North State Journal Vol. 5, Issue 43

VOLUME 5 ISSUE 43

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WWW.NSJONLINE.COM

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WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 16, 2020

the Wednesday

NEWS BRIEFING

NC governor’s racial justice task force makes dozens of recommendations RALEIGH — The final report from the North Carolina Task Force for Racial Equity in Criminal Justice urges more vigorous formal police standards involving the use of force, more education of officers on racial bias, and more transparency about officer misconduct. Routine psychological evaluations of officers should also be required, according to panelists.

Formed by Gov. Roy Cooper in the days following George Floyd’s death, the task force formally recommended farreaching changes to police, criminal justice and court systems, including eliminating cash bail for criminal suspects “not believed as threats to the public” and to reduce court costs and fines.

“North Carolina’s criminal justice system is afflicted with longstanding systemic racism,” the report says, citing slavery and segregation. “It is pervasive and wrong and must be remedied.”

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

NC State Board of Elections to meet Friday RALEIGH — The N.C. State Board of Elections is scheduled to meet virtually on Friday, Dec. 18 at 10 a.m. to finalize the canvass of the N.C. Supreme Court chief justice contest and resolve a Wake County district court judge contest in which the prevailing candidate did not live in the district in which he was elected.

LAUREN ROSE | NORTH STATE JOURNAL

Chief Justice-elect Paul Newby is joined by his wife, Macon, and dog, Sadie, in their home in Raleigh.

NORTH

EXCLUSIVE

JOURNaL

By David Larson North State Journal

STATE ELEVATE THE CONVERSATION

NSJ STAFF

Research trip to study impact of giant floating iceberg LONDON — A team of scientists will set off on a research mission to find out the impact of a giant floating iceberg on the wildlife and marine life on a sub-Antarctic island.

The iceberg — the size of the state of Delaware — has been floating north since it broke away from Antarctica’s Larsen C ice shelf in 2017. It is now about 47 miles from the island of South Georgia.

South Georgia is home to colonies of tens of thousands of penguins and 6 million fur seals, which could be threatened by the iceberg during their breeding season.

The waters near the island are also one of the world’s largest marine protected areas and house more marine species than the Galapagos.

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

DACA faces new court challenge HOUSTON — A federal court in Houston is expected to consider whether to invalidate a program that shields from deportation immigrants brought to the United States as children.

The challenge scheduled to be heard Dec. 22 concerns President Barack Obama’s original memorandum creating Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, which currently covers about 650,000 people.

Federal courts turned away President Donald Trump’s efforts to end DACA. Under the order of a New York judge, the Trump administration in December restored the program to its original terms, accepting new applications and full renewals of two-year work permits and general protections from deportation.

But the Houston case directly targets DACA’s original terms, not Trump’s effort to end the program.

Texas and eight other states sued to end DACA, arguing it drains state educational and healthcare resources and violates federal law.

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

NCDHHS launches COVID-19 testing pilot in NC public schools Testing of students will require parental consent; student testing will not be mandatory

By A.P. Dillon North State Journal RALEIGH — The North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services (NCDHHS) announced the launch on Dec. 4 of a COVID-19 testing pilot program in the state’s K-12 public schools.

According to the press release from the NCDHHS, the objective of the pilot is to “quickly identify students and staff who may have the virus to help slow its spread.”

“Having rapid tests available in our schools in another important tool to both slow the spread of the virus and keep our children in the classroom. With increased community spread, these tests add to the other safety protocols in place at K-12 schools to protect our students, teachers and staff,” NCDHHS Secretary Mandy Cohen said in the release.

The pilot program is open to public school districts, charter school networks or individual charter schools currently offering any in-person instruction. Pilot applications were due on Dec. 8 and the selected pilot sites will receive rapid tests at no cost as soon as Monday, Dec. 14, 2020. At least 16 districts and 10 charter schools are already approved participants. The state’s largest districts, Wake County and Charlotte Mecklenburg, were not on the Phase 1 participant list provided by NCDHHS. In testing for coronaviruses, there are two types of diagnostic tests. One test is a molecular tests or PCR test, which can detect a virus’s genetic material in a sample. The other type of test is an antigen test that looks for specific proteins of a virus.

Additionally, there are antibody tests which look for antibodies a person’s immune system generates in response to a virus or infection. Antibody tests are not

used to diagnose COVID-19 for the multiple-week time period it may take a person to produce antibodies.

The N.C. K-12 pilot program will use the Abbott BinaxNOW rapid antigen test card. This test employs a nasal swab method by trained personnel and can provide results in about 15 minutes.

The Abbott BinaxNOW test was selected by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and the Department of Defense (DOD) as part of a testing initiative announced earlier this year for selected target environments, including schools.

According to the pilot program application packet, North Carolina will be receiving around 3.1 million of these tests to use in areas “including but not limited to public schools, including districts and charter schools.”

North State Journal asked NCDHHS if testing of students was going to be mandatory or if refusing to participate would impact in-person attendance.

“Regular testing of staff at K-12 schools is not required, and testing is not mandatory for in-person attendance for staff or students, and schools are required to get parental/guardian consent to test students,” NCDHHS Communications Manager Kelly Haight Connor wrote in a response email.

Haight also wrote that “schools and districts must send notification forms to inform parents/guardians when a student has received an Abbott BinaxNOW test while at school and the result of the test.”

“The notification form also serves to inform parents/guardians on what next steps they must take to ensure follow-up, dependent on the child’s test results,” wrote Haight. “Phase 1 of this pilot is scoped to include testing only.”

Haight did not say if school districts could require staff to participate or if staff will be tested on a regular basis under the pilot program.

See PILOT, page A2

Chief Justice-elect Paul Newby discusses historic win RALEIGH — In a year where North Carolina saw multiple close races, the state Supreme Court’s 2020 chief justice race was the closest, with a 401-vote difference between the winner, Republican current Associate Justice Paul Newby, and Democratic incumbent Chief Justice Cheri Beasley.

“This is historic,” Newby told NSJ in a Dec. 14 interview. “I think you’d be hard-pressed to find a race anywhere in the country with 5.5 million people voting and the separation was 401

votes. I haven’t done the math, but I imagine it’s 50.0000-something to 49.9999-something.”

But with his opponent, Beasley, conceding the race, after pursuing multiple legal avenues and recounts, the election is set to be certified by the State Board of Elections.

“She called about 9:30 Saturday morning, and very graciously conceded the race,” Newby said.

“She talked about how it was important for the best interest of the court and the judicial branch to bring some finality to the race and See NEWBY, page A2

State health officials lay out NC’s COVID-19 vaccine distribution schedule

By A.P. Dillon North State Journal RALEIGH — With a COVID-19 vaccine being approved late last week, North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services (NCDHHS) has laid out a phased approach for vaccination across the state.

It was announced on Dec. 11 that the Pfizer vaccine has been approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA).

Pfizer had stated prior to FDA approval that it plans to be able to distribute at least 2.9 million doses within the first week with matching doses held for the same patients to get the second shot 21 days after the first dose.

Last week, NCDHHS Secretary Mandy Cohen held press briefings about the then-pending COVID-19 vaccine, its possible side effects and how the state will handle distribution.

According to Cohen, individuals will need at least two doses of the vaccine to ensure they are protected from the virus.

“This isn’t just one shot; we have to have everyone get two vaccinations before they have the protection,” Cohen said.

Cohen said that over 70,000 people participated in the clinical trials for the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines. Both trials include significant numbers of minority populations.

Side effects of the vaccine may include swelling at the injection site, fatigue or tiredness, joint pain, and headache. According to reports from Pfizer’s clinical trials, at least four patients also encountered Bell’s Palsy, which is a paralysis of facial muscles.

“It is important for people to understand that there is no COVID-19 virus in the vaccine,” said Cohen. “The vaccine imitates the infection. So, our bodies think

a germ like the virus or COVID is attacking.”

Vaccine doses will first be shipped to North Carolina in batches. Around 85,500 doses will be sent to 11 North Carolina hospitals.

The 11 hospitals include Bladen County Hospital, Caldwell Memorial Hospital, CarolinaEast MedSee VACCINE, page A2

North State Journal for Wednesday, December 16, 2020

A2 WEDNESDAY

THE WORD: LOVE’S PURE LIGHT

12.16.20

The Fourth Sunday of Advent approaches with a traditional focus on love. This final Sunday before Christmas reminds us of God’s love for humanity through the birth of his son Jesus Christ.

The birth of Christ set in motion his ministry, which was founded in love. Christ made clear that love — of God and neighbor — were the greatest of the commandments.

The love we express for each other at Christmas, through gifts, gatherings and good deeds, are a reflection of the love that was shown to all upon the birth of Christ.

The Christmas hymn “Silent Night” extols Christ as “Son of God, Love’s pure light.” The song, composed by Franz Xaver Gruber and written by Joseph Mohr, echoes the first chapter of John, where John described Jesus as the light which started with God’s word. The hymn concludes recognizing the birth of Jesus as “the dawn of redeeming grace.”

#261

“Esse quam videri” Visit us online nsjonline.com North State Journal (USPS 20451) (ISSN 2471-1365) Neal Robbins Publisher Matt Mercer Editor in Chief Cory Lavalette Managing/Sports Editor Frank Hill Senior Opinion Editor Emily Roberson Business/Features Editor David Larson Associate Editor

JOHN 1: 4-9

Lauren Rose Design Editor

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NEWBY from page A1 move on to the transition. She was very gracious.”

Newby’s win means Republicans achieved a total sweep of the eight statewide judicial races in the state.

“I think that North Carolinians in general favor judges that are conservative,” Newby said on the Republican victory. “What that means is that Republican judges have earned a reputation as those who understand separation of powers and understand that the role of the judicial branch is to follow the law as intended as opposed to legislating from the bench.”

“I think all those things come into play when people go into the voting booth and vote for judges,” Newby added. “So that’s why I think conservative judges had success this time.”

But Newby doesn’t just credit his win to North Carolina voters favoring his judicial philosophy. He also credits his family and supporters for helping him on the campaign trail.

“My wife is just wonderful,” Newby said. “In 2004 and 2012 [Newby’s other Supreme Court races], she had more responsibilities at home, as our four children were growing up; but this time we’re empty nesters.”

PILOT from page A1 According to NCDHHS, the K-12 testing pilot is unrelated to the state’s vaccine distribution plan.

“The vaccination phases are determined by a combination of health and exposure risk factors,” Haight wrote. “Also, it should be noted that at this time, no vaccine has been approved for use on people who are under 18-years old.”

“The overall goal is to get rapid antigen testing available in as many schools as possible,” Haight told North State Journal.

“The state will be closely monitoring the implementation and findings from phase 1 of this pilot to determine future distributions.”

Haight went on to say that “Schools will be one of many testing-site options” and that various state and local departments as well as healthcare providers will continue to offer testing throughout the state.

Some contact tracing data in New York, released during a Dec. 11 briefing by Gov. Andrew Cuomo, showed that 74% of infections were linked to “household spread.” The data reflects 46,000 cases between early September through November where a source of infection was identified. Cuomo indicated there were “thousands more” for which no source could be identified.

In him was life; and the life was the light of men. 5 And the light shineth in darkness; and the darkness comprehended it not. 6 There was a man sent from God, whose name was John. 7 The same came for a witness, to bear witness of the Light, that all men through him might believe. 8 He was not that Light, but was sent to bear witness of that Light.

9 That was the true Light, which lighteth every man that cometh into the world.

4

Published each Wednesday

by North State Media, LLC 3101 Industrial Dr., Suite 105 Raleigh, N.C. 27609

FILE PHOTO

“Nativity of Jesus” (circa 1473) by Botticelli is a painting held in the collection of the Columbia Museum of Art, in Columbia, S.C. The museum is home to the only Botticelli fresco exhibited outside of Italy.

He said this allowed her to take a more active role, traveling with him to events and even doing events without him when he needed to be in another part of the state.

“People ask me what kind of a judge I am, and I say, ‘Well, exhibit A is my wife. I’m a great judge because I made a good choice there.’”

His daughter Sarah was also a major help in his campaign. Initially, he hired her to work on his campaign, but then in discussions with the other Republican judicial candidates, they all agreed it would make sense to pool their resources and have her work for all their campaigns.

“Sarah agreed to work for all eight. And I’m so proud of her, she just did an incredible job.”

Newby also said he is grateful to all those who volunteered on his campaign and during the recount process, as well as the team at the N.C. GOP and all those who voted for him, saying he was humbled by all the support, “and by God’s grace we’ll try to honor daily the responsibilities that they’ve placed in my hand.”

But with the campaign finally over, Newby has been able to reflect on what it will mean to rise to the highest judicial position in his home state.

“It’s so humbling. I’m the first lawyer in my family. Mom was a

In a list of 30 sources of infection traced in the New York data, school-aged children did not even make the top 10, but education employees did, ranking fourth on the list with a rate of 1.50%. Elementary students came in at .49%, high school students at .46% and middle school student at .19%.

In recent months, federal health officials, including CDC Director Robert Redfield and White House COVID-19 adviser Dr. Anthony Fauci, have noted that schools are not drivers of infection rates and that every effort should be made to keep schools open for in-person instruction.

“The truth is, for kids K-12, the safest place they can be, from our perspective, is to remain in school,” Redfield said at a late November briefing. “K-12 schools and really our institutes of higher learning, really are not where we are having our challenges.”

Also in November, NCDHHS State Health Director and Chief Medical Officer Dr. Elizabeth Cuervo Tilson told the N.C. State Board of Education that children “have relatively low rates of infection and are not driving our increases.”

More information on the COVID-19 testing pilot for North Carolina K-12 public schools is available at https:// covid19.ncdhhs.gov/guidance#schools.

school teacher, dad, a printer. I had no idea I’d ever, frankly, have the privilege of being a lawyer, and then a justice, and now my goodness, chief justice. I’m so incredibly humbled and honored that the people chose me. It’s certainly my hope and my prayer that I have the wisdom and discernment and humility to properly lead the branch over this next term.”

As chief justice, Newby will not only be “first among equals” on the state Supreme Court, dealing with extra responsibilities like calendering cases, but will also be the head of the Administrative Office of the Courts. The AOC operates the state’s courts, setting rules in conjunction with Superior Court judges, District Court judges, magistrates, the clerks’ office, the registers of deeds and district attorneys.

“There are lots of opportunities to collaborate, to make suggested changes to the General Assembly and to be sure that all the parts of our justice system that take place in all 100 counties have the proper resources and support they need to administer justice,” Newby said.

A main issue Newby will be immediately faced with is to what degree courts should be open for business during the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. His predecessor and campaign opponent,

current Chief Justice Cheri Beasley, announced on Dec. 11 that the courts would be shut to non-essential business for 30 days due to an increase in cases across the state.

“I’m not a fan of centralized, top-down administrative orders, or things like that,” Newby said.

“Again, I don’t have all the information, and I know there are different taskforces that are at work, but it’s my impression that each judicial district, with their Superior Court and District Court judges, clerks and sheriffs’ offices that supply the security, I think folks with boots on the ground have a lot better perspective than we do here in Raleigh because they know their courthouses, and they know their communities.”

Newby also said any talk of risk mitigation when it came to the courts during the pandemic would also have to be weighed against the “open courts provision” in Article 1 Section 18 of the state constitution.

“I am very conscious that we the people have said that the courts shall be open, so I think the local officials in collaboration with one another, are in a much better position than I in Raleigh would be to make those kinds of determinations.”

Newby is widely acknowledged as an expert in the N.C. Constitu-

tion, teaching courses on its content and history at Campbell University Law School. He said if there’s one thing people should know about the difference between the state’s constitution and the federal constitution, it’s that they’re “two totally different documents.”

The state constitution he describes as reserving all powers to the people (as expressed through the legislature) unless otherwise stated in the constitution, while the federal constitution assumes no powers to the federal government unless expressly stated in the document. Because N.C.’s constitution dates back to 1776, it actually predates the U.S. Constitution, so it is not modeled on the federal constitution like many other state constitutions are.

When asked when he’d start his term, considering the 45-day delay in certification, Newby returned to the state’s constitution.

“Under the constitution, those terms start on Jan. 1, so I suppose we will see. Clearly it’s got to be certified by the board of elections.

So even though there’s a concession, it’s all about the technicalities and the paperwork. But we’re optimistic the board will go ahead and certify the election, all the appropriate paperwork will get completed and we’ll take our oath on Jan. 1.”

VACCINE from page A1 ical Center, Catawba Valley Medical Center, Cumberland County Hospital System Inc (Cape Fear Valley Health System), Duke University Health System, Henderson County Hospital Corporation (Margaret R. Pardee Memorial Hospital), Hoke Hospital, The Charlotte-Mecklenburg Hospital Authority — Atrium Health, University of North Carolina Shared Services Agreement, and Wake Forest Baptist Health.

Once final instructions and meetings with the CDC conclude, North Carolina’s other 40-plus hospitals will also start getting shipments of the vaccine.

North Carolina will have a four-phase approach to vaccine distribution, but Cohen said it will “be free to everyone,” with either the government or insurance providers picking up the cost. Those with high risk of being exposed to COVID-19, like healthcare workers and emergency responders, are on the top of the list.

Phase 1 has two parts, “A” and “B.” Phase 1a includes all health care workers at high risk for exposure to COVID-19. The means doctors, nurses and anyone who interacts with and care for patients with COVID-19. This phase also includes congregate settings like long-term care staff and residents, nursing facilities, and adult, family and group homes.

Phase 1b will include adults

NC DEPT OF PUBLIC SAFETY

NCDHHS Secretary Mandy Cohen is pictured in this file photo. who have at least two chronic health conditions that put them at risk as defined by the CDC. Examples of such conditions are cancer, COPD, serious heart conditions, sickle cell disease and Type 2 diabetes. This phase will also include essential adult workers who are at a high risk of exposure such as first responders, police, prison staff, food processing and teachers.

Phase 2 extends to remaining essential workers not covered by Phase1a, including health care workers, prison inmates, and those in homeless shelters or mi-

grant and fishery housing. Phase 2 will also include any adults under 65 who have at least one chronic condition that puts them at risk of severe illness as defined by the CDC. Phase 3 vaccinations will include college and university students and people in jobs considered critical to society who have a lower risk of exposure. According to NCDHHS’ guidance, K-12 students will be vaccinated when there is “an approved vaccine for children.”

Phase 4 is public-level vaccinations for anyone who wants one.

North State Journal for Wednesday, December 16, 2020

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Stith named to lead NC Community College System

By Gary D. Robertson The Associated Press

FILE PHOTO

Treasurer Dale Folwell is pictured in this undated file photo.

Four NC towns designated as ‘distressed’ regarding public utilities, finances The identified towns will see up to $400,000 in Viable Utility Fund grants

By A.P. Dillon North State Journal RALEIGH — Four local governments have been designated as distressed by criteria created by two North Carolina agencies working in concert— the State Water Infrastructure Authority (SWIA) and North Carolina Local Government Commission (LGC).

SWIA is housed within the N.C. Dept. of Environmental Quality, and LGC is housed under the Office of the State Treasurer. The LCG is chaired by Treasurer Dale Folwell.

In a joint effort, the LGC and SWIA developed the assessment process and criteria used to identify distressed government units.

SWIA members adopted the distressed unit criteria and approved the four designees at a meeting in late November.

“These are not the only local government units that are experiencing serious problems with their water and wastewater systems and finances,” Folwell said.

“This action allows us to assess their condition and make decisions on what needs to be done in the best interest of taxpayers, ratepayers, business and industry, as well as the local governments themselves.”

The four local government units designated as distressed are Eureka (Wayne County), Bethel (Pitt County), Kingstown (Cleveland County), and the Cliffside Sanitary District (Rutherford County).

“Statewide, we have an estimated $17-26 billion dollars in water infrastructure needs, and

“This action allows us to assess their condition and make decisions on what needs to be done in the best interest of taxpayers, ratepayers, business and industry, as well as the local governments themselves.”

State Treasurer Dale Folwell

local systems face big challenges in today’s economy,” Kim Colson, chair of the infrastructure authority and director of the Division of Water Infrastructure, said in a statement. “These strong actions allow for solutions that can be applied right away in the systems that need it most.”

The identified towns are the first in the state to receive the distressed classification under new criteria developed to implement Viable Utility Reserve legislation introduced in Session Law 2020-79. The law establishes a $9 million “Viable Utility Fund within the Department of Environmental Quality, to be used for assisting public water and wastewater systems to become self-sustaining.”

The Viable Utility Fund can be used to address deficiencies in utility systems, and grants may be approved by the LGC to study potential mergers and regionalization of services.

Each of the four distressed towns will receive funds between $100,000 and $400,000 to assess and study their current infrastructure issues and find sustain-

able long-term solutions.

“We’re not interested in BandAids,” said Folwell. “We are looking for healing and permanent solutions for these stressed areas.”

Folwell said the situation has been evolving for the last 20 years but that COVID has exacerbated the situation due to the reduction in money to fund public works.

Eureka was in financial troubles for years leading up to being designated as distressed. In June of 2019, the LGC took control of the town’s finances due to failing to pay water treatment bills to a neighboring township. The failure of payment could have a ripple or domino effect on connected areas.

When the LGC took over Eureka’s affairs in 2019, the water and sewer systems in upwards of 90 municipalities were struggling financially and many indicated infrastructure issues. One of the goals of the LGC is to assess and assist aging water and sewer systems in rural areas. These aging systems have pushed some rural communities close to bankruptcy in the past, and pandemic orders related to utility payments from the governor have exacerbated the problem.

In September, Gov. Roy Cooper announced the release of $175 million to help North Carolinians pay rent and utilities bills that have mounted due to the pandemic and subsequent shutdowns.

That release of funds follows August bankruptcy warnings by some utility providers. The warnings of bankruptcy and insolvency were attributed to unpaid bills that were allowed to accumulate under two of the governor’s COVID-19-related executive orders. The NC Utilities Commission reported millions in arrearages for residential and business accounts, and delinquency rates between 30%-50% had been reported in rural towns.

“This is not the end of anything.

It’s just the beginning,” Folwell said, adding that “There’s nothing more fundamental or critical, either for individuals or industry, than to have clean, accessible, affordable water and sewer.”

ing incentives to companies and help students retool their careers through low-tuition classes.

“The system will lead the efRALEIGH — Thomas Stith III, the head of the U.S. Small fort to rebuild North Carolina’s Business Administration in economy,” Stith said.

Nearly 700,000 students North Carolina and a former top aide to then-Gov. Pat McCro- take community college classry, was hired Monday to lead the es statewide. A majority of camstate’s community college sys- pus-based instruction occurred online during the fall, with some tem.

The State Board of Commu- face-to-face classes for hands-on nity Colleges voted unanimous- skills and clinical work such as ly in an online meeting to choose nursing.

Stith, 57, graduated from Stith as the next president of the 58-campus system — which is North Carolina Central University and will be the system’s secone of the nation’s largest.

Stith succeeds Peter Hans, ond black president. Vic Hackley who was at the post for two years was the first in the mid-1990s.

The 21-member board who before he was named president of the University of North Caro- elected Stith is largely a mix of lina system in August. An inter- appointees by McCrory, current im has been in place while com- Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper and munity college board members Republican legislative leaders.

GOP State Treasurer Dale Folconducted a search. well and Lt. Gov. Dan “I congratulate my Forest, or their desigfriend Thomas Stith, nees, also are on the the State Board, and board. House Speakthe community col- “The system er Tim Moore and Senleges on the successate Leader Phil Berger ful conclusion of the will lead praised Stith in a press search. The Universi- the effort release. ty of North Carolina is to rebuild Board member Bob a dedicated partner to Stephens, who was genthe ‘Great 58’ and I per- North eral counsel for McCrosonally believe we are Carolina’s ry while governor, led better together workthe presidential search ing towards opportuni- economy.” committee. Stephens ty for all,” said Hans of the selection.

North Carolina said the panel received resumes from all over Stith, who was preCommunity the country, but that viously chief of staff to Stith was “at the top of the Republican gover- College every list.” nor and a Durham City President Stith said he’s got a Council member, has Thomas Stith family history of busimost recently been a ness development and Trump administration education. His parappointee as the SBA’s district officer for the state since ents started a two-year business September 2019. Stith’s work at school in Durham in the 1950s.

Stith “is a proven leader with the SBA has included getting financial assistance to businesses a broad network of relationships struggling to stay afloat during in business, education and government in North Carolina,” systhe coronavirus pandemic.

Stith said after the vote that tem board Chair Breeden Blackhis top priority will be to mar- well said in the release. “He has shal the forces of the system of- the skills and talents to lead our fice and campuses to help the great community college system state recover from COVID-19-re- at a critical time.”

Stith, who currently lives in lated job losses and business closings. Community colleges of- Charlotte, officially begins work ten provide key workforce train- Jan. 11.

FILE PHOTO

North Carolina Community College President Thomas Stith is pictured in this file photo.

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North State Journal for Wednesday, December 16, 2020

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North State Journal for Wednesday, December 16, 2020

Murphy to Manteo

Jones & Blount

NC poverty by county

Dish Network settlement money may go to expand broadband access

By A.P. Dillon North State Journal

The N.C. Department of Commerce annually ranks the state’s 100 counties based on economic well-being and assigns each a tier designation. The tier system is then incorporated into state programs to encourage economic activity in the less prosperous areas of the state.

The 40 most distressed counties are designated as Tier 1, the next 40 as Tier 2 and the 20 least distressed as Tier 3.

The county tiers are calculated using four factors: average unemployment rate for the last 12 months, median household income for the past 12 months, percentage growth in population for the most recent 36 months, and adjusted property tax base per capita based on the most recent tax year.

Twenty-two counties will change tiers in 2021. Counties moving to a less distressed tier include Beaufort, Camden, Carteret, Chowan, Jones, Macon, Onslow, Perquimans, Pitt, Polk and Transylvania.

Counties moving to a more distressed tier include Alexander, Brunswick, Buncombe, Burke, Cherokee, Davie, Haywood, Hoke, New Hanover, Randolph and Rowan.

RALEIGH — Students and citizens in rural areas may see a broadband access boost from a settlement agreement related to illegal telemarketing calls announced on Dec. 7.

In a press release, North Carolina Attorney General Josh Stein said that a $210 million settlement with Dish Network had been reached. $126 million of that sum will be paid to the federal government, and the remainder will go to the states, with $13,986,000 headed to North Carolina.

Stein’s release said the penalty is the “largest ever obtained” in the state for violations of do-not-call laws. The lawsuit against Dish Network dates back to 2009, when Gov. Roy Cooper served as the North Carolina attorney general.

“Companies cannot use aggressive tactics to take people’s hard-earned money,” Stein said in a statement. “That’s why do-not-call and telemarketing protections exist, and I’ll continue fighting to hold companies and bad actors accountable when they violate these protections and go after North Carolinians.”

The settlement includes the attorneys general of California, Illinois, North Carolina and Ohio, and the Federal Trade Commission.

Tier 1

WEST

Wilkes County A 2-year-old boy who is believed to have wandered off from him home was killed in an apparent hit-and-run. Family members found the toddler on the roadside in Wilkes County on Thursday. The child had been left at home with two other children while a parent went to a neighboring house. The unidentified driver was going north on Traphill Road near Boone, hit the child and left the area. A relative took the toddler to the Traphill Volunteer Fire Department for aid before he was taken to Wilkes Medical Center, where he was pronounced dead.

Tier 2

Tier 1

Tier 3

Tier 2

Buncombe County The Buncombe County Commissioners voted unanimously to remove a Confederate monument from a downtown square following a recommendation from a task force. The 7-0 vote will remove the obelisk erected more than a century ago to honor Zebulon Vance, a Civil War officer and governor who owned slaves. The Asheville City Council was scheduled to vote on whether to accept the recommendation on Tuesday. In November, nine of the 12 members of the Vance Monument Task Force voted to remove the Vance monument.

AP

Jackson County The Eastern Band of the Cherokee Indians won’t implement Gov. Roy Cooper’s new executive order on virus restrictions. The tribe’s Principal Chief Richard Sneed announced they won’t adopt the order at the Qualla Boundary. Sneed worked with tribal public health officials to enact social distancing measures to protect tribal citizens and guests while balancing the community’s financial position. The Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians has reported a total of 652 COVID-19 cases as of Thursday, 58 of which are active. Two people are currently hospitalized. The tribe began to reopen businesses in May, including its two casinos.

Orange County becomes latest to back reparations

Vigils held for slain Mount Holly police officer Gaston County Vigils were held for a Mount Holly police officer who was fatally shot while responding to a call. Officer Tyler Herndon was to turn 26 years old on Sunday. The town is lit in blue, all as a tribute to Herndon. Several downtown businesses have blue lighting in their storefronts. Candlelight vigils here held at the Mount Holly Municipal Complex and at the Kings Mountain Amphitheater.

Herndon was shot while responding to a breaking-and-entering call on Friday.

Joshua Tyler Funk has been charged with murder.

Orange County A board of commissioners in Orange County voted to support reparations and apologized for the county’s role in slavery, segregation and systemic discrimination against black residents. The resolution does not call for direct payments. It focuses instead on county efforts to prioritize racial equity. The Orange County commissioners on Monday approved the resolution on reparations by a 6-1 vote. Board members also called on the county to work with public and private partners to invest in black students and families, black-owned farms and businesses, and black workers and communities of color.

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Tribe won’t implement governor’s new order on virus limits

Tier 3

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County commissioners vote to remove monument

Troopers say child killed in hitand-run

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Local grower provides state Christmas tree Ashe County Gov. Cooper held the annual state Christmas tree lighting ceremony virtually on Friday, marking the official start of the holiday season. It’s the 42nd year that the Capitol tree lighting has been held. This year’s tree is a 24-foot Fraser fir provided by Peaks Farms in Ashe County. Christmas tree growers from around the state also provided wreaths that decorate the Capitol building.

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Sheriff: Woman charged in man’s shooting death

Sheriff’s deputy who had coronavirus dies Guilford County The Guilford County Sheriff’s Office says a deputy who was diagnosed with the coronavirus has died. Master Cpl. Norman Daye died Saturday at his home. Sheriff’s office spokeswoman Lori Poag said Sunday that Daye was a 16-year veteran with the Guilford County Sheriff’s Office and was an assistant supervisor over the warrant squad.

He began his career with the Orange County Sheriff’s Office. Daye had been hospitalized and was released about two days before dying at his home, Poag said.

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Surry County Authorities have arrested a woman in connection with a man’s shooting death.

Carrie Leigh Whitaker, 47, of Pilot Mountain was arrested and charged with murder in the shooting death of Ronald Alan Clark, 61, the Surry County Sheriff’s Office said. Sheriff Steve Hiatt said the sheriff’s office received a call Monday afternoon regarding a shooting at Clark’s home. When deputies arrived, they found Clark dead from an apparent gunshot wound. Hiatt said it was Whitaker who called the sheriff’s office about the shooting.

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EAST

Search suspended for kayaker missing on coast

Police: Hair from horse tails is being stolen, likely sold Nash County The Nash County Sheriff’s Office says that hair is being cut from horses’ tails and is likely being sold. The office said in a statement that it has received reports that “unknown suspects” have been going to pastures to take the animals’ hair.

“Apparently there is a high demand for horse hair and they are selling the hair,” the sheriff’s office wrote in a Facebook post.

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UNC Wilmington holds virtual commencement for Class of 2020 New Hanover County The graduating class of 2020 at the University of North Carolina at Wilmington was recognized Saturday in a first-ever virtual commencement made necessary by the COVID-19 pandemic. Graduates from May, August and December were recognized in two separate ceremonies, livestreamed through the school’s homepage and its commencement website. The virtual commencement ceremonies weren’t be far removed from live exercises, with remarks from the chancellor, provost, board of trustees and other university representatives. Each academic dean addressed their respective school or graduates, and all graduates were recognized by a slide listing their name, degree and any academic recognitions.

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Dare County Officials have suspended the search for a kayaker who disappeared while fishing on the coast, and a reward is being offered to anyone who finds him. The N.C. Wildlife Resources Commission announced the agency had suspended its search for Alexander Rush, 26, of Kill Devil Hills. A local family is offering a $1,000 reward for anyone who finds Rush. Rush was fishing near the Old Manns Harbor Bridge.

Although the formal search for Rush has ended, local wildlife officers and marine patrol will be on the lookout during their daily patrols.

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NC DMV headquarters shift out of Raleigh almost complete Edgecombe County The relocation of the NC DMV headquarters from Raleigh to Rocky Mount is almost complete. Commissioner Torre Jessup said the final office shifts will be completed by Dec. 19. The move-ins began in July. Almost 500 positions are being relocated. The state is leasing five buildings that used to house the Hardee’s fast-food chain offices. The license plate agency and dealer services within the Raleigh headquarters — along with about 50 workers — will remain in the city. The Rocky Mount headquarters won’t provide these and other in-person services to the public.

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During his first four years of serving as attorney general, Stein has made robo-calls and violations of the do-notcall registry a focus. North Carolina citizens can report robocalls or illegal telemarketing calls to Stein’s office by visiting www.ncdoj.gov/norobo or through a dedicated robo-report hotline at 1-844-8-NO-ROBO. Stein urged the General Assembly “to consider ways to use these funds to address broadband access in North Carolina.”

“This pandemic has underscored the importance of addressing the gaps in broadband access,” said Stein in the release. Stein went on to say there are children in rural areas counting on broadband for schoolwork and that “Education is the best way to invest in our children’s futures and to level the playing field — access to reliable internet is imperative to students’ success.”

Earlier this month, Cooper’s office had rescinded CARES Act funding allocated by the legislature which the governor had signed into law more than 75 days ago. State legislators said Cooper did not inform them of his intention to revoke the $30 million appropriated to support the state’s rural broadband grant program.

After a series of letters between lawmakers and Cooper, an agreement about the disputed rural broadband funding was reached on Dec. 10.

NC Electoral College vote a ‘great honor’ for participants

By Matt Mercer North State Journal RALEIGH — The 58th Electoral College met on Monday, Dec. 14 to formally cast the votes for president and vice president. In Raleigh, electors for the state of North Carolina met at noon in the Old House Chamber at the State Capitol.

The 15 electors were nominated at the N.C. Republican Party’s convention, which took place virtually in July. As President Donald Trump and Vice President Mike Pence won the state in the 2020 general election, the party’s electors were called to Raleigh for the vote.

NC has 15 electors, representing each congressional district and two at-large representing the state’s two senators. The electors were: At Large — Michele A. Nix At Large — Michael D. Whatley First District — Thomas William Hill Second District — Edwin L. Gavin II Third District — Dave Wickersham Fourth District — Angie Cutlip Fifth District — Jonathan L. Fletcher Sixth District — Tina Forsberg Seventh District — Chauncey Lambeth Eighth District — Susan Mills Ninth District — Daniel Bradford Barry Tenth District — Danny W. Overcash Eleventh District — Mark Delk Twelfth District — Melisa Bell Taylor Thirteenth District — Blake E. Williams

N.C. Secretary of State Elaine Marshall opened the Electoral College, and Delk, who lives in Asheville, was appointed to preside over the casting of votes.

Mills, a public-school teacher, said being of being an elector, “It just reinforced what our Founding Fathers established in the Constitution as a compromise between the election of the president by a vote in Congress and election of the president by a popular vote of qualified citizens.”

She also served as a teller, collecting the votes cast by the members.

“Being in the Old House Chamber of the State Capitol Building, knowing the history that has been made there and that was made yesterday is something I will never forget. 2020 made the ceremony a bit different from the past, but it also made it memorable. The chamber was not packed with dignitaries, but we were still made to feel special,” she added.

Guilford County’s Tina Forsberg said of the experience, “What a privilege to represent the citizens of the Sixth Congressional District and cast our state’s votes for President Trump and Vice President Pence. It is a solemn duty I pray will be similarly received and adjudicated next month in Congress. May God continue to bless this nation as we face whatever lies ahead.”

Both houses of Congress will meet in a special session on Jan. 6, 2021, for the formal reading and certification of the vote of the Electoral College.

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SCENES FROM THE 58TH ELECTORAL COLLEGE

GERRY BROOME | AP PHOTOS

Presidential electors of North Carolina’s Electoral College gather to cast their votes at the State Capitol Building in Raleigh.

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North State Journal for Wednesday, December 16, 2020

north STATEment Neal Robbins, publisher | Frank Hill, senior opinion editor

VISUAL VOICES

EDITORIAL | FRANK HILL

Taxing the rich doesn’t work

Two of the top tax breaks in the US Tax Code are the home mortgage interest deduction and the employerpaid share of employee health insurance.

“TAX THE RICH” will be the mantra of progressive Democrats in Washington once again. It has been the rallying cry of progressives since passage of the 16th Amendment in 1913, which made the income tax constitutional. Rich robber barons were the only ones who had enough income to tax in the first place, so of course it made sense to “tax the rich.”

Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) believes in soaking the rich so much that she is selling t-shirts with “Tax The Rich” on the front for only $59.

Imagine that. AOC, the leader of The Socialist Revolution in America, is using capitalism to sell t-shirts to fund the left’s efforts to overthrow capitalism

and tax the rich.

Wait until she becomes rich selling t-shirts; she will become a Republican overnight.

Targeting the wealthy to “pay their fair share” has never solved any specific public policy issues. The top 1% of all taxpayers, those making over $500,000 annually, pay 40% of all income tax as it is today. We still have poverty; we still have thousands of bridges to fix and our education system is not working optimally, to put it mildly.

The main reason to target the rich is to punish them for their success through class warfare. History has shown innumerable instances where the masses wanted to dethrone wealthy kings because they lived such comfortable lives when so many of them struggled to make ends meet. Many times, they were understandably justified in their anger since the king over-taxed them and sent them to fight wars so

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he could gain even more wealth and power at their expense.

What happens when someone in America, starting with nothing, gets rich through their own efforts, their own hard work and putting their own money at full risk by investing in their own business? Did they gain their wealth by stealing from the masses or sending their sons to war like kings in days of yore?

Does their success mean everyone else is entitled to demand whatever percentage of their income they should pay in taxes for the rest of us to use as Congress sees fit?

Americans exert an enormous amount of time, energy and resources each year to make enough money to support their families and make a profit in their business. They spend an inordinate amount of time, money and energy, too much really, each year trying to avoid paying as much of their tax liability as possible as well.

The problem with progressives trumpeting “Tax The Rich!” is that the very wealthy have access to the very best tax accountants, lawyers and advisors in the land. They will use every available legal means to

make sure they pay as little income tax as possible.

Most take no salary and avoid paying any income tax and payroll taxes at all. Americans earning below $200,000 find it almost impossible to hire the same high-priced sophisticated experts to shelter their income since the tax savings would be far less than the cost of such experts.

The U.S. Treasury collects 57% of total revenues annually from individual income taxes (50% or $2 trillion) and corporate income taxes (7% or $239 billion). However, due to the plethora of tax breaks in the U.S. Tax Code, roughly half as much, or $1.3 trillion per year in income tax, is not collected by the U.S. Treasury. People and corporations simply are protected by the current tax code from paying more taxes. That’s true today and will continue to be as long as we have an income tax.

Before anyone gets too incensed by “rich people not paying their fair share of taxes!”, everyone, including progressives, have to realize that two of the top tax breaks in the US Tax Code are the home mortgage interest deduction and the employer-paid share of employee health insurance. Take away those two deductions and the political party that does so will cease to exist after the next election.

Conservatives should pop some popcorn and watch progressives such as AOC drive President-elect Joe Biden and the Democratic Party crazy with her scorch-the-earth tax policy proposals. The 2022 midterm elections are right around the corner.

EDITORIAL | STACEY MATTHEWS

Nancy Pelosi admits why she stalled COVID relief bill, and it should outrage every American

In Collinsworth’s case, it sounded more like a compliment to me than a surprise that women would know so much about the NFL.

FOR MONTHS LEADING up to Election Day, Republicans on up to President Trump often accused House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) of stalling a deal on the COVID relief bill. They claimed she was doing it because she wanted to hurt Trump’s reelection chances and also give Joe Biden an early legislative victory within weeks of the presidential election, assuming he won it.

Pelosi’s consistent excuse anytime she was asked why she was holding up progress on a deal between the Democratic House and the Republican Senate was that it wasn’t nearly enough money, that the Senate’s bill fell far short of what was needed.

Instead of coming to an agreement with Sen. Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.), she said in so many words that she’d only consider a compromise if Republicans in the Senate came around more to her way of thinking.

One month after the election, and with Joe Biden on the verge of being certified as the winner barring a last-minute miracle for the Trump campaign, Pelosi announced during her weekly presser that she was now open to a smaller COVID relief bill package that was being crafted by a bipartisan group in the

Senate.

Pelosi was questioned during the press briefing as to what made her suddenly change her mind. “What has shifted now, when they’re on board with this piece that’s come out of the Senate?”, asked one.

The House Speaker appeared agitated by the question. Making animated fingerpointing gestures, Pelosi admitted she wanted to wait until after the election when presumably Joe Biden would be declared the winner of the presidential race.

“Perhaps you missed what I said earlier,” she snapped at the reporter. “Joe Biden committed to ending and crushing the virus and having a Build Back Better America initiative. A vaccine — answer to our prayers, an answer to our prayers — of 95% effectiveness in terms of Pfizer and Moderna, and there may be others coming forward. That makes — that is a total game-changer: a new president and a vaccine.”

It’s very rare that you see a national political leader admit to what Pelosi just had.

“That is a total game-changer: a new president and a vaccine.”

It was clear prior to the election we’d be getting the vaccine in record time thanks in no small part to Trump’s aggressive push and Operation Warp Speed. But what wasn’t clear was who’d win the presidential race. So, what Pelosi’s change of heart boiled down to was not the vaccine, but the strong likelihood Joe Biden would be certified the winner. As a result, she dropped her opposition to a smaller relief bill so he would get credit for it, not Trump.

When she was asked a follow-up question wondering if she thought it was “a mistake though not to accept half of a loaf months ago,” considering she’d previously stated she wouldn’t, an angry Pelosi blasted the reporter.

“Look, I’m going to tell you something,” she snipped. “Don’t characterize what we did before as a mistake as a preface to your question, if you want an answer. That was not a mistake; it was a decision.”

It was a “decision” she’d admitted moments earlier was made totally based on election-year politics.

How many suffered because of the cold-blooded stunt Pelosi pulled over this bill?

We’ll never know, but one thing we do know is that she should not be let off the hook for it in the court of public opinion. Though the mainstream media has moved on from her stunning admission in a way they wouldn’t have had it come from a Republican, the American people should not forget that her politically-calculated actions hurt a lot of people.

All in the name of politics.

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

North State Journal for Wednesday, December 16, 2020 COLUMN | MICHAEL BARONE

COLUMN | WALTER WILLIAMS

The unbearable lightness of white college Democrats EIGHTY-FIVE PERCENT of counties with a Whole Foods store voted for Joe Biden. That factoid, relayed by The Cook Political Report’s David Wasserman, tells you something important about the election — and about today’s Democratic Party.

“The Democracy,” as it was called in the 19th century, long thought of itself Biden’s as the party of the people, the defender strongest of the little guy, the side that stood up for the folks not able to stand up for counties in themselves.

North Carolina There was always something to this. were Durham From its formation to reelect Andrew and Orange Jackson in 1832, the Democratic Party (Duke University has always been a coalition of groups not considered typical Americans but and the that together could form a national University of majority. Naturally, the precise North Carolina, composition of this coalition has changed over time.

Chapel Hill).

Barack Obama’s Democratic Party was a top-and-bottom coalition of those at both ends of the income, education and occupational scales. Obama, who, as an Illinois legislator, gerrymandered a top-and-bottom district for himself, provided substantive and psychological sustenance to both sides.

Joe Biden’s Democratic Party has a different balance. The boy from working-class Scranton, as he is billed, ran best not in factory cities but in university towns.

His highest percentage in Michigan was in the county containing Ann Arbor, not Detroit. He ran stronger in Madison, Wisconsin’s Dane County than in Milwaukee County; stronger in Iowa City than in Des Moines; stronger in Missoula, Montana, with its university than in Butte with its copper mines; just as strong in metro Columbus (Ohio State University) as in metro Cleveland.

Biden’s strongest area in California was the San Francisco Bay (University of California, Berkeley and Stanford University). His strongest county in upstate New York was Tompkins (Cornell University). His strongest counties in North Carolina were Durham and Orange (Duke University and the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill).

White college grads — Joel Kotkin’s “gentry liberals,” Arnold Kling’s “highly educated elites” — have become the dominant constituency in the Democratic Party. Even as the descendants of the party’s blue-collar constituents have become Donald Trump Republicans, Democratic percentages among white college graduates have ballooned.

Pew Research Center polling showed white college graduates 50% to 42% Republican in 1994 — the breakthrough year when Republicans captured the House after 40 years of Democratic control — and 57% to 37%

Democratic in 2019. That’s happened even as they’ve become a larger percentage of the electorate.

To which an old-time Democratic Party boss — Tammany Hall’s Charles F. Murphy or Chicago’s Richard J. Daley — would have asked, “What do these people want?”

In the 1990s, the answers very fairly obvious. Affluent voters wanted tax rates held down, and they wanted their verdant suburban and trendy central city neighborhoods protected from violent crime and welfare dependency.

Led by Wisconsin’s Tommy Thompson and New York’s Rudy Giuliani, local Republicans and some Democrats cut violent crime and welfare rolls by more than half. In Washington, Newt Gingrich and Bill Clinton assisted and encouraged this process and largely froze tax rates.

Today’s college graduates, more numerous than their 1994 predecessors and schooled on increasingly “politically correct” campuses, don’t have such concrete goals. They’re unfazed by marginal Obama-era tax increases and untroubled — so far, anyway — by the vertiginous increases in homicides after the May 25 incident in Minneapolis.

What they want out of politics is not so much anything concrete as it is symbolic: assertions of opposition to what they regard as America’s “systemic racism,” and opposition to assertions of “America first,” whether that means enforcement of immigration laws or “xenophobic” restrictions on travel from China, where COVID-19 originated.

In Democratic primaries, these voters, as I wrote in June, “flitted from one candidate to the next, tilting toward Sen. Kamala Harris after she whacked Joe Biden for opposing busing in the 1970s, then luxuriating in Sen. Elizabeth Warren’s stentorian assurances that, on every issue, ‘I have a plan for that,’ then swooning for the assured articulateness of then-South Bend Mayor Pete Buttigieg.”

They seem chemically dependent on denunciations of Donald Trump, to the point that subscription- or ratingshungry news media feel obliged to lard not just news accounts but even food pages and movie reviews with “Orange Man Bad” sneers. Trump is routinely described as a “racist” with no evidence cited.

White Democratic college graduates’ central faith is that they oppose other Americans’ systemic racism. Nearly a majority of them told pollsters they were bothered that Joe Biden is a white male in his 70s. Only about 30% of black and Hispanic Democrats feel the same, according to Pew. One group has more concern for ethnic origin and personal style than for real-life consequences for actual people.

White Democratic college graduates complain that Trump acts childishly; is impervious to criticism and fixated on symbolic trivia; and refuses to confess error or admit defeat.

Fair criticism or self-description? Or both?

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.

GUEST OPINION | JACKIE GINGRICH CUSHMAN

Failure of imagination WE ARE A VAST COUNTRY, but too many of us have a limited understanding of the rest of the world. We have the right to vote and freedom of speech. We can move around our country as we wish, and we can start a company or quit a job as we desire. We get to determine who our friends are and where we spend our time. With such great freedom comes a failure of imagination. We forget that our system is special, unique, so we believe that every other country is like ours.

We are wrong.

“At the end of the Cold War, America started to engage with China heavily,” Secretary of State Mike Pompeo told the National Governors Association in February. Speaking of China, he said: “We thought that the more we interacted, the more it would become like a liberal democracy, like us here in the United States. It didn’t happen.”

Part of the challenge is that many of us naively and erroneously believe that other political systems are guided by the same beliefs and approaches as ours. We believe that, since we make well-meaning advances toward engagement, they must be doing the same.

But our country is very, very different from China. Our country is founded on the belief that God gives rights to individuals who then loan them to the government, which is divided into three branches.

That structure ensures that governing is a messy, inefficient process, but our Founding Fathers designed it this way intentionally — to prevent a monarch from rising to power. To get things done, we have to have national discussions; people must push government officials in the right direction. This messy structure is evident today.

In China, control is the focus. Chinese President Xi Jinping holds several jobs. First and foremost, he is the general secretary of the Chinese Communist Party. Then he is the commander of the country’s armed forces, and finally, he is president. When Xi talks about progress, he is referring to the welfare of these groups in that order. First, the Chinese Communist Party is to be successful, then the nation and then the individuals in the nation. The party and the nation come before the people.

In his speech, Pompeo called out the U.S.-China Governors’ Collaboration Summit, held in conjunction with

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the Chinese People’s Association for Friendship With Foreign Countries. Pompeo said this is the “public face of the Chinese Communist Party’s United Front Work Department.”

Pompeo warned the governors that, in 2019, a Chinese government think tank in Beijing assessed U.S. governors and rated each of them as “friendly, hardline or ambiguous.”

The reality is that, as the Washington Times put it, “the Chinese were seeking to co-opt U.S. officials and business leaders by offering Chinese investments in their states, in pension funds or in industries related to sensitive national security matters.” Pompeo said: “It’s happening in your states with consequences for our foreign policy, for the citizens that reside in your states and, indeed, for each of you. ... Know that it’s working you; know that it’s working the team around you.”

While some might reject this as hyperbole or as outrageous, a video aired by Tucker Carlson on Fox News showing a Chinese economics professor giving a speech this fall should give us all pause. “Why, between 1992 and 2016, did China and the U.S. used to be able to settle all kinds of issues, no matter what kind of crises we encountered?” the professor asked. “Things were solved in no time. ... We fixed everything in two months. What is the reason?”

“I am going to throw out something maybe a little explosive here,” he continued. “It’s just because we have people at the top — at the top of America’s core inner circle of power and influence. We have our old friends. ... For the past 30 years, 40 years, we have been utilizing the core power of the United States.”

The change came after the 2016 election, he said: “Trump had a previous soft default issue with Wall Street, so there was a conflict between them.”

But the 2020 election provides China with a way back in. “(N)ow we’re seeing Biden elected,” he said. “The traditional elite, the political elite, the establishment — they’re very close to Wall Street... Who helped him (Biden’s son) build the foundations? Got it?”

While we are at war among ourselves, bitterly divided and blaming those in the other political party, my guess is that China is enjoying watching us ignore the real threat to our future. The more havoc and discord that can be sown internally, the less attention we will pay to our real enemy.

Costs must be weighed against benefits This is one of the last two op-ed pieces Dr. Walter Williams ever wrote.

ONE OF THE FIRST LESSONS in an economics class is every action has a cost.

That is in stark contrast to lessons in the political arena where politicians virtually ignore cost and talk about benefits and free stuff. If we look only at the benefits of an action, policy or program, then we will do anything because there is a benefit to any action, policy or program.

Think about one simple example.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration estimates that 36,096 Americans lost their lives in motor vehicle traffic crashes in 2019. Virtually all those lives could have been saved if we had a 5-mph speed limit. The huge benefit of a 5-mph speed limit is that those 36,000-plus Americans would have been with us instead of lost in highway carnage. Fortunately, we look at the costs of having a 5-mph speed limit and rightly conclude that saving those 36,000-plus lives are not worth the costs and inconvenience. Most of us find it too callous, when talking about life, to explicitly weigh costs against benefits. We simply say that a 5-mph speed limit would be impractical.

What about the benefits and costs of dealing with the COVID-19 pandemic? Much of the medical profession and politicians say that lockdowns, social distancing and maskwearing are the solutions. CDC data on death rates show if one is under 35, the chances of dying from COVID-19 is much lower than that of being in a bicycle accident.

Should we lockdown bicycles?

Dr. Martin Kulldorff, professor of medicine at Harvard University, biostatistician and epidemiologist; Dr. Sunetra Gupta, professor at Oxford University and an epidemiologist with expertise in immunology; and Dr. Jay Bhattacharya, professor at Stanford University Medical School, a physician and epidemiologist were the initiators of the Great Barrington Declaration. More than 50,000 scientists and doctors, as well as more than 682,000 ordinary people, have signed the Great Barrington Declaration opposing a second COVID-19 lockdown because they see it doing much more harm than good.

Efforts to keep very young from getting COVID-19, given most will not even realize they have it or will suffer only mild symptoms, may be counterproductive in that it delays the point where a country has herd immunity. According to the CDC, COVID-19 deaths in young people (from babies to college students) are almost nonexistent.

The first age group to provide a substantial contribution to the death toll is 45-54 years, who contribute 5% of all coronavirus deaths.

More than 80% of deaths occur in people aged 65 and over. That increases to over 92% if the 55-64 age group is included.

Thus, only a tiny number of people under age 25 die of COVID-19. Yet, schools have been closed, and tens of millions of schoolchildren have been denied inclass instruction. Mandating that 5-yearolds wear masks during their school day is beyond nonsense. Virtual learning can serve as a substitute for in-class teaching but it has mixed results. Some parents can provide their children with the necessary tools, perhaps hire tutors, and take an active interest in what their children are doing online. Other parents will not have the interest, ability or the time.

Here is a lockdown question for you.

Government authorities permit groceries and pharmacies to remain open during lockdowns. They permitted stores likes Walmart, Costco and Sam’s Club to remain open. However, these stores sell items that are also sold in stores that were locked down such as: Macy’s, J.C. Penney, J. Crew Group, Neiman Marcus and Bed Bath & Beyond. The lack of equal treatment caused many employees to lose their jobs and many formerly financially healthy retailers have filed for bankruptcy.

As political satirist H. L. Mencken said, “The whole aim of practical politics is to keep the populace alarmed (and hence clamorous to be led to safety) by menacing it with an endless series of hobgoblins, all of them imaginary.” By the way, the best time to scare people, be wrong and persist in being wrong is when the costs of being wrong are borne by others.

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

BE IN TOUCH

Letters addressed to the editor may be sent to letters@nsjonline.com or 3101 Industrial Dr. Suite 105. Raleigh, N.C. 27609. Letters must be signed; include the writer’s phone number, city and state; and be no longer than 300 words. Letters may be edited for style, length or clarity when necessary. Ideas for op-eds should be sent to opinion@nsjonline.com.

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North State Journal for Wednesday, December 16, 2020

NATION & WORLD Scientists focus on bats for clues to prevent next pandemic

By Christina Larson The Associated Press RIO DE JANEIRO — Night began to fall in Rio de Janeiro’s Pedra Branca state park as four Brazilian scientists switched on their flashlights to traipse along a narrow trail of mud through dense rainforest. The researchers were on a mission: capture bats and help prevent the next global pandemic.

A few meters ahead, nearly invisible in the darkness, a bat made high-pitched squeaks as it strained its wings against the thin nylon net that had ensnared it.

One of the researchers removed the bat, which used its pointed teeth to bite her gloved fingers.

The November nighttime outing was part of a project at Brazil’s state-run Fiocruz Institute to collect and study viruses present in wild animals — including bats, which many scientists believe were linked to the outbreak of COVID-19.

The goal now is to identify other viruses that may be highly contagious and lethal in humans, and to use that information to devise plans to stop them from ever infecting people — to forestall the next potential global disease outbreak before it gets started.

In a highly connected world, an outbreak in one place endangers the entire globe, just as the coronavirus did. And the Brazilian team is just one among many worldwide racing to minimize the risk of a second pandemic this century.

It’s no coincidence that many disease scientists are focusing attention on bats, the world’s only flying mammals. Bats are thought to be the original or intermediary hosts for multiple viruses that have spawned recent epidemics, including SARS, MERS, Ebola, Nipah virus, Hendra virus and Marburg virus.

A 2019 study found that of viruses originating from the five most common mammalian sources — primates, rodents, carnivores, ungulates and bats — those from bats are the most virulent in humans.

Bats are a diverse group, with more than 1,400 species flitting across every continent except Antarctica. But what many have in common are adaptations that allow them to carry viruses that are deadly in humans and livestock while exhibiting minimal symptoms themselves — meaning they are able travel and shed those viruses, instead of being quickly hobbled.

“The secret is that bats have un-

SILVIA IZQUIERDO | AP PHOTO

A researcher for Brazil’s state-run Fiocruz Institute takes an oral swab sample from a bat captured in the Atlantic Forest, at Pedra Branca state park, near Rio de Janeiro, Tuesday, Nov. 17, 2020. usual immune systems, and that’s related to their ability to fly,” said Raina Plowright, an epidemiologist who studies bats at Montana State University.

Plowright and other bat scientists believe evolutionary tweaks that help bats recover from the stress of flying, when their metabolic rate rises sixteen-fold, also give them extra protection against pathogens.

Probing the secrets of bat immune systems may help scientists understand more about when bats do shed viruses, as well as providing hints for possible future medical treatment strategies, said Arinjay Banerjee, a virologist at McMaster University in Canada.

Increasing destruction and fragmentation of habitats worldwide — especially biodiverse areas like tropical forests — means “we are seeing higher rates of contact between wildlife and humans, creating more opportunities for spillover,” said Cara Brook, a disease ecologist at the Universi-

ty of California, Berkeley.

In India, a National Mission on Biodiversity and Human Well-Being has been pending since 2018 and will likely be launched next year. A core part of the plan is to set up 25 virus surveillance sites across the country.

A varied patchwork of virus surveillance programs exists in several other countries, but funding tends to wax and wane with the political climate and sense of urgency.

One approach that won’t help, scientists say, is treating bats as the enemy — vilifying them, throwing stones or trying to burn them out of caves. An attack along those lines took place this spring, when villagers in the Indian state of Rajasthan identified bat colonies in abandoned forts and palaces and killed hundreds with bats and sticks.

Scientists say such tactics are likely to backfire.

“Stress is a huge factor in upsetting the natural balance that

bats have with their viruses — the more you stress bats, the more they shed viruses,” said Vikram Misra, a virologist at the University of Saskatchewan in Canada.

“People have a lot of misconceptions about bats. They’re nocturnal and look a little weird flying,” said Hannah Kim Frank, a biologist at Tulane University. “But bats aren’t aggressive — and attacking bats doesn’t help control diseases.”

Bats also play vital roles in ecosystems: They consume insects like mosquitos, pollinate plants like agave, and disperse seeds.

“We actually need bats in the wild to consume insects that otherwise destroy cotton, corn and pecan harvests,” said Kristen Lear, an ecologist at Bat Conservational International.

A better approach to minimize disease risk, Frank said, is simply to minimize contact between wild bats and people and livestock.

In Australia, widespread destruction of winter flowering eu-

calyptus trees that provide nectar for fruit bats — known locally as “flying foxes” — prompted the bats to move into areas closer to human settlements looking for alternate meals, including to a suburb of Brisbane called Hendra.

There, the bats transmitted a virus to horses, which in turn infected people. First identified in 1994 and named Hendra virus, it is highly lethal, killing 60% of people and 75% of horses infected.

To potentially reverse the movement of bats, Montana State University’s Plowright and colleagues based in Australia are studying restoring the bats’ original habitat.

“The idea is to plant new forests and make sure they are away from places with domestic animals and people,” she said.

Bats aren’t the problem, said Ricardo Moratelli, coordinator of the Fiocruz project in Brazil. “The problem is when human beings enter into contact with them,” he said.

US Embassy says Sudan no longer on list of terror sponsors

By Samy Magdy The Associated Press CAIRO — The U.S. Embassy in Khartoum said Monday that President Donald Trump’s administration has removed Sudan from the U.S. list of state sponsors of terrorism, a move that could help the African country get international loans to revive its battered economy and end its pariah status.

According to a Facebook post by the embassy, Sudan’s removal was effective as of Monday. A notification to that effect, signed by U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, would be published in the Federal Register, it said, adding that the 45day congressional notification period has lapsed.

“This achievement comes with numerous opportunities for Sudan’s development,” tweeted Sudanese Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok, adding that his country “officially” rejoined the international community as a “peaceful nation supporting global stability” after nearly three-decade of isolation.

Pompeo said in a statement that the removal came after Sudan’s transitional government met “the statutory and policy criteria” and charted a “bold new course away from the legacy” of former autocratic President Omar al-Bashir.

Delisting Sudan “represents a fun-

damental change in our bilateral relationship toward greater collaboration,” he said.

Sudan is on a fragile transition to democracy following an uprising that led to the military’s ouster of alBashir in April 2019. The county is now ruled by a joint military and civilian government that seeks better ties with Washington and the West.

The removal of the terror designation opens the door for the transitional government to get international loans and aid and rescue its transition to democracy. Sudan’s economy has suffered from decades of U.S. sanctions and mismanagement under al-Bashir, who had ruled the country since a 1989 Islamist-backed military coup.

Sudan today has more than $60 billion in foreign debt, and debt relief and access to foreign loans are widely seen as its gateway to economic recovery.

Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said his agency would work with Congress and the transitional government in Khartoum to advance Sudan’s efforts to secure debt relief in 2021.

The European Union also welcomed the removal of Sudan from the terror list as a “significant milestone” for the country’s transition.

Nabila Massrali, a spokesperson for the EU’s External Action Service, said the step moves Sudan closer to

ALEX BRANDON | AP PHOTO

In this Oct. 23, 2020 file photo, President Donald Trump talks on a phone call with the leaders of Sudan and Israel in the Oval Office of the White House, in Washington, D.C. “an eventual debt relief” and urged the transitional government to continue the implementation of necessary economic reforms.

The designation dates back to the 1990s, when Sudan briefly hosted al-Qaida leader Osama bin Laden and other wanted militants. Sudan was also believed to have served as a pipeline for Iran to supply weapons to Palestinian militants in the Gaza Strip.

Delisting Sudan is also a key incentive for the government in Khartoum to normalize relations with Israel. The two countries have agreed to have full diplomatic ties, making Sudan the third Arab state — after the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain — to move to normalize relations with Israel this year. After Sudan, Morocco also established

diplomatic ties with Israel.

Sudanese Gen. Abdel-Fattah Burhan, head of the ruling sovereign council, hailed the move as “historic decision” by Trump’s administration. He tweeted Monday that delisting Sudan would “contribute to supporting the democratic transition.”

In October, Trump announced that he would remove Sudan from the list if it follows through on its pledge to pay $335 million to American terror victims and their families. Sudan has agreed to pay compensation for victims of the 1998 bombings of the U.S. Embassies in Kenya and Tanzania, attacks carried out by al-Qaida while bin Laden was living in Sudan.

According to the October announcement, once the compensa-

tion money was deposited, Trump was to sign an order removing Sudan from the terrorism list on which it has languished under heavy American sanctions for 27 years.

Since Trump’s announcement, the Sudanese government also inked an agreement with the U.S. that could effectively stop any future compensation claims being filed against the African country in U.S. courts.

That deal restores in U.S. courts what is known as sovereign immunity to the Sudanese government. It would however enter into force after U.S. Congress passes legislation needed to implement the agreement. Khartoum has said the $335 million in compensation money would be held in an escrow account until then.

WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 16, 2020

SPORTS

Tar Heels eye Orange Bowl bid, B3

CHRIS CARLSON | AP PHOTO

Gordon Hayward scored a combined 25 points in his first two exhibition games with the Hornets since signing a four-year, $120 million contract.

the Wednesday SIDELINE REPORT COLLEGE FOOTBALL

App State to play North Texas in Myrtle Beach Bowl Conway, S.C. Appalachian State and North Texas will play in the first Myrtle Beach Bowl on Dec. 21.

The Mountaineers (8‑2) and the Mean Green (4‑5) will play at the campus of Coastal Carolina in the first NCAA‑sanctioned bowl game in the state of South Carolina. This will be the first meeting between Appalachian State of the Sun Belt Conference and North Texas of Conference USA. The Mountaineers won the past four Sun Belt crowns entering this season and are 5-0 in bowl games in their FBS history.

The Mean Green were Sun Belt members from 2001‑12, winning four straight league titles from 2001-04.

UNC up to No. 16 after rout of Miami, NC State re-enters at No. 24 Indianapolis UNC’s blowout win over Miami moved the Tar Heels up four spots to No. 16 in the latest Associated Press Top 25 college football poll. NC State re-entered the poll for the first time since October, ranking 24th a week after completing an 8-3 regular season.

Alabama was a unanimous No. 1, followed by Notre Dame and Clemson — the two teams playing in Saturday’s ACC Championship Game.

NASCAR

Jordan’s 23XI Racing fully funded for debut Cup Series season Charlotte 23XI Racing announced a full slate of sponsorship Monday to back the new NASCAR team owned by Michael Jordan and Denny Hamlin. DoorDash, McDonald’s, Columbia Sportswear, Dr Pepper and Root Insurance were all named “founding partners” for the No. 23 Toyota Camry that Bubba Wallace will drive next season.

GERRY BROOME | AP PHOTO

UNC coach Roy Williams has already had to scramble to schedule a game for the Tar Heels due to a COVID-19 cancellation.

Following lost season, college basketball teams still battling COVID-19 Throughout the state and country, the ongoing pandemic continues to throw a wrench the NCAA’s plans

By Brett Friedlander North State Journal DUKE COACH Mike Krzyze‑ wski created a stir last week when he openly questioned whether col‑ lege basketball should contin‑ ue playing during the coronavirus pandemic.

It was a comment that was met with immediate backlash, primari‑ ly because it came in the aftermath of an 83-68 loss to Illinois, the Blue Devils’ second loss in four games at Cameron Indoor Stadium this sea‑ son.

As suspicious as the timing might have been, especially to members of the national media, Twitter trolls and at least one rival coach who has since apologized for openly ques‑ tioning Krzyzewski’s motivation, the point is a valid one.

While the ACC has successfully managed to pull off a football sea‑ son with only a handful of disrup‑ tions, attempting to play an indoor sport amid a spiking public health crisis has already proven to be a much more complicated pursuit.

“We’re just plowing through this,” the sport’s winningest coach said. “People are saying the next six weeks are going to be the worst. To me, it’s already pretty bad.

“On the other side of it, there are these vaccines that are coming out.

By the end of the month, 20 million vaccine shots will be given. By the end of January or in February, an‑ other 100 million. Should we not re‑

assess that, see just what would be best?”

Virtually every team in the na‑ tion, including those here in North Carolina, have already been affect‑ ed either directly or indirectly by COVID-19.

Wake Forest hasn’t played a game since the day after Thanks‑ giving because of an outbreak with‑ in its program and won’t return to practice at least until Dec. 20.

NC State has just resumed bas‑ ketball activities for the first time since two members of its travel‑ ing party tested positive the day af‑ ter a win against UMass-Lowell on Dec. 3. Among the four games the Wolfpack has lost during its pause is Wednesday’s ACC opener at Lou‑ isville. The Wolfpack will play at Saint Louis on Thursday in a game announced Tuesday afternoon.

Krzyzewski’s Blue Devils have yet to experience any coronavirus issues of their own but have can‑ celed all remaining nonconfer‑ ence dates because of problems at other schools on their schedule.

North Carolina’s Roy Williams, when faced with a similar situation, scrambled to find a replacement op‑ ponent for his team to face.

The Tar Heels hastily arranged a game against NC Central last Sat‑ urday less than 48 hours after Elon announced it would be unable to play its previously scheduled game at Smith Center.

“The past couple of weeks have been very difficult,” first-year Wake coach Steve Forbes said. “No one, except the coaches and players within their respective programs, fully understands what each college See COVID, page B3

Hornets show inconsistency, potential in early preseason Charlotte dropped its first two exhibition games

By Shawn Krest North State Journal THE CHARLOTTE HORNETS have rebuilt their roster over the offseason and are con‑ sidered a fringe playoff contend‑ er. The rosiest projections have the Hornets competing for a spot in the play-in tournament for the final few postseason spots. Dark‑ er forecasts have the team strug‑ gling with youth and a lack of size and headed back to the lottery.

The first two preseason looks at the team gave some idea of what to expect. Of course, it’s still early, and the Hornets have only faced the Toronto Raptors so far.

“I love playing against Toron‑ to because they’re a very good de‑ fense,” said Hornets coach James Borrego after the second game of the preseason-opening homeand-home. “They’re physical, they’re in the paint, they force you to kick out. I couldn’t ask for a better team to tune us up for the season than Toronto.”

Early returns on Ball Third overall pick LaMelo Ball made his preseason debut, giving fans their first look at the team’s point guard of the future — thought by many to be the prize of this year’s NBA Draft.

It took him awhile to find his sea legs. Ball went 0-for-5 in his first game, including 0 for 3 from three. He was able to contribute in other areas, however, grabbing a team-high 10 rebounds and dishing out four assists.

“I thought it was a good perfor‑ mance,” Borrego said of Ball’s de‑ but. “First time out there, and he looks like he belongs. I thought he was solid tonight. Made some re‑ ally good plays, some good reads.

He’s talking, he’s communicating.

I thought, overall, a solid perfor‑ mance to start.”

Ball hit his first NBA shot in the rematch, going 3 of 10 from the field and 2 of 6 from three. He

“First time out there, and he looks like he belongs.”

Hornets coach James Borrego on rookie guard LaMelo Ball had three rebounds and two as‑ sists.

While Ball shows promise, there’s obviously room for im‑ provement. He’s turned the ball over seven times in two games, and his plus/minus is a -18 through the two contests. He’s had some highlight-reel plays, however, including some impres‑ sive lobs for dunks by teammates, a behind-the-back pass for an as‑ sist, and a stare down of the To‑ ronto bench after hitting a three.

While the season will have its ups and downs, Ball promises to be a must-watch player.

The other newcomers Gordon Hayward has been as advertised, scoring 25 points in the two games and providing an outside shooting threat.

Former Duke Blue Devil Ver‑ non Carey Jr., a second-round pick, scored three points in the first game but was limited to a minute of playing time in the re‑ match. Fellow second-rounder Grant Riller also had three points in the preseason opener but had a DNP in the second game. Nick Richards has gotten the longest look among the second-round picks, scoring seven points in the two games.

Better than expected The Hornets have outrebound‑ ed Toronto in both games, an area where Charlotte was expected to struggle this season. Ball, an ex‑ tremely tall point guard, looks like he’ll be able to crash the boards and contribute. Returning Hornets frontcourt players Miles Bridges, P.J. Washington and See HORNETS, page B3

North State Journal for Wednesday, December 16, 2020

B2 WEDNESDAY

12.16.20

TRENDING

Sue Donohoe: The former NCAA administrator who later served as executive director of the Raleighbased Kay Yow Cancer Fund until her retirement in 2015 died Sunday after a brief illness. She was 61. Donohoe joined the NCAA in 1999 as the director of the women’s basketball championship and stepped down in 2011. During her NCAA tenure, she was a director of both the men’s and women’s basketball championships.

Sarah Fuller: Two weeks after becoming the first woman to play for a Power 5 football team, the Vanderbilt kicker became the first to score when she converted two extra points in the Commodores’ 42‑17 loss to Tennessee.

Fuller, the goalkeeper for Vanderbilt’s women’s soccer team, tied the game a 7 by knocking through a PAT late in the first quarter, then she made a second extra point midway through the fourth quarter.

Pierre Lacroix: The front office architect of two Colorado Avalanche Stanley Cup championship teams has died. He was 72.

Lacroix was a driving force behind turning the Avalanche into a perennial power after the team relocated from Quebec to Denver for the 1995-96 season.

The Avalanche hoisted the ’96 Stanley Cup Trophy in their first season in Denver and again in 2001. Lacroix brought goaltender Patrick Roy and defensemen Ray Bourque and Rob Blake, all Hall of Famers, to Colorado, and all three rewarded the team with titles.

Beyond the box score POTENT QUOTABLES

NFL

Bills GM Brandon Beane, the Norwood native and UNCW graduate who broke into the NFL with the Panthers’ communication department in 1998 and gradually worked his way up the team’s ranks to be their interim GM, signed a four-year extension with Buffalo last week. Since coming to the Bills in 2017, Beane has built a contender that is on the cusp of earning a third playoff berth in four years.

BRIAN BLANCO | AP PHOTO

“We have to play better when it matters.”

Panthers coach Matt Rhule following his team’s latest close loss, the seventh time this season 4-9 Carolina has lost by 8 points or fewer.

DARRON CUMMINGS | AP PHOTO

MLB

COLLEGE FOOTBALL

MARY SCHWALM | AP PHOTO

“That was a ugly baby, but it’s our baby.”

NC State women’s basketball coach Wes Moore after the fourthranked Wolfpack rallied from 16 down Sunday to win at Boston College.

PRIME NUMBER

544 Combined rushing yards for UNC’s Michael Carter and Javonte Williams in the Tar Heels’ 62-26 win over No. 9 Miami, the most by two running backs for the same team in a game in NCAA history.

Carter had 24 carries for 308 yards and two touchdowns, while Williams had 236 yards on 23 carries with three touchdowns.

TOM E. PUSKAR | AP PHOTO

The Cleveland Indians are changing their name after 105 years. The name change won’t take place in 2021 and the team has not settled on a new moniker.

Cleveland’s move away from Indians follows a similar decision earlier this year by the NFL’s Washington Football Team, which was previously known as the Redskins.

ROGELIO V. SOLIS | AP PHOTO

Auburn fired football coach Gus Malzahn, ending an eight-year run that began with a trip to the national championship game. The move was announced Sunday, a day after the Tigers finished the regular season with a win over Mississippi State. Auburn is 6-4 in a pandemic-shortened season of all SEC opponents.

NBA

KATHY WILLENS | AP PHOTO

Kevin Durant — out since he ruptured his Achilles tendon in the 2019 NBA Finals with the Golden State Warriors — returned to the floor and made his Nets debut Sunday, scoring 15 points in 24 minutes in Brooklyn’s preseason win over Washington. It was Durant’s first time playing with guard Kyrie Irving, his friend who helped convince the 2014 NBA MVP to leave Golden State for Brooklyn.

North State Journal for Wednesday, December 16, 2020

B3

Tar Heels watch, wait for possible Orange Bowl berth UNC needs help — a Clemson win the ACC Championship Game should do it — to reach its first major bowl in 70 years

“We are definitely pulling for Clemson to win it. We’ll see.”

By Shawn Krest North State Journal

Chazz Surratt, UNC linebacker

THE LAST TIME North Carolina was headed to a major bowl game, the world was hoping to have a vaccine available soon to help fend off a disease that had ravaged society — polio.

It was Jan. 2, 1950. For the third time in four years, the University of North Carolina played in one of the big four bowl games — Rose, Cotton, Orange, Sugar — losing to Rice in the Cotton Bowl, 27-13. The Tar Heels had also made two trips to the Sugar Bowl — losing to Georgia on New Year’s 1947 and to Oklahoma two years later.

Mack Brown hadn’t been born yet.

Neither had Roy Williams. Neither had the ACC. UNC has not returned to one of the major bowls since.

Oh, sure, the Tar Heels have been bowling, but it’s been a collection of second-tier games — seven Gators, five Peaches, four Suns and a host of games named after mechanics and auto parts stores.

Carolina has been to Honolulu, Las Vegas, Detroit and Shreveport.

But for 70 years, other teams went to the Rose, Cotton, Orange and Sugar.

So many other teams. Of the 65 current members of the Power Five, 58 have been to a major bowl since UNC’s last trip. Duke has been three times. Kansas has gone twice.

Non-Power Five team Cincinnati has been twice. Hawaii, Wyoming, Memphis and Rice have all gone to major bowls since the Tar Heels’ last trip.

The list of Power Five teams with droughts as long as North Carolina’s is sobering: Arizona, South Carolina, NC State, Iowa State, Rutgers and Vanderbilt.

That could all change this year.

The proverbial sleeping giant received a wake-up call, loud and clear, when the Tar Heels demolished Miami last weekend, traveling to South Florida and hammering the Hurricanes, 62‑26.

It was UNC’s first win over a top10 team in 16 years and a gigantic breakthrough after a near-miss last year against Clemson and a decisive loss to Notre Dame two weeks earlier.

“For us, as a team, this was a mustwin,” quarterback Sam Howell said.

“This was a game we couldn’t lose.”

It was also a game that, all too often over the last seven decades, the Tar Heels found a way to come up short.

Heading into this year, the Tar Heels were 13-13 as a ranked team since the end of Mack Brown’s first tenure as head coach. That includes a 2-6 record in their last eight. Since their trip to the 1950 Cotton Bowl, the Heels are 10-22 when both they and their opponent are ranked. This year, the Heels are 3-1 in ranked-vs.ranked matchups. That equals the number of ranked-vs.-ranked wins Carolina had from 1997 to 2016.

“I think it makes a statement that we’re a confident team that wasn’t scared to go on the road against a team that’s already won (eight) games with the Orange Bowl on the line,” Brown said. “And that confidence is something I didn’t think we had the second half of Notre Dame as a team.

I thought we showed spurts. But as a team, we didn’t have it. We weren’t ready to step up and win that game. … This team was ready tonight to be confident enough not to be afraid on the road, not to be afraid of a really good Miami team, not to be afraid of everybody saying they weren’t good enough to win. And then playing for 60 minutes. So that’s what I’m most proud of is that the leaders on this team have taught this entire team — which is really, really young — to step up and play with confidence tonight.”

The win cleared a path for the Tar Heels to get to the Orange Bowl. Most major bowl projections have UNC headed there, although the Heels still need a little help to secure the bid.

Most importantly, the Tar Heels need Clemson to beat Notre Dame in the ACC Championship Game on Saturday. That would leave the Tigers and Irish 1-1 against each other this year and, according to most major projections, earn both teams a spot in the College Football Playoff.

The Orange Bowl berth goes to the highest-rated ACC team not chosen for the Playoff, which would be Carolina.

Even if Clemson loses, the Tigers could get chosen for the Playoff if the other conference championship games break right — an Ohio State loss in the Big Ten title game is a must.

Of course, if the Irish beat the Tigers for a second time and the Tar Heels’ luck doesn’t hold up in the other games, then Clemson will drop to the Orange Bowl and leave the Heels ready to add to their list of Close but No Cigar Bowls — perhaps the CheezIt Bowl or an eighth trip to the Gator.

“I might watch a little bit of the game,” Tar Heel linebacker Chazz Surratt said of Clemson-Notre Dame.

“We are definitely pulling for Clemson to win it. We’ll see.”

HORNETS from page B1 Cody Zeller have also been among the rebounding leaders in the early going. Bridges and Washington have also shown a shot-blocking presence for the team.

Worse than expected Ball’s turnovers are just the tip of the iceberg for the team’s ball security issues. Charlotte turned it over 22 times in the opener.

“Turnovers are always a concern,” Borrego said. “It’s something that we’re targeting this year. We have to win the possession game. Obviously, this was not the start we wanted as far as protecting the ball and valuing the basketball. I think it’s a number of things — sloppiness, poor spacing, not knowing each other, playing at a high pace and (Toronto’s) physicality. That’s just not going to get it done. That’s not going to be winning basketball for us.”

The team didn’t respond the way Borrego had hoped. Charlotte committed 25 turnovers for 36 Raptors

AL DIAZ | MIAMI HERALD VIA AP

UNC coach Mack Brown could take the Tar Heels somewhere they haven’t been in seven decades — a major bowl.

points in the rematch.

“We have to clean up the turnover game,” Borrego said, “but I love what I’m seeing with the ball movement and decision-making right now—a competitive group, a feisty group, a together group. They’re absorbing quite a bit right now and we’ve thrown a lot at them conceptually on both ends of the floor and they’ve been able to handle it. This is a high basketball IQ team.”

Up and down The NBA is always a game of runs, but Charlotte could be the embodiment of that this season as the inconsistent Hornets can put things together for brief spurts, then look out of sync as opponents rally. Charlotte had a 22-0 run to build a 19-point lead in the opener, only to give it all back. The Hornets also led in the second game before Toronto rallied.

Clearly, the young team has a lot of learning ahead of it, but the Hornets promise to be exciting along the way.

PHOTO COURTESY OF EAST CAROLINA

For the third straight year, junior Jayden Gardner leads ECU in both scoring and rebounding, but coach Joe Dooley has surrounded his star forward with more depth in 2020-21.

Unbeaten ECU’s rebuild on course in Dooley’s 3rd year The Pirates’ coach, who is in his second tour of duty in Greenville, has added depth around star forward Jayden Gardner

By Brett Friedlander North State Journal GREENVILLE — The East Carolina basketball team is 5-0 heading into its American Athletic Conference opener at SMU on Wednesday.

But that, as far as coach Joe Dooley is concerned, isn’t the most encouraging aspect of the Pirates’ best start since 2012-13.

“With everything going on, we need to keep getting better, which I feel we are,” Dooley said. “If you look at the sheer numbers, KenPom and all those deals, we’ve cut it in two-thirds.

“We’ve gone from (being ranked) in the 300s to the low 100s, so the metrics are saying we’re trending the right way.

Now the whole thing is how do you flip some close games, how do you play better at home, upset a couple of those upper-tier (AAC) teams, and how do you win some of those 50-50 games? That’s part of the learning process, the maturing process.”

It’s a process Dooley has been through before at ECU. His first tour of duty with the Pirates was from 1995-99, when he inherited a program already established by his predecessor, Eddie Payne, and left with the highest winning percentage in the school’s Division I history.

He returned in 2018 following a successful run at Florida Gulf Coast that included two NCAA Tournament appearances to a situation in desperate need of a reset after four straight losing seasons.

Although the job is still far from complete, Dooley’s Pirates have at least begun to show some tangible signs of progress in year three of the process.

In a recent game against UNC Wilmington, they saw a 15-point halftime lead evaporate into a 10-point deficit thanks to a 30-8 Seahawks run to open the second half. But instead of falling apart as previous ECU teams might, this one

COVID from page B1 basketball team is experiencing or has experienced over the past few months.”

Even those that have managed to stay COVID-free, at least to this point, have had to adjust — whether its rearranging schedules that were already hastily thrown together at literally the 11th hour, playing in empty arenas, or having to bond on the fly after going much of the offseason without being able to practice as a team or having the benefit of exhibition games, a handicap that has made things especially difficult for freshman-heavy teams such as Duke and UNC. “This year has been different,” said. East Carolina coach Joe Dooley. Despite his team’s 5-0 start, he said he doesn’t “truly have a feel for where we are yet” because of the disjointed nature of the season.

As uncertain as things are on the court these days, simply getting to the games can sometimes

battled back to win in overtime.

Three nights later, it pulled out another victory by scoring the game’s final seven points to rally from behind to beat North Florida.

“We’re onto something,” star junior forward Jayden Gardner said. “We have a lot of things to get better at, a lot of things to keep learning, but it’s great that we’re getting better and winning at the same time. And we’re winning in different ways each time.”

Gardner, a 6-foot-7, 235-pound forward, has been the biggest and most important building block in the Pirates’ progression.

A foundational player who arrived at ECU shortly after Dooley was hired to replace Jeff Lebo, the junior from Wake Forest has been the team’s top scorer and rebounder in each of the past two seasons.

He leads the Pirates in both categories again this year, averaging 20.1 points and 8.0 rebounds per game and is a legitimate candidate for American Athletic Conference Player of the Year honors.

But according to Dooley, Gardner’s importance to the program can’t accurately be measured by his stats.

“The good news is that I think he’s going to continue to get better as we get better pieces around him,” Dooley said. “The other thing is that he’s an unbelievable person. He’s a character, program-type person that other guys want to be around.”

Gardner’s supporting cast is already vastly improved thanks to Dooley’s effort to recruit and, more importantly, retain better players.

Junior college transfer J.J. Miles, who is averaging 11.0 points per game in his second season at ECU, has become an athletic presence on the wing while shooting 56.3% (9 of 16) from 3-point range.

Sophomore Tristen Newton is a rapidly developing point guard averaging 8.8 points and a team-leading 5.2 assists, while fellow sophomore Brandon Suggs and senior Bitumba Baruti, who started his college career at Washington, have also made consistent contributions.

They are all part of a 10-man

be an accomplishment — especially when it involves travel to an away game far from home.

It’s an endeavor Dooley and his Pirates will experience for the first time this week when they head to Dallas for their American Athletic Conference opener at SMU. “I don’t know what to expect traveling,” Dooley said. “We’re just going to put our masks on and let it roll.”

Regardless of the precautions, walking through airports, sitting on crowded planes and staying in hotels carries an inherent risk of infection during a time in which COVID-19 cases are reaching record levels.

It’s the reason Krzyzewski suggested putting the season on hold at least temporarily and extending later into the spring or early summer.

To this point, though, the NCAA Men’s Basketball Oversight Committee — which saw millions of dollars lost in television revenue because of the cancellation of last year’s tournament

“We’re onto something.

We have a lot of things to get better at, a lot of things to keep learning, but it’s great that we’re getting better and winning at the same time.”

Jayden Gardner, ECU forward class that nearly turned the entire roster over in 2019. It’s a talent pool deepened by this year’s additions, led by freshman guard Noah Farrakhan and 7-foot junior college transfer Ludgy Debaut.

“I feel a lot better this year than I did at this point last year,” Dooley said. “We’re a lot more mature than we were a year ago.”

That added experience will be especially helpful now that the Pirates are about to turn the corner into conference play.

Having been through it before, most of the team’s key players are better prepared to handle the upcoming challenge that will begin on Wednesday against a 4-0 SMU team.

“I’ve said since I got here that you have to get old and stay old,” Dooley said of the key to competing in the AAC, a conference that also includes perennial NCAA Tournament teams Houston, Cincinnati, Temple and Wichita State. “It’s a grown man’s league.

“Having been in the Big 12 and other places, I think the league is very underrated. It’s a multiple-bid league. You’ve got to get to the top half of the league to make sure you’re in the NCAA or NIT, and that’s what we’re focusing on.”

Although the Pirates are off to a strong start, Miles and his teammates realize that they’re still a long way from accomplishing that goal.

“We can’t get comfortable with winning,” he said. “We’ve got to figure out what our bad points are and get just better.

Conference is coming up, and we know that’s going to be a harder challenge.”

— has shown no interest in further tinkering with its postseason in 2021.

“I know the NCAA is worried about the endgame,” Krzyzewski said. “They’re not as worried about the game we’re playing right now.”

While not all of Krzyzewski’s coaching counterparts are on board with the idea of shutting things down, insisting that their players have told them they want to keep playing, most agree that there needs to be a higher level of caution as the season moves on.

“I have not seen all of Michael’s comments, but the comments that I saw made sense,” UNC’s Williams said of Krzyzewski. “It’s a strange time. It’s the most unusual time that I’ve ever seen, and it changes. It’s times we’re not used to, and we should probably take a different look at it than we did in July or June, some months ago.

“I have a tremendous amount of faith in Michael. I think he has a great concern and interest in what college basketball is and where it’s going.”

North State Journal for Wednesday, December 16, 2020

B4

Finishing strong: Panthers need to improve on end-of-game situations Carolina has missed on six potential comeback drives in eight weeks

By Shawn Krest North State Journal THERE ARE THREE games left in the regular season, and that could be a problem for the Carolina Panthers.

Finishing things off successfully hasn’t exactly been their strong suit this season.

Six times in the last eight games, the Panthers have had the ball with a chance to tie or go ahead at the end of the game. It’s the time that makes good quarterbacks legendary.

All six times, the Panthers came up short.

There have been interceptions — down seven to the Bears with 1:28 left, down eight to the Falcons with 57 seconds left.

There were stalled drives that led to long missed field goals — down three to New Orleans, Teddy Bridgewater took a sack with 1:55 left, leading to a 65-yard attempt.

A 67-yarder as time expired was off the mark, resulting in a two-point loss to Kansas City.

Down one with 5 seconds left against Minnesota, a 54-yarder was no good.

And there have been turnovers on downs. A fourthdown completion to Curtis Samuel was short of the sticks against Denver on Sunday, with 1:56 left and the Panthers down five.

“We have to find a way to get it done at the end of the game,” coach Matt Rhule said. “That’s our job.”

It’s primarily the job of Bridgewater, in his first season as the Panthers’ starting quarterback. While the blame for all the late-game failures can’t be placed at his feet, the only

player on an NFL roster who has “fourth-quarter comebacks” and “game-winning drives” as part of a stat line is the quarterback.

For Bridgewater’s Panthers career, zeroes still sit in both columns.

It’s clear he could have been better. On those potential game-tying or game-winning drives, Bridgewater has a passer rating of 56.40, compared to 98.94 at all other times in the game. His completion rate is lower (67%, compared to 71%), and he’s nearly five times more likely to throw an interception.

Rhule has been critical of Bridgewater’s late-game decisions at times. After the missed field goal against the Saints, the coach said, “We just can’t take a sack there.”

On Sunday, he questioned Bridgewater’s play call just before the two-minute warning and said the quarterback needed to throw it to the firstdown marker on fourth down instead of throwing short and hoping for a run.

On Monday, after watching tape, he doubled down.

“With the clicker in my hand, I’d still like to see it thrown to the (first down) sticks,” he said.

The Panthers will miss the playoffs this year, and one goal in the final three games will be to determine which pieces the team can build around.

Prior to the season, Rhule said Bridgewater was a building block — a quarterback of the future, not a bridge to it.

After the Denver game, despite his quibbles with some of Bridgewater’s decisions, Rhule said he “absolutely” still felt that way.

“I have confidence in Teddy,” he said. “The three drives (in the fourth quarter) where he scored 17 points on his arm, pretty much, were pretty good.

If we give up one less deep

Matt Rhule has been critical of quarterback Teddy Bridgewater’s late-game performance, but the first-year coach gave his starter a public vote of confidence earlier this week.

JIM MONE | AP PHOTO

“Teddy is going to be measured by the end of the game. He needs to take it down there and win.”

Matt Rhule, Panthers coach

ball (on defense) in the fourth quarter, if everyone does their job on defense, if we cover a punt, it doesn’t get to this point. We could have gotten run out of the building like we did against Tampa Bay.” Rhule pointed to the offensive line giving up a sack on the first play of the drive and drops by wide receivers, saying

it wasn’t all on Bridgewater.

“A lot of it goes on the quarterback. That’s just the job,” Rhule said. “A lot of it goes on (offensive coordinator) Joe Brady. A lot of it goes on Matt Rhule.”

“I don’t worry about guys not performing,” Rhule added. “At the end of the day, we have strong competitive char-

acter, which is a huge building block. … I’m going to continue to build, build, build around him and build with him.”

At some point, however, perhaps in the season’s final three games, the Panthers will need to face down a game-winning drive and execute it successfully.

“Of course you’re frustrated in the heat of the moment,” Bridgewater said. “You want to do well in those situations, and it’s going to continue to bother you until you actually excel in that situation.”

“Teddy is going to be measured by the end of the game,” Rhule said. “He needs to take it down there and win.”

Northwestern AD Phillips named new ACC commissioner He replaces John Swofford, who steered the league since 1997 in which time it expanded from nine schools to its current 15

By Brett Friedlander North State Journal THE ACC BROKE with tradition Monday by hiring Northwestern athletic director James J. Phillips as its next commissioner.

Phillips, who brings more than three decades of experience in Division I athletic administration to the job, becomes the first person to become commissioner without any previous connection to the league.

All four of the previous commissioners either graduated from or was an athletic director at an ACC school.

The announcement ends a comprehensive nationwide search led by the conference’s Board of Directors, with support from its athletic directors, senior women administrators, faculty athletic representatives and student-athletes.

Phillips succeeds John Swofford, who earlier this year announced his plan to retire in June 2021. Swofford, who has been in charge of the league since 1997, is the longest-serving commissioner in league history with nearly 25 years of service.

“Jim is one of the most talented athletic administrators in the country and uniquely qualified to successfully and seamlessly take over the helm of the ACC,” ACC Board chair Kent Syverud of Syracuse, said of Phillips in a statement announcing his hiring. “Over the course of nearly 13 years, Jim has elevated and cemented Northwestern’s position as an outstanding Power 5 athletics program.

“Northwestern’s ascension in the world of intercollegiate athletics is a testament to Jim’s vision, leadership and foundational dedica-

“The ACC is fortunate to have someone of Jim’s caliber and integrity lead the conference at this pivotal moment in intercollegiate athletics.”

Kent Syverud, ACC Board chair tion to the success of student-athletes. The ACC is fortunate to have someone of Jim’s caliber and integrity lead the conference at this pivotal moment in intercollegiate athletics.”

Phillips will begin his tenure as commissioner in February 2021.

The Chicago native said he is grateful to have the opportunity to build on the storied success of the ACC while adding that the decision to leave Northwestern was bittersweet.

“Serving Northwestern student-athletes, staff and the greater Wildcats family for the last 13 years has been the privilege of my professional life,” Phillips said in a statement. “The opportunity to watch my children grow up in my hometown … is something I’ll always be profoundly thankful for.

“My career has been dedicated to the development and betterment of student-athletes, and I am thrilled for this once-in-a-lifetime chance to guide one of the most prestigious and accomplished athletic organizations in the world.”

While Phillips is a newcomer to the ACC, he is anything but unfamiliar with many of the league’s athletic directors.

He was an assistant to current Duke AD Kevin White while both were at Notre Dame from 2000‑08. North Carolina AD Bubba Cunningham and NC State’s Boo Corrigan were also members

JOHN J. KIM | CHICAGO TRIBUNE VIA AP

Longtime Northwestern athletic director Jim Phillips has been hired to replace John Swofford and become the next commissioner of the ACC. of the Fighting Irish staff during that time.

“Jim Phillips is an outstanding selection as the ACC’s next commissioner, his track record of success at multiple stops speaks for itself,” Corrigan said. “He will bring the necessary vision and leadership as our conference faces a pivotal moment in time. Kudos to the ACC Board of Directors and the Search Advisory Committee on a job well done on identifying a firstclass successor to John Swofford.”

Phillips has been Northwestern’s AD since 2008, leading the athletic department through a period of success in competition and growth in facilities. He oversaw the funding of Northwestern’s $270 million Walter Athletics Center

and Ryan Fieldhouse indoor practice facility located on Lake Michigan’s shores.

He is also set to become chairman of the NCAA Division I Men’s Basketball Committee for the 2021-22 season.

Phillips was a candidate to become Big Ten commissioner when the conference was searching for a replacement for Jim Delany last year, but ultimately the league went outside of college athletics and hired former NFL executive Kevin Warren.

“Jim makes decisions that are in the best interest of students and we are fortunate that his leadership will support our student-athletes,” UNC’s Cunningham said. “He has impeccable integrity, national stat-

ure, and has been recognized by many in the industry for his honors, appointments and roles on committees and governing bodies.”

The ACC announced Swofford’s planned retirement in June, though he was to continue in the job until a successor was named and to aid the transition.

The 72-year-old commissioner presided over an unprecedented period of growth, in which the ACC expanded from a compact nine-member league to its current 15-school membership with a footprint stretching along nearly the entire Eastern Seaboard and as far west into Kentucky and Indiana.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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ONE THING IS CERTAIN; after this COVID-19 virus dissipatesONE THING TheIScavalier manner which China virus lied about the origin CERTAIN; afterin this COVID-19 dissipates around the globe and in the United States, China will pay for thisaround thevirus, upUnited its spread and triedwill to tell world there globe covered and in the States, China paythe for Stanly this Count catastrophe one way or another.

3,341 related deaths has led to worldwide panic, economic c North State Journal for Wednesday, April 15, 2020 catastrophe one way or another.

THIS WEEK, acco In order to put the crisis caused by China in perspective, zero millions of Americans needlessly being thrown out of work.

A6 In order to put the crisis caused by China in perspective, zero irus dissipates The cavalier manner in which China liedcan about thetheir origin of theto the United States over state and local go worldwide pandemics trace source The crisiscan hastrace costtheir the U.S. taxpayer atand least $2.4 trillion i worldwide pandemics source to the United States over l pay for this virus, covered up its spread and tried to tell the world there were only the curve in the nove our 231-year history. At least four in the 20th century alone can be debt plus trillions more in Federal Reserve backup liquidity our 231-year history. At least four in the 20th century alone can be 3,341 related deaths has led to worldwide panic, economic collapse and — after all,the tre directly traced to China: 1957 “Asian flu,” 1968 “Hong Kong flu,” 1977 markets and financial outlets.

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100% agreement, outside of China, that COVID-19 There is 100% agreement, outside of China, that COVID-19 We need g Kong flu,” 1977 is China’s markets and financial outlets. If the U.S. dollar were not the reserveis China’s The result: a reduc originated inChina Wuhanhas Province the completely originated Province from the completely to pay probably fortransparency their from aberrant ways and decisions thr evidence that the currency, we would not be ableintoWuhan fund any of these probably emergency According to the Uni Neal Robbins, Chernobyl. unregulated and unsanitary wet markets.

Some believe it came out of a Chernobyl. and wet markets.

Some believe it came out of a economic and financial means. has obviously not ins in China. measures without unregulated immediate fear of unsanitary rampant inflation and currency Metrics and Evaluati and honesty Neal Robbins, publisher | Frank Hill, Diplomacy senior editor biowarfare lab run by the communist Chinese army.opinion biowarfare lab run by the communist Chinese army. to bring China into the civilized world ofTrump 21st century health OVID-19 depreciation. administratio from our rigorous verifiable policing andregimes regulation of take th Until adopts verifiable policing and regulation of Until China andadopts fair trade.

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Senators in Washington are of already talking about the pos s and equipment in 1989. the number of identifi today, or $60 billion,forgiving applied to$1.2 repatriated American manufacturing investment tax credit of 30% on half of U.S. investment in China of China trillion in debt we owe them as one w out $65 billion by Perhaps COVID-19An is China’s Chernobyl. and the denominator investmentChina to the to U.S. would U.S. Treasury billionthe in US. Don today, orare $60 billion, applied to repatriated American manufacturing “pay” forcost the the damage they have$18 caused Senators in Washington already talking about the possibility people have actually tax revenue spread over a few years. $18 billion in lost revenue is would cost Treasury $18 billion in breath waiting for a Chinese “Jubilee” to number happen has but been ask you vestment in China of China forgivinginvestment $1.2 trillion to in the debtU.S. we owe them as the oneU.S. way to get ove compared to the $6 trillion+ Planinwe are nowfinanc revenue they spread over a few years. $18 billion in lost revenue is decimal dust representatives to hold China Marshall accountable tangible n manufacturing China to “pay” for tax the damage have caused the US. Don’t hold your of death, particularly undertaking to disaster. save our own economy, not of defeated enemies as in the compared to the $6ask trillion+ Marshall Plan we are now this $18 billion in breath waiting for decimal a Chinesedust “Jubilee” to happen but your elected sources suggest the n past. to save ourinown economy, notways of defeated enemies as in the It is about time they are expected to operate as responsibl t revenue is representatives to undertaking hold China accountable tangible financial for many American people are dyin China has been cheating, stealing, pirating and pillaging Plan we are now this disaster. past. the world like any other modern nation.

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EDITORIAL | STACEY MATTHEWS

It’s okay to ask questions about It’s okay to ask questions about when will pay for this COVID-19 catastrophe How Chi we begin to get back to normal s about when A7 How China will payThe A7 strophe The comfort a for this COVID-19 catas 3 big questions nob normalwe begin to get back to normal EDITORIAL | STACEY MATTHEWS

EDITORIAL | FRANK HILL

EDITORIAL | FRA

COLUMN | REP. RICHARD HU COLUMN | BEN SHAPIRO

North State Journal for Wednesday, April 15, 2020

CERTAIN; after this COVID-19 virus dissipates The cavalier manner in which China lied about the origin ofSTATES the WITH MOST under either shelter-in-place or stay-at-homeONE OBINSON hina theStates, origin of the will pay for this nd inlied theabout United China virus, covered upONE its spread and to tell after the world there were only THING IStried CERTAIN; this COVID-19 virus dissipates cavalierofmanner in which arounC orders thanks to local or state governments,The a majority Americans THIS WEEK, virus, according to members ofTHE theand fede iedor toanother. tell the world there were only “THIS IS DA ay 3,341 related deaths to worldwide panic, economic collapse and aroundhas theled globe and in the United States, China will pay for this covered up its spread t are having to adjust to what is being called the “new normal.” catast and state and local governments, Americans have rldwide economic collapse and in it” (Psalm 118:24).

WITH either shelter-in-place stay-at-home fallen into place.

I understand the seriousness of the virus an catastrophe one waybeing or or another.

3,341 related deaths has led to wo he crisispanic, caused

by China in perspective, zero MOST STATES millionsunder of Americans needlessly thrown out of work.

Some of these orders extend at least through the end of this month. In o ce orcan stay-at-home fallen to into place.

Iorders understand theto seriousness of the virus the the curve inI’m the uneasy novel coronavirus outbreak.

The e being thrown of work.

I know that during thanks localThe or state governments, aneed majority of at Americans to precautions, with how people who sim Inand order to puttaxpayer the crisis caused

by China in take perspective, zero millions of Americans needlessly mics traceout their source the United States over crisis has cost the U.S. leastVirginia’s $2.4 trillion in added stay-at-home orders gobut into June. worldw ty of Americans to take precautions, but I’m uneasy with how people who simply ask muted — after all, trends can easily reverse — but ayer leastfour $2.4in trillion in added working from home worldwide pandemics can trace their source to the United States The has coststart the U.S. taxp are having to what is being called the “new normal.” questions the over data, and things can getting ry.

Atatleast the 20th century alone can be to adjustdebt plus trillions more in Federal Reserve backup liquidity toCarolina, the about Here in North Democratic Gov.when Roycrisis Cooper stated during our 23 normal.” questions and when things can start getting back to have abided by recommendations and orders.

The Reserve backup liquidity to the about the data, be glad” as the Bible our 231-year history.

At least four in the 20th century alone can be debt plus trillions more in Federa Some of these orders extend atfinancial least through the end of this month. normal are treated in some circles a recent coronavirus press briefing that “we justwith don’tcontempt. know yet” if the China: 1957 “Asian flu,” 1968 “Hong Kong flu,” 1977 markets and outlets.

If the U.S. dollar were not the reserve direct nd of this month. are treated in some circles with contempt. to flu,” stay 1977 at home; they’ve practiced distancin he U.S. dollar were notnormal the reserve and dad, the Easter PATRICK SEMANSKY |social AP PHOTO directly to to China: flu,” 1968They’re “Hong orders Kong markets and financial outlets.

If t Virginia’s stay-at-home orders go into June. treated asextend though we as a society simply must acce state’s stay-at-home will into May. he 2002 SARS outbreak.

There is evidence thatwe theas a society currency, wemust would nottraced be able fund1957 any “Asian of these emergency Since when did “Russi Perhaps They’re treated as though simply accept without they’ve donned masks. fund any of these emergency have to be thankful “Russian flu” and the 2002 SARS outbreak.

There is evidence that the currency, we would not be able Perhaps WALTER E.decide WILLIAMS If he to extend it, questions should beabout asked asU.S. to the in North Carolina, Democratic Roy Cooper stated during question what the government tells us when it’s massiv safe to toa nish flu”WALTER pandemic also its origins inHere China.

The U.S. Treasury Department viewed from the Washington Monument, Wednesday, Sept.

18, 2019, indoes Washington, D.C. Hackers gotainto computers at the measures without immediate of rampant inflation and currency We need E. had WILLIAMS questioning per stated during question what thebuilding government tells us about when it’s massive safe toGov. begin thefear The result: reduction inwithout expected hospitalizat Lenten and of rampant inflation and currency pandemic.

COVID-19 1918 “Spanish flu” pandemic also had its origins in China. measures immediate fea for it. And the answers should not be vague ones like “we Treasury Department and possibly other federal agencies, touching off that a government involving the Security Council.

Security spokesperson a recent press briefing “we just response don’t know yet” ifjustification theNational process of returning back toCouncil normalcy.

COVID-19 greement, outside of process China, of that COVID-19 depreciation.

Theis know yet” if the returning backthat tocoronavirus normalcy.

According to the University of Washington Institu For me, my faith Easter seasons government There isabout 100% agreement, outside oftransparency China, thatof COVID-19 depreciation.

John Ullyot said Sunday, Dec. 13, 2020 the government is aware of reports the hacks. must do this out an abundance of caution.” is China’s state’s stay-at-home orders will extend into May. No. The government works for us, and we have the right to an Province probably from the completely China has to pay for their aberrant ways and decisions through is China’s Since when did No. The government works for us, and we have the right to ask those Metrics and Evaluation model most oft cited by m origin ant ways and decisions through making.

As I celebra and honesty originatedshould in at Wuhan Province probably from the completely China has to pay for their aberr provide a all levels It will need to be explained in detail to the people of this state who If he does decide to extend it, questions be asked as to the questions.

And the longer stay-at-home orders are in 1:4, place a nsanitary wet markets. believe itlonger came out of but aChernobyl. financial means.

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D fromSome our are being told to remain jobless and for an undetermined message of become a justification for it.

And the answers should not be vague ones like “we country, and the stricter some of them get in states, such as M by the communist Chinese army. to bring China into the civilized world of 21st century health, hygiene gue ones like “we country, and the stricter some of them get in states, such as Michigan, peak outbreak was revised down by over 120,000, orld of 21st health, hygiene Under an ISA agreement, he would owe an agreedlem and thatcentury universities have encouraged affliction, that wew biowa biowarfare lab run by the communist Chinese army. to we bring China into the civilized scientific experts amount of the time why models predicting hundreds of thousands ofso cases government hope that will must do this out of an abundance of caution.” more people, sitting at home feeling isolated and/or anxi bad thing? the more people, sitting at home feeling isolated and/or anxious about pts rigorous verifiable policing and regulation of and fair trade.

Totalitarian communist regimes never take the blame ventilators by nearly 13,000 and the number of ov upon percentage of his income — the actual dollar their own irresponsible behavior.

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Totalitarian are reliable.

—iswe need to again enjoyforsincere atnot all levels It amount will need to be in detail to the people this state who when they can getnoback to providing their families, will d would be very low.

With a traditional loan, of this stateprotocols, who when theyfinancial can get back tonoproviding for their families, will demand erse, graduates facing uncertain August byonce nearly 12,000. nd health American business has other orexplained express sincere regret and remorse, because that not what because that isan what God.” That isofwhat their f their food safety and health protocols, American business has other or express regret and rem To know date, what I’ve gone along with what the state has asked and then they he would owe the same amount regardless of his t’s particularly important to find solutions ndetermined answers. are being told to remain jobless and at home for an undetermined answers.

Here’s the problem: We still don’t know the ans sporting events, advantage of become every weakness dtake redundant manufacturing If you are celebrat They take advantage of every weakness a plants elsewhere purely totalitarian governments choice than do. tofree build redundant manufacturing plants elsewhere purely totalitarian governments do.

The choice citizens mandated that we do, but along the way I’ve also had questions about income.

Even with income-based repayment on his So,and what’s to cases be done? housands of Leaders the local state levels should be in as forthcoming assecurity they know, what they questions that state will allow economy tothis reopen. amount of time why models predicting hundreds of thousands of cases theleaders localconcerts, and levels should beon as forthcom pushing until they win or the reflect messa ty safety reasons as well asatsupply andand delivery they find adversaries and keep pushing until they win orLeaders the family for national and safety reasons as well as supplyatand delivery they findthe in adversaries and keep for nat the data.

State Republican have, too. bad thing? living in a free loan, he would likely make interest-only payments as dical proposals, like completely can be with those answers — and again, not vague answers, but answer First, what is the true coronavirus fatality rate?c God’s example and are reliable. can be with those answers — and again, not vague answers, don’t and when s.student loans adversaries push back. reliability concerns. adversaries push back. gatherings, Unfortunately, when certain types of questions get asked, there is reliabi AMERICA’S COLLEGES are rife withthe principal continued to mount. and making them subject AMERICA’S COLLEGES are rife with is details what society ked and then with that give their important because it determines whether certain nt happens such asThat the Chernobyl this difficult Th To I’veUniversity gonebelievability. along with what theexogenous statedirect has asked and then with that their statements The most waywere to make China “pay” for this disaster isgive to offer That is, believability. unless an exogenous ev way to make China “pay” for work. this disaster isdate, tostatements offer hope todetails That is, unless an event happens suchthey asThe the Chernobyl corruption.

The financial squeeze resulting sometimes afinancial disturbing tendency among some people to treat thosetime. church services The Purdue istoalready experimenting with ptcy protection, would certainly corruption. squeeze resulting questions about We should all continue to do what we can keep our families, be open or closed, whether we ought to pursue — bersecurity and Infrastructure By Ben Fox believe that event, not the Staropportunities Wars confident we will em supposed free citizens from COVID-19 offers for a mandated that we do, but along the way I’ve also had questions about We should all continue to do what we can to keep our fam U.S. tax credits to companies who will source at least half of their meltdown in 1986.

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Unfortunately, when certain types of questions get asked, there is to ask questions about the data, because while reasonable st part of the university’s endowment. It’s a smallchecked. ers. And direct the fearinvestment of students in filing for and equipment might be the root of academic corruption, otherwise don’t care if they get themselves or others sick. merican in the widely used network soft—1989.

U.S. billion bysociety the title were of aplants recent study, WASHINGTON offense isChinese easier than ehernobyl. to treatsuggested those that measures areand understandable, they should alsogovhave an expiration date.

We’ve seen rates — Concord, the number of Cd temporary In aexpi high in China. direct investment in the U.S. ishad about $65 billion by case fatality Perhaps COVID-19 China’s program now but is already showing positive results. ydirect would ensure loans are small suggested by the title of a recent study, sometimes a disturbing tendency among some people to treat those measures are understandable, they also have an Since when did questioning government at all should levels become aisbad ware SolarWinds been comernment agencies and private investment in the U.S. is about $65 billion by Perhaps COVID-19 is China’s Chernobyl.

“Academic Grievance Studies and the in Chi North State Journal for Wednesday, April 15, 2020 start getting back This is all new to Americans, and it is not normal.

Not in any way, the number of identified COVID-19 cases — but b eady talking about supposed the possibility money to buyNot aare 3-D defense andwe we stillstart havetalking a “Academic sacrifices are Purdue’s website explains aand few of the benefits of can Studies and to theAmericans, comparison.

Senators Washington alr promised andpossibility should befree removed companies rushed Monday to sething?

That isThis what citizens living in a free were supposed simply questioning the data asking when getting backGrievance is all new andsociety it isin not normal. in a Corruption of Scholarship.”

The study was Senators in Washington are already about the compa A6 are people who shape, or form.

So while we should remain vigilant and stay safe, at and the denominator are likely wrong.

We don’t k we owe as one way toand get analysiscure health$1.2 caretrillion workers ISAs: hdebt a solution isthem politically unpopular.

Corruption of Scholarship.”

The study was from any system using it. their computer networks An investment tax credit ofowe 30% on half of U.S. investment inwhile China of China forgiving in over. lot of work to do.” to do, last I checked. done by Areo, an opinion to do, last I to normal as though they are conspiracy theorists or are people who shape, or form.

So we should remain vigilant and stay ax credit of 30% on half of U.S. investment in China of China forgiving $1.2 trillion in debt we them as one way to get Rural Infrastructure An the same time we shouldn’t get comfortable with this so-called “newbillion, applied done people have actually died coronavirus.

Some soi yick. have caused the US. Don’t hold your The national cybersecurity The standard payment for theorBack following the disclosure of a period soonsiderably reduce the number of by Areo, an opinion analysis today, $60 to repatriated American manufacturing China to of “pay” the damage digital magazine.

By American the way, Areo is short My first concern asand we go along in all this, of course, isfor my family.

I’m the otherwise don’t care if they get themselves or others sick. the same time we shouldn’t get comfortable with this so-call on, applied to repatriated manufacturing China to “pay” for the damage they have caused the US. Don’t hold your checked. s become a bad normal.” today, agencies of Britain and Ireland number has been overestimated, given that classifi phisticated and long-running ee”totoborrow happen but askannounces your elected makingto it the U.S. would digital ble for college and would magazine.

Bythem the$18 way, Areo the is short Authority for Areopagitica, a speech delivered by a Boiler-ISA Fund is about 10 years, investment cost the U.S.about Treasury billion in breath waiting Ifor a Chinese worried catching virus, and I’m worried will.

After “Jub Suzanne Spaulding, Since questioning at all levels become aissued bad normal.”

U.S. would cost thein U.S. Treasury $18 inwhen did breath waiting for revenue a Chinese “Jubilee” tofew happen but ask your elected similar alerts. cyber-espionage intrusion sus-government y were supposed Not one little bit.billion of death, among elderly patients, can competitive with most Federal Plus and private loan ionately affect low-income students.

It for Areopagitica, a in speech delivered by particularly invest untable in tangible financial ways for John Milton defense of free speech. tax spread over a years. $18 billion lost revenue is representatives to hold China acc suffering from H1N1 virus flu) during the 2009 pandemic, $13 million local cybersecurity expert SolarWinds is the used by hunofIn being carried out by living thing?

That isaddition, what free ina asix-month free society were supposed Not one little bit.(swine over a few years. $18in billion in lost revenue is representatives to hold China accountable in tangible financial ways for terms. all citizens students receive disfavor students majoring in soft but John Milton in defense of free speech.

Authors Helen Pluckrose, James A.pected sources suggest the number is dramatically under tax decimal dust compared to the $6 trillion+ Marshall Plan we are now this disaster.

I’ve been trying tooftake extra precautions, because all of this brings up rev dreds ofHelen thousands organizaRussian hackers. towe do, last I checked. grace period post-graduation before payments begin.

Lindsay and Peter Boghossian say has that Authors Pluckrose, James A. pared tofamily. the as $6I’m trillion+ Marshall Plan are now e, is my this Stacey Matthews also written under thedisaster. pseudonym Sister Toldjah manyas people are dying home. government grants diplines. to operate responsible citizens of decim undertaking to save our own economy, not of defeated enemies in the It is at about timenot they expect way and too many memories ofsay a painful experience I’d prefer to are repeat. tions around the world, includThe full extent ofas the damage something has gone drastically wrong Once a recipient makes successful payments for e are solutions that can be implemented — Lindsay Peter Boghossian that My first concern we go along in all this, of course, is my family.

I’m Stacey Matthews has also written under the pseudonym Sist ied I will.

After and is a regular contributor to RedState and Legal Insurrection.

Even more importantly, we have no clue how mn e our own economy, not of defeated enemies as in the It is about time they are expected to operate as responsible citizens of ation. Raleigh — The North Carolina under past. the world like any other modern ing most Fortune 500 companies ed Press on Monday that Russian is not yet clear.

But the potential But what alsodrastically makes mewrong lose sleep is how easily most everyone has in academia, especially the prescribed term of the contract, no additional s acrimonious political climate.within certain something has gone 2009 pandemic, worried about them catching the virus, and I’m worried I will.

After and is a regular contributor to RedState and Legal Insurrec actually have coronavirus.

Some scientists sugges the world like any otherhas modern nation. stealing, and multiple U.S. federal agenhackers suspected. threat was significant enough China been cheating, pirating and pillaging American past.

Rural Authority (RIA) fields within the humanities.

They payments are even if(swine they haveare paid less solution has Infrastructure been to as “skin in call in academia, especially withinofcertain of this brings up referred identified cases could be an order of magnitude suffering therequired H1N1 virus during the 2009 pandemic, cies.They The have perpetrators were able Theflu) Washington Post, citing that thefrom Department of Homecheating, stealing, pirating and pillaging American has approved 30 grant requests business now for the past 30 years. made no secret that they these fields “grievance studies,” where Chin thanSecurity’s the amountcybersecurity of funding they received.sources, said the attackfields Suchnot a policy would call for institutions within the humanities.

They call Neal Robbins, publisher | Frank Hill,coronavirus senior opinion refer tolocal repeat. to embed malware inin a the securinumber of people who have had and n unnamed land to governments totaling I’ve been trying to take extra precautions, because all of this brings up he past 30 years.

They have made no secret that they scholarship is not so much based upon intend to replace the U.S. as the premier superpower world and busine Both ISAs and skin in the game hare in the credit risk of every student these fields “grievance studies,” where Tradition with a Twist ty update issued by the company, waspolicies carried would by govunit directed federal agencies ost everyone haspremier $12,969,015, Roy Cooperin finding truthGovernor butinstitution. upon attending tothe way too many memories of abenefits. painful experience I’dRussian notscholarship tocurrency repeat. he as the superpower world and all replace the out dollar asprefer the reserve with their renminbi. have many down-stream Both would put outU.S. a loan to attend the In is not so much based upon intend to remove compromised network ernment hackers who go by the based in Austin, Texas. Though announced last week.

The requests social grievances.

Grievance scholars Imagine visions of sugar plum But what also makesand methoulose sleep is how easily or most everyone hastruth butestimated as the reserve currency with their renminbi. pressure on universities to keep tuition low and his means that universities would be on finding upon attending to replac SolarWinds 18,000 nicknames APT29 Cozy Bear management software include commitments to create a and other bully students, administrators fairies dancing in your … living

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offset some of the artificial pressure on demand for or some part student loan social grievances. Grievance scholars total of of 839 jobs, 464 ofdebt whichwhen were departments into adhering to their sands of companies were expect- and are part of that nation’s for- customers were infected, most of This weekend, welcome the higher education.

They would also align universities’ efault. Such a policy would require action bully and otherroom! thestudents, malware administrators was not activated. eign intelligence service. ed to do the same. previously announced.

The public worldview.

The worldview they promote is Jason magic of Christmas into your own interests thoseabout of students.

Universities would ss since student loans arenor disbursed the tocould their When it into was, adhering the hackers The intrusion came to light af-departments What waswith striking the investment in these projects will by neither scientific rigorous.

Grievance EDITORIAL | STACEY MATTHEWS cozy home by livestreaming The impersonate system administrabe invested in potential student success, increased cybersecurityworldview. ter just a prominent ernment.

The worldview they promote is was its scope not attract more than million insuch as operation studies consist of$528 disciplines Nutcracker. Two local companies tors scientific and have total access toGrievance the firm, FireEye, it hadneither as enrollment. well as the manner in which would THEWS Some universities probablydetermined begin ther solution can be implemented locally. nor rigorous. private investment.

sociology, anthropology, gender studies, EDITORIAL | STAC in the public power community infected networks. breached and alerted thatstudies theto perpetrators managedto students to beenwhen Thestudies, North Carolina Department offer better guidance they choose of institutions are already giving it critical a consist of disciplines such RICHARD as COLUMN | REP. HUDSON queer sexuality and race of High Point will stage joyful Carmakal said the highly governments and majorsociology, pierce cyber defenses andand gain of Commerce’s(ISAs). team ofISAs rural are majors, choose classes takeforeign out loans. e Share Agreements anthropology, genderdisstudies, studies. performances available to anyone ciplined hackers — though they corporations were also comproaccess to email and internal files economic development These innovative solutions will do what “Free l agreements in which students receive queer studies, sexuality and critical race far and wide with an internet In 2017 and 2018, authors Pluckrose, made few mistakes in maskThe company did not saystudies. at College” the Treasury andmake Commerce professionals the RIA’s and supports Boghossian started cannot: studentsmised. and universities funding Lindsay in exchange for a predetermined connection. ing2017 their presence in networks who it suspected, though many departments and potentially work.

RIA members review and submitting bogus academic papers to behave more wisely and act together towards the post-graduation income over a certain In and 2018, authors Pluckrose, Families in the Triad are no — only chose targets with highexperts believed Russia was reelsewhere. approve funding requests from academic in cultural, queer, same goal. That goal is to create educated, wise years. The percentjournals of income and number Lindsay and Boghossian started stranger to the productions by The intrusion was stark evi- sponsible given the level of skill ly coveted information because local communities.

Funding comes race, gender, fat and sexuality studies and productive graduates. Onlyinvolved. with smart policies n change based upon a student’s major and dence submitting bogus academic papers to Gary Taylor Dance and High Point every time they activate the tool of the vulnerability of even from a variety of specialized grant that incentivize student success can we ensure that tential. to determine if they would pass peer supposedly academic journals in cultural, queer, Ballet — DAY they are family of detecA FireEye senior vice presi- remotely the likelihood secure government and loan programs offered and “THIS IS THE thebeloved lord has made, let usthe r of the virus and the need review and be accepted for publication.

WITHparents, MOST STATES under either shelter-in-place or stay-at-home fallen into place.

I understand colleges truly provide value for students, eseriousness a good deal for students because they race, gender, fat and sexuality studies tion increases. dent, Charles Carmakal said the networks, even after well-known Christmas traditions.

None of the managed by N.C. Commerce’s Acceptance of dubious research that inpeer it” (Psalm 118:24). y with people whoasimply ask orders thanks to local or state governments, a majority of Americans to take precautions, but I’m unea taxpayers and society. ky thanhow loans.

Imagine student who to determine if they would pass “Quite honestly, my heart company was aware of “dozens previous attacks. wonder and awe will be sacrificed Rural Economic Development editors found sympathetic to their I know that during this challenging time of soc n thingsjournal can start getting back to TATES under either shelter-in-place or stay-at-home fallen into place.

I understand the seriousness of the virus and the need areincredibly having tohigh-value adjust to what isreview being called the “new normal.” questions about the data, and wh and be accepted for publication. sank when I saw some of the deof targets “It’s a reminder that offense is WIT Division, and can support a variety in the livestream version, complete intersectional or postmodern leftist vision working from home or losing a job, it may be diffi withorcontempt.

Acceptance of dubious research that Some of these orders extend at least through the end of this month. normal are treated in some circle cal state governments, a majority of Americans to take precautions, but I’m uneasy with how people who simply ask tails, just the amount of inforthat have been compromised” easier than defense and we still of the activities, infrastructure with heroic toy soldiers, swordorders of worldincluding would prove the problem of asfighting the Bible tells toglittering do. as However, as aasC a society simply must accept without editors sympathetic to their theyfound could potentially by the data, hackers andwhen was “pro-achave a lot of work toquestions do,” said SuVirginia’s stay-at-home ordersjournal gomation into June.

They’re treated though we development, building renovation, st to what isacademic being called the “new normal.” about the and things can start getting back to be glad” mice, andus the low standards. are haj and dad, the Easter holiday has reminded me of sders us about when it’s safe to begin the have if they are reading everyintersectional or postmodern leftist vision tively helping a number of orgazanne Spaulding, a former U.S. expansion and demolition, and site Here in North Carolina, Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper stated during question what the government tel Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy.

Several of the fake research papers extend at least through the end of this month. normal are treated in some circles with contempt.

Som one’s emails and prove they are accessrespond to their intrucybersecurity official who is now nizations of the world would the problem of have to be thankful and hopeful for, even in the m alcy. were improvements. accepted for publication.

The Fat Go ahead, pull out your fancy a recent coronavirus press briefing that “we just don’t know yet” if the process of returning back to norm home orders go into June.the RIANC STATE They’re treated as though we as a societylow simply muststandards. accept without Virgin EFF FORMER SENATOR ing sensitive files places sions.” a senior adviser at the Center Among the awards, academic Lenten and within pandemic.“night at the us, and TARTE, we have the right to ask those Studies journal published a hoax paper theater” clothes, state’s stay-at-home orders will extend into May. No. The government works for Since when did arolina,that Democratic Roy Cooperwas stated during and question what the tells us more about Several when it’s safe to begin thepapers like Treasury or Commerce,” said me, make Hegovernment said he expects many for Strategic International approved 24 requests under of the fake research argued the Gov. term is an important part myHer da home orders are in grant place all bodybuilding over the aquestions. sweet holiday snack, and ofstay-atEaster seasons If heback does decide tothat extend it, questions should be asked asFor to the my faith And the longer Ben Johnson, a former National to learn in coming days they, Studies. us press briefing that “we just don’t know yet” if the process of returning to normalcy. the state’s Building Reuse Program, questioning were accepted for publication.

The Fat exclusionary and should be replaced a recen warm up mugs of hot cocoa.

This making.

As I celebrated Easter with my family, hem get in states, such as Michigan, justification for it.

And the answers should not be vague ones like “we country, and the stricter some ofI provide a Security too, were hacked. of theNo. perpetrawhich provides grants local e orders will“fat extend into to May. The government works for us, and we have the Agency right tocyber-engineer ask those with bodybuilding, as a fat-inclusiveThe identitygovernment Studies journal published a hoax paper will1:4, be tradition with a twist, and Lord state’s Corinthians which reminds us our “com eeling isolated and/or anxious about Since when did must do this out of an abundance of caution.” the more people, sitting at home f who is now chief technology offiU.S. authorities acknowledged tor remained unclear.

A U.S. offigovernments to renovate vacant message of bodybuilding politicized performance.”

One that argued the term was so engtofor extend it, questions should be reviewer askedcial, as to the on condition questions.

Andthat the federal longer stay-at-home orders are in place all overfirm theaffliction, it’sthat sure we to be an enchanting night If he may be able to comfort those their families, will demand cer of software security Obagencies were afspeaking of anat all levels It will need to be explained in detail to the people of this state who when they can get back to provid buildings, renovate and/or expand “I thoroughly this like “we questioning and should be replaced hope that we will to remember.

Plan your bigwe night And thesaid, answers shouldenjoyed not bereading vague ones and the some them get exclusionary in and states, such as Michigan, affliction, with the comfort which ourselves ar justific fected by the breach on Sunday, ofcountry, an ongoing buildings occupied arestricter being told to of remain jobless atbodybuilding, home for an undetermined answers. article and believebyitexisting has an North importantonymity because become a with “fat as a fat-inclusive in at highpointtheatre.com. once again enjoy government See HACK, page B7 an abundance of caution.” the more people, sitting at home feeling isolated and/or anxious about providing few details.

The Cyinvestigation, told The AssociatGod.” vels should be ascompanies, forthcoming as Carolina andtorenovate, must d contribution to make thethey field and this amount of time why models predicting hundreds of thousands of cases Leaders at the local and state le politicized performance.” One reviewer thing?they can get back to providing for their expand or construct health care of this state who bad when sporting events, e explained in detail to the people families, will demand If you are celebrating the Easter season, I urge again, not vague answers, but answer journal.” at all levels It w are reliable. can be with those answers — and in place. Elderly persons with underlying conditions said, “I thoroughly enjoyed reading this ORMER facilities state senator, Ilead have been asked that will to the creation “Ourand Struggle Is My Struggle: Solidarity Thatanswers. is what emain jobless at home for an undetermined reflect and be comforted, so that ents believability. concerts, To for date, I’vetime, gone along with whatand the state has asked and thenon this message with details that statem are be would be monitored by health teams some article believe itfamily has an important s what I of would do regarding the stay-atbecome a giveintheir new jobs in Tier 1 and Tier 2 Feminism anfamilies, Intersectional Reply to God’s example andWe comfort allallthose need arou we can to keep as our hy models predicting hundreds of thousands of cases Leaders at the local and state levels should be as forthcoming as they free citizens mandated that we do, but along the way I’ve also had questions about should continue to do w leveraging telemedicine and virtual hospitals. contribution to make to the field and this ratin North Carolina.

The current SAH gatherings, amoun counties andand in rural census tracts of was Neoliberal Choice Feminism,” bad thing? this difficult time.

Through faith and by helping fe. on ButApril we should also still continue can be with those answers — and again, not vague answers, but answer Led by our major health system leaders and journal.” res 29. the data.

State Republican leaders have, too. ourselves, and our communities and districts filed landmark anare relos Tier 3 counties. church services living in a free accepted for publication by Affilia, a confident we will emerge out of this pandemic ecause while reasonable stay-at-home the North Carolina Hospital Association, I would “Our Struggle Is My Struggle: Solidarity te senator recently said we are going to That is what titrust lawsuits against Facebook e along with what the state has asked and then with details that give their statements believability.

Unfortunately, when certain types of questions get asked, there is to ask questions about the data, The RIA also approved five feminist journal for social workers. The Tostrb d and an many more society wereprimary suppliers and a Inthose this spirit, I continue be inspired the by yow should also have expiration haveabout a master planWe with Feminism Intersectional Reply to same four things: whoan isthe sick, who not,questions last week, accusing itunderstandable, oftoabusing requests under state’s Industrial tendency some people to treat measures are do, but paper along the way I’ve also had should allsometimes continue atodisturbing do what we can toamong keep as our families, consisted in part of is adate. rewritten free citizens manda after our own Feminism,” its marketneighbors. power to new crushtosmaller supposed forourselves, manufacturers N.C. to re-purpose Neoliberal and wasback een and whofrom has not.

Iany agree.

Public helping d itsick is not normal.

Not in way, Development Fund - Utility passage Mein Kampf.

Two other backup plan simply questioning the data asking when we can start neighbors getting This is all Americans, a publican leaders have, too. and in our communities safe.

But and we should alsoChoice still continue da living in aSofree competitors, they also alleged that the Account program, which provides facilities to produce ventilators and PPE necessary accepted for publication by Affilia, a erts are coalescing around benchmarks to temporary In Concord, a high school senior named Tanne d remain vigilant and stay safe, at hoax papers were published, including to do, last I to normal as though they are conspiracy theorists or are people who shape, or form. while we shoul when certain types of questions get asked, there is to ask questions about the data, because while reasonable stay-at-home Unffa the company’s conduct has harmed grants to localso-called governments located to take care of our own demands.

An ongoing needs feminist journal for social workers.

The ore rules “Rape ease: reductions in new Culture and Queer Performativity money to buy a 3-D printer and plastic to make mfortable withsustained this “new sacrifices are society were otherwise don’t care ifshould they get themselves or others sick. the same time we shouldn’t get co rbing tendency among some people to treat those measures are understandable, they also have an expiration date. checked. consumers’ data privacy. in the 80 most economically paper consisted in part of a rewritten deaths, widespread testing, hospital at Urban Dog Parks.”ample This paper’s subjectassessment would evaluate the re-purposing of health care workers out of his own home. somet Since when did questioning government at in allany levels become a bad normal.” over.

Facebook, the largest social net- simply supposed gndthe and when we candog start distressed counties of theBut state, This is all to Americans, normal.

Not way, was dog-on-dog rape. the rapegetting hotels,back empty warehouses andnew university dorms and it is not passage from Mein Kampf.

Two other thedata ability to asking monitor new patients and thing?

Thatwe is should what free citizens living in awere free society supposed little bit. work, getsNot theone of its which are classifiedforced as either Tieror are people paper eventually Boghossian, gh they are conspiracy theorists who shape, or form.

So while remain vigilant and stay safe, atwere as emergency field hospitals in conjunction with hoax papers published, including contacts. tobulk do, last Irevenue — which reached $70.7 billion last to nor comprehensive study. teens.

By Marcy Gordon to do, last I checked.

1 or Tier 2.

Funds may be used Pluckrose and Lindsay to prematurely deployment strategies for health care professionals.

“Rape Culture and Queer Performativity re reasonable data points that should serve out if they get themselves or others sick. the same time we shouldn’t get comfortable with this so-called “new otherw under the Sister Toldjah year —Stacey from checked. online ads. has also written Thethis, other five companies are I’m Thefirst Federal Trade as Commission’s The Associated Press forpseudonym publicly-owned infrastructure My concern we go along in all of course, my family.

Matthews themselves.

A Wall Street Journal writer Virtual hospitals and direct primary care options at Urban Dog Parks.”

This is paper’s subject ation to make decisions to keep everyone questioning government at all levels become a bad normal.”

With its new request, the FTC Reddit, Snap, Discord, WhatsApp, action announced Monday goes to Sinc dState and Legal Insurrection. projects that expected had figured out what theyany were doing. would be made available through worried about them catchingwas the virus, and I’m worried I will.

After and is a regular contributor to Re every health dog-on-dog rape.

But the dog rape re not going back toare fullreasonably normal time t free citizens living in a free society were supposed Not one little bit. wants to know how social media which is owned by Facebook, and the heart of the tech industry’s luWASHINGTON — Federal regto result in new job creation. thing?

Some papers accepted for publication suffering from the H1N1 virus (swine flu) during the 2009 pandemic, system. testing would be implemented. paperGoogle’s eventually forced Boghossian, re not reopening everything tomorrow. We ulators and video streaming services colYouTube. crative business model: harvesting areOngoing ordering Facebook, With the projects approved d. in academic journals advocated trainingRigorous to do, I’ve been trying take and extra precautions, of this brings up statewide antibody testing would be tousers Pluckrose andbecause Lindsay to prematurely care of our most vulnerable citizens, and lect, use and track consumers’ perRegulators andall lawmakers are out data from platform makTwitter, Amazon, TikTok’s parent today, rural areas of North Carolina men like dogs and punishing whiteismale as we go along in all this, of course, my family.

I’m Stacey Matthews has also written under the pseudonym Sister Toldjah My implemented once available. themselves.

A Wall Street Journal writer way too many memories of a painful experience I’ d prefer not to repeat. egin to reopen our businesses, now. and five other social media com- ing it available to online advertis- increasingly weaving their con- sonal and demographic informahave new resources help attract college students fortohistorical slavery by m catching the virus, and I’m worried I will.

After and is a regular contributor to RedState and Legal Insurrection.

In conjunction with other regional governors had figured out what they were doing. lowing aasking couple of data models — Fuller, worrie But what also makes me lose sleep is how easily most everyone has tion, how they decide which ads cerns over data power and privacy ers so they can pinpoint specific panies to provide detailed inforjobs, support expansion them business to sit in silence on the floor in H1N1 virus (swine flu) during theexpected 2009mation pandemic, with the House, I would Some accepted forofpublication d the CDC. models project N.C. cases intopapers their investigations Big Tech and other content are shown to sufferi to target. on how they collect andWhite use consumers and The prepare sites for future chains during class and to be toand cooperation ensure receives fairhow allocation of agency items such journals advocated training tween April 20 andthe May 5. companies’ market dominance.

The plans to use the in in-academic consumers’ personal dataaand take extra precautions, becauseOther all ofpapers this brings N.C. up development,” N.C. Commerce learn from discomfort.

I’ve be the punishing FTC and 48 states formation, a likeWhen their children and astopractices ventilators from national stores to ensuredue we in 45 days, formen dogs and white maleSee MEDIA, page B6 do the following: Imorbid would not extend Secretary Anthony Copeland said obesity as healthynot life mories ofcelebrated a painful experience I’ daprefer repeat.affect way to can address college students for historical slavery by rder April 29 without and advocated treating privately akespast mechoice lose sleep is howcompelling easily most everyone has any peak scenario. There would be a But standing directive for rapid response to enable the asking them to sit in silence on the floor in ng its necessity.

It masturbation is imperative as to akeep conducted form of chains during class and to be expected to ygiene measures in place: suchwomen. as social sexual violence against Typically,use of FDA-approved drugs that are experimental in academic send submittedrelation to a pandemic virus. learn from the discomfort. Other papers , gathering limits,journal masks,editors hand washing, papers out to referees for review. In As long as a business could demonstrate the ability celebrated morbid obesity as a healthy life

VISU

It’s okay to ask questions about when sk questions about when It’s okay The comfort and hope we begin to get back to normal

get back to normal

What would you do?

Agency homing in on social media companies’ data collection

we begin

North State Journal for Wednesday, December 16, 2020

B6

ncdot CASH REPORT For the week ending 12/11 Total Cash & Bond Proceeds:

$2,025,569,508 Add Receipts:

$80,732,222 Less Disbursements:

$125,084,220 Reserved Cash:

$943,600,847 Unreserved Cash Balance Total:

$3,590,061,494

Cooper’s commerce secretary leaving as 2nd term begins Raleigh Governor Roy Cooper’s commerce secretary will leave his job by the end of January, marking another Cabinet departure as the Democrat soon begins his second term. Tony Copeland has led the department since early 2017. The department works with the non-profit Economic Development Partnership of North Carolina to recruit companies to the state.

Cooper’s office said the state has announced the creation of almost 79,000 jobs and $17.4 billion in capital investment during Copeland’s tenure. Once an assistant commerce secretary under then-Gov. Mike Easley, Copeland began at the secretary’s position under Cooper as the state’s recruiters fought negative publicity associated with North Carolina’s “bathroom bill.” The pressure eased when the law was partially repealed in March 2017. Last week, two other Cabinet secretaries announced they’d leave soon — Larry Hall as secretary at the Department of Military and Veterans Affairs and Susi Hamilton at the Department of Natural and Cultural Resources.

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

US, states crack down on scams bilking desperate Americans Washington, D.C. Federal and state authorities say they are cracking down on a wave of illegal schemes that have proliferated during the pandemic and prey upon the desperation of people who have lost jobs in the outbreak’s economic upheaval. The scams have ranged from the workfrom-home reselling of luxury products, to pyramid schemes soliciting cash and that play on cultural norms in immigrant communities, to fraudulent investment rackets promising quick profits. Regulators on Monday unveiled what they are calling “Operation Income Illusion,” a yearlong nationwide law-enforcement sweep targeting the scammers. Consumers lost an estimated $1 billion in the schemes since the start of 2020. Especially vulnerable targets are seniors and retirees, immigrants, Black and Latino people, students and military families.

Officials are seeing growing numbers of cases involving affinity fraud, a form of pyramid scheme in which consumers are urged to tap friends, family, and church or ethnic-community members for money in addition to their own payment. A scam promoting investments in bitcoin was also among them, along with sellers of phony franchises.

EU unveils plan to toughen rules for tech giants

By Kelvin Chan The Associated Press LONDON — Big tech companies face hefty fines in Britain and the European Union if they treat rivals unfairly or fail to protect users on their platforms, in proposed regulations unveiled Tuesday by officials in London and Brussels.

The EU outlined its long-awaited sweeping overhaul of digital regulations while the British government released its own plans to step up policing of harmful material online, signaling the next phase of technology regulation in Europe.

Both sets of proposals include specific measures aimed at the biggest tech companies. The EU wants to set new rules for “digital gatekeepers” to prevent them from imposing unfair conditions, such as blocking businesses from accessing their own data or locking consumers into services and limiting their options for switching.

The rules, known as the Digital Markets Act, set out criteria for defining companies as gatekeepers and allows for fines of up to 10% of annual global revenue.

Another part of the EU plan, the Digital Services Act, updates the bloc’s 20-year-old rules on e-commerce by making online platforms take more responsibility for their goods and services. That can include weeding out shady traders and swiftly taking down illegal content such as hate speech, though in a bid to balance free speech requirements, users will be given the chance to complain. Violations risk fines of up to 6% of annual turnover.

In Britain, social media and other internet companies face big fines if they don’t remove and limit the spread of harmful material such as child sexual abuse or terrorist content and protect users on their platforms.

Under legislative proposals that the U.K. government plans to launch next year, tech com-

JEFF CHIU | AP PHOTO

In this April 14, 2020 file photo, the thumbs up Like logo is shown on a sign at Facebook headquarters in Menlo Park, Calif. panies that let people post their own material or talk to others online could be fined up to 18 million pounds ($24 million) or 10% of their annual global revenue, whichever is higher, for not complying with the rules.

The proposals, contained in the U.K. government’s Online Safety Bill, will have extra provisions for the biggest social media companies with “high-risk features,” expected to include Facebook, TikTok, Instagram and Twitter.

These companies will face special requirements to assess whether there’s a “reasonably foreseeable risk” that content or activity that they host will cause “significant physical or psychological harm to adults,” such as false information about coronavirus vaccines. They’ll have to clarify what is allowed and how they will handle it.

All companies will have to

ly enough, because of “an unanticipated consequence of staffing between Christmas Day 2018 and New Years’ Day,” the company said.

“We take responsibility for this mistake and remain fully committed to protecting the privacy and data of our customers,” Twitter said.

It’s the first punishment for a big U.S. tech company since the EU’s strict privacy rules, known as General Data Protection Regulation, took effect in 2018.

Under GDPR, a single regulator takes the lead role in cross-border data privacy cases as part of a “one-stop shop” system. But the system has come under question, with Ireland’s watching facing criticism for taking too long to decide on cases. The Twitter decision was also delayed after regulators in other EU member states objected to Ireland’s draft penalty.

Over-the-counter home test for COVID-19 gets US green light

By Matthew Perrone The Associated Press WASHINGTON — The first home test for COVID-19 that doesn’t require a prescription will soon be on U.S. store shelves.

U.S. regulators Tuesday authorized the rapid coronavirus test, which can be done entirely at home. The announcement by the Food and Drug Administration represents another important — though incremental — step in efforts to expand testing options.

The agency’s action allows the test to be sold in places like drugstores “where a patient can buy it, swab their nose, run the test and find out their results in as little as 20 minutes,” said FDA Commissioner Stephen Hahn, in a statement.

Regulators granted emergency use for a similar home test last month, but that one requires a doctor’s prescription.

Initial supplies of the overthe-counter test will be limited. Australian manufacturer Ellume said it expects to produce 3 million tests next month before ramping up production over the first half of 2021.

A company spokesperson said the test will be priced around $30 and be available at pharmacies and for purchase online.

The kit includes a nasal swab, a chemical solution and a testing strip. The test connects digital-

ly to a smart phone app that displays the results and then helps interpret the results. Users can also connect with a health professional via the app.

For months, health experts have stressed the need for fast, widespread home testing so that people can screen themselves and avoid contact with others if they have an infection. But the vast majority of tests still require a nasal swab performed by a health processional that must be processed at high-tech laboratories. That typically means waiting days for the results. About 25 tests allow people to collect their own sample at home— a nasal swab or saliva — but then that’s shipped to a lab.

Currently the U.S. is testing nearly 2 million people daily. Most health experts agree the country needs to be testing many times more.

Ellume’s test looks for viral proteins shed by COVID-19, which is different from the gold-standard approach of tests that look for the genetic material of the virus.

Like other tests that scan for proteins, FDA officials noted that Ellume’s test can deliver a small percentage of false positive and false negative results. People who get a negative result but have coronavirus symptoms should follow up with a health professional, the agency said.

ELLUME VIA AP

This undated photo provided by Ellume shows a selfadministered rapid coronavirus at home test kit developed

by Australian manufacturer Ellume. U.S. regulators on Tuesday, Dec. 15, 2020, allowed emergency use of the first rapid coronavirus test that consumers can buy without a prescription to test themselves entirely at home.

MEDIA from page B5

PHOTO FILE PHOTO THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

take extra measures to protect children using their platforms.

The new regulations will apply to any company whose online services are accessible in the U.K and those that don’t comply could be blocked.

The U.K. government is also reserving the right to impose criminal sanctions on senior executives, with powers it could bring into force through additional legislation if companies don’t take the new rules seriously - for example by not responding swiftly to information requests from regulators.

Meanwhile, the Irish Data Privacy Commission issued Twitter with a 450,000-euro ($540,000) fine for a security breach. The company triggered an investigation after reporting the breach in January 2019, which affected users of the social media company’s Android app.

But it didn’t report it quick-

This Feb. 25, 2020, file photo shows the icon for TikTok in New York.

consumers, whether they apply algorithms or data analytics to personal information, how they measure and promote user engagement and how their practices affect children and teens.

“Never before has there been an industry capable of surveilling and monetizing so much of our personal lives,” three of the five FTC commissioners said in a statement. They said the planned study “will lift the hood on the social media and video streaming firms to carefully study their engines.”

Twitter said in a statement, “We’re working, as we always do, to ensure the FTC has the information it needs to understand how Twitter operates its services.”

Support has grown in Con-

gress for a national privacy law that could sharply rein in the ability of the biggest tech companies to collect and make money from users’ personal data. Legislation could gain steam in the new Congress next year with support from the Biden administration.

The FTC fined Facebook $5 billion last year for alleged privacy violations and instituted new oversight and restrictions on its business. The fine was the largest the agency had ever levied on a tech company, although it had no visible impact on Facebook’s business.

Also last year, YouTube was fined $170 million — $136 million by the FTC and $34 million

by New York state — to settle allegations that it collected children’s personal data without their parents’ consent.

North State Journal for Wednesday, December 16, 2020

B7

Fed to weigh further options for aiding US economy in peril

By Christopher Rugaber The Associated Press WASHINGTON — The Federal Reserve’s policymakers face an unusual conundrum as they meet this week: A short-term economic outlook that is worsening even while the longer-term picture is brightening thanks to the emergence of coronavirus vaccines.

When its meeting concludes Wednesday, the Fed could announce steps to try to offset the pandemic’s increasing drag on growth.

Or it could choose to mostly watch and wait, for now.

The central bank’s policy meeting coincides with a record-shattering resurgence of the coronavirus, which has caused an increase in business restrictions and made more Americans reluctant to shop, travel and dine out. Some analysts say the economy could shrink in early 2021 before recovering as vaccines combat the virus.

Economists are divided on whether the Fed will announce any new actions this week. One option the policymakers could take would be to announce a shift in the Fed’s bond purchases. The Fed has been buying $80 billion in Treasury bonds and $40 billion in mortgage bonds each month in an effort to keep borrowing rates down.

The idea of a shift would be to buy more longer-term bonds and fewer shorter-term securities, to hold down longer-term interest rates. The Fed has already cut its benchmark short-term rate to a record low near zero.

Yet the Fed’s tools take time to support the economy, which adds a layer of complexity given the shortterm gloom and longer-term optimism.

“Near-term downside risk may not be enough of a reason” to provide more stimulus “if the outlook for the economy in three to six months remains strong,” Lewis Alexander, U.S. chief economist at Nomura Securities, said in a research note.

Another complicating factor is that even as negotiations continue, Congress has yet to agree on another round of urgently needed financial aid for millions of unemployed Americans, thousands of struggling businesses and cash-short states and cities.

Many Fed policymakers, including Chair Jerome Powell, have repeatedly urged Congress to provide more support. Most proposals on Capitol Hill include extending unemployment benefit programs that

GREG NASH | POOL VIA AP

Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell testifies before a House Financial Services Committee hearing on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C. are scheduled to expire in about two weeks. At that point, roughly 9 million jobless people will lose all their unemployment aid, state or federal.

“They’re all looking to fiscal stimulus,” Tim Duy, an economics professor at the University of Oregon and author of the “Fed Watch” blog, referring to potential rescue aid from Congress.

Recent data is pointing to an economy that is getting worse. More Americans are seeking unemployment benefits, a sign that layoffs are likely rising, and overall hiring slowed in November to its slowest pace since April. Credit and debit card data suggests that holiday spending is weaker than it was last year.

Still, Fed officials may not yet be ready to take new steps, perhaps believing they have already provided nearly all the help they can for the economy through ultra-low rates.

At their meeting in November, Fed policymakers discussed the idea of buying more longer-term

bonds, among other options, according to minutes published three weeks later. Doing so could further reduce the yield on 10-year Treasurys, which influence other borrowing costs, such as mortgage and credit card rates.

By contrast, the purchase of, say, two-year Treasurys has less effect on the most common loan rates, though it can help the Treasury market function more smoothly, which was the original goal of the Fed’s bond-buying program this year.

While Fed officials worry that the pandemic will severely harm the economy this winter, not all are sold on more stimulus.

“We expect very strong growth next year,” Robert Kaplan, president of the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas, told CNBC this month. “But I think the next three to six months are going to be challenging. And it appears to us that growth is decelerating, and if this resurgence keeps heading the wrong way, which it is,

Family members who own Purdue to appear before Congress

By Geoff Mulvhill The Associated Press TWO MEMBERS of the Sackler family who own OxyContin maker Purdue Pharma agreed to appear this week before a congressional committee investigating the family and the company’s role in the national opioid addiction and overdose epidemic.

Thursday’s hearing before the House Oversight Committee will be the first time in years that any member of the wealthy family would take questions in public from an official body, and could be a watershed moment in the long legal and political battles over the opioid crisis, which has been linked to 470,000 deaths in the U.S. since 2000.

The committee scheduled and then canceled a hearing earlier this month after family members would not commit to appearing. But last week, Rep. Carolyn Maloney, the New York Democrat who chairs the committee, announced it was on again and wrote a scathing letter to their lawyers.

“Your clients have not agreed to testify at a hearing before the Committee at any time — ever.

As a result, it appears that your clients are not engaging in this process in good faith,” Maloney wrote, threatening to issue subpoenas that would force them to appear.

Ultimately, family members worked out a deal. David Sackler, who served on the Purdue board from 2012 until 2018, and Kathe Sackler, who served on it from 1990 until 2018, when family members exited the board, are scheduled to appear at the hearing, which will be conducted by video conference because of coronavirus pandemic precautions. Company CEO Craig Landau has also agreed to partici-

pate.

In a statement, Purdue said it is committed to addressing the opioid crisis through its proposed settlement in bankruptcy court, which would provide billions of dollars to communities, addiction treatment, overdose reversal medications and other measures. A representative for Kathe Sackler declined to comment. One for David Sackler did not return a message.

Members of the family have been cast by activists and officials as prime villains in the country’s opioid crisis who need to be held accountable for seeking profits from drugs that were leading to addictions and overdoses.

Purdue, based in Stamford, Connecticut, is owned by the descendants of Raymond and Mortimer Sackler. They bought the company in the 1950s along with a third brother, Arthur, who pioneered pharmaceutical advertising and became wealthy partly by promoting Valium, another addictive drug.

By the time OxyContin was launched in the 1990s, Arthur Sackler’s family had sold out their share in Purdue. His descendants emphasize that they have not profited from OxyContin.

Purdue started selling OxyContin, a time-release version of oxycodone, in 1996, and it became a pharmaceutical blockbuster used to treat a variety of types of pain. Its sales were fueled by a years-long campaign to persuade doctors that unlike other opioids, it had a low incidence of addiction.

But that message, pushed by doctors who were paid speaking fees and pain patient advocacy groups funded by Purdue and other pharmaceutical companies, was not true.

The company and the family have been under scrutiny for decades. The company and three of its executives pleaded guilty in 2007 to misleading the public about OxyContin’s risk of addiction and paid $635 million in fines.

Sales continued after that. So did overdoses, though the majority of opioid deaths since then have been linked to heroin and illicit fentanyl rather than prescription opioids.

The industry has faced a legal reckoning in recent years.

Purdue and a host of drugmakers, distributors and pharmacy chains have been sued by nearly 3,000 state and local governments.

Members of the Sackler family are named as defendants in many of them. According to a court filing last year, they made between $12 billion and $13 billion from the company before taxes.

Last year, Purdue entered a tentative settlement and has been trying to complete it through bankruptcy court. The deal calls for the family to give up ownership of Purdue, which would be turned into a public benefit corporation with its proceeds going to combat the addiction crisis.

Under the deal, family members would also pay at least $3 billion in cash over time. Most Democratic state attorneys general oppose the settlement, saying they want more accountability for Sackler family members.

Last month, the company pleaded guilty to federal criminal charges as part of a deal to settle claims with the federal government. The agreement did not result in criminal claims against Sackler family members, but left open the possibility that some could be brought.

that slowing and deceleration could get worse.”

But Kaplan, a voting member of the Fed’s policymaking committee, said, “I would not want” to alter the bond-buying program “at this point.”

He added: “I don’t know that increasing the size or extending maturities of our bond purchases would help address this situation that I’m concerned about over the next three to six months.”

“As always,” though, Kaplan said, “I will go into the meeting with an open mind.”

Other Fed bank presidents, including Charles Evans of the Chicago Fed and Mary Daly of the San Francisco Fed, have also suggested in recent weeks that a change to the bond-buying program at this point might not be necessary. Neither Evans nor Daly has a vote on the Fed’s policy committee, but they will participate in this week’s meeting.

Even if it doesn’t announce a policy shift this week, the Fed will

likely provide additional guidance about its bond purchases. After its November meeting, it said it would keep buying bonds “over coming months.” The minutes from that meeting said that most policymakers wanted to provide more specific guidance “fairly soon.” Analysts have interpreted that to likely mean this week’s meeting.

The Fed isn’t expected to tie its bond purchases to any specific level of inflation or unemployment but instead suggest a more general goal.

Alexander said it could be as simple as stating that bond purchases will continue “until the recovery is well-advanced.”

The minutes of the November meeting also showed that the policymakers expect to start slowing their bond purchases before they begin raising interest rates. And economists foresee no Fed rate hikes until as late as 2024 or 2025.

On Wednesday, the Fed will issue forecasts through 2023 that are expected to show no rate hikes at all.

HACK from page B5

In terms of scale alone, the operation seems similar to the 2105 Office of Personnel Management hack that authorities blame on the Chinese government, said Ben Buchanan, a Georgetown University cyber-espionage expert.

“These operators are experienced and capable, adept at finding a systemic weakness and then exploiting it quietly for months,” said Buchanan, author of “The Hacker and The State.”

Members of Congress were pressing the government for more information. “If reports are true and state-sponsored hackers successfully snuck malware-riddled software into scores of federal government systems, our country has suffered a massive national security failure that could have ramifications for years to come,” said Sen. Ron Wyden, an Oregon Democrat who is a prominent voice on cyber issues.

If it was carried out by a foreign government, and the U.S. has the proof, then it becomes a question of what to do about it.

Some obvious options would include expelling diplomats of the offending country, imposing sanctions or filing criminal charges for cyber-espionage, steps that Washington and the European Union have taken against Russia in the past.

“I’m sure that the departments like NSA and Cyber Command are coming up with options, that the Treasury Department is looking at sanction options, that the State Department is looking for how they will send a strong signal,” Spaulding said. “Whether they will get approval for all these things from the White House remains to be seen.”

In the meantime, SolarWinds and its many private-sector clients were working to close any breaches and repair the damage.

The company said in a financial filing that it believed fewer than 18,000 customers installed the compromised product update earlier this year.

“We anticipate this will be a very large event when all the information comes to light,” said John Hultquist, director of threat analysis at FireEye.

sidian.

SolarWinds has said its customers include all five branches of the U.S. military, the Pentagon, the State Department, NASA, the National Security Agency, the Department of Justice and the White House, along with the top U.S. telecommunications and accounting firms.

National Security Council spokesman John Ullyot said Monday that the Trump administration was working with CISA, U.S. intelligence agencies, the FBI and government departments affected by the intrusion to coordinate a response.

“It’s obviously incredibly significant and widespread,” said Chris Painter, who coordinated cyber-policy at the State Department during the Obama administration. “How much was compromised? How much was exfiltrated? There are lots of open questions now.”

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Monday that Russia had “nothing to do with” the hack.

“Once again, I can reject these accusations,” Peskov told reporters. “If for many months the Americans couldn’t do anything about it, then, probably, one shouldn’t unfoundedly blame the Russians for everything.”

Federal agencies have long been attractive targets for foreign hackers looking to gain insight into American government personnel and policymaking.

Hackers linked to Russia, for instance, were able to break into the State Department’s email system in 2014, infecting it so thoroughly that it had to be cut off from the internet while experts worked to eliminate the infestation. A year later, a hack at the U.S. government’s personnel office blamed on China compromised the personal information of some 22 million current, former and prospective federal employees, including highly sensitive data such as background investigations.

Cybersecurity experts said the goal of the months-long effort appeared to be espionage and not profit or inflicting damage.

B8

North State Journal for Wednesday, December 16, 2020

2020 Toyota Highlander Finally a place to put my phone Moving is terrible but the Highlander isn’t

By Jordan Golson North State Journal SAN DIEGO — There is something incredibly satisfying about having the perfect spot to put something. A place for everything and everything in its place, as the saying goes.

I’ve spent the last two days moving and at first I adhered to this and carefully considered where each item should go, which box it should be in and how that box should be labeled. But after a while, you give up and just start chucking things into boxes to be sorted out later (like the next time you move when you say to yourself “what was I thinking?” and chuck it in the garbage).

Getting back to cars, a year ago I spent most of a review complaining about a Lexus SUV that didn’t have a good place to put my phone — an unforgivable sin in 2020 — and now I’m about to do the opposite, albeit this time with a Toyota product: the 2020 Highlander.

The Highlander is Toyota’s three-row mid-sized crossover SUV and it faces tough competition like the (excellent) Ford Explorer and the (excellent) Hyundai Palisade and a bunch of other excellent vehicles too.

Not coincidentally, the Toyota Highlander is excellent, and not just because of the terrific hybrid option that delivers a rather astounding 35 mpg. It also has Toyota’s full safety suite (standard) with adaptive cruise control, lane departure steering assist, automatic parallel parking, and a bunch more.

The Highlander was redesigned for the 2019 model year and, unsurprisingly for Toyota, there’s nothing radical going on but the overall look is sharp and pleasing.

With the 20-inch wheels and the gorgeous Ruby Flare Pearl paint job on the Platinum edition, the Highlander could almost pass for luxurious. That’s not a bad thing considering the fully-loaded sticker price of $52,512.

That’s a lot of cheese, but it’s on

The competition is fierce, but the new Highlander is up to the challenge. par with the top tier trims from the competition. And then you go inside and that’s where the magic happens — at least when it comes to phone storage.

Sliding behind the wheel is like slipping into a cockpit (kind of, it’s still a family SUV after all).

There’s the well-sorted steering wheel in front of you and a traditional PRND-shifter, an enormous 12-inch touchscreen, a pair of cupholders, reasonable buttons and switches for everything, and, crucially, a ton of bins.

There’s a large center console under the armrest, and another large bin directly in front of the gear selector — and that’s where I originally aimed to put my phone.

There are USB ports and a 12volt power adapter there, so that’s the logical place, right? But wait — directly above that, below the vents, is another bin and it’s like Toyota’s engineers heard my complaints about not having a good place for my phone and created one just for me.

It has thoughtful touches like a slight tilt towards the back so your phone doesn’t fly out, though it remains easily accessible, and it’s huge so you can put even the largest iPhone 2020 ProPods SuperMax in there with whatever gigantic case you have on it. The

best part is a small hole in the bottom where you can feed a USB cable through to plug in your phone (remember the USB ports are in the bin just below), which means the cable stays neat and tidy and you get to use Apple CarPlay or Android Auto with your phone safely tucked away but still accessible.

This is a small thing but I honestly feel that good storage design makes such a difference to the dayto-day ownership experience of a car. Hacks like cupholder-based phone holders just take away from how many cups you can hold, but spacious bins (or, as we can call them these days, mask-holders) in the passenger area are brilliant.

Even better, there’s another largeish bin on the passenger side as well, albeit without easy access to a USB port.

I’m seeing this trend of clever storage more and more with new vehicles, including the Volvo XC40 and the new Ford Bronco Sport I reviewed last week — thanks to advancements in materials design and safety, there are more little nooks and crannies for vehicle designers to optimize for.

The XC40 even has a little trash can built into the center console, which is brilliant and everyone should copy them.

Other than that, the Highlander Hybrid is exactly what you’d expect: a large, reliable, comfortable, luxurious Toyota SUV, with astounding fuel economy and well-considered design. The competition is fierce, but the new Highlander is up to the challenge.

PHOTOS COURTESY OF TOYOTA

North State Journal for Wednesday, December 16, 2020

B9

features Charlotte blackowned business finds success with fun family card games

By Elizabeth Lincicome North State Journal OVER THE COURSE of the last year, card games, board games and puzzles have evolved as major sources of entertainment for Americans seeking ways to pass the time amidst worldwide shutdown orders resulting from the Coronavirus pandemic. These simple pastimes provide participants with social interaction and are a welcome reprieve for those of us fed up with social media, electronic devices and Netflix reruns.

According to Google Trends, searches of card games increased 113% between March and May of this year. While such increases are normal during the holiday season, lockdowns have certainly helped accelerate the popularity of card games. This trend is welcome news for a local couple running one of Charlotte’s most up and coming black-owned small businesses.

Chrissy and Anthony Kent are the names and faces behind SociaLaughs, a trivia card entertainment company based in Charlotte. The Kents have spent the past three years building their brand and working to create fun card games for the entire family.

SociaLaughs is the creator of several popular card games including Passport to the Hood, CelebSaid and Story of My Life, which are all geared towards educating and increasing awareness surrounding black culture and ongoing current events topics such as police brutality or income inequality. The common thread among all the games is they offer players doses of entertainment, history, lifestyle, and current cultural topics. The owners offer these descriptions of each game: “Passport to the Hood: This

game includes 3 volumes – and highlights hilarious moments of urban culture, says everything that you hear behind closed doors and reflects the things we experienced growing up. You are ready to play this game if you know: 1) What to do when you see people run 2) A New Yorker’s favorite word 3) What snitches get 4) What the PJ’s mean 4) What not to do at a cookout. The objective of the game is to not lose points by predicting what answers the opposing teams will select.”

“CelebSaid: The game that revives your favorite quotes, catchphrases and lines from some of our most beloved black celebs.

You are ready to play this game if you know these quotes...He shot me in my pinky toe. If the glove doesn’t fit, you must acquit. King Kong ain’t got sh*t on me. You ain’t got to lie, Craig. 86 Quote cards, 4 Go cards and 16 Decision cards.”

“Story of My Life: Designed specifically for women, Story of My Life is a fun-filled journey highlighting the social, personal and cultural experiences that cultivate the life stories of women. Play this game and find out what stories you have in common with your girlfriends.”

Both Chrissy and Anthony were working as Charlotte-area realtors, when Anthony says he woke up in the middle of the night back in 2017 and had the epiphany to start a card game company. “I recognized that other races are fascinated by black culture…it drives so much of our national conversation,” he says.

“You don’t have to be black to be intrigued by our culture and that is what these games reflect.”

The Kents say that from a retail perspective, they have seen a nearly 300% spike in sales

COURTESY PHOTO

Card games by SociaLaughs is pictured in this file photo.

“You don’t have to be black to be intrigued by our culture and that is what these games reflect.”

SociaLaughs co-founder Chrissy Kent since the onset of the pandemic.

“We normally see sales increase around the holidays and towards the end of the year but this year our sales started to mimic our holiday surge back in the spring when COVID began and when there was so much in the news related to police brutality and protests amidst the George Floyd incident,” Chrissy says.

SociaLaughs’ games are available on Amazon and on the business’s own website. They have

customers all over the country and do some advertising on social media but have also been featured in Buzzfeed and MadameNoire, a black women’s lifestyle guide for the latest in black hair care, relationship advice, fashion trends, black entertainment news & parenting tips.

The Kents say there are both unique challenges as well as advantages to being a black-owned business amidst the current environment. They say that like all small businesses there are roadblocks in the beginning in terms of starting a business from the ground up and increasing name recognition, building a following and customer base, etc. “There is also a stereotype that we are white because there is an assumption that black people don’t own businesses,” Anthony Kent says.

The bright side, they say, is that over the course of the last year or

so they have seen a real shift in terms of more companies making a concerted effort to increase diversity in their workforces. Starbucks for instance just named its first black chairwoman earlier this month and in October mandated antibias training for executives, tying their compensation to increasing minority representation in the company’s workforce. Chrissy Kent says she has personally noticed companies including Target, Netflix and Honeypot making concerted efforts to open up more of their website or shelf space to Black-owned businesses and products. “This has been a tough year for everyone, but I think it has brought us closer and really focused the conversation on what matters the most.”

As for the future, the Kents say when things return to normal post-COVID, they would like to try producing a televised game show out of their card games.

Annual National Gingerbread House Competition in Asheville The Associated Press ASHEVILLE — Winners of The 28th Annual National Gingerbread House Competition have been unveiled following The Omni Grove Park Inn’s decision to take the beloved holiday tradition virtual. Across all categories, nearly 100 entries of one-of-akind, over-the-top festive gingerbread designs were submitted from around the country as competitors hoped to win a piece of $25,000 in cash and prizes.

A combined virtual and in-person panel of judges, including top national culinary talent evaluated each confection based on strict guidelines including overall appearance, originality/creativity, difficulty, precision and consistency of theme, with each entry required to be made of at least 75 percent gingerbread. Returning judge and renowned celebrity chef, author and former television personality, Carla Hall along with judges Chef Geoff Blount, Chef Nicholas Lodge & Chef John Cook took their Gingerbread duties to the next level by joining the property’s new online cooking course, Baking Spirits Bright: Gingerbread Making Class Series.

The 2020 winning entries in the categories of adult, teen, youth and child include: Grand Prize Winner, Adult: The Merry Mischief Bakers, “St. Nick’s Christmas Décor Shop” Phoenix, AZ Adult Second Place: Ann Bailey, “This Place Called Home” Cary, NC Adult Third Place: Thomas Blake Hogan, “Sea Questered” Kansas City, MO Teen (ages 13-17) First Place: The Rhinehart Sisters, “Peace, Love, Joy” Columbia, TN

FILE PHOTO

Teen Second Place: The Toccoa Titans, “Arctic Wonders” - Blue Ridge, GA Teen Third Place: Julia Kincaid, “The Gingerbread Christmas Pyramid” - Winston Salem, NC Youth (ages 9-12) First Place: The Sugar Squad, “Santa Stop” - Marshall, NC Youth Second Place: Emma Rhinehart, “Merry Minions” Columbia, TN Youth Third Place: Perry Reid, “Christmas…2020” - Travelers Rest, SC Child (ages 5-8) First Place: The Glitter Girls, “A Mermaid Christmas” - Blue

Ridge, GA Child Second Place: Vincent Freeland, “Jack is Back” Conover, NC Child Third Place: Lucille Gomes, “Roughing It” Asheville, NC While The Omni Grove Park Inn will be forgoing a public Gingerbread House display this year to prioritize the safety of its resort guests and local community, hotel officials say there are still plenty of ways for Gingerbread fans to stay involved.

Virtual Activities for Fans AtHome: Baking Spirits Bright: Gingerbread Making Class Series: Now through Jan. 21, 2021, learn how

to make Gingerbread Houses athome via a three-part series featuring All-Star Chefs & Competition Judges (including celebrity chef, Carla Hall). A portion of the proceeds goes to ACFEF’s Chef & Child Initiative so the more you bake, the bigger difference you make. Class takers also receive 15% off future stays Jan. - Mar. ‹21 and have access to the classes until October 2021. Check www.omnihotels.com/bakingspiritsbright for details.

12 Days of Gingerbread: Visit The Omni Grove Park Inn’s 12 Days of Gingerbread to see top winning designs and behind-thescenes content of all things Gingerbread. Check www.omnihotels.com/12days for details.

In-House Guest Activities: Best In Dough: Gingerbread

Finalist Showcase: A rare view of The National Gingerbread House Competition Finalists’ entries via a docu-style film for hotel guests now through Jan. 3. Including interviews with competitors, judges and 360 footage of the finalists’ confectionary creations to create an up-close experience. Tickets are available exclusively to overnight guests to ensure safety measures remain intact and can be reserved as part of their stay.

Stay A Part of Holiday Magic: This winter, stay a part of holiday magic with up to 15% off our best available rates. Enjoy late checkout and a taste of The National Gingerbread House Competition with an exclusive gingerbread welcome gift. Guests can pay it forward via Omni Hotels & Resorts’ “Say Goodnight to Hunger” program, which includes a donation to MANNA Food Bank for every stay.

The Great Gingerbread House: The Great Hall has been transformed into a holiday destination, with a life-sized Gingerbread House modeled after the historic hotel. Guests can enjoy house made hot chocolate, specialty craft brews and sweet treats by the glow of the iconic Grove Park Inn fireplaces.

As in years past, a $25 per car fee will be charged for all driveon day guests with a portion of the parking proceeds going towards the following local nonprofit organizations: United Way of Asheville and Buncombe County; American Legion Baseball Post #70; Meals on Wheels of Asheville and Buncombe County; Asheville City Schools Foundation; Horizons at CDS; Children First/Communities in Schools; Asheville Museum of Science and Camp Watia Camper Scholarship Fund. Since 2013, The Omni Grove Park Inn has contributed over $535,000 through the Holiday Parking Program, supporting the local community and not-forprofit partners in Western North Carolina.

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North State Journal for Wednesday, December 16, 2020

entertainment ‘Wonder Woman 1984’ hopes to lasso a little holiday joy The Associated Press PATTY JENKINS wasn’t even finished making “ Wonder Woman “ when she started dreaming up a sequel for her and star Gal Gadot. The first film had the weight of both female-fronted superhero films and female-directed blockbusters on its shoulders and had yet to prove the skeptics wrong.

But Jenkins had a hunch it was going to be a success.

Besides, she thought, she hadn’t technically gotten to make a “Wonder Woman” film yet.

“That first film was a birth of a hero,” Jenkins said. “Now I wanted to do something with that hero.”

There was never a specific threshold that the first had to meet, but producer Charles Roven said a follow-up was “undeniable.”

“Wonder Woman” was not only a critical and box office success, making $821 million globally, but it also hit a cultural nerve. It became the event film that everyone had dreamed and Jenkins knew that it was time to ask for what she wanted and deserved.

On the sequel’s long journey to audiences, Jenkins would secure an historic and equitable raise for herself, figure out a way to resurrect Chris Pine’s character from the dead and agree to a release plan that even a few months ago would have been unthinkable: Putting the $200 million film in theaters and on HBO Max, for free, on Christmas Day. “Wonder Woman 1984,” a poppy, maximalist fast-forward in Diana Prince’s journey set in an age of excess, ups the ante with action, practical effects and globe-trotting that even James Bond would find grueling. Over the course of the eight-month shoot, the stunt and effects teams — and often Gadot — were put to the test executing wildly ambitious sequences including an Amazonian games with 242 stunt women, a difficult mid-air rescue requiring complex wire rig work in a real mall’s atrium and a 360-degree aerial truck flip that had never been done before.

“I don’t believe that sequels always have to be bigger. And I think you can get in a lot of trouble doing that,” Jenkins said. “But in this case, I was actually aiming for a very specific thing, which is

WARNER BROS. VIA AP

This image released by Warner Bros. Entertainment shows Gal Gadot in a scene from “Wonder Woman 1984.” the type of ‘80s movies that I saw that were colossal extravaganzas for the whole family and joyful on every level.”

The film, which plops audiences into the neon-hued 1980s, introduces two villains from the comics in the insecure scientist Barbara Minerva turned rival, Cheetah, played by Kristen Wiig, and the ambitious businessman Maxwell Lord, played by “The Mandalorian’s” Pedro Pascal. Both put a changed Diana to the test.

“We find a very different Diana than the wide-eyed one that we established in the first one,” Gadot said. “She’s very lonely.”

But she gets a glimpse of happiness when Pine’s Steve Trevor reappears in her life nearly 70 years after his death.

“In many ways my job is to fall in love with Gal and be her staunchest supporter and ally,” Pine said. “The big disparity between the two is in the first I’m

this kind of jaded realist and the second I’m now essentially a... light and bright sidekick.”

Although, he said, playing a man from 1918 suddenly grappling with 1980s technologies proved “deceptively difficult.”

The marathon shoot, and reshoots, were taxing. Jenkins said she’s been told that “Wonder Woman 1984” is the hardest film many of the crew had ever done.

But no one could have planned for just how complicated it would be to simply get the film to audiences.

In one timeline, “Wonder Woman 1984” might have been one of the year’s most profitable films and the crown jewel in a banner year for female-directed blockbusters. The pandemic upended all of that, however, and suddenly Jenkins, Roven, Gadot and everyone at Warner Bros. found themselves chasing an ideal theatrical release date that would never come, at least not in 2020.

As the Christmas date neared and coronavirus cases continued spiking in the U.S., they agreed on a compromise to release the film in theaters where they are open and free for subscribers on its parent company’s new streaming app HBO Max. The film will also launch in theaters internationally, where more are open, beginning Wednesday.

“It wasn’t an easy decision,” Gadot said. “I’m just relieved that we’re going to share the movie now.”

The “Wonder Woman 1984” agreement, which The New York Times reported included extra millions for both Gadot and Jenkins to make up for lost back-end profits, was made before Warner Media announced that all its 2021 films would follow suit, blindsiding its other filmmakers and partners. The controversial strategy has been criticized by both top filmmakers like Christopher No-

lan and Denis Villeneuve as well as movie theater owners. Both Jenkins and Roven, whose “The Suicide Squad” is one of those films, said that the filmmakers should have been consulted.

“I am not for this way of doing things in general. But these are strange days and there are no good solutions,” Jenkins said of her own film. “There’s nothing perfect about this release plan and there was nothing perfect about any release plan. And that’s the point.”

But Jenkins is also just excited for audiences to finally see the film and hopes that it might bring a little joy at the end of a trying and devastating year. That it’ll be on Christmas Day, too, is icing for the self-proclaimed Christmas person.

“Honestly, it brings tears to my eyes the idea that I got to make a film that you would watch for Christmas,” she said. “I just think it’s so special.”

John le Carre, who probed murky world of spies, dies at 89 The Associated Press LONDON — John le Carre, the spy-turned-novelist whose elegant and intricate narratives defined the Cold War espionage thriller and brought acclaim to a genre critics had once ignored, has died. He was 89.

Le Carre’s literary agency, Curtis Brown, said Sunday he died in Cornwall, southwest England on Saturday after a short illness. The agency said his death was not related to COVID-19. His family said he died of pneumonia In classics such as “The Spy Who Came in from the Cold,” “Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy” and “The Honourable Schoolboy,” Le Carre combined terse but lyrical prose with the kind of complexity expected in literary fiction. His books grappled with betrayal, moral compromise and the psychological toll of a secret life. In the quiet, watchful spymaster George Smiley, he created one of 20th-century fiction’s iconic characters — a decent man at the heart of a web of deceit.

“John le Carre has passed at the age of 89. This terrible year has claimed a literary giant and a humanitarian spirit,” tweeted novelist Stephen King. Margaret Atwood said: “Very sorry to hear this.

His Smiley novels are key to understanding the mid-20th century.”

For le Carre, the world of espionage was a “metaphor for the human condition.”

“I’m not part of the literary bureaucracy if you like that categorizes everybody: Romantic, Thriller, Serious,” le Carre told The Associated Press in 2008. “I just go with what I want to write about and the characters. I don’t announce this to myself as a thriller or an entertainment.

“I think all that is pretty silly stuff. It’s easier for booksellers and critics, but I don’t buy that categorization. I mean, what’s ‘A Tale of Two Cities?’ — a thriller?”

His other works included “Smi-

ley’s People,” “The Russia House,” and, in 2017, the Smiley farewell, “A Legacy of Spies.” Many novels were adapted for film and television, notably the 1965 productions of “Smiley’s People’ and “Tinker Tailor” featuring Alec Guinness as Smiley.

Le Carre was drawn to espionage by an upbringing that was superficially conventional but secretly tumultuous.

Born David John Moore Cornwell in Poole, southwest England on Oct. 19, 1931, he appeared to have a standard upper-middle-class education: the private Sherborne School, a year studying German literature at the University of Bern, compulsory military service in Austria — where he interrogated Eastern Bloc defectors — and a degree in modern languages at Oxford University. But his ostensibly ordinary upbringing was an illusion. His father, Ronnie Cornwell, was a con man who was an associate of gangsters and spent time in jail for insurance fraud. His mother left the family when David was 5; he didn’t meet her again until he was 21.

It was a childhood of uncertainty and extremes: one minute limousines and champagne, the next eviction from the family’s latest accommodation. It bred insecurity, an acute awareness of the gap between surface and reality — and a familiarity with secrecy that would serve him well in his future profession.

“These were very early experiences, actually, of clandestine survival,” le Carre said in 1996. “The whole world was enemy territory.”

After university, which was interrupted by his father’s bankruptcy, he taught at the prestigious boarding school Eton before joining the foreign service.

Officially a diplomat, he was in fact a “lowly” operative with the domestic intelligence service MI5 —he’d started as a student at Oxford — and then its overseas counterpart MI6, serving in Germany, on the Cold War front line, under

the cover of second secretary at the British Embassy.

His first three novels were written while he was a spy, and his employers required him to publish under a pseudonym. He remained “le Carre” for his entire career. He said he chose the name — square in French — simply because he liked the vaguely mysterious, European sound of it.

“Call For the Dead” appeared in 1961 and “A Murder of Quality” in 1962. Then in 1963 came “The Spy Who Came in From the Cold,” a tale of an agent forced to carry out one last, risky operation in divided Berlin. It raised one of the author’s recurring themes: the blurring of moral lines that is part and parcel of espionage, and the difficulty of distinguishing good guys from bad. Le Carre said it was written at one of the darkest points of the Cold War, just after the building of the Berlin Wall, at a time when he and his colleagues feared nuclear war might be imminent.

“So I wrote a book in great heat which said ‘a plague on both your houses,’” le Carre told the BBC in 2000.

It was immediately hailed as a classic and allowed him to quit the intelligence service to become a full-time writer.

His depictions of life in the clubby, grubby, ethically tarnished world of “The Circus” — the books’ code-name for MI6 — were the antithesis of Ian Fleming’s suave action-hero James Bond, and won le Carre a critical respect that eluded Fleming.

Smiley appeared in le Carre’s first two novels and in the trilogy of “Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy,” “The Honorable Schoolboy,” and “Smiley’s People.”

Le Carre said the character was based on John Bingham — an MI5 agent who wrote spy thrillers and encouraged le Carre’s literary career — and the ecclesiastical historian Vivian Green, the chaplain of his school and later his Oxford col-

lege, “who became effectively my confessor and godfather.” The more than 20 novels touched on the sordid realities of spycraft but le Carre always maintained there was a kind of nobility in the profession. He said in his day spies had seen themselves “almost as people with a priestly calling to tell the truth.”

“We didn’t shape it or mold it. We were there, we thought, to speak truth to power.”

“A Perfect Spy,” his most autobiographical novel, looks at the formation of a spy in the character of Magnus Pym, a boy whose criminal father and unsettled upbringing bear a strong resemblance to le Carre’s own.

His writing continued unabated after the Cold War ended and the front lines of the espionage wars shifted. Le Carre said in 1990 that the fall of the Berlin Wall had come as a relief. “For me, it was absolutely wonderful. I was sick of writing about the Cold War. The cheap joke was to say, ‘Poor old le Carre, he’s run out of material; they’ve taken his wall away.’ “The spy story has only to pack up its bags and go where the action is.”

That turned out to be everywhere. “The Tailor of Panama” was set in Central America. “The Constant Gardener,” which was turned into a film starring Ralph Fiennes and Rachel Weisz, was about the pharmaceutical industry’s machinations in Africa.

“A Most Wanted Man,” published in 2008, looked at extraordinary rendition and the war on terror.

“Our Kind of Traitor,” released in 2010, took in Russian crime syndicates and the murky machinations of the financial sector.

There was more to come, including a memoir, “The Pigeon Tunnel,” and novels “A Delicate Truth” and “Agent Running in the Field.” The last, published in 2019, brought his stories of duplicity and deceit into the era of Brexit and Donald Trump.

There were many film and tele-

vision adaptations of his work over the decades, in recent years of high quality. Recent examples included a big screen version of “Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy” starring Gary Oldman as Smiley, and television miniseries of “The Night Manager” and “The Little Drummer Girl.”

Le Carre reportedly turned down an honor from Queen Elizabeth II — though he accepted Germany’s Goethe Medal in 2011 — and said he did not want his books considered for literary prizes.

In later years he was a vocal critic of the government of Tony Blair and its decision, based partly on hyped-up intelligence, to go to war in Iraq. He criticized what he saw as the betrayals of the post-World War II generation by successive British governments.

“The changes that I was promised since I was about 14 — I remember being told when Clement Atlee became prime minister and (Winston) Churchill was slung out after the war that that would be the end of the (private) school system and the monarchy,” he said in 2008.

“How can we have achieved the poverty gap that we have in this country? It’s simply unbelievable.”

In 1954, le Carre married Alison Sharp, with whom he had three sons before they divorced in 1971.

In 1972 he married Jane Eustace, with whom he had a son, the novelist Nick Harkaway.

Although he had a home in London, le Carre spent much of his time near Land’s End, England’s southwesternmost tip, in a clifftop house overlooking the sea. He was, he said, a humanist but not an optimist.

“Humanity — that’s what we rely on. If only we could see it expressed in our institutional forms, we would have hope then,” he told the AP. “I think the humanity will always be there. I think it will always be defeated.”

Le Carre is survived by his wife and sons Nicholas, Timothy, Stephen and Simon.

North State Journal for Wednesday, December 16, 2020

B11

Publishing saw upheaval in 2020, but ‘books are resilient’

By Hillel Italie The Associated Press NEW YORK — Book publishing in 2020 was a story of how much an industry can change and how much it can, or wants to, remain the same.

“A lot of what has happened this year — if it were a novel, I would say that it had a little too much plot,” said Simon & Schuster CEO Jonathan Karp.

Three narratives ran through the book world for much of the year: an industry pressed to acknowledge that the status quo was unacceptable, an industry offering comfort and enlightenment during traumatic times, and an industry ever more consolidated around the power of Penguin Random House and Amazon.com.

To its benefit and to its dismay, publishing was drawn into the events of the moment. The pandemic halted and threatened to wipe out a decade of growth for independent bookstores, forced the postponement of countless new releases and led to countless others being forgotten. The annual national convention, BookExpo, was called off and may be gone permanently after show organizers Reed Exhibitions announced they were “retiring” it.

The industry had long regarded itself as a facilitator of open expression and high ideals, but in 2020 debates over diversity and #MeToo highlighted blind spots about race and gender and challenged the reputations of everyone from poetry publishers to Oprah Winfrey, from book critics to the late editor of Ernest Hemingway. Employees themselves helped take the lead: They staged protests in support of Black Lives Matters and walked off the job at Hachette Book Group after the publisher announced it had acquired Woody Allen’s memoir, which Hachette soon dropped. ( Skyhorse Publishing eventually released it.)

Through it all, books managed to sell, keeping a steady pace at a time when film and theater, among other industries, faced dire questions about their future.

“My main takeaways from 2020 are that books are resilient and that the industry has indicated a willingness to change (about diversity) and to make opening gestures towards sufficient, industry-wide

CHRIS PIZZELLO | AP PHOTO

A pedestrian walks past boxes set up in front of book store Book Soup in West Hollywood, Calif., on Oct. 16, 2020 change,” said Lisa Lucas, executive director of the National Book Foundation, who next year will take over at two prestigious Penguin Random House imprints, Pantheon and Schocken Books.

An alarm bell rang early in the new year. Jeanine Cummins’ novel about Mexican immigrants, “American Dirt,” had been widely cited as a top seller and critical favorite for 2020 and was likened by “The Cartel” author Don Winslow to John Steinbeck’s Depression-era classic “The Grapes of Wrath.” In January, Oprah Winfrey announced she had chosen it for her book club and Cummins began a nationwide tour.

But to the surprise of the publisher, Macmillan, and Winfrey, Latino authors and critics alleged that Cummins had reinforced stereotypes about Mexico and Mexican immigrants. Along with Cummins, Winfrey invited a panel of detractors who faulted an industry that is an estimated 75 percent white, and the talk show host herself for choosing few works by Latino writers. Cummins’ tour was called off after Macmillan cited threats of violence, even as her book remained on bestseller lists.

In the following months, leaders at the National Book Critics Circle, the Poetry Foundation and Inter-

“A lot of what has happened this year — if it were a novel, I would say that it had a little too much plot.”

Simon & Schuster CEO Jonathan Karp national Thriller Writers resigned or were forced out amid allegations they had failed to address issues of diversity and racial justice.

The Center for Fiction removed the late Maxwell Perkins’ name from its award for editorial excellence, noting that besides working with Hemingway and F. Scott Fitzgerald he published books by eugenicists supporting white supremacy.

Publishers, meanwhile, responded with such high-profile hirings as Lucas and Dana Canedy, the first Black woman to head Simon & Schuster’s flagship imprint. Macmillan met with some of its critics and agreed to an “action plan” on diversity. Penguin Random House, among other initiatives, asked all employees to read Ibram X. Kendi’s “How To Be an Anti-Racist.” Kendi later presided over a company town hall.

“I think there were several people on a learning curve, but serious about learning,” Kendi told The Associated Press recently. “And there were other people who had been on a learning curve longer and were open to thinking about race and racism.”

Lucas and others questioned if the underlying structure of publishing would change. Saraciea J. Fennell, who leads the advocacy group of book professionals Latinx in Publishing, worries that the wave of new hirings and imprints is simply cyclical and asked, “How long are they going to last? Is all this going to be around in 10-15 years?”

Macmillan CEO Don Weisberg, who cited a wide range of diversity programs at the publishing house that began before “American Dirt,” said he “understands the skepticism.”

“It’s not going to happen overnight,” Weisberg said. “You’ve got to build an entire infrastructure that makes it part of the norm.”

The CEO of Penguin Random House U.S., Madeline McIntosh, noted how well book publishing could meet the public’s needs during the pandemic and other events of 2020. The early days in March led to a surge of sales for children’s activity books as schools shut down

and parents looked for ways their kids could fill time and continue to learn. Summer bestseller lists were filled with filled with books on race, from “How To Be an Anti-Racist” to Robin DiAngelo’s “White Fragility,” as many responded to the killing of George Floyd and the Black Lives Matter protests. Ahead of the November elections, readers turned to such best sellers about President Trump as Bob Woodward’s “Rage” and Mary Trump’s “Too Much and Never Enough.”

But relief over the bottom line ran parallel with concerns over who benefitted most. As Barnes & Noble CEO James Daunt acknowledged to the AP: “This was Amazon’s year,” when the online retailer was ideally positioned for a public turn toward the internet not just for convenience but for safety. Daunt said Barnes & Noble managed better than he had expected, but still results were “spotty.” The superstore chain ended 2020 with fewer employees than when the year began, he said.

For independent stores and publishers, the pandemic amplified the divide between the industry’s biggest players and everyone else. At the same time Penguin Random House was preparing to buy Simon & Schuster, a transaction that if approved would create the largest publishing entity in U.S. history, smaller companies such as Archipelago and Cinco Puntos Press were starting GoFundMe campaigns.

“It’s been very hard to survive,” said Archipalego publisher Jill Schoolman. “The cash flow is really tough and we owe our printers.”

Some of the country’s leading independent stores, including City Lights in San Francisco and Anderson’s in suburban Illinois, relied on customer support to stay in business. Len Vlahos, co-owner of the Tattered Cover in Denver, called the financial impact of the pandemic “devastating” and sold the store in December to a group of local investors. Vlahos, who will remain in an unofficial capacity through June, added that even with the lift from Barack Obama’s “A Promised Land,” holiday sales would likely be a “pale shadow” of the previous year.

“We hold out strong hope for a vaccine in the first quarter of 2021, so life can once again return to normal,” he said.

TAKE NOTICE

CUMBERLAND IN THE GENERAL COURT OF JUSTICE OF NORTH CAROLINA SUPERIOR COURT DIVISION CUMBERLAND COUNTY 20sp670 IN THE MATTER OF THE FORECLOSURE OF A DEED OF TRUST EXECUTED BY WILLIAM J. ELIZALDE AND SABINE S. ELIZALDE DATED DECEMBER 15, 1993 AND RECORDED IN BOOK 4090 AT PAGE 401 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 deed of trust and

IN THE GENERAL COURT OF JUSTICE OF NORTH CAROLINA SUPERIOR COURT DIVISION CUMBERLAND COUNTY 20sp481 IN THE MATTER OF THE FORECLOSURE OF A DEED OF TRUST EXECUTED BY SHAMELLA CROMARTIE DATED DECEMBER 22, 2006 AND RECORDED IN BOOK 7460 AT PAGE 641 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 deed of trust and because of default in the payment of the secured indebtedness and failure to perform the stipulation and agreements therein contained and, pursuant to demand of

JOHNSTON AMENDED NOTICE OF FORECLOSURE SALE 19 SP 306

Under and by virtue of the power of sale contained in a certain Deed of Trust made by Judith A. Lee (PRESENT RECORD OWNER(S): Judith A. Lee) to Trustee Services of Carolina, LLC, Trustee(s), dated February 19, 2007, and recorded in Book No. 3291, at Page 549 in Johnston 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 Johnston 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 in Smithfield, Johnston County,

NOTICE OF FORECLOSURE SALE 20 SP 14

Under and by virtue of the power of sale contained in a certain Deed of Trust made by Ada Marie Bagwell (PRESENT RECORD OWNER(S): Johnny West Butler) to The Fidelity Company, Trustee(s), dated June 25, 1998, and recorded in Book No. 1721, at Page 555 in Johnston 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 Johnston 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 in Smithfield, Johnston County, North Carolina, or the customary location designated for foreclosure sales, at 11:00 AM on December 29, 2020 and will sell to the highest bidder for cash the following real

because of default in the payment of the secured indebtedness and failure to perform the stipulation and agreements therein contained and, pursuant to demand of the owner and holder of the secured debt, the undersigned substitute trustee will expose for sale at public auction to the highest bidder for cash at the usual place of sale at the county courthouse of said county at 10:00AM on December 21, 2020 the following described real estate and any other improvements which may be situated thereon, in Cumberland County, North Carolina, and being more particularly described in that certain Deed of Trust executed William J. Elizalde and Sabine S. Elizalde, dated December 15, 1993 to secure the original principal amount of $48,500.00, and recorded in Book 4090 at Page 401 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.

202 Circle Ct, Address of property: Fayetteville, NC 28301 Tax Parcel ID:

the owner and holder of the secured debt, the undersigned substitute trustee will expose for sale at public auction to the highest bidder for cash at the usual place of sale at the county courthouse of said county at 10:30AM on December 21, 2020 the following described real estate and any other improvements which may be situated thereon, in Cumberland County, North Carolina, and being more particularly described in that certain Deed of Trust executed Shamella Cromartie, dated December 22, 2006 to secure the original principal amount of $84,000.00, and recorded in Book 7460 at Page 641 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: 3517 Holborn Dr, Hope Mills, NC 28348 Tax Parcel ID: 0414-42-3596 Present Record Owners: Shamella

North Carolina, or the customary location designated for foreclosure sales, at 11:00 AM on December 29, 2020 and will sell to the highest bidder for cash the following real estate situated in Clayton in the County of Johnston, North Carolina, and being more particularly described as follows: BEGINNING at a point in the right of way of the Southern Railway Corner of Lot No. 14; thence as the line of Lot No. 14 in a northeasterly direction for a distance of 231.0 feet to a point in the line of Lot No. 22; thence in an easterly direction for a distance of 50.7 feet to a stake, corner of Lot No. 12; thence as the line of Lot No. 12 in a southwesterly direction of 222.6 feet; thence as the right of way of Southern Railway for a distance of 50 feet to the point and place of BEGINNING and being Lot No. 13 of the Subdivision of the Pound Farm, as shown in map by R.T. Newcomb, Jr., Surveyor dated April 1947 and recorded in Book of Maps 5 at Page 3, Johnston County Registry, North Carolina. Together with improvements located thereon; said property being located at 132 Liberty Lane, Clayton, 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.

estate situated in Clayton in the County of Johnston, North Carolina, and being more particularly described as follows: Being a house and lot located on the outskirts of the town of Clayton, North Carolina, said lot being Lot #40 of the Heavner-Holding subdivision addition Map No. 2, a plat of which is recorded in Plat Book 8, Page 23, according to a plat made by William S. Ragsdale, Jr. in August 1955, and reference to said plat is hereby made for a fuller and more accurate description of said lot. Said lot fronts 75 feet on an unnamed street and runs back 125 feet, and being the same lot conveyed to T. W. Shirley by Frank B. Holding (single) by deed recorded in Book 529, Page 396, Johnston County Registry. Together with improvements located thereon; said property being located at 912 Joyner Street, Clayton, 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

0438-79-3083 Present Record Owners: Elizalde and Sabine S. Elizalde

William

J.

And Being more commonly known as: 202 Circle Ct, Fayetteville, NC 28301 The record owner(s) of the property, as reflected on the records of the Register of Deeds, is/are William J. Elizalde and Sabine S. Elizalde.

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 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. Any and all responsibilities or liabilities arising out of or in any way relating to any such condition expressly are disclaimed. This sale is made subject to all prior liens and encumbrances, and unpaid taxes and

Cromartie And Being more commonly known as: 3517 Holborn Dr, Hope Mills, NC 28348 The record owner(s) of the property, as reflected on the records of the Register of Deeds, is/are Shamella Cromartie.

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 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. Any and all responsibilities or liabilities arising out of or in any way relating to any such condition expressly are disclaimed. This sale is made subject to all prior liens and encumbrances, and unpaid taxes and

assessments including but not limited to 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 and must be tendered in the form of certified funds at the time of the sale. This sale will be held open ten days for upset bids as required by law. Following the expiration of the statutory 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 re-sale. 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.

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 notice of termination is provided. You may be liable for rent due under the agreement prorated to the effective date of the termination.

The date of this Notice is November 30, 2020.

Grady I. Ingle or Elizabeth B. Ells Substitute Trustee 10130 Perimeter Parkway, Charlotte, NC 28216 (704) 333-8107 19-107614

Suite

400

SPECIAL NOTICE FOR LEASEHOLD TENANTS: If you are a tenant residing in 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 written notice to the landlord, to be effective on a date stated in the notice

assessments including but not limited to 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 and must be tendered in the form of certified funds at the time of the sale. This sale will be held open ten days for upset bids as required by law. Following the expiration of the statutory 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 re-sale. 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: If you are a tenant residing in 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 written notice 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 notice of termination is provided. You may be liable for rent due under the agreement prorated to the effective date of the termination.

The date of this Notice is November 30, 2020.

Grady I. Ingle or Elizabeth B. Ells Substitute Trustee 10130 Perimeter Parkway, Charlotte, NC 28216 (704) 333-8107 20-109951

Suite

400

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 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 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 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.

SUBSTITUTE TRUSTEE SERVICES, INC. SUBSTITUTE TRUSTEE

($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 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 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 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.

c/o Hutchens Law Firm P.O. Box 1028 4317 Ramsey Street Fayetteville, North Carolina 28311 Phone No: (910) 864-3068 https://sales.hutchenslawfirm.com Firm Case No: 1274838 - 10299

SUBSTITUTE TRUSTEE SERVICES, INC. SUBSTITUTE TRUSTEE c/o Hutchens Law Firm P.O. Box 1028 4317 Ramsey Street Fayetteville, North Carolina 28311 Phone No: (910) 864-3068 https://sales.hutchenslawfirm.com Firm Case No: 1288 - 2089

B12

North State Journal for Wednesday, December 16, 2020

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Stanly County Journal

FILE PHOTO

COVID-19 vaccine arrives A nurse at Atrium Health in Charlotte prepares the inject the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine on Monday, Dec. 14.

WHAT’S HAPPENING Renters to get nearly $550K in apartment conditions lawsuit Mecklenburg County The former owners and manager of an apartment complex in Charlotte agreed to pay nearly $550,000 to former tenants who claimed they were paying rent despite ongoing health and safety violations. The money would be divided among 97 former tenants of Lake Arbor apartments in their class action lawsuit. Code inspectors had found violations at the apartment complex after tenants complained of pests, unsafe wiring and water damage.

The property owners also sparked outrage and changes to the city’s code violation policies when they announced last year that they would remove renters for renovations.

AP

Police officer on paid leave after shooting Mecklenburg County Charlotte-Mecklenburg Officer Samantha Thompson, an eight-year veteran, was placed on leave after a shootout left a robbery suspect wounded.

Officers were called to a convenience store Sunday where they found 34-yearold Jemario Bernard Baldwin, a robbery suspect.

Baldwin shot at the officers and one of them returned fire. No officers were wounded. Baldwin fled the scene but later crashed into a utility pole, police said. When officers found Baldwin, they realized he had been shot. Baldwin was hospitalized and charged with attempted murder and assault with a deadly weapon on a law enforcement officer.

AP

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Stanly’s Christmas tree farms help fill gap in state supply 1 of county’s 2 Christmas tree farmers to retire after 31 years

By David Larson Stanly County Journal ALBEMARLE — The Almond Christmas Tree Farm and the Grovestone Christmas Tree Farm, both in Albemarle, sold out of trees quickly in 2020, with a shortage of trees from western N.C. causing a buying frenzy. People drove from hours away hoping to buy a tree from one of Stanly County’s two Christmas tree farms before they were all gone — and the crop didn’t last long.

After Oregon, North Carolina produces more Christmas trees than any other state, with almost 40,000 acres of trees, according to the National Agricultural Statistics Service. The majority of these trees are Fraser firs grown in North Carolina’s mountains.

But after the economic crash in 2008, many farms went out of

business and many others skipped a few years of planting.

“And right now we’re seeing the product of that because there’s no trees. So we’re relying just on those that did stay in business for the Fraser fir trees,” Earl Almond of Almond Christmas Tree Farm told SCJ. Almond said this shortage has been around for two years and predicts it will take another two before the western N.C. Fraser fir farms can get their production back, since it can take around eight years for a tree to be ready for sale.

Jerry Talbert of Grovestone Christmas Tree Farm agreed that this shortage is what is causing the mad dash for Christmas trees in the Piedmont.

“There’s just no Fraser firs around,” Talbert told SCJ. “So people were going to local farms, and we had over 200 trees ready to sell. We sold them in the first two weekends.”

Talbert said most years, they have their regular local custom-

“There’s just no Fraser firs around. So people were going to local farms, and we had over 200 trees ready to sell. We sold them in the first two weekends.”

Jerry Talbert, owner of Grovestone Christmas Tree Farm ers, but this year they had “a ton of people coming out of Charlotte” and a lot of people from outof-state or more distant parts of North Carolina, like Raleigh.

“We haven’t had that before,” Talbert said.

Likewise, Almond’s crop went fast, and much of it went to people from much further out than usual. They sold their typical 400 trees, but he says, “They just went quick. We sold out in about six days.” Most years, it takes three

New Stanly school board chair says students may return to remote-only instruction after holidays State directives, staffing shortages from quarantines among challenges

By Jesse Deal Stanly County Journal ALBEMARLE — Jeff Chance, the newly elected Stanly County Board of Education chairman, says the board has a specially called meeting this week to determine whether to continue a hybrid model — using both in-person and remote learning — or to move entirely to remote learning when students return after the holidays. The continued spread of COVID-19, directives from the state and staffing shortages due to quarantines are the main drivers of this potential move.

To further discuss the issue, the Stanly County Board of Education announced over the weekend they would hold a meeting Wednesday, Dec. 16 at 5:30 p.m.

“The superintendent and central office have several options that they are looking at, and they are going

to present those to us on Wednesday,” Chance told SCJ on Dec. 14.

“At that point, we’ll discuss and make a decision.”

Chance says much of the discussion will be based on COVID-19 numbers in the county, noting that the concern is that Stanly will see another rise in coronavirus cases, similar or worse to the peak in cases that followed this past Thanksgiving.

“I’m really concerned about the state’s numbers,” Chance said. “I keep in touch pretty often with our local health department director, David Jenkins. Our cabinet meets with him weekly and I chat with him to see where we’re at with the county as a whole.”

Chance indicated another determining factor in the board’s decision is the uncertainty around whether state directives for the spring semester will take the matter out of their hands anyway: “My concern is that the governor may be setting things in place for us to go all remote again.”

At the board’s Dec. 1 meeting, Dr. Amy Blake-Lewis, assis-

“We’re limited on bus drivers, cafeteria employees, administration and teachers throughout the entire system. The biggest issue is not the number of positive cases but primarily the amount of folks we have on quarantine for 10 to 14 days due to exposure.”

Stanly School Board Chairman Jeff Chance tant superintendent of curriculum and instruction, discussed the results of an “intent to return” survey, which was completed by the families of Stanly County’s students prior to the fall semester. That survey indicated that around 2,150 students opted for remote learning and around 5,500 chose the option

weekends to sell the full crop. Last year it took two weekends, and this year, Almond said, it took just over one weekend.

“We had more traffic from the Charlotte area, and we had people from as far as Cheraw, South Carolina, Charlotte, Salisbury, Winston-Salem — people just came from all over,” Almond said.

In a normal year, there would be Christmas tree lots in all of these local areas, and most people would buy Fraser firs from the lots. However, with limited crop, these lots are missing across the state, including in Stanly County, causing ramped-up local demand as well.

“For the last couple years, it is my understanding there have been no tree lots, or maybe one, in Stanly County, where there used to be four or five,” Talbert said.

While 98% of Christmas trees in N.C. are Fraser firs, according to Justin Whitehill, director of the Christmas Tree Genetics Program at NC State University, those trees don’t grow at lower altitudes.

Talbert said Fraser firs can only thrive above 2,500 feet elevation, so in the Piedmont, they need to use other varieties. At Grovestone, they grow Leyland Cypress, and Almond grows Leyland Cypress, White Pine, Virginia Pine, CaroSee TREES, page 2

with some in-person instruction.

Last month, a second “intent to return” survey was sent to the families of students who learned remotely in the fall. Chance confirmed to SCJ that around 40% of those students indicated in the survey that they are now desiring to return to the classroom for the spring semester. But constant quarantining of staff who may have been exposed to the virus has made classroom instruction even with the current numbers a challenge.

“One of the issues we’re having is not having an adequate number of staff to continue to maintain an in-person setting,” Chance said.

“We’re limited on bus drivers, cafeteria employees, administration and teachers throughout the entire system. The biggest issue is not the number of positive cases but primarily the amount of folks we have on quarantine for 10 to 14 days due to exposure.”

Chance, now in his first month as school board chairman, says the duty that his role carries in the current social climate is “mind-boggling and stressful to say the least,” but that his prior experience on the school board will inform his efforts. Chance previously served as a board member for eight years before taking four years off and then returning; he is now starting the third year of a four-year term.

Stanly County Journal for Wednesday, December 16, 2020

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TREES from page 1 lina Sapphire and Blue Ice. With demand as high as it is, all of these varieties sell quickly.

“In the Piedmont area, it’s just however much time and land you have to grow trees — there’s no limit,” Almond said. “To be able to sell 400 trees each year, you’ve got to have five times that amount

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available, at different stages, from seedlings up to 6- to 8-foot trees.”

Almond said this means he has to have 1,700 trees in the field to be able to sell those 400 trees per year, and he replants 400 each year to replace the ones purchased. In typical years, he also purchases another 150 Fraser firs from the mountains to sell.

Talbert said he typically has

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200 trees available for sale. Next year, however, he is only planning on having 100 because he is “phasing out of the Christmas tree business.”

“I’m not planting anymore, just because I’m going to retire,” Talbert said. “Probably next season is going to end me up. I’ve been doing it for 31 years. So, we’ll have some trees to begin with, but if

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they don’t come on the first weekend or two, we’ll be out of trees.”

Almond is aware that Talbert is retiring but said he doesn’t have the time or land to increase his production to make up for the supply lost. Almond is helping a young family in Cabarrus County learn the trade, though, and says their first crop of trees will be ready in about five years.

David Larson

Sports Editor Cory Lavalette

Senior Opinion Editor Frank Hill

Design Editor Lauren Rose Published each Wednesday by North State Media LLC 1550 N.C. Hwy 24/27 W, Albemarle, N.C. 28001 (704) 269-8461 INFO@STANLYJOURNAL.COM STANLYJOURNAL.COM

TO SUBSCRIBE: 704-269-8461 or online at nsjonline.com Annual Subscription Price: $25.00 Periodicals Postage Paid at Raleigh, N.C. and at additional mailing offices.

POSTMASTER: Stanly County Journal 1550 N.C. Hwy 24/27 W, Albemarle, N.C. 28001.

COURTESY PHOTOS

Grovestone Christmas Tree Farm’s crop is seen, left, and on right, a father and son haul away their chosen tree at Almond Christmas Tree Farm. Both farms, based in Albemarle, have seen increased demand due to a shortage of western N.C. Fraser fir trees.

DEATH NOTICES ♦ Jenni Elizabeth Connor, 38, of Locust, passed away Dec. 3. ♦ John Lawrence Bost, 83, of Norwood, passed away Dec. 8. ♦ Vickie Lynn (Gordon) Webb, 71, of Albemarle, passed away Dec. 9. ♦ Betty B. Welch, 87, of Albemarle, passed away Dec. 9. ♦ Shella Miles Strother Hollowell, 81, of Locust, passed away Dec. 10. ♦ Judith Ann Morgan Huneycutt, 86, of Locust, passed away Dec. 13. ♦ Harriet Freeman Young, 73, of Albemarle, passed away Dec. 13. ♦ Johnny Mack Lambert , 61, of Locust, passed away Dec. 14.

WEEKLY CRIME LOG

♦ Lowder, Joseph Thomas (W M, 41) Arrest on chrg of Habitual Misdemeanor Assault(f) (F), at 126 S Third St, Albemarle, on 12/07/2020 ♦ Marlow, Andrew James (W M, 32) Arrest on chrg of Obtain Property False Pretense(M), at 781 Leonard Av, Albemarle, on 12/07/2020 ♦ Kiker, Kristen Danielle (W F, 27) Arrest on chrg of Domestic Criminal Trespass (M),at 126 S Third St, Albemarle, on 12/08/2020 ♦ Burns, Kinwan Dyshun (B M, 39) Arrest on chrg of Fail Register Sex Offender(f), F(F), at 229 West Dr/ amhurst St, Albemarle, on 12/08/2020

Nancy Parker NANCY FURR PARKER, 66, of Albemarle passed away December 13, 2020 in her home.

Her funeral service will be 2 PM on Friday, December 18, 2020 in the Stanly Funeral Home Chapel in Albemarle with Pastor Ron Loflin officiating. Burial will follow in Stanly Gardens of Memory. The family will receive friends at Stanly Funeral and Cremation Care of Albemarle from 1 until 2 prior to the hour of the service.

Born June 16, 1954 in Stanly County, NC, she was the daughter of the late Jacob Furr and Ruby Shaver Furr. She was of the Baptist Faith and she was a former employee of Alliance Medical. She is survived by her daughter Kimberly Bolton (Greg) of Badin, son Kevin Parker of Jacksonville, FL, three grandchildren Lauren Bolton, Jacob Bolton, and Brody Parker, brothers Tim Furr (Melba), Mickey Furr (Tammy), sisters Kay Parker (Gene), Gail Thompson (Colburn), and sister-in-law Becky Furr. She was preceded in death by the love of her life, Danny Pigg and by a brother Benny Furr. She is also survived by her best friends since high school, Karen Calloway, Jackie Lowder, and Brenda Talbert.

See OBITS, page 7

♦ Lopez, Sarah Louise (W F, 34) Arrest on chrg of Resisting Public Officer (M), at 1011Nc 24-27 Bypass W/coble Av, Albemarle, on 12/08/2020 ♦ Moon, Prince Davon (B M, 57) Arrest on chrg of Assault On Female, M (M), at 140Coggins Av, Albemarle, on 12/09/2020 ♦ Burton, Breunna Dashon (B F, 25) Arrest on chrg of Pwimsd Sch I Cs (F), at 1401 NSixth St, Albemarle, on 12/11/2020. ♦ Crump, Martinus Scerell (B M, 26) Arrest on chrg of Simple Possess Sch Vi Cs (m),M (M), at 525 Nc 2427 Bypass E/leonard Av, Albemarle, on 12/12/2020 ♦ Honeycutt, Jamie Brandon (W M, 33) Arrest on chrg of Simple Possess Sch Iii Cs (m),M (M), at 165 E Main St/n Third St, Albemarle, on 12/12/2020. ♦ Hill, Eddie Ward (W M, 59) Arrest on chrg of Possess Methamphetamine (F), at 209Us 52 North/efird St, Albemarle, on 12/13/2020 ♦ Thompson, Jennifer Leah (W F, 44) Arrest on chrg of Possess Drug Paraphernalia, M(M), at

100 Old Charlotte Rd/s Second St, Albemarle, on 12/13/2020

(F), at Norwood, NC, on 12/13/2020

♦ Fahy, Harry Michael (W M, 24) Arrest on chrg of Injury To Personal Property (M), at117 N Fourth St, Albemarle, on 12/14/2020

♦ Clark, Keri Renee (W /F/22) Arrest on chrg of 1) Resisting Public Officer (M), 2) Possession Of Controlled Sub Prison/jail (F), 3) Pwimsd Sch Ii Cs (F), 4) Simple Possess Sch Ii Cs (M), 5) Felony Possession Of Cocaine (F), and 6) Possess Drug Paraphernalia (M), at Nance Rd, Stanfield, NC, on 12/12/2020

♦ Diggs, Mark Alonzo (B M, 52) Arrested on Citation of Hit/run Leave Scene Prop Dam(20-05381), at 2325 Us 52 North/speedway Pva, Albemarle, on 12/14/202

♦ Dye, Jeffery Daniel (W /M/22) Cited on Charge of Simple Possess Sch Iv Cs (m) (2003394), at Us 52/ old Salisbury Rd, Albemarle, on 12/12/2020.

♦ Fahy, Harry Michael (W /M/24) Arrest on chrg of 1) Surrender By Surety (M), 2) Surrender By Surety (M), 3) Surrender By Surety (M), 4) Surrender By Surety (M), and 5) Surrender By Surety (M), at 126 S Third St, Albemarle, NC, on 12/14/2020

♦ Watson, M`la Vonshae (B /F/25) Arrest on chrg of 1) Obtain Property False Pretense (F), 2) Obtain Property False Pretense (F), 3) Obtain Property False Pretense (F), 4) Obtain Property False Pretense (F), and 5) Obtain Property False Pretense (F), at Scj, Albemarle, NC, on 12/11/2020

♦ Fahy, Harry Michael (W M, 24) Arrest on chrg of Assault On Female (M), at 117 NFourth St, Albemarle, on 12/14/2020

♦ Mclain, Joshua Allen (W /M/29) Arrest on chrg of Possess Methamphetamine (F), at 26101 Mcswain Rd/ canton Rd, Albemarle, NC, on 12/14/2020 ♦ Sikes, Kasey Denise (W /F/32) Arrest on chrg of 1) Resisting Public Officer (M), 2) Assault On Govt Official/ emply (M), 3) Possess Drug Paraphernalia (M), and 4) Fta - Release Order (F), at 126 South Third Street, Albemarle, NC, on 12/13/2020 ♦ Medlin-coley, Jessica Laura (W /F/30) Arrest on chrg of 1) Felony Probation Violation (F), 2) Fta - Release Order (M), 3) Surrender By Surety (F), 4) Surrender By Surety (F), and 5) Surrender By Surety (F), at 5325 Lake Glenn Dr, Stanfield, NC, on 12/13/2020 ♦ Dunlap, Timothy Lakel (B /M/18) Arrest on chrg of 1) Breaking And Or Entering (f) (F) and 2) Larceny After Break/enter

♦ Little, Jana Renee (W /F/35) Arrest on chrg of 1) Communicate Threats (M) and 2) Threatening Phone Calls (M), at Richfield Fd, Richfield, NC, on 12/11/2020 ♦ Whitley, Joshua Scott (W /M/35) Cited on Charge of Dwlr Impaired Rev (202001052), at 500 Fork Rd/price St, Norwood, NC, on 12/11/2020 ♦ Lee, Bobby Curtis (W /M/45) Arrest on chrg of 1) Larceny Of Motor Vehicle (f) (F), 2) Possess Stolen Motor Vehicle (F), 3) Possess Drug Paraphernalia (M), 4) Parole Violation (F), and 5) Flee/elude Arrest W/mv (f) (F), at 126 South 3rd St, Albemarle, NC, on 12/10/2020 ♦ Tidwell, William Brandon (W /M/29) Arrest on chrg of 1) Assault On Female (M) and 2) Communicate Threats (M), at 29705 Tiffany Woods Rd, Richfield,

NC, on 12/10/2020 ♦ Mauldin, Douglas Wayne (W /M/51) Arrest on chrg of 1) Possess Methamphetamine (F) and 2) Possess Drug Paraphernalia (M), at Hwy 52 24/27, Albemarle, NC, on 12/10/2020 ♦ Harris, Laquinn Demont (B /M/27) Arrest on chrg of 1) Assault On Female (M), 2) Breaking Or Entering (m) (M), and 3) Misdemeanor Larceny (M), at 206 Floyd St, Richfield, NC, on 12/10/2020 ♦ Garner, Nyquarious Xavier (B /M/21) Arrest on chrg of 1) Pwimsd Heroin (F), 2) Maintain Veh/dwell/place Cs (f) (F), and 3) Possess Drug Paraphernalia (M), at 2203 Badin Rd, Albemarle, NC, on 12/10/2020 ♦ Locklear, Joshton Chea (I /M/18) Cited on Charge of Carrying Concealed Gun (m) (202001048), at 159 N Main St/e Whitley St, Norwood, NC, on 12/10/2020. ♦ Mauldin, Douglas Wayne (W /M/51) Arrest on chrg of 1) Possess Methamphetamine (F) and 2) Possess Drug Paraphernalia (M), at 21/27 Highway 52, Albemarle, NC, on 12/9/2020 ♦ Beattie, Tyler Bryan (W /M/25) Arrest on chrg of 1) Aid & Abet Misd Larceny (M) and 2) Hit/run Fail Stop Prop Damage (M), at 48357 High Rock Rd/gold Branch Rd, Richfield, NC, on 12/9/2020

Stanly County Journal for Wednesday, December 16, 2020

3

OPINION Neal Robbins, publisher | Frank Hill, senior opinion editor VISUAL VOICES

COLUMN | BEN SHAPIRO

Don’t let COVID-19 lockdowns become a permanent power grab This week, as Los Angeles County announced it would lock down all outdoor dining, a video went viral. That video featured restaurant owner Angela Marsden, proprietor of the Pineapple Hill Saloon and Grill, decrying the lockdown policy while pointing to the erection of production catering set up for a Hollywood shoot just a few feet away. “Everything I own is being taken away from me, and they set up a movie company right next to my outdoor patio,” Marsden said, adding that Our intellectual she has spent approximately $80,000 complying with the and moral requirements of LA County, only to see it shut down her betters in business completely. politics are free There is no scientific policy justifying LA County’s outdoorto make their dining shutdown. In fact, during a Board of Supervisors meeting, a community member quizzed LA County Health own rational Officer Dr. Muntu Davis on the evidence to support such a calculations on ban. Muntu provided no such evidence, likely because there is COVID-19 risk. none.

The rest of us But those who want to run their businesses in a safe and are to be locked secure fashion are being targeted nonetheless by a political in our homes class incentivized to pursue tyranny rather than rational until further policy. LA Mayor Eric Garcetti — who told police to stand notice. down as rioters tore through his city during a pandemic — said that his “heart goes out to Ms. Marsden” and then added, “No one likes these restrictions, but I do support them as our hospital ICU beds fill to capacity.” He explained, “We must stop this virus before it kills thousands of more Angelenos.” He did not explain why, if outdoor dining was so dangerous, Hollywood is still allowed to engage in it.

That’s no surprise. Throughout the pandemic, one set of rules has applied to America’s most ardent lockdown advocates, and another set of rules has applied to everyone else. LA County Supervisor Sheila Kuehl voted to ban outdoor dining ... and then went to an outdoor restaurant later that evening. California Gov.

Gavin Newsom is currently locking down some 33 million citizens but had no problem eating indoors with members of the California Medical Association at The French Laundry. Mayor London Breed of San Francisco ate at that same posh restaurant the next day.

Austin Mayor Steve Adler told his constituents, “stay home if you can,” in a Facebook video filmed from his vacation timeshare in Cabo San Lucas, where he’d just headed with seven others after a wedding in Austin. Mayor Lori Lightfoot of Chicago got her hair cut and called it an “essential” business activity while promoting lockdown. Gov. Andrew Cuomo told everybody to stay home for Thanksgiving and then announced he would be getting together with his daughters and his 89-year-old mother, only to then reverse himself.

The message is obvious: Our intellectual and moral betters in politics are free to make their own rational calculations on COVID-19 risk. The rest of us are to be locked in our homes until further notice. When these political actors suggest that we must act out of an abundance of caution, they mean that they ought to enjoy abundance while benefitting from our caution.

You and your family are capable of making the same decisions Cuomo, Garcetti, Newsom, Lightfoot and Adler do. You should be careful; you should engage in social distancing, mask up when in close proximity with others and generally avoid social gatherings involving those with preexisting conditions. But you can do all of these things and still live in a free society. Our politicians don’t believe that, because our politicians have seen how easily so many Americans were willing to indefinitely suspend their freedoms out of trust in our authorities. Until the incentive structures change, our freedoms will continue to be throttled by people who have no problem exercising their own.

One need not be a COVID-19 skeptic in order to question whether the enthusiastic authoritarian streak revealed by those politicians can be curbed. The longer we tolerate it, the more our politicians will normalize their power grabs.

Ben Shapiro, 36, is a graduate of UCLA and Harvard Law School, host of “The Ben Shapiro Show” and editor-in-chief of DailyWire.com.

COLUMN | REP. RICHARD HUDSON

Another week and another wasted opportunity ON THURSDAY, Congress adjourned after yet another week of failing to pass relief for workers and small businesses struggling with the governor’s increasing lockdowns.

While negotiations on a COVID-19 relief package continue back-and-forth, one provision has had massive bipartisan support all along: the Paycheck Protection Program.

This program has saved more than 50 million jobs across the country, including 1.2 million in North Carolina. Unfortunately, Speaker Pelosi this program expired over 120 days ago with $138 billion in has continued unused funds. Since that time, I have joined other Republicans to stand in the in Congress calling to reinstate this program so that small way of relief businesses can use these funds to stay afloat as state lockdowns efforts, but I will continue. Sadly, Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Washington not stop working Democrats have blocked these relief funds 40 times. What’s worse — Speaker Pelosi recently admitted that she blocked to support our additional COVID-19 relief from the American people until community and after the election to hurt the reelection prospects for President those in need.

Donald Trump.

These political games must end.

Thanks to President Trump’s Operation Warp Speed, safe and effective vaccines for frontline workers, and those who wish to take them, are around the corner. However in the meantime, more and more businesses are closing their doors for good, and families are struggling to make ends meet. This is unacceptable.

I was elected to Congress to fight for you and work with my colleagues on both sides of the aisle on commonsense solutions. Speaker Pelosi has continued to stand in the way of relief efforts, but I will not stop working to support our community and those in need.

One thing we did accomplish last week was passing important measures for our national defense, servicemembers, their families and veterans. On Tuesday, the House passed the final FY 2021 National Defense Authorization Act. While this legislation is not perfect, it includes provisions I fought for, including pay raises and PPE for troops, overdue improvements for military housing, and mental health care reforms for servicemembers, military families and veterans. I was also proud to secure six provisions in the bill, including a 10% increase in hazard duty pay, improvements to military family education and expanded VA access for veterans exposed to toxic burn pits. As Fort Bragg’s congressman, I’ll never stop fighting to support our troops, their families and our veterans.

J. SCOTT APPLEWHITE | AP PHOTO

The Capitol is seen in Washington, D.C, Monday, Nov. 16, 2020.

Finally, last week I also joined more than 120 of my colleagues to support a lawsuit being led by the state of Texas regarding the 2020 election. This case, which numerous states have also joined, is now pending at the U.S. Supreme Court and is important to upholding the integrity of our elections and the rule of law. Every American should agree that changes to election laws and allegations of fraud should be fully investigated, and I was proud to join this effort.

This week, I will continue to fight for solutions to challenges facing us before Congress adjourns for the year. I also hope everyone celebrating Hannukah has a blessed holiday throughout the week while others prepare for Christmas. Together, I hope we can each remember why this season is so special and provides so much hope at a time when our country needs it the most.

Stanly County Journal for Wednesday, December 16, 2020

4

SPORTS SIDELINE REPORT MLB

Reliever Holland, NC native, re-signs with Royals Kansas City, Mo. Free agent reliever Greg Holland stayed with the Kansas City Royals on Monday, signing a one-year contact for $2.75 million.

The 35-year-old Holland, a native of Marion who walked on at Western Carolina, was 3-0 with six saves and a 1.91 ERA this season for Kansas City.

Holland is a three-time All-Star who made his major league debut with the Royals in 2010 and spent his first six seasons with them. He later pitched for Colorado, St. Louis, Washington and Arizona before rejoining the Royals in 2020.

COLLEGE FOOTBALL

Washington pulls out of Pac-12 title game, replaced by Ducks Seattle Washington has pulled out of the Pac-12 football championship game due to COVID-19 issues in the Huskies program, and Oregon will now play No. 13 USC for the conference title on Friday instead. Washington (31) announced Monday it is withdrawing from the championship game after determining the Huskies did not have at least 53 scholarship players available and did not meet the minimum number of scholarship athletes at specific positions.

Washington had to cancel its game last weekend against Oregon (3-2) that would have determined the Pac-12 North champion because of COVID-19.

Norwood’s Beane signs 4-year extension with Bills The Buffalo GM has orchestrated a rebuild that has the team on track for consecutive playoff trips

By John Wawrow The Associated Press ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. — The Buffalo Bills signed general manager Brandon Beane to a four-year contract extension last Thursday, locking up the architect of a team in position to secure its third playoff berth in four years.

The Bills announced the signing, and a person familiar with the deal provided The Associated Press the length of Beane’s new contract. The person spoke on the condition of anonymity because the team did not release the terms of the extension.

Beane, a Stanly County native, had one season left on his current deal and is now under contract through 2025. His contract coincides with coach Sean McDermott, who signed to a four-year extension in August.

“Brandon is an outstanding leader, and he has brought a great level of stability through our organization,” Bills owners Terry and Kim Pegula said in a statement released by the team. “We appreciate his strong communication skills, and he works extremely well with us, with Sean

BRETT CARLESEN | AP PHTO

Buffalo Bills general manager Brandon Beane, who is from Norwood and graduated from South Stanly High School and UNC Wilmington, signed Beane to a multiyear contract extension last Thursday and with all levels of the organization. We are happy to extend his contract and to have Brandon and Sean leading our football team for many years to come.”

Beane and McDermott landed in Buffalo separately in 2017 after previously working together with the Carolina Panthers. McDermott spent six seasons as the Panthers defensive coordinator.

Beane, a South Stanly High School and UNC Wilmington

graduate from Norwood, broke in with the Panthers’ communication department in 1998 and gradually worked his way up the team’s ranks to be their assistant GM while also serving a stint as interim GM. He was hired by Buffalo in May 2017 after Doug Whaley was fired a day after the draft, and five months after McDermott was hired as coach.

Beane and McDermott have

overseen a renaissance in Buffalo that continues this season, the Bills (9-3) are leading the AFC East and have a chance to win their first division title since 1995.

Buffalo made the playoffs in both of their first seasons to end a 17-year postseason drought that stood as the longest active streak in North America’s four major professional sports.

While McDermott placed his attention on building a winning culture, Beane focused on rebuilding what had been an overpriced and under-performing roster.

Only two players — defensive end Jerry Hughes and long-snapper Reid Ferguson — remain on the team since before Beane and McDermott took over.

After spending his first season clearing the team’s payroll to free up room under the salary cap, Beane then proceeded to rebuild the roster through the draft, free agency and trades.

His most notable draft came in 2018, when Buffalo twice moved up in the first round to select quarterback Josh Allen at No. 7 and middle linebacker Tremaine Edmunds at No. 16.

Beane then spent 2019 upgrading Buffalo’s offense by signing receivers John Brown and Cole Beasley, as well as overhauling the entire line.

Citing a need for Buffalo to score more points, Beane delivered by giving up a first-round draft pick to acquire receiver Stefon Diggs in a trade with Minnesota in March.

The moves led to Buffalo having one of the NFL’s top-scoring offenses and Allen developing into one of the NFL’s top young quarterbacks this season.

GOLF

Kim wins US Women’s Open debut with record-tying rally Houston A Lim Kim birdied her final three holes and tied the record for the largest comeback in a U.S. Women’s Open, rallying from five shots behind with the a 4-under 67 to win the biggest event in women’s golf. The 25-year-old Kim won by one shot over Jin Young Ko, the top-ranked player in women’s golf, and Amy Olson, who played while coping with the grief of her father-in-law’s unexpected death Saturday night in South Dakota.

NBA

Pistons waive LiAngelo Ball, 2 others Detroit The Detroit Pistons waived guard LiAngelo Ball and forwards Louis King and Anthony Lamb. The Pistons announced the moves Monday. King played on a two-way contract with the Pistons last season.

Lamb and Ball were signed earlier this month. Ball is the brother of New Orleans Pelicans guard Lonzo Ball and Charlotte Hornets lottery pick LaMelo Ball.

LiAngelo Ball entered the 2018 NBA draft and was not selected.

MARY SCHWALM | AP PHTO

NC State's Elissa Cunane and the Wolfpack figure to be among the top teams at this season's' NCAA Women's Basketball Tournament, which will be played at one site this season due to COVID-19.

Women’s NCAA Tournament to played at one site San Antonio is the likely destination for this year’s event

The Associated Press UConn coach Geno Auriemma wasn’t surprised that the NCAA women’s basketball tournament will be played in one geographical area. It just makes the most sense.

The NCAA announced Monday that San Antonio is the likely host site for the 64-team tournament next March. The move was made to help mitigate the risks of COVID-19 and matches that of the men’s tournament, which the NCAA said last month will also be played in a single area — most likely Indianapolis.

“If you’re in one place, there’s one set of protocols for the entire state. That’s one positive to it,’ said Auriemma, whose team has been to every Final Four since 2008.

“Trying to get 64 teams from all over the country to fly to all those places and deal with all the proto-

cols involved everywhere, it made more sense, I’m sure, to bring in everyone to Texas.”

San Antonio was already the site of the 2021 Final Four. The NCAA has now begun talks with the city on hosting the whole thing, and the organization hopes to have plans finalized by the end of January at the latest. It is likely that the NCAA could play games as far away as Austin because of the need for hotels as well as practice and game venues for 64 teams.

The first two rounds of the women’s tournament have been played on campus sites the past few seasons with the top four seeds in each region hosting. This season’s regionals were slated to be played in four cities: Albany, New York; Austin, Texas; Cincinnati; and Spokane, Washington.

“By making this difficult decision now, it allows for an earlier opportunity to work proactively with local public health officials within the host communities and ensures that the identified guidelines and protocols are considered for a more controlled environ-

ment,” said Nina King, the NCAA women’s basketball committee chair and senior athletic director at Duke.

The NCAA expects the tournament to be played in late March and early April as usual, though there is a chance it could be shorter. The tourneys are typically just short of three weeks long.

“I think for the health and safety of the players, you’re going to have to take a look at all these things,” Auriemma said of shrinking the timeframe of the tournament.

“How many games do you want to play in one week when you’re talking about the biggest games you’re playing in one year?”

NCAA senior vice president Lynn Holzman said there are a host of logistics the women’s basketball committee needs to work out. Many teams have already had to pause their seasons because of positive COVID-19 tests. Holzman wouldn’t speculate what the protocols would be if a tournament team has a positive case.

“This is one of the topics both the men’s and women’s commit-

“Trying to get 64 teams from all over the country to fly to all those places and deal with all the protocols involved everywhere, it made more sense, I’m sure, to bring in everyone to Texas.”

Geno Auriemma, UConn women’s basketball coach tees and any other championship committee will have to have,” she said. “We don’t have an answer for that today.”

This won’t be the first time a women’s tournament will be played at one site. From 1972-1977, the Association for Intercollegiate Athletics for Women played a 16team postseason tournament at one site. The NCAA Tournament was first played in 1982.

Stanly County Journal for Wednesday, April 15, 2020 Stanly County Journal for Wednesday, December 16, 2020

5

5

‘The Last Dance’ Pfeiffer basketball director talks project season still on Jordan’s Bulls

planned following conference vote

The 10-part documentary will air over five Sundays

ByThe Tim USA Reynolds South unanimously voted last Theweek Associated Press to hold men’s and women’s seasons

KEVIN L. DORSEY | NC A&T ATHLETIC COMMUNICATIONS PHOTO MATT CASHORE | POOL PHOTO VIA AP

North Dame Carolina A&T receiver Elijah Bell, pictured 2017 against Carolina Central, is among HBCU draft Notre running back Kyren Williams and theinFighting Irish North are hoping to beat Clemson for thethe second time this hopefuls whothe wastwo affected the Saturday canceled events due to the coronavirus pandemic. season when teamsby meet in the ACC Championship Game in Charlotte.

Clemson full strength HBCUNotre NFLDame, hopefuls adjust after heading into ACC title game canceled pro days, combine

“Hopefully, we can do a better job of not giving up some of the big plays.”

“Just Clemson becausecoach we Dabo Swinney are from on the Tigers’ smaller rematch schoolswith Notre Dame doesn’t mean we can’t compete.”

De’Montrez Burroughs, South Carolina State receiver

Saturday’s conference championship game in The coronavirus pandemic Charlotte is a rematch has made it even harder of last month’s doublefor under-the-radar players overtime thriller to make an impression on teams

By Pete Iacobelli

By Kyle Hightower The Associated Press The Associated Press NO. 2 NOTRE DAME and No. DE’MONTREZ 4 Clemson expect to beBurroughs rested and looked it as hiswhen best shot acat full at strength theytomeet complish his NFL dream. in the Atlantic Coast Conference The South Carolina State sechampionship on Saturday. nior receiver That wasn’thad the the casedates whencirthe cled onfirst his played calendar.

First, the teams a month ago Bulldogs’ annual prointrigue day on and adds even more to March 19, followed arematch. week latthe much-anticipated er The by the first-ever NFL(10-0, combine Fighting Irish 9-0 event No. held2 for draft prospects ACC; CFP) rallied to defromthe Historically Blackin Colleges feat Tigers 47-40 a draand Universities who didn’t rema-filled, double-overtime showceive last invitations down month. to the national combine in Indianapolis.

This time, though, Clemson (9He No. left3for spring break the 1, 8-1; CFP) will have several week before pro day Heisman with evplayers back,his including erythingcontender ready to go.Trevor He had Lawfilm Trophy packages to distribute to scouts. rence.

The quarterback missed He first was also thinking about what the matchup, forced to watch he would say in interviews with from the sidelines after testing representatives from NFL teams positive for COVID-19. and whatDame to ask likeshuffle Pro Notre hasidols had to Football Hall Fameroffensive Deion its talented andof massive Sanders, whofew would be because there. of line the past weeks “It was a chance to be able to showcase our talent,” Burroughs said. “Just because we are from smaller schools doesn’t mean we

injuries.

Right guard Tommy Kraecan’t mer compete.” was the ACC offensive lineBut ofthat opportunity never man the week after the Irish came. beat Boston College on Nov. 14, South Carolina State’s pro but he missed the following week day and UNC the HBCU combine beagainst and saw limited accame part of a growing list of tion against Syracuse in the reguevents canceled lar season finale.because of the coronavirus Defensive pandemic. lineman While Jayson small schoolwasn’t and borderline draftfor Adamilola on the field prospects from across the counthe Fighting Irish against the Eatry be hurt bybut a lack of sim-all gleswill or Tar Heels practiced ilar last events, week. HBCU players may be hit without and Thehardest extra week off them before the the Regional Combine Invitachampionship game has helped tional thatrecover, HBCUcoach players in rethe Irish Brian Kelcent years hadtalking previously to ly said.

After withused medical boost their draft stock.said “we’re in personnel, the coach “Whenlight you’re coming with out ofthose an a green situation” HBCU, players.you know that the teams are Clemson going to be at Diviis looking also giving the sion I talent first,” said Kansas green light to linebacker James City Chiefs defensive back Alex Skalski, a senior considered the Brown, a SC State alum.

“With heart and soul of the defense who this combine, that’s difhad HBCU groin surgery in October and ferent. wish wegame had that when missedI the first against the IFighting was coming Irish.out. It was gonna be aSkalski chancewas to have all the teams also limited the last looking at thosetook guys.” time Clemson the field, playOnly four HBCU were ing sparingly in a players win over Virselected in the 2019 draft with a ginia Tech on Dec. 5. But Clemfull process, thoughBrent 32 son predraft defensive coordinator made Week 1 rosters.

Venables believes Skalski will be a The in 51 the players invited to the factor title game.

HBCU combine were trying to “We feel like he’s gonna be close position themselves to do the same. The list also included Florida A&M University quarterback Ryan Stanley and North Carolina

to, if not, 100%,” Venables said.

Along with Skalski, Clemson’s Central lineman Daridefensedefensive will have starting lineusbacker Royster, the Mid-Eastern Mike Jones Jr. andAthdefenletic offensive and sive Conference tackle Tyler Davis in the linedefensive of thewho year,weren’t reup, two players contributors spectively. on the field against Notre Dame.

“Does exposure help?

Tigersextra coach Dabo Swinney Yes, does.

But once saidit the presence of it’s his taken starters away it limits guys to get to should bringcertain more consistency their film outthat there,” Morthe defense gavesaid up 518 yards gan State coach to the Irish last Tyrone month. Wheatley, a“Hopefully, first-roundwe pickcan by do theaNew better York 1995. up “It limits thethe job Giants of not in giving some of pro actually bigscouts plays,”from Swinney said. seeing theseThat’ll guys be one-on-one, to iflook a challenge Irish atquarterback them and physically placeplays eyes as Ian Book onwell them. of the quesas To he get didsome the first time when tions close and perhe answered threw forup310 yards and a sonal.” touchdown. He also ran for 67 Aside from getting a chance to yards. run Lawrence the 40-yard and com- in wasdash on the sideline plete other a mask thestrength first timeand andagility watched drills in front DJ of scouts from the his backup, Uiagalelei, throw NFL’s franchises, players were439 for a32 freshman school record going chance to interyardstoinget thethe loss. viewLawrence with teamwill executives on the be a steadying first day of said the HBCU combine presence, Clemson offensive event. coordinator Tony Elliott.

Teams are still conducting The QB returned to theinfield terviews by against phone and video con-and Nov. 28 Pittsburgh ferencing, those are capped has been but dominant in his two apatpearances three per week, agentfor Au-598 since, said throwing gustine Wiggins, clients in yards and threewhose touchdowns include Burroughs. victories over Pittsburgh and Vir“It’s Tech. harder to garner interginia est and understand where the interest is for clients than in years past,” Wiggins said. “It’s a slightly different pivot.”

JASON HEHIR was a kid in the stands in Boston Garden

By Jesse Dealon April 20, 1986, the day that Michael scored a playoff-record 63 Stanly Jordan County Journal points.

It was a Christmas gift fromconsideration his father, who MISENHEIMER — After

by USA stuck a note promising “Two officials, tickets toboth the the Air men’s South Athletic Conference Jordan in Pfeiffer his stocking that holiday basketball seaand Show” women’s intraconference son.

It’s a gift Hehir will to never forcampaigns are slated begin on Jan. 22 and Jan. get,15,though his current seat for respectively. another of sorts is presidents unaniLastJordan week, show the conference’s considerably better.

“I wouldn’t mously voted to approve the allowance of the basHehir is the as director ketball seasons well as of the the call it a ESPN and Netflix production “The previously postponed seachallenge. I Last Dance,” 10-part documensons of theaconference’s fall tary series that debuts April 19 and would call it sports. tells the storythe of ongoing Jordan’snature final Chi-“Given the “Given a privilege.” cago Bulls season in 1997-98 of this pandemic, the mem-thatongoing culminated a sixth NBA bers of theinUSA South con-title. of this Hehir’s Take 10,000 hours ofnature tinuetask: to develop strategies Jason Hehir, archived footage, interviewspandemic, to provide a safe add and coordiwith more than 100 people,toand director of “The nated landscape in which members turn it into about 8½ hours of tele-theLast Dance” conduct intercollegiate athvision. letics,” Dr. Tom Hart, USA of the USA “I wouldn’t call it a challenge,” South commissioner, stated South continue Hehir said.

“I would call it a privilege.” in a recent press release. to develop TheAlthough series was moved up two months to prothis official vide content-starved fans with something new clearance given by the USA strategies to South watch approves during the coronavirus pandemic. the upcomto provide ESPN was originally planning ing intraconference match- to release the documentary in June, coinciding with and what ups for Pfeiffer, the Falcons’ a safe would have been thistoseason’s NBA Finals. men’s team is set open its coordinated It will run over Sundays season with a five home exhi- ending May 17, with two one-hour week. bition matchup broadcasts against theeachlandscape “I’m happy Scots if we can little bit of light to Covenant onbring Jan. a9. in which people a darkfirst timeconference here,” Hehir said. “Sports The in Falcons’ to conduct aregame such will an indelible part of our fabric be a road trip to cultural andAverett lacking hole in onthat Jan....

22.there’s a significant intercollegiate enjoyment that people side, feel, the On the women’s theescape that peopleFalcons can feel have from no everyday life that athletics,” sports brings exhibitions us.”scheduled and will start The to a theiraccelerated season withlaunch a road has trip only Dr.added Tom Hart, hectic time for Hehir his team. to conference foe and Meredith USA South There on Jan.has 15. been much anticipation about the commissioner documentary, in Hehir’s came toto USA South mind Accordingwhich gether much faster such a project usually guidelines, the than basketball does. regular season and postsea“Normally, to between do an hourlong archival docson will occur Jan. 14 and March 6. Withumentary from start to finish, it takes about in the updated schedule, all teams will play matcha year thedivisions inceptionusing of thea idea to the re- robin ups from in their double-round search to doing all the shooting to getting it all the format; the only exception is that teams within together, storyboarding out, out, women’s west division it will usemapping a hybrid it system. editing, getting back, isit still takes about to a hold As it stands,notes the NCAA planning year,” Hehir “We’re doing 10championships of those. And while men’s and said. women’s basketball wecontinuing had a little to bitallow over two to champions do it so we’re USAyears South to earn already workingbid at five timestournaments. our normal rate.” an automatic to those TheThe pandemic furtherfall complicates matters.

USA South’s sports that were postHehir and his team are finishing things up while poned months ago are now slated to run through separated, connecting through Zoom meetings mid-February and mid-April.

Although the NCAA butannounced largely in isolation their own laptops to fall that the at championships for those getsports the lastwould piecesbe of the story ready to air. the USA canceled this season, The documentary deeperdivisional than just 1997South still intendsgoes to name champions 98,for though season is the soccer overriding men’sthat soccer, women’s and theme. volleyball by It also serves an as aintradivisional, retrospective ofsingle-round Jordan’s bas- robin installing ketball life, from his college days at North Caroformat. lina through hisSouth rise atop the NBA. The USA football schedule will consist of Hehir knowsseason there isgames an ongoing buildup four regular leading up to and a conferanticipation surrounding documentary, and and ence championship on the March 20, while men’s stillwomen’s feels nervousness.

Hewill methold withdivisional Jordan sevcross country champieralonships times over the26-27. course of the project, includon Feb. ing three sit-down interviews that are part of the documentary.

“I hope that people will like it as much as we did,” Hehir said.

Become a part of Stanly County Schools!

Stanly County Schools has an opening for a Speech Language Pathologist serving the K-12 population. Position is a full-time, 10 month position with full benefits. Candidate must hold a current certification from North Carolina Board of Examiners for Speech and Language Pathologists and Audiologists.

Interested applicants can apply through the SCS website and email resume to Dr. Laura Beachum, Director of Exceptional Children's Program, at laura.beachum@stanlycountyschools.org.

For Nutbush residents He also cited a widespread fear the threat of overburdened of being unnecessarily exposed to fear of contracting the v itals, states across the country matched with the worry th the virus. onverting convention centers, could lose stores that are “All around, people are scared,” ts facilities and performance Stanly County Journal for Wednesday, December 16, 2020 the neighborhood. Offici he said. es into backup treatment sites Their fears are not unfounded. ven’t said if stores would oronavirus patients.

In this majority-black city along the Gateway facility was hat some Memphis, Tenthe Mississippi River, lawmakers If they did, shopping wo e, residents don’t get is why in and community leaders have been come more difficult for re city, a shopping center in the sounding the alarm over what they especially for those who ar dle of a predominantly black, have no When means of transpo see as a disturbing trend ofon the anviouter envelope. counincome By residential neighborKate Brumback ty election receive an abThechosen.

Associated Press to stores located farther aw rus killing African Americans at a officials d has been sentee ballot, they compare “Formust people who don’t higher rate. ty and state officials are conthe signature to the absentee balGeorgia’s secNutbush resident Patricia Har- car, what do they do?” ask ed that retary anATLANTA influx of — patients lot application if one exists and to of state on Monday anris,onwho to The Ass ris wondered aloud if city officials Memphis, as well as nearby the signature file. spoke The signanounced an audit of signatures Press while lugging were “trying to contaminate” issippi, on Arkansas turesthe must be consistent but don’t a bottl absentee and ballotrural envelopes in have to match exactly, Raffen- of bott one county after receiving a retergent, a package neighborhood.

Tennessee, will strain hospisperger has said. port that officials there may not Activist Earle Fisher, an Afri- ter and other items from t Their fears are echoed across ADRIAN SAINZ | AP PHOTO If the signature properly checked signatures.

A Lot doesn’t to her match, car. She note can American Memphis pastor, country:have Governors, mayors the voter is notified and can take Absentee ballots cannot be grocery store recently clos understands the anxiety.

“This health traced expertsto in numerous This Friday, April 3, 2020 photo, shows Gateway Shopping Center other steps to verify identity.

If individual voters, and her house and she already is an honest and reasonable cons are also researching and in Memphis, Tenn. the signature does match, the the vote tallies in the presidential travel farther to enget to Gate cern and skepticism,” Fisher said. tructingelection makeshift ballot is separated from the will notmedical change as a revelope to protect the right “When weto baldo things “I think it’s par for the course for ities. sult of the audit. lot secrecy got guaranteed

by Georthe signature to consider the people Lee has disclosed a few: the Mu- a Chinese restaurant and other black people to be righteously New York“Now City,that they’re turn- matchgia law. ing has been attacked again and neighborhood,” she said. “W skeptical of governmental interbusinesses. sic City Center in Nashville, the o the Javits Center convention Raffensperger said during the again with no evidence, I feel we need to make the vention that did not consult with Locating a treatment center for Chattanooga Convention Center, in Chicago, the McCormick news conference at the state Cap- neighb need to take steps to restore conit already the Knoxville Expo Center — all coronavirus patients there pos- people on the ground first.”itol that hisworse e Convention and in Secreoffice than received a re- is.” fidence Center; in our elections,” port that CobbU.S. County notCohen, Rep.“may Steve State BradAmerRaffensperger Doug McGowen, the city’s chief sites away from residential neigh- es two problems, residents say: dy, Utah,tary theof Mountain conducted proper signasaid during a news conference as phis aDemocrat, said the d GateIt could potentially expose them operating officer, said thehave borhoods. xpo Center. ture bematch doesn’t in June,”make and that is announced audit that will sense.

The Gateway Shopping Cen- to the virus amid concerns that way site was being considered he U.S. he Army Corps the of Engiwhy he decided to call for an aufocus on Cobb County in subur“I’m sure there are othe cause it could potentially accoms has been dit. ban scouting Atlanta. locations ter in the Nutbush neighborhood blacks are contracting COVID-19 that would work, modate hundreds of beds.

He said at higher rates; and it could force of Memphis is different.

The cenennessee, The andGeorgia officials here Deputy Secretary of State Jor-and they Bureau of Investiused those ter features a Save A Lot grocery some of the stores they rely on to if it were converted to a treatment compiled a list 35 with possidan Fuchs have said absentee ballotrather t gation is toofhelp that audit, JOHN BAZEMORE | AP PHOTO envelopes primary neighbo which They is expected to be intothe a June residential site, it would hold only mildly ill from store, a Rent-A-Center, a Fami- close. backup sites. haven’t re-completand November general ed inlist, twobut weeks, Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger speaks during presser Monday, Dec. 14,patients 2020, in who could said.elections coronavirus be Cohen Nutbush resident and acommua beauty supply shop, d the whole Gov. RaffenspergBill ly Dollar,

6

Georgia to audit one county’s signatures on ballot envelopes

er said. He added that his office is working with a university on a third-party signature match statewide audit study, a step he said is supported by the governor and state House speaker.

President Donald Trump and his allies have made repeated claims of widespread election fraud and, among other things, have demanded an audit of the signature matches. The president has harshly criticized Raffensperger and Gov. Brian Kemp, both fellow Republicans.

“I am glad Secretary Raffen-

Atlanta.

sperger has finally taken this necessary step to begin restoring confidence in our state’s election processes,” Kemp said in an emailed statement after Raffensperger’s announcement. “I have called for a signature audit repeatedly since the Nov. 3 election.

As Georgians head back to the polls for the Jan. 5 runoffs, it is absolutely vital for every vote cast to be legal and for only legal votes to be counted.”

PEC, oil nations agree o nearly 10M barrel cut

bin Salman, a son of King Salman, assented to the deal.

“I go with the consent, so I UBAI, United Arab Emir— OPEC, Russia and other agree,” the prince said, chuckling, roducing nations on Sunday drawing a round of applause from ized an unprecedented pro- those on the video call.

But it had not been smiles and ion cut of nearly 10 million els, or a 10th of global supply, laughs for weeks after the soopes of boosting crashing pric- called OPEC+ group of OPEC mid the coronavirus pandemic members and other nations failed in March to reach an agreement a price war, officials said. his could be the largest re- on production cuts, sending pricion in production from OPEC es tumbling. Saudi Arabia sharply erhaps a decade, maybe lon- criticized Russia days earlier over in Mr. Levinson’s detention

By Jon Gambrella as comments said U.S. Energy Secretary what itroledescribed and probable death.”

The Associated Press Brouillette, who credited critical of the kingdom, which The two Iranian intelligence ofitself identified trying to appease ident Donald Trump’s peras Mohammad WASHINGTON, D.C. — finds The ficers, Trump, a longtime OPEC critic. are l involvement in getting duelTrump administration for the first Baseri and Ahmad Khazai, Evenboth U.S. senators had warned parties to theontable andformally help- blamed alleged to have been involved time Monday his abduction.

Under sanctions for the of in Saudi Arabia to find a way to to end aIran price warpresumed betweendeath announced Monday, any properretired FBI agent Robert Levinboost prices as American shale di Arabia and Russia. identifying two Ira- ty or assets that they hold in the il pricesson, havepublicly collapsed as the firms face far-higher production nian intelligence officers believed United States would be blocked. troopsthat hadthey been navirus responsible and the for COVID-19 Though it’s unlikely have his abductioncosts. and American deployed to accounts the kingdom ss it causes havesanctions largely against halt- them. bank in the for U.S.,the the imposing sanctions couldSept. also 11, limit their Levinson disappeared Iran time since the 2001, lobal travel and slowed down in first or financial dealing under mysterious circumstancattacksmovements over concerns of Iranir energy-chugging sectors outside of Iran.

The men have met es more than a decade ago, and as manufacturing. It has an retaliation amid regional tenthough U.S. diplomats and in- with intelligence officials from stated vestigators the oil industry have long in said sions. they other countries and also led dele“They’ve over say. the last U.S., which now pumps more gations,spent U.S. officials thought he was taken by Iranimonth waging war American e than any other country.

There was noon immediate reacan government agents, Monday’s tion in Iranian state Monin the final weeks oil producers while we aremedia defendut some announcement producers have been day night announcement. the supply.

Trump administration wastheirs.

Thistoisthe not how friends tant to of ease The car- ing In a statement, the Levinson the most definitive assignment of treat friends,” said Sen. Kevin nd other nations on Sunday family thanked Trump adminisblame to date.

Cramer, a Republican from North ed to allowBesides Mexico to cut only blaming two high-rank- tration officials and vowed to hold Dakota, before theanyone OPEC+responsible deal.

000 barrels a month, officers a stick-by name, accountable ing intelligence his death. have already U.S. alsoinitially said the Iranian U.S.forproducers point for anofficials accord “Robertoutput.

Levinson never regime sanctioned the plot that led reducing been Thewill Amerhed Friday after a marathon come home to his family alive beto Levinson’s abduction and lied o conference between 23 na- ican Petroleum Institute laudfor years about its involvement in cause of the cruel, cynical and ined Sunday’s global pact, saying it s. The nations together agreed his disappearance through disin- humane actions of the Iranian will get other stateut 9.7 million barrels a day authorities,” thenations’ family said.

“Beformation campaigns aimed at de- help owned oil production to follow the ughout May and June. like flecting responsibility and cover- cause of these men and others our wonderful husband, up the government’s role. lead of them, U.S. producers that are try-fahe grouping reached the deal just ther and died alone, abduction of Mr. ing to adjust tograndfather plunging demand. s before “The Asian markets re-Levinson thousands of miles from everyone in Iran is an outrageous example Brouillette said the U.S. did not ed Monday and as internaof the Iranian regime’s willingness he loved. This is just one step in a make commitments of its own al benchmark Brent crude to commit unjust acts,” Treasury long road toward achieving jusproduction was able to ed at just over Steven $31 a Mnuchin barrel said him, but but it is an importSecretary in tice forcuts, show the — that plunging American shale producers antobvious one.” a statement.

“The United States President Donald Trump will always prioritize the safety demand Since because of the pandemggle. pulled out the deal signaand of the American ic peois expected to of slash U.S.— oila prodeo aired bysecurity the Saudi-owned ple and will continue to aggres- ture foreign policy achievement lite channel Al-Arabiya duction. sively pursue those who played a of predecessor Barack Obama — Iranian Oil Minister Bijan Zanwed the moment that Saudi gy Minister Prince Abdulaziz ganeh also told state television

Associated Press

The president has also asserted that an agreement entered into by Raffensperger earlier this year to settle a lawsuit brought by Democrats prevents election officials from verifying signatures on absentee ballot envelopes.

Georgians can request absentee ballots either through an online portal that Raffensperger established in September or by submitting an application.

For online requests, they provide

their driver’s license number and date of birth to verify their identity. If they use an application, they must sign it for verification.

When an application is received, county election workers compare the signature on the application to the voter’s signature on file, and if it is consistent, a ballot is mailed, Raffensperger has said.

Before submitting an absentee ballot, a voter must sign an oath

would be audited.

Cobb County elections director Janine Eveler said in a statement that her office would help with the audit but is awaiting a court order.

“I’m confident any audit would find our office followed procedures and only counted ballots that were processed correctly,” Eveler said. “Even though our resources are already stretched thin by advance voting and preparations for the January 5 runoff, we will help this process move as expeditiously as possible.”

US blames Iran in abduction, death of exFBI agent Levinson

SAUDI ENERGY

In this photo released by Saudi Energy Ministry, Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman Al-Saud, Minist Energy of Saudi Arabia, third right, chairs a virtual summit of the Group of 20 energy minister his office in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, Friday, April 10, 2020, to coordinate a response to plummet BALCE CENETA | APthe PHOTO prices due to an oversupply in the market and a downturn in globalMANUEL demand due to pandemi In this March 6, 2012, file photo, an FBI poster showing a composite image of former FBI agent Robert Levinson.

that Kuwait, Saudi Arabia and the deal but its president, Andrés praise.

“The pure size of the cu the United Arab Emirates would Manuel López Obrador, had said in 2018, his administration has how they came to identify the role Bay prison. Even then, his wherecut another 2 million barrels of Friday that he had agreed with precedented, but, then ag steadily ramped up pressure on of the two individual intelligence abouts and fate were not known, is the impact the Trump that the U.S. will compenoil a betweena them atop the and the Iranian government has corona officers.

Iran, day re-imposing wide swath on demand,” sate what Mexico cannot add to having OPEC+ deal.and The three countries denied having any in- said M Levinson vanished on March 9, persistently of sanctions taking other acwhen he was scheduled to formation about tions, killing the head of 2007,the medLevinson.

Ghulam, an energy an proposed cuts. did notincluding immediately acknowledge Earlier this year, aJames. federal meet a source on the the cut Islamic Revolutionary GuardsZanRaymond “The big OilIranian Deal iswith OPEC the themselves, though judge in Washington held Iran li- others w land of Kish.

For years, U.S. offiCorps in a drone strike at the airBut Ghulam and ganeh attended the video confer- Plus is done. This will save huncials would say only that Levinson able for his disappearance, saying port in Baghdad this year. dreds of thousands of energy jobs it may not be enough. ence.

The announcement comes nine was working independently on a the country was “in no uncertain “This at least a tempo in investigation. the United States,” Trump saidresponsible Officials said other planned cuts terms” forisLevinson’s But a 2013 months after U.S. officials re- private lief for the energy industry in a tweet.

“I would like to thank would stand in the deal, meaning vealed that they had concluded Associated Press investigation re- “hostage taking and torture.”

InPuNovember 2019, the Irani- This i vealedand thatcongratulate Levinson had President been that8-million-barrel-per-day Levinson “may have passed cut the global economy. an an government unexpectedly sent on a mission by CIA analysts some time ago,” though they did is too big to be letreto fail and tin of Russia and King Salman of from July through the end of the sponded to a United Nations quewho had no authority to run such not disclose at the time the inforliance showed responsibili year and a 6-million-barrel cut for Saudi Arabia.” ry by saying that Levinson was the mation that led them to that as- an operation. this agreement,” said Per M The Kremlin said President 16 months beginning in 2021. “open case” in IraThe family received a video in subject of an sessment.

Nysveen,Court. the head Vladimir held a joint “This will rebalancniancall Revolutionary Al- of ana as wellPutin as proof-of-life Officials on enable Mondaythe would not late 2010 Rystad Energy.

“Even tho with Trump Saudi Sal-the development ing of the any oil markets the exthough gave the photographs in 2011and in which heKing describe additionaland infora burst of hope, Iran clariappeared with support a long family mation rebound that led them to believe production cuts are small mandisheveled to express of the pected of prices by $15 fiedsepthat thewhat “openthe case”market was simbearddeal. and Itwearing an Putin orangespoke Levinson captivity, ex- said needed a also said per barrelhad in died the in short term,” to say that all evidence they prison jumpsuit like those given ply an investigation into his disappostpone the stock buildi arately with Trump about the oil acept statement from Nigeria’s oil had pointed in that direction, or to detainees at the Guantanamo pearance. straints problem, the wors market and other issues. ministry.

Analysts offered cautious now avoided.”

Mexico had initially blocked

& CREMATORY 522 North 2nd St. P.O. Box 7 Albemarle, NC 28002 Phone 704-983-1188

460 Branchview Dr. NE P.O. Box 367 Concord, NC 28026 Phone 704-786-1161

13575 Broadway Ave. P.O. Box 100 Midland, NC 28107 Phone 704-888-5571

www.hartsellfh.com

12115 University City Blvd.

P.O. Box 219 Harrisburg, NC 28075 Phone 704-247-1722

Stanly County Journal for Wednesday, December 16, 2020 Stanly County Journal for Wednesday, April 15, 2020

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obituaries obituaries

Jason Efird Robert Vanore ASON EUGENE “GENE”

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EFIRD, 94, went home to be with ROBERT ANTHONY his Lord Tuesday, April 7, 2020, at his VANORE, 75, of Albemarle, passed homealone in Stanfield. away in the COVID unit on Gene was 9, 1925, in December 5,born 2020October at Northeast CabarrusCenter CountyintoConcord the late Simeon Medical North Jason Efird and the late Ella Carolina surrounded bySarah family via Burris Efird.

In addition to his FaceTime. parents, heborn was preceded death by He was on July 3,in1945 hisDr. wife, Jewell Albert Little Efird; sisters, to Andrew Vanore Mary Lambert, Fannie Almond, and Elvira Pugliese Vanore in Minnie Furr, Wilma Burleson and Pinehurst, North Carolina.

He was Aileen Huskey; and brothers, Homer known as “Big Papa” to his three Efird, Getus Efird andhe Wayne Efird, grandchildren whom claimed Sr. proof that “good genes” were A private funeral service will be skipped a generation. held on Saturday, Aprilby 11,his 2020 Robert is survived loving at Love’of s Grove Methodist spouse nearlyUnited 48 years Marcia E. Church Cemetery in Stanfield Vanore, three daughters, Marcelle officiated Rev. JimNC, White.

Burial Vanore ofby Concord, Candice will follow at the Love’ s Grove Vanore of Albemarle, NC andUnited Methodist Church Cemetery,NC; 4360 Angela Vanore of Pittsboro, Polkbrothers, Ford Road, Stanfield. two Andrew A.Vanore, Jr. SurvivorsNC, include son Gerald of Raleigh, Richard L Vanore Wayne (Gail) Efird Albemarle; of Greensboro, NC;oftwo grandsons, daughter Lisa Efird (Mark)Luca Hartsell Robert Anthony Maupin, of Stanfield; granddaughters, James Fishbein; granddaughter, KellyMargaret Efird Barbee and Lauren Ann Maupin; and Son-In Hartsell (Justin) Crump; and greatLaw, Nick Fishbein. grandsons, Ian Patrick and He was preceded inSimmons death by his Elliot Jacob Simmons. father, Dr. Andrew A.Vanore and Memorials be made to Love’s mother Elviramay P. Vanore, motherGrove United Methodist Church,and PO in-law, Ann Pegram Edwards, Box 276, Stanfield, NC 28163-0276. father-in-law, Everette M. Edwards, Jr..

Pauline Tucker

P Lester Starnes

AULINE ELIZABETH ALMOND TUCKER, 98, passed away peacefully at Trinity Place, Albemarle, on April 11, 2020.

LESTERNC WILLIAM STARNES, was born on March 88,Pauline OF Richfield passed away 22, 1922 in Cabarrus County, NC to the December 12, 2020 in Atrium late John Richard Almond and Alice Health Stanly.

A graveside service Ada Ann Lambert Almond. will be held on Thursday, December is survived byOpen her three 17, She 2020 at 2 PM at Door daughters, Gay Michel (Jack), Baptist Church Cemetery with Rev. Oak Island, NC; Pamela Rushing Nathan Hammill officiating.

There (Foreman), Oakboro, NC; Kathy will be no formal visitation.

Hunt (Marc), Albemarle, NC;inher Born December 21, 1931 son, Chris Tucker (Chris Lear), Stanly County, NC, he was the son Washington, DC. SheGene will be greatly of the late Matthew Starnes missed by her five grandchildren, and Minnie Barbee Starnes. He Heather Rushing (Shannon), was a member of Chaney Open Door MichaelChurch Rushing, Elizabeth Michel Baptist and was retired Hartzog (Craig), Jack Michel, from EJ Snyder. Mr. StarnesJr. was a (Jenn), and Woody Hunt as well as veteran of the US Army and served seven great-grandchildren.

She also during the Korean Conflict. leaves cherished niecesby and He behind was preceded in death his nephews. wife Georgia Whitley Starnes in TheSurvivors family expresses sincere 2013. includeits daughters gratitude to the staff and caregivers Cindy Hinson of New London at Trinity forof theAlbemarle, care they and Pam Place Metcalf provided Pauline. brother Gene Starnes of Albemarle, A private graveside service will be 4 grandchildren, 5 greatheld on Monday, April 13, 2020.

A grandchildren and special friend celebration of Pauline’ s life and legacy Mae Morgan. will be held this summer.

In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations be made to the BrightFocus Foundation at www. brightfocus.org.

Tony Smith Lottie Brooks ONY MONROE SMITH, 72, of

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Rockwell,ELIZABETH NC, went to beNANCE with LOTTIE his Lord and Savior Jesus Christ Brooks, 75, of Oakboro, passed on Wednesday, April 8, 2020 away Monday, December 7, at his home surrounded by family.

2020 at Atrium Health Stanly A in private family service will be held.

Albemarle.

Online condolences can be made Lottie was born June 22, 1945at stanlyfuneralhome.com in Albemarle to the late Thomas TonyNance, was born August 1947 Hoyle Sr. and the11, late Katie in Stanly County to the latewas Pearlie Vivian Kiker Nance.

She also Asbury Smith and Emmer Lee preceded in death by her beloved Smith. HeEugene was theClyde son inBrooks, law of Pat husband, and Mick Cagle where he worked in 2001; daughter, Pamela Jean at the fish house for many years until Brooks; and brother, Darrell Nance. he She opened Anchor House is survived by her Seafood daughter, in Rockwell.

HeOakboro; and his wife Becky Lisa Brooks of son, Billy owned and operated granddog, Anchor House Brooks of Oakboro; for 25 years before retiring(Larry) in 2009.

George; sisters, Kathryn Mr. Smith was a charter member Carpenter of Oakboro, Marilyn and deacon Door Baptist Nance EudyatofOpen Oakboro; brothers, Church in Richfield.

He loved the Thomas “Buddy” Hoyle (Becky, Lord and his familyJr.abundantly. deceased) Nance, of Locust, Tony was a wonderful Rayvon (Nancy)husband, Nance offather, and grandfather and could fix anything Albemarle, Dwayne (Monica) he put his hands on. sister-inNance of Oakboro; Mr. Smith Nance is survived by his wife law, Theresa of Locust; Becky Caglenieces, Smithnephews, of the home, numerous and sons Walter Smith and Robbie friends.

Smith; daughter Kayla Henderson (Brandon); grandchildren Danielle, Dustin, and Steele Smith, Keaton and Ella Henderson; brother David Smith; sisters Kay Kriechbaum, Karen Stevenson, Ruby Eudy, and Dorothy Smith (Nick).

He is preceded in death by brothers Joe Smith, Wayne Smith, Claude Smith, Wade Smith, Robert Smith, and sister Mary Morris.

Memorial contributions can be made to Open Door Baptist Church at 44563 Hwy 52, Richfield, NC 28137 or to Hospice & Palliative Care of Cabarrus County at 5003 Hospice Lane, Kannapolis, NC 28081.

Betty Michael BETTY SPRINGER MICHAEL, 86, of Albemarle passed away on Tuesday, December 8, 2020 in her home. Her funeral service will be a private family graveside at Stony Hill United Methodist Church Cemetery.

Born May 16, 1934 in Stanly County, NC she was the daughter of the late Shellie Springer and Mary Gurley Springer. She was a member of South Albemarle Baptist Church and was retired from Textiles.

She was preceded in death by herHIRLEY husbandMAE Gerald Michael HAIRE, 73,in 1990.

Survivors passed includeaway son Ronnie of Albemarle on Michael (Sarah) of Albemarle April 11, 2020 at Atrium Health and daughter Wanda Stanly.

The family will Lowder hold a private (Donnie) service of Albemarle, graveside for Mrs.sister Haire.

Cecile Bowers ofDecember Norwood,12, six Shirley was born grandchildren Ashley Lowder, 1946 in Washington, DC to the Stacy Lowder, Melissa Pittman, late Charles Richard Bateman and Terri West, Joshua Hughes, and Elizabeth Mae Mulligan Bateman.

Jeremy Edwards, and greatShirley is survived by10 her husband grandchildren.

SheSmith was preceded of 30 years Vaughn of in death bysister sisters Lois Kendrick, Albemarle; Sandra Painter Louise Whitley, Gracie Spivey, and of Gainesville, VA; half-brother Dorothy Shaver. of Stevensville, Robert Bateman MD; step-children Heather Smith of Jacksonville, FL and David Smith of New London, NC; 4 step-grandchildren; nieces Cyndi Hentschel of Leesburg, VA and Cheryl Hardy of Aylett, VA; 16 grandnieces and nephews; and Gus the dog. Stanly Funeral and Cremation Care of Albemarle is serving the Haire family.

S

Shirley Haire

Merle Helms Judy Hearne ERLE LORRAINE AUSTIN

M

HELMS, 72, ofHEARNE Marshville,OF JUDY CARTER passed away Wednesday, Hampstead, NC, passedApril away8,on 2020 at McWhorter House Monday, December Hospice 7, 2020 at New in Monroe.

Hanover Hospital in Wilmington, born April 28, 1947 NC,Lorraine after anwas extended illness. in Monroe the late Homer David Judy wastoborn in Albemarle, NC, Austin Jewell on Julyand 2, 1948 to Delphia-Jane the late Mitchell Austin.

She was also preceded and Maxine Burleson Carter. in She deathup by in brothers, A.D. and Teddy grew the Endy community Austin; sister, Joy Austin. and wasand graduated from West The High familySchool will receive friends Stanly in 1966.

She from 6:00 pm in - 8:00 pm,and Friday, taught school Gaston Stanly April 10, 2020 at Hartsell Funeral Counties for over twenty years and Home Albemarle. The was anofadministrator forfuneral Johnston service will be at for 11:00 on County Schools tenam years.

Saturday at Pleasant Hill Baptist Judy and Lyn were members Church in Marshville, officiated of Wesleyan Methodist Church by Rev. John Miller and Rev.adult Leon in Scott’s Hill. She taught Whitley.school She will lie in state for 30 Sunday classes in most of minutes priorshe to the service.over She the will the churches attended be laid to rest in the church cemetery. years.

Sheaddition is survived by her beloved In to her husband Lyn, husband of 47 years, Paul Helms Judy is survived by her brother of the home; son, Alex (Deanna) Mickey Carter and sister-in-law Helmsnephews of Pageland; daughter,and Paula Judy, Christopher (Cristin Brandt) MintAmy Hill; Matthew Carter,Helms and aof niece grandchildren, Carter Atkins. Mason, Grant, and Raegan Helms; brothers, Boyce, Royce, Tim Austin; and sisters, Patricia Mullis, and Angel Tarleton.

Memorials may be made to the Alzheimer’s Association, 4600 Park Rd., Suite 250, Charlotte, NC 28209.

Annie Almond ANNIE VIVIAN ALMOND, Linda 88, OF Mount Pleasant, passed away Sunday, December 13, Hatley

2020 at Tucker Hospice House in INDA TUCKER HATLEY, 69, of Kannapolis.

Albemarle, passed away Monday, Annie was born January 31, Aprilin 13,North 2020.Carolina to the late 1932 Linda was born September Pearlie Alvin Whitley and the18, late 1950 inMozella ConcordWhitley. to the late Jacob Myrtle She wasand Claris Tucker. in She was also preceded also preceded death by husband, in death by her brother, Terry Lee Eugene Harold Almond.

Tucker, and her twin sister, Brenda The graveside service will be on Tucker Strickland.

We17, know Brenda Thursday, December 2020 at and Linda in Heaven watching 1:00 pm atare Herrins Grove Church over us andinlaughing.

Cemetery Mount Pleasant Linda was a lovingHyde. mother, sister, officiated

by Jeremy and “Nana.” include She wasson, a very giving Survivors Ronald and loving Linda would Almond of person.

Mount Pleasant, NC; always do Nancy anything she could daughter, Phillips andfor others, especially family. NC; She husband Eddie ofher Concord, enjoyed working at FastShop #5,and grandchildren, Jason Almond Locust.

Linda will be forever loved wife Meghan of Stanfield, NC, Amy and greatly missed. NC, Kimberly Peugh of Charlotte, Survivors includePleasant, her son, NC, Almond of Mount AlanKatlyn HatleyPeugh and wife, Angela, of and of Concord, Albemarle; brother, RonnieCaleb Tucker NC; great grandchildren, and wife, Linda, of Midland; Almond, Ethan Almond, and Silas granddaughter, Leslie Hatley; 1 Almond. niece; and 2 nephews.

The family will receive friends from 4:00 pm - 6:00 pm, Thursday, April 16, 2020 at Hartsell Funeral Home in Albemarle. Linda will be laid to rest during a private committal service at Bethel United Methodist Church, Midland.

In lieu of flowers, please consider a memorial donation to Bethel UMC, 12700 Idlebrook Rd, Midland, NC 28107.

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Danny Luther Robert ANNY PAULTurbutt LUTHER,

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65, of Norwood, passed away ROBERT MARSHALL unexpectedly Thursday, April 9, TURBUTT, 52, OF Albemarle 2020 ataway Atrium Health Stanly in passed peacefully on Tuesday, Albemarle.8, 2020 in his home with December was born March 27, hisMr. wifeLuther and family by his bedside.

1955 to the late and Born July 2, Robert 1968 inFulton Baltimore, HelenheTucker Luther.

MD, was the son of the late Danny survived by his wife, Joseph B. was Turbutt and Cecilia Denise Burleson Luther of Norwood; Whitesell Turbutt.

He was a sons, Jeremy (Karen) Luther devoted and loving husband.and He Jody Luther; Bryan worked in thestep-sons, construction industry Whitley Gregg (Anita) Whitley; and wasand a NASCAR fan and loved Grandchildren, Daniel Luther spending time with his family.and Hunter as well as his brother, He isZado, survived by his wife of 19 Bob Luther Jr (Lorena), uncle years, Sherry Lowder TurbuttJack of Luther andstep-son several other loved nieces, the home, Jason M. Smith nephews cousins.of Richfield, and wife and Katherine, Danny recently from and step-daughterretired Jill Palmer Charlotte Pipe and Foundry after of Oak Island.

Other survivors a dedicated 37 years and worked include grandchildren Katherine there with hisand sonsBen andSmith, several other Claire Smith friends and family members. special sister-in-law Jackie Almond Danny loved spending of Albemarle and specialtime Auntat his lake house with his family and Dorothy Whitesell of Baltimore, friends as wellChris as vacationing MD, brother Turbutt ofwith his family.

Danny and Denise Baltimore, MD and manyenjoyed nieces, listening to beach music and loved to nephews and cousins. shag dance every chance they could get. He was an amazing father, loving grandfather and great friend to many. He will never be forgotten.

A celebration of life will be announced once the current COVID-19 restrictions are lifted.

Hartsell Funeral Home of Albemarle is serving the Luther family.

Jerry Fincher Charles Crump ERRY FINCHER passed from

J

this life on April 3, 2020 at 8:05 CHARLES FRANK CRUMP, pm.

He was surrounded by his family 87, OF New London passed away andWednesday, holding the hand of the 9, love of on December 2020 hisHuntersville life. Jerry is preceded in death at Oaks Nursing by threeinsiblings, two brothers, Home Huntersville, NC. Billy Gilbert Fincher, LarryCounty Richard He was born and in Stanly Fincher, and one sister, Barbra Joyce to the late Walter and Irene Beam Moore. Charles was a graduate Crump.

He is survived by hisand wife,Pfeiffer Eleanor of Badin High School Kate Fincher of the home, daughter, College. Mr. Crump was a member Cindy of Wingate at FirstFincher BaptistJacobs Church of Gold Hill.

NC., son and daughter law,and Tommy He worked at All Star in Mills (Tiffany) FincherCharles of New had London sold Insurance. a love NC.,going Step to Children, Jimmy for the beach and (Lisa) serving Lanier of Locust NC, Wanda (Bob) God. Krimminger ofisLocust NC.,by Eric Mr. Crump survived (Sharon) Lanier of Charlotte NC., his daughter Leslie Sharpe and Grandchildren-Trey (Gera) Whitson husband Wesley of Greensboro; of Midland,Andrew Step-grandchildren, grandsons Powell and Zach (Brittney) Washington, Ryan Powell, both of Boone.Aaron (Kinsey) Washington, (Nayeli) Charles is precededCaleb in death by Washington, (Robbie) Setzer, his wife MaryBeth Smith Crump; and Matthew ( April ) Wallace, Step sisters: Nita Bruning and Faye great-grandchildren, Britlyn-Eve Almond.

Washington, Robert Setzer, George (Sara) Setzer, Tracy (Rob) Setzer Bumgardener, Katie Underwood, Andrew Underwood, Step great great grandchild, Waylon George Setzer and brother Donald Lewis Fincher of Albemarle, NC. Jerry Fincher will be laid to rest on Wednesday April 8,2020 at 11:00 am at Canton Baptist Church. Anyone interested in attending, please RSVP at 704-796-2412. Dr. Phil McCray and Pastor Tommy Fincher will officiate.

Hoyle Fesperman Sue Hill SUE CAROLYN HILL, 81, OF RICHFIELD, passed away Wednesday, December 9, 2020 at Atrium Health Stanly in Albemarle.

Carolyn was born September 1, 1939 in Stanly County, North Carolina to the late Earl Clifton Barbee and Smyria Smith Barbee.

She was also preceded in death by husband, James Robert Hill.

December 20th would have been their 61st wedding anniversary.

Both Carolyn and Robert loved family and church. Carolyn was an accomplished pianist and organist serving her church for over 65 years. She enjoyed working with children. She was a teacher assistant at Richfield Elementary and served in children and youth music ministry at church. Her other interests were visiting Gatlinburg with her family, cake decorating, jigsaw puzzles, and gardening.

For friends and family who wish to pay their respects, Carolyn will Lie in State at Hartsell Funeral Home Thursday, December 10 from 12-5pm. There will be a private funeral service at Paul’s Crossing Baptist Church in Richfield. Burial will follow at the Church Cemetery.

Survivors include son, Michael Hill and wife Heather of Albemarle, NC, daughter, Lisa Humanik and husband Tim of Charlotte NC, grandchildren Michaela, Meredith, and Mallory Hill; brother Stephen Barbee and wife Sue; four nieces and one nephew.

HOYLE “LEE” FESPERMAN, 81, of Mount Gilead passed away on Friday, December 11, 2020 at Atrium Health Stanly. The family will be receiving friends at the home. No formal services are scheduled at this time.

Lee was born August 2, 1939 in Stanly County to the Late Floyd Nelson Fesperman and Bessie Dennis Fesperman. He was a veteran of the United States Navy and a member at Poplin Grove Baptist Church. Mr. Fesperman loved traveling, fishing, and spending time with family.

Mr. Fesperman is survived by his wife of 59 years Brenda Bailey Fesperman, son: Terry Lee Fesperman (Darlene) of Nicholls, GA; daughters: Trina Elaine Daywalt (Gary) of Mount Gilead, NC, and Tammy Lynn Privett (Brian) of Mount Gilead, NC; 10 grandchildren; 7 greatgrandchildren; brothers: Floyd Benjamin “Benny” Fesperman of Albemarle, NC, Donnie Fesperman of New Bern, NC, Kenneth Fesperman of Norwood, NC; and sister: Carol Hatley of Albemarle, NC. He is preceded in death by his brother Larry Fesperman.

Celebrate the life of your loved ones. Submit obituaries and death notices to be published in SCJ at obits@stanlyjournal.com

Simple, Affordable, Convenient Available 24 Hours a Day

Southern Piedmont Cremation Services provides a basic cremation service for families who have experienced the loss of a loved one and do not desire a traditional funeral or farewell ceremony.

When your loved one passes simply call our office and our professional team will come as quickly as possible and bring your loved one into our care.

Phone: 704-985-4851

Fax: 704-550-5508

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8

Stanly County Journal for Wednesday, December 16, 2020

STATE & NATION

Census numberscrunching documents at center of latest fight

By Mike Schneider The Associated Press A FEDERAL judge has rejected an emergency request from the Trump administration that would stop it from being immediately forced to release documents showing how the 2020 census numbers have been crunched in the weeks since the U.S. head count ended in October.

U.S. District Judge Lucy Koh said in her ruling late Sunday that “time is of the essence” in dismissing the claims of government attorneys who said they have no way of meeting her court-ordered deadline without releasing all 88,000 documents a search has produced, with no time to review and redact confidential information.

“Defendants’ problem is of entirely their own making,” said the judge in San Jose, California.

The judge, however, gave the government attorneys some breathing room by allowing them to present documents they think are confidential before a panel of magistrate judges, who will rule over the next week on whether they can be released.

Government attorneys had asked Koh over the weekend to reconsider her order to release the documents or put it on hold. Last week, Koh ordered the government attorneys to produce documents that show details of the Census Bureau ‘s plans, procedures and schedules for the numbers-crunching phase of the 2020 census.

Attorneys for a coalition of local governments and advocacy groups that had sued the Trump

administration called the government’s request to delay the documents deadline a “run down the clock strategy.”

“Defendants should no longer be allowed to hide their data processing plans, procedures, and schedule in this case,” the plaintiffs said in a court filing Sunday.

“And there is no more time to trust that Defendants will do right, in a timely fashion, in the future.”

The judge also ordered government attorneys to produce documents requested by the House Committee on Oversight and Reform, which last week subpoenaed Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross for documents related to data irregularities in the 2020 census. The Commerce Department oversees the Census Bureau.

Democratic U.S. Rep. Carolyn Maloney, the committee’s chair, has alleged that the Republican Trump administration is blocking the release of full, unredacted documents she requested about data anomalies.

The Trump administration’s production of documents “so far has been inadequate,” Koh said.

The fight over efforts to shine a light on how the bureau is analyzing the numbers under a compressed schedule is the latest twist in a lawsuit that already has made one trip to the Supreme Court.

The high court’s decision in the lawsuit two months ago allowed the Trump administration to end field operations for the head count in mid-October, two weeks earlier than previously planned.

The coalition of local governments and advocacy groups brought the lawsuit against the Trump administration for trying

JOHN RAOUX | AP PHOTO

In this Aug. 11, 2020, file photo, a census taker knocks on the door of a residence in Winter Park, Fla. to end the once-a-decade head count early and also for aiming to turn in the census numbers used for divvying up congressional seats by a Dec. 31 deadline.

They said the shortened timetable would cause minority communities to be undercounted.

The coalition says the count was shortened by the Commerce Department so that numbers-crunching happens while President Donald Trump is still in office so that his administration can enforce his order to exclude people in the country illegally from the numbers used for

determining how many congressional seats each state gets. The Supreme Court could rule any day on whether to uphold or strike down Trump’s order in a separate lawsuit.

Documents leaked to the House committee this month suggest the apportionment numbers won’t be ready until after Jan. 20, when Trump leaves office and President-elect Joe Biden moves into the White House. The Census Bureau has admitted discovering data irregularities in recent weeks that put the Dec. 31 deadline in jeopardy.

The Supreme Court ruled only on one aspect of the San Jose lawsuit and several parts of the case remain to be litigated. The lawsuit is headed for trial next March. Besides being used for apportionment and redistricting, the 2020 census numbers will help determine the distribution of $1.5 trillion in federal spending.

More time is needed to process the data and correct for any errors since the schedule for the numbers-crunching phase was reduced from five months to half that time, according to the lawsuit.

US executes Louisiana truck driver who killed daughter, 2

By Michael Tarm The Associated Press TERRE HAUTE, Ind. — The Trump administration continued its series of post-election federal executions by putting to death a Louisiana truck driver who severely abused his 2-year-old daughter for weeks in 2002, then killed her by slamming her head repeatedly against a truck’s windows and dashboard.

Alfred Bourgeois, 56, was pronounced dead at 8:21 p.m. Eastern time at a federal prison in Terre Haute, Indiana on Friday, Dec. 11.

His lawyers had argued he had an IQ that put him in the intellectually disabled category, saying that should have made him ineligible for the death penalty.

In his last words, Bourgeois, strapped to a gurney, offered no apology and instead struck a deeply defiant tone, insisting that he neither killed nor sexually abused his baby girl.

“I ask God to forgive all those who plotted and schemed against me, and planted false evidence,” he said. He added: “I did not commit this crime.”

Later, the girl’s relatives of released a joint statement calling Bourgeois “a monster.”

“None of us thought she would return from (visiting Bourgeois) in a casket,” it said. “It should not have taken 18 years to receive justice for our angel.”

Bourgeois was the 10th federal death-row inmate put to death since federal executions resumed under President Donald Trump in July after a 17-year hiatus. He was the second federal prisoner executed this week, with three more executions planned in January.

The last time the number of civilians executed federally was in the double digits in a year was under President Grover Cleveland, with 14 in 1896.

As a lethal injection of pentobarbital began flowing through IVs into both of his arms, Bourgeois tilted his head to look at his spiritual adviser in a corner of the death chamber clutching a Bible. Bourgeois gave him a thumbs-up sign, and his spiritual adviser raised his thumb in reply.

Seconds later, Bourgeois peered up toward the glass dividing him from the media and other witness-

AUSTEN LEAKE | THE TRIBUNE-STAR VIA AP

Protesters line Prairieton Road across from the Federal Death Chamber in Terre Haute, Ind., during a protest against the execution of Brandon Bernard on Thursday evening, Dec. 10, 2020. es in adjoining rooms, and then grimaced and furrowed his eyebrows. He began to exhale rhythmically, and his stomach started to quiver uncontrollably. After five minutes, the heaving of his stomach stopped and his entire body became still. He did not move for about 20 minutes before he was pronounced dead.

The series of executions under Trump since Election Day, the first in late November, is also the first time in more than 130 years that federal executions have occurred during a lame-duck period. Cleveland also was the last president to do that.

A day earlier, Brandon Bernard was put to death for his part in a 1999 killing of a religious couple from Iowa after he and other teenage members of a gang abducted and robbed Todd and Stacie Bagley

“None of us thought she would return from (visiting Bourgeois) in a casket. It should not have taken 18 years to receive justice for our angel.”

Family members of the 2-year-old victim in Texas. Bernard, who was 18 at the time of the killings, was a rare execution of a person who was in his teens when his crime was committed.

Reality TV star Kim Kardashian West had appealed to Trump to commute Bernard’s sen-

tence to life, citing, among other things, remorse Bernard expressed over years.

Bourgeois’ crimes stood out as for their brutality.

According to court filings, he gained temporary custody of the child, referred to in court papers only as “JG,” after a 2002 paternity suit from a Texas woman. He was living in Louisiana with his wife and their two children.

Over the next month, Bourgeois repeatedly whipped the girl with an electrical cord, burned her feet with a cigarette lighter and hit her in the head with a plastic baseball bat — then refused to seek medical treatment for her. Prosecutors said he sexually abused her, too.

Her toilet training enraged Bourgeois and he sometimes forced her to sleep on a training toilet.

It was during a trucking run

to Corpus Christi, Texas, that he killed the toddler. Angered that a toilet-training pot tipped over in his truck cabin, he grabbed her inside the truck by her shoulders and slammed her head on the windows and dashboard four times.

When she lost consciousness, Bourgeois’ wife pleaded for him to get help and he told her to tell first responders she was hurt falling from the truck. She died the next day in a hospital of brain injuries.

After his 2004 conviction, a judge rejected claims stemming from his alleged intellectual disability, noting he didn’t receive that diagnosis until after his death sentence.

Bourgeois’ lawyers didn’t argue that he should have been acquitted or should not have been handed a stiff sentence, just that he shouldn’t be executed, Nolan said.

VOLUME 3 ISSUE 13 | WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 16, 2020

Twin City Herald

PHOTO COURTESY WAKE BAPTIST HEALTH’S TWITTER

COVID-19 vaccine arrives

Wake Forest Baptist Health Hospital employees handle the new COVID-19 vaccine, after it was delivered to the hospital on Monday. The vaccine needs to be stored in ultra-low temperature freezers.

WHAT’S HAPPENING Vaccines arrive in Winston-Salem

The Associated Press

UPS confirmed that the first delivery of the COVID-19 vaccine was a success. The shipment of 2,925 doses of the Pfizer vaccine flew from UPS Worldport in Louisville to Raleigh-Durham, where it was loaded onto a truck and delivered to Wake Forest Baptist Health Hospital in Winston-Salem. The hospital confirmed it received the shipment at 7:30 AM on Monday. The vaccine was be stored in an ultra-low temperature (-80° C) freezer, and Wake Baptist began vaccinating its employees on Tuesday morning.

NSJ

Contact tracing overwhelmed by cases Forsyth County Forsyth County Health has been struggling to keep up with contact tracing as the area continues to have alltime highs in COVID-19 positive tests. Dr. Christopher Ohl of Wake Forest Medical Center warns that “COVID cases are so high right now that they get so behind in contract tracing that they’re not going to be able to contact trace everyone.” Ohl encouraged people who test positive to reach out to their own contacts and warns people who might have been exposed to get tested.

MY FOX 8

5

20177 52016 $0.50

Police: Man assaulted family with Black Lives Matter sign

8

LEWISVILLE — A white North Carolina man has been accused of assaulting two people whose car displayed a homemade Black Lives Matter sign and another that honored Breonna Taylor, a Black woman who was killed in a police raid earlier this year in Kentucky.

The incident occurred Dec. 3 in Forsyth County.

According to arrest warrants, Rod Steven Sturdy, 55, of Lewisville, faces two misdemeanor charges of simple assault and assault on a female. The warrants said Sturdy punched Olivia Pugh and her juvenile brother in the

face.

Helen Parsonage, the family’s attorney, said the incident began when three people, including Pugh and her brother, were driving to a dental appointment. Parsonage said Sturdy tailgated the family’s car and then blocked it in a parking lot.

Parsonage said Sturdy hit Pugh and her brother in the face and used a racial slur.

Sturdy said, “I’m going to court, and you can be there.” He also said he didn’t think the news media cared about the facts, before he hung up.

The car’s back windshield displayed a Black Lives Matter sign and a handwritten sign that said,

“Prosecute the cops who murdered Breonna Taylor #SayHerName.”

Breonna Taylor was a Black woman who was fatally shot by Louisville, Kentucky, police in March as they executed a search warrant. Taylor’s death sparked protests over racial injustice and police brutality. Prosecutors in September said two officers who fired their weapons at Taylor were justified in using force to protect themselves after they faced gunfire from her boyfriend.

Forsyth County Sheriff Bobby Kimbrough Jr. issued a strong statement against the attacks, saying, “I want to take a moment and address the incident that oc-

curred on December 3, 2020, in Our county. First, let me say, that the Forsyth County Sheriff’s Office has zero tolerance for any type of behavior that harms or endangers anyone.

“We all have the right to freedom of expression whether you agree or disagree is of no importance. The right to freedom of expression still and will exist, and we at the Forsyth County Sheriff’s Office will charge anyone who assaults, harm or attempts to violate those rights.

“We have approximately 400,000 persons who live in this county with many thoughts and views, but we are still One county and must have respect for one another.

“Again, the Forsyth County Sheriff’s Office will have zero tolerance for those who engage in this type of behavior.”

TCH staff contributed to this report.

92-year-old man finds college jacket with social media help The Associated Press WINSTON-SALEM — More than 60 years after Mal Osborn earned a varsity letter jacket from the University of Maine as a track runner, he still wore it. That is, until the 92-year-old lost it in October.

Osborn, who has lived in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, since 1964, told his daughter Beverly Amick that he couldn’t find the treasured jacket, the Bangor Daily News reported on Monday. Amick and other relatives retraced Osborn’s usual routes on the assumption that he’d placed the jacket on his car and it had fallen off while he was driving.

When they failed to find it, Amick posted a photo of Osborn on Facebook wearing the jacket at a Master’s swimming competition in 2016 and asked for help finding it.

“This man would be ecstatic if this well loved (sic) jacket was found,” she wrote in the post that was shared more than 1,000 times.

Osborn ran long-distance

track and cross-country events from 1949-52 at the University of Maine, the Bangor Daily News reported. He told the newspaper the letter jacket had become a part of him after so many years.

“I just know how much it meant to him,” Amick told The Associated Press. “I was going to do everything in my power to find it.”

Amick said she got an email from a woman who lived near her father and had found the coat in her yard, covered with leaves.

Osborn has been sporting the jacket since Amick had it drycleaned and returned it to him, she said.

“As challenging as this year has been, this has given us some hope,” she said.

It was especially poignant given the difficult year everyone has experienced.

“I appreciate all the kindness and compassion that was shown during the last 24 hours. This experience is certainly a positive event to finish out 2020,” she wrote on Facebook after the jacket had been found.

In this 2016 photo provided

by Beverly Amick, her father Mal Osborn, 92, of WinstonSalem, wears a treasured 1952 letter jacket from the University of Maine, which he earned as a track athlete, while posing at a Master’s swim tournament where he won multiple gold medals.

BEVERLY AMICK VIA AP

Twin City Herald for Wednesday, December 16, 2020

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♦ BALLANCE, LAUREN ELIZABETH was arrested on a charge of 2ND DEGREE TRESPASS at 100 E HANES MILL RD/UNIVERSITY PW on 12/13/2020 ♦ Bobbitt, Shawn Annette (F/43) Arrest on chrg of Fraudcredit Card, F (F), at 1850 Leight St, Winston-salem, NC, on 12/11/2020 23:15. ♦ Brim, Jaquante Japri (M/21) Arrest on chrg of 1) Felonious Restraint (F), 2) Assault-point Gun (M), 3) Disch Fa/occ Dwell (F), 4) Disch Fa/occ Dwell (F), 5) Adw-other Weapon (M), 6) Assault On Female (M), and 7) Vand-personal Prop (M), at 1267 Hartman Plaza Dr, Winston-salem, NC, on 12/14/2020 09:41. ♦ CANTY, CHRISTOPHER CHARLES was arrested on a charge of ASSAULT ON FEMALE at 201 N CHURCH ST on 12/11/2020 ♦ COVINGTON, ANTONIA JUDY ELAINE was arrested on a charge of VAND-REAL PROPERTY at 2201 E TWENTYTHIRD ST on 12/13/2020 ♦ DAVIS, SHAQUILLE HAKEEM was arrested on a charge of FALSE IMPRISONMENT at 201 N CHURCH ST on 12/14/2020 ♦ Dillard, Joseph Stephen (M/42) Arrest on chrg of 1) Breaking/larc-felony (F), 2) Breaking/larc-felony (F), 3) Larceny After B&e (F), 4) Vand-real Property (M), and 5) Vand-real Property (M), at 201 N Church St, Winston-salem, NC, on 12/10/2020 12:20. ♦ Draughn, Steven Wayne (M/40) Arrest on chrg of 1) Drugs-poss Sched Ii (F), 2) Poss Marijuana Fel (F), 3) Fail To Appear/compl (M), 4) Fail To Appear/compl (M), and 5) Fail To Appear/compl (M), at 8281 Gauldin Rd, Walnut Cove, NC, on 12/10/2020 20:11. ♦ Flowers, Gerald Ernest

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OPINION | BEN SHAPIRO

Don’t let COVID-19 lockdowns become a permanent power grab THIS WEEK, as Los Angeles County announced it would lock down all outdoor dining, a video went viral. That video featured restaurant owner Angela Marsden, proprietor of the Pineapple Hill Saloon and Grill, decrying the lockdown policy while pointing to the erection of production catering set up for a Hollywood shoot just a few feet away. “Everything I own is being taken away from me, and they set up a movie company right next to my outdoor patio,” Marsden said, adding that she has spent approximately $80,000 complying with the requirements of LA County, only to see it shut down her business completely.

There is no scientific policy justifying LA County’s outdoor-dining shutdown. In fact, during a Board of Supervisors meeting, a community member quizzed LA County Health Officer Dr. Muntu Davis on the evidence to support such a ban. Muntu provided no such evidence, likely because there is none.

But those who want to run their businesses in a safe and secure fashion are being targeted nonetheless by a political class incentivized to pursue tyranny rather than rational policy. LA Mayor Eric Garcetti — who told police to stand down as rioters tore through his city during a pandemic — said that his “heart goes out to Ms. Marsden” and then added, “No one likes these restrictions, but I do support them as our hospital ICU beds fill to capacity.” He explained, “We must

stop this virus before it kills thousands of more Angelenos.” He did not explain why, if outdoor dining was so dangerous, Hollywood is still allowed to engage in it.

That’s no surprise. Throughout the pandemic, one set of rules has applied to America’s most ardent lockdown advocates, and another set of rules has applied to everyone else. LA County Supervisor Sheila Kuehl voted to ban outdoor dining ... and then went to an outdoor restaurant later that evening. California Gov. Gavin Newsom is currently locking down some 33 million citizens but had no problem eating indoors with members of the California Medical Association at The French Laundry. Mayor London Breed of San Francisco ate at that same posh restaurant the next day.

Austin Mayor Steve Adler told his constituents, “stay home if you can,” in a Facebook video filmed from his vacation timeshare in Cabo San Lucas, where he’d just headed with seven others after a wedding in Austin. Mayor Lori Lightfoot of Chicago got her hair cut and called it an “essential” business activity while promoting lockdown.

Gov. Andrew Cuomo told everybody to stay home for Thanksgiving and then announced he would be getting together with his daughters and his 89-year-old mother, only to then reverse himself.

The message is obvious: Our intellectual and moral betters in politics are free to make their own rational calculations on COVID-19

risk. The rest of us are to be locked in our homes until further notice. When these political actors suggest that we must act out of an abundance of caution, they mean that they ought to enjoy abundance while benefitting from our caution.

You and your family are capable of making the same decisions Cuomo, Garcetti, Newsom, Lightfoot and Adler do. You should be careful; you should engage in social distancing, mask up when in close proximity with others and generally avoid social gatherings involving those with preexisting conditions. But you can do all of these things and still live in a free society. Our politicians don’t believe that, because our politicians have seen how easily so many Americans were willing to indefinitely suspend their freedoms out of trust in our authorities.

Until the incentive structures change, our freedoms will continue to be throttled by people who have no problem exercising their own.

One need not be a COVID-19 skeptic in order to question whether the enthusiastic authoritarian streak revealed by those politicians can be curbed. The longer we tolerate it, the more our politicians will normalize their power grabs.

Ben Shapiro, 36, is a graduate of UCLA and Harvard Law School, host of “The Ben Shapiro Show” and editor-in-chief of DailyWire.com.

DEATH NOTICES

WEEKLY CRIME LOG ♦ BAGLEY, TERRY JR was arrested on a charge of ASSAULT ON FEMALE at 320 E HANES MILL RD on 12/13/2020

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(M/58) Arrest on chrg of 1) Assault On Female (M), 2) Vio. Protective Order By Courts Another State/ Indian Tribe (M), and 3) Interfering With Emergency Communication (M), at 1085 Bitting Hall Cr, Rural Hall, NC, on 12/9/2020 09:26. ♦ Handshoe, Todd Douglas (M/43) Arrest on chrg of 1) Breaking/enter-misd (M), 2) Vand-real Property (M), 3) Dom Criminal Trespas (M), 4) Fail To Appear/compl (M), 5) Fail To Appear/compl (F), 6) Fail To Appear/compl (F), and 7) Fail To Appear/compl (F), at 3111 Woodfin Pl, Winston-salem, NC, on 12/12/2020 06:00. ♦ HARTWELL, ASHLEY NICHOLE was arrested on a charge of LARCENY-FELONY at 1019 N CAMERON AV on 12/11/2020 ♦ HARTWELL, ASHLEY NICHOLE was arrested on a charge of 2ND DEGREE TRESPASS at 1019 N CAMERON AV on 12/11/2020 ♦ Hembree, Christopher Joe (M/19) Arrest on chrg of Assault On Female (M), at 5211 Walkertown Commons Cr, Walkertown, NC, on 12/10/2020 13:55 ♦ HINES, PAMELA ELAINE was arrested on a charge of DEFRAUD INNKEEPER at 1375 PETERS CREEK PW on 12/13/2020 ♦ Howze, Kelly Jerome (M/53) Arrest on chrg of 1) Larceny/ misdemeanor (M) and 2) Drugs-obt By Fraud (F), at 2770 Lewisville-clemmons Rd, Clemmons, NC, on 12/10/2020 20:25. ♦ Johnson, Raheem Charles Thomas (M/20) Arrest on chrg of Communicate Threats, M (M), at 7449 Fair Oaks Dr, Clemmons, NC, on 12/11/2020 09:32 ♦ JOHNSON, TYREK JASHON was arrested on a charge of CCW at 531 AKRON DR on 12/13/2020 ♦ KERNES, CHARLES DEVON was arrested on a charge

of P/W/I/S/D MARIJUANA at 1899 E TWELFTH ST/N CAMERON AV on 12/12/2020 ♦ LOPEZ, EVAN CARSON was arrested on a charge of ADW - INFLICT INJURY at 201 N CHURCH ST on 12/14/2020 ♦ LOYD, STEVEN LEE was arrested on a charge of P/W/I/S/D MARIJUANA at 2057 BETHABARA RD on 12/13/2020 ♦ MCFADDEN, SHANELL MICHELLE was arrested on a charge of ASSAULTSIMPLE at 1305 BYRON ST on 12/13/2020 ♦ MCINTYRE, TERRON DEON was arrested on a charge of IMPAIRED DRIVING DWI at 2299 N PATTERSON AV/N GLENN AV on 12/11/2020 ♦ MOORE, CHRISTOPHER RUDY was arrested on a charge of ASSAULT ON FEMALE at 1504 GHOLSON AV on 12/14/2020 ♦ ROBINSON, RAYSHAUN DTONIO was arrested on a charge of ASSLT ON OFF/ ST EMP at 2900 NEW WALKERTOWN RD on 12/12/2020 ♦ Silva, Jose Daniel (M/20) Arrest on chrg of Ccw, M (M), at 990 Winghaven Forest Ct, Winston-salem, NC, on 12/9/2020 13:03. ♦ Simmons, William Daniel (M/26) Arrest on chrg of Aid And Abet Larceny (over $1,000), F (F), at 201 N Church St, Winston-salem, NC, on 12/10/2020 07:00. ♦ SMITH, KEINO SHANTEZ was arrested on a charge of ASSAULT ON FEMALE at 816 E BROOKLINE ST on 12/12/2020 ♦ Speaks, Stephen Andre (M/46) Arrest on chrg of 1) Poss Cocaine Fel (F) and 2) Fail To Appear/compl (M), at 201 N Church St, Winston-salem, NC, on 12/9/2020 21:50. ♦ STEELE, KENDALL was arrested on a charge of IMPAIRED DRIVING DWI at 2502 POLO RD on 12/13/2020

♦ STOVALL, ZENOBIA was arrested on a charge of 2ND DEGREE TRESPASS at 3331 HEALY DR on 12/14/2020 ♦ Suggs, John Bradley (M/56) Arrest on chrg of 1) Resisting Arrest (M), 2) Ndl - Suspended / Revoked (M), and 3) Fail To Produce/ Give False Information (M), at 201 N Church St, Winston-salem, NC, on 12/9/2020 09:30. ♦ THOMAS, EDWARD was arrested on a charge of COMMUNICATE THREATS at 598 PETERS CREEK PW/W ACADEMY ST on 12/13/2020 ♦ VEGAESTRADA, EDWIN JASON was arrested on a charge of DRUGS-POSS SCHED III at 3197 PETERS CREEK PW on 12/14/2020 ♦ Vernon, Kayla Marie (F/30) Arrest on chrg of 1) Fail To Appear/compl (M), 2) Fail To Appear/compl (M), 3) Fail To Appear/compl (M), and 4) Probation Violation (M), at 201 N Church St, Winston Salem, NC, on 12/14/2020 10:30. ♦ Williams, Ashley Levar (M/40) Arrest on chrg of Assault On Female, M (M), at 200 N Main St, Winston-salem, NC, on 12/10/2020 10:30.

♦ Ophelia Hairston Abney, 81, of Winston-Salem, died Dec. 11, 2020. ♦ Bobbie Lee “Bob”“Red” Adams, 88, of Jonesville, died Dec. 12, 2020. ♦ Mildred Rule Cartner, 93, of Forsyth Co., died Dec. 13, 2020. ♦ Rose Marie Fama, 85, of Winston Salem, died Dec. 9, 2020. ♦ Rebecca Jane Lunsford Forrest, 79, of Forsyth Co., died Dec. 13, 2020. ♦ Pat Alice O’Neill Fulton, 85, died Dec. 9, 2020. ♦ Myrtle Melissa McGee Harrison, 95, of Forsyth Co., died Dec. 10, 2020. ♦ Nettie Farrington Hester, 103, of Kernersville, died Dec. 11, 2020. ♦ Ruth Marion Holder Hinson, 84, of Kernersville, died Dec. 10, 2020. ♦ Cleo Herman Holt, 94, of Stokesdale, died Dec. 9, 2020. ♦ Jesusa Kyamko Jacobson, 83, of Wendell, died Dec. 12, 2020. ♦ Darinda Dawn Johnson, 41, of Winston-Salem, died Dec. 10, 2020. ♦ Mary Crouch McLean, 78, of Lewisville, died Dec. 9, 2020.

♦ WILLIAMS, ERIC RANARD was arrested on a charge of COMMUNICATE THREATS at 201 N CHURCH ST on 12/14/2020

♦ Nancy Powell Vaughn Moore, of Winston-Salem, died on Dec. 9, 2020.

♦ WRIGHT, DONALD LANARD was arrested on a charge of ASSAULT ON FEMALE at 5201 OLD OAK DR on 12/12/2020

♦ Janie Mae Crowder Murray, 88, of Winston-Salem, died Dec. 9, 2020.

♦ Young, Devin Harold (M/25) Arrest on chrg of 1) Trafficking In Methamphetamine Or Amphetamine (F) and 2) Weapposs By Felon (F), at 8281 Gualdin Rd, Walnut Cove, NC, on 12/10/2020 18:56. ♦ YOUNG, JAMES THOMAS was arrested on a charge of VAND-PERSONAL PROP at 899 N TRADE ST/W NINTH ST on 12/12/2020

♦ Jerome John Morris, 68, of Forsyth Co., died Dec. 13, 2020.

♦ Loan Kim Thi Phan, 69, of Forsyth Co., died Dec. 12, 2020. ♦ Sharon Scott Reavis, 74, of Winston-Salem, died Dec. 11, 2020. ♦ Pearl Martin Sessums, 87, of Forsyth Co., died Dec. 11, 2020. ♦ Sylvia Ann Lindsay Wall, 78, of Winston-Salem, died Dec. 9, 2020. ♦ Frank Harry West, 92, of Winston-Salem, died Dec. 12, 2020. ♦ Robert Gray White, 86, of Forsyth Co., died Dec. 11, 2020.

Twin City Herald for Wednesday, December 16, 2020

3

SPORTS SIDELINE REPORT MLB

Reliever Holland, NC native, re-signs with Royals Kansas City, Mo. Free agent reliever Greg Holland stayed with the Kansas City Royals on Monday, signing a one-year contact for $2.75 million.

The 35-year-old Holland, a native of Marion who walked on at Western Carolina, was 3-0 with six saves and a 1.91 ERA this season for Kansas City.

Holland is a three-time All-Star who made his major league debut with the Royals in 2010 and spent his first six seasons with them. He later pitched for Colorado, St. Louis, Washington and Arizona before rejoining the Royals in 2020.

COLLEGE FOOTBALL

Washington pulls out of Pac-12 title game, replaced by Ducks Seattle Washington has pulled out of the Pac-12 football championship game due to COVID-19 issues in the Huskies program, and Oregon will now play No. 13 USC for the conference title on Friday instead. Washington (31) announced Monday it is withdrawing from the championship game after determining the Huskies did not have at least 53 scholarship players available and did not meet the minimum number of scholarship athletes at specific positions.

Washington had to cancel its game last weekend against Oregon (3-2) that would have determined the Pac-12 North champion because of COVID-19.

SPONSORED BY

Norwood’s Beane signs 4-year extension with Bills The Buffalo GM has orchestrated a rebuild that has the team on track for consecutive playoff trips

By John Wawrow The Associated Press ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. — The Buffalo Bills signed general manager Brandon Beane to a four-year contract extension last Thursday, locking up the architect of a team in position to secure its third playoff berth in four years.

The Bills announced the signing, and a person familiar with the deal provided The Associated Press the length of Beane’s new contract. The person spoke on the condition of anonymity because the team did not release the terms of the extension.

Beane, a Stanly County native, had one season left on his current deal and is now under contract through 2025. His contract coincides with coach Sean McDermott, who signed to a four-year extension in August.

“Brandon is an outstanding leader, and he has brought a great level of stability through our organization,” Bills owners Terry and Kim Pegula said in a statement released by the team. “We appreciate his strong communication skills, and he works extremely well with us, with Sean

BRETT CARLESEN | AP PHTO

Buffalo Bills general manager Brandon Beane, who is from Norwood and graduated from South Stanly High School and UNC Wilmington, signed Beane to a multiyear contract extension last Thursday and with all levels of the organization. We are happy to extend his contract and to have Brandon and Sean leading our football team for many years to come.”

Beane and McDermott landed in Buffalo separately in 2017 after previously working together with the Carolina Panthers. McDermott spent six seasons as the Panthers defensive coordinator.

Beane, a South Stanly High School and UNC Wilmington

graduate from Norwood, broke in with the Panthers’ communication department in 1998 and gradually worked his way up the team’s ranks to be their assistant GM while also serving a stint as interim GM. He was hired by Buffalo in May 2017 after Doug Whaley was fired a day after the draft, and five months after McDermott was hired as coach.

Beane and McDermott have

overseen a renaissance in Buffalo that continues this season, the Bills (9-3) are leading the AFC East and have a chance to win their first division title since 1995.

Buffalo made the playoffs in both of their first seasons to end a 17-year postseason drought that stood as the longest active streak in North America’s four major professional sports.

While McDermott placed his attention on building a winning culture, Beane focused on rebuilding what had been an overpriced and under-performing roster.

Only two players — defensive end Jerry Hughes and long-snapper Reid Ferguson — remain on the team since before Beane and McDermott took over.

After spending his first season clearing the team’s payroll to free up room under the salary cap, Beane then proceeded to rebuild the roster through the draft, free agency and trades.

His most notable draft came in 2018, when Buffalo twice moved up in the first round to select quarterback Josh Allen at No. 7 and middle linebacker Tremaine Edmunds at No. 16.

Beane then spent 2019 upgrading Buffalo’s offense by signing receivers John Brown and Cole Beasley, as well as overhauling the entire line.

Citing a need for Buffalo to score more points, Beane delivered by giving up a first-round draft pick to acquire receiver Stefon Diggs in a trade with Minnesota in March.

The moves led to Buffalo having one of the NFL’s top-scoring offenses and Allen developing into one of the NFL’s top young quarterbacks this season.

GOLF

Kim wins US Women’s Open debut with record-tying rally Houston A Lim Kim birdied her final three holes and tied the record for the largest comeback in a U.S. Women’s Open, rallying from five shots behind with the a 4-under 67 to win the biggest event in women’s golf. The 25-year-old Kim won by one shot over Jin Young Ko, the top-ranked player in women’s golf, and Amy Olson, who played while coping with the grief of her father-in-law’s unexpected death Saturday night in South Dakota.

NBA

Pistons waive LiAngelo Ball, 2 others Detroit The Detroit Pistons waived guard LiAngelo Ball and forwards Louis King and Anthony Lamb. The Pistons announced the moves Monday. King played on a two-way contract with the Pistons last season.

Lamb and Ball were signed earlier this month. Ball is the brother of New Orleans Pelicans guard Lonzo Ball and Charlotte Hornets lottery pick LaMelo Ball.

LiAngelo Ball entered the 2018 NBA draft and was not selected.

MARY SCHWALM | AP PHTO

NC State's Elissa Cunane and the Wolfpack figure to be among the top teams at this season's' NCAA Women's Basketball Tournament, which will be played at one site this season due to COVID-19.

Women’s NCAA Tournament to played at one site San Antonio is the likely destination for this year’s event

The Associated Press UConn coach Geno Auriemma wasn’t surprised that the NCAA women’s basketball tournament will be played in one geographical area. It just makes the most sense.

The NCAA announced Monday that San Antonio is the likely host site for the 64-team tournament next March. The move was made to help mitigate the risks of COVID-19 and matches that of the men’s tournament, which the NCAA said last month will also be played in a single area — most likely Indianapolis.

“If you’re in one place, there’s one set of protocols for the entire state. That’s one positive to it,’ said Auriemma, whose team has been to every Final Four since 2008.

“Trying to get 64 teams from all over the country to fly to all those places and deal with all the proto-

cols involved everywhere, it made more sense, I’m sure, to bring in everyone to Texas.”

San Antonio was already the site of the 2021 Final Four. The NCAA has now begun talks with the city on hosting the whole thing, and the organization hopes to have plans finalized by the end of January at the latest. It is likely that the NCAA could play games as far away as Austin because of the need for hotels as well as practice and game venues for 64 teams.

The first two rounds of the women’s tournament have been played on campus sites the past few seasons with the top four seeds in each region hosting. This season’s regionals were slated to be played in four cities: Albany, New York; Austin, Texas; Cincinnati; and Spokane, Washington.

“By making this difficult decision now, it allows for an earlier opportunity to work proactively with local public health officials within the host communities and ensures that the identified guidelines and protocols are considered for a more controlled environ-

ment,” said Nina King, the NCAA women’s basketball committee chair and senior athletic director at Duke.

The NCAA expects the tournament to be played in late March and early April as usual, though there is a chance it could be shorter. The tourneys are typically just short of three weeks long.

“I think for the health and safety of the players, you’re going to have to take a look at all these things,” Auriemma said of shrinking the timeframe of the tournament.

“How many games do you want to play in one week when you’re talking about the biggest games you’re playing in one year?”

NCAA senior vice president Lynn Holzman said there are a host of logistics the women’s basketball committee needs to work out. Many teams have already had to pause their seasons because of positive COVID-19 tests. Holzman wouldn’t speculate what the protocols would be if a tournament team has a positive case.

“This is one of the topics both the men’s and women’s commit-

“Trying to get 64 teams from all over the country to fly to all those places and deal with all the protocols involved everywhere, it made more sense, I’m sure, to bring in everyone to Texas.”

Geno Auriemma, UConn women’s basketball coach tees and any other championship committee will have to have,” she said. “We don’t have an answer for that today.”

This won’t be the first time a women’s tournament will be played at one site. From 1972-1977, the Association for Intercollegiate Athletics for Women played a 16team postseason tournament at one site. The NCAA Tournament was first played in 1982.

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STATE & NATION

Census numberscrunching documents at center of latest fight

By Mike Schneider The Associated Press A FEDERAL judge has rejected an emergency request from the Trump administration that would stop it from being immediately forced to release documents showing how the 2020 census numbers have been crunched in the weeks since the U.S. head count ended in October.

U.S. District Judge Lucy Koh said in her ruling late Sunday that “time is of the essence” in dismissing the claims of government attorneys who said they have no way of meeting her court-ordered deadline without releasing all 88,000 documents a search has produced, with no time to review and redact confidential information.

“Defendants’ problem is of entirely their own making,” said the judge in San Jose, California.

The judge, however, gave the government attorneys some breathing room by allowing them to present documents they think are confidential before a panel of magistrate judges, who will rule over the next week on whether they can be released.

Government attorneys had asked Koh over the weekend to reconsider her order to release the documents or put it on hold. Last week, Koh ordered the government attorneys to produce documents that show details of the Census Bureau ‘s plans, procedures and schedules for the numbers-crunching phase of the 2020 census.

Attorneys for a coalition of local governments and advocacy groups that had sued the Trump administration called the government’s request to delay the documents deadline a “run down the clock strategy.”

“Defendants should no longer be allowed to hide their data processing plans, procedures, and schedule in this case,” the plaintiffs said in a court filing Sunday.

“And there is no more time to trust that Defendants will do right, in a timely fashion, in the future.”

The judge also ordered government attorneys to produce documents requested by the House Committee on Oversight and Reform, which last week subpoenaed Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross for documents related to data irregularities in the 2020 census. The Commerce Department oversees the Census Bureau.

Democratic U.S. Rep. Carolyn Maloney, the committee’s chair, has alleged that the Republican Trump administration is blocking the release of full, unredacted documents she requested about data anomalies.

The Trump administration’s production of documents “so far has been inadequate,” Koh said.

The fight over efforts to shine a light on how the bureau is analyzing the numbers under a compressed schedule is the latest twist in a lawsuit that already has made one trip to the Supreme Court.

The high court’s decision in the lawsuit two months ago allowed the Trump administration to end field operations for the head count

JOHN RAOUX | AP PHOTO

In this Aug. 11, 2020, file photo, a census taker knocks on the door of a residence in Winter Park, Fla. in mid-October, two weeks earlier than previously planned.

The coalition of local governments and advocacy groups brought the lawsuit against the Trump administration for trying to end the once-a-decade head count early and also for aiming to turn in the census numbers used for divvying up congressional seats by a Dec. 31 deadline.

They said the shortened timetable would cause minority communities to be undercounted.

The coalition says the count was shortened by the Commerce Department so that numbers-crunching happens while President Donald Trump is still

in office so that his administration can enforce his order to exclude people in the country illegally from the numbers used for determining how many congressional seats each state gets. The Supreme Court could rule any day on whether to uphold or strike down Trump’s order in a separate lawsuit.

Documents leaked to the House committee this month suggest the apportionment numbers won’t be ready until after Jan. 20, when Trump leaves office and President-elect Joe Biden moves into the White House. The Census Bureau has admitted discovering data irregularities in recent

weeks that put the Dec. 31 deadline in jeopardy.

The Supreme Court ruled only on one aspect of the San Jose lawsuit and several parts of the case remain to be litigated. The lawsuit is headed for trial next March. Besides being used for apportionment and redistricting, the 2020 census numbers will help determine the distribution of $1.5 trillion in federal spending.

More time is needed to process the data and correct for any errors since the schedule for the numbers-crunching phase was reduced from five months to half that time, according to the lawsuit.

US executes Louisiana truck driver who killed daughter, 2

By Michael Tarm The Associated Press TERRE HAUTE, Ind. — The Trump administration continued its series of post-election federal executions by putting to death a Louisiana truck driver who severely abused his 2-year-old daughter for weeks in 2002, then killed her by slamming her head repeatedly against a truck’s windows and dashboard.

Alfred Bourgeois, 56, was pronounced dead at 8:21 p.m. Eastern time at a federal prison in Terre Haute, Indiana on Friday, Dec. 11.

His lawyers had argued he had an IQ that put him in the intellectually disabled category, saying that should have made him ineligible for the death penalty.

In his last words, Bourgeois, strapped to a gurney, offered no apology and instead struck a deeply defiant tone, insisting that he neither killed nor sexually abused his baby girl.

“I ask God to forgive all those who plotted and schemed against me, and planted false evidence,” he said. He added: “I did not commit

this crime.”

Later, the girl’s relatives of released a joint statement calling Bourgeois “a monster.”

“None of us thought she would return from (visiting Bourgeois) in a casket,” it said. “It should not have taken 18 years to receive justice for our angel.”

Bourgeois was the 10th federal death-row inmate put to death since federal executions resumed under President Donald Trump in July after a 17-year hiatus. He was the second federal prisoner executed this week, with three more executions planned in January.

The last time the number of civilians executed federally was in the double digits in a year was under President Grover Cleveland, with 14 in 1896.

As a lethal injection of pentobarbital began flowing through IVs into both of his arms, Bourgeois tilted his head to look at his spiritual adviser in a corner of the death chamber clutching a Bible. Bourgeois gave him a thumbs-up sign, and his spiritual adviser raised his thumb in reply.

Seconds later, Bourgeois peered

“None of us thought she would return from (visiting Bourgeois) in a casket. It should not have taken 18 years to receive justice for our angel” Family members of the 2-year-old victim up toward the glass dividing him from the media and other witnesses in adjoining rooms, and then grimaced and furrowed his eyebrows.

He began to exhale rhythmically, and his stomach started to quiver uncontrollably. After five minutes, the heaving of his stomach stopped and his entire body became still. He did not move for about 20 minutes before he was pronounced dead.

The series of executions under Trump since Election Day, the first in late November, is also the first time in more than 130 years that federal executions have occurred during a lame-duck period. Cleve-

land also was the last president to do that.

A day earlier, Brandon Bernard was put to death for his part in a 1999 killing of a religious couple from Iowa after he and other teenage members of a gang abducted and robbed Todd and Stacie Bagley in Texas. Bernard, who was 18 at the time of the killings, was a rare execution of a person who was in his teens when his crime was committed.

Reality TV star Kim Kardashian West had appealed to Trump to commute Bernard’s sentence to life, citing, among other things, remorse Bernard expressed over years.

Bourgeois’ crimes stood out as for their brutality.

According to court filings, he gained temporary custody of the child, referred to in court papers only as “JG,” after a 2002 paternity suit from a Texas woman. He was living in Louisiana with his wife and their two children.

Over the next month, Bourgeois repeatedly whipped the girl with an electrical cord, burned her feet with a cigarette lighter and hit her

in the head with a plastic baseball bat — then refused to seek medical treatment for her. Prosecutors said he sexually abused her, too.

Her toilet training enraged Bourgeois and he sometimes forced her to sleep on a training toilet.

It was during a trucking run to Corpus Christi, Texas, that he killed the toddler. Angered that a toilet-training pot tipped over in his truck cabin, he grabbed her inside the truck by her shoulders and slammed her head on the windows and dashboard four times.

When she lost consciousness, Bourgeois’ wife pleaded for him to get help and he told her to tell first responders she was hurt falling from the truck. She died the next day in a hospital of brain injuries.

After his 2004 conviction, a judge rejected claims stemming from his alleged intellectual disability, noting he didn’t receive that diagnosis until after his death sentence.

Bourgeois’ lawyers didn’t argue that he should have been acquitted or should not have been handed a stiff sentence, just that he shouldn’t be executed, Nolan said.