Stanly News Journal Vol. 146, Issue 51

Stanly NewS Journal

Badin our time

A birds-eye view over Badin earlier this month, looking northwest with Badin Inn in the foreground, Alcoa in the

Lake on the far right.

WHAT’S HAPPENING

Hornets trade LaMelo Ball, Josh Green to Timberwolves for Naz Reid, draft picks

Charlotte The Charlotte Hornets have agreed to trade point guard LaMelo Ball and Josh Green to the Minnesota Timberwolves for Naz Reid, a 2033 unprotected first-round draft pick, three first-round pick swaps and three future secondround picks, according to an AP source. ESPN was first to report the trade. The three first-round pick swaps will be in 2028, 2029 and 2030. The Hornets also will get three second-round picks in 2029, 2032 and 2033.

Reflecting Pool liner was cut with a sharp knife or razor, Park Service says Washington, D.C.

A top official at the National Park Service says a liner along the bottom of the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool was cut with a sharp knife or razor this month, causing damage to the foam sealant installed as part of a $16 million rehabilitation project. The park service reported the June 9 incident to U.S. Park Police. Frank Lands, deputy director of operations for the park service, said about 70 fence post tops also were thrown into the pool. Lands made the statements in a court document filed late Wednesday as part of a lawsuit filed by a nonprofit organization to halt the administration’s work on the project.

Oakboro set for 68th annual Fourth of July Celebration

A parade, music, rides and fireworks are set for next week’s festivities

By Jesse Deal Stanly News Journal

OAKBORO — One of Stanly County’s largest summer traditions is returning next week as Oakboro kicks off its 68th annual Fourth of July Celebration. The multiday Independence Day event, hosted by Oakboro Fire and Rescue since 1958, will feature parades, carnival rides, pageants, a talent show, live music, food vendors and fireworks.

and

Festivities officially begin Sunday night with a community worship service at First Baptist Church of Oakboro, followed by the opening of the carnival rides and the Little Miss Fourth of July Pageant at 6 p.m. Tuesday. The celebration will continue each night through Satur-

The plan supports county programs for older adults

By Jesse Deal Stanly News Journal

ALBEMARLE — The Stanly County Board of Commissioners recently approved more than $600,000 in aging services funding for the upcoming fiscal year.

In a 7-0 vote June 8, the board passed the county’s 2027 Home and Community Care Block Grant funding plan, allocating $601,412 to

support programs for older adults across Stanly County.

The agenda item was presented by Pamela Sullivan, Stanly County Senior Services director, who said the proposal had already been reviewed by the Home and Community Care Block Grant Committee.

“This distribution plan comes before you today carrying the full endorsement and approval of the Senior Services Advisory Board,” Sullivan said.

“This allocation represents a 2.39%

when fireworks are sched-

Time capsule buried 26 years ago recovered at local nursing and rehabilitation facility

Former employees joined current staff and residents to

By Melinda Burris Stanly News Journal

ALBEMARLE — Recent-

ly, current and former staff at Bethany Woods Nursing & Rehabilitation Center unearthed a time capsule buried by employees and residents in 2000. To mark the event, current residents and their families joined employees to review the contents and share the memories evoked by artifacts from the past.

Among those on hand for the event were Jacob Green, administrator at Bethany Woods, Phyllis Carver, a former activities director, Donnie Lowder, a former maintenance employee who helped bury the capsule, and Marie Eudy, who was employed as the activities director for patients with dementia from 1980 to 2000, and is now herself a resident at the center. Green, who has worked at the facility for less than a year, pointed out that there is a strong sense of community at Bethany Woods built in part because many members of staff, like Eudy, stay in their

CRIME LOG

June 15

• Cody James Russell, 29, was arrested for simple assault.

• Gary Carlos Shine, 41, was arrested for failure to register as a sex offender.

June 16

• Andrew Dennis Roberson, 44, was arrested for possession of a firearm by a felon, assault on a female and carrying a concealed weapon, and other charges.

• Robert Dishawn Rhone, 31, was arrested for assault on a female.

• Bryan Calvin Bowman, 27, was arrested for simple assault.

June 17

• Leo Thomas Liles, 42, was arrested for misdemeanor larceny, injury to real property and resisting a public officer, and other charges.

positions for decades, creating a lasting bond between residents and employees.

“It was interesting hearing their stories and seeing how many people still work with us who were here at the time and were a part of those memories too,” Green said.

Eudy agreed, saying that looking through the photographs and other memorabilia, including handwritten letters, cassette tapes with recorded messages and personal motivational notes inside the time capsule, brought back a

• Jordan Lee Furr, 28, was arrested for assault with a deadly weapon and communicating threats.

June 18

• Cordero Lavonne Little, 31, was arrested for statutory sexual offense with a child 15 or younger, disseminating obscenity in the presence of a minor and felony breaking and entering, and other charges.

June 19

• Melinda Jean Pike, 37, was arrested for obtaining property by false pretense, misdemeanor larceny and financial card fraud, and other charges.

• Richard Wayne Freeman Jr., 25, was arrested for violation of a domestic violence protective order.

Donnie Lowder presents the time capsule to Phyllis Carver.

flood of memories. “It reminded me how much I loved my job,” she said. Last month, Bethany Woods was named a 2026 AHCA/NCAL Bronze National Quality Award recipient. The center also holds a 5-Star Quality Measures ranking and a 4-Star Overall rating by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, recognizing the team’s continued focus on providing excellent resident care and ensuring quality healthcare outcomes.

• Cody Matthew Dixon, 22, was arrested for misdemeanor stalking.

• Ashley Nichole Sweet, 34, was arrested for possession of methamphetamine; maintaining a vehicle, dwelling or place for a controlled substance; and possession of drug paraphernalia.

• Amy Jane Shaver, 48, was arrested for possession of methamphetamine, possession of drug paraphernalia and resisting a public officer.

June 20

• Marcos Alberto David Wong, 25, was arrested for felony possession of cocaine, possession of marijuana and possession of drug paraphernalia, and other charges.

June 28 – July

July

THE CONVERSATION

Trip Hoffend, publisher | Frank Hill, senior opinion editor

VISUAL VOICES

America at 250: the threats to America’s greatness

If you wanted America to crumble, you’d spend decades undermining what made this country great.

SUCCESS OFTEN sows the seeds of future failure. That’s the danger America faces now.

America is a great and powerful country. But this shouldn’t blind us to an obvious historical reality. Great empires rise — and fall. Just look at the history of the Roman Empire. Or the Babylonian Empire. Or the Mongol Empire.

Success often comes with a temptation — to abandon the things that made you successful. Think about an athlete who’s spent a decade training for six hours a day, six days a week. He makes it to the pros and signs a big contract. Suddenly, he’s a multimillionaire.

The opportunity cost of his rigid workout schedule is much higher. The temptation is even higher if he’s exceptionally talented. Most teams will accommodate some rule-breaking from their star players. If he neglects his training, he’s even likely to be able to perform at a high level — for a while. But over time, this lack of discipline will erode his skills and ability.

You can see the paradox. His success led him to failure.

This pattern is also apparent among some families. One generation comes from poverty — scrapping and sacrificing so their children can receive an education. The second generation both knows the pains of poverty and has better opportunities to succeed financially. These children do well financially. The third generation has a plethora of opportunities but not the pressure to make the small daily sacrifices that lead to success.

They squander the family fortune. There’s even a term for this pattern — the “third-generation curse.”

But what’s happening isn’t a supernatural hex but a change in circumstances.

It’s another example of this paradox. The family’s success set the stage for the financial deterioration of future generations.

Now, think about America. Everything we take for granted today — the freedoms, economic prosperity and scientific innovations — rests on a foundation laid over centuries. Its pillars include Western Civilization, Christianity and institutions like the family. Key figures include Homer, Aristotle, Jesus, William Shakespeare, Christopher Columbus and George Washington.

America’s military is too strong to be defeated in a conventional war. But America has vulnerabilities. If you wanted America to crumble, you’d spend decades undermining what made this country great.

Look around. Teachers and professors now tell students that America is systemically racist. Never mind that slavery was a universal institution and that our country fought a bloody Civil War to eliminate it. Many universities stopped teaching Western civilization. Professors replaced Shakespeare and other dead white men with authors who check more intersectionality boxes.

This garbage wouldn’t have lasted long in the marketplace of ideas, but it’s thrived in government-funded educational institutions.

Democrats declare war on school

Florida’s public charter sector maintains an aggregate grade of “A,” outperforming traditional public school counterparts in 55 of 77 metrics.

WHY ARE DEMOCRATS and their teachers union masters trying to shoot down parental choice in education even when we now have so many examples of these programs working?

Choice and competition are two of the hallmarks of the American economy. When stores compete, customers win. Turns out this is also true for schools. That’s an inviolable law of economics. A corollary is that monopolies tend to put customers last.

This is all happening at a time when public monopoly schools are showing flat or negative performance despite more funding than ever before.

This is one reason why so many states are turning to the new model of school choice, with public funds going to scholarships and charter schools, and tax incentives for charitable donations to private and Catholic schools.

About 23 mostly red states are experimenting with such programs, and so far the results in test scores and parental satisfaction are mostly positive.

Today about 1.5 million kids are taking advantage of these programs. In Florida, the biggest program of all, with more than 1 million kids enrolled in these school choice voucher programs, the kids are racking up better test scores than their peers in the public schools. This is incentivizing public schools to up their game.

That’s the idea. But Democrats, acting as if school choice is the bubonic plague, are trying to shoot it down across the country.

No one has been more of a disappointment than Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro, whose 2027 budget would slash $500 million from charter schools and gut education tax credits. This could put 30,000 kids at risk of losing

their scholarships. Already there are about 70,000 kids who want to go to a private school, but the scholarship money isn’t available because of program caps. Once again, a prominent Democrat places the unions ahead of the kids.

Then there is Arizona: Dems and teachers unions have put an initiative on the November ballot to roll back one of the nation’s largest school voucher programs, which has exploded to more than 100,000 students. Parents can get $7,000 per student to use for private and charter school tuition and homeschooling.

Even worse is the Florida Education Association, which has filed a lawsuit challenging the constitutionality of the state’s school choice and charter school programs, which provide education for 1.4 million kids. The Florida Constitution guarantees a “uniform” system of free public schools but does not prohibit the legislature from expanding educational options beyond the traditional public school model.

In Rhode Island, Democratic Gov. Dan McKee wants to cap funding for popular charter schools even as the school budgets expand.

Why the barriers to these educational opportunities?

Let me be loud and clear on this point: The Dems and their union puppet masters don’t want to get rid of these programs because they are failing the kids. They want to abolish them because they are getting better results than the public schools. Florida’s public charter sector maintains an aggregate grade of “A,” outperforming traditional public school counterparts in 55 of 77 metrics.

Maybe the unions define a “uniform

In many places, the left has replaced Columbus Day with Indigenous Peoples’ Day. Leftists have defaced or removed statues of American heroes like George Washington, Thomas Jefferson and Columbus. Many even refused to honor the American flag.

Christianity and the family have both faced decades of cultural assault from elite institutions. The Founding Fathers directly appealed to God for help and urged their fellow Americans to do the same. The left kicked God out of public schools. Now many kids struggle to read, but they sure are familiar with the letters LGBTQ.

A flood of illegal immigrants has further weakened America’s foundation. Cultures aren’t fungible. Simply placing someone in America doesn’t make them an American. Assimilation is much harder when the melting pot is boiling over. Some immigrants want America’s money but not America’s values.

“Freedom is never more than one generation away from extinction,” former President Ronald Reagan wisely warned. “It has to be fought for and defended by each generation.” He was right. Next week, we’ll look at how to preserve America’s greatness for the generations to come.

Victor Joecks is a columnist for the Las Vegas Review-Journal and host of the “Sharpening Arrows podcast.”

(Copyright 2026 Creators.com)

choice

education system” as one that is uniformly bad.

What is sad is that even with a robust school choice program, probably two of three kids will still be enrolled in public schools for the foreseeable future. But with alternatives, school boards, teachers and principals will have to prove their value to the customers — the parents.

Even worse is that kids already attending charter, Catholic or special ed schools may have to return to the very classrooms that didn’t work for them in the first place. It used to be that unions could claim to parents that alternative schools would be worse for their children. But that’s proven not to be the case for these new private choice schools. I know firsthand that in private schools, kids are challenged, disciplined and taught to learn that failure is not an option. In public school, you get kicked into the next grade through social promotion, and the learning deficits are allowed to linger.

The Trump tax cuts will allow potentially millions of disadvantaged kids to get scholarships from tax filers who put money in the schools. It costs the states nothing to allow kids into the program. Amazingly, more than half the states with Democratic governors are passing up the free money to the parents in their states.

That’s just plain dumb. Maybe these politicians and school administrators have had too much social promotion.

Stephen Moore is a former Trump senior economic adviser and the cofounder of Unleash Prosperity, which advocates for education freedom for all children. (Copyright 2026 Creators.com)

IN MEMORY

ROSALAND ELAINE EFIRD

NOV. 8, 1947 – JUNE 21, 2026

Rosaland Elaine Efird, 78, of Oakboro, NC, passed away Sunday, June 21, 2026, at Tucker Hospice House in Kannapolis.

Elaine was born on November 8, 1947, in Albemarle, NC, to the late Guilford Lee Almond and the late Mildred Louise Furr Almond.

Survivors include son, Jeffrey Efird of Rockwell, NC; son, Neil Efird of Mint Hill, NC; son, Daniel Efird of Concord, NC; and sister, Kathy Almond Crisco.

Barbara Jean (Taylor) Drye

April 17, 1936 ~ January 14, 2023

James Burrows, director of classic TV comedies including ‘Cheers’ and ‘Friends,’ dead at 85

Dwight Farmer

The prolific sitcom director was remembered as much for his kindness as his iconic shows

January 24, 1939 ~ January 15, 2023

In keeping with Elaine’s wishes, no formal services will take place at this time.

Barbara Jean Taylor Drye, 86, of Oakboro, passed away Saturday, January 14, 2023 at her home.

DONNA LYNN PARKER

Barbara was born April 17, 1936 in North Carolina to the late Robert Lee Taylor and the late Eva Belle Watts Taylor. She was also preceded in death by husband of 61 years, Keith Furr Drye, and brothers, Robert Lee Taylor, Jr. and George Kenneth Taylor.

James Roseboro

June 23, 1967 ~ January 10, 2023

By Beth Harris The Associated Press

Dwight Britten Farmer Sr., 83, of Norwood died Sunday morning, January 15, 2023 at Forrest Oakes.

LOS ANGELES — James

James Arthur Roseboro, 55, of Albemarle, passed away Tuesday, January 10, 2023 at Anson Health and Rehab.

JUNE 20, 1960 – JUNE 22, 2026

Donna Lynn Parker, 66, of Albemarle, passed away late Monday, June 22, 2026, at Atrium Health Cabarrus in Concord.

Dwight was born January 24, 1939 in Stanly County to the late Walter Virgil and Martha Adkins Farmer. He was a 1957 graduate of Norwood High School and was a United States Army Veteran.

Funeral Services will be held at 2:00 PM on Thursday, June 25, 2026, at Edwards Funeral Home in Norwood. Will Davis and Derrick Adcock will officiate, and interment will follow at Randall by the River Cemetery. The family will receive friends one hour prior to the service.

Survivors include children, Debbie (Mike) Williams of Albemarle, Teresa (Tom) Curry of Oakboro, Douglas (Tammy) Drye of Oakboro; grandchildren, Melissa (Don) Parrish of Albemarle, Samantha (Destiny) Smith of Oakboro, Bradley Smith of Oakboro, Jonathan Stover of Peachland, and Jessie Stover of Lylesville; sisterin-law, Beatrice Goodman; many nieces and nephews; and her beloved cats, Bo and Garfield.

Donna was born on June 20, 1960, in Stanly County to the late Calvin and Robbie Shue Davis. She was the owner and operator of Donna’s beauty salon in Norwood for over 20 years. She enjoyed traveling with her husband, camping trips, and spending time with her children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren.

He was a member of Cedar Grove United Methodist Church where he had served as church treasurer and choir member. He began his career with the Stanly County Sheriff’s Department moving to the Norwood Police Department and retiring as Chief of Police with the Town of Norwood after many years of service.

Burrows, who helped create volumes of laughter as director of more than 1,000 episodes of such classic television comedies as “Cheers,” “Taxi,” “Friends” and “Will & Grace,” died last Friday. He was 85.

Mr. Roseboro was born on June 23, 1967 to the late Robert and Delena Shipp Roseboro. He graduated from South Stanly High School and was employed by Triangle Brick. He enjoyed watching football and basketball, especially the Carolina TarHeels and Miami.

His family confirmed his death in a statement to People, saying he “passed away peacefully today surrounded by his family.” No location or cause of death was provided.

Dwight was an avid gardener, bird watcher and Carolina fan.

In addition to her parents, she was preceded in death by three siblings, Terry Davis, Eddie Davis, and Michael Davis.

Barbara was a member of Oakboro Baptist Church for over 60 years. She worked over 30 years at Stanly Knitting Mills. After just two years of retirement, she began managing the Oakboro Senior Center and did that for 18 years until this past week. Barbara was known for her good cooking and always taking care of others. She also loved going on day long shopping trips - she could out walk and out shop people half her age. She kept her mind and body active through gardening, word searches, and various other hobbies.

She is survived by her husband of 40 years, Dennis Ray Parker of the home; two sons: Donny Helms and Chris Parker; four grandchildren: Kaylee Angles (Glenn), Dawson Helms (Chloe McMillen), Landrie Parker, and Jax Parker; and three great-grandchildren: Luke, Daisy, and Matthew.

He is survived by his wife Hilda Whitley Farmer; one son D. Britten Farmer Jr. (Mary) of McLeansville, NC; one daughter Sharon Farmer Lowe (David) of Norwood; one sister Geraldine Dennis of Troy; two grandchildren, Dwight Britten “Dee” Farmer III and Whitley Rose Hui Lowe.

In addition to his parents he is preceded in death by his brothers and sisters: Barbara Lee Roseboro, Dorothy Brown, Verna Roseboro, Henrietta Ingram, and Harold Roseboro.

Burrows spent his career behind the camera specializing in situation comedies. Few viewers recognized him or knew his name, other than to see it flash quickly on the screen in the opening credits. But they knew his work.

Burrows got his start in television relatively late at age 35 in 1974, directing episodes of “The Mary Tyler Moore Show,” “The Bob Newhart Show,” and “Laverne & Shirley.”

He was preceded in death by his son Alex, brothers, Tommy and Jimmy, sisters, Nancy, Cornelia Annabell, Glennie Mae, and Betty.

He co-created “Cheers,” directing 243 of the 273 episodes, as well as all 246 episodes of “Will and Grace.”

Memorials may be made to Cedar Grove United Methodist Church, Cemetery or Choir Fund c/o Pam Smith 36071 Rocky River Springs Road, Norwood, NC 28128.

Celebrate the life of your loved ones. Submit obituaries and death notices to be published in Stanly News Journal at obits@ stanlynewsjournal.com

He is survived by his sisters: Helen (James) Roseboro Edwards of Albemarle, Mary Roseboro of Washington DC, and Marion Morrison of Albemarle; brothers: Thomas D. Roseboro of Charlotte, Robert Roseboro (Patricia) of Norwood, and Van Horne; a special friend of over 40 years, Michelle McLendon of the home; special nieces: Nybrea Montague, Knya Little, and Laquanza Crump; special nephews: Robert Jr., Desmond Roseboro, and Marcus Lilly; and God daughter, Daphne Johnson; and special friends, Vetrella Johnson and Ben McLendon.

He also helmed multiple episodes of such hits as “Frasier,” “Friends” and “Mike & Molly,” and the pilots of “Two and a Half Men” and “The Big Bang Theory.”

“When I direct a television show, I try to reach that sweet spot where the best script meets the best performance and the best chemistry between performers,” Burrows wrote in his 2022 memoir “Directed by James Burrows.” ”Hitting that exact moment, where these factors land in combination, results in the sweetest and most enduring laugh.”

Doris Jones Coleman

family to Charlotte where they lived until their retirement.

DAN STEINBERG / INVISION VIA AP IMAGES

When John purchased his first Model A Ford at the age of 17, he said that he took the car to the community mechanic when he had a small problem.The mechanic told him that if he was going to keep the car, he needed to learn to work on it. This is when John’s passion for Model A Fords began and how he spent his happiest days with his best friends from around the globe for the rest of his life!

His father was writer, director and producer Abe Burrows, whose Broadway hits included “Guys and Dolls” and “Can-Can.” The elder Burrows also mentored Larry Gelbart, future creator and producer of the TV show “M*A*S*H.”

The younger Burrows spent hours of his youth in theaters and studios watching his father work, dining with him at such famed New York haunts as Sardi’s and Gallagher’s and meeting celebrities who attended his father’s New Year’s Eve parties.

At age 50, after years as a Detroit Diesel Mechanic he and Julie decided to take the plunge and open a full Model A Restoration Shop. They thrived at their shop in Cornelius, NC until their retirement in 1998 when they moved back to Cabarrus County. John once again set up shop in his back yard garage where he attracted a loyal group of friends who visited almost daily.

After earning a bachelor’s degree from Oberlin College, Burrows attended the graduate program of the Yale School of Drama, where his classmates included actor-comedian Robert Klein, playwright John Guare and film director John Badham.

Darrick Baldwin

His family said, “Burrows understood that great comedy was never simply about laughter. It was about humanity, connection, and truth. That understanding became the foundation of a career that forever changed television.

Celebrate the life of your loved ones. Submit obituaries and death notices to be published in SCJ at obits@stanlyjournal.com

“But beyond his remarkable achievements, Burrows will be remembered for something even greater: his kindness, generosity, and unwavering belief in the people around him. He possessed a rare ability to make everyone better and was known for remembering every person he met by name, making colleagues at every level feel seen, valued, and appreciated,” the family statement said.

James Burrows speaks at the 25th Television Academy Hall of Fame in January 2020 at the Television Academy’s Saban Media Center in North Hollywood, California.

Moore’s husband and business partner, Grant Tinker, invited Burrows to Los Angeles to direct an episode of the comedy. He apprenticed for MTM Enterprises, which had four sitcoms on the air at the same time.

Burrows cited his theater background for learning how to give actors direction and block out scenes. He’s credited for being one of the first directors to increase the typical multicamera television shoot from three to four cameras.

While on the farm in Gold Hill, John also began a lifelong love with Alis Chalmers tractors after he restored his Dad’s tractor and began amassing his collection of tractors as well.

At Yale, he was required to take directing classes and he got hooked.

January 7, 1973 ~ January 8, 2023

Darrick Vashon Baldwin, age 50, entered eternal rest, Sunday, January 8, 2023, Albemarle, North Carolina. Born January 7, 1973, in Stanly County, North Carolina, Darrick was the son of Eddie James Baldwin Sr. and the late Phyllis Blue Baldwin. Darrick enjoyed life, always kept things lively and enjoyed making others smile. His presence is no longer in our midst, but his memory will forever live in our hearts.

Burrows’ first sitcom experience was as Burl Ives’ dialogue coach on “O.K. Crackerby!” which was directed by his father and ran for one season on ABC in 1965.

John restored many cars of his own and had the crowning achievement of winning the most prestigious award from MARC, The Henry for a restoration that garnered top points. He was also presented with the Ken Brady Service Awardthe highest award given to members at the national level.

From there, he was an assistant on “The Patty Duke Show.” He moved back to New York and worked for Broadway producers Lee Guber, Frank Ford and Shelly Gross. He first met actor Moore while working on the Broadway production of “Holly Golightly,” an adaptation of “Breakfast at Tiffany’s” that was directed by his father.

He was educated in the Stanly County public schools and attended Albemarle Senior High School, Albemarle.

Burrows eventually worked as a stage manager for various road productions, where he met such actors as Hugh O’Brien, Zsa Zsa Gabor and Julie Harris.

He was a great conversationalist and loved meeting people. Darrick never met a stranger and always showed love and compassion for his fellowman. He also loved his dog, Rocky.

Born James Edward Burrows on Dec. 30, 1940, in Los Angeles, he moved to New York when he was 5 years old. He spent five years in the Metropolitan Opera Children’s Chorus until his voice started to change. He attended LaGuardia High School of Music & Art.

He is survived by his father, Eddie J. Baldwin Sr.; sisters: Crystal (Eric) Jackson, LaFondra (Stoney) Medley, and Morgan Baldwin; brothers: Eddie Baldwin Jr., Anton Baldwin, and Lamont Baldwin; a host of other relatives and friends. A limb has fallen from our family tree. We will not grieve Darrick’s death; we will celebrate his life. We give thanksgiving for the many shared memories.

By 1974, after working in dinner theater and summer stock, he turned on his television and saw Moore’s eponymous TV show. He wrote her a letter asking if there was any opening “small or smaller” at her production company that he could fill, according to his memoir.

The common thread between Burrows’ shows were the bonds between friends and unrelated families, whether it was the motley crew of regulars meeting at the bar in “Cheers” or the drivers working toward a better life in “Taxi” or the 20-somethings sharing the same apartment building in “Friends.”

This is what John’s Model A Community had to say upon learning of his death: He was an active member of Wesley Chapel Methodist Church where he loved serving as greeter on Sunday mornings. He also belonged to the United Methodist Men. John is survived by his wife Julie Ussery Kluttz, for 66 years of the home. He is also survived by a son John David Kluttz (Kim) of Oakboro, NC; two daughters, Sally Simerson of Denver, CO and Betsy Tusa (John) of Lafayette, CO; three grandchildren, Bonnie Kluttz Sammons (Ben) of Richfield, NC John Alexander McKinnon (Sarah) of Asheville, NC and Seth William McKinnon (Amanda) of Germany; five great-grandchildren, Charlotte, Meredith, Grant, Victoria and Ronan. John is also preceded in death by his parents, J.S. Kluttz and Mary Wyatt Clayton Kluttz; a large and loving group of brothers and sisters, Jack Methias Kluttz, Annie Lou Kluttz Honeycutt, Jake Nelson Kluttz, Julius Kluttz, Mary Patricia Phillips and a grandson, Kevin Fowler Kluttz.

October 11, 1944 - January 10, 2023

“The best sitcoms transcend the screen and reach out and grab the audience by the throat and by the heart.”

James Burrows, television director

Doris Elaine Jones Coleman, 78, went home into God’s presence on January 10 after a sudden illness and a valiant week-long fight in ICU. Doris was born on October 11, 1944, in the mountains of Marion, NC while her father was away fighting in the US Navy during World War II. Raymond Jones was so proud to return after the war and meet his little girl! Doris grew up in Durham, NC and graduated from Durham High School. She furthered her studies at Watts Hospital School of Nursing in Durham and graduated as a Registered Nurse in 1966. Doris married Rev. Dr. Ted Coleman in 1966 and had two daughters Amy and Laura. Doris raised Amy and Laura in North Augusta, SC. Doris was an incredible neonatal intensive care nurse for most of her career, and this was her passion. The Augusta Chronicle did a feature on her in 1985. She was a clinical nurse manager in Augusta, Georgia at University Hospital NICU and worked there for 20 years. During this time, Doris mentored young nurses and assisted in saving the lives of so many babies. She also worked for Pediatrician Dr. William A. Wilkes in Augusta for several years prior to her NICU career. Doris retired from the mother/baby area at Atrium Stanly in 2007 after over 40 years of nursing.

“The best sitcoms transcend the screen and reach out and grab the audience by the throat and by the heart,” Burrows wrote in his memoir.

He relished discovering new acting talent while directing more than 75 pilots that were picked up as series.

Doris was a gentle and sweet spirit and loved her Lord. She never met a stranger, and she always left you feeling uplifted after talking with her. She would often claim that she had “adopted” friends into her immediate family, and honestly, she never made a distinction between the two. Positivity radiated from her like sunlight. She was selfless, funny, smart, and sentimental. During her lifetime she was an active member of First Baptist Church of Durham, First Baptist Church of Augusta, Most Holy Trinity Catholic Church in Augusta, and Palestine United Methodist Church in Albemarle. She especially loved helping at church with older adults, youth, and children.

“Having directed over 1,000 shows means that almost any night you can turn on your television or go online and find a show that I directed. I’m very proud of that,” he wrote in his memoir.

In 2019, Burrows was an executive producer on live productions of “All in the Family” and “The Jeffersons” with famous actors recreating episodes of those 1970s comedies.

She was especially talented at sewing from a young age and made gifts for friends, Christmas ornaments, Halloween Costumes, doll clothes, pageant dresses, prom dresses, coats, tote bags, scarves, outfits for Amy and Laura, and Christening gowns for each of her grandchildren.

Burrows was married in 1997 to Debbie Easton, whom he met when she worked as a hairstylist on “Frasier.” Daughters Kat Schatzow, Ellie Gluck and Maggie Burrows, who followed her father into directing, are from his first marriage to Linda Solomon, who died in 2004. His stepdaughter Paris is from his wife’s previous marriage. He has a sister, Laurie Burrows Grad, and seven grandchildren.

Doris was preceded in death by her father Arthur Raymond Jones, her mother Mary Ellen Cameron Jones, and her sister Maryanne Jones Brantley. Survivors include her two precious daughters: Amy Cameron Coleman (partner Dr. Edward Neal Chernault) of Albemarle, NC, and Laura Lindahl Coleman Oliverio (husband David) of Cincinnati, Ohio; seven grandchildren: Cameron David Oliverio, Stephanie Jae Dejak, Luca Beatty Oliverio, Coleman John Dejak, Carson Joseph Oliverio, Ryan Nicholas Dejak, and Jadon Richard Oliverio; and numerous in-laws, nieces, nephews, cousins, and loved ones.

Supreme Court allows Trump administration to end legal protections for Haitians, Syrians

The 350,000 Haitians and 6,000 Syrians affected face deportation to countries wracked by

By Lindsay Whitehurst

The Associated Press

WASHINGTON, D.C. — The Supreme Court on Thursday allowed the Trump administration to end legal protections for migrants fleeing violence and natural disaster in Haiti and Syria, exposing hundreds of thousands more people to potential deportation.

The 6-3 decision overturns lower court orders and allows the Department of Homeland Security to swiftly end temporary protected status, a pro -

gram that protects a total of 1.3 million people from 17 countries.

The Trump administration argued that judges can’t second-guess immigration officials’ decisions about the protections, which were intended to be temporary.

Immigration attorneys said the countries remain unsafe to return, and the administration ended them in an unlawfully hasty process tinged by racial animus. During his 2024 presidential campaign, Trump amplified false rumors that Haitian immigrants were abducting and eating dogs and cats.

The Justice Department appealed to the Supreme Court after judges postponed the end of the program for about 350,000 Haitians and 6,000 Syrians.

The high court sided with the administration before and allowed the end of the program for people from Venezuela.

Federal authorities deny that racial animus played a role. They also cited a Supreme Court decision from Trump’s first term that rejected bias claims based on his social media posts and upheld a travel

ban on several Muslim-majority countries.

DHS has ended the protections people from 13 countries since Trump returned to the White House in January 2025, including some that had been in place for more than a decade.

The terminations were made even though countries like Haiti and Syria remain dangerous, immigration attorneys said. Four Haitian women who were deported from the United States in February were found beheaded and dumped in a river several months later, lawyers said in court documents.

The House passed legislation with a rare bipartisan vote in April that would extend protections for Haitians, though the bill has languished in the Senate.

The U.S. first granted protections to Haitians in 2010 after a catastrophic earthquake, and extended them multiple times amid ongoing gang violence that has displaced more than a million people, according to court documents.

Syrians, meanwhile, were first granted protected status in 2012, during a civil war that lasted for more than a decade before the fall of President Bashar Assad’s government in late 2024.

TPS was created by Congress in 1990 to prevent deportations to countries suffering from natural disasters, civil strife and other instability. It allows people already in the country to stay with work permits in increments of up to 18 months, but it doesn’t provide a path to citizenship.

The nonprofit’s volunteer reporters consolidate emergency information from multiple sources faster than official channels

By Gabriela Aoun Angueira

The Associated Press

WHEN A FIRE broke out a few miles from his Altadena, California, home the evening of Jan. 7, 2025, Matt Blea and his family needed to make a crucial decision: Should they stay home or evacuate?

A friend who did mountain rescue told Blea to download a free app called Watch Duty. On the app, he could see the fire’s perimeter, track evacuation orders and read updates about the emergency response.

“It influenced me to leave the home sooner than later,” said Blea, who left with his wife and son that evening before the Eaton Fire destroyed their home.

Blea was one of more than 2.5 million people who used Watch Duty to track fires burning across Los Angeles County that week. The information was collected, vetted and disseminated by about two dozen Watch Duty staff and more than 100 volunteers who monitored emergency radio traffic, aircraft reports and local agency communications.

The service proved vital, said David Hertz, a Malibu resident and captain of his community’s fire brigade, especially when some areas received little-to-no warning about the Eaton and Palisades fires that killed 31 people. “It’s like a democratization of data that empowers people.”

This month, Watch Duty began helping people track another deadly and destructive climate hazard: flooding.

The expansion comes as peak flash flood season begins in the U.S. and nearly one year after last July’s deadly Texas floods that killed more than 130 people, prompting outcry over why Texas Hill Country residents and visitors didn’t receive better communication about the impending danger.

“This is painful that this keeps happening,” said John Mills, CEO and co-founder of the donor-supported nonprofit behind the app. “We’re not spreading enough information fast enough on as many channels as humanly possible.”

Mills built app after his own close calls

Mills founded Watch Duty in 2021 after not receiving official alerts or evacuation instructions when a fire burned near

his Northern California home.

It’s a problem seen in many recent disasters. While the U.S. has systems for sending alerts by text, radio and other means, the process to issue a specific warning or evacuation order can get tangled in bureaucracy and often depends on humans making difficult decisions under pressure.

Often the information people need to understand their risk is out there, Mills said, but it is hard to find and use.

“The systems are really struggling to meet people where they are,” he said.

On fire days, Mills found himself relying on volunteer radio operators who monitored scanners during emergencies and posted updates on social media.

The posts helped, but social media had downsides — including how misinformation and unrelated content could drown out life-or-death updates.

A software engineer and entrepreneur, Mills recruited some of those volunteers and fellow en-

gineers to build an answer. He made Watch Duty a nonprofit, which has helped build trust with its more than 20 million users. It received nearly $6 million in grants and donations in 2025.

Watch Duty puts emergency information in one place

Watch Duty now has about 300 volunteer “reporters” who collate and vet information from radio scanners, cameras, satellites, user-generated content and public announcements. Information is available in five languages and pushed out through maps, text feeds, and push notifications that can sound even when phones are silenced.

“You’re not going to have to go to multiple other entities, to the weather service, emergency management website, county website,” said Watch Duty meteorologist Pete Curran. “It’s in one place, in plain language,

David

and it’s going to wake you up if you’re asleep.”

Watch Duty can sometimes push out information faster than local agencies in part because its reporters have only one role to fill, said Curran, a retired firefighter. “Our only responsibility is to watch and listen. We’re not in charge of the incident.”

The nonprofit took on flooding next because of its widespread impact.

“We are seeing crazy rainfall in places that it’s not normal for them,” said Dr. Lori Moore-Merrell, U.S. Fire Administrator under President Joe Biden and longtime data scientist who is now a Watch Duty board member. “Maybe it’s never happened before, but it’s happening now, so you need to be aware.”

The app pulls weather modeling and other data from the National Weather Service, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and U.S. Geological Survey. Users can view NWS flood warnings and watches, river gauge levels, and notices of possible dam or levee failures.

Users can also better understand their risk ahead of time. They can see whether they’re in a FEMA-designated flood area, or what levels on a river gauge would indicate danger, and customize notifications to be alerted if a gauge reached a certain height.

Preparation, redundancy enhance safety

Despite Watch Duty’s explosive growth, a phone app can’t solve all the challenges with informing the public during emergencies.

“I love seeing products like this come out, but one thing we know to be true in the Texas floods, is a warning is only as good as the knowledge to do something about it,” said Chad Berginnis, executive director of the Association of State Floodplain Managers.

The ASFPM recommends knowing how to reach an evacuation zone and not just having an emergency plan, but practicing it. “One of the massive failures is not knowing what to do,” said Berginnis.

The national infrastructure for monitoring weather and alerting the public is also at risk from past and proposed funding cuts to federal agencies and local emergency warning systems. “At the end of the day, if you want eyes and ears out there, you’ve got to pay for it,” said Berginnis.

Mills stressed Watch Duty is not meant to replace the work of weather and emergency agencies.

“We need National Weather Service, we need fire service, we need all this infrastructure to operate,” he said, adding users should still enroll in their local alerting system.

And of course, a phone app is only helpful to those who download it, and who have cell coverage to use it.

“You have to have redundancy,” said Berginnis, adding that an inexpensive NOAA weather radio can fill in when other systems fail. “Sometimes we get so focused on tech, we forget the easy stuff.”

Supreme Court ruling blocks thousands of lawsuits against maker of Roundup weedkiller

Federal safety standards preempt state lawsuits challenging the company’s product warnings

By Lindsay Whitehurst

The Associated Press

WASHINGTON, D.C. —

The Supreme Court sided with the maker of the Roundup weedkiller Thursday in a ruling expected to block thousands of lawsuits alleging it failed to warn people the product could cause cancer.

The case came before the justices after a tidal wave of litigation that included some multibillion-dollar verdicts against the global agrochemical manufacturer Bayer, which acquired Roundup when it bought its original manufacturer Monsanto in 2018.

The decision is a victory for the Trump administration, but one that could be tricky politically since allies in the Make America Healthy Again movement want to rein in pesticide use.

The high court, in a 7-2 ruling, found that the company can’t be sued in state courts because federal regulations have found a cancer link unlikely and do not require a warning label.

The decision “is good for science, farmers, and industries that depend on regulatory clarity for innovation,” Bayer said in a statement. “It should help significantly contain the Roundup litigation after nearly a decade of legal battles.”

Though Bayer said the ruling should result in the dismissal of pending lawsuits containing failure-to-warn allegations, the company said it plans to proceed with a proposed $7.25 billion class-action settlement intended to resolve many of the remaining claims.

Lawyers for some residents pursuing Roundup litigation criticized the court’s decision.

“This Supreme Court ruling wrongly slams the courthouse door on Americans sickened by pesticides,” said attorney Christopher Seeger, who is proposed as a claimants’ represen-

BOARD from page A1

increase from this current fiscal year. This funding ensures we can effectively maintain a vital safety net for our most vulnerable homebound seniors, while also ensuring the older adults in our community who are most at risk receive the care and support they require.”

The funding will be distributed across five service areas: adult day care, in-home services, nutrition programs, senior center operations and transportation.

According to the county, the grant funding is intended to help maintain services that allow older adults to remain in their homes and communities

CELEBRATION from page A1

Tucker said. “This town swells from our small little population to tens of thousands of people who come from everywhere to visit us. We’ve been doing this for 68 years, and every year it gets bigger and better.”

The event’s carnival rides will be provided by B&K Carnival Company, with rides opening Tuesday evening. Talent show registration will be offered Tuesday and Wednesday ahead of the annual talent show, which is set for 6 p.m. Thursday.

Saturday will feature one of the celebration’s signature events, the annual Oakboro Fourth of July parade, beginning at 9 a.m. The parade will be followed by patriotic ceremonies, remarks from Oakboro Mayor Rodney Eury and the

tative in the settlement. But he said a settlement still would allow some people to receive compensation.

The case before the Supreme Court was filed by Missouri resident John Durnell.

He developed a cancer called non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma after more than 20 years of serving as the neighborhood association’s “spray guy,” using Roundup on parks in his historic St. Louis community.

A jury agreed that the company failed to warn him about possible cancer dangers and awarded him $1.25 million. It’s one of thousands of similar cases, including some multibillion-dollar damage awards. There’s still fierce debate about cancer and Roundup’s key ingredient, glyphosate. The World Health Organization’s International Agency for Research on Cancer classified the chemical as “probably carcinogenic” in 2015. The Environmental Protection Agency has determined that it’s not likely to cause cancer in humans when used as directed.

The agency approved a label without a cancer warning, and Bayer argues that it’s required to follow those federal standards — not the state laws that Durnell and others have sued under. The ruling still could allow other suits alleging problems with the way the product was designed, his attorney Ashley Keller has said. Bayer disputes the cancer

while receiving support for basic needs, meals, transportation and care.

During the discussion, Commissioner Billy Mills asked Sullivan what stood out most as she reviewed the funding plan.

She explained her two biggest areas of concern were nutrition and in-home services.

She said nutrition costs are currently tied to a two-year contract, meaning the county did not see a food cost increase from last year, but the program will go back out for bid next year.

Sullivan expects those costs to rise in the following year.

She also pointed to in-home services as an area where rates continue to increase, saying that Stanly County is work-

“We’ve been doing this for 68 years, and every year it gets bigger and better.”

Wes Tucker, event organizer

Miss Stanly County Fire Queen Pageant at 11 a.m. Each night of the celebration will include free live music at 8:30 p.m. on the Union Power Stage. The lineup includes party group Sea-Cruz on Tuesday, country act Dirty Grass Soul on Wednesday, 1980s tribute band Cassette Rewind on Thursday, beach music group The Embers featuring Craig Woolard on Friday and Charlotte-based vari-

claims but previously set aside $16 billion to settle cases, and earlier this year proposed a $7.25 billion class-action settlement. A federal judge recently ruled that the proposed settlement will be heard in a Missouri state court, where many of the lawsuits have been filed. At the same time, the company has tried to persuade states to pass laws shielding it from liability in failure-to -warn lawsuits, and three states have agreed.

About 200,000 Roundup-related claims have been made against Bayer, mostly from home users. It has stopped using glyphosate in Roundup sold in the U.S. residential lawn and garden market.

The company has said it might have to consider pulling glyphosate from U.S. agricultural markets if it keeps getting sued. Agricultural industry group say could have a devastating effect on the food supply.

But pesticides have also created a rift between the Trump administration and members of Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy’s MAHA movement, adding to their frustration with an executive order aimed at boosting glyphosate’s production.

Kennedy himself has said repeatedly that glyphosate causes cancer, even as he says he recognizes the executive order was necessary for food supply and national security reasons.

ing to keep its rates in the lower $20-per-hour range, while nearby areas such as Charlotte, Mecklenburg County, Concord and Union County are seeing service rates around $28 to $29 per hour.

Sullivan said both nutrition and in-home services continue to have waiting lists in Stanly County, making them ongoing areas of need for Senior Services.

Commissioners did not raise objections to the funding plan before unanimously approving the request.

The Stanly County Board of Commissioners will hold its next regular meeting July 6 at 6 p.m. in the Gene McIntyre Meeting Room at Stanly County Commons.

ety band Too Much Sylvia on Saturday. Tucker said organizers are looking forward to introducing Dirty Grass Soul to the Oakboro crowd.

“Dirty Grass Soul is a brand new band for us,” Tucker said. “They tour all over the East Coast, and they’re a combination of country, rock, bluegrass and a little bit of everything. They’re a great band, and we’re super excited to welcome them to Oakboro for the very first time.”

Food vendors scheduled for the celebration include Carolina Case-A-Dillaz, Allen’s BBQ Shack in the Back, Los Jacubes, Sno-Biz, Franks of Faith and The Coffee Table. A full event schedule for the celebration is available at oakboro4th.com.

STANLY SPORTS

Pfeiffer introduces 2026

Sports Hall of Fame class

The Falcons will hold the ceremony Oct. 9

By Jesse Deal Stanly News Journal

MISENHEIMER —

Pfeiffer’s athletic department announced Tuesday that six individuals will be inducted this fall into its 2026 Sports Hall of Fame.

The induction ceremony is scheduled for Oct. 9 in the Stokes Student Center in Misenheimer, where the Falcons will honor former student athletes Melissa Andersen Foley,

Martim Galvao, Jeff Kanafer, Anu Lakshman, Bill Moore and Rajeev Vijaykumar.

Founded in 1990 with seven inductees, the Pfeiffer Sports Hall of Fame now includes 127 individuals and nine teams recognized for their contributions to the university’s athletic program.

Foley was one of Pfeiffer’s most decorated women’s lacrosse players from 2003-06, earning first-team All-America and Carolinas-Virginia Athletics Conference Player of the Year honors in 2006. She remains the program’s career assists leader with 127 and ranks

fourth in points with 223 while also holding top single-season and single-game assist marks.

Galvao helped lead one of the strongest eras in Pfeiffer men’s soccer history from 201215, starting four seasons as the Falcons went 61-8-1. He was part of the 2015 NCAA Division II championship team that finished 25-0, and he remains Pfeiffer’s all-time assists leader with 45, including a single-season record 20. Kanafer was one of Pfeiffer men’s lacrosse’s top offensive playmakers from 1989-92, finishing with 92 goals, 108 assists and 200 points. A team

MVP and United States Intercollegiate Lacrosse Association North/South Team selection in 1992, Kanafer remains among the program’s career leaders in assists and points.

Lakshman helped elevate Pfeiffer women’s tennis from 1992-95, earning all-conference honors along with conference and district player of the year recognition. She competed in the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics national championship, climbed to No. 23 nationally and helped Pfeiffer earn its first NAIA top -25 ranking, while also receiving academic honors.

Moore anchored Pfeiffer men’s tennis from 1977-80, playing No. 1 singles and earning team MVP honors. He later built a career in coaching and sport psychology, including 12 seasons at East Carolina, leadership roles at Oklahoma and UNLV, and

consulting work with collegiate, professional and Olympic-level organizations. Vijaykumar was a standout for Pfeiffer men’s tennis from 1992-95, earning team MVP honors three times and Pfeiffer Male Athlete of the Year in 1994. He helped the Falcons reach the NAIA national tournament in 1994 and 1995, later coached at Pfeiffer and built an international career in tennis development.

Ticket information for the 2026 Pfeiffer Sports Hall of Fame Banquet will be announced at a later date.

The current league runs through Aug. 3

By Jesse Deal Stanly News Journal

ALBEMARLE — The Albemarle Disc Golf Association’s 2026 City Lake Summer Handicap League is nearing its halfway point.

The fifth week of the 10-week sanctioned summer league is set for Monday night at City Lake Park, where players will continue competing on the park’s 18-hole disc golf course.

Organized by ADGA president Brent Thompson, the current league began June 1 and is scheduled to run through Aug. 3. Players pay a $10 entry fee each week.

Founded in 2006, the ADGA has become one of Stanly County’s most active disc golf clubs, hosting weekly leagues and tournaments sanctioned by the Professional Disc Golf Association.

Following Week 4 on June 22, the club reported nearly two dozen players participated in that week’s round.

“We had 22 players tonight — thanks to all who came out,” the ADGA said in a statement.

“Congrats to our top 5: Matt Allen, Carter Jacobsen, Jeff Keever, Ricky Fraley and Noah Hawkins. Hot round of the night went to Jeff Keever shooting -15 and getting the #1 tag back.”

The club also announced that Rogers Brafford and Jake Sher-

man won the week’s CTP prizes, which are awarded for closest-to-the-pin shots. As of June 22, the league’s updated handicap leaderboard included 47 players who had participated in at least one week of the summer schedule. Wesley Jacobsen (-14), Keever (-11), Jesse Mann (-10), Alex Erdin (-8), Chris Lister (-8),

has reached $81. Last year’s summer league ended with Erdin and Anthony Fehlman tied at the top at -13. Keever, Justin Cole and Lynn Deese followed at -9, while Gainey and David Hobson finished at -8.

Amateur stars Russell, Koivun grouped in US Open’s ‘future of golf’ pairing

Just 17 and 21 years old, the pair shows great potential

By Brian Mahoney

The Associated Press

SOUTHAMPTON, N.Y. —

Miles Russell had a long walk to his ball at the end of a long U.S. Open round with Jackson Koivun last Saturday after smashing his tee shot 407 yards on the 18th hole.

“Not bad, not bad,” Russell said afterward with a smile. “I hit that one pretty good.”

Imagine what he might be able to do when he’s all grown up.

The 17-year-old Russell and 21-year-old Koivun were paired together in the third round, a grouping that was being referred to during TV coverage as the future of golf.

Already so accomplished before they are even professionals — Russell hasn’t even started college yet — both players understand why such expectations have been placed on them.

“I mean, I’m trying not to think about that,” Koivun said.

“Just taking it one day at a time and let my golf game do the talking, but those are great compliments.”

Both players shot 4-over 74, dropping to 7 over for the tournament. Those scores weren’t too bad on a difficult day at windy Shinnecock Hills for any golfer, let alone two who were playing on the weekend for the first time in a major championship.

It’s expected to be the first of

many times for both. Koivun is about to turn pro after a dominant college career in which he led Auburn to two national championships in three seasons, becoming the first freshman since Justin Thomas in 2012 to win the Haskins Award, given to the nation’s top collegiate golfer. He won the Southeastern Conference individual title all three years and has been the world’s top-ranked amateur.

Russell is now the next big thing. The left-hander is ranked

“I think we just keep doing what we’re doing, and see where it takes us”

Miles Russell

No. 1 in the American Junior Golf Association and No. 7 among all amateurs in the world. He is headed to Florida State and will be a team-

mate with Charlie Woods, Tiger Woods’ son, who carried Russell’s bag when he earned his spot in the U.S. Open through a 36-hole qualifier.

“He’s been been in the game for a while and he’s just such a good player,” Koivun said.

The players who didn’t know each other well before this weekend were paired again last Sunday. Russell, who played with 54-year-old Padraig Harrington in the first two rounds, took advantage of a chance to be with someone closer to his age

last Saturday to get some advice about school.

Like Koivun, he tried to downplay the “future of golf” hype around them.

“I don’t know, that’s kind of crazy,” Russell said. “I mean, I think the main thing is just keep enjoying it because if you’re not enjoying it, you may not have much of a future in it. So, I think we just keep doing what we’re doing, and see where it takes us.

“Golf is a very difficult sport,” he added. “One day you have it and the next day it’s gone, so I think you just have to kind of block it out and just keep doing what you’re doing, and hopefully one day that’s true.” Still, he could tell there was an interest in them, even though they were out early in the morning, long before anyone near the top of the leaderboard.

“At the beginning, we had some good crowds out there,” Russell said. “I think if we might have played a little better, they might have stuck around a little longer, but it was cool.”

Koivun and Russell were two of the five amateurs who made the cut, a group that was led by 21-year-old Ryder Cowan. Cowan, who will be a senior at Oklahoma, was tied for 11th after 36 holes.

So perhaps the future of golf goes beyond Koivun and Russell.

“Yeah, I mean, amateur golf is in a great spot right now,” Koivun said. “The college kids are definitely showing off, showing off how good they are, and for five of us to make it through, it’s quite impressive.”

Scotland fans descend on Boston for World Cup; Beantown’s bars struggling to keep up

The Tartan Army has emerged as one of the stars of World Cup 2026

By Kyle Hightower

The Associated Press

FOXBOROUGH, Mass. —

Ever since Scotland fans learned they’d begin the country’s ninth World Cup appearance in Boston, plans were being made for a party.

“I knew there was going to be a tsunami of Tartan Army (Scotland fans),” said Jason Waddleton, a Scotland native and owner of The Haven, a Scottish restaurant and bar in Boston’s Jamaica Plain neighborhood since 2010.

He was right.

First, Massachusetts Gov. Maura Healey agreed to temporarily extend bar and restaurant hours during the World Cup. Next came thousands of Scots — one estimate is as high as 50,000 — descending on the Boston area, including nearby Providence, Rhode Island, which has become a home base for many of them over the past few weeks.

Then it was the Tartan Army marching through Boston’s streets following the country’s opening win over Haiti last week — taking over the city’s famed Fenway Park alongside Red Sox Nation after the team dubbed it “Scottish Heritage Celebration Night.”

And the taps have been running nonstop.

World Cup fans in Boston, especially the Scots, have put a serious strain on the beer supply in a city that is accustomed to big drinking holidays in St. Patrick’s Day and the Fourth of July.

The Haven, which has long served Scotland’s top-selling beer, Tennent’s Lager, has gone from four kegs a week to ordering 50 just for this week. Other bars have sold out of Tennent’s and have tripled their orders to make sure it doesn’t happen again. Sam Adams said its Boston taproom ran out of its famed Samuel Adams Boston Lager last weekend after Scottish fans descended on the city.

“We’ve basically blown through our own allocation. We

still have it, and we’ll get more in on Monday,” Waddleton said.

The celebratory atmosphere intensified last Friday as Scotland prepared to play its second World Cup match of the tournament outside Boston.

“They know how to party, how to make friends and influence people,” Waddleton said of the Scots.

Scots fill pubs in the Boston area, challenging beer reserves One of the most sought-after beverages in Boston pubs over the last week is Tennent’s Lager.

Once only available at The Haven, before the tournament started, Tennent’s made deals and distributed kegs of its product to 80 bars in Boston and surrounding areas.

Samantha Crawford, the international marketing manager for Tennent’s, said they started preparing to distribute their product to the U.S. as soon as Scotland qualified for the World

Cup in November. They’ve also sent supplies to Miami bars ahead of Scotland’s match against Brazil next week.

“It’s been a long time in the making. The next day we got to work,” she said of the preparations to make sure the beer is stocked in the U.S. She said the beer is ingrained in the sports culture in Scotland.

Many area bars, restaurants caught by surprise

Mivan Spencer, owner of Caffe Dello Sport in Boston’s North End, said he is used to handling large crowds for major soccer tournaments but has been surprised by the amount of business he’s seen during the World Cup.

“After the first weekend of matches I definitely ran out of almost everything,” Spencer said. “Luckily I have a couple other restaurants I bor-

“They know how to party, how to make friends and influence people.”

Jason Waddleton, owner of Scottish bar in Boston

rowed product from to get me through.”

The first thing he sold out of was Tennent’s, before quickly selling out of Peroni.

Spencer said he’s since tripled his usual alcohol order for this week, saying it’s so “I don’t run out of a single thing.”

Over at High Street Place, a food hall in downtown Boston, beverage supplies that were expected to last a week were consumed in four days, said Lauren Johnson, a senior marketplace manager at the venue.

“Fortunately, we have great

partners, and our distributors were able to pivot quickly and increase subsequent orders to keep pace with demand seamlessly,” she said.

Tapping in — and out — of iconic Sam Adams

Sam Adams said its Boston taproom ran out of their famed Samuel Adams Boston Lager last weekend. From last Thursday to Sunday, the Boston-based brewer said the Tartan Army drank four times as much Boston Lager as the establishment typically sells during a four-day holiday stretch like the Fourth of July.

To date, Sam Adams has sold more than 4,000 pints of Boston Lager, resulting in about 90 empty kegs, said Devon Sage, a Sam Adams spokesperson.

“We’ve had to schedule four ‘emergency deliveries’ to the Taproom,” Sage wrote in an email.

Jaxon Bennett

Jaxon

The two-time MVP will get to play for a contender

By Tim Reynolds

The Associated Press

MIAMI — Giannis Antetokounmpo wants more championships. So do the Miami Heat. Their interests are officially aligned — and the Heat finally have another superstar.

Ending a marathon watch for the next great Miami get, the Heat reportedly landed Antetokounmpo — a two-time NBA MVP and 10-time All- Star — from the Milwaukee Bucks in exchange for a massive haul of players and draft picks.

The terms: Antetokounmpo and Bobby Portis are heading to Miami for Wisconsin native Tyler Herro, Jaime Jaquez Jr., Kel’el Ware and Kasparas Jakucionis.

Milwaukee also gets the No. 13 selection in this year’s draft, along with a first-round pick swap in 2030, first-round picks in 2031 and 2033 and a second-rounder in 2033.

At 31, Antetokounmpo is someone the Heat clearly believe has many good years left — and it’s generally presumed that by making this deal they’ll give the Greek superstar a massive extension later this year.

He was a perennial MVP candidate in Milwaukee, getting votes for that award in nine consecutive seasons before 2025-26 when too many missed games left him ineligible.

He has averaged 24.1 points

and 9.9 rebounds per game in his career, with 10 consecutive seasons of averaging at least 22.9 points — with three years in there of averaging more than 30 points per game.

Only seven active players have more points in their careers than Antetokounmpo.

Antetokounmpo had been mentioned in trade talks countless times in recent years, with the Bucks always insisting they had no interest in trading their best player.

But this time, it seemed different.

The Bucks, who fired Doc Rivers as coach after the season, don’t have a roster that would be considered a championship contender. By trading Antetokounmpo, they can essentially start over with four players (and the Heat were high on all of them) along with draft capital.

“I just think before the draft is a natural time, right, because if Giannis does play some -

where else we’re going to get a lot of assets. ... You’ve got to get it right,” Bucks co-owner Jimmy Haslam said in May, when the team introduced new coach Taylor Jenkins — who was told that Antetokounmpo may or may not be with the franchise when next season starts.

Antetokounmpo had spoken highly of Miami many times over the years, even when the Heat and Bucks were going head-to-head in the playoffs.

“They’re going to play tough

and they’re not going to stop playing,” Antetokounmpo said after Milwaukee played Miami on March 12. “That’s the Miami Heat culture.” That would be the penultimate game for Antetokounmpo in a Bucks uniform. He played three nights later against Indiana, then was held out of Milwaukee’s final 15 games of the season.

He landed awkwardly on a dunk in that Indiana game and didn’t play again due to what team officials had labeled as a left knee hyperextension and bone bruise. Antetokounmpo said he was healthy and wanted to play, a dispute that resulted in an investigation by the league office.

Antetokounmpo said coming into the 2025-26 season that he is at the point in his career where he thinks about his legacy, and how more championships are important to him. Told he is already considered an all-time great, he bristled at the notion.

“I’m not there yet,” Antetokounmpo said that day at Bucks training camp.

That’s hard to believe considering his resume. He’s won a championship. He’s been an MVP. He’s been an NBA Finals MVP. He’s a perennial All-Star and All-NBA pick. He’s one of only seven players born somewhere other than the 50 states of the U.S. to have reached the 20,000-point mark. In 2025, he led Greece to its first EuroBasket medal in 16 years.

“Every basketball player, every athlete, starts a career and they have this quest of what they want to accomplish and what to be remembered for,” Antetokounmpo said in that same training camp interview. “And I think at this point, I’ve accomplished everything that I’ve put my mind to.”

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Lori A. Hunter Executrix of the Estate of John Wilmarth Hunter Timothy R. Rodgers, Attorney Rodgers Law Office, PLLC P.O. Box 741 Albemarle NC 28002

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NORTH CAROLINA STANLY COUNTY In the General Court of Justice Superior Court Clerk Before the Clerk 26E000207-830 Having qualified as Public Administrator of the Estate of Claude Junior Huneycutt, deceased, late of Stanly County, North Carolina, this is to notify all persons, firms and corporations having claims against the Estate of said deceased to exhibit them to the undersigned or his attorney on or before September 7th, 2026, or this Notice will be pleaded in bar of their recovery. All persons indebted to said Estate please make immediate payment. This the 1st day of June, 2026.

MARK T. LOWDER PUBLIC ADMINISTRATOR FOR THE ESTATE OF CLAUDE JUNIOR HUNEYCUTT

MARK T. LOWDER ATTORNEY AT LAW PO Box 1284 Albemarle, NC 28002

Telephone (704) 982-8558

Publish: June 7, 14, 21, and 28, 2026

NOTICE TO CREDITORS

NORTH CAROLINA STANLY COUNTY In the General Court of Justice Superior Court Clerk Before the Clerk 26E000254-830

Having qualified as Co-Executors of the Estate of Malcolm Monroe Lowder, deceased, late of Stanly County, North Carolina, this is to notify all persons, firms and corporations having claims against the Estate of said deceased to exhibit them to the undersigned or his attorney on or before September 21st, 2026, or this Notice will be pleaded in bar of their recovery. All persons indebted to said Estate please make immediate payment. This the 11th day of June, 2026.

MARK T. LOWDER DEAN A. LOWDER CO-EXECUTORS FOR THE ESTATE OF MALCOLM MONROE LOWDER MARK T. LOWDER ATTORNEY AT LAW PO Box 1284 Albemarle, NC 28002 Telephone (704) 982-8558 Publish: June 21, 28, 2026 and July 5, 12, 2026

NOTICE TO CREDITORS

The undersigned have qualified as CoAdministrators of the Estate of MARVIN EUGENE POPLIN, deceased, late of Stanly County, North Carolina (Stanly County File Number 26E000007-830). This is to notify all persons, firms and corporations having claims against said decedent or his estate to present the same duly itemized and verified to the undersigned Co-Administrators or their Attorney on or before the 28th day of September 2026, or this Notice will be pleaded in bar of their recovery. All persons, firms and corporations indebted to the decedent or to his estate are hereby requested to pay the said indebtedness to the undersigned Co- Administrators or their attorney. This the 23rd day of June 2026.

TONJA POPLIN DAVIS Co-Administrator 32033 NC 24/27 Hwy Albemarle, NC 28001

JANA S. DEESE Co-Administrator 24103 Endy Rd Albemarle, NC 28001

CHARLES P. BROWN BROWN & SENTER, P.L.L.C. PO Box 400 Albemarle, North Carolina 28002-0400 Telephone: 704 982-2141 Facsimile: 704 982-0902 PUBLISH: June 28, July 5, 12, and 19, 2026

NOTICE

Having qualified as Administrator of the Estate of Elizabeth Caron Lowder a/k/a Elizabeth Harward Lowder, late of Stanly County, North Carolina, the undersigned hereby notifies all persons, firms, and corporations having claims against the Estate of said Decedent to present them to the undersigned, in care of the undersigned’s attorney, at the address below, on or before 15th day of September, 2026, or this Notice will be pleaded in bar of their recovery. All persons, firms, and corporations indebted to the Estate will please make immediate payment. This the 14th day of June, 2026. Jerry Harward Administrator of the Estate of Elizabeth Caron Lowder a/k/a Elizabeth Harward Lowder c/o Andrew W. Cave Cave Law, PLLC P.O. Box 30 Stanfield, NC 28163

NOTICE NORTH CAROLINA STANLY COUNTY IN THE GENERAL COURT OF JUSTICE SUPERIOR COURT DIVISION BEFORE

NOTICE

NOTICE TO CREDITORS The undersigned, having duly qualified as Executrix of the Estate of Bernice Griffin Smith, deceased, late of Stanly County, North Carolina, is hereby notifying all persons, firms, or corporations having claims against said decedent, or her

Merlín the duck takes trip to stadium, but FIFA rules keep him out of Mexico match

The beloved duck has achieved celebrity status, visiting the presidential palace and Netflix

By Nayara Batschke

The Associated Press

MEXICO CITY — One of the biggest folk heroes of this World Cup, Merlín the duck, arrived outside Mexico City’s stadium Wednesday to great fanfare — but was ultimately told he could not remain for Mexico’s match against the Czech Republic.

After winning hearts across social media, supporters had launched an effort urging organizers to allow the beloved bird to attend the match alongside his family. In less than two weeks, Merlín went from waddling through the streets of Mexico City during Mexico’s opening victory to visiting the presidential palace. But on Wednesday, his proverbial flight was cut short.

Merlín was granted access to the Azteca Stadium grounds to film a segment with Televisa, one of Latin America’s largest television networks. Under strict security protocols, Merlín traveled comfortably inside a transport crate, accompanied by owner Carla Gómez and her son Cristian, as curious fans gathered to catch a glimpse of the tournament’s most unexpected star. However, he could not remain for the match, as FIFA regulations prohibit animals from entering venues in order to safeguard their well-being.

A FIFA tournament spokesperson confirmed Merlín was permitted to enter the perimeter but not the stadium, and did

“Merlín is a lucky charm, and I know that, with him, the Mexican national team will win again today.”

Carla Gómez, Merlín’s owner

not offer further comment.

“These last few days have been crazy, we’ll never stop being grateful for what we’ve expe-

rienced,” Gómez told The Associated Press. “Everyone is truly amazed by Merlín.”

Since his first appearance, Merlín has grown into a social media phenomenon and an international celebrity. Wearing a green Mexico jersey and proudly accompanying his family as they sell drinks throughout the city, the 2-year-old duck has become a familiar sight in the capital. Along the way, he has participated in interviews, visited television studios, mingled with supporters at the fan fest in

Mexico City’s Zócalo and even paid a visit to Netflix.

“He’s become our unofficial mascot for Mexico and the World Cup,” said Daniel Krauze, a fan outside the stadium who sported a duck hat. “I feel proud to wear Merlín the duck.”

Merlín has also found himself at the center of a trademark dispute, when at least two applications before Gómez’s sought the rights to his name for exclusive commercial use. The registration was ultimately granted to Gómez.

Now, following hundreds of requests from fans, the family will finally be able to watch Mexico’s national team live. Gómez described the occasion as a “very powerful emotion.”

And although the duck darling will not be cheering from the stands, Gómez is convinced that Mexico’s most famous feathered supporter will still be bringing luck to El Tri: “Merlín is a lucky charm, and I know that, with him, the Mexican national team will win again today.”

Americans inundated with suspected scams; new polling shows why few victims report them

Most scam victims don’t report the crime because they doubt authorities can recover their money

By Amelia Thomson-Deveaux

The Associated Press

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Most Americans are inundated with scam attempts on a daily basis — and about 3 in 10 have personally lost money or personal information to scams, according to a new AP-NORC survey.

The poll, conducted by The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research in February, highlights the obstacle course that U.S. adults navigate daily as they screen calls, ignore messages or try to puzzle out if that urgent request from their cellphone provider is legitimate.

A separate survey conducted by Gallup and the Stop Scams Alliance that was provided exclusively to the AP found that last year alone, about 1 in 10 U.S. adults said they or someone else from their household was deceived by a scammer into losing money or providing access to a financial account, with nearly half saying they lost more than $500.

That leaves many Americans feeling like they’re constantly at risk of falling for a scam, often without a sense of recourse. In both surveys, few victims said they reported the scam to the federal government or local law enforcement. Many victims didn’t report the scam, Gallup found, because they didn’t think it would make a difference in getting money back.

“You’ve got to be pretty sophisticated these days,” said Adam Pratter, 42. He has run into problems on dating apps — and once ended up sending money to a person who claimed they were overseas because of a military deployment and needed money to buy food. He realized it was a scam when the requests didn’t stop.

Pratter thinks banks and so-

PATRICK SISON / AP PHOTO

Mobile payment methods like Zelle make it easy to transfer funds electronically.

cial media companies have a responsibility to help people who have been scammed but also believes the government needs to do more.

“If federal regulation wanted to step in and make deals with these companies to get these people their money back, they could,” he said.

For many Americans, scam attempts are constant

Americans are flooded with scam attempts, according to both surveys. More than half, 58%, of U.S. adults in the APNORC poll said they receive daily text messages, phone calls, emails, online messages or online advertisements that they suspect are scams, while the Gallup survey found last year that about 4 in 10 experienced attempted scams on a daily basis.

Porschel Smith, 22, gets multiple scam calls every day, and receives even more scam emails. Some of the scams are easy for her to identify. “They mention different types of programs that I know are nonexistent,” she said.

But sometimes she ends up engaging with the scammer before realizing that something

is wrong. “Some of them hack your account and pretend as if they’re someone that you know,” she said. “But then I get to asking questions and realize they’re scams.”

Older people are more likely to say they receive scam attempts daily, according to the AP-NORC poll. About 7 in 10 U.S. adults ages 60 and older say they are contacted by a suspected scammer at least once a day, compared to about 4 in 10 Americans under 30.

Among those who have received suspected scam attempts, the AP-NORC poll found that outreach involving package shipments or banking was among the most common methods. About 4 in 10 people who were contacted by scammers say at least one of the attempts they received over the past few years was through Facebook or Facebook Messenger, while about 2 in 10 said they were on WhatsApp, and a similar share said they were on Instagram.

Around 30% of U.S. adults say they’ve been scammed personally

The impact of scams is far-reaching. About half, 51%, of U.S. adults know someone

“It’s not easy. They know what they’re doing.”

Harris

Towonna

personally — such as a friend or family member — who has ever lost money as the result of a scam, the AP-NORC poll found, while about 3 in 10 U.S. adults say they have personally been scammed into giving away money or personal information.

The Gallup survey found that about 1 in 10 U.S. adults said they or a member of their household was scammed out of money in 2025, with 6% saying they had been personally scammed.

About half of people whose household experienced scams last year reported losing between $125 and $2,000, according to Gallup.

About 1 in 10 U.S. adults have been scammed multiple times, Gallup found.

“It’s not easy. They know what they’re doing,” said Towonna Harris, 50. Her son was once contacted by scammers who promised to give him money for tuition if he authorized a nominal credit card charge, which quickly spiraled into a much bigger set of charges.

She’s experienced other kinds of scams on a smaller scale, too.

“I ordered some stuff. I never got it,” she said. “I thought it was a legitimate company. And then I saw all these reviews saying it was a scam.”

Few scam victims report to law enforcement

Virtually all U.S. adults believe that scams pose a “major” or “minor” threat to individuals in the U.S., but few think the government is doing enough to solve the problem. About 8 in 10 Americans say the government is “definitely” or “probably” doing too little to prevent scams, according to the Gallup survey, including large majorities of Republicans and Democrats. When people are scammed,

both surveys found that victims are much likelier to reach out to financial institutions than the federal government or local law enforcement. About half, 55%, of people who were scammed last year reported to a bank, credit union or other financial institution, the Gallup poll found, but only 18% contacted state or local law enforcement, while 13% reported to either federal law enforcement or the Federal Trade Commission.

Many victims don’t make a report because they don’t think it will help, or don’t know where to go, Gallup found. Among people who were scammed in 2025, 75% said they didn’t report because they thought it wouldn’t make a difference in getting their money back, while 58% were uncertain where to report. More broadly, Americans express very low confidence that they’d know how to report a scam to the government if they needed to. According to the AP-NORC poll, most Americans, 55%, say they are “extremely” or “very” confident that if they were scammed, they’d know how to report it to banks or credit card companies, but only about one-quarter are similarly confident that they’d know how to report to federal or state law enforcement.

Only about one-third of U.S. adults said they would know where to make a report if they lost $5,000 in a scam today, Gallup found.

Max Anderson, 23, said that his parents are small business owners who were the victims of a costly and complex scam. “A scammer successfully imitated one of their employees and changed their direct deposit information. This went on for about 3 months. It went to $15,000,” he said.

Eventually, Anderson’s father got help from the FBI, he said. “I do like that the government stepped in with my parents, and I feel like that’s the way it should be,” he said. “It’s a big enough problem at this point that it falls to the government and companies to do something about it.”

famous birthdays this week

John Cusack celebrates 60, Twyla Tharp turns 85, Eva Marie Saint hits 102, Geraldo Rivera is 83

The Associated Press

THESE CELEBRITIES have birthdays this week:

JUNE 28

Filmmaker-comedian Mel Brooks is 100. Diplomat and politician Hans Blix is 98. Actor Kathy Bates is 78. Football Hall of Famer John Elway is 66. Actor John Cusack is 60. Billionaire entrepreneur Elon Musk is 55. Country singer-TV personality Kellie Pickler is 39.

JUNE 29

Songwriter L. Russell Brown is 86. Singer-songwriter Garland Jeffreys is 83. Actor Gary Busey is 82. Former actor and politician Fred Grandy is 78. Rock musician Ian Paice (Deep Purple) is 78. Singer Don Dokken is 73.

JUNE 30

Actor Nancy Dussault is 90. Olympic track champion Billy Mills is 88. Oceanographer Robert Ballard is 84. Singer-songwriter Glenn Shorrock (Little River Band) is 82. Jazz musician Stanley Clarke is 75. Actor Vincent D’Onofrio is 67.

JULY 1

Actor-dancer Leslie Caron is 94. Actor Jamie Farr (“M*A*S*H”) is 92. Dancer-choreographer Twyla Tharp is 85. Actor Genevieve Bujold is 84. Rock singer Deborah Harry (Blondie) is 81. Actor Terrence Mann is 75. Rock singer Fred Schneider (The B-52s) is 75. Actor-comedian Dan Aykroyd is 74. Actor Alan Ruck is 70.

JULY 2

Former Philippine first lady Imelda Marcos is 97. Racing Hall of Famer Richard Petty is 89. Former White House chief of staff and former New Hampshire governor John H. Sununu is 87. Writer-director-comedian Larry David is 79. Actor-model Jerry Hall is 70.

JULY 3

Attorney Gloria Allred is 85. Actor Kurtwood Smith is 83. Country singer Johnny Lee is 80.

NOBLE JR. / AP PHOTO

Founding member of Blondie Deborah Harry turns 81 on Wednesday.

78 on Sunday.

Humorist Dave Barry is 79. Talk show host Montel Williams is 70. Actor Tom Cruise is 64. Actor Yeardley Smith is 62. WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange is 55.

JULY 4

Actor Eva Marie Saint is 102. Queen Sonja of Norway is 89. Actor Karolyn Grimes (“It’s a Wonderful Life”) is 86. Broadcast journalist Geraldo Rivera is 83. Funk/jazz trombonist Fred Wesley is 83. Vietnam War veteran and peace activist Ron Kovic is 80.

Comedian Mencia faces dozen felony charges in tax evasion case

He failed to report more than $8 million in earnings

By Andrew Dalton The Associated Press

LOS ANGELES — Comedian Carlos Mencia was arrested last Thursday and charged with 12 felony counts for failing to report or pay taxes on more than $8 million in earnings, prosecutors said.

Los Angeles County District Attorney Nathan Hochman announced the charges at a news conference where he called Mencia “one of California’s biggest tax scofflaws.”

The stand-up comic, 58, was charged with six felony counts of failure to file personal income tax with the intent to evade taxes — one each for the years 2019 to 2024 — and six similar counts for corporate taxes.

Mencia owes more than $300,000 in state taxes on income totaling $8.7 million, Hochman said.

He has not entered a plea, and emails sent to his attorney seeking comment were not immediately answered.

Hamilton, Domingo lead star‑studded front row at Ralph Lauren’s Milan show

Runway casting was age- and race-inclusive

By Colleen Barry The Associated Press

MILAN — Lewis Hamilton hobnobbed with Colman Domingo in the front row of Ralph Lauren’s Milan Fashion Week show, trading notes on a menswear collection that ran the gamut from bankerly pinstripes to layered festival wear.

The fashion powerhouse has shown menswear in its stately Milan palazzo the last two seasons, drawing an A-list crowd last Friday that also included “Crazy Rich Asians” star Henry Golding, “Avengers” actor Tom Hiddleston and U.S. actor Scott Eastwood.

Outside, eager fans braved a heatwave to glimpse arriving celebrities and were rewarded as Thai actor Nichakoon Khajornborirak, nicknamed Meen, and Korean actor Kim Woo-bin each took a moment to turn and wave as the crowd snapped photos. Domingo took a slide on his way inside, as he circled back to his car to grab his hand fan.

“I was not going to leave

that fan in that car,” Domingo said after the evening show.

“Then my heel just slid, and I was safe. But I got the fan, which was the most important thing.”

From Brooklyn to the Hamptons

Daytime suits from Ralph Lauren’s luxury Purple line quickly morphed into tuxedo shirts and stiff bow ties under trailing patchwork denim coats that showed signs of distress. Looks were finished with berets worn askew, aviator glasses and pocket watch chains.

“Today I saw it felt like 1920s-inspired,” Domingo said, stopping to listen to Nat King Cole play in the background. “It’s evocative of what we saw today. A mixture of old and new.”

On the more casual side, colorful madras plaids held together the sportier Polo col-

lection of layered knitwear, rugby shirts and light puffers more adapted to a mountain festival or nighttime beach party than a Milan heatwave. Some looks were straight out of the “Preppy Handbook,” with pink and green happily colliding. Cheekily, the coveted Polo Bear motif on knitwear wore outfits matching the runway.

From Purple to Polo, timeless accessories

Formal and casual looks gradually converged throughout the collection, without regard for occasion. Silk scarves accenting suits became colorful bandanas on casual looks. Ties became belts and were sewn together to make bags, suggesting a reusability on trend with up-cycling. Footwear ranged from leather fisherman’s sandals to velvet slippers and espadrilles to rain-resistant duck boots. For bags, men can choose from Ralph Lauren-branded canvas totes or luxury snakeskin portfolios and bags. Eastwood said he had his eye on a snakeskin bag. “This is just a classy brand that’s timeless,’’ said Eastwood.

Mencia was arrested at his Los Angeles home at about 7 a.m., authorities said. He remained in custody last Thursday afternoon and was being held on $250,000 bail. He made his first court appearance Monday and pleaded not guilty to the charges. If he’s convicted of all counts, he could get more than 11 years in prison, along with paying the tax bills and interest that will almost double the total.

The charges are the first filed under the new district attorney’s new Business Tax Fraud Unit that was established in May by Hochman, a former longtime prosecutor of tax cases.

Mencia regularly paid taxes before 2019, Hochman said. He was sent 78 notices from the state about his delinquent bills, with no response. The charges deal only with state taxes. Hochman said the IRS has not informed his office of Mencia’s federal tax status.

Born Ned Arnel Holness in Honduras and raised in East Los Angeles, Mencia began doing stand-up in LA clubs in the late 1980s. By the early 2000s, he became one of the most popular comics in the U.S. and also did some acting in film and tele-

“Maybe I’m different, but I think taxes are a good thing.”

Carlos Mencia

vision. He had his own TV series, “Mind of Mencia,” combining stand-up with sketches on Comedy Central from 2005 to 2008.

Hochman pointed out at the news conference that on the show in 2007, Mencia said, “Maybe I’m different, but I think taxes are a good thing.”

His comedy most often dealt with race, class and Latino culture. His career took a downward turn as he was hit with accusations from many fellow comedians of joke theft, which he always denied, from other comics. Joe Rogan, then best known as a stand-up comic, confronted

him on a club stage on the issue in a video that went viral in 2007. Mencia had long discussions on Marc Maron’s podcast on the alleged plagiarism, acknowledging that he may have absorbed others’ material but denying outright theft. He still does regular stand-up shows, touring clubs and small theaters. He’s scheduled to do a series of dates in Southern California this week and Las Vegas next week.

this week in history

World War I begins, Battle of Gettysburg starts and ends, U.S. declares independence

The Associated Press

JUNE 28

1914: Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria and his wife, Sophie, Duchess of Hohenberg, were assassinated in Sarajevo by Serb nationalist Gavrilo Princip, an act that helped spark World War I.

1863: During the Civil War, President Abraham Lincoln appointed Gen. George G. Meade to command the Army of the Potomac after Gen. Joseph Hooker resigned.

1919: The Treaty of Versailles was signed in France, formally ending the First World War.

JUNE 29

1520: Montezuma II, the ninth and last emperor of the Aztecs, died in Tenochtitlan under disputed circumstances.

1613: London’s original Globe Theatre, where many of William Shakespeare’s plays were performed, was destroyed by fire during a performance of “Henry VIII.”

2007: The first version of the iPhone went on sale for the first time, launching one of the most successful consumer products in history.

JUNE 30

1921: President Warren G. Harding nominated former President William Howard Taft to be chief justice of the United States.

1934: Adolf Hitler launched his “blood purge” of political and military rivals in Germany in what became known as the Night of the Long Knives.

1936: “Gone with the Wind” by Margaret Mitchell was published.

JULY 1

1863: The pivotal Battle of Gettysburg began in Pennsylvania, ending three days later in a Union victory.

1867: Canada became a

MANUEL BALCE CENETA / AP PHOTO

Consumers explore the features of the new iPhone as they wait at an Apple store in Tysons Corner, Virginia, in June 2007.

self-governing dominion of Great Britain as the British North America Act took effect. It is now celebrated as Canada Day.

1997: Hong Kong reverted to Chinese rule after 156 years as a British colony.

2004: Marlon Brando, one of Hollywood’s most influential actors, died in Los Angeles at age 80.

JULY 2

1776: The Continental Congress approved a resolution declaring that “these United Colonies are, and of right ought to be, free and independent States.”

1937: Aviator Amelia Earhart and navigator Fred Noonan disappeared over the Pacific Ocean while attempting to make the first round-the-world flight along the equator.

1964: President Lyndon B. Johnson signed the Civil Rights Act of 1964, prohibiting discrimination and segregation based on race, color, religion, sex or national origin.

JULY 3

1775: Gen. George Washington took command of the Continental Army at Cambridge, Massachusetts.

1944: During World War II, Soviet forces recaptured Minsk from German forces.

“These United Colonies are, and of right ought to be, free and independent States.”

The Continental Congress

1950: The first carrier strikes of the Korean War took place as USS Valley Forge and HMS Triumph sent fighter planes against North Korean targets.

1971: Singer Jim Morrison of The Doors died in Paris at age 27.

JULY 4

1776: Delegates to the Second Continental Congress adopted the Declaration of Independence in Philadelphia.

1802: The United States Military Academy officially opened at West Point, New York.

1817: Construction began on the Erie Canal in Rome, New York.

1910: In what was billed as “The Fight of the Century,” black world heavyweight boxing champion Jack Johnson defeated white former champ “Gentleman” Jim Jeffries in Reno, Nevada; race riots across the country following the fight killed more than 20 people.