The Food and Drug Administration will issue new guidelines this year on who should get updated COVID-19 boosters, bringing the U.S. more in line with European countries when it comes to who should get the booster. In an article published in the New England Journal of Medicine this week, advisers suggested that higher-risk groups — adults 65 and older and those with risk factors — should receive boosters, and that more research should be done on whether boosters are e ective and to build stronger evidence on the risks and bene ts of the shot. “We simply don’t know whether a healthy 52-year-old woman with a normal BMI who has had Covid-19 three times and has received six previous doses of a Covid-19 vaccine will bene t from the seventh dose,” the article said, noting that countries including Australia and France only recommend the shot for those 65 and older or high-risk.
SCOTUS orders Maine House to restore vote of GOP lawmaker who ID’d trans teen athlete online
Washington, D.C.
The U.S. Supreme Court is siding with a GOP state lawmaker in Maine who was blocked from voting after she identi ed a transgender student athlete in a critical social media post. A 7-2 court majority on Tuesday ordered the Maine House to allow Rep. Laurel Libby to cast legislative votes while her lawsuit over the censure plays out. The case comes after the Democraticcontrolled House found that Libby’s viral post had violated its code of ethics by putting the student at risk. She was blocked from speaking and voting on the oor after refusing to apologize. Libby said the punishment violates her right to free speech and leaves her district without representation.
Church group volunteers to start community garden in Albemarle
A
local
faith-based group planted the garden on Graham Street
By Charles Curcio Stanly News Journal
ALBEMARLE — Volunteers from various Stanly churches have started a project they hope grows into something big and fruitful for residents.
Stanly County HELPS, a volunteer group from various churches, started a new community garden at 427 Graham St. in Albemarle.
Bishop Gwen Lanning of Albemarle’s Sanctuary Christian Outreach said the idea for the new garden came in part from the Bible.
“Everything starts with a seed,” Lanning said. “You put the seed in the ground, in the soil, and it will bring forth. It will produce, and the fruit that it produces has a seed in it.”
She added, “That’s what God told Adam and Eve; be fruitful and multiply. I believe in the principles in the Bible.”
When Lanning asked members of her church’s youth group
about ideas for a community project, the garden was a popular suggestion.
Using information from YouTube and consultations with local farmers, Lanning secured donations from several local companies. Pate Masonry donated a truckload of topsoil, while Mauney’s Feed Mill gave a pile of compost. Lanning said Lowe’s gave the group “tremendous discounts” on the materials necessary for the planting beds. Other business donated old pallets for the beds to sit on.
The Cabarrus o ce of the North Carolina Cooperative Extension, working with the Stanly o ce, provided water barrels to collect rainwater.
Last Friday, volunteers constructed the beds and planted seeds and plants, including tomatoes, celery, lettuce, tomatoes, bell peppers, beans and more.
Lanning said she sees the garden “bringing the community together to be able to inspire them to do things that we can do. We can use our own energy, our time and our e orts to produce something great that will bless the whole communi-
“Everything starts with a seed. You put the seed in the ground, in the soil, and it will bring forth. It will produce, and the fruit that it produces has a seed in it.”
Bishop Gwen Lanning, Sanctuary Christian Outreach
ty, and even turn it into a business as it grows.”
In the future, the group’s goals are to build the garden into something bigger, possibly a full-sized farm that could provide jobs and educate young people about agriculture.
“This garden site is too small for what we envision,” Lanning said. “This is to get it started. We can iron out the kinks. We are looking for a much bigger place.”
Pastor Michael Scott of New Directions Ministries in Norwood, co-chair of Stanly County HELPS, blessed the plants
Parks and Recreation plan presented to city council
“This is a real glimpse for you to understand what’s going on and what the interests are of your public.”
Nate Halubka, McGill Associates
It covers the next 10 years of local park usage
By Jesse Deal Stanly News Journal
ALBEMARLE — At the Albemarle City Council meeting on Monday night, councilmembers were presented with an overview of the Albemarle Parks and Recreation Department’s Comprehensive Plan.
The 10-year recommended action plan covers each of the city’s parks and programs, setting the stage for the next decade of planning for the department that maintains 300 acres of land shared between the Albemarle Soccer Complex, City Lake Park, Hearne Park, Don Montgomery Park, Chuck Morehead Park and Rock Creek Park. Over the last eight months, engineering and consulting
rm McGill Associates has worked with the parks and rec department, Albemarle City Council, Parks and Recreation Advisory Board and community members on the details of the 200-page plan.
Nate Halubka, project consultant at McGill Associates, provided councilmembers with a synopsis of the plan and focused on strategies that could enhance Albemarle’s parks and rec facilities.
“This is a real glimpse for you to understand what’s going on and what the interests are of your public,” Halubka said.
“You have some larger capital needs, but I think your low-hanging fruit right now if you want to move towards attracting more residents is if you can go through and start to do beauti cation in your park system. Update the
and seeds before they were planted.
Scott said Stanly County HELPS has “brought together several faith-based organizations to put our minds together to address some of the needs in the communities.”
Food insecurity was one pressing community need the group hopes the garden will address, Scott added, noting the higher food prices in stores along with the elderly not having health food choices or even access to food.
“We can do this together. We pooled our resources and efforts together, our people together,” Scott said.
Stanly HELPS, he added, has other concerns for the community, including domestic violence, a ordable child care, job skills development, mental health awareness and elderly care.
Volunteers are needed for shifts to help maintain the garden Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays from 8-10 a.m., Thursdays from 6-8 p.m. and Saturdays noon to 2 p.m. Call 336-456-1364 or email fgrant. stanlycohelps@gmail.com.
THE STANLY COUNTY EDITION OF NORTH STATE JOURNAL
PHOTOS BY CHARLES CURCIO / STANLY NEWS JOURNAL
Top left: Bishop Gwen Lanning (left) and Pastor Michael Scott plant cucumbers. Bottom left: Volunteers get seedlings into the soil. Right: Felicia Grant (left) works on planting tomatoes with volunteer Shymari Huntley.
WEDNESDAY
By Jesse Deal Stanly
Journal
ALBEMARLE — For the 14th year, North Carolina’s local wine industry will be celebrated with the help of the Albemarle Downtown Development Corporation.
However, this upcoming event — the inaugural Summertime Sip Festival on Saturday, May 31 from noon to 5 p.m. — serves as both a reintroduction and rebranding of Albemarle’s annual one-stop shop where wine lovers can sample some of the area’s nest wines in one spot.
“Formerly known as the Stanly County Winter Wine Fest, this reimagined event has a fresh name, a sunny new format, and a vibrant outdoor setting in Courthouse Plaza and the surrounding downtown area,” the ADDC announced.
“It’s a full afternoon of sipping, shopping and celebrating all things local — and we can’t wait to welcome you.”
The event will also include artisan craft vendors and a performing DJ.
Past versions of the festival have featured a dozen vineyards from across Stanly and neighboring counties, such as Dennis Vineyards, Stony Mountain Vineyards and Cabo Winery in Concord, as well as food trucks like What-A-Burger, Higgins and Sons BBQ, Hilltop Seafood and On-Time Snacks.
Tickets for the Summertime Sip Festival can be purchased at the wine fest’s Eventeny ticket link located at both albemarledowntown.com and stanlycountywinterwinefest.com.
General admission tickets are $30 while “designated
Attendees at a previous Stanly County Winter Wine Fest explore the event’s
“When
you attend the Summertime Sip Festival, you’re doing more than enjoying a great day out — you’re investing in your community.” Albemarle Downtown Development Corp.
driver” tickets are $10 each.
The former option includes a souvenir tasting glass, wine samples from a wide variety of North Carolina wineries, access to all food trucks, craft vendors and festival activities, as well as the ability to purchase wine by the glass, bottle or case; the latter option provides entry to the festival and access to all food and craft vendors.
Proceeds from the festival will assist the ADDC in its efforts to bene t the city.
“When you attend the Summertime Sip Festival, you’re doing more than enjoying a great day out — you’re investing in your community,” the ADDC’s event advertisement continued.
“Proceeds from the event help fund downtown beauti cation projects, small business grants, and community development initiatives. Your support helps us grow a vibrant, welcoming and thriving Albemarle Downtown for residents, businesses and visitors alike.”
The festival has typically attracted around 1,500 people annually, with previous locations under the Stanly County Winter Wine Fest banner having taken place at Market Station and in downtown Albemarle on First and Second Street.
Revamped from a February event to a warmer springtime gathering, Summertime Sip Festival will be one of Courthouse Plaza’s premier events, highlighting the renovated alleyway in downtown Albemarle stretching from West Main Street to King Avenue that was unveiled as the city’s newest public gathering space last June.
With funding from ElectriCities of North Carolina and the federal government’s American Rescue Plan Act, the plaza has been designed to become a local hub for live music, festivals and special events.
STANLY happening
May
May 14
• Jose Roberto Barrientos Torres, 41, was arrested for misdemeanor domestic violence.
• Heather Pressley Wiggins, 37, was arrested for violating school attendance law.
• Tress Antonio Lilly, 34, was arrested for assault by strangulation, assault on a female, misdemeanor domestic violence, unauthorized use of a motor vehicle and communicating threats.
May 15
• Sherria Jackson, 45, was arrested for felony larceny.
May 16
• Charles Andrew Phillips, 38, was arrested for damaging real property and disorderly conduct.
• John Marvin Wood, 42, was arrested for incest with a child aged 13-15, taking indecent liberties with a child, second-degree forcible rape, second-degree forcible sex o ense and rst-degree statutory sex o ense.
May 17
• James Curtis Vanhoy, 49, was arrested for seconddegree trespass.
May 20
• Dakota Wayne Rowland, 29, was arrested for felony
possession of a Schedule II controlled substance, driving with a license revoked due to impairment and maintaining a vehicle or dwelling for controlled substances.
• Kynyatta D’Myr Tshiona, 25, was arrested for eeing arrest with a motor vehicle, driving with a license revoked, speeding, failing to heed light or siren, expired registration, failing to display registration plate, resisting a public o cer, violating local ordinance, damaging real property, misdemeanor domestic violence, robbery with a dangerous weapon, felony larceny of a motor vehicle and assault on a female.
located across the street from Locust Elementary School. Open May through September. Corner of 24/27 and Vella Drive Locust
May 28
Storytime 10-10:30 a.m.
Social group for children 3-plus for story, singing and dancing time. Children must be accompanied by parents at all times.
133 E. Main Street Albemarle
May 29
Pop-up Picnic in the Park Date Night 1-5 p.m.
Each pop-up picnic sunset date night for couples is self-guided, allowing you to attend at the time of your choice. All you need is a mobile device and an internet connection to access your Digital Date Nite Box. Guided activities included are Quality Time with a discount code for food delivery to the park; Acts of Service with custom couple-coupons; Gifts featuring a “Digital Love Jar,” a Couple Games App and more.
Mint Hill Veterans Memorial Park 8850 Fairview Road Mint Hill
May 30
Needle Bugs, Knitting and Crocheting 10:30-11:30 a.m.
Social group for those who enjoy any type of needlework. Bring your supplies.
Norwood Branch Library 207 Pee Dee Ave. Norwood
COURTESY ALBEMARLE DOWNTOWN DEVELOPMENT
THE CONVERSATION
Neal Robbins, publisher | Frank Hill, senior opinion editor
VISUAL VOICES
Don’t let a tax hike undermine North Carolina’s early sports betting success
The state has collected more than $94 million in tax revenue from sports betting.
JUST ONE YEAR after North Carolina launched its legal sports betting market, a proposal in the state Senate budget threatens to upend one of the most successful rollouts in the country.
Buried in the budget is a provision that would double the sports betting tax rate — from 18% to 36%. This sudden and severe increase sends the wrong message at the wrong time, putting the stability of a promising new industry at risk before it has had a real chance to mature.
North Carolina only went live with mobile sports betting in March 2024. Since then, the results have been remarkable. According to the North Carolina Lottery, in just Fiscal Year 2025, the state has already collected more than $94 million in tax revenue from sports betting — far outpacing early projections. In April alone, the industry delivered nearly $8.5 million to the state’s bottom line.
This kind of performance should be seen as a clear indicator: The current system is working. Players are migrating to the legal market, state co ers are bene ting, and
COLUMN | DAVID HARSANYI
licensed operators are forging partnerships with local teams and venues creating new investments in communities statewide. Why jeopardize that progress now?
As the leading trade association for the legal online gaming industry, iDEA represents a broad cross-section of companies — including operators, compliance specialists, payment processors and other suppliers — many of whom are licensed and active right here in North Carolina. These companies made signi cant investments in the state based on the bipartisan legislation passed just two years ago, which clearly outlined an 18% tax rate and a ve-year licensing structure.
Doubling the tax rate so soon after launch undermines the credibility of that agreement. It introduces unnecessary instability into a nascent market, discourages further investment and risks reducing the competitive o erings that make the legal market attractive to consumers. Higher taxes don’t just impact operators — they impact players, too.
Scapegoating Joe Biden isn’t going to solve the Democratic Party’s problems
The more the public heard from her, the more they disliked her.
“WE GOT SO SCREWED by Biden, as a party,” former Obama adviser David Plou e is quoted saying in a New Yorker excerpt from Jake Tapper and Alex Thompson’s new book, “Original Sin: President Biden’s Decline, Its CoverUp, and His Disastrous Choice to Run Again.”
The supposition of the piece, headlined “How Joe Biden Handed the Presidency to Donald Trump,” is that Democrats only failed to hold the White House because of Biden’s prideful obstinacy.
Scapegoating Biden for all the left’s considerable political problems is an ugly hypocrisy. It is also self-delusional. There is a reason the Democratic Party’s polling is at historic lows right now, and it’s not just Biden’s memory problems.
Let’s recall that every congressional Democrat decided to shoehorn the In ation Reduction Act into law even after most economists warned it would plunge the nation into price spikes. Biden wasn’t the only one leaning into the hysterics of “semi-fascism.” If anything, Biden had merely adopted the social science quackery on gender that so many Democrats champion.
Did any elected Democrat speak out about the anarchy of illegal immigration? If so, I must have missed it. Yet, according to a preelection Pew poll, 78% of people believed the border was a crisis or major problem.
One of the big criticisms of Biden is that he failed to make room for another candidate earlier. Almost surely, Kamala Harris would have been the nominee regardless of when Biden dropped out. Does anyone really believe a hyper-ambitious politician ensconced in the White House was going to step aside or let some middling governor
wrest the nomination from her? The only Democrat who consistently outperformed Harris in most polls after Biden’s debate debacle was Michelle Obama. It was going to be Harris.
What makes anyone think that Harris would have experienced more success had she enjoyed more time? After an initial jolt up, the vice president’s popularity steadily declined. Harris needed less time, not more. The more the public heard from her, the more they disliked her.
Harris, like any other possible Democratic candidate, was compelled to run on the president’s record. And that record, championed by virtually every Democrat, was unpopular long before the media were compelled to acknowledge the president’s declining mental state.
The Democratic Party had blown it. Polls found that only 36% approved of Biden’s handling of the economy, 28% approved of his handling of immigration, 33% approved of his handling of foreign policy and 30% approved of his handling of the Middle East. Now, even with those numbers, elections are a contest between two visions. A CBS News poll found that 65% of Americans remember the economy under Trump fondly, while only 38% said the same about Biden.
Does anyone really believe that Govs. Wes Moore, Gretchen Whitmer, Gavin Newsom, Andy Beshear or JB Pritzker possess the kind of charismatic personality or compelling message to overcome that record? It’s exceptionally unlikely.
Plou e might have been one of the few Democrats who publicly questioned the wisdom of running a man whose mental acuity had slipped for years. Until the
Bettors may see fewer promotions, worse odds and diminished engagement, all of which make illegal o shore sites more appealing.
If lawmakers want to responsibly grow gaming revenue, there are better options than a punitive tax hike. Eventually considering the legalization of online casino gaming — also known as iGaming — could generate signi cant new tax revenue without compromising the structure that’s already proving e ective.
North Carolina has built a reputation as a forward-looking state — welcoming to innovation, supportive of business and committed to long-term economic growth. Let’s not allow a shortsighted tax proposal to derail that progress.
Doubling the tax rate now would be a step backward. Lawmakers should protect what’s working and reject the Senate’s proposed tax increase on sports wagering.
John A. Pappas is state advocacy director for the iDevelopment and Economic Association.
day of the rst 2024 presidential debates, however, virtually the entirety of the party and media had been shielding Biden. If the president had refused to debate Trump, the left would have almost surely kept on concealing Biden’s condition. It had no choice but to turn on the president once he had been exposed.
We learn in The New Yorker that Biden didn’t recognize George Clooney at the infamous Hollywood fundraiser where Barack Obama had to lead the president o stage by hand. Recall that even at this point, the big media were still gaslighting the public about the president’s deteriorating acuity. Three days later, Tapper’s colleague wrote in CNN’s media newsletter that the claim had been a “fabrication.”
Two days before the debate, thenMajority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) had told reporters the president was sharper than he’d been in years. “He’s ne. All this right-wing propaganda that his mental acuity has declined is wrong,” he said.
In he New Yorker piece, we learn that Schumer would speak to Biden on the phone regularly, “and, after some chit chat,” the president would “admit that he’d forgotten why he’d called. Sometimes he rambled. Sometimes he forgot names. Schumer wasn’t concerned about Biden’s acuity, but he was worried about the optics.”
The president is the most powerful man in the world, and the Senate leader was worried about optics. So, indeed, was the rest of his party. Which is merely to say that Democrats screwed themselves.
David Harsanyi is a senior writer at the Washington Examiner.
COLUMN | JOHN A. PAPPAS
Ex-White House chef for 5 presidents says rst families ‘just regular people’
Cristeta Comerford handled 54 state dinners and countless family meals
By Darlene Superville
The Associated Press
WASHINGTON, D.C. — Cristeta Comerford, a longtime White House executive chef who recently retired after nearly three decades of preparing meals for ve presidents and their guests, says rst families are “just regular people” when they’re at home in the private living areas of the Executive Mansion.
“It’s not what you see on the news,” she told The Associated Press in an interview.
Preparing the rst families’ meals was among Comerford’s many culinary responsibilities. Meals mostly would be prepared in the main kitchen, then nished o in the residence kitchen on the second oor.
“At the end of the day, when you do the family meals upstairs, they’re just regular people at home. They just want a good meal. They want to sit down with their family,” she said. “If they have children, they eat together. And just to see that on a daily basis, it’s not what you see on the news.
“It’s the other side of them that we get to see,” she said. Presidents as foodies
Comerford, who hung up her apron and chef’s toque in July 2024 after nearly 20 years as top chef and nearly three decades on the kitchen sta , is the longest-serving chef in White House history. Her tenure spanned the presidencies of Bill Clinton, George W. Bush, Barack Obama, Donald Trump and Joe Biden.
Each of the ve families she served approached food di erently, Comerford said at a recent White House Historical Association symposium on food and wine. She was asked whether she’d describe any of the presidents as “real foodies.”
The Clintons liked healthier meals, Comerford said. Thenrst lady Hillary Clinton hired the rst American executive chef, Walter Scheib, and had the kitchen avoid serving heavy sauces and creams.
She said, “I learned so much” about Southwestern cuisine
from Bush, the former Texas governor who liked Tex-Mex food. “We made thousands of tamales for Christmas,” she said of the popular Mexican meal of stu ed corn dough wrapped in a corn husk and steamed until cooked.
Comerford got ideas from the vegetable garden Michelle Obama started when she was promoting healthy eating, primarily for children. “We used the garden as kind of like our backbone for our menu development,” she said.
Trump and rst lady Melania Trump are “very, very classic eaters,” she said. The rst lady “loved Italian food, so we tend to do the pastas, but light ones.” Comerford didn’t comment on the current president’s food choices, but he is known to like a well-done steak served with ketchup and fast food.
Jill Biden was the rst Italian American rst lady, and the kitchen did “a lot of Italian food, as well, because she loved Italian food.”
Overall, “it’s di erent for each family,” said Comerford, “but my job as the chef is to execute their style, their likes and their preferences.”
54 state dinners
A black-tie state dinner is the highest diplomatic honor the U.S. reserves for its close allies.
Comerford presided over 54 of these opulent a airs, including for France and Australia during Trump’s rst term. Sometimes, guest chefs were brought in to help.
State dinners give presidents the opportunity to bring together hundreds of guests from the worlds of government, politics and other industries for an evening in which the three - course meal, decor and entertainment are designed to help foster relations by dazzling the visiting foreign leader.
The rst lady’s sta and the social secretary typically have about two months to pull one together.
Comerford said her team started by researching the visiting leader’s likes and dislikes, then she used the information to create a menu using the best of American food while incorporating nuances from the country being recognized.
She’d develop at least three di erent menus. Then came
“It’s di erent for each family, but my job as the chef is to execute their style, their likes and their preferences.”
Cristeta Comerford, former White House executive chef
tastings for the rst lady to make a nal decision.
Comerford’s career
Comerford, 62, started her career tending a salad bar at a Chicago airport hotel before working as a chef at restaurants in Austria and Washington. Scheib, then the White House executive chef, hired her in 1994 for a temporary gig preparing a state dinner for Nelson Mandela, South Africa’s newly elected president.
Scheib then hired her as an assistant chef in 1995, and she succeeded him a decade later, becoming the rst woman and rst person of color to permanently hold the executive chef’s position. Comerford is a naturalized U.S. citizen who was born in the Philippines.
Her husband, John Comerford, is a chef, too, and she credits him with sacri cing his career
to be present for their daughter so she could thrive in hers. Their daughter is a pastry chef.
When Comerford retired, assistant chef Tommy Kurpradit, whose parents are from Thailand, was named interim executive chef. Melania Trump, who worked with Comerford in the rst Trump administration, has not named a successor.
How she succeeded as the White House top chef
Comerford said she managed everything with “a lot of prayers,” often said during her hourlong, early-morning drive into the White House, but also by being versatile, humble, able to handle chaos and having faith in herself and her team.
“One thing with cooking at the White House, you don’t just do ne dining meals,” she said. “You have to know how to cook eggs and breakfast. You have to know to cook a smashburger.”
It also helps to remember that the job is about the family.
“There’s no ego in it,” Comerford said.
Asians in White House culinary history
White House culinary history includes chefs from China, Japan, the Philippines, South Korea and Thailand, as far back as the 19th century, accord-
ing to Adrian Miller and Deborah Chang, co-authors of a new book, “Cooking to the President’s Taste: Asian Heritage Chefs in White House History.” Most sharpened their skills through service in the U.S. military.
Before Comerford, Pedro Udo, a Filipino trained in the U.S. military, was the rst Asian heritage chef to run the White House kitchen after he was promoted from meat chef to head chef in June 1957, according to the book. He prepared meals for Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip later that year, and for Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev in September 1959 during the Cold War.
But his stint ended after less than four years when the new rst lady, Jacqueline Kennedy, hired acclaimed French chef René Verdon in early 1961. Miller said the book o ers a “unique window” on the presidency.
“We get a look at the presidents, but also the presidents got a look at Asian American life in maybe ways that they hadn’t before,” he told the AP in an interview. “And I think, you know, for the presidents that decided to open that window and nd out more about the people who were providing, comforting them through amazing food, I think our nation is better for them.”
ANDREW HARNIK / AP PHOTO
White House executive chef Cris Comerford holds dishes during a media preview for a State Dinner with President Joe Biden and French President Emmanuel Macron in November 2022.
SUSAN WALSH / AP PHOTO
Tables are decorated during a press preview at the White House on April 9, 2024, for the State Dinner for Japan’s Prime Minister Fumio Kishida.
Trump EPA dials back some planned limits on ‘forever chemicals’ in drinking water
Limits on two common types, PFOA and PFOS, will still go into e ect
By Michael Phillis The Associated Press
THE ENVIRONMENTAL Protection Agency said last Wednesday that it plans to weaken limits on some “forever chemicals” in drinking water that were nalized last year while maintaining standards for two common ones.
The Biden administration set the rst federal drinking water limits for PFAS, or per uoroalkyl and poly uoroalkyl substances, nding they increased the risk of cardiovascular disease, certain cancers and babies being born with low birth weight. Those limits on PFAS, which are human-made and don’t easily break down in nature, were expected to reduce their levels for millions of people.
Limits on three types of PFAS, including what are known as GenX substances found in North Carolina, will be scrapped and reconsidered by the agency, as will a limit on a mixture of several types of PFAS.
The Biden administration’s rule also set standards for the two common types of PFAS, referred to as PFOA and PFOS, at 4 parts per trillion, e ectively the lowest level at which they can be reliably detected. The EPA will keep those standards, but give utilities two extra years — until 2031 — to comply.
“We are on a path to uphold the agency’s nationwide standards to protect Americans from PFOA and PFOS in their water. At the same time, we will work to provide common-sense exibility in the form of additional time for compliance,” said EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin.
The development was rst reported by The Washington Post.
It appears few utilities will be impacted by the withdrawal of limits for certain, newer types of PFAS. So far, sampling has found nearly 12% of U.S. water utilities are above the Biden administration’s limits. But most utilities face problems with PFOA or PFOS.
Health advocates praised Biden’s administration for the limits. But water utilities complained, saying treatment systems are expensive and that customers will end up paying
COUNCIL from page A1
landscaping and the signage — and do some brand standards and brand management — so that whenever people are coming in and using your park system and they’re not familiar with it, they get a little bit of an awe factor whenever they come in and step into one of your parks.”
Using a graph of cell phone
“We are on a path to uphold the agency’s nationwide standards to protect Americans from PFOA and PFOS in their water. At the same time, we will work to provide common-sense exibility in the form of additional time for compliance.”
Lee
Zeldin, EPA Administrator
more. The utilities sued the EPA.
The EPA’s actions align with some arguments in the utilities’ lawsuit. They argued the EPA lacked authority to regulate a mixture of PFAS and said the agency didn’t properly support limits on several newer types of PFAS that the EPA now plans to rescind. They also sought the two-year extension.
Erik Olson, a senior strategist at the nonpro t Natural Resources Defense Council, said the move is illegal. The Safe Water Drinking Act gives the EPA authority to limit water contaminants, and it includes a provision meant to prevent new rules from being looser than previous ones.
“With a stroke of the pen, EPA is making a mockery of the Trump administration’s promise to deliver clean water for Americans,” Olson said.
President Donald Trump has sought fewer environmental rules and more oil and gas development. EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin has carried out that agenda by announcing massive regulatory rollbacks. The EPA plans to loosen regulations for greenhouse gas emissions, cleanup standards for coal plant waste and car emission limits, among many other clean air and water rules.
Zeldin’s history with PFAS is more nuanced; during his time as a New York congressman, he supported legislation to regulate forever chemicals.
Manufactured by companies like Chemours and 3M, PFAS were incredibly useful in many applications -– among them, helping clothes to withstand rain and ensuring that re ghting foam snu ed out ames. But the chemicals also accumulate in the body. As science advanced in recent years, evidence of harm at
data to chart activity, the project consultant highlighted the city’s high level of park usage compared to a state average and also brought up the bene cial economic impact of parks on local businesses. His assessment included a caveat that the city’s park system is robust but strained, with areas needing upgrades in accessibility, lighting and sta ng to support increased
Former VP Pence in NC, speaks against Trump’s tari s
He praised House Republicans on the “one big beautiful” tax bill
By Gary D. Robertson
The Associated Press
RALEIGH — Former Vice President Mike Pence spoke Monday in North Carolina against the Trump administration’s zealous e orts to impose tari s on trading partners worldwide — another e ort that shows his willingness to split at times with his former boss.
The education arm of Pence’s political advocacy group kicked o in Raleigh a series of events nationwide that was also billed as building support to extend individual income tax reductions enacted by Trump and fellow Republicans in 2017 but set to expire at year’s end.
far lower levels became clearer.
The Biden-era EPA estimated the rule will cost about $1.5 billion to implement each year. Water utility associations say the costs, combined with recent mandates to replace lead pipes, will raise residents’ bills and fall hardest on small communities with few resources.
The Biden administration did work to address cost concerns. The Bipartisan Infrastructure Law provided $9 billion for chemicals like PFAS, utilities have won multibillion-dollar settlements against PFAS polluters.
Utilities see partial relief, activists see a backslide
Some utilities have been surprised to nd out they are over limits. And small water providers might struggle with compliance costs and expertise.
“This gives water pros more time to deal with the ones we know are bad, and we are going to need more time. Some utilities are just nding out now where they stand,” said Mike McGill, president of WaterPIO, a water industry communications rm.
Some utilities wanted a higher limit on PFOA and PFOS, according to Mark White, drinking water leader at the engineering rm CDM Smith. He suspects the utility industry will continue to sue over those limits. Environmental groups will likely le challenges, too.
Melanie Benesh, vice president of government a airs at the nonpro t Environmental Working Group, said utilities may not have to install treatment that’s as broadly e ective if they just have to focus on two types of older PFAS.
“You really reduce what utilities have to do to make sure that the other, newer generation PFAS are captured” she said.
When the Biden administration announced its rule, the head of the EPA traveled to North Carolina and was introduced by activist Emily Donovan, who said she was grateful for the rst federal standards. She had long campaigned for tougher rules for GenX substances that had contaminated a local river.
Now the EPA says it will roll back those GenX limits.
“This current administration promised voters it would ‘Make America Healthy Again’ but rescinding part of the PFAS drinking water standards does no such thing,” she said.
demand and tourism potential.
“Right now, if they step in, depending on what park they go to, they either get a wow factor or they think ‘these parks get used a lot,’” Halubka noted. “Update the look of some of your parks and update that signage so that they know how to get around. That just sets you up to be able to market better as you move towards the more pricier, capital side of things that help draw people in.”
for more common sense reforms in Medicaid.”
Three days ago, Moody’s Ratings mentioned the 2017 tax cuts as it stripped the U.S. government of its top credit rating, citing the inability of policymakers to rein in debt.
Conservatives see the tax cuts as providing fuel for the economy while putting more money in taxpayers’ pockets. Democrats say the wealthiest Americans bene t the most from them.
Pence told the AP the larger issue is the unwillingness of politicians to consider “commonsense, compassionate” entitlement reforms for Medicare and Social Security that would address the nation’s nearly $37 trillion of debt and “set us back on a path of scal integrity.”
In a brief interview with The Associated Press, Pence praised congressional Republicans for pushing ahead President Donald Trump’s bill of tax breaks and spending cuts, saying “there should be no higher domestic priority” than making permanent the tax cuts passed in Trump’s rst term. But much of the meeting focused on Pence and key conservative business leaders in North Carolina opposing Trump’s recent tari e orts.
Monday’s event marked another step by Pence to try to distinguish himself among the small group of Republicans in Washington willing to publicly criticize policies sought by the second Trump administration. Pence and others said protectionism would ultimately harm the U.S. economy in the form of higher prices and employment losses.
“It is ultimately for the most part American consumers that will pay the price of higher tari s,” Pence said at the event assembled by Pence’s Advancing American Freedom Foundation and the Raleigh-based John Locke Foundation.
The massive 1,116-page budget bill, which also contains additional tax breaks that Trump campaigned for in the 2024 election — as well as spending reductions and beefed-up border security — initially failed to pass the House Budget Committee late last week.
A handful of conservatives who voted against the bill want further cuts to Medicaid and green energy tax breaks. House Speaker Mike Johnson aims to send the bill to the Senate by Memorial Day. The bill cleared the committee in a rare Sunday night meeting, but Johnson told reporters afterward that negotiations were ongoing.
“I’m encouraged,” Pence told the AP after Monday’s event.
”I’m grateful that conservatives in the House have been pressing
Pence said at the roundtable that he’s proud of Trump’s rstterm e orts to use the tari threat to reach new free-trade agreements with trading partners. And Pence agreed that China is an exception for retaliatory tari s, citing intellectual property theft and dumping products like steel onto world markets. But Trump’s second-term e ort, seeming to make tari s large and permanent, are very di erent and misguided, he said.
Trump has said broad tari s on foreign goods are needed to narrow the gap with taxes other countries place on U.S. goods.
Trump said that countries “have to pay for the right to sell here,” Pence said in recalling rst-term conversations. “Any time I’d remind him that actually it’s American importers that pay the tari , he would look a little annoyed at me from time to time and say, ‘I know how it works.’ And then he’d say, ‘but they have to pay.’”
While the former Indiana governor and U.S. House member refused to break with Trump during their time serving together, the two had a falling out over his refusal to go along with Trump’s e orts to remain in o ce after losing the 2020 election. Trump had tried to pressure Pence to reject election results from swing states where the Republican president falsely claimed the vote was marred by fraud.
A 2024 presidential campaign by Pence — and potentially against Trump — ended early. He committed to invigorating Advancing American Freedom by promoting conservative principles as Trump’s brand of populism has taken hold in the GOP.
Pence’s group spent nearly $1 million on ads opposing Robert F. Kennedy Jr., Trump’s pick to lead the Department of Health and Human Services. And Pence also has spoken in favor of Trump standing with long-standing foreign allies.
In a parks and rec department analysis that featured two public meetings with more than 700 people, the comprehensive plan concluded that more trails, a splash pad, indoor playground, aquatics, picnic shelters, water sports, a community garden, outdoor athletic elds and an indoor multipurpose gym rank as some of the public’s highest interests for future updates. Mayor Ronnie Michael con-
rmed that the council will stick to its procedure of reviewing the full comprehensive plan before making an o cial approval action in a vote at a future meeting.
“You will get the 200-page report and then have time to digest it and everything before we ever consider it,” he said.
The Albemarle City Council is set to meet again on June 2 at 6:30 p.m. in the City Hall Council Chambers.
JOSHUA A. BICKEL / AP PHOTO
Logan Feeney pours a water sample with forever chemicals, known as PFAS, into a container for research,at a U.S. Environmental Protection Agency lab in Cincinnati last April.
ALLEN G. BREED / AP PHOTO
Former Vice President Mike Pence makes a point during a Monday panel discussion on tari s held in Raleigh.
Democratic congresswoman charged with assaulting ICE agents after ICE skirmish
Rep. LaMonica McIver (D-N.J.) is on video pushing ICE agents
By Mike Catalini The Associated Press
WASHINGTON, D.C. —
Federal prosecutors alleged Democratic Rep. LaMonica McIver of New Jersey pushed and grabbed o cers while attempting to block the arrest of the Newark mayor outside an immigration detention facility, according to charges in court papers unsealed on Tuesday.
In an eight-page complaint, interim U.S. Attorney Alina Habba’s o ce said McIver was protesting the removal of Newark Mayor Ras Baraka from a congressional tour of the Delaney Hall detention center in Newark on May 9.
The complaint says she attempted to stop the arrest of the mayor and pushed into agents for Homeland Security Investigations and Immigration and Customs Enforcement. She faces two counts of assaulting, resisting and impeding an o cer.
McIver has denied any wrongdoing and has accused federal agents of escalating the situation by arresting the mayor. She denounced the charge as “purely political” and said prosecutors are distorting her actions in an e ort to deter legislative oversight.
Habba had charged Baraka with trespassing after his arrest but dismissed the allegation on Monday when she said in a so -
Rep. LaMonica McIver demands the release of Newark Mayor Ras Baraka after his arrest while protesting outside an ICE detention prison on May 9 in Newark, New Jersey.
cial media post she instead was charging the congresswoman. Prosecuting McIver is a rare federal criminal case against a sitting member of Congress for allegations other than fraud or corruption.
The case instantly taps into a broader and more consequential struggle between a Trump administration engaged in overhauling immigration policy and a Democratic party scrambling to respond. Within minutes of Habba’s announcement, McIver’s Democratic colleagues cast the pros-
“You can’t put hands on an ICE employee, we’re not going to tolerate it.”
Border Czar Tom Homan
ecution as an infringement on lawmakers’ o cial duties to serve their constituents and an e ort to silence their opposition to an immigration policy that helped propel the president back into power but now has emerged as divisive fault line in
American political discourse. Members of Congress are authorized by law to go into federal immigration facilities as part of their oversight powers, even without advance notice. Congress passed a 2019 appropriations bill that spelled out the authority.
A nearly two-minute clip released by the Homeland Security Department shows McIver on the facility side of a chainlink fence just before the arrest of the mayor on the street side of the fence. She and uniformed o cials go through the
gate and she joins others shouting they should circle the mayor. The video shows McIver in a tightly packed group of people and o cers. At one point her left elbow and then her right elbow push into an o cer wearing a dark face covering and an olive green uniform emblazoned with the word “Police” on it. It isn’t clear from bodycam video whether that contact was intentional, incidental or a result of jostling in the chaotic scene.
The complaint says she “slammed” her forearm into an agent and then tried to restrain the agent by grabbing him.
Tom Homan, President Donald Trump’s top border adviser, said during an interview on Fox News Tuesday “she broke the law and we’re going to hold her accountable”
“You can’t put hands on an ICE employee, we’re not going to tolerate it,” he said.
McIver, 38, rst came to Congress in September in a special election after the death of Rep. Donald Payne Jr. left a vacancy in the 10th District. She was then elected to a full term in November. A Newark native, she served as the president of the Newark City Council from 2022 to 2024 and worked in the city’s public schools before that.
House Democratic leaders decried the criminal case against their colleague in a lengthy statement in which they called the charge “extreme, morally bankrupt” and lacking “any basis in law or fact.”
Trump signs bill to make posting ‘revenge porn’ a federal crime
By Darlene Superville
The Associated Press
WASHINGTON, D.C. —
President Donald Trump, alongside his wife, Melania, on Monday signed the Take It Down Act, a measure the rst lady helped usher through Congress to set stricter penalties for the distribution of non-consensual intimate imagery online, or “revenge porn.”
In March, Melania Trump used her rst public appearance since resuming the role of rst lady to travel to Capitol Hill to lobby House members to pass the bill following its approval by the Senate.
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters earlier Monday that the rst lady was “instrumental in getting this important legislation passed.”
The bill makes it a federal crime to “knowingly publish” or threaten to publish intimate images without a person’s consent, including AI-created “deepfakes.” Websites and social media companies will be required to remove such material within 48 hours after a victim requests it. The platforms must also take steps to delete duplicate content.
Many states have already banned the dissemination of
sexually explicit deepfakes or revenge porn, but the Take It Down Act is a rare example of federal regulators imposing on internet companies.
The bill, sponsored by Sens. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) and Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.) received overwhelming bipartisan sup -
port in Congress, passing the House in April by a 409-2 vote and clearing the Senate by unanimous consent.
But the measure isn’t without critics. Free speech advocates and digital rights groups say the bill is too broad and could lead to censorship of le-
gitimate images, including legal pornography and LGBTQ content. Others say it could allow the government to monitor private communications and undermine due process.
The rst lady appeared at a Capitol Hill roundtable with lawmakers and young women
It’s a “powerful statement that we stand united in protecting the dignity, privacy and safety of our children.”
First lady Melania Trump
who had explicit images of them put online, saying it was “heartbreaking” to see what teenagers and especially girls go through after this happens to them. She also included a victim among her guests for the president’s address to a joint session of Congress the day after that meeting.
After the House passed the bill, Melania Trump called the bipartisan vote a “powerful statement that we stand united in protecting the dignity, privacy and safety of our children.”
Her advocacy for the bill is a continuation of the Be Best campaign she started in the president’s rst term, focusing on children’s well-being, social media use and opioid abuse.
In his speech to Congress in March, the president said the publication of such imagery online is “just terrible” and that he looked forward to signing the bill into law.
“And I’m going to use that bill for myself, too, if you don’t mind,” he said. There’s nobody who “gets treated worse than I do online. Nobody.”
First lady Melania Trump lobbied hard for the bill
MANUEL BALCE CENETA / AP PHOTO
President Donald Trump, with rst lady Melania Trump and others, poses after signing the “Take It Down Act” during a ceremony in the Rose Garden at the White House on Monday.
ANGELINA KATSANIS / AP PHOTO
STANLY SPORTS
West Stanly baseball outduels
Randleman for 2-1 fourth-round win
By Charles Curcio Stanly News Journal
THE WEST STANLY baseball program had not played in the fourth round of the state playo s for more than a decade before last Friday’s road game at Randleman. A close game the whole way, the Colts trailed by a run for ve innings but scratched two runs across in the sixth and played solid defense to advance to the regional series, 2-1.
The win for West puts the Colts into the regional nals for the rst time since the 1991 season. The best nish for a West Stanly baseball program was two seasons before, when the Colts nished as state runners-up. Cooper Crisco was outstanding on the mound for West Stanly (22-6), going 62⁄3 innings and allowing one run on three hits with six walks and nine strikeouts.
Randleman (20-6) took a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the rst inning, but a critical defensive play paid dividends later in the game. After the Tigers took the lead on a throwing error, the
next batter, Jake Riddle, singled to left. Caleb Foley threw a strike to the catcher, Ben Mecimore, cutting down the runner. Mecimore then red to second where Bailey tagged Tate Andrews out to end the inning. Drew Hatley, as he did in last Tuesday’s win versus North Stanly, delivered again for the Colts. With no outs in the top of the six, Carpenter walked and got the third on two balks from two di erent pitchers. Hatley then doubled
Pfei er softball comes up short in NCAA Regional
The Falcons were defeated by Salisbury on Saturday
By Jesse Deal Stanly News Journal
MISENHEIMER — With a nal record of 37-9, the Pfei er University softball team’s 2025 season and postseason have both come to an end.
The Falcons entered the double-elimination Regional stage of the 62-team 2025 NCAA Division III Softball Tournament on May 15, starting o as the No. 2 seed within the four-team Salisbury Regional in Salisbury, Maryland. Coming o its third-straight USA South Tournament Title victory, Pfei er was blanked 8-0 by the No. 3 Mount Union Purple Raiders in the rst meeting between the two teams as the Falcons’ 23-game winning streak was snapped at an inopportune time.
Facing elimination with another loss, the Falcons — led by four-time USA South Coach of the Year Monte Sherrill — were then forced to win its next two games in order to play in the NCAA Regional Championship round on Saturday.
Pfei er proved to be up to that challenge.
The Falcons defeated No. 4 Westminster (PA) 3-1 on Friday and followed that victory up later that day with a 2-1 win in a rematch with Mount Union, landing Pfei er in the NCAA Regional Championship round on Saturday against Regional host Salisbury. It was a strong e ort for the Falcons following their opening-round loss just a few days prior, which was also their rst defeat since a 6-4 road loss to Christopher Newport back on March 15.
However, the Sea Gulls got a walk-o hit in the bottom
to right center eld to tie game.
Later in the sixth, Mecimore reached on a throwing error, then Logan Faile drove a y ball to right for an RBI sacri ce y to put the Colts up, 2-1.
“POut the ball in play and make something happen,” Faile said he was thinking during his at bat. “I hadn’t had a hit all game, but I felt good. I saw that curve ball and took it to the opposite eld.”
Crisco said his approach in taking the mound in the seventh with a one-run lead was
“to pound the strike zone as fast I could and let the defense work, trust the defense behind me.”
With two outs in the seventh, Crisco hit the 105-pitch limit, which brought Faile in the game in a save opportunity. He struck out Andrews in ve pitches to end the game.
Winning the game, Faile said, “was one of the best moments of our lives.”
West head coach Chad Yow, himself a former baseball standout for the Colts as a player, said he shared a quote from one of
“Everyone can do it when it’s easy, but champions show up in really, really tough times. That’s what happened tonight.”
his favorite coaches, former Cal State Fullerton and Texas head coach Augie Garrido.
“Everyone can do it when it’s easy, but champions show up in really, really tough times,” Yow said. “That’s what happened tonight.”
Regarding Hatley’s game-tying double, Yow said, “Drew came up in another Michael Jordan moment, and he pulled through just like Michael would, as opposed to LeBron James. The kid is clutch, big time.”
West Stanly, the No. 7 seed in the 2A West, will travel to No. 1 East Rutherford on Tuesday night at 7 p.m. Game 2 of the series will be Thursday at The Ball Park at West Stanly, with a third game, if necessary, scheduled for Saturday back at East Rutherford.
The Cavaliers (26-0) are ranked rst in the 2A West rankings and seventh in the state regardless of classi cation. East Rutherford has previously won 2A title in 20022004, 2010 and 2016.
“I think we’re going to do really well,” Faile said. “I think we have a chance to win the state championship.”
Fans watch the NASCAR All-Star Open race in North Wilkesboro prior to the All-Star race.
Drivers say North Wilkesboro deserves Cup points race after All-Star Race success
The track received rave reviews following its third straight All-Star Race
By Nate Ryan The Associated Press
FOR HIS FIRST act as a NASCAR All-Star Race champion, Christopher Bell chose to praise the revitalized
78-year- old racetrack that delivered a memorable night of racing.
“Let’s go!” Bell shouted to roaring approval from a capacity crowd of 25,000 as he made the case Sunday night during his frontstretch celebration that North Wilkesboro Speedway was due a Cup Series points race.
“The best short track in NASCAR,” Bell said. “It is absolutely incredible. It’s just going to get better and better. Man, that was an amazing race.” In its third edition as host of the $1 million exhibition event, the speedway produced All-Star Race records for lead changes (18) and green- ag passes for the lead (59) as its remarkable rebirth continued See NASCAR, page B2
West Stanly head coach Chad Yow
The Colts have reached the regional nals for the rst time since 1991
CHARLES CURCIO / STANLY NEWS JOURNAL
West Stanly’s baseball team poses for a team photo after the Colts’ 2-1 win over Randleman put them into the nal four of the NCHSAA Class 2A baseball state
CHARLES CURCIO / STANLY NEWS JOURNAL
Landon Bailey tags out Tate Andrews out at second base to end the bottom of the rst inning.
SCOTT KINSER / AP PHOTO
SOFTBALL from page B1
of the championship’s seventh inning to take down the Falcons 5-4 and advance to the NCAA Super Regionals; Pfei er’s senior pitcher and USA South Pitcher of the Year
Emma Bullin (30-6) took the loss in the contest.
Bullin’s ve earned runs allowed were tied for her second-most allowed in any of her 44 appearances this season.
Pfei er managed to score rst in the game but soon lost its edge, leading up to a three -run home run from sophomore in elder Emily Dickerson that gave the Falcons a 4-2 lead in the fourth inning. The Sea Gulls responded to the blast by scoring three times over the remaining three innings to take the one-run win.
Following the conclu-
NASCAR from page B1
from a dilapidated and rotting hulk just three years ago.
Speedway Motorsports announced that grandstand seating and premium hospitality were sold out for the 41st All- Star Race, which drew fans from 43 states and nine countries to North Wilkesboro in Wilkes County. SMI president and CEO Marcus Smith proclaimed that “like Lambeau Field to football and Fenway Park to baseball, North Wilkesboro Speedway has become America’s throwback racetrack.”
Bell was among several drivers who say the short track deserves its rst Cup Series points race in 30 years when NASCAR releases its 2026 Cup Series schedule, which is expected in a few months.
“I don’t see why not,” seven-time most popular driver winner Chase Elliott said about
Earned runs surrendered by Emma Bullin, tied for the most she’s allowed this year
sion of the Salisbury Regional, sophomore out elder and USA South Player of the Year
Landry Stewart, junior utility player Charly Cooper, and senior catcher Emma Chopko were each named to the NCAA All-Region Team.
The 2025 Pfei er Falcons team went undefeated (18-0) against conference opponents this season, achieving an improvement in that category even over last season’s successful Falcons squad (25 - 4, 16-2).
the possibility after nishing fth. “I think it’s plenty capable of hosting, and obviously, the crowd seems extremely receptive to the idea, too. Whatever NASCAR decides on that, I’m good with. It put on a good race for sure, so it’s hard to argue against that.”
Aside from a smattering of minor-league races in 201011, North Wilkesboro Speedway had sat dormant since Je Gordon won its most recent Cup race on Sept. 29, 1996. A $20 million renovation (spurred by federal funding from the American Rescue Plan) began in 2022 and led to being awarded the 2023 All- Star Race. Its rst two All-Star Races were lackluster, but North Wilkesboro’s racing came to life Sunday. The 0.625-mile oval’s surface has widened into multiple lanes since a repaving last year, and Sunday’s race featured 1,426 green- ag passes that
Pfei er celebrates a walk-o win over Mount Union, but the Falcons were eliminated later in the day.
“Man, that was an amazing race.”
Christopher Bell
electri ed the jammed grandstands.
“Man, they show up,” Bell said. “We go out for driver intros, and the place was packed. It’s just bumping. We need more events like this.”
Joe Gibbs, whose team scored its third All-Star Race victory, with Bell joining previous winners Kyle Busch in 2015 and Denny Hamlin in 2017, credited Smith and support from the community for putting the track in line for points race consideration.
“I won’t be making that decision,” Gibbs said. “But I think the way this race turned out and the crowd and everything, that’ll have a lot to do with it.”
Already sour about a “Promoter’s Caution” that erased his late lead and left him vulnerable on older tires, runner-up Joey Logano took issue with Bell’s winning pass in the No. 20 Toyota. After the drivers made contact that squeezed his No. 22 Ford into the outside wall with nine laps remaining, Logano vowed retaliation if he’d been able to catch Bell.
“I did all I could do to hold him o , and he got under me and released the brake and gave me no option,” said Logano, who led a race-high 139 of 250 laps. “If I could’ve got to him, he was going around after a move like that. I just couldn’t get back to him. Just frustrated after you lead so many laps, and the car is so fast, and you don’t win. It hurts quite a bit.” Bell was bemused by Logano’s frustration.
“I had got to him a couple times before, and he made it very di cult on me, as he
should,” Bell said. “I got my run, and I took the moment, as I should. I don’t think that I did anything that Joey has not done, and I’ve seen Joey do much worse. We will continue on.”
Notable
With top- ve nishes by Ross Chastain, Alex Bowman and Chase Elliott, Chevrolet beat Ford and Toyota to win the All-Star Race’s rst “Manufacturer’s Showdown” that was based on the combined results for each automaker. … Jon Edwards, the former PR rep for Kyle Larson who died last month, was honored with “The Byrnsie Award” that is voted on by Fox’s NASCAR broadcast team in tribute to late broadcaster Steve Byrnes. Fox has presented the award since 2016 to celebrate those who embody Byrnes’ principles of preparation, teamwork and family.
PFEIFFER ATHLETICS
SIDELINE
REPORT
AUTO RACING
Indianapolis 500 on pace for 1st sellout since 2016; local TV blackout to be lifted
Indianapolis The Indianapolis 500 is expected to be sold out and the local blackout will be lifted so fans in the area unable to attend can watch it live. It will be the rst grandstand sell-out since 2016. If the grandstands don’t reach capacity, Indianapolis Motor Speedway implements a local television blackout in which the race can only be watched inside the city later that day on replay. The race is expected to draw 350,000. The Indiana Pacers will also host an NBA playo game that evening.
MLB Ohtani throws 50-pitch bullpen session; Kershaw makes return Los Angeles Los Angeles Dodgers slugger Shohei Ohtani threw a 50-pitch bullpen session Saturday, another step in his throwing program in his return from elbow surgery. Ohtani advanced from the 35 pitches he tossed in his previous bullpen session on the same day that the Dodgers activated left-handed pitcher Clayton Kershaw, who made his season debut against the Los Angeles Angels. To make room on the roster for Kershaw, right-hander Ryan Loutos was optioned to Triple-A Oklahoma City. Also, left-hander Blake Snell (shoulder) was transferred to the 60-day injured list.
NFL Brown detained after gunshots outside Ross’ boxing event
Miami Ex-NFL star Antonio Brown says he was brie y detained by police following an altercation in which gunshots were red outside Adin Ross’ celebrity boxing event in Miami.
Miami police con rmed o cers responded to the area at about 3 a.m. after receiving an alert from the gunshot- detection system. Police questioned several people but made no arrests. Brown posted on social media that he had been “jumped by multiple individuals who tried to steal my jewelry and cause physical harm to me” at the popular streamer Ross’ event.
MLS Messi speaks after latest Inter Miami loss, says team must stick together
Miami Lionel Messi isn’t happy right now. After Inter Miami was routed 3-0 by Orlando on Sunday night and fell to 1-5-1 in its last seven matches across all competitions, the eight-time Ballon d’Or winner and 2022 World Cup champion told Apple TV that it’s imperative for the team to stick together. Messi rarely gives interviews after matches. Inter Miami is sixth in Major League Soccer’s Eastern Conference after setting an MLS mark for the best regular-season record last year.
ACC revenues, payouts climbed in 2023-24; so too did legal bills
FSU and Clemson lawsuits were a major expense
By Aaron Beard The Associated Press
THE ATLANTIC Coast Conference set league records for revenue and member payouts yet also had a growing legal bill amid since-settled lawsuits from members Clemson and Florida State, according to the league’s most recent tax ling. The 990 tax form covering the 2023-24 season reported the league’s revenue increased to about $711.4 million, up slightly from $706.6 million a year earlier. That allowed the ACC to pay an average of nearly $45 million to its 14 football-playing members — Louisville ($46.4 million) and FSU ($46.3 million) had the highest hauls — while Notre Dame made $20.7 million for its partial share as a football independent. Those gures don’t re ect the arrivals of California, Stanford and SMU as new members to
push the league to 18 schools for the 2024-25 season. Nor does it include the “success initiative” championed by commissioner Jim Phillips that went into effect this season for schools to keep more money generated by their own postseason success.
The ACC has also revamped its revenue-distribution plan to factor in TV viewership and reward top-draw schools. That takes e ect next year as part of the settlement that ended the threats from the Clemson and FSU cases challenging the league’s ability to charge massive exit fees if they tried to join another league.
Phillips has talked about the league’s “aggressive” e orts to generate more revenue amid a growing gap behind the Big Ten and Southeastern conferences in what many consider to be a Power Two of the conferences, though the ACC has been ahead of the smaller Big 12 in revenue and payouts in its lings to solidify itself in third.
For example, the Big 12 reported revenue of $493.8 million in its ling for 2023-24, down from $510.7 million the previous year. That came in
its nal season with Oklahoma and Texas in the fold before both schools moved to the SEC for 2024-25, along with the additions of BYU, Cincinnati, Houston and UCF to the Big 12 that year.
Amid that expansion and revenue decline, the Big 12 went from distributing about $44.2 million to 10 schools in 2022-23 to $39.5 million to those same programs for 2023-24. The four new schools received reduced shares averaging around $20 million, by comparison.
The ACC’s gains have notably come since the launch of the ESPN-partnered ACC Network in August 2019. The league reported $288.6 million in TV revenue for the 2018-19 season before the network’s launch, but that gure reached $487.1 million for 2023-24 — a 68.8% increase.
Yet amid those gains, the league reported more than $12.3 million in legal expenses for 2023-24, a 70.2% jump from the previous year ($7.2 million) coming as FSU led a December 2023 lawsuit and Clemson followed in March 2024.
The increased legal costs also
come amid legal cases reshaping the landscape of college athletics, including the landmark settlement to a $2.8 billion federal class-action antitrust lawsuit led by athletes against the NCAA and its largest conferences. That settlement is awaiting nal approval by a federal judge before terms can go into e ect as early as July 1, such as schools sharing more than $20 million annually with athletes.
The ACC reported nearly $19.6 million in legal expenses through its two most recent tax lings, similar to the combined total reported for the previous six years ($20.8 million).
Still, the resolution in the FSU and Clemson cases, along with ESPN in January picking up its option to extend its base-rights ACC media deal through 2035-36, o ered a measure of league stability when it came to its annual spring meetings in Florida this week.
“Chaos and the constant wondering of what’s happening here or there, I just think that distracts from the business at hand,” Phillips said then. “But I feel good about where we’re at.”
Rockies chart new course under new manager after one of worst starts in major league history
Former Asheville manager Warren Schae er inherits the last-place team
By Pat Graham The Associated Press
DENVER — All the losing nearly reduced lefty Kyle Freeland to tears as he recently chatted about the woeful state of his hometown Colorado Rockies.
It’s a gloomy situation with the Rockies o to a 7-33 start — one of the worst in major league history — leading to the dismissal of manager Bud Black.
Freeland wears his feelings for his city — to the team he grew up rooting for — on his sleeve. More speci cally, his right arm, where there are tattoos of the elevation (5,280), area code (303) and an outline of the mountains. The losses weigh heavily on him. Change arrived in the Mile High air when Black, the franchise’s winningest manager and the only voice that many of the Rockies players have ever known, was let go. Now, it’s Warren Schae er’s turn to navigate the Rockies away from a season that’s careening toward infamy. The Rockies have the worst start since the 1988 Baltimore Orioles began 6-34. Colorado is on pace for 134 losses a season after the Chicago White Sox went 41-121 — the worst since
Colorado Rockies interim manager Warren Schae er, center, talks in the dugout before one of his rst games at the helm of an MLB team.
baseball adopted a 162-game schedule in 1961. Promoted from third base coach to interim manager, Schae er inherits a team that’s second-to-last in runs — despite playing home games at hitter-friendly Coors Field — and rst in strikeouts. The pitching sta has surrendered the most runs in the big leagues and fanned the fewest batters.
Schae er managed seven minor league seasons in the Colorado organization, from 2015 to 2022, including 2015 to 2017 with the Asheville Tourists.
Schae er brings energy and exuberance to the Rockies
clubhouse. He has been Colorado’s third base and in eld coach since the 2023 season.
Prior to joining the big league team, he spent 10 seasons as a manager and coach in the Rockies’ minor league system.
“A positive atmosphere in the clubhouse, and we’re ready to move forward,” Schae er said Monday before the series opener at Texas that marked his debut at interim manager. “I just want them to play loose. From my vantage point, it’s a fresh start.”
Relief pitcher Jake Bird, one of several Rockies who played for Schae er when he was a minor league manager, described him as a good commu-
nicator who is intelligent and passionate.
“Something just feels di erent. So I’m really feeling optimistic about the direction moving forward,” Bird said. “I think our team’s a lot more capable than what we’ve been playing.”
General manager Bill Schmidt said after the move was made Sunday that the 40-year-old Schae er’s connection to players was a big part of what he brings to his new role.
“I think just a di erent voice here — we’re at that point where we needed to do that,” Schmidt said.
It’s an uphill climb for the Rockies to avoid a third straight 100-loss season. They have to go 56-66 the rest of the way. They’ve won back-to -back games just once and have three separate eight-game losing streaks.
Freeland was emotional last week after a start on the mound in which he allowed nine runs ( ve earned).
“Keep believing in us,” Freeland said of his message to Rockies faithful as he choked up. The Rockies haven’t been to the postseason since 2018. Their only World Series appearance was 2007, when they were swept by the Boston Red Sox. Their manager then was Clint Hurdle, who is now the interim bench coach under Schae er.
is to notify all persons having claims against the Estate of said Maxine Williams Spivey to present them to the undersigned on or before August 22, 2025, or the same will be pleaded in bar of their recovery. All persons indebted to said Estate please make immediate payment. This the 10th day of April, 2025. Executor: John Brady Sr. aka John Grover Brady, Sr. PO Box 57 Rich eld, NC 28137 Publish: 5/21/25, 5/28/25, 6/4/25, 6/11/25
IN THE GENERAL COURT OF JUSTICE
SUPERIOR COURT DIVISION BEFORE THE CLERK FILE NO. 25E000196-830
NOTICE
NORTH CAROLINA STANLY COUNTY NOTICE TO CREDITORS
Having quali ed as Administrator of the estate of Jane Irby Gillespie, deceased, of Stanly County, North Carolina, this is to notify all persons having claims against the Estate of said Jane Irby Gillespie to present them to the undersigned on or before August 11, 2025, or the same will be pleaded in bar of their recovery. All persons indebted to said Estate please make immediate payment.
In the General Court of Justice Superior Court Division Before the Clerk File #- 25E000271-830
North Carolina Stanly County Notice to Creditors
Having quali ed as Executrix of the Estate of Mickey Ronal Thompson, deceased, of Stanly County, North Carolina. This is to notify all persons having claims against the Estate of said Mickey Ronal Thompson to present them to the undersigned on or before August 22, 2025, of the same will be pleaded in bar of their recovery.
All persons indebted to said Estate please make immediate payment.
This 21st day of May, 2025.
Bonnie S. Dennis 43184 Vicker Store Road Albermarle, NC 28001
Having
27306
Publish: May 14, 21, 28 and June 4, 2025 NOTICE IN THE GENERAL COURT OF JUSTICE SUPERIOR COURT DIVISION BEFORE THE CLERK FILE NO. 25E000257-830 NORTH CAROLINA STANLY COUNTY NOTICE TO CREDITORS
Having quali ed as Executor of the estate of Dolores Hart Carter, deceased, of Stanly County, North Carolina, this is to notify all persons having claims against the Estate of said Dolores Hart Carter to present them to the undersigned on or before August 14, 2025 or the same will be pleaded in bar of their recovery. All persons indebted to said Estate please make immediate payment.
This the 14th day of May 2025.
Executor: Christina M. Vanderburg aka Christina Marie Vanderburg 2207 Carolina Avenue Kannapolis, NC 28083
Publish: May 14, 21, 28 and June 4, 2025
NOTICE TO CREDITORS
Having quali ed as Ancillary Administrator of the Estate of Donna L. Brandon, late of Stanly County, North Carolina, the undersigned does hereby notify all persons, rms, and corporations having claims against the estate of said decedent to exhibit them to the undersigned at P.O. Box 5994, Greensboro, North Carolina 27435, on or before the 14th day of August, 2025, or this notice will be pleaded in bar of their recovery. All persons, rms, and corporations indebted to the said estate will please make immediate payment to the undersigned.
This the 14th day of May, 2025.
Melissa Brandon Ancillary Administrator of the Estate of Donna L. Brandon
Jonathan M. Parisi Attorney at Law Spangler Estate Planning P.O. Box 5994 Greensboro, NC 27435
Publish: 5/14, 5/21, 5/28, 6/4, 2025
NOTICE
IN THE GENERAL COURT OF JUSTICE SUPERIOR COURT DIVISION BEFORE THE CLERK FILE NO. 25E000234-830 NORTH CAROLINA STANLY COUNTY NOTICE TO CREDITORS
Having quali ed as Executor of the estate of Imogene S. Snuggs aka Imogene Sophia Snuggs, deceased, of Stanly County, North Carolina, this is to notify all persons having claims against the Estate of said Imogene S. Snuggs aka Imogene Sophia Snuggs to present them to the undersigned on or before August 14, 2025, or the same will be pleaded in bar of their recovery. All persons indebted to said Estate please make immediate payment.
This the 14th day of May, 2025.
Executor: Samuel D. Swaringen 604 Lexington Drive Albemarle, NC 28001
Publish: May 14, 21, 28 and June 4, 2025.
Adjunct Instructor
Adjunct Instructor,
NOTICE
The undersigned, having quali ed as Co-Administrator of the Estate of Nila Lyn Elliott late of Stanly County, North Carolina, hereby noti es to all persons, rms and corporations having claims against said Estate to present them to the undersigned on or before August 19, 2024, or this notice will be pleaded in bar of their recovery. All persons, rms and corporations indebted to the said Estate will please make immediate payment to the undersigned.
Alyvia Maurine Elliott Co-Administrator 825 19th Street South Arlington, VA 22202
Emily G. Thompson, Esq. Attorney for Co-Administrators
Reed & Thompson, PLLC 204 Branchview Dr SE Concord, NC 28025
Estate File No.: 25E000290-830
NOTICE
NORTH CAROLINA ROWAN COUNTY IN THE GENERAL COURT OF JUSTICE DISTRICT COURT DIVISION FILE NO 25 JA 58
NOTICE OF SERVICE OF PROCESS BY PUBLICATION IN RE: Jalan Austin DOB: 2/24/25 A Minor TO RESPONDENTS: Amber Smith, mother John Austin, father
PLEASE TAKE NOTICE that a veri ed Juvenile Petition has been led by the Rowan County Department of Social Services (petitioner) alleging that the above-named juvenile is neglected and dependent as de ned by North Carolina General Statues Chapter 7B. You are noti ed to appear and answer the petition by serving the original of your written answer upon the Clerk of Superior Court, Juvenile Court Division, Rowan County Courthouse, 210 N. Main Street, Salisbury, NC 28144, within forty (40) days from the date of the rst publication of this notice. You also must serve a copy of the answer on the petitioner’s attorney (address below). You will be noti ed of the time, date, and place to appear for a hearing upon the ling of your answer. The purpose of the hearing is to determine and review the need for continued custody, placement options, visitation, available services, and other needs as they pertain to Jalan Austin. You are entitled to appear at the hearing. If you cannot a ord an attorney, you are entitled to an appointed attorney to assist you provided you request one before the time set for the hearing. If you fail to request counsel, you may waive your right to appointed counsel. You may request an attorney by contacting the Clerk of Superior Court, Juvenile Court Division, 210 N. Main St, Salisbury, NC 28144 (704) 797-3054. This is a new case and any attorney appointed previously to represent you will not represent you in this proceeding unless otherwise ordered by the court. If you fail to le an answer within the time speci ed, or appear for said court hearing, the court will determine if the allegations of the petition are true, conduct a dispositional hearing for the needs of the juvenile, and enter an order designed to meet the needs and the objective of the State. The dispositional order may remove the juvenile from the custody of a parent, and the Petitioner will apply to the court for permanent custody of the juvenile to be placed with the Rowan County Department of Social Services. This the 29th day of April 2025. Morgan Swink, Attorney for Petitioner Rowan County Dept. Of Social Services 1813 East Innes St. Salisbury NC 28146 704-216-8929
Publish: May 7, 14, 21, 2025
FORECLOSURE
NOTICE OF FORECLOSURE SALE 24SP000125-830
Under and by virtue of the power of sale contained in a certain Deed of Trust made by Donald Daniel Poling and Ellen Yvonne Poling (PRESENT RECORD OWNER(S): Donald Daniel Poling and Ellen Yvonne Poling) to Cli Crabtree, Trustee(s), dated April 6, 2000, and recorded in Book No. 0746, at Page 0054 in Stanly County Registry, North Carolina, default having been made in the payment of the promissory note secured by the said Deed of Trust and the undersigned, Substitute Trustee Services, Inc. having been substituted as Trustee in said Deed of Trust by an instrument duly recorded in the O ce of the Register of Deeds Stanly County, North Carolina and the holder of the note evidencing said indebtedness having directed that the Deed of Trust be foreclosed, the undersigned Substitute Trustee will o er for sale at the courthouse door in Albemarle, Stanly County, North Carolina, or the customary location designated for foreclosure sales, at 11:00 AM on May 28, 2025 and will sell to the highest bidder for cash the following real estate situated in Norwood in the County of Stanly, North Carolina, and being more particularly described as follows: BEING all of Lot 4 of LEE’S #3 SUBDIVISION as shown on plat thereof recorded in Plat Book 17 at Page 39, led in the O ce of the Register of Deeds of Stanly County, North Carolina, to which reference is hereby made for a complete description of said lot by metes and bounds. Together with improvements located thereon; said property being located at 8592 Amanda Lane, Norwood, North Carolina.
This conveyance Is subject to all rights-of-ways, easements, uses, permits, zoning ordinances, restrictions and reservations as may appear of record.
For reference see Substitute Trustee’s Deed from Mark T. Aderhold to Conseco Finance Servicing Corp. f/k/a Green Tree Financial Servicing Corporation dated November 17, 1999 and recorded in Book 730, Page 547, Stanly County Registry.
For further reference see Deed Book 673, Page 617, Stanly County Registry. Trustee may, in the Trustee’s sole discretion, delay the sale for up to one hour as provided in N.C.G.S. §45-21.23. Should the property be purchased by a third party, that party must pay the excise tax, as well as the court costs of Forty-Five Cents ($0.45) per One Hundred Dollars ($100.00) required by N.C.G.S. §7A-308(a)(1). The property to be o ered pursuant to this notice of sale is being o ered for sale, transfer and conveyance “AS
the stream
Krasinski, Portman search for ‘Fountain of Youth,’ Pee-wee as himself
Stereolab drops its rst new record in 15 years
The Associated Press
NEW YORK — Joe Jonas’ sophomore solo album “Work It Out” and John Krasinski and Natalie Portman searching for immortality in Guy Ritchie’s adventure movie “Fountain of Youth” are some of the new television, lms, music and games headed to a device near you.
Also, among the streaming o erings worth your time: Paul Reubens shines in the documentary “Pee-wee as Himself,” Nicole Kidman returns as a shady wellness guru in “Nine Perfect Strangers” and Duck Detective: The Ghost of Glamping o ers gamers a chance to test their de-duck-tive skills.
MOVIES TO STREAM
Matt Wolf’s two-part documentary “Pee-wee as Himself” (out Friday on Max and HBO) is one of the most intimate portraits of Reubens, the man many know as Pee-wee Herman. Wolf crafted his lm from some 40 hours of interviews conducted with Reubens before he died of cancer in 2023. In “Pee-wee as Himself,” Reubens discusses the ups and downs of his career, how he crafted the Pee-wee persona and how it came to dwarf his own self.
Ritchie’s adventure movie “Fountain of Youth” (Friday on Apple TV+) stars Krasinski and Portman as a pair of siblings hunting for the fabled Fountain of Youth. The lm, which also stars Eiza González, Domhnall Gleeson and Stanley Tucci, is the latest from the fast-working Ritchie, whose recent lms include 2024’s “The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare” and 2023’s “The Covenant.”
Last fall, “The Last Showgirl” (out Friday on Hulu) proved a poignant showcase for Pamela Anderson, long after her “Baywatch” heyday. In Gia Coppola’s indie drama, she plays a Las Vegas performer in the twilight of her career. Dave Bautista co-stars.
MUSIC TO STREAM
In the rst single released from Jonas’ forthcoming sophomore solo album, “Work It Out,” the boy band brother breaks the fourth wall in the third person. “Come on, Joe, you got so much more to be grateful for,” he sings in a rare moment of pop candor. His characteristic cheekiness soon follows. “Even baddies get saddies and that’s the hardest truth,” he sings atop
cheery pop-synth. The album, titled “Music For People Who Believe In Love” promises more alt-pop — with country and rock air thrown in for good measure. Good news for cool people with interesting taste: The Anglo-French Avant-pop band Stereolab returns with their rst new album in 15 years, since 2010’s “Not Music” arrived after the group announced an inde nite hiatus. That came to an end in 2019, when Stereolab announced remastered reissues, tour dates and a set at Primavera Sound festival in Barcelona. The latest news arrives in the form of this new album, titled “Instant Holograms on Metal Film,” and it sounds as if no time has passed. Pachyman, the Puerto Rican-born, Los Angeles-based musician Pachy Garcia, has charmed audiences with his vintage gear and deep appreci-
ation for dub reggae. That continues on his fth album, “Another Place,” out Friday, with its dreamy, psychedelic indie. It’s the kind of stu that would be at least partially labeled “vaporwave” or “chillwave” a few years ago. Now, it’s a kaleidoscope of in uences only Pachyman could put together in such a uid package.
TELEVISION TO STREAM
With hits like “Maxton Hall” and “The Summer I Turned Pretty,” Prime Video is investing in its YA content. In the new series “Motorheads,” a mother (Nathalie Kelley) returns to her blue-collar hometown with her teenage twins (played by Michael Cimino of “Love, Victor” and Melissa Collazo.) They move in with their uncle (Ryan Phillippe) who is haunted by the disappearance of his younger brother. Fun fact: Phil-
lippe’s son, Deacon, with Reese Witherspoon, plays that younger brother in ashback scenes. Besides the expected coming- of-age storyline about rst love and tting in at school, there’s also a greater mystery at play, plus street racing! Now streaming Prime. At the end of season one of Hulu’s “Nine Perfect Strangers,” we saw Nicole Kidman’s Russian wellness guru, Masha, high tailing it out of town after her unorthodox practices included sneaking psychedelics into her patients’ smoothies. In season 2, Masha has relocated to the Austrian Alps with two new business partners, and they’re welcoming a new group of people to a retreat.
“I invited you all here because sometimes you shouldn’t deal with pain gently,” Masha says in the trailer.
The cast includes Annie Murphy, Christine Baranski, Mur-
“Come on, Joe, you got so much more to be grateful for.”
Joe Jonas
ray Bartlett, Henry Golding, Dolly de Leon and musician King Princess in her rst acting role.
VIDEO GAMES TO PLAY
Winston Green, a high-strung courier in small-town America in the late 1950s, has one motto: Deliver At All Costs. If that means wrecking other cars or plowing through buildings, so be it. And as the cargo gets weirder — judging from the screenshots, UFOs may be involved — Winston “spirals downward into the depths of insanity.” The result, from Swedish studio Far Out Games by way of Konami, looks somewhat like the original Grand Theft Auto with a retro “Happy Days” glow. Hit the gas Thursday on PlayStation 5, Xbox X/S and PC.
Duck Detective: The Secret Salami was once of last year’s cleverest surprises, introducing us to down-on-his-luck gumshoe Eugene McQuacklin in an animal-world parody of lm noir. My only complaint was that it was just a few hours long — but the good news is that Germany’s Happy Broccoli Games is already back on the case with Duck Detective: The Ghost of Glamping. This time, McQuacklin investigates a mystery at a luxury campsite. If you enjoy brainteasers, another chance to test your de-ducktive skills arrives Thursday on PlayStation 5, Xbox X/S, Switch and PC.
“Pee-Wee as Himself,” “Fountain of Youth” and “The Last Showgirl” land this week on a device near you.
“Music for People Who Believe in Love” by Joe Jonas, “Another Place” by Pachyman and “Instant Holograms on Metal Film” by Stereolab drop this week.
PRIME / HULU / TNT VIA AP
The second season of “Nine Perfect Strangers” is streaming this week.
