Raleigh State Rep. Jeffrey Elmore, a longtime advocate for GOP K-12 education policies in the state House, is resigning from his seat a few months before his term was to end. The Wilkes County Republican, who joined the House in 2013, will step down effective Friday afternoon, according to his resignation letter read Monday on the House floor. Instead of seeking a seventh two-year House term, Elmore ran for lieutenant governor, finishing in the middle of the pack in the 11-candidate GOP primary in March. Elmore, who has been a House Appropriations Committee chairman, told the Wilkes Journal-Patriot that he was resigning due to another opportunity, with details to be released soon. Elmore, 46, represents the 94th House District covering Alexander County and most of Wilkes County. Republican activists in his area would pick someone to serve out the remainder of Elmore’s term through the end of the year.
Republican Blair Eddins and Democrat Steve Moree are on the November ballot seeking to succeed Elmore in 2025.
Inflation-adjusted incomes in U.S. rebound
Washington, D.C.
The inflation-adjusted median income of U.S. households rebounded last year to roughly its 2019 level, overcoming the biggest price spike in four decades to restore most Americans’ purchasing power. The proportion of Americans living in poverty also fell slightly last year, to 11.1%, from 11.5% in 2022. But the ratio of women’s median earnings to men’s widened for the first time in more than two decades as men’s income rose more than women’s in 2023. The latest data came Tuesday in an annual report from the Census Bureau, which said the median household income, adjusted for inflation, rose 4% to $80,610 in 2023, up from $77,450 in 2022. It was the first increase since 2019 and is essentially unchanged from that year’s figure of $81,210, officials said. (The median income figure is the point at which half the population is above and half below and is less distorted by extreme incomes than the average.)
The ruling orders Sheriff Garry McFadden to process the permits within 45 days
By A.P. Dillon North State Journal
RALEIGH — The Mecklenburg County Sheriff’s Office has settled a lawsuit brought by gun rights groups and individual plaintiffs that alleged delays in processing con-
cealed handgun permits.
The lawsuit, filed in November 2022, claimed that the sheriff’s office’s practices violated the 2022 U.S. Supreme Court ruling in New York State Rifle and Pistol Association v. Bruen.
The plaintiffs claimed McFadden was abusing a loophole related to mental health checks for concealed handgun permits. The lawsuit filed by Grass Roots North Carolina
See SHERIFF, page A2
K-12 testing scores continue to rise in NC
The results still haven’t reached pre-pandemic rates
By A.P. Dillon North State Journal
RALEIGH — Student test scores for the 2023-24 school year were presented to the North Carolina State Board of Education last Wednesday. Overall, scores across most subjects continued to see upticks when compared to the last two school years but remain behind pre-pandemic rates.
“We are proud of the steady progress reflected in this year’s state test scores,” State Superintendent of Public Instruction Catherine Truitt said in a statement. “This progress highlights the hard work and incredible dedication of educators and students across the state.
“The data in the accountability report provides us with a clear picture of what’s going well in our schools and what areas need additional support. This year’s data shows us that
23 states back NC appeal in sex reassignment surgery coverage case
The 4th Circuit ruled in April that the North Carolina State Health Plan must cover the procedures
By A.P. Dillon North State Journal
RALEIGH — Led by Missouri Attorney General Andrew Bailey, almost two dozen states have signed onto an amicus brief in support of North Carolina and West Virginia in their appeal to overturn a 4th Circuit ruling issued in April that directed the health plans in those states to cover sex reassignment procedures to plan members.
In addition to Missouri, states signing onto the amicus include Alabama, Alaska, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Montana, Nebraska, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, South Carolina,
South Dakota, Texas, Utah, Virginia and Wyoming. All 23 states have Republican attorneys general.
“We appreciate the support nearly half of the states have shown by filing an amicus brief urging the U.S. Supreme Court to review the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals’ decision,” North Carolina State Treasurer Dale Folwell said in a statement. “Our position remains unchanged. State governing bodies are best equipped to evaluate health care coverage that provides the greatest good to the highest number of people. They, and not the courts, are the proper place to make such decisions.”
Folwell, whose agency oversees the State Health Plan, filed a petition appealing the 4th Circuit’s 8-6 decision in Folwell v. Kadel to the U.S. Supreme Court on July 26.
The 4th Circuit’s April 2024 ruling sided with the plaintiffs that the State Health Plan’s refusal to cover sex reassignment surgeries violat-
ed the Equal Protection Clause. Folwell’s petition called the 4th Circuit ruling “seriously flawed,” and the state’s exclusion of gender care treatments, “does not draw any classifications based on any protected trait. It distinguishes between medical treatments. “For decades, the North Carolina State Health Plan for Teachers and State Employees has chosen to exclude coverage for treatments ‘leading to or in connection with sex changes or modifications,’” Folwell’s petition
See APPEAL, page A2
we’re headed in the right direction in most areas, but that we must remain committed to advocating for additional support for our teachers.”
The results for each grade level and subjects area were presented in percentages for both grade-level proficiency (GLP) and college-and-career readiness (CCR). Test scores can fall into five levels, with five being the highest; GLP spans levels 3-5 and CCR levels 4-5.
For the 2023-24 year, the report found most grades had small to moderate upticks in GLP in reading and math, and not a lot of changes in science. End of Grade (EOG) reading for grades three, five, six and eight saw small gains, but fourth and seventh grades declined over the previous year. GLP in 2022-23 for the fourth grade went from 55.1% to 52.6% this year, and for the seventh grade, the respective drop was 50.1% to 48.3%. High school English II scores increased to 59.5% from 58.3% in 2022-23.
See SCHOOLS, page A3
The debut of new Panthers coach Dave Canales, left, didn’t go as planned, with Carolina losing 47-10 in its season opener at New Orleans. Read more on B4.
MATTHEW HINTON / AP PHOTO
APPEAL from page A1
states.
ical or emotional reasons, and more. Each of those choices is designed to ensure that the Plan can provide the best possible coverage for all 740,000 of its members at a reasonable cost.”
You have been disappointed, haven’t you? Of course you have, again and again. Does it hurt very much when things do not go as you have planned and hoped? Does it seem as if you “just can’t stand it”?
Some people can bear disappointment — they seem to have learned the secret of taking off the keen edge so that it does not hurt so much. Have you learned that secret yet? I imagine that I hear someone say, “Oh! I wish I knew the secret!” There is more than one part to the secret. You may learn it if you will — you may get where you can bear disappointment and keep sweet all the time.
Many people are certain to be disappointed. They set their heart so fully upon the thing they wish to have or do, whatever it may be, that they make no provision whatever, except to carry out their plans exactly as they have devised them. They do not provide for any contingencies that may arise. Their plans fill their whole horizon. They can see nothing else — they can think of nothing else — they want it just their way, and no other way. Thus they are certain to suffer keen disappointment, should anything happen different from what they expect. This is what puts the sting in disappointment.
Always make provision in your plans for whatever may happen. Always make your promises to yourself with the proviso, “If nothing prevents.” If you are going on a journey, say, “If it does not rain, or if I am well, or if this or that does not prevent.” Keep the thought in your mind that something may prevent, and do not get it too much settled as a fact that you will do what you have planned. Take into consideration that you are a servant, not the master and the Lord’s will prevails over your best plans. “A man’s heart deviseth his way: but the Lord directeth his steps.” If disappointment comes, it may be necessary for us to repress our feelings of dissatisfaction. If we begin pitying ourselves and saying, “Oh, it is too bad! It is just too bad!” we shall only feel the more keenly the hurt; and the more we cultivate the
RFK Jr. back off ballot
The state Supreme Court ruled that ballots with the We The People Party candidate on them must be reprinted
By A.P. Dillon North State Journal
RALEIGH — The North Carolina Supreme Court ordered the North Carolina State Board of Elections to remove Robert G. Kennedy Jr. from the state’s November ballot in an opinion issued on Monday evening.
Kennedy is the presidential candidate for the We The People Party, which first fought to keep his name on the ballot but then requested removal from the ballot after Kennedy endorsed former President Donald Trump.
“We acknowledge that expediting the process of printing new ballots will require considerable time and effort by our election officials and significant expense to the State,” wrote Associate Justice Trey Allen for the majority. “But that is a price the North Carolina Constitution expects us to incur to protect voters’ fundamental right to vote their conscience
SHERIFF from page A1
(GRNC) noted that sheriffs in North Carolina’s 99 other counties were able to issue or deny all concealed handgun permit (CHP) applications within the statutory 45-day window while McFadden delayed CHP processing for more than a year by sending mental health records requests through the Veterans Administration. The lawsuit was brought by individual CHP applicants and gun rights organizations such as GRNC, Gun Owners of America, Gun Owners Founda-
habit of self-pity — the more power it exercises over us. Some people have so yielded to the power of self-pity, that whole days are darkened by little trifling disappointments that they ought to throw off in a few minutes.
When you are disappointed, take hold of yourself and remember the words of 1 Peter 5:6-7: “Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God, that he may exalt you in due time: Casting all your care upon him; for he careth for you.”
Cast aside self-pity and lift up your head, get your eyes on something else and begin making some new plans. Your old plans are like a broken dish — you cannot use them anymore. Take a new start, smile whether you feel like it or not. You have many other things to enjoy; do not let this one thing spoil them all. Refuse to think of your unpleasant feelings; resolutely shut the door
against them. God will help you if you try.
The Lord is our Master. It is he who changes our plans for his own purpose; and when he does this, the outcome is always better than the thing of our own choosing. If we rebel, we are rebelling against God, and right there lies the danger. If we are so determined to have our own way that we do not willingly submit to God’s way — then he may let us suffer. But when we submit and commit our ways to him — we receive the consolation and comfort of his Holy Spirit.
Charles Wesley Naylor is considered one of the most prolific and inspiring songwriters of the Church of God. He was bedridden for much of his adult life but wrote eight books, a newspaper column and over 150 songs. Many of his writings are in the public domain.
and have that vote count.”
The court criticized the State Board of Elections for its handling of Kennedy’s withdrawal, noting that they were aware of his intentions but continued with ballot preparation anyway.
“We decline to grant defendants extraordinary relief when they are responsible for their own predicament,” Allen wrote.
The 4-3 ruling had Anita Earls and Allison Riggs, the two Democrats on the court, and Richard Dietz, a Republican, dissenting.
Dietz argued that the NCSBE’s decision not to reprint ballots was reasonable and supported by election laws. He contended that while candidates have the right to resign, this doesn’t automatically grant them “an absolute right to have her name added to the ballot in place of the candidate who resigned.”
Riggs said the decision causes “egregious and unjustified” harm to voters and election administrators, violates state law, and improperly shortens the absentee voting period. She also contends there is no statutory right for Kennedy to be removed from the ballot at this
tion and Rights Watch International.
Mecklenburg County Sheriff’s Office (MCSO), according to a press release, will pay $5,000 toward the plaintiffs’ attorneys’ fees. No damages will be paid to the plaintiffs. Under the settlement, MCSO was ordered to issue or deny the permit within 45 days of review of relevant records.
“MCSO will inquire of each applicant whether the applicant has sought mental health treatment, require the applicant to list the provider, and issue or deny the permit with-
stage, stating the relevant law “does not say a nominated candidate has a right to withdraw.” Earls’ dissent was similar to Riggs’, adding concern for potential voter confusion and the substantial costs and efforts required to reprint ballots. She also questions the legal basis for Kennedy’s request, writing that the statute he relies on “actually does not apply to him.”
The NCSBE has not yet issued a statement on the Supreme Court’s ruling.
The same day as the N.C. Supreme Court issued its ruling removing Kennedy, the Su-
in 45 days of review of any relevant records,” per the MCSO press release.
“It remains MCSO’s intention and Sheriff McFadden’s expectation that MCSO continue to comply with all statutory obligations related to concealed handgun permitting,” MCSO said in its release.
GRNC claimed victory in its release.
“At issue are what appear to be intentional delays in issuing concealed handgun permits (CHPs) by McFadden, who previously sent mental health record requests to the Veter-
preme Court in Michigan issued an order keeping him on that state’s ballot. The court’s order was unsigned, and dissent came from two Republican justices.
While the North Carolina Supreme Court is a 5-2 Republican majority, the Michigan Supreme Court makeup is currently a 4-3 Democrat majority.
“We can only hope that the Secretary’s misguided action — now sanctioned with the imprimatur of this Court — will not have national implications,” wrote the two dissenting justices.
The Supreme Court’s or-
an’s Administration for all permit applicants, regardless of whether they served in the military, flooding the VA with paperwork in order to create delays in permits,” the GRNC press release states.
GRNC also took issue with McFadden’s statement about inquiring about mental health treatment.
“Most amusing was McFadden’s statement that he will continue to ‘inquire of each applicant whether the applicant has sought mental health treatment,’” GRNC stated. “In truth, he is required to do so. In fact,
der was in response to requests from the NCSBE appealing the Sept. 6 state Court of Appeals order that enjoined the board from distributing ballots that have Kennedy’s name on them.
The NCSBE voted 3-2 to keep Kennedy on the ballot during an emergency meeting Aug. 29. The reasons cited were cost and impracticality of reprinting new ballots. Some 1.7 million had already been printed by that date, and NCSBE Executive Director Karen Brinson Bell said the cost for reprints could be in the “high six-figure range.”
Attorneys for Kennedy then filed a lawsuit to force the NCSBE to remove his name.
Wake County Superior Court Judge Rebecca Holt denied the request but gave Kennedy’s lawyers 24 hours to appeal. Phil Strach, an attorney for Kennedy in the case, did file a motion for a temporary stay and a petition for a writ of supersedeas with the North Carolina Court of Appeals which was unanimously granted today.
The Court of Appeals order that followed put Holt’s Sept. 5 order on hold, prohibiting the NCSBE from distributing ballots that list Kennedy as a presidential candidate until either Kennedy’s appeal was resolved or until the court issued another order.
it is a part of the CHP application form stipulated by the NC Administrative Office of the Courts.”
This is the second lawsuit GRNC and Gun Owners of America have filed against McFadden over permit delays.
The groups successfully sued McFadden over permit delays in 2021 and a 2022 ruling in that case ordered McFadden to process pistol purchase permits within the 14 days required by North Carolina law and concealed carry permit applications within the 45 days as required by state statute.
PUBLIC DOMAIN
“The Angelus” by Jean-François Millet (circa 1858) is a painting in the collection of the Musée d’Orsay in Paris. The Painting depicts peasants pausing from their labor to pray, reflecting submission to God’s and shows how people can find peace and contentment in whatever circumstances God ordains.
DARRYL WEBB / AP PHOTO
Robert F. Kennedy Jr. announced Aug. 23 he was suspending his presidential campaign and endorsing former President Donald Trump.
House, Senate reach deal to fund scholarships, Medicaid
The General Assembly approved $248M to clear the Opportunity Scholarship backlog
By A.P. Dillon North State Journal
RALEIGH — A deal has been struck between the North Carolina House and Senate on additional funding for clearing the waitlist backlog for the Opportunity Scholarship Program, as well as agreeing on an increase in funding for public school and community college enrollment and more Medicaid Rebase funds.
“This mini-budget agreement will fund our K-12 and community college enrollment growth, clear the Opportunity Scholarship waitlist to expand school choice to all NC families, will increase funding to keep our Medicaid system fully funded, and will authorize new rural broadband expansion across the state,” House Speaker Tim Moore (R-Kings Mountain) said in a press release.
Senate Leader Phil Berger (R-Eden) added, “Families across North Carolina made it clear that they want a greater say in their child’s education. Whether you’re a single parent, a young family, or in a military
household, educational freedom should be attainable for all. This agreement addresses the increased demand for Opportunity Scholarships and includes the necessary funding for public school enrollment increases.”
House Bill 10, the conference budget report, also includes requiring sheriffs to cooperate with ICE and authorization for rural broadband expansion.
“With the inclusion of House Bill 10, we are also reinforcing the rule of law currently ignored by the Biden-Harris adminis-
tration by requiring sheriffs to cooperate with ICE, strengthening our public safety and protecting our communities,” Moore said.
The bill was originally a stand-alone bill filed by Rep. Destin Hall (R-Caldwell) that would require sheriffs to cooperate with ICE on detainers for illegal migrants being held in criminal matters. With the departure of Moore, who is running for Congress, Hall is likely to become the next state House speaker.
House Bill 10 includes $248 million in nonrecurring funds to clear the waitlist for the Opportunity Scholarship Program (OSP), which saw the largest number of families apply with more than 72,000 applications. Another $215.5 million in recurring funds is included for scholarship awards for the 2025-26 fiscal year. Education Student Account waitlists that cover children with disabilities were also addressed with $24.7 million in recurring funds.
According to press releases from the legislature, those funds would be “retroactive to the beginning of this school year” and “families would be eligible for a tuition reimbursement from their school.”
The legislature had ended the short session without addressing the OSP 55,000-deep backlog, resulting in a rally held on July 1 with families demanding lawmakers fully fund the scholarships.
Per the Senate’s press statement, $64 million in recurring funds will go to Community College enrollment growth and $95 million in recurring funds will go toward K-12 enrollment increases.
Other spending items include $277 million in recurring funding and $100 million in nonrecurring for Medicaid, $55.1 million for infrastructure improvements and economic development support in Chatham County, and $150 million for “major transportation improvements” at the Randolph County megasite.
Additionally, a funding issue arising from the shift to an arrears-based funding model was
Second round of America 250 NC grants open
Awards of $10,000 to $30,000 are available
By A.P. Dillon North State Journal
RALEIGH — The next round of grant funding for America 250 celebrations in North Carolina opened Aug. 26.
County committees can apply for grants in the amount of $10,000, and communi-
SCHOOLS from page A1
EOG math scores were a different story, with GLP scores rising over the previous year for third through eighth grades. The only grade that didn’t increase by one to two percentage points was seventh grade, which only ticked up to 50.4% from 50.2%.
NC Math 1 GLP scores were compiled for all students who took the course. Overall, the GLP for all students for Math 1 was 51%, up from 49.3% the previous year. High schoolers taking the course showed a onepoint increase over the previous year with 37%. Students in eighth grade had the highest GLP with 89.5%. That score is up over the previous two years — 85.9% in 2021-22.
Fifth grade science GLP for this year came in at 66%, up from 65.1% last year. Eighth grade science remained statistically unchanged from the previous year at 70%. High school biology GLP dropped 53.4% from 54.1%.
While most of the data presented compared the last three school years since the pandemic, the results were also compared to the 2018-19 pre-pandemic year.
Very few subjects have a GLP this year that is close to pre-pandemic levels, and only one subject, Math III, has surpassed its pre-pandemic rate.
Math III GLP increased from 46.8% to 57.6%, a gain of more than 10 points. English II also comes close with 59.5% for 202324 versus 59.7% in 2018-19.
The report showed that of the 2,558 schools included in the results, 72.5% of schools either met or exceeded growth in 2023-24. Additionally, the number of schools considered low-performing dropped to 736 from 804 the previous year.
The state’s A-F school performance grades are tied to student
ty program grants can receive up to $30,000. Entities that have previously applied can apply again, but the location of the applicants may factor into an award decision in order to fund programs in all 100 counties. Applications for projects will need to tie into at least one of the themes for America 250 NC: the Revolutionary War, Visions of Freedom, Gathering of Voices or Common Ground. The submission
Nov. 1
Submission deadline for the second round of America 250 grants
deadline for the second round of grant funding is Nov. 1. Application information can be accessed at america250.nc.gov/grants, and questions about the awards or
application process can be directed to Dan Brosz at dan. brosz@dncr.nc.gov.
Counties and towns wishing to bring the America 205 NC Airstream to their location can do so at form.jotform. com/242184248583159.
An upcoming America 250 NC event will take place in Edenton on Oct. 25- 26. The theme is a remembrance of “A Society of Patriotic Ladies,” who became known as the “Edenton Tea Party” for lead-
End-of-grade mathematics performance by grade (Level 3 and above—GLP Standard)
addressed with $95 million in recurring funds for the 2024-25 fiscal year for the ADM Contingency Reserve to fund growing public schools.
The arrears model used funding allotments based on the prior year’s enrollment and caused cash flow problems this year for schools with increased enrollment numbers for the current school year over the previous year.
The issue hit public charter schools particularly hard.
The North Carolina Association of Public Charter Schools issued a report to its members last month that said 87 charter schools (41.2% of all N.C. public charter schools) reported a projected total increase of 10,035 new students, or an average growth per school of 115 children. That enrollment growth translated to an estimated $65.2 million in needed state funding that was not present due to the new model.
The Senate voted to pass the measure on Monday and the House was expected to pass it on Wednesday.
At a press conference on Sept. 6, Gov. Roy Cooper held a press conference attacking the legislature over additional funding for the OSP.
“Republican legislators are returning to Raleigh to siphon hundreds of millions of taxpayer dollars out of public schools and give it to the wealthy through private school vouchers,” said Cooper. “This would be disastrous for our public schools and the future of our state. They should invest in public education instead so we can give teachers an overdue pay raise.”
ing a protest against English goods in October 1774.
According to the schedule of events, there will be an opening ceremony Oct. 25, living history demonstrations, a parade and a waterfront concert. The two days of events will conclude with a fireworks display at 7 p.m. on Oct. 26 at the Colonial Waterfront Park. In addition, there will be programming for kids and the launch of the new children’s book, “Within Our Power: The S tory of the Edenton Tea Party.”
Additional events can be viewed on the America 250 NC website, America250.nc.gov.
End-of-grade reading performance by grade (Level 3 and above—GLP Standard)
achievement (80%) and growth (20%) and this year, there were more A, B, and C schools compared to last year. The number of “A” schools increased by 14, going from 180 in 2023 to 194 this year, while “B” schools rose from 515 to 526, and “C” from 983 to 1,008. That means “D” and “F” schools dropped from 712 to 706 and 208 to 163, respectively. Following the presentation to the board, Truitt commented that she hopes work on changing the A-F model continues, and that the “overwhelming majority of blacks and Hispanics are attending a failing school. … This is unacceptable.”
Truitt also remarked on proficiency rates in relation to the state’s four-year cohort graduation rate, which has increased to 86.9%, up from 86.5% in 2022-23.
“I’m also shocked to see these low levels of proficiency with higher graduation rates than ever before. What does that say about the students that were graduating?” Truitt asked. “We have a diploma integrity problem. The Equitable Grading Project came out a couple of weeks ago with a report showing that grading is more inequitable and inaccurate in our nation than ever before and that more grade inflation
“We are proud of the steady progress reflected in this year’s state test scores.”
Catherine Truitt, state superintendent
is occurring with our minority students.” Truitt also underscored that literacy supports need to continue for elementary grades, but she said they also need to be applied to middle grades. She stressed that the legislature
needs to take this issue up when it returns for its long session since it was left undone during the short session. North Carolina students continue to improve, but not all states are seeing the same progress.
According to the National Center for Education Statistics school pulse survey, at the end of the 2023-24 school year, 32% of public school students in the U.S. were behind their grade level. Broken down by region, all areas of the country saw an increase on this measure except the South, which went from 35% in 2022-23 to 29% in 2023-24.
PJ WARD-BROWN / NORTH STATE JOURNAL
Brittnye Leonard of Clayton signs her name on a petition during the “Keep Your Promise” rally imploring legislators to allocate more funding to the Opportunity Scholarship program on July 31 in Raleigh.
THE CONVERSATION
Neal Robbins, publisher | Frank Hill, senior opinion editor
VISUAL VOICES
EDITORIAL | FRANK HILL
America’s secular First Commandment
There is no “misinformation.” There is only incorrect information that needs to be refuted with facts and reason.
IN AMERICA, we have a secular First “Commandment”: Speak your mind. To put it in cross-disciplinary terms, it would be “sinful” not to express your opinion, thoughts or ideas on any sundry subject. After all, you might be the person with the right answer to any problem.
What if Martin Luther had shut up and not renounced Catholic doctrine when he tacked his 95 Theses to the door at All Saint’s Cathedral in Wittenberg 1517? We’d all still be listening to sermons and chanting songs in Latin ― and not understanding a word of what the Gospels really mean.
What if Galileo had kept his ideas on Copernican heliocentrism to himself in the early 1600s and never risked being burnt at the stake by Inquisitors hell-bent on “proving” Earth was the center of the biblical universe?
Great things can come out of free speech performed by free thinkers who go against the prevailing “wisdom” at any given time.
We live in a time where progressive socialist Democrats in America “think” they know everything. They want to control what anyone says about everything. The problem is most of what they “think” they know is as wrongheaded as the Catholic Church was back in Luther and Galileo’s day.
Here’s how to recognize a totalitarian: If they want to use force to suppress the speech of their opposition, they are totalitarians. One reason they want to silence opposition is they know what they are doing is wrong. The main reason is because they know they cannot justify nor explain why their ideas are so great in the first place.
Which is the reason why Joe Biden
EDITORIAL | STACEY MATTHEWS
was hidden in a basement in 2020 and why Kamala Harris has yet to field any questions from an open press conference. They can’t answer dissent. Thankfully, the secular ruling principles we have in America are selfdetermination and freedom. Our First Amendment in the Bill of Rights is our over-arching “First Commandment” in a pluralistic secular civic governance sense.
Imagine living in a country where you are regularly told your opinion doesn’t matter. Imagine living in a country where you are canceled from your job for holding different beliefs than others. Imagine you live in a country where a small group of tech engineers know how to deliberately limit the reach of your comments online by manipulating the algorithms and whatever else it takes to run information through the internet nowadays. I know it is hard to do. But it is easy if you try. Each of those censoring activities should make you boiling mad when you hear about any of it. When our free speech is thwarted, it is like a “god” of the American spirit has been blasphemed. The First Amendment specifically says: “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the exercise (of the freedom of religion); or abridging the freedom of speech, or (freedom) of the press; or (freedom for) the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and (freedom) to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.”
(Freedom) has been added where appropriate for emphasis.
The First Commandment reads: “I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery. You
Autumn sweet autumn
The Carolina Panthers started their season with a blow-out 47-10 loss in what longsuffering Panthers fans hope is not a sign of things to come
THOUGH IT’S NOT OFFICIALLY autumn yet, it is certainly starting to feel like it.
Temperatures over the last week or so during the day have been in the 70s and low 80s, while at night they’ve dipped down at points to the high 50s. The humidity also seems to be tapering off some, which is very much welcomed after a very sticky summer where it clung to you like molasses.
We’re not even close to the point in the year where it’s time to turn the air conditioning off, but we’re already starting to break out the soft and cozy throw blankets for the cooler nights, and the light jackets for the crisp breezes when we go outside.
Yes, fall — one of my favorite times of the year — is definitely in the air.
Even though the grass is still green and requires biweekly cutting, the leaves are starting to turn. We’re already starting to see some yellows and oranges on our dogwood trees, a sure sign that autumn is just around the corner.
Minimal and partial changes in leaf colors are being reported in the North Carolina mountains, which is absolutely the most beautiful place to be in the fall months.
In another sign that fall is upon us, the
first regular season NFL game was played last Thursday, featuring the Baltimore Ravens at the Kansas City Chiefs. The Chiefs won 27-20. Meanwhile, as another reminder of fall, the Carolina Panthers started their season with a blowout 47-10 loss to their division rivals, the New Orleans Saints, in what long-suffering Panthers fans hope is not a sign of things to come this year (but probably will be).
At some of your favorite coffee shops, you can now get your pumpkin spice latte fix either before you start your fall decor shopping excursion or after. Caramel apples, also a fan favorite, are also returning for the season.
And speaking of, buying more seasonal decorations is definitely on the to-do list. Not that I don’t have enough already, perhaps even enough to decorate the Biltmore Estate if I wanted to, but it doesn’t hurt to add one or two (or three or four) new things to the existing stash. Already, families are planning their Halloween and Thanksgiving festivities, with costume-, pumpkin- and mum-buying commencing along with discussions as to who will host the annual fall feast in November. Just who will be bringing what is also up for debate. I miss my dad for a lot of reasons,
shall have no other gods before me.”
In a similar manner, the First American Commandment tells us to elevate free speech to the highest extent possible in our civic life together. When you hear any elected official ― virtually every Democrat in the past decade ― say the opinions of anyone who disagrees with their policies must be suppressed, they have crossed the line and told you to “worship” them and not your own free thoughts and beliefs.
No matter whom we elect to represent us in Congress, they can never restrict anyone’s ability to conduct free speech. There is no “misinformation” ― there is only incorrect information that needs to be refuted with facts and reason.
The modern Progressive Socialist Democratic Party (PSD) has fallen prey to the siren call of silencing their political opponents and throwing dissidents into jail since 2008. They are not even shy about what they intend to do anymore.
There used to be ardent supporters of free speech in the older now-defunct Democratic Party. That party died over two decades ago ― they have either passed away, retired or been pushed out in primaries by uber left-wingers.
The first step toward restoring the primacy of free speech in America is getting rid of control of legislative and executive bodies by PSD authoritarians. That chance starts in a few days in many states through the electoral process.
among them being how he loved to deep fry small turkeys for my sisters and me at Thanksgiving so we’d have extra turkey in addition to the big one that was prepared for the family meal.
We’d see him sitting out back on the patio near the deep frier while he was bundled up in his flannel shirt, old blue jeans and hooded jacket, surrounded by brown leaves all over the ground. He loved it. And we loved him for it all the more.
Whatever your seasonal preferences are, try to make the best of the fall months. Because they tend to go by so quickly. Then comes Christmas, and all the shopping and gift wrapping and decorating, and then all of a sudden the new year begins and the honey-do lists get rewritten with things added to them…
But I’m getting ahead of myself! Enjoy the season, y’all.
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.
How Democrats undermined democracy
The government manipulating the public in this way is a genuine threat to free speech and democracy.
PRESIDENT JOE BIDEN was right to warn that democracy is under attack. He just never mentioned that he and his allies were the ones undermining it.
On Aug. 26, Mark Zuckerberg, chairman and CEO of Meta, put out a bombshell letter.
“In 2021, senior officials from the Biden Administration, including the White House, repeatedly pressured our teams for months to censor certain COVID-19 content, including humor and satire,” Zuckerberg wrote.
As his letter alluded to, his social media sites, Facebook and Instagram, did censor people who spoke against the government’s preferred coronavirus narrative.
Zuckerberg wasn’t through.
“In a separate situation, the FBI warned us about a potential Russian disinformation operation about the Biden family and Burisma in the lead up to the 2020 election,” he wrote.
He’s referring to the Hunter Biden laptop story, which the New York Post broke shortly before the 2020 election. It linked Joe Biden to his son’s business dealings, strongly suggesting the elder Biden was corrupt. It was an October Surprise that could have swung the election — if the public heard enough about it. But social media sites, including Facebook, locked the story down, contending it was Russian disinformation.
It wasn’t. Earlier this year, the FBI confirmed the laptop was Hunter’s during his federal firearms trial.
Think about the implications here. The FBI received a copy of the laptop in 2019. An IRS whistleblower told Congress the FBI soon knew it was legitimate. Instead of moving quickly to prosecute Hunter Biden — and Joe Biden — it worked to make social media companies believe the laptop was Russian disinformation. It wanted to prime the companies to squash the story if it ever came out.
That was election interference. That was a disinformation operation run against the American public by the American government. That may have swung the election.
The government manipulating the public in
COLUMN | MICHAEL BARONE
this way is a genuine threat to free speech and democracy.
Don’t take my word for it. In April, the State Department’s Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor released its “2023 Country Reports on Human Rights Practices.”
“Conversations in groups or peer-to-peer on social media platforms and via messaging applications were subject to censorship, monitoring, and action from authorities,” the report on China states. “These developments further eroded freedom of speech.”
Yes, they do — which is why it’s so concerning that the American government used similar tactics against Americans. And no, the federal government can’t bypass the First Amendment by demanding private companies do the things it’s prohibited from doing directly. It should be obvious how this threatens democracy. If a government cabal determines who can say what to whom, the voting public’s autonomy is hopelessly compromised.
Yet, it’s hard to find a prominent Democrat who’s objected to this abuse of power. Worse, the party that’s spent years claiming Donald Trump is a threat to democracy has little to say about its leader using power in such an authoritarian manner. That’s not surprising given that Democrats have fought for months to keep lefty presidential candidates Jill Stein and Cornel West off ballots around the country.
Democrats don’t want to protect democracy. They want to protect your right to vote for the person party elites install as a candidate even if she didn’t receive a single primary vote.
Russia’s Vladimir Putin would be proud.
The national mainstream media isn’t interested either. Vox acknowledged that what Zuckerberg outlined “sounds bad.” But it immediately turned dismissive. “None of this information is new,” it wrote.
American democracy isn’t dying in darkness. It’s dying right out in the open while the political and media elite cheer its demise.
Victor Joecks is a columnist for the Las Vegas Review-Journal.
What if Trump runs ahead of his poll numbers — again?
Trump is actually a stronger candidate than he used to be.
AS I TRY to understand public opinion in yet another presidential election year with former President Donald Trump as the Republican nominee, I see an anomaly.
On one hand, the polls look very much like the 2020 and 2016 election results. Trump trails Vice President Kamala Harris by 1.9 percentage points in the RealClearPolitics average of recent polls, for example. That margin looks a lot like the 2.1-point popular vote margin for former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton in November 2016 and is not qualitatively different from the 4.4-point popular vote margin for President Joe Biden in November 2020.
On the other hand, current poll numbers, representing interviews conducted through the end of August, showed Democrats significantly further ahead in those earlier years — Clinton by 3.9 points, Biden by 7. The differences are even starker in target states such as Pennsylvania, Arizona, Michigan and Wisconsin.
Depending on how you resolve this anomaly, you will be expecting quite a different experience on Nov. 5. If you concentrate on the similarity between today’s polling results and the last two actual election results, you’ll expect yet another excruciatingly close election, with the electoral vote majority probably determined by which candidate carries two or three states by tenths of a percentage point.
If you concentrate on Democrats’ smaller polling margins over Trump this year as compared to 2016 and 2020, however, you’ll expect him to run considerably better this time, perhaps winning the popular vote and probably carrying the electoral vote without difficulty. So which is the better view? Is he really running better this time, something sufferers from Trump Derangement Syndrome must have a hard time believing, or are we just looking at the same old same old?
There’s evidence for that latter view. I don’t see significant changes in assessments of Trump’s character. He compared favorably on some traits with the flagging Biden, but Democrats’ and dominant media’s month of joy over Harris’ succession has eliminated, at least temporarily, some of the former president’s advantages. On top of that, there’s little evidence that the close balance between the parties is moving toward Trump’s party. In Senate races, Republican candidates are leading in polls in only two of half a dozen Democratic-held seats that have seemed vulnerable.
In the generic vote for the House of Representatives, Democrats are currently up 1.2 points, with neither party leading by more than that for the last six months. Those numbers point to very narrow majorities for one party or the other in both houses, as in the Senate and House elections in 2020 and 2022.
Finally, the gap between 2016 and 2020 polls and actual election results was greatest, as Republican pollster Patrick Ruffini argues, in closely contested Rust Belt states where polls undercounted whites without college degrees outside million-plus metropolitan areas. Since
2016, pollsters have been trying to cure this defect, and perhaps this year they have. If so, the results this year will be closer to the polls that, at the moment, suggest a close race.
If not, however, and as improbable as it may seem to TDS sufferers, Trump is actually a stronger candidate than he used to be. Polling suggests voters have a better retrospective view of his presidency than of Biden’s — or, as Republicans call it now, the Biden-Harris administration.
Certainly, on two highly visible issues, inflation and immigration, basic metrics make it easy to argue, and hard to deny, the superiority of the Trump record over Biden’s. That has led to Harris’ ludicrous proposals for price controls on groceries, and Democrats’ and sympathetic media’s pathetic attempts to deny she ever had any responsibility for border policy.
It is also widely appreciated, and substantiated by data, that real-dollar earnings and wealth, particularly among those in the lower half of incomes, increased more during Trump’s years than during Biden’s.
Trump supporters have been noting as well that Russia did not advance in Ukraine and Iran-allied Hamas and Hezbollah did not launch attacks on Israel during his presidency. Some voters may believe this is just a coincidence, but some may believe his policies or temperament deterred America’s enemies — and would again.
Something else may be happening. People may be recoiling from the events of 2020, when “leftism was on the march,” as poll analyst Nate Silver recalled in May, as “Covid-era restrictions ... now viewed as going too far” had “government intervening in everyday life in a way it had never had in most Americans’ experience.”
It was “the year went America went crazy,” as I have written, when the videotaped death of George Floyd led to days of violent riots across the country, and Democrats heeded calls to “defund the police.”
That might have been a favorable atmosphere for Harris if she had not ended her presidential campaign in December 2019, after calling for abolishing Immigration and Customs Enforcement, enacting “some form of (racial) reparations,” and banning fracking and, after 2040, gas-powered cars.
Such stances are less popular today, and Harris campaign staffers have been posting that they’re inoperative now, even as the complacent press remains uncurious about whether and why the candidate changed her mind. Or about why the public has.
If Trump should once again end up outpolling the polls, running ahead of his previous 47% and 46% showings and easily exceeding 270 electoral votes, such an ideological recoil would be the main reason. But maybe this time the polls are right.
Michael Barone is a senior political analyst for the Washington Examiner, resident fellow at the American Enterprise Institute and longtime coauthor of “The Almanac of American Politics.”
The evil of cowardice
ON AUG. 31, the Israeli military made a macabre and horrifying discovery: the slain bodies of six hostages taken by Hamas, including American citizen Hersh GoldbergPolin. All six hostages had been shot pointblank in the head some 48-72 hours prior, presumably upon the approach of IDF soldiers; Hamas terrorists chose to murder the hostages they had held in terror tunnels for over 300 days rather than risk their liberation.
The discovery sent the entire nation of Israel into mourning. On Oct. 7, Israelis were forced to remember that the enemy they face is not merely violent but purely evil. In subsequent months, with the extraordinary progress of the IDF in Gaza over the protestations of the Biden administration, Hamas’ evils were relegated once more to the realm of military conflict. But the very thought of these victims — Goldberg-Polin, 23; Eden Yerushalmi, 24; Ori Danino, 25; Alex Lobanov, 32; Carmel Gat, 40; and Almog Sarusi, 27 — suffering without sunlight, food or water for nearly a year, all to be shot to death within hours of their possible freedom, reopened all the wounds of Oct. 7. It turned out that all the diplomatic overtures made by America — overtures largely accepted by the supposedly intransigent administration of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu — meant nothing.
As Netanyahu pointed out, “whoever murders hostages does not want a deal.” That was predictable enough, given the fact that Hamas’ chief goal is its own survival — a goal directly at odds with Israel’s necessary goal of extirpating Hamas. That is why Hamas has consistently declared for months that there would be no hostage release without a full Israeli withdrawal from Gaza, along with the discharge of hundreds of convicted terrorists and murderers. Anything less than survival for Hamas is a loss. Dead Palestinians help Hamas achieve its goal of pressuring Israel; dead hostages help Hamas achieve its goal of pressuring Israel.
And yet the immediate response of America and Great Britain has been to push Israel into more concessions. Asked whether Netanyahu had done enough to secure the hostage release, President Joe Biden — fresh from the beach in Delaware — said “no.” That is obviously political madness; if the murder of hostages wins indulgences, surely Hamas has the incentive to murder more hostages. But it is, far more importantly, moral madness; handing a victory to the very monsters who currently hold toddlers and threaten to shoot them in the head is the essence of cowardice. It’s worse: it’s complicity in evil.
The only possible moral frame in which Israel can be blamed for Hamas’ monstrousness is a relativistic one, in which barbaric evil can be projected onto the “root cause” of the West. There is a reason so much of the left views America’s loss of the Vietnam War as a victory, or sees the Afghanistan pullout as a triumph, ignoring the viciousness of the Viet Cong and the Taliban. In this view, the cruelty of the West’s enemies is merely a response to the West’s own cruelty — and the evidence of that proposition is the existence of our enemies. Were we kind, generous and tolerant, we would have no enemies, goes the logic — thus the presence of our enemies demonstrates how fatally flawed we are.
This perverse philosophy gives ammunition to the world’s worst human beings. Depriving evil actors of agency means leaving them free to pursue their worse designs, secure in the knowledge that the more savagely they act, the more they will be excused for their cruelty. The West, in this view, can never triumph but through surrender.
This philosophy will destroy the West from within as well as from without. Cowardice is the greatest aid to evil; in fact, it is its own form of evil, for without it, evil could never win. A West incapable of distinguishing between those who kidnap and murder hostages in pursuit of Islamist theocracy and those who seek to free those hostages is a West that simply cannot survive.
Ben Shapiro’s new collection, “Facts and Furious: The Facts About America and Why They Make Leftists Furious,” is available now. Shapiro is a graduate of UCLA and Harvard Law School, host of “The Ben Shapiro Show,” and co-founder of Daily Wire+.
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Murphy to Manteo
A week of end-of-summer events around the state
PIEDMONT
Third person named in June antisemitic library incident
Buncombe County
The Asheville Police Department has charged a third person with ethnic intimidation stemming from an assault incident that alleged ly happened June 29 at the West Asheville Library. According to a news release, Asheville police charged Emily Kathry n Murphy, 38, with ethnic intimidation following an incident that happened during a seminar hosted by “Another Carolina Anarchist Bookfair.” The seminar was called “Strategic Lessons from the Palestinian Resistance.” David Moritz and Monica Buckley, who are Jewish, said they were there to document what they believed wa s a pro-Palestinian event at a public librar y and allege they were attacked after Buckley began to livestream the event on her phone. other people have been charged in the incident: Michael Solomon Brocenos, 34, and Tyler Byrne Hacket t Kelly, 33. Police say they are looking for nine total suspects in the attack. WLOS
investigate
Amtrak accident
forklift
County
n Greensboro are investigating a dead ly crash involving a train. An Amtra k passenger train wa s going boom forklif t wa s being operated by Margarito Alfonso-Cruz, 51 of Greensboro, east on Hilltop Road across the grade crossing. AlfonsoCruz tried to back up when one of the stop arms came dow n on the lift. The train then crashed into the lif t at the grade crossing, and Alfonso-Cruz was killed WBTV
Eden man detained for homemade explosive device Rockingham County A man is facing charges after a Triad Police Department On Sunday Chevrolet after seeing that the license plate wa s fake and determined they had reason to begin an investigation said they found marijuana and a homemade undetonated explosive device. Eden PD’s Investigation team and Greensboro Police Department’s Hazardous Devices unit responded to the scene and took the explosive device Af ter a thorough investigation and consulting with the Rockingham warrants were obtained for Jesse Wayne Price for one count of felony weapons of mass destruction and one count of misdemeanor possession of marijuana. Price, 49, wa s arrested and ta ken to the Rockingham County $35,000 secured bond and is due in cour t on Sept. 17 The investigation is ongoing.
WXII
EAST
Sand, water engulf main road after dune breach
Dare County High sur f knocked dow n the dunes along the North Carolina Outer Banks on Sunday afternoon covering the main highway at the coast with water and sand. The incident happened along N.C. 12 near the Pea Island Visitor Center in the Rodanthe community, close the breach and are working to coast showed construction equipment working on the road around the clock. WGHP
Rare copy of Constitution found in ENC to be auctioned Chowan County One of only eight know n copies of the U.S. Constitution that was printed after the 1787 Constitutional proposed framework of the nation’s government is up for auction after it The cabinet wa s found on a property owned by former N.C Gov Samuel 1787 to 1789 and oversaw the state convention during his last year in It’s one of about 100 copies printed by the secretar y of that Congress Charles Thomson
Acorn Festival Four Oaks | Sept. 14 Grape Stomp Rose Hill | Sept. 14
Mother’s warning raises questions about Ga. school shooting NATION & WORLD
Colt Gray’s parent contacted school officials just before the attack
By Jeff Amy The Associated Press
ATLANTA — The mother of a student in class with the boy accused of killing four people in a Georgia high school shooting says information that school officials were warned that the boy was having a crisis shows the shooting could have been prevented.
“The school failed them, that they could have prevented these deaths and they didn’t,” Rabecca Sayarath said Sunday in a telephone interview with The Associated Press. “I truly, truly feel that way.”
Sayarath’s daughter, Lyela, told reporters on Wednesday, the day of the shooting at Apalachee High School in Winder, Georgia, that administrators appeared to be looking for Colt Gray, the 14-yearold who has been charged with four counts of murder, before the gunfire began.
Others, though, are declining to blame school or law enforcement officials.
“I’m not going to referee or second-guess what happened with the authorities the other night,” U.S. Sen. Raphael Warnock, a Georgia Democrat, said on CNN’s “State of the Union” on Sunday. “I applaud our first responders. When others are running away from danger, they run
MIKE STEWART / AP PHOTO
Flowers were left at Apalachee High School following last Wednesday’s shooting in Winder, Georgia, that killed four.
toward the danger in order to do the best they can.”
Officials say Gray shot and killed students Christian Angulo and Mason Schermerhorn, both 14, and teachers Richard Aspinwall, 39, and Cristina Irimie, 53. Eight other students and a teacher were injured — seven of them shot — and are expected to recover.
Annie Brown told The Washington Post that her sister, Colt Gray’s mother, texted her saying she spoke with a school counselor and warned staff of an “extreme emergency” before the killings. Brown said Marcee Gray urged them to “immediately” find her son to check on him.
Brown provided screenshots of the text exchange to the newspaper, which also reported that a call log from the family’s shared
phone plan showed a call was made to the school at 9:50 a.m.
Warrants for Gray’s arrest say the shooting started at 10:20 a.m.
Brown confirmed the reporting to The Associated Press on Saturday in text messages but declined to provide further comment.
Marcee Gray expressed remorse for the shootings Saturday to The Washington Post and The New York Post.
“I am so, so sorry and can not fathom the pain and suffering they are going through right now,” Gray told The Washington Post in a text.
“It’s horrible. It’s absolutely horrible,” Gray told The New York Post outside her father’s home in Fitzgerald, Georgia, about 150 miles south of Atlanta.
Man charged with plotting shooting at NY Jewish center
The Pakistani man allegedly planned the attack for the anniversary of the Oct. 7 Hamas attack
By Philip Marcelo The Associated Press
NEW YORK — A Pakistani man was arrested in Canada this week and accused of plotting a mass shooting at a Jewish center in Brooklyn on the one-year anniversary of the Oct. 7 attack by Hamas that sparked the latest conflict in the Middle East, federal authorities announced Friday.
U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland said Muhammad Shahzeb Khan had attempted to travel from Canada, where he lives, to New York City with the “stated goal of slaughtering, in the name of ISIS, as many Jewish people as possible.”
The 20-year-old, who is also known as Shahzeb Jadoon, was apprehended Sept. 4 and
charged with attempting to provide material support and resources to the terror group, which stands for the Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham.
“Jewish communities — like all communities in this country — should not have to fear that they will be targeted by a hate-fueled terrorist attack,” Garland said in a statement.
It was unclear if Khan has a lawyer, where in Canada he was being held and when he may be brought to the U.S. to face the charges.
Spokespersons for the Justice Department and the Manhattan federal prosecutor’s office, which is handling the case, deferred to Canadian national police, which didn’t respond to an email seeking comment but said in a statement posted online that Khan will appear in the Superior Court of Justice in Montreal on Sept. 13.
“This planned antisemitic attack against Jewish people in the U.S. is deplorable and there is no place for such ideologi-
cal and hate-motivated crime in Canada,” Michael Duheme, commissioner of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, said in the statement.
U.S. authorities said Khan began sharing ISIS propaganda videos and expressing his support for the terror group in social media posts and communications with others on an encrypted messaging app last November.
In conversations with two undercover law enforcement officers, he said he was trying to start a “real offline cell” of ISIS in order to carry out attacks against “Israeli Jewish chabads” in America. Khan said he and another ISIS supporter based in the U.S. needed to obtain ARstyle assault rifles, ammunition, hunting knives and other materials, according to the Justice Department.
Khan also provided details about how he would cross the border from Canada and said he was considering conducting the attacks on either the Oct. 7 an-
Charles Polhamus, the boy’s grandfather, has told multiple news outlets that Marcee Gray got a text from her son on Wednesday saying he was sorry. Polhamus told CNN that Marcee Gray drove to Winder, more than 200 miles from Fitzgerald, immediately after the shooting.
The Washington Post also reported that texts show relatives contacted the school about the boy’s mental health a week before the shooting, and that Brown told a relative he having “homicidal and suicidal thoughts.”
The newspaper reported that the teen’s grandmother, Deborah Polhamus, met with a school counselor to request help.
The boy “starts with the therapist tomorrow,” Polhamus wrote in a text to Brown after that meeting.
Investigators haven’t said what they believe might have motivated Gray or whether they believe he targeted particular victims.
Authorities have said Gray’s father, Colin Gray, gave him access to the semiautomatic AR15 style rifle used in the shooting. It’s not clear how Gray brought the gun to campus or what he did with it in the two hours between school starting at 8:15 a.m. and when shots first rang out.
Colin Gray became the first parent of a school shooting suspect to be charged in Georgia, District Attorney Brad Smith said Friday. He’s accused of second-degree murder, involuntary manslaughter and cruelty to children for providing his son with the rifle.
niversary or on Oct. 11, which is the Jewish holiday of Yom Kippur, authorities said.
On Aug. 20, he told the undercover officers that he had settled on targeting New York because of its sizeable Jewish population and sent a photograph of the specific area inside a Jewish center where he planned to carry out the attack, according to the Justice Department.
His online messages described the Brooklyn site, which is not named in court documents, as “the ultra orthodox hasidic jews world headquarters,” according to authorities.
A spokesperson for the Chabad-Lubavitch, an influential Hasidic Jewish movement headquartered in Brooklyn’s Crown Heights section, didn’t immediately comment Friday.
Khan began making his way to the U.S. on Wednesday morning from the Toronto area in a car that also picked up additional passengers, according to the federal complaint unsealed Friday.
The group switched cars around Nepanee and again around Montreal before their vehicle was eventually stopped around Ormstown, a town in the province of Quebec that is about 12 miles from the international border, the complaint states.
Missing Calif. woman found alive after 12 days
Nevada City, Calif.
A California woman was found atop a river canyon this week near the Yuba River in Northern California 12 days after disappearing from a mining campsite. The Nevada County Sheriff’s Office said Friday the 24-year-old Sacramento woman was severely dehydrated and emaciated when found. She was airlifted to a hospital for treatment. Officials said the extent of her injuries was unknown. Esmeralda Marie Pineda went missing in August when she was camping with friends in Nevada City, a town about 63 miles from Sacramento. Pineda had told her friends she wanted to go back to Sacramento before she disappeared the next morning.
2 young sisters apparently drown in Long Island pond
Holtsville, N.Y. Two young sisters apparently drowned in a pond near their Long Island apartment complex, authorities said.
A family member called police Saturday afternoon to report that the girls, ages 2 and 4, had gone missing. Officers and locals searched the girls’ apartment complex in Holtsville and found them unresponsive in a nearby pond shortly before 3:30 p.m., police said. Lifesaving measures were performed and the girls were brought to a hospital, where they were pronounced dead, officials said. Suffolk County homicide detectives are investigating the deaths. Authorities did not provide additional details. Holtsville is about 50 miles east of Manhattan.
UN: Sudan’s war has killed at least 20K
Cairo
More than 16 months of war in Sudan has killed more than 20,000 people, a senior United Nations official said Sunday, a grim figure amid a devastating conflict that has wrecked the northeastern African country. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, director general of the World Health Organization, gave the tally at a news conference in Sudan’s Red Sea city of Port Sudan, which serves as the seat of the internationally recognized, military-backed government. He said the death toll could be much higher.
Typhoon Yagi kills 14 in Vietnam
Hanoi, Vietnam
At least 14 people have died and 176 others injured in Vietnam after Typhoon Yagi slammed the country’s north, state media said Sunday, as officials warned of heavy downpours despite its waning power. Described by Vietnamese officials as one of the most powerful typhoons to hit the region over the last decade, Yagi left more than 3 million people without electricity in northern Vietnam. The typhoon made landfall in Vietnam’s northern coastal provinces of Quang Ninh and Haiphong with wind speeds of up to 92 miles per hour on Saturday afternoon, raging for roughly 15 hours before gradually weakening into a tropical depression early Sunday morning.
FRANK FRANKLIN II / AP PHOTO
A Pakistani man has been arrested for plotting to carry out an attack that would have targeted Hasidic Jews in New York.
catastrophe
questions about when normal
shelter-in-place or stay-at-home
majority of Americans “new normal.” end of this month.
China lied about the origin of the tried to tell the world there were only worldwide panic, economic collapse and being thrown out of work.
taxpayer at least $2.4 trillion in added Federal Reserve backup liquidity to the the U.S. dollar were not the reserve to fund any of these emergency fear of rampant in ation and currency
we begin to get back to normal
The 3 big questions
The comfort
How China will pay for this COVID-19 catastrophe
WITH MOST STATES under either shelter-in-place or stay-at-home orders thanks to local or state governments, a majority of Americans are having to adjust to what is being called the “new normal.”
ONE THING IS CERTAIN; after this COVID-19 virus dissipates around the globe and in the United States, China will pay for this catastrophe one way or another.
fallen into place. I understand the seriousness of the virus and the need to take precautions, but I’m uneasy with how people who simply ask questions about the data, and when things can start getting back to normal are treated in some circles with contempt.
WALTER E. WILLIAMS
Cooper stated during don’t know yet” if the asked as to the vague ones like “we of this state who undetermined thousands of cases asked and then had questions about get asked, there is people to treat those can start getting back or are people who sick. levels become a bad society were supposed course, is my family. I’m worried I will. After the 2009 pandemic, all of this brings up prefer not to repeat. most everyone has
Fixing college corruption
aberrant ways and decisions through Diplomacy has obviously not worked world of 21st century health, hygiene communist regimes never take the blame remorse, because that is not what They take advantage of every weakness pushing until they win or the event happens such as the Chernobyl believe that event, not the Star Wars to the dissolution of the Soviet Union Chernobyl. already talking about the possibility debt we owe them as one way to get they have caused the US. Don’t hold your “Jubilee” to happen but ask your elected accountable in tangible nancial ways for expected to operate as responsible citizens of nation.
Perhaps COVID-19 is China’s Chernobyl.
They’re treated as though we as a society simply must accept without question what the government tells us about when it’s safe to begin the process of returning back to normalcy.
No. The government works for us, and we have the right to ask those questions. And the longer stay-at-home orders are in place all over the country, and the stricter some of them get in states, such as Michigan, the more people, sitting at home feeling isolated and/or anxious about when they can get back to providing for their families, will demand answers.
AMERICA’S COLLEGES are rife with corruption. The nancial squeeze resulting from COVID-19 o ers opportunities for a bit of remediation. Let’s rst examine what might be the root of academic corruption, suggested by the title of a recent study, “Academic Grievance Studies and the Corruption of Scholarship.” The study was done by Areo, an opinion and analysis digital magazine. By the way, Areo is short for Areopagitica, a speech delivered by John Milton in defense of free speech.
Sponsored by
business & economy
In order to put the crisis caused by China in perspective, zero worldwide pandemics can trace their source to the United States over our 231-year history. At least four in the 20th century alone can be directly traced to China: 1957 “Asian u,” 1968 “Hong Kong u,” 1977 “Russian u” and the 2002 SARS outbreak. There is evidence that the massive 1918 “Spanish u” pandemic also had its origins in China.
Since when did questioning government at all levels become a
Leaders at the local and state levels should be as forthcoming as they can be with those answers — and again, not vague answers, but answer with details that give their statements believability.
We should all continue to do what we can to keep our families, ourselves, and our communities safe. But we should also still continue to ask questions about the data, because while reasonable stay-at-home measures are understandable, they should also have an expiration date.
DirecTV files complaint against Disney with FCC as impasse enters 2nd week
Not one little bit.
This is all new to Americans, and it is not normal. Not in any way, shape, or form. So while we should remain vigilant and stay safe, at the same time we shouldn’t get comfortable with this so-called “new normal.”
Authors Helen Pluckrose, James A. Lindsay and Peter Boghossian say that something has gone drastically wrong in academia, especially within certain elds within the humanities. They call these elds “grievance studies,” where scholarship is not so much based upon nding truth but upon attending to social grievances. Grievance scholars bully students, administrators and other departments into adhering to their worldview. The worldview they promote is neither scienti c nor rigorous. Grievance studies consist of disciplines such as sociology, anthropology, gender studies, queer studies, sexuality and critical race studies.
Stacey Matthews has also written under the pseudonym Sister Toldjah and is a regular contributor to RedState and Legal Insurrection.
DirecTV filed a complaint with the Federal Communications Commission on Saturday night, accusing Disney of negotiating in bad faith.
Disney channels, including ESPN and ABC-owned stations in nine markets, have been off DirecTV since the evening of Sept. 1. That meant DirecTV customers were blacked out from viewing most college football games and the final week of the U.S. Open tennis tournament, including the women’s and men’s finals.
According to Leichtman Research Group, DirecTV has 11.3 million subscribers, making it the nation’s third-largest payTV provider.
the seriousness of the virus and the need uneasy with how people who simply ask when things can start getting back to circles with contempt. as a society simply must accept without tells us about when it’s safe to begin the normalcy. us, and we have the right to ask those stay-at-home orders are in place all over the them get in states, such as Michigan, feeling isolated and/or anxious about providing for their families, will demand levels should be as forthcoming as they and again, not vague answers, but answer statements believability. what we can to keep our families, safe. But we should also still continue because while reasonable stay-at-home they should also have an expiration date. and it is not normal. Not in any way, should remain vigilant and stay safe, at comfortable with this so-called “new
In 2017 and 2018, authors Pluckrose, Lindsay and Boghossian started submitting bogus academic papers to academic journals in cultural, queer, race, gender, fat and sexuality studies to determine if they would pass peer review and be accepted for publication. Acceptance of dubious research that journal editors found sympathetic to their intersectional or postmodern leftist vision of the world would prove the problem of low academic standards.
ABC and ESPN did have the “Monday Night Football” opener between the New York Jets and the San Francisco 49ers. ABC also produced and carried the presidential debate between Kamala Harris and Donald Trump on Tuesday in Philadelphia.
ABC-owned stations in Los Angeles, the San Francisco Bay Area; Fresno, California; New York; Chicago; Philadelphia; Houston; and Raleigh are off DirecTV.
In addition to all ESPN network channels and ABCowned stations, Disney-branded channels Freeform, FX and National Geographic are dark.
Virginia’s stay-at-home orders go into June.
written under the pseudonym Sister Toldjah RedState and Legal Insurrection.
Some of these orders extend at least through the end of this month.
Here in North Carolina, Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper stated during a recent coronavirus press brie ng that “we just don’t know yet” if state’s stay-at-home orders will extend into May.
We need transparency and honesty from our
There is 100% agreement, outside of China, that COVID-19 originated in Wuhan Province probably from the completely unregulated and unsanitary wet markets. Some believe it came out of a
Lenten and Easter seasons provide a message of
THIS WEEK, according to members and state and local governments, Americans the curve in the novel coronavirus outbreak. muted — after all, trends can easily reverse have abided by recommendations and orders. to stay at home; they’ve practiced social they’ve donned masks.
If he does decide to extend it, questions should be asked as to the justi cation for it. And the answers should not be vague ones like must do this out of an abundance of caution.”
Several of the fake research papers were accepted for publication. The Fat Studies journal published a hoax paper that argued the term bodybuilding was exclusionary and should be replaced with “fat bodybuilding, as a fat-inclusive politicized performance.” One reviewer said, “I thoroughly enjoyed reading this article and believe it has an important contribution to make to the eld and this journal.”
In its 10-page complaint, DirecTV says Disney is violating the FCC’s good faith mandates by asking it to waive any legal claims regarding any anticompetitive actions, including its ongoing packaging and minimum penetration demands.
DirecTV has asked Disney for the option of providing consumers with cheaper and skinnier bundles of programming instead of bigger bundles that carry programming that some viewers might not be interested in watching.
The spacewalk is scheduled for Thursday, midway through the five-day flight
By Marcia Dunn The Associated Press
“Our Struggle Is My Struggle: Solidarity Feminism as an Intersectional Reply to Neoliberal and Choice Feminism,” was accepted for publication by A lia, a feminist journal for social workers. The paper consisted in part of a rewritten passage from Mein Kampf. Two other hoax papers were published, including “Rape Culture and Queer Performativity at Urban Dog Parks.” This paper’s subject was dog-on-dog rape. But the dog rape paper eventually forced Boghossian, Pluckrose and Lindsay to prematurely out themselves. A Wall Street Journal writer had gured out what they were doing.
Since when did questioning government at all levels become a bad thing?
It will need to be explained in detail to the people of this state are being told to remain jobless and at home for an undetermined amount of time why models predicting hundreds of thousands of
The result: a reduction in expected hospitalization According to the University of Washington Metrics and Evaluation model most oft Trump administration, the expected need peak outbreak was revised down by over ventilators by nearly 13,000 and the number
Here’s the problem: We still don’t know questions that will allow the economy to
The cavalier manner virus, covered up its spread 3,341 related deaths has millions of Americans needlessly The crisis has cost the debt plus trillions more markets and nancial outlets. currency, we would not measures without immediate depreciation. China has to pay for their economic and nancial to bring China into the and fair trade. Totalitarian or express sincere regret totalitarian governments they nd in adversaries adversaries push back. That is, unless an exogenous meltdown in 1986. Some program of Reagan, led
To date, I’ve gone along with what the state has asked and then mandated that we do, but along the way I’ve also had questions about
Unfortunately, when certain types of questions get asked, there sometimes a disturbing tendency among some people to treat those simply questioning the data and asking when we can start getting to normal as though they are conspiracy theorists or are people who otherwise don’t care if they get themselves or others sick.
First, what is the true coronavirus fatality important because it determines whether be open or closed, whether we ought to pursue more liberalized society that presumes wide
“THIS IS in it” (Psalm I know that working from be glad” as and dad, the have to be pandemic. For me, making. As Corinthians a iction, so a iction, with God.” If you are re ect on this God’s example this di cult con dent we In this same neighbors In Concord, money to buy health care
AThe complaint states: “Along with these anticompetitive demands, Disney has also insisted that DirecTV agree to a ‘clean slate’ provision and a covenant not to sue, both of which are intended to prevent DirecTV from taking legal action regarding Disney’s anticompetitive demands, which would include filing good faith complaints at the Commission. However, the Media Bureau made clear not three months ago that such a demand constitutes bad faith.”
Since when did questioning government at all levels become a thing? That is what free citizens living in a free society were supposed
Approved Logos April 15,
My rst concern as we go along in all this, of course, is my family. worried about them catching the virus, and I’m worried I will. After su ering from the H1N1 virus (swine u) during the 2009 pandemic, I’ve been trying to take extra precautions, because all of this brings way too many memories of a painful experience I’d prefer not to repeat.
We’ve seen case fatality rates — the number the number of identi ed COVID-19 cases and the denominator are likely wrong. We people have actually died of coronavirus. number has been overestimated, given that of death, particularly among elderly patients, sources suggest the number is dramatically many people are dying at home.
Perhaps COVID-19 is Senators in Washington of China forgiving $1.2 China to “pay” for the damage breath waiting for a Chinese representatives to hold It is about time they are the world like any other
But what also makes me lose sleep is how easily most everyone
Hill, senio
Even more importantly, we have no clue actually have coronavirus. Some scientists of identi ed cases could be an order of magnitude number of people who have had coronavirus
It’s okay to ask questions about when we begin to get back to normal
The comfort and hope
SpaceX launches billionaire to conduct first private spacewalk
WITH MOST STATES under either shelter-in-place or stay-at-home orders thanks to local or state governments, a majority of Americans are having to adjust to what is being called the “new normal.”
Virginia’s stay-at-home orders go into June.
of the riskiest parts of spaceflight, spacewalks have been the sole realm of professional astronauts since the former Soviet Union popped open the hatch in 1965, closely followed by the U.S. Today, they are routinely done at the International Space Station.
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla.
— A daredevil billionaire rocketed back into orbit Tuesday, aiming to perform the first private spacewalk and venture farther than anyone since NASA’s Apollo moonshots.
That is what free citizens living in a free society were supposed to do, last I checked.
Unlike his previous chartered flight, tech entrepreneur Jared Isaacman shared the cost with SpaceX this time, including developing and testing brand new spacesuits to see how they’ll hold up in the harsh vacuum.
Some papers accepted for publication in academic journals advocated training men like dogs and punishing white male college students for historical slavery by asking them to sit in silence on the oor in chains during class and to be expected to learn from the discomfort. Other papers celebrated morbid obesity as a healthy life choice and advocated treating privately conducted masturbation as a form of sexual violence against women. Typically, academic journal editors send submitted papers out to referees for review. In recommending acceptance for publication, many reviewers gave these papers glowing praise.
If all goes as planned, it will be the first time private citizens conduct a spacewalk, but they won’t venture away from the capsule. Considered one
Political scientist Zach Goldberg ran certain grievance studies concepts through the Lexis/Nexis database, to see how often they appeared in our press over the years. He found huge increases in the usages of “white privilege,” “unconscious bias,” “critical race theory” and “whiteness.”
All of this is being taught to college students, many of whom become primary and secondary school teachers who then indoctrinate our young people.
During a conference call with business and media analysts, DirecTV CEO Ray Carpenter said they would only agree to a new carriage deal with Disney if bundling changes.
“We’re not playing a shortterm game,” Carpenter said.
“We need something that is going to work for the long-term sustainability of our video customers. The resolve is there.”
A Disney spokesperson said:
“We continue negotiating with DirecTV to restore access to our content as quickly as possible.
We urge DirecTV to stop creating diversions and instead prioritize their customers by finalizing a deal allowing their subscribers to watch our strong upcoming lineup of sports, news and entertainment programming, starting with the return of Monday Night Football.”
July’s job gain was the smallest since the pandemic
I doubt whether the coronaviruscaused nancial crunch will give college and university administrators, who are a crossbreed between a parrot and jelly sh, the guts and backbone to restore academic respectability. Far too often, they get much of their political support from campus grievance people who are members of the faculty and diversity and multicultural administrative o ces.
By Christopher Rugaber The Associated Press
WASHINGTON, D.C. —
Hiring by America’s employers picked up a bit in August from July’s tepid pace, and the unemployment rate dipped for the first time since March in a sign that the job market may be cooling but remains sturdy.
The best hope lies with boards of trustees, though many serve as yes-men for the university president. I think that a good start would be to nd 1950s or 1960s catalogs. Look at the course o erings at a time when college graduates knew how to read, write and compute, and make them today’s curricula. Another helpful tool would be to give careful consideration to eliminating all classes/majors/minors containing the word “studies,” such as women, Asian, black or queer studies. I’d bet that by restoring the traditional academic mission to colleges, they would put a serious dent into the COVID-19 budget shortfall.
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
The Labor Department said Friday that employers added a modest 142,000 jobs, up from a scant 89,000 in July. The unemployment rate peaked at 4.2% from 4.3%, the highest level in nearly three years. However, hiring in June and July was sharply down by a combined 86,000. July’s job gain was the smallest since the pandemic.
“The labor market is weakening,” said Eugenio Aleman, chief economist at Raymond
Walter E. Williams is a professor of economics at George Mason University.
“THIS IS THE DAY the lord has made, in it” (Psalm 118:24).
Some of these orders extend at least through the end of this month.
Here in North Carolina, Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper stated during a recent coronavirus press brie ng that “we just don’t know yet” if the state’s stay-at-home orders will extend into May.
with debris — before reducing the oval-shaped orbit by half. Even at this lower 435 miles, the orbit would eclipse the space station and even the Hubble Space Telescope, the highest shuttle astronauts flew.
I know that during this challenging time working from home or losing a job, it may be glad” as the Bible tells us to do. However, and dad, the Easter holiday has reminded have to be thankful and hopeful for, even pandemic.
If he does decide to extend it, questions should be asked as to the justi cation for it. And the answers should not be vague ones like “we must do this out of an abundance of caution.”
It will need to be explained in detail to the people of this state who are being told to remain jobless and at home for an undetermined amount of time why models predicting hundreds of thousands of cases are reliable.
Isaacman, a pair of SpaceX engineers and a former Air Force Thunderbirds pilot launched before dawn aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from Florida. The spacewalk is scheduled for Thursday, midway through the five-day flight.
But first, the passengers are shooting for way beyond the International Space Station — an altitude of 870 miles, which would surpass the Earth-lapping record set during NASA’s Project Gemini in 1966. Only the 24 Apollo astronauts who flew to the moon have ventured farther.
Pilot Scott “Kidd” Poteet and SpaceX’s Anna Menon will monitor the spacewalk from inside. Like SpaceX’s previous astronaut flights, this one will end with a splashdown off the Florida coast.
fallen into place. I understand to take precautions, but questions about the data, normal are treated in some They’re treated as though question what the government process of returning back No. The government questions. And the longer country, and the stricter the more people, sitting when they can get back answers.
For me, my faith is an important part making. As I celebrated Easter with my Corinthians 1:4, which reminds us our Lord a iction, so that we may be able to comfort a iction, with the comfort which we ourselves God.”
To date, I’ve gone along with what the state has asked and then mandated that we do, but along the way I’ve also had questions about the data. State Republican leaders have, too.
All four wore SpaceX’s spacewalking suits because the entire Dragon capsule would be depressurized for the two-hour spacewalk, exposing everyone to the dangerous environment.
“We’re sending you hugs from the ground,” Launch Director Frank Messina radioed after the crew reached orbit. “May you make history and come home safely.”
Lenten and Easter seasons provide a message of hope that we will once again enjoy sporting events, concerts, family gatherings, church services and many more after our own temporary sacri ces are over.
If you are celebrating the Easter season, re ect on this message and be comforted, God’s example and comfort all those in this di cult time. Through faith and by con dent we will emerge out of this pandemic
Unfortunately, when certain types of questions get asked, there is sometimes a disturbing tendency among some people to treat those simply questioning the data and asking when we can start getting back to normal as though they are conspiracy theorists or are people who otherwise don’t care if they get themselves or others sick.
Leaders at the local and can be with those answers with details that give their We should all continue ourselves, and our communities to ask questions about the measures are understandable,
In this same spirit, I continue to be inspired neighbors helping neighbors.
Isaacman replied: “We wouldn’t be on this journey without all 14,000 of you back at SpaceX and everyone else cheering us on.”
Since when did questioning government at all levels become a bad thing? That is what free citizens living in a free society were supposed to do, last I checked.
The plan is to spend 10 hours at that height — filled with extreme radiation and riddled
Sluggish jobs report clears way for interest rate cut
James Financial. “It is not falling apart, but it is weakening.”
The cooling jobs figures underscore why the Federal Reserve is set to cut its key interest rate when it next meets Sept. 17-18, with inflation falling steadily back to its target of 2%. Still, Friday’s mixed jobs data raises the question of how large a rate cut the Fed will announce. It could reduce its benchmark rate by a typical quarter-point or a larger-than-usual half-point. In the coming months, the policymakers will also decide how much and how fast to cut rates at subsequent meetings.
Influential Fed policymaker Christopher Waller suggested in a Friday speech that the central bank is leaning toward a quarter-point reduction this month. But he left the door open for larger rate cuts, if necessary, later this year.
“I do not expect this first cut to be the last,” Waller said. “With inflation and employment near our longer-run goals
Isaacman and SpaceX’s Sarah Gillis will take turns briefly popping out of the hatch. They’ll test their white and black-trimmed custom suits by twisting their bodies. Both will always have a hand or foot touching the capsule or attached support structure resembling a pool ladder’s top. There will be no dangling at the end of their 12-foot tethers and no jetpack showboating. Only NASA’s suits at the space station come equipped with jetpacks for emergency use only.
In Concord, a high school senior named money to buy a 3-D printer and plastic health care workers out of his own home.
At a preflight news conference, Isaacman — CEO and founder of the credit card processing company Shift4 — refused to say how much he invested in the flight. “Not a chance,” he said.
My rst concern as we go along in all this, of course, is my family. I’m worried about them catching the virus, and I’m worried I will. After su ering from the H1N1 virus (swine u) during the 2009 pandemic, I’ve been trying to take extra precautions, because all of this brings up way too many memories of a painful experience I’d prefer not to repeat.
This is all new to Americans, shape, or form. So while the same time we shouldn’t normal.”
Not one little bit.
Stacey Matthews has also and is a regular contributor
William Gerstenmaier, a SpaceX vice president who once headed space mission op-
But what also makes me lose sleep is how easily most everyone has
and the labor market moderating, it is likely that a series of reductions will be appropriate.”
“I am open-minded,” he added, “about the size and pace of cuts, which will be based on what the data tell us about the economy’s evolution.”
Collectively, Friday’s figures depict a job market slowing under the pressure of high interest rates but still growing. Many businesses are holding off on adding jobs, partly because of uncertainty about the presidential election’s outcome and how fast the Fed will reduce its benchmark rate in the coming months.
America’s labor market is now unusual: Jobholders are primarily secure, and layoffs are low, historically speaking. Yet, with the pace of hiring having weakened, landing a job has become harder.
Over the past three months, job growth has averaged only 116,000 a month, down sharply from an average of 211,000 a year ago. Economists say that over time, that may not be enough to keep up with the growth in the number of people looking for work. In the past three years, an influx of immi-
JOHN RAOUX / AP PHOTO
A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket with a crew of four lifts off Tuesday from Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Florida.
LYNNE SLADKY / AP PHOTO
Amid a cooling job market, potential employees line up at a job fair in August.
Apple embraces AI craze with newly unleashed iPhone 16 lineup
The tech giant hopes to reverse a recent sales slump with AI
By Michael Liedtke
The Associated Press
CUPERTINO, Calif. — Apple
launched a new iPhone lineup Monday that is part of the artificial intelligence craze. This is the company’s latest attempt to capitalize on a technology trend and transform it into a cultural phenomenon.
The four different iPhone 16 models will all come equipped with special chips needed to power a suite of AI tools that Apple hopes will make its marquee product even more indispensable and reverse a recent sales slump.
Apple’s AI features are designed to turn Siri, the company’s often-blundering virtual assistant, into a more innovative and versatile sidekick. They automate tedious tasks and perform crowd-pleasing tricks, such as creating customized emojis within seconds.
After receiving a standing ovation for Monday’s event, Apple CEO Tim Cook promised the AI package will unleash “innovations that will make a true difference in people’s lives.”
However, the breakthroughs will not begin as soon as the new iPhones — priced from $800 to $1,200 — hit stores Sept. 20.
Most of Apple’s AI functions will roll out as part of a free software update to iOS 18, the
operating system that will power the iPhone 16 coming out in December. Apple said English will be the featured language at launch, but an update enabling other languages will emerge next year. It’s all part of a new approach that Apple previewed at a devel-
Google faces new antitrust trial after search engine declared a monopoly
Advertising technology is at the center of the tech company’s latest legal woes
By Matthew Barakat
The Associated Press
ALEXANDRIA, Va. — One month after a judge declared Google’s search engine an illegal monopoly, the tech giant faces another antitrust lawsuit that threatens to break up the company, this time over its advertising technology.
The Justice Department, joined by a coalition of states, and Google each made opening statements Monday to a federal judge who will decide whether Google holds a monopoly over online advertising technology. The regulators contend that Google built, acquired and maintained a monopoly over the technology that matched online publishers to advertisers. Dominance over the software on both the buy and sell sides of the transaction enables Google to keep as much as 36 cents on the dollar when it brokers sales between publishers and advertisers, the government contends in court papers.
“It’s worth saying the quiet part out loud,” Justice Department lawyer Julia Tarver Wood said during her opening statement. “One monopoly is bad
JOBS from page A9
grants has enlarged the nation’s workforce.
August’s job gains were concentrated in just a few industries, with health care adding 44,000 jobs, restaurants, hotels and entertainment companies gaining 46,000, and construction 34,000. Steady hiring by restaurants and hotels could reflect ongoing gains in consumer spending, which rose last month even after adjusting for
enough. But a trifecta of monopolies is what we have here.”
Google says the government’s case is based on the internet of yesteryear when desktop computers ruled and Internet users carefully typed precise World Wide Web addresses into URL fields.
In her opening statement, Google lawyer Karen Dunn likened the government’s case to a “time capsule with a Blackberry, an iPod and a Blockbuster video card.”
Dunn said Supreme Court precedents warn judges about “the serious risk of error or unintended consequences” when dealing with rapidly emerging technology and considering whether antitrust law requires intervention.
According to Google’s annual reports, revenue has declined in recent years for Google Networks, the division of the Mountain View, California-based tech giant that includes such services as AdSense and Google Ad Manager that are at the heart of the case, from $31.7 billion in 2021 to $31.3 billion in 2023. The trial that began Monday in Alexandria, Virginia, over the alleged ad tech monopoly was initially going to be a jury trial. Google maneuvered to force a bench trial, writing a check to the federal government for more than $2 million to moot the only claim brought by the government that required a jury.
inflation. Manufacturers and retailers cut jobs in August. In a major speech last month, Chair Jerome Powell suggested that the Fed’s policymakers have all but tamed inflation through high interest rates and don’t want to see the job market weaken further. The central bank is trying to achieve a “soft landing,” which drives inflation down from a 9.1% peak in 2022 to its target level without causing a recession. A lower Fed benchmark rate will even-
nology widely expected to trigger the most dramatic changes in computing since the first iPhone was released 17 years ago.
Just as Apple elevated fledgling smartphones into a musthave technology in 21st-century society, the Cupertino, California, company is betting it can do something similar with its tardy arrival to artificial intelligence.
To set itself apart from the early AI leaders, the technology baked into the iPhone 16 is promoted as “Apple Intelligence.”
Despite the unique branding, Apple’s new approach mimics many of the features already available in the Samsung Galaxy S24, released in January and the Google Pixel 9, released last month.
“Apple could have waited another year for further development, but initial take up of AI-powered devices from the likes of Samsung has been encouraging, and Apple is keen to capitalize on this market,” said PP Foresight analyst Paolo Pescatore.
oper’s conference three months ago to create more anticipation for the next generation of iPhones amid a rare sales slump for the well-known devices.
Since Apple’s June conference, competitors such as Samsung and Google have made greater strides in AI, a tech-
As it treads into new territory, Apple is trying to preserve its long-time commitment to privacy by tailoring its AI so that most of its technological tricks can be processed on the device instead of relying on giant computer banks in remote data centers. When a task needs to connect to a data center, Apple promises it will be done in a tightly controlled way that ensures that no personal data is stored remotely.
While corralling the person-
al information shared through Apple’s AI tools inherently reduces the chances that the data will be exploited or misused against a user’s wishes, it doesn’t guarantee iron-clad security. For instance, a device could still be stolen or hacked through digital trickery.
For users seeking to access even more AI tools than the iPhone offers, Apple is teaming up with OpenAI to give users the option of outsourcing more complicated tasks to the popular ChatGPT chatbot.
Although Apple is releasing a free version of its operating system to propel its on-device AI features, the chip needed to run the technology is only available on the iPhone 16 lineup and the high-end iPhone 15 models that came out a year ago. That means most consumers interested in taking advantage of Apple’s approach to AI will have to buy one of the 16 iPhone models — a twist investors are counting on to fuel a surge in demand heading into the holiday season.
The anticipated sales boom is the main reason Apple’s stock price has climbed by more than 10% since the AI preview in June. But the company’s shares dipped slightly in Monday’s late afternoon trading after the iPhone showcase, continuing a recent downturn in tech stocks driven partly by concerns about how long it will take before the industry’s considerable investments in AI will pay off.
Besides its latest iPhones, Apple also introduced a new version of its smartwatch that will include a feature to help detect sleep apnea, as well as the next generation of its wireless headphones, the AirPods Pro, which will be able to function as a hearing aid with an upcoming software update.
The Virginia case follows a major defeat for Google over its search engine, which generates the majority of the company’s $307 billion in annual revenue.
A judge in the District of Columbia declared the search engine a monopoly, maintained in part by the tens of billions of dollars Google pays each year to companies like Apple to lock in Google as the default search engine presented to consumers when they buy iPhones and other gadgets.
The judge has not yet imposed any remedies in the search engine case, and the government hasn’t offered its proposed sanctions. However, there could be scrutiny over whether Google should be allowed to continue making exclusivity deals that ensure its search engine is consumers’ default option.
In the Virginia trial, the government’s witnesses are expected to include executives from newspaper publishers, includ-
“The labor market is weakening.”
Eugenio Aleman, Raymond James Financial economist
tually lead to lower borrowing costs for consumer and business loans, including mortgages, auto loans and credit cards. For now, companies are posting fewer job openings and add-
ing The New York Times Co. and Gannett, and online news sites that the government contends have faced particular harm from Google’s practices.
“Google extracted extraordinary fees at the expense of the website publishers who make the open internet vibrant and valuable,” government lawyers wrote in court papers. “As publishers generate less money from selling their advertising inventory, publishers are pushed to put more ads on their websites, to put more content behind costly paywalls, or to cease business altogether.”
The government’s first witness was Tim Wolfe, an executive with Gannett, a newspaper chain that publishes USA Today as its flagship. Wolfe said Gannett feels it has no choice but to continue using Google’s ad tech products even though the company keeps 20 cents on the dollar from every ad purchase, not
ing fewer workers. At the same time, Americans are far less likely to quit their jobs now than they were soon after the economy rebounded from the pandemic. In a strong job market, workers are likelier to quit, usually for higher-paying opportunities. With quits declining, fewer jobs are opening up for people out of work.
The Fed’s Beige Book, a collection of anecdotes from the 12 regional Fed banks, reported that many employers appeared
even accounting for what it takes from advertisers.
Google disputes that it charges excessive fees compared to its competitors. The company also asserts that the integration of its technology on the buy side, sell side and middle assures ads and web pages load quickly and enhances security. It says customers have options to work with outside ad exchanges.
Google says the government’s case needs to be properly focused on display ads and banner ads that load on web pages accessed through a desktop computer. It also needs to consider consumers’ migration to mobile apps and the boom in ads placed on social media sites over the last 15 years. The government’s case “focuses on a limited type of advertising viewed on a narrow subset of websites when user attention migrated elsewhere years ago,” Google’s lawyers wrote.
to have become pickier about whom they hired in July and August. In August, the Conference Board surveyed Americans and found that the proportion of Americans who think jobs are hard to find has been rising, a trend often correlated with a higher unemployment rate. At the same time, consumer spending, the principal driver of economic growth in the United States, rose at a healthy pace in July.
STEPHANIE / AP PHOTO
Jeannie Rhee, pictured Monday in Alexandria, Virginia, is among the lawyers representing Google in the Department of Justice’s antitrust case.
JULIANA YAMADA / AP PHOTO
Apple CEO Tim Cook announced new products at Apple headquarters on Monday.
Starbucks struggles to define itself, turns to celebrity CEO
The coffee powerhouse’s board thinks Brian Niccol has the expertise to chart a new course
By Dee-Ann Durbin
The Associated Press
TO HOWARD SCHULTZ , the chaos he observed at a Starbucks in Chicago one recent morning summed up the troubles of the company he long led as chairman and CEO.
Commuters tumbled off trains and into a Starbucks store to pick up the orders they had placed on their cellphones. Drinks weren’t ready when the mobile app said they would be, and customers couldn’t tell which beverage was theirs.
“Everyone shows up, and all of a sudden, we’ve got a mosh pit,” Schultz said during a June episode of the podcast “Acquired.” “That’s not Starbucks.”
Fifty-three years after its founding, the Seattle coffee giant is unhappy with what it’s become — and trying to figure out how to meet customers’ changing needs without losing its coffeehouse roots. To recapture what once made it special — and turn around sagging sales — Starbucks is turning to Brian Niccol, an experienced marketer who previously led Taco Bell and Chipotle.
Niccol took over as Starbucks’ chairman and chief executive on Monday.
With nearly 40,000 stores worldwide, Starbucks feels like it’s on nearly every corner, but analysts say its premium prices turn off many customers who just want a quick jolt of caffeine. At a Manhattan Starbucks, a medium Pumpkin Spice Latte is now almost $8.
Even convenience stores like
Wawa now offer great coffee, noted Chris Kayes, a professor of management at George Washington University. Meanwhile, consumers who want a higher-end coffee experience seek out independent cafes or upscale chains like Blue Bottle. “From a marketing perspective, Starbucks has lost its way,” Kayes said.
Starbucks said that since he was named its incoming CEO on Aug. 13, Niccol has been visiting U.S. stores, listening to baristas and observing the brand’s challenges.
The company said, “We look forward to the fresh ideas that Brian will bring to our business. “
Phil Kafarakis, president and CEO of the International Foodservice Manufacturers Association trade group, said streamlining Starbucks’ menu is key to eliminating the kind of disarray Schultz reported seeing in Chicago. Niccol needs to figure out who Starbucks’
Draghi offers possible solutions for Europe’s sluggish economy
The Italian economist and politician is credited with saving the euro currency union in 2012
By David Mchugh and Lorne Cook
The Associated Press
BRUSSELS — A long-awaited report on rescuing Europe’s economy from weak growth and red tape is in. The question is, how many of its recommendations will actually be enacted by the European Union’s drawn-out decision-making process?
The report stands out from other recipes for improvement because the project was headed by Mario Draghi, the former head of the European Central Bank who also served as Italy’s prime minister in 2021-22.
Draghi is regarded as having saved the euro currency union with his 2012 promise that the ECB would do “whatever it takes” to save the shared currency from the debt and financial crisis then engulfing it.
Now the EU and its 440 million people are facing a persistent and growing growth gap with the U.S., the report says. Last year the EU economy grew 0.4% compared with 2.5% in the U.S. Europe is also struggling with three areas where it has become dependent on outsiders: Russia for energy, China for growth and trade, and the U.S. for defense. All three are now disrupted or in question. Draghi says the EU and its 27
member governments have to work better together to develop their own capacities.
The report, requested by the European Union’s executive commission, says Europe needs to massively ramp up infrastructure and green energy investments while slashing burdensome regulation in order to return to consistent, strong growth.
Whether any of it will actually take effect over the upcoming five-year term of the reelected commission President Ursula von der Leyen depends on backing from the EU’s member governments and its parliament.
To pay for the transition to clean energy and boost defense capacity, the EU would need to increase public investments by a massive 4.4%-4.7% of annual economic output, or $828 billion to $883 billion, levels not seen since the 1960s and 1970s and dwarfing the post-World War II Marshall Plan. To find the money, the EU needs to integrate its financial markets so that companies can raise more capital through stock and bond sales rather than bank loans as they tend to do now.
Draghi also said that issuing shared debt would be one way to both fund investment in specific projects such as defense or cross-border energy grids. That’s what the EU did to fund its pandemic recovery program. But the idea faces political resistance, and von der Leyen, the commission president, said at a news conference introducing the report that Eu-
new cold boba drinks. Starbucks said the new straws are made of compostable plastic. However, the Ocean Conservancy, which once praised Starbucks as a “shining example” for eliminating single-use straws, said many composting systems aren’t equipped to manage compostable plastics. The conservancy said companies should move away from disposables altogether.
Even as the beverages have gotten more complex — down to the number of flavor pumps each customer prefers or the amount of caramel drizzle they want on their Frappuccino — baristas have come under pressure to make them more quickly. Almost 75% of Starbucks’ orders now come through the company’s mobile app, drive-thru windows or delivery partners like DoorDash. Fewer customers linger in stores.
core customers are and what they like to drink, Kafarakis said, and then start trimming the excess.
Because patrons can customize their drinks in many ways, Starbucks baristas are tasked with consistently making around 100,000 different variations, Schultz said in the June podcast. Drinks can be iced, blended, foamed, shaken or flavored. Starbucks lists 11 different kinds of creamers and milk on its U.S. website.
“They have created innovation. They have been very progressive. But the problem is, it’s gotten complicated,” Kafarakis said. “Some poor human being has to make all those.”
New drinks can also muddy Starbucks’ messaging. The company announced an environmental milestone six years ago: it would eliminate single-use plastic straws globally by 2020. But this summer, single-use plastic straws were back, tucked into Starbucks’
As a result, Starbucks needs to catch up with some rivals regarding service delivery times. In a recent U.S. survey, the restaurant consulting firm Technomic found that 77% of customers at Caribou Coffee reported getting their order in five minutes or less, compared to 62% at Starbucks.
At Chipotle, Niccol streamlined store operations to shorten wait times, beefed up marketing and lured customers back with limited-time menu items. Remaking Starbucks could be much more difficult. It has many more stores and varying challenges worldwide, including low-cost competitors in China and ongoing boycotts in the Middle East.
But Starbucks’ board thinks Niccol has the expertise to chart a new course. Under his generous contract, Niccol could make well more than $100 million in his first year at Starbucks. He will continue living in California and commuting to Starbucks’ Seattle headquarters using a corporate jet. “He’s the Ryan Reynolds of CEOs,” Kayes said. “They’re paying a lot upfront but expecting a return at the box office.”
rope’s national governments would have to “look at the political will to have these common European projects.”
Europe needs to “close the innovation gap with the United States,” Draghi said, pointing out that regulatory barriers and lack of startup financing meant that fast-growing European companies — so-called “unicorns” valued at $1 billion or more — often moved to the U.S. in search of venture capital backing.
That, along with too much regulation, left Europe with an economy based on older “middle technologies,” such as autos, instead of digital tech. The report pointed out that no EU company worth more than $100 billion has been set up from scratch in the last 50 years, while all six U.S. companies worth more than $1 trillion — such as Apple and artificial intelligence chip maker Nvidia — were started in that period. Only four of the world’s top 50 tech companies are European.
“We have many talented researchers and entrepreneurs filing patents,” the report says. “But innovation is blocked at
Regulators: Some Jeep SUVs, pickups can catch fire
Washington, D.C. U.S. auto safety regulators are investigating reports that the engines can catch fire on some Jeep SUVs and pickup trucks with the ignition turned off. The probe covers more than 781,000 Wranglers and Gladiators from the 2021 through 2023 model years. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration says it has nine complaints of engine fires from owners, including one injury. A majority of the reports say fires began in the passenger side of the engine compartment. The agency says a fire with the ignition off can increase the risk of injuries or property damage. The agency said it is opening the investigation to determine the cause and scope of the problem and how often it happens.
Big Lots files for Chapter 11 protection
Westerville, Ohio Discount retailer Big Lots has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection as it contends with a pullback in consumer spending and soft sales. The company plans to sell its assets and ongoing business operations to private equity firm Nexus Capital Management. Big Lots, which sells furniture, home decor and other items, said Monday that high inflation and interest rates have hurt its business as consumers have pulled back on their home and seasonal product purchases, two categories the chain depends on for a significant part of its revenue.
the next stage. ... Innovative companies that want to scale up in Europe are hindered at every stage by inconsistent and restrictive regulations.”
The loss of cheap Russian natural gas during the invasion of Ukraine means Europe — which, unlike the U.S., must import the bulk of its energy — must hustle to build out renewables. Energy prices have fallen, but companies still face electricity prices two to three times higher than in the U.S. Gas prices are four to five times higher.
The report says that European Union countries are buying too much of their defense equipment abroad, almost twothirds of it in the United States, and failing to invest enough in joint military projects. NATO allies — nearly all of whose members are part of the EU — have been ramping up defense spending since Russia annexed Ukraine’s Crimean Peninsula in 2014. Each country aims to spend at least 2% of gross domestic product on national defense. NATO forecasts that 23 of its 32 members will meet or exceed the 2% target by the end of this year.
Boeing claims deal to avoid strike by 30K-plus machinists Arlington, Va. Boeing has a tentative agreement with its largest union on a new contract for factory workers that could avoid a threatened strike. The company and the International Association of Machinists said Sunday the agreement will raise pay by 25% over four years. That’s less than the union had demanded. However, the company agreed with a union proposal to build its next plane in Washington state. The machinists’ union outpost president at Boeing says the bargaining committee recommends that members ratify the proposed contract. The union has scheduled a two-part election for Thursday, with workers voting whether to accept the agreement and whether to authorize a strike if they reject the offer.
Beginning Cash $2,598,132,909
Receipts (income) $126,023,686
Disbursements
$86,778,958
$2,637,405,803
MARK LENNIHAN / AP PHOTO
Brian Niccol was named Starbucks’s chairman and chief executive officer on Aug. 13.
GREGORIO BORGIA / AP PHOTO
Former European Central Bank head and Italian prime minister Mario Draghi penned a long-awaited report on how to rescue Europe’s economy from weak growth and red tape.
erations for NASA, said SpaceX teamed up with Isaacman to pay for spacesuit development and associated costs.
“We’re really starting to push the frontiers with the private sector,” Gerstenmaier said.
the first of three trips that Isaacman bought from Elon Musk two and a half years ago,
after returning from his first private SpaceX spaceflight in 2021. Isaacman bankrolled
tourist ride for an undisclosed sum, taking along contest winners and a childhood
survivor. The trip raised hundreds of millions for St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital.
development took longer than anticipated, delay-
this first so-called Polaris Dawn flight until now. The training was extensive; Poteet said it rivaled anything he experienced during his Air Force flying career.
autumnal equinox
Chevy’s built an all-season hit
By Jordan Golson North State Journal
MINNEAPOLIS — In 2011, I bought my first-ever new car, a Mazda3 hatchback, and I loved it. It was tremendously fun to drive, and I remember it being full of useful features I’d never had in a car before.
These included revolutionary things like Bluetooth connectivity, so I could listen to music without plugging in my phone and ... well, actually, that was the only particularly exciting feature it had aside from a little screen that said “Zoom Zoom” when I turned the car on and “Goodbye” when I turned it off.
But in 2011, Bluetooth was enough to get me excited. It was $21,000, and I was thrilled. That was before I started writing about cars, and it feels like a lifetime ago — but I thought about that little Mazda as I got behind the wheel of the 2025 Chevrolet Equinox, and my jaw hit the floor with how much fancy tech and neato features it has.
Forget Bluetooth. I’ve struggled to come up with stuff the new Equinox is missing. Here’s a brief list of standard features:
• 11-inch digital instrument cluster
• 11-inch infotainment touchscreen
• Built-in Google services, including Maps and Play Store
• Wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto
• AT&T-powered Wi-Fi hotspot
• Heated front seats and steering wheel
• Automatic emergency braking
• Lane keep assist
• Automatic high beams
• Adaptive cruise control
• Rear automatic braking
• OnStar
Adjusted for inflation, my $21,000 2011 Mazda3 would cost just under $30,000, so a Chevy Equinox Activ (the “outdoorsy” trim that starts around $35K) is a modest move up but includes a massive amount of tech that wouldn’t necessarily be in cars twice the price a decade ago. Over time, you can see the progression of technology and safety from expensive cars like the Mercedes-Benz S-Class to more affordable vehicles. Everything from anti-lock brakes to airbags has started in pricey cars and gone more mainstream.
But I’m struggling to think of things that aren’t mere comforts (like nicer leather, a glass roof or a bigger screen) that I’d want to see move from the current S-Class to a car like the Equinox.
More advanced driver assist features, like GM’s Super Cruise, which allows you to drive down the high-
way with your hands off the wheel, are one, but I can’t think of much else after that. To be sure, the Mercedes GLE’s heated and cooled cupholders are great, but not something I’d consider a must-have for a car like the Equinox.
It is shocking to see how far automobile technology has come in the last 15 years, especially considering how little the price has changed (adjusting for inflation). Sure, $35,000 is a lot if you compare it to my $21,000 Mazda3 — but that was a small hatchback, while this is an SUV with available all-wheel drive.
And that doesn’t even get into the experience of driving the new Equinox, which was almost as surprising as the impressive list of features.
The pint-sized 1.5-liter turbocharged engine produces 175 horsepower (my 2011 Mazda3 made 167 hp from its 2.5L engine) and even more torque, though you should opt for the AWD variant to get the eight-speed automatic over the dreadful CVT in the front-wheel drive Equinox.
But with the eight-speed, the Equinox is rev-happy and surprisingly zippy, and it is happy to get up and go when needed. I assumed such a tiny engine would sound like a family of hamsters was running around under the hood, but my surprise continued with how quiet the Equinox was for a car at this price point. It wasn’t exactly a precision racing machine, carving corners and blasting away from stoplights. However, this is a small, consumer-focused SUV competing with industry stalwarts like the Toyota RAV4 and Honda CR-V, and compete it does.
I’ve always considered the Equinox to be one of the also-rans in this segment. Why would you buy that when you can get a RAV4 (traditionally my personal favorite) or a fun and interesting Ford Bronco Sport (which is getting its own update for 2025)?
But the new 2025 Equinox changes all that. The sheer amount of standard tech is deeply impressive, and I can’t think of much that isn’t at least optional (a panoramic sunroof and 360-surround view camera are available). The engine is powerful enough, while the Equinox itself is cleverly designed and looks far less tedious than it used to.
The only thing missing is a hybrid option, which Toyota and Honda both offer to folks looking to save a bit of money at the gas pump. The 24/29 MPG city/highway from the AWD Equinox is a tough compare against the 41/38 available in the RAV4 hybrid. Still, if you’re willing to skip the hybrid and want a sharp-dressed ute with plenty of features, the new 2025 Chevrolet Equinox is worth checking out.
PHOTOS COURTESY CHEVROLET
Panthers try to regroup for home opener, B4
Plenty at stake for ECU, App State
NFL Highsmith honored for community work
Pittsburgh
Pittsburgh Steelers linebacker
Alex Highsmith was named the Week 1 NFLPA Community MVP for distributing free backpacks, books, supplies, haircuts and nutritious snacks to 300-plus kids at his third annual Back to School Bash in Pennsylvania. Highsmith, a former Charlotte 49ers standout, is a Wilmington native. His foundation also provided free haircuts, water bottles and to-go meals for kids. The NFLPA will donate $10,000 to Highsmith’s foundation, and he is eligible for the Alan Page Community Award at the end of the season.
TENNIS
Sinner wins U.S. Open
New York
Jannik Sinner defeated Taylor Fritz 6-3, 6-4, 7-5 to win the U.S. Open men’s championship less than three weeks after being exonerated in a doping case. The No. 1-ranked Sinner is a 23-year- old from Italy whose victory gave him the second Grand Slam trophy of his nascent career. Sinner also prevented No. 12 Fritz from ending a major title drought for American men that has lasted 21 years.
PARALYMPICS
Morocco’s El Idrissi sets women’s marathon world record on final day of Paralympic Games
Paris Morocco’s Fatima Ezzahra El Idrissi smashed the world record in the women’s marathon for runners with visual impairments on the last day of the Paralympic Games. The 29-year-old finished in 2 hours, 48 minutes, 36 seconds. It beats the previous record by nearly six minutes. Tunisia’s Wajdi Boukhili won the men’s T12 marathon. Swiss wheelchair racers Catherine Debrunner and Marcel Hug won the women’s and men’s marathons. The Netherlands’ women’s team defended its gold medal in wheelchair basketball.
The Pirates seek their first 3-0 start in 16 years, while Mountaineers try to avoid a 1-2 start
By Asheebo Rojas North State Journal
WEEK TWO wasn’t the prettiest for East Carolina and Appalachian State on the gridiron, but the in-state foes will have a chance to remedy their shortcomings against each other this weekend.
The Pirates (2-0, 0-0) and Mountaineers (1-1, 0-0) will meet for the 34th time at Dowdy-Ficklen Stadium in Greenville on Saturday at 4 p.m.
ECU is coming off a 20 -14 win over Old Dominion in which they overcame quarterback Jake Garcia’s four interceptions and a sloppy offensive performance. Dealing with its own disappointing showing as
well, App State wasn’t as fortunate last week, allowing 35 first-quarter points and losing 66-20 to then-No. 25 Clemson.
Going into Saturday’s matchup, ECU is looking for its first 3-0 start since 2008, and the Mountaineers are trying to avoid their first 1-2 start since 2016. Looking at last year’s game between the two teams and what they’ve shown so far this season, the key to coming away with a win could be limiting turnovers.
Former ECU quarterback Alex Flinn threw three interceptions in last year’s 43-28 loss to App State, limiting the Pirates’ ability to get into an offensive groove and capitalize on the opportunities to build its first-half lead. Down 21-16 at halftime despite the turnovers, App State outscored ECU 20-7 in the third quarter, completely swinging the momentum in its favor.
Last week, Garcia threw three first-half interceptions
Previous meetings between ECU and App State since the series began in 1932.
against Old Dominion, leading to the Pirates being down 7-6 at halftime. Garcia, the junior transfer who made previous stops at Miami and Missouri, is now up to seven interceptions on the year after throwing three in the season-opening win over Norfolk State. Thanks to a solid defensive performance and graduate running back Rahjai Harris’ 131 yards rushing and two touchdowns on 26 carries, the Pirates still outlasted the Monarchs, but the numerous miscues still rang loudly in players’ and coaches’ heads.
How Hurricanes, Jarvis made dollars work on new deal
Carolina utilized a little-used CBA rule to get its star winger signed for eight years
By Cory Lavalette North State Journal
RALEIGH — The Hurricanes and Seth Jarvis both wanted his new contract to lock up the 22-year-old as a cornerstone player for the franchise. And why not? From Carolina’s perspective, Jarvis, the 13th overall pick in the 2020 NHL Draft, had just come off scoring 33 goals — more than twice the combined total he had in his first two NHL seasons despite playing much of last year with an injured shoulder. His skill and talent are only matched by his effort and determination, which endeared him to coach Rod Brind’Amour.
“Rod asks a lot of our players,” Hurricanes GM Erik Tulsky said at Wednesday’s press conference announcing Jarvis’ new eight-year contract extension. “We demand a lot, and there are not many people who cannot just do everything we ask, but exceed everything we ask. Seth is one of those players, and it’s really great for us to be able to lock him up, have him commit to play with us for the next eight years — hopefully beyond that too.”
And Jarvis wanted to be in Raleigh. His bond with both his teammates and Brind’Amour — who, along with the rest of the coaching staff, helped mold Jarvis into a two-way force who finished eighth in Selke Trophy voting last season — made Carolina an ideal fit now and down the road.
“This is where I wanted to
“He’s got to cut down the interceptions,” ECU coach Mike Houston said of Garcia last week. “These this week were a little bit different from the ones last week. I don’t think as many were sloppy this week.”
Said Houston, “I’ll be honest, I felt like we should have won that game by a couple of touchdowns.”
For App State, its defense hasn’t yet produced many turnovers this season, coming away with just one forced fumble and zero interceptions in the first two weeks.
The Mountaineers’ defense already has much to improve on after giving up 460 yards through the air and 252 yards on the ground against Clemson. Yet taking advantage of a turnover-prone Garcia can have a huge impact Saturday as the takeaways could give App State’s offense more op -
See ECU, page B3
be,” Jarvis said, “and I wanted to try my best to make it work.” So easy enough, right? Draw it up.
If only any negotiation were that easy. Despite the desire from both sides to get a deal done, they still had to come to terms on the money Jarvis would be due. Estimates had Jarvis’ deal — he was a restricted free agent with no arbitration rights coming off his entry-level contract — coming in at about $8 million annually over eight years. With Jarvis just entering his prime and the salary cap expected to rapidly rise, that amount seemed fair for both sides. The Hurricanes, however, had to consider the immediate implications of such a high cap number. The goal for Carolina was to have Jarvis’ cap hit come in under the $7.75 million annual average value of Andrei Svechnikov’s eightyear contract, signed in August 2021, which at the time of signing made up 9.51% of the salary cap. With the 2024-25 season NHL salary cap ceiling at $88 million, 9.51% would be nearly $8.37 million AAV — certainly a number Jarvis could make a case for given that he had established himself as a first-over-the-boards, all-situ-
LAVALETTE / NORTH STATE JOURNAL
Seth Jarvis, right, and Hurricanes GM Eric Tulsky met with the media last Wednesday to discuss the eight-year contract extension Jarvis signed Aug. 31.
JACOB KUPFERMAN / AP PHOTO
Appalachian State safety Jordan Favors (7) tries to tackle Clemson running back David Eziomume (24) during the Mountaineers’ unsuccessful trip to Death Valley last week.
THURSDAY 9.12.24
TRENDING
Mike Fox:
The longtime baseball coach at NC Wesleyan and UNC is headed to the College Baseball Hall of Fame, along with 10 others. Fox had a 1,487-547-5 record in 37 seasons as a head coach. In 15 at NC Wesleyan, he went to the Division III College World Series eight times and won one title. In 22 years at UNC, he made seven College World Series trips and won three ACC titles
Russell Wilson:
The former NC State quarterback’s debut with the Pittsburgh Steelers will have to wait. Wilson was ruled out of the season opener against the Atlanta Falcons with a calf injury. The nine-time Pro Bowler signed with the Steelers after being cut by the Denver Broncos. He earned the starting job during the preseason, only to aggravate a calf injury in practice.
Penny Hardaway:
The Memphis assistants and two months before the Tigers’ season opener after Memphis anonymous letter alleging multiple violations in his program with the NCAA Hardaway announced assistant coaches Rick Stansbury, Faragi Phillips and former Gaston College head coach Jamie Rosser were special adviser Demetrius Dyson
Beyond the box score
POTENT QUOTABLES
“He looked at me and said, ‘I wa s built for this.’”
Charlotte coach Poggi on telling backup quarterback DeShawn Purdy that he was playing the entire second half at UNC after an injur y to Max Brown.
“They got the right one.”
Kendrick Lamar, after the NFL announced the 17-time Grammy winner would perform at halftime of the Super Bowl in February.
NASCAR
Joey Logano raced his way into the second round of NA SCAR’s Cup Series
-2 sweep for Team Penske. Blaney lined up behind Logano and gave him the pushes he needed to deny Daniel Suarez the victory.
Matt Cullen, a Stanley Cup champion with the Hurricanes, wa s named to the U.S. Hockey Hall of Fame Cullen won the Cup with Carolina in 2006 and Pittsburgh in 2016 and ’17 He played 21 NHL seasons. He’s joined in the hall’s class by Brianna Decker, Kevin Stevens, Frederic McLaughlin and the 2002 Paralympic sled team.
COLLEGE FOOTBALL
Canada’s winless streak against the U.S. in soccer games in America before Saturday’s 2-1 win in over Team USA on American soil since 1957.
The Los Angeles Chargers placed wide receiver DJ Chark Jr on injured reserve due to a hip injury. The injur y occurred in practice two weeks ago Chark, in his seventh season, played for the Carolina Panthers la st year He will miss at lea st four games after going on IR.
Former Clemson receiver Diondre Overton, who was par t of two national title teams in 2016 and 2018, died at 26. Greensboro police
Overton a native of Greensboro and Page High School alum, had 52 catches for 777 yards and seven touchdowns in 51 career games at Clemson.
Wake Forest prepares to host fifth-ranked Ole Miss
The Demon Deacons have a 2-0 head-to-head record against the Rebels
By Jesse Deal North State Journal
WINSTON-SALEM — After a fourth-quarter collapse in a 31-30 home loss to Virginia last weekend, Wake Forest’s football team is now tasked with playing the country’s topranked offense as a follow-up.
The Demon Deacons (1-1, 0-1 ACC) are set to host No. 5 Mississippi (2-0, 0-0 SEC) inside Allegacy Stadium on Saturday night at 6:30 p.m in Winston-Salem, marking the third matchup between the two schools and the first in 16 years.
Wake came away from Oxford, Mississippi, in 2006 with a 27-3 win over the Rebels, following that up two years later with a 30 -28 home win.
Oddsmakers currently have Ole Miss as a 23-point favorite to deliver the Deacs their second-consecutive loss.
Against the Cavaliers, Wake had a 30-17 lead entering the final quarter in a game where quarterback Hank Bachmeier threw for 403 yards, Donavon Greene had a career-best 11 catches for 166 yards, and the team won the total yardage battle 544-430.
Virginia, however, engineered a touchdown drive at the 10:37 mark, narrowing the Deacs’ lead to six. With just 2:07 left in the game, Virginia’s Grady Brosterhous reached the end zone on a 1-yard sneak for the go-ahead touchdown, which was followed by a Wake drive that ended with a costly fumble by wide receiver Taylor Morin.
“That was just a great football game. (Virginia) just kept coming, and they made a few more plays than us,” Demon Deacons coach Dave Clawson said after the loss. “I thought our guys competed really hard,
New
proud of the effort. We didn’t make enough plays and obviously the turnover at the end of the game was a critical one. We had a chance to recover it and we didn’t. So again, it’s one game. This one stings, but we got another one in a week.”
Wake’s attempt at a bounceback game this weekend happens to line up with possibly the team’s toughest opponent on its entire schedule. Ole Miss has racked up 1,427 yards of offense in just two weeks. The Rebels routed Furman 76-0 in the season opener and followed that with a 52-3 home win over Middle Tennessee State.
On Saturday, Ole Miss running back Henry Parrish Jr. averaged 11.8 yards per carry and recorded career highs in both rushing yards (165) and rush-
year, new team, same old Wolfpack?
Once again, NC State came up short in a big-time matchup
By Ryan Henkel North State Journal
RALEIGH — Heading into the 2024 season, things were expected to be different for the NC State Wolfpack.
After years of the Wolfpack knocking on the door of something more, this was the year where it was all supposed to come together.
NC State targeted big pieces in the transfer portal, revamped its offense, and coaches and players spoke in the offseason about a new standard.
Saturday’s marquee matchup against the No. 14 Tennessee Volunteers was the Wolfpack’s first chance to prove that they were ready for that next step, but a 51-10 thrashing proved just how far the preseason hype might have been from reality.
“Too many turnovers, penalties, poor field position,” said NC State coach Dave Doeren. “We’re better than we showed, and that’s disappointing.”
Despite the lopsided final score, Doeren’s team actually was right in it for nearly half the game.
As the second quarter wound
ECU from page B1 portunities to crack ECU’s stout defense. The Pirates have outscored their opponents 62-17 while allowing just 69 yards rushing and 131.5 yards passing per game. Finding most of its offensive success in the passing game, App State will need a big day from senior quarterback Joey Aguilar and leading receiver
down, NC State was putting together a solid drive for a chance to head into the locker room tied. Quarterback Grayson McCall had juked out Tennessee star edge rusher James Pearce Jr. before completing a pass to KC Concepcion for a big gain, and running back Hollywood Smothers was starting to carve out some yards.
Instead, a McCall pass was intercepted and went the other way for a touchdown.
After that, things completely unraveled for NC State.
The Wolfpack failed to put together a single drive of more than four plays and finished the game on an 0-for-9 run on third-down conversions, which in turn kept their defense on the field, wearing them out until they finally broke down.
“We were in that game,” Doeren said. “It was 10-3 and we were knocking on the door to make it a tie going into the half, and it went the other direction. When that happened, we got away from 11-man football. You started seeing guys try to do more than they needed to do, and it wasn’t good enough. We have to do a better job of handling situations like that.”
Many had McCall, the threetime Sun Belt Player of the Year and one of the top portal targets, pegged as the key to the
Kaedin Robinson, a redshirt senior who has hauled in 11 receptions for 161 yards. Robinson has been a downfield weapon for App State as he caught a 47-yard reception in the season opener, and he was responsible for the Mountaineers’ longest completion (29 yards) against Clemson.
Establishing a run game against ECU won’t be easy for the Mountaineers, but it’ll be a plus if they can move the chains
ing touchdowns (four), while quarterback Jaxson Dart’s 24 consecutive completed passes to start the game broke the conference record of 23 straight successful passes set by Tennessee’s Tee Martin against South Carolina in 1998.
“I’m proud of Jaxson’s leadership,” Ole Miss coach Lane Kiffin said Saturday. “We have several good running backs. Parrish practiced well, so he got the start today and played well. It’s hard to beat 11 yards a carry and four touchdowns.”
Kiffin added that he wasn’t thrilled with his team’s eight penalties and wants to see improvement from a “sloppy” pass defense, but he was pleased overall as his roster prepares for a trip to Wake Forest.
“There were a lot of good things we did to get to 2-0,”
Kiffin said. “I think we’re relatively healthy and actually looked good with one or two guys back that haven’t played yet as we go on the road next week to a tough opponent in the ACC.”
In order to keep up with the Rebels’ high-powered offense, Wake will need to continue to move the ball well and get back to the fluidity its offense showed in a 45-13 Week 1 win over FCS opponent North Carolina A&T.
The Deacs are averaging 528.5 yards offensively and giving up 383.5 yards defensively.
Under center, Bachmeier has completed 64% of his passes for 666 yards and four touchdown passes, finding a solid rhythm with both Greene and Morin as primary wideout options. Demond Claiborne has
Wolfpack’s new offense, but two games in and there isn’t much to be excited about.
But the coaching staff is still holding firm in their belief of the 23-year-old quarterback.
“I’m excited about Grayson McCall,” Doeren said. “He’s our guy and he’s going to rebound well. I’ve been through this with Jacoby Brissett, with Ryan Finley, with Brennan Armstrong. We’ve been through this with a lot of transfer quarterbacks. Sometimes it’s seamless, and sometimes it takes a while.”
Perhaps part of McCall’s early struggles can be attributed to the poor play of the offensive line.
The O-line was bullied by the Catamounts in Week 1 and was completely mangled by the Vol-
behind redshirt junior running back Anderson Castle. Castle doesn’t get many touches, but the Mountaineers’ leading rusher has picked up 6.8 yards per carry this season, giving App State the type of physical running and production needed to dent the Pirates’ rush defense. On the flip side, one key player for ECU will be Harris as he’ll look to feast against an App State defense that has given up 217.5 yards rushing
unteers in Week 2. And it’s not just McCall who’s suffering due to the offensive line’s play — the run game has been virtually nonexistent, putting up just 39 rushing yards on 28 attempts against the Vols.
NC State rebuilt its offense over the summer, stocking up on weapons in every single skill position, but none of that matters if the Wolfpack can’t win the line of scrimmage.
“It comes down to execution,” Doeren said. “It starts with your five guys up front playing together, playing aggressive and getting vertical. We just have to get back to the basics.”
In the long run, this game is the least consequential one for NC State to have lost because if the Wolfpack don’t win
per game. East Tennessee and Clemson have exposed a weakness in App State’s inability to stop the run, and with the Pirates having issues with interceptions, it won’t be surprising if Harris gets more than 20 carries once again. With both teams looking to improve, Saturday’s matchup could be an early preview of how the rest of the season will unfold for the two programs. It’s all about the response to
gained 221 yards and has averaged almost six yards per carry on the ground.
“He played really well, moved the offense well, made good decisions and made plays with his feet,” Clawson said of Bachmeier’s performance. On defense, linebacker Nick Andersen has already racked up 23 tackles (15 solo), while defensive lineman Kevin Pointer has generated 3.5 tackles for a loss and two sacks for a loss of 12 yards.
As Wake aims to bounce back from its narrow loss to Virginia, it undoubtedly faces a tough test in the Rebels, who have had their way with opposing defenses. Clawson and his coaching staff will have their work cut out for them as they take on this brand of SEC firepower.
the ACC, the odds are very slim that they’d even make the newly expanded College Football Playoff.
However, for the Wolfack to be embarrassed as badly as they were in the prime-time slot of a nationally televised game, it doesn’t matter what the big picture is because the immediate picture says if the Wolfpack don’t improve quickly and drastically, it’s going to be a long season.
But Doeren’s teams do have a history of responding well to adversity. They usually play their best when they’re pushed up against the wall.
“The thing that is different about college football more than ever is that there’s a lot of new parts on these fields,” Doeren said. “I think the guys, from a chemistry standpoint off the field, are really good, but you’re still trying to get that chemistry on the field in games. You can practice, practice, practice, but practice is still not the game.”
The primary goal of competing for an ACC title still remains possible, and the Wolfpack have the pieces to make that happen.
But just once, I’m sure the Wolfpack faithful would like to see their team not have to be pushed to the brink to succeed and see the team deliver a big win against a top-end opponent (Doeren is just 7-26 against ranked opponents since joining NC State).
Because there’s only so many times someone can cry “Wolf,” before the fans stop chanting back “Pack.”
adversity. App State is looking to bounce back from an embarrassment, while ECU wants to put the interceptions in the past and get its quarterback — and its offense — trending toward the right direction.
“Got to fix the turnovers,” Harris said after the win over Old Dominion. “Teams will get better and better as we go, so we’ve got to fix those issues. But we clean them up, man, we’re dangerous.”
SCOTT KINSER / AP PHOTO
Tennessee quarterback Nico Iamaleava (8) runs in the Volunteers” blowout win over NC State last week.
SARAH WARNOCK / AP PHOTO
Ole Miss quarterback Jaxson Dart (2) hands the ball to running back Henry Parrish Jr. during the Rebels’ opening game against Furman. Dart and Parrish have been putting up big offensive numbers this season.
What it was, was football
A
By Shawn Krest North State Journal
FOR THE second straight week, North Carolina’s 33 colleges and universities that play football failed to produce a winning record. However, we’ll take a look at the best and worst of the week that was around the state.
• North Carolina’s record: 14-16 (25-28 overall)
Winners (ranked in order of impressiveness of the victory — a combination of opponent and performance):
1. Elon: 41-19 at NC Central
2. Johnson C. Smith: 37-13 at Morehouse
3. Duke: 26-20 (2OT) at Northwestern
4. Campbell: 24-16 at Western Carolina
5. ECU: 20-14 at Old Dominion
6. Shaw: 43-40 at Albany State
7. Fayetteville State 35-31 over UNC Pembroke
8. Guilford: 14-0 over Greensboro
9. North Carolina: 38-20 over Charlotte
10. Livingstone: 37-9 over Virginia University of Lynchburg
11. Lenoir-Rhyne: 32-19 over Bowie State
12. Elizabeth City State: 12-9 over Chowan
13. Davidson: 49-14 over Catawba
14. NC A&T: 27-20 (OT) over Winston-Salem State
The top six teams posted road wins. So, while the scores may have been closer than some of the blowouts below, the teams got credit for getting the victory in hostile territory. A&T was taken to overtime against a team a division below it, which puts the Aggies in the bottom spot this week. Losers (ranked in order of impressiveness, despite the result):
1. Winston-Salem State: 27-20 (OT) vs. NC A&T
2. Chowan: 12-9 at Elizabeth City State
3. Gardner-Webb: 13-6 at James Madison
4. UNC Pembroke: 35-31 at Fayetteville State
5. Wake Forest: 31-30 to Virginia
HURRICANES from page B1
ations player with 64 goals and 146 points in 231 games during his first three NHL seasons. Svechnikov, comparatively, had 59 goals and 140 points in 205 games during his entry-level contract.
Pedigree also factors in during negotiations like this, and the fact that Svechnikov was the second overall pick in 2018 carries some negotiating leverage — thus making the rumored 8X8 deal for Jarvis a good starting point in talks.
But how could Carolina get Jarvis’ cap hit under Svechnikov’s — and keep the team under the $88 million cap ceiling — if he was worth roughly $8 million a year?
6. Barton: 27-24 to West Virginia State
7. Campbell: 24-16 to Western Carolina
8. Greensboro: 14-0 to Guilford
9. Charlotte: 38-20 at UNC
10. NC Wesleyan: 41-29 at Averett
11. NC Central: 41-19 to Elon
12. Catawba: 49-14 at Davidson
13. App State 66-20 at Clemson
14. St. Andrews: 51-14 at Anderson
15. NC State: 51-10 to Tennessee
16. Methodist: 33-14 to Shenandoah
Several blowouts appear in the bottom of the rankings. While Clemson, Tennessee and UNC are tough opponents, and two of the games were true road games, the fact that the scores got so out of hand pushed them down the rankings.
Off: Wingate, Mars Hill, Brevard
Name game:
Guilford defeated crosstown rival Greensboro College in the Soup Bowl, the eighth straight year the Quakers have raised the bowl. Fayetteville State got a wild win over UNC Pembroke in the Two Rivers Classic. NC State fell to Tennessee in the Duke’s Mayo Kickoff.
Old acquaintances, making new ones: Campbell and Western Carolina met for the first time since 1939, while Charlotte and UNC met for the first time ever — a scheduled game in 2020 was cancelled after a COVID outbreak on the 49ers.
State title standings: We have 10 unbeatens in games against other N.C. foes.
Duke 1-0
NC State 1-0
Wake Forest 1-0
UNC 1-0
Campbell 1-0
Shaw 1-0
Wingate 1-0
Davidson 1-0
Guilford 1-0
Fayetteville State 1-0
Elon 1-1
NC A&T 1-1
Elizabeth City State 1-1
Charlotte 0-1
NC Central 0-1
Catawba 0-1
Greensboro 0-1
Chowan 0-1
Winston-Salem State 0-1
UNC Pembroke 0-2
Western Carolina 0-2
Enter deferred money. Carolina had tinkered with this concept on the eight-year extension signed by Jaccob Slavin this summer. Slavin’s deal will pay him a total of $51.69 million, but according to PuckPedia, it will only cost the team
$51.17 million — a modest savings of $520,000, or $65,000 annually — against the cap by deferring some of the money until after Slavin’s contract is over in 2033.
Everyone understands that money in one’s pocket now is more valuable than the same amount of money in one, five or 10 years. Inflation alone, as we’ve all learned the past few years, devalues currency, plus having funds in the present allows one to invest the money so
State title games this week:
NC Central at UNC
Gardner-Webb at Charlotte
Western Carolina at Elon
App State at ECU
Barton at Chowan
Catawba at Shaw
Methodist at Guilford
Out-of-state battles for Week Two:
Campbell at Rhode Island. Delaware at NC A&T. Ole Miss at Wake Forest. Louisiana Tech at NC State. UConn at Duke. Point U at Davidson. Elizabeth City State at Erskine. Delta State vs. Wingate. Tiffin at Lenoir-Rhyne. Fayetteville State at Valdosta State. UNC Pembroke at Charleston, WV. Allen (SC) at Livingstone. Lincoln University of Pennsylvania at JC Smith. Ohio Dominican at Winston-Salem State. Hampden-Sydney at Brevard. Averett at Greensboro. Ferrum at NC Wesleyan. St Andrews at Cumberland, Tenn.
Bad neighbors: South Carolina teams are 4-0 against N.C. teams this season, while Virginia schools are 5-3.
All-state performances for Week Two:
Quarterback: Shaw’s Christian Peters tied a school record with six total touchdowns, five passing and one rushing. Running backs; TJ Thomas, Elon, 163 yards and a 74yard score. Rahjai Harris, ECU, 131 yards, 2 TDs, including a 63-yarder.
Defensive line: Shi Gaskin, Fayetteville State, 9 tackles, 4 tackles for loss, 2 sacks, a forced fumble and a pass breakup; Dre Butler, Charlotte, 2.5 TFL, 1 sack, 1 forced fumble
Linebacker: Jalen Brooks, Campbell, 12 tackles, an interception, a pass breakup; John Tessman, Davidson, 2 TFL, a sack, 6 tackles Defensive back: Jesse Powell, Elon, 40-yard pick-six, 1.5 TFL, a sack; Jamare Glasker, Wake, 5 tackles, 1 TFL, 1 interception, 2 PBU.
Special teams: Andrew Brown, NC A&T, had both a 50-yard punt and 50-yard field goal. His long boot was 53, as he averaged 41.2, with one punt inside the 20. He also hit two of three field goals, including a 52-yarder.
it can earn that future value — and presumably more — over time.
“We started looking at it in probably May or June,” Tulsky said of the idea of using deferred money to lower a player’s cap hit. “Interest rates got high, and so it started to be a useful tool. We brought it up in conversation, and it was a way to get where we wanted on this.”
Let’s piece this together as it pertains to Jarvis. The Hurricanes and Gerry Johansson, Jarvis’ agent, agreed to a contract with a full value of $63.2 million over eight years — $7.9 million annually, just a touch under the $8 million mentioned above.
To lower the cap hit, the two sides agreed to defer $15.67 million in bonuses to the day after
COLUMN | SHAWN KREST
Panthers continue to be encouraged by losses
TYPICALLY in an election year like this one, voters are asked to consider the question, “Are you better off than you were four years ago?”
That’s going to be a tough bar to clear for fans of the Carolina Panthers. It’s hard to imagine a four-year stretch where things have gone much better than they have for the hometown team. Just listen to how the various Carolina head coaches have raved about the product that’s been put on display for the masses.
“Our quarterback was excellent.”
That was Matt Rhule, after the 2020 opener, against the Raiders in a Bank of America Stadium emptied out by COVID. The quarterback was Teddy Bridgewater.
“The guys did a great job cheering each other on,” he continued.
That was the game where Rhule and offensive coordinator Joe Brady made the questionable decision to run little-used fullback Alex Armah on fourth-and-inches near the end of the game instead of All-Pro Christian McCaffrey.
Of course, they’re professional coaches and far smarter than the likes of us, so who are we to question the decision. While the loss was disappointing, “I told them, they certainly shouldn’t be discouraged,” Rhule said. “I’m proud of the guys.” Good times.
Two years later, the Panthers had another outstanding performance in their opener, at home against the Cleveland Browns.
“We should not be discouraged,” Rhule repeated. “There were so many places where we played so much better than last year. … We did a lot of things well,” Rhule said.
“I like the team’s fight and grit,” Rhule raved. “I’m encouraged by where we’re headed.
Rhule was headed to the unemployment line a little over a month later. Quarterback Baker Mayfield, who lost that opener against his former team, also didn’t make it through the season.
But a new start in 2023 meant a brand new person telling Carolina fans how good they all have it.
“I saw some encouraging things on the field in all three phases,” said Frank Reich. “We talked in the locker room about the good things out there. Good things by each unit. Good things by individuals.”
That was after a 24-10 loss at Atlanta. Quarterback Bryce Young, the first overall pick in
the draft that spring, completed just over half his passes for 146 yards. He was intercepted twice and sacked twice. Or, as Reich put it, “I saw a number of encouraging things. I thought he did a lot of good things today.”
Again, that may not seem like the same performance the fans saw, but remember, these are professional coaches. Do not try this at home.
“Multiple things go into turnovers,” Reich said. “It’s not always what it appears on the surface. … I felt like we had some opportunities for chunk plays. I felt like we had good things, moving the ball on offense.”
Reich also didn’t make it to the end of the season, but make no mistake, things are still humming along in Charlotte as the Panthers remain the class of the NFL to start the 2024 season.
For instance, the Panthers only had one delay of game penalty against the Saints on Sunday.
“That was kind of my biggest concern, and I thought we did a really good job,” said coach Dave Canales.
The coaching staff also was able to communicate with each other flawlessly.
“That was excellent,” Canales said “There was a lot of good information passed along, so I felt really good about that part of it.”
Those two areas were critical. It’s scary to think about what could have happened had the clock management and sideline communication broke down. Things might have gotten out of hand.
As it was, the Panthers gave up the first 30 points of the game. They had a punt blocked, were torched on defense, and Young completed just 13 of 30 passes for 161 yards. He was intercepted twice, sacked four times, and his 32.6 QB rating was 16 points lower than last year’s NFL debut, where he did so many good things.
The good news is that Young, like his teammates, doesn’t get frustrated easily.
“He was in complete control, even after the turnovers,” Reich said last year. “He was never down, a complete pro.”
This year, Canales said nothing had changed. “There are not people throwing helmets around. There are not people that are pointing fingers.”
Why should they? Things are just as good as we’ve been told they’ve always been.
Are you better off than you were four years ago?
For Panthers fans, they’re exactly the same.
the eight-year contract expires. By doing so, Carolina is paying Jarvis what his money will be worth in 2032 — given high interest rates — while applying to its cap the amount that money is worth in the present.
“They really had a tough time breaking down for me. I had no idea what it meant,” joked Jarvis, who said the team came to him two or three weeks before the deal was signed to explain the offer and deferred money.
The savings are significant — Jarvis’ cap hit is lowered from $7.9 million to just over $7.42 million — nearly $500,000 in cap space annually.
In return, Jarvis gets the salary he deserves while also helping the team by creating cap space. He will also have a stack
Panthers quarterback
Bryce Young (9) reacts with Carolina Panthers coach Dave Canales during Sunday’s season opening loss to the Saints in New Orleans.
of money waiting for him in 2032.
“It was just something that helped me but also helped the team,” Jarvis said. “And that’s more what we were looking for is being able to build something around not just me but around here, around the team, to be able to have more space to bring in other guys.”
With the Federal Reserve slated to cut interest rates — and probably do it frequently as the economy improves and inflation slows — players will be less likely to accept deferred money because the return won’t be worth their while.
But for Jarvis and the Hurricanes, the stars aligned for both sides to get exactly what they wanted.
weekly look at North Carolina college football
MATTHEW HINTON / AP PHOTO
MATT MARTON / AP PHOTO
Duke wide receiver Eli Pancol (4) celebrates on the sideline after scoring a touchdown against Northwestern.
Wallbanger Studios brings world-class recording to NC
The Kannapolis enterprise boasts cutting-edge technology and valuable experience
By Dan Reeves North State Journal
KANNAPOLIS — Tucked away at the end of a long driveway in the quaint town of Kannapolis stands a white, nondescript, 10,000-square-foot metal building. The only indication of what lies behind the steel doors is a red logo that reads “Wallbanger Studios.”
Inside is a musician’s exclusive haven, a recording paradise furnished with stateof-the-art recording equipment and acoustic design the likes of which Ozzy Osbourne and John Fogerty would select when cutting an album.
Kannapolis native and drummer-producer David Lee enlisted multiaward-winning studio designer Jeff Hedback to man the acoustical architectural arm of the project. While consulting with Hedback, who had created studios for both Osborne and Fogerty, Lee recognized a brilliant concept for their new studio in these two megastar layouts.
“It’s the studio of the future, a space that can inspire any artist, regardless of genre or project.”
Burns built. From a technical perspective, what Farris, Lee and their partners have achieved in Kannapolis matches that of the finest recording studios in the world. Before Wallbanger Studios officially opened in February 2024, Nashville, Atlanta or Washington, D.C., would be the closest destination for a North Carolina-based musician or band to get their hands on the capabilities offered at Wallbanger. Its owners, Lee and Farris — who have an impressive collective pedigree in audio engineering, musicianship and business acumen — saw the opportunity to bring to North Carolina and its vibrant music scene what other “music” cities claimed as their own.
Rob Farris, Wallbanger Studios co-founder
“We saw Ozzy’s and said, ‘Stop. Right. There. We’d like to have this same control room, the same aesthetic, the same 14-foot ceilings,” co-founder Rob Farris said. Viewing a brochure, as it were, of Hedback’s robust design portfolio, Wallbanger installed an audio suite split 50/50 using a blueprint of the best of Fogerty’s and Osbourne’s studios. The final product enabled a rare flexibility with sound isolation, allowing all spaces to work in unison, function independently, or with any combination thereof.
To the layman, technical jargon in studio recording is challenging to discern. Still, recall “Sound City” — the 2013 film about the fabled recording studio in Van Nuys, California, where Fleetwood Mac, Elton John and Neil Young recorded — and you’re on the right track: isolation booths, long mixing boards with dials and switches, guitars in one room, drums in the next, and plush leather couches for the talent.
Wallbanger Studios captures that aesthetic with its lush 650-square-foot control room adorned with black and red fabrics and natural stone segments, which industry craftsman Doug
Farris knows sound. His resume boasts audio engineering and production credits dating back to 1995 when he founded Big Bang Theory, his first recording studio venture. He’s worked with legendary Raleigh outfit The Backsliders and Kenny Robey, and Ben Folds used Farris’ Wurlitzer on the record “Whatever and Ever Amen” to double the piano sound, creating an unmistakable effect on each track.
Since the ’90s, his reputation in North Carolina as a master of versatility in sound engineering earned him first rights as a live sound engineer for the North Carolina Symphony and events throughout the state. In 2008, Farris met Lee while the latter was touring with his band, SwampDaWamp, and formed a friendship that later resulted in Wallbanger Studios.
But it’s not just for rock ’n’ roll.
The massive open space at Wallbanger Studios is fully equipped with a soundstage to produce and record commercials, YouTube channels and even a gospel choir.
“Our fully integrated video suite is equipped for YouTube video creation, streaming, live concerts and social media content,” Farris said. “It’s the studio of the future, a space that can inspire any artist, regardless of genre or project.”
Wallbanger Studios is a place where creativity knows no bounds, which Farris and Lee offer “a la carte.” The facility welcomes musical artists or creators of all experience levels to work.
Clients can have the entire studio at their disposal or utilize its seasoned founders’ expertise for all recording and production requirements.
COURTESY DANIEL COSTON
From left to right, studio builder Doug Burns, co-founder Rob Farris, co-founder David Lee and floor manager Craig Hatley made Wallbanger Studios a reality.
PHOTOS COURTESY DANIEL COSTON
Jenna Ortega, left, and Winona Ryder, reprising her role as Lydia Deetz, star in “Beetlejuice Beetlejuice.”
‘Beetlejuice
Beetlejuice’ jolts box office with $110M opening weekend
After 36 years, Tim Burton resurrects his 1988 hit
By Kaitlyn Huamani
The Associated Press
AFTER 36 YEARS of waiting, the juice is finally loose again in “Beetlejuice Beetlejuice,” racking up $110 million in its premiere weekend.
The long-awaited Tim Burton sequel is the third-best opening weekend of the year, only behind box office triumphs “Inside Out 2” and “Deadpool & Wolverine.”
Michael Keaton returns as the titular spirit, and Catherine O’Hara and Winona Ryder reprise their roles as Delia and Lydia Deetz. Newcomer Jenna Ortega plays the latter’s daughter, Astrid. Willem Dafoe, Monica Bellucci and Justin Theroux round out the cast.
TAKE NOTICE
The Warner Bros. sequel is the second-highest-grossing September movie ever, behind 2017’s “It,” which opened with a staggering $123 million.
The 2019 sequel “It Chapter 2” opened with $91 million and previously held the No. 2 spot for September openings.
The original “Beetlejuice” film earned a mere $8 million in its opening weekend in 1988, unadjusted for inflation, but went on to make $77 million in theaters domestically as it became a cult classic.
“There’s life in the afterlife,” said Jeff Goldstein, distribution chief for Warner Bros. “Many things have to happen simultaneously, and all the stars are aligning.”
Goldstein confirmed the film’s budget of $100 million and said the studio expected an opening weekend of between $80 million and $90 mil-
CUMBERLAND
NOTICE
The undersigned, having qualified as Executor of the estate of Mary B Ray, deceased, late of Cumberland County, hereby notifies all persons, firms, and corporations having claims against said estate to present their claim to the undersigned on or before 15th day of December 2024, (which date is three months after the day of the first publication of this notice) or this notice will be pleaded in bar of their recovery. All debtors of the decedent are requested to make immediate payment to the undersigned.
This 12th day of September, 2024 Hubert Ray Jr Administrator/Executor 6739 Pacific Ave Fayetteville, NC, 28314 Of the Estate of Mary B Ray , Deceased
NOTICE TO CREDITORS IN THE GENERAL COURT OF JUSTICE
SUPERIOR COURT DIVISION ESTATE FILE NO. 24-E-268 STATE OF NORTH CAROLINA COUNTY OF CUMBERLAND
Having qualified as Executor of the Estate of Constantine G. Patronis, late of Cumberland County, North Carolina, the undersigned does hereby notify all persons, firms, and corporations having claims against the estate of said decedent to exhibit them to the undersigned at 2517 Raeford Road, Fayetteville, NC 28305, on or before November 29, 2024, or this notice will be pleaded in bar of their recovery. All persons, firms, and corporations indebted to the said Estate will please make immediate payment to the undersigned. Dated this 29th day of August, 2024. Athanasia M. Patronis, Executor of the Estate of Constantine G. Patronis
NICOLE A. CORLEY
MURRAY, CRAVEN & CORLEY, L.L.P.
N.C. BAR NO. 56459 2517 RAEFORD ROAD FAYETTEVILLE, NC 28305 – 3007 (910) 483 – 4990 COUNSEL FOR EXECUTOR
lion. Given the early success, he said the film “may get really long legs” with Halloween season approaching.
Paul Dergarabedian, senior media analyst at Comscore, said September is “not known as a hotbed of $100 million blockbuster debuts” but attributed part of the film’s success to Burton’s singular style and the star cast.
In addition to the returning cast, Ortega, who starred in the Netflix series “Wednesday” about the “Addams Family” character, likely brought in younger audiences.
“If all this was were a nostalgia play for people who saw the first movie, it wouldn’t necessarily work,” Dergarabedian said. “Part of the magic formula of ‘Beetlejuice Beetlejuice’ is having a great cast of a revered generation of actors and then having young actors making their mark.”
The electric opening weekend kicks off the fall movie season with a bang after a sleepy Labor Day weekend and a relatively slow August saw newer films struggle as holdover movies ruled the box office.
Beyond “Beetlejuice,” “Deadpool & Wolverine” placed second on the box office charts, making $7.2 million in its seventh weekend. Its cumulative domestic total is now $614 million.
“Reagan,” the Dennis Quaidled biopic about the 40th U.S. president, continues to beat expectations. In its second weekend, the film made $5.2 million, climbing to third place.
“Alien: Romulus” and “It Ends With Us,” two more summer holdovers, came in fourth and fifth place, respectively. The sci-fi horror film brought in $3.9 million, and the romance drama brought in $3.8 million.
The only new weekend release on the box office rankings was “The Greatest of All Time,” an Indian Tamil-language science fiction action film. The movie starred Joseph Vijay and was directed by Venkat Prabhu, known for directing and writing other Indian action films. Estimated ticket sales for Friday through Sunday at U.S. and Canadian theaters, according to Comscore.
1. “Beetlejuice Beetlejuice,” $110 million
2. “Deadpool & Wolverine,” $7.2 million
3. “Reagan,” $5.2 million
4. “Alien: Romulus,” $3.9 million
5. “It Ends With Us,” $3.8 million
6. “The Forge,” $2.9 million
7. “Twisters,” $2.3 million
8. “Blink Twice,” $2.1 million
9. “The Greatest of All Time,” $2 million
10. Despicable Me 4,” $1.8 million
NOTICE
STATE OF NORTH CAROLINA In the General Court Of Justice County of Cumberland Superior Court of Division Estate File # 2024E. 000235 Administrator’s/Executor’s Notice The undersigned, having qualified as Executor of the Estate of Mary Jones Carrington McNeill deceased, late of Cumberland County, hereby notifies all persons, firms, and corporations having claims against said estate to present their claim to the undersigned on or before 05 of December, 2024(which day is three months after the day of the first publication of this notice) or this notice will be pleaded in bar of their recovery. All debtors of the decedent are requested to make immediate payment to the undersigned.
This 28 day of August ,2024
Robert H Carrington Jr Administrator/Executor 2118 Coinjock Cir Fayetteville NC 28304 Of the Estate of Mary Jones Carrington McNeill Deceased
NOTICE TO CREDITORS
ESTATE OF JUANITA CUNNINGHAM Cumberland County Estate File No. 24 E 1328 All persons, firms and corporations having claims against Juanita Cunningham, deceased, of Cumberland County, North Carolina, are notified to present their claims to Davis W. Puryear, Administrator, at 4317 Ramsey St., Fayetteville, NC 28311, on or before the 6th day of December, 2024 (which date is three months after the day of the first publication of this notice), or this notice will be pleaded in bar of their recovery. Debtors of the Decedent are requested to make immediate payment to the Administrator named above. This the 28th day of August, 2024.
Davis W. Puryear Administrator of the Estate of Juanita Cunningham
Davis W. Puryear Hutchens Law Firm Attorneys for the Estate 4317 Ramsey Street Fayetteville, NC 28311 Run dates: September 5, September 12, September 19 and September 26, 2024
NOTICE TO CREDITORS
ESTATE OF Donald J. Albin
Cumberland County
Estate File No. 24 E 351 All persons, firms and corporations having claims against Donald J. Albin, deceased,
NOTICE
PARISA TAGHIZADEH / WARNER BROS. PICTURES VIA AP
Administrator’s Notice IN THE
COURT OF JUSTICE
SUPERIOR COURT DIVISION
ESTATE FILE 24-E-229
State of North Carolina Cumberland County NOTICE TO CREDITORS
The undersigned, having qualified as the Administrator of the Estate of Else L. Kennedy, late of Cumberland County, North Carolina, does hereby notify all persons, firms or corporations having claims against said estate to present them to the undersigned at 5337 Plateau Court, Fayetteville, North Carolina 28303, on or before December 5, 2024, or this notice will be pleaded in bar of their recovery. All persons indebted to the estate will please make immediate payment to the undersigned. This the 5th day of September, 2024. Hans Strout, Administrator of the Estate of Else L. Kennedy, Deceased c/o Gilliam Law Firm, PLLC J. Duane Gilliam, Jr., Attorney PO Box 53555 Fayetteville, NC 28305 9/5/2024, 9/12/2024, 9/19/2024 and 9/26/2024
NOTICE
STATE OF NORTH CAROLINA In The General Court of Justice COUNTY OF CUMBERLAND Superior Court Division Estate File# 2024E 001267
Administrator’s/Executor’s Notice
The undersigned, having qualified as Patricia M Lowe of the Estate of James Frederick McKeithan, deceased, late of Cumberland County, hereby notifies all persons, firms, and corporations having claims against said estate to present their claim to the undersigned on or before December 1, 2024 or the notice will be pleaded in bar of their recovery. All debtors of the decedent are requested to make immediate payments to the undersigned. This 19th day of August 2024 Patricia M Lowe Administrator/Executor Address: 406 Andrew Ave, Timberlake NC 27583 Of the Estate of James Frederick McKeithan Deceased
NOTICE
STATE OF NORTH CAROLINA in the General Court of Justice County of Cumberland Superior Court Division State File #: 2024 E 001280 Administrator’s / Executor’s Notice
The undersigned, having qualified as co-executor of the estate of Mary Ruth McLamb, deceased, late of Cumberland County, hereby notifies all persons, firms, and corporations having claims against said estate to present their claim to the undersigned on or before the twenty-fifth day of November, 2024, (which date is at least three months after the day of the first publication of this notice) or this notice will be pleaded in bar of their recovery. All Debtors of the decedent are requested to make immediate payment to the undersigned.
This fifteenth day of August, 2024.
Robert J. Bunting Co-Executor 223 Riverdell Drive Address Fayetteville, NC 28311-1628 City, State, Zip Of the Estate of Mary Ruth McLamb, Deceased
NOTICE
In The General Court of Justice Superior Court Division Before the Clerk Estate File # 2UE125 STATE OF NORTH CAROLINA CUMBERLAND COUNTY
ADMINISTRATOR NOTICE
The undersigned James T Page III having qualified as Executor of the Estate of Darrel Jean Page, deceased , late of Cumberland County, this is to notify all persons having claims against said estate to present them to the undersigned on or before the 29th day of November ,2024 or this notice will be pleaded in bar of their recovery. All persons indebted to the estate will please make immediate payment to the undersigned, James T PageIII 2115 AlRay Rd Eastover, NC 28312
NOTICE
In The General Court of Justice Superior Court Division Before the Clerk Estate File #24 E 1335
STATE OF NORTH CAROLINA CUMBERLAND COUNTY
ADMINISTRATOR NOTICE The undersigned having qualified as Executor of the Estate of Henry Lee Pierce, deceased, late of Cumberland County, hereby notifies all persons, firms, and corporations having claims against said estate to present their claim to the undersigned on or before the 2nd day of December, 2024, (which date is three months after the day of the first publication of this notice) or this notice will be pleaded in bar of their recovery. All Debtors of the decedent are requested to make immediate payment to the undersigned. This 21st day of August, 2024. Ida M. Pierce Administrator/Executor 6458 Ginger Cir Fayetteville, NC 28314 Of the Estate of Henry Lee Pierce, Deceased
NOTICE
IN THE GENERAL COURT OF JUSTICE SUPERIOR COURT DIVISION ESTATE FILE #24E1269 STATE OF NORTH CAROLINA CUMBERLAND COUNTY Having qualified as the Executor of the Estate of Thomas R. Pullen deceased late of Cumberland County, North Carolina, the undersigned does hereby notify all persons, firms and corporations having claims against the decedent to exhibit them to the undersigned at 702 Platinum St, Fayetteville, NC 28311 on or before December 12th, 2024, or this notice will be pleaded in bar of their recovery. All persons, firms, and corporations indebted to the said Estate will please make payment to the undersigned. Dated this 12th day of September, 2024. This is to notify all persons, firms and corporations to having claims to the estate of said Executor of the Estate of Thomas R. Pullen, Patricia L. Shadeck 702 Platinum St. Fayetteville NC, 28311
NOTICE
The undersigned, having qualified as Administrator of the Estate of Willie Catherine Roseborough , deceased , late of Cumberland County, hereby notifies all persons, firms, and corporations having claims against said estate to present their claim to the undersigned on or before the 1st day of December , 2024, or this notice will be pleaded in bar of their recovery. All debtors of the decedent are required to make immediate payment to the undersigned. This is the 29th day of August, 2024. Mamie Roseborough Humphrey Administrator 850 Johnson Farm Rd Fayetteville , NC 28311 Of the Estate Of Willie Catherine Roseborough , Deceased
NOTICE
STATE OF NORTH CAROLINA
County of Cumberland
In The General Court of Justice Superior Court Division Estate File#.2022 E. 002053 Administrator’s/Executor’s Notice
The undersigned, having Qualified as Administrator of the Estate of Tynicia D Walton, deceased, late of Cumberland County, hereby notifies all persons, firms, and corporations having claims against said estate to present their claim to the undersigned on or before the 29rd day of November, 2024 (which date is three months after the day of the first publication of this notice) or this notice will be pleaded in bar of their recovery. All Debtors of the decedent are requested to make immediate payment to the undersigned. This 20th day of August, 2024 Ronald Edward Walton 4025 Hunting Path Drive Hope Mills, NC 28348 Of the Estate of Tynicia D Walton, Deceased 08/29,09/05,09/12,09/19/2024
NOTICE TO CREDITORS
IN THE GENERAL COURT OF JUSTICE SUPERIOR COURT DIVISION ESTATE FILE NO. 23-E-1166
STATE OF NORTH CAROLINA COUNTY OF CUMBERLAND
Having qualified as Administrator of the Estate of Johnny Ray Vines, late of Cumberland County, North Carolina, the undersigned does hereby notify all persons, firms, and corporations having claims against the estate of said decedent to exhibit them to the undersigned at 2517 Raeford Road, Fayetteville, NC 28305, on or before November 22, 2024, or this notice will be pleaded in bar of their recovery. All persons, firms, and corporations indebted to the said Estate will please make immediate payment to the undersigned. Dated this 22nd day of August, 2024. Amy Vines, Administrator of the Estate of Johnny Ray Vines NICOLE A. CORLEY MURRAY, CRAVEN & CORLEY, L.L.P. N.C. BAR NO. 56459 2517 RAEFORD ROAD FAYETTEVILLE, NC 28305 – 3007 (910) 483 – 4990 COUNSEL FOR ADMINISTRATOR
NEW HANOVER
NOTICE TO CREDITORS
NORTH CAROLINA NEW HANOVER COUNTY NOTICE TO CREDITORS
THE UNDERSIGNED, Mary Kay Anderson, having been appointed on the 21st day of March 2022, as Permanent Receiver of Joseph Matthew Johnson (2021-CVS-4783), Absentee, does hereby notify all persons, firms, and corporations having claims against said Absentee that pursuant to NCGS 28C-10, they must file their claims under oath with the undersigned at DAVID E. ANDERSON, PLLC, 9111 Market Street, Suite A, Wilmington, North Carolina, 28411, on or before the 24th day of February, 2025, or the claims will be forever barred thereafter, and this notice will be pleaded in bar of recovery. All persons, firms, and corporations indebted to said Absentee will please make prompt payment to the undersigned at the above address. This 22nd day of August 2024. Mary Kay Anderson Permanent Receiver JOSEPH MATTHEW JOHNSON, Absentee David Anderson Attorney at Law 9111 Market St, Ste A Wilmington, NC 28411
Publish: August 22, 2024 August 29, 2024 September 5, 2024 September 12, 2024
NOTICE TO CREDITORS
24E1105 In the estate of Marjorie Lou Ard, AKA Marjorie Meeks Ard of New Hanover County, North Carolina, deceased. All claims against the above estate must be sent to the undersigned before the 15th day of December, 2024. This the 30th day of August, 2024. Ivy Wiggins 3307 South College Road Wilmington, NC 28412 Executor of the Estate of Marjorie Lou Ard
24 SP 92 NOTICE OF FORECLOSURE SALE NORTH CAROLINA, CUMBERLAND COUNTY
Under and by virtue of a Power of Sale contained in that certain Deed of Trust executed by Afra V McClanahan a/k/a Afra V. Mclanahan a/k/a Afra McClanahan to BB&T Collateral Service Corporation, Trustee(s), which was dated September 25, 2015 and recorded on October 16, 2015 in Book 09741 at Page 0277, Cumberland County Registry, North Carolina. Default having been made of the note thereby secured by the said Deed of Trust and the undersigned, Trustee Services of Carolina, LLC, having been substituted as Trustee in said Deed of Trust, and the holder of the note evidencing said default having directed that the Deed of Trust be foreclosed, the undersigned Substitute Trustee will offer for sale at the courthouse door of the county courthouse where the property is located, or the usual and customary location at the county courthouse for conducting the sale on September 18, 2024 at 01:30 PM, and will
real estate and any improvements situated thereon, in Cumberland County, North Carolina, and being more particularly described in that certain Deed of Trust executed by Lander J. Williams; Lander J. Williams, Jr., dated August 24, 2001 to secure the original principal amount of $61,215.00, and recorded in Book No. 5546, at Page 718 of the Cumberland County Public Registry. The terms of the said Deed of Trust may be modified by other instruments appearing in the public record. Additional identifying information regarding the collateral property is below and is believed to be accurate, but no representation or warranty is intended. Address of property: 5054 Belinda Lane, Parkton, NC 28371 Tax Parcel ID: 9493-56-5218 The record owner(s) of the property, according to the records of the Register of Deeds, is/are The Estate of Lander J. Williams
sell to the highest bidder for cash the following described property situated in Cumberland County, North Carolina, to wit: All that certain lot or parcel of land situated in Pearce’s Mill Township, Cumberland County, North Carolina and more particularly described as follows: BEGINNING at a stake in the eastern margin of a 50’ street called Averitt Street, at the intersection of the northern margin of a 25’ street called Thompson Street which point is located 1031.4 feet southwardly from the southern margin of the public road leading from Fayetteville to Cumberland Mills and running thence with the northern margin of Thompson Street north 76 degrees 45 minutes East 200 feet to a stake; thence North 13 degrees 15 minutes West 99.49 feet to a stake; thence South 76 degrees 45 minutes West 190.5 feet in the eastern margin of Averitte Street; thence with the eastern margin of Averitte Street South 8 degrees 20 minutes East 100 feet to the beginning.
Subject to easements, restrictions, and covenants of record, if any.
Save and except any releases, deeds of
West 545.12 feet to an iron in the center line of Lick Creek Road; thence with the center line North 75° 57’ 50” East 94.52 feet to the point and place of beginning, and containing 1.385 acres, more or less, and being depicted as Tract No. 3 on a survey entitled “Survey for Douglas Westbrook and wife, Martha P. Westbrook” dated June 14, 1991 by Davidson Surveying, to which reference is made.
Subject to a 20 foot right of way for ingress, egress and regress and utilities to service the remainder of Doug Westbrook tract (deed book 644, page 40) said right of way being depicted on the attached survey and having as its eastern boundary the eastern boundary of the subservient tract described above.
Retention of first option: the grantors retain a first option to re-purchase this property on the following terms: should the Grantee herein undertake to transfer this property at any time, the Grantee must first give thirty days written notice of said intention to the Grantors. The Grantors, upon receipt of this notice, shall then have the option to repurchase this property at a sum equal to the purchase price from the proposed buyer. Should the Grantors herein fail to tender said purchase price within thirty days of receipt of said notice, Grantees herein will be permitted to freely transfer this property.
Tract II: beginning at an iron in the western line of James Cox (deed book 664, page 38), the northeastern corner of this tract, and also the southeastern corner of the twenty foot right of way that services a tract owned by Brian Keith Westbrook (deed book 782, page 1390); running thence with the line to Cox South 6° 04’ 05” East 423.93 feet to an iron, the southeastern corner of this tract; thence with a new line to Westbrook North 85° 08’ 45” West 138.52 feet to an iron, the southwestern corner of this tract and the southeastern corner of a tract being
DURHAM
NOTICE OF FORECLOSURE SALE NORTH CAROLINA, DURHAM COUNTY 24 SP 000245-310 Under and by virtue of a Power of Sale contained in that certain Deed of Trust executed by Tiffany Gray, in the original amount of $108,000.00, payable to Mortgage Electronic Registration Systems, Inc., as nominee for America’s Wholesale Lender, dated May 9, 2003 and recorded on May 13, 2003 in Book 3900, Page 891, Durham County Registry. Default having been made in the payment of the note thereby secured by the said Deed of Trust and the undersigned, Anchor Trustee Services, LLC having been substituted as Trustee in said Deed of Trust by an instrument duly recorded in the Office of the Register of Deeds of Durham County, North Carolina, and the holder of the note evidencing said indebtedness having directed that the Deed of Trust be foreclosed, the undersigned Substitute Trustee will offer for sale at the courthouse door or other usual place of sale in Durham County, North Carolina, at 2:00 pm on September 24, 2024, and will sell to the highest bidder for cash the following described property, to wit: Being all of Lot 1, Recombination of Lots 9-11 Block H Lincoln Heights as the same is shown on plat thereof recorded in Plat Book 149 Page 147 Durham County Registry. Together with improvements located hereon; said property being located at 218 Cisco Street, Durham NC 27707. Tax ID: 122233 Third party purchasers must pay the recording costs of the trustee’s deed, any land transfer taxes, the excise tax, pursuant North Carolina General Statutes §105-228.30, in the amount of One Dollar ($1.00) per each Five Hundred Dollars ($500.00) or fractional part thereof, and the Clerk of Courts fee, pursuant to North Carolina General Statutes §7A-308, in the amount of Forty-five Cents (0.45) per each One Hundred Dollars ($100.00) or fractional part thereof with a maximum
c/o Carolyn Williams Eckert, administrator and Jacqueline D. Williams and Carolyn Williams Eckert and Christina R. Sweat and Jennifer D. Sweat and Barbara Packer Royal. The property to be offered pursuant to this notice of sale is being offered for sale, transfer and conveyance AS IS, WHERE IS. Neither the Trustee nor the holder of the note secured by the deed of trust being foreclosed, nor the officers, directors, attorneys, employees, agents or authorized representative of either the Trustee or the holder of the note make any representation or warranty relating to the title or
unpaid taxes and assessments including any transfer tax associated with the foreclosure. A deposit of five percent (5%) of the amount of the bid or seven hundred fifty dollars ($750.00), whichever is greater, is required from the highest bidder and must be tendered in the form of certified funds at the time of
release or prior conveyances of record.
Said property is commonly known as 2693 Everitte St, Fayetteville, NC 28306.
A Certified Check ONLY (no personal checks) of five percent (5%) of the purchase price, or Seven Hundred Fifty Dollars ($750.00), whichever is greater, will be required at the time of the sale. Following the expiration of the statutory upset bid period, all the remaining amounts are immediately due and owing. THIRD PARTY PURCHASERS MUST PAY THE EXCISE TAX AND THE RECORDING COSTS FOR THEIR DEED.
Said property to be offered pursuant to this Notice of Sale is being offered for sale, transfer and conveyance “AS IS WHERE IS.” There are no representations of warranty relating to the title or any physical, environmental, health or safety conditions existing in, on, at, or relating to the property being offered for sale. Substitute Trustee does not have possession of the property and cannot grant access, prior to or after the sale, for purposes of inspection and/or appraisal. This sale is made subject to all prior liens, unpaid taxes, any unpaid land transfer taxes, special assessments, easements, rights of way, deeds of release,
conveyed to David Allen Westbrook; thence with a line to David Allen Westbrook North 3° 48’ 55” West 395.75 feet to an iron; thence North 82° 52’ 05” East 120.48 feet to the point and place of Beginning, and containing 1.208 acres more or less and being depicted on a survey entitled “Survey for Douglas A. Westbrook and wife, Martha P. Westbrook”, by Davidson Surveying & Mapping, PC dated 7/6/04 to which reference is made.
Together with and subject to a non-exclusive easement for ingress, egress and regress and for utilities having a width of twenty feet and having as its eastern border the first call of the above description, the common line of this tract and Cox, a line 423.93 feet in length. It is the intent of the parties to this Deed that this easement service this tract and also the tract retained by the Grantor lying to the south of this tract (deed book 664, page 40 and deed book 596, page 837).
Together with a right of first refusal in that certain tract being concurrently conveyed to David Allen Westbrook, said tract lying to the west of this tract and containing 1.226 acres. The right of first refusal in said David Allen Westbrook tract is described by reference to the deed of conveyance to David Allen Westbrook.
Subject to a right of first refusal which is hereby granted to David Allen Westbrook in this tract and which is described as follows: Grantor reserves from the grantee Brian Keith Westbrook and conveys to David Allen Westbrook a right of first refusal to purchase the above described property in the event of a prospective sale by Brian Keith Westbrook of any or all of said property. Specifically excepted from this right of first refusal is a conveyance of this property to a descendant of Brian Keith Westbrook in which case this right of first refusal shall not continue in force
amount of Five Hundred Dollars ($500.00). A deposit of five percent (5%) of the bid or Seven Hundred Fifty Dollars ($750.00), whichever is greater, will be required at the time of the sale and must be tendered in the form of certified funds. Following the expiration of the statutory upset bid period, all the remaining amounts will be immediately due and owing. Said property to be offered pursuant to this Notice of Sale is being offered for sale, transfer and conveyance AS IS WHERE IS. There are no representations of warranty relating to the title or any physical, environmental, health or safety conditions existing in, on, at, or relating to the property being offered for sale. This sale is made subject to all prior liens, unpaid taxes, special assessments, land transfer taxes, if any, and encumbrances of record. To the best of the knowledge and belief of the undersigned, the current owner of the property is Tiffany A. Gray. PLEASE TAKE NOTICE: An order for possession of the property may be issued pursuant to North Carolina General Statutes §45-21.29 in favor of the purchaser and
and any other encumbrances or exceptions of record. To the best of the knowledge and belief of the undersigned, the current owner(s) of the property is/are ALL LAWFUL HEIRS OF AFRA D. MCCLANAHAN.
An Order for possession of the property may be issued pursuant to G.S. 45-21.29 in favor of the purchaser and against the party or parties in possession by the clerk of superior court of the county in which the property is sold. Any person who occupies the property pursuant to a rental agreement entered into or renewed on or after October 1, 2007, may, after receiving the notice of sale, terminate the rental agreement
which reference is hereby made for a more particular description. Together with improvements located thereon; said property being located at 1311 North Mineral Springs Road, Durham, North Carolina.
and bind the Grantee in said conveyance.
Save and except any releases, deeds of release or prior conveyances of record.
Said property is commonly known as 1465 Lick Creek Church Rd and 1.208-acre vacant lot adjacent to 1465 Lick Creek Church Rd, Denton, NC 27239.
A Certified Check ONLY (no personal checks) of five percent (5%) of the purchase price, or Seven Hundred Fifty Dollars ($750.00), whichever is greater, will be required at the time of the sale. Following the expiration of the statutory upset bid period, all the remaining amounts are immediately due and owing. THIRD PARTY PURCHASERS MUST PAY THE EXCISE TAX AND THE RECORDING COSTS FOR THEIR DEED.
Said property to be offered pursuant to this Notice of Sale is being offered for sale, transfer and conveyance “AS IS WHERE IS.” There are no representations of warranty relating to the title or any physical, environmental, health or safety conditions existing in, on, at, or relating to the property being offered for sale. Substitute Trustee does not have possession of the property and cannot grant access, prior to or after the sale, for purposes of inspection and/or appraisal. This sale is made subject to all prior liens, unpaid taxes, any unpaid land transfer taxes, special assessments, easements, rights of way, deeds of release, and any other encumbrances or exceptions of record. To the best of the knowledge and belief of the undersigned, the current owner(s) of the property is/are BRIAN KEITH WESTBROOK AND WIFE, PAM WESTBROOK.
An Order for possession of the property may be issued pursuant to G.S. 45-21.29 in favor of the purchaser and against the party or parties in possession by the clerk of superior court of the county in which the property is sold. Any person who occupies the property pursuant to a rental agreement entered into or renewed on or after October 1, 2007, may, after receiving the notice of sale, terminate the rental agreement by providing written notice of termination to the landlord, to be
against the party or parties in possession by the Clerk of Superior Court of the county in which the property is sold. Any person who occupies the property pursuant to a rental agreement entered into or renewed on or after October 1, 2007, may, after receiving the notice of sale, terminate the rental agreement by providing written notice of termination to the landlord, to be effective on a date stated in the notice that is at least 10 days, but no more than 90 days, after the sale date contained in the notice of sale, provided that the mortgagor has not cured the default at the time the tenant provides the notice of termination (North Carolina General Statutes §45-21.16A(b)(2)). Upon termination of a rental agreement, the tenant is liable for rent due under the rental agreement prorated to the effective date of termination. If the Trustee
NOTE: The Company is prohibited from insuring the area or quantity of the land. The Company does not represent that any acreage or footage calculations are correct. References to quantity are for identification purposes only. Commonly known as: 1311 North Mineral Springs Road Durham, NC 27703 Trustee may, in the Trustee’s sole discretion, delay the sale for up to one hour as provided in N.C.G.S. §45-21.23. Should the property be purchased by a third party, that party must pay the excise tax, as well as the court costs of Forty-Five Cents ($0.45) per One Hundred Dollars ($100.00) required by N.C.G.S. §7A-308(a)(1). The property to be offered pursuant to this notice of sale is being offered for sale, transfer and conveyance “AS IS, WHERE IS.” Neither the Trustee nor the holder of the note secured by the deed of trust/security agreement, or both, being foreclosed, nor the officers, directors, attorneys, employees, agents or authorized representative of either the Trustee or the holder of the note make any representation or warranty relating to the title or any physical, environmental, health or safety conditions existing in, on, at or relating to the property being offered for sale, and any and all responsibilities or liabilities arising out of or in any way relating to any such condition are expressly disclaimed. Also, this property is being sold subject to all taxes, special assessments, and prior liens or prior encumbrances of record and any recorded releases. Said property is also being sold subject to applicable Federal and State laws. A deposit of five percent (5%) of the purchase price, or seven hundred fifty dollars ($750.00), whichever is greater, is required and must be tendered in the form of certified funds at the time of the sale. If the trustee is unable to convey title to this property for any reason, the
Trustee Services of Carolina, LLC Substitute Trustee Brock & Scott, PLLC Attorneys for Trustee Services of Carolina, LLC 5431 Oleander Drive Suite 200 Wilmington, NC 28403 PHONE: (910) 392-4988 File No.: 22-05662-FC02
secured debt, the undersigned will expose for sale at public auction at the usual place of sale at the Forsyth County courthouse
cash the following real estate situated in Winston Salem in the County of Forsyth, North Carolina, and being more particularly described as follows: Being known and designated as Lot 18 or Torey Pines, Phase II, as recorded in Plat Book 42, Page 30, in the Office of the Register of Deeds
§45-21.23. Should the property be purchased by a third party, that party must pay the excise tax, as well as the court costs of Forty-Five Cents ($0.45) per One Hundred Dollars ($100.00) required by N.C.G.S.
at 10:00 AM on September 24, 2024, the following described real estate and any improvements situated thereon, in Forsyth County, North Carolina, and being more particularly described in that certain Deed of Trust executed by William Henry Miller, dated January 25, 2008 to secure the original principal amount of $71,109.00, and recorded in Book No. 2809, at Page 2844 of the Forsyth County Public Registry. The terms of the said Deed of Trust may be modified by other instruments appearing in the public record. Additional identifying information regarding the collateral property is below and is believed to be accurate, but no representation or warranty is intended.
The record owner(s) of the property, according to the records of the Register of
agreement, or both, being foreclosed, nor the officers, directors, attorneys, employees, agents or authorized representative of either the Trustee or the holder of the note make any representation or warranty relating to the title or any physical, environmental, health or safety conditions existing in, on, at or relating
Deeds, is/are Heirs of William Henry Miller. The property to be offered pursuant to this notice of sale is being offered for sale, transfer and conveyance AS IS, WHERE IS. Neither the Trustee nor the holder of the note secured by the deed of trust being foreclosed, nor the officers, directors, attorneys, employees, agents or authorized representative of either the Trustee or the holder of the note make any representation or warranty relating to the title or any physical, environmental, health or safety conditions existing in, on, at or relating to the property offered for sale. Any and all responsibilities or liabilities arising out of or in any way relating to any such condition expressly are disclaimed. This sale is subject to all prior liens and encumbrances and unpaid taxes and assessments including any transfer tax associated with the foreclosure. A deposit of five percent (5%) of the amount of the bid or seven hundred fifty dollars ($750.00), whichever is greater, is required from the highest bidder and must be
tendered in the form of certified funds at the time of the sale. This sale will be held open ten days for upset bids as required by law. After the expiration of the upset period, all remaining amounts are IMMEDIATELY DUE AND OWING. Failure to remit funds in a timely manner will result in a Declaration of Default and any deposit will be frozen pending the outcome of any re-sale.
Map Book 74, at Page 85 in the Iredell County Public Registry.
Property Address: 519 Davis Street, Statesville, NC 28677 Save and except any releases, deeds of release or prior conveyances of record.
Said property is commonly known as 519 Davis St, Statesville, NC 28677. A Certified Check ONLY (no personal checks)
Said property to be offered pursuant to this Notice of Sale is being
for
and conveyance
are no representations of warranty relating to the
or any physical, environmental, health or safety conditions existing in, on, at, or relating to the property being offered for sale. Substitute Trustee does not have possession of the property and cannot grant access, prior to or after the sale, for purposes of inspection and/or appraisal. This sale is made subject to all prior liens, unpaid taxes, any unpaid land transfer taxes, special assessments, easements, rights of way, deeds of release, and any other encumbrances or exceptions of record. To the best of the knowledge and belief of the undersigned, the current owner(s)
and belief
of five percent (5%) of the purchase price, or Seven Hundred Fifty Dollars ($750.00), whichever is greater, will be required at the time of the sale. Following the expiration of the statutory upset bid period, all the remaining amounts are immediately due and owing. THIRD PARTY PURCHASERS MUST PAY THE EXCISE TAX AND THE RECORDING COSTS FOR THEIR DEED.
Said property to be offered pursuant to this Notice of Sale is being offered for sale, transfer and conveyance “AS IS WHERE IS.” There are no representations of warranty relating to the title or any physical, environmental, health or safety conditions existing in, on, at, or relating to the property being offered for sale. Substitute Trustee does not have possession of the property and cannot grant access, prior to or after the sale, for purposes of inspection and/or appraisal. This sale is made subject to all prior liens, unpaid taxes, any unpaid land transfer taxes, special assessments, easements, rights of way, deeds of release, and any other encumbrances or exceptions of record. To the best of the knowledge
The final frontier
Polaris Dawn, a private SpaceX mission that will see humans travel farther from Earth than any since the Apollo program a half-century ago, lifted off from Cape Canaveral, Florida, late Monday. The rocket’s plume was visible across the Eastern seaboard, including from Asheboro, where this picture was taken. The Polaris Dawn crew is scheduled to attempt the world’s first private spacewalk on Thursday.
WHAT’S HAPPENING
N.C. public colleges launch simplified application process
The state this week introduced NC College Connect, a streamlined college application process for North Carolina public high school seniors. Launching for the 2025-26 academic year, the program allows qualifying students with a weighted GPA of 2.8 or above to bypass traditional application procedures at participating institutions. Six UNC System universities and all 58 North Carolina community colleges are part of the pilot program. Eligible high school seniors will receive invitation letters next month and can apply to schools during College Application Week, Oct. 21 to 27. State leaders hoped to increase the accessibility of higher education by reducing red tape and removing barriers to collegiate opportunities. The initiative complements existing financial aid opportunities like the Next NC Scholarship that allows some students to attend public colleges for free.
Law enforcement
warns of email scam
Local law enforcement has issued an alert about a new scam targeting local residents. Scammers are sending threatening emails that include photographs of victims’ properties and demand $2,000 in bitcoin. The emails warn that failure to pay will result in the release of sensitive personal information. The threats are designed to create fear and urgency, and residents are advised not to engage with or pay the scammers. Recipients of such emails should not respond or click any links and should report the incident to local law enforcement.
Albemarle announces new fire chief
Kenny Kendall Jr. has been promoted from his interim chief position
By Jesse Deal Stanly County Journal
ALBEMARLE — Back in February, the Albemarle Fire Department announced that Kenny Kendall Jr. had been named as the department’s interim fire chief when former leader Pierre Brewton left to join his hometown fire department in Spartanburg, South Carolina.
Half a year later, Kendall’s interim title has been dropped as he has been given the fulltime fire chief position for the department following the conclusion of a hiring process.
He is now responsible for the daily business operations and planning of the depart-
ment, as well as overseeing a $3.6 million annual budget.
“I’m honored to lead the Albemarle Fire Department, where I’ve spent my entire career,” Kendall said in a city press release. “With more than 30 years of experience in tactical operations, personnel management, and administration, I’m eager to apply my knowledge and continue advancing our department’s mission of keeping our community safe. I recognize the immense responsibility that comes with being fire chief, and I’m grateful for the trust that has been placed in me.”
Kendall has been with the AFD since 1994, working his way up the ranks and becoming a captain in 2005 and battalion chief in 2011.
In 2022, he became the city’s
See FIRE CHIEF, page A2
Stanly County Arts Council to host Charlotte Symphony Orchestra
Admission is free of charge for Stanly County students
By Jesse Deal Stanly County Journal
ALBEMARLE — The oldest operating symphony orchestra in the Carolinas will be making a stop in Stanly County this month.
Presented by the Stanly County Arts Council, the Charlotte Symphony Orchestra is scheduled to perform its “How We Got Here: A Journey Through Sound & Time” concert at the Stanly County Agri-Civic Center in Albemarle on Sept. 14 at 7 p.m.
“This program, specifically curated for our 50th anniversary by resident conductor Christopher James Lees, will
have musical selections that everyone will enjoy, from classical to pop,” Renee VanHorn, executive director of the Stanly County Arts Council, said in a press release. The full-length concert is slated to include selections
by Bach, Mozart and Beethoven, as well as favorites by Tchaikovsky, John Philip Sousa, Copland, Duke Ellington and John Williams.
“Everyone should enjoy the majesty of hearing a symphonic orchestra in person,” Van-
Horn continued. “We are looking forward to the program that resident conductor Christopher James Lees put together for us. We are grateful for the support of the community in welcoming back the Charlotte Symphony to Stanly County.” General admission tickets are $12 for adults and $5 for children and students; reserved seating is also available for $24 but must be purchased in person at the Stanly County Agri-Civic Center on Monday through Friday between the hours of 9 a.m. and 4:30 p.m.
“With our mission being ‘to encourage and promote broadbased cultural and educational activities in the arts throughout Stanly County,’ we want-
THE STANLY COUNTY EDITION OF NORTH STATE JOURNAL
See ORCHESTRA, page A2 $2.00
COURTESY THE CITY OF ALBEMARLE Albemarle Fire Chief Kenny Kendall (left) sits with former department chief Pierre Brewton (right).
COURTESY CHARLOTTE SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA
The Charlotte Symphony Orchestra is scheduled for a performance in Albemarle on Sept. 14.
TREY SNOW FOR STANLY COUNTY JOURNAL
North State Journal
(USPS 20451) (ISSN 2471-1365)
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Shawn Krest, Sports Editor
Dan Reeves, Features Editor
Jesse Deal, Reporter
P.J. Ward-Brown, Photographer
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David Guy, Advertising Manager
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CRIME LOG
Sept. 3
• James Edgar Amaendus Kindell, 38, was arrested for discharging a weapon into occupied property, injury to real property, injuring/ tampering with a vehicle, and discharging a firearm in the city.
Sept. 5
• Roger Dale Estridge, 68, was arrested for possession of methamphetamine and possession of drug paraphernalia.
• Christy Marie Drake, 53, was arrested for breaking and entering, felony larceny, larceny after breaking and entering, larceny of a motor vehicle, felony possession of Schedule II controlled substance, and possession of drug paraphernalia.
Sept. 6
• Bradford Trenton Griffith, 38, was arrested for assault by pointing a gun.
• Marie Susan Brown, 49, was arrested for larceny removing/ destroying/deactivating component, misdemeanor larceny, identity theft, and second-degree trespass.
Sept. 7
• Tommie Perry, 26, was arrested for attempted breaking and entering of a building, carrying a concealed gun, first-degree trespassing, and possession of burglary tools.
• Elizabeth Danielle Jordan, 35, was arrested for possession of methamphetamine and possession of drug paraphernalia.
• Jesse Daniel McLaurin, 42, was arrested for possession of methamphetamine, felony probation violation, and possession of drug paraphernalia.
Sept. 8
• Heath Alexander West, 37, was arrested for resisting a public officer and multiple counts of failure to appear.
• Mario Alberto Ramirez, 36, was arrested for driving while impaired, reckless driving to endanger, and unsafe movement.
Original copy of US Constitution to be auctioned in Asheville
The recently discovered version was found in a filing cabinet, dating back to 1787
By Jeffrey Collins The Associated Press
ASHEVILLE — Historical document appraiser and collector Seth Kaller spreads a broad sheet of paper across a desk. It’s in good enough condition that he can handle it, carefully, with clean, bare hands. There are just a few creases and tiny discolorations, even though it’s just a few weeks shy of 237 years old and has spent who knows how long inside a filing cabinet in North Carolina.
At the top of the first page are familiar words but in regular type instead of the sweeping Gothic script we’re used to seeing: “WE, the People ...”
And the people will get a chance to bid for this copy of the U.S. Constitution — the only of its type thought to be in private hands — at a sale by Brunk Auctions on Sept. 28 in Asheville.
The minimum bid for the auction of $1 million has already been made. There is no minimum price that must be reached.
This copy was printed after the Constitutional Convention finished drafting the proposed framework of the nation’s government in 1787 and sent it to the Congress of the ineffective first American governmentunder the Articles of Confederation, requesting they send it to the states to be ratified by the people.
It’s one of about 100 copies printed by the secretary of that Congress, Charles Thomson. Just eight are known to still exist, and the other seven are publicly owned.
Thomson likely signed two copies for each of the original 13 states, essentially certifying them. They were sent to special ratifying conventions, where representatives, all white and male, wrangled for months be-
FIRE CHIEF from page A1
first-ever assistant fire chief — a role that provided him with opportunities to work with budgets, payroll, and personnel management — before he took on the position of interim chief on March 18. He is responsible for creating the award-winning City of Albemarle Firefighter Cadet Academy, which has thrived with Region of Excellence honors in the category of Cross Community Collaboration from the Centralina Regional Council. Since 2021, the academy has trained new members of Albe -
ORCHESTRA from page A1
ed to make sure that everyone would be able to partake in this opportunity,” VanHorn said. On behalf of Pfeiffer University, Stanly Community College and various local businesses, Stanly County students (K-12) are eligible to receive a free ticket to the performance when accompanied by a paying adult, while Pfeiffer and SCC students can receive free admission by showing a student ID at the door.
“Our goal was to ensure that
fore accepting the structure of the United States government that continues today.
“This is the point of connection between the government and the people. The Preamble — ‘we the people’ — this is the moment the government is asking the people to empower them,” auctioneer Andrew Brunk said.
What happened to the document up for auction between Thomson’s signature and 2022 isn’t known.
Two years ago, a property was being cleared out in Edenton in eastern North Carolina that was once owned by Samuel Johnston. He was the governor of North Carolina from 1787 to 1789 and he oversaw the state convention during his last year in office that ratified the Constitution.
The copy was found inside a squat, two-drawer metal filing cabinet with a can of stain on top, in a long-neglected room piled high with old chairs and a dusty book case, before the old Johnston house was preserved. The document was a broad sheet that could be folded one time like a book.
“I get calls every week from
marle’s department and other local firefighters. In collaboration with Rowan-Cabarrus Community College and Stanly Community College, the academy hosts 18 weeks of instruction through classroom and hands-on training led by AFD firefighters and special-skilled instructors.
This past spring, the academy celebrated its fourth graduating class, with three new firefighters joining Albemarle Fire, and other graduates joining East Side Volunteer Fire Department and Fairview Fire and Rescue Department.
“Kenny Kendall earned his
ticket prices were not cost-prohibitive,” VanHorn added. “Fortunately, the local business community recognized the importance of this concert previously and again this year. Their generosity ensured that financially we could afford to bring this concert to the local community.”
With 65 professional, fulltime musicians, the Charlotte Symphony — founded in 1932 — connects with more than 100,000 listeners on an annual basis through concerts, broadcasts, community events
people who think they have a Declaration of Independence or a Gettysburg Address and most of the time it is just a replica, but every so often something important gets found,” said Kaller, who appraises, buys and sells historic documents.
“This is a whole other level of importance,” he added. Along with the Constitution on the broad sheet printed front and back is a letter from George Washington asking for ratification. He acknowledged there will have to be compromise and that rights the states enjoyed will have to be given up for the nation’s long-term health.
“To secure all rights of independent sovereignty to each and yet provide for the interest and safety for all — individuals entering into society must give up a share of liberty to preserve the rest,” wrote the man who would become the first U.S. president.
Brunk isn’t sure what the document might go for because there is so little to compare it to. The last time a copy of the Constitution like this sold was for $400 in 1891. In 2021, Sotheby’s of New York sold one
opportunity to lead the Albemarle Fire Department based on much more than just years of experience,” said Albemarle City Manager Todd Clark, who announced Kendall’s promotion at a recent Push In Ceremony celebrating the new Fire Engine 2. “Through a rigorous evaluation process, Chief Kendall demonstrated impressive leadership qualities and a strong vision for the future of the Albemarle Fire Department. I look forward to seeing Chief Kendall lead AFD with the highest standards of service and professionalism for our community.” Kendall has participated in
and educational programs. The symphony recently announced a public rebranding that includes Kwamé Ryan as a new music director and a three-year union contract between the CSO and the American Federation of Musicians. Along with a 13.5% pay raise and expanded work arrangements, the deal includes a provision that could lead to more racial diversity among its musicians.
Tickets for the CSO’s upcoming show in Albemarle are available at stanlycounty-
of only 14 remaining copies of the Constitution printed for the Continental Congress and delegates to the Constitutional Convention for $43.2 million, a record for a book or document.
But that document was meant to be distributed to the founding fathers as delegates to the Constitutional Convention. The signed copy being sold later this month was one meant to be sent to leaders in every state so people all around the country could review and decide if that’s how they wanted to be governed, connecting the writers of the Constitution to the people in the states who would provide its power and legitimacy.
The auction listing doesn’t identify the seller, saying its part of a collection that is in private hands.
Other items up for auction in Asheville including a 1776 first draft of the Articles of Confederation and a 1788 Journal of the Convention of North Carolina at Hillsborough where representatives spent two weeks debating if ratifying the Constitution would put too much power with the nation instead of the states.
the N.C. Association of Fire Chiefs Executive Development Program and N.C. Association of Fire Chiefs Training Management Programs; he is currently pursuing his associate degree in fire technology at Rowan-Cabarrus Community College As a lifelong resident of Stanly County, Kendall began his service at the age of 12 as a junior firefighter, going on to volunteer as a firefighter for 39 years.
He was named to the county’s Consolidated Human Services board by the Stanly County Board of Commissioners last November.
artscouncil.org and in person at the Stanly County Agri-Civic Center, Harris Teeter in Albemarle, and First Bank locations in Albemarle, Locust, Richfield, Mount Pleasant and Troy. First Bank — the title sponsor for the event — is joined by Dr. John Kilde of Charlotte Eye, Ear, Nose & Throat, Uwharrie Bank, NJR Group, Farm Bureau Insurance and Union Power as financial benefactors for the show, along with grassroots grant funding from the North Carolina Arts Council.
JEFFREY COLLINS / AP PHOTO
An 1787 copy of the U.S. Constitution is shown at Brunk Auctions in Asheville.
THE CONVERSATION
Neal Robbins, publisher | Frank Hill, senior opinion editor
VISUAL VOICES
COLUMN | DAVID HARSANYI
Kamala Harris’ banana republic on free speech
Mark Zuckerberg recently admitted that senior Biden administration officials “repeatedly pressured” Facebook to “censor” COVID-19 content.
IN 2019, VICE PRESIDENT Kamala Harris told CNN’s Jake Tapper that social media companies “are directly speaking to millions and millions of people without any level of oversight or regulation and it has to stop.” Does it?
Every two-bit authoritarian in history has justified censoring its citizens as a way of protecting them from the menace of disinformation.
But social media sites, contra the reliably illiberal Harris, aren’t “directly speaking” to anyone. Millions of individuals are interacting and speaking to millions of other individuals. Really, that’s what grinds the modern left’s gears: unsupervised conversations.
Take the Brazilian Supreme Court panel that unanimously upheld the decision by one of its justices to shut down Elon Musk’s X over alleged “misinformation” fears.
We must assume that the Democratic Party’s presidential nominee, who once promised to ban guns via an executive order, agrees with Justice Alexandre de Moraes’s decision to shut down a social media platform for refusing to bend to the state’s demands of censorship.
The Associated Press reports that the Brazilian high court’s decision “undermines the effort by Musk and his supporters to cast Justice Alexandre de Moraes as an authoritarian renegade who is intent on censoring political speech in Brazil.”
Really? Because it seems to me that the state shuttering one of the popular social media sites unmistakably qualifies as a ban
on political speech, whether one person is responsible or an entire government.
And make no mistake, it is politically motivated. “Just because the guy has a lot of money doesn’t mean he can disrespect this (country),” Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva argued. Well, the South American nation’s constitution, like ours, apparently protects free expression — making no distinction between the poor and rich: “Any and all censorship of a political, ideological, and artistic nature is prohibited.” You can tell Brazil is super serious about the matter because the bullet point appears in Chapter V, Article 220, or page 148 in my translated copy.
Let’s concede, however, that de Moraes isn’t any kind of renegade, merely a conventional Brazilian autocrat. In the same way, Musk isn’t merely another billionaire but a tech CEO who generally views free expression as a neutral principle.
I suppose the best evidence for this claim is the fact that even as Brazil bans Musk’s site, he allows the far-left Lula to have an account on X with 9 million followers.
In Europe, free expression is also ostensibly protected by the constitution. Well, the right is contingent on “national security,” “territorial disorder,” “crime,” “health” and other highly malleable issues that ultimately allow police officers in the United Kingdom and Germany to show up at your door and throw you in prison for offensive posts.
As the late Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia once pointed out, “Every Banana Republic has a Bill of Rights.” The
question is: How close are we to being one?
Uncomfortably close is the answer.
Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg recently admitted that senior Biden administration officials “repeatedly pressured” Facebook to “censor” COVID-19 content, including “humor and satire,” during the pandemic. Zuckerberg vowed that he would never let his company be pushed around again. I’m sorry if we don’t take him at his word. Tech companies enjoy unencumbered free association rights and are free to keep or kick off anyone they desire from their platform, as they should. Before Musk’s purchase of Twitter, now known as X, contemporary left-wingers celebrated the independence of social media platforms. “If you don’t like it, build your own Twitter,” they would say.
OK. But when corporations, who often spend tens of millions each year in Washington rent-seeking and lobbying for favorable regulations, take marching orders from state officials and giant federal bureaucracies on the contours of permissible speech, we have a big problem. If presidential candidates truly cared about “democracy,” they’d be advocating anti-cronyism laws and forbidding government officials from interfering with or pressuring private entities on speech. But, these days, many Americans no longer view free expression as a neutral, liberal virtue worth defending. Foremost among them, apparently, is the Democratic presidential ticket.
David Harsanyi is a senior editor at The Federalist.
Tailwinds, headwinds and the 2024 presidential race
There is a gradual shift away from Big Government Socialism and extreme agendas towards Free Market Capitalism and common values.
THE PROPAGANDA MEDIA is doing everything it can to promote and protect Vice President Kamala Harris and weaken and undermine President Donald J. Trump. In some ways, the 2024 campaign is like a sailboat race in which Harris has a permanent tailwind and Trump is fighting a permanent headwind. In many ways, it is like what President Ronald Reagan faced in the 1979-80 campaign — and what we faced during the 1994 Contract with America campaign. Harris has two great advantages. First, the elite media is passionately dedicated to her winning. This is why Time magazine printed a cover of a retouched, iconic picture of Harris (something for which no Republican candidate could ever hope).
By contrast, consider how the media treats Trump. He went to Arlington National Cemetery to honor the 13 young Americans who were killed during the Biden-Harris team’s incompetent, disastrous withdrawal from Afghanistan. Trump had been invited by Gold Star families to honor their lost sons and daughters. He was showing a level of compassion and concern for these families, who President Joe Biden and Vice President Harris have tried to ignore. Immediately after the initial,
unavoidably favorable coverage, the elite media discovered that an employee of the cemetery had argued with a member of Trump’s team. The media promptly tried to turn the entire event into an inappropriate, almost scandalous exploitation of dead Americans. Harris issued a scathing statement attacking Trump for the visit.
The negative focus on the visit would have been a net negative for Trump except for one factor the news media failed to take into account: The Gold Star families had invited Trump. They were furious at the Biden-Harris administration’s attitude toward their loved ones and the visit. They started appearing on television to make that clear.
By the end of the skirmish, Trump’s visit had been vindicated. The Gold Star families changed the entire narrative in ways the media couldn’t ignore. The country was reminded of the BidenHarris administration’s failure, which got these brave men and women killed in the first place.
Note how many things had to fall into place for the propaganda media to lose what they clearly thought would be a solid attack on Trump.
Harris also has a great majority of the bureaucrats who see Trump’s championing of reform as a direct threat to their jobs and power. The bureaucrats
at the Department of Justice have worked nonstop to put Trump in jail, keep him tied down with trials and exhaust his finances with lawyer fees.
The bureaucrats in the Secret Service failed to adequately protect Trump. It was only by divine intervention that he was not killed by a gunman at his rally in Butler, Pennsylvania. The Secret Service is of course now trying to slow-walk the investigation into its performance.
Despite the prevailing political winds, Republicans have a secret advantage. Underneath the head- and tailwinds, there is an enormous current of public conversation — and a gradual shift away from big government socialism and extreme agendas towards free market capitalism and common values. This underlying current gives conservative, reform-oriented candidates a huge advantage over left-wing, status quo candidates.
The 2024 election will ultimately match the media-bureaucratic tailwind against the stronger underlying current of Americans who reject big government socialism, extreme ideas and propaganda. On the surface, the winds may seem to blow with Harris, but the deeper current is pushing Trump.
Newt Gingrich was the 50th Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives.
Filipino preacher surrenders on sexual abuse charges
Apollo Quiboloy had been on the run since earlier this year
By Jim Gomez The Associated Press
MANILA, Philippines
— A Filipino preacher accused of sexual abuse and human trafficking in the Philippines and similar charges in the United States surrendered Sunday to authorities in his religious complex in the south and flown to Manila where he was put in police detention, officials said.
Apollo Quiboloy and four other co-accused surrendered in the vast religious headquarters of their group, called Kingdom of Jesus Christ, in Davao City after the police gave a 24hour ultimatum for them to give up, police said. Interior Secretary Benhur Abalos earlier said Quiboloy was caught by authorities.
Quiboloy and his co-accused were flown on a Philippine air force C-130 plane to the capital Sunday night and locked up in a heavily guarded detention center at the national police headquarters where their mugshots and fingerprints were taken, police spokesper -
son Col. Jean Fajardo said in a news briefing.
“The Philippine National Police gave an ultimatum for them to surrender, otherwise, we would raid a particu-
lar building, where we’ve been barred from entering,” Fajardo said, adding that the warning led to their peaceful surrender.
Quiboloy went into hiding earlier this year after a Phil-
ippine court ordered his arrest and several others on allegations of suspicion of child and sexual abuse and human trafficking, Fajarto said. The Philippine Senate separately ordered Quiboloy’s arrest for refusing to appear in public committee hearings that were looking into criminal allegations against him.
President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. had urged Quiboloy to surrender and assured him of fair treatment by authorities.
The preacher and his lawyer denied the allegations against him, saying they were fabricated by critics and former members who were removed from the religious group.
In 2021, United States federal prosecutors announced the indictment of Quiboloy for allegedly having sex with women and underage girls who faced threats of abuse and “eternal damnation” unless they catered to the self-proclaimed “son of God.”
Quiboloy and two of his top administrators were among nine people named in a superseding indictment returned by a federal grand jury and unsealed in November 2021. It contained a raft of charges, including conspiracy, sex traf-
ficking of children, sex trafficking by force, fraud and coercion, marriage fraud, money laundering, cash smuggling and visa fraud.
The U.S. Embassy in Manila referred requests for comments to Philippine authorities.
Last month, about 2,000 police backed by riot squads raided the vast religious compound of Quiboloy in Davao in a chaotic operation as large numbers of his followers turned up to oppose the raid.
The police brought equipment that could detect people hiding in underground tunnels but did not find him in the 75acre compound that includes a cathedral, stadium, school, residential area, hangar and taxiway leading to Davao International Airport.
In 2019, Quiboloy claimed he stopped a major earthquake from hitting the southern Philippines.
He was also a close supporter and spiritual adviser of former President Rodrigo Duterte, who is being investigated by the International Criminal Court in connection with the extrajudicial killings by police of thousands of mostly poor drug suspects.
The social media platform has been banned in the country since Aug. 30
By Eléonore Hughes and Gabriela Sá Pessoa The Associated Press
SAO PAULO — Thousands of supporters of former Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro flooded Sao Paulo’s main boulevard for an Independence Day rally Saturday, buoyed by the government’s blocking of tech billionaire Elon Musk’s X platform, a ban they say is proof of their political persecution.
A few thousand demonstrators, clad in the yellow-and-green colors of Brazil’s flag, poured onto Av. Paulista. References to the ban on X and images of Musk abounded.
“Thank you for defending our freedom,” read one banner praising the tech entrepreneur.
Saturday’s march was seen as a test of Bolsonaro’s capacity to mobilize turnout ahead of the October municipal elections even though Brazil’s electoral court has barred him from running for office until 2030. It’s also something of a referendum on X, whose suspension has raised eye-
brows even among some of Bolsonaro’s opponents all the while stoking the flames of Brazil’s deep-seated political polarization.
Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes ordered X’s nationwide ban on Aug. 30 after months of feuding with Musk over the limits of free speech. The powerful judge has spearheaded efforts to ban far-right users from spreading misinformation on social media, and he ramped up his clampdown after die-hard Bolsonaro supporters ransacked Congress and the presidential palace on Jan. 8, 2023, in an attempt to overturn Bolsonaro’s defeat in the presidential election.
On Saturday, Bolsonaro called Moraes a “dictator” and called on Brazil’s Senate to impeach the judge. He also repeated the false claim that President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva had colluded with the judiciary to steal the 2022 election.
“They want to censor the truth, so the people don’t know the truth,” Bolsonaro, with a raspy voice from a virus that sent him to the hospital earlier in the day, told the crowd.
Such comments are red meat to Bolsonaro’s supporters, who
have lauded Musk’s defiance of Brazil’s judiciary.
“Elon Musk has been a warrior for freedom of speech,” staunch Bolsonaro ally and lawmaker Bia Kicis said in an interview. “The right is being oppressed, massacred because the left doesn’t want the right to exist.”
“Our liberties are in danger, we need to make our voices heard. De Moraes is a tyrant, he should be impeached, and people on the streets is the only thing that will convince politicians to do it,” added retiree Amaro Santos as he walked down the thoroughfare Saturday, Musk, a self-proclaimed “free speech absolutist,” has also urged Brazilians to turn out in droves for the rally, resharing someone else’s post claiming that X’s ban had awakened people “to the fact that freedom isn’t free and needs to be fought for.” He’s also created an X account, named for the controversial jurist, to publish sealed court orders directing X to shut down accounts deemed unlawful.
But De Moraes’ decision to ban X was far from arbitrary, having been upheld by fellow Supreme Court justices. And while expression, online and elsewhere, faces more prohibitions under Brazil’s
laws than in the U.S., Musk has emerged as both a cause célèbre and a mouthpiece for unrestricted free speech.
Since 2019, X has shut down 226 accounts of far-right activities accused of undermining Brazil’s democracy, including those of lawmakers affiliated with Bolsonaro’s party, according to court records.
But when it refused to take action on some accounts, de Moraes warned last month that its legal representative could be arrested, prompting X to disband its local office. The U.S.-based company refused to name a new representative — as required in order to receive court notices — and de Moraes ordered its nationwide suspension until it did so.
A Supreme Court panel unanimously upheld de Moraes’ decision to block X days later, undermining Musk’s efforts to cast him as an authoritarian bent on censoring political speech.
The more controversial component of his ruling was the levy of a whopping $9,000 daily fine for regular Brazilians using virtual private networks (VPNs) to access X.
“Some of these measures that have been adopted by the Supreme Court appear to be quite
onerous and abusive,” said Andrei Roman, CEO of Brazil-based pollster Atlas Intel.
In the lead-up to Saturday’s protest, some right-wing politicians defied de Moraes’ ban and brazenly used a VPN to publish posts on X, calling for people to partake in the protests.
The march in Sao Paulo is organized in parallel to official events to celebrate Brazil’s anniversary of independence from Portugal. Commemorations have been fraught with tension in recent years, as Bolsonaro used them while in office to rally supporters and show political strength.
Three years ago, he threatened to plunge the country into a constitutional crisis when he declared he would no longer abide de Moraes’ rulings. He has since toned down the attacks — a reflection of his own delicate legal situation.
Bolsonaro has been indicted twice since his term ended in 2022, most recently for alleged money laundering in connection with undeclared diamonds from Saudi Arabia. De Moraes is overseeing an investigation into the Jan. 8 riot, including whether Bolsonaro had a role in inciting it.
ETTORE CHIEREGUINI / AP PHOTO
Demonstrators take part in a protest calling for the impeachment of Supreme Court Minister Alexandre de Moraes, who recently imposed a nationwide block on X, in Sao Paulo on Saturday.
AP PHOTO
Filipino preacher Apollo Quiboloy, pictured in 2016, surrendered to authorities Sunday and is facing sexual abuse charges.
STANLY SPORTS
Albemarle notches first win over West Stanly since 2013
The Bulldogs were the only winning Stanly team over the weekend
By Jesse Deal Stanly County Journal
FOR THE FIRST time in 11 years, the Albemarle varsity football team has exited a matchup against intracounty rival West Stanly with a victory in hand.
The Bulldogs (1-2) picked up their first win of the season as they posted a 33-14 victory over the Colts (0-3) on Friday night, spoiling West’s home opener at Larry Wagner Field.
Dating back to last season, the Colts have now lost their past six games as well as nine of their past 11 games; their alltime record against the Bulldogs is now tied at 23-23.
Senior running back Darrell Bynum gave West a 7-0 lead in the second quarter following an explosive run, setting up a quick answer in a touchdown pass from Bulldogs quarterback Dre Davis to Ja’Zyion Geiger.
Albemarle went on to add 12 more points to make it a 19-7 lead at halftime, while West managed to pull within five points in the third quarter as quarterback Maverick Scott
connected in the end zone with Pedro Mincitar.
The rest of the game was all Albemarle as Vincent Gregory and Kaine McLendon went on to combine for three touchdowns and 186 yards on the night.
Looking ahead, the winless Colts will look to reverse their downward slide as they travel to North Stanly. Albemarle is set to head to Anson (1-2) as the Bulldogs hope to win their second game in a row.
Western Alamance 24, North Stanly 7
Over in New London, the North Stanly Comets (2-1) found themselves on the losing side of the ball for the first time this season as they suffered a 17-point defeat to the Western Alamance Warriors (2-1).
North’s first home game of the year didn’t go as planned for the Comets, who let a 7-7 tied game after one quarter turn into 17 unanswered points for the Warriors. The Comets had previously outscored their last two opponents by a 70-6 margin.
Junior quarterback Charlie Shaver was limited to just 42 passing yards from his 20 passes, while North’s running back
room managed to top 100 combined rushing yards but with no touchdowns.
The Comets will now host the Colts as the two Stanly teams link up for the first time since North’s 26-16 win over West last September.
Lexington 28, South Stanly 14
Following a Week 1 win over West and a subsequent bye week, the South Stanly Rebel Bulls (1-1) got back on the field but struggled in a 28-14 home loss to the Lexington Yellow Jackets (2-1) on Friday night.
South quarterback Kaleb Richardson had his team up 14-7 in the third quarter after throwing touchdown passes to Jasiah Holt and Ethan Gaddy.
However, Lexington quarterback Jaylen Henderson soon clicked into gear as he led the Yellow Jackets to a 14-point road win, thanks in part to a few key turnovers by South that set up its opponent for success.
The Bulls will play their third consecutive home game this weekend as they host the South Davidson Wildcats (0 -3), who have three losses to start the year but have only been outscored by 11 combined points.
ATHLETE OF THE WEEK
Vincent Gregory
Albemarle, football
Vincent Gregory is a senior linebacker and running back on the Albemarle football team.
The Bulldogs picked up a 33-14 win over West Stanly on Friday, and Gregory led the way. A 32yard rushing touchdown gave Albemarle its first lead, and an 81-yard run for a score helped put the game away in the second half. He carried just five times but gained 118 yards with two touchdowns.
For the season, Gregory is the Bulldogs’ leading scorer on the ground and second-leading rusher despite having half the carries of the team leader. That’s due to his 10.7 yards-per-carry average.
Logano wins NASCAR playoff opener at Atlanta
The only two-time champ in the playoff field advances to next round
By Jenna Fryer The Associated Press
HAMPTON, Ga.
— One
of the first things Joey Logano said after winning the NASCAR Cup Series’ playoff opener was that the postseason is his time of the year.
And, in 10 initial playoff appearances, he typically slid his way through the rounds, winning two Cup titles and never finishing lower than eighth in the standings.
Then came last year when Logano, as the reigning Cup champion, was eliminated
from the 16-driver field in the very first round for the first time in his career. He dreaded going to the track for the remainder of the season even as Team Penske teammate Ryan Blaney went on to win the championship.
There will be no stumble this year, not after an overtime victory Sunday at Atlanta Motor Speedway gave Logano an automatic berth into the second round of the playoffs. “That’s how we start the playoffs, boys!” Logano shouted. “When it is playoff time, it is our time.” Logano won the 11th race of the season to end in overtime
— a tie for the record set in the 2017 season. He’s trying to become the only active three-
time Cup champion in the series. Kyle Busch, who did not make the playoffs, is the only other current driver with two Cup titles.
“We’ve been able to level up when we need to level up and be able to fire off the first race of the playoffs and with a statement is key, right?” Logano said.
Blaney was initially listed in second for a 1-2 sweep for Team Penske and Ford. He lined up behind Logano and gave him the pushes he needed to deny Daniel Suarez the victory.
But after a review, Suarez was moved to second and Blaney dropped to third. Team owner Roger Penske was not at the race because the Detroit resident was scheduled
to attend the Lions’ NFL home opener later Sunday.
Suarez, who won the closest three-wide finish in Cup Series history here in February, had his own help from Trackhouse Racing teammate Ross Chastain. The two-lap overtime sprint to the finish began with Logano and Suarez lined up side by side on the front row, each with their teammate behind them for the push to the front.
Blaney got Logano out first, but Chastain remained locked onto the bumper of Suarez’s Chevrolet and the two dueled it out until Blaney used a final push to get his Penske teammate the win.
Suarez, who gained two spots in the standings to ninth
with his runner-up finish, was disappointed to come up short.
“No, definitely not satisfied. I am happy with it, but not satisfied,” he said. “I felt like we were going to have a great shot at it. Ross was doing an amazing job of pushing, and I don’t know if he got a flat tire or something, but once I lost him, I knew it was going to be tough. But that is part of racing, right?”
Christopher Bell in a Toyota for Joe Gibbs Racing finished fourth, and Alex Bowman in a Chevrolet for Hendrick Motorsports was fifth. Regular-season champion Tyler Reddick of 23XI Racing was sixth and followed by Busch of Richard Childress Racing, Chase Elliott of Hendrick, William Byron of Hendrick and Austin Cindric of Penske. Only two Toyotas — Bell and Reddick — finished inside the top 10.
JASON ALLEN / AP PHOTO
Joey Logano retrieves the checkered flag at the finish line after winning Sunday’s NASCAR Cup Series playoff race at Atlanta.
Brady takes awkward first steps in transition from football field to TV booth
The legendary quarterback made his debut on Fox during Sunday’s games
By Jimmy Golen The Associated Press
FOX SPORTS is spending
$375 million to put Tom Brady in the broadcast booth, and the network wants to make sure everyone knows he’s there.
The seven-time Super Bowl champion made his debut as an NFL analyst during the Fox broadcast of the regular-season opener between the Dallas Cowboys and the Cleveland Browns .
“You’re a broadcaster, how about that!” play-by-play announcer Kevin Burkhardt said when the camera cut to the booth in Cleveland, where Brady, in a coat and tie, made his first live appearance on screen.
Burkhardt joked that he paid extra attention to his hair because he knew there would be more shots of the broadcast booth.
“I do what they tell me. I understand that,” Brady said with a chuckle. “I’m still a rookie in here.”
To the viewers, that was obvious.
Brady’s commentary was knowledgeable, as expected, but also lacking in personality — no Tony Romo anticipating
the next play, no John Madden with his “Boom!”, not even the quarter-zip sweaters that make Peyton Manning stand out from the dozens or hundreds of other ex-jocks who joined the media when their
Fritz’s loss to Sinner in final extends Slam drought for American men
ten difficult for tennis players to process, but Fritz said he wasn’t “overly nervous” and “really expected to come out and play better from the start.”
By Howard Fendrich
The Associated Press
NEW YORK — Taylor Fritz was eager before the U.S. Open final, entertaining thoughts of winning his first Grand Slam title — and the first for any American man since Andy Roddick earned the 2003 trophy at Arthur Ashe Stadium.
Didn’t happen for Fritz or his country, and the drought continues. Top-ranked Jannik Sinner, a 23-year-old from Italy, left New York with the championship thanks to a 6-3, 6-4, 7-5 victory.
“Just kind of walking on the court, and just hearing the crowd go crazy, and just kind of soaking in the moment of, ‘I’m walking out to play my match on Ashe in the U.S. Open finals,’ is what I dreamed about my whole life,” said Fritz, a 26-year-old Californian. “It almost got me emotional, but I was just really happy and ready to enjoy the moment.”
Participating in a major title match for the first time is of-
Instead, he got broken in the very first game, badly missing a smash set up by a short return from Sinner off a 127-mph serve. Fritz regrouped to break back and lead 3-2 — before Sinner took its last four games.
Then, from 4-all in the second, Fritz lost the set’s last two games. And in the third, after breaking for a 4-3 edge, then holding for 5-3, Fritz lost the match’s last four games.
“If he wins that third, it’s a whole new game,” said Fritz’s coach, Michael Russell. “Crowd behind you; 24,000 people cheering; the energy. You can feel it all the way through your veins.”
Russell thought the keys were that Fritz made too many groundstroke errors, missed his spots too often on serves and should have tried to get to the net more than 19 times.
“That’s just kind of how it goes, when you’re playing ... the best player in the world right now. My ‘Plan A’ is not working.
playing careers were over.
There were awkward laughs, a cringey fist-bump with rules analyst Mike Pereira, and a lot of calling players by their first names. Brady declined to call out Cleveland receiv-
er Amari Cooper when a pass went through his hands in the fourth quarter and made excuses for the Browns while trying to find positives in a dreadful performance. It didn’t help that the game,
which Dallas led 27-3 early in the second half, was headed toward a blowout that would challenge even a veteran broadcaster to hold the audience’s interest. But that’s where Brady was able to deploy his experience as an asset.
“There’s plenty of time left in this game,” said the quarterback who famously led the Patriots back from a 28-3 deficit in Super Bowl 51 against Atlanta. “Just the margin of error’s slim.”
On one play, Brady called for Deshaun Watson to throw it to an open tight end; the Browns quarterback didn’t see it.
Brady played 23 years in the NFL before retiring after the 2022 season as the most decorated player in league history. He signed a 10-year deal with Fox Sports — replacing the well-regarded Greg Olsen as the network’s lead analyst. Brady took last year off, a gap that only added to the anticipation over whether he could transfer some of his on-field knowledge and skills to the booth.
With five Super Bowl MVP awards in his seven victories in the NFL title game — six for New England and one for Tampa Bay — Brady established himself as the greatest player in league history. He retired with the career records for wins, passing touchdowns and passing yards, among other bests.
Brady shared some wisdom he got from fellow athleteturned-TV personality Michael Strahan: “You’re going to wake up tomorrow, on Monday morning, you ain’t going to be sore.”
“That,” Brady said, “I’m very happy about.”
The ‘Plan B’ that I fall back on would normally be just bringing everything in, being a little bit safer, grinding it out,” Fritz explained. “That works, along with my serve, against a lot of other players. But against him ... he’s just going to bully me a little bit too much.”
Fritz was the first man from the United States to get to a Grand Slam singles final since Roddick lost to Roger Federer
at Wimbledon in 2009 and first at the U.S. Open since Roddick lost to Federer in 2006. Roddick won the event 21 years ago.
“I know how much work he puts in,” Sinner told the crowd about Fritz during the trophy ceremony, before addressing his opponent directly: “You are doing an amazing job. Congrats to you, Taylor. … It’s so nice to see you on big stages like this.”
“I played very within myself.
I don’t think I at any point I was, like, ‘Wow, I’m playing incredible’ or ‘I’m playing out of my mind.’ That’s just extremely reassuring to me that I was able to get to this point, just playing solid tennis,” Fritz said. “I know that there’s still a lot of room for improvement. ... (And) I’ve always said: Once I do something once, I just feel a lot more confident in being able to do it again.”
No American man has won a title since 2003
JULIA NIKHINSON / AP PHOTO
Jannik Sinner, of Italy, (left) and Taylor Fritz, of the United States, listen to the trophy ceremony after Sinner defeated Fritz in the men’s singles final of the U.S. Open.
RYAN SUN / AP PHOTO
Dallas Cowboys head coach Mike McCarthy speaks with Tom Brady, right, during the first half of a preseason game.
Barbara Jean (Taylor) Drye
April 17, 1936 ~ January 14, 2023
Kimberly FespermanAlvarnas
Dwight Farmer
January 24, 1939 ~ January 15, 2023
Roger Dale Wood
James Roseboro
June 23, 1967 ~ January 10, 2023
William Charles “Billy” Register
John B. Kluttz
March 23, 1935 - January 9, 2023
Carl Dwight Thomas
Barbara Jean Taylor Drye, 86, of Oakboro, passed away Saturday, January 14, 2023 at her home.
March 10, 1962 –Sept. 8, 2024
Barbara was born April 17, 1936 in North Carolina to the late Robert Lee Taylor and the late Eva Belle Watts Taylor. She was also preceded in death by husband of 61 years, Keith Furr Drye, and brothers, Robert Lee Taylor, Jr. and George Kenneth Taylor.
May 31, 1954 – Sept. 7 2024
Dwight Britten Farmer Sr., 83, of Norwood died Sunday morning, January 15, 2023 at Forrest Oakes.
Kimberly FespermanAlvarnas, 62, of Albemarle, passed away on Sunday, September 8, 2024, at the Tucker Hospice House surrounded by her family. There will be no formal services.
Survivors include children, Debbie (Mike) Williams of Albemarle, Teresa (Tom) Curry of Oakboro, Douglas (Tammy) Drye of Oakboro; grandchildren, Melissa (Don) Parrish of Albemarle, Samantha (Destiny) Smith of Oakboro, Bradley Smith of Oakboro, Jonathan Stover of Peachland, and Jessie Stover of Lylesville; sisterin-law, Beatrice Goodman; many nieces and nephews; and her beloved cats, Bo and Garfield. Barbara was a member of Oakboro Baptist Church for over 60 years. She worked over 30 years at Stanly Knitting Mills. After just two years of retirement, she began managing the Oakboro Senior Center and did that for 18 years until this past week. Barbara was known for her good cooking and always taking care of others. She also loved going on day long shopping trips - she could out walk and out shop people half her age. She kept her mind and body active through gardening, word searches, and various other hobbies.
Dwight was born January 24, 1939 in Stanly County to the late Walter Virgil and Martha Adkins Farmer. He was a 1957 graduate of Norwood High School and was a United States Army Veteran.
Roger Dale Wood, 70, of Albemarle passed away on Saturday, September 7, 2024. Arrangements will be made at a later date.
He was a member of Cedar Grove United Methodist Church where he had served as church treasurer and choir member. He began his career with the Stanly County Sheriff’s Department moving to the Norwood Police Department and retiring as Chief of Police with the Town of Norwood after many years of service.
Kim was born March 10, 1962, in Stanly County to Tommy and Slyvia Sides. In addition to her parents, Kim is lovingly survived by her husband John Alvarnas of twenty years. Those left to cherish her memory are sons, Terry Fesperman Jr. and his wife Jessica of Concord; and Justin Fesperman and his wife Leah of Richfield, grandchildren, Oliver, Eva, and Brody and numerous siblings.
James Arthur Roseboro, 55, of Albemarle, passed away Tuesday, January 10, 2023 at Anson Health and Rehab.
Dec. 14, 1970 – Sept. 1, 2024
William Charles “Billy” Register, 53 of Mt. Gilead passed away on Sunday, September 1, 2024, at Atrium Health Cabarrus. There are no formal services scheduled at this time.
Mr. Roseboro was born on June 23, 1967 to the late Robert and Delena Shipp Roseboro. He graduated from South Stanly High School and was employed by Triangle Brick. He enjoyed watching football and basketball, especially the Carolina TarHeels and Miami.
Born May 31, 1954, in Lexington, NC, he was the son of the late Irvin Mock Wood and Mary Elizabeth Rachels Wood. He was a retired truck driver. He loved fishing and was a military historian and enthusiast. Mr. Wood truly loved his family and was a man who would do anything for his friends and family.
In addition to his parents he is preceded in death by his brothers and sisters: Barbara Lee Roseboro, Dorothy Brown, Verna Roseboro, Henrietta Ingram, and Harold Roseboro.
Billy was born December 14, 1970, in Mecklenburg County. Billy is lovingly survived by his mother, Sharon Chapman, and father, Stanley Register. Those also left to cherish his memory are his daughter, Lydia Register of Apex, sister, Laura Register of Mt. Gilead, stepbrothers, Timothy Lawrie and Kevin Lawrie of Carolina Beach.
John grew up in the Millingport community where he drove a school bus and worked at the local gas station during his High School years. He graduated from Millingport High in 1954 and entered into service with the US Airforce immediately afterward. Upon return from the service, he and his high school sweetheart Julie were married in 1956. He graduated from Nashville Auto Diesel College later in 1959 and began his career as a diesel mechanic at Mitchell Distributing Company, moving his growing family to Charlotte where they lived until their retirement.
March 29, 1951 –Sept. 1, 2024
October 11, 1944 - January 10, 2023
In sweet peace, our dearly beloved father, grandfather, great-grandfather, brother, uncle, and friend, Carl Dwight Thomas, departed this life on Sunday, September 1, 2024, at his residence in Charlotte, North Carolina.
Dwight was an avid gardener, bird watcher and Carolina fan.
He is survived by his wife Hilda Whitley Farmer; one son D. Britten Farmer Jr. (Mary) of McLeansville, NC; one daughter Sharon Farmer Lowe (David) of Norwood; one sister Geraldine Dennis of Troy; two grandchildren, Dwight Britten “Dee” Farmer III and Whitley Rose Hui Lowe.
Kim is predeceased by a stepfather Keith Frick. Kim was a loving wife, mother and grandmother. She loved to read, going to the beach and collecting shells. She was the most caring soul, loved to give to others and never met a stranger.
He was preceded in death by his son Alex, brothers, Tommy and Jimmy, sisters, Nancy, Cornelia Annabell, Glennie Mae, and Betty.
Stanly Funeral and Cremation Care of Albemarle of serving the Alvarnas family.
Memorials may be made to Cedar Grove United Methodist Church, Cemetery or Choir Fund c/o Pam Smith 36071 Rocky River Springs Road, Norwood, NC 28128.
Mr. Wood is survived by two daughters Rebecca Wood Lacik (Tom) of New London and Elizabeth Martin (Joe) of West Virginia, a brother Henry Wood (Phyllis) of Lexington and sister Lynn Moody of Lexington, five grandchildren Grace Huneycutt of Wyoming, Austin Hiatt and Jacob Huneycutt both of New London, Allison Tatum of Connecticut, and Mark King Jr. of High Point, and a greatgranddaughter Kaiya Nolan. Memorials may be made to Gateway of Hope, PO Box 397, New London, NC 28127 or to the Butterfly House, PO Box 1489, Albemarle, NC 28002.
He is survived by his sisters: Helen (James) Roseboro Edwards of Albemarle, Mary Roseboro of Washington DC, and Marion Morrison of Albemarle; brothers: Thomas D. Roseboro of Charlotte, Robert Roseboro (Patricia) of Norwood, and Van Horne; a special friend of over 40 years, Michelle McLendon of the home; special nieces: Nybrea Montague, Knya Little, and Laquanza Crump; special nephews: Robert Jr., Desmond Roseboro, and Marcus Lilly; and God daughter, Daphne Johnson; and special friends, Vetrella Johnson and Ben McLendon.
Billy was known as having a kind heart and cared deeply for others. He loved animals, always helping stray and injured animals. He loved fishing, NASCAR and being near the ocean.
The family has requested memorials in Billy’s name be made to New Moon Refuge (https://www.newmoonrefuge. com)
When John purchased his first Model A Ford at the age of 17, he said that he took the car to the community mechanic when he had a small problem.The mechanic told him that if he was going to keep the car, he needed to learn to work on it. This is when John’s passion for Model A Fords began and how he spent his happiest days with his best friends from around the globe for the rest of his life!
Stanly Funeral and Cremation Care of Albemarle is serving the Register family.
At age 50, after years as a Detroit Diesel Mechanic he and Julie decided to take the plunge and open a full Model A Restoration Shop. They thrived at their shop in Cornelius, NC until their retirement in 1998 when they moved back to Cabarrus County. John once again set up shop in his back yard garage where he attracted a loyal group of friends who visited almost daily.
“Dwight”, as he was lovingly known, was a bright and shining star who greeted all with an infectious smile that endeared him to those he met along life’s journey. He was born March 29, 1951, in Lumberton, North Carolina, to the parentage of J.B. and Edwina McQueen Thomas. Dwight never met a stranger. He was kind, loving and quite the entertainer. He loved telling jokes and kept everyone laughing and feeling loved. He will be missed and will forever hold a special place in the hearts of his family and friends. He was educated in the Stanly County public schools and graduated in the Class of 1969 from North Stanly High School, New London, North Carolina. He was an avid sports enthusiast who was a standout basketball player in high school. Dwight served honorably in the United States Army during the Vietnam Conflict. Prior to retirement, he was employed with Two Men and A Truck Moving Company.
While on the farm in Gold Hill, John also began a lifelong love with Alis Chalmers tractors after he restored his Dad’s tractor and began amassing his collection of tractors as well.
Darrick Baldwin
January 7, 1973 ~ January 8, 2023
Darrick Vashon Baldwin, age 50, entered eternal rest, Sunday, January 8, 2023, Albemarle, North Carolina. Born January 7, 1973, in Stanly County, North Carolina, Darrick was the son of Eddie James Baldwin Sr. and the late Phyllis Blue Baldwin. Darrick enjoyed life, always kept things lively and enjoyed making others smile. His presence is no longer in our midst, but his memory will forever live in our hearts.
John restored many cars of his own and had the crowning achievement of winning the most prestigious award from MARC, The Henry for a restoration that garnered top points. He was also presented with the Ken Brady Service Awardthe highest award given to members at the national level.
Doris Elaine Jones Coleman, 78, went home into God’s presence on January 10 after a sudden illness and a valiant week-long fight in ICU. Doris was born on October 11, 1944, in the mountains of Marion, NC while her father was away fighting in the US Navy during World War II. Raymond Jones was so proud to return after the war and meet his little girl! Doris grew up in Durham, NC and graduated from Durham High School. She furthered her studies at Watts Hospital School of Nursing in Durham and graduated as a Registered Nurse in 1966.
Doris married Rev. Dr. Ted Coleman in 1966 and had two daughters Amy and Laura. Doris raised Amy and Laura in North Augusta, SC. Doris was an incredible neonatal intensive care nurse for most of her career, and this was her passion. The Augusta Chronicle did a feature on her in 1985. She was a clinical nurse manager in Augusta, Georgia at University Hospital NICU and worked there for 20 years. During this time, Doris mentored young nurses and assisted in saving the lives of so many babies. She also worked for Pediatrician Dr. William A. Wilkes in Augusta for several years prior to her NICU career. Doris retired from the mother/baby area at Atrium Stanly in 2007 after over 40 years of nursing.
A man of faith, Dwight attended New Beginnings Church, Charlotte where he served as a greeter on the church’s hospitality committee. As forementioned, Dwight kept things lively and enjoyed spending time with family and friends. He loved football and cheering for his favorite NFL Dallas Cowboys. He also loved the game of golf. Dwight was a dapper dresser who was always stylish and well groomed.
Dwight has joined his parents, J.B., and Edwina; son, Maurice; and brothers: Wayne, Robert, and Gregory in a place of peace and tranquility.
Celebrate the life of your loved ones. Submit obituaries and death notices to be published in SCJ at obits@stanlyjournal.com
He was educated in the Stanly County public schools and attended Albemarle Senior High School, Albemarle.
He was a great conversationalist and loved meeting people. Darrick never met a stranger and always showed love and compassion for his fellowman. He also loved his dog, Rocky.
Celebrate the life of your loved ones. Submit obituaries and death notices to be published in NSJ at obits@northstatejournal.com
He is survived by his father, Eddie J. Baldwin Sr.; sisters: Crystal (Eric) Jackson, LaFondra (Stoney) Medley, and Morgan Baldwin; brothers: Eddie Baldwin Jr., Anton Baldwin, and Lamont Baldwin; a host of other relatives and friends. A limb has fallen from our family tree. We will not grieve Darrick’s death; we will celebrate his life. We give thanksgiving for the many shared memories.
This is what John’s Model A Community had to say upon learning of his death: He was an active member of Wesley Chapel Methodist Church where he loved serving as greeter on Sunday mornings. He also belonged to the United Methodist Men. John is survived by his wife Julie Ussery Kluttz, for 66 years of the home. He is also survived by a son John David Kluttz (Kim) of Oakboro, NC; two daughters, Sally Simerson of Denver, CO and Betsy Tusa (John) of Lafayette, CO; three grandchildren, Bonnie Kluttz Sammons (Ben) of Richfield, NC John Alexander McKinnon (Sarah) of Asheville, NC and Seth William McKinnon (Amanda) of Germany; five great-grandchildren, Charlotte, Meredith, Grant, Victoria and Ronan. John is also preceded in death by his parents, J.S. Kluttz and Mary Wyatt Clayton Kluttz; a large and loving group of brothers and sisters, Jack Methias Kluttz, Annie Lou Kluttz Honeycutt, Jake Nelson Kluttz, Julius Kluttz, Mary Patricia Phillips and a grandson, Kevin Fowler Kluttz.
Precious, loving and cherished memories will never be forgotten by his daughters: Ebony ThomasYakout, Darkisha “Dee Dee” (Harry) McLendon, Ya’Toka Maske, Regina Woodard, and Katrina Gould; son, Octavious Dion Brooks; nine grandchildren; three great-grandchildren; brother, James B. (Sarah) Thomas; sisters: Lou Johnson, Mildred (David) McLaurin, Frankie Clarke, Carolyn Yasmin (Adil) Saleem, and Twila Thomas; a host of nieces, nephews, other relatives and countless friends.
Doris was a gentle and sweet spirit and loved her Lord. She never met a stranger, and she always left you feeling uplifted after talking with her. She would often claim that she had “adopted” friends into her immediate family, and honestly, she never made a distinction between the two. Positivity radiated from her like sunlight. She was selfless, funny, smart, and sentimental. During her lifetime she was an active member of First Baptist Church of Durham, First Baptist Church of Augusta, Most Holy Trinity Catholic Church in Augusta, and Palestine United Methodist Church in Albemarle. She especially loved helping at church with older adults, youth, and children.
She was especially talented at sewing from a young age and made gifts for friends, Christmas ornaments, Halloween Costumes, doll clothes, pageant dresses, prom dresses, coats, tote bags, scarves, outfits for Amy and Laura, and Christening gowns for each of her grandchildren.
The family of Mr. Carl Dwight Thomas would like to give a special thanks to Cornerstone Nursing Care for the tender care given to our loved one during his illness and transition.
Doris was preceded in death by her father Arthur Raymond Jones, her mother Mary Ellen Cameron Jones, and her sister Maryanne Jones Brantley. Survivors include her two precious daughters: Amy Cameron Coleman (partner Dr. Edward Neal Chernault) of Albemarle, NC, and Laura Lindahl Coleman Oliverio (husband David) of Cincinnati, Ohio; seven grandchildren: Cameron David Oliverio, Stephanie Jae Dejak, Luca Beatty Oliverio, Coleman John Dejak, Carson Joseph Oliverio, Ryan Nicholas Dejak, and Jadon Richard Oliverio; and numerous in-laws, nieces, nephews, cousins, and loved ones.
Doris Jones Coleman
STATE & NATION
Ga. school shooting highlights fears about classroom cellphone bans
Parents worry that they wouldn’t be able to reach their children in an emergency
By Andrew DeMillo
The Associated Press
Huddling for safety in classrooms as gunfire rang out, students at Apalachee High School texted or called their parents to let them know what was happening and send what they thought could be their final messages. One student texted her mother to say she loved her, adding, “I’m sorry I’m not the best daughter.”
The Georgia school shooting that left four dead and nine injured last week was every parent’s worst nightmare, and one that highlights potential downsides to efforts among states, school districts and federal lawmakers to ban or restrict access to cellphones in classrooms.
The moves to restrict phone use in schools have been driven by concerns about the impact screen time has on children’s mental health and complaints
from teachers that cellphones have become a constant distraction in the classroom. But those opposed to the bans say they cut off a lifeline parents have to make sure their children are safe during school shootings or other emergencies.
“The fact of the matter is parents and families cannot rely on schools to effectively communicate with us in times of emergency, and this has happened time and again,” said Keri Rodrigues, president of the National Parents Union, an education advocacy group. “There’s a whole host of reasons why parents are deeply concerned about whether or not they’re going to get timely information about whether or not their kids are safe.”
Nationally, 77% of U.S. schools say they prohibit cellphones at school for nonacademic use, according to the National Center for Education Statistics. But that number is misleading. It does not mean students are following those bans or all those schools are enforcing them.
The restrictions have been
trumpeted by both Republican and Democratic governors who rarely agree on other issues.
In Arkansas, GOP Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders launched a program for school districts to apply for grants to purchase pouches for students to keep their phones in during the school day. In California, Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom has urged school districts to restrict cellphone use and is weighing whether to sign legislation that would require schools to enact restrictions.
“I’d hate to see another school shooting be the reason that we bring TVs into the classroom and then disrupt our children’s education,” Newsom said Friday. “Because, in essence, that’s what a cellphone is equivalent to — bringing a TV into the classroom and disrupting the ability to get quality academic time.”
But for many students caught in the Apalachee shooting, having access to their phones was the only way they could communicate with loved ones during moments they feared could be their last.
“I love you. I love you so much.
Ma I love you,” Junior Julie San-
doval texted her mother. “I’m sorry I’m not the best daughter. I love you.”
Nearby, Sandoval said, another student was on the phone telling their mother, “They’re shooting up the school! They’re shooting up the school!”
But advocates of school phone restrictions warn that allowing access to phones during shootings or other emergencies could put students in even more danger.
“What’s even more important to me is their safety,” said Kim Whitman, co-founder of the Phone-Free Schools Movement, a group that advo -
cates for schools to adopt policies keeping cellphones off and away from students. “If my child was on the phone with me and they missed guidance from the teacher because they were distracted by their phone and they weren’t safe, that’s a worse scenario in my mind.”
Broward County schools in Florida now require students to keep their phones stored away and in airplane mode, but Scire has told her daughter to keep her phone on and with her.
“It’s not about me texting my daughter during regular school or anything like that,” Scire said. “It’s a safety measure and I’m sorry, I cannot let that go.”
Austin: Temporary budget would have devastating effects on military
The Pentagon chief warned Congress in a letter
By Lolita C. Baldor
The Associated Press
WASHINGTON, D.C. — Passage of a six-month temporary spending bill would have widespread and devastating effects on the Defense Department, Pentagon chief Lloyd Austin said in a letter to key members of Congress on Sunday.
Austin said that passing a continuing resolution that caps spending at 2024 levels, rather than taking action on the proposed 2025 budget will hurt thousands of defense programs, and damage military recruiting just as it is beginning to recover after the COVID-19 pandemic.
“Asking the department to compete with (China), let alone manage conflicts in Europe and the Middle East, while under a lengthy CR, ties our hands behind our back while expecting us to be agile and to accelerate progress,” said Austin in the letter to leaders of the House and Senate appropriations committees.
array of congressional districts and could also have an impact on local residents and jobs.
Since the bill would not fund legally required pay raises for troops and civilians, the department would have to find other cuts to offset them. Those cuts could halt enlistment bonuses, delay training for National Guard and Reserve forces, limit flying hours and other training for active-duty troops and impede the replacement of weapons and other equipment that has been pulled from Pentagon stocks and sent to Ukraine.
Going forward with the continuing resolution, said Austin, will “subject service members and their families to unnecessary stress, empower our adversaries, misalign billions of dollars, damage our readiness, and impede our ability to react to emergent events.”
Republican House Speaker Mike Johnson has teed up a vote this week on a bill that would keep the federal government funded for six more months. The measure aims to garner support from his more conservative GOP members by also requiring states to obtain proof of citizenship, such as a birth certificate or passport, when registering a person to vote.
and elect the next president.
Congress needs to approve a stop-gap spending bill before the end of the budget year on Sept. 30 to avoid a government shutdown just a few weeks before voters go to the polls
Austin said the stop-gap measure would cut defense spending by more than $6 billion compared to the 2025 spending proposal. And it would take money from key new priorities while overfunding programs that no longer need it.
Under a continuing resolution, new projects or programs can’t be started. Austin
said that passing the temporary bill would stall more than $4.3 billion in research and development projects and delay 135 new military housing and construction projects totaling nearly $10 billion. It also would slow progress on several key nuclear, ship-building, high-tech drone and other weapons programs.
Many of those projects are in an
Noting that there have been 48 continuing resolutions during 14 of the last 15 fiscal years — for a total of nearly 1,800 days — Austin said Congress must break the pattern of inaction because the U.S. military can’t compete with China “with our hands tied behind our back every fiscal year.”
Johnson’s bill is not expected to get support in the Democratic-controlled Senate, if it even makes it that far. But Congress will have to pass some type of temporary measure by Sept. 30 to avoid a shutdown.
LEA SUZUKI / SAN FRANCISCO CHRONICLE VIA AP
Student uses their cell phones after unlocking the pouch that secures them from use during the school day in San Mateo, California.
KEVIN WOLF / AP PHOTO
Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin, pictured in July, warned Congress that a proposed temporary spending bill would handcuff the military.
The final frontier
Polaris Dawn, a private SpaceX mission that will see humans travel farther from Earth than any since the Apollo program a half-century ago, lifted off from Cape Canaveral, Florida, late Monday. The rocket’s plume was visible across the Eastern seaboard, including from Asheboro, where this picture was taken. The Polaris Dawn crew is scheduled to attempt the world’s first private spacewalk on Thursday.
WHAT’S HAPPENING
N.C. public colleges launch simplified application process
The state this week introduced NC College Connect, a streamlined college application process for North Carolina public high school seniors. Launching for the 2025-26 academic year, the program allows qualifying students with a weighted GPA of 2.8 or above to bypass traditional application procedures at participating institutions. Six UNC System universities and all 58 North Carolina community colleges are part of the pilot program. Eligible high school seniors will receive invitation letters next month and can apply to schools during College Application Week, Oct. 21 to 27. State leaders hoped to increase the accessibility of higher education by reducing red tape and removing barriers to collegiate opportunities. The initiative complements existing financial aid opportunities like the Next NC Scholarship that allows some students to attend public colleges for free.
Law enforcement warns of email scam
Local law enforcement has issued an alert about a new scam targeting local residents. Scammers are sending threatening emails that include photographs of victims’ properties and demand $2,000 in bitcoin. The emails warn that failure to pay will result in the release of sensitive personal information. The threats are designed to create fear and urgency, and residents are advised not to engage with or pay the scammers. Recipients of such emails should not respond or click any links and should report the incident to local law enforcement.
The commissioners approved a package to entice Foster‑Caviness to Forsyth for its upcoming expansion
By Ryan Henkel Twin City Herald
WINSTON-SALEM — The Forsyth County Board of Commissioners has joined the City of Winston-Salem in putting together an incentive package in hopes of drawing in a new potential business.
At its Sept. 5 regular business meeting, the board held a public hearing to consider the expenditure of county funds for an economic development project with Foster-Caviness Company.
“Foster-Caviness is a produce wholesaler supporting the agricultural community throughout the larger Mid-Atlantic region,” said Community and Economic Development Program Administrator Hasani Mitchell. “The company moves large volumes of produce for growers to retail establishments and they support local growers, importers, food service establishments, schools, prisons and a myriad of organizations.”
According to Mitchell, the company would be looking to refurbish a 165,000-squarefoot facility in Winston-Salem with a capital investment of $6.25 million in real property and machinery and equipment.
The project would also create 165 full-time jobs with an
average salary of approximately $55,000.
Following the hearing, the board approved a five-year incentive package with a maximum incentive of $88,749.
“It is my understanding that this particular project request is more closely analogous to a new industrial production operation,” said Commissioner Dan Besse. “This provides the potential to bring in net, new investment and net, new jobs to the area as opposed to simply shuffling them around jobs at existing businesses.”
Forsyth County joins the city of Winston-Salem which also approved an incentive package for Foster-Caviness.
The board also held another hearing for a site plan amendment. The amendment is for
A homicide investigation is ongoing, the sheriff said
The Associated Press FORMER CLEMSON receiver Diondre Overton was shot and killed at a party in Greensboro, according to the Guilford County Sheriff’s Department.
A release from the agency said the 26-year-old Overton was found by deputies responding to a loud noise disturbance from a party.
Despite medical aid, the department said Overton was pro -
24.6-acres of property located on the east side of South Main Street and the northside of Jones Road. The request is to change the previously approved site plan from a 118 -unit townhouse project to a 94-lot single family project. Following the hearing, the board approved the request. In terms of contractual items, the board approved a $60,000, one-year agreement with Perkinson Law Firm for lobbying services at the North Carolina General Assembly as well as a $128,100 renewal with Carahsoft Technology for DocuSign which allows for the secure electronic signing of documents.
The Forsyth Board of Commissioners will next meet Sept. 19.
County joins Winston-Salem, offers incentives for business expansion Ex-Clemson receiver Overton
nounced dead at the scene. The sheriff’s department said an open homicide investigation is ongoing.
Overton was a Greensboro native who played at Clemson from 2016 -19 and was part of two national championship teams. He played in 51 games, making 52 catches for 777 yards and seven touchdowns.
“So senseless and just a beautiful, young life cut short at 26,” coach Dabo Swinney said Saturday night after the Tigers beat Appalachian State. “But man, I love DeAndre Overton.”
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TREY SNOW FOR TWIN CITY HERALD
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Original copy of US Constitution to be auctioned in Asheville
The recently discovered version was found in a filing cabinet, dating back to 1787
By Jeffrey Collins The Associated Press
ASHEVILLE — Historical document appraiser and collector Seth Kaller spreads a broad sheet of paper across a desk. It’s in good enough condition that he can handle it, carefully, with clean, bare hands. There are just a few creases and tiny discolorations, even though it’s just a few weeks shy of 237 years old and has spent who knows how long inside a filing cabinet in North Carolina.
At the top of the first page are familiar words but in regular type instead of the sweeping Gothic script we’re used to seeing: “WE, the People ...”
And the people will get a chance to bid for this copy of the U.S. Constitution — the only of its type thought to be in private hands — at a sale by Brunk Auctions on Sept. 28 in Asheville.
The minimum bid for the auction of $1 million has already been made. There is no minimum price that must be reached.
This copy was printed after the Constitutional Convention finished drafting the proposed framework of the nation’s government in 1787 and sent it to the Congress of the ineffective first American governmentunder the Articles of Confederation, requesting they send it to the states to be ratified by the people.
It’s one of about 100 copies printed by the secretary of that Congress, Charles Thomson. Just eight are known to still exist, and the other seven are publicly owned.
fore accepting the structure of the United States government that continues today.
“This is the point of connection between the government and the people. The Preamble — ‘we the people’ — this is the moment the government is asking the people to empower them,” auctioneer Andrew Brunk said.
What happened to the document up for auction between Thomson’s signature and 2022 isn’t known.
Two years ago, a property was being cleared out in Edenton in eastern North Carolina that was once owned by Samuel Johnston. He was the governor of North Carolina from 1787 to 1789 and he oversaw the state convention during his last year in office that ratified the Constitution.
people who think they have a Declaration of Independence or a Gettysburg Address and most of the time it is just a replica, but every so often something important gets found,” said Kaller, who appraises, buys and sells historic documents.
“This is a whole other level of importance,” he added. Along with the Constitution on the broad sheet printed front and back is a letter from George Washington asking for ratification. He acknowledged there will have to be compromise and that rights the states enjoyed will have to be given up for the nation’s long-term health.
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Thomson likely signed two copies for each of the original 13 states, essentially certifying them. They were sent to special ratifying conventions, where representatives, all white and male, wrangled for months be-
The copy was found inside a squat, two-drawer metal filing cabinet with a can of stain on top, in a long-neglected room piled high with old chairs and a dusty book case, before the old Johnston house was preserved. The document was a broad sheet that could be folded one time like a book.
“I get calls every week from
“To secure all rights of independent sovereignty to each and yet provide for the interest and safety for all — individuals entering into society must give up a share of liberty to preserve the rest,” wrote the man who would become the first U.S. president. Brunk isn’t sure what the document might go for because there is so little to compare it to. The last time a copy of the Constitution like this sold was for $400 in 1891. In 2021, Sotheby’s of New York sold one
of only 14 remaining copies of the Constitution printed for the Continental Congress and delegates to the Constitutional Convention for $43.2 million, a record for a book or document. But that document was meant to be distributed to the founding fathers as delegates to the Constitutional Convention. The signed copy being sold later this month was one meant to be sent to leaders in every state so people all around the country could review and decide if that’s how they wanted to be governed, connecting the writers of the Constitution to the people in the states who would provide its power and legitimacy. The auction listing doesn’t identify the seller, saying its part of a collection that is in private hands.
Other items up for auction in Asheville including a 1776 first draft of the Articles of Confederation and a 1788 Journal of the Convention of North Carolina at Hillsborough where representatives spent two weeks debating if ratifying the Constitution would put too much power with the nation instead of the states.
Recreational pot sales begin on NC tribal land
Sales of marijuana to anyone 21 and older began Saturday
The Associated Press CHEROKEE — The Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians began selling marijuana and cannabis products to any adult 21 or over starting Saturday at its tribe-owned dispensary in western North Carolina.
A post on the Facebook page of Great Smoky Cannabis Co., located on the Eastern Band of Cherokee’s western tribal lands, called the day “history in the making” with a video showing a line of people waiting outside the shop shortly before sales began at 10 a.m. The outlet already started July 4 to sell in-store or drive-thru products for recreational use to adults enrolled in the tribe or any other federally recognized tribe. It had opened its doors in April initially for adult medical marijuana purchases. Marijuana possession or
use is otherwise illegal in North Carolina, but the tribe can pass rules related to cannabis as a sovereign nation. Of North Carolina and its surrounding states, only Virginia allows for the legal recreational use of marijuana statewide. Tribal members voted in a referendum last September backing adult recreational use on their reservation and telling the tribal council to devel-
op legislation to regulate such a market. Those details were hammered out by the council, approving language in June that effectively decriminalized cannabis on Eastern Band land called the Qualla Boundary. The move was not without its opponents. Shortly before the referendum, Republican U.S. Rep. Chuck Edwards introduced legislation that
would have removed federal highway funding from tribes and states that have legalized marijuana — a bill that ultimately died. The Great Smoky Cannabis marijuana sales center, located near the Harrah’s Cherokee Casino Resort, is predicted to be more of a revenue-generator for the 14,000-member tribe as its customer base is expanded.
JEFFREY COLLINS / AP PHOTO
An 1787 copy of the U.S. Constitution is shown at Brunk Auctions in Asheville.
COURTESY PHOTO
The Great Smoky Cannabis Co. has begun selling marijuana products to all 21-andolder adults.
THE CONVERSATION
Neal Robbins, publisher | Frank Hill, senior opinion editor
VISUAL VOICES
The empty nest
How can we get by without the chaos surrounding having a house full of fun and fighting all at the same time?
IT’S THAT TIME of year when many parents all over the country are packing up their young ones and moving them into dorms. It’s a very emotional experience, and we never forget what it’s like.
Our children are a precious gift from Heaven. The joy they bring is indescribable. Our task is to love them, teach them and let them fly away to their own nests. But my oh my, how we miss them when they are gone.
All the things that we think are important suddenly have no meaning at all, and we realize that most things do not really matter.
I am especially talking about a clean house, no mountains of dirty laundry, food in the cabinets and refrigerator — things like that that seemed important.
I can still get teary-eyed thinking about how painful it was for my husband when our first daughter went away to college. Her room was next to the kitchen. He could not walk down the hall without seeing it. He cleaned her room to a pristine condition. For days he could not walk by without shedding tears. After a few days of this, he threw clothes all around, put towels all over the floor and made a real mess. Then, he said, he felt like she was still there. The messy room was a comfort for him.
There was a constant battle with my older daughter over the unsanitary conditions in her room. I feared that the Health Department would barge in any day, find unidentifiable bacteria growing there and condemn the whole place. My husband threatened to set off a small explosive in there and blow it away from the rest of the house. To this day, my daughter declares that she was grounded throughout her high school years because her room was such a mess.
My younger daughter’s imagination was so creative that there was constantly a stage show performance or TV series under production in our family room. I vividly remember her standing on the ottoman, using a jump rope for a microphone, and performing as a starring actress or singer. Of course, she was between us and the television. There was no chance we could miss any of the stage shows.
COLUMN | DAVID HARSANYI
I remember the brigades of young people who would trounce in and drain every ounce of anything consumable in the place. The cupboards and the refrigerator had to be restocked daily. Sometimes even more often than that.
Cheerleaders were always cheering, dancers were always dancing, bouncers were always bouncing on the trampoline, and lots of boys were always hanging out to watch. There was never a quiet, peaceful moment.
The bickering, as sisters will do, seemed nonstop. Little sister wanted to do everything big sister did. Big sister would have no part of it. I can still hear it: “Mom, tell her she can’t follow us. And keep her out of my room.”
When the first one leaves, it is much more traumatic. There is a disbelief that this can’t really be happening. That much time cannot possibly have passed. How can we get by without the chaos surrounding having a house full of fun and fighting all at the same time?
I vividly remember loading the U-Haul and taking my older daughter to campus. She was wearing her East Forsyth T-shirt. A young man, a few years older, was walking across campus, saw it, and said, “I went to East Forsyth too.” My husband said, “Get over here, son, and help me unload this truck.” That young man has been a big part of our family ever since. We love him dearly.
But the day finally came when the house was quiet, organized and clean. As I walked through their rooms, I could hear myself yelling, “You girls stop fighting? Clean your rooms and bring the laundry down. Why don’t you grow up?” The silence yelled back, “We did.”
They were gone, and my husband and I were alone. Nothing will ever be the same. But you can trust me on this. I promise you there is another chapter to life, and when the pain of them leaving is gone, it can be surprisingly good.
Sen. Joyce Krawiec has represented Forsyth County and the 31st District in the North Carolina Senate since 2014. She lives in Kernersville.
Kamala Harris’ banana republic on free speech
Mark Zuckerberg recently admitted that senior Biden administration officials
“repeatedly pressured” Facebook to “censor” COVID-19 content.
IN 2019, VICE PRESIDENT Kamala Harris told CNN’s Jake Tapper that social media companies “are directly speaking to millions and millions of people without any level of oversight or regulation and it has to stop.” Does it?
Every two-bit authoritarian in history has justified censoring its citizens as a way of protecting them from the menace of disinformation.
But social media sites, contra the reliably illiberal Harris, aren’t “directly speaking” to anyone. Millions of individuals are interacting and speaking to millions of other individuals. Really, that’s what grinds the modern left’s gears: unsupervised conversations.
Take the Brazilian Supreme Court panel that unanimously upheld the decision by one of its justices to shut down Elon Musk’s X over alleged “misinformation” fears. We must assume that the Democratic Party’s presidential nominee, who once promised to ban guns via an executive order, agrees with Justice Alexandre de Moraes’s decision to shut down a social media platform for refusing to bend to the state’s demands of censorship.
The Associated Press reports that the Brazilian high court’s decision “undermines the effort by Musk and his supporters to cast Justice Alexandre de Moraes as an authoritarian renegade who is intent on censoring political speech in Brazil.”
Really? Because it seems to me that the state shuttering one of the popular social media sites unmistakably qualifies as a ban
on political speech, whether one person is responsible or an entire government.
And make no mistake, it is politically motivated. “Just because the guy has a lot of money doesn’t mean he can disrespect this (country),” Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva argued. Well, the South American nation’s constitution, like ours, apparently protects free expression — making no distinction between the poor and rich: “Any and all censorship of a political, ideological, and artistic nature is prohibited.” You can tell Brazil is super serious about the matter because the bullet point appears in Chapter V, Article 220, or page 148 in my translated copy.
Let’s concede, however, that de Moraes isn’t any kind of renegade, merely a conventional Brazilian autocrat. In the same way, Musk isn’t merely another billionaire but a tech CEO who generally views free expression as a neutral principle.
I suppose the best evidence for this claim is the fact that even as Brazil bans Musk’s site, he allows the far-left Lula to have an account on X with 9 million followers.
In Europe, free expression is also ostensibly protected by the constitution. Well, the right is contingent on “national security,” “territorial disorder,” “crime,” “health” and other highly malleable issues that ultimately allow police officers in the United Kingdom and Germany to show up at your door and throw you in prison for offensive posts.
As the late Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia once pointed out, “Every Banana Republic has a Bill of Rights.” The
question is: How close are we to being one?
Uncomfortably close is the answer.
Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg recently admitted that senior Biden administration officials “repeatedly pressured” Facebook to “censor” COVID-19 content, including “humor and satire,” during the pandemic. Zuckerberg vowed that he would never let his company be pushed around again. I’m sorry if we don’t take him at his word. Tech companies enjoy unencumbered free association rights and are free to keep or kick off anyone they desire from their platform, as they should. Before Musk’s purchase of Twitter, now known as X, contemporary left-wingers celebrated the independence of social media platforms. “If you don’t like it, build your own Twitter,” they would say.
OK. But when corporations, who often spend tens of millions each year in Washington rent-seeking and lobbying for favorable regulations, take marching orders from state officials and giant federal bureaucracies on the contours of permissible speech, we have a big problem. If presidential candidates truly cared about “democracy,” they’d be advocating anti-cronyism laws and forbidding government officials from interfering with or pressuring private entities on speech. But, these days, many Americans no longer view free expression as a neutral, liberal virtue worth defending. Foremost among them, apparently, is the Democratic presidential ticket.
David Harsanyi is a senior editor at The Federalist.
TRIAD STRAIGHT TALK | SEN. JOYCE KRAWEIC
Filipino preacher surrenders on sexual abuse charges
Apollo Quiboloy had been on the run since earlier this year
By Jim Gomez The Associated Press
MANILA, Philippines — A Filipino preacher accused of sexual abuse and human trafficking in the Philippines and similar charges in the United States surrendered Sunday to authorities in his religious complex in the south and flown to Manila where he was put in police detention, officials said.
Apollo Quiboloy and four other co-accused surrendered in the vast religious headquarters of their group, called Kingdom of Jesus Christ, in Davao City after the police gave a 24-hour ultimatum for them to give up, police said. Interior Secretary Benhur Abalos earlier said Quiboloy was caught by authorities.
Quiboloy and his co-accused were flown on a Philippine air force C-130 plane to the capital Sunday night and locked up in a heavily guarded detention center at the national police head-
quarters where their mugshots and fingerprints were taken, police spokesperson Col. Jean Fajardo said in a news briefing.
“The Philippine National Police gave an ultimatum for them to surrender, otherwise, we would raid a particular building, where we’ve been barred from entering,” Fajardo said, add-
ing that the warning led to their peaceful surrender.
Quiboloy went into hiding earlier this year after a Philippine court ordered his arrest and several others on allegations of suspicion of child and sexual abuse and human trafficking, Fajarto said. The Philippine Senate separately ordered
Quiboloy’s arrest for refusing to appear in public committee hearings that were looking into criminal allegations against him.
President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. had urged Quiboloy to surrender and assured him of fair treatment by authorities.
The preacher and his lawyer denied the allegations against him, saying they were fabricated by critics and former members who were removed from the religious group.
In 2021, United States federal prosecutors announced the indictment of Quiboloy for allegedly having sex with women and underage girls who faced threats of abuse and “eternal damnation” unless they catered to the self-proclaimed “son of God.”
Quiboloy and two of his top administrators were among nine people named in a superseding indictment returned by a federal grand jury and unsealed in November 2021. It contained a raft of charges, including conspiracy, sex trafficking of children, sex trafficking by force, fraud and coercion, marriage
fraud, money laundering, cash smuggling and visa fraud.
The U.S. Embassy in Manila referred requests for comments to Philippine authorities.
Last month, about 2,000 police backed by riot squads raided the vast religious compound of Quiboloy in Davao in a chaotic operation as large numbers of his followers turned up to oppose the raid.
The police brought equipment that could detect people hiding in underground tunnels but did not find him in the 75acre compound that includes a cathedral, stadium, school, residential area, hangar and taxiway leading to Davao International Airport.
In 2019, Quiboloy claimed he stopped a major earthquake from hitting the southern Philippines.
He was also a close supporter and spiritual adviser of former President Rodrigo Duterte, who is being investigated by the International Criminal Court in connection with the extrajudicial killings by police of thousands of mostly poor drug suspects.
Brazil’s X ban drives Bolsonaro supporters to rally for ‘free speech’
By Eléonore Hughes and Gabriela Sá Pessoa
The Associated Press
SAO PAULO — Thousands of supporters of former Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro flooded Sao Paulo’s main boulevard for an Independence Day rally Saturday, buoyed by the government’s blocking of tech billionaire Elon Musk’s X platform, a ban they say is proof of their political persecution.
A few thousand demonstrators, clad in the yellow-and-green colors of Brazil’s flag, poured onto Av. Paulista. References to the ban on X and images of Musk abounded.
“Thank you for defending our freedom,” read one banner praising the tech entrepreneur.
Saturday’s march was seen as a test of Bolsonaro’s capacity to mobilize turnout ahead of the October municipal elections even though Brazil’s electoral court has barred him from running for office until 2030. It’s also something of a referendum on X, whose suspension has raised eyebrows even among some of Bolsonaro’s opponents all the while stoking the flames of Brazil’s deep-seated political polarization.
Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes ordered X’s nationwide ban on Aug. 30 af-
ter months of feuding with Musk over the limits of free speech. The powerful judge has spearheaded efforts to ban far-right users from spreading misinformation on social media, and he ramped up his clampdown after die-hard Bolsonaro supporters ransacked Congress and the presidential palace on Jan. 8, 2023, in an attempt to overturn Bolsonaro’s defeat in the presidential election.
On Saturday, Bolsonaro called Moraes a “dictator” and called on Brazil’s Senate to impeach the judge. He also repeated the false claim that President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva had colluded with the judiciary to steal the 2022 election.
“They want to censor the truth, so the people don’t know the truth,” Bolsonaro, with a raspy voice from a virus that sent him
to the hospital earlier in the day, told the crowd.
Such comments are red meat to Bolsonaro’s supporters, who have lauded Musk’s defiance of Brazil’s judiciary.
“Elon Musk has been a warrior for freedom of speech,” staunch Bolsonaro ally and lawmaker Bia Kicis said in an interview. “The right is being oppressed, massacred because the left doesn’t want the right to exist.”
“Our liberties are in danger, we need to make our voices heard.
De Moraes is a tyrant, he should be impeached, and people on the streets is the only thing that will convince politicians to do it,” added retiree Amaro Santos as he walked down the thoroughfare Saturday,
Musk, a self-proclaimed “free speech absolutist,” has also urged
Brazilians to turn out in droves for the rally, resharing someone else’s post claiming that X’s ban had awakened people “to the fact that freedom isn’t free and needs to be fought for.” He’s also created an X account, named for the controversial jurist, to publish sealed court orders directing X to shut down accounts deemed unlawful.
But De Moraes’ decision to ban X was far from arbitrary, having been upheld by fellow Supreme Court justices. And while expression, online and elsewhere, faces more prohibitions under Brazil’s laws than in the U.S., Musk has emerged as both a cause célèbre and a mouthpiece for unrestricted free speech.
Since 2019, X has shut down 226 accounts of far-right activities accused of undermining Brazil’s democracy, including those of lawmakers affiliated with Bolsonaro’s party, according to court records.
But when it refused to take action on some accounts, de Moraes warned last month that its legal representative could be arrested, prompting X to disband its local office. The U.S.-based company refused to name a new representative — as required in order to receive court notices — and de Moraes ordered its nationwide suspension until it did so.
A Supreme Court panel unanimously upheld de Moraes’ decision to block X days later, undermining Musk’s efforts to cast him as an authoritarian bent on censoring political speech.
The more controversial component of his ruling was the levy of a whopping $9,000 daily fine for regular Brazilians using virtual private networks (VPNs) to access X.
“Some of these measures that have been adopted by the Supreme Court appear to be quite onerous and abusive,” said Andrei Roman, CEO of Brazil-based pollster Atlas Intel.
In the lead-up to Saturday’s protest, some right-wing politicians defied de Moraes’ ban and brazenly used a VPN to publish posts on X, calling for people to partake in the protests.
The march in Sao Paulo is organized in parallel to official events to celebrate Brazil’s anniversary of independence from Portugal. Commemorations have been fraught with tension in recent years, as Bolsonaro used them while in office to rally supporters and show political strength.
Three years ago, he threatened to plunge the country into a constitutional crisis when he declared he would no longer abide de Moraes’ rulings. He has since toned down the attacks — a reflection of his own delicate legal situation.
Bolsonaro has been indicted twice since his term ended in 2022, most recently for alleged money laundering in connection with undeclared diamonds from Saudi Arabia. De Moraes is overseeing an investigation into the Jan. 8 riot, including whether Bolsonaro had a role in inciting it.
AP PHOTO
Filipino preacher Apollo Quiboloy, pictured in 2016, surrendered to authorities Sunday and is facing sexual abuse charges.
The social media platform has been banned in the country since Aug. 30
ETTORE CHIEREGUINI / AP PHOTO
Demonstrators take part in a protest calling for the impeachment of Supreme Court Minister Alexandre de Moraes, who recently imposed a nationwide block on X, in Sao Paulo on Saturday.
Forsyth SPORTS
Fritz’s loss to Sinner in final extends Slam drought for American men
No American man has won a title since 2003
By Howard Fendrich
The Associated Press
NEW YORK — Taylor Fritz was eager before the U.S. Open final, entertaining thoughts of winning his first Grand Slam title — and the first for any American man since Andy Roddick earned the 2003 trophy at Arthur Ashe Stadium.
Didn’t happen for Fritz or his country, and the drought continues. Top-ranked Jannik Sinner, a 23-year-old from Italy, left New York with the championship thanks to a 6-3, 6-4, 7-5 victory.
“Just kind of walking on the court, and just hearing the crowd go crazy, and just kind of soaking in the moment of, ‘I’m walking out to play my match on Ashe in the U.S. Open finals,’ is what I dreamed about my whole life,” said Fritz, a 26-yearold Californian. “It almost got me emotional, but I was just really happy and ready to enjoy the moment.”
Participating in a major title match for the first time is often difficult for tennis players to process, but Fritz said he wasn’t “overly nervous” and “really expected to come out and play better from the start.”
Instead, he got broken in the very first game, badly missing a smash set up by a short return from Sinner off a 127-mph serve. Fritz regrouped to break back and lead 3-2 — before Sinner took its last four games.
Then, from 4-all in the second, Fritz lost the set’s last two games. And in the third, after break-
ing for a 4-3 edge, then holding for 5-3, Fritz lost the match’s last four games.
“If he wins that third, it’s a whole new game,” said Fritz’s coach, Michael Russell. “Crowd behind you; 24,000 people cheering; the energy. You can feel it all the way through your veins.”
Russell thought the keys were that Fritz made too many groundstroke errors, missed his spots too often on serves and should have tried to get to the net more than 19 times.
“That’s just kind of how it goes, when you’re playing ... the best player in the world right now. My ‘Plan A’ is not working. The ‘Plan B’ that I fall back on would normally be just bringing everything in, being a little bit safer, grinding it out,” Fritz explained. “That works, along with my serve, against a lot of other players. But against him ... he’s just going to bully me a little bit too much.”
Fritz was the first man from the United States to get to a Grand Slam singles final since Roddick lost to Roger Federer at Wimbledon in 2009 and first at the U.S. Open since Roddick lost to Federer in 2006. Roddick won the event 21 years ago.
“I know how much work he puts in,” Sinner told the crowd about Fritz during the trophy ceremony, before addressing his opponent directly: “You are doing an amazing job. Congrats to you, Taylor. … It’s so nice to see you on big stages like this.”
“I played very within myself. I don’t think I at any point I was, like, ‘Wow, I’m playing incredible’ or ‘I’m playing out of my mind.’ That’s just extremely reassuring to me that I was able to get to this point, just playing solid tennis,” Fritz said. “I know that there’s still a lot of room for improvement. ... (And) I’ve always said: Once I do something once, I just feel a lot more confident in being able to do it again.”
ATHLETE OF THE WEEK
Gabby Nichols
Reagan, volleyball
Gabby Nichols is a senior on the Reagan volleyball team. The Raiders are off to a 14-3 start to the season, including a 4-0 conference mark that has them atop the Central Piedmont. They’re riding a five-match and 14-game winning streak that includes wins over both East and West Forsyth. In last week’s win over West, Nichols had a team-high 14 kills and blocked the only shot for the Raiders. On the season, she leads the team in hitting percentage and blocks and is second in kills. She also leads the conference in hitting percentage and ranks in the top five in the state.
Logano wins NASCAR playoff opener at Atlanta
The only two-time champ in the playoff field advances to next round
By Jenna Fryer The Associated Press
HAMPTON, Ga. — One of the first things Joey Logano said after winning the NASCAR Cup Series’ playoff opener was that the postseason is his time of the year. And, in 10 initial playoff appearances, he typically slid his way through the rounds, winning two Cup titles and never finishing lower than eighth in the standings. Then came last year when Logano, as the reigning Cup champion, was eliminated
from the 16-driver field in the very first round for the first time in his career. He dreaded going to the track for the remainder of the season even as Team Penske teammate Ryan Blaney went on to win the championship. There will be no stumble this year, not after an overtime victory Sunday at Atlanta Motor Speedway gave Logano an automatic berth into the second round of the playoffs.
“That’s how we start the playoffs, boys!” Logano shouted. “When it is playoff time, it is our time.” Logano won the 11th race of the season to end in overtime
— a tie for the record set in the 2017 season. He’s trying to become the only active three-
time Cup champion in the series. Kyle Busch, who did not make the playoffs, is the only other current driver with two Cup titles.
“We’ve been able to level up when we need to level up and be able to fire off the first race of the playoffs and with a statement is key, right?” Logano said.
Blaney was initially listed in second for a 1-2 sweep for Team Penske and Ford. He lined up behind Logano and gave him the pushes he needed to deny Daniel Suarez the victory.
But after a review, Suarez was moved to second and Blaney dropped to third. Team owner Roger Penske was not at the race because the Detroit resident was scheduled
to attend the Lions’ NFL home opener later Sunday.
Suarez, who won the closest three-wide finish in Cup Series history here in February, had his own help from Trackhouse Racing teammate Ross Chastain. The two-lap overtime sprint to the finish began with Logano and Suarez lined up side by side on the front row, each with their teammate behind them for the push to the front.
Blaney got Logano out first, but Chastain remained locked onto the bumper of Suarez’s Chevrolet and the two dueled it out until Blaney used a final push to get his Penske teammate the win.
Suarez, who gained two spots in the standings to ninth
with his runner-up finish, was disappointed to come up short.
“No, definitely not satisfied. I am happy with it, but not satisfied,” he said. “I felt like we were going to have a great shot at it. Ross was doing an amazing job of pushing, and I don’t know if he got a flat tire or something, but once I lost him, I knew it was going to be tough. But that is part of racing, right?”
Christopher Bell in a Toyota for Joe Gibbs Racing finished fourth, and Alex Bowman in a Chevrolet for Hendrick Motorsports was fifth. Regular-season champion Tyler Reddick of 23XI Racing was sixth and followed by Busch of Richard Childress Racing, Chase Elliott of Hendrick, William Byron of Hendrick and Austin Cindric of Penske. Only two Toyotas — Bell and Reddick — finished inside the top 10.
JULIA NIKHINSON / AP PHOTO
Jannik Sinner, of Italy, (left) and Taylor Fritz, of the United States, listen to the trophy ceremony after Sinner defeated Fritz in the men’s singles final of the U.S. Open.
JASON ALLEN / AP PHOTO
Joey Logano retrieves the checkered flag at the finish line after winning Sunday’s NASCAR Cup Series playoff race at Atlanta.
SIDELINE REPORT
WNBA
Reese out for rest of WNBA season due to wrist injury
Chicago Angel Reese’s historic rookie season is over. The Chicago Sky forward said on social media that she has a season- ending injury, which the team confirmed was to her wrist. Reese finished the season averaging 13.6 points and 13.1 rebounds. It’s the highest rebound average in the history of the WNBA. Reese also set the rookie record with 26 double- doubles — her last coming in a win over Los Angeles on Friday night.
NFL Prescott, Cowboys agree on record contract
Dallas Dak Prescott got a new contract with the Dallas Cowboys hours before their season opener at Cleveland. The star quarterback and the Cowboys agreed on a $240 million, four-year contract. It’s the first in NFL history to average $60 million per season. The runner-up in NFL MVP voting was entering the final year of a $160 million, four-year contract that was a franchise record before this deal. It includes $231 million guaranteed. That’s $1 million more than the previous record from the fully guaranteed deal Deshaun Watson signed with the Browns two years ago.
NBA Grizzlies’ Jackson II to be reevaluated after foot surgery
Memphis Memphis forward GG Jackson II will be reevaluated in three months after surgery to repair the fifth metatarsal in his right foot. The Grizzlies updated Jackson’s status for an injury they first announced Aug. 30. Jackson hurt his foot on a layup playing basketball in Texas last week. The 19-yearold Jackson was a second-round pick of Memphis in the 2023 NBA Draft. He started 18 of 48 games and averaged 14.6 points per game. Jackson earned second-team NBA All-Rookie honors. He was a bright spot in an injury-plagued season for the Grizzlies, who went 27-55.
NFL Hill briefly detained for traffic violation before Dolphins game
Miami Police are calling for an investigation into why Miami Dolphins receiver Tyreek Hill was briefly detained for a traffic violation while entering Hard Rock Stadium hours before his team was set to open the season against the Jacksonville Jaguars. Hill was seen on video posted to X laying face down on the ground as officers placed his hands behind his back and put handcuffs on him. Hill, who led the NFL in receiving yards in 2023, still took the field and started for Miami.
MLB
Díaz brothers pitch in same game for 1st time as Mets top Reds
New York
New York Mets closer Edwin Díaz and younger brother Alexis, the Cincinnati Reds’ ace reliever, pitched in the same game for the first time in their All-Star careers. Edwin Díaz struck out all three batters in the top of the ninth inning Friday, fanning Elly De La Cruz and Spencer Steer with 100-mph fastballs. Alexis Díaz worked a hitless bottom of the ninth to keep the score tied. New York won 6-4 in the 10th.
Superspeedway.
Jordan’s NASCAR team skips deadline to sign new revenue model with racing series
All but two Cup Series teams are believed to have signed an agreement
By Jenna Fryer The Associated Press
HAMPTON, Ga. — 23XI
Racing, the NASCAR team coowned by Michael Jordan, said Saturday it skipped a deadline to sign a new charter agreement with the sanctioning body because “it did not have an opportunity to fairly bargain” for a new contract.
The two-car team owned by Jordan, active driver Denny Hamlin and Jordan righthand man Curtis Polk revealed that teams had a Friday night NASCAR-imposed deadline to sign new charter agreements that run from 2025 through 2031.
In a letter to NASCAR, 23XI said its Toyota organization was refusing to sign the extension. The team’s revelation came on the eve of the start of NASCAR’s Cup Series playoffs as garage speculation Satur-
day indicated that all but two Cup Series teams have signed the new agreements. The other team believed to be holding out is Ford-backed Front Row Motorsports, a midlevel program that lacks Jordan’s clout.
Three people speaking to The Associated Press on the condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the yearslong negotiations said the teams felt “threatened and coerced” by NASCAR to sign the extensions or risk them being revoked. They spoke on condition of anonymity to avoid putting their agreements as risk.
Just last week, Polk pinned a sheet of paper to the back of his shirt that read: “Please don’t ask me about my Charter. I don’t want to disparage NASCAR and lose it.” He wore it during the Southern 500 at Darlington Raceway, where 23XI Racing driver Tyler Reddick became the regular-season champion and the team said no one from NASCAR bothered to present him with the trophy.
“We notified NASCAR what
Brady takes awkward first steps in transition from football field to TV booth
The legendary quarterback made his debut on Fox during Sunday’s games
By Jimmy Golen The Associated Press
FOX SPORTS is spending
$375 million to put Tom Brady in the broadcast booth, and the network wants to make sure everyone knows he’s there.
The seven-time Super Bowl champion made his debut as an NFL analyst during the Fox broadcast of the regular-season opener between the Dallas Cowboys and the Cleveland Browns .
“You’re a broadcaster, how about that!” play-by-play announcer Kevin Burkhardt said when the camera cut to the booth in Cleveland, where Brady, in a coat and tie, made his first live appearance on screen. Burkhardt joked that he paid extra attention to his hair because he knew there would be more shots of the broadcast booth.
“I do what they tell me. I understand that,” Brady said with a chuckle. “I’m still a rookie in here.” To the viewers, that was obvious. Brady’s commentary was knowledgeable, as expected, but also lacking in personality — no Tony Romo anticipating the next play, no John Madden with his “Boom!”, not even the
“I do what they tell me. I understand that. I’m still a rookie in here.”
Tom Brady
quarter-zip sweaters that make Peyton Manning stand out from the dozens or hundreds of other ex-jocks who joined the media when their playing careers were over.
There were awkward laughs, a cringey fist-bump with rules analyst Mike Pereira, and a lot of calling players by their first names. Brady declined to call out Cleveland receiver Amari Cooper when a pass went through his hands in the fourth quarter and made excuses for the Browns while trying to find positives in a dreadful performance.
It didn’t help that the game, which Dallas led 27-3 early in the second half, was headed toward a blowout that would challenge even a veteran broadcaster to hold the audience’s interest. But that’s where Brady was able to deploy his experience as an asset.
“There’s plenty of time left in this game,” said the quarterback who famously led the Patriots back from a 28-3 deficit in Super Bowl 51 against Atlanta. “Just the margin of error’s slim.”
On one play, Brady called for Deshaun Watson to throw it to
issues needed to be addressed, in writing, at the deadline,” 23XI said in its Saturday statement. “We are interested in engaging in constructive discussions with NASCAR to address these issues and move forward in a way that comes to a fair resolution, while strengthening the sport we all love.”
“At 23XI Racing, we remain committed to competing at the highest level while also standing firm in our belief that NASCAR should be governed by fair and equitable practices,” the team said Saturday. What is a charter?
There are currently 36 charters in NASCAR for a 40-car field each week in the top-level Cup Series. A charter guarantees the 36 cars entry into all 38 races each season and a portion of the television package and purses depending on each team’s charter value.
Four charters remain held back by NASCAR, earmarked for a future manufacturer that might join Chevrolet, Ford or
Toyota in the Cup Series. A summer proposal from NASCAR suggested those charters should go to NASCAR and that the France family that runs the series should be able to field teams. NASCAR’s newest proposal to teams allegedly included an antidisparagement clause. The most recent charters were signed in 2016 and run through the end of the year, when the current television packages expire. Negotiations have been ongoing for more than two years, with teams content to allow NASCAR to finalize a new media package first so the teams have a clear idea how much money will be coming in. Teams want a bigger share of the revenue pie, a seat at the negotiating table, a role in upcoming projects and deals, and, most importantly, for charters to become permanent. A charter guarantees a spot in any Cup Series race and thus part of the purse, and NASCAR has refused to even entertain that charters become permanent.
an open tight end; the Browns quarterback didn’t see it. Brady played 23 years in the NFL before retiring after the 2022 season as the most decorated player in league history. He signed a 10-year deal with Fox Sports — replacing the well-regarded Greg Olsen as the network’s lead analyst. Brady took last year off, a gap that only added to the anticipation over whether he could transfer some of his on-field knowledge and skills to the booth.
With five Super Bowl MVP awards in his seven victories
in the NFL title game — six for New England and one for Tampa Bay — Brady established himself as the greatest player in league history. He retired with the career records for wins, passing touchdowns and passing yards, among other bests. Brady shared some wisdom he got from fellow athlete-turned-TV personality Michael Strahan: “You’re going to wake up tomorrow, on Monday morning, you ain’t going to be sore.”
“That,” Brady said, “I’m very happy about.”
RYAN SUN / AP PHOTO
Dallas Cowboys head coach Mike McCarthy speaks with Tom Brady, right, during the first half of a preseason game.
MIKE STEWART / AP PHOTO
23XI Racing co-owner Michael Jordan stands in the pit area during April’s NASCAR Cup Series race at Talladega
‘Civil War’ premiers on MAX, Snow Patrol drops ‘Eyes Open,’ Stallone’s ‘Tulsa’ returns
The Jesus Lizard’s intensity never went away
The Associated Press
SYLVESTER STALLONE’S second season of “Tulsa King” and Snow Patrol’s first new album in seven years are some of this week’s new streaming entertainment releases. Also streaming this week on a screen near you: Alex Garland’s “Civil War” starring Kirsten Dunst, Natasha Rothwell’s heartfelt comedy for Hulu called “How to Die Alone.”
MOVIES TO STREAM
Alex Garland’s “Civil War” is finally making its debut on Max on Friday. The film stars Kirsten Dunst as a veteran photojournalist covering a violent war that’s divided America. She reluctantly allows an aspiring photographer, played by Cailee Spaeny, to tag along as she, an editor (Stephen McKinley Henderson) and a reporter (Wagner Moura) make the dangerous journey to Washington, D.C., to interview the president (Nick Offerman), a blustery, rising despot who has given himself a third term, taken to attacking his citizens and shut himself off from the press. In my review, I called it a bellowing and haunting experience. It was smart and thought-provoking, with great performances. It’s well worth a watch.
Joey King stars in Netflix’s adaptation of Scott Westerfeld’s “Uglies,” which is about a future society where everyone must have beautifying cosmetic surgery at age 16. Streaming on Friday, McG directed the film in which King’s character inadvertently finds herself amid an uprising against the status quo. “Outer Banks” star Chase Stokes plays King’s best friend.
Bill Skarsgård is out for revenge against the woman (Famke Janssen) who killed his family in “Boy Kills World,” coming to Hulu on Friday. Moritz Mohr directed the ultra-violent film, of which Variety critic Owen Gleiberman wrote: “It’s a depraved vision, yet I got caught up in its kick-ass revenge-horror pizzazz, its disreputable commitment to what it was doing.”
MUSIC TO STREAM
The year was 2006. Snow Patrol, the Northern Irish-Scottish alternative rock band, released an album, “Eyes Open,” producing the biggest hit of their career: “Chasing Cars.” A lot has happened since — three, soon to be four quality full-length albums, to be exact. On Friday, the band will release “The Forest Is the Path,” their first new album in seven years. Anthemic pop-rock is the name of the
game across songs of love and loss, like “All,” “The Beginning” and “This Is the Sound Of Your Voice.” For fans of raucous guitar music, Jordan Peele’s 2022 scifi thriller “Nope” provided a surprising, if tiny, thrill. One of the leads, Emerald “Em” Haywood, portrayed by Keke Palmer, rocks a Jesus Lizard shirt. (Also featured through the film: Rage Against the Machine, Wipers, Mr. Bungle, Butthole Surfers and Earth band shirts.) The Austin noise rock band is a less obvi-
ous pick, having been signed to the legendary Touch and Go Records and stopped releasing new albums in 1998. That changes on Friday when “Rack” arrives. And for those curious, The Jesus Lizard’s intensity never went away.
SHOWS TO STREAM
Hallmark launched a streaming service called Hallmark+ on Tuesday with two new original series, the scripted drama “The Chicken Sisters” and the
unscripted series “Celebrations with Lacey Chabert.” If you’re a Hallmark holiday movies fan, you know Chabert. She’s starred in over 30 of their films, many holiday-themed films. Off camera, Chabert has a passion for throwing parties and entertaining. In “Celebrations,” deserving people are surprised with a bash in their honor — planned with Chabert’s help. “The Chicken Sisters” stars Schuyler Fisk, Wendie Malick and Lea Thompson in a show about employees at rival chicken restaurants in a small town. The eight-episode series is based on a novel of the same name.
Natasha Rothwell of “Insecure” and “The White Lotus” fame created and stars in a new heartfelt comedy for Hulu called “How to Die Alone.” She plays Mel, a broke, go-along-to-getalong, single airport employee who, after a near-death experience, makes the conscious decision to take risks and pursue her dreams. Rothwell has worked on the series for the past eight years and described it to The AP as “the most vulnerable piece of art I’ve ever put into the world.” Like Mel, Rothwell had to learn to bet on herself to make the show she wanted to make. “There’s significant overlap in the Venn diagram of me and Mel,” said Rothwell. It premieres Friday on Hulu.
Shailene Woodley, DeWanda Wise and Betty Gilpin star in a new drama for Starz called “Three Women.” The series is about entrepreneur Sloane, homemaker Lina and student Maggie, who are each stepping into their power and making life-changing decisions. They’re interviewed by a writer
named Gia (Woodley). The series is based on a 2019 best-selling book by Lisa Taddeo. “Three Women” premieres Friday on Starz.
Stallone’s second season of “Tulsa King” debuts Sunday on Paramount+. Stallone plays Dwight Manfredi, a mafia boss recently released from prison after serving 25 years. He’s sent to Tulsa to set up a new crime syndicate. The series is created by Taylor Sheridan of “Yellowstone” fame.
VIDEO GAMES TO PLAY
One thing about Focus Entertainment’s Warhammer 40,000 title, Space Marine 2 — you know exactly what you’re in for. You are Demetrian Titus, a genetically enhanced brute sent into battle against the Tyranids, an insectoid species with an insatiable craving for human flesh. You have a rocket-powered suit of armor and an arsenal of ridiculous weapons like the “Chainsword,” the “Thunderhammer,” and the “Melta Rifle,” so what could go wrong? Besides the squishy single-player mode, there are cooperative missions and six-vs.-six free-for-alls. You can suit up and play on PlayStation 5, Xbox X/S or PC. Likewise, Wild Bastards isn’t exactly the kind of title that will attract fans of Animal Crossing. It’s another sci-fi shooter, but the protagonists are a gang of 13 creatures — aliens and androids included — on the run from the law. This Wild-West-in-space spinoff has the same snarky humor and vibrant, neon-drenched cartoon look. Saddle up Thursday on PlayStation 5, Xbox X/S, Nintendo
or
Switch
PC.
/ ROADSIDE
The films “Uglies,” from left, “Boy Kills World” and “Civil War” are streaming this week.
IPECAC RECORDINGS VIA AP
“Rack” by Austin noise rock band The Jesus Lizard drops Friday.
Cailee Spaeny, left, and Kirsten Dunst star in “Civil War,” which debuts Friday on Max.
STATE & NATION
Ga. school shooting highlights fears about classroom cellphone bans
Parents worry that they wouldn’t be able to reach their children in an emergency
By Andrew DeMillo
The Associated Press
Huddling for safety in classrooms as gunfire rang out, students at Apalachee High School texted or called their parents to let them know what was happening and send what they thought could be their final messages. One student texted her mother to say she loved her, adding, “I’m sorry I’m not the best daughter.”
The Georgia school shooting that left four dead and nine injured last week was every parent’s worst nightmare, and one that highlights potential downsides to efforts among states, school districts and federal lawmakers to ban or restrict access to cellphones in classrooms.
The moves to restrict phone use in schools have been driven by concerns about the impact screen time has on children’s mental health and complaints
from teachers that cellphones have become a constant distraction in the classroom. But those opposed to the bans say they cut off a lifeline parents have to make sure their children are safe during school shootings or other emergencies.
“The fact of the matter is parents and families cannot rely on schools to effectively communicate with us in times of emergency, and this has happened time and again,” said Keri Rodrigues, president of the National Parents Union, an education advocacy group. “There’s a whole host of reasons why parents are deeply concerned about whether or not they’re going to get timely information about whether or not their kids are safe.”
Nationally, 77% of U.S. schools say they prohibit cellphones at school for nonacademic use, according to the National Center for Education Statistics. But that number is misleading. It does not mean students are following those bans or all those schools are enforcing them.
The restrictions have been
trumpeted by both Republican and Democratic governors who rarely agree on other issues.
In Arkansas, GOP Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders launched a program for school districts to apply for grants to purchase pouches for students to keep their phones in during the school day. In California, Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom has urged school districts to restrict cellphone use and is weighing whether to sign legislation that would require schools to enact restrictions.
“I’d hate to see another school shooting be the reason that we bring TVs into the classroom and then disrupt our children’s education,” Newsom said Friday. “Because, in essence, that’s what a cellphone is equivalent to — bringing a TV into the classroom and disrupting the ability to get quality academic time.”
But for many students caught in the Apalachee shooting, having access to their phones was the only way they could communicate with loved ones during moments they feared could be their last.
“I love you. I love you so much.
Ma I love you,” Junior Julie Sandoval texted her mother. “I’m sorry I’m not the best daughter. I love you.”
Nearby, Sandoval said, another student was on the phone telling their mother, “They’re shooting up the school! They’re shooting up the school!”
But advocates of school phone restrictions warn that allowing access to phones during shootings or other emergencies could put students in even more danger.
“What’s even more important to me is their safety,” said Kim Whitman, co-founder of the Phone-Free Schools Movement, a group that advo -
cates for schools to adopt policies keeping cellphones off and away from students. “If my child was on the phone with me and they missed guidance from the teacher because they were distracted by their phone and they weren’t safe, that’s a worse scenario in my mind.”
Broward County schools in Florida now require students to keep their phones stored away and in airplane mode, but Scire has told her daughter to keep her phone on and with her.
“It’s not about me texting my daughter during regular school or anything like that,” Scire said. “It’s a safety measure and I’m sorry, I cannot let that go.”
Austin: Temporary budget would have devastating effects on military
The Pentagon chief warned Congress in a letter
By Lolita C. Baldor
The Associated Press
WASHINGTON, D.C. — Passage of a six-month temporary spending bill would have widespread and devastating effects on the Defense Department, Pentagon chief Lloyd Austin said in a letter to key members of Congress on Sunday.
Austin said that passing a continuing resolution that caps spending at 2024 levels, rather than taking action on the proposed 2025 budget will hurt thousands of defense programs, and damage military recruiting just as it is beginning to recover after the COVID-19 pandemic.
“Asking the department to compete with (China), let alone manage conflicts in Europe and the Middle East, while under a lengthy CR, ties our hands behind our back while expecting us to be agile and to accelerate progress,” said Austin in the letter to leaders of the House and Senate appropriations committees.
Republican House Speaker Mike Johnson has teed up a vote this week on a bill that would keep the federal government funded for six more months. The measure aims to garner support from his more conservative GOP members by also requiring states to obtain proof of citizenship, such as a birth certificate or passport, when registering a person to vote.
Congress needs to approve a stop-gap spending bill before the end of the budget year on Sept. 30 to avoid a government shutdown just a few weeks before voters go to the polls and elect the next president.
Austin said the stop-gap measure would cut defense spending by more than $6 billion compared to the 2025 spending proposal. And it would take money from key new priorities while overfunding programs that no longer need it.
array of congressional districts and could also have an impact on local residents and jobs.
Since the bill would not fund legally required pay raises for troops and civilians, the department would have to find other cuts to offset them. Those cuts could halt enlistment bonuses, delay training for National Guard and Reserve forces, limit flying hours and other training for active-duty troops and impede the replacement of weapons and other equipment that has been pulled from Pentagon stocks and sent to Ukraine.
Going forward with the continuing resolution, said Austin, will “subject service members and their families to unnecessary stress, empower our adversaries, misalign billions of dollars, damage our readiness, and impede our ability to react to emergent events.”
Noting that there have been 48 continuing resolutions during 14 of the last 15 fiscal years — for a total of nearly 1,800 days — Austin said Congress must break the pattern of inaction because the U.S. military can’t compete with China “with our hands tied behind our back every fiscal year.”
It also would slow progress on several key nuclear, ship-building, high-tech drone and other weapons programs.
Many of those projects are in an
Under a continuing resolution, new projects or programs can’t be started. Austin said that passing the temporary bill would stall more than $4.3 billion in research and development projects and delay 135 new military housing and construction projects totaling nearly $10 billion.
Johnson’s bill is not expected to get support in the Democratic-controlled Senate, if it even makes it that far. But Congress will have to pass some type of temporary measure by Sept. 30 to avoid a shutdown.
LEA SUZUKI / SAN FRANCISCO CHRONICLE VIA AP
Student uses their cell phones after unlocking the pouch that secures them from use during the school day in San Mateo, California.
KEVIN WOLF / AP PHOTO
Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin, pictured in July, warned Congress that a proposed temporary spending bill would handcuff the military.
HOKE COUNTY
The final frontier
Polaris Dawn, a private SpaceX mission that will see humans travel farther from Earth than any since the Apollo program a half-century ago, lifted off from Cape Canaveral, Florida, late Monday. The rocket’s plume was visible across the Eastern seaboard, including from Asheboro, where this picture was taken. The Polaris Dawn crew is scheduled to attempt the world’s first private spacewalk on Thursday.
WHAT’S HAPPENING
Child care affordability program launches in Hoke County
After a pilot period, the NC Tri-Share child care program has launched in Hoke County. Designed to help families deal with the high cost of child care, the Tri-Share program was funded by the general assembly last year. It’s a public and private partnership that splits the cost of child care equally between employers, employees and the state. To qualify, a family member must be employed by a participating business, have a household income between 185% and 300% of the federal poverty level, and be ineligible for other child care subsidies. To apply or learn more, visit pfcfmc.org
N.C.
public colleges launch simplified application process
The state this week introduced NC College Connect, a streamlined college application process for North Carolina public high school seniors. Launching for the 2025-26 academic year, the program allows qualifying students with a weighted GPA of 2.8 or above to bypass traditional application procedures at participating institutions. Six UNC System universities and all 58 North Carolina community colleges are part of the pilot program. Eligible high school seniors will receive invitation letters next month and can apply to schools during College Application Week, Oct. 21 to 27. State leaders hoped to increase the accessibility of higher education by reducing red tape and removing barriers to collegiate opportunities. The initiative complements existing financial aid opportunities like the Next NC Scholarship that allows some students to attend public colleges for free.
Hoke County Schools sees risers, fallers in 2023-24 school accountability grades
The district had four schools improve and four fall in the assessment
By Ryan Henkel North State Journal
RAEFORD — Hoke Coun-
ty got to see where its schools currently stand as the 2023-24 School Accountability Grades were released last week by the State Board of Education.
At its Sept. 10 meeting, the Hoke County Schools Board of Education was presented with the School Accountability Grades for the district.
“The school performance grade is based on 80% achievement and 20% growth and the final grade is based on a 15-point scale,” said Director of Testing and Accountability Melissa Bryant-Ward.
Tested subjects include reading, math, science and EL progress at the elementary and middle school levels, and English, math, biology, graduation rates, ACT scores and EL progress at the high school level.
In total, one school received an A grade, seven received a C grade, four received a D grade and one received an F grade.
The lone A-rated school was SandHoke Early College, which scored a 93 overall, five points higher than last year.
The F-rated school was Hawk Eye Elementary School, which saw its score drop from 42, a D, to 35.
Four schools saw an improvement in letter grade from last year’s rating with an average increase in score of 5.75 points, however just as many saw a drop in letter
grade from last year with an average decrease in score of 5.5 points.
Also, six schools met the growth standard, four did not meet it, three exceeded it and five received a low-performing designation from the state, although the district was not designated as a low-performing district.
The school scores are as follows with last year’s score and grade coming before the current score and grade: Don Steed Elementary (5964, C-C); East Hoke Middle (44-43, D-D); Hawk Eye Elementary (42-35, D-F); Hoke County High (71-65, B-C); McLauchlin Elementary (5150, D-D); Rockfish Hoke Elementary (66-59, C-C); Sandhoke Early College (88-93, A-A); Sandy Grove Elementary (53-61, D-C); Sandy Grove
Overall, HCS saw a very slight increase in total overall grade.
“I’m very happy that Scurlock, Upchurch, Sandy Grove Elementary and Sandy Grove Middle came off the low-performing list,” said Superintendent Kenneth Spells. “I’m also very happy about the fact that both high schools exceed growth. There’s a lot of positives — still some stuff we can work on, no question — but I am very happy any time a school comes off that list.”
The board was also provided with an update on an
See SCHOOLS, page A2
male, wrangled for months before accepting the structure of the United States government that continues today.
The recently discovered version was found in a filing cabinet, dating back to 1787
By Jeffrey Collins The Associated Press
ASHEVILLE — Historical document appraiser and collector Seth Kaller spreads a broad sheet of paper across a desk. It’s in good enough condition that he can handle it, carefully, with clean, bare hands. There are just a few creases and tiny discolorations, even though it’s just a few weeks shy of 237 years old and has spent who knows how long inside a filing cabinet in North Carolina.
At the top of the first page are familiar words but in regular type instead of the sweep-
ing Gothic script we’re used to seeing: “WE, the People ...”
And the people will get a chance to bid for this copy of the U.S. Constitution — the only of its type thought to be in private hands — at a sale by Brunk Auctions on Sept. 28 in Asheville.
The minimum bid for the auction of $1 million has already been made. There is no minimum price that must be reached.
This copy was printed after the Constitutional Convention finished drafting the proposed framework of the nation’s government in 1787 and sent it to the Congress of the ineffective first American governmentunder the Articles of Confederation, requesting they send it to the states to be ratified by the people.
It’s one of about 100 copies
The copy was found inside a squat, two‑drawer metal filing cabinet with a can of stain on top, in a long‑neglected room piled high with old chairs and a dusty book case.
printed by the secretary of that Congress, Charles Thomson. Just eight are known to still exist, and the other seven are publicly owned. Thomson likely signed two copies for each of the original 13 states, essentially certifying them. They were sent to special ratifying conventions, where representatives, all white and
“This is the point of connection between the government and the people. The Preamble — ‘we the people’ — this is the moment the government is asking the people to empower them,” auctioneer Andrew Brunk said. What happened to the document up for auction between Thomson’s signature and 2022 isn’t known.
Two years ago, a property was being cleared out in Edenton in eastern North Carolina that was once owned by Samuel Johnston. He was the governor of North Carolina from 1787 to 1789 and he oversaw the state
See AUCTION, page A2
TREY SNOW FOR NORTH STATE JOURNAL
from page A1
agreement between Hoke County Schools and the National Center for Families Learning on the implementation of family-based literacy engagement activities using Family Education Center grant funds.
“This is an initiative that is designed to enhance family engagement and student achievement together by working with families and creating those strong partnerships between home and school,” said Executive Director of Digital Teaching and Learning Dawn Ramseur. “The grant will provide targeted support to both students and their families in our school district.”
According to Ramseur, the district will leverage school data and hold conversations with principals to target the schools where the program will be most beneficial with a minimum of 20 families needing to be recruited.
“They didn’t give us a maximum, so we’re going to try to see how much is possible,” Ramseur said.
The grant provides $30,000 annually for three years, and according to Ramseur, there are additional monetary incentives for families who participate and successfully complete the program that could raise the total funding to more than $100,000.
“The core of this program is to empower parents and caregivers to become actively involved in their child’s education through workshops, resources and ongoing support so that families will be better equipped to help their children succeed academically,” Ramseur said.
In addition, the board also approved three items: an update to its nurses salary schedule to more align with the state’s schedule, a twoyear renewal of the legal services contract with Poyner Spruill and the submission of its 2024-25 Needs Based Public School Capital Fund grant application requesting up to $42 million in funding for the construction of East Hoke Elementary School.
The Hoke County Schools Board of Education will next meet Oct. 8.
THURSDAY
COMMUNITY GIVE BACK DAY
convention during his last year in office that ratified the Constitution.
The copy was found inside a squat, two-drawer metal filing cabinet with a can of stain on top, in a long-neglected room piled high with old chairs and a dusty book case, before the old Johnston house was preserved. The document was a broad sheet that could be folded one time like a book.
“I get calls every week from people who think they have a Declaration of Independence or a Gettysburg Address and most of the time it is just a replica, but every so often something important gets found,” said Kaller, who appraises, buys and sells historic documents.
“This is a whole other level of importance,” he added.
Along with the Constitution on the broad sheet printed front and back is a letter from George Washington asking for ratification. He acknowledged there will have to be compromise and that rights the states enjoyed will have to be given up for the nation’s long-term health.
“To secure all rights of independent sovereignty to each and yet provide for the interest and safety for all — individuals entering into society must give up a share of liberty to preserve the rest,” wrote the man who would become the first U.S. president.
Brunk isn’t sure what the document might go for because there is so little to compare it to. The last time a copy of the Constitution like this sold was for $400 in 1891. In 2021, Sotheby’s of New York sold one of only 14 remaining copies of the Constitution printed for the Continental Congress and delegates to the Constitutional Convention for $43.2 million, a record for a book or document.
But that document was meant to be distributed to the founding fathers as delegates to the Constitutional Convention. The signed copy being sold later this month was one meant to be sent to leaders in every state so people all around the country could review and decide if that’s how they wanted to be governed, connecting the writers of the Constitution to the people in the states who would provide its power and legitimacy.
The auction listing doesn’t identify the seller, saying its part of a collection that is in private hands.
Other items up for auction in Asheville including a 1776 first draft of the Articles of Confederation and a 1788 Journal of the Convention of North Carolina at Hillsborough where representatives spent two weeks debating if ratifying the Constitution would put too much power with the nation instead of the states.
AUCTION from page A1
THE CONVERSATION
Neal Robbins, publisher | Frank Hill, senior opinion editor
VISUAL VOICES
COLUMN | DAVID HARSANYI
Kamala Harris’ banana republic on free speech
Mark Zuckerberg recently admitted that senior Biden administration officials “repeatedly pressured” Facebook to “censor” COVID 19 content.
IN 2019, VICE PRESIDENT Kamala Harris told CNN’s Jake Tapper that social media companies “are directly speaking to millions and millions of people without any level of oversight or regulation and it has to stop.” Does it?
Every two-bit authoritarian in history has justified censoring its citizens as a way of protecting them from the menace of disinformation.
But social media sites, contra the reliably illiberal Harris, aren’t “directly speaking” to anyone. Millions of individuals are interacting and speaking to millions of other individuals. Really, that’s what grinds the modern left’s gears: unsupervised conversations.
Take the Brazilian Supreme Court panel that unanimously upheld the decision by one of its justices to shut down Elon Musk’s X over alleged “misinformation” fears.
We must assume that the Democratic Party’s presidential nominee, who once promised to ban guns via an executive order, agrees with Justice Alexandre de Moraes’s decision to shut down a social media platform for refusing to bend to the state’s demands of censorship.
The Associated Press reports that the Brazilian high court’s decision “undermines the effort by Musk and his supporters to cast Justice Alexandre de Moraes as an authoritarian renegade who is intent on censoring political speech in Brazil.”
Really? Because it seems to me that the state shuttering one of the popular social media sites unmistakably qualifies as a ban
on political speech, whether one person is responsible or an entire government.
And make no mistake, it is politically motivated. “Just because the guy has a lot of money doesn’t mean he can disrespect this (country),” Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva argued. Well, the South American nation’s constitution, like ours, apparently protects free expression — making no distinction between the poor and rich: “Any and all censorship of a political, ideological, and artistic nature is prohibited.” You can tell Brazil is super serious about the matter because the bullet point appears in Chapter V, Article 220, or page 148 in my translated copy.
Let’s concede, however, that de Moraes isn’t any kind of renegade, merely a conventional Brazilian autocrat. In the same way, Musk isn’t merely another billionaire but a tech CEO who generally views free expression as a neutral principle.
I suppose the best evidence for this claim is the fact that even as Brazil bans Musk’s site, he allows the far-left Lula to have an account on X with 9 million followers.
In Europe, free expression is also ostensibly protected by the constitution. Well, the right is contingent on “national security,” “territorial disorder,” “crime,” “health” and other highly malleable issues that ultimately allow police officers in the United Kingdom and Germany to show up at your door and throw you in prison for offensive posts.
As the late Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia once pointed out, “Every Banana Republic has a Bill of Rights.” The
question is: How close are we to being one?
Uncomfortably close is the answer.
Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg recently admitted that senior Biden administration officials “repeatedly pressured” Facebook to “censor” COVID-19 content, including “humor and satire,” during the pandemic. Zuckerberg vowed that he would never let his company be pushed around again. I’m sorry if we don’t take him at his word. Tech companies enjoy unencumbered free association rights and are free to keep or kick off anyone they desire from their platform, as they should. Before Musk’s purchase of Twitter, now known as X, contemporary left-wingers celebrated the independence of social media platforms. “If you don’t like it, build your own Twitter,” they would say.
OK. But when corporations, who often spend tens of millions each year in Washington rent-seeking and lobbying for favorable regulations, take marching orders from state officials and giant federal bureaucracies on the contours of permissible speech, we have a big problem. If presidential candidates truly cared about “democracy,” they’d be advocating anti-cronyism laws and forbidding government officials from interfering with or pressuring private entities on speech. But, these days, many Americans no longer view free expression as a neutral, liberal virtue worth defending. Foremost among them, apparently, is the Democratic presidential ticket.
David Harsanyi is a senior editor at The Federalist.
Tailwinds, headwinds and the 2024 presidential race
There is a gradual shift away from Big Government Socialism and extreme agendas towards Free Market Capitalism and common values.
THE PROPAGANDA MEDIA is doing everything it can to promote and protect Vice President Kamala Harris and weaken and undermine President Donald J. Trump. In some ways, the 2024 campaign is like a sailboat race in which Harris has a permanent tailwind and Trump is fighting a permanent headwind. In many ways, it is like what President Ronald Reagan faced in the 1979-80 campaign — and what we faced during the 1994 Contract with America campaign. Harris has two great advantages. First, the elite media is passionately dedicated to her winning. This is why Time magazine printed a cover of a retouched, iconic picture of Harris (something for which no Republican candidate could ever hope).
By contrast, consider how the media treats Trump. He went to Arlington National Cemetery to honor the 13 young Americans who were killed during the Biden-Harris team’s incompetent, disastrous withdrawal from Afghanistan. Trump had been invited by Gold Star families to honor their lost sons and daughters. He was showing a level of compassion and concern for these families, who President Joe Biden and Vice President Harris have tried to ignore. Immediately after the initial,
unavoidably favorable coverage, the elite media discovered that an employee of the cemetery had argued with a member of Trump’s team. The media promptly tried to turn the entire event into an inappropriate, almost scandalous exploitation of dead Americans. Harris issued a scathing statement attacking Trump for the visit.
The negative focus on the visit would have been a net negative for Trump except for one factor the news media failed to take into account: The Gold Star families had invited Trump. They were furious at the Biden-Harris administration’s attitude toward their loved ones and the visit. They started appearing on television to make that clear.
By the end of the skirmish, Trump’s visit had been vindicated. The Gold Star families changed the entire narrative in ways the media couldn’t ignore. The country was reminded of the BidenHarris administration’s failure, which got these brave men and women killed in the first place.
Note how many things had to fall into place for the propaganda media to lose what they clearly thought would be a solid attack on Trump.
Harris also has a great majority of the bureaucrats who see Trump’s championing of reform as a direct threat to their jobs and power. The bureaucrats
at the Department of Justice have worked nonstop to put Trump in jail, keep him tied down with trials and exhaust his finances with lawyer fees.
The bureaucrats in the Secret Service failed to adequately protect Trump. It was only by divine intervention that he was not killed by a gunman at his rally in Butler, Pennsylvania. The Secret Service is of course now trying to slow-walk the investigation into its performance.
Despite the prevailing political winds, Republicans have a secret advantage. Underneath the head- and tailwinds, there is an enormous current of public conversation — and a gradual shift away from big government socialism and extreme agendas towards free market capitalism and common values. This underlying current gives conservative, reform-oriented candidates a huge advantage over left-wing, status quo candidates.
The 2024 election will ultimately match the media-bureaucratic tailwind against the stronger underlying current of Americans who reject big government socialism, extreme ideas and propaganda. On the surface, the winds may seem to blow with Harris, but the deeper current is pushing Trump.
Newt Gingrich was the 50th Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives.
Filipino preacher surrenders on sexual abuse charges
Apollo Quiboloy had been on the run since earlier this year
By Jim Gomez The Associated Press
MANILA, Philippines — A Filipino preacher accused of sexual abuse and human trafficking in the Philippines and similar charges in the United States surrendered Sunday to authorities in his religious complex in the south and flown to Manila where he was put in police detention, officials said.
Apollo Quiboloy and four other co-accused surrendered in the vast religious headquarters of their group, called Kingdom of Jesus Christ, in Davao City after the police gave a 24-hour ultimatum for them to give up, police said. Interior Secretary Benhur Abalos earlier said Quiboloy was caught by authorities.
Quiboloy and his co-accused were flown on a Philippine air force C-130 plane to the capital Sunday night and locked up in a heavily guarded detention center at the national police head-
quarters where their mugshots and fingerprints were taken, police spokesperson Col. Jean Fajardo said in a news briefing.
“The Philippine National Police gave an ultimatum for them to surrender, otherwise, we would raid a particular building, where we’ve been barred from entering,” Fajardo said, add-
ing that the warning led to their peaceful surrender.
Quiboloy went into hiding earlier this year after a Philippine court ordered his arrest and several others on allegations of suspicion of child and sexual abuse and human trafficking, Fajarto said. The Philippine Senate separately ordered
Quiboloy’s arrest for refusing to appear in public committee hearings that were looking into criminal allegations against him.
President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. had urged Quiboloy to surrender and assured him of fair treatment by authorities.
The preacher and his lawyer denied the allegations against him, saying they were fabricated by critics and former members who were removed from the religious group.
In 2021, United States federal prosecutors announced the indictment of Quiboloy for allegedly having sex with women and underage girls who faced threats of abuse and “eternal damnation” unless they catered to the self-proclaimed “son of God.”
Quiboloy and two of his top administrators were among nine people named in a superseding indictment returned by a federal grand jury and unsealed in November 2021. It contained a raft of charges, including conspiracy, sex trafficking of children, sex trafficking by force, fraud and coercion, marriage
fraud, money laundering, cash smuggling and visa fraud.
The U.S. Embassy in Manila referred requests for comments to Philippine authorities.
Last month, about 2,000 police backed by riot squads raided the vast religious compound of Quiboloy in Davao in a chaotic operation as large numbers of his followers turned up to oppose the raid.
The police brought equipment that could detect people hiding in underground tunnels but did not find him in the 75acre compound that includes a cathedral, stadium, school, residential area, hangar and taxiway leading to Davao International Airport.
In 2019, Quiboloy claimed he stopped a major earthquake from hitting the southern Philippines.
He was also a close supporter and spiritual adviser of former President Rodrigo Duterte, who is being investigated by the International Criminal Court in connection with the extrajudicial killings by police of thousands of mostly poor drug suspects.
Brazil’s X ban drives Bolsonaro supporters to rally for ‘free speech’
By Eléonore Hughes and Gabriela Sá Pessoa
The Associated Press
SAO PAULO — Thousands of supporters of former Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro flooded Sao Paulo’s main boulevard for an Independence Day rally Saturday, buoyed by the government’s blocking of tech billionaire Elon Musk’s X platform, a ban they say is proof of their political persecution. A few thousand demonstrators, clad in the yellow-and-green colors of Brazil’s flag, poured onto Av. Paulista. References to the ban on X and images of Musk abounded.
“Thank you for defending our freedom,” read one banner praising the tech entrepreneur.
Saturday’s march was seen as a test of Bolsonaro’s capacity to mobilize turnout ahead of the October municipal elections even though Brazil’s electoral court has barred him from running for office until 2030. It’s also something of a referendum on X, whose suspension has raised eyebrows even among some of Bolsonaro’s opponents all the while stoking the flames of Brazil’s deep-seated political polarization.
Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes ordered X’s nationwide ban on Aug. 30 af-
ter months of feuding with Musk over the limits of free speech. The powerful judge has spearheaded efforts to ban far-right users from spreading misinformation on social media, and he ramped up his clampdown after die-hard Bolsonaro supporters ransacked Congress and the presidential palace on Jan. 8, 2023, in an attempt to overturn Bolsonaro’s defeat in the presidential election.
On Saturday, Bolsonaro called Moraes a “dictator” and called on Brazil’s Senate to impeach the judge. He also repeated the false claim that President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva had colluded with the judiciary to steal the 2022 election.
“They want to censor the truth, so the people don’t know the truth,” Bolsonaro, with a raspy voice from a virus that sent him
to the hospital earlier in the day, told the crowd.
Such comments are red meat to Bolsonaro’s supporters, who have lauded Musk’s defiance of Brazil’s judiciary.
“Elon Musk has been a warrior for freedom of speech,” staunch Bolsonaro ally and lawmaker Bia Kicis said in an interview. “The right is being oppressed, massacred because the left doesn’t want the right to exist.”
“Our liberties are in danger, we need to make our voices heard. De Moraes is a tyrant, he should be impeached, and people on the streets is the only thing that will convince politicians to do it,” added retiree Amaro Santos as he walked down the thoroughfare Saturday, Musk, a self-proclaimed “free speech absolutist,” has also urged
Brazilians to turn out in droves for the rally, resharing someone else’s post claiming that X’s ban had awakened people “to the fact that freedom isn’t free and needs to be fought for.” He’s also created an X account, named for the controversial jurist, to publish sealed court orders directing X to shut down accounts deemed unlawful.
But De Moraes’ decision to ban X was far from arbitrary, having been upheld by fellow Supreme Court justices. And while expression, online and elsewhere, faces more prohibitions under Brazil’s laws than in the U.S., Musk has emerged as both a cause célèbre and a mouthpiece for unrestricted free speech.
Since 2019, X has shut down 226 accounts of far-right activities accused of undermining Brazil’s democracy, including those of lawmakers affiliated with Bolsonaro’s party, according to court records.
But when it refused to take action on some accounts, de Moraes warned last month that its legal representative could be arrested, prompting X to disband its local office. The U.S.-based company refused to name a new representative — as required in order to receive court notices — and de Moraes ordered its nationwide suspension until it did so.
A Supreme Court panel unanimously upheld de Moraes’ decision to block X days later, undermining Musk’s efforts to cast him as an authoritarian bent on censoring political speech.
The more controversial component of his ruling was the levy of a whopping $9,000 daily fine for regular Brazilians using virtual private networks (VPNs) to access X.
“Some of these measures that have been adopted by the Supreme Court appear to be quite onerous and abusive,” said Andrei Roman, CEO of Brazil-based pollster Atlas Intel.
In the lead-up to Saturday’s protest, some right-wing politicians defied de Moraes’ ban and brazenly used a VPN to publish posts on X, calling for people to partake in the protests.
The march in Sao Paulo is organized in parallel to official events to celebrate Brazil’s anniversary of independence from Portugal. Commemorations have been fraught with tension in recent years, as Bolsonaro used them while in office to rally supporters and show political strength.
Three years ago, he threatened to plunge the country into a constitutional crisis when he declared he would no longer abide de Moraes’ rulings. He has since toned down the attacks — a reflection of his own delicate legal situation.
Bolsonaro has been indicted twice since his term ended in 2022, most recently for alleged money laundering in connection with undeclared diamonds from Saudi Arabia. De Moraes is overseeing an investigation into the Jan. 8 riot, including whether Bolsonaro had a role in inciting it.
AP PHOTO
Filipino preacher Apollo Quiboloy, pictured in 2016, surrendered to authorities Sunday and is facing sexual abuse charges.
The social media platform has been banned in the country since Aug. 30
ETTORE CHIEREGUINI / AP PHOTO
Demonstrators take part in a protest calling for the impeachment of Supreme Court Minister Alexandre de Moraes, who recently imposed a nationwide block on X, in Sao Paulo on Saturday.
Randolph record
The final frontier
Polaris Dawn, a private SpaceX mission that will see humans travel farther from Earth than any since the Apollo program a half-century ago, lifted off from Cape Canaveral, Florida, late Monday. The rocket’s plume was visible across the Eastern seaboard, including from Asheboro, where this picture was taken. The Polaris Dawn crew is scheduled to attempt the world’s first private spacewalk on Thursday.
WHAT’S HAPPENING
N.C. public colleges launch simplified application process
The state this week introduced NC College Connect, a streamlined college application process for North Carolina public high school seniors. Launching for the 2025-26 academic year, the program allows qualifying students with a weighted GPA of 2.8 or above to bypass traditional application procedures at participating institutions.
Six UNC System universities and all 58 North Carolina community colleges are part of the pilot program. Eligible high school seniors will receive invitation letters next month and can apply to schools during College Application Week, Oct. 21 to 27. State leaders hoped to increase the accessibility of higher education by reducing red tape and removing barriers to collegiate opportunities. The initiative complements existing financial aid opportunities like the Next NC Scholarship that allows some students to attend public colleges for free.
Law enforcement
warns of email scam
Local law enforcement has issued an alert about a new scam targeting local residents.
Scammers are sending threatening emails that include photographs of victims’ properties and demand $2,000 in bitcoin. The emails warn that failure to pay will result in the release of sensitive personal information. The threats are designed to create fear and urgency, and residents are advised not to engage with or pay the scammers. Recipients of such emails should not respond or click any links and should report the incident to local law enforcement.
Asheboro Mayor Smith declines reelection bid
The four-term mayor cited various factors for opting out in 2025
By Bob Sutton Randolph Record
ASHEBORO — Mayor David Smith announced Friday that he will not run for reelection next year, ending a quarter-century run as an elected city official.
Smith said last Friday he thought it important to provide plenty of advance notice. “I wanted to make the announcement far enough out so anyone who wanted to run would be prepared.”
At 71, Smith had won four consecutive four-year terms
as mayor after serving on the Asheboro City Council for 12 years. He’ll serve through 2025, but someone else will end up atop the ballot next November.
“It’s not a lifetime position,” Smith said, noting that various factors went into his decision.
“Give someone else a chance.”
“If nobody is interested, does that mean you’ll come back?” asked council member Charles Swier at the council meeting where Smith made his announcement.
“Well, I’ve said many times, if the wrong people run for the wrong reasons, I may have to run again,” Smith replied. “But I can tell you I will not run for council either because that would not be fair to the new mayor.”
He said it would be good for the city to transition to new leadership, noting that it would be good for him as well as the mayor’s position can take a toll.
“It’s not as much fun as it used to be,” he said. “People criticize everything you do. Maybe I’m getting too thinskinned.”
City Manager John Ogburn will retire in early 2025, meaning Asheboro will see significant changes at the top next year. Smith said Ogburn’s impact has been special since he moved into the position in 2001. “I don’t want to spend a whole lot of time without John.”
“Mayor, I’m proud of you,” said Ogburn at the meeting.
“I don’t want to think about not being able to look down the table and see you,” said City Councilor Kelly Heath at the council meeting where Smith made his announcement. “Instead, I’m going to take great comfort in knowing that you’ll still be around, just in a different way. I’m glad that we’re going to have lots of time to celebrate you.”
Smith said he intends to stay involved in ways to help the city and Randolph County, but not as an elected official. “We still got things we want to do.”
“I appreciate you and all you’ve done for our city,” said councilmember Clark Bell at
See MAYOR, page A2
Asheboro Council hears multiple property matters
The council heard matters from covered seating to multifamily developments in its latest meeting
By Ryan Henkel Randolph Record
ASHEBORO — It was a busy agenda for the Asheboro City Council at its Sept. 5 regular business meeting as the council held five hearings all dealing with zoning or land use requests.
The first was for 0.9 acres of property located at 841 Cross St. to be zoned as an amended B2 (General Commercial) conditional zoning in order to construct a covered seating area, walk-in cooler and outdoor grill at an eating establishment (The Taco Loco).
“I’d love to see it go in there, but I personally think they need to show us a little more parking,” said council member Joey Trogdon.
The second was for a quarter-acre of property located at 308 Pineview St., 307-A and 307-B Quaker Drive from R10 to R7.5.
“Essentially, the property owner is looking to recombine the property in a manner that should you approve an R7.5 district here, that both properties would have sufficient land area that would allow both single family or two-family or a duplex unit to be constructed,” said Community Development Director Trevor Nuttall.
The third hearing was for 19.11 acres of property located at 343 N.C. Highway 42 N. to an amended B2 conditional zoning for improvements to the YMCA.
“The YMCA is proposing to replace an existing ballfield with an indoor soccer building and also to add additional parking for the new amenities,” Nuttall said. “There is also a potential, future outdoor pool that is shown on this plan.”
Following the hearings, the board approved all three requests.
The fourth hearing was for 1.52 acres of property located at 801 and 817 Sunset Ave. from OA6 and M(CZ) to OA6(CZ) in order to construct a multifamily development.
“The site plan identifies one
“What we strive to do is to make sure that what we end up with is the best it can be.”
Mayor David Smith
three-story building with a total of 52 units,” Nuttall said.
“There are 14 one-bedroom units and 38 two-bedroom apartments proposed.”
However, the council brought up concerns over the density and parking disparity in comparison to the size of the property.
“There are 83 off-street parking spaces proposed to serve the 52 units,” Nuttall said. “The ordinance requirement for parking for a traditional multifamily development such as this, based on the number and composition of the units shown generally, would require 107 parking spaces.”
“The stumbling block all along has been the number of parking spots. … If there’s not enough parking, there’s not
enough parking,” said Mayor David Smith. “What we strive to do is to make sure that what we end up with is the best it can be. That we don’t approve things that we know will be a problem or that we don’t invite problems unnecessarily.”
Despite those concerns, however, the council voted to approve the request 4-3 with Mayor Pro Tem Walker Moffitt and council members Charles Swiers, Clark Bell and Eddie Burks voting in favor of the motion. Council members Kelly Heath, Bill McCaskill and Joey Trogdon voted in opposition.
The council then held a quasi-judicial hearing for a special use permit request for 16.51 acres of property located at 749 Pineview Road in order to authorize new land uses under a
See COUNCIL, page A2
$2.00
TREY SNOW FOR RANDOLPH RECORD
Neal
Cory Lavalette, Senior Editor
Shawn Krest, Sports Editor
Bob
P.J.
David
Liberty teen’s death brings protests, charges
The N.C. Highway Patrol’s investigation lasted a couple of weeks after the accident
By Bob Sutton Randolph Record
GRAHAM – The death of teenager Daniela Trejo Mendiola near Liberty led to controversy and then an arrest last week.
The accident occurred in rural Alamance County not far from the Randolph County line.
Mendiola, 17, was a pedestrian when she was struck after dark on the night of Aug. 20 along Oak Grove Church Road. Despite the identity revealed of the driver of the vehicle involved in the incident, about
is 8963-B Pleasant Hill Church Road in Liberty.
The police report says that Mendiola died on the scene.
Brown appeared in court last Thursday. The next court date is set for Sept. 27.
two weeks passed without further resolution in the case.
Last week, demonstrations took place in downtown Graham with protesters demanding justice.
Then charges were filed Sept. 4 against Josh Thomas Brown, a Liberty man, for his alleged role in Mendiola’s death. He turned himself in.
The N.C. Highway Patrol cited “newfound information” in the decision to file criminal charges.
The charges listed included felony hit-and-run resulting in serious injury and death. Based on the police report, Brown left the scene, though he apparently returned prior to the arrival of the state police. He also was charged with a window tint violation.
The address for Brown, 38,
Red Cross schedules Sept. blood drives
Public health org offers t-shirts and gift cards for donations
Randolph Record staff
AFTER A BLOOD shortage this summer, the American Red Cross is holding a number of blood donation events throughout the month of September.
We stand corrected
To report an error or a suspected error, please email: corrections@nsjonline.com with “Correction request” in the subject line.
CRIME LOG
Sept. 4
• Lonnie Ransome Carlton, 48, of Snow Camp, was arrested by Randolph County Sheriff’s Office (RCSO) for possession of heroin, possession of methamphetamine, and obtaining property by false pretenses.
Sept. 5
• Carl Linville Hunt, 53, of Asheboro, was arrested by Asheboro Police Department (APD) for kidnapping, assault with a deadly weapon, and communicating threats.
• Junior James Johnson, 33, of Thomasville, was arrested by RCSO for obtaining property by false pretenses, possession of a stolen firearm, and non-support of a child (two counts).
• Stewart Devon Whitaker, 39, of Liberty, was arrested by Liberty Police Department for assault on a female and misdemeanor crime of domestic violence.
Sept. 6
• Gonzalo Pestana-Espinoza, 18, of Asheboro, was arrested by APD for possession of a stolen firearm, carrying a concealed gun, resisting a public officer, possession of up to 1/2 oz of marijuana, and possession of marijuana paraphernalia.
• Reyna Patricia Valencia, 48, of Asheboro, was arrested by APD for two counts of misdemeanor larceny and injury to personal property.
• Charles Christopher Williams, 32, of Asheboro, was arrested by APD for robbery
While all blood types are needed, there is a particular demand for type O blood donors and those willing to give platelets. Donations made before Sept. 15 get a Red Cross raglan T-shirt, while donations from Sept. 16 to 30 will get a $15 e-gift card to a merchant of their choice. See RedCrossBlood.org/Fall for more.
In Randolph County, there are events scheduled in Ashe-
with a dangerous weapon, possession of stolen goods, second-degree kidnapping, assault by pointing a gun, and simple assault.
• Wesley Daniel Thompson, 19, of Randleman, was arrested by RCSO for false report of mass violence on educational property, assault on a female, weapon on educational property (not gun), seconddegree trespass, carrying a concealed weapon, underage consumption of beer/wine, open container alcohol violation, and possession of marijuana paraphernalia.
Sept. 7
• Troy David Adams, 34, of Sophia, was arrested by RCSO for assault inflicting serious bodily injury.
• Jessica Faye Hester Reno, 46, of Asheboro, was arrested by RCSO for possession of drug paraphernalia, possession with intent to manufacture, sell or deliver Schedule I controlled substance, possession of up to 1/2 oz of marijuana, possession with intent to manufacture, sell or deliver Schedule II controlled substance, simple possession of Schedule II controlled substance, trafficking in opium or heroin, and trafficking in methamphetamine.
There has been confusion in one Randolph County community regarding the accident and case.
The Liberty Police Department isn’t directly involved in the case, though that agency issued a statement regarding the topic.
“Calling, emailing or messaging the Town of Liberty Town Hall, staff or Liberty Police Department will not assist you in your understandable quest for answers,” the statement said.
The Liberty statement also directed inquiries to the N.C. Highway Patrol and Alamance County District Attorney’s office.
“Neither the Liberty Police Department nor the Town of Liberty have any connection to the incident,” the statement said.
boro and Liberty over the next few weeks: Sept. 17: 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at YMCA Asheboro Randolph, 343 NC Hwy 42 North in Asheboro Sept. 18: 10 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. at Randolph Community Collection, 629 Industrial Park Dr. in Asheboro Sept. 25: 2:30 to 7 p.m. at Pleasant Union Church, 5929 Coble Church Rd. in Liberty
Schedule an appointment by visiting RedCrossBlood.org, calling 800-RED-CROSS, or by downloading the Red Cross Blood Donor App. Donators need a blood donor card, driver’s license or two other forms of identification at check-in.
• Shayna Michelle Smith, 30, of Asheboro, was arrested by RCSO for possession of drug paraphernalia, possession of heroin, possession of methamphetamine, and maintaining a vehicle/ dwelling place for controlled substances.
Sept. 8
• Eber Arroyo, 27, of Asheboro, was arrested by APD for no operator’s license, misdemeanor crime of domestic violence, driving while impaired, and reckless driving to endanger.
Sept. 9
• Davante Terrell Barnes, 28, of Asheboro, was arrested by APD for fleeing/eluding arrest with a motor vehicle, failure to heed light or siren, possession of up to 1/2 oz of marijuana, possession of marijuana paraphernalia, operating a vehicle with no insurance, no operator’s license, no registration card, and speeding.
• Daniel Angel Lopez, 23, of Asheboro, was arrested by APD for misuse of 911 system.
• John Robert Ferrell, 36, of Denton, was arrested by RCSO for felony possession of Schedule I controlled substance, felony possession of Schedule II controlled substance, and possession of drug paraphernalia.
• Mark Winston Ritter, 43, of Trinity, was arrested by RCSO for possession of stolen goods.
• Olrick Omar Robinson, 26, of Charlotte, was arrested by RCSO for felony fleeing/ eluding arrest with a motor vehicle, possession of up to 1/2 oz of marijuana, driving while license revoked, speeding in excess of 65 mph, and improper passing on right.
Share with your community! Send us your births, deaths, marriages, graduations and other announcements: community@randolphrecord.com | Weekly deadline is Monday at Noon
Here’s a quick look at what’s coming up in Randolph County:
Sept.
14
Fall Craft & Vendor Market at Whitaker Farms
9 a.m. to 4 p.m.
2991 Providence Church Road, Climax
Sept. 16
TeenZone
4 to 5 p.m.
Asheboro Public Library 201 Worth St.
Every Monday at 4 p.m., teens take over the TeenZone at the Asheboro Public Library! Asheboro Public Library TeenZone hosts programs for ages 12-plus, including arts and crafts, book clubs, tutoring nights and more. Free programs, no registration required. For more information, call 336-318-6804.
Sept.
17
Randolph County Farmers Market
2 to 6 p.m. 214 Park Drive, Archdale Asheboro Downtown Farmers Market
7 a.m. to 1 p.m.
134 S. Church St.
This is a growers-only market where you will find local, homegrown and home-processed products from Randolph County. The farmers featured are from diverse and minority backgrounds. For more information, call 336-626-1 240.
Sept.
19
Juvenile Crime Prevention Council Meeting
8:30 to 9:30 a.m. Meeting Room A 725 McDowell Road, Asheboro
MAYOR from page A1
the meeting. “People ask me about you and I’ve always said that you are the hardest working mayor I’ve ever known. You put this city’s interests before your own.”
In 2025, there will be four city council seats on the Asheboro ballot in addition to mayor. “It will be kind of a free -for-all,” Smith noted.
COUNCIL from page A1
special intensity allocation within the Back Creek Lake Watershed. According to Nuttall, those uses include manufacturing, processing and assembly with wholesale distribution and storage uses also permitted. The property is a residual property left from a prior industrial use and the new tenant — Alternative Performance Technologies, which is a steel fabrication and erection company — doesn’t plan to make any changes to the property, the footprint or the parking lot according to the applicant.
The board approved the request following the hearing.
The Asheboro City Council will next meet Oct. 10.
THE CONVERSATION
Neal Robbins, publisher | Frank Hill, senior opinion editor
VISUAL VOICES
COLUMN | DAVID HARSANYI
Kamala Harris’ banana republic on free speech
Mark Zuckerberg recently admitted that senior Biden administration officials “repeatedly pressured” Facebook to “censor” COVID-19 content.
IN 2019, VICE PRESIDENT Kamala Harris told CNN’s Jake Tapper that social media companies “are directly speaking to millions and millions of people without any level of oversight or regulation and it has to stop.” Does it?
Every two-bit authoritarian in history has justified censoring its citizens as a way of protecting them from the menace of disinformation.
But social media sites, contra the reliably illiberal Harris, aren’t “directly speaking” to anyone. Millions of individuals are interacting and speaking to millions of other individuals. Really, that’s what grinds the modern left’s gears: unsupervised conversations.
Take the Brazilian Supreme Court panel that unanimously upheld the decision by one of its justices to shut down Elon Musk’s X over alleged “misinformation” fears. We must assume that the Democratic Party’s presidential nominee, who once promised to ban guns via an executive order, agrees with Justice Alexandre de Moraes’s decision to shut down a social media platform for refusing to bend to the state’s demands of censorship.
The Associated Press reports that the Brazilian high court’s decision “undermines the effort by Musk and his supporters to cast Justice Alexandre de Moraes as an authoritarian renegade who is intent on censoring political speech in Brazil.”
Really? Because it seems to me that the state shuttering one of the popular social media sites unmistakably qualifies as a ban
on political speech, whether one person is responsible or an entire government.
And make no mistake, it is politically motivated. “Just because the guy has a lot of money doesn’t mean he can disrespect this (country),” Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva argued. Well, the South American nation’s constitution, like ours, apparently protects free expression — making no distinction between the poor and rich: “Any and all censorship of a political, ideological, and artistic nature is prohibited.” You can tell Brazil is super serious about the matter because the bullet point appears in Chapter V, Article 220, or page 148 in my translated copy.
Let’s concede, however, that de Moraes isn’t any kind of renegade, merely a conventional Brazilian autocrat. In the same way, Musk isn’t merely another billionaire but a tech CEO who generally views free expression as a neutral principle.
I suppose the best evidence for this claim is the fact that even as Brazil bans Musk’s site, he allows the far-left Lula to have an account on X with 9 million followers.
In Europe, free expression is also ostensibly protected by the constitution. Well, the right is contingent on “national security,” “territorial disorder,” “crime,” “health” and other highly malleable issues that ultimately allow police officers in the United Kingdom and Germany to show up at your door and throw you in prison for offensive posts.
As the late Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia once pointed out, “Every Banana Republic has a Bill of Rights.” The
question is: How close are we to being one?
Uncomfortably close is the answer.
Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg recently admitted that senior Biden administration officials “repeatedly pressured” Facebook to “censor” COVID-19 content, including “humor and satire,” during the pandemic. Zuckerberg vowed that he would never let his company be pushed around again. I’m sorry if we don’t take him at his word.
Tech companies enjoy unencumbered free association rights and are free to keep or kick off anyone they desire from their platform, as they should. Before Musk’s purchase of Twitter, now known as X, contemporary left-wingers celebrated the independence of social media platforms. “If you don’t like it, build your own Twitter,” they would say.
OK. But when corporations, who often spend tens of millions each year in Washington rent-seeking and lobbying for favorable regulations, take marching orders from state officials and giant federal bureaucracies on the contours of permissible speech, we have a big problem. If presidential candidates truly cared about “democracy,” they’d be advocating anti-cronyism laws and forbidding government officials from interfering with or pressuring private entities on speech.
But, these days, many Americans no longer view free expression as a neutral, liberal virtue worth defending. Foremost among them, apparently, is the Democratic presidential ticket.
David Harsanyi is a senior editor at The Federalist.
Tailwinds, headwinds and the 2024 presidential race
There is a gradual shift away from Big Government Socialism and extreme agendas towards Free Market Capitalism and common values.
THE PROPAGANDA MEDIA is doing everything it can to promote and protect Vice President Kamala Harris and weaken and undermine President Donald J. Trump. In some ways, the 2024 campaign is like a sailboat race in which Harris has a permanent tailwind and Trump is fighting a permanent headwind. In many ways, it is like what President Ronald Reagan faced in the 1979-80 campaign — and what we faced during the 1994 Contract with America campaign. Harris has two great advantages. First, the elite media is passionately dedicated to her winning. This is why Time magazine printed a cover of a retouched, iconic picture of Harris (something for which no Republican candidate could ever hope).
By contrast, consider how the media treats Trump. He went to Arlington National Cemetery to honor the 13 young Americans who were killed during the Biden-Harris team’s incompetent, disastrous withdrawal from Afghanistan. Trump had been invited by Gold Star families to honor their lost sons and daughters. He was showing a level of compassion and concern for these families, who President Joe Biden and Vice President Harris have tried to ignore. Immediately after the initial,
unavoidably favorable coverage, the elite media discovered that an employee of the cemetery had argued with a member of Trump’s team. The media promptly tried to turn the entire event into an inappropriate, almost scandalous exploitation of dead Americans. Harris issued a scathing statement attacking Trump for the visit.
The negative focus on the visit would have been a net negative for Trump except for one factor the news media failed to take into account: The Gold Star families had invited Trump. They were furious at the Biden-Harris administration’s attitude toward their loved ones and the visit. They started appearing on television to make that clear.
By the end of the skirmish, Trump’s visit had been vindicated. The Gold Star families changed the entire narrative in ways the media couldn’t ignore. The country was reminded of the BidenHarris administration’s failure, which got these brave men and women killed in the first place.
Note how many things had to fall into place for the propaganda media to lose what they clearly thought would be a solid attack on Trump.
Harris also has a great majority of the bureaucrats who see Trump’s championing of reform as a direct threat to their jobs and power. The bureaucrats
at the Department of Justice have worked nonstop to put Trump in jail, keep him tied down with trials and exhaust his finances with lawyer fees.
The bureaucrats in the Secret Service failed to adequately protect Trump. It was only by divine intervention that he was not killed by a gunman at his rally in Butler, Pennsylvania. The Secret Service is of course now trying to slow-walk the investigation into its performance.
Despite the prevailing political winds, Republicans have a secret advantage. Underneath the head- and tailwinds, there is an enormous current of public conversation — and a gradual shift away from big government socialism and extreme agendas towards free market capitalism and common values. This underlying current gives conservative, reform-oriented candidates a huge advantage over left-wing, status quo candidates.
The 2024 election will ultimately match the media-bureaucratic tailwind against the stronger underlying current of Americans who reject big government socialism, extreme ideas and propaganda. On the surface, the winds may seem to blow with Harris, but the deeper current is pushing Trump.
Newt Gingrich was the 50th Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives.
Filipino preacher surrenders on sexual abuse charges
Apollo Quiboloy had been on the run since earlier this year
By Jim Gomez The Associated Press
MANILA, Philippines — A Filipino preacher accused of sexual abuse and human trafficking in the Philippines and similar charges in the United States surrendered Sunday to authorities in his religious complex in the south and flown to Manila where he was put in police detention, officials said.
Apollo Quiboloy and four other co-accused surrendered in the vast religious headquarters of their group, called Kingdom of Jesus Christ, in Davao City after the police gave a 24-hour ultimatum for them to give up, police said. Interior Secretary Benhur Abalos earlier said Quiboloy was caught by authorities.
Quiboloy and his co-accused were flown on a Philippine air force C-130 plane to the capital Sunday night and locked up in a heavily guarded detention center at the national police head-
quarters where their mugshots and fingerprints were taken, police spokesperson Col. Jean Fajardo said in a news briefing.
“The Philippine National Police gave an ultimatum for them to surrender, otherwise, we would raid a particular building, where we’ve been barred from entering,” Fajardo said, add-
ing that the warning led to their peaceful surrender.
Quiboloy went into hiding earlier this year after a Philippine court ordered his arrest and several others on allegations of suspicion of child and sexual abuse and human trafficking, Fajarto said. The Philippine Senate separately ordered
Quiboloy’s arrest for refusing to appear in public committee hearings that were looking into criminal allegations against him.
President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. had urged Quiboloy to surrender and assured him of fair treatment by authorities.
The preacher and his lawyer denied the allegations against him, saying they were fabricated by critics and former members who were removed from the religious group.
In 2021, United States federal prosecutors announced the indictment of Quiboloy for allegedly having sex with women and underage girls who faced threats of abuse and “eternal damnation” unless they catered to the self-proclaimed “son of God.”
Quiboloy and two of his top administrators were among nine people named in a superseding indictment returned by a federal grand jury and unsealed in November 2021. It contained a raft of charges, including conspiracy, sex trafficking of children, sex trafficking by force, fraud and coercion, marriage
fraud, money laundering, cash smuggling and visa fraud.
The U.S. Embassy in Manila referred requests for comments to Philippine authorities.
Last month, about 2,000 police backed by riot squads raided the vast religious compound of Quiboloy in Davao in a chaotic operation as large numbers of his followers turned up to oppose the raid.
The police brought equipment that could detect people hiding in underground tunnels but did not find him in the 75acre compound that includes a cathedral, stadium, school, residential area, hangar and taxiway leading to Davao International Airport.
In 2019, Quiboloy claimed he stopped a major earthquake from hitting the southern Philippines.
He was also a close supporter and spiritual adviser of former President Rodrigo Duterte, who is being investigated by the International Criminal Court in connection with the extrajudicial killings by police of thousands of mostly poor drug suspects.
Brazil’s X ban drives Bolsonaro supporters to rally for ‘free speech’
By Eléonore Hughes and Gabriela Sá Pessoa
The Associated Press
SAO PAULO — Thousands of supporters of former Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro flooded Sao Paulo’s main boulevard for an Independence Day rally Saturday, buoyed by the government’s blocking of tech billionaire Elon Musk’s X platform, a ban they say is proof of their political persecution. A few thousand demonstrators, clad in the yellow-and-green colors of Brazil’s flag, poured onto Av. Paulista. References to the ban on X and images of Musk abounded.
“Thank you for defending our freedom,” read one banner praising the tech entrepreneur.
Saturday’s march was seen as a test of Bolsonaro’s capacity to mobilize turnout ahead of the October municipal elections even though Brazil’s electoral court has barred him from running for office until 2030. It’s also something of a referendum on X, whose suspension has raised eyebrows even among some of Bolsonaro’s opponents all the while stoking the flames of Brazil’s deep-seated political polarization.
Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes ordered X’s nationwide ban on Aug. 30 af-
ter months of feuding with Musk over the limits of free speech. The powerful judge has spearheaded efforts to ban far-right users from spreading misinformation on social media, and he ramped up his clampdown after die-hard Bolsonaro supporters ransacked Congress and the presidential palace on Jan. 8, 2023, in an attempt to overturn Bolsonaro’s defeat in the presidential election.
On Saturday, Bolsonaro called Moraes a “dictator” and called on Brazil’s Senate to impeach the judge. He also repeated the false claim that President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva had colluded with the judiciary to steal the 2022 election.
“They want to censor the truth, so the people don’t know the truth,” Bolsonaro, with a raspy voice from a virus that sent him
to the hospital earlier in the day, told the crowd.
Such comments are red meat to Bolsonaro’s supporters, who have lauded Musk’s defiance of Brazil’s judiciary.
“Elon Musk has been a warrior for freedom of speech,” staunch Bolsonaro ally and lawmaker Bia Kicis said in an interview. “The right is being oppressed, massacred because the left doesn’t want the right to exist.”
“Our liberties are in danger, we need to make our voices heard.
De Moraes is a tyrant, he should be impeached, and people on the streets is the only thing that will convince politicians to do it,” added retiree Amaro Santos as he walked down the thoroughfare Saturday, Musk, a self-proclaimed “free speech absolutist,” has also urged
Brazilians to turn out in droves for the rally, resharing someone else’s post claiming that X’s ban had awakened people “to the fact that freedom isn’t free and needs to be fought for.” He’s also created an X account, named for the controversial jurist, to publish sealed court orders directing X to shut down accounts deemed unlawful.
But De Moraes’ decision to ban X was far from arbitrary, having been upheld by fellow Supreme Court justices. And while expression, online and elsewhere, faces more prohibitions under Brazil’s laws than in the U.S., Musk has emerged as both a cause célèbre and a mouthpiece for unrestricted free speech.
Since 2019, X has shut down 226 accounts of far-right activities accused of undermining Brazil’s democracy, including those of lawmakers affiliated with Bolsonaro’s party, according to court records.
But when it refused to take action on some accounts, de Moraes warned last month that its legal representative could be arrested, prompting X to disband its local office. The U.S.-based company refused to name a new representative — as required in order to receive court notices — and de Moraes ordered its nationwide suspension until it did so.
A Supreme Court panel unanimously upheld de Moraes’ decision to block X days later, undermining Musk’s efforts to cast him as an authoritarian bent on censoring political speech.
The more controversial component of his ruling was the levy of a whopping $9,000 daily fine for regular Brazilians using virtual private networks (VPNs) to access X.
“Some of these measures that have been adopted by the Supreme Court appear to be quite onerous and abusive,” said Andrei Roman, CEO of Brazil-based pollster Atlas Intel.
In the lead-up to Saturday’s protest, some right-wing politicians defied de Moraes’ ban and brazenly used a VPN to publish posts on X, calling for people to partake in the protests.
The march in Sao Paulo is organized in parallel to official events to celebrate Brazil’s anniversary of independence from Portugal. Commemorations have been fraught with tension in recent years, as Bolsonaro used them while in office to rally supporters and show political strength.
Three years ago, he threatened to plunge the country into a constitutional crisis when he declared he would no longer abide de Moraes’ rulings. He has since toned down the attacks — a reflection of his own delicate legal situation.
Bolsonaro has been indicted twice since his term ended in 2022, most recently for alleged money laundering in connection with undeclared diamonds from Saudi Arabia. De Moraes is overseeing an investigation into the Jan. 8 riot, including whether Bolsonaro had a role in inciting it.
AP PHOTO
Filipino preacher Apollo Quiboloy, pictured in 2016, surrendered to authorities Sunday and is facing sexual abuse charges.
The social media platform has been banned in the country since Aug. 30
ETTORE CHIEREGUINI / AP PHOTO
Demonstrators take part in a protest calling for the impeachment of Supreme Court Minister Alexandre de Moraes, who recently imposed a nationwide block on X, in Sao Paulo on Saturday.
Jimmy Way
May 27, 1942 – Sept. 6, 2024
James “Jimmy” Colon Way Jr., 82, of Asheboro, North Carolina, passed away Friday, September 6, 2024, at his home, in Asheboro, NC.
A celebration of life will be conducted at 3 p.m., Sunday, September 29, 2024, at Ridge Funeral Home Chapel with Bud Wawner officiating.
Jimmy was born in Randolph Co., NC, on May 27, 1942. He was formerly employed with Oliver Rubber Company and retired from Midstate Toyota.
He was preceded in death by his parents, James Colon Way Sr., and Lou Ida Phillips Way.
Jimmy is survived by his wife, Patricia Morton Way; daughters, Annette Way Sineath and husband Rob of Asheboro, Meredith Way Wawner and husband Bud of Wilmington, son, Jay Way and wife Christy of Randleman; grandchildren, Ally Way of Randleman, Abbie Way of Asheboro, Derek Sineath and wife Adriana of Asheboro, Ryan Sineath and wife Hannah of Denton, Gabe Wawner of Wilmington; greatgrandchildren, Natalie, Justin, Bowen, and Luciana.
The family will receive friends from 1:45 - 2:45 p.m. Sunday, September 29, 2024, at Ridge Funeral Home prior to the celebration.
Clara Jean “Jeannie” Stout
Oct. 2, 1960 – Sept. 1, 2024
Clara Jean “Jeannie” Stout, 63, of Asheboro, North Carolina, passed away Sunday, September 1, 2024, at Randolph Health, Asheboro, NC.
Funeral Service will be conducted at noon on Saturday, September 7, 2024, with Dr. Jody Harrison officiating. Burial will follow at Farmer Missionary Baptist Church Cemetery.
Mrs. Stout was born in Randolph Co., NC, on October 2, 1960. In her early career, she worked in furniture and textile industries before becoming a bus driver for Asheboro City Schools. She enjoyed gardening, trips to the beach and the mountains, shopping and the annual Threshers Reunion. Her greatest joy was spending time with her grandchildren, watching their ballgames and other activities.
She was preceded in death by her father, Jesse Cheek, her first husband, Steve Freeman, her second husband, Ronnie Stout, and her granddaughter, Angel Leach.
Survivors include her sons, Rodney Freeman (Tiffany) of Asheboro, Randy Freeman of Denton; mother, Jane Cheek; sister, Kathy Cheek; grandchildren, Rodney Jr. “Bubba”, Destynee (Hunter), Ashley (Jonathan), Ricky, Avery, Cooper, Granger; and greatgrandchild, Adaly.
The family will receive friends from 10:30 - 11:45 a.m. at Bethel Baptist Church, prior to the service.
In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to the Bethel Baptist Church, Kids Playground Fund, 4818 Robbins Circle, Asheboro, NC 27205.
Mildred Russell
April 15, 1928 – Sept. 3, 2024
Mildred White Luck Russell, 96, of Asheboro, passed away Tuesday, September 3, 2024, at the Randolph Hospice House, Asheboro.
A funeral service will be conducted at 2 p.m. on Sunday, September 8, 2024, at Ridge Funeral Home Chapel, with Rev. Neal Lathem officiating. Burial will follow at Oaklawn Cemetery.
Mildred was born in Pembroke, NC, on April 15, 1928, the daughter of John Bunyan White and Ethel Allen White.
In addition to her parents, Mildred was preceded in death by her first husband, Will Alexander Luck, second husband, Herbert Russell, and brothers, Lee Roy M. White, and Johnny D. White She is survived by her daughter, Betty Freeman (Steve Lathem) of Asheboro, son, Jerry Luck of the home, grandsons, Daniel Freeman (Lauren) of Goose Creek, SC, and Wayne Luck (Chasity) of Asheboro, granddaughter, Amanda McCoy (Adam) of Asheboro, greatgrandchildren, Dalton and Maelyn Freeman, McKenzie Luck, Thomas and Isaac McCoy, Katelyn Williamson, Macy and Olivia Reed, Kurstin and Austin Burroughs; great-greatgrandchildren, Brantley, Ethan, Brynlee, Lyrics, Paisley and Clyde.
The family will receive friends from 12:30 to 1:45 p.m. on Sunday at Ridge Funeral Home, prior to the service.
Memorials may be made to Russells Grove Baptist Church, 5118 US-220 BUS, Asheboro, NC 27205 or Hospice of Randolph, 416 Vision Dr., Asheboro, NC 27203.
David Smith
July 19, 1956 – Sept. 2, 2024
David Lee Smith, 68, of Randleman, North Carolina, passed away Monday, September 2, 2024, at his residence.
Funeral Service will be conducted at 2 p.m., Monday, September 9, 2024, at Ridge Funeral Home Chapel, with Pastor Charles Moses officiating. Burial will follow at Randolph Memorial Park.
Mr. Smith was born in Randolph Co., NC, on July 19, 1956, the son of the late Clabie Smith and Ruth Hopkins Smith. He loved traveling to Virginia and the Blue Ridge Parkway, collecting antiques and old knives. He always enjoyed telling ghost stories. Mr. Smith adored his children and grandchildren, who he loved fishing with. He also loved his dogs, Lola and Dozer.
In addition to his parents, Mr. Smith was preceded in death by his brother, Harry Smith, and sister, Linda Strawcutter.
Mr. Smith is survived by his daughter, Rachelle Clark (Dustin) of Randleman; son, Preston Smith (Katie) of Asheboro; brothers, Wayne Smith, Ed Smith (Wendy); grandsons, Braxton Trotter, Emmet Clark; granddaughters, Makenzie Clark, Kaylee Clark, Ayla Trotter, and Kylie Smith.
The family will receive friends from 12:45 to 1:45 p.m. on Monday, September 09, 2024, at Ridge Funeral Home & Cremation Service, prior to the service. Memorials may be made to Hospice of Randolph, 416 Vision Drive, Asheboro, NC 27204.
Benjamin Lee Cox
Aug. 15, 1963 – Sept. 3, 2024
Mr. Benjamin Lee Cox
61 of Liberty passed away unexpectedly Tuesday at his home after several months of declining health. Mr. Cox was born on August 15, 1963 in Asheboro. He was a member of the Randleman Fire Department where he served for 21 years while also operating Cox Construction. Mr. Cox loved being with his family, taking his oldest son Randall on his very first turkey hunt where he watched Randall get his very first turkey. He later took his younger son Nicholas on his first deer hunt and again watched his son Nicholas take down his first deer, an 8-pointer. He gave his oldest son Randall the nickname of “Now Son” and his youngest son Nicholas the nickname of “Mini Benny”. Mr. Cox loved the outdoors, hunting, fishing, playing horseshoes, camping and even playing golf. He was a member of the Randolph County Bow Association. He loved singing and playing the bass guitar in church. Mr. Cox is survived by three sons Randall (Carol) of Liberty, Nicholas Kage Reed of Sophia and James (Michelle) Cockman of Franklin. He is also survived by “Precious” Karen Cox of Randleman. Two sisters Darlene of Asheboro and Diane (David) Gray of Eden. Four grandchildren Isabella Cox, Madalyn Long Bottomley, Wyatt Moore and Cody Green. His best friend for many years Jeff Tuttle. He was preceded in death by 6 brothers, William-Boyd-Richard-DonDanny and Walser Cox. Two sisters Janet Earles and Jonelle Presnell and his grandson Randall Cox Jr. The family would like to especially thank Gage Green for all his help and care over the past many months helping to look after Mr. Cox.
A celebration of life will be held later. Pugh Funeral Home Randleman is serving the Cox family.
Naomi Shortridge Smith
Oct. 30, 1940 — Sept. 1, 2024
Naomi Shortridge Smith, age 83, of Jamestown passed away on September 1, 2024 at the Randolph Hospice House. Mrs. Smith was born in Buchanan, VA on October 30, 1940 to Airs and Ruby Keen Shortridge. Naomi was a very hard-working lady and retired from Triple A Mobile Homes, where she was named “Salesperson of the Year.” In addition to her parents, Naomi was preceded in death by her husband, Paul Franklin Smith, daughter, Freda Lynn Yates, and siblings, Maxie Gallimore, Mildred Redding, and Jettie Spivey. Naomi was very independent and generous; she loved to laugh out loud. Naomi loved music, especially country music and Elvis. She loved going to the beach, but most of all, Naomi loved her family dearly. She is survived by her son, Franklin Smith (Amy) of Franklinville; granddaughter, Abigail Smith; step granddaughter, Maggie Allred; and siblings, Betty Lou Lester of Neosho, Missouri, Daniel Shortridge (Patty) of Honaker, VA, David Shortridge (Patricia) of Rowe, VA, and Dennis Shortridge (Sue) of Franklinville.
The family will receive friends on Saturday, September 7, 2024 from 1-2 p.m. at West Asheboro Church of God, 197 Lewallen Road in Asheboro. Funeral services will follow on Saturday at 2 p.m. at the church with Pastor Travis Cooke, Pastor Franklin Smith, and Rev. Mike Woolard officiating. In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to the Randolph Hospice House, 416 Vision Drive, Asheboro, NC 27203.
Pugh Funeral Home in Asheboro is serving the Smith family.
Rachel Smith Warner
Sept. 12, 1926 – Sept. 7, 2024
Juanita Davidson Porche, age 97 of Asheboro, NC, passed away on Saturday, September 7, 2024, at Alpine Health and Rehab. Juanita was born on September 12, 1926, in Randolph County to Wiley Davidson and Annie Gray. She deeply loved her family and worked alongside them at the Dixie Restaurant, eventually owning her own for a time. Juanita was also the co-owner of the Village Inn, where her love for cooking shone through. Dinner at her home was always a memorable occasion, as she was known for her exceptional cooking and hospitality. A dedicated homemaker, Juanita was meticulous in her care of her home and loved to iron. Despite her age, she remained active and always took care of her grandchildren. She also adored her dogs, ensuring they were fed as well as the rest of the family. Juanita was a lifelong member of West Bend Church and took great pride in her home and family.
Juanita is predeceased by her husband, Earl “Bubba” Porche; her parents, Wiley Davidson and Annie Gray; her brother, Kenyon Davidson; and her sister, Audrey Shaw. She is survived by her sons, Harold Hill Jr. (Debra) of Asheboro, NC, and Michael Hill (Cherie) of Metairie, LA; her grandchildren, Derrick Hill, Amanda Jones, Nicholas Hill, and Heather Hill; along with seven great grandchildren and numerous nephews, and cousins.
A special thank you to her niece Judy and her husband Brian Freeman for their special attention and care shown to her over the last serval years. Thank you to the staff at Alpine Health & Rehab for the care given to Juanita.
Donations can be made to West Bend Memorial Funds
The family will receive friends on Wednesday, September 11, 2024, from 2-2:45 p.m. at West Bend Methodist Church, 1080 Albemarle Rd in Asheboro. Funeral services will follow on Wednesday at 3 p.m. at the church with Rev. Richard Routh officiating.
Sylvia Morrison
Jan. 2, 1944 – Sept. 1, 2024
Sylvia Ann Calloway Morrison, 80, of Asheboro, North Carolina, passed away Sunday, September 1, 2024, at her home.
A memorial service will be conducted at noon on Friday, September 6, 2024, at Ridge Funeral Home Chapel, Asheboro, with Pastor Ed Arroyo officiating. Burial will follow at New Hope Memorial Gardens.
Mrs. Morrison was born in Konnarock, VA, on January 2, 1944, the daughter of the late Carlton Calloway and Dorothy McClure Calloway. She graduated from Ashe Central High School in 1962, where she played on the basketball team. She retired from Asheboro High School and formerly attended Central Global Methodist Church. She enjoyed traveling and camping, especially with Carl and Tressie Hunt. She also loved to shop, play cards, doing puzzles, and cooking for everyone. Watching her great grandson, Ayden, play baseball was another one of her favorite past times.
In addition to her parents, Mrs. Morrison was preceded in death by her husband, Donald Morrison.
Mrs. Morrison is survived by her daughter, Dawn Buffkin Morton and husband Tommy of New London; son, Ritchie Allen Buffkin and wife Myla and daughter Kellie of Asheboro; sister, Brenda Little of Ashe County, NC; brothers, Jim Calloway, Jerry Calloway, Greg Calloway all of Ashe County, NC; grandchildren, Ashley Cox Barham and husband Lee of Asheboro, Taylor Lee Morton of Atlanta, GA, Joshua Morton of Greensboro, NC; greatgrandchildren, Ayden Barham of Asheboro, Grayson Barham and wife Scarlott of Gulf Breeze, FL; and great-great grandchild, Ellabeth Barham.
The family will receive friends from 10:30 until 11:45 a.m., Friday, September 6, 2024, at Ridge Funeral Home, Asheboro.
The family would like to extend a special thank you to her Springwood Subdivision family and the many friends who cared for her. The family would also like to thank the staff at Clapp’s, Brookdale, Gentiva Hospice, and her caregiver, Nora Campbell.
Alice Yow Wilkerson
Jan. 8, 1951 – Sept. 1, 2024
Alice Yow Wilkerson of Asheboro, age 73 died peacefully Sunday, September 1, 2024, at Randolph Hospice House. Alice was born on January 8, 1951, to Ervin and Swannie Yow. Alice was a sweet, kind and loving person who loved God. She had a smile that would warm your heart. She loved her family and went the extra mile to take care of them.
Alice had a love of music and passed that down to her children and grandchildren. She loved to sing in the choir at Quaker Heights where she attended church for years. She also attended Giles Chapel Methodist Church. Alice was employed with Sophia Commercial Sewing for several years.
Alice is survived by her husband of 53 years, Benjamin Roy Wilkerson, her daughter Amy Snider (Todd) and granddaughter Kelsey Grace Snider, son Eric Wilkerson (Patricia), grandson Caleb Wilkerson (Jada), two great grandsons, Lucas and Lincoln Wilkerson, sister Joyce Maness and niece Samantha Maness. Special family members, Patricia Gilmore and Billy Wooten (Jo Ann). Alice is preceded in death by Ervin and Swannie Yow, father and mother, and Roy and Alma Wilkerson, father-in-law and mother-in-law, and brother-in-law Philip Maness.
The family would like to extend a heartfelt thank you to caregivers, Kaylan Klinger and Patricia Gilmore. With their love and dedication, the family was able to keep Alice at home until the last two weeks. We love and appreciate you both. The Family would also like to thank the staff of Randolph Hospice House for providing love and comfort to ensure Alice had a peaceful passing.
The family will receive friends on Friday, September 6, 2024, from 6-8 p.m. at Pugh Funeral Home, 437 Sunset Avenue in Asheboro. Funeral service will be held on Saturday, September 7, 2024, at 11 a.m. at the Pugh Funeral Home Chapel with Pastor Wyatt Hoogkamp officiating. Interment will follow at Giles Chapel Cemetery.
Memorials can be made to Hospice of Randolph, 416 Vision Drive, Asheboro, NC 27203 or to The Alzheimer’s Foundation.
We will always carry your memory in our hearts.
Edward B. Johnson, the second CIA officer in Iran for the ‘Argo’ rescue mission, dies at 81
By Jon Gambrell
The Associated Press
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates — Edward B. Johnson, who as a CIA officer traveled into Iran with a colleague to rescue six American diplomats who fled the 1979 U.S. Embassy takeover in Tehran, has died, the agency confirmed Monday. He was 81.
Johnson’s identity for decades had been hidden from the public, with him known only by the pseudonym “Julio” after fellow CIA officer Antonio “Tony” Mendez published a book recounting the operation. The 2012 Academy Award-winning film “Argo,” directed by and starring Ben Affleck, didn’t include the second man on the team.
Yet a painting at the CIA’s headquarters in Langley, Virginia, offered a faceless acknowledgment of Johnson’s existence. And in 2023, the CIA itself revealed Johnson’s identity in a podcast highlighting the agency’s work to free the diplomats hiding at the Canadian ambassador’s residence in Tehran.
“Working with the six — these are rookies,” Johnson recounted in an interview aired by the podcast. “They were people who were not trained to lie to authorities. They weren’t trained to be clandestine, elusive.”
Johnson died Aug. 27 in his sleep in Virginia after suffering from pneumonia, the CIA told The Associated Press on Monday.
“Ed’s legacy will continue to inspire those who walk the halls of Langley for generations to come,” the agency said in a public statement.
His family in a statement honored him as having “a name that whispered through the corridors of intelligence” through his work.
“He was, at once, the ordinary man next door — husband, father, grandfather, brother, uncle and friend — and an extraordinary agent of the state,” they said.
Many specifics about Johnson’s professional life as a spy remain vague, as much of what is known about him publicly comes from the CIA podcast first identifying him, called “The Langley Files.” Johnson, who
went by Ed, described coming to the CIA after serving as an infantryman in the U.S. Army. He studied French in university, picked up Spanish from growing up with Cuban and Puerto Rican friends and later learned Arabic after teaching English in Saudi Arabia. He traveled through Egypt and Jordan and studied at Sorbonne University before being hired by the CIA. He met his wife, Aileen, while in Paris, his family said.
“It was after after having gotten the on-the-ground experience in the Middle East and the educational experience and the language into play ... that I was considered to be a good candidate,” Johnson said. Johnson served in the CIA’s Office of Technical Service overseas at the time of the hostage crisis. It began when Islamist students came over the fence at the U.S. Embassy compound in Tehran on Nov. 4, 1979. While initially planned to be a sit-in like a previous storming, it soon became a 444-day hostage crisis. Six U.S. Embassy employees, however, had slipped away amid the chaos. They ended up in the home of Canadian Ambassador Ken Taylor. Several plans came and went before U.S. President Jimmy Carter agreed to what became known as the “Canadian Caper” — posing the officials as part of a Canadian film crew scouting locations for a fake, knock-off “Star Wars” film called “Argo.”
Armed with Canadian passports, Mendez pretended to be an Irish filmmaker while Johnson was “an associate producer representing our production company’s ostensible South American backers,” Mendez later recounted in an internal CIA document. He described Johnson as having “considerable exfiltration experience” during the Cold War with the Soviet Union, without elaborating.
Landing in Tehran on Jan. 25, 1980, the men end up using a local map to try and find the Canadian Embassy. They ended up at the Swedish Embassy — just across the street from the American Embassy, patrolled by armed students. A local embassy guard didn’t understand them, as neither man spoke Iran’s Farsi language — a conscious decision the CIA made not to raise suspicions as their Farsi-language experts might be recognized.
Then one of the student revolutionaries walked over. As a conversation progressed, the men realized the student spoke German after studying abroad for a year. Johnson ended up getting written directions from the student, who even hailed a taxi for them and refused a tip.
“I have to thank the Iranians for being the beacon who got us to the right place,” Johnson said. The men ended up with the six Americans, providing them scripts, props, fake histories and training on how to pretend to be a film crew. Johnson and Mendez worked on final preparations on the passports and exit slips, the scene represented in the painting at CIA headquarters.
“The biggest thing I think we did was to convince them that you can, you can do it — as simple as that,” Johnson remembered.
On Jan. 28, 1980, the CIA officers and the six Americans flew safely out of Tehran on a Swissair flight. Both Johnson and Mendez received the CIA’s Intelligence Star, its second-highest award for valor, for the operation. He retired from the CIA in 1995 and worked as a contractor while exploring a passion in photography, his family said.
“Even as the world celebrated his heroism, he remained a ghost, a figure shrouded in anonymity,” his family said. “For decades, his identity was a closely guarded secret. It was only in the twilight of his life that he finally emerged from the shadows, a legend in his own right.” Johnson was born July 29, 1943, in Brooklyn. He is survived by his wife, five children, nine grandchildren, other family and friends, his loved ones said.
In the decades since the “Argo” rescue, there’s been a broader reckoning over the CIA’s actions in Iran, particularly the 1953 CIA-led coup that overthrew the country’s prime minister to cement the rule of Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi. That action lit the fuse for the 1979 Islamic Revolution and the more than four decades of enmity between Tehran and Washington that followed.
The two-part podcast revealing Johnson’s identity acknowledged that, with a CIA historian calling the 1953 coup “one of the exceptions” to the agency’s efforts to bolster democracy worldwide.
The tale was made into a film starring Ben Affleck
Edward B. Johnson, right, receiving the CIA’s Intelligence Star from John N. McMahon, then the agency’s deputy director for operations, in May 1980.
FAMILY OF EDWARD B. JOHNSON / CIA VIA AP
RandolpH SPORTS
Randleman’s resiliency comes through in showdown
Connections between John Kirkpatrick and Tyshaun Goldston set the tone for Tigers
By Bob Sutton Randolph Record
RANDLEMAN — Randleman’s football team put on an impressive aerial show Friday night before the need to regroup against Bunker Hill.
The Tigers mastered that as well in pulling out a 35-21 nonconference home victory in a matchup between
teams that might be Class 2A state contenders.
“We knew it was going to be a challenge,” Randleman quarterback John Kirkpatrick said. “I’m just glad my guys could come out here and execute the way they could. I’m just thankful for the guys I’m playing with because they do it for me.” Kirkpatrick threw three first-half touchdown passes to Tyshaun Goldston and then ran for the go-ahead score in the fourth quarter.
The Tigers (3-0) had to withstand the individual efforts from Bunker Hill’s Jaylan Willis, who returned a kickoff 94 yards for a touchdown in
the waning seconds of the first half, bolted 87 yards on a touchdown spring in the third quarter and ran back an interception 22 yards to the end zone to help the Bears even the score at 21-21.
“A lot going on,” Kirkpatrick said. “Everybody started getting down, but we have a lot of leadership in this team. It’s a young team, but a lot of leadership. It went a long ways.”
Randleman’s response included a couple of Kirkpatrick-to-Goldson passes for first downs on a drive that ended with Kirpatrick picking up a low snap and running 2 yards for a touchdown on a broken play.
Andrews excited about transition at Trinity
The former standout athlete will be in charge of the boys’ basketball program
By Bob Sutton Randolph Record
TRINITY — Brett Andrews doesn’t need to look at the projected Trinity roster for the upcoming boys’ basketball season. Nor does he have to scan the Bulldogs’ schedule.
None of that matters because he knows he has his work cut out for him.
He’s following legendary Tim Kelly as the Trinity coach.
“I’d say coaching behind him is probably one of the toughest gets in North Carolina,” Andrews said.
Andrews is a former Trinity standout athlete and ex-junior varsity coach for the Bulldogs. He’s back at the school after one season as Providence Grove’s coach.
Kelly revealed his decision to retire from coaching this summer after more than three decades in the role.
Andrews, 40, had accepted a social studies teaching position to return to Trinity. He said he anticipated being an assistant to Kelly.
Then the scenario changed and he’s excited about his new role. Don’t expect many changes regarding how the Bull-
dogs operate under Andrews.
“I want to carry out what (Kelly) has created and what he developed with Trinity basketball,” he said. “It’s going to be based off his legacy.”
Kelly’s teams amassed 673 victories in 34 seasons. The Bulldogs won the Class 3A state championship in 2004. The school’s gym is named in Kelly’s honor.
Andrews held a position at Southwestern Randolph Middle School before taking a role with the in-school suspension
program at Trinity. During that time, he spent 13 seasons on Trinity’s basketball staff, along with a stint as football coach and junior varsity baseball coach.
“Coach Kelly needed a JV coach at the time and it just took off,” he said.
Andrews filled the vacancy during the last school year at Providence Grove. The Patriots had a 7-18 record, including an 0-3 mark vs. Trinity.
“It gave me my first opportunity to do varsity,” he said. “I didn’t plan on leaving after a year. I’ve wanted to return home for my family and my kids.”
There were lessons learned at Providence Grove, including those relating to delegating responsibilities. Andrews, a 2003 graduate, has been selected as a member of the second Trinity Athletics Hall of Fame class. He was football quarterback on a team that advanced to the third round of the state playoffs, a guard in basketball and a middle infielder in baseball. He made stops in college baseball programs at Campbell, Surry Community College and Barton.
At Trinity, all five starters from the 2023-24 team are gone. So it will be a new crew on the court.
“A lot of them are just adjusting to the varsity level,” Andrews said.
“We knew it was going to be a dogfight,” Goldston said. “We didn’t want to lose.”
The Tigers then held on defense and that led to another key sequence. With Bunker Hill in punt formation, a wayward snap resulted in Randleman lineman Brandon Boone scooping the ball and running about 16 yards for the game’s final touchdown.
The early highlights were the Kirkpatrick-to-Goldston connections.
The first touchdown came on the second quarter’s second play when
See RANDLEMAN, page B2
“We knew it was going to be a challenge, but we knew we were ready for it.”
– John Kirkpatrick, Randleman quarterback
Asheboro sets stadium rules to monitor fans
The first varsity football game of the season is set for Friday night against a county opponent
By Bob Sutton Randolph Record
ASHEBORO — Safety is at the forefront of new spectator rules established for Asheboro’s Lee. J. Stone Stadium, athletics director Wes Berrier said. The rules require that spectators remain in the stands unless they’re in line for the restrooms or concession stands. No longer allowed will be standing or sitting on stadium walls, handrails, walkways or the concourse.
“We want to keep (those areas) clear for any kind of emergency that might occur,” Berrier said. “We’re looking after the safety of everybody.”
The Blue Comets (1-1) will play their home-opening football game Friday night against Providence Grove (1-2). School officials will concentrate on certain areas such as keeping the wall on the home side clear and along the fence in front of the concession stand near the end zone.
“We just haven’t really enforced it enough,” Berrier
said of attention to those areas. “It’s going to be tough. … We want you in the stadium seats.”
Extra school resource officers and the school’s full administrative team will be on hand to monitor these areas, Berrier said.
Signage is up in the stadium regarding the rules. In addition, Berrier’s new sports media class has been promoting the regulations through social media.
If the home side fills up, fans will be directed to the visiting stands, he said.
Seating capacity at the stadium is about 5,000, Berrier said. He said larger turnouts would be welcome and then standing room areas would be utilized. Other items on the rules list are mostly standard at many schools. Those include the need for K-8 students to be accompanied by an adult. Also, there’s a clear bag policy at all athletic events, something Berrier said is new for Asheboro. Plus, there’s no reentry upon leaving the stadium, instances of fighting and foul language can result in being removed from the stadium, and weapons and alcohol/tobacco products (including vapes) are banned.
Randleman quarterback John Kirkpatrick looks to throw downfield against Bunker Hill on Friday night.
JANN ORTIZ FOR RANDOLPH RECORD
Brett Andrews
HOME PLATE MOTORS
Camryn Vickery
Randleman, volleyball
Vickery had big production as the Tigers put together a six-match winning streak through the end of last week. They had three-set sweeps in their first four matches in the Piedmont Athletic Conference.
Vickery, a senior setter, averaged 34.5 assists in encounters with Southwestern Randolph and Uwharrie Charter Academy. She also averaged five digs in those matches.
She added to her impact with 7.7 percent of her serves resulting in aces in the UCA match.
Randleman is aiming for its seventh consecutive winning season. The Tigers haven’t won a conference championship since 2010.
RANDLEMAN from page B1
Goldston leaped to snatch the ball away from Bunker Hill’s Jason Willis Jr. on a 42-yard play.
“That’s what I like to do,” Goldston said, using the reach on his 6-foot-4 frame.
Payton Patterson’s fumble recovery got the ball back for the Tigers at the Bunker Hill 37. Kirkpatrick fired a pass to Goldston, who was in the back of the end zone, for a 32-yard touchdown.
Patterson’s interception set up the next Tigers touchdown.
Again, Goldston broke free in the end zone and Kirkpatrick found him with a 19-yard pass.
“That’s my guy. He was my guy last year,” Kirkpatrick said. “I know if I’m in trouble, I know who I’m looking for. I’m sure everyone in the stadium knows who I’m looking for, but it still works. I’m going to keep going there.”
Goldston’s nine catches resulted in 174 yards in what seemed like a reel of highlights.
“I just go make a play,” said Goldston, who has recorded
three touchdowns in all three games this year.
Kirkpatrick completed 19 of 30 throws for 275 yards, though he was intercepted twice. The second of those allowed the Bears to tie the game, so he was pleased with how the Tigers rallied around him.
“I had my guys pump me up and not let me get down on myself,” Kirkpatrick said. “That’s a big part of it, the mental side.”
Bunker Hill (2-1) had a 14 -game regular-season winning streak end. The Bears went unbeaten last year until losing in the fourth round of the Class 2A state playoffs at Reidsville, which was the eventual state champion. So for Randleman, this matchup was billed as an early showdown.
“It feels amazing,” Kirkpatrick said. “We’ve been looking at Bunker Hill on our schedule. As soon as we saw them on our schedule, everybody circled that game. We knew it was going to be a challenge, but we knew we were ready for it.”
Tigers take control in volleyball
Two PAC triumphs for Randleman might set a tone
Randolph Record staff
RANDLEMAN served notice that it will be a force in Piedmont Athletic Conference volleyball.
Through four league matches, the Tigers are the only unbeaten team after knocking off a couple of teams that figure to be involved in the race at the top of the standings.
The Tigers drilled host Southwestern Randolph 25-22, 25-23, 25-21 with Kadie Green’s 24 digs and Camry Vickery’s 37 assists among the highlights.
The Tigers then halted visiting Uwharrie Charter Academy’s seven-match winning streak by rolling 25-16, 29-27, 25-23 behind Camden Scott’s 15 kills and nine digs.
UCA began the week with a sweep of visiting Trinity.
• Trinity setter Avalynn Johnson posted her 1,000th career assist when the Bulldogs defeated visiting Providence Grove 27-25, 25-22, 23-25, 25-18. She totaled 43 assists in the match, while teammate Kaitlyn McCoy registered 17 kills.
Trinity won for the eighth time in 10 matches overall. Earlier in the week, Johnson had 31 assists in a three-set sweep of host Central Davidson.
• Gracie Hodgin’s 11 kills and seven aces sparked Southwestern Randolph to a 25-6, 25-21, 25-16 victory at Eastern Randolph.
On Saturday, Southwestern Randolph went to McMichael, falling to the host school in four sets and sweeping Oak Grove.
• Asheboro won twice in
nonconference play, toppling visiting Providence Grove 25-23, 21-25, 25-22, 25-17 as Kate Forester provided 16 kills and 12 blocks and Lia George had 11 kills and 18 digs.
The Blue Comets also took down host Southeast Guilford by 10-25, 25-16, 25-22, 25-20 with Emma Little supplying 24 digs and Anna Grace LeRoy credited with 24 digs. The week ended for Asheboro with a Mid-Piedmont Conference home loss to Oak Grove.
Boys’ soccer
Southwestern Randolph im-
PREP FOOTBALL ROUNDUP
proved to 7-0 by defeating visiting Gray Stone Day School 6-1 as Gio Hernandez posted two goals. PAC play begins next week.
• Wheatmore’s 10-2 whipping of host North Stanly came with two goals each by Jake Queen and Jake Edwards. The Warriors rebounded after a shutout loss to Bishop McGuinness.
• UCA received four goals from Jaydon DeNamur in a 7-1 victory against visiting Asheboro Hybrid Academy.
• Cam Letterlough scored twice and assisted once in Asheboro’s 5-3 non-league victory against visiting Mount Airy.
Wildcats post another shutout
Trinity rolled up big points to win its second game in a row
Randolph Record staff
SANFORD — Eastern Randolph defeated host Southern Lee 22-0 to remain undefeated in high school football Friday night.
The Wildcats (3-0) notched their second road shutout of the season. Southern Lee fell to 1-1.
Eastern Randolph blocked a Southern Lee field-goal attempt before scoring the first points of the game. Those points came on Cade McCallum’s touchdown pass to Rayden West.
Trinity 54, East Davidson 22: At Trinity, Noah Bradley threw for six touchdowns and the Bulldogs won for the second time in five nights.
Gage Griffiths made two touchdown receptions, while Bradley’s other scoring throws went to Ethan Willard, Cam Nelson, Leyland White and Kah’Dn Fuller.
PJ WARD-BROWN / RANDOLPH
Eastern Randolph running back Lucas Smith heads for the hole against Southern Lee.
Trinity (2-1), which posted its most points in nearly two years, also scored on Zaire Gill’s touchdown run and on Cason Dillard’s fumble recovery in the end zone.
East Davidson is 1-2.
Bishop McGuinness 14, Providence Grove 10: At
Friday’s games
Providence Grove (1-2) at Asheboro (1-1)
Union Pines (3-0) at Randleman (3-0)
Bishop McGuinness (2-0) at Wheatmore (0-3)
Southwestern Randolph (1-1) at McMichael (1-2)
Trinity at (2-1) at West Davidson (2-1)
Kernersville, the Villains (2 - 0) scored a touchdown in the final minute to win the nonleague game.
Jackson Rhyne ran for a first-half touchdown for Providence Grove, which led 10-8 after Carson Jones kicked a field goal early in the fourth quarter. The Patriots (1-2) have lost two in a row.
Ledford 37, Wheatmore 6: At Thomasville, Ledford (1-2) won the home game. The Warriors (0-3) were held to one touchdown for the second game in a row.
Ward secures narrow triumph at Caraway
A full race card involved several close finishes
Randolph Record staff
SOPHIA — Brandon Ward produced less than a two-second victory in the SMART Modified Tour’s feature Saturday night at Caraway Speedway. Ward pulled to the front on lap 67 of the 99-lap event ahead of Brian Loftin.
Anthony Bello placed third, followed by Burt Myers and Danny Bohn. Fast qualifier Luke Baldwin ended up sixth in the 23-driver field. The race was conducted in memory of Robert Jeffreys, who was the track’s first SMART event winner in 1989.
• In 602 Modifieds, Dylan
Ward took the lead on a restart and claimed the victory ahead of Jesse Hilgar, Joe Belanger, Jody Utt and fast qualifier Mitchell Wright.
• The Challenger feature involved 50 laps with Enoch McNeill edging Dalton Ledbetter. Bryson Pickard took third, followed by Brody Duggins and early leader Daniel Schadt.
• In Bowman Gray Stadium’s Sportsman Division, Chase Robertson was the winner across 30 laps. The runner-up was Zach Clifton, with the next spots held by Sterling Plemmons, Dylan Ward and Zack Ore.
• The UCARs feature consisted of 15 laps with Tito Clapp prevailing ahead of Jason Richmond, Steven Collins, Jason Gallimore and Jamie
Vance. There was a red flag during the race as Jimmy Cooper’s car flipped and was done for the night, though no injuries were reported by track officials. That was part of a flareup that included Troy Ring and Mason Vance.
• In Mod 4s, Jimmy Crigger took the checkered flag ahead of Grayson Keaton, Jeff Linkous, Austin Long and Tyler Rose in the 20-lap race.
• The Bootleggers race went to Bentley Black ahead of Dalton Martin.
The speedway has another race card Saturday night with Challengers, Bowman Gray Stadium’s Street Stocks, 602 Modifieds, UCARs, Bootleggers, Mod 4s and Enduros. All women are admitted free as part of “Ladies Night.”
JANN ORTIZ FOR RANDOLPH RECORD
Randleman’s Mollie Hall spikes against UCA’s Morgan Lowe, Caroline Way and Anna Brewer during last week’s match.
RECORD
pen & paper pursuits
this week in history
Nike’s “Air Jordan 1” landed in stores, General Motors founded, Jimi Hendrix died
The Associated Press
Here’s what happened in history the week of Sept. 12-18.
SEPT. 12
1857: The S.S. Central America (also known as the “Ship of Gold”) sank off the coast of South Carolina after sailing into a hurricane in one of the worst maritime disasters in American history.
1940: The Lascaux cave paintings, estimated to be 17,000 years old, were discovered in southwestern France.
1962: At Rice University in Houston, President John F. Kennedy reaffirmed his support for the manned space program, declaring: “We choose to go to the moon in this decade and do the other things, not because they are easy, but because they are hard.”
SEPT. 13
1788: The Congress of the Confederation authorized the first national election and declared New York City the temporary national capital.
1948: Republican Margaret Chase Smith of Maine was elected to the U.S. Senate, becoming the first woman to serve in both houses of Congress.
SEPT. 14
1861: The first naval engagement of the Civil War occurred as the USS Colorado attacked and sank the Confederate private schooner Judah off the coast of Pensacola, Florida.
1901: President William McKinley died of gunshot
1985: Nike began selling its “Air Jordan 1” sneaker.
SEPT. 16
1630: The Massachusetts village of Shawmut changed its name to Boston.
1908: General Motors was founded in Flint, Michigan, by William C. Durant.
1972: “The Bob Newhart Show” premiered on CBS.
SEPT. 17
1787: The Constitution of the United States was completed and signed by most delegates attending the Constitutional Convention in Philadelphia.
1862: More than 3,600 men were killed in the Civil War Battle of Antietam in Maryland.
1920: The American Professional Football Association — a precursor of the National Football League — was formed in Canton, Ohio.
wounds inflicted by an assassin eight days prior; Vice President Theodore Roosevelt succeeded him, becoming the youngest-ever U.S. president at age 42.
SEPT. 15
1776: British forces occupied New York City during the American Revolution.
1789: The U.S. Department of Foreign Affairs was renamed the Department of State.
1935: The Nuremberg Laws deprived German Jews of their citizenship.
1959: Nikita Khrushchev became the first Soviet head of state to visit the United States.
1963: Four black girls were killed when a bomb went off during Sunday services at the 16th Street Baptist Church in Birmingham, Alabama. (Three Ku Klux Klansmen were eventually convicted for their roles in the blast.)
1939: The Soviet Union invaded Poland during World War II, more than two weeks after Nazi Germany had launched its assault.
2011: A demonstration calling itself Occupy Wall Street began in New York, prompting similar protests around the U.S. and the world
SEPT. 18
A.D. 14: The Roman Senate officially confirmed Tiberius as the second emperor of the Roman Empire, succeeding the late Augustus.
1793: President George Washington laid the cornerstone of the U.S. Capitol.
1851: The first edition of The New York Times was published.
1970: Rock star Jimi Hendrix died in London at age 27.
2020: Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg died at the age of 87.
HINNINGER / AP PHOTO
Iconic guitarist Jimi Hendrix, pictured playing in Germany in 1969, died on Sept. 18, 1970. He was 27.
DAVID ZALUBOWSKI / AP PHOTO
Nike’s “Air Jordan 1” sneakers, named for basketball sensation Michael Jordan, were first sold in stores on Sept. 15, 1985.
Rapper Kendrick Lamar to headline 2025 Super Bowl halftime show
Jay-Z called Lamar a “once-in-a-generation” artist and performer
By Jonathan Landrum Jr. The Associated Press
LOS ANGELES — Kendrick Lamar will pop out on the NFL’s biggest stage next year: The Grammy winner will headline the Apple Music Super Bowl Halftime Show in New Orleans.
The NFL, Apple Music and Roc Nation announced Sunday that Lamar would lead the halftime festivities from the Caesars Superdome on Feb. 9. The rap megastar, who has won 17 Grammys, said he’s looking forward to bringing hip-hop to the NFL’s championship game, where he performed as a guest artist with Dr. Dre, Snoop Dogg, Mary J. Blige, 50 Cent and Eminem in 2022.
“Rap music is still the most impactful genre to date,” Lamar said. “And I’ll be there to remind the world why. They got the right one.”
Lamar, 37, has experienced massive success since his debut album “Good Kid, m.A.A.d city”
rapper Kendrick Lamar has won 17 Grammys and is the first nonclassical, non-jazz musician to win a Pulitzer Prize.
in 2012. Since then, he’s accumulated 17 Grammy wins.
The rapper’s latest album, “Mr. Morale & The Big Steppers,” was released in 2022. He was featured on the song “Like That” with Future and Metro Boomin on a track that spent three weeks at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 this year. He also scored another hit with “Not Like Us.”
In 2016, Lamar gave a stunning seven-minute performance of tracks such as “The Blacker the Berry” and “Alright” at the 58th Grammy Awards. Lamar dazzled as an opener two years later at the Grammys with a performance of “XXX.”
In June, Lamar turned his Juneteenth “Pop Out” concert into a celebration of Los Angeles unity. It came on the heels of his rap battle with Drake during the three-hour concert featuring a mix of up-and-coming L.A. rappers and stars, including Tyler, The Creator, Steve Lacy and YG.
Roc Nation founder Jay-Z called Lamar a “once-in-a-generation” artist and performer.
“His deep love for hip-hop and culture informs his artistic vision,” Jay-Z said. “He has
an unparalleled ability to define and influence culture globally. Kendrick’s work transcends music, and his impact will be felt for years.”
Roc Nation and Emmy-winning producer Jesse Collins will be co-executive producers of the halftime show. The creative direction of Lamar’s performance will be provided by pgLang, an innovative company founded by Lamar and Dave Free — who has previously directed the rapper’s music videos.
“Time and time again, Kendrick has proven his unique ability to craft moments that resonate, redefine, and ultimately shake the very foundation of hip-hop,” said Seth Dudowsky, the head of music at the NFL.
Last year, Usher shined with a star-studded show with guests including H.E.R., Jermaine Dupri, Lil Jon, Ludacris and Alicia Keys.
“The Apple Music Super Bowl Halftime Show is a celebration of the music we love and the incredible artists who make it, all on the world’s biggest stage,” said Oliver Schusser, the vice president of Apple Music and Beats.
Haig extols magic of Ibiza in ‘The Life Impossible’
The supernatural action is set on the Spanish island famous for its nightclubs
By Rob Merrill The Associated Press
“Reality is not always probable or likely.” That’s the quote from the late Argentine poet Jorge Luis Borges that prefaces Matt Haig’s new novel, “The Life Impossible.” Don’t bother turning the page if you have a fundamental issue.
But if you’re willing to suspend disbelief when reading fiction, this is an engaging story. Some readers, like my teenage daughter who devoured Haig’s bestselling book, “The Midnight Library,” may not vibe as well with the septuagenarian narrator recovering from varicose vein surgery. Still, the book’s plot takes care of her physical deterioration soon enough.
The action is set on Ibiza, the Spanish island famous for its nightclubs. When the narrator, Grace Winters, suddenly inherits a rundown house there, she leaves behind her tragic life as a childless and
widowed mathematics teacher in England for an adventure. And, oh, what an adventure! As Grace pieces together the fate of a collegiate acquaintance, Christina, who gifted her the house, she meets Alberto Ribas, a “once respected marine biologist” who now gives diving tours in the Mediterranean and who Grace describes as “not so much of a pirate but a castaway, with the unkempt hair and the beard escaping his face in every direction.” On one of those dives, Grace’s life is forever altered by a blue phosphorescent light she swims toward under the water. “La Presencia,” or “The Presence,” imbues her with actual superpowers, the details of which are too much fun to spoil here. And while at this point, the plot proudly strays from reality, it’s not embarrassed by it. Grace is a reliable narrator, and the novel’s structure is her telling her story to a former student. “Mathematics is … as mysterious and enigmatic as the whole of life, and expecting it — or anything — to confirm what I wanted it to be was a mistake,” she writes. Grace’s reawakening to the wonders
of the natural world forms the second half of the story, as she and a cast of characters work to save parts of Ibiza from development.
The book will take an average reader just a few hours to read. Really short chapters — some just a sentence long — help the pages fly. While some may finish the last sentence shaking their heads at the implausibility of it all, Grace’s realization that everything on Earth is worthy of admiration and preservation is a message the whole world can get behind.
VIKING VIA AP
Matt Haig’s “The Life Impossible” is the follow-up to his worldwide bestseller “The Midnight Library.”
CHRIS PIZZELLO / AP PHOTO
Megastar
famous birthdays this week
Jacqueline Bisset is 80, Frankie Avalon hits 82, Oliver Stone turns 76, Elvira is 71
The Associated Press
SEPT. 12
Actor Linda Gray is 84. Singer Maria Muldaur is 82. Actor Joe Pantoliano is 73. Composer Hans Zimmer is 67. TV host-commentator Greg Gutfeld is 60. Actor-comedian Louis C.K. is 57. Basketball Hall of Famer Yao Ming is 44.
SEPT. 13
Actor Barbara Bain is 93. Nobel Peace Prize laureate Óscar Arias is 84. Actor Jacqueline Bisset is 80. Singer Peter Cetera (Chicago) is 80. Actor Jean Smart is 73. Olympic gold medal sprinter Michael Johnson is 57. Country musician Joe Don Rooney (Rascal Flatts) is 49.
SEPT. 14
Actor Walter Koenig (“Star Trek”) is 88. Basketball Hall of Fame coach Larry Brown is 84. Actor Sam Neill is 77. Supreme Court justice Ketanji Brown Jackson is 54. Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis is 46.
SEPT. 15
Actor Tommy Lee Jones is 76. Movie director Oliver Stone is 76. Actor Josh Charles (“The Good Wife,” ″Sports Night”) is 51. Actor Tom Hardy (“The Dark Knight Rises”) is 45.
SEPT. 16
Actor George Chakiris (“West Side Story”) is 90. Singer Betty Kelley of Martha and the Vandellas is 78. Actor Ed Begley Jr. is 73. Actor Mickey Rourke is 70. Illusionist David Copperfield is 66. Singer Richard Marx is 59. Comedian Amy Poehler (“Parks and Recreation,” “Saturday Night Live”) is 51.
SEPT. 17
Singer-turned-photographer LaMonte McLemore of the Fifth Dimension is 87. Actor Cassandra Peterson (Elvira) is 71. Actor-director Paul Feig is 60. Director Baz Luhr-
SEPT. 18
Singer-actor Frankie
mann (“Moulin Rouge”) is 60. Businessman Robert Herjavec (“Shark Tank”) is 59.
Avalon is 82. Actor Beth Grant (“The Mindy Project,” ″No Country For Old Men”) is 73. Actor Jada Pinkett Smith is 51. Comedian Jason Sudeikis (“Ted Lasso,” “Saturday Night Live”) is 47.
RICHARD SHOTWELL / AP PHOTO
Actor Jacqueline Bisset, pictured in 2017, turned 80 on Thursday.
KATY WINN / AP PHOTO
Actor Cassandra Peterson, who played Elvira, Mistress of the Dark, turns 71 on Tuesday.
‘Civil War’ premiers on MAX, Snow Patrol drops ‘Eyes Open,’ Stallone’s ‘Tulsa’
The Jesus Lizard’s intensity never went away
The Associated Press
SYLVESTER STALLONE’S second season of “Tulsa King” and Snow Patrol’s first new album in seven years are some of this week’s new streaming entertainment releases. Also streaming this week on a screen near you: Alex Garland’s “Civil War” starring Kirsten Dunst, Natasha Rothwell’s heartfelt comedy for Hulu called “How to Die Alone.”
MOVIES TO STREAM
Alex Garland’s “Civil War” is finally making its debut on Max on Friday. The film stars Kirsten Dunst as a veteran photojournalist covering a violent war that’s divided America. She reluctantly allows an aspiring photographer, played by Cailee Spaeny, to tag along as she, an editor (Stephen McKinley Henderson) and a reporter (Wagner Moura) make the dangerous journey to Washington, D.C., to interview the president (Nick Offerman), a blustery, rising despot who has given himself a third term, taken to attacking his citizens and shut himself off from the press. In my review, I called it a bellowing and haunting experience. It was smart and thought-provoking, with great performances. It’s well worth a watch.
Joey King stars in Netflix’s adaptation of Scott Westerfeld’s “Uglies,” which is about a future society where everyone must have beautifying cosmetic surgery at age 16. Streaming on Friday, McG directed the film in which King’s character inadvertently finds herself amid an uprising against the status quo. “Outer Banks” star Chase Stokes plays King’s best friend. Bill Skarsgård is out for revenge against the woman (Famke Janssen) who killed his family in “Boy Kills World,” coming to Hulu on Friday. Moritz Mohr directed the ultra-violent film, of which Variety critic Owen Gleiberman wrote: “It’s a depraved vision, yet I got caught up in its kick-ass revenge-horror pizzazz, its disreputable commitment to what it was doing.”
MUSIC TO STREAM
The year was 2006. Snow Patrol, the Northern Irish-Scottish alternative rock band, released an album, “Eyes Open,” producing the biggest hit of their career: “Chasing Cars.” A lot has happened since — three, soon to be four quality fulllength albums, to be exact. On Friday, the band will release “The Forest Is the Path,” their first new album in seven years. Anthemic pop-rock is the name
returns
of the game across songs of love and loss, like “All,” “The Beginning” and “This Is the Sound Of Your Voice.”
For fans of raucous guitar music, Jordan Peele’s 2022 scifi thriller “Nope” provided a surprising, if tiny, thrill. One of the leads, Emerald “Em” Haywood, portrayed by Keke Palmer, rocks a Jesus Lizard shirt. (Also featured through the film: Rage Against the Machine, Wipers, Mr. Bungle, Butthole Surfers and Earth band shirts.)
The Austin noise rock band is a less obvious pick, having been
signed to the legendary Touch and Go Records and stopped releasing new albums in 1998. That changes on Friday when “Rack” arrives. And for those curious, The Jesus Lizard’s intensity never went away.
SHOWS TO STREAM
Hallmark launched a streaming service called Hallmark+ on Tuesday with two new original series, the scripted drama “The Chicken Sisters” and the unscripted series “Celebrations with Lacey Chabert.” If you’re
a Hallmark holiday movies fan, you know Chabert. She’s starred in over 30 of their films, many holiday-themed films. Off camera, Chabert has a passion for throwing parties and entertaining. In “Celebrations,” deserving people are surprised with a bash in their honor — planned with Chabert’s help. “The Chicken Sisters” stars Schuyler Fisk, Wendie Malick and Lea Thompson in a show about employees at rival chicken restaurants in a small town. The eight-episode series is based on a novel of the same name.
Natasha Rothwell of “Insecure” and “The White Lotus” fame created and stars in a new heartfelt comedy for Hulu called “How to Die Alone.” She plays Mel, a broke, go-alongto-get-along, single airport employee who, after a near-death experience, makes the conscious decision to take risks and pursue her dreams. Rothwell has worked on the series for the past eight years and described it to The AP as “the most vulnerable piece of art I’ve ever put into the world.” Like Mel, Rothwell had to learn to bet on herself to make the show she wanted to make. “There’s significant overlap in the Venn diagram of me and Mel,” said Rothwell. It premieres Friday on Hulu. Shailene Woodley, DeWanda Wise and Betty Gilpin star in a new drama for Starz called “Three Women.” The series is about entrepreneur Sloane, homemaker Lina and student Maggie, who are each stepping into their power and making life-changing decisions. They’re interviewed by a writer named Gia (Woodley). The series is based on a 2019 best-sell-
ing book by Lisa Taddeo. “Three Women” premieres Friday on Starz. Stallone’s second season of “Tulsa King” debuts Sunday on Paramount+. Stallone plays Dwight Manfredi, a mafia boss recently released from prison after serving 25 years. He’s sent to Tulsa to set up a new crime syndicate. The series is created by Taylor Sheridan of “Yellowstone” fame.
VIDEO GAMES TO PLAY
One thing about Focus Entertainment’s Warhammer 40,000 title, Space Marine 2 — you know exactly what you’re in for. You are Demetrian Titus, a genetically enhanced brute sent into battle against the Tyranids, an insectoid species with an insatiable craving for human flesh. You have a rocket-powered suit of armor and an arsenal of ridiculous weapons like the “Chainsword,” the “Thunderhammer,” and the “Melta Rifle,” so what could go wrong? Besides the squishy single-player mode, there are cooperative missions and six-vs.-six freefor-alls. You can suit up and play on PlayStation 5, Xbox X/S or PC.
Likewise, Wild Bastards isn’t exactly the kind of title that will attract fans of Animal Crossing. It’s another sci-fi shooter, but the protagonists are a gang of 13 creatures — aliens and androids included — on the run from the law. This Wild-Westin-space spinoff has the same snarky humor and vibrant, neon-drenched cartoon look. Saddle up Thursday on
PlayStation 5, Xbox X/S, Nintendo Switch or PC.
The films “Uglies,” from left, “Boy Kills World” and “Civil War” are streaming this week.
IPECAC RECORDINGS VIA AP
“Rack” by Austin noise rock band The Jesus Lizard drops Friday.
Cailee Spaeny, left, and Kirsten Dunst star in “Civil War,” which debuts Friday on Max.
HOKE SPORTS
Red-letter week for Hoke sports
Bucks football, soccer and volleyball all go undefeated
North State Journal staff
HOKE HAD ITS best week of the young fall sports season, with football, volleyball and boys’ soccer all going unbeaten in a 6-0 week. The football team broke through with its first win of the year after backto-back hard-luck losses. Soccer got out of a mini-scoring drought, while volleyball rolled along with three more wins.
Football
After losing its first two games by a combined nine points, Hoke County broke through with its first win of the season. The Bucks posted a road win over Douglas Byrd, 53-12. Quarterback Brandon Saunders ran for four touchdowns and threw for another.
Favor Anab and Darius Breeden added rushing scores, as Hoke gained 179 yards on the ground.
Dontrell Mims (34) records one of his two tackles for loss in the Bucks’ blowout win over Douglas Byrd on Friday.
The Bucks defense was also dominant, with sophomores Dontrell Mims and Ar’montae Hamilton each getting a pair of tackles for loss. Hamilton and Mims each also posted a sack.
The Bucks are now 1-2 on the season and have a home game against Seventy-First on Friday at 7:30 p.m. The Falcons are 2-0 on the season.
Boys’ soccer
The Bucks’ soccer team emerged from its mini slump. After not scoring a goal in two games the previous week, Hoke busted out with 10 goals in two games this past week. The Bucks opened the week with a 2-1 win over Red Springs at home. Hoke then went to Scotland and opened conference play with a blowout 8-0 win.
Fitzroy Williams and Pedro Ramos-Alejandro scored in the Red Springs win, while David Hernandez had a hat trick against Scotland. Jan Campos added a pair of goals against the Scots.
The Bucks are now 6-2-1 on the year and 1-0 in the Sand-
hills Conference. Hoke has three games this week, hosting Lee County, then traveling to Pine Forest and Richmond. The Lee and Richmond games are both conference contests.
Volleyball
We’re not even to the halfway point of the volleyball schedule and Hoke County has already posted its most wins in a season since 2017. The Bucks are now 9-1 after sweeping three matches last week. That tops the eight wins the Bucks recorded each of the last two years. The Bucks won 3-1 at Richmond to start the week, then recorded a 3-0 shutout of Douglas Byrd on the road. Hoke then returned home for a 3-1 league win over Southern Lee. Hoke is in second place in the Sandhills with a 3-1 league mark.
The Bucks have three more matches this week, traveling to Union Pines for a Sandhills game, then hosting Pinecrest in another league tilt. Hoke then goes out of conference with a home game against Red Springs.
ATHLETE OF THE WEEK
Aubrey Carpenter
Hoke County, volleyball
Aubrey Carpenter is a junior on the Hoke County volleyball team.
The Bucks are 9-1 and having their best season in years. Carpenter has come up big at the libero position. She leads the Bucks in receptions and digs and is third in assists. She also ranks third in the conference in digs.
In two league wins last week, Carpenter led the team in receptions and digs in both games, accumulating a total of 44 receptions and 64 digs in the two wins. She added six assists, four kills and a service ace.
Logano wins NASCAR playoff opener at Atlanta
The only two-time champ in the playoff field advances to next round
By Jenna Fryer The Associated Press
HAMPTON, Ga. — One of the first things Joey Logano said after winning the NASCAR Cup Series’ playoff opener was that the postseason is his time of the year. And, in 10 initial playoff appearances, he typically slid his way through the rounds, winning two Cup titles and never finishing lower than eighth in the standings. Then came last year when Logano, as the reigning Cup cham-
pion, was eliminated from the 16-driver field in the very first round for the first time in his career. He dreaded going to the track for the remainder of the season even as Team Penske teammate Ryan Blaney went on to win the championship. There will be no stumble this year, not after an overtime victory Sunday at Atlanta Motor Speedway gave Logano an automatic berth into the second round of the playoffs.
“That’s how we start the playoffs, boys!” Logano shouted.
“When it is playoff time, it is our time.”
Logano won the 11th race of the season to end in overtime
— a tie for the record set in the 2017 season. He’s trying to be-
come the only active three-time Cup champion in the series. Kyle Busch, who did not make the playoffs, is the only other current driver with two Cup titles.
“We’ve been able to level up when we need to level up and be able to fire off the first race of the playoffs and with a statement is key, right?” Logano said.
Blaney was initially listed in second for a 1-2 sweep for Team Penske and Ford. He lined up behind Logano and gave him the pushes he needed to deny Daniel Suarez the victory.
But after a review, Suarez was moved to second and Blaney dropped to third. Team owner Roger Penske was not at the race because the Detroit resi-
dent was scheduled to attend the Lions’ NFL home opener later Sunday. Suarez, who won the closest three-wide finish in Cup Series history here in February, had his own help from Trackhouse Racing teammate Ross Chastain.
The two-lap overtime sprint to the finish began with Logano and Suarez lined up side by side on the front row, each with their teammate behind them for the push to the front. Blaney got Logano out first, but Chastain remained locked onto the bumper of Suarez’s Chevrolet and the two dueled it out until Blaney used a final push to get his Penske teammate the win. Suarez, who gained two spots
in the standings to ninth with his runner-up finish, was disappointed to come up short.
“No, definitely not satisfied. I am happy with it, but not satisfied,” he said. “I felt like we were going to have a great shot at it. Ross was doing an amazing job of pushing, and I don’t know if he got a flat tire or something, but once I lost him, I knew it was going to be tough. But that is part of racing, right?” Christopher Bell in a Toyota for Joe Gibbs Racing finished fourth, and Alex Bowman in a Chevrolet for Hendrick Motorsports was fifth. Regular-season champion Tyler Reddick of 23XI Racing was sixth and followed by Busch of Richard Childress Racing, Chase Elliott of Hendrick, William Byron of Hendrick and Austin Cindric of Penske. Only two Toyotas — Bell and Reddick — finished inside the top 10.
JASON JACKSON FOR NORTH STATE JOURNAL
JASON ALLEN / AP PHOTO
Joey Logano retrieves the checkered flag at the finish line after winning Sunday’s NASCAR Cup Series playoff race at Atlanta.
SIDELINE REPORT
WNBA
Reese out for rest of WNBA season due to wrist injury
Chicago Angel Reese’s historic rookie season is over. The Chicago Sky forward said on social media that she has a season-ending injury, which the team confirmed was to her wrist. Reese finished the season averaging 13.6 points and 13.1 rebounds. It’s the highest rebound average in the history of the WNBA. Reese also set the rookie record with 26 double-doubles — her last coming in a win over Los Angeles on Friday night.
NFL Prescott, Cowboys agree on record contract
Dallas Dak Prescott got a new contract with the Dallas Cowboys hours before their season opener at Cleveland. The star quarterback and the Cowboys agreed on a $240 million, four-year contract. It’s the first in NFL history to average $60 million per season. The runner-up in NFL MVP voting was entering the final year of a $160 million, four-year contract that was a franchise record before this deal. It includes $231 million guaranteed. That’s $1 million more than the previous record from the fully guaranteed deal Deshaun Watson signed with the Browns two years ago.
NBA Grizzlies’ Jackson II to be reevaluated after foot surgery
Memphis Memphis forward GG Jackson II will be reevaluated in three months after surgery to repair the fifth metatarsal in his right foot. The Grizzlies updated Jackson’s status for an injury they first announced Aug. 30. Jackson hurt his foot on a layup playing basketball in Texas last week. The 19-year-old Jackson was a second-round pick of Memphis in the 2023 NBA Draft. He started 18 of 48 games and averaged 14.6 points per game. Jackson earned second-team NBA All-Rookie honors. He was a bright spot in an injury-plagued season for the Grizzlies, who went 27-55.
NFL Hill briefly detained for traffic violation before Dolphins game
Miami Police are calling for an investigation into why Miami Dolphins receiver Tyreek Hill was briefly detained for a traffic violation while entering Hard Rock Stadium hours before his team was set to open the season against the Jacksonville Jaguars. Hill was seen on video posted to X laying face down on the ground as officers placed his hands behind his back and put handcuffs on him. Hill, who led the NFL in receiving yards in 2023, still took the field and started for Miami.
MLB
Díaz brothers pitch in same game for 1st time as Mets top Reds
New York New York Mets closer Edwin Díaz and younger brother Alexis, the Cincinnati Reds’ ace reliever, pitched in the same game for the first time in their All-Star careers. Edwin Díaz struck out all three batters in the top of the ninth inning Friday, fanning Elly De La Cruz and Spencer Steer with 100-mph fastballs. Alexis Díaz worked a hitless bottom of the ninth to keep the score tied. New York won 6-4 in the 10th.
Superspeedway.
Jordan’s NASCAR team skips deadline to sign new revenue model with racing series
All but two Cup Series teams are believed to have signed an agreement
By Jenna Fryer The Associated Press
HAMPTON, Ga. — 23XI
Racing, the NASCAR team coowned by Michael Jordan, said Saturday it skipped a deadline to sign a new charter agreement with the sanctioning body because “it did not have an opportunity to fairly bargain” for a new contract.
The two-car team owned by Jordan, active driver Denny Hamlin and Jordan righthand man Curtis Polk revealed that teams had a Friday night NASCAR-imposed deadline to sign new charter agreements that run from 2025 through 2031.
In a letter to NASCAR, 23XI said its Toyota organization was refusing to sign the extension. The team’s revelation came on the eve of the start of NASCAR’s Cup Series playoffs as garage speculation Satur-
day indicated that all but two Cup Series teams have signed the new agreements. The other team believed to be holding out is Ford-backed Front Row Motorsports, a midlevel program that lacks Jordan’s clout.
Three people speaking to The Associated Press on the condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the yearslong negotiations said the teams felt “threatened and coerced” by NASCAR to sign the extensions or risk them being revoked. They spoke on condition of anonymity to avoid putting their agreements as risk.
Just last week, Polk pinned a sheet of paper to the back of his shirt that read: “Please don’t ask me about my Charter. I don’t want to disparage NASCAR and lose it.” He wore it during the Southern 500 at Darlington Raceway, where 23XI Racing driver Tyler Reddick became the regular-season champion and the team said no one from NASCAR bothered to present him with the trophy.
“We notified NASCAR what
Brady takes awkward first steps in transition from football field to TV booth
The legendary quarterback made his debut on Fox during Sunday’s games
By Jimmy Golen
The Associated Press
FOX SPORTS is spending
$375 million to put Tom Brady in the broadcast booth, and the network wants to make sure everyone knows he’s there.
The seven-time Super Bowl champion made his debut as an NFL analyst during the Fox broadcast of the regular-season opener between the Dallas Cowboys and the Cleveland Browns .
“You’re a broadcaster, how about that!” play-by-play announcer Kevin Burkhardt said when the camera cut to the booth in Cleveland, where Brady, in a coat and tie, made his first live appearance on screen. Burkhardt joked that he paid extra attention to his hair because he knew there would be more shots of the broadcast booth.
“I do what they tell me. I understand that,” Brady said with a chuckle. “I’m still a rookie in here.” To the viewers, that was obvious. Brady’s commentary was knowledgeable, as expected, but also lacking in personality — no Tony Romo anticipating the next play, no John Madden with his “Boom!”, not even the
“I do what they tell me. I understand that. I’m still a rookie in here.”
Tom Brady
quarter-zip sweaters that make Peyton Manning stand out from the dozens or hundreds of other ex-jocks who joined the media when their playing careers were over.
There were awkward laughs, a cringey fist-bump with rules analyst Mike Pereira, and a lot of calling players by their first names. Brady declined to call out Cleveland receiver Amari Cooper when a pass went through his hands in the fourth quarter and made excuses for the Browns while trying to find positives in a dreadful performance.
It didn’t help that the game, which Dallas led 27-3 early in the second half, was headed toward a blowout that would challenge even a veteran broadcaster to hold the audience’s interest. But that’s where Brady was able to deploy his experience as an asset.
“There’s plenty of time left in this game,” said the quarterback who famously led the Patriots back from a 28-3 deficit in Super Bowl 51 against Atlanta. “Just the margin of error’s slim.”
On one play, Brady called for Deshaun Watson to throw it to
issues needed to be addressed, in writing, at the deadline,” 23XI said in its Saturday statement. “We are interested in engaging in constructive discussions with NASCAR to address these issues and move forward in a way that comes to a fair resolution, while strengthening the sport we all love.”
“At 23XI Racing, we remain committed to competing at the highest level while also standing firm in our belief that NASCAR should be governed by fair and equitable practices,” the team said Saturday. What is a charter?
There are currently 36 charters in NASCAR for a 40-car field each week in the top-level Cup Series. A charter guarantees the 36 cars entry into all 38 races each season and a portion of the television package and purses depending on each team’s charter value.
Four charters remain held back by NASCAR, earmarked for a future manufacturer that might join Chevrolet, Ford or
Toyota in the Cup Series. A summer proposal from NASCAR suggested those charters should go to NASCAR and that the France family that runs the series should be able to field teams. NASCAR’s newest proposal to teams allegedly included an antidisparagement clause. The most recent charters were signed in 2016 and run through the end of the year, when the current television packages expire. Negotiations have been ongoing for more than two years, with teams content to allow NASCAR to finalize a new media package first so the teams have a clear idea how much money will be coming in. Teams want a bigger share of the revenue pie, a seat at the negotiating table, a role in upcoming projects and deals, and, most importantly, for charters to become permanent.
A charter guarantees a spot in any Cup Series race and thus part of the purse, and NASCAR has refused to even entertain that charters become permanent.
an open tight end; the Browns quarterback didn’t see it. Brady played 23 years in the NFL before retiring after the 2022 season as the most decorated player in league history. He signed a 10-year deal with Fox Sports — replacing the well-regarded Greg Olsen as the network’s lead analyst. Brady took last year off, a gap that only added to the anticipation over whether he could transfer some of his on-field knowledge and skills to the booth.
With five Super Bowl MVP awards in his seven victories
in the NFL title game — six for New England and one for Tampa Bay — Brady established himself as the greatest player in league history. He retired with the career records for wins, passing touchdowns and passing yards, among other bests. Brady shared some wisdom he got from fellow athlete-turned-TV personality Michael Strahan: “You’re going to wake up tomorrow, on Monday morning, you ain’t going to be sore.”
“That,” Brady said, “I’m very happy about.”
RYAN SUN / AP PHOTO
Dallas Cowboys head coach Mike McCarthy speaks with Tom Brady, right, during the first half of a preseason game.
23XI Racing co-owner Michael Jordan stands in the pit area during April’s NASCAR Cup Series race at Talladega
Barbara Jane “BJ” ManleyCashwell
Feb. 18, 1964 – Sept. 4, 2024
BJ gained her wings on September 4, 2024. She was born on February 18th, 1964, in Marion, Ohio to Jay Pete Manley, Jr. and Betty Lou (BaerSteinmen) McDaniel.
She had many hobbies; some of which were playing games on her phone and computer and reading her favorite books. Her favorite football team was the Pittsburgh Steelers. She loved spending time with all of her family. She loved getting to visit with the grandchildren and giving the great-grandbabies chocolate kisses—her FAVORITE candy.
BJ leaves behind her three children: Betty and Richard Taylor, Billy and Jessica Roark II and Becky Lavendier. Her brothers, Jay and Marla Manley III, Harold Manley, Richard and Nancy Nance, William and Jo Nance, John and Amanda Steinmen and two sisters: Mae and Marvin Jones and Christina Manley. She also leaves behind eight grandchildren and four wonderful great-grandchildren. She is preceded in death by her father, mother, two grandbabies and a nephew.
She was an amazing daughter, sister, aunt, mother, grandmother and friend. She will be greatly missed. She will always and forever be in our hearts!
There will be a memorial service held on Saturday, September 21 at the Marion Moose Lodge 889 at 1 p.m.
The lodge is located at 1085 W. Center Street, Marion, Ohio 43302.
Online condolences may be made on the Crumpler Funeral Home website.
Hubert Ray Britt
June 7, 1942 – Sept. 1, 2024
Hubert Ray Britt was born on June 7, 1942. He went to be with his Lord and Savior on September 1, 2024; surrounded by his loving family.
He was preceded in death by his father, Hubert H. Britt; his mother, Elsie M. Lee and step-father, David Lee; one sister, Carolyn C. Biddy; and his grandson, Garrett Ray Boyd.
He was a member of Raeford Evangelical Church. He was an avid Redskins and UNC Tar Heel fan. In his daily life, he spent his time loving on his wife, children, and grandchildren, living for Jesus, and making sure everyone saw Jesus in him. During his life, he served his country in the United States Army. He protected his community while serving at the Lumberton Police Department as an officer. He went on to be very well-known and loved by the community while working at Lumberton Ford.
He is survived by his wife, Wendy Britt; his son, Mickey Ray Britt (Melanie); his daughters, JoAnne Rigsbee, Rose Harper (Greg), Shanena Britt-Phillips (Mickey), Karly Parrish (David); 12 grandchildren; 20 greatgrandchildren; three great-greatgrandchildren; two nieces; two sisters-in-law, Patsy Jacobs (Cecil) and Rose Ramon (Frank); one brother in law, Earl Biddy; a special friend and neighbor, Barbara Johnson; and many other family members who will miss him dearly.
A visitation will be held Wednesday, September 4, 2024, from 1-2 p.m. at Raeford Evangelical Methodist Church, 379 W. Palmer Street. A service will follow with Pastor Roger Burns officiating.
Burial will be in the Raeford Cemetery.
In lieu of flowers donations can be made to St. Jude’s Hospital, Children Shriners, Tunnel to Towers or Raeford Evangelical Church. Online condolences may be made on the Crumpler Funeral Home of Raeford Website.
O’Dell Ashburn
Nov. 11, 1941 – Sept. 4, 2024
O’Dell Ashburn was born in Hoke County, North Carolina on November 11, 1941, to the late O’Dell and Maidia Olivia Clark Ashburn. He went to be with his Lord and Savior on September 4, 2024.
He was preceded in death by his son, Michael S. Ashburn. He was a member of the Bethel Presbyterian Church where he served as a deacon. He retired from the U.S. Air Force in 1985. After he retired from the Air Force, he went on to work for the National Security Agency and retired from there in 1999. During his last retirement, he worked for Crumpler Funeral Home as a Funeral Director Assistant. He was also a member of the Raeford Masonic Lodge #306, The Raeford Shriners, The V.F.W and the D.A.V.
He is survived by his daughter, Natalie; his brother, Wayne Ashburn and his wife, Carolyn Ashburn; his brother, Gary, and his wife, Gwen Ashburn; his sister, Linda, and many nieces and nephews.
A visitation will be held September 7, 2024, at noon with a service following at 1 p.m. at the Crumpler Funeral Home Chapel. A burial will take place at Bethel Presbyterian Church Cemetery with full Military Honors. Online condolences may be made on the Crumpler Funeral Home Website.
Nellie Ann Shaw
April 25, 1945 – Sept. 2, 2024
Ms. Nellie Ann Shaw age, 79, went home to rest with her Heavenly Father on September 2, 2024. The Celebration of Life will be held on Wednesday, September 11 at 2 p.m. at the Pauline T. Buie Chapel.
Iris Salzer
Sept. 13, 1937 – Sept. 3, 2024
Ms. Iris Driggers Salzer, of Raeford, NC passed away on Tuesday, September 03, 2024, at the age of 86. She was born in Scotland County, NC on September 13, 1937, to the late Eugene and Lynette Driggers. Along with her parents, she was preceded in death by her husband Leopold Kenneth Salzer III, and her sister, Barbara Taylor. Iris was a member of St. Elizabeth of Hungary Catholic Church. She worked at the Children’s Center in Raeford as both a caregiver and board member. She was a devoted wife, mother and grandmother.
Iris is survived by her children, Leopold Salzer IV (Deborah), Michael Salzer (Beth), Barry Salzer, Chris Salzer (Shanta) and Lynn Salzer; grandchildren, Michael Jr., Josh, Courtney, Eric, Krystle, Jeremy, Shawn II, Gabby, and great-grandchildren; two sisters, Wanda Bentz and Ann Radford, and her nieces and nephews.
A visitation will be held at 1 p.m. at St. Elizabeth of Hungary Catholic Church 6199 Fayetteville Rd., Raeford, NC 28376.
A funeral mass will follow.
Burial will be in the Raeford Cemetery.
Online condolences may be made on the Crumpler Funeral Home Website.
Celebrate the life of your loved ones. Submit obituaries and death notices to be published in NSJ at obits@northstatejournal.com
Aug. 12, 1938 – Aug. 29, 2024
How do you sum up a life in a few words? I have heard it said that it is “how you lived your dash” that matters. The dash that appears between your birth date and your death date. Our Mother lived her dash lovingly, bodaciously, generously and magnificently!
Nora Elizabeth Peele Peckham Scull was born on August 12, 1938, to Evelyn and Vester Peele. She was their only daughter and the oldest of three children. She passed away at home, at the age of 86, on Thursday evening, August 29th.
She gave her life to caring for others. She stayed at home to raise her four children; she outlived two husbands; she outlived both of her brothers and outlived both of her parents. She was preceded in death by her infant granddaughter, Lexie Shea Peckham. She provided loving and supportive care for many beloved members of our family.
Other than a brief time living in Germany, while her first husband, Alvin H. “Bill” Peckham was stationed there, Mrs. Scull lived all of her life in Raeford, NC. She was a graduate of Hoke County Schools and before starting her family, worked in the offices at Burlington Mills. Mrs. Scull was married to David Scull of Raeford, NC for 44 years. She is survived by her son, Michael Peckham and his wife, Janet; her daughter, Delaine Peckham Macdonald and her husband, Rev. Mike Macdonald; her daughter, Judy Scull Newsome, and her husband Charlie Newsome; her son, Randy Scull and his wife, Sarah Brooks Scull; nine grandchildren: Samantha Peckham Yahyapour (Michael); Kristen Peckham Marko (Jay); Dr. Caleb Macdonald; Rebekah Macdonald Corpening (Jaalen); Jessica Willard; William Brooks; Oliver Brooks; Patrick Newsome(Lauren); and Jaimison Peckham; and four great-grandchildren: Colton Yahyapour, Mason Yahyapour, Peyton Yahyapour and Ava Marko.
Visitation for family and friends will be held at 10:30 a.m., Saturday, September 7th, 2024, at Raeford United Methodist Church, Raeford, NC 28376. The Celebration of Life Service will follow at noon. Burial will immediately follow the service in the Raeford Cemetery.
In lieu of flowers, please offer gifts in memory to Liberty Home Care and Hospice Services, 336 South Main Street, Raeford, NC 28376.
Willie Thomas Carpenter, Jr. (April 12, 1947 – August 28, 2024)
“I’m free, Praise the Lord, I’m free. No longer bound, no more chains holding me. My soul is resting, it’s just a blessing; Praise the Lord! Hallelujah, I’m free.” It is with great sadness that we announce the passing of Mr. Willie Thomas Carpenter, Jr. of Raeford, North Carolina. Mr. Carpenter entered into eternal rest on Wednesday, August 28, 2024. Visitation will be held on Thursday, September 5, 2024, from 2 to 6 p.m. at Doby Funeral Home. Funeral Service will be held on Friday, September 6, 2024, at 1 p.m. at McLauchlin Chapel AME Zion Church in Raeford, NC.
Mr. Carpenter is survived by his wife, Windole Carpenter; children: Thomas Bridges, Linda Peguese, Crystal Carpenter and Neicy McRae; brothers: Billy Carpenter and Kenneth Carpenter. Professional services of love and comfort were entrusted to Doby Funeral Home.
STATE & NATION
Ga. school shooting highlights fears about classroom cellphone bans
Parents worry that they wouldn’t be able to reach their children in an emergency
By Andrew DeMillo
The Associated Press
Huddling for safety in classrooms as gunfire rang out, students at Apalachee High School texted or called their parents to let them know what was happening and send what they thought could be their final messages. One student texted her mother to say she loved her, adding, “I’m sorry I’m not the best daughter.”
The Georgia school shooting that left four dead and nine injured last week was every parent’s worst nightmare, and one that highlights potential downsides to efforts among states, school districts and federal lawmakers to ban or restrict access to cellphones in classrooms.
The moves to restrict phone use in schools have been driven by concerns about the impact screen time has on children’s mental health and complaints
from teachers that cellphones have become a constant distraction in the classroom. But those opposed to the bans say they cut off a lifeline parents have to make sure their children are safe during school shootings or other emergencies.
“The fact of the matter is parents and families cannot rely on schools to effectively communicate with us in times of emergency, and this has happened time and again,” said Keri Rodrigues, president of the National Parents Union, an education advocacy group. “There’s a whole host of reasons why parents are deeply concerned about whether or not they’re going to get timely information about whether or not their kids are safe.”
Nationally, 77% of U.S. schools say they prohibit cellphones at school for nonacademic use, according to the National Center for Education Statistics. But that number is misleading. It does not mean students are following those bans or all those schools are enforcing them.
The restrictions have been
trumpeted by both Republican and Democratic governors who rarely agree on other issues.
In Arkansas, GOP Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders launched a program for school districts to apply for grants to purchase pouches for students to keep their phones in during the school day. In California, Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom has urged school districts to restrict cellphone use and is weighing whether to sign legislation that would require schools to enact restrictions.
“I’d hate to see another school shooting be the reason that we bring TVs into the classroom and then disrupt our children’s education,” Newsom said Friday. “Because, in essence, that’s what a cellphone is equivalent to — bringing a TV into the classroom and disrupting the ability to get quality academic time.”
But for many students caught in the Apalachee shooting, having access to their phones was the only way they could communicate with loved ones during moments they feared could be their last.
“I love you. I love you so much.
Ma I love you,” Junior Julie San-
doval texted her mother. “I’m sorry I’m not the best daughter. I love you.”
Nearby, Sandoval said, another student was on the phone telling their mother, “They’re shooting up the school! They’re shooting up the school!”
But advocates of school phone restrictions warn that allowing access to phones during shootings or other emergencies could put students in even more danger.
“What’s even more important to me is their safety,” said Kim Whitman, co-founder of the Phone-Free Schools Movement, a group that advo -
cates for schools to adopt policies keeping cellphones off and away from students. “If my child was on the phone with me and they missed guidance from the teacher because they were distracted by their phone and they weren’t safe, that’s a worse scenario in my mind.”
Broward County schools in Florida now require students to keep their phones stored away and in airplane mode, but Scire has told her daughter to keep her phone on and with her.
“It’s not about me texting my daughter during regular school or anything like that,” Scire said. “It’s a safety measure and I’m sorry, I cannot let that go.”
Austin: Temporary budget would have devastating effects on military
The Pentagon chief warned Congress in a letter
By Lolita C. Baldor
The Associated Press
WASHINGTON, D.C. — Passage of a six-month temporary spending bill would have widespread and devastating effects on the Defense Department, Pentagon chief Lloyd Austin said in a letter to key members of Congress on Sunday.
Austin said that passing a continuing resolution that caps spending at 2024 levels, rather than taking action on the proposed 2025 budget will hurt thousands of defense programs, and damage military recruiting just as it is beginning to recover after the COVID-19 pandemic.
“Asking the department to compete with (China), let alone manage conflicts in Europe and the Middle East, while under a lengthy CR, ties our hands behind our back while expecting us to be agile and to accelerate progress,” said Austin in the letter to leaders of the House and Senate appropriations committees.
Republican House Speaker Mike Johnson has teed up a vote this week on a bill that would keep the federal government funded for six more months. The measure aims to garner support from his more
conservative GOP members by also requiring states to obtain proof of citizenship, such as a birth certificate or passport, when registering a person to vote.
Congress needs to approve a stop-gap spending bill before the end of the budget year on Sept. 30 to avoid a government shutdown just a few weeks before voters go to the polls and elect the next president.
Austin said the stop-gap measure would cut defense spending by more than $6 billion compared to the 2025 spending proposal. And it would take money from key new priorities while overfunding programs that no longer need it.
array of congressional districts and could also have an impact on local residents and jobs. Since the bill would not fund legally required pay raises for troops and civilians, the department would have to find other cuts to offset them. Those cuts could halt enlistment bonuses, delay training for National Guard and Reserve forces, limit flying hours and other training for active-duty troops and impede the replacement of weapons and other equipment that has been pulled from Pentagon stocks and sent to Ukraine.
Going forward with the continuing resolution, said Austin, will “subject service members and their families to unnecessary stress, empower our adversaries, misalign billions of dollars, damage our readiness, and impede our ability to react to emergent events.”
Noting that there have been 48 continuing resolutions during 14 of the last 15 fiscal years — for a total of nearly 1,800 days — Austin said Congress must break the pattern of inaction because the U.S. military can’t compete with China “with our hands tied behind our back every fiscal year.”
Johnson’s bill is not expected to get support in the Democratic-controlled Senate, if it even makes it that far. But Congress will have to pass some type of temporary measure by Sept. 30 to avoid a shutdown.
Many of those projects are in an
Under a continuing resolution, new projects or programs can’t be started. Austin said that passing the temporary bill would stall more than $4.3 billion in research and development projects and delay 135 new military housing and construction projects totaling nearly $10 billion. It also would slow progress on several key nuclear, ship-building, high-tech drone and other weapons programs.
LEA SUZUKI / SAN FRANCISCO CHRONICLE VIA AP
Student uses their cell phones after unlocking the pouch that secures them from use during the school day in San Mateo, California.
KEVIN WOLF / AP PHOTO
Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin, pictured in July, warned Congress that a proposed temporary spending bill would handcuff the military.
MOORE COUNTY
The final frontier
WHAT’S HAPPENING
N.C. public colleges launch simplified application process
The state this week introduced NC College Connect, a streamlined college application process for North Carolina public high school seniors. Launching for the 2025-26 academic year, the program allows qualifying students with a weighted GPA of 2.8 or above to bypass traditional application procedures at participating institutions. Six UNC System universities and all 58 North Carolina community colleges are part of the pilot program. Eligible high school seniors will receive invitation letters next month and can apply to schools during College Application Week, Oct. 21 to 27. State leaders hoped to increase the accessibility of higher education by reducing red tape and removing barriers to collegiate opportunities. The initiative complements existing financial aid opportunities like the Next NC Scholarship that allows some students to attend public colleges for free.
Law enforcement warns of email scam
Local law enforcement has issued an alert about a new scam targeting local residents. Scammers are sending threatening emails that include photographs of victims’ properties and demand $2,000 in bitcoin. The emails warn that failure to pay will result in the release of sensitive personal information. The threats are designed to create fear and urgency, and residents are advised not to engage with or pay the scammers. Recipients of such emails should not respond or click any links and should report the incident to local law enforcement.
Moore Commissioners approved a one-time allocation of $40,000 utilizing surplus sales tax dollars
By Ryan Henkel North State Journal
CARTHAGE — Following a surplus of sales tax dollars from last fiscal year, the Moore County Board of Commissioners has found a way to offer a bit more support to local teachers.
At the board’s Sept. 5 regular business meeting, the commissioners approved a one-time allocation of $40,000 to Moore County Schools to be distributed to K-3 teachers to assist with out-of-pocket supply costs.
“In our elementary level, there’s certainly more print material, more materials that
many times teachers take on on their own to make their classrooms very welcoming,” said MCS superintendent Tim Locklair. “We certainly appreciate the commissioners considering this.”
The funding for the allocation comes as a result of a strong surplus in sales tax dollars that the county received from the prior fiscal year, especially helped along by the U.S. Open in Pinehurst back in June.
“The chairman brought this up as a result of the great performance of sales tax around Moore County for fiscal year ’24,” said County Manager Wayne Vest. “We finished the year at $29.975 million compared to having budgeted for $26.5 million.”
Chairman Nick Picerno originally pitched the idea to his fellow commissioners a
few weeks ago, and county and school staff quickly got to work to figure out a mechanism to get the funding into the hands of the teachers.
“I think it’s a good thing in this inflationary time that we help our teachers,” Picerno said.
The board also held a public hearing for updates to the Unified Development Ordinance.
The proposed change was to incorporate indoor recreation as a by-right use in the industrial zoning district, which had already allowed high-impact outdoor recreation and assembly halls as a by-right use.
The request arose due to the applicant wishing to start a high-level gymnastics training facility on a 2.6-acre parcel located at 120 Knox Lane that is currently zoned industrial. Following the hearing, the board approved the request.
The board also approved a special use permit for the Unity Grove Baptist Church located at 849 Mount Carmel Road in order to construct a fellowship hall expansion and a fiveyear, $511,000 contract with NeoGov for the procurement of a new human resources management platform.
“This option saves the taxpayers over $100,000,” Picerno said.
In addition, the board will hold a public hearing at their Sept. 17 meeting to discuss the expansion of county animal operations.
“At the work session, a lot of misconceptions were pointed out,” Picerno said. “So we wanted to have a public hearing so we can have the public have input.”
The Moore County Board of Commissioners will next meet Sept. 17.
The recently discovered version was found in a filing cabinet, dating back to 1787
By Jeffrey Collins The Associated Press
ASHEVILLE — Historical document appraiser and collector Seth Kaller spreads a broad sheet of paper across a desk.
It’s in good enough condition that he can handle it, carefully, with clean, bare hands. There are just a few creases and tiny discolorations, even though it’s just a few weeks shy of 237 years old and has spent who knows how long inside a filing cabinet in North Carolina.
At the top of the first page are familiar words but in regular type instead of the sweeping Gothic script we’re used to
seeing: “WE, the People ...”
And the people will get a chance to bid for this copy of the U.S. Constitution — the only of its type thought to be in private hands — at a sale by Brunk Auctions on Sept. 28 in Asheville.
The minimum bid for the auction of $1 million has already been made. There is no minimum price that must be reached.
This copy was printed after the Constitutional Convention finished drafting the proposed framework of the nation’s government in 1787 and sent it to the Congress of the ineffective first American governmentunder the Articles of Confederation, requesting they send it to the states to be ratified by the people.
It’s one of about 100 copies printed by the secretary of
that Congress, Charles Thomson. Just eight are known to still exist, and the other seven are publicly owned.
Thomson likely signed two copies for each of the original 13 states, essentially certifying them. They were sent to special ratifying conventions, where representatives, all white and male, wrangled for months before accepting the structure of the United States government that continues today.
“This is the point of connection between the government and the people. The Preamble — ‘we the people’ — this is the moment the government is asking the people to empower them,” auctioneer Andrew Brunk said.
What happened to the document up for auction between Thomson’s signature and 2022 isn’t known.
Two years ago, a property was being cleared out in Edenton in eastern North Carolina that was once owned by Samuel Johnston. He was the governor of North Carolina from 1787 to 1789 and he oversaw the state convention during his last year in office that ratified the Constitution.
The copy was found inside a squat, two-drawer metal filing cabinet with a can of stain on top, in a long-neglected room piled high with old chairs and a dusty book case, before the old Johnston house was preserved. The document was a broad sheet that could be folded one time like a book.
“I get calls every week from people who think they have
Polaris Dawn, a private SpaceX mission that will see humans travel farther from Earth than any since the Apollo program a half-century ago, lifted off from Cape Canaveral, Florida, late Monday. The rocket’s plume was visible across the Eastern seaboard, including from Asheboro, where this picture was taken. The Polaris Dawn crew is scheduled to attempt the world’s first private spacewalk on Thursday.
TREY SNOW FOR NORTH STATE JOURNAL
North State Journal (USPS 20451) (ISSN 2471-1365)
Neal Robbins, Publisher Jim Sills, VP of Local Newspapers
Cory Lavalette, Senior Editor
Jordan Golson, Local News Editor
Shawn Krest, Sports Editor
Dan Reeves, Features Editor
Ryan Henkel, Reporter
P.J. Ward-Brown, Photographer BUSINESS
David Guy, Advertising Manager
Published each Thursday as part of North State Journal
1201
THURSDAY
Sept. 4
• Ashley Gibson Morgan, 31, was arrested by MCSO for negligent child abuseserious physical injury.
• Christopher Bryan Hamilton, 46, was arrested by MCSO for resisting a public officer.
• John Farrel Chamalian, 36, was arrested by Aberdeen PD for second-degree trespass.
Sept. 5
• Travis James Warren, 38, was arrested by MCSO for non-support of child.
• Jacques Alexander McGregor, 25, was arrested by MCSO for assault by strangulation.
• Michael David Britt, 43, was arrested by Robbins PD for possession of drug paraphernalia.
• Trevein Javonni Bellamy, 27, was arrested by Southern Pines PD for second-degree kidnapping.
Sept. 7
• Gage Samuel Ryals, 27, was arrested by MCSO for misdemeanor larceny.
Sept. 8
• Shelia Sueann McCain, 46, was arrested by Southern Pines PD for aid and abet impaired driving.
• Stacey Lynn Dills, 39, was arrested by Robbins PD for possession of methamphetamine.
Sept. 9
• Michael Edward McLaughlin, 26, was arrested by Southern Pines PD for misdemeanor crime of domestic violence.
• Lashinda Denise McBride, 45, was arrested by MCSO for misdemeanor crime of domestic violence.
• Indonesia Eyanna Brown, 22, was arrested by MCSO for resisting public officer.
Red Cross announces September blood drives
Public health organization offers T-shirts and gift cards for donations
North State Journal staff
AFTER A BLOOD shortage this summer, the American Red Cross is holding a number of blood donation events throughout the month of September. While all blood types are needed, there is a particular demand for type O blood donors and those willing to give platelets. Donations made before Sept. 15 get a Red Cross raglan T-shirt, while donations from Sept. 16-30 will receive a $15 e-gift card to a merchant of their choice. See RedCrossBlood.org/Fall for more. In Moore County, there are events scheduled in and over the next few weeks.
Sept. 12: 1:30 to 6 p.m. at Brownson Memorial Presbyterian Church, 330 S. May St. in Southern Pines Sept. 13: 12 to 5 p.m. at The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, 9800 U.S. Highway 15/501 in Pinehurst Sept. 13: 1 to 5:30 p.m. at
AUCTION from page A1
a Declaration of Independence or a Gettysburg Address and most of the time it is just a replica, but every so often something important gets found,” said Kaller, who appraises, buys and sells historic documents.
“This is a whole other level of importance,” he added.
Along with the Constitution on the broad sheet printed front and back is a letter from George Washington asking for ratification. He acknowledged there will have to be compromise and that rights the states enjoyed will have to be given up for the nation’s long-term health.
“To secure all rights of independent sovereignty to each and yet provide for the interest
COURTESY PHOTO
First-time blood donor Peggy King of Raleigh holds a sign following her donation during a blood drive at The Streets of Southpoint.
Douglass Community Center, 1185 W. Pennsylvania Ave. in Pinehurst
Sept. 14: 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. at Sandhills Bowling Center, 1680 N.C. 5 in Aberdeen Sept. 25: 1:30 to 6 p.m. at Southern Pines UMC, 175 Midland Road in Southern Pines Sept. 30: 9 a.m. to 1:30
and safety for all — individuals entering into society must give up a share of liberty to preserve the rest,” wrote the man who would become the first U.S. president.
Brunk isn’t sure what the document might go for because there is so little to compare it to. The last time a copy of the Constitution like this sold was for $400 in 1891. In 2021, Sotheby’s of New York sold one of only 14 remaining copies of the Constitution printed for the Continental Congress and delegates to the Constitutional Convention for $43.2 million, a record for a book or document.
But that document was meant to be distributed to the founding fathers as delegates to the Constitutional Convention. The signed copy be-
p.m. at Pinewild Country Club, 6 Glasgow Drive in Pinehurst Schedule an appointment by visiting RedCrossBlood.org, calling 800-REDCROSS or by downloading the Red Cross Blood Donor App. Donators need a blood donor card, driver’s license or two other forms of identification at check-in.
ing sold later this month was one meant to be sent to leaders in every state so people all around the country could review and decide if that’s how they wanted to be governed, connecting the writers of the Constitution to the people in the states who would provide its power and legitimacy.
The auction listing doesn’t identify the seller, saying its part of a collection that is in private hands.
Other items up for auction in Asheville including a 1776 first draft of the Articles of Confederation and a 1788 Journal of the Convention of North Carolina at Hillsborough where representatives spent two weeks debating if ratifying the Constitution would put too much power with the nation instead of the states.
Share with your community! Send us your births, deaths, marriages, graduations and other announcements: moorecommunity@northstatejournal.com Weekly deadline is Monday at Noon
Here’s a quick look at what’s coming up in and around Moore County:
Sept. 12
Moore County Farmers Market
9 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. 604 W. Morganton RoD (Armory Sports Complex), Southern Pines
The Vass Farmers Market
3 to 6:30 p.m.
Sandy Ramey Keith Park
3600 U.S. 1 BUS, Vass
Shop the Vass Farmers Market every Thursday at Sandy Ramey Keith Park. Enjoy supporting many local farmers and vendors.
Sept. 12-14
Moore County Historical Association: Shaw House & Property Tours
1 to 4 p.m.
Shaw House 110 Morganton Road, Pinehurst
The Moore County Historical Association’s Shaw House grounds and properties are open for tours on Thursdays, Fridays, and Saturdays from 1-4 p.m. The tours are free and open to all ages. Enjoy learning of the impressive history here in Moore County. “The Moore County Historical Association is a nonprofit organization dedicated to collecting, preserving, and sharing, the rich historical legacy of the towns, cities and surrounding area, of Moore County, North Carolina.”
Sept. 14
2024 Walk to End Alzheimer’s — Moore County
9 a.m. to 12 p.m.
Sandhills Community College 3395 Airport Road, Pinehurst
Registration at 9 a.m.; Opening ceremony and walk at 10 a.m.
Sept. 18
Sandhills Farmers Market
3 to 6 p.m.
James W. Tufts Memorial Park
1 Village Green Road West, Pinehurst
The Sandhills Farmers Market features some of the many wonderful farms, nurseries, bakeries, meat and egg providers, cheesemakers and specialty food producers our area has to offer. For more information, visit moorefarmfresh.com.
THE CONVERSATION
Neal Robbins, publisher | Frank Hill, senior opinion editor
VISUAL VOICES
TO THE EDITOR | ROBERT M. LEVY
Public education matters
The key to excellent education is, indeed, choice.
NO MATTER what type of education makes sense for your family or friends, thriving public schools are good for all of us. Public schools have been a cornerstone of America since its founding almost 250 years ago — and they’re more important now than ever before.
A healthy system of public education benefits everyone, whether by boosting our economy, reducing crime, promoting good citizenship or encouraging achievement.
Good public schools have been vital to Moore County’s growth and success. But there’s more to do in Moore and across North Carolina.
First, we must properly fund early childhood education such that all parents — especially middle-class families with children who do not have disabilities — have a nocost/low-cost public early education school option.
Second, the General Assembly should reform our tier system so that schools with disadvantaged children in counties with average incomes are funded the same as
COLUMN | DAVID HARSANYI
schools in more rural counties.
Third, the state should give local school boards more flexibility on curricula and standards so they can properly reflect the people in the communities who elected them.
Finally, the state should require all schools that receive state funds — whether public, charter or private — to administer standardized tests that enable parents to compare results among them.
The key to excellent education is, indeed, choice. And well-informed parents together with well-funded and well-run public schools provide families with an important choice for their children’s education.
Public education does the public good. To learn more, go to publiceducationmatters.org.
Robert M. Levy is chairman of the Moore County Board of Education.
Kamala Harris’ banana republic on free speech
Mark Zuckerberg recently admitted that senior Biden administration officials “repeatedly pressured” Facebook to “censor” COVID-19 content.
IN 2019, Vice President Kamala Harris told CNN’s Jake Tapper that social media companies “are directly speaking to millions and millions of people without any level of oversight or regulation and it has to stop.” Does it?
Every two-bit authoritarian in history has justified censoring its citizens as a way of protecting them from the menace of disinformation.
But social media sites, contra the reliably illiberal Harris, aren’t “directly speaking” to anyone. Millions of individuals are interacting and speaking to millions of other individuals. Really, that’s what grinds the modern left’s gears: unsupervised conversations.
Take the Brazilian Supreme Court panel that unanimously upheld the decision by one of its justices to shut down Elon Musk’s X over alleged “misinformation” fears.
We must assume that the Democratic Party’s presidential nominee, who once promised to ban guns via an executive order, agrees with Justice Alexandre de Moraes’s decision to shut down a social media platform for refusing to bend to the state’s demands of censorship.
The Associated Press reports that the Brazilian high court’s decision “undermines the effort by Musk and his supporters to cast Justice Alexandre de Moraes as an authoritarian renegade who is intent on censoring political speech in Brazil.”
Really? Because it seems to me that the state shuttering one of the popular social media sites unmistakably qualifies as a ban on political speech, whether one person is responsible or an entire government.
And make no mistake, it is politically motivated. “Just because the guy has a lot of money doesn’t mean he can disrespect this (country),” Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva argued. Well, the South American nation’s constitution, like ours, apparently protects free expression — making no distinction between the poor and rich: “Any and all censorship of a political, ideological, and artistic nature is prohibited.” You can tell Brazil is super serious about the matter because the bullet point appears in Chapter V, Article 220, or page 148 in my translated copy.
Let’s concede, however, that de Moraes isn’t any kind of renegade, merely a conventional Brazilian autocrat. In the same way, Musk isn’t merely another billionaire
but a tech CEO who generally views free expression as a neutral principle.
I suppose the best evidence for this claim is the fact that even as Brazil bans Musk’s site, he allows the far-left Lula to have an account on X with 9 million followers.
In Europe, free expression is also ostensibly protected by the constitution. Well, the right is contingent on “national security,” “territorial disorder,” “crime,” “health” and other highly malleable issues that ultimately allow police officers in the United Kingdom and Germany to show up at your door and throw you in prison for offensive posts.
As the late Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia once pointed out, “Every Banana Republic has a Bill of Rights.” The question is: How close are we to being one?
Uncomfortably close is the answer.
Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg recently admitted that senior Biden administration officials “repeatedly pressured” Facebook to “censor” COVID-19 content, including “humor and satire,” during the pandemic. Zuckerberg vowed that he would never let his company be pushed around again. I’m sorry if we don’t take him at his word.
Tech companies enjoy unencumbered free association rights and are free to keep or kick off anyone they desire from their platform, as they should. Before Musk’s purchase of Twitter, now known as X, contemporary left-wingers celebrated the independence of social media platforms. “If you don’t like it, build your own Twitter,” they would say.
OK. But when corporations, who often spend tens of millions each year in Washington rent-seeking and lobbying for favorable regulations, take marching orders from state officials and giant federal bureaucracies on the contours of permissible speech, we have a big problem.
If presidential candidates truly cared about “democracy,” they’d be advocating anti-cronyism laws and forbidding government officials from interfering with or pressuring private entities on speech.
But, these days, many Americans no longer view free expression as a neutral, liberal virtue worth defending. Foremost among them, apparently, is the Democratic presidential ticket.
David Harsanyi is a senior editor at The Federalist.
LETTER
Filipino preacher surrenders on sexual abuse charges
Apollo Quiboloy had been on the run since earlier this year
By Jim Gomez The Associated Press
MANILA, Philippines — A Filipino preacher accused of sexual abuse and human trafficking in the Philippines and similar charges in the United States surrendered Sunday to authorities in his religious complex in the south and flown to Manila where he was put in police detention, officials said.
Apollo Quiboloy and four other co-accused surrendered in the vast religious headquarters of their group, called Kingdom of Jesus Christ, in Davao City after the police gave a 24-hour ultimatum for them to give up, police said. Interior Secretary Benhur Abalos earlier said Quiboloy was caught by authorities.
Quiboloy and his co-accused were flown on a Philippine air force C-130 plane to the capital Sunday night and locked up in a heavily guarded detention center at the national police head-
quarters where their mugshots and fingerprints were taken, police spokesperson Col. Jean Fajardo said in a news briefing.
“The Philippine National Police gave an ultimatum for them to surrender, otherwise, we would raid a particular building, where we’ve been barred from entering,” Fajardo said, add-
ing that the warning led to their peaceful surrender.
Quiboloy went into hiding earlier this year after a Philippine court ordered his arrest and several others on allegations of suspicion of child and sexual abuse and human trafficking, Fajarto said. The Philippine Senate separately ordered
Quiboloy’s arrest for refusing to appear in public committee hearings that were looking into criminal allegations against him.
President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. had urged Quiboloy to surrender and assured him of fair treatment by authorities.
The preacher and his lawyer denied the allegations against him, saying they were fabricated by critics and former members who were removed from the religious group.
In 2021, United States federal prosecutors announced the indictment of Quiboloy for allegedly having sex with women and underage girls who faced threats of abuse and “eternal damnation” unless they catered to the self-proclaimed “son of God.”
Quiboloy and two of his top administrators were among nine people named in a superseding indictment returned by a federal grand jury and unsealed in November 2021. It contained a raft of charges, including conspiracy, sex trafficking of children, sex trafficking by force, fraud and coercion, marriage
fraud, money laundering, cash smuggling and visa fraud.
The U.S. Embassy in Manila referred requests for comments to Philippine authorities.
Last month, about 2,000 police backed by riot squads raided the vast religious compound of Quiboloy in Davao in a chaotic operation as large numbers of his followers turned up to oppose the raid.
The police brought equipment that could detect people hiding in underground tunnels but did not find him in the 75acre compound that includes a cathedral, stadium, school, residential area, hangar and taxiway leading to Davao International Airport.
In 2019, Quiboloy claimed he stopped a major earthquake from hitting the southern Philippines.
He was also a close supporter and spiritual adviser of former President Rodrigo Duterte, who is being investigated by the International Criminal Court in connection with the extrajudicial killings by police of thousands of mostly poor drug suspects.
Brazil’s X ban drives Bolsonaro supporters to rally for ‘free speech’
By Eléonore Hughes and Gabriela Sá Pessoa
The Associated Press
SAO PAULO — Thousands of supporters of former Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro flooded Sao Paulo’s main boulevard for an Independence Day rally Saturday, buoyed by the government’s blocking of tech billionaire Elon Musk’s X platform, a ban they say is proof of their political persecution. A few thousand demonstrators, clad in the yellow-and-green colors of Brazil’s flag, poured onto Av. Paulista. References to the ban on X and images of Musk abounded.
“Thank you for defending our freedom,” read one banner praising the tech entrepreneur.
Saturday’s march was seen as a test of Bolsonaro’s capacity to mobilize turnout ahead of the October municipal elections even though Brazil’s electoral court has barred him from running for office until 2030. It’s also something of a referendum on X, whose suspension has raised eyebrows even among some of Bolsonaro’s opponents all the while stoking the flames of Brazil’s deep-seated political polarization.
Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes ordered X’s nationwide ban on Aug. 30 af-
ter months of feuding with Musk over the limits of free speech. The powerful judge has spearheaded efforts to ban far-right users from spreading misinformation on social media, and he ramped up his clampdown after die-hard Bolsonaro supporters ransacked Congress and the presidential palace on Jan. 8, 2023, in an attempt to overturn Bolsonaro’s defeat in the presidential election.
On Saturday, Bolsonaro called Moraes a “dictator” and called on Brazil’s Senate to impeach the judge. He also repeated the false claim that President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva had colluded with the judiciary to steal the 2022 election.
“They want to censor the truth, so the people don’t know the truth,” Bolsonaro, with a raspy voice from a virus that sent him
to the hospital earlier in the day, told the crowd.
Such comments are red meat to Bolsonaro’s supporters, who have lauded Musk’s defiance of Brazil’s judiciary.
“Elon Musk has been a warrior for freedom of speech,” staunch Bolsonaro ally and lawmaker Bia Kicis said in an interview. “The right is being oppressed, massacred because the left doesn’t want the right to exist.”
“Our liberties are in danger, we need to make our voices heard. De Moraes is a tyrant, he should be impeached, and people on the streets is the only thing that will convince politicians to do it,” added retiree Amaro Santos as he walked down the thoroughfare Saturday, Musk, a self-proclaimed “free speech absolutist,” has also urged
Brazilians to turn out in droves for the rally, resharing someone else’s post claiming that X’s ban had awakened people “to the fact that freedom isn’t free and needs to be fought for.” He’s also created an X account, named for the controversial jurist, to publish sealed court orders directing X to shut down accounts deemed unlawful.
But De Moraes’ decision to ban X was far from arbitrary, having been upheld by fellow Supreme Court justices. And while expression, online and elsewhere, faces more prohibitions under Brazil’s laws than in the U.S., Musk has emerged as both a cause célèbre and a mouthpiece for unrestricted free speech.
Since 2019, X has shut down 226 accounts of far-right activities accused of undermining Brazil’s democracy, including those of lawmakers affiliated with Bolsonaro’s party, according to court records.
But when it refused to take action on some accounts, de Moraes warned last month that its legal representative could be arrested, prompting X to disband its local office. The U.S.-based company refused to name a new representative — as required in order to receive court notices — and de Moraes ordered its nationwide suspension until it did so.
A Supreme Court panel unanimously upheld de Moraes’ decision to block X days later, undermining Musk’s efforts to cast him as an authoritarian bent on censoring political speech.
The more controversial component of his ruling was the levy of a whopping $9,000 daily fine for regular Brazilians using virtual private networks (VPNs) to access X.
“Some of these measures that have been adopted by the Supreme Court appear to be quite onerous and abusive,” said Andrei Roman, CEO of Brazil-based pollster Atlas Intel.
In the lead-up to Saturday’s protest, some right-wing politicians defied de Moraes’ ban and brazenly used a VPN to publish posts on X, calling for people to partake in the protests.
The march in Sao Paulo is organized in parallel to official events to celebrate Brazil’s anniversary of independence from Portugal. Commemorations have been fraught with tension in recent years, as Bolsonaro used them while in office to rally supporters and show political strength.
Three years ago, he threatened to plunge the country into a constitutional crisis when he declared he would no longer abide de Moraes’ rulings. He has since toned down the attacks — a reflection of his own delicate legal situation.
Bolsonaro has been indicted twice since his term ended in 2022, most recently for alleged money laundering in connection with undeclared diamonds from Saudi Arabia. De Moraes is overseeing an investigation into the Jan. 8 riot, including whether Bolsonaro had a role in inciting it.
AP PHOTO
Filipino preacher Apollo Quiboloy, pictured in 2016, surrendered to authorities Sunday and is facing sexual abuse charges.
The social media platform has been banned in the country since Aug. 30
ETTORE CHIEREGUINI / AP PHOTO
Demonstrators take part in a protest calling for the impeachment of Supreme Court Minister Alexandre de Moraes, who recently imposed a nationwide block on X, in Sao Paulo on Saturday.
MOORE SPORTS
ATHLETE OF THE WEEK
Brandon Powell
North Moore, football
Brandon Powell is a senior on the North Moore football team.
The Mustangs fell to 0-3 on the year with a loss to Northwood, but Powell went out on his shield in the game. He rushed for 213 yards on 21 carries, scoring once. He had a long run of 61 yards and added a catch for 25.
Powell currently leads North Moore in rushing and scoring and is among the conference leaders in rushing yards.
Northwood offense redeems itself in Brown’s first win against North Moore
The Chargers beat North Moore 33-13, led by Dalton Brown
By Asheebo Rojas North State Journal
PITTSBORO — As Northwood earned its first win of the season over North Moore 33-13 on Friday, Dalton Brown earned a soaked T-shirt and a game ball for winning his first game as the coach of his alma mater.
“It feels like a full circle Pittsboro moment,” Brown said. “Just happy to come back and be here with the boys. It’s their team. They did a great job. They put the game plan in action and executed very well. So, I’m very happy about that.”
On a big night for the Northwood community, with the East Chatham Chargers youth football players and cheerleaders in attendance, the Chargers (0-3 0-1) put on a huge offensive bounce back performance that went much better than the previous showing at Union Pines.
Brown said his offensive line “answered the challenge” after being outmuscled the week prior, and junior running back Robert Tripp put that to the test with two long rushing touchdowns. Tripp also scored through the air on a swing pass from junior quarterback Grayson Cox.
Cox was also a force in both the run and pass game as he ran for a long touchdown at the end of the first quarter, putting the Chargers ahead 14-13. To put the finishing touches on the night in the fourth quarter, Cox found sophomore Raje Torres deep down the field for another score after scrambling around defenders in the backfield.
“It took a lot, but as a team we pushed and got over it,” Cox said about the response from last week’s loss. “We put it behind us, and we knew what we needed to do when we game planned like we should have. We came out here and played our hardest, and it showed on the field.”
The Chargers didn’t have the best start defensively, though. Early in the first quarter, North Moore senior Brandon Powell took off for a long run down to the Northwood 4-yard line and set up junior Joseph Dunn to score on a short run and put the Mustangs (1-2, 1-0) up 7-0.
North Moore took a 13-7 lead later in the quarter after Powell ran in another touchdown from within Northwood’s 5-yard line.
But from that point, Northwood’s defensive settled in and limited the big gains out of North Moore’s wing-T offense for the most part.
“Our guys communicated at the second level and our guys up front played physical for the second week in a row,” Brown said. “I thought that was one bright point from Union Pines. We played physical on the defensive line, and we continued that this week.”
As part of Northwood’s offensive resurgence, other players such as senior receiver Isaiah Blair and Torres made key contributions, too.
Torres helped move the chains multiple times for the Chargers when he got the ball in space. After battling it out with Cox for the starting quarterback position prior to the season, Torres has found a crucial role in the slot, bringing versatility as both a rusher and a route runner.
As a whole, Northwood’s offense displayed how versatile it could be against North Moore with chunks of yards coming from both the air and the ground.
Cox said that some of the positive plays were even improvised
Logano wins NASCAR playoff opener at Atlanta
The only two-time champ in the playoff field advances to next round
By Jenna Fryer The Associated Press
HAMPTON, Ga. — One
of the first things Joey Logano said after winning the NASCAR Cup Series’ playoff opener was that the postseason is his time of the year.
And, in 10 initial playoff appearances, he typically slid his way through the rounds, winning two Cup titles and never finishing lower than eighth in the standings.
Then came last year when Logano, as the reigning Cup champion, was eliminated from the 16-driver field in the very first round for the first time in his career. He dreaded going to the track for the remainder of the season even as Team Penske teammate Ryan Blaney went on to win the championship.
There will be no stumble this year, not after an overtime victory Sunday at Atlanta Motor Speedway gave Logano an automatic berth into the second round of the playoffs.
“That’s how we start the playoffs, boys!” Logano shouted. “When it is playoff time, it is our time.”
Logano won the 11th race of the season to end in overtime — a tie for the record set in the 2017 season. He’s trying to be-
come the only active three-time Cup champion in the series. Kyle Busch, who did not make the playoffs, is the only other current driver with two Cup titles.
“We’ve been able to level up when we need to level up and
be able to fire off the first race of the playoffs and with a statement is key, right?” Logano said. Blaney was initially listed in second for a 1-2 sweep for Team Penske and Ford. He lined up behind Logano and gave him
the pushes he needed to deny Daniel Suarez the victory. But after a review, Suarez was moved to second and Blaney dropped to third. Team owner Roger Penske was not at the race because the Detroit resident was scheduled to attend
as the dynamic offensive corps can adjust to what the defense gives them on the fly. With the way the Chargers played Friday, Brown could be in for even more “W’s” should his team build on the win and stay consistent through conference play.
Cox said a boost of confidence was “needed” especially after the way Northwood’s season started in its nonconference games.
“It was nice to just get boosted up,” Cox said. “It’s not going to get to our heads. We’re going to play like we should play. We’re going to slow the game down like we should slow the game down. We’re just going to do what we usually do and win how we should win.”
Northwood, now 1-2 on the season, has a tough game Friday when it travels to Southeast Alamance. That game will kick off at 7 p.m.
As for North Moore, the Mustangs are in unfamiliar territory.
North Moore has gotten off to its first 0-3 start since 2013. After losing many key seniors from last year’s team, the Mustangs are trying to build back up to their usual standard, taking a bumpier road along the way.
The Mustangs will have a bye next week and wait for their first conference home game against Southeast Alamance on Sept. 20.
the Lions’ NFL home opener later Sunday.
Suarez, who won the closest three-wide finish in Cup Series history here in February, had his own help from Trackhouse Racing teammate Ross Chastain. The two-lap overtime sprint to the finish began with Logano and Suarez lined up side by side on the front row, each with their teammate behind them for the push to the front.
Blaney got Logano out first, but Chastain remained locked onto the bumper of Suarez’s Chevrolet and the two dueled it out until Blaney used a final push to get his Penske teammate the win.
Suarez, who gained two spots in the standings to ninth with his runner-up finish, was disappointed to come up short.
“No, definitely not satisfied. I am happy with it, but not satisfied,” he said. “I felt like we were going to have a great shot at it. Ross was doing an amazing job of pushing, and I don’t know if he got a flat tire or something, but once I lost him, I knew it was going to be tough. But that is part of racing, right?”
Christopher Bell in a Toyota for Joe Gibbs Racing finished fourth, and Alex Bowman in a Chevrolet for Hendrick Motorsports was fifth. Regular-season champion Tyler Reddick of 23XI Racing was sixth and followed by Busch of Richard Childress Racing, Chase Elliott of Hendrick, William Byron of Hendrick and Austin Cindric of Penske. Only two Toyotas — Bell and Reddick — finished inside the top 10.
GENE GALIN FOR NORTH STATE JOURNAL
North Moore junior defensive back Justin Walker (10) tries to
get a stop on Northwood’s Raje Torres during Friday’s game. Walker finished with five tackles, two tackles for loss and a pass defense in the Mustangs’ loss.
GENE GALIN FOR NORTH STATE JOURNAL
JASON ALLEN / AP PHOTO
Joey Logano retrieves the checkered flag at the finish line after winning Sunday’s NASCAR Cup Series playoff race at Atlanta.
SIDELINE REPORT
WNBA
Reese out for rest of WNBA season due to wrist injury
Chicago Angel Reese’s historic rookie season is over. The Chicago Sky forward said on social media that she has a season- ending injury, which the team confirmed was to her wrist. Reese finished the season averaging 13.6 points and 13.1 rebounds. It’s the highest rebound average in the history of the WNBA. Reese also set the rookie record with 26 double- doubles — her last coming in a win over Los Angeles on Friday night.
NFL
Prescott, Cowboys agree on record contract
Dallas Dak Prescott got a new contract with the Dallas Cowboys hours before their season opener at Cleveland. The star quarterback and the Cowboys agreed on a $240 million, four-year contract. It’s the first in NFL history to average $60 million per season. The runner-up in NFL MVP voting was entering the final year of a $160 million, fouryear contract that was a franchise record before this deal. It includes $231 million guaranteed. That’s $1 million more than the previous record from the fully guaranteed deal Deshaun Watson signed with the Browns two years ago.
NBA Grizzlies’ Jackson II to be reevaluated after foot surgery
Memphis Memphis forward GG Jackson II will be reevaluated in three months after surgery to repair the fifth metatarsal in his right foot. The Grizzlies updated Jackson’s status for an injury they first announced Aug. 30. Jackson hurt his foot on a layup playing basketball in Texas last week. The 19-yearold Jackson was a secondround pick of Memphis in the 2023 NBA Draft. He started 18 of 48 games and averaged 14.6 points per game. Jackson earned second-team NBA All-Rookie honors. He was a bright spot in an injury-plagued season for the Grizzlies, who went 27-55.
NFL Hill briefly detained for traffic violation before Dolphins game
Miami Police are calling for an investigation into why Miami Dolphins receiver Tyreek Hill was briefly detained for a traffic violation while entering Hard Rock Stadium hours before his team was set to open the season against the Jacksonville Jaguars. Hill was seen on video posted to X laying face down on the ground as officers placed his hands behind his back and put handcuffs on him. Hill, who led the NFL in receiving yards in 2023, still took the field and started for Miami.
Superspeedway.
Jordan’s NASCAR team skips deadline to sign new revenue model with racing series
All but two Cup Series teams are believed to have signed an agreement
By Jenna Fryer The Associated Press
HAMPTON, Ga. — 23XI
Racing, the NASCAR team coowned by Michael Jordan, said Saturday it skipped a deadline to sign a new charter agreement with the sanctioning body because “it did not have an opportunity to fairly bargain” for a new contract.
The two-car team owned by Jordan, active driver Denny Hamlin and Jordan righthand man Curtis Polk revealed that teams had a Friday night NASCAR-imposed deadline to sign new charter agreements that run from 2025 through 2031.
In a letter to NASCAR, 23XI said its Toyota organization was refusing to sign the extension. The team’s revelation came on the eve of the start of NASCAR’s Cup Series playoffs as garage speculation Satur-
day indicated that all but two Cup Series teams have signed the new agreements. The other team believed to be holding out is Ford-backed Front Row Motorsports, a midlevel program that lacks Jordan’s clout.
Three people speaking to The Associated Press on the condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the yearslong negotiations said the teams felt “threatened and coerced” by NASCAR to sign the extensions or risk them being revoked. They spoke on condition of anonymity to avoid putting their agreements as risk.
Just last week, Polk pinned a sheet of paper to the back of his shirt that read: “Please don’t ask me about my Charter. I don’t want to disparage NASCAR and lose it.” He wore it during the Southern 500 at Darlington Raceway, where 23XI Racing driver Tyler Reddick became the regular-season champion and the team said no one from NASCAR bothered to present him with the trophy.
“We notified NASCAR what
Brady takes awkward first steps in transition from football field to TV booth
The legendary quarterback made his debut on Fox during Sunday’s games
By Jimmy Golen The Associated Press
FOX SPORTS is spending
$375 million to put Tom Brady in the broadcast booth, and the network wants to make sure everyone knows he’s there.
The seven-time Super Bowl champion made his debut as an NFL analyst during the Fox broadcast of the regular-season opener between the Dallas Cowboys and the Cleveland Browns .
“You’re a broadcaster, how about that!” play-by-play announcer Kevin Burkhardt said when the camera cut to the booth in Cleveland, where Brady, in a coat and tie, made his first live appearance on screen. Burkhardt joked that he paid extra attention to his hair because he knew there would be more shots of the broadcast booth.
“I do what they tell me. I understand that,” Brady said with a chuckle. “I’m still a rookie in here.” To the viewers, that was obvious. Brady’s commentary was knowledgeable, as expected, but also lacking in personality — no Tony Romo anticipating the next play, no John Madden with his “Boom!”, not even the
“I do what they tell me. I understand that. I’m still a rookie in here.”
Tom Brady
quarter-zip sweaters that make Peyton Manning stand out from the dozens or hundreds of other ex-jocks who joined the media when their playing careers were over.
There were awkward laughs, a cringey fist-bump with rules analyst Mike Pereira, and a lot of calling players by their first names. Brady declined to call out Cleveland receiver Amari Cooper when a pass went through his hands in the fourth quarter and made excuses for the Browns while trying to find positives in a dreadful performance.
It didn’t help that the game, which Dallas led 27-3 early in the second half, was headed toward a blowout that would challenge even a veteran broadcaster to hold the audience’s interest. But that’s where Brady was able to deploy his experience as an asset.
“There’s plenty of time left in this game,” said the quarterback who famously led the Patriots back from a 28-3 deficit in Super Bowl 51 against Atlanta. “Just the margin of error’s slim.”
On one play, Brady called for Deshaun Watson to throw it to
issues needed to be addressed, in writing, at the deadline,” 23XI said in its Saturday statement. “We are interested in engaging in constructive discussions with NASCAR to address these issues and move forward in a way that comes to a fair resolution, while strengthening the sport we all love.”
“At 23XI Racing, we remain committed to competing at the highest level while also standing firm in our belief that NASCAR should be governed by fair and equitable practices,” the team said Saturday. What is a charter?
There are currently 36 charters in NASCAR for a 40-car field each week in the top-level Cup Series. A charter guarantees the 36 cars entry into all 38 races each season and a portion of the television package and purses depending on each team’s charter value.
Four charters remain held back by NASCAR, earmarked for a future manufacturer that might join Chevrolet, Ford or
Toyota in the Cup Series. A summer proposal from NASCAR suggested those charters should go to NASCAR and that the France family that runs the series should be able to field teams. NASCAR’s newest proposal to teams allegedly included an antidisparagement clause. The most recent charters were signed in 2016 and run through the end of the year, when the current television packages expire. Negotiations have been ongoing for more than two years, with teams content to allow NASCAR to finalize a new media package first so the teams have a clear idea how much money will be coming in. Teams want a bigger share of the revenue pie, a seat at the negotiating table, a role in upcoming projects and deals, and, most importantly, for charters to become permanent. A charter guarantees a spot in any Cup Series race and thus part of the purse, and NASCAR has refused to even entertain that charters become permanent.
an open tight end; the Browns quarterback didn’t see it. Brady played 23 years in the NFL before retiring after the 2022 season as the most decorated player in league history. He signed a 10-year deal with Fox Sports — replacing the well-regarded Greg Olsen as the network’s lead analyst. Brady took last year off, a gap that only added to the anticipation over whether he could transfer some of his on-field knowledge and skills to the booth.
With five Super Bowl MVP awards in his seven victories
in the NFL title game — six for New England and one for Tampa Bay — Brady established himself as the greatest player in league history. He retired with the career records for wins, passing touchdowns and passing yards, among other bests. Brady shared some wisdom he got from fellow athlete-turned-TV personality Michael Strahan: “You’re going to wake up tomorrow, on Monday morning, you ain’t going to be sore.”
“That,” Brady said, “I’m very happy about.”
RYAN SUN / AP PHOTO
Dallas Cowboys head coach Mike McCarthy speaks with Tom Brady, right, during the first half of a preseason game.
MIKE STEWART / AP PHOTO
23XI Racing co-owner Michael Jordan stands in the pit area during April’s NASCAR Cup Series race at Talladega
Patricia Simmons Lewin
Sept. 12, 1939 – Sept. 4, 2024
Patricia Simmons Lewin of West End, NC, passed away peacefully at FirstHealth Hospice House on September 4, 2024. She was born at Rush Presbyterian in Chicago in 1939 to William and Irene Simmons. The love of her life and her husband, Gerald Lewin, was also born at Rush Presbyterian. Patt spent her early years in Chicago and then moved with her family to Bartlett, Illinois. She graduated from Barrington High School in the class of 1957. She had many fond memories and was very fortunate to have made so many lifelong friends at Barrington High School. After a tragic car accident left her in hospital her senior year and unable to attend college she started working for the Milwaukee Railroad. While working there she met and married Gerald Lewin in 1962 and began a marriage filled with love, laughter, travel and many
friendships until Gerald’s death in 2014. Patt was employed as a legal secretary from 1982-2019. A lifelong Democrat Patt loved politics and was hoping to live long enough to cast her ballot for Kamala 2024. She was an avid reader and loved mysteries and history. She loved taking quarters from her friends in her weekly Mahjong group. She always said she was just “lucky”. Patt leaves behind to cherish her memory her daughter Kathryn Thwaites and her son-in-law Brian Thwaites. She is also survived by her grandchildren Bradley, Jennifer and her grandsonin-law Justin. She also leaves behind to mourn her passing her best friends Sue and Karl Miklas who gave her unlimited love and support for over 55 years. The family owes a tremendous debt of gratitude to her friends Mary Snead, Carole Faas and Winnie Fischer. Thank you so much for being “on call” for Patt and bringing love and joy to her life. The family also would like to express their sincere gratitude to the incredible staff at First Health Hospice as well as the Seven Lakes Fire and Rescue team.
A celebration of her life will be held at her home on Friday, September 13 from 3-5 p.m.
In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to FirstHealth Hospice and Palliative Care, 150 Applecross Road, Pinehurst, NC 27376 or Seven Lakes Fire and Rescue, PO Box 588 West End, NC 27376. Services entrusted to Boles Funeral Home of Seven Lakes.
Patricia J. Liotta
Aug. 23, 1942 – Sept. 4, 2024
Patricia J. Liotta, 82, of Pinehurst, passed away peacefully on Wednesday, September 4, 2024, at First Health Hospice House.
Patricia was born in Chicago, Illinois in August 1942. She was raised in Cicero, Illinois, a suburb of Chicago. Patricia attended J. Sterling Morton Community College and completed her college studies at De Paul University, graduating in 1964 with a Bachelor of Science degree in Commerce. Patricia continued her studies by earning an MBA degree from Pace University in New York. She was a Certified Public Accountant (CPA) earning her certificate in Illinois. She subsequently earned additional CPA certificates, through reciprocity, in California and New York. Patricia was also a Certified Fraud Examiner. Patricia worked for numerous prominent companies most notably PricewaterhouseCoopers, International Paper, Champion International, Xerox, Penn Central, National Guardian, and Dictaphone. She was a career woman.
In 1974 while working at International Paper in New York City, Patricia met her husband,
Joseph. They were married in December 1974, and spent 50 joyous years together.
Patricia was an ardent traveler visiting all 50 states in the United States. She also traveled to Europe visiting Italy, France, Belgium, Portugal, Spain, Germany, The Netherlands, Czech Republic, Hungary, Austria, Great Britain, Ireland, Scotland, and Poland. Her favorite place was Venice, Italy.
She was also an ardent golfer playing many famous golf courses including, St. Andrews, Royal Dornoch, Turnberry, North Berwick, Prestwick, Ballybunion, and Lahinch. Her favorite courses were TPC River Highlands, and the stadium course at PGA West.
Working as a consultant at the World Trade Center on September 11, 2001, Patricia survived the terrorist attack by navigating her exit from the 29th floor of Tower 1. She never forgot that day.
Patricia was preceded in death by her parents Waller and Helen (nee Pinta) Zak. She is survived by her husband, Joseph. Patricia’s husband wants to thank the efforts of Dr. Randall and Donna Mercier and Cory, the staff at First Health Hospice House, specifically Ciera and Lorraine, and the staff at First Health Cancer Center, specifically Bobbi Clark Smith, Sondra Williamson, and Lisa Clark. Your efforts and caring were outstanding. A visitation will be held Tuesday, September 10, 2024, from 1 to 5 p.m. at the Boles Funeral Home in Pinehurst. A Funeral Mass will be held at 11 a.m. Wednesday, September 11, 2024, at Sacred Heart Roman Catholic Church in Pinehurst. She will be interred at Pinelawn Memorial Park in Southern Pines following the service. Services entrusted to Boles Funeral Home of Pinehurst.
STATE & NATION
Ga. school shooting highlights fears about classroom cellphone bans
Parents worry that they wouldn’t be able to reach their children in an emergency
By Andrew DeMillo
The Associated Press
Huddling for safety in classrooms as gunfire rang out, students at Apalachee High School texted or called their parents to let them know what was happening and send what they thought could be their final messages. One student texted her mother to say she loved her, adding, “I’m sorry I’m not the best daughter.”
The Georgia school shooting that left four dead and nine injured last week was every parent’s worst nightmare, and one that highlights potential downsides to efforts among states, school districts and federal lawmakers to ban or restrict access to cellphones in classrooms.
The moves to restrict phone use in schools have been driven by concerns about the impact screen time has on children’s mental health and complaints
from teachers that cellphones have become a constant distraction in the classroom. But those opposed to the bans say they cut off a lifeline parents have to make sure their children are safe during school shootings or other emergencies.
“The fact of the matter is parents and families cannot rely on schools to effectively communicate with us in times of emergency, and this has happened time and again,” said Keri Rodrigues, president of the National Parents Union, an education advocacy group. “There’s a whole host of reasons why parents are deeply concerned about whether or not they’re going to get timely information about whether or not their kids are safe.”
Nationally, 77% of U.S. schools say they prohibit cellphones at school for nonacademic use, according to the National Center for Education Statistics. But that number is misleading. It does not mean students are following those bans or all those schools are enforcing them.
The restrictions have been
trumpeted by both Republican and Democratic governors who rarely agree on other issues.
In Arkansas, GOP Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders launched a program for school districts to apply for grants to purchase pouches for students to keep their phones in during the school day. In California, Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom has urged school districts to restrict cellphone use and is weighing whether to sign legislation that would require schools to enact restrictions.
“I’d hate to see another school shooting be the reason that we bring TVs into the classroom and then disrupt our children’s education,” Newsom said Friday. “Because, in essence, that’s what a cellphone is equivalent to — bringing a TV into the classroom and disrupting the ability to get quality academic time.”
But for many students caught in the Apalachee shooting, having access to their phones was the only way they could communicate with loved ones during moments they feared could be their last.
“I love you. I love you so much.
Ma I love you,” Junior Julie San-
doval texted her mother. “I’m sorry I’m not the best daughter. I love you.”
Nearby, Sandoval said, another student was on the phone telling their mother, “They’re shooting up the school! They’re shooting up the school!”
But advocates of school phone restrictions warn that allowing access to phones during shootings or other emergencies could put students in even more danger.
“What’s even more important to me is their safety,” said Kim Whitman, co-founder of the Phone-Free Schools Movement, a group that advo -
cates for schools to adopt policies keeping cellphones off and away from students. “If my child was on the phone with me and they missed guidance from the teacher because they were distracted by their phone and they weren’t safe, that’s a worse scenario in my mind.”
Broward County schools in Florida now require students to keep their phones stored away and in airplane mode, but Scire has told her daughter to keep her phone on and with her.
“It’s not about me texting my daughter during regular school or anything like that,” Scire said. “It’s a safety measure and I’m sorry, I cannot let that go.”
Austin: Temporary budget would have devastating effects on military
The Pentagon chief warned Congress in a letter
By Lolita C. Baldor
The Associated Press
WASHINGTON, D.C. — Passage of a six-month temporary spending bill would have widespread and devastating effects on the Defense Department, Pentagon chief Lloyd Austin said in a letter to key members of Congress on Sunday.
Austin said that passing a continuing resolution that caps spending at 2024 levels, rather than taking action on the proposed 2025 budget will hurt thousands of defense programs, and damage military recruiting just as it is beginning to recover after the COVID-19 pandemic.
“Asking the department to compete with (China), let alone manage conflicts in Europe and the Middle East, while under a lengthy CR, ties our hands behind our back while expecting us to be agile and to accelerate progress,” said Austin in the letter to leaders of the House and Senate appropriations committees.
Republican House Speaker Mike Johnson has teed up a vote this week on a bill that would keep the federal government funded for six more months. The measure aims to garner support from his more
conservative GOP members by also requiring states to obtain proof of citizenship, such as a birth certificate or passport, when registering a person to vote.
Congress needs to approve a stop-gap spending bill before the end of the budget year on Sept. 30 to avoid a government shutdown just a few weeks before voters go to the polls
and elect the next president.
Austin said the stop-gap measure would cut defense spending by more than $6 billion compared to the 2025 spending proposal. And it would take money from key new priorities while overfunding programs that no longer need it.
Under a continuing resolution, new projects or programs can’t be started. Austin
said that passing the temporary bill would stall more than $4.3 billion in research and development projects and delay 135 new military housing and construction projects totaling nearly $10 billion. It also would slow progress on several key nuclear, ship-building, high-tech drone and other weapons programs.
Many of those projects are in an
array of congressional districts and could also have an impact on local residents and jobs. Since the bill would not fund legally required pay raises for troops and civilians, the department would have to find other cuts to offset them. Those cuts could halt enlistment bonuses, delay training for National Guard and Reserve forces, limit flying hours and other training for active-duty troops and impede the replacement of weapons and other equipment that has been pulled from Pentagon stocks and sent to Ukraine.
Going forward with the continuing resolution, said Austin, will “subject service members and their families to unnecessary stress, empower our adversaries, misalign billions of dollars, damage our readiness, and impede our ability to react to emergent events.”
Noting that there have been 48 continuing resolutions during 14 of the last 15 fiscal years — for a total of nearly 1,800 days — Austin said Congress must break the pattern of inaction because the U.S. military can’t compete with China “with our hands tied behind our back every fiscal year.”
Johnson’s bill is not expected to get support in the Democratic-controlled Senate, if it even makes it that far. But Congress will have to pass some type of temporary measure by Sept. 30 to avoid a shutdown.
LEA SUZUKI / SAN FRANCISCO CHRONICLE VIA AP
Student uses their cell phones after unlocking the pouch that secures them from use during the school day in San Mateo, California.
KEVIN WOLF / AP PHOTO
Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin, pictured in July, warned Congress that a proposed temporary spending bill would handcuff the military.
