VOLUME 5 ISSUE 2
SPORTS
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WWW.NSJONLINE.COM |
WEDNESDAY, MARCH 4, 2020
UNC-Duke Round 2 ready for Cameron
the Wednesday
NEWS BRIEFING
Chris Matthews retires from MSNBC, cites comments to women New York Longtime MSNBC host Chris Matthews abruptly retired from his “Hardball” show on Monday, apologizing for making inappropriate comments about women and following a brutal week where he also took heat from supporters of Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren. His exit came after a weekend of discussions with his bosses, three days after GQ ran a column by a freelance journalist about her “own sexist run-in” with Matthews in the makeup room before appearing on his show. “This is the last ‘Hardball’ on MSNBC, and obviously this isn’t for lack of interest in politics,” Matthews said. He apologized for likening Sanders’ win in the Nevada caucus two nights earlier to the Nazi takeover of France. On Friday’s show, he confused the identities of South Carolina Senate candidate Jaime Harrison and Sen. Tim Scott, both black men. And he was criticized for an uncomfortable interview with Warren following the presidential debate, asking if she believed Mike Bloomberg was lying when he denied telling a pregnant female employee of his news company to terminate the pregnancy. Even before his last week, there was some discontent among Sanders supporters about Matthews’ lack of enthusiasm for their candidate, putting the news network that appeals to a liberal audience at odds with a potential liberal presidential nominee.
ROBERT CLARK | NORTH STATE JOURNAL
President Trump holds Charlotte rally before primary President Trump held a rally on the eve of Super Tuesday, when 14 states including North Carolina went to the polls to select their party’s nominees for the November election. Thousands of supporters converged on the Bojangles Coliseum to see the president.
NORTH
STATE
JOURNaL ELEVATE THE CONVERSATION
ASSOCIATED PRESS
DMF issues 2020 flounder proclamation Morehead City Division of Marine Fisheries Director Steve Murphey has announced that the 2020 recreational flounder season will be Aug. 16 through Sept. 30 for internal and ocean waters of the state. The season will be implemented by proclamation. The minimum size limit will remain at 15 inches total length, and the creel limit will remain at four fish per person per day during the open recreational season. Since all species of flounder are managed under the same recreational regulations, the recreational season applies to all recreational flounder fishing. Reductions in harvest are required after a 2019 South Atlantic Southern Flounder Stock Assessment found that southern flounder is overfished, and overfishing is occurring throughout the region. Overfishing means the population is too small, and the removal rate is too high. NSJ STAFF
Police: $1.5 million worth of marijuana seized in NC Guilford County Authorities in Guilford County say they’ve intercepted $1.5 million worth of marijuana that was passing through the state along an East Coast drug route. The Guilford County Sheriff’s Office said it seized 331 pounds of marijuana and 30 pounds of a concentrated form of cannabis known as “wax.” The sheriff’s office said that North Carolina was not the intended destination of the drugs. The office said that the seizure disrupted the supply of drugs along the East Coast. The investigation involved the Specialized Enforcement Unit of the sheriff’s office and agents from the Drug Enforcement Administration. Authorities released no additional information, citing the sensitive nature of the ongoing investigation. ASSOCIATED PRESS
State health officials say first case of coronavirus identified in N.C. NSJ staff RALEIGH — Someone in North Carolina has tested positive for novel coronavirus (COVID-19), according to state officials. The test, conducted by North Carolina State Laboratory of Public Health, is presumptively positive and will be confirmed by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention lab. The patient is doing well and is in isolation at home. “I know that people are worried about this virus, and I want to assure North Carolinians our state is prepared,” said Gov. Roy Cooper during a March 3 press conference announcing the news. “Our task force and state agencies are working closely with local health departments, health care providers and others to quickly identify and respond to cases that might occur.” The person, from Wake County, traveled to the state of Washington and was exposed at a longterm care facility where there is currently a coronavirus outbreak. Local health department officials are identifying close contacts to monitor symptoms and contain the spread. While awaiting confirmation of results from the CDC, the state Department of Health and Human Services announced they will treat presumptive cases as positive and follow CDC guide-
lines to protect public health and limit the spread of infection. The governor’s office says the announcement represents an isolated case, and coronavirus is currently not widespread in North Carolina. Because the virus is most commonly spread through respiratory droplets, public health officials say North Carolinians should take the same measures that healthcare providers recommend annually to prevent the spread of the flu and other viruses, including washing your hands, avoiding touching your face, and covering coughs and sneezes. At the briefing, Cooper said the state should expect to see more cases of the coronavirus in the coming days and weeks. Sen. Thom Tillis commented as well, saying, “The health and well-being of North Carolinians is my top priority, and I’m working to make sure Congress comes together on a bipartisan basis to provide billions of dollars in federal assistance to combat the coronavirus and protect North Carolinians. I’m in close communication with Vice President Pence and other federal leaders, and I will do everything I can to continue supporting our state’s medical institutions, universities, and health care systems, which are some of the best in the world and have a proven track record in treating infectious diseases.”
Gov. Roy Cooper is pictured in this 2018 file photo in Raleigh.
GERRY BROOME | AP PHOTO
Potential sale of hospital becomes political hotbutton in Wilmington By David Larson North State Journal WILMINGTON — As election races heat up and an important March 16 deadline for proposals looms, the New Hanover Regional Medical Center — and its fate as one of the only county-owned hospitals in the nation — is driving much of the political conversation in the greater Wilmington area. When the New Hanover County Commission voted in September 2019 for an “Intent to Sell” resolution, many in the community were immediately concerned. A group called “Save Our Hospital” was formed to oppose a sale or at least to demand a slower, more deliberate process. The county and the hospital then formed a Partnership Advisory Group in response to concerns and to better handle the process. Spence Broadhurst, co-chair of the PAG and a former mayor of Wilmington, told NSJ that after realizing there might be long-term issues if the status quo was maintained, the hospital’s board and the county commissioners decided to explore options to put the hospital on firmer ground. While a sale was possible, he said the county wanted to request proposals from a host of health care organizations
so it could see what options were available. “Unfortunately, by general statute, in order for us to send out RFPs [Requests for Proposal], which are a big part of us understanding what our potential resources are, they had to pass a resolution, but in that resolution, I’ve been told, you have to put the term ‘Intent to Sell.’” Broadhurst said it was not their intention to move toward a sale, but that was the message received. “I do think that created a lot of confusion, a lot of excitement, and a lot of emotion,” he said. North Carolina Treasurer Dale Folwell, a Republican, attended one of the “Save Our Hospital” meetings and told NSJ, “I was very encouraged by the diversity in the audience that night of people who are against it. I am encouraged about the pledge people who are running for county commissioner have signed regarding how they feel about this.” The pledge Folwell referenced, which binds the candidate against supporting a sale, has been signed by every Democrat running for county commission in New Hanover, as well as by four of nine Republicans. Because the hospital See HOSPITAL page A2
Supreme Court will decide the fate of Obama health care law By Mark Sherman The Associated Press WASHINGTON, D.C. — The Supreme Court agreed Monday to decide a lawsuit that threatens the Obamaera health care law, a case that will keep health care squarely in front of voters even though a decision won’t come until after the 2020 election. The court said it would hear an appeal by 20 mainly Democratic states of a lower-court ruling that declared part of the statute unconstitutional and cast a cloud over the rest. For the more than 20 million people covered under “Obamacare,” nothing changes while the Supreme Court deliberates. The law’s subsidized private insurance coverage and Medicaid expansion remain in place while the issues are litigated again. Defenders of the Affordable Care Act argued that the questions raised by the case are too important to let it drag on for months or years in lower courts and that the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in New Orleans erred when it struck down the health law’s now toothless requirement that See SCOTUS page A2