Hog farming has long and proud tradition in eastern North Carolina. It’s a powerful economic engine, and it’s a part of the fabric of our communities — creating jobs, generating local tax revenue, and feeding our families.
Wednesday, January 27, 2021
Almost 11 months to the day after Sen. Richard Burr made a series of controversial stock transactions raising questions of potential inappropriate use of insider information — and hours before Donald Trump’s term as president was ending — the FBI said it was closing an investigation into the…
Sunday, January 24, 2021
Four years ago, Americans heard from a new president about what he was against; what the nation needed to fear and reject.
Thursday, January 21, 2021
The unquestioned allegiance to Donald Trump by many in the nation’s evangelical movement has been one of the most astonishing and damaging consequences of his presidency.
Friday, January 15, 2021
The push to develop vaccines for COVID-19 was called Operation Warp Speed, but the delivery of two vaccines approved so far might be called Operation Hurry Up and Wait. The delay is especially pronounced in North Carolina, which late last week ranked 42nd in the nation in the percentage of i…
Thursday, January 14, 2021
It’s unfortunate that some of North Carolina’s Republican legislators were playing along with President Trump’s runaway claims of a stolen election by voting against accepting the Electoral College results on Jan. 6. It was a cynical ploy with no chance of success, but it sure did encourage …
Wednesday, January 13, 2021
Joe Biden promised to lower the temperature of America’s partisan hothouse, but some of his nominations have not lived up to that promise. One that does is his selection of Merrick Garland as Attorney General, perhaps now the most important cabinet post for domestic politics.
Thursday, January 07, 2021
With the words “I just want to find 11,780 votes” ringing in our ears — President Trump’s demand of Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger, approved by North Carolina’s Mark Meadows, Trump’s current chief of staff — the drama of 2020 unfortunately is leaking into the new year.
Wednesday, January 06, 2021
The U.S. Constitution’s directive for the U.S. Senate to affirm the results of the 2020 presidential election are simple and clear:
Sunday, January 03, 2021
They were fired, demoted or passed over in their jobs. Their lives and the well-being of their families were threatened. They faced harassment on the streets and savage attacks on social media.
Friday, January 01, 2021
North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper continues to insist that he and other state officials are unable to release a page of records related to incentives the state offered to land an Apple campus in Research Triangle Park two years ago. That’s right — 2018.
Thursday, December 31, 2020
Many people have a soft spot for the unique music and accompanying history that have been generated for generations in Nashville, Tenn. It’s the home of the Grand Ole Opry and many entertainment icons — not all of them purely practitioners of the country genre. It’s also an exciting destinat…
Tuesday, December 29, 2020
The biggest challenges Michael Regan, North Carolina’s secretary of Environmental Quality, faces as President-elect Joe Biden’s pick to take over the federal Environmental Protection Agency are not unfamiliar to him.
Sunday, December 27, 2020
While Americans rest from holiday season, President Trump and his hardcore supporters are contemplating a turbulent final month that could make the rest of his chaotic presidency look placid. As Trump sidelines even some of his most loyal aides and allies, the few checks that remained on the…
Friday, December 25, 2020
Even in this season of giving, the announcement that MacKenzie Scott is giving $4.16 billion to hundreds of American organizations sent a powerful message. In a tsunami of philanthropy, she leapt toward fulfillment of her May 2019 pledge to donate the majority of her wealth to help others. I…
Thursday, December 17, 2020
When North Carolina lawmakers allocated federal coronavirus relief funds in September, they decided to use $440 million of it to give North Carolina families with school-age children a check for $335.
Wednesday, December 16, 2020
Both parties in Washington seem intent on passing another COVID-19 relief bill this month, but it matters what’s in it and especially how it’s paid for. Republicans above all need to repurpose the unused funds from the Treasury backstop for the Federal Reserve’s 13(3) pandemic lending facilities.
Wednesday, December 09, 2020
For years, the stalemate in Afghanistan has left American officials torn between two bad options: Prop up a corrupt, hopelessly divided Afghan government indefinitely or admit defeat and go home, leaving the country to its fate. At 19 years and counting, the U.S.-led effort in Afghanistan is…
Tuesday, December 08, 2020
By Nov. 9, total COVID-19 deaths reached 4,615 in North Carolina. There were 1,169 people hospitalized for COVID-19 and there were 1,521 new cases reported as the seven-day average hit a record high of 2,405.
Friday, December 04, 2020
Bill Barr can take the heat, and on Tuesday the stalwart Attorney General guaranteed he’ll get it when he said “to date, we have not seen fraud on a scale that could have effected a different outcome in the election.”