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VOLUME 1 ISSUE 50
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SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 5, 2017
Inside Complete look at Super Bowl Sunday, Sports We’re all business in our new section! Southern Farm Show entertains! As part of the Southern Farm Show, the South Atlantic Woodsmen’s Association Lumberjack Show performed demonstrations of wood chopping expertise. Many of the young men participating were former collegiate champions and current Stihl team members preparing to travel to Australia for a world championship event. See Features on C1 for more on the Southern Farm Show.
EAMON QUEENEY | NORTH STATE JOURNAL
the Sunday News Briefing
NORTH
Texas cuts funding to Travis County over ‘sanctuary city’ policy Austin, Texas Texas Gov. Greg Abbott is withholding $1.5 million in criminal justice grants to Travis County after the county sheriff said she would limit her department’s cooperation with federal immigration officers. Travis County includes the Texas capital Austin, a “sanctuary city.” On Tuesday, San Francisco, another sanctuary city, filed a lawsuit challenging President Donald Trump’s executive order withholding federal funds from cities that adopt sanctuary policies toward illegal immigrants. In N.C., the cities that have pledged such protection include Asheville, Charlotte, Durham, Chapel Hill and Carrboro. In 2015 then-Gov. Pat McCrory signed into law a bill outlawing sanctuary cities under threat of losing state funding.
Boy Scouts of America to accept transgender boys Secaucus, N.J. The Boy Scouts of America will begin accepting transgender boys, bucking its more than a century-old practice of using the gender stated on a birth certificate to determine eligibility. The announcement came after a New Jersey mother threatened a lawsuit under the state’s “public accommodations” law because her child, who has a “female” birth certificate, was asked to leave his local Pack. A private organization, the Boy Scouts said it will immediately begin using the gender that parents list on the application to determine eligibility.
GNC plans to sue after NFL nixes Super Bowl ad Houston GNC will not advertise during Sunday’s Super Bowl after the NFL rejected the retailer’s ad due to its policy against promoting supplements, the league and GNC confirmed. Fox has been averaging $5 million per 30 seconds of air time, and GNC’s spot was supposed to kick off the company’s turnaround effort. According to reports, GNC sent Fox a letter of intent saying it plans to sue over the rejection.
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JOURNaL ELEVATE THE CONVERSATION
NSJ to add second edition on Wednesdays N.C.’s only statewide newspaper will now publish twice weekly By Laura Ashley Lamm North State Journal RALEIGH — North Carolina’s only statewide newspaper, North State Journal, is announcing the addition of Wednesday issues beginning Feb. 8. The print newspaper has been delivering on Sundays since its first issue was delivered to charter subscribers on Feb. 28, 2016. “The North State Journal be-
gins and ends with our tag line, ‘Elevate the Conversation.’ Our entire staff works to put together an article that creates a positive discourse in our state by adding value to the conversations of North Carolinians,” said publisher Neal Robbins. “One of our big successes this first year has been expanding our reader base to all 100 counties; continuing to hire exceptional people on all sides of business from our content creators to designers to circulation; and adding a business section due See NSJ, page A3
Trump SCOTUS pick gets praise, but preps for confirmation fight A conservative intellectual and constitutionalist, Judge Neil Gorsuch braces for the D.C. storm By Donna King North State Journal WASHINGTON, D.C. — President Donald Trump named his pick for a lifetime seat on the U.S. Supreme Court, tapping Judge Neil Gorsuch, 49, a federal appeals court judge from Colorado. Gorsuch is considered very much in the mold of the late Justice Antonin Scalia. Scalia was a leading conservative voice on the court for decades until his death last Feb. 13. Democrats say they plan to block the nomination as both sides maneuvered for a hard fight. Supreme Court nominations require Senate confirmation, so on Tuesday Gorsuch met with Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell and other senators on Capitol Hill as he worked to drum up support for his nomination. He was well received by North Carolina’s two senators. “Judge Neil Gorsuch is an incredibly qualified and mainstream choice to serve on the Supreme Court,” said Sen. Thom Tillis (R-N.C.). “He has proven himself to be a judge who approaches every case before him
with fairness, and bases his decisions on the rule of law.” Republicans control the Senate by four seats, so Democrats, some of whom previously said they’d block any Trump nominee, signaled they would set up a procedural hurdle, known as a filibuster, meaning 60 votes rather than a simple majority would be needed to move the confirmation forward. The president urged McConnell to change Senate rules, eliminating the filibuster for Supreme Court nominees — a move dubbed the “nuclear option” — if Democrats block Gorsuch. “It’s up to Mitch, but if we end up with that gridlock, I would say: ‘If you can, Mitch, go nuclear,’” Trump said Wednesday. If Gorsuch is confirmed, he would be the youngest in decades. The court’s ideological shift could prove pivotal on a range of issues including presidential powers, abortion, the death penalty, and transgender, gun and religious rights. “This is truly an outstanding selection,” said N.C. GOP Chairman Robin Hayes in an interview. “He has impeccable credentials, a very high intellect, and is a consistent critic of ‘judicial discovery,’ which is finding things in the Constitution that just aren’t there. … He sticks with the founder’s intent and that is See SCotuS, page A8
This is where [Trump’s] order really hurt us. This is really our last hope.” Abdallh Khadra, father of 3-year-old daughter who was impacted by the travel ban
Syrian family in Raleigh among those impacted by ban By Liz Moomey North State Journal RALEIGH — On Jan. 28, the Khadras had reached their last feasible option for being reunited with their 3-year-old daughter — applying for a visitor visa. When Abdallh Khadra, who is Syrian, signed on to the U.S. Embassy of Jordan to schedule a time for a visa interview for his daughter Muna on Jan. 29, a message appeared: “One or more applicants are currently ineligible to schedule.” “Why?” Abdallh said. “Because of Trump’s order. This was our last hope.” President Donald Trump issued an executive order on Jan. 27 aimed to protect the U.S. from foreign terrorists entering the country. The executive order states citizens of Iraq, Syria, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan and Yemen — seven Muslim-majority countries previously deemed “countries of concern” by the Obama administration — cannot enter the United States for the next 90 days and suspends the admission of all refugees for 120 days. The order was met with confusion, varying interpretations and lack of preparation among agencies.Abdallh came to the U.S. in 2011 on a work visa. In 2013, his two daughters — Sana, 5, and Muna, 3 — and his See TRAVEL BAN, page A3
MADELINE GRAY | NORTH STATE JOURNAL
Syrian immigrant Abdallh Khadra, left, sifts through emails that he has exchanged with U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services regarding his family’s travel to visit relatives in Lebanon. His wife, Hanan Alhalabi, who wears a hijab and jacket when being photographed, and their son, Muhammad Uwais Khadra, play in the background at their Raleigh home.