Supreme Court questions limits on political spending in≈federal elections
Washington, D.C.
Conservative Supreme Court justices appeared to back a Republicanled drive, supported by President Donald Trump’s administration, to overturn a quarter-century- old decision and erase limits on how much political parties can spend in coordination with candidates for Congress and president. A day after the justices indicated they would overturn a 90-year- old decision limiting the president’s power to re independent agency heads, the court on Tuesday took up a 2001 decision that upheld a provision of federal election law that is more than 50 years old. The Republican committees for House and Senate candidates led the lawsuit in Ohio in 2022.
SCOTUS seems likely to back Trump’s power to re independent agency members
Washington, D.C.
The Supreme Court seems likely to expand presidential control over independent federal agencies, signaling support for President Donald Trump’s ring of board members. The court’s conservative majority suggested in arguments Monday it would overturn a 90-year-old decision that has limited when presidents can re agencies’ board members, or leave it with only its shell intact. Lawyers for the administration are defending Trump’s decision to re a Federal Trade Commission member without cause and calling on the court to jettison the unanimous 1935 decision.
$2.00
PITTSBORO — The Town of Pittsboro Board of Commissioners swore in the two newest members this week. At the board’s Dec. 8 meet-
ing, Mayor Kyle Shipp along with the new commissioners — Tiana Thurber and Candace Hunziker — took their oaths of o ce following their November election wins. Shipp ran unopposed for the mayoral seat and will be going into his second term in o ce. Before becoming mayor in 2023, he served one term as a town commissioner from 2019-23.
Hunziker and Thurber nished as the top two vote-getters in a tight, eight-participant race. Following the new oaths of o ce, the board also unanimously voted Commissioner Jay Farrell as mayor pro tem.
“I just appreciate the board for their con dence in myself, and I’ll do my best,” Farrell said.
The board also recognized its
two outgoing members in Pamela Baldwin and James Vole. Baldwin rst joined the board of commissioners in 2005 and served the town for 20 years. She has also served as mayor pro tem since 2011.
“Pamela Baldwin has sel essly dedicated countless hours, embraced personal sacri ces
Chapel Hill swears in mayor, town council
sion of a complete community.”
By Ryan Henkel Chatham News & Record
CHAPEL HILL — The Chap -
el Hill Town Council has sworn in a new batch of members.
At the council’s Dec. 3 meeting, Mayor Jessica Anderson and the four elected council members from the November election were sworn into o ce. Anderson has served as mayor since 2023. Before that, she served on the town council since 2015.
The two incumbents, Camille Berry and Paris Miller-Foushee, took their oaths, with each having been elected for a second term.
“When I rst ran for mayor two years ago, I made two promises that have guided every decision I’ve made and that will continue to guide my decisions for the future,” Anderson said. “First, to be a mayor for all. Second, to make real progress on Chapel Hill’s bold vi-
“I want to say thank you to everyone who participates in our democracy,” Berry said. “It is the eve of 2026, and we all need to encourage everyone to make sure they are eligible and have done everything they must to vote. It is the most precious gift that we were given by those before us who died for that priv-
Man who says religious group beat him wants prosecutor removed
The Rutherford County case has been ongoing for nearly a decade
By Je rey Collins
The Associated Press
A MAN WHO SAYS mem-
bers of a secretive North Carolina religious group held him down and beat him wants the prosecutor kicked o his case, accusing the district attorney of siding with a church that dozens of former congregants have said abused them.
Matthew Fenner said in court documents that he has waited more than eight years for a re-
trial in the kidnapping and assault case involving Word of Faith Fellowship only for McDowell and Rutherford County District Attorney Ted Bell to schedule the second trial for a church leader during the week Fenner had interviews for a medical residency. Fenner said Bell has refused to delay it.
In a sworn statement, Fenner said Bell wants to stay on Word of Faith’s good side because he supports the locally in uential church and its hundreds of members in the small county who could stay in his favor for his reelection bid in 2026.
“I remain committed to ful lling my duties with
Ted
ilege. I’m so honored to serve once again.”
“I want to congratulate all the candidates on a successful election to o ce, and I really want to share my feelings of gratitude,” said Miller-Foushee.
In addition, newly elected members Wes McMahon and Louie Rivers were also sworn in.
“It is an incredible honor and privilege to take this role,” McMahon said. “Not many times do you swear to do something on
Bell, district attorney
THE CHATHAM COUNTY EDITION OF NORTH STATE JOURNAL
Mayor Jessica Anderson along with two new council members and two incumbents took the oaths of o ce
Sophomore Breylan Harris (10) puts up a shot as Chatham Charter beat Wheatmore 63-50 on Friday.
PJ WARD-BROWN / CHATHAM NEWS & RECORD
CRIME
Dec. 2
• Shane Doyle Osburn, 40, of Pittsboro, was arrested for indecent liberties with a child and sexual battery.
Dec. 3
• Mathew Ryan Brassington, 38, of Chapel Hill, was arrested for rst degree sexual exploitation of a minor and employing or permitting minor to assist in o ense under article.
• Irvin Uriel De La Rosa Rojas, 24, of Chapel Hill, was arrested for tra cking stolen identities and identity theft.
• Chasity Gayle Edwards, 41, of Hudson, was arrested for possession of controlled substance on prison/ jail premises, possession of methamphetamine and possession of drug paraphernalia.
T
• eresa Ellen Wood, 36, of Siler City, was arrested for driving while impaired and open container after consuming alcohol.
Dec. 4
• Patricia Ann Moore, 58, of Chapel Hill, was arrested for contributing to delinquency of juvenile and resisting public o cer.
Dec. 5
• Christopher Franklin Gaddis, 31, of Siler City, was arrested for possession of stolen motor vehicle.
• Christopher Lee Hamilton, 36, of Siler City, was arrested for assault by strangulation and misdemeanor crime of domestic violence.
Dec. 6
• Jessica Leann Allen, 36, of Dunn, was arrested for felony possession of stolen goods and felony conspiracy.
• Ana Yadira Canseco-Orocio, 24, of Durham, was arrested for driving while impaired.
Student dies after stabbing at Winston-Salem high school
The incident at North Forsyth High School left one dead and another injured
The Associated Press
WINSTON-SALEM — A stabbing at a central North Carolina high school Tuesday left one student dead and another injured, authorities said.
Forsyth County Sheri Bobby Kimbrough said o cers at North Forsyth High School in Winston-Salem sought assistance shortly after 11 a.m.
“We responded to an altercation between two students,” Kimbrough said at a news conference, adding that “there was a loss of life.”
In an email to families and sta , Winston-Salem/Forsyth County Schools superintendent Don Phipps said one student died and another was injured.
Kimbrough said he wouldn’t take questions at the news conference, citing the ongoing investigation. Sheri ’s o ce spokesperson Krista Karcher said later that a stabbing had occurred and that the injured person was treated at a hospital and released. No information about potential charges was discussed
Winston-Salem Police o cers and Forsyth County Sheri ’s deputies block the gate leading to North Forsyth High School after a fatal stabbing Tuesday in Winston-Salem.
at the news conference. Kimbrough said in a video posted later on social media that there was no threat to the community.
“There are no suspects that we’re looking for,” he said. “We have that part of the investigation under control.”
Gov. Josh Stein, in a message on the social media platform X, called what happened “shocking and horrible” and said he was praying for all
students and their loved ones.
Phipps, who started in his post just last week, said at the news conference that it was the “worst nightmare of any educator. We hurt when our students hurt, and this is the ultimate hurt that we can possibly feel.”
North Forsyth High School will be closed Wednesday, he said, and a crisis team will be in place for sta and when students return.
New Girl Scout cookie avor debuts for 2026 season
Rocky road-inspired Exploremores joins nationwide lineup next month
Chatham News & Record sta
GIRL SCOUTS will o er a new cookie avor when the 2026 cookie season begins next month.
Exploremores, a rocky road ice cream-inspired sandwich cookie, joins the nationwide lineup alongside favorites like Thin Mints and Caramel deLites. The cookie features chocolate, marshmallow and toasted almond- avored crème.
Girl Scout Cookie booths open across 40 counties in western and central North Carolina on Jan. 16. The cookies will be available both online and in person at local booths. Customers can visit girlscoutcookies.org to sign up for noti cations when cookies go on sale in their area. Through the cookie pro -
PITTSBORO from page A1 and showcased remarkable community spirit in her role, all while maintaining a collaborative and approachable manner that made engaging with her a frequently enjoyable experience,” Shipp said. “I consider it an honor and
COUNCIL from page A1
the Constitution of the United States and of North Carolina, and I think in this day and age, we are in short supply of swearing to the Constitution.
I also believe I am here to uphold the integrity of the process of the work we do in town.
I look forward to helping our town.”
“I just want to say thank you,” said Rivers. “I suspect that these will not be easy times for our community, considering what’s happening in the country, considering what’s happening with our climate, but I am sure that with town sta and with our colleagues, we can start making headway
for 2026.
gram, Girl Scouts earn skill-building badges and learn goal-setting, money management and business ethics. All proceeds from cookie sales stay with local councils and troops to fund
a privilege to have served the town of Pittsboro and the citizens of Pittsboro for the last 20 years,” Baldwin said. “It is remarkable how Pittsboro has changed. I’ve tried to do all that I could to help Pittsboro what it should be and what it can be.”
Vose served one year as a
“I want to congratulate all the candidates on a successful election to o ce.”
Paris Miller-Foushee, council member
to make sure Chapel Hill sees its way through these di cult times.”
Following the swear-ins, the council also unanimously elected Berry as mayor pro tem.
“It is a long standing practice in Chapel Hill for the council to appointment a coun-
CHATHAM happening
Here’s a quick look at what’s coming up in Chatham County:
Dec. 12
Bobby Gales & New Direction Bluegrass – Coming Home for Christmas
6 p.m. Doors open
7 p.m. Concert starts
Prior to the concert, there will be a free potluck supper for all attendees. You are not required to bring anything, but extra dishes are always welcome.
Bynum General Store 950 Bynum Road Bynum
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
Dec. 13
Chatham County Partnership for Children: Reindeer 5K
7-10 a.m.
This annual event raises money for a variety of physical tness projects across Chatham County, from school playgrounds to youth sports equipment. Contact 984-265-9172 for registration and more details.
Central Carolina Community College 764 West St. Pittsboro
Bluegrass Jam Circle
10 a.m. to noon
programs throughout the year. Girl Scouts Carolinas Peaks to Piedmont serves more than 4,900 girls and 3,900 adult volunteers across the region. For more information, visit girlscoutsp2p.org.
town commissioner, rst joining the board in 2021.
“James Vose has devoted signi cant time and attention in his capacity for the good of the town of Pittsboro,” Shipp said. The Town of Pittsboro Board of Commissioners will next meet Jan. 12.
cil member to this position who has the most seniority and has not served in this capacity before,” Anderson said.
The council also recognized outgoing member Adam Searing, who did not seek reelection following his one term.
“I want to thank all the 2023-2025 council members for their hard work,” Anderson said. “And of course, in particular, I want to give a special thank you to outgoing council member Adam Searing for his service.”
“Serving our constituents, that’s really been the best part for me about being an elected o cial here in Chapel Hill,” Searing said.
This free acoustic jam session is open to musicians and singers of all ages and skill levels. There is no admission fee, and the public is welcome to attend.
Front Porch
Bynum General Store 950 Bynum Road Bynum
Dec.16
Yoga at BFP 6-7 p.m.
Yoga class for all tness levels. Bring your own mat. Free to attend; suggested donation of $15.
Front Porch
Bynum General Store 950 Bynum Road Bynum
ALLISON LEE ISLEY / THE WINSTON-SALEM JOURNAL VIA AP
COURTESY GIRL SCOUTS
Exploremores, a rocky road ice cream-inspired sandwich cookie featuring chocolate, marshmallow and toasted almond- avored crème, joins the Girl Scout Cookie lineup
Lumbee Tribe poised to gain federal recognition through Defense bill
President Donald Trump issued an executive order on the issue earlier this year
By Graham Lee Brewer The Associated Press
AFTER DECADES of political maneuvering through Congress and government agencies, the Lumbee Tribe of North Carolina may nally achieve federal recognition through the National Defense Authorization Act the House plans to vote on this week.
If the legislation passes, the Senate could vote on nal passage as soon as next week.
The Lumbee’s e orts to gain federal recognition — which would come with federal funding, access to resources like the Indian Health Service and the ability to take land into trust — have been controversial for many years both in Indian Country and in Washington. But their cause has been championed by President Donald Trump, who promised on the campaign trail last year to acknowledge the Lumbee as a tribal nation.
The issue of federal recognition for the Lumbee Tribe has been batted around Congress for more than 30 years. But the political opportunity it represented in the last election could be what pushed it over the nish line, said Kevin Washburn, former assistant secretary of Indian A airs at the Interior Department and a professor at the University of California, Berkeley School of Law.
“It comes up every four years because North Carolina is a battleground state and the Lumbee represent tens of thousands of people,” Washburn said.
The Lumbee Tribe has nearly 60,000 members, and both Trump and Democratic candidate Kamala Harris promised the Lumbee federal recognition during the 2024 campaign. Trump won North Carolina by more than 3 points. Shortly after taking o ce, Trump issued an executive order directing the Interior Department to create a
FAITH from page A1
Bell said the allegations about how he has handled the case are all false and that he will respond to all of Fenner’s allegations in court.
“I remain committed to fullling my duties with integrity, professionalism, and an unwavering dedication to justice,” Bell said in a written statement.
Fenner alleges Bell stopped talking to him, refused to interview new witnesses and investigate new evidence, and asked him to drop the case.
“If the Court does not intervene and remove Bell from this case, the trial will be lost before it begins,” Fenner’s lawyer wrote in court papers. “And it will be lost not because of a fair adjudication of the merits; rather, it will be lost due to DA Bell’s actions that manufactured that result.”
A leader of Word of Faith, Brooke Covington, was scheduled to stand trial this week on second-degree kidnapping and simple assault charges, but that has been delayed to consider Fenner’s request. Covington’s previous trial on the same charges ended in a mistrial after the jury foreman brought his own research into deliberations. Covington has maintained she is innocent.
Fenner joined Word of Faith as a teenager in 2010 with his mother. He was at a service at the church’s compound in Spindale when members, including Covington, started what the church called a “blasting” session on him, according to Fenner. Members held him down and choked and beat him for two hours while others prayed to expel “homosexual demons,” Fenner said.
The judge at the 2017 trial wanted to retry the case in months. Initial delays were because a lawyer had health problems. The court record does not provide information about other delays. Other documents in
Church News
THE EBENEZER UMC CHOIR AND FRIENDS
The Ebenezer UMC Choir and Friends will present “Rhapsody in Bluegrass,” a Christmas jubilee by Joseph Martin on Saturday, Dec. 13 and Sunday, Dec. 14 at 5 p.m. The church is located in the Wilsonville community at 724 Beaver Creek Road in Apex. Please join us in this musical worship service.
OAKLEY BAPTIST CHURCH
2300 Siler City – Glendon Road Siler City
“It comes up every four years because North Carolina is a battleground state and the Lumbee represent tens of thousands of people.”
Kevin Washburn, former assistant secretary of Indian A airs
plan for federal recognition for the Lumbee.
It’s the rst time either the White House or the candidates for president have been so engaged in a federal recognition case, Washburn said.
Interior’s plan was sent to the White House in April. The administration has denied requests for its release but has said it advised the Lumbee to continue trying to gain federal recognition through Congress.
The Lumbee were recognized by Congress in 1956, but that legislation denied them access to the same federal resources as tribal nations. As a result, their application for recognition was denied for consideration in the 1980s, and the Lumbee Tribe has tried to get Congress to acknowledge them in the decades since. The O ce of Federal Acknowledgement is the federal agency that vets applications, although dozens of tribes have also gained recognition through legislation.
“Only Congress can for all time and for all purposes resolve this uncertainty,” Lum-
bee Tribal Chairman John Lowery testi ed last month before the Senate Committee for Indian A airs. “It is long past time to rectify the injustice it has in icted on our tribe and our people.”
But others, including several tribal leaders, argue that the Lumbee’s historic claims have shifted many times over the last century and that they have never been able to prove they descend from a tribal nation.
“A national defense bill is not the appropriate place to consider federal recognition, particularly for a group that has not met the historical and legal standards required of sovereign tribal nations,” said Michell Hicks, chief of the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians.
The National Defense Authorization Act is usually a bipartisan bill that lays out the nation’s defense policies. But this year the vote has taken on a new political dynamic as Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth faces mounting scrutiny over military strikes on boats o Venezuela’s coast.
Matthew
the court le are related to efforts to move the case from small, rural Rutherford County, where the Word of Faith is headquartered, to Buncombe County and more populous and urban Asheville.
A judge placed a gag order on Fenner, Covington, the lawyers and potential witnesses.
Fenner alleges in his sworn statement that the district attorney did not oppose the gag order because he wanted to weaken the case and put pressure on Fenner to give up.
An attorney for Covington had no comment on the delay or Fenner’s allegations.
Word of Faith is a nondenominational Protestant church that was founded in 1979 by Sam and Jane Whaley in the foothills of Blue Ridge Mountains between Charlotte and Asheville. Members consider Jane Whaley a prophet. In 2017, The Associated Press published a series of stories about Word of Faith that detailed former church members’ allegations of abuse. The AP spoke to dozens of former congregants around the world, lis-
tened to hours secretly recorded conversations with church leaders, and reviewed hundreds of pages of law enforcement, court and child welfare documents.
The AP reported that the church controlled almost every aspect of their members’ lives, including who they married, what subjects they studied in school and whether they could go to college. Members were regularly slapped, choked and thrown to the oor during high-decibel group prayer.
The AP investigation found that the church and its hundreds of followers controlled law enforcement and social services, preventing fair investigations.
Whaley has denied that she or other church leaders ever abused Word of Faith members. She has also said that any discipline would be protected by the Constitution’s freedom of religion tenet. The church said the allegations made to the AP were false and made by “certain former members” out to target the church and that it does not condone abuse.
Oakley Baptist Church Christmas Cantata Christmas: We Remember, Rejoice, Worship Saturday, Dec. 13 at 7 p.m. Sunday, Dec. 14 at 7 p.m. (snack supper to follow Sunday’s performance) ALL ARE WELCOME!
RIVES CHAPEL BAPTIST CHURCH
4338 Rives Chapel Church Road Siler City riveschapelbaptist.com
The Adult Choir will present their Christmas Cantata “Good News From Home” Sunday, Dec. 14 – 11 a.m.
BIBLE STUDY: Hebrews 6:4-12, Church of Living Water; Preacher: James Mitchell. We who have truly repented of our sins must keep faith in our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. Some self-called preachers or so-called ministers stand with demonic Democrats. Democrats have
woke nonsense, the green scam/climate change, is a waste of trillions of dollars. They are brainwashing our children in some schools, teaching that boys can be girls, girls can be boys, and men can have babies. Oh, praise Almighty God, the Sleeping Giant woke up, and the greatest President since Abraham Lincoln, President the border, has and is removing illegals and criminals, dismantled the narco-terrorists bringing in these deadly drugs, lowered the cost system. You rhino Republicans, better get in line with President Trump or you may be voted out. Also, he’s secured the biggest tax break, no tax on tips, and is working toward no income taxes on people earning $150,000 or less. President Trump stands with our not let these evil, demonic politicians scare us. We need to speak up and make a stand against evil, just as Jesus did when He walked on this earth. Heavenly Father, give us the power to stand against the evil that’s here today, in Jesus’ name!
ALLISON JOYCE / AP PHOTO
Members of the Lumbee Tribe bow their heads in prayer during the BraveNation Powwow and Gather at UNC Pembroke in March.
KATHY KMONICEK / AP PHOTO
Fenner stands outside Rutherford County Courthouse after a hearing on his case against Word of Faith Fellowship church in May 2017.
THE CONVERSATION
Trip Ho end, publisher | Frank Hill, senior opinion editor
Questions at Christmas
Such a question about putting love into practice involves our moral imagination.
THE FIRST HUMAN response to the Christmas story was in the form of a question. When Mary was told by an angel that she would give birth to the son of God, she asked, “How can this be?”
When that child grew up, he had a habit of answering questions with more questions. A lawyer wanted to know, “How do I inherit eternal life?” Jesus replied, “What do you read in the law?” His disciples wondered, “Are you the Messiah?” Jesus responded, “Who do you say that I am?” While there are some questions that require direct answers, Jesus understood that each person must wrestle with questions about life’s meaning. This “search for meaning,” as Victor Frankl put it, is a lifelong process. “When I was a child,” admits the Apostle Paul, “I thought like a child.” He knew that reaching maturity meant reaching for new insights and understanding. For Paul, as well as Jesus, the answer is always love. The question is, how will we love today?
Such a question about putting love into practice involves our moral imagination.
COLUMN | BOB WACHS
By the “moral imagination,” philosopher Edmund Burke meant, “The power of ethical perception that strides beyond the barriers of private experience and momentary events.”
Today’s weather has brought these thoughts to mind, as my children are home from school due to the forecast of snow. I don’t have any questions about whether or not they will have safe place to sleep tonight or miss their next meal. But that is not true for every resident in Chatham County. I imagine the plight of others “beyond the barriers of private experience and momentary events.” Who is unsheltered? Who is hungry? What am I called to do about it? Asking the question is the rst step toward answering with love.
Once, Jesus preached to a crowd of more than 5,000 people. His disciples asked, “Where will they nd enough bread to eat?” Jesus answered with a question, “How many loaves of bread do you have?” His question invites a response from his disciples, as well as from me.
Some last-minute gift suggestions
When I see one I want, if I can a ord it, I buy it. If I can’t, then I don’t.
IF YOU’RE LIKE ME — and hopefully, for your sake, you’re not — you may not be done with your Christmas gift shopping. Or, in my case — and that of probably a signi cant number of other men — your Christmas gift buying.
See, I’m pretty well convinced most men don’t shop. Men tend to buy. If I need a new cap, for instance, and can’t get a feed company or tractor dealer to give me one, then I’ll go to my favorite store and see what they’ve got.
Then when I see one I want, if I can a ord it, I buy it. If I can’t, then I don’t. Many women, on the other hand, go from one store to another, typically because they don’t want a hat with a feed company’s name on the front. They look rst at one head-covering and then another until they’ve about exhausted the town’s supply and the patience of the sales folks.
After that, they’ll go back to the rst store and purchase the rst one they saw, unless, of course, some other lady has made it her own, in which case our heroine will weep and wail and stu like that all the while chastising the store for not carrying what she wanted and never being willing to wear something someone else wears.
All of this reasoning, of course, results in two things: a generalization that doesn’t always come true and an observation that I may be in hot water sooner than later. Having said all that, however, I still stand behind — or beside or even in front of — the core of that belief that men tend to buy rather than shop.
We guys tend to do other things, as well. Things like getting lost but not admitting it while we’re driving in a new place and don’t want to stop to ask for directions. Why should you stop and ask for directions since there are Global Positioning Satellites (GPS) everywhere telling us to turn left at the next road?
The fact I don’t have one of those gizmos has no meaning for my sense of direction; I’d rather read a map. It also helps that most of the time I don’t want to venture too far from Chatham County, like to Baltimore or other points. Given that I can still get from Moncure to Bonlee means I don’t have to have a GPS — or a road map.
I might add here that it was pointed out to me a few days ago that the Wise Men who traveled to Bethlehem that rst Christmas also had a GPS — a Global Positioning Star — but that’s another story, although a good one.
Anyway, let me o er a few last-minute Christmas gift suggestions for your consideration. And I’m pretty sure everyone on your list could use and would want one or more and that there’s never a problem with size or color or anything like that.
One gift is the gift of encouragement. Speak to someone; tell them you appreciate them; tell them they are wonderfully gifted in some way because of the Spark of the Divine the Master Builder has built into them.
Another gift is the gift of the kind word. It’s been said a pat on the back is only a few inches removed from a kick in the seat of the pants but miles ahead in results.
I can clean out my closet for coats to donate. I can purchase extra food for the food pantry. I am able to o er a cup of co ee to the individual at the intersection holding a cardboard sign and to learn his name. I can smile back at every smiling child.
The weeks leading to Christmas are known as Advent in the church’s liturgical calendar. It is a time of waiting in preparation for the coming of the Christ child. Pastor Frederick Buechner wrote, “To wait for Christ to come in his fullness is above all else to act in Christ’s stead as fully as we know how.” Yet such waiting is active; waiting involves soul-searching questions: How can I help? Who am I called to love? I suggest that the meaning of Christmas is found in seeking to answer those questions “as fully as we know how.”
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.
Here’s another I’m working on: the gift of listening. It’s becoming painfully obvious to me that there is a very good reason we have two ears and only one mouth. More than likely, it was intended for us to listen twice as much as we talk. I think I’m getting better at that one; I needed to. A friend called me the other day and as we worked through our conversation, I thought he needed something, so I asked him if I could help him. All he said was, “I just wanted to talk with someone.”
Yet a fourth is to share what you have and not what you wish you had. I believe it’s written in a pretty good place, as Grantland Rice wrote, that “when the Master Scorer comes to write against your name, He’ll write not that you won or lost but how you played the game.”
I’m pretty sure that means we’ll be judged at the end of the game not on what we would have done if we’d had a million dollars but what we did with the $10 we did have.
Well, there are more, lots more, but that’s a good start. Thing of it is that you can put them and more in any number under your tree and still have room for other stu like ugly ties and sweaters and yucky perfume.
And besides, think of the money you’ll save not needing wrapping paper.
Happy shopping ...
Bob Wachs is a native of Chatham County and emeritus editor at Chatham News & Record. He serves as pastor of Bear Creek Baptist Church.
What a wild ride
Hating is not a personal value I want lifted up in my obituary.
WHAT A WILD RIDE!
And, yes, I do plan to explain. Did your birthright designation of “being human” come with a guidebook? Mine did. Much of what I read (or was told) while growing up was should, should, should. Granted, some were mighty ne shoulds, but others left me struggling for breath. Those “struggling for breath” shoulds weren’t and never would be me. Ever. I react to unwelcome shoulds as I do to four-letter words tossed my way. The little kid who still ourishes in me feels like shouting “I hate shoulds!” (OK, yes, I am a tad oppositional at times.) Uh- oh, in need of a reframe. Hating is not a personal value I want lifted up in my obituary. “Jan was known for hating with a passion.” (I do make one exception — green peppers. I hate ’em! I don’t think that counts, however. Does it?) Back to those damn shoulds. Some of those should critters are vital and keep the peace in our lives. Other shoulds (cough, choke!) don’t in the least re ect our personal uniqueness. It’s those shoulds, the “not me” shoulds, that, like splinters, cause ongoing pain and de ect us from our wholeness. But creating our uniquely personal human guidebooks (replete with our chosen shoulds) can be messy, lined with mistakes and oh, wow, ongoing self-judgments. Ouch, ouch, ouch. I need a more forgiving way of reframing my often, mud-splattered journey toward wholeness.
| BRAD BRINER
You got it!
I do?
In your heart and mind, become an o -roader!
Uh, you’re losing me.
Wikipedia de nes “o -roading as the activity of driving on unsurfaced roads or tracks, such as sand, gravel, riverbeds, mud, snow, rocks, etc. Away from public roads.”
O -roading, in search of our wholeness, can be dirty, invigorating, painful and, you bet, creative. (That’s the part I live for.) Oh gosh, please keep a stash of self- compassion handy and, of course, towels for the accumulating mud. You’ll need it! Navigating those o -roading twists and turns — bump, bump, uh- oh, I’m falling — also replete with the shoulds we do want to claim, can be confounding, upsetting and exciting.
I’m being mean, putting you on the spot right now (but I’ll do it anyway.) Do you feel more alive in your life? More whole? Accessing your heart and mind is increasingly easier? You are now an o -roader. Ta- da! O -roading can be twisty, dangerous, often shrouded in fog. The dirt we’re often fearful of drowning in can also take the form of clay. Muddy, muddy, clay for continuing to sculpt our unique lives. Humans, just keep right on sculpting!
Jan Hutton, a resident of Chatham County and retired hospice social worker, lives life with heart and humor.
Financial health boils down to good habits being the central theme
“If you don’t know where you are going, you might wind up someplace else.”
Yogi Berra
THERE AREN’T MANY situations in life to which a good Yogi Berra quote doesn’t apply. As we head into the holiday season and 2026, it’s a great time to check in on where you are and where you are going.
Financial health boils down to good habits being the central theme. One other habit that is relevant to nancial literacy and health is the annual checkup. Just like going to the doctor each year, there are sources of potential dread in a nancial checkup — do I really want to know? Can it have gotten better with another year of age? It sure is easier to ignore problems!
So just like your annual physical, if you don’t already take an annual snapshot of your nancial picture, nd some time over the holidays to do that. What that entails is up to you, but at a basic level I would suggest building your own “balance sheet” and potentially a cash ow plan for next year.
When my wife and I were planning our wedding, one of the traditions in the Catholic Church is pre-cana classes. These classes go through many of the logical issues that you would imagine the church would focus on, but they also covered the basics of a nancial plan. As we went through the session on this, it was amazing to me how many other engaged couples had no clue that their future spouse had massive credit card debts, or, in one case, that they were the bene ciary of a large trust fund. Knowing these things is really important to having any kind of a
plan together, or even on your own. Making your balance sheet is straightforward — you are looking to comprehensively total up your assets and your liabilities (or debts). Making a simple spreadsheet that lists the things you own and the amounts you owe will not only give you a good snapshot of where you are, but it also makes planning much easier in the future. You’ll start next year’s check-in from last year’s balance sheet, and the updates can be incremental that way. Moreover, your balance sheet will greatly simplify things for your heirs in the event tragedy strikes. Starting with this snapshot, I would then suggest building a plan for next year. It can be simple — what are the big sources of funds that will come in next year, and what are the big uses of funds next year? I like to project mine monthly — I know what my paycheck should be, and what my mortgage payment and other monthly recurring expenses will be. Then I can see what I’ll have left over after the basics for more optional expenses.
As you do these over time, you will get a good picture of the progress you are making toward whatever goals you have. Progress won’t be linear — you’ll have some good years and some less good years — but by knowing where you are, you’ll have a much better chance of knowing where you are going … Happy Holidays to everyone!
Brad Briner is the treasurer of North Carolina.
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
The melting pot is boiling over
IN ONE SENSE, the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution are the foundation of the country’s government. The Declaration laid out the principles we aspire toward. The Constitution established the three branches of government. It contains many brilliant mechanisms to check the government’s power. The Bill of Rights o ers another layer of protection.
But mere words — even some of the most brilliant and in uential words ever written — didn’t create America’s greatness. Americans did.
Imagine you could magically impose America’s system of government in Somalia, Afghanistan or the Gaza Strip. Same Declaration of Independence. Same Constitution. Same Bill of Rights. Would it turn those Third World nations into First World successes?
Of course not. Just look at the 260,000 people of Somali descent living in America. More than 100,000 of them live in Minnesota. In recent weeks, there have been numerous stories about how Somalis in Minnesota stole billions of dollars from the government. That led to millions of dollars going to Al- Shabaab, an Al Qaeda-linked terrorist group.
In one scheme, Asha Farhan Hassan created Smart Therapy, which supposedly o ered services for children with autism. She and her partners recruited Somali parents and worked to get their children fake autism diagnoses. They used that to secure Medicaid funding. Hassan then cut the parents in on the scheme.
“Several larger families left Smart Therapy after being o ered larger kickbacks by other autism centers,” the U.S. Attorney’s O ce in Minnesota wrote in a release.
Importing Somalis to America didn’t give them American values. They brought their preexisting values to America and ripped o taxpayers for billions. They brought clan rivalries from Somalia along with them as well. Afghanistan provides another example of this. After 9/11, the United States took over the country. We spent more than $130 billion there. That’s more than America spent rebuilding Western Europe with the Marshall Plan, according to The Washington Post. The United States even held elections in Afghanistan. But as soon as former President Joe Biden decided to surrender, the country fell to the Taliban. Despite all the money and lives lost, we couldn’t export democracy to a society with a vastly di erent history and heritage.
These di erences were punctuated by an Afghan national allegedly murdering a National Guardsman in Washington, D.C., recently.
Even democracy isn’t a cure -all. In 2006, Gaza Strip residents elected Hamas to run the region. Hamas’ Oct. 7 massacre initially boosted Hamas’ favorability ratings among Palestinians.
What the Founding Fathers understood — but many modern Americans don’t — is that our society’s foundation isn’t the government. It’s the shared values, culture and history that bind individuals into citizens of a nation. Those are the pillars that uphold the government.
This is why importing millions of people who have fundamentally di erent worldviews is a terrible idea — and not just in America. Look at England. Grooming gangs raped thousands of girls over decades. Most o cials ignored the problem because the rapists were largely from Pakistan. They feared being accused of racism.
Even immigrants who support Western civilization and have Judeo - Christian values need time to assimilate. People aren’t interchangeable units of economic activity. They have religious values, customs and worldviews. Our country has an interest in making sure new arrivals learn ours. Learning English should be nonnegotiable. Those living in the same country need to be able to communicate with each other. This makes it easier to build trust and cohesion.
As of June 2025, America had more than 50 million immigrants. More than 15% of the country’s population was born elsewhere. That includes a staggering 19% of the workforce.
It’s too much. At this point, the melting pot is boiling over.
Victor Joecks is a columnist for the Las Vegas Review-Journal and host of the “Sharpening Arrows” podcast.
COLUMN
obituaries
William Kenneth Freshwater
Nov. 28, 1947 – Dec. 3, 2025
William Kenneth Freshwater, 78, of Siler City, passed away at Hock Family Pavilion of Durham.
Kenneth was born on November 28th, 1947, in Alamance County to Joseph W. Freshwater, Jr and Beryl Barton Freshwater. He is preceded in death by his parents, and his
IN MEMORY
wife, Becky Freshwater. Kenneth graduated from Elon College with an Accounting Degree, and he held many positions throughout his life. He loved playing his guitar. Kenneth was a loving father, grandfather, and great grandfather and will be missed by many. Left to cherish his memory are his two daughters, Angela Michele Willett and her husband, Tim of Bonlee, and Kristin Gayle Freshwater of Durham; his two granddaughters, Morgan Blake Willett Brown and her husband, Colby, and Briana Willett Williams and her husband, Justin; his three great grandchildren, Layne and Coy Brown, and Fisher Williams; and his cousin, Kaye Chandler and her husband, Curtis of Mebane. There will be no services at this time.
Smith & Buckner Funeral Home is assisting the Freshwater family. Online condolences can be made at www.smithbucknerfh. com
DWIGHT MONAHUE RITTER OCT. 6, 1958 – DEC. 5, 2025
Dwight Monahue Ritter was born on October 06, 1958, in Moore County, N.C., to the late Rufus and Thelma Ritter. Our heavenly Father stretched out His gentle hand and beckoned him to his eternal rest on December 05, 2025. Dwight was preceded in death by his loving wife, Angelia Shamberger Ritter; two brothers, John Waylan Ritter and Allen Ray Ritter; three sisters, Emma Lorraine Ritter, Cynthia Ritter McLaughlin (Johnny), and Aloma Thompson (Juan). One niece, Angrial McLaughlin, and one nephew, Terrell McLaughlin. Dwight graduated from North Moore High School with the loving class of 1977. He attended Sandhills Community College and worked for over 40 years as a machine technician. Dwight was a proud brother of The Brothers of the Horizon M/C for over forty years. He was a faithful member of Bellview AME Zion Church, where he served on many boards, including Men’s Ministry, Men’s Boosters, Class Leader, Stewart Board, Male Chorus, and an honorary Church Choir member. To cherish his precious memory, his daughter Monica Ritter (Hilton) of the home, and a proud Paw Paw to one granddaughter, Nala Rose Bullock. He a ectionately called the two “my girls”; they were his heart. One sister, Linda McLaughlin of Robbins, N.C. Two brothers, Rufus Ritter Jr. (Cartha) of Carthage, N.C., and Gregory Ritter (Wanda) of Southern Pines. A host of nieces, nephews, relatives, 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
Frank Gehry, most celebrated architect of his time, dead at 96
He designed the Walt Disney Concert Hall and the Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao, Spain
By John Rogers
The Associated Press
LOS ANGELES — Frank Gehry, who designed some of the most imaginative buildings ever constructed and achieved a level of worldwide acclaim seldom a orded any architect, has died. He was 96.
Gehry died last Friday in his home in Santa Monica after a brief respiratory illness, said Meaghan Lloyd, chief of sta at Gehry Partners LLP.
Gehry’s fascination with modern pop art led to the creation of distinctive, striking buildings. Among his many masterpieces are the Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao, Spain; the Walt Disney Concert Hall in Los Angeles and Berlin’s DZ Bank Building. He also designed an expansion of Facebook’s Northern California headquarters at the insistence of the company’s CEO, Mark Zuckerberg.
Gehry was awarded every major prize architecture has to o er, including the eld’s top honor, the Pritzker Prize, for what has been described as “refreshingly original and totally American” work.
Other honors include the Royal Institute of British Architects gold medal, the Americans for the Arts lifetime achievement award, and his native country’s highest honor, the Companion of the Order of Canada.
Start of career in architecture
After earning a degree in architecture from the University of Southern California in 1954 and serving in the Army, Gehry studied urban planning at Harvard University. But his career got o to a slow start. He struggled for years to make ends meet, designing public housing projects, shopping centers and even driving a delivery truck for a time.
Eventually, he got the chance to design a modern shopping mall overlooking the Santa Monica Pier. He was determined to play it safe and came up with drawings for an enclosed shopping mall that looked similar to others in the United States in the 1980s.
To celebrate its completion, the mall’s developer dropped by Gehry’s house and was stunned by what he saw: The architect had transformed a modest 1920s-era bungalow into an inventive abode by remodeling it with chain-link fencing, exposed wood and corrugated metal.
Asked why he hadn’t proposed something similar for the mall, Gehry replied, “Because I have to make a living.”
it wanted a simple memorial and not the one Gehry had proposed, with its multiple statues and billowing metal tapestries depicting Eisenhower’s life, the architect declined to change his design signi cantly. If the words of his critics annoyed Gehry, he rarely let on. Indeed, he even sometimes played along. He appeared as himself in a 2005 episode of “The Simpsons” cartoon show, in which he agreed to design a concert hall that was later converted into a prison.
He came up with the idea for the design, which looked a lot like the Disney Hall, after crumpling Marge Simpson’s letter to him and throwing it on the ground. After taking a look at it, he declared, “Frank Gehry, you’ve done it again!”
If he really wanted to make a statement as an architect, he was told, he should drop that attitude and follow his creative vision.
Gehry would do just that for the rest of his life, working into his 90s to create buildings that doubled as stunning works of art.
As his acclaim grew, Gehry Partners LLP, the architectural rm he founded in 1962, grew with it, expanding to include more than 130 employees at one point. But as big as it got, Gehry insisted on personally overseeing every project it took on.
The headquarters of the InterActiveCorp, known as the IAC Building, took the shape of a shimmering beehive when it was completed in New York City’s Chelsea district in 2007.
The 76-story New York By Gehry building, once one of the world’s tallest residential structures, was a stunning addition to the lower Manhattan skyline when it opened in 2011.
That same year, Gehry joined the faculty of his alma mater, the University of Southern California, as a professor of architecture. He also taught at Yale and Columbia University.
Imaginative designs drew criticism along with praise
Not everyone was a fan of Gehry’s work. Some naysayers dismissed it as not much more than gigantic, lopsided reincarnations of the little scrap-wood cities he said he spent hours building when he was growing up in the mining town of Timmins, Ontario.
Princeton art critic Hal Foster dismissed many of his later e orts as “oppressive,” arguing they were designed primarily to be tourist attractions. Some denounced the Disney Hall as looking like a collection of cardboard boxes that had been left out in the rain.
Other critics included Dwight D. Eisenhower’s family, who objected to Gehry’s bold proposal for a memorial to honor the nation’s 34th president. Although the family said
“Some people think I actually do that,” he would later tell the AP.
Gehry’s lasting legacy around the world
Ephraim Owen Goldberg was born in Toronto on Feb. 28, 1929, and moved to Los Angeles with his family in 1947, eventually becoming a U.S. citizen. As an adult, he changed his name at the suggestion of his rst wife, who told him antisemitism might be holding back his career.
Although he had enjoyed drawing and building model cities as a child, Gehry said it wasn’t until he was 20 that he pondered the possibility of pursuing a career in architecture, after a college ceramics teacher recognized his talent.
“It was like the rst thing in my life that I’d done well in,” he said.
Gehry steadfastly denied being an artist though.
“Yes, architects in the past have been both sculptors and architects,” he declared in a 2006 interview with The Associated Press. “But I still think I’m doing buildings, and it’s different from what they do.”
His words re ected both a lifelong shyness and an insecurity that stayed with Gehry long after he’d been declared the greatest architect of his time.
“I’m totally abbergasted that I got to where I’ve gotten,” he told the AP in 2001. “Now it seems inevitable, but at the time it seemed very problematic.”
The Gehry-designed Guggenheim Museum in Abu Dhabi, rst proposed in 2006, is expected to nally be completed in 2026 after a series of construction delays and sporadic work. The 30,000-square-foot structure will be the world’s largest Guggenheim, leaving a lasting legacy in the capital city of the United Arab Emirates.
His survivors include his wife, Berta; daughter, Brina; sons Alejandro and Samuel; and the buildings he created.
Another daughter, Leslie Gehry Brenner, died of cancer in 2008.
CHRIS PIZZELLO / AP PHOTO
Honoree and Walt Disney Concert Hall architect Frank Gehry poses for photos at the Los Angeles Philharmonic Gala in 2023.
ALVARO BARRIENTOS / AP PHOTO
Athletic Bilbao fans wait in front of the Guggenheim museum before team celebrations in Bilbao, Spain, in 2024.
European Union moves ahead with toughening its migration system
Countries would be able to reject asylum requests for migrants from “safe countries”
By Sam McNeil The Associated Press
BRUSSELS — European
Union o cials on Monday were nalizing a major overhaul of its migration system, including streamlined deportations and increased detentions, after years of erce debate on the issue has seen the rise of far-right political parties.
Since a surge in asylum-seekers and other migrants to Europe a decade ago, public views on the issue have shifted. EU migration policies have hardened, and the number of asylum-seekers is down from record levels. Still, U.S. President Donald Trump in recent days issued sharp criticism of the 27-nation bloc’s migration policies as part of a national security strategy painting European allies as weak.
Ministers meeting in Brussels agreed to a “safe third country” concept and a list of safe countries of origin, Danish minister Rasmus Stoklund said. That means EU nations can deny residency and deport migrants because they either hail from a safe country or could apply for asylum in one outside the EU.
“We will be able to reject peo-
ple that have no reason for asylum in Europe, and then it will be possible for us to make mechanisms and procedures that enable us to return them faster,” Stoklund said. “It should not be human smugglers that control the access to Europe.”
Ministers also agreed to the formation of a “solidarity pool” to share costs of hosting refugees among member nations. The pool is meant to collect 430 million euros to disburse to countries facing greater migratory pressure, including Cyprus,
Greece, Italy and Spain in southern Europe. Hungary and Poland have long opposed any obligation for countries to host migrants or pay for their upkeep.
“It is important to give the people also the feeling back that we have control over what is happening,” said Magnus Brunner, the EU’s commissioner for migration.
The European Council will now negotiate with the 720 lawmakers at the European Parliament to accept or modify the migration policy
changes. Right and far-right parties are largely uni ed in supporting the changes.
Amnesty International EU advocate on migration Olivia Sundberg Diez likened the EU’s migration changes to the Trump administration’s crackdown. She called on European lawmakers to block the new measures that “will in ict deep harm on migrants and the communities that welcome them.”
French Green lawmaker Mélissa Camara called the changes “a renunciation of our
fundamental values and human rights.”
In May, EU nations endorsed sweeping reforms to the bloc’s asylum system, with the European Commission issuing the new Pact on Migration and Asylum. The pact, among other things, called for increasing deportations and setting up “ return hubs,” a euphemism for deportation centers for rejected asylum-seekers.
The EU wouldn’t set up or manage such “return hubs,” which could be in Europe or elsewhere, but would create the legal framework to allow states to negotiate with non-EU countries willing to take rejected asylum-seekers.
Nations like Austria and Denmark likely will seek partners to host such costly and legally murky centers, said Camille Le Coz, director of the Migration Policy Institute Europe think tank, pointing to the deal the Netherlands struck in September with Uganda to host refugees.
Such centers di er from the existing but so far ine ective deal signed by Italy with Albania to o shore the asylum processing of migrants rescued at sea. At the time, the contentious plan was applauded by European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen as an “out-of-thebox” solution to manage irregular migration, but courts in Italy have repeatedly blocked it.
Mainstream political parties hope the pact on migration resolves the issues that have divided EU nations since well over 1 million migrants swept into Europe in 2015, most of them eeing war in Syria and Iraq.
PETROS GIANNAKOURIS / AP PHOTO
Migrants rescued south of Crete wait to be registered on their arrival at the the port of Lavrio, Greece, in July.
REAL ESTATE
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IN SEARCH OF SOMEONE
I met you at Dollar Tree in Siler City, you paid for a Birthday Gift Bag. I want to meet you again to thank you. I live on Hwy.902 at 11348, Bear Creek, NC. My phone # is 919-837-5280.
WANTED
Does anyone else wish to sue Brightspeed for non-delivery of services on internet? Call Tom Glendinning – 919-545-0880 4tp
FOR SALE
MOVING - EVERYTHING PRICED TO SELL - COUCH, HIDE A BED, QUEEN BED & MATTRESS, TABLES, LAMPS, CHAIRS, RUGS, BEDROOM SET, GAMES, ETC. FEARRINGTON VILLAGE, CALL JERRY 919637-7570
Notice is hereby given that the Town of Siler City is soliciting contractors and professional rms to perform housing rehabilitation to be completed with CDBG-NR program funds. The Town has received notice of a grant award from the NC Department of Commerce, Rural Economic Development Division, which the Town will utilize to undertake the abovementioned activities located in Siler City, North Carolina. The Town will require the following services and supplies during implementation of this project: Registered land surveyor.
Attorney. NC licensed general contractors. Residential building supplies. Asbestos assessment and abatement contractors.
Lead-Based Paint inspectors.
This publication is to notify interested parties that the Town of Siler City will utilize the following procedures, pertaining to equal opportunity employment and utilization of local businesses, during procurement of services and supplies necessary to complete these projects.
In accordance with Section 3 of the Housing and Community Development Act, the Town of Siler City will advertise locally for jobs, contracts, and supplies, and will encourage participation in these projects by businesses and workers located in Chatham County, to the greatest extent possible. The Town of Siler City will actively solicit minorityand female-owned businesses during procurement of supplies and contracts for these projects.
In order to encourage participation by Section 3, minority, and female individuals and business owners, the Town will list all jobs available through this program with the Chatham County o ce of the North Carolina Employment Security Commission; will maintain a list of job training and business development resources in the Town Planning Department; and will list all contracts and supplies to be procured with the O ce for Historically Underutilized Businesses, 1336 Mail Service Center, Raleigh, NC 27699-1336, telephone number (919) 807-2330, or on the web at https://ncadmin.nc.gov/ businesses/hub/events, and on the NC Interactive Purchasing System. All individuals and/or historically underutilized businesses, including local, minority, and femaleowned rms, who are interested in providing the services listed above, may register with the Town of Siler City, PO Box 769, 311 North Second Avenue, Room 302, Siler City, NC 27344, telephone (919) 726-8628. This information is available in Spanish or any other language upon request. Please contact Timothy Garner, Planning Director, at 919-7268628 or at 311 N. Second Avenue, Siler City, NC for accommodations for this request. Esta informacion esta disponible en espa ol o en cualquier otro idioma bajo peticion. Par favor, pongase en contacto con Timothy Garnder, Planning Director, at 919-726-8628 or at 311 N. Second Avenue, Siler City, NC, de alojamiento para esta solicitud.
NOTICE
IN THE GENERAL COURT OF JUSTICE OF NORTH CAROLINA BEFORE THE CLERK CHATHAM COUNTY
25SP000165-180 IN THE MATTER OF THE FORECLOSURE OF A DEED OF TRUST:
Grantor: Cynthia G. Paulino
Dated: 2/14/2025 Book: 2454, Page 52 NOTICE OF FORECLOSURE SALE
Date of Sale: 12/17/2025 Time of Sale: 10:30 am Place of Sale: Chatham County Courthouse 40 East Chatham Street Pittsboro, NC 27312
Record Owner(s) of Property: Cynthia Paulino Property Address: 4902 Devils Tramping Ground Road, Bear Creek, NC 27207
Under and by virtue of the power and authority contained in the above-referenced deed of trust, the undersigned will expose for sale at public auction at the date, time and location shown above, the real property identi ed above and in the Deed of Trust identi ed above (which description is fully incorporated herein by reference), together with all buildings, all xtures, all improvements, the hereditaments and appurtenances thereto and all other rights belonging or in any way appertaining to the above described property (“Property”) save and except any releases, deeds of release or prior conveyances of record.
TERMS OF SALE: The Property will be sold “AS IS, WHERE IS.” Neither the Substitute Trustee nor the holder of the debt secured by the Deed of Trust, nor their respective o cers, directors, attorneys, employees, agents or authorized representatives, make any representation or warranty relating to the title or any physical, environmental, health or safety conditions existing in, on, at or relating to the property, and any and all responsibilities or liabilities arising out of or in any way relating to any such conditions expressly are disclaimed. This sale is subject to all prior liens and encumbrances, and unpaid taxes and assessments including any transfer tax and recording fees associated with the foreclosure. A deposit of ve percent (5%) of the amount of the bid or seven hundred fty dollars ($750.00), whichever is greater, is required from the highest bidder and must be tendered in the form of certi ed funds at the time of the sale. This sale will be held open ten days for upset bids as required by law. Any successful bidder shall be required to tender the full balance of the purchase price so bid in cash or certi ed check at the time the Substitute Trustee tenders to him a deed for the Property or attempts to tender such deed, and should said successful bidder fail to pay the full balance of the purchase price so bid at that time, he shall remain liable on his bid as provided for in North Carolina General Statutes Sections 45-21.30(d)
is not subject to remote bidding pursuant to North Carolina General Statutes Section 45-21.25A. SPECIAL NOTICE FOR TENANTS RESIDING AT THE PROPERTY: Pursuant to North Carolina General Statute Section 45-21.16A, you are hereby given notice that an order
to vacate the Property. Any person who occupies the Property pursuant to a rental agreement entered into or renewed on or after October 1, 2007, may, after receiving the notice of sale, terminate the rental agreement by providing written notice of termination to the landlord, to be e ective on a date stated in the notice that is at least 10 days, but no more than 90 days, after the sale date contained in the notice of sale, provided that the mortgagor has not cured the default at the time the tenant provides the notice of termination. Upon termination of the rental agreement, the tenant is liable for rent due under the rental agreement prorated to the e ective date of termination. Date: 11/18/2025 W. Eric Medlin, Substitute Trustee 5710 W. Gate City Blvd, Suite K-274 Greensboro, NC 27407 (336) 369-5610
PUBLIC HEARING NOTICE
A public hearing will be held by the Chatham County Board of Commissioners on Monday, December 15, 2025, beginning at 6:00 p.m. The hearing will be held in the courtroom of the Historic Courthouse in Pittsboro, North Carolina at 9 Hillsboro Street, Pittsboro NC 27312. Additional information is available at the Chatham County Planning Department o ce. Speakers are requested to sign up at the meeting prior to the hearing. You may also sign up on the county website prior to the meeting at www.chathamcountync.gov by selecting the heading County Government, then Commissioner Meetings, then Public Comment. The public hearing may be continued to another date at the discretion of the Board of Commissioners. The purpose of the Public Hearing is to receive input, both written and oral, on the issues listed below: Legislative Request: A legislative public hearing requested by the Chatham County Board of Commissioners and Chatham County Fire Marshal to consider amendments to the Chatham County Subdivision Regulations; speci cally, section 7, Requirements and Minimum Standards For Improvements, Reservations, and Design adopting all standards of the North Carolina State Fire Code and Appendix D by reference.
Substantial changes may be made following the public hearing due to verbal or written comments received or based on the Board’s discussions.
Notice to people with special needs: If you have audio or visual impairment, unique accessibility requirements or need language assistance, please call the number listed below prior to the hearing and assistance may be provided. If you have any questions or comments concerning these issues, please call the Chatham County Planning Department at 919-542-8204 or write to P.O. Box 54, Pittsboro N.C. 27312. Please run in your paper: December 4th and 11th, 2025
NOTICE TO CREDITORS
24E000576-180 NORTH CAROLINA CHATHAM COUNTY
The undersigned, Jacelyn Schmid, having quali ed as Administrator of the Estate of John Wayne Hudson, deceased, late of Chatham County, this is to notify all persons having claims against said estate to present them to the undersigned on or before the day of February 18, 2026, or this notice will be plead in bar of their recovery. All persons indebted to said estate will please make immediate payment to the undersigned. This the 20th day of November 2025.
Jacelyn Schmid Administrator
Marie H. Hopper Attorney for the Estate Hopper Cummings, PLLC Post O ce Box 1455 Pittsboro, NC 27312
NOTICE
STATE OF NORTH CAROLINA NOTICE TO CREDITORS COUNTY OF CHATHAM File Number 25E000652-180 THE UNDERSIGNED, having quali ed on the 1st day of December 2025, as Executor of the ESTATE OF GRANT FRANKLIN KOHER, Deceased, of Chatham County, North Carolina, does hereby notify all persons, rms and corporations having claims against said Estate to exhibit them to the undersigned on or before the 5th of March, 2026, or this Notice will be pleaded in bar of their recovery. All persons indebted to said Estate will please make immediate payment to the undersigned.
This, the 4th day of December, 2025.
Blanche Guay Koher
EXECUTOR ESTATE OF GRANT FRANKLIN KOHER c/o Shirley Diefenbach, Attorney Walker Lambe, PLLC Post O ce Box 51549 Durham, North Carolina 27717
NOTICE
STATE OF NORTH CAROLINA NOTICE TO CREDITORS COUNTY OF CHATHAM THE UNDERSIGNED, having quali ed on the 13th day of November 2025, as Executor of the ESTATE OF JAMES REID MORRISON, JR., Deceased, of Chatham County, North Carolina, does hereby notify all persons, rms and corporations having claims against said Estate to exhibit them to the undersigned on or before February 21, 2026, or this Notice will be pleaded in bar of their recovery. All persons indebted to said Estate will please make immediate payment to the undersigned.
This, the 20th day of November, 2025.
CATHERINE BARNETT ALEXANDER
EXECUTOR ESTATE OF JAMES REID MORRISON, JR.
c/o Jennifer Dalman, Attorney Walker Lambe, PLLC Post O ce Box 51549 Durham, North Carolina 27717
NOTICE OF ADMINISTRATION 25E000484-180
Having quali ed as Co-Executors of the Estate of Kathy Thompson Whaley of Chatham County, NC, this is to notify all persons having claims against the Estate to present them to the undersigned on or before February 27, 2026 or this notice will be pleaded in bar of their recovery. All persons indebted to said Estate please make immediate payment. Ellen Thompson Jones, Co-Executor Rachel Elizabeth Whaley, Co-Executor Janice A. Walston, Attorney PO Box 279 Wilson, NC 27894-0279
NOTICE
NORTH CAROLINA NOTICE TO CREDITORS CHATHAM COUNTY
HAVING QUALIFIED as Executor of the Estate of Mary R. Parks late of Chatham County, North Carolina, this is to notify all persons, rms and corporations having claims against the estate of said deceased to present them to the undersigned on or before the 19th day of February, 2026, or this notice will be pleaded in bar of their recovery. This the 12th day of November, 2025. Cheryl Ann Green, Executor of the Estate of Mary R. Parks 314 Pebble Beach Drive Mebane, North Carolina 27302 MOODY, WILLIAMS, ATWATER & LEE ATTORNEYS AT LAW BOX 629 SILER CITY, NORTH CAROLINA 27344 (919) 663-2850 4tp
NOTICE TO CREDITORS
The undersigned, having quali ed as Executor of the Estate of Patricia Hennessy, Deceased, late of Chatham County, North Carolina, does hereby notify all persons, rms and corporations having claims against the estate to exhibit them to the undersigned at the o ce of Munson Law Firm PLLC, P.O. Box 1811 Pittsboro, NC 27312, on or before the 20th day of February 2026, or this notice will be pleaded in bar of their recovery. All persons indebted to the estate will please make immediate payment. This 20th day of November 2025.
RUSSELL BARKER, EXECUTOR ESTATE OF PATRICIA HENNESSY
NOTICE
NORTH CAROLINA NOTICE TO CREDITORS
CHATHAM COUNTY
HAVING QUALIFIED as Executor of the Estate of Harry F. Knepp, Jr. late of Chatham County, North Carolina, this is to notify all persons, rms and corporations having claims against the estate of said deceased to present them to the undersigned on or before the 27th day of February, 2026, or this notice will be pleaded in bar of their recovery. This the 20th day of November, 2025. Erin Knepp Warrick, Executor of the Estate of Harry F. Knepp, Jr. 149 Pike Drive NW Pikeville, North Carolina 27863
MOODY, WILLIAMS, ATWATER & LEE
ATTORNEYS AT LAW BOX 629
SILER CITY, NORTH CAROLINA 27344 (919) 663-2850
4tp
NOTICE
NORTH CAROLINA NOTICE TO CREDITORS
CHATHAM COUNTY
HAVING QUALIFIED as Administrator of the Estate of Chad Eric Sexton late of Chatham County, North Carolina, this is to notify all persons, rms and corporations having claims against the estate of said deceased to present them to the undersigned on or before the 12th day of March, 2026, or this notice will be pleaded in bar of their recovery.
This the 2nd day of December, 2025.
Yvonne Sexton Goldston, Administrator Of the Estate of Chad Eric Sexton 1102 N. Hampton Street Siler City, North Carolina 27344 MOODY, WILLIAMS, ATWATER & LEE
ATTORNEYS AT LAW BOX 629 SILER CITY, NORTH CAROLINA 27344 (919) 663-2850
4tp
NOTICE
NORTH CAROLINA NOTICE TO CREDITORS
CHATHAM COUNTY
HAVING QUALIFIED as Co-Executors of the Estate of James Thomas Cotner late of Chatham County, North Carolina, this is to notify all persons, rms and corporations having claims against the estate of said deceased to present them to the undersigned on or before the 27th day of February, 2026, or this notice will be pleaded in bar of their recovery.
This the 20th day of November, 2025.
John Riley Culberson, Co-Executor of the Estate of James Thomas Cotner
902 Mt. Vernon Hickory Mountain Road Siler City, North Carolina 27344
Ricky Gordon Culberson, Co-Executor of the Estate of James Thomas Cotner
140 Lay N Low Way Goldston, North Carolina 27252 MOODY, WILLIAMS, ATWATER & LEE
ATTORNEYS AT LAW BOX 629 SILER CITY, NORTH CAROLINA 27344 (919) 663-2850
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NOTICE TO CREDITORS
The undersigned, having quali ed as Executor of the Estate of Billy Hugh Elkins, deceased, late of Chatham County, North Carolina, noti es all persons, rms and corporations having claims against the estate of said deceased to present them to the undersigned at her address, P. O. Box 266, Goldston, North Carolina, 27252, on or before the 4th day of March, 2026, or this Notice will be pleaded in bar of their recovery. All persons indebted to said estate will please make immediate payment. This 26th day of November, 2025. Rebecca L. Elkins P. O. Box 266 Goldston, North Carolina 27252 GUNN & MESSICK, PLLC P. O. Box 880 Pittsboro, North Carolina 27312-0880 December 4, 11, 18, 25
NOTICE TO CREDITORS
NORTH CAROLINA
CHATHAM COUNTY
25E000603-180
ALL persons having claims against Eric Charles Youmans, deceased, late of Chatham County, North Carolina, are noti ed to exhibit the same to the undersigned on or before Feb 27 2026, or this notice will be pleaded in bar of recovery. Debtors of the decedent are asked to make immediate payment.
This the 27th day of November, 2025.
CHE BOYD YOUMANS, EXECUTOR C/O Howard Stallings Law Firm PO Box 12347 Raleigh, NC 27605 N27, 4, 11 and 18
NOTICE TO CREDITORS
NORTH CAROLINA
CHATHAM COUNTY
25E000628-180 ALL persons having claims against Gisela Hilda Hecken, deceased, late of Chatham County, North Carolina, are noti ed to exhibit the same to the undersigned on or before Mar 04 2026, or this notice will be pleaded in bar of recovery. Debtors of the decedent are asked to make immediate payment.
This the 4th day of December, 2025.
Margit H. Iwanowicz, Executor C/O Howard Stallings Law Firm PO Box 12347 Raleigh, NC 27605 D4, 11, 18 and 25
NOTICE TO CREDITORS
NORTH CAROLINA
CHATHAM COUNTY
FILE#24E001626-180
The undersigned, DEREK RILE GREEN, having quali ed on the 20TH Day of OCTOBER 2025 as EXECUTOR of the Estate of ANN BLANKENSHIP GREEN, deceased, of Chatham County, North Carolina, does hereby notify all persons, rms and corporations having claims against said Estate to exhibit them on or before the 4th Day OF MARCH 2026, or this Notice will be pleaded in bar of their recovery. All persons indebted to said Estate will please make immediate payment to the undersigned. This, the 4th DAY OF DECEMBER 2025.
FILE#25E000644-180 The undersigned, LESLIE LEIGH LAFOSSE, having quali ed on the 24TH Day of NOVEMBER 2025 as ADMINISTRATOR of the Estate of BETTY OLIVE FARLESS, deceased, of Chatham County, North Carolina, does hereby notify all persons, rms and corporations having claims against said Estate to exhibit them on or before the 4th Day OF MARCH 2026, or this Notice will be pleaded in bar of their recovery. All persons indebted to said Estate will please make immediate payment to the undersigned. This, the 4th DAY OF DECEMBER 2025. LESLIE LEIGH LAFOSSE, ADMINISTRATOR 6923 WILLIAMS COUNTRY ROAD STALEY, NC 27355 Run dates: D4,D11,18,25p
NOTICE TO CREDITORS
NORTH CAROLINA CHATHAM COUNTY
FILE#25E000586-180 The undersigned, KRISTINA DAVIS BOGART AND KIMBERLY DAVIS YARBOROUGH, having quali ed on the 23RD Day of OCTOBER 2025 as EXECUTOR of the Estate of BOBBY GENE DAVIS, SR., deceased, of Chatham County, North Carolina, does hereby notify all persons, rms and corporations having claims against said Estate to exhibit them on or before the 20th Day OF FEBRUARY 2026, or this Notice will be pleaded in bar of their recovery. All persons indebted to said Estate will please make immediate payment to the undersigned. This, the 20th DAY OF NOVEMBER 2025. KRISTINA DAVIS BOGART, EXECUTOR 906 TANGLEWOOD DR. EXT. SILER CITY, NC 27344 KIMBERLY DAVIS YARBOROUGH, EXECUTOR 407 CALLAWAY ST. SANFORD, NC 27330 Run dates: N20,27,D4,D11p
NOTICE TO CREDITORS
NORTH CAROLINA CHATHAM COUNTY FILE#25E000619-180 The undersigned, NORMAN M HILL IV, having quali ed on the 10th Day of NOVEMBER 2025 as EXECUTOR of the Estate of CRYSTAL F. LONG, deceased, of Chatham County, North Carolina, does hereby notify all persons, rms and corporations having claims against said Estate to
NORMAN M HILL IV, EXECUTOR 1715 BAEZ CT. VIRGINIA BEACH, VA 23464 Run dates: N20,27,D4,D11p
NOTICE TO CREDITORS
NORTH CAROLINA CHATHAM COUNTY FILE#25E000653-180 The undersigned TATANISHEA AMINA BRANTLEY, having quali ed on the 26TH Day of NOVEMBER 2025 as ADMINISTRATOR of the Estate of DALLAS IRVIN JACOBS, deceased, of Chatham County, North Carolina, does hereby notify all persons, rms and corporations having claims against said Estate to exhibit them on or before the 11th Day OF MARCH 2026, or this Notice will be pleaded in bar of their recovery. All persons indebted to said Estate will please make immediate payment to the undersigned. This, the 11th DAY OF DECEMBER 2025. TATANISHEA AMINA BRANTLEY, ADMINISTRATOR 302 LACE CAROL LANE ELGIN, SC 29045 Run dates: D11,18,25,J1p
NOTICE TO CREDITORS
NORTH CAROLINA CHATHAM COUNTY
FILE#25000649-180 The undersigned, LORETTA WHITEHEAD BATCHELOR, having quali ed on the 26TH Day of NOVEMBER 2025 as EXECUTOR of the Estate of DIANE B. WHITEHEAD aka BARBARA DIANE BOWERS WHITEHEAD, deceased, of Chatham County, North Carolina, does hereby notify all persons, rms and corporations having claims against said Estate to exhibit them on or before the 4th Day OF MARCH 2026, or this Notice will be pleaded in bar of their recovery. All persons indebted to said Estate will please make immediate payment to the undersigned. This, the 4th DAY OF DECEMBER 2025. LORETTA WHITEHEAD BATCHELOR, EXECUTOR 2465 ROSSER ROAD BEAR CREEK, NC 27207 Run dates: D4,D11,18,25p
NOTICE TO CREDITORS
NORTH CAROLINA
CHATHAM COUNTY
FILE#25E000629-180 The undersigned REBA THOMAS, having quali ed on the 25TH Day of NOVEMBER 2025 as EXECUTOR of the Estate of LOUISE HARTON STULTZ, deceased, of Chatham County, North Carolina, does hereby notify all persons, rms and corporations having claims against said Estate to exhibit them on or before the 11th Day OF MARCH 2026, or this Notice will be pleaded in bar of their recovery. All persons indebted to said Estate will please make immediate payment to the undersigned. This, the 11th DAY OF DECEMBER 2025. REBA THOMAS, EXECUTOR 2459 WALTER BRIGHT RD. SANFORD, NC 27330 Run dates: D11,18,25,J1p
NOTICE TO CREDITORS
NORTH CAROLINA CHATHAM COUNTY FILE#25E000659-180 The undersigned DELTABLUE LEFLEUR CHEVALIER, having quali ed on the 2ND Day of DECEMBER 2025 as EXECUTOR of the Estate of RICHARD MINTER
Trump proposes reducing fuel economy requirements to lower car prices
Next-generation cars could be somewhat cheaper as a result
By Matthew Daly and Alexa St. John The Associated Press
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump last Wednesday announced a proposal to weaken vehicle mileage rules for the auto industry, loosening regulatory pressure on automakers to control pollution from gasoline-powered cars and trucks.
The plan, if nalized next year, would signi cantly reduce fuel economy requirements, which set rules on how far new vehicles need to travel on a gallon of gasoline, through the 2031 model year. The administration and automakers say the rules will increase Americans’ access to the full range of gasoline vehicles they need and can a ord.
The National Highway Tra c Safety Administration projects that the new standards would set the industry eetwide average for light-duty vehicles at roughly 34.5 miles per gallon in the 2031 model year, down from a projected 50.4 miles per gallon in 2031 under the Biden-era rule.
The move is the latest action by the Trump administration to reverse Biden-era policies that encouraged cleaner-running cars and trucks, including electric vehicles, and it sparked criticism from environmental groups. Burning gasoline for vehicles is a major contributor to planet-warming greenhouse gas emissions.
“From day one I’ve been taking action to make buying a car more a ordable.” Trump said at a White House event that included top executives from two of the largest U.S. automakers. The rule reverses a Biden-era policy that “forced automakers to build cars using expensive technologies that drove up costs, drove up prices and made the car much worse,” Trump said.
The action is expected to save consumers about $1,000 o the price of a new car, Trump said. New cars sold for an average of $49,766 in October, according to Kelley Blue Book.
Automakers applauded the planned changes, which came amid industry complaints that the Biden-era rules were dicult to meet.
Ford CEO Jim Farley said the planned rollback was “a win for customers and common sense.”
“As America’s largest auto producer, we appreciate Pres-
ident Trump’s leadership in aligning fuel economy standards with market realities. We can make real progress on carbon emissions and energy eciency while still giving customers choice and a ordability,” he said.
Stellantis CEO Antonio Filosa said the automaker appreciates the administration’s actions to “realign” the mileage standards “with real world market conditions.”
Since taking o ce in January, Trump has relaxed auto tailpipe emissions rules, repealed nes for automakers that do not meet federal mileage standards and terminated consumer credits of up to $7,500 for EV purchases.
Environmentalists decried the rollback.
“In one stroke Trump is worsening three of our nation’s most vexing problems: the thirst for oil, high gas pump costs and global warming,” said Dan Becker, director of the Safe Climate Transport Campaign for the Center for Biological Diversity.
“Gutting the (gas-mileage) program will make cars burn more gas and American families burn more cash,’’ said Katherine García, director of the Sierra Club’s Clean Transportation for All program. “This rollback would move the auto industry backwards, keeping polluting cars on our roads for years to come and threatening
the health of millions of Americans, particularly children and the elderly.”
“People want the gasoline car”
Trump has repeatedly pledged to end what he calls an EV “mandate,” referring to Democratic President Joe Biden’s target that half of all new vehicle sales be electric by 2030. EVs accounted for about 8% of new vehicle sales in the United States in 2024, according to Cox Automotive.
Trump called Democrats’ efforts to promote EVs “insane,” adding, “People want the gasoline car.”
No federal policy has required auto companies to sell EVs, although California and other states have imposed rules requiring that all new passenger vehicles sold in the state be zero-emission by 2035. Trump and congressional Republicans blocked the California law earlier this year.
Transportation Secretary Sean Du y urged his agency to reverse existing fuel economy requirements, known as Corporate Average Fuel Economy, or CAFE, soon after taking o ce. In June, he said that standards set under Biden were illegal because they included use of electric vehicles in their calculation. EVs do not run on gasoline. After the June rule revision, the tra c safety administration was empowered to update the requirements.
Supreme Court hears Alabama’s appeal to execute a man found to be intellectually disabled
The execution of intellectually disabled people has been prohibited since 2002
By Mark Sherman and Kim Chandler
The Associated Press
WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court will hear arguments Wednesday in a case that could make it harder for convicted murderers to show their lives should be spared because they are intellectually disabled.
The justices are taking up an appeal from Alabama, which wants to put to death a man who lower federal courts found is intellectually disabled and shielded from execution.
The Supreme Court prohibited execution of intellectually disabled people in a landmark ruling in 2002. Joseph Clifton Smith, 55, has been on death row roughly half his life after his conviction for beating a man to death in 1997.
The issue in Smith’s case
is what happens when a person has multiple IQ scores that are slightly above 70, which has been widely accepted as a marker of intellectual disability. Smith’s ve IQ tests produced scores ranging from 72 to 78. Smith had been placed in learning-disabled classes and dropped out of school after seventh grade, his lawyers said. At the time of the crime, he performed math at a kindergarten level, spelled at a third-grade level and read at a fourth-grade level.
The Supreme Court has held in cases in 2014 and 2017 that states should consider other evidence of disability in borderline cases because of the margin of error in IQ tests.
Alabama appealed to the Supreme Court after lower courts ruled that Smith is intellectually disabled. The justices had previously sent his case back to the federal appeals court in Atlanta, where the judges a rmed that they had taken a “holistic” approach to Smith’s case, seemingly in line with the high court ruling.
But the justices said in June they would take a new look at the case.
The Supreme Court is hearing a case about intellectual disabilities and the death penalty.
The new rules “are going to allow the automakers to make vehicles that Americans want to purchase, not vehicles that Joe Biden and (former Transportation Secretary Pete) Buttigieg want to build,” Du y said last Wednesday. Under Biden, automakers were required to average about 50 miles per gallon of gas for passenger cars by 2031, compared with about 39 miles per gallon today. The Biden administration also increased fuel-economy requirements by 2% each year for light-duty vehicles in every model year from 2027 to 2031, and 2% per year for SUVs and other light trucks from 2029 to 2031. At the same time, it called for stringent tailpipe rules meant to encourage EV adoption.
The 2024 standards would have saved 14 billion gallons of gasoline from being burned by 2050, according to the trafc safety administration’s 2024 calculations. Abandoning them means that in 2035, cars could produce 22,111 more tons of carbon dioxide per year than under the Biden-era rules. It also means an extra 90 tons a year of deadly soot particles and 4,870 additional tons a year of smog components such as nitrogen oxides and volatile organic compounds going into the air in coming years.
Mileage rules have been implemented since the 1970s energy crisis, and over time, automakers have gradually increased their vehicles’ average e ciency.
President Donald Trump’s administration and 20 states are supporting Alabama in the case. Smith “did not meet his burden of proving his IQ was likely 70 or below,” Solicitor General D. John Sauer wrote on behalf of the Republican administration.
Smith’s lawyers argue the lower courts followed the law in conducting a “holistic assessment of all relevant evidence” in a case with borderline IQ scores.
Rights groups focused on disabilities wrote in a brief supporting Smith that “intellectual disability diagnoses based solely on IQ test scores are faulty and invalid.”
Smith was convicted and sentenced to death for the beating death of Durk Van Dam in Mobile County. Van Dam was found dead in his pickup truck. Prosecutors said he had been beaten to death with a hammer and robbed of $150, his boots and tools.
“He has multiple scores in the 70s,” Marshall said in a phone interview. He said the question is about how to address a continuum of scores. “I don’t think picking and choosing those at the bottom are the way that the court will ultimately go,” Marshall said.
Alabama Attorney General Steve Marshall said Smith hasn’t met his burden of showing an IQ of 70 or below, and the state wrote in its brief that the discussion of a holistic approach is an unjusti ed expansion of the Supreme Court rulings.
A federal judge in 2021 vacated Smith’s death sentence, though she acknowledged “this is a close case.” Alabama law de nes intellectual disability as an IQ of 70 or below, along with signi cant or substantial de cits in adaptive behavior and the onset of those issues before the age of 18.
EVAN VUCCI / AP PHOTO
President Donald Trump speaks during an event on fuel economy standards in the Oval O ce of the White House last Wednesday.
EVAN VUCCI / AP PHOTO
Ford President Jim Farley speaks as President Donald Trump looks on during an event on fuel economy standards in the Oval O ce of the White House last Wednesday.
JORDAN GOLSON / CHATHAM NEWS & RECORD
CHATHAM SPORTS
Morse re ects on career at Jordan-Matthews
The former basketball star got her jersey retired Friday
By Asheebo Rojas Chatham News & Record
SILER CITY — The walls in and around Frank N. Justice Gymnasium serve as a sanctuary for Jordan-Matthews’ storied athletic history.
Team photos, banners and retired jerseys capture the greatest moments and individuals celebrated by the school. Many of the enshrined are still around as coaches, teach-
ers, parents or members of the community that visit and relive the glory days on occasion.
One day, a Jordan-Matthews history teacher noticed something was missing and made Jordan-Matthews athletic director Barry West aware.
“I did say to him one time, I said, ‘You know you’ve got three guys jerseys up there,’” Lisa Morse, the history teacher, said. “You don’t have a lady’s. Because there are a lot of good girls that have come through playing ball.”
Morse, a 1980 graduate and multisport star who went on to play basketball at Wake For -
est, was one of them. After a lifetime of on-court memories and o -the-court service at Jordan-Matthews, the school made Morse, formerly known as Lisa Brooks, and her No. 22 jersey the rst retired uniform of a female Jets basketball player Friday. “I think it’s just kind of the end product of lots of hard work and just the enjoyment of being at Jordan-Matthews, playing for Jordan-Matthews, representing Jordan-Matthews,” Morse said. “It sounds kind of like made for a Hallmark movie or something, but it’s just kind of like living the dream.”
Jordan-Matthews junior Zaeon Auguste scored 19 points in the win over Chatham Central on Dec. 5 .
Jordan-Matthews sweeps Chatham Central in varsity doubleheader
Both teams overcame early de cits to beat the Bears
By Asheebo Rojas
Chatham News & Record
Boys: Jordan-Matthews 52, Chatham Central 47
SILER CITY — Jordan-Matthews junior Zaeon
Auguste scored a team-high 19 points to help the Jets beat Chatham Central 52-47 Friday
and earn their rst win over their rivals since 2019.
Auguste scored nine points in a back-and-forth nal quarter, including ve free throws.
He nished the night 9 for 13 from the free-throw line and 5 for 8 from the eld. He said the key to his aggressiveness was to “not be scared.”
“Make contact, and keep going at them,” Auguste said. “And just hopefully get the call from the refs.”
Sophomore guard Nolan Mitchell scored 13 points, and
senior guard Kamarie Hadley contributed eight points. The Jets snapped a three-game losing streak with the win.
Chatham Central built an 11-4 lead in the rst four minutes of the game. Thanks to a ve-point spark o the bench from junior Omar Sanford, Jordan-Matthews responded with its own 15-2 run to close the rst quarter ahead 19-13. Both teams struggled o ensively in the second quarter,
See HOOPS, page B4
“If you’re going to play, then be as good as you can be at it.”
Before becoming one of the best women’s basketball players to ever come out of Siler City, Morse was a reserve on her Chatham Middle School basketball teams.
“I was on the team but really didn’t play,” Morse said. “One of my brothers said, ‘If you really want to play, you’re going to have to learn to shoot like a guy.’ And so I kind of spent the whole summer learning to shoot and working at it, and it wasn’t a job to me. It just ended up being something that I really enjoyed doing.”
In the summer leading
into her freshman season, late coach Phil Senter o ered Morse and a group of girls the opportunity to play summer ball with the high school team. Combined with the winter season, Morse said her freshman year motivated her to become “better and better,” especially with the talent she played alongside.
“I played with so many good athletes,” Morse said. “I think, at one time, there were ve of us on the oor at the same time that went on to play college ball. And so it was kind of like just keeping up with everybody else. I guess it was just being in the right place at the right time and good luck, good fortune for the opportunity to even present itself to me. I don’t know. I just always had the mentality, and a lot of it came from my dad, if you’re going to play, then
The Hawks move to 2-0 in their series against the Wolves
By Asheebo Rojas Chatham News & Record
CHAPEL HILL — Clutch
late-game scores and hustle plays helped Seaforth’s boys hold o Woods Charter in a 42-36 thriller on Dec. 4. Woods Charter trailed 31-25 entering the fourth quarter and made a 7-3 run to come within two points. But from there, the Wolves couldn’t get any closer. With under four minutes left to play, Seaforth senior Campbell Meador spearheaded two crucial buckets, an assist to senior Davis Peebles and a missed oater rebounded by senior Declan Lindquist and put back for a 38-34 advantage. “We just kept attacking,” Meador said. “We found a play towards the end that was able to get us in the action to get into the paint and get a dish to the shooters. That worked a few times for us.”
Trailing by three with 35 seconds left, the Wolves moved the ball around until junior guard Grant Richardson, who had made three of his previous four 3-point attempts, got an open look from beyond the arc. Richardson missed the potential game-ty-
I just want to do whatever I can to help make the team win”
ing 3, and Lindquist, who nished the night with seven rebounds, came down with the game-clinching board with ve seconds remaining.
Seaforth outrebounded Woods Charter 34-24, with senior Patrick Miller grabbing a team-high 10 boards. Lindquist nished the night with a team-high 11 points. A gritty win for the Hawks began with a sloppy start. Turnovers (Seaforth committed 14 of them) and a 3-for-11 rst quarter shooting performance grounded Seaforth’s o ense. Meanwhile, Woods Charter knocked down three triples, including two from Richardson, to lead 10-9 at the end of the opening period.
Seaforth switched out of its zone and into man defense in the second quarter, which led to the Wolves scoring six points and also shooting 3 for 11 from the eld in the eight minutes before halftime. Shots began to fall for the Hawks, and Meador scored ve of their
GENE GALIN FOR CHATHAM NEWS & RECORD
Lisa Morse, middle, celebrates her jersey retirement with family and the Jordan-Matthews community on Dec. 5.
GENE GALIN FOR CHATHAM NEWS & RECORD
Lisa Morse
Patrick Miller
Ryder Murphy
Chatham Charter, boys’ basketball
Chatham Charter’s Ryder Murphy earns athlete of the week honors for the week of Dec. 1.
Murphy, a sophomore guard on the boys’ basketball team, recorded a team-high 19 points and a career-high 10 steals in the Knights’ 57-56 win over Cornerstone Charter on Dec. 3. He followed that with 16 points while shooting 50% from the eld in a 63-50 win over Wheatmore on Friday. Through 10 games, Murphy is second on the team in points per game (12.4), and he leads the Knights in average assists (3.3) and steals (3.7).
Winter athletes continue to grind through the season’s rst month
By Asheebo Rojas Chatham News & Record
AS COLLEGIATE FALL
sports come to a close, former local athletes are earning post season honors.
Georgia Southern linebacker Brendan Harrington, a 2019 Northwood football alum, closed out his seventh year with his third career All-Sun Belt Conference Honorable Mention. Harrington recorded 77 tackles, two tackles for loss and an interception in 12 games with the Eagles.
Barton College center Robbie Delgado, another former Northwood football player, made the Conference Carolinas All-Conference o ensive second team.
Recent Seaforth graduate
Juana Silva Jimenez earned USA South Women’s Cross Country First Team All-Conference honors after nishing fth in the conference championship meet as a freshman.
Here’s what the former winter athletes are up to on the college level and where to nd them.
Men’s basketball
Jarin Stevenson (UNC, Seaforth)
Stevenson has been an all-around defender for the Tar Heels, sitting at second (tied with Kyan Evans) on the team in steals and third in blocks as of Sunday.
Kenan Parrish (Northwood, Harvard)
Parrish is averaging 2.3 points and 1.4 rebounds for Harvard as of Sunday.
Max Frazier (Northwood, Central Connecticut State)
Frazier has started in every game this season and is averaging 11.8 points and 7.2 rebounds. He scored 24 points in a win over Sacred Heart on Nov. 24.
Brennen Oldham (Chatham Central, Catawba Valley CC)
Oldham has made one start and is averaging 3.8 points and 2.7 rebounds per game. He’s shooting 62.5% from the eld.
Reid Albright (Chatham Central, Central Carolina CC)
Albright has made seven starts this season and is averaging 4.9 points, 4.4 rebounds and 3.4 assists.
Jonah Ridgill (Chatham Charter, Guilford)
ve assists in a loss to Barton.
Hannah Ajayi (Guilford, Seaforth)
Local college athletes receive fall postseason awards 12
Ajayi has seen an increased role for the Quakers this season, averaging 3.7 points and 2.9 rebounds through seven games.
Sydney Ballard (North Greenville, Northwood)
Ridgill has appeared in two games for the Quakers, averaging 3.5 points and two rebounds.
Colby Burleson (Northwood, Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts)
Burleson has made two starts and is averaging 4.6 points per game. In his rst career start against New England College on Saturday, Burleson scored a career-high 18 points on 6-for-8 shooting.
Women’s basketball
Gabby White (Virginia, Seaforth)
White is providing huge minutes o the bench, averaging 8.3 points and 3.4 rebounds per game. She’s scored in double digits four times, including a 12-point performance in Sunday’s win over Boston College.
Olivia Porter (Marquette, Northwood)
Porter has started every game and is averaging 6.9 points, three rebounds and 2.8 assists. She scored a season-high 11 points in a win over Butler on Sunday.
Skylar Adams (Shaw, Northwood)
Adams made her rst start of the season Saturday, recording season highs of six points and
Ballard has appeared in six games for North Greenville, averaging 1.6 points per game.
Swimming and Diving
Suzanne Earnshaw (Northwood, James Madison)
Bianca Perez (Northwood, Queens University)
William Sikes (Northwood, Trinity University)
Evan Hepburn (Seaforth, Bucknell)
Benjamin Lajoie (Seaforth, Ithaca)
Track and Field
Will Cuicchi (Seaforth, Charlotte)
Jack Anstrom (Seaforth, NC State)
Caroline Murrell (Northwood, NC State)
Sebastian Calderon (Seaforth, Campbell)
Juana Silva Jimenez (Seaforth, Meredith)
Lucas Smith (Chatham Charter, UNCW)
Rachael Woods (Jordan-Matthews, NC Central)
Anna Peeler (Woods Charter, Catawba College)
Fencing
Kaitlyn Zanga (Seaforth, UNC)
PJ WARD-BROWN / CHATHAM NEWS & RECORD
Points for Gabby White in a win over Boston College
JOHN AMIS / AP PHOTO
Virginia guard Gabby White plays against Vanderbilt.
Northwood girls win big in Phenom 919 showcase
By Asheebo Rojas Chatham News & Record
Boys’ basketball
Northwood closed the Phenom 919 Showcase with a 60-38 win over Chapel Hill on Saturday. Senior guard Cam Fowler led the way with 21 points, and junior guard Josiah Brown knocked down ve 3s in a 15-point night.
The Chargers lost their rst game of the showcase to Trinity Academy 61-51 Friday. Trinity Academy’s Wesley Hilldale recorded 25 points and eight rebounds. Northwood’s senior forward Chad Graves made his return to the Chargers’ rotation and scored 13 points after spending the start of his senior year at Chandler Park Academy near Detroit.
Seaforth picked up its second win in a row, and its largest win of the season, over Felton Grove 63-39 Friday. Senior Declan Lindquist scored a season-high 18 points and recorded a team-high eight rebounds.
Chatham Charter extended its win streak to ve with a 57-56 win over Cornerstone Charter on Dec. 3 and a 63-50 win over Wheatmore Friday.
Woods Charter junior Levi Haygood notched a 15-point, 10-rebound double-double to lead the Wolves over Eno River Academy 48-33 Friday.
Conference standings as of Sunday (overall, conference)
Four Rivers 3A/4A: 1. North Moore (1-1, 0-0); 2. Northwood (3-3, 0-0); 3. Uwharrie Charter (2-3, 0-0); 4. Jordan-Matthews (2-4, 0-0); 5. Eastern Randolph (0-2, 0-0); 6. Southwestern Randolph (0-3, 0-0)
Big Seven 4A/5A: 1. Durham School of the Arts (4 -2, 0-0); 2. Seaforth (3-2, 0-0); 3. South Granville (2-2, 0-0); 4. Cedar Ridge (1-3, 0-0); 5. J.F. Webb (1-4, 0-0); 6. Orange (0-4, 0-0); 7. Carrboro (0-5, 0-0)
Power rankings (week of Dec. 1): 1. Chatham Charter; 2. Northwood; 3. Seaforth; 4. Woods Charter; 5. Jordan-Matthews; 6. Chatham Central Last week’s rankings: 1. Chatham Charter; 2. Chatham Central; 3. Woods Charter; 4. Northwood; 5. Seaforth; 6. Jordan-Matthews
Girls’ basketball
Northwood dominated at the Phenom 919 Showcase, defeating Sanderson 56-30 Friday and Thomasville 64-5 Saturday. Senior Alyia Roberts led the e ort over Sanderson with 17 points, while Mikaylah Glover came up big with 15 points and eight rebounds against Thomasville. Seaforth remained undefeated with a 49-47 win over Chapel Hill on Dec. 2 and a 60-20 blowout over Felton Grove on Friday. The Hawks outscored Chapel Hill 6-0 in the nal four minutes to win its rst game decided by one possession this season. Chatham Central took its rst loss to The Burlington School 65-43 on Dec. 2. The Bears bounced back with a 45-44 win over Eastern Randolph on Dec. 4 thanks to a career-high 15 points from junior Lizzy Murray. Sophomore Peyton York’s 12 points and six rebounds helped Chatham Charter defeat Cornerstone Charter 32-27 on Dec. 3. The Knights fell to Wheatmore 45-34 Friday. Woods Charter lost two of three during the week with losses to Wake Prep (67-46) and Eno River (37-30). Senior Wesley Oliver scored a season-high 21 points in a 49-31 win over Voyager Academy on Dec. 4. Conference standings as of Sunday (overall, conference)
Central Tar Heel 1A: 1. Chatham Charter (7-3, 0-0); 2. Woods Charter (3-2, 0-0); 3. Southern Wake Academy (4-3, 0-0); 4. Ascend Leadership (2-5, 0-0); 5. Clover Garden School (1-4, 0-0); 6. Central Carolina Academy (0-4, 0-0); 7. River Mill (0-8, 0-0) Greater Triad 1A/2A: 1. Bishop McGuinness (4-0, 0-0); 2. South Stokes (4-0, 0-0); 3. Chatham Central (4-2, 0-0); 4. Winston-Salem Prep (1-3, 0-0); 5. College Prep and Leadership (1-5, 0-0); 6. South Davidson (0-2, 0-0); 7. North Stokes (0-3, 0-0)
be as good as you can be at it.”
Morse averaged double- gure scoring for three seasons and collected three all-conference selections. As a senior, she led the Jets to a 22-3 record while averaging 17.8 points per game and shooting 48% from the oor.
“I think we were ranked pretty high,” Morse said about her senior season. “I know we
were sorely disappointed because we were upset by West Montgomery in the playo s, and that’s where the reality of sports hits you. You can be ranked and you can have a great record, and that other team out there can change all of that very quickly.”
Although she’ll always remember the sting of her nal high school game, Morse enjoyed the team camaraderie that developed from compet-
Four Rivers 3A/4A: 1. Uwharrie Charter (5-1, 0-0); 2. Southwestern Randolph (2-1, 0-0); 3. Northwood (3-2, 0-0); 4. Jordan-Matthews (1-5, 0-0); 5. North Moore (0-2, 0-0); 6. Eastern Randolph (0-3, 0-0) Central Tar Heel 1A: 1. Woods Charter (4-3, 0-0); 2. Southern Wake Academy (2-2, 0-0); 3. Chatham Charter (3-7, 0-0); 4. Clover Garden School (1-3, 0-0); 5. Central Carolina Academy (0-4, 0-0); 6. Ascend Leadership (0-5, 0-0); 7. River Mill (0-8, 0-0) Greater Triad 1A/2A: 1. College Prep and Leadership (4 - 0, 0-0); 2. Bishop McGuinness (41, 0-0); 3. Chatham Central (3-2, 0-0); 4. South Stokes (4-4, 0-0); 5. South Davidson (0-2, 0-0); 6. North Stokes (0-3, 0-0)
ing in high-stakes, high-intensity games.
“The Central game was always big for us because they were always really, really good,” Morse said. “Union Pines was always really, really good. We played in a really, really tough conference back then, and so you just knew every night was going to be kind of a dog ght.”
Morse decided to continue her basketball career at Wake Forest because of the academ-
Big Seven 4A/5A: 1. Orange (2-0, 0-0); 2. Seaforth (4 - 0, 0-0); 3. Durham School of the Arts (3-2, 0-0); 4. Carrboro (2- 4, 0-0); 5. South Granville (1-3, 0-0); 6. J.F. Webb (1-4, 0-0); 7. Cedar Ridge (0-4, 0-0) Power rankings (week of Dec. 1): 1. Seaforth; 2. Northwood; 3. Jordan-Matthews; 4. Chatham Central; 5. Woods Charter; 6. Chatham Charter Last week’s rankings: 1. Seaforth; 2. Chatham Central; 3. Woods Charter; 4. Chatham Charter; 5. Northwood; 6. Jordan-Matthews Wrestling
Top individual performances: Seaforth’s Jordan Miller won the 120-pound title after defeating Swansboro’s Levi Vetter by a 17-0 tech fall at the 2025 Swiss Bear Classic Saturday. Jordan-Matthews’ Jakari Blue won the 175-pound title at the Jim King Orange Invitational by pinning Millbrook’s Ephrem Rodts Saturday.
Girls: Numerous forfeits and a win from Johanna Carter over Leylyn Harrison in the 132-pound match helpled Jordan-Matthews defeat Northwood 42-6 on Dec. 3.
Top individual performances: Jordan-Matthews’ Alexandra Zumano Garcia (120 pounds) and Brianna Leandro Balderas (185 pounds) earned second place nishes at the Jim King Orange Invitational
Swimming
Top boys’ performances: Aden George (Seaforth, rst in 100 free at Hillsborough meet on Dec. 1, 58.85 seconds); Elijah Su (Northwood, rst in 500 free and 100 backstroke at Hillsborough meet); Derek White (Woods Charter, rst in 50 free at Chapel Hill meet on Dec. 4, 23.18); Drew White ( rst in 200 free and 100 backstroke at Chapel Hill meet)
Top girls’ performances: Sydney Haire (Seaforth, rst in 200 free, 100 backstroke and 400 freestyle relay at Hillsborough meet); Gillian Eriksen (Seaforth, rst in 100 free at Hillsborough meet, 1:03.26)
Boys: Northwood defeated Central Carolina Academy 54 -20 and Jordan-Matthews 47-36 on Dec. 3. Jordan-Matthews also fell to Central Carolina Academy 39-36. Chatham Central won its conference opener over Bishop McGuinness 36-24 on Dec. 3. Seaforth fell to Cedar Ridge 54-24 and beat Wake eld 51-29 at the second Cedar Ridge Quad on Dec. 3.
ic and post-grad opportunities the school presented, and she had an older brother that played golf there.
After graduating from Wake Forest, Morse worked as a teacher in Elkin for two years.
When her mother, a teacher at Jordan-Matthews, retired, Morse returned to her alma mater to teach for 39 years. She also coached basketball from 1986-96, tennis from 1986-95 and softball from 2015-18.
Morse’s competitive nature showed up in her teaching and how she motivated her students to do their best.
“I think that helped me in my classroom, as a teacher, to just have really high expectations of kids,” Morse said. “It doesn’t have to be picture perfect. You just have to keep working at it, and it was fun to watch kids grow in the classroom. So, yeah, sports has been good to me.”
JERSEY from page B1
GENE GALIN FOR CHATHAM NEWS & RECORD
Northwood’s Mikaylah Glover secures the ball in a win over Carrboro on Dec. 3. She scored a season-high 15 points against Thomasville on Saturday.
Local wrestlers who took rst place at weekend tournaments
14 second quarter points. Seaforth led 23-16 at the break.
“I think the biggest thing with Woods is they have about two or three shooters on their perimeter,” Seaforth coach John Berry said. “So early on, instead of staying in that zone, we went ahead and went man so we could push up on them a little bit. I think that was one of the keys to the game.”
However, Woods Charter stuck around by outscoring Seaforth 9-8 in the third quarter. The Wolves held Seaforth scoreless for the rst four minutes of the second half while closing the de cit. Following a block on Seaforth junior Cole Davis, junior forward Paul Frazelle ran the oor and converted a hook shot to bring Woods Charter within two. Junior forward Levi Haygood, who nished the night with 12 points, matched his rst half scoring
total of four points in the period. Nevertheless, Miller facilitated a response to the run with an assist to sophomore Jackson Butcher and an o ensive rebound followed by a putback. On the following possession, another o ensive board tipped by Miller led to an and-one for Lindquist and a 27-23 lead.
“I like to play my role,” Miller said. “I’m not the best scorer on this team or best ball handler. I just want to do whatever I can to help make the team win, and rebounding is what I can do.”
With the win, Seaforth improved to 2-2 while Woods Charter fell to 3-2.
Last year, the two programs met for the rst time, and Seaforth won 46-24. There’s much respect shared between the two coaches as Berry coached Woods Charter coach Leonard McNair while McNair was a student athlete for the program he now leads.
GENE GALIN FOR CHATHAM NEWS & RECORD
Seaforth’s Declan Lindquist takes a shot in a win over Woods Charter on Dec. 4.
HOOPS from page B1
combining for 13 points. The Jets shot 1 for 7 in the quarter, while the Bears made four of their 14 attempts to still trail 24-21 at halftime.
Chatham Central’s short leads and advantage in the o ensive rebounding column couldn’t overcome its shooting slump. The Bears made one 3 in the rst quarter and didn’t make another until the fourth. They nished the game shooting 2 for 26 from beyond the arc, and turnovers also limited their o ensive attack. Jordan-Matthews de ected numerous passes and notched multiple steals that led to points on the other end.
“That’s one of the things we talked about leading up to this game,” Jordan-Matthews coach Rodney Wiley said. “It’s being more aggressive on the defensive end, and I thought our guys did that.”
The Jets were ahead 41-40 halfway through the fourth quarter when Auguste converted two consecutive layups to extend their lead. Chatham Central couldn’t make enough shots to overcome the de cit, and its foul trouble helped Jordan-Matthews ice the game at the line.
Jordan-Matthews improved to 2-4 on the season while Chatham Central fell to 4-1.
Girls: Jordan-Matthews 44, Chatham Central 34
Jordan-Matthews overcame a 14-0 rst quarter de cit to defeat Chatham Central 44-34 and notch its rst win over the Bears since the 2014-15 season.
Chatham Central sophomore Addison Goldston dominated the paint and took advantage of a poor start from the Jets’ o ense with nine points in the opening quarter. Jordan-Matthews started the game 0 for 13 from the eld but closed the period with two straight buckets from senior Cassidy Graves, who nished the night with 12 points, and sophomore Zuri Nava, who
Another must-watch moment for Jordan as NBA great testi es at NASCAR trial
The NBA great attracts attention by taking the stand
By Jenna Fryer The Associated Press
CHARLOTTE — Michael
Jordan has had a lifetime of big moments. His latest came on the witness stand in a federal courthouse.
The retired NBA great testi ed against NASCAR in an antitrust case he is pursuing against the stock car series on behalf of his race team, 23XI Racing, along with Front Row Motorsports. Both want to force NASCAR to change the way it does business with its teams, accusing it of monopolistic behavior.
“Someone had to step forward and challenge the entity,” the soft-spoken Jordan told the jury. “I felt I could challenge NASCAR as a whole.”
It was a di erent role for the 62-year-old Jordan, known best for the six NBA titles he won with the Chicago Bulls and his business interests in retirement, including his still relatively new role as a NASCAR team co-owner with three-time Daytona 500 winner Denny Hamlin.
Dressed in a dark blue suit, Jordan slowly headed to the stand for the afternoon session, adjusted the seat for his 6-foot- 6 frame and settled in. Those in the packed courtroom hung on every word.
Jordan said he grew up a NASCAR fan, attending races at 11 or 12 with his family at tracks in Charlotte and Rockingham in his home state but also at Darlington in South Carolina and the Talladega superspeedway in Alabama.
“We called it a weekend vacation,” he said.
as an over ow room nearby. “I take it Mr. Jordan is the next witness,” Bell quipped. Outside the courthouse in downtown Charlotte, a crowd gathered for the rst time this week for a chance to see Jordan. One woman screamed “Oh my God, Mike! You are an icon, you the best, you the best to do it in the NBA!” Another claimed to have played golf and cards with Jordan acquaintances while asking Jordan to pose for a photo with his daughters.
Jordan said, “Man, it’s cold out here for you guys” before complimenting the two girls on their Nike-branded hoodies.
A spectator held a sign that read “NASCAR Your Fans Deserve Better” and Hamlin turned to him and said, “You’re right” as they tried to make their way through the throng to a caravan of waiting SUVs.
the Charlotte Hornets. Did he play anywhere else?
“I try to forget it but I did,” said Jordan, who played for the Washington Wizards in a mostly forgettable return to the NBA after his championship runs with the Bulls.
But Jordan spent most of his time making clear why he was in court suing the series he loves over the charters that guarantee teams revenue and access to Cup Series races. Among other things, the plainti s want the charters made permanent, which NASCAR has balked at.
“Look, we saw the economics wasn’t really bene cial to the teams,” Jordan testi ed, adding: “The thing I see in NASCAR that I think is absent is a shared responsibility of growth as well as loss.”
“We never gave up even though we were down in the rst quarter.”
Cassidy Graves
scored a team-high 14 points.
“We never gave up even though we were down in the rst quarter,” Graves said. “We wanted to beat Central so bad.”
Those two makes were the beginning of an 11-0 run that carried into the following quarter. Freshman guard Makayla Martin scored six of the Jets’ 10 second quarter points while turnovers slowed down the Bears’ o ense.
Trailing 18-15 at halftime, Jordan-Matthews started the second half with a full court press. The pressure forced numerous turnovers and resulted in Chatham Central in scoring three points in the third quarter. Jordan-Matthews nished the game with 24 steals, and sophomore Lizzie Alston led the way with seven.
“We started pressuring the ball, and we realized, ‘Hey, this is working for us, let’s stick with it,’” Jordan-Matthews coach Lamont Piggie said. “We just went not anything complicated. Regular full court man-to-man and just forced (Chatham Central) to play solid basketball.”
Meanwhile, fouls started piling up for the Bears in the second half. Jordan-Matthews took 12 foul shots in the third quarter, and Nava gave the Jets their rst lead of the game with a free throw late in the period. Three Bears fouled out in the fourth quarter. Tied at 34-34 with under two minutes left, Jordan-Matthews made a 10-0 run to clinch the win. Nava caused two turnovers and scored seven points in the closing run as she and Graves combined for 17 points in the fourth quarter. The Jets’ rst win of the season moved them to 1-5. Chatham Central fell to 3-2.
There were moments of levity on a dramatic day of testimony that also included Heather Gibbs, the daughter-in-law of team owner and NFL Hall of Fame coach Joe Gibbs. People were turned away from the courtroom and U.S. District Judge Kenneth Bell couldn’t help but notice the high attendance in front of him as well
On the witness stand, Jordan noted he was an early fan of Richard Petty, like his dad. He later gravitated to Cale Yarborough, “the original No. 11. Sorry, Denny,” Jordan testi ed as Hamlin watched from the gallery.
Jordan was asked to outline his career, noting his time with the Bulls and adding he remains a minority owner of
As the session wound down, defense attorney Lawrence Buterman noted the novelty of cross-examining an icon like Jordan, closing with the comment: “Thank you for making my 9-year-old think I’m cool today.”
“You’re not wearing any Jordans today,” Jordan replied. When he was dismissed from the stand, he said “whew” and made his way back to the seat in the front row he’s occupied all week.
Just ask coaches: Every country in hardest group for 2026 World Cup
The tournament draw includes multiple groups of death
By Howard Fendrich The Associated Press
WASHINGTON — If you listened to the words spoken after the World Cup draw by the various coaches who were at the Kennedy Center, it would seem impossible for any of them to win next year’s tournament.
Everyone got thrown into the toughest group — or the “Group of Death,” in soccer parlance.
Everyone was burdened with talented foes for their rst three matches — even if a half-dozen participants are yet to be determined and the expanded eld means some lesser-quality teams will get in.
And everyone needs to avoid overlooking any other team and be ready for whatever is to come during the tournament from June 11 to July 19 in the United States, Canada and Mexico during the largest World Cup yet, the rst with 48 countries participating (there were 32 last time).
“We need to respect all of the opponents. It’s always going to be di cult,” said U.S. coach Mauricio Pochettino, whose squad is in Group D and starts o against Paraguay on June 12, then also will
face Australia and a still-undetermined playo quali er.
“My message to the players is: We need to compete better than Paraguay; that is going to be di cult. Australia is going to be di cult,” Pochettino said. “And the team that is going to join us is going to be di cult.”
Hmmm. Sense a theme?
There is some version of what is often referred to as “coach speak” under nearly every circumstance and in nearly every sport. Just pay attention to what the men in charge of NFL clubs say day after day during that sport’s season.
It’s the classic playbook: Build up opponents. Don’t let your players get complacent. Don’t let your fans — or the people who hired you and can re you — think success is guaranteed.
Didier Deschamps, a player on France’s championship team in 1998 and the coach of its title winners in 2018 and runners-up to Argentina in 2022, sounded as worried as anyone else.
Doesn’t matter that the French are considered one of the favorites — not merely to get out of the round-robin stage but also to once more appear in the nal.
“We know this is a very tough group,” Deschamps said Friday. “We cannot rest.”
His country was dropped into Group I alongside Senegal, Norway and a playo
team (those won’t all be set until March).
A little later, Norway’s coach, Ståle Solbakken, for his part, praised the French team as “maybe the strongest in Europe,” and in the next breath — as though perhaps worried someone from another nation might take o ense — pointed out: “But there’s two other teams in the group.” One of which won’t even be known for another three months.
Luis de la Fuente, who led Spain to the 2024 European Championship, nds his team among the World Cup favorites but insisted there is parity in the sport these days.
Spain’s Group H includes Uruguay, Saudi Arabia and Cape Verde.
“People think there are easy groups, but it is a very similar level,” the coach said. “This will be a historic World Cup because there’s an exceptional level all-round. These games force you to play at your best.” Players can be just as liable to these sorts of pronouncements.
U.S. mid elder Tyler Adams, speaking to reporters on a video call Friday, said it plainly: “There’s no easy game in the World Cup.”
And then he pointed out that during the last World Cup, when the Americans were eliminated in the round of 16, their two hardest games came “against two of the lesser opponents.”
JENNA FRYER / AP PHOTO
Michael Jordan arrives in the Western District of North Carolina for the start of the antitrust trial between 23XI Racing and Front Row Motorsports against NASCAR, in Charlotte.
SIDELINE REPORT
BOXING
Golovkin, Tarver, Benn elected to Boxing Hall of Fame
Gennadiy Golovkin, the power puncher who made a record-tying 20 consecutive middleweight title defenses, was elected to the International Boxing Hall of Fame. Former champions Antonio Tarver and Nigel Benn are the other headline names in the class that will be enshrined in the museum in Canastota, New York, on June 14, 2026. Golovkin was elected in his rst year on the ballot in voting by members of the Boxing Writers Association of America and a panel of international boxing historians. The native of Kazakhstan went 42-2-1 with 37 KOs.
NCAA FOOTBALL
Vanderbilt serious about scheduling 13th game to bolster CFP chances
Nashville, Tenn. Vanderbilt coach Clark Lea lobbied all week and o ered to add a 13th game to the schedule, “in the parking lot” if they had to, for one more shot at impressing the College Football Playo selection committee. He said Sunday the idea was no joke. His school’s chancellor and athletic director already were working behind the scenes trying to schedule a last-ditch e ort for Vanderbilt’s most successful football team in school history. Vanderbilt was one of multiple schools that were skipped over because of the CFP’s conference champion quali er rule.
NBA Paul’s return stint with Clippers over Los Angeles Chris Paul’s return to the Los Angeles Clippers has ended abruptly. The team parted ways with him in a late-night meeting last Wednesday in Atlanta. Clippers basketball operations president Lawrence Frank announced the decision, which he made on Sunday. Frank denied rumors of a clash between Paul and coach Tyronn Lue, saying the decision had multiple layers. Paul announced the news on social media early last Wednesday. The Clippers, who were 5-16 before a win in Atlanta, are not blaming Paul for their performance.
NBA
Former NBA champion, Clemson player Campbell dead at 57 Elden Campbell, a center who played 15 seasons in the NBA — including nine with the Los Angeles Lakers — and later won a championship with the Detroit Pistons, has died. He was 57. No cause was given. Campbell was born in Los Angeles and excelled at Morningside High before heading to Clemson. He was selected in the rst round of the 1990 NBA Draft by his hometown Lakers. He played nine seasons in Los Angeles, and won a championship ring in 2004 with the Pistons.
NCAA FOOTBALL
Multiplatinum rapper Toosii committed to playing football at Syracuse
Rap artist Toosii is taking time o from his multiplatinum music career by going forward with his dream to pursue football after saying he has committed to Syracuse University. The 25-year-old made the announcement in a message on social media. Toosii was born Nau’Jour Grainger and grew up in Syracuse. He played receiver in high school, and began exploring his return to football this summer.
Italian swimmer
Gregorio Paltrinieri carries the 2026 Milan Cortina Winter Olympics torch in Rome as it begins its journey through Italy, a journey that will conclude in Milan in February.
Nearly half the tickets for Milan Cortina Olympics still unsold with 2 months to go
Just over 850,000 of the 1.5 million tickets have been sold
By Andrew Dampf The Associated Press
ROME — Construction on the main hockey arena is still not nished. Spectator and media areas at the controversial sliding venue also need to be completed.
And with exactly two months to go to the Milan Cortina Winter Olympics, there is another major area that local organizers are concentrating on: only slightly more than half of the 1.5 million tickets for the games have been sold.
As the torch relay began in Rome on Saturday, just over 850,000 tickets had been sold.
While sales abroad are meeting expectations, interest among Italians remains low.
“That’s normal. The local fans get interested closer, and I think the beginning of the
torch relay will be a very important moment for people realizing that,” local organizing committee CEO Andrea Varnier told The Associated Press moments before the relay began.
A Black Friday promotion last week included three days of 20% discounts on tickets. And purchasers of both Olympics and Paralympics tickets have the chance to get lift passes for eight euros ($9) valid at every ski area in Lombardy between Dec. 9-22.
This week, more tickets for the Feb. 6 opening ceremony at the San Siro stadium and the men’s hockey gold medal game on Feb. 22 in Milan were put on sale.
“We had some tickets on the market a couple of days ago, and they were sold out in just a couple of hours,” Varnier said. “So there is interest.”
If past precedence is any indicator, the atmosphere was memorable at the 2006 Turin Winter Games — the last
Ex-SEC commissioner Kramer dead at 96
His ideas helped reshape college football
By Eddie Pells The Associated Press
PRETTY MUCH every debate over who should play for the national title, every argument about the staggering amounts of money, every tirade about how college football is nothing like what it used to be, traces back to a man who saw a lot of this coming, then made a lot of it happen — Roy Kramer.
Kramer, the onetime football coach who became an athletic director at Vanderbilt, then, eventually, commissioner of the Southeastern Conference where he set the template for the multibillion-dollar business college sports would become, died in Vonore, Tennessee, at 96.
The man who currently holds his former job, Greg Sankey, said Kramer “will be remembered for his resolve through challenging times, his willingness to innovate in an industry driven by tradition, and his unwavering belief in the value of student-athletes and education.”
Kramer helped transform his own conference from the home base for a regional pastime into the leader of a national movement during his tenure as commissioner from 1990 -2002.
It was during that time that he reshaped the entire sport of college football by dreaming up the precursor to today’s playo system — the Bowl Championship Series.
“He elevated this league and
“By any standard, Roy’s in uence has been mind-boggling.”
Mike Tranghese, former Big East commissioner
set the foundation,” former Florida athletic director Jeremy Foley said. “Every decision he made was what he thought would elevate the SEC. It’s the thing that stands out most when I remember him: his passion and love for this league.”
Kramer was the rst to imagine a conference title game, which divided his newly expanded 12-team league into divisions, then pitted the two champs in a winner-take-all a air that generated millions in TV revenue.
The winner of the SEC title game often had an inside track to Kramer’s greatest creation, the BCS, which pivoted college football away from its long-held tradition of determining a champion via media and coaches’ polls.
The system in place from 1998 through 2013 relied on computerized formulas to determine which two teams should play in the top bowl game for the title.
That system, vestiges of which are still around today, produced its predictable share of heated debate and frustration for a large segment of the sport’s fans. Kramer, in an interview when he retired in 2002, said the BCS had been “blamed for everything from El Nino to the terrorist attacks.”
“That’s normal. The local fans get interested closer” Andrea Varnier, Local organizing committee CEO
time Italy hosted an Olympics. Still, organizers would have hoped for more demand after the last Winter Games in Beijing in 2022 were held mostly without fans because of the coronavirus pandemic.
Varnier pointed out that sales have been strong at the recently opened Milan Cortina store in front of the city’s cathedral, Piazza del Duomo.
“People are really going in and buying our merchandise, which is also a good sign,” he said.
As for the Santagiulia Ice Hockey Arena — the new, 16,000-seat venue on the outskirts of Milan — the scheduled test event for next week had
to be pushed back to January.
“We knew about the delays of the hockey arena, and we are working with it, but now we are following the right pace,” Varnier said. “It has to be ready.”
Next week, the secondary hockey venue that has been set up in the Rho Fiera convention center will be tested by hosting under-20 world championship games. These games will be held across a large swath of northern Italy, and athlete parades for the opening ceremony will also be held simultaneously in Cortina d’Ampezzo, Livigno and Predazzo besides Milan.
“It is quite an e ort, it’s the rst time ever,” Varnier said.
“It’s a very important message to have the athletes also staying in the mountain Villages to be able to participate in the ceremony. This was very well received by the NOCs (National Olympic Committees). … Also, the communities are very happy to have a piece of the ceremonies in their towns.”
But he didn’t apologize. The BCS got people talking about college football in a way they never had before, he said. And besides, was it so wrong to take a baby step toward the real tournament format that virtually every other major sport used?
A four-team playo replaced the BCS in 2014, and that was expanded to 12 teams starting last season. Before Kramer was named commissioner, the SEC was a mostly sleepy grouping of 10 teams headlined by Bear Bryant and Alabama whose provincial rivalries were punctuated by the Sugar Bowl every year where, often, the league’s best team would show what it could do against the guys up north. Kentucky was the basketball power. Not content with that role in the college landscape, one of Kramer’s rst moves was to bring Arkansas of the Southwestern Conference and independent South Carolina into the fold. That small expansion previewed a spasm of bigger reshu ings that continue to
overrun college sports some 35 years later.
Kramer sold the rights to televise his newly created league title game to ABC, then in 1996 added a deal with CBS worth a then-staggering sum of $100 million over ve years. A look at some numbers tells the story that Kramer saw before most people:
• In his rst year as commissioner, the SEC distributed $16.3 million to its member schools. In his last, in 2002, the amount rose to $95.7 million.
• In 2023-24, it was $808.4 million.
“By any standard,” former Big East commissioner Mike Tranghese said in 2002, “Roy’s in uence has been mind-boggling.” Archie Manning, the great Ole Miss quarterback who is now chair of the National Football Foundation, said Kramer’s “vision, integrity, and steady leadership helped shape college football into what we know today.”
DAVE MARTIN / AP PHOTO
Southeastern Conference Commissioner Roy Kramer talks with reporters during the opening session of the SEC football media days in 2000.
ANDREW MEDICHINI / AP PHOTO
Author-bookseller Patchett, lm producer Blum, to receive PEN America awards this spring
Other
literary
service
honorees include Toni Morrison, Lorne Michaels and Bob Woodward
By Hillel Italie
The Associated Press
NEW YORK — Oscar-nominated producer Jason Blum is now getting some recognition from the literary world. PEN America will honor him at its fundraising gala next spring with the Business Visionary award. PEN, the century-old free expression organization, also will present author-bookseller Ann Patchett with the PEN/Audible Literary Service Award.
The gala is scheduled for May 14, and, as in previous years, will be held at the American Museum of Natural History.
Blum, the founder and CEO of Blumhouse, has helped oversee lms ranging from “BlacKkKlansman” and “Whiplash” to “Get Out,” along with such horror franchises as “Paranormal Activity” and “Halloween.” In announcing the awards last Tuesday, PEN praised the producer for “his daring and diverse lms that have transformed horror from a niche genre into a driving force of contemporary culture, often with social issues at the core.” Blum, 56, said in a statement
“The freedom to tell horror stories is vital to what we do every day at Blumhouse, so I’m grateful to PEN America for recognizing that, and thankful for this honor.”
Jason Blum
that “Horror is so much bigger and broader than people think” and that he was “very proud to have played a part in bringing it to an even wider audience.” He then cited an issue at the core of PEN’s mission, book bans, which he called the only thing “scarier than our movies.”
“A PEN America report from earlier this year found that Stephen King is the most banned author in American schools,” he said. “The freedom to tell horror stories is vital to what we do every day at Blumhouse, so I’m grateful to PEN America for recognizing that, and thankful for this honor.”
Previous recipients of the visionary award, given for “transformative contributions to the world of literature and storytelling,” include Walt Disney CEO Bob Iger, Dow Jones CEO Almar Latour and Macmillan Publishers CEO Jon Yaged.
Patchett, who turned 62 on Tuesday, is known for such acclaimed and popular novels as “Bel Canto,” “Commonwealth” and “The Dutch House.” PEN awards the literary service prize to “a writer or advocate who has served the literary community through their words or work,” and she has a legacy of both.
Patchett is a member of the American Academy of Arts and Letters and winner of the PEN/ Faulkner award for “Bel Canto.” Besides her own writing, Patchett has been praised for her championing of fellow authors through Parnassus Books, the Nashville-based store she co-founded in 2011 around the same time two local booksellers had closed.
“I always used to think of myself as someone who should just be in a room, alone, writing books,” Patchett told The Associated Press. “But the bookstore really challenged that and changed me from a person who titled inwards to a person who titled outwards.”
Bookselling, she added with a laugh, “just gets me out of the house.”
PEN interim Co-CEO Clarisse Rosaz Shariyf said in a statement that Patchett’s ction “distills the essence of the human condition with humor and heart” and that Parnassus “has evolved into a refuge for readers and writers.”
CHRIS PIZZELLO / AP PHOTO
Producer Jason Blum attends the premiere of “The Lost Bus” at the Princess of Wales Theatre during the Toronto International Film Festival in 2025 in Toronto.
this week in history
Colonists protest taxes with Boston Tea Party, Wright Brothers take ight in Kitty Hawk
The Associated Press DEC. 11
1816: Indiana was admitted to the Union as the 19th U.S. state.
1936: Britain’s King Edward VIII abdicated the throne so he could marry American divorcee Wallis War eld Simpson. 1978: Nearly $6 million in cash and jewelry was stolen from the Lufthansa cargo terminal at New York’s JFK Airport, a record-setting heist later immortalized in “Goodfellas.”
2008: Former Nasdaq chairman Bernie Mado was arrested, accused of running a multibillion-dollar Ponzi scheme that wiped out the life savings of thousands of people and wrecked charities.
DEC. 12
1870: Joseph H. Rainey of South Carolina became the rst black lawmaker sworn into the U.S. House of Representatives. 1963: The East African nation of Kenya declared inde-
‘Peter Hujar’s Day,’ ‘Train Dreams,’ ‘Sorry, Baby’ lead Spirit Award nominations
The program will take place on Feb. 15, nearly a month before the Oscars
By Lindsey Bahr
The Associated Press
IRA SACHS’ “Peter Hujar’s Day,” which recreates an interview with the 1970s photographer, led the Film Independent Spirit Awards nominations with ve nods, including best feature, director, as well as lead and supporting performances for Ben Whishaw and Rebecca Hall. The organization announced nominees for the 41st edition of the show last Wednesday.
Several lms followed with four nominations, including best feature and best director, like Clint Bentley’s lyrical Denis Johnson adaptation “Train Dreams,” and Eva Victor’s “Sorry, Baby,” about life after an assault. First features receiving four nods were “Blue Sun Palace,” “One of Them Days” and “Lurker.”
James Sweeney’s dark comedy “Twinless” and “The Plague,” which like “Train Dreams” also
The awards limit eligibility to productions with budgets less than $30 million.
stars Joel Edgerton, were also nominated for best feature. Edgerton was among the 10 best acting nominees, for “Train Dreams,” alongside the likes of Rose Byrne (“If I Had Legs, I’d Kick You”), Dylan O’Brien (“Twinless”), Keke Palmer (“One of Them Days”), Tessa Thompson (“Hedda”) and Whishaw, who was also nominated for the Net ix series “Black Doves.”
The organization switched to gender neutral acting categories in 2022.
Supporting performance nominees include Naomi Ackie (“Sorry, Baby”), Zoey Deutch ( “Nouvelle Vague” ), Kirsten Dunst (“Roofman”), Nina Hoss (“Hedda”), Jane Levy (“A Little Prayer”), Archie Madekwe (“Lurker”), Kali Reis (“Rebuilding”), Jacob Tremblay (“Sovereign”) and
pendence from Britain; it became a republic exactly a year later.
1985: An Arrow Air charter crashed after takeo from Gander, Newfoundland, killing 248 American soldiers and eight crew members.
DEC. 13
1862: Union forces under Maj. Gen. Ambrose Burnside launched failed frontal assaults against entrenched Confederate troops at the Battle of Fredericksburg; the battered Northern army withdrew two days later after su ering heavy casualties.
1937: Japanese forces seized the Chinese city of Nanjing during the Second Sino-Japanese War and began a weekslong massacre that killed an estimated 200,000 to 300,000 civilians, prisoners of war and soldiers.
2003: Saddam Hussein was captured by U.S. forces while hiding in a hole beneath a farmhouse in Adwar, Iraq, near his hometown of Tikrit.
DEC. 14
1799: The rst president of the United States, George Washington, died at his Mount Vernon, Virginia, home at age 67.
Former Nasdaq chairman Bernie Mado was arrested on Dec. 11, 2008, accused of running a multibillion-dollar Ponzi scheme that wiped out the life savings of thousands of people and devastated numerous charities.
1903: Wilbur Wright attempted to y the Wright Flyer on North Carolina’s Outer Banks but climbed too steeply, stalled and crashed into the sand. Three days later, on Dec. 17, his brother Orville made history with the rst successful controlled, powered ight.
DEC. 15
1791: The Bill of Rights, the rst 10 amendments to the U.S.
Constitution, took e ect after being rati ed by Virginia.
1890: Hunkpapa Lakota Chief Sitting Bull and 11 other tribe members were killed in Grand River, South Dakota, during a confrontation with Indian agency police.
DEC. 16
1773: The Boston Tea Party took place as American colonists boarded British ships in Boston Harbor and dumped more than 300 chests of tea to protest tea taxes.
1907: Sixteen U.S. Navy battleships, later known as the “Great White Fleet,” departed Hampton Roads, Virginia, on a 14-month, round-the-world voyage to demonstrate American sea power.
DEC. 17
1903: Wilbur and Orville Wright made the rst successful manned, powered airplane ights near Kitty Hawk using their experimental craft, the Wright Flyer.
1777: France became one of the rst nations to o cially recognize the independence of the United States.
1989: “The Simpsons” debuted on Fox television; it remains the longest-running animated U.S. TV series.
Haipeng Xu (“Blue Sun Palace”).
The Robert Altman Award, for one lm’s directing, ensemble and casting, went to the Stephen King adaptation “The Long Walk,” with Mark Hamill, Cooper Ho man and David Jonsson. Among the international lm nominees were “Sirāt,””The Secret Agent” and “On Becoming a Guinea Fowl.” Documentaries recognized include “Come See Me in the Good Light,” “My Undesirable Friends: Part I — Last Air in
Moscow,” “The Perfect Neighbor,” “The Tale of Silyan” and “Endless Cookie.”
The Spirit Awards also honor television shows, where “Adolescence,” “Forever” and “Mr Loverman” led with four nominations each. The organization said its nominees hailed from 18 di erent countries, with 41% identifying as women.
Sometimes the Spirit Awards overlap signi cantly with major Oscar contenders and winners, as it did with “Anora,” and the “Everything
Everywhere All at Once” year, and sometimes not. The awards limit eligibility to productions with budgets less than $30 million, meaning more expensive productions like “One Battle After Another” were not in the running. The 41st edition of the Spirit Awards will be leaving its longtime home near the Santa Monica Pier for the Hollywood Palladium. The show, which serves as a fundraiser for Film Independent’s year-round programs, will be held Feb. 15.
ROADSIDE ATTRACTIONS VIA AP
Dylan O’Brien, left, and James Sweeney star in the dark comedy “Twinless,” which was announced as a nominee for best feature at the upcoming Spirit Awards.
KATHY WILLENS / AP PHOTO
famous birthdays this week
Dick Van Dyke hits 100, Steve Buscemi is 68, Taylor Swift turns 36, Eugene Levy is 79
THESE CELEBRITIES have birthdays this week.
DEC. 11
Actor Rita Moreno is 94. Former U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry is 82. Singer Brenda Lee is 81. Singer Jermaine Jackson is 71. Rock musician Nikki Sixx (Motley Crue) is 67. Hockey Hall of Famer Daniel Alfredsson is 53.
DEC. 12
Basketball Hall of Famer Bob Pettit is 93. Singer Dionne Warwick is 85. Hall of Fame race car driver Emerson Fittipaldi is 79. Actor Bill Nighy is 76. Gymnast-actor Cathy Rigby is 73. Singer-musician Sheila E. is 68. Actor Jennifer Connelly is 55. Actor Mayim Bialik is 50.
DEC. 13
Actor-comedian Dick Van Dyke is 100. Music/ lm producer Lou Adler is 92. Baseball Hall of Famer Ferguson Jenkins is 83. Rock musician Je “Skunk” Baxter is 77. Rock musician Ted Nugent is 77. Actor Steve Buscemi is 68. Actor-comedian Jamie Foxx is 58. Singer-songwriter Taylor Swift is 36.
DEC. 14
Tennis Hall of Famer Stan Smith is 79. Actor Dee Wallace is 77. Rock musician Cli Williams (AC/DC) is 76. Baseball Hall of Famer Craig Biggio is 60. Actor and comedian Miranda Hart is 53. Actor Natascha McElhone is 54.
DEC. 15
Singer Cindy Birdsong (The Supremes) is 86. Rock musician Dave Clark (The Dave Clark Five) is 86. Baseball Hall of Fame manager Jim Leyland is 81. Actor Don Johnson is 76. Rock musician Paul Simonon (The Clash) is 70.
DEC. 16
Artist Edward Ruscha is 88.
Dick Van Dyke poses with his Emmy for outstanding variety special for “Dick Van Dyke: 98 Years of Magic” at the 76th Creative Arts Emmy Awards in 2024 in Los Angeles. The actor-comedian turns 100 on Saturday.
Liv Ullmann is 87. CBS news correspondent Lesley Stahl is 84. Pop singer Benny Andersson (ABBA) is 79. Rock singer-musician Billy Gibbons (ZZ Top) is 76. Actor Benjamin Bratt is 62.
DEC. 17
Actor Armin Mueller-Stahl is 95. Actor Ernie Hudson is 80. Political commentator Chris Matthews is 80. Comedian-actor Eugene Levy is 79. Actor Bill Pullman is 72. Filmmaker Peter Farrelly is 69. Rock musician Mike Mills (R.E.M.) is 67.
Actor
JORDAN STRAUSS / INVISION / AP PHOTO Taylor Swift attends the 67th Grammy Awards in 2025 in Los Angeles. Swift turns 36 on Saturday.
MARK VON HOLDEN / INVISION FOR THE TELEVISION ACADEMY / AP CONTENT SERVICES
Brad Pitt, ‘Spinal Tap II,’ lots of Taylor Swift
“Percy Jackson and the Olympians” returns for season 2
The Associated Press
A SIX-EPISODE, behindthe-scenes Disney+ docuseries about Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour and Rian Johnson’s third “Knives Out” movie, “Wake Up Dead Man,” 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: Chip and Joanna Gaines take on a big job revamping a small home in the mountains of Colorado, video gamers can skateboard through hell in Sam Eng’s Skate Story, and Rob Reiner gets the band back together for “Spinal Tap II: The End Continues.”
MOVIES TO STREAM
Johnson’s third “Knives Out” movie, “Wake Up Dead Man” arrives on Net ix on Friday. Religion is at the heart of this installment, which nds Daniel Craig’s dapper detective Benoit Blanc trying to solve the “locked room” murder of Josh Brolin’s Monsignor Je erson Wicks, a charismatic and terrifying church leader with a devoted set of followers. The large ensemble cast includes Josh O’Connor, Glenn Close, Andrew Scott, Jeremy Renner and Kerry Washington. Some were less than delighted by this outing, however. In his review for The Associated Press, Mark Kennedy called it, “a gloomy and clunky outing that may test fans’ faith in the lmmaker.”
Brad Pitt plays a washed-up driver looking for glory on the racetrack in the Formula One movie “F1,” streaming on Apple TV Friday. Filmmaker Joseph Kosinski wanted to make it feel as exciting and authentic as possible: In many scenes, it really is Pitt and Damson Idris driving those cars at 180 mph. Film Writer Jake Coyle wrote in his review that it’s “a ne-tuned machine of a movie that, in its most riveting racing scenes, approaches a kind of high-speed splendor.”
Reiner got the band back together for “Spinal Tap II: The End Continues,” which begins streaming on HBO Max on Friday. Was it a mistake to revisit the great 1984 mockumen-
“‘F1’ is a ne-tuned machine of a movie that, in its most riveting racing scenes, approaches a kind of high-speed splendor.”
tary, though? Mark Kennedy wrote in his review that, “Despite some great starry cameos — Paul McCartney’s is easily the best — ‘Spinal Tap II’ leans into the old favorite bits too needily and is su ocated by the constantly looming presence of death, a downer. The improv-based comedy is forced, and the laughs barely register. This is a movie only for die-hard Tappers.”
MUSIC TO STREAM
It is Swift’s world, and we’re just living in it. Prepare yourself for two new projects at Disney+. That’s a six-episode, behind-the-scenes docuseries about her landmark “Eras Tour” titled “Taylor Swift ‘The Eras Tour’ The End of an Era” — the rst two episodes will premiere Friday. And that is not to be confused with the second, titled “Taylor Swift ‘The Eras Tour’ The Final Show,” a concert lm now with the inclusion of
“The Tortured Poets Department” section. The 2024 album was incorporated into her three-and-a-half-hour performance following its release. It was lmed in Vancouver. (That di ers from 2023’s “Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour” lm, which was compiled from several Swift shows at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, a suburb of Los Angeles, and arrived ahead of “The Tortured Poets Department.”) Swifties, rise! It has been a big year for col-
laborative rap records (looking at you, Clipse) and that continues into 2025’s 11th hour with “Light-Years,” a new release from rapper Nas and record producer DJ Premier. They’re greats for a reason. The Grammy-award winning producer, DJ and electronic musician Fred Again will release the next iteration of his USB series, the 16-track “USB002,” on Friday. Expect the unexpected: The rst song released from the collection is “you’re a
star,” which features Australian punky-pop band Amyl and The Sni ers. The club sounds a little di erent this time around.
SERIES TO STREAM
Chip and Joanna Gaines have long said they would not do any xer uppers outside of central Texas. Until now. The couple has taken on a big job revamping a small 1960s home in the mountains of Colorado. “Fixer Upper: Colorado Mountain House” is now streaming on HBO Max and Discovery+.
Percy Jackson, the son of Poseidon, returns to TV with Season 2 of “Percy Jackson and the Olympians.” The series, starring Walker Scobell in the title role, adapts “The Sea of Monsters,” the second novel in a book series by Rick Riordan. The two-hour season premiere is streaming on Disney+ and Hulu.
He helped to launch “American Idol” and created “America’s Got Talent” and the group One Direction. Now, cameras follow Simon Cowell as he seeks to form a new boy band in “Simon Cowell: The Next Act.” The docuseries, out now, is about both his search and Cowell himself. He prides himself on discovering an “it” factor. “When you’re putting a band together, it’s like mining for diamonds,” he said in the trailer. “If this goes wrong, it will be ‘Simon Cowell has lost it.’” Diane Kruger stars in a new drama for Paramount+ called “Little Disasters” as Jess, a mother who takes her son to the hospital for a head injury. The doctor, who is also a friend, becomes suspicious of Jess’ description of what happened and calls the authorities. It’s based on a novel of the same name. All six-episodes drop Thursday.
VIDEO GAMES TO PLAY
I’ve skateboarded all over the world in various video games, but one location remains untouched by my deck: hell. Solo designer Sam Eng aims to correct that omission with Skate Story. You are a skateboarder made of glass in an underworld lled with demons who can only be defeated by unleashing your gnarliest tricks. The only way to escape is to swallow the moon. If you love classics like Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater but wish they were more hallucinatory, this might be the ride for you. Kick o now on PlayStation 5, Switch 2 or PC.
JOHN WILSON / NETFLIX VIA AP
Josh O’Connor, left, and Daniel Craig star in “Wake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery.”
RICHARD SHOTWELL / INVISION / AP PHOTO
“Simon Cowell: The Next Act,” a new docuseries about the “America’s Got Talent” creator, is now streaming on Net ix.
LUCA BRUNO / AP PHOTO
Brad Pitt walks in the paddock at the Silverstone racetrack in Silverstone, England, in 2024. His lm “F1” premieres Friday on Apple TV+.
