HBCUS ACROSS THE COUNTRY TARGETED WITH BOMB THREATS (INCLUDING NC CENTRAL): The university was one of at least seven bomb threats reported Tuesday at Historically Black Colleges and Universities around the country, the university said in a statement. None of the threats resulted in a bomb or explosive being found. By 9:15 p.m., an all-clear message was sent and students were taken back to their residence halls. The following agencies investigated the threat: NCCU Police, Durham Police, Durham County Sheriff’s Office, Durham Fire Department, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and Durham City/County Emergency Management. N.C. State University and UNC-Chapel Hill Police Departments also assisted in confirming buildings were cleared safely. New Orleans Police responded to a bomb threat at Xavier University at 3 p.m. local time, The Times Picayune reported. Howard University in Washington, DC, reported at 4:52 p.m. that there was a potential bomb threat earlier on campus but that “no active devices were found.”Prairie View A&M University in Texas reported a bomb threat about 5:10 p.m., according to a tweet from the school’s Senior Class Council. And at 7:20 p.m., Norfolk State University in Virginia emailed the campus with a similar alert as NCCU’s, telling people to evacuate the campus because of a bomb threat, WAVY reported. Now that is a genuine conspiracy, but don't expect Fox News to do more than yawn.
https://www.newsobserver.com/news/local/crime/article257050957.html

WAKE SCHOOL BOARD LIMITS NUMBER OF MEETING ATTENDEES: New Wake County school board chairwoman Lindsay Mahaffey is citing the community surge in COVID-19 cases for limiting how many people can attend Tuesday’s school board meeting. The capacity in the school board meeting room is being cut in half to 30 people — meaning it will mostly be board members, district staff and members of the media in the room. Only a handful of seats will be available for the public, so people have to register online by 5 p.m. Monday with a lottery being used to fill the seats. “It’s simply looking at community spread,” Mahaffey said in an interview Monday. “I did speak to some staff members and the vice chair, but ultimately it was my decision to do that.” For most of 2020 and about half of 2021, there were only about 12 seats open for our Town meetings, taped off and measured. It's what responsible government leaders do, it's not "stifling dissent," as this article offers in its click-baity headline.
https://www.newsobserver.com/news/local/education/article257010627.html

YOU WANT TO PRESERVE YOUR FREEDOMS? GET VACCINATED: There are few threats to personal freedom greater these days than the COVID pandemic. And the answer to those threats isn’t assertion of narrow personal rights that put the good of the community in jeopardy. It is the understanding – as this state and nation has shown in other times of great challenge – that focusing on the common good strengthens or most cherished liberties and rights. Get vaccinated. The greater good infinitely outweighs the minimal risk. Real patriots are listening to the scientists and medical experts. True lovers of liberty are taking the steps necessary not to overburden our medical care facilities so they can best tend to those in most urgent and critical need of care. Real rights advocates look to help those essential workers – whether they are public safety workers or emergency responders; educators in our schools and on university campuses; service personnel in grocery stores, pharmacies and other places necessary for the conduct of our daily lives and communities. Ignorance and stubbornness are proving to be just as deadly (if not more) than the virus itself.
https://www.wral.com/coronavirus/editorial-vaccinate-to-make-n-c-great/20055129/

GOVERNOR COOPER'S JUDICIOUS USE OF THE VETO STAMP: N.C. Gov. Roy Cooper vetoed 16 bills in 2021, adding to a cumulative veto list that surpasses any of his predecessors from both parties. In 2021, the first year of his second term, the Democratic governor signed 147 bills into law. The number of 2021 vetoes exceeds the 14 he vetoed in 2019 and the 11 bills he blocked in 2020. Overall, Cooper has used the veto stamp on 69 bills since he began serving as governor in 2017. He has three years left on his term. Republicans haven’t had the votes to reverse any of Cooper’s vetoes in the years after they lost their supermajorities in the 2018 elections. That's 11% in 2021, far from abusing that power. I know some reading this would like to see him use it more, but that could (very easily) degrade its effectiveness.
https://www.newsobserver.com/news/politics-government/article256872597.html

OMICRON IS PUSHING THE POSITIVE TEST RATE THROUGH THE ROOF IN NC: North Carolina’s COVID-19 positive test rate hit a record high Sunday, the latest available data, of 21.9%, as new cases continue to increase due to holiday gatherings and the highly contagious omicron variant, many public health officials suspect. The previous high was 17.1% on Jan. 4. Over the last seven days of available data, DHHS has reported that an average of 13% of cases have returned positive per day. State health officials have said they want that number at 5% or lower. Over the last six days, North Carolina has reported more than 32,000 new COVID-19 cases. The six days prior, the state reported just over 22,300 new cases. My test was negative, but the situation that drove me to get tested is very common. One of my children visited a family one day, then me the next day, before we found out that whole family was positive. I got lucky, but a lot of people aren't. Be careful.
https://www.newsobserver.com/news/coronavirus/article256890787.html