the BRIEF this week
Congress acts to force release of Epstein les, Trump agrees to sign bill
Washington, D.C.
Both the House and Senate have acted decisively to pass a bill to force the Justice Department to publicly release its les on convicted sex o ender Je rey Epstein. It’s a remarkable display of approval for an e ort that had struggled for months to overcome opposition from President Donald Trump and Republican leadership. Trump now says he will sign the bill. Just hours after the House passed the bill, the Senate approved a motion to pass the bill with unanimous consent once it is sent to the Senate. For survivors of Epstein’s abuse, passage of the bill was a watershed moment in a yearslong quest for accountability.
Federal judges block Texas from using new U.S. House map in 2026 midterms
A panel of three federal judges has blocked Texas from using a new congressional map that Republicans drew in hopes of picking up ve U.S. House seats. The 2-1 ruling Tuesday was a blow to President Donald Trump’s e orts to have states draw more favorable maps ahead of the 2026 midterm elections so the GOP can preserve its slim U.S. House majority. In Texas, civil rights groups have argued the new map is an illegal racial gerrymander. The judges blocked the map’s use pending further court review. Texas’ expected appeal would be directly to the U.S. Supreme Court.
$2.00
Pittsboro approves Chatham Park South Village small area plan
The South Village constitutes just under 5,000 acres and could have up to 15,000 residential units
By Ryan Henkel Chatham News & Record
PITTSBORO — The Town of Pittsboro has given the green light for the Chatham Park South Village small area plan.
At the Town of Pittsboro Board of Commissioners’ Nov. 10 meeting, the board heard the item, discussing it at length.
The small area plan is proposed to serve as a conceptu-
al guide for potential future growth in the South Village.
The plan includes conceptual locations for things such as parks, schools, re stations, transit stops and trailheads.
Final locations, designs and improvements may vary and will ultimately be determined through the eventual section design plan process, as the South Village is broken up into 16 sections.
“The goal is to establish an early, coordinated framework for land use, transportation, utilities, open space and future public facilities,” said Assistant Planning Director Theresa Thompson.
Chapel Hill approves construction of new Verizon cell tower on Franklin Street
The 199-foot tower will provide boosted service for the area
By Ryan Henkel Chatham News & Record
CHAPEL HILL — The Chapel Hill Town Council met Nov. 12 with an agenda con-
tinuing primarily zoning and development items.
The council rst approved a special use permit modication application for 1721 E. Franklin St. to allow for the construction of a new 199-foot, monopole, nonconcealed telecommunications tower for Verizon Wireless.
The parcel, which is current-
ly zoned O ce-Institutional, already has two 203-foot broadcast towers existing on the site as well as a dentist o ce.
The project aims to improve service around a 1.5-mile radius from the tower. In addition, the tower will be able to support other carriers in the future as well.
“For those living in the Chap -
Immigration crackdown in NC expands to Raleigh
“And just be particularly kind to your neighbors today.”
Raleigh Mayor Janet Cowell
Border Patrol units were spotted in Durham, Raleigh and Cary
By Gary D. Robertson and Tim Sullivan The Associated Press
Federal agents expanded their North Carolina immigration crackdown to the area around the state capital of Raleigh on Tuesday, with fear spreading in at least one immigrant-heavy suburb where restaurants closed and many people stayed home.
The North Carolina operation began over the weekend in the state’s largest city, Charlotte, where o cials said
more than 130 people have been arrested.
Speaking at a Raleigh City Council meeting, Mayor Janet Cowell said there had been “con rmed sightings” of Border Patrol o cers operating in Wake County, which includes Raleigh, and nearby Durham County, which includes the city of Durham. She said earlier that she did not know how large the operation would be or how long agents would be present.
She encouraged residents to call the police department if they felt unsafe and urged protesters to remain peaceful. “And just be particularly
el Hill area, but speci cally those living in this location, those traveling 501, Franklin Street, Estes Drive and the whole shopping areas in this location, it will enhance wireless coverage, which includes voice, text and data coverage,” said attorney Tom Johnson, who
THE CHATHAM COUNTY EDITION OF NORTH STATE JOURNAL
Goldston resident Lynn Gaines, 68, won the Amateur Putters Association national championship in Fernandina Beach, Florida, on Oct. 24. Above, Gaines, right, poses with course owner Tom Miller. For the story, turn to page B1.
CRIME LOG
Nov. 10
• Latanja Kierra, 37, of Durham, was arrested for felony possession/ receiving stolen property and felony larceny.
• Adrian Kenneth Scurlock, 59, of Siler City, was arrested for domestic violence protective order violation.
• Janet Marie McKnight, 60, of Snow Camp, was arrested for cruelty to animals.
Nov. 11
• Oscar Daniel Saucedo-Vasquez, 31, of Siler City, was arrested for resisting public o cer.
Nov. 12
• Kimberly Michelle Crump, 57, of Sanford, was arrested for possession of drug paraphernalia and larceny.
• James Jonathan Green, 20, of Staley, was arrested for assault with deadly weapon with serious injury.
Nov. 14
• Jason Ryan Dalton, 20, of Blanch, was arrested for simple assault.
• Ronny Jonahibel Suarez, 24, of Siler City, was arrested for simple assault.
• Yahi Yusef Crockett, 25, of Durham, was arrested for assault on government o cial/employee.
Nov. 15
• Micah Christopher Bailey, 38, of Hillsborough, was arrested for breaking and entering, larceny and possession of stolen property.
• Frederic Lee Harris, 50, of Siler City, was arrested for possession of drug paraphernalia.
• Kevin Drew Fletcher, 54, of Morrisville, was arrested for driving while impaired, carrying a concealed weapon and failure to maintain lane control.
Nov. 16
• Iris Noel Brasington, 36, of Chapel Hill, was arrested for contributing to delinquency of juvenile.
Nov. 17
congrats!
Congratulations to Everleigh Sullivan, age 6 of Bennett, who shot her rst deer, an 8-point buck!
Pictured with Everleigh is her brother, Walker. Her parents are Richard and Lauren Sullivan.
Granddaughter of ‘Charlotte’s Web’ author upset with use of book’s title in immigration crackdown
She says the arrests go against what E.B. White stood for
The Associated Press
THE TRUMP administration is calling its new immigration sweep in North Carolina’s largest city “Operation Charlotte’s Web.”
But the granddaughter of E.B. White, the author of the classic 1952 children’s tale “Charlotte’s Web,” said the wave of immigration arrests goes against what her grandfather and his beloved book stood for.
“He believed in the rule of law and due process,” Martha White said in a statement.
“He believed in the rule of law and due process.”
“He certainly didn’t believe in masked men, in unmarked cars, raiding people’s homes and workplaces without IDs or summons.”
White, whose grandfather died in 1985, works as his literary executor. She pointed out that in “Charlotte’s Web,” the spider who is the main character devoted her life on the farm to securing the freedom of a pig named Wilbur.
The Trump administra-
tion and Republican leaders have seized on a number of catchy phrases while carrying out mass deportation e orts — naming their holding facilities Alligator Alcatraz in Florida, Speedway Slammer in Indiana and Cornhusker Clink in Nebraska. Gregory Bovino, a Border Patrol o cial now on the ground in Charlotte, was the face of the “Operation At Large” in Los Angeles and “Operation Midway Blitz” in Chicago, two enforcement surges earlier this year. As the Charlotte operation got underway, Bovino quoted from “Charlotte’s Web” in a social media post: “We take to the breeze, we go as we please.”
Two found dead in Bear Creek home
• Nidaiya Tapulei Lauano, 18, of Chapel Hill, was arrested for simple assault. The sheri ’s o ce is investigating the deaths following a domestic disturbance call
Chatham News & Record sta TWO PEOPLE were found dead inside a Bear Creek home last Thursday night after deputies responded to a domestic disturbance call. Deputies from the Chatham County Sheri ’s O ce responded to an E e Welch
Evidence indicates that only the two individuals found inside the home were involved, and there is no ongoing threat to the public.
Nov. 22
family member expressing fear during an argument. Upon arrival, deputies walked the perimeter of the home and observed two individuals on the oor inside while looking through a window.
Deputies forced entry into the residence and located two people with apparent gunshot wounds. A rearm was found nearby. No other individuals were present in the home.
The victims have been identi ed as Jennifer Scott, 50, and Je rey Michael Scott, 54, both residents of the address.
The case remains under investigation; however, evidence indicates that only the two individuals found inside the home were involved, and there is no ongoing threat to the public.
Front Porch, Bynum General Store 950 Bynum Road Bynum
Nov. 25
Yoga at BFP 6-7 p.m.
Yoga
Front Porch, Bynum General Store 950 Bynum Road Bynum
Dec. 6
Brightspeed’s Merry + Bright Christmas Drone Light Show 6-8 p.m.
This family-friendly evening of Christmas activities includes photos with Santa, a train ride for kids, a concert featuring the Northwood High School Band and Choir, and the drone light show, which begins at 7 p.m. Admission is free.
Philip H. Kohl MOSAIC Family Commons 457 Freedom Parkway Pittsboro
Dec. 8
Chatham County Board of Commissioners Regular Session 6 p.m.
Chatham County Agricultural and Conference Center 1192 U.S. Highway 64 West Business Pittsboro
Dec. 12
Holiday in the Park 5-8 p.m.
This free indoor/outdoor event o ers a variety of holiday festivities, including the opportunity for letters to and photos with Santa, a tree lighting, hayride, and a host of games and craft activities. Vendor applications are now being accepted; contact Leigh.Babcock@ chathamcountync.gov for information.
Northwest District Park 2413 Woody Store Road Siler City
MATT KELLEY / AP PHOTO
U.S. Border Patrol Commander at large Gregory Bovino, right, looks on as a detainee sits by a car Monday in Charlotte.
Martha White
THE CONVERSATION
Trip Ho end, publisher | Frank Hill, senior opinion editor
Theo of Golden
The story revolves around the namesake character, Theo, an eighty-sixyear-old man who mysteriously comes to a charming Southern town called Golden.
WITH THE HOLIDAY SEASON upon us, I have a gift recommendation for you — “Theo of Golden.” Though originally self-published by author Allen Levi, the novel is now a national bestseller.
The story revolves around the namesake character, Theo, an 86-year-old man who mysteriously comes to a charming Southern town called Golden. From the start, Theo is deeply curious about his surroundings; in excellent health for a man his age, he still takes almost two hours to travel a couple of downtown blocks because he stops to investigate birds, owers, iron railings and brick steps of historical buildings. Theo proves to be even more interested in the people.
He discovers that a local co ee shop displays the pencil-drawn portraits of 92 residents. Theo, who is wealthy and an avid art collector, is entranced. He decides that his mission is to purchase each person’s portrait, one by one, and “bestow” them as gifts to their subjects. The “owners,” as Theo calls them, are initially suspicious and bewildered by the unusual gesture, yet Theo wins them over with his warmth. His superpower is listening, like Chief Inspector Armand Gamache of Louise Penny’s novels. Theo does not solve crimes but does become part of the redemption of stories of su ering.
Once he gets to know the needs of the community, Theo “bestows” much more than just portraits. Whether
Falling leaves bring up pleasure found in trees
Either way, there have been quite a few hitting the ground… and they’re not done yet.
THERE HAS BEEN, it seems to me, an unusually large crop of leaves in my yard this year. Or maybe it’s that I don’t rake like once upon a time, mainly due to sore shoulders and weak knees, and many are still around.
Either way, there have been quite a few hitting the ground … and they’re not done yet.
There are lots of trees around our place; guess that’s what happens when you live in the woods — or what used to be woods — and you saved right many of the trees when you carved out a place for a house.
I’m a big fan of trees — not to the point that I can’t cut one if necessary, but, basically, I like them a lot. One reason it doesn’t bother me all that much to cut one, unless it’s a 200-year-old oak, is that trees are renewable. Cut one; plant one. I know, I know — it takes several years to get the new one up to where the old one was, but still, you can replace them.
Try doing that with a dinosaur that’s laid around long enough to change into an oil deposit.
There are, however, two sides to the tree question — one good, one not so good.
When Hurricane Fran came calling in 1996, I wished we didn’t have any. (It just dawned on me there are people living today, driving even or maybe graduating from high school, who weren’t even living when Fran came along and that event is still fresh in my mind.)
The combination that night of the howling winds snapping trees in its fury and then waiting in the dark with baited breath to learn where they would fall was something I don’t ever need to experience again. The next morning revealed the signi cant clean-up job ahead of us, and after several weeks of tree cutting and limbing and brush hauling, it would have been OK with me never to see a tree again. Condo living was starting to look good. O and on since that time there have been a few other issues with trees. Sometimes one will fall on a pasture fence and there will be the “Great Livestock Escape.”
There’s a big pile of two-year old leaves on top of my house
I haven’t gured out how to remove yet since the tin roof is
assisting individuals like a single father with his daughter’s medical bills or an unsheltered woman, he strives for each person to maintain their dignity. His actions reminded me of a line from John Bowen Coburn, a bishop in the Episcopal Church: “Grace does not pressure — but o ers.”
What motivates such sel ess generosity? As readers, we are given the backstory of a terrible tragedy in Theo’s life. No spoilers from me except to say that his experience of su ering taught him empathy for others. We don’t su er the same things, yet we all su er.
At one point, Theo says about his bestowal of the portraits, “I don’t know if I’ve ever done anything I enjoy more.” The satisfaction and ful llment he receives from giving reminds me of Frederick Buechner’s de nition of call: “Vocation is the place where our deep gladness meets the world’s deep need.”
I don’t know if a reader of this novel will likewise identify their deep calling, but I believe most everyone would be moved by “Theo of Golden.” I can think of no better present for a reader in your life than a book about the truth that it’s better to give than to receive.
Andrew Taylor-Troutman’s newest book is “This Is the Day.” He serves as pastor of Chapel in the Pines Presbyterian Church as well as a writer, pizza maker, co ee drinker and student of joy.
steeper than I want to dance across, but I’d like them gone for the look and to get the acid in the leaves o the tin. But then there’s the good side. In the summer it’s 10 to 15 degrees cooler in our yard than out on the highway in front of the house. At least it seems that way to me, and the utility company people say shade is good for you — and your light bill.
If there’s any wind, the limbs and leaves will pick it up and send the comforting breeze across your troubled brow — good stu while sitting in the shade with a Pepsi or glass of tea. It’s certainly cheaper than an hour with a shrink. And then there’s just the look — big ol’ trees with lots of limbs and leaves just look better than one that’s recently been topped and stands naked against the sky. And the colors in September and October are breathtaking.
And even the autumn disposal of leaves has its good points. I may be contributing to global warming, although many folks are still not sure that’s going on one way or the other, but I like to smell the smoke. I don’t like it when it gets in your eyes and nose, but I do like it when it penetrates your ol’ work jacket and you take that in the house and hang it up in the utility room and when you walk by it still smells like outdoors.
Youngsters still jump into piles of leaves, and I like to see that. I don’t jump myself anymore — the ground has gotten too close to the top of the pile through the years — but I have fond memories. And the leaves make good places for the dogs to lie around during the day and at night if it’s not cold enough to get inside the well-padded and insulated doggy motel.
I’m pretty sure Joyce Kilmer’s line is still correct: “Poems (or columns) are made by fools like me but only God can make a tree.” Lord willing, I’m going to hang on to as many trees as I can … leaves or not.
Bob Wachs is a native of Chatham County and emeritus editor at Chatham News & Record. He serves as pastor of Bear Creek Baptist Church.
COLUMN | ANDREW TAYLOR-TROUTMAN
COLUMN | BOB WACHS
Human to the nth degree
How does an obituary enter this fray? Are we still on the same page, let alone in the same universe??
DON’T WE ALL indulge in really, really tempting activities, knowing they might still leave bruises on our souls, hearts or whatever’s deepest within us? Oh, come on, can we be human and fallible with each other? Think you’re alone with your peccadilloes? You’re not. (This is where you breathe a sigh of relief.)
Speaking of ongoing human challenges (we are, aren’t we?), the temptation in our polarized culture to publicly shame others can be incredibly strong. Swinging my cudgel of words (spoken or written) can feel so satisfying, so cutting-down-to-size, and, let’s face it, so full of whoopees. And, sigh, there’s also the inclination to proudly share my elegiacally worded put-downs for others to view. (Serious blushing in progress.)
Enter the obituary.
Whoa, whoa! Obituary? How does an obituary enter this fray? Are we still on the same page, let alone in the same universe?? We are, indeed. Each of us has a unique way of communicating. As a Quaker (no, no, I don’t wear bonnets or long dresses but do admit to liking oatmeal), I feel committed to building bridges of viable communication with others, when possible. A putative obituary
helps remind me of my deepest values. Am I successfully living them. Yea? Nay? If nay, what’s the path to my compass North?
Human that I am — imperfect, struggling, sometimes rejoicing — it’s helpful to have a tangible reminder, especially if I’m about to fall o the tightrope of my acceptable behavior. When teetering toward my dark side (admit it, you’ve got one, too), I try to consider whether a particular behavior warrants mention in a future obituary. For example, “Jan was skilled at publicly chastening others.” Um, I certainly hope not.
Speaking of obituaries, I recently bumped into a powerful reminder for how to better tame my culturally infused temptation toward public shaming. (I need all the help I can get.) John Lewis, the late congressman and esteemed civil rights activist, delivered the goods:
“I really believe that all of us, as Americans ... we all need to be treated like fellow human beings.”
So there …
Jan Hutton, a resident of Chatham County and retired hospice social worker, lives life with heart and humor.
Democrats blame Republicans for multiple Democrat failures
No Republican wanted Obamacare, and no congressional Republican voted for it.
A KEY REASON Democrats make so many Republicans grind our molars is that they will not take responsibility for their own gargantuan failures. Instead, Democrats blame the GOP for the damage that they in ict on America.
It’s bad enough when someone takes a skillet and repeatedly wallops you across the back of your head. What really irks is when that person then screams at you: “Stop smacking your skull with a skillet!”
This is a big part of why Democrats have become utterly insu erable.
This month alone, Democrats refused to own their disastrous “Schumer Shutdown.” Thankfully, Democrats’ 43-day kidnapping conspiracy zzled out last Wednesday night.
The Republican-led House of Representatives voted to end the federal shutdown one day after eight Senate Democrats joined nearly unanimous Republicans, stopped the Democrats’ libuster, and adopted legislation to reopen the government. Shortly before the House vote, Democrat leader Hakeem Je ries of Brooklyn took to the oor and presented a master class in how to shirk responsibility and shift blame.
“Republicans control the House, the Senate, and the presidency,” Je ries said. “(President) Donald Trump and Republicans made the decision to shut the government down, the longest shutdown in American history.”
Wrong!
House Republicans passed a “clean” continuing resolution on Sept. 19. It would have sustained Biden-era federal spending on autopilot until Jan. 30. There were no strings, budget cuts or policy reforms attached.
This bill went to the Senate, where — as Je ries damn well knows — overall Republican control is limited by the requirement for 60 votes to overcome a libuster. Republicans have only 53 votes, seven short of the number needed to adopt the House bill.
Senate Democrat leader Chuck Schumer of New York weaponized this rule and launched the Democrat libuster that shut down the federal government on Oct. 1.
Fourteen separate times, Senate Republicans (absent the dissenting Sen. Rand Paul of Kentucky) voted to end the Democrat libuster. While three Democrats concurred with the GOP, Majority Leader John Thune of South Dakota still fell short of the 60vote threshold needed to stop Schumer from holding the American people and their government hostage until Democrats scored $192.8 billion for illegal-alien health care.
BE IN TOUCH
Je ries knows all of this. Nonetheless, he stood up and lied about it.
Je ries continued to blame Republicans for his party’s ops. “House Democrats will continue to ght to address the health care crisis that Republicans have created,” Je ries said. A huge part of America’s pounding migraine on health insurance is Democrats’ proudest baby: Obamacare. To say that this is a baby only a mother could love is an insult to ugly babies.
Obamacare was supposed to lower insurance premiums by $2,500. Instead, they have soared by at least that much. The entire boondoggle is a scal tumor that requires massive taxpayer subsidies to stay alive. Democrats are desperate to keep these subsidies owing, lest Obamacare atline.
Democrats cannot blame the GOP for this mess. No Republican wanted Obamacare, and no congressional Republican voted for it. Democrats own Obamacare and every one of its painful symptoms.
Je ries then denounced “the Republican refusal to extend the A ordable Care Act tax credits.” Once again, Je ries cannot pin this on the GOP. These tax credits are scheduled to expire on New Year’s Eve because that is exactly what Democrats wanted!
As Sally Pipes of the Paci c Research Institute detailed for me, Section 9661 of the COVID-19-fueled Biden/Democrat American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 included “expanding premium assistance” as a “Temporary rule for 2021 and 2022.” Later, Section 12001 of the Biden/Democrat In ation Reduction Act of 2022 aimed to “improve a ordability and reduce premium costs of health insurance … before Jan. 1, 2026.”
“A proposal being weighed by congressional Democrats and party advisers in recent weeks aims to temporarily extend the enhanced Obamacare subsidies that were part of the nancial aid package President Joe Biden signed into law last March,” Politico explained on June 24, 2022, regarding this second bill. If Democrats wanted to subsidize Obamacare into 2026 and beyond, they should have written that into legislation that they, not Republicans, sponsored.
As the saying goes, “When you point a nger at someone, three ngers point back at you.” Je ries and other Democrats should remember that before, yet again, giving Republicans the nger.
Deroy Murdock is a Manhattan-based Fox News contributor and a contributing editor with The American Spectator. This column was rst published by The Daily Signal.
Climate has a new head clown
MOVE OVER, Al Gore. The climate clown car has a new self-anointed driver. His name is Gavin Newsom.
The California governor is trying to use the ongoing United Nations climate conference (COP30) to position himself as the leader of the U.S., if not the world, on climate change. In hopes of advancing his presidential aspirations in 2028, Newsom is attempting to exploit the vacuum created by the boycott of COP30 by the Trump administration.
Toward that end, Newsom has attacked President Donald Trump as “an invasive species,” boasted about California’s success in climate and traveled into the Amazon jungle to “absorb a deeper spiritual connection to this issue that connects all of us.” Cue the eyeroll. But Newsom is actually more of a tragic nuisance than any kind of hero when it comes to climate.
Californians pay the highest prices for electricity in the continental U.S. This is because Newsom has loaded the California grid with expensive wind, solar and utility-scale batteries. Not only has all this green technology caused prices to soar, it has also weakened grid reliability. During periods of peak electricity demand, EV owners are warned not to charge their vehicles.
Californians also pay the highest prices for gasoline in the continental U.S because the state requires special blends of gasoline that are supposed to be improving air quality. One might think that Newsom would be helping the oil industry to lower costs. But he’s not.
Newsom’s hostility to the oil and gas industry forces California to import gasoline from foreign countries that don’t produce oil as cleanly as we do in the U.S. He’s trying to block o shore drilling that would actually reduce oil pollution in the ocean. Oil from below the ocean oor naturally seeps into the ocean o the California coast. Oil drilling would reduce that natural seepage by reducing pressure.
Newsom is also chasing re neries out of California. The problem is so acute that Newsom is actually now forced to consider a state takeover of the re neries as the industry ees the state.
But it gets worse.
After more than four decades of forest mismanagement that has turned publicly owned forests and lands in California into tinderboxes just waiting for sparks to turn into deadly, out-of-control wild res, Newsom has opposed Trump’s suggestions to clean up the forests and public lands. These wild res have burned down forests that companies like Microsoft tried to preserve by purchasing carbon o sets.
While the California legislature had directed in 2012 that reservoirs be built to provide water to ght wild res and drought, Newsom failed to build any. When Trump directed the diversion of water from Southern California to end, Newsom opposed the move.
At COP30, Newsom blamed the Los Angeles wild res on global warming even though the res were started by arson that was not completely extinguished by re ghters. When the con agration later spread, aided by the naturally occurring Santa Ana winds, there was no water in the re hydrants.
None of this is climate change. It’s incompetent government led by a vacuous hologram of a person.
Since 2012, California has charged the oil industry and consumers billions and billions of dollars as part of a cap-and-trade scheme to lower emissions. Not only have the wild res more than o set all the emissions cuts, but the California legislature recently approved a bill to drill 2,000 new oil wells so that the state could reap more revenue from the cap-andtrade scheme.
The beep-beep of Newsom’s climate clown car is deafening. It’s a warning for 2028.
Steve Milloy is a biostatistician and lawyer. He posts on X at @ JunkScience. This column was rst published by Daily Caller News Foundation.
Letters to the editor may be sent to letters@nsjonline.com or mailed to 1201 Edwards Mill Rd., Suite 300, Raleigh, NC 27607. Letters must be signed; include the writer’s phone number, city and state; and be no longer than 300 words. Letters may be edited for style, length or clarity when necessary. Ideas for op-eds should be sent to opinion@nsjonline.com.
Contact a writer or columnist: connect@northstatejournal.com
COLUMN | DEROY MURDOCK
obituaries
Joyce Ellis Clark
Feb. 25, 1947 –Nov. 16, 2025
Joyce Ellis Clark, 78, of Mt. Vernon Springs, Siler City went to her heavenly home on Sunday, November 16, 2025 at her home surrounded by loved ones. The Memorial Service will be held at 2:00 p.m. on Sunday, November 23, 2025 at JoyceBrady Chapel with Rev. Bill Browder presiding.
Joyce was born on February 25, 1947 in Chatham County to Edward Ellis and Mary Lee Klass Ellis. She is preceded in death by her parents and her son Jason Hubert Clark.
Joyce lived her childhood years with her grandparents, Murd and Lula Klass, until she married the love of her life, Melvin Clark, Jr. on April 16, 1965. Joyce and. Melvin were married for over 60 years and were blessed with three sons.
Joyce graduated from Chatham Central High School in 1965, was a member of the Beta Club and accomplished perfect attendance all 12 years of school. At the age of 60, she graduated in 2009 from Central
Carolina Community College with an Associate’s Degree in Childhood Education with highest honors.
Joyce was a member of Mt. Vernon Springs Presbyterian church, where she served as a Sunday School teacher and she served with the youth group on any beach and Carowinds trips. She wrote several Christmas plays for her church, which she directed and found great joy in doing. She always strived to be a good example to youth. She opened her home on many occasions to her sons’ friends and they became family to her.
She was a Woman of Faith and loved her Lord Jesus.
Joyce was employed with Collins and Aikman in Siler City for 38 years. She loved all her friends and associates there.
Two of Joyce’s greatest treasures were her granddaughter, Amy and her great-grandson, Jordan Alexander Miller. Joyce got great pleasure spending time with her granddaughter, Amy on their many Girls Night Out. She adored her grandchildren.
Joyce fought a courageous and long battle for seven plus years with Pure Red Cell aplasia Leukemia. Her family cared and loved her throughout her battle.
Left to cherish Joyce’s memory is her husband of 60 years, Melvin Clark, Jr.; sons, Melvin Alan Clark (Phyllis), Larry Edward Clark (Angie); granddaughter, Amy Elizabeth Pauley (Skyler); greatgrandson, Jordan Alexander Miller; brother, James Ellis; sister, Verna Ellis (Mike); many, many nieces and nephews; great and great-great nieces and nephews and a host of family and friends.
Celebrate the life of your loved ones. Submit obituaries and death notices to be published in Chatham News & Record at obits@chathamnewsrecord.com
Americana troubadour Todd Snider, alt-country singer-songwriter, dead at 59
He was diagnosed with pneumonia following an assault
The Associated Press
NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Todd Snider, a singer whose thoughtfully freewheeling tunes and cosmic-stoner songwriting made him a beloved gure in American roots music, has died. He was 59.
His record label said Saturday in a statement posted to his social media accounts that Snider died last Friday.
“Where do we nd the words for the one who always had the right words, who knew how to distill everything down to its essence with words and song while delivering the most devastating, hilarious, and impactful turn of phrases?” the statement read. “Always creating rhyme and meter that immediately felt like an old friend or a favorite blanket. Someone who could almost always nd the humor in this crazy ride on Planet Earth.”
Snider’s family and friends had said in a Friday statement that he had been diagnosed with pneumonia at a hospital in Hendersonville, Tennessee, and that his situation had since grown more complicated and he was transferred elsewhere. The diagnosis came on the heels of the cancellation of a tour after Snider had been the victim of a violent assault in the Salt Lake City area, according to a Nov. 3 statement from his management team.
But Salt Lake City police later arrested Snider himself when he at rst refused to leave a hospital and later returned and threatened sta ers, the Salt Lake Tribune reported.
The scrapped tour was in support of his most recent album, “High, Lonesome and Then Some,” which released in October. Snider combined elements
of folk, rock and country in a three-decade career. In reviews of his recent albums, The Associated Press called him a “singer-songwriter with the persona of a fried folkie” and a “stoner troubadour and cosmic comic.”
He modeled himself on — and at times met and was mentored by — artists like Kris Kristo erson, Guy Clark and John Prine. His songs were recorded by artists including Jerry Je Walker, Billy Joe Shaver and Tom Jones. And he co-wrote a song with Loretta Lynn that appeared on her 2016 album, “Full Circle.”
“He relayed so much tenderness and sensitivity through his songs, and showed many of us how to look at the world through a di erent lens,” the Saturday statement from his label read. “He got up every morning and started writing, always working towards nding his place among the songwriting giants that sat on his record shelves, those same giants who let him into their lives and took him under their wings, who he studied relentlessly.”
Snider would do his
best-known and most acclaimed work for Prine’s independent label Oh Boy in the early 2000s. It included the albums “New Connection,” “Near Truths and Hotel Rooms” and “East Nashville Skyline,” a 2004 collection that’s considered by many to be his best. Those albums yielded his best known songs, “I Can’t Complain,” “Beer Run” and “Alright Guy.”
Snider was born and raised in Oregon before settling and making his musical chops in San Marcos, Texas. He eventually made his way to Nashville and was dubbed by some the unofcial “mayor of East Nashville,” assuming the title from a friend memorialized thusly in his “Train Song.” In 2021, Snider said a tornado that ripped through the neighborhood home to a vibrant arts scene severely damaged his house.
Snider had an early fan in Jimmy Bu ett, who signed the young artist to his record label, Margaritaville, which released his rst two albums, 1994’s “Songs for the Daily Planet” and 1996’s “Step Right Up.”
Germany’s Kessler twins, who became dance stars in ’50s and ’60s, dead at 89
They toured worldwide, including with Fred Astaire and Frank Sinatra
The Associated Press
BERLIN — Alice and Ellen Kessler, twin dancers and singers who launched their career in the 1950s and performed with Fred Astaire, Frank Sinatra and Harry Belafonte among others, have died, police in Germany said Tuesday. They were 89.
The death of the twins in Grünwald, a prosperous suburb of Munich where they shared a house, was reported by German newspaper Bild and news agency dpa on Monday, without named sources. Munich police on Tuesday con rmed the deaths, saying in an emailed statement that it was a “joint suicide.”
The Kessler twins learned to dance at a young age and joined the Leipzig Opera children’s ballet. In 1952, when they were 16, their family ed to West Germany, where they danced in a revue theater in Düsseldorf. In 1955, the sisters were discovered by the director of the Lido cabaret theater in Paris, where their international career took o .
KARL MITTENZWEI / DPA VIA AP
Alice Kessler and Ellen Kessler present excerpts from their show program “Eins und eins ist eins” (one and one is one) at a press conference in Berlin in 1997.
In the 1960s, the Kessler twins toured worldwide, moved to Rome and performed with Astaire, Sinatra and Belafonte. They turned down an offer to appear with Elvis Presley in “Viva Las Vegas” in 1964 for fear of becoming de ned by musical lms in America, dpa reported.
Even at 80, the sisters appeared on stage in a musical.
Alice said shortly before their 80th birthday that they probably wouldn’t have managed to perform for so long alone. Being a twosome “only has advantages,” she said. “Together you’re stronger.” Asked about the secret of their success, she remarked: “Discipline, every day. Gratitude, time and again. Humility, not cockiness. And togetherness. Until death.”
ANGELINA CASTILLO VIA AP
Todd Snider poses for a portrait in Hendersonville, Tennessee, in September.
Blue Origin launches huge rocket carrying twin NASA spacecraft to Mars
The rst-stage booster successfully landed on a drone ship
By Marcia Dunn
The Associated Press
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. — Blue Origin launched its huge New Glenn rocket last Thursday with a pair of NASA spacecraft destined for Mars.
It was only the second ight of the rocket that Je Bezos’ company and NASA are counting on to get people and supplies to the moon — and it was a complete success.
The 321-foot New Glenn blasted into the afternoon sky from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, sending NASA’s twin Mars orbiters on a drawn- out journey to the red planet. Lifto was stalled four days by lousy local weather as well as solar storms strong enough to paint the skies with auroras as far south as Florida.
In a remarkable rst, Blue Origin recovered the booster following its separation from the upper stage and the Mars orbiters, an essential step to recycle and slash costs similar to SpaceX. Company employees cheered wildly as the booster landed upright on a barge 375 miles o shore. An ecstatic Bezos watched the action from Launch Control.
“Next stop, moon!” employees chanted following the booster’s bull’s-eye landing. Twenty minutes later, the rocket’s upper stage deployed the two Mars orbiters in space, the mission’s main objective. Congratulations poured in from NASA o cials as well as SpaceX’s Elon Musk, whose booster landings are now routine.
New Glenn’s inaugural test ight in January delivered a
prototype satellite to orbit, but failed to land the booster on its oating platform in the Atlantic.
The identical Mars orbiters, named Escapade, will spend a year hanging out near Earth, stationing themselves 1 million miles away. Once Earth and Mars are properly aligned next fall, the duo will get a gravity assist from Earth to head to the red planet, arriving in 2027.
Once around Mars, the spacecraft will map the planet’s upper atmosphere and scattered magnetic elds, study-
ing how these realms interact with the solar wind. The observations should shed light on the processes behind the escaping Martian atmosphere, helping to explain how the planet went from wet and warm to dry and dusty. Scientists will also learn how best to protect astronauts against Mars’ harsh radiation environment.
“We really, really want to understand the interaction of the solar wind with Mars better than we do now,” Escapade’s lead scientist, Rob Lillis of the University of California, Berke -
ley, said ahead of the launch. “Escapade is going to bring an unprecedented stereo viewpoint because we’re going to have two spacecraft at the same time.” It’s a relatively low-budget mission, coming in under $80 million, that’s managed and operated by UC Berkeley. NASA saved money by signing up for one of New Glenn’s early ights. The Mars orbiters should have blasted o last fall, but NASA passed up that ideal launch window — Earth and Mars line up for a quick transit
“Next stop, moon!”
Blue Origin employees following the booster landing
just every two years — because of feared delays with Blue Origin’s brand-new rocket.
Named after John Glenn, the rst American to orbit the world, New Glenn is ve times bigger than the New Shepard rockets sending wealthy clients to the edge of space from West Texas. Blue Origin plans to launch a prototype Blue Moon lunar lander on a demo mission in the coming months aboard New Glenn.
Created in 2000 by Bezos, Amazon’s founder, Blue Origin already holds a NASA contract for the third moon landing by astronauts under the Artemis program. Musk’s SpaceX beat out Blue Origin for the rst and second crew landings, using Starships, nearly 100 feet taller than Bezos’ New Glenn.
But last month NASA Acting Administrator Sean Du y reopened the contract for the rst crewed moon landing, citing concern over the pace of Starship’s progress in ight tests from Texas. Blue Origin as well as SpaceX have presented accelerated landing plans.
NASA is on track to send astronauts around the moon early next year using its own Space Launch System, or SLS, rocket. The next Artemis crew would attempt to land; the space agency is pressing to get astronauts back on the lunar surface by decade’s end in order to beat China.
Twelve astronauts walked on the moon more than a half-century ago during NASA’s Apollo program.
© 2025 Chatham Investors
JOHN RAOUX / AP PHOTO
A Blue Origin New Glenn rocket lifts o from Launch Complex 36 at the Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida last week.
CHATHAM SPORTS
Local man wins putt-putt national championship
Lynn Gaines’ hobby turned into a major accomplishment
By Asheebo Rojas Chatham News & Record
A LIFELONG PASSION for putt-putt golf turned into the ultimate reward for Goldston resident Lynn Gaines.
Gaines, 68, won the Amateur Putters Association national championship in Fernandina Beach, Florida, on Oct. 24. The APA is the amateur division of the Professional Putters Association, an organization that holds high-level putt-putt tournaments and competitions across the United States. Over the course of four rounds per day for two days, Gaines nished atop a eld of 30 competitors with a total score of 206.
“That was the least of my expectations,” Gaines, who has been playing putt-putt golf for decades, said.
“Knowing how much of this putt-putt family was cheering for me or telling me these little keys and little things, like, ‘Keep putting the same way,’ and encouraging me, it really, like I said, is very surreal.”
The build up to Gaines’ big moment started over 50 years ago in Siler City.
While tagging along with his dad for a burgers at Chris’ Drive-In, Gaines would have his eyes xated on the newly built, but no longer existent, putt-putt course behind the restaurant. Because his dad, Herbert, was a long-distance truck driver, Gaines didn’t have many opportunities to play while in town.
“I would bug him enough to
where he would say, ‘All right, if I take you by there, would you stop and be quiet?’” Gaines recalled. “I said, ‘Yeah, for a little while.’”
But it was there where Gaines fell in love with the game. When he turned 16 and earned his driver’s license a short time later, he took his rst job at that very putt-putt course. He had more time to play during his
Saturday shifts, picking up the putter as much as he could between customers.
As Gaines’ life moved along, putt-putt stayed with him. Gaines married another putter in his wife Sue 48 years ago, and over the years, the couple found the time to play on family vacations. They also raised a putt-putt lover in their late son Josh, who died in 2020.
“Early in our marriage, there was not a putt-putt, but a putting course in Sanford,” Gaines said. “And we would go every Monday night and play tournaments. And she’s pretty good herself.”
Said Gaines, “It gives us an opportunity to do a lot of this stu together. It keeps us young.”
Gaines’ putt-putting took a turn in 2018. While working as a nance manager at a Siler City car dealership, a customer came in to trade their vehicle. The two went for a drive, and Gaines noticed putt-putt scorecards in the customer’s console. When he asked about them, the customer told Gaines about the putting scene in Burlington and invited him to join their local Monday night tournament. With the full support of his wife, Gaines accepted the o er.
Gaines would play many rounds of putt-putt in Burlington over the following years, and after retiring in 2022, he o cially joined the PPA as an amateur on the Southern Putting Tour. After about a year of traveling and competing in tournaments around the Southeast, Gaines won his rst tournament at his home course in 2023.
“You have so many friends in the world of putt-putt,” Gaines said. “It’s not about the competition so much. I’m not out there trying to beat people, and they’re not out there trying to beat each other. It’s a competition against the course. Every time you play, you want to shoot a better score against the course.”
Gaines had never seen the course in Fernandina Beach until a late season tournament in September. On the rst day of the competition, Gaines felt the stress and pressure of the moment, and he performed poorly for his standards. He nished third after a bounce-back performance in the second day.
So Gaines tried again at the same course a month later. This
are taking their talents to big-time programs next season.
On the dotted line: Seaforth athletes make it o cial
The Hawks will send 10 more alumni to the next level
Points until Katie Leonard reaches 1,000 career points
By Asheebo Rojas Chatham News & Record
MULTIPLE SEAFORTH athletes signed to their future college programs on Nov. 12. Here’s a look at where they’re headed after their senior seasons.
Cali O’Neill (UNC women’s soccer)
O’Neill, a senior, is o cial-
ly a Tar Heel after announc-
ing her commitment to the storied program in 2024. During her high school career, O’Neill played club for NC Courage Academy. The defender has also been called up to U.S. Youth National Team multiple times for training camps and international tournaments, including the FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup in Morocco in October. UNC won the 2024 national title.
Josie Valgus (TCU volleyball)
Valgus, a senior, made her commitment to TCU nal after recording more than 1,290
@SEAFORTHHAWKS / X
kills, 1,070 digs, 761 assists and 189 aces in her high school career. The Horned Frogs have made three straight NCAA Tournaments from 2022-24.
Renee Rizvi (Ursinus women’s lacrosse)
Rizvi, a senior mid elder, signed to Ursinus, an NCAA Division III program in Collegeville, Pennsylvania. In three seasons, Rizvi has recorded 69 goals, 21 assists and 128 ground balls.
Katie Leonard (Cornell
Leonard signed to Cornell before the start of her senior season with the Hawks. The sharpshooter is closing in on the 1,000-point mark (993 currently) while also notching
See SEAFORTH, page B4
“Whatever happened would happen.”
Lynn Gaines
time for a chance at a national title.
“I just followed a routine,” Gaines said. “I would practice the same way every day I went over to the course, and I was just more comfortable and relaxed because whatever happened would happen.”
Gaines focused on having a consistent putting stroke, which he felt had got him this far. On the rst day of the national tournament, he started o strong, leading the eld after the rst round by eight strokes. By the 14th hole of the last round on the second day, the taste of victory began to manifest.
“As I came on the back nine the last round in the nationals, I had that feeling, and I had some other thoughts,” Gaines said. “(Josh) loved the game more than I did. More than I ever did. So I thought about him a lot.
“The golf ball got a little blurry for a stroke or two. And then it was OK because I knew he was there with me.”
Gaines feels this win was surprising since he doesn’t often win the local tournaments in Burlington and Asheboro. As someone who’s just following a passion and seeing where it takes him without a speci c goal in mind, Gaines didn’t realize winning would come with all the praise, recognition by the professionals and a “Welcome Home Lynn Gaines” placed on the Putt-Putt Fun Center sign in Burlington.
But it happened. It also gave the Gaines name, one that holds the sport so dearly, an everlasting legacy.
“One thing they tell me,” Gaines said. “You are a national champion, and no one can ever take that away from you.”
Seaforth falls short at Croatan to end memorable season
The Hawks nished with a program best 6-6 record
By Asheebo Rojas Chatham News & Record
NO. 20 SEAFORTH’S (6-6) HISTORIC football season came to an end in a 49-13 second round loss to No. 4 Croatan (10-1) on Friday.
The Hawks had no answer for Croatan’s junior running back Andrew Boucher, who rushed for a school record seven touchdowns and ended the night with more than 200 yards.
Boucher helped put the game away with four rst half scores, including a 57-yard sprint to the end zone in the opening quarter.
Seaforth failed to break 20 points for the
See FOOTBALL, page B3
women’s basketball)
CONTRIBUTED PHOTO
Goldston resident Lynn Gaines, 68, lines up a shot on his way to winning the Amateur Putters Association national championship in Fernandina Beach, Florida.
Josie Valgus and Cali O’Neill
COURTESY CARTER HARRISON
defense ghts for a stop in a loss to Croatan on Nov. 14.
Levi Haygood
Woods Charter, boys’ basketball
Woods Charter’s Levi Haygood earns athlete of the week honors for the week of Nov. 10.
Haygood, a junior forward, lled the stat sheet in an 82-61 win over Neuse Charter Friday. In 25 minutes, he recorded a career-high 20 points alongside 10 rebounds and nine assists.
Haygood, a two-time all-conference player, was the Wolves’ leading rebounder last season, and he’s looking to make a jump as an all-around player this season.
Naomi Stevenson was named All-State as a freshman
Local volleyball players earn postseason honors 9
By Asheebo Rojas Chatham News & Record
THE NORTH Carolina Volleyball Coaches Association released its All-State teams for the 2025 season on Nov. 10. Here’s a look at the local players who received All-State and All-Region honors.
SEAFORTH
Naomi Stevenson (5A First Team All-State, Region 5 All-Region)
Stevenson made an immediate impact as a freshman, leading the Hawks with more than 405 kills and a greater than .300 hitting percentage on the way to a state championship appearance. She notched a career-high 30 kills during Seaforth’s comeback from down 2-0 in the 5A East regional nal against Person. Stevenson was one of three NCHSAA freshmen to earn All-State honors and one of two freshmen on the 5A AllState team.
Abigail Valgus (5A Second Team All-State, Region 5 All-Region)
Valgus earned an increased role this season and ran with it, seeing signi cant increases in her kill, ace, blocks, digs and assist totals. The junior led Seaforth with a career high of more than 475 assists, and she recorded a career-high 253 digs.
Josie Valgus (5A Second Team All-State, Region 5 All-Region)
Valgus, a TCU commit, nished her high school career with her best season as a setter. The senior recorded career highs with more than 404 assists, 227 digs and 26 blocks. Early in the season, Valgus stepped up while junior Ally Forbes was out with an injury, logging eight of her nine double-digit kill performances, including a season-best 21 kills twice, in Forbes’ absence.
CHATHAM CENTRAL
Sydney Sellers (1A First Team All-State, Region 5 All-Region)
Sellers was a versatile weapon for the Bears this season. The senior recorded career-highs in kills (114), digs (116), and she led the team with a career-best 67 aces.
Addison Goldston (1A Second Team All-State, Region 5 All-Region)
Goldston, a sophomore, stu ed the stat sheet this season, leading the Bears in kills (271), digs (352) and hitting percentage (.197). She also recorded 64 aces. During the season, Goldston logged three games with at least 20 kills.
Anali Perez (1A Second Team All-State, Region 5 All-Region)
Perez, a senior, did a lot of dirty work for the Bears as she nished the year with 327 digs and 352 service receptions. She
Local players who earned All-State honors
played 15 less sets in 2024 but outperformed her dig total from last year by 184.
WOODS CHARTER
Cecilia Brignati (1A First Team All-State, Region 5 All-Region)
Brignati, a sophomore, was an exceptional during the Wolves’ historic season. She recorded a team-high 507 assists during the regular season while notching career-highs of 65 aces (team-high) and 65 kills.
Taylin Banbrook (1A First Team All-State, Region 5 All-Region)
Banbrook ended her high school career with her best attacking season. The senior nished the regular season with a career highs of 133 kills and 47 aces. Her .438 regular season hitting percentage led the team.
Annabel Unah (1A Second Team All-State, Region 5 All-Region)
Unah, a junior, was an important outside hitter for the Wolves, leading the team with 160 kills in the regular season on a .324 hitting percentage. She recorded seven regular season games with at least 10 kills.
LEVIHAYGOOD / INSTAGRAM
GENE GALIN FOR CHATHAM NEWS & RECORD
Woods Charter’s Cecilia Brignati hits a ball over the net during the 2025 season.
Basketball, wrestling seasons get underway
Stacey Harris earned his rst win as Chatham Central’s coach
By Asheebo Rojas
Chatham News & Record
Boys’ basketball
WOODS CHARTER dominated Neuse Charter 82-61 Friday. Junior forward Levi Haygood led the way with a 20-point, 10-rebound double-double, adding nine assists for a near triple-double. Junior guard Alden Phelps also stu ed the stat sheet with 17 points, eight rebounds, eight assists and three steals.
Chatham Charter defeated Phoenix Academy 67-66 in overtime on Nov. 11 behind a 20-point night from sophomore guard Ryder Murphy. The Knights fell to NCSSM-Durham 54-50 the next day.
Chatham Central opened its season with a 73-33 win over Ascend Leadership on Friday. The Bears, winning their rst game under new coach Stacey Harris, picked up their largest win since Jan. 30.
Jordan-Matthews dropped its season opener with an 86-57 loss to Lee County Friday.
Conference standings as of Sunday (overall, conference)
Central Tar Heel 1A: 1. Clover Garden School (1-0, 0-0); 2. Woods Charter (2-0, 0-0); 3. Southern Wake Academy (1-1, 0-0); 4. Chatham Charter (2-3, 0-0); 5. Ascend Leadership (1-2,
Chatham Central’s Stacey Harris instructs from the sideline in a preseason scrimmage. He earned his rst win as the Bears’ coach on Nov. 14.
0-0); 6. Central Carolina Academy (0-2, 0-0); 7. River Mill (02, 0-0)
Four Rivers 3A/4A: 1. Uwharrie Charter (0-1, 0-0); 2. Jordan-Matthews (0-1, 0-0); 3. Eastern Randolph (0-0, 0-0); 4. North Moore (0-0, 0-0); 5. Northwood (0-0, 0-0); 6. Southwestern Randolph (0-0, 0-0) Greater Triad 1A/2A: 1. Chatham Central (1-0, 0-0); 2. South Stokes (1-0, 0-0); 3. College Prep and Leadership (1-0, 0-0); 4. Winston-Salem Prep (0 -1, 0-0); 5. Bishop McGuin-
Byrd steps down as Seaforth girl’s coach
The Hawks will be led by their assistants to start the season
By Asheebo Rojas Chatham News & Record
SEAFORTH GIRLS’ basketball coach Charles Byrd is stepping down after four seasons of leading the program.
The Hawks, coming o a 28-3 campaign last winter, will begin the season led by assistant coaches Antonio Hayes and Kimberly Brower. Seaforth will soon begin interviewing to ll its coaching vacancy.
Byrd has been the program’s only coach since the school opened in 2021, leading the Hawks to three straight 2A East regional nals and a state championship appearance in 2023.
He coached one of the nation’s best players in Gabby
White, a class of 2025 four-star recruit, who is now a guard at Virginia.
Seaforth will host Middle Creek Friday at 6:30 p.m. to start the 2025-26 season.
ness (0-0, 0-0); 6. North Stokes (0-0, 0-0); 7. South Davidson (0 - 0, 0-0)
Big Seven 4A/5A: 1. Durham School of the Arts (2-1, 0-0); 2. Cedar Ridge (0-1, 0-0); 3. Carrboro (0-1, 0-0); 4. J.F. Webb (0 - 0, 0-0); 5. Orange (0-0, 0-0); 6. Seaforth (0-0, 0-0); 7. South Granville (0-0, 0-0)
Girls’ basketball
Woods Charter split the week with a 37-35 win over Discovery Charter on Nov. 12 and a 44-19
FOOTBALL from page B1
rst time since Aug. 29, but it wasn’t due to a lack of production.
The Hawks were able to drive the ball down the eld in their rst possession, but an interception from junior quarterback Duncan Parker to senior Riley Robinson in the end zone abruptly ended the early momentum.
Following Boucher’s longest touchdown run of the night, Seaforth responded with a 14 -yard pass from Parker to senior receiver Patrick Miller to tie the game 7-7. After another Boucher score, Seaforth drove the ball into Croatan territory again, but this time, senior linebacker Everett Fitzsimmons picked o Parker at the 20. Boucher cashed in the takeaway with another score to put the Cougars ahead 21-7 in the second quarter.
Coming out of halftime trailing 28-7, Seaforth turned the ball over twice more, including another interception to senior Beau Boyd and a lost fumble in the end
loss to Wake Christian Academy on Friday. Senior guard Wesley Oliver recorded 15 points, four assists and ve steals in the win over the Trailblazers.
Chatham Charter lost its fourth straight game with a 44 -16 defeat to NCSSM-Durham on Nov. 12.
Chatham Central started the year with a 37-22 win over Ascend Leadership on Friday. Junior guard Lizzy Murray scored a team-high 10 points. Despite 15 points from freshman Makayla Martin, Jordan-Matthews fell to Lee County in a close 42-39 battle Friday.
Wrestling
Boys: Jordan-Matthews fell to Asheboro, Pinecrest and Trinity in duals on Nov. 12. After a loss to Cedar Ridge the next day, the Jets nished the Cedar Ridge quad with wins over Eastern Alamance and NCSSM.
Northwood defeated Carrboro and Louisburg in its own tri meet on Nov. 12.
Top individual performances: Seaforth’s Harrison Compton beat Millbrook’s Matthew Dobo by a 14-13 decision to win the Wolverine Invitational 190-pound championship. Jordan-Matthews’ Jakari Blue pinned Eastern Alamance’s Julian Jones in 1 minute, 17 seconds in a dual. Northwood’s Connor Willingmyre and Titus Moore each pinned their Carrboro opponents in 32 seconds.
Girls: Jordan-Matthews dropped two duals to Asheboro and Pinecrest on Nov. 12. The Jets lost to Cedar Ridge and tied NCSSM at Cedar Ridge the next day. Northwood beat Carrboro and Louisburg at its own meet on Nov. 12 by forfeits.
Top individual performances: Jordan-Matthews’ Alexandria Zumano Garcia pinned Cedar Ridge’s Hannah Manoogian in 30 seconds.
Conference standings as of Sunday (overall, conference): Central Tar Heel 1A: 1. Woods Charter (2-1, 0-0); 2. Southern Wake Academy (1-1, 0-0); 3. Chatham Charter (1-4, 0-0); 4. Ascend Leadership (0-1, 0-0); 5. River Mill (0-2, 0-0); 6. Central Carolina Academy (0-2, 0-0); 7. Clover Garden School (0-0, 0-0) Four Rivers 3A/4A: 1. Uwharrie Charter (1-0, 0-0); 2. Jordan-Matthews (0-1, 0-0); 3. Eastern Randolph (0-0, 0-0); 4. North Moore (0-0, 0-0); 5. Northwood (0-0, 0-0); 6. Southwestern Randolph (0-0, 0-0) Greater Triad 1A/2A: 1. College Prep and leadership (1-0, 0-0); 2. Chatham Central (1-0, 0-0); 3. Bishop McGuinness (0-0, 0-0); 4. North Stokes (0-0, 0-0); 5. South Davidson (0-0, 0-0); 6. South Stokes (0-0, 0-0); 7. Winston-Salem Prep (0-0, 0-0) Big Seven 4A/5A: 1. Carrboro (1-0, 0-0); 2. Durham School of the Arts (1-2, 0-0); 3. Cedar Ridge (0-0, 0-0); 4. J.F. Webb (0-0, 0-0); 5. Orange (0-0, 0-0); 6. Seaforth (0-0, 0-0); 7. South Granville (0-0, 0-0)
2,500+
Passing yards for Duncan Parker in 2025
zone on rst-and-goal at the 1. Parker scored the Hawks’ nal touchdown in the third quarter on a 2-yard run.
After three straight losing seasons, Seaforth pulled o its best record in program history.
The Hawks earned a share of a conference title for the rst time, nishing as Big Seven 4A/5A co-champions with J.F. Webb.
Seaforth, which made the playo s for the rst time, also picked up its rst playo win after erasing a 28-14 de cit in less than three minutes to knock o No. 13 South Brunswick on Nov. 7. Parker threw two touchdown passes to seniors Nick Gregory and Miller to complete the comeback.
Parker’s big jump as a pass-
er from his sophomore year helped elevate the Hawks’ offense to a higher level of potency. He went from throwing just over 1,200 yards and six touchdowns last year to reaching more than 2,500 pass yards and 29 touchdowns this fall. Seaforth’s offense went from scoring 22.6 points per game in 2024 to 30.6 points per game in 2025.
Gregory, who caught eight touchdown passes and rushed for ve scores, also contributed to the Hawks’ jump in success. He impacted all sides of the ball, returning two kicko s, a punt and an interception for touchdowns. Junior receiver Max Hinchman emerged as one of the Hawks’ most reliable down- eld threats as he hauled in ve touchdowns and more than 550 yards. Since taking over the program in April, Seaforth coach Tolbert Matthews wanted to establish a culture of “responding” to adversity. The Hawks, who started the season 1-4 before earning a playo bid, did exactly that.
GENE GALIN FOR CHATHAM NEWS & RECORD
GENE GALIN FOR CHATHAM NEWS & RECORD
Charles Byrd looks on as his team competes during the 2024-25 season.
Heath, O’Reilly elected to US Soccer Hall of Fame
The former Tar Heel women’s stars lead a class of seven
The Associated Press
FRISCO, Texas — Women’s World Cup champions and Olympic gold medalists Tobin Heath and Heather O’Reilly were elected last Thursday to the U.S. National Soccer Hall of Fame along with men’s players Tony Sanneh and Chris Wondolowski.
Referee Kari Seitz also was elected along with Kevin Crow, known primarily for his time in indoor soccer.
They will be inducted May 1 at the hall in Frisco, Texas.
O’Reilly, 40, was a forward and winger who scored 47 goals in 231 international appearances, helping the U.S. win the 2015 World Cup and Olympic gold medals in 2004, 2008 and 2012. She won league titles with Sky Blue in 2009 in Women’s Professional Soccer and with Kansas City in 2015 and North Carolina in 2019 in the National Women’s Soccer League.
Heath, 37, was a mid elder and forward who had 36 goals in 181 appearances, winning World Cup titles with the U.S. in 2015 and 2019, and Olympic gold medals in 2008 and 2012.
Wondolowski, 42, is Major League Soccer’s career scoring leader with 171 regular-season goals and two in the playo s, playing for San Jose (2005, 2009-21) and Houston (200609). He scored 11 goals in 35 international appearances, playing in two games at the 2014 World Cup.
2019
The year Heather O’Reilly helped lead the N.C. Courage to the NWSL title
elected if they each receive at least 50% and a third is elected if receiving at least 75%.
Sanneh, 54, was a defender who scored three goals in 43 international appearances, starting all ve games for the U.S. at the 2002 World Cup as the Americans reached the quarter nals in their farthest advancement since 1930. He played for D.C. (1996-98), Columbus (2004), Chicago (200506), Colorado (2007) and the LA Galaxy (2009) along with stints at Hertha Berlin (19912001) and Nuremberg (200104), and won MLS titles in 1996 and 1997.
O’Reilly, Heath and Wondolowski were picked from the player ballot. The top two are
ACC Commissioner Phillips
stays optimistic amid league’s uncertain chances for multiple CFP bids
The league has no favorite, but several teams control their own destiny
By Aaron Beard
The Associated Press
PITTSBURGH — Atlantic Coast Conference Commissioner Jim Phillips knows his league is on uncertain footing when it comes to getting multiple bids to the College Football Playo , particularly as several ranked league teams stumbled in recent games.
He’s also quick to point out there’s still time for the ACC to hit that goal all the same.
“I’m not dejected. I’m not despondent or any of those types of things,” Phillips said Saturday, after watching No. 23 Pittsburgh lose at home to No. 9 Notre Dame in lopsided fashion. “You always want to win more games and the rest of it. But we still have games to be played against really good opponents.”
The ACC has ve AP Top 25 teams — yet no clear headliner. That means the league has multiple playo candidates after entering the weekend with ve 1-loss teams in the ACC standings, yet no one locked.
SEAFORTH from page B1
388 rebounds (4.2 per game) and 221 assists (2.4 per game) in three seasons. Cornell made its only NCAA Tournament appearance in 2008.
Sydney Nezos (Lynchburg women’s soccer)
Nezos, a senior defender, signed to Lynchburg, an NCAA Division III program in Lynchburg, Virginia. She’s been a key piece to the Hawks’ success in her
Phillips maintains optimism considering there are so many moving parts in play. For example: while Pitt (No. 22 CFP) lost ground with the loss, that only strengthens the Fighting Irish’s case — which in turn would aid No. 16 Miami (No. 15 CFP) by keeping the Hurricanes’ season-opening win against the Irish as a standout W. Phillips’ message is simple: Multiple ACC teams still control their own destiny.
“I haven’t seen a week go by in college football that if you don’t win, you don’t move up,” Phillips said. “Maybe not drastically, but the idea is you have to continue to win. And if you continue to win, you have a strong possibility that you are going to move up within the rankings.”
Still, it has been a strange year for the ACC with unexpected highs and high-pro le ops.
Preseason favorite Clemson opened the year ranked No. 4 nationally but has been working in recent weeks just to become bowl eligible. Florida State looked to have regrouped from last year’s two-win disaster with a season-opening statement win against Alabama, only to start 0-4 in the league on the way to extending the 2024 misery.
rst three seasons, recording 291 steals in her career. Lynchburg most recently made the NCAA Tournament in 2022 and won a national championship in 2014.
Carsyn Ward (Shenandoah women’s soccer)
Ward is headed to Shenandoah, an NCAA Division III program in Winchester, Virginia, after her senior season in the spring. In three seasons, Ward has recorded 20 goals, 12 assists and 211 steals.
In the meantime, as Miami peaked at No. 2, Georgia Tech reached No. 8 while starting 8-0 and Virginia hit No. 12 after starting 5-0 in ACC play despite being picked to nish 14th in the 17-team football league.
And yet, the Hurricanes and Yellow Jackets both stumbled on Nov. 1, with Miami suffering its second loss at SMU and Georgia Tech falling at NC State. Virginia lost at home to Wake Forest last week before regrouping to win at Duke on Saturday. And No. 20 Louisville has lost consecutive home games to California and then Friday against Clemson after a 7-1 start that put the Cardinals in the chase.
It very nearly got worse, too. Georgia Tech survived Saturday on a nal-seconds eld goal against a Boston College that entered the day at 1-9.
“The league itself has played good football all year,” Phillips said. “We’ve su ered some from maybe not being as consistent from week to week. But we’ve also cannibalized ourselves some as well within the league. I think every league goes through that. It just seems like that’s happened more to us recently, over the last three weeks.”
Declan Lindquist (Haverford men’s basketball)
Lindquist, a senior guard, will continue his basketball career at Haverford, an NCAA Division III program in Haverford, Pennsylvania. Lindquist is coming o a junior season in which he logged a career-high 228 points (8.4 per game), 27 assists and 22 steals.
Colin Dorney (William Peace baseball)
Sanneh and Crow were chosen from the veteran ballot, in which the top vote-getter is elected if receiving at least 50% and a second if receiving at least 75%. Sanneh was on 21 of 24 ballots (87.55%) and was followed by Crow (19, 79.2%), Tatu (17, 70.8%), Ti any Roberts (16, 66.7%), David Beckham (11, 45.8%), Clint Mathis (10, 41.7%), Lorrie Fair (6, 25%), Chico Borja (5, 20.8%), Aly Wagner (5, 20.8%) and Francis Farbero (1, 4.2%).
Seitz, 55, referred refereed nine games at the Women’s World Cup in 1999, 2003, 2007 and 2011, and six at the Olym-
O’Reilly got 47 of 48 votes for 97.9%, followed by Heath (45, 93.8%), Wondolowski (37, 77.1%), Keith Johnson (33, 68.8%), Samantha Mewis (32, 66.7%), Dwayne DeRosario (29, 60.4%), Amy Rodriguez (28, 58.3%), Kyle Beckerman (27, 56.3%), Robbie Keane (20, 41.7%), Oguchi Onyewu (19, 39.6%), Jermaine Jones (17, 35.4%), Maurice Edu (16, 33.3%), Diego Valeri (13, 27.1%), Michael Archer (12, 25%), Stephanie Lopez Cox (12, 25%), Chad Marshall (11, 22.9%), Mike Lawson (10, 20.8%), Carlos Ruiz (7, 14.6%), Matt Besler (6, 12.5%) and Geo Cameron (5, 10.4%).
pics in 2004, 2008 and 2012. She became the U.S. Soccer Federation’s vice president of referees in 2024. Seitz was on the builder ballot, which this year included only referees. The top voter-getter is picked if receiving at least 50%. For the Builder Ballot, the 2026 rotation considered candidates from the referee category only. Election procedures call for the Builder named to the most ballots (and on at least 50% of the ballots) to be elected. Seitz got 19 of 24 votes (79.2%) and was followed by Gino D’Ippolito (10, 41.7%), Brian Hall (6, 25%) and Mark Geiger (4, 16.7%).
Phillips can look back to last year’s results for hope. Clemson sneaked into the ACC title game when then-No. 6 Miami blew a 21-0 loss at Syracuse in a loss that ultimately kept the Hurricanes out of the CFP. The Tigers edged SMU for the ACC title to reach the CFP, while the Mus-
Dorney, a senior, signed to William Peace, an NCAA Division III program in Raleigh, ahead of his nal season this spring.
Gabe Rogers (Binghamton wrestling)
Rogers will continue wrestling at Binghamton, an NCAA Division I program in Binghamton, New York, after his senior season this winter. Last year, Rogers won over 40 matches on his way to an individu-
tangs made the ACC a two -bid league.
“I’m still hopeful that we’ll be a multiple-bid league,” Phillips said. “There’s nothing that says that we’re eliminated from that. There’s football not only to be played in the ACC, but throughout the country.”
al state title in the 120-pound division.
Ivan Grimes (North Greenville men’s lacrosse)
Grimes signed to North Greenville, an NCAA Division II program in Tigerville, South Carolina, ahead of his senior season in the spring. The standout attack recorded 142 goals, 116 assists and 127 ground balls in his rst three high school seasons.
GENE J. PUSKAR / AP PHOTO
ACC Commissioner James J. Phillips, right, visits with Pittsburgh head coach Pat Narduzzi in the locker room before a game against Notre Dame
MARTIN MEJIA / AP PHOTO
The United States’ Heather O’Reilly celebrates after scoring against New Zealand during their rst round soccer match at the Beijing 2008 Olympics.
SIDELINE REPORT
NBA Pelicans re Green 12 games into fth season, Borrego named interim coach
New Orleans
The New Orleans Pelicans red coach Willie Green on the heels of a 2-10 start to his fth season in charge. Pelicans rst-year basketball operations chief Joe Dumars named assistant James Borrego as interim coach. Green was hired to his rst head coaching job in 2021 and has gone 150-190 in four-plus seasons. His teams made the playo s twice, losing in the rst round to Phoenix in 2022 and Oklahoma City in 2024. Borrego was formerly the head coach of the Charlotte Hornets for four seasons from 2018 to 2022.
NHL
Devils leading scorer Hughes out 2 months after nger surgery
Newark, N.J.
New Jersey Devils leading scorer Jack Hughes is expected to be out two months after undergoing surgery to repair a nger injury. The team announced Hughes had the operation at the Hospital for Special Surgery in New York. Hughes’ expected return-to-play timeline is eight weeks, and he’ll be reevaluated at the six-week mark. It wasn’t clear which nger or which hand Hughes had surgery on.
SPORTS BROADCASTING
Disney reaches new deal with YouTube TV, ending two-week blackout
New York
Disney and YouTube TV have reached a new deal to bring channels like ABC and ESPN back to the Google-owned livestreaming platform. The agreement ends a blackout for customers that lasted about two weeks. Disney content went dark on YouTube TV the night of Oct. 30 after the two sides failed to reach a new licensing deal. YouTube TV subscribers were left without Disney channels on the platform — notably disrupting coverage of top college football matchups and professional sports games, among other news and entertainment o erings.
NCAA FOOTBALL
Texas state trooper who had run-in with Gamecocks player Harbor sent home College Station, Texas
A Texas trooper who had an altercation with South Carolina’s Nyck Harbor after his touchdown was sent home from the game, according to the state Department of Public Safety. Harbor scored on an 80-yard reception in the second quarter and ran into the tunnel following the score. As he and three other players were walking back to the eld, the trooper walked in between Harbor and another player and bumped into them. The trooper and Harbor turned around and the trooper pointed at Harbor with both hands and said something to him.
Football coach John Beam from ‘Last Chance U’ dead after shooting
Police call the on-campus shooting “a targeted incident”
By Mike Catalini and Haven Daley The Associated Press
OAKLAND, Calif. — Oak-
land’s celebrated former football coach John Beam, who was featured in the Net ix series “Last Chance U” that showcased his success with players others wouldn’t gamble on, died Friday, a day after being shot on the college campus where he worked.
Police arrested the 27-year- old suspect Friday. Authorities said he knew the 66-year-old coach, and it was a targeted attack.
The shooting at Laney College rattled Oakland, with scores holding a vigil outside the hospital before he died. He was remembered as someone who would help anyone.
Mayor Barbara Lee described Beam as a “giant” in the city who mentored thousands of young people, including her own nephew, and “gave Oakland’s youth their best chance” at success.
“For over 40 years, he has shaped leaders on and o the eld, and our community is shaken alongside his family,” Lee said.
Authorities credited technology, speci cally cameras at the college campus, private residences and on public transit, in tracking the suspect identied as Cedric Irving Jr.
Irving was arrested without incident at a commuter rail station in Oakland just after 3 a.m. on Friday and police recovered the gun. He was being
Laney College Athletic Director John Beam poses with the trophy after Laney won the California state football championship in 2018.
“For
over 40 years, he has shaped leaders on and o the eld, and our community is shaken alongside his family.”
Barbara Lee, Oakland mayor
held at a local jail on charges of murder and carrying a concealed weapon.
Oakland Assistant Chief James Beere said the suspect went on campus for a “specific reason” but did not elaborate on what that was. “This was a very targeted incident,” he said.
Beere did not say how Beam
and the suspect knew each other but said the suspect was known to loiter around the Laney campus. The suspect had played football at a high school where Beam had worked, but not at the time the coach was employed there.
Coach had deep relationships with players
The Net ix docuseries focused on athletes at junior colleges striving to turn their lives around, and Beam’s Laney College Eagles starred in the 2020 season. Beam developed deep relationships with his players while elding a team that regularly competed for championships.
Two of Beam’s former players — brothers Nahshon and Rejzohn Wright, now in the NFL with the Chicago Bears and New Orleans Saints — posted on social media after the shooting.
“You mean the world to me,” Rejzohn Wright said in a post with a photo of Beam.
His brother shared a photo of the coach alongside a broken heart emoji.
Piedmont Police Chief Fred Shavies, who previously served as a deputy chief in the Oakland Police Department said he was a friend, mentee and long time admirer of Beam.
“John was so much more than a coach,” he said. “He was a father gure to thousands of not only men but young women in our community.”
Shavies said he met Beam when he was in the eighth grade, and he supported him after Shavies lost his father in high school, calling him “an absolutely incredible human being.” He asked how did Beam leave his mark on so many people “with just 24 hours in a day, right?”
Beam’s family said in a statement that he was a “loving husband, father, grandfather, brother, uncle, coach, mentor and friend.”
“Our hearts are full from the outpouring of love,” the family said, requesting privacy.
Beam, who was serving as athletic director, joined Laney College in 2004 as a running backs coach and became head coach in 2012, winning two league titles. He retired from coaching in 2024 but stayed on at the school to shape its athletic programs. According to his biography on the college’s website, at least 20 of his players went on to the NFL.
Reaching 67 points creating ‘6-7’ frenzy at college basketball games across
The fad has crowds excited, while older fans are confused
The Associated Press
NORMAN, Okla. — Oklahoma coach Jennie Baranczyk hears the popular catchphrase “6-7” all the time at home, possibly more often than please and thank you.
Getting an earful of it at a women’s basketball game, well, that was new for the mother of three.
Baranczyk and the sixth-ranked Sooners became the latest college team to send fans into a frenzy when they hit 67 points in an 89-61 victory against North Alabama on Friday.
Hundreds of students on a eld trip screamed their approval along with the ubiquitous phrase and juggled their hands up and down to mimic a video that went viral earlier this year.
Sports viewers might have seen the motion before, perhaps in six or seven NFL games.
“I did not do it because I was like, ‘Yep,’” said Baranczyk, who has a son and two daughters. “I knew it. But I’m like, ‘Gotta give the people what they want sometimes.’”
Raegan Beers, who nished with 20 points and 11 rebounds in the victory, raved about the OU bench reaction. Teammates, assistant coaches and sta ers celebrated simultaneously in similar fashion.
Beers said teammates Payton Verhulst, who made a 3-pointer to give Oklahoma a 66-33 lead, and Zya Vann were trying to draw fouls, presumably so they could shoot free throws.
“We got so excited to do that,” Beers said. “We knew the kids were going to get excited about that. That’s the joy of this game. That’s why I love this game. Just to have that energy in the building and lean into what is trending at the
the country
moment, which is 6-7, whatev-
er that means. It was so much fun to have that moment and let the kids enjoy it.”
The trend has seeped into team introductions. UNC’s Elijah Davis, a reserve, has the role of “designated hand shaker” during player intros, coming up with a custom shake for each Tar Heel starter. Davis, who wears jersey No. 6 and No. 7 Seth Trimble — a starter before su ering an injury last week — did the hand-juggling gesture as part of their pregame handshake each game.
Dictionary.com made the viral term “6-7” its word of the year, and it isn’t even really a word. It’s a phrase kids and teenagers can’t stop repeating and laughing about while parents and teachers can’t make any sense of it. The word — if you can call it that — exploded in popularity over the summer. It’s more of an inside joke with an unclear meaning, driven by social media.
“Gotta
give the people what they want sometimes.”
Oklahoma coach Jennie Baranczyk on fans cheering for 67 points
Dictionary.com says its annual selection is a linguistic time capsule re ecting social trends and events. But the site admitted it too is a bit confused by “6-7.” “Don’t worry, because we’re all still trying to gure out exactly what it means,” the site said in its announcement last month.
How did “6-7” become a thing?
It all seems to trace back to rapper Skrilla’s song from 2024 called “Doot Doot (6-7).” That song started appear-
ing in TikTok videos with basketball players, including the Charlotte Hornets guard LaMelo Ball who stands 6-foot-7.
Then a boy, now known as “The 6-7 Kid,” shouted the ubiquitous phrase while another kid next to him juggled his hands in a video that went viral this year.
That’s all it took.
So what does “6-7” mean?
The real answer is no one knows, but it’s widely regarded as harmless. Unlike some other trends that have come and gone, there’s not believed to be an inappropriate backstory to the craze.
According to Dictionary. com, the phrase could mean “so-so,” or “maybe this, maybe that” when combined with the juggling hands gesture.
Merriam-Webster calls it a “a nonsensical expression used especially by teens and tweens.” Regardless, it’s trending at basketball games when a team nears 67 points.
DARREN ABATE / AP PHOTO
A scoreboard shows a point total that has suddenly skyrocketed in popularity.
Bagpipers claim world record with AC/DC’s ‘It’s a Long Way to the Top’
Guitarist Angus Young joined the “Great Melbourne Bagpipe Bash” last week
By Rod McGuirk The Associated Press
MELBOURNE, Australia
— Hundreds of bagpipers claimed a new world record last Wednesday by belting out AC/ DC’s rock and roll classic “It’s a Long Way to the Top.”
Billed as “The Great Melbourne Bagpipe Bash,” the eclectic performance took place in Melbourne’s Federation Square on Swanston Street, which was the scene of the Australian hard rock band’s 1976 lm clip in which they played the hit on the back of a atbed truck traveling slowly through downtown tra c with music blaring from speakers.
Federation Square is also a short stroll from the Melbourne Cricket Ground where AC/DC were scheduled to play their rst Australian gig in a decade last Wednesday. Guitarist Angus Young, 70, is the only band member who played on the truck and is performing on the latest Australian tour.
Thousands of spectators crammed the square for the world record attempt. Many of the 374 pipers had to squeeze through the crowd to the stage area. The oldest piper was
“I think Aussie crowds are going to be way better than the U.S. I think it’s going to be more eventful, more head banging, more excitement with the crowds.”
Keegan Kohler, AC/DC fan
98 years old, organizers said.
Among the bagpipers was Les Ken eld and Kevin Conlon, two of the three members of Rats of Tobruk Memorial Pipes and Drums who played with AC/DC on the truck 49 years ago.
“It didn’t strike you at the time how big this event is until now,” Ken eld told Australian Broadcasting Corp. “Now it’s one of the greatest things — probably the greatest thing I’ve ever done in my life.”
Having been declared world record holders, the massed pipers played “Happy Birthday” on request, followed by an impromptu “Amazing Grace” to a cheering crowd, many using their phones to record the moment.
The Australian Book of Records, which has been certifying records since 2012, con rmed that 374 pipers had together broken a record set by 333 pipers in Bulgaria in 2012.
One AC/DC fan who didn’t
see the record set was Keegan Kohler, 23, a self-employed electrician from Columbus, Ohio. He had been waiting outside the concert stadium since 4:50 a.m. to ensure he’d be rst in when the gates opened at 5 p.m. The bagpipes record was set nearby at 5:15 p.m.
Kohler had seen AC/DC perform their “Power Up Tour” this year in Cleveland, Ohio, Washington, D.C., Detroit and Pittsburgh, but expected the experience would be better in the band’s home country.
“I think Aussie crowds are going to be way better than the U.S.,” he said. “I think it’s going to be more eventful, more head banging, more excitement with the crowds.”
Kohler also reacquainted himself outside the stadium with Stephen Scott from Charlotte. Scott, a 33-year-old real estate agent, has seen the current tour multiple times in Europe, and the United States, and he wanted to see the band perform in Australia.
“I’ve always talked about wanting to see them here. This is the rst opportunity really to do it and maybe the last,” Scott said. His ancée, Amber Thompson ,said it was Scott’s idea to travel 10,000 miles for the concert.
“I enjoy it, but I probably wouldn’t be here if I didn’t know him,” she said, referring to Scott, whom she described as the true fan.
JOEL CARRETT / AAP IMAGE VIA AP
Bagpipers gather to break a world record for the largest bagpipe ensemble playing “It’s a Long Way to the Top” by Australian rock band AC/DC in Melbourne, Australia, on Nov. 12.
this week in history
Nazis tried at Nuremberg, Blackbeard killed near Ocracoke, “Casablanca” premieres
The Associated Press
NOV. 20
1910: Francisco Madero led a revolt against Mexican President Por rio Díaz, marking the beginning of the decade-long Mexican Revolution.
1945: Twenty-two former Nazi o cials went on trial for war crimes in Nuremberg, Germany; 12 were sentenced to death, seven imprisoned and three acquitted a year later.
NOV. 21
1920: On “Bloody Sunday,” the Irish Republican Army killed 14 suspected British intelligence o cers in the Dublin area; British forces responded by raiding a soccer match, killing 14 civilians.
1964: New York City’s Verrazzano-Narrows Bridge, then the longest suspension bridge in the world, opened to tra c.
1980: An estimated 83 million TV viewers tuned in to the CBS prime-time soap opera “Dallas” to nd out “who shot J.R.”
On Nov. 25, 1999, shermen o Florida’s coast pulled 5-year-old Elian Gonzalez from the sea, igniting a monthslong custody clash between the U.S. and Cuba that ended with his return to his father.
22
NOV.
1718: English pirate Edward Teach — better known as “Blackbeard” — was killed during a battle with British naval forces near Ocracoke Island in North Carolina.
1963: President John F. Kennedy was assassinated during a Dallas motorcade. Texas Gov. John B. Connally was wounded, Lee Harvey Oswald was arrested, and Lyndon B. Johnson was sworn in as president.
1935: A ying boat, the Chi-
na Clipper, took o from Alameda, California, carrying more than 100,000 pieces of mail on the rst trans-Paci c airmail ight.
NOV. 23
1863: Gen. Ulysses S. Grant’s Union forces drove Confederates from Chattanooga, Tennessee, in a key Civil War victory.
1939: The British cruiser HMS Rawalpindi was sunk by German warships near Iceland, killing over 200.
NOV. 24
1859: British naturalist Charles Darwin published “On the Origin of Species,” outlining his theory of evolution through natural selection.
1963: Jack Ruby shot and fatally wounded Lee Harvey Oswald, the accused assassin of President John F. Kennedy, in a scene broadcast live on television.
1971: Hijacker “D.B. Cooper” parachuted from a Northwest Orient jet with a $200,000 ransom and was never found.
NOV. 25
1783: Following the end of the Revolutionary War, the last British troops in the Unit-
ed States were evacuated from New York City.
1963: The body of President John F. Kennedy was laid to rest at Arlington National Cemetery after a funeral procession through Washington, D.C.
1986: The Iran-Contra a air broke when President Ronald Reagan revealed pro ts from secret Iran arms sales were sent to Nicaraguan rebels.
1999: Elian Gonzalez, a 5-year-old Cuban boy, was rescued by two sport shermen o the coast of Florida, setting o an international custody battle that eventually saw him repatriated to his father in Cuba.
NOV. 26
1791: President George Washington held his rst full cabinet meeting with Thomas Je erson, Alexander Hamilton, Henry Knox and Edmund Randolph.
1864: English mathematician Charles Dodgson presented “Alice’s Adventures Under Ground” to 12-year-old Alice Liddell, later published as “Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland” under the pen name Lewis Carroll.
1942: The lm “Casablanca,” starring Humphrey Bogart and Ingrid Bergman, premiered in New York City.
Kiss guitarist Frehley died from injuries su ered in fall
His stage names were “Space Ace” and “The Space Man”
The Associated Press
MORRISTOWN, N.J. — Ace Frehley, the original lead guitarist and founding member of the glam rock band Kiss, died from blunt force injuries to the head that he su ered in a fall last month, an autopsy has determined.
Frehley died peacefully on Oct. 16 surrounded by family in Morristown, New Jersey, a few weeks after the fall occurred, according to his agent.
The Morris County Medical Examiner’s O ce determined Frehley’s death was an accident. The report said Frehley, 74, suffered facial fractures near the eyes and left ear and also had bruising on his left abdomen and thigh area and his right hip and upper thigh.
Kiss, whose hits included “Rock and Roll All Nite” and “I Was Made for Lovin’ You,” was known for its theatrical stage shows, with re and fake blood spewing from the mouths of band members dressed in body armor, platform boots, wigs and signature black-and-white face paint.
Kiss’ original lineup included Frehley, singer-guitarist Paul Stanley, tongue-wagging bassist Gene Simmons and drummer
“I can’t even read notes. But I can teach someone how to make a guitar smoke.”
Ace Frehley
Peter Criss. Frehley’s is the rst death among the four founding members.
Band members took on the personas of comic book-style characters — Frehley was known as “Space Ace” and “The Spaceman.” The New York-born entertainer and Rock & Roll Hall of Famer often experimented with pyrotechnics, making his guitars glow, emit smoke and shoot rockets from the headstock.
Born Paul Daniel Frehley, he grew up in a musical family and began playing guitar at age 13. Before joining Kiss, he played in local bands around New York City and was a roadie for Jimi Hendrix at age 18.
Kiss was especially popular in the mid-1970s, selling tens of millions of albums and licensing its iconic look to become a marketing marvel. “Beth” was its biggest commercial hit in the U.S., peaking at No. 7 on the Billboard Top 100 in 1976.
Frehley frequently feuded with Stanley and Simmons
solutions
through the years. He left the band in 1982, missing the years when they took o the makeup and had mixed success.
But he rejoined Kiss in the mid-1990s for a triumphant re -
union and restoration of their original style that came after bands including Nirvana, Weezer and the Melvins had expressed a ection for the band and paid them musical tributes.
He would leave again in 2002. When the original four entered the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 2014, a dispute scrapped plans for them to perform.
CHRIS PIZZELLO / AP PHOTO
Paul Stanley, right, and Ace Frehley of the rock band Kiss perform during their 1998 concert at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles. An autopsy report determined Frehley’s death on Oct. 16 was caused by trauma from a previous fall.
ALAN DIAZ / AP PHOTO
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famous birthdays this week
Joe Biden turns 83, Goldie Hawn is 80, Björk turns 60, Billie Jean King turns 82
The Associated Press
NOV. 20
ACTOR ESTELLE Parsons is 98. Author Don DeLillo is 89. Comedian Dick Smothers is 87. Former President Joe Biden is 83. Musician Joe Walsh is 78. Actor Bo Derek is 69. Rapper Michael “Mike D” Diamond (Beastie Boys) is 60.
NOV. 21
Actor Marlo Thomas is 88. Basketball Hall of Famer Earl Monroe is 81. Actor Goldie Hawn is 80. Musician Björk is 60. Football Hall of Famer Troy Aikman is 59. Baseball Hall of Famer Ken Gri ey Jr. is 56.
NOV. 22
Actor- lmmaker Terry Gilliam is 85. Tennis Hall of Famer Billie Jean King is 82. Rock musician-actor Steven Van Zandt is 75. Rock musician Tina Weymouth (Talking Heads) is 75. Actor Jamie Lee Curtis is 67. Actor Scarlett Johansson is 41.
NOV. 23
Actor Franco Nero (“Django”) is 84. Singer Bruce Hornsby is 71. Poet and author Jennifer Michael Hecht is 60. Olympic gold medal sprinter Asafa Powell is 43. Ice hockey player Nicklas Bäckström is 38. Singer-actor Miley Cyrus is 33.
NOV. 24
Basketball Hall of Famer Oscar Robertson is 87. Rock drummer Pete Best is 84. Actor-comedian Billy Connolly is 83. Actor Colin Hanks is 48.
NOV. 25
Football Hall of Fame coach Joe Gibbs is 85. Actor John Larroquette is 78. Dance judge Bruno Tonioli (TV: “Dancing with the Stars”) is 70. Musician Amy Grant is 65. Television personality Jenna Bush Hager and twin sister Barbara Pierce Bush, daughters of former Pres-
NOV. 26
Impressionist Rich Little is 87. Football Hall of Famer Jan Stenerud is 83. Author Marilynne Robinson is 82. Bass guitarist John McVie (Fleetwood Mac) is 80. Football Hall of Famer Art Shell is 79.
ident George W. Bush, are 44.
EVAN AGOSTINI / INVISION / AP PHOTO Singer Miley Cyrus turns 33 on Sunday.
SETH WENIG / AP PHOTO Ken Gri ey Jr. turns 56 on Friday.
CHRIS PIZZELLO / AP PHOTO
Tina Weymouth, the former Talking Heads bassist, turns 75 on Saturday.
the stream
‘Wicked:
For Good’ soundtrack, Ted Danson,
Aerosmith teams up with Yungblud for “One More Time”
The Associated Press
TED DANSON’S “A Man on the Inside” returning to Net ix for its second season, and Ariana Grande and Cynthia Erivo belting out the “Wicked: For Good” soundtrack are some of the new television, lms, music and games headed to a device near you.
Also, among the streaming o erings worth your time this week: Aerosmith teaming up with Yungblud on a new EP, “The Bad Guys 2” hitting Peacock, and Jordan Peele looking at black cowboys in a new documentary series.
MOVIES TO STREAM
“Train Dreams,” (Friday on Net ix), Clint Bentley’s adaptation of Denis Johnson’s acclaimed novella, stars Joel Edgerton as Robert Grainier, a railroad worker and logger in the early 20th-century Pacific Northwest. The lm, scripted by Bentley and Greg Kwedar (the duo behind last year’s “Sing Sing”), conjures a frontier past to tell a story about an anonymous laborer and the currents of change around him.
The DreamWorks Animation sequel “The Bad Guys 2” (Friday on Peacock) returns the reformed criminal gang of animals for a new heist caper. In the lm, with a returning voice cast including Sam Rockwell, Awkwa na, Craig Robinson, Anthony Ramos and Marc Maron, the Bad Guys encounter a new robbery team: the Bad Girls. In his review, AP’s Mark Kennedy lamented an over-amped sequel with a plot that reaches into space: “It’s hard to watch a franchise drift so expensively and pointlessly in Earth’s orbit.”
In “The Roses,” Jay Roach (“Meet the Parents’), from a script by Tony McNamara (“Poor Things”), remakes Danny DeVito’s 1989 black comedy, “The War of the Roses.” In this version, Olivia Colman and Benedict Cumberbatch star as a loving couple who turn bitter enemies. In his review, Kenne-
‘The
Bad Guys 2,’ black cowboys
dy called “The Roses” “an escalating hate fest that, by the time a loaded gun comes out, all the fun has been sucked out.”
MUSIC TO STREAM
Musical theater fans, your time has come … again. “Wicked: For Good” is upon us, and with it comes the release of its o cial soundtrack. On Friday, after or before you catch the lm in theaters, stream its life-afrming compositions to your heart’s content. Might we suggest Grande’s “The Girl in the Bubble?” Or Erivo’s “No Place Like Home?” And for the Je Goldblum and Jonathan Bailey lovers, yes, there’s gold to be unearthed too.
“The Roses” is an escalating hate fest that, by the time a loaded gun comes out, all the fun has been sucked out.”
Mark Kennedy, AP Film Writer
Rock this way: Aerosmith is back with new music. Following their 2023 “Greatest Hits” collection and just a few months after the conclusion of their “Peace Out: The Farewell Tour” (the band said it would no longer hit the road due to singer Steven Tyler’s voice becoming permanently damaged by a vocal cord injury), they’re teaming up with next gen rock ’n’ roller Yungblud. It’s a collaborative EP called “One More Time,” out Friday. The anthemic opening track, “My Only Angel” sets the tone. What’s another one for the road?
SERIES TO STREAM
Raise your hand if you still miss “Succession” Sundays on
HBO. An acclaimed Swedish drama called “Vanguard” debuts Tuesday on Viaplay that’s of the same vein. It’s a dramatization about Jan Stenbeck, one of Europe’s most in uential media moguls. There’s ambition, betrayal and yes, sibling rivalry. Danson’s “A Man on the Inside” returns to Net ix for its second season on Thursday. Danson plays a widower named Charles who has found a new sense of purpose as an amateur private detective. In Season 1, Charles moved into a retirement home to catch his culprit. In Season 2, he goes back to college to solve a case. Danson’s real-life wife, Mary Steenburgen, joins the cast as Charles’s love interest as he explores the idea of a second chance at romance.
Keeley Hawes and Freddie Highmore co-star in “The Assassin” for AMC+. Hawes (“Bodyguard”) plays a retired assassin living in solitude on a Greek island whose peaceful life is turned upside down when her estranged son (Highmoore) comes to visit. When the two nd themselves in danger, they must work together to stay alive. It premieres Thursday.
Peele has a new documentary series called “High Horse: The Black Cowboy” coming to Peacock on Thursday. The three-part series examines how stories of black cowboys have been erased from both pop culture and history books.
VIDEO GAMES TO PLAY
If you bought Mario Kart World when Nintendo launched the Switch 2 back in June, you may be wondering: Do I really need another racing game? Kirby Air Riders comes from designer Masahiro Sakurai, the mastermind behind Super Smash Bros., so it adds that franchise’s chaotic combat to the mix. Each of the competitors has di erent weapons and each of the vehicles has di erent bene ts and drawbacks. And everyone can use Kirby’s signature “inhale” technique, which lets you absorb an opponent’s skills by, well, swallowing them. So if you like your racing weird, get your motor running Thursday.
Steven Tyler and Joe Perry of Aerosmith, pictured performing a tribute to Ozzy Osbourne during the MTV Video Music Awards in 2025, release their latest album, “One More Time,” this week.
Joel Edgerton and Kerry Condon star in “Train Dreams,” an adaptation of Denis Johnson’s acclaimed novella.
Olivia Colman and Benedict Cumberbatch star in “The Roses,” Jay Roach’s remake of a 1989 black comedy.