VOLUME 7 ISSUE 44 |
WWW.NSJONLINE.COM
|
WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 28, 2022
Year in review: a look back at 2022
PHOTOS VIA AP
Clockwise from top: Rep. Ted Budd, R-N.C., greets supporters after winning his U.S. Senate race against Cheri Beasley at his election night watch party in WinstonSalem; King Charles III, Camilla, Queen Consort and other members of the Royal family follow the coffin of Queen Elizabeth II as it is carried into Westminster Abbey ahead of her State Funeral, in London; In this image from video provided by the Ukrainian Presidential Press Office and posted on Facebook, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy speaks in Kyiv, Ukraine; North Carolina head coach Hubert Davis, right, shakes hands with Duke head coach Mike Krzyzewski. By Matt Mercer North State Journal NEARLY 365 DAYS have passed since the last year in review. After coming out of the COVID-19 pandemic and the aftershocks throughout 2021, what did 2022 bring? The first part of 2022 can’t be about anything other than Ukraine. After months of posturing, Russia launched an invasion of its neighbor to the west on Feb. 24. For the first time in the social media age a major country had launched a fullscale military invasion of another country. Condemnation was swift from the United States and allies around the world, rallying support for Ukraine and its president, Volodymyr Zelenskyy. The invasion of Ukraine came on the heels of the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing and the Chinese alliance with Russia and its president, Vladimir Putin, signaled that the act of aggression by non-western powers may not be its last. Images of Ukrainian cities bom-
J. SCOTT APPLEWHITE | AP PHOTO
Members of the Supreme Court sit for a photo at the Supreme Court building in Washington, D.C., Friday, Oct. 7, 2022. barded with missiles and Russian ground forces moving into the country was shocking – but it was the Ukranian President’s defiance in the face of the invasion that would prove enduring.
Seeking to decapitate the nation’s government, Russia sent forces into the capital city of Kyiv to assassinate Zelenskyy. Offered a way out of the city by the United States, the president reportedly told them,
“I need ammunition, not a ride,” displaying bravery the face of very real attempts on his life. Millions of Ukrainians evacuated the country to Poland, the rest of Europe, and across the world and the brutality of Russia’s act of aggression continues to unfold. Yet as the invasion faded from the nonstop initial coverage, the resilience of Ukraine’s military and its people has continued. They have beat the large Russian army into a stalemate. At home, the rise of inflation and the inability of government leaders to curb its effects is still a problem for millions of Americans. Since January 2021, a U.S. Senate report showed that inflation has cost households nearly $8,500 per year. This month, the Bureau of Labor Statistics ranks costs for food and energy at double-digit increases in the last 12 months. Yet despite those trends, Democrats in Washington, D.C. did not pay a political price for the economic hardships. The inability of Republicans to
unseat a Democratic incumbent in any U.S. Senate race allowed President Joe Biden’s party to secure a 51-49 majority in the chamber. U.S. House Republicans, meanwhile, did modestly better, winning 222 seats and they will lead the chamber once again in January. Election results in North Carolina, meanwhile, was a red wave compared to most national results. Three-term Republican U.S. Rep. Ted Budd defeated former Democratic state Supreme Court Justice Cheri Beasley by a nearly four-point margin to hold the seat of retiring U.S. Sen. Richard Burr. Republicans also swept statewide judicial races for the second consecutive election cycle and will hold a 5-2 majority on the Supreme Court. The GOP also clinched a supermajority in the state Senate and will need just one Democratic state House member to vote with them for a “working supermajority” in the state House. See IN REVIEW, page A2
A look back at the NCGA in 2022 dents. The governor would later veto the bill, stating that “Passing laws for political purposes RALEIGH — As the new that encourage people to pick year rolled in, the North Caroli- and choose which health rules na General Assembly was faced they want to follow is dangerous with the ongoing masking of and could tie the hands of public K-12 school children as well as health officials in the future.” An override of Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper’s veto in the Cooper’s continuing Senate failed. Two statewide state of Cumberland County emergency order. Democrats who origiMounting pressure “We have a nally voted to pass the from the public and handful of bill flip-flopped and parents to end quarvoted to uphold Cooantine and masking Democrats per’s veto. policies took center who will work During a COVID-19 stage in February with us.” press briefing held when House Speaker prior to his veto, CooTim Moore (R-Kings per had put the onus Mountain) issued House Speaker on schools and local a letter to Cooper Tim Moore governments to end asking for an end to (R-Kings mask mandates while those policies. calling the bill allow“Throughout the Mountain) ing parents to choose pandemic, it has whether or not their been our young children who have paid the heaviest child is masked “frantic,” and price for the Governor’s endless “politically motivated.” With regard to the governor’s state of emergency and ongoing mandates and restrictions,” ongoing statewide state of emerMoore said in a statement. “It is gency order, Cooper passed the time to end the policies that have buck on ending it in March, statdisrupted classrooms and hin- ing, “We presented to the Generdered student achievement. The al Assembly laws that they can science does not support these pass so that they can end it. So, onerous restrictions that contin- not a big deal.” Cooper’s emergency order would persist for five ue to harm our children.” The Senate acted, creating the more months, reaching the 888 “Free the Smiles Act” in an effort to unmask the state’s K-12 stu- See NCGA, page A2 By A.P. Dillon North State Journal
BRYAN ANDERSON | AP PHOTO
State Superintendent of Public Instruction Catherine Truitt speaks in Raleigh, in this file photo.
Leandro, learning loss, masks, safety: NC K-12 year in review By A.P. Dillon North State Journal RALEIGH — Over the course of 2022, K-12 public education was marked by fights over required masking, continued protests over inappropriate materials, plummeting test scores, the flipping of school boards in the general election, and multiple movements to revamp state education policy. Public education in North Carolina began 2022 with K-12 students as the only subset of the state’s pop-
ulation being forced to wear masks while in school. Parents and students alike had been pushing back on forced masking for months and, in February, North Carolina House Speaker Tim Moore (R-Kings Mountain) sent a letter to Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper asking for an end to the practices. Legislation titled “Free the Smile Act” was passed in February by the General Assembly with bipartisan support, however, Cooper See EDUCATION, page A3
5
20177 52016 $0.50
8