conquered the Greek peninsula, transforming the region’s society and economy. As Roman trade, colonies and shipping expanded across the Mediterranean Sea and Black Sea, demand for silver coins grew rapidly, requiring smelting that released lead, said Koutsodendris.

Later the Roman Empire used lead for tableware and for construction, including pipes.

Previous research — including an analysis of ice cores from Greenland — had detected high levels of lead across much of the Northern Hemisphere during Roman times.

But the new study adds a more “specific and local picture to how lead levels changed,” said Nathan Chellman, an environmental scientist at the University of Nevada, Reno, who was not involved in the research.

Suni WIlliams set a record for most time spacewalking by a woman

By Marcia Dunn The Associated Press

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla.

— NASA’s two stuck astronauts took their first spacewalk together last Thursday, exiting the International Space Station almost eight months after moving in. Commander Suni Williams

and Butch Wilmore removed a broken antenna and wiped the station’s exterior for evidence of any microbes that might still be alive after launching from Earth and escaping through vents.

After some initial trouble unbolting the balky antenna, the astronauts finally pried it off nearly four hours after popping out the hatch. Mission Control urged them to watch for any floating parts from the antenna removal.

During the job 260 miles up from Earth, Williams set a new spacewalking record for female astronauts.

The pair expected to stay just a week when they arrived at the space station last June, but trouble with their brand new ride Boeing’s Starliner capsule led NASA to

decided to return it empty. That left the two test pilots, both retired Navy captains, in orbit until SpaceX can bring them home. That won’t happen until late March or early April, extending their mission to 10 months because of a SpaceX delay in launching their replacements.

Williams performed a spacewalk two weeks ago with another NASA astronaut. It marked Wilmore’s first time outside this trip. Both racked up spacewalks during previous space station stays.

With nine spacewalks, Williams set a new record for women: the most time spent spacewalking over a career. Retired astronaut Peggy Whitson held the old record of 60 hours and 21 minutes, accumulated over 10 spacewalks.

India’s tiger population doubled in last dozen years; conservation effort praised

By Sibi Arasu The Associated Press

BENGALURU, India — India doubled its tiger population in a little over a decade by protecting the big cats from poaching and habitat loss, ensuring they have enough prey, reducing human-wildlife conflict and increasing communities’ living standards near tiger areas, a study published Thursday found.

The number of tigers grew from an estimated 1,706 tigers in 2010 to around 3,682 in 2022, according to estimates by the National Tiger Conservation Authority, making India home to roughly 75% of the global tiger population. The study found that some local communities near tiger habitats have also benefited from the increase in tigers because of the foot traffic and revenues brought in by ecotourism.

The study in the journal Science says India’s success “offers important lessons for tiger-range countries” that conservation efforts can benefit both biodiversity and nearby communities.

“The common belief is that human densities preclude an increase in tiger populations,” said Yadvendradev Jhala, a senior scientist at Bengaluru-based Indian National Academy of Sciences and the study’s lead author. “What the research shows is that it’s not the human density but the attitude of people, which matters more.

Wildlife conservationists and ecologists welcomed the study but said that tigers and other wildlife in India would benefit if source data were made available to a larger group of scientists. The study was based on data collected by Indian government-supported institutions.

“What the research shows is that it’s not the human density, but the attitude of people, which matters more.”

Yadvendradev Jhala, senior scientist at India’s National Academy of Sciences

Arjun Gopalaswamy, an ecologist with expertise in wildlife population estimation, said estimates from India’s official tiger monitoring program have been “chaotic” and “contradictory.” He said some of the figures in the study are significantly higher than previous estimates of tiger distribution from the same datasets.

But he added that the paper’s findings seem to have corrected an anomaly flagged repeatedly by scientists since 2011 related to tiger population size and their geographic spread. Tigers disappeared in some areas that were not near national parks, wildlife sanctuaries or other protected areas, and in areas that witnessed increased urbanization, in-

creased human use of forest resources and higher frequency of armed conflicts, the study said. “Without community support and participation and community benefits, conservation is not possible in our country,” said Jhala.

Tigers are spread across around 53,359 square miles in India, about the size of the state of New York. But just 25% of the area is prey-rich and protected, and another 45% of tiger habitats are shared with roughly 60 million people, the study said.

Strong wildlife protection legislation is the “backbone” of tiger conservation in India, said Jhala. “Habitat is not a constraint, it’s the quality of the habitat which is a constraint,” he said.

Wildlife biologist Ravi Chellam, who wasn’t part of the study, said that while tiger conservation efforts are promising, they need to be extended to other species to better maintain the entire ecosystem.

“There are several species, including the great Indian bustard and caracal which are all on the edge,” Chellam said. “And there is really not enough focus on that.”

Tiger protections also benefited local communities via increased tourism

NASA TV / AP PHOTO

U.S. astronaut Suni Williams, who has been stuck in space since June, works outside the International Space Station during a spacewalk last Thursday.

PETROS GIANNAKOURIS / AP PHOTO

A tourist drinks water as she and a man sit under an umbrella in front of the five century B.C. Parthenon temple at the Acropolis hill during a heat wave in July 2023.

SATYAJEET SINGH RATHORE / AP PHOTO Tigers are visible at the Ranthambore National Park in Sawai Madhopur, India, in April 2015.

DEEPAK SHARMA / AP PHOTO

A Royal Bengal tiger drags a wild boar after killing it in Ranthambore National Park in Sawai Madhopur, India, in April 2015.

STANLY SPORTS

North Stanly, South Stanly eye final stretch of conference play

North and South combine for a 10-3 conference record

By Jesse Deal Stanly County Journal

STANLY COUNTY — With the last week of the high school basketball team approaching, two boys’ teams in Stanly Coun ty now find themselves battling it out near the top of the Yadkin Valley Conference standings.

The North Stanly Comets (17‑2, 5 1 Y VC) and South Stan ly Rebel Bulls (13 7, 5 2 Y VC) have a combined 10 3 record in conference play and currently sit at second and third, respec tively, in the YVC behind the first place Mount Pleasant Ti gers (12 8, 6 1 Y VC).

The next stretch of play will likely determine whether one of these two Stanly teams can sur mount the Tigers in the closing stretch to win the YVC regular season championship.

Over in New London, the Comets have put together one of their strongest seasons in years, going 12 1 in noncon ference play to start out their 2024 25 campaign before win ning five of their six conference matchups.

North’s only YVC loss thus far has been a 66 57 home loss to Jan. 17, proving to be a cost ly defeat as Mount Pleasant now holds a narrow lead over the Comets in the standings; the two teams are set to meet again on Friday on the Tigers’ home court.

Prior to that, however, the Comets and Bulls were sched uled to face off on Tuesday night in Norwood, with the Bulls hop ing to avenge their 64 45 road loss to North back on Jan. 14.

The Comets will round out their regular season with Gray Stone (3 12, 0 6 YVC) on Feb. 10, followed by Albemar le (1 17, 1 6 Y VC) on Feb. 11 and Anson (13 6, 5 3 Rocky River) on Feb. 13.

For the Bulls, their season has taken a step in the right di rection after a rough stretch in late November and early De cember when the squad lost five out of eight games. As the reigning YVC champion, South has now won eight of its last 10 games, and those two losses came at the hands of North and Mount Pleasant.

South will now hope to win its final three games of the sea son and cross its fingers that both the Comets and Tigers suffer missteps in this clos ing chapter of the regular sea son; the team squared off with North this week before taking on Union Academy (11 6, 3 4 YVC) on Friday and Gray Stone on Feb. 11.

Sitting at first place in the YVC standings, Mount Pleas ant will now look to hold off the Comets and Bulls as the Ti gers match up with Albemarle, North Stanly, and Union Acade my in their final week of the reg ular season.

ATHLETE OF THE WEEK

Abigail Clayton

Albermarle alumna, athlete

Abigail Clayton is an Albemarle native and 2024 graduate. She played soccer, basketball and track for the Bulldogs.

Clayton is now a multisport athlete for Meredith College. After getting a taste of college athletics during soccer season, she has burst onto the scene during track and field season. She finished second in the 400 in her first college meet, setting a Meredith freshman record in the process. That earned her her first USA South Rookie of the Week award. Last week, she had her second collegiate track meet and won her second straight Rookie of the Week award after setting a school record in the 500.

Unusual betting patterns surrounding play of Rozier in 2023 game investigated

Rozier left the game after a single quarter, spoiling many prop bets

By Tim Reynolds The Associated Press

MIAMI — Unusual betting patterns surrounding the play of then Charlotte Hornets guard Terry Rozier in a game nearly two years ago are now under in vestigation by federal prosecu tors, part of the same probe that led to the lifetime ban of Toron to Raptors player Jontay Porter, the NBA confirmed.

Rozier — who played for the Hornets at the time and now plays for the Miami Heat — has not been charged with a crime, nor has he been accused of wrongdoing.

The NBA said it looked into the matter at the time and did not find that any league rules were broken.

Charlotte Hornets guard Terry Rozier (3) shoots over New Orleans Pelicans forward Herbert Jones (5) during the first quarter of a March 23, 2023, game that has sparked an investigation.

zier prop bets on March 23, then took them down hours before the start of the Charlotte New Orleans game. It was not clear why that happened, and some bettors wondered aloud why that unusual move had taken place. Rozier was not listed on the team’s injury report going into the game. Porter’s ban came after a sim ilar investigation into his per formance and “prop bets”. Last April, the NBA banned Por ter for life after a league probe found he disclosed confidential information to sports bettors and wagered on games, even betting on his team to lose. Porter was criminally prose cuted and pleaded guilty to con spiracy to commit wire fraud. He is awaiting sentencing.

“In March 2023, the NBA was alerted to unusual betting activity related to Terry Rozier’s performance in a game between Charlotte and New Orleans,” NBA spokesman Mike Bass said in a statement. “The league con ducted an investigation and did not find a violation of NBA rules. We are now aware of an in vestigation by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of New York related to this matter and have been cooperating with that investigation.”

The deal would have expired in 2026 if the 10-year option wasn’t picked up

By Aaron Beard The Associated Press

ESPN EXERCISED its op tion to extend a base rights me dia deal with the Atlantic Coast Conference through 2035 36, aligning the timeline with a sec ond deal that covers their part nership for the ACC Network.

The network and the ACC announced the extension last Thursday in a welcome, but not unexpected, development for the league amid questions about revenue and its long term future.

ESPN had a deadline of Feb. 1 to decide whether to pick up the option for the base rights for 2027 36, a wrinkle that emerged during Florida State’s lawsuit against the league regarding exit fees for a potential departure to another conference.

The game involving Rozier that is in question was played March 23, 2023, a matchup be tween the Hornets and the New Orleans Pelicans. Rozier played the first 9 minutes, 36 seconds of that game — and not only did not return that night, citing a foot issue, but did not play again

ly involves financial payouts laid out in contracts. A person fa miliar with the contracts said the second deal specifically cov ered the ACC Network through 2035‑36 regardless of whether ESPN picked up the option on the base rights, a detail first re ported by The Athletic.

The person spoke to The As sociated Press on condition of anonymity last Thursday be cause the league hasn’t released unredacted information for its ESPN deals.

Now both parts of the deal are set to run another 11 years.

“The ACC is a pillar of ES PN’s leading commitment to col lege sports and we are thrilled to continue the partnership over the next decade,” ESPN chair man Jimmy Pitaro said in a statement.

that season. Charlotte had eight games remaining.

In that March 23 game, Ro zier finished with five points, four rebounds and two assists in that opening period — a pro ductive quarter, but well below his usual total output for a full game.

Some bettors were furious with sportsbooks that evening when it became evident that Ro zier was not going to return to

the game after the first quar ter, with many turning to so cial media to say that something “shady” had gone on regarding the prop bets involving his stats for that night.

One bettor posted that night of getting “some inside info” that Rozier was leaving that game early and showed an image of how he turned a $122 wager into a $222 payout.

Some sportsbooks offered Ro

MATT KELLEY / AP PHOTO

Atlantic Coast Conference commissioner Jim Phillips smiles during his news conference at ACC media days.

The Porter investigation started once the league learned from “licensed sports betting op erators and an organization that monitors legal betting markets” about unusual gambling pat terns surrounding Porter’s per formance in a game on March 20, 2024, against Sacramen to. The league determined that Porter gave a bettor informa tion about his own health sta tus prior that game and said that another individual — known to be an NBA bettor — placed an $80,000 bet that Porter would not hit the numbers set for him in parlays through an online sports book. That bet would have won $1.1 million.

The specifics of the bets that triggered the probe into the Hornets Pelicans game are un known.

Phillips has also been open about discussions of changes to the revenue distribution model used by league schools. Just last year, the league launched its “suc cess initiative” that allows league schools to keep more money gen erated by their own postsea son success instead of sharing it evenly with the rest of the league. Phillips has also talked openly about the league’s efforts to find more revenues for its members while facing a widening gap be hind the Southeastern and Big Ten conferences. According to tax documents, the ACC distributed an average of $44.8 million to its 14 foot ball playing members (Notre Dame receives a partial share as a football independent) and $706.6 million in total reve nue for the 2022 23 season. That came at a time of record revenues for the league, yet the ACC ranked third behind the Big Ten ($879.9 million reve nue, $60.3 million average pay out) and SEC ($852.6 million, $51.3 million) in the most re cent filings, and ahead of the smaller Big 12 ($510.7 million, $44.2 million). ESPN extending media base-rights with the ACC through 2035-36

That base rights deal cov ers events broadcast on prima ry properties like ESPN, ESPN2, ESPNU and ABC, and general

The extension comes with FSU and Clemson both in le gal fights with the league tied to the grant of rights agreement in 2016 — timed with the deal to announce the ACC Network’s August 2019 arrival — that seeks to deter defections by schools seeking more revenue with other leagues. That has led ACC com

missioner Jim Phillips to talk openly about searching for ways to enhance revenue, such as dis cussions with ESPN as a partner to enhance the value of the me dia rights deal and potentially create more revenue from it.

For example, Phillips has said the league’s addition of Stanford, California and SMU through ex pansion for this season created

$600 million in additional in cremental revenue through the media rights deal.

“The resolve from both par ties to further enhance the part nership through innovation and creativity to continue to drive additional value remains our top priority,” Phillips said in a statement with the extension announcement.

MEREDITH ATHLETICS

DERICK HINGLE / AP PHOTO

SIDELINE REPORT

RACING

Ford vs. Ferrari: Blue oval brand to return to top level of endurance racing and Le Mans

Charlotte Ford Motor Company will return to the top level of prototype sports car racing in 2027. The automaker will be back in the World Endurance Championship series with a factory team that will compete at the 24 Hours of Le Mans. Ford had four consecutive overall victories at Le Mans from 1966 and 1969 under the late Carroll Shelby. That dominance led to a rivalry with Ferrari. Ford pulled out of competition after 1969 but celebrated the 50th anniversary of its first Le Mans victory with a return to the endurance event in 2016.

TENNIS

Hall of Famer Shriver’s trophies back after being taken in stolen car amid LA fires

Los Angeles International Tennis Hall of Fame member Pam Shriver has her trophies back. Shriver said she regained the dozen or so pieces of hardware that were in a car stolen from the hotel where she was staying after evacuating from her home during the outbreak of the devastating wildfires in the greater Los Angeles area. Shriver won 21 Grand Slam doubles championships, a gold medal at the 1984 Summer Olympics and a total of 111 doubles titles. Shriver, now a TV commentator, was inducted into the sport’s Hall of Fame in 2002.

NHL Rangers get center Miller from Canucks in multiplayer deal New York

The New York Rangers acquired veteran center J.T. Miller from the Vancouver Canucks in a multiplayer deal. The Rangers sent center Filip Chytil, defenseman Victor Mancini and a conditional draft pick to Vancouver. New York also received defensemen Jackson Dorrington and Erik Brannstrom. The Canucks were expected to trade either Miller or Elias Pettersson after a reported rift between the two stars. The 31 year‑old Miller was drafted by the Rangers and played for New York for six seasons before being dealt to Tampa Bay in 2018.

NFL officials spotting the football not going away despite new tech

No technology can help determine forward progress

By Rob Maaddi The Associated Press

THE NFL WILL engage its Competition Committee on technology to take virtu al line‑to gain measurements next season, but officials will continue to spot the football.

There’s no current technolo gy being considered that would help determine forward prog ress, which became a point of contention after Bills quarter back Josh Allen was stopped short on a sneak on fourth‑and 1 early in the fourth quarter of Buffalo’s 32 29 loss to Kansas City in the AFC championship game.

The league tested Sony’s Hawk Eye tracking services for virtual line to gain measure ments in the preseason and in the background during the reg ular season. The optimal track ing system notifies officiating instantly if a first down was gained after the ball is spotted by hand.

The key word is after. This technology replaces the chain measurement. The NFL has long used two bright orange sticks and a chain — the chain gang — to measure for first

downs. That method would re main in a backup capacity.

“What this technology can not do is take the place of the human element in determining where forward progress ends,” NFL executive Kimberly Fields told The Associated Press last Friday. “There will always be a human official spotting the ball. Once the ball is spotted, then the line to gain technology ac tually does the measurement it self. So I think it’s probably been a point of confusion around what the technology can and can’t do. There will always be a human element because of the

Orioles spending but avoided big risks — and also rewards

The team increased its payroll but didn’t make a splashy acquisition

By Noah Trister The Associated Press

BALTIMORE — It was around this time last year that the Baltimore Orioles made their biggest offseason move, trading for right hander Corbin Burnes.

That turned out to be a one‑year rental when Burnes went to Arizona via free agen cy in late December. Now the Orioles are running out of time if they want to replace him with a bona fide ace before spring training.

“We like where we’re at, but we still have time on the clock before the offseason’s over,” gen eral manager Mike Elias said. “There are still free agents. The trade market sometimes hap pens very late. I can’t forecast that or handicap it, but there’s still those possibilities.”

In their first offseason un der new ownership, the Orioles have done some spending, but they haven’t pulled off anything as bold as trading for Burnes. Baltimore has added outfielders Tyler O’Neill and Dylan Carl son, starting pitchers Charlie

“I think we’ve elevated the payroll continuously since the beginning of the rebuild.”

Orioles GM Mike Elias

Morton and Tomoyuki Suga no, reliever Andrew Kittredge and backup catcher Gary Sán chez. Aside from O’Neill, none of those acquisitions came with more than a one year commit ment from the team.

As a result of those moves — plus raises to arbitration el igible players — Baltimore’s payroll now ranks 15th in the majors. That’s a notable jump for a team that was near the bottom not too long ago, but the Orioles still have very little money committed for 2026 and beyond.

There may be some logic to keeping future expenditures low at a time when Baltimore has several young standouts — Gunnar Henderson, Ad ley Rutschman, Grayson Ro driguez and Jordan Westburg among them — who could cost a lot to sign long term.

“There’s positives to it when you have year to year flexibili

forward progress conversation.”

Fields said an average of 12 measurements took place each week during the regu lar season. The new technolo gy would’ve dropped the time spent to measure from 75 sec onds to 35 seconds.

NFL balls have been equipped with Zebra micro chips since 2017, powering the NFL’s Next Gen Stats data product. The chips are also af fixed to players’ pads. They pro vide various data and met rics that help clubs, media and fans with player evaluation and analysis of team performance.

But these chips can’t deter mine where a player was tack led, whether a player is down by contact or which team gained possession of a loose ball to the precision necessary for officiat ing use.

The league also began us ing boundary line cameras in Week 5 to assist with replay re views. The cameras were in stalled in each of the 30 sta diums along the end line, goal line and sideline. Usage was limited to scores, plays with un der two minutes remaining and turnovers.

Discussion for expanding its use to coaches’ challenges and replay assist is ongoing and would have to be approved by the Competition Committee.

Fields said the league also experimented with providing back judges smart watches to assist with objective informa tion so they can make decisions faster, specifically as it relates to the play clock.

“We want to make the game efficient and more accurate,” Fields said. “The things that we do around technology, if it’s not going to make the process bet ter, if it’s not going to assist our officials, then we shouldn’t be doing it. Everything that we do is going through a rigorous test ing process to make sure we are making things easier and more efficient.”

ty,” Elias said. “But I’m expect ing that will evolve and maybe not remain the case. Maybe this time next year, we’re talking about something different.”

For now, the Orioles ha ven’t locked up any of their young stars, and the lack of long term deals on the roster comes with its own cost. For ex ample, Baltimore is set to pay the 41 year‑old Morton and 35 year old Sugano a combined $28 million this year. Mean while, the New York Yankees signed All Star Max Fried to an eight year, $218 million con tract — an average of $27.25 million per year.

Fried’s deal might very well be riskier than what the Orioles did, but there’s a reason pitch ers like that command lon ger contracts. Baltimore’s suc cess in 2025 may come down

to whether the rotation holds up after losing Burnes and add ing only short term solutions in free agency.

As the Orioles wade slow ly into deeper spending waters, owner David Rubenstein made news recently when he told Ya hoo Finance that he wishes baseball had a salary cap. He did not sound like an owner ea ger to go on a spending spree. Instead, increasing the pay roll has been more of a gradu al process.

“I think we’ve elevated the payroll continuously since the beginning of the rebuild,” Elias said. “We’ve talked about it all along. Obviously that was be fore David Rubenstein and his group bought the team, but af ter they purchased it, it certain ly, like I’ve said, kind of expand ed our options in a great way.”

TERRANCE WILLIAMS / AP PHOTO Baltimore Orioles Executive Vice President and General Manager Mike Elias looks on before a game against the Texas Rangers last season.

ASHLEY LANDIS / AP PHOTO

Kansas City Chiefs linebacker Nick Bolton (32) stops Buffalo Bills quarterback Josh Allen (17) short of a first down during the AFC championship game.

Richard Grant Morton

Barbara Jean (Taylor) Drye

Jan. 9, 1957 – Jan. 31, 2025

April 17, 1936 ~ January 14, 2023

Barbara Jean Taylor Drye, 86, of Oakboro, passed away Saturday, January 14, 2023 at her home.

Richard Grant Morton, 68, of Oakboro peacefully passed away at his home surrounded by his family on Friday, January 31, 2025. His memorial service will be at 3 p.m. on Saturday, February 8, 2025, at Oakboro First Baptist Church officiated by Pastor Donald Helms. The family will receive friends on Saturday at the church prior to the service from 2 to 3 p.m.

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 Garfield.

Richard was born in Stanly County on January 9, 1957, to the late Bob and Betty Morton. Richard is lovingly survived by his wife, Debra Morton of 43 years. Those also left to cherish his memory are his children, Chris Morton (Shawna) of Oakboro, Erica Morton of Oakboro, and Jeremy Morton and his wife Felicia of Stanfield, grandchildren, Savannah Lenzer (Eddie), Sadie Morton, Kyla Bloxson, Remi Morton, Kyler Whitley, Jayden Whitley, Kali Morton, and Ariel Morton, siblings, Bobby Morton (Teresa), Eddie Morton, Jane Furr (Ronald), and Barbara Morton (Johnny Ray), many nieces and nephews, especially Michael Morton (Konda), and special k9, Max.

Richard was preceded in death by his maternal grandparents Earl and Florence Aldridge, paternal grandparents Ulysses and Colon Morton, sisters, Cathy Christy and Jean Morton, aunt Macie Tucker and special k9, Rambo.

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.

Richard was an avid hunter and never missed an opportunity to be in the woods with Jeremy, Michael, Wallace, Jayden and Ashton. Other hobbies included fishing, golf, and all things outdoors. Richard was a devout Carolina Tar Heels fan. He loved his family and loved having all the grandchildren around. Richard will be missed by all who knew him and when you eat Krispie Kreme doughnuts, always think of him!

The family would like to extend their sincere gratitude to Konda Morton, Makayla Johnson, Michael Morton, Skylar Shuffler, and Jacob Burleson for the care given to Richard during his declining health. The family would like to thank Teresa Morton, Ellen Meadors, and Sheridan Meadors for covering for Debra while she was caring for Richard. The family requests all in attendance to please dress casually or wear something Carolina blue.

Stanly Funeral and Cremation Care of Locust is serving the Morton family.

Norall Tindal Shields

Shirley Turner

Dwight Farmer

January 24, 1939 ~ January 15, 2023

Dec. 30, 1951 – Jan. 30, 2025

Dwight Britten Farmer Sr., 83, of Norwood died Sunday morning, January 15, 2023 at Forrest Oakes.

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.

Norall Tindal Shields, 73, of Albemarle peacefully passed away on Thursday, January 30, 2025, at Atrium Health Cabarrus. Funeral services will be held at 11 a.m. on Wednesday, February 5, 2025, at Stanly Funeral and Cremation Care ChapelAlbemarle, officiated by Pastor Adam Hatley. Burial will follow at Stanly Gardens of Memory. The family will receive friends on Tuesday evening from 6 to 8 p.m. at Stanly Funeral and Cremation Care - Albemarle.

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 Sheriff’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 Roseboro

Odom

June 23, 1967 ~ January 10, 2023

April 2, 1935 – Jan. 30, 2025

James Arthur Roseboro, 55, of Albemarle, passed away Tuesday, January 10, 2023 at Anson Health and Rehab.

Dolores Ann Carter

John B. Kluttz

July 18, 1960 – Jan. 27, 2025

March 23, 1935 - January 9, 2023

Cathy Huneycutt Smith

July 19, 1951 – Jan. 26, 2025

October 11, 1944 - January 10, 2023

Norall was born in Stanly County on December 30, 1951, to the late Virgil and Evelyn Tindal. She is lovingly survived by her husband David Shields of 52 Years. Those also left to cherish her memory are her daughter Leslie Carver and her husband David of New London, son Brett Shields of Albemarle, grandchildren, Kayne Carver and Tanner Carver, and her nephews Mike Tindal (Terri) and Rick Tindal (Susan) Norall was preceded in death by her sister, Shirley Tindal, and brother, Donnie Tindal.

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.

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.

Norall was the most selfless person, always giving to others. She had a comical side and always had a smile. Norall was a great wife, mother and grandmother. She was a member of West Albemarle Baptist Church.

Stanly Funeral and Cremation Care of Albemarle is serving the Shields family.

Douglas Wayne Turner

Jan. 13, 1953 – Jan. 28, 2025

Douglas Wayne Turner, 72, of Charlotte peacefully passed away on Tuesday, January 28, 2025, at his home surrounded by his family. There will be no formal services.

Douglas was born in Mecklenburg County on January 13, 1953, to the late Thad and Beulah Turner. He is survived by his daughters Denise Ervin and her husband Chris of Charlotte and Whitney Hart and her husband James of Oakboro. Those also left to cherish his memory are grandchildren, Haley Ervin, Devon Savage, Dallas Savage, Jordon Hart, and Haleigh Hart, two great-grandchildren, and sister Betty Gregg.

Douglas was loved by his family and will be missed by all.

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.

Shirley Turner Odom, 89, of Albemarle passed away on Thursday, January 30, 2025, in Trinity Place in Albemarle. Her funeral service will be held at 11 a.m. on Tuesday, February 4, 2025, in the Stanly Funeral Home Chapel with Rev. Drew Edmisten officiating. Burial will follow in the Anderson Grove Baptist Church Cemetery. The family will receive friends from 10 until 10:45 a.m. on Tuesday at Stanly Funeral and Cremation Care prior to the service.

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.

Born April 2, 1935, in Albemarle, NC, she was the daughter of the late Grover Lee Turner and Mary Lucas Turner. She was a retired weaver with Wiscassett Mills and most recently worked at the Albemarle Bojangles with roughly 20 years of service. She was an active member of Anderson Grove Baptist Church where she was a Sunday school teacher for multiple decades. Mrs. Odom loved her grandchildren and great-grandchildren.

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.

Mrs. Odom was preceded in death by her husband, Willard Robert Odom in 2008 and by her daughter Sheila Odom Smith in 1999. She is survived by her son-in-law Jeff Smith (Brinn) of Albemarle, grandchildren Brian Smith (Jessica) of Albemarle, Benjamin Smith (Brooks) of Owensboro, KY, Elizabeth Adkisson (Patrick) of Matthews, NC, Katie Furr (Justin) of Albemarle, step-grandchildren Lee Timberlake (Michele) of Albemarle and Bill Timberlake of Albemarle, and greatgrandchildren Emmett Smith, Wyatt Smith, Caroline Smith, Henry Smith, Harrison Smith, Ava Adkisson, Eli Furr, Landon Furr, Talen Hinesley, and Tendel Timberlake.

The family requests that memorials be made to Tillery Compassionate Care, tillerycompassionatecare.org.

Darrick Baldwin

January 7, 1973 ~ January 8, 2023

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.

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 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.

When John purchased his first 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!

Dolores Ann Carter, 64, of Albemarle peacefully passed away on Monday, January 27, 2025, at Novant Health Mint Hill Medical Center. Her funeral service will be at 1 p.m. on Saturday, February 1, 2025, at the Stanly Funeral and Cremation Care Chapel of Locust, officiated by Pastor Chuck Overcash. Burial will follow in Oakboro Cemetery. The family will receive friends from 11 a.m. until 12:30 p.m. at the Locust campus prior to the hour of service. Dolores was born in Wilkes County on July 18, 1960, to the late Herman and Lucille Hart. She is lovingly survived by her daughter Christina Vanderburg (Robert Weirich) of Kannapolis and her son Robert Vanderburg (Bonnie) of Enochville. Those also left to cherish her memory are grandchildren, Aaron Vanderburg, Zayne Vanderburg, Maverick Heilig, and Carter Weirich, brother Dexter Hart, and sister Wanda Wyatt.

Dolores is preceded in death by her husband Terry Carter in 2012, daughter Melissa Vanderburg, and brothers, Alfred Hart and Scott Hart.

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 friends who visited almost daily.

Dolores was a great mother and grandmother. She loved to help others and never met a stranger. Her favorite hobbies were crafting and shopping. She loved all things purple. Dolores enjoyed traveling to the beach and the mountains. She will be dearly missed by all who knew her!

While on the farm in Gold Hill, John also began a lifelong love with Alis Chalmers tractors after he restored his Dad’s tractor and began amassing his collection of tractors as well.

In lieu of flowers, memorial can be sent to Stanly County Humane Society. (2049 Badin Rd, Albemarle, NC 28001) or West Stanly Christian Ministries (100 S Love Chapel Rd, Stanfield, NC 28163)

Cathy Huneycutt Smith, 73, of New London passed away on Sunday, January 26, 2025, in Mission Hospital in Asheville. Her funeral service will be held at 11 a.m. on Friday, January 31, 2025, in the Stanly Funeral Home Chapel with Rev. David Cochran presiding. Burial will follow in the Bethany United Methodist Church Cemetery. The family will receive friends on Thursday evening from 6 until 8 PM at Stanly Funeral and Cremation Care of Albemarle.

Doris Elaine Jones Coleman, 78, went home into God’s presence on January 10 after a sudden illness and a valiant week-long fight in ICU. Doris was born on October 11, 1944, in the mountains of Marion, NC while her father was away fighting 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.

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 years of nursing.

John restored many cars of his own and had the crowning achievement of winning the most 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.

Stanly Funeral and Cremation Care of Locust is serving the Carter family.

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 Richfield, NC John Alexander McKinnon (Sarah) of Asheville, NC and Seth William McKinnon (Amanda) of Germany; five 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.

Born July 19, 1951, in Stanly County, NC, she was the daughter of the late Richard Edwin Huneycutt and Aileen Hall Huneycutt. She was a retired finance officer with Crook Motor Company in Albemarle. Mrs. Smith was a lifelong member of Bethany United Methodist Church where she served as Secretary of the Church Administrative Council for over 30 years, Chairman of the Lucille Cranford Circle, Trustee of the Church, and both President and Secretary of the United Women in Faith among many other roles. Her grandchildren were the highlight of her life. She had a heart of service and spent a great portion of her life serving others. She is survived by her husband of 51 years, Richard Jimmy “Runt” Smith. Other survivors include son Kevin Smith (Stephanie Cooper) of Albemarle and daughter Holly Bader (Michael) of Hendersonville, three siblings Eddie Huneycutt (Sheila) of Norwood, Tommy Huneycutt (Saundra) of Albemarle, and Tammy Carter of Greensboro, and three grandchildren Haylee Bader, Olivia Bader and Jake Bader. Memorials may be made to the Bethany United Methodist Church, 2411 US-52 Hwy, Albemarle, NC 28001.

Doris was a gentle and sweet spirit and loved her Lord. She never met a stranger, and she always left you feeling uplifted after talking 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 selfless, 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, outfits for Amy and Laura, and Christening gowns for each of her grandchildren.

Celebrate the life of your loved ones. Submit obituaries and death notices to be published in NSJ at obits@northstatejournal.com

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.

Doris Jones Coleman

STATE & NATION

American bald eagles having a moment, ecologically and culturally

It was also just made America’s national bird (really!)

By Mike Catalini

The Associated Press

WEST ORANGE, N.J. —

Along the long road from Amer ican icon to endangered species and back again, the bald eagle — the national bird of the United States, often seen against a clear blue sky — is having a moment.

The eagles find themselves in an environmental updraft of sorts since the early 2000s, when the federal government took the thriving birds off its endangered species list with more states fol lowing suit. Culturally, too, the animals are soaring.

In December, then Presi dent Joe Biden signed legisla tion making the raptor the coun try’s national bird (Thought that was already the case? More in a bit). New Jersey became the lat est state to delist the bald eagle as endangered in January, cit ing a remarkable comeback for the creatures associated with strength and independence — and that occupied just a single nest in the state decades ago. And to the chagrin or elation of football fans, the Philadelphia Eagles will be vying for a cham pionship in the Super Bowl this weekend.

How did the storied birds find their way back? As with so many tales, it’s complex.

Their well-being was intertwined with an insecticide

The story — there was a single nesting pair in New Jersey in the 1980s and roughly 300 now, for instance — centers on the ban ning of DDT, a chemical insecti cide with environmental side ef fects that included thin shelled eagle eggs. That touched off a cratering in the number of eagles across the country, and officials prohibited the pesticide in 1972. To rebuild the birds’ numbers in their historic range across the country, conservationists im

ported birds from places where their populations were stable, including from Canada. Ear ly on, they also removed eggs from nesting birds’ nests, replac ing them with artificial ones for the eagles to “incubate” while the real eggs were safely hatched outside the nest before being re turned, as eaglets for their par ents to raise according to Kathy Clark, the head of New Jersey’s Endangered and Nongame Spe cies Program.

“They’re one of the few con servation success stories of an imals that almost went extinct on our continent,” said Maia Ed wards, the science director at the American Bald Eagle Founda tion in Alaska. “And so I think now it’s really important to make sure people know that story and learn from it,”

Clark, whose work with the birds spans decades and includes the period when their numbers were so small they lived only in a remote part of the state, said the eagles have taught officials

a number of lessons. One is that they’re “fairly adaptable” and now live across densely populat ed (with people) New Jersey — from suburban Bergen County near New York to the wetlands along the shore in the south.

She recalled the story of one fledgling eagle in a suburban town — New York Giants terri tory, as it were, sorry, Eagles fans — that found itself on a backyard woodpile and walking around the street. Volunteer observers worried over the bird’s well be ing, given the realities of sub urban living. But a year later, observers spotted the eagle, iden tified by a band. It had apparent ly made it.

“Those birds that have that tolerance to live like in such a densely human structured en vironment is something I have a hard time understanding,” she said. “They’re Jersey birds. You got to have attitude, right?”

The birds do face dangers as they expand into suburbia, though. Jilian Fazio, director of

the Essex County Turtle Back Zoo in suburban northern New Jersey, said the zoo rescues a number of birds hit by cars. One bird, a male named Freedom, perched atop a branch in his en closure at the zoo recently and called out loudly. He was found dangling by a rope, left with an injury that renders him unreleas able, Fazio said.

There are threats, as well.

Habitat preservation and clean, open water, since the eagles feed heavily on fish, is a worry, but there’s also the current outbreak of avian influenza or bird flu. Clark says officials are going to maintain surveillance amid the outbreak.

A resurgence in popularity, too

Beyond the birds coming off endangered lists, they made headlines recently for finally get ting their due as the county’s na tional bird, an oversight left un done in law because the bald

eagle was already on the national seal and many thought it already had that status, said Sen. Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota, who sponsored legislation that Biden signed last month.

She and colleagues worked with Native American and veter ans groups to get buy in for the legislation, she said, and it passed the typically divisive House and Senate last year with no dissent. The birds are revered in a num ber of Native American cultures as symbols of strength, partic ularly in the Pacific Northwest, according to Paul Apodaca, a re tired academic who specializes in folklore and mythology.

The eagles’ perch as symbols of the country contributes to their conservation, with experts considering them an “umbrel la species,” whose need for large open spaces and waterways helps preserve lesser known wildlife.

“Americans are always going to have that sort of personal rela tionship with bald eagles,” Clark said.

New Jersey Sen. Andy Kim, a native of Philadelphia Eagles ter ritory, took his two young sons to the NFC championship game last week, a memory he said they won’t forget. “Let’s never for get that Bald Eagle was official ly named America’s national bird at the same time the Eagles are headed back to the Super Bowl,” he said in a text message.

Experiencing seeing a bird in the wild or even as you’re driving along a business lined highway can leave an impression. Dan Day, a birder who’s spotted bald eagles some 50 times in recent years both on nature walks and just driving around suburban New Jersey, remembered nev er having seen the birds as a kid growing up in Cleveland. Now a New Jersey resident and Phila delphia Eagles fan, he regularly goes out in his green “Birds” cap and binoculars.

“Just the mere thrill of seeing one — a lot of people just have never, ever looked at one,” he said. “It really elevates your day to see a bald eagle.”

Enjoy watching them, experts say, but give them space, too. Be cause rescuing animals threat ened with extinction is expensive, uncertain work. Said Clark, the New Jersey Department of En vironmental Protection official: “I don’t think I ever will lose that perspective of being on the brink there, not knowing if you’re going to be able to save the species.”

SETH WENIG / AP PHOTO

Left, a bald eagle rests on a tree next to Union Bay in January 2024 in Seattle. Right, a bald eagle named Freedom perches on a branch at the Turtle Back Zoo in West Orange, New Jersey this January.

SETH WENIG / AP PHOTO

A bald eagle named Freedom calls in West Orange, New Jersey this January.

LINDSEY WASSON / AP PHOTO

Rollin’ at Bowman

Tim Brown (15) and William Byron (24) compete in the Clash at Bowman Gray on Sunday, the NASCAR Cup Series’ first event at the classic Winston-Salem track since 1971.

WHAT’S HAPPENING

Trump orders creation of U.S. sovereign wealth fund, says it could own part of TikTok

Washington, D.C.

President Donald Trump on Monday signed an executive order directing the U.S. to take steps to start developing a government-owned investment fund that he said could be used to profit off of TikTok if he’s successful at finding the company an American buyer.

Trump signed an order on his first day office to grant the Chinese- owned TikTok until early April to find a domestic partner or buyer, but he’s said he’s looking for the U.S. to take a 50% stake in the massive social media platform. He said Monday in the Oval Office that TikTok was an example of what he could put in a new U.S. sovereign wealth fund.

Trump talks so much even stenographers struggle to keep up

Washington, D.C.

The most obvious shift from Joe Biden to Donald Trump has been the flood of talking from the White House.

Trump is speaking publicly far more than his predecessor, overwhelming his opponents and leaving them struggling to get a word in edgewise. Even the White House stenographers responsible for transcribing a president’s remarks are racing to keep up with him. According to Factbase, Trump spoke 81,235 words in his first week in office, up from 24,259 in the same timespan for Biden.

Council, staff praise success of weekend racing series

The Clash brought in sellout crowds and could be a huge financial boon for the city

By Ryan Henkel Twin City Herald

WINSTON-SALEM — This past weekend, Winston-Salem hosted the Clash, NASCAR’s annual preseason Cup Series exhibition race.

The event, which featured sellout crowds on both Saturday and Sunday, took place at Bowman Gray Stadium and seems to have been a big financial success for the city. At the Winston-Salem City Council meeting on Feb. 3, city staff and council members gave their thoughts on the weekend.

“There were a lot of people and they were very cooperative and well behaved, and we think we made a lot of money on concessions,” said County Manager William Pate. “NASCAR put on a really great event, and I think it will be a great feather in the cap for the city. Winston-Salem was mentioned on national TV so many times, and we can’t begin to calculate how much that would cost if we were trying to put those ads out there ourselves.”

City staff had worked diligently for months to make sure the event went off without a hitch.

“It was amazing that NASCAR made this announcement in August and it was an all-out sprint this past weekend, and we couldn’t have done it without all the departments

that were involved,” said Assistant City Manager Ben Rowe.

“Almost every facet of city government was involved in supporting this event and making it happen. Just want to thank them for what they’ve done because it was a fabulous weekend.”

The race brought in fans from all across the globe and helped to feature Winston-Salem on a national stage.

“It just goes to show you what Winston-Salem has always been about,” said council member Annette Scippio.

“When we have great employers and great partners, we’ve always put on big shows in a phenomenal way, and I’m happy that many people who were here are seeing the quality of this city.”

The council also approved a

Trump administration opens antisemitism inquiries at 5 schools

Columbia, Berkeley, and Northwestern are among the schools being investigated

By Collin Binkley The Associated Press

WASHINGTON, D.C. —

The Trump administration is opening new investigations into allegations of antisemitism at five U.S. universities including Columbia and the University of California, Berkeley, the Education Department announced Monday. It’s part of President Donald Trump’s promise to take a tougher stance against campus antisemitism and deal out harsher penalties than the

Biden administration, which settled a flurry of cases with universities in its final weeks. It comes the same day the Justice Department announced a new task force to root out antisemitism on college campuses.

In an order signed last week, Trump called for aggressive action to fight anti-Jewish bias on campuses, including the deportation of foreign students who have participated in pro-Palestinian protests.

Along with Columbia and Berkeley, the department is now investigating the University of Minnesota, Northwestern University and Portland State University. The cases were opened using the department’s power to launch its own civil rights reviews, unlike the majority of investigations,

which stem from complaints. Messages seeking comment were left with all five universities.

A statement from the Education Department criticized colleges for tolerating antisemitism after Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023, attack on Israel and a wave of pro-Palestinian protests that followed. It also criticized the Biden administration for negotiating “toothless” resolutions that failed to hold schools accountable.

“Today, the Department is putting universities, colleges, and K-12 schools on notice: this administration will not tolerate continued institutional indifference to the wellbeing of Jewish students on American campuses,” said Craig Trainor, the agency’s acting assistant secretary for civil rights.

resolution ratifying the execution of a Major Events, Games and Attractions Fund grant agreement for NASCAR.

“In 2023, the North Carolina General Assembly established the Major Events, Games and Attractions Fund as part of the sports betting legislation to enhance the state’s ability to attract and retain largescale events that boost tourism and drive economic development,” Rowe said. “Back in the fall, the city was a co-applicant with NASCAR for this funding in order to support The Clash.”

The grant will cover 80% of the qualifying expenses for the event up to $2 million and does not require a local match.

“Most likely the focus is going to be on expenses that the NASCAR entity incurred,” Rowe said. “It states also in the agreement that a lot of focus is on pre- and postproduction expenses, mainly compensation, the purchase of goods, services provided that all happened within the state.”

The Winston-Salem City Council will next meet Feb. 17.

The department didn’t provide details about the inquiries or how it decided which schools are being targeted. Presidents of Columbia and Northwestern were among those called to testify on Capitol Hill last year as Republicans sought accountability for allegations of antisemitism. The searing hearings contributed to the resignation of multiple university presidents, including Columbia’s Minouche Shafik.

An October report from House Republicans accused Columbia of failing to punish pro-Palestinian students who took over a campus building, a nd it called Northwestern’s negotiations with student protesters a “stunning capitulation.” House Republicans applauded the new investigations. Rep. Tim Walberg, chair of the Education and Workforce Committee, said he was

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INQUIRIES from page A1

“glad that we finally have an administration who is taking action to protect Jewish students.”

Trump’s order also calls for a full review of antisemitism complaints filed with the Education Department since Oct. 7, 2023, including pending and resolved c ases from the Biden administration. It encourages the Justice Department to take action to enforce civil rights laws.

Last week’s order drew backlash from civil rights groups who said it violated First Amendment rights that protect political speech.

The new task force announced Monday includes the Justice and Education departments along with Health and Human Services.

“The Department takes seriously our responsibility to eradicate this hatred wherever it is found,” said Leo Terrell, assistant attorney general for civil rights. “The Task Force to Combat Anti-Semitism is the first step in giving life to President Trump’s renewed commitment to ending anti-Semitism in our schools.”

Jet’s sound barrier mark revives talk of commercial supersonic travel

Boom Supersonic’s Overture aircraft will be built in Greensboro

By Dylan Lovan

The Associated Press

AN AIRCRAFT developed by Boom Supersonic became the first independently funded jet to break the sound barrier last week. The XB-1 aircraft accelerated to Mach 1.05 at about 35,000 feet during a test flight last Tuesday in the same Mojave Desert airspace in California where Charles “Chuck” Yeager was the first person to break the sound barrier in 1947.

Here’s a look at the flight and the history of supersonic travel.

Why was the Boom Supersonic flight significant?

It was a step toward reviving supersonic commercial travel, which has been on hiatus since the Concorde jet was grounded more than two decades ago.

Boom Supersonic has con-

tracts with at least two airlines to buy their commercial airliners once they are developed. Several companies are working to come up with new supersonic jets that would be more fuel efficient — and create fewer climate-changing emissions — than the Concorde.

Boom founder and CEO Blake Scholl says the flight “demonstrates that the technology for passenger supersonic flight has arrived.”

What aircraft was used?

The test aircraft was made with lightweight carbon fiber and uses an augmented reality vision system to help with landing due to its long nose.

Boom, based in Denver, plans to use the technology to build its Overture commercial airliner, which the company says could carry as many as 80 passengers while traveling faster than the speed of sound. The jets would be built in North Carolina.

The company has said the engine it’s developing for the Overture will have 35,000 pounds of thrust and is designed to run on sustainable aviation fuel.

Hostage from Chapel Hill finally released from Gaza

Fifteen months after being abducted, Keith Siegel is free

By Melanie Lidman The Associated Press

Share with your community! Send us your births, deaths, marriages, graduations and other announcements: forsythcommunity@ northstatejournal.com

Weekly deadline is Monday at Noon

JERUSALEM — Three men held hostage in the Gaza Strip for more than 15 months were freed Saturday, bringing to 18 the number of captives released by militants since the ceasefire between Israel and Hamas began Jan. 19.

Among those freed was Yarden Bibas, 35, the father of the two youngest hostages in Gaza, whose plight has become a rallying cry for Israelis. The Bibas sons — 4 years old and 9 months old at the time of their abduction — and their mother, Shiri, are still in captivity, and feared dead.

Shiri Bibas and the two children are the last woman and children held in captivi-

ty in Gaza who have not been confirmed dead by Israel.

The other hostages released Saturday were American-Israeli Keith Siegel, 65, and French-Israeli Ofer Kalderon, 54, also household names in Israel after highly visible campaigns to free them.

Keith Siegel, from Chapel Hill, was abducted with his wife, Aviva Siegel, from Kibbutz Kfar Aza, a communal farming village heavily damaged by the attack. She was freed during the November 2023 ceasefire deal and has campaigned across the world for the release of her husband and other hostages.

Keith Siegel worked as an a occupational therapist and loves spending time with his grandchildren, according to the forum representing the hostage families.

Aviva Siegel said that she was held hostage with her

What’s the future of commercial supersonic travel?

American Airlines and United Airlines have pledged to buy jets from Boom Supersonic. Boom said last year it has orders for 130 aircraft, which include orders and preorders.

Those commercial flights could be limited to ocean crossings or would have to slow down over land to limit damage from forceful sonic booms, which can rattle buildings on land.

NASA is looking at developing a craft with a softer boom, and Boeing is also working on a prototype for supersonic commercial travel. Any new such service will likely face the same hurdles as the Concorde, which flew over the Atlantic and was barred from many overland routes because of the sonic booms it caused.

What happened to the Concorde?

The Concorde jet, which was grounded in 2003, was the only supersonic commercial

airliner that ever flew, and had its maiden flight in 1969. At the time it was considered a technological marvel and a source of pride in Britain and France, whose aerospace companies joined forces to produce the plane.

The plane holds the record for the fastest transatlantic crossing by a passenger aircraft — 2 hours, 52 minutes and 59 seconds from London’s Heathrow Airport to New York’s Kennedy Airport.

But the Concorde never went mainstream due to challenging economics and its sonic booms that led it to be banned on many overland routes. Only 20 were built, 14 of which were used for passenger service. A deadly crash more than two decades ago hastened the jet’s demise. On July 25, 2000, an Air France Concorde crashed into a hotel and exploded shortly after takeoff in Paris, killing all 109 people on board and four on the ground. Investigators determined that the plane ran over a metal strip, damaging a tire that crashed into the underside of the wing, rupturing a fuel tank.

husband during her 51 days in captivity. She said she took comfort from having her husband by her side as they were moved from tunnel to tunnel, the two given almost no food or water. Her parting words to him were, “Be strong for me.”

In the ceasefire’s first phase, a total of 33 hostages in Gaza will be released in exchange for almost 2,000 Palestinian prisoners held by Israel. The ceasefire and release of hostages has sparked both

hope and fear among Israelis. Many worry that the deal could collapse before all the hostages return or that those released will arrive in poor health. Others worry that the number of captives who have died is higher than expected. Some 250 people were taken hostage during Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack. Around 80 remain in Gaza, although at least a third are believed to be dead. The others were released, rescued or their bodies were recovered.

The Boom Supersonic’s XB-1 aircraft breaks the sound barrier, Mach 1, during a test flight on Jan. 28 over the Mohave Desert in California.

HOSTAGES

This undated photo provided by Hostages Family Forum shows Keith Siegel, who was abducted and brought

on Oct. 7, 2023.

THE CONVERSATION

Neal Robbins, publisher | Frank Hill, senior opinion editor

VISUAL VOICES

Does time fly?

If brains were lard, this dingbat couldn’t grease a small skillet. Yes, she was blonde.

THE OLD SAYING, “Time flies when you’re having fun” is indeed true. It even flies when you’re not having fun. Time just seems to fly.

One day, your children are young and playing in the yard and messing up their rooms. They’re crying over the lost love they thought would be forever. The next day, they’re gone. We stand looking at the empty nest and wonder, “Where did the time go?”

We face several milestones throughout our lives. The days that our children are born, the first day of school, proms, graduations, etc., are some of the things we tend to never forget.

As age continues to creep, the birthdays are too many to remember. I particularly remember my 50th birthday. I kept thinking this just couldn’t be happening. There’s no way I could be 50. I was a skinny teenager just yesterday. I decided to make the best of it and to celebrate it as a victory. I was determined to make it a positive day in my life. I put on my “Fifty is Nifty” button, put on a smile and started my day. All went well. Everybody I saw wished me a Happy Birthday and told me how great I looked and “I just couldn’t be 50.”

I began to feel pretty good about this turning 50 thing — until that

COLUMN | BRANDON BARNES

afternoon when the florist showed up. My loving husband sent me a beautiful bouquet of flowers and a Happy 50th balloon. The dizzy little delivery girl looked at my button and the balloon and asked, “Is it your birthday or anniversary?”

If brains were lard, this dingbat couldn’t grease a small skillet. Yes, she was blonde. What does she know? She probably thinks the Mayflower arrived 50 years ago.

Many years have passed since that day. I am still wondering where the years have gone. They continue to fly by, and the flight patterns pick up speed as the years pass.

My mother always told me that God has plans for every life and gives us wisdom and gifts to keep us focused on those plans. We are all blessed with gifts and talents to fulfill God’s tasks. And remember, if you don’t accomplish the tasks God has assigned to you, they won’t get done.

He has multitudes of angels, but sometimes he chooses ordinary people like you and me to do these tasks. No matter how unqualified or incapable we think we may be, God equips us for the task at hand. We just must be willing to step out in faith and follow God’s calling. He will supply everything we need.

Remember the movie “It’s a

Wonderful Life”? That’s my favorite. The angel showed George Bailey what the world would be like if he had never been born. Just imagine that for each of us. Things that seemed so insignificant in our lives could have been lifesaving changes for others. We may never know what influence we might have been for someone else.

Even if we screw it all up, God can still make us a success in His plan. We can choose the wrong path, and He can still make life turn out right for us.

Getting older does have some advantages. No question one grows wiser with every passing year. As the body slows and creaks, patience grows, our understanding of events matures, and wisdom evolves like magic. If I had a choice of aging or being young, I’d probably opt for 30. But since that’s not possible, I’ll take the life and my gifts with which God has so richly blessed me and live life to the fullest.

When He determines that it’s time to come home, I hope he’ll look at me and say, “Well done, my good and faithful servant. You followed my plan exactly.”

Joyce Krawiec represented Forsyth County and the 31st District in the North Carolina Senate from 2014 to 2024. She lives in Kernersville.

Better trade deals for North Carolinians means excluding nonessential industries

A price increase due to tariffs would hurt North Carolinians trying to rebuild their lives and finances.

NOW THAT DONALD TRUMP has taken the oath of office, expectations are high among his supporters in North Carolina and across the country. Those supporters are eager for him to clean up the mess left behind by his predecessor. I hope his next four years in office will be an economic windfall for the nation, and Trump can make that a reality through strategic, sensible economic policies.

A crucial step Trump promised on the path to prosperity includes negotiating better trade deals. Like any good deal, pragmatism should be involved, especially regarding the president’s proposed tariffs on China, Canada and Mexico. As the author of “The Art of the Deal,” Trump is the man we want at the negotiating table. He is right to push for a more fair playing field with these trading partners. However, unless certain industries are excluded, there is a risk of forcing higher prices on North Carolina families with tariffs alone. Inflation has been no joke in North

Carolina; a High Point University study found that 52% of residents said inflation concerns were affecting their spending decisions. A price increase due to tariffs would hurt North Carolinians trying to rebuild their lives and finances, many of whom voted for Trump in the fall.

We’ve already seen evidence that Trump is looking closely at how best to achieve his desired outcomes on issues across the board without negatively impacting everyday Americans. Tariffs are no different, and it is clear that Trump wants to utilize tariffs to achieve his goals without harming regular, nonstrategic consumer goods.

By excluding nonessential sectors that don’t pose a security threat to the United States, he greatly reduces the risk of inflating prices for Americans who have suffered enough paying for expensive goods. Toys, for instance, are mainly produced in China and Mexico before being exported to the U.S. Those countries have the infrastructure to deliver

safe, inexpensive, quality toys.

A broad tariff policy could easily hike those prices for families here.

Toys are not the strategic industry Trump is after, but sweeping tariffs could wipe out small businesses and jack up prices at more prominent brands, leaving consumers with fewer options and higher prices.

This scenario contradicts Trump’s campaign promises to keep prices down for American consumers.

Children and small retailers shouldn’t be caught in the crossfire of a trade war, but only applying tariffs to sectors with high stakes can guarantee such an outcome never happens.

Trump soundly won North Carolina because voters are confident that he will deliver on stabilizing the economy. I firmly believe in better trade deals to help accomplish this, just as the president will do the right thing and apply his tariffs wisely when negotiating.

Brandon Barnes is CEO of Capital Games LLC in Raleigh.

TRIAD STRAIGHT TALK | JOYCE KRAWIEC

NASA’s 2 stuck astronauts take 1st spacewalk together

Oldest evidence for lead pollution comes from ancient Greece

“Lead released from smelting is the world’s first form of toxic or industrial pollution.”

Joseph Manning, Yale historian

It came as a byproduct of silver smelting

By Christina Larson The Associated Press

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Ancient Greece produced the earliest records of democracy, western philosophy — and, it turns out, lead pollution.

Researchers studying sediment cores recovered from mainland Greece and the Aegean Sea have found the oldest known evidence of lead pollution in the environment dating to around 5,200 years ago.

That’s 1,200 years older than the previous earliest recorded lead pollution, which was found in a peatbog in Serbia.

In antiquity, lead was released into the atmosphere as a byproduct of smelting ore for copper and silver. The toxic metal later condensed as dust and settled onto the soil.

“Silver was used for jewelry, for special objects — but it wasn’t found in a pure state” but mined in ore combined with lead, said Heidelberg University archaeologist Joseph Maran, co-author of a new study published Thursday in Communications Earth and Environment.

The site with the earliest signs of lead contamination is located in northeastern Greece, near the island of Thasos. Prior archaeological evidence suggests Thasos was one of the region’s most significant sites for silver mining and metalwork, said Maran.

“Lead released from smelting is the world’s first form of toxic or industrial pollution,” said Yale historian Joseph Manning, who was not involved in the study.

The researchers found that levels of lead contamination remained fairly low and localized in ancient Greece, considered the cradle of European civilization, throughout the Bronze Age, the Classical period and the Hellenistic period. The Classical period is famous for Athenian democracy, Socrates and Plato, and the Hellenistic period saw Greek cultural influence peak across the Mediterranean region.

But around 2,150 years ago, the researchers detected “a very strong and abrupt increase” in lead emissions caused by human activities across Greece, said co-author Andreas Koutsodendris at Heidelberg University.

Around that time, in 146 B.C., the Roman army conquered the Greek peninsula, transforming the region’s society and economy. As Roman trade, colonies and shipping expanded across the Mediterranean Sea and Black Sea, demand for silver coins grew rapidly, requiring smelting that released lead, said Koutsodendris.

Later the Roman Empire used lead for tableware and for construction, including pipes.

Previous research — including an analysis of ice cores from Greenland — had detected high levels of lead across much of the Northern Hemisphere during Roman times.

But the new study adds a more “specific and local picture to how lead levels changed,” said Nathan Chellman, an environmental scientist at the University of Nevada, Reno, who was not involved in the research.

Suni WIlliams set a record for most time spacewalking by a woman

By Marcia Dunn The Associated Press

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla.

— NASA’s two stuck astronauts took their first spacewalk together last Thursday, exiting the International Space Station almost eight months after moving in. Commander Suni Williams

and Butch Wilmore removed a broken antenna and wiped the station’s exterior for evidence of any microbes that might still be alive after launching from Earth and escaping through vents.

After some initial trouble unbolting the balky antenna, the astronauts finally pried it off nearly four hours after popping out the hatch. Mission Control urged them to watch for any floating parts from the antenna removal.

During the job 260 miles up from Earth, Williams set a new spacewalking record for female astronauts.

The pair expected to stay just a week when they arrived at the space station last June, but trouble with their brand new ride Boeing’s Starliner capsule led NASA

to decided to return it empty. That left the two test pilots, both retired Navy captains, in orbit until SpaceX can bring them home. That won’t happen until late March or early April, extending their mission to 10 months because of a SpaceX delay in launching their replacements.

Williams performed a spacewalk two weeks ago with another NASA astronaut. It marked Wilmore’s first time outside this trip. Both racked up spacewalks during previous space station stays.

With nine spacewalks, Williams set a new record for women: the most time spent spacewalking over a career. Retired astronaut Peggy Whitson held the old record of 60 hours and 21 minutes, accumulated over 10 spacewalks.

India’s tiger population doubled in last dozen years; conservation effort praised

By Sibi Arasu The Associated Press

BENGALURU, India — India doubled its tiger population in a little over a decade by protecting the big cats from poaching and habitat loss, ensuring they have enough prey, reducing human-wildlife conflict and increasing communities’ living standards near tiger areas, a study published Thursday found.

The number of tigers grew from an estimated 1,706 tigers in 2010 to around 3,682 in 2022, according to estimates by the National Tiger Conservation Authority, making India home to roughly 75% of the global tiger population. The study found that some local communities near tiger habitats have also benefited from the increase in tigers because of the foot traffic and revenues brought in by ecotourism.

The study in the journal Science says India’s success “offers important lessons for tiger-range countries” that conservation efforts can benefit both biodiversity and nearby communities.

“The common belief is that human densities preclude an increase in tiger populations,” said Yadvendradev Jhala, a senior scientist at Bengaluru-based Indian National Academy of Sciences and the study’s lead author. “What the research shows is that it’s not the human density but the attitude of people, which matters more.

Wildlife conservationists and ecologists welcomed the study but said that tigers and other wildlife in India would benefit if source data were made available to a larger group of scientists. The study was based on data collected by Indian government-supported institutions.

“What the research shows is that it’s not the human density, but the attitude of people, which matters more.”

Yadvendradev Jhala, senior scientist at India’s National Academy of Sciences

Arjun Gopalaswamy, an ecologist with expertise in wildlife population estimation, said estimates from India’s official tiger monitoring program have been “chaotic” and “contradictory.” He said some of the figures in the study are significantly higher than previous estimates of tiger distribution from the same datasets.

But he added that the paper’s findings seem to have corrected an anomaly flagged repeatedly by scientists since 2011 related to tiger population size and their geographic spread.

Tigers disappeared in some areas that were not near national parks, wildlife sanctuaries or other protected areas, and in areas that witnessed increased urbanization, in-

creased human use of forest resources and higher frequency of armed conflicts, the study said. “Without community support and participation and community benefits, conservation is not possible in our country,” said Jhala.

Tigers are spread across around 53,359 square miles in India, about the size of the state of New York. But just 25% of the area is prey-rich and protected, and another 45% of tiger habitats are shared with roughly 60 million people, the study said.

Strong wildlife protection legislation is the “backbone” of tiger conservation in India, said Jhala. “Habitat is not a constraint, it’s the quality of the habitat which is a constraint,” he said.

Wildlife biologist Ravi Chellam, who wasn’t part of the study, said that while tiger conservation efforts are promising, they need to be extended to other species to better maintain the entire ecosystem.

“There are several species, including the great Indian bustard and caracal which are all on the edge,” Chellam said. “And there is really not enough focus on that.”

Tiger protections also benefited local communities via increased tourism

NASA TV / AP PHOTO

U.S. astronaut Suni Williams, who has been stuck in space since June, works outside the International Space Station during a spacewalk last Thursday.

PETROS GIANNAKOURIS / AP PHOTO

A tourist drinks water as she and a man sit under an umbrella in front of the five century B.C. Parthenon temple at the Acropolis hill during a heat wave in July 2023.

SATYAJEET SINGH RATHORE / AP PHOTO Tigers are visible at the Ranthambore National Park in Sawai Madhopur, India, in April 2015.

DEEPAK SHARMA / AP PHOTO

A Royal Bengal tiger drags a wild boar after killing it in Ranthambore National Park in Sawai Madhopur, India, in April 2015.

Forsyth SPORTS

ESPN extending media base-rights with the ACC through 2035-36

The deal would have expired in 2026 if the 10-year option wasn’t picked up

By Aaron Beard The Associated Press

ESPN EXERCISED its option to extend a base-rights media deal with the Atlantic Coast Conference through 2035-36, aligning the timeline with a second deal that covers their partnership for the ACC Network.

The network and the ACC announced the extension last Thursday in a welcome, but not unexpected, development for the league amid questions about revenue and its long-term future.

ESPN had a deadline of Feb. 1 to decide whether to pick up the option for the base rights for 2027-36, a wrinkle that emerged during Florida State’s lawsuit against the league regarding exit fees for a potential departure to another conference.

That base-rights deal covers events broadcast on primary properties like ESPN, ESPN2, ESPNU and ABC, and generally involves financial payouts laid out in contracts. A person familiar with the contracts said the second deal specifically covered the ACC Network through 2035-36 regardless of whether ESPN picked up the option on the base rights, a detail first reported by The Athletic.

The person spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity last Thursday because the league hasn’t released unredacted information for its ESPN deals.

Now both parts of the deal are set to run another 11 years.

“The ACC is a pillar of ESPN’s leading commitment to college sports and we are thrilled to continue the partnership over the next decade,” ESPN chair-

man Jimmy Pitaro said in a statement.

The extension comes with FSU and Clemson both in legal fights with the league tied to the grant-of-rights agreement in 2016 — timed with the deal to announce the ACC Network’s August 2019 arrival — that seeks to deter defections by schools seeking more revenue with other leagues. That has led ACC commissioner Jim Phillips to talk openly about searching for ways to enhance revenue, such as discussions with ESPN as a partner to enhance the value of the media-rights deal and potentially create more revenue from it.

For example, Phillips has said the league’s addition of Stanford, California and SMU through expansion for this season created $600 million in additional incremental revenue through the media-rights deal.

“The resolve from both parties to further enhance the partnership through innovation and creativity to continue to drive additional value remains our top priority,” Phillips said in a statement with the extension announcement.

Phillips has also been open about discussions of changes to the revenue distribution model used by league schools. Just last year, the league launched its “success initiative” that allows league schools to keep more money generated by their own postseason success instead of sharing it evenly with the rest of the league.

Phillips has also talked openly about the league’s efforts to find more revenues for its members while facing a widening gap behind the Southeastern and Big Ten conferences.

According to tax documents, the ACC distributed an average of $44.8 million to its 14 football-playing members (Notre Dame receives a partial share as a football independent) and $706.6 million in total revenue for the 2022-23 season. That came at a time of record revenues for the league, yet the ACC ranked third behind the Big Ten ($879.9 million revenue, $60.3 million average payout) and SEC ($852.6 million, $51.3 million) in the most recent filings, and ahead of the smaller Big 12 ($510.7 million, $44.2 million).

ATHLETE OF THE WEEK

Charnessa Reid

Mount Tabor alumna, track and field

Charnessa Reid is a Mount Tabor graduate and currently a sophomore on the Winston‑Salem State track and field team. Reid’s outstanding start to the season continued last week as she won the pentathlon at the Bast Creger Multi Invitational. She also won the 60 hurdles, took third in the long jump and was WSSU’s best finisher at the meet and ninth in the 200. Her time in the hurdles qualified her for the NCAA championships.

Unusual betting patterns surrounding play of Rozier in 2023 game investigated

Rozier left the game after a single quarter, spoiling many prop bets

By Tim Reynolds The Associated Press

MIAMI — Unusual betting patterns surrounding the play of then-Charlotte Hornets guard Terry Rozier in a game nearly two years ago are now under investigation by federal prosecutors, part of the same probe that led to the lifetime ban of Toronto Raptors player Jontay Porter, the NBA confirmed.

Rozier — who played for the Hornets at the time and now plays for the Miami Heat — has not been charged with a crime, nor has he been accused of wrongdoing.

The NBA said it looked into the matter at the time and did not find that any league rules were broken.

“In March 2023, the NBA was alerted to unusual betting activity related to Terry Rozier’s performance in a game between Charlotte and New Orleans,” NBA spokesman Mike Bass said in a statement. “The league conducted an investigation and did not find a violation of NBA rules. We are now aware of an investigation by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of New York related to this matter and have been cooperating with that investigation.”

The game involving Rozier that is in question was played March 23, 2023, a matchup between the Hornets and the New Orleans Pelicans. Rozier played the first 9 minutes, 36 seconds of that game — and not only did not return that night, citing a foot issue, but did not play again that season. Charlotte had eight games remaining.

dia to say that something “shady” had gone on regarding the prop bets involving his stats for that night.

One bettor posted that night of getting “some inside info” that Rozier was leaving that game early and showed an image of how he turned a $122 wager into a $222 payout.

Some sportsbooks offered Rozier prop bets on March 23, then took them down hours before the start of the Charlotte-New Orleans game. It was not clear why that happened, and some bettors wondered aloud why that unusual move had taken place. Rozier was not listed on the team’s injury report going into the game.

Porter’s ban came after a similar investigation into his performance and “prop bets”. Last April, the NBA banned Porter for life after a league probe found he disclosed confidential information to sports bettors and wagered on games, even betting on his team to lose.

Porter was criminally prosecuted and pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit wire fraud. He is awaiting sentencing.

The Porter investigation started once the league learned from “licensed sports betting operators and an organization that monitors legal betting markets” about unusual gambling patterns surrounding Porter’s performance in a game on March 20, 2024, against Sacramento. The league determined that Porter gave a bettor information about his own health status prior that game and said that another individual — known to be an NBA bettor — placed an $80,000 bet that Porter would not hit the numbers set for him in parlays through an online sports book. That bet would have won $1.1 million.

The specifics of the bets that triggered the probe into the Hornets-Pelicans game are unknown.

COURTESY WINSTON-SALEM STATE

MATT KELLEY / AP PHOTO

Atlantic Coast Conference commissioner Jim Phillips smiles during his news conference at ACC media days.

DERICK HINGLE / AP PHOTO

Charlotte Hornets guard Terry Rozier (3) shoots over New Orleans Pelicans forward Herbert Jones (5) during the first quarter of a March 23, 2023, game that has sparked an investigation.

SIDELINE REPORT

RACING

Ford vs. Ferrari: Blue oval brand to return to top level of endurance racing and Le Mans

Charlotte Ford Motor Company will return to the top level of prototype sports car racing in 2027. The automaker will be back in the World Endurance Championship series with a factory team that will compete at the 24 Hours of Le Mans. Ford had four consecutive overall victories at Le Mans from 1966 and 1969 under the late Carroll Shelby. That dominance led to a rivalry with Ferrari. Ford pulled out of competition after 1969 but celebrated the 50th anniversary of its first Le Mans victory with a return to the endurance event in 2016.

TENNIS

Hall of Famer Shriver’s trophies back after being taken in stolen car amid LA fires

Los Angeles International Tennis Hall of Fame member Pam Shriver has her trophies back. Shriver said she regained the dozen or so pieces of hardware that were in a car stolen from the hotel where she was staying after evacuating from her home during the outbreak of the devastating wildfires in the greater Los Angeles area. Shriver won 21 Grand Slam doubles championships, a gold medal at the 1984 Summer Olympics and a total of 111 doubles titles. Shriver, now a TV commentator, was inducted into the sport’s Hall of Fame in 2002.

NHL Rangers get center

Miller from Canucks in multiplayer deal

New York

The New York Rangers acquired veteran center J.T. Miller from the Vancouver Canucks in a multiplayer deal. The Rangers sent center Filip Chytil, defenseman Victor Mancini and a conditional draft pick to Vancouver. New York also received defensemen Jackson Dorrington and Erik Brannstrom. The Canucks were expected to trade either Miller or Elias Pettersson after a reported rift between the two stars. The 31-year- old Miller was drafted by the Rangers and played for New York for six seasons before being dealt to Tampa Bay in 2018.

NBA

Raptor fans continue trend of booing U.S. national anthem at pro sporting events

Toronto Fans at a Toronto Raptors game have continued an emerging trend of booing the American national anthem at sporting events in Canada. Fans booed the anthem Sunday after similar reactions broke out Saturday night at NHL games in Ottawa, Ontario, and Calgary, Alberta. Those instances happened hours after President Donald Trump threatened import tariffs on America’s northern neighbor. U.S. national anthem boos in Canada are rare but not unheard of, especially when tied to world events. The tariffs have since been delayed until March 4.

NFL officials spotting the football not going away despite new tech

No technology can help determine forward progress

By Rob Maaddi The Associated Press

THE NFL WILL engage its Competition Committee on technology to take virtual line-to-gain measurements next season, but officials will continue to spot the football. There’s no current technology being considered that would help determine forward progress, which became a point of contention after Bills quarterback Josh Allen was stopped short on a sneak on fourth-and-1 early in the fourth quarter of Buffalo’s 32-29 loss to Kansas City in the AFC championship game. The league tested Sony’s Hawk-Eye tracking services for virtual line-to-gain measurements in the preseason and in the background during the regular season. The optimal tracking system notifies officiating

instantly if a first down was gained after the ball is spotted by hand.

The key word is after. This technology replaces the chain measurement. The NFL has long used two bright orange sticks and a chain — the chain gang — to measure for first downs. That method would remain in a backup capacity.

“What this technology cannot do is take the place of the human element in determining where forward progress ends,” NFL executive Kimberly Fields told The Associated Press last Friday. “There will always be a human official spotting the ball. Once the ball is spotted, then the line-to-gain technology actually does the measurement itself. So I think it’s probably been a point of confusion around what the technology can and can’t do. There will always be a human element because of the forward progress conversation.”

Fields said an average of 12 measurements took place each week during the regular season. The new technolo-

Orioles spending but avoided big risks — and also rewards

The team increased its payroll but didn’t make a splashy acquisition

By Noah Trister The Associated Press

BALTIMORE — It was around this time last year that the Baltimore Orioles made their biggest offseason move, trading for right-hander Corbin Burnes.

That turned out to be a one-year rental when Burnes went to Arizona via free agency in late December. Now the Orioles are running out of time if they want to replace him with a bona fide ace before spring training.

“We like where we’re at, but we still have time on the clock before the offseason’s over,” general manager Mike Elias said.

“There are still free agents. The trade market sometimes happens very late. I can’t forecast that or handicap it, but there’s still those possibilities.”

In their first offseason under new ownership, the Orioles have done some spending, but they haven’t pulled off anything as bold as trading for Burnes. Baltimore has added outfielders Tyler O’Neill and Dylan Carlson, starting pitchers Charlie Morton and Tomoyuki Suga-

“I think we’ve elevated the payroll continuously since the beginning of the rebuild.”

Orioles GM Mike Elias

no, reliever Andrew Kittredge and backup catcher Gary Sánchez. Aside from O’Neill, none of those acquisitions came with more than a one-year commitment from the team.

As a result of those moves — plus raises to arbitration-eligible players — Baltimore’s payroll now ranks 15th in the majors. That’s a notable jump for a team that was near the bottom not too long ago, but the Orioles still have very little money committed for 2026 and beyond.

There may be some logic to keeping future expenditures low at a time when Baltimore has several young standouts — Gunnar Henderson, Adley Rutschman, Grayson Rodriguez and Jordan Westburg among them — who could cost a lot to sign long term.

“There’s positives to it when you have year-to-year flexibility,” Elias said. “But I’m expecting that will evolve and maybe not remain the case. Maybe this

“What

this technology cannot do is take the place of the human element”

NFL executive Kimberly Fields

gy would’ve dropped the time spent to measure from 75 seconds to 35 seconds.

NFL balls have been equipped with Zebra microchips since 2017, powering the NFL’s Next Gen Stats data product. The chips are also affixed to players’ pads. They provide various data and metrics that help clubs, media and fans with player evaluation and analysis of team performance. But these chips can’t determine where a player was tackled, whether a player is down by contact or which team gained possession of a loose ball to the precision necessary for officiating use.

The league also began using boundary line cameras in

Week 5 to assist with replay reviews. The cameras were installed in each of the 30 stadiums along the end line, goal line and sideline. Usage was limited to scores, plays with under two minutes remaining and turnovers.

Discussion for expanding its use to coaches’ challenges and replay assist is ongoing and would have to be approved by the Competition Committee.

Fields said the league also experimented with providing back judges smart watches to assist with objective information so they can make decisions faster, specifically as it relates to the play clock.

“We want to make the game efficient and more accurate,” Fields said. “The things that we do around technology, if it’s not going to make the process better, if it’s not going to assist our officials, then we shouldn’t be doing it. Everything that we do is going through a rigorous testing process to make sure we are making things easier and more efficient.”

time next year, we’re talking about something different.”

For now, the Orioles haven’t locked up any of their young stars, and the lack of long-term deals on the roster comes with its own cost. For example, Baltimore is set to pay the 41-year-old Morton and 35-year-old Sugano a combined $28 million this year. Meanwhile, the New York Yankees signed All-Star Max Fried to an eight-year, $218 million contract — an average of $27.25 million per year.

Fried’s deal might very well be riskier than what the Orioles did, but there’s a reason pitchers like that command longer contracts. Baltimore’s success in 2025 may come down to whether the rotation holds up after losing Burnes and adding

only short-term solutions in free agency.

As the Orioles wade slowly into deeper spending waters, owner David Rubenstein made news recently when he told Yahoo Finance that he wishes baseball had a salary cap. He did not sound like an owner eager to go on a spending spree. Instead, increasing the payroll has been more of a gradual process.

“I think we’ve elevated the payroll continuously since the beginning of the rebuild,” Elias said. “We’ve talked about it all along. Obviously that was before David Rubenstein and his group bought the team, but after they purchased it, it certainly, like I’ve said, kind of expanded our options in a great way.”

TERRANCE WILLIAMS / AP PHOTO

Baltimore Orioles Executive Vice President and General Manager Mike Elias looks on before a game against the Texas Rangers last season.

ASHLEY LANDIS / AP PHOTO

Kansas City Chiefs linebacker Nick Bolton (32) stops Buffalo Bills quarterback Josh Allen (17) short of a first down during the AFC championship game.

the stream

Amy Schumer expecting; Kevin Costner celebrates park; Pharrell, Jay-Z made of Lego

John Coltrane’s

“A Love Supreme” turns 60 with an anniversary deluxe release

The Associated Press

AMY SCHUMER leading the R-rated comedy “Kinda Pregnant” and “Yellowstone” star Kevin Costner narrating a docuseries about Yosemite National Park are some of the new television, films, music and games headed to a device near you.

Also, among the streaming offerings worth your time: The estate of saxophonist John Coltrane offers an anniversary edition of his album “A Love Supreme,” Pharrell Williams’ life story is told using Lego pieces in the unconventional documentary “Piece by Piece,” and Andrew Garfield and Florence Pugh star in the romantic drama “We Live In Time.”

MOVIES TO STREAM

Schumer leads the R-rated comedy “Kinda Pregnant” on Netflix. In the film, her character Lainy starts wearing a fake “bump” and telling everyone she’s pregnant, jealous of her best friend who is actually gestating a human. Naturally, she meets the man of her dreams in this state. Will Forte, Jillian Bell, Damon Wayans Jr. and “Ginny and Georgia’s” Brianne Howey also star.

It’s hard to believe that the Andrew Garfield, Florence Pugh, demon carousel horse meme only happened last year. This is not the meditation on time that John Crowley was going for with his romantic drama “We Live In Time,” about new love, family, cancer and ambition, but with subjects as heavy as those it’s also OK to have a bit of fun with it. The movie makes its Max debut Friday. I found myself mostly dry- eyed when I reviewed it last year, hung up on some of the more unbelievable story points, writing “The main reason to see ‘We Live In Time’ is not the promise of crying or the realities of having a young kid, though, but the quietly affecting performances from Pugh and Garfield. … It is charming and

silly and sometimes cringey — other people’s relationships always are.”

Williams’ life story is told using Lego in Morgan Neville’s unconventional documentary “Piece by Piece,” which begins streaming on Peacock on Friday. In his review for The Associated Press, Mark Kennedy wrote that it, “is a bright, clever song-filled biopic that pretends it’s a behind-the-scenes documentary using small plastic bricks, angles and curves to celebrate an artist known for his quirky soul. It is deep and surreal and often adorable. Is it high concept or low? Like Williams, it’s a bit of both.”

MUSIC TO STREAM

Six decades ago, Coltrane released “A Love Supreme,” a revelatory work of modal and spiritual jazz largely considered to be the singular saxophonist’s greatest collection and certainly his most popular. On Friday, listeners can reexperience the album with “A Love Supreme: 60th Anniversary Edition,” out via Impulse! Records. And if streaming isn’t enough — they’re released a limited-edition vinyl version, too.

The Dominican singer-songwriter Natti Natasha is tomor-

row’s talent today, effortlessly marrying reggaeton,

and pop. That’s evidenced by her forthcoming project pro

sexy “Quiéreme Menos” deserves a place on your playlist — she even performed that one live at the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day parade last year. If it is great enough for the most delicious holiday, it is great enough for all.

SHOWS TO STREAM

Kaitlyn Dever stars in a limited series about the underbelly of the wellness industry. “Apple Cider Vinegar,” premiering Thursday on Netflix, is not about the fermented juice that is credited for its health benefits. This ACV is based on the true story of Belle Gibson, an Australian woman who pretended to be a cancer survivor, thanks to clean eating and organic foods. Alycia Debnam-Carey and Aisha Dee co-star.

Florence Pugh and Andrew Garfield star in the film

“We Live In Time.”

en Amargue.” “Tu Loca” is modern Música tropicale balladry; the slow and

In 2022, Costner narrated a docuseries on Fox Nation marking the 150th anniversary of Yellowstone National Park. He’s back as an executive producer, host and narrator of a three-episode sequel called “Yellowstone to Yosemite with Kevin Costner.” The Oscar winner retraces Teddy Roosevelt and John Muir’s Yosemite exposition, which helped to inspire Roosevelt’s conservation efforts. It premieres Saturday.

GAMES TO PLAY

VIDEO

The Middle Ages were rough on pretty much everyone, but consider poor Henry, the hero of 2018’s Kingdom Come: Deliverance. His whole family in 15th century Bohemia got murdered by mercenaries, so he spent the game on a mission of vengeance. Henry’s back for more in Kingdom Come: Deliverance II, now fighting for the resistance that’s trying to restore the king to his throne. The developers, Prague’s Warhorse Studios, say this new chapter is “historically accurate” — so there’s none of the sorcery you might expect in a medieval role-playing game. It’s all about who wields the fastest sword, though you may want to take a break now and then to have a mug of mead and admire the lush Bohemian landscape. Join the battle on PlayStation 5, Xbox X/S and PC.

bachata

-

duced by Romeo Santos, “Natti Natasha

Jay-Z and Pharrell Williams voice Lego characters in “Piece By Piece,” streaming Friday on Peacock.

PETER MOUNTAIN / A24 VIA AP

BEN KING / NETFLIX VIA AP

Kaitlyn Dever stars in “Apple Cider Vinegar,” coming to Netflix on Thursday.

STATE & NATION

American bald eagles having a moment, ecologically and culturally

It was also just made America’s national bird (really!)

By Mike Catalini The Associated Press

WEST ORANGE, N.J. —

Along the long road from American icon to endangered species and back again, the bald eagle — the national bird of the United States, often seen against a clear blue sky — is having a moment.

The eagles find themselves in an environmental updraft of sorts since the early 2000s, when the federal government took the thriving birds off its endangered species list with more states following suit. Culturally, too, the animals are soaring.

In December, then-President Joe Biden signed legislation making the raptor the country’s national bird (Thought that was already the case? More in a bit). New Jersey became the latest state to delist the bald eagle as endangered in January, citing a remarkable comeback for the creatures associated with strength and independence — and that occupied just a single nest in the state decades ago. And to the chagrin or elation of football fans, the Philadelphia Eagles will be vying for a championship in the Super Bowl this weekend.

How did the storied birds find their way back? As with so many tales, it’s complex.

Their well-being was intertwined with an insecticide

The story — there was a single nesting pair in New Jersey in the 1980s and roughly 300 now, for instance — centers on the banning of DDT, a chemical insecticide with environmental side effects that included thin-shelled eagle eggs. That touched off a cratering in the number of eagles across the country, and officials prohibited the pesticide in 1972.

To rebuild the birds’ numbers in their historic range across the country, conservationists im-

ported birds from places where their populations were stable, including from Canada. Early on, they also removed eggs from nesting birds’ nests, replacing them with artificial ones for the eagles to “incubate” while the real eggs were safely hatched outside the nest before being returned, as eaglets for their parents to raise according to Kathy Clark, the head of New Jersey’s Endangered and Nongame Species Program.

“They’re one of the few conservation success stories of animals that almost went extinct on our continent,” said Maia Edwards, the science director at the American Bald Eagle Foundation in Alaska. “And so I think now it’s really important to make sure people know that story and learn from it,”

Clark, whose work with the birds spans decades and includes the period when their numbers were so small they lived only in a remote part of the state, said the eagles have taught officials

a number of lessons. One is that they’re “fairly adaptable” and now live across densely populated (with people) New Jersey — from suburban Bergen County near New York to the wetlands along the shore in the south.

She recalled the story of one fledgling eagle in a suburban town — New York Giants territory, as it were, sorry, Eagles fans — that found itself on a backyard woodpile and walking around the street. Volunteer observers worried over the bird’s well-being, given the realities of suburban living. But a year later, observers spotted the eagle, identified by a band. It had apparently made it.

“Those birds that have that tolerance to live like in such a densely human structured environment is something I have a hard time understanding,” she said. “They’re Jersey birds. You got to have attitude, right?”

The birds do face dangers as they expand into suburbia, though. Jilian Fazio, director of

the Essex County Turtle Back Zoo in suburban northern New Jersey, said the zoo rescues a number of birds hit by cars. One bird, a male named Freedom, perched atop a branch in his enclosure at the zoo recently and called out loudly. He was found dangling by a rope, left with an injury that renders him unreleasable, Fazio said. There are threats, as well. Habitat preservation and clean, open water, since the eagles feed heavily on fish, is a worry, but there’s also the current outbreak of avian influenza or bird flu. Clark says officials are going to maintain surveillance amid the outbreak.

A resurgence in popularity, too

Beyond the birds coming off endangered lists, they made headlines recently for finally getting their due as the county’s national bird, an oversight left undone in law because the bald

eagle was already on the national seal and many thought it already had that status, said Sen. Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota, who sponsored legislation that Biden signed last month.

She and colleagues worked with Native American and veterans groups to get buy-in for the legislation, she said, and it passed the typically divisive House and Senate last year with no dissent. The birds are revered in a number of Native American cultures as symbols of strength, particularly in the Pacific Northwest, according to Paul Apodaca, a retired academic who specializes in folklore and mythology.

The eagles’ perch as symbols of the country contributes to their conservation, with experts considering them an “umbrella species,” whose need for large open spaces and waterways helps preserve lesser known wildlife.

“Americans are always going to have that sort of personal relationship with bald eagles,” Clark said.

New Jersey Sen. Andy Kim, a native of Philadelphia Eagles territory, took his two young sons to the NFC championship game last week, a memory he said they won’t forget. “Let’s never forget that Bald Eagle was officially named America’s national bird at the same time the Eagles are headed back to the Super Bowl,” he said in a text message.

Experiencing seeing a bird in the wild or even as you’re driving along a business-lined highway can leave an impression. Dan Day, a birder who’s spotted bald eagles some 50 times in recent years both on nature walks and just driving around suburban New Jersey, remembered never having seen the birds as a kid growing up in Cleveland. Now a New Jersey resident and Philadelphia Eagles fan, he regularly goes out in his green “Birds” cap and binoculars.

“Just the mere thrill of seeing one — a lot of people just have never, ever looked at one,” he said. “It really elevates your day to see a bald eagle.”

Enjoy watching them, experts say, but give them space, too. Because rescuing animals threatened with extinction is expensive, uncertain work. Said Clark, the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection official: “I don’t think I ever will lose that perspective of being on the brink there, not knowing if you’re going to be able to save the species.”

SETH WENIG / AP PHOTO

Left, a bald eagle rests on a tree next to Union Bay in January 2024 in Seattle. Right, a bald eagle named Freedom perches on a branch at the Turtle Back Zoo in West Orange, New Jersey this January.

SETH WENIG / AP PHOTO

A bald eagle named Freedom calls in West Orange, New Jersey this January.

LINDSEY WASSON / AP PHOTO

Randolph record

Kayser-Roth will be ending manufacturing operations

WHAT’S HAPPENING

Trump orders creation of U.S. sovereign wealth fund, says it could own part of TikTok

Washington, D.C.

President Donald Trump on Monday signed an executive order directing the U.S. to take steps to start developing a government owned investment fund that he said could be used to profit off of TikTok if he’s successful at finding the company an American buyer.

Trump signed an order on his first day office to grant the Chinese‑owned TikTok until early April to find a domestic partner or buyer, but he’s said he’s looking for the U.S. to take a 50% stake in the massive social media platform. He said Monday in the Oval Office that TikTok was an example of what he could put in a new U.S. sovereign wealth fund.

Trump talks so much even stenographers struggle to keep up Washington, D.C.

The most obvious shift from Joe Biden to Donald Trump has been the flood of talking from the White House.

Trump is speaking publicly far more than his predecessor, overwhelming his opponents and leaving them struggling to get a word in edgewise. Even the White House stenographers responsible for transcribing a president’s remarks are racing to keep up with him. According to Factbase, Trump spoke 81,235 words in his first week in office, up from 24,259 in the same timespan for Biden. The Republican president’s admirers and critics agree that he’s skilled at harnessing the country’s undivided attention.

$2.00

Kayser-Roth plant to close in Asheboro

Hosiery had been made at the location for at least three decades

By Bob Sutton Randolph Record

ASHEBORO — Kayser Roth will close a longstanding fac tory in Asheboro this spring, meaning the loss of 116 jobs.

The company filed a Work er Adjustment and Retrain ing Notification notice with the North Carolina Commerce De

partment last week and point ed out that workers had been notified.

In the notice to the state, Kayser Roth CEO Gianni Orsi ni wrote: “Kayser Roth has de cided, after painful consider ation, to cease operations at its Asheboro, NC facility. Ongoing cost pressures have led to a re consideration of Kayser Roth’s facility footprint and resulted in this decision.”

Based on Randolph County Economic Development Cor poration records, Kayser Roth

NC Supreme Court upholds law giving more time for child sex abuse suits

Victims of sexual abuse were given a two-year lookback period to file suit

By Gary D. Robertson The Associated Press

RALEIGH — North Caro

lina’s highest court upheld last Friday a law that gave adult vic tims of child sexual abuse two additional years to seek civil damages, rejecting arguments that the temporary window vio lated constitutional protections for those facing claims that oth erwise could no longer be pur sued in court.

In a case involving a local school board sued by three for mer students years after an ex‑high school coach was con victed of crimes against team members, the state Supreme Court ruled the General Assem bly was able to enact a key pro vision within the 2019 SAFE Child Act that was also signed by then Gov. Roy Cooper. Before the law, victims of sex

ual abuse before age 18 effec tively had until turning 21 to file such civil claims against perpe trators. Now such victims have until they’re age 28. But the is sue before the court in the Gas ton County case was the provi sion that gave other child sex abuse victims whose time peri od to sue ended the ability to file valid lawsuits for damages from January 2020 through Decem ber 2021.

Supporters of the provision said it allowed victims to en sure their abusers and institu tions that allowed abuse to hap pen pay for the damage, and that abusers are called out pub licly. At least 250 child sex abuse lawsuits were filed in North Car olina under that one time look back period, according to a board legal brief. A divided state Court of Ap peals panel in 2023 had already upheld the two year window as constitutional.

The board’s attorney had ar gued the lookback period vi

— or its predecessors un der other names — have had a presence in the county since 1911. The company has been at its current location at 515 West Balfour Ave. since at least 1993.

The manufacturing plant, which is part of the company’s nearly 26 acre venue, will close by the end of April. The tax val ue of the property is listed at more than $7.3 million.

The company, which produc es underwear, socks and leg gings, is based in Greensboro. Information from RCEDC indicates that the plant closing will have a significant impact on the Asheboro community.

Kayser Roth shuttered the manufacturing part of a Lum berton plant in 2023 with a loss of more than 130 jobs, though a distribution center remains there. The company has a plant in Alamance Coun ty near the Burlington/Gra ham line.

NCWorks Career Center in

Randolph County has indicat ed that training opportunities will be available for workers who are put out of jobs. There also will be job fairs available. No other information was available from NCWorks.

With the Toyota Battery Manufacturing plant close to opening in the Liberty area, there are expected to be a growing number of jobs avail able in the region. There has been recent infor mation about job expansion re lated to Harbor Freight in Siler City. There were 30 job open ings there.

The “Careers” section on Kayser Roth Corporation’s website points out: “We’re sor ry but there are no open posi tions at this time.”

The Kayser Roth closing comes about 18 months af ter Klaussner Furniture In dustries exited Asheboro with the loss of approximately 800 jobs.

Hostage from Chapel Hill finally released from Gaza

Fifteen months after being abducted, Keith Siegel is free

By Melanie Lidman The Associated Press

JERUSALEM — Three men held hostage in the Gaza Strip for more than 15 months were freed Saturday, bring ing to 18 the number of cap tives released by militants since the ceasefire between Is

rael and Hamas began Jan. 19.

Among those freed was Yarden Bibas, 35, the father of the two youngest hostages in Gaza, whose plight has be come a rallying cry for Israe lis. The Bibas sons — 4 years old and 9 months old at the time of their abduction — and their mother, Shiri, are still in captivity, and feared dead. Shiri Bibas and the two children are the last woman

THE RANDOLPH COUNTY EDITION OF NORTH STATE JOURNAL

PJ WARD-BROWN / RANDOLPH RECORD

at this location in Asheboro within a few months.

This undated photo provided by Hostages Family Forum shows Keith Siegel, who was abducted and brought to Gaza on Oct. 7, 2023.

North State Journal (USPS 20451) (ISSN 2471-1365)

Randolph Record (ISSN 2768-5268)

Neal Robbins, Publisher

Jim Sills, VP of Local Newspapers

Cory Lavalette, Senior Editor

Jordan Golson, Local News Editor

Shawn Krest, Sports Editor

Dan Reeves, Features Editor

Bob Sutton, Randolph Editor

Ryan Henkel, Reporter

P.J. Ward-Brown, Photographer BUSINESS

David Guy, Advertising Manager

Residents’ input sought for transportation survey

Randolph County is a partner in an effort to identify priorities in long-term planning

By Bob Sutton Randolph Record

ASHEBORO — The dead line for Randolph Coun ty residents to submit a com pleted survey regarding a regional transportation plan is Feb. 15. It’s part of the Randolph County Comprehensive Trans portation Plan.

A Comprehensive Trans portation Plan is a long range view that will assist local gov ernments in making transpor tation decisions for the next 25‑30 years. This includes as pects such as highways, bicy cles, pedestrians and public transportation and rail.

Amy Rudisill, public infor mation officer for the coun ty, said among the goals of the

survey is to prioritize future projects.

The survey is conducted in a partnership with the coun ty, Piedmont Triad Rural Plan ning Organization and the North Carolina Department of Transportation.

“This is really a long term plan to look at areas with in Randolph County that the DOT really looks to look at,” Rudisill said.

The surveys allows residents to select their biggest priorities. There’s also a map that provides an opportunity for respondents to show where geographic ar eas are of most interest to them.

As part of an overview of the survey, information states: “When the survey results are in, the results will be present ed to the steering committee. Goals and objectives will be developed based on survey re sults, safety data, and crash lo cations. Local knowledge is vi tal for this step.”

Rudisill said it’s important

Jan. 28

• Christina Rose Brewer, 46, of Sophia, was arrested by Randolph County Sheriff’s Office (RCSO) for simple assault.

• Otis Clarence Tilley, 35, of Randleman, was arrested by Asheboro Police Department (APD) for indecent exposure.

• Courtney Alicia McDaniel, 43, of Salisbury, was arrested by RCSO for possession of a stolen vehicle and identity theft.

Jan. 29

• Miranda Leann Bailey, 27, of Denton, was arrested by RCSO for driving with revoked license, no insurance, possession of Schedule II controlled substance, and possession of drug paraphernalia.

THURSDAY FEB 6

FRIDAY FEB 7

SATURDAY FEB 8

SUNDAY FEB 9

MONDAY FEB 10

TUESDAY FEB 11

• Brent Cordarius Coggins, 36, of Thomasville, was arrested by RCSO for possession of a firearm by a felon and resisting arrest.

Jan. 30

• Ronald Lynn Payne, 39, of Asheboro, was arrested by RCSO for possession of methamphetamine and possession of drug paraphernalia.

Jan. 31

• John Richard Anderson, 49, of Seagrove, was arrested by APD for possession of Schedule II controlled substance,

HOSTAGE from page A1

and children held in captivi ty in Gaza who have not been confirmed dead by Israel.

The other hostages re leased Saturday were Amer ican Israeli Keith Siegel, 65, and French Israeli Ofer Kalderon, 54, also household names in Israel after highly visible campaigns to free them.

Keith Siegel, from Chap el Hill, was abducted with his wife, Aviva Siegel, from Kib butz Kfar Aza, a communal farming village heavily dam aged by the attack. She was freed during the November 2023 ceasefire deal and has campaigned across the world

to learn of potential transpor tation initiatives regarding ru ral areas. There also are plan ning and zoning topics that could be directed based on sur vey results.

Completion of the survey likely takes less than five min utes and can be found online through Randolph County and the City of Asheboro, which is helping spread the word about the survey.

“It’s not complicated,” Rudis ill said of the survey. “Hopeful ly, we get lots of feedback.”

Paper copies of the survey in English and Spanish are avail able at some libraries and pub lic agencies in the county.

The survey is open to people who live or work in Randolph County and those who visit.

Unrelated to the transporta tion study, the City of Asheboro recently completed a park ing survey that concentrated on downtown and surround ing areas. That drew more than 700 responses.

possession of drug paraphernalia, and violation of court order.

Feb. 2

• Jerry Lee Baldwin, 44, of Thomasville, was arrested by RCSO for possessing controlled substances in jail, possession of methamphetamine, maintaining a vehicle for controlled substances, possession of cocaine, and possession of drug paraphernalia.

• Destini Michelle Luck, 38, of Asheboro, was arrested by RCSO for assaulting a government official and resisting arrest.

• Jonathan Paul McArthur, 52, of no fixed address, was arrested by RCSO for driving without registration, displaying a fictitious registration, resisting arrest, possessing a vehicle with altered serial numbers, and felony larceny.

Feb. 3

• Zachary Banks Todd, 44, of Ramseur, was arrested by RCSO for possession of heroin and possession of drug paraphernalia.

• Jerry Lee Blankenship, 30, of Trinity, was arrested by RCSO for larceny and possession of stolen property.

• Nathan James Covington, 45, of Lexington, SC, was arrested by RCSO for indecent liberties with a child and sexual battery.

• Christopher Jason Lovett, 52, of Randleman, was arrested by Randleman PD for assault on a female.

for the release of her husband and other hostages.

Keith Siegel worked as an a occupational therapist and loves spending time with his grandchildren, according to the forum representing the hostage families.

Aviva Siegel said that she was held hostage with her husband during her 51 days in captivity. She said she took comfort from having her hus band by her side as they were moved from tunnel to tunnel, the two given almost no food or water. Her parting words to him were, “Be strong for me.”

In the ceasefire’s first phase, a total of 33 hostages in Gaza will be released in exchange

for almost 2,000 Palestinian prisoners held by Israel.

The ceasefire and release of hostages has sparked both hope and fear among Is raelis. Many worry that the deal could collapse before all the hostages return or that those released will arrive in poor health. Others worry that the number of captives who have died is higher than expected.

Some 250 people were tak en hostage during Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack. Around 80 re main in Gaza, although at least a third are believed to be dead. The others were re leased, rescued or their bodies were recovered.

Randolph Guide

Here’s a quick look at what’s coming up in Randolph County:

Feb. 7

Communities in Schools: Randolph County presents Student Showcase on Sunset 7 p.m.

Tickets: $15

Join us for an exciting evening featuring the gifts of our local students and CIS staff! Get tickets and more info here: Donor.

Sunset Theatre 234 Sunset Ave. Asheboro

Feb.

10

Teen Zone

4-5 p.m.

Every Monday at 4 p.m., teens take over the TeenZone at the Asheboro Public Library! Asheboro Public Library TeenZone hosts programs for ages 12-plus, including arts and crafts, book clubs, tutoring nights and more. Free programs, no registration required. For more information, call 336-318-6 804.

Asheboro Public Library 201 Worth St. Asheboro

Feb. 11

Board of Elections Meeting

5 p.m.

Northgate Commons –Elections 1457 N Fayetteville St. Asheboro

Feb. 15

Sunset Signature Series: Mark Mathabane and How Books Saved My Life 7:30-8:30 p.m.

Internationally acclaimed author Mark Mathabane will inaugurate the 2025 Friends of the Library Sunset Signature Series at the historic Sunset Theatre in downtown Asheboro. Mathabane will talk about “How Books Saved My Life.” His appearance is free and the public is invited.

Sunset Theatre 234 Sunset Ave. Asheboro

Feb. 18

Small Fruit Gardening with the Randolph County Cooperative Extension

3:30-5:30 p.m.

Join us Tuesday, Feb. 4 for Small Fruit Gardening with Cody Craddock from the Randolph County Cooperative Extension from 3:30-5:30 p.m. Learn more about the pruning and training of these small fruits. Please call 336-498-3141 to register. Randleman Public Library 142 W Academy St. Randleman

THE CONVERSATION

Neal Robbins, publisher | Frank Hill, senior opinion editor

VISUAL VOICES

Trump it is

He’s still in campaign mode, running for president instead of being president.

IT’S ENOUGH to make you — and certainly me — sick.

In the midst of a national tragedy, he can’t help himself. At a time when almost nothing was known for certain about the cause of the terrifying plane crash in Washington, D.C., he couldn’t stop himself from playing the blame game.

There was absolutely no evidence that it had anything to do with the federal government’s DEI policies — some of which were initiated by him — but that didn’t stop the president from claiming that they did.

How about offering some comfort to the families of the victims? How about promising Americans that he will do what it takes to make the skies safe?

That’s what a leader should do, without regard to party or politics.

But Donald Trump is not that kind of leader, and it’s painfully clear that he won’t do what it takes. He’s too busy trying to decapitate the federal workforce. He’s still in campaign mode, looking to score points against his foes, running for president instead of being president. He’s so keen on divide and conquer that he lacks the skill or inclination to unify and comfort a grieving and frightened country.

The crash comes on the heels of Trump’s Muskian effort to slash the federal workforce. While the air traffic

controllers are, reportedly, not the targets of the buyout plan, they have been the subject of a hiring freeze and are clearly overworked. One thing we learned as a result of the crash is how lucky we are that there haven’t been more. The number of near misses in midair above Reagan National Airport is simply terrifying. Knowledgeable folks have apparently been warning for some time about the risks of a fatal crash, with good reason. Is Trump going to do anything about that?

Trump has castigated federal employees, as if people who devote their lives to public service are serving someone else. They serve us. They are literally lifesavers. Really, is the air too clear, the water supply too clean, the skies too safe? Are cars too safe? Is the food we eat too healthy?

What will cutting 2 million federal workers do to those of us — which is all of us — who depend on those federal employees to protect us from the hazards that individuals cannot deal with on our own? What will it do to the most vulnerable among us, who literally depend on federal programs to survive?

And what will it do to the morale of people who have spent their entire careers doing the public’s work, to those who have depended on the civil service system to protect them from having to

choose sides every four years in order to keep their jobs? As is clear from his high‑level appointees, for Trump, experience and accomplishments don’t count for anything at all.

All that matters, quite literally, is loyalty to Trump. What else qualifies a Pete Hegseth to run the Defense Department, or a Tulsi Gabbard to run all our intelligence operations, or RFK Jr. to be in charge of public health? It is painful to watch Republican senators turn themselves into pretzels in these confirmation hearings. They know better, but they are cowards. Will they do their jobs, or are they too afraid of Elon Musk and his money — and the threat to primary anyone who doesn’t toe the line — to insist that the people who run the federal bureaucracy have more than their loyalty to Trump to qualify them?

Checks and balances don’t mean much if the people who are supposed to be applying those checks and providing that balance are afraid to be seen as disloyal. So far, it is only the judiciary that has had the guts to say no to Trump. And what scares me most is that at the end of the day, a president who has shown such contempt for the rule of law will not obey the law.

Susan Estrich is a lawyer, professor, author and political commentator.

Better trade deals for North Carolinians means excluding nonessential industries

A price increase due to tariffs would hurt North Carolinians trying to rebuild their lives and finances.

NOW THAT DONALD TRUMP has taken the oath of office, expectations are high among his supporters in North Carolina and across the country. Those supporters are eager for him to clean up the mess left behind by his predecessor.

I hope his next four years in office will be an economic windfall for the nation, and Trump can make that a reality through strategic, sensible economic policies.

A crucial step Trump promised on the path to prosperity includes negotiating better trade deals. Like any good deal, pragmatism should be involved, especially regarding the president’s proposed tariffs on China, Canada and Mexico. As the author of “The Art of the Deal,” Trump is the man we want at the negotiating table.

He is right to push for a more fair playing field with these trading partners. However, unless certain industries are excluded, there is a risk of forcing higher prices on North Carolina families with tariffs alone.

Inflation has been no joke in North

Carolina; a High Point University study found that 52% of residents said inflation concerns were affecting their spending decisions. A price increase due to tariffs would hurt North Carolinians trying to rebuild their lives and finances, many of whom voted for Trump in the fall.

We’ve already seen evidence that Trump is looking closely at how best to achieve his desired outcomes on issues across the board without negatively impacting everyday Americans. Tariffs are no different, and it is clear that Trump wants to utilize tariffs to achieve his goals without harming regular, nonstrategic consumer goods.

By excluding nonessential sectors that don’t pose a security threat to the United States, he greatly reduces the risk of inflating prices for Americans who have suffered enough paying for expensive goods. Toys, for instance, are mainly produced in China and Mexico before being exported to the U.S. Those countries have the infrastructure

to deliver safe, inexpensive, quality toys.

A broad tariff policy could easily hike those prices for families here. Toys are not the strategic industry Trump is after, but sweeping tariffs could wipe out small businesses and jack up prices at more prominent brands, leaving consumers with fewer options and higher prices.

This scenario contradicts Trump’s campaign promises to keep prices down for American consumers. Children and small retailers shouldn’t be caught in the crossfire of a trade war, but only applying tariffs to sectors with high stakes can guarantee such an outcome never happens.

Trump soundly won North Carolina because voters are confident that he will deliver on stabilizing the economy. I firmly believe in better trade deals to help accomplish this, just as the president will do the right thing and apply his tariffs wisely when negotiating.

Brandon Barnes is CEO of Capital Games LLC in Raleigh.

COLUMN | SUSAN ESTRICH

William Harold Hughes

Nov. 11, 1939 – Feb. 2, 2025

William Harold Hughes, age 85, of Asheboro passed away on February 2, 2025, at Randolph Hospital.

Mr. Hughes was born in Randolph County on November 11, 1939, to William Glenn and Myrtle Glascow Hughes.

William was employed as a brick mason for his entire life and was a member of Cross Road Baptist Church. In addition to his parents, William was preceded in death by his wife of 56 years, Eva Allred Hughes and greatgranddaughter, Milea Canoy. He loved to tinker and restore old cars. Each day he could be found at Hardee’s and then Golden Waffle.

He is survived by his daughters, Sandra Isaacs (Mark) of Seagrove and Nancy Ann Beasley of Asheboro; granddaughter, Nicole Mims (Kenneth) of Asheboro; greatgrandson, Cameron Canoy; great-great-grandson, Preston Rogers; and his sidekick, “Happy.”

The family will receive friends on Wednesday, February 5, 2025, from 6-8 p.m. at Pugh Funeral Home. Funeral services will be held on Thursday, February 6, 2025, at 11 a.m. at the Glenn “Mac” Pugh Chapel. Burial will follow at Randolph Memorial Park.

Sibyl Wolfe

Oct. 5, 1930 – Jan. 29, 2025

Sibyl Rae York Wolfe age 94, of Asheboro, NC passed away peacefully at Randolph Hospice House in Asheboro on Wednesday, January 29, 2025.

Sibyl was born in Randolph County to the late Vester Ray York and the late Annie Louella Dixon York. She was known by all to be a kind and generous lady. She loved to travel and shop and was always “Ready to Go” on an adventure. She and her husband owned and operated Arden Cravats Inc. for 30 years. In later years she volunteered at Randolph Hospital. Brian and Patti had the honor of having her in their home for 6 years and they will cherish those memories. Along with family and friends, she leaves behind her dear friend, Brenda Kennedy.

Sibyl is survived by her daughters: Lisa Davis (Steve) of Asheboro and Patti Gordon (Brian) of Asheboro; grandchildren: Blake Davis and Dalton Davis (Heidi); brother: Jimmie York (Mildred); several nieces and nephews who loved their “Aunt Sibyl.” She was preceded in death by her parents, her loving husband of 49+ years, Colon Walter Wolfe and her sister Elaine Macon York.

A Graveside Service will be held on Tuesday, February 4, 2025, at 11 a.m. at Randolph Memorial Park.

In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to Randolph Hospice House, 416 Vision Drive, Asheboro, NC 27203.

The family would like to give a special thank you to the staff at Randolph Hospital Emergency Room and to Randolph Hospice House for Comfort Care.

Pugh Funeral Home is honored to serve the family of Sibyl Wolfe.

Harold Junior Moffitt

May 7, 1938 – Feb. 1, 2025

Mr. Harold Junior Moffitt, 86, of Asheboro passed away suddenly Saturday, February 1, 2025, at his home. Harold was born and raised in the Asheboro/ Randolph County area his entire life. At a very early age, Mr. Moffitt loved to work and build things. He was a person driven by his faith and the love of his family. Family was always # 1 and time spent with the family, whether doing just nothing or a planned activity was very special. Going fishing or hunting with the family was at the top of the list and he thoroughly enjoyed the task and time spent with family.

Mr. Moffitt was preceded in death by his son Timothy, sisters Mollie Moffitt Westmoreland, Cleta Faye Moffitt, Clara Nell Moffitt Sheffield and grandson Mathew McPherson. Harold is survived by his wife Bernice Moffitt of the home, son Benny Moffitt of Randleman, two daughters Darlene Pritchard (Don) of Asheboro and Loretta Long of Asheboro. Two sisters Diane Moore and Barbara Jean Moffitt and one brother Donald Moffitt. Five grandchildren, Brian Moffitt, Michael McPherson, Neal Pritchard, Cameron Long and Keenan Long. Six greatgrandchildren and two greatgreat-grandchildren. Funeral services for Mr. Moffitt will be held at 2 p.m. Tuesday, February 4, 2025, at the Pugh Funeral Home Glen “Mac” Pugh Chapel, 437 Sunset Avenue, Asheboro, NC by Rev. Dallas Street. Burial will follow at Oaklawn Cemetery, Asheboro, NC. The family will receive friends Monday evening, February 3, 2025, from 5-7 p.m., at the Pugh Funeral Home Asheboro.

Robert Jeffrey “Jeff” Ervin

Aug. 22, 1956 – Jan. 29, 2025

Robert Jeffrey “Jeff” Ervin, age 64, of Randleman passed away Wednesday, January 29, 2025 at his home. He was born August 22, 1956 in Charlotte, NC to Harold Benjamin Ervin and Isabel Schwartz Ervin.

Jeff was a loving and caring father and partner. He loved his family, his faith, and his truck. Jeff will be fondly remembered for his love of all animals, especially horses, wearing his favorite cowboy hat, and being a member of the Triad Cowboy Church.

Jeff is survived by his life partner, Carolyn Caviness Fields of the home; son, Robert Jeffrey Ervin Jr. of Greensboro; grandchild, Bryanne Ervin of Sophia. He is preceded in death by his mother, Isabel Ervin; father, Hal Ervin; and stepmother, June Brantley Ervin. There are no services planned.

Pugh Funeral Home is honored to serve the Ervin family.

Emily Porter Wood

April 29, 1935 – Jan. 31, 2025

Emily Porter Wood of Asheboro North Carolina passed away peacefully on January 31, 2025. Emily lived a fulfilling life dedicated to her unyielding belief in Christ, her love for family, and her passion for teaching.

After receiving her degree from Guilford College Emily taught in Greensboro, Asheville, and Asheboro for 30 years. She was an active member of First Baptist Church for over 50 years where she served as a deacon and taught Sunday school. Her intellectual curiosity and spirited demeanor made her a remarkable role model. She was always eager to engage in scholarly conversations with anyone who crossed her path. She was an avid bridge player and enjoyed her weekly bridge game with her friends at the Senior Center and Cross Roads. She loved swinging on her porch, feeding the birds, and watering her flowers.

As a wonderful mother she leaves behind her daughter; Laura Strickland and husband Johnny; grandson David Luther and wife Lindsey; granddaughters Sherry Loflin and Emily Strickland ; greatgranddaughters Matilda and Josie; nephews Bill, Ed, John, and Kevin; nieces Bobbie, Catherine, Lydia, and Sereta.

Emily was preceded in death by her parents Robert and Helen Porter; husband Stafford Wood; son Robert Barringer; siblings Alice Brackett, Helen Standfield, James Porter; and nephew Robert Brackett.

Emily’s legacy of faith, love, wisdom and commitment to education will be fondly remembered by all who had the privilege to know her.

A visitation will be held at Pugh Funeral Home in Asheboro on Tuesday, February 4, 2025, from 5 to 7 p.m. The funeral service will be held at First Baptist Church in Asheboro on Wednesday, February 5, 2025, at 1 p.m. The burial will follow at Guilford Memorial Park in Greensboro.

The family would like to extend a special acknowledgment to the staff at Clapps of Asheboro for the compassionate care and genuine love they showed to Emily and the support they gave to her family*

Pugh Funeral Home is proud to serve the Wood family.

Madeline “Maddie” Grace Vernon

Dec. 27, 2015 – Jan. 29, 2025

Madeline “Maddie” Grace Vernon left this earth to go to her eternal home early Wednesday morning. Maddie was a funloving, caring, soccer-playing, volleyball loving, little girl. She could brighten any room with just a smile. Maddie was loved by so many to know her was to truly love her and know the meaning of love. A Maddie hug felt like it could cure any problem in the world. Rest in peace Maddiebug, Mommy, Daddy and Katlyn love you baby and miss you so much!

In addition to her parents and sister, Maddie is survived by her aunts and uncles; Stephanie Messel (boyfriend Gary Cockman), Rufus and Lisa Messel, Shannon Vernon (boyfriend Jordan), Crystal and Pedro Vences, Joey and Tee Edging, Christopher Edging, Dawn Edging, Erika and Lucas Rambo; grandparents, Johnnie and Margie Vernon, Brenda Vernon, Doris Messel, and Mary Green; great-gramma Betty (Poppy) Horne, great-gramma Shirley; and numerous cousins. She is preceded in death by her grandpa Larry Edging and uncle Richard Smith.

The family invites you to celebrate Maddie. A memorial service will be held Monday, February 17, 2025, from 12 p.m. - 4 p.m. at the Randleman Civic Center, 122 Commerce Square. Pugh Funeral Home is honored to serve the Vernon family.

Rita Alma Hall

May 9, 1943 – Jan. 30, 2025

Rita Alma Poirier Hall, 81, of Sophia passed away at High Point Medical Center on Thursday, January 30, 2025. She was born in Hartford, CT on May 9, 1943, to Donat Wilfred Poirier and Annette Rita Poulin Poirier.

Rita will be remembered as a loving, caring, and devoted wife, mother, grandmother, great-grandmother, sister, and friend. She loved being around friends and family, especially loved spending time with her four sons, nine grandchildren and 13 great-grandchildren. Rita had an appetite for good food, a great book, and being online, playing games on her Kindle, or messaging on Facebook. A lover of nature, she was often found among her flowers, watching the birds, and feeding the squirrels.

Rita is survived by her four sons, Jeffrey (Lisa) Hall of Kingsport, TN, Bobby Kenneth (Wendy) Hall of Wise, VA, Ronald (Shirley) Hall of Archdale, Donald Hall of Sophia; two brothers, Donald Poirier of Bennettsville, SC, and Gene (Joy) Poirier of Connecticut; nine grandchildren; and 13 great-grandchildren.

A Graveside Service will be held on Monday, February 3, 2025, at 12 p.m. at Randolph Memorial Park.

Pugh Funeral Home is honored to serve the Hall family.

Fred Marshall McMasters

Jan. 16, 1935 – Jan. 30, 2025

Fred Marshall McMasters, age 90, of Asheboro, NC passed away at Terra Bella Assisted Living on Thursday, January 30, 2025. Marshall was born to the late, Fred and Ethel McMasters and was a lifelong resident of Asheboro. He was also, preceded in death by his wife, Rebecca “Becky” Miller McMasters, his brother Herman McMasters and sister Daphne McMasters Hoover. He graduated from Asheboro High School in 1953. He retired from General Electric and Black and Decker and was employed there for over 30 years. Marshall was an avid bottle collector and was well known at festivals, antique malls and flea markets. He loved negotiating a good deal. Marshall recently celebrated his 90th birthday with family and friends at a party on January 26th. Among those attending was his dear friend John Knapp who, in Marshall’s own words, “could do anything!” Marshall was a loving and devoted father to his twin girls, Karrie McMasters Hill of Concord, NC and Kelly McMasters Bowers (Alex) of Asheboro, NC. He was always there when his girls needed him. There were many special dogs in his life over the years. He had a special place in his heart for Katie and Charlotte, his Yorkshire Terriers. He was often seen around Asheboro with them in his arms or riding in his car. He also fed the birds and squirrels at his house, and literally had the squirrels eating out of his hands. Marshall loved the Lord and was a lifelong member at Balfour Baptist Church. He attended church there and listened on the radio when he was no longer able to attend.

In addition to his twin daughters, he leaves five grandchildren, Adam Bowers (Roberta) of Wilmington, NC, Andrew Bowers (Caitlin) of Boynton Beach, FL, Rachel Hill, Harrison Hill, Sarah Hill of Harrisburg, NC and one greatgrandchild, Bailey Bowers of Boynton Beach, FL. Marshall also had two nephews, Scotty Hoover (Becky), Mark Hoover (Collette) and one niece, Pamela Haywood (Dudley), who were very special to him.

The family would like to extend a heartfelt thank you to all his caregivers at Terra Bella Assisted Living, who gave him so much love and special attention.

A public visitation will take place on Tuesday, February 4, 2025 from 6-8 p.m. at Pugh Funeral Home, 437 Sunset Avenue, Asheboro, NC 27203. The funeral service will be held on Wednesday, February 5, 2025 at 11 a.m. at Balfour Baptist Church in Asheboro, 1642 N Fayetteville Street, Asheboro, NC 27203. Burial will be at Randolph Memorial Park, 4538 US Hwy 220 Bus N, Asheboro, NC 27203.

Victor Welch

July 19, 1966 – Jan. 27, 2025

Captain Victor Welch began his law enforcement career with the Airport Police in Greensboro in March 1989; he was also sworn in as a Reserve with Liberty Police Department and the Randolph County Sheriff’s Office until he was hired full-time by the Randolph County Sheriff’s Office on September 1, 1992, as a patrol deputy. He left the Sheriff’s Office in July 1994 and went to work for the Randleman Police Department as a Patrol Lieutenant and K9 Handler until August 1998. Victor remained an Active Reserve with the Randolph County Sheriff’s Office but went to work in the private industry. In May of 2000, he returned to work for the Sheriff’s Office as a Detention Officer but was quickly transferred back to patrol in November of the same year. Victor was promoted through the ranks on patrol, serving as a Shift Lieutenant from November 2009 until August 2015 when he was promoted to Administrative Captain. In November of 2018, Victor was promoted to Administrative Major. Missing his passion for patrol, Victor requested a demotion to Captain as the Patrol Commander when the then-captain retired in July 2019.

Victor received his Advanced Law Enforcement Certificate from the North Carolina Sheriff’s Education and Training Standards Commission, the highest distinguished accomplishment for a law enforcement officer in March 2010. Victor was diagnosed with Leukemia on April 1, 2010, and has battled the disease while valiantly continuing his law enforcement career. In December 2020, he was diagnosed with GuillainBarre Syndrome which forced him to announce his retirement on February 1, 2021. In retirement, Victor spent time with his family, specifically his daughter, Addison, and focused on his health. However, he remained a Reserve Deputy with the Sheriff’s Office, so his vast years of training and experience continued to benefit Randolph County.

We appreciate Captain Welch’s 29 years of dedicated service as a law enforcement officer, 22 and a half of those years specifically to the citizens of Randolph County.

Victor will be greatly missed by his law enforcement family.

Victor is survived by his wife, Lauren Welch of the home; daughter, Addison Elise Welch of the home; sister, Traci Knight of High Point; nephew, Christopher Knight (Sam) of Cary; sister-in-law, Lindsay Fergerson (Patrick) of Thomasville; niece, Ava Brooke of Thomasville; and mother-in-law and father-inlaw, Marian and Mark Workman of Thomasville.

The family will receive friends on Thursday, January 30, 2025, from 6-8 p.m. at Pugh Funeral Home, 437 Sunset Avenue in Asheboro.

Janet Moody Greiner

Jan. 18, 1944 – Jan. 30, 2025

Janet Moody Greiner, 81, of Asheboro went home to be with the Lord on January 30, 2025, after an extended illness. She was proudly from Asheboro where she was the only child of Margaret and Clifford Moody and would fondly say she was “spoiled rotten”!

Janet was born to be a mother and grandmother, which was her life’s most precious work. So much so that once she became a grandmother she was forever known as Gigi by everyone. Family was everything and being around her children and grandchildren was so special to her. Thanks to video calls, even her grandson Landon in California was able to see and talk with her.

A strong believer, she walked with Jesus throughout her life’s journey. She loved to make a joyful noise and sing good ole gospel music. She taught her kids and grandkids to love the Lord. Janet loved to go to Balfour Baptist Church where her grandfather was a founder and her daddy helped dig the foundation of the church. When she wrote what she wanted her grandchildren to know about her childhood it was all about her church and her family; her parents meant the world to her. Her aunts, uncles, cousins and grandparents were what early life was all about and then her children and grandchildren filled her adult life with unspeakable joy. She loved to talk about her children and grandchildren and how proud she was of them.

Janet was the most unique and funniest person in every room, no matter where she was people knew she was there, she couldn’t enter a place without being noticed, she was loud and happy! Janet was always ready with a joke and a beautiful smile. We have lists of her sayings because she was also wise and altogether wonderful. She was feisty and spunky and completely unforgettable; from the minute you met her you were impacted

by her. She never met a stranger and loved to make people laugh everywhere she went. Taking her shopping was an adventure, we always came home with stories, usually of babies that she chatted with, while parents looked on in amazement as their kids lit up when she talked to them. She had a generous heart for all people, but especially her family and if in need, she would drop everything to help.

Janet was hardworking and fierce in every way. She was very smart and crafty; she could make anything work. She was proud of knowing how to sew and made many Halloween costumes for her grandchildren. She loved to drive her PT Cruiser, and she always said she had a need for speed! Janet was an excellent dancer and loved to shag, play Bridge with the ladies and Monopoly with the grandkids, but her favorite hobby was golf which she enjoyed playing and watching on TV. She loved to go on trips, especially to the beach. She always wanted to ride bikes with her grandkids and did that as long as she possibly could, even when she took a spill or two. She truly never slowed down until her mind and body could no longer keep up with her spirit.

For many years, Janet suffered from Alzheimer’s, but she never lost her contagious love for life and continued to be a light in the world wherever she went.

Janet is survived by daughters Lisa Hughes (Brian) of Linden, Jody Little (Bill) of Granite Falls and son Christopher Greiner (Rebecca) of Randleman. Grandchildren Dianna Hughes of Charlotte, Landon Godwin of Chino Hills California, Ava Godwin of Boone and Luke Greiner of Greenville NC.

Funeral Services for Janet Greiner will be at 1 p.m. on Thursday, February 6, 2025, at the Pugh Funeral Home Glenn “Mac” Pugh Chapel, 437 Sunset Avenue, Asheboro, NC. Burial will follow at Randolph Memorial Park, Asheboro NC. Visitation will be on Thursday from 12-12:50 p.m. at Pugh Funeral Home, Asheboro. The family would like to thank Cross Road Retirement Community and Gentiva Hospice for the loving care given to their mother.

Pugh Funeral Home is proudly serving the Greiner family.

Dick Button, Olympic great and voice of skating, dies at 95

The American figure skating community has faced a week of loss

By Barry Wilner and Dave Skretta The Associated Press

NEW YORK — Dick But ton was more than the most accomplished men’s figure skater in history. He was one of his sport’s great innova tors and promoters, the man responsible not only for in venting the flying camel spin but describing it to genera tions of fans.

He was an athlete and actor, a broadcaster and entrepreneur.

“Dick was one of the most important figures in our sport,” said Scott Hamilton, the 1984 Olympic champion. “There wasn’t a skater after Dick who wasn’t helped by him in some way.”

The winner of two Olym pic gold medals and five consecutive world champi onships, Button died last Thursday in North Salem, New York, at age 95. His death was confirmed by his son, Edward, who did not provide a cause, though But ton had been in declining health.

“The two time Olympic champion’s pioneering style and award winning televi sion commentary revolu tionized figure skating,” U.S. Figure Skating said. “His legacy will live on forever. We extend our deepest con dolences to his family and loved ones.”

His death further shook a tight knit figure skating community already reeling from last Wednesday night’s crash of an American Air lines flight and an Army he licopter outside Washington, D.C., that killed everyone on board. Two teenage skaters, their mothers and two for mer world champions who were coaching at the Skating Club of Boston — where But ton also skated and which he remained close to the rest of his life — were among the 14 people killed from the skat ing community. The trophy room at the Skating Club of Boston is named in Button’s honor, and the club has hosted the Dick Button Artistic Figure Skating Showcase, which is designed to promote the beauty and innovation of skating as an art form.

Button’s impact on figure skating began after World War II. He was the first U.S. men’s champion — and his country’s youngest at the time at age 16 — when the competition returned in

1946. Two years later, he took gold at the St. Moritz Olym pics, back when the competi tions were staged outdoors. He performed the first dou ble axel in any competition and became the first Amer ican to win the men’s event, paving the way for future champions such as Hamil ton, Brian Boitano and Na than Chen.

“By the way, that jump had a cheat on it,” Button once said. “But listen, I did it and that was what counted.” That first Olympic title be gan his dominance of inter national skating, and U.S. amateur sports in general. He was the first figure skater to win the prestigious Sulli van Award in 1949 — no oth er figure skater won it until Michelle Kwan in 2001. In 1952, while still a stu dent at Harvard, Button won a second gold at the Oslo Games, making more histo ry with the first triple jump (a loop) in competition. Soon after, he won a fifth world ti tle, then gave up his eligibili ty as an amateur to perform in shows; all Olympic sports were subject to an ama teur professional division at the time.

“I had achieved every thing I could have dreamed of doing as a skater,” said Button, who had earned a law degree from Harvard in 1956. “I was able to en joy the Ice Capades and keep my hand in skating, and that was very important to me.”

With a frank and of ten brutally honest style, Button became an Emmy Award w inning TV ana lyst, helping viewers learn not only the basics but also the nuances of a sport unfa miliar to most casual fans. He became as much a fix ture on ABC’s “Wide World of Sports” as Jim McKay and the hapless ski jumper that went tumbling down the slope.

“Dick Button is the custo dian of the history of figure skating and its quintessen tial voice,” Boitano, the 1988 Olympic champion, said in Button’s autobiography. “He made the words ‘lutz’ and ‘salchow’ part of our every day vocabulary.”

After the 1961 plane crash that killed the entire U.S. figure skating team on the way to the world champi onships, which then were canceled, Button persuad ed ABC Sports executive Roone Arledge to televise the 1962 event on “Wide World.” That’s when he joined the network as a commenta tor and took figure skating to a mainstream television audience.

STATE & NATION

American bald eagles having a moment, ecologically and culturally

It was also just made America’s national bird (really!)

By Mike Catalini The Associated Press

WEST ORANGE, N.J. —

Along the long road from Amer ican icon to endangered species and back again, the bald eagle — the national bird of the United States, often seen against a clear blue sky — is having a moment.

The eagles find themselves in an environmental updraft of sorts since the early 2000s, when the federal government took the thriving birds off its endangered species list with more states fol lowing suit. Culturally, too, the animals are soaring.

In December, then Presi dent Joe Biden signed legisla tion making the raptor the coun try’s national bird (Thought that was already the case? More in a bit). New Jersey became the lat est state to delist the bald eagle as endangered in January, cit ing a remarkable comeback for the creatures associated with strength and independence — and that occupied just a single nest in the state decades ago. And to the chagrin or elation of football fans, the Philadelphia Eagles will be vying for a cham pionship in the Super Bowl this weekend.

How did the storied birds find their way back? As with so many tales, it’s complex.

Their well-being was intertwined with an insecticide

The story — there was a single nesting pair in New Jersey in the 1980s and roughly 300 now, for instance — centers on the ban ning of DDT, a chemical insecti cide with environmental side ef fects that included thin shelled eagle eggs. That touched off a cratering in the number of eagles across the country, and officials prohibited the pesticide in 1972.

To rebuild the birds’ numbers in their historic range across the country, conservationists im

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olated the North Carolina Con stitution by stripping away fundamental rights protected from retroactive alterations by the legis lature. He also said that uphold ing the litigation window would make it impossible in some cases to mount vigorous defenses given the passage of time and destroyed records.

Writing last Friday’s majority opinion, Chief Justice Paul Newby said a review of previous versions of the state constitution showed that a current provision barring “retrospective laws” expressly ap plies only to retroactive criminal and certain tax laws. And anoth er constitutional provision that can be used to strike down laws that violate a person’s “vested right”

ported birds from places where their populations were stable, including from Canada. Ear ly on, they also removed eggs from nesting birds’ nests, replac ing them with artificial ones for the eagles to “incubate” while the real eggs were safely hatched outside the nest before being re turned, as eaglets for their par ents to raise according to Kathy Clark, the head of New Jersey’s Endangered and Nongame Spe cies Program. “They’re one of the few con servation success stories of an imals that almost went extinct on our continent,” said Maia Ed wards, the science director at the American Bald Eagle Founda tion in Alaska. “And so I think now it’s really important to make sure people know that story and learn from it,”

Clark, whose work with the birds spans decades and includes the period when their numbers were so small they lived only in a remote part of the state, said the eagles have taught officials

does not apply here, he added.

“Our precedents confirm that the General Assembly may retro actively amend the statute of lim itations for tort claims,” Newby wrote, referring to civil actions in which someone seeks monetary compensation for harm by another.

The coach, Gary Scott Goins, was convicted of 17 sex related crimes in 2014 and sentenced to at least 34 years in prison. The former student athletes sued the Gaston County Board of Education and Goins in 2020, alleging he sexual ly assaulted them on multiple occa sions. Goins was later dismissed as a defendant in the current lawsuit, according to court documents.

Lawyers for the state helped defend the 2019 law in court. At torney General Jeff Jackson and his predecessor — now Gov. Josh

a number of lessons. One is that they’re “fairly adaptable” and now live across densely populat ed (with people) New Jersey — from suburban Bergen County near New York to the wetlands along the shore in the south.

She recalled the story of one fledgling eagle in a suburban town — New York Giants terri tory, as it were, sorry, Eagles fans — that found itself on a backyard woodpile and walking around the street. Volunteer observers worried over the bird’s well be ing, given the realities of sub urban living. But a year later, observers spotted the eagle, iden tified by a band. It had apparent ly made it.

“Those birds that have that tolerance to live like in such a densely human structured en vironment is something I have a hard time understanding,” she said. “They’re Jersey birds. You got to have attitude, right?”

The birds do face dangers as they expand into suburbia, though. Jilian Fazio, director of

the Essex County Turtle Back Zoo in suburban northern New Jersey, said the zoo rescues a number of birds hit by cars. One bird, a male named Freedom, perched atop a branch in his en closure at the zoo recently and called out loudly. He was found dangling by a rope, left with an injury that renders him unreleas able, Fazio said. There are threats, as well. Habitat preservation and clean, open water, since the eagles feed heavily on fish, is a worry, but there’s also the current outbreak of avian influenza or bird flu. Clark says officials are going to maintain surveillance amid the outbreak.

A resurgence in popularity, too

Beyond the birds coming off endangered lists, they made headlines recently for finally get ting their due as the county’s na tional bird, an oversight left un done in law because the bald

Stein — praised the ruling in a news release.

Since 2002, 30 states and the District of Columbia revived pre viously expired child sex abuse claims with limited or permanent expansions of claim periods, ac cording to CHILD USA, a think tank advocating for children.

Associate Justice Allison Riggs recused herself from last Friday’s case, as she wrote the 2023 Court of Appeals opinion while she served on the intermediate level appeals court. That ruling was largely up held by the state Supreme Court.

Associate Justice Anita Earls wrote her own opinion Friday that while supporting the outcome crit icized harshly the majority for backing Newby’s methodology of evaluating whether a law is consti tutional.

eagle was already on the national seal and many thought it already had that status, said Sen. Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota, who sponsored legislation that Biden signed last month.

She and colleagues worked with Native American and veter ans groups to get buy in for the legislation, she said, and it passed the typically divisive House and Senate last year with no dissent. The birds are revered in a num ber of Native American cultures as symbols of strength, partic ularly in the Pacific Northwest, according to Paul Apodaca, a re tired academic who specializes in folklore and mythology.

The eagles’ perch as symbols of the country contributes to their conservation, with experts considering them an “umbrel la species,” whose need for large open spaces and waterways helps preserve lesser known wildlife.

“Americans are always going to have that sort of personal rela tionship with bald eagles,” Clark said.

New Jersey Sen. Andy Kim, a native of Philadelphia Eagles ter ritory, took his two young sons to the NFC championship game last week, a memory he said they won’t forget. “Let’s never for get that Bald Eagle was official ly named America’s national bird at the same time the Eagles are headed back to the Super Bowl,” he said in a text message.

Experiencing seeing a bird in the wild or even as you’re driving along a business lined highway can leave an impression. Dan Day, a birder who’s spotted bald eagles some 50 times in recent years both on nature walks and just driving around suburban New Jersey, remembered nev er having seen the birds as a kid growing up in Cleveland. Now a New Jersey resident and Phila delphia Eagles fan, he regularly goes out in his green “Birds” cap and binoculars.

“Just the mere thrill of seeing one — a lot of people just have never, ever looked at one,” he said. “It really elevates your day to see a bald eagle.”

Enjoy watching them, experts say, but give them space, too. Be cause rescuing animals threat ened with extinction is expensive, uncertain work. Said Clark, the New Jersey Department of En vironmental Protection official: “I don’t think I ever will lose that perspective of being on the brink there, not knowing if you’re going to be able to save the species.”

SETH WENIG / AP PHOTO

A bald eagle named Freedom calls in West Orange, New Jersey this January.

SUITS

MAKIYA SEMINERA / AP PHOTO

North Carolina Supreme Court Chief Justice Paul Newby speaks at the Legislative Building in Raleigh in July 2024.

RandolpH SPORTS

Randleman’s Tyshaun Goldston drives against Eastern Randolph’s Will Stalker during last week’s showdown in the Piedmont Athletic Conference.

Randleman boys come through in PAC showdown

The Tigers and Eastern Randolph were involved in game with title implications

By Bob Sutton Randolph Record

RANDLEMAN — That big-game feel worked out for Randleman’s boys’ basketball team last week.

The Tigers tangled with visiting Eastern Randolph in the Piedmont Athletic Conference’s must-see game, winning 80 -72 by producing in clutch situations.

“We wanted to come out and prove that we are the team in the conference,” said Randleman senior forward Chase Farlow, who scored a career-high 25 points.

Tyshaun Goldston poured in 21 points, while Connor Cassidy (12 points), Jireh Price (11) and Pacey Wagner (10) also were big contributors for the Tigers, who are alone in first place.

“You love these types of games, a great environment and a little bit of chippiness,” Eastern Randolph forward Will Stalker said. “They got us (in this game). We’re going to see them again.”

A moment to savor on the mat

Trinity senior Lawson Coltrane hopes to boost the team again in dual team state playoffs

By Bob Sutton Randolph Record

TRINITY — Lawson Coltrane had one of those moments that will be etched in memories forever in Trinity wrestling circles.

Too bad he didn’t even know it was coming. In last year’s Class 2A dual team state final, it was Coltrane’s pin in the 165-pound class that clinched the championship for the Bulldogs.

“Whenever I went out there, I didn’t even know it was to clinch it,” Coltrane said recently. “I just went out there. In my head, ‘I’m going to pin this kid, get this done for the team.’ Whatever it is, I’m going to give my contribution to the team and get points for the team. That’s all I had in my head.”

The result of that bout sparked a massive celebration

in the eventual 36-31 victory against Seaforth.

“After they told me I clinched it, I was surprised,” Coltrane said. “What was really running through my head was win for the team and get six (team points). Because that’s how they trained us all year.”

This week, Trinity is back for more in search of a repeat. If the Bulldogs, who are the regional’s top seed, were able to win in the West Regional semifinals and final Wednesday, they’ll return to the coliseum fieldhouse in Greensboro for Saturday afternoon’s state championship. Now a senior, Coltrane is one of the stalwarts in the middle of the Trinity lineup.

Coltrane opted not to play football as a senior. He had been pegged as a nose guard but didn’t consider himself effective on the football field.

“I just wasn’t good anywhere,” he said. “I was much better at wrestling than football, so I figured I’d put all my efforts into wrestling.”

His title-sealing moment came in his second season as a wrestler. He blossomed in

Eastern Randolph made enough key plays to stick close, with 22 of Timothy Brower’s 34 points coming in the second half. Julian Brooks had 17 points.

Randleman coach Dennis Mitchell said the rematch from December, when his team won 47-45 just a few games into the season, lived up to the billing.

“Both of our teams are at a much higher level now than they were then,” Mitchell said. “We knew that was going to be tough, even though it’s (at) our place.”

Eastern Randolph coach Johnny Thomas said his team

BOB SUTTON / RANDOLPH RECORD Lawson Coltrane

a hurry on the mats, placing third in the individual states last year.

“I kind of put my head down and grinded,” Coltrane said. “I try to enjoy the process. People think of the end result, but I just kind of got in the room and tried to learn everything as fast as I could, did it as well as I could. As soon as I started seeing the results from the work that I put in, I knew that I could be really good. If I know that I can do something, I’m going to do what I can to get there.”

Coltrane has been used at 165 and 175, ringing up a bunch of victories and individual top finishes this season.

“I think I like to keep a good

largely rose to the occasion amid the high intensity.

“It’s always like that,” Thomas said. “When you get in these kinds of games and make mistakes early on, they get you.”

Goldston said there was an emphasis on containing Brower, something that didn’t always work out. But the Tigers had other things going their way.

“Just pushing the ball in transition,” Goldston said.

“Got some hustle buckets, some run-out buckets and that was really the key,” Farlow said.

The Wildcats endured snags, particularly with guards Tyler Gee and Cade McCallum fouling out by the 4:36 mark.

“We couldn’t stop them on defense,” Stalker said. “When we did get a stop, we turned the ball over and didn’t give ourselves a chance.”

Randleman clung to a narrow lead for most of the final 10 minutes.

“They’re coming down and hitting tough shots every time and pull-up jumpers and 3s,” Mitchell said. “You better step up and make a play, that’s what good basketball teams can do. A lot of teams wilt in that pressure, but our guys, luckily, are old, been there before and they were tough enough to make the plays.”

Randleman led 57-51 on Wagner’s 3-pointer before Brower had shots blocked by Farlow and Goldston on the next possession. Farlow’s three-point play extended the lead, but later Brooks’ putback made it 66-61. A Brower 3-pointer closed the gap to 74-70 before Goldston’s two free throws, Farlow’s basket on a fastbreak and Wagner’s two foul shots.

“A huge game like that,” Farlow said. “We’ve gone back and

Bradley departs Trinity football coaching position

After two seasons, there’s another change coming atop the Bulldogs’ program

By Bob Sutton Randolph Record

TRINITY — Bear Bradley is done after two seasons as Trinity’s football coach, sensing a different type of opportunity as an assistant coach at a larger school. Bradley resigned to take a position at Greensboro Grimsley, which is the reigning Class 4A state champion.

“It was basically for me,” Bradley said Friday. “Better for my career, going into one of the highest levels (of high school). For me, to be a part of that group is pretty special. … It’s a good time for me to reflect and learn.”

The Bulldogs went 8-13 under Bradley, including a 3-7 record during the past season and sharing last place in the six-team Piedmont Athletic Conference. Bradley has spent the last 12 years as a head coach — four years at Wheatmore, six seasons at Southern Guilford and then Trinity. His career record is 46-82.

“It wasn’t that I was tired of being a head coach.”

Bear Bradley, football coach

JANN ORTIZ / FOR RANDOLPH RECORD

HOME PLATE MOTORS

Brayden Chapman

Southwestern Randolph, boys’ basketball

Chapman had a couple of clutch performances last week. The senior guard led the Cougars with 17 points in a 58-53 victory against Providence Grove. He also supplied 22 points in a 53-46 nonleague loss to South Stanly. Chapman has been his team’s top scorer this season after rating fourth in scoring average on last season’s team. The result of the Providence Grove game gave Cougars coach Matt Kiser his 100th career victory. He has been coaching the team since the 2012-13 season.

COLTRANE from page B1

pace,” he said. “I feel like I don’t take breaks during matches. I’m going all the time. I appreciate being able to say that because our practices are so hard and they push us in our practices. That’s the way our whole team basically is, that we never let up in a match and that’s why we win so many.”

Last February against Seaforth, there were four matches remaining when it was Coltrane’s turn. The Bulldogs were in good shape, especially considering eventual state champion Gavin Hardister was available later.

But Trinity coach Brandon Coggins liked the prospects of ending it earlier with Coltrane.

“He walked it off,” Coggins said. “We felt really good about. It was a good time to go home.”

The situation was a blur for Coltrane as he faced Seaforth’s Alex Hinchman. The pin came in 3:37.

“I was just kind of amped up to be there. I knew that our team could do it from all the work we put in,” he said. “I wasn’t thinking about clinching the title. I was thinking about winning for my team. … Kept on working after that. That’s what I wake up to do, now.”

Southwestern Randolph girls clinch at least title share

The Cougars reached the 20-win mark without a loss

Randolph Record staff

RANDLEMAN — Southwestern Randolph clinched at least a share of the Piedmont Athletic Conference regular-season girls’ basketball championship, dethroning Randleman along the way.

The Cougars won 48-40 on Friday night at second-place Randleman, which won the title the previous three seasons.

Southwestern Randolph moved to 20-0 overall with three games to play before the postseason.

Maddie Strider scored 17 points for the Cougars, who’ve toppled Randleman three times this season. Kenzie Martin added 11 points. Chenleigh Robinson and Bella Byman both scored 11 points for the Tigers.

Southwestern Randolph began the week with a 68-40 road victory against Providence Grove as Jordin George had 15 points and Martin notched 14 points.

In between the PAC games, Southwestern Randolph drilled visiting South Stanly 57-19 with Strider tallying 22 points and George supplying 12 points.

Earlier in the week, Randleman rolled to a 68-28 home victory against Eastern Randolph

behind Jackie McDaniel with 19 points. Addyson Dees and Gracie Beane both scored nine points for the Tigers, who led 41-12 at halftime. For Eastern Randolph, Kenly Whitaker had 10 points.

• Wheatmore won three times during the week, holding off host Trinity 34-26, upending host Uwharrie Charter Academy 52-42 and then handling visiting Eastern Randolph 50-27.

• UCA won 45-26 against visiting Trinity with Nevaeh Staples providing 12 points.

• Providence Grove’s Laurel Bernhardt poured in 24 points when the Patriots won 63-39 at Eastern Randolph in a makeup game.

Coleman picked for All-ACC preseason softball honors

The softball season for the Tar Heels begins this week

Randolph Record staff

NORTH CAROLINA out-

fielder Alex Coleman, a Southwestern Randolph graduate, was named to the All-Atlantic Coast Conference preseason softball team.

Coleman, a senior, will be in her second season with the Tar Heels after transferring from Marshall. Last year, she led the ACC with a .436 batting aver-

age. She also had a team-leading 44 runs scored, 20 stolen bases and 18 multihit games. Coleman’s batting average was the best for a UNC player since 1996.

The Tar Heels were selected for a ninth-place finish in the coaches’ poll. Duke was picked first. UNC opens the season Friday in the Tiger Invitational at Auburn, facing Appalachian State and Auburn on the first day. Last summer, Coleman was an off-field intern with the Asheboro ZooKeepers summer collegiate baseball team.

Reigning champs start strong in state duals

UCA and Trinity wrestling teams are hoping to repeat in this weekend’s state finals

By Bob Sutton Randolph Record

UWHARRIE CHARTER

Academy and Trinity wrestling teams began their quests to repeat as dual team state champions with two home victories apiece Saturday.

UCA, the top seed in Class 1A East Region and the Piedmont Athletic Conference champion, and Trinity, the No. 1 seed for Class 2-A in the West Region, cruised in the opening rounds.

If they won regional semifinals and finals Wednesday night, they’ll be headed to state finals Saturday at the coliseum fieldhouse in Greensboro — Class 1A at noon, Class 2A at 3 p.m.

UCA trounced Lakewood 78-6 by picking up nine forfeits, while Caleb Saldana (126 pounds), Michael Hardie (138), Travis Nobles (150) and Michael Shropshire (215) recorded pins.

The Eagles didn’t drop a match against Union Academy, with pins recorded by Andrew White (120), Saldana (126), Brennan Worrell (132),

Rick Riccardella (138), Brandon Jordan (144), Nobles (150) and Lorenzo Alston (157) and a technical fall for Aiden Foster (165). The rest of the bouts were forfeited.

UCA was home for the regional rounds Wednesday night, taking on fourth-seeded South Davidson and, if it advanced, either second-seeded North East Carolina Prep or third-seeded Rosewood in the final.

Also in Class 1A, Eastern Randolph defeated Chatham Central 59-21 with pins from Hayden Payne (175), Joshua Watson (113), Lucas Kennedy (120), David Lambright (126), Trevor Young (144) and Brayden Tedder (165) and a technical fall from Jamie Crabtree (138).

In a 55-18 second-round loss to North East Carolina Prep, Eastern Randolph’s winners were Payne with a pin and Peyton Loflin and Lambright via forfeits.

Trinity defeated Brevard 62-6 with pins from Aiden Burkholder (106), Stephen Cross (113), Kayden Hess (126), Jayden Henry (138), Jaden Allred (144), Lawson Coltrane (165) and Joseph Trahan (285) along with major decisions for Simeon Hammett (132) and Zane Schloemer (150).

In defeating Madison 66-18,

Allred and Coltrane recorded pins amid an array of forfeits. Trinity met fourth-seeded Eden Morehead at Newton-Conover on Wednesday. If the Bulldogs won, they tangled with second-seeded Newton-Conover or third-seeded Rutherfordton-Spindale Central in the regional final. Also in Class 2A, Eden Morehead defeated 13th-seeded Wheatmore 41-33 in the first round. Wheatmore’s winners were Johnathan Kelly (215) by decision, Terry Gillespie (120), Ayden Sumners (126) and Spencer Moore (157) with pins and Dominic Hittepole (175) and Noah Browning (190) via forfeits.

In Class 3-A, No. 15 seed Asheboro lost 57-19 at St. Stephens despite victories from Esteban Santos (106) by major decision, Berik Bigelow (132) by decision and Oscar Zelaya (126) and Adam Curry (157) with pins.

Regular-season results

UCA wrapped up the regular season last week by whipping Southwestern Randolph 71-6. Trinity posted a 61-15 victory against Eastern Randolph. Wheatmore went 2-1 in a nonconference quadrangular. The host Warriors blew out Bishop McGuinness 84-0 and topped Greensboro Page 66-9 before falling to Class 4-A state qualifier Greensboro Grimsley by 49-23. Nolan Hammonds, Moore, Hittepole and Browning were all 3-0 for Wheatmore.

PJ WARD-BROWN / RANDOLPH RECORD

Southwestern Randolph’s Brayden Chapman tries to make a play during last week’s game against South Stanly.

COURTESY PHOTO Alex Coleman

PJ WARD-BROWN / RANDOLPH RECORD

Uwharrie Charter Academy’s Brennan Worrell prepares to pin Union Academy’s Nehemiah Parker during a Class 1A second-round meet Saturday.

pen & paper pursuits

this week in history

Mary, Queen of Scots beheaded, Beatlemania, Abraham Lincoln born

The Associated Press

FEB. 6

1778: During the American Revolutionary War, the United States won official recognition and military support from France with the signing of a Treaty of Alliance in Paris.

1862: During the Civil War, Fort Henry in Tennessee fell to Union forces.

1899: A peace treaty between the United States and Spain ended the Spanish-American War and ceded the Philippines, Puerto Rico and Guam to the United States.

1921: “The Kid,” Charlie Chaplin’s first feature-length film, was released across the United States.

1952: Britain’s King George VI, 56, died. He was succeeded as monarch by his 25-year-old eldest daughter, who became Queen Elizabeth II.

FEB. 7

1904: The Great Baltimore Fire began; one of the worst city fires in American history, it destroyed more than 1,500 buildings in central Baltimore.

1943: The government abruptly announced the wartime rationing of shoes made of leather.

FEB. 8

1587: Mary, Queen of Scots was beheaded after she was implicated in a plot to murder her cousin, Queen Elizabeth I.

1693: A charter was granted for the College of William and

Abraham Lincoln, the 16th president of the United States, was born on Feb. 12, 1809.

Mary in Williamsburg in the Virginia Colony.

1910: The Boy Scouts of America was incorporated by William D. Boyce.

1915: D.W. Griffith’s controversial epic film “The Birth of a Nation” premiered in LA.

1936: The first NFL draft was held at the Ritz-Carlton Hotel in Philadelphia.

1971: NASDAQ, the world’s first electronic stock exchange, held its first trading day.

FEB. 9

1825: The House of Representatives elected John Quincy Adams president after no candidate received a majority of electoral votes.

1943: The World War II battle of Guadalcanal in the southwest Pacific ended with an Allied victory over Japanese forces.

1964: The Beatles made their first live American television appearance on “The Ed Sullivan Show,” broadcast from New York on CBS.

FEB. 10

1763: Britain, Spain and France signed the Treaty of Paris, ending the Seven Years’ War (also known as the French and Indian War in North America).

1936: Nazi Germany’s Reichstag passed a law investing the Gestapo secret police with absolute authority, exempt from any legal review.

2005: North Korea boasted publicly for the first time that it possessed nuclear weapons

FEB. 11

660 B.C.: Tradition holds that Japan was founded as Jimmu ascended the throne as the country’s first emperor.

1847: American inventor Thomas Alva Edison was born in Milan, Ohio.

1963: American author and poet Sylvia Plath was found dead by suicide in her London flat. She was 30.

1975: Margaret Thatcher was elected leader of Britain’s opposition Conservative Party.

1979: Followers of Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini seized power in Iran.

FEB. 12

1554: Lady Jane Grey, who had claimed the throne of England for nine days, and her husband, Guildford Dudley, were beheaded after being condemned for high treason.

1809: Abraham Lincoln, the 16th president of the United States, was born in a log cabin in Hardin (now LaRue) County, Kentucky.

1909: The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, the NAACP, was founded.

forth with those guys all four years I’ve been here. It’s always a tough game. … We needed this one to sweep Eastern and sit in a good spot.”

There were early waves of momentum. Randleman scored the game’s first seven points, but the Wildcats led 22-15 at the end of the quarter on Brower’s 3. The lead grew to 29-21 before Randleman pulled even at 34-34 by halftime.

“There’s still a lot of work we got to do,” Thomas said. “Need to tighten up on defense.”

Also in the PAC

• On Friday, Randleman defeated visiting Southwestern Randolph 52-30 as Goldston had 14 points and Cassidy scored 11.

• Eastern Randolph played three days in a row at the end of the week, winning twice in the PAC.

“You better step up and make a play, that’s what good basketball teams can do.”

Daniel Mitchell, Randleman coach

istered 27 points and 14 rebounds. Zy’iveon Holmes had more than half of Trinity’s points with 16. UCA and Eastern Randolph entered this week with 6-2 PAC records behind first-place Randleman, which was 8-1 in league play.

• Wheatmore had a 61-41 road decision against Trinity as Weston Driggers and Kines racked up 16 points apiece.

• Southwestern Randolph’s Brayden Chapman scored 17 points in a 58-53 road victory against Providence Grove. Piedmont Athletic Conference

• Uwharrie Charter Academy stayed in the PAC race with a pair of victories. UCA beat visiting Wheatmore 69-45 as Jaxon Mabe had 17 points, Jaylan Brown notched 15 points and Aaron Smith provided 11 points and 10 rebounds.

The Eagles trounced host Trinity 72-30 as Mabe reg-

The Wildcats overwhelmed visiting Providence Grove 82-32 as Brower had 20 points and Camden Jones and Gee each scored 16. Then Eastern Randolph blew past host Wheatmore 87- 62 behind Brower’s 28 points and Jones’ 22 points. Parker Kines scored 18 points for Wheatmore. Eastern Randolph fell 83-73 to visiting Lexington in Saturday’s nonconference game.

Asheboro picked up momentum with three consecutive victories. The Blue Comets won twice last week, with Elijah Woodle’s 21 points leading the way in a 48-46 nipping of host Oak Grove, avenging an earlier defeat. Then Asheboro’s Jalial Timmons scored 22 points and Woodle had 17 points in a 57- 43 home victory against Central Davidson on Friday night.

He’s also a past assistant coach at Randleman.

“Do I still have a desire to be a head coach? Absolutely,” Bradley said. “It wasn’t that I was tired of being a head coach.”

Bradley, 45, said much of his coaching career has been focused on player development with teams trying to gain some success. With Grimsley, he’ll join an established program on the staff of coach Darryl Brown (brother of Asheboro coach Calvin Brown). A specific role on the staff hasn’t been determined, Bradley said.

“An opportunity to get a difference experience,” he said. “A

chance to compete at a high level. I think we’re after the same goals.”

Bradley said this isn’t a sign of him backing off pursuits as a football coach.

“I’m not done,” he said.

Bradley is familiar with Grimsley athletics director Evan Fancourt, a former boys’ basketball coach at Southern Guilford.

The coach’s son, now-senior Noah Bradley, was Trinity’s quarterback the past two seasons. Trinity hasn’t had a winning football season since a 6-5 record in 2017 under Brett Andrews, who’s in his first season as boys’ basketball coach at the school.

PAC from page B1

BRADLEY from page B1

COURTESY PHOTO

Bear Bradley spent two seasons at Trinity.

AP PHOTO

AP PHOTO

The Beatles made their first appearance on CBS’s “The Ed Sullivan Show” on Feb. 9, 1964. The live performance on American television kicked off Beatlemania.

‘Mad Men’ star Hamm honored, roasted as Harvard’s Hasty Pudding Man of the Year

The theater group dates back to 1844

By Michael Casey The Associated Press

ACTOR JON HAMM, who rose to fame as ad executive Don Draper on the AMC series “Mad Men” and more recently appeared in “Fargo” and “Landman,” was honored last Friday as the 2025 Man of the Year by Harvard University’s Hasty Pudding Theatricals.

The theater group, which dates to 1844 and claims to be the world’s third oldest still operating, said Hamm will receive his Pudding Pot award at a celebratory roast. Afterward, he was set to attend a performance of Hasty Pudding Theatricals’ 176th production, “101 Damnations.”

“I can’t believe there are so many people here,” Hamm said after accepting his Pudding Pot award. “Did you all seriously think I was dead? This is such a wonderful honor.” Before accepting the Pudding Pot, Hamm endured a roasting at the hands of two members of the Hasty Pudding Theatricals.

They mocked his height, poked fun at the fact he had not won an Academy Award and suggested many previous winners were better looking.

“I can’t believe there are so many people here. Did you all seriously think I was dead? This is such a wonderful honor.”

Jon Hamm

To make their point, they even had him take part in a contest with someone wearing a Paul Rudd mask, the 2018 winner of the award. Hamm also participated in a trivia contest with a piece of deli meat on a table — who the presenters suggested had won the 2017 Academy Award for production design.

The best bit, though, was making Hamm channel his “Mad Men” character, Don Draper, and pitch several items. Among them was selling car insurance to a baby driver and a pen to a woman who had just landed her dream job and was promptly fired. Then, there was selling a lifetime voucher for bath time with Harry Potter.

“Hi, do you love Daniel Radcliffe? How about Harry Potter?” Draper asked an excited woman on stage. “I would say let’s sit in a tub together but that sounds like, A, terrify-

ing, and B, marginally illegal.”

Afterward at a press conference, Hamm credited “Saturday Night Live” creator Lorne Michaels with bringing out his funny side and said Don Draper was the most challenging and fun character that he has ever played. He also cast doubt on the prospect of his character Monty Miller on “Landman” being resurrected.

“Usually when you’re surrounded by your loved ones on a hospital bed and they’re crying and the machine has a flat line on it, it’s not great,” he joked.

Hamm is best known for starring in “Mad Men,” but he has had a storied acting career. Among his achievements, he received Emmy, Golden Globe and Screen Actors Guild Award nominations for his portrayal of Sheriff Roy Tillman in the FX series “Fargo,” he has starred in several movies, including “Bad Times at the El Royale,” and he has hosted “Saturday Night Live” three times.

Other recent Man of the Year winners have included Barry Keoghan last year, Bob Odenkirk in 2023 and Jason Bateman in 2022.

“Wicked” star Cynthia Erivo has been named Hasty Pudding Theatricals’ Woman of the Year Award. She will receive her award Feb. 6.

Harvard University’s Hasty Pudding Theatricals Man of the

while being roasted last Friday in Cambridge, Massachusetts.

Joseph Finder’s latest novel is “The Oligarch’s Daughter”

By Bruce DeSilva The Associated Press

PAUL BRIGHTMAN, a former hedge fund manager, has been keeping a low profile, changing his name to Grant Anderson and making a modest living as a boat builder in a small New Hampshire town. But Paul fears it’s only a matter of time before he’s found.

Hedge fund manager — hunted by FBI, Russian oligarch — flees into wilderness HARPERCOLLINS PUBLISHERS

The FBI is hunting him. The CIA would like a word. And a wealthy Russian oligarch has put a price on his head. One of the oligarch’s thugs is the first to find him. Barely escaping with his life, he flees into the northern New England wilderness.

Five years earlier, when Paul was working on Wall Street, he fell in love with and subsequently married a beautiful photographer named Tatanya, unaware at first that her father was a Russian oligarch with ties to the Kremlin.

In “The Oligarch’s Daughter,” his 17th thriller, Joseph Finder alternates two suspenseful timelines — the present as Paul struggles to stay

“The Oligarch’s Daughter” is Joseph Finder’s 17th thriller.

alive and the recent past in which we learn how he got into this fix in the first place.

In the former, he finds himself relying on skills he absorbed from his estranged father, a reclusive survivalist living off the grid in the wilds of the Allegheny Mountains.

In the latter, he accepts his new father-in-law’s offer of a job, gets pressured to make illegal investments based on

SOLUTIONS FOR THIS WEEK

The plot is complex, even by thriller standards, but the author handles it so well that the reader is unlikely to get lost.

inside information, and becomes alarmed when two of his co-workers disappear. The FBI recruits him, he gets caught spying, and he has to run for his life. With a master’s degree in Russian studies and his membership in the Association of Former Intelligence Officers, Finder is very much at home with this tale of what some are now calling the new Cold War. The writing is tight, the suspense is unrelenting, and the romance between Paul and Tatanya is well handled as well. The plot is complex, even by thriller standards, but the author handles it so well that the reader is unlikely to get lost. However, it has so many twists and surprises that he might have been better served by eliminating a couple of them.

CHARLES KRUPA / AP PHOTO

Year Jon Hamm holds a ham

Tom Brokaw is 85, Roberta Flack turns 88, Mia Farrow celebrates 80

The Associated Press THESE CELEBRITIES have birthdays this week:

FEB. 6

Actor Mike Farrell is 86. Former NBC News anchorman Tom Brokaw is 85. Actor-director Robert Townsend is 68. Rock singer Axl Rose (Guns N’ Roses) is 63. Singer Rick Astley is 59.

FEB. 7

Actor James Spader is 65. Country singer Garth Brooks is 63. Actor-comedian Eddie Izzard is 63. Actor-comedian Chris Rock is 60.

FEB. 8

Composer-conductor John Williams is 93. Broadcast journalist Ted Koppel is 85. Actor Nick Nolte is 84. Author John Grisham is 70. Rock singer Vince Neil (Mötley Crüe) is 64.

FEB. 9

Actor Janet Suzman is 86. Singer Carole King is 83. Singer Barbara Lewis is 82. Actor Joe Pesci is 82. Author Alice Walker (“The Color Purple”) is 81. Actor Mia Farrow is 80. Country singer Travis Tritt is 62.

FEB. 10

Actor Robert Wagner is 95. Singer Roberta Flack is 88. George Stephanopoulos is 64. Actor Laura Dern is 58. Actor Elizabeth Banks is 51.

FEB. 11

Actor Tina Louise (“Gilligan’s Island”) is 91. Actor Philip Anglim (“The Thorn Birds”) is

FEB.

the stream

Amy Schumer expecting; Kevin Costner celebrates park; Pharrell, Jay-Z made of Lego

John Coltrane’s

“A Love Supreme” turns 60 with an anniversary deluxe release

The Associated Press

AMY SCHUMER leading the R-rated comedy “Kinda Pregnant” and “Yellowstone” star Kevin Costner narrating a docuseries about Yosemite National Park are some of the new television, films, music and games headed to a device near you.

Also, among the streaming offerings worth your time: The estate of saxophonist John Coltrane offers an anniversary edition of his album “A Love Supreme,” Pharrell Williams’ life story is told using Lego pieces in the unconventional documentary “Piece by Piece,” and Andrew Garfield and Florence Pugh star in the romantic drama “We Live In Time.”

MOVIES TO STREAM

Schumer leads the R-rated comedy “Kinda Pregnant” on Netflix. In the film, her character Lainy starts wearing a fake “bump” and telling everyone she’s pregnant, jealous of her best friend who is actually gestating a human. Naturally, she meets the man of her dreams in this state. Will Forte, Jillian Bell, Damon Wayans Jr. and “Ginny and Georgia’s” Brianne Howey also star.

It’s hard to believe that the Andrew Garfield, Florence Pugh, demon carousel horse meme only happened last year. This is not the meditation on time that John Crowley was going for with his romantic drama “We Live In Time,” about new love, family, cancer and ambition, but with subjects as heavy as those it’s also OK to have a bit of fun with it. The movie makes its Max debut Friday. I found myself mostly dry- eyed when I reviewed it last year, hung up on some of the more unbelievable story points, writing “The main reason to see ‘We Live In Time’ is not the promise of crying or the realities of having a young kid, though, but the quietly affecting performances from Pugh and Garfield. … It is charming and

silly and sometimes cringey — other people’s relationships always are.”

Williams’ life story is told using Lego in Morgan Neville’s unconventional documentary “Piece by Piece,” which begins streaming on Peacock on Friday. In his review for The Associated Press, Mark Kennedy wrote that it, “is a bright, clever song-filled biopic that pretends it’s a behind-the-scenes documentary using small plastic bricks, angles and curves to celebrate an artist known for his quirky soul. It is deep and surreal and often adorable. Is it high concept or low? Like Williams, it’s a bit of both.” MUSIC TO STREAM

Six decades ago, Coltrane released “A Love Supreme,” a revelatory work of modal and spiritual jazz largely considered to be the singular saxophonist’s greatest collection and certainly his most popular. On Friday, listeners can reexperience the album with “A Love Supreme: 60th Anniversary Edition,” out via Impulse! Records. And if streaming isn’t enough — they’re released a limited-edition vinyl version, too.

The Dominican singer-songwriter Natti Natasha is tomor-

row’s talent today, effortlessly marrying reggaeton,

and pop. That’s evidenced by her forthcoming project pro

sexy “Quiéreme Menos” deserves a place on your playlist — she even performed that one live at the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day parade last year. If it is great enough for the most delicious holiday, it is great enough for all.

SHOWS TO STREAM

Kaitlyn Dever stars in a limited series about the underbelly of the wellness industry. “Apple Cider Vinegar,” premiering Thursday on Netflix, is not about the fermented juice that is credited for its health benefits. This ACV is based on the true story of Belle Gibson, an Australian woman who pretended to be a cancer survivor, thanks to clean eating and organic foods. Alycia Debnam-Carey and Aisha Dee co-star.

Florence Pugh and Andrew Garfield star in the film

“We Live In Time.”

en Amargue.” “Tu Loca” is modern Música tropicale balladry; the slow and

In 2022, Costner narrated a docuseries on Fox Nation marking the 150th anniversary of Yellowstone National Park. He’s back as an executive producer, host and narrator of a three-episode sequel called “Yellowstone to Yosemite with Kevin Costner.” The Oscar winner retraces Teddy Roosevelt and John Muir’s Yosemite exposition, which helped to inspire Roosevelt’s conservation efforts. It premieres Saturday.

TO PLAY

VIDEO GAMES

The Middle Ages were rough on pretty much everyone, but consider poor Henry, the hero of 2018’s Kingdom Come: Deliverance. His whole family in 15th century Bohemia got murdered by mercenaries, so he spent the game on a mission of vengeance. Henry’s back for more in Kingdom Come: Deliverance II, now fighting for the resistance that’s trying to restore the king to his throne. The developers, Prague’s Warhorse Studios, say this new chapter is “historically accurate” — so there’s none of the sorcery you might expect in a medieval role-playing game. It’s all about who wields the fastest sword, though you may want to take a break now and then to have a mug of mead and admire the lush Bohemian landscape. Join the battle on PlayStation 5, Xbox X/S and PC.

bachata

-

duced by Romeo Santos, “Natti Natasha

Jay-Z and Pharrell Williams voice Lego characters in “Piece By Piece,” streaming Friday on Peacock.

PETER MOUNTAIN / A24 VIA AP

BEN KING / NETFLIX VIA AP

Kaitlyn Dever stars in “Apple Cider Vinegar,” coming to Netflix on Thursday.

HOKE COUNTY

Rollin’ at Bowman

WHAT’S HAPPENING

Trump orders creation of U.S. sovereign wealth fund, says it could own part of TikTok

Washington, D.C.

President Donald Trump on Monday signed an executive order directing the U.S. to take steps to start developing a governmentowned investment fund that he said could be used to profit off of TikTok if he’s successful at finding the company an American buyer.

Trump signed an order on his first day office to grant the Chinese- owned TikTok until early April to find a domestic partner or buyer, but he’s said he’s looking for the U.S. to take a 50% stake in the massive social media platform. He said Monday that TikTok was an example of what he could put in a new U.S. sovereign wealth fund.

Trump talks so much that even his stenographers struggle to keep up Washington, D.C. The most obvious shift from Joe Biden to Donald Trump has been the flood of talking from the White House. Trump is speaking publicly far more than his predecessor, overwhelming his opponents and leaving them struggling to get a word in edgewise. Even the White House stenographers responsible for transcribing a president’s remarks are racing to keep up with him. According to Factbase, Trump spoke 81,235 words in his first week in office, up from 24,259 in the same timespan for Biden.

Local company pledges $500K in services for Tylertown fire station

The Tylertown Fire Department plans to construct a 4,000-square-foot multiuse building

By Ryan Henkel North State Journal

RAEFORD — Hoke County has gotten yet another charitable donation from a local business.

At its Feb. 3 regular business meeting, the Hoke County Board of Commissioners was presented with a donation of $500,000 in services from J and K General Contractors for the Tylertown Fire Department.

“You cannot build a county off of the backs of people,” said vice chair Harry Southerland.

“You can’t tax them to death. You have to build it with part-

nerships, and J and K has been a good partner to Hoke County.”

The money will be used to construct a 4,000-square-foot multiuse building for the Tylertown Fire Department to house their fire trucks and equipment.

“They’ve attempted to, in the past, expand the building, renovate the building, and their attempts have been unsuccessful,” said J and K Finance Manager Matthew Carvell. “They haven’t been able to secure any kind of funding or grant money, so Jamal (Shabain) and other executive leaders at J and K got together and decided that they would like to do something for the Tylertown Fire Department to help support them. They have various fire trucks and various fire equipment, apparel and machinery that currently has nowhere to be housed and it is sitting out in the elements.”

“You have to build (a county) with partnerships, and J and K has been a good partner to Hoke County.” Harry Southerland, vice chair

Work is expected to start some time in March and take six months to complete.

“We are actively trying to ensure that we are involving ourselves in the right types of community products that are supporting the right department heads for Hoke County as Hoke County continues to grow and continues to expand,” Carvell said.

“I want to thank J and K for their contribution to our fire

department,” said Fire Chief Hervon McCollum. “We have been to banks and we’ve been all around looking for someone to help us out, and one day, we ran up on a young man and he said, ‘I like what y’all are doing over there, I want to help y’all.’ And that was Jamal, and I want to thank him for what he’s done.”

J and K also gave an update on their plans for the refurbishment of the Hoke County Animal Shelter, which they pledged $200,000 in services for back in August.

“When we put together our charitable donation, we didn’t want to just do anything,” Carvell said. “We wanted to make sure what we’re delivering is specific, realistic and makes sense for what the needs are.”

Fifteen months after being abducted, Keith Siegel is free

By Melanie Lidman

The Associated Press

JERUSALEM — Three men held hostage in the Gaza Strip for more than 15 months were freed Saturday, bringing to 18 the number of captives released by militants since the ceasefire between Israel and Hamas began Jan. 19.

Among those freed was Yarden Bibas, 35, the father of the two youngest hostages in Gaza, whose plight has become a rallying cry for Israelis. The Bibas sons — 4 years old and 9 months old at the time of their abduction — and their mother, Shiri, are still in captivity, and feared dead. Shiri Bibas and the two children are the last woman and children held in captivity in Gaza who have not been confirmed dead by Israel.

were

ly visible campaigns to free them.

Keith Siegel, from Chapel Hill, was abducted with his wife, Aviva Siegel, from Kibbutz Kfar Aza, a communal farming village heavily damaged by the attack. She was freed during the November 2023 ceasefire deal and has campaigned across the world for the release of her husband and other hostages.

Keith Siegel worked as an a occupational therapist and loves spending time with his grandchildren, according to the forum representing the hostage families.

Aviva Siegel said that she was held hostage with her husband during her 51 days in

The other hostages released Saturday

American-Israeli Keith Siegel, 65, and French-Israeli Ofer Kalderon, 54, also household names in Israel after high-

JAMES JACKSON FOR NORTH STATE JOURNAL

Tim Brown (15) and William Byron (24) compete in the Clash at Bowman Gray on Sunday, the NASCAR Cup Series’ first event at the classic Winston-Salem track since 1971.

THE HOKE COUNTY EDITION OF NORTH STATE JOURNAL

“Be strong for me.”

Aviva Siegel’s parting words to her husband

HOSTAGES FAMILY FORUM VIA AP

This undated photo provided by Hostages Family Forum shows Keith Siegel, who was abducted and brought to Gaza on Oct. 7, 2023.

THURSDAY

7

We need to promote American agriculture and focus on educating our younger generations

Dear readers,

My name is Stephanie Carter, and I’m a farmer on the west side of Hoke County (that’s Raeford). On our somewhat normal (depending on the day and the family member you ask!) farm, we raise chickens for Perdue, milk 50-100 dairy goats for our commercial goat dairy (where we make cheeses, fudge, caramels and bath and body product), have pick-your-own blueberries during the summer, harvest honey from our bee hives, grow our own hay and sell it when we have excess (definitely did not happen this last year), and raise and sell our own grass-fed beef, lamb and goat meat.

So all that above information is great and all, but what does that have to do with this newspaper, and what benefit is it to you? Well,

HOSTAGE from page A1

captivity. She said she took comfort from having her husband by her side as they were moved from tunnel to tunnel, the two given almost no food or water. Her parting words to

him were, “Be strong for me.” In the ceasefire’s first phase, a total of 33 hostages in Gaza will be released in exchange for almost 2,000 Palestinian prisoners held by Israel. The ceasefire and release of hostages has sparked both

all that information was to let you know that I might know something when I write about it. This column will enlighten you on new recipes, seasonal eating, the plight of the American farmer, unique stories from farmers and hopefully some good laughs along the way.

Did you know that, according to the USDA, there were 1.9 million farms and ranches in the U.S., and that while farmers comprise just 1% of the population, 63% of them farmers were over the age of 55?

These statistics continue to show a decrease in agricultural involvement throughout the United States, which could lead to a strong dependency on imports. We need to promote American agriculture and focus on educating our younger generations, which hopefully we will do with this column in the future.

hope and fear among Israelis. Many worry that the deal could collapse before all the hostages return or that those released will arrive in poor health. Others worry that the number of captives who have died is higher than expected.

Some 250 people were taken hostage during Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack. Around 80 remain in Gaza, although at least a third are believed to be dead. The others were released, rescued or their bodies were recovered.

THE CONVERSATION

Neal Robbins, publisher | Frank Hill, senior opinion editor

VISUAL VOICES

Trump it is

He’s still in campaign mode, running for president instead of being president.

IT’S ENOUGH to make you — and certainly me — sick.

In the midst of a national tragedy, he can’t help himself. At a time when almost nothing was known for certain about the cause of the terrifying plane crash in Washington, D.C., he couldn’t stop himself from playing the blame game.

There was absolutely no evidence that it had anything to do with the federal government’s DEI policies — some of which were initiated by him — but that didn’t stop the president from claiming that they did.

How about offering some comfort to the families of the victims? How about promising Americans that he will do what it takes to make the skies safe?

That’s what a leader should do, without regard to party or politics.

But Donald Trump is not that kind of leader, and it’s painfully clear that he won’t do what it takes. He’s too busy trying to decapitate the federal workforce. He’s still in campaign mode, looking to score points against his foes, running for president instead of being president. He’s so keen on divide and conquer that he lacks the skill or inclination to unify and comfort a grieving and frightened country.

The crash comes on the heels of Trump’s Muskian effort to slash the federal workforce. While the air traffic

controllers are, reportedly, not the targets of the buyout plan, they have been the subject of a hiring freeze and are clearly overworked. One thing we learned as a result of the crash is how lucky we are that there haven’t been more. The number of near misses in midair above Reagan National Airport is simply terrifying. Knowledgeable folks have apparently been warning for some time about the risks of a fatal crash, with good reason. Is Trump going to do anything about that?

Trump has castigated federal employees, as if people who devote their lives to public service are serving someone else. They serve us. They are literally lifesavers. Really, is the air too clear, the water supply too clean, the skies too safe? Are cars too safe? Is the food we eat too healthy?

What will cutting 2 million federal workers do to those of us — which is all of us — who depend on those federal employees to protect us from the hazards that individuals cannot deal with on our own? What will it do to the most vulnerable among us, who literally depend on federal programs to survive?

And what will it do to the morale of people who have spent their entire careers doing the public’s work, to those who have depended on the civil service system to protect them from having to

choose sides every four years in order to keep their jobs? As is clear from his high-level appointees, for Trump, experience and accomplishments don’t count for anything at all.

All that matters, quite literally, is loyalty to Trump. What else qualifies a Pete Hegseth to run the Defense Department, or a Tulsi Gabbard to run all our intelligence operations, or RFK Jr. to be in charge of public health? It is painful to watch Republican senators turn themselves into pretzels in these confirmation hearings. They know better, but they are cowards. Will they do their jobs, or are they too afraid of Elon Musk and his money — and the threat to primary anyone who doesn’t toe the line — to insist that the people who run the federal bureaucracy have more than their loyalty to Trump to qualify them?

Checks and balances don’t mean much if the people who are supposed to be applying those checks and providing that balance are afraid to be seen as disloyal. So far, it is only the judiciary that has had the guts to say no to Trump. And what scares me most is that at the end of the day, a president who has shown such contempt for the rule of law will not obey the law.

Susan Estrich is a lawyer, professor, author and political commentator.

Better trade deals for North Carolinians means excluding nonessential industries

A price increase due to tariffs would hurt North Carolinians trying to rebuild their lives and finances.

NOW THAT DONALD TRUMP has taken the oath of office, expectations are high among his supporters in North Carolina and across the country. Those supporters are eager for him to clean up the mess left behind by his predecessor.

I hope his next four years in office will be an economic windfall for the nation, and Trump can make that a reality through strategic, sensible economic policies.

A crucial step Trump promised on the path to prosperity includes negotiating better trade deals. Like any good deal, pragmatism should be involved, especially regarding the president’s proposed tariffs on China, Canada and Mexico. As the author of “The Art of the Deal,” Trump is the man we want at the negotiating table.

He is right to push for a more fair playing field with these trading partners. However, unless certain industries are excluded, there is a risk of forcing higher prices on North Carolina families with tariffs alone.

Inflation has been no joke in North

Carolina; a High Point University study found that 52% of residents said inflation concerns were affecting their spending decisions. A price increase due to tariffs would hurt North Carolinians trying to rebuild their lives and finances, many of whom voted for Trump in the fall.

We’ve already seen evidence that Trump is looking closely at how best to achieve his desired outcomes on issues across the board without negatively impacting everyday Americans. Tariffs are no different, and it is clear that Trump wants to utilize tariffs to achieve his goals without harming regular, nonstrategic consumer goods.

By excluding nonessential sectors that don’t pose a security threat to the United States, he greatly reduces the risk of inflating prices for Americans who have suffered enough paying for expensive goods. Toys, for instance, are mainly produced in China and Mexico before being exported to the U.S. Those countries have the infrastructure

to deliver safe, inexpensive, quality toys.

A broad tariff policy could easily hike those prices for families here. Toys are not the strategic industry Trump is after, but sweeping tariffs could wipe out small businesses and jack up prices at more prominent brands, leaving consumers with fewer options and higher prices.

This scenario contradicts Trump’s campaign promises to keep prices down for American consumers. Children and small retailers shouldn’t be caught in the crossfire of a trade war, but only applying tariffs to sectors with high stakes can guarantee such an outcome never happens.

Trump soundly won North Carolina because voters are confident that he will deliver on stabilizing the economy. I firmly believe in better trade deals to help accomplish this, just as the president will do the right thing and apply his tariffs wisely when negotiating.

Brandon Barnes is CEO of Capital Games LLC in Raleigh.

COLUMN | SUSAN ESTRICH

Oldest evidence for lead pollution comes from ancient Greece

It came as a byproduct of silver smelting

By Christina Larson

The Associated Press

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Ancient Greece produced the earliest records of democracy, western philosophy — and, it turns out, lead pollution.

Researchers studying sediment cores recovered from mainland Greece and the Aegean Sea have found the oldest known evidence of lead pollution in the environment dating to around 5,200 years ago.

That’s 1,200 years older than the previous earliest recorded lead pollution, which was found in a peatbog in Serbia.

In antiquity, lead was released into the atmosphere as a byproduct of smelting ore for copper and silver. The toxic metal later condensed as dust and settled onto the soil.

“Silver was used for jewelry, for special objects — but it wasn’t found in a pure state” but mined in ore combined with lead, said Heidelberg University archaeologist Joseph Maran, co-author of a new study published Thursday in Communications Earth and Environment.

The site with the earliest signs of lead contamination is located in northeastern Greece, near the island of Thasos. Prior archaeological evidence suggests Thasos was one of the region’s most significant sites for silver mining and metalwork, said Maran.

“Lead released from smelting is the world’s first form of toxic or industrial pollution,” said Yale historian Joseph Man-

UPGRADES from page A1

The current plan is to enclose the exterior section of the shelter to better protect those animals from the elements and add 18 additional kennels in a new, enclosed and secure area where sick or aggressive animals can be held.

However, as J and K does not normally deal with animal shelters, they ran into an issue with new state septic requirements which will not allow for the disposal of septic waste from the shelter into the current county system.

Instead, a new septic system will have to be constructed which according to J and K, will cost between $65,000 and $100,000.

“Unfortunately for the project, it is quite a sizable cost to make an environmentally compliant septic system based on what we’ve been told,” Carvell said. “It’s not something we had anticipated coming across as we don’t normally work with animal shelters, so we’ve been working behind the scenes to try and come

ning, who was not involved in the study.

The researchers found that levels of lead contamination remained fairly low and localized in ancient Greece, considered the cradle of European civilization, throughout the Bronze Age, the Classical period and the Hellenistic period. The Classical period is famous for Athenian democracy, Socrates and Plato, and the Hellenistic period saw Greek cultural influence peak across the Mediterranean region.

But around 2,150 years ago, the researchers detected “a very strong and abrupt increase” in lead emissions caused by human activities across Greece, said co-author Andreas Koutsodendris at Heidelberg University.

Around that time, in 146 B.C., the Roman army conquered the Greek peninsula, transforming the region’s society and economy. As Roman trade, colonies and shipping expanded across the Mediterranean Sea and Black Sea, demand for silver coins grew rapidly, requiring smelting that released lead, said Koutsodendris.

Later the Roman Empire used lead for tableware and for construction, including pipes.

Previous research — including an analysis of ice cores from Greenland — had detected high levels of lead across much of the Northern Hemisphere during Roman times.

But the new study adds a more “specific and local picture to how lead levels changed,” said Nathan Chellman, an environmental scientist at the University of Nevada, Reno, who was not involved in the research.

up with a plan to try and move past that problem.”

The board tabled the item to allow more time for them to discuss the best path forward.

The board also held a public hearing for a rezoning request for approximately 12 acres of property located on Aberdeen Road from Neighborhood Business to Highway Commercial.

Currently, the developer does not have a plan for the property.

“As a developer, it would be great if we could come in here and tell you,” said Rhetson Companies Development Manager Greg Stewart. “We do have some people that are interested, but until we get some surveys, environmental testing, geotech to see what building it can support, we really won’t know.”

Following the hearing, the board approved the request.

“Commercial, that means tax dollars are on the way,” said Chairman James Leach. “We love commercial. It brings tax dollars and keeps your tax rate low.” The Hoke County Board of Commissioners will next meet Feb. 17.

2015.

April

India’s tiger population doubled in last dozen years; conservation effort praised

Tiger

protections also benefited local communities via increased tourism

By Sibi Arasu The Associated Press

BENGALURU, India — India doubled its tiger population in a little over a decade by protecting the big cats from poaching and habitat loss, ensuring they have enough prey, reducing human-wildlife conflict and increasing communities’ living standards near tiger areas, a study published Thursday found.

The number of tigers grew from an estimated 1,706 tigers in 2010 to around 3,682 in 2022, according to estimates by the National Tiger Conservation Authority, making India home to roughly 75% of the global tiger population. The study found that some local communities near tiger habitats have also benefited from the increase in tigers because of the foot traffic and revenues brought in by ecotourism.

The study in the journal Science says India’s success “offers important lessons for tiger-range countries” that conservation efforts can benefit both biodiversity and nearby communities.

“The common belief is that human densities preclude an increase in tiger populations,” said Yadvendradev Jhala, a senior scientist at Bengaluru-based Indian National Academy of Sciences and the study’s lead author. “What the research shows is that it’s not the human density but the attitude of people, which matters more.

Wildlife conservationists and ecologists welcomed the study but said that tigers and other wildlife in India would benefit if source data were made available to a larger group of scientists. The study was based on data collected by Indian government-supported institutions.

“What the research shows is that it’s not the human density, but the attitude of people, which matters more.”

Yadvendradev Jhala, senior scientist at India’s National Academy of Sciences

Arjun Gopalaswamy, an ecologist with expertise in wildlife population estimation, said estimates from India’s official tiger monitoring program have been “chaotic” and “contradictory.” He said some of the figures in the study are significantly higher than previous estimates of tiger distribution from the same datasets. But he added that the paper’s findings seem to have corrected an anomaly flagged repeatedly by scientists since 2011 related to tiger population size and their geographic spread.

Tigers disappeared in some areas that were not near national parks, wildlife sanctuaries or other protected areas, and in areas that witnessed increased urbanization, in-

creased human use of forest resources and higher frequency of armed conflicts, the study said. “Without community support and participation and community benefits, conservation is not possible in our country,” said Jhala.

Tigers are spread across around 53,359 square miles in India, about the size of the state of New York. But just 25% of the area is prey-rich and protected, and another 45% of tiger habitats are shared with roughly 60 million people, the study said.

Strong wildlife protection legislation is the “backbone” of tiger conservation in India, said Jhala. “Habitat is not a constraint, it’s the quality of the habitat which is a constraint,” he said.

Wildlife biologist Ravi Chellam, who wasn’t part of the study, said that while tiger conservation efforts are promising, they need to be extended to other species to better maintain the entire ecosystem.

“There are several species, including the great Indian bustard and caracal which are all on the edge,” Chellam said. “And there is really not enough focus on that.”

SATYAJEET SINGH RATHORE / AP PHOTO

Tigers are visible at the Ranthambore National Park in Sawai Madhopur, India, in

DEEPAK SHARMA / AP PHOTO

A Royal Bengal tiger drags a wild boar after killing it in Ranthambore National Park in Sawai Madhopur, India, in April 2015.

HOKE SPORTS

WINTER SPORTS ROUNDUP

Wrestling moves to third round of championships

North State Journal staff

IT’S PLAYOFF TIME on the mat, and the state dual meet is going well for Hoke County through the first two rounds. Things are also going strong at the middle school level. Here’s a look at the winter sports scene around the county.

Wrestling

The Hoke County wrestling team advanced to the third round of the NCHSAA 4A Dual Team Championships.

The Bucks drew the No. 2 seed in the bracket and opened with a 53-12 rout of No. 15 Cleveland. In the second round, they took out No. 7 Millbrook 46-26. Now Hoke faces No. 3 Laney with a trip to the regional final at stake.

The third round and regional finals were held after press time, on Wednesday, in Lumberton.

We’ll have full results next week.

Hoke’s wrestling future also looks to be in good hands. The

East Hoke Middle School team won the Southeastern Middle School Championship last week. It’s the third year in a row they’ve taken the crown.

Boys’ basketball

Hoke County dropped backto-back games last week. The Bucks fell at Lee County 60-52 then lost at home to Richmond 89-62.

Savion Kinston had a double-double against Lee, with 10 points and 10 rebounds. Josiah Jacobs led the way against Richmond with 21 points and added a team-high 9 rebounds.

Hoke travels to Southern Lee and hosts Union Pines this week in a pair of league games. On the year, the Bucks are 7-13, 2-8 in the Sandhills Conference.

The JV boys recorded a road win last week, beating Richmond 67-52.

In middle school, East Hoke moved to 8-1 to wrap up the No. 2 seed in the SEMSAC Con-

ference Tournament. West Hoke did not place in the top six seeds. Girls’ basketball

The Hoke girls have now lost seven straight after dropping a pair of games last week.

The Lady Bucks fell on the road at Lee County 48-37 then returned home but lost to Richmond 56-33. That dropped their record to 3-17, 0-9 in the Sandhills Conference. There are three games left in the regular season, two of them this week— at Southern Lee and home against Union Pines.

The JV girls’ team had a 38-26 win over Richmond. Patience Morton had a team-high 18 points, while JaNiyah Leak added 12 with 23 rebounds.

Meanwhile, in middle school, West Hoke clinched the No. 3 seed in the SEMSAC Conference Tournament with a win over Spring Hill. They’ll open tourney play against No. 6 East Hoke.

East Hoke Middle School’s wrestling team celebrates its three-peat as Southeastern champions.

ATHLETE OF THE WEEK

Eli Danet

East Hoke Middle School, wrestling

Eli Danet is a middle schooler at East Hoke Middle School and a member of the wrestling team.

The Eagles continued their dominance on the mat, winning the Southeastern Middle School Conference Championship for the third season in a row.

Danet led the way for the Eagles three-peat, and his performance in the conference tourney earned him Most Outstanding Wrestler honors.

The deal would have expired in 2026 if the 10-year option wasn’t picked up

By Aaron Beard The Associated Press

ESPN EXERCISED its option to extend a base-rights media deal with the Atlantic Coast Conference through 2035-36, aligning the timeline with a second deal that covers their partnership for the ACC Network.

The network and the ACC announced the extension last Thursday in a welcome, but not unexpected, development for the league amid questions about revenue and its long-term future.

ESPN had a deadline of Feb. 1 to decide whether to pick up the option for the base rights for 2027-36, a wrinkle that emerged during Florida State’s lawsuit against the league regarding exit

fees for a potential departure to another conference.

That base-rights deal covers events broadcast on primary properties like ESPN, ESPN2, ESPNU and ABC, and generally involves financial payouts laid out in contracts. A person familiar with the contracts said the second deal specifically covered the ACC Network through 2035-36 regardless of whether ESPN picked up the option on the base rights, a detail first reported by The Athletic.

The person spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity last Thursday because the league hasn’t released unredacted information for its ESPN deals.

Now both parts of the deal are set to run another 11 years.

“The ACC is a pillar of ESPN’s leading commitment to college sports and we are thrilled to continue the partnership over the next decade,” ESPN chair-

man Jimmy Pitaro said in a statement.

The extension comes with FSU and Clemson both in legal fights with the league tied to the grant-of-rights agreement in 2016 — timed with the deal to announce the ACC Network’s August 2019 arrival — that seeks to deter defections by schools seeking more revenue with other leagues. That has led ACC commissioner Jim Phillips to talk openly about searching for ways to enhance revenue, such as discussions with ESPN as a partner to enhance the value of the media-rights deal and potentially create more revenue from it.

For example, Phillips has said the league’s addition of Stanford, California and SMU through expansion for this season created $600 million in additional incremental revenue through the media-rights deal.

“The resolve from both parties to further enhance the part-

nership through innovation and creativity to continue to drive additional value remains our top priority,” Phillips said in a statement with the extension announcement. Phillips has also been open about discussions of changes to the revenue distribution model used by league schools. Just last year, the league launched its “success initiative” that allows league schools to keep more

money generated by their own postseason success instead of sharing it evenly with the rest of the league.

Phillips has also talked openly about the league’s efforts to find more revenues for its members while facing a widening gap behind the Southeastern and Big Ten conferences. According to tax documents, the ACC distributed an average of $44.8 million to its 14 football-playing members (Notre Dame receives a partial share as a football independent) and $706.6 million in total revenue for the 2022-23 season. That came at a time of record revenues for the league, yet the ACC ranked third behind the Big Ten ($879.9 million revenue, $60.3 million average payout) and SEC ($852.6 million, $51.3 million) in the most recent filings, and ahead of the smaller Big 12 ($510.7 million, $44.2 million).

EAST

EAST HOKE MIDDLE SCHOOL / FACEBOOK

Unusual betting patterns surrounding play of Rozier in 2023 game investigated

Rozier left the game after a single quarter, spoiling many prop bets

By Tim Reynolds

The Associated Press

MIAMI — Unusual betting patterns surrounding the play of then-Charlotte Hornets guard Terry Rozier in a game nearly two years ago are now under investigation by federal prosecutors, part of the same probe that led to the lifetime ban of Toronto Raptors player Jontay Porter, the NBA confirmed.

Rozier — who played for the Hornets at the time and now plays for the Miami Heat — has not been charged with a crime, nor has he been accused of wrongdoing.

The NBA said it looked into the matter at the time and did not find that any league rules were broken.

“In March 2023, the NBA was alerted to unusual betting activity related to Terry Rozier’s performance in a game between Charlotte and New Orleans,” NBA spokesman Mike Bass said in a statement. “The league conducted an investigation and did not find a violation of NBA rules. We are now aware of an investigation by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of New York related to this matter and have been cooperating with that investigation.”

The game involving Rozier that is in question was played March 23, 2023, a matchup between the Hornets and the New Orleans Pelicans. Rozier played the first 9 minutes, 36 seconds of that game — and not only did not return that night, citing a foot issue, but did not play again that season. Charlotte had eight games remaining.

In that March 23 game, Rozier finished with five points, four rebounds and two assists

SIDELINE REPORT

RACING

Ford vs. Ferrari: Blue oval brand to return to top level of endurance racing and Le Mans

Charlotte Ford Motor Company will return to the top level of prototype sports car racing in 2027. The automaker will be back in the World Endurance Championship series with a factory team that will compete at the 24 Hours of Le Mans. Ford had four consecutive overall victories at Le Mans from 1966 and 1969 under the late Carroll Shelby. That dominance led to a rivalry with Ferrari. Ford pulled out of competition after 1969 but celebrated the 50th anniversary of its first Le Mans victory with a return to the endurance event in 2016.

TENNIS

Hall of Famer Shriver’s trophies back after being taken in stolen car amid LA fires

Los Angeles International Tennis Hall of Fame member Pam Shriver has her trophies back. Shriver said she regained the dozen or so pieces of hardware that were in a car stolen from the hotel where she was staying after evacuating from her home during the outbreak of the devastating wildfires in the greater Los Angeles area. Shriver won 21 Grand Slam doubles championships, a gold medal at the 1984 Summer Olympics and a total of 111 doubles titles. Shriver, now a TV commentator, was inducted into the sport’s Hall of Fame in 2002.

Charlotte Hornets guard Terry Rozier (3) shoots over New Orleans Pelicans forward Herbert Jones (5) during the first quarter of a March 23, 2023, game that has sparked an investigation.

in that opening period — a productive quarter, but well below his usual total output for a full game.

Some bettors were furious with sportsbooks that evening when it became evident that Rozier was not going to return to the game after the first quarter, with many turning to social media to say that something “shady” had gone on regarding the prop bets involving his stats for that night. One bettor posted that night of getting “some inside info” that Rozier was leaving that game

NHL Rangers get center Miller from Canucks in multiplayer deal

New York

The New York Rangers acquired veteran center J.T. Miller from the Vancouver Canucks in a multiplayer deal.

The Rangers sent center Filip Chytil, defenseman Victor Mancini and a conditional draft pick to Vancouver. New York also received defensemen Jackson Dorrington and Erik Brannstrom. The Canucks were expected to trade either Miller or Elias Pettersson after a reported rift between the two stars. The 31-year- old Miller was drafted by the Rangers and played for New York for six seasons before being dealt to Tampa Bay in 2018.

NBA

Raptor fans continue trend of booing U.S. national anthem at pro sporting events

Toronto Fans at a Toronto Raptors game have continued an emerging trend of booing the American national anthem at sporting events in Canada. Fans booed the anthem Sunday after similar reactions broke out Saturday night at NHL games in Ottawa, Ontario, and Calgary, Alberta. Those instances happened hours after President Donald Trump threatened import tariffs on America’s northern neighbor. U.S. national anthem boos in Canada are rare but not unheard of, especially when tied to world events. The tariffs have since been delayed until March 4.

early and showed an image of how he turned a $122 wager into a $222 payout.

Some sportsbooks offered Rozier prop bets on March 23, then took them down hours before the start of the Charlotte-New Orleans game. It was not clear why that happened, and some bettors wondered aloud why that unusual move had taken place. Rozier was not listed on the team’s injury report going into the game. Porter’s ban came after a similar investigation into his performance and “prop bets”. Last

April, the NBA banned Porter for life after a league probe found he disclosed confidential information to sports bettors and wagered on games, even betting on his team to lose.

Porter was criminally prosecuted and pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit wire fraud. He is awaiting sentencing.

The Porter investigation started once the league learned from “licensed sports betting operators and an organization that monitors legal betting markets” about unusual gambling patterns surrounding Por-

ter’s performance in a game on March 20, 2024, against Sacramento. The league determined that Porter gave a bettor information about his own health status prior that game and said that another individual — known to be an NBA bettor — placed an $80,000 bet that Porter would not hit the numbers set for him in parlays through an online sports book. That bet would have won $1.1 million.

The specifics of the bets that triggered the probe into the Hornets-Pelicans game are unknown.

Edward Lewis Owens Jr.

Sept. 13, 1947 – Feb. 1, 2025

Mr. Edward Lewis Owens Jr. passed away at home with his wife and daughter on Saturday, February 01, 2025, at the age of 77.

Eddie was born on September 13, 1947, to the late Edward and Irene Owens.

He was an entrepreneur and owned two businesses. He was an avid gardener, outdoorsman, and animal lover. Eddie was an aviator and taught many pilots at Fort Bragg.

He is survived by his wife of 52 years, Catherine McNeill Owens; his daughter, Liz Owens (Michael Suchan); his sister, Beth McAlister (J.L); his brother-in-law, Eddie McNeill (Pat); his nephews, Lamar and Bryan McAlister, Jim McNeill, and David McNeill; and one niece, Catherine Kummer.

A private ceremony will be held at a later date.

Patsy Evon Tally

April 13, 1948 – Feb. 1, 2025

Ms. Patsy Evon Tally passed away on Saturday, February 01, 2025, at the age of 76. She was born on April 13, 1948, in Cumberland County, NC to the late William and Annie Tew.

Along with her parents, she was preceded in death by her brothers, John Archie, William Lewis, and Robert Duncan; her sisters, Kathleen Doris, Eveleen Dorothy, and Bobbie Ann; and one great-grandson, Robert Scott Fountain III.

Patsy was also known as “FatPat”, a nickname given to her by her great-grandson. She loved crafting, yard work, and dancing. She is survived by her daughter Tammy Adams (Terry); her brother Tommy Tew I; her granddaughters, Amanda Smith, Jessica Fountain (Robert); Grandson, Terry “Boo” (Brittany); and great-grandkids, Riylee, Olivia, Grayson, and Sawyer.

A visitation will be held from 11 a.m. -1 p.m. on Thursday, February 13, 2025, at Crumpler Funeral Home of Raeford.

A service will follow at 1 p.m. with Pastor Gerald Oldham officiating.

Burial will be held in the Cumberland Memorial Gardens in Fayetteville.

Dick

Button,

Olympic

great and voice of skating, dies at 95

The American figure skating community has faced a week of loss

By Barry Wilner and Dave Skretta

The Associated Press

NEW YORK — Dick Button was more than the most accomplished men’s figure skater in history. He was one of his sport’s great innovators and promoters, the man responsible not only for inventing the flying camel spin but describing it to generations of fans.

He was an athlete and actor, a broadcaster and entrepreneur.

“Dick was one of the most important figures in our sport,” said Scott Hamilton, the 1984 Olympic champion. “There wasn’t a skater after Dick who wasn’t helped by him in some way.”

The winner of two Olympic gold medals and five consecutive world championships, Button died last Thursday in North Salem, New York, at age 95. His death was confirmed by his son, Edward, who did not provide a cause, though Button had been in declining health.

“The two-time Olympic champion’s pioneering style and award-winning television commentary revolutionized figure skating,” U.S. Figure Skating said. “His legacy will live on forever. We extend our deepest condolences to his family and loved ones.”

His death further shook a tight-knit figure skating community already reeling from last Wednesday night’s crash of an American Airlines flight and an Army helicopter outside Washington, D.C., that killed everyone on board. Two teenage skaters, their mothers and two former world champions who were coaching at the Skating Club of Boston — where Button also skated and which he remained close to the rest of his

life — were among the 14 people killed from the skating community.

The trophy room at the Skating Club of Boston is named in Button’s honor, and the club has hosted the Dick Button Artistic Figure Skating Showcase, which is designed to promote the beauty and innovation of skating as an art form.

Button’s impact on figure skating began after World War II. He was the first U.S. men’s champion — and his country’s youngest at the time at age 16 — when the competition returned in 1946. Two years later, he took gold at the St. Moritz Olympics, back when the competitions were staged outdoors. He performed the first double axel in any competition and became the first American to win the men’s event, paving the way for future champions such as Hamilton, Brian Boitano and Nathan Chen.

“By the way, that jump had a cheat on it,” Button once said. “But listen, I did it and that was what counted.”

That first Olympic title began his dominance of international skating, and U.S. amateur sports in general. He was

the first figure skater to win the prestigious Sullivan Award in 1949 — no other figure skater won it until Michelle Kwan in 2001.

In 1952, while still a student at Harvard, Button won a second gold at the Oslo Games, making more history with the first triple jump (a loop) in competition. Soon after, he won a fifth world title, then gave up his eligibility as an amateur to perform in shows; all Olympic sports were subject to an amateur-professional division at the time.

“I had achieved everything I could have dreamed of doing as a skater,” said Button, who had earned a law degree from Harvard in 1956. “I was able to enjoy the Ice Capades and keep my hand in skating, and that was very important to me.”

With a frank and often brutally honest style, Button became an Emmy Award-winning TV analyst, helping viewers learn not only the basics but also the nuances of a sport unfamiliar to most casual fans. He became as much a fixture on ABC’s “Wide World of Sports” as Jim McKay and the hapless ski jumper that went tumbling down the slope.

“Dick Button is the custodian of the history of figure skating and its quintessential voice,” Boitano, the 1988 Olympic champion, said in Button’s autobiography. “He made the words ‘lutz’ and ‘salchow’ part of our everyday vocabulary.”

After the 1961 plane crash that killed the entire U.S. figure skating team on the way to the world championships, which then were canceled, Button persuaded ABC Sports executive Roone Arledge to televise the 1962 event on “Wide World.”

That’s when he joined the network as a commentator and took figure skating to a mainstream television audience.

Button later ran professional events that provided skaters an avenue to profit from their ability once their competitive careers were over. The World Professional Figure Skating Championships, the Challenge of Champions and others provided Hamilton, the dance team of Jayne Torvill and Christopher Dean, Kurt Browning, Katarina Witt and others a new platform to perform.

Button even tried his hand at acting, performing in such shows and films as “The Young Doctors” and “The Bad New Bears Go to Japan.” His studio, Candid Productions, helped to produce made-for-TV programs such as “Battle of the Network Stars.”

“Dick Button created an open and honest space in figure skating broadcasting where no topic or moment was off-limits,” said Johnny Weir, the three-time U.S. champion and current NBC Sports figure skating analyst. “He told it like it was, even when his opinion wasn’t a popular one. His zingers were always in my mind when I would perform for him, and I wanted to make him as happy and proud as I would my coaches.

“That is something very special about commentating figure skating,” Weir said. “As an athlete, we rarely have an opportunity to speak, and we rely on the TV voices to tell our story for us. Nobody could do it like Mr. Button.”

Button is survived by his longtime partner, Dennis Grimaldi, and his two children, Edward and Emily.

AP PHOTO

Dick Button executes a jump during a practice session at St. Moritz, Switzerland, in preparation for the 1948 Winter Olympics.

STATE & NATION

American bald eagles having a moment, ecologically and culturally

It was also just made America’s national bird (really!)

By Mike Catalini

The Associated Press

WEST ORANGE, N.J. —

Along the long road from American icon to endangered species and back again, the bald eagle — the national bird of the United States, often seen against a clear blue sky — is having a moment.

The eagles find themselves in an environmental updraft of sorts since the early 2000s, when the federal government took the thriving birds off its endangered species list with more states following suit. Culturally, too, the animals are soaring.

In December, then-President Joe Biden signed legislation making the raptor the country’s national bird (Thought that was already the case? More in a bit). New Jersey became the latest state to delist the bald eagle as endangered in January, citing a remarkable comeback for the creatures associated with strength and independence — and that occupied just a single nest in the state decades ago. And to the chagrin or elation of football fans, the Philadelphia Eagles will be vying for a championship in the Super Bowl this weekend.

How did the storied birds find their way back? As with so many tales, it’s complex.

Their well-being was intertwined with an insecticide

The story — there was a single nesting pair in New Jersey in the 1980s and roughly 300 now, for instance — centers on the banning of DDT, a chemical insecticide with environmental side effects that included thin-shelled eagle eggs. That touched off a cratering in the number of eagles across the country, and officials prohibited the pesticide in 1972.

To rebuild the birds’ numbers in their historic range across the country, conservationists im-

ported birds from places where their populations were stable, including from Canada. Early on, they also removed eggs from nesting birds’ nests, replacing them with artificial ones for the eagles to “incubate” while the real eggs were safely hatched outside the nest before being returned, as eaglets for their parents to raise according to Kathy Clark, the head of New Jersey’s Endangered and Nongame Species Program.

“They’re one of the few conservation success stories of animals that almost went extinct on our continent,” said Maia Edwards, the science director at the American Bald Eagle Foundation in Alaska. “And so I think now it’s really important to make sure people know that story and learn from it,”

Clark, whose work with the birds spans decades and includes the period when their numbers were so small they lived only in a remote part of the state, said the eagles have taught officials

a number of lessons. One is that they’re “fairly adaptable” and now live across densely populated (with people) New Jersey — from suburban Bergen County near New York to the wetlands along the shore in the south.

She recalled the story of one fledgling eagle in a suburban town — New York Giants territory, as it were, sorry, Eagles fans — that found itself on a backyard woodpile and walking around the street. Volunteer observers worried over the bird’s well-being, given the realities of suburban living. But a year later, observers spotted the eagle, identified by a band. It had apparently made it.

“Those birds that have that tolerance to live like in such a densely human structured environment is something I have a hard time understanding,” she said. “They’re Jersey birds. You got to have attitude, right?”

The birds do face dangers as they expand into suburbia, though. Jilian Fazio, director of

the Essex County Turtle Back Zoo in suburban northern New Jersey, said the zoo rescues a number of birds hit by cars. One bird, a male named Freedom, perched atop a branch in his enclosure at the zoo recently and called out loudly. He was found dangling by a rope, left with an injury that renders him unreleasable, Fazio said. There are threats, as well. Habitat preservation and clean, open water, since the eagles feed heavily on fish, is a worry, but there’s also the current outbreak of avian influenza or bird flu. Clark says officials are going to maintain surveillance amid the outbreak.

A resurgence in popularity, too

Beyond the birds coming off endangered lists, they made headlines recently for finally getting their due as the county’s national bird, an oversight left undone in law because the bald

eagle was already on the national seal and many thought it already had that status, said Sen. Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota, who sponsored legislation that Biden signed last month.

She and colleagues worked with Native American and veterans groups to get buy-in for the legislation, she said, and it passed the typically divisive House and Senate last year with no dissent. The birds are revered in a number of Native American cultures as symbols of strength, particularly in the Pacific Northwest, according to Paul Apodaca, a retired academic who specializes in folklore and mythology.

The eagles’ perch as symbols of the country contributes to their conservation, with experts considering them an “umbrella species,” whose need for large open spaces and waterways helps preserve lesser known wildlife.

“Americans are always going to have that sort of personal relationship with bald eagles,” Clark said.

New Jersey Sen. Andy Kim, a native of Philadelphia Eagles territory, took his two young sons to the NFC championship game last week, a memory he said they won’t forget. “Let’s never forget that Bald Eagle was officially named America’s national bird at the same time the Eagles are headed back to the Super Bowl,” he said in a text message.

Experiencing seeing a bird in the wild or even as you’re driving along a business-lined highway can leave an impression. Dan Day, a birder who’s spotted bald eagles some 50 times in recent years both on nature walks and just driving around suburban New Jersey, remembered never having seen the birds as a kid growing up in Cleveland. Now a New Jersey resident and Philadelphia Eagles fan, he regularly goes out in his green “Birds” cap and binoculars.

“Just the mere thrill of seeing one — a lot of people just have never, ever looked at one,” he said. “It really elevates your day to see a bald eagle.”

Enjoy watching them, experts say, but give them space, too. Because rescuing animals threatened with extinction is expensive, uncertain work. Said Clark, the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection official: “I don’t think I ever will lose that perspective of being on the brink there, not knowing if you’re going to be able to save the species.”

SETH WENIG / AP PHOTO

Left, a bald eagle rests on a tree next to Union Bay in January 2024 in Seattle. Right, a bald eagle named Freedom perches on a branch at the Turtle Back Zoo in West Orange, New Jersey this January.

SETH WENIG / AP PHOTO

A bald eagle named Freedom calls in West Orange, New Jersey this January.

LINDSEY WASSON / AP PHOTO

Think pink

Pinecrest

72-32

WHAT’S HAPPENING Commissioners approve multiple budgetary items

Trump orders creation of U.S. sovereign wealth fund, says it could own part of TikTok Washington, D.C.

President Donald Trump on Monday signed an executive order directing the U.S. to take steps to start developing a government-owned investment fund that he said could be used to profit off of TikTok if he’s successful at finding the company an American buyer. Trump signed an order on his first day office to grant the Chinese- owned TikTok until early April to find a domestic partner or buyer, but he’s said he’s looking for the U.S. to take a 50% stake in the massive social media platform. He said Monday in the Oval Office that TikTok was an example of what he could put in a new U.S. sovereign wealth fund.

Trump talks so much even his stenographers struggle to keep up Washington, D.C.

The most obvious shift from Joe Biden to Donald Trump has been the flood of talking from the White House. Trump is speaking publicly far more than his predecessor, overwhelming his opponents and leaving them struggling to get a word in edgewise. Even the White House stenographers responsible for transcribing a president’s remarks are racing to keep up with him. According to Factbase, Trump spoke 81,235 words in his first week in office, up from 24,259 in the same timespan for Biden.

The county approved more than $100,000 in increased sludge removal costs

By Ryan Henkel North State Journal

CARTHAGE — At its Feb. 4 regular business meeting, the Moore County Board of Commissioners approved various budgetary items.

The board approved a $61,000 increase to their contract with Hot Rock Haulers for an increase in tonnage being hauled to the Anson County Landfill.

“We have a lot of sludge being produced from our wastewater pumps,” said Public Works Director Brian Patnode. “When you’re treating the wastewa-

ter, you have the water portion of it and then you have a solid or sludge portion of it, and that gets hauled out in a drying bed. We have a number of drying beds at the plant, and we’re getting pretty full.”

In addition, the board also approved a $55,000 increase to their contract with the Anson County Landfill as well for the increased tonnage.

While the two items were necessary for the county to approve currently, the commissioners tasked county staff with looking into a way to reduce those costs in the future.

“It might be a good idea for us to look at getting a report on how often we transport and would it be more feasible for us to invest in a transport vehicle and do it ourselves because this is quite an escalation in one fiscal year,”

said vice chair Nick Picerno. “It might be more fiscally responsible if we did our own hauling on this particular item. We should also look to see if we have somewhere we can take it ourselves within our county.”

The board then approved a purchase agreement with Zoll Medical Corporation to purchase 95% of the county’s defibrillator equipment, products and accessories.

“We have eight Zoll monitor defibrillators that deliver care to our citizens,” said Public Safety Director Bryan Phillips. “The last pricing agreement we had was put in place in 2021, and they’ve held their prices until now, which was very good for what’s going on in the market today with increased prices. So we’d like to go back to a service agreement to get the discounted

pricing for the purchase of that equipment.”

A full-time, grant-funded position for a Veterans Treatment Court director was also approved by the board.

“In September, we were awarded a three-year grant in the amount of $900,000 to get the Veterans Treatment Court going,” said County Manager Wayne Vest. “As part of that grant, we had quite a bit of discussion about a position. In January, we heard from the state, who said they would no longer support the position within the court system.”

The position will be paid between $58,000 and $91,000 per the county’s pay plan.

“We were going to look at it as a contract position in the short term to get the veterans Treatment Court up and running and then ultimately transition it to a county position, but we found that there’s more pitfalls and more hurdles trying to take that route than what we can overcome in a reasonable amount of time,” Vest said.

The Moore County Board of Commissioners will next meet Feb. 18.

Hostage from Chapel Hill finally released from Gaza

Fifteen months after being abducted, Keith Siegel is free

By Melanie Lidman

Associated Press

The

JERUSALEM — Three men held hostage in the Gaza Strip for more than 15 months were freed Saturday, bringing to 18 the number of captives released by militants since the ceasefire between Israel and Hamas began Jan. 19.

Among those freed was Yarden Bibas, 35, the father of the two youngest hostages in Gaza, whose plight has become a rallying cry for Israelis. The Bibas sons — 4 years old and 9 months old at the time of their abduction — and their mother, Shiri, are still in captivity, and feared dead.

Shiri Bibas and the two children are the last woman and children held in captivity in G aza who have not

been confirmed dead by Israel.

The other hostages released Saturday were American-Israeli Keith Siegel, 65, and French-Israeli Ofer

Kalderon, 54, also household names in Israel after highly visible campaigns to free them. Keith Siegel, from Chap -

el Hill, was abducted with his wife, Aviva Siegel, from Kibbutz Kfar Aza, a communal farming village heavily damaged by the attack. She was freed during the November 2023 ceasefire deal and has campaigned across the world for the release of her husband and other hostages.

Keith Siegel worked as an a occupational therapist and loves spending time with his grandchildren, according to the forum representing the hostage families.

Aviva Siegel said that she was held hostage with her husband during her 51 days in captivity. She said she took comfort from having her husband by her side as they were moved from tunnel to tunnel, the two given almost no food or water. Her parting words to him were, “Be strong for me.” In the ceasefire’s first phase, a total of 33 hostages in Gaza

DAVID SINCLAIR FOR NORTH STATE JOURNAL

The

varsity girls’ basketball team wore pink to promote cancer awareness at its game Friday against Southern Lee. The Lady Patriots won

as they raised money for cancer research.

HOSTAGES

This undated photo provided by Hostages Family Forum shows Keith Siegel, who was abducted and brought to Gaza on Oct. 7, 2023.

North State Journal (USPS 20451) (ISSN 2471-1365)

Neal Robbins, Publisher

Jim Sills, VP of Local Newspapers

Cory Lavalette, Senior Editor

Jordan Golson, Local News Editor

Shawn Krest, Sports Editor

Dan Reeves, Features Editor

Ryan Henkel, Reporter

P.J. Ward-Brown, Photographer

BUSINESS

David Guy, Advertising Manager

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HOSTAGE from page A1

will be released in exchange for almost 2,000 Palestinian prisoners held by Israel.

The ceasefire and release of hostages has sparked both hope and fear among Israelis. Many worry that the deal could collapse before all the hostages return or that those released will arrive in poor health. Others worry that the number of captives who have died is higher than expected.

Some 250 people were taken hostage during Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack. Around 80 remain in Gaza, although at least a third are believed to be dead. The others were released, rescued or their bodies were recovered.

THURSDAY

Share with your community! Send us your births, deaths, marriages, graduations and other announcements: moorecommunity@ northstatejournal. com

Weekly deadline is Monday at Noon

Jet’s sound barrier mark revives talk of commercial supersonic travel

Boom Supersonic’s Overture aircraft will be built in Greensboro

By Dylan Lovan The Associated Press

AN AIRCRAFT developed by Boom Supersonic became the first independently funded jet to break the sound barrier last week. The XB-1 aircraft accelerated to Mach 1.05 at about 35,000 feet during a test flight last Tuesday in the same Mojave Desert airspace in California where Charles “Chuck” Yeager was the first person to break the sound barrier in 1947. Here’s a look at the flight and the history of supersonic travel.

Why was the supersonic flight significant?

It was a step toward reviving supersonic commercial travel, which has been on hiatus since the Concorde jet was grounded more than two decades ago.

Boom Supersonic has contracts with at least two airlines to buy their commercial airliners once they are developed. Several companies are working to come up with new supersonic jets that would be more fuel efficient — and create fewer climate-changing emissions — than the Concorde.

Boom founder and CEO Blake Scholl says the flight “demonstrates that the technology for passenger supersonic flight has arrived.”

CRIME LOG

Jan. 28

Carol Diane Overbey, 60, was arrested by Aberdeen PD for obtaining property by false pretense.

Jan. 29

Ronnell Dewand Kelly, 44, was arrested by Southern Pines PD for second-degree trespass.

Jan. 30

Ronnie Joe-Hugh Boone, 37, was arrested by Moore County Sheriff’s Office (MCSO) for second-degree arson.

Nathan Howard Huot, 46, was arrested by MCSO for driving while impaired.

Loren Alan McNeill, 19, was arrested by Southern Pines PD for breaking and/or entering.

Jaylan Garratt Schmidt, 24, was arrested by Carthage PD

What aircraft was used?

The test aircraft was made with lightweight carbon fiber and uses an augmented reality vision system to help with landing due to its long nose. Boom, based in Denver, plans to use the technology to build its Overture commercial airliner, which the company says could carry as many as 80 passengers while traveling faster than the speed of sound. The jets would be built in North Carolina.

The company has said the engine it’s developing for the Overture will have 35,000 pounds of thrust and is designed to run on sustainable aviation fuel.

What’s the future of commercial supersonic travel?

American Airlines and United Airlines have pledged to buy jets from Boom Supersonic. Boom said last year it has orders for 130 aircraft, which include orders and preorders.

Those commercial flights could be limited to ocean crossings or would have to slow down over land to limit damage from forceful sonic booms, which can rattle buildings on land.

NASA is looking at developing a craft with a softer boom, and Boeing is also working on a prototype for supersonic commercial travel.

Any new such service will likely face the same hurdles as

for shoplifting/concealment of goods.

Jan. 31

Marlena Kurtiss Locklear, 33, was arrested by MCSO for felony possession of Schedule II controlled substance.

Justin Lynn Mabe, 44, was arrested by MCSO for failure to report new address (sex offender).

Frances Landonia Myers, 56, was arrested by MCSO for resisting a public officer.

Adreidous Makiri Tillman, 25, was arrested by Foxfire Village PD for resisting a public officer.

Feb. 1

Cotey Lee Dunlap, 29, was arrested by MCSO for fleeing/eluding arrest with motor vehicle.

Franklin Eugene Mitchell, 57,

the Concorde, which flew over the Atlantic and was barred from many overland routes because of the sonic booms it caused.

What happened to the Concorde?

The Concorde jet, which was grounded in 2003, was the only supersonic commercial airliner that ever flew, and had its maiden flight in 1969. At the time it was considered a technological marvel and a source of pride in Britain and France, whose aerospace companies joined forces to produce the plane.

The plane holds the record for the fastest transatlantic crossing by a passenger aircraft — 2 hours, 52 minutes and 59 seconds from London’s Heathrow Airport to New York’s Kennedy Airport. But the Concorde never went mainstream due to challenging economics and its sonic booms that led it to be banned on many overland routes. Only 20 were built, 14 of which were used for passenger service.

A deadly crash more than two decades ago hastened the jet’s demise. On July 25, 2000, an Air France Concorde crashed into a hotel and exploded shortly after takeoff in Paris, killing all 109 people on board and four on the ground. Investigators determined that the plane ran over a metal strip, damaging a tire that crashed into the underside of the wing, rupturing a fuel tank.

was arrested by MCSO for breaking and/or entering.

Olivia Mag Quenga, 38, was arrested by Southern Pines PD for possession of methamphetamine.

Feb. 2

Megan Jean-Nichole Baker, 32, was arrested by Pinehurst PD for shoplifting/ concealment of goods.

Feb. 3

Joseph Lee Barber, 57, was arrested by MCSO for attempted trafficking of opiates by possession.

Travon Deaveion Easterling, 25, was arrested by MCSO for driving while impaired.

Quincy Markey Green, 43, was arrested by Carthage PD for communicating threats.

Terry Lee Thompson, 29, was arrested by Aberdeen PD for simple assault.

MOORE COUNTY

moore happening

Here’s a quick look at what’s coming up in and around Moore County:

Feb. 6

4th Annual Gala to Benefit ARC

5:30-9 p.m.

The 4th Annual Gala to benefit The Arc of Moore County will be held on Thursday, Feb. 6 from 5:30-9 p.m. at Village Pine Venue. Highlights of the evening include cocktails and a three-course dinner catered by Elliott’s, a performance by the Arc’s Joyful Noise Choir, a DJ providing the nightly entertainment, and dancing. There will also be a silent and live auction.

Feb. 7

Arts Council of Moore County: “In the Shade of the Longleaf Pines” Art Show

10 a.m. – 5 p.m.

The Arts Council of Moore County presents the “In the Shade of the Longleaf Pines” Art Show. The exhibit features work from painter Jonathan Douglas and woodworker William DeFee. The art will be on exhibition at the Arts Council Campbell House Galleries in Southern Pines through Wednesday, Feb. 12. Free.

Arts Council Galleries Campbell House 482 E. Connecticut Ave. Southern Pines

Cosmic Bowling 6-11:55 p.m.

Enjoy a night of Family Fun at Sandhills Bowling Center! Cosmic Bowling is just $17.00 per person and includes 2 hours of bowling and free shoe rental.

Sandhills Bowling Center 1680 N.C. Highway 5 Aberdeen

Artists League of the Sandhills: “Water, Water, Everywhere” Opening Reception 5-7 p.m.

This exhibit will feature the paintings and drawings of the League’s full members using water as the theme. The exhibit will be on display in the Exchange Street Gallery of Fine Art through Friday, Feb. 28.

Exchange Street Gallery of Fine Art 129 Exchange St. Aberdeen

THE CONVERSATION

Neal Robbins, publisher | Frank Hill, senior opinion editor

VISUAL VOICES

| SUSAN ESTRICH

Trump it is

He’s still in campaign mode, running for president instead of being president.

IT’S ENOUGH to make you — and certainly me — sick.

In the midst of a national tragedy, he can’t help himself. At a time when almost nothing was known for certain about the cause of the terrifying plane crash in Washington, D.C., he couldn’t stop himself from playing the blame game.

There was absolutely no evidence that it had anything to do with the federal government’s DEI policies — some of which were initiated by him — but that didn’t stop the president from claiming that they did.

How about offering some comfort to the families of the victims? How about promising Americans that he will do what it takes to make the skies safe?

That’s what a leader should do, without regard to party or politics.

But Donald Trump is not that kind of leader, and it’s painfully clear that he won’t do what it takes. He’s too busy trying to decapitate the federal workforce. He’s still in campaign mode, looking to score points against his foes, running for president instead of being president. He’s so keen on divide and conquer that he lacks the skill or inclination to unify and comfort a grieving and frightened country.

The crash comes on the heels of Trump’s Muskian effort to slash the federal workforce. While the air traffic

controllers are, reportedly, not the targets of the buyout plan, they have been the subject of a hiring freeze and are clearly overworked. One thing we learned as a result of the crash is how lucky we are that there haven’t been more. The number of near misses in midair above Reagan National Airport is simply terrifying. Knowledgeable folks have apparently been warning for some time about the risks of a fatal crash, with good reason. Is Trump going to do anything about that?

Trump has castigated federal employees, as if people who devote their lives to public service are serving someone else. They serve us. They are literally lifesavers. Really, is the air too clear, the water supply too clean, the skies too safe? Are cars too safe? Is the food we eat too healthy?

What will cutting 2 million federal workers do to those of us — which is all of us — who depend on those federal employees to protect us from the hazards that individuals cannot deal with on our own? What will it do to the most vulnerable among us, who literally depend on federal programs to survive?

And what will it do to the morale of people who have spent their entire careers doing the public’s work, to those who have depended on the civil service system to protect them from having to

choose sides every four years in order to keep their jobs? As is clear from his high-level appointees, for Trump, experience and accomplishments don’t count for anything at all.

All that matters, quite literally, is loyalty to Trump. What else qualifies a Pete Hegseth to run the Defense Department, or a Tulsi Gabbard to run all our intelligence operations, or RFK Jr. to be in charge of public health? It is painful to watch Republican senators turn themselves into pretzels in these confirmation hearings. They know better, but they are cowards. Will they do their jobs, or are they too afraid of Elon Musk and his money — and the threat to primary anyone who doesn’t toe the line — to insist that the people who run the federal bureaucracy have more than their loyalty to Trump to qualify them?

Checks and balances don’t mean much if the people who are supposed to be applying those checks and providing that balance are afraid to be seen as disloyal. So far, it is only the judiciary that has had the guts to say no to Trump. And what scares me most is that at the end of the day, a president who has shown such contempt for the rule of law will not obey the law.

Susan Estrich is a lawyer, professor, author and political commentator.

Better trade deals for North Carolinians means excluding nonessential industries

A price increase due to tariffs would hurt North Carolinians trying to rebuild their lives and finances.

NOW THAT DONALD TRUMP has taken the oath of office, expectations are high among his supporters in North Carolina and across the country. Those supporters are eager for him to clean up the mess left behind by his predecessor.

I hope his next four years in office will be an economic windfall for the nation, and Trump can make that a reality through strategic, sensible economic policies.

A crucial step Trump promised on the path to prosperity includes negotiating better trade deals. Like any good deal, pragmatism should be involved, especially regarding the president’s proposed tariffs on China, Canada and Mexico. As the author of “The Art of the Deal,” Trump is the man we want at the negotiating table.

He is right to push for a more fair playing field with these trading partners. However, unless certain industries are excluded, there is a risk of forcing higher prices on North Carolina families with tariffs alone.

Inflation has been no joke in North

Carolina; a High Point University study found that 52% of residents said inflation concerns were affecting their spending decisions. A price increase due to tariffs would hurt North Carolinians trying to rebuild their lives and finances, many of whom voted for Trump in the fall.

We’ve already seen evidence that Trump is looking closely at how best to achieve his desired outcomes on issues across the board without negatively impacting everyday Americans. Tariffs are no different, and it is clear that Trump wants to utilize tariffs to achieve his goals without harming regular, nonstrategic consumer goods.

By excluding nonessential sectors that don’t pose a security threat to the United States, he greatly reduces the risk of inflating prices for Americans who have suffered enough paying for expensive goods. Toys, for instance, are mainly produced in China and Mexico before being exported to the U.S. Those countries have the infrastructure

to deliver safe, inexpensive, quality toys.

A broad tariff policy could easily hike those prices for families here. Toys are not the strategic industry Trump is after, but sweeping tariffs could wipe out small businesses and jack up prices at more prominent brands, leaving consumers with fewer options and higher prices.

This scenario contradicts Trump’s campaign promises to keep prices down for American consumers. Children and small retailers shouldn’t be caught in the crossfire of a trade war, but only applying tariffs to sectors with high stakes can guarantee such an outcome never happens.

Trump soundly won North Carolina because voters are confident that he will deliver on stabilizing the economy. I firmly believe in better trade deals to help accomplish this, just as the president will do the right thing and apply his tariffs wisely when negotiating.

Brandon Barnes is CEO of Capital Games LLC in Raleigh.

COLUMN

Oldest evidence for lead pollution comes from ancient Greece

“Lead released from smelting is the world’s first form of toxic or industrial pollution.”

Joseph Manning, Yale historian

It came as a byproduct of silver smelting

By Christina Larson

The Associated Press

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Ancient Greece produced the earliest records of democracy, western philosophy — and, it turns out, lead pollution.

Researchers studying sediment cores recovered from mainland Greece and the Aegean Sea have found the oldest known evidence of lead pollution in the environment dating to around 5,200 years ago.

That’s 1,200 years older than the previous earliest recorded lead pollution, which was found in a peatbog in Serbia.

In antiquity, lead was released into the atmosphere as a byproduct of smelting ore for copper and silver. The toxic metal later condensed as dust and settled onto the soil.

“Silver was used for jewelry, for special objects — but it wasn’t found in a pure state” but mined in ore combined with lead, said Heidelberg University archaeologist Joseph Maran, co-author of a new study published Thursday in Communications Earth and Environment.

The site with the earliest signs of lead contamination is located in northeastern Greece, near the island of Thasos. Prior archaeological evidence suggests Thasos was one of the region’s most significant sites for silver mining and metalwork, said Maran.

“Lead released from smelting is the world’s first form of toxic or industrial pollution,” said Yale historian Joseph Manning, who was not involved in the study.

The researchers found that levels of lead contamination remained fairly low and localized in ancient Greece, considered the cradle of European civilization, throughout the Bronze Age, the Classical period and the Hellenistic period. The Classical period is famous for Athenian democracy, Socrates and Plato, and the Hellenistic period saw Greek cultural influence peak across the Mediterranean region.

But around 2,150 years ago, the researchers detected “a very strong and abrupt increase” in lead emissions caused by human activities across Greece, said co-author Andreas Koutsodendris at Heidelberg University.

Around that time, in 146 B.C., the Roman army conquered the Greek peninsula, transforming the region’s society and economy. As Roman trade, colonies and shipping expanded across the Mediterranean Sea and Black Sea, demand for silver coins grew rapidly, requiring smelting that released lead, said Koutsodendris.

Later the Roman Empire used lead for tableware and for construction, including pipes.

Previous research — including an analysis of ice cores from Greenland — had detected high levels of lead across much of the Northern Hemisphere during Roman times.

But the new study adds a more “specific and local picture to how lead levels changed,” said Nathan Chellman, an environmental scientist at the University of Nevada, Reno, who was not involved in the research.

Tiger protections also benefited local communities via increased tourism

By Sibi Arasu The Associated Press

BENGALURU, India — India doubled its tiger population in a little over a decade by protecting the big cats from poaching and habitat loss, ensuring they have enough prey, reducing human-wildlife conflict and increasing communities’ living standards near tiger areas, a study published Thursday found.

The number of tigers grew from an estimated 1,706 tigers in 2010 to around 3,682 in 2022, according to estimates by the National Tiger Conservation Authority, making India home to roughly 75% of the global tiger population. The study found that some local communities near tiger habitats have also benefited from the increase in tigers because of the foot traffic and revenues brought in by ecotourism.

The study in the journal Science says India’s success “offers important lessons for tiger-range countries” that conservation efforts can benefit both biodiversity and nearby communities.

“The common belief is that human densities preclude an increase in tiger populations,” said Yadvendradev Jhala, a senior scientist at Bengaluru-based Indian National Academy of Sciences and the study’s lead author. “What the research shows is that it’s not the human density but the attitude of people, which matters more.

Wildlife conservationists and ecologists welcomed the study but said that tigers and other wildlife in India would benefit if source data were made available to a larger group of scientists. The study was based on data collected by Indian government-supported institutions.

“What the

research shows is

that it’s

not the human density, but the attitude of people, which matters more.”

Yadvendradev Jhala, senior scientist at India’s National Academy of Sciences

Arjun Gopalaswamy, an ecologist with expertise in wildlife population estimation, said estimates from India’s official tiger monitoring program have been “chaotic” and “contradictory.” He said some of the figures in the study are significantly higher than previous estimates of tiger distribution from the same datasets.

But he added that the paper’s findings seem to have corrected an anomaly flagged repeatedly by scientists since 2011 related to tiger population size and their geographic spread. Tigers disappeared in some areas that were not near national parks, wildlife sanctuaries or other protected areas, and in areas that witnessed increased urbanization, in-

creased human use of forest resources and higher frequency of armed conflicts, the study said. “Without community support and participation and community benefits, conservation is not possible in our country,” said Jhala.

Tigers are spread across around 53,359 square miles in India, about the size of the state of New York. But just 25% of the area is prey-rich and protected, and another 45% of tiger habitats are shared with roughly 60 million people, the study said.

Strong wildlife protection legislation is the “backbone” of tiger conservation in India, said Jhala. “Habitat is not a constraint, it’s the quality of the habitat which is a constraint,” he said.

Wildlife biologist Ravi Chellam, who wasn’t part of the study, said that while tiger conservation efforts are promising, they need to be extended to other species to better maintain the entire ecosystem.

“There are several species, including the great Indian bustard and caracal which are all on the edge,” Chellam said. “And there is really not enough focus on that.”

A tourist drinks water as she and a man sit under an umbrella in front of the five century

B.C. Parthenon temple at the Acropolis hill during

SATYAJEET SINGH RATHORE / AP PHOTO Tigers are visible at the Ranthambore National Park in Sawai Madhopur, India, in

DEEPAK SHARMA / AP PHOTO

A Royal Bengal tiger drags a wild boar after killing it in Ranthambore National Park in Sawai Madhopur, India, in April 2015.

MOORE SPORTS

WINTER SPORTS ROUNDUP

Union Pines advances in wrestling playoffs

North State Journal staff

TWO SCHOOLS took part in the NCHSAA wrestling dual team tournament, and every boys’ and girls basketball squad had a full week’s schedule of games.

Wrestling

The Union Pines wrestling team advanced to the third round of the NCHSAA 3A Dual Team Championships. The Vikings drew the top seed in the bracket and opened with a 78-0 rout of No. 16 Westover. In the second round, they took out No. 9 Northern Nash 63-12. Now Union Pines faces No. 4 Croatan with a trip to the regional final at stake. The third round and regional finals were held after press time, on Wednesday, in Jacksonville. We’ll have full results next week.

North Moore’s playoff run ended in the second round. The Mustangs entered with a No. 11 seed and recorded an opening-round upset, beating No. 6 NC Leadership 40-35. They couldn’t get past No. 3 Rosewood, however, falling by a 70-11 score. Many of the Mustang wrestlers will be competing in the state’s individual championships later this month.

Boys’ basketball

North Moore snapped an eight-game losing streak with a 63-62 win at Bartlett Yancey. Brady Preslar had 20 points for the Mustangs. Colby Pennington added 12, while Blake Pennington scored 11 with nine rebounds. North Moore is 4-12, 1-9 in the Mid-Carolina Conference.

The Mustangs face Seaforth, Cummings and Graham in home league games this week.

Pinecrest suffered just its second losing streak of the season, dropping back-to-back contests at Richmond (66-54) and home against Southern Lee (46-32). The Patriots are 12-6, 5-3 in the Sandhills. They’ll try to get

back on track this week at home against Lee County and on the road at Scotland. Union Pines returned to the court after an 11-day break between games. The Vikings lost to Scotland, 65-59 to fall to 12-7, 3-4 in the Sandhills. Joe Fuerch had 13 in the loss, while both Aiden Leonard and Kolby Scruton had double figures in rebounds. The Vikings have three league games this week, home against Richmond and on the road at Lee County and Hoke County.

Girls’ basketball

Two weeks off didn’t slow down Union Pines. The Vikings returned after a 14-day break between games and won at Scotland 43-35. Union Pines is now 18-0, 7-0 in the Sandhills. Five games are left in the quest for an

undefeated regular season, and three of them are this week— home against Richmond, and at Lee County and Hoke County. Union Pines already has its most wins in a season since 2019-20.

Pinecrest snapped a threegame losing streak with a 72-32 win over Southern Lee. Kennedy Moore had 27 points, six rebounds, seven assists and 10 steals. The Patriots are now 10-10, 5-3 in the Sandhills. They’ll try to get over .500 with games this week against Lee County and at Scotland.

North Moore has lost three straight, including two last week, against Jordan Matthews (45-22) and at Chatham Central (69-40). The Mustangs are 4-9, 2-7 in conference. They have three chances to get on track this week, all at home, against Seaforth, Cummings and Graham.

ATHLETE OF THE WEEK

Jack Carpenter

Pinecrest alumnus, coach

Jack Carpenter is a 2016 graduate of Pinecrest, where he was a two-sport athlete. As a member of the baseball and football team, he earned the Burlsworth Character Award, which is given to 50 student-athletes across the country.

Since leaving Pinecrest, Carpenter has gone on to become a successful football coach. He was a student manager for the NC State team, and he was then promoted to student assistant coach.

After college, he has served as an assistant coach at North Gaston High School and Montgomery Central. He eventually worked his way up to defensive coordinator at Montgomery and just took another step up, getting named head coach for the Timberwolves following the retirement of Chris Metzger.

Unusual betting patterns surrounding play of Rozier in 2023 game investigated

Rozier left the game after a single quarter, spoiling many prop bets

By Tim Reynolds The Associated Press

MIAMI — Unusual betting patterns surrounding the play of then-Charlotte Hornets guard Terry Rozier in a game nearly two years ago are now under investigation by federal prosecutors, part of the same probe that led to the lifetime ban of Toronto Raptors player Jontay Porter, the NBA confirmed.

Rozier — who played for the Hornets at the time and now plays for the Miami Heat — has not been charged with a crime, nor has he been accused of wrongdoing.

The NBA said it looked into the matter at the time and did not find that any league rules were broken.

“In March 2023, the NBA was alerted to unusual betting activity related to Terry Rozier’s performance in a game between Charlotte and New Orleans,” NBA spokesman Mike Bass said in a statement. “The league conducted an investigation and did not find a violation of NBA rules. We are now aware of an investigation by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of New York related to this matter and have been cooperating with that investigation.”

The game involving Rozier that is in question was played March 23, 2023, a matchup between the Hornets and the New Orleans Pelicans. Rozier played the first 9 minutes, 36 seconds of that game — and not only did not return that night, citing a

issue, but did not play again that season. Charlotte had eight games remaining. In

zier was not going to return to the game after the first quarter, with many turning to social media to say that something “shady” had gone on regarding the prop bets involving his stats for that

night.

One bettor posted that night of getting “some inside info” that Rozier was leaving that game early and showed an image of how he turned a $122 wager into a $222 payout.

Some sportsbooks offered Rozier prop bets on March 23, then took them down hours before the start of the Charlotte-New Orleans game. It was not clear why that happened, and some bettors wondered aloud why that unusual move had taken place. Rozier was not listed on the team’s injury report going into the game.

Porter’s ban came after a similar investigation into his performance and “prop bets”. Last April, the NBA banned Porter for life after a league probe found he disclosed confidential information to sports bettors and wagered on games, even betting on his team to lose.

Porter was criminally prosecuted and pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit wire fraud. He is awaiting sentencing.

The Porter investigation started once the league learned from “licensed sports betting operators and an organization that monitors legal betting markets” about unusual gambling patterns surrounding Porter’s performance in a game on March 20, 2024, against Sacramento. The league determined that Porter gave a bettor information about his own health status prior that game and said that another individual — known to be an NBA bettor — placed an $80,000 bet that Porter would not hit the numbers set for him in parlays through an online sports book. That bet would have won $1.1 million.

The specifics of the bets that triggered the probe into the Hornets-Pelicans game are unknown.

DAVID SINCLAIR FOR NORTH STATE JOURNAL

DAVID SINCLAIR FOR NORTH STATE JOURNAL

Kennedy Moore drives to the hoop for two of her 27 points against Southern Lee.

DERICK HINGLE / AP PHOTO

Charlotte Hornets guard Terry Rozier (3) shoots over New Orleans Pelicans forward Herbert Jones (5) during the first quarter of a March 23, 2023, game that has sparked an investigation.

SIDELINE REPORT

RACING

Ford vs. Ferrari: Blue oval brand to return to top level of endurance racing and Le Mans

Charlotte Ford Motor Company will return to the top level of prototype sports car racing in 2027. The automaker will be back in the World Endurance Championship series with a factory team that will compete at the 24 Hours of Le Mans. Ford had four consecutive overall victories at Le Mans from 1966 and 1969 under the late Carroll Shelby. That dominance led to a rivalry with Ferrari. Ford pulled out of competition after 1969 but celebrated the 50th anniversary of its first Le Mans victory with a return to the endurance event in 2016.

TENNIS

Hall of Famer Shriver’s trophies back after being taken in stolen car amid LA fires

Los Angeles International Tennis Hall of Fame member Pam Shriver has her trophies back. Shriver said she regained the dozen or so pieces of hardware that were in a car stolen from the hotel where she was staying after evacuating from her home during the outbreak of the devastating wildfires in the greater Los Angeles area. Shriver won 21 Grand Slam doubles championships, a gold medal at the 1984 Summer Olympics and a total of 111 doubles titles. Shriver, now a TV commentator, was inducted into the sport’s Hall of Fame in 2002.

NHL Rangers get center

Miller from Canucks in multiplayer deal

New York

The New York Rangers acquired veteran center J.T. Miller from the Vancouver Canucks in a multiplayer deal. The Rangers sent center Filip Chytil, defenseman Victor Mancini and a conditional draft pick to Vancouver. New York also received defensemen Jackson Dorrington and Erik Brannstrom. The Canucks were expected to trade either Miller or Elias Pettersson after a reported rift between the two stars. The 31-year- old Miller was drafted by the Rangers and played for New York for six seasons before being dealt to Tampa Bay in 2018.

NBA

Raptor fans continue trend of booing U.S. national anthem at pro sporting events

Toronto Fans at a Toronto Raptors game have continued an emerging trend of booing the American national anthem at sporting events in Canada. Fans booed the anthem Sunday after similar reactions broke out Saturday night at NHL games in Ottawa, Ontario, and Calgary, Alberta. Those instances happened hours after President Donald Trump threatened import tariffs on America’s northern neighbor. U.S. national anthem boos in Canada are rare but not unheard of, especially when tied to world events. The tariffs have since been delayed until March 4.

NFL officials spotting the football not going away despite new tech

No technology can help determine forward progress

By Rob Maaddi The Associated Press

THE NFL WILL engage its Competition Committee on technology to take virtual line-to-gain measurements next season, but officials will continue to spot the football. There’s no current technology being considered that would help determine forward progress, which became a point of contention after Bills quarterback Josh Allen was stopped short on a sneak on fourth-and-1 early in the fourth quarter of Buffalo’s 32-29 loss to Kansas City in the AFC championship game. The league tested Sony’s Hawk-Eye tracking services for virtual line-to-gain measurements in the preseason and in the background during the regular season. The optimal tracking system notifies officiating

instantly if a first down was gained after the ball is spotted by hand.

The key word is after. This technology replaces the chain measurement. The NFL has long used two bright orange sticks and a chain — the chain gang — to measure for first downs. That method would remain in a backup capacity.

“What this technology cannot do is take the place of the human element in determining where forward progress ends,” NFL executive Kimberly Fields told The Associated Press last Friday. “There will always be a human official spotting the ball. Once the ball is spotted, then the line-to-gain technology actually does the measurement itself. So I think it’s probably been a point of confusion around what the technology can and can’t do. There will always be a human element because of the forward progress conversation.”

Fields said an average of 12 measurements took place each week during the regular season. The new technolo-

Orioles spending but avoided big risks — and also rewards

The team increased its payroll but didn’t make a splashy acquisition

By Noah Trister The Associated Press

BALTIMORE — It was around this time last year that the Baltimore Orioles made their biggest offseason move, trading for right-hander Corbin Burnes.

That turned out to be a one-year rental when Burnes went to Arizona via free agency in late December. Now the Orioles are running out of time if they want to replace him with a bona fide ace before spring training.

“We like where we’re at, but we still have time on the clock before the offseason’s over,” general manager Mike Elias said.

“There are still free agents. The trade market sometimes happens very late. I can’t forecast that or handicap it, but there’s still those possibilities.”

In their first offseason under new ownership, the Orioles have done some spending, but they haven’t pulled off anything as bold as trading for Burnes. Baltimore has added outfielders Tyler O’Neill and Dylan Carlson, starting pitchers Charlie Morton and Tomoyuki Suga-

“I think we’ve elevated the payroll continuously since the beginning of the rebuild.”

Orioles GM Mike Elias

no, reliever Andrew Kittredge and backup catcher Gary Sánchez. Aside from O’Neill, none of those acquisitions came with more than a one-year commitment from the team.

As a result of those moves — plus raises to arbitration-eligible players — Baltimore’s payroll now ranks 15th in the majors. That’s a notable jump for a team that was near the bottom not too long ago, but the Orioles still have very little money committed for 2026 and beyond.

There may be some logic to keeping future expenditures low at a time when Baltimore has several young standouts — Gunnar Henderson, Adley Rutschman, Grayson Rodriguez and Jordan Westburg among them — who could cost a lot to sign long term.

“There’s positives to it when you have year-to-year flexibility,” Elias said. “But I’m expecting that will evolve and maybe not remain the case. Maybe this

“What

this technology cannot do is take the place of the human element”

NFL executive Kimberly Fields

gy would’ve dropped the time spent to measure from 75 seconds to 35 seconds.

NFL balls have been equipped with Zebra microchips since 2017, powering the NFL’s Next Gen Stats data product. The chips are also affixed to players’ pads. They provide various data and metrics that help clubs, media and fans with player evaluation and analysis of team performance. But these chips can’t determine where a player was tackled, whether a player is down by contact or which team gained possession of a loose ball to the precision necessary for officiating use.

The league also began using boundary line cameras in

Week 5 to assist with replay reviews. The cameras were installed in each of the 30 stadiums along the end line, goal line and sideline. Usage was limited to scores, plays with under two minutes remaining and turnovers.

Discussion for expanding its use to coaches’ challenges and replay assist is ongoing and would have to be approved by the Competition Committee.

Fields said the league also experimented with providing back judges smart watches to assist with objective information so they can make decisions faster, specifically as it relates to the play clock.

“We want to make the game efficient and more accurate,” Fields said. “The things that we do around technology, if it’s not going to make the process better, if it’s not going to assist our officials, then we shouldn’t be doing it. Everything that we do is going through a rigorous testing process to make sure we are making things easier and more efficient.”

time next year, we’re talking about something different.”

For now, the Orioles haven’t locked up any of their young stars, and the lack of long-term deals on the roster comes with its own cost. For example, Baltimore is set to pay the 41-year-old Morton and 35-year-old Sugano a combined $28 million this year. Meanwhile, the New York Yankees signed All-Star Max Fried to an eight-year, $218 million contract — an average of $27.25 million per year.

Fried’s deal might very well be riskier than what the Orioles did, but there’s a reason pitchers like that command longer contracts. Baltimore’s success in 2025 may come down to whether the rotation holds up after losing Burnes and adding

only short-term solutions in free agency.

As the Orioles wade slowly into deeper spending waters, owner David Rubenstein made news recently when he told Yahoo Finance that he wishes baseball had a salary cap. He did not sound like an owner eager to go on a spending spree. Instead, increasing the payroll has been more of a gradual process.

“I think we’ve elevated the payroll continuously since the beginning of the rebuild,” Elias said. “We’ve talked about it all along. Obviously that was before David Rubenstein and his group bought the team, but after they purchased it, it certainly, like I’ve said, kind of expanded our options in a great way.”

TERRANCE WILLIAMS / AP PHOTO

Baltimore Orioles Executive Vice President and General Manager Mike Elias looks on before a game against the Texas Rangers last season.

ASHLEY LANDIS / AP PHOTO

Kansas City Chiefs linebacker Nick Bolton (32) stops Buffalo Bills quarterback Josh Allen (17) short of a first down during the AFC championship game.

Larry Paul Little

Aug. 13, 1943 – Jan. 31, 2025

Larry Paul Little of Southern Pines, NC passed away Friday, January 31, 2025. He is survived by his wife Margaret (Schmidt) Little, his daughter Raegan Core, her husband Scott Core, his grandson Joseph Core (of Wilmington), his son Jason Little and his wife Candace Walters (of Raleigh); and numerous beloved nieces and nephews.

Larry would be proud to tell you, and anyone who would listen, that he was born on Friday the 13th (August 1943 in Rantoul, Illinois). The oldest son of Paul and Joan Little, he grew up working and playing on the Family farm with his three Brothers, Sam, Les and Jon. A studious learner with a gift for math, he graduated from a oneroom schoolhouse to a Senior Varsity football player and a State Track, Discus and Baseball player for Rantoul Township High School. He received his BS in Math and Science, a teaching certificate, as well as an MBA from the University of Illinois; where he also met the “Love of His Life”, Margaret. He was a Veteran. Drafted into the US Army to serve tours in Fort Carson, CO, and Seoul, South Korea. From there, his work career spanned almost 40 years in leadership positions in manufacturing production and safety at multiple plants in IL, LA, and Unilever in NC. Post retirement he taught Business classes at Sandhill’s Community College for 17 years.

To honor Larry’s wishes, no service will be held.

In lieu of flowers, please give to Alz.org or LBDA.org.

Services are entrusted to Boles Funeral Home of Southern Pines.

Jesse Hough Jr.

July 28, 1943 – Jan. 30, 2025

Jesse Hough Jr. 81 of Aberdeen, passed away on January 30, 2025, at FirstHealth Moore Regional Hospital in Pinehurst.

Born on July 28, 1943, in Richmond County to the late Jesse Hough Sr. and Virginia Kanaris. Jesse proudly served his country in the US Army during the Vietnam War. He went on to continue serving his community as a Police Officer for the Southern Pines Police Department for over 23 years, retiring as a Lieutenant. He loved classic cars, traveling to the beach, beach music and he loved joking around with everyone. He is survived by his loving wife of 55 years, Linda Hough; two children, John William “Jay” Hough (Stephanie) and Tara Hough Sellers (William); also survived by four grandchildren, Courtney Hough, Gracie Hough, Jason Hough and Emma Hogan and two step-grandchildren, Danielle Sellers and Taylor Sellers.

A visitation will be held on Monday, February 3, 2025, at Boles Funeral Home of Southern Pines from 1-2 p.m. with a service following at 2 p.m. In lieu of flowers memorial donations in Jesse’s name may be made to Southern Pines Police Department, VFW, and St. Jude’s Children’s Hospital. Services are entrusted to Boles Funeral Home of Southern Pines.

Sharon Lea VanBuskirk

Russell

Jan. 28, 2025

Sharon Lea VanBuskirk

Russell, 85 of Southern Pines, passed away on January 28, 2025, at FirstHealth Hospice House in Pinehurst. No services are planned at this time.

Services are entrusted to Boles Funeral Home of Southern Pines.

Luke Dwight Morris

March 18, 1933 – Jan. 30, 2025

Luke Dwight Morris, 91, of Biscoe, passed peacefully at the First Health Moore Regional Hospital on Thursday, January 30, 2025.

Born in Troy on March 18, 1933, he was the son of the late L.D. and Luna McCaskill Morris. In addition to his parents, Luke is preceded in death by his sisters Lee Ella Pipkin, Annie Mae Dunn, and son Dwight Morris. Luke was the loving husband of Eleanor Lobbregt Morris. He was the father of David Morris, Barbara Kellum and Debora Burnham. He is also survived by his sister Jean Thompson, fourteen grandchildren, thirty greatgrandchildren and four greatgreat-grandchildren.

Raised in Montgomery County, Luke graduated from Troy High School in 1951. He worked with the State Bridge Department for many years. Afterward, he was an accomplished carpenter who built several homes for his family that many still reside in today. Luke was a hard-working man who treated others with respect and expected the same from them. He enjoyed working in his yard and tending to his garden and bees, but most of all, he loved his family and cherished the time spent with his children and grandchildren. He spent time helping his nephew farming and loved building things with wood. He loved to fish, hike, and camp. Many wonderful memories were made while travelling the United States camping. Luke had a personal relationship with his Lord and Savior; he enjoyed attending church and spending time with the friends he made there.

A celebration of his life will be held at the Center Cross Baptist Church, 1789 Center Cross Church Rd., Asheboro on Sunday, February 2 at 2:30 pm. The family will receive friends at the church prior to the ceremony from 1:30 - 2:30 pm. Burial will follow in the church cemetery. Services are entrusted to Boles Funeral Home of Seven Lakes.

Annie Ruth Davis

Jan. 27, 2025

Annie Ruth Davis, age 96, went home to be with the Lord on Monday, January 27, 2025.

A graveside service will be held at 3 p.m. on Saturday, February 1, 2025, at Trinity Bible Church in Carthage with Rev. Bill Maness officiating. The family will receive friends from 12:302 p.m. on Saturday before the service at Boles Funeral Home, 35 Parker Lane, Pinehurst, NC 28374.

The greatest joy in her life was spending time with her family. She is survived by her daughters: Nancy Speer and husband Jerry of Longs, SC, Betty Jean Hill of Carthage, NC, granddaughters: Tammy and Sherri Spear (Danny) of Longs, SC, Rhonda White (Wesley Jr.) of Sanford, NC, Torie Jones of Carthage, NC, great grandchildren: Ashley (Judd), De Anna (Robert), Danielle (Jordan), Kailen (Nate), Hallie (Luke), Savanna, Maddie and Jett, great great grandchildren: Kole, Caiden, Will, Sam, Colton, Graham, Bailey, Hadleigh, Harper, Lucy, and one more great-great-granddaughter expected in July 2025.

Also surviving is her sister, Veter Hurley of Carthage, NC. She was preceded in death by her husband, William Fred Davis. Services are entrusted to Boles Funeral Home.

STATE & NATION

American bald eagles having a moment, ecologically and culturally

It was also just made America’s national bird (really!)

By Mike Catalini The Associated Press

WEST ORANGE, N.J. —

Along the long road from American icon to endangered species and back again, the bald eagle — the national bird of the United States, often seen against a clear blue sky — is having a moment.

The eagles find themselves in an environmental updraft of sorts since the early 2000s, when the federal government took the thriving birds off its endangered species list with more states following suit. Culturally, too, the animals are soaring.

In December, then-President Joe Biden signed legislation making the raptor the country’s national bird (Thought that was already the case? More in a bit). New Jersey became the latest state to delist the bald eagle as endangered in January, citing a remarkable comeback for the creatures associated with strength and independence — and that occupied just a single nest in the state decades ago. And to the chagrin or elation of football fans, the Philadelphia Eagles will be vying for a championship in the Super Bowl this weekend.

How did the storied birds find their way back? As with so many tales, it’s complex.

Their well-being was intertwined with an insecticide

The story — there was a single nesting pair in New Jersey in the 1980s and roughly 300 now, for instance — centers on the banning of DDT, a chemical insecticide with environmental side effects that included thin-shelled eagle eggs. That touched off a cratering in the number of eagles across the country, and officials prohibited the pesticide in 1972.

To rebuild the birds’ numbers

in their historic range across the country, conservationists imported birds from places where their populations were stable, including from Canada. Early on, they also removed eggs from nesting birds’ nests, replacing them with artificial ones for the eagles to “incubate” while the real eggs were safely hatched outside the nest before being returned, as eaglets for their parents to raise according to Kathy Clark, the head of New Jersey’s Endangered and Nongame Species Program.

“They’re one of the few conservation success stories of animals that almost went extinct on our continent,” said Maia Edwards, the science director at the American Bald Eagle Foundation in Alaska. “And so I think now it’s really important to make sure people know that story and learn from it,” Clark, whose work with the birds spans decades and includes the period when their numbers were so small they lived only in a remote part of the state, said the eagles have taught officials

a number of lessons. One is that they’re “fairly adaptable” and now live across densely populated (with people) New Jersey — from suburban Bergen County near New York to the wetlands along the shore in the south.

She recalled the story of one fledgling eagle in a suburban town — New York Giants territory, as it were, sorry, Eagles fans — that found itself on a backyard woodpile and walking around the street. Volunteer observers worried over the bird’s well-being, given the realities of suburban living. But a year later, observers spotted the eagle, identified by a band. It had apparently made it.

“Those birds that have that tolerance to live like in such a densely human structured environment is something I have a hard time understanding,” she said. “They’re Jersey birds. You got to have attitude, right?”

The birds do face dangers as they expand into suburbia, though. Jilian Fazio, director of the Essex County Turtle Back Zoo in suburban northern New

Jersey, said the zoo rescues a number of birds hit by cars. One bird, a male named Freedom, perched atop a branch in his enclosure at the zoo recently and called out loudly. He was found dangling by a rope, left with an injury that renders him unreleasable, Fazio said.

There are threats, as well. Habitat preservation and clean, open water, since the eagles feed heavily on fish, is a worry, but there’s also the current outbreak of avian influenza or bird flu. Clark says officials are going to maintain surveillance amid the outbreak.

A resurgence in popularity, too

Beyond the birds coming off endangered lists, they made headlines recently for finally getting their due as the county’s national bird, an oversight left undone in law because the bald eagle was already on the national seal and many thought it already had that status, said Sen. Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota,

who sponsored legislation that Biden signed last month.

She and colleagues worked with Native American and veterans groups to get buy-in for the legislation, she said, and it passed the typically divisive House and Senate last year with no dissent. The birds are revered in a number of Native American cultures as symbols of strength, particularly in the Pacific Northwest, according to Paul Apodaca, a retired academic who specializes in folklore and mythology.

The eagles’ perch as symbols of the country contributes to their conservation, with experts considering them an “umbrella species,” whose need for large open spaces and waterways helps preserve lesser known wildlife.

“Americans are always going to have that sort of personal relationship with bald eagles,” Clark said.

New Jersey Sen. Andy Kim, a native of Philadelphia Eagles territory, took his two young sons to the NFC championship game last week, a memory he said they won’t forget. “Let’s never forget that Bald Eagle was officially named America’s national bird at the same time the Eagles are headed back to the Super Bowl,” he said in a text message.

Experiencing seeing a bird in the wild or even as you’re driving along a business-lined highway can leave an impression. Dan Day, a birder who’s spotted bald eagles some 50 times in recent years both on nature walks and just driving around suburban New Jersey, remembered never having seen the birds as a kid growing up in Cleveland. Now a New Jersey resident and Philadelphia Eagles fan, he regularly goes out in his green “Birds” cap and binoculars.

“Just the mere thrill of seeing one — a lot of people just have never, ever looked at one,” he said. “It really elevates your day to see a bald eagle.”

Enjoy watching them, experts say, but give them space, too. Because rescuing animals threatened with extinction is expensive, uncertain work. Said Clark, the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection official: “I don’t think I ever will lose that perspective of being on the brink there, not knowing if you’re going to be able to save the species.”

SETH WENIG / AP PHOTO

Left, a bald eagle rests on a tree next to Union Bay in January 2024 in Seattle. Right, a bald eagle named Freedom perches on a branch at the Turtle Back Zoo in West Orange, New Jersey this January.

SETH WENIG / AP PHOTO

A bald eagle named Freedom calls in West Orange, New Jersey this January.

LINDSEY WASSON / AP PHOTO