North State Journal Vol. 6, Issue 14

VOLUME 6 ISSUE 14

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WWW.NSJONLINE.COM

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WEDNESDAY, JUNE 2, 2021

the Wednesday

NEWS BRIEFING

Burr, Tillis call on Gov. Cooper to Help NC small businesses Washington, D.C. North Carolina’s U.S. senators, Richard Burr and Thom Tillis, issued a joint statement calling on Gov. Roy Cooper to address the state’s employment shortage. The senators said the shortage is harming small businesses across the state.

“The employment shortage caused by exorbitant federal unemployment benefits is a real and serious threat to North Carolina’s recovery. Employers are finding they can’t compete with excessive federal benefits.

Time is running out for industries that rely on the summer season for a large portion of their business,” they said.

“Gov. Cooper needs to acknowledge the existence of a problem and take action to fix it. While the governor recently announced he will finally start reinstating the job search requirement, that’s merely enforcing existing law. It’s not enough.”

NSJ STAFF

NC House Republicans tout pro-2nd Amendment agenda Raleigh The Republican-led North Carolina House of Representatives has advanced six laws they say show a commitment to protecting and defending the Second Amendment rights of lawabiding citizens.

The bills include legislation to repeal the state’s pistolpermit process, which bill sponsor state Rep. Jay Adams (R-Catawba) said “is duplicative, costly and an unnecessary burden on law enforcement and law-abiding gun owners.”

Other bills passed by the chamber include allowing federal prosecutors and judges to carry in court and allowing concealed-carry-permit holders to lawfully carry at a place of worship that shares property with an affiliated private school during non-school activities.

NSJ STAFF

Texas Dems walk out, block passage of voter integrity law Austin, Texas Texas Democrats pulled off a dramatic, last-ditch walkout in the state House of Representatives on Sunday night to block passage of new voter-integrity laws.

Republican Gov. Greg Abbott, who had declared new voting laws a priority in Texas, quickly announced he would order a special session to finish the job. He called the failure of the bill “deeply disappointing” but did not say when he would drag lawmakers back to work.

Georgia and Florida have also passed new voting laws, and President Joe Biden called the bill “an assault on democracy.”

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

Bank of America’s Moynihan highestpaid NC CEO according to survey Charlotte An Associated Press and executive data firm Equilar survey tallied CEO pay across publicly traded companies to determine the highest-paid CEO in each state.

To calculate CEO pay, Equilar added salary, bonus, stock awards, stock option awards, deferred compensation and other components that include benefits and perks.

Brian T. Moynihan, who was named CEO of Bank of America in 2010, drew a salary $25.4 million, according to the survey.

Bank of America recently announced plans to set the minimum wage for all positions at the company to $25 an hour by 2025.

The bank, based in Charlotte, has more than 210,000 employees.

NSJ STAFF

CAROLYN KASTER | AP PHOTO

Trump returns to NC with visit to Greenville Former President Donald Trump headline's the North Carolina Republican Party convention taking place on June 4-6 in Greenville.

NORTH

STATE

JOURNaL ELEVATE THE CONVERSATION

Senate tax cut package would lower personal rates, phases out corporate tax by 2028

By A.P. Dillon North State Journal RALEIGH — State Senate Republicans rolled out a comprehensive tax-cut package last week which they say would “result in a 21% income tax cut for a family of four earning the median household income.”

“The state has had budget surpluses six of the last seven years. We have billions of dollars in unreserved cash,” Sen. Paul Newton (R-Cabarrus) said in a statement. “The Republican philosophy when government collects more money than it needs is to give it back through tax relief, and that’s what we’re doing here.”

The new tax proposals, House Bill 334/Senate Bill 112, are part of a package working through Senate committees before it is expected to reach the Senate floor.

Senate lawmakers said the proposal will “disproportionately benefit” lower income earners, citing that the percentage of filers earning less than $50,000 per year would drop from 10% to 8.8% while those making $200,000 would pay a larger share, going from the current rate of 43.4% to 44.9%.

The Associated Press reported that Gov. Roy Cooper’s spokesman Ford Porter said, “The last thing we need is more sweeping tax breaks for corporations and the wealthiest among us instead of investments in our hard working families and communities.”

North State Journal reached out to Gov. Cooper for comment but did not received a response.

“After a year where we saw inequities exposed and exacerbated, North Carolina Republicans in the General Assembly are still prioritizing the wealthy and big corporations, while income inequality rises and public education — one of the most

powerful drivers of our economic future — suffers,” said North Carolina Democratic Party Chair Bobbie Richardson in a statement.

Republicans argued that that they have been able to increase education spending while continuing to cut taxes. An example given was the 39% increase in per-pupil spending.

“10 years of responsible Republican governance has left North Carolina in better shape than just about any state in the country. Our philosophy has always been when government has too much of your money, we should give it back to you,” Senate Leader Phil Berger (R-Eden) said of the package.

The tax cuts for individuals are identical to that of Senate Bill 337, which also increases the standard state deductions.

The increase to deductions will match the federal deduction rates for 2022. For example, a married couple filing jointly would see their deduction increase by $4,000, going from the current $21,500 to $25,500.

The personal income tax rate will go from 5.25% to 4.99%.

For a family of four with a median income of $54,602 that means a savings of around $325.

The standard child deductions have expanded eligibility and would also increase. A family of four with a median income would see a $1,000 increase, going from the current $4,000 child deduction to $5,000.

The corporate tax rate would also be reduced by .5% beginning in 2024. That decrease will continue annually until it reaches zero in 2028. Six other states currently have no corporate income tax.

The bill seeks to reduce the franchise tax liability on corporations that have real propSee SENATE, page A2

EXCLUSIVE

Eastern NC radio legend Henry Hinton reflects on career

By David Larson North State Journal RALEIGH — In eastern North Carolina, Henry Hinton’s voice is a familiar one — one that area families have heard introduce their favorite songs, call plays for college sporting events and interview major politicians for decades. Now an inductee into the North Carolina Broadcasters Hall of Fame and the owner of multiple stations along the state’s coast, Hinton spoke with North State Journal about his lifelong passion for radio.

Even as a “country boy” growing

up in Chowan County, a rural area in the northeast of the state, Hinton said he spent as much time as he could around broadcasting.

“We had a little community radio station in Edenton where Mom used to drop me off in the afternoons. I don’t know why, but I just had a love for music and radio,” Hinton remembered. “I would just hang around the radio station and help the disc jockeys there, do whatever they told me, pull AP Wire copy or get them coffee, or whatever. And I just kind of got bitten by the radio See HINTON, page A2

Budd says hard work, business background make him top Senate choice

By Matt Mercer North State Journal

commercial chicken farm.

“I grew up working on the farm

RALEIGH — There’s a scene in the TV series The West Wing’s third season that features the fictionalized president Jed Barlett and White House communications director Toby Ziegler in a tense Oval Office meeting. In the scene, Ziegler is worried about the perceived appeal of the president’s re-election opponent, telling him, “He’s good for all time zones.”

This appeal could also sum up supporters’ core case for three-term U.S. Rep. Ted Budd in the upcoming 2022 Republican U.S. Senate primary.

Budd calls himself a family man, small businessman and “liberal agenda crusher,” complete with a monster truck starring in his campaign announcement video.

In his third congressional term, Budd has established a strongly conservative voting record. He opposed efforts to bring back congressional earmarks, saying, “Nothing epitomizes what’s wrong with Washington more than pork-barrel spending in the form of congressional earmarks.” He’s opposed sanctuary-city policies and sponsored several bills to reduce regulations on businesses. Just a month ago, he was one of just three North Carolina representatives to earn a “Taxpayers’ Friend Award” from the conservative National Taxpayers Union.

Budd is a native North Carolinian, born in Winston-Salem, but as a young child his family moved to a farm off the Yadkin River in Davie County, where his wife and three kids live today. It’s there, Budd says, he learned about hard work. He grew up on the family’s cattle and

See BUDD, page A2

North State Journal for Wednesday, June 2, 2021

A2 WEDNESDAY

THE WORD: PARADISE LOST

6.2.21 #285

“Liberty's story”

ROMANS 5: 12-14

Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned: 13 For until the law sin was in the world: but sin is not imputed when there is no law.

14 Nevertheless death reigned from Adam to Moses, even over them that had not sinned after the similitude of Adam’s transgression, who is the figure of him that was to come.

12

Visit us online nsjonline.com

God’s first commandment to man came directly from the Creator in Genesis 2, when God told Adam and Eve not to eat of the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil. Sin entered the world when Adam and Eve disobeyed God’s commandment. Death was the consequence of that original sin.

Moses brought a new set of direct commandments from God and situated man in the same position as Adam. We can disobey the direct commandments of our Creator. But, Jesus completed the cycle of sin and death by bringing redemption and life.

Adam was the first man, and many call Jesus the second man and the second Adam. Romans 5 tells us sin and death came through one man — Adam — and the freedom from death came through one man — Jesus Christ.

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 Lauren Rose Design Editor

Published each Wednesday

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SENATE from page A1 erty in the state by getting rid of certain tax bases used to figure those liabilities.

Included in the package is an “automatic grant” of $18,750 to businesses that received COVID-19 Job Retention Program funds, an Economic Injury Disaster Loan Advance, Paycheck Protection Program funds, money from the Restaurant Revitalization Fund, or Shuttered Venue Operators Grant Program funds.

According to the proposal’s summary, it also aims to: Simplify and reduce the franchise tax for some taxpayers by eliminating the two alternative franchise tax bases that are calculated on a taxpayer’s property investments in the state.

Extend for two years the sunset applicable to mill-rehabilitation projects from Jan. 1, 2023, to Jan. 1, 2025, and the sunset applicable to rehabilitated railroad-station projects from Jan. 1, 2022, to Jan. 1, 2024.

Expand the tax credit for rehabilitated railroad-station projects by modifying the conditions so that an additional project would qualify.

Limit the gross premiums tax on surety bonds for bail bonds to the amount remitted by the sure-

HINTON from page A1 bug.”

While radio was a passion, so were sports — especially East Carolina University sports — and he always thought he was going to be a baseball or football coach. But opportunities to be involved in radio kept presenting themselves.

“When I went to ECU, I got involved with a campus radio station and got hired by a local station in Greenville,” Hinton said.

But an even bigger opportunity presented itself after Hinton and his girlfriend visited his parents in Norfolk for the weekend. To pass the time, they went to a mall, and there was a showcase of the WGH radio station he had grown up listening to. He noticed a big star, Jeff Davis, was behind the mic and didn’t want to lose his chance to meet him.

“Jeff Davis was on the air, and I slapped a note up on the window that said, ‘I’m a disc jockey in Greenville, North Carolina.’ Well, he invited me in, which was against the rules, of course. But I got to know Jeff, and he wanted to hear what I sounded like on the air. So, I gave him a tape and, amazingly, like a week later, I got a call from the program director of the station saying, ‘Would you be interested in a job?’”

Hinton says WGH was the biggest radio station between Atlanta and D.C. at the time, so it was not only a chance to connect with his childhood heroes but also to network with many who would go on to be national stars. He was still in college at ECU, though, so he had to spend his senior year driving back

PUBLIC DOMAIN

ty bondsman to the insurer of the bonds, effective for taxable years beginning on or after Jan. 1, 2022.

Modify the excise tax on cigars to tax online sales the same as in-person sales, and to cap the tax at 30 cents per cigar for all sales, whether in-person or online, effective on or after Jan. 1, 2022.

Impose the state and local sales tax on short-term vehicle rentals by a peer-to-peer vehicle sharing facilitator, applicable to sales occurring on or after Oct. 1, 2021.

End the transfer of the alternate highway use tax imposed on short-term vehicle rentals to the General Fund, so that all revenue generated by the alternate highway-use tax is credited to the Highway Fund.

Exempt vaccines and commercial cemetery property from the local property tax base, effective for taxes imposed for taxable years beginning on or after July 1, 2022.

According to The Tax Foundation, if the current tax proposal is signed into law, the state would go from its current ranking of 10 to No. 5 on the group’s state business tax climate rankings. In 2011, North Carolina was ranked 46 in the country for business tax climate.

and forth between Greenville and Norfolk to do his classwork and his duties at the Top 40 music station.

When school was done, Hinton decided to go to graduate school at ECU, he said mainly to be around his girlfriend, whom he married shortly after.

“But then I ran out of money for grad school and found myself back at the local station,” Hinton recalled, saying a friend and mentor, Danny Jacobson, owned the station. “Danny offered me a job, and I needed to make money, so he said, ‘Why don’t you work in ad sales? You can be on the air and do ad sales.’”

Hinton said he realized he had a knack for selling ads and for being on air, so he decided to go all-in on radio and forget about grad school or dreams of coaching. He began by covering ECU sports on the radio and selling ads for a local television station. That was when another opportunity arose when Chapel Hill radio legend Jim Heavner took notice of Hinton and offered him a job at WCHL, the Tar Heel Sports Network, as Woody Durham’s “color man.”

“My first broadcast on the air, I called Kenan Stadium ‘Ficklen Stadium’ [the name of ECU’s stadium], and I thought my career was finished as a Tar Heel Network guy right there,” Hinton said. “I remember the look that Woody Durham shot me in the booth at Kenan Stadium, and I thought, ‘Oh my God.’” But he stayed and was able to mingle with the likes of Michael Jordan and Dean Smith. Smith and Hinton even attended church together and had their children play

BUDD from page A1 and my dad had started a janitorial service and landscaping company in Winston-Salem. So we all just grew up working. It was tough, but I loved it,” Budd says.

While in college at Appalachian State University, Budd was an unwitting witness to history.

“It was August 1991, and I was with a friend, and we were Christian missionaries delivering medical supplies to communist Soviet Union when the iron curtain came down,” Budd said. “We didn’t realize at the time how much chaos there was. And a week later we get home were able to see [what was happening] on TV.” It was also through the mission trips where Budd met his wife, Amy Kate. He lived in Texas for four years and graduated from Dallas Theological Seminary and returned to North Carolina.

He started a company with his dad in that time after working in the family business, which was then prospering.

“We helped others in distribution — so companies that would sell to John Deere and other turf companies. We were more behind the scenes, helping them get going, and got on the Triad Business Journal Fast 50 list,” said Budd.

It was his next move, though, that became Budd’s most well-

“The Garden of Eden” by Thomas Cole (1828) is a painting in the collection of the Amon Carter Museum of American Art, Fort Worth, Texas.

known venture.

In 2010, Budd purchased an indoor shooting range out of bankruptcy.

“It was 2010 and bought it for the Winston-Salem Police Department. They were driving cars to Thomasville and other places.

They couldn’t own it, because it was attached to another shopping center and couldn’t shoot there,” Budd said, adding that it was a conversation with a department lieutenant that convinced him of the need to expand the range’s offerings.

“He said to me, ‘Never underestimate the need of the public to have a safe place to shoot.’ They [WSPD] were our only customers, and then we opened into retail. And now, we have more than 50,000 customers that have been to the store,” Budd says.

With a booming business, Budd says he learned about payroll, cash flow, balance sheets and everything it takes to make a small business work.

He also is adamant that similar to public service, in business, he doesn’t divide the customer base.

“I’m a 49-year-old white male. I would think, well, all [gun range] customers look like me. That’s stereotypical, and it’s wrong. On day one I saw the breadth of people across the political spectrum. People come that you would not think

PHOTO COURTESY HENRY HINTON

This photo of Henry Hinton shows him behind the microphone during his first year in radio, 1973. together.

Hinton said, “I feel like I’ve lived a Forrest Gump life because I’ve been around all these influential people.

Hinton was able to transition from running radio stations in the Triangle area to owning several back home on the coast with some help from his old high school baseball coach, who was a successful auto dealer. Over time, Hinton transitioned the two most powerful stations — one of which covered from the Virginia line to New Bern and the other which covered New Bern to Wilmington — into conservative talk stations. The stations featured big names like Rush Limbaugh, Glenn Beck and Sean Han-

nity, but also Hinton's own show.

“I’m just very humbled at how it’s been accepted in the whole eastern North Carolina region,” Hinton said of his show, which he said has evolved from being a mostly locally focused show to covering state and federal news as well.

Being the main talk product in the eastern part of the state has put him on a first-name basis with politicians who want to reach his audience, which includes statewide candidates for Senate or governor, local candidates and even those running for president.

But Hinton is clear that he did not get all these opportunities or arrive where he is today by himself.

“Nobody is successful on their

would align with you, and it’s like somebody going bowling; they’re coming to the shooting range,” says Budd.

He said it was his first two elections to Congress that show he is battle-tested enough to take on a statewide run for office.

“Having navigated a 17-way primary — I think that was significant. Nobody else [running for U.S. Senate] has been through a race like that. Then, also being outspent two to one by the Democrats in 2018, when they came after me with a wealthy self-funder [now Congresswoman Kathy Manning] plus outside money trying to take me out, I think differentiates me,” Budd says.

It’s an argument that Budd is now taking across the state, touting his background, voting record and bills he’s authored to help get the economy moving. He was at the General Assembly on Tuesday, June 1, alongside state legislators, pitching his federal-level bill to incentive bonuses to get North Carolinians back to work.

“Ted has a unique ability in politics in that the more you get to know him, the more you like him,” said childhood friend Jonathan Felts, who is helping advise Budd’s Senate campaign. “I’m not knocking anybody, but a lot of politicians, the more you know them, the less you like them.”

own,” Hinton said. He especially credits three men for helping his rise: Harry Land, the former baseball coach who bought his first stations with him; Heavner, the legendary owner of the Tar Heel Sports Network who taught him how to run stations; and Don Curtis, his business partner in buying the later stations, who Hinton calls “such a good human being.”

“So those three guys are why I’m successful, I think.”

As someone who has covered both sports and politics since the 1970s, Hinton does not think either is in a good place right now. He said in the Republican Party, there is a dynamic of “You either agree with 100% of the ideology or you become my enemy.” And he said, he is “absolutely devastated” about the direction of college sports, saying both money and politics are making it all fall apart.

Radio, however, is one thing that Hinton said is still going strong and can be a uniting force of good for communities.

“Radio is not going anywhere,” Hinton said. “No other media, no other internet media, no other broadcast media can do what radio does. It’s always going to survive; it’s always going to be strong. Our stations are stronger than ever. Last year was a challenge with COVID, but right now we’re back on par.

We’re having record months. And radio is part of the community; that is the fabric of radio and why it succeeds and why it will succeed because we’re part of the community and people see us in their lives. And we’re not going anywhere.”

North State Journal for Wednesday, June 2, 2021

A3

Orange County Public Schools latest system to have conducted controversial equity training

By A.P. Dillon North State Journal

PHOTO VIA N.C. DEPT. OF PUBLIC SAFETY

Attorney General Josh Stein speaks at the Emergency Operations Center in Raleigh.

NC AG Josh Stein joins letter urging reinstatement of Obama ‘equitable’ discipline policies 23 Democratic attorneys general urge U.S. DOJ and U.S. Dept. of Education to reinstate race-based discipline guidance

By A.P. Dillon North State Journal RALEIGH — North Carolina Attorney General Josh Stein has signed onto a letter along with 22 other state attorneys general to urge the Biden administration to reinstate an Obama-era school discipline policy. Stein is calling for “fairer treatment of students.”

“When we treat students unfairly based on their race, sexual orientation, or any other factor, we harm them in ways that reverberate long after they leave school,” Stein said in a press release. “We cannot fail our children like this — I urge the federal government to put in place the protections we need to make sure our young people are treated fairly.”

The letter is signed only by Democratic attorney generals from 23 states including North Carolina. The other states include California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, the District of Columbia, Hawaii, Illinois, Iowa, Maine, Maryland, Mas-

sachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Nevada, New York, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Vermont, Virginia, Washington and Wisconsin.

The letter follows moves by districts across the country and in North Carolina to remove or restrict School Resource Officers on K-12 campuses, in moves sometimes tied to “Defund the Police” campaigns.

President Barack Obama had issued an executive order in late July of 2012 supporting racebased discipline policies. His order sought to regulate schools’ disciplinary actions so that minority students, mainly black students, would be disciplined at equal rates as other groups regardless of an individual’s behavior.

In 2014, the Obama administration, through the Department of Education and the Department of Justice, sent guidance to the states citing a “school-to-prison pipeline” and urging states to reduce suspensions of minority students.

The 2014 guidance cited federal law prohibiting the use of school discipline that intentionally discriminates based on a student’s race, color or national origin. The guidance was rolled back under the Trump administration.

Stein’s release referred to data from the Department of Education’s Office of Civil Rights (OCR) 2015-2016 Civil Rights Data Collection (CRDC) and the National Bureau of Economic Research showing higher suspension and expulsion rates for black students.

Black male students represented 8% of enrolled students yet accounted for 25% of students who received an out-of-school suspension.

Black female students represented 8% of students enrolled and 14% of out-of-school suspensions.

Expulsion rates for all black students accounted for 33% of all expulsions despite accounting for a total of 16% of students enrolled.

Attending a school with an above average use of suspension increases a student’s future chances of being incarcerated by 17%. If the student is minority, the chance of incarceration increases by an additional 3.1%.

As in the past under the Obama Administration, no analysis of the OCR and CRDC case data for suspensions or expulsions was included. Such information would help ascertain if the disciplinary actions were warranted, what the offenses entailed or if there were repeat offenders.

RALEIGH — Documents obtained by North State Journal detail Orange County Public Schools’ equity training using the same training modules as Wake County Public Schools.

One document detailing proposed professional equity training in Orange County Public Schools (OCS) for “year one” included spending of over $93,000. The document is dated Sept. 19, 2019, and the majority of training appears to be tied to Glenn Singleton’s Pacific Education Group (PEG).

The training modules include Beyond Diversity, District Executive Equity Leadership Team (DELT), Leadership for Racial Equity Team (LEADS) and Students Organized for Anti-Racism (SOAR).

“Training, coaching, and support focused on building executive capacity and accountability for leading and implementing district equity transformation and creating the district’s Systemic Equity Transformation Plan. Equity Walks will inform the planning and implementation process,” reads the description for the DELT training.

The list of training included two dates for a two-day training using “Beyond Diversity,” an antiracist training which is part of PEG’s training series “Courageous Conversations.” The two sessions had a listed cost of $11,150 each.

A description of a “Beyond Diversity” session says that the twoday seminar is “designed to help understand the impact of race on student learning and investigate the role that racism plays in institutionalizing achievement disparities.”

Two separate cohort groups of OCS staff were to attend a session of “Beyond Diversity.”

Cohort One included the “Superintendent; Cabinet members; Principals; Assistant Principals; Directors; Assistant Directors; Supervisors; Facilitators; Coordinators; Managers; Teacher SOAR advisors for high schools.”

Cohort Two included “School Counselors; Career Development Coordinators; Career Coaches; College Advisors; Teacher Equity Team members from each elementary and middle school; Instructional Coaches.”

Funding for four of the six training items proposed were labeled as “community fund,” while for the remaining two, OCS was listed as the funding source for the two SOAR training items.

One of PEG’s SOAR events was specifically for 9th to 11th grade students from high schools to attend.

Other OCS documents obtained

by North State Journal include a “cultural proficiency continuum,” “Antiracism work and culturally relevant teaching in schools,” as well as a list of suggested books and other resources.

Singleton’s training has also been used by Wake County Public Schools’ Office of Equity Affairs (OEA).

Since founding PEG in 1992, Singleton has sold diversity and antiracist training sessions to K-12 school districts across the country. Records obtained from Wake County Public Schools show the district has paid PEG over a quarter of a million dollars between 2015 and 2019. Wake County Public Schools’ vendor history from July 1, 2015, to June 10, 2019, shows total for payments of $261,790 to PEG. Wake County Public Schools “Equity Framework” has elements of both Singleton’s “Courageous Conversations” and the “Antibias Framework” of Learning for Justice, the education-activism arm of the Southern Poverty Law Center.

Components of the framework include “Courageous Conversations,” “Color Consciousness,” “Identity Development,” “Culturally Relevant Teaching” and “Examining Privilege.”

The framework is included in a guide created by the OEA, titled “Equity in Action, Moving Beyond the Conversation.” In the opening section of the guide, the OEA includes a quote by the late Paulo Friere, a socialist and leading voice for “cultural pedagogy.” According to Friere’s Wikipedia page, he “contributed a philosophy of education which blended classical approaches stemming from Plato and modern Marxist, post-Marxist and anti-colonialist thinkers.”

The OEA introduced the guide to the Wake County School Board sometime between 2018 and 2019, and OEA staff presented the framework to the State Board of Education on June 5, 2019.

PHOTO VIA N.C. DEPT. OF PUBLIC SAFETY

North Carolina trails may get financial boost from the state

By A.P. Dillon North State Journal RALEIGH — Hiking and paved trails in the state which saw high traffic during the COVID-19 pandemic may be getting a boost of cash for improvements and maintenance.

The spike in outdoor activity and trail use has gained the attention of lawmakers and the governor, resulting in large appropriation proposals.

Cooper’s proposed spending seeks to upgrade and improve access to trails in state parks, which saw high traffic during the pandemic. The governor’s proposed budget includes $5 million in proposed spending each year of the biennium for both paved and natural-trail planning and development. That’s a combined total of $40 million over four years. His budget also proposes spending $200,000 directed to the Conservation Corps of North Carolina for state park trail maintenance.

House Bill 936 aims to spend $20 million in non-recurring funds to support state trails over

the fiscal years 2021-22 and 202223. Reps. Dean Arp (R-Union), Hugh Blackwell (R-Burke), Mike Clampitt (R-Haywood), and Erin Paré (R-Wake) are the primary sponsors of House Bill 936.

Around $3 million is also included for maintenance and signage for nine state trails, including the Mountain to Sea Trail, which spans 1,175 miles from the Great Smoky Mountains to the sandy beaches of the Outer Banks.

“This is an important piece of legislation that makes a great investment into North Carolina’s trails and greenways,” said Paré.

“During the COVID shutdown, we had a lot of North Carolinians anxious to get out and enjoy the outdoors. Investing in our trails will allow people in our state to enjoy the environment and scenic beauty of North Carolina.”

Mountain to Sea Trail executive director Kate Dixon says they are thrilled to see funding come their way.

“We are really, really excited about the bill [House Bill 396],” Dixon told North State Journal.

“We really like what it proposes.”

Dixon said that a new group, The Great Trails State Coalition, has been working together to advocate for more investment by the state for trails due to the overwhelming interest in trails due to COVID-19.

The Great Trails State Coalition has 15 members, including the Mountain to Sea Trail. The group’s current “next steps” include building of nature trails and greenways as well as supporting tourism aspects of the state’s trail system.

“In the last six years, the legislature has created five new state trails and they are about to do two more,” Dixon said, noting there has been increased interest from lawmakers but no additional funding until now.

Given the state’s current positive financial situation, Dixon said it looked like now was the time to ask for a “substantial investment” in the trail systems.

She said they had originally asked General Assembly for $70 million and hopes for additional federal funding may be available from programs such as President Biden’s American Rescue Plan.

Vials of COVID-19 vaccine are featured in this photo from the federal vaccination site in Greensboro.

NC reports millionth COVID case as vaccine demand drops

By Bryan Anderson The Associated Press RALEIGH — North Carolina health providers are requesting fewer and fewer vaccines and have sent back nearly 390,000 doses to the federal government as the state ramps up efforts to reach communities that have been less likely to get a COVID-19 shot.

Thirty of the more than 1,200 vaccine providers in the state are slated to receive additional first doses of the Moderna vaccine this week, according to data from the state health department. The federal government made over 265,000 first doses of the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines available to North Carolina this week, but state health officials accepted 3,700 Moderna vaccines.

As of May 20, the state said it had donated 388,960 doses of vaccine to the federal government pool.

For the second consecutive week, no providers are getting additional first doses of the Pfizer or single-dose Johnson & Johnson vaccines.

Supply is greatly outpacing demand, as nearly 2.3 million COVID-19 shots are wait-

ing on shelves to be administered to residents. The dwindling interest comes as the state reported on Thursday that it has surpassed 1 million coronavirus cases since the start of the pandemic.

Cases, hospitalizations and deaths have dropped in recent weeks, prompting the state to ease occupancy, gathering, masking restrictions for all residents, regardless of whether or not they are vaccinated.

Nearly half of adults and twofifths of North Carolina residents are fully vaccinated. About 43% of residents and 53% of adults have received at least one COVID-19 shot, which is below the national average of 50% and 62%, respectively, according to the Centers for Disease Control.

North Carolina health officials have sought to boost vaccine participation through census tract data to target distribution efforts to underserved communities.“We have a strong supply of COVID-19 vaccines, and we want to make it as easy as possible for people to get their free COVID-19 vaccine,” N.C. Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Mandy Cohen said in a news release.

North State Journal for Wednesday, June 2, 2021

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North State Journal for Wednesday, June 2, 2021

Murphy to Manteo Buffalo Creek Farms Germanton

June is National Dairy Month

Round Mountain Creamery Black Mountain

Henderson County A large quartz crystal cluster was stolen from a gem mine. The Henderson County Sheriff’s Office wrote in a Facebook post Tuesday that the rock was taken from the Elijah Gem Mine in Hendersonville sometime between May 21 and May 22. An accompanying photo shows the crystal in a wooden box that has “94.80 KGS” carved on the lid, which equals more than 200 pounds. The mine planned to display the cluster at its new peacock habitat. Such quartz pieces can sell for thousands of dollars.

AP

Lock malfunction keeps deputies out of jail Burke County Instead of worrying about inmates getting out, officers couldn’t get into jail when the locks malfunctioned. Burke County jail staff noticed a smell of smoke and doors started to fail in nine pods. The manual override keys would not open the lock leading into one of seven cell blocks. Staff made preparations to evacuate the jail if needed, and 12 off-duty deputies were called in to work to help with supervising and moving inmates to other jails. Inmates had been moved to cells with working locks by late Wednesday night.

AP

Homeland Creamery Julian

NSJ staff

Simply Natural Creamery Ayden

English Farmstead Cheese Marion

Leading Counties1 Number Iredell County Randolph County Lincoln County Alamance County2 Rowan County2 Wilkes County2 Davidson County3 Haywood County3 Guilford County Alexander County

PIEDMONT

Hotel industry still recovering

Large quartz cluster stolen from gem mine

NCGOP to select party leaders at weekend convention RALEIGH — The North Carolina Republican Party’s annual state convention will select a chair and vice chair in Greenville.

Current chairman Michael Whatley, who was elected in 2019 and led the party through the 2020 election, is running unopposed for a second term. The party selects leaders every two years.

In the race for vice chair, Miriam Chu opted not to run for a second term, with Fayetteville’s Susan Mills and Sanford’s Sherry-Lynn Womack running for the party’s No. 2 position.

Mills is a longtime activist, served as the party’s vice chair in 1997 and has held other party roles, including as the leader of a state Republican women’s

Celebrity Dairy Siler City

Blue Ridge Mountain Creamery Fairview

National Dairy Month began as National Milk Month in the 1930s, encouraging families to drink milk for its nutritional value in the summer.

North Carolina is home to 41,000 milk cows as of 2020, with the top counties being Iredell, Randolph and Lincoln, with most production coming from farms in the Piedmont and western regions of the state.

A sweet treat can also be enjoyed at creameries across North Carolina, from Homeland Creamery in Julian to Simply Natural Creamery in Ayden.

One of the favorites that’s a perennial classic at the NC State Fair is NC State University’s Howling Cow, which can be found close to the university campus and at selected Harris Teeter locations.

WEST

Jones & Blount

Goat Lady Dairy Climax

Oak Moon Farm and Creamery Bakersville

Buncombe County The Buncombe County Tourism Development Authority met last week to discuss the pandemic’s ongoing impact on the hotel industry in the area. Prior to the pandemic, demand for hotel rooms had increased, and the number of hotels in the county had increased to meet it. The demand has not quite reached 2019 levels.

Occupancy rate for Buncombe hotels was at 69% in April. This is up from 17% a year prior but was at 2010 levels.

WLOS

Robbinsville company helping to clean up Mississippi tornado debris Graham County Robbinsville’s Graham County Land Co. was hired by the town of Vicksburg, Mississippi, to remove trash and debris following the May 4 tornado that hit the area, causing extensive damage. The mayor and board of aldermen approved the company’s bid over bids from companies in Texas, Louisiana and Mississippi. Graham County Land Co. began work last week and will be paid $9.27 per cubic yard of debris collected.

VICKSBURG POST

Cultured Cow Creamery Durham

9,700 7,100 2,900 1,300 1,300 1,300 1,200 1,200 1,100 1,000

$25 Summer Cash Cards offered at select vaccine sites Rockingham County As part of its ongoing effort to get more North Carolinians vaccinated and safely bring summer back, the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services is offering $25 Summer Cash Cards at select vaccine sites to offset the time and transportation costs of getting vaccinated. Through June 8, select vaccine sites will offer Summer Cash Cards in Mecklenburg, Guilford, Rowan and Rockingham counties. Anyone 18 and older who gets their first dose of a COVID-19 vaccination — or drives someone to their vaccination — will receive a $25 cash card after vaccination at a participating location while supplies last.

Durham County Christopher Neve, a former Durham County deputy, is asking a court to force Sheriff Clarence Birkhead to reinstate him with back pay and to rule that COVID-19 vaccine mandates are unconstitutional. In January, Birkhead sent a notice to employees that the COVID-19 vaccine would be mandatory. After Neve and other deputies failed to schedule a vaccine appointment, Birkhead sent an email reminding deputies to schedule their appointments. Neve continued to refuse the vaccine, and after meeting with Birkhead in March, his badge and other equipment were confiscated. Neve was first put on unpaid administrative leave, then formally terminated.

AP

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Ranked 4th. 3 Ranked 7th.

Wake County An 18-year-old woman has been charged with murder after the body of a 69-year-old man was found in a North Carolina cemetery.

Raleigh Police on Saturday night announced the arrest of Maria Elizabeth Pena-Echeverria.

She has been charged with murder and is being held at the Wake County Detention Center.

Police were called to Mount Olivet Cemetery in the city Friday night, where they found a seriously injured man. He was declared dead later at a nearby hospital. On Saturday, police identified the man as James Lacy Taylor.

AP

organization. She is a public school teacher in Sampson County and served as a 2020 Electoral College elector.

Womack is the wife of Jim Womack, a former Lee County commissioner who made unsuccessful runs in 2017 against then-chairman Robin Hayes and in 2019 to Whatley. She currently sits on the Lee County Board of Education and is a retired Army lieutenant colonel.

She generated protests after she attended part of the Jan. 6 protest in Washington, with some in the county calling on her to resign from the board.

Womack told WRAL, “I did not participate in any violent activities nor do I condone the behaviors of some protesters who swarmed into the Capitol.

I condemn all acts of violence and threats to government officials that took place.”

Virginia man drowns at Outer Banks, follows Kure Beach death

Greene County A burning ban covering 26 counties in North Carolina means fireworks and other pyrotechnic devices are prohibited in those areas for the Memorial Day weekend. The N.C. Department of Agriculture said with nearly half the state in moderate drought status and little rain in the forecast, the N.C. Forest Service officials urges residents to avoid unnecessary risk with fire. The ban is in effect for Anson, Beaufort, Bladen, Brunswick, Carteret, Columbus, Craven, Cumberland, Duplin, Greene, Harnett, Hoke, Jones, Lee, Lenoir, Moore, New Hanover, Onslow, Pamlico, Pender, Pitt, Richmond, Robeson, Sampson, Scotland and Wayne counties.

PHOTO VIA NCGOP

NCGOP chairman Michael Whatley poses with supporters at a Northampton County Republican Party event.

Dare County A northern Virginia man’s body was recovered from the surf in the Outer Banks.

The National Park Service said Saturday that the 46-year-old Falls Church man died in an apparent drowning at the south end of Hatteras Island Friday evening. His family said the man, whose name was not released, had been surf fishing. Surf conditions were reported to be rough over the Memorial Day weekend. The Virginia man’s death was the second off the coast in recent days. A Raleigh man, 70-year-old attorney William Delahoyde, died in an apparent drowning at Kure Beach near Wilmington.

AG Stein Memorial Day email invokes Jan. 6

By Matt Mercer North State Journal AP

AP

18-year-old woman charged with murder in cemetery death

Guilford County Eight people stormed a high school classroom and attacked a 14-year-old girl in an incident thought to have stemmed from an earlier fight at a school bus stop. The Guilford County Sheriff’s Office said a 16-year-old female student helped the group get inside Southern Guilford High School and led them to an upstairs classroom. The six students and two adults assaulted the 14-year-old student, who suffered facial injuries. Faculty, administration and a school resource officer responded but by then the group ran away from the classroom and made it out to the parking lot, where they were stopped.

Ranking of published counties only

Burning ban halts Memorial Day fireworks

NSJ

Students, 2 adults storm classroom, attack teenager

1

EAST

Ex-deputy sues sheriff over vaccine mandate

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10-month-old girl killed in dog attack

Man charged with murder after dismembered body found Wayne County Willie Lee Langston, 29, of La Grange, was charged with murder days after the dismembered body of a woman was found in a residential driveway. Police said charges against additional suspects are possible. The body of a woman in her 30s, whose identity was not released, was found dumped in a man’s driveway. Police believe the slaying occurred elsewhere. Earlier in the week police had released a photo of a car they believed was connected to the case. Langston was arrested after he came to the police about his vehicle being seized earlier in the day.

Johnston County A 10-month-old girl died after being attacked by two family dogs. Deputies responding to a report of an animal attack in Willow Spring found Scott Winberry trying to help his injured daughter, Malia Scott Winberry.

Family pets had violently attacked Malia, and deputies joined her father’s efforts to help until EMS units took over care. The girl was pronounced dead, officials said. Investigators quickly determined that the incident was an accident. The attack happened after the father stepped out of the house to speak with a neighbor. Johnston County Animal Control has seized the two Rottweilers involved.

AP

RALEIGH — Attorney General Josh Stein’s campaign sent an email on Monday, May 31, to supporters invoking the Jan. 6 protests in Washington, D.C. on Memorial Day. “This Memorial Day is different. It comes just four months after a terrible assault not only on our nation’s most important building and the federal representatives inside, but on our democracy itself. And it comes as we are emerging from the deadliest public health pandemic in more than a century,” the email stated.

Stein’s office was aggressive in pursuing leads related to North Carolinians who were in Washington on Jan. 6.

On Jan. 8, Stein tweeted, “My office is supporting federal law enforcement efforts to investigate NCians who participated in the raid on the U.S. Capitol. If you have any information about a NCian who participated in this lawless insurrection, please email investigationtips@ncdoj.gov.”

He did not, however, condemn riots and other lawless behavior in Raleigh last year caused by protests against law enforcement.

On June 3, 2020, Stein released a lengthy statement, part of which read, “the systemic racism that African Americans experience — whether it’s in the criminal justice system, in the economy, or in the health care system — is wrong… I will fight with you.

“This message in mainly for white people — we have to do the work. I hope you will join me in taking advantage of some resources for educating ourselves.

Please consider looking into resources from Duke University’s Racial Equity Learning Arc, We Are (Working to Extend Anti-Racist Education) or some other anti-racism curriculum. And taking the Unconscious Bias quiz might help you.”

Stein’s office did not return multiple emails sent by North State Journal seeking clarification on his office’s work in assisting authorities looking into both events.

AP

AP

Senate R&D bill to counter China delayed until June 8

By Lisa Mascaro The Associated Press WASHINGTON, D.C. — A sweeping Senate bill aimed at making the United States more competitive with China and shoring up domestic computer-chip manufacturing with $50 billion in emergency funds was delayed after some Republican senators halted it, insisting on more time to read the contents and make changes.

Votes on the American Innovation and Competition Act were postponed until June 8, when senators are scheduled to return from a scheduled recess.

The emerging final product has enjoyed broad, bipartisan support and would be one of the more comprehensive investments in U.S. research and development in recent years. But the bill became weighted down by the sheer scope of the effort. It swelled to more than 2,400 pages, drawing, sharp opposition from a core group of GOP senators who kept the Senate in a nearly-all-night session.

98% of ALL Farms are Family Farms

ncfb.org

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer set up the new schedule when it became clear the Republican senators would not relent.

“We have every intention of sticking it out until the job is done,” Schumer, D-N.Y., said as he opened the chamber Friday.

The bill is key to President Joe Biden’s infrastructure plans and is a massive effort to reinvest in innovative technologies as the country tries to bolster and rebuild home-state industries that have shifted overseas during the era of globalization.

A top Republican author, Sen. Todd Young of Indiana, characterized his underlying proposal that anchors the bill — the Endless Frontier Act he co-authored with Schumer — as part of the country’s history of innovation, like the moon landing or the launch of the internet, that Washington needs to foster if America is to remain competitive.

“It’s not about beating China,” Young said in a speech Thursday.

He said it’s about rising to the challenge posed by China “to be a

better version of ourselves.”

Senators slogged through days of debates and amendments, but proceedings came to a standstill late Thursday. One Republican, Sen. Ron Johnson of Wisconsin, protested the rush to finish, and he and a few other Republican senators overtook the floor proceedings, insisting on more changes to the sprawling package as debate dragged well past midnight.

Biden had included elements of the legislation as part of his big infrastructure plan, the American Jobs Act, making a similar case that the U.S. needs to increase its investments to stay competitive with rivals, particularly China.

During a virtual meeting with CEOs last month over the global computer-chip shortage that has been disrupting supplies and sales of everyday goods — from cellphones to new cars — Biden explained his plan to “build the infrastructure of today.”

Johnson stacked up the bill at his desk bemoaning the tower-

ing size, but said the legislative process to bring the bill to this point had been better than most over the past decade. He seized the floor around midnight to push other priorities, including his concerns over another topic — illegal immigration and his interest in secure fencing along the southern border with Mexico.

“We haven’t had time to read this — no one has,” said Sen. Rick Scott, R-Fla., joining Johnson’s protest.

The centerpiece of the bill is a $50 billion emergency allotment to the Commerce Department to stand up semiconductor development and manufacturing through research and development and incentive programs previously authorized by Congress. They focus on the military, automakers and other critical industries reliant on computer chips.

The U.S. once manufactured far more chips than today, which some senators said put the U.S. at risk of fluctuations in the global supply chain, as happened over the past year with shortages.

The Endless Frontier provision would authorize funding for the National Science Foundation, including the establishment of a Directorate for Technology and Innovation, as well as research and development funds and scholarships for students focused on science, technology, engineering and math programs.

Senators have tried to strike a balance in raising awareness about China’s growing influence.

Other measures spell out national security concerns and target money laundering schemes or cyberattacks by entities on behalf of the government of China.

There are also “buy America” provisions for infrastructure projects in the U.S. At the same time, senators agreed to tack on amendments showing shifting attitudes over China’s handling of the COVID-19 outbreak. One would prevent federal funds for the Wuhan Institute of Virology amid fresh investigation into the origins of the virus and possible connections to the lab’s research. The city registered some of the first virus cases.

Schumer and Young struck up a conversation about teaming up on a bill during workouts at the Senate gym, lawmakers said.

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North State Journal for Wednesday, June 2, 2021

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

VISUAL VOICES

EDITORIAL | FRANK HILL

University tenure and politics at UNC Chapel Hill

There were 4,085 professors at UNC-Chapel Hill in 2020. 1,857 were either full professors with tenure or on tenure track.

TENURE AT UNIVERSITIES is like a lifetime appointment to the Supreme Court. If you like the philosophy of the person who gets either, you love it. If you don’t agree with them, then both tenure and lifetime appointments to the bench cause a lot of heartburn.

Nikole Hannah-Jones’s appointment as a professor at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill has raised a lot of controversy, not only for her leadership of the “1619 Project” while working as a journalist at the New York Times but also for the decision not to grant her immediate tenure along with her appointment.

As per usual in these hyper-politicized times, there has been no discussion in the media about the generally accepted process of granting tenure in higher education or any context as to how hard people have to work to gain tenure status.

The controversy over her leadership of the “1619 Project” notwithstanding, it is highly unusual for someone, anyone, to walk in off the street in another profession and immediately be granted tenure as a full professor in any discipline without a Ph.D. If all someone who graduated from UNC Chapel Hill has to do is say they want to be a full professor with immediate tenure and not go through the grueling ordeal of having to get a Ph.D in the first place, then count me in. I will go to Chapel Hill and talk about balancing the federal budget until everyone passes out cold in class but still be paid $180,000/year for the rest of my born days.

There were 4,085 professors at UNC Chapel Hill in 2020. 1,857 were either full professors with tenure or on tenure track. It is very rare to find any who do not have a Ph.D in their respective discipline, which costs a lot of money and many years to achieve. They have to prove themselves in the classroom and in their research for at least five years before being granted tenure in most universities.

Nikole Hannah-Jones does not have a Ph.D in journalism, history, political science or social justice. She is a reporter who was paid by the New York Times to produce and promote the “1619 Project,” an effort that has been roundly discredited by scholars who do have Ph.Ds in history and political science.

Every associate professor with a Ph.D currently teaching at UNC

hoping and praying they will get tenure would love to have immediate tenure status bestowed upon them. They must be watching this debate with great interest.

Hannah-Jones may one day wind up being viewed as a social justice Einstein for having uncovered provable evidence that America was indeed founded solely because white men of British and European descent wanted to establish a slave-based society that would last for eternity. However, the one massive fly in the ointment of the “1619 Project” is the phrase: “All men were created equal” penned by none other than a slaveowner himself, Thomas Jefferson, and signed by 56 other white men, many of whom also owned slaves at the time.

They knew what they were signing. They were not stupid. They had been educated in philosophy, literature, Latin and Greek at the best universities in England and America.

They knew they were ringing the death knell for slavery in America.

“All men” meant all men — black, white, or any color of skin from any walk of life. Once they signed that document with that immortal phrase in it, there was no walking it back.

The phrase “All men were created equal” has been used to establish free nations around the globe for the past 245 years. It is the most important political phrase ever written in human history.

If those 56 men wanted to ensure America would be like almost every other nation before them that embraced the institution of slavery — including China, Persia, tribes in Africa, the Vikings and the British, Spanish and Portuguese Empires — they sure made a colossal mistake when they signed the Declaration of Independence.

The day Carolina offers immediate full tenure to anyone on the conservative side of the spectrum such as the next Walter Williams or Thomas Sowell, then maybe there will be room for discussion. But they will have to have a Ph.D in economics, history or political science.

You can be sure of that.

EDITORIAL | STACEY MATTHEWS

What the media’s abrupt change of heart on the Wuhan lab-leak theory tells us

[T]he primary reason the media and social media platforms deliberately suppressed discussions on the lab leak theory was that Republicans were making the claims.

PERHAPS MORE SO than any other theory about the origins of COVID-19, the one the mainstream media treated as the most suspect was the one about how the virus might have been accidentally leaked from a Wuhan, China, virology lab.

The prevailing belief at the time from scientists and medical experts was that the virus likely emanated from a Wuhan wet market and was transmitted from an animal (fish or bats) to humans. Anyone (usually Republicans) who deviated from that theory, and similar theories widely accepted in the medical/scientific community, was endlessly ridiculed.

But as America slowly returns to a sense of normalcy, questions about the virus’s origins have been ramping up. And, all of a sudden, the lab-leak theory characterized as a wacko conspiracy theory in 2020 when it was suggested by then-President Trump, highranking members of his administration, and prominent Republican senators is suddenly being treated as plausible.

Why the abrupt change of heart? Because President Biden’s chief medical adviser and NIAID Director Dr. Anthony Fauci told a fact-checking outlet in May that he was “not convinced” the coronavirus developed naturally and that he was “perfectly in favor of any investigation that looks into the origin of the virus.”

Because Fauci, long a media darling during the pandemic, lent the theory credence, the media kicked into high gear, filing piece after piece treating the theory as credible.

Facebook even lifted its ban on discussions about the origins of COVID-19. Prior to that, posting that you believed the virus might have leaked from a lab was grounds to get your account, group or page suspended or banned.

It was a rather remarkable about-face and one that gave whiplash to many of us who were on the receiving end of mockery from reporters, fact-checkers and Democrats whenever the lab leak theory was brought up.

But Trump, then-Sec. of State Mike Pompeo, Republican Sens. Tom Cotton, Marco Rubio and Rand Paul had all brought up the lab-leak theory last year at various points, believing it was a possibility that deserved to be looked into. After all, understanding where the virus came from is key to preventing another pandemic.

Yet they were treated with contempt.

Journalists approaching stories about the theory started out believing that it was false and set about proving it was, instead of simply asking questions and making determinations as to its validity after doing careful research and due diligence.

It took over a year of the same Republicans and conservative publications not backing down to get us to the point where Dr. Fauci finally said what he did, and the media began admitting the lab-leak theory should be taken seriously.

Conservatives long suspected that the main “problem” with what the media and Democrats painted as a baseless “conspiracy theory” was that the people making the

allegations were Republicans, with Trump, of course, being the most prominent one.

Washington Post fact-checker Glenn Kessler as much as admitted it last week.

“The Trump administration’s messaging was often accompanied by anti-Chinese rhetoric that made it easier for skeptics to ignore its claims,” Kessler wrote.

ABC News reporter Jon Karl said the same Sunday. “[B]ecause Trump was saying so much else that was just out of control … [the lab leak theory] was widely dismissed.”

In other words, the primary reason the media and social media platforms deliberately suppressed discussions on the lab leak theory was that Republicans were making the claims.

It’s my opinion that what little bit of trust that was left between the people and the press has been irrevocably broken by the media’s willful manipulation of public health information, and journalists have no one to blame for it but themselves.

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, June 2, 2021 COLUMN JOHN CALVERT

COLUMN | SUE WASIOLEK

Big-time college sports: go pro or go home

Each year, only 15 to 25 Division I schools actually make money or break even on athletics.

CONTROVERSY BETWEEN amateurism and professionalism has surrounded the world of college sports since the very first intercollegiate rowing contest between Harvard and Yale in 1852.

Murray Sperber wrote, “Even before the starting gun went off or an oar hit the water, two elements were at play: the event was totally commercial and the participants were cheating.”

The time has come to decide whether Division I athletics returns to the idealized notion of purity in college sports or abandons all pretense, accepts the inevitable and adopts a form of professional sports in football and basketball.

The argument goes that big-time D-1 college programs need the revenue from these two sports or else every other sport may cease to exist.

Dr. William Friday and Dr. Theodore Hesburgh figured it out in 1991 when they co-chaired the first Knight Foundation Commission on Intercollegiate Athletics. They called for a new model, stating: “At their worst, big-time college athletics appear to have lost their bearings. With increasing frequency, they threaten to overwhelm the universities in whose name they were established and to undermine the integrity of one of our fundamental national institutions: higher education.”

It’s difficult to make the argument with a straight face that Division I athletics programs today are truly focused on academics, campus engagement and the overall well-being of student-athletes when the questions are not about adjusting game and practice schedules to allow more time in the classroom, the lab or student clubs.

The most pressing questions are whether student-athletes should be allowed to be compensated for “name, likeness and image” and whether they should be treated as employees of the colleges and universities for whom they play.

Many people involved in college sports today will admit, in private, that the system is truly broken. The two sports that pay for all the others, football and basketball, are no longer 100% grounded in promoting amateurism and campus life. Frankly, none of this is particularly new, as college sports has been sitting in the middle of the intersection, hoping that whatever collisions may occur don’t destroy the entire system for decades.

Isn’t it time to stop ignoring the underlying problems? How might we bring this charade to an end and move down the road of authenticity?

Perhaps a three-prong approach provides a viable solution:

Follow the lead of Division III schools and stop providing athletic scholarships, as these grants-in-aid appear to no longer carry the value they once did, especially in this age of one-anddone in basketball.

In the spirit of returning to a student-athlete model, allow freshmen to be members of teams but don’t permit them to travel or compete.

In an attempt to bring coaches’ salaries back to an acceptable level, cap them.

These changes might impact revenue in a major way; but, so what? Each year, only 15 to 25 Division I schools actually make money or break even on athletics.

If generating revenue remains an objective while also desiring to move in a nonhypocritical, more genuine direction, why not consider the most obvious solution? Division I schools could create and own professional sports teams, at least in football and basketball, that carry the school brand yet are comprised of athletes who are NOT students.

This would enable the team members to be committed to strength building, conditioning, practicing and playing on a full-time basis, while representing the school as paid, professional athletes. Consider the possibility of the “Durham Blue Devils, Sponsored by Duke University” or the “Chapel Hill Tar Heels, sponsored by UNC.” It may sound like European soccer, but if it provides the revenue to support dozens of other programs, so be it. At least it’s honest.

Do we return to an old-school model with true amateurism as its goal, or do we embrace the professional, revenue-generating aspect of Division I athletics and admit the truth of what has been going on in college sports for decades?

In 2012, Dr. Friday was still talking about his concerns related to college sports: “Yes, money flows in from the television networks. But when you expand stadiums and pay big salaries, you’ve got a debt burden. And it’s there; it’s fixed. It will not go away. And institutions get to be known as commercial enterprises there for the benefit of the networks. That is a deadly thing.”

It’s time to admit that the system is broken and fix it in a way that enables Division I colleges and universities to operate sports programs in an authentic manner. Students, athletes, staff, faculty, trustees, administrators, parents, fans and community members — even this very avid college sports enthusiast, who only missed one home Duke football game since 1973 — deserve it.

“Dean Sue” Wasiolek served in student affairs at Duke University for 43 years, primarily as dean of students.

COLUMN | STEPHEN MOORE

Suddenly, ‘The Population Bomb’ is a population bust

My advice to those who truly want to save the planet is this: Go out; get married; and make babies. Lots of them. Hurry!

PAUL EHRLICH wrote one of the most famous and bestselling books of the 20th century. It was called “The Population Bomb.” It was 300 pages of doom and gloom. The planet was being destroyed because human beings were reproducing like Norwegian field mice. It was a Darwinian nightmare leading the species inexorably back to a Neanderthal subsistence level existence.

We learned this from the book’s memorable, often-quoted and apocalyptic first sentence: “The battle to feed all of humanity is over. In the 1970’s and 1980’s hundreds of millions of people will starve to death in spite of any crash programs embarked upon now.” He predicted that highly populated countries such as India could not be saved from the extinction.

Overpopulation was to the 1960s, ‘70s and ‘80s what climate change is today.

Ehrlich became an overnight media darling, appearing six times on “The Johnny Carson Show,” spreading his message of ecological gloom to millions of people. This was considered the irrefutable science of the day, and it gave birth to the modern “green movement.” Only a few academics, such as my mentor Julian Simon, exposed the predictions as hogwash. Simon and others were dismissed as what would be described today as “science deniers.”

So, imagine my surprise when I read this front-page headline from the Sunday, May 23, New York Times: “World Is Facing First Long Slide in Its Population: Fertility Rates Plunge.”

The story describes that even in some of the once most overcrowded nations, “Countries are confronting population stagnation and a fertility bust.” People are having so few children now that “maternity wards are ... shutting down” across the planet. The doomsayers’ sheepish response is not an apology or admission of academic fraud.

Rather, they say, “Thank God we warned the world about overpopulation.”

But none of this happened because of false alarms. Fertility rates predictably fell because the world got richer, and the global movement toward free market capitalism led to higher family incomes and more education and career opportunities for women, which brought down birth rates. Mexico’s birth rate fell from five children per married couple in the ‘70s to just over two today.

No one likes to mention the ghastly policies implemented around the world to control population. The United Nations Population Fund (now called Family Planning) championed forced sterilizations, mandatory abortions, China’s gruesome one-child policy and other coercive

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measures to reduce birth rates. Ironically, the same academics and government officials who today champion “a woman’s right to choose” supported imposing brutal controls on the rights of parents to choose their own family size. Even in America, women in recent decades are often stigmatized for having more than three children, and parents with large families are disparaged for not knowing about birth control.

Today, many of the Western nations have birth rates below replacement-level fertility (2.1 kids per woman of childbearing age) and are promoting exactly the opposite of what was preached only a few decades ago: pronatalist policies. Governments are now paying women to have kids. No country faces a greater demographic crisis than China, which now has an inverted population pyramid with lots of old people and few kids to take care of them.

This complete reversal of the scientific consensus is reminiscent of the evolution of the climate debate. Fifty years ago, we were warned of a coming ice age. The left is now frantically trying to erase that history and pretend that the global cooling warnings never happened. Now these same scientists assure us we are facing catastrophic warming of the planet.

Well, which is it? It’s “climate change.”

So, how did the green doomsday lobby get it so wrong? It turns out that mankind does not act like Norwegian field mice. We have reason; we have minds; we respond to changes in the world around us.

The left loves to look at short-term trends and erroneously extrapolate them out for 20, 50 and 100 years. They predicted, as Ehrlich did, that we would run out of food, oil, gas, farmland, drinking water and clean air. Instead, thanks to human ingenuity and free markets, we have more food, oil, water and clean air than ever before in the history of the planet. As the climate changes in one direction or another, which it certainly will continue to do, humans will react through innovation and technology and changes in the way we live and work.

What is certain is that if we have to rely on government and the United Nations, we truly are doomed. Politicians will make the same tragic mistakes they made in response to the false population bomb.

As for young people, my advice to those who truly want to save the planet is this: Go out; get married; and make babies. Lots of them. Hurry!

Stephen Moore is a senior fellow at the Heritage Foundation and an economic consultant with FreedomWorks.

President Biden’s assault on constitutional patent protection PRESIDENT JOE BIDEN recently made an announcement that would strip IP rights from the pharmaceutical companies that worked tirelessly to create the vaccines that are combating and controlling the spread of COVID-19.

If enacted, it would have severe deleterious effects on American innovation. Without full patent protection as guaranteed in the Constitution, the only “right” guaranteed in the text of the Constitution outside of the Bill of Rights, every patent issued in the U.S. would be in danger.

The race to create a vaccine to combat the spread of COVID-19 resulted in successful developments from many different companies that slowly have started to return the world to a normal life. Each of these vaccines is unique and either is or will be covered by patents in this country or other countries around the world. Since patents are territorial, patents must be issued in each country to protect that piece of intellectual property (“IP”).

Why are patents so important? The United States Constitution provides Congress with the power, in Article I, Section 8, Clause 8, “to promote the progress of science and useful arts, by securing for limited times to authors and inventors the exclusive rights to their respective writings and discoveries.”

The companies that made these extraordinary efforts and took calculated risks to develop COVID vaccines in 2020 deserve IP protection for their inventions.

How can companies that invest billions of dollars in research not expect to receive protection for the tremendous investments they put into the discovery of vaccines to end pandemics?

Two countries, India and South Africa, petitioned the World Trade Organization (WTO) for a waiver of IP rights for the COVID vaccines. Their reasoning was to allow for production of vaccines for poorer countries through their large pharmaceutical companies, but production of complicated vaccines, especially those using mRNA like Pfizer and Moderna, cannot happen overnight. To produce vaccines from scratch could take up to a year for these countries.

Giving up IP rights worldwide, as proposed by the Biden administration, will not relieve that lack of vaccines. The only way to help these economically disadvantaged countries is to lessen trade and tariff restrictions that make distribution of the vaccines and the raw materials needed to manufacture these vaccines difficult.

Further, patents provide only enough information to meet the legal standard of disclosure. To manufacture vaccines, one also would need to know trade secrets associated with the patents for that particular vaccine production. All of this valuable IP would be given away if the waiver of IP rights is approved by the WTO. Effectually, the countries that produce most of the generic drugs, i.e., India and China, would have unencumbered access to valuable IP and would be able to undercut any potential profit of U.S. inventors and developers of these vaccines. The technology that was used to develop the vaccines would be expropriated from those companies who invested time and money into the development of these miracle vaccines.

There is no need to give away IP. The companies that developed the vaccines have already planned ahead, creating relationships with other manufacturers through voluntary technology transfer through the licensing of their IPs. This initiative has led to the effective production of vaccines without having to take away IP rights.

Progressive Democrats see this waiver as an opportunity to scale back IP rights for pharmaceutical companies. Elizabeth Warren recently stated that her goal is to set a precedent to erode IP rights for all pharmaceuticals around the world. Her explanation is that “We’re in a fight over a waiver to [IP] rules — rules that never should have existed in the first place.”

So much for her obeyance to the Constitution.

If this IP waiver is approved by the Biden administration, then what will happen the next time there is a need for a vaccine to stop a terrible disease?

Who will put up the billions of dollars needed to develop a cure to protect the US people? No research company would take that risk unless it can get IP protection for their discoveries.

John Calvert worked at the Patent and Trademark Office in Alexandria, Virginia, for 25 years and has stayed active in the field since retirement.

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.

A8

North State Journal for Wednesday, June 2, 2021

NATION & WORLD

Tanker’s impossible voyage signals new sanction evasion ploy

By Joshua Goodman The Associated Press MIAMI — The Cyprus-flagged oil tanker Berlina was drifting near the Caribbean island of Dominica earlier this year when tracking technology showed it stopping in its tracks and in two minutes turning around 180 degrees.

It was an amazingly quick pivot since the nearly 900-foot ship needs roughly 10 times that amount of time to perform such a maneuver.

Even more intriguing: Around the same time the Berlina was pinging its location at sea, it was physically spotted loading crude oil in nearby Venezuela despite U.S. sanctions against such trading.

Meanwhile, nine other ships, some connected to the same Greece-based owner of the Berlina, were digitally monitored moving nearby at an identical speed and direction with sudden draft changes, indicating they had somehow been loaded full of crude though apparently out at sea.

The Berlina’s impossible journey could represent the next frontier of how rogue states and their enablers manipulate GPS-like tracking systems to hide their movements while circumventing sanctions, maritime experts say.

In recent years, as the U.S. has expanded economic sanctions and tracking technology has become more widely used, companies have adopted a number of techniques to evade detection. Most involve a ship going dark, by turning off its mandatory automated identification system or by “spoofing” the identity and registration information of another ship, sometimes a sunken or scrapped vessel.

Windward, a maritime intelligence agency whose data is used by the U.S. to investigate sanctions violations, carried out a detailed investigation into the Berlina. It considers the movements of the Berlina and the other ships to be one of the first instances of orchestrated manipulation in which vessels went dark for an extended

period while off-ship agents used machines to hide their activities by making it appear they were transmitting their locations normally.

Militaries around the world have been using the same electronic warfare technology for decades. But it is only now cropping up in commercial shipping, with serious national security, environmental and maritime safety implications.

“We believe this is going to spread really fast, because it’s so efficient and easy,” Matan Peled, co-founder of Windward, said in an interview. “And it’s not just a maritime challenge. Imagine what would happen if small planes started adopting this tactic to hide their true locations?”

Under a United Nations maritime treaty, ships of over 300 tons have been required since 2004 to use the automated identification system to avoid collisions and assist rescues in the event of a spill or accident at sea. Tampering with its use is a major breach that can lead to consequences for a vessel and its owners.

But the maritime safety mechanism has also become a powerful mechanism for tracking ships engaged in rogue activities like illegal fishing or transporting sanctioned crude oil to and from places under U.S. or international sanctions like Venezuela, Iran and North Korea.

In the cat-and-mouse game that has ensued, the advent of digital ghosts leaving false tracks could give the bad actors the upper hand, said Russ Dallen, the Miami-based head of Caracas Capital Markets brokerage, who tracks maritime activity near Venezuela.

“It’s pretty clear the bad guys will learn from these mistakes and next time will leave a digital trail that more closely resembles the real thing,” Dallen said. “The only way to verify its true movement will be to get a physical view of the ship, which is time consuming and expensive.”

The Berlina never reported a

Protesters slam choice of Syria for board of UN health body

ARIANA CUBILLOS | AP PHOTO

In this Sept 8, 2020 file photo, vehicles line up near a gas station to fill their tanks in Caracas, Venezuela. port call while floating in the Caribbean. Nonetheless, on March 5, the draft indicated by its identification system went from 30 feet to 60 feet, suggesting it had been loaded with oil.

Was it manipulation or a malfunction?

While the Berlina’s voyage remains something of a mystery, Vortexa, a London-based energy cargo tracker, determined the tanker had loaded at the Venezuelan port of Jose on March 2 and then headed toward Asia. Separately, Windward also confirmed the crude delivery through two sources.

Two months later, on May 5, the Berlina discharged its crude in a ship-to-ship transfer to a floating storage vessel, the CS Innovation, according to Vortexa. The CS Innovation remains off the coast of Malaysia where the transfer took place and has undertaken a number of ship-to-ship transfers in the interim, making it nearly impossible to know where Venezuela’s oil will end up.

Adding to suspicions, the Berlina and at least four of the nine other vessels involved in the Caribbean voyage earlier this year are connected to the same Greek company, according to Windward.

And all 10 vessels switched flags — another common ploy used to make it harder to keep track

of ships — to Cyprus in the four months prior to the manipulation of the fleet’s tracking information.

The AP was unable to locate any contact information for the Berlina’s ship manager or owner, both of which are based in the port city of Pireaus, near Athens.

Peled said the Berlina’s activities may never have been detected if not for a tip it received from an external source that it wouldn’t identify.

But the know-how gained from the investigation has allowed it to identify other recent examples of location tampering, including one in January when a ship it did not identify was spotted loading Iranian crude at Kharg island while broadcasting its location out at sea somewhere else in the Persian Gulf.

While the U.S. government has additional resources to ferret out such deceptive practices, doing so will require extra effort.

“It suggests the length to which rogue actors are willing to go, to hide their activities,” said Marshall Billingslea, an assistant Treasury secretary for terrorist financing during the Trump administration and former deputy undersecretary of the Navy. “It’s a worrisome trend and, given the huge volume of maritime traffic, will introduce a lot more noise into the system.”

Hong Kong changes electoral law, reduces direct public vote

By Zen Soo The Associated Press HONG KONG — Hong Kong’s legislature passed a bill amending electoral laws that drastically reduces the public’s ability to vote and increases the number of pro-Beijing lawmakers making decisions for the city.

The new law empowers the city’s national security department to check the backgrounds of potential candidates for public office and sets up a new committee to ensure candidates are “patriotic.”

The number of seats in Hong Kong’s legislature will be expanded to 90, with 40 of them elected by a largely pro-Beijing election committee. The number of legislators elected directly by Hong Kong voters will be cut to 20, from the previous 35.

The bill, passed by a 40-2 vote, was met with little opposition, as most of the legislators are largely pro-Beijing. Their pro-democracy colleagues resigned en masse last year in protest over the ousting of four lawmakers deemed to be insufficiently loyal to Beijing.

Pro-Beijing lawmakers lauded the bill during the debate last week, saying that reforms would prevent those not loyal to Hong Kong from running for office.

Some pointed out that multiple bills that impact people’s livelihoods have been passed with more ease this year compared to in 2020, when pro-democracy lawmakers would at times filibuster or behave disruptively during meetings to stall the passage of bills that they disagreed with.

Lo Kin-hei, the chairman of Hong Kong’s largest pro-democracy party, said that the party was “unhappy” with the decision to pass the bill.

“We are disappointed with the

VINCENT YU | AP PHOTO

Pro-China lawmakers attend the second meeting of "Improving Electoral System (Consolidated Amendments) Bill 2021" at the Legislative Council in Hong Kong Thursday, May 27, 2021. way that the government is changing the electoral system, because we can see that the representation of the people from Hong Kong in the Legislative Council or in the institution as a whole is much less than before, so this is not something which is good for Hong Kong,” said Lo. He said his Democratic Party had not yet decided if they would take part in legislative elections in December.

The changes to Hong Kong’s elections come as Beijing further tightens control over the semi-autonomous city that saw months of anti-government protest and political strife in 2019.

Authorities have arrested and

charged most of the city’s outspoken pro-democracy advocates, such as Joshua Wong, who was a student leader of 2014 protests, as well as media tycoon Jimmy Lai, who founded the Apple Daily newspaper.

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken in a statement called on Hong Kong authorities to drop charges filed against people “merely for standing for election or for expressing dissenting views.”

Blinken also criticized China and Hong Kong authorities over the election law amendments, saying they kept people in Hong Kong from “meaningfully participating in their own governance and having their voices heard.”

China’s rubber-stamp parliament in March endorsed changes to the city’s electoral system, which then led to Hong Kong’s proposals.

They are the latest in a string of moves to ensure people elected to office or serving the city are loyal to Beijing. An amendment the legislature approved earlier this month requires the city’s morethan-400 district councilors — who mainly deal with municipal matters — to take an oath pledging loyalty to Hong Kong and to upholding its mini-constitution.

The oath was previously required only of legislators and government officials such as the chief executive.

Beirut Dozens of medical workers in rebel-held northwest Syria protested a decision to grant President Bashar Assad’s government a seat on the executive board of the World Health Organization. They said Assad is responsible for bombing hospitals and clinics across the war-ravaged country.

The decision to give Syria a seat came a decade into the country’s devastating civil war that has left untold numbers of civilians — including many health care workers — dead and injured.

The selection of Syria at a little-noticed session of the WHO’s annual assembly — which brings together all member states of the U.N. health agency — has evoked outrage in opposition-held Idlib province.

Rifaat Farhat, a senior health official in Idlib, said the move “contradicts all international and humanitarian laws.”

Syria will take up the seat for the executive board’s next session, which begins Wednesday.

Syria’s war has left half a million people dead and driven millions out of the country since the conflict erupted in 2011. Investigators working for the U.N.’s main human rights body and international advocacy groups have reported that the Assad government and its allies — like Russia and Iran — have been responsible for the destruction of health care facilities as part of the years of fighting.

By the end of December, only half of the country’s assessed public hospitals were reported to be fully functioning. Up to half of Syria’s health care workforce has left the country.

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

Greek, Turkish leaders to meet in bid to mend ties Athens, Greece The leaders of Greece and Turkey will meet on the sidelines of a NATO summit, the two countries’ foreign ministers agreed on Monday, as they seek to mend frayed ties that led to a sharp escalation in tension last year.

In brief statements in Athens, the ministers said their talks were an opportunity to agree on a meeting between Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis at the NATO summit in Brussels on June 14.

“We are fully aware of the different, and in quite a few particularly serious issues, of the diametrically opposed positions that we espouse,” Greece’s Nikos Dendias said, noting he and his Turkish counterpart Mevlut Cavusoglu had discussed the full range of Greek-Turkish and Turkish-European Union relations.

They said they had agreed their countries would recognize each other’s vaccination certificates for COVID-19, so that their citizens will be able to visit with either a vaccination certificate or proof of a negative PCR test, boosting their respective tourist industries.

Greece and Turkey have been divided for decades over a series of disputes, including territorial rights in the Aegean. Last summer, tension rose dramatically, with disagreements over maritime boundaries and energy exploration rights in the eastern Mediterranean leading to a face-off between warships from the two countries.

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

WEDNESDAY, JUNE 2, 2021

SPORTS

How the Bulls spent their lost season, B3

CHRIS CARLSON | AP PHOTO

Duke pitcher Marcus Johnson celebrates with catcher Michael Rothenberg after the Blue Devils defeated NC State in the ACC Tournament championship game Sunday in Charlotte.

the Wednesday SIDELINE REPORT

Red-hot and Blue: Duke baseball claims ACC Tourney title

NHL

Hurricanes’ Niederreiter doubtful for remainder of Lightning series Raleigh Hurricanes forward Nino Niederreiter is “very, very doubtful” for the rest of Carolina’s second-round playoff series with the Tampa Bay Lightning, coach Rod Brind’Amour said following his team’s 2-1 loss in Game 1 on Sunday. Niederreiter left Saturday’s practice with an upper-body injury, and Brind’Amour said he didn’t think the injury would be an issue. But then Niederreiter was held out of Game 1 and replaced by Cedric Paquette in the lineup. Niederreiter scored 20 goals in 56 games this season, ranking second on the Hurricanes.

COLLEGE LACROSSE

NC schools knocked out in NCAA lax semifinals East Hartford, Conn.

All three North Carolina schools that reached the semifinals of the NCAA lacrosse tournaments were eliminated in the semifinals. Third-seeded Maryland beat second-seeded Duke 14-5 on Saturday in the men’s bracket, holding the Blue Devils to a season low in goals, but Michael Sowers had two of them in his final college game to finish his career with 383 points, second all‑time to Lyle Thompson (400) of the Albany Great Danes. In the other men’s semifinal, Virginia used a 6-0 run in the second quarter and held on late to beat top-seeded UNC 12-11. Virginia defeated Maryland to win its second consecutive title. The Tar Heels got two goals from William Perry in the fourth quarter, the second with 3:05 to go, but couldn’t get the equalizer. In the women’s bracket, fourth‑seeded Boston College knocked off previously unbeaten UNC 11‑10 in Friday’s semifinals. The Eagles defeated Syracuse 16-10 in Sunday’s title game.

DARRON CUMMINGS | AP PHOTO

Coach Cliff Godwin and the East Carolina baseball team hopes this is the year the Pirates can break through and reach the College World Series.

Eyes on Omaha: ECU again hosts baseball regional The Pirates’ path to the College World Series starts at home against Norfolk State

By Brett Friedlander North State Journal THE NBA’S Philadelphia 76ers have helped turn the phrase “trust the process” into an overused sports cliche.

But there’s some substance to it in the case of the East Carolina baseball team.

The Pirates have been making incremental progress toward their ultimate goal of getting to the College World Series in Omaha, Nebraska, during the seven seasons since Cliff Godwin returned to coach at his alma mater.

They’ll look to take the next step in that direction Friday when they host Norfolk State in the opening round of an NCAA Tournament regional that also includes Charlotte and Maryland at Clark-LeClair Stadium in Greenville.

This is the third straight tournament in which ECU has been selected as a regional host. The knowledge gained from the first two in 2018 and 2019 is figuring prominently into the team’s preparation for this weekend’s event and the latest phase of the Pirates’ “process.”

Among the most important

The Blue Devils used their late-season momentum to win the school’s first conference championship

By Brett Friedlander North State Journal

things Godwin has learned about this time of year is that it’s OK for his players to enjoy the moment, but not so much that they lose focus on the task at hand.

“You try not to get caught up in all the external stuff,” Godwin said shortly after learning of his team’s selection as the No. 13 overall seed nationally. “I want to enjoy with the guys what they have accomplished this season and what our previous teams have. That’s special to me. I’m an alum here, so I want to enjoy it more. But I want my guys to play our brand of baseball.

“I don’t want them to worry about who we’re playing. I want us to play great baseball in front of our great fan base.”

Concentrating on themselves rather than the opponent is a concept the Pirates learned two years ago when they got caught looking past what was perceived to be the weakest opponent in the four-team field, Quinnipiac.

ECU was able to battle back from the loser’s bracket to win the event. But because of subsequent weather delays, the strain of having to play extra games had on its pitching and some unfavorable scheduling by ESPN, the team had nothing left in the tank for its Super Regional matchup with Louisville.

Godwin said he won’t take anything for granted in his ap-

NC STATE came into last week’s ACC baseball tournament as a hot team looking to end a long championship drought.

It fell just one run short of that goal, thanks to an even hotter team that has been waiting even longer to celebrate a conference title.

Duke made history Sunday by outlasting the Wolfpack 1-0 at Charlotte’s Truist Field to take home the ACC Tournament trophy for the first time in school history. It also extended the Blue Devils’ winning streak to 12 games, capping a resurgence only coach Chris Pollard and his players saw coming as recently as a month ago.

“We have an expression in our program. We say, ‘Stay in the fight.’ And that’s what you do, you can’t give up on yourself or give up on the process,” said Pollard, whose ninth-seeded team beat Florida State and Miami in pool play before advancing to the tournament final with a 4-2 win against Virginia.

By winning the title, Duke earned the ACC’s automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament, where it will begin play Friday against Liberty as part of the Knoxville Regional. It is one of six teams from the state to receive NCAA bids. NC State also earned a berth along with American Athletic Conference champion East Carolina, Campbell, Charlotte and UNC. “You have to keep grinding and trust that you can get to the other side of it,” Pollard said. “Our guys did that this year and boy, that’s a really satisfying feeling. (There’s) just a lot of pride as a coach to see them work through that.”

That grinding mentality was on full display in the title game Sunday, the first ACC baseball final ever decided by a 1-0 score.

The Blue Devils (32-20) scratched across the only run in the fourth when Ethan Murray led off with a double, advanced to third on a flyout by RJ Schreck and scored on a sacrifice fly by Peter Matt.

Then they settled in and let the pitching staff do the rest.

Starter Cooper Stinson, who entered the game with a 5.87 ERA, did most of the heavy lifting against a powerful Wolfpack lineup by limiting State to just three hits through the first six innings. Relievers Jimmy Loper and Marcus Johnson then came out of a bullpen that didn’t allow a run the entire tournament to finish the job.

See ECU, page B4

See DUKE, page B3

“Personally, any time you’ve bet on yourself, it pays off. I’m proud of this group, proud of the coaches, proud of myself definitely.”

Joey Loperfido, Duke center fielder

North State Journal for Wednesday, June 2, 2021

B2 WEDNESDAY

6.2.21

TRENDING

Dan Hughes: The Seattle Storm coach abruptly announced his retirement Sunday, saying the rigors of being a head coach in the WNBA has taken a toll. Hughes, 66, said he will continue to serve as an assistant coach for the United States at the Tokyo Olympics, but he is handing over the duties of leading the Storm to assistant Noelle Quinn. Hughes has coached in the WNBA for 20 years with stops in Charlotte, Cleveland, San Antonio and Seattle.

Nazem Kadri: The Avalanche center had his eight-game suspension for an illegal check to the head of Blues defenseman Justin Faulk during their first-round playoff series upheld by NHL commissioner Gary Bettman. Kadri, 30, missed the last two games of the Blues series — Colorado advanced with a four-game sweep — and Game 1 of the Avalanche’s second‑round series versus Vegas on Sunday. The NHLPA then filed an appeal to the league’s neutral discipline arbitrator.

Zinedine Zidane: The legendary soccer player revealed he left as coach of Real Madrid because he didn’t feel he had the support or respect he deserved from the club, Zidane said in an open letter to fans on Monday. In his first public comments since quitting last week, Zidane said the club didn’t fully value his work and hinted it leaked information to the media to undermine him. The Frenchman said he wished his relationship with president Florentino Pérez had been different in recent months.

Beyond the box score POTENT QUOTABLES

INDYCAR

Helio Castroneves became the fourth driver to win four Indianapolis 500s and the fourth-oldest at the age of 46 to win “The Greatest Spectacle in Racing.” Castroneves previously won the race in 2001, 2002 and 2009. He joins A.J. Foyt, Al Unser Sr. and Rick Mears, his former mentor at Team Penske, as a four-time winner. Mears was the last driver to join the club in 1991.

NELL REDMOND | AP PHOTO

“I’m going to have to wreck him — they’re too fast.”

Joe Gibbs Racing driver Kyle Busch in a midrace interview on how he was going to catch eventual Coca-Cola 600 winner Kyle Larson.

PAUL SANCYA | AP PHOTO

MLB

NHL

GERRY BROOME | AP PHOTO

“You keep pounding the rock, eventually you break it down.”

JOHN BAZEMORE | AP PHOTO

PRIME NUMBER

Atlanta Braves star Marcell Ozuna was arrested Saturday on charges of aggravated assault by strangulation and battery after police officers said they witnessed him attacking his wife.

The statement said officers witnessed Ozuna grab his wife by the neck and throw her against a wall. He was granted a $20,000 bond Monday.

$1M

TENNIS

Hurricanes coach Rod Brind’Amour on how Carolina can score on Lightning goaltender Andrei Vasilevskiy in their second-round series.

Donation from Michael Jordan and Nike’s Jordan Brand to Morehouse College in Atlanta to boost journalism and sports‑related studies.

The gift announced Friday will help enrich its journalism and sports program that was originally launched with a donation from director and actor Spike Lee.

RYAN REMIORZ | THE CANADIAN PRESS VIA AP

The NHL and health authorities are reportedly working on a travel exemption that would let the winner of the all-Canadian North Division and an American opponent cross the border during the final two rounds of the playoffs, including the Stanley Cup Final, and not have to isolate for 14 days.

CHRISTOPHE ENA | AP PHOTO

Naomi Osaka withdrew from the French Open on Monday and the four-time Grand Slam champion said she would be taking a break from competition.

Osaka said she has “suffered long bouts of depression” since her U.S. Open win in 2018, and she was roundly criticized for declaring last week she would not do any press at Roland Garros.

North State Journal for Wednesday, June 2, 2021

B3

How I spent my summer vacation: The Durham Bulls’ ‘lost season’ of 2020 What life was like at the alternate site, and away from it

BRETT FRIEDLANDER | NORTH STATE JOURNAL

Running back Will Shipley, pictured playing for Weddington High School in a 2018 state football title game, is expected to be the heir apparent to Travis Etienne at Clemson.

Maturity, talent make Shipley a special running back The Weddington standout is ready to contribute immediately at Clemson

By Shawn Krest North State Journal NOT MANY ATHLETES are asked to share their thoughts on leadership before they’ve played in a college game. Will Shipley, however, isn’t like many athletes.

The Weddington High standout, who decided to forgo his senior season to enroll early at Clemson, was asked to participate in a panel discussion titled “Legends of Today, Leaders of Tomorrow,” organized by the North Carolina Sports Hall of Fame.

Despite appearing with two 2021 Hall inductees — former NBA star Muggsy Bogues and former women’s star and current basketball analyst Debbie Antonelli — and a 2000 Hall of Famer, track coach George Williams, Shipley stole the show, offering advice to student-athletes that had his more distinguished co-panelists repeating the phrase, “I think Will said it best.”

Shipley’s ability to step up despite being surrounded by people with bigger names and longer resumes will certainly come in handy at college.

“Going from a high school team like Weddington where I was the main leader on the team to a place like Clemson that’s got a bunch of All-Americans on the field, I really had to try to find my spot,” he said. “I think that’s kind of a metaphor for life. You’ve always got to find your spot where you can contribute the most.”

Shipley led Weddington to back-to-back undefeated state championship seasons, rushing for 2,066 yards and 31 touchdowns as a junior, 4,173 yards and 55 scores for his career. He also added 23 touchdown catches and a pair of defensive scores.

DUKE from page B1 But the ride was anything but smooth sailing. In the bottom of the sixth, the Wolfpack (30-17) appeared poised to tie the game when Jonny Butler hit a fly ball to center field with a runner on third and one out.

The ball should have been deep enough to score the runner easily, but Austin Murr left early and had to return to his base to tag up.

By that time, it was too late to get home.

“I heard RJ (Schreck) say, ‘Shoot four,’ and I knew that was going to be the play once I saw the ball go into the air,” said Joey Loperfido, the Duke center fielder and tournament MVP whose throw kept Murr at third base. “I tried to get behind it, get it out quick and get it on line with home plate. I didn’t know then if he tripped or if he went early or something, but (it) ended up working out for us.”

A lot has been working in Duke’s favor since it was swept in a doubleheader by Louisville on May 8.

Now at Clemson, he’ll get the chance to replace Travis Etienne, the record-setting back who was selected in the first round of the NFL Draft.

“He’s better than advertised,” Clemson coach Dabo Swinney said of Shipley during the Tigers’ spring game, broadcast live on the ACC Network. “He’s going to be a great one. He’s going to be a great player. He’s incredibly dynamic.

He can return, he can catch, and he’s physically way ahead for a high school kid. He can absolutely fly. Great teammate, and the guys like him.”

Swinney compared Shipley to former Tiger and NFL star C.J. Spiller, saying, “This kid is coming in with a complete foundation.

It’s very natural for him. He can run between tackle or on the edge.

He’ll be a complete player early in his career.”

Shipley isn’t letting the praise go to his head.

“It’s a challenge a lot of youth face,” he said, “because you get some success, you start to think you’ve accomplished more than you really have. For me, what I always try to do is put myself back to a place where I haven’t accomplished everything — a place where I know I have to work my butt off to get to where I want to be.

“I do have to check myself and say, ‘You made it like this. Appreciate what you’ve got, but you want to go a lot further.’ … In order to continue to push on, you always have that thing in the back of your head where you pretend you’re all the way back to where you didn’t have anything. That motivation is going to come.”

As impressed as Swinney has been with his new freshman runner, Shipley has been just as taken by the Clemson coach.

“My experience with Dabo has always been amazing,” he said. “He treats everybody the same. You get what you see. He’s not going to act

The Blue Devils fell to 20-20 after the two defeats, 10-17 in the ACC, but they haven’t lost since — closing out the regular season with conference sweeps of Virginia Tech and Clemson to go with nonconference wins against Wofford and Davidson to begin building momentum for tournament play.

“I wish I could say that there was one moment along the way that things turned on for us,” Loperfido said. “But it’s just the inner belief that we had amongst ourselves as a team and from the coaches all along that eventually if we kept grinding, things would work out for us.

“When you’re 10-17 in the ACC and you’ve got a .500 overall conference record, you go and sweep two series and then you take care of business like this in the ACC Tournament, it’s very special. Personally, any time you’ve bet on yourself, it pays off. I’m proud of this group, proud of the coaches, proud of myself definitely.”

The baseball championship

“He’s better than advertised. He’s going to be a great one.”

Clemson coach Dabo Swinney different in front of different people. That’s what I love about him.

He’s through and through. He’s going to tell you what you need to hear. He’s pretty much perfected his craft. You get what you see.”

That’s much the same way Shipley describes his approach to the sport.

“Make sure that your actions are in line with your vision,” he advised the student-athletes on the Hall of Fame call. “You can’t want to play college football Monday through Friday and not have the same vision and actions on the weekend. The only person that really knows if you’re giving your all is yourself.”

There’s a good chance that Shipley will be the starter for Clemson as a true freshman. Regardless of his spot on the depth chart, he’s clearly in position to contribute early.

More than his on-field stats, however, Shipley is looking forward to his first trip past Howard’s Rock as he takes the field at Death Valley.

“I just got chills even talking about it,” he said. “I got a little taste of it during the spring game, but it was limited capacity (for fans, due to COVID). I’ve been dreaming of it since I was a little kid, since Pop Warner football.

When I went on my visit to Clemson, that’s one thing they emphasized — Howard’s Rock, running down that hill. I can’t wait. I can’t stop smiling just thinking about it.

It’s definitely going to be an experience I can tell my kids about and remember for the rest of my life.”

provided a fitting bookend to the spring season on the diamond for the Blue Devils. A week earlier, their softball team also won its first ACC Tournament title in just the fourth year of the program’s existence.

As exciting as that success has been for Duke, Sunday’s result was equally as disappointing for State, which hasn’t won an ACC baseball title since 1992.

Like the Blue Devils, the Wolfpack has been a resurgent team, recovering from a 1-8 start in the conference to earn the tournament’s No. 3 seed. Its consolation prize is a date with Alabama in the opening round of an NCAA regional in Ruston, Louisiana.

“As much as we would have liked to have gotten this ACC championship, there is a bigger prize out there,” State coach Elliott Avent said following the loss to Duke. “If we can reflect on this game, learn from not only this game but this tournament and have a good week of practice, we’re looking forward to playing next week.”

ary.”

As a result, the players not at the site were left to do what they could.

“You do what you can baseball-wise,” Roach said. “A lot of

By Shawn Krest guys left to play in some Indy North State Journal Ball leagues to get some at-bats.

DURHAM — Baseball is dif- But I just did some things at the ferent from most sports because house — running, pushups, exerit’s every day. It’s a game of rou- cises, splitting logs.”

In addition to regular checktine, where keeping an even keel ins from the minor league manis essential.

All summer, no matter how ager assigned to him, Roach had well or poorly a player does in a other meetings.

“We had a lot of Zoom calls game, he needs to be aware that with the team,” he said. “The there’s another one tomorrow. catchers would do one a week.

Except when there isn’t.

For thousands of minor The trainers would call once or leaguers, last season was the twice a week to see how we were first time since their early child- doing, if we had any injuries or hood that they didn’t spend their symptoms, how our families summer playing out a schedule were.”

Meanwhile, in Port Charlotte, at some level of organized basethe Rays faced multiple chalball.

“I looked at it as being a time in lenges. The players chosen for my life, an experience that I was the alt site needed to get back never going to get again,” said into shape after several months Bulls manager Brady Williams. of staying at home. The 60 players and all the staff members “I just decided to embrace it.”

Williams had been a player, were tasked with keeping everycoach or manager at the pro- one ready in case the Rays needfessional level since 1999, and ed someone — but how?

“The first part of it felt like a college, high school and little league player for years be- the start of spring training,” fore that. For the first time, last said current Bulls outfielder March through June, he didn’t Josh Lowe, who was one of the have a game to get to — today, 60. “We called it Spring Traintomorrow or for the foreseeable ing 2.0. They’d told us what they wanted us to do at home, future.

“Normally, I’m not home in but it was hard for them to tell the summer,” he said, “So I spent us for sure what to do because a lot of days in the pool with the they didn’t have a timetable. So boys, a lot of cooking out. A lot of it was getting started all over again, playing catch, taking bathoney-do list items.”

Like most of us, he also put in ting practice on the field, then against live pitching. We did a a lot of time on Zoom.

“We did a bunch of calls with- few weeks of that.”

Then the real alternate site in the organization as far as how you do things and trying to im- work started. Coaches had to prove on how you do things,” he keep the players in game shape said. “I made phone calls once but minimize the risk of injury. a week to about 16 players, just And for players used to having to check in on them, to see what standings to track and stat lines they’re doing, how they’re doing, that appeared on the scoreboard each at-bat or appearance, there how they’re holding up.”

Williams had been in the was the challenge of keeping evRays organization since 2006 eryone motivated.

“We tried to make it as fun and worked his way up to Triple-A Durham in 2019. But he and as competitive as we could, was deliberately given a list of daily,” Williams said. “We played players to talk to that hadn’t some simulated games probably three times a week, and those played for him.

“I was calling players that games were four-on-four, sometimes six-on-six.” were in rookie ball To make up for the and A-ball,” he said. missing fielders, the “So I got to know more coaches would often of the organization “I looked at grab a glove. through the phone.

“We were playThat was by design. it as being a ing defense,” WilEvery manager had a time in my life, liams said. “I would different set of play- an experience play third. (Rays hiters. Blake Butera in ting coordinator) Dan (Low-A) Charleston that I was DeMent was playing would be calling some never going second. (Outfield and of the older players baserunning coordithroughout the orga- to get again. I nization.” just decided to nator) Chris Prieto was playing outfield.

Williams’ summer (Catching coordinavacation came to an embrace it.” tor) Tomas Francisend on July 22 when co was playing first. he reported to Tam- Brady Williams, We just tried to make pa, two days before Durham Bulls it as realistic as we the start of the abcould so the players breviated MLB sea- manager got something out of son. He spent the first it.” homestand with the Lowe said the scrimmagRays, then reported to the alternate site in Port Charlotte, es were usually three to five inFlorida, where five dozen minor nings and occurred right in the league prospects stood by, ready heat of the day. “Being in Port to step in if the big club had inju- Charlotte, being as hot as you can be, 90 to 95 degrees every ries or an outbreak.

Of course, there are hundreds single day,” he said.

The players reported at 10:30 of players in the Rays organization, but only 60 were invited to to 11 in the morning and their the alternate site. That left the on-field day was wrapped up by majority of the Tampa minor 2:30 or 3.

On the days when players leaguers like the rest of us — at didn’t have a game, or in the home, trying to stay busy.

“I was working out in the hours of downtime, they worked morning, giving lessons at on individual skills.

“You’re in this different night,” said catcher Joey Roach, who didn’t go to Port Charlotte. mode,” Williams said. “You’re “I was helping to coach a lit- kind of in the offseason get-bettle 11-year-old team. I did some ter mode, so you can tinker with jobs — landscaping, handyman a lot of things. I think about Taylor Walls and what he and Dan work.”

The Rays are known for their DeMent did with focusing on embrace of data analytics, so hitting the ball and driving it it would be easy to assume the more, and it just so happens we Tampa front office had ways of told him last month he was gotracking the launch angle and ing to the major leagues.”

Lowe agreed. exit velocity of every swing a bat“I think it was a time to imter took at home.

Since the shutdown sprung prove on your game, specificalitself on everyone, however, the ly,” he said. “Being able to get atteam didn’t have time to pre- bats off of top-notch pitchers.

“We were just thankful that pare.

“I actually left all my stuff we were able to go out and be in Port Charlotte,” Roach said. playing baseball amidst every“They called us in and said, thing that was going on,” he con‘Hey, a pandemic is coming. We tinued. “The best part was bedon’t think it’ll last very long.’ I ing out there with the guys when took my glove and a couple bats we knew a lot of our friends with me. Left my clothes, my jer- and teammates were home. We seys, the rest of my equipment. I didn’t take that for granted one didn’t get it back until (the start day, at all. It was always go to the of 2021 spring training) Febru- field and get something out of it.”

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North State Journal for Wednesday, June 2, 2021

Irving dodges bottle in Boston in another ugly NBA incident The league has had several fan incidents in the last week of the playoffs

By Jimmy Golen The Associated Press BOSTON — Kyrie Irving says banning fans who mistreat NBA players won’t solve the problem.

It goes much deeper than that. “(It’s) just underlying racism and treating people like they’re in a human zoo,” the former Duke star said after a water bottle was thrown at him following Brooklyn’s 141-126 victory over the Celtics on Sunday night.

“Throwing stuff at people, saying things. There’s a certain point where it gets to be too much,” said the Nets guard, who spent two years playing in Boston and revealed last week he was the victim of racism during his time in the city. “You see people just feel very entitled out here. ... As a black man playing in the NBA, dealing with a lot of this stuff, it’s fairly difficult.

You never know what’s going to happen.”

Irving had 39 points and 11 rebounds to quiet the first post-pandemic full house at the TD Garden and lead the Nets to victory in Game 4 of their first-round playoff series. The win gave Brooklyn a 3-1 lead and a chance to clinch at home on Tuesday.

As Irving walked off the court, he was nearly hit by a bottle thrown

from the stands. Irving and Nets guard Tyler Johnson turned toward the stands and pointed. Police surrounded a man in a Kevin Garnett jersey in the stands before leading him out in handcuffs.

A spokeswoman for the TD Garden said Boston Police arrested one person Sunday night “for throwing an object.”

“We have zero tolerance for violations of our guest code of conduct,” spokeswoman Tricia McCorkle said. “And the guest is subject to a lifetime ban from TD Garden.”

The incident mirrored bad behavior at other NBA games in the past week as arenas began lifting capacity limits set during the pandemic.

In Philadelphia, a fan threw popcorn at Wizards star Russell Westbrook; in New York, one spit at Atlanta’s Trae Young as he prepared to inbound the ball. They were banned, as were three fans in Utah who Grizzlies guard Ja Morant said “just went too far” with him or his family.

“Fans have got to grow up at some point,” Nets forward Kevin Durant said. “I know that being in the house for a year and a half with the pandemic has got a lot of people on edge, has got a lot of people stressed out. But when you come to these games you’ve got to realize: These men are human. We’re not animals. We’re not in the circus.

“You coming to the game is not all about you as a fan. So have some

“(It’s) just underlying racism and treating people like they’re in a human zoo.”

Kyrie Irving, Nets point guard respect for the game. Have some respect for the human beings. And have some respect for yourself.

Your mother wouldn’t be proud of you throwing water bottles at basketball players or spitting on players or tossing popcorn. So grow the (expletive) up and enjoy the game,” Durant said. “It’s bigger than you.”

Durant scored 42 and James Harden added 23 points and a career postseason-high 18 assists to help Brooklyn move within one win of their first playoff series victory since 2014. Jayson Tatum scored 40 points for the Celtics, who were playing at home for the first time since Massachusetts lifted its COVID-19 capacity restrictions.

One night after the Boston Bruins beat the New York Islanders 5-2 in front of the largest crowd to see an NHL game since before the pandemic, the Celtics were hoping for a similar boost. And the sellout crowd of 17,226 came ready to let Irving know they hadn’t forgotten how he professed his love for the city before opting out of his contract.

They booed every time he

ELISE AMENDOLA | AP PHOTO

A security guard points as Brooklyn point guard Kyrie Irving, center, and teammates look up at a fan who allegedly threw a water bottle at him as he left the court after Sunday’s Game 4 between the Celtics and Nets in Boston. touched the ball, showering him and Durant with obscene chants.

But that was eclipsed by the postgame incident.

“We know how these people here are in Boston. We know how pas-

sionate they are about Kyrie in particular — they’re still upset at him,” Durant said. “That’s no reason for them to act childish. Glad we got the ‘W.’ Hopefully, we don’t have to come back here this year.”

Larson gives Hendrick record-breaking win at Coca-Cola 600 The longtime Cup team passed Petty Enterprises for the most wins in series history with 269

By Steve Reed The Associated Press CONCORD — The first thing Rick Hendrick thought about as Kyle Larson crossed the finish line to win the Coca-Cola 600 was April 29, 1984.

That’s when Hendrick won for the first time as a NASCAR Cup Series owner when Geoff Bodine took the Sovran Bank 500 at Martinsville Speedway.

Little did Hendrick know that 37 years later he would become the winningest owner in NASCAR Cup Series history. Larson’s dominating win at Charlotte Motor Speedway gave Hendrick Motorsports a record-setting 269th win, passing Petty Enterprises.

“Unbelievable,” Hendrick said.

“I can’t get in my brain around it right now.”

“With nearly 40 years of excellence, Hendrick Motorsports has set the gold standard for race team success,” said NASCAR Chairman and CEO Jim France. “Rick Hendrick has already cemented his legacy as a NASCAR Hall of Famer, and now adds another incredible accomplishment to an exemplary NASCAR career.”

Hendrick said he’s glad to have the record behind him while quickly praising Richard Petty for his role in NASCAR. “Richard Petty is the king of NASCAR and he has done so much for this sport,” Hendrick said.

Hendrick called it “pretty neat” that Larson broke the record driving the No. 5 car — the same number on Bodine’s car several decades ago.

“It feels great to be the guy to help Mr. H break that record,” Larson said.

Hendrick said he didn’t care which of his four Cup drivers won Sunday — as long as one of them did.

And it seemed all four of them

ECU from page B1 proach to this year’s tournament, especially when it comes to his pitching plans against Norfolk State.

Either American Athletic Conference Pitcher of the Year Gavin Williams (10-0, 1.32 ERA) or freshman left-hander Carson Whisenhunt (6-1, 3.52) figure to get the start against the Spartans, who qualified for their first NCAA Tournament despite a 25-26 record by winning the MEAC tournament last week.

“We’re going to look at Nor-

NELL REDMOND | AP PHOTO

Kyle Larson climbs out of his car at the finish line as he celebrates winning Sunday’s Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway in Concord. had that chance.

It was an impressive night for Hendrick Motorsports with all four drivers finishing in the top five — Chase Elliott was second, William Byron fourth and Alex Bowman fifth.

Kyle Busch was third for Joe Gibbs Racing.

It also was the sixth win in 16 races this season for Hendrick Motorsports — and this one wasn’t even close.

Larson, who joined Hendrick this season, ended six years of struggles at Charlotte, leading 328 of 400 laps and winning four stages.

Larson’s previous best finish at Charlotte was fifth in 2016 and he

folk State and matchups and everything like that, plus we’ll make sure our pitchers feel good,” the former Pirates catcher said. “It’s tricky as a head coach. I’ve never been afraid, and the goal is to win the regional.

“You don’t host a regional or go into a regional without putting your best foot forward and give you an opportunity to win the regional.”

ECU (41-15) is the heavy favorite in a field that includes a Charlotte team it has already beaten this year and a Maryland squad that has yet to play anyone outside

had only one top-10 finish at the Coca-Cola 600. Larson dominated most of the race, becoming the

first driver since Busch in 2018 to sweep every stage. It gave Larson a series-high 10 stage wins this year.

“He is an awesome talent as you see by some of the moves he makes,” Hendrick said. “And he wants to win and is super dedicated. He is all business.”

Busch seemed resigned to the fact he wasn’t going catch Larson even with about 100 laps remaining.

When asked after the first three stages by Fox Sports commentators what he had to do catch the leader, Busch joked “I’m going to have to wreck him — they’re too fast.”

In a year of parity in which 11 drivers won in the first 14 rac-

es, Larson became only the third driver with multiple wins this season. He also won at Las Vegas.

Martin Truex Jr., a two-time winner of the Coca-Cola 600, was one of the favorites to win the race but his hopes ended when his left front tire went completely flat with 60 laps remaining and his pit crew struggled to remove the tire from the rim, ruining any chances of winning.

More than 50,000 fans attended the event after COVID restrictions were lifted about a week before the race. The Cup Series heads to California for the Save Mart 350 at Sonoma Raceway next Sunday for a return to road racing.

the Big Ten. The Pirates’ advantage goes beyond a strong pitching staff and an offense that has combined for a .306 team batting average and features three players — including AAC Player of the Year Connor Norby — with a dozen or more homers.

For the first time since the 2020 season was cut short by the COVID-19 pandemic, the stands at their home field will be at or near full capacity. And the atmosphere, in Godwin’s estimation, figures to be electric.

“It’s going to be nice,” said se-

nior right-hander Cam Colmore, who is 6-1 with two saves and a 1.74 ERA in 28 games this season. “It’s been over a year since we’ve played in front of a packed Clark-LeClair Stadium, and it’s so special. It’s been so long. I can’t wait for Friday.”

Should ECU go on the win this weekend’s double-elimination tournament, it would advance to a Super Regional against the winner of the bracket hosted by Vanderbilt. That would be a difficult task, especially if the No. 4 national seed Commodores make it through as expected.

But that’s not something the Pirates are thinking about yet. It is, after all, a “process,” and there are no shortcuts on the road to success.

Or Omaha.

“Once you get to this part of the season, everybody’s good,” All-AAC outfielder/first baseman Thomas Francisco said. “Everybody is in control of their own destiny at this point, so if we go out there and play our best baseball, I really think we can make a deep run. We just have to keep doing what we’ve been doing all year long.”

5 The number of the car that earned Hendrick Motorsports both its first and recordbreaking win. Geoff Bodine got the team to Victory Lane for the first time in 1984, and Kyle Larson won Sunday’s Coca-Cola 600 for Hendrick’s 269th.

North State Journal for Wednesday, June 2, 2021

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features ‘Dr. Beach’ says powerful Hawaii shoreline is 2021’s best Two NC beaches make it into the top ten in the U.S.

By Caleb Jones The Associated Press HONOLULU — Cruising along the west side of Hawaii’s Big Island, the landscape is dominated by ancient volcanic flows and jagged shorelines. Then you get to Hapuna Beach.

There, the contrast of black lava rock, white sand and blue water means you have arrived in paradise — at least that’s what “Dr. Beach” believes.

“It’s like an oasis,” said Stephen Leatherman, who has been ranking U.S. beaches on his annual list under the alias “Dr. Beach” for three decades.

The sand “looks super white there because of the black lava beside it,” he said. “I think the contrast makes you think, ‘Oh my gosh, I’ve never seen sand so white in my life.’ “ Hapuna Beach State Park was ranked the best beach in the U.S. in Leatherman’s review of sandy shorelines for 2021.

Leatherman, a coastal scientist and professor at Florida International University, hopes his 31st annual list will encourage people to get out and leave the past year of pandemic struggles in the rearview mirror.

He acknowledged that people will have to pay extra to get tested for COVID-19 before coming to the islands. “Hawaii is a really special place, and so I think it’s worth it,” he said.

Kandi Miranda, who owns Manuela Malasada Company and runs a food truck near Hapuna Beach State Park, was born and raised on the Big Island. She was able to stay open for locals throughout the pandemic and is optimistic about the return of visitors.

“There was a lot of darkness at

MICHAEL DARDEN | WEST HAWAII TODAY VIA AP, FILE

This Aug. 30, 2006, file photo, shows Hapuna Beach Park on the Big Island of Hawaii. that time, I mean everyone was closing,” she said of the early days of the pandemic. “I wanted people to know that through good times and bad, we would still be there.”

Miranda said Hapuna Beach is a powerful place — both spiritually and literally. “It’s unapologetically magical,” she said.

When the water is calm, it’s a great place to be, Miranda said.

But when the ocean rises and big waves begin to crash, it can be “really dangerous.”

“It’s beautiful, but there’s a very strong undertow there,” she said.

Growing up on Hawaii Island, a place of active volcanoes, towering waterfalls and huge sea cliffs, she learned to respect nature.

“The ocean in general in our culture is a really powerful place,” she said. “It’s very healing, but you know the way that we grew up, it gives but it takes away, right?”

Leatherman agreed and said that while Hapuna has a well trained group of lifeguards and is great for swimming and snorkeling on calm days, the winter swells

can be deceiving.

Rip currents cause “the greatest loss of life that we have at beaches,” he said. “I’m trying to give people a better understanding of rip currents because a lot of people don’t understand them. They say ‘We can’t see them, then they’re probably not there.’”

Hawaii’s Department of Land and Natural Resources released a statement Thursday saying Leatherman’s designation of Hapuna highlights a paradox.

“This naturally brings more people to see these outstanding natural and cultural places,” DLNR Division of State Parks Administrator Curt Cottrell said. “So our conundrum is balancing resource protection, quality of experience, and public safety concerns.”

The state agency said visitors should use reef-safe sunscreen and know that lifeguard coverage may be reduced because of revenue loss and budget cuts during the pandemic.

Waialea Bay, which is adjacent

to Hapuna, is one of 11 designated natural areas that has the state’s highest level of environmental protection. The bay is closed in the morning hours of coming days because coral are expected to spawn.

Leatherman uses 50 criteria to evaluate beaches, with the most important categories being safety and cleanliness.

Leatherman uses data from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to grade the beaches on water quality and has been to all of the beaches on his list.

Beaches in Hawaii are consistently ranked high, and in recent years he has given them extra points for prohibiting smoking.

“First of all, it’s a health issue,” he said of wafting cigarette smoke.

“But the biggest thing is disposal of the cigarette butts. People look at beaches like a giant ashtray.”

Cigarettes “are the number one form of litter in terms of numbers,” Leatherman said.

For many years of rankings, any beach that won the top spot on Leatherman’s list was ineligible for inclusion in subsequent years.

But in 2015, Dr. Beach cleared the slate to allow any beach in the nation to once again be eligible, though new winners are now being retired.

Last year, Leatherman chose a beach outside of Hawaii because, he said, island lockdowns and quarantine rules made it nearly impossible for people to visit.

“I know a lot of people have been vaccinated,” he said. “And so I think this year it’s fine for Hawaii to be on the list. And I encourage people to go there.”

“You can really social distance on the Big Island,” Dr. Beach added.

Rounding out the top 10 beaches on this year’s list are: Coopers Beach in Southampton, New York; Ocracoke Lifeguarded Beach in the Outer Banks of North Carolina; St. George Island State Park in Florida; Lighthouse Beach, Buxton, Outer Banks of North Carolina; Duke Kahanamoku Beach in Oahu’s Waikiki, Caladesi Island State Park in Dunedin and Clearwater, Florida; Coronado Beach in San Diego, California; Beachwalker Park in Kiawah Island, South Carolina; and Coast Guard Beach in Cape Cod, Massachusetts.

Fueling box office rebound, ‘Quiet Place’ opens with $58.5M

By Jake Coyle The Associated Press NEW YORK — Moviegoing increasingly looks like it didn’t die during the pandemic. It just went into hibernation.

John Krasinski’s thriller sequel “A Quiet Place Part II” opened over the Memorial Day weekend to a pandemic-best $48.4 million, according to studio estimates Sunday. Including the Monday holiday, the studio forecasts the film will gross $58.5 million in North America. It added another $22 million in ticket sales overseas.

The film’s performance cheered a movie industry that has been punished and transformed by the pandemic. Paramount Pictures’ “A Quiet Place Part II,” which was on the cusp of opening in March 2021 before theaters shut, was the first big film this year — and one of the only larger budget COVID-era releases beside Christopher Nolan’s “Tenet” — to open exclusively in theaters.

Chris Aronson, distribution chief for Paramount, called the opening “an unqualified success.”

“It’s a huge sigh of a relief and a sense of optimism for sure,” Aronson said. “Movies, moviegoing, movie theaters aren’t dead. Yes, they’ve been threatened but they’re proving once again that they’re resilient and that people do want to have that communal experience.”

Many studios have trotted out hybrid release plans during the pandemic, debuting films simultaneously in the home. The Walt Disney Co. did that this weekend with its live-action PG-13 Cruella De Vil prequel, “Cruella,” making it available to Disney+ subscribers for $30. In theaters, it grossed $21.3 million, Disney said, and an estimated $26.4 million over the fourday weekend. “Cruella” also added $16.1 million in 29 international territories. Disney didn’t say how much the film made on the company’s streaming platform.

“A Quiet Place II” will also turn to streaming after 45 days in theaters when it becomes available on Paramount+. One clear result of the pandemic is that the theatrical window has shrunk, probably per-

JONNY COURNOYER | PARAMOUNT PICTURES VIA AP

This image released by Paramount Pictures shows, from left, Noah Jupe, Millicent Simmonds and Emily Blunt in a scene from “A Quiet Place Part II. manently. Three months was once the customary length of a movie’s run in theaters. The year’s previous best debut belonged to Warner Bros.’ “Godzilla vs. Kong,” which opened with $32.2 million, or $48.5 million over its first five days, while simultaneously streaming on HBO Max. The contrasting release strategies between “A Quiet Place Part II” and “Cruella” offered a test case for Hollywood. How much does a day-and-date release cost a movie like “Cruella” in ticket sales? Is it worth it? Without knowing how much “Cruella” benefitted Disney+, a true comparison isn’t possible.

But the strong returns for the theater-only “A Quiet Place Part II” are telling, says Paul Dergarabedian, senior media analyst for data firm Comscore. He called it a “pivotal weekend” for the movie industry that proved predictions of the movie theater’s demise “flat-out wrong.”

“That ‘Quiet Place Part II’ did so well makes a strong case that a theatrical-first release for a big movie is the way to go,” Dergarabedian

said. “This is the best possible news for an industry that’s been dealing with probably the most profoundly challenging chapter in the history of the movie theater.”

The debut of “A Quiet Place Part II” was much watched throughout Hollywood as the kickoff to its delayed summer movie season. After largely sitting out the pandemic, or diverting to streaming platforms, a lineup of blockbusters are again queuing up. On tap are Warner Bros.’ “In the Heights,” Universals’ “F9” and Disney’s “Black Widow.”

Last week, Universal Pictures’ ninth installment in the “Fast & Furious” franchise, “F9,” opened with $162 million in ticket sales in eight international markets, and $135 million in China alone. In its second weekend, “F9,” which opens in North America on June 25, raced toward $230 million worldwide.

In the end, “A Quiet Place Part II” performed a lot like how the first one did. That 2018 hit, which ultimately grossed $340 million globally on a $17 million budget, launched with $50.2 million in North American ticket sales. Se-

quels usually do better than the original but “Part II” had far more challenges due to pandemic.

Rich Gelfond, chief executive of IMAX, where “A Quiet Place Part II” earned $4.1 million domestically, called the film “the first domestic release this year to cross the threshold from ‘great opening weekend given the pandemic’ to ‘great opening weekend, period.’”

Memorial Day weekend, usually one of the busiest for theaters, still didn’t look like it normally does at the movies. Total box office exceeded $80 million but that’s about a third of the holiday weekend’s normal business. Last Memorial Day, when nearly all operating theaters were drive-ins, ticket sales amounted to $842,000, according to Comscore.

Many theaters, particularly in New York and Los Angeles, are still operating with social distancing measures. But guidelines are thawing. Last week, the nation’s top theater chains — AMC, Regal, Cinemark — said they would no longer require vaccinated moviegoers to wear face masks.

Risky, impatient climbers bring danger to US highest peak Mt. Denali, Alaska Rangers who keep an eye on North America’s highest mountain peak say impatient and inexperienced climbers are taking more risks and endangering themselves and other climbers after a year off because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Denali in southern Alaska is 20,310 feet (6,190 meters) above sea level and requires a level of expertise and acclimation to high altitudes not needed for climbing most peaks in the U.S. “We have seen a disturbing amount of overconfidence paired with inexperience in the Alaska Range,” the National Park Service wrote in a statement.

The remoteness and extreme weather in Alaska pose extra risks, even for climbers may have a good deal of experience at elevations up to 14,000 feet in the Lower 48. After reporting no deaths in 2018 and 2019, at least two people have already died on the mountain in 2021. The Park Service limits the number of people who can climb Denali to less than 1,500 per year.

In 2019, 726 people made the summit, according to the agency, with the busiest time coming in May and June.

Travis, Sexton to team for radio show in Limbaugh’s old home New York The late Rush Limbaugh’s radio syndicators said Thursday they will team personalities Clay Travis and Buck Sexton for a new show in Limbaugh’s old time slot. Premiere Radio Networks will offer their program on weekdays from noon to 3 p.m. starting on June 21. Travis, founder of the Outkick media company, has been hosting the Fox Sports Radio program, “Outkick the Coverage.”

Sexton, a former CIA officer and counterterrorism expert, has his own show with Premiere. Since Limbaugh died of cancer on Feb. 17, Premiere has aired a series of guest hosts that also play archival footage of old Limbaugh programs. Dan Bongino and Dana Loesch are two conservative media personalities who are working in the same time slot, trying to claim some of Limbaugh’s old audience. Travis said he couldn’t resist the opportunity to do a show in “the most coveted time slot in the talk format.” “While no one will ever replace Rush Limbaugh, Buck and I are excited to continue advancing the causes he held dear,” he said.

Fractured fairy tale musical to use Britney Spears music New York Plans are afoot to put some old hit songs by Britney Spears into a stage musical about woke princesses, and the hope is that the result isn’t “Toxic.” The Shakespeare Theatre Company in Washington, D.C. announced Thursday that it will stage “Once Upon a One More Time,” featuring Spears’ tunes, including “Oops!…

I Did It Again,” “Lucky,” “Stronger” and “Toxic.”

The musical will have an original story written about classic fairy tale princesses — Cinderella, Snow White and Little Mermaid, among them — who are transformed after reading “The Feminine Mystique,” a landmark feminist text. “Once Upon a One More Time” begins performances at Sidney Harman Hall on Nov. 29. It represents a significant pivot for The Shakespeare Theatre Company, known for its more stately offerings.

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North State Journal for Wednesday, June 2, 2021

North State Journal for Wednesday, June 2, 2021

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2021 Aston Martin Vantage Roadster

Yellow Tang and blue sky Aston Soul, AMG Power, All Passion

By Jordan Golson North State Journal

PHOTOS COURTESY ASTON MARTIN

SAN DIEGO — I was driving north on I-5 towards Orange County when a maniac pulled up next to me and began waving frantically.

I wondered if the rear end of my car, a brilliantly yellow Aston Martin Vantage Roadster was on fire, and he was trying to let me know about it. But no — instead, he showed me his Dodgers cap, and I began laughing, gave him a thumbs-up, and goosed it.

Easy triple-digits quickly put space between me and my new fan.

Clearly, with my long red beard, red hair, and my stunning Aston Martin drop-top, he thought I was World Series champion Justin Turner of the LA Dodgers. I wasn’t, but I was happy to give the fellow a thrill.

Giving thrills is precisely what the Vantage was built for, and the recipe is simple: Take one part heart-stopping exhaust note, a splash of jaw-dropping lines, a dash of eye-popping yellow paint, and shake vigorously. Aston Martin has done this to perfection and charges $203,886 for the privilege.

Several years ago, an Aston Martin exec told me their internal customer surveys revealed that 87 percent of Aston buyers said James Bond played a role in their purchase decision. This meant, he said, that 13 percent of Aston buyers were clearly lying.

You can’t separate the iconic British spy from the iconic British sports car, and that’s just how Aston likes it, thank you very much. It’s the greatest marketing tie-up in history.

I was at the Geneva Auto Show in 2017 when the new Aston Martin DB11 was introduced. Aston had hauled a DB5, the car that Sean Connery drove in Goldfinger (and was later resurrected for Daniel Craig in Casino Royale), out of storage and had it on stage next to its newly-unveiled descendant.

The DB5 is automotive royalty, and everyone flocked to pay their respects. I saw senior management from countless competitors come over to check out the old beauty and take selfies with it. Nothing brings the various factions of the car world together like a universally beloved classic.

My favorite part of the prior Vantage was that while it was designed for a lovely Aston Martin V8, the company was in dire straits at one point and needed a new product but didn’t have the money to build an entirely new car.

So Aston’s engineers put their heads together and somehow shoehorned the company’s much larger V12 engine into the same engine bay. Poof, V12 Vantage. I drove one a few years ago around LA. It had a seven-speed stick-shift and a wild orange-and-white paint scheme and was magnificent.

I’m afraid this Vantage isn’t quite so extraordinary, but it’s a far better car for one straightforward reason: Mercedes-AMG built an awful lot of it.

It has a hand-built AMG 4.0-liter twin-turbo V8 under the hood pumping out 503 horsepower through an 8-speed AMG transmission. That old Aston V12 was a glorious thing to behold when it worked, which was only some of the time.

With this beast, which also sits under the bonnet of Merc’s own AMG GT, Aston gets access to AMG’s massive economies of scale and production knowhow. The result is a much more reliable engine that has billions of euros of German R&D budget plowed into all eight of its cylinders, both turbos, most of the dashboard and central stack and the buttons on the inside, and it’s all the better for it.

I’m sure some folks scoff at the tie-up, but they’re wrong. Without the Mercedes money, this car and Aston Martin would not exist. Thanks to an infusion of German cash and hardware, not only is Aston building excellent sports cars again, but they’re building ones that will probably keep on chugging for years to come. It even comes with a three-year unlimited mileage warranty.

My test Vantage was bold and brash in Yellow Tang, and it had $53,800 of (likely very profitable) optional equipment fitted. That includes $5,000 for the paint, $10,600 for the exterior carbon fiber, $3,100 for some carbon fiber hood vents, and $1,600 for some yellow brake calipers.

And the Vantage Roadster has the fastest convertible roof in a car today, closing in 6.8 seconds and opening in just 6.7 while moving at up to 31 mph.

It’s everything you’d expect from an Aston Martin: gorgeous as hell and with interior electronics from the last decade, but it generates smiles and thumbs up (and frantic waves from Dodger fans) like nothing else on the road. Like so many high-end sports cars, the Vantage Roadster is a happiness generator.

Just drop the top, soak up the sun and point that Yellow Tang nose towards the open road. Then go wherever that road takes you. It’s the best $203,000 you’ll ever spend.

It generates smiles and thumbs up like nothing else on the road.

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to this get back to normal The comfort How Chinawe willbegin payThe for COVID-19 3 big questionscatas nob

WITH MOST STATES under either shelter-in-place or stay-at-home North State Journal for Wednesday, June 2, 2021 hina lied about the origin of the ONE THING IS CERTAIN; after thisthanks COVID-19 virus cavalierofmanner in which orders to local ordissipates state governments,The a majority Americans WEEK, virus, according to members theand fede ied to tell the world there were only “THIS ISofTHE DA around the globe and in the United will to pay forTHIS this covered up its spread t areStates, havingChina to adjust what is being called the “new normal.” and state and local governments, Americans have rldwide panic, economic collapse and in it” (Psalm 118:24) catastrophe one way or another.

3,341 related led to wo Some of these orders extend at least through the end deaths of this has month. ce or stay-at-home fallen into place. I understand the seriousness of the virus thetoneed the curve in the novel coronavirus outbreak.

The e being thrown out of work.

I know that durin Inand order put the crisis causedVirginia’s

by Chinastay-at-home in perspective, zero millions of Americans needlessly orders go into June. ty of at Americans to take precautions, but I’m uneasy with how people who simply ask muted — after all, trends can easily reverse — but ayer least $2.4 trillion in added working from home worldwide pandemics can trace their source to theCarolina, United States over Gov.The hasstated cost the U.S. tax Here in North Democratic Roycrisis Cooper during normal.” questions back to have abided by recommendations and orders.

The Reserve backup liquidity to the about the data, and when things can start getting be glad” as the Bible our 231-year history. At least fourainrecent the 20th century alone be that “we debt plus trillions Federa coronavirus press can briefing just don’t know more yet” ifin the nd of this month. are treated in some circles with contempt. to flu,” stay 1977 at home; they’ve practiced socialthe distancin he U.S. dollar were notnormal the reserve and dad, Easter directly traced to China: 1957 “Asian flu,” 1968 “Hong Kong markets and financial outlets.

If t state’s stay-at-home orders will extend into May. Since when did They’re treated as though we as a society simply must accept flu” without they’ve donned masks. fund any of these emergency have tonot bethe thankful “Russian and the 2002 SARS outbreak.

There is evidence that the currency, we would be able to Perhaps If he does decide to extend it, questions should be asked as to We need WALTER E. WILLIAMS per stated during question what the government tells us about when it’s massive safe to begin the The result: a reduction inwithout expected hospitalizat Lenten and of rampant inflation and currency pandemic.

1918 questioning “Spanish flu” pandemic also had for its origins in China. measures justification it. And the answers should not be vague onesimmediate like “we fea COVID-19 t know yet” if the process of returning back to normalcy. transparency According to the University of Washington Institu For me, my faith i Easter seasons government There is 100% agreement, outside of do China, thatofCOVID-19 depreciation. must this out an abundance of caution.” is China’s No. The government works for us, and we have the right to ask those Metrics and Evaluation model most oft cited by m ant ways and decisions through making.

As I celebra and honesty originated in at Wuhan Province probably from the has pay for their provide a China all levels It will need tocompletely be explained in detail to the people ofto this state who aber asked as to the And the longer stay-at-home orders are in place all over and the unsanitary wet markets.

Trump administration, theand expected need for hos plomacy has obviouslyquestions. not worked Corinthians 1:4, whi Chernobyl. unregulated Some believe it came out of a economic financial means.

D from our are being told to remain jobless and at home for an undetermined message of become a gue likecentury “we health, country, and the stricter some of them get in states, such as Michigan, peak outbreak was revised down by over 120,000 support from his narrow Democratduced unpopular automatic spendorldones of 21st hygiene affliction, so that wew biowarfare lab run by the communist Chinese army. to bring China into the civilized scientific experts amount of time why models predicting hundreds of thousands of cases that we13,000 icby majorities inwill Congress. ing cutspolicing that were largely reversedof hope bad thing? thethe more people, sitting at home feeling isolated and/or anxious about ventilators nearly and the number of ov unist regimes never take blame affliction, withcomm the c Until China adopts rigorous verifiable and regulation and fair trade.

Totalitarian are reliable.

— we need to Biden’s spending proposals inover the ensuing decade. once again enjoy of this state who when will demand August by nearly 12,000. orse, because that is not whatthey can get back to providing for their families,their God.” That is what food safety and health protocols, American business no other or express sincere To date, I’ve gone along with the numerous state has asked andregret thento and rem clude programs Huge deficits have to has drive upwhat know what theyyet ndetermined answers.

Here’s the problem: Wenew still don’t know the ans sporting events, take advantage of every weakness Ifeconomy” you are celebrat choice than tofree build redundant manufacturing plants totalitarian governments do. The citizens mandated that we do,elsewhere but along thestrengthen way I’ve also questions about the had “caring interest rates as many fiscal hawkspurely housands of cases at the local and state levels should be as forthcoming as they know, what they questions that will allow the economy to reopen. pushing until they win orLeaders the reflect on this messa concerts, family for national security safety reasons as well asRepublican supply deliveryhave, they find in adversaries with large programs aimed at childand keep have feared, however, andand genuine the data.

State leaders too. living inand a free can be with those answers — and again, not vague answers, but concerns. answer First, what the true$437 coronavirus fatality rate?c God’sback. example don’t and when andofis elder care: billion over 10is and anti-deficit sentiment is difficult reliability adversaries gatherings, Unfortunately, when certaintotypes questions get push asked, there AMERICA’S COLLEGES are rife with society were kedhappens and then with details that give their statements believability. important because it determines whether certain ent such as the Chernobyl this difficult time.

T years to provide free preschool to all find in either political party.

The most direct way to make China “pay”hope for this is to offer That is, unless an exogenous ev they to disaster corruption. The financial squeeze resulting sometimes a disturbing tendency among people to treat those church some services questions about We should families, be open or closed, whether we ought to pursue — 3and 4-year-olds and two years of The unusual timing of the budget believe that event, not the Star Warsall continue confident we will em supposed from COVID-19 offers opportunities for a to do what we can to keep our U.S. tax credits to companies whosimply willknow source at least halfdata of their meltdown instart 1986.

Some back experts what theythe questioning and asking when we can getting and more Sponsored

by Union freemany community college to allthis Amerrollout — the Friday afternoon beand our communities safe. But we still continue more liberalized society that presumes wide spreat Sponsored by should also o the dissolution of theourselves, Soviet In same spirit bit of remediation.

Let’s first examine what production back in the States.

There is approximately $120 program of Reagan, led directly to do, lastUnited I tofore normal as though they are conspiracy theorists or are people who don’t. icans.

Also, $225 billion would subMemorial Day weekend — inafter our own asked, there to of ask questions about the data, because while reasonable stay-at-home ought to lock down further. mightisbe the root academic corruption, neighbors helping ne billion worth checked. of American direct investment in plants and equipment inor1989. otherwise care if they get others sick. sidize child care to allow many to dicates thatdon’t the White House isn’tthemselves title of a recent study, ehernobyl. to treatsuggested those by the measures are understandable, they should also have an expiration date.

We’ve seen case fatality rates — the number of temporary In Concord, a high in China. Chinese direct$2.3 investment in the U.S. is about $65deficit billion by Perhaps isbad China’s Cd Since did questioning government at all levels ainpay for a maximum of COVID-19 7%become of their towhen trumpet the bad ministration’s eight-year, tril- eager

By Andrew Taylor “Academic and to theAmericans, North State Journal Wednesday, April 15, 2020 starttalking getting backGrievance ThisStudies is all new and it is not normal. Not in any way, the number of identified COVID-19 cases —aare but b eady about the possibility money to buy 3-D sacrifices are comparison.

Senators in Washington alr comeinfor children under age 5. news. That is what free citizens living lion infrastructure proposal and thing?

The Press a all free society were supposed Corruption of Scholarship.”

The study wasAssociated are people who shape, or form.

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

We don’t k debt we owe them as one way to get health care workers Another $225 forgiving billion over Under the debt held An tax credit of 30% half of U.S.plan, investment in China of China $1.2the trillion in $1.8investment trillion American Families over. toon do, lastBiden’s I checked. done

by Areo, anshellfish opinion and analysis NC-farmed sick. same time we shouldn’t get comfortable with this so-called “new people have actually died coronavirus.

Some th so y have caused US. the Don’t hold your next create a national byMy thefirst public would as quickly Plan and adds billion, details on his $1.5 WASHINGTON, D.C. — Prestoday, or $60 applied to repatriated American manufacturing China to of “pay” the damage digitalthe magazine.

By the way, Areo is short concern we gomatch along in alldecade this, ofwould course, isfor my family.

I’m ls become aAreopagitica, badbut ask normal.” number has been overestimated, given that classi family and medical leave program, the size of the economy and soon trillion request for annual operating ident Joe Biden is proposing a $6 investment lee” to happen your elected industry sees historic for a speech delivered by to the U.S. would costworried the U.S.about Treasury billion the in virus, and breath waiting Ifor a Chinese “Jub them$18 catching I’m worried will.

After while $200 billion would make reeclipse record levels of revenue debtofrelative expenditures for the Pentagon and ty were supposed Not one little bit. trillion budget for next year that’s tax death, particularly among elderly patients, can ountable in tangible financial ways for John Milton in defense of free speech. revenue spread over a few years. $18 billion in lost is representatives to hold China acc suffering from the H1N1 virus (swine flu) during the 2009 pandemic, economic impact cently the enacted subsidy increases under to gross domestic product that have suggest domestic agencies.

Authors Helen Pluckrose, James A.piled high with new safety net pro- decimal sources number is dramatically dust compared to the $6 trillion+ Marshall Plan we are now this disaster.

I’ve been trying to take extra precautions, because all of this brings up under Obamahome. health care law Acting House budget chief stood since World War II. That’s grams the poor and middle class, Lindsay and Peter Boghossian say has that e, is my family.

Matthews also for written under the pseudonym Sister White Toldjah manydepeople arethe dying d to operate as I’m responsible citizens of RALEIGH —Stacey New tosaid savethe our ownplan economy, notmany ofthan defeated enemies as inpermanent. the It is at about timenot they expect way memories ofinapropainful experience I’d prefer to are repeat. spitetoo more $3 trillion Shalanda Young Biden but his generosity depends on tax- undertaking something has gone drastically wrong ied I will.research has After andthat is aNorth regular contributor to RedState and Legal Insurrection.

Even moreTax importantly, we have no clue how mn found ation. past. the world like any other modern hikes, Biden claims, would posed tax increases over the decade, “does exactly what the president ing corporations and the wealthy to But what also makes me lose sleep is how easily most everyone has in academia, especially within certain Carolina’s shellfish industry 2009 pandemic, actually Some pay coronavirus. for his initiatives overscientists the next sugges including an and increase in the corpo- have China has been cheating, stealing, pirating pillaging American the country he would do. Grow keep the nation’s spiking debt from told fields within the humanities. provides over $27 million in They callspiraling totally out of control. l of this brings up of identified cases could be an order of magnitude 15 years, including $2 trillion from rate tax rate from 21% to 28%, inthe economy, create jobs and do so business now for the past 30 years. They have made no secret that they these fields “grievance studies,” where economic and 532 jobs Neal Robbins, publisher | Frank Hill, senior opinion refer notscholarship to repeat.impact number of people who have had coronavirus and corporations from curbing overseas creased capital gains rates on top responsibly by requiring the wealthis not so much based upon Biden inherited record pandem- intend to replace the U.S. as the premier superpower in the world and in the state.

Until 2016, the tax preferences and raising rates earners and returning the top periest Americans and big corporations ic-stoked spending and won a maost everyone hastruth but upon attending to finding replace the dollar as the reserve currency with their renminbi. industry’s economic impact

Business & Economy

Fixingn.c. college corruption FAST

FACTS

Biden’s $6T budget: Social spending, taxes on business A6

Approved Logos

social grievances. Grievance scholars jor victory on COVID-19 relief earprimarily came administrators from the harvestand other lier this year. Friday’s rollout adds bully students, of wild oysters and clams. to their his recently announced infrastrucdepartments into adhering In 2019, farmed oysters they promote tureis and social spending initiatives worldview.

The worldview contributed over $14 to Grievance and fleshes outEDITORIAL his earlier plans to | neither scientific nor million rigorous. state gross domestic productsuch as sharply increase spending for annustudies consist of disciplines al Cabinet budgets. and 271 jobs, according gender studies, sociology, anthropology, to research published byand critical raceThis year’s projected deficit queer studies, sexuality would set a new record of $3.7 trilEric Edwards of NC State studies. lion that would drop to $1.8 trilUniversity’s Department of Pluckrose, In 2017 and 2018, authors lion next year — still almost double Lindsay andand Boghossian Agricultural Resourcestarted submitting Economics.bogus academic papers topre-pandemic levels. The national academic journals infrom cultural, queer, debt will soon breach $30 trillion The findings stem race, gender, fatproject led and sexuality a collaborative by studiesafter more than $5 trillion in already approved COVID-19 relief. As to determine if they would North Carolina Sea Grant inpass peer a result, the government must borseriousness of the virus and the need review and be accepted for publication. partnership with researchers Acceptance of dubious y with how people simplyresearch ask that row roughly 50 cents of every dollar at NC State who University, it spends this year and next. journal editors found sympathetic to their n thingsAppalachian can start getting back to State University, With the deficit largely unintersectional or postmodern leftist vision with contempt.

Duke University, and the checked, Biden would use proof the world would prove the problem of University of North Carolina a societylow simply must accept without posed tax hikes on businesses and academic standards.

Wilmington, and funded by the s us about when it’s safefake to begin Several of the research papers high-earning people to power huge the N.C. Commercial Fishing alcy. were accepted for publication. The Fatnew social programs like univerResource Fund Grant Program. sal prekindergarten, large subsidies us, and we have journal the right to ask those Studies published a hoax paper Since when did “The goal of the research for child care and guaranteed paid that argued the term was home orders are in place all bodybuilding over the was to better understand the leave. questioning exclusionary and should be replaced hem get economic in states, impact such asofMichigan, North to grow our econwith “fat bodybuilding, as a fat-inclusive“The best way government eeling isolated and/or anxious about omy is not from the top down, but Carolina’s seafood industry,” politicized performance.” One reviewer ng for their will demand atupalland levels from the bottom the middle saysfamilies, Jane Harrison, North reading this said, “I thoroughly enjoyed in his budget Carolina Sea Grant’s coastal article and believe it has an importantout,” Biden saidbecome a message. “Our prosperity comes from vels should be as forthcoming economics specialist a they contribution to makeand to as the field and this the people whobad get thing? up every day, again, not vague answers, but answer project lead.

“The shellfish journal.” work hard, raise their “Our indicate Strugglethe Is strength My Struggle: Solidarity results That is family, what pay ents believability. their taxes, serve their Nation, and Feminism as an Intersectional Reply to of the growing aquaculture hat we can to keep our families, free citizens volunteer in their communities.”

Neoliberal Feminism,” was sector.” afe. But we should and alsoChoice still continue The budget incorporates the adliving in a free accepted for publication Supply and demand ofby Affilia, a ecause while reasonable stay-at-home feminist journal for social workers.

The farmed oysters have risen society were y shouldpaper also have an expiration consisted in partCarolina of adate. rewritten exponentially in North supposed nd it is not normal.

Not in any way,Two other passage Mein Kampf. over thefrom past five years. d remainhoax vigilant and stay safe, at papers were published, including to do, last I “Restaurants that once only “Rape and Queer Performativity mfortable withCulture this so-called “new served out-of-state shellfish checked. at Urban Dog Parks.” This paper’s subject now proudly advertise multiple was dog-on-dog rape. But the dog rape N.C. oyster varieties,” Harrison paper eventually forced Boghossian, says.

Pluckrose and Lindsay to prematurely out Farmed oysters are typically under the pseudonym Sister Toldjah themselves.

A Wall Street Journal writer soldLegal on theInsurrection. half-shell, dState and had figured out what whereas they were doing. wild oysters are accepted more common Some papers for publication at oyster roasts and often in academic journals advocated training already men likeshucked. dogs and punishing white male Opportunities to try local slavery by college students for historical shellfish can be found along asking them to sit in silence on the floor in Oyster class Trail, and a recent the NCduring chains to be expected to partnership that showcasesOther papers learn from the discomfort. celebrated morbid obesity as a healthy life oyster growers, seafood choice and advocated treating privately restaurants, and seafood conducted masturbation as a form of festivals and events throughout sexual violence against women. Typically, the state. s academic editors send submitted For N.C.journal seafood economic papers outhighlights, to referees research asfor review. In recommending acceptance well as formal reports and for publication, many reviewers gave these papers glowing methodology, visit go.ncsu.edu/ praise.

NCSeafoodDemand.

Political scientist Zach Goldberg ran certain grievance studies concepts through the Lexis/Nexis database, to see how often they appeared in our press over the years.

He found huge increases in the usages of “white privilege,” “unconscious bias,” “critical race theory” and “whiteness.”

All of this is being taught to college students, many of whom become primary and secondary school teachers who then change careers entirely, and perBy Elizabethour Lincicome indoctrinate young people.

North Statewhether Journalthe coronavirus- haps most pervasive - the increase I doubt in unemployment benefits. caused financial crunch will give college RALEIGH More than a year and university— administrators, who are aLarry Cerilli who co-owns Snoopy’s Hot Dogs in Raleigh after COVID-19 shuta parrot down everycrossbreed between and jellyfish, says at current levels of unemploything from restaurants to movthe guts and backbone to restore academic ment assistance there is a real disie theaters and even respectability.

Far too some often, forms they get much of outdoor recreation, many busiof their political support from campusincentive for people to go back to ness owners arewho stillarestruggling grievance people members ofwork. the He told WRAL News that to reopen to a lack of work- he is working 70 hours a week just faculty anddue diversity and multicultural ers. The Wall offices.

Street Journal re- to stay afloat and that they had to administrative cently on with a survey thatof keep their dining room closed beThe partnered best hope lies boards found more than two-thirds of cause there aren’t enough workers trustees, though many serve as yes-men to aclean tables. “Right now with small having aI think hard that for thebusinesses universityare president.

COVID and some government time finding qualified Ator 1960s good start would be to workers. find 1950s there are people who the same time, 75% of small busicatalogs. Look at the course offerings assistance, at are not in need of a job right now. say they are expecting anesses time when college graduatestheir knew how head counts rise over theand next to read, writeto and compute, makeWe’re all trying to pitch in to get through the day and the answer is year.

While they can offer comthem today’s curricula. Another helpful petitive wages, firms consideration often we just need some employees.” At tool would be tosmaller give careful payeliminating a heavier toll it comes to Humble Pie in downtown Raleigh, to all when classes/majors/minors unfilled positions. shortagcontaining the wordLabor “studies,” such asthey have stopped taking special es affectAsian, business overall, but studies. they orders due to staffing shortages. women, black or queer Eddie Elliott, owner of Cape strongly existing workI’d bet thatimpact by restoring the traditional Fear Seafood Co. in the Village ers as they are to more stretched academic mission colleges, they would andahave to work eventhe harder on District (formerly Cameron Vilput serious dent into COVID-19 lage) says that while hiring has ala shift. shortfall. budget Company owners point to a bar- ways seemed to be an ongoing burrage ofE. reasons for is the slowdownof den in the restaurant business it Walter Williams a professor in applicants.

TheseMason rangeUniversity. from does seem more difficult now. He economics at George ongoing health concerns related to says that many like to point out potential exposure to COVID-19, that folks may be clinging to high early retirement, child care re- unemployment benefits, but N.C. sponsibilities, the decision to unemployment is fairly low at

north STA

to 28%. Unrealized capital gains sonal income tax bracket to 39.6%. to pay their fair share.”

With Democrats in control of would be taxed at death, a problem Biden’s budget is sure to give Republicans fresh ammunition for Capitol Hill, albeit barely, the pres- for some Democrats, and the Biden would significantly stiffen IRS their criticisms of the new Demo- ident has the ability to implement plan Jason many of his proposed tax and enforcement, which the budget cratic administration as bent on a STACEY MATTHEWS “tax and spend” agenda that would spending plans, though his hopes claims would raise $700 billion over damage the economy and impose for awarding greater increases to a decade otherwise lost to cheating and dodging. agencies than to the Pena crushing debt burden on young- domestic COLUMN | REP. RICHARD HUDSON Rep. Richard Neal, the top Demer Americans. Republicans also say tagon are sure to hit a GOP roadocratic House tax writer, praised block. he’s shorting the military.

Some Democrats are already Biden’s new spending and tax cuts “It is insanely expensive. It dramatically increases nondefense balking at Biden’s full menu of tax but was silent on his tax hikes, sayspending and taxes” and would increases, imperiling his ability to ing he’ll “consider the administraweaken the Pentagon, said South pay for his ambitious social spend- tion’s proposals carefully.”

Biden’s budget calls for a roughCarolina Sen. Lindsey Graham, top ing. And his plan to increase spendly 10% bump foreign affairs fund- let us r ing on domestic agencies by 16% Republican on the Budget Commit“THIS IS DAYininto the lord has made, WITH MOST STATES under either shelter-in-place or stay-at-homeTHE fallen place.

I understand th ing from 2021, with top increasrise tee and a generally pragmatic GOP while limiting defense to a 1.7% in it” (Psalm 118:24). orders thanks to local or state governments, a majority of Americans to take precautions, but I’m unea voice on spending bills. “There will is politically impossible in the 50-50 es for climate change, global health during this challenging time of soc are having discussions to adjust toabout whatgovis being called the “new normal.”I know that questions about data, and wh and humanitarian aid.theBiden’s Senate. be serious working from home or losing a job, it may be diffi Some of these orders extend through of this month. normal are treated in some circle $58.5 billion request would support A top Senatethe ally,end Appropriations ernment funding.

But the Bidenat least be glad” theadministration’s Bible tells us to do. as However, as aa return tothough inCommittee Lea- asthe budget isn’tstay-at-home serious and it won’t be ago into Virginia’s orders June. Chairman Patrick They’re treated we and dad, the Easter holiday has reminded me ternational groups, like the World hy, D-Vt., called Thursday for biparpart of those discussions.”

Here in North Carolina, Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper stated during question what the governmentoftej Health Organization andfor, others, tisan talks to start the annual apVeteran GOP Sen. Richard Shelhave to be thankful and of hopeful even m a recent coronavirus press briefing that “we just don’t know yet” if the process returning back in to the norm from which former President Donpropriations bills.

There’s incentive by, whose help is needed to pass anLenten and pandemic. state’s stay-at-home orders will extend into May. No. The government works for had GOP defense hawksFor andme,ald nual agency budget bills, blasted for both myTrump faith is anwithdrawn. important part ofstay-at my da Easter seasons If he does decide to extend it, questions should be asked as to the questions. the longer Last year’s $3.1And trillion budBiden’s plan as “a blueprint for the liberal Democrats like Leahy to barmaking.

As I celebrated Easter with my family, I justification it. Andspending” the answersgain should vague ones like “weget deficit country, and themore stricter provide under Trump thansome of sincenot theabe alternative is a longhigher taxes, for excessive Corinthians 1:4, which reminds us our Lord “com must do “shortchanges this out of anour abundance caution.” people, sitting themore previous record, as theat home term freeze at current spending lev- doubledthe that also nation- of message of affliction, so thatwhen we pandemic may becan able toback comfort those coronavirus shrank reve-to provid els. hope al It security.” will need to be explained in detail to the people of this state who they get that we will affliction, with the comfort which we ourselves ar nues and sent spending soaring.

The Biden plan comes as the Biden is a veteran of a long-gone are being told to remain jobless and at home for an undetermined answers. once again enjoy Council of Economic Advisers White House is seeking an agreeWashington that fought bitterly God.” amount of time why models predicting hundreds of thousands of cases Leaders at the local and state l Chair Cecelia Rouse told reporters with Senate RepublicansIfover in the 1980s and 1990s to wrestle mentsporting events, you are celebrating the Easter season, I—urge are reliable. can be with those answers and Friday that the economy is likely to so that spending.

But winthe deficit under control. But there infrastructure reflect on this message and be comforted, concerts, family To date, I’ve gone along with what the state has asked and then with details that give their statem hasn’t been any real effort to stem ning gains that would even begin outperform the administration’s ofGod’sabout example andWe comfort all those in need arou mandated thatink wesince do, but I’ve hadspending questions should continue to do w gatherings, forgedall in February, toway meet hisalso social goals ficial prediction, the flow of red a teaalong par- the this difficult time.

Through faith and by helping o the data. moment State Republican have, too. services and our s economic growth thiscommunities year. require him to rely solely on of 5.2%ourselves, ty-driven in 2011 thatleaders pro- would church

VISUAL VOICES

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

confident out of this pandemic Unfortunately, when certain types ofand questions get asked, there is we willtoemerge ask questions about the data,strb many more In this same spirit, I continue to be inspired by sometimes a disturbing tendency among some people to treat those measures are understandable, th after our own President Joe neighbors helping neighbors. simply questioning the data and asking when we can start getting back This is all new to Americans, a Biden delivers temporary In Concord, a shape, high school senior named to normal as though they are conspiracy theorists or are people who or form.

So while weTanne shou remarks on to make f money to buy a 3-D printer and plastic sacrifices are otherwise don’t care if they get themselves or others sick. the same time we shouldn’t get co the own economy health care workers out of his home.

Since when did questioning government a bad normal.” over. at all levels become at the thing? That is what free citizens living in a free society were supposed Not one Cuyahoga little bit. to do, last I checked.

Community Collegehas also written My first concern as we go along in all this, of course, is my family. I’m Stacey Matthews Metropolitan worried about them catching the virus, and I’m worried I will. After and is a regular contributor to R Campus, suffering from the H1N1 virus (swine flu) during the 2009 pandemic, Thursday, I’ve been trying to take extra precautions, because all of this brings up May 27, 2021, way too many memories of a painful experience I’d prefer not to repeat. in Cleveland.

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

EVAN VUCCI | AP PHOTO

Local businesses struggle to fill vacant positions “On hiring… many candidates either don’t show up for interviews or they get hired and then abruptly just stop showing up for one reason or another.”

Eddie Elliott, owner of Cape Fear Seafood Co. restaurant around 5%. “That being said, I’m sure there are some folks enjoying a ‘summer paid vacation.’ On hiring, the one common denominator I’m hearing and experiencing is the fact that many candidates either don’t show up for interviews or they get hired and then abruptly just stop showing up for one reason or another. I’ve actually made a statement to many new people, ‘we have one rule, you can’t quit! Just keep showing up,’” Elliott says.

On the question of whether particular jobs are harder to fill, he says it seems like it’s always a moving target. “One week we are

needing cooks, and then dishwashers, and then servers. I think we all just want to get whole and then take a deep breath!”

At the end of the day, business owners always have to adjust their sails, avoid falling into a victim mentality, and keep hiring every day. “We also need to examine what is necessary to retain workers and to keep them happy,” Elliott says. “At CFSC, we work hard to create a healthy environment for our staff with humility and teamwork serving as two of our key core values. I’m optimistic that we can get fully staffed up in the next couple months. We will not stop interviewing and hiring until we get there!”

It’s not just restaurants feeling the struggle. Opulence of Southern Pines, a popular luxury bedding store located in the village center, is hiring for both part time and full time help. Store workers say they have had a hard time filling the vacancies but that the entire village area is looking to occupy open jobs. In response, the shopping center will host a job fair on May 26.

In Roanoke Rapids the manager of a Dunkin’ Donuts was re-

portedly unable to open one day several weeks ago because no one showed up for work. One of the area’s pharmacy owners says he too has had some difficulty filling open positions due to COVID related issues, but that it is certainly not as pronounced as in other industries.

Larger corporations have the luxury of either raising wages or offering signing bonuses when they can’t find enough workers at the rates they have been paying, for instance Walmart is offering a $17 minimum wage at its North Dakota stores in order to entice workers. However small businesses often don’t have this luxury, so in many instances the enhanced unemployment benefits exceed what they could make in available jobs.

The federal government has extended job benefits until September although some states are letting them expire early and the president has said those receiving the extra aid would become ineligible if they turn down suitable job offers. Members of the North Carolina Restaurant Association among others say they hope local officials will soon come up with a way to create an unemployment structure that helps protect people while also giving them some encouragement to find a job and get back to work.

North State Journal for Wednesday, June 2, 2021

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ncdot CASH REPORT For the week ending 5/28 Total Cash & Bond Proceeds:

$2,427,987,865 Add Receipts:

$124,607,134 Less Disbursements:

$135,459,490 Reserved Cash:

$615,197,145 HOUSE FINANCIAL SERVICES COMMITTEE VIA AP

Unreserved Cash Balance Total:

$5,118,623,794

Bill seeking to shore up flood-prone NC areas gets hearing Raleigh A top North Carolina House Republican says legislation that would spend $220 million in part to shore up highways, rivers and coastal areas prone to flooding will make the state more resilient when the next big storm arrives. The House Environment Committee scheduled debate Tuesday on the proposed “Disaster Relief and Mitigation Act,” pushed in part by Majority Leader John Bell of Wayne County. Historic flooding during hurricanes Florence and Matthew destroyed homes and businesses near swollen rivers. Bell calls it a bipartisan measure reflecting input from leaders in North Carolina communities that have taken the brunt of recent storms. The bill includes almost $70 million for Lumber River and Neuse River improvements and some private land buyouts. There’s also money to increase staff at state agencies that work with local governments to plan for future flooding. Senators also have filed legislation to spend money on removing debris from streams in stormaffected counties.

Justices reject Johnson & Johnson appeal of $2B talc verdict Washington, D.C. The Supreme Court is leaving in place a $2 billion verdict in favor of women who claim they developed ovarian cancer from using Johnson & Johnson talc products. The justices did not comment Tuesday in rejecting Johnson & Johnson’s appeal.

The company argued that it was not treated fairly in facing one trial involving 22 cancer sufferers who came from 12 states and different backgrounds. A Missouri jury initially awarded the women $4.7 billion, but a state appeals court dropped two women from the suit and reduced the award to $2 billion. The jury found that the company’s talc products contain asbestos and asbestos-laced talc can cause ovarian cancer. The company disputes both points. Johnson & Johnson, which is based in New Brunswick, New Jersey, has stopped selling its iconic talc-based Johnson’s Baby Powder in the U.S. and Canada, though it remains on the market elsewhere.

Justices Samuel Alito and Brett Kavanaugh took no part in the court’s action. Alito owns $15,000 to $50,000 in Johnson & Johnson stock.

Kavanaugh’s father headed the trade association that lobbied against labeling talc a carcinogen and including a warning label on talc products.

This image from video provided by the House Financial Services Committee shows JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon being sworn in to testify virtually to the House Financial Services Committee Thursday, May 27, 2021.

Bank CEOs tell Congress they’ll work to avoid foreclosures

By Ken Sweet The Associated Press WASHINGTON, D.C. — The chief executives of the nation’s largest banks went in front of Congress for a second day Thursday, facing questions ranging from inflation to their efforts to keep Americans in their homes after government aid to pandemic-hit mortgage holders expires this summer.

The House hearing comes after senators on Wednesday questioned the six CEOs on topics including climate change, voting rights and racial inequities.

House members spent much of Thursday’s hearing asking detailed industry policy questions.

This was the second hearing Rep. Maxine Waters, D-California and chairwoman of the House Financial Services Committee, has held with the big bank CEOs since Democrats took control of the House in 2019. In the earlier hearing, many of the same CEOs were questioned about their commitments to diversity and about the fees they charge customers.

Waters focused most of her questioning on the potential tide of foreclosures this summer once government aid programs come to an end. There are still roughly 2 million homes in some sort of forbearance, which is down significantly from the height of the

“I want commitments from all of you that these people are not going to lose their homes.”

Rep. Maxine Waters, D-California pandemic but still involves millions of struggling families.

“I want commitments from all of you that these people are not going to lose their homes,” Waters said.

In response, the bank CEOs who have mortgage businesses — Bank of America, Wells Fargo, Citigroup and JPMorgan Chase — all said they planned to continue offering flexibility to borrowers even past the expiration date.

The CEOs are appearing as the U.S. economy is recovering from the recession triggered by the coronavirus pandemic. Big banks’ profits surged in the first three months of this year as the recovery has taken hold. They were able to release billions of dollars from their reserves originally set aside in the early days of the pandemic last year for potential losses on their loans.

The banking industry, which was blamed for the Great Recession more than a decade ago,

has spent most of 2020 and this year stressing its efforts to work with borrowers and businesses.

Banks across the country waived fees and put millions of mortgages into forbearance to shore up Americans’ distressed finances in the pandemic.

CEOs like JPMorgan’s Jamie Dimon, Goldman Sachs’ David Solomon and Bank of America’s Brian Moynihan all came to the hearing sharing similar comments they made at Wednesday’s hearing — that the industry is here to help through the pandemic and that the banking system is strong. One new face in front of Congress compared to 2019 is Jane Fraser, the new CEO of Citigroup and the first woman to run a Wall Street firm.

Republicans focused much of their questioning on issues related to U.S. competitiveness with China, rising levels of government debt, as well as the issue of banks choosing not to provide financing to coal companies, gun manufacturers or other controversial industries.

“Your actions would shut down legal American businesses. I would say your actions are not working to advance the economy but actively working against it,” said Missouri Republican Rep. Blaine Luetkemeyer.

Goldman Sachs’ Solomon said that industries like coal are leg-

acy industries but banks will be there to help those companies transition into new technologies.

“There will be new technologies that will create new, even better paying jobs, something that America has always led in,” he said.

Luetkemeyer and other Republicans also pushed on the fact that many of these big banks actively seek to do business in China, which has been accused of numerous human rights violations.

Several members on Congress also asked the CEOs about inflation. Trillions of dollars have been spent under former President Donald Trump and President Joe Biden to combat the economic impacts of the coronavirus pandemic. The economic recovery is well underway, but prices for things such as lumber, steel and gasoline have risen sharply in recent months.

When asked whether inflation is an issue, JPMorgan’s Dimon said that inflation was “heating up, but we are not boiling yet.”

Solomon echoed the comments from Dimon, saying that the economy was not overheating yet “but I would be cautious.”

The CEOs were also asked for their opinion on digital currencies like Bitcoin, which have soared in value the past 18 months, but recently have been extremely volatile. The currencies have also been used in criminal activities, like the ransomware attack on a East Coast pipeline company earlier this month.

“My own personal view is it’s nothing like a fiat currency, it’s nothing like gold. Buyer beware,” Dimon said bluntly.

Boeing to pay $17 million to settle plane production issues

By David Koenig The Associated Press FEDERAL OFFICIALS say Boeing will pay at least $17 million and take steps to fix production problems on its 737 jets, including the Max. The Federal Aviation Administration said Thursday that the settlement covers the installation of unapproved sensors and other parts on some Boeing 737 NG and 737 Max planes built between 2015 and 2019.

The settlement, while not a large sum for Boeing — the company had $15 billion in revenue in 2020, a down year — is the latest black eye for the iconic American manufacturer. Boeing is still struggling to recover from two deadly crashes that led to a long grounding of Max jets worldwide and other problems that have plagued the Max and other aircraft models.

The FAA said Boeing will pay the $17 million civil penalty within 30 days and could be hit with about $10 million in additional fines if it fails to take steps including preventing the use of unapproved parts. The FAA said Boeing also must analyze whether the company and its suppliers are ready to safely raise production rates for the 737.

A Boeing spokesman said the company “fully resolved” the problems in its production system and supply chain. “We continue to devote time and resources to improving safety and quality performance across our operations,” including ensuring that employees comply with regulatory requirements, the spokesman, Ivan Gale, said.

The settlement covers issues

TED S. WARREN | AP PHOTO

Boeing 737 Max airplanes sit parked in a storage lot, Monday, April 26, 2021, near Boeing Field in Seattle. previously identified by the FAA. The agency had proposed a $19.7 million penalty for Boeing’s use of unapproved sensors on nearly 800 planes and $9.3 million for installing unapproved wing panels on more than 300 planes including Max jets and an older 737 model called the NG. The wing panels provide extra lift during takeoff and landing, and ones made by a Boeing contractor had failed a quality test.

In January, Boeing agreed to pay $2.5 billion to avoid possible criminal prosecution for deceiving regulators about the safety of

the Max. It faces lawsuits filed by families of passengers killed in the Max crashes.

Since the FAA cleared the Max to return to flight late last year, more than 100 newly built ones were idled by a problem with electrical grounding of some cockpit equipment. Boeing also held up deliveries of the larger 787 jet for several months because of a flaw in how panels of the carbon-fiber fuselage were joined.

This month, two leaders of the House Transportation Committee said they are requesting more information from Boeing and the

FAA about those recent problems.

Shares of Chicago-based Boeing Co. rose $9.33, or almost 4%, to close Thursday at $250.70 after the CEO of its largest customer, Southwest Airlines, said the airline has room to add nearly 500 new planes in the coming years. Southwest CEO Gary Kelly told The Dallas Morning News that the airline will need more planes after adding new destinations and restoring its network after the coronavirus pandemic slowdown that hit travel last year.

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White House gives GOP 1 week to reach deal on infrastructure

By Hope Yen The Associated Press WASHINGTON, DC — Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg said Sunday time is running short for a bipartisan deal on infrastructure, indicating that President Joe Biden will look to act without Republican support if there is no consensus when Congress returns from its Memorial Day break.

“By the time that they return, which is June 7, just a week from tomorrow, we need a clear direction,” Buttigieg said. “The president keeps saying inaction is not an option. And time is not unlimited here.” He said the American people “expect us to do something.”

Biden plans to meet with lead Republican negotiator, Sen. Shelley Moore Capito of West Virginia, this coming week and says he remains open to hearing from other GOP senators who are working on different proposals. But Biden has been eying the dwindling timeline for a deal, with an early June hearing scheduled on a House transportation bill that is widely seen as a building block for the big pack-

“I think we can get to real compromise, absolutely, because we’re both still in the game.”

Sen. Shelley Moore Capito, (R-WV) age he favors.

Democratic senators also plan on moving forward on a sweeping infrastructure package “with or without the support of Republican senators,” Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., wrote to Democrats on Friday. Biden had originally set a Memorial Day deadline for reaching a deal before he let that deadline slip back.

The two sides remain far apart.

Republican senators last week outlined a $928 billion infrastructure proposal as a counteroffer to Biden’s $1.7 trillion proposal, and they said they would not go along with his plans to raise the corporate tax from 21% to 28% to pay for new spending.

Republicans want to shift unspent COVID-19 relief dollars to help cover the costs, a nonstarter for many Democrats and a proposal that Biden is finding unworkable, a White House adviser told The Associated Press on Friday.

On Sunday, Capito said she remained hopeful the two sides can move closer to agreement.

“I think we can get to real compromise, absolutely, because we’re both still in the game,” she said. “I think the president told me himself that let’s get this done. We realize this is not easy. I think we bring every idea that’s on the table into the negotiations to see how we can achieve this and get it across the threshold.”

Capito said Republicans still disagree with Biden on what should be considered “infrastructure,” saying it should focus on the “physical core idea” such as roads, bridges, ports and even newer things such as broadband, but not elder care as Biden proposes. But Capito said that she believes his “heart” is in the bipartisan talks, and that there remains a “hunger for bipartisanship.”

LYSSA POINTER | ATLANTA JOURNAL-CONSTITUTION VIA AP

Construction project manager Gabrielle Ferro, second right, speaks with U.S. Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg, during a tour of an underground tunnel for the expansion of the Hartsfield–Jackson Atlanta International Airport plane train tunnel at the Hartsfield–Jackson Atlanta International Airport, Friday, May 21, 2021, in Atlanta.

“I think that’s what we see and, in fact, we are inching towards one another,” she insisted.

Buttigieg said while Republicans “philosophically seem to agree that trillion-dollar investments are the kind of thing we need to be doing right now,” there is “a lot of daylight” between the two sides, such as investments to boost the electric vehicle market to shift Americans away from gas-powered cars to stem greenhouse gas emissions.

The GOP plan amounts to

about $250 billion in new spending, far from the president’s approach. Biden reduced his $2.3 trillion opening bid to $1.7 trillion in earlier negotiations.

“I think we are getting pretty close to a fish-or-cut-bait moment,” Buttigieg said Sunday. “We believe in this process, but also very much agree that this can’t go on forever.”

Buttigieg appeared on CNN’s “State of the Union,” ABC’s “This Week,” and “Fox News Sunday.”

Capito also appeared on Fox.

UK’s Heathrow Airport opens terminal for high-risk travelers

By Jill Lawless The Associated Press LONDON — A terminal at London’s Heathrow Airport that was mothballed because of the coronavirus pandemic reopened Tuesday to serve passengers arriving from high-risk countries — an action that critics said was long overdue.

Britain has barred travelers from a “red list” of 43 coronavirus hotspots including India, Brazil, Turkey and South Africa, fearing they could bring in worrisome virus variants. U.K. citizens and residents who return from those countries face a mandatory 10day supervised quarantine in a government-approved hotel.

Critics, however, have complained that red list passengers have been using the same airport arrivals hall as thousands of travelers from other destinations, though in separate lines, since hotel quarantines were introduced in February. Some arriving passengers have described hourslong waits at Heathrow’s passport control in crowded conditions.

Starting Tuesday, red list arrivals will pass through the airport’s Terminal 3, which was closed in April 2020 as international air travel plummeted, leaving Heathrow — previously Europe’s busiest airport — largely empty.

Heathrow said in a statement that it had set up the new arrivals facility because “red list routes will likely be a feature of U.K. travel for the foreseeable future.”

The Public and Commercial Services Union, which represents border staff, said the decision had been made “at extremely short notice, meaning key social distancing procedures are not in place.”

“This is another poorly planned initiative that will be understaffed and rely on volunteers to do overtime, to avoid mounting queues,” the union said.

The U.K. has recorded almost 128,000 coronavirus deaths, the

MATT DUNHAM | AP PHOTO

In this Tuesday, Jan. 26, 2021 file photo, arriving passengers walk past a sign in the arrivals area at Heathrow Airport in London. highest toll in Europe. A mass vaccination campaign that started in December has brought new infections and deaths down sharply, but case numbers are once again rising as a more transmissible virus variant, named Delta by the World Health Organization and first identified in India, spreads across the U.K. On Tuesday, the government reported a further 3,165 confirmed COVID-19 cases, compared to about 2,500 cases last week. But Britain recorded no coronavirus deaths on Tuesday for the first time since July. Apart

from July 30, there have been no days without officially recorded COVID-19 deaths since March 2020.

Still, rising case numbers have cast doubt on the Conservative government’s plans to lift social distancing rules and remaining pandemic-related restrictions on June 21. Many scientists are urging a delay, arguing that more people need to be vaccinated before measures can be eased safely.

Three-quarters of U.K. adults have had one dose of a coronavirus vaccine so far, and almost half have had both doses. Pop-up clin-

ics have been set up as part of a “surge vaccination” campaign in hotspot areas, including one that inoculated thousands of people Monday at London’s Twickenham rugby stadium.

On Tuesday, the Scottish government, which controls its own health policy, said it would be cautious and delay plans to ease restrictions in the most populous parts of the country because cases are rising.

“This is a pause, not a step backwards,” First Minister Nicola Sturgeon said.

The U.K. government says it

will announce on June 14 whether the latest relaxation for England will be delayed.

“We will continue to look at the data, we will continue to look at the latest scientific evidence, as we move through June,” Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s spokesman, Jamie Davies, said Tuesday.

Mark Walport, a former chief scientific adviser to the government, said the situation was “very finely balanced.”

“It is a quite perilous moment, but we’ve just got to keep our fingers crossed that the measures work,” he told the BBC.

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.

TAKE NOTICE

CABARRUS AMENDED NOTICE OF FORECLOSURE SALE 19 SP 452

Under and by virtue of the power of sale contained in a certain Deed of Trust made by Chad J. Runion and Mari Runion (PRESENT RECORD OWNER(S): Chad J. Runion and Mari Runion) to Charles W. McGuire, Trustee(s), dated September 6, 2005, and recorded in Book No. 6215, at Page 246 in Cabarrus 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 Cabarrus County, North Carolina and the holder of the note evidencing said indebtedness having directed

CUMBERLAND AMENDED NOTICE OF FORECLOSURE SALE NORTH CAROLINA, CUMBERLAND COUNTY 20 CVS 2644 Under and by virtue of that Order for Summary Judgment and Appointment of Commissioner filed on March 10, 2021 in Cumberland County by the presiding superior court judge, default having been made in the payment of the note thereby secured by the Deed of Trust recorded on April 23, 2007 in Book 7565, Page 642, Cumberland County Registry, and the undersigned, Anchor Trustee Services, LLC having been appointed as Commissioner in this case, the undersigned Commissioner

that the Deed of Trust be foreclosed, the undersigned Substitute Trustee will offer for sale at the courthouse door in Concord, Cabarrus County, North Carolina, or the customary location designated for foreclosure sales, at 12:00 PM on June 14, 2021 and will sell to the highest bidder for cash the following real estate situated in Concord in the County of Cabarrus, North Carolina, and being more particularly described as follows: Being all of Lot 96 of Brandon Ridge Subdivision, Phase 1, as shown on plat thereof recorded in Map Book 46, Page 4 in the office of the Register of Deeds for Cabarrus County, North Carolina, reference to which plat is hereby made for a more particular description. Together with improvements located thereon; said property being located at 4481 Norfleet Street, Concord, North Carolina.

The Deed of Trust was modified by the following:

A Loan Modification recorded on April 9, 2012, in Book No. 09950, at Page 0308.

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

will offer for sale at the courthouse door or other usual place of sale in Cumberland County, North Carolina, at 2:00PM on June 8, 2021 and will sell to the highest bidder for cash the following described property, to wit: Being all of Lot No. 51 in a subdivision known as LaGrange, Section 10, Part 1, according to a plat of the same duly recorded in Plat Book 35, Page 5, Cumberland County, North Carolina Registry, to which reference is hereby made for a more particular description of same.

Together with improvements located hereon; said property being located at 7321 Avalon Drive, Fayetteville, NC 28303. Tax ID: 9498-79-7558 Third party purchasers must pay the excise tax, pursuant North Carolina General Statutes §105-228.30, in the amount of One Dollar ($1.00) per each Five Hundred Dollars ($500.00) or fractional part thereof. A deposit of five percent (5%) of the bid or Seven Hundred Fifty Dollars

($750.00), whichever is greater, will be required at the time of the sale and must be tendered in the form of certified funds. Following the expiration of the statutory upset bid period, all the remaining amounts will be immediately due and owing.

Said property to be offered pursuant to this Notice of Sale is being offered for sale, transfer and conveyance AS IS WHERE IS. There are no representations of warranty relating to the title or any physical, environmental, health or safety conditions existing in, on, at, or relating to the property being offered for sale. This sale is made subject to all prior liens, unpaid taxes, special assessments, land transfer taxes, if any, and encumbrances of record. To the best of the knowledge and belief of the undersigned, the current owners of the property are Eric P. Swallick and Melissa S. Swallick.

PLEASE TAKE NOTICE: An order for possession of the property may be issued pursuant to North Carolina General Statutes §1-339.29 in favor of the purchaser and against the

party or parties in possession by the Clerk of Superior Court of the county in which the property is sold.

Any person who occupies the property pursuant to a rental agreement entered into or renewed on or after October 1, 2007, may, after receiving the notice of sale, terminate the rental agreement by providing written notice of termination to the landlord, to be effective on a date stated in the notice that is at least 10 days, but no more than 90 days, after the sale date contained in the notice of sale, provided that the mortgagor has not cured the default at the time the tenant provides the notice of termination (North Carolina General Statutes §45-21.16A(b)(2) or other applicable statute). Upon termination of a rental agreement, the tenant is liable for rent due under the rental agreement prorated to the effective date of termination. If the Commissioner 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

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: 1279034 - 16713

to the confirmation of the sale and reinstatement of the loan without the knowledge of the Commissioner. If the validity of the sale is challenged by any party, the Commissioner, in their sole discretion, if they believe 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.

Anchor Trustee Services, LLC Commissioner Cameron D. Scott Morrow & Britton, PLLC 312 South Chester Street, Gastonia, NC 28052 Phone: (704) 865-2897, Fax: (704) 271-9163, CScott@MorrowandBritton.com

North State Journal for Wednesday, June 2, 2021

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TAKE NOTICE

CUMBERLAND 20 SP 31 AMENDED NOTICE OF FORECLOSURE SALE NORTH CAROLINA, CUMBERLAND COUNTY Under and by virtue of a Power of Sale contained in that certain Deed of Trust executed by Johnney R. Conner, Jr. a/k/a Johnney R. Conner and Diana L. Conner to Jacqueline B. Amato and Philip M. Rudisill, Trustee(s), which was dated July 28, 2016 and recorded on July 28, 2016 in Book 09910 at Page 0107, Cumberland County Registry, North Carolina.

Default having been made of the note thereby secured by the said Deed of Trust and the undersigned, Trustee Services of Carolina, LLC, having been substituted as Trustee in said Deed of Trust, and the holder of the note evidencing said default having directed that the Deed of Trust be foreclosed, the undersigned Substitute Trustee

AMENDED NOTICE OF FORECLOSURE SALE 20 SP 766

Under and by virtue of the power of sale contained in a certain Deed of Trust made by Sandra A. Birchfield and Sammy A. Birchfield (PRESENT RECORD OWNER(S): Sandra A. Birchfield and Sammy A. Birchfield) to M.D. Parker, Trustee(s), dated November 3, 1999, and recorded in Book No. 5187, at Page 0581 in Cumberland 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 Cumberland County, North Carolina and the holder of the note evidencing said indebtedness having directed that the Deed of Trust be foreclosed, the undersigned Substitute Trustee will offer for sale at the courthouse door in Fayetteville, Cumberland County, North Carolina, or the customary location designated for foreclosure sales, at 12:00 PM on June 7, 2021 and will sell to the highest bidder for cash the following real estate situated in Fayetteville in the County of Cumberland, North Carolina, and being more particularly described as follows:

DAVIDSON IN THE GENERAL COURT OF JUSTICE OF NORTH CAROLINA SUPERIOR COURT DIVISION DAVIDSON COUNTY 20sp75 IN THE MATTER OF THE FORECLOSURE OF A DEED OF TRUST EXECUTED BY GREGORY MICHAEL MILLER DATED FEBRUARY 22, 2007 AND RECORDED IN BOOK 1766 AT PAGE 1573 IN THE DAVIDSON 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

ONSLOW AMENDED NOTICE OF FORECLOSURE SALE 19 SP 542

Under and by virtue of the power of sale contained in a certain Deed of Trust made by Nicole Mullings and Mitchell Pettus (PRESENT RECORD OWNER(S): Mitchell F. Pettus and Nicole E. Mullings) to Pamela S. Cox, Trustee(s), dated August 28, 2015, and recorded in Book No. 4350, at Page 944 in Onslow 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 Onslow 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

NOTICE OF FORECLOSURE SALE 21 SP 49

Under and by virtue of the power of sale contained in a certain Deed of Trust made by Brandon Blake Godwin and Megan D. Godwin (PRESENT RECORD OWNER(S): Brandon Blake Godwin and Megan D. Godwin) to Investors Title Insurance Company, Trustee(s), dated May 24, 2018, and recorded in Book No. 4785, at Page 106 in Onslow 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 Onslow 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 Jacksonville, Onslow County, North Carolina, or the customary location designated for foreclosure sales, at 10:00 AM on June 17, 2021 and will sell to the highest bidder for cash the following real estate situated in Beulaville in the County of Onslow, North Carolina, and being more particularly described as follows:

NOTICE OF FORECLOSURE SALE 21 SP 52

Under and by virtue of the power of sale contained in a certain Deed of Trust made by Frank James Lawson (PRESENT RECORD OWNER(S): Frank James Lawson, Heirs of Frank James Lawson: Frank J. Lawson, Sara Lawson, Stacy Colombo) to Donald Steven Bunce, Trustee(s), dated February 14, 2004, and recorded in Book No. 2200, at Page 483 in Onslow 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 Onslow 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 Jacksonville, Onslow County, North Carolina, or the customary location designated for foreclosure sales, at 10:00 AM on June 17, 2021 and will sell to the highest bidder for cash the following real estate situated in Richlands in the County of Onslow, North Carolina, and being more

will offer for sale at the courthouse door of the county courthouse where the property is located, or the usual and customary location at the county courthouse for conducting the sale on June 9, 2021 at 01:30 PM, and will sell to the highest bidder for cash the following described property situated in Cumberland County, North Carolina, to wit: Being all of Lot Number 5, in a subdivision known as Cypress Lakes, Section III and the same being duly recorded in Book of Plats 39, at Page 46, Cumberland County Registry, North Carolina.

Save and except any releases, deeds of release or prior conveyances of record.

Said property is commonly known as 2244 Cypress Lakes Rd, Hope Mills, NC 28348.

A cash deposit (no personal checks) of five percent (5%) of the purchase price, or Seven Hundred Fifty Dollars ($750.00), whichever is greater, will be required at the time of the sale. Following the expiration of the statutory upset bid period, all the remaining amounts are immediately due and owing. THIRD PARTY PURCHASERS MUST PAY THE

PIN 0406-95-2500 Being the same property described in that Deed recorded in 4980, Page 0800, Office of the Register of Deeds, Cumberland County, NC. Being all of Lot No. 12, Block L, in a Subdivision known as Lafayette Village, Section V, according to a plat of same duly recorded in Book of Plats 16, page 20, Cumberland County Registry, North Carolina. Together with improvements located thereon; said property being located at 5603 Birch Road, Fayetteville, North Carolina.

Trustee may, in the Trustee’s sole discretion, delay the sale for up to one hour as provided in N.C.G.S. 45-21.23.

Should the property be purchased by a third party, that party must pay the excise tax, as well as the court costs of Forty-Five Cents ($0.45) per One Hundred Dollars ($100.00) required by N.C.G.S. 7A-308(a)(1).

The property to be offered pursuant to this notice of sale is being offered for sale, transfer and conveyance “AS IS, WHERE IS.” Neither the Trustee nor the holder of the note secured by the deed of trust/security agreement, or both, being foreclosed, nor the officers, directors, attorneys, employees, agents or authorized

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 June 7, 2021 the following described real estate and any other improvements which may be situated thereon, in Davidson County, North Carolina, and being more particularly described in that certain Deed of Trust executed Gregory Michael Miller, dated February 22, 2007 to secure the original principal amount of $116,920.00, and recorded in Book 1766 at Page 1573 of the Davidson 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: 1234 Lacy Hepler Rd, Thomasville, NC 27360 Tax Parcel ID: 0502300000033 Present Record Owners: The Heirs of Gregory Michael Miller And Being more commonly known as: 1234 Lacy Hepler Rd, Thomasville, NC 27360

door in Jacksonville, Onslow County, North Carolina, or the customary location designated for foreclosure sales, at 10:00 AM on June 17, 2021 and will sell to the highest bidder for cash the following real estate situated in Jacksonville in the County of Onslow, North Carolina, and being more particularly described as follows: BEING all of Lot 80 as shown on that plat entitled “Live Oak Estates, Section III-B, Part 3” prepared by Parker & Associates, Inc., dated 01/03/10 and recorded 01/12/2011 in Map Book 61, Page 102, Slide M-1896, Onslow County Registry. Together with improvements located thereon; said property being located at 307 Sugarberry Court, Jacksonville, North Carolina.

Trustee may, in the Trustee’s sole discretion, delay the sale for up to one hour as provided in N.C.G.S. §45-21.23.

Should the property be purchased by a third party, that party must pay the excise tax, as well as the court costs of Forty-Five Cents ($0.45) per One Hundred Dollars ($100.00) required by N.C.G.S. §7A-308(a)(1).

The property to be offered pursuant to this notice of sale is being offered for sale, transfer and conveyance “AS IS, WHERE IS.” Neither the Trustee nor the holder of the note secured by the deed of trust/security agreement, or both, being foreclosed, nor the officers,

Being all of Lot 19, as shown on that plat entitled, “Final Plat for: Bradham Place Phase Two, Richlands Township, Onslow County, North Carolina,” and recorded in Map Book 53, Page 232, Slide M-106, Onslow County Registry. Together with improvements located thereon; said property being located at 1188 Haw Branch Road, Beulaville, North Carolina.

APN #: 072786 Trustee may, in the Trustee’s sole discretion, delay the sale for up to one hour as provided in N.C.G.S. §45-21.23.

Should the property be purchased by a third party, that party must pay the excise tax, as well as the court costs of Forty-Five Cents ($0.45) per One Hundred Dollars ($100.00) required by N.C.G.S. §7A-308(a)(1).

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

particularly described as follows: All that certain parcel of land situate in the Township of Richlands, County of Onslow, and State of North Carolina, being known and designated as follows: All of Lot 3, as shown on that certain plat entitled “Final Plat Showing Lots 1, 2, 3 and 5, Alum Springs, Section I”, prepared by John L. Pierce Surveying, recorded in Map Book 37, Page 206, Slide K-194, Onslow County Registry.

Together with improvements located thereon; said property being located at 298 Fire Tower Road, Richlands, North Carolina.

Tax ID: 48-32,5 Trustee may, in the Trustee’s sole discretion, delay the sale for up to one hour as provided in N.C.G.S. §45-21.23.

Should the property be purchased by a third party, that party must pay the excise tax, as well as the court costs of Forty-Five Cents ($0.45) per One Hundred Dollars ($100.00) required by N.C.G.S. §7A-308(a)(1).

The property to be offered pursuant to this notice of sale is being offered for sale, transfer and conveyance “AS IS, WHERE IS.” Neither the Trustee nor the holder of the note secured by the deed of trust/security

Carolina

RANDOLPH NOTICE OF FORECLOSURE SALE 21 SP 42

Under and by virtue of the power of sale contained in a certain Deed of Trust made by Barry L. Smith (PRESENT RECORD OWNER(S): Barry L. Smith, Heirs of Barry L. Smith: Kaylee Elizabeth Smith Brandt, Chrystal Nicole Smith Cleary) to Gavin, Cox, Pugh and Wilhoit, LLP, Trustee(s), dated January 5, 2005, and recorded in Book No. RE1902, at Page 1696 in Randolph 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 Randolph 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 Asheboro, Randolph County, North Carolina, or the customary location designated for foreclosure sales, at 10:00 AM on June 8, 2021 and will sell to the highest bidder for cash the following real estate situated in Franklinville in the County of Randolph, North Carolina, and being more particularly described as follows: Franklinville Township, Randolph County, North

BEGINNING at a new iron pipe in the southern margin of Andrew Hunter Rd. (State Road 2235) located approximately 643.09 feet North from the intersection of Andrew Hunter Rd. and Faith Rock Rd., thence South 58 degrees 36 minutes 22 seconds East 77.31 feet to an axle in the line of James Kivett (Deed Book 1429, Page 64); thence along said line South 58 degrees 36 minutes 22 seconds East 89.96 feet to a new iron pipe in the corner of the Kivett property; thence along the new property line of Don Parks and James Kivett, being Tract Number 2 as shown on survey reference below, South 25 degrees 21 minutes 13 seconds West 258.28 feet to an existing iron pipe at the intersecting property lines of James T. Kivett (DB 1429, P 64) and Robert C. Gollus (Deed Book 1378, Page 1842); thence along the line of Collus (DB 1378, Page 1842) North 83 degrees 08 minutes 28 seconds West 322.50 feet to an existing iron pipe in the southern margin of Andrew Hunter Road (State Road #2235); thence along the southern margin of Andrew Hunter Road, North 45 degrees 36 minutes 05 seconds East 403.09 feet to a new iron pipe, the POINT AND PLACE OF BEGINNING, and being all that certain property labeled Tract #1 and Tract #2 of survey entitled “Final Plat prepared for DON G. PARKS & EVANGELINE K. PARKS” prepared by Glenn Lee Brown, PLS, dated 2/3/00 to which reference is hereby made for a more particular description. Together with improvements located thereon; said property being located at 952 Andrew Hunter Road, Franklinville, North Carolina.

Parcel Identification Number: 7792046248

EXCISE TAX AND THE RECORDING COSTS FOR THEIR DEED. Said property to be offered pursuant to this Notice of Sale is being offered for sale, transfer and conveyance “AS IS WHERE IS.” There are no representations of warranty relating to the title or any physical, environmental, health or safety conditions existing in, on, at, or relating to the property being offered for sale. This sale is made subject to all prior liens, unpaid taxes, any unpaid land transfer taxes, special assessments, easements, rights of way, deeds of release, and any other encumbrances or exceptions of record. To the best of the knowledge and belief of the undersigned, the current owner(s) of the property is/are Johnney R. Conner, Jr. and wife, Diana L. Conner.

An Order for possession of the property may be issued pursuant to G.S. 45-21.29 in favor of the purchaser and against the party or parties in possession by the clerk of superior court of the county in which the property is sold.

Any person who occupies the property pursuant to a rental agreement entered into or renewed on or after October 1, 2007, may, after receiving the notice of sale, terminate the rental agreement by providing written notice of termination to the landlord, to be effective on a date stated in the notice

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.

The record owner(s) of the property, as reflected on the records of the Register of Deeds, is/are The Heirs of Gregory Michael Miller.

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

that is at least 10 days, but no more than 90 days after the sale date contained in the notice of sale, provided that the mortgagor has not cured the default at the time the tenant provides the notice of termination [NCGS § 45-21.16A(b) (2)]. Upon termination of a rental agreement, the tenant is liable for rent due under the rental agreement prorated to the effective date of the termination.

Trustee Services of Carolina, LLC Substitute Trustee Brock & Scott, PLLC Attorneys for Trustee Services of Carolina, LLC 5431 Oleander Drive Suite 200

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

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.

Substitute Trustee 10130 Perimeter Charlotte, NC 28216 (704) 333-8107 20-109329_

Parkway,

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 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 May 17, 2021.

Andrew Vining

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.

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.

Trustee may, in the Trustee’s sole discretion, delay the sale for up to one hour as provided in N.C.G.S. §45-21.23.

Should the property be purchased by a third party, that party must pay the excise tax, as well as the court costs of Forty-Five Cents ($0.45) per One Hundred Dollars ($100.00) required by N.C.G.S. §7A-308(a)(1).

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

A deposit of five percent (5%) of the purchase price, or seven hundred fifty dollars ($750.00), whichever is greater, is required and must be tendered in

4317 Ramsey Street Fayetteville, North Carolina 28311 Phone No: (910) 864-3068 https://sales.hutchenslawfirm.com Firm Case No: 3546 - 9283

SUBSTITUTE TRUSTEE SERVICES, INC. SUBSTITUTE TRUSTEE

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.

A Loan Modification recorded on March 9, 2012, in Book No. RE2275, at Page 1172.

File No.: 19-08560-FC01

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

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 Deed of Trust was modified by the following:

Wilmington, NC 28403 PHONE: (910) 392-4988 FAX: (910) 392-8587

4317 Ramsey Street Fayetteville, North Carolina 28311 Phone No: (910) 864-3068 https://sales.hutchenslawfirm.com Firm Case No: 1276294 - 10755

SUBSTITUTE TRUSTEE SERVICES, INC. SUBSTITUTE TRUSTEE c/o Hutchens Law Firm P.O. Box 1028

https://sales.hutchenslawfirm.com Firm Case No: 3730 - 12157

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

P.O. Box 1028 4317 Ramsey Street Fayetteville, North Carolina 28311 Phone No: (910) 864-3068 https://sales.hutchenslawfirm.com Firm Case No: 3967 - 13776

SUBSTITUTE TRUSTEE SERVICES, INC. SUBSTITUTE TRUSTEE c/o Hutchens Law Firm

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 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: 3875 - 13226

SUBSTITUTE TRUSTEE SERVICES, INC.

WAKE

ALL PERSONS, firms and corporations having claims against JEAN HARE GOODWIN, deceased, of Wake County, N.C., are notified to exhibit the same to the

undersigned on or before August 23, 2021, or this notice will be pleaded in bar of recovery. Debtors of the decedent are asked to make immediate payment.

This 19th day of May 2021.

Teresa Goodwin Hardy, Executor, c/o Lisa M. Schreiner, Stam Law Firm, PLLC, 510 W. Williams St., Apex, NC 27502

ALL PERSONS, firms and corporations having claims against MARY BRASHER SMITH, aka, MARY LUCILLE SMITH deceased, of Wake County, N.C. (2021-E-1608),

are notified to exhibit the same to the undersigned on or before August 20, 2021, or this notice will be pleaded in bar of recovery. Debtors of the decedent are asked to make

immediate payment.

This 19th day of May 2021.

Wesley Wayne Smith, Executor, c/o Lisa M. Schreiner,

Stam Law Firm, PLLC, 510 W. Williams St., Apex, NC 27502 North State Journal: May 19, 26, June 2 and 9, 2021

North State Journal: May 19, 26, June 2 and 9, 2021

B12

North State Journal for Wednesday, June 2, 2021

pen & paper pursuits

sudoku

solutions From May 26, 2021

TO SUBSCRIBE: 704-269-8461

VOLUME 4 ISSUE 35 | WEDNESDAY, JUNE 2, 2021 | STANLYJOURNAL.COM

Stanly County Journal

NELL REDMOND | AP PHOTO

Stars and (racing) stripes Pit crew members unfurl a United States flag prior to the national anthem before a NASCAR Cup Series auto race at Charlotte Motor Speedway in Concord, Sunday, May 30, 2021.

WHAT’S HAPPENING Atrium Health one of best companies for grads Stanly County Atrium Health, the hospital system that serves Stanly County and the surrounding Charlotte area, has been named to the Forbes list of America’s Best Employers for New Graduates 2021 for the fourth time. This prestigious award is presented by Forbes and Statista, Inc., a leading statistics portal and industryranking provider. More than 20,000 U.S. young professionals who work for companies that employ at least 1,000 people participated in the independent survey, focused on work-related issues and their experiences in the workplace. Participants assessed their employers according to Atmosphere & Development, Diversity, Image, Salary & Wage, Working Conditions and Workplace.

AP

Police seek man in rash of auto break-ins Stanly County Officers with the Albemarle Police Department have received several reports of vehicle break-ins over the past several weeks. Several of these reported incidents occurred in local neighborhoods near Anderson Rd in Albemarle.

After further investigation, Detectives with the Albemarle Police Department were able to issue 19 warrants for David A. Mesimer, 31 years old, of Albemarle NC for Breaking and entering of a Motor Vehicle, Larceny, Larceny after breaking and entering, and Larceny of a firearm. The suspect also had previously been charged with the same offense in Sampson County, N.C. The suspect is wanted at this time.

SCJ

5

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Hudson and McHenry move to protect auto racing from EPA

By David Larson Stanly County Journal ALBEMARLE — U.S. Rep. Richard Hudson, a Republican whose district includes Stanly County as well as the Charlotte Motor Speedway in Concord, cosponsored legislation last week to prevent the Environmental Protection Agency from restricting modification of race cars. The bill’s lead sponsor is another Charlotte-area legislator, Rep. Patrick McHenry (R-NC10).

“The automotive and motorsports industries are a critical part of our community and economy,” said Rep. Hudson in a release. “I am proud to sponsor the RPM Act because car enthusiasts should not have their way of life threatened by the EPA and government bureaucrats.”

The bill, titled the Recognizing the Protection of Motorsports Act of 2021, or “RPM Act,” will permanently prevent the EPA from regulating the modification of racing vehicles. While the Clean Air Act

“I am proud to sponsor the RPM Act because car enthusiasts should not have their way of life threatened by the EPA and government bureaucrats.”

U.S. Rep. Richard Hudson allows the EPA to regulate automobiles, there has always been an exemption for vehicles used solely for competition.

In 2016, the EPA proposed a rule that would end this exemption and allow them to begin regulating the racing industry and how they modify vehicles. The EPA withdrew this proposal after pushback, but the RPM Act would make it explicit in law that no future rule of this kind

can be considered.

“Here in North Carolina, we enjoy a rich automotive heritage that not only plays an important role in our local economy, but is an activity enjoyed throughout the state,” said McHenry. “Representing a district with deep ties to motorsports, I am proud to support automobile racing and will work to ensure enthusiasts of the sport here in North Carolina and across the country can continue the time-honored tradition of modifying stock vehicles for competitive racing. I look forward to working with my colleagues to help ensure the RPM Act becomes law.”

The Charlotte Motor Speedway is about 30 miles west of Albemarle, and last weekend, the track is hosted their first triple-header ever, the Coca-Cola 600, with races Friday, Saturday and Sunday. Restrictions on spectators have been lifted, so tens of thousands of fans were present over the long weekend.

SCS deputy superintendent resigns following incident at graduation ceremony

By Jesse Deal Stanly County Journal ALBEMARLE — One day after being placed on paid leave, Stanly County Schools Deputy Superintendent Vicki Calvert officially resigned from her role in the school system, the district confirmed Monday.

“Deputy Superintendent Vicki Calvert has resigned from her position at Stanly County Schools effective May 29, 2021,” SCS Superintendent Dr. Jarrod Dennis wrote in a statement to SCJ, following an emergency school board meeting on Monday morning.

A day prior, the school district announced that Calvert had been reprimanded with a suspension from her duties, pending an investigation into her conduct at South Stanly High School’s graduation ceremony on Friday.

“I do want to apologize to those in attendance Friday night at South Stanly High School’s graduation,” Dennis’ statement continued. “High School graduation is a special event for our seniors, their families, and the school staff. Obviously, Friday night’s graduation did not live up to my expectations or those of Stanly County Schools.”

A local source who attended the event told SCJ that Calvert’s speech to the crowd that night was “rambling and lengthy.” Calvert’s speech performance received further public criticism when a video of the segment was posted on a public Facebook account on Saturday night.

“From my understanding this is somewhat out of character for her,” the owner of the account posted along with the video. “Nonetheless she still made an awkward situation for her peers and embarrassed the entire graduating class of 2021 at SSHS.” Some commenters speculated that Calvert was inebriated during the event.

“The video is much easier to hear than it was in perSee SCS, page 2

“High School graduation is a special event for our seniors, their families, and the school staff.

Obviously, Friday night’s graduation did not live up to my expectations or those of Stanly County Schools.”

Dr. Jarrod Dennis, SCS superintendent

JOHN RAOUX | AP PHOTO

Debby-Neal Stricland and Mylaen Merthe show off donor/ recipient tags they had made during a get together Tuesday, May 25, 2021, at a restaurant in Ocala, Fla.

Woman donates kidney to hubby’s ex-wife days after wedding The Associated Press FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. — Ten years after their first date, Debby Neal-Strickland put on a cream-colored lace gown and married her longtime sweetheart at their Florida church. Two days later, she put on a hospital gown and donated a kidney to Mylaen Merthe — her new husband’s exwife.

An unusual story? Yes. But the tale of Jim Strickland and his two wives is a testament to how love and compassion can triumph over division.

Mylaen, 59, had long struggled with kidney disease. By last year, she was ghostly pale with dark circles under her eyes, dragging herself through the workday

with no energy. By the time she was admitted to the hospital in November, her kidneys were only functioning at 8%.

Her brother offered to donate a kidney, but wasn’t a match so Debby volunteered.

Jim and Mylaen have been divorced nearly two decades, but they got along well as they raised their two children and as Jim fell in love with 56-year-old Debby.

The women were friendly at family gatherings, though not especially close.

And Debby knew that Mylaen was about to become a grandmother for the first time — her daughter was pregnant.

She imagined Mylaen’s daughSee KIDNEY, page 2

Stanly County Journal for Wednesday, June 2, 2021

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KIDNEY from page 1 ter giving birth, “and her mom not being there. I just couldn’t not try to change that,” she said. “God told me, ‘You’re a match and you need to do this.’”

Giving is what Debby and Jim do. At their home in Ocala, they are raising six children — a 6-yearold girl with autism and five teenagers. Some are Debby’s biological grandchildren and some they are fostering.

But Debby’s desire to help Mylaen ran deeper. She spent years watching her brother die of cystic fibrosis while awaiting a double lung transplant. She offered one of her lungs, but she wasn’t a match and he needed two.

“When somebody needs an organ, if they don’t get it, they’re

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probably not going to make it. I know it’s something that you do quickly,” she said.

Debby passed the initial match for blood and tissue and began more complex testing while juggling a house full of kids — and at one point, toting a urine collection jug for 24 hours.

Mylaen tried desperately not to get her hopes up, focusing instead on her future as a grandmother.

Debby “knew that’s all I ever wanted,” she said. She “did it from her heart.”

After months of testing and COVID delays, the transplant was set for two days after Jim and Debby’s wedding. Debby was tempted to postpone the wedding, but friends discouraged her.

The couple had already waited 10 years, canceling twice in deference

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to their children who announced their own engagements.

They married Nov. 22. Jim wore a gray suit with a yellow shirt, “because he’s my single yellow rose,” Debby said.

“It was the most amazing day of my life, until two days later. That was also the most amazing day of my life,” she said.

As soon as she regained consciousness, the new bride asked about Mylaen. A few floors below, Mylaen was also pleading with the nurses — “`I need to see her.’

That was the first thing out of my mouth.”

COVID-19 protocols were strict, but Jim was eventually allowed to wheel his new wife into his ex-wife’s room.

“We had our masks on too, so we’re crying, and of course our

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stomachs were hurting because of the incisions,” Mylaen said. “We kind of laughed and cried.”

Debby could already see the difference. The circles under Mylaen’s eyes were gone, “she looked so alive and revitalized.”

Mylaen moved in with her daughter, son-in-law and new baby Jackson to recuperate.

“I got to hold him and feed him,” said Mylaen, who welcomed a second grandson in March. “I was like, ‘I’m actually here to see this and I’m holding this little baby.’”

The women call themselves kidney sisters, pray for each other, coo over their grandbabies and are planning a big family trip to Lake Rabun, Georgia, this summer.

“This is what the world is about.

Family. We need to stick together,” Mylaen said. “She saved my life.”

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SCS from page 1 son but it’s still a mess,” another user said. “In the stands we thought the speech had ended several times and that’s why we kept clapping but then she would start to speak again.”

Following last year’s departure of Dr. Jeff James, a former superintendent for SCS, Calvert began a role as the school district’s interim superintendent on July 1 until Dr. Dennis began his superintendent position on Nov. 2. Calvert had previously worked as the county’s assistant superintendent of personnel and student services as well as a teacher at Aquadale Elementary School.

JOHN RAOUX | AP PHOTO

Two days after Debby-Neal Strickland, front left, and Jim Strickland were married in November, Debby donated a kidney to James’ exwife Mylaen Merthe, center back, as the three get together Tuesday, May 25, 2021, at a restaurant in Ocala, Fla.

WEEKLY CRIME LOG ♦ Smith, Jordan Mathew (W /M/25) Arrest on chrg of Dwi Motor Boat/vessel, M (M), at 126 S Third St, Albemarle, NC, on 5/30/2021 ♦ Toler, Jonathan Wesley (W /M/37) Arrest on chrg of Second Degree Trespass (M), at 42662 Moonshine Dr, New London, NC, on 5/30/2021 ♦ Eudy, Cody Lee (W /M/28) Arrest on chrg of 1) Second Degree Force Sex Off (F) and 2) Sex Act With A Student (F), at 126 S Third St, Albemarle, NC, on 5/30/2021 ♦ Burris, Jamie Lynn (W /M/37) Arrest on chrg of Civil Order For Arrest - Child Support (M), at 24352 St Martin Rd, Albemarle, NC, on 5/29/2021 ♦ Hatley, Joshua Lee (W /M/36) Arrest on chrg of 1) Trafficking,opium Or Heroin (F), 2) Pwimsd Heroin (F), and 3) Carrying Concealed Gun (m) (M), at 126 South 3rd Street, Albemarle, NC, on 5/29/2021 ♦ Thomas, Katherine Lynn (W /F/29) Arrest on chrg of Misdemeanor Larceny, M (M), at 126 S Third St, Albemarle, NC, on 5/28/2021 ♦ Huneycutt, Jennifer Johnson (W /F/50) Arrest on chrg of Felony Possession Sch Ii Cs, F (F), at 36080 Chapel Road, Norwood, NC, on 5/28/2021 ♦ Coleman, Kevin Michael (W /M/38) Arrest on chrg of 1) Larceny Of Motor Vehicle (f) (F), 2) Felony Probation Violation (F), 3) Felony Probation Violation (F), 4) Felony Probation Violation (F), 5) Fta - Release Order (M), 6) Fta - Release Order (F), and 7) Fta -

DEATH NOTICES Criminal Summons Or Citation (M), at 100 James St, Richfield, NC, on 5/28/2021 ♦ Liles, Benjamin Rasheam (B /M/26) Arrest on chrg of 1) Trafficking,opium Or Heroin (F), 2) Pwimsd Heroin (F), 3) Maintain Veh/dwell/place Cs (f) (F), and 4) Possess Drug Paraphernalia (M), at 811 Mill St, Albemarle, NC, on 5/28/2021 ♦ Teal, Trevor James (W /M/18) Arrest on chrg of 1) Pwimsd Marijuana (F), 2) Felony Possession Of Marijuana (F), and 3) Possess Marij Paraphernalia (M), at 126 S Third St, Albemarle, NC, on 5/28/2021 ♦ Moore, Brandon Wilson (W /M/37) Arrest on chrg of Possess Stolen Motor Vehicle (F), at 4569 Pot Hole Ln, Stanfield, NC, on 5/28/2021 ♦ Oxendine, Tadan Aubry (W /M/21) Arrest on chrg of Fta - Release Order (M), at 4596 Pot Hole Ln, Stanfield, NC, on 5/28/2021 ♦ Watkins, Davon Ahmad (B /M/29) Arrest on chrg of 1) Fail Register Sex Offender(f) (F) and 2) Fail Reprt New Addresssex Off (F), at 126 W South St, Albemarle, NC, on 5/27/2021 ♦ Batten, Paris Kayla (W F, 27) Arrest on chrg of Simple Possess Sch Vi Cs (m), M (M),at 1517 Salisbury Av/parker St, Albemarle, on 05/27/2021 ♦ Britt, Mark Allen (W /M/23) Arrest on chrg of 1) Fta - Criminal Summons Or Citation (M) and 2) Fta - Criminal Summons Or Citation (M), at 2615 Us 52 North/prospect Church Rd, Albemarle, NC, on 5/27/2021

♦ Cisneros-hernandez, Cristian (U M, 21) Arrest on chrg of Discharge Firearm In City,M (M), at 641 Austin St/poplar St, Albemarle, on 05/26/2021 ♦ Donnelly, Krista Anne (W /F/33) Arrest on chrg of Driving While Impaired (M), at E. Depot Street, New London, NC, on 5/26/2021 ♦ Allen, Emanuel Lamont Clark (B /M/24) Arrest on chrg of Possess Marijuana Up To 1/2 Ounce (M), at Sc Courthouse, Albemarle, NC, on 5/26/2021 ♦ Medlin, Brandon Lee (W /M/28) Arrest on chrg of 1) Assault On Female (M) and 2) Assault On Female (M), at Sc Courthouse, Albemarle, NC, on 5/26/2021 ♦ Donnelly, Krista Anne (W /F/33) Cited on Charge of Possess Marijuana Up To 1/2 Ounce (2101703), at East Depot Street/ spring Street, New London, on 5/26/2021. ♦ Hoekman, Nathan James (W /M/39) Arrest on chrg of Larceny Of Motor Vehicle (f) (F), at 126 South Third Street, Albemarle, NC, on 5/25/2021 ♦ Coe, Jake Dalton (W /M/26) Arrest on chrg of 1) Pwimsd Methamphetamine (F) and 2) Possess Drug Paraphernalia (M), at 40087 Nc 740 Hwy/ airport Rd, New London, NC, on 5/25/2021 ♦ Thomas, Justin Earl (W /M/38) Arrest on chrg of 1) Maintain Veh/dwell/place Cs (m) (M), 2) Pwimsd Sch Vi Cs (F), 3) Possess Marij Paraphernalia (M), and 4) Carrying Concealed Gun (m) (M), at 32017 Nc 24-27 Hwy/tom Thumb Rd, Albemarle, NC, on 5/25/2021

♦ Macias, Ulises Chong (W M, 50) Arrest on chrg of Driving While Impaired, M (M), at502 Salisbury Av, Albemarle, on 05/23/2021 ♦ Drye, Torrence Octavius (B M, 48) Arrest on chrg of Resisting Public Officer, M (M),at 412 Coggins Av, Albemarle, on 05/23/2021 ♦ Huneycutt, Robert James (W M, 30) Arrest on chrg of Possess Heroin (F), at 815Concord Rd, Albemarle, on 05/23/202 ♦ Huneycutt, Jennifer Johnson (W F, 50) Arrest on chrg of Driving While Impaired (M),at 640 Nc 24-27 Bypass E, Albemarle, on 05/24/2021 ♦ Ziehl, Zachary William (W M, 38) Arrest on chrg of Assault Indiv W/disability, M(M), at 126 S Third St, Albemarle, on 05/24/2021 ♦ Torres-hernandez, Jose Manuel (W M, 44) Arrest on chrg of Driving While Impaired(M), at 611 Mountain Creek Rd, Albemarle, on 05/24/2021 ♦ Vanhoy, Harold Lyvon (W M, 69) Arrest on chrg of Larceny Of Chose In Action, F(F), at 1713 Johnson St, Albemarle, on 05/26/2021 ♦ Smith, Dale Gene (W M, 19) Arrest on chrg of Larceny Of Motor Vehicle (f), F (F), at126 S Third St, Albemarle, on 05/26/202 ♦ Maples, Abby Marie (W F, 30) Arrest on chrg of Misdemeanor Larceny, M (M), at1108 Pennington Rd, Albemarle, on 05/30/2021

♦ Ronald Lee Barbee, 57, of Locust, passed away May 24. ♦ Lorene “Rene” Brenda Easley, 75, of Norwood, passed away May 24. ♦ Madie Neal Liverman Miller, 88, of Albemarle, passed away May 24. ♦ Hilda Carpenter Thompson, 85, of Albemarle, passed away May 24. ♦ Joel Edward Greene, 84, of Albemarle, passed away May 25. ♦ Lovenia Lisk Burleson, 77, of Albemarle, passed away May 25. ♦ Frances Claudine Huneycutt, 86, of Norwood, passed away May 25. ♦ Phyllis Ann Morris, 75, of Norwood, passed away May 26. ♦ Melissa Kay Akers Bowen, 55, of Albemarle, passed away May 26. ♦ Morris David Griffin, 87, of Oakboro, passed away May 27. ♦ Dallas Jacinto Morrison, 37, of Albemarle, passed away on May 27. ♦ Terry Napier Chastain, 66, of Albemarle passed away May 28. ♦ Nell Cooper Lisenby, 100, of Albemarle, passed away May 30. ♦ Cynthia Jane Hodge Hazelwood, 73, of Albemarle, passed away May 30.X

See OBITS, page 7

Stanly County Journal for Wednesday, June 2, 2021

OPINION Neal Robbins, publisher | Frank Hill, senior opinion editor VISUAL VOICES

COLUMN | REP. RICHARD HUDSON

The true meaning of Memorial Day

This Memorial Day, and every day, let’s remember all of those who have lost and sacrificed.

COOKOUTS, FUN ON THE LAKE, a trip to the beach, and the Coca-Cola 600.

These are all often the first things that come to mind when we hear Memorial Day weekend. While these things are all good, especially after a year of lockdowns and social distancing, it’s important that we remember the true meaning of Memorial Day. The Bible tells us in John 15:13, that “Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends.”

We hear this verse a lot, especially around Memorial Day each year. But not many of us know personally what this verse really means.

I had the honor of being at Fort Bragg on Tuesday for the first of several Memorial Day events throughout the week: including placing flags at the Oakwood Cemetery with the American Legion in Concord, honoring our troops at the Coca-Cola 600 and joining the Kannapolis annual Memorial Day event.

Tuesday’s ceremony at Fort Bragg honored the fallen Soldiers of the 3rd Special Forces Group. While there, I met many who had lost loved ones: including a Gold Star mom, a 7-year-old girl and an 11-year-old boy.

Memorial Day is about sacrifice. We honor the sacrifice of those lost in the service of our country. But Memorial Day is also about the family members who are left behind. They pay a heavy price for the freedom we enjoy.

Sacrifice is another word that gets thrown around a lot. But not a lot of us really stop to think about what it means. Just last week I read a book by Michelle Black, called Sacrifice, that defines it perfectly.

Michelle’s husband, Bryan, was a Green Beret stationed at Fort Bragg. On Oct. 4, 2017, Bryan and his team were ambushed by a large terrorist force near the village of Tongo Tongo in

Niger.

Bryan Black, Dustin Wright, LaDavid Johnson and Jeremiah Johnson were killed that day.

I have worn each of their names on a black metal bracelet on my wrist every day since their surviving team members honored me with it in 2017. It is a constant reminder of their sacrifice and the sacrifice of their families. Here’s how Bryan’s Gold Star widow defines sacrifice: When we use the word sacrifice, we often imagine one act.

Really, sacrifice is a way of life. Sacrifice goes on and on once you’ve committed to it. We began sacrificing the day Bryan signed on to the Army and left me alone with two babies while he went to boot camp. That is when sacrifice begins for all military families.

Each year, there were sacrifices made with the understanding that one day our family might have to make the ultimate sacrifice.

Sacrifice does not even end when your husband’s life does. For my sons, they have lost the father who would teach them how to throw and catch a ball, tie a tie, be a good sport, time a good joke, catch a fish, talk to a girl they like.

The sacrifice made by the men and women protecting our freedom plays out over generations. Their husbands, their wives, their children, their grandchildren. Their mothers, their fathers, their brothers, their sisters. It also plays out in the lives of those who stood beside them in battle and had to carry the news and the scars back home with them.

This Memorial Day, and every day, let’s remember all of those who have lost and sacrificed. May God give them peace, and may we all resolve to live up to the sacrifices which have made our freedoms and way of life possible.

COLUMN | ERICK ERICKSON

The Republican secret weapon The press has given up the veneer of objectivity while still demanding it serve as gatekeepers to truth.

APOORVA MANDAVILLI is The New York Times’ COVID-19 reporter. “Someday we will stop talking about the lab leak theory and maybe even admit its racist roots. But alas, that day is not yet here,” she tweeted — not last year, but just a couple of days ago. The “lab-leak theory” has always been the most likely theory for the release of the virus into the world.

Ironically, the alternative theory that Mandavilli seems to think is less racist is Chinese citizens in wet markets eating bats or some such. When Arkansas Sen. Tom Cotton raised the lab-leak theory last year, he was roundly attacked for racism.

Members of the press, helped by some fringe conspiracists on the right, claimed Cotton was claiming an intentional release of a bioweapon, which Cotton never claimed. A year later, it looks like Cotton and former President Donald Trump were right. Intelligence does suggest workers at the Wuhan Institute of Virology got infected and accidentally began a global pandemic.

Two weeks ago, the Israelis bombed the Associated Press office in Gaza during the Hamas attacks. Journalists were furious. The AP demanded answers. But a little-noticed piece in The Atlantic from Matti Friedman in 2014 documented how the AP had, in fact, been using a building also used by Hamas. Friedman, a former AP reporter, documented how the AP would not cover certain Hamas-related activity because of Hamas harassment in their shared work environment.

Concurrent to all of this, it took The New York Times a week to cover a wave of anti-Jewish attacks in New York City.

Recently, The Washington Post’s media writer, Margaret Sullivan, wrote a piece on her newspaper’s new female editor.

She included a line from a correspondent who asked: “Does she understand — really understand — that ... the United States is on track to become functionally an authoritarian white Christian nationalist state in the very near future? And if the answer is ‘Yes,’ what is she prepared to do about it? Right now nothing else signifies.”

Jay Rosen, a highly respected journalism professor at New York University, highlighted that reader’s concern and agreed with it. The Democrats control all of Washington. Joe Biden

just won the election by several million votes. But Rosen is worried we are on the verge of “an authoritarian white Christian nationalist state in the very near future.”

Last summer, reporters at CNN and MSNBC stood in front of rioters burning buildings in Kenosha, Wisconsin, and characterized the protests as peaceful. One correspondent actually said on television that they were fiery “but mostly peaceful.” As video showed antifa activists beating up people in streets across America, CNN’s Chris Cuomo claimed the group is peaceful.

As the virus raged through America last year and the country shut down, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi engaged in a series of partisan maneuvers to hurt the GOP and expand her Democratic coalition. Her efforts, including blocking financial relief to small businesses and individual taxpayers, was greeted by the American political press corps as strategic brilliance. Her brilliance nearly cost the Democrats the House. Republicans gained seats at the state level, held state legislative bodies they were expected to lose and came within five seats of taking back the House of Representatives itself.

The press has given up the veneer of objectivity while still demanding it serve as gatekeepers to truth. News outlets that claim ownership of truth and fact have become narrative-based mouthpieces for progressive politics and policy. The press is detached from America, and Americans are increasingly seeing the world and then seeing the press coverage of the world — and realizing the two are not the same.

It gives the GOP a latent advantage, because the press, now constantly pushing back against Republican claims, winds up pushing back against reality itself. That, in turn, gives Republicans inroads into the minds of Americans who recognize disconnect between their lives and the way the press covers their lives. Americans then become more open to Republican claims, which sound more like the reality those Americans are living. Democrats, who overwhelmingly believe their own fawning press coverage, will never realize what has happened until it is too late.

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Stanly County Journal for Wednesday, June 2, 2021

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SPORTS SIDELINE REPORT OLYMPICS

U.S. men miss qualifying for Olympic 3-on-3 basketball debut Graz, Austria The United States 3-on-3 men’s basketball team lost to the Netherlands in the quarterfinals of an Olympic qualifying tournament on Sunday, costing them a spot in the sport’s Olympic debut in Tokyo. The Americans were world champions in 2019 and had former NBA players Dominique Jones and Robbie Hummel on a four-player roster for the qualifying event. The Dutch were joined by Latvia and Poland in an Olympic lineup that already included Japan, China, Russia and Serbia. The eighth place will be awarded at a tournament this week in Hungary for lower-ranked nations.

NHL

Vegas’ Reaves suspended 2 games for hit Denver Vegas forward Ryan Reaves was suspended two games by the NHL on Monday for his roughing and unsportsmanlike conduct on Colorado’s Ryan Graves during the Golden Knights’ 7-1 loss in Game 1 of their second-round series Sunday.

The NHL’s Department of Player Safety announced earlier in the day on social media it was holding a hearing with Reaves, who drew a match penalty for attempting to injure an opponent — Graves — at 8:04 of the third period in a skirmish-filled game.

SOCCER

Brazil named Copa America host after Argentina is stripped Sao Paulo Brazil was named as the new host for the Copa America on Monday after Colombia and Argentina were stripped of the tournament, prompting local health experts and politicians to criticize the decision to hold the troubled event in one of the countries hardest hit by the COVID-19 pandemic. The move was announced Monday hours after Argentina was ruled out amid an increase in COVID-19 cases in the country. Colombia was removed as co-host on May 20 as street protests against President Iván Duque rocked the nation. CONMEBOL added that the tournament is confirmed to take place between June 13 and July 10.

COLLEGE BASEBALL

Arkansas earns NCAA Tournament’s top seed Omaha, Neb. Arkansas was rewarded Monday for its dominant run through the Southeastern Conference, landing the No. 1 national seed in the NCAA baseball tournament. The Razorbacks (46-10) won all 10 of their SEC series and wrapped up their first conference tournament championship on Sunday.

The 64-team tournament opens Friday in 16 regionals.

Winners advance to eight best-of-three super regionals.

Those winners move on to the College World Series in Omaha. East Carolina (4115) earned the 13th seed, while Duke, UNC, NC State, Campbell and Charlotte all earned berths.

NELL REDMOND | AP PHOTO

NASCAR Cup Series driver Kyle Larson (5) leads the pack to start the NASCAR Cup Series auto race at Charlotte Motor Speedway in Concord, N.C., Sunday, May 30, 2021.

Charlotte brings normal to NASCAR going forward The Associated Press FIFTEEN MONTHS after the sports was shut down due to COVID-19, the Cup Series inched closer to business as usual at the Coca-Cola 600 “I think all those race fans were ready to get back to our NASCAR races, and it showed today.”

Marcus Smith, CEO of Speedway Motorsports and general manager of Charlotte Motor Speedway

By Pete Iacobelli, The Associated Press CONCORD — Practice, qualifying, happy fans and a Hendrick Motorsports driver winning at Charlotte Motor Speedway: It doesn’t get much more normal than that in NASCAR these days.

“It just feels like we’re back,” car owner Rick Hendrick said Sunday night after his newest driver, Kyle Larson, won the Coca-Cola

600 for the team’s record-setting 269th NASCAR victory.

Marcus Smith, CEO and president of Speedway Motorsports and general manager of Charlotte Motor Speedway, said he spoke with so many spectators thrilled to watch a race in person, along with others who loved competing.

“They were thrilled to be back in what feels like a full-speed NASCAR race,” a smiling Smith said.

Slowly but surely in a sport built on speed, NASCAR is regaining its pre-pandemic ways. That was evident at Charlotte where the weekend routine looked like it did before the COVID-19 pandemic called for protective masks and contact tracing.

There was a familiar feel to qualifying on Saturday. And then there was the crowd, some 50,000 or so who filled the track.

“It’s just nice to actually qualify the way we used to qualify and

have people around,” driver Ryan Newman said.

The protocols shifted earlier this month. Teams were permitted to bring VIPs and sponsors to events starting at Darlington Raceway three weeks ago.

Charlotte was given the green light two weeks ago by state officials to have as many people as racetrack officials could bring in.

That’s the case for races later this summer, too.

There are no limits on fans at 47,000-seat Sonoma Raceway, where NASCAR will stage a road race next week.

Nashville Speedway, the next track where practice and qualifying are scheduled ahead of a race, is sold out for the Ally 400 on June 20. (In between Sonoma and Nashville is the All-Star Race at Texas Motor Speedway on June 13.)

Chase Elliott, the defending se-

ries champion who finally got in the win column the week before at Circuit of the Americas, was also happy that things were familiar at Charlotte.

“We had a nice win last week, which is always good,” Elliott said.

“I feel like we’ve been in a good place really the last two or three weeks before that.”

NASCAR shut down in March 2020 along with the rest of the sports world due to COVID-19.

Some three months later, the sport took its first cautious steps — no fans in attendance — with races at Darlington and Charlotte.

Almost a year later, there was little evidence of masks or that anyone was worried about the coronavirus.

Tents and campers filled the open areas around the track. The large fan concession area also included a place for those who wished to get vaccinated.

As in the past, fans toured the pit area and cheered the military display that included artillery cannons and hovering helicopters.

“My mom always told me that absence makes the heart grow founder,” Smith said. “I think all those race fans were ready to get back to our NASCAR races, and it showed today.”

Clemson’s Pettit wins NCAA men’s golf title The Tigers senior shot an even-par 70 to top Oklahoma State freshman Bo Jin

By John Marshall The Associated Press SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. — Turk Pettit had a stellar start to his collegiate career, winning a tournament as a freshman and posting five top-10 finishes.

One bad round seemed to put him a funk. Then his clubs were stolen. The tall, lanky player from Alabama appeared to get back into a groove in 2020, only to have the season snatched away by the pandemic.

Perseverance carried him through – all the way to a national title.

Pettit kept his composure on at Grayhawk Golf Club’s difficult Raptor Course on Monday, saving par from a difficult spot on his final hole to shoot an even-par 70 in the final round of the NCAA men’s championship.

Pettit finished at 7-under 273 and watched from across the lake as Oklahoma State freshman Bo Jin missed a tying 10-foot par putt on the 511-yard par-4 18th hole.

“Last tournament I ever play as a college golfer and I ended up winning,” Pettit said. “I’ve only had two wins in college golf, so

PHOTO COURTESY OF THE NCAA

Clemson senior Turk Pettit shot an even-par 70 to win the NCAA men's golf title Monday at Grayhawk Golf Club in Scottsdale, Arizona. that’s pretty special.”

The Raptor Course was set up for a battle of attrition, the hot, windy weather and course conditions — particularly those firm greens — forcing players to often shoot for middle of the greens instead of flag hunting.

Pettit stood up to the test, going toe to toe with Jin, the overnight leader by two, with superb ball striking and clutch putts.

His biggest came at the 468yard par-4 ninth, where he made a 5-foot birdie putt after his approach shot from a fairway bunker

came up well short.

Pettit’s win was Clemson’s first individual national championship since Charles Warren in 1997 and sent Larry Penley out on top after 38 years of coaching.

“We never figured out this golf course,” said Penley, who announced this would be his last year before the 2019-20 season.

“Turk did. Turk had a game that could play this course.”

Arizona State’s Ryggs Johnston finished third at 5 under after a final-round 69.

Arizona State surged into the No. 1 seed for the start of Tuesday’s match play with a 5-under round to pass Oklahoma State.

The Sun Devils were set to face eighth-seeded UNC in Tuesday’s match play quarterfinals.

The Cowboys led Oklahoma by 12 shots and the hometown Sun Devils by 14 but shot 12 over in the final qualifying round before the field was cut to eight for match play.

“The course has played a little different than we’re used and I think there’s a little adjustment period, especially on the greens,” Johnston said. “I imagine all the teams are getting used to how it’s going to play and I think we’re looking good.”

Arkansas’ Tyson Reeder had a hole-in-one on the 188-yard par-3 8th and Oklahoma’s Logan McAllister aced the 205-yard fifth.

Stanly County Journal for Wednesday, June 2, 2021

5

Pfeiffer lacrosse star Nelson named Third-Team All-American The Falcons were eliminated in the first round of the NCAA Tournament

By Jesse Deal Stanly County Journal

ANDY BROWNBILL | AP PHOTO

Serena Williams, right, said she can identify with the pressure faced by Naomi Osaka, left, who withdrew from the French Open citing her mental health.

Serena says dealing with media scrutiny made her stronger The 23-time Grand Slam winner reacted to Naomi Osaka’s withdrawl from the French Open

By Steven Wine The Associated Press SERENA WILLIAMS says she can identify with anxiety regarding news conference scrutiny and has experienced it frequently after matches.

“Many of them I’ve been into where I’ve been — very difficult to walk in in those moments,” she said.

“But you know, it made me stronger.”

Williams made her comments in a post-match news conference following her first-round victory Monday at the French Open. She spoke hours after four-time Grand Slam champion Naomi Osaka withdrew from the tournament, saying in a statement that she has dealt with long bouts of depression since winning a tumultuous final against

Williams in the 2018 U.S. Open.

Last week Osaka said she would not participate in the standard postmatch news conferences during Roland Garros, citing her decision as a mental health matter because media questions can create self-doubt.

“I feel for Naomi,” Williams said. “Not everyone is the same. I’m thick. Other people are thin. Everyone is different and everyone handles things differently.

“You just have to let her handle it the way she wants to and the best way she thinks she can. That’s the only thing I can say: I think she is doing the best she can.”

Few athletes have been under the media spotlight like Williams, 39, who is chasing a record-tying 24th Grand Slam singles title. When the glare becomes too intense, she said, it’s important to reach out for support.

“You really have to step forward and make an effort, just as in anything, and say, ‘I need help with A, B, C and D,’ and talk to someone. I think that’s so important to have a

sounding board, whether it’s someone at the WTA, or someone in your life, or maybe it’s someone you talk to on a weekly basis.

“I’ve been in that position too, and I’ve definitely had opportunities to talk to people and just get things off my chest that I can’t necessarily talk about to anyone in my family or anyone I know.”

There were moments of anxiety for Williams even in a first-round victory that will be quickly forgotten. She took a spill on the clay and saved two set points before eliminating Irina-Camelia Begu 7-6 (6), 6-2 under the lights during the first scheduled night session in tournament history.

Williams struggled with her serve but played aggressively, such as when she raced forward facing a set point to hit a risky swinging volley for a winner.

“I did not want to lose that first set,” she said.

Williams improved to 77-1 in first-round Slam matches. The loss came in Paris in 2012.

MISENHEIMER — A Falcon has landed on USA Lacrosse Magazine’s list of 2021 Division III Men’s All-Americans.

Pfeiffer fifth-year senior attacker Jared Nelson was one of 13 players on the ThirdTeam All-American formed by the magazine’s staff with input from college coaches throughout the country.

“At the end of the day, Jared really grinded it out for us,” said Tucker Nelson, Pfeiffer’s coach and Jared’s older brother. “Great teammates like Blade Garlow, Quinn Becraft, John Allen and the rest of them helped him get to that stage. My father deserves a lot of credit too — he developed Jared into a very nice player with his years of knowledge at the college level.”

The Vestal, New York, native was a large factor in Pfeiffer’s historic season that saw the Falcons (12-2, 8-0 USA South Conference) win their first conference championship and make their first NCAA Tournament appearance. Following an undefeated regular season conference record, Pfeiffer won the USA South Championship on May 8 with a 17-13 victory over Piedmont.

In the first round of NCAA playoffs on May 15, the Falcons fell to fourth-ranked Lynchburg (18-3, 8-1 Old Dominion Athletic Conference) as the Hornets cruised to a 26-11 win despite Pfeiffer entering the matchup on an 11-game winning streak.

The 16 first-half goals scored by Lynchburg were the most allowed in a half by the Falcons all season, as well as the most goals scored in a half by the Hornets all season.

Aside from his contributions to his team’s overall performance in 2021, it was a prolific year for Nelson in the record books.

He set the NCAA All-Division career record for assists on May 1 — breaking the record set by Rick Gilbert of Hobart College in 1974 — as the Falcons notched a 13-11 home win over Greensboro. During Pfeiffer’s final appearance of the postseason with Lynchburg, he set the NCAA All-Division career record for points that was previously held by Salisbury’s Jason Coffman from 1993-96.

At the end of the 2021 campaign, Nelson finished his collegiate career with 300 assists and 453 points; the senior compiled 91 assists, 123 points and 32 goals in the 14 games he played this year.

“At the end of the day, Jared really grinded it out for us.”

Pfeiffer lacrosse coach Tucker Nelson on Falcons star attacker and his brother Jared Nelson

Philadelphia center Dwight Howard watches as a fan who ran onto the court is restrained by security during Monday’s Game 4 in the firstround playoff series between the 76ers and Wizards in Washington, D.C.

NICK WASS | AP PHOTO

Fans gone wild: NBA playoffs has latest incident when spectator runs out on court The fan favorite won his sixth major on Sunday

By Ben Nuckols The Associated Press WASHINGTON, D.C. — A fan was tackled after running onto the court during an NBA playoff game between the Washington Wizards and Philadelphia 76ers on Monday night, the latest example of unruly behavior as teams let more spectators in the stands during the pandemic.

“You can tell those people have

been in some sort of captivity for the last year, year and change, right?” Wizards center Robin Lopez said. “It’s kind of wild to see the liberties people are taking.”

The players were heading toward Washington’s basket in the third quarter of the home team’s 122-114 victory in Game 4 of the Eastern Conference first-round series when the action was halted because of the intruder, who jumped as if pretending to try to dunk.

A security guard grabbed and held down the person near the baseline as 76ers center Dwight Howard stood nearby.

The fan was escorted away from

the court and play resumed after a brief interruption.

“I don’t know what he was trying to do,” Washington forward Rui Hachimura said. “I think they’re just excited to come back.

But they’ve got to be more respectful of us as players. They think they can do whatever they want.”

After beginning this season with zero spectators allowed at its arena, Washington has steadily increased the capacity to the point where Monday’s contest had an announced attendance of 10,665, roughly 50% of what the place holds.

“The stuff that’s been happen-

ing over the last week — we all know that fans shouldn’t be doing that stuff. That shouldn’t happen during the game,” Wizards All-Star Bradley Beal said. “Just sit there and enjoy the game or stay home and watch it on TV. We’re fortunate nobody got hurt.”

During this series, Washington guard Russell Westbrook had popcorn dumped on him as he walked to the locker room after getting injured in Game 2 at Philadelphia.

“I don’t know what’s going on with these fans right now,” Sixers coach Doc Rivers said. “We’ve just got to have safety.”

On Sunday in the Celtics-Nets

series, Brooklyn guard Kyrie Irving was nearly hit by a bottle thrown from the stands during a game in Boston.

Earlier, in New York, a spectator spit at Atlanta’s Trae Young as he prepared to inbound the ball during the Knicks-Hawks series.

Three fans were banned in Utah after Grizzlies guard Ja Morant said they “just went too far” with him or his family.

“NBA has great fans. I played in Philadelphia; they have great fans,” Wizards coach Scott Brooks said. “They had one knucklehead that decided to throw popcorn.

Boston has great fans. One knucklehead decided to throw a water bottle. New York has great fans; one knucklehead decided to spit on somebody. We have great fans.

One knucklehead decided to come into the arena.

“It’s unacceptable,” Brooks added. “I’m tired of it. We all deserve better.”

area.”

EMPHIS, Tenn. — Faced He also cited a widespread fear the threat of overburdened of being unnecessarily exposed to itals, states across the country virus. onverting convention centers, Stanly County Journal for Wednesday, Junethe 2, 2021 “All around, people are scared,” ts facilities and performance he said. es into backup treatment sites Their fears are not unfounded. oronavirus patients.

In this majority-black city along What some Memphis, Tenthe Mississippi River, lawmakers e, residents don’t get is why in and community leaders have been r city, a shopping center in the sounding the alarm over what they dle of a predominantly black, see as a disturbing trend of the viincome residential neighborrus killing African Americans at a d has been chosen. higher rate. ty and state officials are conNutbush resident Patricia Hared that an influx of patients ris wondered aloud if city officials m Memphis, as well as nearby at lawyers whose clients included Larry Neumeister were “trying to contaminate” the sissippi, By Arkansas and rural the president.

The Associated Press neighborhood.

Tennessee, will strain hospi“But lawyers are not immune Activist Earle Fisher, an AfriTheir fears are echoed across NEW YORK — A judge said from searches in criminal investiADRIAN SAINZ | AP PHOTO can American Memphis pastor, country:thatGovernors, mayors he will appoint a “special gations,” he wrote. understands the anxiety. “This health master” experts toinoversee numerous This April made 3, 2020 Prosecutors the photo, unusual shows Gateway Shopping Center a review of Friday, request for the appointment of a electronic files seized from Rudy is an honest and reasonable cones are also researching and in Memphis, Tenn. and another lawyer to lawyer or “special master” to procern and skepticism,” Fisher said. tructingGiuliani makeshift medical sure investigators can’t get tect attorney-client privilege the “I think it’s par for the course for ities. make access to protected communica- day after the raids, citing the need black people to be righteously a Chinese restaurant and other Lee has disclosed a few: the Mun New York City, they’re turntions with their clients, including to make it clear that materials skeptical of governmental intersic City Center in appropriately.

Nashville, the businesses. o the Javits Center convention were reviewed former President Donald Trump.

OetkenConvention said he “agrees that the U.S. the District Judge J. Paul Chattanooga OetLocating a treatment center for vention that did not consult with Center, in Chicago, McCormick appointment of aCenter special master ken directed Manhattan the Knoxville Expo — allis coronavirus patients there pos- people on the ground first.” e Convention Center; and in prosewarranted to ensureneighthe per- es two problems, residents say: and attorneys for Giuliani Doug McGowen, the city’s chief sites away from here residential dy, Utah,cutors the Mountain Amerand Washington lawyer Victoria ception of fairness.” operating officer, said the GateIt could potentially expose them borhoods.

Expo Center.

Prosecutors are examinToensing to submit possible canway site was being considered beto the virus amid concerns that The Gateway Shopping Cenhe U.S. didates Army this Corps of Engiweek for the position. ing Giuliani’s interactions with cause it could potentially accomthe Nutbush neighborhood s has been scouting locations figures and whether blacks are contracting COVID-19 Lawyers for Giuliani did notter im-in Ukrainian he violated a law governing lobbymediately comment.

Lawyers for Tennessee, and officials here of Memphis is different. The cen- at higher rates; and it could force modate hundreds of beds. He said ing on a behalf countries some of the stores they rely on to if it were converted to a treatment Toensing SaveofAforeign Lot grocery compiled a listdeclined of 35 comment. possi- ter features or entities made the request for a The judge rejected efforts by Gisite, it would hold only mildly ill backup sites. They haven’t re- store, a Rent-A-Center, a Fami- close. uliani and Toensing to force pros- “special master” almost immedicoronavirus patients who could be Nutbush resident and commuly Dollar, a beauty supply shop, ed the whole list, but Gov. Bill ecutors to divulge more about why ately after the raids.

6

Judge agrees to appoint ‘special master’ in Giuliani case

Prosecutors later revealed that they seized electronic devices on April 28. He said they were asking, the FBI has successfully downin effect, “to proceed by subpoena loaded 11 devices belonging to Giuliani and returned them to him. rather than by search warrant.”

“The search warrants at issue They said seven more devices behere were based on judicial find- longing to Giuliani and his busiings of probable cause — support- ness cannot be fully accessed ed by detailed affidavits — to be- without a passcode and will relieve that evidence of violations of quire more time to unlock.

They said some of the devices specified federal offenses would be found at the locations to be that have not yet been unlocked searched. There is no legal re- belong to “certain employees” at quirement for the Government to Giuliani’s firm, Giuliani Partners proceed by subpoena, nor is there LLC. Giuliani, a Republican and forany basis for the subject of an inmer mayor York City, has vestigation so,”Salman, a sonofofNew King Salman, Associated Press to require it to dobin notto been Oetken said. assented the charged deal. with a crime.

The judge also rejected ar- He has said all of his activities in “I go with the consent, so I UBAI, guments United Arab Emirthat the searches were Ukraine were conducted on behalf agree,” prince chuckling, — OPEC, Russia and Trump.

Atsaid, the time, Giuliani flawed because theyother were directed ofthe

PEC, oil nations agree o nearly 10M barrel cut

ment.

For Nutbush resident fear of contracting the matched with the worry th could lose stores that are the neighborhood. Offici ven’t said if stores would the Gateway facility was If they did, shopping wo come more difficult for re especially for those who ar have no means of transpo to stores located farther aw “For people who don’t car, what do they do?” ask ris, who spoke to The Ass Press while lugging a bott tergent, a package of bott ter and other items from t A Lot to her car. She note grocery store recently clos her house and she already travel farther to get to Gat “When we do things got to consider the people neighborhood,” she said. “W need to make the neighb worse than it already is.”

U.S. Rep. Steve Cohen, phis Democrat, said the d doesn’t make sense.

“I’m sure there are othe that would work, and they have used those rather t into a residential neighbo Cohen said.

EVAN VUCCI | AP PHOTO

Rudy Giuliani, a personal attorney for President Donald Trump, talks with reporters outside the White House, Wednesday, July 1, 2020, in Washington, D.C. was leading a campaign to press Ukraine for an investigation into Joe Biden and his son, Hunter, before Biden was elected president.

Toensing’s law firm said after the searches that she was told she was not a target of the investigation. Investigators took a single phone belonging to her. Toensing is a former federal prosecutor and close ally of Giuliani and Trump.

Last week, a lawyer in a Manhattan prosecution of two former

Giuliani associates accidentally revealed that U.S. prosecutors in 2019 sought the electronic messages of two ex-Ukrainian government officials and a Ukrainian businessman as part of their probe of Giuliani’s dealings in that country.

The lawyer also revealed that prosecutors had obtained “historical and prospective cell site information” related to Giuliani and Toensing.

Prosecutors have said they obtained email and Apple iCloud accounts of Giuliani and Toensing in 2019.

Lawyers for Giuliani have challenged the April raids on the grounds that anything gathered from the 2019 search warrants was illegally obtained because investigators improperly intruded on private communications with the president during their secret inquiry.

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 spokeswoman Meghin Delaney mid the coronavirus pandemic members and other nations failed said in a statement. in March to reach an agreement a price war, officials said.

She said the governor “believes Nevada is perfectly positioned as This could be the largest re- on production cuts, sending prica diverse and representative state The Associated Press ion in production from OPEC es tumbling. Saudi Arabia sharply to be first in the nation’s presidenperhaps a decade, maybe lon- criticized Russia days earlier over tial nominating process.”

CARSON CITY, Nev. — Newhat said U.S. Secretary It’s unclear if the DemocratvadaEnergy lawmakers passed a bill on it described as comments of the kingdom, which Brouillette, credited ic National Committee, which Monday who that aims to makecritical the sets the party’s nominating proident Donald per-in onfinds state the Trump’s first to weigh the itself trying to appease cess, would back Nevada’s chang2024 presidential primary Trump, cona longtime OPEC critic. l involvement in getting dueles when it sets its 2024 nominattests.

Even U.S. senators had warned parties to the table and helping calendar.

The move upends decades of Saudi Arabia to find a way to to end political a price tradition war between The party is expected to unand is likely to di Arabiaprompt and Russia. dergo a months-long review of pushback from otherboost ear- prices as American shale firms face far-higher production il priceslyhave collapsed its past nominating process and states that wantas to the retain their isn’t expected to set its nominatthe calendar. navirus places and inthe COVID-19 costs. American troops had been SAUDI ENERGY ing calendar until at least next The bill largely that passed the to the kingdom for the ss it causes have halt- indeployed year.

If the party doesn’t sign off state’s Assembly on Wednesday lobal travel and slowed down first time since the Sept. 11, 2001, In this photo released by Saudi Energy Ministry, Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman Al-Saud, Minist on the changes, it could force Neand the Senate on Monday still attacks over concerns of Irani- Energy of Saudi Arabia, third right, chairs a virtual summitvada r energy-chugging of the Groupitsoflaw 20orenergy to amend risk hav-minister must be approvedsectors

by Democratic as manufacturing. coordinate response tothe plummet its delegatesadropped from Gov. Steve SisolakItto has becomean law.retaliation amid regional ten- his office in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, Friday, April 10, 2020, toing stated Itthe oilalso industry in sions. prices due to an oversupply in the market and a downturn inDemocratic global demand due to the pandem National Convention. would need the backing of The Republican Party, which the national political parties to “They’ve spent over the last U.S., which now pumps more has most recently kept Nevada’s eventually make the change for month waging war on American e than any other country. caucuses as its fourth contest, has the 2024 calendar. praise.

Andrés ut some producers have been oil producers while we are defend- that Kuwait, Saudi Arabia and the deal but its president, not backed the change.

The push for Nevada to jump “The pure size Manuel López Obrador, had said the United Arab Emirates would ing theirs.

This is not how friends ctant to past ease Iowa’s supply.caucuses The carNevada Republican Partyof the cu and New precedented, but, Friday that he had agreed with cut another 2 million barrels of treat friends,” said Sen. Kevin nd other nations on Sunday Chairman Michael McDonald op- then ag Hampshire’s longstanding firstposes the change, is the warning impact that the corona in-the-nation follows a Cramer, a Republican from North oil a day between them atop the Trump that the U.S. will compened to allow Mexico toprimary cut only the unilaterally could said M behind-the-scenes having on demand,” addstate to acting OPEC+ deal. The three countries sate whatJAEMexico Dakota, before the OPEC+ deal.

000 barrels a month, a lobbying stick- camC. HONG | APcannot PHOTO leave both his party and thean Nepaign by former U.S. Senate med Ghulam, energy an U.S. producers have already did not immediately acknowledge the proposed cuts. point for an led accord initially vada Democrats without national Majority Leader Harry Reid of In this Nov. 7, 2020, file photo, Socorro Ulloa, a supporter of then-President-elect Joe Biden and Vice Raymond James.

“The big Oil Deal with OPEC output. The Amer- the cut themselves, though Zanhed Friday after a marathon been reducing delegates in 2024 and less influNevada.

President-elect Kamala Harris, carries flags while riding in the back of a limousine in Las Vegas.

But Ghulam and others hunican Petroleum Institute laud- ganeh attended the video confer- Plus is done. This will save o conference na- Demence on the presidential nominatReidbetween and other23 Nevada dreds of thousands of energy jobs it may not be enough. ed Sunday’s global pact, saying it ence. s. The nations together ing process. ocrats have seizedagreed on dissatisfacDemocratic Par-a tempo early in testing ground of their nasult that was a near tieplanned between cuts Hampshire. tion in the party about the nomiis at least the United States,” TrumpThe said new “This Officials said other will help get other nations’ stateut 9.7 million barrels a day chair Jaime is fromindustry tionalin appeal. two candidates whodeal, ultimateHampshire Iowa are would natingand process that gained steam lief Harrison for the energy a tweet. “I would like totythank stand in the meaning owned oil“New production to and follow the ughout May June.

Carolina and is aeconomy. protégé This i not said if hePresident will South ly lost.

The eventual nominee, cut Sisolak reflections our en- an 2020. They’re arguing re- ofnot the global and has congratulate Pu8-million-barrel-per-day U.S.really producers thatofare tryhe groupinreached the deal just tolead place party-run caucuses with tire country. Presidential candi- now-President Joe Biden, came in sign the bill but has been support- of House Majority Whip Jim Clyis too betoletsee to fail and of Russia and King Salman of has July the end of the ing to adjust to plunging s before Asian markets burn, who saidbig he’dto like ive of tin the idea. fifth in Newthrough Hampshire. dates should look atdemand.

Nevada as from state-run primary reelections, liance showed responsibil Saudi Arabia.” year and a 6-million-barrel cut for Brouillette said the U.S. did not ned Monday and as interna“After the 2020 Presidential his home of South Carolina moved “It’s time for Nevada to take its which are considered easier to the example of what they should this agreement,” The Kremlin months beginning in 2021. make be commitments of they its should own 16 up from it’s fourth-in-line place. said Per M al benchmark Nevada, Governorsaid Siso- President rightful place, not just first in the Caucus in doing and who participateBrent in thancrude the in-person it’s unclear if South lak was clear that while held Nevada West but will in theenable nation, as a diverse be talking neighborhood meetings.

Nysveen, the Carohead of ana Vladimir Putin a jointBut call “This the rebalancproduction cuts, to,” butsaid wasEmily able Perto ed at just over $31caucus a barrel lina Salwill joinRystad Nevada’s push to “Even be Democrats a phenomenal job King state, state diverseand issues,” saud-Zamora, of Silver ing Most significantly, they show have the Energy. tho with did Trump and Saudi of athe oilwith markets the exobvious —director that plunging American shale producers said that Nevada is a diverse state State Voices, a Nevada voting ad- said Nevada Assembly Speaker of making the caucuses as acces- first. The state, like Nevada, is direbound of prices by $15 man to express support of the production cuts are small demand because of the pandem- pected ggle. with a population that mirrors Jason Frierson, a Democrat who sible as possible, the caucus pro- verse. It’s also where Biden pulled vocacy group. what win the that market needed a deal.has It also said Putin barrel the in legislation. the short term,” said ic is expected to slash U.S. oil pro-in per ideo aired the Saudi-owned out sepa double-digit helped cess itself fundamental chal-spoke sponsored In 2020, the leadoff contest thebydemographics of the nation stock buildi with obstacles Trump about the oil from Nigeria’s duction. lite channel Al-Arabiya him postpone to victories the on Super lengesarately that create for propel He said Nevada’s small popula- oil Iowa unraveled and left the win- a statement — and therefore a better choice win his party’s nom-the wor Nevadans to participate tion makes it affordable and nav- too many ner Oil unclear.

NewBijan Hampshire, testing presidential problem, market and other issues. Tuesday andstraints Iranian Minister Zan- ministry. wed the for moment that Saudihopefuls ination. their voices offered heard,” his cautious for candidates to use asblocked an and make ended with a re- igable than mostly-white Iowa and ganeh New which now avoided.”

Analysts Mexico had initially also was toldnext, state television rgy Minister Prince Abdulaziz

Nevada OKs bill in try for 1st presidential nominating state

& 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, June 2, 2021

7

obituaries Stanly County Journal for Wednesday, April 15, 2020

7

obituaries Hilda Thompson

Ronald Barbee

HILDA CARPENTER RONALD LEE BARBEE, 57, of THOMPSON, 85, of Albemarle, Locust, passed away Monday, May Jason Tony passed away Monday, May 24, 2021 24, 2021 at his home. in her home. Her funeral service Ronald was born September 14, Efird Smith will be 2pm Thursday, May 27, 1963 in Cabarrus County to the ASON EUGENE ONY MONROE 72, of 2021 at Solid Rock Baptist“GENE” Church late Gary Phillip BarbeeSMITH, and Patsy EFIRD, 94, went home to be with Rockwell, NC, went to be with with Pastor Darrell Thompson and Jeannette Simpson Barbee. He his Lord Tuesday, April 7,Burial 2020, at his his Lord and Savior Jesus Christ Trent Thompson officiating. was also preceded in death by his home in Stanfield. on Wednesday, April 8, 2020 at will follow in the Palestine United beloved grandfather, Cletus Barbee.

Gene was born October 9, 1925, in his home surrounded by family.

A Methodist Church Cemetery.

The The family will receive friends Cabarrus County to the late Simeon private family service will be held. family Jason will receive friends prior to Ella fromOnline 2:00 pm - 2:45 pm, Efird and the late Sarah condolences canFriday, be made at the service from 1pm 2pm at Maystanlyfuneralhome.com 28, 2021 at Hartsell Funeral Burris Efird.

In until addition to his the church.

Midland. funeral parents, he was preceded in death byHome of Tony was bornThe August 11, 1947 Mrs.his Thompson born March to celebrate lifelate will wife, Jewellwas Little Efird; sisters, service in Stanly County his to the Pearlie 30, 1936 in Rowan County, to follow at 3:00 pmand in the Hartsell Mary Lambert, Fannie NC Almond, Asbury Smith Emmer Lee Furr, Wilma Burleson Smith.

He was the son in law of Pat the lateMinnie Spencer Carpenter and and Funeral Home Chapel.

Aileen Huskey; and brothers, Mick Cagle where he worked at Zula Foutz Carpenter.

She was a Homer Inand addition to his mother, Efird, Getus Efirda and Wayne Efird,Patsythe fish house many years home maker and was longtime Barbee, he for is survived byuntil Sr.of Palestine United he openedGary Anchor House (Kay) Seafood member his brothers, Michael private funeral service will be Barbee, in Rockwell.

He and his wifeRick Becky MethodistA Church.

Jeffrey Lynn Barbee, held onpreceded Saturday, April 11, 2020 owned and operated Anchor House Hilda was in death by (Marie) Barbee, and Jerry Barbee; at Love’s Grove United Methodist for 25 years before retiring in 2009. her husband, Kemp Thompson. nieces, Mandy (Matthew) King, Church Cemetery in Stanfield Mr. Smith was a charter member She is survived by her children, Lisa McGraw; other officiated by Rev. Jim White. Burial and deaconnumerous at Open Door Baptist Trent Thompson Nancy nieces and nephews. will follow atand the friend Love’s Grove United Church in Richfield. He loved the Clark, Sherri Harwood wasand a loving son,abundantly. brother, Tony Methodist Church (Jeff), Cemetery, 4360 He Lord his family DarrellPolk Thompson (Tammy), uncle, friend, and “grandpa” to hisand Ford Road, Stanfield.Ron was a wonderful husband, father, Thompson (Liz), Robby beloved nieces and He Survivors includeThompson son Gerald grandfather and nephews. could fix anything (Jean) all of Albemarle, and enjoyed working onon. cars, spending Wayne (Gail) EfirdNC of Albemarle; he put his hands Pam Padgett (Ron) of S. Myrtle daughter Lisa Efird (Mark) Hartselltime atMr. survived by his wife theSmith lake, is and spoiling kids.

Stanfield; granddaughters, Becky Cagle Smith the home, Beach,of SC; nine grandchildren and Memorials may be of made to Kelly Efird Barbee and sons Walter Smith andwww.

Robbie 24 great-grandchildren.

SheLauren was Hartsell Funeral Home, Hartsell (Justin) and great-hartsellfuneralhomes.com/onlineSmith; daughter Kayla Henderson preceded in death by aCrump; brother, Hoy grandsons, Ian Patrick Simmons and (Brandon); grandchildrenfor Danielle, Carpenter. memorials-and-payments, Elliot Jacob Simmons.

Dustin, and Steele Smith, Keaton funeral expense..

Memorials may be made to Love’s and Ella Henderson; brother David Hartsell Funeral Home of Grove United Methodist Church, PO Smith; sisters Kay Kriechbaum, Midland is serving Barbee Box 276, Stanfield, NC 28163-0276.

Karen Stevenson,the Ruby Eudy, and family.

Dorothy Smith (Nick).

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MADIE NEAL LIVERMAN MILLER, 88, of Albemarle, passed Merle away Monday, May 24, 2021 at Stanly Manor.

Her funeral service Helms will be 1pm on Thursday, May 27, LORRAINE AUSTIN 2021 atERLE First Lutheran Church HELMS, 72, of Marshville, with Pastor James Lawrence passed away Wednesday, April 8, officiating.

Burial will follow in the 2020 at McWhorter Hospice House Salem Lutheran Church Cemetery, in Monroe.

Salisbury, NC. The family Lorraine was born April will 28, 1947 receive friends prior the service in Monroe to the late to Homer David from 12pm at the Austin anduntil Jewell12:45pm Delphia-Jane church.

Austin. She was also preceded in Mrs.by Miller wasA.D. born December death brothers, and Teddy Austin; sister,Point, Joy Austin.

30, 1932 and in High NC. She The family will receive friends spent her childhood in Salisbury, from 6:00 - 8:00 pm, Friday, NC with herpm late parents, Rufus AprilLiverman 10, 2020 atand Hartsell Cecil SaraFuneral Wise Home of Albemarle.

The funeral Liverman.

She was an only child service be atchildhood 11:00 am on but had awill great with Saturday at Pleasant Hill Baptist many cousins nearby. Madie Church in Marshville, officiated graduated High School in 1951

by Rev. John Miller and Rev. Leon from Mt. Ulla and attended Whitley. She will lie in state for 30 Salisbury Business minutes prior to theCollege. service. She will She at North be formerly laid to restworked in the church cemetery.

Albemarle Schoolby asher a secretary She is survived beloved and had aof long career at Cabarrus husband 47 years, Paul Helms of theShe home; son, Alex (Deanna) Bank. worked handling Helms ofpayable Pageland; accounts fordaughter, her son’sPaula (Cristin Brandt) of Mint Hill; company, MillerHelms Industrial Supply Grant, and forgrandchildren, 32 years. SheMason, was an excellent Raegan Helms; Boyce, wife, mother andbrothers, grandmother.

Royce,loved Tim Austin; andand sisters, Madie the Lord her Patricia Mullis, and Angel Tarleton. family with all of her heart. She Memorials may be made to the was a member of First Lutheran Alzheimer’s Association, 4600 Park Church, Albemarle.

Rd., Suite 250, Charlotte, NC 28209.

Madie is survived by her husband, Harry Lee Miller of the He is preceded in death by home, they were married in 1953 brothers Joe Smith, Wayne Smith, Claude Smith, Wade Smith, Robert and enjoyed 67 years of a wonderful married life. They were blessed Smith, and sister Mary Morris.

Memorial contributions can be with two sons, Harry David Miller made to Open Door Baptist Church (Samantha) and Tim Miller (Lisa); at 44563 Hwy 52, Richfield, NC two granddaughters, Rachel Miller 28137 or to Hospice & Palliative Care Hawthorne (Will) and Sara Miller of Cabarrus County at 5003 Hospice Holland (Mickey) and a great Lane, Kannapolis, NC 28081. grandchild, Bryce Holland.

Stanly Funeral and Cremation Care of Albemarle is serving the Miller family.

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Pauline Tucker Joel Greene

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Madie Miller

AULINE ELIZABETH JOEL EDWARD GREENE, 84, ALMOND 98, passed of Albemarle, passedTUCKER, away Tuesday, peacefully atHealth Trinity Place, May 25,away 2021 at Anson & Albemarle, on April 11, 2020.

Rehabilitation in NC Wadesboro Pauline born17, on1937 March 22, DANIEL SHANE BLAKE, 48, Joel was born was March 1922 in Cabarrus NC to the of Lexington, NC, passed away in Stanly County to theCounty, late Henry late John Richard Almond and AliceTuesday, May 25, 2021 at Dream Rufus Greene and Louise Thomas Shirley Ada Ann Lambert Almond.

Makers Assisted Living, Lexington, Greene. He also preceded Shewas is survived by her three NC. His graveside service will be in death by wife, Laura Pearlene Haire daughters, Gay Michel (Jack), 2pm Friday, May 28, 2021 at Plyler Greene,Oak andIsland, step-grandson Jimmy NC; Pamela Rushing HAIRE, 73,Rev. BaptistHIRLEY Church MAE Cemetery with McCombs.

(Foreman), Oakboro, NC; Kathy ofTrendsou Albemarleand passed away on Stanley Dr. Dale The family will receive friends Hunt (Marc), Albemarle, NC; her April 11, 2020 at Atrium Health Robertson officiating. There will from 12:00 pm -Tucker 12:45 pm, Friday, son, Chris (Chris Lear), Stanly.

The family hold a private lie in state at thewill graveside one DC. She Baptist will be greatlybe agraveside May 28,Washington, 2021 at Aquadale service for Mrs. Haire. hour prior to the service. missed by her five grandchildren, Church Fellowship Hall. The Shirley was born December 12, Shane was born MayDC 3, 1973 Heather Rushing Chaneyat(Shannon), Graveside service will follow 1:00 1946 in Washington, to the County, NC to Roger Michaelby Rushing, Michel in Cabarrus pm officiated DarrellElizabeth Shaver at late Charles Richard Bateman and Hartzog (Craig), JackCemetery, Michel, Jr. Lavon Blake of Albemarle and the Elizabeth Mae Mulligan Bateman.

Aquadale Baptist Church (Jenn), and Hunt as well as late Glenda Smith Blake.

ShirleyBlondell is survived by her husband 32871 Church Rd,Woody Norwood. seven great-grandchildren. She also Memorials may be made to, of 30 years Vaughn Smith of Survivors include sons, Tony leaves behind cherished nieces and Fellowship of Christian Athletes, Albemarle; sister Sandra Painter (Sharon) Greene and Rodney nephews. of Gainesville, VA; half-brother 38686 Airport Road, New (Louise) Greene; grandsons, Casey The family expresses its sincere London, Robert Bateman of Stevensville, NC 28127 or to Gideons (Lynn) gratitude Greene and Seth to the staff(Stephanie) and caregivers MD; step-children Heather International, P.O. Box 585, Smith Greene;atgranddaughter, Melody Trinity Place for the care they of Jacksonville, FL and David Albemarle, NC 28002.

Greene;provided step grandson, Pauline. Kris SmithFuneral of New London, NC; 4 and Cremation (Darien) McCombs; and twin sister, A private graveside service will be Stanly step-grandchildren; nieces Cyndi Care of Albemarle is serving the Jane Greene held onAlmond.

Monday, April 13, 2020. A Hentschel of Leesburg, VA and Blake family. celebration Pauline’ and legacy Cheryl Hardy of Aylett, VA; 16 grandMemorials mayofbe mades life to St. will be held this summer.

Jude Children’s Research Hospital, nieces and nephews; and Gus the In lieu flowers, Charlotte, the family 2101 Rexford Rdof#165W, dog. Stanly Funeral and Cremation requests donations be made to the NC 28211.

Care of Albemarle is serving the BrightFocus Haire family.

Hartsell FuneralFoundation Home of at www. brightfocus.org.

Albemarle is serving the Greene family.

Daniel Blake

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Linda Hatley

INDA TUCKER HATLEY, 69, of Albemarle, passed away Monday, April 13, 2020.

Linda was born September 18, 1950 in Concord to the late Jacob and Claris Tucker. She was also preceded in death by her brother, Terry Lee Tucker, and her twin sister, Brenda Tucker Strickland. We know Brenda and Linda are in Heaven watching over us and laughing.

Linda was a loving mother, sister, and “Nana.” She was a very giving and loving person. Linda would always do anything she could for others, especially her family. She enjoyed working at FastShop #5, Locust. Linda will be forever loved and greatly missed.

Survivors include her son, Alan Hatley and wife, Angela, of Albemarle; brother, Ronnie Tucker and wife, Linda, of Midland; granddaughter, Leslie Hatley; 1 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.

Cynthia Hazelwood

Melissa Bowen

MELISSA KAY AKERS BOWEN, 55, of Albemarle, passed CYNTHIA JANE HODGE Danny Jerry away Wednesday, May 26, 2021 HAZELWOOD, 73, of Albemarle, at AtriumLuther Health Cabarrus in passedFincher away Sunday, May 30, Concord.

2021 FINCHER in her home.

Herfrom memorial ANNY PAUL LUTHER, ERRY passed Melissa was born May 30, 1965 service will be3,4pm Wednesday, 65, of Norwood, passed away this life on April 2020 at 8:05 in Wyoming County, WV to the late 2,surrounded 2021 at Canton unexpectedly Thursday, April 9, pm. June He was by his Baptist family William Edgar Akers and Shirley with Rev. Gary Hunsucker 2020 at Atrium Health Stanly in and Church holding the hand of the love of Ann Houston Beachum. She was his life. Jerry is preceded in death Albemarle. officiating. The family will receive also death by her Mr.preceded Luther wasinborn March 27, by three siblings, two brothers, Billy in the friends following the service brother, Akers; and 1955 to theTommy late Robert Fulton andsister, Gilbert Fincher, and Larry Richard church fellowship hall.

Linda Burnette.

Helen Tucker Luther.

Fincher,Mrs. and one sister, Barbra Hazelwood wasJoyce born The family will receive friends Moore.

Danny was survived by his wife, March 4, 1948 in Stanly County, from Burleson 5:00 pmLuther - 7:00ofpm, Saturday, He is survived by his wife, Eleanor Denise Norwood; NC, to the late James Monroe sons, (Karen) Luther and MayJeremy 29, 2021 at Hartsell Funeral Kate Fincher of the home, daughter, Hodge and Lucille Eggleston Jody Luther; step-sons, Bryan Home of Albemarle.

The funeral Cindy Fincher Jacobs of Wingate worked Whitley Gregg (Anita) NC.,Hodge. son and Cynthia daughter formerly in law, Tommy serviceand to celebrate herWhitley; life will in textiles and she retired from the Grandchildren, Daniel Luther and (Tiffany) Fincher of New London be at 3:00 pm on Sunday at First NC Department of Corrections Hunter Zado, as well his brother, NC., Step Children, Jimmy (Lisa) Baptist Church ofas Gold Hill, as a guard. She was a member of Bob Luther Jr uncle Jack officiated by(Lorena), Pastor Toney Parsons. Lanier of Locust NC, Wanda (Bob) Canton Baptist Luther and several other loved nieces, Krimminger of LocustChurch.

NC., EricCynthia In addition to her mother, was Lanier a wonderful cook.NC., She loved nephews and cousins.

(Sharon) of Charlotte Shirley she from is survived Grandchildren-Trey (Gera) Whitson Danny Beachum, recently retired her grand babies and loved all her by her children, Patricia after (Justin) of Midland, Step-grandchildren, Charlotte Pipe and Foundry family.

(Christy) Akers, a Shaffer, dedicatedKenny 37 years and worked Zach (Brittney) CynthiaWashington, is precededAaron in death Jennifer (John) there with his sons Hudson, and severaland other (Kinsey) Washington, (Nayeli) by her husband, Caleb Albert Richard Amanda Rounds; grandchildren, Washington, Beth (Robbie) Setzer, friends and family members.

Hazelwood on November 26, Nicole, Jr., Jackie, Danny Adam loved spending timeMarien, at Matthew April ) Wallace, Steptwo sons, 2014.( Survivors include Justin Jr., Carol, Brook, his lake house with his familyNina, and great-grandchildren, Britlyn-Eve James Richard Hazelwood (Tina) friends as well as vacationing his Washington, Robert Setzer, George Kendon, Jayden, Kayden,with Keelee, ofSetzer, Albemarle, NC and Billy Joe family.

Danny and Denise enjoyed (Sara) Tracy (Rob) Setzer Shawn, Tyler, John, Natalie, Hazelwood (Sarah) of Oakboro, listening to beach music and loved to Bumgardener, Katie Underwood, Jayden, and Teagan; brother, Aaron NC;Underwood, a daughter,Step Angela shag dance every chance they Blalock, could Andrew greatHazelwood Akers; sisters, Stephanie Russell (Aaron) of Albemarle, NC; get.

He was an amazing father, loving great grandchild, Waylon George Peggy Fury, Frankie Reed, and two sisters, Joyce Hodge Faulkner grandfather and great friend to Setzer and brother Donald Lewis Ethel Hines; husband, Richard of New London,NC. NC and Sylvia many. He will never be forgotten.

Fincher of Albemarle, Allen Bowen; and numerous nieces A celebration of life will be Jerry Fincher will be to rest on Hodge Shields of laid Albemarle, and nephews. announced once the current Wednesday 8,2020 at 11:00 am NC; fiveApril grandchildren, Brittany Melissa was a devoted and COVID-19 restrictions are lifted. at Canton Baptist Church.

Anyone Hazelwood, Dylan Hazelwood, loving mother, grandmother, sister,interested in attending, please RSVP Hartsell Funeral Home of Corbin Hazelwood, Reagan aunt, wife, and friend.

She was a at 704-796-2412. Dr. Phil McCray Albemarle is serving the Luther West and Ella West and a great faithful member of First Baptist and Pastor Tommy Fincher will family. grandchild, Huntleigh Hazelwood. of Gold Hill. She loved the Lord officiate.

She was also preceded in death by a and listening to her church music. daughter, Misty Reane Hazelwood.

Melissa loved going to the beach The family would like to give and tending to her roses. She was a special thanks to her caregiver, also an avid animal lover. Melissa Wendy Hinson. had a generous spirit and big heart, In lieu of flowers memorials who was always there when you may be made to the Endy First needed her. She will be missed by Responders, 25045 US Hwy. 24/27, all who knew her.

Albemarle, NC 28001.

Memorials may be made to Stanly Funeral and Cremation Stanly County Humane Society, Care of Albemarle is serving the 2049 Badin Rd., Albemarle, NC Hazelwood family.

28001.

Hartsell Funeral Home of Albemarle is serving the Bowen family.

Online condolences may be made at www.hartsellfh.com

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Celebrate the life of your loved ones. Submit obituaries and deaththe notices be loved Celebrate life oftoyour published in SCJ ones.

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8

Stanly County Journal for Wednesday, June 2, 2021

STATE & NATION Rows of homes, are shown in suburban Salt Lake City, on April 13, 2019.

RICK BOWMER | AP PHOTO

Census Bureau’s use of ‘synthetic data’ worries researchers

By Mike Schneider The Associated Press ORLANDO, Fla. — First came the “noise” — small errors the U.S. Census Bureau decided to introduce into the 2020 census data to protect participants’ privacy.

Now the bureau is looking into “synthetic data,” manipulating the numbers widely used for economic and demographic research, to obscure the identities of people who provided information.

The moves have some researchers up in arms, worried that the statistical agency could sacrifice accuracy in its zeal to protect privacy.

Census Bureau statisticians disclosed at a virtual conference that over the next three years they will work toward developing a method to create “synthetic data” for files on individuals and homes that already are devoid of personalized information. These files, known as American Community Survey microdata, are used by researchers to create customized tables tailored to their research.

Census Bureau statisticians said more privacy protections are needed as technological innovations magnify the threat of people being identified through their survey answers, which are confidential. Computing power is now

so vast that it can easily crunch third-party data sets that combine personal information from credit rating and social media companies, purchasing records, voting patterns and public documents, among other things.

“It’s a balancing act. The law requires us to do competing things.

We need to release statistics on the nation to allow people to make useful decisions. But we also have to protect the privacy of our respondents,” said Rolando Rodriguez, a Census Bureau statistician, at the conference.

But critics say the proposal, coupled with an ongoing effort to add small inaccuracies to the 2020 census data in order to protect participants’ privacy, undermines the Census Bureau’s credibility as the go-to provider of precise data about the U.S. population.

University of Minnesota demographer Steven Ruggles said bluntly that synthetic data “will not be suitable for research.”

“The Census Bureau is inventing imaginary threats to confidentiality to sharply reduce public access to data,” Ruggles said.

“I do not think this will stand, because society needs information to function.”

The microdata are gathered every year from the American Com-

“The Census Bureau is inventing imaginary threats to confidentiality to sharply reduce public access to data. ... I do not think this will stand, because society needs information to function.”

Steven Ruggles, University of Minnesota demographer munity Survey with a sample size of 3.5 million households, extrapolated across populations of all sizes, from the entire nation down to neighborhoods. This provides a wide range of estimates on the nation’s demographic makeup and housing characteristics. The microdata are used in the drafting of around 12,000 research papers a year, Ruggles said.

The synthetic data are created by taking variables in the microdata to build models recreating the interrelationships of the variables and then constructing a simulated population based on the models. Scholars would conduct their research using the sim-

ulated population — or the synthetic data — and then submit it, if they want, to the Census Bureau for double checking against the real data to make sure their analyses are correct.

Ruggles said new discoveries in data will be missed since the models only capture what is already known.

Another problem is that synthetic data can amplify an outlier, such as in a health study where one person engages in risky behavior multiple times but others don’t, and it makes it seem like the risky behavior is more widespread than it actually is, said David Swanson, a professor emeritus of sociology at the University of California Riverside.

There are benefits, though, such as the ability to get details about people at really small geographic levels such as neighborhood blocks, said Cornell University economist Lars Vilhuber, who has done research on the method. The synthetic data makes that possible because it protects privacy, he said, “You can actually get far more detail into the data than with traditional methods,” Vilhuber said.

The Census Bureau said in a statement that it hasn’t made any final decisions on the use of synthetic data in the American Community Survey and it welcomed feedback from researchers. The technique already is used on a limited basis in other surveys by the bureau, which describes the process as combining multiple data sources to produce estimates that cut back on errors at small

geographic levels.

The Census Bureau has taken other recent steps to protect individuals’ privacy, which has gotten harder in the face of a proliferation of outside data sources. This year, the bureau proposed using housing units instead of people when defining an urban area.

And it has drawn fierce criticism for using a statistical technique known as “differential privacy” in 2020 census data that will be used for drawing congressional and legislative districts.

Differential privacy adds mathematical “noise,” or intentional errors, to the data to obscure any given individual’s identity while still providing statistically valid information. It has been challenged in court by the state of Alabama which says its use will result in inaccurate data.

“The Census Bureau is saying this is in the tradition of what they have always done” in protecting privacy, said historian Margo Anderson, a professor at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee.

“There’s an increasingly substantial organization of critics saying this is completely different. They say, ‘You have never made the data intentionally inaccurate.’”

The Census Bureau first floated the idea of using synthetic data three years ago, but concerns over that and differential policy got shoved aside after the Trump administration failed unsuccessfully to add a citizenship question to the 2020 census questionnaire and the pandemic challenged the nation’s head count last year, Anderson said.

Boris Johnson defends virus record after ex-aide’s attack

By Jill Lawless The Associated Press LONDON — British Prime Minister Boris Johnson rejected claims by his former chief aide that he botched Britain’s coronavirus response and is unfit for office, denying an allegation his government oversaw tens of thousands of needless deaths.

Health Secretary Matt Hancock also hit back after Dominic Cummings singled him out for criticism in an excoriating attack on the government.

Cummings, who left his job as Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s top adviser in November, claimed the government’s slow and chaotic initial response, and Johnson’s failure to learn from mistakes, meant that tens of thousands of people had died unnecessarily.

“People did not get the treatment they deserved. Many people were left to die in horrific circumstances,” he said during his hours of testimony to lawmakers on last week.

Cummings — whose key role in the campaign to take Britain out of the European Union helped propel Brexit-backer Johnson into the prime minister’s post — said Johnson was “unfit for the job,” Johnson brushed aside the criticism, saying “some of the commentary I have heard doesn’t bear any relation to reality.”

“This has been an incredibly difficult series of decisions, none of which we’ve taken lightly,” Johnson said. He said that “at every stage, we’ve been governed by a determination to protect life, to save life.”

GLYN KIRK | POOL VIA AP

Britain’s Prime Minister Boris Johnson visits Colchester hospital in Colchester, England on Thursday May 27, 2021.

“What people want us to get on with is delivering the (reopening) road map and trying, cautiously, to take our country forward through what has been one of the most difficult periods that I think anybody can remember,” he told reporters.

Cummings accused Hancock of lying to the public and said he “should have been fired” for mistakes including testing failures that saw patients with the virus discharged from hospitals to nursing homes. Around 20,000 people died with COVID-19 in British nursing homes in the first months of the outbreak.

Hancock said “the unsubstantiated allegations around honesty are not true.”

“We worked as hard as we could to protect people who live in care homes,” he said at a news conference.

“But we could only do that once we had the testing capacity,” Hancock added, saying “it wasn’t possible” to test everyone being discharged from hospitals at the start of the outbreak.

The health spokesman for the opposition Labour Party, Jonathan Ashworth, said the government had questions to answer, whether or not

Cummings’ testimony was true, “These allegations from Cummings are either true, and if so the secretary of state (Hancock) potentially stands in breach of the ministerial code,…or they are false and the prime minister brought a fantasist and a liar into the heart of Downing Street,” Ashworth said.

“Which is it?”

The government says it will begin an independent public inquiry into its handling of the pandemic within the next year. Opposition politicians, and families who have lost loved ones to COVID-19, want it to start sooner.

The U.K. has recorded almost 128,000 coronavirus deaths, the highest toll in Europe, and experienced one of the world’s deepest recessions in 2020 as three successive lockdowns hobbled the economy.

A mass vaccination campaign that started in December has brought confirmed cases and deaths down sharply, though Britain is now reckoning with a more transmissible new strain of the virus first identified in India. It is spreading across the country, with the number of cases doubling in the past week, according to Public Health England.

Scientists expect the variant become the dominant one in Britain, but they say existing vaccines appear to work against it.

Almost three-quarters of British adults have had one dose of a coronavirus vaccine, and 45% have had both doses.

The government has been lifting restrictions in stages, with indoor eating, drinking and entertainment venues reopening last week, but social distancing and mask-wearing rules still in place.

Hancock said it was “too early now to say” whether remaining social restrictions imposed to slow the spread of the virus could be lifted on June 21 as planned.

Johnson said removing the remaining measures would depend on how much the new variant drove an increase in cases, and the speed of the vaccination campaign.

“I don’t see anything currently in the data to suggest that we have to deviate from the road map,” he said.

“But we may need to wait.”

VOLUME 3 ISSUE 36 | WEDNESDAY, JUNE 2, 2021

Twin City Herald

NELL REDMOND | AP PHOTO

Stars and (racing) stripes Pit crew members unfurl a United States flag prior to the national anthem before a NASCAR Cup Series auto race at Charlotte Motor Speedway in Concord, Sunday, May 30, 2021.

WHAT’S HAPPENING Greensboro woman hit, killed by car Forsyth County Ariel Patrice Wester, 31, of Greensboro, was hit and killed by a car in Winston-Salem over the weekend. Wester was struck by a 2019 Honda Civic on Ebert Road at about 3:30 a.m. on Saturday.

She was taken to a hospital where she was declared dead.

Wayne Walser, 25, was arrested and charged with driving while impaired. There was no word on whether he would face additional charges.

MY FOX 8

Pilot dies in small-plane crash near airport Rockingham County The pilot of a small plane was killed when the aircraft went down in a field near an airport.

Rockingham County Emergency Services said the plane, an Early Bird Jenny, crashed in a field near Shiloh Airport at around 6:30 p.m. Thursday. The pilot was the only one aboard the aircraft, but his name has not yet been released. The Early Bird Jenny is a home-built aircraft which holds one person. The Federal Aviation Administration and National Transportation Safety Board are investigating the crash.

AP

$25 Summer Cash Cards Offered at Select Vaccine Sites Rowan County As part of its ongoing effort to get more North Carolinians vaccinated and safely bring summer back, the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services is offering $25 Summer Cash Cards at select vaccine sites to offset the time and transportation costs of getting vaccinated. Through June 8, select vaccine sites will offer Summer Cash Cards in Mecklenburg, Guilford, Rowan and Rockingham counties.

Anyone 18 and older who gets their first dose of a COVID-19 vaccination — or drives someone to their vaccination — will receive a $25 cash card after vaccination at a participating location while supplies last.

NSJ

Law enforcement, community leaders discuss plan to curb crime Community needs to work together, panel agrees TCH staff Community leaders met to discuss ways to solve the rising tide of crime in the area.

The Forsyth County Sheriff’s office hosted a panel discussion on the one-year anniversary of George Floyd’s death. The seminar, titled “Black, white and Blue: Building better communities through conversations,” emphasized the need to address underlying community problems and work together for solutions.

Forsyth County Sheriff Bobby Kimbrough was on the panel, along with Winston Salem Police Department Assistant Chief William Penn. They also brought in the recently retired Commander of Special Operations and Intelligence for the Minneapolis PD Scott Gerlicher, who was involved in the aftermath of Floyd’s death at the hands of police and the resulting unrest afterward.

Former US Attorney for the Middle District of NC Walter Holton was also on the panel, along with three community leaders: President of the Winston-Salem

NAACP Al Wadood Jabbar, Bishop Todd L. Fulton of the Mount Moriah Outreach Center and community activist Frankie Gist.

Gerlicher reflected on Floyd’s death and the lessons he learned from last year.

“Never in my wildest dreams did I think my community and my police department would be at the epicenter for change,” he said.

“Folks were angry. Folks are angry.”

The two components of meaningful change, Gerlicher said, were for police to “maintain closer community connections” and to “take a good look at law enforcement and how we police in this country.”

“It’s a community-wide problem, not a policing problem,” he said. “We need community-led solutions so police can focus on protecting the community and have a guardian mentality, not an enforcement mentality.”

Gist agreed, emphasizing the need for accountability. “That’s very important in law enforcement and in the community,” he said. “We have to hold ourselves accountable and work together.

That’s the only way we can bridge that gap between us.”

Fulton pointed out that the church should have a role in bring-

University pauses building renaming to mark slave sale date The Associated Press WINSTON-SALEM — When Wake Forest University’s president announced a new name for a building honoring a slave-owner, he framed it as part of the school’s ongoing effort to come to terms with its antebellum past. But the name chosen by trustees — “May 7, 1860 Hall” — has been rejected by Black alumni, who said it adds fresh pain to a traumatic legacy.

Now the school in North Carolina says it’s pausing its work to rename Wingate Hall following objections from The Association of Wake Forest University Black Alumni, which sent a protest let-

ter to university president Nathan Hatch, saying its leaders had been excluded from the decision-making process.

May 7, 1860 is the date when Washington Manly Wingate, as the school’s fourth president, presided over the sale of 16 enslaved men, women and children who had been left to Wake Forest in a planter’s estate. The college established its first endowment with the $10,718 in proceeds from the slave auction.

“By renaming this building, we acknowledge the University’s participation in slavery, recognize this aspect of our history and remember those who labored at the institution against their will,” Hatch said

“Are we gonna be my brothers’ keepers or are we going to be pallbearers?"

Forsyth County Sheriff Bobby Kimbrough ing the community and police together. “The church has always been place of safety for people of color,” he said. “I see our role as being a broker of repentance. Just because we have a black sheriff or a black assistant chief doesn’t mean we’re not still being violated by the institution. We need to see repentance from law enforcement.”

Kimbrough agreed but thought actions were more important than words.

“Our men and women try to go out every day and show repentence through our actions,” he said. “Let the work I’ve done speak for me.”

Kimbrough saw the rising crime rate as a symptom of a deeper problem, pointing out that the majority of crimes come in areas where poverty rates are high and schools are struggling.

“The dominos have been set

“By renaming this building, we acknowledge the University’s participation in slavery, recognize this aspect of our history and remember those who labored at the institution against their will. ... We hear their stories, learn their names and honor what they endured for our institution.”

Nathan Hatch, university president in a May 7 message to university community. “We hear their stories, learn their names and honor what they endured for our institution.”

But the new name “angered and dismayed” the Black alumni group, which said the date ”stands as a day of trauma for the individuals

for that to take place,” he said.

“You don’t have those statistics in wealthier areas. I always said, ‘Social issues can become criminal issues.’”

Assistant Chief Penn agreed.

“Our community suffered a trauma,” he said. “We’ve been through a lot. The pandemic didn’t cause these issues, it exposed them. We’re seeing all the cracks in all the social aspects of our community... Take a look at the maps.

Look at where the poverty is. Look at where unemployment is. Look at where healthcare discrepancy is and you’ll see crime in that same area,” Holton pointed to the success of the Salem Garden’s project in the 1990s, where law enforcement and the community worked together to revive an area that had decayed.

“There’s nothing better for building trust than having a plan and a project,” he said, “something to work on together. A common purpose. … With Salem Gardens, we all came together. We cleaned out the bushes, got rid of the needles, fixed windows, made the landlords improve conditions.

It wasn’t about pointing fingers, it was about looking forward.”

The group was in agreement that, unless the community and law enforcement could work together, the situation wouldn’t improve “Are we gonna be my brothers’ keepers or are we going to be pallbearers?” Kimbrough asked. “Are we going to carry them or are we going to care for them?”

who were ripped from their families, and represents a day in history where Black people were sold in a transaction that benefited the university.”

So in a new message, Hatch said university officials appreciate “those who questioned our decision and asked us to pause and reconsider the full impact of this name.”

“We have heard particularly from some Black students, for whom Wake has felt unwelcoming, that the name, ‘May 7, 1860’ on a campus building would further alienate or traumatize them,” Hatch said.

Hatch said he asked Donna Edwards, a 1980 graduate and a former Maryland congresswoman, and Vice President Jose Villalba to chair a committee focused on clarifying the objectives in selecting a name for name for Wingate Hall, and collecting and understanding the entire community’s concerns, reactions and suggestions for a new name.

The committee will complete its work by June 30, the date Hatch is scheduled to retire.

Twin City Herald for Wednesday, June 2, 2021

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OPINION | ERICK ERICKSON

The Republican secret weapon

Publisher Neal Robbins

Editor Shawn Krest

Sports Editor Cory Lavalette

Senior Opinion Editor Frank Hill

Design Editor Lauren Rose Published each Wednesday as part of the North State Journal.

3101 Industrial Dr., Suite 105 Raleigh, N.C. 27609 (704) 269-8461 INFO@TWINCITYHERALD.COM TWINCITYHERALD.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.

In spreading the gospel, Paul had wiped out income and mythology, which brewed resentment.

Today, the Temple of Artemis is a ruin.

APOORVA MANDAVILLI is The New York Times’ COVID-19 reporter. “Someday we will stop talking about the lab leak theory and maybe even admit its racist roots. But alas, that day is not yet here,” she tweeted — not last year, but just a couple of days ago. The “lab leak theory” has always been the most likely theory for the release of the virus into the world.

Ironically, the alternative theory that Mandavilli seems to think is less racist is Chinese citizens in wet markets eating bats or some such. When Arkansas Sen. Tom Cotton raised the lab leak theory last year, he was roundly attacked for racism. Members of the press, helped by some fringe conspiracists on the right, claimed Cotton was claiming an intentional release of a bioweapon, which Cotton never claimed. A year later, it looks like Cotton and former President Donald Trump were right. Intelligence does suggest workers at the Wuhan Institute of Virology got infected and accidentally began a global pandemic.

Two weeks ago, the Israelis bombed the Associated Press office in Gaza during the Hamas attacks. Journalists were furious. The AP demanded answers. But a little-noticed piece in The Atlantic from Matti Friedman in 2014 documented how the AP had, in fact, been using a building also used

by Hamas. Friedman, a former AP reporter, documented how the AP would not cover certain Hamas-related activity because of Hamas harassment in their shared work environment. Concurrent to all of this, it took The New York Times a week to cover a wave of anti-Jewish attacks in New York City.

Recently, The Washington Post’s media writer, Margaret Sullivan, wrote a piece on her newspaper’s new female editor.

She included a line from a correspondent who asked: “Does she understand — really understand — that ... the United States is on track to become functionally an authoritarian white Christian nationalist state in the very near future?

And if the answer is ‘Yes,’ what is she prepared to do about it?

Right now nothing else signifies.”

Jay Rosen, a highly respected journalism professor at New York University, highlighted that reader’s concern and agreed

with it. The Democrats control all of Washington. Joe Biden just won the election by several million votes. But Rosen is worried we are on the verge of “an authoritarian white Christian nationalist state in the very near future.”

Last summer, reporters at CNN and MSNBC stood in front of rioters burning buildings in Kenosha, Wisconsin, and characterized the protests as peaceful. One correspondent actually said on television that they were fiery “but mostly peaceful.” As video showed antifa activists beating up people in streets across America, CNN’s Chris Cuomo claimed the group is peaceful.

As the virus raged through America last year and the country shut down, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi engaged in a series of partisan maneuvers to hurt the GOP and expand her Democratic coalition. Her efforts, including blocking financial relief to small businesses and individual taxpayers, was greeted by the American political press corps as strategic brilliance. Her brilliance nearly cost the Democrats the House. Republicans gained seats at the state level, held state legislative bodies they were expected to lose and came within five seats of taking back the House of Representatives itself.

The press has given up the veneer of objectivity while still demanding it serve as gatekeepers to truth. News outlets that claim ownership of truth and fact have become narrative-based mouthpieces for progressive politics and policy. The press is detached from America, and Americans are increasingly seeing the world and then seeing the press coverage of the world — and realizing the two are not the same.

It gives the GOP a latent advantage because the press, now constantly pushing back against Republican claims, winds up pushing back against reality itself. That, in turn, gives Republicans inroads into the minds of Americans who recognize disconnect between their lives and the way the press covers their lives. Americans then become more open to Republican claims, which sound more like the reality those Americans are living. Democrats, who overwhelmingly believe their own fawning press coverage, will never realize what has happened until it is too late.

DEATH NOTICES

WEEKLY CRIME LOG ♦ Anderson, Maleak Jawion (M/27) Arrest on chrg of 1) Assault On Female (M), 2) Breaking/enter-misd (M), 3) Vand-personal Prop (M), 4) Fail To Appear/compl (M), and 5) Fail To Appear/compl (M), at 5300 Germanton Rd, Winstonsalem, NC, on 5/31/2021 00:50. ♦ ANTHONY, BRENDA LEE was arrested on a charge of IMPAIRED DRIVING DWI at 3799 NORTHAMPTON DR/ NEW WALKERTOWN RD on 5/28/2021 ♦ AUSTIN, DESHAWN TERRELL was arrested on a charge of STALKING at 1030 E FIFTEENTH ST on 5/30/2021 ♦ Brabham, Swan Lorene (F/44) Arrest on chrg of 1) Communicate Threats (M), 2) Larceny/misdemeanor (M), and 3) Criminal Summons (M), at 201 N Church St, Winstonsalem, NC, on 5/27/2021 16:55. ♦ BROWN, JERRY JUAN was arrested on a charge of ADW - INFLICT INJURY at 625 W FIFTH ST on 5/29/2021 ♦ BYRD, LAKIDA ONASIS was arrested on a charge of ASSLT ON OFF/ST EMP at 924 CLOISTER DR on 5/28/2021 ♦ Childress, Cory Gray (M/31) Arrest on chrg of Vandpersonal Prop (M), at 6660 Whispering Dr, Rural Hall, NC, on 5/31/2021 05:45.

was arrested on a charge of LARCENY-FELONY at 3440 MYER LEE DR on 5/28/2021 ♦ FUENTES, ELIAS ZACHARIAS was arrested on a charge of IMPAIRED DRIVING DWI at 4505 KESTER MILL RD on 5/29/2021 ♦ GRAY, WESLEY ROBERT was arrested on a charge of IMPAIRED DRIVING DWI at 8500 DALTON RIDGE RD on 5/30/2021 ♦ GRAY, WESLEY ROBERT was arrested on a charge of IMPAIRED DRIVING DWI at 8599 DALTON RIDGE RD/PINEY GROVE RD on 5/30/2021 ♦ HEATH, ADAM BLAIR was arrested on a charge of PROBATION VIOLATION at 2059 CLOVERDALE AV/ MEDICAL CENTER BV on 5/30/2021 ♦ Hill, Miranda Barbee (F/28) Arrest on chrg of Assaultsimple (M), at 5878 Graham Farm Rd, Winston-salem, NC, on 5/26/2021 00:04. ♦ Johnson, Gilbert Stewart (M/70) Arrest on chrg of Impaired Driving Dwi (M), at 1465 River Ridge Dr, Clemmons, NC, on 5/31/2021 03:42.

♦ CLARK, CARTLAND CORTREZ was arrested on a charge of IMPAIRED DRIVING DWI at 4300 GROVE AV on 5/28/2021

♦ Johnson, Mark Allen (M/32) Arrest on chrg of 1) Concealing Mdse (M), 2) Larceny/ misdemeanor (M), 3) Fail To Appear/compl (M), 4) Fail To Appear/compl (M), 5) Fail To Appear/compl (M), and 6) Resisting Arrest (M), at 7999 Broad St/washington St, Rural Hall, NC, on 5/26/2021 11:59.

♦ CLARK, CARTLAND CORTREZ was arrested on a charge of IMPAIRED DRIVING DWI at 4367 GROVE AV/CONLEY ST on 5/28/2021

♦ LADUE, GERALD JOHN was arrested on a charge of LARCENY-FELONY at 1000 HANES MALL BV on 5/28/2021

♦ DRAPER, HARRY LEE was arrested on a charge of ADW-KNIFE, INTENT TO KILL at 608 N CAMERON AV on 5/30/2021

♦ Leinbach, Nancy Elizabeth (F/38) Arrest on chrg of 1) Impaired Driving Dwi (M) and 2) Driving In Proper Lane, Direction, Etc. On Natl Sys Hwys (M), at 5175 Brookberry Park Av, Winston-salem, NC,

♦ EDWARDS, DAMION GAUGE

on 5/29/2021 02:43. ♦ LINDSEY, DEWAYNE EDWARD was arrested on a charge of ASSAULT ON FEMALE at 201 N CHURCH ST on 5/30/2021 ♦ Longworth, Craig Michael (M/42) Arrest on chrg of Assault-point Gun (M), at 201 N Church St, Winston-salem, NC, on 5/26/2021 11:30. ♦ Longworth, Craig Michael (M/42) Arrest on chrg of Poss Stolen Goods (F), at 201 N Church St, Winston-salem, NC, on 5/27/2021 09:38. ♦ MCQUEEN, MIRACLE LATRICE was arrested on a charge of ASSLT ON OFF/ST EMP at 645 SUMNER PL on 5/29/2021 ♦ Merritt, Demetrius Kashawn (M/25) Arrest on chrg of 1) Fail To Appear/compl (M), 2) Probation Violation (M), 3) Fail To Appear/compl (M), 4) Fail To Appear/compl (M), and 5) Fail To Appear/compl (M), at 3635 Cash Dr, Winston-salem, NC, on 5/27/2021 09:45. ♦ MERTES, TIMOTHY WILLIAM was arrested on a charge of LARCENY-FELONY at 2441 W CLEMMONSVILLE RD on 5/30/2021 ♦ MERTES, TIMOTHY WILLIAM was arrested on a charge of DRUGS-POSS SCHED I at 201 N CHURCH ST on 5/31/2021 ♦ MILLSAPS, ROBERT LEE was arrested on a charge of ASSAULT ON FEMALE at 1651 W NORTHWEST BV on 5/29/2021 ♦ Nelson, Kara Sue (F/51) Arrest on chrg of 1) Child Abuse (M), 2) Child Abuse (M), 3) Impaired Driving Dwi (M), and 4) Improper Lane Change (M), at 6200 Towncenter Dr/lewisville-clemmons Rd, Clemmons, NC, on 5/26/2021 14:30. ♦ Parker, Kayla Ann (F/37) Arrest on chrg of 1) Drugsposs Sched I (F), 2) Poss Marijuana Misd (M), 3) Drug Paraphernalia (M), 4) Impaired

Driving Dwi (M), and 5) Ndl - Suspended / Revoked (M), at 1465 River Ridge Dr, Clemmons, NC, on 5/29/2021 03:59. ♦ PATTON, QUINCY WALTER was arrested on a charge of ROBBERY at 3426 N GLENN AV on 5/30/2021 ♦ PHILLIPS, ANTHONY SCOTT was arrested on a charge of LARCENY-FELONY at 3409 BAXTER RD on 5/29/2021 ♦ RICHARDSON, TROSEAN LEANTHONY was arrested on a charge of ADW - INFLICT INJURY at 2847 PIEDMONT CR on 5/30/2021 ♦ Samuel, Kason Finek (M/26) Arrest on chrg of Assault On Female, M (M), at 1642 Brown St, Winston-salem, NC, on 5/28/2021 21:33. ♦ Sanders, Jordan Tate (M/28) Arrest on chrg of 1) Assault - Strangulation (F) and 2) Assault On Female (M), at 1041 Meadowbrook Village Ln, Kernersville, NC, on 5/26/2021 02:02. ♦ Smith, Jessica Dawn (F/30) Arrest on chrg of 1) Drugsposs Sched Ii (F), 2) Drugsposs Sched Ii (F), and 3) Drug Paraphernalia (M), at 1445 Lynndale Dr, Winston-salem, NC, on 5/27/2021 12:57. ♦ STILL, VINCENT DEON was arrested on a charge of IMPAIRED DRIVING DWI at 1218 BRETTON ST on 5/29/2021 ♦ WILES, CYNTHIA GENTRY was arrested on a charge of MISUSE OF 911 SYSTEM at 273 OLDE VINEYARD CT on 5/30/2021 ♦ WILSON, DEQUANTES LAMOND was arrested on a charge of ASSAULT ON FEMALE at 350 VISTA CR on 5/30/2021 ♦ WOLFE, VERONICA OLIVIA was arrested on a charge of ASSAULT-SIMPLE at 3980 SHALLOWCREEK CT on 5/30/2021

♦ Barbara Cranford Adams, 79, of Winston-Salem, died May 30, 2021. ♦ Bob Brenner, 74, of WinstonSalem, died May 28, 2021. ♦ Paula Dixon Burchett, 67, died May 28, 2021. ♦ Mark Edward Coby, 63, of Kernersville, died May 27, 2021. ♦ William G. Cook, 90, of WinstonSalem, died May 29, 2021. ♦ Glenna Ann Harroff Cossaart, 81, of Greensboro, died May 27, 2021. ♦ Annie Mae Spach Craver, 94, of Winston-Salem, died May 30, 2021. ♦ Jacob David Fields, 35, died May 28, 2021. ♦ Willis Hege Foltz, 93, of Clemmons, died May 29, 2021. ♦ Jerry Sue Burgess Huffman, 73, of Forsyth County, died May 30, 2021. ♦ Bonnie Jean Nelson Kiser, 70, of Forsyth County, died May 29, 2021. ♦ Hobert Clarence Mabe, 88, of Kernersville, died May 28, 2021. ♦ Garry Neal Mikels, 53, of Forsyth County, died May 28, 2021. ♦ John J. Neari, 98, died May 28, 2021. ♦ Patsy Ruth Anderson Puckett, 90, of Forsyth County, died May 26, 2021. ♦ Barbara Berrien Salt, 89, of Winston-Salem, died May 29, 2021. ♦ Tiffany Camille Scott, 49, died May 28, 2021. ♦ Betty Marsh Smith, 82, of Winston-Salem, died May 27, 2021. ♦ Randall Scott Smith, 58, of Forsyth County, died May 27,2021. ♦ Myra Lynn Rink Thrasher, 77, of High Point, died May 29, 2021. ♦ Mildred Ann Transou Wade, 96, of Forsyth County, died May 27, 2021. ♦ Barbara Ann Londell Wheeler, 85, of Winston-Salem, died May 27, 2021.

Twin City Herald for Wednesday, June 2, 2021

3

SPORTS

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SIDELINE REPORT OLYMPICS

U.S. men miss qualifying for Olympic 3-on-3 basketball debut Graz, Austria The United States 3-on-3 men’s basketball team lost to the Netherlands in the quarterfinals of an Olympic qualifying tournament on Sunday, costing them a spot in the sport’s Olympic debut in Tokyo. The Americans were world champions in 2019 and had former NBA players Dominique Jones and Robbie Hummel on a four-player roster for the qualifying event. The Dutch were joined by Latvia and Poland in an Olympic lineup that already included Japan, China, Russia and Serbia. The eighth place will be awarded at a tournament this week in Hungary for lower-ranked nations.

NHL

Vegas’ Reaves suspended 2 games for hit Denver Vegas forward Ryan Reaves was suspended two games by the NHL on Monday for his roughing and unsportsmanlike conduct on Colorado’s Ryan Graves during the Golden Knights’ 7-1 loss in Game 1 of their second-round series Sunday.

The NHL’s Department of Player Safety announced earlier in the day on social media it was holding a hearing with Reaves, who drew a match penalty for attempting to injure an opponent — Graves — at 8:04 of the third period in a skirmish-filled game.

SOCCER

Brazil named Copa America host after Argentina is stripped Sao Paulo Brazil was named as the new host for the Copa America on Monday after Colombia and Argentina were stripped of the tournament, prompting local health experts and politicians to criticize the decision to hold the troubled event in one of the countries hardest hit by the COVID-19 pandemic. The move was announced Monday hours after Argentina was ruled out amid an increase in COVID-19 cases in the country. Colombia was removed as co-host on May 20 as street protests against President Iván Duque rocked the nation. CONMEBOL added that the tournament is confirmed to take place between June 13 and July 10.

COLLEGE BASEBALL

Arkansas earns NCAA Tournament’s top seed Omaha, Neb. Arkansas was rewarded Monday for its dominant run through the Southeastern Conference, landing the No. 1 national seed in the NCAA baseball tournament. The Razorbacks (46-10) won all 10 of their SEC series and wrapped up their first conference tournament championship on Sunday.

The 64-team tournament opens Friday in 16 regionals.

Winners advance to eight best-of-three super regionals.

Those winners move on to the College World Series in Omaha. East Carolina (4115) earned the 13th seed, while Duke, UNC, NC State, Campbell and Charlotte all earned berths.

NELL REDMOND | AP PHOTO

NASCAR Cup Series driver Kyle Larson (5) leads the pack to start the NASCAR Cup Series auto race at Charlotte Motor Speedway in Concord, N.C., Sunday, May 30, 2021.

Charlotte brings normal to NASCAR going forward The Associated Press FIFTEEN MONTHS after the sports was shut down due to COVID-19, the Cup Series inched closer to business as usual at the Coca-Cola 600 “I think all those race fans were ready to get back to our NASCAR races, and it showed today.”

Marcus Smith, CEO of Speedway Motorsports and general manager of Charlotte Motor Speedway

By Pete Iacobelli, The Associated Press CONCORD — Practice, qualifying, happy fans and a Hendrick Motorsports driver winning at Charlotte Motor Speedway: It doesn’t get much more normal than that in NASCAR these days.

“It just feels like we’re back,” car owner Rick Hendrick said Sunday night after his newest driver, Kyle Larson, won the Coca-Cola

600 for the team’s record-setting 269th NASCAR victory.

Marcus Smith, CEO and president of Speedway Motorsports and general manager of Charlotte Motor Speedway, said he spoke with so many spectators thrilled to watch a race in person, along with others who loved competing.

“They were thrilled to be back in what feels like a full-speed NASCAR race,” a smiling Smith said.

Slowly but surely in a sport built on speed, NASCAR is regaining its pre-pandemic ways. That was evident at Charlotte where the weekend routine looked like it did before the COVID-19 pandemic called for protective masks and contact tracing.

There was a familiar feel to qualifying on Saturday. And then there was the crowd, some 50,000 or so who filled the track.

“It’s just nice to actually qualify the way we used to qualify and

have people around,” driver Ryan Newman said.

The protocols shifted earlier this month. Teams were permitted to bring VIPs and sponsors to events starting at Darlington Raceway three weeks ago.

Charlotte was given the green light two weeks ago by state officials to have as many people as racetrack officials could bring in.

That’s the case for races later this summer, too.

There are no limits on fans at 47,000-seat Sonoma Raceway, where NASCAR will stage a road race next week.

Nashville Speedway, the next track where practice and qualifying are scheduled ahead of a race, is sold out for the Ally 400 on June 20. (In between Sonoma and Nashville is the All-Star Race at Texas Motor Speedway on June 13.)

Chase Elliott, the defending se-

ries champion who finally got in the win column the week before at Circuit of the Americas, was also happy that things were familiar at Charlotte.

“We had a nice win last week, which is always good,” Elliott said.

“I feel like we’ve been in a good place really the last two or three weeks before that.”

NASCAR shut down in March 2020 along with the rest of the sports world due to COVID-19.

Some three months later, the sport took its first cautious steps — no fans in attendance — with races at Darlington and Charlotte.

Almost a year later, there was little evidence of masks or that anyone was worried about the coronavirus.

Tents and campers filled the open areas around the track. The large fan concession area also included a place for those who wished to get vaccinated.

As in the past, fans toured the pit area and cheered the military display that included artillery cannons and hovering helicopters.

“My mom always told me that absence makes the heart grow founder,” Smith said. “I think all those race fans were ready to get back to our NASCAR races, and it showed today.”

Clemson’s Pettit wins NCAA men’s golf title The Tigers senior shot an even-par 70 to top Oklahoma State freshman Bo Jin

By John Marshall The Associated Press SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. — Turk Pettit had a stellar start to his collegiate career, winning a tournament as a freshman and posting five top-10 finishes.

One bad round seemed to put him a funk. Then his clubs were stolen. The tall, lanky player from Alabama appeared to get back into a groove in 2020, only to have the season snatched away by the pandemic.

Perseverance carried him through – all the way to a national title.

Pettit kept his composure on at Grayhawk Golf Club’s difficult Raptor Course on Monday, saving par from a difficult spot on his final hole to shoot an even-par 70 in the final round of the NCAA men’s championship.

Pettit finished at 7-under 273 and watched from across the lake as Oklahoma State freshman Bo Jin missed a tying 10-foot par putt on the 511-yard par-4 18th hole.

“Last tournament I ever play as a college golfer and I ended up winning,” Pettit said. “I’ve only had two wins in college golf, so

PHOTO COURTESY OF THE NCAA

Clemson senior Turk Pettit shot an even-par 70 to win the NCAA men's golf title Monday at Grayhawk Golf Club in Scottsdale, Arizona. that’s pretty special.”

The Raptor Course was set up for a battle of attrition, the hot, windy weather and course conditions — particularly those firm greens — forcing players to often shoot for middle of the greens instead of flag hunting.

Pettit stood up to the test, going toe to toe with Jin, the overnight leader by two, with superb ball striking and clutch putts.

His biggest came at the 468yard par-4 ninth, where he made a 5-foot birdie putt after his approach shot from a fairway bunker

came up well short.

Pettit’s win was Clemson’s first individual national championship since Charles Warren in 1997 and sent Larry Penley out on top after 38 years of coaching.

“We never figured out this golf course,” said Penley, who announced this would be his last year before the 2019-20 season.

“Turk did. Turk had a game that could play this course.”

Arizona State’s Ryggs Johnston finished third at 5 under after a final-round 69.

Arizona State surged into the No. 1 seed for the start of Tuesday’s match play with a 5-under round to pass Oklahoma State.

The Sun Devils were set to face eighth-seeded UNC in Tuesday’s match play quarterfinals.

The Cowboys led Oklahoma by 12 shots and the hometown Sun Devils by 14 but shot 12 over in the final qualifying round before the field was cut to eight for match play.

“The course has played a little different than we’re used and I think there’s a little adjustment period, especially on the greens,” Johnston said. “I imagine all the teams are getting used to how it’s going to play and I think we’re looking good.”

Arkansas’ Tyson Reeder had a hole-in-one on the 188-yard par-3 8th and Oklahoma’s Logan McAllister aced the 205-yard fifth.

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4

Twin City Herald for Wednesday, June 2, 2021

STATE & NATION

Census Bureau’s use of ‘synthetic data’ worries researchers

By Mike Schneider The Associated Press ORLANDO, Fla. — First came the “noise” — small errors the U.S. Census Bureau decided to introduce into the 2020 census data to protect participants’ privacy.

Now the bureau is looking into “synthetic data,” manipulating the numbers widely used for economic and demographic research, to obscure the identities of people who provided information.

The moves have some researchers up in arms, worried that the statistical agency could sacrifice accuracy in its zeal to protect privacy.

Census Bureau statisticians disclosed at a virtual conference that over the next three years they will work toward developing a method to create “synthetic data” for files on individuals and homes that already are devoid of personalized information. These files, known as American Community Survey microdata, are used by researchers to create customized tables tailored to their research.

Census Bureau statisticians said more privacy protections are needed as technological innovations magnify the threat of people being identified through their survey answers, which are confidential. Computing power is now

so vast that it can easily crunch third-party data sets that combine personal information from credit rating and social media companies, purchasing records, voting patterns and public documents, among other things.

“It’s a balancing act. The law requires us to do competing things.

We need to release statistics on the nation to allow people to make useful decisions. But we also have to protect the privacy of our respondents,” said Rolando Rodriguez, a Census Bureau statistician, at the conference.

But critics say the proposal, coupled with an ongoing effort to add small inaccuracies to the 2020 census data in order to protect participants’ privacy, undermines the Census Bureau’s credibility as the go-to provider of precise data about the U.S. population.

University of Minnesota demographer Steven Ruggles said bluntly that synthetic data “will not be suitable for research.”

“The Census Bureau is inventing imaginary threats to confidentiality to sharply reduce public access to data,” Ruggles said.

“I do not think this will stand, because society needs information to function.”

The microdata are gathered every year from the American Com-

“The Census Bureau is inventing imaginary threats to confidentiality to sharply reduce public access to data. ... I do not think this will stand, because society needs information to function.”

Steven Ruggles, University of Minnesota demographer munity Survey with a sample size of 3.5 million households, extrapolated across populations of all sizes, from the entire nation down to neighborhoods. This provides a wide range of estimates on the nation’s demographic makeup and housing characteristics. The microdata are used in the drafting of around 12,000 research papers a year, Ruggles said.

The synthetic data are created by taking variables in the microdata to build models recreating the interrelationships of the variables and then constructing a simulated population based on the models. Scholars would conduct their research using the sim-

ulated population — or the synthetic data — and then submit it, if they want, to the Census Bureau for double checking against the real data to make sure their analyses are correct.

Ruggles said new discoveries in data will be missed since the models only capture what is already known.

Another problem is that synthetic data can amplify an outlier, such as in a health study where one person engages in risky behavior multiple times but others don’t, and it makes it seem like the risky behavior is more widespread than it actually is, said David Swanson, a professor emeritus of sociology at the University of California Riverside.

There are benefits, though, such as the ability to get details about people at really small geographic levels such as neighborhood blocks, said Cornell University economist Lars Vilhuber, who has done research on the method. The synthetic data makes that possible because it protects privacy, he said, “You can actually get far more detail into the data than with traditional methods,” Vilhuber said.

The Census Bureau said in a statement that it hasn’t made any final decisions on the use of synthetic data in the American Community Survey and it welcomed feedback from researchers. The technique already is used on a limited basis in other surveys by the bureau, which describes the process as combining multiple data sources to produce estimates that cut back on errors at small

geographic levels.

The Census Bureau has taken other recent steps to protect individuals’ privacy, which has gotten harder in the face of a proliferation of outside data sources. This year, the bureau proposed using housing units instead of people when defining an urban area.

And it has drawn fierce criticism for using a statistical technique known as “differential privacy” in 2020 census data that will be used for drawing congressional and legislative districts.

Differential privacy adds mathematical “noise,” or intentional errors, to the data to obscure any given individual’s identity while still providing statistically valid information. It has been challenged in court by the state of Alabama which says its use will result in inaccurate data.

“The Census Bureau is saying this is in the tradition of what they have always done” in protecting privacy, said historian Margo Anderson, a professor at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee.

“There’s an increasingly substantial organization of critics saying this is completely different. They say, ‘You have never made the data intentionally inaccurate.’”

The Census Bureau first floated the idea of using synthetic data three years ago, but concerns over that and differential policy got shoved aside after the Trump administration failed unsuccessfully to add a citizenship question to the 2020 census questionnaire and the pandemic challenged the nation’s head count last year, Anderson said.

Boris Johnson defends virus record after exaide’s attack

By Jill Lawless The Associated Press LONDON — British Prime Minister Boris Johnson rejected claims by his former chief aide that he botched Britain’s coronavirus response and is unfit for office, denying an allegation his government oversaw tens of thousands of needless deaths.

Health Secretary Matt Hancock also hit back after Dominic Cummings singled him out for criticism in an excoriating attack on the government.

Cummings, who left his job as Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s top adviser in November, claimed the government’s slow and chaotic initial response, and Johnson’s failure to learn from mistakes, meant that tens of thousands of people had died unnecessarily.

“People did not get the treatment they deserved. Many people were left to die in horrific circumstances,” he said during his hours of testimony to lawmakers on last week.

Cummings — whose key role in the campaign to take Britain out of the European Union helped propel Brexit-backer Johnson into the prime minister’s post — said Johnson was “unfit for the job,” Johnson brushed aside the criticism, saying “some of the commentary I have heard doesn’t bear any

relation to reality.”

“This has been an incredibly difficult series of decisions, none of which we’ve taken lightly,” Johnson said. He said that “at every stage, we’ve been governed by a determination to protect life, to save life.”

“What people want us to get on with is delivering the (reopening) road map and trying, cautiously, to take our country forward through what has been one of the most difficult periods that I think anybody can remember,” he told reporters.

Cummings accused Hancock of lying to the public and said he “should have been fired” for mistakes including testing failures that saw patients with the virus discharged from hospitals to nursing homes. Around 20,000 people died with COVID-19 in British nursing homes in the first months of the outbreak.

Hancock said “the unsubstantiated allegations around honesty are not true.”

“We worked as hard as we could to protect people who live in care homes,” he said at a news conference.

“But we could only do that once we had the testing capacity,” Hancock added, saying “it wasn’t possible” to test everyone being discharged from hospitals at the start of the outbreak.

The health spokesman for the

GLYN KIRK | POOL VIA AP

Britain's Prime Minister Boris Johnson visits Colchester hospital in Colchester, England on Thursday May 27, 2021. opposition Labour Party, Jonathan Ashworth, said the government had questions to answer, whether or not Cummings’ testimony was true, “These allegations from Cummings are either true, and if so the secretary of state (Hancock) potentially stands in breach of the ministerial code,…or they are false and the prime minister brought a fantasist and a liar into the heart of Downing Street,” Ashworth said.

“Which is it?”

The government says it will begin an independent public inquiry into its handling of the pandemic within the next year. Opposition politicians, and families who have lost loved ones to COVID-19, want it to start sooner.

The U.K. has recorded almost

128,000 coronavirus deaths, the highest toll in Europe, and experienced one of the world’s deepest recessions in 2020 as three successive lockdowns hobbled the economy.

A mass vaccination campaign that started in December has brought confirmed cases and deaths down sharply, though Britain is now reckoning with a more transmissible new strain of the virus first identified in India. It is spreading across the country, with the number of cases doubling in the past week, according to Public Health England.

Scientists expect the variant become the dominant one in Britain, but they say existing vaccines appear to work against it.

Almost three-quarters of British adults have had one dose of a coro-

navirus vaccine, and 45% have had both doses.

The government has been lifting restrictions in stages, with indoor eating, drinking and entertainment venues reopening last week, but social distancing and mask-wearing rules still in place.

Hancock said it was “too early now to say” whether remaining social restrictions imposed to slow the spread of the virus could be lifted on June 21 as planned.

Johnson said removing the remaining measures would depend on how much the new variant drove an increase in cases, and the speed of the vaccination campaign.

“I don’t see anything currently in the data to suggest that we have to deviate from the road map,” he said. “But we may need to wait.”