VOLUME 7 ISSUE 26 |
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WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 24, 2022
NC small businesses endorse Budd for U.S. Senate Raleigh The National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB), the nation’s leading small business advocacy organization, endorsed U.S. Rep. Ted Budd for U.S. Senate on Tuesday. “Ted Budd has proudly served North Carolina’s 13th Congressional District in the U.S. House, and we believe he will be a strong small business supporter in the U.S. Senate,” said Gregg Thompson, NFIB North Carolina state director. “As a small business owner, he understands firsthand the hardships small business owners face including meeting payroll and managing overreaching regulations and excessive taxes.” The endorsement is issued from NFIB FedPAC, NFIB’s political action committee. NSJ STAFF
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North Carolina Supreme Court Associate Justice Anita Earls speaks from the Emergency Operations Center in Raleigh in this file photo via the N.C. Dept. of Public Safety.
NC Supreme Court majority says 2018 amendments could be voided
Former NC Community College president paid to leave early Raleigh According to a severance agreement obtained by media outlets, former NC Community College System president Thomas Stith is being paid $97,000, or around four months of his salary, to leave early. Stith was being paid an annual salary of $292,000. The documents show Stith will retain his health insurance through November and the agreement includes a nondisparagement clause. Stith was forced out after sources confirmed to North State Journal that his removal was discussed during a threehour closed session of the system’s board on July 15. He announced his resignation on July 19 but it did not take effect until July 22. Stith had been president for about a year and a half after being named president on Jan. 11, 2021. A.P. DILLON
Former Twitter security chief files whistleblower complaints Washington, D.C. A former head of security at Twitter has filed whistleblower complaints with U.S. officials, alleging that the company misled regulators about its cybersecurity defenses and its problems with fake accounts, according to reports by The Washington Post and CNN. Peiter Zatko, Twitter’s security chief until he was fired early this year, filed the complaints with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, the Federal Trade Commission and the Department of Justice. The Post, which obtained the complaint, reported that among the most serious accusations is that Twitter violated the terms of an FTC settlement by falsely claiming that it had a strong security plan. Zatko also accuses the company of deceptions involving its handling of “spam” or fake accounts, an allegation at the core of the attempted withdrawal of a $44 billion takeover bid by Elon Musk. THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
Euro falls below parity with the dollar
By Matt Mercer North State Journal
State elections board wants temporary rule to restrict poll watchers By Matt Mercer North State Journal RALEIGH — An attempt by the N.C. State Board of Elections (NCSBE) to restrict the movement of partisan poll watchers ahead of the Nov. 8, 2022, general election will go to the state’s Rules Review Commission (RRC) for approval. During the NCSBE’s meeting on Wednesday, Aug. 17, the board voted approve temporary rules relating to what it called “Conduct of precinct officials and election observers at voting sites.” The state elections board said that after the state’s May 17 primary, dozens of county elections directors shared their recent experiences with election observers, who are appointed by political parties to watch the voting process from inside polling places. Some county elections officials reported instances in which the partisan observers “were disruptive to the orderly conduct of voting” and said some of the observers questioned poll workers carrying out their duties, repeatedly came in and out of the voting enclosure, and talked to voters in the voting enclosure. The NCSBE also said it was told of one incident in which the observer had gotten into a confrontation with a voter. The NCSBE, which is majority Democratic, outlined two changes it is seeking: the tasks and duties of precinct officials at voting places and who may serve as election observers.
The first temporary rule would add to the list of prohibited conduct for precinct officials that forbids them from tampering with voting equipment or expressing their political views while serving as an official. The rule would prohibit intentionally interfering with, delaying or preventing a voter from casting a ballot, failing to attend trainings required by the county board of elections, failing to follow lawful instructions of the county board, county board staff, chief judge, judges, or one-stop site manager, and intentionally providing inaccurate information about the administration of the election, among a list of 12 total proposed changes. In addition, the second proposed change regarding election observers would add several definitions to their code of conduct and tighten the pool from which each county’s party officers can place observers in precincts. Under the proposed change, the list of precinct-specific observers cannot be amended five days before the election and prohibits observers from standing close to a “tabulator, laptop, pollbook or other voting document” where they could view marked ballots or confidential voter information. “We have no indication that these sorts of behaviors are routine in every county, and we have every reason to believe that most See POLLS page A2
Frankfurt, Germany The euro has fallen below parity with the dollar, diving to its lowest level in 20 years and ending a one-to-one exchange rate with the U.S. currency. The euro was last valued below $1 on July 15, 2002. The European currency hit its all-time high of $1.18 shortly after its launch on Jan. 1, 1999, but then began a long slide, falling through the $1 mark in February 2000 and hitting a record low of 82.30 cents in October 2000. THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
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GERRY BROOME | AP PHOTO
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Early voters line up to cast their ballots inside the South Regional Library polling location in Durham.
RALEIGH — In a contentious opinion featuring barbs from both the majority and dissent, the N.C. Supreme Court on Friday, Aug. 19 overturned a decision by the state appeals court and ordered amendments approved by voters in 2018 to undergo further scrutiny. At issue in the case is the fate of amendments made to the state constitution via direct vote in 2018’s general election. A total of six amendments were on the ballot, four of which that were approved. The case, NAACP v. Moore, seeks to invalidate two of the amendments: a voter ID re-
quirement and capping the state’s income tax. Associate Justice Anita Earls, who was elected in 2018, authored the opinion of the court’s four Democrats. “The precise legal question before us is whether a General Assembly composed of a substantial number of legislators elected due to unconstitutional gerrymandering may exercise the sovereign power delegated by the people of North Carolina to the legislature under article XIII, section 4 of the North Carolina Constitution,” wrote Earls. “We conclude that article I, sections 2 and 3 of the North Carolina Constitution impose See AMENDMENTS, page A3
What the CDC’s COVID guidance changes mean for K-12 NC Dept. of Health and Human Services rolls out “Know Before You Go” campaign By A.P. Dillon North State Journal RALEIGH — In recent weeks, the Centers for Disease Prevention and Control (CDC) “streamlined” its COVID-19 guidance, and it has implications for K-12 students now heading back to the classroom. “We’re in a stronger place today as a nation, with more tools — like vaccination, boosters, and treatments — to protect ourselves, and our communities, from severe illness from COVID-19,” Greta Massetti, PhD, MPH, MMWR author said in an Aug. 11 CDC press release. “We also have a better understanding of how to protect people from being exposed to the virus, like wearing high-quality masks, testing, and improved ventilation. This guidance acknowledges that the pandemic is not over, but also helps us move to a point where COVID-19 no longer severely disrupts our daily lives.” One key change affecting K-12 students is the removal of “test-to-stay” policies, meaning students will no longer have to show a negative COVID test to stay in the classroom. Many districts viewed “test-to-stay” as a way to keep in-person learning and avoid quarantining students. Parents wary of district attempting to re-mask their chil-
dren may have more fights with their school boards in the near future. In an interview with National Public Radio, Massetti made the assertion that dropping “test-to-stay” as a quarantine alternative now means “the See COVID, page A2