Siler City re ghter Nolan White, top, lls the foam tank on Engine 914 with an assist from re ghter Matthew White, middle, and Capt. Aaron Dorsett supervising from the ground last Wednesday. Soap-like foam is mixed with water to improve the cooling performance of water spray by dramatically increasing its surface area and thus heat absorption.
Cuba’s latest blackout underscores deepening economic crisis; Rubio calls for new leadership
U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio is calling for “new people in charge” of Cuba as the Caribbean nation experienced its third islandwide blackout in four months. U.S. President Donald, who has called Cuba a “very weakened nation,” said on Monday he believes he’ll have the “honor of taking Cuba.” On Tuesday, Rubio — who is of Cuban heritage — said the current government is incapable of addressing the problems.
The island’s government blames its woes on a U.S. energy blockade after Trump in January warned of tari s on any country that sells or provides oil to Cuba.
The country’s aging grid has drastically eroded in recent years, leading to daily outages.
Trump postpones China trip to focus on Iran
President Donald Trump is delaying a diplomatic trip to China that was planned for months but began to unravel as he pressured Beijing and other world powers to form a military coalition to protect the vital Strait of Hormuz. Trump said Tuesday while meeting with Irish Prime Minister Micheál Martin in the Oval O ce that he would be going to China in ve or six weeks’ time instead of at the end of the month.
Trump’s visit to China is seen as an opportunity to build on a fragile trade truce between the two superpowers, but it became tangled in his e ort to nd an endgame to his war in Iran.
$2.00
The Pittsboro student advanced to the state competition
By Dan Reeves Chatham News & Record
Giuliana Greto won the Joseph S. Rumbaugh Historical Oration Contest on March 14 at Governors Club in Chapel Hill with a speech titled “Americans: Resilient Through and Through.”
The annual competition is sponsored by the Sons of the
CHAPEL HILL — A Seaforth High School sophomore from Pittsboro took top honors this month at a regional oratory contest focused on the history and ideals of the American Revolution.
American Revolution and challenges high school students to deliver original, memorized speeches examining events, gures or themes connected to the Revolutionary era.
Greto’s winning oration connected the spirit of the nation’s founding to modern civic life, drawing parallels between the challenges faced in 1776 and debates shaping the country today. Her speech also aligned with the upcoming America 250 commemoration marking the nation’s 250th anniversary.
The marker designates the route used by commanding o cers
By Ryan Henkel Chatham News & Record
PITTSBORO — The Chatham County Schools Board of
Education met March 9 for its regular business meeting.
The board approved a memorandum of agreement with the Chatham County Historical Association for the placement of a sign on school property (George Moses Horton Middle School), to document the historical signi cance of the site.
CORA’s Empty Bowls fundraiser sets record with $98K raised
“We had such a great evening of fellowship with our community of supporters.”
Rebecca Hankins
The event sold out for the second consecutive year
By Melinda Burris Chatham News & Record
PITTSBORO — The Chatham Outreach Alliance Food Pantry’s annual Empty Bowls event raised more than $98,000 this year, marking its most successful fundraiser yet.
The 14th annual event, held Feb. 28, sold out for the second consecutive year. Attendees sampled soups from local restaurants, enjoyed homemade desserts and breads,
“The Chatham County Historical Association is leading a project to document the route of Gens. George Cornwallis and Nathanael Greene through Chatham County during the American Revolution,” said Interim Assistant Superintendent Chris Poston. “As part of this e ort, the association is
browsed handcrafted pottery and listened to live music from the Popcorn Blue Band.
“From the delicious soups and the homemade desserts and breads to the gorgeous pottery and the lively music from Popcorn Blue Band, we had such a great evening of fellowship with our community of supporters,” said Rebecca Hankins, CORA’s development and communications director, in an interview.
A highlight of the evening was the “Fund a Need” segment, which targeted the
The contest, hosted by the General Francis Nash Chapter, featured four student speakers from schools across the Triangle region. About 45 attendees
creating a trail with state-approved historical road markers. One of the identi ed sites is located on the property of George Moses Horton Middle School.” Greene and Cornwallis were opposing American and British commanding o cers in the American Revolutionary War, and generals met multiple times throughout the war, including in one of the largest battles of the war at Guilford Courthouse in North Carolina. The marker will be placed
THURSDAY
3.19.26
CORA from page A1
$68,000 cost of a walk-in refrigeration unit at CORA’s Siler City pantry. Organizers had set a goal of raising $25,000 toward the project but were overwhelmed by the response — attendees gave enough to cover the full cost. The upgrade will allow the pantry to store and distribute more fresh food. Empty Bowls is CORA’s signature annual fundraiser, generally held each spring. Guests sample soups from area restaurants and take home
“From the delicious soups and the homemade desserts and breads to the gorgeous pottery and the lively music from Popcorn Blue Band, we had such a great evening of fellowship with our community of supporters.”
Rebecca Hankins,
CORA development and communications director
bowls crafted by local potters, symbolizing solidarity with people facing food insecurity.
CORA operates food pantries in
residents
Lawyers for LaSota seek competency review while rejecting ‘Zizian,’ ‘cult’ labels ahead
A group of computer scientists linked to six deaths faces legal charges
By Brian Witte and Holly Ramer The Associated Press
BALTIMORE — A lawyer representing the leader of the cultlike Zizians group that has been linked to six deaths told a judge Thursday that there is reason to believe his client is mentally incompetent to stand trial.
Jack LaSota, a transgender woman who goes by “Ziz,” was supposed to be in federal court for a two-day hearing on whether to suppress evidence collected as a result of her arrest in Frostburg, Maryland, last year. Instead, U.S. District Court
March 9
• Nacoreyus Chavez Hough, 31, was arrested for assault in icting serious bodily injury, misdemeanor crime of domestic violence and assault on a pregnat woman.
• Delio Said Garcia Banegas, 28, was arrested for intoxicated and disruptive.
• Rebecca Cheryl Poe, 32, was arrested for possession of methamphetamine, possession of a controlled substance on prison or jail premises, possession of drug paraphernalia, felony larceny, obtaining property by false pretenses, felony possession of cocaine and poss cs prison-jail premises.
• Bobby James Dawes, 44, was arrested for felony larceny, inj prop nonferr metal, fst deg trespinfrastr, misdemeanor larceny, alter remove nmv serial no f, conspiracy to commit felony larceny, conspire to commit felony larceny and alter remove nmv serial no.
Judge James Bredar heard arguments on a motion led late Wednesday seeking a competency evaluation.
“Counsel believes there is reasonable cause to believe that the defendant is presently su ering from a mental disease or defect rendering her mentally incompetent to the extent that she is unable to understand the nature and consequences of the proceedings,” attorney Gary Proctor wrote.
As the hearing got underway, Proctor said LaSota has demonstrated an inability to follow proceedings, equating being a fugitive with being transgender and accusing a judge of being part of an organized crime ring. LaSota told the judge she wants to represent herself.
Authorities have described
• Luis Enrique Villeda, 30, was arrested for driving while impaired, driving without an operator’s license, reckless driving with wanton disregard and speeding.
• Micah McCrae Morgan, 37, was arrested for embezzlement.
• Joshua Phillip Garrett, 47, was arrested for misdemeanor child abuse.
• Marshall Sidney Gowings Jr., 49, was arrested for second-degree trespass.
• Rebecca Cheryl Poe, 32, was arrested for possession of methamphetamine, possession of a controlled substance on prison or jail premises, possession of drug paraphernalia, felony possession of cocaine, felony larceny and obtaining property under false pretenses.
March 10
• Marshall Sidney Gowings, 49, was arrested for second-degree trespass.
• Candace Irene Monroe, 37, was arrested for simple assault and misdemeanor crime of domestic violence.
• Beauden John Hoover, 22, was arrested for assault on a female and misdemeanor crime of domestic violence.
LaSota as the apparent leader of what outsiders call the “Zizians,” a group of young, highly intelligent computer scientists who appear to share radical beliefs about veganism, animal rights, gender identity and arti cial intelligence. Since 2022, members have been tied to the death of one of their own during an attack on a California landlord, the landlord’s subsequent killing, the shooting deaths of one of the member’s parents in Pennsylvania, and a highway shootout in Vermont that left a border agent and another Zizian dead.
LaSota, Michelle Zajko and Daniel Blank were arrested last February after a landowner found them living in box trucks at the end of a snow-covered dirt road. Though they are not charged with causing any of the
• Melissa Leann Perry, 42, was arrested for interfere emerg communications.
March 11
• Cesar Figueroa, 42, was arrested for assault on a female and misdemeanor crime of domestic violence.
• Blaine Ivey Rhodes, 30, was arrested for misdemeanor larceny.
• Taylor Marie Heaton, 33, was arrested for child abuse and resisting a public o cer.
• Cesar Augusto Figueroa Ramirez, 42, was arrested for assault on a female and misdemeanor crime of domestic violence.
March 12
• Lacey Nicole Wright, 30, was arrested for lar remove dest deact compo and shoplifting by concealment of goods.
March 13
• Melissa Ann Smith, 38, was arrested for simple possession of a controlled substance, possession of drug paraphernalia and delegated authority.
March 21
36th
Volunteers gather at sites throughout the Haw River watershed to remove litter and debris from creeks, streams and trails. Since 1991, more than 6,867 volunteers have hauled out 11,720 bags of trash and 1,992 tires.
Bynum Area / Haw River Watershed Sites
NC History Book Club: “Proud Shoes” 9:30 a.m.
The
Historic Chatham County Courthouse
9 Hillsboro St. Pittsboro
Siler City Growers & Makers Market
4 p.m.
six deaths, police quickly connected them to the homicide investigations in California, Pennsylvania and Vermont.
Maryland state Trooper Brandon Je ries wrote after their Feb. 16, 2025, arrests that all the “suspects involved are to be questioned regarding other crimes that have occurred across the country and have ties with the Zizians Cult.”
All three face state charges of trespassing and illegal gun and drug possession, while LaSota faces a federal charge of illegal gun possession by a fugitive. LaSota also is charged with obstructing the investigation into the deaths of Zajko’s parents. Authorities have called Zajko a person of interest in that case and said they are investigating Blank.
The Siler City Growers & Makers Market opens its 2026 season at a new downtown location, featuring local farmers, artisans and food vendors. The market runs every Wednesday 4-7 p.m. through the end of the year.
117 E 2nd St. Siler City
6th Annual Chatham County Spring Ag Fest 10 a.m.
A free celebration of Chatham County’s agriculture, forestry and natural resources featuring livestock arena events, pony rides, demonstrations, food trucks and indoor and outdoor exhibitors. Free shuttle service is available from remote parking at Central Carolina Community College and the Chatham County Justice Center.
Chatham County Agriculture & Conference Center 1192 U.S. Highway 64 W Business Pittsboro
March 14
• Byron Ellis Horton, 65, was arrested for selling or delivering cocaine, possession with intent to manufacture, sell or deliver cocaine, felony possession of cocaine, selling or delivering a controlled substance, possession with intent to manufacture, sell or deliver a controlled substance, felony possession of a controlled substance, maintaining a vehicle, dwelling or place for a controlled substance, tra cking in cocaine and possession of drug paraphernalia.
• Aleaha Renne Marr, 32, was arrested for driving while impaired.
• Nathan Lynn Swann, 40, was arrested for violation of a domestic violence protective order.
March 15
• Claude Richard Cashwell, 61, was arrested for driving while impaired, open container after consuming alcohol, reckless driving to endanger persons or property, cancl revok susp certif tag, no liability insurance, driving on a revoked license, driving left of center and simple possess sch iii.
The lawsuit invokes North Carolina’s rare “alienation of a ection” law
By Gary D. Robertson
The Associated Press
RALEIGH — Former U.S. Sen. Kyrsten Sinema acknowledges having a romantic relationship with a member of her security detail that began while she was a lawmaker, according to legal documents. But she also contends she shouldn’t be subject to a lawsuit by the man’s ex-wife who blames Sinema for the marriage breakup.
The North Carolina federal court litigation seeks nancial damages from Sinema, who represented Arizona in the U.S. House and later the Senate for one term that ended early last year.
Heather Ammel contends in a lawsuit that she and husband Matthew had “a good and loving marriage” and “genuine love and a ection” existed between them before Sinema interfered, pursuing him despite knowing he was married.
In a signed March 7 declara-
tion attached to a lawsuit motion led this week, Sinema said her relationship with Matthew Ammel “became romantic and intimate” at the end of May 2024 and “physically intimate” over the next several months in California, New York, Colorado, Arizona and Washington, D.C.
The Ammels separated in November 2024, the lawsuit said.
North Carolina is one of a handful of states that allow jilted spouses to sue for “alienation of a ection” to seek damages from a third party responsible for the breakup of their marriage.
Sinema’s declaration rejects allegations by Heather Ammel that Sinema made phone calls and sent internet communications to her husband with the knowledge that he was physically present in North Carolina and at times with his wife and the couple’s children. Sinema did send Matthew Hamel a message while he was in North Carolina after he had already found a new place to live and “when the marriage was already over,” Sinema attorney Steven Epstein wrote in asking the lawsuit be dismissed.
Sinema’s “conduct relat-
ed to her romantic relationship with Mr. Ammel does not connect her to North Carolina in a meaningful way,” Epstein wrote last Thursday, adding that no jury would believe that the one message “had any bearing on the destruction of marital love and a ection.”
Sinema’s head of security hired Ammel after he retired from the Army in 2022, according to the lawsuit, and in early 2024, Heather Ammel discovered messages between Sinema and her husband on the Signal messaging app that were of “romantic and lascivious natures.”
That summer, Matthew Ammel stopped wearing his wedding ring and Sinema gave him a job on her Senate sta while he continued to work as her bodyguard, the lawsuit alleges.
The lawsuit was initially led in September in North Carolina state court, but it was moved to federal court in January.
Sinema declined to seek Senate reelection in 2024 following a term in which she left the Democratic Party to become an independent. She now works for a Washington-based legal and lobbying rm.
The North Carolina man’s case highlights First Amendment protections for ag burning
The Associated Press
WASHINGTON — The Justice Department has moved to dismiss charges against a North Carolina Army veteran who set re to an American ag near the White House last year to protest President Donald Trump’s executive order on ag burning.
Jay Carey, 55, of Arden in Buncombe County, who has said he served in the Army from 1989 to 2012 and was deployed to Iraq and Afghanistan, was arrested on Aug. 25 after he set re to a ag in Lafayette Park, which the National Park Service oversees. Earlier that day, Trump signed an executive order requiring the Justice Department to in-
vestigate and prosecute people for burning the American ag.
Carey was charged with two misdemeanors that aren’t focused on the act of burning a ag: igniting a re in an undesignated area and lighting a re causing damage to property or park resources. He pleaded not guilty in September. Friday’s ling did not explain the decision to move to dismiss and the U.S Attorney’s o ce for the District of Columbia did not immediately respond on Saturday to an email seeking comment.
The Supreme Court has ruled that ag burning is a legitimate political expression protected by the Constitution. Trump’s order asserted that burning a ag can be prosecuted if it “is likely to incite imminent lawless action” or amounts to “ ghting words.”
“I set out to demonstrate that the First Amendment is sacred and that no adminis-
Central Electric awards two Cooperative All-Stars Sports Camp Scholarships annually to local students in Chatham, Harnett, Lee, or Moore counties. A young man will be selected to attend the Carolina Basketball School at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and a young woman will be selected to attend the Wolfpack Women’s Basketball Camp at N.C. State University in Raleigh.
tration has the right to supersede our constitutional rights,” Carey said in a statement from the Partnership for Civil Justice Fund. “I was targeted for federal prosecution because of that. I am glad to stand with all those who are ghting for our fundamental rights and hope that this victory can help the next person who takes a stand.”
It shows people that “the Constitution still matters,” Carey said when reached by telephone on Saturday.
Mara Verheyden-Hilliard, one of Carey’s lawyers and fund co-founder, said the prosecution shouldn’t have been brought.
“The government’s attempt to criminally punish a protestor based on expressive conduct targeted for prosecution by presidential order posed a grave threat to First Amendment freedoms,” Verheyden-Hilliard said in a statement.
As Oakley Baptist Church (2300 Siler CityGlendon Road, Siler City) seeks to begin its next chapter, we are enjoying hearing a word from the Lord from various old and new friends. Our service begins at 10:30 a.m., but we also have Sunday School classes for every member of the family at 9:30 a.m. We would be blessed if you joined us for any and all of these speakers in the coming weeks.
March 22 – John Hill
March 29 – John Strider
We look forward to meeting you at any of these services and in the future, and invite you to pray with us as we seek a new pastor. To learn more, go to oakleybaptist.org or email us at oakleybaptistchurch@gmail.com.
SIGN from page A1 along the roadside on Highway 15-501 on the school property and will be fully funded and installed by the association.
“There is no maintenance located with this sign,” said Superintendent Anthony Jackson. “It’s just a sign to be placed in the easement there, and we made sure that there’s no long-term maintenance issues associated with this.”
The board also renewed its contract with Anderson, Smith & Wike for auditing services for the 2025-26 school year. The contract is for an amount not to exceed $46,100, which is the same cost as the prior year.
“They are a full service accounting rm serving many school districts throughout North Carolina,” said Interim Finance Director Finance Ofcer Brittany Smith. The district has contract-
“The Chatham County Historical Association is leading a project to document the route of Cornwallis and Greene through Chatham County during the American Revolution.”
Chris Poston, interim assistant superintendent
ed with the rm since 2015. Finally, the board also accepted a $15,000 donation for the Jordan-Matthews High School robotics team, the Neon Krakens. The donation, which is from Kar Korner and the Southport Truck Group, will be used to assist with hotel and travel expenses for competitions.
The Chatham County Schools Board of Education will next meet April 13.
High School Alumni Association 2026 Scholarship
Applications are being accepted for Horton High School Alumni Association 2026-2027 Scholarship
Descendent of Horton High School alumnus or attendee of Horton High School may apply.
• Apply on website: www.hortonhighalumni.com
• CLICK: “Scholarship”
Deadline for application: June 1, 2026
To be eligible to apply, the student must be in the sixth or seventh grade during the upcoming school year, have permission from a parent or guardian to attend the overnight camp and must provide their own transportation if selected to attend.
Scan the QR code or visit CEMCPower.com for more information or to apply. e deadline for applications to both camps is March 31.
Trip Ho end, publisher | Frank Hill, senior opinion editor
COLUMN | ANDREW TAYLOR-TROUTMAN
The last I checked, we are not disembodied intelligences oating in the ether.
ENOUGH. I’VE HAD IT. I’ve seen too many quizzes on the internet, including from reputable news sources, challenging readers to select the human-written passage instead of the AI-generated one. I don’t care if I can sni out the robot like my dog sni s the re hydrant. And at least the dog’s scent comes from a living, breathing animal with working kidneys.
I have no interest in a large language model that spends its seconds scouring the writings of non-large-language models. I don’t understand what that last sentence means, but that’s how my buddy explained it.
The last I checked, we are not disembodied intelligences oating in the ether. We have bodies, which means we have feelings. Paul Cézanne, the French painter, said, “A work of art which did not begin in emotion is not art.” Therefore, arti cial intelligence makes no art, no matter how pretty the painting or sonnet.
I want to read prose and poetry from living, breathing humans. I want to spend my time, which is limited, exploring the thoughts and opinions of my fellow creatures, who are as constrained by time and as limited in their understanding as I am. We live, and someday we will all die. What we do with our lives might scandalize, intrigue,
terrify or delight me, but I want to read the work of people who wrestle in some way with the inarguable fact of mortality.
At church, we are putting together a poetry booklet. We’ve asked people to submit poems based on the prompt “Dear Chaotic World.” We have a dozen submissions, and I’m fascinated by each one. Some deal with a world crisis, while others consider chaos in terms of a personal problem. Poets have varying degrees of experience, but every poem is uniquely, authentically real. Real humans re ect on real struggle with real emotion and insight. Each person took the time and e ort to craft a piece of writing that they felt would speak to others in this fraught yet beautiful world we nd ourselves in — that gives me real hope.
It is a wonder whenever a fellow human dedicates creative attention to even a handful of words and tries to make them sing. I want to celebrate the e ort itself as well as enjoy the result. Robots need not apply.
Andrew Taylor-Troutman’s newest book is “This Is the Day.” He serves as pastor of Chapel in the Pines Presbyterian Church as well as a writer, pizza maker, co ee drinker and student of joy.
It dawns on me my season really is early winter, and it’s been a long time since I was even fall. I hope you get the picture.
LATELY, IT SEEMS, I’m paying more attention to the passage of time. That’s probably because of the realization that, while I hope I’ve still got some left in the savings account, I realize I’ve already spent right much of it and there’s only so much in total. Candles on the birthday cake and my aching knees remind me of that.
As that happens, I’m becoming my father, who’s been gone 34 years, at least in terms of paying attention to the weather. He kept up with it daily and wrote down the details in little notebooks, some of which I have as priceless possessions. I don’t write it down, but I do watch the folks on 2, 5 and 11, and I look up Greg Fishel on the computer. And I realize all over again just how important of a topic it is and what Will Rogers told us years ago — “Everybody talks about the weather, but nobody does anything about it” — is still true.
If you remember, not so long ago we had snow on two weekends. Then the heat came on into the 80s and was followed by a cold front. And earlier this week, we were all paying attention to the threats of severe weather. I say all this to say that, obviously, weather plays a part in the seasons of the year and it can get confusing when it throws us a curve.
The other day, as I was wasting time on my computer, I ran across an o ering that said in North Carolina, we don’t have just four seasons. Instead, we have 12 or 13 or so because of the weather. And the one that caught my eye was called “Fake Spring,” when the temps a few days ago were living where they normally do in May.
And, friends, as I mulled over that, there popped into my head the realization that there are also seasons in a person’s life and, like the weather, they can be roller coasters and a bit confusing at times.
For instance, when my mind tells me to pick up that piece of furniture I have moved countless times in the past, I believe I’m summer. Then my body says, “Whoa, Nellie. Not so fast.” Then it dawns on me my season really is early winter, and it’s been a long time since I was even fall. I hope you get the picture. There could be countless other examples.
So, it seems to me the key to working with the calendar seasons and those of life is the same — to be aware of where we are on both and adjust accordingly. It wasn’t that long ago, for instance, when I could chase cows and calves across the pastures, ear-tagging babies and feeding hay in the snow. This year, I found a new life season, one I’ve had for some time, and watched my son do all that in the cold as I sat in front of the new gas logs we recently had installed.
At this season of my life, I’m pretty content to interact with family and friends, enjoy my church family and learn new things from my grandchildren. A bit of good advice I got some time ago from a dear friend who’s a fellow traveler at my age said this: There are still some things I can do as well as I ever did. And there are some things I can do but it takes me a little bit longer. And there are some things I just don’t want to do anymore.
If you’re at a certain point in your life seasons, I think you’ll get that. And if you’re not, just wait. It’ll come to you in time — on both calendars.
Bob Wachs is a native of Chatham County and
Our gray matter still struggles, even today, to distinguish between the imagined magnitude of being stalked by a T.Rex and written, or verbal, threats to our beliefs.
TYRANNOSAURUS REX! Get me out of here! A contemporary scenario? Nope. We’re millions of years removed from those sharp -toothed predators roaming the earth. (Unless, of course, you read tabloids which specialize in sharp-toothed predators.) My point, however, is that 2026’s human brains are still prepped for a Tyrannosaurus rex encounter any ol’ day. Hard to believe, but true. You thought our brains were fully under our control? Think again. Even though evolved, our eons-old brains have an itty-bitty ongoing challenge. Our gray matter still struggles, even today, to distinguish between the imagined magnitude of being stalked by a T. rex and written, or verbal, threats to our beliefs. Yep, it’s true. Our brains still react, anytime of day or night, as if the threat of T. rex still lives among us, stimulated by something you just heard on TV or radio.
I think of myself as mild mannered, but when this human encounters di erences (how could anyone possibly deviate from the charms of lovable ol’ me?) my brain reacts with the same force as if a Tyrannosaurus rex is bearing down on me. Ai yai yai. Oh, wow, your behavior is the opposite of mine; how could you? I just cannot believe I’m hearing what you’re saying! That beat just goes merrily on.
As an example, this ordinary human can morph into an armed combatant, ready to tear into perceived o enders who, heaven forbid, are di erent than I am. I use words with the same intensity and sharpness with which my ancestors fought o a Tyrannosaurus rex. Denigrating words. Sharp words. Lots of them.
COLUMN | BEN SHAPIRO
Whoa, whoa! What about positive experiences in our lives? Come on, we certainly can’t forget that.
Ironically, positive events weren’t pivotal in keeping us alive at our human beginnings. To survive sharp-toothed threats required quick, o ensive, and wounding, reactions. Eating a pro ered chocolate cake (even though exquisitely inviting), when charged by a T. rex, was probably not going to guarantee that I lived much longer. Only the raising of my weapon would.
We evolved humans still bite back, big time, when we feel triggered. It’s what we’ve done for millions of years, and it seems to have worked (at the probable cost of much bloodletting.)
Except for now. Our longtime re exive reactions — “I’m going to get/slam/wound you with words” — are less conditioned because we know better how our brains work. I can (mostly) choose to dial back my brain’s highly reactive attack mode.
No way am I going to roll over and give up (god, forbid!). However, wanting to spill someone’s blood and guts, as a reaction to a newspaper editorial, does seem rather prehistoric, doesn’t it? And damn, my sharp words are infectious and spread just like the u! (No, no, I don’t want to be a super spreader! Please.)
As often is the case, I fall back on J.K. Rowling’s “Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets” for some closing wisdom:
“It is our choices, Harry, that show what we truly are, far more than our abilities.”
Jan Hutton, a resident of Chatham County and retired hospice social worker, lives life with heart and humor.
Markets, unlike pundits, respond to reality.
IF YOU’VE BEEN following coverage of the Trump administration’s military action against Iran, you’ve probably noticed something: A lot of people are determined to convince you that the United States is losing.
They’re wrong. Even worse, many of them know they’re wrong. Critics across the political spectrum — from Democrats to elements of the so - called horseshoe right — are pushing narratives that paint the con ict as a disaster in the making. The goal is simple: Undermine public con dence and turn what is shaping up as a strategic success into a perceived failure.
Three particular claims are circulating widely. All three deserve to be addressed.
Lie No. 1: The war is a quagmire. The rst claim is that the United States has stumbled into another interminable Middle East war — one destined to drag on for years and possibly escalate to catastrophic levels. This is absurd.
At the time of this writing, the con ict is less than two weeks old. Twelve days. That’s not 12 years, as in Vietnam, or even 12 months, as in the Spanish-American War. Wars unfold over time, and no one should pretend to know exactly how long any con ict will last. But the notion that the United States is already trapped in a generational quagmire — after less than two weeks of ghting — is less analysis than panic.
Lie No. 2: Iran is somehow winning. A second claim insists that Iran is holding strong — that the regime is weathering the assault and even gaining the upper hand.
Again, reality tells a di erent story.
Iran’s military capabilities have been battered. Its missile and drone infrastructure has been heavily targeted. Its naval assets have reportedly su ered severe losses. Leadership turmoil inside the regime only compounds the problem.
Reports suggest that the death of longtime Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei has triggered a chaotic succession struggle. Even his presumed heir, Mojtaba Khamenei, appears to lack both political support and personal legitimacy within the system.
In other words, the Iranian regime is not projecting strength. It is scrambling to maintain control.
BE IN TOUCH
Lie No. 3: The oil shock will break the United States.
The nal warning is economic: Iran, critics say, will simply shut down the Strait of Hormuz, sending global oil prices skyrocketing and bringing the American economy to its knees.
For a brief moment earlier this week, markets reacted to that fear. Oil prices jumped sharply amid speculation that the strait could be disrupted.
But the panic faded almost as quickly as it began. Within days, crude prices had fallen back below $90 a barrel.
Markets, unlike pundits, respond to reality. And the reality is that Iran faces enormous consequences if it attempts to choke o one of the world’s most vital shipping lanes.
President Donald Trump has made that point unmistakably clear. In a statement posted online, he warned that any Iranian attempt to block the ow of oil through the Strait of Hormuz would trigger an overwhelming American response.
The message was aimed not only at Tehran but also at Beijing and other major energy consumers: The United States intends to keep global energy owing — and anyone who interferes will pay a heavy price.
There are legitimate questions to ask about any military action. Democracies require scrutiny, debate and skepticism.
But skepticism should not be confused with hysteria.
Right now, critics are spinning worstcase scenarios while ignoring the basic facts on the ground: Iran’s military is under severe pressure, its leadership structure is unstable, and the economic fallout that many predicted has yet to materialize.
None of this guarantees the con ict will end quickly or cleanly. War rarely works that way.
But it does suggest that the narrative of inevitable American failure — so loudly promoted by the administration’s opponents — is far removed from the reality unfolding in the Middle East.
And that reality matters far more than the talking points.
Ben Shapiro is a graduate of UCLA and Harvard Law School. He is a three-time New York Times bestselling author. (Copyright 2026 Creators.com)
FORMER PRESIDENT BARACK OBAMA long ago surpassed the Rev. Jesse Jackson and the Rev. Al Sharpton as America’s most in uential race hustler.
The country got a reminder when Obama spoke at Jackson’s funeral even though Jackson’s son urged the speakers “not to bring their politics” to the service.
Obama said: “Every day you wake up to things you just didn’t think were possible. Each day, we’re told by those in high o ce to fear each other and to turn on each other. And that some Americans count more than others.” Same old Obama.
In his 2004 Democratic National Convention speech, he famously declared, “There is not a Black America and a White America and Latino America and Asian America — there’s the United States of America.”
It was the line that launched him and made millions across party lines believe he could bridge divides.
(Obama) repeatedly whipped out the race card, injecting racial division into matters large and small while maintaining the image of a racial uni er who would heal America’s deepest wounds.
Obama won the presidency with just over 52% of the popular vote, but he entered the Oval O ce in January 2009 with a nearly 70% approval rating. Polls in late 2008 and early 2009 showed both black and white Americans believed race relations would improve under his leadership. By the time he left o ce in 2017, polls showed majorities or pluralities of both blacks and whites thought race relations had gotten worse.
In Obama’s eight years as president, he repeatedly whipped out the race card, injecting racial division into matters large and small while maintaining the image of a racial uni er who would heal America’s deepest wounds.
In 2009, at the beginning of his presidency, he declared that the Cambridge police “acted stupidly” in arresting Harvard professor Henry Louis Gates Jr. Obama turned a copjust- doing-his-job encounter with the belligerent Gates into a national “teachable moment” about alleged racial pro ling by cops against blacks. In 2012, about a young black man shot and killed by a self-described neighborhood Florida watchman, Obama said, “If I had a son, he’d look like Trayvon.” A jury found the man who shot Trayvon Martin not guilty, and jurors who spoke publicly said race had nothing to do with the encounter.
In a 2014 speech before the United Nations, Obama invoked the case of Ferguson, Missouri, to enlighten the world about America’s supposed deep-seated problems with race relations.
Later, the “hands up, don’t shoot” narrative about Michael Brown’s death turned out to be a complete lie, and the o cer was exonerated.
Obama embraced Black Lives Matter’s policeare-out-to-get-blacks rhetoric despite evidence that, if anything, cops are more hesitant to pull the trigger on a black suspect than a white one.
In 2015, he proclaimed racism is in America’s “DNA.” Although the media for the most part fawned over Obama, rst lady Michelle Obama insisted her husband su ered from unfair media coverage because of racism.
Obama invited fellow race hustler Sharpton to the White House more than 70 times, more than any other “civil rights” gure. And, for good measure, Obama even argued that “a theoretical case” could be made for slavery reparations to be paid by nonslave owners and to nonslaves.
From the beginning of his presidency until its end, Obama stoked resentment, divided Americans by skin color and kept the race grievance industry alive and well oiled. The man Americans hired to unite us became the victicrat-in-chief, a title his Jackson eulogy shows he retains.
Trump-hating media still gives Obama a pass no Republican could ever dream of receiving. Imagine a Republican president doing even half of what Obama did: routinely injecting race into controversies, cozying up to a white Sharpton-like gure and rapping his arms around a toxic “movement” called White Lives Matter. The outrage would be endless, the headlines relentless — and rightfully so.
Letters to the editor may be sent to letters@nsjonline.com or mailed to 1201 Edwards Mill Rd., Suite 300, Raleigh, NC 27607. Letters must be signed; include the writer’s phone number, city and state; and be no longer than 300 words. Letters may be edited for style, length or clarity when necessary. Ideas for op-eds should be sent to opinion@nsjonline.com.
Contact a writer or columnist: connect@northstatejournal.com
Obama’s real legacy on race? Blacks are eternal victims — distressed, oppressed and suppressed by “The Man” — and trapped in a system rigged against them from birth to death. His own extraordinary rise, of course, contradicts this counterproductive message. Yet he persists in selling it to willing buyers.
Obama is still relatively young. So, he has decades ahead to remain a loud voice in the public square — and he possesses a warehouse full of race cards ready to be played. What a waste.
Larry Elder is a bestselling author and nationally syndicated radio talk-show host. (Copyright 2026 Creators.com)
April 3, 1944 –March 11, 2026
Carol Wilkie Sloan, 81, of Goldston, went to her Heavenly home on Wednesday, March 11th, 2026, at Sanford Health & Rehabilitation surrounded by family.
Carol was born April 3rd, 1944, in Chatham County, to the late Jim and Clara Hancock Wilkie. She is preceded in death by her parents; her late husband, Bobby Ray Sloan, Sr.; and her brothers, Jack Wilkie, Raymond Wilkie, and Harry Dean Wilkie.
Carol was always putting her family rst. She loved being at home in her rocking chair on the front porch. She enjoyed reading, watching the news, and
neighborhood phone calls. She loved her animals, especially her faithful companion, Mo. When she wasn’t at home taking care of her family, she was working as a poultry farmer alongside her late husband, Bobby.
Carol is survived by her sons, Bobby Sloan, Jr. (Christy) and Brian Sloan (Kristy), her grandchildren, Angela Sloan, Tamra Mae Sloan, and Riley Maynor.
A graveside service will be held Tuesday, March 17th, 2026, at 1 pm, at Antioch Baptist Church Cemetery, 3835 Bonlee-Carbonton Rd. Goldston, NC 27252. Services will be o ciated by Pastor Mike Wilkie. The family will receive friends after the service and other times at the home of Brian Sloan.
The family would like to send a special thank you to everyone at Sanford Health & Rehabilitation for the love and compassionate care they provided to Carol. Memorials can be made to Liberty Hospice, 1005 Carthage St. Sanford, NC 27330. Smith & Buckner Funeral Home will be assisting the Sloan family.
Online condolences can be made at www.smithbucknerfh. com
DOREEN EDNA WOFFORD
MARCH 11, 2026
Doreen Edna Wo ord, age 90, passed away on Wednesday, March 11, 2026 at FirstHealth Moore Regional Hospital.
She was born in England to the late Albert Beasley and Rose Annie Prudence Beasley. In addition to her parents, she was preceded in death by her husband of 65 years, Ralph Oliver Wo ord and daughter Susan Leigh O’Beirne. Doreen worked many years at Coty, Inc. in accounts payable. She was a woman whose life was centered on the people she loved most— her family. She cared deeply for them and was always more concerned about their well-being than her own. Doreen loved traveling and exploring new places, always returning home with stories and memories to share. Quiet afternoons with a good book and tending to her owers were among her favorite pastimes.
She is survived by children Pamela Wo ord Jones and husband Tom of Winterville and Ralph Wo ord and wife Kelli of Vass; son-in-law Darrin O’Beirne of Greenville; sister Margaret Warwicker of Colchester, England; grandchildren Jeremiah, Luke, Jourdan, Olivia, Madeline and Anna and greatgrandchildren Lucy, Jack, Addie, Emma, Atlas and Caleb.
The family will receive friends on Sunday, March 15, 2026 from 2:00 PM until 2:45 PM at Bridges-Cameron Funeral Home. A funeral service will follow in the chapel at 3:00 PM with Rev. Jim Stone o ciating. Burial will follow at Lemon Springs United Methodist Church Cemetery.
Celebrate the life of your loved ones. Submit obituaries and death notices to be published in Chatham News & Record at obits@chathamnewsrecord.com
We offer an on-site crematory with many options of Celebration of Life services, Traditional, and Green Burials. Call us to set an appointment to come by and learn more.
For decades, he researched American POWs killed in the atomic bombing
By Mari Yamaguchi
The Associated Press
TOKYO — Shigeaki Mori, a Japanese atomic bomb survivor in Hiroshima and a historian best known for a big hug he was given by then U.S. President Barack Obama during his historic visit to the city a decade ago, has died. He was 88. Born in 1937, Mori was 8 years old when he survived the Aug. 6, 1945 U.S. attack only 1½ miles away from the blast. About 30 years later, he learned a little known fact — that American prisoners of war held in Japan were among those killed by the atomic bomb dropped by their country.
Working as a full-time company employee, Mori researched U.S. and Japanese ofcial documents and tracked down 12 American POWs. He wrote letters to their bereaved families in the U.S. who didn’t know how their loved ones had died.
The U.S. atomic attack on Hiroshima instantly destroyed the city and killed tens of thousands. The death toll by the end of that year was 140,000. A second bomb dropped on Nagasaki killed another 70,000.
Mori authored a book, “The Secret of the American POWs Killed by the Atomic Bomb,”
“The research I spent more than 40 years was not about people from the enemy country. It was about human beings.” Shigeaki Mori
published in Japanese in 2008.
The book won him a prestigious Kikuchi Kan Prize, and was later translated into English. Editors of the English translation of his book said on their website that Mori died on Sunday at a Hiroshima hospital.
His research eventually led to U.S. con rmation of the deaths of the 12 captured American service members in the bombing.
“The research I spent more than 40 years was not about people from the enemy country. It was about human beings,” Mori later said.
Obama, who became the rst U.S. leader to visit Hiroshima’s Peace Memorial Park in 2016, mentioned in his speech “a dozen Americans held prisoner” as being among the victims. He recognized Mori for seeking out the Americans’ families, believing their loss was equal to his own, and later gave him a hug.
Creator of “The IPCRESS File,” he de ned the gritty genre
By Jill Lawless The Associated Press
LONDON — Len Deighton,
a proli c writer whose tough, stylish spy thrillers featured on bestseller lists for decades, has died. He was 97.
Deighton’s literary agent, Tim Bates, said he died Sunday. No cause of death was given.
Deighton’s rst novel, “The IPCRESS File,” helped set the tone of cool and gritty 1960s thrillers and was made into a lm starring Michael Caine that helped launch both author and actor to long and stellar careers.
“Len was a Titan,” Bates said Tuesday. “He was not only one of the greatest spy and thriller writers of the 20th century but also one of our greatest writers in any genre.”
Born to a working-class family in a wealthy part of London in 1929 — his father was a chauffeur and his mother a part-time cook — Deighton grew up with a keen eye for the intricacies and absurdities of Britain’s class system.
He served in the Royal Air Force as part of Britain’s then-mandatory national service, studied art and worked as a waiter, pastry chef and ight attendant before having success as a book and magazine illustrator. His designs included the rst U.K. edition of Jack Kerouac’s “On the Road” in 1958.
He wrote “The IPCRESS File” to amuse himself during a vacation. The story of a secret agent confronted with duplicity and bureaucracy from his own side while investigating a Soviet kidnap ring, it was published
PA / AP PHOTO
British author Len Deighton, pictured in 1973, died at the age of 97. His spy novels helped propel the genre.
in 1962 and went on to sell millions of copies. The novel was adapted into a 1965 lm, with Caine in a star-making performance as Deighton’s protagonist, a sardonic working-class sophisticate with a love of gourmet food. The character is unnamed in the book, though Caine’s character was given the name Harry Palmer. Deighton’s depiction of espionage as a grubby, error-strewn business was a contrast to the glamour of Ian Fleming’s James Bond novels.
“I had never read a James Bond book,” Deighton said in a 1997 BBC interview, but by chance “The IPCRESS File” was published the month the rst 007 movie, “Dr. No,” was released.
His book’s gritty mood, like the murky spy world of John le Carré’s ction, chimed with the times, and Deighton said he bene ted from a backlash against Bond’s huge success. He recalled a friend telling
him that “You’re a blunt instrument that the critics have used to smash Ian Fleming over the head.”
Subsequent thrillers “Horse Under Water,” “Funeral in Berlin,” “Billion-Dollar Brain” and “An Expensive Place to Die” all featured the same hero. “Funeral in Berlin” and “Billion-Dollar Brain” were both also lmed with Caine in the starring role. “Berlin Game,” published in 1983, was the rst of 10 novels featuring the smart, cynical MI6 o cer Bernard Samson. Along with “Mexico Set” and “London Match” it was adapted into the 1988 TV series “Game, Set and Match.”
Deighton set several novels around World War II, including “Bomber” (1970), which depicted the con ict in the air war from both British and German viewpoints, and “SS-GB” (1978), an alternative-history novel set in a Nazi-occupied Britain. It was made into a TV series in 2017.
Deighton wrote more than two dozen novels in all. The last book in his nal trilogy, “Faith,” “Hope” and “Charity,” was published in 1996.
He also wrote historical nonction, including a book about the assassination of President John F. Kennedy, and “Fighter: The True Story of the Battle of Britain.”
Another passion was food. Deighton was food correspondent for The Observer newspaper in the 1960s and wrote several cookbooks aimed at men — a then-novel idea — including “Len Deighton’s Action Cook Book” (1965), with recipes illustrated like comic strips. Deighton’s rst marriage, to illustrator Shirley Thompson, ended in divorce. He later married Ysabele de Ranitz. They had two sons.
As pennies vanish, states are split on how to handle rounding
By Hannah Fingerhut
The Associated Press
MONTHS AFTER the last of the United States’ 1-cent coins were pressed, some states are beginning to o er their own 2 cents on the penny problem by setting rounding guidance for cash purchases.
President Donald Trump announced early last year an end to penny production, saying it was wasteful. It cost 3.7 cents to make each 1-cent coin in 2024, according to the U.S. Mint. The move led to a shortage of pennies in cash registers last summer, forcing consumers and businesses to confront a penniless future in which making exact change would be di cult.
The Treasury Department has said it will continue circulating the roughly 114 billion pennies that exist for “as long as possible.” Pennies must still be accepted as payment.
One solution to the penny problem is rounding to the nearest nickel, using a practice called symmetrical rounding. If the nal price, after taxes, ends in one, two, six or seven cents, payment in cash rounds down. For example, $1.91 or $1.92 becomes $1.90. If the price ends in three, four, eight or nine, cash payment rounds up. For $1.98 or $1.99, the consumer pays $2. A bill introduced last year in Congress and passed out of the House nancial services committee would apply symmetrical rounding across the country. U.S. Rep. Lisa McClain (R-Mich.) said in an email the federal law is important to prevent a “confusing patchwork of state policies.”
The bill hasn’t been voted on in the House and would still need to move through the U.S. Senate before reaching Trump’s desk.
Some states are looking to what’s next
In the meantime, bills to deal with penniless cash trans-
actions have passed both chambers and await the governor’s signature in Arizona, Florida, Oregon, Tennessee, Virginia and Washington. Some states are proposing to allow businesses to round cash purchases, while others consider requiring it.
In Indiana, a bill signed into law this month by Republican Gov. Mike Braun tells businesses they must round cash purchases for all transactions that do not end in a zero or ve. Lawmakers revised that provision in a second bill that makes rounding optional, which would take effect Sunday if Braun signs it into law.
In both bills, Indiana businesses can choose to always round cash purchases up to the nearest nickel, always round down or round up or down depending on the amount.
In Republican-led Tennessee, legislation makes symmetrical rounding exempt from legal claims under a state consumer protection law but does not require rounding.
“It is to provide safe harbor for private businesses,” said Republican Rep. Charlie Baum, the bill sponsor in Tennessee, during oor debate.
Rounding bills have been introduced in about two dozen states since late last year, according to an Associated Press analysis using the bill-tracking service Plural.
Outside of lawmaking bodies, some state agencies have published guidelines to advise that rounding should happen after tax, and that businesses must make sure the full taxed
amount still goes to the state.
Will consumers pay more with rounding?
Cash isn’t used as ubiquitously since the rise in electronic payment methods. Still, about 8 in 10 U.S. adults said they recently used cash in a 2024 survey conducted by the Federal Reserve. Cash was more often used by older adults and those in lower-income households.
The Treasury wrote online that prices would be “rounded down just as often as they will be rounded up, so there should be no overall e ect on consumer prices.”
But researchers at the Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond used a 2023 survey to show prices that didn’t end in zero or ve were especially likely to end in eight or nine. Payment amounts could be di erent when multiple items are purchased or depending on the tax rate, but overall, prices more often being rounded up would lead to millions of dollars gained by businesses and lost by consumers collectively, amounting to a few pennies lost per person.
Do people think it’s fair?
As businesses have introduced rounding, some Americans have taken to social media to say they feel scammed, even if it is a penny or two at a time. Nikki Capozzo-Hennessy, 50, said she tends to pay in cash because it makes her more conscious of her spending. The Trumbull, Connecticut, resi-
CONTEST from page A1 gathered for the event, with judges evaluating participants on historical accuracy, delivery and originality.
Second place went to Audrey Palmer, a senior at Durham’s Trinity School, for a speech examining Revolutionary-era writer Mercy Otis Warren and her in uence on the ght for independence.
Seaforth High School senior Aria Browndyke placed third with an oration exploring the complex relationship between John Adams and Thomas Je erson, focusing on the more than 150 letters exchanged between the two founding gures.
Another Seaforth student, junior Jack Simpson, rounded out the competition with a presentation recounting the pivotal Battle of Trenton.
Cash prizes totaling $400 were awarded, including $250 for rst place.
Lowell Ho man, chairman of the North Carolina SAR oratory program, served as master of ceremonies and helped coordinate the event.
“I see this contest as giving the gift of con dence in public speaking,” Ho man said while acting as the event’s organizer, showrunner and historian.
“By participating — writing, researching, memorizing and delivering an oration — each student makes progress developing skills and con dence in expressing ideas and in uencing others.”
Winners from chapter-level contests will now advance to the state championship during the North Carolina SAR annual meeting March 28 in Greensboro.
The state champion will move on to the national competition, which culminates
dent posted her grocery store receipt online when she noticed the rounding adjustment on a purchase of $8.73, with tax. The store chose to round down and she gained three cents.
Capozzo-Hennessy said it might feel taxing if she had to hand over extra pennies every time, but she also thinks it’s practical to stick with one rule. She runs a food truck business and said they’d likely use symmetrical rounding to be consistent.
“At the end of the day it’s three cents, but I can imagine with all the purchases that you make, it can add up,” Capozzo-Hennessy said. Washington state Rep. April Berg, who introduced a rounding bill there, said she understands people who feel frustrated losing a penny but that the elimination of the hard currency leaves little option.
“We did make sure that everyone is allowed to pay exactly what they owe,” Berg said of her legislation.
What about the nickel?
The Treasury says ceasing penny production will save $56 million annually, but rounding could increase demand for nickels. The 5-cent coins also are costly to make, reaching nearly 14 cents each in 2024, according to the Mint.
The proposed federal legislation currently includes a potential cost-saving solution, allowing the Treasury to adjust the coin’s composition to use cheaper zinc and nickel instead of copper and nickel.
“By participating — writing, researching, memorizing and delivering an oration — each student makes progress developing skills and con dence in expressing ideas and in uencing others.”
Lowell Ho man, Rumbaugh Oratory chairman, North Carolina SAR
during the organization’s annual congress in July. This year’s national event will also be held in Greensboro as part of the country’s semiquincentennial celebration.
North Carolina students have performed well nationally in recent years. Organizers noted that four of the last seven state winners have placed among the top three in the national competition. Last year’s state champion, Jonathan Paul, went on to win the national title and an $8,000 award.
The event also recognized Seaforth speech and debate teacher Riley Shaner, a former Rumbaugh state champion who nished second nationally as a student at Northwood High School. Now an educator, Shaner coaches Seaforth students who compete in the program.
With her regional victory, Greto will now represent the local chapter at the state contest later this month, continuing a strong run of participation from North Carolina students in the national oratory program.
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NOTICE
STATE OF NORTH CAROLINA NOTICE TO CREDITORS COUNTY OF CHATHAM
THE UNDERSIGNED, having quali ed on the 17th day of February 2026, as Ancillary Co-Executors of the ESTATE OF HERMON O. LEE, Deceased, hereby notify all persons, rms and corporations having claims against said Estate to exhibit them to the undersigned on or before the 6th day of June, 2026, or this Notice will be pleaded in bar of their recovery. All persons indebted to said Estate will please make immediate payment to the undersigned. This, the 5th day of March 2026. Diana Lee & Marzell Lee Ancillary Co-Executors Estate of Hermon O. Lee c/o Shirley M. Diefenbach, Attorney Walker Lambe, PLLC Post O ce Box 51549 Durham, North Carolina 27717
NOTE: For publication in The Chatham News on the following dates: March 5th, March 12th, March 19th, and March 26th. Please send the Statement and Proof of Publication to Walker Lambe, PLLC, Post O ce Box 51549, Durham, North Carolina 277171549. 4914-7900-5072, v. 2
CREDITOR’S NOTICE
Having quali ed on the 26th day of September 2025, as Administrator CTA DBN of the Estate of Henry Roderick Alston, deceased, late of Chatham County, North Carolina, this is to notify all persons, rms and corporations having claims against the decedent to exhibit the same to the undersigned on or before the 19th day of June, 2026, or this notice will be pleaded in bar of their recovery. All persons, rms and corporations indebted to the estate should make immediate payment. This is the 10th day of March 2026. Woods Doster, Administrator CTA DBN of the Estate of Henry Roderick Alston 206 Hawkins Avenue Sanford, NC 27330 Attorneys: Law O ces of Doster & Brown, P.A. 206 Hawkins Avenue Sanford, NC 27330 Publish On: March 19th, 26th April 2nd and 9th 2026.
NOTICE TO CREDITORS
The undersigned, having quali ed as Executor of the Estate of MARY BETTY SOLOMON BASS, Deceased, late of Chatham County, North Carolina, does hereby notify all persons, rms and corporations having claims against the estate to exhibit them to the undersigned at the o ces of Munson Law Firm PLLC, P.O. Box 1811 Pittsboro, NC 27312, on or before the 10th day of June, 2026, or this notice will be pleaded in bar of their recovery. All persons indebted to the estate will please make immediate payment. This 12th day of March, 2026. DIANNE BASS HINSON, EXECUTOR ESTATE OF MARY BETTY SOLOMON BASS
NOTICE
NORTH CAROLINA CHATHAM COUNTY NOTICE TO CREDITORS
The undersigned, having quali ed on the 26th day of February, 2026, as Executor of the Estate of Don Eugene Tucker aka Don E. Tucker, deceased, of Chatham County does hereby notify all persons, rms and corporations having claims against said Estate to exhibit them to the undersigned on or before June 10th, 2026, or this Notice will be pleaded in bar of their recovery. All persons indebted to said Estate will please make immediate payment to the undersigned.
This 5th day of March, 2026. Janet E. Tucker Executor of the Estate of Don Eugene Tucker aka Don E. Tucker c/o J Alan Campbell Law PO Box 850 Hillsborough, NC 27278 919-451-5441
NOTICE TO CREDITORS
ALL PERSONS, rms and corporations having claims against MARIELLE SHINE aka MARIELLE EMILIA SHINE, deceased, of Chatham County, are noti ed to exhibit the same to the undersigned on or before, the 19th day of June, 2026, or this notice will be pleaded in bar of their recovery. All persons indebted to the Estate will please make immediate payment. This 19th day of March, 2026. BRENDA SHINE, Executrix ESTATE OF MARIELLE SHINE aka MARIELLE EMILIA SHINE c/o Tillman, Whichard & Cagle, PLLC 501 Eastowne Drive, Suite 130 Chapel Hill, NC 27514
NOTICE
Notice is hereby given that on February 20th, 2026, William J. Vick was appointed Personal Representative of the Estate of Beverly A Vasko, deceased, by the Clerk of Superior Court, Chatham County, North Carolina. All persons having claims against the decedent are required to present their claims to the aforenamed Personal Representative, at 2212 Briland Ct. Fuquay Varina, NC 27526, or le them with the Clerk of the Court, 40 E Chatham St, Pittsboro, NC 27312, within 3 months from the date of the rst publication of this notice, or said claims will be forever barred.
Notice to Creditors
Having quali ed as Administrator of the Estate of MARGARET KAY HIRSCHMAN HICKS, late of Chatham County, North Carolina (26E000085-180), the undersigned does hereby notify all persons, rms and corporations having claims against the estate of said decedent to exhibit them to the undersigned on or before the 29th day of May, 2026 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 26th day of February 2026. Charles Hirschman Administrator of the Estate of Margaret Kay Hirschman Hicks c/o Lisa M. Schreiner Attorney at Law P.O. Box 446 114 Raleigh Street Fuquay Varina, NC 27526 (For publication: 02/26, 03/05, 03/12, 03/19/2026)
NOTICE TO CREDITORS
26E000079-180 NORTH CAROLINA CHATHAM COUNTY
The undersigned, James Yuschik, having quali ed as Administrator of the Estate of Elaine Marie Gregg, deceased, late of Chatham County, this is to notify all persons having claims against said estate to present them to the undersigned on or before the day of May 27, 2026 or this notice will be plead in bar of their recovery. All persons indebted to said estate will please make immediate payment to the undersigned. This the 26th day of February 2026. James Yuschik Administrator
Marie H. Hopper
Attorney for the Estate Hopper Cummings, PLLC Post O ce Box 1455 Pittsboro, NC 27312
NOTICE
ALL PERSONS, rms and corporations holding claims against Dorothy H King aka Dorothy King Harris aka Dorothy Herring King, deceased, of Chatham County, NC are noti ed to exhibit same to the undersigned on or before May 29, 2026, or this notice will be pleaded in bar of recovery. Debtors of the decedent are asked to make immediate payment. This 26th day of February 2026. Sandra King McGraw, Exec., c/o Clarity Legal Group, PO Box 2207, Chapel Hill, NC 27515.
NOTICE
NOTICE OF SERVICE OF PROCESS BY IN THE GENERAL COURT OF JUSTICE PUBLICATION STATE OF NORTH CAROLINA DISTRICT COURT DIVISION CHATHAM COUNTY FILE NO: 25CV000653-180
This is an action for Absolute Divorce To the attention of Nanette A.Newton Take notice that a pleading seeking relief against you has been led in the above-entitled. The nature of the relief being sought is as follows: ABSOLUTE DIVORCE
You are required to make defense to such pleading not later than Forty (40) days after the date of the rst publication of this notice and upon your failure to do so the party seeking service against you will apply to the court for the relief sought. This, the 5th day of, March 2026. Johnathan Newton 898 Bish Rd Staley, NC 27355
NOTICE TO CREDITORS
NORTH CAROLINA CHATHAM COUNTY 26E000075-180
ALL persons having claims against Carol A. Moore, a/k/a Carol P. Moore, deceased, late of Chatham County, North Carolina, are noti ed to exhibit the same to the undersigned on or before Jun 19 2026, or this notice will be pleaded in bar of recovery. Debtors of the decedent are asked to make immediate payment. This the 19th day of March, 2026. Leslie A. Argenta C/O Christopher S. Morden, Limited Personal Representative C/O Monroe, Wallace, Morden & Sherrill, PLLC 3225 Blue Ridge Road, Suite 117 Raleigh, NC 27612 M19, 26, 2 and 9
NOTICE TO CREDITORS
NORTH CAROLINA CHATHAM COUNTY FILE#26E000121-180 The undersigned COURTNEY H. KNOLL, having quali ed on the 9TH Day of MARCH 2026 as EXECUTOR of the Estate of BARBARA DUNNAVANT HEDGEPETH deceased, of Chatham County, North Carolina, does hereby notify all persons, rms and corporations having claims against said Estate to exhibit them on or before the 12TH Day OF JUNE 2026, or this Notice will be pleaded in bar of their recovery. All persons indebted to said Estate will please make immediate payment to the undersigned. This, the 12TH DAY OF MARCH 2026. COURTNEY H. KNOLL, EXECUTOR 153 EDGEWOOD DRIVE DURHAM, NC 27713 Run dates: M12,19,26,A2p
NOTICE TO CREDITORS
NORTH CAROLINA CHATHAM COUNTY FILE#26E000097-180 The undersigned RICKY HALL, having quali ed on the 19TH Day of FEBRUARY 2026 as ADMINISTRATOR of the Estate of MICHAEL ALLEN HALL, deceased, of Chatham County, North Carolina, does hereby notify all persons, rms and corporations having claims against said Estate to exhibit them on or before the 26TH Day OF MAY 2026, or this Notice will be pleaded in bar of their recovery. All persons indebted to said Estate will please make immediate payment to the undersigned. This, the 26TH DAY OF FEBRUARY 2026. RICKY HALL, ADMINISTRATOR 881 BIG PEAK CREEK ROAD LAUREL SPRINGS, NC 28644 Run dates: F26,M5,12,19p
NOTICE TO CREDITORS
NORTH CAROLINA CHATHAM COUNTY
FILE#26E000095-180 The undersigned NATALIE HARRIS, having quali ed on the 19TH Day of FEBRUARY 2026 as EXECUTOR of the Estate of SUZANN MARIE MARCLE, deceased, of Chatham County, North Carolina, does hereby notify all persons, rms and corporations having claims against said Estate to exhibit them on or before the 5TH Day OF JUNE 2026, or this Notice will be pleaded in bar of their recovery. All persons indebted to said Estate will please make immediate payment to the undersigned. This, the 5TH DAY OF MARCH 2026. NATALIE HARRIS, EXECUTOR 4671 PEACE FOREST LANE CLIMAX, NC 27233 Run dates: M5,12,19,26p
NOTICE
NORTH CAROLINA NOTICE TO CREDITORS
CHATHAM COUNTY
HAVING QUALIFIED as Administrator of the Estate of Patricia Ann Campbell a/k/a Ann Lindley Campbell a/k/a Anne Lindley Campbell late of Chatham County, North Carolina, this is to notify all persons, rms and corporations having claims against the estate of said deceased to present them to the undersigned on or before the 18th day of June, 2026, or this notice will be pleaded in bar of their recovery. This the 11th day of March, 2026.
Casey Anne Campbell Administrator Of the Estate of Patricia Ann Campbell a/k/a Ann Lindley Campbell a/k/a Anne Lindley Campbell 255 Bob Clark Road Snow Camp, North Carolina 27349 MOODY, WILLIAMS, ATWATER & LEE ATTORNEYS AT LAW BOX 629 SILER CITY, NORTH CAROLINA 27344 (919) 663-2850 4tp
Notice to Creditors
All persons, rms and corporations having claims against Patricia C. Dutcher, deceased, of Chatham County, North Carolina, are noti ed to exhibit the same to the undersigned on or before June 1, 2026 or this notice will be pleaded in bar of recovery. Debtors of the decedent are asked to make immediate payment. This the 26th day of February, 2026.
Paul C. Dutcher, Administrator c/o W. Thomas McCuiston 200 Towne Village Drive Cary, NC 27513
NOTICE TO CREDITORS
NORTH CAROLINA
CHATHAM COUNTY FILE#26E000040-180
The undersigned SARAH ELIZABETH WILSON, having quali ed on the 16TH Day of JANUARY 2026 as ADMINISTRATOR of the Estate of CALVIN MARTIN WILSON deceased, of Chatham County, North Carolina, does hereby notify all persons, rms and corporations having claims against said Estate to exhibit them on or before the 19TH Day OF JUNE 2026, or this Notice will be pleaded in bar of their recovery. All persons indebted to said Estate will please make immediate payment to the undersigned.
This, the 19TH DAY OF MARCH 2026. SARAH ELIZABETH WILSON, ADMINISTRATOR 1764 GLOVERS CHURCH ROAD
BENNETT, NC 27208 Run dates: M19,26,A2,9p
NOTICE TO CREDITORS
NORTH CAROLINA
CHATHAM COUNTY
FILE#26E000120-180
The undersigned JANET DUNN FRANTZ, having quali ed on the 3RD Day of MARCH 2026 as EXECUTOR of the Estate of JOSEPH GLENN DUNN, SR., deceased, of Chatham County, North Carolina, does hereby notify all persons, rms and corporations having claims against said Estate to exhibit them on or before the 12TH Day OF JUNE 2026, or this Notice will be pleaded in bar of their recovery. All persons indebted to said Estate will please make immediate payment to the undersigned. This, the 12TH DAY OF MARCH 2026.
JANET DUNN FRANTZ, EXECUTOR 1525 RED LANE EXTENSION SALEM, VA 24153 Run dates: M12,19,26,A2p
NOTICE TO CREDITORS
NORTH CAROLINA
CHATHAM COUNTY
FILE#26E000119-180
The undersigned MAX WILEY BUTLER, having quali ed on the 2ND Day of MARCH 2026 as EXECUTOR of the Estate of SYLVIA HOLT BUTLER, deceased, of Chatham County, North Carolina, does hereby notify all persons, rms and corporations having claims against said Estate to exhibit them on or before the 5TH Day OF JUNE 2026, or this Notice will be pleaded in bar of their recovery. All persons indebted to said Estate will please make immediate payment to the undersigned. This, the 5TH DAY OF MARCH 2026.
MAX WILEY BUTLER, EXECUTOR 616 PALMERA DR. E PONTE VERDE BEACH, FL 32082 MAIL AFFIDAVIT TO: BELLE B. BROOKS C/O SYLVIA BUTLER 475 HENRY WEBSTER RD. PITTSBORO, NC 27312 Run dates: M5,12,19,26p NOTICE
NORTH CAROLINA NOTICE TO CREDITORS CHATHAM COUNTY
HAVING QUALIFIED as Administrator of the Estate of Peggy Alice Cockman late of Chatham County, North Carolina, this is to notify all persons, rms and corporations having claims against the estate of said deceased to present them to the undersigned on or before the 18th day of June, 2026, or this notice will be pleaded in bar of their recovery.
This the 10th day of March, 2026. Kimberly Rose Cockman, Administrator Of the Estate of Peggy Alice Cockman 1034 Stage Coach Road Siler City, North Carolina 27344 MOODY, WILLIAMS, ATWATER & LEE ATTORNEYS AT LAW BOX 629 SILER CITY, NORTH CAROLINA 27344 (919) 663-2850 4tp
NOTICE TO CREDITORS
NORTH CAROLINA Chatham COUNTY 26E000098-180 All persons, rms, and corporations having claims against Frankye Carlene Spiller, deceased, late of Chatham County, NC, are noti ed to exhibit the same to the undersigned on or before the 5th day of June, 2026, or this notice will be pleaded in bar of recovery. Debtors of the decedent are asked to make immediate payment. This the 5th day of March, 2026. Patricia Diane Bonvissuto, Executor c/o Hemphill Gelder, PC PO Box 97035 Raleigh, NC 27624-7035 Pub dates: 3/5, 3/12, 3/19, and 3/26/2026
NOTICE TO CREDITORS
NORTH CAROLINA CHATHAM COUNTY FILE#17E000351-180 The undersigned DOBORAH LOFTON AND MAURICE NUNN, having quali ed on the 12TH Day of JANUARY 2026 as CO-EXECUTORS of the Estate of ELSIE ROSETTA HARRIS NUNN deceased, of Chatham County, North Carolina, does hereby notify all persons, rms and corporations having claims against said Estate to exhibit them on or before the 12TH Day OF JUNE 2026, or this Notice will be pleaded in bar of their recovery. All persons indebted to said Estate will please make immediate payment to the undersigned. This, the 12TH DAY OF MARCH 2026. DEBORAH LOFTON, CO-EXECUTOR 50 NEW HOPE CHURCH RD. APEX, NC 27523 MAURICE NUNN, CO-EXECUTOR 93 NEW HOPE CHURCH RD. APEX, NC 27523 Run dates: M12,19,26,A2p
NOTICE TO CREDITORS
NORTH CAROLINA CHATHAM COUNTY FILE#26E000087-180 The undersigned MARY BETH COOKE, having quali ed on the 17TH Day of FEBRUARY 2026 as ADMINISTRATOR, CTA of the Estate of JAMES FRANKLIN WARFFORD, deceased, of Chatham County, North Carolina, does hereby notify all persons, rms and corporations having claims against said Estate to exhibit them on or before the 26TH Day OF MAY 2026, or this Notice will be pleaded in bar of their recovery. All persons indebted to said Estate will please make immediate payment to the undersigned. This, the 26TH DAY OF FEBRUARY 2026. MARY BETH COOKE, ADMINISTRATOR CTA 1176 ASHEFORD GREEN AVENUE NW CHARLOTTE, NC 28207 Run dates: F26,M5,12,19p
Notice to Creditors State of North Carolina Chatham County The General Court of Justice Superior Court Division 25E000584-180 Having quali ed as Executor of the Estate of Frieda Lobe, deceased, late of Chatham County, North Carolina, this is to notify all persons, rms, and corporations having claims against said Estate to present them, duly veri ed, to the undersigned on or before the 12th day of June 2026, or this notice will be pleaded in bar of their recovery. All persons indebted to said estate will please make immediate settlement with the undersigned. This the 12th day of March 2026. Ingrid Maria Rubenacker, Executor 75004 Miller Chapel Hill, NC 27517 Address where claims can be sent: Fidelity Law Group ATTN: John Riordan 8936 Northpointe Executive Park Drive STE 260 Huntersville, NC 28078 File #25E000584-180. Published Mar 12, 19, 26 and Apr 2, 2026
NOTICE TO CREDITORS NORTH CAROLINA CHATHAM COUNTY
FILE#26E000141-180 The undersigned JAMES TUCKER COWARD, having quali ed on the 12TH Day of MARCH 2026 as ADMINISTRATOR of the Estate of JAMES THOMAS COWARD deceased, of Chatham County, North Carolina, does hereby notify all persons, rms and corporations having claims against said Estate to exhibit them on or before the 19TH Day OF JUNE 2026, or this Notice will be pleaded in bar of their recovery. All persons indebted to said Estate will please make immediate payment to the undersigned. This, the 19TH DAY OF MARCH 2026.
JAMES TUCKER COWARD, ADMINISTRATOR 6448 BUFFALO FORD ROAD RAMSEUR, NC 27316 Run dates: M19,26,A2,9p
PUBLIC ANNOUNCEMENT
The United Way of Chatham County will hold its annual meeting Thursday, March 26, at 11 a.m. at the Central Carolina Community College Health Sciences Center, 75 Ballentrae Ct., Pittsboro, NC 27312. The meeting will be held in room 120. The public is invited to attend.
Regulated electricity prices o er EV drivers protection from oil price shocks
By Alexa St. John and Tammy Webber
The Associated Press
WHEN KEVIN KETELS
bought an electric 2026 Chevrolet Blazer last year, he wasn’t thinking about the cost of gas. He just thought EVs were better and “wanted to be part of the future.” Now that the Iran war is spiking prices at the pump, the Detroit man is happy he is no longer lling up his 11-year-old gas-powered SUV.
“Electricity can go up, but it won’t go up nearly as much as gas will, and it won’t go up nearly as fast either,” said Ketels, 55, an assistant professor of global supply chain management at Wayne State University.
Experts say prolonged high gas prices may drive some EV interest and sales, especially if drivers assume their electricity prices won’t be a ected by the crises.
But many factors in uence consumer EV purchases — and electricity rates.
Are EV owners truly insulated from price hikes?
Drivers of gas-powered vehicles are much more vulnerable to uctuating prices that result from global con ict than those who charge their cars. The national average for a gallon of regular gas this week was $3.57, up from $2.94 a month ago, according to AAA.
Meanwhile, “residential electricity prices are regulated and are much less volatile than gasoline prices,” said University of California, Davis economics
An electric vehicle charges at a station last week in Lincolnwood, Illinois.
professor Erich Muehlegger. “As a result, EV owners are largely una ected by oil price shocks.”
But experts say electricity prices have been increasing nationally for a variety of reasons, including surging power demand from new data centers.
“This is an in ationary event,” Holt Edwards, principal in Bracewell’s Policy Resolution Group, said of the war. “Is this the driver in electricity prices? I think probably not. But it’s certainly a contributing factor.”
To what extent oil and gas con icts could translate to the electricity sector is yet to be seen.
What about how di erent grids are powered?
When it comes to the electricity an EV owner is tapping, much of the cost depends on which sources of electricity are in a local grid’s power mix, experts say.
Because regulators set residential electricity prices annually, most households are sheltered from month-to -month changes in natural gas costs. Though experts say higher
“Electricity can go up, but it won’t go up nearly as much as gas will, and it won’t go up nearly as fast either.”
Kevin Ketels, Wayne State University
natural gas prices can increase the cost of generating electricity, natural gas prices haven’t risen as quickly or as much as oil prices have recently.
Those are just two of many energy sources — including coal, nuclear and renewables — that power the electric grid.
“The energy component varies depending on the energy you’re using and the price of the energy that you’re using to generate electricity,” said Pierpaolo Cazzola, an energy expert at Columbia University’s Center on Global Energy Policy. “What happens is that in the U.S., the variation of the price of the energy component is smaller than it is elsewhere.”
The experts said persistent war could a ect electricity bills in the future. And that is all the more reason for countries to transition to clean power, they said.
“Clean power and electri cation combined is what provides the most security,” said Euan Graham, an analyst at energy think tank Ember.
Michael B. Klein, a 56-year-old software developer in Evanston, Illinois, has driven EVs for the past eight years to save on fuel costs and because of environmental concerns.
Every time electrical grid efciency improves — especially as renewables are added — “I get that bene t no matter what,” said Klein, who drives a Chevy Bolt. “They can improve the efciency of gas engines, but you have to get a new car in order to reap the bene t of that.”
So will EV demand rise?
Several experts say high gasoline prices are a strong driver of EV sales, particularly if high prices persist. Drivers also consider more gasoline-e cient hybrid vehicles during these times.
Car-shopping resource Edmunds analyzed consumer shopping data for the week starting March 2, after the Iran war had begun. They found that interest in hybrids, plug-in hybrids and battery EVs accounted for 22.4% of all vehicle research activity on their site that week, up from 20.7% the previous week. Analysts also looked back at the last major nationwide fuel price surges in 2022, and they saw that consideration of electri ed vehicles consideration rose sharply then, too.
But whether this means more EV purchases depends on whether buyers expect to save not just now but in the future, experts say.
Adding to the complexity: A sudden increase in EV demand could drive up prices, Graham said.
“I think the real step change would be in whether this causes governments to shift tax, tari policies around EVs,” Graham said. Doing so would help reduce fossil fuel dependence, he said.
Does driving electric really save money?
Pretty much. People who buy EVs have a “really substantial” gas savings over the life of their vehicles even without government tax credits, said Peter Zalzal, an attorney with Environmental Defense Fund.
“We’re talking about thousands and thousands of dollars” in savings, Zalzal said. “And as gas prices increase, those savings are only greater. Fuel costs are a big piece of overall vehicle costs, and increases in fuel prices have signi cant impacts on people.”
However, the upfront cost of a new EV is still more than that of a gasoline-powered vehicle; new EVs sold for an average of $55,300 last month, while new vehicles overall sold for an average $49,353, according to auto-buying resource Kelley Blue Book. Some experts also expressed national security concerns with EVs because China dominates signi cant parts of the EV supply chain. Ketels, the EV owner and professor, said he believes EVs and renewable energy should be a strategic priority for individuals and the U.S. because they could be produced domestically “and we don’t have those uctuations and those worries.”
But because the federal government has withdrawn many incentives for both, “it puts us at a disadvantage globally,” Ketels said. “I think it’s been a terrible mistake to withdraw these incentives and to attack the sustainable energy industry,” and the war “is just making it that much more obvious.”
Diners foucused on money and health are driving demand for less
By Dee-Ann Durbin
The Associated Press
THE BIGGEST NEW restaurant trend is small.
Special menus with petite, less expensive portions are popping up all over, from large chains like Olive Garden and The Cheesecake Factory to trendy urban eateries and farm-to-fork dining rooms.
Restaurants hope that o ering smaller servings beyond the children’s menu will meet many di erent diners’ needs. Some people want to spend less when they go out. Others are looking for healthier options or trying to lose weight. Younger consumers tend to snack more throughout the day and eat smaller meals, said Maeve Webster, the president of culinary consulting rm Menu Matters.
“These are really driven by, I think, changes in the way people are thinking about their relationship with food, the way they spend money on food, what is a good value and what’s not,” Webster said.
Looking for value
Beth Tipton, the co-owner of Daniel Girls Farmhouse Restaurant in Connersville, Indiana, introduced an eight-item Mini Meals menu last fall after several customers requested smaller portions. The menu, which includes daily specials like a half piece of meatloaf with green beans, mashed potatoes and gravy for $8, now accounts for about 20% of the restaurant’s orders, she said.
Older adults make up about half of the restaurant’s clientele, Tipston said, and some customers told her the regular menu was a stretch for their budgets. As someone who under-
went weight-loss surgery, she also knew from experience that many restaurants won’t allow adults to order from their children’s menus.
“We wanted it to be available to all without the word ‘kids meals’ attached,” Tipton said. “With the rising costs all around us we wanted to help in any way we can, and this is a great option.”
Eating out and GLP-1s
Some restaurants are adding menus to court users of GLP-1 weight-loss and diabetes drugs like Zepbound, Wegovy, Ozempic and Mounjaro. Last fall, restaurateur Barry Gutin ran into two di erent friends who told him they were taking GLP-1s and struggling to nd restaurant meals that met their dietary needs and smaller appetites. GLP-1 users tend to eat less, so they need nutritionally dense foods that are low in fat and high in protein and ber.
Gutin, the co-owner of Cuba
Libre Restaurant and Rum Bar in Philadelphia, Washington, D.C., Atlantic City, New Jersey, and Orlando, Florida, reached out to a doctor who specializes in weight loss and to Cuba Libre’s culinary director, Angel Roque. Over the next month, they developed the chain’s GLP-Wonderful menu, which is available during dinner.
The menu has ve classic Cuban options. Roque said the pollo asado on Cuba Libre’s regular menu has nearly 1,000 calories; on the GLP-1 menu, that’s slimmed down to 400 calories, but heavy on protein andber. He said it was also important to keep the GLP-1 meals avorful and colorful, to stimulate appetites.
“Many times when people are on those kind of regimes, they feel that they can’t do the same as everybody else. So we wanted to show them, yes, at Cuba Libre, you can,” Roque said.
Gutin said the menu has increased business. He estimated that 10 to 20 groups at each lo -
cation every week have at least one person who requests the GLP-Wonderful menu.
“People say, ‘Thank you for serving us’,” Gutin said.
Big chains go small
Olive Garden, whose seven-item “Lighter Portions” menu rolled out nationwide in January, said GLP-1 users were one consideration. The Italian-style restaurant chain also wanted to appeal to patrons pursuing healthier diets or more a ordable meals, said Rick Cardenas, the president and CEO of Olive Garden’s parent company, Darden Restaurants.
“There is a consumer group out there that believes in abundance, but abundance is di erent for everybody,” Cardenas said in September during a conference call with investors. “So consumers can choose. We’re not changing our entire menu to make it a smaller portion.”
The Asian fusion chain P.F. Chang’s began o ering medium-sized portions last fall.
The Cheesecake Factory added smaller, lower-priced Bites and Bowls to its menu last summer, while TGI Fridays recently began testing an “Eat Like A Kid” menu with smaller portions.
A long-term change
Smaller portions aren’t a new concept. Twenty years ago, small-plate tapas restaurants were all the rage, for instance.
But to Webster, the menu consultant, the scaled-down dishes appearing now feel like a longer-term shift. For one thing, the trend is not tied to any particular cuisine. Webster also thinks consumers are thinking more about food waste than they used to, and smaller portions can alleviate some of their concerns.
“I think it is a core need that consumers have, and a demand that has been lingering under
“These are really driven by changes in the way people are thinking about their relationship with food, the way they spend money on food, what is a good value and what’s not.”
Maeve Webster, Menu Matters president
the surface for a long time because restaurant meals, particularly at chains, have become so large,” she said. “Sure, it sounds great to take leftovers home, but they never taste as good.”
During a recent visit to Shelburne, Vermont, from his home in North Carolina, Jack Pless was delighted to see the Teeny Tuesday menu at Barkeaters Restaurant, which specializes in locally sourced food. Pless, who’s in his 60s and used to own a restaurant, said he can’t eat as much as he used to at meals.
“So many times you go out to restaurants, especially me or my wife, and we’ll take home a box and it’ll sit in the refrigerator for two, three days and start to grow a beard,” he said.
Julie Finestone, the co-owner of Barkeaters, said she introduced the Teeny Tuesday menu last month to bring in more weekday business during the winter. She was concerned about the cost of o ering lower-priced food options, like $12 reuben sliders, but said the decision has brought in more business than she expected.
Finestone said she’s pretty con dent Teeny Tuesday will become a year-round xture.
“Some people, it’s dietary. Some have smaller appetites. Some people don’t like to overindulge in the middle of the week,” Finestone said. “I think that it just spoke to people.”
The Chargers swept Eastern Randolph to remain undefeated
By Asheebo Rojas Chatham News & Record
RAMSEUR — Northwood
freshman Logan Thompson pitched a one-hitter while the Chargers logged 17 hits to complete the sweep over Four Rivers 3A/4A conference foe Eastern Randolph 12-0 Friday. With the win, the Chargers
moved to 6-0 for the rst time since 2017. Thompson pitched a complete game (six innings), striking out eight batters and walking one. She gave up Eastern Randolph’s only hit of the game in the bottom of the rst inning.
“My catcher was really good behind the plate today,” Thompson said in praise of freshman Ruby Parks. “She had really good framing.”
At the plate, Thompson went 3 for 5 with two RBIs and a run.
Northwood led 1-0 with bases loaded in the top of the rst
inning when junior Madalyn Holton smashed a homer over the left eld fence.
“It looked like my pitch,” Holton said. “I just saw it and knew it. Yes, yes, yes, go. I swung and hoped for the best. All you’ve got to really do is think base hits, and if it just happens to be a home run, then that’s really something to celebrate.”
Freshmen Cici Delgado and Tessa Cobler followed the home run with back-to-back singles as Cobler’s hit helped Delgado score the Chargers’ fth andnal run of the inning.
“We have fun doing it but take it serious.”
Northwood was held scoreless for the next two innings. In the top of the fourth, six Chargers reached base ( ve hits), leading to three more runs.
After a one-run fth inning, Northwood clinched the early win with three more scores in the sixth. A walk and four straight hits to start the inning scored Delgado and Cobler, putting the lead at 11-0. Holton went 2 for 4 and recorded a team-high three RBIs.
Seniors Allison Bryant and Kelis Watson both landed two hits with two RBIs each, and Delgado went 2 for 3. Cobler nished
the night 3 for 4 with one RBI. Northwood is amid a remarkable turnaround despite holding a roster with three seniors and multiple freshmen playing important roles. Last year, the Chargers went 4-16 and missed the playo s for the second straight time. They haven’t won more than 10 games in a season since 2019.
“They take it serious,” Northwood coach Jesse Mann said. “We have fun doing it but take it serious. We practice hard every day. The majority of them leave there and go do their own work.”
As of Sunday, the Chargers have allowed eight runs all season, achieving two shutouts. They’ve also scored at least 12 runs in four games.
Northwood won the rst
Construction on the Siler City ballpark will start this month
By Asheebo Rojas
Chatham News & Record
CHATHAM COUNTY’S Old North State League baseball team has found its coach.
The Chatham County Yardbirds selected Joe Seawell, coach of the Chatham HomeSchool Thunder baseball team, to lead the team in its inaugural season.
“I’ve loved coaching since I had to step across the lines from player to mentor after college,” Seawell said in a release. “From 4-year-old boys to grown men, a baseball eld is a special place. As a coach and lover of this game, being able to bring a little more baseball to the area and create more opportunities for local athletes during the summer is an incredible role to play.”
Seawell, a Chatham County native, grew up playing baseball in West Chatham. He went to Lee Christian School in Sanford and continued his baseball career at Wilkes Community College and Southeastern University in Lakeland, Florida. As a pitcher at Southeastern University, Seawell won back-to-back National Christian College Athletic Association Division II national championships and was awarded the Hank Burbridge Outstanding Leadership Award in 2006.
Before becoming the Yard-
birds’ rst leader, Seawell has coached locally around Chatham County since 2011. He gained experience starting something new when he was part of founding the Chatham Thunder baseball program, which is in its fourth season.
The program built its own eld behind Haw River Christian Academy on Silk Hope Gum Springs Road. This will be Seawell’s rst time coaching college-level players.
“Building something new is never easy,” Seawell said.
“It’s always nice to be hand-
“Success for me looks like a team that evolves from strangers to brothers over the summer, and that want to come do it again in 2027.”
Joe Seawell
ed a ready-made team or program, but everything has a beginning. Success for me looks like a team that evolves from strangers to brothers over the summer and that want to come do it again in 2027.”
Seawell hopes the Yardbirds inspire and help young Chatham County baseball players develop a love for the game.
“These college players, local or from abroad, represent the dream for so many young baseball players in the local community,” Seawell said.
Outside of the coaching news, the Yardbirds provided an update on their future ballpark being built at the Paul Braxton sports elds in downtown Siler City.
ONSL CIO Reggie Allred told the Chatham News & Record that construction will begin this week.
“With all the bad weather that we’ve had, we’re a little bit behind,” Allred said.
The plan is to begin work on the playing surface this week if
Katie Leonard and Cam Fowler earned rst-team honors
By Asheebo Rojas
Chatham News & Record
THE NORTH CAROLINA
Basketball Coaches Association released its All-District teams on March 10.
Three local basketball players were selected to the District 4 teams, featuring athletes from Cumberland, Hoke, Robeson, Richmond, Scotland, Harnett, Lee, Chatham and Moore counties.
Chatham County earned its fewest selections since Jarin Stevenson was the county’s sole representative in 2021.
Here are the county’s 202526 All-District honorees and a recap of their seasons.
Katie Leonard (Seaforth, District 4 girls)
Leonard received All-District honors for the second time in her career, making the rst team for the rst time. She joined Terry Sanford’s Jaidiah Blake (district Player of the Year), Overhills’ Naijha Allen, Terry Sanford’s Ameya Brown and Overhills’ Paris Autry on the rst team. As a senior, Leonard recorded career-highs of 21.7 points, 7.3 rebounds, 5.9 assists 3.2 steals and 1.3 blocks per game. She scored at least 20 points in 16 games,
for Northwood’s Chad Graves
including three 30-point performances. Leonard knocked down a career-high 80 3s (with a career-high 3-point attempts), hitting ve or more in eight contests. On top of that, she logged ve double-doubles and a 17-point, 11-assist and 10-steal triple-double against Orange on Feb. 12. Against Webb on Feb. 6, Leonard went o for a career-high 36 points on a 60% shooting clip. She will continue her basketball career at Cornell, becoming the second straight Seaforth girls’ basketball player to join a Division I program after graduating.
Cam Fowler (Northwood, District 4 boys)
Fowler, the Four Rivers 3A/4A conference Player of the Year, was selected for All-District for the third time in his career, making the rst team for the second straight season. He joined Douglas Byrd’s Marcus McDu e Jr. (district Player of the Year), E.E. Smith’s Nick Smith, Union Pines’ Kingsley
Seaforth, softball
Seaforth softball’s junior pitcher Emma Grace Hill earns athlete of the week honors for the week of March 9.
In the Hawks’ 12-0 ve-inning win over Carrboro on March 10, Hill struck out 14 batters, taking responsibility for nearly all of Seaforth’s outs. During that game, Hill recorded her 300th career strikeout. She also went 2 for 3 from the plate with an RBI. Hill has been o to a solid start this season both as a batter and a pitcher. In Seaforth’s season-opener, she notched a walk-o RBI to beat Middle Creek 3-2, which has been the closest game of the Hawks’ undefeated season so far.
SOFTBALL from page B1
meeting with Eastern Randolph 6-1 on March 10. That evening, Thompson struck out 16 batters. Holton and senior Kelis Watson both went 2 for 3 with two RBIs.
Eastern Randolph is still
looking for its rst win of the season after moving to 0-6 following the loss to Northwood. Last season, Eastern Randolph went 2-18, starting the campaign with a ninegame losing streak. It has returned in 2026 with a young roster led by two seniors.
By Asheebo Rojas Chatham News & Record Baseball
Jordan-Matthews defeated North Moore 5-0 on March 10 to win its rst game since the 2024 season. Senior Landon Moser struck out 13 batters and allowed one hit, while freshman Will Murchison went 2 for 2 with two RBIs to snap the Jets’ 24-game losing streak.
Seaforth dominated Carrboro last week, defeating the Jaguars 15-0 on March 10 and 11-0 Friday. The Hawks fell to Wake Forest for the second time this season 15-5 on March 11.
Chatham Charter extended its win streak to three with a 7-2 win over Jordan-Matthews and an 11-0 win over River Mill last week. Garrison Clark pitched a one-hitter and struck out six batters against River Mill.
Chatham Central snapped its three-game skid with two straight blowout wins over South Davidson. The Bears outscored South Davidson 30-4 in the series.
Northwood split its series with Eastern Randolph, winning 1-0 on March 10 and losing 10-6 on March 11.
Power rankings (week of March 9): 1. Seaforth; 2. Chatham Charter; 3. Northwood; 4. Chatham Central; 5. Jordan-Matthews Conference standings as of Sunday (overall, conference)
Central Tar Heel 1A: 1. Chatham Charter (3-1, 1-0); 2. River Mill (1-3, 0-1); T3. Central Carolina (0-1, 0-0); T3. Clover Garden (2-2, 0-0); T3. Southern Wake (0-2, 0-0)
Greater Triad 1A/2A: 1. South Stokes (4-2, 3-0); T2. Chatham Central (2-3, 2-2); T2. Bishop McGuinness (3-4, 1-1); 4. North Stokes (1-5, 1-2); 5. South Davidson (2-4, 0-2)
Four Rivers 3A/4A: T1. Northwood (3-3, 1-1); T1. Eastern Randolph (3-4, 1-1); T1. North Moore (3-2, 1-1); T1. Jordan-Matthews (1-5, 1-1); T5. Uwharrie Charter (5-1, 0-0); T5. Southwestern Randolph (2-2, 0-0)
Big Seven 4A/5A: T1. South Granville (5-1, 2-0); T1. Cedar Ridge (4-1, 2-0); T1. Seaforth (6-2, 1-0); T4. Carrboro (1-5, 0-1); T4. Durham School of the Arts (2-4, 0-2); T4. Orange (2-4, 0-2); 7. Webb (1-5, 0-0)
Jordan-Matthews’ Will Murchison gears up a pitch in a 2026 game.
Softball
Seaforth is o to a 4-0 start after a 12-0 win over Carrboro on March 10 and a 4-2 victory against Cedar Ridge on Friday. Pitcher Emma Grace Hill achieved a no-hitter against Carrboro and notched her 300th career strikeout (14 of the 15 outs were her strikeouts).
Jordan-Matthews remained undefeated after a 13-0 decision against South Davidson on March 10 and a 15-10 win over North Moore on Friday. Sophomore Kinley Jordan and senior Cassidy Graves both drove in three RBIs against the Mustangs.
Chatham Central won three straight games last week, beating Providence Grove 14-12, Ascend Leadership 17-1 and South Davidson 14-0. Junior pitcher Maddie Kaczmarczyk struck out nine batters and allowed one hit against South Davidson.
Chatham Charter dropped three consecutive games last week, falling to River Mill 9-8, Providence Grove 12-2 and Clover Garden 23-11.
Power rankings (week of March 9): 1. Seaforth; 2. Jordan-Matthews; 3. Northwood; 4. Chatham Central; 5. Chatham Charter Conference standings as of Sunday (overall, conference) Central Tar Heel 1A: T1. River Mill (2-1, 2-0); T1. Clover Garden (5-0, 2-0); 3. Chatham Charter (2-4, 2-2); T4. Ascend Leadership (0-2, 0-1); T4. Central Carolina (0-5, 0-3) Greater Triad 1A/2A: T1. Chatham Central (5-2, 1-0); T1. South Stokes (3-1, 1-0); T3. North Stokes (3-2, 0-1); T3. South Davidson (2-3, 0-1) Four Rivers 3A/4A: T1.
Northwood (6-0, 2-0); T1. Jordan-Matthews (5-0, 1-0); T3. Southwestern Randolph (3-1, 1-1); T3. Uwharrie Charter (2-4, 1-1); T5. North Moore (2-3, 0-1); T5. Eastern Randolph (0-6, 0-2) Girls’ soccer
After a 2-0 win over East Chapel Hill on March 9, Seaforth took its rst loss to Cardinal Gibbons 3-0 on March 11. Woods Charter opened its season with three straight wins over River Mill (9-0), Chatham Charter (9-0) and Eno River (5-1). Sophomore Annabel Unah notched a hat trick against River Mill.
Northwood dropped three straight games last week to Southern Alamance (2-1), Eastern Alamance (3-0) and Southeast Alamance (1-0).
Jordan-Matthews lost to Southern Lee 5-2 on March 9. Chatham Charter fell to North Moore 6-1 Friday.
Boys’ tennis
Seaforth bounced back from a 5-4 loss to Cary Academy with two 9-0 wins over Webb last week.
Chatham Charter extended its win streak to four with wins over North Moore (9-0) and Clover Garden (7-2).
Northwood fell to East Chapel Hill 9-0.
Jordan-Matthews, still looking for its rst win, lost to South Davidson (8-1) and Carrboro (9- 0).
Boys’ lacrosse
Seaforth edged Chapel Hill 11-10 in an overtime thriller on March 10. The Hawks scored the game-tying goal with one minute left in regulation, and with a minute left to play in overtime, they landed the game-winner. Northwood defeated Cleveland 12-3 and Southern Alamance 8-6 before falling to Chapel Hill 10-3 Friday. Senior Grayson Cox scored his 200th career point against Southern Alamance.
Girls’ lacrosse
Seaforth went 1-2 last week, beating Green Level 14-7 but falling to Bishop McGuinness (14-7) and Apex (24-11).
Northwood lost its season opener to Cleveland 10-3.
COURTESY CCSU DEPARTMENT OF ATHLETICS
Frazier made a huge leap in his junior season at Central Connecticut.
The former Northwood standout averaged 12 points per game this winter
By Asheebo Rojas Chatham News & Record
FORMER NORTHWOOD
standout Max Frazier picked up some post season accolades to end his junior season at Central Connecticut. Frazier, a forward, was named the Northeast Conference Most Improved Player. He also earned third-team All-Conference honors and was selected to the conference’s All-Defensive team. These are Frazier’s rst All-Conference honors in his college career, including his freshman season at Siena. Frazier went from averaging 3.3 points and 2.6 rebounds per game as a sophomore to 12 points and 7.2 rebounds per game this winter. Standing at 6 feet, 9 inches, Frazier started all 30 games for the Blue Devils. He shot at a 65.8% clip and scored in double-digits in 19 games. Frazier scored at least 20 points three times this season, includ-
from page B1
Donaldson and Lee County’s Nic Farrow on the rst team.
In his senior campaign, Fowler turned his scoring up a notch, reaching a career-high 22.3 points per game while also recording ve double-doubles. He made a career-high 57 3s at a 38% 3-point shooting clip.
During the Chargers’ last 15 games, Fowler scored at least 20 points in 12 contests. He exploded for a school-record 51 points and 11-made 3s against North Moore on Feb. 6. In the playo s
65.8
shooting clip by Frazier led NEC
ing a career-high 24 points in 108 -106 win over Sacred Heart on Nov. 24. Frazier led the conference in eld goal percentage. He tied with Stonehill’s Ridvan Tutic for second in the league in average rebounds against conference opponents (fourth in the conference overall). His 52 blocks (1.7 per game) ranked second in the conference regardless of opponent.
In high school, Frazier played two seasons at Woods Charter before transferring to Northwood for the 2021-22 season. Frazier helped Northwood reach the 3A state title game as a senior in 2023, leading that team in eld goal percentage (66%) and nishing second in average rebounds (6.2) and average blocks (one). In his two seasons with the Chargers, Frazier averaged 8.3 points, six rebounds and 1.2 blocks per game.
(three games), Fowler averaged 24.3 points and 9.6 rebounds.
Chad Graves (Northwood, District 4 boys)
Graves earned All-District honors for the rst time in his career as he was named to District 4’s third team. He joined Douglas Byrd’s Malachi McDu e, Southern Lee’s Nazir Quick, Richmond County’s Jayden Hamilton and Seventy-First’s Jayvon Foster on the third team. As a senior, Graves played in 17 games and averaged 9.5 points and a
The Associated Press
CHARLOTTE — The
Charlotte 49ers fired head basketball coach Aaron Fearne on Tuesday after he went 47-51 in three seasons at the helm.
Charlotte was 17-17 this season and lost 86-64 to
South Florida in the semifinals of the American Athletic Conference Tournament. The 49ers finished tied for fifth in the regular season AAC standings with a 9-9 record.
After going 19-12 in Fearne’s first season in 2023 -24, the 49ers lost several players through the transfer portal and were 11-22 the following season.
Charlotte director of athletics Kevin White said “while difficult, making a head coaching change is necessary to allow for greater success.” White said a search for Fearne’s replacement will begin immediately.
YARDBIRDS from page B1
weather permits. If not, construction will start next week. The eld is still scheduled to be ready by the Yardbirds’ rst home game on May 27.
“Once it gets going, it’ll actually move pretty fast,” Allred said.
The facility will feature a concrete grandstand, a beer garden, dedicated space for
career-high 6.8 rebounds. The rim protector recorded six double-doubles, and he notched two or more blocks in eight contests.
From Jan. 9-22 ( ve games), Graves scored in double digits every night and logged four double-doubles. In addition to his All-District selection, Graves was selected to play in the Carolinas Classic All-Star Game at Dorman High School in Spartanburg, South Carolina Saturday. He’ll represent North Carolina alongside the likes of Reidsville’s Dionte Neal in a battle against South Carolina’s top seniors.
food trucks, new dugouts, a modern press box, an upgraded in eld and playing surface, and more fan amenities. It will serve as more than a home for the Yardbirds as the ONSL hopes to host movie nights, concerts and other entertainment events to serve Siler City’s downtown area.
In July, North Carolina selected Siler City into its Main Street Program as a Down-
town Associate Community. The DAC program helps revitalize downtowns through economic development strategies. Siler City will receive two years of downtown technical assistance services valued at $30,000.
“I believe in this project and the positive impact it will have on our downtown area,” Assistant Town Manager Kimberly Pickard said in a statement.
Seaforth’s
The win ends a tumultuous o season
By Jenna Fryer The Associated Press
LAS VEGAS — Denny Hamlin returned to Victory Lane at Las Vegas Motor Speedway for his rst win since he lost the Cup Series championship four months ago, and rst since the death of his father in a December house re.
“I knew it took a few weeks to feel like driving,” Hamlin said after his 61st career victory. “Over the last couple weeks, I de nitely regained my love of it, got refocused. These are great opportunities for us.”
Hamlin’s 60th career victory was at Las Vegas last October, a win he dedicated to his father as it locked Hamlin into the Cuper Series’ championship-deciding nale. His father was in poor health and Hamlin went into the race knowing it was probably his nal chance to win a championship while Dennis Hamlin was still alive.
Then Hamlin dominated last year’s title-decider at Phoenix Raceway, but the wrong call on the nal pit stop cost him the Cup championship that has eluded the three-time Daytona 500 winner.
What followed was an emotional rollercoaster: Hamlin, as co-owner of 23XI Racing, was part of the winning team in a federal lawsuit against NASCAR last December. Weeks later, his father was killed in a re that destroyed the home Hamlin purchased to thank his parents for getting him into NASCAR.
He returned for the start of his 21st season and went to Victory Lane as an owner with Tyler Reddick when the 23XI Racing driver won the Daytona 500 and then set a Cup Series record by winning the rst three races of the year.
Most of the attention went to 23XI co-owner Michael Jordan as Reddick won Daytona, Atlanta and Circuit of the Americas.
Hamlin did his part at Las Vegas to put himself back in the spotlight.
“It is just so satisfying, so gratifying. You just never know what can happen year over year if you still have it or not,” said Hamlin. “I wasn’t totally locked in for the rst few weeks. We’ve just been hitting our stride now. This is our bread and butter, these are the tracks that we know we can go win, and we executed. This is a team win. The team did it.”
The 45-year-old Virginia driver overcome an early speeding penalty and drove from 31st through the eld in a fairly dominating win for Joe Gibbs Racing and Toyota. He led a racehigh 134 laps.
Hamlin was joined by hisancee and their three children as he collected the checkered ag, and he was sure his father was smiling somewhere.
“This is a family sport. My family obviously had so much sacri ce to help me get here,” said Hamlin. “Now that I’ve grown, generations of Hamlins following me, it’s great Mom gets to see this. I know Dad’s still saying, ‘That’s my boy.’ Hell of a day.”
Team owner Joe Gibbs’ praised Hamlin’s resilience.
“He’s been through a lot. Denny seems to have the ability to continue to work through things,” said Gibbs. “Has a way of just really still being very competitive. I appreciate him so much. We’re riding Denny for about 20 years. It’s been an awful good trip for us.”
Toyota has won four of the rst ve races.
Hendrick Motorsports teammates Chase Elliott and William Byron nished second and third in Chevrolets; JGR drivers Christopher Bell and Ty Gibbs were fourth and fth to give JGR three cars in the top- ve.
“It makes my job really easy when I can drive Toyotas that fast,” Hamlin said.
Gibbs on a roll
It was the third consecutive top- ve nish for Gibbs, who is a central gure in a federal lawsuit led by JGR against former competition director Chris Gabehart. The two sides are back in court in North Caroli-
“I knew it took a few weeks to feel like driving. Over the last couple weeks, I de nitely regained my love of it, got refocused.”
Denny Hamlin
na on Monday as JGR seeks a restraining order to stop Gabehart for working for rival Spire Motorsports.
“Just don’t want to be in court,” said team owner Gibbs. “But we’re going to be there. I think it’s important for us to follow through with this.”
Gabehart has said his time at JGR became untenable in part because of preferential treatment toward Gibbs, who is the grandson of the team owner.
JGR alleges Gabehart stole proprietary information before he left the team, and had a noncompete clause that prevents him from joining another team. Gabehart claims JGR stopped paying him in November and the role he now has with Spire is completely di erent from what he did for Gibbs.
Gabehart was at the track Sunday with Spire, which at Las Vegas had its trucks parked next to the JGR trucks.
Jones remains focused on being ready to start
The former Duke passer is recovering from a torn Achilles
By Michael Marot The Associated Press
INDIANAPOLIS — Daniel Jones spent his entire o season rehabbing, letting his agents deal with the business side of football.
Last Thursday, almost exactly four months after su ering a torn right Achilles tendon in a loss at Jacksonville, Jones returned to the Indianapolis Colts team complex with a new two-year contract worth up to $100 million and a promising timetable for his return to play — the 2026 regular-season opener.
“I’m very con dent in being back to 100% and ready to go,” he said. “I’m in a good spot, I’m on schedule. I think from everything the doctors are telling me — trainers, rehab, physical therapists — I think I’m in a good spot. I’ve hit my marks and just have to continue to do that.”
The prognosis couldn’t be any brighter for Indy.
Jones outplayed the one-year, prove-it deal Indy gave him last March when the Minnesota Vikings let him test free agency after adding the 2019 rst-round pick when the New York Giants released him during the 2024 season.
He didn’t disappoint with the Colts. Over the rst 10 weeks,
“I’m very con dent in being back to 100% and ready to go.”
Daniel Jones
Jones resuscitated his career by delivering on the potential the Giants saw in him when they drafted him No. 6 overall, leading the Colts to an 8-2 mark.
But Jones struggled to play through a hairline fracture in his left leg and then su ered the season-ending Achilles injury in early December. The result: Indy lost its nal seven games and missed the playo s for a fth straight season as uncertainty hung over yet another round of free agency for the former Duke star. And yet as questions loomed over how much the injury could de ate Jones’ payday and negotiations continued with the Colts, Indy’s decision-makers never wavered in their belief they wanted to pair Jones and free agent receiver Alec Pierce for a second consecutive season in 2026.
The rst part of the equation came last Monday when Pierce agreed to a four-year, $116 million deal, admittedly taking less than was o ered elsewhere so he could keep working with Jones. The second part was completed a day later when Jones also agreed to return, eliminating the need for Indy putting the
deal with Colts
transition tag on Jones last week.
“I just think the way he prepares, how he’s built, I think in the long run Daniel is going to be perfectly ne,” general manager Chris Ballard said during the NFL scouting combine in Indy. “Daniel and Alec are such big pieces. Everybody’s got a budget. We’ve got a cap we have to deal with, so I don’t know if it’s a run-it-back situation, but we’re going to make the team the best we can.”
Those two moves allowed Ballard to continue lling other holes, primarily on a defense
that he has indicated must get younger, faster and stouter. That work began Saturday when Ballard traded Pro Bowl linebacker Zaire Franklin to Green Bay for defensive tackle Colby Wooden and continued in the lead up to the o cial start of free agency. Indy signed former Tennessee Titans defensive end Arden Key to a two-year contract with the hope Key can help improve the pass rush opposite third-year defensive end Laiatu Latu. Indy also signed former New York Jets defensive tackle Mi-
cheal Clemons to a two-year deal. Wooden and Key were also introduced publicly last Thursday, and Key described the challenge Indy’s o ense posed when he played it twice a year with the Titans.
Now, with Jones and Pierce back, the Colts think their offense may only get better.
“We’re con dent because I think we’ve seen what we could be,” Jones said. “But there’s a high sense of urgency to get back to doing that and doing that consistently, week after week throughout the season.”
Formula 1 calls o April races in Bahrain, Saudi Arabia due to Iran war
Shanghai Formula 1 and its governing body, the FIA, say the Grand Prix races in Bahrain and Saudi Arabia will not be held in April on safety grounds related to the Iran war. Both countries have been struck during Iran’s response to United States and Israeli attacks. F1 was due to race in Bahrain on April 12 and in the Saudi Arabian city of Jeddah on April 19. F1 did not say the races were canceled or postponed, just that they won’t happen in April and replacement events have not been scheduled.
Cincinnati ring men’s basketball coach Miller
Cincinnati Wes Miller will not be back as the University of Cincinnati’s men’s basketball coach. Cincinnati and Miller are reportedly negotiating an equitable buyout. Miller has three years remaining on his contract, but he’s owed $9.9 million if the ring happens before March 31. It drops to $4.69 million if the termination happens after April 1. Miller went 100-74 in ve seasons, including 18-15 this year and did not reach the NCAA Tournament. Miller won an NCAA title as a UNC player and coached UNC Greensboro before leaving for Cincinnati.
NHL
Maple Leafs star Matthews out for season with torn MCL after knee from Gudas
Toronto Toronto Maple Leafs captain Auston Matthews has a torn medial collateral ligament in his left knee and will miss the rest of the season. Matthews was ruled out a little under 24 hours after being knocked out of last Thursday’s game against Anaheim on a knee - on-knee hit from Anaheim defenseman Radko Gudas. The Leafs said Matthews has a Grade 3 MCL tear and a bruised quadriceps muscle and would be evaluated again in two weeks. Gudas was suspended for ve games.
NBA
Gilgeous-Alexander breaks Chamberlain’s record with 20 points in 127th straight game
Oklahoma City Shai Gilgeous-Alexander broke Wilt Chamberlain’s record for consecutive games with 20 points or more, extending his streak to 127. The Oklahoma City Thunder guard drilled a jumper over Baylor Scheierman from beyond the free-throw line last Thursday with 7:04 left in the period to push his total to 21. Chamberlain’s record had stood since 1963. Gilgeous-Alexander nished with 35 points and nine assists as the Thunder beat the Celtics 104-102.
A combination of government issues are making travel di cult and expensive
By Will Graves The Associated Press
PITTSBURGH — Atlantic 10
commissioner Bernadette McGlade skimmed through the 12-page memo the NCAA sent out last month that highlighted potential travel issues ahead of the men’s and women’s basketball tournaments and couldn’t help but feel a bit of deja vu.
McGlade spent time on both the men’s and women’s selection committees earlier in her career, including a stint as the tournament director for women’s March Madness. What she read in that memo was nothing new.
“We had the same conversations, ‘Oh, these charters are hired (away). We might not be able to travel all the teams the way we want to travel,’” McGlade said. “It is a very real reality.”
One that, through the years, has avoided any sort of real nightmare scenario. The NCAA is hoping to do the same this time around, even if the headwinds working against them might be a little stronger than they’ve been in the past.
The ongoing partial government shutdown that is forcing some federal airport employees to work without getting paid — leading to massive lines at security checkpoints in some places — the conict in the Middle East that is spiking energy prices and the typical uptick in demand when the weather gets warmer are a potential tinderbox that could make the Madness in March Madness bleed into new territory.
“We certainly understand that there are pressures on the system, but we hope they’re not going to be too disruptive and really impact people’s experiences. We’ll do everything we can to mitigate that,” men’s committee chair Keith Gill said. “One of the things that I’ve heard is ICE is taking up a lot of charter planes. I think the charter market is just demonstrably di erent than it has been.”
The number of deportation ights carried out by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement have hit record
Tournament. Now,
“I think that the NCAA was proactive on getting that travel set up. So, hopefully, everything will go really, really smoothly.”
Wright State A.D. Joylynn Brown
highs during President Donald Trump’s second administration, and while it wasn’t an issue last March, it might be now.
With host sites for the opening weekend stretching from Bu alo, New York, to San Diego in the men’s bracket, the math could still get a little complicated.
The NCAA has speci c parameters on how teams get to their venues. Any team that has to travel at least 400 miles during the opening weekend is eligible to take a ight chartered by the NCAA. That drops to 350 miles for the regionalnals and the Final Four.
Schools that are closer than
those parameters can receive up to $1,500 per day for ground transportation.
Teams from one-bid leagues that gure to be lower seeds may have to bear more of a travel burden than higher seeds, who can sometimes — but not always — play much closer to home.
Wright State athletic director Joylynn Brown said the travel logistics are “something to think about” but added that it isn’t top of mind. The Raiders, who won the Horizon League title this week, play a few miles from downtown Dayton, Ohio, where the men’s tournament got underway Tuesday night.
“If you drive, it is a little bit easier,” Brown said. “It is exciting to y. I don’t really care where we’re going, I’m just excited that we’re going and I’m thankful, I hope that and I think that the NCAA was proactive on getting that travel set up. So, hopefully, everything will go really, really smoothly.”
The visibility that the tournaments provide, particularly for lesser-known schools, is so great that they’d probably walk
to get where they need to go if it came down to it. If they hop on a plane, even if they have to wait? Great. If they sit on a bus for a while? Great.
“I think without hesitation, that every institution wants to see their name go up on the board on Selection Sunday,” McGlade said, later adding, “the value long-term for programs and institutions in terms of enrollment, fundraising, etc., of being selected into March Madness is so signi cant right now that I know there’s not anyone in the A-10 concerned about that.”
That might change once the dream of reaching the tournament becomes reality, which can lead to a frantic 24-72 hours for schools as they scatter across the country in hopes of an extended stay in the dance. Any delays that may pop up are basically college basketball’s version of a rstworld problem.
“It’s di erent all of a sudden now when the teams get in you (might) start to hear some people complaining,” McGlade said. “But I don’t think there’s a hesitation (to be a part of it.).”
For baseball’s tallest hitters, robo-umps should bring consistency to tricky strike zone
Larger players often see their strike zones expanded by umps
By Jay Cohen The Associated Press
PHOENIX — San Francisco
Giants rookie Bryce Eldridge was logged at 6-foot-7 “and some change,” he said. That was the measurement for the slugger for the major leagues’ Automated Ball-Strike System. That is one expansive strike zone — but a more de ned one, at least.
“I think they told me I’m the tallest guy they’ve measured, position player-wise,” Eldridge said during spring training.
“So I got that going for me, at least. So I’ve got the biggest zone, the biggest ABS.”
After years of testing in the minors, the robot-umpire system for reviewing ball/strike calls is going to be used in regular-season games in the majors this year. The abbreviation for the setup is ABS, but the most important letters when it comes to the change just might be S-I-Z-E — relating to the strike zone for some of the game’s tallest players.
“I got a lot of respect for the umpires and what they do behind the plate,” New York Yankees slugger Aaron Judge said.
“So I can usually pride myself
in not showing them up or putting on a show or doing anything like that because they got a tough job back there. So we’ll see. I’ll nd the right time to use it. If they’re pretty outrageous calls, I think I’ll use it.”
The 6-foot-7 Judge, who won his third AL MVP award last year, sounded more excited about the possibilities for 6-foot-5 teammate Giancarlo Stanton.
“His whole career has been kind of getting screwed over. And also now, this kind of changes everything,” Judge said. “He’s so routine oriented to where you get a bad call, you get a good call, whatever, it’s kind of about ushing to get to the next pitch. Well, now you
got 2 seconds to try to make up your mind.” Strike zones vary depending on a player’s height — starting at 53.5% of a batter’s height for the top and 27% of a batter’s height for the bottom. The top and the bottom of the zone for baseball’s biggest giants — a list that also includes 6-foot-7 center elder Oneil Cruz of the Pittsburgh Pirates and 6-foot- 6 left elder James Wood of the Washington Nationals — have long been two di cult areas for umpires. But the ABS system provides an opportunity for a closer look. Each team has the ability to challenge two calls per game.
A team retains its challenge if
successful, similar to the regulations for video reviews. A team out of challenges for a game tied after nine innings would get one additional challenge in each extra inning.
Only a batter, pitcher or catcher may challenge a call, signaling with the tap of a helmet or cap, and assistance from the dugout is not allowed.
“Speci cally with Aaron Judge, I think his zone is higher than most, right? Because he’s taller,” Chicago Cubs catcher Carson Kelly said. “So you might catch one at the knees that feels like a normal strike, but it’s low on him. So I think it’s another aspect of catchers is we’re going to have to understand who’s at the plate, what the zone is like. I mean, if it’s a smaller zone, that ball that might feel like it’s a strike at the top, it’s probably a ball.”
The 21-year-old Eldridge, who got to use ABS in the minors, said he thinks it’s great for the game.
“I had a situation last year where we were in the ninth and we were down by two, I want to say, and I struck out looking,” Eldridge said. “I challenged it. It was a ball, and I hit a home run like the next pitch or something to tie it. The game can change just like that with this, so it’s pretty cool.”
Napoleon returns to Paris, Nazis establish Dachau, Stamp Act passes, Exxon Valdez runs aground
The Associated Press
MARCH 19
1931: Nevada Gov. Fred B. Balzar signed a measure making the state the rst to legalize gambling.
1945: During World War II, more than 800 service members were killed when a Japanese dive bomber attacked the aircraft carrier USS Franklin near Japan.
1953: The 25th Academy Awards ceremony became the rst to be televised; “The Greatest Show on Earth” won the Oscar for best picture.
MARCH 20
1815: Napoleon Bonaparte returned to Paris after escaping his exile on Elba, beginning his “Hundred Days” rule.
1852: Harriet Beecher Stowe’s in uential anti-slavery novel “Uncle Tom’s Cabin” was rst published in book form after being serialized in the abolitionist newspaper “The National Era.”
1976: Kidnapped newspaper heiress Patricia Hearst was convicted of armed robbery for her role in a San Francisco bank holdup carried out by the Symbionese Liberation Army.
MARCH 21
1873: The Spanish National Assembly abolished slavery in Puerto Rico, then a Spanish colony.
1933: Germany’s Nazi gov-
ernment established its rst concentration camp in the town of Dachau, ostensibly for political prisoners. More than 200,000 prisoners were held there and more than 40,000 died.
1965: Civil rights demonstrators led by the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. began their third march from Selma to Montgomery, Alabama, escorted by U.S. Army and National Guard troops assigned by President Lyndon B. Johnson.
MARCH 22
1765: The British Parliament passed the Stamp Act to raise revenue from the American colonies, which ercely resisted the tax. The act was repealed a year later.
1894: The rst Stanley Cup championship game was played as the Montreal Hockey Club defeated the Ottawa Hockey Club 3-1.
1963: The Beatles released their debut album, “Please Please Me,” in the United Kingdom on the Parlophone label.
MARCH 23
1775: Patrick Henry addressed the Virginia Provincial Convention, declaring, “Give me liberty, or give me death!”
1806: Explorers Meriwether Lewis and William Clark began their return to St. Louis after completing the rst U.S. overland expedition to the Paci c coast.
1919: Benito Mussolini founded his Fascist political movement in Milan, Italy.
MARCH 24
1882: German scientist Robert Koch announced in Berlin that he had discovered the bacillus responsible for tuberculosis.
1921: The Women’s Olympiad, the rst international women’s sporting event, began in Monte Carlo, Monaco.
1989: The supertanker Exxon Valdez ran aground on a reef in Alaska’s Prince William Sound, spilling an estimated 11 million gallons of crude oil.
MARCH 25
1894: Jacob S. Coxey began a march from Massillon, Ohio, to Washington, D.C., leading hundreds of unemployed workers demanding federal relief following the Panic of 1893.
1911: A re at the Triangle Shirtwaist Co. garment factory in New York killed 146 people, mostly young immigrant women, prompting major workplace safety and labor reforms.
1931: In the Scottsboro Boys case, nine black teenagers were taken o a train in Alabama and falsely accused of raping two white women; after years of trials and imprisonment, they were eventually vindicated.
claiming ‘no one cares’ about opera, ballet
The award-winning actor’s comments have sparked backlash
By Ronald Blum The Associated Press
NEW YORK — Famed conductor Gustavo Dudamel said Timothée Chalamet showed ignorance when the Oscar-nominated actor claimed “no one cares” about opera and ballet. “Sadly, sometimes it’s a little bit of ignorance but, look, that is why we have to open more spaces for people to connect with classical music,” Dudamel said last Tuesday night at an event to announce the programming of his rst season as the New York Philharmonic’s music director.
Dudamel spoke from the stage of Lincoln Center’s David Ge en to an audience that included donors, musicians, the orchestra board, community leaders and composers in addition to journalists. Dudamel’s remarks sparked loud applause.
During a conversation with fellow actor Matthew McConaughey at a CNN and Va-
EVAN AGOSTINI / INVISION / AP PHOTO
New York Philharmonic music and artistic director Gustavo Dudamel appears at a special screening of “El Canto de las Manos” in New York in 2025.
riety town hall at the University of Texas at Austin’s Moody College of Communication in February, the 30-yearold Chalamet was asked by
McConaughey about whether shortened audience attention spans have impacted studio decisions about the content of theatrical lms, forcing more early action.
“I admire people, and I’ve done it myself, to go on a talk show and go: Hey, we’ve got to keep movie theaters alive. We got to keep this genre alive,’” Chalamet said. “And another part of me feels like if people want to see it, like ‘Barbie,’ like ‘Oppenheimer,’ they’re going to go see it and go out of their way to be loud and proud about it. And I don’t want to be working in ballet or opera or things where it’s like where it’s like, ‘Hey! Keep this thing alive,’ even though no one cares about this anymore. All respect to the ballet and opera people out there. I just lost 14 cents in viewership.”
Chalamet received his third Academy Award nomination, for “Marty Supreme.” His comments sparked an online backlash from arts organizations.
“Everybody has the right to say, but you have to do things with knowledge, with facts. I think we have to say to the young generation, the oppo -
site,” Dudamel said. “It’s very funny. Cinema is a result of opera, of music, of all of these kinds of things.”
Matías Tarnopolsky, the New York Philharmonic CEO, was seated next to Dudamel and issued a public o er to Chalamet.
“He can sit with me anytime,” Tarnopolsky said. “I’ll give him a free ticket, and he’s invited to come and hear the New York Philharmonic.”
Dudamel, 45, is among the world’s most famous conductors. He is leaving the Los Angeles Philharmonic this summer after 17 seasons as music director to become the music director of the New York orchestra.
At one point, Dudamel feigned not knowing Chalamet, saying: “Which is the name of that?” before cutting o as the audience laughed.
“That way of thinking has to end,” he said. “Music is reborn all the time and it brings us the values of empathy through the beauty of what it is. So this is the reality of music. This is the real dimension of music, and we need that more for our young people.”
The actor has won three Academy Awards
By Jonathan Landrum Jr.
The Associated Press
LOS ANGELES — Sean Penn has built one of the most decorated careers in contemporary acting, and he has added another Oscar to the list.
On Sunday, Penn won the Academy Award for best supporting actor for his performance in Paul Thomas Anderson’s political drama “One Battle After Another.” He delivered a commanding portrayal of a seasoned power broker navigating the shifting loyalties and ideological battles at the center of the lm.
Penn, 65, did not attend the Oscars.
“He couldn’t be here tonight, or he didn’t want to,” Kieran Culkin said after announcing Penn as the winner.
It’s not the rst time Penn has been an Oscars no-show. He’s previously skipped the show three times when he was nominated for “Dead Man Walking” in 1996, “Sweet and Lowdown” in 2000 and “I Am Sam” in 2002.
In 2022, Penn gave one
“He couldn’t be here tonight, or he didn’t want to.”
Kieran Culkin
of the Oscar statuettes to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. Penn bowed out from attending the BAFTAs and Actor Awards this year. In the movie, Penn plays a calculating strategist named Col. Steven J. Lockjaw whose decades of experience in political movements give him both in uence and scars. His character carries the weight of past victories and failures, o ering sharp insights while quietly pulling strings behind the scenes. The performance blends Penn’s trademark intensity with moments of restraint, delivering a standout performance among the lm’s talented ensemble.
The win marks Penn’s third Academy Award.
The actor did attend when he previously won two Academy Awards for best actor for Clint Eastwood’s 2003 crime drama “Mystic River” and for por-
traying San Francisco politician and LGBTQ rights pioneer Harvey Milk in Gus Van Sant’s 2008 biopic “Milk.”
Penn rst gained attention in the 1980s, with lms including “Fast Times at Ridgemont High,” but quickly established
himself as one of Hollywood’s most fearless dramatic actors.
Over the decades, he has delivered acclaimed performances in lms such as “Dead Man Walking,” “Carlito’s Way,” “The Thin Red Line,” and “I Am Sam.” His performance in “One
Battle After Another” adds another acclaimed role to a career de ned by intense and transformative performances. Other nominees included Delroy Lindo, Benicio Del Toro, Jacob Elordi and Stellan Skarsgård.
Bruce Willis celebrates 71, Kathy Ireland turns 63, Andrew Lloyd Webber is 78, Gene Shalit hits 100
THESE CELEBRITIES have birthdays this week.
MARCH 19
Actor Ursula Andress is 90. Singer Ruth Pointer (The Pointer Sisters) is 80. Actor Glenn Close is 79. Retired actor Bruce Willis is 71. NFL coach Andy Reid is 68. Comedian-podcaster Theo Von is 46.
MARCH 20
Actor Hal Linden is 96. Basketball Hall of Fame coach Pat Riley is 81. Hockey Hall of Famer Bobby Orr is 78. Guitarist Jimmie Vaughan is 75. Film director Spike Lee is 69. Actor Holly Hunter is 68. Model-entrepreneur Kathy Ireland is 63.
MARCH 21
Football Hall of Fame coach Tom Flores is 89. Actor Timothy Dalton is 80. Actor Gary Oldman is 68. Actor Matthew Broderick is 64. Comedian-actor Rosie O’Donnell is 64. Former soccer player Ronaldinho is 46.
MARCH 22
Artist Yayoi Kusama is 97. Actor William Shatner is 95. Former U.S. poet laureate Billy Collins is 85. Musician George Benson is 83. Writer James Patterson is 79. Composer Andrew Lloyd Webber is 78. Actor Lena Olin is 71. Singer-actor Stephanie Mills is 69. Actor Matthew Modine is 67.
MARCH 23
Singer Chaka Khan is 73. Basketball Hall of Fame coach Geno Auriemma is 72. Fashion designer Kenneth Cole is 72. Actor Amanda Plummer is 69. Actor Hope Davis is 62. Musician Damon Albarn is 58.
MARCH 24
Chef and TV presenter Mary Berry is 91. Musician Carol Kaye is 91. Fashion and costume designer Bob Mackie is 87. Singer Nick Lowe is 77. Golf Hall of Famer Pat Bradley is 75. Fash-
MARCH 25
Film critic Gene
Activist and author Gloria
are streaming on
Luke Combs drops his new album, “The Way I Am”
The Associated Press
ELISABETH MOSS, Kerry Washington and Kate Mara teaming up to star in a new psychological thriller for Apple TV called “Imperfect Women” and fresh music from both BTS and Luke Combs 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 this week: A new “Peaky Blinders” movie called “The Immortal Man,” spring’s buzziest video game, the ambitious role-playing adventure Crimson Desert, and Bradley Cooper directs Will Arnett and Laura Dern in his third feature, “Is This Thing On?”
MOVIES TO STREAM
Get your best Birmingham accent ready because Cillian Murphy’s Tommy Shelby is back in the new “Peaky Blinders” movie, “The Immortal Man,” which will be on Net ix as of Friday. Series creator Steven Knight wrote the script, and Tom Harper directed the lm in a cast that includes Rebecca Ferguson and Barry Keoghan. The six seasons of the show are also available on Net ix for rewatches and catching up.
Cooper directs Arnett and Dern in his third feature, “Is This Thing On?” about a man going through a divorce who turns to stand-up comedy. It’s loosely based on the story of Manchester comedian Joseph Bishop. In her review for The Associated Press, Jocelyn Noveck wrote that it is “a deeply felt lm about one teetering marriage, and a work whose power sneaks up on you slowly.” It’ll be on Hulu on Friday.
“Wicked: For Good,” the epic conclusion to Jon M. Chu’s two - lm adaptation, will nally be streaming on Peacock on Friday. Cynthia Erivo, Ariana Grande, Michelle Yeoh, Jonathan Bailey, Je Goldblum and more are all on hand for the decidedly darker second half, which was less well received than the rst but still surprised when it received zero Oscar nominations. In his review, AP Film Writer Jake Coyle wrote “’Wicked: For Good,’ rather than conjuring Oz anew, always feels like it’s jumping from one
set piece to another. Maybe this is a silly gripe for a fantasyland. (‘I don’t have any idea where the o ces of the Lollipop Guild are!’) But I rarely found myself lifted into a movie world, but rather sat watching it — sometimes with admiration, rarely with delight — from the mezzanine. The rub of going for maximum e ect all the time is that the actors never have a chance to simply be.”
MUSIC TO STREAM
Call it the most anticipated K-pop album of the year, or the biggest comeback: The mighty BTS return on Friday with “ARIRANG,” their rst full-length project since all seven members — RM, Jin, Jimin, V, Suga, Jung Kook and j-hope — completed South Korea’s mandatory military service. Excitement couldn’t be higher for its loyal audience, called ARMY.
Combs has big shoes to ll — his own. The country singer has become a full- on pop phenomenon, due in no small part to his ubiquitous cover of Tracy Chapman’s “Fast Car.” The question now is what comes next?
It’s a simple answer: a new album, “The Way I Am,” out Friday. Singles “Be By You” and “Sleepless in a Hotel Room” have made for fast country radio hits; it’s only a matter of time before the album becomes one of the genre’s biggest releases of the year.
Moss, Washington and Mara star in a new psychological thriller for Apple TV called “ Imperfect Women.” The trio play longtime friends whose bond is fractured after a crime occurs. Moss and Washington are executive producers on the series which is based on a novel by Araminta Hall. The ensemble also includes Joel Kinnaman, Corey Stoll, Leslie Odom Jr., Sheryl Lee Ralph and Ana Ortiz. The rst two episodes of
the eight-episode series are out now.
“The Lady “ is a new Britbox limited series ctionalizing the true story of Jane Andrews, a dresser for the former Duchess of York who ended up in prison for murdering her lover. The four-part series stars Mia McKenna-Bruce as Andrews and Natalie Dormer as Sarah Ferguson.
After the cringey, ingenious comedy “Jury Duty” debuted in 2023, many wondered how they could ever pull o anoth-
“Is This Thing On” is a deeply felt lm about one teetering marriage, and a work whose power sneaks up on you slowly.” Jocelyn Noveck, AP Film Writer
er season. It followed Ronald, a man serving jury duty on what he believed was a real trial. Oh, and the trial was also being covered by a documentary crew. Thing is, everyone was an actor except Ronald. The unsuspecting protagonist of season two is Anthony, a new, temporary hire at a family-owned hot sauce business. The employees attend a company retreat and Anthony has no idea that his new colleagues are actors and all situations are preplanned. “Jury Duty Presents: Company Retreat” is now streaming on Prime Video.
The popular long-running Hallmark series “When Calls the Heart” gets a prequel called “Hope Valley: 1874” for the streaming platform Hallmark+. Bethany Joy Lenz stars as Rebecca Clarke, a Chicago mother who takes her daughter to settle in the Canadian west and build a new life. When their wagon breaks down, she must accept help from a local rancher who is single. Jill Hennessy also stars. It premieres Saturday on Hallmark+.
Lisa Kudrow returns to HBO as B-list actor Valerie Cherish for a third and nal season of “ The Comeback. “ All three seasons of the show have been spaced a decade-ish apart and follow a woman navigating aging and staying relevant in showbiz and its ever-changing landscape. In the new episodes, Cherish lands a new TV series that is written by AI. The dark comedy streams Sunday on HBO Max.
VIDEO GAMES TO PLAY
Baseball fans got an early treat this year with the World Baseball Classic, so it’s only appropriate that Team USA captain Aaron Judge is on the cover of MLB The Show 26. New features include “Bear Down Pitching” and “Big Zone Hitting” for high-stress moments — and you can now challenge balls and strikes! Play now on PlayStation 5, Xbox X/S and Switch.