Hurricane Stanley
The Carolina Hurricanes clinched their rst Stanley Cup in 20 years with a 3-0 Game 6 shutout in Las Vegas on Sunday, capping-o a dominant 16-3 playo run. For much more, turn to NSJ Sports.
the BRIEF this week
8 dead in B-52 bomber crash at U.S. Air Force base in California
Los Angeles The U.S. Air Force says eight people aboard a B-52 bomber that crashed shortly after takeo at a military base in Southern California’s Mojave Desert are dead. O cials said Monday that emergency crews responded after the aircraft went down around 11:20 a.m. at Edwards Air Force Base north of Los Angeles. The Boeing B-52 Stratofortress is a long-range bomber that entered service in 1955. Designed to carry both conventional and nuclear weapons, it has been used in countless con icts from Vietnam to Iran.
Newsom says Trump’s DOJ investigating him, his wife Sacramento, Calif.
Democratic California Gov. Gavin Newsom says the Justice Department is investigating him and his wife, accusing the Trump administration of targeting him for political purposes as he weighs a presidential bid. The full scope of any investigations related to Newsom was not immediately clear. Newsom said in a video posted Monday on X that federal agents in recent days have knocked on the doors of his friends and former employees, and have asked for records. A person familiar with the matter con rmed there are multiple federal investigations into people around Newsom, including one related to his wife’s taxes.
$2.00
Pittsboro commisioners approve relocation of dedicated
The town is owed property as part of the agreements with the Chatham Park developers
By Ryan Henkel Chatham News & Record
PITTSBORO — The Town of Pittsboro Board of Commissioners continues to work toward incorporating
new areas of green space.
At its June 8 meeting, the board rst approved the relocation of some of the dedicated parkland associated with the Chatham Park South Village development.
The original 20 acres of parkland that was promised to the town was located along Hanks Chapel Road, but that o er was rescinded due to it not tting with how the development plan is currently laid out.
“We feel we are quite happy to have to have it moved,” said Town Manager Jonathan Franklin. “This is one of our least favorite park locations in the South Village due to its topography.”
Authorities say they disrupted planned
attack on White House UFC cage-
The suspects shared anti-government ideology and conspiracy theories about the Epstein case
By Eric Tucker The Associated Press
WASHINGTON, D.C. —
Law
enforcement o cials dis-
Too
rupted a planned attack target-
ing President Donald Trump’s UFC cage- ghting show at the White House this past weekend, according to court papers un-
sealed Tuesday that say plotters who harbored fringe conspiracy theories spoke of ying explosives-laden drones and shooting panicked crowd members as they ed.
Investigators recovered highpowered rearms from several of the suspects and reviewed en-
sick to work, but can they prove it? New Medicaid rule
“States are going to be asked to make a determination using information that doesn’t exist in their systems.”
Kinda Sera , Manatt Health
States must verify medical frailty using documentation that doesn’t actually exist in their systems
By Ali Swenson The Associated Press
NEW YORK — On hot afternoons, DeAnna Brandon’s three dogs zag around while she splashes in a backyard kiddie pool with her grandkids. These are the moments the 48-year-old blood cancer survivor cherishes — and wonders if she will get
to have in the years to come. Brandon, who lives in Rockwell in Rowan County, is worried that new Medicaid work requirements starting next year could jeopardize her health coverage. She had expected to qualify for a medical frailty exemption, but new guidance introduced by President Donald Trump’s administration last week has thrown that into question.
The interim nal rule released by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services means being sick with extreme exhaustion and memory
The board was presented with three di erent options for the relocation, with it ultimately choosing a site o of Charlie Brooks Road containing around 28 acres of land.
crypted text messages between roughly 20 participants who shared detailed maps and aerial photographs of the area and discussed the need for a “safe house” and escape routes after the intended attack, the docu-
CRIME LOG
June 8
• Melvin Antonio Diaz Flores, 22, was arrested for assault on a female and misdemeanor crime of domestic violence.
• Richard Calvin Edwards, 56, was arrested for misdemeanor larceny.
June 9
Christopher Nicole Matthews, 54, was arrested for felony possession of a controlled substance, simple possession of a controlled substance, possession of drug paraphernalia and other charges.
Nathaniel Hal Johnson, 52, was arrested for disorderly conduct.
June 10
• Chanderica Yvette Caviness, 39, was arrested for contributing to the delinquency of a juvenile, rstdegree trespass, shoplifting by concealment of goods and other charges.
June 11
• Zachary Robert Shaw, 41, was arrested for misdemeanor larceny.
• Cirilo Garcia Rangel, 31, was arrested for felony possession of cocaine.
June 12
• Cory Terell Wilkerson, 36, was arrested for driving while impaired.
• Cassey Elizabeth Carnes, 28, was arrested for driving while impaired.
• Jessie McKenley Cameron, 39, was arrested for driving while impaired.
• David Adam Clodfelter, 51, was arrested for possession of stolen goods.
• John Wayne Pauley, 52, was arrested for harassing phone call, misdemeanor stalking and cyberstalking.
June 13
• Aleaha Renne Marr, 32, was arrested for driving while impaired.
• James Daniel Payne, 28, was arrested for felony larceny, possession of stolen goods, rst-degree trespass and other charges.
• Christopher Lee Hamilton, 37, was arrested for assault by strangulation, misdemeanor crime of domestic violence, communicating threats and other charges.
Supreme Court will decide whether criminal cases must have 12 jurors, in Florida case
A 1970 Supreme Court precedent allowing six-member juries now faces a fresh constitutional challenge
By Mark Sherman The Associated Press
WASHINGTON, D.C. —
The Supreme Court on Monday agreed to decide whether states can use juries made up of only six people in criminal cases, instead of the usual 12. The case puts a Florida chiropractor convicted of practicing with a suspended license in an unlikely leading role in a constitutional clash.
The justices will hear arguments in the fall in the case of Hamed Kian, who argues that a six-person jury violates his constitutional rights.
Florida uses six-person juries for all criminal cases that don’t involve the death penalty. Five other states, Arizona, Connecticut, Indiana, Massachusetts and Utah, also conduct some criminal trials with six-member juries.
MEDICAID from page A1
challenges related to her treatments may not be enough for Brandon to evade the new work requirements. She will have to attest and later prove that those symptoms “signi cantly impair” her ability to ful ll the mandates.
If the government doesn’t accept her case, she could lose her coverage and the twice-monthly maintenance chemotherapy that keeps her multiple myeloma in remission. Working is “outside of the realm of possibility for me,” she said in an interview.
“I was always a pushthrough-it person — you know, ‘Oh, you’re tired. Push through,’” Brandon said. “It’s hard to explain to people you can’t push through it.”
Health analysts have sounded the alarm about the Republican Trump administration’s newest guidance, which di ers from what states had been expecting. Experts said it will put more Americans at risk of losing health insurance and force states to scramble in their already harried e orts to implement the changes on time.
“This will mean more paperwork for Medicaid patients — speci cally for the sickest Medicaid patients,” said Adrianna McIntyre, a professor at Harvard University’s school of public health. That, she said, “is going to push in the direction of more people needlessly losing coverage.”
Medical frailty rules may mean paperwork nightmares for sick people
The new Medicaid restrictions, which Democrats have criticized, were part of Trump’s big tax and policy law in 2025. The change a ects those covered through an expansion in most states that gave more lower-income people access to the government’s safety net healthcare program.
Expansion enrollees age 19 to 64 will have to show that they work or do community service at least 80 hours a month or are in school at least half the time. There are exceptions for those considered medically frail or in addiction treatment programs, among others.
Last week’s announcement from CMS caught states o guard with a new de nition of medical frailty. The law had said medically frail people include those who have substance use disorders, disabilities or serious medical conditions. But the CMS rule went further, saying someone’s condition must “signi cantly impair” their ability to work, volunteer or attend school at the rates required in the law for them to be granted an exemption.
The 45-year-old Kian’s license was suspended after three women who were his patients complained he either kissed or touched them inappropriately, according to court records.
Prosecutors sought an indictment after amassing evidence that Kian, who had an o ce in Jupiter, continued to see patients even after the suspension. He was convicted by a six-person jury.
Kian’s lawyers argue that the smaller jury violates the Sixth Amendment, which guarantees “a speedy and public trial, by an impartial jury of the state.”
The amendment does not explicitly set the size of the jury, but Kian’s lawyers contend that the word jury could only have meant a body of 12 people at the time the amendment was adopted in 1791. Just over 100 years later, the Supreme Court ruled that juries had to have 12 people.
But in 1970, the justices changed course and ruled by a 7-1 vote that the number 12 was not sacrosanct, also in a case from Florida. Justice
In 2027 and once in 2028, the patient can attest that they meet this de nition. But when they try to renew coverage in 2028, they’ll need to prove it.
Advocates said it is unclear what kind of documentation could prove that point. They said doctor notes may be required — something some providers don’t feel comfortable writing. Medicaid enrollees ghting disease may carry the bureaucratic burden.
Brandon, who tried to prove she couldn’t work to access disability bene ts during her active cancer treatment and failed, said she’s worried about the hoops she and other patients may need to jump through.
“It’s not that easy — you may have to go through four doctors,” Brandon said. “If you’re already battling an illness like this, you don’t have the physical or the mental or the emotional energy to do that all the time.” States, advocates confused by government’s approach
States have been planning to use Medicaid claims data and other data sources to automatically exempt eligible enrollees whenever possible.
On a call with reporters last week, the CMS administrator, Dr. Mehmet Oz, endorsed that approach, saying he hoped most people would be helped “without ever having to talk to anybody.”
Asked to clarify how the rule should be implemented, the agency told The Associated Press in an email that it “chose not to allow states to categorically exclude individuals from work requirements based solely on a diagnosis or condition type.” For renewal in 2028, it said, “veri cation through claims data or other documentation will generally be required.”
But state Medicaid o cials and consultants said Medicaid claims data doesn’t prove someone is signi cantly impaired from working, and they don’t know of any existing data that does. That has left them confused about how to honor the government’s rule.
“States are going to be asked to make a determination using information that doesn’t exist in their systems,” said Kinda Sera , a partner at the legal and consulting rm Manatt Health who is working with states to make the changes.
One state, Nebraska, started the new Medicaid work requirements ahead of schedule. But it used diagnostic codes to identify people who are medically frail and therefore will likely have to rework its system, said Sarah Maresh, healthcare access program director at
Thurgood Marshall was the only dissenter.
More recently, the court has placed renewed emphasis on the original understanding of the Constitution. In another Sixth Amendment case, the court ruled in 2020 that juries must be unanimous in criminal cases, e ectively overturning a 1972 decision that had allowed for nonunanimous convictions in criminal cases in Louisiana and Oregon.
“The same reasoning applies to the historical right to a jury of twelve,” Kian’s lawyers wrote in their appeal to the court to step in. “When the People enshrined the jury trial right in the Constitution, they did not attach a rider that future judges could adapt it based on latter-day social science views.”
In trying to persuade the Supreme Court to leave Kian’s conviction in place, Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier wrote that the 1970 case was correctly decided and “overruling it also would imperil thousands of criminal convictions in Florida and ve other states that for more than 50 years have relied on its rule.”
the advocacy group Nebraska Appleseed. Maresh said she was concerned doctors in the rural state who are already reluctant to take Medicaid patients may stop.
“They’re already drowning in paperwork, so to require them to do an additional step of certifying whether someone is able to work, I think is concerning,” she said. Preparing for the Jan. 1 kicko of the new policies is an immense and expensive task. A $200 million federal allotment is owing to states to help, and CMS has partnered with technology companies to provide free and discounted services, but the tab for the additional technology requirements and more sta is likely to exceed $1 billion, according to an AP analysis. That extra cost will be borne by a mix of federal and state tax dollars.
Republicans say rules will save Medicaid for those who need it most
Democrats have slammed the Medicaid work requirements as attacks on healthcare coverage for struggling Americans.
Republicans promoting the new rules, though, say they are commonsense measures to eliminate government freeloading and preserve benets for people who need them most. Oz last week, citing a report by the conservative American Enterprise Institute think tank, said able-bodied people on Medicaid spend an average of 6.1 hours a day “watching TV or just hanging out.”
“This is a concern, not a criticism,” he said. “Work requirements are going to turn this around, we hope.” Current enrollees who don’t meet the work requirement threshold said that’s a misrepresentation of their experience.
Mids Meinberg, a 42-year-old freelance writer from New Jersey who lives with chronic depression and diabetes, said that even with his health issues, he’s proud to have found a meaningful career. But his conditions make him unable to work 80 hours a month. He said he thinks there are many people with disabilities who are “too disabled to work but not disabled enough for the state to think they can’t work.” Brandon, in North Carolina, said she wants the government to understand that she’s “not just sitting around wasting time or being a drain on society.”
“I’m pouring into my grandchildren,” she said. “We’re valuable, and we can still contribute to our communities even if it’s not working.”
Here’s a quick look at what’s coming up in Chatham County.
June 20
Juneteenth Black Arts Festival
2 p.m.
Community Organizing for Racial Equity (CORE) hosts this free annual celebration featuring black artists, live entertainment, a black business expo, food trucks, a heritage walk, kids’ activities and a Spades tournament. The event has grown to draw more than 3,000 attendees from across the Triangle.
Chatham County Fairgrounds 191 Fairgrounds Road Pittsboro
June 23
Siler City Center for Active Living Grand Reopening 10 a.m.
Chatham County Aging Services marks the completion of the center’s rst renovation since 2006 with a ribbon cutting at 10 a.m. and a public open house through 2 p.m. Light refreshments will be served; community members 55 and older are invited to tour the new welcome center and learn about programming.
Siler City Center for Active Living 112 Village Lake Drive Siler City
June 26
Beach Music Series: Band of Oz 7-9 p.m.
Band of Oz performs at the outdoor MOSAIC Family Commons as part of the free summer Beach Music Series.
Philip H. Kohl MOSAIC Family Commons 457 Freedom Parkway Pittsboro
June 27
Chatham Celebrates America 250 10 a.m.
Free family event marking the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence, with live music, food trucks, vendors, demonstrations and children’s activities; shuttle service provided by Chatham Transit.
Chatham County Agriculture and Conference Center 1192 U.S. Highway 64 West Business Pittsboro
How Americans celebrated the bicentennial — with reworks, Freedom Train, Farrah
America’s bicentennial mixed o cial pageantry, commercial kitsch and cultural skepticism in unexpected ways
By Lou Kesten
The Associated Press
WASHINGTON, D.C. — In 1976’s “Rocky,” heavyweight champion Apollo Creed arrives for the title ght dressed as George Washington, reenacting the crossing of the Delaware as models costumed as the Statue of Liberty lead the way.
After entering the ring, Apollo switches into an Uncle Sam costume. “I want you!” he roars as he points to Rocky Balboa, the far less amboyant palooka he’s chosen for this bicentennial bout in Philadelphia.
Then the two boxers pound the daylights out of each other.
It’s as accurate a representation of the American bicentennial vibe as has ever been put on lm — plenty of reworks but not much thought about how 200 years of independence led to this.
I was 13 years old in 1976. Kids my age — the tail end of the Baby Boom, or the vanguard of Generation X — grew up skeptical of the government. We had outlasted the Vietnam War and the Watergate scandal, with the occasional moment of joy — the moon landing, say — to break the gloom. The state of the union was intact, even if many Americans were still on edge.
My family lived in Newport News, Virginia, not far from the Historic Triangle of Jamestown, Yorktown and Williamsburg. So there was plenty of buzz surrounding the bicentennial. President Gerald Ford and his wife, Betty, took a carriage ride through Colonial Williamsburg, foreign leaders came to visit, and the living museum regularly staged reenactments of the events leading up to the signing of the Declaration of Independence.
Ford and plenty of other dignitaries went to New York for what the president called “the greatest Fourth of July any of us will ever see.” Operation Sail was a oating parade of 16 tall ships and more than 100 smaller vessels from around the world — including, even, the Soviet Union. It was a boon for the beleaguered Big Apple, proving that “New Yorkers could get along, even during di cult times,” according to the Gotham Center for New York History.
All aboard the Freedom Train
For history bu s who couldn’t make the trip east, there was the American Freedom Train, a 26-car behemoth that toured all 48 contiguous states. It displayed two centuries of artifacts like George Washington’s copy of the Constitution, the original Louisiana Purchase, Judy Garland’s dress from “The Wizard of Oz” and a moon rock. Merle Haggard even released a song about it.
I had a nifty 3D poster of the Freedom Train on my bedroom wall. A di erent poster captured everyone’s eye later in 1976 — one featuring “Charlie’s Angels” star Farrah Fawcett-Majors. It’s patriotic in its own way. There’s Farrah, sporting big hair, a blinding white smile and a red swimsuit, posed in front of a red, white and blue blanket. The color scheme may not have been intentional, but it might as well be titled “All-American Girl” for its presentation of what much of society saw as one. There were plenty of more deliberate anniversary collectibles out there. A quick search of eBay in 2026 digs up hundreds of collectible plates, glasses, beer mugs and bumper stickers. The government unleashed special quarters, stamps and license plates. And of course Madison Avenue jumped in, selling bicentennial cereal, can-
dy, beer and soda. You could get a di erent 7-Up can for each of the 50 states.
Even the creator of the Pet Rock — the preposterous 1975 phenomenon that was, yes, a rock in a box — tried to get in on the act. That fad, alas, had run its course, and the Bicentennial Pet Rock opped. You’d have been better o buying a Pez dispenser with the head of Paul Revere or Betsy Ross.
Broadcast television — remember, we only had three networks — was more subdued. For kids, ABC’s beloved “Schoolhouse Rock!” spun o “America Rock.” But while that cartoon did include some history, it’s best remembered for the mournful civics lesson “I’m Just a Bill.”
More prominent was CBS News’ “Bicentennial Minute.”
Starting July 4, 1974, barely a month before President Richard Nixon resigned, it ran every night in primetime, presenting the news from 200 years earlier. It was so unavoidable that sitcoms like “All in the Family” referred to it; “Saturday Night Live,” which debuted in 1975, paid tribute with a “Bisexual Minute.”
Still, all three networks pulled out the stops on July 4, 1976. Walter Cronkite led the pack with 16 hours of coverage on CBS, while “Bob Hope’s Bicentennial Star-Spangled Spectacular” (“the show that took 200 years to produce”) on NBC celebrated with Sammy Davis Jr., Captain & Tennille and Donny and Marie Osmond.
The bad news bearers
Certainly, not everyone was in the mood to celebrate. Richard Pryor released an in uential album titled “Bicentennial,” followed by an ethnic slur. The title track is a monologue from a 200-year-old slave; it ends with, “I ain’t gonna never forget it.” In the same album’s ”Bicentennial Prayer,” Pryor proclaims, “We are celebrating 200 years of white folks kickin’ ass.” Popular music wasn’t in a particularly patriotic mood either. Elton John’s 1975 hit “Philadelphia Freedom” became a de facto anthem of sorts, even though it’s barely about Philadelphia and is more about individual independence.
Church News
OAKLEY BAPTIST CHURCH
As Oakley Baptist Church (2300 Siler CityGlendon Road, Siler City) seeks to begin its next chapter, we are enjoying hearing a word from the Lord from various old and new friends. Our service begins at 10:30 a.m., but we also have Sunday School classes for every member of the family at 9:30 a.m. We would be blessed if you joined us for any and all of these speakers in the coming weeks.
June 21 – Gary McCollough
We look forward to meeting you at any of these services and in the future, and invite you to pray with us as we seek a new pastor. To learn more, go to oakleybaptist.org or email us at oakleybaptistchurch@gmail.com.
VBS at Oakley Baptist Church is coming! Join Us For Kingdom Quest – June 22-26. Dinner begins at 5:45 p.m. and program ends at 8 p.m.
Faith, Fellowship and Fun! Go to myvbs.org/oakleyvbs2026 to sign up!
LOVES CREEK BAPTIST CHURCH
Indeed, the prevailing pop attitude was: Let’s forget about this mess we’ve left behind and go to the disco. So the Billboard singles charts were topped by the likes of Johnnie Taylor’s “Disco Lady,” The Sylvers’ “Boogie Fever,” The Bee Gees’ “You Should Be Dancing” and KC and the Sunshine Band’s “(Shake Shake Shake) Shake Your Booty.”
On the album charts, California’s hippie culture was shaking o its hangover with haunted LPs like the Eagles’ “Hotel California” and Jackson Browne’s “The Pretender.” Something else was breaking loose in New York, though, with aggressive debuts from the Ramones and Blondie. The Ramones’ logo included an eagle holding an olive branch and a baseball bat, and their repertoire included the future stadium anthem “Blitzkrieg Bop.” What could be more American?
Speaking of America’s pastime, I’d be remiss if I didn’t bring up the year’s funniest movie, “The Bad News Bears.” It’s baseball the way it was meant to be played — by a bunch of foul-mouthed juvenile delinquents coached by a surly, alcoholic has-been embodied by Walter Matthau. Double 50-year-old spoiler alert: Like Rocky, the Bears don’t win in the end. But they do have fun. The same can’t be said for the characters in most of 1976’s dramatic lms. Hollywood did its best to get a patriotic movie — the World War II epic “Midway” — in theaters in June, but it quickly zzled. The top box ofce draw on July 4th was “The Omen,” about an angelic-looking boy who turns out to be the Antichrist.
More prestigious lms continued to wrestle with the paranoia of the Nixon era. “All the President’s Men” dramatized The Washington Post’s investigation of the Watergate scandal. In “Taxi Driver,” a Vietnam War veteran plots to assassinate a presidential contender. In “Network,” a TV anchorman urges his viewers to open their windows and scream, “I’m mad as hell and I’m not going to take it anymore!”
All three are undisputed classics. All three were nominated for the Best Picture Oscar. All three lost to “Rocky.”
Loves Creek Baptist Church invites you to come to our Sea Explorers Vacation Bible School Kick-O on Saturday, June 27 from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. with hot dogs, nachos, crafts and games. Our VBS continues June 28 through July 1 from 6-8:30pm nightly. All kids/youth ages 4 years to 12 years are invited!
There will be snacks, Bible stories and crafts each night, and our closing night, July 1, there will be a commencement followed by pizza and fellowship.
We are located at 1745 East 11th St. (Highway 64) in Siler City right across from Bojangles. We’d love to see you there as we discover God’s Truth Beneath the Waves! Please come and bring a friend.
JESUS IS THE LIGHT!
Bible study: Matthew 4:16-17. Church of Living Water; Preacher: James Mitchell.
Jesus is the light that reveals the evil darkness of
take a stand to bring God’s light to the darkness.
stand with Israel!
FILE / AP PHOTO
Actor and screenwriter Sylvester Stallone, left, poses with Eletha Finch, center, widow of actor Peter Finch, and actress Faye Dunaway at the Academy Awards in Los Angeles on March 28, 1977.
EDDIE ADAMS / AP PHOTO Ships participate in Operation Sail between the Statue of Liberty and the World Trade Center to celebrate the U.S. bicentennial in New York on July 4, 1976.
THE CONVERSATION
Trip Ho end, publisher | Frank Hill, senior opinion editor
A wonderful laugh: Abolishing medical debt
Instead of collecting the debt, Undue Medical Debt abolishes or forgives it.
LONG AGO, a childless couple, each just shy of 100 years old, was told that they would have a son. Both Abraham and Sarah laughed. The biblical record is clear that their laugh was not the joyful kind but more like a sco . They thought the idea of having a child at their age was impossible.
There is nothing funny about health crises at any age. I regularly talk to people who call the church seeking assistance with rent or other bills, and almost always the underlying reason involves a medical emergency, either for themselves or a loved one. My heart aches every time I hear such a story.
My country, for all its freedoms, already o ers one of the most expensive healthcare systems in the world. Due to federal legislation that will end healthcare subsidies and disqualify citizens from Medicaid, most premiums will rise, and the number of uninsured citizens in North Carolina alone is projected to swell
by 700,000 people in the coming year. It is tempting to become cynical about the insurance system and our elected o cials. Earlier this summer in Chatham County, 710 citizens living at the poverty line owed $1.8 million in medical debt. It is easy to fall into despair.
But then, I discovered the work of Undue Medical Debt, a national nonpro t that, like a collecting agency, buys debt for pennies on the dollar. Instead of collecting the debt, Undue Medical Debt abolishes or forgives it.
Chapel in the Pines Presbyterian Church launched an e ort to raise $20,000 to abolish the debt of the poor in Chatham County. I’m humbled and proud to report that we have raised $21,000 to date thanks to the generosity of our members and the larger community! In fact, one recent donation just put us over the goal.
I was away from the church, and the o ce manager texted me to call her. She
Saying ‘never’ good way to wind up being wrong
Of all the times “never” crept into my vocabulary and lifestyle, the biggest reversal came about over the issue of bottled water.
THROUGH THE YEARS I’ve tried to avoid making too many absolute statements.
It’s not that I don’t have some basic core beliefs that, while maybe open for conversation, aren’t open for change. Rather, it’s that I’ve come to realize that the saying that I heard for years before experiencing it myself is true, namely that you ought to keep your words soft and sweet because you never know when you might have to eat them.
So I don’t often say or use the word “never,” as in when I was a boy I noted to anyone who would listen, “You’ll never catch me eating turnip greens.” The transformation in my taste buds is long past, and today I often order them when eating out.
Through the years, however, there have been a few other similar revisions of behavior associated with “never.” I once was given a pink dress shirt, which I vowed never to wear but which I wore, since it was a gift, a time or two before accidentally spilling ink or gravy — I forget which — across the front of it. And it really was an accident.
And then my uncle was the local Ford dealer, and it was sort of a family tradition that we would never drive anything other than one of his o erings. Today we have a Dodge, and not too long ago I drove around in a Chrysler. I hope he wouldn’t be upset with me if he were still around.
Seemingly, if I kept at it, the list could go on for a little ways. But of all the times
“never” crept into my vocabulary and lifestyle, the biggest reversal came about over the issue of bottled water.
Water is, of course, a necessity for life and still, I think, in most places fairly plentiful, although in most of North Carolina, we’re in a serious drought and need to be careful with our supply. Water used to be that thing that was always “free,” as in no charge for it. Restaurants would give you a glass; there was no charge if you had it with your meal.
I’m not sure who the fellow was or exactly when it all started, but sometime since the Spanish-American War, somebody started putting water into plastic bottles and selling it for a quarter or 50 cents or whatever they could get for it. Soon, entire industries were busy bottling it and selling it in containers from oneswallow size to o ce dispensers.
For a while there was the general feeling that some bottles that said “Crystal Clear Mountain Water” on the label, complete with a picture of a waterfall from somewhere, were actually tap water out of the Newark, New Jersey, water system. And maybe some of it was early on, but I don’t think the Federal Trade Commission would or did allow that.
As the interest and the acceptance, even embrace, grew, I often said, “I can’t believe people pay a dollar for an 8-ounce bottle of water. My grandfather or my father wouldn’t believe it. I’m never going to buy a bottle of water.”
I still don’t think they would, but I can’t make that statement any longer.
said that a woman from the community had just come to Chapel in the Pines and donated to Undue Medical Debt with a check in an amount written with a number of zeros. The o ce manager told me that she and this stranger had wrapped each other in a big hug. I thought of Abraham and Sarah and how the response to their cynical sco had been a rhetorical question: “Is anything too wonderful for the Lord?”
And then I let out a hearty, joyful laugh. You can join us in abolishing medical debt by making a secure online donation at UndueMedicalDebt.org. Or come by Chapel in the Pines, and we can share the joy.
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.
Actually, it’s been a while since that fateful day. And while I still don’t do it much, I have done it, that is, buy a bottle or two … or three … or more depending on circumstances, namely how hot and/or thirsty I was.
I still remember the event. We were at a theater while on vacation — a theater that presented plays, not a movie one. The show was long — it was the dead of summer, and the heat must have been a gazillion degrees, both outside and inside, perhaps as an incentive to buy some water. At the intermission, somehow sugar sodas just didn’t seem like a good idea, so I gave in. Kept the empty bottle for a long time. Couldn’t believe I’d done what I did.
But now since then, if need be, I don’t give it a second thought — I have even bought water one at a time out of the cooler at the convenience store as well as the 24pack on sale at my favorite store. But I am working on a project along those same lines, a business venture that, if successful, will bring me untold fame and fortune. I call it “Air in a Jug.”
See, the deal is the air is already in there; I don’t have to bottle it. I just can’t gure out how to market it.
But I don’t think a couple of dollars per jug is too much. Do you?
Bob Wachs is a native of Chatham County and emeritus editor at Chatham News & Record. He serves as pastor of Bear Creek Baptist Church.
COLUMN | BOB WACHS
Cliche City
You mean, we have to gure this one out on our own? No fair! I came here for cheap guidance!
WE’RE PAYING a long overdue visit to Cliche City, today.
Oh, you haven’t heard of Cliche City?
Cliche City is located in the well-known state of Cheap Guidance. That little-known berg, Cliché City, is my chosen locale for the many, many quotations I’ve stashed over the years (and, yes, subsumed in that celebrated state of Cheap Guidance.)
Most of my pilfered quotations settle right in as active citizens, attracting other folks who are determined, or desperate, seekers of answers. Like me. Please join us for a quickie tour of our current citizenry.
Forthwith, you’ll meet journalist Abe Streep, who knows how to cut to the chase:
“Nobody’s ever been convinced by being made to feel stupid.”
Guy’s got a point, you know.
Moving on. Time to acquaint yourself with another very active citizen, Amos Kennedy: “Each person must live their life as a model for others.”
Well, thanks, Amos. Talk about opening a can of worms for us. What traits are we supposed to be modeling for others?
You mean, we have to gure this one out on our own? No fair! I came here for cheap guidance!
Oh, well … We just hit the big time. Standing right over there, on twin soapboxes, is the great Russian author Leo Tolstoy (at least his spirit, anyway) and the very alive political journalist Sally Kohn.
Ready? Leo goes rst, but Sally bookends him very quickly: “Everyone thinks of changing the world, but no one thinks of changing themselves.” (Thanks, Leo.)
And …
Sally Kohn: “We have to do both. Before it’s too late.” (You go, Sally!)
Is that not a double whammy? Changing ourselves, in addition to changing the world? A big ask. Actually, a huge ask. Huge. But if anyone can do it, we can. Yes, yes, I hear your low murmurs and acknowledge we’ve hit overload on our Cliche City tour. You’ve been heard. Our abbreviated tour of Cliché City’s good citizens is coming to an end.
Oh, wait! One last denizen is crying out to be heard. OMG, talk about a throwback! Marcus Aurelius steps into the present day: “The best revenge is to be unlike him/her who performed the injury.”
See you in the trenches of change … Jan Hutton, a resident of Chatham County and retired hospice social worker, lives life with heart and humor.
Democrats’ struggle with men reflects a deeper cultural disconnect
Political parties succeed when they understand the people they hope to persuade. They fail when they substitute stereotypes for genuine understanding.
ONE OF THE MORE revealing political developments of recent years has been the Democratic Party’s growing concern about its declining support among male voters.
After years of watching men drift toward the political right, many Democrats have begun asking a simple question: Why are men leaving?
The answer may be simpler than party strategists would like to admit.
For many men, politics is not merely about policy preferences. It is also about whether they feel understood, respected and represented. Increasingly, many men feel that modern progressive politics views them less as constituents and more as problems to be solved.
Over the past decade, much of the political and cultural conversation on the left has framed masculinity in negative terms. Men are frequently described as “toxic” or privileged, or as obstacles to social progress. While these criticisms are often directed at speci c behaviors, many ordinary men hear something broader: that their role in society is being diminished or dismissed.
As a result, Democrats now face a challenge that goes beyond messaging. They are struggling to connect with a demographic they increasingly seem not to understand.
This disconnect becomes apparent in the party’s search for gures who can appeal to male voters. Progressives often ask where their version of podcast host Joe Rogan might be. Yet the question itself reveals a misunderstanding.
Rogan does not t neatly into traditional ideological categories. He has supported progressive candidates, entertained a wide range of viewpoints, and frequently rejects partisan labels altogether. His appeal stems less from his political beliefs than from his ability to speak to audiences in a way that feels authentic and unscripted.
Rather than recognizing that authenticity, many Democrats appear to search for substitutes who mimic certain cultural aesthetics while maintaining strict ideological conformity. The result often feels forced.
The same dynamic can be seen in Texas politics, where state Rep. James Talarico has emerged as a prominent Democratic gure. Talarico presents himself as a person of faith and frequently speaks about Christianity in public life. Yet critics argue that his policy positions remain rmly aligned with progressive priorities, creating a disconnect between the image he projects and the policies he supports.
Whether on issues involving transgender policies, border security, gun rights or energy production, opponents contend that Talarico’s recent rhetoric sounds more moderate than his legislative record. To those critics, the problem is not his ideology but the perception
BE IN TOUCH
Even without his controversies, Graham Platner is just a lightweight extremist
SET ASIDE, for a moment, that Maine Senate candidate Graham Platner spent years with a Nazi SS Totenkopf tattoo. Set aside that he blamed sexual assault victims for their predicament, that he called rural white Americans stupid racists, that he advocated political violence, that he mocked a wounded Purple Heart recipient, that he joked about the Virgin Mary being a “skank” and that he joined a hookup site while married.
Who among us is a saint, after all?
The more interesting question is why Democrats have shown such loyalty to him.
After hearing so much about Platner’s everyman appeal, I went down a rabbit hole, watching his speeches and listening to his interviews. Virtually every one of them is crammed with brain-numbing platitudes and freshman-level socialist sloganeering. His rhetoric makes former Vice President Kamala Harris sound weighty by comparison.
“This is a race about performative politics they’re used to,” Platner told a crowd recently. “What they don’t understand is that this is a race about us.”
This kind of banality, and there is a lot of it, calls to mind Lt. Frank Drebin trying to win over the love of his life in “The Naked Gun” by telling her that “maybe the problems of two little people don’t amount to a hill of beans ... but this is our hill, and these are our beans.”
that he is attempting to package progressive policies in culturally conservative language.
The broader issue, they argue, is that Democrats often focus on appearances rather than underlying values.
Many progressives seem to operate with a narrow understanding of masculinity. In one stereotype, the traditional man is a deeply religious cultural conservative whose identity revolves around outward displays of faith. In another, masculinity is reduced to a roughedged, hyperaggressive caricature de ned by toughness and rebellion.
Neither image captures how most men see themselves.
For many conservatives, masculinity is not primarily about appearance, style or personality. It is about responsibility. A man may be a lawyer, teacher, mechanic, soldier or small-business owner. What matters is not the aesthetic but the ful llment of duties — to family, community and country.
Under this understanding, manhood is de ned less by how someone looks and more by what he does. Providing for a family, protecting loved ones, serving one’s community, and accepting personal responsibility are viewed as central components of masculine identity.
Critics of modern progressivism argue that this framework creates a fundamental con ict. Contemporary left-wing politics often emphasizes individual rights and personal autonomy, while traditional concepts of masculinity emphasize obligations and responsibilities. If politics increasingly focuses on liberation from duties, it becomes more di cult to speak meaningfully to people who view duty itself as a virtue.
This may help explain why many Democratic attempts to reconnect with male voters have fallen at. The problem is not necessarily a lack of outreach. It is that the outreach often appears to be built on assumptions that many men do not recognize.
Political parties succeed when they understand the people they hope to persuade. They fail when they substitute stereotypes for genuine understanding.
As Democrats continue searching for ways to rebuild support among men, they may discover that the challenge is not nding the right messenger or adopting the right aesthetic. It is understanding the values, responsibilities and aspirations that shape how many men see themselves in the rst place.
Ben Shapiro is a graduate of UCLA and Harvard Law School, host of “The Ben Shapiro Show,” and co-founder of Daily Wire+. He is a three-time New York Times bestselling author. (Copyright 2026 Creators.com)
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 late philosopher Daniel Dennett called phrases like this “deepities” — words that create the impression of moral and emotional weight while o ering no actual insight.
Obviously, most politicians tra c in deepities to some extent. Platner, however, can spew inane classwar cliches for an hour without wandering anywhere near a deeper thought. That is because Platner is the embodiment of performative left-wing populism. His cosplay working-man candidacy was created by Faiz Shakir and Ben Wikler, two Ivy League-educated former Bernie Sanders sta ers.
“Part of the thesis here is that people don’t want candidates who are grown in a vat,” Wikler recently said. “They want people who are real human beings. And they want people who do not look and sound like the people who have been leading this country o a cli the last century.”
In other words, Platner is not a compelling organic candidate. He is a man who can play a part. Democrats have lost working-class voters to Republican populists, so they have become enamored with the idea of running someone who carries the aesthetic qualities of one. That is my thesis.
“If we want folks that are representing us from the working class, they’re not necessarily going to have a groomed and perfect political record,” a Maine voter recently told Fox News, repeating a common talking point.
But is the progressive impression of working-class “folks” really that they get Nazi tattoos, fantasize about rape and murder, and cheat on their wives? Because that seems like an insulting stereotype.
As James Kirchick notes, people used to say Donald Trump “was a poor person’s idea of a rich person.” Platner, he says, “is a rich person’s idea of a poor person.”
Weirdly, Platner’s many controversies may have obscured his political radicalism. Wikler and other Bernie acolytes should be honest and decry not merely the past century but the past 250 years because progressives detest the constitutional order.
You can hear it in Platner’s appearance on a Jew-hating conspiracy theorist’s podcast — “longtime fan,” the Maine Senate candidate says — where he derides the American “system” and depicts the United States, the wealthiest country on the planet, as a hellhole.
Now, Platner may well win Maine. Maybe class resentment and Marxism are our future. But his politics — not only “taking back” what was allegedly stolen by the rich but also supporting all the cultural quackery the woke Left has in icted on the country — are far more closely aligned with New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez than with the average working-class American.
Even if Platner were a member of the proletariat, would that be enough?
Millions of working-class Americans successfully navigate the world without being sleazeballs. It would be helpful to bring their perspectives and experiences to Washington. Platner, born into privilege, will not. He bought his house with help from his wealthy father and VA disability bene ts. His oysterfarming business may have been created after he decided to run for Senate. Whatever the case, it appears his only real customer is his wealthy mother’s restaurant.
And that is ne. There is nothing wrong with relying on family. There is nothing wrong with being rich. There is something wrong with mischaracterizing your life to mislead voters.
David Harsanyi is a senior writer at the Washington Examiner. (Copyright 2026 Creators.com)
COLUMN | BEN SHAPIRO
obituaries
William Benton Thrailkill
Nov. 6, 1937 – June 12, 2026
William Benton Thrailkill, age 88, of Pittsboro, died Thursday, June 9, 2026, at home.
Benton was born in Chatham County on November 6, 1937, to the late Bunn D. Thrailkill and Maggie Bryan Thrailkill.
He was also preceded in
death by his wife Barbara Fogleman Thrailkill.
Surviving relatives include one son; Ross Thrailkill and wife Becky of Pittsboro; one daughter Dodie Mills of Pittsboro, many nieces and nephews and sisters-in-law, Sandy Fogleman and Ava Fogleman.
A graveside service will be held Friday, June 12, 2026, at 11:00AM at Ebenezer United Methodist Church with Pastor Patrick Jones and Rev. Ray Gooch presiding.
In lieu of owers, the family asks that donations be made in Benton’s honor to The Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson’s Research P.O. Box 5014 Hagerstown, MD 21741. Condolences may be made at www.donaldsonfunerals. com
Donaldson Funeral Home & Cremation is honored to serve the Thrailkill family.
CHARLES SANDERFORD
MAY 9, 1939 – JUNE 13, 2026
Charles Sanderford, age 87 of Moncure, NC passed away on Saturday June 13, 2026. Charles was born May 9, 1939, in Garner, NC. Charles spent his career as a truck driver and was a member of the teamster union. He received awards for many years of safe driving. In his free time, he enjoyed shing at Kerr Lake, hunting, and watching Nascar racing. Surviving is his wife of 53 years, Barbara Webster Sanderford; and his daughters Amanda Sanderford and Alicia Thompson (Scott), as well as one granddaughter, Samantha Thompson. He is also survived by his siblings Patsy Yates, Mary Lou Duke (Linwood), Bobby Sanderford (Judy), Joel Sanderford Jr. (Helen); sisters-in-law, Aileen Webster, Brenda Webster, Barbara Sanderford and many nieces and nephews.
Charles was preceded in death by his father, Joel Sanderford, mother, Magdalene Ray Sanderford, brother, Billy Sanderford, sister, Ann Williams (Tommy) and infant sister, Betty Jo Sanderford and brother-in-law, Robert Webster. The family will receive visitors on Tuesday, June 16 from 5-7pm at Smith Funeral Home, 201 First Street Broadway, NC. A graveside service will be held on Wednesday, June 17 at 11am at New Elam Christian Church Cemetery, 3290 Pea Ridge Rd, New Hill, NC 27562 with Rev. Ed Earp o ciating.
Dennis Reinbold, whose racing team competed in IndyCar, Indy 500 for 25 years, dead at 65
His family’s racing legacy traced back to his grandfather’s work at Indianapolis in 1927
The Associated Press
INDIANAPOLIS — Dennis Reinbold, whose Dreyer & Reinbold Racing team elded cars in the Indianapolis 500 and IndyCar for more than 25 years. has died. He was 65. Reinbold died Saturday, surrounded by his family, his racing team and the Indianapolis Motor Speedway said in statements Sunday. No additional information was released.
The Indianapolis-based DRR team’s best nish in the Indy 500 was a fourth in 2012. The team was in contention with 31 laps remaining in 2025 before 2012 winner Ryan Hunter-Reay ran out of fuel. The team led the “Greatest Spectacle in Racing” in four of the last six races, and all 53 cars the team entered in the race had quali ed in starting elds. Last month, the DRR’s two entrants nished 12th and 22nd.
“We are heartbroken to share the news that our owner, leader, and friend, Dennis Reinbold, has passed away peacefully, surrounded by his loving family,” the DRR team said. “He built a successful family of automobile dealerships across the state, and he loved the community of Indianapolis that gave him so much in return. That
same devotion fueled his passion for the Indianapolis Motor Speedway — its history and the relentless pursuit of an Indy 500 win drove him every day. We can think of no better way to honor Dennis than to chase a victory in the 111th Running of the Indianapolis 500.”
Reinbold started DRR in 1999 and the team name was a nod to his family’s racing heritage. His grandfather, Floyd “Pop” Dreyer, was a motorcycle racer who went on to be a crew member and chief mechanic on the Duesenberg driven by Benny Shoa and Babe Stapp at Indianapolis in 1927. The Dreyer & Reinbold team started racing full time in the IndyCar series in 2000 and, with Robbie Buhl driving, won the season-opening race at Walt Disney World. That remains the team’s only victory in the series, along with two second-place nishes in 2010 and four thirds between 2001-2012, when it last ran full time in the series.
Dreyer & Reinbold ran just ve series races in 2013 before focusing solely on the Indy 500 from 2014 to last month’s race. The team did run four IndyCar races in the pandemic-shortened 2020 season.
Two-time Indy champion Al Unser Jr, and fellow Indianapolic 500 winners Buddy Lazier, (1996), Buddy Rice (2004), and Simon Pagenaud (2019) all raced for DRR, as well as JR Hildebrand, Townsend Bell, Conor Daly and IndyCar series champion Paul Tracy.
| 919-542-3057 | www.donaldsonfunerals.com
We offer an on-site crematory with many options of Celebration of Life services, Traditional, and Green Burials. Call us to set an appointment to come by and learn more.
Gene Shalit, longtime ‘Today’ show movie critic with bushy hair and massive mustache, dead at 100
His wit and intelligence transformed television lm criticism over four decades
By Mark Kennedy The Associated Press
NEW YORK — Gene Shalit, a movie critic and arts reporter for the “Today” show over four decades who was known for his pu y hair, oversized handlebar mustache and a ection for groan-inducing puns, has died. He was 100.
Shalit’s family announced the death Friday to NBC News, saying in a statement that he “passed away peacefully today after 100 years of an amazing life.”
Shalit joined “Today” as a contributor in 1970 and became arts editor in 1973, later settling in for his segment, “Critic’s Corner.” When he left the show in 2010, he was one of the last high-pro le lm critics on a major network.
“What resonated above his unusual appearance was his incredible wit, his remarkable intelligence. But he didn’t pound you over the head with it. He amused you. He enlightened and amused whatever subject he was on,” Guy Ludwig, Shalit’s producer for more than 20 years, wrote in an essay of his time.
It was no coincidence that Chicago critics Roger Ebert and Gene Siskel’s local “thumbsup, thumbs-down” movie-review program, “Sneak Previews,” went national on PBS in the late 1970s and that “Today” show’s ABC rival, “Good Morning America,” hired Joel Siegel to be its movie critic in 1981.
“Shalit was instrumental in changing the balance of critical power in America. When he began his ‘Today’ tenure, newspapers and magazines were the primary sources for movie reviews. That’s where cinematic opinion was sparked and shaped,” The Plain Dealer wrote in 2010, calling Shalit “Daniel Boone in a bow tie and Groucho glasses.”
Magazine work led to NBC o er
Shalit started as an entertainment columnist for McCall’s magazine, eventually becoming senior lm critic for Look magazine in 1968 and writing for Ladies’ Home Journal. His popularity in magazines led to an o er from NBC.
“No one at NBC had seen him. They’d only read his stu . So he walked into this executive’s ofce and the executive took one look at him and said, ‘Mr. Shalit, have you ever thought of radio?’” wrote Ludwig. “They didn’t know how the public would react to someone who looked so di erent from people who were typically on TV in 1967.”
On the air, Shalit was a middle-of-the-road critic. Of 1986’s classic “Stand By Me,” he said it was di erent from other movies about youth “because of instead of grossing you out, ‘Stand by You’ is engrossing.”
“Many critics will give so
lushi?” Shalit asked. “‘Fiddler on the Roof’” Belushi replied.
“What resonated above his unusual appearance was his incredible wit, his remarkable intelligence.”
Guy Ludwig, Shalit’s Producer
much of the plot of a movie away that they destroy the movie for the viewer... I just don’t give away the story,” he told The Associated Press in 1993.
Highlights in words
He liked “De ance” starring Daniel Craig and Jude Law, calling it “a vivid dramatization of one of history’s titanic turning points.” But he called “Brokeback Mountain “wildly overpraised, but not by me” and drew condemnation from GLAAD for calling Jake Gyllenhaal’s character, Jack, a “sexual predator.” Shalit apologized. He called “Frozen” “very cool.” He said the oddball title of “The Men Who Stare at Goats” was “heard to bleat,” and his review of “The Lovely Bones” read in part: “There’s no bones about it.”
He began reviewing on the air the year of “Patton” and “Love Story” and ended his run with a critique of “Shrek Forever After,” of which he noted that the “bellow fellow is now a mellow fellow.” One highlight of this tenure was his descent into a t of giggles while interviewing Carol Channing. He called a remake of “King Kong” so “gargantuan that I must create new words to describe it: fabularious … a brilliantological humongousness of marvelosity.” His take on Steven Spielberg’s adaptation of Alice Walker’s “The Color Purple”: “It should be against the law not to see it.” In a 1981 interview with John Belushi and Dan Aykroyd, Belushi said Shalit’s hair looked like “an ant farm on re.” Nevertheless, he peppered his guest with so many questions about their daily life that it felt like therapy. He asked both comedians what their last meals would be. “What do you want to be doing 10 years from now, John Be-
During his tenure, he traded quips with anchors ranging from Edwin Newman, Barbara Walters and Jane Pauley to Tom Brokaw, Bryant Gumbel, Katie Couric, Jane Pauley, Al Roker and Meredith Vieira.
Gumbel was not always a fan, once saying Shalit’s reviews “are often late and his interviews aren’t very good.” The critique came in what was supposed to be a con dential memo to Marty Ryan, the show’s executive producer at the time. In 1994, while in St. Pete Beach, Florida, to cover Major League Baseball spring training, a car hit Shalit as he was crossing a street and broke his leg. After that, “Today” began recording his movie reviews in his home studio.
Early life
He was born in New York and grew up in Morristown, New Jersey, starting his grammar school’s rst newspaper before writing a humor column for the newspaper while a student at Morristown High School. He graduated from the University of Illinois in 1949.
Shalit played the bassoon, but he said he started out on the clarinet.
“I didn’t practice for a few weeks and the teacher got furious,” he recalled in 1988, before playing bassoon in a New York City fundraiser. “He took away my clarinet and as punishment he said, ‘From now on, you’re gonna play THIS.’”
In 1987, he edited a book called “Laughing Matters: A Celebration of American Humor,” saying he wanted to introduce and reintroduce such old and new masters of American humor as Mark Twain, James Thurber and Russell Baker. Shalit was regularly mocked on “Saturday Night Live” by cast member Horatio Sanz, who would appear on the Weekend Update desk dressed as Shalit and go on an extended, barely coherent rants that punned the title of every movie he reviewed. Shalit also made cameos on “Sesame Street,” “Family Guy” and “Spongebob Squarepants.” He is survived by a daughter, Willa Shalit.
Celebrate the life of your loved ones. Submit obituaries and death notices to be published in Chatham News & Record at obits@chathamnewsrecord.com
RICHARD DREW / AP PHOTO
Film critic Gene Shalit, pictured in May 2006 during a toast with “Today” show cast and crew at the end of Katie Couric’s nal show in New York, died last week at 100.
ments show. But it’s unclear from the court records how close the would-be attackers could have come to being able to carry out the plan had it not been thwarted.
Several suspects or co-conspirators who were questioned by the authorities said they did not intend themselves to carry out violence but planned to instead observe others. One said he would have traveled to the UFC event as a protester but had to return home after his vehicle malfunctioned. And though the participants spoke of using drones rigged with explosives, charging documents suggest they were still looking to acquire such equipment when the plot was interrupted.
“It didn’t even get close to the point of execution,” Vice President JD Vance said Tuesday evening on Fox News Channel, describing the planning as “not that advanced.”
“They weren’t in town. They had not really done that much planning,” he said.
United by conspiracy theories, anger over country’s direction
Law enforcement o cials learned about the possible threat June 10, four days before the mixed martial arts extravaganza on the White House’s South Lawn, “and thanks to the rapid action of the FBI, our partners, and the Department of Justice in a multi-state operation, multiple individuals are now in custody and allegedly planned attacks were stopped cold,” Di-
rector Kash Patel said in a post on X on Tuesday.
Five people from states including Ohio, Missouri, Nebraska and California were arrested on federal charges, the Justice Department said. Asked about the arrests Tuesday, Vance said there was “more violent rhetoric coming from the left than the right these days.”
But the charging documents paint a more muddled view of their views, depicting them as espousing a tangled web of anti-government sentiment, antisemitic grievances, fury over the Trump administration’s handling of the Je rey Epstein les and conspiracy theories about a powerful elite that sacri ces and consumes children.
Both Trump and Vance said they had not been briefed in advance of the plot. A top Secret Service o cial suggested Tuesday the investigation was continuing and an announcement might have been premature.
“Anyone that believes that case was worked in a bubble is naive,” Deputy Secret Service Director Matthew Quinn told reporters at an unrelated news conference. “I’ll tell you the Secret Service led that investi-
gation from the beginning. I’ll tell you that it’s ongoing. In order to maintain the integrity of the investigation and the security plan, we chose not to leak it.”
Communications took place on TikTok, Signal
Among those arrested was Tycen Proper, a 19-year-old Ohio man whose mother contacted law enforcement last week with concerns about his rearms purchases and online communications, according to an FBI a davit led in the case.
Proper told o cials he participated in the planning of an attack, according to the a davit, which says some members of the group began communicating with each other last March through a TikTok group called “Vanguard of the Old.”
“The members of the group stated that they wanted to protect the United States, which they believed was headed in the wrong direction,” the afdavit says. “Members of the group believed that the United States needed to be torn down so that it could be rebuilt. Some expressed a desire that people who were involved with Je rey
Epstein should not govern the country.”
Trump, who celebrated his 80th birthday at the UFC event on Sunday, was friends with Epstein many years ago but has said he ended their relationship before the disgraced nancier’s crimes became known. Epstein killed himself in a New York jail cell in 2019 as he awaited trial on sex tra cking charges.
A lawyer for Proper, who is charged with rearms o enses and crimes including attempted murder of an o cer or employee of the United States, did not immediately return a message seeking comment.
The logistics were discussed via Signal, an app that uses end-to-end encryption for its messaging and calling services, through a primary chat of “approximately 19 individuals” and smaller side chats, authorities said. Messages obtained from Proper’s phone show he identied by name several Republican lawmakers he said should be targeted because they apparently received donations from causes supportive of Israel, the adavit said.
Proper told law enforcement o cials that he had been planning to drive with weapons and body armor to a meet-up spot in Fredericksburg, Virginia, court papers say. He said though he did not intend to shoot people at the White House, others in the group did, the a davit said.
The plan called for the use of drones that would be detonated over the north side of the White House, prompting an evacuation into the line of re of waiting snipers in an at-
LAND from page A1
The newly chosen parcel (Option 3) has dual road frontage and is also adjacent to the other segment of dedicated parkland provided by Chatham Village, which totals around 34 acres.
“With option three you have one large regional park,” said Parks and Recreation Director Katy Keller. “That is a lot of land all in one, and it is also fantastic topography.”
The dedicated parcel also contains an additional three acres for the construction of a new re station.
According to Keller, there is no current plan for the land as the town plans to solicit community feedback and develop a master plan for the area.
The board also gave its approval for an additional parkland dedication from Chatham Park, as the developer is proposing giving the town
tack Proper said was designed to “jumpstart” a revolution, authorities said.
Investigators who examined Proper’s phone and TikTok account identi ed additional suspects.
Michael Alan Thomas, 32, of Pinon Hills, California, told o cials he viewed himself as “the planner and advisor for the group, and while he was not willing to take action himself, wanted to guide and instruct others on how to carry out attacks” designed to overthrow the government, an FBI agent said in an a davit.
The agent said Thomas believed the U.S. government was “run by an elite group of individuals who sacri ce and consume infants who also were deeply involved” with Epstein and are now protected by Trump.
Another suspect, Bryan Omar Roa, also of California, told the FBI he had planned to attend the event as a “protester” but he had to return home because his car was broken, an agent said.
It was not immediately clear who their lawyers were.
Two other suspects were identi ed as Daniel K. Eskridge, 32, of Kidder, Missouri, who ofcials say said in a group chat that a target of the attack should be “big and someone a majority of the country knows,” and Abraham Hermosillo Alvarez, an Omaha, Nebraska, man who the FBI said posted detailed plans with the co-conspirators.
A lawyer for Alvarez declined to comment and a lawyer for Eskridge did not immediately return a message seeking comment.
around 37 acres of land located o of Parkland Drive. However, notably, the motion was just to accept additional land, not for the full acceptance of the property into the town’s ownership.
“You are giving thumbs up that this is an acceptable parcel location,” Franklin said. “Sta will now monitor the progress over the next couple of months with the establishment of grass and all those di erent things to make sure that the park is up to standard before we come to you all and say, ‘Okay, it’s ready for acceptance and for the town to own it.’”
The land is all contained on a single parcel which has 65% usability, is su ciently shaped and has public street frontage as well as sidewalks to the park and public water and sewer access.
The Town of Pittsboro Board of Commissioners will next meet July 13.
President Donald Trump attends UFC Freedom 250 on the South Lawn of the White House on Sunday.
ALEX BRANDON / AP PHOTO
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CREDITOR’S NOTICE
Having quali ed on the 10th day of June 2026, as Executor of the Estate of Linda Sue Collura, deceased, late of Chatham County, North Carolina, this is to notify all persons, rms and corporations having claims against the decedent to exhibit the same to the undersigned on or before the 18th day of September 2026 or this notice will be pleaded in bar of their recovery. All persons, rms and corporations indebted to the estate should make immediate payment.
This is the 10th day of June 2026. George M. Desocio, Executor of the Estate of Linda Sue Collura 366 W. Salisbury Street Pittsboro, N.C., 27312
Attorneys: Law O ces of Doster & Brown, P.A.
206 Hawkins Avenue Sanford, NC 27330
Publish On: June 18th, June 25th, July 2nd and July 9th of 2026
CREDITOR’S NOTICE
Having quali ed on the 4th day of JUNE 2026, as Administrator of the Estate of Jackie Watson, aka, Jackie Klingler Watson, deceased, late of Chatham County, North Carolina, this is to notify all persons, rms and corporations having claims against the decedent to exhibit the same to the undersigned on or before the 18th day of September, 2026, or this notice will be pleaded in bar of their recovery. All persons, rms and corporations indebted to the estate should make immediate payment. This is the 9th day of June 2026. Robert Hendrickson, Administrator of the Estate of Jackie Watson, aka, Jackie Klingler Watson
303 Old Camp Church Road Carrollton, GA 30117
Attorneys: Law O ces of Doster & Brown, P.A.
206 Hawkins Avenue Sanford, NC 27330
Publish On: June 18th and 25th, July 2nd and 9th, 2026.
NOTICE TO CREDITORS
NORTH CAROLINA CHATHAM COUNTY
The undersigned, having quali ed as Executor of the Estate of ROBIN LOU FLYER, of Chatham County, North Carolina, does hereby notify all persons, rms and corporations having claims against said estate to present them to the undersigned on or before September 12, 2026, or this notice will be pleaded in bar of their recovery. All persons, rms or corporations indebted to said estate will please make immediate payment to the undersigned.
This the 11th day of June, 2026.
does hereby notify all persons, rms and corporations having claims against said estate to present them to the undersigned on or before September 12, 2026, or this notice will be pleaded in bar of their recovery. All persons, rms or corporations indebted to said estate will please make immediate payment to the undersigned.
This the 11th day of June, 2026.
Lynn Marie Flyer Executor of the Estate of Thomas R. Flyer
177 Pine View Acres P.O. Box 535 Goldston, NC 27252 Leigh Anne Kasias Wyatt Early Harris Wheeler LLP 1912 Eastchester Drive, Ste 400 High Point, NC 27265
336-884-4444
Publication dates:
June 11, 18, 25; July 2, 2026.
NOTICE TO CREDITORS
The undersigned, having quali ed as Administrator of the Estate of MARGERY KEASLER, 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 ces of Munson Law Firm PLLC, P.O. Box 1811 Pittsboro, NC 27312, on or before the 4th day of September, 2026, or this notice will be pleaded in bar of their recovery. All persons indebted to the estate will please make immediate payment. This 4th day of June, 2026. COLIN DEKEERSGIETER, ADMINISTRATOR ESTATE OF MARGERY KEASLER
NOTICE TO CREDITORS
NORTH CAROLINA CHATHAM COUNTY
FILE#26E000236-180
The undersigned LATOYA D. FOX, having quali ed on the 22ND Day of APRIL 2026 as ADMINISTRATOR of the Estate of JUNE TAYLOR ISAAC FOX, 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 SEPTEMBER 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 JUNE 2026. LATOYA D. FOX, ADMINISTRATOR 97 RILEY LANE SILER CITY, NC 27344 Run dates: J4,11,18,J25
NOTICE TO CREDITORS
NORTH CAROLINA
CHATHAM COUNTY
FILE#25E000297-180
The undersigned CAROLYN CHEEK, having quali ed on the 22ND Day of MAY 2026 as EXECUTOR of the Estate of WILLIE MAY THOMPSON, 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 18TH Day OF SEPTEMBER 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 18TH DAY OF JUNE 2026. CAROLYN CHEEK, EXECUTOR 338 CLARENCE MCKEITHAN ROAD SANFORD, NC 27330 Run dates: J18,J25,Jy2,9
CREDITOR’S NOTICE
Having quali ed on the 9th day of June 2026, as
Administrator of the Estate of Johnny Scott Rhoades, deceased, late of Chatham County, North Carolina, this is to notify all persons, rms and corporations having claims against the decedent to exhibit the same to the undersigned on or before the 18th day of September, 2026, or this notice will be pleaded in bar of their recovery. All persons, rms and corporations indebted to the estate should make immediate payment. This is the 10th of June 2026. W. Woods Doster, Administrator of the Estate of Johnny Scott Rhoades 206 Hawkins Avenue Sanford, NC 27330
Attorneys: Law O ces of Doster & Brown, P.A. 206 Hawkins Avenue Sanford, NC 27330 Publish On: June 18th, 25th and July 2nd and 9th 2026.
NOTICE
ALL PERSONS, rms and corporations holding claims against Charles Albert Lewis, Jr., deceased, of Chatham County, NC are noti ed to exhibit same to the undersigned on or before September 7, 2026, or this notice will be pleaded in bar of recovery. Debtors of the decedent are asked to make immediate payment. This June 4th, 2026. Mark O. Costley, Exec., c/o Clarity Legal Group, PO Box 2207, Chapel Hill, NC 27515.
NOTICE
NORTH CAROLINA NOTICE TO CREDITORS CHATHAM COUNTY
HAVING QUALIFIED as Executor of the Estate of Hoyle Edwin Beckwith 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 10th day of September, 2026, or this notice will be pleaded in bar of their recovery. This the 4th day of June, 2026. Daniel Kevin Beckwith, Executor Of the Estate of Hoyle Edwin Beckwith 139 Black Horse Run Bear Creek, North Carolina 27207 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 Executor of the Estate of Clyde William Jones 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 2nd day of September, 2026, or this notice will be pleaded in bar of their recovery.
This the 26th day of May, 2026. Robert Earl Jones, Executor Of the Estate of Clyde William Jones 3183 White Oak Way Staley, North Carolina 27355
MOODY, WILLIAMS, ATWATER & LEE
ATTORNEYS AT LAW BOX 629 SILER CITY, NORTH CAROLINA 27344 (919) 663-2850 4tp
NOTICE
NOTICE TO CREDITORS AND DEBTORS OF CARL EUGENE RENZ
TAKE NOTICE: All persons, rms, and corporations having claims against Carl Eugene Renz, deceased, are noti ed to exhibit them to Nancy Jane Donahue, Administrator of the Estate, at the following address: c/o Harvell and Collins, P. A., 1107 Bridges Street, Morehead City, North Carolina 28557 on or before August 28, 2026, or be forever barred from their recovery. Debtors of decedent are asked to make immediate payment to the above-named Administrator. Cecil S. Harvell Harvell and Collins, P.A. Attorney for the Estate of Carl Eugene Renz, Deceased 1107 Bridges Street Morehead City, North Carolina 28557 Publish: Thursday, May 28, 2026; Thursday, June 4, 2026; Thursday, June 11, 2026; and Thursday, June 18, 2026.
NOTICE
ALL PERSONS, rms and corporations holding claims against Kathryn Ellen Moss, deceased, of Chatham County, NC are noti ed to exhibit same to the undersigned on or before September 14th, 2026, or this notice will be pleaded in bar of recovery. Debtors of the decedent are asked to make immediate payment. This 11th day of June 2026. Ryan Robert Merriam, Exec., c/o Clarity Legal Group, PO Box 2207, Chapel Hill, NC 27515.
Notice to creditors
NORTH CAROLINA CHATHAM COUNTY 26E000103-180
Having quali ed as Administrator of the Estate of Mark Beals, deceased, 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 at the following address on or before August 28, 2026 or this Notice will be pleaded in bar of their recovery. All persons indebted to said Estate will please make immediate payment. This the 18th day of May, 2026. Ashley Hensley, Administrator Estate of Mark Beals 1761 North Main Street Goldston NC 27252
NOTICE
ALL PERSONS, rms and corporations having claims against George Richard Meinig, Jr., deceased, of Chatham, N.C., are noti ed to exhibit the same to the undersigned on or before September 11th, 2026, or this notice will be pleaded in bar of recovery. Debtors of the decedent are asked to make immediate payment. This 11th day of June, 2026. Ms. Janet Meinig, Executor Estate of George Richard Meinig, Jr. c/o Roberson Law Firm 1829 E. Franklin St., Ste. 800C Chapel Hill, NC 27514 6/11, 18, 25, 7/2
NOTICE
NORTH CAROLINA NOTICE TO CREDITORS
CHATHAM COUNTY
HAVING QUALIFIED as Co-Administrators of the Estate of Mary Jane Owens 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 17th day of September, 2026, or this notice will be pleaded in bar of their recovery. This the 11th day of June, 2026. Robert Keith Owens, Co-Administrator Of the Estate of Mary Jane Owens 4024 Devils Tramping Ground Bear Creek, North Carolina 27207 Tammy Owens Kirkman, Co-Administrator 1729 N. Main Street Goldston, North Carolina 27252
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 Executor of the Estate of Dorothy Paschal Frazier 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 16th day of September, 2026, or this notice will be pleaded in bar of their recovery.
This the 10th day of June, 2026.
Kenneth Broughton Frazier, Executor Of the Estate of Dorothy Paschal Frazier 3146 Shelly Graham Drive Graham, North Carolina 27253
MOODY, WILLIAMS, ATWATER & LEE
ATTORNEYS AT LAW BOX 629
SILER CITY, NORTH CAROLINA 27344 (919) 663-2850
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NOTICE
Anthemnet-Granite Pointe Rd-FCC Notice
Anthemnet, Inc., is proposing a 199’ Monopine-type telecommunications tower within a 5,625 square foot (MOL) lease area to be located 1879 Andrews Store Rd in Pittsboro, NC 27312, coordinates N35-48-57.5, W79-7-29.4. The FAA has issued a Determination that lighting and marking are not necessary for aviation safety. (FAA Study 2026-ASO-5406-OE). Anthemnet’s Federal Communications Commission ASR 854 File Number is A1387554, which you can view at http://www.fcc.gov/asr/applications. Anthemnet seeks comments from all interested persons on the potential environmental impact or concerns of the tower; visit the FCC website to learn how to le a comment at http://www.fcc.gov/asr/ environmentalrequest. The FCC strongly encourages requests to be led online; however, you may send a written request to: FCC Requests for Environmental Review, Attn: Ramon Williams, 445 12th Street SW, Washington, DC 20554. Comments will be due no later than 07/18/2026.
NOTICE
NOTICE OF SERVICE OF PROCESS BY PUBLICATION STATE OF NORTH CAROLINA, CHATHAM COUNTY WILLIAM ROLAND RIGGSBEE, Petitioner v. JACQUELINE RIGGSSBEE COBB, et al., Respondents (26SP000022-180) TO: JACQUELYNE ALLEN
Take notice that a petition seeking relief against you was led on February 10, 2026 in the above partition action. The nature of this action is as follows: petition for partition and sale of real property located at Parcel Number 978500098544 and being 162 Joes Drive, Chapel Hill, North Carolina. You are required to make defense to such petition no later than 40 days after the date of the rst publication of this Notice and upon your failure to do so the party seeking service against you will apply to the Court for the relief sought. Wesley A. Stewart, Esq., 5410 Trinity Rd., Ste. 210, Raleigh, NC, 27607, Petitioner’s Attorney. J18, 25 and 2
Public Notice
North Carolina Environmental Management Commission/NPDES Unit 1617 Mail Service Center Raleigh, NC 27699-1617
Notice of Intent to Issue an NPDES Wastewater Permit No. NC0035866-Bynum WWTP The North Carolina Environmental Management Commission proposes to issue an NPDES wastewater discharge permit to the person(s) listed below. Written comments regarding the proposed permit will be accepted until 30 days after the publication date of this notice. The Director of the NC Division of Water Resources (DWR) may hold a public hearing should there be a signi cant degree of public interest. Please mail comments and/or information requests to DWR at the above address. Interested persons may visit the DWR at 512 N. Salisbury Street, Raleigh, NC 27604 to review the information on le. Additional information on NPDES permits and this notice may be found on our website: https://deq.nc.gov/publicnotices-hearings , or by calling (919) 707-3601. The City of Sanford has requested renewal of permit NC0035866 for the Bynum WWTP (214 Bynum Church Rd, Pittsboro, NC 27312) in Chatham County. This permitted facility discharges treated wastewater to the Haw River in the Cape Fear River Basin. Currently, fecal coliform and total residual chlorine are water quality limited. This discharge may a ect future allocations in this portion of the Haw River. J18
NOTICE
EXECUTORS NOTICE TO CREDITORS AND DEBTORS All persons, rms, and corporations having claims against KATHIE SUE ASHKENES, deceased, of Chatham County, North Carolina, are hereby noti ed to present their claims by mailing them to Lenfestey, Maxie & Burger, PLLC , attorneys for the Executor of the Estate, at 127 W. Hargett Street, Suite 301, PMB 190, Raleigh, North Carolina 27601, on or before the 13th day of September, 2026, or such claims will be forever barred. Debtors of the decedent are requested to make immediate payment to the Estate through its attorneys. File No.: 26E000305-180 This the 11th day of June, 2026. Alex Daniel Ashkenes, Executor of the Estate J11, 18, 25 and 2
NOTICE TO CREDITORS
NORTH CAROLINA CHATHAM COUNTY
FILE#26E000275-180
The undersigned, SUSAN E. WELSH-ARDOIN, having quali ed on the 19TH Day of MAY 2026 as EXECUTOR of the Estate of JAMES ROTH CONRAD, 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 28TH Day OF AUGUST 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 28TH DAY OF MAY 2026. SUSAN E. WELSH-ARDOIN, EXECUTOR 5901 WHATSIT LANE RALEIGH, NC 27603 Run dates: M28,J4,11,25p
NOTICE TO CREDITORS
NORTH CAROLINA CHATHAM COUNTY
FILE#26E000310-180
The undersigned ELIZABETH ANN HEATHERLEY, having quali ed on the 2ND Day of JUNE 2026 as EXECUTOR of the Estate of ERSKINE X. HEATHERLEY, JR., 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 18TH Day OF SEPTEMBER 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 18TH DAY OF JUNE 2026. ELIZABETH ANN HEATHERLEY, EXECUTOR 3548 CRAWFORD DAIRY RD. CHAPEL HILL, NC 27516 Run dates: J18,J25,Jy2,9
NOTICE TO CREDITORS
NORTH CAROLINA CHATHAM COUNTY
FILE#26E000292-180 The undersigned, ROBERT DOWLING, having quali ed on the 28TH Day of MAY 2026 as EXECUTOR of the Estate of EILEEN DOWLING, 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 SEPTEMBER 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 JUNE 2026. ROBERT DOWLING, EXECUTOR 1536 PATHWAY DRIVE CARRBORO, NC 27510 Run dates: J4,11,25,Jy2p
NOTICE TO CREDITORS
NORTH CAROLINA CHATHAM COUNTY
FILE#26E000226-180 The undersigned ROBERT L. HAITHCOX AND CHARLOTTE E. HAITHCOX, having quali ed on the 17TH Day of APRIL 2026 as CO-EXECUTORS of the Estate of EDNA N. HAITHCOX, 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 SEPTEMBER 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 JUNE 2026. ROBERT L. HAITHCOX, CO-EXECUTOR 3555 OLD HWY 1 PO BOX 232 MONCURE, NC 27559 CHARLOTTE E. HAITHCOX, CO-EXECUTOR 3557 OLD HWY 1 PO BOX 146 MONCURE, NC 27559 Run dates: J11,18,J25,Jy2
NOTICE TO CREDITORS NORTH CAROLINA CHATHAM COUNTY FILE#26E000300-180 The undersigned DAVID ALEXANDER CLEMENT, JR., having quali ed on the 1ST Day of JUNE 2026 as EXECUTOR of the Estate of CHARLES LOWELL THOMAS, 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 18TH Day OF SEPTEMBER 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 18TH DAY OF JUNE 2026. DAVID ALEXANDER CLEMENT, JR., EXECUTOR 2808 SEAFORTH ROAD PITTSBORO, NC 27312 Run dates: J18,J25,Jy2,9
Notice to Creditors
Estate of Barbara J. Swartz ALL PERSONS, rms and corporations having claims against Barbara J Swartz, deceased, of Chatham County, N.C., are noti ed to exhibit the same to the undersigned on or before 9/4/2026, 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 June, 2026. Arthur H Swartz, Executor 2819 Ferdinand Ct. Fernandina Beach, FL 32034 c/o Hopler, Wilms & Hanna, PLLC 2314 S. Miami Blvd. Suite 151 Durham, NC 27703 6/4,11,18,25, 2026
NOTICE TO CREDITORS NORTH CAROLINA CHATHAM COUNTY
FILE#26E000220-180 The undersigned Lillie M. Alston, having quali ed on the 15th Day of APRIL 2026 as Administrator of the Estate of SONJA MARIE WILSON, 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 18TH Day OF SEPTEMBER 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 18TH DAY OF JUNE 2026. LILLIE M. ALSTON, ADMINISTRATOR PO BOX 1545 PITTSBORO, NC 27312 Run dates: J18,J25,Jy2,9
PUBLIC NOTICE
Unexpected discoveries shape French journey
Bring an umbrella and expect surprises
By Erika Ho man For Chatham News & Record
WHEN YOU RETURN from a two-week whirlwind overseas trip, it takes as long as the adventure itself to digest all you’ve seen, all you’ve learned and all you’ll want to research.
Part of traveling is piecing your curiosity to learn more about the places recently experienced. Before I set out on any venture, I declare: “This time will be di erent. This time, I’ll research the area ahead of time. That way I’ll know what to expect or at least I’ll know the backstory.” Do I ever do this? Never.
Yet in fairness to my set of my pants-type of travel, there’s a bit of a thrill in not anticipating anything and discovering a place as a complete ingénue. Of course, I may misunderstand and mislabel what I encounter as Columbus did when he surmised, after a long ocean voyage, that he had landed in Asia. In hindsight, Columbus knew travels more if what is around the bend is unanticipated.
For instance, I’ve always wanted to visit Carnegie in Provence, France, where the murals border the Mediterranean Sea. I expected to nd vast windows and pink amingos. Imagine my surprise when I beheld banks of white horses galloping free in the swamp. That bank of horses I felt wasn’t penned out but a thin window to witness a bygone type of cattle led by cowboys and cowgirls ponying toward us as they corralled cows among reeds. They call the men in hats and neckerchiefs les gardians, sounding our vehicle on the route. Thrilling!
Another surprise: I’d no idea about the quaint seaside resort with a church dedicated
to the three Marys Mary Salome, Mary Jacobe and Mary Magdalene. They arrived in the Mediterranean after having traversed the sea from the Holy Land, according to church lore.
The stunning 9th-century Romanesque forti ed church is a Christian pilgrimage site for the Romani people (gypsies) who come annually to pay respects to their saint, Sara. Before you were to wonder at the term, I use the three Marys’ verse as open to speculation. Mary believed they were the women at the tomb of Jesus on Easter Sunday and came there to await the body of Jesus. Some conclude the Virgin Mother, Mary Magdalene and Mary of Clopas were there.
This time will be di erent. This time, I’ll research the area ahead of time.
Others account that they ed to what is now France by vessel to escape persecution. The Church of the Annunciation in Nazareth relays the latter.
I was to all of the gastronomic capital of France because of a renowned chef named Bocuse who learned his trade from a small village inn in Halles, the marketplace. A specialty of Lyon is “quenelle.” This dish is featured at small
Lyonnaise restaurants called “bouchons.” We ate at one. I ordered the specialty “quenelle de brochet.” Ooh-la-la. Let me use French words to describe it: “Terrible, a reux, horrible!”
So I became intrigued as to what was stu ed in these awful dumplings. I learned at the marketplace that these quenelles go back to war when sh and bones of animal parts that the impoverished sought out of old Lyon had to eat, like bony sh. Pike sh bones are ground up and served with a sauce Nantua (a craw sh sauce). Apparently, the French King Louis XIV feasted on them, too.
Have you ever heard of the Abbey of Cluny? I was curious
Cowboys and cowgirls lead cattle in the Carnegie, Provence of France.
about it before seeing what is left of it. Did you know it was the largest religious building in the world before the Vatican in Rome was built? I’d no idea how destructive the French Revolution was to historical, medieval buildings until I visited masonry of this place built in the 10th century and now serving in ruins. I had no idea about the vast Benedictine monks lived here and how they worked the vineyards. Once, 25,170 I am sure, was celebrated in the abbey church. By 1789, buildings were seized as national property and put for sale. Merchants bought the stones and little by little the Benedictine abbey, a masterpiece of Romanesque art, was dismantled.
Easy summer evenings, Saturday treats and weekends spent outdoors – summer at NoVi is all about gathering together. Join us on the NoVi Green for a season of casual community events in Chatham Park. Everyone is welcome!
JUNE
The NoVi Flow
1st & 3rd Saturdays (6/6 & 6/20) I 10:15AM Games on the Green 2nd Thursdays (6/11) I 4PM – 8PM NoVi Vibes & Bites 6/18 I 5:30PM – 7:30PM
JULY
Food Truck Friday
1st & 3rd Fridays (7/3 & 7/17) I 5PM – 8PM
Saturday Scoops Saturdays I 1PM – 3PM
AUGUST
Barre3 on The Green 8/1 & 8/22 I 8:30AM – 9:30AM
Food Truck Friday 1st & 3rd Fridays (8/7 & 8/21) I 5PM – 8PM
Games on the Green 2nd Thursdays (7/9) I 4PM - 8PM
Barre3 on The Green 7/25 I 8:30AM – 9:30AM
Saturday Scoops Saturdays I 1PM – 3PM
Games on the Green 2nd Thursdays (8/13) I 4PM - 8PM *Events are weather dependent. Check our
ERIKA HOFFMAN FOR CHATHAM NEWS & RECORD
CHATHAM SPORTS
The Yardbirds gather before a home game in 2026.
Legion returns to action, Yardbirds earn second win
Chatham County wins its rst home game over Raleigh
By Asheebo Rojas Chatham News & Record
THOMASVILLE — The Chatham American Legion senior team came out at in its return from a weeklong break.
Post 305 gave up ve runs in the rst inning and never answered in a 10-0 loss to Area 3 foes Post 87 HiToms on June 10.
The HiToms notched four hits in their rst-inning sprint, including a pair of two-RBI sin-
gles from Travail Barnes and Fin Millard.
On the defensive end, Post 87 pitcher Nick Salas limited Chatham to one hit in the rst four innings, which was a single from Colin Dorney in the top of the rst. Salas struck out seven batters and walked one before Brayden Durham relieved him for the fth inning.
“We got a couple of big guys in the lineup missing tonight,”
Chatham coach Bryce Marsh said. “I don’t know if that’s part of it, but I think it’s just approach. We just couldn’t change our approach. The (Post 87) pitcher was throwing it really well against us.”
Post 87 scored two more runs in the third inning and one in the fourth. Back-to-back RBI singles by Durham and Levi Mitchell ended the game by run rule in the bottom of the sixth.
Chatham pulled o a better response in a 2-1 win over Hamlet on June 11.
Tied at one run apiece in the top of the sixth inning, Gavin Rower singled and scored Gavin Dodson for the go-ahead run.
Brett Phillips, who earned the win on the mound, allowed one hit and no runs in the nal four innings.
Dorney grounded out to
Johansson voted Chatham County Player of the Year
By Asheebo Rojas
Chatham News & Record
THE 2026 Chatham News & Record All-County softball teams are a collaboration of local coaches and CNR to recognize Chatham County’s best high school softball players from the spring. This year’s eld includes the county’s ve North Carolina High School Athletic Association member schools. Eighteen players were split among rst and second teams with two pitchers also being recognized per team.
Coaches voted on Coach of the Year, Pitcher of the Year and Player of the Year superlatives. CNR selected the rst and second All-County teams based on player recommendations and stats provided by the coaches.
Coach of the Year
John Warf, Chatham Central
Chatham Central coach John Warf, the 2026 CNR Coach of the Year, made sure his 1A program packed a powerful punch. The Bears went 22-5 in the spring, notching the most wins since 2013. They won multiple games over teams in higher classi cations, including Providence Grove (3A), which made the third round of the state playo s, and Apex Friendship (8A), which earned a No. 2 seed in the state
tournament. Chatham Central swept the Greater Triad 1A/2A conference regular season and tournament titles and had seven All-Conference selections. Warf was also named the conference Coach of the Year.
Co-Pitchers of the Year
Maddie Kaczmarczyk, Chatham Central and Logan Thompson, Northwood
Chatham County is so loaded with pitching talent that it’s hard to put one at the top.
Seaforth’s Annika Johansson is the 2026 CNR Player of the Year.
2
Grand slams in the Yardbirds’ rst victory at Braxton Field Chatham Senior American Legion
send Jayden Seawell home for Post 305’s rst run in the third inning.
Chatham is 6-4 in American Legion play as of June 11. Chatham County Yardbirds
Chatham County snapped a ve-game skid by beating Raleigh 15-4 in seven innings on June 9. The Yardbirds smashed three homers on the way to their second win and rst home win of the season. With Chatham trailing 4-0
in the bottom of the fourth inning, Landon Parker hit a grand slam to tie the game.
Following a go-ahead RBI single by Aidan McCandless in the next inning, Gabriel Ferrell then hit a three-run homer to extend the Yardbirds’ lead to four.
Chatham County led 11-4 in the seventh inning when Andrew Riedel landed another grand slam to end the game.
Ferrell nished the game 3 for 3. Nick Papciak, who started the game, and Dawson Wiggins combined for 13 strikeouts on the mound. Wiggins relieved Papciak after four innings and allowed no hits and no runs with no walks.
The Yardbirds fell to the Clayton Clovers 12-4 on June 11. Clayton’s Reed McLain went 2 for 3 with two runs and three RBIs. He hit a three-run homer in the bottom of the fourth
Moser picked as Chatham County Player of the Year
By Asheebo Rojas Chatham News & Record
Chatham Central junior Maddie Kaczmarczyk and Northwood freshman Logan Thompson earned co-Chatham County Pitcher of the Year honors. In 891⁄3 innings, Kaczmarczyk recorded a career-best 1.96 ERA with 139 strikeouts, 35 walks and 52 hits allowed. She went 9-2 in the circle. Thompson, the Four Rivers 3A/4A conference Pitcher of the Year, hit the ground running as she went 13-1. In 1271⁄3 innings, Thompson notched a 2.64 ERA,
See SOFTBALL, page B4
THE 2026 Chatham News & Record All-County baseball teams are here. The CNR and local baseball coaches combined to recognize Chatham County’s best high school players from the spring. This year’s eld includes the county’s ve North Carolina High School Athletic Association member schools and the Chatham Homeschool Thunder. Eighteen players were split amongst rst and second teams with two pitchers also being recognized per team. Coaches voted on Coach of the Year, Pitcher of the Year and Player of the Year superlatives. The CNR selected the rst and second All-County teams based on player recommendations and stats provided by the coaches.
Coach of the Year Bill Slaughter, Chatham Charter
It was a milestone season for Chatham Charter coach Bill Slaughter. He earned his 300th career win and led the Knights over the third-round hump in the state playo s as they made
their rst regional nal appearance. Chatham Charter went 22-6, winning its fourth straight regular season conference title. The Knights also claimed the conference tournament title before earning a No. 2 seed in the state playo s. Pitcher of the Year Finn Sullivan, Northwood
The Four Rivers Conference Pitcher of the Year now holds the same title for Chatham County.
Northwood junior Finn Sullivan dominated on the mound to help the Chargers win their rst conference title since 2017. In 60 innings, Sullivan logged a 1.00 ERA with 98 strikeouts, and he limited opponents to a .150 batting average. Along with all-conference honors, Sullivan’s season earned him a 3A All-State selection by the North Carolina Baseball Coaches Association.
Player of the Year
Landon Moser, Jordan-Matthews
A career season for Jordan-Matthews’ senior leader
Gabriel Ferrell
Chatham County out elder Gabriel Ferrell earns Athlete of the Week honors for the week of June 8. Ferrell went 3 for 3, including a three-run homer in the fth inning, to help the Yardbirds win their rst home game over Raleigh on June 9. He also stole a team-best two bases in the game.
Prior to this summer, Ferrell batted .255 with 12 hits, three doubles and eight RBIs in his freshman season at Montreat College.
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inning to give the Clovers a 7-4 lead. After a three-run fourth inning, Chatham failed to score in its last three chances.
Chatham County is 2-9 in ONSL play as of June 11.
Chatham Junior American Legion
Chatham started the week
with a 10-6 win over Wheatmore on June 8. Down 6-5 in the bottom of the sixth inning, Austin Morgan notched an RBI single to tie the game, and Channing Thomas gave Post 305 the lead with a two-RBI double. A sac y from Eliel Tomas scored another run, and Thomas scored on a wild pitch during Will Murchison’s plate appearance to give Chatham a four-run lead.
Graves, Rizvi earn NCHSAA awards
Ayers won the Homer Thompson Award for Region 5
By Asheebo Rojas Chatham News & Record
LOCAL ATHLETES and coaches were recognized at the North Carolina High School Athletic Association awards ceremony June 10.
Jordan-Matthews’ Cassidy Graves’ lifetime of perseverance earned her the Heart of a Champion Award.
Graves was met with adversity at birth. She was born with complete hearing loss and lived her early years in a home where drug and alcohol abuse were prevalent.
After intervention from social services, Chris and Tina Graves adopted her while she was still very young.
The Graves family helped her receive cochlear implants to improve her hearing. Chris Graves introduced Graves to sports,
starting with T-ball and recreational basketball. She developed a passion for athletics that carried through her high school years.
Graves played basketball, volleyball and softball for Jordan-Matthews. She graduated this spring.
She was one of eight recipients of the Heart of a Champion award.
Renee Rizvi, who played girls’ lacrosse at Seaforth, was one of four Tony Cullen Memorial Endowed Scholarship recipients. The scholarship rewards lacrosse athletes carrying a cumulative 3.75 unweighted GPA or better who have helped their teams reach the state quarter nals.
Rizvi will receive a one-time $2,500 grant-in-aid as she continues her academic and lacrosse careers at Ursinus College.
Meanwhile, Seaforth girls’ lacrosse coach Chantal Ayers earned the Homer Thompson “Eight Who Make a
Di erence” award for Region 5. Ayers advocated for multisport participation at Seaforth. She coached the school’s eld hockey team in their inaugural season, drawing a team of 33 players. Ayers then led Seaforth’s girls’ lacrosse team to a No. 4 seed and its rst state quarter nals appearance in the spring.
Prior to her time as a high school coach, Ayers was a standout eld hockey, ice hockey and lacrosse player. After playing all three at Kingswood Oxford School in West Hartford, Connecticut, she went on to play Division I eld hockey and lacrosse at Holy Cross. Ayers was named the Patriot League eld hockey Player of the Year in 1993.
Chatham Central alum Anissa Little also earned the Homer Thompson award for Region 4. Little retired from teaching in 2023, but she continues to excel as the girls’ basketball coach at Union Pines. This winter, Little led the Vikings to a 16-9 record and a state playo appearance. Outside of coaching, she pours into others as a speaker, singer and an ordained minister.
In her high school days, Little helped Chatham Central win the 1986 1A girls’ basketball state title. Her son Derrin is the Bears’ football coach.
Mason Hayes nished the game 2 for 3 with a run and three RBIs.
Chatham followed the win with back-to-back losses to North Moore (10-9) and Raleigh (5-4).
Against North Moore, Chatham scored four runs in the top of the sixth to take a 9-7 lead, but North Moore immediately responded with three runs to reclaim the advantage. Chatham left two run-
ners on base in its last chance.
Raleigh walked o its win over Chatham with a solo home run.
Chatham is 4-5 on the season as of June 11.
Circle City Stealth Junior Legion Post 283
Post 283 began its week with an 11-1 loss to Hamlet on June 9. Hamlet scored six runs in the top
of the fth inning to pull away.
Circle City bounced back with a 6-1 win over High Point on June 11.
Dylan Papuchis went 2 for 3 with a run and an RBI to lead Post 283 at the plate.
Zach Nemerovski earned the win after pitching 62⁄3 innings. He recorded ve strikeouts, ve walks, four hits and one run allowed.
Circle City is 2-5 on the season as of June 11.
PJ WARD-BROWN / CHATHAM NEWS & RECORD
Chatham County Yardbirds
PJ WARD-BROWN / CHATHAM NEWS & RECORD Cassidy Graves’ (3) perseverance earned her the Heart of a Champion award.
Locals earn lacrosse postseason awards
Four boys and two girls made the coaches’ region and state teams
By Asheebo Rojas Chatham News & Record
THE NORTH Carolina Lacrosse Coaches Association released its postseason awards earlier this month.
Local lacrosse players landed on the association’s All-Region and All-State lists, with some appearing on both. This season, all four local teams made the state playo s, and three featured athletes deemed among the best in the east or the state.
Here’s a rundown of Chatham County’s lacrosse All-Region and All-State athletes.
BOYS
Grayson Cox (Northwood, First Team 1-6A East All- Region, First Team 1-6A All-State)
Northwood mid elder Grayson Cox earned All-Region and All-State honors for his senior season. This is his second All-State selection. Cox was the Chargers’ o ensive engine, leading them in goals (78), shots on goal (225), assists (38) and ground balls (67). During the season, Cox set a new school record for total career points (306). He logged three games with 10 points in 2026.
New York City celebrates Knicks’ rst championship in 53 years
The team won in San Antonio, triggering a riotous night back east
By Michael R. Sisak and Shelby Lum The Associated Press
NEW YORK—It was bedlam on Broadway as the city cel-
ebrated the Knicks rst NBA championship in 53 years.
Outside Madison Square Garden, a crowd watching on a big screen roared as the Knicks rallied from a 16-point de cit to beat the Spurs in San Antonio in Game 5 of the NBA Finals.
Soon after, tens of thousands of people lled the streets and the rowdiest among them were clashing with police, smashing windshields, scaling sca olding, light poles and a statue, climbing into and atop school buses in Times Square and trying to hitch
a ride on a moving re truck. As the clock ticked to thenal buzzer on Saturday night, anxiety that had dominated the game’s rst three quarters gave way to euphoria. An orange-and-blue-tinted fever dream that started with the Knicks’ rst playo game two months ago ended in the third title in their 80-year history. Fireworks boomed over Brooklyn and Central Park. Fans ocked to Times Square and ran through the streets. Outside the Garden, they sang the team’s anthem: “Go New York, Go New York, Go!” Police o cers and ambulance workers shouted “Let’s go Knicks” over loudspeakers in Brooklyn. Strangers shook hands and hugged. In the Lincoln Tunnel, where people were riding buses back from the World Cup at MetLife Stadium in New Jersey, drivers honked
“I’m so overwhelmed. I’m so happy.”
Mathieu Ogno, Knicks fan from Long Island
their horns in celebration.
“I’m so overwhelmed. I’m so happy,” said Mathieu Ogno, of Long Island, who fought back tears as he soaked in the victory at a team-sanctioned watch party at Wollman Rink in Central Park.
Ogno wore the jersey of Knicks captain Jalen Brunson, whose 45 points propelled the Knicks to victory and him to the NBA Finals MVP. Brunson’s gritty determination and chip-on-his-shoulder style have made him a fan favorite, embodying New York’s working-class ethos.
James Flanagan (Northwood, Second Team 1-6A All-Region, Second Team 1-6A All-State)
Northwood goalkeeper James Flanagan earned All-Region and All-State honors for hisnal high school season. It is his third All-State selection. Flanagan made a career-high 237 saves on a career-best .624 save percentage. The future UMass Lowell River Hawk nished his time at Northwood with 845 saves and a 44-32 record in the net. He was a starter for four varsity seasons and didn’t miss a game.
Enzo El Yousef (Northwood, Third Team 1-6A All-Region)
Northwood defenseman Enzo El Yosef earned All-Region honors for the rst time. The senior received an All-Conference nod with 41 ground balls, reaching 190 career ground balls across four varsity seasons.
Ivan Grimes (Seaforth, Honorable Mention East 1-6A All-Region)
Seaforth’s Ivan Grimes earned honorable mention All-Region honors. This is his third All-Region selection (second time as honorable mention). After three seasons of being a standout attack, Grimes took over goalkeeping duties for the Hawks this year. He re -
The Knicks’ championship — 19,392 days since their last — capped an extraordinary postseason for a franchise that hadn’t been to the NBA Finals since losing to the Spurs in 1999.
Since April 23, the team has won 15 of 16 games, with its lone loss coming Monday in Game 3. Their last title, in 1973, was also won on the road in a Game 5. Their rst, in 1970, was won at home in a Game 7 thriller. Neither was celebrated with a parade.
“I’m happy to see my Knicks nally make it over the hump,” said Shawn Muoneke, 26. “I’ve seen them knock on the door. They were knocking on the door the past few years. But theynally made it over the hump, and I’m so happy to see it and I’m so happy I’m in the city to experience it.”
Muoneke, born a year after the Knicks’ last trip to the NBA Finals, started rooting for them when he was 10. He drove from Maryland to be in the city for Game 5 at the team’s Central Park watch party.
“I saw the ups, the downs and I watched the team come back up, and I was so happy to see
All-State selections for James Flanagan
corded 93 saves with a .541 save percentage. Grimes will continue his lacrosse career at North Greenville. He nished his high school years with 158 goals, 124 assists and 145 ground balls. GIRLS
Natalie Boecke (Seaforth, Second Team East All Region, Third Team All State)
Seaforth mid elder Natalie Boecke had an All-State worthy season for the second time. The junior led Hawks in goals (75), landing 4.7 scores per game. She scored at least ve goals in eight games this year. Boecke also logged 46 ground balls.
Evie Kamen (Seaforth, Honorable Mention East All-Region)
Seaforth goalkeeper Evie Kamen earned honorable mention All-Region honors. It is her rst All-Region selection. Kamen recorded a career-high 130 saves on a .415 save percentage. She logged at least 10 saves in ve games.
them nally reach the highest echelon of stardom as a team,” Muoneke said.
After the Knicks’ win, he said, the vibes in the city “are the highest they’ve ever been.”
President Donald Trump, a longtime Knicks fan who attended Game 3 at the Garden with Dolan, congratulated the team in a post on his Truth Social platform.
“What a year it has been but, even more so, what incredible playo wins we have all witnessed, especially the last four — Maybe the greatest in the history of basketball,” Trump wrote.
With Brunson’s clutch performance, he added, “a superstar was born.”
After several dozen arrests throughout the playo s and violence after Games 3 and 4 in New York that left o cers injured and a teen in a coma, police girded for unrest as Saturday bled into Sunday.
“As we celebrate, be responsible, look out for one another, stay safe, be smart, and make this a night that re ects the very best of our city,” Mayor Zohran Mamdani said on social media.
“Let’s go Knicks.”
GENE GALIN FOR CHATHAM NEWS & RECORD
Northwood’s Grayson Cox earned All-State honors for the second time.
Hamlin wins NASCAR Cup Series race at Pocono for third straight victory
The retiring great is on the longest winning streak of his career
The Associated Press LONG POND, Pa. — With every Denny Hamlin victory, speculation about his future grows and talks of retirement are questioned. He signed a two-year extension with Joe Gibbs Racing that runs through 2027 and he insists it will be his last season. At 45, he’s the oldest full-time Cup Series driver in the eld, but he can’t stop winning.
Hamlin won the NASCAR Cup Series race at Pocono Raceway for his third consecutive victory and passed the late Kyle Busch for sole possession of ninth place on the all-time wins list.
His recent success — it is his
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fourth win of the season, not including the nonpoints All-Star race — has renewed talk that Hamlin should reconsider retirement when his deal with Gibbs expires.
“I think for Denny, he wants to leave on top, right? He doesn’t want to leave where it was one year too long,” said JGR co-owner Heather Gibbs.
“At this rate, what he’s producing out there, it’s not something you would not consider.
We want the best drivers in our cars. Our teams work to put the best cars on track.
“If it works out and he’s still producing and he wants to, it’s a huge commitment for him, he’s got his own team that he kind of wants to run. It’s hard when you dangle checkered ags in front of him, too. He so far has put a stop to such talk despite performing at the highest level of his long career.”
Hamlin, who wasn’t even sure he wanted to return to honor this two-year extension after losing the championship in last November’s season nale and then the December death of his father in a house re, understands he’s performing at a high level.
But as far as continuing past 2027? It’s not yet on his radar despite how strong he’s been on the track.
“I would certainly say it’s the best we’ve been,” Hamlin said. “We come to the racetrack every week knowing we got a great shot to win. The team’s doing an amazing job giving me exactly what I need in the car every single week. That’s why we’re winning.”
The win comes nearly 20 years to the date after his rst career victory, which was at Pocono on June 11, 2006. He swept the races at the
Pennsylvania track that year. Hamlin said Pocono has become “like a second home for me.”
“First win here, so special here. Pocono has mastered the fan experience from the crowd in the stands to the in eld here,” Hamlin said. “Just so happy for this whole Joe Gibbs Racing team. The pit crew is awless right now. We got it all going.”
Despite 64 career victories, this marks the rst time in his career that Hamlin has won three consecutive races.
The feat tied Richard Petty, who did it in 1966 and 1967, Bobby Allison in 1971 and Darrell Waltrip in 1981.
He also took a jab at NASCAR, noting that it was technically his ninth victory at Pocono, but he was stripped of the victory in 2022 when NASCAR said he and Busch’s car’s failed postrace inspection.
“They aren’t getting that checkered ag back,” Hamlin said.
Tyler Reddick nished second as Toyota took the top two spots. Hamlin is now 19 points behind Reddick in the Cup Series standings.
“Everyone is racing hard for track position. Some of it’s just bad luck, I guess, where you catch cars,” Reddick said. “It’s a bummer. I mean, if the 11 wasn’t the winner, you could consider this a good day. I know we nished second. Scoring the points we did just didn’t get the job done.”
Toyota drivers have won 10 of 16 races this season, and JGR has accounted for ve of them.
William Byron nished third.
“I think this is probably the rst time in four months that I’ve been able to drive the car this way, just be able to make moves and have the balance stay with me,” Byron said.
Byron was followed by John Hunter Nemechek in fourth. Nemechek led 42 laps — double what he’s led the last two years. Kyle Larson was fth and Erik Jones sixth as Toyota drivers took four of the top six spots.
Landon Moser is the CNR Player of the Year after recording career-highs in batting average (.508, second-best in 4A), runs (21), hits (31), RBIs (20), doubles (15) and home runs (4). He also led the Jets on the mound with 49 strikeouts and a 5.61 ERA in 382⁄3 innings. At catcher, Moser nished the year with a .947 elding percentage and 76 put outs.
FIRST TEAM
Westley Brower, Chatham
Central: .468 avg, 20 R, 37 H, 30 RBI, 11 2B, 4 SB Ryder Murphy, Chatham
Charter: .482 avg, 40 R, 41 H, 27 RBI, 4 2B, 2 3B, 1 HR, 19 SB Garrison Clark, Chatham
Charter: .429 avg, 15 R, 33 H, 23 RBI, 7 2B, 3 3B, 3 SB/ 0.49 ERA, 21 H, 13 BB, 94 K
Jace Young, Chatham Charter: .418 avg, 12 R, 33 H, 37 RBI, 11 2B, 4 3B, 2 HR, 8 SB Jax Young, Chatham Charter: .478 avg, 18 R, 33 H, 30 RBI, 5 2B, 3 3B, 4 SB / 1.75 ERA, 21 H, 18 BB, 62 K
Landon Moser, Jordan-Matthews: .508 avg, 21 R, 31 H, 20 RBI, 15 2B, 1 3B, 4 HR, 10 SB/ 5.61 ERA, 41 H, 18 BB, 49 K Finn Sullivan, Northwood: .380 avg, 27 H, 27 RBI, 5 2B, 2 3B, 2 HR, 7 SB/ 1.00 ERA, 98 K Riley D’Angelo, Northwood: .455 avg, 24 R, 33 H, 16 RBI, 8 2B, 1 3B, 2 HR, 16 SB/ 2.50 ERA, 70 K
Jaedyn Rader, Seaforth: .432 avg, 25 R, 38 H, 19 RBI, 7 2B, 3 3B, 12 SB/ 1.72 ERA, 58 H, 21 BB, 81 K
Pitchers
Finn Sullivan, Northwood Garrison Clark, Chatham Charter
SECOND TEAM
Brett Phillips, Chatham Central: .352 avg, 29 R, 25 H, 18 RBI, 8 2B, 1 3B, 2 HR, 1 SB/ 2.06 ERA, 61 K Carson Jackson, Chatham Central: .362 avg, 22 R, 29 H, 22 RBI, 12 2B, 4 SB Tyner Williams, Chatham Charter: .430 avg, 26 R, 34 H, 21 RBI, 8 2B, 5 3B, 18 SB Westin Phillips, Chatham Charter: .409 avg, 39 R, 36 H, 21 RBI, 8 2B, 1 3B, 16 SB
JordanMatthews’ Landon Moser is the 2026 Chatham County Player of the Year.
SOFTBALL from page B1 earned him the county’s top honor.
176 strikeouts, 33 walks and 135 hits allowed.
Player of the Year Annika Johansson, Seaforth Chatham County’s most dangerous hitter now holds the title as its best player. Seaforth junior Annika Johansson powered the Hawks’ o ense with a .658 batting average, 45 runs, 50 hits and 24 RBIs. She showed consistent power, logging 13 doubles, 11 triples (one shy of the NCHSAA state record) and three home runs on the year. Her batting average is also in the top 50 in NCHSAA history.
FIRST TEAM
Jayden Seawell, Chatham
Thunder: .358 avg, 22 R, 24 H, 19 RBI, 2 2B, 2 3B, 14 SB/ 2.14 ERA, 29 H, 12 BB, 42 K
Dylan Perry, Northwood: .391 avg, 21 R, 29 H, 12 RBI, 7 2B, 2 3B, 12 SB
Bauer Bowling, Seaforth: .229 avg, 24 R, 19 H, 23 RBI, 5 2B, 2 3B, 2 HR, 17 SB Easton Sykes, Seaforth: .356 avg, 17 R, 31 H, 17 RBI, 7 2B, 4 SB Bryce Huneycutt, Seaforth: .348 avg, 16 R, 31 H, 24 RBI, 3 2B, 2 3B, 10 SB
Pitchers
Jaedyn Rader, Seaforth Brett Phillips, Chatham Central
Maddie Kaczmarczyk, Chatham Central: .542 avg, 31 R, 45 H, 36 RBI, 11 2B, 3 HR, 8 SB/ 1.96 ERA, 52 H, 35 BB, 139 K Sallie Oldham, Chatham Central: .489 avg, 45 R, 43 H, 36 RBI, 16 2B, 7 3B, 2 HR, 15 SB Lillie Poe, Chatham Central: .542 avg, 36 R, 44 H, 36 RBI, 13 2B, 5 3B, 3 HR, 5 SB Allie McLeod, Chatham Charter: .567 avg, 41 R, 38 H, 22 RBI, 9 2B, 6 3B, 1 HR, 16 SB/ 3.98 ERA, 65 H, 17 BB, 54 K) Kynzie Jordan – Chatham Charter (.561 avg, 27 R, 37 H, 23 RBI, 9 2B, 3 3B, 8 SB/ 3.14 ERA, 69 H, 30 BB, 43 K) Makenly Stanley, Chatham Charter: .593 avg, 13 R, 35 H, 22 RBI, 12 2B, 2 3B, 1 SB Ruby Parks, Northwood: .441 avg, 41 R, 30 H, 18 RBI, 4 2B, 49 SB Annika Johansson, Sea-
forth: .658 avg, 45 R, 50 H, 24 RBI, 13 2B, 11 3B, 3 HR, 6 SB Emma Grace Hill, Seaforth: .573 avg, 16 R, 43 H, 41 RBI, 6 2B, 4 3B, 10 HR, 2 SB/ 2.29 ERA, .175 opponent BA, 57 BB, 176 K Pitchers
Maddie Kaczmarczyk, Chatham Central Logan Thompson, Northwood
SECOND TEAM
Chloe Brewer, Chatham Central: .402 avg, 35 R, 35 H, 18 RBI, 6 2B, 1 3B, 2 HR, 19 SB Addison Goldston, Chatham Central: .500 avg, 10 R, 22 H, 20 RBI, 5 2B, 3 HR, 7 SB Maeson Smith, Chatham Central: .385 avg, 37 R, 30 H, 14 RBI, 6 2B, 1 3B, 12 SB Ella Parks, Jordan-Matthews: .417 avg, 19 R, 30 H, 29 RBI, 14 2B Kelis Watson, Northwood: .394 avg, 17 R, 26 H, 21 RBI, 3 2B, 1 3B, 2 HR, 13 SB Logan Thompson, Northwood: .316 avg, 17 R, 25 H, 26 RBI, 6 2B, 1 3B, 6 SB/ 2.64 ERA, 135 H, 33 BB, 176 K Allison Bryant, Northwood: .360 avg, 18 R, 27 H, 24 RBI, 4 2B, 1 HR, 3 SB Alyssa Harris, Seaforth: .403 avg, 16 R, 25 H, 20 RBI, 5 2B, 5 HR, 3 SB Blair Hill, Seaforth: .425 avg, 27 R, 31 H, 17 RBI, 2 2B, 2 3B, 1 HR, 4 SB Pitchers
Emma Grace Hill, Seaforth Lilli Hicks, Jordan-Matthews: 1261⁄3 IP, 4.10 ERA, 126 H, 69 BB, 131 K
LEE MOODY FOR CHATHAM NEWS & RECORD
DERIK HAMILTON / AP PHOTO
Denny Hamlin crosses the nish line to win the NASCAR Cup Series race at Pocono.
SIDELINE REPORT
NFL
49ers mourn sudden death of former All-Pro linebacker Smith at 36
San Francisco
Aldon Smith, a former All-Pro linebacker for the San Francisco 49ers whose playing career was sidetracked by legal issues, died at 36. The team did not disclose a cause of death. The 49ers drafted Smith out of Missouri with the seventh overall pick in the 2011 draft. He had 33.5 sacks through his rst two seasons, the most by any player in their rst two seasons. Smith was rst suspended with the 49ers in 2014 and was later released by the team. He also played for the Raiders and the Dallas Cowboys
MLB Skubal returns from elbow surgery, Ramírez breaks hand in Guardians’ win over Tigers
Cleveland
Tarik Skubal was tagged for a two-run homer in the two-time reigning Cy Young winner’s return from elbow surgery. Skubal threw 80 pitches in his rst start since April 29. The left-hander had a loose body removed from his elbow during an innovative surgical procedure on May 6, allowing Skubal to come back early. The win came at a steep price for Guardians as star third baseman José Ramírez su ered a broken bone in his left hand on a swing. Cleveland’s top player will be out inde nitely.
NHL Lightning’s Kucherov wins Hart Trophy as NHL MVP for second time New York Nikita Kucherov of the Tampa Bay Lightning won the Hart Trophy as NHL MVP. It’s the second such honor of his career, also winning in 2019. Kucherov led the league with 1.71 points a game and with 130 was second to only Edmonton’s Connor McDavid, who had 138. McDavid was a close second by 10 points in voting by members of the Professional Hockey Writers Association. Colorado’s Nathan MacKinnon was third and San Jose’s Macklin Celebrini fourth. Kucherov had 42 more points than his next- closest teammate.
GOLF
Report: Mickelson kicked out of San Diego club for inappropriate contact with female employee Golf Digest reports Phil Mickelson has been kicked out of a San Diego golf club for inappropriate contact with a female employee. Golf Digest cited multiple sources as saying Mickelson is no longer welcome at The Farms Golf Club, where the six-time major champion has practiced and played for two decades. A spokesperson for Mickelson calls it a misunderstanding that has been cleared up. Mickelson has been out of the public eye for all but one LIV Golf event this year as he deals with an undisclosed serious family health matter.
Walk this way: A’s slugger Kurtz happy to take free pass to help team
Pitchers are cautious with the second-year Wake Forest product
By Mark Anderson The Associated Press
LAS VEGAS — Not many second-year players receive this kind of respect from opposing pitchers, but it doesn’t take long to realize Athletics rst baseman Nick Kurtz is already one of baseball’s top sluggers.
And thus the Barry Bonds treatment, or at least something close to it, when pitchers don’t give Kurtz much to hit, willing to live with having him walk to rst than jog around the bases.
His 64 walks through last week led the major leagues and were one more than he had in the 117 games last season when he was the unanimous AL Rookie of the Year. Pitchers also have intentionally walked Kurtz eight times, second only to the nine by Houston’s Yordan Alvarez, the AL home run leader.
And the power is still there for Kurtz, who has 15 home runs this season. While not on pace to match the 36 he hit last year, his 49 RBIs lead the majors as does his .438 on-base percentage.
Most impressively, Kurtz earlier this season tied Mark McGwire’s 30-year-old club record of 48 consecutive games reaching base.
“He’s the most advanced hitter at this age that I’ve been around,” A’s manager Mark Kotsay said of the 23-year- old slugger. “He never goes to search for hits. He waits for pitches that he feels good about swinging at. Knowing the strike zone as well as he does is pretty remarkable.”
This approach by opposing pitchers isn’t new to Kurtz, who began to watch other teams use similar strategies when he starred at Wake Forest.
“I think that’s where I started learning how to do it and just taking the walks,” Kurtz
said. “It’s not always easy because you always want to stay aggressive when you do get that pitch. If you’re not aggressive, you will miss it.”
Kurtz is among the talented young players the A’s are showcasing for their planned move to Las Vegas in 2028. They are at Las Vegas Ballpark, home to the organization’s Triple-A afliate, this week and took two of three against Milwaukee with their 4-3 win on Wednesday night. Colorado visits for a three-game series beginning Friday.
Kurtz gave Las Vegas fans plenty to look forward to by hitting two homers in Monday’s 15-14, 12-inning loss to the Brewers and then hit another one the following night in a 7-5 victory. Kurtz also walked at least once in each game in the series and four times overall. He has reached base that way in eight of nine games this month.
“You never see it, somebody his age doing what he’s doing,” A’s catcher Shea Langeliers said. “Unbelievably rare. Just to be able to watch him do his
“You always want to stay aggressive when you do get that pitch. If you’re not aggressive, you will miss it.”
thing and not really even blossom. It was kind of who he already was when he got to the league, so it’s really cool. Obviously, we’re really lucky to be his teammates and not calling pitches against him.”
It didn’t take long for Kurtz to shoot through the Athletics’ system. They drafted him fourth overall in June 2024, and by the following year, he played 20 games in Las Vegas and then was promoted to the A’s, where he hasn’t looked back.
Kurtz not only met but likely exceeded expectations. His true breakout game occurred last July 25 at Houston when he went 6 for 6 with four homers, eight RBIs, six
runs and a record-tying 19 total bases.
There were discussions about whether it was the greatest performance in MLB history. That is until Shohei Ohtani homered three times, had 12 total bases and from the mound struck out 10 over six shutout innings in an NL Championship Series game.
Kurtz doesn’t have the spotlight on him like the Los Angeles Dodgers’ two-way superstar — what MLB player does? — and playing most of his home games in a Triple-A park in West Sacramento, California, doesn’t generate much exposure.
But other pitchers are more than aware of him, and Kurtz will continue to try to make the most of his opportunities whenever they come.
The best outcome often is simply taking the walk to rst.
“I’m totally ne if you want to pitch around me,” Kurtz said. “You still got other guys in the lineup who can do a whole of hitting, so it makes it really easy for me to just take my walks and score some runs.”
Judge dismisses lawsuit by 31 former NC State athletes alleging abuse by ex-head trainer
Dismissal came due to procedural reasons, but players plan to appeal
By Aaron Beard The Associated Press
RALEIGH — A state judge has dismissed a lawsuit led by 31 former NC State male athletes alleging sexual abuse under the guise of treatment and harassment by the Wolfpack’s former director of sports medicine.
In orders led Tuesday, Wake County Superior Court Judge Bryan Collins dismissed claims against Robert M. Murphy Jr., as well as multiple NC State athletics o cials tied to their oversight rules, citing procedural reasons.
The lawsuit was led in February in state court in a case that began with a federal lawsuit from a single athlete led in 2022. That complaint alleged years of misconduct by Murphy, including improper touching of the genitals during massages and intrusive observation while collecting urine samples during drug testing.
Collins granted the motion seeking a dismissal from Murphy’s attorneys, ruling that the statute of limitations had expired in claims dating back as early as 2013. Collins also dismissed claims against multiple athletics o cials such as former athletic director Debbie Yow and current AD Boo Corrigan on jurisdictional grounds. His ruling stated any complaint should go through the North Carolina Industrial Commis-
NC State.
sion — a state agency that deals with workplace matters with NC State as a public university — rather than civil court.
Jared Hammett, a Raleigh-based attorney representing Murphy, issued a statement to The Associated Press describing his client as “someone who dedicated his life to working with athletes” while referring to a “rush to judgment” that can impact “real people’s lives.”
“The truth is nothing happened but a man’s career being ruined for money,” Hammett said. “As a lawyer I am just glad that we have been able to help another person who needed support and found himself needing that defense.”
Durham-based attorney
Kerry Sutton, who has represented players going back to the original case, said the athletes plan to appeal.
“This dismissal has nothing at all to do with Mr. Murphy’s sexual abuse of these 31 former student-athletes,” Sutton said in a statement to the AP.
“It was decided based only on questions of legal procedure. We plan to appeal this outcome and in coming days will be adding new claims against NCSU for men who have recently come forward.”
All but two of the 31 athletes are “John Doe” plainti s to protect anonymity, while two former men’s soccer players are named.
One is Benjamin Locke, who led the original complaint in August 2022. The other is one
of two athletes who led their own federal lawsuits in February 2023 and April 2023. The AP typically doesn’t identify those who say they have been sexually assaulted or abused unless the person has spoken publicly about it, which Locke has done.
Sutton, who has represented plainti s in each lawsuit, led to dismiss those pending Title IX lawsuits before moving the case to state-level jurisdiction in September 2025. Murphy, at NC State from 2012-22, was among nine defendants originally named individually. Others were school o cials accused of negligence in oversight roles, saying concerns about Murphy’s conduct reached senior levels of the athletic department but the school’s response was insu cient.
Sutton and co-counsel Robert O. Jenkins led in April to dismiss former NC State chancellor Randy Woodson as a defendant.
“NC State does not condone sexual misconduct of any kind,” the school said in a statement Tuesday evening.
“The health and safety of our students and student-athletes is paramount to the university and our athletic programs.
“We agree with the court’s analysis and the decision that the law supports dismissal of the plainti s’ claims in this case. We recognize the immense courage it takes for someone to come forward, and our hearts go out to any student or student-athlete who has been impacted by distressing experiences.”
KARA DURRETTE / AP PHOTO
Flags y above at the Reynolds Coliseum on the campus of
Nick Kurtz
CAROLINE BREHMAN / AP PHOTO
The Athletics’ Nick Kurtz rounds the bases after hitting a solo home run.
this week in history
Napoleon defeated at Waterloo, Rosenbergs executed for espionage, Nazis invade Soviet Union
The Associated Press
JUNE 18
1778: American forces entered Philadelphia after the British withdrew during the Revolutionary War.
1812: The War of 1812 began as the U.S. Congress approved, and President James Madison signed, a declaration of war against Britain.
1815: Napoleon Bonaparte was defeated in the Battle of Waterloo as British and Prussian troops routed the French Imperial Army in Belgium.
JUNE 19
1865: Union troops arrived in Galveston with news that the Civil War was over and that all remaining enslaved people in Texas were free — an event now celebrated as Juneteenth.
1910: The rst Father’s Day in the United States was celebrated in Spokane. (President Richard Nixon made Father’s Day a federally recognized annual observance in 1972.)
1953: Julius Rosenberg, 35, and his wife, Ethel Rosenberg, 37, who were convicted of conspiring to pass U.S. atomic secrets to the Soviet Union, were executed at Sing Sing Prison in Ossining, New York. They were the rst American civilians executed for espionage.
JUNE 20
1837: Queen Victoria acceded to the British throne following the death of her uncle, King William IV.
1947: Gangster Benjamin “Bugsy” Siegel was shot to death
at the Beverly Hills, California, home of his girlfriend, Virginia Hill, likely on the orders of mob associates.
1967: Boxer Muhammad Ali was convicted in Houston of violating Selective Service laws by refusing to be drafted and was sentenced to ve years in prison. (Ali’s conviction was later overturned by the U.S. Supreme Court.)
JUNE 21
1788: The United States Constitution went into e ect as New Hampshire became the required ninth state to ratify it.
1834: Cyrus Hall McCormick received a patent for his mechanical reaper.
1893: The rst Ferris Wheel opened to the public at the Chicago World’s Fair.
1964: Civil rights activists James Chaney, Andrew Goodman and Michael Schwerner were killed in Neshoba County, Mississippi.
JUNE 22
1815: Napoleon Bonaparte abdicated for a second time as emperor of the French.
1938: In a rematch that carried both geopolitical signi cance and symbolism for black Americans, Joe Louis knocked out Max Schmeling in 2 minutes, 4 seconds to retain the heavyweight title before 70,000 spectators at New York’s Yankee Stadium.
1941: Operation Barbarossa began as Nazi Germany launched its massive invasion of the Soviet Union, a campaign that ultimately proved pivotal to the Allied victory in World War II.
JUNE 23
1888: Abolitionist Frederick Douglass received one vote from the Kentucky delegation at the Republican National Convention in Chicago, becoming the rst black candidate to have his name placed in nomination for U.S. president.
1931: Aviators Wiley Post and Harold Gatty took o from Roosevelt Field in New York on an around-the-world ight that lasted eight days and 15 hours.
1956: Gamal Abdel Nasser was elected president of Egypt.
JUNE 24
1509: Henry VIII was crowned king of England, and his wife, Catherine of Aragon, was crowned queen consort. 1812: French Emperor Napoleon Bonaparte and his Grande Armée began crossing the Niemen River, launching the invasion of Russia.
1983: The space shuttle Challenger, carrying America’s rst woman in space, Sally Ride, landed safely at Edwards Air Force Base in California.
AP PHOTO
The rst Ferris wheel, which carried 1,400 passengers at 250 feet tall, made its debut on June 21, 1893, at the World’s Columbian Exposition in Chicago.
GEORGE KENDALL WARREN VIA WIKIPEDIA
Napoleon Bonaparte was defeated at the Battle of Waterloo on June 18, 1815.
Olivier honored with plaque at childhood home in London
The stage and screen icon died in 1989 at age 82
By Hilary Fox and Pan Pylas The Associated Press
LONDON — The late Lau-
rence Olivier, arguably Britain’s greatest ever stage actor, was honored last Wednesday with a blue plaque attached to the central London property where he lived as a child.
Unveiled by Ian McKellen, the plaque at 22 Lupus Street in Pimlico marks the place where Olivier began acting as a child.
“For those of us who were lucky enough to have seen him in the theater, it’s of course quite right that because he was the leader of our profession for so many years, it’s appropriate that this should be put up,” McKellen told The Associated Press after the event. “Actors go out of fashion very quickly, but I’ve a feeling that this man’s name will never be forgotten, and perhaps because of this plaque.” Olivier lived at Lupus Street
between the ages of 6 and 11.
While there, he reportedly transformed a wooden box and blue curtains into a makeshift stage where he sang, danced, and acted for hours at a time.
Olivier was venerated as a Shakespearean actor, playing many iconic protagonists in London including Hamlet, Henry V, Macbeth and, controversially, Othello. For his role
Jumpsuits, wigs, dance moves; young boys, teens keep Elvis’ legacy alive
The “king of rock and roll” died in 1977 at age 42
By Sophie Bates The Associated Press
TUPELO, Miss.— Nearly 50 years after Elvis Presley ‘s death, a gaggle of exuberant young boys and teens shook up his hometown, intent on keeping the king’s legacy alive for a new generation.
Ranging in age from seven to 17, some in jeweled jumpsuits, they took the stage at the Tupelo Elvis Festival’s youth tribute artist competition last week.
In contrast to their peers, who may never have heard of Elvis, the competitors have dedicated an enormous amount of time and energy to embodying the king’s singing voice, mannerisms and style.
They are careful to specify they are Elvis tribute artists. Unlike impersonators, who pretend to be Elvis and sometimes present a characterized version of the king, tribute artists strive for authenticity. Some wore costumes created by B&K Enterprises Costume Co., a company licensed to recreate Elvis’ out ts and provide costumes for Elvis movies, musicals and TV shows.
“We’re not trying to be him,” said Tucker Gladden, 17, from Madison, Mississippi. “We want to recreate the experience as much as we can for people that maybe didn’t get to see Elvis in their lifetime.”
As for their fascination with a long-dead musician, several of the tribute artists credited the 2022 “Elvis” movie with sparking their interest. A couple said their admiration began after discovering they were dis-
tantly related to Elvis. Others said it was Elvis’ faith and charity that inspired them. Some said they had been performing Elvis songs since they were 3 years old.
For 16-year-old Ayden Maloy
as Hamlet, Olivier won his only Academy Award for best actor in 1949. Other famous screen roles include ones in “Rebecca,” “Wuthering Heights”,” “Marathon Man” and “Sleuth.”
London owes much to Olivier, who died at age 82 in 1989.
He campaigned for the establishment of the National Theatre. The building that now houses the theatre o cially opened in 1976 and its largest auditorium is named after Olivier.
“Laurence Olivier transformed British theater and lm through the brilliance, range and intensity of his performances,” said English Heritage senior historian Howard Spencer. “The plaque celebrates the formative home where one of Britain’s greatest cultural gures rst found his voice as an actor.”
The Olivier Awards, which celebrate London’s theater scene, were named in his honor.
The London blue plaque program began more than 150 years ago. The plaques commemorate notable people who made London their home at some point. There are more than 900 o cial plaques in the capital.
The rst plaque commemorated the poet Lord Byron in 1867, but the house was later demolished. The oldest surviving plaque commemorates France’s nal emperor, Napoleon III.
from Logansport, Indiana, it was the way Elvis’ music helped him during a di cult time in his life and motivated him to begin performing as an Elvis tribute artist three years ago.
“I just broke down in tears because it healed me,” Maloy said. “I think Elvis is the healer.”
In an afternoon of dazzling out ts and daring dance moves, the performers got the audience clapping, singing and swaying along to their Elvis covers. Ultimately, RJ Hursey, a 14-year- old from Bloomington, Illinois, won the competition. Hursey, who inherited his love of Elvis from his grandfather, said he practices his tributes every day, and when he’s too sick to sing, he researches. He performs at nursing homes and assisted living facilities and hopes to someday star in a remake of an Elvis movie.
“It’s humbling,” Hursey said. “It makes you feel good because we know that he died thinking he’d be forgotten, and we’re just so glad he’s still around.”
While in Tupelo, the tribute artists also toured the Elvis Presley Birthplace, a sprawling complex that includes the home where Elvis was born and the church where he was rst exposed to Southern gospel music.
“It feels so surreal to pay tribute to Elvis in his hometown,” said 15-year-old Charles Session from Morrilton, Arkansas. “I hope that he’s looking down and smiling at all these young performers.”
SOPHIE BATES / AP PHOTO
Ayden Maloy, 16, performs at the Tupelo Elvis Festival’s youth tribute artists competition on June 4 in Tupelo, Mississippi.
SCOTT A GARFITT / INVISION / AP PHOTO
Ian McKellen speaks at the unveiling of a blue plaque honoring late legendary actor Laurence Olivier in London on June 10.
famous birthdays this week
Anne Murray turns 81, Kathleen Turner is 72, Cyndi Lauper turns 73, Glenn Danzig is 71
The Associated Press
THESE CELEBRITIES have birthdays this week.
JUNE 18
Musician Paul McCartney is 84. Actor Carol Kane is 74. Actor Isabella Rossellini is 74. Singer Alison Moyet is 65. Football Hall of Famer Bruce Smith is 63. Hockey Hall of Famer Martin St. Louis is 51.
JUNE 19
Hall of Fame auto racer Shirley Muldowney is 86. Nobel Peace Prize laureate Aung San Suu Kyi is 81. Author Tobias Wol is 81. Author Salman Rushdie is 79. Actor Phylicia Rashad is 78. Rock singer Ann Wilson (Heart) is 76. Actor Kathleen Turner is 72. Singer-choreographer-TV personality Paula Abdul is 64.
JUNE 20
Filmmaker Stephen Frears is 85. Singer Anne Murray is 81. TV personality Bob Vila is 80. Musician Lionel Richie is 77. Actor John Goodman is 74. Rock bassist John Taylor (Duran Duran) is 66. Actor Nicole Kidman is 59.
JUNE 21
Musician Ray Davies (The Kinks) is 82. Actor Meredith Baxter is 79. Nobel Peace Prize laureate Shirin Ebadi is 79. Actor Michael Gross is 79. Author Ian McEwan is 78. Musician Nils Lofgren is 75. Actor Juliette Lewis is 53. Britain’s Prince William is 44.
JUNE 22
Actor Klaus Maria Brandauer is 83. Musician-producer Peter Asher (Peter and Gordon) is 82. Musician-producer Todd Rundgren is 78. Actor Meryl Streep is 77. Singer-songwriter Cyndi Lauper is 73. Actor Bruce Campbell is 68. Environmental activist Erin Brockovich is 66.
JUNE 23
Author Richard Bach is 90.
Computer scientist Vint Cerf is 83. Actor Bryan Brown is 79. Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas is 78. Musician Glenn Danzig is 71. Actor Frances McDormand is 69. Actor Selma Blair is 54.
JUNE 24
Author Anita Desai is 89. Cinematographer Vittorio Storaro is 86. Actor Michele Lee is 84. Actor-director Georg Stanford Brown is 83. Musician Mick Fleetwood is 79. Actor Peter Weller is 79. Musician Curt Smith (Tears for Fears) is 65. Singer Hope Sandoval (Mazzy Star) is 60.
SCOTT A GARFITT / INVISION / AP PHOTO
Actor Meryl Streep turns 77 on Monday.
JOEL C RYAN / INVISION / AP PHOTO Beatles founding member Paul McCartney turns 84 on Thursday.
J. SCOTT APPLEWHITE / AP PHOTO
Supreme Court Associate Justice Clarence Thomas turns 78 on Tuesday.
the stream
‘Project Hail Mary,’ Colin Farrell in ‘Sugar,’
“Million Dollar Nannies” lands on Hulu
By Lindsey Bahr
The Associated Press
THE STREAMING debut of “Project Hail Mary” and Myles Smith’s debut album 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, as selected by The Associated Press’ entertainment journalists: Colin Farrell plays an alien on Earth in “Sugar,” a Square Enix game that evokes “Chrono Trigger” and “Released At Last,” a collaboration between Big Freedia and the late artist Sophie.
MOVIES TO STREAM
“Project Hail Mary,” one of the biggest hits of the rst half of the movie year, begins streaming Thursday. Phil Lord and Chris Miller’s sci- adventure stars Ryan Gosling as Ryland Grace, a science teacher who wakes up on a ship sent into space on a mission to save dying stars. Sandra Hüller co-stars, as does an alien named Rocky played by puppeteer James Ortiz. In her review, AP Film Writer Lindsey Bahr called it “a clever, sincere, most-ages crowd-pleaser that’s full of life, energy and a love of science.”
In “How to Make a Killing” (Friday, HBO Max), Glen Powell stars as a working-class man who sets out to murderously reclaim his inheritance. The lm, written and directed by John Patton Ford (“Emily the Criminal”), is inspired by the great Alec Guinness Ealing comedy “Kind Heart and Coronets.” But such tonal deftness is lacking, I wrote in my review, in “a disappointingly at almost-remake that has neither the biting farce nor the chilling darkness to match its black-comedy ambitions.”
“Voicemails for Isabelle”
Myles Smith
hopes to separate from the pack of a long line of Net ix rom-coms. In writer-director Leah McKendrick’s lm, Zoey Deutch stars a woman grieving her sister’s death who, to
cope, leaves voicemails on her phone. When that number is reassigned to Austin real estate agent (Nick Robinson), the two are drawn together. It debuts Friday.
“Project Hail Mary” is a clever, sincere, most-ages crowd-pleaser that’s full of life, energy and a love of science.
MUSIC TO STREAM
On Friday, Myles Smith will release his debut album, “My Mess, My Heart, My Life.” It is a bit hard to believe because the English singer-songwriter already has a three-times platinum single under his belt. His 2024 song “Stargazing” was a folk-pop megahit from a once-unknown performer. And on his rst full-length album, he aims to keep up the momentum.
The music world lost a nascent pop hero in 2021 when Sophie, the Grammy-nominated Scottish disc jockey, produc-
er and recording artist who had worked with the likes of Madonna and Charli XCX, died following an accident in the Greek capital of Athens. She was 34. Her music continues to resonate, and her in uence continues to be heard across the underground and mainstream alike. On Friday, the New Orleans icon and Queen of Bounce music Big Freedia will drop “Released At Last,” a three-song EP she recorded with the late Sophie back in 2016. It serves as a reminder: The club is open.
SERIES TO STREAM
You could call it “The Baby-Sitters Club” for ballers. In the new docuseries “Million Dollar Nannies,” cameras follow a boutique agency in Ibiza that o ers babysitting for the children of wealthy parents. These clients are VIPs who have big expectations to match their big lifestyles. There are NDAs, private planes and kids who eat caviar. All episodes drop Thursday on Hulu.
Farrell returns as an alien disguised as a human in Season 2 of “Sugar” for Apple TV. Premiering Friday, Farrell’s character goes by the alias John Sugar, a private investigator in Los Angeles. The series is a noir-style detective drama with a central mystery that lasts all season. Sugar has two jobs. One is to solve his case du jour and the other is to secretly monitor people here on Earth.
VIDEO GAMES TO PLAY
Square Enix’s “The Adventures of Elliot: The Millennium Tales” takes place in a land called Philabieldia, “a beautiful but savage land” that sounds just like our own Pennsylvania city, only without cheesesteaks. After some mysterious ruins are discovered, the gutsy Elliot and his fairy sidekick, Faie, are sent on a journey that goes back and forth in time across 1,000 years. The pixelated art will look familiar to fans of developer Clay Tech Works’ role-playing fantasy “Octopath Traveler,” but the action is more arcade-like. And the time-jumping story is reminiscent of Square’s 1995 classic “Chrono Trigger.” Start making history Thursday on PlayStation 5, Xbox X/S, Switch 2 and PC.
CHARLES SYKES / INVISION / AP PHOTO
Myles Smith, pictured performing in 2025 in Philadelphia, releases his debut album, “My Mess, My Heart, My Life,” on Friday.
JORDAN STRAUSS / INVISION / AP PHOTO
John Patton Ford arrives at the premiere of “How to Make a Killing” at AMC The Grove in Los Angeles.
EVAN AGOSTINI / INVISION / AP PHOTO
Ryan Gosling attends the premiere of “Project Hail Mary” at Lincoln Center Plaza in New York.