Stanly News Journal Vol. 146, Issue 42

Stanly NewS Journal

WHAT’S HAPPENING

Democrats feud over stock trading in e ort to sharpen anti-corruption case against Trump Democrats are increasingly critiquing each other over their personal stock trades as the party looks to hone its anti- corruption message against President Donald Trump in the midterm elections. In primary races across the country, Democrats are critiquing individual stock trades and the personal wealth of their rivals in a bid to build credibility with voters. Polls show the public takes a dim view of insider trading in Washington and supports more guardrails against corruption. The debates have scrambled ideological lines inside the party, with some more moderate lawmakers attacking progressive rivals over past stock trades. Progressives express skepticism that Democrats who have recently highlighted the issue are o ering genuine critiques about money in politics.

Trump: Everything checked out “perfectly” at his medical exam

Washington, D.C.

President Donald Trump had another medical exam on Tuesday, putting his health under renewed public scrutiny as he has worked to dismiss concerns over his age and stamina. The 79-yearold president spent more than three hours at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center for what the White House described as preventive medical and dental checkups. It was Trump’s fourth publicly disclosed medical exam since he returned to o ce for a second term, and it comes as he tries to project strength ahead of midterm elections that will test his sway with voters. In a social media post after the visit, Trump said that he had just nished his “6 month physical” and that “Everything checked out PERFECTLY.” Trump, a Republican, turns 80 next month and was the oldest person elected U.S. president. His immediate predecessor, President Joe Biden, a Democrat, was 82 when he left o ce, dropping out of the 2024 presidential race because of widespread concerns he was too old for the job.

Bridging the way

City Lake Park to host Stanly’s rst drone show for America 250

The event will follow Food Truck Friday

By Jesse Deal Stanly News Journal

ALBEMARLE — The America 250 celebration will take to the skies next week with a rst-of-its-kind event for Stanly County. Set at Albemarle’s City Lake Park, America 250 NC Stanly County will host its “Lights of Liberty” drone show June 5 at 9 p.m.

Badin Opera House remembered with new post o ce display

A

By Jesse Deal Stanly News Journal

BADIN — A historic image of one of Badin’s former landmarks is now on display where the building once stood.

On May 19, a large-scale photograph of the Badin Opera House was presented to Postmaster Robert Carr Sr. at the Badin United States Post O ce, which was constructed on the site of the former theater.

Mayor Demar Huntley was joined at the dedication ceremony by members of the Badin Town Council, Better Badin and the Badin Historic Museum.

“The cooperative e orts returned a visible piece of the town’s past to the very site where the landmark once stood,” Better Badin and the Badin Historic Museum announced in a joint news release Sunday. “The newly installed image allows residents and visitors to glimpse the elegance and ambition of

The free event, located at 815 Concord Road, will follow Albemarle Parks and Recreation’s Food Truck Friday concert, giving residents an evening of food, music and patriotic visuals. Organizers describe the presentation as a modern, storytelling-style alternative to reworks, with 250 illuminated drones creating moving images and patriotic scenes across the night sky, all choreographed to narration and music. As one of Stanly County’s

SATURDAY

SUNDAY

NASCAR CEO O’Donnell tells Busch family ‘we got you’ before Coca-Cola 600

Kyle Busch died last Thursday at 41 from pneumonia that progressed into sepsis

By Steve Reed and Michael Marot The Associated Press

CONCORD — NASCAR CEO Steve O’Donnell honored Kyle Busch’s widow, Samantha, and the couple’s children, Brexton and Lennix, before the start of the Coca-Cola 600 on Sunday in an emotional speech.

Standing on the frontstretch at Charlotte Motor Speedway, O’Donnell looked directly at the Busch family and said, “Samantha, I want you to know that this sport stands with you, and that you and your children are NASCAR family forever. And Brexton and Lennix, your dad loved you with all his heart. Everyone gathered here, everyone behind you, everybody watching on TV, and all those people up in that grandstand are your family — and we’ve got you. ”

Tears rolled down Samantha Busch’s cheek as she wrapped her arm tightly around 11-year-old Brexton, an aspiring racer. Both wore black T-shirts that read “Battle of the Busches.”

Busch’s older brother and former Cup Series champion, Kurt, and his parents, Tom and Gaye, also attended the tribute.

“Kyle Busch is NASCAR,” O’Donnell added. “He was one of a kind, and there will never be another.”

A moment of silence followed O’Donnell’s speech.

Auto racing’s biggest day became a Memorial Day weekend tribute to Busch from Indianapolis to CMS.

Busch died last Thursday at 41 after severe pneumo -

“When you think race car driver and what that person should be like, Kyle Busch is probably one of the rst that comes to your mind on the type of racer he was.”

Joey Logano, Cup Series driver

nia progressed into sepsis, resulting in rapid and overwhelming complications, according to a statement released by his family, and his loss sent shockwaves through the motorsports world and beyond.

Charlotte Motor Speedway honored the two-time Cup Series champion with a large, black No. 8 and his signature on the frontstretch grass and a photo on the videoboard.

The U.S. Army Golden Knights carried Busch’s ag during prerace festivities. Each of the 39 cars in the eld carried Busch’s decal. On the pace lap, the cars formed the missing man formation.

The speedway’s public address system and the television commentators went silent on the eighth lap of the race.

On Saturday night, Layne Riggs celebrated his Truck Series win at Charlotte by imitating Busch’s traditional bows to the crowd after the race, and Ross Chastain did the same after capturing the rain-shortened O’Reilly Auto Parts race.

“When you think race car driver and what that person should be like, Kyle Busch is probably one of the rst that comes to your mind on the

type of racer he was,” Cup Series driver Joey Logano said.

Fans at CMS arrived in droves Sunday with shirts that read “Rowdy” and “KFB.”

Earlier in the day at the Indianapolis 500, Dale Coyne Racing changed the font of Romain Grosjean’s No. 18 car to replicate the font the two -time Brickyard 400 winner used during his 14 seasons with Joe Gibbs Racing in his No. 18 car.

Then came the opening prayer, in which Busch was mentioned by name. And on lap 18, race o cials lit up the scoring pylon next to pit lane with Busch’s name, his birth year and 2026.

Even with the pageantry of Indianapolis’ big IndyCar race, Busch, who had a record 234 victories across NASCAR’s three national series, was never far from the thoughts of people in the city that dubs itself the “Racing Capital of the World.”

“It’s desperately sad. It’s also one of those things where you try not to think about it or let it in because you’ve got so much to do, you can’t let yourself get emotional,” Katherine Legge said. “But honestly, racing has lost one of the greatest drivers, in my opinion, of all time. If you look back at the history and just — he was a legend.”

As Indy held its biggest race of the year, those who knew or competed against Busch raced with a heavy heart.

“How can you not be in shock over the situation?” two-time Indy winner Josef Newgarden said. “I think it just puts into perspective how fragile life is. You just don’t know. Makes me think of his kids, to be honest with you. Gosh, I feel terrible about — I have two sons now. That’s the thing that breaks my heart.”

May 28

May 30 Summertime

Albemarle

“The Minecraft Movie” – Summer Movie Night 6 p.m. Vendors and food trucks are on-site. The movie will be shown at sunset.

Locust City Hall Backyard 186 Ray Kennedy Drive

Now through June 6

Stanly Arts Guild Presents Spring Garden and Craft Show

Tuesday – Friday: Noon to 4 p.m. Saturdays: 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. A celebration of the season with an exhibit of yard art.

330 N. 2nd St. Albemarle

THE CONVERSATION

Trip Ho end, publisher | Frank Hill, senior opinion editor

VISUAL VOICES

What went wrong for Democrats

The real issue for Democrats is not why they lost the last election, but how they are going to avoid losing the next one.

FOR MONTHS NOW, Democrats have been arguing about whether to release the “autopsy” the National Committee commissioned on what went wrong in 2024. The report was completed but then not released; under pressure, Democratic National Committee Chairman Ken Martin released the report this week, but only with the caveat that it didn’t meet the committee’s standards, whatever that means.

In truth, the report nds plenty of blame. That’s the problem with losing a close election — and 2024, no matter how many times President Donald Trump describes it as a landslide, it wasn’t — is that almost everything you did “wrong” could have made the di erence. Which doesn’t necessarily tell you what to do right, the next time around, or address the very real divides inside the Democratic Party.

The report faults almost everyone. The Biden White House is faulted for not doing enough during the rst term and the 2022 midterms to prepare Kamala Harris to lead the ticket, which, of course, would not have mattered so much had former President Joe Biden not waited so long to bow out, but that’s another story.

The Harris campaign is faulted for writing o rural voters, relying too much on identity politics and not being tough enough on Trump. When the other side runs a negative campaign and wins, as Trump did here, the response is always that you should have

COLUMN | MICHAEL BARONE

hit back harder. With what, is the question.

One of the most striking conclusions and the most troubling is about the e cacy of the ad Trump ran attacking Harris on transgender issues — in this case, on her previous statement of support for taxpayer-funded gender-a rming surgeries for prison inmates.

The report cites the ad as “very e ective,” and says that internal pollsters believed that “if the Vice President would not change her position — and she did not — then there was nothing which would have worked as a response.”

Are Democrats in fact too far out front of voters on transgender issues?

Do Democrats rely too much on identity politics, an argument that works better with the base of the Democratic party than it does with more moderate, independent voters, whom they need to attract?

According to the report, “Harris wrote o rural America, assuming urban/suburban margins would compensate. The math doesn’t work. ... You can’t lose rural areas by overwhelming margins and make it up elsewhere when rural voters are a signi cant share of the electorate. If Democrats are to reclaim leadership in the Heartland or the South, candidates must perform well in rural turf. Show up, listen and then do it again.”

As for male voters, the report argues that “Male voters require direct engagement. The gender gap can be narrowed. Deploy male messengers, address economic concerns and

don’t assume identity politics will hold male voters of color.”

The release of the autopsy and all the discussion about why it took so long to release it coincides with a new New York Times/Siena College poll showing Democrats with a strong advantage going into the midterms, but also with deep divides and disillusionment within the party. While the left is the loudest force on the Democratic side, it may not be the most popular: a majority of Democratic supporters said that they were generally happy with the party’s ideological positioning, but 52% said the next Democratic presidential candidate should move the party to the center in order to win. Only a quarter said the next candidate should move the party to the left.

The Times found that more than half of Democrats and Democratic-leaning independents expressed frustration with the party: “unhappiness spanned almost every part of the party’s coalition — including young, white, Black and college-educated voters — and was especially strong among Democrats least attached to the party, who are the most likely to swing elections.”

The real issue for Democrats is not why they lost the last election, but how they are going to avoid losing the next one.

Susan Estrich is a feminist legal scholar and the rst woman to run a U.S. presidential campaign. She has written eight books.

(Copyright 2026 Creators.com)

Can Trump handle the world he has changed?

The cheap drones that Ukrainians have invented and produced in astonishing numbers — some 60,000 per day.

TEN YEARS AGO this month, Donald Trump clinched the Republican nomination for president, with a platform that was vastly di erent on trade and foreign policy from other recent presidents, Republican and Democratic alike.

How fares America — and the world — 10 years later?

In some important ways, things have moved in Trump’s direction. In 2016 and since, he complained constantly that Europeans were not contributing their fair share to NATO. That had been the position of previous administrations, but none emphasized it as Trump did.

Early in Trump’s rst term, only ve NATO allies met the stated goal of spending 2% of GDP on defense. A decade later, the goal has risen to 5%, and most NATO allies are moving toward that goal.

And as Russian President Vladimir Putin has threatened his neighbors, previously neutral (for nearly 75 years!) Finland and Sweden, with their highly competent militaries, have decided to join NATO and have made the Baltic Sea just beyond Putin’s hometown of St. Petersburg a NATO lake. In the Middle East, Trump has also made a di erence. His predecessors’ policy was based on the hoary assumption that the key to stability was to pressure Israel to make a peace agreement with the Palestinians. So America’s task was to pressure Israel to make concessions. Trump saw it di erently. He pushed the Abraham Accords, diplomatic relations between Israel, Saudi Arabia and Persian Gulf oil producers. Progress has been uneven but palpable. Israel’s paci cation of Gaza has not prevented the Saudis and United Arab Emirates from supporting Trump’s e orts, cooperating with Israel, to disarm and destabilize the regime in Iran.

On trade, Trump’s on-again, o -again

threats, impositions and adjustments of tari rates have resulted in channeling trade in di erent patterns. The days of a jointly dependent “Chimerica” (historian Niall Ferguson’s phrase) seem to be waning.

Not everything has gone Trump’s way. His xation on unproblematic trade “de cits” has led him to impose tari s that have fed in ation and eroded his job approval at home. His initiatives in Iran, without persuasive explanations to voters or any attempt at buy-in by the political opposition, have also hurt him politically — although regime collapse in Iran remains possible and could put things in a di erent light. More importantly, the world has changed, sometimes in line with his expectations, sometimes to the contrary. The prime example is Russia’s war on Ukraine. As Trump has noted, Putin launched his 2014 attacks on Donbas and his 2022 march toward Kyiv when Democrats were president. And former President Joe Biden’s restrictions on aid to Ukraine — especially bans on lobbing attacks on Russian territory — limited Ukraine’s defense.

As analysts of various stripes have concluded, Ukraine has developed drone warfare as a barrier to Russian advance and to make advances itself.

Ukraine has had one advantage Putin didn’t count on in 2022: morale, a sense of national pride and resolve that is unquanti able but has enabled seemingly ordinary people to adapt with extraordinary speed and inventiveness reminiscent of the best of American examples in World War II. It’s interesting that Trump, for all his emphasis on building America’s national morale, has been deaf to the importance of that factor in Ukraine.

The cheap drones that Ukrainians have invented and produced in astonishing numbers

— some 60,000 per day — have routinely destroyed much more expensive Russian missiles and have enabled Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to destroy energy infrastructure in Perm, 1,000 kilometers beyond the Russian border, and prompted Putin to downsize his WWII victory parade in Moscow.

It is clear that the Trump policy of pressuring Ukraine to accept Russian control of provinces it hasn’t occupied is as obsolete as Trump’s predecessors’ policies of pressuring Israel to accept Palestinian control of territory from which the Palestinians could launch attacks like those of Oct. 7, 2023.

It seems clear as well that the remnants of the Iranian regime are unwilling to abandon their 47-year hostilities toward the U.S., and that Trump’s eagerness to deploy “the art of the deal,” even under the auspices of a hostile Pakistan, is encouraging their continued resistance. And in the meantime, will the drawdown of America’s expensive smart weapons in the Persian Gulf reduce American deterrence against Chinese aggression against Taiwan?

The nal verdict on Trump’s foreign policies cannot be written now, with 32 months left in his term and so many kinetic events in unpredictable motion. But perhaps it can be said that while his departures from his predecessors’ policies have had some successes in reshaping the world, it is not clear that he has developed policies adapted to the world he has done so much to change.

Michael Barone is a senior political analyst for the Washington Examiner, resident fellow at the American Enterprise Institute and longtime coauthor of “The Almanac of American Politics.” (Copyright 2026 Creators.com)

This upgraded version avoided the catastrophic midair explosions of previous test ights

By Marcia Dunn

The Associated Press

SPACEX LAUNCHED its biggest, most powerful Starship yet on a test ight last Friday, an upgraded version that NASA is counting on to land astronauts on the moon.

The redesigned mega rocket made its debut two days after SpaceX CEO Elon Musk announced he’s taking the company public. It blasted o from the southern tip of Texas, carrying 20 mock Starlink satellites that were released midway through the hourlong spaceight that stretched halfway around the world.

The spacecraft reached its nal destination — the Indian Ocean — despite some engine trouble, before erupting in ames upon impact. That last part was not unexpected, according to SpaceX.

Musk called it “an epic” launch and landing.

“You scored a goal for humanity,” he told his team via X.

It’s the 12th test ight of the rocket that Musk is building to get people to Mars one day. But rst comes the moon and NASA’s Artemis program.

NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman ew in for the launch, saying Starship is now one step closer to the moon.

The last of the old space-skimming Starships lifted o in October. SpaceX’s third-generation Starship — a souped-up version dubbed V3 — soared from a brand-new launch pad at Starbase, near the Mexican border. Last-minute pad issues thwarted Thursday evening’s launch attempt.

SpaceX was hoping to avoid the reworks it experienced during back-to-back launch-

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early Badin, when the company town ourished with theaters, concerts, civic gatherings and community events tied to the booming aluminum industry.”

The Badin Opera House was built in 1918 and stood for more than four decades as one of the town’s cultural centers before its demolition in 1959.

Designed by Pittsburgh architect H.E. Kennedy, the 750 -seat theater included an elegant ballroom and became a destination for traveling performers arriving by rail. Its stage hosted what were billed as “high-class theatricals,” along with concerts, civic programs, silent lms and other community gatherings.

“Where the post o ce now sits was once the grand Opera House, built in the year 1918,” the Stanly County Convention and Visitors Bureau said in a statement. “It is said that this theater was once the center of the community, as well as what drew much attention from tourists.”

The opera house was originally built for Alcoa workers who lived in Badin during the town’s early years, but it also became a gathering place for the wider community. Among

“You scored a goal for humanity.”

Elon Musk, SpaceX CEO

es last year when midair explosions rained wreckage down on the Atlantic. Earlier ights also ended in ames.

There was no reball this time until the very end. The spacecraft plummeted upright into the Indian Ocean under seemingly full control, then toppled over and ignited.

While the lifto itself went well, not all of the engines red as the booster attempted a controlled return. The spacecraft also had to make do with fewer engines but kept heading eastward 120 miles up. A pair of modi ed, camera-equipped Starlinks ejected from Starship provided brief views of the spacecraft in ight — a remarkable rst.

At 407 feet, the latest model eclipses the older Starship lines by several feet and packs more engine thrust. The revamped booster sports fewer but bigger and stronger grid ns for steering it back to Earth following lifto , and a larger and more robust fuel transfer line to feed the 33 main engines. This fuel line is the size of SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rst-stage booster. The retro-looking, stainless steel spacecraft also has more of everything — more cameras, and more navigation and computer power — as well as docking cones for future rendezvous and moon missions. Starship is meant to be fully reusable, with giant mechanical arms at the launch pads to catch the returning rocket stages. But on this latest trial run, nothing was being recovered. The Gulf of Mexico marked the end of the road for the redesigned rst-stage booster, and the Indian Ocean

for the spacecraft and its satellite demos.

NASA is paying SpaceX billions of dollars — and also Je Bezos’ Blue Origin — to provide the lunar landers that will be used to land Artemis astronauts on the moon.

The two companies are scrambling to be rst.

While Starship has reached the fringes of space on multiple ights lasting an hour at most, Bezos’ Blue Moon has yet to lift o , although a prototype is being readied for a moonshot later this year.

NASA is following April’s successful lunar yaround by four astronauts with a docking trial run in orbit around Earth planned for next year. For that Artemis III mission, astronauts will practice docking their Orion capsule with Starship, Blue Moon or both.

A moon landing by two astronauts — Artemis IV — could follow as soon as 2028 using either Starship or Blue Moon, whichever lander is safer and ready rst. It will be NASA’s rst lunar landing with a crew since 1972’s Apollo 17. The goal this time is a moon base near the lunar south pole, sta ed by astronauts as well as robots.

SpaceX is already taking reservations for private ights to the moon and Mars on Starship.

The world’s rst space tourists, California businessman Dennis Tito and his wife, signed up 31⁄2 years ago for a ight around the moon. The timing is uncertain.

This week, another wealthy space tourist — Chinese-born bitcoin investor Chun Wang — announced he will y to Mars on Starship’s rst interplanetary mission. Wang previously chartered a SpaceX polar ight in a Dragon capsule last year and, along with his hand-picked crew, became the rst to orbit above the north and south poles. No price tag or date was revealed for his Mars cruise.

the entertainers connected to the venue were W.C. Fields and Mae West, along with Fisher Hendley and the Aristocratic Pigs, Badin concert bands and local singers. Organizers said the new display is part of a broader effort to preserve and interpret Badin’s industrial and cultural history. That e ort also includes renewed attention to historic railbeds recently rediscov-

ered across Morrow Mountain State Park. Those rail corridors once carried materials, workers and a self-propelled railcar that linked sections of the industrial community and surrounding region.

Better Badin and the Badin Historic Museum said they hope the display will encourage additional preservation initiatives and renewed pride in Badin’s transportation, industrial and cultural history.

Pope Leo XIV calls for robust regulation of AI in manifesto pondering future of humanity

The encyclical asked researchers to re ect on the power of AI

By Nicole Win eld, Kaitlyn Huamani and Paolo Santalucia

The Associated Press

VATICAN CITY — Pope Leo XIV called Monday for robust regulation of arti cial intelligence and for its developers to work for the common good rather than pro t, issuing a sweeping manifesto on safeguarding humankind as the technology impacts everything from work to war.

“Magni ca Humanitas” (Magni cent Humanity), Leo’s rst encyclical, has been eagerly awaited ever since history’s rst U.S.-born pope announced days after his election that he considered AI to be the biggest challenge facing humanity today.

In the text, Leo denounced the “culture of power” driving the AI race, especially in developing ever more sophisticated methods of remote warfare. He declared that it was “not permissible” to entrust irreversible, lethal decisions to AI systems, setting up another ash point between the American pope and the Trump administration, which has worked aggressively to deregulate AI development.

“Arti cial Intelligence now demands to be disarmed, freed from logics that turn it into an instrument of domination, exclusion and death,” the pope told a special Vatican presentation of the encyclical, one of the most authoritative types of teaching documents a pope can issue.

Experts in the tech industry, academia and Catholic morality said the document will likely become a benchmark in the

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signature America 250 programs, the event will commemorate the nation’s 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence.

The rst 800 cars to arrive will receive a free LED light-up American ag, courtesy the City of Albemarle Electric Division and ElectriCities.

“We are grateful to Uwharrie

debate over AI, a point of reference for policymakers, researchers and ordinary folk alike. It comes as the near-daily developments in the technology trigger concerns over AI replacing human jobs and even human intelligence.

Taylor Black, a Microsoft AI executive and director of Catholic University of America’s AI institute, said the document would prompt people “at the forefront of these tools” to ask questions such as “What does it mean to be human?”

Pope calls out AI companies even as he hosts Anthropic

The Vatican launch also included remarks by the co-founder of Anthropic, which is currently locked in a legal battle with the Trump administration over access to its AI technology. The Vatican decided to involve Anthropic as part of its decade-long e ort to engage Silicon Valley in dialogue over the human cost of AI.

And yet in his text, Leo repeatedly blasted the concentration of power and data in the hands of so few people in the private sector as a danger, especially to children and the most vulnerable, and called for external regulation of their work.

“It is not enough to invoke ethics in the abstract; robust legal frameworks, independent oversight, informed users and a political system that does not abdicate its responsibility are required,” he wrote. “A more moral AI is not enough if that morality is determined by a few.”

Leo appealed to AI developers and political leaders responsible for regulating them to slow down and re ect on what they are doing. He urged them to use ethical and spiritual guidelines to make the choice to work not for their own pro t or power,

Bank for funding this memorable event, and we certainly hope that you will join us,” said Bain Jones, chair of the America 250 NC Stanly County Committee and president of the Stanly County Historical Society. “This will be something that has really never been seen in our state.”

Food Truck Friday will run 5:30-9 p.m. at the park, featuring food trucks, open lawn seating and live music. The con-

but the betterment of humanity.

AI competitors OpenAI and Anthropic are the second- and third-most valuable U.S. private companies, each valued at hundreds of billions of dollars, more than the GDP of many nations. Both companies are heading toward near-trillion-dollar IPOs.

Anthropic co-founder Christopher Olah welcomed Leo’s criticism and concern. He said such external checks were fundamental to the technology “going well” for humankind since there is so much at stake — “a real possibility that AI will displace human labor at a very large scale.”

“We need more of the world — religious communities, civil society, scholars, governments — to do what His Holiness has done here: to take this seriously, to look closely and to push events in a better direction,” Olah said. “We need moral voices that the incentives cannot bend.”

Experts say text will become benchmark

In a methodical text, the math major pope traced the history of the Catholic Church’s social teaching and applied its core concepts — justice, sol-

cert will feature Heart Breaker, a Mooresville-based classic rock tribute act specializing in the music of Heart and Led Zeppelin.

Attendees are encouraged to bring chairs or blankets.

Because parking at City Lake Park is limited, organizers are asking attendees to arrive early, carpool when possible or use a free shuttle from Market Station at 501 W. Main St. in Al-

Election Day: Tuesday, June 2, 2026

Time: Meeting 1 pm - 2 pm Voting will end at 4 pm Location: 507 Old Charlotte Rd

in joining Gaston

Contribute to Strategic Plan & Organizational Direction Serve as Liaison to the communities represented

Pope Leo XIV attends the presentation of his rst encyclical at the Vatican on Monday.

idarity, the dignity of work and the universal destination of resources — to the digital revolution.

“I am convinced that this will prove to be a de ning document for our era, a profound and prophetic document,” said Paolo Carozza, law professor at Notre Dame Law School and chair of the Meta Oversight Board.

“Pope Leo is o ering a clear, comprehensive and coherent voice urging us to take responsibility for constructing a world in which technology will serve humans rather than degrade them,” he said.

In its strongest chapters, Leo denounced how AI had helped accelerate the “normalization of war” by desensitizing people to its cost. He didn’t name specific con icts but cited “opposing imperialisms, between powers that wish to preserve their supremacy, and those that aspire to seize that supremacy.”

He demanded transparency and accountability by AI developers so that the chain of decision-making command in ordering strikes with AI weaponry is always known. He declared that the Catholic Church’s “just war” theory, which provides speci c criteria for when force can be justi ed, was now

bemarle. Shuttles will run continuously 6-10 p.m., with an estimated ve-minute ride to the park. The America 250 NC Airstream traveling exhibit also will be on-site for visitors to tour, featuring interactive displays connected to the nation’s 250th anniversary.

Additional events on the America 250 NC Stanly County Committee’s 2026 schedule in-

“outdated” given the technological advances of warfare.

Text in church’s social justice tradition

Leo signed the text May 15, the 135th anniversary of the publication of “Rerum Novarum” (Of New Things), the most important teaching document of Leo’s hero and namesake, Pope Leo XIII. That document addressed workers’ rights, the limits of capitalism, and the obligations that states and employers owed workers as the Industrial Revolution was underway. It became the foundation of modern Catholic social thought, and the current pope cited it at the start of his ponti cate in relation to the AI revolution, which he believes poses the same existential questions that the Industrial Revolution posed over a century ago. “Magni ca Humanitas” thus becomes the latest chapter in a century-long history of popes adapting “Rerum Novarum” to the social questions of their times, often dwelling on the dignity of work for human ourishing.

AI is evoking both existential fears and utopian vision amid an intensifying debate on whether it will become a catalyst that enriches humanity or a technological toxin that dulls human intelligence while wiping out millions of high-paying jobs.

“The pursuit of greater profits cannot justify choices that systematically sacri ce jobs, because the human person is an end, not a means, and the economic order must remain subordinate to human dignity and the common good,” Leo wrote.

Vatican o cials declined to say who contributed to Leo’s encyclical, but Vatican and church o cials have been engaged in a dialogue with Silicon Valley tech rms for a decade.

clude patriotic music programs June 21 in Albemarle, Locust’s America 250 Celebration concert with The Tams and reworks June 27, Oakboro’s 68th annual Fourth of July celebration, and a July 18 program in Norwood marking the 246th anniversary of the Battle of Colson’s Mill.

The full schedule is available to view online at stanlycountyamerica250.org.

OBITUARIES

PEGGY SUE BURRIS

NOV. 13, 1929 – MAY 22, 2026

Our beloved matriarch, Peggy Sue Lowder Burris, 96, ran into the arms of our Lord and Savior on Friday, May 22, 2026. Born on November 13, 1929, in Union County. Mrs. Burris was the daughter of the late Arlie Raeford and Eva Lugenia Tarlton Lowder.

Mrs. Burris was a graduate of Endy School. She received her bachelor’s degree in education from Pfei er University and her master’s degree from UNC-Charlotte. She taught school for 33 years at Oakboro Elementary School, where she taught 2nd and 4th grade. She could teach anyone to read and took great pride in her career. She also loved working in her yard tending her owers, going to church, teaching Sunday school, spending time reading her Bible, enjoying her beach home, playing bridge and being with her family and friends.

In addition to her parents, Mrs. Burris was preceded in death by her husband of 49 years, Joe Burris, in 1995, her grandson, Damon Smith, in 1996, her brother, Jack Lowder, in 2006, and her son-in-law, Gary Medlin, in 2019.

She leaves to cherish her memory, daughters, Pam Medlin, Rita Gri n (Don) of Albemarle and Marilyn Hatley (David) of N. Myrtle Beach, SC. A ectionately referred to as Nan, she is also survived by four grandchildren, Chad Hatley (Jackie), Aaron Medlin, Blair Smith and Neil Medlin; six great-grandchildren, Gavin Smith Whitley (Ellen), Sam Kimmer, Sawyer Kimmer, Joe Medlin (Shana), Hunter Medlin, and Amelia Hatley. She was also blessed with six great-great grandchildren, Rayna and Lena Kimmer, Haevyn Batten, and Nate, Thea, and Jesse Smith Whitley. She is further survived by two beloved nieces, Sandy (Charles) Page and Cindy Russell.

In lieu of owers, the family requests donations be made to Pleasant Grove Baptist Church building fund, 17236 Frog Pond Road, Oakboro, NC, 28129, Tillery Compassionate Care, 960 N. 1st Street, NC 28001, or the charity of their choice

The family will receive friends at Pleasant Grove Baptist Church at 1 pm on Wednesday, May 27, 2026, followed by the service at 2 pm. A private internment will follow at Stanly Gardens of Memory.

MITCHELL WAYNE LOVE SR.

MAY 18, 1962 – MAY 23, 2026

Mitchell Wayne Love Sr., 64, of Marshville, North Carolina, passed away peacefully on May 23, 2026, surrounded by his loving family and friends.

Family and friends are invited to attend a visitation on Thursday, May 28, 2026, from 6:00 PM until 8:00 PM at Stanly Funeral and Cremation Care in Locust, North Carolina.

Born on May 18, 1962, Mitchell was the son of the late John Wayne Love Sr. and Mary Smith.

Mitchell will be lovingly remembered by his children, Julie Bailey (David), Mitchell Love Jr. (Rochelle), Matt Love (Jennifer), and Brian Love (Rebekah); his brothers, Rex Love (Kim) and John Love Jr. (Rhonda); his sister, Marie Daniels (David); his 11 grandchildren; his three great-grandchildren; along with many extended family members and dear friends who will forever cherish his memory.

For 35 years, Mitchell was a dedicated and hardworking employee of Simpson Eggs, where he built many lasting friendships throughout the years. Outside of work, he found joy in carp shing, spending time outdoors, and simply enjoying life doing the things he loved most. Above all else, Mitchell loved his family deeply. He was a wonderful father, proud grandfather, and someone who could always make others smile with his playful sense of humor and joking spirit.

The family greatly appreciates the many prayers, acts of kindness, and support shown during this di cult time and the family would also like to express their heartfelt gratitude to the sta and employees of Simpson Eggs for the love, care, friendship, and support they showed Mitchell throughout his 35 years with the company.

Mitchell’s kindness, laughter, and love for his family will be deeply missed by all who knew and loved him.

JOEL RUSSELL

JAN. 29, 1939 – MAY 23, 2026

Joel Willis Russell, 87, of Albemarle, passed away Saturday, May 23, 2026, at his home surrounded by family.

Joel was born January 29, 1939, in North Carolina to the late Alfred Hill Russell and the late Evelyn Mae Russell.

The family will receive friends from 1:00 pm - 2:00 pm, Wednesday, May 27, 2026, at Hartsell Funeral Home of Albemarle. A graveside service will be held on Wednesday at 2:30 pm at Fairview Memorial Park in Albemarle, o ciated by Rev. Don Burleyson. Burial will follow at the Fairview Memorial Park at 1425 East Main Street, Albemarle.

Survivors include wife, Vicky Diane Russell; son, Jerry Russell; grandson, Jacob Russell; granddaughter, Regan Russell; sister, Patricia Lowder; niece, Leslee Lowder Berlin; sister-in-Law, Bonnie Helms; and nephews, Je Helms and Kevin Helms. In Lieu of owers, memorials may be shared to Tillery Compassionate Care, 960 N 1st St, Albemarle, NC 28001.

DARLENE COLEY

DEC. 21, 1963 – MAY 23, 2026

Barbara Darlene Coley, 62, of Aquadale, passed away on Saturday, May 23, 2026, at her home, one day after her 44th wedding anniversary.

A memorial service will be held on Monday, June 1, 2026, at 7:00 PM at Edwards Funeral Home in Norwood. Rev. Brandon King will o ciate. The family will receive friends one hour prior to the service.

Barbara was born on December 21, 1963, to the late Richard and Joann Harward. After high school, Darlene completed cosmetology school and later went on to work as a sewer. She was a member of Bethlehem Baptist Church.

In addition to her parents, she is preceded in death by her daughter, Ashley Nichole Coley and her brother Michael.

She is survived by her husband, Ricky Coley, her grandson, Caleb Mabry, and her sister, Sharon.

In lieu of owers, donations to the funeral costs may be made to Edwards Funeral Home.

PATRICIA FESPERMAN

NOV. 1, 1956 – MAY 23, 2026

Patricia Ritchie Fesperman, 69, of Albemarle, NC, passed away Saturday, May 23, 2026, at her home in Albemarle.

She was born on November 1, 1956, in North Carolina to Claud and Rosa Ritchie. She was preceded in death by her parents, Claud and Rosa Ritchie, and her brother Ron Ritchie. She is survived by her husband of 51 years, Jack Fesperman of Albemarle, and three sons and four grandchildren: Daniel Fesperman, Smyrna GA, Mark Fesperman (Megan, Ryan, Devin, Samantha) of Clover, SC; and Jason Fesperman (Dan, Daniel) of Maggie Valley, NC. She is also survived by her sister Brenda Gerolstein (Paul) of Marietta, GA, and brother Lewis Ritchie (Peg) of Greensboro, NC.

The family will receive friends from 6:00 - 8:00 pm, Thursday, May 28, 2026, at Hartsell Funeral Home 522 N. 2nd Street Albemarle NC 28001. The memorial service will be 6:00 pm, Friday, May 29, 2026, at First Baptist Church of Albemarle 202 N 2nd St Albemarle NC 28001 and will be o ciated by Dr. Kendell Cameron. Pat retired in February 2024 after 33 years at the Stanly County Tax Collectors O ce. She was known by many for her smile and loving personality. She loved to spend time with her family and friends. She also enjoyed cooking, hanging out at the pool and spending time at her favorite place, the beach. She also enjoyed watching the birds and tending her rose bushes.

Memorials can be made to St Jude Children’s Research Hospital or the American Cancer Society Relay for Life in her honor in lieu of owers.

DEBORAH LEE GADDY

MAY 8, 1955 – MAY 24, 2026

Deborah Lee Gaddy, 71, of Albemarle, passed away peacefully on Sunday, May 24, 2026, at Tucker Hospice House in Kannapolis.

A memorial service to celebrate Deborah’s life will be held at 3:00 PM on Sunday, July 5, 2026, at Stanly Funeral Home Chapel in Albemarle, o ciated by Pastor Jason Almond. The family will receive friends from 2:00 PM until 2:45 PM prior to the service.

Deborah was born on May 8, 1955, in Ohio to the late Donald and Barbara Atkin. She is lovingly survived by her children, Robert Gaddy, Melissa Parsons (Je rey), Rachel Nix (William), and Tim Gaddy (Amanda); her cherished grandchildren, Benjamin Parsons, Logan Lewis, Christian Nix, Samuel Parsons, Connor Curry, Jacob Gaddy, and Henry Gaddy; her sister, Denise Douglas (Je ); and numerous beloved nieces and nephews.

In addition to her parents, Deborah was preceded in death by her husband, Larry Wayne Gaddy in 2024; her sisters, Diane Whittenburg and Jennifer Holly.

Deborah was a devoted mother and grandmother whose greatest joy was her family. She faced life’s challenges and su ering with grace, strength, and unwavering faith, raising her children to know and love Jesus. Deborah was known for her quick wit, intelligence, and wonderful sense of humor that brought laughter to those around her. She enjoyed playing spades, working crossword puzzles, and spending time with family. She was also a gifted cook whose meals brought everyone together around the table. Above all, Deborah treasured her grandchildren and loved praise and worship music.

The family would like to express their heartfelt gratitude to the sta of Tillery Compassionate Care, Atrium Health Hospice of Cabarrus County, and Andrea Lillie for the love, care, and support shown to Deborah during her declining health.

In lieu of owers, memorials may be made to Tillery Compassionate Care, 960 N. First Street, Albemarle, NC 28001.

While she will be deeply missed, Deborah leaves behind a legacy of faith, love, and beautiful memories that will continue to bring comfort for years to come.

‘It Takes Two’ rapper Rob Base, who helped bring hip-hop mainstream, dead at 59

The

NEW YORK — Rob Base, a rapper and one half of the Harlem hip-hop duo Rob Base & DJ E-Z Rock, has died after a battle with cancer. He was 59.

Base, whose real name was Robert Ginyard, was best known for the 1988 chart-topper “It Takes Two,” a blend of hip-hop and house music that helped bring both genres into the mainstream.

“Rob’s music, energy, and legacy helped shape a generation and brought joy to millions around the world,” read a statement on his Instagram announcing his death. “Beyond the stage, he was a loving father,

“Rob’s music, energy, and legacy helped shape a generation and brought joy to millions around the world.”

Family statement

family man, friend, and creative force whose impact will never be forgotten.”

His creative counterpart, Rodney “Skip” Bryce — who went by the stage name DJ E-Z Rock — died in 2014 at age 46 of complications from diabetes. The two met as fth grade

students in Harlem and said they were inspired to make music by the success of another Harlem-based group, Crash Crew. They signed in 1987 with Prole Records, one of the earliest hip-hop labels.

The following year, “It Takes Two” landed in the Billboard Hot 100 and reached No. 3 on Billboard’s Hot Dance/Club Songs chart. The song has since been sampled by other artists, including Snoop Dogg and The Black Eyed Peas, and has appeared in several lms. It has been certied platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America.

The duo’s next single, “Get on the Dance Floor,” saw similar success on the club songs chart.

STANLY SPORTS

West Stanly’s softball players and coaches pose after winning the 2026 4A Western Regional on Friday.

West Stanly softball reaches 4A state championship series

The Colts will face Southwestern Randolph in Greensboro

By Jesse Deal Stanly News Journal

RED CROSS — West Stan-

ly’s softball team will take its season to the state’s nal stage this weekend in Greensboro.

The Colts, the 2026 4A Western Regional champions, are set to face Southwestern Randolph in the NCHSAA 4A softball state championship series at UNC Greensboro Softball Stadium.

Game 1 is scheduled for 5 p.m. Friday, followed by Game 2 at 11 a.m. Saturday. If the

best-of-three series goes the distance, Game 3 will be played Saturday at 5 p.m.

The state nals matchup gives West Stanly a chance to add another championship chapter to its postseason run as the Colts (26-6) and Cougars (23-4) meet in Greensboro for the 4A title.

West Stanly is aiming for the seventh state championship in program history after previously winning NCHSAA titles in 1997, 2013, 2019, 2021, 2022 and 2023.

“We are thankful to our community for supporting us and rallying for us.”

West Stanly softball

“These girls are your 4A Western Regional champions! Next stop: state championship series,” West Stanly softball said in a team statement. “We are thankful to our community for supporting us and rallying for us. Go Colts!” Against Southwestern Randolph, West Stanly will face a Cougars team that’s currently on a seven-game winning streak. Southwestern Randolph won both the Four Rivers regular-season and tournament titles before sweeping its state playo opponents to reach the championship series.

The Colts, who won the Rocky River Conference regular-season title, are 5-1 since losing to Mount Pleasant in the RRC Tournament championship.

West Stanly, the No. 4 seed in the 4A West bracket, earned its trip to Greensboro by taking two of three games from No. 11 Foard (19-9) in the regionalnal series.

The Colts opened the series May 19 in Red Cross with a 3-0 win before Foard answered a day later in Newton. The Tigers broke a 2-2 tie with a run in the bottom of the sixth inning, winning 3-2 and forcing a deciding Game 3 back in Red Cross.

In Friday’s winner-take-all matchup, West Stanly trailed 2-0 entering the bottom of the

second inning before taking the lead with three runs. The Colts held Foard scoreless the rest of the night, adding one run in the fourth and another in the sixth to secure a 5-2 regional-clinching win.

Junior Katie Broadway powered the West Stanly o ense with two home runs and four RBIs, while six Colts recorded hits in the victory.

West Stanly was one of three Stanly County teams to reach the regional nal round of the state playo s, joining South Stanly softball and North Stanly baseball.

Top-seeded South Stanly (25- 4) moved within one win of a state championship berth after splitting the rst two games of the 2A regional nal with No. 2 Roxboro Community, but the Bulls came up short in an 11-8 home loss over the weekend. In the 3A baseball bracket, No. 1 North Stanly (25-6) was knocked out of the state playo s after a 4-3 road loss to No. 2 East Rutherford (24-5) on Thursday.

The sophomore sprinter nished fth in the 200-meter title race

By Jesse Deal Stanly News Journal

MISENHEIMER — Pfei er sophomore Jordan Jones added another milestone to his breakout season Saturday, earning All-America honors at the 2026 NCAA Division III Outdoor Track and Field Championships.

Jones, a sprinter from Gastonia, nished fth in the 200-meter dash at the Veteran’s Memorial Field Sports Complex in La Crosse, Wisconsin, clocking a time of 21.20 seconds to earn rst-team All-America honors.

The performance capped a weekend in which Jones qualied for the national meet in both the 100-meter and 200-meter dashes.

He advanced to the 200-meter nal after running a 21.28 in the preliminary heats earlier in the weekend. Jones also competed in the 100-meter dash Friday, nishing 11th in the preliminary round with a time of 10.49 and earning him second-team All-America honors.

“Jordan Jones etched his name into the Pfei er history books this afternoon,” Pfei er Athletics said in a statement

Saturday. “The sophomore from Gastonia has become one of the most decorated men’s track and eld athletes in Pfei er’s history.” The NCAA outdoor meet

marked Jones’ second national championship appearance of the year.

In March, he became the rst indoor track and eld All-American in Pfei er his-

tory after nishing fth in the 60-meter dash at the NCAA Division III Indoor Track and Field

“Jordan Jones etched his name into the Pfei er history books this afternoon.”

Pfei er Athletics

Jones is now a three-time All-American, earning rst-team honors in the indoor 60 meters and outdoor 200 meters, along with second-team honors in the outdoor 100 meters.

“Jordan Jones took

TENNIS

Gotta go: Home player Gea takes emergency bathroom break during French Open debut

Paris Home player Arthur Gea ran o the court for an emergency bathroom break early in the rst set of his French Open debut. Gea told the chair umpire before hastily running o , “I need to go to the bathroom. I can’t move anymore. I’m going to (go) on the court.” The 135th-ranked Gea lost to 13th-seeded Karen Khachanov 6-3, 7-6 (3), 6-0. Usually bathroom breaks are only permitted between sets. The 21-year-old Gea received a wild card invitation from Roland Garros organizers to participate in the main draw.

NBA Trail Blazers lay o employees as part of restructuring e ort Portland, Ore.

The Portland Trail Blazers laid o employees as new owner Tom Dundon cuts costs. The exact number of employees let go was not made public but included sta in both the business and basketball operations. Dundon leads the group of investors who bought the NBA franchise from the estate of Paul Allen, the co -founder of Microsoft who died in 2018. The NBA’s Board of Governors approved the sale, worth a reported $4.25 billion, in April. Dundon also owns the Carolina Hurricanes of the NHL.

PWHL

Montreal Victoire win team’s rst PWHL title, beating Ottawa 4-0 in Game 4

Ottawa, Ontario

Abby Roque scored twice, Ann-Renée Desbiens made 23 saves and the Montreal Victoire won their rst PWHL title, beating the Ottawa Charge 4-0 in Game 4 of the Walter Cup Finals. Maggie Flaherty and Lina Ljungblom also scored. Montreal opened the best- of- ve series at home with two overtime victories, then fell 2-1 at Ottawa. Montreal captain Marie-Philip Poulin was named playo MVP. She tied for the postseason lead with eight points.

NCAA FOOTBALL

Orgeron returns to LSU as special assistant to recruiting, defense

Baton Rouge, La.

Ed Orgeron returned to LSU’s football program Wednesday, seven years after he coached the Tigers to the 2019 national title. LSU head coach Lane Ki n added Orgeron, 64, to the sta as a special assistant to recruiting and defense. Orgeron worked under Ki n at Southern California and Tennessee. Orgeron spent six seasons as LSU’s head coach before being red after the 2021 season.

NFL

NFL taking 2030 Super Bowl to Nashville, Titans’ new enclosed stadium

Nashville, Tenn.

The NFL is taking the 2030 Super Bowl to Nashville and the Titans’ new Nissan Stadium after team owners voted to hold the league’s championship game in the Music City for the rst time. Once the Titans broke ground on the $2.1 billion enclosed stadium, a Super Bowl being played in Nashville appeared to be only a matter of time. The Titans are on schedule to nish the new stadium directly across from the current Nissan Stadium in February, completing the three-year construction.

Weekly deadline is Monday at noon

North Stanly baseball lost in the state semi nals, dropping two games to East Rutherford. They now move on without their four seniors, who saw their high school careers end two steps from a state title. That group includes Solomon Hudson, Jayce Huneycutt, Charlie Shaver and Heath Klingensmith.

South Stanly softball also made it to the state semi nals before falling to Roxboro Community. That closes the high school books on three seniors, including team hits, runs and RBIs leader Ashelyn Tucker, triples leader Lily Coakley and elding percentage leader Piper Huneycutt.

Late pass sends Rosenqvist surging past Malukas for closest Indianapolis 500 win in history

Legge’s

attempt ended early with a crash

By Michael Marot

The Associated Press

INDIANAPOLIS — Felix

Rosenqvist swung to the outside of David Malukas, then found a way past the Team Penske driver to win the closest Indianapolis 500 in history by a margin of 0.0233 seconds on Sunday.

Malukas looked like he was in position to win when he passed race leader Marcus Armstrong o the nal restart with one lap to go while Meyer Shank Racing teammates Rosenqvist and Armstrong battled wheel to wheel down the back straightaway and through the fourth and nal turn.

But Rosenqvist had just enough power to pull away from Armstrong and snake behind Malukas before making the decisive outside pass in the nal 50 feet.

The closest previous nish came in 1992 when Al Unser Jr. beat Scott Goodyear across the yard of bricks by 0.043 seconds.

“The last ve years I’ve been in the front and I’ve had a good enough car to probably win it, but today there was just something more,” said Rosenqvist, who had been fast all month. “It was an absolute rocket this month and year; it was still there in the race.”

It was Rosenqvist’s second career win in 120 IndyCar races and comes after the recent birth of his rst child. His last win was on July 12, 2020, at Road America, making this his rst win on an oval. Rosenqvist joins Kenny Brack and Marcus Ericsson as the only Swedes to win the race.

The wild nish began with a red ag that came out with seven laps to go because of a scary

crash involving Indy 500 rookie Caio Collet. Flames billowed out of the side of his car as it skidded to a stop in the grass. When racing resumed after a 10-minute delay, Armstrong and Malukas sped past the top two cars — Rosenqvist and Pato O’Ward. But with 3 1/2 laps left, the yellow ag came out again when Mick Schumacher, the son of seven-time world champion Michael Schumacher, brushed the wall in Turn 2.

On the nal restart, Lap 200, Malukas sling-shotted his way past Armstrong for the lead and started pulling away from the two Meyer Shank Racing drivers. But Rosenqvist nally caught the Team Penske driver to win the biggest race of his career in the same month he became a father.

Malukas said he couldn’t think of what else he could have done to hang on to the lead.

“I was given two options: ei-

ther I lift or I crash with Felix,” said Armstrong, who nished fth. “I chose to lift. I don’t know if I could have done anything di erent.”

Malukas’ teammate Scott McLaughlin was third, and Rosenqvist’s best friend in racing, O’Ward, was fourth. O’Ward had two runner-up nishes and a third place in the past four years.

“I just don’t know what else we could have done,” Malukas said. “We were driving 150% that

“It was an absolute rocket this month and year; it was still there in the race.”

Felix Rosenqvist

whole time. We had the fastest car out there, loved that whole race. It was ours to win and I knew that, so I just never pushed like that my whole life.”

It was a strange day on the 2.5-mile Brickyard.

There was a 12-minute rain delay near the midway point of the race and the threat of more rain the rest of the afternoon changed strategies throughout the day. It looked like Rosenqvist and O’Ward had the advantage over the nal 25 laps because of pit strategy.

But Malukas and McLaughlin fought their way back into contention as other drivers such as defending Indy champion and pole winner Alex Palou of Chip Ganassi Racing faded to seventh.

Palou led the most laps (59), had the most on-track passes (60) and retained the points lead. Malukas, however, passed Kyle Kirkwood for second in the standings. The Chicago native trails the four-time series champion and 2025 Indy winner by 40 points.

The rain didn’t return until Rosenqvist was celebrating.

Katherine Legge’s attempt to become the rst woman to complete “The Double” ended after just 17 laps when she couldn’t avoid Ryan Hunter-Reay’s spinning car. Legge’s car skidded down the track and into the inside wall in Turn 2. The English driver was checked at the track’s in eld medical care center and was released.

NOTICE

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NOTICE

NORTH CAROLINA STANLY COUNTY IN THE GENERAL COURT OF JUSTICE SUPERIOR COURT DIVISION BEFORE THE CLERK FILE NO. 26E000191-830

NOTICE TO CREDITORS

Having quali ed as the Executor of the Estate of DONNA DAVIS FREEMAN, of Chester eld, South Carolina, this is to notify all persons having claims against the Estate of DONNA DAVIS FREEMAN to present them to the undersigned on or before August 27, 2026, or the same will be pleaded in bar of their recovery. All persons indebted to said Estate, please make immediate payment.

This is the 27th day of May, 2026.

Emsley D. Freeman 994 Carey Freeman Road, Cheraw, SC 29520 Executor of the Estate of Donna Davis Freeman

Sweeny, Wingate & Barrow, PA

ATTN: David Thomas, esq. 1515 Lady Street, Columbia, SC 29201

NOTICE TO CREDITORS IN THE GENERAL COURT OF JUSTICE SUPERIOR COURT DIVISION BEFORE THE CLERK FILE NO. 26E000194-830

NORTH CAROLINA STANLY COUNTY

Having quali ed as Co-Administrators of the Estate of the late, MICHAEL TODD HOWELL, deceased, late of Stanly County, North Carolina, this is to notify all persons, rms and corporations having claims against the Estate of said deceased to exhibit them to the undersigned on or before August 4, 2026, or this Notice will be pleaded in bar of their recovery. All persons indebted to said Estate please make immediate payment.

This the 6th day of May, 2026. Scarborough Law, PLLC Whitney T. Scarborough 107 A East Wade Street Wadesboro, NC 28170

Brandon Todd Howell 213 Kelty Ave. Norwood, NC 28128 Brandi Howell Talbert 1355 Hwy 109N Troy, NC 27371 STANLY NEWS AND PRESS

PUBLICHEARING

In accordance withNorth Carolina General Statutes, notice ishereby given thatthe Town ofRed Cross will conduct a Public Hearing during its regular Town Board meeting on June 8, 2026, at 7:00 p.m.

1.134 acres, more or less, all as shown on a Boundary Survey of New Lot for Starkey Hill by Dennis Land Surveying, Inc., Terry M. Dennis, Jr., PLS, dated May 25,2006 Save and except any releases, deeds of release or prior conveyances of record.

Said property is commonly known as 32891 NC 49 Hwy, New London, NC 28127. A Certi ed Check ONLY (no personal checks) of ve percent (5%) of the purchase price, or Seven Hundred Fifty Dollars ($750.00), whichever is greater, will be required at the time of the sale. Following the expiration of the statutory upset bid period, all the remaining amounts are immediately due and owing. THIRD PARTY PURCHASERS MUST PAY THE EXCISE TAX AND THE RECORDING COSTS FOR THEIR DEED.

Said property to be o ered pursuant to this Notice of Sale is being o ered for sale, transfer and conveyance

“AS IS WHERE IS.” There are no representations of warranty relating to the title or any physical, environmental, health or safety conditions existing in, on, at, or relating to the property being o ered for sale. Substitute Trustee does not have possession of the property and cannot grant access, prior to or after the sale, for purposes of inspection and/or appraisal. This sale is made subject to all prior liens, unpaid taxes, any unpaid land transfer taxes, special assessments, easements, rights of way, deeds of release, and any other encumbrances or exceptions of record. To the best of the knowledge and belief of the undersigned, the current owner(s) of the property is/ are Brianna Kay Vanbuskirk and husband Asher Gabriel Street.

An Order for possession of the property may be issued pursuant to G.S. 45-21.29 in favor of the purchaser and against the party or parties in possession by the clerk of superior court of the county in which the property is sold. Any person who occupies the property pursuant to a rental agreement entered into or renewed on or after October 1, 2007, may, after receiving the notice of sale,

terminate the rental agreement by providing written notice of termination to the landlord, to be e ective on a date stated in the notice that is at least 10 days, but no more than 90 days, after the sale date contained in the notice of sale, provided that the mortgagor has not cured the default at the time the tenant provides the notice of termination [NCGS § 45-21.16A(b)(2)]. Upon termination of a rental agreement, the tenant is liable for rent due under the rental agreement prorated to the e ective date of the termination.

Pursuant to NCGS §45-21.25A, this sale may be subject to remote bids placed by bidders not physically present at the place of sale, which may be accepted by the person conducting the sale, or their agent”.

If the trustee is unable to convey title to this property for any reason, the sole remedy of the purchaser is the return of the deposit. Reasons of such inability to convey include, but are not limited to, the ling of a bankruptcy petition prior to the con rmation of the sale and reinstatement of the loan without the knowledge of the trustee. If the validity of the sale is challenged by any party, the trustee, in their sole discretion, if they believe the challenge to have merit, may request the court to declare the sale to be void and return the deposit. The purchaser will have no further remedy.

If the transaction is subject to the FinCEN Residential Real Estate Reporting Rule (“RRE”) issued pursuant to the Bank Secrecy Act, information necessary to comply with the RRE Rule must be obtained and provided to the Reporting Person, as de ned in the RRE Rule, prior to closing.

Trustee Services of Carolina, LLC Substitute Trustee Brock & Scott, PLLC Attorneys for Trustee Services of Carolina, LLC 5431 Oleander Drive Suite 200 Wilmington, NC 28403 PHONE: (910) 392-4988 File No.: 26-08259-FC01

NORTH CAROLINA STANLY COUNTY IN THE GENERAL COURT OF JUSTICE SUPERIOR COURT DIVISION BEFORE THE CLERK FILE NO. 26E000172-830 NOTICE TO CREDITORS Having quali ed as Executor of the estate of James Austin Henson deceased, of Stanly County, North Carolina, this is to notify all persons having claims against the Estate of said James Austin Henson to present them to the undersigned on or before August 22, 2026 or the same will be pleaded in bar of their recovery. All persons indebted to said Estate please make immediate payment. This the 20th day of May 2026. Je rey A. Henson 1122 Timber Drive Greenville, NC 27858 Executor

NOTICE

The purpose ofthis hearing is to receive public comment, both for and against, regarding a proposed rezoning ofthe property located at 420 Peach Tree Road, owned by Teresa Curry. The applicant has requested thattheproperty berezoned from Rural Agriculture (RA) to R-20 Residential to permit the construction ofa single-family residence. Additional information is available at Red Cross Town Hall or by calling 704-4852002. This notice shall bepublished in a local newspaper on May 20, 2026, and May 27, 2026.

NOTICE

NORTH CAROLINA

STANLY COUNTY IN THE GENERAL COURT OF JUSTICE SUPERIOR COURT DIVISION BEFORE THE CLERK FILE NO. 26E000201-830

NOTICE TO CREDITORS

Having quali ed as Executor of the estate of Reba Starnes Bowers deceased, of Stanly County, North Carolina, this is to notify all persons having claims against the Estate of said Reba Starnes Bowers to present them to the undersigned on or before August 14, 2026 or the same will be pleaded in bar of their recovery. All persons indebted to said Estate please make immediate payment. This the 13th day of May 2026. Amanda Bowers Thompson 36827 Reba Drive Albemarle, NC 28001

NOTICE

NORTH CAROLINA STANLY COUNTY IN THE GENERAL COURT OF JUSTICE SUPERIOR COURT DIVISION BEFORE THE CLERK FILE NO. 26E000107-830 NOTICE TO CREDITORS Having quali ed as Administratrix of the estate of Daniel Leroy Christian deceased, of Stanly County, North Carolina, this is to notify all persons having claims against the Estate of said Daniel Leroy Christian to present them to the undersigned on or before August 14, 2026 or the same will be pleaded in bar of their recovery. All persons indebted to said Estate please make immediate payment.

This the 13th day of May 2026. Charlie Bell Christian 132 Carpenter Avenue Albemarle, NC 28001 Administratrix

NOTICE

NORTH CAROLINA STANLY COUNTY IN THE GENERAL COURT OF JUSTICE SUPERIOR COURT DIVISION BEFORE THE CLERK FILE NO. 25E000494-830

NOTICE TO CREDITORS

Having quali ed as Executrix of the estate of Donald Gordon Furr deceased, of Stanly County, North Carolina, this is to notify all persons having claims against the Estate of said Donald Gordon Furr to present them to the undersigned on or before August 14, 2026 or the same will be pleaded in bar of their recovery. All persons indebted to said Estate please make immediate payment.

This the 13th day of May 2026. Mary Jo Furr 25838 Lingerfelt Road Albemarle, NC 28001 Executrix

Paul McCartney, John Travolta, Tina Fey, Latto, Nicolas Cage as Spider-Man

“Deli Boys” returns to Hulu for a second season

The Associated Press

PAUL MCCARTNEY re ecting on the “Days We Left Behind” with his 18th studio album and John Travolta writing, directing and narrating an ode to the glamorous days of 1960s air travel are some of the new television, lms, music and games headed to a device near you.

Also, among the streaming o erings worth your time this week: Net ix drops Season 2 of Net ix’s “Four Seasons” starring Tina Fey, Atlanta rapper Latto returns with “Big Mama” and Nicolas Cage stars in a new live-action series inspired by Spider-Man.

MOVIES TO STREAM

Bill Skarsgård’s aggrieved everyman takes Dacre Montgomery’s mortgage executive hostage in “Dead Man’s Wire,” streaming on Net ix on Thursday. In his review for The Associated Press, Film Writer Jake Coyle wrote that “it plays a little loose with facts but the righteous rage of “Dog Day Afternoon” is present enough in Gus Van Sant’s … thriller that’s as deeply 1970s as it is contemporary.” Fresh o its premiere at the Cannes Film Festival, Travolta’s “Propeller One-Way Night Coach” will be streaming on Apple TV starting Friday. The actor wrote, directed and narrates this ode to the glamorous days of 1960s air travel following an aviation-obsessed 10-year-old on a cross-country trip with

NOTICES

PA, Trustee(s), which was dated September 9, 2024 and recorded on September 9, 2024 in Book 1862 at Page 780, Stanly County Registry, North Carolina.

Default having been made of the note thereby secured by the said Deed of Trust and the undersigned, Trustee Services of Carolina, LLC, having been substituted as Trustee in said Deed of Trust, and the holder of the note evidencing said default having directed that the Deed of Trust be foreclosed, the undersigned Substitute Trustee will o er for sale at the courthouse door of the county courthouse where the property is located, or the usual and customary location at the county courthouse for conducting the sale on June 2, 2026 at 11:00 AM, and will sell to the highest bidder for cash the following

25SP000124-830

NOTICE OF FORECLOSURE SALE

NORTH CAROLINA, STANLY COUNTY

Under and by virtue of a Power of Sale

contained in that certain Deed of Trust executed by Jeron Chester to John B Third, Trustee(s), which was dated December 28, 2023 and recorded on December 29, 2023 in Book 1840 at Page 1637, Stanly County Registry, North Carolina. Default having been made of the note thereby secured by the said Deed of Trust and the undersigned, Trustee Services of Carolina, LLC, having been substituted as Trustee in said Deed of Trust, and the holder of the note evidencing said default having directed that the Deed of Trust be foreclosed, the undersigned Substitute Trustee will o er for sale at the courthouse door of the county courthouse where the property is located, or the usual and customary location at the county courthouse for conducting the sale on June 2, 2026 at 11:00 AM, and will sell

his mother. Running at only 60 minutes, the lm, which is based on a novel he wrote, has received mostly mixed reviews.

In “Miss You, Love You,” written and directed by Jim Rash and streaming on HBO Max on Friday, Allison Janney plays a recently widowed woman who has to plan her husband’s funeral with a stranger: Her estranged son’s assistant, played by Andrew Rannells. Also coming to HBO Max on Friday is the Charli xcx movie “The Moment,” a meta mockumentary about the end of Brat summer and grappling with otherworldly success.

Markiplier’s “Iron Lung” is also making its streaming debut, on YouTube, Sunday. The adaptation of the indie horror game was self- nanced and self-released in theaters where it earned more than $50 million worldwide.

MUSIC TO STREAM

McCartney re ects on the “Days We Left Behind” on his 18th studio album, “The Boys of Dungeon Lane,” out Friday. That’s a reference to a particularly nostalgic and wistful track on the new collection, which reects on the youth of a life well lived — so, of course, it’s all soft piano and delicate harmonies. If that’s not enough to inspire a listen, perhaps this is: The album also features the rst duet of Macca and Ringo Starr, a must-play for any Beatles fan. “The world around us wasn’t safe, the place was falling down/But it was my hometown/And it was home to us,” they sing. It’s enough to make someone weep, if it wasn’t such a jam.

described property situated in Stanly County, North Carolina, to wit: BEING all of Lot 6, containing 1.06 acres, more or less, as shown on a plat entitled “Subdivision of Land for James A. Owens”, dated Jully 7, 1995, surveyed and platted by Rogell E. Hunsucker, RLSL, and recorded in Plat Book 17 at Page 7, Stanly County Registry, to which plat reference is hereby made for a more particular description of said lot by metes and bounds.

Save and except any releases, deeds of release or prior conveyances of record.

Said property is commonly known as 44192 Danville Road, New London, NC 28127.

A Certi ed Check ONLY (no personal checks) of ve percent (5%) of the purchase price, or Seven Hundred Fifty Dollars ($750.00), whichever is greater, will be required at the time of the sale. Following the expiration of the statutory upset bid period, all the remaining amounts are immediately due and owing. THIRD PARTY PURCHASERS MUST PAY THE EXCISE TAX AND THE RECORDING COSTS FOR THEIR

to the highest bidder for cash the following described property situated in Stanly County, North Carolina, to wit: BEING all of Lot 227 Morgan Hills Map 2 as shown on that plat recorded in Plat Book 30, Pages 104-111 Stanly County Registry. Being the same property conveyed to the Borrower(s) herein by Deed recorded contemporaneously herewith. Save and except any releases, deeds of release or prior conveyances of record. Said property is commonly known as 1242 Freeman View Dr, Albemarle, NC 28001. A Certi ed Check ONLY (no personal checks) of ve percent (5%) of the purchase price, or Seven Hundred Fifty Dollars ($750.00), whichever is greater, will be required at the time of the sale. Following the expiration of the statutory upset bid period, all the remaining amounts are immediately due and owing. THIRD PARTY PURCHASERS MUST PAY THE EXCISE TAX AND THE RECORDING COSTS FOR THEIR DEED. Said property to be o ered pursuant to

SERIES TO STREAM

A Spider-Man series but make it noir. Cage stars in a new live-action series inspired by the Marvel character. Set against a gritty 1930s New York, Cage plays Ben Reilly, a P.I. who carries the weight of being the city’s only masked hero ghting rampant corruption. Viewers can choose between black-and-white and color versions. All eight episodes of “Spider-Noir” are now streaming on Prime Video.

The wild crime comedy “Deli Boys” returns to Hulu for its second season on Thursday. Two Pakistani American brothers, played by Asif Ali and Saagar Shaikh, inherit a chain of delis after their father dies and think they’re set for life until the realization that those delis were really a front for smuggling drugs. Poorna Jagannathan plays their aunt who has taken over the business.

Net ix drops Season 2 of its “Four Seasons” on Thursday. It’s about a group of friends navigating relationships and life’s ups and downs. Fey is a co-creator and stars alongside Colman Domingo, Will Forte, Kerri Kenney-Silver, Marco Calvani and Erika Henningsen. It’s adapted from Alan Alda’s 1981 lm of the same name.

“Criminal Minds: Evolution” Season 19 premieres with two episodes Thursday on Paramount+. In the new episodes, serial killer Elias Voit (Zach Gilford) is still in prison for life but also helping the BAU track down other killers like himself. The big bad for Season 19 is a copycat killer, who is a fan of Voit. A number of actors from the original series return, in-

DEED.

Said property to be o ered pursuant to this Notice of Sale is being o ered for sale, transfer and conveyance “AS IS WHERE IS.” There are no representations of warranty relating to the title or any physical, environmental, health or safety conditions existing in, on, at, or relating to the property being o ered for sale. Substitute Trustee does not have possession of the property and cannot grant access, prior to or after the sale, for purposes of inspection and/ or appraisal. This sale is made subject to all prior liens, unpaid taxes, any unpaid land transfer taxes, special assessments, easements, rights of way, deeds of release, and any other encumbrances or exceptions of record. To the best of the knowledge and belief of the undersigned, the current owner(s) of the property is/are Kristie Marie Meadows.

An Order for possession of the property may be issued pursuant to G.S. 45-21.29 in favor of the purchaser and against the party or parties in possession by the clerk of superior court of the county in which the property is sold. Any person who occupies the property

this Notice of Sale is being o ered for sale, transfer and conveyance “AS IS WHERE IS.” There are no representations of warranty relating to the title or any physical, environmental, health or safety conditions existing in, on, at, or relating to the property being o ered for sale. Substitute Trustee does not have possession of the property and cannot grant access, prior to or after the sale, for purposes of inspection and/ or appraisal. This sale is made subject to all prior liens, unpaid taxes, any unpaid land transfer taxes, special assessments, easements, rights of way, deeds of release, and any other encumbrances or exceptions of record. To the best of the knowledge and belief of the undersigned, the current owner(s) of the property is/are Jeron Chester. An Order for possession of the property may be issued pursuant to G.S. 45-21.29 in favor of the purchaser and against the party or parties in possession by the clerk of superior court of the county in which the property is sold. Any person who occupies the property pursuant to a rental agreement entered into

cluding Joe Mantegna, A.J. Cook, Aisha Tyler, Adam Rodriguez and Paget Brewster. Connor Storrie of “Heated Rivalry” will also guest star.

VIDEO GAMES TO PLAY

Filmmakers are still trying to decide on the next actor to play James Bond, but gamers worldwide are ready to take on the role in “007 First Light.” Developer IO Interactive describes it as an origin story, as a 20-something Bond who is new to MI6 is sent in pursuit of a rogue agent. Expect plenty of exotic locations, cool weapons and gadgets, a slick wardrobe and, of course, a glamorous love interest. You can “go silent or go loud,” meaning you can take a stealthy approach to each mission or go in with sts and bullets ying. IO is best known for its globe-trotting “Hitman” se -

pursuant to a rental agreement entered into or renewed on or after October 1, 2007, may, after receiving the notice of sale, terminate the rental agreement by providing written notice of termination to the landlord, to be e ective on a date stated in the notice that is at least 10 days, but no more than 90 days, after the sale date contained in the notice of sale, provided that the mortgagor has not cured the default at the time the tenant provides the notice of termination [NCGS § 45-21.16A(b)(2)]. Upon termination of a rental agreement, the tenant is liable for rent due under the rental agreement prorated to the e ective date of the termination.

Pursuant to NCGS §45-21.25A, this sale may be subject to remote bids placed by bidders not physically present at the place of sale, which may be accepted by the person conducting the sale, or their agent”.

If the trustee is unable to convey title to this property for any reason, the sole remedy of the purchaser is the return of the deposit. Reasons of such inability to convey include, but are not limited to, the ling of a bankruptcy petition prior to the con rmation of the sale and reinstatement of the loan

or renewed on or after October 1, 2007, may, after receiving the notice of sale, terminate the rental agreement by providing written notice of termination to the landlord, to be e ective on a date stated in the notice that is at least 10 days, but no more than 90 days, after the sale date contained in the notice of sale, provided that the mortgagor has not cured the default at the time the tenant provides the notice of termination [NCGS § 45-21.16A(b)(2)]. Upon termination of a rental agreement, the tenant is liable for rent due under the rental agreement prorated to the e ective date of the termination. Pursuant to NCGS §45-21.25A, this sale may be subject to remote bids placed by bidders not physically present at the place of sale, which may be accepted by the person conducting the sale, or their agent”. If the trustee is unable to convey title to this property for any reason, the sole remedy of the purchaser is the return of the deposit. Reasons of such inability to convey include, but are not limited to,

ries, so it’s well quali ed to take on this franchise. Pick up your license to kill on PlayStation 5, Xbox X/S, Switch 2 or PC.

“Mina the Hollower” is a mouse who’s really good at burrowing, which comes in handy when she needs to run away from — or sneak up behind — the nastier critters roaming her spooky home. She can also ght back with her whip, and she can track down sidearms and trinkets that make her more of a threat. All this takes place in a colorful, pixelated 2D world reminiscent of 1980s classics like “The Legend of Zelda.” Developer Yacht Club Games, which gave us the retro indie smash “Shovel Knight,” promises a “bone-chilling yet heartwarming tale inspired by Victorian Gothic horror.” Dig in on Friday, May 29, on PlayStation 5, Xbox X/S, Switch, PC or Mac.

without the knowledge of the trustee. If the validity of the sale is challenged by any party, the trustee, in their sole discretion, if they believe the challenge to have merit, may request the court to declare the sale to be void and return the deposit. The purchaser will have no further remedy. If the transaction is subject to the FinCEN Residential Real Estate Reporting Rule (“RRE”) issued pursuant to the Bank Secrecy