VOLUME 147 ISSUE 50 | THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 6, 2025
CHATHAMNEWSRECORD.COM
JAMES JACKSON FOR CHATHAM NEWS & RECORD
Rollin’ at Bowman Tim Brown (15) and William Byron (24) compete in the Clash at Bowman Gray on Sunday, the NASCAR Cup Series’ first event at the classic Winston-Salem track since 1971.
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BRIEF this week
Trump orders creation of U.S. sovereign wealth fund, says it could own part of TikTok Washington, D.C. President Donald Trump on Monday signed an executive order directing the U.S. to take steps to start developing a governmentowned investment fund that he said could be used to profit off of TikTok if he’s successful at finding the company an American buyer. Trump signed an order on his first day office to grant the Chinese‑owned TikTok until early April to find a domestic partner or buyer, but he’s said he’s looking for the U.S. to take a 50% stake in the massive social media platform. He said Monday in the Oval Office that TikTok was an example of what he could put in a new U.S. sovereign wealth fund.
Trump talks so much even stenographers struggle to keep up Washington, D.C. The most obvious shift from Joe Biden to Donald Trump has been the flood of talking from the White House. Trump is speaking publicly far more than his predecessor, overwhelming his opponents and leaving them struggling to get a word in edgewise. Even the White House stenographers responsible for transcribing a president’s remarks are racing to keep up with him. According to Factbase, Trump spoke 81,235 words in his first week in office, up from 24,259 in the same timespan for Biden. The Republican president’s admirers and critics agree that he’s skilled at harnessing the country’s undivided attention.
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Hostage from Chapel Hill finally released from Gaza “Be strong for me.” Aviva Siegel’s parting words to her husband
Fifteen months after being abducted, Keith Siegel is free By Melanie Lidman The Associated Press JERUSALEM — Three men held hostage in the Gaza Strip for more than 15 months were freed Saturday, bringing to 18 the number of captives released by militants since the ceasefire between Israel and Hamas began Jan. 19. Among those freed was Yarden Bibas, 35, the father of the two youngest hostages in Gaza, whose plight has become a rallying cry for Israelis. The Bibas sons — 4 years old and 9 months old at the time of their abduction — and their mother, Shiri, are still in captivity, and feared dead. Shiri Bibas and the two children are the last woman and children held in captivity in Gaza who have not been confirmed dead by Israel. The other hostages released Saturday were American-Israeli Keith Siegel, 65, and French-Israeli Ofer
HOSTAGES FAMILY FORUM VIA AP
This undated photo provided by Hostages Family Forum shows Keith Siegel, who was abducted and brought to Gaza on Oct. 7, 2023.
Chapel Hill streamlines affordable housing process THe UNC golf team will get a new facility at Finley Golf Course By Ryan Henkel Chatham News and Record
Kalderon, 54, also household names in Israel after highly visible campaigns to free them. Keith Siegel, from Chapel Hill, was abducted with his wife, Aviva Siegel, from Kibbutz Kfar Aza, a communal farming village heavily damaged by the attack. She was freed during the November 2023 ceasefire deal and has cam-
CHAPEL HILL — The town of Chapel Hill is working to simplify its affordable housing funding process. At its Jan. 29 meeting, the Chapel Hill Town Council adopted a resolution to grant the town manager the authority to establish and administer a unified local affordable housing funding program. Previously, Chapel Hill had three local affordable housing funding sources, and each was managed as separate funds. In order to streamline the process for distributing funds, the resolution was presented that establishes one set of priorities, eligibility requirements and allocation process in order to simplify it
See HOSTAGE, page A2
See COUNCIL, page A3
Trump administration opens college antisemitism probes Columbia, Berkeley, and Northwestern are among the schools being investigated By Collin Binkley The Associated Press WASHINGTON, D.C. — The Trump administration is opening new investigations into allegations of antisemitism at five U.S. universities including Columbia and the University of California, Berkeley, the Education Department announced Monday. It’s part of President Donald Trump’s promise to take a tougher stance against campus antisemitism and deal out harsher penalties than the Biden administration, which settled a flurry of cases with
universities in its final weeks. It comes the same day the Justice Department announced a new task force to root out antisemitism on college campuses. In an order signed last week, Trump called for aggressive action to fight anti-Jewish bias on campuses, including the deportation of foreign students who have participated in pro-Palestinian protests. Along with Columbia and Berkeley, the department is now investigating the University of Minnesota, Northwestern University and Portland State University. The cases were opened using the department’s power to launch its own civil rights reviews, unlike the majority of See PROTESTS, page A7
“This administration will not tolerate continued institutional indifference to the wellbeing of Jewish students on American campuses.” Craig Trainor, U.S. Department of Education