VOLUME 6 ISSUE 34 | WWW.NSJONLINE.COM | WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 20, 2021
US expected to authorize mix-andmatch COVID booster shots Washington, D.C. Federal regulators are expected to authorize the mixing and matching of COVID-19 booster shots this week in an effort to provide flexibility for those seeking to maintain protection against the coronavirus. The upcoming announcement by the Food and Drug Administration is likely to come along with authorization for boosters of the Moderna and Johnson & Johnson shots and follows the authorization of a third dose for the Pfizer vaccine for some Americans last month. Allowing mixing and matching could alleviate supply issues, make the task of getting a booster simpler and allow people who may have had adverse reactions to the initial dose to try a different shot. The move will come after the U.S. said it would recognize mixing and matching of vaccines administered overseas, as was common in Canada and some European countries, for the purposes of entering the U.S.
The North Carolina State Fair continues through Sunday
The ferris wheel and the NC State Flyer are big attractions during the second day of the NC State Fair in Raleigh, on October 15, 2021.
NC Commission on Public Health members joke about anti-vax and mask ‘rhetoric’
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
GameStop mania severely tested market system, regulator says New York The U.S. stock market certainly shook when hundreds of thousands of regular people suddenly piled into GameStop early this year, driving its price to heights that shocked professional investors. But it didn’t break. That’s one of the takeaways from a report by the Securities and Exchange Commission’s staff released about January’s “meme-stock” mania. As GameStop’s stock shot from $39 to $347 in just a week, some of the stock market’s plumbing began creaking, but the report indicated the market’s basic systems and operations remained sound. “The extreme volatility in meme stocks in January 2021 tested the capacity and resiliency of our securities markets in a way that few could have anticipated,” the report said. “At the same time, the trading in meme stocks during this time highlighted an important feature of United States securities markets in the 21st century: broad participation.” THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
Report: Haiti gang seeks $17M for kidnapped US missionaries Port-Au-Prince, Haiti A gang that kidnapped 17 members of a U.S.based missionary group has demanded a $17 million ransom for them, according to Haiti’s justice minister, as quoted by the Wall Street Journal. Justice Minister Liszt Quitel said the gang was demanding $1 million per person. The Journal said he identified the ages of the abducted children as 8 months and 3, 6, 14 and 15 years. A wave of kidnappings prompted a protest strike that shuttered businesses, schools and public transportation in a new blow to Haiti’s anemic economy. Unions and other groups vowed to continue the shutdown. Haitian police said the abduction of the 16 Americans and one Canadian was carried out by the 400 Mawozo gang, a group with a long record of killings, kidnappings and extortion. Ned Price, the U.S. State Department’s spokesman, said U.S. officials have been in constant contact with Haiti’s National Police, the missionary group and the victims’ relatives. THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
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Gov. Roy Cooper confirms White House call with governors to implement vaccinations for children between 5-11
Holly Springs attorney Julee Flood discusses run for NC Court of Appeals By David Larson North State Journal RALEIGH — Julee Flood has had a lifelong love for North Carolina, and now, as an experienced attorney, she wants to give back to the state by serving as a justice on the North Carolina Court of Appeals. “I grew up in Orlando, but both of my parents are from North Carolina — my mother from eastern North Carolina as far back as we can trace our roots and my father from western North Carolina as far back as we can trace his roots,” Flood told NSJ in an October interview. “So every vacation, every opportunity, every time I could, I was in North Carolina with grandparents, aunts and uncles and decided way back then that I would love to live here.” And 20 years ago, her family was able to make that transition, and they’ve been here ever since, living in Wake County. Flood also had an early love of the country, being raised by an Air Force-veteran father. She said her mother, a school teacher, would start their day with patriotic songs, “instilling an early love for God and for country that ran very deep in my family.” Her love for the legal profession, however, was not always present, but developed as an adult. Flood’s first spark of interest came during her former career as the program coordinator of a farming-support extension program. During this time, she saw how the bureaucracy of the administrative state interacted with state and federal laws, and how these connections could be improved. “The other thing that directed me to law as an adult, is while I was homeschooling my four sons, throughout their education, I was just continually reminded of our country’s founding history and the richness of that.” Flood said, referencing the saying, “If you really want to learn some-
thing, teach it.” But in what she calls a “stepping stone” back into higher education and law school, Flood first pursued a master’s in public administration. “I was still homeschooling our children, and in public administration, I learned more about that administrative aspect of government and how it influences day-to-day life.” Then when it was possible, even as she continued to homeschool her children, she attended law school in New England. While there, she excelled and was given prime internships with judges. “After my first year of law school, I was invited to intern with the chief justice of the Maine Supreme Judicial Court. In my second year of law school, I interned the entire year with a justice on the New Hampshire Supreme Court, where I wrote case summaries for all the cases. And during my third year of law school, based on my class rank and the credits completed, I did a full-time externship in my third semester with Judge Jeffrey Howard of the 1st Circuit Court of Appeals.” Flood said that these internship experiences gave her an appreciation for and understanding of appellate courts. During this time, she also said she developed her judicial philosophy, which she describes as a “textualist/ originalist approach.” Textualism and originalism are used somewhat interchangeably to describe an attempt to judge cases based on the original intent inherent in the text, not a later reinterpretation of the words. “It means that I am not a legislator in a black robe. My goal would be, and my commitment is, to be a person who looks to the law as it is written, starting with the state and/or federal constitutions, looking to statutes as they See FLOOD, page A2
By A.P. Dillon North State Journal RALEIGH — North Carolina’s Commission on Public Health (NCCPH) met virtually on Oct. 15 and members of the body joked about what they referred to as anti-vax and mask “rhetoric” in audio obtained exclusively by North State Journal. The NCCPH had previously discussed adding the requirement during its August meeting and several members spoke up in favor of
requiring school children to get the shot. The commission tabled the topic but failed to take it up again at its Oct. 15 meeting. At Gov. Roy Cooper’s Sept. 21 COVID-19 press briefing, both he and N.C. Health and Human Services (NCDHHS) Secretary Mandy Cohen were asked whether or not they will seek to add the COVID-19 vaccine to the list of the K-12 immunizations. The only body other than the legislature that can add immunizations to the list of requirements for attending public school in North Carolina is the N.C. Commission on Public Health (NCCPH). During the Sept. 21 briefing, Cooper said he was “excited” that children ages 5 to 11 might be able See ANTI-VAX, page A2
US Senate fundraising separates top candidates from pack By Matt Mercer North State Journal
ings with the FEC. Last week, Beasley was also en-
RALEIGH — The third-quarter reports due to the Federal Election Commission show a widening gap in both the Republican and Democratic primaries for the U.S. Senate. For Democrats, former N.C. Supreme Court Chief Justice Cheri Beasley continued to outpace state Sen. Jeff Jackson. Beasley led overall fundraising in the third quarter, totaling $1.45 million in the quarter, and a total of $2.73 million since she entered the race in April. Jackson, who announced his run in January, reported $990,000 in the quarter and a total of $2.9 million in the campaign. Both Beasley and Jackson spent similar amounts in the quarter, with the former chief justice spending $660,000 and the Mecklenburg legislator spending $576,000. Beasley has a half-million advantage in the critical cash-onhand figure, with $1.6 million to Jackson’s $1.1 million. Communications director for the Beasley campaign, former Gov. Roy Cooper press secretary Dory MacMillan, wrote on Twitter following Beasley’s report, “We’re building a people-powered campaign and seeing enthusiasm for Cheri’s candidacy across the state.” Her fundraising has been notable in spite of several campaign staffers leaving the campaign amid a joint fundraising effort with controversial Missouri U.S. Rep. Cori Bush, an effort that appears to have disbanded, according to fil-
See US SENATE, page A2