North State Journal — Vol. 2., Issue 5

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VOLUME 2 ISSUE 5

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www.NSJONLINE.com | wednesday, March 15, 2017

The pipes are calling Members of the Wake and District Public Safety Pipes and Drums band performs at Tir Na Nog following Raleigh’s St. Patrick’s Day parade on March 11. See more photos at nsjonline. com.

MADELINE GRAY | NORTH STATE JOURNAL

the Wednesday

News BRIEFing

Tillis among lawmakers grilling military leaders over Marine scandal Washington, D.C. U.S. senators grilled the Navy and the Marine Corps’ top leaders on Tuesday amid a growing scandal involving a private Facebook group and its surreptitious distribution of explicit images of women in the armed forces — often with obscene, misogynist commentary. The Facebook group, called “Marines United,” is reported to have nearly 30,000 followers, including active-duty U.S. Marines, Marine Corps veterans and British Royal Marines. “The ‘Marines United’ website scandal is an absolute disgrace, and all perpetrators must be punished to the fullest extent of the law,” Sen. Thom Tillis (R-N.C.) said in a statement. “After hearing from General [Robert] Neller today, I have confidence that the Marine Corps will take swift and appropriate action to seek justice for those who have been victimized.”

Fossils from 1.6 billion years ago may be oldest-known plants Washington, D.C. Fossils unearthed in India that are 1.6 billion years old and look like red algae may represent the earliest-known plants, a discovery that could force scientists to reassess the timing of when major lineages in the tree of life first appeared on Earth. Researchers on Tuesday described the tiny, multicellular fossils as two types of red algae, one threadlike and the other bulbous, that lived in a shallow marine environment alongside mats of bacteria. Until now, the oldestknown plants were 1.2-billionyear-old red algae fossils from the Canadian Arctic.

Blizzard blankets northeast U.S. with late-season snow New York/Boston A blizzard swept through the heavily populated northeastern United States on Tuesday, grounding thousands of flights, canceling classes and pummeling those who ventured out onto snow-bound streets. Some 50 million people from Pennsylvania to Maine faced a “rapidly intensifying nor’easter” over the course of the day that was unusual for striking so late in the winter, according to the National Weather Service. The storm left Washington’s celebrated cherry trees, a tourist attraction and an early herald of spring, encased in ice.

NORTH

STATE

JOURNaL ELEVATE THE CONVERSATION

White House working with lawmakers on amending Republican health care bill “Our plan is not about forcing people to buy expensive, onesize-fits-all coverage. — House Speaker Paul Ryan

Cooper gives his first State of the State speech, Berger responds The governor’s speech to a joint session of the legislature focused on education, health, jobs and repealing H.B. 2 as he called for putting politics aside and standing on common ground By Jeff Moore North State Journal RALEIGH — In his first official presentation to the North Carolina General Assembly, Gov. Roy Cooper was introduced by Speaker Tim Moore (R-Kings Mountain) Monday night to give the State of the State address. Cooper’s speech focused on familiar themes, calling for immediate repeal of House Bill 2, raising teacher pay and education funding, and expanding access

to health care. Cooper said the prospects for North Carolina are promising, pointing to robust population growth and an unmatched quality of life, but quickly pivoted to a talking point that was a staple of his campaign. “Our people are welcoming, but some of our laws are not,” said Cooper. “I’m going to say this first thing because of the urgency and to go ahead and get it out of the way: tonight I call on the legislature once again to repeal House Bill 2.” Beyond the repeated demand for repeal, Cooper focused his address on education, health and improved prosperity of the middle class. “I want North Carolinians to be better educated, healthier and have more money in their pockets,” said See State of State, page A2

By Susan Cornwell and Susan Heavey Reuters WASHINGTON, D.C. — The Trump administration is working with Congress on amending the proposed Republican health care bill through talks with leaders in the House of Representatives, a White House spokesman said on Tuesday. Asked at a regular briefing if the White House was in discussions with House leadership over “shaping a major or significant managers’ amendment,” spokesman Sean Spicer said: “Yes.” “We are obviously in talks with House leadership,” he said of the discussions. Republicans are defending their plan to modify the Affordable Care Act, known as Obamacare, health care reform after a nonpartisan research report showed 14 million Americans would lose medical insurance by next year under the See Health Care, page A8

MADELINE GRAY | NORTH STATE JOURNAL

Gov. Roy Cooper gives the State of the State address at the North Carolina House of Representatives on March 13.

Messy cars and runny noses: Only time will wash away tree pollen covering North Carolina A mild winter means more airborne allergens — and a big mess By Cory Lavalette North State Journal RALEIGH — Steven Walters gets phone calls this time of year from stuffy-nosed citizens looking for relief. “And I say, ‘Well, I know why you’re calling,’” said Walters, a chemist charged with pollen monitoring at the air quality division of the N.C. Department of Environmental Quality. Whether it’s the crippling allergies or the yellowish-green mess that comes with the annual tree pollen dump each year, very few look forward to the pine, oak and maple reproductive particles that cover North Carolina each year.

They coat cars, streets and — if you’re not quick enough in shutting your windows as soon as the weather warms enough to open them — you’re entire house. “Typically in the spring we’ll see high tree counts, and then as the spring comes to an end and those leaves get fully developed on the trees those counts tend to come down,” Walters said. “They don’t disappear, but they’re not nearly as high as they normally are in the spring. We’ll see an increase in grass pollen in the summer, and an increase of weeds as well all the way up through fall. And fall is that dreaded ragweed season a lot of people suffer from.” It’s a busy time of year for Walters as he collects the data and takes the occasional call from weary citizens. “Basically what we’re doing is we’re not really looking for any-

thing specific, we’re just collecting pollen and speciating it between trees, grasses and weeds, and providing that information to the public,” Walters said. “A lot of allergists also use that information to share with their patients to know when they should be using their medications to help alleviate their symptoms.” The amount of pollen a region can get will vary from year to year, and as spring approaches this year it looks like prime conditions for a heavy pollen count. “The quantities of pollen are really heavily driven on local weather conditions,” Walter said. “If we have a mild winters, mild spring typically we’ll see higher counts in that case and they may last a little bit longer than usual.” There are differences even from See Pollen, page A2

INSIDE

Expanded coverage of the North Carolina political scene Duke Energy asks for rate increase while a new survey says renewable energy is growing in voter popularity. Page 5.

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