VOLUME 9 ISSUE 50 | THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 6, 2025
NSJONLINE.COM
IZZY LAVALETTE FOR NORTH STATE JOURNAL
Call to action Gov. Josh Stein called on the General Assembly to allocate $100.7 billion for Hurricane Helene relief during a press conference at MANNA Food Bank on Monday in Mills River. “As these organizations continue the daily work of supporting their community, we have a responsibility to support them,” Stein said in his state budget request aimed at assisting western North Carolina.
Hurricane hearings held at NCGA
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BRIEF this week
U.S. job openings fall to 7.6M in December Washington, D.C. U.S. job openings fell in December, a sign that the labor market is cooling but still healthy. Openings fell to 7.6 million, from 8.2 million in November, the Labor Department reported Tuesday. They were down from 8.9 million a year earlier and a peak of 12.2 million in March 2022 when the economy was rebounding from COVID-19 lockdowns. The openings fell short of the 7.9 million that economists had expected. The number of layoffs fell, suggesting that Americans enjoy unusual job security. The number of people quitting their jobs rose modestly but stayed below pre-pandemic levels. After surging in 2021 and 2022, quits have come down as workers lose confidence in their ability to find better pay or working conditions elsewhere.
China counters with tariffs on U.S. products Beijing China announced retaliatory tariffs on select American imports and an antitrust investigation into Google on Tuesday, just minutes after a sweeping levy on Chinese products imposed by U.S. President Donald Trump took effect. American tariffs on imports from Canada and Mexico were also set to go into effect Tuesday before Trump agreed to a 30-day pause, as the two countries acted to address his concerns about border security and drug trafficking. Trump planned to talk with Chinese President Xi Jinping in the next few days.
Gov. Josh Stein’s GROW NC and funding updates were heard; the NCORR’s director was grilled
Education Department ends DEI practices The Trump administration also said all complaints related to book removals would be dropped By A.P. Dillon North State Journal RALEIGH — President Donald Trump’s Department of Education has taken action to eliminate diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives, as well as ending former President Joe Biden’s “Book Ban Hoax,” according to press statements released by the agency.
See DEI, page A3
RALEIGH — Back-to-back hearings on hurricane recovery were held at the General Assembly last week. The first hearing was held Jan. 29 by the House Select Committee on Helene Recovery, and the second hearing was held the following day by the Joint Legislative Commission on Governmental Operations’ Subcommittee on Hurricane Response and Recovery. The House Select Committee’s meeting focused on Gov. Josh Stein’s newly created Governor’s Recovery Office for Western North Carolina (GROW NC). The committee heard from GROW NC Director Matt Calabria and recovery adviser Jonathan Krebs on Hurricane Helene efforts.
Reading, math struggles continue for US children “The news is not good. We are not seeing the progress we need to regain the ground our students lost during the pandemic.” Peggy Carr, commissioner of the National Center for Education Statistics
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The U.S. Department of Education’s (USDOE) elimination of diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) initiatives follows Trump’s executive orders dismantling DEI, which his administration considers to be a “divisive ideology.” Specific actions taken by the USDOE include dissolving both the Diversity and Inclusion Council and the Employee Engagement Diversity Equity Inclusion Accessibility Council, canceling DEI training contracts worth more than $2.6
By A.P. Dillon North State Journal
Charlotte-Mecklenburg and Guilford County Schools were included in the large cities report By Collin Brinkley The Associated Press WASHINGTON, D.C. — America’s children have continued to lose ground on reading skills in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic and have made little improvement in math, according to the latest results of an exam known as the nation’s report card. The findings are yet another setback for U.S. schools and reflect the myriad challenges that have upended education, from pandemic school closures to a youth
mental health crisis and high rates of chronic absenteeism. The national exam results also show growing inequality: While the highest-performing students have started to regain lost ground, lower-performing students are falling further behind. Every two years, the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP), also known as the Nation’s Report Card, is administered to fourth and eighth grade students around the country. The 2024 NAEP tests are given in the states, the District of Columbia, Department of Defense schools and 26 participating large urban districts in math and reading. See TESTING, page A2
Calabria and Krebbs indicated there were $59.6 billion in total estimated damages and needs, with an estimated $44.4 billion in direct costs, $9.4 billion in indirect costs, and $5.8 billion for strengthening and mitigation efforts. The GROW NC officials also noted a gap in funding, with federal funds requested at $25.7 billion versus the $15.7 billion in federal funds received so far as of January 2025. Calabria and Krebbs also cited Helene’s 105 fatalities, an estimated 74,000 damaged homes, 5,000 miles of state roads impacted, and 7,000 damaged private roads, bridges and culverts. The presentation also said the storm caused 50 million cubic yards of debris. According to GROW NC, critical areas that need immediate attention include debris removal—particularly from waterways and right-of-way routes—and temporary and permanent housing solutions. See HEARINGS, page A8