VOLUME 145 ISSUE 85 | WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 29, 2025 | STANLYNEWSJOURNAL.COM
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Stanly NewS Journal THE STANLY COUNTY EDITION OF NORTH STATE JOURNAL
WHAT’S HAPPENING Republicans send Biden autopen report to Justice Department, urge investigations House Republicans have released a long-promised report on former President Joe Biden’s use of the autopen and the alleged cover-up of his mental state while in office. Tuesday’s report issues a scathing critique of Biden’s team but cites largely public information and no specific instances of illegal activity to back up the report’s explosive conclusions. While Republicans did not cite a specific case of the autopen being misused in the Biden White House, they called all actions taken by the previous administration void. Congressional Republicans also sent letters to Attorney General Pam Bondi and the D.C. Board of Medicine calling for further investigations into Biden’s former aides and his doctor.
Musk launches Grokipedia to compete with Wikipedia Elon Musk has launched Grokipedia, a crowdsourced online encyclopedia that the billionaire seeks to position as a rival to Wikipedia. Musk announced on social media that “Grokipedia.com version 0.1 is now live” and promised further improvements. The site aims to present “the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth.” Grokipedia currently has a minimalist design with a search bar and claims to have more than 885,000 articles. Unlike Wikipedia, which relies on volunteers, it’s unclear how Grokipedia’s content is created.
Kirk murder suspect can wear street clothes in court A Utah judge has ruled that the 22-year-old man charged with killing Charlie Kirk can appear in court wearing street clothes but must be physically restrained due to security concerns. Attorneys for Tyler Robinson said images of him shackled and in jail clothing would spread widely in a case with extensive media coverage. They argued it could prejudice future jurors. Judge Tony Graf agreed to make some allowances to protect Robinson’s presumption of innocence before a trial. Utah prosecutors have charged Robinson with aggravated murder and plan to seek the death penalty. Graf said the charges are extremely serious and present safety concerns, so Robinson must be restrained.
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MY DIFFERENT PERSPECTIVE PHOTOGRAPHY FOR STANLY NEWS JOURNAL
Having a cow, man The New Classic Pro Rodeo came to Albemarle over the weekend for two nights of wrangling, riding and racing at the Farm Bureau Livestock Arena. Above is South Carolina’s Wess Hawkins, who lasted the full eight seconds to take third place.
Longtime Stanly 911 dispatcher receives Order of the Long Leaf Pine Hayley Franklin received the state’s highest civilian honor By Jesse Deal Stanly News Journal
JESSE DEAL / STANLY NEWS JOURNAL
N.C. House Rep. Cody Huneycutt, left, shakes hands with Hayley Franklin, Stanly County’s latest recipient of the Order of the Long Leaf Pine.
ALBEMARLE — A founding member of the Stanly County 911 Center with more than three decades of experience as a telecommunicator has been honored with North Carolina’s highest civilian award. Hayley Franklin received a surprise when she was recognized with the Order of the Long Leaf Pine for her years of service on Monday night. The moment arrived during a re-
• Albemarle • Biscoe • Locust • North Oakboro/ Red Cross Road • South Oakboro/ Rocky River Road
See AWARD, page A5
Albemarle names planning inside and development director
The NCWRC rehabilitated a dozen bear cubs as part of a long-running program and released them back to the wild. See more on page A4.
“I’m looking forward to serving as the new planning director for the city of Albemarle because I see tremendous potential in its growth story.” Alysia Davis Steadman
Alysia Davis Steadman will begin the role Nov. 10 By Jesse Deal Stanly News Journal ALBEMARLE — Albemarle has announced its new planning and development director, with an official start date scheduled for Nov. 10. The city revealed in a media release last week that City Manager Darren Rhodes has selected Alysia Davis Steadman for the directorial role to facilitate the city’s land use, zoning, development review See DIRECTOR, page A2
COURTESY NCWRC
COURTESY CITY OF ALBEMARLE
Alysia Davis Steadman
Now Serving Stanly and Montgomery Counties LOCATIONS
tirement and special recognition ceremony at the Stanly County Courthouse. “This has been my life for 30 years, so I still don’t know what the future holds, but I’m going to give it a go,” Franklin said. “You’re my second family. We spend more time together than I do with my own. We have seen some tough times, but we’ve got through it and we always have. We stood by each other during times when it was rough.” Franklin has processed more than 200,000 calls for service during her time at the call center through three different computer-aided dispatch systems
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