VOLUME 149 ISSUE 25 | THURSDAY, AUGUST 13, 2026
CHATHAMNEWSRECORD.COM
THE CHATHAM COUNTY EDITION OF NORTH STATE JOURNAL
PJ WARD-BROWN / CHATHAM NEWS & RECORD
‘Merican Muscle A number of American classics, both old and newm pulled into the Goldston Cruise In on Saturday.
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BRIEF this week
Contiguous U.S. breaks record for hottest month ever, NOAA says The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration says the contiguous United States set a record for its hottest month ever in July. Last month averaged 76.89 degrees Fahrenheit across the Lower 48 states, eclipsing the Dust Bowl’s July 1936 by an eighth of a degree. Although it was unusually cool in Alaska, hotter than normal conditions blanketed the Lower 48, with the most excessive heat in the Mountain West, Southwest, Northern Plains and Southeast. The biggest driver of the heat was at night. Nighttime lows, which are crucial for people and agriculture to recover from hot days, smashed the old record for hottest minimums by 0.7 degrees, the NOAA said.
U.S. existing homes fall 1.7% in July as record prices, high rates stifle would-be buyers Sales of previously occupied U.S. homes slowed again in July as record prices and the highest mortgage rates in more than a year prove to be an insurmountable hurdle for many prospective homebuyers. The National Association of Realtors said Tuesday that existing home sales fell 1.7% last month from June to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 4.06 million units. July sales, however, were up 0.7% over last year. Home prices continued to rise, hitting unprecedented levels for July. The U.S. median sales price increased 2% from a year earlier, to $434,100.
County commissioners approve first plats for 2 developments The projects total around 180 residential units By Ryan Henkel Chatham News & Record PITTSBORO — The Chatham County Board of Commissioners approved the first development stage for two sub-
is strictly an administrative one, meaning the board cannot use any discretion in its decision and the only question is whether or not the plat meets the county’s standards. “Were we to move forward with the UDO, we would have zoned the area of this development differently so that this would not be possible,”
said Board Chair Amanda Robertson. Based on current law, if the board had taken no action, the plats would have been automatically approved 65 days after their submission and as submitted, meaning no additional conditions would be applied. See PROJECTS, page A7
Trump’s vaccine gives some MAHA voters win while giving Democrats attack line Polls show most voters care more about costs than vaccine safety By Ali Swenson The Associated Press NEW YORK — President Donald Trump pivoted the nation’s attention back to vaccines
this week with an executive order that aims to scale back the childhood immunization schedule and space out shots into separate visits. After acting to overhaul the nation’s vaccine policy and guidance, the Trump administration had recently largely stepped back from additional changes to focus on less controversial sub-
jects, raising questions over the political impetus behind and implications of the Republican president’s renewed focus on vaccines. For well over a decade, Trump has expressed his view — against medical groups’ guidance — that childhood vaccines should be administered in smaller doses over a long period of time. The execu-
Trump officials propose new scrutiny of food ingredients “Shifting to a mandatory notification system closes a decadesold information gap.” Kyle Diamantas, acting FDA commissioner
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division projects at its July 27 meeting. The actions included approving the first plat for a 183-acre, 132-lot development located off of Buckner Clark Road (Webster Farm) and a 164-acre, 48-lot development located off of Pleasant Hill Church Road (Hickory Mountain Reserve). The first plat review process
The rule would close a decades-old loophole allowing companies to self-approve food additives By Matthew Perrone The Associated Press WASHINGTON, D.C. — U.S. health officials on Monday proposed a rule change that would require food manufacturers to notify regulators before introducing new ingredients or additives into processed or packaged foods. The proposal would change a decades-old policy that advocates have called a regulatory loophole, blaming it for allowing thousands of unvetted
ingredients into the U.S. food supply. Under the proposed rule from the Food and Drug Administration, companies would have to document and submit their safety findings for new ingredients, giving regulators the opportunity to investigate if they see a potential safety risk. Currently, companies can decide for themselves if an ingredient or additive is “generally recognized as safe,” and there is no requirement for companies to notify or submit evidence to the FDA, although some do. “Shifting to a mandatory notification system closes a decades-old information gap, giving the FDA the comprehensive See FOOD, page A7
tive order sought to bear out that discredited theory. While the move could endear Trump to some “Make America Healthy Again” voters who want more flexibility on immunizations, it’s also already attracting attacks designed to hurt Trump’s aligned candidates in See MAHA, page A10