North State Journal Vol. 4, Issue 49

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VOLUME 4 ISSUE 49

SPORTS

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WWW.NSJONLINE.COM |

WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 29, 2020

UFC event a success in Raleigh, B1 Legendary loss Kobe Bryant, an 18-time NBA All-Star and five-time NBA champion with the Los Angeles Lakers, died Sunday along with his 13-year-old daughter, Gianna, and seven others, in a helicopter crash near Calabasas, California. He was 41. Bryant was twice named MVP of the NBA Finals and was the 2008 NBA League MVP.

COURTESY PHOTO

the Wednesday

NEWS BRIEFING

NC AG opposes expanded online lottery sales North Carolina’s attorney general has come out against expanding online sales by the state lottery, suggesting such “digital instants” could run afoul of state laws prohibiting video sweepstakes machines. Word about Democrat Josh Stein’s opposition spread as North Carolina State Lottery Commission members met Tuesday to examine a draft business plan to offer such games. Commission members took a key step toward digital instants last month — without finalizing their production — by asking for the plan. North Carolina law says the lottery can approve any game another state lottery already offers. Digital instants, which are essentially the electronic equivalent of scratch-off tickets offering cash prizes, already exist in five other states.

Budget deficit to break $1 trillion despite strong economy An annual congressional report says the U.S. budget deficit is likely to burst through the symbolic $1 trillion barrier this year despite a healthy economy. The annual CBO update of the government’s economic and fiscal health estimates a $1 trillion deficit for the ongoing fiscal year, which would bring the red ink above $1 trillion for the first time since 2012, when former President Barack Obama capped four consecutive years of $1 trillion-plus budget deficits. The government, slated to spend $4.6 trillion this year, would have to borrow 22 cents of every dollar it spends.

7.7 magnitude quake hits Caribbean Sea A powerful magnitude 7.7 earthquake struck in the Caribbean Sea between Jamaica and eastern Cuba on Tuesday, shaking a vast area from Mexico to Florida and triggering tsunami warnings. The quake was centered 86 miles northwest of Montego Bay, Jamaica, and 87 miles west-southwest of Niquero, Cuba, according to the U.S. Geological Survey. There were no reports of casualties or heavy damage.

NORTH

STATE

JOURNaL ELEVATE THE CONVERSATION

Blexit event highlights conservative pitch to black voters By David Larson North State Journal CHARLOTTE — A Jan. 19 event in Charlotte organized by a black conservative group called Blexit, as well as comments from Republican Lt. Gov. Dan Forest on Martin Luther King Jr. Day, have touched off a war of words on race and politics in North Carolina. There are about 1.5 million black voters registered in N.C., with approximately 80% of them registered as Democrats according to the Board of Elections. Blexit — Black Exit — is a movement to get black voters to leave the Democratic Party. Asked for their response to the Charlotte event put on by Blexit NC, Robert Howard, spokesman for the N.C. Democratic Party, released a statement saying, “Blexit is a fringe organization started by a far-right provocateur. It’s embarrassing any news outlet would lend credibility to this organization when they deserve none.” Senate Leader Phil Berger (R-Eden) responded with a statement of his own, which said, “The new radical Democratic Party has abandoned the black community with its anti-school choice policies and far-left social agenda. It’s not surprising, then, that the Democratic Party would resort to personal attacks against people of color who have begun a movement to leave the party that’s already left them.” Pierre Wilson, a spokesman

for Blexit’s national organization, also responded in a press release that Howard’s “attack is exactly why Blexit exists. For too long, our community has been told that we must vote one way in fear of the backlash if we step out of line and enough is enough.” The day after the Blexit event, Forest attended a Martin Luther King Jr. Day event at Upper Room Church, a black congregation in Raleigh, and made comments on the history of Planned Parenthood that also received pushback from the left. Forest said the women’s health provider — often at the center of the abortion debate — was created to “destroy the entire black race. That was the purpose of Planned Parenthood. That’s just the truth. That’s not just some bloc on the side. That was the purpose when that organization was created.” When the comments were picked up by news outlets and social media, Forest doubled-down, saying, “Yeah, I really said that ... but Margaret Sanger said it first,” referring to the founder of Planned Parenthood. In a video posted to Upper Room Church’s Facebook page, an elder defended Forest’s comments and said their church protests weekly outside of a west Raleigh abortion clinic because they believe abortion is having a disproportionate effect on the black community. See BLEXIT page A2

Trump rolls out Middle East plan Palestinians quickly reject latest attempt at two-state solution By Matthew Lee The Associated Press WASHINGTON, D.C. — President Donald Trump unveiled his long-awaited Middle East plan Tuesday, winning immediate praise from a beaming Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu but a swift rejection from the Palestinians, who called it “nonsense.” Trump’s plan calls for the eventual creation of a Palestinian state but would leave sizable chunks of the occupied West Bank in Israeli hands. Netanyahu said he would move forward on Sunday and ask his Cabinet to approve plans to annex

West Bank territory — an explosive move that is likely to be met with harsh international reaction. Trump called his plan a “winwin” for both Israel and the Palestinians, and Netanyahu called it a “great plan for Israel.” At a speech in the West Bank, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas dismissed the plan as “nonsense.” “We say 1,000 no’s to the Deal of the Century,” Abbas said, using a nickname for Trump’s proposal. “We will not kneel and we will not surrender,” he said, adding that the Palestinians would resist the plan through “peaceful, popular means.” With Netanyahu standing beside him, Trump presented the plan at a White House ceremony filled with other Israeli officials See MIDDLE EAST page A2

Trump team concludes defense opening in impeachment trial By Eric Tucker The Associated Press WASHINGTON, D.C. — President Donald Trump’s legal team argued forcefully against the relevance of testimony from Trump’s former national security adviser John Bolton on Tuesday as they concluded their opening defense and the Senate braced for debate on whether to summon Bolton and other witnesses into the impeachment trial. “This should end now, as quickly as possible,” White House counsel Pat Cipollone declared, capping a defense presentation that did not use the full time allotted under the Senate rules. A day after the defense team largely brushed past Bolton, attorney Jay Sekulow addressed the controversy head-on by dismissing his manuscript — said to contradict a key defense argument about Trump’s dealSee DEFENSE page A2


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North State Journal Vol. 4, Issue 49 by North State Journal - Issuu