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Senate confirms Bishop for deputy budget director in Trump administration | North Carolina

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Senate confirms Bishop for deputy budget director in Trump administration | North Carolina

www.thecentersquare.com – By Alan Wooten | The Center Square – (The Center Square – ) 2025-03-26 13:11:00

(The Center Square) – Dan Bishop, former congressman from North Carolina and state senator before that, was confirmed 53-45 by the U.S. Senate as deputy director of the Office of Management and Budget Wednesday.

Every Republican voted for him; 44 Democrats and one independent did not; and a Democrat and an independent each did not vote.

In a December statement making the nomination, President Donald Trump said, “Dan will implement my cost-cutting and deregulatory agenda across all agencies and root out the weaponized deep state.”

According to the White House website, the Office of Management and Budget has five functions across executive departments and agencies. These include but are not limited to oversight of agency performance; clearance of presidential executive orders; and development and execution of budgets.

“Congratulations to Dan Bishop, my friend, House colleague, and proud North Carolinian, on becoming the deputy director for budget at OMB,” Sen. Ted Budd, R-N.C., wrote on social media. “I cannot think of a better person for the job.”

Bishop’s confirmation hearing was Feb. 25 before the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs led by Chairman Dr. Rand Paul, R-Ky., with Budd introducing him. He was poised when questioned by Democrats, and well-received by Republicans on the panel.

“Our government has been self-absorbed, inefficient, unaccountable, and maladministered,” Bishop said during his confirmation hearing, referring to the national debt of $36 trillion. “The good news is that we can fix all of those things, and if confirmed, I will be laser-focused on doing so, along with Director Russ Vought and the superb public servants at OMB.”

Bishop won a seat in the U.S. House of Representatives in a 2019 election do-over, was reelected in 2020 and 2022, and this past November lost to Democrat Jeff Jackson in the quest to be attorney general in North Carolina. The difference was just 159,549 votes of more than 5.5 million cast, with Bishop winning 76 of 100 counties and Jackson holding an upper hand in urban areas.

Not voting Wednesday were Sens. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., and Ruben Gallego, D-Ariz.

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Helene: Election board’s efforts earn national award | North Carolina

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Helene: Election board’s efforts earn national award | North Carolina

www.thecentersquare.com – By Alan Wooten | The Center Square – (The Center Square – ) 2025-04-18 14:16:00

(The Center Square) – Planning and response to Hurricane Helene with early voting already underway has been deemed worthy of an award for the North Carolina State Board of Elections.

Fifty-three programs from 258 nominations earned the Exemplary Contingency Planning and Emergency Response Efforts award from the U.S. Election Assistance Commission. Additionally, election boards in the counties of Buncombe, Currituck, Durham and Wake won 2024 Clearinghouse Awards, and those in Durham, Rockingham and Union counties earned honorable mention.

Helene killed 107 and caused an estimated $60 billion damage.

The storm made landfall as a Category 4 hurricane in Dekle Beach, Fla., on Sept. 26. It dissipated over the mountains of the state and Tennessee, dropping more than 30 inches in some places and over 24 consistently across more.

Election Day was six weeks away. The disaster area declared included 25 counties and coordination with the state board; county boards; lawmen on the federal, state and local levels; the state National Guard; the U.S. Postal Service; and information technology professionals on multiple levels.

Voter turnout in the 25 counties was 74.9%, a tick higher than the state average of 72.6%.

“We are extremely proud of the efforts of our state’s election officials and our partners to pull off a successful election under the most trying of circumstances,” said Karen Brinson Bell, the state board’s executive director. “Hundreds of thousands of western North Carolinians were able to vote in the important 2024 election because of state board planning, along with the hard work and resiliency of county election officials and the invaluable assistance of our emergency management and law enforcement partners.”

The award is a different kind of light for the state board.

Between July 22 and Sept. 12, seven lawsuits were filed against the state board of Democrats Alan Hirsch, its chairman, Jeff Carmon and Siobhan Millen; and Republicans Stacy Eggers and Kevin Lewis; and Bell. More followed the election and are still unresolved along with the state Supreme Court race between Democrat Allison Riggs and Republican Jefferson Griffin.

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Van Hollen secures meeting with wrongly deported man

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ncnewsline.com – Shauneen Miranda – 2025-04-18 12:32:00

SUMMARY: U.S. Sen. Chris Van Hollen met with Kilmar Abrego Garcia, a Maryland resident mistakenly deported to a mega-prison in El Salvador. Van Hollen, a Maryland Democrat, traveled to El Salvador to check on Abrego Garcia, who has been held for over a month at the Centro de Confinamiento del Terrorismo (CECOT). The Trump administration acknowledged the deportation error. Despite challenges in securing a meeting, Van Hollen met Abrego Garcia and shared an update with his wife. El Salvador’s President Nayib Bukele mocked the meeting, commenting that Abrego Garcia would remain in custody.  

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Magic of Storytelling | Thumper and the Egg

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Magic of Storytelling | Thumper and the Egg

www.youtube.com – ABC11 – 2025-04-18 09:23:51


SUMMARY: In Disney’s “Magic of Storytelling” podcast, Thumper discovers a robin’s egg after a storm. He and his four sisters—Trixie, Tessy, Daisy, and Ria—worry about the egg being cold and try to keep it warm with leaves. As they debate the best approach, they decide to find the mama robin for help. Meanwhile, Thumper and Daisy attempt to cheer the egg by singing and dancing. Eventually, the sisters return with a nest just as the mama robin arrives. The egg hatches, bringing joy to the bunnies as they celebrate their teamwork and caring efforts.

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Thumper the bunny is hopping along one day and finds a special egg! Soon, he and his family are set out on an adventure to find the egg’s Mama.

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