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North Carolina lawmakers focus on guns, immigration and parental rights ahead of a key deadline

North Carolina lawmakers focus on guns, immigration and parental rights ahead of a key deadline

By MAKIYA SEMINERA and GARY D. ROBERTSON Associated Press

RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — Gun access, parental rights and the response to illegal immigration were front and center this week in North Carolina as Republican lawmakers worked to keep their high-priority bills alive, while many other pieces of legislation are likely dead for two years.

Unlike other years with chaotic late-night sessions full of political bargaining, the lead-up to Thursday’s biennial “crossover deadline” looked more orderly and even wrapped up a day early.

GOP legislative veterans chalked it up to a disciplined House work schedule from new Speaker Destin Hall, and perhaps because fewer “controversial” bills were considered. It doesn’t hurt that parliamentary maneuvers can be used to bypass the deadline and move bills later — if top leaders allow. There are also exceptions for bills involving spending or taxes, constitutional amendments and other topics.

“There are so many ways to skin a cat,” Senate leader Phil Berger told reporters.

Among other things, legislators advanced measures making it easier to retain a concealed handgun permit, as well as ensure immigrants unlawfully in the country can’t get certain state benefits, and make it so minors need a parent’s consent for more kinds of medical treatments. Since bills on these topics passed one General Assembly chamber, they met the deadline.

Here’s a look at some of the recent activity:

Gun access appeared as a leading issue

After a brief debate, the GOP-led House passed a bill that creates lifetime concealed handgun permits and eases training requirements for some people renewing expired permits with fixed durations.

Democratic Rep. Marcia Morey warned that having renewals safeguards the public, because a lifetime permit wouldn’t account for changing circumstances like addiction or mental illnesses.

But Republican proponents emphasized that permits — with or without renewals — don’t prevent bad behavior. Earlier this year, Senate Republicans approved legislation that would allow concealed carry without a permit.

And in the past week, the House and Senate approved competing bills that would allow private K-12 school governing boards to give permission to certain employees or volunteers to carry a concealed handgun on campus for student and staff safety.

Advancing Trump’s immigration agenda

Amid President Donald Trump’s crackdown on illegal immigration, the House passed a bill Wednesday that would bar several state agencies from supplying benefits to immigrants unlawfully in the country. State public universities are also instructed to verify applicants as legal U.S. residents to be considered for instate tuition and financial aid, according to the bill.

Republicans in both chambers have already signaled support for Trump’s immigration policies through bills previously advanced this session.

Emphasis on parents’ rights and protections

Minors would be limited in their ability to consent to most medical treatments on their own, except for pregnancy, according to a bill passed Tuesday in the House. A handful of House Democrats joined Republicans in approving it.

Under current law, minors can provide sole consent for treating sexually transmitted diseases, pregnancy, substance abuse and mental health conditions. Minors could still consult with doctors about those issues, but the bill maintains parents’ “essential role” in determining the best medical course of action for their children, Republican Rep. Jennifer Balkcom said.

Some Democrats spoke against the bill, saying it would endanger teenagers who feel less inclined to seek treatment for sensitive issues.

The Senate approved legislation Wednesday that would prevent parents from being cited for neglect because they raised their child consistent with the child’s sex assigned at birth.

What didn’t meet crossover?

One House bill with momentum that fell short would have expanded the state’s capital punishment methods from lethal injection to include death by electrocution and a firing squad.

The legislation, which had cleared two committees, would make electrocution the default execution method but allow death-row offenders to choose another option if correction officials have it available.

The firing squad method garnered national attention this year after South Carolina executed the first U.S. prisoner by firing squad in over a decade.

North Carolina hasn’t carried out a state execution since 2006 in part due to a legal impasse involving lethal injections and litigation over racial bias in capital trials.

What’s ahead?

House and Senate leaders will decide the fate of measures from the other chambers.

The state budget process also revs up as House Republicans hope to pass their two-year spending plan before Memorial Day weekend. Negotiations with Senate Republicans, who approved their budget last month, will follow.

In the background is new Democratic Gov. Josh Stein, who has his own ideas on a budget and other legislation. Veto threats could wield Stein more influence since Republicans are now one seat short of a veto-proof majority. Republicans have been able to sway some Democrats on key measures.

Panthers release veteran Jadeveon Clowney after selecting two edge rushers in the NFL draft

Panthers release veteran Jadeveon Clowney after selecting two edge rushers in the NFL draft

CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) — The Carolina Panthers have released veteran Jadeveon Clowney after selecting two edge rushers in the NFL draft.

Clowney, the No. 1 pick in the 2014 draft, had 5 1/2 sacks last season for the Panthers.

He had one year left on his contract.

The Panthers drafted Texas A&M’s Nic Scourton in the second round and Mississippi’s Princely Umanmielen in the third round in the NFL draft with an eye towards getting younger at the position.

Trump says he’ll pull the nomination of Ed Martin, who defended Jan. 6 rioters, for DC US Attorney

Trump says he’ll pull the nomination of Ed Martin, who defended Jan. 6 rioters, for DC US Attorney

By SEUNG MIN KIM and MICHAEL KUNZELMAN Associated Press

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump said Thursday that he would pull the nomination of conservative activist Ed Martin Jr. to be the top federal prosecutor for the nation’s capital, after a key Republican senator said he could not support him for the job due to his defense of Jan. 6 rioters.

“We have somebody else that will be great,” Trump told reporters in the Oval Office when asked about the status of Martin’s confirmation. He said it was disappointing, but “that’s the way it works sometime.”

A spokesperson for Ed Martin didn’t immediately respond to messages seeking comment.

Martin has served as acting U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia since Trump’s first week in office. But his hopes of keeping the job faded amid questions about his qualifications and background, including his support for rioters who stormed the U.S. Capitol over four years ago.

Martin stirred up a chorus of critics during his brief but tumultuous tenure leading the nation’s largest U.S. Attorney’s office. He fired and demoted subordinates who worked on politically sensitive cases. He posted on social media about potential targets of investigations. And he forced the chief of the office’s criminal division to resign after directing her to scrutinize the awarding of a government contract during Democratic President Joe Biden’s administration.

Martin’s temporary appointment is due to expire on May 20.

North Carolina Republican Sen. Thom Tillis said Tuesday that he wouldn’t support Martin’s nomination. Tillis, a member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, said his opposition stemmed from Martin’s defense of rioters who breached the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021. Other Republicans seemed likely to oppose Martin’s nomination as well.

In response to a committee questionnaire, Martin initially failed to disclose that he made over 150 appearances on the Russian government-funded RT and Sputnik networks before he took office. He later included them in a follow-up letter.

Dozens of former prosecutors from the office publicly opposed Martin’s nomination. In a letter to the committee, more than 100 office veterans described him as “an affront to the singular pursuit of justice for which this Office has stood for more than two centuries.”

Martin also had some prominent supporters, including Elon Musk, Charlie Kirk and Donald Trump Jr. His backers touted his record of fighting for conservative causes and his efforts to reduce violent crime in Washington.

Martin was a leading figure in Trump’s “Stop the Steal” movement. He spoke at a rally in Washington on the eve of the Capitol riot. He represented three Jan. 6 defendants and served on the board of the nonprofit Patriot Freedom Project, which reports raising over $2.5 million to support riot defendants.

In office, Martin oversaw the dismissals of hundreds of Jan. 6 cases after Trump pardoned defendants, commuted sentences or vowed to throw them out. Martin also ordered an internal review of prosecutors’ use of a felony charge against hundreds of Capitol rioters, directing employees to hand over files, emails and other documents.

Martin’s opponents also honed in on his public praise for a Capitol riot defendant, Timothy Hale-Cusanelli, who openly espoused white supremacist and antisemitic ideology and photographed himself sporting a Hitler mustache. He referred to Hale-Cusanelli as a friend who is “an extraordinary guy.”

Martin told committee members that he condemns Hale-Cusanelli’s hateful comments as “abhorrent and deplorable.” He claimed he didn’t learn about them until after he presented him with the award during an event at Trump’s golf club in Bedminster, New Jersey.

Martin practiced law in Missouri but never worked as a prosecutor or tried a case before Trump appointed him in January. Martin chaired the Missouri Republican Party before becoming president of conservative activist Phyllis Schlafly’s Eagle Forum in April 2013. He co-authored a book about Trump with Schlafly, who died in 2016.

More than 100 vultures die in a mass poisoning in South Africa’s flagship national park

More than 100 vultures die in a mass poisoning in South Africa’s flagship national park

By GERALD IMRAY Associated Press

CAPE TOWN, South Africa (AP) — At least 123 vultures died in South Africa’s flagship national park after eating the carcass of an elephant that was poisoned by poachers with agricultural pesticides, park authorities and an animal conservation group said Thursday.

Another 83 vultures that were rescued from the site and transported for treatment by helicopter or a special vulture ambulance were recovering.

The mass poisoning was one of the worst seen in the famous Kruger National Park in northern South Africa, said SANParks, the national parks agency.

Vultures are key to wildlife ecosystems because of the clean up work they do feeding on the carcasses of dead animals. But that also makes them especially vulnerable to poisoning by poachers, either intentionally or as a result of the killing of other animals. Hundreds of vultures typically feed on a carcass.

The elephant had been poisoned by poachers in a remote part of the huge park to harvest its body parts for the illegal wildlife trade, SANParks and the Endangered Wildlife Trust said.

Many vulture species are endangered in Africa because of poisoning and other threats to them. The affected birds in Kruger included Cape vultures, endangered lappet-faced vultures and critically-endangered white-backed and hooded vultures.

“This horrific incident is part of a broader crisis unfolding across southern Africa: the escalating use of poisons in wildlife poaching,” SANParks and the Endangered Wildlife Trust said in their joint statement. “Poachers increasingly use agricultural toxins to target high-value species.”

The Kruger National Park covers approximately 20,000 square kilometers (7,722 square miles) and is nearly twice the size of small countries like Jamaica and Qatar.

Rangers say they face a daily battle to guard species like rhinos, elephants and lions from poachers.

Vulture conservation organization Vulpro, which was not involved in the rescue, said the poisoning came at the start of the breeding season and many other birds that weren’t found at the site could still be affected.

Wild Mushroom Beef Stew

Wild Mushroom Beef Stew

Wild Mushroom Beef Stew

Photo Courtesy of BeefItsWhatsForDinner.com

Wild Mushroom Beef Stew Recipe from Beef It’s What’s For Dinner

Prep time: 5 minutes

Cooking time: 6-8 hours

Serving size: 6 servings

Ingredients

  • 2 pounds beef Stew Meat, cut into 1-inch pieces
  • 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme leaves
  • 1/2 teaspoon pepper
  • 3/4 cup reduced-sodium beef broth
  • 1/4 cup tomato paste
  • 1/4 cup dry red wine
  • 2 teaspoons minced garlic
  • 1 pound baby red-skinned potatoes, quartered
  • 8 ounces assorted mushrooms, such as shiitake, cremini and oyster, cut into quarters
  • 1 cup baby carrots
  • Chopped fresh parsley leaves (optional for garnish)

Directions

  1. Combine beef Stew Meat, flour, salt, thyme and pepper in large bowl; toss to coat. Place beef mixture in 4-1/2 to 5-1/2-quart slow cooker.
  2. Combine broth, tomato paste, wine and garlic in small bowl; mix well. Add broth mixture to beef. Add potatoes, mushrooms and carrots; mix well.
  3. Cover and cook on HIGH 5 to 6 hours, or on LOW 8 to 9 hours, or until beef and vegetables are tender. (No stirring is necessary during cooking.) Stir well before serving. Garnish with parsley, if desired.

Alternate Cooking Method:

  1. This recipe can be made in a 6-quart electric pressure cooker. Combine beef Stew Meat, flour, salt, thyme and pepper in large bowl; toss to coat. Place beef in pressure cooker. Combine broth, tomato paste, wine and garlic in small bowl; mix well. Add broth mixture to beef. Cut potatoes into 2-inch pieces or, if smaller, keep whole. Cut carrots into 2-inch pieces. Add potatoes, whole mushrooms and carrots; mix well. Close and lock pressure cooker lid. Use beef, stew or high-pressure setting on pressure cooker; program 25 minutes on pressure cooker timer. Use quick-release feature to release pressure; carefully remove lid. Stir well before servings. Garnish with parsley, if desired. (This recipe variation was tested in an electric pressure cooker at high altitude. Cooking at an altitude of less than 3000 feet may require slightly less cooking time. Refer to the manufacturer’s instructions.)
ACC cuts 20-game men’s basketball slate to make room for nonconference games in bid to boost sport

ACC cuts 20-game men’s basketball slate to make room for nonconference games in bid to boost sport

By AARON BEARD AP Basketball Writer

The Atlantic Coast Conference is hoping its men’s basketball programs trade two fewer league games for marquee nonconference matchups in an effort to reverse a dwindling haul of NCAA Tournament bids.

The league announced Wednesday it is reducing its 20-game men’s basketball schedule to 18. The change comes after Commissioner Jim Phillips has been vocal about spending the past two seasons examining the conundrum of the ACC getting fewer bids — down to four this year, its fewest since 2013 — despite having teams regularly playing deep into March.

Going to 18 games could make room for schools to add quality nonconference matchups to help their schedule strength — and therefore the ACC’s stature, provided the league wins its share of measuring-stick games, unlike last year. It will shake up the scheduling model, which will mean ACC teams won’t face one league member each year.

In a statement, Phillips said the move — first reported by CBS Sports — is “a direct result of our ongoing strategic review and analysis” and gives them more control of scheduling by freeing up two slots. It also comes as the league implements a new revenue-distribution model that will factor in TV viewership in its payouts to league schools, which could offer even more incentive to schedule marquee opponents that fans want to watch to boost the bottom line.

“This decision reflects our on-going prioritization to do what’s best for ACC Men’s Basketball,” Phillips said, “and we appreciate the thoughtfulness of our membership and the support from our television partners.”

The new model will have the league schedule running from late December into the first Saturday of March. Each team will play one primary partner at home and away every year, with those pairings — such as famed rivals Duke and North Carolina or instate opponents Virginia and Virginia Tech — designed to create some protection for long-running series.

The others primary pairings are Boston College-Notre Dame, Clemson-Georgia Tech, California-Stanford, Florida State-Miami, Louisville-SMU, N.C. State-Wake Forest and Pittsburgh-Syracuse.

Each team also will play a home-and-away series against a partner that will change each year, then play one game against 14 of the remaining 15 teams.

It won’t be perfect. Aside from the fact that some teams won’t play each another, there are hiccups such as no guarantees that neighboring rivals UNC and North Carolina State will have their typical home-and-away meetings; the Tar Heels and Wolfpack have played those every year reaching back to their Southern Conference days long before the ACC’s birth in May 1953.

Still, Phillips had been clear the league had to make changes to address the newfound shakiness in a sport widely and long regarded as its crown jewel.

The ACC had played an 18-game schedule from the 2012-13 season through 2018-19, then moved to a 20-game slate for the 2019-20 season with its ESPN-partnered launch of the ACC Network. At the time, the ACC was coming off a fourth straight season with at least seven NCAA bids — including a record nine in 2018 and 2019 — while having three No. 1 seeds in 2019 and winning three of five national titles (Duke in 2015, North Carolina in 2017 and Virginia in 2019).

Things have been tougher since the pandemic, coinciding with the retirement of big-name coaches like UNC’s Roy Williams, Duke’s Mike Krzyzewski and Syracuse’s Jim Boeheim. Or last year with the unexpected departure of Virginia’s Tony Bennett weeks before the season began.

The league had seven bids during the “bubble” 2021 tournament in Indiana, then fell to five for three straight seasons before sliding to four this year, its first as an expanded 18-team basketball conference. By comparison, the ACC had 12 teams the last time it got just four bids in 2013.

And yet, the league also had both UNC and Duke in the Final Four in 2022, Miami there in 2023, N.C. State in 2024 and Duke again in April.

The ACC’s move comes after a similar change for the Big 12, which announced in March that it would drop from 20 games to 18 after its coaches had expressed concerns about a grinding schedule with no time for rest. The SEC, which got a record 14 bids from its 16 teams last year, plays 18 games while the Big Ten plays 20.

___

AP college basketball: https://apnews.com/hub/ap-top-25-college-basketball-poll and https://apnews.com/hub/college-basketball

The election director in North Carolina, a key swing state, is ousted after a Republican power play

The election director in North Carolina, a key swing state, is ousted after a Republican power play

By GARY D. ROBERTSON Associated Press

RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — The North Carolina elections board ousted its widely respected executive director Wednesday in a partisan move that will put Republicans in control of election operations in the political swing state, which includes the certification of results.

The removal of Karen Brinson Bell, who had held the job for nearly six years during a time when the board had Democratic majorities, came after Republicans took away the authority to appoint election board members from the Democratic governor late last year, overriding a veto while they still held a supermajority in the legislature. Republicans handed that power to the elected state auditor, a Republican.

Meeting for the first time with its new GOP majority, the North Carolina State Board of Elections agreed in a party-line vote to replace Brinson Bell with Sam Hayes, the top lawyer for the Republican House speaker. The board declined to consider her request to speak at the end of the meeting, adjourning instead.

“While I would have liked to have continued to serve the county board of elections and the voters of North Carolina in this capacity, the state board has made a different decision,” Brinson Bell said after the meeting to those remaining in the audience.

Brinson Bell led the board during the voting difficulties of the early COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 and through last year’s presidential balloting after a devastating hurricane hit the state.

Democratic board member Siobhan O’Duffy Millen told her Republican colleagues before the 3-2 vote to hire Hayes that how they parted ways with Brinson Bell was “a shabby way to treat a nationally admired executive election director.”

Nonetheless, her removal was not surprising, given that there’s precedent for a new director to get hired with a changing partisan majority, and Republican legislative leaders have clashed over the years with Brinson Bell. Still, the circumstances are extraordinary.

Republicans have sought board changes for years

The board’s partisan composition was altered just last week through the state law enacted by Republican lawmakers in December over the veto of then-Gov. Roy Cooper, a Democrat. It stripped the governor of his appointment powers not only to the state election board, but also to the chairs of county election boards. Republicans are also expected to install new GOP majorities on the local boards next month.

The GOP has tried several times since 2016 to remove the governor’s authority to choose members of the election board, whose duties include carrying out campaign finance laws, certifying election results and setting rules on a host of voting administration details.

New Democratic Gov. Josh Stein sued over the law, and some trial judges ruled that it had to be blocked. But the appointment switch took effect after a state Court of Appeals panel ruled the law could still be implemented starting May 1. The executive director is chosen for a two-year term set to begin May 15.

Election leaders praise outgoing director

Brinson Bell received high marks from colleagues for helping administer elections during the pandemic and when a photo identification requirement was carried out in the first general election in 2024.

She also oversaw the effort to hold the presidential election in the state last year after Hurricane Helene laid waste to numerous counties when it struck in September. The storm and subsequent flooding knocked out power and damaged water treatment systems across western North Carolina. Nonetheless, election officials managed to open nearly all of the 80 voting sites initially planned for the hardest hit areas on the first day of early in-person voting, just weeks later.

Some Republican officials complained about long lines at early-vote sites in some counties, and with mixed results lobbied to get more open.

Brinson Bell was selected recently to serve as the incoming president of the National Association of State Election Directors — a position Brinson Bell said she can no longer hold after losing her job.

David Becker, a former U.S. Justice Department lawyer who now leads the Center for Election Innovation & Research, said the GOP’s “highly partisan power grab” has “resulted in the removal of one of the most highly respected election officials in the country.”

Justin Roebuck, the chief election official in Ottawa County, Michigan, said Brinson Bell’s “departure will be a significant loss — not only for North Carolina voters but for the entire election administration community that has benefited from her leadership.”

Pandemic litigation built animosity

State Republicans have been unhappy with Brinson Bell going back years. They focused on her role in a legal settlement in 2020. The settlement extended to nine days after the November election the time for mail ballots postmarked by Election Day to be received and counted. State law at the time had set the limit at three days.

Brinson Bell defended her actions and those of the board, saying they helped more mail-in ballots get counted after worries about Postal Service delays during the pandemic.

GOP leaders also have criticized the previous board for what they called errors in how election laws were carried out for the 2024 election. It led to litigation and formal protests in last November’s race for a state Supreme Court seat that dragged on for months.

After last November’s election, Brinson Bell publicly asked that Senate leader Phil Berger -– the state’s most powerful Republican elected official -– to retract a comment suggesting that results were being manipulated during the canvassing period to lead to favorable results for Democrats. She said such words could lead to threats against local election workers. Berger declined to withdraw his comments.

Republican chairman says he seeks trust in elections

Francis De Luca, a Republican who chairs the new elections board, said his goal was that “we get things so we have fair elections, make voting easy and make sure we follow the law. And make sure there is trust in the election system.”

Republican Donald Trump has won the state each of the three times he has run for president.

Hayes, the incoming election director, has been general counsel to previous Speaker Tim Moore and current Speaker Destin Hall. His career has largely been spent working for state agencies, and he has been highly involved with election-related litigation filed against GOP lawmakers.

While she was not allowed to speak during the meeting, Brinson Bell stayed afterward and addressed the audience and the two Democratic members of the election board, who remained after their GOP colleagues had left.

“We have done this work under incredibly difficult circumstances and in a toxic political environment,” she said, adding that she hoped election workers are “supported and rewarded for their work rather than vilified by those who don’t like the outcome.”

___

Associated Press writer Christina A. Cassidy in Atlanta contributed to this report.

Federal Reserve leaves key rate unchanged as it sees risk of higher prices and higher unemployment

Federal Reserve leaves key rate unchanged as it sees risk of higher prices and higher unemployment

By CHRISTOPHER RUGABER AP Economics Writer

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Federal Reserve kept its key interest rate unchanged Wednesday, brushing off President Donald Trump’s demands to lower borrowing costs, and said that the risks of higher unemployment and higher inflation have risen.

The Fed kept its rate at 4.3% for the third straight meeting, after cutting it three times in a row at the end of last year. Many economists and Wall Street investors still expect the Fed will reduce rates two or three times this year, but the sweeping tariffs imposed by Trump have injected a tremendous amount of uncertainty into the U.S. economy and the Fed’s policies.

During a press conference after the release of the policy statement, Powell underscored that the tariffs have dampened consumer and business sentiment but have yet to noticeably harm the economy. At the moment, Powell said, there’s too much uncertainty to say how the Fed should react.

“If the large increases in tariffs that have been announced are sustained, they’re likely to generate a rise in inflation, a slowdown in economic growth, and a rise in unemployment,” Powell said. The impacts could be temporary, or more persistent, he added.

“There’s just so much that we don’t know,” he added. “We’re in a good position to wait and see.”

It is unusual for the Fed to say that the risk of both higher prices and more unemployment have increased. But economists say that is the threat created by Trump’s sweeping tariffs. The import taxes could both lift inflation by making imported parts and finished goods more expensive, while also raising unemployment by causing companies to cut jobs as their costs rise.

As a result, the tariffs have put the Fed in a difficult spot. The Fed’s goals are to keep prices stable and maximize employment. Typically, when inflation rises, the Fed raises rates to slow borrowing and spending and cool inflation, while if layoffs rise, it would reduce rates to spur more spending and growth.

Powell said the Fed’s next moves will depend in part on which indicator worsens the most: inflation or unemployment.

“Depending on how things play out, it could include rate cuts, it could include us holding where we are, we just need to see how things play out before we make those decisions,” he said.

Krishna Guha at EvercoreISI said the Fed’s assessment of current conditions likely pushes back the timetable for a rate cut. “The combination of the two-sided risk assessment and the characterization of the economy as solid suggest the Committee is not looking to tee up a June cut at this juncture.” Many economists think the Fed may not be ready to cut until September.

Trump announced sweeping tariffs against about 60 U.S. trading partners in April, then paused most of them for 90 days, with the exception of duties against China. The administration has subjected goods from China to a 145% tariff. The two sides are scheduled to hold their first high-level talks since Trump launched his trade war this weekend in Switzerland.

The central bank’s caution could lead to more conflict between the Fed and the Trump administration. On Sunday, Trump again urged the Fed to cut rates in a television interview and said Powell “just doesn’t like me because I think he’s a total stiff.”

With inflation not far from the Fed’s 2% target for now, Trump and Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent argue that the Fed could reduce its rate. The Fed pushed it higher in 2022 and 2023 to fight inflation.

Asked at the press conference whether Trump’s calls for lower rates has any influence on the Fed, Powell said, ”(It) doesn’t affect doing our job at all. We’re always going to consider only the economic data, the outlook, the balance of risks, and that’s it.”

If the Fed were to cut rates, it could lower other borrowing costs, such as for mortgages, auto loans, and credit cards, though that is not guaranteed.

Trump also said he wouldn’t fire Powell because the chair’s term ends next May and he will be able to appoint a new chair then. Yet if the economy stumbles in the coming months, Trump could renew his threats to remove Powell.

A big issue facing the Fed is how tariffs will impact inflation. Nearly all economists and Fed officials expect the import taxes will lift prices, but it’s not clear by how much or for how long.

Tariffs typically cause a one-time increase in prices, but not necessarily ongoing inflation. Yet if Trump announces further tariffs — as he has threatened to do on pharmaceuticals, semiconductors, and copper — or if Americans worry that inflation will get worse, that could send prices higher in a more persistent way.

Economists and the Fed are closely watching inflation expectations, which are essentially a measure of how much consumers are concerned that inflation will worsen. Higher inflation expectations can be self-fulfilling, because it Americans think prices will rise, they can take steps that push up costs, such as asking for higher wages.

For now, the U.S. economy is mostly in solid shape, and inflation has cooled considerably from its peak in 2022. Consumers are spending at a healthy pace, though some of that may reflect buying things like cars ahead of tariffs. Businesses are still adding workers at a steady pace, and unemployment is low.

Still, there are signs inflation will worsen in the coming months. Surveys of both manufacturing and services firms show that they are seeing higher prices from their suppliers. And a survey by the Federal Reserve’s Dallas branch found that nearly 55% of manufacturing firms expect to pass on the impact of tariff increases to their customers.

“The bottom line is that inflation will be rising significantly over the next six months,” Torsten Slok, chief economist at the Apollo Group, said in an email.

Yet the tariffs could also weigh heavily on the economy, particularly because of the uncertainty they have created. Business surveys show that firms are postponing investment decisions until they have greater clarity. Many companies have withdrawn their financial forecasts for 2025 due to the uncertainty around tariffs.

___

AP Writer Alex Veiga contributed to this report.

Republican concedes long-unsettled North Carolina court election to Democratic incumbent

Republican concedes long-unsettled North Carolina court election to Democratic incumbent

By GARY D. ROBERTSON Associated Press

RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — The Republican challenger for a North Carolina Supreme Court seat conceded last November’s election on Wednesday to Democratic incumbent Allison Riggs, two days after a federal judge ruled that potentially thousands of disputed ballots challenged by Jefferson Griffin must remain in the final tally.

In a statement provided by his campaign to The Associated Press, Griffin said he would not appeal Monday’s decision by U.S. District Judge Richard Myers, who also ordered that the State Board of Elections certify results that show Riggs is the winner by 734 votes from over 5.5 million ballots cast in the race.

Griffin’s decision sets the stage for Riggs to be officially elected to an eight-year term as an associate justice.

“While I do not fully agree with the District Court’s analysis, I respect the court’s holding — just as I have respected every judicial tribunal that has heard this case,” Griffin said. “I will not appeal the court’s decision.”

Myers delayed carrying out his order for seven days in case Griffin wanted to ask the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals to review his decision. Democrats, meanwhile, had called on Griffin to accept defeat.

Riggs is one of two Democrats on the seven-member state Supreme Court, and winning improved the party’s efforts to retake a court majority later in the decade. Griffin is a state Court of Appeals judge whose term ends in 2028.

“I wish my opponent the best and will continue to pray for her and all the members of our court system here in North Carolina. I look forward to continuing to serve the people of North Carolina,” Griffin said.

While the Associated Press declared over 4,400 winners in the 2024 general election, the North Carolina Supreme Court election was the last race nationally that was undecided.

Myers ruled that Griffin’s efforts after the Nov. 5 election to remove from the election total ballots that state appeals courts agreed were ineligible under state law would have damaged federal due process or equal protection rights of affected voters had they been implemented.

Griffin filed formal protests that initially appeared to cover more than 65,000 ballots. Ensuing state court rulings whittled the total to votes from two categories, covering from as few as 1,675 ballots to as many as 7,000, according to court filings. Griffin hoped that removing ballots he said were unlawfully cast would flip the outcome to him.

Democrats and voting rights groups had raised alarm about Griffin’s efforts, which in one category of ballots had only targeted six Democratic-leaning counties. They called it an attack on democracy that would serve as a road map for the GOP to reverse election results in other states. Griffin said Wednesday that his legal efforts were always “about upholding the rule of law and making sure that every legal vote in an election is counted.”

Most of the ballots that state appeals courts found ineligible came from military or overseas voters who didn’t provide copies of photo identification or an ID exception form with their absentee ballots. The appeals courts had permitted a 30-day “cure” process for those voters so their ballots could still count if they provided ID information.

Myers, who was nominated to the bench by President Donald Trump, agreed with Riggs and her allied litigants that the “retroactive invalidation” of those ballots violated the rights of service members, missionaries, or others working or studying abroad who cast their ballots under the rules for the 2024 election.

“You establish the rules before the game. You don’t change them after the game is done,” Myers wrote in his order.

The other category of ballots was cast by overseas voters who have never lived in the U.S. but whose parents were declared North Carolina residents. A state law had authorized those people to vote in state elections, but state appeals courts said it violated the state Constitution. Myers wrote that there was no process for people mistakenly on the list to contest their ineligibility, representing “an unconstitutional burden on the right to vote.”

Griffin said Wednesday the rulings of state appeals judges still recognized that the state election board failed to follow laws and the state constitution.

“These holdings are very significant for securing our state’s elections,” he said.

Beef Sausage and Cheddar Monkey Bread

Beef Sausage and Cheddar Monkey Bread

Beef Sausage and Cheddar Monkey Bread

Photo Courtesy of BeefItsWhatsForDinner.com

Beef Sausage and Cheddar Monkey Bread Recipe from Beef It’s What’s For Dinner

Prep time: 25-30 minutes

Cooking time: 30-35 minutes

Serving size: 12 servings

Ingredients

  • 1 recipe Mexican-Style Beef Sausage
  • 2 cans (7-1/2 ounces each) refrigerated buttermilk flavored biscuits
  • 1-1/2 cups reduced-fat shredded Cheddar cheese
  • 1/2 cup chopped green onion
  • 1/4 cup olive oil
  • 1/2 cup Mexican crema or dairy sour cream

Directions

  1. Prepare Mexican-Style Beef Sausage. Set aside.

Mexican-Style Beef Sausage: Combine 1 pound Ground Beef, 2 tablespoons red wine vinegar, 1-1/2 teaspoons dried oregano leaves, 1-1/2 teaspoons smoked paprika, 1-1/2 teaspoons chile powder, 1 teaspoon garlic powder, 1/2 teaspoon salt and 1/2 teaspoon chipotle chile powder in large bowl, mixing lightly but thoroughly. Heat large nonstick skillet over medium heat until hot. Add sausage mixture; cook 8 to 10 minutes, breaking into 1/2-inch crumbles and stirring occasionally. (Cooking times are for fresh or thoroughly thawed Ground Beef. Ground beef should be cooked to an internal temperature of 160°F. Color is not a reliable indicator of ground beef doneness.)

  1. Preheat oven to 350°F. 
  2. Open biscuit cans; cut each biscuit into quarters. Place biscuits into large bowl. Add sausage mixture, cheese, onion and oil; gently toss until well combined.
  3. Generously coat Bundt pan with cooking spray. Place sausage and biscuit mixture in prepared pan. Bake in 350°F oven 30 to 35 minutes until top is golden brown and biscuits are set. Remove from oven; immediately invert onto serving plate. Let rest for 10 minutes. Drizzle with crema, as desired. 
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