VOLUME 10 ISSUE 5 | THURSDAY, MARCH 27, 2025
NSJONLINE.COM
STAN GILLILAND FOR NORTH STATE JOURNAL
Hot as the Devils Duke players huddle during their second-round NCAA Tournament game against Baylor on Sunday. The top-seeded Blue Devils defeated the Bears 89-66 to advance their 34th Sweet 16 and will face fourth-seeded Arizona — and former UNC guard Caleb Love — in an East Region third‑round game Thursday in Newark, New Jersey. See more in Sports.
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Stein releases proposed budget
BRIEF this week
The governor’s spending plan would spend $68 billion over the biennium
U.S. strikes Black Sea agreement between Ukraine, Russia Kyiv, Ukraine The United States said an agreement has been reached to ensure safe navigation in the Black Sea as it wrapped up three days of talks Tuesday with Ukrainian and Russian delegations in Saudi Arabia on prospective steps toward peace. U.S. experts met separately with Ukrainian and Russian representatives in Riyadh, and the White House issued separate joint statements about the talks with Ukraine and Russia. Details of the prospective deal are yet to be released, but it appears to mark a revival of a 2022 agreement to ensure safe transit via Ukraine’s Black Sea ports that was brokered by the United Nations and Turkey and was halted by Russia the following year.
American consumer confidence falls to 12-year low Washington, D.C. U.S. consumer confidence fell for the fourth straight month as Americans’ anxiety about their financial futures declined to a 12-year low amid rising concern over tariffs and inflation. The Conference Board reported Tuesday that its consumer confidence index fell 7.2 points in March to 92.9. The Conference Board’s report Tuesday said that the measure of Americans’ short-term expectations for income, business and the job market fell 9.6 points to 65.2. It is the lowest reading in 12 years and well below the threshold of 80, which the Conference Board says can signal a potential recession in the near future.
By A.P. Dillon North State Journal
See AUDIT, page A8
See BUDGET, page A3
NCInnovation in compliance, according to audit Watauga Republican Ray Pickett sent a memo to fellow legislators supporting the nonprofit By A.P. Dillon North State Journal RALEIGH — A new governmenrt audit report says a group given $500 million in endowments by the legislature for research grant acceleration
Colleges notified of Title VI investigations “The Department is working to reorient civil rights enforcement to ensure all students are protected from illegal discrimination.” Linda McMahon, U.S. Department of Education secretary
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is complying with state law. NCInnovation (NCI), a nonprofit organization set up to expedite the path of research done at state universities to the marketplace, was given two tranches of $250 million each. “Within the scope of the audit performance, this report offers a clear evaluation of NCI’s private funding commitments and grant procedures. It’s
RALEIGH — North Carolina Gov. Josh Stein released his budget proposal on March 19 containing roughly $68 billion in spending over the biennium. “My budget ensures that we will be able to continue investing in our people, meeting their needs and keeping North Carolina strong,” Stein told media outlets. The governor’s budget proposes $33.65 billion for FY 2025-26 and $34.35 billion in FY 2026-27. His predecessor’s final budget of his term for FY 2024-25 was more than $34.5 billion, roughly the same as Stein’s year one proposal. Stein’s budget has several main focus areas, including spending on education, public safety, workforce development, and freezing personal and corporate tax rates at current levels. Funding for Hurricane Helene relief is absent from the budget, with the governor saying that issue will be in a separate request. State employees would see a 2% raise, and retirees would get a 2% cost-of-living bonus. Additionally, a $1,000 bonus for most state employees would be paid in October to those employed by Sept. 30. Education has the most spending items, totaling nearly $2.1 billion.
Duke University was among the 45 colleges and universities that received the notice By A.P. Dillon North State Journal RALEIGH — The U.S. Department of Education has notified 45 universities and colleges — including one in North Carolina — that they are the subject of civil rights investigations involving the “use of racial preferences and stereotypes in education programs and activities.” “The Department is working to reorient civil rights enforcement to ensure all students are protected from illegal discrimination,” said U.S. Secretary of Education Linda McMahon.
The notifications follow a Feb. 14 Dear Colleague Letter notifying educational institutions that receive federal funding that they must end use of racial preferences across all aspects of their operations, including admissions, scholarships, hiring and more. “The investigations come amid allegations that these institutions have violated Title VI of the Civil Rights Act (1964) by partnering with ‘The Ph.D. Project,’ an organization that purports to provide doctoral students with insights into obtaining a Ph.D. and networking opportunities, but limits eligibility based on the race of participants,” reads the March 14 press release See SCHOOLS, page A2
“My budget ensures that we will be able to continue investing in our people, meeting their needs and keeping North Carolina strong.” Gov. Josh Stein