Taxes, salaries, vacancy cuts make plain differences over rival North Carolina GOP budgets

Taxes, salaries, vacancy cuts make plain differences over rival North Carolina GOP budgets

By GARY D. ROBERTSON Associated Press

RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — The North Carolina House’s reveal of its state government budget proposal makes plain the differences on taxes, salaries and job cuts between Republicans who control both General Assembly chambers.

With strong bipartisan support, the House gave preliminary approval late Wednesday to its plan to spend $32.6 billion in the year beginning July 1 and $33.3 billion the next year — the same amounts Senate Republicans agreed to for their competing two-year budget approved last month.

The amounts reflect a more strained fiscal picture amid uncertainty over federal government spending, inflation and projections of flat or falling tax collections.

“We’ve had to tighten the belt a little bit more than we normally have,” Rep. Donny Lambeth, a top chairman of the House Appropriations Committee, told reporters.

But the chambers’ paths to those figures show deep areas of disagreement as they pursue a compromise they hope new Democratic Gov. Josh Stein can accept — or build enough legislative support to withstand a Stein veto.

House more cautious on tax rate reductions

GOP leaders in both chambers agree a previously approved law reducing the current 4.25% individual income tax rate to 3.99% in 2026 should stay in place.

But the House, concerned about revenue shortfalls, doesn’t want to go along with the Senate proposal to reduce that rate to 3.49% in 2027 and 2.99% in 2028.

The House also would make it harder to lower the rate below 3.99% by raising revenue thresholds contained in current law that state coffers must exceed before the rate automatically falls. The Senate tilts toward a more aggressive threshold, proposing a schedule that could reduce the rate one day to 1.99%.

Stein has warned that the current thresholds, if left intact, could bring “self-inflicted fiscal pain” by curbing revenues. Senate Republicans have downplayed such fears, and outside conservative groups argue the House budget actually would raise taxes — legislative staff calculate $2 billion-plus more revenue annually compared to current law.

The national conservative group Club for Growth warned on X ahead of Wednesday’s vote that anyone voting for the bill containing the “tax increase in North Carolina should expect to be held accountable on election day, and kiss their political future goodbye.”

The threat didn’t faze House Republicans, some of whom considered it a scare tactic as talks begin with Senate counterparts. House leaders also note the plan would lower income taxes further by increasing standard deductions and eliminating tax on the first $5,000 of a worker’s tips.

“Nothing on the outside of this building is going to change my belief and this (GOP) caucus’ belief that this budget is … the more fiscally conservative between the two chambers,” House Speaker Destin Hall said during a break in Wednesday’s debate.

Teacher salaries surge in House plan

The House plan would raise teacher pay well above the Senate proposal, with a focus on early-career instructors.

The House proposal would increase state-funded salaries of K-12 teachers by 8.7% on average over the next two years. The Senate’s proposed raises are well under half of that percentage, but that doesn’t include $3,000 bonuses the Senate also approved.

The House says its plan would vault compensation for first-year teachers to top levels in the Southeast. Stein’s budget proposal released in March would raise teacher pay well over 10% on average.

House goes deep on cutting vacant jobs

House Republicans would direct state agencies, departments and institutions to eliminate nearly 3,000 vacant positions, while the Senate version directs that 850 vacancies be eliminated. The Office of State Human Resources notes there were more than 14,000 vacancies in state agencies as of last month.

About two-thirds of the House’s cuts come from a directive for agencies to eliminate 20% of their vacant positions, with cost savings intended to beef up salaries to recruit and retain workers for critical hard-to-fill positions.

Negotiations could continue well into summer

After an expected final House vote Thursday, the budget bill will return to the Senate — a prelude to House-Senate negotiations on a unified plan to present to Stein.

The goal is to have an enacted budget by July 1, but meeting that deadline has been difficult in recent years as Republicans have battled each other and the Democratic governor. Given this week’s discourse over taxes, GOP intraparty negotiations could extend deep into summer.

Legislative Republicans currently are one seat shy of a veto-proof majority, meaning Stein could wield some influence.

For now, Stein backs the House plan over the Senate. In a statement released during Wednesday’s floor debate, he praised its proposals for teacher pay, cutting taxes for working families and reducing income tax rates “only when the economy is growing.”

“The House’s proposed budget isn’t perfect,” said Stein, yet while also criticizing “the Senate’s fiscally irresponsible revenue scheme.”

Stein’s words trickled down into Wednesday’s vote. Following five hours of debate and dozens of amendments, 27 House Democrats joined all the Republicans present in voting 93-20 for the plan.

Rapper Kid Cudi to testify at Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs trial this week

Rapper Kid Cudi to testify at Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs trial this week

By MICHAEL R. SISAK and LARRY NEUMEISTER Associated Press

NEW YORK (AP) — Rapper and actor Kid Cudi is expected to testify at the Sean “Diddy” Combs sex trafficking trial this week, taking the witness stand to tell the jury about his brief relationship 14 years ago with Combs’ ex-girlfriend, the R&B singer Cassie.

Prosecutors have contended in court filings that Combs was so upset about the relationship that he arranged to have Cudi’s convertible firebombed.

Prosecutors informed the judge that Cudi, whose legal name is Scott Mescudi, would not be called to the stand before Thursday. Meanwhile, a federal agent resumed testifying Wednesday about what investigators found when they raided Combs’ home in Florida in March 2024. Homeland Security Agent Gerard Gannon displayed for the jury a Gucci bag in which drugs were found, including cocaine.

Cassie testified last week that Combs was enraged when she left him for a period of time in 2011 and began dating Cudi. She said Combs left a large bruise on her back where he kicked her as she left his Los Angeles home for the last time that year.

Combs has pleaded not guilty to charges that he leveraged his fame and fortune to oversee a two-decade-long racketeering enterprise that controlled Cassie and others through threats and violence.

His lawyers say evidence in the case reflects domestic violence, not anything amounting to a criminal racket or sex trafficking.

Cassie testified last week that Combs arranged for her to meet Cudi several times in 2011 to work on music. She said her relationship with Cudi began late in the year and she got a burner phone so the two could communicate without Combs learning about it.

Cassie said she and Combs had broken up at the time, although they still engaged in so-called “freak-offs” that involved sexual performances with male escorts that Combs watched and sometimes participated in. It was during one of those “freak-offs” that Combs picked up her regular phone and noticed communications that revealed Cassie was seeing Cudi, Cassie said.

On Tuesday, Cassie’s mother, Regina Ventura, testified that she received an email in December 2011 from Cassie saying that Combs was so angry about her relationship with Cudi that he planned to release sexually explicit videos of her and send someone to hurt Cassie and Cudi.

Afterward, Regina Ventura said, she received a demand from Combs for $20,000. Scared for her daughter’s safety, she went to the bank and sent Combs the money, only to have it returned by Combs days later.

Cassie testified that Cudi came to visit her at her mother’s Connecticut home around Christmas in 2011 and stayed for three or four days. She said she broke up with him.

“It was just too much,” she said. “Too much danger, too much uncertainty of, like, what could happen if we continued to see each other.”

Cassie said she told her family she was going to Los Angeles after the holidays to “get to work.” But instead, she said, she traveled after New Year’s to meet Combs in Arizona, where he had gone to visit a college with his son. They resumed their relationship.

When Cassie and Combs were out of the country, Combs told her that Cudi’s car would be blown up and Combs wanted Cudi’s friends there to see it, Cassie said.

Reigning Stanley Cup champ Florida Panthers beat Carolina Hurricanes 5-2 in Eastern final opener

Reigning Stanley Cup champ Florida Panthers beat Carolina Hurricanes 5-2 in Eastern final opener

By AARON BEARD AP Sports Writer

RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — The reigning Stanley Cup champion Florida Panthers wasted no time snatching home-ice advantage in the Eastern Conference final.

Carter Verhaeghe and Aaron Ekblad scored two tone-setting first-period goals while Sergei Bobrovsky remained strong in net as the Panthers beat the Carolina Hurricanes 5-2 in Tuesday night’s opener of their Eastern Conference final series.

A.J. Greer added a goal by finishing off a perfect 2-on-1 transition chance in the second period for Florida, while Sam Bennett added a third-period score that erased any lingering doubt — only to see Eetu Luostarinen add another one late to make it 5-1 and keep pouring it on.

“We love to win, of course,” Bennett said. “That’s why we’re here, that’s why we put in all these hours. That’s why we do the hard things that are necessary to win. It’s because we love it that much. We have one goal in mind and that’s going to be our focus the whole way.”

Bobrovsky held up with 31 saves, including during a stretch in which the Panthers failed to get a shot on goal for more than 15 minutes spanning the second intermission. It came 48 hours after the Panthers had beaten Toronto in a road Game 7 to advance and set up a rematch of the Eastern final from two years ago.

Florida swept that one with four one-goal margins, including Game 1 in four overtimes. And just as before, the Panthers have immediately ripped home-ice advantage from a team that was 5-0 at home in these playoffs.

“I think we didn’t love our game,” Verhaeghe said. “We liked our game, obviously anytime you win in the playoffs.”

Sebastian Aho tallied Carolina’s lone score when the outcome was in doubt, with Seth Jarvis’ pass banging off Aho’s right skate to slide under Bobrovsky in the dying seconds of the first to make it 2-1. But Florida got Greer’s finish off a backhand feed from Niko Mikkola to beat Frederik Andersen to push the margin back to two goals early in the second.

Andersen had been elite in the postseason, but found himself alone with Verhaeghe at the edge of the crease for a quick power-play goal that beat him to the upper right corner. He was later shielded by Brad Marchand on Bennett’s score, which fittingly ended the 15-minute stretch without a shot on goal.

Those both came with the man advantage, a glaring stat against Carolina’s penalty kill that had been the postseason’s best by allowing two goals on 30 attempts through two rounds.

“When they got the two power-play goals, I think that’s really the difference in the game,” Carolina coach Rod Brind’Amour said. “You’ve got to kill those. You’ve got to give them credit; when they get a chance it’s in the net. … They play a heavy, hard game, but they can score.”

Jackson Blake scored a late goal for Carolina in a finish that included Marchand being tossed for a game-misconduct penalty — including being escorted off by an official while shouting back toward center ice — after a tussle with Carolina’s Shayne Gostisbehere.

The loss marked Carolina’s 13th straight in a conference final, going back being swept in 2009, 2019 and 2023.

Game 2 is back at Carolina on Thursday night.

Beef Skewers with Garlicky White Bean Dip

Beef Skewers with Garlicky White Bean Dip

Beef Skewers with Garlicky White Bean Dip

Photo Courtesy of BeefItsWhatsForDinner.com

Beef Skewers with Garlicky White Bean Dip Recipe from Beef It’s What’s For Dinner

Prep time: 15 minutes

Cooking time: 10 minutes

Serving size: 16 servings

Ingredients

  • 1 pound beef Top Sirloin Steak Boneless, cut 1 inch thick
  • 1 teaspoon garlic-pepper seasoning
  • 1/4 teaspoon smoked paprika

Garlicky White Bean Dip:

  • 1 can (15-1/2 ounces) great Northern beans or cannellini beans, rinsed, drained
  • 2 tablespoons water
  • 1 tablespoon sherry or balsamic vinegar
  • 1 tablespoon plus 2 teaspoons extra virgin olive oil, divided
  • 1 clove garlic, chopped
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1/2 teaspoon smoked paprika

Directions

  1. To prepare Garlicky White Bean Dip, place beans, water, vinegar, 1 tablespoon olive oil, garlic and salt in food processor or blender container. Cover; process until smooth. Spoon 1/2 of bean dip into clear serving bowl; sprinkle with 1/4 teaspoon paprika and drizzle with 1 teaspoon olive oil. Top with remaining bean dip, 1/4 teaspoon paprika and 1 teaspoon olive oil. Cover; set aside. (Bean dip may also be served in a shallow dish. Spread entire dip mixture into dish. Sprinkle 1/2 teaspoon smoked paprika on top; drizzle with 2 teaspoons olive oil.)
  2. Soak sixteen 6-inch bamboo skewers in water 10 minutes; drain. Meanwhile cut beef steak crosswise into 1/4-inch thick strips. Thread beef, weaving back and forth, onto each skewer. Combine garlic-pepper seasoning and 1/4 teaspoon paprika; sprinkle evenly over beef.
  3. Place skewers on rack in broiler pan so surface of beef is 2 to 3 inches from heat. Broil about 4 to 5 minutes for medium rare (145°F) to medium (160°F) doneness, turning once. Serve with Garlicky White Bean Dip.
New salmonella outbreak tied to same Florida grower with tainted cucumbers last year

New salmonella outbreak tied to same Florida grower with tainted cucumbers last year

By JONEL ALECCIA AP Health Writer

U.S. health officials are investigating a new outbreak of salmonella illnesses tied to a Florida grower whose tainted cucumbers were linked to more than 550 illnesses last year.

Cucumbers grown by Florida-based Bedner Growers and distributed by Fresh Start Produce Sales have been linked to illnesses in at least 26 people in 15 states, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration reported late Monday. At least nine people have been hospitalized; no deaths have been reported.

The cucumbers were sold to restaurants, stores and food service distributors between April 29 and May 19 and may still be within their shelf life this week. Illnesses were reported between April 2 and April 28, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

The outbreak was detected as part of a follow-up inspection in April to a 2024 outbreak that sickened 551 people and led to 155 hospitalizations in 34 states and Washington, D.C. In that outbreak, investigators found salmonella bacteria linked to many of the illnesses in untreated canal water used at farms operated by Bedner Growers and Thomas Produce Company.

In the current outbreak, officials found salmonella bacteria from samples on the farm that matched samples from people who got sick.

Health officials are investigating where the potentially contaminated cucumbers were distributed. Several people who fell ill ate cucumbers on cruise ships leaving ports in Florida, according to the CDC. Organic cucumbers are not affected, officials said.

Retailers should notify consumers who may have bought the tainted produce. If consumers don’t know the source of cucumbers, they should throw them away, officials said.

Symptoms of salmonella poisoning include diarrhea, fever, severe vomiting, dehydration and stomach cramps. Most people who get sick recover within a week. Infections can be severe in young children, older adults and people with weakened immune systems, who may require hospitalization.

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The Associated Press Health and Science Department receives support from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute’s Science and Educational Media Group and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. The AP is solely responsible for all content.

George Wendt, who played beloved barfly Norm on ‘Cheers’ and found another home onstage, dies at 76

George Wendt, who played beloved barfly Norm on ‘Cheers’ and found another home onstage, dies at 76

By MARK KENNEDY AP Entertainment Writer

NEW YORK (AP) — George Wendt, an actor with an Everyman charm who played the affable, beer-loving barfly Norm on the hit 1980s TV comedy “Cheers” and later crafted a stage career that took him to Broadway in “Art,” “Hairspray” and “Elf,” has died. He was 76.

Wendt’s family said he died early Tuesday morning, peacefully in his sleep while at home, according to the publicity firm The Agency Group.

“George was a doting family man, a well-loved friend and confidant to all of those lucky enough to have known him,” the family said in a statement. “He will be missed forever.” The family has requested privacy during this time.

Despite a long career of roles onstage and on TV, it was as gentle and henpecked Norm Peterson on “Cheers” that he was most associated, earning six straight Emmy Award nominations for best supporting actor in a comedy series from 1984-89.

The series was centered on lovable losers in a Boston bar and starred Ted Danson, Shelley Long, Rhea Perlman, Kelsey Grammer, John Ratzenberger, Kirstie Alley and Woody Harrelson. It would spin off another megahit in “Frasier” and was nominated for an astounding 117 Emmy Awards, winning 28 of them.

Wendt, who spent six years in Chicago’s renowned Second City improv troupe before sitting on a barstool at the place where everybody knows your name, didn’t have high hopes when he auditioned for “Cheers.”

“My agent said, ‘It’s a small role, honey. It’s one line. Actually, it’s one word.’ The word was ‘beer.’ I was having a hard time believing I was right for the role of ‘the guy who looked like he wanted a beer.’ So I went in, and they said, ‘It’s too small a role. Why don’t you read this other one?’ And it was a guy who never left the bar,” Wendt told GQ in an oral history of “Cheers.”

‘Cheers’ and a barstool

“Cheers” premiered on Sept. 30, 1982, and spent the first season with low ratings. NBC president Brandon Tartikoff championed the show, and it was nominated for an Emmy for best comedy series in its first season. Some 80 million people would tune in to watch its series finale 11 years later.

Wendt became a fan favorite in and outside the bar — his entrances were cheered with a warm “Norm!” — and his wisecracks always landed. “How’s a beer sound, Norm?” he would be asked by the bartender. “I dunno. I usually finish them before they get a word in,” he’d respond.

While the beer the cast drank on set was nonalcoholic, Wendt and other “Cheers” cast members have admitted they were tipsy on May 20, 1993, when they watched the show’s final episode then appeared together on “The Tonight Show” in a live broadcast from the Bull and Finch Pub in Boston, the bar that inspired the series.

″We had been drinking heavily for two hours but nobody thought to feed us,” Wendt told the Beaver County Times of Pennsylvania in 2009. “We were nowhere near as cute as we thought we were.”

Perlman, who regularly served Wendt on “Cheers,” in a statement called him “the sweetest, kindest man I ever met. It was impossible not to like him.

“As Carla, I was often standing next to him, as Norm always took the same seat at the end of the bar, which made it easy to grab him and beat the crap out of him at least once a week. I loved doing it and he loved pretending it didn’t hurt. What a guy! I’ll miss him more than words can say.”

After “Cheers,” Wendt starred in his own short-lived sitcom “The George Wendt Show” — “too bad he had to step out of Norm and down so far from that corner stool for his debut stanza,” sniffed Variety — and had guest spots on TV shows like “The Ghost Whisperer,” “Harry’s Law” and “Portlandia.” He was part of a brotherhood of Chicago Everymen who gathered over sausage and beers and adored “Da Bears” on “Saturday Night Live.” In 2023, he competed on “The Masked Singer.”

Second career on stage

But he found steady work onstage: Wendt slipped on Edna Turnblad’s housecoat in Broadway’s “Hairspray” beginning in 2007, and was in the Tony Award-winning play “Art” in New York and London.

He starred in the national tour of “12 Angry Men” and appeared in a production of David Mamet’s “Lakeboat.” He also starred in regional productions of “Death of a Salesman,” “The Odd Couple,” “Never Too Late” and “Funnyman.”

“A, it’s by far the most fun, but B, I seem to have been kicked out of television,” Wendt told the Kansas City Star in 2011. “I overstayed my welcome. But theater suits me.”

Wendt had an affinity for playing Santa Claus, donning the famous red outfit in the stage musical “Elf” on Broadway in 2017, the TV movie “Santa Baby” with Jenny McCarthy in 2006 and in the doggie Disney video “Santa Buddies” in 2009. He also played Father Christmas for TV specials by Larry the Cable Guy and Stephen Colbert.

“I think it just proves that if you stay fat enough and get old enough, the offers start rolling in,” the actor joked to the AP in his Broadway dressing room.

Born in Chicago, Wendt attended Campion High School, a Catholic boarding school in Prairie du Chien, Wisconsin, and then Notre Dame, where he rarely went to class and was kicked out. He transferred to Rockhurst University in Kansas City and graduated, after majoring in economics.

He found a home at Second City in both the touring company and the mainstage.

“I think comedy is my long suit, for sure. My approach to comedy is usually not full-bore clownish,” he told the AP. “If you’re trying to showboat or step outside, it doesn’t always work. There are certain performers who almost specialize in doing that, and they do it really well. But that’s not my approach.”

Cheers for beer

He had a lifelong association with beer. He had his first taste as an 8-year-old and got drunk at 16, at the World’s Fair in New York.

His beer knowledge was poured into the book ″Drinking With George: A Barstool Professional’s Guide to Beer,” co-written with Jonathan Grotenstein. One line: “Will Rogers once said he never met a man he didn’t like. I feel the same about beer.”

Part autobiography, part beer drinker’s guide, the book had Wendt’s conversational tone and lists, such as “Five Good Bar Bets,” ″77 Toasts from Around the World” and ”(More Than) 100 Ways to Say That You’re Drunk,” which alphabetically lists 126 synonyms from “annihilated” through “zozzled.”

He is survived by his wife, Second City alum Bernadette Birkett, who voiced Norm’s never-seen not-so better half, Vera, on “Cheers”; his children, Hilary, Joe and Daniel; and his stepchildren, Joshua and Andrew.

“From his early days with The Second City to his iconic role as Norm on ‘Cheers,’ George Wendt’s work showcased how comedy can create indelible characters that feel like family. Over the course of 11 seasons, he brought warmth and humor to one of television’s most beloved roles,” National Comedy Center Executive Director Journey Gunderson said in a statement.

Trump announces he’s selected final ‘Golden Dome’ space missile defenses that would cost billions

Trump announces he’s selected final ‘Golden Dome’ space missile defenses that would cost billions

By TARA COPP Associated Press

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump announced Tuesday the concept he wants for his future Golden Dome missile defense program — a multilayered $175 billion system that for the first time will put U.S. weapons in space.

Speaking from the Oval Office, Trump said he expects the system will be “fully operational before the end of my term,” which ends in 2029, and have the capability of intercepting missiles “even if they are launched from space.” It’s likelier that the complex system may have some initial capability by that point, a U.S. official familiar with the program said.

Trump also announced that Gen. Michael Guetlein, who currently serves as the vice chief of space operations, will be responsible for overseeing Golden Dome’s progress.

Golden Dome is envisioned to include ground- and space-based capabilities that are able to detect and stop missiles at all four major stages of a potential attack: detecting and destroying them before a launch, intercepting them in their earliest stage of flight, stopping them midcourse in the air, or halting them in the final minutes as they descend toward a target.

For the last several months, Pentagon planners have been developing options — which a U.S. official described as medium, high and “extra high” choices, based on their cost — that include space-based interceptors. The official spoke on condition of anonymity to detail plans that have not been made public. The difference in the three versions is largely based on how many satellites and sensors — and for the first time, space-based interceptors — would be purchased.

The Congressional Budget Office estimated this month that just the space-based components of the Golden Dome could cost as much as $542 billion over the next 20 years. Trump has requested an initial $25 billion for the program in his proposed tax break bill now moving through Congress.

The Pentagon has warned for years that the newest missiles developed by China and Russia are so advanced that updated countermeasures are necessary. Golden Dome’s added satellites and interceptors — where the bulk of the program’s cost is — would be focused on stopping those advanced missiles early on or in the middle of their flight.

The space-based weapons envisioned for Golden Dome “represent new and emerging requirements for missions that have never before been accomplished by military space organizations,” Gen. Chance Saltzman, head of the U.S. Space Force, told lawmakers at a hearing Tuesday.

China and Russia have put offensive weapons in space, such as satellites with abilities to disable critical U.S. satellites, which can make the U.S. vulnerable to attack.

Last year the U.S. said Russia was developing a space-based nuclear weapon that could loiter in space for long durations, then release an burst that would take out satellites around it. Trump said he had not yet spoken to Russian President Vladimir Putin about the program, “but at the right time, we will,” he told reporters at the White House.

But there’s no money for the Golden Dome project yet, and the program overall is “still in the conceptual stage,” newly confirmed Air Force Secretary Troy Meink told senators Tuesday.

While the president picked the concept he wanted, the Pentagon is still developing the requirements that Golden Dome will need to meet — which is not the way new systems are normally developed.

The Pentagon and U.S. Northern Command are still drafting what is known as an initial capabilities document, the U.S. official said. That is how Northern Command, which is responsible for homeland defense, identifies what it will need the system to do.

The U.S. already has many missile defense capabilities, such as the Patriot missile batteries that the U.S. has provided to Ukraine to defend against incoming missiles as well as an array of satellites in orbit to detect missile launches. Some of those existing systems will be incorporated into Golden Dome.

Trump directed the Pentagon to pursue the space-based interceptors in an executive order during the first week of his presidency.

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Associated Press writers Seung Min Kim and Michelle Price in Washington contributed reporting.

New NCInnovation grant supports breakthrough Alzheimer’s treatment development at UNC Pembroke

New NCInnovation grant supports breakthrough Alzheimer’s treatment development at UNC Pembroke

RALEIGH, N.C. (WPTF) – A recent grant aimed at commercializing university research could help bring new treatment options for patient’s Alzheimer’s Disease. Dr. Ben Bahr, a William C. Friday endowed chair and distinguished professor at UNC Pembroke, has been studying Alzheimer’s for years and has identified a target for the diagnosis of the most common form of dementia. He has presented his team’s research in 18 countries, has over 150 publications and patents, and leads UNCP as a partner institution of the Duke-UNC Alzheimer’s Disease Research Center.

Alzheimer’s disease affects 55 million people worldwide, as well as other brain disorders. Current treatment options are expensive, inaccessible, and/or have limited effectiveness. Bahr’s patent-pending compounds work to reduce multiple pathogenic proteins that accumulate in the brains of Alzheimer’s patients.

“I’ve been training teams of students for over 20 years now and they’ve helped me identify these self-repair mechanisms that the drugs can modulate. Think of it like turning up the volume of a stereo speaker that’s gotten old and not working so well. By turning up the volume, the repair messages can better be heard throughout the body especially in the brain,” said Bahr. “NCInnovation gave us a grant of over a million dollars to help pursue new drug molecules that activate the same repair pathways our brain uses to maintain function, memories and thinking ability as we get older.”

Other labs such as Harvard, Cornell, and Northwestern have been teasing apart the tiny details of protein-clearance machinery (otherwise called the garbage disposal of the brain) to find drug targets that help remove the pathogenic deposits that occur not just in Alzheimer’s but also Parkinson’s.

“Some people have better self-repair systems than other people which explains why every person has different outcomes. Some people are sharper than a tack when they get to their 90’s and others have growing memory problems. We’re trying to help those that need help clearing those bad proteins that accumulate with time, especially with age because age is the biggest risk factor of dementia,” said Bahr.

According to Bahr, it’s important to have low-cost, oral therapeutics for these patients to take as a nice pill form can be easily accessible. They’re looking to get all communities something that’s an every day simple task of taking a pill, especially for caregivers.

“The current therapeutic that’s been newly approved by the FDA are called immuno-therapies, they’re actually human proteins that are very expensive to generate, they have to be bio-manufactured, and then it has to be injected intravenously. Not everybody has access to a place to do the I.V. treatments and oftentimes when you care for someone with dementia it’s very difficult to get them in a car, or get them in a new environment, it’s very disruptive. We want something that helps both the caregivers and the care-facilities that are working hard tirelessly for this terrible disease,” said Bahr.

It’s going to be a long road to get the drug approved, but those are the steps it takes to go to the next phase of clinical trial. The team at UNC Pembroke is currently doing testing on mice with the same human genmutations that cause Alzheimer’s looking for improved memory, reduced eating due to nausea and changes in breathing.

“We give them blood tests, everything that the FDA requires so we can move our drug program to clinical trials,” said Bahr. “It takes an organization like NCInnovation to give us the confidence to move forward and approach the FDA and form the relationships with big companies in our state that really want to be game changers to try to treat dementia risk-factors long before you’re actually dealing with the Alzheimer’s disease.”

The non-profit organization that’s helping to unlock the innovative potential of North Carolina’s world-class public universities is NCInnovation. Around $13.6 million in R&D funding for 17 research projects at 12 North Carolina public universities has been approved by the unanimous Board of Directors after a multi-month review and evaluation process. Only university researchers, not private companies, are eligible for NCInnovation grants.

“Thank you to NCInnovation’s external reviewers, hard-working staff, and Program Committee members for the thoughtful and diligent work put into this process,” said Deanna Ballard, chair of the NCInnovation Board of Directors Program Committee. “The research projects on this list are exactly what North Carolina public universities should be championing: real-world research that can bolster North Carolina’s – and America’s – competitiveness.”

NCInnovation is meant to bridge the gap between industry and academia to advance more NC public university research from proof-of-concept to the point where it is commercially investable. The organization is working to overcome challenges such as lack of applied research, underdeveloped capital landscape, uneven success and lack of regional innovation networks.

NCInnovation grant applications go through a multi-phase review process that includes a pre-application, a full application, an external expert review panel and a market fit assessment.

“North Carolina’s public universities are working on truly amazing technologies, from improving poultry and livestock mortality rates to treating diseases like Alzheimer’s and pancreatic cancer,” said Michelle Bolas, executive vice president and chief innovation officer of NCInnovation. “NCInnovation helps researchers advance their discoveries through the university R&D process toward commercialization, strengthening the university-to-industry pipeline that’s central to American competitiveness.”

Orange High School Principal named 2025 N.C. Principal of the Year

Orange High School Principal named 2025 N.C. Principal of the Year

RALEIGH, N.C. (WPTF) – In an emotional ceremony filled with applause and community pride, Orange High School Principal Jason Johnson was named the 2025 Wells Fargo North Carolina Principal of the Year. The North Carolina Department of Public Instruction presented the prestigious award at a luncheon in Cary, where Johnson was joined by other regional finalists and leaders from Orange County Schools.

A 27-year educator, Johnson is known for his deep commitment to relationship-building and his belief in the power of community partnership. He emphasized that a school can only thrive when all components—staff, teachers, students, and parents—are working together.

“School leadership is running fine, teacher-leadership and teachers are running fine, staffs are running fine. Of course we need our parents’ support at all times, we need to partner with them to ensure schools are running smoothly,” said Johnson.

Despite changes in the educational landscape, Johnson said the core needs of students remain the same.

“They want to be taken care of, they want their needs taken care of, they want to be loved, they want to be respected, they want relationships with adults in their school and they want to learn,” said Johnson.

Johnson credited his late mother for instilling in him a drive to succeed and aim higher.

“She had such a philosophy of if you decide to work at a grocery store, you need to become a manager. If you decide to become a nurse you need to be a doctor. If you decide to be a teacher, you need to be a principal and so on and so forth,” said Johnson.

He also thanked Anne Osborne, a mentor who gave him the opportunity to lead.

“Always involve the parents to the best of your ability but also with your staff take care of them as human beings first and everything will work out,” said Johnson.

During his acceptance speech, Johnson grew emotional as he thanked his students and staff. He said the award was not just his, but a shared accomplishment that belongs to the entire Orange County community.

Home Depot says it doesn’t expect to boost prices because of tariffs

Home Depot says it doesn’t expect to boost prices because of tariffs

By MICHELLE CHAPMAN AP Business Writer

Home Depot doesn’t expect to raise prices because of tariffs, saying it has spent years diversifying the sources for the goods on its shelves.

Billy Bastek, executive vice president of merchandising, said during a conference call on Tuesday that Home Depot’s suppliers have shifted sourcing across several countries and that the company doesn’t expect any single country outside of the U.S. will represent more than 10% of its purchases 12 months from now.

“We don’t see broad based price increases for our customers at all going forward,” he said.

Other companies, domestic and foreign, have warned customers that price hikes are on the way due to a trade war kicked off by the U.S.

Walmart said last week that it has already raised prices and will have to do so again in the near future. Late Monday, Subaru of America said it would raise prices on some of its most popular models by as much as $2,000.

President Donald Trump lambasted Walmart, saying on social media over the weekend that the retail giant should “eat” the additional costs created by his tariffs.

As Trump has jacked up import taxes, he has tried to assure a skeptical public that foreign producers would pay for those taxes and that retailers and automakers would absorb the additional expenses. Most economists are deeply skeptical of those claims and have warned that the trade penalties would worsen inflation.

During the first quarter, Home Depot’s revenue climbed as customers spent slightly more on smaller home projects.

A number of U.S. companies have lowered or pulled financial guidance for investors as tariffs launched by the the Trump administration scramble world trade but on Tuesday, Home Depot stuck by earlier projections of sales growth at around 2.8%.

Shares of the Atlanta company dipped slightly on Tuesday.

Revenue rose to $39.86 billion from $36.42 billion a year earlier, beating the $39.3 billion that analysts polled by FactSet expected.

Sales at stores open at least a year, a key gauge of a retailer’s health, edged down 0.3%. In the U.S., comparable store sales climbed 0.2%.

Wall Street anticipated a 0.1% decline in same-store sales.

Customer transactions rose 2.1% in the quarter. The amount shoppers spent climbed to $90.71 per average ticket from $90.68 in the prior-year period.

“Our first quarter results were in line with our expectations as we saw continued customer engagement across smaller projects and in our spring events,” Home Depot Chair and CEO Ted Decker said in a statement.

Home improvement retailers like Home Depot have been dealing with homeowners putting off bigger projects because of increased borrowing costs and lingering concerns about inflation.

The U.S. housing market has been in a sales slump dating back to 2022, when mortgage rates began to climb from pandemic-era lows.

Sales of previously occupied homes have dropped as elevated mortgage rates and rising prices discouraged home shoppers.

Existing home sales fell 5.9% in March from February to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 4.02 million units, the National Association of Realtors said. The March sales decline was the largest monthly drop since November 2022, and marks the slowest sales pace for the month of March going back to 2009.

Sales of previously occupied U.S. homes fell last year to their lowest level in nearly 30 years.

“One of the central problems for Home Depot is the skittish housing market,” Neil Saunders, managing director of GlobalData, said in a statement. “While last quarter was robust, home sales declined by 3.1% year-over-year this quarter as consumers were deterred from moving by continued high interest rates and growing economic uncertainty. This lack of recovery makes it difficult to drive home improvement spending.”

For the three months ended May 4, Home Depot Inc. earned $3.43 billion, or $3.45 per share. A year earlier the Atlanta-based company earned $3.6 billion, or $3.63 per share.

Stripping out certain items, earnings were $3.56 per share. Wall Street was calling for earnings of $3.60 per share.

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