VOLUME 4 ISSUE 5
Sports
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WWW.NSJONLINE.COM |
WEDNESDAY, MARCH 27, 2019
Duke, UNC move on to Sweet 16, B1
LAUREN ROSE | NORTH STATE JOURNAL
2018 NCPA News, Editorial & Photojournalism Contest Susan Coffman of Raleigh reloads her shotgun with pink shells honoring former NC State women’s basketball coach Kay Yow during the Clays4Kay event at Deep Water Sporting Clays and Shooting School in Aug. 2018. This photo was included in the portolfio submitted that won second place for the 2018 Hugh Norton Photographer of the Year award. View all NSJ awards on page A2.
the Wednesday
NEWS BRIEFING
NC 20-week abortion ban ruled unconstitutional A federal judge has overruled a N.C. law banning abortions after the 20th week of pregnancy. U.S. District Judge William Osteen’s ruling Monday gives state legislators 60 days before the law he declared unconstitutional is voided so that they can amend it or appeal his ruling. The law was challenged shortly after it passed in 2016. It would have allowed abortions after the 20th week of gestation only if the mother faces a risk of death or serious and irreversible harm from some urgent medical emergency.
2 Earthquakes in NC Two earthquakes were reported in N.C. on Tuesday by the U.S. Geological Survey. One with a magnitude of 2.6, which was felt near Archdale in Guilford and Randolph counties, happened shortly after midnight. Another quake with a magnitude of 2.6 struck about 7 miles from Sylva in the mountains midday.
Duke University pays $112M to settle fakedresearch lawsuit Duke University will pay $112 million to settle a whistleblower lawsuit after federal prosecutors said a research technician’s fake data landed millions of dollars in federal grants, the school and the government said Monday. The private university in Durham submitted claims for dozens of research grants that contained falsified or fabricated information that unjustly drained taxpayer money from the National Institutes of Health, the Environmental Protection Agency and other federal agencies, the U.S. Justice Department said. The school said it is repaying grant money and related penalties.
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NORTH
North State Journal captures 25 separate awards for journalism
JOURNaL
NC’s only statewide newspaper is most-awarded weekly paper in the state
STATE ELEVATE THE CONVERSATION
Republicans file healthcare reform bill GOP answer to Medicaid expansion also eliminates Certificate of Needs By David Larson North State Journal RALEIGH — As Democrats make Medicaid expansion in North Carolina their legislative priority, Senate Republican health leaders introduced a bill they say will expand care to the truly vulnerable — the intellectually and developmentally disabled, and those needing mental health treatment. Sens. Joyce Krawiec (R-Forsyth) and Dan Bishop (R-Mecklenburg), who together co-chair the Senate Health Committee and the Senate Health and Human Services Appropriations Committee, held a press conference Tuesday to announce what they are calling the Health Care Expansion Act of 2019, Senate Bill 361. “I understand that expanding Medicaid is a top agenda for many, but let’s give some thought to what that actually means,” Krawiec said at the press conference. “Medicaid expansion means taxpayer-funded health insurance for able-bodied, jobless adults.” Krawiec pointed to average seven-year wait times for the families who have disabled children in the IDD Medicaid program, and she said using $41 million to fund 2,000 more slots over the next two years should be the priority. “To us, this IDD population, these folks that have been wait-
ing for a number of years, who have severe needs, should always be put ahead of able-bodied working adults,” she said. “Until all the truly needy from that IDD list are taken care of, we should not even be considering expanding Medicaid.” The legislators were asked why both could not be achieved, to which Bishop responded, “Resources are always limited. So, what we’re obliged to do is make intelligent choices, not easy choices, not necessarily political simplistic choices.” Some Republicans in other states have expanded Medicaid, and Bishop brought up the visiting John Kasich, the former governor of Ohio and 2016 presidential candidate. “I understand Gov. Kasich is around, perhaps, today,” Bishop said. “With all due respect, Gov. Kasich is the poster child of why Medicaid expansion is a reckless course for a state government. Ohio legislators are struggling with the financial impact of the Medicaid expansion there, which I believe was unilateral by the governor.” The bill also eliminates Certificate of Need (CON) regulations, which Bishop called a “permission slip” of bureaucratic hoops that health care providers needed to jump through to open for business. CON has been controversial for many years, with free market proponents pushing for its elimination as an unnecessary barrier and hospital lobbyists saying they are necessary to protect a fragile status quo with endanSee HEALTHCARE, page A2
NSJ Staff RALEIGH — In its second year of eligibility, North State Journal continued to rack up awards for quality journalism in the North Carolina Press Association’s annual editorial competition. The winners of the association’s 2018 competition were announced last Thursday at a dinner in Raleigh. In 2017, North State Journal took home 27 total awards, including the prized General Excellence Award for small weekly news-
papers. With 25 total awards for 2018, North State Journal again took home the most awards of any weekly newspaper in the competition. The NSJ also captured the General Excellence Award for the second straight year. North State Journal was also a repeat winner for best overall appearance and design. Design editor Lauren Rose also finished second in the Hugh Morton Photographer of the Year competition. “I am proud of our entire staff for the hard work they pour into the newspaper each week,” said publisher Neal Robbins. “The recognition validates our commitment to creating a truthful and beautiSee NSJ, page A2
Trump has, perhaps, best day ever By Catherine Lucey The Associated Press WASHINGTON, D.C. — He took a fist-pumping victory lap over the end of the Mueller probe. Basked in gushy accolades from a foreign leader. Saw a former nemesis humiliated by the feds. To most of America, it was just another Monday. For President Donald Trump, it was, perhaps, his best day ever. Trump started his day firing off exuberant tweets over the end of the special counsel investigation, segued to a back-slapping meeting with the Israeli prime minister and held a celebratory photo-op with the Stanley Cup-winning Washington Capitals. To top it off, news broke along the way of the arrest of attorney Michael Avenatti, who rose to fame representing a porn actress who alleged she had sex with a married Trump, though Trump denied it. By any measure it was a good day for Trump. But the president’s hot streak was all the more noticeable givSee TRUMP, page A2