VOLUME 149 ISSUE 13 | THURSDAY, MAY 21, 2026
CHATHAMNEWSRECORD.COM
THE CHATHAM COUNTY EDITION OF NORTH STATE JOURNAL
GENE GALIN FOR CHATHAM NEWS & RECORD
Musaic Blackwater Band performs at the Mosaic Family Commons last Friday as part of the venue’s summer Beach Music Series.
the
BRIEF this week
Chatham County Schools implements mutual aid plan
Trump endorses Paxton in Texas GOP primary, boosting challenge to incumbent Cornyn
The agreement lays out parameters and procedures in the case of a catastrophic event
President Donald Trump has endorsed Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, supercharging his effort to oust incumbent Sen. John Cornyn in a Republican primary runoff. Paxton and Cornyn qualified for the May 26 runoff after a March 3 primary, while Rep. Wesley Hunt finished third and did not advance. Although the four-term Cornyn has backed Trump’s agenda in Washington, Paxton pitched himself as a political warrior for the Make America Great Again movement. Trump’s endorsement Tuesday puts him at odds with his party’s establishment, which is convinced Cornyn is the better candidate for November’s general election.
PITTSBORO — The Chatham County Schools Board of Education has approved a first-of-its-kind mutual aid
Jackson says Supreme Court risks being seen as political after voting rights decision Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson said Monday that the Supreme Court risks being seen as political in the wake of a major voting rights decision. She spoke after writing a solo dissent from the court’s decision allowing Louisiana to move quickly to use new maps after the court struck down a majorityblack district and weakened the Voting Rights Act. At a time when public confidence in the court is low, she said the court must be careful to avoid being seen as political. Three of her conservative colleagues have said accusations of partisanship aren’t justified.
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By Ryan Henkel Chatham News & Record
agreement between the district and select charter and private schools located within the county. At the board’s May 11 meeting, the mutual aid plan was presented detailing the procedure that the partners (Cha-
tham County Schools, Chatham Charter, Haw River Academy and Woods Charter) would go through in the case of a catastrophic event. The district was the leader on the conversations, and talks also included the Chatham County Sheriff’s Office as well. “The impetus for this conversation was really around school
safety,” said Superintendent Anthony Jackson. “We are very fortunate that we have not had one of these catastrophic events, but we always need to be prepared for them if they were to happen. This gives us the context to be able to respond if they need us or if we need them. See SCHOOLS, page A2
Small cities in big Texas metro areas lead as fastest-growing municipalities in United States The surge reflects migration away from expensive coasts toward affordable Southern job markets By Mike Schneider The Associated Press SMALL CITIES IN big Texas metro areas were the fastest-growing municipalities in
the United States last year, as smaller communities in the South outpaced the rest of the nation, which has experienced a population slowdown since the start of the immigration crack-
down last year, according to figures released Thursday. Celina, Princeton, Melissa and Anna — all part of the Dallas-Fort Worth metroplex — were the Nos. 1, 3, 4 and 5 fastest-growing U.S. cities with populations of 20,000 residents or more from mid-2024 to mid2025, according to population
Graduates booing pep talks on AI at college commencements “It will touch every profession, every classroom, every hospital, every laboratory, every person and every relationship you have, Eric Schmidt, former Google CEO
Students face anxiety about AI threatening their jobs in an uncertain market
By Heather Hollingsworth and Jocelyn Gecker The Associated Press AS ARTIFICIAL intelligence casts a shadow over career prospects, it is becoming an unwelcome subject at this season’s college commencements. At several campuses, graduates have interrupted speakers with stadium-wide boos when the topic turned to AI. Former Google CEO Eric Schmidt faced repeated jeers
over the weekend during his keynote address to about 10,000 University of Arizona graduates on the rise of AI. “It will touch every profession, every classroom, every hospital, every laboratory, every person and every relationship you have,” Schmidt said, as booing began to build in the audience. “I know what many of you are feeling about that. I can hear you,” Schmidt responded as the boos continued. “There is a fear in your generation that the future has already been written, that the machines are coming, that the jobs are evaporating … and I understand that fear.” See BOOING, page A7
estimates released by the U.S. Census Bureau. Fulshear, in metro Houston, was the second-fastest growing U.S. city. The five Texas cities’ year-over-year growth rates ranged from almost 15% to almost 25%. See POPULATION, page A7