VOLUME 5 ISSUE 29
|
WWW.NSJONLINE.COM |
WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 9, 2020
the Wednesday
NEWS BRIEFING
Unemployment rates increased in all 15 NC metro areas in July Raleigh Seasonally unadjusted unemployment figures for July released by the N.C. Department of Commerce last week showed an increase in 99 of the state’s 100 counties. The state’s 2020 July rate of 8.9% (not seasonally adjusted) more than doubled that of the July 2019 rate of 4.3%. In July, there were 84 counties with rates between 5% and 10% compared to 97 in June. The number of counties with rates over 10% increased from three in June to 16 in July. The county with the highest rate for July was Scotland, at 14.1%. All 15 metro areas in North Carolina had unemployment rate increases. Of those areas, Fayetteville was the highest at 11.6%, and New Bern was the lowest at 7.5%. A.P. DILLON
LabCorp launches first combined test for COVID-19 and seasonal flu Burlington LabCorp announced the launch of the first testing method to simultaneously detect COVID-19, influenza A/B, and respiratory syncytial virus (RSV). The singlepanel test is available to patients through doctors, hospitals, and other authorized healthcare providers nationwide. LabCorp has also submitted an application to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to offer the combined test through its at-home test collection kit, which would offer added convenience and accessibility. “The U.S. is facing the most challenging health crisis in a century and is about to enter flu season, which has the potential to put additional strain on our healthcare system and cost lives,” said Dr. Brian Caveney, chief medical officer and president of LabCorp Diagnostics. NSJ STAFF
Saudi court issues final verdicts in Khashoggi killing Dubai, United Arab Emirates A Saudi court issued final verdicts in the case of slain critic Jamal Khashoggi after his son, who still resides in the kingdom, announced pardons that spared five of the convicted individuals from execution. The Riyadh Criminal Court’s final verdicts were announced by Saudi Arabia’s state television, which aired few details about the eight Saudi nationals and did not name them. The court ordered a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison for the five. Another individual received a 10-year sentence, and two others were ordered to serve seven years in prison. THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
Pentagon reaffirms Microsoft as winner of disputed JEDI deal Washington, D.C. The Pentagon reaffirmed Microsoft as winner of a cloud computing contract potentially worth $10 billion, although the start of work is delayed by a legal battle over rival Amazon’s claim the bidding process was flawed. Amazon Web Services had long been considered a leading candidate to run the Pentagon’s Joint Enterprise Defense Infrastructure project, known as JEDI. The project will store and process vast amounts of classified data, allowing the U.S. military to improve communications with soldiers on the battlefield and use artificial intelligence to speed up its war planning and fighting capabilities.
ROBERT CLARK | NORTH STATE JOURNAL
President Trump returns to North Carolina President Donald Trump made a visit to the Triad after last week naming Wilmington the first World War II Heritage City at the Battleship North Carolina.
NORTH
STATE
JOURNaL ELEVATE THE CONVERSATION
Firearm sales skyrocket amid social unrest By Brooke Conrad North State Journal
home or hometown.” In particular, firearms purchases increased drastically among African-Americans and women, followed by an increase among senior citizens, according to Larry Hyatt, owner of Hyatt Guns in Charlotte. “The African-American leadership [in Charlotte] has been pretty anti-gun,” Hyatt said. “So we have a lot of the urban residents who didn’t have firearms and were depending on police protection. Our African-American communities I think felt more vulnerable.” Normally June and July are the slowest months of the year — a good time to take a vacation or paint the building, Hyatt said. But this year, June and July were the two biggest months in the entire 61-year history of the business. Hyatt’s business is normally based on repeat buyers who use firearms for hunting, collecting, and target-shooting. But those sales recently decreased. Now, self-protection is the primary source of business, with self-defense purchases skyrocketing 500%, he said. “What I hear over and over is, ‘We don’t have a gun in our house, and now I think we need one,’” Hyatt said.
FUQUAY-VARINA — Lee Edmark owned a gun for 25 years but never used it. He gave it away to a friend six months ago. But in March, economic shutdowns set in, followed by a summer of nationwide protests — sometimes violent — following the death of George Floyd. The social unrest recently pushed Edmark, who is in his 60s, and his wife, Deb, to purchase a firearm at Fuquay Gun and Gold, in the suburbs just south of Raleigh. They plan to take a firearms course in the near future. “We were scared,” Edmark said. “You know it when you don’t have a gun.” Thousands of other North Carolina residents are purchasing firearms for the first time. Fuquay Gun and Gold is currently on pace for a 300% increase in both its sales and customer base, with lines frequently trailing out the door. The buying spree also generated a massive permit processing backup at county sheriff’s offices. “Some people are trying to protect their businesses in these areas that are getting damaged and torn up,” said store owner Clay Ausley. “In other cases, people are trying to get guns to protect themselves in case some of this comes to their See FIREARM, page A2
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS BROOKE CONRAD | NORTH STATE JOURNAL
5
20177 52016 $2.00
8
A first-time customer at Fuquay Gun and Gold watches a store employee demonstrate the use of a firearm.
NCAE protests for more money on same day legislature passes historic relief funding NC ranked number one in Southeast in education funding by NCAE’s parent organization By A.P. Dillon North State Journal RALEIGH — On the same day that the General Assembly was working to pass a $1.1 billion-dollar coronavirus relief package that includes $115 million in education spending, the North Carolina affiliate of one of the largest national teacher unions was asking for even more funding. The N.C. Association of Educators (NCAE), an affiliate of the National Education Association (NEA), held a press event led by
NCAE President Tamika Walker Kelly. “The General Assembly likes to talk about saving for a rainy day, and we need to make it clear that for public school educators and parents, it’s been raining for months,” said Kelly in a release prior to the event. Flanking Kelley in front of the legislature were several women carrying red umbrellas. The umbrellas were an attempt to tie in the theme of “raining down funding” for education by tapping the state’s Savings Reserve Fund, often referred to as the “Rainy Day Fund.” “Educators have been working day in and day out to shelter stuSee PROTEST, page A2
Pence headlines prolife event in Raleigh with Forest, Tillis, others SBA List president, organizer of event, gives extended interview
of where she believes the pro-life movement is at and what SBA List is doing during the 2020 election cycle to advance its goals.
By David Larson North State Journal
See PENCE, page A2
RALEIGH — The pro-life group Susan B. Anthony List hosted Vice President Mike Pence at Christ Baptist Church in Raleigh on Sept. 3, along with Lt. Gov. Dan Forest, U.S. Sen. Thom Tillis, five U.S. congressmen and other major Republican candidates for North Carolina offices. The SBA List, which fights to get pro-life candidates elected, is led by Marjorie Dannenfelser, a Greenville, North Carolina, native and Duke graduate. In his remarks to those gathered, Pence began by praising Dannenfelser, saying, “I can honestly say I was for Marjorie Dannenfelser before it was cool. We knew each other back in the days that I was in the Congress, and I saw her strong leadership for life then. But to see the way that the Susan B. Anthony List has grown and to see the impact that it’s had in electing and reelecting principled men and women who stand for the sanctity of life across the country, I just want to thank you, and I want to thank everyone involved. The Susan B. Anthony List is the most effective advocate for the right to life in the United States of America.” Dannenfelser spoke with NSJ before the event and gave a sense