NC-13 GOP candidate wins lottery | Lawsuit reveals UNC COVID-19 anti-transparency
No. 58 — Feb. 4-Feb. 10, 2024
NC-13 candidate wins lottery
‘Divine intervention’: Winning lottery will shake up the race, NC candidate says - N&O
An NC congressional candidate just won the lottery. Literally. - North State Journal
Wake County man’s lucky numbers, played for years, pay off with $757,577 jackpot win - NC Lottery
Josh McConkey, one of the numerous candidates running in the 13th district GOP primary is a regular purchaser of NC Education Lottery tickets. This week, his gamble paid off, and he went home with a $541,670 post-tax win. McConkey referenced "divine intervention" in an interview with the News & Observer, and indicated he would use “whatever we need” from his winnings on his Congressional campaign.
The creation of the North Carolina Education Lottery in 2005 was controversial; the bill only passed the State Senate when the excused absence of two Republicans allowed Democrat Lt. Gov. Bev Perdue to cast the tie-breaking vote. However, the despite the opposition of Republicans at the time, I am not aware of any attempt by the party to revisit the existence of the state-sponsored gambling institution since obtaining control of both chambers of the General Assembly in 2010.
U.S. Right to Know public records lawsuit reveals efforts to evade transparency
An email received by U.S. Right to Know as part of their ongoing public records dispute with UNC shows that Ralph Baric and his wife Toni were using personal gmail accounts to purposefully avoid their communications with EcoHealth president Peter Daszak being subject to public records laws.
UNC has not been forthcoming with transparency in regards to the pre-2020 virological research taking place. Specifically, one of the types of records the university is fighting to keep excluded from the NC public records law is "research project collaborations", which would include the collaborations with the Wuhan Institute of Virology.
Follow-up
Durham Closing off 35 Additional Areas of Five City Parks After EPA Strengthens Lead Screening Levels - INDY
Durham fences off 35 areas at 5 parks due to updated EPA guidance on safe lead levels - ABC11
ICYMI:
Personal Update
For anyone interested in a personal update on my January 6th story, this is my reasoning behind the decision not to appeal my recent conviction for covering the riot as an independent journalist:
I have decided not to appeal my J6 conviction, and here's why:
The best case scenario would be getting the case sent back down to be retried in front of a DC judge or a DC jury
Even if the appeal was successful, either on the governments "restricted grounds" equivocation or something more specific to my case, there's no guarantee that the result of a second trial would be better
In fact, if I was sentenced again there is a real possibility I could get more than the 12 months probation I got, as that's very much on the low end for J6 misdemeanors
But what really seals the deal for me is the expense; I spent most of my life savings taking my case to trial and making the press freedom arguments
Taking on the expense of an appeal, and possibly a 2nd trial, would divert my time, energy, and resources from what I am really passionate about, publishing as an independent journalist
TL;DR I made my arguments, I took my hits, I'm blackpilled on the justice system