Thanks once again to this week’s sponsor, Solas Health, which helps patients throughout North Carolina with affordable and effective addiction treatment services.
Check out the results of our Best of the Triangle reader polls, if you haven’t already.
Pope was tapped by North Carolina Senate Republicans to replace former state Sen. Bob Rucho, who resigned earlier this week.
In typical NCGOP fashion, the decision was made public late Wednesday night, with votes to seat Pope set on Thursday.
North Carolina Democrats howled at the move. “You’ve got to be f***ing kidding me,” Senator Sam Searcy wrote on Twitter on Wednesday night. “This is an insult to the UNC system and what we get with a Republican majority bought and paid for by Art Pope.”
Pope, perhaps more than anyone else, is most responsible for the North Carolina GOP’s takeover of the state government in the early 2010s, with millions of Koch-related money poured into the effort to take over the legislature.
“I always say I get too much credit or blame, depending on your perspective, for various things that happened in North Carolina,” Pope told the N&O Thursday.
The Senate voted 32-15, with Democratic Senate leader Dan Blue and three other Democrats joining the Republicans in approving Pope’s appointment.
What is a face covering? Cooper’s executive order defines it as “a
covering of the nose and mouth that is secured to the head with ties,
straps, or loops over the ears or is simply wrapped around the lower
face,” and that it “can be made of a variety of synthetic and natural
fabrics, including cotton, silk, or linen.“ Ideally, it has two or more
layers. (In other words: You don’t need a surgical mask or medical-grade
N95 mask.)
Why face coverings?Some studiessuggest
they can help prevent the transmission of the disease, which has been
shown to be carried by asymptomatic people as well as those showing
symptoms. The CDC also recommends wearing face coverings.
Who’s exempt?
Disclosure is based on an honor system. Those exempt include people
with medical conditions that prevent them from wearing facial coverings,
children under the age of 11, people who are actively eating and
drinking, people who are exercising, those communicating with
hearing-impaired people, and people at risk at work. You also don’t need
to wear one at home or when you’re operating your own vehicle, in case
you needed to know that.
How will it be enforced? Individuals
won’t be cited for not wearing masks, but businesses whose employees do
not follow the mandate will be given a citation. Businesses may also
“trespass” people who refuse to wear masks, meaning law enforcement
would ban them from the property indefinitely.
Will it be enforced? So
far, it looks like that depends on where you live. Orange County
Sheriff Charles Blackwood said that instead of issuing citations, his
office would focus on “educating the public of the importance of wearing
face masks when in public." The sheriffs of Sampson and Halifax counties, on the other hand, have said they don’t intend to enforce it at all.
On Thursday, Lieutenant Governor Dan Forest — who is running against Cooper in November — said he would sue the governor for allegedly violating the state’s Emergency Management Act.
Nation & World
→ THINGS ARE LOOKING GREAT FOR JOE BIDEN (AND CAL CUNNINGHAM, AND ROY COOPER)
Former Vice President Joe Biden would likely run away with the presidential election if
it were held today, according to a new round of polls in states that
President Donald Trump won in 2016 — including North Carolina.
After a New York Times/Siena college poll released on Wednesday found that Biden had a 14-point lead over Trump nationally, a new round of polls from the same outfit found Biden handily outpolling Trump in several swing states that were key to Trump’s win in 2016.
In
the Northeast and Midwest, where Trump pulled off multiple upsets,
Biden is beating him in Wisconsin, Michigan, and Pennsylvania by double-digits.
It’s
not looking much better for Trump in the Sun Belt: Biden currently
leads him in Florida by six points, Arizona (which last went for a
Democratic presidential nominee in 1996) by seven points, and North Carolina by nine points.
While voters in North Carolina largely approve of Trump’s handling of the economy, crosstabs on the poll show that a majority disapprove of
his handling of the coronavirus pandemic, race relations, criminal
justice, and the ongoing national protests against police brutality.
Another eye-popping statistic: 60 percent of North Carolinians thought George Floyd’s killing was "part of a broader pattern of excessive police violence toward African Americans,” while just 30 percent said it was an isolated incident. A majority of N.C. voters also said they support the protests.
A New York Times/Siena poll released Thursday also showed that Democrat Cal Cunningham has a slight advantage over incumbent GOP Sen. Thom Tillis in North Carolina, 42 percent to 39 percent.
Students with the Youth Justice Project are calling on the Durham County Board of Education to drop the contract with the Sheriff’s Office for its school resource officer program, and reinvest the funds into school support staff such as guidance counselors, nurses, and social workers. [INDY Week]
The Trump administration asked the Supreme Court to invalidate the Affordable Care Act late Thursday, the same day that the government reported that nearly half a million people have signed up with Healthare.gov. this year after losing their employer-based insurance. [Washington Post]
Longtime North Carolina GOP Sen. Jerry Tillman, 78, unexpectedly retired on Thursday. The GOP will name a candidate to replace him on the November ballot. [News & Observer]
ACC commissioner John Swofford will retire next June after 25 seasons. [ESPN]
Chuck E. Cheese has filed for bankruptcy. [Variety]
The CDC director said on Thursday that coronavirus may have infected at least 20 million Americans. “Our
best estimate right now is that for every case that was reported, there
actually were 10 other infections,” CDC director Robert Redfield told
reporters. [NPR]
A New York judge blocked the Trump family’s attempt to stop Mary Trump, the president’s niece, from releasing her tell-all book later next month. [New York Times]
Longread of the day: Jane Mayer’s 2011 New Yorker profile of Art Pope. [The New Yorker]
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