VOLUME 9 ISSUE 23 | THURSDAY, AUGUST 1, 2024
NSJONLINE.COM
North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper announced Tuesday he would not pursue being Vice President Kamala Harris’ running mate. “This just wasn’t the right time for North Carolina and for me to potentially be on a national ticket,” Cooper wrote in a post on X.
CHRIS SEWARD/ AP PHOTO
the
School supplies spending dips slightly for ’24
BRIEF this week
U.S. regulators OK N.C. medical debt elimination plan Raleigh Federal Medicaid regulators have signed off on a proposal by North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper’s administration to offer hospitals a financial incentive to eliminate patients’ medical debt. Cooper’s office announced Monday that the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services approved the plan submitted by the state Department of Health and Human Services. Cooper’s administration has estimated the plan could help 2 million people get rid of $4 billion in debt. Certain hospitals already participating in a new Medicaid reimbursement program could soon get even more money if they voluntarily do away with patient debt and help low- and middle-income patients avoid future medical debt.
FBI to interview Trump about assassination attempt Pittsburgh The FBI says former President Donald Trump has agreed to be interviewed as part of the investigation into the assassination attempt in Pennsylvania earlier this month. Kevin Rojek, the special agent in charge of the FBI’s Pittsburgh field office, says investigators want to get Trump’s perspective on what happened July 13 in Butler, Pennsylvania. Meanwhile, the FBI also said the gunman in the assassination attempt looked online for details about mass shootings, power plants and improvised explosive devices. Thomas Matthew Crooks also searched for information about the attempted assassination earlier this year of Slovakia’s prime minister.
Former NRA head LaPierre receives 10-year ban New York A New York judge on Monday banned Wayne LaPierre, the former head of the National Rifle Association, from holding a paid position with the organization for a decade but declined to appoint an independent monitor to oversee the gun rights group. The split decision from Judge Joel Cohen came on the final day of arguments in the second stage of a civil trial brought by New York Attorney General Letitia James. The first phase of the trial, decided in February by a Manhattan jury, found LaPierre and another deputy liable for misspending millions of dollars on lavish trips and other personal expenses.
One-time or durable electronics purchase made in 2023 drove estimates down
NCSBE officials questioned on party certifications Alan Hirsch and Karen Brinson Bell remotely attended a North Carolina House Oversight and Reform Committee hearing By A.P. Dillon North State Journal RALEIGH — The decision by the North Carolina State Board of Elections to keep certain parties off the state’s November General Election ballot was the subject of legislative hearing held on July 23. The House Oversight and Reform Committee’s hearing featured North Carolina State Board of Elections (NCSBE) Chairman Alan Hirsch and Executive Director Karen Brinson Bell as well as Andy Jackson, the director of the Civitas Center for Public Integrity at the John Locke Foundation. Each of the witnesses was sworn in and had submitted written remarks prior to the hearing. Committee Co-Chair Jake Johnson (R-Henderson) in his opening remarks laid out the
failure of the NCSBE to certify the Justice For All Party (JFA) while recently allowing the We The People Party (WTP) and Constitution Party to be placed on the November ballot. “Back in March, The New York Times highlighted Democrat Party, state-by-state efforts to deny ballot access to third-party candidates, including North Carolina,” Johnson said, adding that the same thing happened to the Green Party before a judge stepped in to rectify the situation. “The board of elections must now follow the law in determining who can participate in our elections,” Johnson said. Jackson, who testified first, said in his prepared remarks that the actions of the NCSBE “were entirely predictable based on the board’s partisan nature.” The methods the NCSBE used to reject JFA’s petition were questioned by Jackson, including involvement from Clear Choice Action, a group “backed by the Elias Law Group and the North Carolina Democratic Party.” He also compared it to the Green ParSee HEARING, page A2
the numbers are slightly lower this year. “Last year’s watermark was partially driven by record investments in electronics, with 69% of back-to-school shopBy A.P. Dillon pers planning to purchase a North State Journal laptop, tablet or other electronic device for their student,” RALEIGH — According to Rist said in the NRF press rethe National Retail Federa- lease. “These are typically tion, per-household spending items students can use for sevon school supplies has dipped eral years, which may be why slightly over last year’s figures. we are seeing slightly less inFor families shopping for terest in electronics this year.” K-12 supplies, the National ReThe same spending increastail Federation (NRF) annual es in K-12 supplies have also survey shows housebeen seen for colholds this year will lege students, with spend an average of spending ticking up $874.68, a $15 drop slightly in 2024 over Between over 2023 spending. the previous year. Supplies in 2023 2019 and “College students were the highest on and their families are record in the history 2023, the expected to spend an of NRF’s annual sur- average average of $1,364.75 vey. on items for the expected NRF’s surupcoming school vey shows the total K-12 year, in line with K-12 spending could spending last year’s record of reach $38.8 billion $1,366.95,” accordand is also “the sec- rose by just ing to NRF. “Toond-highest figure under 28%. tal back-to-college on record, after last spending is expected year’s high of $41.5 to reach $86.6 bilbillion.” lion, the second-highest figBetween 2019 and 2023, the ure in the history of the suraverage expected K-12 spend- vey. Last year, total spending ing rose by just under 28%. was forecast to hit a record In 2019, K-12 school sup- $94 billion.” ply average spending was College supply average exaround $696 per household. pected spending has risen That number jumped to just 41% between 2019 and 2023, over $789 in 2020 during the according to NRF data. pandemic and increased to alIn 2019, average expectmost $849 in 2021. Spending ed college supply spending continued to rise in 2022 to hit a total of $977, per NRF. over $864 and jumped again That spending rose during the in 2023 to an all-time high of pandemic year to $1,059 and $890. climbed to a high of nearly According to Prosper Ex- $1,367 in 2023. ecutive Vice President of NRF estimates that around Strategy Phil Rist, electron- 55% of families have already ics drove expected spending begun back-to-school shophigher in 2023, which is why ping as of July.
Wake’s school board adopts Biden’s Title IX changes The state’s largest district could face a legal challenge By A.P. Dillon North State Journal
MANUEL BALCE CENETA / AP PHOTO
The Title IX changes made by President Joe Biden, pictured Monday in Austin, Texas, have been adopted by North Carolina’s largest school district.
RALEIGH — The Wake County Public Schools Board of Education approved changes to its discrimination and bullying policy at its meeting on July 16 in order to align with the Biden administration’s alteration of Title IX that redefines sex to include gender identity. The changes to the Wake County Public Schools (WCPSS) policy passed by a vote of 7-2. Board members Chris Heagarty, Lindsay Mahaffey, Lynn Edmonds, Tyler Swanson, Monika Johnson-Hostler, Sam Hershey and Toshi-
ba Rice voted in favor, while Cheryl Caulfield and Wing Ng voted against. Those voting in favor defended the changes, claiming transgender students should be protected from discrimination. The seven in the majority also argued they were just following the law. Of the two opposed, only Caulfield spoke up, questioning putting the majority of students at risk through access to “shared spaces.” An See WAKE, page A8
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