VOLUME 7 ISSUE 42 |
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WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 14, 2022
US House passes defense bill scrapping COVID vaccine mandate By Kevin Freking The Associated Press WASHINGTON, D.C. — A bill to rescind the COVID-19 vaccine mandate for members of the U.S. military and provide nearly $858 billion for national defense passed the House on Thursday as lawmakers scratch off one of the final items on their yearly to-do list. The bill provides for about $45 billion more for defense programs than President Joe Biden request-
ed, the second consecutive year Congress significantly exceeded his request, as lawmakers seek to boost the nation’s military competitiveness with China and Russia. The House passed the bill by a vote of 350-80. The bill is now up in the Senate, where it is expected to pass easily, then to the president to be signed into law. To win bipartisan support for the bill, Democrats agreed to Republican demands to scrap the requirement for service members
to get a COVID-19 vaccination. The bill directs Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin to rescind his August 2021 memorandum imposing the mandate. Only days earlier he voiced support for keeping the mandate in effect. Rep. Adam Smith, Democratic chairman of the House Armed Services Committee, told colleagues that the decision to impose the vaccine mandate was the right call at the time. “It saved lives and it made sure that our force was as ready as it could possibly be in the face of the pandemic,” Smith said. But, he said the directive only required the initial vaccination See MANDATE, page A2
Panthers punish Seahawks to win 5th game of season
Cooper elevates Pryor Gibson to senior legislative advisor Raleigh Gov. Roy Cooper named Division of Employment Security leader Pryor Gibson the position of senior legislative advisor, according to his office. A former state legislator from Anson County, Gibson took over the DES position after financial woes in the office, with thousands unable to receive COVID-19 unemployment checks from the state’s commerce department. Cooper also named Alicia Davis as Director of Legislative Affairs succeeding LT McCrimmon. Davis previously served in a similar role for the Secretary of State’s office. NSJ STAFF
‘Zuck Bucks’ nonprofit back in business Chicago A nonprofit group that became a point of controversy for distributing hundreds of millions of dollars in election grants during the 2020 presidential campaign is releasing a fresh round of money to local election offices. The Chicago-based Center for Tech and Civic Life has said 10 county and municipal election offices will be part of the first group to receive grant money under the center’s U.S. Alliance for Election Excellence, which plans to hand out $80 million over the next five years. The center did not disclose the amounts each jurisdiction would be eligible to receive but said the current round of funding will not include money directly from Mark Zuckerberg. Two North Carolina counties will receive funds from the group: Brunswick and Forsyth. THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
Twitter disbands Trust and Safety advisory group San Francisco Twitter has dissolved its Trust and Safety Council, the advisory group of around 100 independent civil, human rights and other organizations that the company formed in 2016 to address hate speech, child exploitation, suicide, selfharm and other problems on the platform. The council had been scheduled to meet with Twitter representatives Monday night. But Twitter informed the group via email that it was disbanding it shortly before the meeting was to take place, according to multiple members. Twitter’s owner Elon Musk amplified criticism Twitter’s past leadership for not doing enough to stop child sexual exploitation on the platform. “It is a crime that they refused to take action on child exploitation for years!” Musk tweeted. THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
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Folwell discusses strength of state pension plan; calls for ouster of BlackRock CEO By A.P. Dillon North State Journal RALEIGH — State Treasurer Dale Folwell discussed the strength of the state employee pension plan on Dec. 6 during his monthly call with media. As of Nov. 25, the pension plan has assets of nearly $111 billion. Folwell mentioned that the topic of conversation at the Council of State meeting held just prior to the call with reporters was the strength of the state’s pension plan. “Those that teach, protect and otherwise serve in North Caroli-
na at the state and the local level continue to be participating in one of the strongest, best-funded pension plans in the United States, if not the world,” Folwell said. He added that more than one in 10 North Carolinians are participating in the state’s retirement systems at “all different levels.” North Carolina’s state pension plan serves more than 353,000 beneficiaries representing $590 million in monthly pension payments. Additionally, there are more than 647,000 active and former public employees who are not yet eligible to receive pension payouts.
Folwell said the state’s plan was just scored in the zero percentile by a CEM Benchmarking, the benchmarking group used by his predecessor. He said CEM Benchmarking had determined North Carolina has the “most efficient pension plan in North America.” The treasurer said the state pension’s funded level continues to be in the mid-80s and for the current fiscal year the plan was down 7%. “To put that in some context, Georgia’s pension plan was down 14%,” explained Folwell. “So, we entered this year with the highest levels of cash equivalents and the
After 2-plus years, ReOpen NC protester sees charges dismissed Body cam footage that could have cleared protester was allegedly withheld
By A.P. Dillon North State Journal RALEIGH — A ReOpen NC protester who was arrested for violating a COVID-19 order issued by Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper has finally seen those charges dismissed and expunged after more than two years of court battles. Monica Ussery, then age 51, was arrested by Capitol Police Officer Derick Proctor for allegedly violating Cooper’s executive order 121 dictating citizens to stay at home. She was also accused of violating the order’s “social distancing” requirements of staying 6 feet away from other people.
Ussery’s arrest happened during the first ReOpen NC protest held on April 14, 2020, in a parking lot near the General Assembly. In an interview with North State Journal, Ussery noted she was arrested and processed by Capitol Police and that Raleigh police were also present that day. She also said that throughout her case she had been denied access to body cam footage. Initially, Ussery said law enforcement claimed there was no footage due to their request coming after the time period an agency is required to retain such footage. Then the story changed and her attorney was provided with a single clip. The story changed a third time and Ussery said she is now in possession of around 3 gigabytes of footage, however, it’s not all of the footage that was requested. Complicating matters is the
fact the judge hearing her case has placed a gag order prohibiting her from sharing it with anyone outside of those legally representing her. Ussery indicated to North State Journal that she is actively seeking to get that gag order removed. Had that footage been turned over expediently, Ussery believes the charges likely would have been dropped much sooner. “I believe we would have gotten through [the criminal case] a lot better and quicker had I been allowed that body cam footage prior to my first case,” Ussery said. Outside of getting the body cam footage released, Ussery said she is taking some time off and will pursue a civil action, possibly in April 2023. “Fighting the criminal aspect, that doesn’t always line up with See PROTESTER, page A3
Carolina Panthers head coach Steve Wilks watches from the sideline during an NFL football game against the Denver Broncos, Sunday, Nov. 27, 2022, in Charlotte. The Carolina Panthers have won three of their last four games and interim coach Steve Wilks is now 4-4 since taking over the team. The Panthers, who control their own destiny in the NFC South, host backto-back home games beginning Sunday, Dec. 18.
shortest duration of bonds in the history of North Carolina.” In terms of the number of participants seeing payouts, Folwell said the state continues to “smash all records in the check delivery business.” The treasurer also addressed various state investment plans and was asked whether the state’s pension plan has any ties to what has become a hot topic nationally: Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG). North State Journal asked about ESG investment practices and if ESG was represented in the state’s pension plan. Investopedia.com defines ESG as “a set of standards for a company’s behavior used by socially conscious investors to screen potential investments.” “We don’t have any ESG Investments inside the pension plan,” Folwell said. ESG practices have seen significant pushback nationwide from Republican state treasurers and See FOLWELL, page A2