Lumbee Homecoming officially started in 1968 and the week-long celebration features a parade, outdoor gospel music concert, food and craft vendors, athletic events, a car show, and dozens of other events. Lumbee Indians from across the United States look forward to returning home for the festivities each year.
CNBC names North Carolina top state for business for second consecutive year
Raleigh Business network CNBC has named North Carolina as their top state for business in 2023. The annual rankings score all 50 states in 10 separate categories.
North Carolina topped its top score from 2022. NC ranked as the top workforce state, the most important category in this year’s study, also boasting the thirdbest economy with solid growth, stable state finances and a healthy housing market.
“Companies in desperate need of skilled workers are going where the people are, and people are going to North Carolina,” CNBC special corresponded Scott Cohn said. “The state’s well-balanced economy is handling the growth well. Rising political tensions could create issues down the road, but for now, North Carolina seems to have the winning formula—for the second year in a row.”
The top five states were North Carolina, Virginia, Tennessee, Georgia and Minnesota.
NSJ STAFF
Raleigh Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper now wants state Republican leaders to separate the measure authorizing Medicaid expansion from the passage of the state budget.
“Making Medicaid Expansion contingent on passing the budget was and is unnecessary, and now the failure of Republican legislators to pass the budget is ripping health care away from thousands of real people and costing our state and our hospitals millions of dollars,” said Cooper in a statement about the bill he signed into law in late March.
“Tying it to the budget is tying our hands, and the legislature should decouple the two and start Medicaid Expansion now.”
In seven years as governor, Cooper has only signed the state’s biennial budget into law once.
NSJ STAFF
shocked.”
By A.P. Dillon North State JournalRALEIGH — The U.S. Supreme Court ruled on Thursday, June 29, that affirmative action practices within college admissions were unconstitutional in a 6-3 decision. Chief Justice John Roberts wrote the opinion of the court, joined by Justices Clarence Thomas, Samuel Alito, Neil Gorsuch, Brett Kavanaugh and Amy Coney Barrett.
Roberts, writing in part, said, “Eliminating racial discrimination means eliminating all of it. And the Equal Protection Clause, we have accordingly held, applies ‘without regard to any differences of race, of color, or of nationality’ — it is “universal in [its] application.’”
Colleges and universities as a result must reshape admissions practices, with many committing to finding alternate ways to maintain diversity on college campuses. University of North Carolina System President Peter Hans issued a statement in response to the case, saying his team was reviewing the decision but will follow the law.
RALEIGH
— With a portrait of former President Ronald Reagan behind him, Rep. Jason Saine (R-Lincoln) smiled from behind his desk while describing the current session as “managed chaos.”
“You know, it’s the managed chaos that always happens,” Saine told North State Journal in a recent interview. “This one’s probably just been as chaotic as the rest. I think I’ve been around here long enough that nothing quite shocks me. I might be a little surprised, but never really
“It seemed like we got off to a really great start as always with a session, but personalities, you know, get tired of each other, they see each other too long, fights start,” Saine said. “Although I will say working through a lot of complicated bills in our caucus, managing the chaos is probably exactly how to describe it because everyone has at least been even when they disagree on very contentious issues (and) have remained friendly.”
He added that in the past his caucus has seen some “real
See SAINE , page A2
RALEIGH — Riley Gaines, the decorated former University of Kentucky swimmer and Independent Women’s Voice Advisor, said she never thought it should be “political” to protect girls’ sports.
In an interview with North State Journal on Monday, Gaines made the case for House Bill 574, which was vetoed by Gov. Roy Cooper, to be enacted into law.
Gaines testified in committee meetings at the General Assembly in support of the bill in
April, telling legislators, “I felt betrayed and belittled and like my efforts and sacrifices I had made had been reduced to a photo op to validate the identity and feelings of a male.”
The bill passed both the N.C. House and Senate in late June. On July 3, Cooper vetoed the bill and two others concerning parents’ rights and ending gender transition surgeries for those under 18.
Cooper said the bills were for “campaign purposes only” and dismissed them as political culture wars.
“Republicans are serving up a triple threat of political cul-
A lawsuit spurred by Students for Fair Admission — a nonprofit organization of more than 20,000 members made up of students, parents and supporters — said “racial classifications and preferences in college admissions are unfair, unnecessary, and unconstitutional” on their website, and sued Harvard and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill over their admissions policies.
“A student’s race and ethnicity should not be factors that either harm or help that student to gain admission to a competitive university,” their website says.
ture wars using government to invade the rights and responsibilities of parents and doctors, hurting vulnerable children and damaging our state’s reputation and economy like they did with the harmful bathroom bill,” said Cooper in a statement. “Republicans should get to work investing in our public schools and teachers, lowering the cost of living and creating more stability for middle class families.”
Gaines said those arguments don’t make sense to her.
“His argument, actually, I didn’t understand it at all,” she said. “He essentially said that, if we were to pass this (HB 574) ultimately in the long term, it hurts women. I couldn’t grasp what he means.
“Being on the ground in North Carolina several times testifying, they claimed this is a nonissue, it’s not really happening. ‘Why should we really
“Our public universities do extraordinary work every day to serve students of all backgrounds, beliefs, income levels and life experiences,” Hans said. “ … The most important work of higher education is not in deciding how to allocate limited admissions slots at highly competitive schools, but in reaching and encouraging more students to take advantage of our 16 remarkable public universities.”
In the days following the decision, UNC Chapel Hill Chancel-
See TUITION, page A3
UNC Chapel Hill says students from families making less than $80K to receive free tuition
While God’s gifts are in our hands, they are to be employed not for ourselves alone, or at all, primarily — but to give help, comfort, joy, light, and cheer, to others. This is the law of the heavenly kingdom. Nothing whatever is given to us — to be kept for ourselves alone.
Everything that is ours — is ours to use and then pass to others. If we but carried out this teaching and fulfilled this law of Christ’s kingdom in every particular, it would make this earth a Heaven. Yet that is just what we should aim to do.
The true and the beautiful life, is the one which seeks to be a blessing to every other life it touches.
It is not easy to live a life of perpetual blessing to people. Jesus did it, but it was very expensive living for him. He gave out something of Himself to everyone He touched. Christian love gives and serves and
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care?’ To say it’s not happening is to completely disregard what happened to Payton McNabb and many others… Payton especially, she’s still dealing with the implications from being physically hit in the face by a ball struck by a man who of course has 50% more upper body strength than an average woman.”
McNabb, who was competing for Hiwassee Dam High School in Cherokee County, said she suffered a concussion and neck injury after getting struck in the face by a ball spiked by a transgender athlete during a volleyball match in November 2022.
The bill language states that male students are prohibited from playing on middle school, high school or collegiate athletics teams specifically for females and a student’s sex is to be recognized solely on their birth gender.
Gaines said those who oppose that measure are “waiting for more girls to get hurt.”
“They’re waiting for more girls to be exploited in the locker room, she said. “They’re waiting for more girls to lose out on opportunities before they do something about it. Why wouldn’t you want to be pro
active about something if it meant less girls got hurt, less girls got injured, less girls were exposed to someone of the opposite of sex in a vulnerable area such as a locker room? I don’t understand that.”
The decorated swimmer said the upcoming override vote shouldn’t be a political issue.
“I don’t understand why you wouldn’t want to be proactive when it comes to protecting girls,” said Gaines. “I can only hope and pray and do my best to encourage these legislators to do the right thing.
“Forget the politics of it. Forget securing more votes. Forget catering to the radical minority because you’re scared of losing your job. Put yourself in Payton’s position if you’re a parent. Imagine this happening to your daughter. How could you live with yourself knowing you voted against something that would protect your daughter from getting hurt like Payton did?”
Gaines also addressed the economic aspects cited by Cooper.
“There have been no repercussions anywhere from any of the 22 states that have passed this (women’s sports) bill. Even the state of Texas, which hosts tons of Final Fours and championships, passed
sacrifices unto the uttermost.
While we are serving men — we are also and primarily serving Christ. “ And the King shall answer and say unto them, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me.” Matthew 25:40
A life does not need to be great to be beautiful. There may be as much beauty in a tiny flower as in a majestic tree, in a little gem as in a great mountain, in the smallest creature as in a massive one.
“The greatest among you will be your servant!” Matthew 23:11 J.R. Miller was a pastor and former editorial superintendent of the Presbyterian Board of Publication from 1880 to 1911. His works are now in the public domain.
With several hot-button issue bills like abortion, parental rights and barring transgender athletes from competing in women’s sports on the docket for the legislature this session, Saine zeroed in on the passage of a bill allowing sports betting in the state as one of his priorities.
“It was my No. 1 priority after losing by one vote last session,” said Saine. “And having so many constraints put around that bill and having to wait and delays just getting it done became the No. 1 focus of our office to get that done out of the house as quickly as possible but get it right.”
Saine described his negotiations with various legislators over sports betting, noting he didn’t really court those who were a solid “no” on the issue but instead tried to work with those who might be convinced to vote for the bill.
The Lincoln County legislator also highlighted the revenue side of sports betting.
“You know, we’re losing revenue to other states where sports betting was already happening. It just seemed to me like a kind of a no-brainer to get this done,” Saine said.
First appointed to the legislature in 2011, Saine is currently the senior chair of the House Appropriations Committee. When asked what the most consequential pieces of legislation might be regardless of the originating chamber, Saine quickly said the budget but also protecting women’s sports.
“I always say the budget just because that’s the biggest thing we do and there’s so much in it,” said Saine. “But I think, you know from coming from a red Republican district, I think dealing with the women sports/transgender issue is top of mind for a lot of voters, and particularly in my area.”
Saine also mentioned addressing Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) and that the override of that bill “was a big win,” but that when he heads back to his district he hears from Republicans and Democrats alike who tell him “the world’s lost its mind.”
Investopedia defines ESG as “a set of standards for a company’s behavior used by socially conscious investors to screen potential investments.”
The ESG bill, House Bill 750, which is now law following a successful override in both chambers, prohibits state entities from creating or using ESG criteria or economically targeted investments (ETI) and in state hiring, firing and other employment decisions. The law also requires the state treasurer to only consider pecuniary factors when evaluating an investment or evaluating or exercising any right appurtenant to an investment.
On the topic of legislative items that remained undone or were still up in the air, Saine expressed some frustration with Senate legislation that was holding up the budget.
“You know, there is Senate legislation that none of us have seen but is being talked about that will be generated out of the Senate, but we haven’t seen it yet,” he said. “And quite frankly, that’s kind of holding
it. North Carolina is joining a long list of states, especially within the ACC.” Gaines added that trans athletes should not be banned from
playing sports and that every person — regardless of race, sexual orientation, gender, identity or age — should have the opportunity to compete plays where it’s fair
and safe. The override votes are scheduled to take place as early as Wednesday, July 12, according to the General Assembly’s website. fights,” but not this year.
up the budget now because with our tax reform that the Senate wants to do.”
Saine said he is a “huge fan of tax reform” and “lowering the rate as much as we can,” and added, “if you don’t have a backfill of new revenue that comes in, not higher taxes, but if you’re lowering taxes there’s going to be revenue from somewhere that you’re not capturing.”
Individual bill items like the casino/VOT package, medical marijuana and the finance tax package also made Saine’s list of things he wished were moving faster or having an impact on budget negotiations.
“I think the casino/VOT bill legislation is a huge part of that finance package that we haven’t really got to yet. So we’re at a little bit of an impasse,” said Saine, adding they were “working through it but not as fast as I would like.”
Saine also said he thinks getting the finance tax cut package total is the biggest thing that’s frustrating him right now that the legislature has yet to finish.
“It’s really that finance package — getting through that, getting to the tax cuts that continue to lower that rate because I like seeing us be competitive,” Saine said, noting that other states were looking at and mimicking what North Carolina has done in that area.
Saine said that other states modeling their policies after North Carolina “keeps our eye on the ball and keeps us remaining competitive.”
“I want to stay up there at the top with the top states like Texas and Florida and Utah so that companies want to come here and that fami-
lies can have a good life here, have opportunity,” added Saine. “That, more than anything, shapes everything we do.
“If we’re not getting that thing right, and that is making sure that we’re in economic power, that we are a driving force and a driving economy and very competitive with those other states,” said Saine. “That if we’re not doing that, then we’re really failing on our job.”
Tax cuts are not the only priority. Saine said continued governing and “tweaks” are just as important to economic growth in the state.
“The real challenge is keeping it running, you know, by seeing the surpluses that we continue to run by a tweak here and there,” he said.
“It’s kind of like having a finetuned machine versus breaking everything and starting all over, which I think is kind of where we were in 2013, right? Because we didn’t have a choice. Our predecessors left us in a pretty bad spot, but to that point though, making sure we don’t mess it up is just as important and, quite frankly, even more of a challenge.”
He underscored his point by citing Kansas instituting large tax cuts but then failing to rein in spending and the fact North Carolina lawmakers had done the opposite by using surpluses to bolster the Rainy Day Fund, disaster funds and keeping an eye on inflation.
“We’ve seen the hiccups and road bumps, but I think we’ve managed through those very well,” said Saine. “That, to me, keeps us moving, and I think you get some folks that accomplish personal goals and then they retire, but kind of my personal goal is to keep making sure the gov-
ernment is running the right. So, I’ve got no designs on leaving anytime soon because I still get a lot out of it, and it’s a lot of fun just to see your work happen.”
He went on to take a jab at Gov. Roy Cooper, saying, “I always talk about the governor and (how) he complains about our economic policies, but then he’s always there to cut a ribbon for the next company that’s coming, so we must not be doing too bad.”
Turning back to national politics, North State Journal asked Saine about his recent endorsement along with over a dozen other legislators of Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis’ presidential bid. He said DeSantis’ proven ability to govern was a big draw.
“What I really like about Ron DeSantis is he’s someone who can govern,” said Saine. “Someone asked me, ‘Why did you do that?’ But, quite frankly, he understands Washington, D.C. He’s been in there and understands how that works, which I think is incredibly important, but also understands how to govern.
“And I think those two distinctions right there — he understands the game in D.C., but he also understands what it takes to lead,” Saine added. “And you look back to some of my favorites, you know, as presidents — they’ve been governors. Ronald Reagan is hanging right behind me, my favorite of all time, but I think because he had worked with the legislature in California — in a much different time in California — but, you know, working with the legislatures I think gives you a skill set that others who have not done that, it’s quite foreign to them.”
RALEIGH — It’s only been nine months since Dewitt Carolina broke ground on 1000 Social, the first of two 12-story office towers set to go up at their new billion-dollar development on St. Albans Drive, known as The Exchange Raleigh.
On June 27, the Dewitt team announced that the newest addition to Raleigh’s skyline had officially topped out. Even more impressive, the building is already 51% preleased, according to the company.
Come Quarter 2 of next year, the 353,891-square-foot office building — with its 330,000 square feet of Class-A office space, 20,000 square feet of retail and 7,000 square feet of conference space — will officially be the new home of GFL Environmental, Summit Design and Engineering Services, and the Whitley Law Firm. Dewitt also plans to utilize a floor in their new building.
“We put a lot of thought and intentionality into every aspect of the design process at 1000 Social, and we are incredibly proud of the building that is coming to life,” said Todd Saieed, Dewitt’s CEO. “One of the most rewarding aspects of the leasing process has been hearing the positive feedback from potential tenants and those who
have signed leases because almost everyone is drawn to something a little different.”
From the touchless doors and elevators, the abundance of parking options, the green spaces and walking trails surrounding the building, the individual executive-style bathrooms and private balconies on every floor to the on-site food and beverage options set to occupy the lower floors of the building, 1000 Social promises to offer a lot to its future occupants.
With its completion, the new tower will also become the first LEED- and WELL-certified office building in Raleigh. LEED-certified buildings are environmentally conscious and sustainability-focused offices, whereas WELL certifications emphasize the health and wellness amenities available for tenants.
“Designing this tower through the pandemic really showed us how important health and wellness is to a building,” said Everett Daniels, president and COO of Dewitt. “Perhaps that’s something that we wouldn’t have looked at as hard had it not been for the pandemic, but I think for us and for employers, we’ve seen that to keep people at work and to get people back to work, you need all of the health and wellness features that would make
someone want to come back to the office. That is really what we put our focus on when designing 1000 Social.”
At this time, there is not a set timetable for the groundbreaking of phase two of the project, which will include the construction of 1000 Social’s sister tower, 2000 Social, and the connecting of the two buildings via an elevated pedestrian sky bridge and park, detailed
with a pantheon-inspired oculus. However, the Dewitt team seems optimistic about the days ahead.
“Designing and planning for the future is important, and the next phase of this project is going to be equally impressive,” said Daniels.
“We didn’t want to do just another office building; we wanted something that would stand the test of time, be a beautiful building today, a beautiful building in 30 years,
and set the tone for future construction here at the Exchange. Ultimately, we want people to see our building and know exactly where they are.”
“This is our baby, and we’re going to make sure everything is done right, now and in the future,” echoed Saieed. “1000 Social really delivers the total package — design, amenities, location and community.”
lor Kevin Guskiewicz authored a letter about the decision.
The chancellor began by saying that the ruling marked a fundamental change and will affect thousands of universities.
“We will follow the Supreme Court’s decision in all respects,” the letter begins. “That means race will not be a factor in admissions decisions at the University. It also means we will comply with the Court’s ruling that an applicant’s lived racial experience cannot be credited as ‘race for race’s sake,’ but instead under some circumstances may illuminate an individual’s character and contributions.”
He said the changes will expand opportunity to people of the state.
“First, Carolina will provide free tuition and required fees for incoming undergraduates from North Carolina whose families make less than $80,000 per year. Beginning with the incoming class in 2024, we will expand the University’s long-standing commitment to access and affordability for North Carolina families,” Guskiewicz wrote, saying it broadens a tradition in line with
other programs. He also said the university will hire additional outreach officers as part of the admissions team serving in “under-resourced communities” to spread awareness of the affordability efforts and recruit students from across
North Carolina. “We want the best students to know that a UNC Chapel Hill education is a possibility for them,” he added. In 2023, tuition and fees for full time in-state students was approximately $9,000 per year.
NCDOT TO HOLD A PUBLIC MEETING REGARDING THE CORRIDOR STUDY COMPLETED FOR MORGANTON ROAD BETWEEN REILLY ROAD AND DOBBIN AVENUE
FAYETTEVILLE, CUMBERLAND COUNTY
FAYETTEVILLE - The N.C. Department of Transportation is hosting a public meeting to discuss the A corridor study completed in March 2023 for Morganton Rd between Reilly Road and Dobbin Avenue in Fayetteville. The study included traffic safety and operations analyses, with close coordination between NCDOT, City of Fayetteville, and representatives of Cumberland County. The results of the Corridor Study recommend a number of short-term and long-term improvements to address traffic safety and mobility along the corridor.
Project details and maps can be found on the NCDOT project web page: https:// Publicinput.com/Morganaton-Study-Fayetteville The information will be presented at the meeting allowing for one-on-one discussions with engineers but no formal presentation.
The meeting will be held July 18 at Highland Presbyterian Church, 111 Highland Avenue, Fayetteville. The public is invited to attend at any time between 5 and 7 p.m.
People may also submit comments by phone at 984-205-6615 project code 2372, email Morganton-Study-Fayetteville@PublicInput.com, or mail at the address shown below by August 2, 2023
By Mail: Darius Sturdivant Project ManagerNCDOT Highway Division 6 558 Gillespie Street Fayetteville, NC 28301
NCDOT will provide auxiliary aids and services under the Americans with Disabilities Act for disabled people who wish to participate in this meeting. Anyone requiring special services should contact Diane Wilson, Environmental Analysis Unit, at 1598 Mail Service Center, Raleigh, N.C. 27699-1598, 919-707-6073 or pdwilson1@ncdot.gov as early as possible so arrangements can be made.
Those who do not speak English, or have a limited ability to read, speak or understand English, may receive interpretive services upon request prior by calling 1-800-4816494.
Aquellas personas no hablan inglés, o tienen limitaciones para leer, hablar o entender inglés, podrían recibir servicios de interpretación si los solicitan llamando al 1-800-481-6494.
RALEIGH — An audit report published by the N.C. State Auditor’s Office says the N.C. Department of Public Instruction had changed certain vendor information without proper documentation that resulted in an improper disbursement of over $165,000 to a fraudulent bank account.
According to the audit report, the disbursement made by N.C. Department of Public Instruction (NCDPI) involved federal Emergency Assistance to Non-Public Schools (EANS) program funds. EANS funds were established by the U.S. Department of Education to deal with the impact of the pandemic as well as educational disruptions. The EANS Program provided $5.5 billion in total funding, of which North Carolina received $167.7 million.
NCDPI had received an email in August 2021 from someone pretending to be the head of Liberty Christian Academy that included a request for the agency to change the school’s bank account information. The school had already been approved to receive EANS funds.
The bank information was apparently changed by an NCDPI official without going through the existing process. The fraudulent bank account received a total of $165,431, but the auditor’s office also discovered the payment was $16,569 more than requested in the email from the impersonator.
The auditor’s report recommended seeking repayment of the funds that were disbursed in excess of what was requested and that NCDPI should review all other EANS disbursements.
NCDPI’s response letter informed the auditor that the agency “was made aware of the fraudulent bank and email account on September 25, 2021,” and that the agency “took direct action” to recover the funds.
The letter goes on to say NCDPI worked with the FBI and the U.S. Department of Education on the matter and was able to recover $164,317 of the $165,431 of the EANS funds that were disbursed.
Additionally, NCDPI states in its letter that the remaining outstanding amount was paid by NCDPI and it took “immediate action” to require vendor electronic payment forms for any change in bank accounts, as well as adding another layer of protection by requiring verification of phone numbers when a bank change occurs.
NCDPI worked with the FBI and the U.S. Department of Education on the matter and was able to recover $164,317 of the $165,431.
PRESIDENT JOE BIDEN trumpeted his economic policy last week in South Carolina. “Here’s the simple truth about trickledown economics: It re — it — it represented the moment when we walked away from how this country was built. Bidenomics is just another way of saying ‘restoring the American Dream.’ Forty years of trickle-down limited that dream to those at the top.”
Means Committee on May 9, 1939. He said all of the top-down directive spending by Washington did not work to put people back to work to revive the economy.
Being wrong, ineffectual and unconstitutional is no way to go through life as president of the United States, Mr. President.
What is he talking about? The only people who have consistently held down economic growth and prosperity for everyone have been top-down control fanatics such as Biden and Barack Obama who really believe the American economy starts from the top in the government they control.
Theirs is the true “trickle-down” economics ― literally. They promise great jobs and high wages ― and all they do is slow economic growth to a trickle. Then they try to tell you how great things are even though everyone can see high inflation, high interest rates and low job prospects right before their very eyes every day.
In the 10 years under both Biden and Obama, the U.S. economy has never grown robustly. Obama called sub-2% annual growth under his reign “the new normal.”
Any real economic growth coming out of a recession below 3% is “abnormal.” Here are the real GDP growth rates expected under Biden’s policies if ― somehow ― he makes it until 2028: 2022 1.9%; 2023 0.3%; 2024 1.8%; 2025 2.7%; 2026 2.4%; 2027 2.3%; 2028
2.0%.
Perhaps the best adjective to ascribe to Bidenomics would be “mediocre.” At best.
Biden and the left don’t understand business or economics at all. They adhere to a failed economic policy dating back to the New Deal during the Great Depression.
If massive government spending and control of the economy were ever going to work in America, it would have been during the Great Depression of the 1930s. Try as they might, the bureaucrats surrounding FDR never lifted the economy out of the Depression over an entire decade with their phalanx of new federal programs and wage-and-price controls to the max.
FDR’s trusted economic adviser and main architect of the New Deal, Henry Morgenthau Jr., testified before the House Ways and
EDITORIAL | STACEY MATTHEWS
“We have tried spending money,” he said. “We are spending more than we have ever spent before and it does not work. … I want to see this country prosperous. I want to see people get a job. I want to see people get enough to eat. We have never made good on our promises. … I say after eight years of this administration we have just as much unemployment as when we started. … And an enormous debt to boot!”
Biden and the leftist socialist Democrats promised to spend as much federal taxpayer money as possible to turn the world into a Jetsons-esque clean energy transportation utopia; build bridges and roads which would employ every blue-collar worker in America and pay off all student debt.
They have failed miserably. The Supreme Court has ruled much of their government intrusion unconstitutional, which is no surprise to everyone who tried to tell them not to vote for Biden in 2020.
Being wrong, ineffectual and unconstitutional is no way to go through life as president of the United States, Mr. President.
On top of everything else, Bidenomics will, without your consent, borrow trillions of dollars to pay for more of their misguided federal initiatives even if you disagree with their climate or COVID-related employment policies ― and then make you, your children and your grandchildren suffer higher rates of inflation as they sacrifice their standard of living to pay it down after we are all long gone.
“Bidenomics is just another way of destroying the American Dream.” That is the truth about this president’s policies. The sooner everyone understands that fact of life means we can all look to replacing him with another president next year; turn the page and move on.
DURING THE ANNUAL Essence Festival of Culture in New Orleans last month, Vice President Kamala Harris, who was in attendance, was asked about culture and how important she found it in terms of helping black women “protect their rights.”
Instead of answering the question directly, Harris proceeded to give a word salad of an answer, something she’s become infamous for over the two and a half years she’s been the vice president.
nail on the head.
“No. 1, she doesn’t appear to be prepared,” Kennedy stated. “No. 2, no matter how well prepared you are, you have to be able to express yourself. And with respect, I would say the vice president needs to work on being a little more articulate.”
The vice president needs to work on being a little more articulate.
“Well, I think culture is — it is a reflection of our moment in our time, right? And — and present culture is the way we express how we’re feeling about the moment,” Harris stated.
“And,” she continued hesitatingly, “we should always find times to express how we feel about the moment that is a reflection of joy, because every — you know, it comes in the morning. (Cackles) We have to find ways to also express the way we feel about the moment in terms of just having language and a connection to how people are experiencing life. And I think about it in that way, too.”
Though very few people, including those in his inner circle, would describe President Joe Biden as a great communicator, even fewer would say the same about Harris, who routinely fails to properly articulate the message she’s been given to get across to her audiences.
Just a few months into the Biden-Harris administration, there were already murmurings coming from some Democratic circles that it was obvious Harris wasn’t up to the job, especially after her botched handling of the border crisis, which Biden put her in charge of finding the “root causes” of two months after they were sworn into office.
There were also reports of staff turnover in Harris’ office, which some former and current unnamed staffers attributed to Harris’ abrasive attitude and desire to be the center of attention without doing the prep work it took in advance to prove herself to be a competent, effective leader on a world stage.
What has dogged Harris the most, however, since taking office is the communication issue. Her confusing Essence Festival response wasn’t an exception to the rule for Harris; it is the rule.
During an interview last week, Sen. John Kennedy (R-La.) was asked about Harris’ culture comments, and in my opinion, he hit the
He went on to note, “I just don’t get the impression that the vice president is — she’s not being herself. She’s trying to sound smart instead of just saying what she believes and saying it in a clear, articulate manner that the average American who is busy can understand.”
Kennedy’s comments dovetailed with stories written since Harris’ early days in the White House about her tendency to blame her staff for problems that she herself creates. As reported in December 2021, Harris can’t be bothered to do due diligence on anything she speaks publicly about, so when she gets embarrassed by something she says later, it’s the hard-working staffers behind the scenes who get punished.
Harris is under the microscope perhaps more so than any other VP in modern history not because she’s a woman but because questions about Biden’s age and fitness to lead naturally have people wondering what Harris would bring to the table if he steps aside or, God forbid, something happens to him.
So far, she’s striking out, as her poll numbers indicate. And in the process, she’s become one of if not the biggest liability for Biden headed into 2024.
North Carolina native Stacey Matthews has also written under the pseudonym Sister Toldjah and is a media analyst and regular contributor to RedState and Legal Insurrection.
Whether in China or the U.S., government subsidies come with strings attached.
Today, this quote seems to emanate from the government. All too often politicians hope U.S. taxpayers will not rely on what’s plainly obvious but rather will swallow what the government dictates.
The July 7 edition of The Wall Street Journal offers taxpayers a good opportunity to look around with “your own eyes.” No less than four (4) major articles in this edition lay bare the danger and the futility of two leading, intersecting drivers of current government policy. Industrial policy ― the use of taxpayers’ dollars by politicians to pick economic winners and losers ― and climate policy ― the quasi-religion that drives politicians to waste billions of taxpayers’ money in the name of “science” ― are two primary pillars of current progressive thought.
Instead of meekly swallowing the “wisdom” of our political leaders, taxpayers should take a closer look.
The July 7 WSJ front page trumpeted, “New York’s $1 Billion Bet on Tesla Isn’t Paying Off.”
This is the sad story, going back to 2015, when then-Gov. Andrew Cuomo unveiled plans for the state of New York to construct in Buffalo a vast, quarter-mile-long facility with 1.2 million square feet of industrial space. In addition, the state kicked in $240 million of manufacturing equipment. This “Buffalo billion” facility was to house a Tesla solar panel production operation that would create thousands of jobs and attract numerous complementary businesses to Buffalo.
It never happened. The facility houses a few hundred analysts who largely work on other Tesla projects — not the intended solar panels. The only complementary new business is a coffee shop. E.J. McMahon, senior fellow at the Empire Center for Public Policy, concluded, “In terms of sheer direct cost to taxpayers, this may rank as the single biggest economic development boondoggle in American history.”
In the second article, one soon finds “New Jersey Tax Break for Wind Developer.” Not to be outdone by neighboring New York, the state of New Jersey has just authorized a massive tax break for a Danish offshore wind developer.
Democrats declined to estimate the cost, but Republicans put it at $1 billion. Indeed, America’s governors and state legislatures are in a headlong stampede to ladle out tax benefits to attract industrial megaprojects.
When you can get above a 70% to 20% break on an issue, you should cheerfully stick with it — and repeat it continuously.
DURING OUR FIVE YEARS of work at America’s New Majority Project, we have looked for issues and policies that unify the American people.
Our goal is to find a consensus that would lead to a platform of the American people around which a vast majority of Americans — Republicans, Independents and Democrats — could rally.
Sen. Tim Scott recently released a commercial that is a model for the kind of unifying positive policies and positions which could grow into a Ronald Reagan-sized majority (Reagan won 58.8% of the popular vote and the electoral votes of 49 states in 1984).
The South Carolina Senator simply and directly said:
“If you’re able-bodied, you work.
“If you take out a loan, you pay it back.
“And if you commit a violent crime, you go to jail.
“And if you’re a man, you should play sports against men.
“America needs more victors and less victims.”
I knew from our many polls and focus groups that each of these positions would be popular in themselves.
But I was curious how the American people would react when you put all of them together into one proposition. We asked about Scott’s proposition. When presented with all five principles in one statement, the American people validated everything we have learned at America’s New Majority Project.
Forty-six percent strongly agreed with Scott’s statement, compared to 7% who strongly disagreed. This is an almost 7:1 advantage. There were another 25% who somewhat agreed compared to 14% who somewhat disagreed.
The combined scores were 71% agree versus 21% disagree (with 7% unsure). This means that Scott has developed a proposal with a 3.5:1 advantage over those who oppose him.
I learned from years working with candidate and then-President Reagan that when you can get above a 70% to 20% break on an issue, you should cheerfully stick with it — and repeat it
In 2018, Wisconsin committed $3 billion in state subsidies to Taiwan’s Foxconn to erect a factory that would employ 13,000 workers. The facility sits empty. Another massive failure. Since 2006, Elon Musk’s Tesla and Space X have raked in more than $4 billion in various state credits, and the whole electric vehicle industry is addicted to government subsidies.
Continuing to the third article, the taxpayer will see just how corrosive an alliance between business and government can become. The article
“EV Makers to End China Price War” discusses the recent collusion between Chinese automakers and the Chinese government to eliminate price competition. Tesla had recently initiated a conventional, free-market price-cutting strategy to boost sales and market share. The Chinese automakers and their partner, the Chinese government, clamped down with a vengeance. Tesla joined 15 Chinese automakers in agreeing to avoid “abnormal pricing” and to promote “core socialist values.” In order to retain the subsidies offered by the Chinese government, Musk buckled under socialist pressure. Whether in China or the U.S., government subsidies come with strings attached.
The fourth article in the July 7 paper spoke to the debate about climate policy. The White House released a report by the Council of Economic Advisers and the Office of Management and Budget assessing the impact of global temperature changes on economic growth. The conclusion, which is an embarrassment to the left: global temperature changes have had ― and will have ― very minimal effect on economic growth.
The hysterical rhetoric of climate activists has driven much of the industrial policy in recent years. By consistently exaggerating the urgency, consequences and certainty of climate change, “climate experts” have encouraged politicians to approve many wasteful economic boondoggles. The White House did its best to downplay this report.
Government entities — domestic and foreign — have an abysmal track record in picking economic winners and losers. Attempts to boost industrial development and direct economic growth have proven to be massive wastes of taxpayer dollars. The seemingly obvious lesson is for government to abandon these subsidy programs and allow the free market to reward corporate excellence. It’s time for taxpayers to look around and believe their own eyes.
EVERY TIME I hear President Joe Biden speak, I wonder who in their right mind could support a candidate whose own right mind is hit-and-miss.
During a recent trip to New York, I found out. They live on New York’s Upper East Side and meet for lunch at a neighborhood restaurant to plan fundraisers to reelect our dotard in chief.
I know that because my husband and I were sitting at the next table, and when I heard someone say “Republican,” loudly, with a sneer, I tuned in to listen. That someone had mentioned New York Magazine critic Jerry Saltz’s now famous directive for lefties: “If you know anyone who voted Republican — including friends and family — you should shun them.”
Our adjacent diners joked that Saltz did not target them because they had no friends or family who voted Republican — and would make an exception for their doorman Mario (laughter all around).
We soon learned that Southern Republicans are especially irksome because we mouth-breathing rednecks pose the biggest threat to Biden’s reelection. No surprise there because when George Bush was reelected in 2004, New York columnist Kurt Andersen reported that distraught New Yorkers had renamed the South “Dumb----istan” and circulated a chart showing “an inverse correlation between a state’s average IQ and its vote for Bush.”
Five election cycles later, New York’s Upper East Siders sound confident that flipping Georgia in 2020 means that the red-state South is ripe for reform. We learned that Stacey Abrams will play a key role in our conversion, so we expect Abrams to expand her definition of Georgia as “Jim Crow redux” to include the whole South. The left’s faith in the Abrams effect made my husband joke that Biden may have had Abrams in mind when he ended his June 16 speech with “God save the Queen!”
continuously. Your opponent will have to agree with you and stand in your shadow or disagree and side with a tiny minority (think of Vice President Walter Mondale promising to raise taxes in his disastrous 1984 campaign as an example).
Republicans have an opportunity to take Scott’s proposition and turn it into a clear definition of why most Americans will favor a common-sense future over an unpopular, dysfunctional National Democratic Party vision.
Approval for Scott’s message extended across ethnic lines with 73% of whites, 68% of blacks and 62% of Hispanics agreeing.
The five proposals also drew support across party lines with 85% of Republicans, 66% of independents and 59% of Democrats approving.
This is clearly an American proposition — not a Republican proposition. It is a unifying proposal — not a divisive one. So, it may be hard for many Republican consultants to figure out how to communicate these positive values in a compelling way. They are used to being divisive and negative, so it may feel strange to be happily positive and unifying (the essence of Reagan’s campaigns and larger success).
For those who worry about young Americans, these ideas seem to have universal appeal. Among 18- to 34-year-olds, the split was 69% to 27% (31% strongly approve to 14% who strongly disapprove).
Support strengthens with each succeeding age group, with 82% of the 65 and older crowd approving and only 15% disapproving.
Donald Trump supporters agree 86% to 12%.
Even Bernie Sanders supporters agree with the Scott proposal 54% to 38%. Traditional, nonTrump Republicans are slightly stronger than Trump supporters at 88% to 10%. Even those with post-graduate degrees support the message 69% to 25%.
Scott hit a home run. This positive message unifies the overwhelming majority of Americans. The news media and Scott’s competitors should take note. This was a historic achievement. Scott deserves a lot of credit for his determination to remain positive, unifying and forward-looking.
The toffs also think that the “Floridiots” will come to their senses in 2024 — not because the NAACP has issued a “travel advisory,” declaring Florida “openly hostile toward African Americans, people of color, and LGBTQ+ individuals.” Rather, our would-be reformers are confident that Trump will do their work for them savaging “Ron DeSanctimonious” and that Florida’s new six-week ban on abortion will incite even Republican women to vote pro-choice.
When we got up to leave, my husband dared me to turn around and drawl “Y’all come,” but I decided not to invite dialogue with a squad of New York sophisticates. My braver self would have confessed to eavesdropping, asked why so many New Yorkers are moving to the South and mentioned the 14,000 “double dippers” who are registered to vote in both New York and Florida. Better yet, I would have quoted the late Florence King’s hilarious appraisal of the type that “will not be satisfied until every abortion is performed by a gay black doctor under an endangered tree on a reservation for handicapped Indians.”
I do not know the location or date for their fundraiser, but during the subway ride back to Midtown, I pictured a penthouse where a circle of Gucci-clad swells write checks for $25,000 and discuss plans to redeem the redneck South. Writer and former CEO Roger L. Simon has said the type is afflicted with “moral narcissism,” but my husband’s analysis is better.
Phil thinks that New York’s Upper East Siders just gave the term “deepfake” a whole new meaning.
The hour we spent sitting next to a table of Biden fundraisers was more instructive than a New York Times editorial or a replay of a Joy Reid rant. I learned that if “Florida is the place where woke goes to die,” New York’s Upper East Side is the place where the plutocrats meet to plot the demise of the red-state South.
Letters addressed to the editor may be sent to letters@nsjonline.com or 1201 Edwards Mill Rd., Suite 300, Raleigh, NC 27607. 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.
The Associated Press
DES MOINES, Iowa — Iowa Republicans announced that the party’s presidential nominating caucuses will be held Jan. 15, on the federal holiday honoring Martin Luther King Jr., putting the first votes of the 2024 election a little more than six months away as the GOP tries to reclaim the White House.
White House candidates have campaigned in Iowa since last winter, but there has been some uncertainty about the date for the caucuses that have by tradition kicked off the Republican selection process for a nominee. What’s changed is the Democratic National Committee’s election calendar dropping Iowa as its first contest.
The Iowa Republican Party’s state central committee voted unanimously for the third Monday in January — a date that is earlier by several weeks than the past three caucuses, though not as early as 2008, when they were held just three days into the new year.
Iowa Republican Party Chairman Jeff Kaufmann, during a call with reporters later, reported the vote was unanimous and that he
“never sensed that there was anyone even thinking about voting no” to the proposed date.
“As Republicans, we can, I, we see this as honoring the legacy of Martin Luther King in terms of having a caucus here,” Kaufmann said, noting also that committee members hadn’t considered the
possibility of the contest falling on the federal holiday before arriving at the date.
Caucuses, unlike primary elections, are contests planned, financed and carried out by the parties, not state election officials.
The Iowa announcement Saturday allows New Hampshire, which has
not inked a primary election date but has circled Jan. 23 as its preference, to protect its first-in-thenation status, which is codified in state law that requires the contest be held at least seven days ahead of any other primary.
The decision could have implications for both parties. Iowa Democrats had been waiting for the GOP to set a date as they try to adjust to new DNC rules on their primary order.
Democrats have proposed holding a caucus on the same day as the Republicans’ contest and allowing participants to vote for president via mail-in ballot. But Iowa Democrats have said they may not immediately release the results.
That could allow the state party to still hold the first-in-the-nation caucus without defying a new election-year calendar endorsed by President Joe Biden and approved by the DNC that calls for South Carolina to replace Iowa in the leadoff spot and kick off primary voting on Feb. 3.
Last month, South Carolina Republicans adopted Feb. 24 as the date for the traditional first Southern primary, leaving plenty of time for Nevada to schedule its Republican caucuses without crowding New Hampshire.
“We remain committed to maintaining Iowa’s cherished first-in-the-nation caucuses, and look forward to holding a historic caucus in the coming months and defeating Joe Biden come November 2024,” Kaufmann said.
Sweden moves closer to NATO membership after deal with Turkish president Vilnius, Lithuania
Sweden’s membership in NATO took a big step forward on Monday after Turkey agreed to remove one of the last major roadblocks in return for help in reviving Turkey’s own chances of joining the European Union.
“This is an historic day because we have a clear commitment by Turkey to submit the ratification documents to the Grand National Assembly and to work also with the assembly to ensure ratification,” NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg told reporters after a series of high-stakes meetings.
Sweden’s NATO accession has been held up by objections from Turkey since last year. The Turkish parliament’s ratification of the accession protocol is one of the last steps in the process.
In exchange for Turkey’s help with NATO, Sweden has agreed to help unblock Turkey’s progress toward joining the European Union, which has been on hold since 2018.
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
Egypt’s inflation rate sets record high at 36.8% in June, official data show
Cairo Egypt’s annual inflation rate set a record high in June as the most populous Arab country continues to battle price hikes and a depreciating currency, the Egyptian statistics bureau said Monday.
The annual inflation rate reached 36.8% last month, up from 33.7% recorded in May, according to data released by the state-run Central Agency for Mobilization and Statistics.
Prices in Egypt rose across many sectors, from food items and medical services to housing and furniture following the Russia-Ukraine war, which unleashed a wave of inflation across the globe.
In Egypt, food and beverage prices, the main drivers of inflation, rose by 64.9% in June over the same time last year, the data released Monday showed. Grains, meat, poultry, fish and fruit were among the products with the biggest price spikes.
Since the war in Europe, the Egyptian pound has lost more than 50% of its value against the dollar, trading Monday at over 30.80 pounds for $1.
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
The Associated Press
THE HAGUE, Netherlands — Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte, the Netherlands’ longest-serving premier, said Monday he will leave politics after an early general election sparked by a dispute over migration that led to his government’s resignation.
His decision means the end of nearly 13 years in power for the conservative leader sometimes called “Teflon Mark” because scandals that plagued his four different administrations did not stick to him.
Rutte, the 56-year-old leader of the People’s Party for Freedom and Democracy, or VVD, announced his decision at a hastily arranged parliamentary debate to discuss the fall of his latest governing coalition.
“Yesterday morning I made a decision that I will not be available again as a leader of the VVD. When a new Cabinet takes office after the elections, I will leave politics,” he said.
Rutte called it a “personal decision, regardless of the developments in recent weeks.” There was no immediate indication who might replace Rutte as leader of the VVD. No date has yet been set for the
election, but it is not expected before October or November. That means that Rutte will likely remain in office as caretaker prime minister for months.
In the 27-nation European Union, only Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban has been in charge of a country longer than Rutte.
Supporters and opponents alike called it the end of an era.
With uncanny political savvy, Rutte at times managed to twist the arms of not just his coalition partners but also opposition lawmakers to pass new policies and remain in charge of governments that provided enough glue to hold together his politically fractured nation of nearly 18 million.
In the House of Representatives, the lower chamber of the Dutch parliament, no fewer than 20 parties are represented. Rutte steered the Netherlands through crises ranging from the coronavirus pandemic and flooding to the shooting down of Malaysia Airlines flight MH17 over eastern Ukraine on July 17, 2014. Even his political opponents praised his handling of the aftermath of the plane’s downing by pro-Russia rebels. About 200 Dutch citizens died. Rutte, who often cycles around
The Hague to get to and from meetings, also became known for seeking forgiveness for past Dutch government policies.
When a parliamentary commission said that governments, several of which Rutte led, had put energy profits before the safety of people in northern Groningen province, where earthquakes from gas extraction destroyed homes and the lives of families, he apologized.
“We stand here cap in hand,” he said earlier this year.
Two years ago, his third government also resigned to take responsibility for a scandal involving investigations into child welfare payments that wrongly labeled thousands of parents as fraudsters, again hurting hundreds of innocent families. He pledged his government would continue working to compensate affected parents as quickly as possible.
“We are of one mind that if the whole system has failed, we all must take responsibility,” Rutte said.
Rutte’s party nevertheless won the ensuing election, and he formed his fourth government with the same four parties that made up the coalition that collapsed last week. This time, though, the political rot set in early, and after 1½ years, he was not
only unable to hold together his coalition, he was accused by some of setting up its fall with demands that at least one party could not accept.
Despite the many scandals that tarnished his governments, Rutte remained popular among voters. His departure throws the election wide open and could open the door for a shift to the political left or further to the right.
Such was Rutte’s acumen to reconcile political fire and ice that he was mentioned over the years as someone to lead both the European Union and NATO. He has not pursued either post, yet.
Jesse Klaver, leader of the opposition Green Left party, said Rutte’s stated exit from politics marked a “historic day” but that “his departure was unavoidable” as the prime minister’s fourth and final coalition crumbled in acrimony.
Caroline van der Plas, leader of the Farmer Citizen Movement, a populist party that was the shock winner of provincial elections this year, was not ready Monday to declare herself a candidate to replace Rutte.
“At some point in the campaign, I will make it clear whether or not I will be running for prime minister,” she said.
Survivors of New Zealand’s deadly volcano eruption to testify at a trial of tourism operators
Wellington, New Zealand
A U.S. honeymoon couple who survived severe burns when New Zealand’s White Island volcano erupted in 2019 are listed as the first witnesses to testify in a trial of tourism industry operators over the disaster that claimed 22 lives.
Prosecutors opened their case in the Auckland District Court on Tuesday on health and safety charges against six companies and directors in the Dec. 9, 2019, volcanic eruption at the popular tourist attraction.
Matt Urey and his wife, Lauren Barham, from Richmond, Virginia, were listed as the first witnesses to testify.
The American couple were among 47 people on White Island, the tip of an undersea volcano also known by its Indigenous Maori name Whakaari, when superheated steam erupted, leaving most of the 25 survivors with severe burns.
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte will leave politics after election, marking end of a political era
MLS
Cincinnati rallies for 2‑2 draw with Charlotte FC
Charlotte Luciano Acosta scored on a second-half penalty kick then picked up an assist on Alvaro Barreal’s equalizer to rally FC Cincinnati to 2-2 draw with Charlotte FC.
Karol Swiderski scored twice in the first 24 minutes with assists from Kerwin Vargas to propel Charlotte (6 -8-8) to a 2- 0 lead at halftime. Acosta cut Cincinnati’s deficit in half with his PK score in the 52nd minute. Barreal notched his third goal of the season on an assist from Acosta in the 68th minute. Cincinnati (13-2- 6) hung on for the point despite playing a man down after the 75th minute when Ian Murphy was sent off for a red card. Kristijan Kahlina had two saves for Charlotte, while Roman Celentano saved one shot for Cincinnati. Charlotte has played to a club -record five straight draws. Charlotte plays at CF Montreal on Saturday.
High Point tops
Gastonia to win
ALPB first‑half title
High Point
The High Point Rockers used a five -r un seventh inning to break a tie with the Gastonia Honey Hunters in a winner-take -all Atlantic League of Professional Baseball game Friday, winning 8-1 to claim the first-half title in the South Division. The Rockers and Honey Hunters both finished with 41-22 records, but High Point held the tiebreaker. The Rockers will play in the four-team end- of-season championship round.
Veteran pitcher Ryan Dull, a 32-year- old with 171 games of major league experience who is from Winston- Salem and played collegiately at UNC Asheville, was one of four Rockers pitchers to come on in relief and not allow a run after starter Jheyson Manzueta gave up one run on five hits in 5⅔ innings. Dull pitched a perfect ninth inning, allowing no runs and striking out one.
7 locals taken early in MLB Draft, B3
SEATTLE
— At some point this season, every major league player has had to answer questions about the impact of the new rules in baseball, including a pitch clock to speed up games.
For Zac Gallen, the answer is a simple one.
“I mean, last year we didn’t have the pitch clock, I didn’t make the All-Star Game,” he said. “This year there was a pitch clock, and I made the All-Star Game. So maybe it helped.”
Clearly something has made a difference for Gallen, who is a leading contender for the National League Cy Young Award as the first half of the season draws to a close. He’s the top pitcher on one of the biggest surprise teams in baseball — the Arizona Diamond-
backs, who reached the All-Star Break tied for the National League West division lead.
Gallen leads MLB with 11 wins against just three losses, and his 1.048 WHIP (walks and hits per inning pitched) also tops all of baseball — no surprise, since he lead MLB in that category last year as well. He also ranks in the top 10 in innings, strikeouts, walks per nine innings, strikeout-towalk ratio, home run rate allowed and fielding independent pitching.
“Our starting pitcher, Zac Gallen, has had an unbelievable year and has earned every bit of it,” said Phillies manager Rob Thomson, who, as manager of the National League All-Star team, got to make the call to put Gallen on the mound to start Tuesday’s All-Star Game, played after press time.
Gallen, who pitched for the University of North Carolina from 2014 to 2016, became the second former Tar Heels pitcher to start the Midsummer Classic, joining Matt Harvey, who struck out three in two shutout innings for the National League while a member of
the New York Mets.
Gallen was a brand-new high school graduate, preparing to leave for Carolina, when Harvey made his start. Gallen started 42 of his 44 appearances for the Tar Heels, going 14-13 in three years and striking out 231 batters. He made second-team All-ACC as a sophomore and third-team as a junior before getting drafted by the Cardinals in the third round and signing with the team instead of returning for his senior year.
He never reached the majors with the Cardinals, getting traded, along with 2022 Cy Young winner Sandy Alcantara, to the Marlins after the 2017 season. He reached the majors with the Marlins in 2019 and started seven games
The former Wolfpack football coach was 81
By Ryan Henkel North State JournalRALEIGH — Dick Sheridan, the legendary NC State football coach who led the Wolfpack to six bowl appearances in seven seasons and has the second-most wins in program history, died last Thursday, the university said. He was 81. Sheridan died near his home in Garden City Beach, South Carolina, after a brief illness, the school said, citing his family.
Sheridan, who never played college football, took over at NC State in 1986 after a successful run at Furman. The Wolfpack were coming off three straight 3-8 seasons but went 8-3-1 in Sheridan’s first year, earning a Peach Bowl berth for the school.
Sheridan also received both the Bobby Dodd Coach of the Year and ACC Coach of the Year awards that season.
NC State went 4-7 in 1987 but did not have another losing season under Sheridan, winning the Peach Bowl in 1988 and winning
nine games in both 1991 and ’92. Sheridan resigned in the summer before the 1993 season, citing health reasons. He went 52-293 with the Wolfpack and never coached again. “I have such great respect for coach Sheridan and am saddened to hear this news,” current Wolfpack football coach Dave Doeren said. “He did so much to build the
football program at NC State and impacted many players, coaches and staff during his time as coach. I enjoyed getting to know him during my time here.”
At NC State, Sheridan coached four All-America selections and 31all-conference players. He coached at Furman from 1978-85, going 69-23-1 and winning eight Southern Conference
before he was on the move again, getting traded to Arizona for Jazz Chisholm. He’s blossomed with the Diamondbacks, going 32-22 with a 3.10 ERA in five seasons.
Twice he’s finished in the top 10 in Cy Young voting and is more than on pace to do it again this season.
The choice to start Gallen was one of the easier ones Thomson has had to make as All-Star manager.
“(Phillies pitching coach) Caleb Cotham and I got together once the original roster was put out, and we just looked at the numbers,” he said. “Zac’s numbers just came off the page for us: 11-3 record, almost a 3.00 ERA, OPS against is .610. The numbers are incredible. So he’s had a great year. Let’s keep him healthy and keep him going.”
Gallen, in his fifth big league season, was just getting over the thrill of making his first All-Star team when he got word that he was getting the ball to start things off.
“It’s been a whirlwind, really,” he said. “I think I found out Wednesday or Thursday morning, (Arizona Diamondbacks manager) Torey (Lovullo) FaceTimed me. So I kind of had to tell white lies for the last few days to my family and stuff like that.”
Gallen was expected to be a bright spot on a team that was still a distance away from contention
See GALLEN, page B4
championships. He made an impression in Raleigh by beating the Wolfpack twice in his final three years.
“He was just a remarkable coach,” said Mike O’Cain, who played for Sheridan in high school and succeeded him as the Wolfpack’s coach. “He believed in his role as a strict disciplinarian, and he was a perfectionist. We would practice a play 150 times a week.”
At Furman, Sheridan coached eight first-team All-America selections and 75 all-conference players, and his 74.4% winning percentage remains the best in school history.
Sheridan is also famously known for designing the iconic big diamond logos at both schools. As an assistant with Furman, Sheridan designed the ‘Diamond F’ logo in 1973, and when he became the Wolfpack’s head coach in 1986, he brought his design with him. NC State would utilize the Sheridan diamond from 1986-98 while Furman went on to incorporate the ‘Diamond F’ as the logo for their entire athletic department.
“Today is an incredibly sad day for me personally, as well as for so many others, to hear of the passing of revered Coach Dick Sheri-
“This is something that I dreamed of as a kid.”
Zac Gallen, Diamondbacks pitcherLINDSEY WASSON | AP PHOTO Diamondbacks pitcher Zac Gallen, who played at UNC, smiles during an All-Star Game press conference Monday in Seattle. Gallen is scheduled to be the National League starter for Tuesday’s Midsummer Classic. DAVID TULIS | AP PHOTO Former NC State coach Dick Sheridan, pictured in 2013, died last week at age 81.
Brendon Todd:
The former star golfer at Cary’s Green Hope High School finished two shots behind Sepp Straka after the Austrian shot a final‑round 9‑under 62 to erase Todd’s third‑round lead at the John Deere Classic in Silvis, Illinois. Alex Smalley also finished two shots back. Todd got within one stroke with a birdie on the par‑4 14th, but he played his final four holes in 1 over. The 37‑year‑old Todd has three career PGA Tour victories, last winning in 2019.
Jacob Misiorowski:
The Brewers pitching prospect reached 100 mph with 10 of 18 pitches in Major League Baseball’s annual All‑Star Futures Game. The 21‑year‑old right‑hander topped out at 102.4 mph while striking out the side in a one‑hit fourth inning during the National League’s 5‑0 win over the American. He was taken with the 63rd draft pick in 2022. He began this year with the Class A Carolina Mudcats before being promoted to High‑A Wisconsin last month.
Alex DeBrincat:
The diminutive sniper was traded from the Senators to the Red Wings on Sunday in exchange for two players and draft picks. Detroit signed the 25‑year‑old DeBrincat, a two‑time 41‑goal scorer from Farmington Hills, Michigan, to a four‑year extension worth about $7.8 million annually. In exchange for the 5‑foot‑8 DeBrincat, the Senators acquired forward Dominik Kubalik, defensive prospect Donovan Sebrango, a conditional 2024 first‑round draft pick and Detroit’s 2024 fourth‑round selection.
William Byron won Sunday’s rain‑shortened NASCAR race at Atlanta Motor Speedway for his second win at the track in the last two years and his fourth victory of the season. The threat of rain affected strategy as drivers fought to move toward the front of the field before weather delayed or ended the race. With 75 laps to go, NASCAR ordered cars to pit road, and the race was eventually called.
Former UNC running back Javonte Williams on if he’ll be ready at the start of Broncos training camp after tearing his ACL in Week 4 last season.
Tigers pitcher Matt Manning after he found out he had been lifted from Saturday’s game against Toronto despite allowing no hits.
Teammates Jason Foley and Alex Lange finished off the no‑hitter.
Division I basketball victories for coach Bob Huggins, who trails only retired coaches Mike Krzyzewski (1,202) and Jim Boeheim (1,015) for the most all‑time wins. Huggins is disputing his resignation as coach at West Virginia following a drunken‑driving arrest last month.
U.S. women’s soccer star Megan Rapinoe will retire after the NWSL season, ending a career in which she won an Olympic gold medal and two World Cups. The 38‑year‑old announced Saturday her fourth World Cup will be her last. She took home the Ballon d’Or and the Best FIFA Women’s Player awards in 2019.
Defensive end Julius Peppers and receiver Muhsin Muhammad are being inducted into Panthers’ Hall of Honor. Peppers, pictured, played 10 of his 17 seasons in Carolina and ranks fourth in sacks in NFL history. Muhammad — second in team history in receptions, receiving yards and TDs — spent 11 of his 14 seasons with the Panthers.
Gregg Popovich signed a five‑year contract to remain coach and president of the Spurs, the team announced. Popovich, 74, who is the NBA’s winningest coach and led the Spurs to five NBA titles, enters his 28th season coaching San Antonio with first overall pick Victor Wembanyama as his presumptive next star. Popovich’s record contract will reportedly pay him more than $80 million.
“I was like, ‘Well, dang.’”
“I feel like I’m ready to go.’”JACK DEMPSEY | AP PHOTO
WHILE THE STORY of the first day of the Major League Baseball was LSU teammates Paul Skenes and Dylan Crews going 1-2 to the Pirates and Nationals, respectively, North Carolina also made some noise in the opening two rounds.
Six players from North Carolina colleges and one from an instate high schools were selected in the first 70 picks of the draft on Sunday, including three in the first round.
They were led by South Brunswick High School outfielder Walter Jenkins, who was selected fifth overall by the Minnesota Twins. The 6-foot-3, 210-pound Jenkins, who recently won the Gatorade state player of the year award for the second time, hit .417 and with power for the Cougars, and the lefty projects to play center or right field.
“We love his swing,” Twins vice president of amateur scouting Sean Johnson told The Athletic. “We think he’s going to have a chance for real power. Just a well-rounded player and phenomenal person off the field.” Jenkins had committed to UNC but will be going pro.
Wake Forest, which reached the final four teams at the College World Series, then took center stage.
First off the board was star pitcher Rhett Lowder. The former North Stanly High School right-hander was picked seventh overall by the Cincinnati Reds after back-to-back dominant
seasons with the Demon Deacons during which he was the ACC pitcher of the year in both.
“It’s a long performance track record, the stuff, the command and control and all of it lines up to be a major-league starting pitcher,” Reds amateur scouting director Joe Katuska said.
Teammate Brock Wilken went
11 picks later at No. 18 to the Milwaukee Brewers. The 6-foot-
4, 225-pound third baseman ranked second in Division I with 31 home runs this season.
“We’re just really excited to get probably the best power in the
just really excited to get probably the best power in the draft.”
draft,” Brewers vice president of domestic scouting Tod Johnson told the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. “I’m going to say it’s the
best power in the draft.”
Wilken is the first Wake Forest position player to be selected in the first round since Will Craig in 2016.
In the second round, the Colorado Rockies used the 46th overall pick on Wake Forest left-handed pitcher Sean Sullivan. The lanky hurler, who played his first collegiate season at Northwestern, maxes out at 95 mph but is still able to beat batters with his fastball, ranking second in Division I in strikeout rate.
Two picks later, NC State third baseman Gino Groover was se -
lected by the Arizona Diamondbacks at No. 48. He batted .349 in three collegiate seasons — he started at Charlotte before transferring and playing the last two years with the Wolfpack — but there are concerns about where he fits in the field. The D-Backs see him staying at the hot corner.
“We think he’s a great athlete and we think that the hands, the feet, all those things that we look for, is going to be enough to play third base,” D-backs scouting director Ian Rebhan told the team site.
UNC’s Mac Horvath was picked 53rd overall by the Baltimore Orioles. The Tar Heels standout more than doubled his home run total from his first two seasons in Chapel Hill this season, hitting 24 after combining for 23 in his freshman and sophomore years. Horvath’s speed is also an asset, though there are questions about where he would play in the field.
“We’re ultimately going to look to capitalize on his athleticism, get him some reps out in center field, but also make sure he’s also getting reps at third base,” Orioles director of draft operations Brad Ciolek told Orioles.com.
With a compensatory pick at the end of the second round, the Atlanta Braves selected Campbell right-hander Cade Kuehler at 70th overall. Koehler, who went to Cuthbertson High School in Waxhaw, was 8-1 with a 2.71 ERA for the Camels this past season, striking out 91 batters in just 73 innings.
“His fastball is definitely electric, and that’s a big reason for why he’s had the success he’s had,” Ronit Shah, Braves assistant director of amateur scouting, said. “It’s definitely an out pitch. It’s a primary pitch and he can pitch off the fastball.”
The 25-year-old earned her first LPGA title
By Doug FergusonThe Associated Press
PEBBLE BEACH, Calif. — Allisen Corpuz found herself on the biggest and most beautiful stage in women’s golf and made it look like a stroll on the beach.
Never mind that she had never won on the LPGA Tour or that she had heard all week about the historic occasion of the U.S. Women’s Open held at Pebble Beach for the first time. Nothing could make her crack.
“Every few holes I kind of looked out and said: ‘I’m here at Pebble Beach. There’s not many places that are better than this,’” Corpuz said. There weren’t many better performances, either. Corpuz turned a tight duel with Nasa Hataoka into a runaway, closing with a 3-under 69 on Sunday for a threeshot victory to become the first American in 20 years to make the U.S. Women’s Open her first LPGA title.
At Pebble Beach, no less.
The 25-year-old from Hawaii was calm and cool, no matter the shot or the circumstances, until reality set in as she took a threeshot lead down the 18th fairway. It’s a path taken over the years by the likes of Jack Nicklaus, Tom Watson and Tiger Woods, all of them U.S. Open champions at Pebble Beach.
“Just knowing the history ... Tiger just absolutely annihilated this place. Yeah, it’s really special,” Corpuz said. “Twenty, 30 years from now, I think just the fact that it’s a U.S. Open means a lot to me. But knowing that it’s at Pebble makes it even sweeter.”
She won by three shots over Charley Hull (66) and Jiyai Shin (68) and claimed the $2 million prize, the richest ever for an LPGA
SHERIDAN from page B1
dan,” said Furman football coach Clay Hendrix, who played for Sheridan at Furman from 198285 and later coached under him at NC State, in an official statement put out by the university.
“The lessons he taught and example he set for so many still resonate with us all. I can assure you there are a bunch of older guys like me with incredibly heavy
major champion. Corpuz couldn’t contain a wide smile when she tapped in for par, only to cover it with her hand as the tears began to flow. She wiped them with her Aloha-print towel.
Former President Barack Obama was among the first to congratulate her on Twitter. Both went to Punahou School in Honolulu.
“Unreal,” Corpuz said. “This week has felt like a dream come true.”
hearts today. The class, integrity, care for his players, and competitiveness he always displayed will forever be part of those who knew him. What he accomplished at Furman was nothing short of remarkable. The impact he made on so many young men will last for years to come. He was such a special man, and our thoughts and prayers are with the Sheridan family.”
“This week has felt like a dream come true.”
Allisen Corpuz
Hilary Lunke in 2003 at Pumpkin Ridge was the last American to get her first win at the U.S. Women’s Open, that one in a three-way Monday playoff.
“He was just a remarkable coach.”
Former NC State coach Mike O’Cain on Dick Sheridan
After he retired from coaching, Sheridan owned several sporting goods stores and worked in real estate in the Myrtle Beach
Corpuz, who finished at 9-under 279, was the only player to break par all four days.
Corpuz never gave anyone much of a chance. Hataoka lost her oneshot lead on the opening hole when Corpuz hit her approach to 5 feet for birdie, and the 24-yearold from Japan dropped too many shots down the home stretch.
They were tied at the turn until Corpuz hit her approach to just inside 10 feet for birdie on the 10th. The key moment was at the par-3
area. He was also inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 2020. Sheridan was the first player or coach from Furman to enter the CFHOF.
“Dick Sheridan earned the respect of the coaching profession with an unparalleled dedication to perfection, which translated into him winning nearly 70 percent of his games as a head coach,” said National Football Foundation Chairman Archie Manning.
12th when Corpuz came up short in the bunker and had 15 feet for par. Hataoka rolled her birdie putt from the fringe 5 feet by the hole. Corpuz made her par, Hataoka missed her putt, and Corpuz’s lead was at two.
It only got larger, Corpuz stretching it to four shots with superb wedges to 8 feet on the par-5 14th and 4 feet on the 15th, both birdies that made the final act a battle for second place.
Hull, who started the final round seven shots behind, closed to within two shots early on the back nine and stayed in the game with a 30-foot birdie putt on the 16th. Only later did she realize Corpuz was pulling away. Hull kept firing, hitting 3-wood from under the cypress tree in the middle of the 18th fairway and nearly pulling it off.
“Shy kids don’t get sweets,” she told herself on the 18th before lashing away and dropping to a knee to watch its flight.
Shin made a birdie on the 18th to join Hull as a runner-up. The two-time major champion from South Korea never had a serious chance to win, but she celebrated a big moment for Corpuz and women’s golf.
“I’m only watching the TV to Pebble Beach and then finally we are here to play,” Shin said. “This course has a great history, and then finally the women’s history is in.”
That history belonged to Corpuz. She joined Michelle Wie West as the only major champions from Hawaii — Wie West won the Women’s Open at Pinehurst No. 2 in 2014 and played her final major this week at Pebble Beach.
Hataoka, whose 66 on Saturday was nearly nine shots better than the field, had a 40 on the back nine and tied for fourth with Bailey Tardy, the 36-hole leader who went 75-73 on the weekend for the best finish of her LPGA rookie season.
“It is fitting that he received our sport’s greatest honor, becoming a member of the College Football Hall of Fame in 2020. We are deeply saddened by his passing, and our thoughts and prayers are with his family, friends and the many players and the coaches he mentored throughout his remarkable career.”
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
“We’reBrewers executive Tod Johnson on Wake Forest’s Brock Wilken DARRON CUMMINGS | AP PHOTO Allisen Corpuz hits from the seventh tee during the final round of the U.S. Women’s Open on Sunday at the Pebble Beach. Corpuz earned her first LPGA victory with a three-shot win. JOHN FROSCHAUER | AP PHOTO Cincinnati Reds mascot Rosie Red faces the crowd in front of a photo of Wake Forest pitcher Rhett Lowder, the team’s pick with the seventh overall selecton in the MLB Draft on Sunday in Seattle.
Charlotte is still winless in four games played this month
By Jesse Deal North State JournalCHARLOTTE — The 2023 NBA Summer League is well underway for the Charlotte Hornets, who are still looking for a morsel of on-court success from a cast of rookies, young players and potential G League roster-fillers for the Greensboro Swarm.
The Hornets opened up July with two games in the California Classic Summer League, losing 96-77 to the San Antonio Spurs on July 3 and 98-83 to the Golden State Warriors on July 5.
Those two games served as a prelude to the NBA 2K24 Summer League 2023, which runs July 7-17 at the Thomas & Mack Center and
Cox Pavilion on the campus of the University of Nevada in Las Vegas.
In the league’s format, all 30 NBA teams play at least five games.
With four games between July 7-14, the top four teams advance to a playoff series featuring a semifinal on July 16 and a championship game on July 17; the 26 other teams are set to play a fifth game on either July 15 or 16.
It’s safe to say at this point that Charlotte will not be involved in a Summer League playoff matchup.
The Hornets began action in Las Vegas on July 7 with a 76-68 rematch loss to the Spurs. Two days later, Charlotte followed that with a 93-75 loss to the Los Angeles Lakers.
Charlotte was set to square off with the Portland Trail Blazers on Tuesday and will play the New Orleans Pelicans on Thursday.
There’s no way around it — it’s been a forgettable month so far for
the Hornets, who have struggled at times to even get into a semblance of an offensive rhythm and have let opponents score at ease.
Making matters worse, No. 2 draft pick Brandon Miller has yet to demonstrate his sharp-shooting prowess that earned him SEC Player of the Year honors as a freshman at Alabama last season.
To Miller’s credit, he showed some potential in Charlotte’s Summer League loss to the Spurs when he outperformed French phenom and No. 1 pick Victor Wembanyama, recording a double-double
The Associated Press
LAS VEGAS — Chris Paul worked out with new teammate Stephen Curry on Sunday morning in Las Vegas. His assessment of the session: They didn’t miss too many shots.
Evidently, Paul’s time with the Golden State Warriors is off to a flying start.
The veteran point guard revealed more than a few things in his first official interview session as a member of the Warriors: He isn’t ready to concede that he’s no longer a starter, he doesn’t expect this to be his final season as a player, and he gleans the same joy from the game now as he did when he was a kid.
And as for how it’ll all fit, he doesn’t expect that to be a problem.
“Not to like sound crazy or whatnot, but at the end of the day, it’s basketball,” Paul said. “You know, it’s not brain surgery. I’m going into a situation with a bunch of
join forces
guys who’ve been playing together for a long time.”
Paul got traded twice this summer, first from Phoenix to Washington as part of the move that sent Bradley Beal to the Suns, and then again to Golden State as part of the move that sent Jordan Poole to the Wizards.
The second trade puts the Winston-Salem native and former
Wake Forest star with another player who was developed in North Carolina — Curry, who grew up in Charlotte and starred at Davidson.
It’s a move that the Warriors hope leads to both short- and long-term gains. The 38-year-old Paul can still play; the 12-time All-Star averaged 13.9 points and 8.9 assists this past season for Phoenix, effective still in his 18th
with 16 points and 11 rebounds.
Miller’s next game was not as positive: He was 0-for-7 on 3-pointers and made just 4 of 18 from the field for 10 points.
His two earlier performances in Charlotte’s California Classic Summer League games were an 18-point, five-turnover and fivefoul effort that was followed by a six-point, four-turnover and eightfoul showing.
“I’m a little frustrated because I don’t like to lose, but I had fun out there,” Miller said after his first game. “Seeing a different environment from the college experience was fun. I think I was relaxed as far as emotions. Just let the game come to me, make all the right plays and just be there for my teammates.”
Facing the Lakers over the weekend, Miller was one of five Hornets who scored in double digits, but Charlotte failed to get into an offensive rhythm.
“I thought in the first half, we did a pretty good job emphasizing getting to the paint and creating our shots,” Hornets Summer League coach Marlon Garnett said afterward. “They have active hands, created some turnovers. In the first half, we took care of the
season in the league.
He’s also not under contract after this coming season. Poole is entering a four-year deal; the big-spending Warriors just couldn’t keep all their highest-paid players together given the constraints of the new Collective Bargaining Agreement.
“I’ve been fortunate enough to play on three USA teams, ’06, ’08 and 2012,” Paul said. “It’s high-IQ basketball, guys that play off reads and whatnot, and what you learn is you figure it out. Everybody don’t have the answers right now. We’ll practice, I’m sure there’s going to be some things that I’ve got to learn, some things that they’ve got to learn about me, but that’s the case with any team.”
He has appeared in 1,214 regular-season games and another 149 in the playoffs — and started every single one of them. But it obviously seems unlikely that he would supplant guards Curry or Klay Thompson in Golden State’s starting lineup.
So at 38 years old, Paul could find himself in a new position. But there is an obvious tradeoff since the Warriors will almost certainly be considered a title contender going into next season after winning four championships in the last decade — and Paul has never gotten his championship. He made it to the final two with Phoenix in 2021, but the Suns blew a 2-0 series lead and lost to Milwaukee in six games. “It’ll be a conversation for us
transition for the most part. They ended up with 16 fast-break points in the second half off those turnovers. It was timely. We were right in the game. … It kind of went downhill from there.”
Nick Smith Jr., the No. 27 pick in last month’s draft, has shown some promise, as have fellow 2023 picks Amari Bailey and James Nnaji.
“We just have to run the offense,” Smith said. “Try to get people open, penetrate the middle, penetrate to the basket for open kicks and make shots.”
Second-year guard Bryce McGowens has been a bright spot on both sides of the ball.
Nnaji has shown a level of defensive intensity on a team sorely lacking in that category. Interestingly, he told a reporter from Mundo Deportivo on July 9 that he is still expecting to play another year with FC Barcelona before joining the Hornets.
Depending on how the rest of the summer goes, Charlotte’s rookies have a chance to make an impression and climb over struggling 2021 draft picks Kai Jones and James Bouknight as the new Hornets ownership assesses its roster.
1,363 Career regular season and playoff games for Chris Paul
when camp starts. ... I think we’ll figure all that stuff out,” Paul said.
Two of Paul’s best shots at a championship were thwarted by the Warriors. In 2018, Paul and the Houston Rockets had a 3-2 series lead in the Western Conference finals before he got hurt, missed the final two games and Golden State prevailed — on the way to the NBA title. And in 2019, the Warriors beat Paul and the Rockets again, that time in the West semifinals before ultimately falling to Toronto in the NBA Finals.
When asked if chasing a championship was his sole motivation for still playing, Paul insisted that he just still loves the game — and intends to keep playing for multiple years.
“I get a chance to play basketball every day and say, ‘That’s my way of life,’” Paul said. “So you’re saying, ‘Why do I do it?’ For the same reason I did it when I was 4 or 5 years old. You know what I mean? I wouldn’t spend the time training and working out and hooping and being away from my family if I didn’t love it. That hasn’t changed.”
this season. The Diamondbacks were thought to be too young to compete in a division that features a perennial World Series contender, the Los Angeles Dodgers, as
well as the free-spending San Diego Padres, who have put together a high-priced, talented roster. For much of the year, however, both teams have been looking up at Arizona.
“We have a great clubhouse,”
Gallen said. “I think that makes it easier on us. I think we’re really coming into our identity. But yeah, we played really well. This is awesome. I’m happy to be here to share it with three other (Arizona All-Stars) that we have here. Very
deserving. But, yeah, it’s been an awesome first half. See if we can keep it going.”
If things go well, Gallen might find himself on an even bigger stage in October. But for the time being, the former Tar Heel is en-
joying his time in the spotlight with the All-Stars.
“It’s been crazy,” he said. “I feel like I’ve worked hard. This is something that I dreamed of as a kid. So for it to come to fruition is everything and more, really.”
“I’m a little frustrated because I don’t like to lose, but I had fun out there.”Brandon Miller DANNY MOLOSHOK | AP PHOTO Chris Paul, right, and Stephen Curry — pictured in 2016 — will in the Warriors’ backcourt for the 2023-24 season. JOHN LOCHER | AP PHOTO Hornets forward Brandon Miller, the second overall pick in last month’s draft, is defended by the Lakers’ Maxwell Lewis during Sunday’s NBA Summer League game in Las Vegas. GALLEN from page B1
$2,629,069,935
$48,261,618
$189,219,345
$6,531,688,049
$0
ECONOMY from page B5
which don’t reflect the state of demand in the economy. Fed officials signaled last month that they envision as many as two additional quarter-point rate hikes before the year ends.
But Chair Jerome Powell has also said he hopes to engineer a so-called “soft landing,” in which the economy would slow enough to tame inflation but not enough to succumb to a recession.
Friday’s jobs report suggests that the Fed may achieve that often-elusive goal, economists said.
“The Fed is on track for a soft landing,” said Betsey Stevenson, an economics professor at the University of Michigan. “What they have to do is steer us the rest of the way down. We didn’t crash, but that doesn’t mean that we won’t crash.”
One factor that has supported the job market has been a rebound in the number of people looking for work. Many businesses say they’re seeing increased applications and are having an easier time filling jobs.
Higher inflation and an uncertain economic outlook appear to be drawing more people into the workforce. The proportion of Americans ages 25 through 54 — a category that filters out most students and retirees — who are working rose to 80.9% in June, above the pre-pandemic peak and the highest level in 22 years.
And legal immigration has rebounded after being restricted during the pandemic. Coronado estimates that immigrants are adding about 50,000 workers to the labor supply each month.
At the same time, the number of job openings dropped in May, a sign that demand for workers is gradually cooling.
The Associated Press
BEIJING — Treasury Secretary
Janet Yellen plans to tell Chinese officials that Washington wants healthy economic competition but will defend trade curbs imposed by the U.S. on security grounds and express concern about Beijing’s export controls on metals used in semiconductors and solar panels, a senior Treasury official said Thursday.
Yellen was due to meet Friday with China’s No. 2 leader, Premier Li Qiang, as part of efforts to revive relations that are at their lowest level in decades due to disputes over security, technology and other irritants. Treasury officials have said she wouldn’t meet with Chinese leader Xi Jinping.
Washington doesn’t support decoupling, or disconnecting U.S. and Chinese industries and markets, and Yellen will reiterate that message, the Treasury official said. Businesspeople have warned that might harm innovation and growth as both governments tighten controls on trade in technology and other goods deemed sensitive.
Yellen planned to discuss “targeted action” by Washington on trade due to national security or human rights concerns, according to the official, who briefed reporters on condition of anonymity.
Her visit follows one by Secretary of State Antony Blinken, who
met Xi last month in the highest-level U.S. visit to Beijing in five years. The two agreed to stabilize relations but failed to agree on improving communications between their militaries.
Major agreements aren’t expected to come out of the meetings between Yellen and Chinese officials this week, says William Reinsch, a senior advisor at the Center for Strategic & International Studies in Washington. Rather the hope of restarting dialogue between the two nations is the goal. “The best you can hope for this time around would be if the Chinese agree to some kind of structure for continuing economic conversations,” he said.
China’s government has been frustrated by U.S. curbs on Chinese access to advanced processor chips on security grounds. That threatens to delay or derail the ruling Communist Party’s efforts to develop telecoms, artificial intelligence and other technologies.
Xi accused Washington in March of trying to hamper China’s development.
Washington doesn’t use security-related restrictions for economic benefit and considers national security “non-negotiable,” the Treasury official said.
The United States wants “healthy economic competition” with China but considers some of Beijing’s trade practices unfair, the
official said. They said Yellen would detail those concerns in meetings with Chinese officials.
The official cited this week’s announcement of Chinese export controls on gallium and germanium as an example of policies about which Washington wants more information. The announcement jolted South Korea and other countries whose industries use Chinese supplies of the metals.
Washington wants to “promote resilient supply chains” and guard against excessive reliance on suppliers in critical areas but doesn’t consider that to be decoupling, the Treasury official said.
Sourabh Gupta, a senior Asia-Pacific international relations policy specialist at the Institute for China-America Studies in Washington, said the U.S. argument that targeted restrictions are coming from a national security standpoint and not an economic competitiveness one isn’t expected to convince the Chinese government but may provide further assurances that more communication between the countries is desired.
“It does help create a certain reassurance that at least the U.S. is looking for a good relationship,” he said.
Yellen said earlier the two governments “can and need to find a way to live together” in spite of their strained relations over geopolitics and economic develop-
ment. Treasury officials told reporters earlier in Washington the secretary wanted to focus on stabilizing the global economy and challenging Chinese support of Russia during its invasion of Ukraine.
The latest flareup came after President Joe Biden referred to Xi as a dictator. The Chinese government protested, but Biden said his blunt statements are “just not something I’m going to change very much.”
Ties became especially testy after a Chinese surveillance balloon flew over the United States in February and was subsequently shot down.
Biden’s climate envoy, John Kerry, is slated to become the next administration official to visit China, next week, a State Department official confirmed Thursday.
China and the U.S. are the world’s No. 1 and No. 2 top climate polluters, giving their one-on-one climate talks outsize importance.
The trip will be Kerry’s first to China since it broke off climate discussions with the U.S. in August in retaliation for then-House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s travel to Taiwan. Kerry, a former Secretary of State, is pushing China to move faster to wean itself off of dirty-burning coal-fired power plants and commit itself to a plan to reduce leaks of destructive methane from natural gas.
the amount will vary depending on their plans and other coverage details.
Hospitals and medical clinics have cautioned that it may take time to get people started on the drug.
The Associated Press
WASHINGTON, D.C. — U.S. officials granted full approval to a closely watched Alzheimer’s drug on Thursday, clearing the way for Medicare and other insurance plans to begin covering the treatment for people with the brain-robbing disease.
The Food and Drug Administration endorsed the IV drug, Leqembi, for patients with mild dementia and other symptoms caused by early Alzheimer’s disease. It’s the first medicine that’s been convincingly shown to modestly slow the cognitive decline caused by Alzheimer’s. Japanese drugmaker Eisai received conditional approval from the FDA in January based on early results suggesting Leqembi worked by clearing a sticky brain plaque linked to the disease.
The FDA confirmed those results by reviewing data from a larger, 1,800-patient study in which the drug slowed memory and thinking decline by about five months in those who got the treatment, compared to those who got a dummy drug.
“This confirmatory study verified that it is a safe and effective treatment for patients with Alzheimer’s disease,” said FDA’s neurology drug
director, Dr. Teresa Buracchio, in a statement.
The drug’s prescribing information will carry the most serious type of warning, indicating that Leqembi can cause brain swelling and bleeding, side effects that can be dangerous in rare cases. The label notes that those problems are seen with other plaque-targeting Alzhei-
mer’s drugs.
The process of converting a drug to full FDA approval usually attracts little attention. But Alzheimer’s patients and advocates have been lobbying the federal government for months after Medicare officials announced last year they wouldn’t pay for routine use of drugs like Leqembi until they receive FDA’s full ap-
proval.
There were concerns that the cost of new plaque-targeting Alzheimer’s drugs could overwhelm the program’s finances, which provide care for 60 million seniors. Leqembi is priced at about $26,500 for a year’s supply of IVs every two weeks.
The vast majority of Americans with Alzheimer’s get their health coverage through Medicare. And private insurers have followed its lead by withholding coverage for Leqembi and a similar drug, Aduhelm, until they receive FDA’s full endorsement. An FDA decision on full approval for Aduhelm is still years away.
Medicare administrator, Chiquita Brooks-LaSure, said in a statement Thursday the program will begin paying for the drug now that it has full FDA approval. But the government is also setting extra requirements, including enrollment in a federal registry to track the drug’s real-world safety and effectiveness.
Medicare “will cover this medication broadly while continuing to gather data that will help us understand how the drug works,” Brooks-LaSure said.
Some Medicare patients could be responsible for paying the standard 20% of the cost of Leqembi, though
Doctors need to confirm that patients have the brain plaque targeted by Leqembi before prescribing it. Nurses need to be trained to administer the drug and patients must be monitored with repeated brain scans to check for swelling or bleeding. The imaging and administration services carry extra costs for hospitals beyond the drug itself.
Eisai has told investors that about 100,000 Americans could be diagnosed and eligible to receive Leqembi by 2026. The drug is co-marketed with Cambridge, Massachusetts-based Biogen.
“We want to ensure that appropriate patients only are the ones that get this product,” said Alexander Scott, a vice president with Eisai.
Eisai studied the drug in people with early or mild disease who were evaluated using a scale measuring memory, thinking and other basic skills. After 18 months, those who got Leqembi declined more slowly — a difference of less than half a point on the scale — than participants who received a dummy infusion. Some Alzheimer’s experts say that delay is likely too subtle for patients or their families to notice.
But federal health advisers said the difference could still be meaningful and recommended that FDA fully approve the drug at a public meeting in June.
Alzheimer’s drug Leqembi has full FDA approval now and that means Medicare will pay for itThis image provided by Eisai in January 2023 shows vials and packaging
for their medication,Leqembi.
The Associated Press Indiana Jones’ reign atop the box office was short-lived. In its second weekend in theaters, the Disney release was usurped by another franchise fifth – “ Insidious: The Red Door.” The horror film starring and directed by Patrick Wilson scared up $32.7 million in ticket sales from 3,188 theaters, according to studio estimates on Sunday.
It did better than the last installment, “Insidious: The Last Key,” from 2018 and is the most any PG13 horror movie has earned in its debut in the past two years.
“Insidious 5” was not well reviewed — but modestly budgeted
scary movies are often critic-proof when it comes to the box office.
This Blumhouse-produced fran-
chise starring Wilson and Rose Byrne began in 2011 under the direction of James Wan and has been responsible for over $570 million in global box office returns — and none of the films have cost more than $16 million to produce. Only the first movie received a “fresh” rating on Rotten Tomatoes; The “Insidious” films more often garner sub 40% scores.
It was shrewd of Sony to release
“Insidious” on the weekend between two Hollywood tentpoles, in this case “ Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny “ and “ Mission: Im-
possible – Dead Reckoning Part I,” which opens on Wednesday. But it was still a surprise that it was able to take No. 1 from something as well-known as “Indiana Jones.”
“It was a perfect release date,” Dergarabedian said. “This adds more complexity to the dynamics of the marketplace.”
“Indiana Jones 5” took second place in its second weekend with $26.5 million in North America (down 56% from its opening), bringing its domestic total to $121.2 million. Globally it’s earned an estimated $247.9 million.
Indy had some other competition too, in “Sound of Freedom,” a child trafficking drama starring
Jim Caveziel, that opened on July 4 and nearly boasted similar ticket sales for the day. “Sound of Freedom” was made and distributed by Angel Studios, a faith-based, crowdfunded operation, and managed to come in third place this weekend with an estimated $18.2 million from 2,850 theaters.
Brandon Purdie, head of theatrical distribution at Angel Studios, said in a statement that the numbers exceeded expectations and attributed its success to word of mouth.
“We’re deeply grateful to AMC, Cinemark, Regal, and all our theater partners — and their hard-working theater staff mem-
bers — for working with us to accommodate the surging demand for this film and having the courage to release ‘Sound of Freedom’ during the busiest movie season of the year,” Purdie said.
Part of Angel Studios operation involved the ability to buy “pay it forward” tickets on behalf of others. On opening day, the studio estimated that $11.6 million came from direct box office and $2.7 million through the pay it forward option.
With the summer movie season at its midway point, there is concern about the overall box office, which is about on par with where it was at the same point in 2022.
The newest director of Stanly County Airport, Randy Shank, is set to officially start on July 17, according to the airport’s Facebook page. He began his career in aviation on March 19, 1985, when he began working for Piedmont Airlines in Charlotte, North Carolina. Shank quickly fell in love with the operational aspects of a large commercial hub and spent the first 14 years of his airline career working in both below-thewing and above-the-wing job functions at Charlotte Douglas International Airport. In January 1998, he moved to a role in management in the Customer Service Training Department. Shank also held various roles at the Flight Simulation Training Center, including project management initiatives, classroom facilitation, and human resource needs management. After completing 34 years in commercial aviation, he retired from American Airlines in March 2019. The following month, he became the SCUSA Transportation Director and was responsible for the comprehensive oversight of the public transportation system for Stanly County. Here, he gained insight into the intricacies of managing a departmental budget while also directing and managing all SCUSA operations and personnel.
The Associated Press CHARLOTTE — Less than a month after finalizing the ouster of one of its largest churches for having women pastors, the Southern Baptist Convention has lost another large congregation.
Elevation Church — a North Carolina-based megachurch that draws thousands of worshippers to its multiple campuses and has wielded a strong influence on contemporary Christian worship music — sent notice to the SBC on June 26 that it was withdrawing its affiliation.
Elevation’s letter didn’t state a reason. Elevation Pastor Steven Furtick’s wife, Holly Furtick, preaches at Elevation to men and women, and has links to her sermons on her website.
The Baptist Faith and Message — the denomination’s statement of
faith — says the office of pastor is limited to qualified men. Influential Southern Baptist leaders have said that preaching is inextricably linked to the role of pastor.
Earlier in June, the SBC representatives overwhelmingly voted at their annual meeting to affirm the expulsion of Saddleback Church, the Southern California megachurch founded by Rick Warren, author of the massive best-seller, “The Purpose Driven Life,” and his wife Kay Warren. The convention also affirmed the ouster of Fern Creek Baptist Church in Louisville, Kentucky. Both churches had appealed the February decision by the SBC’s Executive Committee to remove them for having women pastors, along with three other congregations that didn’t appeal.
The Elevation Church letter, addressed to the Executive Committee
and released by Baptist Press, the SBC’s official news service, said it was withdrawing from the convention “effective immediately.”
It maintained that the church’s beliefs are “very much in line” with those of Southern Baptists and has no intention of changing that.
Also at its annual meeting, representatives took a preliminary vote to amend the SBC constitution to require participating churches to have only qualified men as pastor or elder.
Elevation and the Executive Committee did not immediately respond to The Associated Press’ request for comment.
Founded in 2006, the Matthews-based church has multiple campuses in the Charlotte area and elsewhere in North Carolina, neighboring states and even Canada. It drew 26,000 average worshippers
ALBEMARLE — With a 6-1 vote at the Stanly County Board of Commissioners meeting on July 10, the board approved a new text amendment to the county’s zoning ordinance that classifies male or female impersonators appealing to a “prurient interest” as adult live entertainment.
Due to the new classification, drag shows deemed under the category of prurience can now only be held at a location that has received a special use permit as an adult establishment from the Board of Adjustment.
The new zoning language is a direct citation of the Merriam-Webster Dictionary’s definition of prurient: “marked by or arousing an immoderate or unwholesome inter-
est or desire especially marked by, arousing, or appealing to sexual desire.”
Although the Stanly County Zoning Ordinance already restricted adult entertainment to the Highway Business district with permits granted if certain conditions are met, the modified definitions for adult establishments and adult live entertainment within Section 607.2 and Section 13.3 will add additional regulations for local business owners wanting to host drag shows.
The new definition for adult live entertainment within the county under Section 13.3 is “a performance featuring topless dancers, exotic dancers, strippers, or male or female impersonators who provide entertainment that appeals to a prurient interest, regardless of whether or not performed for con-
sideration.”
On June 19, the Stanly County Planning Board unanimously approved the new text amendment after previously receiving a request from the County’s Administration to address drag shows.
The North Carolina General Assembly is currently considering language which may address this issue statewide under House Bill 673, also titled “Clarify Regulations on Adult Entertainment.”
The lone nay vote for the new text amendment, Commissioner Peter Asciutto, stated that deciding what is or isn’t prurient in relation to a drag show requires an overabundance of subjectivity.
Among other examples of drag and prurient ambiguity, he brought up an example of a previous event
See COMMISSIONERS, page 2
per week in 2022, seventh most among Protestant churches and one behind Saddleback, according to the Outreach 100, an annual survey by Outreach magazine. According to the SBC’s internal records, the church had an average attendance of 10,185 in 2021, the most recent data available. The discrepancy in attendance figures couldn’t immediately be explained but may reflect differences in how post-pandemic online worshippers are counted.
Elevation has also produced an extensive repertoire of worship music that has been widely influential. The church-affiliated Elevation Worship has won six Dove Awards — the top award for contemporary Christian music — including song of the year for “The Blessing.” The song became a viral video hit in the 2020 pandemic lockdown with its reassuring lyrics sung by virtual choirs around the world.
“That makes Elevation not just a large church but having a large influence in the country,” said longtime megachurch researcher Scott Thumma of Hartford Institute for
See CHURCH, page 2
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The Associated Press WASHINGTON, D.C. — Reward programs, including birthday freebies and discounts, have long been a way for brands to build loyalty and incentivize spending. But now some companies are becoming a bit more stingy — and customers are taking notice.
Last fall, for example, many balked at Dunkin’s decision to stop offering a free drink on their birthday and instead give them triple loyalty points on their purchase. On June 1, Sephora started requiring a $25 minimum purchase for online customers looking to claim a free gift and 250 loyalty points during their birthday month. And Red Robin added a dine-in only and $4.99 minimum purchase requirement for customers to get their free birthday burger.
Changes to birthday rewards or redemption requirements aren’t new. Starbucks, which gives its rewards members a free drink or food item for their birthdays, progressively limited the timeframe for redeeming that gift over the years — from 30 days, to one week, to four days and, finally, to just the date of your birthday in 2018.
Some experts say the cost of maintaining loyalty programs, as well as recent impacts of inflation and changes in consumer behavior since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, are among the reasons why companies may be pulling back.
“While we’re assessing our own personal expenses, so are businesses,” Marshal Cohen, chief industry advisor of Circana and retail expert, told The Associated Press. “Businesses have to look and say, ‘Are these programs working? Are they working to full capacity? ... (And) is there another way of doing this that wouldn’t cost us as much money?’”
For Sephora customers enrolled in its Beauty Insider birthday rewards, for example, they can still claim their free gift in person with no minimum purchase. But it costs the company money to ship products sold online, noted Leora Lanz, assistant dean of academic affairs and assistant professor of practice at Boston University’s School of Hospitality Administration.
Sephora did not immediately respond to The Associated Press’ request for comment.
Despite consumer pushback, some chains have argued adjust-
“You’re going to see a lot of (companies) assess their programs to try to figure out how to drive business in a more profitable way.”
Marshal Cohen, industry advisor
ments to rewards programs simply reflect how customers behave.
In a statement to The Associated Press, Starbucks said it “found that the vast majority of members were using their birthday reward on their actual birthday.”
Dunkin’ argued that its new rewards program would give its customers more flexibility and a larger variety of food and drink options — and in a statement to The Associated Press last week, the company said the new program lets “members celebrate their birthday even longer,” pointing to the three-day window within which customers can triple their loyalty points on birthday purchases.
Still, the announcement felt off-putting for many Dunkin’ customers, who shared frustrations
online. In the months following Dunkin’s announcement, dozens of Twitter users have expressed disappoinment over learning that the free birthday drink was gone. Some joked that they “no longer run on Dunkin,’” a dig at the chain’s slogan, and others suggested that they might take their future business elsewhere.
Consumers are likely to continue to see changes to birthday rewards and customer loyalty programs down the road, Cohen noted.
“The pie is getting smaller for a lot of these discretionary items,” he said, pointing to persistent high costs of living that consumers are facing and the increased competition among businesses vying for those limited dollars. “You’re going to see a lot of (companies) assess their programs to try to figure out how to drive business in a more profitable way.”
It’s possible this could mean a scaling back of more rewards programs. But there could also be an opposite effect, Julie Ramhold, consumer analyst with DealNews. com, said — noting that some retailers could offer “potentially better birthday rewards to encourage a return to spending on frivolous items.”
CRIME LOG
♦ CRUZ-CORDOZA, ELVIN (U /M/35), INJURY TO REAL
PROPERTY, 07/09/2023, Stanly County Sheriff’s Office
♦ WALKER, ANTHONY
SAMUEL (W /M/24), PWIMSD
METHAMPHETAMINE, 07/09/2023, Stanly County Sheriff’s Office
♦ WALLACE, NIKITA RAE (W /F/36), PWIMSD
METHAMPHETAMINE, 07/09/2023, Stanly County Sheriff’s Office
♦ WHITLEY, DOROTHEA
THERESA (W /F/39), DRIVING WHILE IMPAIRED, 07/08/2023, Stanly County Sheriff’s Office
♦ WHITLEY, DUSTIN
RANDOLPH (W /M/42), FELONY POSSESSION SCH II CS, 07/08/2023, Stanly County Sheriff’s Office
♦ DAVIS, JAMES RAYQUAN (B /M/25), FIRST DEGREE
MURDER, 07/07/2023, Stanly County Sheriff’s Office
♦ DENNIS, ALEXANDER
JOSEPH (W /M/34), PWIMSD SCH II CS, 07/07/2023, Stanly County Sheriff’s Office
♦ WILSON, DAVID THOMAS (W /M/62), POSSESS
METHAMPHETAMINE, 07/05/2023, Stanly County Sheriff’s Office
♦ DILLINGER, SCOTT JOSEPH (W /M/49), POSSESS STOLEN MOTOR VEHICLE, 07/04/2023, Stanly County Sheriff’s Office
The Dunkin’ logo is seen on a storefront, Friday, Oct. 14, 2022, in Boston.
COMMISSIONERS from page 1
held by Stanly County Relay for Life — in an attempt to raise money for the American Cancer Society — where men donned women’s dresses in a “womanless beauty pageant.”
Asciutto asked Stanly County Chief Zoning Officer and Planning Director Bob Remsburg if that event would have qualified as being prurient.
Remsburg responded: “We’re complaint-driven, so first of all, someone is going to have to complain that ‘we don’t think the Relay for Life event is appropriate and it may be appealing to a prurient interest. Then, we’d have to investigate that, and chances are, the complaint is going to happen after the event and not before it happens…If it’s after the fact, there’s not a whole lot we can do other than sending a letter that says ‘don’t do it again.’”
Remsburg added that although an approval for a special use permit could take a month and a half, additional instances of the ordinance violation would result in increasing fines.
Commissioner Patty Crump provided input on zoning change:
“This is really about some of the drag shows that we’re seeing that are coming into a space that could be dangerous for children to be around. And quite frankly, maybe the people in Stanly County would not want this here.”
Following the 6-1 vote, Asciutto once again referenced his examples of drag — ranging from theater productions at the Agri-Civic Center to local Powderpuff football games where boys and girls have traded attire — and asked how to differentiate them from Albemarle’s first-ever drag show at Tiffany’s at the Boardroom last September.
“I just read off about six or seven things that are considered drag, and you said, ‘well, that’s okay.’ This seems like it is all about fear and hate,” Asciutto said. “My gosh, drag has been around for centuries, and it’s okay. I don’t see a problem with it. That’s just people living their lives, and here we are; we’re taking away somebody’s freedom. If they want to do that, let them do that.”
The Stanly County Board of Commissioners is set to hold its next regular meeting on Aug. 7 at Stanly County Commons in Albemarle.
CHURCH from page 1
Religion Research.
He said Elevation was clearly taking its cue from the overwhelming stance of the SBC to reject Warren’s appeal. Warren had said Baptists should be able to agree to disagree on issues such as women in ministry while cooperating on missions and evangelism.
Thumma wondered how many other churches may follow in its lead.
“They explicitly excluded Saddleback to make a symbolic point that
nobody is immune to this more fundamentalist narrowing of this complementarian belief,” he said, referring to the doctrine then men and women have distinct, complementary roles, with men as leaders in churches and families.
That, he said, has had “ripple effects” on other churches.
“I could easily see others leaving to make a statement, rather than sitting around waiting for the SBC to remove them.”
The SBC has 13.2 million members, making it the largest Protestant denomination in America.
No student with high grades and test scores should be rejected in favor of a lesser applicant who happens to have a certain skin color.
THE SUPREME COURT has ruled 6-3 that racial preferences in college admissions violate the U.S. Constitution.
At last!
No student with high grades and test scores should be rejected in favor of a lesser applicant who happens to have a certain skin color.
The evidence provided to the court showed that Harvard College and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill discriminated against Asian American and white applicants.
A black, Hispanic or Native American student with a combined SAT score above 1,100 might be invited to apply to Harvard, but an Asian girl would need at least 1,350, and an Asian boy at least 1,380.
The real opportunity gap in this nation is not between black and white. It’s between rich and poor.
Contrary to what most Americans assume, affirmative action has never helped poor kids. In fact, Harvard favors wealthy kids. Only 3% of the student body come from lowincome families. A staggering 67% come from families in the top fifth of the nation’s earners, per data provided by Harvard researcher Raj Chetty. Nearly three-quarters of Harvard’s black and Hispanic students come from high-earning families.
Justice Clarence Thomas stresses that Harvard offers the same admissions “bump” to “a wealthy black applicant given every advantage in life as to a black applicant from a poor family with seemingly insurmountable barriers to overcome.”
All the while Harvard rejects Asian American applicants with higher grades and test scores, even those from poor families. College administrators are already trying to weasel around the court’s ruling
by waiving standardized tests that make discrimination hard to conceal.
That’s dishonorable.
Instead, they should be scrapping racial preferences and reaching out to economically disadvantaged students with high potential, regardless of race, to promote economic mobility and help keep the American dream alive.
Students from low-income families, impoverished neighborhoods and failing schools score 399 points lower on the math and English SATs than other students, according to a Century Foundation study. Black students overall score 56 points lower.
If anyone needs a “bump” in the admissions process, it’s a poor kid.
During oral arguments, Thomas pressed lawyers for Harvard and UNC on the educational benefits of racial diversity. Wryly, he wrote that “with nearly 50 years to develop their arguments, neither Harvard nor UNC — two of the foremost research institutions in the world” — could explain the supposed link between racial diversity and educational benefit.
Thomas suggests that “two white students, one from rural Appalachia and one from a wealthy San Francisco suburb, may well have more diverse outlooks on this metric than two students from Manhattan’s Upper East Side attending its most elite schools, one of whom is white and other of whom is black.”
The Left and its media allies are bashing the court for discarding what New York Times legal analyst Adam Liptak calls “decades of precedent.”
Wrong. There is no precedent for permanent affirmative action. The court didn’t intend for it to last forever.
In his opinion, Chief Justice John Roberts makes it clear that a major reason UNC and
Most of the Biden Administration appointees have never worked for a private business.
White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre recently reiterated a point the Biden White House has been making for the past year: that inflation remains high not because of the Biden $6 trillion spending spree but because “high profit margins” captured during the COVID-19 pandemic drive up consumer prices.
We then were told that the White House’s grand strategy to bring down sticker prices further at the store is to lower business profit margins for everything from drugs and computers to food and gasoline.
How low should those evil profits go? To zero?
Wait, since when are profits evil? The ability of a company to turn a profit is the very engine of growth -- also of innovation, job creation and entrepreneurship.
The only people who could possibly believe profits are nefarious are those who have never actually earned a profit. It isn’t so easy.
As the late, great economist Walter Williams of George Mason University used to explain in his Econ 100 course: Farmers in North Dakota don’t raise cattle and work 14 hours a day growing acres of wheat because they want to provide a juicy steak meal for a Wall Street fat cat. Those farmers and ranchers don’t give a hoot for New Yorkers. They raise cattle and send steaks to feed the people in Manhattan because they want to earn a profit. If there were no profit in it, the people in New York would go hungry or would be standing in soup lines.
Almost every lifesaving drug known to man was developed in the lab of a private pharmaceutical company or a biotech firm. Governments rarely invent new lifesaving drugs used by millions of people. And no, former Vice President Al Gore didn’t invent the internet. Profit seekers did, and then they built a $10 trillion industry that has revolutionized the way we live and work and play.
Steve Jobs and his colleagues virtually invented the personal computer and Apple’s relentless pursuit of profit. He perfected the cellphone and then drove down its cost so that today even many of the poorest people in Africa can afford it. Fifty years ago, even a
Harvard lost their cases is that they failed to point to an end date.
When the court upheld affirmative action at the University of Michigan Law School in 2003, the justices knew “this is dangerous and it has to have an end point,” explained Justice Amy Coney Barrett.
That is when Justice Sandra Day O’Connor said it should no longer be necessary in 25 years (i.e., five years from now).
Yet, when Barrett pressed UNC’s lawyers and Solicitor General Elizabeth Prelogar for a time when they could see it ending, she got no answer.
The right answer is now.
Affirmative action is a euphemism for an ugly process — reverse discrimination. Another 25 years won’t make it prettier.
The Left insists the court is recklessly departing from precedent to favor its conservative political agenda. Not so. It is the three liberal justices — Sonia Sotomayor, Elena Kagan and Ketanji Brown Jackson — who are actually discarding precedent. They’re inventing a new rationale for affirmative action, claiming it’s justified to correct historic wrongs.
Roberts chastised the three dissenters sharply for it. The court “has long rejected their core thesis,” he wrote.
Thomas warns that if the liberal justices’ viewpoint ever prevails, it will lead “to a world in which everyone is defined by their skin color, demanding ever-increasing entitlements and preferences on that basis.”
Fortunately, the Constitution and this court are standing in the way.
Betsy McCaughey is a former lieutenant governor of New York and chairman of the Committee to Reduce Infection Deaths.
king’s ransom couldn’t buy what a poor Indonesian farmer has in his pocket. Why? Because Apple found a way to make a profit selling it to him. Now Apple is a $3 trillion company — by selling people all over the world something they desperately want.
That’s not to say altruism and charity don’t count. It surely does — and it’s a divine inspiration. But we have hundreds of years of evidence that this isn’t as powerful a motivation as the mundane and relentless pursuit of making a profit. Even Bono of U2, a great philanthropist, has discovered with the tens of millions of dollars he has donated to worthy causes that charity is never going to solve the poverty problem. Only the free enterprise system and profits will.
The profit motive is arguably the noblest pursuit in human history. Profits have saved more lives, created higher living standards, sparked more inventions, pulled more people out of poverty and created more jobs than all the government programs and all the “nonprofit” activities combined.
A war against profits is a war against prosperity. As economist Larry Kudlow of Fox Business puts it: High-profit margins are the mother’s milk of the stock market, so lower profits (or even zero profits, which seems to be the Biden goal) would lead to a flurry of business bankruptcies, mass layoffs and a stock market collapse. Without profits, there are no businesses, and without employers, there are no jobs, and without jobs, there is no consumer spending.
And you can kiss your 401(k) plan goodbye in a land of shrinking profits.
So why are the Biden people against profits? Why don’t they get the way the world really works? Perhaps it is because, as we revealed in our Committee to Unleash Prosperity study last year, most of the Biden administration appointees have never worked for a private business. They don’t understand one of the most basic economic truisms: What drives down an economy aren’t businesses that make a profit but businesses that make a loss.
If the goal of the Biden administration is to drive down profits, the endgame will be to make everyone poorer and poorer over time. We will have reached their goal of equity and equality.
GOLF
Monahan to return as PGA Tour commissioner after break
Ponte Vedra Beach, Fla.
PGA Tour Commissioner
Jay Monahan is returning to work. Monahan has told the tour he will resume his job on July 17. That will be about a month since Monahan stepped away for what was referred to only as a medical situation. His surprise departure was a week after announcing the tour’s agreement to work with the Saudi backers of LIV Golf. Monahan said in a note to the tour’s policy board, staff and players that his health has improved.
MLB Yankees fire hitting coach Dillion Lawson
New York
Hitting coach Dillon
Lawson was fired by the New York Yankees on Sunday, a rare midseason change by a franchise that has prized stability since Hal Steinbrenner took over from his father as controlling owner. New York’s .231 batting average is 28th among the 30 major league teams, ahead of only Detroit and Oakland. The Yankees are batting a major league-worst .218 in 31 games since Aaron Judge tore a ligament in his right big toe on June 3, going 14-17 and entering the All-Star break in fourth place of the AL East 4942. No replacement was announced.
MMA Volkanovski regains
UFC title with 3rdround TKO
Las Vegas
Alexander Volkanovski reasserted himself as the featherweight champion with a technical knockout over Yair Rodriguez at 4:19 of the third round Saturday night in UFC 290. Rodriguez was the interim champion after Volkanovski temporarily moved up to lightweight, but the Australian left little doubt who the better fighter in running his record to 26-2 in what was scheduled as a five-round bout. Rodriguez, who is from Mexico, is 16-4. It was Volkanovski’s first fight since a loss by unanimous decision to lightweight champion lightweight Islam Makhachev on Feb. 11, ending Volkanovski’s 22-fight winning streak.
OLYMPICS
Speedskating medalist, world champion Mantia retires
Kearns, Utah
Olympic medalist Joey
Mantia has retired from speedskating at age 37.
The Floridian announced the end of his career in a post on his Instagram Threads page. Mantia was a multiple world champion in inline skating who made the switch to ice in 2010. He qualified for the the first of three Olympics at the 2014 Sochi Games and finally earned his first medal, a bronze in men’s team pursuit, at the Beijing Winter Games. He was among three skaters from Ocala, Florida, who won speedskating medals in Beijing, joining Erin Jackson and Brittany Bowe.
The Hendrick Motorsports driver has won four times this season
The Associated Press HAMPTON, Ga. — William Byron overcame a spin early in the second stage that knocked him back a lap and then was in the right position when weather took control at Atlanta Motor Speedway.
Byron won the rain-shortened NASCAR race at Atlanta on Sunday night for his series-leading fourth victory of the season. It was the second win in Atlanta in the last two years for Byron, who took the NASCAR points lead.
Byron said it was “kind of pins and needles” after his crew made changes to his No. 24 Hendricks Motorsports Chevrolet that had been damaged by the spin.
“When I spun, I was like here we go,” Byron said. “... It was not good at that moment. We lost a lap, changed tires.”
The threat of rain affected strat-
egy as drivers fought to move toward the front of the field before weather delayed or ended the race.
With 75 laps to go, NASCAR ordered cars to pit road due to rain and the possibility of lightning. Cars were covered while officials waited to see if the rain ended.
Only six minutes later, fans were warned of severe weather within eight miles of the track and were encouraged to leave the stadium immediately, and NASCAR called the race soon after that announcement.
“I 1,000% agree with erring on the side of caution,” said Kyle Busch, who finished fifth.
Daniel Suarez, looking for his first win of 2023, was second. AJ Allmendinger was third, followed by Michael McDowell.
Suarez said he had “a little bit of mixed feelings” about NASCAR’s decision to end the race.
“I wish we had one more shot to get ahead and then it could rain all it wants,” Suarez said with a laugh. The race became official after 130 laps. After that, the weath-
“I wish we had one more shot to get ahead and then it could rain all it wants.”
Daniel Suarez, who finished second at Atlanta
er watch factored heavily into race strategy.
“We knew the rain was coming,” McDowell said. “We wanted to give ourselves the best chance to win the race.”
Kevin Harvick, a three-time Atlanta winner, had a spin with 89 laps remaining. Harvick was able to drive to pit road without a caution, but the spin all but ended his hopes of a win in his final Atlanta race.
The increased threat of rain placed an increased emphasis on drivers to compete for top spots in the second stage, perhaps contributing to two wrecks that knocked
out Ross Chastain, Kyle Larson and Austin Hill.
Denny Hamlin and Alex Bowman were involved in another crash late in the second stage, leaving Brad Keselowski and Ryan Blaney at the front of the field. The stage ended under caution. Despite the stage win, Keselowski was left with a big decision as he talked with his crew about the threat of rain and the possibility of staying on the track. He chose to pit for fuel, saying he had no real choice.
“No, we had 12 to 14 laps left of fuel and that was not enough, and we ended up running 15 laps or so,” Keselowski said. “I think we made the right call. We just needed the rain to be 10 minutes earlier or 10 minutes later.”
A collision between Bubba Wallace and Ryan Preece caused another caution early in the final stage, leaving Byron in the lead, ahead of Suarez.
The NASCAR Cup Series moves to New Hampshire Motor Speedway in Loudon next Sunday.
The Olympic gold medalist was diagnosed with breast cancer a decade ago
The Associated Press
TWO-TIME Olympic gold-medalist and former Tennessee star Nikki McCray-Penson has died. She was 51.
McCray-Penson was an assistant women’s basketball coach at Rutgers last season and the school on Friday confirmed her death. She was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2013.
She joined coach Dawn Staley as an assistant at South Carolina from 2008-17. She was part of the Gamecocks’ first national championship in 2017. They were gold-medal teammates at the 1996 Atlanta and 2000 Sydney Olympics.
“It’s hard to think about Nikki’s passing because all I can see is how fully she lived,” Staley said in a statement. “From her days as a brash rookie in USA Basketball to becoming my friend and colleague to the way she mentored young players, Nikki did everything with her whole heart. ... she had such light, such positive energy inside her no matter what was going on.
I am heartbroken that cancer has taken that light from us, but I know that she would want us to be the ones to carry it on in her absence.”
McCray-Penson played at Tennessee from 1991-95 under Hall
of Fame coach Pat Summitt. The point guard was a two-time SEC Player of the Year and a two-time Kodak All-America standout during her junior and senior seasons for the Lady Vols. The team reached the Final Four in 1995, losing in the championship game to undefeated Connecticut.
The 1996 U.S. Olympic team sparked the formation of the WNBA and ABL (American Basketball League 1996-98). She won MVP honors in 1997 while leading the ABL’s Columbus Quest to a
championship before heading over to the WNBA. McCray-Penson was a three-time All-Star in that league while playing for the Washington Mystics. She played until 2006 when she retired, with a stop in San Antonio along the way.
“She’s a competitor,” said New York Liberty coach Sandy Brondello, who coached her in San Antonio and played against her on the Australian Olympic team. “She just got out there and did it to the best of her ability. That’s really sad and
“It’s hard to think about Nikki’s passing because all I can see is how fully she lived.”
Dawn Staley, South Carolina women’s basketball coach
tragic. Prayers go out to her family.”
McCray-Penson began her 16year coaching career as an assistant at Western Kentucky for three seasons from 2006-2008. After South Carolina won the NCAA title, she became the head coach at Old Dominion in 2017, going 24-6 in 2020.
She spent one year at Mississippi State before stepping down for health reasons and returned as an assistant under coach Coquese Washington at Rutgers last season.
“Nikki had a big smile and an even bigger heart,” Washington said. “She was full of life, energy, and was so much fun to be around. Nikki touched the lives of many because she made it her mission to uplift others and help them achieve whatever dreams and goals they expressed.”
McCray-Penson was inducted into the Women’s Basketball Hall of Fame in 2012. She is survived by her husband Thomas and son Thomas Jr.
North Carolina State’s T.A. McLendon (44) tries to run past Miami’s Roger McIntosh (50) during the second quarter in Raleigh, in October, 2004.
NEW
LONDON— A Stanly County
nativeand former North Stanly Comets pitcher will soon begin his Major League Baseball journey. The Cincinnati Reds selected Wake Forest right-handed pitcher Rhett Lowder with the seventh overall pick in the first round of the 2023 MLB Draft on Sunday.
Five local athletes will be inducted at the event
By Jesse Deal North State JournalMISENHEIMER — Five local athletes will be enshrined into the Stanly County Sports Hall of Fame next week during the hall’s 31st annual induction ceremony.
The 2023 inductees are Al Andrew, T.A. McLendon, Shanna Smith, Greg Speight and Quan Sturdivant, and the banquet is set for 6:30 p.m. on July 17 at Pfeiffer University’s Merner Gymnasium. Tickets can be purchased for $35 in advance and $50 on the day of the event.
Andrew taught at Albemarle High School for 31 years and led its boys’ basketball teams to a school-record 402 victories during
his tenure. Prior to his retirement in 2015, he also coached the school’s baseball, football and golf teams.
McLendon was a running back at Albemarle High School and NC State. During his time in Albemarle, he set state records for career rushing touchdowns, the most rushing touchdowns in a single season and most career points scored.
Smith was a softball and basketball standout at Albemarle High School as well as an all-ACC softball player at NC State, where she helped the Wolfpack win the 2006 ACC title. She is now an assistant softball coach at Eastern New Mexico University.
Speight is a two-time state champion softball coach at North and South Stanly high schools (South in 1998 and North in 2017) as well as a successful basketball coach. The Richfield native has spent the past 36 years as an influ-
ential coach and educator within Stanly County.
Sturdivant was an all-state football player at West Stanly High School and all-ACC football player at UNC. He was drafted with the 171st pick in the 2011 NFL Draft by the Arizona Cardinals and also spent time with Kansas City and Washington.
Wes Durham, the heralded playby-play voice of Atlantic Coast Conference basketball, football and baseball, will serve as the event’s keynote speaker.
He is a former co-host of the “Packer and Durham” sports talk show on ACC Network and SiriusXM as well as a former play-byplay announcer for the Atlanta Falcons and Georgia Tech athletics. Durham is the son of legendary UNC play-by-play voice and Stanly County Sports Hall of Fame member Woody Durham.
“I’m super excited to come to Cincinnati, and I think it’s a great fit and a nice young team,” Lowder told reporters shortly after his name was called. “It’s nothing like I pictured, and it was like the biggest weight off your shoulders and also the most excitement you’ll ever have. There were so many emotions going into one.”
Lowder, 21, had a perfect 15-0 record during the 2023 season in 19 appearances and helped lead the Demon Deacons to the College World Series semifinals, where he pitched seven shutout innings against eventual champion LSU in his final collegiate performance.
The two-time ACC pitcher of the year had a 1.87 ERA over 120⅓ innings with 143 strikeouts and only 24 walks allowed during the 2023 season. Lowder was ranked the No. 491 recruit in his high school class three years ago, but he quickly worked his way up to become a threeyear starter at Wake and one of the top pitchers in college baseball.
“I wasn’t great in high school,” Lowder said. “I was an undersized kid. I’m still kind of small. But I put on some weight and came onto the scene later than some of my other peers. It’s a testament to some hard work that was put in and the program that we had at Wake.”
With a strong changeup and an improving breaking ball, the Demon Deacons ace could soon get a chance to pitch for the Dayton Dragons, the High-A affiliate of the Reds.
“I’m super excited to come to Cincinnati, and I think it’s a great fit and a nice young team.”
Rhett LowderBaseball’s changes have shortened games but not improved batters’ luck
The Associated Press
PHOENIX — Major League Baseball has made the games faster, the bases bigger and defense a little bit harder.
Now, if it could only do something about those stubborn strikeouts.
“Just move the mound back to about — oh, I don’t know — second base? Maybe fastballs only?”
Arizona Diamondbacks outfielder Jake McCarthy said, laughing.
“I just think these pitchers are really good.
“No one likes to strike out, but that’s how it goes.”
There’s little doubt that MLB’s expansive new rules package this season has been a success, particularly when it comes to speeding up the action. But the sport is also hunting for a little more offense these days and, to be honest, the league-wide offensive output of 2023 still looks pretty similar to 2022 in several areas.
Batting average is up modestly to .248 through Friday’s games, rising from .243 last season. So is OPS, rising to .730 from .706. Stolen bases also have jumped substantially, thanks in part to a new rule that puts limits on pitcher disengagements from the rubber.
But punch outs are again near an all-time high, with each team averaging about 8.7 strikeouts per game. The high came in 2019, when the average was 8.81, but that was
before the National League joined the American League by adopting the designated hitter rule for good in 2022. Even without pitchers at the plate, the whiffs are still coming in bunches.
“We all understand that this game is very difficult,” Giants slugger J.D. Davis said recently. “Pitchers these days are even better than they were five, 10 years ago.”
The good news is that hitting for average is starting to become slightly more in vogue. The poster child is Miami Marlins All-Star second baseman Luis Arraez, who’s been flirting with a .400 batting average for a big chunk of the season. No MLB player has topped .400 since Ted Williams hit .406 for the Boston Red Sox more than 80 years ago. The evolution of high strikeout numbers has been a decades-long process but has really sped up over the past 15 years. In 2018, strikeouts became more common than hits for the first time and that trend has held firm the past six seasons.
The real problem seems to be that pitchers are simply throwing harder and harder. Seeing a 100mph fastball used to be like finding a unicorn. Now, it’s an everyday oc-
currence. There were 3,356 pitches of 100 mph of more in 2022, according to MLB Statcast. That was up from 1,829 in 2021 and 1,056 in 2019.
Marlins manager Skip Schumaker gets to see those blazing fastballs nearly every night. Miami’s reigning NL Cy Young Award winner Sandy Alcantara was facing Atlanta ace Spencer Strider on July 2 in a game that featured 91 fastballs that were at least 97 mph. Good luck making contact with those pitches.
“Every time I look up, the velo, it’s just increasing,” Schumaker said. “So I don’t know what the answer is, to be honest with you, because the rules are better for the game. There’s no doubt about it.
“I just don’t know how to combat the strikeouts just yet.”
“Pitchers these days are even better than they were five, 10 years ago.”
J.D. Davis, Giants slugger`AP PHOTO Rockies shortstop Ezequiel Tovar reacts after striking out during a game earlier this month. Strikeouts are still on the rise in the majors despite the success of other rulles changes. AP PHOTO
The Associated Press
A JUDGE last Tuesday prohibited several federal agencies and officials of the Biden administration from working with social media companies about “protected speech,” a decision called “a blow to censorship” by one of the Republican officials whose lawsuit prompted the ruling.
U.S. District Judge Terry Doughty of Louisiana granted the injunction in response to a 2022 lawsuit brought by attorneys general in Louisiana and Missouri. Their lawsuit alleged that the federal government overstepped in its efforts to convince social media companies to address postings that could result in vaccine hesitancy during the COVID-19 pandemic or affect elections.
Doughty cited “substantial evidence” of a far-reaching censorship campaign. He wrote that the “evidence produced thus far depicts an almost dystopian scenario. During the COVID-19 pandemic, a period perhaps best characterized by widespread doubt and uncertainty, the United States Government seems to have assumed a role similar to an Orwellian ‘Ministry of Truth.’ “
Republican U.S. Sen. Eric
Schmitt, who was the Missouri attorney general when the lawsuit was filed, said on Twitter that the ruling was “a huge win for the First Amendment and a blow to censorship.”
Louisiana Attorney General Jeff Landry said the injunction prevents the administration “from censoring the core political speech of ordinary Americans” on social media.
“The evidence in our case is shocking and offensive with senior federal officials deciding that they could dictate what Americans can and cannot say on Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, and other platforms about COVID-19, elections, criticism of the government, and more,” Landry said in a statement.
The Justice Department is reviewing the injunction “and will evaluate its options in this case,” said a White House official who was not authorized to discuss the case publicly and spoke on condition of anonymity.
“This administration has promoted responsible actions to protect public health, safety, and security when confronted by challenges like a deadly pandemic and foreign attacks on our elections,” the official said. “Our consistent
view remains that social media platforms have a critical responsibility to take account of the effects their platforms are having on the American people, but make independent choices about the information they present.”
The ruling listed several government agencies, including the Department of Health and Human Services and the FBI, that
are prohibited by the injunction from discussions with social media companies aimed at “encouraging, pressuring, or inducing in any manner the removal, deletion, suppression, or reduction of content containing protected free speech.”
The order mentions by name several officials, including Health and Human Services Secretary
The Associated Press
The union that represents locomotive engineers says a recent coal train derailment in Virginia is renewing questions about Norfolk Southern’s safety practices.
The derailment happened coming down out of the Appalachian Mountains near Elliston about 20 miles outside Roanoke. Fortunately, it involved coal cars and not hazardous materials like those that generated a huge plume of black smoke and forced evacuations in the eastern Ohio town of East Palestine after a different Norfolk Southern train derailed in February. That Ohio derailment triggered concerns nationwide about railroad safety and prompted calls for reforms from members of Congress and regulators.
“We’re just lucky right now that it’s coal. If it had been ethanol or LP gas or chlorine or anything like that, it could have been a totally different situation,” said Randy Fannon, who leads the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen union’s safety task force.
Nineteen cars on the Virginia coal train derailed around 7:45 p.m. on July 6 but remained upright and none of the coal spilled.
Before the derailment, the crew received a critical alarm from a trackside detector that a wheel bearing was overheating. But unlike in the East Palestine derailment where the crew received little warning, the crew was able to safely stop the Virginia train after it was alerted to the potential hazard.
The train’s conductor found the railcar that triggered the alarm and
confirmed the bearing was overheating. But a spokesman for the railroad said all the components appeared to be intact during a visual inspection.
Federal Railroad Administration spokesman Warren Flateau said the railroad decided to try and move the train to a siding, where the crew could safely set out the car with the overheating bearing without blocking the main track. But the train derailed before it reached the siding.
National Transportation Safe-
ty Board officials said late Friday they would investigate the Virginia derailment. While union officials and the railroads involved in an NTSB investigation aren’t allowed to speak publicly before that agency releases its findings, Fannon discussed the details of the crash Friday afternoon when the FRA was still leading the investigation. The NTSB had not taken the lead at that time.
Fannon said someone at the railroad’s headquarters in Atlanta who was working on the “hot box detec-
tor desk” told the crew to go ahead and move the train 8 miles down the track. The crew told union officials that they weren’t comfortable with moving the train at the track speed of roughly 40 mph, so they kept the speed to around 20 mph. But the train still derailed.
Spokesman Tom Crosson said Norfolk Southern will use this derailment to help inform changes it is making to improve safety.
“This derailment should never have happened. It is unacceptable,” Crosson said. “We are work-
Xavier Becerra, Department of Homeland Security Secretary
Alejandro Mayorkas and others.
Doughty allowed several exceptions, such as informing social media companies of postings involving criminal activity and conspiracies; as well as notifying social media firms of national security threats and other threats posted on platforms.
ing to achieve our goal of being the gold standard for safety in the railroad industry, and this incident strengthens our resolve.”
Both the FRA and the NTSB said they were investigating Norfolk Southern’s safety practices following the East Palestine derailment and several others in the past couple years.
“NS is still in the spotlight and they’re going to remain that way until they make some changes,” Fannon said.
In years past before Norfolk Southern began overhauling its operations in 2019 and making widespread job cuts, Fannon said the railroad typically would have sent a mechanical inspector to examine the car after an overheating bearing was found to determine if it was safe to move the train. That doesn’t happen anymore after all the cuts to the ranks of inspectors.
“I think the key to this is no qualified mechanical person inspected it,” Fannon said.
Norfolk Southern, like all the major freight railroads, has streamlined its operations over the past several years to reduce costs by relying more on running fewer, longer trains so it doesn’t need as many crews or locomotives. The Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen and the other rail unions have said the changes make railroads riskier, spreading employees thin and making it difficult to take the time to properly inspect cars or complete needed preventative maintenance.
The railroads have defended their safety record.
Railroad officials have said they don’t believe the cuts jeopardized safety, and they emphasize that they continue to meet the minimum federal standards. Norfolk Southern’s CEO Alan Shaw has said he believes NS is a safe railroad and that he is committed to improving that.
The Associated Press
NEW YORK — Seven weeks before the premiere debate of the 2024 GOP primary, anxiety is building that the event could prove messy and divisive for the party.
Some candidates, like former Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson, are struggling to meet fundraising and polling requirements to make it on stage. He and others are pushing back on a loyalty pledge the Republican Party is insisting candidates sign to participate. And the race’s frontrunner, former President Donald Trump, is considering boycotting and holding a competing event instead.
That’s turning what is typically the highly anticipated opener of the election season into a source of uncertainty for the candidates and broader party. The frustration is particularly acute for candidates who hoped to use the forum as a powerful opportunity to confront Trump and try to blunt his momentum.
The Republican National Committee has said that, in order to participate in the Aug. 23 debate in Milwaukee, candidates must have received contributions from at least 40,000 individual donors, with at least 200 unique donors in 20 or more states. They also must earn at least 1% in three high-quality national polls, or a mix of national and early-state polls, between July 1 and August 21.
Candidates will also have to sign a pledge “agreeing to support the eventual party nominee,” according to an RNC press release,
and one agreeing not to participate in any non-RNC sanctioned debate for the remainder of the election cycle.
“Our criteria is very clear, we are ensuring quality polls are used to determine which candidates make the debate stage and we are confident that there will be enough polls for our candidates to qualify,” said RNC spokeswoman Emma Vaughn.
The candidates who say they
The Associated Press
EAGLE PASS, Texas — Texas began rolling out what is set to become a new floating barrier on the Rio Grande in the latest escalation of Republican Gov. Greg Abbott’s multibillion-dollar effort to secure the U.S. border with Mexico, which already has included bussing migrants to liberal states and authorizing the National Guard to make arrests.
But even before the huge, orange buoys were unloaded from the trailers that hauled them to the border city of Eagle Pass, there were concerns over this part of Abbott’s unprecedented challenge to the federal government’s authority over immigration enforcement. Migrant advocates voiced concerns about drowning risks and environmentalists questioned the impact on the river.
Dozens of the large spherical buoys were stacked on the beds of four tractor trailers in a grassy city park near the river on Friday
morning.
Setting up the barriers could take up to two weeks, according to Lt. Chris Olivarez, a spokesperson for the Texas Department of Public Safety, which is overseeing the project.
Once installed, the above-river parts of the system and the webbing they’re connected with will cover 1,000 feet of the middle of the Rio Grande, with anchors in the riverbed.
Eagle Pass is part of a Border Patrol sector that has seen the second highest number of migrant crossings this fiscal year with about 270,000 encounters — though that is lower than it was at this time last year.
The crossing dynamics shifted in May after the Biden administration stopped implementing Title 42, a pandemic era public health policy that turned many asylum seekers back to Mexico. New rules allowed people to seek asylum through a government application and set up appointments
have qualified so far include Trump, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, South Carolina Sen. Tim Scott, former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley and entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy. Some lesser-known candidates, such as conservative radio host Larry Elder, North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum and Miami Mayor Francis Suarez, appear unlikely to make the cutoffs.
Former Vice President Mike Pence, who launched his cam-
at the ports of entry, though the maximum allowed in per day is set at 1,450. The Texas governor’s policies target the many who are frustrated with the cap and cross illegally through the river.
Earlier iterations of Abbott’s border mission have included installing miles of razor wire at popular crossing points on the river and creating state checkpoints beyond federal stops to inspect incoming commercial traffic.
“We always look to employ whatever strategies will be effective in securing the border,” Abbott said in a June 8 press conference to introduce the buoy strategy.
Immigrant advocates, including Sister Isabel Turcios, a nun who oversees a migrant shelter in Piedras Negras, Mexico, which sits just across the river from Eagle Pass, have remained vigilant about the effects of the new barrier on migration. Turcios said she met with the Texas Department of Public Safety in the days leading up to the arrival of the buoys and was told the floating barrier would be placed in deep waters to function as a warning to migrants to avoid the area.
Turcios said she is aware that many of the nearly 200 migrants staying in her shelter on any given day are not deterred from crossing illegally despite sharp concertina wire. But that wire causes more danger because it forces migrants to spend additional time
paign on June 7, has not yet released a tally of donors, but his campaign said it had raised “well into five digits” in the weeks since his announcement.
“Getting in late made it more difficult, but we’re confident we’ll get there,” said Pence spokesman Devin O’Malley.
Former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, who has also expressed confidence he will hit the benchmarks, has pitched himself as the candidate most qualified to directly take on Trump onstage.
While Trump’s threats to boycott have complicated that argument, Christie’s campaign has nonetheless urged donors to give even $1 to help him qualify.
Anthony Scaramucci, the financier who served briefly as Trump’s White House communications director and is now supporting Christie, recently encouraged even those who have no intention of voting for the former New Jersey governor to nonetheless chip in.
“Whether you’re a Republican or Democrat, whether you would vote for Chris or wouldn’t vote for Chris, we need someone onstage to tell the truth and put a stop to this nonsense,” he said during a recent podcast interview with the candidate.
Trump, according to campaign officials, has yet to make a final decision on his plans. But he has indicated both publicly and privately that he is not inclined to participate, and aides have been considering options for an alternative event.
DeSantis said that he planned to participate in the debate “regardless” of Trump’s decision.
“I hope everybody who’s eligible comes. I think it’s an important part of the process and I look forward to being able to be on the stage,” he said in an interview with Fox News.
This wouldn’t be the first time Trump has skipped a major GOP debate. During his 2016 campaign, Trump boycotted the final GOP gathering before the Iowa caucuses and instead held his own campaign event, a flashy telethon-style gathering in Iowa that was billed as a fundraiser for veterans. While the event earned him headlines and drew attention away from his rivals, Trump went on to lose the Iowa caucuses to Ted Cruz — a loss some supporters blamed on his debate decision.
The RNC has so far declined to release the actual language of the pledge it intends to make candidates sign. It is expected to be similar to 2016, when candidates had to affirm that, if they did not win the nomination, they would “endorse the 2016 Republican presidential nominee regardless of who it is” and not run as an independent or accept the nomination of any other party.
So far, only former Texas Rep. Will Hurd has said definitely that he will not sign the pledge because he refuses to support Trump if he becomes the eventual nominee.
RNC Chair Ronna McDaniel has repeatedly defended the criteria, which came after so many candidates ran in 2016 that debates had to be split in half — with lower-polling candidates participating in an earlier forum.
“Not everybody deserves to be on that debate stage,” she said in a recent interview on Newsmax.
in the river.
“That’s more and more dangerous each time ... because it has perches, it has whirlpools and because of the organized crime,” Turcios said.
Texas Department of Public Safety Director Steven McCraw addressed the danger that migrants may face when the buoys are deployed during the June press conference when Abbott spoke: “Anytime they get in that water, it’s a risk to the migrants. This is the deterrent from even coming in the water.”
Jessie Fuentes, who owns a
canoe and kayaking business that takes paddlers onto the Rio Grande, said he’s worried about unforeseen consequences. On Friday, he filed a lawsuit to stop Texas from using the buoys. He’s seeking a permanent injunction, saying his paddling business is impacted by limited access to the river.
“I know it’s a detriment to the river flow, to the ecology of the river, to the fauna and flora. Every aspect of nature is being affected when you put something that doesn’t belong in the river,” Fuentes said.
The American Red Cross continues to see a concerning trend – blood donations are being sent to hospitals faster than they are coming in. The Red Cross has collected about 50,000 fewer blood donations than needed over the last two months. Donors are asked to make an appointment to give blood or platelets now to avoid a looming blood shortage. To help head off a more serious situation, the Red Cross has teamed up with Warner Bros. Discovery for the 35th anniversary of Shark Week and the theatrical release of Meg 2: The Trench. In thanks for helping, the Red Cross is offering several incentives to donors who come out to give blood or platelets in the coming weeks.
Additionally, in response to the great need for blood, those who hurry in to help by coming to give between today and July 16 will receive a limited-time bonus $15 gift card by mail to a merchant of their choice. Those who come between July 12 and August 12 will be entered for a threenight New York getaway.
Donors that give from July 1731 will receive a free Shark Week T-shirt. Upcoming donation opportunities include:
July 13, 2023:
2 p.m. – 6:30 p.m.,
First United Methodist Church, 224 N. Fayetteville St., Asheboro
July 18, 2023: 10 a.m. – 2:30 p.m., First United Methodist Church, 301 S. Main St., Randleman
Randolph Record
FRANKLINVILLE – A side of Franklinville United Methodist Church collapsed last Thursday night, with one wall blown out. There were no injuries, and no one was in the building at the time of the incident, according to emergency workers on the scene at the church on West Main Street.
The cause of the collapse is un-
clear, and there were a couple of early theories. One, it has been linked to a wall collapse of the brick structure without other factors. The other possible cause was a gas explosion. An initial call to the Franklinville Volunteer Fire Department came in as a commercial fire. When department members arrived, they reported a partial collapse of the structure from a gas
explosion.
Church officials said it was just a wall collapse. Piedmont Natural Gas dispatched workers to the area to shut off the gas.
“We’re just thrilled that no one was here, and no one was hurt,” Rev. Michele Hill said. “As upsetting as it is, it’s just a building, and it can be fixed. We’re so grateful for everyone, the law enforcement and the fire department that have been
ASHEBORO — The Randolph County Board of Commissioners met Monday, July 10, with decisions on opioid settlement funding and project bids as the main items on the agenda for consideration.
The board was first presented with a final update on the design of the Farm, Food and Family Center from HH Architecture, the firm working on the project.
“With all of the updates that we’ve made, we’re still right around a $29.2 million total budget,” said HH Architecture Project Architect Daniel Jencks. “That’s a touch more than the $28.3 that we currently have secured, but it’s important to note that we are within 3.5% of that number which is well within the comfort zone where we would normally recommend folks to go ahead and bid.
“We’ve worked really hard to pull things out of the scope or to dial back to less expensive items, but unfortunately, we’ve really just kept pace with inflation.”
Following the presentation, the board approved the preceding of bidding for the project.
The board of commissioners also approved $900,000 for several opioid settlement funding applications, although much deliberation took place about which ones to approve and the perceived effectiveness of these programs.
The organizations recommended for $50,000 in funding with an option to renew for two additional
years each that were approved were the Randolph County Juvenile Day Reporting Center for early intervention practices, Randolph County Detention Center for Naloxone distribution, Randolph County Detention Center for addiction treatment for incarcerated persons and Randolph County Department of Social Services for recovery support services.
Morse Clinic for evidence-based addiction treatment and Community Hope Alliance for Naloxone distribution also passed, but with dissent from Chairman Darrell Frye and Commissioner Kenny Kidd.
“We’ve heard that it is critical to accept people where they are and to build relationships because what’s part of what’s missing in their addiction is relationships and connections is the opposite of where they are, and we’ve not done a good job of that,” said Commissioner Hope Haywood. “We can criticize the way somebody else is doing this, but we haven’t done it. If we had, we would have had a greater impact.”
The recommended programs that failed to get a majority vote from the commissioners were Community Hope Alliance for syringe service programs and Keaton’s Place for recovery support services.
“This is a pretty conservative, common-sense kind of county, and for the average person that I talk to and even I, having studied this and researched it and going and looking at harm reduction and trying to understand that better, I can’t understand how we can say distributing 192,000 needles last year in Randolph County makes sense for Randolph County,” said Commissioner Kenny Kidd. “I don’t care if the oth-
er 99 counties in North Carolina are doing it; Randolph County is different.”
In both cases, Commissioners Allen and Haywood were the dissenting votes from the majority, instead voting to approve the programs.
“In attending the opioid summit, listening to commissioners who have had children who have lost their lives to this… to me, it’s the compassion of it,” Allen said. “If we can save a life or two, to me, it’s worth it. We seem to think that this is a moral failing, but people make bad decisions.”
“I would like to point out too that this is a reimbursement,” Allen added. “So, the funds are not being just given. There is a reimbursement process, and there is also accountability after the first year. It’s not as if we’re giving money to an organization, and we don’t know what happens to it. There is accountability for these funds when they’re expended, and it’s not just giving somebody a blank check.”
The board then approved an aging services bid utilizing Block Grant funding and the 2023-24 classification and pay plan.
The board was then presented with the rebid results for the historic courthouse elevator addition.
“The base bid is now just the elevator addition with four alternates,” said County Engineer Paxtor Arthurs. “Alternate 1 was for a preferred brand of door hardware; this is basically just a formality for specifying a single manufacturer. Alternate 2 is raising the landing at the front steps because of a safety issue when the door swings out over a step. Alternate 3 is to upgrade the
out here taking care of things.”
A witness nearby said it sounded like two trucks hitting each other. Deputies with the Randolph County Sheriff’s Office just up the road reported that they didn’t hear anything from the site. The incident happened shortly before 9 p.m. The next day, more of the church crumbled to the ground. By the weekend, the rest of the church’s structure was taken down by work crews. Part of Main Street was closed. Hill was in the first week in her role at the church.
On Sunday, a service was held at a nearby park in Franklinville. Parishioners sang “Amazing Grace.” The church dates to the late 18th century.
guardrails on the north steps and also to enclose the west steps when that handicap lift is removed, and Alternate 4 is to replace the HVAC unit up in the attic.”
The low bid went to H.M. Kern Corporation, as their base bid was $1.9 million, and with the other alternates, came to a total of $2,162,000.
“By rebidding the project, we were able to save over $500,000,” Arthurs said.
However, the commissioners vetoed tabling the decision in order to take more time to research the bidder due to concerns over how much cheaper they were than the other bidders.
Finally, the board approved the bid offer for the Northgate wellness center construction. The bid went to Lomax Construction and will have a total project cost of $349,500.
The Randolph County Board of Commissioners will next meet August 7.
Ten file on first day for fall elections
By Bob Sutton Randolph RecordASHEBORO
— Ten Randolph County residents filed to run for office during the first five hours of filing.
Three of those are seeking to retain spots on the City of Asheboro’s city council. Filing opened at noon Friday and continues through noon
July 21.
Dawkins (at-large), Steve Grooms Jr. (Ward 1) and Lee Hinson (Ward 4). Dawkins is an incumbent. Ward 4 is listed as vacant. Greg Carpenter filed for the position of Liberty’s town commissioner. Michelle Hooker-Ravenell is seeking to become Staley’s mayor. The election is Nov. 7.
Randolph Guide
The Randolph Guide is a quick look at what’s going on in Randolph County.
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North Carolina megachurch exits Southern Baptist Convention
The Associated Press
CHARLOTTE — Less than a month after finalizing the ouster of one of its largest churches for having women pastors, the Southern Baptist Convention has lost another large congregation.
Elevation Church — a North Carolina-based megachurch that draws thousands of worshippers to its multiple campuses and has wielded a strong influence on contemporary Christian worship music — sent notice to the SBC on June 26 that it was withdrawing its affiliation.
Elevation’s letter didn’t state a reason. Elevation Pastor Steven Furtick’s wife, Holly Furtick, preaches at Elevation to men and women, and has links to her sermons on her website.
The Baptist Faith and Message — the denomination’s statement of faith — says the office of pastor is limited to qualified men. Influential Southern Baptist leaders have said that preaching is inextricably linked to the role of pastor.
Earlier in June, the SBC representatives overwhelmingly voted at their annual meeting to affirm the expulsion of Saddleback Church, the Southern California megachurch founded by Rick Warren, author of the massive best-seller, “The Purpose Driven Life,” and his wife Kay Warren. The convention also affirmed the ouster of Fern Creek Baptist Church in Louisville, Kentucky. Both churches had appealed the February decision by the SBC’s Executive Committee to remove them for having women pastors, along with three other congregations that didn’t appeal.
The Elevation Church letter, addressed to the Executive Committee and released by Baptist Press, the SBC’s official news service, said it was withdrawing from the convention “effective immediately.”
It maintained that the church’s beliefs are “very much in line” with those of Southern Baptists and has no intention of changing that.
Also at its annual meeting, representatives took a prelim-
♦ Bray, Gregory (M, 45), Arrested on charge of Assault Inflict Serious Injury, Assault on a Female, on 7/6, at Randolph County Jail.
♦ Idodo, Dalton (M, 32), Arrested on charge of Possess Drug Paraphernalia, Possess Schedule II CS, on 7/6, at S Main St & Lakeside Dr.
♦ Myrick, Debra (F, 35), Arrested on charge of Possess Heroin, on 7/5, at 2457 Leonae Dr.
♦ Blackwell, Gary (M, 60), Arrested on
♦ charge of Fail Notify New Address - Sex Off, on 7/4, at 6670 Wright Dr.
♦ Bernice James “B.J.” Chriscoe, age 91 of Asheboro, died Thursday, July 6, 2023 at Moses Cone Hospital.
♦ Tonia Lynn Cheek, age 66 of Asheboro, died Saturday, July 1st. at her home.
♦ Enrique Xavier Castro, age 49 of Asheboro, died Sunday, July 2, 2023 at Moses Cone Hospital in Greensboro.
July 13
Asheboro City Council Meeting 7pm
The Asheboro City Council will hold its next meeting at the Asheboro City Hall Council Chamber, located at 146 N. Church Street.
July 14
Rock’n The Park –The Pettybreakers 6pm – 10pm
inary vote to amend the SBC constitution to require participating churches to have only qualified men as pastor or elder.
Elevation and the Executive Committee did not immediately respond to The Associated Press’ request for comment.
Founded in 2006, the Matthews-based church has multiple campuses in the Charlotte area and elsewhere in North Carolina, neighboring states and even Canada. It drew 26,000 average worshippers per week in 2022, seventh most among Protestant churches and one behind Saddleback, according to the Outreach 100, an annual survey by Outreach magazine. According to the SBC’s internal records, the church had an average attendance of 10,185 in 2021, the most recent data available. The discrepancy in attendance figures couldn’t immediately be explained but may reflect differences in how post-pandemic online worshippers are counted.
Elevation has also produced an extensive repertoire of worship music that has been widely influential. The church-affiliated Elevation Worship has won six Dove Awards — the top award for contemporary Christian music — including song of the year for “The Blessing.” The song became a viral video hit in the 2020 pandemic lockdown
♦ East, Jenna (F, 51), Arrested on charge of AWDW, Communicating Threats, on 7/3, at 6611 Kerr Dr.
♦ Escobar, Dylan (M, 20), Arrested on charge of Flee to Elude Arrest with MV, Consume Any Alocholic Bev <21, Carrying Concealed Gun, 7/3, at 5315 Seagrove Plank Rd.
♦ Glasgow, Eric (M, 44), Arrested on charge of Assault and Battery, on 7/3, at 2160 Mill Race Ct.
♦ Kinley, Ronald (M, 54), Arrested on charge of Assault on a Female, on 7/4, at 3372 Broken Oak Rd.
♦ Larry Eugene “Larry Buck” Davis, age 66 of Robbins, died Saturday July 1, 2023 at his residence.
♦ Christian Vincent Moreau, age 74 of Asheboro, died Wednesday June 28, 2023 at Randolph Hospital after a short illness.
♦ James Larry Jenkins, age 67 of Franklinville, died Tuesday June 27, 2023 at the Randolph Hospice House in Asheboro.
with its reassuring lyrics sung by virtual choirs around the world.
“That makes Elevation not just a large church but having a large influence in the country,” said longtime megachurch researcher Scott Thumma of Hartford Institute for Religion Research.
He said Elevation was clearly taking its cue from the overwhelming stance of the SBC to reject Warren’s appeal. Warren had said Baptists should be able to agree to disagree on issues such as women in ministry while cooperating on missions and evangelism.
Thumma wondered how many other churches may follow in its lead.
“They explicitly excluded Saddleback to make a symbolic point that nobody is immune to this more fundamentalist narrowing of this complementarian belief,” he said, referring to the doctrine then men and women have distinct, complementary roles, with men as leaders in churches and families.
That, he said, has had “ripple effects” on other churches.
“I could easily see others leaving to make a statement, rather than sitting around waiting for the SBC to remove them.”
The SBC has 13.2 million members, making it the largest Protestant denomination in America.
Come out to Bicentennial Park in Asheboro for live music by The Pettybreakers, a Tom Petty tribute band! This event is free and open to the public! Food trucks will also be on site.
July 15
Asheboro Farmers Market
7am – 1pm
Come out to the Asheboro Downtown Farmers Market, located at 134 S. Church Street. This event is free and open to the public!
July 16
St. Paul Museum Open House 2pm – 4pm
Come out to the St. Paul Museum open house event and experience exhibits and programs associated with the history of Randolph County! St. Paul Museum is located at 411 High Point St. in Randleman.
July 18
Quiet Day at the Zoo 9am – 5pm
♦ Mitchell, Damien (M, 26), Arrested on charge of Resisting Public Officer, on 7/3, at 3045 Old Coleridge Rd.
♦ Moore, Tiffany (F, 36), Arrested on charge of Abduction of Children, on 7/3, at 2587 Wayne White Rd.
♦ Smith, Tracy (F, 46), Arrested on charge of Communicating Threats, Second Degree Trespass, on 7/3, at 352 Auman Ave.
The North Carolina Zoo offers a sensoryfriendly experience every month for those seeking a quieter and less crowded experience at the park! They will be turning off all loud music and messaging at every entrance. Sensory bags are free for check out from the Guest Services Office or at Kidzone!
We are part of the Randolph County School System
No student with high grades and test scores should be rejected in favor of a lesser applicant who happens to have a certain skin color.
THE SUPREME COURT has ruled 6-3 that racial preferences in college admissions violate the U.S. Constitution.
At last!
No student with high grades and test scores should be rejected in favor of a lesser applicant who happens to have a certain skin color.
The evidence provided to the court showed that Harvard College and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill discriminated against Asian American and white applicants.
A black, Hispanic or Native American student with a combined SAT score above 1,100 might be invited to apply to Harvard, but an Asian girl would need at least 1,350, and an Asian boy at least 1,380.
The real opportunity gap in this nation is not between black and white. It’s between rich and poor.
Contrary to what most Americans assume, affirmative action has never helped poor kids. In fact, Harvard favors wealthy kids. Only 3% of the student body come from lowincome families. A staggering 67% come from families in the top fifth of the nation’s earners, per data provided by Harvard researcher Raj Chetty. Nearly three-quarters of Harvard’s black and Hispanic students come from high-earning families.
Justice Clarence Thomas stresses that Harvard offers the same admissions “bump” to “a wealthy black applicant given every advantage in life as to a black applicant from a poor family with seemingly insurmountable barriers to overcome.”
All the while Harvard rejects Asian American applicants with higher grades and test scores, even those from poor families. College administrators are already trying to weasel around the court’s ruling
by waiving standardized tests that make discrimination hard to conceal.
That’s dishonorable.
Instead, they should be scrapping racial preferences and reaching out to economically disadvantaged students with high potential, regardless of race, to promote economic mobility and help keep the American dream alive.
Students from low-income families, impoverished neighborhoods and failing schools score 399 points lower on the math and English SATs than other students, according to a Century Foundation study. Black students overall score 56 points lower.
If anyone needs a “bump” in the admissions process, it’s a poor kid.
During oral arguments, Thomas pressed lawyers for Harvard and UNC on the educational benefits of racial diversity. Wryly, he wrote that “with nearly 50 years to develop their arguments, neither Harvard nor UNC — two of the foremost research institutions in the world” — could explain the supposed link between racial diversity and educational benefit.
Thomas suggests that “two white students, one from rural Appalachia and one from a wealthy San Francisco suburb, may well have more diverse outlooks on this metric than two students from Manhattan’s Upper East Side attending its most elite schools, one of whom is white and other of whom is black.”
The Left and its media allies are bashing the court for discarding what New York Times legal analyst Adam Liptak calls “decades of precedent.”
Wrong. There is no precedent for permanent affirmative action. The court didn’t intend for it to last forever.
In his opinion, Chief Justice John Roberts makes it clear that a major reason UNC and
White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre recently reiterated a point the Biden White House has been making for the past year: that inflation remains high not because of the Biden $6 trillion spending spree but because “high profit margins” captured during the COVID-19 pandemic drive up consumer prices.
We then were told that the White House’s grand strategy to bring down sticker prices further at the store is to lower business profit margins for everything from drugs and computers to food and gasoline.
How low should those evil profits go? To zero?
Wait, since when are profits evil? The ability of a company to turn a profit is the very engine of growth -- also of innovation, job creation and entrepreneurship.
The only people who could possibly believe profits are nefarious are those who have never actually earned a profit. It isn’t so easy.
As the late, great economist Walter Williams of George Mason University used to explain in his Econ 100 course: Farmers in North Dakota don’t raise cattle and work 14 hours a day growing acres of wheat because they want to provide a juicy steak meal for a Wall Street fat cat. Those farmers and ranchers don’t give a hoot for New Yorkers. They raise cattle and send steaks to feed the people in Manhattan because they want to earn a profit. If there were no profit in it, the people in New York would go hungry or would be standing in soup lines.
Almost every lifesaving drug known to man was developed in the lab of a private pharmaceutical company or a biotech firm. Governments rarely invent new lifesaving drugs used by millions of people. And no, former Vice President Al Gore didn’t invent the internet. Profit seekers did, and then they built a $10 trillion industry that has revolutionized the way we live and work and play.
Steve Jobs and his colleagues virtually invented the personal computer and Apple’s relentless pursuit of profit. He perfected the cellphone and then drove down its cost so that today even many of the poorest people in Africa can afford it. Fifty years ago, even a
Harvard lost their cases is that they failed to point to an end date.
When the court upheld affirmative action at the University of Michigan Law School in 2003, the justices knew “this is dangerous and it has to have an end point,” explained Justice Amy Coney Barrett.
That is when Justice Sandra Day O’Connor said it should no longer be necessary in 25 years (i.e., five years from now).
Yet, when Barrett pressed UNC’s lawyers and Solicitor General Elizabeth Prelogar for a time when they could see it ending, she got no answer.
The right answer is now.
Affirmative action is a euphemism for an ugly process — reverse discrimination. Another 25 years won’t make it prettier.
The Left insists the court is recklessly departing from precedent to favor its conservative political agenda. Not so. It is the three liberal justices — Sonia Sotomayor, Elena Kagan and Ketanji Brown Jackson — who are actually discarding precedent. They’re inventing a new rationale for affirmative action, claiming it’s justified to correct historic wrongs.
Roberts chastised the three dissenters sharply for it. The court “has long rejected their core thesis,” he wrote.
Thomas warns that if the liberal justices’ viewpoint ever prevails, it will lead “to a world in which everyone is defined by their skin color, demanding ever-increasing entitlements and preferences on that basis.”
Fortunately, the Constitution and this court are standing in the way.
Betsy McCaughey is a former lieutenant governor of New York and chairman of the Committee to Reduce Infection Deaths.
king’s ransom couldn’t buy what a poor Indonesian farmer has in his pocket. Why? Because Apple found a way to make a profit selling it to him. Now Apple is a $3 trillion company — by selling people all over the world something they desperately want.
That’s not to say altruism and charity don’t count. It surely does — and it’s a divine inspiration. But we have hundreds of years of evidence that this isn’t as powerful a motivation as the mundane and relentless pursuit of making a profit. Even Bono of U2, a great philanthropist, has discovered with the tens of millions of dollars he has donated to worthy causes that charity is never going to solve the poverty problem. Only the free enterprise system and profits will.
The profit motive is arguably the noblest pursuit in human history. Profits have saved more lives, created higher living standards, sparked more inventions, pulled more people out of poverty and created more jobs than all the government programs and all the “nonprofit” activities combined.
A war against profits is a war against prosperity. As economist Larry Kudlow of Fox Business puts it: High-profit margins are the mother’s milk of the stock market, so lower profits (or even zero profits, which seems to be the Biden goal) would lead to a flurry of business bankruptcies, mass layoffs and a stock market collapse. Without profits, there are no businesses, and without employers, there are no jobs, and without jobs, there is no consumer spending.
And you can kiss your 401(k) plan goodbye in a land of shrinking profits.
So why are the Biden people against profits? Why don’t they get the way the world really works? Perhaps it is because, as we revealed in our Committee to Unleash Prosperity study last year, most of the Biden administration appointees have never worked for a private business. They don’t understand one of the most basic economic truisms: What drives down an economy aren’t businesses that make a profit but businesses that make a loss.
If the goal of the Biden administration is to drive down profits, the endgame will be to make everyone poorer and poorer over time. We will have reached their goal of equity and equality.
GOLF
Monahan to return as PGA Tour commissioner after break
Ponte Vedra Beach, Fla.
PGA Tour Commissioner
Jay Monahan is returning to work. Monahan has told the tour he will resume his job on July 17. That will be about a month since Monahan stepped away for what was referred to only as a medical situation. His surprise departure was a week after announcing the tour’s agreement to work with the Saudi backers of LIV Golf. Monahan said in a note to the tour’s policy board, staff and players that his health has improved.
MLB Yankees fire hitting coach Dillion Lawson
New York
Hitting coach Dillon Lawson was fired by the New York Yankees on Sunday, a rare midseason change by a franchise that has prized stability since Hal Steinbrenner took over from his father as controlling owner. New York’s .231 batting average is 28th among the 30 major league teams, ahead of only Detroit and Oakland. The Yankees are batting a major league-worst .218 in 31 games since Aaron Judge tore a ligament in his right big toe on June 3, going 14-17 and entering the All-Star break in fourth place of the AL East 4942. No replacement was announced.
MMA Volkanovski regains
UFC title with 3rdround TKO
Las Vegas Alexander Volkanovski reasserted himself as the featherweight champion with a technical knockout over Yair Rodriguez at 4:19 of the third round Saturday night in UFC 290. Rodriguez was the interim champion after Volkanovski temporarily moved up to lightweight, but the Australian left little doubt who the better fighter in running his record to 26-2 in what was scheduled as a five-round bout. Rodriguez, who is from Mexico, is 16-4. It was Volkanovski’s first fight since a loss by unanimous decision to lightweight champion lightweight Islam Makhachev on Feb. 11, ending Volkanovski’s 22-fight winning streak.
OLYMPICS
Speedskating medalist, world champion Mantia retires
Kearns, Utah
Olympic medalist Joey
Mantia has retired from speedskating at age 37. The Floridian announced the end of his career in a post on his Instagram Threads page. Mantia was a multiple world champion in inline skating who made the switch to ice in 2010. He qualified for the the first of three Olympics at the 2014 Sochi Games and finally earned his first medal, a bronze in men’s team pursuit, at the Beijing Winter Games. He was among three skaters from Ocala, Florida, who won speedskating medals in Beijing, joining Erin Jackson and Brittany Bowe.
The Hendrick Motorsports driver has won four times this season
The Associated Press HAMPTON, Ga. — William Byron overcame a spin early in the second stage that knocked him back a lap and then was in the right position when weather took control at Atlanta Motor Speedway.
Byron won the rain-shortened NASCAR race at Atlanta on Sunday night for his series-leading fourth victory of the season. It was the second win in Atlanta in the last two years for Byron, who took the NASCAR points lead.
Byron said it was “kind of pins and needles” after his crew made changes to his No. 24 Hendricks Motorsports Chevrolet that had been damaged by the spin.
“When I spun, I was like here we go,” Byron said. “... It was not good at that moment. We lost a lap, changed tires.”
The threat of rain affected strat-
egy as drivers fought to move toward the front of the field before weather delayed or ended the race.
With 75 laps to go, NASCAR ordered cars to pit road due to rain and the possibility of lightning. Cars were covered while officials waited to see if the rain ended.
Only six minutes later, fans were warned of severe weather within eight miles of the track and were encouraged to leave the stadium immediately, and NASCAR called the race soon after that announcement.
“I 1,000% agree with erring on the side of caution,” said Kyle Busch, who finished fifth.
Daniel Suarez, looking for his first win of 2023, was second. AJ Allmendinger was third, followed by Michael McDowell.
Suarez said he had “a little bit of mixed feelings” about NASCAR’s decision to end the race.
“I wish we had one more shot to get ahead and then it could rain all it wants,” Suarez said with a laugh. The race became official after 130 laps. After that, the weath-
“I wish we had one more shot to get ahead and then it could rain all it wants.”
Daniel Suarez, who finished second at Atlanta
er watch factored heavily into race strategy.
“We knew the rain was coming,” McDowell said. “We wanted to give ourselves the best chance to win the race.”
Kevin Harvick, a three-time Atlanta winner, had a spin with 89 laps remaining. Harvick was able to drive to pit road without a caution, but the spin all but ended his hopes of a win in his final Atlanta race.
The increased threat of rain placed an increased emphasis on drivers to compete for top spots in the second stage, perhaps contributing to two wrecks that knocked
out Ross Chastain, Kyle Larson and Austin Hill.
Denny Hamlin and Alex Bowman were involved in another crash late in the second stage, leaving Brad Keselowski and Ryan Blaney at the front of the field. The stage ended under caution. Despite the stage win, Keselowski was left with a big decision as he talked with his crew about the threat of rain and the possibility of staying on the track. He chose to pit for fuel, saying he had no real choice.
“No, we had 12 to 14 laps left of fuel and that was not enough, and we ended up running 15 laps or so,” Keselowski said. “I think we made the right call. We just needed the rain to be 10 minutes earlier or 10 minutes later.”
A collision between Bubba Wallace and Ryan Preece caused another caution early in the final stage, leaving Byron in the lead, ahead of Suarez.
The NASCAR Cup Series moves to New Hampshire Motor Speedway in Loudon next Sunday.
The Olympic gold medalist was diagnosed with breast cancer a decade ago
The Associated Press
TWO-TIME Olympic gold-medalist and former Tennessee star Nikki McCray-Penson has died. She was 51.
McCray-Penson was an assistant women’s basketball coach at Rutgers last season and the school on Friday confirmed her death. She was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2013.
She joined coach Dawn Staley as an assistant at South Carolina from 2008-17. She was part of the Gamecocks’ first national championship in 2017. They were gold-medal teammates at the 1996 Atlanta and 2000 Sydney Olympics.
“It’s hard to think about Nikki’s passing because all I can see is how fully she lived,” Staley said in a statement. “From her days as a brash rookie in USA Basketball to becoming my friend and colleague to the way she mentored young players, Nikki did everything with her whole heart. ... she had such light, such positive energy inside her no matter what was going on.
I am heartbroken that cancer has taken that light from us, but I know that she would want us to be the ones to carry it on in her absence.”
McCray-Penson played at Tennessee from 1991-95 under Hall
of Fame coach Pat Summitt. The point guard was a two-time SEC Player of the Year and a two-time Kodak All-America standout during her junior and senior seasons for the Lady Vols. The team reached the Final Four in 1995, losing in the championship game to undefeated Connecticut.
The 1996 U.S. Olympic team sparked the formation of the WNBA and ABL (American Basketball League 1996-98). She won MVP honors in 1997 while leading the ABL’s Columbus Quest to a
championship before heading over to the WNBA. McCray-Penson was a three-time All-Star in that league while playing for the Washington Mystics. She played until 2006 when she retired, with a stop in San Antonio along the way.
“She’s a competitor,” said New York Liberty coach Sandy Brondello, who coached her in San Antonio and played against her on the Australian Olympic team. “She just got out there and did it to the best of her ability. That’s really sad and
“It’s hard to think about Nikki’s passing because all I can see is how fully she lived.”
Dawn Staley, South Carolina women’s basketball coach
tragic. Prayers go out to her family.”
McCray-Penson began her 16year coaching career as an assistant at Western Kentucky for three seasons from 2006-2008. After South Carolina won the NCAA title, she became the head coach at Old Dominion in 2017, going 24-6 in 2020.
She spent one year at Mississippi State before stepping down for health reasons and returned as an assistant under coach Coquese Washington at Rutgers last season.
“Nikki had a big smile and an even bigger heart,” Washington said. “She was full of life, energy, and was so much fun to be around. Nikki touched the lives of many because she made it her mission to uplift others and help them achieve whatever dreams and goals they expressed.”
McCray-Penson was inducted into the Women’s Basketball Hall of Fame in 2012. She is survived by her husband Thomas and son Thomas Jr.
RANDLEMAN — Gracyn Hall
will represent Randleman one more time in girls’ basketball.
It’s appropriate on many levels, including a family connection to the North Carolina East-West AllStar Game.
Hall and Eastern Randolph’s Brecken Snotherly are among the players for the West team in Monday night’s game at the Greensboro Coliseum.
“Playing in this game is a very big thing,” Hall said. “Just to be nominated was an honor, and then to be chosen for this is special.”
Hall wrapped up a Randleman
career during which she racked up nearly 1,700 points.
And now she follows a path traveled by her father almost three decades ago. Tyler Hall was a Randleman quarterback, and he was picked for the 1994 North Carolina East-West All-Star Game in football.
“It’s pretty cool, actually,” she said.
Hall, 18, is preparing to head Emory & Henry, where she’ll join the women’s basketball team. The 5-foot-11 player expects to be slotted as a small forward.
The East-West All-Star Game provides a nice connection from her high school career to college. In past years, recent months would have involved off-season competitions.
“Normally, during the summer, I’m constantly competing in AAU and traveling,” Hall said. “So, I’m
trying to do things to get me ready for college and show why I was chosen for this game.”
Hall had a different kind of senior school year because she participated in two fall sports – tennis and golf. She teamed up with classmate Elizabeth York for a runner-up finish in Piedmont Athletic Conference doubles in her only season of girls’ tennis.
“It really helped my footwork and agility,” Hall said.
Randleman had an incredible two-year run in girls’ basketball that included PAC championships and advancing deep into the Class 2-A state playoffs. Hall’s participation in the East-West Game provides an extension of that.
She was a major low-post presence for the Tigers. She also could pop out to the perimeter and sink shots, and that’s that versatility that she hopes carries into college.
“She did so many things for us,” said Brandon Varner, who was Randleman’s coach. “She’s so deserving to be playing in this game.”
Hall is proud of what was accomplished with Randleman and how it played out.
“The best part was I was able to go out there with my best friends and win games,” Hall said. “Knowing you did everything you could and got the most out of it.”
Blue Comets have two players in NC East-West Game
By Bob Sutton Randolph RecordASHEBORO — Calvin Smith and Cristian Ortiz helped take Asheboro’s boys’ soccer program to new heights.
They’re being rewarded with spots in next Tuesday night’s North Carolina East-West AllStar Game at MacPherson Stadium in Browns Summit.
With two players in the summer showcase, it’s an indication of the growth of Asheboro soccer.
Last year’s 23-2-2 record for the Blue Comets was part of a season that ended in the Class 3-A West Region final.
“I was just really proud of how far we made it,” Smith said. “It just kept going. We eventually found ourselves in the regional final.”
Smith and Ortiz earned their spots by playing well in the Mid-Piedmont Conference. Coach John Blake of league member Ledford is the West coach.
Smith, a defender, received numerous honors, including Defensive Player of the Year in the Mid-Piedmont Conference and all-star recognition.
With those accolades corresponding to Asheboro’s stellar two-year stretch, it means even more.
“I always felt we had the best group of players around,” Smith said. “It feels so good when you
win with the team. Everybody’s mood is up.”
Smith was a three-year starter for Asheboro. Ortiz, a striker, became an offensive force in his last season with 36 goals after serving mostly as a backup a year earlier.
“I didn’t play that much,” Ortiz said. “I kind of saw what they did.” Then he carried that into his final high school season.
“I would always be the first one on the field,” Ortiz said. “I would always try to motivate all my teammates.”
Smith’s experience this summer included going with a team based in the Triad to Baton Rouge, La., for the U.S. Youth Soccer’s Southern Regional. In a few weeks, the 18-year-old will be heading to play for Division II Chowan.
Cugino repeated a spot on the Piedmont Athletic Conference all-conference team.
This year, she was second among the Eagles with seven goals and third on the team with 11 assists. She also was one of the primary options on UCA for corner kicks.
UCA produced an 8-11-2 record that included one road victory in the Class 1-A state playoffs. Cugino also participated in girls’ tennis for the Eagles.
Burt Myers was all smiles after winning a SMART Modified Tour race at Caraway Speedway.
“I wasn’t ready to give up on it,” Smith said. “I’ve been playing since I was about four years old. I kind of always had a ball at my feet.”
Ortiz, 18, will be done with organized soccer after this month’s game. He plans to attend UNC Greensboro.
“I’m very excited,” Ortiz said. “I have one last game to play. It’s going to be good to be back on the field in a competitive way.”
Yet in the base of Smith and Ortiz, they’ve left their marks on the Blue Comets. Outsiders have taken notice of the soccer team.
“We never really did it for the attention,” Ortiz said. “I think they’ll still keep it going.”
“I think for sure they’re paying attention now if they weren’t before,” Smith said.
Randolph Record
SOPHIA — Bowman Gray Stadium regulars made big impacts in the July 1 main event at Caraway Speedway.
Burt Myers was the winner of the SMART Modified Tour’s Revolutionary 99, followed by Tim Brown and Ronnie Williams.
“It feels great,” Myers said. “Things kind of clicked, and we came together. My guys stuck it out on a night like this (when it had been really hot).”
Myers, who leads the SMART Modified Tour points standings, and Brown are co-leaders in the Bowman Gray Stadium standings in the Modifieds division at the Winston-Salem track.
Myers started in the third spot in the Revolutionary 99 and moved to the front on the 18th lap, and then led the rest of the way. He maneuvered around lapped traffic during parts of the last nine laps.
The Modifieds feature drew the most attention on the second big race night of the week at Caraway Speedway. Former NASCAR Cup Series champion Bobby Labonte ended up sixth behind fourth-place finisher Joey Coulter and fifth-place finisher Brian Loftin. There were 26 entries.
The race was part of the Rusty Harpe Memorial card at the track.
Josh Lowder of Archdale was the winner in the 50-lap 602 Modifieds, marking his second victory in a row at the track. Luke Baldwin was in second place, and Slate Myers placed third.
A.J. Sanders claimed the 40lap Mini Stocks race. Chuck Wall was second and followed by Luke Smith, Michael Wells and Bryson Pickard.
In Challengers, Cody Griffin captured the victory, with Matthew Smith second. Jacob Brooks was third and followed by Caleb Allred and 2023 five-time winner Allen Vance.
The UCARs race was won by Daniel Hughes ahead of Blair Patterson. In Bootleggers, Jon Morton was the winner, with Robbie Perkins the runner-up. Because of a late-afternoon storm and the time needed to dry the track, qualifying was nixed, and the start of the races was slightly delayed.
Meanwhile, in South Boston, Va., Carson Kvapil won the Thunder Road Harley-Davidson 200 at South Boston Speedway three nights after his third-place finish in the Firecracker 125 as part of June 28’s CARS Tour main event at Caraway Speedway.
Caraway’s next race night comes July 22 with twin features in Late Models, Challengers 602 Modifieds, UCARs and Bootleggers plus single races for Bandoleros and Legends.
With three home runs in five games, the former Randleman catcher was off to a strong start in his new assignment.
BROOKS BRANNON’S rise to Class A baseball came with a bang.
The 2022 draftee of the Boston Red Sox out of Randleman homered in two of his first three games and three of his first five games with Salem Red Sox of the Carolina League.
Brannon, 19, played his first game in the Carolina League on June 29 when Salem played at Fredericksburg. From there, he had a hit in all five games, with Salem heading to this week’s break in the schedule. He blasted home runs at Fredericksburg and two at Lynchburg and had nine runs batted in through five games.
Brannon, a catcher, played for Boston’s Florida Complex League team earlier this summer. He homered three times in 11 games this year after last year’s five homers in 15 games with the team.
There are about two months left on Salem’s schedule. Brannon could make his home debut in a three-game series Friday through Sunday vs. Delmarva.
Salem’s only remaining 2023 games in North Carolina come next week against the Down East Wood Ducks in Kinston. The Red Sox, who play in the North Division, previously played a road series against the Carolina Mudcats in Zebulon, while the team doesn’t have 2023 games against Kannapolis, and its home series vs. Fayetteville came in early May at home.
Brannon had a record-setting career in playing key roles in Randleman’s 2021 and 2022 Class 2-A state championships.
By Bob Sutton Randolph Record
ASHEBORO — There have been some gaps in the schedule for Randolph County Post 45, but the American Legion baseball team might be back in a good groove.
Post 45 finished second in the Area 3 Northern Division by the time the regular season wrapped up last week.
The team won its final two regular-season games at home and then opened the Area 3 playoffs Sunday night by defeating visiting Davidson County.
That best-of-3 series was to continue this week. The Area 3 semifinals begin later this week in a best-of-5 format.
In the series opener, Ran-
dolph County’s 8-1 victory was boosted by two-run home runs from Braylen Hayes and Tanner Marsh. Hayes ended up with four runs batted in that helped support Robert Garner’s six innings of pitching before Marsh worked the seventh from the mound.
The goal for Post 45 is a state championship, but there are other benefits to extending the playoff run. The team is the tournament host with an automatic bid for the Southeast Regional scheduled for Aug. 2-6, so to avoid a huge break in the schedule, it’s beneficial if Randolph County can keep going in the Area 3 playoffs.
Last week, Randolph County topped Foothills Post 123 by 7-3 and then defeated Chatham County Post 292 by 5-3.
Against Foothills, five pitchers went to the mound for Post 45. Carter Brown had two hits.
In the Chatham County game, Post 45 rallied from a 3-0 hole as Hunter Atkins drove in two runs and Connor Adams scored two runs. Atkins and Marsh both had triples for Randolph County, while Austin Lemons was the winning pitcher with three innings of relief, and Marsh recorded a save by logging a perfect seventh inning.
So that meant that Randolph County completed the regular season with a 19-3 record, including 6-2 in Area 3 divisional play. High Point-Thomasville Post 87 went 8-0 in the division to claim the top seed. Davidson County was the third-place team in the Southern Division.
Rowan County Post 342 has already advanced to the Area 3 semifinals based on Foothills forfeiting the first-round series. It takes on the winner of the Randolph-County-Davidson County series.
Update: Post 45 won 6-1 on Monday night at Davidson County to complete a series sweep and move to the next round beginning Thursday.
Randolph Record
ASHEBORO — The Asheboro ZooKeepers didn’t win a game in the Coastal Plain League’s second half until their fourth game. At least they did so in style.
The ZooKeepers defeated first-half West Division champion Forest City 7-6 in Saturday night’s game at McCrary Park.
Alex Lodise hit his first home run with the ZooKeepers. Teammates Jay Dillard and Owen Blackledge both had two hits. Jacob Halford was the winning pitcher in relief. Spencer Floyd notched a save by recording six outs.
“He’s just aggressive out of the (bullpen),” Asheboro coach Korey Dunbar said of Floyd. “He trusts his stuff. We trust his stuff. He comes out and just attacks guys.” Asheboro lost its first two
matchups with Forest City this year.
Jared Beebe homered twice, and Tyler McPeak also went deep in Asheboro’s 14-7 loss to the Lexington County Blowfish. The team announced a season-high crowd of 1,400 at McCrary Park for that game last Friday night.
The Holly Springs Salamanders defeated the ZooKeepers 2-1 on July 4 despite Dallas Callahan’s run-scoring double. This weekend, the ZooKeepers will be home to face the High Point-Thomasville HiToms on Saturday night and the Martinsville Mustangs on Sunday night.
December 15, 1924 — July 5, 2023
Juanita Loflin Hunt Winslow, 98, of Jackson Creek, passed away July 5, 2023 after a long and welllived life. She was born December 15, 1924 to the late Sam Loflin and Pallie Nance Loflin in Randolph County. She graduated from Farmer High School in 1941. She married Fred Hunt in 1942 in Corpus Christi, Texas where he was stationed in the Navy. They made their home and raised two daughters in the Jackson Creek Community. Following the death of her husband, she graduated from Randolph Community College in the Practical Nursing Program. In 1982 she married Worth Winslow. He became a loved member of the family and the community.
Juanita was a loving and caring mother, grandmother and greatgrandmother who loved visiting with and cooking for her family. She enjoyed gardening and had a wonderful yard and garden full of flowers, fruits and vegetables. She loved the beauty of nature and the simple things in life and wanted to preserve them for the next generation to enjoy.
She was preceded in death by husbands, Fred W. Hunt in 1975 and Worth W. Winslow in 2002; four brothers, Zell Loflin, Venson Loflin, J.B. Loflin, and Troy Loflin; four sisters, Beatrice Lambeth, Kate Moore, Lois Shoffner, and Hazel Phillips.
She is survived by daughters, Ronda Hunt Redden of Greensboro and Betty Hunt Chandler (Wallace "Butch") of Southern Pines; grandchildren, Leigh Redden Ketchie (Derek) of Charlotte and Nicholas Chandler (Ashley) of Atlanta, Georgia; great-grandaughters, Juliet Ketchie, Caroline Ketchie, and Georgiana Chandler. She is also survived by step-son, Ronnie Winslow (Barbara) of Oak Island and step-daughter, Sylvia Winslow Ferree (Harvey) of Asheboro; along with beloved step-grandchildren, step-greatgrandchildren, step-great-greatgrandchildren, nieces, nephews and friends.
August 23, 1947 — July 5, 2023
Brenda Jane Russell Sheron, age 75, of Ramseur passed away on Wednesday, July 5, 2023 at the Randolph Hospice House. Mrs. Sheron was born in Asheboro on August 23, 1947 to George and Myrtle Whicker Russell, who preceded her in death. Brenda was a 1965 graduate of Asheboro High School. She was a devoted wife, mother, and grandmother. Brenda enjoyed cooking and family gatherings. She is survived by her husband, Terry Sheron; son, Michael Sheron (wife Andrea); daughter, Lisa S. Haithcock (husband Greg); and grandchildren, Matthew Haithcock (wife Ashley) and Autumn Sheron.
December 14, 1937 — July 5, 2023
Doris Leigh Hinshaw Osborne, 85, of Asheboro passed away on July 5, 2023 at Hospice of Randolph County. Mrs. Osborne was a native of Randolph County. She was a graduate of Asheboro High School and Medical College of Virginia School of Pharmacy in 1960. She began her career as a pharmacist at Kearns Drug and started the Pharmacy Department at Randolph Hospital where she retired as the Director after 38 years. After retiring, she worked as a relief pharmacist at the Merce Clinic. She also served as Historian for the Southeastern Society of Hospital Pharmacists. She loved to travel and was proud to have visited all 50 states. She extended her love of travel to include her grandchildren when she took each of them on a special trip with just the two of them. Doris loved spending time at White Lake and Lake Tillery and enjoyed playing golf. She also loved her dog “Buddy” whom the grandchildren said was her favorite son.
May 22, 1931 — July 2, 2023
March 31, 2000 — July 2, 2023
LeeAnn Taylor Green York, age 23, of Ramseur passed away on Sunday, July 2, 2023 at Moses Cone Hospital. LeeAnn was born in Pinehurst, NC on March 31, 2000. She was employed with Walmart and the NC Zoo. LeeAnn had a passion for various ministries, including Summershine, and was involved with the Awaken Youth Choir. She loved all her siblings, music, and attending concerts. LeeAnn was very forgiving, a loving caregiver, and a lifelong friend. She cared for others, was very kind, and was curious, inquisitive, and determined. She is survived by her parents, Corey and Jennifer York; sister, Madalynn; father, Myron Green and fiancée Samantha Green; mother, Joyce Green; brothers, Dylan Thompson and Troy Green; sister, Gracie Green; stepsisters, Amy Newman, Ashley Creason, and Megan Poe; stepbrother, Matthew Morgan; grandparents, Chad and Cindi Huggins, David and Cassie Cook, and Susan Green.
Mrs. Osborne was preceded in death by her husband, John Osborne, to whom she was married for 62 years. She is survived by sons, Steve R. Osborne and wife Sara of Mount Pleasant, NC, Dr. Jody N. Osborne and wife Heather of Clemmons, NC, Larry E. Osborne and wife Stacey of Clemmons, NC; grandchildren Jordan Osborne, Daniel Osborne, Emma Osborne, Bailey Osborne and Kendall Osborne.
September 27, 1956 — July 1, 2023
Tonia Lynn Cheek 66, of Asheboro NC, went home to be with the Lord on Saturday, July 1, 2023. Mrs. Cheek was born in Randolph County, NC on September 27, 1956. She was preceded in death by her parents Thomas Geroskia McQueen and Lucille McQueen and Brother Tommy McQueen. She graduated from Asheboro High School and Brookstone College of Business. She worked at Arrow International for 11 years. She attended Covenant Christian Church of Asheboro. She loved spending time with her family. She was a loving wife, mother, mawmaw and friend. She leaves behind her husband of 26 years Tony R. Cheek of the home. Sons Andrew Harrington (Mandy) of Archdale, Tekko Harrington of Seagrove and Cococa (her beloved dog) of the home. Grandchildren Deja and Nevaeh Harrington of Archdale, Andrew Forrester of Archdale. Andre Harrington of Asheboro and Esther Ehrisman of Asheboro. Great grandson Hudson Stiltner of Asheboro and nieces Tamakia Harris of Charlotte and Amber Goins of Asheboro. She was greatly loved and will be deeply missed.
May 20, 1954 — July 3, 2023
Nghia Tuan Lien, age 69, of Asheboro passed away on Monday, July 3, 2023 at Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center.
Mr. Lien was born in Baclieu, Vietnam on May 20, 1954 to Hung Van Lien and Huong Thi Troung Lien. He was retired from Technimark in Asheboro. In addition to his parents, Nghia was preceded in death by his brother, Trung Lien.
He is survived by his wife, Horng Chan Lien; sons, Hiep Lien (Kristen) of Durham and Hieu Lien of Archdale; 3 grandchildren; brother, Dung Lien (Loi) of Ontario, CA; and sister-in-law, Hong Lien of Greensboro.
Pauline Albright Jarrell, age 92 of Asheboro, departed this life peacefully at her home on July 2, 2023. Pauline was born on May 22, 1931, in Coleridge with her twin sister, Geraldine, to the late Joe and Bertha Albright. She graduated as the salutatorian of her class at Coleridge High School. In 1953, She married her beloved husband David Jarrell, and they shared a blessed and happy life together for 70 years. She was a devout Christian and served her Lord and Savior in various capacities including 37 years as a Sunday school teacher, an active member and President of the United Methodist women’s group, and as a delegate to the Western N.C. Annual Conference. She loved music, especially church hymns, and enjoyed singing in the choir and playing the piano for Sunday school as well as nursing home residents. She was an avid bridge player, and took delight in gardening and flowers of all sorts as a garden club member for over 60 years. She and David went on memorable trips together from Israel to Alaska to Ireland and many places in between. Many summer mornings Pauline could be found enjoying the sunshine on the front porch at Ocean Isle Beach. Above all, she was most proud to be a loving wife and homemaker, and a devoted mom, grandmom, sister, and friend.
Pauline is survived by her husband, David, her daughter Karen Browder and son-in-law, Dean Browder, granddaughters Emily Fagan (Matthew) and Alissa Bottoms (Trent), and greatgrandson, Easton Bottoms. She is also survived by her brother Ray Albright (Carolyn), her sisters Faye Craven (Floyd), Betty Cox (Maurice) and Elaine Kearns (Neale), and many nieces and nephews.
In addition to her parents, she was preceded in death by her twin sister, Geraldine Callicutt (Pap) and her brother Jesse Albright (Betty Sue).
May 5, 1947 — July 2, 2023
Eleanor "Ann" Parsons Farlow, age 76, of Asheboro went home to be with her Lord & Savior and to be with the love of her life, Fred Farlow on Sunday, July 2, 2023.
Mrs. Farlow was born in Randolph County on May 5, 1947 to James and Eleanor Batten Parsons and was a graduate of Asheboro High School. She was a member of Worthville Baptist Church. Ann was formerly employed in sales with WKXR Radio, in Real Estate, and was a former Preneed Counselor with both Pugh Funeral Home and Ridge Funeral Home. In addition to her parents, Ann was preceded in death by her husband, Fred Farlow. Ann was a loving, caring, and encouraging lady. She loved traveling with her husband to the lake and to the beach.
She is survived by her sons, Mark Caveness (Chris) of Winston-Salem and Mitchell Caveness (Pam) of Asheboro; grandchildren, Derek Caveness (Sydney) and Brandon Caveness all of Asheboro; sister, Kathy Strider of Goldsboro; and her loving dog, Sassie.
December 17, 1937 - July 6, 2023
LaVerne Brown Yarborough, 85, of Asheboro, died Thursday, July 6, 2023, at The Randolph Hospice House in Asheboro.
Born on December 17, 1937, in Randolph County, NC; LaVerne was the daughter of the late Rev. James Avery Brown and Dora Lee Hayes Brown. She retired from Oak Farms and attended West Asheboro Baptist Church. LaVerne loved gardening and taking care of plants, being a Memaw and Elvis Presley.
In addition to her parents, LaVerne was preceded in death by her husband, James "J.D." Yarborough, Sr.; sister, Jean Hall; and brother, Harold "Whitey" Brown.
Survivors: are her sons, J. Donald "Don" Yarborough, Jr. and wife, Tammy of Asheboro, Anthony Mark Yarborough of Randleman; sisters, Ometa Brown Kenan and husband Bill, Shirley Brown Owen; and grandchildren, Jason, Jamie and Jeremiah Yarborough.
January 13, 1927 - July 3, 2023
Elizabeth "Lib" May Bulla Hussey, 96, of Asheboro, died Monday, July 3, 2023, at The Randolph Hospice House in Asheboro.
Born in Guilford County, NC on January 13, 1927, Lib was the daughter of the late Daniel Wesley Bulla and Beulah May Robbins Bulla. She retired from Randolph County Register of Deeds. Lib was a fabulous seamstress and made many quilts and curtains for her family. She enjoyed canning vegetables and spending time with her family, especially her great grandchildren.
In addition to her parents, Lib was preceded in death by her husband, Quinton Hussey, brothers, Wesley Bulla and Thomas A. Bulla.
Surviving are daughters, Beth Cox and husband Craig, Sue Richey and husband Skip, all of Asheboro; grandchildren, Stewart Bradley Cox and wife Courtney Cox, of Spartanburg, SC, Caroline Elizabeth Andrews and husband Thomas Andrews, of Holly Springs, Emily Byrd Walker and husband Stephen Walker II, of Stafford, VA; great grandchildren, Quinn Walker, William Andrews, Lewis Cox, Taylor Walker, Elizabeth Andrews and Theo Cox.
The Associated Press
NEW YORK — Seven weeks before the premiere debate of the 2024 GOP primary, anxiety is building that the event could prove messy and divisive for the party.
Some candidates, like former Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson, are struggling to meet fundraising and polling requirements to make it on stage. He and others are pushing back on a loyalty pledge the Republican Party is insisting candidates sign to participate. And the race’s frontrunner, former President Donald Trump, is considering boycotting and holding a competing event instead.
That’s turning what is typically the highly anticipated opener of the election season into a source of uncertainty for the candidates and broader party. The frustration is particularly acute for candidates who hoped to use the forum as a powerful opportunity to confront Trump and try to blunt his momentum.
The Republican National Committee has said that, in order to participate in the Aug. 23 debate in Milwaukee, candidates must have received contributions from at least 40,000 individual donors, with at least 200 unique donors in 20 or more states. They also must earn at least 1% in three high-quality national polls, or a mix of national and early-state polls, between July 1 and August 21.
Candidates will also have to sign a pledge “agreeing to support the eventual party nominee,” according to an RNC press release,
and one agreeing not to participate in any non-RNC sanctioned debate for the remainder of the election cycle.
“Our criteria is very clear, we are ensuring quality polls are used to determine which candidates make the debate stage and we are confident that there will be enough polls for our candidates to qualify,” said RNC spokeswoman Emma Vaughn.
The candidates who say they
The Associated Press
EAGLE PASS, Texas — Texas began rolling out what is set to become a new floating barrier on the Rio Grande in the latest escalation of Republican Gov. Greg Abbott’s multibillion-dollar effort to secure the U.S. border with Mexico, which already has included bussing migrants to liberal states and authorizing the National Guard to make arrests.
But even before the huge, orange buoys were unloaded from the trailers that hauled them to the border city of Eagle Pass, there were concerns over this part of Abbott’s unprecedented challenge to the federal government’s authority over immigration enforcement. Migrant advocates voiced concerns about drowning risks and environmentalists questioned the impact on the river.
Dozens of the large spherical buoys were stacked on the beds of four tractor trailers in a grassy city park near the river on Friday
morning.
Setting up the barriers could take up to two weeks, according to Lt. Chris Olivarez, a spokesperson for the Texas Department of Public Safety, which is overseeing the project.
Once installed, the above-river parts of the system and the webbing they’re connected with will cover 1,000 feet of the middle of the Rio Grande, with anchors in the riverbed.
Eagle Pass is part of a Border Patrol sector that has seen the second highest number of migrant crossings this fiscal year with about 270,000 encounters — though that is lower than it was at this time last year.
The crossing dynamics shifted in May after the Biden administration stopped implementing Title 42, a pandemic era public health policy that turned many asylum seekers back to Mexico. New rules allowed people to seek asylum through a government application and set up appointments
have qualified so far include Trump, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, South Carolina Sen. Tim Scott, former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley and entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy. Some lesser-known candidates, such as conservative radio host Larry Elder, North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum and Miami Mayor Francis Suarez, appear unlikely to make the cutoffs.
Former Vice President Mike Pence, who launched his cam-
at the ports of entry, though the maximum allowed in per day is set at 1,450. The Texas governor’s policies target the many who are frustrated with the cap and cross illegally through the river.
Earlier iterations of Abbott’s border mission have included installing miles of razor wire at popular crossing points on the river and creating state checkpoints beyond federal stops to inspect incoming commercial traffic.
“We always look to employ whatever strategies will be effective in securing the border,” Abbott said in a June 8 press conference to introduce the buoy strategy.
Immigrant advocates, including Sister Isabel Turcios, a nun who oversees a migrant shelter in Piedras Negras, Mexico, which sits just across the river from Eagle Pass, have remained vigilant about the effects of the new barrier on migration. Turcios said she met with the Texas Department of Public Safety in the days leading up to the arrival of the buoys and was told the floating barrier would be placed in deep waters to function as a warning to migrants to avoid the area.
Turcios said she is aware that many of the nearly 200 migrants staying in her shelter on any given day are not deterred from crossing illegally despite sharp concertina wire. But that wire causes more danger because it forces migrants to spend additional time
paign on June 7, has not yet released a tally of donors, but his campaign said it had raised “well into five digits” in the weeks since his announcement.
“Getting in late made it more difficult, but we’re confident we’ll get there,” said Pence spokesman Devin O’Malley.
Former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, who has also expressed confidence he will hit the benchmarks, has pitched himself as the candidate most qualified to directly take on Trump onstage.
While Trump’s threats to boycott have complicated that argument, Christie’s campaign has nonetheless urged donors to give even $1 to help him qualify.
Anthony Scaramucci, the financier who served briefly as Trump’s White House communications director and is now supporting Christie, recently encouraged even those who have no intention of voting for the former New Jersey governor to nonetheless chip in.
“Whether you’re a Republican or Democrat, whether you would vote for Chris or wouldn’t vote for Chris, we need someone onstage to tell the truth and put a stop to this nonsense,” he said during a recent podcast interview with the candidate.
Trump, according to campaign officials, has yet to make a final decision on his plans. But he has indicated both publicly and privately that he is not inclined to participate, and aides have been considering options for an alternative event.
DeSantis said that he planned to participate in the debate “regardless” of Trump’s decision.
“I hope everybody who’s eligible comes. I think it’s an important part of the process and I look forward to being able to be on the stage,” he said in an interview with Fox News. This wouldn’t be the first time Trump has skipped a major GOP debate. During his 2016 campaign, Trump boycotted the final GOP gathering before the Iowa caucuses and instead held his own campaign event, a flashy telethon-style gathering in Iowa that was billed as a fundraiser for veterans. While the event earned him headlines and drew attention away from his rivals, Trump went on to lose the Iowa caucuses to Ted Cruz — a loss some supporters blamed on his debate decision.
The RNC has so far declined to release the actual language of the pledge it intends to make candidates sign. It is expected to be similar to 2016, when candidates had to affirm that, if they did not win the nomination, they would “endorse the 2016 Republican presidential nominee regardless of who it is” and not run as an independent or accept the nomination of any other party.
So far, only former Texas Rep. Will Hurd has said definitely that he will not sign the pledge because he refuses to support Trump if he becomes the eventual nominee.
RNC Chair Ronna McDaniel has repeatedly defended the criteria, which came after so many candidates ran in 2016 that debates had to be split in half — with lower-polling candidates participating in an earlier forum.
“Not everybody deserves to be on that debate stage,” she said in a recent interview on Newsmax.
in the river.
“That’s more and more dangerous each time ... because it has perches, it has whirlpools and because of the organized crime,” Turcios said.
Texas Department of Public Safety Director Steven McCraw addressed the danger that migrants may face when the buoys are deployed during the June press conference when Abbott spoke: “Anytime they get in that water, it’s a risk to the migrants. This is the deterrent from even coming in the water.”
Jessie Fuentes, who owns a
canoe and kayaking business that takes paddlers onto the Rio Grande, said he’s worried about unforeseen consequences. On Friday, he filed a lawsuit to stop Texas from using the buoys. He’s seeking a permanent injunction, saying his paddling business is impacted by limited access to the river.
“I know it’s a detriment to the river flow, to the ecology of the river, to the fauna and flora. Every aspect of nature is being affected when you put something that doesn’t belong in the river,” Fuentes said.
Last week, Hoke County Public Schools held its CTE Summer camp. Rising middle and high school students had an absolute blast learning new career skills and exploring potential colleges. From constructing and piloting drones, learning First Aid and dental hygiene, to exploring the fields of animal Science, horticulture, and engineering, this program had something for everyone. According to Hoke County School’s Facebook page, “Our students were eager to learn and even volunteered their time over the summer! Witnessing their creative problem-solving skills and techsavvy prowess was truly inspiring.”
A Raeford woman, who has just pleaded guilty to defrauding a victim insurance company out of over $4.7 million dollars, could face up to 10 years in prison. Kris Williams-Falcon, a certified alcohol and drug counselor (CADC) before her license was revoked in April 2021, has been accused of submitting claims to a victim insurance company for services that she did not provide her clients or wasn’t licensed to provide. According to federal prosecutors, Williams-Falcon’s illegal activity took place from April 2021 until January of this year. In addition, she has been accused of submitting claims for services that she and her family members are alleged to have used. During the investigation, law enforcement officers seized several brandnew vehicles, roughly $492,000 from bank accounts, and two properties located in Mecklenburg County. WilliamFalcon is set to receive her sentencing on November 14.
The American Red Cross continues to see a concerning trend – blood donations are being sent to hospitals faster than they are coming in. The Red Cross has collected about 50,000 fewer blood donations than needed over the last two months. Donors are asked to make an appointment to give blood or platelets now to avoid a looming blood shortage. To help head off a more serious situation, the Red Cross has teamed up with Warner Bros. Discovery for the 35th anniversary of Shark Week and the theatrical release of Meg 2: The Trench. In thanks for helping, the Red Cross is offering several incentives to donors who come out to give blood or platelets in the coming weeks. To schedule an appointment to donate, find a blood drive near you, or learn more about donation rewards, please visit RedCrossBlood.org or call 1-800-733-2767.
RAEFORD — The Hoke County Schools Board of Education met Wednesday, July 5, where they introduced HCS’s new interim superintendent, Rodney Shotwell.
The board had announced that Shotwell would be the new Hoke County Schools Interim Superintendent on June 30, after previous-Interim Superintendent Shannon Register’s contract ended on the same date.
Register had been serving as the Interim Superintendent following the resignation of Debra
Dowless in February following a two-year stint.
“Dr. Register served with us for the past few months, and it’s been a blast,” said Chairwoman Angela Southerland. “Dr. Register has been good to this board in spite of what’s been said and what’s been seen. She’s been an inspiration. I’m just grateful that she took the opportunity to help us. She’s done great things for this county, she loves the children, and she loves the staff.”
Shotwell has prior superintendent experience, having served at Macon County Schools from 2001 to 2006 and Rockingham County Schools from 2006 to his retirement in 2022.
“During the interview, we were breathless,” Southerland said. “We
loved his energy; we loved pretty much everything about him. Everything he had to say, everything that he’s done. So, we know that Dr. Shotwell is going to take us places.”
At the meeting, Shotwell took the time to address the board as well as the public.
“To all the people in Hoke County, it is an honor and a privilege to be here to work with your children and your staff,” Shotwell said. “I know it may sound cliche, but the two days that I have been here have been a great feeling. People in this county and the people that are working in the school system, the teachers that I’ve seen come through; I am so excited about the opportunity.
“People ask, ‘Why, after you’ve
been a Superintendent for 21 years, why come back in the game? Didn’t you get enough of it?’ But what they don’t realize is that it’s not about me; it’s about the children. I had a wonderful mentor [during] my first year teaching that said, ‘If you make decisions in the best interest of the children, you’re going to be right 99.5% of the time.’
“I knew whenever I had the opportunity to come back down here that it’s still going to be the same type of love and caring that I experienced. Are we going to have things we’re going to run into? Absolutely. But you know what, we’re going to run into it, we’re going to talk about it, and we’re going to work through it. I’m just excited about being here. I know I’m only temporary, but I’m still excited about being here.”
Shotwell will not serve as the permanent superintendent, and the search for a new one will continue.
The Hoke County Schools Board of Education will next meet August 8.
The Associated Press
CHARLOTTE — Less than a month after finalizing the ouster of one of its largest churches for having women pastors, the Southern Baptist Convention has lost another large congregation.
Elevation Church — a North Carolina-based megachurch that draws thousands of worshippers to its multiple campuses and has wielded a strong influence on contemporary Christian worship music — sent notice to the SBC on June 26 that it was withdrawing its affiliation.
Elevation’s letter didn’t state a reason. Elevation Pastor Steven Furtick’s wife, Holly Furtick, preaches at Elevation to men and women, and has links to her sermons on her website.
The Baptist Faith and Message — the denomination’s statement of faith — says the office of pastor is limited to qualified men. Influential Southern Baptist leaders have said that preaching is inextricably linked to the role of pastor.
Earlier in June, the SBC representatives overwhelmingly voted at their annual meeting to affirm the expulsion of Saddleback Church, the Southern California megachurch founded by Rick Warren, author of the massive best-seller, “The Purpose Driven Life,” and his wife Kay Warren. The convention also affirmed the ouster of Fern Creek Baptist Church in Louisville, Kentucky. Both churches had ap-
pealed the February decision by the SBC’s Executive Committee to remove them for having women pastors, along with three other congregations that didn’t appeal.
The Elevation Church letter, addressed to the Executive Committee and released by Baptist Press, the SBC’s official news service, said it was withdrawing from the convention “effective immediately.”
It maintained that the church’s beliefs are “very much in line” with those of Southern Baptists and has no intention of changing that.
Also at its annual meeting, representatives took a preliminary vote
to amend the SBC constitution to require participating churches to have only qualified men as pastor or elder.
Elevation and the Executive Committee did not immediately respond to The Associated Press’ request for comment.
Founded in 2006, the Matthews-based church has multiple campuses in the Charlotte area and elsewhere in North Carolina, neighboring states and even Canada. It drew 26,000 average worshippers per week in 2022, seventh most among Protestant churches and one behind Saddleback, according to
the Outreach 100, an annual survey by Outreach magazine.
According to the SBC’s internal records, the church had an average attendance of 10,185 in 2021, the most recent data available. The discrepancy in attendance figures couldn’t immediately be explained but may reflect differences in how post-pandemic online worshippers
See CHURCH, page 2
“That makes Elevation not just a large church but having a large influence in the country,” said longtime megachurch researcher Scott Thumma of Hartford Institute for Religion Research.
He said Elevation was clearly taking its cue from the overwhelming stance of the SBC to reject Warren’s appeal. Warren had
said Baptists should be able to agree to disagree on issues such as women in ministry while cooperating on missions and evangelism.
Thumma wondered how many other churches may follow in its lead.
“They explicitly excluded Saddleback to make a symbolic point that nobody is immune to this more fundamentalist narrowing of this complementarian belief,” he said, referring to the doctrine then men and women have distinct, complementary roles, with men as leaders in churches and families.
That, he said, has had “ripple effects” on other churches.
“I could easily see others leaving to make a statement, rather than sitting around waiting for the SBC to remove them.”
The SBC has 13.2 million members, making it the largest Protestant denomination in America.
♦ Gonzalez-Gonzalez, Brian (U/M/18), DWI, 07/09/2023, Hoke County Sheriff’s Office
♦ Barbour, Kianna Colone (I/F/42), Flee/ Elude Arrest w/ MV, 07/09/2023, Hoke County Sheriff’s Office
♦ Bethea, William Lawrence (B/M/26), Possess Stolen Firearms, 07/07/2023, Hoke County Sheriff’s Office
♦ Locklear, Dennis Ray (I/M/42), Possess Cocaine, 07/06/2023, Hoke County Sheriff’s Office
♦ Smith, Marshall Steven (B/M/41), Communicate Threats, 07/06/2023, Hoke County Sheriff’s Office
♦ Lee, Justan Marcus (B/M/36), Possess Marijuana 1/2 to 1 1/2oz, 07/06/2023, Hoke County Sheriff’s Office
♦ McLean, Keisan (B/M/22), Possess Stolen Firearms, 07/06/2023, Hoke County Sheriff’s Office
♦ Martin, Kristina Lynn (W/F/33), Larceny, 07/05/2023, Hoke County Sheriff’s Office
♦ Johnson, Joseph (W/M/35), Possess Drug Paraphernalia, 07/05/2023, Hoke County Sheriff’s Office
♦ Staples, Chad Matthews (W/M/39), Firearm by Felon, 07/03/2023, Hoke County Sheriff’s Office
The FDA is being asked to look into Logan Paul’s energy drink, which has the caffeine of 6 Coke cans
The Associated Press
NEW YORK — An influencer-backed energy drink that has earned viral popularity among children is facing scrutiny from lawmakers and health experts over its potentially dangerous levels of caffeine.
On Sunday, Sen. Charles Schumer called on the Food and Drug Administration to investigate PRIME, a beverage brand founded by the YouTube stars Logan Paul and KSI that has become something of an obsession among the influencers’ legions of young followers.
“One of the summer’s hottest status symbols for kids is not an outfit, or a toy—it’s a beverage,” said Schumer, a Democrat from New York. “But buyer and parents beware because it’s a serious health concern for the kids it so feverishly targets.”
Backed by two of YouTube’s best known stars, PRIME was an immediate sensation when it launched last year, prompting long lines in grocery stores and reports of school yard resale markets.
Advertising itself as zero sugar and vegan, the neon-colored cans are among a growing number of energy drinks with elevated levels of caffeine; in PRIME’s case, 200
milligrams per 12 ounces, equivalent to about half a dozen Coke cans or nearly two Red Bulls.
That high content prompted bans from some schools in the United Kingdom and Australia where some pediatricians warned of possible health impacts on young children such as heart problems, anxiety, and digestive issues.
Company representatives, meanwhile, have defended the product as clearly labeled “not recommended for children under 18.” They sell a separate sports drink, known as PRIME Hydration, which contains no caffeine at all. Representatives for PRIME did not immediately return a request for comment.
But in his letter to the FDA, Schumer claimed there was little noticeable difference in the online marketing of the two drinks – leading many parents to believe they were purchasing a juice for their kids, only to wind up with a “cauldron of caffeine.”
“A simple search on social media for Prime will generate an eye-popping amount of sponsored content, which is advertising,” he wrote. “This content and the claims made should be investigated, along with the ingredients and the caffeine content in the Prime energy drink.”
H
Johnny Boyles is a 2023 Candidate for City Council and proud to call Raeford Home. “I will continue the great works of our city, ensuring pride in our homes, community and great city. A special thanks to all the staff that work for our wonderful city that includes our #1 Police Department, all our hard working Fire Departments and loyal First Responders. Our city is especially blessed to have these hardworking folks.”
No student with high grades and test scores should be rejected in favor of a lesser applicant who happens to have a certain skin color.
THE SUPREME COURT has ruled 6-3 that racial preferences in college admissions violate the U.S. Constitution.
At last!
No student with high grades and test scores should be rejected in favor of a lesser applicant who happens to have a certain skin color.
The evidence provided to the court showed that Harvard College and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill discriminated against Asian American and white applicants.
A black, Hispanic or Native American student with a combined SAT score above 1,100 might be invited to apply to Harvard, but an Asian girl would need at least 1,350, and an Asian boy at least 1,380.
The real opportunity gap in this nation is not between black and white. It’s between rich and poor.
Contrary to what most Americans assume, affirmative action has never helped poor kids. In fact, Harvard favors wealthy kids. Only 3% of the student body come from lowincome families. A staggering 67% come from families in the top fifth of the nation’s earners, per data provided by Harvard researcher Raj Chetty. Nearly three-quarters of Harvard’s black and Hispanic students come from high-earning families.
Justice Clarence Thomas stresses that Harvard offers the same admissions “bump” to “a wealthy black applicant given every advantage in life as to a black applicant from a poor family with seemingly insurmountable barriers to overcome.”
All the while Harvard rejects Asian American applicants with higher grades and test scores, even those from poor families. College administrators are already trying to weasel around the court’s ruling
by waiving standardized tests that make discrimination hard to conceal.
That’s dishonorable.
Instead, they should be scrapping racial preferences and reaching out to economically disadvantaged students with high potential, regardless of race, to promote economic mobility and help keep the American dream alive.
Students from low-income families, impoverished neighborhoods and failing schools score 399 points lower on the math and English SATs than other students, according to a Century Foundation study. Black students overall score 56 points lower.
If anyone needs a “bump” in the admissions process, it’s a poor kid.
During oral arguments, Thomas pressed lawyers for Harvard and UNC on the educational benefits of racial diversity. Wryly, he wrote that “with nearly 50 years to develop their arguments, neither Harvard nor UNC — two of the foremost research institutions in the world” — could explain the supposed link between racial diversity and educational benefit.
Thomas suggests that “two white students, one from rural Appalachia and one from a wealthy San Francisco suburb, may well have more diverse outlooks on this metric than two students from Manhattan’s Upper East Side attending its most elite schools, one of whom is white and other of whom is black.”
The Left and its media allies are bashing the court for discarding what New York Times legal analyst Adam Liptak calls “decades of precedent.”
Wrong. There is no precedent for permanent affirmative action. The court didn’t intend for it to last forever.
In his opinion, Chief Justice John Roberts makes it clear that a major reason UNC and
White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre recently reiterated a point the Biden White House has been making for the past year: that inflation remains high not because of the Biden $6 trillion spending spree but because “high profit margins” captured during the COVID-19 pandemic drive up consumer prices.
We then were told that the White House’s grand strategy to bring down sticker prices further at the store is to lower business profit margins for everything from drugs and computers to food and gasoline.
How low should those evil profits go? To zero?
Wait, since when are profits evil? The ability of a company to turn a profit is the very engine of growth -- also of innovation, job creation and entrepreneurship.
The only people who could possibly believe profits are nefarious are those who have never actually earned a profit. It isn’t so easy.
As the late, great economist Walter Williams of George Mason University used to explain in his Econ 100 course: Farmers in North Dakota don’t raise cattle and work 14 hours a day growing acres of wheat because they want to provide a juicy steak meal for a Wall Street fat cat. Those farmers and ranchers don’t give a hoot for New Yorkers. They raise cattle and send steaks to feed the people in Manhattan because they want to earn a profit. If there were no profit in it, the people in New York would go hungry or would be standing in soup lines.
Almost every lifesaving drug known to man was developed in the lab of a private pharmaceutical company or a biotech firm. Governments rarely invent new lifesaving drugs used by millions of people. And no, former Vice President Al Gore didn’t invent the internet. Profit seekers did, and then they built a $10 trillion industry that has revolutionized the way we live and work and play.
Steve Jobs and his colleagues virtually invented the personal computer and Apple’s relentless pursuit of profit. He perfected the cellphone and then drove down its cost so that today even many of the poorest people in Africa can afford it. Fifty years ago, even a
Harvard lost their cases is that they failed to point to an end date.
When the court upheld affirmative action at the University of Michigan Law School in 2003, the justices knew “this is dangerous and it has to have an end point,” explained Justice Amy Coney Barrett.
That is when Justice Sandra Day O’Connor said it should no longer be necessary in 25 years (i.e., five years from now).
Yet, when Barrett pressed UNC’s lawyers and Solicitor General Elizabeth Prelogar for a time when they could see it ending, she got no answer.
The right answer is now.
Affirmative action is a euphemism for an ugly process — reverse discrimination. Another 25 years won’t make it prettier.
The Left insists the court is recklessly departing from precedent to favor its conservative political agenda. Not so. It is the three liberal justices — Sonia Sotomayor, Elena Kagan and Ketanji Brown Jackson — who are actually discarding precedent. They’re inventing a new rationale for affirmative action, claiming it’s justified to correct historic wrongs.
Roberts chastised the three dissenters sharply for it. The court “has long rejected their core thesis,” he wrote.
Thomas warns that if the liberal justices’ viewpoint ever prevails, it will lead “to a world in which everyone is defined by their skin color, demanding ever-increasing entitlements and preferences on that basis.”
Fortunately, the Constitution and this court are standing in the way.
Betsy McCaughey is a former lieutenant governor of New York and chairman of the Committee to Reduce Infection Deaths.
king’s ransom couldn’t buy what a poor Indonesian farmer has in his pocket. Why? Because Apple found a way to make a profit selling it to him. Now Apple is a $3 trillion company — by selling people all over the world something they desperately want.
That’s not to say altruism and charity don’t count. It surely does — and it’s a divine inspiration. But we have hundreds of years of evidence that this isn’t as powerful a motivation as the mundane and relentless pursuit of making a profit. Even Bono of U2, a great philanthropist, has discovered with the tens of millions of dollars he has donated to worthy causes that charity is never going to solve the poverty problem. Only the free enterprise system and profits will.
The profit motive is arguably the noblest pursuit in human history. Profits have saved more lives, created higher living standards, sparked more inventions, pulled more people out of poverty and created more jobs than all the government programs and all the “nonprofit” activities combined.
A war against profits is a war against prosperity. As economist Larry Kudlow of Fox Business puts it: High-profit margins are the mother’s milk of the stock market, so lower profits (or even zero profits, which seems to be the Biden goal) would lead to a flurry of business bankruptcies, mass layoffs and a stock market collapse. Without profits, there are no businesses, and without employers, there are no jobs, and without jobs, there is no consumer spending.
And you can kiss your 401(k) plan goodbye in a land of shrinking profits.
So why are the Biden people against profits? Why don’t they get the way the world really works? Perhaps it is because, as we revealed in our Committee to Unleash Prosperity study last year, most of the Biden administration appointees have never worked for a private business. They don’t understand one of the most basic economic truisms: What drives down an economy aren’t businesses that make a profit but businesses that make a loss.
If the goal of the Biden administration is to drive down profits, the endgame will be to make everyone poorer and poorer over time. We will have reached their goal of equity and equality.
GOLF Monahan to return as PGA Tour commissioner after break
Ponte Vedra Beach, Fla.
PGA Tour Commissioner
Jay Monahan is returning to work. Monahan has told the tour he will resume his job on July 17. That will be about a month since Monahan stepped away for what was referred to only as a medical situation. His surprise departure was a week after announcing the tour’s agreement to work with the Saudi backers of LIV Golf. Monahan said in a note to the tour’s policy board, staff and players that his health has improved.
MLB Yankees fire hitting coach Dillion Lawson
New York Hitting coach Dillon Lawson was fired by the New York Yankees on Sunday, a rare midseason change by a franchise that has prized stability since Hal Steinbrenner took over from his father as controlling owner. New York’s .231 batting average is 28th among the 30 major league teams, ahead of only Detroit and Oakland. The Yankees are batting a major league-worst .218 in 31 games since Aaron Judge tore a ligament in his right big toe on June 3, going 14-17 and entering the All-Star break in fourth place of the AL East 49-42. No replacement was announced.
MMA Volkanovski regains
UFC title with 3rdround TKO
Las Vegas Alexander Volkanovski reasserted himself as the featherweight champion with a technical knockout over Yair Rodriguez at 4:19 of the third round Saturday night in UFC 290. Rodriguez was the interim champion after Volkanovski temporarily moved up to lightweight, but the Australian left little doubt who the better fighter in running his record to 26-2 in what was scheduled as a five-round bout. Rodriguez, who is from Mexico, is 16-4. It was Volkanovski’s first fight since a loss by unanimous decision to lightweight champion lightweight Islam Makhachev on Feb. 11, ending Volkanovski’s 22-fight winning streak.
The Associated Press HAMPTON, Ga. — William Byron overcame a spin early in the second stage that knocked him back a lap and then was in the right position when weather took control at Atlanta Motor Speedway.
Byron won the rain-shortened NASCAR race at Atlanta on Sunday night for his series-leading fourth victory of the season. It was the second win in Atlanta in the last two years for Byron, who took the NASCAR points lead.
Byron said it was “kind of pins and needles” after his crew made changes to his No. 24 Hendricks Motorsports Chevrolet that had been damaged by the spin.
“When I spun, I was like here we go,” Byron said. “... It was not good at that moment. We lost a lap, changed tires.”
The threat of rain affected strat-
egy as drivers fought to move toward the front of the field before weather delayed or ended the race. With 75 laps to go, NASCAR ordered cars to pit road due to rain and the possibility of lightning. Cars were covered while officials waited to see if the rain ended.
Only six minutes later, fans were warned of severe weather within eight miles of the track and were encouraged to leave the stadium immediately, and NASCAR called the race soon after that announcement.
“I 1,000% agree with erring on the side of caution,” said Kyle Busch, who finished fifth.
Daniel Suarez, looking for his first win of 2023, was second. AJ Allmendinger was third, followed by Michael McDowell. Suarez said he had “a little bit of mixed feelings” about NASCAR’s decision to end the race.
“I wish we had one more shot to get ahead and then it could rain all it wants,” Suarez said with a laugh.
The race became official after 130 laps. After that, the weath-
“I wish we had one more shot to get ahead and then it could rain all it wants.”
Daniel Suarez, who finished second at Atlanta
er watch factored heavily into race strategy.
“We knew the rain was coming,” McDowell said. “We wanted to give ourselves the best chance to win the race.”
Kevin Harvick, a three-time Atlanta winner, had a spin with 89 laps remaining. Harvick was able to drive to pit road without a caution, but the spin all but ended his hopes of a win in his final Atlanta race. The increased threat of rain placed an increased emphasis on drivers to compete for top spots in the second stage, perhaps contributing to two wrecks that knocked
out Ross Chastain, Kyle Larson and Austin Hill.
Denny Hamlin and Alex Bowman were involved in another crash late in the second stage, leaving Brad Keselowski and Ryan Blaney at the front of the field. The stage ended under caution. Despite the stage win, Keselowski was left with a big decision as he talked with his crew about the threat of rain and the possibility of staying on the track. He chose to pit for fuel, saying he had no real choice.
“No, we had 12 to 14 laps left of fuel and that was not enough, and we ended up running 15 laps or so,” Keselowski said. “I think we made the right call. We just needed the rain to be 10 minutes earlier or 10 minutes later.”
A collision between Bubba Wallace and Ryan Preece caused another caution early in the final stage, leaving Byron in the lead, ahead of Suarez.
The NASCAR Cup Series moves to New Hampshire Motor Speedway in Loudon next Sunday.
The league’s new addition will start in November
The Associated Press
LAS VEGAS — The NBA has a new trophy to play for, along with some bonus cash for the teams that make the knockout round.
The unveiling Saturday of the long-awaited plans for the in-season tournament that’ll start in November likely brought some questions, since it’s a new concept and will make the schedule a bit unclear when the list of games for the 2023-24 slate gets released later this summer.
All 30 teams will take part, and every game will count in the stats and standings — except the championship game in Las Vegas
on Dec. 9. How does this work?
First, let’s start with the easy answer. Every game counts in the regular-season standings — except the championship game. (More on that later.) Teams will play four group-stage games. The group winners go to the quarterfinals, as do two wild-card teams. Quarterfinals, semifinals and the final are all single elimination.
How were the groups picked?
Teams were assigned to a fiveteam group, with this past season’s order of regular season finish setting the pods from which they were
selected. The teams that finished first, second and third in each conference were in one pod; the teams that finished in spots 4-6 were in another; spots 7-9 in another; spots 10-12 in another and spots 13-15 in the last.
The winner of each group goes to the quarterfinals, along with the best two second-place teams. Tiebreakers will likely come into play there. For tiebreakers within a group, head-to-head comes first. If there’s a tie for the best second-place team in all groups, the tiebreakers are:
— Point differential in the Group Stage
— Total points scored in the Group Stage — Record from the 2022-23
regular season — Random drawing
What’s at stake?
Well, the games all count, so the results will obviously factor toward who makes the “real” playoffs that start in April.
Other than that, teams will play for the NBA Cup — the new trophy — and bonus money for the quarterfinalists, semifinalists, runner-up and champion. Players could get as much as $500,000; for some guys in the league, that’s a game check, but for many players, that’s still a significant amount of money. Does everyone still play 82 games?
This is a bit of a trick question. The answer is yes, sort of.
Teams will get an 80-game schedule (including the four group stage games) in the next few weeks.
Teams that don’t make the playoffs of the in-season tournament will play two games (filling the two missing games in their 82-game
schedule) against other non-knockout-stage teams on Dec. 6 and 8. For quarterfinalists, that game becomes the 81st on their schedule. Quarterfinal losers will play the other quarterfinal loser from their conference, filling the 82nd spot on their schedule.
Semifinalists will have 82 game slots filled by the quarterfinals and semifinals. Semifinal losers won’t play any extra game; they’ll be at 82 already.
This leaves the two championship-game-bound teams. That Dec. 9 game in Las Vegas will end up as one of 83 games on their schedules — which is why it won’t count on their records or for statistical purposes. Regular season play resumes Dec. 11.
Will all teams still play 41 home games?
No. Some teams will play 40 games at home or on the road instead of the customary 41, and some teams could also find themselves at home or on the road 42 times.
Baseball’s changes have shortened games but not improved batters’ luck
The Associated Press
PHOENIX — Major League Baseball has made the games faster, the bases bigger and defense a little bit harder.
Now, if it could only do something about those stubborn strikeouts.
“Just move the mound back to about — oh, I don’t know — second base? Maybe fastballs only?” Arizona Diamondbacks outfielder Jake McCarthy said, laughing. “I just think these pitchers are really good.
“No one likes to strike out, but
that’s how it goes.”
There’s little doubt that MLB’s expansive new rules package this season has been a success, particularly when it comes to speeding up the action. But the sport is also hunting for a little more offense these days and, to be honest, the league-wide offensive output of 2023 still looks pretty similar to 2022 in several areas.
Batting average is up modestly to .248 through Friday’s games, rising from .243 last season. So is OPS, rising to .730 from .706. Stolen bases also have jumped substantially, thanks in part to a new rule that puts limits on pitcher disengagements from the rubber.
But punch outs are again near an all-time high, with each team
averaging about 8.7 strikeouts per game. The high came in 2019, when the average was 8.81, but that was before the National League joined the American League by adopting the designated hitter rule for good in 2022.
Even without pitchers at the plate, the whiffs are still coming in bunches.
“We all understand that this game is very difficult,” Giants slugger J.D. Davis said recently. “Pitchers these days are even better than they were five, 10 years ago.”
The good news is that hitting for average is starting to become slightly more in vogue. The poster child is Miami Marlins All-Star second baseman Luis Arraez, who’s been flirting with a .400 batting av-
erage for a big chunk of the season. No MLB player has topped .400 since Ted Williams hit .406 for the Boston Red Sox more than 80 years ago.
The evolution of high strikeout numbers has been a decades-long process but has really sped up over the past 15 years. In 2018, strikeouts became more common than hits for the first time and that trend has held firm the past six seasons.
The real problem seems to be that pitchers are simply throwing harder and harder. Seeing a 100mph fastball used to be like finding a unicorn. Now, it’s an everyday occurrence. There were 3,356 pitches of 100 mph of more in 2022, according to MLB Statcast. That was up from 1,829 in 2021 and 1,056 in
2019.
Marlins manager Skip Schumaker gets to see those blazing fastballs nearly every night. Miami’s reigning NL Cy Young Award winner Sandy Alcantara was facing Atlanta ace Spencer Strider on July 2 in a game that featured 91 fastballs that were at least 97 mph.
Good luck making contact with those pitches.
“Every time I look up, the velo, it’s just increasing,” Schumaker said. “So I don’t know what the answer is, to be honest with you, because the rules are better for the game. There’s no doubt about it.
“I just don’t know how to combat the strikeouts just yet.”
The Associated Press
A JUDGE last Tuesday prohibited several federal agencies and officials of the Biden administration from working with social media companies about “protected speech,” a decision called “a blow to censorship” by one of the Republican officials whose lawsuit prompted the ruling.
U.S. District Judge Terry Doughty of Louisiana granted the injunction in response to a 2022 lawsuit brought by attorneys general in Louisiana and Missouri. Their lawsuit alleged that the federal government overstepped in its efforts to convince social media companies to address postings that could result in vaccine hesitancy during the COVID-19 pandemic or affect elections.
Doughty cited “substantial evidence” of a far-reaching censorship campaign. He wrote that the “evidence produced thus far depicts an almost dystopian scenario. During the COVID-19 pandemic, a period perhaps best characterized by widespread doubt and uncertainty, the United States Government seems to have assumed a role similar to an Orwellian ‘Ministry of Truth.’ “
Republican U.S. Sen. Eric
Schmitt, who was the Missouri attorney general when the lawsuit was filed, said on Twitter that the ruling was “a huge win for the First Amendment and a blow to censorship.”
Louisiana Attorney General Jeff Landry said the injunction prevents the administration “from censoring the core political speech of ordinary Americans” on social media.
“The evidence in our case is shocking and offensive with senior federal officials deciding that they could dictate what Americans can and cannot say on Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, and other platforms about COVID-19, elections, criticism of the government, and more,” Landry said in a statement.
The Justice Department is reviewing the injunction “and will evaluate its options in this case,” said a White House official who was not authorized to discuss the case publicly and spoke on condition of anonymity.
“This administration has promoted responsible actions to protect public health, safety, and security when confronted by challenges like a deadly pandemic and foreign attacks on our elections,” the official said. “Our consistent
AP PHOTO
Republican U.S. Sen.-elect and Missouri Attorney General Eric Schmitt delivers a victory speech, Nov. 8, 2022, in Maryland Heights, Mo. On Tuesday, July 4, 2023, a judge prohibited several federal agencies and officials of the Biden administration from working with social media companies about “protected speech.” Schmitt, who was the Missouri attorney general when the lawsuit was filed, said on Twitter that the ruling was “a huge win for the First Amendment and a blow to censorship.”
view remains that social media platforms have a critical responsibility to take account of the effects their platforms are having on the American people, but make independent choices about the information they present.”
The ruling listed several government agencies, including the Department of Health and Human Services and the FBI, that
are prohibited by the injunction
from discussions with social media companies aimed at “encouraging, pressuring, or inducing in any manner the removal, deletion, suppression, or reduction of content containing protected free speech.”
The order mentions by name several officials, including Health and Human Services Secretary
The Associated Press
The union that represents locomotive engineers says a recent coal train derailment in Virginia is renewing questions about Norfolk Southern’s safety practices.
The derailment happened coming down out of the Appalachian Mountains near Elliston about 20 miles outside Roanoke. Fortunately, it involved coal cars and not hazardous materials like those that generated a huge plume of black smoke and forced evacuations in the eastern Ohio town of East Palestine after a different Norfolk Southern train derailed in February. That Ohio derailment triggered concerns nationwide about railroad safety and prompted calls for reforms from members of Congress and regulators.
“We’re just lucky right now that it’s coal. If it had been ethanol or LP gas or chlorine or anything like that, it could have been a totally different situation,” said Randy Fannon, who leads the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen union’s safety task force.
Nineteen cars on the Virginia coal train derailed around 7:45 p.m. on July 6 but remained upright and none of the coal spilled.
Before the derailment, the
crew received a critical alarm from a trackside detector that a wheel bearing was overheating. But unlike in the East Palestine derailment where the crew received little warning, the crew was able to safely stop the Virginia train after it was alerted to the potential hazard. The train’s conductor found the railcar that triggered the alarm and confirmed the bearing was overheating. But a spokesman for the railroad said all the components appeared to be in-
tact during a visual inspection.
Federal Railroad Administration spokesman Warren Flateau said the railroad decided to try and move the train to a siding, where the crew could safely set out the car with the overheating bearing without blocking the main track. But the train derailed before it reached the siding.
National Transportation Safety Board officials said late Friday they would investigate the Virginia derailment. While union of-
ficials and the railroads involved in an NTSB investigation aren’t allowed to speak publicly before that agency releases its findings, Fannon discussed the details of the crash Friday afternoon when the FRA was still leading the investigation. The NTSB had not taken the lead at that time.
Fannon said someone at the railroad’s headquarters in Atlanta who was working on the “hot box detector desk” told the crew to go ahead and move the train 8 miles down the track. The crew told union officials that they weren’t comfortable with moving the train at the track speed of roughly 40 mph, so they kept the speed to around 20 mph. But the train still derailed.
Spokesman Tom Crosson said Norfolk Southern will use this derailment to help inform changes it is making to improve safety.
“This derailment should never have happened. It is unacceptable,” Crosson said. “We are working to achieve our goal of being the gold standard for safety in the railroad industry, and this incident strengthens our resolve.”
Both the FRA and the NTSB said they were investigating Norfolk Southern’s safety practices following the East Palestine derailment and several others in the past couple years.
Xavier Becerra, Department of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas and others.
Doughty allowed several exceptions, such as informing social media companies of postings involving criminal activity and conspiracies; as well as notifying social media firms of national security threats and other threats posted on platforms.
“NS is still in the spotlight and they’re going to remain that way until they make some changes,” Fannon said.
In years past before Norfolk Southern began overhauling its operations in 2019 and making widespread job cuts, Fannon said the railroad typically would have sent a mechanical inspector to examine the car after an overheating bearing was found to determine if it was safe to move the train. That doesn’t happen anymore after all the cuts to the ranks of inspectors.
“I think the key to this is no qualified mechanical person inspected it,” Fannon said.
Norfolk Southern, like all the major freight railroads, has streamlined its operations over the past several years to reduce costs by relying more on running fewer, longer trains so it doesn’t need as many crews or locomotives. The Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen and the other rail unions have said the changes make railroads riskier, spreading employees thin and making it difficult to take the time to properly inspect cars or complete needed preventative maintenance.
The railroads have defended their safety record.
Railroad officials have said they don’t believe the cuts jeopardized safety, and they emphasize that they continue to meet the minimum federal standards. Norfolk Southern’s CEO Alan Shaw has said he believes NS is a safe railroad and that he is committed to improving that.
May 12, 1931 ~ July 2, 2023
Bobby Burns McNeill, 92, of Raeford, North Carolina, passed away at his home on July 2, 2023.
He was born May 12, 1931, the sixth son of John Knox McNeill and Beulah Lentz McNeill in Raeford, NC. He never spent a Christmas outside of Hoke County. During his childhood, he worked with his father, his brothers and his Uncle Neill on the family farm and at the family grocery store, Home Food Super Market.
Mr. McNeill attended the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, graduating in 1953 with a BS degree in Business Administration. While there, he learned the Tar Heel fight song, Ay Ziggy Zoomba, which would become his trusty lullaby when singing his children to sleep. After college, he served in the US Army during the Korean War as a Clerk-Typist. It was alleged, but never confirmed, that due to his exceptional typing skills and detailed understanding of Army regulations, a large number of men from North Carolina, particularly Hoke County, stayed state-side.
After his service, Mr. McNeill attended law school at UNC on the GI bill, graduating in the Spring of 1958. When he returned to Raeford to begin his legal career, there were four attorneys in Hoke County. Mr. McNeill split his time working part-time for three of them, including former member of the NC House of Representatives, Charles A. Hostetler and long-time Raeford attorney, Arthur D. Gore. After the passing of Mr. Gore in the fall of 1958, Mr. McNeill took a seat behind Mr. Gore’s old oak desk and partnered with Hostetler to form Hostetler & McNeill. He would sit behind that same desk throughout the duration of his 55year legal career. He was a 2009 inductee of the General Practice Hall of Fame of the North Carolina Bar Association.
Perhaps Mr. McNeill’s greatest accomplishment was winning the hand of the former Mary Elizabeth Teague of Chapel Hill. Introduced by mutual friends, they met on a blind date at the beach. Their sixty-fouryear marriage resulted in three children, all undergraduate Tar Heels and all attorneys. “Pop,” as he was known by them, is remembered as an enthusiastic and creative storyteller (a McNeill genetic predisposition).He was a stoic example of generosity, loyalty, compassion, kindness and love, except in matters involving horseshoes and setback.
August 27, 1975 ~ July 7, 2023
Mr. James Michael Conway "Mike", of Parkton, NC passed away on July 07, 2023, in his home, at the age of 47.
Mike was born in Detroit Michigan on August 27, 1975, to Cheryl Lawrence and the late Russell Conway. Along with his father, he was preceded in death by his grandparents, Russell Frank Conway, and Margaret Elizabeth Conway; and Joseph Edward Lawrence and Marlene (Baby Gal) Nelson Lawrence. He was a fun-loving person who always lit up whatever room he was in. He was the type of man who would do anything for someone and would give you the shirt off his back. Mike was a truck driver and enjoyed playing pool. He loved helping people and he exhibited that during his time driving his tow truck. He will be missed by many people who loved him.
Mike is survived by his son, Kristin M. Conway; mother, Cheryl Lawrence (Merle Remaley); brother, Russell Conway and niece Cheryl Elizabeth Conway; sister, Trisha Conway; and a multitude of cousins, aunts, and uncles.
May 14, 1962 ~ July 2, 2023
Mr. Anthony J. Mack age, 61 departed this earthly life to rest in his heavenly home on July 2, 2023. He leaves to cherish his loving memories his children: Mechel'le McQueen, Brandon Mack, Antone' Mack, Lawerence McQueen, Jessica McQueen, Brittany Harden; sisters: Phyllis Wilson, Tiffany Blue; brother, John Harden Jr., twelve grandchildren along with a host of other family and friends. Anthony will be greatly missed.
January 4, 1946 ~ July 4, 2023
Ms. Thedoria Sanders age, 77 went home to rest with her Heavenly Father on July 4, 2023. She was the daughter of the late Harvey Lee and Mable McGregor. Thedoria was preceded in death by her husband, Charlie E. Sanders. She leaves to cherish her loving memories her children: Charlie Spencer Sanders, Rodney Lamont Sanders; sisters: Mernell Mable McGregor, Tina McGregor; brother, James (Buck) McGregor; aunt, Ollie Quick McLaughlin along with a host of other family and friends.
September 18, 1935 ~ July 8, 2023
Mr. Lacy McLeod age, 87 went home to rest with his heavenly father on July 8,2023.
March 14, 1945 ~ July 2, 2023
Ms. Juanita Bain age, 78 went home to be with her Heavenly Father on July 2, 2023.
The Associated Press
NEW YORK
— Seven weeks before the premiere debate of the 2024 GOP primary, anxiety is building that the event could prove messy and divisive for the party.
Some candidates, like former Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson, are struggling to meet fundraising and polling requirements to make it on stage. He and others are pushing back on a loyalty pledge the Republican Party is insisting candidates sign to participate. And the race’s frontrunner, former President Donald Trump, is considering boycotting and holding a competing event instead.
That’s turning what is typically the highly anticipated opener of the election season into a source of uncertainty for the candidates and broader party. The frustration is particularly acute for candidates who hoped to use the forum as a powerful opportunity to confront Trump and try to blunt his momentum.
The Republican National Committee has said that, in order to participate in the Aug. 23 debate in Milwaukee, candidates must have received contributions from at least 40,000 individual donors, with at least 200 unique donors in 20 or more states. They also must earn at least 1% in three high-quality national polls, or a mix of national and early-state polls, between July 1 and August 21.
Candidates will also have to sign a pledge “agreeing to support the eventual party nominee,” according to an RNC press release,
and one agreeing not to participate in any non-RNC sanctioned debate for the remainder of the election cycle.
“Our criteria is very clear, we are ensuring quality polls are used to determine which candidates make the debate stage and we are confident that there will be enough polls for our candidates to qualify,” said RNC spokeswoman Emma Vaughn. The candidates who say they
The Associated Press
EAGLE PASS, Texas — Texas began rolling out what is set to become a new floating barrier on the Rio Grande in the latest escalation of Republican Gov. Greg Abbott’s multibillion-dollar effort to secure the U.S. border with Mexico, which already has included bussing migrants to liberal states and authorizing the National Guard to make arrests.
But even before the huge, orange buoys were unloaded from the trailers that hauled them to the border city of Eagle Pass, there were concerns over this part of Abbott’s unprecedented challenge to the federal government’s authority over immigration enforcement. Migrant advocates voiced concerns about drowning risks and environmentalists questioned the impact on the river.
Dozens of the large spherical buoys were stacked on the beds of four tractor trailers in a grassy city park near the river on Friday
morning.
Setting up the barriers could take up to two weeks, according to Lt. Chris Olivarez, a spokesperson for the Texas Department of Public Safety, which is overseeing the project.
Once installed, the above-river parts of the system and the webbing they’re connected with will cover 1,000 feet of the middle of the Rio Grande, with anchors in the riverbed.
Eagle Pass is part of a Border Patrol sector that has seen the second highest number of migrant crossings this fiscal year with about 270,000 encounters — though that is lower than it was at this time last year.
The crossing dynamics shifted in May after the Biden administration stopped implementing Title 42, a pandemic era public health policy that turned many asylum seekers back to Mexico. New rules allowed people to seek asylum through a government application and set up appointments
have qualified so far include Trump, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, South Carolina Sen. Tim Scott, former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley and entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy. Some lesser-known candidates, such as conservative radio host Larry Elder, North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum and Miami Mayor Francis Suarez, appear unlikely to make the cutoffs.
Former Vice President Mike Pence, who launched his cam-
at the ports of entry, though the maximum allowed in per day is set at 1,450. The Texas governor’s policies target the many who are frustrated with the cap and cross illegally through the river.
Earlier iterations of Abbott’s border mission have included installing miles of razor wire at popular crossing points on the river and creating state checkpoints beyond federal stops to inspect incoming commercial traffic.
“We always look to employ whatever strategies will be effective in securing the border,” Abbott said in a June 8 press conference to introduce the buoy strategy.
Immigrant advocates, including Sister Isabel Turcios, a nun who oversees a migrant shelter in Piedras Negras, Mexico, which sits just across the river from Eagle Pass, have remained vigilant about the effects of the new barrier on migration. Turcios said she met with the Texas Department of Public Safety in the days leading up to the arrival of the buoys and was told the floating barrier would be placed in deep waters to function as a warning to migrants to avoid the area.
Turcios said she is aware that many of the nearly 200 migrants staying in her shelter on any given day are not deterred from crossing illegally despite sharp concertina wire. But that wire causes more danger because it forces migrants to spend additional time
paign on June 7, has not yet released a tally of donors, but his campaign said it had raised “well into five digits” in the weeks since his announcement.
“Getting in late made it more difficult, but we’re confident we’ll get there,” said Pence spokesman Devin O’Malley.
Former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, who has also expressed confidence he will hit the benchmarks, has pitched himself as the candidate most qualified to directly take on Trump onstage. While Trump’s threats to boycott have complicated that argument, Christie’s campaign has nonetheless urged donors to give even $1 to help him qualify.
Anthony Scaramucci, the financier who served briefly as Trump’s White House communications director and is now supporting Christie, recently encouraged even those who have no intention of voting for the former New Jersey governor to nonetheless chip in.
“Whether you’re a Republican or Democrat, whether you would vote for Chris or wouldn’t vote for Chris, we need someone onstage to tell the truth and put a stop to this nonsense,” he said during a recent podcast interview with the candidate.
Trump, according to campaign officials, has yet to make a final decision on his plans. But he has indicated both publicly and privately that he is not inclined to participate, and aides have been considering options for an alternative event.
DeSantis said that he planned to participate in the debate “regardless” of Trump’s decision.
“I hope everybody who’s eligible comes. I think it’s an important part of the process and I look forward to being able to be on the stage,” he said in an interview with Fox News.
This wouldn’t be the first time Trump has skipped a major GOP debate. During his 2016 campaign, Trump boycotted the final GOP gathering before the Iowa caucuses and instead held his own campaign event, a flashy telethon-style gathering in Iowa that was billed as a fundraiser for veterans. While the event earned him headlines and drew attention away from his rivals, Trump went on to lose the Iowa caucuses to Ted Cruz — a loss some supporters blamed on his debate decision.
The RNC has so far declined to release the actual language of the pledge it intends to make candidates sign. It is expected to be similar to 2016, when candidates had to affirm that, if they did not win the nomination, they would “endorse the 2016 Republican presidential nominee regardless of who it is” and not run as an independent or accept the nomination of any other party.
So far, only former Texas Rep. Will Hurd has said definitely that he will not sign the pledge because he refuses to support Trump if he becomes the eventual nominee.
RNC Chair Ronna McDaniel has repeatedly defended the criteria, which came after so many candidates ran in 2016 that debates had to be split in half — with lower-polling candidates participating in an earlier forum.
“Not everybody deserves to be on that debate stage,” she said in a recent interview on Newsmax.
in the river.
“That’s more and more dangerous each time ... because it has perches, it has whirlpools and because of the organized crime,” Turcios said.
Texas Department of Public Safety Director Steven McCraw addressed the danger that migrants may face when the buoys are deployed during the June press conference when Abbott spoke: “Anytime they get in that water, it’s a risk to the migrants. This is the deterrent from even coming in the water.”
Jessie Fuentes, who owns a
canoe and kayaking business that takes paddlers onto the Rio Grande, said he’s worried about unforeseen consequences. On Friday, he filed a lawsuit to stop Texas from using the buoys. He’s seeking a permanent injunction, saying his paddling business is impacted by limited access to the river.
“I know it’s a detriment to the river flow, to the ecology of the river, to the fauna and flora. Every aspect of nature is being affected when you put something that doesn’t belong in the river,” Fuentes said.
Sheriff Kimbrough named to state board for offender supervision
Forsyth County
Gov. Roy Cooper appointed two individuals as new members of the North Carolina State Council for Interstate Adult Offender Supervision:
Spencer B. Merriweather of Charlotte was appointed as a District Attorney representative. Merriweather is the District Attorney for Mecklenburg County. Prior to becoming District Attorney in 2017, he spent a decade as an Assistant District Attorney in the same office.
Bobby F. Kimbrough of Winston-Salem was appointed as a Sheriff representative. Kimbrough is the Sheriff of Forsyth County, a role he has held since he was elected in 2018. He has nearly 40 years of law enforcement experience. The board has six members, three of whom were appointed this year.
Maggie Brewer joined in March. Deborah McSwain has served since 2014, William Hart since 2015 and Christoper Hailey since 2016. McSwain is a member of the executive branch. Hart represents victim’s assistance groups, and Hailey is an at-large member. Brewer is the compact administrator, who consults wit the legislature and judiciary.
NC.GOV
July 25 “Best of” concert follows July 4 event
North State Journal
THE SALEM BAND held a successful Independence Day show last week, with an All-American band concert in the town Square. The annual Stars & Stripes performance, honored veterans in the community with marches, big bands, sing-alongs, a n Armed Forces Salute, performances by vocalist Mignon Dobbins, and of course, Star & Stripes Forever, featuring Tchaikovsky’s 1812 Overture.
That marked the midpoint of the band’s 2023 concert series.
Up next is a show titled “Best of Salem Band” on Tuesday, July 25, at 7:30 PM in Salem Square.
A release from the band describes the event:
“Enjoy your favorite Salem Band selections from past concerts: Salvation is Created, Carole King, movie music from Star Wars, Midway, and O Brother Where Art Thou; swing, and of course, local favorite, Morning Star Polka. Guest vocalist Lora Mouna is our soloist, singing Wind Beneath My Wings. Arrive at 6:45 pm to enjoy pre-concert music by The Salem Band Brass Quintet. Cheryl and Charley will have their ice cream and hot dog trucks on site, or bring your own picnic
Years the Salem Band has been performing, making it the oldest, continuous mixed wind ensemble in the nation
supper. There is no formal seating in the Square, so bring a lawn chair or blanket. All Salem Band concerts are FREE – donations gratefully accepted. The raindate is Friday, July 28th. Remember: be sure to get a program upon
Portrait of a Graduate
By Ryan Henkel North State JournalWINSTON-SALEM — The Winston-Salem/Forsyth County Schools Board of Education met
Tuesday, June 27 with several contractual matters on the agenda.
The board first approved the adoption of the WS/FCS Portrait of a Graduate, a localized version of the North Carolina Portrait of a Graduate.
The North Carolina Portrait of a Graduate is a grassroots effort involving nearly 1,200 educators, administrators, families, employers, community leaders who came together to determine the key competencies and outcomes desired for students as they leave high school to be able to thrive in a 21st century place of work be it college, career or military.
The key competencies involve seven durable skills: adaptability, collaboration, communication, critical thinking, empathy, learner’s mindset and personal responsibility.
“As our society is changing, as we think about coming out of the pandemic, the skills that students need for success in school and
life are exponentially changing,” said Chief Academic Officer Paula Wilkins. “So in order to help support our students, schools need to look different and our focus on how we prepare them needs to look different to think about the durable skills and the mindsets needed for success in school, work, military and beyond.”
The board also approved a $137,500 contract with Crossnore Center for Trauma Resilient Communities for further training and support.
“We started working with Crossnore probably three years ago where some of our student services staff went to training, came back and said it was phenomenal,” said Assistant Superintendent for Student Services Fredricca Stokes.
“Last year, we entered into a partnership and they trained all of student services. The mental health supports are not only needed for our students, but for our staff also.”
The board was also presented an update on the relocation of the Main Street Academy, which will be relocated for 18 months due to the relocation of Philo-Hill.
“We have been working with the St. Peter’s World Outreach Center to find a home and work on their campus for the Main Street Academy for the fall of 2023,” said Chief Operations Officer Lauren Rich-
“In order to help support our students, schools need to look different”
Chief Academic Officer Paula Wilkins
ards. “On St. Peter’s campus, they have a building that they refer to as the Family Life Enrichment Center. That building has previously been a charter school so it checks a lot of boxes in us being able to meet code requirements to be able to establish a school there.”
Due to USDA rules, WS/FCS had to rebid their food nutrition contract and so Richards updated the board on the recommended vendor.
“Our child nutrition program has been working with a food service management company for over 25 years to provide services for our school meals,” Richards said. “This is a process that has worked very well for us and allowed our program to be very financially stable to be able to do a number of things such as increasing staff wages, making significant improvements to the equipment in our kitchens, whether that be back of the house
arrival – 5 lucky winners will receive a free Salem Band 250th Anniversary t-shirt if your program contains a sticker. Finally, there are several sing-along opportunities on this concert for everyone.
There’s nothing more All-American than enjoying a classic band concert in the town Square! Established in 1771, Salem Band is the oldest, continuous mixed wind ensemble in the nation – be a part of history at these Salem Band concerts and enjoy entertaining music, all free!”
The rain date will be Friday, July 28.
The Salem Band will conclude its summer concert series with a salute to the Roaring 20s, “23 Skidoo” on August 15.
cooking equipment for staff or tables or other fund things for our students in the front of the house.”
According to Richards, the USDA requires school systems to list out their future goals involving child nutrition in the bid process and those included increased meal participation rates at all school lev-
See BOE, page 2
BOE from page 1
els, support back-to-school and ongoing training efforts that are engaging for all SFA employees, support for all schools in maintaining a health score of 95 or higher, a plan to support nutrition education in schools to promote healthy eating habits at a young age, increase from-scratch cooking and decrease prepackaged components and items, purchase locally when possible, within the requirement of free and open competition, increase student access and exposure to fresh fruit and vegetables on regular menus. The recommended bid, which the board approved, came from Chartwells K12 who had already been WS/FCS food service provider.
According to Richards, some of the highlights of Chartwells’ contract includes Fresh from the Garden, which includes unlimited access to fresh fruits and veggies daily, a focus on scratch cooking, student taste testing, staff recipe development, vegetarian options daily, working with local farmers to support small crop usage in select schools, Global Eats, which is labeled as “a passport to great global flavors,” Mood Boost, which is educational material that showcases the mental health benefits of various foods, adding culinary director to support staff training specific to food preparation techniques, efficiencies, and skills and leadership training opportunities for district staff.
The cost of the contract is $2.31 per meal, which is the required purchasing plan set by the USDA, which is a 12% increase in cost.
The board also approved the Edgenuity contract renewal, a resolution for interim appropriations for FY 2023-24, a contract with College Board for Pre-Advanced Placement courses, 2022-23 Replacement School Bus financing agreement and the driver’s education contract.
The Winston-Salem/Forsyth County Schools Board of Education will next meet August 8.
COLUMN | BEN SHAPIROPatriots celebrate the founding for what it was: a ringing statement in favor of liberty from the heavy hand of tyranny.
WHAT, PRECISELY, is it about America you love?
Just 29% of Democrats say they’re extremely proud of the country, accompanied by just 33% of Independents and 60% of Republicans. In fact, Democratic love of country has always fallen far behind that of Republicans, even during the Obama era, when it hit a temporary high of just over 50% (Republicans at the time said they were extremely proud of the country at a rate of approximately 70%). Why is it that liberals in the United States are so much less proud of America than conservatives? These days, the answer typically given is America’s inherent sinfulness; there is nothing in the American founding worth conserving. On Independence Day, Rep. Cori Bush, D-Mo., tweeted, “The Declaration of Independence was written by enslavers and didn’t recognize Black people as human. Today is a great day to demand Reparations Now.” Rep. Jamaal Bowman, D-N.Y., similarly tweeted, “This July 4th, we must remember that we stand on stolen land toiled by enslaved Africans and recommit ourselves to the fight for freedom, equality, & justice so that these ideals are accessible to everyone, not just a privileged few. We are not free until everyone is truly free.”
America, to these types, is a platform for utopianism rather than a set of ideals worthy of emulation. The Declaration of Independence was a lie; the Constitution was merely a guise for power. And the quest for a perfect world must begin in tearing down such institutions with whatever means are at our disposal. The ends justify the means.
Thus, while Democrats fulminate over supposed threats to democracy, a federal judge this week ruled that the Biden administration violated the First Amendment in pressuring social media companies to restrict free speech regarding COVID-19 and the Hunter Biden laptop scandal, among others; the Supreme Court ruled that the Biden White House
♦ BINKLEY, ALAINA JOY was arrested on a charge of ASSAULTSIMPLE at 4041 BRIARCLIFFE RD on 7/8/2023
♦ BLUE, JUSTIN MATTHEWLEE was arrested on a charge of VAND-PERSONAL PROP at 527 N CHERRY ST on 7/6/2023
♦ BORAN, WILLIAM JUSTIN was arrested on a charge of ASSAULTSIMPLE at 201 N CHURCH ST on 7/8/2023
♦ BORAN, WILLIAM JUSTIN was arrested on a charge of ASSAULTSIMPLE (2ND COUNT) at 201 N CHURCH ST on 7/8/2023
♦ BRYAN, MELANIE LEIGH was arrested on a charge of P/W/I/S/D MARIJUANA at 230 BARLOW CR on 7/7/2023
♦ COLONGONZALEZ, LUIS ANGEL was arrested on a charge of BREAKING AND OR ENTERINGFELONY at 740 EAST DEVNSHIRE on 7/6/2023
♦ CORN, DARRELL BRIAN was arrested on a charge of 2ND DEGREE TRESPASS at 235 N MARSHALL ST on 7/6/2023
♦ CRICK, KEVEN DENNIS was arrested on a charge of ASSAULT - INFLICTING SERIOUS BODILY INJURY at 4100 KERNERSVILLE RD on 7/6/2023
♦ CRICK, KEVEN DENNIS was arrested on a charge of ASSAULT - INFLICTING SERIOUS BODILY INJU at 4100 KERNERSVILLE RD on 7/6/2023
♦ DAVIS, NOAH LAMONT was arrested on a charge of ASSAULT ON FEMALE at 900 WAUGHTOWN ST on 7/7/2023
♦ GOODINE, JAMES DENARD was arrested on a charge of AWIK/ SERIOUS INJURY at 161 GARDEN PH on 7/7/2023
♦ HARRIS, RODNEY LELAND was arrested on a charge of ASSAULT ON FEMALE at 201 N CHURCH ST on 7/8/2023
♦ JESSE, JOE was arrested on a charge of IMPAIRED DRIVING DWI at 4250 N PATTERSON AV on 7/9/2023
♦ JOHNSON, SIRWINSTON MEKHI was arrested on a charge of P/W/ I/S/D MARIJUANA at 161 GARDEN PH on 7/7/2023
♦ Lane, David Patrick (M/41) Arrest on chrg of 1) Assault On Female (M) and 2) Tampering With Vehicle (M), at 6501 Armindale Av, Rural Hall, NC, on 7/4/2023 23:47.
♦ Lopezhernandez, Cesar Orlando (M/29) Arrest on chrg of 1) Child Abuse (M), 2) Reckless Driving (M), 3) Speeding - Posted (M), 4) Ndl - Operator Or Chauffer (failure To Obtain) (M), and 5) Child Restraint (M), at E I40 @ 186 Mm, Winston Salem, NC, on 7/7/2023 13:08.
♦ Louvet, Kayleigh Lynn (F/21) Arrest on chrg of Video Gaming Machinesban On New Machines, M (M), at 2558 Nc 66 South, Kernersville, NC, on 7/6/2023 19:45.
♦ MACK, DASHAWNDRA MARIE was arrested on a charge of FELON ADW/SER INJURY at 1510 WOODS RD on 7/7/2023
♦ MICKENS, ANTONIO DWAYNE was arrested on a charge of REC/POSS STOLE MV at 2199 E SPRAGUE ST on 7/7/2023
♦ NASH, MARQUIS LAMONT was arrested on a charge of EMBEZZLEMENT at 201 N CHURCH ST on 7/6/2023
♦ Noyola, William Damien (M/24) Arrest on chrg of 1) Probation Violation (M) and 2) Probation Violation (M), at 201 N Church St, Winston-salem, NC, on 7/7/2023 18:15.
♦ Parker, Demetric Christopher (M/37) Arrest on chrg of 1) Murder-second Deg (F), 2) Death By Vehicle (f) (F), 3) Fail To Appear/ compl (M), 4) Fail To Appear/compl (M), 5) Fail To Appear/compl (M), 6) Fail To Appear/compl (M), 7) Fail To Appear/compl (M), and 8) Hit & Run - Death Or Injury, Leaves Scene (F), at 201 N Church St, Winston-salem, NC, on 7/6/2023
22:07.
♦ RICH, SARITH was arrested on a charge of IMPAIRED DRIVING DWI at 3199 UNIVERSITY PW/N CHERRY ST on 7/7/2023
had violated its constitutional boundaries in waiving student loan debt. Biden’s response: He pledged to utilize the executive branch to work around the Supreme Court’s ruling.
Respect for the founding means respect for founding principles. Biden and his ilk have used a misinterpretation of one founding principle — “equality” — to vitiate the natural rights for which the founders originally fought. When the founders said that “all men are created equal,” they meant specifically that human beings had been “endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.” They did not mean, as Biden suggests, that all human beings ought to be made equal in result, or that indeed, all human beings are equal in all capacities. Biden’s idea is utopian nonsense; the founders’ idea was grounded in millennia of evidence and Judeo-Christian tradition.
Patriots celebrate the founding for what it was: a breakthrough in the nature of human governance, a ringing statement in favor of liberty from the heavy hand of tyranny. Today, too many celebrate the founding only as a platform for future change — change that would annihilate the ideals of the founding along the road to a “higher good.” This, presumably, is why Republicans are far more patriotic than Democrats even while saying that America is in the midst of a moral crisis; meanwhile, Democrats are far less patriotic while suggesting pride in America’s current moral state. Conservatives are disappointed with man’s sinfulness, but proud of the founders’ ideals; many liberals are disappointed with the founders’ ideals, and proud of man’s sinfulness.
Ben Shapiro, 39, is a graduate of UCLA and Harvard Law School, host of “The Ben Shapiro Show,” and cofounder of Daily Wire+.
♦ Richburg, Jimmy (M/31) Arrest on chrg of Communicate Threats, M (M), at Sb 421_service Rd Ra/eb Salem Pw_sb Silas Creek Pw Ra, Winston-salem, NC, on 7/4/2023
14:19.
♦ SAVAGE, JOHN DOUGLAS was arrested on a charge of B&EVEHICLE at 1307 W ACADEMY ST on 7/6/2023
♦ SHOUSE, NOEL WESLEY was arrested on a charge of ASSAULT ON FEMALE at 109 CEDAR TRAILS CT on 7/9/2023
♦ Sills, Robert Otis (M/52) Arrest on chrg of Impaired Driving Dwi (M), at 2405 Lewisville-clemmons Rd, Clemmons, NC, on 7/9/2023 18:34.
♦ SUTPHIN, CODY LEE was arrested on a charge of ASSLT ON OFF/ST EMP at SALEM LAKE on 7/8/2023
♦ Varner, Brian Heath (M/51) Arrest on chrg of 1) Breaking/larc-felony (F) and 2) Larceny-felony (F), at 1 Medical Center Blvd, Winston Salem, NC, on 7/4/2023 14:16.
♦ VERNON, ANDREA MICHELLE was arrested on a charge of P/W/I/ S/D SCHED II at CHERRY ST/ BROWNSBAIR on 7/6/2023
♦ WARCISKI, KASSANDRA MARIE was arrested on a charge of DRUGS-POSS SCHED II at 230 BARLOW CR on 7/7/2023
♦ Washingtonrichmond, Krystal Desirae (F/20) Arrest on chrg of Child Abuse (M), at 201 N Church St, Winston-salem, NC, on 7/6/2023 16:40.
♦ Washingtonrichmond, Krystal Desirae (F/20) Arrest on chrg of Probation Violation (M), at 201 N Church St, Winston-salem, NC, on
7/6/2023 20:42.
♦ Washingtonrichmond, Krystal Desirae (F/20) Arrest on chrg of Weap-poss By Felon (F), at 201 N Church St, Winston-salem, NC, on 7/9/2023 14:23.
♦ Williams, Dylan James (M/34) Arrest on chrg of Fugitive (F), at 5900 Germanton Rd, Winstonsalem, NC, on 7/5/2023 09:21.
♦ Rev. Reginald Buie, 60, of Fayetteville, died July 4, 2023.
♦ Linda Fay Griffin Carlyle, 83, of Rural Hall, died July 7th, 2023.
♦ Tabitha Dildy, 53, of High Point, died July 8, 2023.
♦ Heather Suzanne Fincher Dixon, 39, of Winston-Salem, died July 6, 2023.
♦ Gaynell Marie Thompson Englebert, 75, of Winston-Salem, died July 6, 2023.
♦ Edward “Ed” Clifford Fontaine, Jr., 67, of Clemmons, died July 5, 2023.
♦ Larry Charles Howell, 79, of Kernersville, died July 5, 2023.
♦ Emma Marie Dawson Leonard, 79, of Winston-Salem, died July 5, 2023.
♦ Doris Kiser Mills, 82, of Rockingham County, died July 6, 2023.
♦ Linda Atkins Pearman, 81, of Kernersville, died July 7, 2023.
♦ John Lewis Womble, 90, of WinstonSalem, died July 4, 2023.
GOLF
Monahan to return as PGA Tour commissioner after break
Ponte Vedra Beach, Fla.
PGA Tour Commissioner
Jay Monahan is returning to work. Monahan has told the tour he will resume his job on July 17. That will be about a month since Monahan stepped away for what was referred to only as a medical situation. His surprise departure was a week after announcing the tour’s agreement to work with the Saudi backers of LIV Golf. Monahan said in a note to the tour’s policy board, staff and players that his health has improved.
MLB Yankees fire hitting coach Dillon Lawson New York
Hitting coach Dillon
Lawson was fired by the New York Yankees on Sunday, a rare midseason change by a franchise that has prized stability since Hal Steinbrenner took over from his father as controlling owner. New York’s .231 batting average is 28th among the 30 major league teams, ahead of only Detroit and Oakland.
The Yankees are batting a major league-worst .218 in 31 games since Aaron Judge tore a ligament in his right big toe on June 3, going 14-17 and entering the All-Star break in fourth place of the AL East 4942. No replacement was announced.
MMA
Volkanovski regains
UFC title with 3rdround TKO
Las Vegas
Alexander Volkanovski reasserted himself as the featherweight champion with a technical knockout over Yair Rodriguez at 4:19 of the third round Saturday night in UFC 290. Rodriguez was the interim champion after Volkanovski temporarily moved up to lightweight, but the Australian left little doubt who the better fighter in running his record to 26-2 in what was scheduled as a five-round bout. Rodriguez, who is from Mexico, is 16-4. It was Volkanovski’s first fight since a loss by unanimous decision to lightweight champion lightweight Islam Makhachev on Feb. 11, ending Volkanovski’s 22-fight winning streak.
OLYMPICS
Speedskating medalist, world champion Mantia
retires
Kearns, Utah
Olympic medalist Joey
Mantia has retired from speedskating at age 37.
The Floridian announced the end of his career in a post on his Instagram Threads page. Mantia was a multiple world champion in inline skating who made the switch to ice in 2010.
He qualified for the the first of three Olympics at the 2014 Sochi Games and finally earned his first medal, a bronze in men’s team pursuit, at the Beijing Winter Games. He was among three skaters from Ocala, Florida, who won speedskating medals in Beijing, joining Erin Jackson and Brittany Bowe.
egy as drivers fought to move toward the front of the field before weather delayed or ended the race.
The Associated Press
HAMPTON, Ga. — William Byron overcame a spin early in the second stage that knocked him back a lap and then was in the right position when weather took control at Atlanta Motor Speedway.
Byron won the rain-shortened NASCAR race at Atlanta on Sunday night for his series-leading fourth victory of the season. It was the second win in Atlanta in the last two years for Byron, who took the NASCAR points lead.
Byron said it was “kind of pins and needles” after his crew made changes to his No. 24 Hendricks Motorsports Chevrolet that had been damaged by the spin.
“When I spun, I was like here we go,” Byron said. “... It was not good at that moment. We lost a lap, changed tires.”
The threat of rain affected strat-
With 75 laps to go, NASCAR ordered cars to pit road due to rain and the possibility of lightning. Cars were covered while officials waited to see if the rain ended.
Only six minutes later, fans were warned of severe weather within eight miles of the track and were encouraged to leave the stadium immediately, and NASCAR called the race soon after that announcement.
“I 1,000% agree with erring on the side of caution,” said Kyle Busch, who finished fifth.
Daniel Suarez, looking for his first win of 2023, was second. AJ Allmendinger was third, followed by Michael McDowell.
Suarez said he had “a little bit of mixed feelings” about NASCAR’s decision to end the race.
“I wish we had one more shot to get ahead and then it could rain all it wants,” Suarez said with a laugh. The race became official after 130 laps. After that, the weath-
Daniel Suarez, who finished second at Atlanta
er watch factored heavily into race strategy. “We knew the rain was coming,” McDowell said. “We wanted to give ourselves the best chance to win the race.”
Kevin Harvick, a three-time Atlanta winner, had a spin with 89 laps remaining. Harvick was able to drive to pit road without a caution, but the spin all but ended his hopes of a win in his final Atlanta race.
The increased threat of rain placed an increased emphasis on drivers to compete for top spots in the second stage, perhaps contributing to two wrecks that knocked
out Ross Chastain, Kyle Larson and Austin Hill.
Denny Hamlin and Alex Bowman were involved in another crash late in the second stage, leaving Brad Keselowski and Ryan Blaney at the front of the field. The stage ended under caution.
Despite the stage win, Keselowski was left with a big decision as he talked with his crew about the threat of rain and the possibility of staying on the track. He chose to pit for fuel, saying he had no real choice.
“No, we had 12 to 14 laps left of fuel and that was not enough, and we ended up running 15 laps or so,” Keselowski said. “I think we made the right call. We just needed the rain to be 10 minutes earlier or 10 minutes later.”
A collision between Bubba Wallace and Ryan Preece caused another caution early in the final stage, leaving Byron in the lead, ahead of Suarez.
The NASCAR Cup Series moves to New Hampshire Motor Speedway in Loudon next Sunday.
The Olympic gold medalist was diagnosed with breast cancer a decade ago
The Associated Press
TWO-TIME Olympic gold-medalist and former Tennessee star Nikki McCray-Penson has died. She was 51.
McCray-Penson was an assistant women’s basketball coach at Rutgers last season and the school on Friday confirmed her death. She was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2013.
She joined coach Dawn Staley as an assistant at South Carolina from 2008-17. She was part of the Gamecocks’ first national championship in 2017. They were gold-medal teammates at the 1996 Atlanta and 2000 Sydney Olympics.
“It’s hard to think about Nikki’s passing because all I can see is how fully she lived,” Staley said in a statement. “From her days as a brash rookie in USA Basketball to becoming my friend and colleague to the way she mentored young players, Nikki did everything with her whole heart. ... she had such light, such positive energy inside her no matter what was going on.
I am heartbroken that cancer has taken that light from us, but I know that she would want us to be the ones to carry it on in her absence.”
McCray-Penson played at Tennessee from 1991-95 under Hall
of Fame coach Pat Summitt. The point guard was a two-time SEC Player of the Year and a two-time Kodak All-America standout during her junior and senior seasons for the Lady Vols. The team reached the Final Four in 1995, losing in the championship game to undefeated Connecticut.
The 1996 U.S. Olympic team sparked the formation of the WNBA and ABL (American Basketball League 1996-98). She won MVP honors in 1997 while leading the ABL’s Columbus Quest to a
championship before heading over to the WNBA. McCray-Penson was a three-time All-Star in that league while playing for the Washington Mystics. She played until 2006 when she retired, with a stop in San Antonio along the way.
“She’s a competitor,” said New York Liberty coach Sandy Brondello, who coached her in San Antonio and played against her on the Australian Olympic team. “She just got out there and did it to the best of her ability. That’s really sad and
“It’s hard to think about Nikki’s passing because all I can see is how fully she lived.”
Dawn Staley, South Carolina women’s basketball coach
tragic. Prayers go out to her family.”
McCray-Penson began her 16year coaching career as an assistant at Western Kentucky for three seasons from 2006-2008. After South Carolina won the NCAA title, she became the head coach at Old Dominion in 2017, going 24-6 in 2020.
She spent one year at Mississippi State before stepping down for health reasons and returned as an assistant under coach Coquese Washington at Rutgers last season.
“Nikki had a big smile and an even bigger heart,” Washington said. “She was full of life, energy, and was so much fun to be around. Nikki touched the lives of many because she made it her mission to uplift others and help them achieve whatever dreams and goals they expressed.”
McCray-Penson was inducted into the Women’s Basketball Hall of Fame in 2012. She is survived by her husband Thomas and son Thomas Jr.
“I wish we had one more shot to get ahead and then it could rain all it wants.”
The Associated Press
NEW YORK — Seven weeks before the premiere debate of the 2024 GOP primary, anxiety is building that the event could prove messy and divisive for the party.
Some candidates, like former Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson, are struggling to meet fundraising and polling requirements to make it on stage. He and others are pushing back on a loyalty pledge the Republican Party is insisting candidates sign to participate. And the race’s frontrunner, former President Donald Trump, is considering boycotting and holding a competing event instead.
That’s turning what is typically the highly anticipated opener of the election season into a source of uncertainty for the candidates and broader party. The frustration is particularly acute for candidates who hoped to use the forum as a powerful opportunity to confront Trump and try to blunt his momentum.
The Republican National Committee has said that, in order to participate in the Aug. 23 debate in Milwaukee, candidates must have received contributions from at least 40,000 individual donors, with at least 200 unique donors in 20 or more states. They also must earn at least 1% in three high-quality national polls, or a mix of national and early-state polls, between July 1 and August 21.
Candidates will also have to sign a pledge “agreeing to support the eventual party nominee,” according to an RNC press release,
and one agreeing not to participate in any non-RNC sanctioned debate for the remainder of the election cycle.
“Our criteria is very clear, we are ensuring quality polls are used to determine which candidates make the debate stage and we are confident that there will be enough polls for our candidates to qualify,” said RNC spokeswoman Emma Vaughn.
The candidates who say they
The Associated Press
EAGLE PASS, Texas — Texas began rolling out what is set to become a new floating barrier on the Rio Grande in the latest escalation of Republican Gov. Greg Abbott’s multibillion-dollar effort to secure the U.S. border with Mexico, which already has included bussing migrants to liberal states and authorizing the National Guard to make arrests.
But even before the huge, orange buoys were unloaded from the trailers that hauled them to the border city of Eagle Pass, there were concerns over this part of Abbott’s unprecedented challenge to the federal government’s authority over immigration enforcement. Migrant advocates voiced concerns about drowning risks and environmentalists questioned the impact on the river.
Dozens of the large spherical buoys were stacked on the beds of four tractor trailers in a grassy city park near the river on Friday
morning.
Setting up the barriers could take up to two weeks, according to Lt. Chris Olivarez, a spokesperson for the Texas Department of Public Safety, which is overseeing the project. Once installed, the above-river parts of the system and the webbing they’re connected with will cover 1,000 feet of the middle of the Rio Grande, with anchors in the riverbed.
Eagle Pass is part of a Border Patrol sector that has seen the second highest number of migrant crossings this fiscal year with about 270,000 encounters — though that is lower than it was at this time last year.
The crossing dynamics shifted in May after the Biden administration stopped implementing Title 42, a pandemic era public health policy that turned many asylum seekers back to Mexico. New rules allowed people to seek asylum through a government application and set up appointments
have qualified so far include Trump, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, South Carolina Sen. Tim Scott, former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley and entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy. Some lesser-known candidates, such as conservative radio host Larry Elder, North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum and Miami Mayor Francis Suarez, appear unlikely to make the cutoffs.
Former Vice President Mike Pence, who launched his cam-
at the ports of entry, though the maximum allowed in per day is set at 1,450. The Texas governor’s policies target the many who are frustrated with the cap and cross illegally through the river.
Earlier iterations of Abbott’s border mission have included installing miles of razor wire at popular crossing points on the river and creating state checkpoints beyond federal stops to inspect incoming commercial traffic.
“We always look to employ whatever strategies will be effective in securing the border,” Abbott said in a June 8 press conference to introduce the buoy strategy.
Immigrant advocates, including Sister Isabel Turcios, a nun who oversees a migrant shelter in Piedras Negras, Mexico, which sits just across the river from Eagle Pass, have remained vigilant about the effects of the new barrier on migration. Turcios said she met with the Texas Department of Public Safety in the days leading up to the arrival of the buoys and was told the floating barrier would be placed in deep waters to function as a warning to migrants to avoid the area.
Turcios said she is aware that many of the nearly 200 migrants staying in her shelter on any given day are not deterred from crossing illegally despite sharp concertina wire. But that wire causes more danger because it forces migrants to spend additional time
paign on June 7, has not yet released a tally of donors, but his campaign said it had raised “well into five digits” in the weeks since his announcement.
“Getting in late made it more difficult, but we’re confident we’ll get there,” said Pence spokesman Devin O’Malley.
Former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, who has also expressed confidence he will hit the benchmarks, has pitched himself as the candidate most qualified to directly take on Trump onstage.
While Trump’s threats to boycott have complicated that argument, Christie’s campaign has nonetheless urged donors to give even $1 to help him qualify.
Anthony Scaramucci, the financier who served briefly as Trump’s White House communications director and is now supporting Christie, recently encouraged even those who have no intention of voting for the former New Jersey governor to nonetheless chip in.
“Whether you’re a Republican or Democrat, whether you would vote for Chris or wouldn’t vote for Chris, we need someone onstage to tell the truth and put a stop to this nonsense,” he said during a recent podcast interview with the candidate.
Trump, according to campaign officials, has yet to make a final decision on his plans. But he has indicated both publicly and privately that he is not inclined to participate, and aides have been considering options for an alternative event.
DeSantis said that he planned to participate in the debate “regardless” of Trump’s decision.
“I hope everybody who’s eligible comes. I think it’s an important part of the process and I look forward to being able to be on the stage,” he said in an interview with Fox News. This wouldn’t be the first time Trump has skipped a major GOP debate. During his 2016 campaign, Trump boycotted the final GOP gathering before the Iowa caucuses and instead held his own campaign event, a flashy telethon-style gathering in Iowa that was billed as a fundraiser for veterans. While the event earned him headlines and drew attention away from his rivals, Trump went on to lose the Iowa caucuses to Ted Cruz — a loss some supporters blamed on his debate decision.
The RNC has so far declined to release the actual language of the pledge it intends to make candidates sign. It is expected to be similar to 2016, when candidates had to affirm that, if they did not win the nomination, they would “endorse the 2016 Republican presidential nominee regardless of who it is” and not run as an independent or accept the nomination of any other party.
So far, only former Texas Rep. Will Hurd has said definitely that he will not sign the pledge because he refuses to support Trump if he becomes the eventual nominee.
RNC Chair Ronna McDaniel has repeatedly defended the criteria, which came after so many candidates ran in 2016 that debates had to be split in half — with lower-polling candidates participating in an earlier forum.
“Not everybody deserves to be on that debate stage,” she said in a recent interview on Newsmax.
in the river.
“That’s more and more dangerous each time ... because it has perches, it has whirlpools and because of the organized crime,” Turcios said.
Texas Department of Public Safety Director Steven McCraw addressed the danger that migrants may face when the buoys are deployed during the June press conference when Abbott spoke: “Anytime they get in that water, it’s a risk to the migrants. This is the deterrent from even coming in the water.”
Jessie Fuentes, who owns a
canoe and kayaking business that takes paddlers onto the Rio Grande, said he’s worried about unforeseen consequences. On Friday, he filed a lawsuit to stop Texas from using the buoys. He’s seeking a permanent injunction, saying his paddling business is impacted by limited access to the river.
“I know it’s a detriment to the river flow, to the ecology of the river, to the fauna and flora. Every aspect of nature is being affected when you put something that doesn’t belong in the river,” Fuentes said.
The American Red Cross continues to see a concerning trend – blood donations are being sent to hospitals faster than they are coming in. The Red Cross has collected about 50,000 fewer blood donations than needed over the last two months. Donors are asked to make an appointment to give blood or platelets now to avoid a looming blood shortage. To help head off a more serious situation, the Red Cross has teamed up with Warner Bros. Discovery for the 35th anniversary of Shark Week and the theatrical release of Meg 2: The Trench.
In thanks for helping, the Red Cross is offering several incentives to donors who come out to give blood or platelets in the coming weeks. Additionally, in response to the great need for blood, those who hurry in to help by coming to give between today and July 16 will receive a limited-time bonus $15 gift card by mail to a merchant of their choice. Those who come between July 12 and August 12 will be entered for a threenight New York getaway. Donors that give from July 1731 will receive a free Shark Week T-shirt. Upcoming donation opportunities include:
July 17, 2023: 9 a.m. – 1:30 p.m., Pinewild Country Club, 6 Glasgow Dr., Pinehurst
July 21, 2023: 10 a.m. – 3 p.m., Cox’s
Double Eagle Harley Davidson, 7540 NC Hwy 15 –501 South, West End
July 28, 2023: 11 a.m. – 5 p.m., Grace Church, 145 West Plaza Dr., Seven Lakes
ABERDEEN — The Aberdeen Town Board met Monday, June 26, with four public hearings on the agenda, all of which related to property matters.
The board meeting began with a presentation of their audit report for Fiscal Year 2021-22 presented by Forvis.
“As a result of our audit, we issued an unmodified or clean audit report on the town’s financial statements,” said Forvis partner John Frank. “We did not identify any material weaknesses or significant deficiencies in internal controls. Overall, positive financial results for the year.”
“We survived COVID, and we’re coming out the other side
in good shape,” said Mayor Robert Farrell.
The board then held four public hearings, each dealing with property matters.
The first public hearing was for an annexation request by Strickland Construction for 0.97 acres located south of Longleaf Road and east of Longleaf Circle.
“It is actually the only property that is not annexed within the town limits in the neighborhood the parcel is in at this time,” said Planning Director John Terziu.
Following the hearing, the board approved the annexation request.
The second hearing was for a zoning request to rezone the newly annexed property from R-30 to R-20.
“The Comprehensive Land Development Plan adopted in 2019 utilizes a future land use map, and the subject parcel was included within the future land use map and the existing land use map and
is identified as low-density residential in both,” Terziu said.
According to the applicant, the plan for the property was to divide the current 43,000-squarefoot lot into two separate 20,000-square-foot lots. However, while some commissioners and members of the public had concerns with that plan, a rezoning request can’t take the intention for the land into consideration.
“The issue tonight is not dividing the lot; it’s just rezoning the property,” Farrell said.
Following the request, the board approved the request by a 3-2 vote, with Commissioner Teressa Beavers and Commissioner Elease Goodwin voting against the motion.
“It’s not in compliance with the older sections of the Forest Hills neighborhood,” Beavers said on her reasoning for voting against the request.
The third hearing was a request for a special use permit by
PINEHURST — The Village of Pinehurst Council met Tuesday, June 27, with multiple financial items on the agenda.
The council first held a public hearing for a request by Red Pine Investments, LLC, for a voluntary annexation petition for 7.8 acres of property located in the vicinity of Trotter Drive west of NC Highway 5.
“To date, staff has not received any application nor have there been shared any concrete conceptual designs or layouts for the four parcels,” said Planning and Inspections Director Alex Cameron. “It is zoned Block H within the Pinehurst South Form-Based District. In large, the permitted uses are related to single-family detached and single-family attached and their customary accessory uses. Any future development would have to follow those estab -
lished rules, process, procedures, density, and zoning requirements and also have to be approved by the Village Council.”
According to Cameron, the benefits of the voluntary annexation for the Village include increased tax revenue and grant opportunities, application and enforcement of all codes and regulations (not just zoning), future development must still follow adopted rules and processes, boundary expansion, and benefits for the property owner include municipal services, added public safety protection, roadway maintenance.
“We had the question of how do we clean our map up, well this is a good way of cleaning it up,” said council member Lydia Boesch.
Following the hearing, the board approved the request.
The council also approved an ordinance to amend the FY23 budget for GASB 9 subscription-based IT arrangements.
“It’s a very technical standard, but the intention of the standard involves analyzing our software subscriptions and determining
for ones where it is a multi-year agreement where we anticipate renewing that software over multiple years. The intention for those types of agreements is that we record those subscriptions as a right-to-use asset with an associated liability,” said Finance Director Dana Van Nostrand. “The way that improves financial reporting for governments is that you now have on your balance sheet a number that shows how much you are committed and already contractually obligated to pay in the future for these types of agreements.”
The council also approved a resolution to commit the current fund balance for future capital.
“The policy allows for if we have fund balance in excess of 40% of our actual general fund expenditures in our year-end audit report in the annual comprehensive financial report, it will allow us to report that amount as committed for future capital,” Van Nostrand said. “That basically means that we would need to use those funds for future capital projects.”
Finally, the council approved
Reliance Packaging for material changes to 5.2 acres of property located at 155 Anderson Street.
Following changes to Aberdeen’s UDO, conditional use permits were removed as an avenue for development, and as such, the applicant was recommended to seek a special use permit instead.
“The material changes requested address height and design standards that are included in the previously approved conditional use permit, and minor modifications have created a non-conforming property,” Terziu said.
“These changes are necessary due to the renovation of the existing building, fire suppression upgrades and modifications to allow new machinery.”
The requested changes include an increase to the existing 60-foot-high eave (not exceeding 71 feet) and vertical metal wall panels like the existing paneling
See ABERDEEN page 2
changes to the policy on the Administration of the Position Classification and Pay Plan after a commissioned study.
“This is the result of a study that we commission every year to look at roughly one-third of the positions within the Village and do a market study on those positions, and our consultant comes back with a very specific recommendation which is about how we should be changing certain position clas-
See PINEHURST page 2
CRIME LOG
7/9/2023, Southern Pines PD
on the existing building previously approved by the Board of Commissioners.
Following the hearing, the board approved the request.
The final hearing was another zoning request to rezone three parcels of property totaling 7.24 acres and located at the previous site of the old Aberdeen Primary School from R-10 to Neighborhood Commercial (NC).
“The NC district is established
to primarily accommodate low to moderate intensity office, retail, and personal service uses adjacent to and within residential neighborhoods,” Terziu said. “In addition to commercial uses, the district also allows a variety of residential and institutional uses in stand-alone structures as well as in mixed-use developments.”
Following the hearing, however, the board denied the request due to the broadness of the NC district.
“It’s just the point that if you use
that zoning, you’re really opening the door to just anything,” said Commissioner Wilma Laney. “It’s a big list of stuff that can come in there. Putting something there that’s going to drastically change everything, to me, is not worth it. At some point, we will reach some level where we can put something there, but don’t just put something there because the school is currently there, and we want to change it.”
The Aberdeen Town Board will next meet July 24.
sifications to make sure we’re keeping up with the market,” said Village Manager Jeff Sanborn.
The study looked at all regular full-time and part-time positions in the Parks and Recreation and Public Services Departments as well as four Administrative positions in various departments, and from those, the recommendations included seven pay grade movements (Streets and Grounds Maintenance Worker I and II, Administrative and Data Coordinator, Grounds Maintenance Supervisor, Parks Maintenance
Supervisor, Street Maintenance Supervisor and Buildings and Grounds Supervisor), the addition of four positions (Fleet Service Apprentice, Recreation Assistant, Senior Fleet Service Technician, Assistant Fire Marshal) and a title change for Fleet Maintenance Supervisor to Fleet Maintenance Superintendent.
In addition to those changes, the recommendation was also to modify the policy in order to change the eligibility for the cost-of-living adjustments for new hires to include a prorated amount, to change the eligibility for market adjustments from
those below the midpoint to all employees, to change the application of the COLA in the market adjustments so that employees would get both COLA and the market adjustment if their position is reclassified, and a shift of all pay grades by 8% in line with the consumer price index.
“The amounts of money that are being provided in here are already baked into our 2024 budget,” said council member Jane Hogeman. “So we’re not adding on as we sit here to something that we already voted on.”
The Village of Pinehurst Council will next meet July 11.
We are part of the Randolph County School System
No student with high grades and test scores should be rejected in favor of a lesser applicant who happens to have a certain skin color.
THE SUPREME COURT has ruled 6-3 that racial preferences in college admissions violate the U.S. Constitution.
At last!
No student with high grades and test scores should be rejected in favor of a lesser applicant who happens to have a certain skin color.
The evidence provided to the court showed that Harvard College and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill discriminated against Asian American and white applicants.
A black, Hispanic or Native American student with a combined SAT score above 1,100 might be invited to apply to Harvard, but an Asian girl would need at least 1,350, and an Asian boy at least 1,380.
The real opportunity gap in this nation is not between black and white. It’s between rich and poor.
Contrary to what most Americans assume, affirmative action has never helped poor kids. In fact, Harvard favors wealthy kids. Only 3% of the student body come from lowincome families. A staggering 67% come from families in the top fifth of the nation’s earners, per data provided by Harvard researcher Raj Chetty. Nearly three-quarters of Harvard’s black and Hispanic students come from high-earning families.
Justice Clarence Thomas stresses that Harvard offers the same admissions “bump” to “a wealthy black applicant given every advantage in life as to a black applicant from a poor family with seemingly insurmountable barriers to overcome.”
All the while Harvard rejects Asian American applicants with higher grades and test scores, even those from poor families. College administrators are already trying to weasel around the court’s ruling
by waiving standardized tests that make discrimination hard to conceal.
That’s dishonorable.
Instead, they should be scrapping racial preferences and reaching out to economically disadvantaged students with high potential, regardless of race, to promote economic mobility and help keep the American dream alive.
Students from low-income families, impoverished neighborhoods and failing schools score 399 points lower on the math and English SATs than other students, according to a Century Foundation study. Black students overall score 56 points lower.
If anyone needs a “bump” in the admissions process, it’s a poor kid.
During oral arguments, Thomas pressed lawyers for Harvard and UNC on the educational benefits of racial diversity. Wryly, he wrote that “with nearly 50 years to develop their arguments, neither Harvard nor UNC — two of the foremost research institutions in the world” — could explain the supposed link between racial diversity and educational benefit.
Thomas suggests that “two white students, one from rural Appalachia and one from a wealthy San Francisco suburb, may well have more diverse outlooks on this metric than two students from Manhattan’s Upper East Side attending its most elite schools, one of whom is white and other of whom is black.”
The Left and its media allies are bashing the court for discarding what New York Times legal analyst Adam Liptak calls “decades of precedent.”
Wrong. There is no precedent for permanent affirmative action. The court didn’t intend for it to last forever.
In his opinion, Chief Justice John Roberts makes it clear that a major reason UNC and
Most of the Biden Administration appointees have never worked for a private business.
White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre recently reiterated a point the Biden White House has been making for the past year: that inflation remains high not because of the Biden $6 trillion spending spree but because “high profit margins” captured during the COVID-19 pandemic drive up consumer prices.
We then were told that the White House’s grand strategy to bring down sticker prices further at the store is to lower business profit margins for everything from drugs and computers to food and gasoline.
How low should those evil profits go? To zero?
Wait, since when are profits evil? The ability of a company to turn a profit is the very engine of growth -- also of innovation, job creation and entrepreneurship.
The only people who could possibly believe profits are nefarious are those who have never actually earned a profit. It isn’t so easy.
As the late, great economist Walter Williams of George Mason University used to explain in his Econ 100 course: Farmers in North Dakota don’t raise cattle and work 14 hours a day growing acres of wheat because they want to provide a juicy steak meal for a Wall Street fat cat. Those farmers and ranchers don’t give a hoot for New Yorkers. They raise cattle and send steaks to feed the people in Manhattan because they want to earn a profit. If there were no profit in it, the people in New York would go hungry or would be standing in soup lines.
Almost every lifesaving drug known to man was developed in the lab of a private pharmaceutical company or a biotech firm. Governments rarely invent new lifesaving drugs used by millions of people. And no, former Vice President Al Gore didn’t invent the internet. Profit seekers did, and then they built a $10 trillion industry that has revolutionized the way we live and work and play.
Steve Jobs and his colleagues virtually invented the personal computer and Apple’s relentless pursuit of profit. He perfected the cellphone and then drove down its cost so that today even many of the poorest people in Africa can afford it. Fifty years ago, even a
Harvard lost their cases is that they failed to point to an end date.
When the court upheld affirmative action at the University of Michigan Law School in 2003, the justices knew “this is dangerous and it has to have an end point,” explained Justice Amy Coney Barrett.
That is when Justice Sandra Day O’Connor said it should no longer be necessary in 25 years (i.e., five years from now).
Yet, when Barrett pressed UNC’s lawyers and Solicitor General Elizabeth Prelogar for a time when they could see it ending, she got no answer.
The right answer is now.
Affirmative action is a euphemism for an ugly process — reverse discrimination. Another 25 years won’t make it prettier.
The Left insists the court is recklessly departing from precedent to favor its conservative political agenda. Not so. It is the three liberal justices — Sonia Sotomayor, Elena Kagan and Ketanji Brown Jackson — who are actually discarding precedent. They’re inventing a new rationale for affirmative action, claiming it’s justified to correct historic wrongs.
Roberts chastised the three dissenters sharply for it. The court “has long rejected their core thesis,” he wrote.
Thomas warns that if the liberal justices’ viewpoint ever prevails, it will lead “to a world in which everyone is defined by their skin color, demanding ever-increasing entitlements and preferences on that basis.”
Fortunately, the Constitution and this court are standing in the way.
Betsy McCaughey is a former lieutenant governor of New York and chairman of the Committee to Reduce Infection Deaths.
king’s ransom couldn’t buy what a poor Indonesian farmer has in his pocket. Why? Because Apple found a way to make a profit selling it to him. Now Apple is a $3 trillion company — by selling people all over the world something they desperately want.
That’s not to say altruism and charity don’t count. It surely does — and it’s a divine inspiration. But we have hundreds of years of evidence that this isn’t as powerful a motivation as the mundane and relentless pursuit of making a profit. Even Bono of U2, a great philanthropist, has discovered with the tens of millions of dollars he has donated to worthy causes that charity is never going to solve the poverty problem. Only the free enterprise system and profits will.
The profit motive is arguably the noblest pursuit in human history. Profits have saved more lives, created higher living standards, sparked more inventions, pulled more people out of poverty and created more jobs than all the government programs and all the “nonprofit” activities combined.
A war against profits is a war against prosperity. As economist Larry Kudlow of Fox Business puts it: High-profit margins are the mother’s milk of the stock market, so lower profits (or even zero profits, which seems to be the Biden goal) would lead to a flurry of business bankruptcies, mass layoffs and a stock market collapse. Without profits, there are no businesses, and without employers, there are no jobs, and without jobs, there is no consumer spending.
And you can kiss your 401(k) plan goodbye in a land of shrinking profits.
So why are the Biden people against profits? Why don’t they get the way the world really works? Perhaps it is because, as we revealed in our Committee to Unleash Prosperity study last year, most of the Biden administration appointees have never worked for a private business. They don’t understand one of the most basic economic truisms: What drives down an economy aren’t businesses that make a profit but businesses that make a loss.
If the goal of the Biden administration is to drive down profits, the endgame will be to make everyone poorer and poorer over time. We will have reached their goal of equity and equality.
July 16, 1947 - July 9, 2023
Francis “Paul” Daley, 75, of Cameron, died unto Christ on Sunday, July 9, 2023, at his home.
Paul was born in Newport News, Virginia to Robert and Lucy Daley on July 16, 1947. He lived in the Newport News area until he joined the United States Air Force after graduating from high school.
Following his time in the military, Paul was involved with The Navigator’s ministry to college students in Florida and later worked for several residential camping programs for troubled youth with the Eckerd Foundation. During his time working for the Eckerd programs he met the love of his life, Lisa, and they were married in 1977. Paul and Lisa were led to serve the Baptist Children’s Homes of North Carolina in 1980. They worked as emergency home parents for two years as they expectantly awaited their move to Cameron, North Carolina to begin working at Cameron Boys Camp.
In 1982, Paul became Assistant Director of Cameron Boys Camp and then became Director in 1989. In 2009, Paul helped start Camp Duncan for Girls in Aberdeen and served there as Director until 2019. Most recently, Paul served as the Senior Advisor of Wilderness Camping for both programs.
Paul was a member of First Baptist Church, Southern Pines where he enjoyed worshipping with his family and participating in his Sunday School class. Paul was always grateful for the church’s support of the local camp programs and of his family, especially during the loss of his daughter to cancer in 2017.
Paul always had a Bible verse to share for every situation. One of his greatest joys was being able to lead many young people to Christ through his work at camp.
Paul was a beloved husband, father, brother, grandfather, and friend. He was a jovial person, witty, funny, full of life and full of love for his family, others, and for Christ.
Paul was preceded in death by his parents and his daughter, Christy. Paul is survived by his wife of 46 years, Lisa, his son, Joseph Daley (Sarah), his daughter, Catherine Daley, daughter, Bethany Saburro (Jacob), his three grandchildren, Annabelle, Charlie, and Lucy Daley, and his sister, Peggy Matthews.
October 25, 1929 - July 8, 2023
Richard Edwin True passed peacefully at his home in Seven Lakes West on Saturday, July 8, 2023. He was 93 years old.
Ed was born on October 25, 1929 in Youngwood, PA to Zelma (Kaufman) and Robert True, Sr. He worked in the family plumbing business until he enlisted in the Army. Ed was an instructor at The Antiaircraft Artillery & Guided Missile School. After his service, he studied abroad at Mexico City College for a year. He took his pre-engineering courses at Otterbein College, received a BS degree in Electrical Engineering at Penn State University and later received an MBA from Syracuse University. He worked at Bendix Aircraft for two years then in management at General Electric for 33 years.
Ed is survived by his loving wife, Barbara, his daughters, Karen Elward (and her husband, Robert), Cynthia Nelson (and her husband Kenneth) and his grandchildren, Sabrina Elward, Alex King, Jacob King, and Joshua Nelson. Ed is predeceased by his daughter Patricia.
January 13, 1947 - July 6, 2023
Carolyn Thrower McCullen, age 76, died Thursday, July 6, 2023 at FirstHealth Moore Regional Hospital in Pinehurst.
Born January 13, 1947, Carolyn was the daughter of the late Bernice and Ruth Thrower. Carolyn was a devout Christian and was a member of the Yates Thagard Baptist Church for 56 years. She was a loving wife, mother, grandmother and was known for her sweet, kind nature and was adored by all. She is survived by her husband, Stephen F. McCullen, a son, Billy Morrison (Tracy) of Clover, SC, step children, Chevis McCullen (Mindy) of Eagle, WI, Christian McCullen of CA, and Chet McCullen (Sherri) of San Diego, CA, three grandchildren, Drew, Jakob, and Josh, 5 step grandchildren, Kyra, Kale, Adiana, Kai and Beau.
April 2, 1932 - July 6, 2023
Edmund Preston Lewis, 91, of Seven Lakes passed away on July 6, 2023 at his home.
Born on April 2, 1932 to the late Edmund and Helen Lewis, Ed graduated from Westfield High School in New Jersey in 1950. Ed then went to Colgate University where he obtained a Bachelors degree in Finance. After Colgate, Ed enlisted in the Army for two years where he was stationed in San Francisco at the Presidio.
In addition to his parents, Ed was preceded in death by his wife, Barbara Lewis; one son, Edmund Lewis, Jr.; and his sister, Marilyn Flinn. Ed is survived by two sons, Gregory Lewis (Elizabeth Lewis); and Jeffrey Lewis; also survived by two granddaughters, Jacqueline Lewis and Katherine Lewis.
December 16, 1926 - July 5, 2023
Charles Edward “Ed” Walden Jr of Camden, SC passed peacefully on July 5th at Penick Village in Southern Pines, NC.
Ed was born Dec 16, 1926 in Scottsburg, VA to the late Charles and Florence Walden. He was preceded in death by his wife, Nell Forbes Walden, to whom he was married for 65 years, and by three sisters, Puckette W. Wooten, Grey W. Ritchie, and Evelyn W. McDaniel.
Ed joined the Army Air Corp in the waning days of WWII, preparing for a Pacific deployment shortly before the war ended. He spent much of his service in Panama as a B-17 airplane mechanic before leaving service and entering college at N. C. State University. After graduation, he joined Dupont as a chemical engineer. Ed and Nell lived in several locations including a few years overseas in Holland before finally settling in Camden, SC in 1967.
Ed and Nell never had children, but they had close family and friends. Ed is survived by his brother Sam C. Walden of Southern Pines, NC and his sister, Lany W. McDonald of Raleigh, NC., and was close to his nephew Stamp Walden and wife, Laura, of Southern Pines.
March 17, 1935 - July 3, 2023
Lore Olsen, 88, of Seven Lakes West, passed peacefully at her home surrounded by her family after a brief illness.
May 25, 1943 - June 29, 2023
Pamela B. Priest, longtime resident of Southern Pines, passed away peacefully on June 29, 2023.
Pamela was born May 25, 1943 in New Britain, Connecticut. She and family moved to Alexandria, Va. where she graduated from Mount Vernon High School.
She adored her family and is survived by her daughters, Hollie Gironda of Pinehurst and Jennifer Megan (Mark) of Northern Virginia. Her 5 beloved grandchildren, Daniel & Michael Gironda of Southern Pines and Alexa, Jack & John Megan of Fairfax Station, Va.; Sister, Bonnie and brother-in-law Tom Thompson of Pittsboro, NC; sister-in-law Joan Bernardo and nephews Don & Ken Bernardo of Charlotte, NC.
Pamela is preceded in death by parents James V. & Pauline Bernardo of Southern Pines, NC and brother Donald V. Bernardo.
March 10, 1992 - June 29, 2023
Roy (Trai) Lee Harris, III, 31, of Fayetteville, North Carolina passed on Thursday, June 29, 2023 at his residence in Fayetteville.
Born in Jersey City, NJ, she was the daughter of the late Herman and Alice (Schuct) Oest. Lore grew up in Palisades Park, NJ and enjoyed many great times at Palisades Amusement Park as a child. She met Ralph Olsen at Old Mill Pond in Paramus, NJ. The two married on Aug. 6, 1955, and settled in River Vale, NJ.
Lore was the loving wife of 67 years to Ralph Olsen. She was the mother of Laurie (Olsen) Faig and her significant other Harry Bowles, RC Olsen and his wife Susan and the late Steven Olsen, and daughter-in-law Tracey Olsen. Lore was “Grandy” to: Chris Faig, Brianna (Faig) Deese and her husband Logan, Erik Olsen and Tara Olsen, Niece Elaine Ganuza (Scullion), Godson and Nephew Gary Scullion and Nephew Keith Scullion. She was the sister of the late Hazel Scullion.
Mr. Harris was born March 10, 1992 in Moore County to Roy Lee Harris, Jr. and Melissia Loren (Black) Harris both of Raeford. Trai was known for his love and devotion to those he held dear. He was a great Dad to his fur babies and a hard worker in his daily life.
Mr. Harris is survived by his wife of 6 years, Blanca Maria (GarciaPerez) Harris of Fayetteville; a brother, Michael Harris of Raeford; father and mother-in-law, Guadalupe Garcia and Veronica Perez of Aberdeen; a brother-inlaw, Eric Garcia of Aberdeen; sisterin-law, Leyda Garcia of Aberdeen; six nieces and nephews, Aliee Harris, Josi Harris, Colt Harris, Atlas Robson, Naomi McKinney, and Omari McKinney; also survived by his two dogs, Buddy and Missie and his turtle, Koopa.
Mr. Harris was preceded in death by a grandmother, Linda Faye Black, and a grandfather, Roy Lee Harris, Sr.
October 9, 1938 - July 4, 2023
Robert W. Taylor, born October 9, 1938 passed away peacefully on July 4th at Hospice House of First Health surrounded by his loving family at the age of 84.
Bob was a graduate of Marquette University and served in the United States Marine Corps. He moved to Pinehurst in 2006 with his wife, Mary from the Chicago area after a successful career in men’s retail apparel. He worked at The Gentleman’s Corner in the Village of Pinehurst before retiring.
Robert is survived by his wife of 57 years, Mary and his son Michael (Mary).
