VOLUME 5 ISSUE 21
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WWW.NSJONLINE.COM |
WEDNESDAY, JULY 15, 2020
the Wednesday
NEWS BRIEFING
67,124 COVID-19 patients presumed to be recovered Raleigh The N.C. Department of Health and Human Services said that over 67,000 COVID-19 patients are presumed to have recovered from the virus as of July 13. NCDHHS estimates a median time to recovery of 14 days for non-fatal COVID-19 cases who were not hospitalized and 28 days for hospitalized cases. Estimates are used since patient-specific data on the actual recovery time to resolution of symptoms are not available for all COVID-19 cases.
Gov. Roy Cooper announces NC schools will open using ‘Plan B’
NSJ STAFF
Trump administration rescinds rule on foreign students Boston The Trump administration rescinded a rule that would have required international students to transfer or leave the country if their schools held classes entirely online because of the pandemic. U.S. District Judge Allison Burroughs said federal immigration authorities agreed to pull the July 6 directive and “return to the status quo.” Universities argued the policy contradicted ICE’s March directive telling schools that existing limits on online education would be suspended “for the duration of the emergency.” THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
Eric Holder-led group donates nearly $200k to state Democrats Raleigh Thirty-six candidates in state legislative races received maximum contributions from the National Democratic Redistricting PAC, campaign finance reports show. The PAC, headquartered in Chicago, has brought lawsuits against legislative leaders over redistricting since its formation and is led by former Obamaera U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder. The PAC gave to both Democratic incumbents and challengers, with contributions totaling $194,400. NSJ STAFF
Statue of antebellum NC chief justice at court removed Raleigh The statue of a 19th-century North Carolina Supreme Court justice was removed on Monday from the entrance of the state Court of Appeals building. Chief Justice Thomas Ruffin is known in part for a ruling in which he concluded the slave owner’s power over his slave was absolute. The statue was removed following recent topplings of and damage to Confederate monuments in North Carolina and in other states. Gov. Roy Cooper earlier ordered three monuments removed from the Capitol grounds. State Capitol Police recently told the Court of Appeals about safety concerns, state courts spokesperson Sharon Gladwell said. THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
UK backtracks on giving Huawei role in 5G network London Britain backtracked on plans to give Chinese telecommunications company Huawei a role in the U.K.’s new 5G network amid security concerns fueled by rising tensions between Beijing and Western powers. Britain said it decided to prohibit Huawei after U.S. sanctions made it impossible to ensure the security of equipment made by the company. The U.S. had also threatened to sever an intelligence-sharing arrangement with Britain because of concerns that Huawei’s involvement could allow the Chinese government to infiltrate U.K. networks. Culture Secretary Oliver Dowden told Parliament the decision would delay the rollout of 5G technology and increase costs, but that it had to be done. THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
PHOTO VIA NC DEPT. OF PUBLIC SAFETY
Gov. Roy Cooper speaks at the Emergency Operations Center in Raleigh.
NORTH
STATE
JOURNaL ELEVATE THE CONVERSATION
A look back at the Cooper administration’s Atlantic Coast Pipeline controversy Independent report found Cooper manipulated the permit process; $57.8 million never materialized By A.P. Dillon North State Journal
per. The mitigation fund, which was detailed in a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU), would come to be characterized by some as a political slush fund. The Cooper administration referred to it a “voluntary contribution,” however, Rep. Pricey Harrison (D-Guilford) stated that the MOU was “a condition of getting the permit granted.” Donald van der Vaart, a former secretary of the N.C. Dept. of Environmental Quality who now serves on the state’s environmental rulemaking commission, proposed a rule this month that would make situations where money is exchanged for permits illegal.
RALEIGH — Earlier this month, Dominion Energy and Duke Energy announced the cancelation of the Atlantic Coast Pipeline (ACP) project, which had generated years of controversy in North Carolina. The ACP cited court decisions and possible delays as key reasons for ending the project. Over the last two years, a number of legal challenges to the project’s permits, both state Beginning and federal, have increased projThe history of the ACP starts ect costs from $4.5 billion to $5 billion to $8 billion. In ad- in 2014, with AGL Resources, dition, the project’s estimate of Dominion Energy, Duke Enercommercial in-service had been gy and Piedmont Natural Gas pushed to 2022, which is almost forming the Atlantic Coast Pipeline, LLC. In mid-September a three-and-a-half-year delay. The ACP was supposed to 2015, the ACP filed an applicabring an estimated 17,000 jobs tion with the Federal Energy and $2.7 billion of construc- Regulatory Commission to build tion economic activity. Around the pipeline. The FERC approv2,200 long term jobs were ex- als did not come through until pected to come out of the ACP October 2017. The project moved along over along with annual local property the next few years and on May 9, tax revenue of $28 million. Construction on the ACP vol- 2017, ACP filed for the required untarily halted in December Water Quality Permit with 2018. Counties that would have DEQ. The following month, in seen activity in North Carolina June, Cooper hired Jeremy Tarr included Cumberland, Halifax, as a policy adviser on energy, Johnston, Nash, Northampton, the environment and natural reRobeson, Sampson and Wilson. sources. Tarr previously worked Cooper and his family mem- at the U.S. Environmental Probers own properties in an area tection Agency. Cooper tasked of Nash County where the pipe- Tarr to get an updated timeline line would have run through. from DEQ for the ACP’s permit The governor owns two proper- on Aug. 17, which he does, with ties totaling 44 acres, while his a copy reaching Cooper’s sebrother, Pell, owns 13 proper- nior adviser Ken Eudy on Aug. ties totaling approximately 375 21. The memo is also shared with Cooper’s campaign adviser, acres. The ACP has caused contro- Morgan Jackson of Nexus Stratversy within the state after the egies. At the end of August 2017, revelation of a $57.8 million dollar “mitigation fund” that would Tarr emails Cooper’s chief of be placed in an escrow account chosen and controlled by Coo- See PIPELINE page A2
Says all children ‘from kindergarten through high school’ will be required to wear a mask By A.P. Dillon North State Journal RALEIGH — At Tuesday’s COVID-19 media briefing, Gov. Roy Cooper finally announced the plan for reopening the state’s schools, which will be directed to use “Plan B,” a hybrid of in-person attendance and remote learning. “Today, we announce that North Carolina schools will open for both in-person and remote learning with key safety precautions to protect the health of our students, teachers, staff and families. This is the Plan B that we asked schools to prepare,” said Cooper. “As a part of this plan, we want local school districts to provide a remote learning option for any child who chooses it. In addition, school districts will have the option of Plan C — all remote learning — if that’s best for them,” Cooper said, adding that all K-12 students and staff will be required to wear a mask.
“Face coverings will be required for every teacher, staff and student from kindergarten through high school,” said Cooper. Adding that, “The studies have shown overwhelmingly that face coverings reduce disease transmission.” Up until this week, all guidance on masks in the state did not recommend masks for children under the age of 11. Cooper also announced that phase two will continue after the expiration of the current order on July 17 and said that “North Carolina will continue to stay paused in ‘Safer at Home’ Phase 2 for three weeks.” That puts a possible Phase 3 transition at Aug. 7. According to the school reopening guide created by the N.C. State Board of Education and N.C. Dept. of Public Instruction, Plan B involves “moderate social distancing.” The guide has been characterized as a “living document” which can be changed over time. Plan B reopens schools but institutes limitations on the density of attendance in facilities to no greater than 50% of maximum occupancy. There are a number of See SCHOOLS page A2
US carries out the 1st federal execution in nearly 2 decades By Michael Balsamo The Associated Press TERRE HAUTE, Ind. — The U.S. on Tuesday carried out its first federal execution in almost two decades, killing by lethal injection a man convicted of murdering an Arkansas family in a 1990s plot to build a whites-only nation in the Pacific Northwest. The execution of Daniel Lewis Lee, over the objection of the victims’ relatives and following days of legal wrangling and delays, revived the debate over capital punishment during a time of widespread social unrest. It also adds a new chapter to the national conversation about criminal justice reform in the lead-up to the 2020 presidential election Lee, 47, of Yukon, Oklahoma, professed his innocence just before he was executed at the federal prison in Terre Haute, Indiana. “I didn’t do it,” Lee said. “I’ve made a lot of mistakes in my life, but I’m not a murderer.” His final words were, “You’re killing an innocent man.” The decision to move forward with the first execution by the Bureau of Prisons since 2003 — and two others scheduled later in the week — drew scrutiny from civil rights groups and relatives of Lee’s victims, who had sued to try to halt it, citing concerns about their attending during the coronavirus pandemic. Attorney General William Barr said, “Lee finally faced the justice he deserved. The American people
have made the considered choice to permit capital punishment for the most egregious federal crimes, and justice was done today in impleSee DEATH PENALTY page A2