North State Journal Vol. 8, Issue 2

500 jobs coming to Davidson County, Cooper announces Lexington Siemens Mobility, Inc., a global manufacturer of rail transportation vehicles and control systems, will build a major advanced manufacturing and rail services center in Davidson County. The company is expected to create 506 jobs, Gov. Roy Cooper announced, and invest $220 million in Lexington to create an East Coast hub.

“After four decades of manufacturing trains in America and on behalf of all 4,000 Siemens Mobility employees in the U.S., we are excited to announce that we will expand to our new east coast hometown in Lexington, North Carolina,” said Marc Buncher, CEO of Siemens Mobility North America.

The average salary for the new positions will be $51,568. The current average wage in Davidson County is $49,956.

NSJ STAFF

Biden says new taxes can help save Medicare

Washington, D.C.

President Joe Biden on Tuesday proposed new taxes to help fund Medicare, saying the plan would help to extend the insurance program’s solvency by 25 years and provide a degree of middle-class stability to millions of older adults.

Biden wants to increase the Medicare tax rate from 3.8% to 5% on income exceeding $400,000 per year, including salaries and capital gains. The proposal is a direct challenge to GOP lawmakers, who argue that economic growth comes from tax cuts. The conflicting worldviews on how taxes would impact the economy is part of a broader showdown.

Biden and Congress need to reach a deal to raise the government’s borrowing authority at some point this summer, or else the government could default and plunge the U.S. into a debilitating recession.

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

Order blocking Leandro funding transfer reinstated by NC Supreme Court

Motions filed in February seek to address unanswered issues; raise question of funding authority

By A.P. Dillon North

State Journal

RALEIGH — The long-running Leandro education funding case is still far from a resolution after the N.C. Supreme Court granted a motion by the state controller and reinstated an order blocking the funding transfer.

The attorney for the state controller’s office, former state Supreme Court Justice Robert Hunter, filed a motion in February on behalf of current Control-

ler Nels Roseland. Hunter had also represented the former controller, Linda Combs. In a 5-2 decision, the Court granted the controller’s motion and reinstated a 2021 Writ of Prohibition issued by the Court of Appeals that halted a lower court’s order directing the transfer of certain funds in the case. Both Democratic justices voted no.

The Supreme Court’s March 3 ruling said the controller “has made a sufficient showing of substantial and irreparable harm should the stay remain in effect,” and that Writ of Prohibition is restored “until this Court has an opportunity to address the remaining issues in this case.”

See LEANDRO, page A2

While a formal bill has yet to be drafted, the proposal would be a constitutional amendment put to the voters

By A.P. Dillon North State Journal RALEIGH

— A proposal that would elect North Carolina’s 50 state senators from contiguous two-county districts will be finding its way into legislative discussion this session, according to Rep. Jay Adams (R-Catawba).

The proposal, which is still in the drafting process, would be in the form of a constitutional amendment that voters would have to approve.

In an interview with North State Journal, Adams said the Senate districts would “mimic the federal Senate arrangement” where there are two senators for every state and then the representation in the House is by population. He later added, “Wyoming has a population of less than 600,000 but got two senators.”

Adams said he has not analyzed the pairings nor has he created a map that that pairs the counties.

“My thinking would be that we would start from the east and the west and pair counties, and then as we got to the center, we would have

N. Carolina’s rape kit backlog persists

By A.P. Dillon North State Journal

RALEIGH — In 2017, North Carolina was number one in the nation for untested rape kits with a backlog of over 15,000. The state has made some headway into reducing the number of untested rape kits, but the backlog still hasn’t been cleared five years later.

The number of kits in inventory currently stands at 16,223, according to early March numbers posted on the N.C. Department of Justice’s (NCDOJ) data dashboard.

The dashboard says performs real-time updates and, as of March 6, the site says 8,918 kits have been tested, leaving 7,305 still in the inventory backlog. The NCDOJ’s dashboard also says 11,128 kits have been “submitted.”

The kits are further broken down into categories, such as 11,516 requiring a DNA test. Some 2,953 kits were apparently entered into the national Combined DNA Index System (CODIS). The dashboard says there have been 53 Arrests from CODIS hits and 105 arrests from CODIS hits across “all sexual assault cases.”

Recent misreporting has confused the total number of kits in the backlog with those currently awaiting testing.

One North Carolina media outlet reported that “North Carolina has about 1,800 kits waiting to be tested for DNA, according to the Attorney General’s Office.” That report was interpreted as “about 1,800 untested kits left in the state,” by End The Backlog, a national group tracking rape kit testing.

North State Journal contacted Stein’s office to clarify the matter.

“The 1,800 number was the number of kits pending testing at the State Crime Lab as of January 2023, not kits from the backlog of untested kits in law enforcement custody,” a communications spokesperson for Stein wrote in an email response. “These 1,800 were kits that were submitted dating back to September 2021. Currently, the Lab is testing kits dating back to January 2022 submissions.”

The spokesperson also wrote that “Of the backlog kit numbers on the dashboard, not all kits of the 16,000 inventory will be tested based on the criteria in the Survivor Act. The DNA test required number is the number of kits that law enforce-

a little bit more of a challenge,” said Adams. “I think in the final analysis, the arguments would be what county is going to be associated with Mecklenburg and what county is going to be associated with Wake. I don’t think of these adjacent counties are going to willingly attach themselves, but we’ll see.”

Adams acknowledged this proposal will have significant hurdles, specifically, running afoul of a past U.S. Supreme Court ruling.

“My background is not political science. I’m just a politician,” said Adams. “But the point is I started thinking about ‘Well, why don’t we do that?’ And so I mentioned it to Rep. (Harry) Warren, chairman of the elections committee, and he said, ‘Well, that violates the oneman, one-vote principle.’”

The one-man, one-vote principle refers to a 1964 Supreme Court ruling under then-Chief Justice Earl Warren that said all state legislative races should be based on population.

While Adams finds the idea of challenging a Supreme Court ruling “daunting,” he pointed to a scholarly report examining the issue published by the University of the Pacific Law Review titled “Little Federal Model: One County, One Vote.”

“It was written a year ago and it

Two counties per state senator? That’s what one lawmaker is proposing

All smiles at State of the State address

North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper delivers his State of the State address to a joint session of the N.C. General Assembly on Monday, March 6, 2023, in Raleigh, as, from left, Lt. Gov. Mark Robinson, House Speaker Tim Moore and Senate Leader Phil Berger look on.

“One of One”

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The Associated Press reported that Ford Porter, a spokesperson for Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper, said the governor “is shocked and disappointed” that Roseland “joined with Republican legislative leaders to hold up funding for the public schools ordered by the Supreme Court in line with decades of bipartisan rulings in favor of schoolchildren.”

Funding of the Leandro Comprehensive Remedial Plan was first dictated in a lower court’s order for a transfer of $1.7 billion by three entities; the State Controller’s Office, the Office of Budget and Management, and the State Treasurer.

The total figure has shifted over time and currently sits at around $677.8 million.

The controller and lawmaker defendants have consistently argued that only the General Assembly can legally make such a transfer per the state constitution.

Last fall, the then-Democratically controlled Supreme Court upheld the trial court’s funding order, issuing its ruling down party lines just days before the 2022 midterm general election, after which the court’s makeup switched to a 5-2 Republican majority.

The previous Supreme Court’s ruling had ignored its own past decisions where it had affirmed the General Assembly retained “exclusive” control of expenditures under the appropriation clause of the state’s constitution.

Senate Leader Phil Berger

talks about the rural/urban divide and the tensions that exist between the rural areas and the urban areas, which I think is probably most pronounced right now by what’s going on in Oregon,” Adams said. “You got 63% of the state land area that’s trying to secede and attach itself to Idaho, and, interestingly, that 63% of the land area only represents 9% of their population. So, there’s growing tensions in this area.”

Adams went on to list major cities that essentially run the states they are located in, such as Chicago and Denver, as well as the control certain counties have over a state like Maricopa County in Arizona.

The Catawba lawmaker said as he began to think about the topic, he thinks “it’s evolved to this point” in North Carolina and that the state does have an urban/rural divide.

“One senator represents 10 counties,” Adams said. “And I asked Sen. (Bobby) Hanig what that’s like, and he said, “Well, go and try to put up yard signs in 10 counties and see how you feel about it?” And then, Sen. (Kevin) Corbin in western North Carolina represents eight counties. Mean-

Hebrews

No books nor universities can teach us the divine art of sympathy. We must be strongly tempted ourselves — before we can understand what others suffer in their temptations.

We must have deep sorrow ourselves — before we can be true comforters of others in their times of sorrow.

We must walk through the deep valley ourselves — before we can be guides to others in the same shadowy valleys.

We must feel the strain, and carry the burden, and endure the struggle ourselves — and only then can we be touched with the feeling of sympathy, or can give help to others in life’s stresses and overwhelming needs. So we see one compensation of suffering — it prepares us for being helpers to others.

Ruth was an example of person who shared and received sympathy. She famously follower her mother-in-law, Naomi, to Bethlehem, saying, “for whither thou goest, I will go.” Ruth also received sympathy from Boaz when he allowed her to glean barley and wheat in his fields and later married her.

“Finally, all of you, live in harmony

with one another; be sympathetic, love as brothers, be compassionate and humble.” 1 Peter 3:8

J.R. Miller was a pastor and former editorial superintendent of the Presbyterian Board of Publication from 1880 to 1911. His works are now in the public domain.

“The issues that Movants now ask this Court to rehear were raised and argued by the Movants, acknowledged and rejected with clear reasoning by the Court, and confronted by arguments made by the dissent,” wrote Melanie Dubois, attorney for the plaintiffs. “The Movants simply do not like the Court’s decision and prefer to bring the issues back up for rehearing, hoping for a ‘do over’ before a newly-constituted Court. Such relief is not permitted under our Rules of Appellate Procedure. Consequently, the Motions should be denied.”

Included in the motions objecting to those filed by lawmakers and the controller was a filing by N.C. Department of Justice attorney Amar Majmundar.

(R-Eden) criticized the previous court’s ruling in the case in February 2022.

“The former majority on the Supreme Court was as lawless as any group of judges in the history, not only of this state but of this country,” Berger said. “The fact that they would at one point sign on to an opinion that Justice (Sam) Ervin wrote saying that appropriations had to be authorized by the General Assembly and another lawsuit to then … in the Leandro lawsuit … to do a complete 180, it just boggles the mind.”

The March 3 decision denied a motion by Matthew Tilley, repre-

while, Mecklenburg has got five senators that can walk around their districts.

“So the further I thought about this, is it not a legitimate thing to think that each county government, all the municipalities in that county, the school boards, and everything — shouldn’t they get equivalent representation in the Senate? Is that an unreasonable thought?”

Adams also mentioned a past U.S. senator had tried to change the Warren Court’s ruling.

“If you go back and look at history, Sen. Everett Dirksen — who was minority leader in the Senate at the time, a senator from Illinois — he argued very strongly that this would be the result. That you would vest all the political power in the urban areas,” said Adams. “And he — for three times — he tried to run a constitutional amendment to neutralize the [Supreme] Court’s ruling and he died during his third effort. He was right.”

Adams concedes the plan isn’t right for every state.

“It’s not a solution for everybody, but for North Carolina it could be a solution,” he said.

He also said there was “no question” such a proposal would be challenged in the courts but called the proposal a “common-sense

senting legislative leaders Berger and House Speaker Tim Moore (R-Kings Mountain), that sought to allow briefings to commence that had not been addressed in the N.C. Supreme Court’s opinion issued last fall.

“The Court took these steps so that the trial court could order State officials to transfer money to fund Years 2 and 3 of a ‘Comprehensive Remedial Plan,’ which Plaintiffs and the Executive Branch contend is necessary to remedy alleged deficiencies in the State’s educational system,” Tilley’s motion stated. “However, in doing so, the Court recognized that it had not yet

“It’s not a solution for everybody, but for North Carolina it could be a solution.”

State Rep. Jay Adams (R-Catawba)

bill.”

“We know that, but I’ve talked to a number of senators about this, and they see that if you put five senators in one county and four in another county, then what you remain with in the rural areas is huge senatorial districts that are difficult to represent,” Adams said.

Since the proposal is in the beginning stages, Adams said he has not yet spoken with any members of the Senate’s elections committees nor with Senate Leader Phil Berger (R-Eden). He said that he has several lawmakers who have indicated they wish to be a primary sponsor, including Reps. Keith Kidwell (R-Beaufort) and Karl Gillespie (R-Macon). He also said that Rep. Carson Smith (R-Pender) has “absolutely insisted” to be a primary sponsor. Adams said that it’s very diffi-

provided the parties an opportunity to brief issues arising out of their petitions and appeals from the writ of prohibition itself.”

The Supreme Court disagreed in part, writing that “this Court notes that legislative-intervenors properly intervened as of right in the related case, No. 425A21-2. However, they did not move to intervene in the case at hand, No. 425A21-1, and this Court’s 4 November 2022 order does not relieve them of this procedural requirement.”

Plaintiff attorneys had filed their own motions rejecting the Legislative-Intervenors and controller’s requests.

cult for senators with five or eight counties under their jurisdiction to engage the population that they represent because it’s so dispersed.

Such a bill would likely see challenges from the likes of Marc Elias, the go-to attorney for Democrats on election law and redistricting who has sued North Carolina on multiple occasions.

“Mark Elias? I’m not here for Mark, and Eric Holder — the team,” said Adams. “What I’m trying to do is offer an example of how we can mitigate the rural/urban divided not just in North Carolina.”

Adams also responded to questions about the rural focus of the new 25-year-old leader of the N.C. Democratic Party, Anderson Clayton.

“She’d have a whole lot more races,” Adams said. “If she wants to go for the rural areas, then she would all of a sudden have many more Senate races in the rural areas. All of a sudden, you’d have five Senate races in eastern North Carolina that you don’t have now and four Senate races in western North Carolina you don’t have now.”

Adams mused about how rural county residents would react to the fact that they now have a senator that represents their county governments if voters pass the mea-

“This Court should reject Movants’ transparent attempt to evade the appellate rules,” Majmundar wrote. “Movants style their filings as motions for further briefing or for relief from a stay. But the substance of their motions merely asks this Court to reconsider the same questions that it already answered last November in Leandro IV. This Court should decline.”

Majmundar’s filing also argues the controller is dodging their responsibilities while appearing to ignore the outstanding legal authority question.

The Leandro case has been assigned to multiple judges over its 20-plus year history and now sits in the hands of Cumberland County Superior Court Judge James Ammons. The case is scheduled for a hearing on March 10 in Raleigh.

sure.

“I wonder if it would engage them more in the political process,” said Adams, later adding that he thinks that regardless of what the outcome is, the discussion is going to be useful.

Agriculture, fisheries, forestry and tourism dollars being the main drivers of the state’s economy are concerns of rural counties, and Adams agreed his measure would be advantageous in those regions in terms of more equitable representation.

Conversely, the five-term lawmaker also said he didn’t think his proposal would change the dynamic that Wake and Mecklenburg typically get about 80% of the funding for education, transportation and economic development.

“I don’t think that’s going to change because they have the greatest needs in those areas,” said Adams. “But if we have a Senate that’s populated with senators in the far east and far western part of the state and they vote on those things, they should get something in return for that vote.”

He went on to say there the logic for making those investments in the larger population centers can’t be denied, but “you spread the voting power more equitably across the state” with his proposal.

LEANDRO from page A1

“For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are”

4:15

PUBLIC DOMAIN

“Ruth in Boaz’s Field” (1828) is a painting by Julius Schnorr von Carolsfeld in the collection of the National Gallery, London.

PROPOSAL from page A1

The North Carolina Supreme Court building in Raleigh.

NCDOJ files motion to dismiss lawsuit against Governor’s School

By A.P. Dillon North State Journal

RALEIGH — North Carolina

Attorney General Josh Stein has filed a motion to dismiss the lawsuit filed late last year against the North Carolina Governor’s School.

The Governor’s School is a summer residential program lasting four weeks for “gifted and talented high school students, integrating academic disciplines, the arts, and unique courses on each of two campuses.” Its operations are overseen by officials with the N.C. Department of Public Instruction (NCDPI).

The motion, filed on Feb. 16,

lists eight reasons for dismissing the suit, including “lack of personal and subject matter jurisdiction, and because Plaintiff failed to state a claim upon which relief can be granted.”

The reasons listed also include a failure to provide a claim for relief and did “not plead sufficient facts to properly allege that his rights under the North Carolina Constitution were violated.”

Additionally, the motion states “Plaintiff failed to state a case upon which relief can be granted regarding continued employment at the Governor’s School, as his Complaint reveals that he has no cognizable property interest in contin-

ued employment with Defendant Department of Public Instruction.”

The lawsuit was filed in late December 2022 in Wake County by the Alliance for Defending Freedom on behalf of English professor Dr. David Phillips following his “mid-session” termination in 2021.

The 61-page lawsuit alleges that following the optional lectures, a group of students and staff members showed “open hostility, referencing race, gender, sexual orientation, and religion in their comments and questions.” Phillips’ firing came after he spoke out about “the harms of the racially divisive ideology embraced by the school,” according to the law-

Another bill filed blocking required COVID vaccinations for students

By A.P. Dillon North State Journal

RALEIGH — A second bill has been filed in the North Carolina House blocking state agencies from requiring a COVID-19 vaccination to attend the state’s K-12 schools.

House Bill 222, “CV19 Vaccine Mandates for NC Students,” was filed on March 1 and would prohibit the NC Commission for Public Health (NCCPH) from requiring students to have a COVID-19 vaccination “for any reason.” The measure also bars state and local health officials from requiring students to have the vaccination.

The NCCPH is a division of the N.C. Department of Health and Human Services. (NCDHHS).

This is the second bill barring student vaccinations filed in house the last month.

The Medical Freedom Act was filed on Feb. 12. The measure bans COVID-19 vaccine requirements or mandates by the NCCPH, employers, and schools as well as prohibiting a person show proof of a vaccination. The bill includes language to bar public school units from instituting the use of face coverings and says healthy students cannot be quarantined.

Both bills appear to be prompted by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention adding COVID-19 vaccinations to its childhood immunization schedule. The CDC’s adoption of the

COVID-19 shots for kids 18 and under is not a law or mandate and states would be required to adopt the change to the schedule.

North State Journal has been tracking the activities of the NCCPH over the last year, including a vote taken in February 2022 on whether or not students age 17 and up should be required to get the vaccination to attend public schools and colleges.

The vote was based on a petition filed in the fall of 2021 by submitted by four professors from Appalachian State University (ASU).

The NCCPH unanimously voted down adding the vaccination at that time and rejection of the petition was bolstered by a letter to the chair from top NCDHHS officials calling the proposed action “premature.”

North State Journal reached out to NCDHHS to see of the NCCPH planned to take up the topic again at its upcoming May meeting.

NCDHHS Communications Manager Kelly Haight Connor confirmed that the CDC’s immunization schedule changes do not trigger changes in “state-level vaccine policy or requirements, including in North Carolina.”

Connor wrote in an email response that the CDC’s changes “simply formalize recommendations the CDC has already taken on COVID-19 vaccines, and assure that COVID-19 vaccinations continue to be provided free of charge to low income, uninsured

and underinsured children whose parents choose to vaccinate them.” State law grants the Commission for Public Health (CPH) authority to require immunizations of children in the state that are in the interest of the public health. CPH has taken no action to require or mandate COVID-19 vaccination for children,” Connor wrote.

Connor also included a summary confirming the actions by the NCCPH in turning down the previous petition request. In her response, she noted the COVID-19 vaccine requirements were not on the commission’s February agenda and “it is not anticipated to be on the agenda for their May meeting.” She also said the NCCPH has “not received any other petitions on this matter.

“NCDHHS has not identified a need to revisit the earlier recommendation that the Commission for Public Health not codify COVID-19 into the immunization schedule for children,” wrote Connor. She added that “NCDHHS believes vaccinations are an important tool to protect the health and well-being of North Carolinians, including children and public employees — especially those who serve in direct care roles. Preserving the health and well-being of our residents and their communities with vaccines benefits the long-term health and success of all North Carolinians.”

suit filing.

“Mr. Phillips was an employee of Governor’s School during summer 2021,” NCDPI Communications Director Blair Rhoades said in an email response to North State Journal last December. “The Department of Public Instruction maintains that it fully complied with all legal requirements. However, as this is a personnel matter, no additional information can be shared at this time.”

A subsequent letter sent on Dec. 28, 2022 to members of the General Assembly by Republican state Superintendent Catherine Truitt rebutted many of the claims made by the lawsuit.

“Like all of you, this story gave me great pause and concern,” Truitt wrote. “This was the first time I had ever heard about this situation because a) I very rarely get involved with HR matters as state superintendent, particularly for employees hired for limited periods of time;

and b) the teacher in question had never reached out to me with a complaint.”

She also said that most, if not all of Phillips’ Critical Race Theory claims that allegedly took place happened before she made several changes that took effect in 2022.

Truitt, who is not named in the lawsuit, also refuted the allegations that she had directed the inclusion of any questionable materials.

“I want to assure you that the accusations of curriculum decisions prior to my administration have been addressed. It’s not possible for me to verify what did or did not happen under a previous State Superintendent’s watch, but wokeness and inappropriate materials for our students should never enter the classroom,” Truitt wrote.

She also added she was proud of the work done by her agency to clean up multiple divisions that lacked oversight under previous leadership.

NC may add state star and cookie to official symbols

By Emmie Brooks North State Journal

RALEIGH — North Carolina has long had many official state symbols, from our state dog to our state tree, there may soon be an official state cookie and star, both of which represent our state’s culture and history. State Rep. Jon Hardister (R-Guilford) has reintroduced the legislation to adopt the Moravian cookie and star to represent the state.

“This idea came up a few years ago when I received letters from a fourth grade class in Guilford County,” Hardister said. “The students had written letters to legislators in Guilford County, including myself, recommending that we adopt the Moravian cookie as the official state cookie.” In 2019, a bill was run to designate the Moravian cookie as the N.C. official state cookie. The bill passed the house with a unanimous vote but was never brought to a vote in the senate.

“I don’t believe anyone in the Senate was opposed to the bill, it just never got taken up,” Rep. Hardister said.

The Moravians were German settlers, acknowledged as the first Protestants, settling around what is now Winston-Salem in 1753. The Moravians brought with them the Moravian cookie when they immigrated.

The Moravian cookie is very unique. It’s very thinly sliced,

which enhances productivity, they have spices in them which dating back to the 1700’s helps with preservation,” Hardister said. “They’re actually shipped around the world, people buy them all over the United States and also around the world, so they have a multimillion-dollar positive economic impact on the state of North Carolina.”

Old Salem Bakery and Dewey’s bakery, both located in Winston-Salem, are two of the most popular places to purchase the Moravian cookie.

“The Moravians have had an impact on our culture, on our economy, that when they came from Europe they predominantly went to Pennsylvania and North Carolina, they helped found Winston-Salem, and they still have a major impact on tourism with Old Salem and things like that.”

Old Salem Museums and Gardens offer events and tours emphasizing the cultural impact the Moravians had on North Carolina.

“Representative Donna White came to me and suggested including the Moravian star this time,” Hardister said.

The Moravian star originated in Germany in the 1830’s, it was used by Moravians in schools to teach geometry to young boys.

The traditional star itself is a 26-point star, often used for Christmas decor in North Carolina still today.

COURTESY PHOTO

Moravian cookies are shown at a bake shop in Clemmons.

AP PHOTO

In this April 26, 2021 file photo, a nursing student administers the Moderna COVID-19 vaccine at a vaccination center at UNLV, in Las Vegas.

Murphy to Manteo Jones & Blount

Medical marijuana, schools of deaf and blind bills head pass third readings

By A.P. Dillon North State Journal

RALEIGH — A bill dealing with medical marijuana use and a bill reorganizing the governing structure of schools in the state for the deaf and blind have passed third readings and will head to the opposite chambers for further action.

Farewell Greensboro?

The Atlantic Coast Conference is moving its official headquarters from Greensboro to Charlotte.

Will the men’s basketball tournament permanently leave Greensboro as well?

The conference has not made an official announcement about where the league’s flagship event will be held beyond 2024, when it will emanate from the Capital One

Arena in Washington, D.C. The conference is taking office space in uptown Charlotte, and the main arena in the Queen City, Spectrum Center, has hosted the annual event just twice: in 2008 and 2019.

The venerable Greensboro Coliseum has held the men’s tournament on 28 occasions, more than double that of No. 2 on the list, Reynolds Coliseum in Raleigh.

WEST PIEDMONT EAST

Asheville airport gets two FAA grants

Buncombe County

Asheville Regional Airport was one of five airports in the country to receive two grant awards from the FAA for terminal construction projects. Dallas-Fort Worth, Cleveland, Orlando and Philadelphia are the others. A $10 million grant will replace the existing 61-year-old terminal with new and expanded facility. It will expand the existing 115,000-square-foot terminal with five gates to a 275,000-square-foot terminal with 12 Passenger Boarding Bridge equipped gates. Another $10 million will relocate the existing control tower.

FAA.GOV

Upper Pigeon River gets

$2M to help prevent flooding

Haywood County

Over 60 communities around the state requested more than $80 million from North Carolina’s Department of Natural and Culture Resources’ Land and Water Fund. A total of 17 awards totaling $15 million was approved, with the money earmarked to fund projects geared at lowering flood risks. The Haywood Waterways Association received a $2 million award to help with the Upper Pigeon River flood mitigation planning.

NC.GOV

Longtime animal shelter faces foreclosure

Yancey County

The Blue Heart Sanctuary in Green Mountain is facing the possible end of more than 20 years helping animals find refuge. The sanctuary has been a home to farm animals who no longer can be used for economic purposes at area farms, including pigs, horses, sheep, goats, chickens and ducks, as well as dogs and cats. The sanctuary has faced budgetary problems, however, and is scheduled to appear in foreclosure court on March 13. The sanctuary operator is still hopeful that someone will come forward to help financially.

New K-9 officers join police force

Alleghany County

WLOS

The Alleghany County Sheriff’s Office and Regional Jail expanded their K-9 force. Deputy Joshua LaPrade joined the department along with his K-9 dog, Doc, a 15-month old German shepherd/Belgian Malinois. The pair have spent the last four weeks in training together at Highland Canine Training in Harmony. Doc is trained in narcotics detection, criminal apprehension and article searches. They are the third human/dog team in the department, joining Sgt. Curry and Rex, as well as Lt. Deem and Lucky.

ALLEGHANY COUNTY SHERIFF’S OFFICE

Magnate remains free after new charges

Durham County

A business magnate remains free after he was indicted on charges he conspired to conduct a massive scheme to deceive insurance regulators and policyholders of insurance companies he controlled. Greg

E. Lindberg of Durham was released on unsecured bond following his arraignment.

He also pleaded not guilty. A grand jury indicted Lindberg last week on 13 counts. He’s already awaiting retrial on charges he attempted to bribe North Carolina’s insurance commissioner to secure preferential regulatory treatment for his insurance business. His previous conviction was overturned in 2022, and he was released from prison. Lindberg denies wrongdoing in both cases.

AP Lenoir-Rhyne partners with community colleges on transfer agreement

Catawba County

It will be easier for students with an associate degrees to continue their education at Lenoir-Rhyne after the university signed a partnership agreement with 14 community colleges around the state last month. The Bear Bound program makes the transfer of community college credits to L-R easier, and the university will now accept general education core credits from the community colleges. Lenoir-Rhyne’s tuition will also be reduced by $13,000 for transfer students.

LR.EDU

Family sues after nuclear physicist’s death in Virginia jail

Granville County

The family of a nuclear physicist who committed suicide in a Virginia jail is suing the government after his psychotropic medicine was discontinued and he was denied admission to a medical prison. The federal lawsuit, filed in Alexandria, Virginia, on behalf of Christopher Lapp’s 16-year-old daughter, alleges a series of errors by prison officials led to Lapp’s 2021 death. Lapp was held in Alexandria even though a judge had ordered him sent to the federal medical prison center in Butner where physicians had medicated him and restored his mental health. Lapp had pleaded guilty to robbing a bank.

Former BofA CEO Richard Rosenberg dead at 92 Mecklenburg County Richard Rosenberg, who doubled the size of Bank of America in the 1990s as chairman and CEO and started the bank on its path to becoming one of the world’s largest consumer banking franchises, died Friday, his family said in a statement. He was 92. Rosenberg ran the Charlotte-based bank from 1990 to 1996, taking over at a time when regulators were allowing the first national banking chains to truly come into existence. Under his tenure, BofA grew to $225 billion in assets at the time and was rivaled only Citibank in size when he retired. BofA is now more than $3 trillion in assets.

AP

Pair of grants help alleviate flood risk in area

Lenoir County

North Carolina’s Department of Natural and Cultural Resources announced 17 grant awards totaling $15 million from the state’s Land and Water Fund to help communities around the state reduce flood risk. Two projects in Lenoir County received grant awards. The city of Kinston received a $2 million grant for the Adkin Branch Flood Mitigation Project. NC State University also received a grant award of $571,633 for the Caswell Farm Water Farming Demonstration and Research Project.

NC.GOV

Lumberton receives $2M to prevent flooding

Robeson County

The North Carolina Land and Water Fund awarded 17 grants worth $15 million to communities around the state to help reduce the risk of flooding. The money helps fund projects designed to store floodwaters during major rain events, remove infrastructure from flood-prone areas, and restore wetlands, floodplains and other natural areas to better retain stormwater. The city of Lumberton received a $2 million grant for a project to reduce flooding risk at the Lumberton Loop Five Mile Branch and Saddletree Swamp Confluence.

NC.GOV

Coastal Carolina Airport to get $5M grant

Craven County

A total of 99 airports around the country received grants from the FAA to help fund capital construction projects to improve terminal buildings. The Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act funded the program, which distributed close to $1 billion in grant money. New Bern’s Coastal Carolina Regional Airport will receive $5 million to fund a portion of terminal expansion and improvements to include the addition of two passenger boarding bridges, expansion of hold rooms, improvements to passenger and baggage screening and handling areas, and upgrades to facilitate the post 9/11 passenger and baggage screening requirements.

ECU gets $3.2M for mental health in underserved communities

Pitt County The United Health Foundation awarded East Carolina University a $3.2 million grant. The money will be used to expand the school’s North Carolina Statewide Telepsychiatry Program at the ECU Center for Telepsychiatry. It currently serves six community-based clinics around the state, providing services to underserved areas in primary care and pediatric care. The grant will help ECU embed psychiatrists at the six clinics, begin using artificial intelligence to help with collaboration with patient families, and provide training and educational opportunities.

UNITED HEALTH FOUNDATION

Senate Bill 3, called the Compassionate Care Act, deals with the legalization of the use of marijuana and cannabis-infused products for medical purposes by patients with debilitating medical conditions.

Michael Lee (R-New Hanover) and Paul Lowe (D-Forsyth) filed the measure, which was one of the many bills filed on the first day of business at the legislature this session.

The Compassionate Care Act cleared a second reading in the Senate with large bipartisan support on Feb. 18 by a vote of 36-10.

The 10 who voted no on the bill were all Republicans, including Ted Alexander (R-Cleveland), Jim Burgin (R-Harnett), Warren Daniel (R-Burke), Carl Ford (R-Rowan), Steve Jarvis (R-Davidson), Joyce Krawiec (R-Forsyth), Tom McInnis (R-Moore), Brad Overcash (R-Gaston), Norman Sanderson (R-Pamlico) and Eddie Settle (R-Wilkes).

The measure passed its third reading on March 1 and will head to the House for various committees to consider before a final vote is taken in

that chamber.

House Bill 11, Schools for the Deaf and Blind, is a repeat bill from the previous session. The bill creates a board of trustees for each of the schools for the deaf and blind and provides for governance of those schools by the new boards. If passed, the change will take effect during the 2024-25 school year.

The bill passed its second and third readings on March 1 and will head to the Senate.

The second reading vote tally was 71-45 with three Democrats voting in favor: Tricia Cotham (Mecklenburg), Garland Pierce (Scotland) and Michael Wray (Northampton). Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper had vetoed the former version, Senate Bill 593. In his veto message, Cooper objected to a single part of the bill — the creation of a dedicated board of trustees for the school.

An override of the veto was not attempted despite lawmakers being urged to do so in a letter from State Superintendent Catherine Truitt. “[Cooper’s] rationale had nothing to do with the merits of the bill but was instead about the appointments process,” Truitt wrote in her letter to Senate Leader Phil Berger (R-Eden) and House Speaker Tim Moore (R-Kings Mountain). This session’s version of the bill will likely result in another veto given the governor’s past protestations and Cooper’s recently formed governance board designed to challenge control over the UNC system appointments.

Budd backs bill to ban TikTok

North State Journal

RALEIGH —

U.S. Sen. Ted Budd

AP

(R-NC) has cosponsored a bill that would prohibit Chinese-based social media app TikTok from being downloaded and used commercially on all U.S. devices.

S.85, the No TikTok on United States Devices Act, was introduced by Missouri Republican Sen. Josh Hawley.

“TikTok represents a massive threat to the personal privacy of every American, as well as our country’s national security,” Budd said in a statement. “The Chinese Communist Party must be stopped from cybersnooping and data mining. In order to protect the American people from this threat, the time has come to ban TikTok in the United States.”

The legislation, if passed

AP

by Congress, would direct the president to act within 30 days to block transactions to evade the ban and require the director of National Intelligence to submit a report and brief Congress on the threats to national security posed by TikTok. The threats include the Chinese government’s access to U.S. user data, their ability to use U.S. user data for intelligence or military purposes, and ongoing efforts by the Chinese government to monitor or manipulate Americans using data accessed via TikTok.

Many countries have banned the app on government devices already, such as the U.S., Canada and the European Union’s governing bodies. India banned TikTok and dozens of other Chinese apps in 2020 following skirmishes between the two countries in a mountainous border region.

Spectrum Center | Charlotte

Reynolds Coliseum | Raleigh

Greensboro Coliseum | Greensboro

north STATEment

Neal Robbins, publisher | Frank Hill, senior opinion editor

EDITORIAL | FRANK HILL

Putting Russian militarism on the sidelines next to German and Japanese aggression

THE WORLD would be a far worse place without America. We all know that. Would it be worse off if Russia didn’t exist any longer?

Americans have never led from behind — always from the front.

If militaristic Russia was somehow eliminated from the world scene this year, the immediate response would be raucous celebration and tears of joy. The three main products of Russia over centuries have been murder, mayhem and death. Vodka, great literature and oil follow, but the literature comes born of human suffering in the face of war, famine and gulags; the vodka was invented to deal with such sufferings, and oil is well, just oil.

If you were president of the United States today and had the chance to guarantee the world would be rid of brutal Russian bullying leaders forever, would you make every possible choice to do so?

Ronald Reagan hated communism and wanted to bring down the Soviet Union during his eight years in office. The Soviet Union collapsed in 1991 without U.S. soldiers having to fire one shot at a Soviet soldier anywhere in combat.

It happened because Reagan played every foreign policy, defense strategy and economic card possible to bring pressure on the Soviet Union from day one in office. U.S.-supplied Stinger missiles helped Afghan freedom fighters drive the vaunted Soviet Army out of Afghanistan in 1989 after a decade-long invasion. The Soviets under Mikhail Gorbachev realized they could not match U.S. defense or economic prowess and dissolved in 1991 without one American soldier firing one shot at a Soviet soldier on the field of battle.

Could it be that President Joe Biden is trying to play the same cards as Reagan when it comes to supplying Ukraine with the resources needed to defeat the Russian Army?

People forget German and Japanese armies have not conquered or terrorized any nation since 1945. That is because America and the Allies didn’t allow them to maintain any standing army after their unconditional surrender. The death and destruction caused by German and Japanese armies rival that of any other warlike culture or nation in history dating back to the ancient Babylonians ― and now they don’t threaten anyone.

This might be the most opportune time in history to completely hamstring and neuter belligerent warlike Russia and put them on the sidelines of military history next to Germany and Japan.

When Russian tanks, armed vehicles and supply trains formed a 41mile convoy aimed at Ukraine a year ago, all I could think of was why

EDITORIAL | STACEY MATTHEWS

don’t we order soldiers to launch thousands of drone-fired anti-tank missiles remotely from secure bunkers in Colorado and destroy each Russian vehicle before they cause any damage in Ukraine? Such an attack would cripple the Russian war machine and effectively end its land threats to neighboring countries overnight.

Perhaps instead of an immediate full-scale provocation, the Biden team is conducting a more mature and well-thought-out strategy of a slow and steady war of attrition where Russian tanks and armored vehicles are being taken out daily by drones and Javelin anti-tank missiles on loan to the Ukrainian army much like the Afghans took out Soviet tanks and helicopters. If the end goal is the depletion of the war-making capabilities of Vladimir Putin and Russia — and not solely defending the independence of Ukraine — then that is an effort to support. But Biden needs to clearly articulate why first.

As we deliver continued assistance, America illustrates to other aggressive nations that we have not crawled into some shell, leaving them free to run roughshod over their neighborhoods around the globe. Americans have never led from behind — whatever that means — always from the front. Now is the time for America to exert such bold principled leadership on the world stage, especially since NATO is fulfilling the reason it was created in the first place and clarifying that it cannot be intimidated by Russia withholding energy supplies.

There remains the issue of how to wrest control of 4,500 nuclear warheads still somehow possessed by Russia, even in the aftermath of the Soviet Union collapsed in 1991.

But a demilitarized Russia in economic decline and in need of food and assistance is in a far worse position to negotiate than the Russia before the invasion of Ukraine.

Is Biden up to the same task as Reagan was? Democrat Presidents FDR and Truman presided over the death of German and Japanese militarism. It would be quite an achievement in world history for Biden to preside over the destruction of Russian war-making capability forever.

Crime once again emerges as a campaign issue for Democrats

BACK IN NOVEMBER 2020, House Democrats paid the price for their association with the radical “Defund the Police” movement by losing 13 seats, while no Republican incumbent lost their respective race and the GOP gained a total of 14 seats in the process.

Democrats in battleground parts of the country trying to convince voters that they’re committed to keeping their communities safe will be a tough sell.

In the aftermath, centrist Democrats were heard on a well-publicized conference call blasting far-leftists in Congress for costing them seats in part by aligning themselves with groups who want to yank funding from police departments and reallocate it elsewhere, including social services programs. Here we are in early 2023, just ahead of the start of the 2024 campaign season, and Democrats are once again dealing with the issue of being viewed as “soft on crime.” A decision made by President Joe Biden last week is proof of the extent Democrats worry about how voters will ultimately judge them on the crime issue.

Last Thursday, Biden announced that a Republican-led effort in the Senate to overturn the Washington, D.C. Council’s overhaul of their criminal code, which Republicans view as a “soft on crime” law considering it lowers penalties for some violent offenses, had his support should they have the votes in the Senate.

“I support D.C. Statehood and home-rule — but I don’t support some of the changes D.C. Council put forward over the Mayor’s objections — such as lowering penalties for carjackings,” Biden tweeted.

“If the Senate votes to overturn what D.C. Council did — I’ll sign it.”

Though Republicans are in the minority in the Senate, they reportedly have the support of at least one if not one or two more Democrats in the Senate, which would mean their resolution to overturn the law would likely pass if brought to a vote.

The GOP-controlled House already voted to overturn the law, with 31 House Democrats joining them.

Biden’s announcement was widely seen as a move to thwart alleged Republican attempts at forcing him into vetoing a resolution overturning the D.C. Council bill, which those same Republicans would turn around and use against him and the Democratic Party in future campaign ads.

But Biden siding with Republicans on this issue has had the effect of backfiring on him, as many of the House’s more “progressive” members

have lashed out and accused him of only supporting statehood for Washington, D.C., when it’s politically convenient.

In addition to this issue, Chicago’s Lori Lightfoot was ousted as mayor last week after failing to finish in the top two in her reelection bid. Many issues contributed to her defeat, including the fact that she was viewed as insufficiently supportive of police and soft on crime.

Other elections and recall efforts in Democrat-run cities over the last two years have produced similar results, as voters in San Francisco recalled soft-on-crime District Attorney Chesa Boudin in the summer of 2022. Democrats in New York City chose Eric Adams as their nominee in 2021 over other candidates who were supportive of defunding the police.

Adams went on to win in the general election.

The 2021 mayoral race in Buffalo was also an example of a soft-oncrime “Defund the Police” radical (and one endorsed by Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez) getting soundly rejected by voters in favor of the incumbent Democrat mayor.

Of course, only time will tell if this issue hurts Biden and vulnerable Congressional Democrats next year. But if what happened in 2020 and since then in local elections is a reliable indicator, Democrats in battleground parts of the country trying to convince voters that they’re committed to keeping their communities safe will be a tough sell, made all the tougher by Republicans who are already cueing up their campaign ads on this issue as we speak.

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.

Questioning Biden’s Ukraine policy doesn’t make you an ‘isolationist’

IT’S NOT EXACTLY a sign of a healthy democratic discourse that it’s virtually impossible to ask a critical question about the United States’ role in the Ukraine-Russia conflict without being smeared as a Putin apologist or an “isolationist.”

We’ve been bombarded with bromides about a civilizational struggle that pits the forces of autocracy and liberalism against each other. “It’s not just about freedom in Ukraine,” President Joe Biden tells us. “It’s about freedom of democracy at large.”

DeSantis’ central criticism was that Ukraine has “a blank check policy with no clear strategic objective identified.”

Yet Ukraine — which, before the war, regularly slotted in somewhere beneath Burma, Mexico and Hungary on those silly “democracy matrixes” leftwingers used to love — isn’t any kind of liberal democracy. Maybe one day it will be. Today Ukraine still shutters churches and restricts the free press. Maybe you believe those are justifiable actions during wartime, but under no definition are they liberal.

Ukraine has never been a functioning “democracy.” Its people defend its borders and sovereignty in the face of a powerful expansionist aggressor. That’s good enough.

But a person is capable of rooting for Vladimir Putin to be embarrassed, beaten and weakened, without accepting the historical revisionism and a highly idealized version of Ukraine. A person is fully capable of rooting for Putin to be embarrassed, beaten and weakened, and also asking questions about where this is all headed.

Last week on “Fox and Friends,” probable presidential candidate Ron DeSantis answered a few queries about the war. Perhaps one day the governor will morph into the next Charles Lindbergh, but none of his answers were remotely “isolationist,” despite the claims of media. Unless, that is, anything short of automatic, lock-stepping support for every foreign entanglement is considered “isolationist.”

DeSantis’ central criticism was that Ukraine has “a blank check policy with no clear strategic objective identified.” Is this contention even debatable? The administration has offered no identifiable endgame, other than “beating” Russia, which is fantastic. But what does that entail? Does it mean we keep sending weapons and billions of dollars until Russia is ejected from the Donbas region of eastern Ukraine or until Volodymyr Zelensky takes back Crimea, as well — which would surely escalate the war into a new bloody phase? Or does beating Russia happen when Zelensky finally rides a Jeep up to the Kremlin? That might take a while.

At The Washington Post, Jennifer Rubin (weirdly) accused DeSantis of pandering to “pro-Russian apologists” by dismissing the country as “a thirdrate military power.” The Biden administration apparently agrees that Russian tanks aren’t going to be rolling into Paris or Berlin or Poland any time

COLUMN | CARSON BUTTS

Blackouts should prompt energy market reform

THE ROLLING power blackouts that left half a million North Carolinians in the frigid dark over the Christmas weekend have received widespread attention, including from several conservative commentators who misplaced blame for the outages.

Some have implied that North Carolina’s gradually increasing use of clean energy as part of its diverse mix of power sources caused or contributed to the unprecedented blackouts.

soon. Under Secretary of Defense Colin Kahl told Congress this week: “Ukraine is not going to lose. There will be no loss in Ukraine. I think Vladimir Putin hoped that that would happen. It hasn’t happened. It’s not going to happen.”

MSNBC’s Steve Benen didn’t like that DeSantis criticized his “own country’s president” — so much for dissent being patriotic — and that he suggested that “his own country deserves part of the blame for Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.” But that’s not what DeSantis suggested. He suggested Biden deserved part of the blame. And maybe he does.

History did not begin in 2015. CNN, for instance, points out that DeSantis has changed his tone on the issue of Ukraine aid since 2012. Fair enough. It is also true, and far more consequential, that Biden spearheaded “reset” efforts after eight years of purported Republican antagonism toward Russia. It was Biden who led the administration’s efforts to readmit Russia access to the World Trade Organization — one of “the most important item(s) on our agenda.” It was Biden who claimed Mitt Romney was “totally out of touch” on Russia. It was his boss Barack Obama who told Dmitry Medvedev that he’d have more flexibility after 2012. And it was Putin who likely saw all this as weakness and invaded Crimea. Obama didn’t arm that Ukrainian resistance back then, probably because he needed Russia to pursue the most important foreign policy agenda item: the Iran deal.

Perhaps history unfolds differently if the Obama administration hadn’t appeased Putin. Perhaps not. Whatever the case, a president with decades of foreign policy incompetence on his resume, only recently costing 13 American servicemen their lives in a botched Afghanistan withdrawal, should not be immune from debate or criticism.

And, no doubt, there are those on the right who are genuine isolationists. There are those who let politics cloud their assessment of Putin’s autocracy. Then, there are those on the left who have allowed conspiracy theories that were cooked up during the 2016 election to warp their understanding of Russian power. You get the sense that if Trump had been more bellicose toward Putin, left-wing columnists would be clamoring to send him tanks.

Regardless, if Ukraine’s cause is righteous, and our opaque but open-ended commitment is necessary to save Western democracy, there should be no reason to chill debate.

David Harsanyi is a senior editor at The Federalist. Harsanyi is a nationally syndicated columnist and author of five books — the most recent, “Eurotrash: Why America Must Reject the Failed Ideas of a Dying Continent.”

FOR AT LEAST the last 20 years, politicians in Washington, at the behest of green energy groups, have spent some $100 billion of taxpayer money to fight climate change and reduce greenhouse gas emissions. How is that going for us so far?

A recent Associated Press story, based on the latest data on global carbon emissions, provides a pretty accurate report card: “Carbon Dioxide Emissions Reached a Record High in 2022.”

The article tells us: “Communities around the world emitted more carbon dioxide in 2022 than in any other year on records dating to 1900, a result of air travel rebounding from the pandemic and more cities turning to coal as a low-cost source of power. Emissions of the climate-warming gas that were caused by energy production grew 0.9% to reach 36.8 gigatons in 2022, the International Energy Agency reported Thursday. (The mass of one gigaton is equivalent to about 10,000 fully loaded aircraft carriers, according to NASA.)” You’ve got to almost shriek out loud when you read this line: “Thursday’s (IEA) report was described as disconcerting by climate scientists.”

Disconcerting? That’s putting it lightly.

We are the furthest thing from being climate change alarmists, but when you spend $100 billion of taxpayer money and achieve absolutely nothing, President Joe Biden and his green allies should be arrested for criminal fraud.

Where did all the money go? Tens of billions of dollars have lined the pockets of left-wing environmental and social justice groups that have been emitting a lot of hot air but no results. Green energy companies have milked taxpayers of tens of billions more, even as wind and solar only produce about 12% of our energy.

Is this the greatest rip-off of U.S. taxpayers in history?

I’ve often said that I doubt all the doomsday predictions of global warming are accurate, but if they are, we are goners. Because nothing the left is doing on climate change is making even the tiniest bit of difference, as the new report shows. What it is doing is giving politicians and activists a chance to virtue signal. Does it even matter to them that none of their schemes are working?

The most obvious flaw in the green strategy is that few, if any, of the big polluters are cooperating despite the assurances from Biden’s climate change ambassador John Kerry. For the umpteenth time: The United States is not the problem — China is. Its pollution levels are three times higher than ours. Soon India will surpass the U.S. in carbon emissions.

North Carolina’s disastrous Christmas Eve blackouts prove the need for a fresh assessment of how we produce and deliver electricity across the state.

They’re wrong.

Duke Energy’s experts testified publicly to the N.C. Utilities Commission on Jan. 3 about the causes of the blackouts. Among them:

Several of Duke’s coal and natural gas power plants failed amid the unusually cold temperatures, as did a key software system that helps regulate the flow of electricity.

Consumer power demand surged as people struggled to stay warm at home and at work.

Duke was unable to purchase energy from a regional private power market to the north, where other coal and gas plants failed amid similarly heavy demand for electricity.

The worst impacts of the power blackouts fell on the hundreds of thousands of North Carolinians who were without heat or light, especially vulnerable people in poor health and essential businesses that require a reliable energy supply at all times.

What was not to blame: solar or wind power produced by Duke or other energy providers. In fact, Duke explicitly noted that its solar sources operated well during the extreme cold.

More industrial-scale battery storage of power — whatever its sources — would help Duke and other utilities manage unusual demand surges.

But more than anything else, North Carolina’s disastrous Christmas Eve blackouts prove the need for a fresh assessment of how we produce and deliver electricity across the state.

North Carolina’s century-old system of monopoly energy production and distribution is a big part of the problem. Our archaic system is too centralized,

too vulnerable, and too prone to cascading failures and dangerous service interruptions.

More competition and better consumer choices would make North Carolina’s energy network stronger, more resilient and more reliable. Now that it has reconvened, the N.C. General Assembly should respond to the blackouts by authorizing the Utilities Commission to conduct a thorough energy market reform study.

North Carolina’s voters — including conservatives — overwhelmingly want more reliable, more resilient and more affordable energy. According to Conservatives for Clean Energy’s 2022 North Carolina Energy Poll, four out of five conservative voters favor lawmakers who will pursue changes in our state’s policies to allow for more energy competition and better choices.

Conservatives know that monopolies are bad for consumers while competition and free markets are good. Three-fourths of conservatives favor studying alternatives to North Carolina’s outdated monopoly system to allow more consumer-friendly competition, the statewide poll found.

A growing number of visionary conservative state lawmakers are leading the charge for energy market reform and innovation. It’s time for others to join them for the good of our state’s almost 11 million people and its nearly 1 million businesses, all of which need affordable, reliable energy.

North Carolina’s voters are blessed with common sense, and they understand that the blackouts are an alarming harbinger of more suffering ahead without more energy competition and choices.

If more free enterprise, less red tape and more abundant consumer choices would improve health care, occupational licensing and many other regulated services, then surely they’re also appropriate for the vital energy on which we all depend, no matter the weather.

Carson Butts is the North Carolina state director of Conservatives for Clean Energy.

Even the top scientists who study climate change admit that without progress from China, nothing America does to reduce emissions will reverse the global trends. The U.S. has reduced our emissions more than any other nation, and the problem continues to get worse. And yet, the rest of the world blames the U.S.

All we are accomplishing in the Biden war on fossil fuels is kneecapping our own domestic energy industry while the rest of the world consumes more fossil fuels than ever before. Instead of the oil and gas produced in Texas or North Dakota, it’s coming from Russia, Iran and OPEC. The energy source that is growing the fastest now is coal.

The only way to combat climate change is not through more command-and-control government action. That never works. The COVID-19 crisis and the incompetent government response should have taught us that lesson. We need more growth and better technology to deal with a changing climate. The leftists want less growth and have even been backing “de-growth.” Since when is making America poorer the solution to any problem?

In the wake of this epic policy failure, the Democrats aren’t backing off. Biden’s latest budget calls for $500 billion more for climate change over the next decade. Talk about throwing good money after bad. We shouldn’t be too surprised because, as Milton Friedman used to remind us, anytime a government program isn’t working, the politicians’ response is: “We aren’t spending enough money.”

If congressional Republicans are smart (a big if), they will not appropriate one penny more for this epic public policy flop. If we want to save our country’s future for our children, the first step is to stop adding to our $32 trillion national debt.

Stephen Moore is a senior fellow at the Heritage Foundation and an economist with FreedomWorks. His latest book is “Govzilla: How the Relentless Growth of Government is Devouring our Economy.”

NATION & WORLD

Intel agencies: No sign adversaries behind ‘Havana syndrome’

The Associated Press

WASHINGTON, D.C. — U.S. intelligence agencies cannot link a foreign adversary to any of the incidents associated with so-called “Havana syndrome,” the hundreds of cases of brain injuries and other symptoms reported by American personnel around the world.

The findings released by U.S. intelligence officials cast doubt on the longstanding suspicions by many people who reported cases that Russia or another country may have been running a global campaign to harass or attack Americans using some form of directed energy.

Most of the cases investigated appear to have different causes, from environmental factors to undiagnosed illnesses, said the officials, who say they have not found a single explanation for most or all of the reports.

Instead, officials say, there is evidence that foreign countries were not involved. In some cases, the U.S. detected among adversarial governments confusion about the allegations and suspicions that Havana syndrome was an American plot. And investigators found “no credible evidence” that any adversary had obtained a weapon that could cause the reported symptoms or a listening device that might inadvertently injure people.

The Biden administration has been under pressure to respond to Havana syndrome cases from government personnel who have reported injuries and their advocates, including members of Congress. President Joe Biden last year signed into law the HAVANA Act, which provided compensation to people deemed to have sustained injuries consistent with what the government calls “anomalous health incidents.”

Mark Zaid, a lawyer for more than two dozen people who have reported injuries, said the new assessment lacked transparency and left key questions unanswered.

“Until the shrouds of secrecy are lifted and the analysis that led to today’s assertions are available and subject to proper challenge, the alleged conclusions are substantively worthless,” he said in a statement. “But the damage it has caused to the morale of the

BACKLOG from page A1

ment have reviewed and determined meet the criteria for testing.”

The large number of untested kits in North Carolina saw some movement pre-pandemic but hasn’t been addressed much in recent years.

In February 2018, N.C Attorney General Josh Stein released a report on the kit backlog which found 15,160 untested sexual assault kits in the custody of local law enforcement agencies at the end of 2017.

Two reports on the kits issued by Stein’s office included the Statewide Sexual Assault Evidence Collection Kit Tracking and Inventory Management System (STIMS) report and the Annual Crime Lab (ACL) report. The total of untested kits may have actually have been higher, due to the fact only 92% of law enforcement agencies responded to the inventory request and 46 agencies did not respond at all.

The following year, in September 2019, Stein’s office said 904 sexual assault kits had been tested “since January 2018.” A subsequent update by Stein in December 2020 said 2,169 kits had been tested and 4,739 were either with a lab for testing or were being shipped for testing.

One of the barriers to clearing the backlog and speeding up testing has been cost.

According to statements by Stein in 2020, the price of testing kits at that time had increased by “nearly 80%.” Costs had gone from $695 per kit to roughly $1,245 per kit.

Lawmakers stepped in, creating the “Standing Up for Rape Victims Act of 2019,” also called the Survivor’s Act.

The measure provided $6 million in funding and new reporting requirements for testing of sexual assault kits by law enforcement. Of the $6 million, half was allocated in nonrecurring funds for fiscal year 2019-2020 and the other half for fiscal year 2020-2021.

victims, particularly by deflecting from the government’s failure to evaluate all the evidence, is real and must be condemned.”

Two officials familiar with the assessment briefed reporters on condition of anonymity, under ground rules set by the U.S. Director of National Intelligence.

Investigators reviewed roughly 1,500 cases in 96 countries. Many of those cases, officials said, have been linked to other potential explanations aside from a foreign campaign: medical illnesses, malfunctioning air conditioning and ventilation systems, or electromagnetic waves coming from benign devices like a computer mouse. And some people may have come forward to report symptoms based on what they had heard about other cases or the exhaustive media reports about Havana syndrome, officials said.

A core group of roughly two dozen cases identified in an interim assessment published last year has been exhaustively studied, officials said. None of the cases was linked to an attack by an adversary.

The officials stressed their investigation was exhaustive, with participation from seven U.S. agencies. One official described reviewing a report from an American who reported having possibly been hit by a car while driving.

U.S. investigators tracked down the car and the driver and investigated that person’s family connections and any foreign travel, the official said.

Some leads were followed for as long as nine months, the official said.

Officials briefing reporters declined to say how the latest assessment may affect payments under the HAVANA Act. The State Department has compensated affected employees with onetime payments from $100,000 to $200,000.

Havana syndrome cases date to a series of reported brain injuries in 2016 at the U.S. Embassy in Cuba. Incidents have been reported by diplomats, intelligence officers and military personnel in the Washington area and at global postings. Russia has long been suspected by some intelligence

officers of using directed energy devices to attack U.S. personnel.

But the CIA last year said it believed it was unlikely that Russia or another foreign adversary had used microwaves or other forms of directed energy to attack American officials. The agency has faced criticism from those who have reported cases and from advocates who accuse the government of long dismissing the array of ailments.

Even with the lack of answers and attributions of responsibility, officials have sought to stress their commitment to victims’ health.

“I want to be absolutely clear: these findings do not call into question the experiences and real health issues that U.S. government personnel and their family members — including CIA’s own officers — have reported while serving our country,” said CIA Director William Burns in a statement. “We will continue to remain alert to any risks to the health and wellbeing of Agency officers, to ensure access to care, and to provide officers the compassion and respect they deserve.”

NCDOT TO HOLD PUBLIC MEETING MARCH 14 REGARDING

TWO PROJECTS THAT WOULD ADD LANES ON I-40 BETWEEN THE I-40/I-440/U.S.1/U.S. 64 INTERCHANGE AND LAKE WHEELER ROAD AND RECONSTRUCT THE EXISTING I-40/I-440/U.S. 1/U.S. 64 INTERCHANGE

STIP Project Nos: I-5701 and I-5703

The N.C. Department of Transportation is proposing two projects in Wake County.

Project No I-5701 will add lanes on I-40 from the I-440/U.S. 1/U.S. 64 interchange to Lake Wheeler Road (S.R. 1370).

Project No. I-5703 will reconstruct the existing I-40/I-440/U.S.1/U.S. 64 interchange.

An open-house public meeting to present information on these projects will be held at Hope Community Church located at 821 Buck Jones Road in Raleigh from 4:00 -7:00 p.m. on Tuesday, March 14, 2023. The purpose of this meeting is to provide citizens the opportunity to review maps of the project, ask questions and provide feedback.

Interested citizens are encouraged to attend at any time between 4 and 7 p.m. Please note that there will be no formal presentation. Maps of the proposed improvements will be displayed at the meeting and staff of NCDOT will be on hand to provide information and answer questions.

Maps of the proposals are available online at https://publicinput.com/40-440-US1Interchange

For additional information please contact NCDOT Project Manager, Rachelle Beauregard, NCDOT Project Management Unit (919-707-6607 or rlbeauregard@ncdot.gov) Comments will be accepted at the meeting, on the project webpage, by mail or email, and should be submitted by March 28, 2023

NCDOT will provide auxiliary aids and services under the Americans with Disabilities Act for disabled persons who wish to participate in this workshop. Anyone requiring special services should contact NCDOT Senior Public Involvement Officer Diane Wilson at 919707-6073 or pdwilson1@ncdot.gov as early as possible so that arrangements can be made.

Those who do not speak English, or have a limited ability to read, speak or understand English, may receive interpretive services upon request prior by calling 1-800-481-6494.

Aquellas personas no hablan inglés, o tienen limitaciones para leer, hablar o entender inglés, podrían recibir servicios de interpretación si los solicitan llamando al 1-800-481-6494.

Chancellor Scholz: ‘consequences’

if China sends arms to Russia

Berlin German Chancellor Olaf Scholz says there would be “consequences” if China sent weapons to Russia for Moscow’s war in Ukraine, but he’s fairly optimistic that Beijing will refrain from doing so.

Scholz’s comments came in an interview with CNN that aired Sunday, two days after he met U.S. President Joe Biden in Washington. U.S. officials have warned recently that China could step off the sidelines and begin providing arms and ammunition to Moscow. Ahead of his trip, Scholz had urged Beijing to refrain from sending weapons and instead use its influence to press Russia to withdraw its troops from Ukraine.

Asked if he could imagine sanctioning China if it did aid Russia, Scholz replied: “I think it would have consequences, but we are now in a stage where we are making clear that this should not happen, but we will have to look at (it) and we have to be very, very cautious.”

He didn’t elaborate on the nature of the consequences. Germany has Europe’s biggest economy, and China has been its single biggest trading partner in recent years.

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

Ex-Maryland Gov.

Larry Hogan won’t challenge Trump in 2024

Annapolis, Md.

Larry Hogan, the former Republican governor of Maryland who positioned himself as one of his party’s fiercest critics of Donald Trump, said he will not challenge the ex-president for the GOP’s White House nomination in 2024.

“I would never run for president to sell books or position myself for a Cabinet role,” the 66-year-old Hogan wrote in The New York Times. “I have long said that I care more about ensuring a future for the Republican Party than securing my own future in the Republican Party. And that is why I will not be seeking the Republican nomination for president.”

Hogan served as governor for eight years in a state where Democrats outnumber Republicans by a 2-to-1 margin. He was Maryland’s second Republican governor ever to be reelected.

In the past two presidential elections, Hogan said he did not vote for Trump.

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

Walmart to expand health care centers in 2024

Bentonville, Ark.

Walmart plans to add more than two dozen health care centers to some of its stores next year, as the retailer moves deeper into providing primary care and other services.

The company said it will open 28 centers in 2024, mostly in Dallas and Houston.

The new centers will be built inside Walmart Supercenters and offer primary and dental care, and behavioral health and audiology help, among other services. Walmart currently runs 32 centers and is adding 17 this year in Florida.

Walmart opened its first health care center in 2019 and will be operating more than 75 health centers by the end of next year. The retailer runs more than 4,700 stores in the United States and 600 Sam’s Club locations.

AP PHOTO

Tourists ride classic convertible cars on the Malecon beside the U.S. Embassy in Havana, Cuba.

NFL Panthers safety Chandler suspended for 2 games

Charlotte

The NFL has suspended Carolina Panthers reserve safety Sean Chandler without pay for the first two games of the 2023 regular season for violating the league’s policy on performance - enhancing substances. Chandler will become an unrestricted free agent on March 15. The fifth-year safety played in all 17 games last season, mostly on special teams. He is eligible to participate in all preseason practices and games. He has spent the last two seasons with the Panthers.

MLS

Charlotte FC loses at St. Louis City

St. Louis Eduard Lowen scored the go -a head goal on a penalty kick in the fifth minute of first-half stoppage time and St. Louis City became the fourth expansion team to win its first two matches with a 3 -1 v ictory over Charlotte on Saturday night. Playing its first home game, St. Louis joined the Chicago Fire (1998), the Seattle Sounders (2009) and Los Angeles FC (2018) as the only MLS teams to win their first two matches. Seattle is the only team to win its first three; Charlotte won for the first time last year in its inaugural season in its fourth match. Enzo Copetti gave Charlotte (0 -2- 0) the lead in the 25th minute. An own-goal by Charlotte’s Bill Tuiloma knotted the score in the 41st minute. João

Klauss capped the scoring with an unassisted goal in the 71st. St. Louis outshot

Charlotte 11- 6 w ith a 5-3 advantage in shots on goal.

Pablo Sisniega had three saves for Charlotte, which had lost its previous three matches by shutouts dating to last season and visits the LA Galaxy on Saturday.

What we learned at ACC women’s tourney, B4

ACC Tournament starts early for NC teams

Three of the four local teams begin play on Wednesday

By Shawn Krest North State Journal

GREENSBORO — As the ACC regular season wound down, it appeared we might see a first in the upcoming conference tournament: All four North Carolina teams were on pace to play back-to-back-to-back-to-back in Wednesday’s second round.

We’ve seen all four local teams in action on the same day before, of course, it’s just usually in the Thursday quarterfinals. To see all of North Carolina’s teams playing

in what amounts to a preliminary round, before the big boys even show up, would have meant that all four teams missed out on the coveted double-bye into Thursday.

As it turned out, Duke finished on a six-game winning streak and grabbed the No. 4 seed in the tournament on the last day of the season, breaking up an AllN.C. Wednesday and keeping the state’s streak of at least one double-bye team intact.

Still, the close call, and the presence of three teams on Afterthought Wednesday, is a symbol of the shift in power the conference has seen. A year after Duke and Carolina played in the Final Four, both teams had growing pains as they adjust to life after their Hall of

UNC Asheville beats Campbell, captures Big South title

The Bulldogs will return to the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2016

The Associated Press CHARLOTTE — Drew

Pember had 29 points, Tajion Jones scored 16 in the final 7:35 and No. 1 seed UNC Asheville stormed back to beat seventh-seeded Campbell 77-73 on Sunday, winning the Big South Conference Tournament championship and advancing to the NCAA Tournament for the fifth time.

Ricky Clemons hit a jumper to give Campbell a 66-52 lead and then Jones took over.

1:44 to play but the Fighting Camels would not score again. Pember, who has attempted and made more free throws than anyone else in the country, sank a pair. Clemons was fouled but missed both free throws and Jones buried a 3-pointer to put the Bulldogs on top 75-73 with 55 seconds left. The last time UNC Asheville had the lead the score was 13-11.

25-7

Scoring run to close the game for UNC Asheville in the final 7:35 of the game

The senior guard scored 10 straight points for the Bulldogs (27-7) after Pember made two free throws to cut their deficit to 68-64 with 3:41 to go. Clemons and Jones traded 3-pointers, and Pember followed with a three-point play to get UNC Asheville within 7170.

“He’s had more to do with the flipping of this program than I have,” UNC Asheville coach Mike Morrell said of Jones.

Clemons hit a jumper with

Pember, the Big South’s player of the year, hit 9 of 19 shots but just 1 of 6 from 3-point range. He made 10 of 12 foul shots. Jones sank 9 of 14 shots, including 5 of 8 from beyond the arc. They each grabbed eight rebounds. “No one’s more deserving of that moment than Tai,” Pember said.

“He was here when they won four games (in 2018-19). He helped me come here. He’s been clutch all year. And a lot of the times people think I’m going to get the ball; I want Tai to get the ball. He’s been phenomenal, and (it’s) just a testament to his hard work and what he’s been doing all year for us.”

Jay Pal scored a career-high 26 points to lead the Fighting

6

Consecutive wins for Duke entering the ACC Tournament

Fame head coaches. Rookie coach Jon Scheyer appears to have Duke pointed in the right direction, but UNC struggled through a soap opera season. Their coach called them soft, opposing fans spread rumors about player discord, and the team never seemed to click on the floor despite bringing back all

but one contributor from a team that came 20 minutes away from a national title last year.

Turning Heel

The Heels stagger into the tournament as the seventh seed and are currently listed as one of the last four teams out in ESPN’s bracket prediction. Conventional wisdom has the Tar Heels needing to win four games in four days to get the automatic bid or else they’ll miss the Big Dance. But after a regular season-ending loss to Duke, coach Hubert Davis refused to accept any conventional wisdom at all, taking is-

See ACC MEN, page B3

GardnerWebb guard Jhessyka Williams drives to the basket while guarded by High Point guard Shakira Baskerville during the Runnin’ Bulldogs’ win in the Big South Tournament championship game Sunday in Charlotte.

Williams scores 33, Gardner-Webb women win Big South crown

The Runnin’ Bulldogs will enter the NCAA Tournament on a 21-game winning streak

The Associated Press CHARLOTTE — Jhessyka

Williams scored 33 points, 20 in the second half, and top-seeded Gardner-Webb defeated No. 2 seed High Point 74-61 in the Big South Tournament championship game on Sunday night.

Gardner-Webb (29-4), the first team to go 18-0 in the Big South,

extended its winning streak to 21 games. The Runnin’ Bulldogs will make their second NCAA Tournament appearance and their first since 2011.

Williams, the regular season Big South most outstanding player, made 12 of 19 shots and had 11 rebounds. She surpassed 2,000 career points when she hit a long two-pointer in the first quarter. Layken Cox had 16 points and 15 rebounds for Gardner-Webb and Ki’Ari Cain added 14 points.

CHRIS SEWARD | AP PHOTO

The NCAA Tournament fates of Jarkel Joiner and NC State along with Caleb Love and UNC will likley be determined at this week’s ACC Tournament in Greensboro.

JACOB KUPFERMAN | AP PHOTO

TRENDING

Chase Elliott:

The 2020 NASCAR Cup Series champion is out indefinitely after undergoing a three‑hour surgery to repair a fractured tibia, Hendrick Motorsports said. Elliott suffered the injury while snowboarding Friday in Colorado, and there is no timeline for his return. Josh Berry drove the No. 9 Chevrolet to a 29th‑place finish Sunday at Las Vegas, while the other three Hendrick cars swept the top three. Hendrick says the process has already begun to attain a waiver for Elliott to be eligible for this year’s playoffs.

Calvin Ridley:

The wide receiver was reinstated by the NFL on Monday, clearing the way for him to join his new team in Jacksonville. Ridley had been suspended indefinitely since March 2022 for violating the NFL’s gambling policy. He is expected to join the Jaguars for offseason workouts beginning April 17. The Jaguars traded a fifth‑round pick in 2023 and a conditional fourth‑rounder in 2024 to get Ridley from Atlanta at the trade deadline in November.

Tony Rossi:

The Siena coach, the longest‑tenured in Division I baseball history, announced that he will retire later this month. Rossi — in his 54th season, all at Siena — will step down March 20, the school announced Monday. The 79‑year‑old Rossi, who has a 936‑1,202‑8 record with the Saints, won six Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference coach of the year awards, five conference titles, two NCAA berths and has seen 56 of his former players sign pro contracts.

Beyond the box score

POTENT QUOTABLES

NASCAR

Hendrick Motorsports finished 1‑2‑3 at Las Vegas, led by William Byron picking up his fifth career Cup Series victory. Byron passed teammate Kyle Larson on the penultimate lap of overtime and led 176 overall. Larson was second, followed by teammate Alex Bowman, with Bubba Wallace and Christopher Bell rounding out the top five. Bowman and Trackhouse Racing’s Daniel Suarez are the only drivers with top‑10 finishes in all three Cup races this season.

ESPN.com’s Jordan Reid on UNC wide receiver Josh Downs’ performance on Day 3 of the NFL Combine.

Broadcaster Rich Eisen on his radio show saying the former NC State quarterback contacted both the Dolphins and 49ers about a return last season.

PRIME NUMBER

7

Power play goals in nine opportunities for the Hurricanes since the acquisition of defenseman Shayne Gostisbehere, who had two goals and two assists — all the power play — since coming to Carolina from the Coyotes.

Texas Tech suspended coach Mark Adams over “an inappropriate, unacceptable, and racially insensitive comment” he made to a player. Adams reportedly referred to a Bible verse that addresses slaves serving their masters. The school says Adams addressed the matter with his team and apologized.

NFL

Paris Saint‑Germain says Neymar will undergo season‑ending surgery on his right ankle and will be out for up to four months. Neymar was injured last month in a 4‑3 win over Lille in the French league. He also injured his right ankle in Brazil’s opening match at last year’s World Cup in Qatar.

Days after meeting with the Panthers, former Raiders quarterback David Carr agreed to a four‑year contract with the Saints, Carolina’s NFC South rival. New Orleans coach Dennis Allen was the Raiders’ coach when the team drafted Carr in 2014. Las Vegas released Carr on Feb. 14 to avoid guaranteeing him $40.4 million of his contract over the next two years.

ELLEN SCHMIDT | AP PHOTO

SOCCER

CHRISTOPHE ENA | AP PHOTO

COLLEGE BASKETBALL

REED HOFFMANN | AP PHOTO

“Philip Rivers contacted both of them.”

“His strong hands really popped.”

DARRON CUMMINGS | AP PHOTO

ADRIAN KRAUS | AP PHOTO

MARK J. TERRILL | AP PHOTO

Bids await NC schools in conference tournaments

The AAC, Atlantic 10, Conference USA and MEAC tournaments all take place this week. As teams start to punch their tickets to the NCAA Tournament, the remaining schools across the state are beginning their conference tournaments with a chance to extend their run in March Madness. While much of the attention will focus on the big conferences — namely the ACC — North Carolina’s mid-majors are hoping this week brings them a spot in the big dance.

AMERICAN ATHLETIC CONFERENCE

One team stands alone at the top of the American Athletic Conference, and that’s the nation’s No.1 team, Houston.

It’s a long shot that the Cougars will be toppled in the AAC Tournament, though Memphis has put together a very solid season and are likely to earn an at-large bid based on the Tigers’ regular season.

East Carolina

15-16 overall, 6-12 AAC (9th)

The Pirates had a disappointing regular season under first-year coach Michael Schwartz, finishing under .500 in both conference play and overall. A bit of bad luck was in play as well though as their leading scorer, sophomore guard Javon Small, missed half the season after sustaining a knee injury in January.

ECU had success on the boards, averaging 37 rebounds per game, but struggled with scoring and defending, ranking 230th in points scored (69.4) and 211th in points allowed (71.3).

The Pirates are staring down the barrel of a potentially 30-year tournament drought, not having made the NCAA Tournament since 1993.

ATLANTIC 10 CONFERENCE

The Atlantic 10 is fairly wide open this season with seven teams having double-digit wins in conference play. Top-seeded Virginia Commonwealth has three more wins than the next-best team, and last year’s tournament finalists are each in the bottom half of the conference.

This conference is primed to have an under-the-radar team make it into the NCAA Tournament.

Davidson

15-15 overall, 8-10 A-10 (8th)

Things haven’t gone as well for the Wildcats under first-year coach Matt KcKillop as they did with his recently retired father, Bob McKillop.

Despite having two players averaging more than 15 points per game –—senior guard Foster Loyer (16.6) and junior forward Sam Mennenga (15.5) — Davidson hasn’t had enough scoring support to separate itself from the rest of the conference.

The Wildcats made the tournament last year and nearly pulled off an upset of seventh-seeded Michigan State, but they’re going to need a big run through the A-10 Tournament if they want to go dancing again this year.

ACC MEN from page B1 sue with questions about the Heels needing to win the ACC Tournament, UNC being on the bubble, the season being frustrating and, presumably, basketball players being tall and the sun being hot.

The Tar Heels will open with a winnable game against either Boston College or Louisville. The Heels declared themselves well again after beating those same two teams in back-to-back games in mid-January, only to lose five of six to open February. Assuming they survive that game, they’ll draw a Virginia team who has given them trouble in recent seasons. The Tar Heels beat the Wahoos in Chapel Hill a week and a half ago, a game that accounts for UNC’s only Quad I win of the season in 10 attempts.

Prognosis: The Tar Heels will likely be deciding whether or not to accept an NIT bid by the time the ACCs hit the semifinals.

Pack mentality

Things are a bit better for NC State, which appears to be in the tournament at the moment, although they’re currently tagged as one of the last four teams with a bye. That means a bad week in Greensboro could put the Wolfpack in jeopardy. State finished one spot ahead of UNC and beat the Tar Heels in Raleigh, but the Wolfpack finished the regular season with back-to-back losses to Clemson and Duke and lost three of their last five.

State plays the winner of Virginia Tech-Notre Dame on Wednesday. The Wolfpack beat both teams in their only meetings in the regular season. A win would earn them a quarterfinal date with No. 3 Clemson. The Tigers are one of the teams to step into the void left by the N.C. teams’ fall from grace, although Clemson is

CONFERENCE USA

Conference USA has a couple of teams at the top looking to claim the bid to the NCAA Tournament. Florida Atlantic currently sits atop C-USA with an 18-2 conference record and 28-3 overall record, but North Texas and UAB are right on their heels, each with more than 20 wins this season.

Charlotte

18-13 overall, 9-11 C-USA (5th)

Fifth-year coach Ron Sanchez has led the 49ers to their best record of his tenure, but that still doesn’t seem to be enough to bridge the gap with the stronger teams in the conference. On the court, Charlotte is led by junior guard Brice Williams, who is averaging 13.5 points, and sophomore Aly Khalifa, who has 11.8 points and 6.5 rebounds per game. The 49ers have been to the NCAA Tournament 11 times, but their last bid came in 2005.

Guard Brice Williams and Charlotte will likely need to go through Nicholas Boyd and top-seeded Florida Atlantic if they want to win the Conference USA Tournament and earn an automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament.

MID-EASTERN ATHLETIC CONFERENCE

Howard enters MEAC Tournament as the conference’s top seed, but NC Central finished only one game behind them and enters the postseason on a seven-game winning streak.

North Carolina Central 17-11 overall, 10-4 MEAC (2nd)

Longtime head coach LeVelle Moton has the Eagles clicking at just the right time. NC Central heads into the MEAC Tournament as the conference’s hottest team.

Junior guard Justin Wright is doing it all for the Eagles, leading the team in points (16), ranking second in assists (2.1) and steals (1.4), and third in rebounds (5).

NC Central is also 63rd in the country in defensive scoring, holding its opponents to just 65.9 points per game while scoring 75.5 points per game. This could be the year for the Eagles to make it back to the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2019.

Jon Scheyer, right, enters his first ACC Tournament as Duke’s coach with a young roster, led by freshman Kyle Filipowski.

an extremely weak No. 3.

Despite winning 22 regular season games and 14 ACC contests, Clemson is currently on the wrong side of ESPN’s bubble and in worse shape than UNC. A series of bad losses, including Loyola, Louisville and Boston College, has damaged the Tigers’ resume. State has perhaps the best path of any in-state team to the ACC semifinals.

Prognosis: Look for NC State to make a run and firm up their NCAA ticket

Desperate Deacons

Wake Forest gets Wednesday’s party started with a noon game

against Syracuse. The Deacs will need to win the conference tournament to get an NCAA bid as they enter as the ninth seed. Wake went 18-13, 10-10 in the league but collapsed down the stretch, losing four of their last five and eight of their last 12. Wake lost to Syracuse in the regular season finale on Saturday, shooting 10 of 39 from 3-point range — an accuracy and shot selection that won’t win many games. They feature one of the conference’s best players in firstteam All-ACC guard Tyree Appleby, and if he gets hot, he could carry the team. If Wake beats the Orange on Wednesday, they’ll take on regular season champion Miami in the quarters.

Miami is not getting much respect nationally, something that every ACC team is coping with this season. The Canes are currently slated to be a fifth seed in the NCAAs. Still, it would be an eye-raising upset for Wake to take out the Canes.

Prognosis: It may be one-anddone for the Deacs Familiar face could await Duke Duke escaped Wednesday but has its work cut out for it. The Blue Devils will open with the winner of Pitt-Georgia Tech. Georgia Tech is 15-17 overall, went 6-14 in the ACC and lost by 43 at Duke. The Jackets, however, are on a roll,

winning four straight and six of the last seven. The bigger concern for the Blue Devils will be Pitt, led by fellow Mike Krzyzewski disciple Jeff Capel, who won ACC Coach of the Year in Jon Scheyer’s first season as Coach K’s replacement. Capel and Pitt gave Duke all it could handle in a game at Cameron in January, although the Blue Devils pulled out the win. Pitt was in contention for the regular season title before losing backto-back games to end the regular season. Still, that game promises to be intense and emotional for the Blue Devils

Prognosis: Favored to make the semis but a first-game landmine awaits.

NELL REDMOND | AP PHOTO

JACOB KUPFERMAN | AP PHOTO

ACC Women’s Tournament:

What did we learn?

The NCAA picture is still unclear as teams wait for the selection committee

By Shawn Krest North State Journal

VIRGINIA TECH stormed through the ACC Women’s Tournament with a dominant performance, stirring up a hornet’s nest of questions in the process.

The third-seeded Hokies blew out Miami by 26 before holding No. 2 seed Duke to 37 points in a 21-point win. They finished off their run by topping fourth-seed Louisville in the final, 75-67.

After five wild days in Greensboro, what have we learned? The main takeaway is we’re still not sure what’s going to happen when the selection committee unveils the NCAA brackets. The games have ended for ACC teams, but there’s still plenty that needs to be decided. Here’s a look at the top storylines scrambling the March Madness picture in the ACC.

Who’s No. 1?

The ACC had plenty of candidates for a No. 1 seed in the NCAAs. Notre Dame has a lineup of stars and won the regular season. Duke and Virginia Tech were right behind the Irish.

The Hokies certainly looked the

part in the ACC Tournament, winning their three games by an average of 18.3 points and taking out two top-four seeds. Can they jump from a No. 3 in their conference tourney to a No. 1 in the Big Dance?

The Irish looked overmatched in a 64-38 loss to Louisville, and one of the key reasons why will be discussed a little later. Duke has also seemingly lost track of its offense — starting with the regular season finale, the Blue Devils have scored 41, 44 and 37 points.

The good news for the ACC is that most of the other power conferences also saw top seeds upset in their tournaments, so the committee could vault Tech to the top row or just ignore the tourney upsets entirely and reward Notre Dame, but the conference is hoping it’s not shut out from a top seed.

Who’s still standing?

ACC Rookie of the Year Ta’Niya Latson. Player of the Year runner-up Olivia Miles. All-ACC second-teamer Diamond Johnson. All of those top-shelf players earned ACC season honors last Tuesday, and that was the last they were heard of for the week. None of them saw the floor in the ACC Tournament due to injuries. It’s possible they were rested to prepare for an NCAA run, but it also

could be that the injuries will persist into next week and beyond.

The fates of Florida State, Notre Dame and NC State, respectively, will depend on how ready their stars are to play. The Irish looked good against a depleted Wolfpack team in the quarterfinals, as fellow All-ACC first teamer Sonia Citron was able to pick up the slack in Miles’ absence, but against a fully healthy Louisville team, the Irish were out of it early.

One of the reasons Tech was able to make its conference tourney run is that the Hokies were one of the few teams that had all their top players at 100%, including player of the year Elizabeth Kitley, first-teamer Georgia Amoore and sixth person of the year D’asia Gregg.

Several teams also saw players go down during the action in Greensboro. Wake point guard Kaia Harrison was limited to a handful of minutes in the Deacs’ three games after injuring her ankle, and Notre Dame — already down one starter and with another one, Dara Mabry, already out for the year from a late January knee injury — saw key reserve Natalija Marshall limited to a handful of minutes after suffering an elbow to the eye.

The ACC’s top teams need to get healthy in a hurry or the March run may be a short one for the con-

ference’s showcase teams. And, if all the injured players are back and ready to go for the Big Dance, some tough questions will need to be asked about whether sitting people out of the ACC Tournament is in the best interests of the league.

Who’s in, who’s out, who’s sweating

The best bet at the moment is that Virginia Tech will be a top seed. According to ESPN’s predictions, the league won’t get a No. 2 seed but will have a pair of No. 3s in Duke and Notre Dame. UNC, which beat Duke twice, is

Early deadline returns positive for Hurricanes

Shayne Gostisbehere has been a perfect fit through two games, and Jesse Puljujarvi is expected to boost the team’s forward depth

By Cory Lavalette North State Journal

RALEIGH — “Happy learned how to putt. Uh-oh.”

In the final act of the Adam Sandler golf comedy “Happy Gilmore,” the hockey-loving title character — known for his other-worldly length off the tee — fashions a putter into the shape of a hockey stick. Suddenly, his one weakness — ineptness on the greens — turns into a strength, clearing a path for him to beat villain Shooter McGavin and win the “gold jacket.”

Golf is the last thing hockey players want to think about this time of year, but the Hurricanes may have, like Happy, corrected their one fatal flaw at the trade deadline.

In two games since coming over from the Arizona Coyotes, Shayne Gostisbehere — one of the NHL’s top offensive-minded defensemen — has sparked a Carolina power play that sputtered much of the season.

A unit that was ranked 23rd in the NHL — last among teams in a playoff spot at the time — before Gostisbehere was acquired for a 2026 third round pick jumped all the way to 13th after going 7 for 9 in blowout wins over Arizona and Tampa Bay in the days after the March 3 deadline.

“The Hurricanes learned to

The Panthers scored the last six points of the third quarter, taking a 49-48 lead when Jenson Edwards beat the buzzer with a mid-range jumper. But the Panthers missed their first eight shots of the fourth quarter and by the time Williams wrapped up a personal 10-0 run with 5:10 remaining, the Runnin’ Bulldogs led 60-49. The Panthers went six minutes without scoring before Skylar Curran hit two free throws and seven minutes without a field goal before Edwards made a layup.

Jenson Edwards scored 18 points, Nakyah Terrell 14, and Curran 11 for High Point (17-14). Both teams relied heavily on their starters. Not only were there a total of two bench points in the game, but only three players scored in the second half for Gardner-Webb until Lauren Bevis made two free throws in the final minute.

New

his first two games with Carolina.

power play. Uh-oh.” Now at 22%, the Hurricanes’ power play is ahead of the Devils and within about a percentage point of some of the teams known for their lethal man-advantage attacks: the Bruins, Rangers and Avalanche.

No, the Hurricanes didn’t “win the deadline” by adding Gostisbehere and Jesse Puljujarvi, who finally joined the team Tuesday in Montreal after working out his

UNC Asheville guard Tajion Jones celebrates near his team’s bench after making a seocnd half 3-pointer during of the Bulldogs’ win Sunday in Big South Tournament championship game against Campbell in Charlotte.

visa issues. Carolina even swung and missed on the biggest name on the market, making a competitive offer — one that some believe presented more value to the Sharks than what they accepted from New Jersey — for Timo Meier but then didn’t scramble for an alternative when they lost out.

The team also didn’t strike out on its other targets. Both Gostisbehere and Puljujarvi are seen by the front office as clear upgrades

to the bottom of the team’s lineup.

“The truth is going to come later, right?” Hurricanes coach Rod Brind’Amour said following Sunday’s dominant 6-0 win over the Lightning. “But it’s nice to have an early impression like that and quiet people, not that we listen to it. But now they can say, ‘Well, wait a minute, maybe this is the right fit’ and stop talking about it, I guess. But the proof’s always gonna be later, as we know.”

The Wolfpack will need guard Diamond Johnson, who missed the ACC Tournament with an injury, if it wants to return to the Sweet 16 for the fourth straight NCAA Tournament.

expected to be a fourth seed and Louisville a 5.

Florida State and NC State appear to be safely in, with both expected to get 7 seeds according to ESPN’s bracketology, and Miami is on the right side of the bubble, avoiding the play-in round and getting a No. 9 seed if ESPN is to be believed.

Syracuse, which finished 18-12 and 9-9 in the league and lost its ACC Tournament opener to the Wolfpack, is predicted to be one of the first four teams out. Of course, as last week showed, anything can happen, and developments over the next few days could scramble the picture further.

The Hurricanes also decided to stand pat at center, giving a vote of confidence to Jesperi Kotknaniemi as the second line pivot. He responded against Tampa Bay with a career-high five points and now has 14 points (five goals, nine assists) in his last 14 games.

“I think he started just getting more strength to his game, started understanding how to play a little better,” said Brind’Amour, always quick to mention that Kotkaniemi is still just 22 years old. “And obviously he’s playing with good players, and that helps.”

Kotkaniemi also helped out on the rejuvenated power play, picking up a goal and three assists over the last two games on the second group that features Gostisbehere at the point.

“A lot of goals,” was Kotkaniemi’s quick answer when asked what the 29-year-old defenseman adds to that unit. “You can tell he’s really calm at the blue line, he’s not in a rush. He makes great plays, he shoots the puck. I think that’s all we need.”

Teuvo Teravainen, who had a hat trick in the game, including two of that group’s power play goals, added: “It’s been really good start for him, so I’m sure he’s gonna help us a lot.”

All of that early success came without much time for Gostisbehere to acclimate to his new team and a system that is unique to others around the league.

“A lot of times they throw you into the fire like that,” Gostisbehere said Sunday. “Sometimes it’s a little easier, and fortunately for me, it’s gone pretty well the first few games.”

So far, so good.

“It’s what we needed, to have a quarterback back there — another one — to help facilitate that power play,” Brind’Amour said. “So he obviously knows what he’s doing.”

And maybe at the deadline, the Hurricanes did too.

UNC ASHEVILLE from page B1

Camels. The senior made 11 of 18 shots and grabbed 10 rebounds for his seventh double-double of the season. He added four assists and blocked two shots. Big South freshman of the year Anthony Dell’Orso scored 12 points — just two after halftime — and snagged seven rebounds. Clemons, a former walkon now a senior, hit two 3-pointers and scored 17 before fouling out.

Pal had 16 points and eight rebounds by halftime to guide Campbell to a 38-35 lead at intermission.

The Fighting Camels (16-18) made their only trip to the Big Dance in 1992, losing to eventual champion Duke in the first round 82-56. Campbell is the sixth No. 7 seed to advance to the Big South title game. All six lost to the top seed.

UNC Asheville sports a 2-4 record in its four previous NCAA tourney appearances.

GARDNER-WEBB from page B1

CHARLIE NEIBERGALL | AP PHOTO

JACOB KUPFERMAN | AP PHOTO

KARL B. DEBLAKER | AP PHOTO

Hurricanes defenseman Shayne Gostisbehere has four points, including two power play goals, in

$2,728,272,157 Add Receipts $137,803,812 Less Disbursements

$133,576,692

$125,000,000

$6,773,020,462

reimbursements: $0

ECONOMY from page B5

and therefore on prices. Which means further inflation.

CONSUMERS

Their jobs secure, their bank accounts still bolstered by pandemic-era savings, Americans have continued to spend, shrugging off higher interest rates and prices.

In January, retail sales rose at their fastest pace in nearly two years, rebounding from a tepid holiday shopping season. Even after accounting for inflation, consumers spent their after-tax dollars at the fastest pace since March 2021. Consumer spending on services, ranging from health care to dinners out to airline tickets, last year accounted for 95% of the economy’s growth.

Mark Zandi, chief economist at Moody’s Analytics, estimates that consumers still have $1.5 trillion in “excess savings’’ — above what they’d have socked away if the pandemic hadn’t hit — from government aid and from cutting back while stuck at home at the peak of the pandemic.

Still, inflation continues to cause hardships for millions of households. Adjusted for inflation, average hourly earnings have fallen for 22 straight months, government data shows. Many low- and middle-income families are turning to credit cards to sustain their spending.

HOUSING

The Fed’s rate hikes, which so far have had only a limited effect on the overall economy, have walloped one industry: Housing.

Residential real estate depends on the willingness of people to borrow for what’s typically the costliest purchase of their lives. As the Fed continually jacked up interest rates last year, the average rate on a 30-year fixed mortgage topped 7% last fall — more than double where it began 2022 — before dropping back slightly.

The damage has been severe. Sales of existing homes have dropped for a record 12 straight months, according to the National Association of Realtors. And the government’s GDP report showed that investment in housing plunged at an annual rate of nearly 26% from October through December after having tumbled 18% from April through June and 27% from July through September.

SoFi Bank sues to block Biden’s student loan payment pause

The Associated Press WASHINGTON, D.C. — A private bank is trying to force the Biden administration to end its pause on federal student loan payments, arguing the moratorium has no legal basis and has cost the bank, known for its refinancing business, millions of dollars in profits.

In a federal lawsuit filed Friday in Washington, SoFi Bank N.A. asked a federal judge to overturn President Joe Biden’s latest extension of the payment pause. Student loan payments first were halted at the start of the pandemic by President Donald Trump’s administration. The pause has been extended eight times over three years.

The bank says its federal student loan refinancing business has suffered because borrowers have little incentive to refinance while payments and interest remain on hold. At a minimum, the lawsuit asks a judge to limit the pause only to borrowers who would be eligible for Biden’s cancellation plan.

Biden’s latest extension, which was announced in November and could stretch as far as this summer, is unlawful on “multiple grounds,” the lawsuit claims.

Unlike the first seven extensions, which were meant to help borrowers struggling as a result of the pandemic, the latest one was enacted solely in response to legal challenges to Biden’s plan for widespread student debt forgiveness, the lawsuit says. The plan is currently being challenged in the Supreme Court, which is expected to rule by June.

“The eighth extension does not even attempt to redress harm from the pandemic at all, but rather to alleviate ‘uncertainty’ caused by the debt-cancellation litigation,” SoFi says in the lawsuit.

SoFi argues that isn’t a valid reason authorized by the HEROES Act, the federal law the Biden administration has invoked to continue the pause. The bank

also argues the extension violated the Administrative Procedure Act because the administration failed to invite feedback from the public.

The most recent extension has cost the bank at least $6 million in lost profits, SoFi says, and it could lead to a total of $30 million in losses if it continues through August.

“In essence, SoFi is being forced to compete with loans with 0% interest rates and for which any ongoing repayment of the principal is entirely optional,” the lawsuit says.

The Education Department defended the legality of the pause, calling the lawsuit “an attempt by a multi-billion dollar company to make money while they force 45 million borrowers back into repayment.”

“The department will continue to fight to deliver relief to borrowers, provide a smooth path to repayment and protect borrowers from industry and special interests,” the agency said in a statement.

The lawsuit drew swift condemnation from borrower advocates, who called it a money grab at the expense of those struggling with student debt.

“The real story here is the huge risk this poses to tens of millions of working people who SoFi would never lend to — families across the country that depend on the student loan payment pause to shield them from financial devastation,” said Mike Pierce, executive director of the Student Borrower Protection Center.

WeightWatchers gets into prescription weight loss business

The Associated Press

WeightWatchers shares soared Tuesday after the company said it was getting into the prescription drug weight loss business with the acquisition of Sequence.

Sequence, a telehealth operator, says that its specialists can prescribe medications under brand names including Ozempic, Wegovy and Trulicity.

Shares of WW International Inc. jumped more than 31% in morning trading.

WeightWatchers offers subscribers meal plans with the goal of losing excess weight. With the acquisition of Sequence, the company is tapping into a red-hot market for prescription drugs that address obesity, and broadening what it offers to customers.

“It is our responsibility, as the trusted leader in weight management, to support those interested in exploring if medications are right for them,” said CEO Sima Sistani said in a prepared statement late Monday.

Ozempic, also known as semaglutide, works by stimulating the body’s own insulin production and reducing appetite. While it is prescribed for diabetes, Ozempic can also help people lose weight. The weight loss side effect of Ozempic has recently caused the drug to go viral on social media, with some people now seeking prescriptions from their doctors for that off-label use.

Ozempic manufacturer Novo Nordisk says that it’s not a weight loss drug. It’s used to improve blood sugar in adults with type 2 diabetes, along with diet and exercise, but can also help patients lose some weight.

Novo Nordisk says some serious side effects of Ozempic include possible thyroid tumors, including cancer; pancreatitis; kidney problems and gallbladder problems. The most common side effects are nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, stomach

pain and constipation. If it’s not treated, obesity can lead to lifelong health problems, including high blood pressure, diabetes and depression.

Obesity prevalence rose from 30.5% from the 1999-2000 period to 41.9% for 2017 through March 2020, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

The prevalence of severe obesity surged from 4.7% to 9.2% for the same periods.

The estimated annual medical cost of obesity in the U.S. was

almost $173 billion in 2019 dollars, according to the CDC. Annual medical costs for adults who had obesity were $1,861 higher than medical costs for people with healthy weight.

“This deal brings access to prescription drug solutions for weight loss to WW’s historical focus on behavior modification model,” wrote UBS analyst Michael Lasser. “This is a significant change in the business. While the deal could bring considerable upside, it also carries sizable risks.”

Lasser said that WW’s business has been disrupted over the last several years and is now trying to take big steps to course correct.

“We think it will take time to see if this action really produces a change in the company’s fortunes,” he said. WW International, based in New York, will pay $106 million for Sequence, which served about 24,000 members across the U.S. as of February, with annual revenue of about $25 million.

The acquisition is expected to close in the fiscal second quarter.

AP PHOTO

General exterior view of SoFi Stadium before an NFL football game is shown on Sept. 13, 2020, in Inglewood, Calif. MATT SAYLES | AP IMAGES FOR

At a WW GOOD wellness festival powered by Weight Watchers "WW" on the Santa Monica Pier on August 11, 2018, Los Angeles residents engage in a movement and meditation series ("LIFTED") led by Celebrity Fitness Instructor Holly Rilinger.

2023 Chevrolet Colorado

The next-gen midsize truck

By Jordan Golson North State Journal

SAN DIEGO — This will likely annoy a lot of people, but I’ve never been a particular fan of midsize pickup trucks.

Midsize trucks include vehicles like the Toyota Tacoma, Ford Ranger, GMC Canyon, and the subject of this week’s review, the Chevrolet Colorado. The ride has been too trucklike, with a generally vague steering feel and lots of body roll. The engines don’t have enough oomph, and the pricing is far too close to that of fullsize trucks like the Ford F–150 or Chevy Silverado.

When you decide to buy a midsize truck, I figured you might as well go big or go home and get the big boy full-size rig. Of course, that’s not to say no one should buy a midsize truck. I can’t count the number of people I know who adore their Toyota Tacomas, but for me, I’d rather spend my money elsewhere.

That might all be changing. The full lineup of midsize trucks is in the midst of a complete overhaul, with a new Tacoma and Ranger coming later in the year — but the

Chevrolet Colorado is first up. The rework starts under the hood with a new 2.7-liter four-cylinder turbocharged engine that comes in three flavors depending on how much power and torque you want. The base engine, standard in the entry-level Colorado Work Truck, makes 237 horsepower and 259 torque and has been stripped of much sound deadening and other more “refined” attributes to keep costs down.

It appears to have worked, as the WT starts decently equipped for just over $30,000. It reminds me of the Ford Maverick in this way, not in size, but in that the least expensive variant is still a competent truck.

Step up to the Z71 or Trail Boss trims, and a more powerful 310 hp and 390 lb-ft variant is under the hood. Also available is a high-output motor that increases torque up to 430 lb-ft, which is nice but un-

necessary. The 2.7L has all manner of clever engineering fitted to it, and Chevy promises increased reliability and performance per dollar compared to the six-cylinder options in the prior Colorado. Truck purists will wail, I’m sure, about the “mere” four-cylinder engine, but progress comes for us all.

The interior of all Colorado models is a significant update, with a standard 8-inch dash cluster and 11-inch infotainment touchscreen, and wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto running on GM’s new Google Automotive platform. The new Silverado inspires it, and everything is thoughtfully laid out, with a wireless phone charger in front of the gearshift and well-placed dual cupholders in front of an ample center console bin. Two more cupholders sit behind the console bin for rear-seat passengers or folks making a coffee run for the rest of the landscaping team.

The Trail Boss adds a two-inch factory lift and a wider track for off-road adventures (or just a more aggressive look), and a Colorado ZR2 is coming later with a 3-inch lift and Multimatic DSSV dampers.

Finally, Chevrolet appears to have embraced advanced safety tech, with forward collision warning, automatic emergency braking (with pedestrian detection), lane

keep assist, and automatic high beams included in all trims. Blindspot monitoring, adaptive cruise, a gorgeous 360-degree camera, and automatic rear collision braking are available. GM’s terrific Super Cruise hands-off driving system is notably unavailable in Colorado.

OnStar connectivity is standard, as is a 4G LTE data connection via AT&T ($20 per month for unlimited Wi-Fi hotspot). Hence, every trim of Colorado is ready to be your mobile office.

The exterior design doesn’t push convention, but it’s been tweaked and fits the truck. The side rails in the bed have been lowered slightly to make it easier for shorter folks to load and unload from the sides. The tailgate has a cleverly hidden storage compartment that can be used to hide tools or for an optional speaker add-on that’s perfect for tailgating or camping.

If nothing else, the new Colorado excites me as the rest of the midsize truck lineup awaits its revamp. Ranger has already been shown, and Tacoma is coming soon, as is Colorado’s sister truck, the GMC Canyon.

The new Colorado would be a perfect everyday driver for a weekend warrior or someone who wants to haul camping, hunting, or fishing gear regularly without needing to give up all those must-have creature comforts. Consider me a midsize pickup convert.

PHOTOS COURTESY CHEVROLET

COUNTY NEWS

Corn Growers Association of NC to hold referendum

The Corn Growers Association of North Carolina will be conducting a referendum for the assessment of corn sold to first purchasers in North Carolina on March 14, 2023. Voting in Stanly County will take place at the County Extension office at the Stanly County Agri-Civic Center during regular business hours (8:30 am until 5 pm) or at Nutrien in Norwood. The current assessment is 1.25 cents per bushel, and the Association is proposing to change the assessment to .30% of the settlement. This change is expected to bring the Association’s assessment in line with other row crop assessments across the state. If the Association realizes an increase in funds, they will be applied to an endowed chair position at NC State University for the Extension Cropping SpecialistCorn Position. Additionally, any increase in revenue will cover the increased cost of conducting research which benefits all North Carolina corn producers. The Corn Growers Association of North Carolina is governed by an all-volunteer board of farmers and industry representatives. For additional information, please contact Molly Alexi, Stanly County Extension Director, at (704) 9833987.

Lowcountry Voices to perform free show in Albemarle

The Stanly County Arts Council and the Stanly County Concert Association will be hosting a free concert in the auditorium of Albemarle High School at 3 pm on April 29. The featured act will be North Charleston’s very own Lowcountry Voices, who will present a culturally influenced program entitled, “A Musical Collage: Lowcountry Style.” Lowcountry Voices is a multicultural and ethnically diverse performing arts organization known for its performances of AfricanAmerican and South Carolina Lowcountry traditional choral music. Its repertoire includes traditional and contemporary gospel music, spirituals, hymns, jazz, classical choral music, and music from the theater and movies. The Stanly County Arts Council is able to hold these concerts thanks to the support from private donors and the NC Arts Council, a division of the Department of Cultural Resources, with funding from the National Endowment for the Arts.

Republican legislators reach Medicaid expansion deal

The Associated Press RALEIGH — North Carolina legislative leaders announced last Thursday an agreement to expand Medicaid to hundreds of thousands of additional low-income adults through the Affordable Care Act.

The deal, which likely won’t be voted on until later this month at the earliest, marks a milestone for Republican lawmakers, most of whom opposed expansion for a decade until recently.

North Carolina has been one of 11 states that has not adopted Medicaid expansion. If the deal goes through, the state would start providing expansion coverage to people starting next January.

“This is something that we can all be very proud of,” House Speaker Tim Moore said at a Legislative Building news conference with Senate Leader Phil Berger. “What a huge announcement this is for North Carolina. What a huge policy direction this is that will provide help for so many in this state, but it’s going to do it in a way that’s fiscally responsible.”

Expansion gained momentum last year when the GOP-controlled

state House and Senate approved, with strong bipartisan support, competing legislation addressing it, but they failed to reach a deal. The key differences stemmed around other initiatives Senate Republicans insisted were needed to increase the number of medical providers to cover the additional enrollees.

Under the new agreement, senators obtained the loosening or elimination of “certificate of need” laws that require health regulators to sign off on plans to offer hospital beds for mental health and substance abuse patients, build ambulatory surgery centers or purchase MRI machines. But their demand that advanced-practice nurses be able to treat patients without a doctor’s supervision was left out.

“There are still some things that need to be done, but this is our agreement and I’m very comfortable with it,” Berger said.

The negotiated measure, built in part on an expansion measure approved overwhelmingly by the House two weeks ago, was still being drawn up and will need affirmative votes in both chambers.

The federal government covers 90% of the cost of Medicaid recip-

ients under expansion. Potentially 600,000 people in North Carolina could receive the benefit — those who make too much to qualify for conventional Medicaid but not enough to receive heavily subsidized health insurance that President Barack Obama’s signature 2010 law provides.

Under the agreement, the state’s 10% share would be paid through assessments paid by hospitals, which in turn benefit from getting reimbursed as they cover patients with Medicaid.

Officials say the state also would get an extra $1.8 billion over two years through a financial sweetener in a COVID-19 federal relief package from Congress for states that hadn’t accepted expansion. And the package will include provisions that would result in higher reimbursements for hospital systems when they treat Medicaid patients — resulting in at least $3.2 billion in reimbursements during the next fiscal year for traditional Medicaid patients alone. That should help rural areas, where hospitals have closed or are in danger of closing.

Democratic North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper, who has sought

Stanly commissioners pass resolution in support of Medical Freedom Act

By Jesse Deal North State Journal

ALBEMARLE — With a 6-1 vote, the Stanly County Board of Commissioners recently approved a resolution in support of North Carolina House Bill 98 and Senate Bill 121, also known as the Medical Freedom Act.

The proposed bill is currently sitting in committee at the state level.

On March 6, the board signaled its approval of the bill’s goals to prevent local governmental discrimination against people based on their refusal to provide proof of or submit to a COVID-19 vaccination.

The bill also prohibits public schools, state and local public health agencies, and local governments from requiring a COVID-19 vaccination, adopting mask policies, or quarantining healthy students.

Presented by Commissioner Patty Crump, the board’s near-unanimous resolution is a full-hearted endorsement of the bill.

“I talked with Wayne Sasser — our N.C. House representative — this past week,” Crump said. “He feels very strongly that this is going to be approved, possibly with a 72-vote majority, which would make it veto-proof which is excel-

lent for medical freedom,” Crump said. “But it always helps when our representatives can hear from county commissioners and other leaders and the voices of the people. I would like to present a resolution in order to give it teeth.”

Holding over 20 years of professional medical experience, Dr. Amir Koohestani joined Crump in support of the Medical Freedom Act.

Koohestani is board certified in osteopathic family and functional medicine and currently serves as an associate professor of medicine at Campbell University Medical School.

“I teach my medical students that science is the knowledge of how things work, but wisdom is when you recognize the limitations of your science. And science has a lot of limitations,” Koohestani said. “In fact, science has

expansion since taking office in 2017, would be asked to sign any final measure into law. He tweeted that the agreement “is a monumental step that will save lives” but wants it effective immediately to tap into more federal funds, making “sure we leverage the money that will save our rural hospitals and invest in mental health.”

Even if the law is approved this spring, Moore and Berger said it wouldn’t be effective until a separate state budget is enacted, likely by the early summer.

Cooper wasn’t involved in recent negotiations that lasted about four weeks and led to an agreement finalized late Wednesday, the legislators said.

The North Carolina Healthcare Association, representing hospitals and health systems, commended legislators for Thursday’s agreement. The group backs certificate of need laws but offered some ways to scale them back in negotiations last year.

“Expanding Medicaid will improve the health of our people, our economy and our entire health care system,” said Abby Emanuelson, executive director of Care4Carolina, a coalition of over 165 groups that has worked for expansion since 2014.

For years, Republicans in charge of the General Assembly since 2011 had been suspicious of expansion, even passing a 2013 law to block the executive branch from trying to accept expansion on its own.

See MEDICAID, page 2

“I teach my medical students that science is the knowledge of how things work, but wisdom is when you recognize the limitations of your science.”

Dr. Amir Koohestani

AP PHOTO

North Carolina Senate leader Phil Berger, left, speaks alongside House Speaker Tim Moore at a news conference about a Medicaid expansion agreement, Thursday, March 2, 2023, at the Legislative Building in Raleigh.

“Join

BetterHelp shared users’ sensitive health data, FTC says

The Associated Press

THE ONLINE counseling service BetterHelp has agreed to return $7.8 million to customers to settle with the Federal Trade Commission for sharing health data it had promised to keep private — including information about mental health challenges — with companies including Facebook and Snapchat. The proposed FTC order also limits how the California-based company may share consumer data in the future.

BetterHelp said the settlement was not an admission of wrongdoing and that the behavior for which it was sanctioned is standard for the industry.

Samuel Levine, director of the FTC’s Bureau of Consumer Protection, however, said BetterHelp betrayed consumers’ most personal health information for profit.

MEDICAID from page 1

But GOP lawmakers slowly came around as the Affordable Care Act and the 90% federal share didn’t get repealed by Congress, diminishing worries that state government would have to foot ever more of the costs. And local Republican county leaders endorsed expansion.

A turning point came last spring when Berger explained his switch to supporting it, adding at the time: “If there’s a person in the state of North Carolina that has spoken out against Medicaid expansion more than I have, I’d like to meet that person.”

North Carolina currently has 2.9 million Medicaid recipients. The state Department of Health and Human Services has said up to 300,000 current beneficiaries could lose full coverage as states soon must conduct annual eligibility verifications again following the COVID-19 pandemic. Many being removed would requalify through Medicaid expansion, DHHS said.

“When a person struggling with mental health issues reaches out for help, they do so in a moment of vulnerability and with an expectation that professional counseling services will protect their privacy,” Levine said in a statement. Levine called the proposed order “a stout reminder that the FTC will prioritize defending Americans’ sensitive data from illegal exploitation.”

The enforcement action follows a similar one on Feb. 1 in which telehealth and prescription drug discount provider GoodRx Holdings was assessed a $1.7 million penalty for sharing users’ personal health data with Facebook, Google and other third parties without their consent.

COMMISSIONERS from page 1

thrived over the years because scientists have been allowed to ask questions.”

Koohestani provided his input that there isn’t a strong enough consensus in the medical community around COVID-19 vaccination effectiveness for the vaccines to be required by the government in certain public places. He also provided statistics indicating that the vaccines have led to higher rates of myocarditis and pregnancy complications.

When it came time for the vote,

The FTC has made it clear of its intent to crack down on the trafficking in sensitive health data by businesses not strictly classified as health care providers and thus not covered by HIPAA, the federal privacy rules that govern the health care industry.

BetterHelp provides online counseling, including services geared toward Christians, teens and the LGBTQ community. Customers interested in its services fill out questionnaires that ask for sensitive mental health information such as whether they have experienced suicidal thoughts and if they are on medication. They are then

the lone nay vote belonged to Commissioner Peter Asciutto, a community vaccine ambassador with Atrium Health and a longtime advocate for COVID-19 vaccines.

The commissioner brought up that just last week, the Stanly County Consolidated Health and Human Services Board voted 7-4 not to lend its endorsement to the Medical Freedom Act. Ascuitto then took issue with Koohestani’s claim that the vaccines were initially advertised to fully prevent virus transmission.

“I’ve never heard anybody say that if you take the vaccine, you’re

matched with counselors.

During the signup process, customers were promised BetterHelp would not use or disclose their personal health data except for limited purposes such as to provide counseling, the FTC said.

The company nevertheless revealed data including email and IP addresses and questionnaire information to Facebook, Snapchat, Criteo, and Pinterest for advertising purposes, the FTC said in its complaint. It also accused BetterHelp of misleading customers and the public in 2020 by falsely denying news reports that it had revealed customers’ personal data to

not going to get COVID. There’s always been a risk to everything,” Ascuitto said.

“What planet do you live on?” Koohestani responded.

Back on March 30, 2021, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Director Rochelle Walensky contended that “Our data from the CDC today suggests that vaccinated people do not carry the virus, don’t get sick, and that it’s not just in the clinical trials, but it’s also in real-world data.”

A few months later, President Joe Biden also suggested that fully vaccinated people don’t car-

third parties.

Under the proposed order, BetterHelp will provide partial refunds for customers who used the service from Aug. 1, 2017 until the end of 2020, the FTC said.

BetterHelp called the data-sharing practices for which it was sanctioned “industry-standard practice” that is “routinely used by some of the largest health providers, health systems, and healthcare brands.”

“Nonetheless, we understand the FTC’s desire to set new precedents around consumer marketing, and we are happy to settle this matter with the agency,” it added in a statement on its website.

ry COVID-19: “We’re making sure healthcare workers are vaccinated because if you seek care at a healthcare facility, you should have the certainty that the people providing that care are protected from COVID and cannot spread it to you.”

Following the 6-1 vote in favor of the resolution, a large portion of the crowd in attendance clapped in support.

The Stanly County Board of Commissioners will hold its next meeting on March 20 in the Gene McIntyre Room at Stanly Commons.

The Federal Trade Commission building in Washington, D.C.

Neal Robbins, publisher | Frank Hill, senior opinion editor

The biggest scandal in American history

WE ARE LIVING THROUGH the largest, deadliest scandal in American history, but the elite media refuses to connect the dots and analyze it.

COVID-19, a disease no one disputes came from Wuhan, China, has killed more than 1.1 million Americans and more than 38 million people worldwide. It has left millions of others with chronic health problems.

Because of the teachers’ unions and totally misguided, destructive public health policies, children who were under virtually no risk from COVID-19 have lost at least a year of education.

So, the same experts who are paid by the American people and given tens of billions of dollars to invest in research decided that they would deliberately mislead the American people.

This perfectly captures the arrogance of the aristo-bureaucrats, who believe they are intellectually and morally superior to the people to whom they are supposed to be accountable.

They believe they have the right and duty to censor what we think and say — and to feed us falsehoods in the name of some higher duty.

Fauci knew all this.

Many children are suffering from depression and other mental health challenges from the forced isolation and lack of social contact.

Now, it is becoming more clear that much of this pain was avoidable — and the result of powerful government employees protecting themselves. As Jarrett Stepman in The Daily Signal wrote:

“In 2020, if you thought it was possible COVID-19 came from a lab in China you were labeled a conspiracy theorist, a peddler of misinformation, ‘bonkers,’ and a racist.

“Facebook and other social media removed the lab leak claim from their apps or slapped ‘misinformation’ labels on it. Facebook did so in lockstep with the government.

“So according to the standard set in 2020, the Department of Energy just came out as a racist purveyor of misinformation this week.

“The Wall Street Journal reported on Sunday that, according to a classified intelligence report provided to the White House and Congress, the Department of Energy concluded that the COVID-19 pandemic likely came from a lab leak.

‘”The Energy Department’s conclusion is the result of new intelligence and is significant because the agency has considerable scientific expertise and oversees a network of U.S. national laboratories, some of which conduct advanced biological research,’ the Wall Street Journal report said.”

President Donald Trump called it “the Chinese Virus” and was intensely attacked. Somehow word “Chinese” was deemed racist. No one disputes that the virus originated in China. But calling it COVID-19 rather than the Chinese virus was more polite. (After all, it’s important to indicate an appropriate sensitivity to the totalitarian dictatorship that is trying to defeat the United States and become the world’s leading power).

We now know this censorship and speech silencing was part of a systematic effort of senior scientists to mislead the American people. When COVID-19 first became a threat in early 2020,

Dr. Anthony Fauci already knew the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) had funded research in the Wuhan Institute of Virology via EcoHealth Alliance. He knew the WIV was a subgrantee of EcoHealth Alliance — and that EcoHealth Alliance was not in compliance with its grant reporting. Specifically, the organization was out of compliance for a project that NIAID knew could potentially make novel bat-borne coronaviruses much more dangerous.

Fauci knew all this.

According to Kentucky Rep. James Comer, who is chairman of the House Committee on Oversight and Accountability, on Feb. 1, 2020, “Dr. Fauci, Dr. Collins, and at least eleven other scientists convened a conference call to discuss COVID-19. On the conference call, Drs. Fauci and Collins were first warned that COVID-19 may have leaked from the WIV and may have been intentionally genetically manipulated.”

The scientists decided to remain silent to avoid controversy (which would have ultimately fallen back on themselves).

COLUMN | BEN SHAPIRO

This scandal of many of our best professional researchers lying to the American people is compounded by the absolute failure of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Why there has not been a scathing and thorough investigation — and set of hearings on the absolute inability of the bureaucrats in Atlanta to do their jobs — and the general failure of the public health system across the country is a mystery to me. This lack of introspection or investigation should itself be a scandal.

Driven by the economic impact of the Chinese virus, the American government spent trillions of dollars propping up the economy, sparking inflation, massively increasing the national debt, and permitting hundreds of billions in theft and corruption.

Finally, there has been no serious effort to hold the Chinese Communist dictatorship accountable for the damage it has done around the world. There is ample precedent for holding governments responsible for the damage they have done to others (the Lockerbie bombing, the Iranian Hostage Crisis, 9/11, and other cases).

The Chinese Communists have continuously focused on stopping us from understanding the origins of the pandemic. As Dave Boyer reported in the Washington Times, FBI Director Christopher A. Wray confirmed his agency believes the COVID-19 pandemic likely started from a lab leak in Wuhan, China. He told Fox News on Tuesday that “the FBI has for quite some time now assessed that the origins of the pandemic are most likely a potential lab incident in Wuhan… Here you are talking about a potential leak from a Chinese government-controlled lab.

As Boyer reported, “Mr. Wray also slammed Beijing for stonewalling international efforts to find out what happened. ‘I will just make the observation that the Chinese government, it seems to me, has been doing its best to try to thwart, and obfuscate the work here, the work that we’re doing, the work that our U.S. government and close foreign partners are doing. And that’s unfortunate for everybody,’ he said.”

Clearly there ought to be a mechanism for making the Chinese Communist dictatorship pay COVID-19 victims for the disaster it caused. One step might be a COVID-19 tariff on all Chinese imports (the proceeds of which would go into a COVID-19 Compensation Fund that every American family affected by the pandemic could apply to).

Other countries could be urged to establish similar tariffs. Then Xi Jinping and his dictatorship would learn that lying, covering up, and hiding the truth has enormous costs for those guilty of killing millions and forcing the spending of trillions.

This scandal is so large, and covers so many areas, it will be a major factor in politics and government for the next decade. It will go down in history as a turning point in our lives and the life of our country.

We just need to decide what direction we turn: toward clarity and accountability, or toward lies and chaos.

The greatest cover-up in human history

FIRST, IT WAS SUPPOSEDLY a conspiracy theory.

Then, it was banned.

Finally, it was true.

A huge number of people have decided that there are a cadre of people who are so vile that any opinion they touch is immediately toxified beyond investigation.

The so-called “lab leak” theory of the origins of COVID-19 — the theory that COVID-19 originated in at the Wuhan Institute of Virology and then was unintentionally loosed — was always the most probable explanation for the outbreak of the deadly virus. After all, as Jon Stewart correctly joked in 2021, “’Oh, my God, there’s a novel respiratory coronavirus overtaking Wuhan, China. What do we do?’ ‘Oh, you know who we could ask? The Wuhan novel respiratory coronavirus lab.’ The disease is the same name as the lab. That’s just a little too weird, don’t you think?”

But for well over a year, it was considered verboten to mention the lab leak theory. When Senator Tom Cotton, R-Ark., posited the possibility of a lab leak in February 2020, he was roundly mocked by the media. The New York Times headlined, “Senator Tom Cotton Repeats Fringe Theory of Coronavirus Origins.” Scientific American headlined — in March 2022! — “The Lab-Leak Hypothesis Made It Harder for Scientists to Seek the Truth.” Facebook actively quashed attempts to disseminate the theory; Dr. Anthony Fauci went on national television and downplayed the theory.

Why?

Two reasons are obvious. The first: powerful institutions had a stake in downplaying the Chinese origins of the virus in order to shift blame to the rest of the world. Certainly, that was China’s game: In all likelihood, COVID-19 was spreading in China as early as October 2019, and the government covered it up for months. But that was also the game of the World Health Organization. Members of the American government like Fauci also had a stake in smothering questions about American funding for gain-of-function research in Wuhan.

Then there’s the second reason: all the wrong people were repeating the lab leak theory. As one of MSNBC’s resident hacks, Mehdi Hasan, admitted on Twitter, “The simple reason why so many people weren’t keen to discuss the ‘lab

leak’ theory is because it was originally conflated by the right with ‘Chinese bio weapon’ conspiracies and continues to be conflated by the right with anti-Fauci conspiracies. Blame the conspiracy theorists.” As Nate Silver correctly noted, “The Bad People thought the lab leak might be true, therefore as journalists we couldn’t be expected to actually evaluate the evidence for it.”

Herein lies a lesson: A huge number of people have decided that there are a cadre of people who are so vile that any opinion they touch is immediately toxified beyond investigation. Claims are not to be evaluated on their own merits; instead, we can simply determine whether a claim ought to be supported based on those who posit it. This helps to explain why political crossover has become nearly impossible: We’re not judging the claims of our opponents; we’re judging each other. And this means that we can discard any argument simply by dint of the fact that we don’t like the person offering it.

Among members of the general population, this is a problem, but not a fundamental one. But among those who pose as “experts” — the people who are supposed to serve as guides for people who outsource their political information, from media to scientific institutions — it’s a fatal error. After all, experts are supposed to be impartial adjudicators of the evidence. That’s their entire job. We can evaluate on our own who we don’t like — but we often need help to determine whether an argument has merit or not. When experts become “just like us,” they undermine their raison d’etre.

And that’s precisely what happened with COVID-19. Whether it was ignoring the actual evidence regarding masks and mask mandates, the evidence regarding post-vaccination transmissibility or the evidence regarding the lab leak theory, experts decided that the (SET ITAL) wrong people (END ITAL) had to be ignored. But they were wrong. And now they have no credibility left. Ben Shapiro, 38, is a graduate of UCLA and Harvard Law School, host of “The

COLUMN | NEWT GINGRICH

SIDELINE REPORT

COLLEGE BASKETBALL

Duke men return to AP Top 25

Indianapolis

Duke returned to The Associated Press men’s basketball poll for the first time since falling out in mid-January after opening the year at No. 7. First-year coach Jon Scheyer has led the Blue Devils (23-8) to six straight wins to close out the regular season, including Saturday’s win at North Carolina for a rivalry sweep that wounded UNC’s iffy NCAA Tournament hopes. Duke was last ranked in the Jan. 9 poll. Houston remained No. 1, followed by UCLA, Kansas, Alabama and Purdue.

NFL Seahawks, QB Smith

agree on 3-year deal

Renton, Wash.

The Seahawks have agreed to terms with quarterback Geno Smith on a three-year contract that keeps the AP comeback player of the year in the Pacific Northwest. NFL Network and The Score reported the deal could be worth up to $105 million.

Smith led the Seahawks to a 9-8 record and a playoff berth as the last wild card in the NFC. He threw for a career-high 4,282 yards, setting a franchise record, with 30 touchdown passes and just 11 interceptions, completed 399 passes and led the NFL in completion percentage at 69.8%.

COLLEGE FOOTBALL

Iowa settles race bias lawsuit using taxpayer money

Iowa City, Iowa

Iowa taxpayers are on the hook for half of a $4 million settlement in the lawsuit brought by former Iowa football players who alleged racial discrimination in coach Kirk Ferentz’s program. A State Appeal Board voted 2-1 on Monday to approve the use of $2 million for the $4.175 million settlement over the objection of State Auditor Rob Sand, a board member who said athletic director Gary Barta should be fired for a series of lawsuits ending in settlements under his watch. The agreement calls for $2.85 million to be divided among 12 players and $1.9 million to go to Solomon-Simmons Law for fees and expenses.

COLLEGE HOCKEY

Wisconsin fires

Granato as men’s hockey coach

Madison, Wis.

Wisconsin fired Tony Granato as men’s hockey coach on Monday after a second straight losing season. Granato posted a 105-129-16 overall mark and 65-87-2 Big Ten record during his seven seasons. Wisconsin ended a 13-23 season Saturday, losing to Michigan in the Big Ten quarterfinals. Granato played at Wisconsin from 1983-87 before spending 13 seasons as an NHL player and 13 more as either an NHL head or assistant coach. He still ranks third in school history in career goals and fourth in points. But he couldn’t make Wisconsin a consistent winner after returning to his alma mater as head coach.

Virginia Tech beats Louisville for 1st ACC women’s title

The Hokies have won 11 straight entering the NCAA Tournament

The Associated Press GREENSBORO — Kenny Brooks walked over to an endzone section of Virginia Tech fans and gave a fist-pumping release as his players climbed steps to cut down a piece of the net.

A few minutes later, Brooks was up there himself, snipping down the final strand hanging from the rim before turning to Hokies fans and leading a “Let’s go Hokies!” chant.

The moment had finally arrived for Brooks and his eighthranked Hokies, who continued their late-season tear by beating Louisville 75-67 on Sunday to win the program’s first Atlantic Coast

Conference Tournament title.

“Unbelievable, unbelievable,” Brooks said on the court as his players celebrated around him.

It came with another strong scoring effort from Georgia Amoore, who scored 25 points and earned tournament MVP honors for the third-seeded Hokies (27-4). There was two-time league player of the year Elizabeth Kitley adding another 20 points in her role as the inside constant. And there was Taylor Soule, emerging from a scoreless first half to provide the third-quarter lift that helped keep the Hokies on course for their 11th straight win.

Virginia Tech’s first trip to the ACC title game into a strong finishing act, pushing to a double-digit lead before halftime and keeping the Cardinals at arm’s distance the rest of the way. And that capped a three-game run in Greensboro in

which the Hokies trailed for a total of 3 minutes, 15 seconds — all in the first quarter of Sunday’s game.

“I think all of us knew we were going to win,” Kitley said. “From the start of the tournament, we’ve been talking about it. Obviously we’ve been taking it day by day, game by game. But definitely throughout the game we all knew that we had it and we didn’t lose our cool, even when they were hitting big shots.”

Before Sunday, the Hokies had been as far as the ACC semifinals

only once since joining the league for the 2004-05 season — and that came last year. Now they’re celebrating a milestone victory under Brooks, who has built this program to the top of the league in Year 7.

When the horn finally sounded, Kitley and Kayana Traylor skipped to midcourt to meet the rushing mob of players and coaches from the Hokies sideline headed for a midcourt celebration as the streamers and confetti dropped from the Greensboro Coliseum rafters.Louisville made its closest push in the frantic final seconds to within 73-67 on Merissah Russell’s 3-pointer with 28 seconds left. But Kitley hit two critical free throws with 15.1 seconds to go that pushed the lead back to eight for what turned out to be the final margin.

This was the Cardinals’ fourth finals appearance, the first being a title win in 2018 followed by losses to Notre Dame in 2019 and North Carolina State on a late basket in 2021. Their first two wins came against Wake Forest and No. 10 Notre Dame, which had taken regular-season meetings against them.

Byron wins at Las Vegas as Hendrick dominates

The team finished 1-2-3 despite being minus Chase Elliott

The Associated Press

LAS VEGAS — One way or another, a Hendrick Motorsports driver figured to win Sunday’s NASCAR Cup Series race at Las Vegas.

Kyle Larson nearly won the Pennzoil 400 in regulation, but a late caution put teammate William Byron in position to capture the checkered flag in overtime.

Byron took the lead on the penultimate lap of OT to put an exclamation mark on a dominant day for Hendrick. The top three drivers were from Hendrick, with Byron, Larson and Alex Bowman pushing their Chevrolets across the finish line in that order.

Bowman won last year’s March race at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.

Byron led 176 laps and won for the fifth time in his six Cup seasons.

“I’ve led a lot of laps in a couple of races, but to be this good with this team is definitely a good sign,” Byron said. “It’s a different feeling for me having a team around me that can execute that well. That’s just a team effort.”

Larson appeared headed for victory when when Aric Almirola hit the wall in turn four on lap No. 264, leading to the second caution of the day.

“I feel like I could have eight or 10 more Cup wins if it wasn’t for cautions in the last five laps,” Larson said. “I don’t remember many

of those working out in my favor.”

Most of the leaders pitted a lap later, with only Martin Truex Jr. in his Joe Gibbs Racing No. 19 Toyota choosing to stay out. Byron, in the No. 24 Chevy, came out of pit road ahead of Larson and then easily overtook Truex after the restart.

Byron, who started in the first row with Joey Logano, swept both stages for the first time in his career. Truex in 2017 and Kevin Harvick in 2018 also won both stages in Las Vegas and went on to win.

The fourth Hendrick driver and 2020 Cup Series champion, Chase Elliott, will begin physical therapy Monday, his team owner Rick

Hendrick told Fox Sports. Elliott had surgery Friday to repair a fractured tibia, and Hendrick said Elliott has returned to his home in Dawsonville, Georgia. Elliott was injured in a snowboarding accident Friday. He and his family own a home in Vail, Colorado.

Elliott joked on Twitter “that the formal request I submitted for a slight edit to the March section of my script was indeed… declined.”

“In all seriousness, the support I’ve received over the last couple of days is far greater than I deserve,” he posted in a follow-up tweet. “I want to thank everyone who has

lended it over in any form!”

Josh Berry took Elliott’s seat in the No. 9 Chevy and finished 29th. Hendrick general manager Jeff Andrews said a decision would be made on who drives that car next weekend at Phoenix.

Bubba Wallace, who drives the 23XI Racing No. 23 Toyota, finished fourth. He was the top finisher not part of the Hendrick garage. “It was right there in the top seven or eight the whole time,” Wallace said. “I was going to settle for sixth and the caution came out. My car fired off really, really good (on the restart), the best it had all race.”

AP PHOTO

Virginia Tech forward Taylor Soule celebrates before cutting a piece of the net after the Hokies defeated Louisville to win the ACC Women’s Tournament on Sunday in Greensboro.

AP PHOTO

William Byron celebrates with his team after winning Sunday’s NASCAR Cup Series race at Las Vegas.

“I think all of us knew we were going to win.”

Elizabeth Kitley, Virginia Tech center

Brady, Brown prove combine flops can become NFL stars

Measurements and 40 times aren’t everything when it comes to evaluating talent

The Associated Press

LONG BEFORE the NFL’s annual scouting combine became a prime-time football fix for fans ahead of free agency and the draft, Mike Mamula absolutely killed it as a combine trailblazer in 1995.

He was among the first players to train specifically for the staple of tests he’d face at the combine: the 40-yard dash that measures speed, the three-cone drill that calculates agility and the 225-pound bench press that gauges strength and stamina.

After his impressive showing in Indy, Mamula rocketed into the first round, where the Philadelphia Eagles traded the 12th overall pick and two second-round selections to Tampa Bay so they could move up five spots and get the Boston College defensive end at No. 7.

Mamula proved more of a workout warrior than Sunday star in his solid five-year career with the Eagles, illustrating the inexact nature of projecting professional success at the combine, where studs can eventually turn out to be duds and flops can turn out to be outstanding players.

Although some prospects skip certain components of the combine and choose to show off in more familiar surroundings at their college pro day or in visits with specific teams, the vast majority now target the week in Indianapolis just like Mamula did.

The only thing that went right for Oklahoma tackle Orlando Brown Jr. at the 2018 scouting combine was the vote of confidence from his Heisman Trophy-winning teammate.

“When are you ever going to watch Orlando Brown run 40 yards down the field?” quarterback Baker Mayfield asked that week. “You can watch last year’s tape and see he allowed zero

sacks. I’d say that’s pretty important for a left tackle.”

Measures matter, too, however, and he fell from a projected first-rounder to the third round of the draft, where the Baltimore Ravens took a flyer on him with the 83rd overall pick.

The nearly 6-foot-8, 345-pound left tackle managed just 14 reps on the 225-pound bench press, the lowest total of any lineman who lifted at the combine that year.

Things only got worse for the son of former Browns and Ravens right tackle Orlando Brown a day later when he lumbered through the 40-yard dash in 5.85 seconds.

Even by big O-linemen standards, that’s sloth-like slow, and it was the slowest of anyone at that year’s event.

Brown, whose broad and vertical jumps were also the lowest of all players, was undeterred by his wretched week at the combine.

“I’ve been fat my whole life,” he explained. “I wish I was fast.”

Brown, however, made the Pro Bowl in his second season and has made every one since. Last month

Previewing the 2023 Stanly County softball season

South Stanly and West Stanly are looking to defend their state titles

By Jesse Deal Stanly County Journal

AS HIGH SCHOOL softball season returns, two schools in Stanly County will try and defend their state titles while other schools try to catch up to the championship programs.

West Stanly Colts (Rocky River Conference 2A/3A)

2022 Record: 29-4, 8-0

Led by Emily Smith — now in her second season as coach — the reigning Rocky River Conference champions and three-time defending 2A state champions have put together quite a resume in the NCHSAA softball landscape with titles in 1997, 2013, 2019, 2021 and 2022.

he won a Super Bowl ring while anchoring Kansas City’s stout offensive line, and he’s in line for another huge paycheck this spring.

Another player who looked overmatched at his combine was none other than seven-time Super Bowl-winning quarterback Tom Brady.

We’ve all seen the official combine photo of the scrawny Brady with uneven bangs standing expressionless in baggy shorts at the 2000 combine where he was a late-round prospect hoping for a chance.

Brady ran the 40 in a turtle-like 5.28 seconds and posted an unimpressive 24 1/2-inch vertical jump.

The only radar he was on was that of the New England Patriots, where head coach Bill Belichick and general manager Scott Pioli were just months into their new jobs and targeted a QB in the later rounds. They selected Brady in the sixth round after 198 other players were drafted, including seven quarterbacks.

The drive for a sixth title is on track as the majority of last season’s team returns for another campaign. That includes senior pitcher Lily Huneycutt, who won 27 games with a 13.2-to-1 strikeout-to-walk ratio last year.

With 11 upperclassmen on the roster, the Colts (1-1) opened this season with a 2-1 road loss to Southwestern Randolph on Feb. 28 and followed that with a 10-0 home win over Carson on March 1.

North Stanly Comets (Yadkin Valley Conference 1A/2A)

2022 Record: 12-9, 4-6

Coach Phillip Speight and the Comets began last season with an eight-game winning streak, but North Stanly ended its season losing seven of eight.

After finishing fourth in the Yadkin Valley Conference last year, the Comets will look to emerge from the middle of the pack despite having a younger squad that only features three seniors.

No timetable for Morant’s return during ‘healing process’

The NBA is investigating a social media post that showed the Grizzlies guard holding a gun

The Associated Press

LOS ANGELES — There’s no timetable for Ja Morant to return to the Memphis Grizzlies, and the AllStar guard knows he’s made “difficult decisions and poor choices” that he has to be accountable for, coach Taylor Jenkins said Sunday night.

Morant was not with the team in Los Angeles for games against the Clippers on Sunday and the Lakers

on Tuesday while the NBA investigates a social media post in which Morant appeared to be holding a gun.

“Very tough moment, for sure,” Jenkins said of the video.

Morant streamed the video on his Instagram account early Saturday of himself holding what appeared to be a gun at a nightclub, hours after playing in Denver. He said in a statement through the agency that represents him that he takes “full responsibility” for his actions and that he was going to “take some time away to get help.”

On Monday, police in Colorado said they were investigating Mo-

rant’s actions and whether he may have broken any laws. Morant’s video is believed to have been filmed in Glendale, a small enclave surrounded by Denver and known for its strip clubs and shopping centers.

Capt. Jamie Dillon said police did not receive any calls or complaints about Morant’s actions but began looking into them Saturday after learning about the video circulating online.

The Grizzlies coach said Morant understands he’s made “some difficult decisions and poor choices in the past.”

“He’s definitely embracing the mistakes that he’s made, but only

On Feb. 28, North (1-2) began its 2023 campaign with a 5-2 road loss to East Rowan but recovered with a 19-1 road win over Forest Hills a day later. The Comets then dropped a 9-8 road matchup versus Anson on March 3.

South Stanly Rebel Bulls (Yadkin Valley Conference 1A/2A) 2022 Record: 30-3, 10-0

Much like West’s softball program, South has also become a local powerhouse with a fierce reputation. Longtime coach David Poplin and his reigning 1A state and YVC champions battled back from the heartbreak of losing the 2021 state title by going right back and avenging their loss.

With a state title under its belt, South returns with five seniors who played a large role last season, including 2022 Yadkin Valley Conference Player of the Year Mattie Poulos.

The Bulls open their season at Anson on March 9 before traveling to Piedmont a day later. South is currently riding a 13-game win streak that dates to the middle of last season.

Gray Stone Day Knights (Yadkin Valley Conference 1A/2A) 2022 Record: 11-11, 2-8

While the Knights reached a double-digit win total last year, they struggled in conference play and finished fifth in the YVC standings.

Coach Darrell Furr and his Gray Stone team (2-0) have already gotten off to a strong start this spring with a 7-4 home win over Mountain Island Charter on Feb. 27 and an 11-1 road win against West Cabarrus on March 1. The Knights haven’t had a winning season since 2017 when they finished with a 21-7 record.

time will tell,” Jenkins said. “We’re going to support him and we’re going to hold him accountable to make those changes.”

Jenkins declined to outline the steps Morant needs to take to rejoin the team, saying: “We love him, we want what’s best for him, we support him. It’s going to be a difficult process, but we’ve got a great group to get through this.”

He called it “an ongoing healing process.”

The league, if it finds wrongdoing, could fine or suspend Morant.

Morant also was the subject of a league investigation after a Jan. 29 incident in Memphis that he said led

to a friend of his being banned from home games for a year. That incident occurred after a game against the Indiana Pacers. Multiple media outlets reported that members of the Pacers saw a red dot pointed at them, and a team security guard believed the laser was attached to a gun.

The NBA confirmed that unnamed individuals were banned from the arena but said its investigation found no evidence that anyone was threatened with a weapon.

“This is a tough time for a young kid that’s got to grow and get better,” Jenkins said. “He’s got huge responsibilities not just for the team, for the city, but I know how he’s built with that care factor and what steps he’s now taking. It’s a step in the direction of really being the best version of himself.”

AP PHOTO

Grizzlies guard Ja Morant was suspended by the team after a video on social media circulated that appeared to show him holding a gun at a club.

AP PHOTO

Oklahoma offensive lineman Orlando Brown participates in the 40-yard dash at the 2018 NFL Scouting Combine in Indianapolis.

Murdaugh testimony only confirmed his guilt, jurors say

The Associated Press WALTERBORO, S.C. — Alex Murdaugh didn’t help his defense when he took the stand at his trial for the murder of his wife and son, three jurors said on Monday.

Murdaugh’s testimony only managed to cement what they were already thinking — that he easily lied and could turn on and off his tears at will, the jurors said on the NBC Today show.

The key piece of evidence in finding the lawyer guilty, they said, was a video on his son’s cellphone that was shot minutes before the killings at the same kennels near where the bodies were found at their sprawling estate in rural South Carolina.

Murdaugh’s voice can be heard on the video even though he insisted for 20 months that he hadn’t been at the kennels that night. Investigators didn’t see the video for more than a year before advances in hacking enabled them to unlock Paul Murdaugh’s iPhone. They shared it with the defense ahead of the trial.

When he took the stand, the first thing Murdaugh did was admit he had lied to investigators about being at the kennels, saying he was paranoid of law enforcement because he was addicted to opioids and had pills in his pocket the night of the killings.

“The kennel video, that just kind of sealed the deal,” juror

Gwen Generette said.

The jury deliberated for less than three hours before finding Murdaugh guilty of killing his 22-year-old son, Paul, with two shotgun blasts and his 52-yearold wife, Maggie, with four or five rifle shots.

The now-disbarred lawyer maintained his innocence when he was sentenced Friday to spend

the rest of his life in prison for the murders.

Murdaugh was convicted in the same court circuit where his father, grandfather and great-grandfather tried cases as the elected prosecutor for more than 80 years. Murdaugh’s family founded the area’s most powerful law firm a century ago. For decades, that meant that practically

anyone who ended up in court on either side of the law in Colleton or Hampton counties would have a Murdaugh watching their back or staring them down.

His background was part of the reason jurors didn’t find his testimony believable.

“We already know that he’s a lawyer. He’s able to be emotional with cases. He’s able to be emo -

tional with himself. He knows ... when to turn it on and off. So I think that we were able to read right through that,” juror James McDowell said.

Prosecutors decided not to seek the death penalty, and the judge handed down the harshest possible sentence he could — consecutive life sentences without parole.

Murdaugh admitted stealing millions of dollars from the family firm and clients, saying he needed the money to fund his drug habit. Before he was charged with murder, Murdaugh was in jail awaiting trial on about 100 other charges, ranging from insurance fraud to tax evasion.

Defense attorneys said they will base an appeal largely on the judge’s decision to allow jurors to hear evidence of crimes Murdaugh has not been convicted of, which they say smeared his reputation.

After six intense weeks at the courthouse in Walterboro, key players returned to their normal lives.

Prosecutor Creighton Waters, whose love of the guitar was a favorite bit of chatter among true crime fans, tweeted a video of himself jamming. Judge Clifton Newman was seen in a courtside seat rooting for South Carolina to win the Southeastern Conference title in women’s basketball.

And defense lawyer Jim Griffin, admonished during the trial for tweeting an opinion piece criticizing the investigation, returned to Twitter with a post that said “Walterboro, you were a gracious host. Happy Trails.” He included a photo of his head stuck through the hole of a painting of a cowboy riding a chicken, with “I was at the Murdaugh trial” written at the top.

DeSantis, Trump set to visit Iowa, ramping up 2024 moves

The Associated Press

DES MOINES, Iowa — Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis and former President Donald Trump are each headed to Iowa in the coming weeks, making their first trips of the year to the leadoff Republican voting state as the 2024 campaign ramps up.

DeSantis has scheduled events on March 10 in the eastern Iowa city of Davenport and the state capital, Des Moines, to promote his new book, “The Courage to be Free.” His plans were confirmed by two aides to Republican officials who spoke on condition of anonymity Thursday because they were not authorized to preempt DeSantis’ announcement.

Trump’s campaign subsequently announced that the former president would be making an education policy speech in Davenport on March 13, his first Iowa visit since he launched his 2024 campaign in November.

“It’s going from ground zero right to the moon,” said Gloria Mazza, the Republican party chair in Polk County, Iowa’s most populous county. “It sure gets us excited.”

Although DeSantis is not yet a candidate, his trip is a significant step for a governor who has positioned himself as a top alternative to Trump. Until now, he has largely been content to lead conservative cultural fights on cable TV and from the Florida statehouse, where he is focused on expanding his rightward agenda in the legislative session that runs through May.

The closely timed Iowa visits would draw the two leading Republicans closer toward direct competition. Trump has escalated

his attacks on DeSantis in recent months as he increasingly views him as a major threat, deriding the governor on social media and trying out insulting nicknames. For his part, DeSantis responded to questions about one such Trump jab last month by saying he does not spend his time “trying to smear other Republicans.”

Trump attended events last month in early-voting states New Hampshire and South Carolina,

and this month’s Iowa visit would be his first trip to the state as an official 2024 candidate.

He would face pressure to do well in Iowa next year, having finished in second place in the 2016 caucuses en route to the Republican presidential nomination and carrying Iowa by healthy margins in the 2016 and 2020 general elections.

After a quiet start to the year, Republican presidential prospects

have been flocking to Iowa in recent weeks and making plans for future visits.

Former United Nations Ambassador Nikki Haley, who announced her candidacy last month, was in Iowa in late February and plans to return next week to host two town halls and participate in a foreign policy event with Republican Sen. Joni Ernst in Des Moines.

Former Vice President Mike Pence, who is considering a bid,

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis speaks as he announces a proposal for Digital Bill of Rights, Feb. 15, 2023, at Palm Beach Atlantic University in West Palm Beach, Fla.

was in the state last month rallying conservative parents against a gender-affirming policy in an eastern Iowa school district at issue in a federal lawsuit. Pence is expected back in Iowa on March 18. Sen. Tim Scott of South Carolina, another likely 2024 candidate, was in the Des Moines area last week to deliver a speech at Drake University and headline a Polk County Republican Party fundraiser.

AP PHOTO

Alex Murdaugh speaks with his legal team before he is sentenced to two consecutive life sentences for the murder of his wife and son by Judge Clifton Newman at the Colleton County Courthouse on Friday, March 3, 2023 in in Walterboro, S.C.

AP PHOTO

STATE & NATION

GOP senators: Computer chip money underwriting ‘woke’ agenda

The Associated Press

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Republican senators are accusing the Biden administration of using $39 billion meant to build computer chip factories to further “woke” ideas such as requiring some recipients to offer child care and encouraging the use of union labor.

The administration has countered that these elements of the funding guidelines announced Tuesday will improve the likelihood of attracting companies to build the semiconductor factories and people to work there — a key challenge that could determine the program’s success. It sees the guidelines as a starting point for working with companies to ensure value for taxpayers.

The tension is an example of the partisan mistrust that can arise in Washington even on an agenda item that lawmakers from both parties say is vital for U.S. national security. Republicans say the administration, in implementing the law, is trying to squeeze in priorities that please the Democratic base. They also argue that the guidelines will increase the cost of constructing semiconductor plants and will poison any sense of ongoing trust.

“What President Biden is doing by jamming woke and green agenda items into legislation we pass is making it harder for him to ever get legislation passed again,” said Sen. Mitt Romney, R-Utah, who voted for the law.

But in the grand scheme, administration officials say, the guidelines can help to address two fundamental challenges to the government’s plans to transform the United States into the world leader in producing advanced computer chips: The companies need skilled labor and they need innovations that can reduce production costs.

If the investments are going to succeed, Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo has said, the companies must find and train tens of thousands of workers, from welders to electrical engineers. More importantly, the industry needs scientific breakthroughs to halve the cost of making chips so the U.S. can compete with Asia, Raimondo told The Associated Press in an interview before the guidelines came out.

“Innovation happens when you go to solve big fat problems like cutting the cost of chip production in half,” Raimondo said. “That’s what we have to do.”

The money for the factories

comes from the CHIPS and Science Act that President Joe Biden signed into law last August. It includes $11 billion for research, in addition to the $39 billion for building advanced computer chip factories. Tax incentives bring the total investment to $52 billion.

Chips are integrated circuits that are embedded in a semiconductor, a material — notably silicon — that can manage the flow of electric current. The terms “chip” and “semiconductor” are often used interchangeably. Computer chips are used in everything from autos to toys to advanced weapons, making them as fundamental for the digital era as iron and steel

were in the industrial age.

Administration officials said the factories could have an easier time attracting workers if child care is provided to parents at an “affordable” rate by companies that would receive $150 million or more in government backing. Similarly, companies seeking the money are given a preference if they use labor agreements for construction, a boost for building trade unions. The White House, in a 2022 executive order, said that can ensure projects are completed on time.

An administration official, speaking on condition of anonymity to discuss private conver-

Federal Reserve officials sound warnings about higher rates

The Associated Press

A RUN OF STRONG economic data and signs that inflation remains stubbornly high could lead the Federal Reserve to raise its benchmark rate higher in the coming months than it has previously forecast, several Fed officials say.

Christopher Waller, a member of the Fed’s influential Board of Governors, said last week that if the economy continued to show strength and inflation remained elevated, the central bank would have to lift its key rate above 5.4%. That would be higher than Fed officials had signaled in December, when they projected it would peak at roughly 5.1% this year.

“Recent data suggest that consumer spending isn’t slowing that much, that the labor market continues to run unsustainably hot and that inflation is not coming down as fast as I had thought,” Waller said in prepared remarks for a business conference in Los Angeles.

His suggestion was in contrast to a speech he gave in January, titled “A Case for Cautious Optimism,” that captured a prevailing sentiment at the time that inflation had peaked and was steadily declining. Even if data to be released lat-

er this month were to show hiring and inflation cooling again, Waller said, he would still favor raising the Fed’s rate to a range between 5% to 5.5%, up from about 4.6% now. And if the economic figures were to “continue to come in too hot,” he said, the Fed’s key rate “will have to be raised this year

even more to ensure that we do not lose the momentum that was in place” before the robust January economic reports.

Over the past year, the Fed has raised short-term rates at the fastest pace in four decades to try to curb the worst inflation since the early 1980s. Those hikes have led

to higher rates across the economy: Mortgage rates have nearly doubled, to 6.7%, and auto loans, credit card borrowing and business loans have become more expensive. The Fed’s goal is to cool the economy by raising the cost of borrowing and slowing business and consumer spending. More modest growth would likely help slow inflation to the Fed’s 2% target. Fed officials next meet March 21-22, when they are expected to raise their key rate by a quarter-point to about 4.9%.

In recent weeks, several reports suggested that the economy was stronger and inflation more persistent than previous data had indicated. The economy gained an enormous total of more than half a million jobs in January, and the unemployment rate reached a 53year low of 3.4%.

Inflation data was also revised higher and came in hotter than expected in January. Waller noted that for the final three months of last year, core inflation — which excludes the volatile food and energy categories — was revised up from an annual rate of 3.1% to 4.3%. It then rose to 4.6% in January.

“Although inflation has been coming down since the middle of

sations, said no prospective applicant has complained about the child care provision. The official added that TSMC and Samsung — two possible applicants — already provide child care at their facilities in Taiwan and South Korea, respectively.

Researchers at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, a think tank focused on national security, described the child care provisions as necessary for the “fabs,” the chip industry’s term for factories.

“It is not, as some have wrongly argued, an issue of social policy,” wrote Sujai Shivakumar and Charles Wessner, both at CSIS.

There are roughly 360,000 jobs in semiconductor production, according to the Labor Department. Announced projects tied to the possibility of government support could add 200,000 more jobs, including 36,000 directly tied to computer chips, according to a report by the Semiconductor Industry Association.

That same report noted that the U.S. leads in terms of designing chips and the equipment to manufacture them. But more than 70% of the chips produced globally come from China, Japan, Taiwan and South Korea — an economic and military weakness for the U.S.

Sen. Thom Tillis, R-N.C., said the mandates for accessing government support would raise the cost of completing the factories planned by Intel, Micron and Wolfspeed, which plans to make silicon wafers in his state.

“What we’re beginning to do is discount the value of the investment that we’re making,” Tillis said. “I think that what we’re doing is social engineering.”

Raimondo, when asked if the law could get tripped up by politics, said: “You always worry. Washington’s unpredictable. And politics is crazy.”

last year,” Waller said, “the recent data indicate that we haven’t made as much progress as we thought.”

Other Fed officials have also expressed unease about the reports showing higher inflation and hotter growth. Neel Kashkari, president of the Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis, recently said, “I lean towards continuing to raise further.”

“These are concerning data points, suggesting that we’re not making progress as quickly as we would like,” Kashkari said.

And last Thursday, Raphael Bostic, president of the Atlanta Fed, said he supports pushing rates to about 5.1% in the coming months, the same as projected in December. He added that the Fed’s rate hikes may not start to bite until this summer, so the Fed needs to be cautious about tightening credit too far and causing a recession.

Yet Bostic also added, “There is a case to be made that we need to go higher.”

“Jobs have come in stronger than we expected,” Bostic said. “Inflation is remaining stubborn at elevated levels. Consumer spending is strong. Labor markets remain quite tight.”

Loretta Mester, president of the Cleveland Fed, told Bloomberg News that the Fed “needs to do a little more” to raise rates and to keep them elevated for an extended period.

AP PHOTO

President Joe Biden speaks during an event to support legislation that would encourage domestic manufacturing and strengthen supply chains for computer chips in the South Court Auditorium on the White House campus, March 9, 2022, in Washington, D.C.

AP PHOTO, FILE

In this Feb. 5, 2018, file photo, the seal of the Board of Governors of the United States Federal Reserve System is displayed in the ground at the Marriner S. Eccles Federal Reserve Board Building in Washington, D.C.

Latest county commissioners’ meeting, page

Randolph record

Randolph Health

lifts flu season

visitor restrictions

On Tuesday, Randolph Health, along with Atrium Health, Atrium Health Wake Forest Baptist, Novant Health, Cone Health, and CaroMont Health, lifted their visitor restrictions that were put in place due to the seasonal flu. According to a press release from Randolph Health, each of these hospitals lifted their restrictions on the same date and time to prevent confusion among the public and to avoid a patchwork of varying restrictions.

Visitors, patients, and staff will still be required to wear masks in medical facilities in accordance with CDC and regulatory guidance.

Despite the decline in flu cases, healthcare providers have asked individuals of all ages who are experiencing flu-like symptoms to help control the spread of the illness by not visiting patients in the hospital. These symptoms include fever, headaches/body aches, cough, sore throat, stuffy or runny nose, chills, fatigue, nausea, vomiting, and/or diarrhea. The emergency department should only be used for people who are very sick, such as those experiencing difficulty breathing, chest pains, confusion, severe vomiting, or signs of dehydration.

Republican legislators reach Medicaid expansion deal

The Associated Press RALEIGH — North Carolina legislative leaders announced last Thursday an agreement to expand Medicaid to hundreds of thousands of additional low-income adults through the Affordable Care Act.

The deal, which likely won’t be voted on until later this month at the earliest, marks a milestone for Republican lawmakers, most of whom opposed expansion for a decade until recently. North Carolina has been one of 11 states that has not adopted Medicaid expansion. If the deal goes through, the state would start providing expansion cover-

age to people starting next January.

“This is something that we can all be very proud of,” House Speaker Tim Moore said at a Legislative Building news conference with Senate Leader Phil Berger. “What a huge announcement this is for North Carolina. What a huge policy direction this is that will provide help for so many in this state, but it’s going to do it in a way that’s fiscally responsible.”

Expansion gained momentum last year when the GOP-controlled state House and Senate approved, with strong bipartisan support, competing legislation addressing it, but they failed to reach a deal. The key differences

Wildcats aim for state basketball title

By Bob Sutton Randolph Record

RAMSEUR — Eastern Randolph’s bid for its first state championship in boys’ basketball comes in the Class 1-A final at noon Saturday at Reynolds Coliseum on the North Carolina State campus in Raleigh. The Wildcats (29-2) meet East Region champion Wilson Prep (267) in the title game.

Eastern Randolph is coming off two comeback victories, winning Feb. 28 at South Stokes in the regional semifinal and then Saturday afternoon’s West Region final with

a 21-point second-half rally for a 62-59 decision against Bishop McGuinness at Morganton Freedom.

Wilson Prep, a 63-57 winner against Bertie in the East Region final, will meet Eastern Randolph for the first time.

Wilson Prep will be going for its second state title in three years. The Tigers won the Class 1-A championship in 2021 by defeating Lincoln Charter 65-58 in a game at Providence Grove to conclude the pandemic-altered season.

That was the only previous ap-

stemmed around other initiatives Senate Republicans insisted were needed to increase the number of medical providers to cover the additional enrollees.

Under the new agreement, senators obtained the loosening or elimination of “certificate of need” laws that require health regulators to sign off on plans to offer hospital beds for mental health and substance abuse patients, build ambulatory surgery centers or purchase MRI machines. But their demand that advanced-practice nurses be able to treat patients without a doctor’s supervision was left out.

“There are still some things that need to be done, but this is

our agreement and I’m very comfortable with it,” Berger said. The negotiated measure, built in part on an expansion measure approved overwhelmingly by the House two weeks ago, was still being drawn up and will need affirmative votes in both chambers. The federal government covers 90% of the cost of Medicaid recipients under expansion. Potentially 600,000 people in North Carolina could receive the benefit — those who make too much to qualify for conventional Medicaid but not enough to receive heavily subsidized health insurance that President Barack Obama’s signature 2010 law provides.

Under the agreement, the state’s 10% share would be paid through assessments paid by hospitals, which in turn benefit from getting reimbursed as they cover patients with Medicaid.

Officials say the state also would get an extra $1.8 billion over two

Archdale lands packaging company

Location should bring more than 100 new jobs in Randolph County

By Bob Sutton Randolph Record ARCHDALE

— Archdale has another manufacturing operation coming that should boost jobs in the area.

Axium Packaging, a manufacturer of packaging and containers, will create 118 jobs in Randolph County across a three-year period, according to last week’s announcement from Gov. Roy Cooper’s office. The company will invest $32 million to build a manufacturing facility in Archdale.

“We’re really happy to see it,” Archdale mayor Lewis Dorsett said. “We’ve been working on getting that site ready for more than a year.”

Headquartered in New Albany, Ohio, Axium is a manufacturer of packaging for personal care, household chemical, over-thecounter pharmaceuticals, and food markets.

“Axium’s choice to come to Randolph County and join North Carolina’s manufacturing community underscores our reputation as the best state to do business,” Cooper said in a statement.

“We offer many advantages from collaborative workforce training to a well-maintained infrastructure that will help manufacturers thrive.”

Since 2011, the company has grown to 3,000 employees across 18 facilities. The 150,000-squarefoot facility in Archdale will be Axium’s first North Carolina site and 19th plant in North America. This was a deal that was

North Carolina Senate leader Phil Berger, left, speaks alongside House Speaker Tim Moore at a news conference about a Medicaid expansion agreement, Thursday, March 2, 2023, at the Legislative Building in Raleigh.

PJ WARD-BROWN | NORTH STATE JOURNAL

Eastern Randolph hopes to add state-championship hardware to the West Region prize claimed Saturday.

Neal Robbins, publisher | Frank Hill, senior opinion editor

| NEWT GINGRICH

The biggest scandal in American history

WE ARE LIVING THROUGH the largest, deadliest scandal in American history, but the elite media refuses to connect the dots and analyze it.

COVID-19, a disease no one disputes came from Wuhan, China, has killed more than 1.1 million Americans and more than 38 million people worldwide. It has left millions of others with chronic health problems.

Because of the teachers’ unions and totally misguided, destructive public health policies, children who were under virtually no risk from COVID-19 have lost at least a year of education.

So, the same experts who are paid by the American people and given tens of billions of dollars to invest in research decided that they would deliberately mislead the American people.

This perfectly captures the arrogance of the aristo-bureaucrats, who believe they are intellectually and morally superior to the people to whom they are supposed to be accountable.

They believe they have the right and duty to censor what we think and say — and to feed us falsehoods in the name of some higher duty.

Fauci knew all this.

Many children are suffering from depression and other mental health challenges from the forced isolation and lack of social contact.

Now, it is becoming more clear that much of this pain was avoidable — and the result of powerful government employees protecting themselves. As Jarrett Stepman in The Daily Signal wrote:

“In 2020, if you thought it was possible COVID-19 came from a lab in China you were labeled a conspiracy theorist, a peddler of misinformation, ‘bonkers,’ and a racist.

“Facebook and other social media removed the lab leak claim from their apps or slapped ‘misinformation’ labels on it. Facebook did so in lockstep with the government.

“So according to the standard set in 2020, the Department of Energy just came out as a racist purveyor of misinformation this week.

“The Wall Street Journal reported on Sunday that, according to a classified intelligence report provided to the White House and Congress, the Department of Energy concluded that the COVID-19 pandemic likely came from a lab leak.

‘”The Energy Department’s conclusion is the result of new intelligence and is significant because the agency has considerable scientific expertise and oversees a network of U.S. national laboratories, some of which conduct advanced biological research,’ the Wall Street Journal report said.”

President Donald Trump called it “the Chinese Virus” and was intensely attacked. Somehow word “Chinese” was deemed racist. No one disputes that the virus originated in China. But calling it COVID-19 rather than the Chinese virus was more polite. (After all, it’s important to indicate an appropriate sensitivity to the totalitarian dictatorship that is trying to defeat the United States and become the world’s leading power).

We now know this censorship and speech silencing was part of a systematic effort of senior scientists to mislead the American people. When COVID-19 first became a threat in early 2020,

Dr. Anthony Fauci already knew the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) had funded research in the Wuhan Institute of Virology via EcoHealth Alliance. He knew the WIV was a subgrantee of EcoHealth Alliance — and that EcoHealth Alliance was not in compliance with its grant reporting. Specifically, the organization was out of compliance for a project that NIAID knew could potentially make novel bat-borne coronaviruses much more dangerous.

Fauci knew all this.

According to Kentucky Rep. James Comer, who is chairman of the House Committee on Oversight and Accountability, on Feb. 1, 2020, “Dr. Fauci, Dr. Collins, and at least eleven other scientists convened a conference call to discuss COVID-19. On the conference call, Drs. Fauci and Collins were first warned that COVID-19 may have leaked from the WIV and may have been intentionally genetically manipulated.”

The scientists decided to remain silent to avoid controversy (which would have ultimately fallen back on themselves).

COLUMN | BEN SHAPIRO

This scandal of many of our best professional researchers lying to the American people is compounded by the absolute failure of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Why there has not been a scathing and thorough investigation — and set of hearings on the absolute inability of the bureaucrats in Atlanta to do their jobs — and the general failure of the public health system across the country is a mystery to me. This lack of introspection or investigation should itself be a scandal.

Driven by the economic impact of the Chinese virus, the American government spent trillions of dollars propping up the economy, sparking inflation, massively increasing the national debt, and permitting hundreds of billions in theft and corruption.

Finally, there has been no serious effort to hold the Chinese Communist dictatorship accountable for the damage it has done around the world. There is ample precedent for holding governments responsible for the damage they have done to others (the Lockerbie bombing, the Iranian Hostage Crisis, 9/11, and other cases).

The Chinese Communists have continuously focused on stopping us from understanding the origins of the pandemic. As Dave Boyer reported in the Washington Times, FBI Director Christopher A. Wray confirmed his agency believes the COVID-19 pandemic likely started from a lab leak in Wuhan, China. He told Fox News on Tuesday that “the FBI has for quite some time now assessed that the origins of the pandemic are most likely a potential lab incident in Wuhan… Here you are talking about a potential leak from a Chinese government-controlled lab.

As Boyer reported, “Mr. Wray also slammed Beijing for stonewalling international efforts to find out what happened. ‘I will just make the observation that the Chinese government, it seems to me, has been doing its best to try to thwart, and obfuscate the work here, the work that we’re doing, the work that our U.S. government and close foreign partners are doing. And that’s unfortunate for everybody,’ he said.”

Clearly there ought to be a mechanism for making the Chinese Communist dictatorship pay COVID-19 victims for the disaster it caused. One step might be a COVID-19 tariff on all Chinese imports (the proceeds of which would go into a COVID-19 Compensation Fund that every American family affected by the pandemic could apply to).

Other countries could be urged to establish similar tariffs. Then Xi Jinping and his dictatorship would learn that lying, covering up, and hiding the truth has enormous costs for those guilty of killing millions and forcing the spending of trillions.

This scandal is so large, and covers so many areas, it will be a major factor in politics and government for the next decade. It will go down in history as a turning point in our lives and the life of our country.

We just need to decide what direction we turn: toward clarity and accountability, or toward lies and chaos.

The greatest cover-up in human history

FIRST, IT WAS SUPPOSEDLY a conspiracy theory.

Then, it was banned.

Finally, it was true.

A huge number of people have decided that there are a cadre of people who are so vile that any opinion they touch is immediately toxified beyond investigation.

The so-called “lab leak” theory of the origins of COVID-19 — the theory that COVID-19 originated in at the Wuhan Institute of Virology and then was unintentionally loosed — was always the most probable explanation for the outbreak of the deadly virus. After all, as Jon Stewart correctly joked in 2021, “’Oh, my God, there’s a novel respiratory coronavirus overtaking Wuhan, China. What do we do?’ ‘Oh, you know who we could ask? The Wuhan novel respiratory coronavirus lab.’ The disease is the same name as the lab. That’s just a little too weird, don’t you think?”

But for well over a year, it was considered verboten to mention the lab leak theory. When Senator Tom Cotton, R-Ark., posited the possibility of a lab leak in February 2020, he was roundly mocked by the media. The New York Times headlined, “Senator Tom Cotton Repeats Fringe Theory of Coronavirus Origins.” Scientific American headlined — in March 2022! — “The Lab-Leak Hypothesis Made It Harder for Scientists to Seek the Truth.” Facebook actively quashed attempts to disseminate the theory; Dr. Anthony Fauci went on national television and downplayed the theory.

Why?

Two reasons are obvious. The first: powerful institutions had a stake in downplaying the Chinese origins of the virus in order to shift blame to the rest of the world. Certainly, that was China’s game: In all likelihood, COVID-19 was spreading in China as early as October 2019, and the government covered it up for months. But that was also the game of the World Health Organization. Members of the American government like Fauci also had a stake in smothering questions about American funding for gain-of-function research in Wuhan.

Then there’s the second reason: all the wrong people were repeating the lab leak theory. As one of MSNBC’s resident hacks, Mehdi Hasan, admitted on Twitter, “The simple reason why so many people weren’t keen to discuss the ‘lab

leak’ theory is because it was originally conflated by the right with ‘Chinese bio weapon’ conspiracies and continues to be conflated by the right with anti-Fauci conspiracies. Blame the conspiracy theorists.” As Nate Silver correctly noted, “The Bad People thought the lab leak might be true, therefore as journalists we couldn’t be expected to actually evaluate the evidence for it.”

Herein lies a lesson: A huge number of people have decided that there are a cadre of people who are so vile that any opinion they touch is immediately toxified beyond investigation. Claims are not to be evaluated on their own merits; instead, we can simply determine whether a claim ought to be supported based on those who posit it. This helps to explain why political crossover has become nearly impossible: We’re not judging the claims of our opponents; we’re judging each other. And this means that we can discard any argument simply by dint of the fact that we don’t like the person offering it.

Among members of the general population, this is a problem, but not a fundamental one. But among those who pose as “experts” — the people who are supposed to serve as guides for people who outsource their political information, from media to scientific institutions — it’s a fatal error. After all, experts are supposed to be impartial adjudicators of the evidence. That’s their entire job. We can evaluate on our own who we don’t like — but we often need help to determine whether an argument has merit or not. When experts become “just like us,” they undermine their raison d’etre.

And that’s precisely what happened with COVID-19. Whether it was ignoring the actual evidence regarding masks and mask mandates, the evidence regarding post-vaccination transmissibility or the evidence regarding the lab leak theory, experts decided that the (SET ITAL) wrong people (END ITAL) had to be ignored. But they were wrong. And now they have no credibility left. Ben Shapiro, 38, is a graduate of UCLA and Harvard Law School, host of “The

COLUMN

SIDELINE REPORT

COLLEGE BASKETBALL

Duke men return to AP Top 25

Indianapolis

Duke returned to The Associated Press men’s basketball poll for the first time since falling out in mid-January after opening the year at No. 7. First-year coach Jon Scheyer has led the Blue Devils (23-8) to six straight wins to close out the regular season, including Saturday’s win at North Carolina for a rivalry sweep that wounded UNC’s iffy NCAA Tournament hopes. Duke was last ranked in the Jan. 9 poll. Houston remained No. 1, followed by UCLA, Kansas, Alabama and Purdue.

NFL Seahawks, QB Smith agree on 3-year deal

Renton, Wash.

The Seahawks have agreed to terms with quarterback Geno Smith on a three-year contract that keeps the AP comeback player of the year in the Pacific Northwest. NFL Network and The Score reported the deal could be worth up to $105 million. Smith led the Seahawks to a 9-8 record and a playoff berth as the last wild card in the NFC. He threw for a career-high 4,282 yards, setting a franchise record, with 30 touchdown passes and just 11 interceptions, completed 399 passes and led the NFL in completion percentage at 69.8%.

COLLEGE

HOCKEY

Wisconsin fires Granato as men’s hockey coach

Madison, Wis.

Wisconsin fired Tony Granato as men’s hockey coach on Monday after a second straight losing season. Granato posted a 105129-16 overall mark and 6587-2 Big Ten record during his seven seasons. Wisconsin ended a 13-23 season Saturday, losing to Michigan in the Big Ten quarterfinals. Granato played at Wisconsin from 1983-87 before spending 13 seasons as an NHL player and 13 more as either an NHL head or assistant coach. He still ranks third in school history in career goals and fourth in points. But he couldn’t make Wisconsin a consistent winner after returning to his alma mater as head coach.

Virginia Tech beats Louisville for 1st ACC women’s title

The Hokies have won 11 straight entering the NCAA Tournament

The Associated Press

GREENSBORO — Kenny Brooks walked over to an end-zone section of Virginia Tech fans and gave a fist-pumping release as his players climbed steps to cut down a piece of the net.

A few minutes later, Brooks was up there himself, snipping down the final strand hanging from the rim before turning to Hokies fans and leading a “Let’s go Hokies!” chant.

The moment had finally arrived for Brooks and his eighth-ranked Hokies, who continued their late-season tear by beating Louisville 75-67 on Sunday to win the program’s first Atlantic Coast Conference Tournament title.

“Unbelievable, unbelievable,” Brooks said on the court as his players celebrated around him. It came with another strong scoring effort from Georgia Amoore, who scored 25 points and earned tournament MVP honors for the third-seeded Hokies (27-4).

AP PHOTO

Virginia Tech forward Taylor Soule celebrates before cutting a piece of the net after the Hokies defeated Louisville to win the ACC Women’s Tournament on Sunday in Greensboro.

There was two-time league player of the year Elizabeth Kitley adding another 20 points in her role as the inside constant. And there was Taylor Soule, emerging from a scoreless first half to provide the third-quarter lift that helped keep the Hokies on course for their 11th straight win.

Virginia Tech’s first trip to the ACC title game into a strong finish-

ing act, pushing to a double-digit lead before halftime and keeping the Cardinals at arm’s distance the rest of the way. And that capped a three-game run in Greensboro in which the Hokies trailed for a total of 3 minutes, 15 seconds — all in the first quarter of Sunday’s game.

“I think all of us knew we were going to win,” Kitley said. “From the start of the tournament, we’ve

been talking about it. Obviously we’ve been taking it day by day, game by game. But definitely throughout the game we all knew that we had it and we didn’t lose our cool, even when they were hitting big shots.”

Before Sunday, the Hokies had been as far as the ACC semifinals only once since joining the league for the 2004-05 season — and that came last year. Now they’re celebrating a milestone victory under Brooks, who has built this program to the top of the league in Year 7. When the horn finally sounded, Kitley and Kayana Traylor skipped to midcourt to meet the rushing mob of players and coaches from the Hokies sideline headed for a midcourt celebration as the streamers and confetti dropped from the Greensboro Coliseum rafters.Louisville made its closest push in the frantic final seconds to within 73-67 on Merissah Russell’s 3-pointer with 28 seconds left. But Kitley hit two critical free throws with 15.1 seconds to go that pushed the lead back to eight for what turned out to be the final margin.

This was the Cardinals’ fourth finals appearance, the first being a title win in 2018 followed by losses to Notre Dame in 2019 and North Carolina State on a late basket in 2021. Their first two wins came against Wake Forest and No. 10 Notre Dame, which had taken regular-season meetings against them.

Byron wins at Las Vegas as Hendrick dominates

The team finished 1-2-3 despite being minus Chase Elliott

The Associated Press LAS VEGAS — One way or another, a Hendrick Motorsports driver figured to win Sunday’s NASCAR Cup Series race at Las Vegas.

Kyle Larson nearly won the Pennzoil 400 in regulation, but a late caution put teammate William Byron in position to capture the checkered flag in overtime.

Byron took the lead on the penultimate lap of OT to put an exclamation mark on a dominant day for Hendrick. The top three drivers were from Hendrick, with Byron, Larson and Alex Bowman pushing their Chevrolets across the finish line in that order.

Bowman won last year’s March race at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.

Byron led 176 laps and won for the fifth time in his six Cup sea-

sons.

“I’ve led a lot of laps in a couple of races, but to be this good with this team is definitely a good sign,” Byron said. “It’s a different feeling for me having a team around me that can execute that well. That’s just a team effort.” Larson appeared headed for victory when when Aric Almirola hit the wall in turn four on lap No. 264, leading to the second caution of the day.

“I feel like I could have eight or 10 more Cup wins if it wasn’t for cautions in the last five laps,” Larson said. “I don’t remember many of those working out in my favor.”

Most of the leaders pitted a lap later, with only Martin Truex Jr. in his Joe Gibbs Racing No. 19 Toyota choosing to stay out. Byron, in the No. 24 Chevy, came out of pit road ahead of Larson and then easily overtook Truex after the restart.

Byron, who started in the first row with Joey Logano, swept both stages for the first time in

his career. Truex in 2017 and Kevin Harvick in 2018 also won both stages in Las Vegas and went on to win.

The fourth Hendrick driver and 2020 Cup Series champion, Chase Elliott, will begin physical therapy Monday, his team owner Rick Hendrick told Fox Sports.

Elliott had surgery Friday to repair a fractured tibia, and Hendrick said Elliott has returned to his home in Dawsonville, Georgia. Elliott was injured in a snowboarding accident Friday. He and his family own a home in Vail, Colorado.

Elliott joked on Twitter “that

the formal request I submitted for a slight edit to the March section of my script was indeed… declined.”

“In all seriousness, the support I’ve received over the last couple of days is far greater than I deserve,” he posted in a follow-up tweet. “I want to thank everyone who has lended it over in any form!”

Josh Berry took Elliott’s seat in the No. 9 Chevy and finished 29th. Hendrick general manager Jeff Andrews said a decision would be made on who drives that car next weekend at Phoenix.

Bubba Wallace, who drives the 23XI Racing No. 23 Toyota, finished fourth. He was the top finisher not part of the Hendrick garage. “It was right there in the top seven or eight the whole time,” Wallace said. “I was going to settle for sixth and the caution came out. My car fired off really, really good (on the restart), the best it had all race.”

“I feel like I could have eight or 10 more Cup wins if it wasn’t for cautions in the last five laps.”

Kyle Larson

Huge comeback sends Wildcats to state final

Randolph Record

MORGANTON — Eastern Randolph rallied from a 21-point halftime deficit to keep its season alive and advance to a state championship in boys’ basketball for the first time.

The Wildcats pulled out a 6259 victory against Bishop McGuinness in the Class 1-A West Region final Saturday afternoon at Freedom High School.

“As the coach, even I’m in awe at what they just did,” first-year Eastern Randolph coach Johnny Thomas said of his players.

Eastern Randolph (29-2) will face Wilson Prep (26-7), a 63-57 winner against Bertie in the East Region final, on Saturday for the state championship at North Carolina State’s Reynolds Coliseum in Raleigh.

Fourth-seeded Bishop Mc -

Guinness led 41-20 at halftime before the third-seeded Wildcats stormed back. Eastern Randolph scored the first 13 points of the second half and was within 49-43 going to the fourth quarter.

“We ain’t going to lose here,” senior guard Pierce Leonard said. “We’re too close to it. We traveled three hours to get up here. We weren’t trying to go home like that.”

Leonard scored 24 of his 28 points in the second half.

Eastern Randolph had never been as far as the regional semifinals until this year, but it looked bleak midway through the regional final.

At halftime, Thomas had a message about trying to extend the team’s record-breaking postseason: “We’ve already made history. Now we’ve got to do it again.”

Eastern Randolph had never been as far as the regional semifinals until this year, but it looked bleak midway through the regional final.

The Villains (25-6) took three potential tying shots on the last possession and missed them all. Long forgotten was their 11-0 lead to start the game.

Timothy Brower had 13 points, and Nicah Taylor posted 11 points for Eastern Randolph, which won its 10th game in a row.

And it was the Wildcats’ second second-half comeback of the week after winning the regional semifinal Tuesday night at South Stokes.

“I wasn’t really feeling any pressure because we still had plenty of time when they did foul out,” Leonard said. “Our bench players just had to really step up and do their part in the game.”

Three Eastern Randolph fouled out, including team scoring leader Davonte Brooks and reserve center Jani Norwood in the third quarter. Brooks had two points.

“With me in there, it would have made it a little bit easier,” Brooks said. “But my boys pulled through, came through with a ‘W’ my senior year. Now we’re going to the ‘ship.”

Brooks said the Wildcats, who were 6-for-8 on second-half 3-point attempts, remained motivated even as the challenge heightened throughout the first half.

“We just don’t want to lose,” Brooks said. “That’s what really jump-starts it.”

Leonard’s 3-pointer gave Eastern Randolph its first lead of the game at 54-51.

Thomas said without much of a basketball tradition, Eastern Randolph needed to overcome all sorts of obstacles against a Bishop McGuinness program that has played on similar stages in the past.

“They’ve been in this situation way more than we have,” he said.

Jamison Graves scored 17 of his 19 points in the first half for Bishop McGuinness, which shot 11for-25 on free throws.

Regional semifinal

At Walnut Cove, Leonard scored 10 of his 21 points in the fourth quarter, and Eastern Randolph rallied past South Stokes for a 74-71 victory in the West Region semifinal Feb. 28.

“I told them, ‘I am proud of you. We’ve had a long season, but this is not it,’” Thomas said.

Devonte Brooks scored 15 points despite foul trouble, Brower posted 10 of his 12 points in the second half, and Taylor finished with 11 points in Eastern Randolph’s first road game of the postseason.

“The whole season, we have built a foundation where we can play with or without Devonte,” Thomas said.

The Wildcats made enough plays down the stretch. The Sauras missed three potential tying 3-point shots in the final 12 seconds.

South Stokes (25-5) led 45-36 at halftime.

“It was just a simple adjustment of pride,” Thomas said.

Barry Hairston poured in 23 points for the Sauras.

Bishop McGuinness eliminated top-seeded Mountain Heritage 58-54 in the other semifinal.

Madison Varner

Wheatmore girls start in good groove

Randolph Record

WHEATMORE OPENED the season with a 6-0 victory, with Ellie Garrison scoring four goals against visiting Ledford last week in girls’ soccer.

Natalie Bowman and Summer Bowman had the other goals.

It was a nice start for the Warriors, who were undefeated Class 2-A state champions with a 25-0 record last year.

Here are some other items of note from the opening week of the spring season:

Baseball

Randleman suffered an 11-0, six-inning loss on March 1 at Northwest Guilford. That marked the first setback for the Tigers to an in-state opponent since June 26, 2021, vs. Rutherfordton-Spindale Central in Game 2 of the Class 2-A state championship series. The Tigers responded later that day to win Game 3 and claim the title.

Last week’s opener went better for the Tigers, who defeated visiting Asheboro 13-2. The game ended in the sixth inning on Hunter Atkins’ three-run home run that clicked in the mercy rule.

Eastern Randolph opened the season with an 8-3 home victory against Seaforth in coach Brent Haynes’ debut. In the Wildcats’ next game, Stratton Barwick struck out 10 batters in a 5-4 home loss to Eastern Guilford.

Uwharrie Charter Academy lost its first game under new coach Rob Shore. That setback came by 6-5 at Ledford, where Shore coached a few years ago.

Eli Gravely of Southwestern Randolph had a four-RBI outing in a 14-4 victory at Montgomery Central.

Providence Grove opened the season with two non-conference victories for the first time since 2018, defeating visiting Southern Guilford 7-6 in eight innings and host Seaforth 4-2. Lemuel Coltrane had the game-winning hit against Southern Guilford. Parker Kines had 12 strikeouts in Wheatmore’s 10-0, five-inning victory against visiting Walkertown.

Softball

Providence Grove has had a cou-

Southwestern Randolph, softball

Varner had a game-winning single in the ninth inning of the Cougars’ season-opening victory against visiting North Stanly.

Varner, a senior, is trying to help the Cougars to another winning season. She was a regular in the lineup a year ago.

This week, the Cougars begin Piedmont Athletic Conference play. They won their final five PAC regular-season games last spring.

Tigers fall in regionals to end girls’ season

Randolph Record

RANDLEMAN — Another stellar season for the Randleman girls’ basketball team came to a close short of the ultimate goal.

Top-seeded Randleman dropped a 49-42 decision to visiting East Burke in the Class 2-A West Region West Region semifinals Feb. 28.Gracyn Hall scored 12 points for Randleman (27-2), which led 24-21 at halftime before trailing 33-29 entering the fourth quarter.

With the Tigers facing a 4240 deficit, East Burke posted the

next five points.

Randleman’s Elizabeth York and Audra Petty both notched nine points.

On Saturday, fifth-seeded East Burke (27-3) fell to third-seeded Salisbury (26-3) by a 43-37 score in the regional final at Greensboro Grimsley.

For Randleman, it was the second season in a row when the Tigers lost at home in the regional semifinal round. In 2022, they entered the postseason with an undefeated record.

Randleman’s two-season record is 52-3.

ple of challenging games to begin the season.

The Patriots opened with a 4-2 home victory against Southern Guilford. Emma Mazzarone struck out 17 in the two-hitter. Gracie Smith drove in two runs. Then came a 7-0 home loss to Oak Grove.

Last year, Providence Grove built a 24-0 record before a loss in the Class 2-A state playoffs.

Southwestern Randolph went nine innings for a 2-1 victory against West Stanly, winning on Madison Varner’s game-ending single. Macie Crutchfield registered 17 strikeouts. The game was scoreless until the ninth inning.

PJ WARD-BROWN | NORTH STATE JOURNAL

Left, Randolph’s Nicah Taylor makes a steal in front of Bishop McGuinness guard Andrew Schrage.

Right, Eastern Randolph’s Pierce Leonard goes up for a shot in front of Jamison Graves of Bishop McGuinness.

PJ WARD-BROWN | NORTH STATE JOURNAL Randleman’s Gracyn Hall takes a shot against East Rutherford in what became the Tigers’ final victory of the season.

PJ WARD-BROWN | NORTH STATE JOURNAL

Providence Grove’s Rori Luther makes a move with West Davidson’s Marly Gouker approaching during last week’s game. West Davidson won 1-0.

RANDOLPH RECORD FILE PHOTO

Southwestern Randolph’s Madison Varner, shown here last season, is off to a good start to this softball season.

PREP ROUNDUP

Thomas notches pitching wins at UNCG

Gardner receives USA South honors

By Bob Sutton Randolph Record

SEVERAL ALUMS from Randolph County schools have produced notable opening stretches in their collegiate baseball careers.

Providence Grove alum Luke Thomas was the winning pitcher in his collegiate debut, throwing 1 2/3 shutout innings when UNC Greensboro defeated Northeastern on February 18 in the second game of the season. The Spartans scored three runs in the bottom of the ninth inning.

The next day, Thomas took the loss when giving up four late-inning runs to Northeastern.

In the season’s second week, Thomas had two outings against

Notre Dame, throwing one hitless inning in the second game of the series and, the next day, three shutout innings with five strikeouts in the series finale.

He added his first collegiate save March 1 with two shutout innings in a 4-1 home victory against Elon.

Then this past weekend, Thomas was the winning pitcher when the Spartans began a three-game sweep of visiting Rutgers. Thomas threw two shutout innings in the 3-2 outcome.

In the series finale against Rutgers, Randleman alum Matt Kemp, a junior, improved to 2-0 this season with a shutout inning in the Spartans’ 10-9, 10-inning victory.

White has mixed outings

Randleman alum Ryan White

pitched in the season opener for Western Carolina, making his collegiate debut vs. Akron. His stint came to begin the ninth inning, striking out his first batter.

Caraway set to begin with Dogwood 250

Randolph Record

SOPHIA — Caraway Speedway opens its 58th season of stock-car racing Sunday with the running of the Dogwood 250.

The Dogwood 250 will feature 100-lap features for the SMART Modified Tour and the speedway’s regular Late Models, plus a 50-lapper for the 602 Modifieds. Legend

cars and Bandoleros also are on the card. Racing is scheduled to begin at 2:30 p.m.

The speedway used the Dogwood 250 name to honor the early spring events once held at Martinsville Speedway in the heyday of Modified and Late Model sportsman racing, according to information from the speedway.

Many of the SMART Modified

Tour regulars will be on hand to compete for their season title. Tim Brown returns to Caraway Speedway in the Team 25 Racing seat vacated by Bobby Labonte’s move to Stanley-Sadler Racing.

2022 SMART champion Caleb Heady returns to defend his title. 2021 SMART champion Burt Myers and his brother Jason Myers should be entered. Matt Hirschman

But an error and a pair of walks preceded Ian Pennington’s game-tying grand slam. The Zips went on to win 14-12.

Last week, White posted 1 2/3

is expected to enter along with past Caraway winner Gary Putnam plus Spencer Davis, Michael Ritch, and others.

2022 Caraway 602 Modified champion Carson Loftin is expected to be in action.

The speedway’s official 2023 season begins March 19 with racing in the track’s regular divisions – Late Models, Challengers, Modifields, Stock 4s, UCARs, Bootleggers, Legends, and Bandoleros. That also has a 2:30 p.m. start time.

Saturday night racing begins March 25.

Murdaugh testimony only confirmed his guilt, jurors say

The Associated Press WALTERBORO, S.C. — Alex Murdaugh didn’t help his defense when he took the stand at his trial for the murder of his wife and son, three jurors said on Monday.

Murdaugh’s testimony only managed to cement what they were already thinking — that he easily lied and could turn on and off his tears at will, the jurors said on the NBC Today show.

The key piece of evidence in finding the lawyer guilty, they said, was a video on his son’s cellphone that was shot minutes before the killings at the same kennels near where the bodies were found at their sprawling estate in rural South Carolina.

Murdaugh’s voice can be heard on the video even though he insisted for 20 months that he hadn’t been at the kennels that night. Investigators didn’t see the video for more than a year before advances in hacking enabled them to unlock Paul Murdaugh’s iPhone. They shared it with the defense ahead of the trial.

When he took the stand, the first thing Murdaugh did was ad-

mit he had lied to investigators about being at the kennels, saying he was paranoid of law enforcement because he was addicted to opioids and had pills in his pocket the night of the killings.

“The kennel video, that just kind of sealed the deal,” juror Gwen Generette said.

The jury deliberated for less

than three hours before finding Murdaugh guilty of killing his 22-year-old son, Paul, with two shotgun blasts and his 52-yearold wife, Maggie, with four or five rifle shots. The now-disbarred lawyer maintained his innocence when he was sentenced Friday to spend the rest of his life in prison for the

murders.

Murdaugh was convicted in the same court circuit where his father, grandfather and great-grandfather tried cases as the elected prosecutor for more than 80 years. Murdaugh’s family founded the area’s most powerful law firm a century ago. For decades, that meant that practically anyone who ended up in court on either side of the law in Colleton or Hampton counties would have a Murdaugh watching their back or staring them down.

His background was part of the reason jurors didn’t find his testimony believable.

“We already know that he’s a lawyer. He’s able to be emotional with cases. He’s able to be emotional with himself. He knows ... when to turn it on and off. So I think that we were able to read right through that,” juror James McDowell said. Prosecutors decided not to seek the death penalty, and the judge handed down the harshest possible sentence he could — consecutive life sentences without parole.

Murdaugh admitted stealing millions of dollars from the family

hitless innings at Gardner-Webb, and then he logged a shutout inning in a 10-3 victory against visiting Eastern Kentucky.

Gardner honored twice

Former Eastern Randolph baseball player Brody Gardner has had a strong start to his collegiate career with Greensboro College. The freshman outfielder was a two-time USA South Conference Rookie of the Week in February. He received the conference’s first rookie honor of the season as a result of a .350 batting average and driving in two runs when the Pride won two of three games against Lynchburg.

The next week, Gardner batted .316 with three doubles, two runs batted in, and scored three runs when the Pride went 2-2. He has been in the lead-off spot in the batting order.

On Saturday, Gardner was 3-for-5 with two runs scored in a 7-5 victory at Berry (Ga.) College.

The speedway used the Dogwood 250 name to honor the early spring events once held at Martinsville Speedway in the heyday of Modified and Late Model sportsman racing.

firm and clients, saying he needed the money to fund his drug habit. Before he was charged with murder, Murdaugh was in jail awaiting trial on about 100 other charges, ranging from insurance fraud to tax evasion.

Defense attorneys said they will base an appeal largely on the judge’s decision to allow jurors to hear evidence of crimes Murdaugh has not been convicted of, which they say smeared his reputation.

After six intense weeks at the courthouse in Walterboro, key players returned to their normal lives.

Prosecutor Creighton Waters, whose love of the guitar was a favorite bit of chatter among true crime fans, tweeted a video of himself jamming. Judge Clifton Newman was seen in a courtside seat rooting for South Carolina to win the Southeastern Conference title in women’s basketball.

And defense lawyer Jim Griffin, admonished during the trial for tweeting an opinion piece criticizing the investigation, returned to Twitter with a post that said “Walterboro, you were a gracious host. Happy Trails.” He included a photo of his head stuck through the hole of a painting of a cowboy riding a chicken, with “I was at the Murdaugh trial” written at the top.

•

•

COURTESY PHOTOS

Left, Luke Thomas; Right, Brody Gardner

Judy Fogleman Walker

May 28, 1943 — March 5, 2023

Judy Marie Fogleman Walker, 79, went to be with her Lord and savior on Sunday, March 5 2023 at her daughter's home. A lifelong resident of Randolph County. Judy was born May 28, 1943 and was the twelfth child of thirteen children to Dewitt Talmadge and Moleta Dennis Fogleman of Randleman. She attended Randleman High School and played basketball and softball. Judy worked many years in textiles as a sewing machine operator supervisor and later retired from Dart Container in quality control.

She is survived by her daughters Karen Denise Walker of Sophia and Deborah "Debbie" White (Ruben) of Trinity, and her loving sister Nancy Morgan of Seagrove, and her fiancé of 28 years, Bill Caulder whom she loved dearly, and “Mister,” her beloved dog. She is also survived by 5 grandchildren: Hattie Presnell (Jessie Kiker), Amelia Schrimsher, Joel White (Morgan), Alisa Gibson (Jordan), Bradley White (Joy), and 4 great grandchildren: Allie Schrimsher, Oliver White, Avery White, and Owen Gibson. Judy also had many beloved nieces and nephews. In addition to her parents, she was preceded in death by her siblings: Jack Fogleman, Sarah “Sis” Carter, Pat Lamb, Earman “O’Boy” Fogleman, J.W. Fogleman, Myra Jean Atkins, David “Bud” Fogleman, Oliver “Doc” Fogleman, Dorothy Jenkins, Dee Ann Julian, and Robert Dale Fogleman.

Robert "Bob" Clarence Hope

August 15, 1929 — March 4, 2023

Robert "Bob" Clarence Hope, Ph.D. and Veteran of the U.S. Navy, died on March 4th 2023 in his Asheboro North Carolina home. He was 93-years old. He was born in Sampson County, North Carolina on August 15, 1929 to Robert Bernice Hope and Leona Potter Hope of Clinton, North Carolina.

Dr. Hope had many accomplishments in his life including receiving a Bachelor of Science from Duke University in 1954. In 1956, Dr. Hope received a Master of Science in Geological Engineering from North Carolina State University. He completed his Doctorate (Ph.D) from the University of South Carolina in 1975. Dr. Hope was the Director and a Professor of Geology at Campbell University where he worked and retired. Dr. Hope was also a consultant for Amoco Oil Company. He was a avid gardener and nature lover, making positive differences in the prevention against cruelty to animals. He is preceded in death by his parents, sister Daveda Mumford, and loving Aunt Addie Hope and Uncle Lewis Hope.

Dr. Hope is survived by his devoted and loving wife of 63-years, Peggy Whitfield Hope, granddaughter Diana Alease Boyette, daughter Suzanne Hope Egan and son-in-law Robert Joseph Egan. Also surviving Dr. Hope is his sister Christine Hope Smith and brother-in-law Earl Smith of Clinton, North Carolina, as well several nieces and nephews.

Betty Christine White Bowers

June 22, 1927 — March 4, 2023

Betty Christine White Bowers, 95, died peacefully Saturday, March 4.

A longtime Randolph County resident, Christine was the wife of the late O. N. Bowers Jr. and the daughter of the late Newton William White and Huldah Frances Freeman White. She retired from Commonwealth Hosiery of Randleman, and enjoyed running a successful catering business. An active member of Midway Wesleyan Church, Christine was a former volunteer at Randolph Hospital.

Christine is survived by her three children: Neal (Rebecca) of Cartersville, GA; Craig (Darsi) of Angier, NC; and Annette (Randall) Welch of Seagrove, NC; three grandchildren: Jodie (Jason Highfill) of Asheboro, NC; Josh Bowers of Randleman; and Meka (Casey) Lamb of Randleman; five step grandchildren, Jessica Pruitt of High Point, NC, Justin Pruitt of Oklahoma, Trevor Johnson of Angier, NC, Jason Welch and Codey Welch, both of Seagrove, NC; great-grandsons, Benaiah Lamb and Zev Lamb, and greatgranddaughter Ella Highfill.

Bobby Eugene Cox

June 4, 1935 — March 3, 2023

Bobby Eugene Cox, 87, met his Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ on March 3rd, 2023. He was born June 4, 1935 to Delton and Nellie Mae West Cox, of Asheboro. He was an avid Atlanta Braves fan and also enjoyed basketball and football. Bobby enjoyed traveling and visited many places, but his favorite place to be was the beautiful mountains of North Carolina. He loved to fish and play card games with his family and friends. He played a mean game of hearts, and rarely ever lost a game. He had a great sense of humor and loved a good laugh.

Bobby was a member of Amity Hills Baptist Church, Asheboro. He loved Jesus and telling others about Him. He was preceded in death by his parents and his brother, Jim Cox.

He is survived by his daughters, Lisa Serafini (Michael), of Greensboro, Kamala Holtz, of Archdale, along with many cherished friends and loved ones.

Robert Daniel "Danny" Keye

June 5, 1952 — March 3, 2023

Robert Daniel Keye "Danny", age 70, of Asheboro passed away on Friday, March 3, 2023 at his home.

Mr. Keye was born in Randolph County on June 5, 1952 to Joe and Mildred Burrow Keye. Danny served his country in the U.S. Army National Guard. He retired, as an inspector, from Randolph County after 20 years of service and was the former owner of Keye's Plumbing Service. Danny was a member of Neighbors Grove Wesleyan Church. In addition to his father, Danny was preceded in death by his sister, Dale K. Kennedy.

He is survived by his wife of 52 years, Dolores A. Keye; sons, Joey Keye and wife Sherry of Asheboro and Scott Keye and wife Susan of Randleman; grandchildren, Brittany Linville and husband Zach of Winston-Salem, Shelby K. Davis and husband Landon of Pickens, SC, and Ethan, Lindsey, and Gage Keye all of Asheboro; great grandchildren, Braxton Lefler and Andy Linville both of Winston-Salem, and mother, Mildred B. Keye of Asheboro.

Jane Morris Kunz

October 4, 1946 — March 5, 2023

Ryder Lee BryantDevogt

March 27, 2021 — February 24, 2023

Ryder Lee Bryant-Devogt, age 1, of Troy, passed away on February 24, 2023.

Torin Alexander Phillips

July 18, 1990 — February 27, 2023

Torin Alexander Phillips, age 32, of Asheboro passed away on Monday, February 27, 2023.

Mr. Phillips was born in Randolph County on July 18, 1990 to Robert Lewis Phillips and Sally Anne Shuping Phillips. Torin was a graduate of Asheboro High School and was a talented artist and writer. Torin was preceded in death by his father, and his sister, Sandra Daye Phillips Brady. He had a good sense of humor and was a friend to everyone. He enjoyed going to the beach. The last thing Torin did here was make a new friend before going to see his best friend. He is survived by his mother, Sally Anne Shuping; brother, Kendall Monroe Phillips; sister, Andrea Elizabeth Christian Phillips; niece, Winter Beth Gaarn Barnes; nephew, Alxavier Angelito Bailon; aunts, Debbie Maness (Dale), Lisa Smith (Allen), Donna Potts (James), Susan Shuping (Alan) & (Thomas), and Martha Shuping; and uncle, Joe Shuping (Leanne).

David Lewis Culler

September 23, 1952 — February 26, 2023

David Lewis Culler, 70, passed at Forsyth Medical on February 26, 2023. He was born on September 23, 1952 to Lewis and Helen Vestal Culler.

David was a native of Randolph County where he was married to his wife, Brenda, for 45 years. Him and his wife always loved camping with their son in earlier years. He loved his cheeseburgers, which is how he got the nickname, wimpy, from his sister-in-law, Betty Sue. He loved all his family. His is preceded in death by his parents.

David is survived by his wife, Brenda Little Culler, son, David Troy Culler, daughter, Patricia Mireles, sisters, Gail Brewer, and Lisa Hill, 5 grandchildren, and 7 great grandchildren.

Ryder was born on March 27, 2021, in Stanly County to Brendon Bryant and Hannah Devogt.

He is survived by his mother, Hannah Devogt of Troy; father, Brendon Bryant of Rockingham; maternal grandmother, Jamie Schrum of Denton and maternal grandfather, Robbie Devogt of Troy; paternal grandfather, Michael Bryant Jr., and paternal grandmother, Maranda Cummings of Rockingham; great maternal grandparents, Jimmy and Susan Garris of Pinebluff; Lee and Rindia Devogt of Candor and great paternal grandparents, Virginia Tucker and Jerry Cummings of Rockingham and Pam McHugh Millan of Hamlet. Aunts and uncles, Hailey Devogt, Hunter Devogt, Breanna Cummings and Taylor Smith.

Jane Morris Kunz, 76, of Siler City, passed away on Sunday, March 5, 2023.

Mrs. Kunz was born in Chatham County on October 4, 1946, the daughter of Clyde and Eva Smith Morris.

Jane loved her Carolina Panthers and Duke Blue Devils. She cherished her family, especially her grandchildren and her great granddaughter. Jane liked to spend time reading a good book. She is preceded in death by her parents, husband, Dick Kunz, and sister, Connie Morris Lineberry.

She is survived by her daughter, Sheila Joyce Hunt (Bobby) of Raleigh; son, James "Jamie" Hayes, II of Siler City; grandchildren, Kayla McMillan (Matt), Alaina Griffin (Chris), Austin Hunt, Summer, Skylar, Selena, and Chase Hayes; and great granddaughter, Emma McMillan; numerous nieces, nephews, and cousins; and special friends, Chris and Chad Riddle.

Memorials may be made to the March of Dimes in honor of her "Sweet Pea" Emma Kayte McMillan, marchofdimes.org.

Elizabeth "Polly" Felton

December 1, 1948 — February 28, 2023

Elizabeth Pauline "Polly" Felton, age 74, of Biscoe, passed away on February 28, 2023 at First Health Moore Regional Hospital.

Polly was born on December 1, 1948, in Rockingham County, to Edgar and Mary Starnes Frick. She was a retired hosiery mill employee and worked in the lunch room for Montgomery County Schools. She was a member of New Hope Baptist Church.

In addition to her parents, she was preceded in death by her brothers, Richard Frick, Tony Frick and Jackie Frick; sister, Betty Vernon and grandson, Trace Felton.

She is survived by her husband, George Felton of the home; daughters, Lisa Felton (Mike) of Ellerbe; Torie Brown (Jay) of Biscoe; Chris Felton (Heather) of Colorado; sister, Mary Ann McNeill of Biscoe; brother, Bobby Frick of Star, Jimmy Frick of Texas; six grandchildren and two great grandchildren.

STATE & NATION

Board

of

Commissioners

approves Medical Assisted Therapy

for addiction issues in Randolph County Detention Center

Commissioners approve funding for Liberty Heritage Museum

By Ryan Henkel North State Journal

ASHEBORO — The Randolph County Board of Commissioners met Monday, March 6, with various funding requests on the agenda for potential action.

The board first approved a contract amendment with Mediko for Medical Assisted Therapy in the Randolph County Detention Center. “This is the use of medications in combination with counseling and behavioral therapies, which is effective in the treatment of opioid use disorders and can help some people to sustain recovery,” said Chief Deputy Aundrea Azelton. “Funding would provide the service of two MAT nurses to assist in the administration of the program.”

The medications included being Suboxone, which is a tablet that works by blocking the receptors in the brain that crave opioids without activating them; Sublocade, a monthly injection and a derivative of Suboxone; and Vivitrol, which is also a monthly injection and binds to opioid receptors in the brain and helps prevent relapses.

The contract is for $95,736 and will run from April to June, but will then be packaged in the contract renewal with Mediko in July.

The board was also presented with a funding request from Friends of the Historic Patterson Cottage Museum for $15,725 in strategic planning funds to help purchase materials needed to display artifacts in the Liberty Heritage Museum.

“The Friends is in the process of creating the Liberty Heritage Museum by remodeling the old Liberty Hardware building,” said Ad Hoc Board Member Warren Dixon. “While remodeling, we were hit by two unexpected expenses.”

“Currently, there are 12% of residents in Randolph County that suffer from food access issues, and 21% of children live in poverty.”

Cooperative Extension Director Kenny Sherin

“The first was a new HVAC system. The hardware store had a heating unit that hung down from the ceiling. It turned out to be totally inadequate to heat the museum, plus it created a sight barrier and was a safety hazard. So we installed a new HVAC system at the cost of $16,125. Secondly, we didn’t plan on doing any immediate remodeling to the upstairs, which has a completely separate entrance from the street, but some of the

windows were faulty and were allowing birds and other critters and rain to enter the building. We were forced to replace the 21 windows at a cost of $12,000. These added unexpected expenses, over $28,000, have forced us to seek additional funds.”

Following the presentation, the board approved the funding request.

The board then approved the addition of two Cooperative Extension positions, Local and Community Food Systems Agent and Digital Literacy and Skills Agent, to the county budget. The positions had previously been funded through ARPA dollars, but the need arose to move them into the county budget.

“Currently, there are 12% of residents in Randolph County that suffer from food access issues, and 21% of children live in poverty,” said Cooperative Extension Director Kenny Sherin. “Our Local Food Systems agent has done an amazing job helping farmers connect

with markets and helping people connect with local healthy, fresh food.”

“There’s also recently been a study released by the National Skills Coalition called Closing the Digital Skill Divide. That study states that 92% of all jobs require some type of digital skills, meaning the ability to use computers. About 75% of people have those skills, but there’s still a lot of room to make up in getting people the skills that are needed. So the Digital Literacy and Skills agent will help our Randolph County residents of all ages gain those digital skills to be able to earn, learn or be well in Randolph County.”

The final action that the board took was to postpone the public hearing for the Farmer Fire Tax District restructuring till the May meeting so that residents could be properly notified after an error occurred with the mailing lists.

The Randolph County Board of Commissioners will next meet April 6.

Federal Reserve officials sound warnings about higher rates

The Associated Press

A run of strong economic data and signs that inflation remains stubbornly high could lead the Federal Reserve to raise its benchmark rate higher in the coming months than it has previously forecast, several Fed officials say.

Christopher Waller, a member of the Fed’s influential Board of Governors, said last week that if the economy continued to show strength and inflation remained elevated, the central bank would have to lift its key rate above 5.4%. That would be higher than Fed officials had signaled in December, when they projected it would peak at roughly 5.1% this year.

“Recent data suggest that consumer spending isn’t slowing that much, that the labor market continues to run unsustainably hot and that inflation is not coming down as fast as I had thought,” Waller said in prepared remarks for a business conference in Los Angeles.

His suggestion was in contrast to a speech he gave in January, titled “A Case for Cautious Optimism,” that captured a prevailing sentiment at the time that inflation had peaked and was steadily declining.

Even if data to be released later this month were to show hiring and inflation cooling again, Waller said, he would still favor raising the Fed’s rate to a range between 5% to 5.5%, up from about 4.6% now. And if the economic figures were to “continue to come in too hot,” he said, the Fed’s key rate “will have to be raised this year even more to ensure that we do not lose the momentum that was in place” before the robust January economic reports.

Over the past year, the Fed has raised short-term rates at the fastest pace in four decades to try to curb the worst inflation since the early 1980s. Those hikes have led to higher rates across the econo-

my: Mortgage rates have nearly doubled, to 6.7%, and auto loans, credit card borrowing and business loans have become more expensive.

The Fed’s goal is to cool the economy by raising the cost of borrowing and slowing business and consumer spending. More modest growth would likely help slow inflation to the Fed’s 2% target. Fed officials next meet March 21-22, when they are expected to raise their key rate by a quarter-point to about 4.9%.

In recent weeks, several reports suggested that the economy was stronger and inflation more persistent than previous data had in-

dicated. The economy gained an enormous total of more than half a million jobs in January, and the unemployment rate reached a 53year low of 3.4%.

Inflation data was also revised higher and came in hotter than expected in January. Waller noted that for the final three months of last year, core inflation — which excludes the volatile food and energy categories — was revised up from an annual rate of 3.1% to 4.3%. It then rose to 4.6% in January.

“Although inflation has been coming down since the middle of last year,” Waller said, “the recent data indicate that we haven’t made

AP PHOTO, FILE

as much progress as we thought.”

Other Fed officials have also expressed unease about the reports showing higher inflation and hotter growth. Neel Kashkari, president of the Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis, recently said, “I lean towards continuing to raise further.”

“These are concerning data points, suggesting that we’re not making progress as quickly as we would like,” Kashkari said.

And last Thursday, Raphael Bostic, president of the Atlanta Fed, said he supports pushing rates to about 5.1% in the coming months, the same as projected in December. He added that the Fed’s

In this Feb. 5, 2018, file photo, the seal of the Board of Governors of the United States Federal Reserve System is displayed in the ground at the Marriner S. Eccles Federal Reserve Board Building in Washington, D.C.

rate hikes may not start to bite until this summer, so the Fed needs to be cautious about tightening credit too far and causing a recession.

Yet Bostic also added, “There is a case to be made that we need to go higher.”

“Jobs have come in stronger than we expected,” Bostic said. “Inflation is remaining stubborn at elevated levels. Consumer spending is strong. Labor markets remain quite tight.”

Loretta Mester, president of the Cleveland Fed, told Bloomberg News that the Fed “needs to do a little more” to raise rates and to keep them elevated for an extended period.

COUNTY NEWS

FirstHealth Moore

Regional Hospital

ranked as one of the state’s best hospitals

FirstHealth Moore Regional Hospital, including its Hoke and Richmond campuses, has again been recognized as one of the state’s best hospitals and as a top hospital in patient satisfaction by Business North Carolina magazine. Moore Regional ranked No. 3 in the “best hospital” ranking and No. 2 in the “patient picks” list. “We are thrilled to again be recognized by Business North Carolina magazine as one of the best hospitals in North Carolina and as a top hospital for patient satisfaction,” said Mickey W. Foster, MHA, chief executive officer for FirstHealth of the Carolinas. The success of our health system is built on the tremendous efforts of our exceptional employees, providers, and volunteers. FirstHealth ranks among the very best because we have the very best team – one whose dedication to our core purpose, “To Care for People,” never wavers, even in the face of incredible challenges. We are extremely proud of the team’s accomplishment.” The Best Hospitals list uses a calculation of more than 25 healthcare metrics, including data from the U.S. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, patient satisfaction surveys, infections, readmissions, and mortality rates for common procedures. The “patient picks” list is a result of The Hospital Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems, which surveys hospital patients between 48 hours and six weeks after discharge.

HOKE COUNTY

Lady Bucks off to a strong start

The Hoke County Lady Bucks softball team is off to a 3-1 start this season. Natalie Williams pitches in the game last week against the Lumberton Pirates, which handed the Bucks their first loss. Hoke has three games this week vs. Scotland, Lee County, and Purnell Swett.

Republican legislators reach Medicaid expansion deal

The Associated Press RALEIGH — North Carolina legislative leaders announced last Thursday an agreement to expand Medicaid to hundreds of thousands of additional low-income adults through the Affordable Care Act.

The deal, which likely won’t be voted on until later this month at the earliest, marks a milestone for Republican lawmakers, most of whom opposed expansion for a decade until recently. North Carolina has been one of 11 states that has not adopted Medicaid expansion. If the deal goes through, the state would start providing expansion coverage to people starting next January.

“This is something that we can all be very proud of,” House Speaker Tim Moore said at a Legislative Building news conference with Senate Leader Phil Berger. “What a huge announcement this is for North Carolina. What a huge policy direction this is that will provide help for so many in this state, but

it’s going to do it in a way that’s fiscally responsible.” Expansion gained momentum last year when the GOP-controlled state House and Senate approved, with strong bipartisan support, competing legislation addressing it, but they failed to reach a deal. The key differences stemmed around other initiatives Senate Republicans insisted were needed to increase the number of medical providers to cover the additional enrollees.

Under the new agreement, senators obtained the loosening or elimination of “certificate of need” laws that require health regulators to sign off on plans to offer hospital beds for mental health and substance abuse patients, build ambu-

latory surgery centers or purchase MRI machines. But their demand that advanced-practice nurses be able to treat patients without a doctor’s supervision was left out.

“There are still some things that need to be done, but this is our agreement and I’m very comfortable with it,” Berger said.

The negotiated measure, built in part on an expansion measure approved overwhelmingly by the House two weeks ago, was still being drawn up and will need affirmative votes in both chambers.

The federal government covers 90% of the cost of Medicaid recipients under expansion. Potentially 600,000 people in North Carolina could receive the benefit — those who make too much to qualify for conventional Medicaid but not enough to receive heavily subsidized health insurance that President Barack Obama’s signature 2010 law provides.

Under the agreement, the state’s 10% share would be paid through assessments paid by hospitals, which in turn benefit from getting

Troops who refused COVID vaccine still may face discipline

The Associated Press WASHINGTON, D.C. — The military services are still reviewing possible discipline of troops who refused the order to get the COVID-19 vaccine, defense officials told Congress on Tuesday, and they provided few details on how many of those who were forced out of the military would like to return.

Lawmakers expressed frustration with the news, questioning why service members should still face discipline since the vaccine requirement had been rescinded.

Gilbert Cisneros Jr., undersecretary of defense for personnel, told the House Armed Services personnel subcommittee that some service members who disobeyed the lawful order to get the vaccine — and did not seek any type of exemption — were still going through

the review process.

“In order to maintain good order and discipline, it’s very important that our service members go and follow orders when they are lawful,” said Cisneros, adding that military services were going through each case to evaluate what should be done.

The vaccine mandate divided Americans and has remained a contentious political issue. More than 8,400 troops were forced out of the military for refusing to obey a lawful order when they declined to get the vaccine. Thousands of others sought religious and medical exemptions. The Pentagon formally dropped the mandate in January, as a result of legislation signed into law in late December. But a number of discipline cases were pending when the requirement was rescinded.

Cisneros and top officials from the Army, Navy and Air Force told the subcommittee that in some cases troops may have committed other misconduct in addition to the vaccine refusal, so each case was being reviewed.

“What’s the point?” said Rep. Jim Banks, R-Ind., the subcommittee chairman. “We rescinded the mandate — what’s the point of continuing to review the cases?”

Banks said a number of lawmakers were “infuriated by the double standard and message you send for rescinding a policy and still punishing them for not taking the vaccine.”

Lawmakers also pressed the defense officials on whether troops who were discharged were being allowed to return to service.

See VACCINE, page 2

PHOTO BY TAMMY SUE

reimbursed as they cover patients with Medicaid.

Officials say the state also would get an extra $1.8 billion over two years through a financial sweetener in a COVID-19 federal relief package from Congress for states that hadn’t accepted expansion. And the package will include provisions that would result in higher reimbursements for hospital systems when they treat Medicaid patients — resulting in at least $3.2 billion in reimbursements during the next fiscal year for traditional Medicaid patients alone. That should help rural areas, where hospitals have closed or are in danger of closing.

Democratic North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper, who has sought expansion since taking office in 2017, would be asked to sign any final measure into law. He tweeted that the agreement “is a monumental step that will save lives” but wants it effective immediately to tap into more federal funds, making “sure we leverage the money that will save our rural hospitals and invest in mental health.”

Even if the law is approved this spring, Moore and Berger said it wouldn’t be effective until a separate state budget is enacted, likely by the early summer.

Cooper wasn’t involved in recent negotiations that lasted about four

See MEDICAID, page 8

“This is something that we can all be very proud of.”

House Speaker Tim Moore

a differ ence of 423 students less than what was projected in our initial budget allotment.”

The difference accounts for about $804,520.52 in funding that will return to the state’s budget. Ac cording to Chavis, some of the dif ferences in actual enrollment num bers can be attributed to an uptick

in enrollment in charter schools.

Finally, the board approved a new partnership and contract with Global Teaching Partners for the acquisition of international teachers.

“This is a new organization that will be an international partnership that will sponsor our J-1 Visa teachers and international faculty, which was previously referred to as our visiting international faculty or VIF,” said Assistant Superintendent

According to O’Connor, Hoke County Schools currently has established partnerships with Participate (8 teachers in the district) and Education Partners Internationals (22 teachers), which are officially recognized cultural exchange programs by the US Department of

State and provide J-1 Visas, meaning these teachers go through federal screening. These visas cover

not just filling vacancies

Erik Raven, the Navy undersecretary, was the only one who provided any estimate, saying that “we’ve had single digits in terms of numbers of individuals who have explored the option of returning to service.” It wasn’t clear if those individuals had formally sought reenlistment or merely asked about it.

Raven, along with Gina Ortiz Jones, the Air Force undersecretary, and Gabe Camarillo, the Army undersecretary, all told lawmakers that service members can go through the regular process for reinstatement. In most cases they will need to go to a review board to have their discharge status changed, and then they can seek to reenlist. They would have to meet all other enlistment standards.

Rep. Cory Mills, R-Fla., said he will push to allow those who were “unlawfully purged, in my opinion, to be reentered into the military with their full benefits, their back pay, and be granted what they should have been given, which is

the chance to serve our United States military.”

Any move to provide back pay or other retroactive benefits would have to be addressed through legislation.

Lawmakers also questioned the impact of the discharges on the military, including whether it forced out many pilots. Jones said that only 40 Air Force officers were discharged for refusing the vaccine order, and another 14 opted to retire voluntarily. All the rest were enlisted personnel. Air Force pilots are all officers.

Overall, according to data compiled by the military as of late last year, the Marine Corps leads the services with 3,717 Marines discharged for refusing to follow the vaccine order. There have been 2,041 discharged from the Navy, 1,841 from the Army and 834 from the Air Force. The Air Force data includes the Space Force. Defense officials have also suggested that in many cases those who refused the order and were discharged were in the very early stages of their military enlistment.

Neal Robbins, publisher | Frank Hill, senior opinion editor

The biggest scandal in American history

WE ARE LIVING THROUGH the largest, deadliest scandal in American history, but the elite media refuses to connect the dots and analyze it.

COVID-19, a disease no one disputes came from Wuhan, China, has killed more than 1.1 million Americans and more than 38 million people worldwide. It has left millions of others with chronic health problems.

Because of the teachers’ unions and totally misguided, destructive public health policies, children who were under virtually no risk from COVID-19 have lost at least a year of education.

So, the same experts who are paid by the American people and given tens of billions of dollars to invest in research decided that they would deliberately mislead the American people.

This perfectly captures the arrogance of the aristo-bureaucrats, who believe they are intellectually and morally superior to the people to whom they are supposed to be accountable.

They believe they have the right and duty to censor what we think and say — and to feed us falsehoods in the name of some higher duty.

Fauci knew all this.

Many children are suffering from depression and other mental health challenges from the forced isolation and lack of social contact.

Now, it is becoming more clear that much of this pain was avoidable — and the result of powerful government employees protecting themselves. As Jarrett Stepman in The Daily Signal wrote:

“In 2020, if you thought it was possible COVID-19 came from a lab in China you were labeled a conspiracy theorist, a peddler of misinformation, ‘bonkers,’ and a racist.

“Facebook and other social media removed the lab leak claim from their apps or slapped ‘misinformation’ labels on it. Facebook did so in lockstep with the government.

“So according to the standard set in 2020, the Department of Energy just came out as a racist purveyor of misinformation this week.

“The Wall Street Journal reported on Sunday that, according to a classified intelligence report provided to the White House and Congress, the Department of Energy concluded that the COVID-19 pandemic likely came from a lab leak.

‘”The Energy Department’s conclusion is the result of new intelligence and is significant because the agency has considerable scientific expertise and oversees a network of U.S. national laboratories, some of which conduct advanced biological research,’ the Wall Street Journal report said.”

President Donald Trump called it “the Chinese Virus” and was intensely attacked. Somehow word “Chinese” was deemed racist. No one disputes that the virus originated in China. But calling it COVID-19 rather than the Chinese virus was more polite. (After all, it’s important to indicate an appropriate sensitivity to the totalitarian dictatorship that is trying to defeat the United States and become the world’s leading power).

We now know this censorship and speech silencing was part of a systematic effort of senior scientists to mislead the American people. When COVID-19 first became a threat in early 2020,

Dr. Anthony Fauci already knew the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) had funded research in the Wuhan Institute of Virology via EcoHealth Alliance. He knew the WIV was a subgrantee of EcoHealth Alliance — and that EcoHealth Alliance was not in compliance with its grant reporting. Specifically, the organization was out of compliance for a project that NIAID knew could potentially make novel bat-borne coronaviruses much more dangerous.

Fauci knew all this.

According to Kentucky Rep. James Comer, who is chairman of the House Committee on Oversight and Accountability, on Feb. 1, 2020, “Dr. Fauci, Dr. Collins, and at least eleven other scientists convened a conference call to discuss COVID-19. On the conference call, Drs. Fauci and Collins were first warned that COVID-19 may have leaked from the WIV and may have been intentionally genetically manipulated.”

The scientists decided to remain silent to avoid controversy (which would have ultimately fallen back on themselves).

COLUMN | BEN SHAPIRO

This scandal of many of our best professional researchers lying to the American people is compounded by the absolute failure of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Why there has not been a scathing and thorough investigation — and set of hearings on the absolute inability of the bureaucrats in Atlanta to do their jobs — and the general failure of the public health system across the country is a mystery to me. This lack of introspection or investigation should itself be a scandal.

Driven by the economic impact of the Chinese virus, the American government spent trillions of dollars propping up the economy, sparking inflation, massively increasing the national debt, and permitting hundreds of billions in theft and corruption.

Finally, there has been no serious effort to hold the Chinese Communist dictatorship accountable for the damage it has done around the world. There is ample precedent for holding governments responsible for the damage they have done to others (the Lockerbie bombing, the Iranian Hostage Crisis, 9/11, and other cases).

The Chinese Communists have continuously focused on stopping us from understanding the origins of the pandemic. As Dave Boyer reported in the Washington Times, FBI Director Christopher A. Wray confirmed his agency believes the COVID-19 pandemic likely started from a lab leak in Wuhan, China. He told Fox News on Tuesday that “the FBI has for quite some time now assessed that the origins of the pandemic are most likely a potential lab incident in Wuhan… Here you are talking about a potential leak from a Chinese government-controlled lab.

As Boyer reported, “Mr. Wray also slammed Beijing for stonewalling international efforts to find out what happened. ‘I will just make the observation that the Chinese government, it seems to me, has been doing its best to try to thwart, and obfuscate the work here, the work that we’re doing, the work that our U.S. government and close foreign partners are doing. And that’s unfortunate for everybody,’ he said.”

Clearly there ought to be a mechanism for making the Chinese Communist dictatorship pay COVID-19 victims for the disaster it caused. One step might be a COVID-19 tariff on all Chinese imports (the proceeds of which would go into a COVID-19 Compensation Fund that every American family affected by the pandemic could apply to).

Other countries could be urged to establish similar tariffs. Then Xi Jinping and his dictatorship would learn that lying, covering up, and hiding the truth has enormous costs for those guilty of killing millions and forcing the spending of trillions.

This scandal is so large, and covers so many areas, it will be a major factor in politics and government for the next decade. It will go down in history as a turning point in our lives and the life of our country.

We just need to decide what direction we turn: toward clarity and accountability, or toward lies and chaos.

The greatest cover-up in human history

FIRST, IT WAS SUPPOSEDLY a conspiracy theory.

Then, it was banned.

Finally, it was true.

A huge number of people have decided that there are a cadre of people who are so vile that any opinion they touch is immediately toxified beyond investigation.

The so-called “lab leak” theory of the origins of COVID-19 — the theory that COVID-19 originated in at the Wuhan Institute of Virology and then was unintentionally loosed — was always the most probable explanation for the outbreak of the deadly virus. After all, as Jon Stewart correctly joked in 2021, “’Oh, my God, there’s a novel respiratory coronavirus overtaking Wuhan, China. What do we do?’ ‘Oh, you know who we could ask? The Wuhan novel respiratory coronavirus lab.’ The disease is the same name as the lab. That’s just a little too weird, don’t you think?”

But for well over a year, it was considered verboten to mention the lab leak theory. When Senator Tom Cotton, R-Ark., posited the possibility of a lab leak in February 2020, he was roundly mocked by the media. The New York Times headlined, “Senator Tom Cotton Repeats Fringe Theory of Coronavirus Origins.” Scientific American headlined — in March 2022! — “The Lab-Leak Hypothesis Made It Harder for Scientists to Seek the Truth.” Facebook actively quashed attempts to disseminate the theory; Dr. Anthony Fauci went on national television and downplayed the theory.

Why?

Two reasons are obvious. The first: powerful institutions had a stake in downplaying the Chinese origins of the virus in order to shift blame to the rest of the world. Certainly, that was China’s game: In all likelihood, COVID-19 was spreading in China as early as October 2019, and the government covered it up for months. But that was also the game of the World Health Organization. Members of the American government like Fauci also had a stake in smothering questions about American funding for gain-of-function research in Wuhan.

Then there’s the second reason: all the wrong people were repeating the lab leak theory. As one of MSNBC’s resident hacks, Mehdi Hasan, admitted on Twitter, “The simple reason why so many people weren’t keen to discuss the ‘lab

leak’ theory is because it was originally conflated by the right with ‘Chinese bio weapon’ conspiracies and continues to be conflated by the right with anti-Fauci conspiracies. Blame the conspiracy theorists.” As Nate Silver correctly noted, “The Bad People thought the lab leak might be true, therefore as journalists we couldn’t be expected to actually evaluate the evidence for it.”

Herein lies a lesson: A huge number of people have decided that there are a cadre of people who are so vile that any opinion they touch is immediately toxified beyond investigation. Claims are not to be evaluated on their own merits; instead, we can simply determine whether a claim ought to be supported based on those who posit it. This helps to explain why political crossover has become nearly impossible: We’re not judging the claims of our opponents; we’re judging each other. And this means that we can discard any argument simply by dint of the fact that we don’t like the person offering it.

Among members of the general population, this is a problem, but not a fundamental one. But among those who pose as “experts” — the people who are supposed to serve as guides for people who outsource their political information, from media to scientific institutions — it’s a fatal error. After all, experts are supposed to be impartial adjudicators of the evidence. That’s their entire job. We can evaluate on our own who we don’t like — but we often need help to determine whether an argument has merit or not. When experts become “just like us,” they undermine their raison d’etre.

And that’s precisely what happened with COVID-19. Whether it was ignoring the actual evidence regarding masks and mask mandates, the evidence regarding post-vaccination transmissibility or the evidence regarding the lab leak theory, experts decided that the (SET ITAL) wrong people (END ITAL) had to be ignored. But they were wrong. And now they have no credibility left. Ben Shapiro, 38, is a graduate of UCLA and Harvard Law School, host of “The

COLUMN | NEWT GINGRICH

SIDELINE REPORT

COLLEGE BASKETBALL

Duke men return to AP Top 25

Indianapolis

Duke returned to The Associated Press men’s basketball poll for the first time since falling out in midJanuary after opening the year at No. 7. First-year coach Jon Scheyer has led the Blue Devils (23-8) to six straight wins to close out the regular season, including Saturday’s win at North Carolina for a rivalry sweep that wounded UNC’s iffy NCAA Tournament hopes. Duke was last ranked in the Jan. 9 poll. Houston remained No. 1, followed by UCLA, Kansas, Alabama and Purdue.

NFL Seahawks, QB Smith agree on 3-year deal

Renton, Wash.

The Seahawks have agreed to terms with quarterback Geno Smith on a three-year contract that keeps the AP comeback player of the year in the Pacific Northwest. NFL Network and The Score reported the deal could be worth up to $105 million. Smith led the Seahawks to a 9-8 record and a playoff berth as the last wild card in the NFC. He threw for a careerhigh 4,282 yards, setting a franchise record, with 30 touchdown passes and just 11 interceptions, completed 399 passes and led the NFL in completion percentage at 69.8%.

COLLEGE FOOTBALL

Iowa settles race bias lawsuit using taxpayer money

Iowa City, Iowa Iowa taxpayers are on the hook for half of a $4 million settlement in the lawsuit brought by former Iowa football players who alleged racial discrimination in coach Kirk Ferentz’s program. A State Appeal Board voted 2-1 on Monday to approve the use of $2 million for the $4.175 million settlement over the objection of State Auditor Rob Sand, a board member who said athletic director Gary Barta should be fired for a series of lawsuits ending in settlements under his watch. The agreement calls for $2.85 million to be divided among 12 players and $1.9 million to go to Solomon-Simmons Law for fees and expenses.

Virginia Tech beats Louisville for 1st ACC women’s title

The Hokies have won 11 straight entering the NCAA Tournament

The Associated Press

GREENSBORO — Kenny Brooks walked over to an end-zone section of Virginia Tech fans and gave a fist-pumping release as his players climbed steps to cut down a piece of the net.

A few minutes later, Brooks was up there himself, snipping down the final strand hanging from the rim before turning to Hokies fans and leading a “Let’s go Hokies!” chant.

The moment had finally arrived for Brooks and his eighth-ranked Hokies, who continued their late-season tear by beating Louisville 75-67 on Sunday to win the program’s first Atlantic Coast Conference Tournament title.

“Unbelievable, unbelievable,”

Brooks said on the court as his players celebrated around him.

It came with another strong scoring effort from Georgia Amoore, who scored 25 points and earned tournament MVP honors for the third-seeded Hokies (27-4). There

was two-time league player of the year Elizabeth Kitley adding another 20 points in her role as the inside constant. And there was Taylor Soule, emerging from a scoreless first half to provide the third-quarter lift that helped keep the Hokies on course for their 11th straight win.

Virginia Tech’s first trip to the

ACC title game into a strong finishing act, pushing to a double-digit lead before halftime and keeping the Cardinals at arm’s distance the rest of the way. And that capped a three-game run in Greensboro in which the Hokies trailed for a total of 3 minutes, 15 seconds — all in the first quarter of Sunday’s game.

“I think all of us knew we were

going to win,” Kitley said. “From the start of the tournament, we’ve been talking about it. Obviously we’ve been taking it day by day, game by game. But definitely throughout the game we all knew that we had it and we didn’t lose our cool, even when they were hitting big shots.”

Before Sunday, the Hokies had been as far as the ACC semifinals only once since joining the league for the 2004-05 season — and that came last year. Now they’re celebrating a milestone victory under Brooks, who has built this program to the top of the league in Year 7.

When the horn finally sounded, Kitley and Kayana Traylor skipped to midcourt to meet the rushing mob of players and coaches from the Hokies sideline headed for a midcourt celebration as the streamers and confetti dropped from the Greensboro Coliseum rafters.Louisville made its closest push in the frantic final seconds to within 7367 on Merissah Russell’s 3-pointer with 28 seconds left. But Kitley hit two critical free throws with 15.1 seconds to go that pushed the lead back to eight for what turned out to be the final margin.

This was the Cardinals’ fourth finals appearance, the first being a title win in 2018 followed by losses to Notre Dame in 2019 and North Carolina State on a late basket in 2021. Their first two wins came against Wake Forest and No. 10 Notre Dame, which had taken regular-season meetings against them.

Byron wins at Las Vegas as Hendrick dominates

The team finished 1-2-3 despite being minus Chase Elliott

The Associated Press LAS VEGAS — One way or another, a Hendrick Motorsports driver figured to win Sunday’s NASCAR Cup Series race at Las Vegas.

Kyle Larson nearly won the Pennzoil 400 in regulation, but a late caution put teammate William Byron in position to capture the checkered flag in overtime.

Byron took the lead on the penultimate lap of OT to put an exclamation mark on a dominant day for Hendrick. The top three drivers were from Hendrick, with Byron, Larson and Alex Bowman pushing their Chevrolets across the finish line in that order.

Bowman won last year’s March race at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.

Byron led 176 laps and won for the fifth time in his six Cup seasons.

“I’ve led a lot of laps in a couple of races, but to be this good with this team is definitely a good sign,” Byron said. “It’s a different feeling for me having a team around me that can execute that well. That’s just a team effort.”

Larson appeared headed for victory when when Aric Almirola hit the wall in turn four on lap No. 264, leading to the second caution of the day.

“I feel like I could have eight or 10 more Cup wins if it wasn’t for cautions in the last five laps,” Larson said. “I don’t remember many of those working out in my favor.”

Most of the leaders pitted a lap later, with only Martin Truex Jr. in

his Joe Gibbs Racing No. 19 Toyota choosing to stay out. Byron, in the No. 24 Chevy, came out of pit road ahead of Larson and then easily overtook Truex after the restart.

Byron, who started in the first row with Joey Logano, swept both stages for the first time in his career. Truex in 2017 and Kevin Harvick in 2018 also won both stages in Las Vegas and went on to win.

The fourth Hendrick driver and 2020 Cup Series champion, Chase Elliott, will begin physical therapy Monday, his team owner Rick Hendrick told Fox Sports.

Elliott had surgery Friday to repair a fractured tibia, and Hendrick said Elliott has returned to his home in Dawsonville, Georgia. Elliott was injured in a snow-

boarding accident Friday. He and his family own a home in Vail, Colorado.

Elliott joked on Twitter “that the formal request I submitted for a slight edit to the March section of my script was indeed… declined.”

“In all seriousness, the support I’ve received over the last couple of

days is far greater than I deserve,”

he posted in a follow-up tweet. “I want to thank everyone who has lended it over in any form!”

Josh Berry took Elliott’s seat in the No. 9 Chevy and finished 29th. Hendrick general manager Jeff Andrews said a decision would be made on who drives that car next weekend at Phoenix.

Bubba Wallace, who drives the 23XI Racing No. 23 Toyota, finished fourth. He was the top finisher not part of the Hendrick garage.

“It was right there in the top seven or eight the whole time,” Wallace said. “I was going to settle for sixth and the caution came out. My car fired off really, really good (on the restart), the best it had all race.”

AP PHOTO

Virginia Tech forward Taylor Soule celebrates before cutting a piece of the net after the Hokies defeated Louisville to win the ACC Women’s Tournament on Sunday in Greensboro.

“I feel like I could have eight or 10 more Cup wins if it wasn’t for cautions in the last five laps.”

Kyle Larson

AP PHOTO

William Byron celebrates with his team after winning Sunday’s NASCAR Cup Series race at Las Vegas.

Brady, Brown prove combine flops can become NFL stars

Measurements and 40 times aren’t everything when it comes to evaluating talent

The Associated Press LONG BEFORE the NFL’s annual scouting combine became a prime-time football fix for fans ahead of free agency and the draft, Mike Mamula absolutely killed it as a combine trailblazer in 1995. He was among the first players to train specifically for the staple of tests he’d face at the combine: the 40-yard dash that measures speed, the three-cone drill that calculates agility and the 225-pound bench press that gauges strength and stamina.

After his impressive showing in Indy, Mamula rocketed into the first round, where the Philadelphia Eagles traded the 12th overall pick and two second-round selections to Tampa Bay so they could move up five spots and get the Boston College defensive end at No. 7.

Mamula proved more of a workout warrior than Sunday star in his solid five-year career with the Eagles, illustrating the inexact nature of projecting professional success at the combine, where studs can eventually turn out to be duds and flops can turn out to be outstanding players. Although some prospects skip certain components of the combine and choose to show off in more familiar surroundings at their college pro day or in visits with specific teams, the vast majority now target the week in Indianapolis just like Mamula did.

The only thing that went right for Oklahoma tackle Orlando Brown Jr. at the 2018 scouting combine was the vote of confidence from his Heisman Trophy-winning teammate.

“When are you ever going to watch Orlando Brown run 40 yards down the field?” quarterback Baker Mayfield asked that week. “You can watch last year’s tape and see he allowed zero sacks. I’d say that’s pretty

important for a left tackle.”

Measures matter, too, however, and he fell from a projected first-rounder to the third round of the draft, where the Baltimore Ravens took a flyer on him with the 83rd overall pick.

The nearly 6-foot-8, 345-pound left tackle managed just 14 reps on the 225-pound bench press, the lowest total of any lineman who lifted at the combine that year.

Things only got worse for the son of former Browns and Ravens right tackle Orlando Brown a day later when he lumbered through the 40-yard dash in 5.85 seconds. Even by big O-linemen standards, that’s sloth-like slow, and it was the slowest of anyone at that year’s event.

Brown, whose broad and vertical jumps were also the lowest of all players, was undeterred by his wretched week at the combine.

“I’ve been fat my whole life,” he explained. “I wish I was fast.” Brown, however, made the Pro Bowl in his second season and has made every one since. Last month

he won a Super Bowl ring while anchoring Kansas City’s stout offensive line, and he’s in line for another huge paycheck this spring.

Another player who looked overmatched at his combine was none other than seven-time Super Bowl-winning quarterback Tom Brady.

We’ve all seen the official combine photo of the scrawny Brady with uneven bangs standing expressionless in baggy shorts at the 2000 combine where he was a late-round

No timetable for Morant’s return during ‘healing process’

The NBA is investigating a social media post that showed the Grizzlies guard holding a gun

The Associated Press

LOS ANGELES — There’s no timetable for Ja Morant to return to the Memphis Grizzlies, and the AllStar guard knows he’s made “difficult decisions and poor choices” that he has to be accountable for, coach Taylor Jenkins said Sunday night.

Morant was not with the team in Los Angeles for games against the Clippers on Sunday and the Lakers

on Tuesday while the NBA investigates a social media post in which Morant appeared to be holding a gun.

“Very tough moment, for sure,” Jenkins said of the video.

Morant streamed the video on his Instagram account early Saturday of himself holding what appeared to be a gun at a nightclub, hours after playing in Denver. He said in a statement through the agency that represents him that he takes “full responsibility” for his actions and that he was going to “take some time away to get help.”

On Monday, police in Colorado said they were investigating Mo-

rant’s actions and whether he may have broken any laws. Morant’s video is believed to have been filmed in Glendale, a small enclave surrounded by Denver and known for its strip clubs and shopping centers.

Capt. Jamie Dillon said police did not receive any calls or complaints about Morant’s actions but began looking into them Saturday after learning about the video circulating online.

The Grizzlies coach said Morant understands he’s made “some difficult decisions and poor choices in the past.”

“He’s definitely embracing the mistakes that he’s made, but only

time will tell,” Jenkins said. “We’re going to support him and we’re going to hold him accountable to make those changes.”

Jenkins declined to outline the steps Morant needs to take to rejoin the team, saying: “We love him, we want what’s best for him, we support him. It’s going to be a difficult process, but we’ve got a great group to get through this.”

He called it “an ongoing healing process.”

The league, if it finds wrongdoing, could fine or suspend Morant.

Morant also was the subject of a league investigation after a Jan. 29 incident in Memphis that he said led

prospect hoping for a chance. Brady ran the 40 in a turtle-like 5.28 seconds and posted an unimpressive 24 1/2-inch vertical jump.

The only radar he was on was that of the New England Patriots, where head coach Bill Belichick and general manager Scott Pioli were just months into their new jobs and targeted a QB in the later rounds. They selected Brady in the sixth round after 198 other players were drafted, including seven quarterbacks.

to a friend of his being banned from home games for a year. That incident occurred after a game against the Indiana Pacers. Multiple media outlets reported that members of the Pacers saw a red dot pointed at them, and a team security guard believed the laser was attached to a gun.

The NBA confirmed that unnamed individuals were banned from the arena but said its investigation found no evidence that anyone was threatened with a weapon.

“This is a tough time for a young kid that’s got to grow and get better,” Jenkins said. “He’s got huge responsibilities not just for the team, for the city, but I know how he’s built with that care factor and what steps he’s now taking. It’s a step in the direction of really being the best version of himself.”

AP PHOTO

Oklahoma offensive lineman Orlando Brown participates in the 40-yard dash at the 2018 NFL Scouting Combine in Indianapolis.

AP PHOTO

Grizzlies guard Ja Morant was suspended by the team after a video on social media circulated that appeared to show him holding a gun at a club.

Murdaugh testimony only confirmed his guilt, jurors say

The Associated Press WALTERBORO, S.C. — Alex Murdaugh didn’t help his defense when he took the stand at his trial for the murder of his wife and son, three jurors said on Monday.

Murdaugh’s testimony only managed to cement what they were already thinking — that he easily lied and could turn on and off his tears at will, the jurors said on the NBC Today show.

The key piece of evidence in finding the lawyer guilty, they said, was a video on his son’s cellphone that was shot minutes before the killings at the same kennels near where the bodies were found at their sprawling estate in rural South Carolina.

Murdaugh’s voice can be heard on the video even though he insisted for 20 months that he hadn’t been at the kennels that night. Investigators didn’t see the video for more than a year before advances in hacking enabled them to unlock Paul Murdaugh’s iPhone. They shared it with the defense ahead of the trial.

When he took the stand, the first thing Murdaugh did was admit he had lied to investigators about being at the kennels, saying he was paranoid of law enforcement because he was addicted to opioids and had pills in his pocket the night of the killings.

“The kennel video, that just kind of sealed the deal,” juror

Gwen Generette said.

The jury deliberated for less than three hours before finding Murdaugh guilty of killing his 22-year-old son, Paul, with two shotgun blasts and his 52-yearold wife, Maggie, with four or five rifle shots.

The now-disbarred lawyer maintained his innocence when he was sentenced Friday to spend

the rest of his life in prison for the murders. Murdaugh was convicted in the same court circuit where his father, grandfather and great-grandfather tried cases as the elected prosecutor for more than 80 years. Murdaugh’s family founded the area’s most powerful law firm a century ago. For decades, that meant that practically

anyone who ended up in court on either side of the law in Colleton or Hampton counties would have a Murdaugh watching their back or staring them down.

His background was part of the reason jurors didn’t find his testimony believable.

“We already know that he’s a lawyer. He’s able to be emotional with cases. He’s able to be emo -

tional with himself. He knows ... when to turn it on and off. So

I think that we were able to read right through that,” juror James McDowell said.

Prosecutors decided not to seek the death penalty, and the judge handed down the harshest possible sentence he could — consecutive life sentences without parole.

Murdaugh admitted stealing millions of dollars from the family firm and clients, saying he needed the money to fund his drug habit. Before he was charged with murder, Murdaugh was in jail awaiting trial on about 100 other charges, ranging from insurance fraud to tax evasion.

Defense attorneys said they will base an appeal largely on the judge’s decision to allow jurors to hear evidence of crimes Murdaugh has not been convicted of, which they say smeared his reputation.

After six intense weeks at the courthouse in Walterboro, key players returned to their normal lives.

Prosecutor Creighton Waters, whose love of the guitar was a favorite bit of chatter among true crime fans, tweeted a video of himself jamming. Judge Clifton Newman was seen in a courtside seat rooting for South Carolina to win the Southeastern Conference title in women’s basketball.

And defense lawyer Jim Griffin, admonished during the trial for tweeting an opinion piece criticizing the investigation, returned to Twitter with a post that said “Walterboro, you were a gracious host. Happy Trails.” He included a photo of his head stuck through the hole of a painting of a cowboy riding a chicken, with “I was at the Murdaugh trial” written at the top.

DeSantis, Trump set to visit Iowa, ramping up 2024 moves

The Associated Press

DES MOINES, Iowa — Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis and former President Donald Trump are each headed to Iowa in the coming weeks, making their first trips of the year to the leadoff Republican voting state as the 2024 campaign ramps up.

DeSantis has scheduled events on March 10 in the eastern Iowa city of Davenport and the state capital, Des Moines, to promote his new book, “The Courage to be Free.” His plans were confirmed by two aides to Republican officials who spoke on condition of anonymity Thursday because they were not authorized to preempt DeSantis’ announcement.

Trump’s campaign subsequently announced that the former president would be making an education policy speech in Davenport on March 13, his first Iowa visit since he launched his 2024 campaign in November.

“It’s going from ground zero right to the moon,” said Gloria Mazza, the Republican party chair in Polk County, Iowa’s most populous county. “It sure gets us excited.”

Although DeSantis is not yet a candidate, his trip is a significant step for a governor who has positioned himself as a top alternative to Trump. Until now, he has largely been content to lead conservative cultural fights on cable TV and from the Florida statehouse, where he is focused on expanding

his rightward agenda in the legislative session that runs through May. The closely timed Iowa visits would draw the two leading Republicans closer toward direct

competition. Trump has escalated his attacks on DeSantis in recent months as he increasingly views him as a major threat, deriding the governor on social media and trying out insulting nicknames.

For his part, DeSantis responded to questions about one such Trump jab last month by saying he does not spend his time “trying to smear other Republicans.” Trump attended events last

month in early-voting states New Hampshire and South Carolina, and this month’s Iowa visit would be his first trip to the state as an official 2024 candidate.

He would face pressure to do well in Iowa next year, having finished in second place in the 2016 caucuses en route to the Republican presidential nomination and carrying Iowa by healthy margins in the 2016 and 2020 general elections.

After a quiet start to the year, Republican presidential prospects have been flocking to Iowa in recent weeks and making plans for future visits.

Former United Nations Ambassador Nikki Haley, who announced her candidacy last month, was in Iowa in late February and plans to return next week to host two town halls and participate in a foreign policy event with Republican Sen. Joni Ernst in Des Moines.

Former Vice President Mike Pence, who is considering a bid, was in the state last month rallying conservative parents against a gender-affirming policy in an eastern Iowa school district at issue in a federal lawsuit. Pence is expected back in Iowa on March 18.

Sen. Tim Scott of South Carolina, another likely 2024 candidate, was in the Des Moines area last week to deliver a speech at Drake University and headline a Polk County Republican Party fundraiser.

AP PHOTO

Alex Murdaugh speaks with his legal team before he is sentenced to two consecutive life sentences for the murder of his wife and son by Judge Clifton Newman at the Colleton County Courthouse on Friday, March 3, 2023 in in Walterboro, S.C.

AP PHOTO

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis speaks as he announces a proposal for Digital Bill of Rights, Feb. 15, 2023, at Palm Beach Atlantic University in West Palm Beach, Fla.

Richard Earl Cummings

November 10, 1942 ~ March 5, 2023

Mr. Richard Earl Cummings, of Raeford NC, passed away on March 05, 2023, in his home, surrounded by his family.

Richard was born in Hoke County, NC on November 10, 1942, to the late Richard and Lanties Cummings.

He was preceded in death by his son, Delbert (Zack)

Cummings, and daughter, Angela

Cummings.

Richard started his own plumbing company in 1984, which has become a family business, run by his sons. He was a student pilot and enjoyed airplanes and airshows. He loved to travel and spending time with his grandkids.

He is survived by his wife of 59 years, Pauline Peavy

Cummings; four children, David Earl Cummings (Leslie), Sharlene Cummings, Richard Earl Cummings, Brenda McKoy (Calvin); a multitude of grandchildren and greatgrandchildren; four sisters, and five brothers.

Carolyn Blue

March 6, 1955 ~ March 4, 2023

Ms. Carolyn Blue age, 67 went home to rest with her heavenly father on March 4, 2023. She was the daughter of the late Willie and Leola Blue.

Carolyn leaves to cherish her loving memories her son, Howard Lamont Blue; sisters: Brenda L. Blue, Barbara A. McMillan, Dorothy McDaniel, Wanda Faye Blue; brother, Hundo L. Blue; aunt, Eva Mae Boykin; uncle, Clifton Smith; five grandchildren, four great grandchildren along with a host of other family and friends. Caroyln will be greatly missed.

Zeb Vance Butler, Jr.

May 10, 1938 ~ February 28, 2023

Mr. Zeb Butler, Jr., of Raeford, passed away on February 28, 2023, in his home.

Zeb was born in St. Paul’s, NC on May 10, 1938, to the late Zeb, Sr. and Nettie Butler. He grew up in Hoke County and enjoyed gardening and fishing. He was a member of the Raeford Evangelical Methodist Church.

Zeb is survived by his wife of 65 years, Faye Bruce Butler; 5 children, Sammy Butler (Joan), Tammy Burton (Tracy), Bruce Butler (Nan), Ronnie Butler, and Roger Butler (Pam).

James Ely Jr.

July 14, 1947 ~ March 2, 2023

Mr. James C. Ely Jr. age, 75 went home to rest with his heavenly father on March 2, 2023. He was the son of the late James Calvin Ely Sr. and Mary Lou Ely. He leaves to cherish his loving memories his wife, Ellen Ely; children: James Calvin Ely III, Calvin Donell Ely, Cassandra Ulonda-Ely McGregor; sister, Marilyn Pelzer, four grandchildren, one great grandchild along with a host of other family and friends. James will be greatly missed.

Karen Anita (Stokes) Goulart

January 12, 1972 ~ February 26, 2023

Karen Anita Stokes Goulart, of Raeford NC, passed away on Sunday, February 26, 2023.

Karen was born in Cumberland County on January 12, 1972, to the late Billy and Leta Stokes.

She loved children and worked as a preschool teacher when she was younger. Karen often spoke of her two children being her biggest blessing in life. She was also a dog lover and volunteered with the local animal rescue. Karen struggled for many years with her health, but never gave up.

She is survived by her two children, Melissa Stokes, and Jacob Goulart; two siblings, Shelly Stokes, and Elizabeth Stokes- Kunts; two nieces, Shayla Stokes, and Regan Kunts; and one great niece, Mya Murray.

STATE & NATION

GOP senators: Computer chip money underwriting ‘woke’ agenda

The Associated Press

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Republican senators are accusing the Biden administration of using $39 billion meant to build computer chip factories to further “woke” ideas such as requiring some recipients to offer child care and encouraging the use of union labor.

The administration has countered that these elements of the funding guidelines announced Tuesday will improve the likelihood of attracting companies to build the semiconductor factories and people to work there — a key challenge that could determine the program’s success. It sees the guidelines as a starting point for working with companies to ensure value for taxpayers.

The tension is an example of the partisan mistrust that can arise in Washington even on an agenda item that lawmakers from both parties say is vital for U.S. national security. Republicans say the administration, in implementing the law, is trying to squeeze in priorities that please the Democratic base. They also argue that the guidelines will increase the cost

of constructing semiconductor plants and will poison any sense of ongoing trust.

“What President Biden is doing by jamming woke and green agenda items into legislation we pass is making it harder for him to ever get legislation passed again,” said Sen. Mitt Romney, R-Utah, who voted for the law.

But in the grand scheme, administration officials say, the guidelines can help to address two fundamental challenges to the government’s plans to transform the United States into the world leader in producing advanced computer chips: The companies need skilled labor and they need innovations that can reduce production costs.

If the investments are going to succeed, Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo has said, the companies must find and train tens of thousands of workers, from welders to electrical engineers. More importantly, the industry needs scientific breakthroughs to halve the cost of making chips so the U.S. can compete with Asia, Raimondo told The Associated Press in an interview before the guide -

lines came out.

“Innovation happens when you go to solve big fat problems like cutting the cost of chip production in half,” Raimondo said. “That’s what we have to do.”

The money for the factories comes from the CHIPS and Science Act that President Joe Biden signed into law last August. It includes $11 billion for research, in addition to the $39 billion for building advanced computer chip factories. Tax incentives bring the total investment to $52 billion.

Chips are integrated circuits that are embedded in a semiconductor, a material — notably silicon — that can manage the flow of electric current. The terms “chip” and “semiconductor” are often used interchangeably. Computer chips are used in everything from autos to toys to advanced weapons, making them as fundamental for the digital era as iron and steel were in the industrial age.

Administration officials said the factories could have an easier time attracting workers if child care is provided to parents at an “affordable” rate by companies that would receive $150 mil-

lion or more in government backing. Similarly, companies seeking the money are given a preference if they use labor agreements for construction, a boost for building trade unions. The White House, in a 2022 executive order, said that can ensure projects are completed on time.

An administration official, speaking on condition of anonymity to discuss private conversations, said no prospective applicant has complained about the child care provision. The official added that TSMC and Samsung — two possible applicants — already provide child care at their facilities in Taiwan and South Korea, respectively.

Researchers at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, a think tank focused on national security, described the child care provisions as necessary for the “fabs,” the chip industry’s term for factories.

“It is not, as some have wrongly argued, an issue of social policy,” wrote Sujai Shivakumar and Charles Wessner, both at CSIS.

There are roughly 360,000 jobs in semiconductor production, ac-

cording to the Labor Department. Announced projects tied to the possibility of government support could add 200,000 more jobs, including 36,000 directly tied to computer chips, according to a report by the Semiconductor Industry Association.

That same report noted that the U.S. leads in terms of designing chips and the equipment to manufacture them. But more than 70% of the chips produced globally come from China, Japan, Taiwan and South Korea — an economic and military weakness for the U.S.

Sen. Thom Tillis, R-N.C., said the mandates for accessing government support would raise the cost of completing the factories planned by Intel, Micron and Wolfspeed, which plans to make silicon wafers in his state.

“What we’re beginning to do is discount the value of the investment that we’re making,” Tillis said. “I think that what we’re doing is social engineering.”

Raimondo, when asked if the law could get tripped up by politics, said: “You always worry. Washington’s unpredictable. And politics is crazy.”

Federal Reserve officials sound warnings about higher rates

The Associated Press A RUN OF STRONG economic data and signs that inflation remains stubbornly high could lead the Federal Reserve to raise its benchmark rate higher in the coming months than it has previously forecast, several Fed officials say.

Christopher Waller, a member of the Fed’s influential Board of Governors, said last week that if the economy continued to show strength and inflation remained elevated, the central bank would have to lift its key rate above 5.4%. That would be higher than Fed officials had signaled in December, when they projected it would peak at roughly 5.1% this year.

“Recent data suggest that consumer spending isn’t slowing that much, that the labor market continues to run unsustainably hot and that inflation is not coming down as fast as I had thought,” Waller said in prepared remarks for a business conference in Los Angeles.

His suggestion was in contrast to a speech he gave in January, titled “A Case for Cautious Optimism,” that captured a prevailing sentiment at the time that inflation had peaked and was steadily declining.

Even if data to be released later this month were to show hiring and inflation cooling again, Waller said, he would still favor raising the Fed’s rate to a range between 5% to 5.5%, up from about 4.6% now. And if the economic figures were to “contin-

MEDICAID from page 1

weeks and led to an agreement finalized late Wednesday, the legislators said. The North Carolina Healthcare Association, representing hospitals and health systems, commended legislators for Thursday’s agreement. The group backs certificate of need laws but offered some ways

ue to come in too hot,” he said, the Fed’s key rate “will have to be raised this year even more to ensure that we do not lose the momentum that was in place” before the robust January economic reports.

Over the past year, the Fed has raised short-term rates at the fastest pace in four decades to try to curb the worst inflation since the early 1980s. Those hikes have led to higher rates across the economy: Mortgage rates have nearly doubled, to 6.7%, and auto loans, credit card borrowing and business loans

to scale them back in negotiations last year.

“Expanding Medicaid will improve the health of our people, our economy and our entire health care system,” said Abby Emanuelson, executive director of Care4Carolina, a coalition of over 165 groups that has worked for expansion since 2014. For years, Republicans in charge

have become more expensive.

The Fed’s goal is to cool the economy by raising the cost of borrowing and slowing business and consumer spending. More modest growth would likely help slow inflation to the Fed’s 2% target. Fed officials next meet March 21-22, when they are expected to raise their key rate by a quarter-point to about 4.9%.

In recent weeks, several reports suggested that the economy was stronger and inflation more persistent than previous data had in-

of the General Assembly since 2011 had been suspicious of expansion, even passing a 2013 law to block the executive branch from trying to accept expansion on its own. But GOP lawmakers slowly came around as the Affordable Care Act and the 90% federal share didn’t get repealed by Congress, diminishing worries that state government would have to foot ever

In this Feb. 5, 2018, file photo, the seal of the Board of Governors of the United States Federal Reserve System is displayed in the ground at the Marriner S. Eccles Federal Reserve Board Building in Washington, D.C.

dicated. The economy gained an enormous total of more than half a million jobs in January, and the unemployment rate reached a 53-year low of 3.4%.

Inflation data was also revised higher and came in hotter than expected in January. Waller noted that for the final three months of last year, core inflation — which excludes the volatile food and energy categories — was revised up from an annual rate of 3.1% to 4.3%. It then rose to 4.6% in January.

“Although inflation has been

more of the costs. And local Republican county leaders endorsed expansion.

A turning point came last spring when Berger explained his switch to supporting it, adding at the time: “If there’s a person in the state of North Carolina that has spoken out against Medicaid expansion more than I have, I’d like to meet that person.”

coming down since the middle of last year,” Waller said, “the recent data indicate that we haven’t made as much progress as we thought.”

Other Fed officials have also expressed unease about the reports showing higher inflation and hotter growth. Neel Kashkari, president of the Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis, recently said, “I lean towards continuing to raise further.”

“These are concerning data points, suggesting that we’re not making progress as quickly as we would like,” Kashkari said.

And last Thursday, Raphael Bostic, president of the Atlanta Fed, said he supports pushing rates to about 5.1% in the coming months, the same as projected in December. He added that the Fed’s rate hikes may not start to bite until this summer, so the Fed needs to be cautious about tightening credit too far and causing a recession.

Yet Bostic also added, “There is a case to be made that we need to go higher.”

“Jobs have come in stronger than we expected,” Bostic said. “Inflation is remaining stubborn at elevated levels. Consumer spending is strong. Labor markets remain quite tight.”

Loretta Mester, president of the Cleveland Fed, told Bloomberg News that the Fed “needs to do a little more” to raise rates and to keep them elevated for an extended period.

North Carolina currently has 2.9 million Medicaid recipients. The state Department of Health and Human Services has said up to 300,000 current beneficiaries could lose full coverage as states soon must conduct annual eligibility verifications again following the COVID-19 pandemic. Many being removed would requalify through Medicaid expansion, DHHS said.

RJ Reynolds High School gets teaching garden grant

Forsyth County

The American Heart Association awarded 50 communities around the country with $2,500 grants to help expand their hands-on nutrition education programs with a teaching garden. The fund will help create a garden on school grounds to provide healthy fruits and vegetables for lunches and snacks as well as being a teaching tool. The Heart Association said that the helps ” turn the outdoors into a classroom with an interactive nutrition curriculum to help kids make healthy food choices and build positive, lifelong nutrition habits.”

Winston-Salem’s RJ Reynolds High School PTSA was one of two recipients of a grant in North Carolina.

More than 250 communities applied for the Teaching Garden grants this year, the third year of the program. The Heart Association partnered with Caulipower, a producer of plantpowered food items, to provide the grants.

According to studies, children and teens have less than one serving of fruits and vegetables a day, on average, which puts them at higher risk for developing cardiovascular problems, childhood diabetes and high blood pressure.

Asheville’s Eliada Homes, a non-profit agency serving children and families in Western North Carolina, also received a $2,500 Teaching Garden grant.

HEART.ORG

Annual audit report presented before Board of Commissioners

Resolution to create and staff new animal services department officially approved

By Ryan Henkel North State Journal

WINSTON-SALEM — The Forsyth County Board of Commissioners met Thursday, February 16 with the annual audit report and various budgetary items on the agenda. The meeting started with a presentation of the annual audit report.

“In terms of the financial statements in our government auditing standards report, we issued an unmodified opinion, which is the clean opinion and the highest level opinion that we can give under our auditing standards,” said Engagement Director Daniel Gougherty of Cherry Bekaert LLP, who performed the audit. “In terms of our compliance audit, that is still in the process of being completed and should be completed shortly. We did have nine programs this year from federal and state dollars that needed to be tested and there’s one program that we’re still finishing up. But we intend

Area schools trail state, nation in reading and math

Many parents not aware of children’s struggles at school

The Associated Press HUGE NUMBERS of American schoolchildren are behind in school. Yet the vast majority of parents think their own child is performing at grade level.

The disconnect is not new, but after the COVID-19 school closures, the stakes for children have in many ways never been greater. Opportunities to catch up are available in some places, thanks to federal pandemic aid, but will likely dry up in the coming years.

It will take better communication with parents to help students get the tutoring, summer school and other support they need, experts say.

Schools have long struggled to communicate clearly with some parents about their children’s academic progress, especially when students aren’t doing well. That’s because teachers have historically not been trained to talk to parents and don’t feel supported by their principals to have difficult conversations with parents, experts say.

A 2022 survey of 1,400 public school parents around the country by Learning Heroes, a nonprofit, showed 92% believed their children were performing at grade level. But in a federal survey, school officials said half of all U.S. students started this school year behind grade level in at least one subject.

Things are even more dire in North Carolina, which saw a big drop in performance at grade level in reading and math from pre-pandemic levels. In 2019, a year before COVID-19 forced an interruption in the school year, North Carolina students were actually performing ahead of grade level, on average, in both reading an math. Scores showed that students were nearly a quarter of a year ahead of schedule at the time. Now, students are nearly half a year behind pace in math and a third of a year behind in reading. That translates to a drop of 0.71 grade levels in math over the last three years and of 0.53 grade levels in reading.

Black and Hispanic students saw a bigger drop than white students, but everyone fell behind grade level, based on the

to issue an unmodified opinion on those reports..” Following the audit report, the board approved various items, starting with the 2022 Capital Maintenance 2/3rds Bonds Capital Projects Ordinances.

“This has three parts,” said County Manager Dudley Watts.

“There’s $4 million for the county, $2 million for parts and $2 million for general services, the regular routine that’s performed every other year through these bond funds. The school’s component of it’s $10,235,000. And the community college’s portion of it is $2,300,000. These bonds will be

Deacs fall in ACC

Hexes from the Demon Deacon mascot didn’t help, as the Wake Forest women’s basketball team fell in the ACC Tournament quarterfinals in Greensboro last week. The Deacs earned a spot in the quarters by beating Virginia and coming back from 18 points down to upset Florida State. Wake now awaits a possible bid to the Women’s NIT to continue their season.

issued later this fiscal year.”

The board also approved an amendment to the 2016 Forsyth Technical Community College Capital Projects Ordinance to align project costs.

“This aligns the project cost and so the item actually takes $32,500,000 out of reserved bond funds that were issued in subsequent years,” Watts said. “They are allocated to the Oak Grove project at $11.5 million, to the Learning Commons at $18,198,839 and to the Transportation Center at the amount of $2,801,161.”

The board approved three budget amendments, including $6,300 from the general fund to the Pay-Go Capital Project Ordinance to purchase security cameras at the recycling centers, $143,283 from the 2020 Motor Vehicles Mobile Equipment Re-

See COMMISSIONERS, page 2

Republican legislators reach Medicaid expansion deal

The Associated Press RALEIGH — North Carolina legislative leaders announced last Thursday an agreement to expand Medicaid to hundreds of thousands of additional low-income adults through the Affordable Care Act. The deal, which likely won’t be voted on until later this month at the earliest, marks a milestone for Republican lawmakers, most of whom opposed expansion for a decade until recently.

North Carolina has been one of 11 states that has not adopted Medicaid expansion. If the deal goes through, the state would start providing expansion coverage to people starting next January.

“This is something that we can all be very proud of,” House Speaker Tim Moore said at a Legislative Building news conference with Senate Leader Phil Berger. “What a huge announcement this is for North Carolina. What a huge policy direction this is that will provide help for so many in this state, but it’s going to do it in a way that’s fiscally responsible.” Expansion gained momentum last year when the GOP-controlled state House and Senate approved, with strong bipartisan support, competing legislation

addressing it, but they failed to reach a deal. The key differences stemmed around other initiatives Senate Republicans insisted were needed to increase the number of medical providers to

See MEDICAID, page 2

3.8.23 #237

COLUMN | BEN SHAPIRO

The greatest cover-up in human history

FIRST, IT WAS SUPPOSEDLY a conspiracy theory.

Then, it was banned.

Finally, it was true.

The so-called “lab leak” theory of the origins of COVID-19 — the theory that COVID-19 originated in at the Wuhan Institute of Virology and then was unintentionally loosed — was always the most probable explanation for the outbreak of the deadly virus. After all, as Jon Stewart correctly joked in 2021, “’Oh, my God, there’s a novel respiratory coronavirus overtaking Wuhan, China. What do we do?’ ‘Oh, you know who we could ask? The Wuhan novel respiratory coronavirus lab.’ The disease is the same name as the lab. That’s just a little too weird, don’t you think?”

DEATH NOTICES

♦ Ronald Alan Bartlett, 95, of Winston-Salem, died March 2, 2023.

♦ Virginia Stewart Bodsford, 89, of Lewisville, died March 2, 2023.

♦ Diane Buie Crichlow, 84, of Winston-Salem, died March 5, 2023.

♦ Alicia Michelle Pope Dye, 43, of Rowan County, died March 2, 2023.

♦ Stanley Eugene “Gene” Elmore, 83, of WinstonSalem, died March 1, 2023.

♦ Kenneth William Fahrbach, 96, of Winston-Salem, died March 3, 2023.

♦ Lavell Howard, 90, of Clemmons, died March 5, 2023.

♦ Luther Byrd Lott, 83, of Winston-Salem, died March 2, 2023.

♦ Richard Arthur Martin, 60, died March 1, 2023.

♦ Lindsey Pleban Miller, 40, of Winston-Salem, died March 2, 2023.

♦ Thomas Dorian Nelson, 45, died March 4, 2023.

♦ Harley “Bill” Lester Pennington, 91, of Lewisville, died March 3, 2023.

♦ Lenore Grace Warak Rohrer, 98, died March 4, 2023.

♦ Ian Charles Romaine, 8, died March 4, 2023.

♦ Henry Charles Sappington, 78, of Winston-Salem, died March

SCHOOLS from page 1

latest data. Hisptanic students fell 0.89 grade levels, Blacks fell 0.86 and whites fell 0.66.

Area students trailed the rest of the state in the measures.

In Forsyth County/Winston-Salem schools, students fell 0.99 grade levels in math over the pandemic, starting at -.32 levels behind and finishing 1.31 grade levels off the pace. In reading, scores fell even more as students fell 1.07 grade levels, from 0.21 behind schedule to 1.28.

Again, Black and Hispanic students fell more than white students, and poor students saw bigger drops than nonpoor students, but every race and income level saw drops in performance over the three years that spanned the pandemic.

But for well over a year, it was considered verboten to mention the lab leak theory. When Senator Tom Cotton, R-Ark., posited the possibility of a lab leak in February 2020, he was roundly mocked by the media. The New York Times headlined, “Senator Tom Cotton Repeats Fringe Theory of Coronavirus Origins.” Scientific American headlined — in March 2022! — “The Lab-Leak Hypothesis Made It Harder for Scientists to Seek the Truth.” Facebook actively quashed attempts to disseminate the theory; Dr. Anthony Fauci went on national television and downplayed the theory.

Why?

Two reasons are obvious. The first: powerful institutions had a stake in downplaying the Chinese origins of the virus in order to shift blame to the rest of the world. Certainly, that was China’s game: In all likelihood, COVID-19 was spreading in China as early as October 2019, and the government covered it up for months. But that was also the game of the World Health Organization. Members of the American government like Fauci also had a stake in smothering questions about American funding for gain-offunction research in Wuhan.

Then there’s the second reason: all the wrong people were repeating the lab leak theory. As one of MSNBC’s resident hacks, Mehdi Hasan, admitted on Twitter, “The simple reason why so many people weren’t keen to discuss the ‘lab leak’ theory is because it was originally conflated by the right with ‘Chinese bio weapon’ conspiracies and continues to be conflated by the right with anti-Fauci conspiracies. Blame the conspiracy theorists.” As Nate Silver

correctly noted, “The Bad People thought the lab leak might be true, therefore as journalists we couldn’t be expected to actually evaluate the evidence for it.”

Herein lies a lesson: A huge number of people have decided that there are a cadre of people who are so vile that any opinion they touch is immediately toxified beyond investigation. Claims are not to be evaluated on their own merits; instead, we can simply determine whether a claim ought to be supported based on those who posit it. This helps to explain why political crossover has become nearly impossible: We’re not judging the claims of our opponents; we’re judging each other. And this means that we can discard any argument simply by dint of the fact that we don’t like the person offering it.

Among members of the general population, this is a problem, but not a fundamental one. But among those who pose as “experts” — the people who are supposed to serve as guides for people who outsource their political information, from media to scientific institutions — it’s a fatal error. After all, experts are supposed to be impartial adjudicators of the evidence. That’s their entire job. We can evaluate on our own who we don’t like — but we often need help to determine whether an argument has merit or not. When experts become “just like us,” they undermine their raison d’etre.

And that’s precisely what happened with COVID-19. Whether it was ignoring the actual evidence regarding masks and mask mandates, the evidence regarding post-vaccination transmissibility or the evidence regarding the lab leak theory, experts decided that the (SET ITAL) wrong people (END ITAL) had to be ignored. But they were wrong. And now they have no credibility left.

Ben Shapiro, 38, is a graduate of UCLA and Harvard Law School, host of “The Ben Shapiro Show,” and co-founder of Daily Wire+. He is a threetime New York Times bestselling author; his latest book is The Authoritarian Moment: How The Left Weaponized America’s Institutions Against Dissent. Ben Shapiro, 38, is a graduate of UCLA and Harvard Law School, host of “The Ben Shapiro Show,” and co-founder of Daily Wire+. He is a three-time New York Times bestselling author; his latest book is The Authoritarian Moment: How The Left Weaponized America’s Institutions Against Dissent.

cover the additional enrollees.

Under the new agreement, senators obtained the loosening or elimination of “certificate of need” laws that require health regulators to sign off on plans to offer hospital beds for mental health and substance abuse patients, build ambulatory surgery centers or purchase MRI machines. But their demand that advanced-practice nurses be able to treat patients without a doctor’s supervision was left out.

“There are still some things that need to be done, but this is our agreement and I’m very comfortable with it,” Berger said.

The negotiated measure, built in part on an expansion measure approved overwhelmingly by the House two weeks ago, was still being drawn up and will need affirmative votes in both chambers.

The federal government covers 90% of the cost of Medicaid recipients under expansion. Potentially 600,000 people in North Carolina could receive the benefit — those who make too much to qualify for conventional Medicaid but not enough to receive heavily subsi-

COMMISSIONERS from page 1

MEDICAID from page 1 placement Projects Ordinance to the general fund to purchase non-capitalized equipment to upfit emergency vehicles and $121,850 from reserved Behavioral Health Services fund balance for repairs and updates to Sturmer House property to provide a 24-hour residential facility for qualifying youth in DSS custody. The board also approved a resolution to create and staff a new animal services department for custody and care services at Forsyth County Animal Shelter with a half-year budget in the amount of $664,345. The board then approved the ac-

dized health insurance that President Barack Obama’s signature 2010 law provides.

Under the agreement, the state’s 10% share would be paid through assessments paid by hospitals, which in turn benefit from getting reimbursed as they cover patients with Medicaid.

Officials say the state also would get an extra $1.8 billion over two years through a financial sweetener in a COVID-19 federal relief package from Congress for states that hadn’t accepted expansion.

And the package will include provisions that would result in higher reimbursements for hospital systems when they treat Medicaid patients — resulting in at least $3.2 billion in reimbursements during the next fiscal year for traditional Medicaid patients alone. That should help rural areas, where hospitals have closed or are in danger of closing.

Democratic North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper, who has sought expansion since taking office in 2017, would be asked to sign any final measure into law. He tweeted that the agreement “is a monumental step that will save lives”

ceptance of two grants, one from the NC Department of Commerce for $2.4 million for a water and sewer infrastructure project in Tanglewood Business Park and a $72,000 One NC grant from the NC Department of Commerce to Nelipak Corporation that Forsyth County will act as the intermediary for.

The board also approved five ARPA funded projects including $601,898 to purchase a new HVAC system and resurface the facility playground at ABC of NC CHild Development Center, $150,000 for Piedmont Triad Regional Council to conduct research to address the crisis in I/DD housing and Wraparound services, $1 million to re-

but wants it effective immediately to tap into more federal funds, making “sure we leverage the money that will save our rural hospitals and invest in mental health.”

Even if the law is approved this spring, Moore and Berger said it wouldn’t be effective until a separate state budget is enacted, likely by the early summer.

Cooper wasn’t involved in recent negotiations that lasted about four weeks and led to an agreement finalized late Wednesday, the legislators said.

The North Carolina Healthcare Association, representing hospitals and health systems, commended legislators for Thursday’s agreement. The group backs certificate of need laws but offered some ways to scale them back in negotiations last year.

“Expanding Medicaid will improve the health of our people, our economy and our entire health care system,” said Abby Emanuelson, executive director of Care4Carolina, a coalition of over 165 groups that has worked for expansion since 2014.

For years, Republicans in charge of the General Assembly

place the HVAC system and add air filtration technologies at Hospice & Palliative Carecenter DBA Trellis Supportive Care to transition to a non-congregate setting for patients, $568,450 to Children’s Home Society of NC to open a Child First program, and $1.9 million to Horizons Residential Care Center for homes for clients with intellectual and developmental disabilities.

“[The Horizons Residential Care Center funding] will purchase the construction of two, free-standing residential units housing six patients each at that campus,” Watts said In terms of contracts, the board authorized a $94,842.09 agree-

since 2011 had been suspicious of expansion, even passing a 2013 law to block the executive branch from trying to accept expansion on its own.

But GOP lawmakers slowly came around as the Affordable Care Act and the 90% federal share didn’t get repealed by Congress, diminishing worries that state government would have to foot ever more of the costs. And local Republican county leaders endorsed expansion.

A turning point came last spring when Berger explained his switch to supporting it, adding at the time: “If there’s a person in the state of North Carolina that has spoken out against Medicaid expansion more than I have, I’d like to meet that person.”

North Carolina currently has 2.9 million Medicaid recipients. The state Department of Health and Human Services has said up to 300,000 current beneficiaries could lose full coverage as states soon must conduct annual eligibility verifications again following the COVID-19 pandemic. Many being removed would requalify through Medicaid expansion, DHHS said.

ment with West Chatham Warning Devices, Inc. to purchase equipment to upfit Ford Interceptors, a $85,000 agreement with Teledyne API to procure air pollution monitoring equipment, and a $621,700.50 agreement with Microsoft for management information services for three-years.

Finally, the board approved two property matters, including a lease agreement with Partners Health Management for county owned property located at 741 Highland Avenue and a revised contract with Ivy Lane to purchase real property at 7212 Doral Drive.

The Forsyth County Board of Commissioners will next meet March 2.

“Join the conversation”

A huge number of people have decided that there are a cadre of people who are so vile that any opinion they touch is immediately toxified beyond investigation.

SIDELINE REPORT

COLLEGE BASKETBALL

Duke men return to AP Top 25

Indianapolis

Duke returned to The Associated Press men’s basketball poll for the first time since falling out in mid-January after opening the year at No. 7. First-year coach Jon Scheyer has led the Blue Devils (23-8) to six straight wins to close out the regular season, including Saturday’s win at North Carolina for a rivalry sweep that wounded UNC’s iffy NCAA Tournament hopes. Duke was last ranked in the Jan. 9 poll. Houston remained No. 1, followed by UCLA, Kansas, Alabama and Purdue.

NFL Seahawks, QB Smith agree on 3-year deal

Renton, Wash.

The Seahawks have agreed to terms with quarterback Geno Smith on a three-year contract that keeps the AP comeback player of the year in the Pacific Northwest. NFL Network and The Score reported the deal could be worth up to $105 million. Smith led the Seahawks to a 9-8 record and a playoff berth as the last wild card in the NFC. He threw for a career-high 4,282 yards, setting a franchise record, with 30 touchdown passes and just 11 interceptions, completed 399 passes and led the NFL in completion percentage at 69.8%.

COLLEGE FOOTBALL

Iowa settles race bias lawsuit using taxpayer money

Iowa City, Iowa Iowa taxpayers are on the hook for half of a $4 million settlement in the lawsuit brought by former Iowa football players who alleged racial discrimination in coach Kirk Ferentz’s program. A State Appeal Board voted 2-1 on Monday to approve the use of $2 million for the $4.175 million settlement over the objection of State Auditor Rob Sand, a board member who said athletic director Gary Barta should be fired for a series of lawsuits ending in settlements under his watch. The agreement calls for $2.85 million to be divided among 12 players and $1.9 million to go to Solomon-Simmons Law for fees and expenses.

COLLEGE HOCKEY

Wisconsin fires Granato as men’s hockey coach

Madison, Wis.

Wisconsin fired Tony Granato as men’s hockey coach on Monday after a second straight losing season. Granato posted a 105-129-16 overall mark and 65-87-2 Big Ten record during his seven seasons. Wisconsin ended a 13-23 season Saturday, losing to Michigan in the Big Ten quarterfinals. Granato played at Wisconsin from 1983-87 before spending 13 seasons as an NHL player and 13 more as either an NHL head or assistant coach. He still ranks third in school history in career goals and fourth in points. But he couldn’t make Wisconsin a consistent winner after returning to his alma mater as head coach.

Virginia Tech beats Louisville for 1st ACC women’s title

The Hokies have won 11 straight entering the NCAA Tournament

The Associated Press

GREENSBORO — Kenny Brooks walked over to an endzone section of Virginia Tech fans and gave a fist-pumping release as his players climbed steps to cut down a piece of the net.

A few minutes later, Brooks was up there himself, snipping down the final strand hanging from the rim before turning to Hokies fans and leading a “Let’s go Hokies!” chant.

The moment had finally arrived for Brooks and his eighthranked Hokies, who continued their late-season tear by beating Louisville 75-67 on Sunday to win

the program’s first Atlantic Coast Conference Tournament title.

“Unbelievable, unbelievable,” Brooks said on the court as his players celebrated around him.

It came with another strong scoring effort from Georgia Amoore, who scored 25 points and earned tournament MVP honors for the third-seeded Hokies (27-4).

There was two-time league player of the year Elizabeth Kitley adding another 20 points in her role as the inside constant. And there was Taylor Soule, emerging from a scoreless first half to provide the third-quarter lift that helped keep the Hokies on course for their 11th straight win.

Virginia Tech’s first trip to the ACC title game into a strong finishing act, pushing to a double-digit lead before halftime and keeping the Cardinals at arm’s

distance the rest of the way. And that capped a three-game run in Greensboro in which the Hokies trailed for a total of 3 minutes, 15 seconds — all in the first quarter of Sunday’s game.

“I think all of us knew we were going to win,” Kitley said. “From the start of the tournament, we’ve been talking about it. Obviously we’ve been taking it day by day, game by game. But definitely throughout the game we all knew

that we had it and we didn’t lose our cool, even when they were hitting big shots.”

Before Sunday, the Hokies had been as far as the ACC semifinals only once since joining the league for the 2004-05 season — and that came last year. Now they’re celebrating a milestone victory under Brooks, who has built this program to the top of the league in Year 7.

When the horn finally sounded, Kitley and Kayana Traylor skipped to midcourt to meet the rushing mob of players and coaches from the Hokies sideline headed for a midcourt celebration as the streamers and confetti dropped from the Greensboro Coliseum rafters.Louisville made its closest push in the frantic final seconds to within 73-67 on Merissah Russell’s 3-pointer with 28 seconds left. But Kitley hit two critical free throws with 15.1 seconds to go that pushed the lead back to eight for what turned out to be the final margin. This was the Cardinals’ fourth finals appearance, the first being a title win in 2018 followed by losses to Notre Dame in 2019 and North Carolina State on a late basket in

Byron wins at Las Vegas as Hendrick dominates

The team finished 1-2-3 despite being minus Chase Elliott

The Associated Press LAS VEGAS — One way or another, a Hendrick Motorsports driver figured to win Sunday’s NASCAR Cup Series race at Las Vegas.

Kyle Larson nearly won the Pennzoil 400 in regulation, but a late caution put teammate William Byron in position to capture the checkered flag in overtime.

Byron took the lead on the penultimate lap of OT to put an exclamation mark on a dominant day for Hendrick. The top three drivers were from Hendrick, with Byron, Larson and Alex Bowman pushing their Chevrolets across the finish line in that order.

Bowman won last year’s March race at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.

Byron led 176 laps and won for the fifth time in his six Cup seasons.

“I’ve led a lot of laps in a couple of races, but to be this good with this team is definitely a good sign,” Byron said. “It’s a different feeling for me having a team around me that can execute that well. That’s just a team effort.”

Larson appeared headed for victory when when Aric Almirola hit the wall in turn four on lap No. 264, leading to the second caution of the day.

“I feel like I could have eight or 10 more Cup wins if it wasn’t for cautions in the last five laps,” Larson said. “I don’t remember many

of those working out in my favor.”

Most of the leaders pitted a lap later, with only Martin Truex Jr. in his Joe Gibbs Racing No. 19 Toyota choosing to stay out. Byron, in the No. 24 Chevy, came out of pit road ahead of Larson and then easily overtook Truex after the restart.

Byron, who started in the first row with Joey Logano, swept both stages for the first time in his career. Truex in 2017 and Kevin Harvick in 2018 also won both stages in Las Vegas and went on to win.

The fourth Hendrick driver and 2020 Cup Series champion, Chase Elliott, will begin physical therapy Monday, his team owner Rick

Hendrick told Fox Sports.

Elliott had surgery Friday to repair a fractured tibia, and Hendrick said Elliott has returned to his home in Dawsonville, Georgia. Elliott was injured in a snowboarding accident Friday. He and his family own a home in Vail, Colorado.

Elliott joked on Twitter “that the formal request I submitted for a slight edit to the March section of my script was indeed… declined.”

“In all seriousness, the support I’ve received over the last couple of days is far greater than I deserve,” he posted in a follow-up tweet. “I want to thank everyone who has

lended it over in any form!”

Josh Berry took Elliott’s seat in the No. 9 Chevy and finished 29th. Hendrick general manager Jeff Andrews said a decision would be made on who drives that car next weekend at Phoenix.

Bubba Wallace, who drives the 23XI Racing No. 23 Toyota, finished fourth. He was the top finisher not part of the Hendrick garage.

“It was right there in the top seven or eight the whole time,” Wallace said. “I was going to settle for sixth and the caution came out. My car fired off really, really good (on the restart), the best it had all race.”

AP PHOTO

Virginia Tech forward Taylor Soule celebrates before cutting a piece of the net after the Hokies defeated Louisville to win the ACC Women’s Tournament on Sunday in Greensboro.

AP PHOTO

William Byron celebrates with his team after winning Sunday’s NASCAR Cup Series race at Las Vegas.

“I think all of us knew we were going to win.”

Elizabeth Kitley, Virginia Tech center

STATE & NATION

GOP senators: Computer chip money underwriting ‘woke’ agenda

The Associated Press

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Republican senators are accusing the Biden administration of using $39 billion meant to build computer chip factories to further “woke” ideas such as requiring some recipients to offer child care and encouraging the use of union labor.

The administration has countered that these elements of the funding guidelines announced Tuesday will improve the likelihood of attracting companies to build the semiconductor factories and people to work there — a key challenge that could determine the program’s success. It sees the guidelines as a starting point for working with companies to ensure value for taxpayers.

The tension is an example of the partisan mistrust that can arise in Washington even on an agenda item that lawmakers from both parties say is vital for U.S. national security. Republicans say the administration, in implementing the law, is trying to squeeze in priorities that please the Democratic base. They also argue that the guidelines will increase the cost of constructing semiconductor plants and will poison any sense of ongoing trust.

“What President Biden is doing by jamming woke and green agenda items into legislation we pass is making it harder for him to ever get legislation passed again,” said Sen. Mitt Romney, R-Utah, who voted for the law.

But in the grand scheme, administration officials say, the guidelines can help to address two fundamental challenges to the government’s plans to transform the United States into the world leader in producing advanced computer chips: The companies need skilled labor and they need innovations that can reduce production costs.

If the investments are going to succeed, Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo has said, the companies must find and train tens of thousands of workers, from welders to electrical engineers. More importantly, the industry needs scientific breakthroughs to halve the cost of making chips so the U.S. can compete with Asia, Raimondo told The Associated Press in an interview before the guidelines came out.

“Innovation happens when you go to solve big fat problems like cutting the cost of chip production in half,” Raimondo said. “That’s what we have to do.”

The money for the factories

comes from the CHIPS and Science Act that President Joe Biden signed into law last August. It includes $11 billion for research, in addition to the $39 billion for building advanced computer chip factories. Tax incentives bring the total investment to $52 billion.

Chips are integrated circuits that are embedded in a semiconductor, a material — notably silicon — that can manage the flow of electric current. The terms “chip” and “semiconductor” are often used interchangeably. Computer chips are used in everything from autos to toys to advanced weapons, making them as fundamental for the digital era as iron and steel

were in the industrial age.

Administration officials said the factories could have an easier time attracting workers if child care is provided to parents at an “affordable” rate by companies that would receive $150 million or more in government backing. Similarly, companies seeking the money are given a preference if they use labor agreements for construction, a boost for building trade unions. The White House, in a 2022 executive order, said that can ensure projects are completed on time.

An administration official, speaking on condition of anonymity to discuss private conver-

Federal Reserve officials sound warnings about higher rates

The Associated Press

A run of strong economic data and signs that inflation remains stubbornly high could lead the Federal Reserve to raise its benchmark rate higher in the coming months than it has previously forecast, several Fed officials say.

Christopher Waller, a member of the Fed’s influential Board of Governors, said last week that if the economy continued to show strength and inflation remained elevated, the central bank would have to lift its key rate above 5.4%. That would be higher than Fed officials had signaled in December, when they projected it would peak at roughly 5.1% this year.

“Recent data suggest that consumer spending isn’t slowing that much, that the labor market continues to run unsustainably hot and that inflation is not coming down as fast as I had thought,” Waller said in prepared remarks for a business conference in Los Angeles.

His suggestion was in contrast to a speech he gave in January, titled “A Case for Cautious Optimism,” that captured a prevailing sentiment at the time that inflation had peaked and was steadily declining. Even if data to be released lat-

er this month were to show hiring and inflation cooling again, Waller said, he would still favor raising the Fed’s rate to a range between 5% to 5.5%, up from about 4.6% now. And if the economic figures were to “continue to come in too hot,” he said, the Fed’s key rate “will have to be raised this year

even more to ensure that we do not lose the momentum that was in place” before the robust January economic reports. Over the past year, the Fed has raised short-term rates at the fastest pace in four decades to try to curb the worst inflation since the early 1980s. Those hikes have led

to higher rates across the economy: Mortgage rates have nearly doubled, to 6.7%, and auto loans, credit card borrowing and business loans have become more expensive. The Fed’s goal is to cool the economy by raising the cost of borrowing and slowing business and consumer spending. More modest growth would likely help slow inflation to the Fed’s 2% target. Fed officials next meet March 21-22, when they are expected to raise their key rate by a quarter-point to about 4.9%.

In recent weeks, several reports suggested that the economy was stronger and inflation more persistent than previous data had indicated. The economy gained an enormous total of more than half a million jobs in January, and the unemployment rate reached a 53year low of 3.4%.

Inflation data was also revised higher and came in hotter than expected in January. Waller noted that for the final three months of last year, core inflation — which excludes the volatile food and energy categories — was revised up from an annual rate of 3.1% to 4.3%. It then rose to 4.6% in January.

“Although inflation has been coming down since the middle of

sations, said no prospective applicant has complained about the child care provision. The official added that TSMC and Samsung — two possible applicants — already provide child care at their facilities in Taiwan and South Korea, respectively.

Researchers at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, a think tank focused on national security, described the child care provisions as necessary for the “fabs,” the chip industry’s term for factories.

“It is not, as some have wrongly argued, an issue of social policy,” wrote Sujai Shivakumar and Charles Wessner, both at CSIS.

There are roughly 360,000 jobs in semiconductor production, according to the Labor Department. Announced projects tied to the possibility of government support could add 200,000 more jobs, including 36,000 directly tied to computer chips, according to a report by the Semiconductor Industry Association.

That same report noted that the U.S. leads in terms of designing chips and the equipment to manufacture them. But more than 70% of the chips produced globally come from China, Japan, Taiwan and South Korea — an economic and military weakness for the U.S.

Sen. Thom Tillis, R-N.C., said the mandates for accessing government support would raise the cost of completing the factories planned by Intel, Micron and Wolfspeed, which plans to make silicon wafers in his state.

“What we’re beginning to do is discount the value of the investment that we’re making,” Tillis said. “I think that what we’re doing is social engineering.”

Raimondo, when asked if the law could get tripped up by politics, said: “You always worry. Washington’s unpredictable. And politics is crazy.”

last year,” Waller said, “the recent data indicate that we haven’t made as much progress as we thought.”

Other Fed officials have also expressed unease about the reports showing higher inflation and hotter growth. Neel Kashkari, president of the Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis, recently said, “I lean towards continuing to raise further.”

“These are concerning data points, suggesting that we’re not making progress as quickly as we would like,” Kashkari said.

And last Thursday, Raphael Bostic, president of the Atlanta Fed, said he supports pushing rates to about 5.1% in the coming months, the same as projected in December. He added that the Fed’s rate hikes may not start to bite until this summer, so the Fed needs to be cautious about tightening credit too far and causing a recession.

Yet Bostic also added, “There is a case to be made that we need to go higher.”

“Jobs have come in stronger than we expected,” Bostic said. “Inflation is remaining stubborn at elevated levels. Consumer spending is strong. Labor markets remain quite tight.”

Loretta Mester, president of the Cleveland Fed, told Bloomberg News that the Fed “needs to do a little more” to raise rates and to keep them elevated for an extended period.

AP PHOTO

President Joe Biden speaks during an event to support legislation that would encourage domestic manufacturing and strengthen supply chains for computer chips in the South Court Auditorium on the White House campus, March 9, 2022, in Washington, D.C.

AP PHOTO, FILE

In this Feb. 5, 2018, file photo, the seal of the Board of Governors of the United States Federal Reserve System is displayed in the ground at the Marriner S. Eccles Federal Reserve Board Building in Washington, D.C.

MOORE COUNTY

FirstHealth Moore Regional Hospital

ranked as one of the state’s best hospitals

FirstHealth Moore Regional Hospital, including its Hoke and Richmond campuses, has again been recognized as one of the state’s best hospitals and as a top hospital in patient satisfaction by Business North Carolina magazine.

Moore Regional ranked No. 3 in the “best hospital” ranking and No. 2 in the “patient picks” list. “We are thrilled to again be recognized by Business North Carolina magazine as one of the best hospitals in North Carolina and as a top hospital for patient satisfaction,” said Mickey W. Foster, MHA, chief executive officer for FirstHealth of the Carolinas. The success of our health system is built on the tremendous efforts of our exceptional employees, providers, and volunteers. FirstHealth ranks among the very best because we have the very best team –one whose dedication to our core purpose, “To Care for People,” never wavers, even in the face of incredible challenges. We are extremely proud of the team’s accomplishment.”

The Best Hospitals list uses a calculation of more than 25 healthcare metrics, including data from the U.S. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, patient satisfaction surveys, infections, readmissions, and mortality rates for common procedures.

The “patient picks” list is a result of The Hospital Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems, which surveys hospital patients between 48 hours and six weeks after discharge.

Republican legislators reach Medicaid expansion deal

The Associated Press

RALEIGH — North Carolina legislative leaders announced last Thursday an agreement to expand Medicaid to hundreds of thousands of additional low-income adults through the Affordable Care Act.

The deal, which likely won’t be voted on until later this month at the earliest, marks a milestone for Republican lawmakers, most of whom opposed expansion for a decade until recently.

North Carolina has been one of 11 states that has not adopted Medicaid expansion. If the deal goes through, the state would start providing expansion coverage to people starting next January.

“This is something that we can all be very proud of,” House Speaker Tim Moore said at a Legislative Building news conference with Senate Leader Phil Berger. “What a huge announcement this is for North Carolina. What a huge policy direction this is that will provide help for so many in this state, but it’s going to do it in a way that’s fiscally responsible.”

Expansion gained momen-

Six arrested following West End drug search

Six individuals were arrested this past Thursday after deputies from the Moore County Sheriff’s Office executed a search warrant in the West End area. According to a press release from the sheriff’s office, the search warrant was issued for a home in the 1500 block of Murdocksville Road.

Upon conducting the investigation, deputies located methamphetamine, oxycodone, buprenorphine, naloxone, nontaxpaid alcohol, drug paraphernalia, and items of marijuana paraphernalia.

Among those arrested for various drug-related charges included 67-yearold Daniel Craig Blue, 52-year-old Phillip Travis Blue, 49-year-old Cynthia Ann Thomas, 53-yearold John Wayne Lea Jr., 45-year-old Richard Paul Holder, and 48-year-old Brian Alexander Black. Each of these individuals was from the West End area. Defendants facing criminal charges are presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.

“This is something that we can all be very proud of.”

House Speaker Tim Moore

tum last year when the GOP-controlled state House and Senate approved, with strong bipartisan support, competing legislation addressing it, but they failed to reach a deal. The key differences stemmed around other initiatives Senate Republicans insisted were needed to increase the number of medical providers to cover the additional enrollees.

Under the new agreement, senators obtained the loosening or elimination of “certificate of need” laws that require health regulators to sign off on plans to offer hospital beds for mental health and substance abuse patients, build ambulatory surgery centers or purchase MRI machines. But their demand that advanced-practice nurses be able to treat patients without a doctor’s supervision was left out.

“There are still some things that

need to be done, but this is our agreement and I’m very comfortable with it,” Berger said.

The negotiated measure, built in part on an expansion measure approved overwhelmingly by the House two weeks ago, was still being drawn up and will need affirmative votes in both chambers.

The federal government covers 90% of the cost of Medicaid recipients under expansion. Potentially 600,000 people in North Carolina could receive the benefit — those who make too much to qualify for conventional Medicaid but not enough to receive heavily subsidized health insurance that President Barack Obama’s signature 2010 law provides.

Under the agreement, the state’s 10% share would be paid through assessments paid by hospitals, which in turn benefit from getting reimbursed as they cover patients with Medicaid.

Officials say the state also would get an extra $1.8 billion over two years through a financial sweetener in a COVID-19 federal relief package from Congress for states that hadn’t accepted expansion.

And the package will include provisions that would result in

higher reimbursements for hospital systems when they treat Medicaid patients — resulting in at least $3.2 billion in reimbursements during the next fiscal year for traditional Medicaid patients alone. That should help rural areas, where hospitals have closed or are in danger of closing.

Democratic North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper, who has sought expansion since taking office in 2017, would be asked to sign any final measure into law. He tweeted that the agreement “is a monumental step that will save lives” but wants it effective immediately to tap into more federal funds, making “sure we leverage the money that will save our rural hospitals and invest in mental health.”

Even if the law is approved this spring, Moore and Berger said it wouldn’t be effective until a separate state budget is enacted, likely by the early summer.

Cooper wasn’t involved in recent negotiations that lasted about four weeks and led to an agreement finalized late Wednesday, the legislators said.

The North Carolina Healthcare Association, representing hospitals and health systems, commended legislators for Thursday’s agreement. The group backs certificate of need laws but offered some ways to scale them back in negotiations last year.

“Expanding Medicaid will improve the health of our people,

See MEDICAID, page 2

Pinehurst Resorts to construct new golf course in Aberdeen

Town board approves economic development on Iron Horse Property

By Ryan Henkel North State Journal

ABERDEEN — The Aberdeen Town Board met Monday, February 27, with various property matters on the agenda.

The board was presented with two annexation petitions, one by Willow Birch, LLC, for 0.58 acres of land located generally south of US 15-501 and east of US 1 South and an annexation petition by Coca-Cola Bottling for approximately 52.37 acres located west of Carolina Road and south of NC Highway 211, and they approved both.

The next piece of business brought before the board was a rezoning request by Pinehurst Country Club Realty to rezone 10 parcels of property located north of NC 5 Highway and totaling 919.8 acres from R-10, R-20, and Light Industrial to a planned development zoning district.

“Pinehurst last appeared before this board 23 years ago with a vision for a new golf village, multiple courses, shopping, and hotel, but that project was canceled in 2001 after the events of September 11,” said Pinehurst Resort President Tom Pashley. “The Pit Golf Links opened in 1985 and thrived for decades as a bold alternative to tra-

“We have a wonderful opportunity to start from scratch and incorporate the type of variety that attracts today’s traveling golfers.”

Tom Pashley

ditional golf offerings in the area. It closed in 2010 after the Great Recession as interest in golf was waning. Twice, golf was conceived and operated on this land, yet uncontrollable factors made those visions unsustainable. But we all know what they say about a third time.”

“In Aberdeen, on this site, we have a wonderful opportunity to start from scratch and incorporate the type of variety that attracts today’s traveling golfers. We have no desire to build the 2,500 homes that are allowed with the current zoning; rather, we envision a combination of golf courses, short courses, golf cottages, and facilities that celebrate the beautiful land and showcase the unique history of the site.”

According to the submitted plans, the golf courses and resort is projected to take 10-15 years to fully build out, but the first course is projected to be finished by 2024.

Following the public hearing, the board approved the rezoning

request, paving the way for the development.

The town board then approved an agreement with Partners in Progress for the spending of $200,000 of public monies for the purpose of economic development, including property acquisition, property development, and other related improvements to the property known as the Iron Horse Property located off of Highway 211 and Carolina Road.

The property will be cleared of trees and will have a road built through it in order to attract potential buyers.

At last month’s meeting, Partners in Progress Executive Director Natalie Hawkins described the property as “the best industrial land that we have in Moore County.

The board then approved a budget amendment in the amount of $3,400 for a zero-turn mower for the planning department and approved the reduction of the speed limit in Fairway Cove Court from 25 mph to 15 mph.

“It’s a traffic circle, basically one big loop,” said Police Chief Carl Colasacco. “I went out there and looked at the loop, and it is very tight, and there are also no sidewalks. So I think the 15 mph speed limit would be sufficient for that area given that it’s a tight roadway and that there’s no access to sidewalks.”

The Aberdeen Town Board will next meet March 27.

AP PHOTO

North Carolina Senate leader Phil Berger, left, speaks alongside House Speaker Tim Moore at a news conference about a Medicaid expansion agreement, Thursday, March 2, 2023, at the Legislative Building in Raleigh.

MEDICAID, from page 1

our economy and our entire health care system,” said Abby Emanuelson, executive director of Care4Carolina, a coalition of over 165 groups that has worked for expansion since 2014. For years, Republicans in charge of the General Assembly since 2011 had been suspicious of expansion, even passing a 2013 law to block the executive branch from trying to accept expansion on its own.

But GOP lawmakers slowly came around as the Affordable Care Act and the 90% federal share didn’t get repealed by Congress, diminishing worries that state government would have to foot ever more of the costs. And local Republican county leaders endorsed expansion.

A turning point came last spring when Berger explained his switch to supporting it, adding at the time: “If there’s a person in the state of North Carolina that has spoken out against Medicaid expansion more than I have, I’d like to meet that person.”

North Carolina currently has 2.9 million Medicaid recipients. The state Department of Health and Human Services has said up to 300,000 current beneficiaries could lose full coverage as states soon must conduct annual eligibility verifications again following the COVID-19 pandemic. Many being removed would requalify through Medicaid expansion, DHHS said.

The greatest cover-up in human history

FIRST, IT WAS SUPPOSEDLY a conspiracy theory.

Then, it was banned.

Finally, it was true.

The so-called “lab leak” theory of the origins of COVID-19 — the theory that COVID-19 originated in at the Wuhan Institute of Virology and then was unintentionally loosed — was always the most probable explanation for the outbreak of the deadly virus. After all, as Jon Stewart correctly joked in 2021, “’Oh, my God, there’s a novel respiratory coronavirus overtaking Wuhan, China. What do we do?’ ‘Oh, you know who we could ask? The Wuhan novel respiratory coronavirus lab.’ The disease is the same name as the lab. That’s just a little too weird, don’t you think?”

But for well over a year, it was considered verboten to mention the lab leak theory. When Senator Tom Cotton, R-Ark., posited the possibility of a lab leak in February 2020, he was roundly mocked by the media.

The New York Times headlined, “Senator Tom Cotton Repeats Fringe Theory of Coronavirus Origins.” Scientific American headlined — in March 2022! — “The LabLeak Hypothesis Made It Harder for Scientists to Seek the Truth.” Facebook actively quashed attempts to disseminate the theory; Dr. Anthony Fauci went on national television and downplayed the theory.

Why?

Two reasons are obvious. The first: powerful institutions had a stake in downplaying the Chinese origins of the virus in order to shift blame to the rest of the world. Certainly, that was China’s game: In all likelihood, COVID-19 was spreading in China as early as October 2019, and the government covered it up for months. But that was also the game of the World Health Organization. Members of the American government like Fauci also had a stake in smothering questions about American funding for gain-of-function research in Wuhan.

Then there’s the second reason: all the wrong people were repeating the lab leak theory. As one of MSNBC’s resident hacks, Mehdi Hasan, admitted on Twitter, “The simple reason why so many people weren’t keen to discuss the ‘lab leak’ theory is because it was originally conflated by the right with ‘Chinese bio weapon’ conspiracies and continues to be conflated by the right with anti-Fauci conspiracies. Blame the conspiracy theorists.” As Nate

Silver correctly noted, “The Bad People thought the lab leak might be true, therefore as journalists we couldn’t be expected to actually evaluate the evidence for it.”

Herein lies a lesson: A huge number of people have decided that there are a cadre of people who are so vile that any opinion they touch is immediately toxified beyond investigation. Claims are not to be evaluated on their own merits; instead, we can simply determine whether a claim ought to be supported based on those who posit it. This helps to explain why political crossover has become nearly impossible: We’re not judging the claims of our opponents; we’re judging each other. And this means that we can discard any argument simply by dint of the fact that we don’t like the person offering it.

Among members of the general population, this is a problem, but not a fundamental one. But among those who pose as “experts” — the people who are supposed to serve as guides for people who outsource their political information, from media to scientific institutions — it’s a fatal error. After all, experts are supposed to be impartial adjudicators of the evidence. That’s their entire job. We can evaluate on our own who we don’t like — but we often need help to determine whether an argument has merit or not. When experts become “just like us,” they undermine their raison d’etre.

And that’s precisely what happened with COVID-19. Whether it was ignoring the actual evidence regarding masks and mask mandates, the evidence regarding postvaccination transmissibility or the evidence regarding the lab leak theory, experts decided that the (SET ITAL) wrong people (END ITAL) had to be ignored. But they were wrong. And now they have no credibility left.

Ben Shapiro, 38, is a graduate of UCLA and Harvard Law School, host of “The Ben Shapiro Show,” and co-founder of Daily Wire+. He is a three-time New York Times bestselling author; his latest book is The Authoritarian Moment: How The Left Weaponized America’s Institutions Against Dissent.

Ben Shapiro, 38, is a graduate of UCLA and Harvard Law School, host of “The Ben Shapiro Show,” and co-founder of Daily Wire+. He is a three-time New York Times bestselling author; his latest book is The Authoritarian Moment: How The Left Weaponized America’s Institutions Against Dissent.

moore happening

Here’s a quick look at what’s coming up in Moore County:

March 9

Blood Drive

11am – 4pm

FirstHealth Fitness is holding a blood drive at 170 Memorial Drive in Pinehurst on March 9! Donors receive a $20 eGift Card, a St. Patrick’s Day shirt, and a wellness checkup!

Trivia Thursday at the Brewery

6pm

Come out for Trivia at the Southern Pines Brewery! Enjoy fun and prizes each Thursday. Southern Pines Brewing Company is located at 565 Air Tool Dr., Southern Pines, NC.

March 10

Southern Pines Spring Fling 2023

5:30pm

Children ages 3-12 are invited to welcome the season at the annual Spring Fling with the Southern Pines Parks and Recreation Department! Kids can enjoy many games and a chance to win tickets for prizes!

March 11

Pancake Breakfast Fundraiser

8am – 10am

Join the Moore Philharmonic Orchestra as they host their annual Pancake Breakfast Fundraiser at Kickbacks Jacks in Southern Pines! Enjoy pancakes, a side, and a drink for $10!

March 12

Sipping on Sunday

2pm

The Triangle Wine Company, located at 144 Brucewood Road in Southern Pines, is hosting Sipping on Sunday wine tastings! Wine down on your Sunday and enjoy sipping on a great selection!

SIDELINE REPORT

COLLEGE BASKETBALL

Duke men return to AP Top 25

Indianapolis

Duke returned to The Associated Press men’s basketball poll for the first time since falling out in mid-January after opening the year at No. 7. First-year coach Jon Scheyer has led the Blue Devils (23-8) to six straight wins to close out the regular season, including Saturday’s win at North Carolina for a rivalry sweep that wounded UNC’s iffy NCAA Tournament hopes. Duke was last ranked in the Jan. 9 poll. Houston remained No. 1, followed by UCLA, Kansas, Alabama and Purdue.

NFL Seahawks, QB Smith agree on 3-year deal

Renton, Wash.

The Seahawks have agreed to terms with quarterback Geno Smith on a three-year contract that keeps the AP comeback player of the year in the Pacific Northwest. NFL Network and The Score reported the deal could be worth up to $105 million. Smith led the Seahawks to a 9-8 record and a playoff berth as the last wild card in the NFC. He threw for a career-high 4,282 yards, setting a franchise record, with 30 touchdown passes and just 11 interceptions, completed 399 passes and led the NFL in completion percentage at 69.8%.

COLLEGE HOCKEY

Wisconsin fires Granato as men’s hockey coach Madison, Wis.

Wisconsin fired Tony Granato as men’s hockey coach on Monday after a second straight losing season. Granato posted a 105129-16 overall mark and 6587-2 Big Ten record during his seven seasons. Wisconsin ended a 13-23 season Saturday, losing to Michigan in the Big Ten quarterfinals. Granato played at Wisconsin from 1983-87 before spending 13 seasons as an NHL player and 13 more as either an NHL head or assistant coach. He still ranks third in school history in career goals and fourth in points. But he couldn’t make Wisconsin a consistent winner after returning to his alma mater as head coach.

Virginia Tech beats Louisville for 1st ACC women’s title

The Hokies have won 11 straight entering the NCAA Tournament

The Associated Press

GREENSBORO — Kenny Brooks walked over to an end-zone section of Virginia Tech fans and gave a fist-pumping release as his players climbed steps to cut down a piece of the net.

A few minutes later, Brooks was up there himself, snipping down the final strand hanging from the rim before turning to Hokies fans and leading a “Let’s go Hokies!” chant.

The moment had finally arrived for Brooks and his eighth-ranked Hokies, who continued their late-season tear by beating Louisville 75-67 on Sunday to win the program’s first Atlantic Coast Conference Tournament title.

“Unbelievable, unbelievable,” Brooks said on the court as his players celebrated around him.

It came with another strong scoring effort from Georgia Amoore, who scored 25 points and earned tournament MVP honors

for the third-seeded Hokies (27-4).

There was two-time league player of the year Elizabeth Kitley adding another 20 points in her role as the inside constant. And there was Taylor Soule, emerging from a scoreless first half to provide the third-quarter lift that helped keep the Hokies on course for their 11th straight win.

Virginia Tech’s first trip to the ACC title game into a strong finish-

ing act, pushing to a double-digit lead before halftime and keeping the Cardinals at arm’s distance the rest of the way. And that capped a three-game run in Greensboro in which the Hokies trailed for a total of 3 minutes, 15 seconds — all in the first quarter of Sunday’s game.

“I think all of us knew we were going to win,” Kitley said. “From the start of the tournament, we’ve been talking about it. Obvious-

ly we’ve been taking it day by day, game by game. But definitely throughout the game we all knew that we had it and we didn’t lose our cool, even when they were hitting big shots.”

Before Sunday, the Hokies had been as far as the ACC semifinals only once since joining the league for the 2004-05 season — and that came last year. Now they’re celebrating a milestone victory under Brooks, who has built this program to the top of the league in Year 7. When the horn finally sounded, Kitley and Kayana Traylor skipped to midcourt to meet the rushing mob of players and coaches from the Hokies sideline headed for a midcourt celebration as the streamers and confetti dropped from the Greensboro Coliseum rafters.Louisville made its closest push in the frantic final seconds to within 73-67 on Merissah Russell’s 3-pointer with 28 seconds left. But Kitley hit two critical free throws with 15.1 seconds to go that pushed the lead back to eight for what turned out to be the final margin.

This was the Cardinals’ fourth finals appearance, the first being a title win in 2018 followed by losses to Notre Dame in 2019 and North Carolina State on a late basket in 2021. Their first two wins came against Wake Forest and No. 10 Notre Dame, which had taken regular-season meetings against them.

Byron wins at Las Vegas as Hendrick dominates

The team finished 1-2-3 despite being minus Chase Elliott

The Associated Press LAS VEGAS — One way or another, a Hendrick Motorsports driver figured to win Sunday’s NASCAR Cup Series race at Las Vegas.

Kyle Larson nearly won the Pennzoil 400 in regulation, but a late caution put teammate William Byron in position to capture the checkered flag in overtime.

Byron took the lead on the penultimate lap of OT to put an exclamation mark on a dominant day for Hendrick. The top three drivers were from Hendrick, with Byron, Larson and Alex Bowman pushing their Chevrolets across the finish line in that order.

Bowman won last year’s March race at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.

Byron led 176 laps and won for the fifth time in his six Cup sea-

sons.

“I’ve led a lot of laps in a couple of races, but to be this good with this team is definitely a good sign,” Byron said. “It’s a different feeling for me having a team around me that can execute that well. That’s just a team effort.” Larson appeared headed for victory when when Aric Almirola hit the wall in turn four on lap No. 264, leading to the second caution of the day.

“I feel like I could have eight or 10 more Cup wins if it wasn’t for cautions in the last five laps,” Larson said. “I don’t remember many of those working out in my favor.”

Most of the leaders pitted a lap later, with only Martin Truex Jr. in his Joe Gibbs Racing No. 19 Toyota choosing to stay out. Byron, in the No. 24 Chevy, came out of pit road ahead of Larson and then easily overtook Truex after the restart.

Byron, who started in the first row with Joey Logano, swept both stages for the first time in

his career. Truex in 2017 and Kevin Harvick in 2018 also won both stages in Las Vegas and went on to win.

The fourth Hendrick driver and 2020 Cup Series champion, Chase Elliott, will begin physical therapy Monday, his team owner Rick Hendrick told Fox Sports.

Elliott had surgery Friday to repair a fractured tibia, and Hendrick said Elliott has returned to his home in Dawsonville, Georgia. Elliott was injured in a snowboarding accident Friday. He and his family own a home in Vail, Colorado.

Elliott joked on Twitter “that

the formal request I submitted for a slight edit to the March section of my script was indeed… declined.”

“In all seriousness, the support I’ve received over the last couple of days is far greater than I deserve,” he posted in a follow-up tweet. “I want to thank everyone who has lended it over in any form!”

Josh Berry took Elliott’s seat in the No. 9 Chevy and finished 29th. Hendrick general manager Jeff Andrews said a decision would be made on who drives that car next weekend at Phoenix.

Bubba Wallace, who drives the 23XI Racing No. 23 Toyota, finished fourth. He was the top finisher not part of the Hendrick garage.

“It was right there in the top seven or eight the whole time,” Wallace said. “I was going to settle for sixth and the caution came out. My car fired off really, really good (on the restart), the best it had all race.”

AP PHOTO

Virginia Tech forward Taylor Soule celebrates before cutting a piece of the net after the Hokies defeated Louisville to win the ACC Women’s Tournament on Sunday in Greensboro.

“I feel like I could have eight or 10 more Cup wins if it wasn’t for cautions in the last five laps.”

Kyle Larson

Eduard Anthony Gomez

February 13, 1989 - March 1, 2023

Eduard "Eddie" Anthony Gomez, 34 of Eagle Springs, N.C. went to be with our Lord and Savior on March, 1st 2023.

Eddie was preceded in death by his Mother, Anna Moll Gomez. Survived by his Father Ivan Gomez, brother Joseph Gomez, and sister Samantha Gomez

Eddie was a once in a lifetime person. He knew no stranger and made friends wherever he ventured. He was a man of God. Obedient and faithful to the Lord. He was a helper to all. If you needed something he was there. He valued family the most. He loved so deeply. The ones he loved and held the closest was the love of his life, Ashley, their daughters, Anna who had him wrapped around her finger, Alexis, Kileigh, and his son the one who made him a father first, Anthony. Eddie was the backbone of his family, their provider, and their protector. Eddie ALWAYS showed up for the ones he loved.

Robert John "Bob" Wharton

February 22, 1947 - March 4, 2023

Robert John “Bob” Wharton, age 76, of Pinehurst, North Carolina passed away March 4, 2023 in his home. He was born

February 22, 1947 in Elizabeth, New Jersey to Harry and Martha Wharton. Upon graduation, he served as a sergeant in the US Army and was stationed in South Korea. On September 18, 1971 he married Kathleen “Kathy” McCarthy in Clark, New Jersey. Upon retirement, Bob and Kathy moved to Hilton Head, South Carolina. Retirement for Bob meant finding a new way to work, as a golf course ranger and starter at top rated courses like Palmetto Hall and Haig Point. Bob and Kathy moved to Pinehurst, North Carolina in 2013 to be closer to their three children.

He is survived by his wife, Kathleen Wharton of Pinehurst, North Carolina; daughter Kristen Dibble and husband, Ed of Charlotte, North Carolina; son Thomas Wharton and wife, Mindy, of Cary, North Carolina and their daughter, Veronica Wharton; sister-in-law Maureen Vincent of New Jersey; and many other loving family members and friends.

Bob was preceded in death by his parents, Harry and Martha Wharton, his daughter, Jean Wharton, his brother, James Wharton, and sister-in-law Elisabeth Wharton.

Judith K. Peshkopia

July 9, 1939 - February 26, 2023

Judith K. Peshkopia, 83 of Wagram NC (Deercroft) passed away at home on Sunday, February 26, 2023 after a short illness.

Judy was born in Detroit, MI but lived in Dearborn and Beverly Hills Michigan before moving to NC.

Judy was a CPA. She graduated from Walsh College of Accountancy and Business Administration with a Bachelor of Accountancy with distinction and a master in Taxation.

She worked for the largest law firm in Michigan, Miller Canfield, LLC in their tax and estate planning group.

Judy is survived by her husband, Hektor Peshkopia; son, Kevin (Shannon) Peshkopia of Maryland; daughters, Stacy (Wayne) Temple of San Diego and Kay (Will) McCutchen of Wagram; grandson, Colin McCutchen and brother, Thomas Zell of Livonia, MI.

Adrian Jerome Dean

May 6, 1941 - February 28, 2023

Adrian Jerome Dean, 81, went to be with the Lord on February 28, 2023. He died peacefully in his sleep in Pinehurst, NC.

He is survived by his wife, Dian Tucker Dean, of the home; daughter Dede Dean Foody and her husband Paul of Charlotte; granddaughter Morgan Foody Brookman (Carter) of Charlotte; grandson Luke D Foody of Washington DC and great granddaughter Collins Brookman of Charlotte. Adrian and Dian had a wonderful life together and were inseparable for 59 years. He was a devoted husband, father and friend. He was predeceased by his parents, Elmer L Dean and Ruth Morgan Dean; sisters Doris Dean Simpson and Barbara Dean Bull. Adrian was born in Colfax, NC where he was a graduate of Colfax High School. Adrian was an outstanding athlete in high school playing basketball and baseball. He later obtained an Associate Degree in business. He served in the US Army during the Vietnam war in the 502nd Military Police division stationed in Ft. Hood, TX. He loved to talk about the great people he met, and the memorable stories made while playing golf. In Pinehurst, he enjoyed the local restaurants, not because of Dian’s cooking, but it was a social time to talk with regulars.

Christopher O'Neal Kershaw

June 27, 1935 - February 27, 2023

Christopher O’Neal Kershaw, 87, of Southern Pines and formerly New Haven, CT., passed peacefully at his home on Monday

February 27, 2023.

Born in Florence, SC, June 28, 1935, he was the son of the late Christopher Columbus and Vera Montgomery Kershaw. Christopher’s family moved to Connecticut when he was young and he spent his childhood split between in Florence, SC and New Haven, CT. After his high school graduation, he joined the U.S. Army, serving as an MP during the Korean War. Upon his honorable discharge, Christopher returned home to Connecticut and married his long time sweetheart, Janice Rogers. Christopher graduated from Hill House High School in New Haven, Connecticut. He went on to earn his BS in Human Services at New Hampshire University and his MS in School Counseling from Southern Connecticut University. Christopher’s career was always in education.

Christopher was the loving husband of the late Janice Rogers Kershaw. He was the father of Cheryl Kershaw, Vera Rosemond and Christine Kershaw - Hobson. He is also survived by his 2 grandchildren: Aja Rosemond Marks and Eric Colacino Rosemond as well as his 2 greatgrandchildren: Malcolm John Marks and Travis Christian

Doris Pawlowski

September 16, 1946 ~ March 2, 2023

Dori Pawlowski of Jackson Springs passed away on Thursday, March 2, 2023, at the age of 76. Doris was born in Orange County, Florida on September 16, 1946, to the late John Blanton, Jr. and Retha Hamilton Blanton. She went on to obtain two associate's degrees and later worked for Western Carolina University until her retirement. After her retirement, she enjoyed the simple things in life such as traveling. She especially loved to travel to go shopping. Sewing was Doris's passion. She enjoyed making clothes for her children and taking walks with her family. Along with her parents, Doris is preceded in death by her sisters, Nancy Blanton and Sarah Paglino.

She leaves behind her daughters, Lori Smith and her spouse, David of Franklin, and Shari Nuttall and her spouse Donnie of Jackson Springs; seven grandchildren, Michael, Ryan, A.J., Josh, Zach, Jeremy, Alexis; six great-grandchildren, Averlyn, Eleighen, Levi, Elizabeth, Elijah, and Mykelti.

James Bruce Patterson

January 11, 1959 ~ February 24, 2023

James "Bruce" Patterson of Vass passed away on Friday, February 24, 2023, at the age of 64.

Bruce was born in Moore County on January 11, 1959, to the late James and Rebecca Knight Patterson. He grew up and attended Moore County Schools and worked at JP Stevens for 25 years. Bruce led a very quiet life, and he was a caring person. He enjoyed collecting guns and swords. He leaves behind his sisters Barbara Rutledge (Jim) of Jacksonville, and Joann Wood (Frank) of Carthage; his brother, Johnny Patterson of St. Pete, FL; his sister, Marie Reynolds (Terrell) of Whispering Pines; his brother, Mack Patterson of Vass; his sister, Jerri Hickin (Kevin) of Cattaraugus, New York; many nieces and nephews.