Durham Dispatch

Between July and September 2025, U.S. Rep. Valerie Foushee’s reelection campaign drew from a donor base that included technology, weapons, pharmaceutical and fossil fuel corporations. Many of the companies are regulated by Foushee’s congressional committees or subcommittees. Her PAC, Foushee for Congress, was supported by many individuals of wealth and influence in North Carolina’s Triangle region. The typical third-quarter donor had some of the following characteristics: Chapel Hill resident, academic leader, business owner, or financial sector executive. This article is based on data from the Federal Election Commission [ 1 ]. Only corporations and individuals who donated $500 or more to Foushee are examined in detail. Entergy Corp., a fossil fuel company, gave $1,000 to Foushee for Congress in July 2025. Three-quarters of Entergy’s owned or leased generation capacity comes from fracked gas, coal, or oil [ 2, pg. 12 ]. The utility company serves Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, and Texas. Entergy does not operate in the 4 th District, or elsewhere in North Carolina.  Foushee sits on the Subcommittee on Railroads, Pipelines, and Hazardous Materials, which sets safety standards for Entergy’s thousands of miles of fracked gas pipelines. She also sits on the Subcommittee on Energy, which has jurisdiction over fossil fuel research and development. In August 2025, Foushee received a $500 individual donation from Shawna Williams. Based in Greensboro, Williams is a top lobbyist for Reynolds American Inc., the second-largest U.S. tobacco company. The company owns brands such as Camel, American Spirit, and Lucky Strike. Williams is also a member of the University of North Carolina at Greensboro Board of Visitors. Many of Foushee’s third-quarter donors hold positions of academic leadership. Emily Dickens and Courtney Crowder are on the North Carolina Central University Board of Trustees. Sallie Shuping-Russell was on the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Board of Trustees. Radharani Dasi is on the school board in Chapel Hill and Carrboro. Five other Q3 donors who gave $500 or more are university professors. Caterpillar Inc. was Foushee’s most generous corporate donor in this period, giving $2,500 in September 2025. The company is best known for selling heavy construction equipment. Caterpillar is a prominent target of the Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions movement because of the company’s D9 armored bulldozer. The D9 is frequently used by the Israeli military to demolish Palestinian homes and infrastructure. Caterpillar has administrative offices and manufacturing facilities in the Triangle [ 3 ].   In October 2025, Indyweek positively reviewed a play called “My Name is Rachel Corrie” at the Burning Coal Theatre in Raleigh [ 4 ]. Corrie was a U.S. peace activist killed by the Israeli military in 2003. She was protecting a Palestinian home in the Gaza Strip when a D9 bulldozer saw her, crushed her, then reversed over her. Other defense contractors that donated to Foushee in the third quarter include Honeywell International Inc., Northrop Grumman Corp., Raytheon Technologies Corp., General Dynamics Corp., and Lockheed Martin Corp.   Sallie Shuping-Russell gave $1,000 to Foushee’s campaign in July 2025. Shuping-Russell comes from the power elite of Orange County, like many of Foushee's donors in the third quarter. She was a member of the UNC Chapel Hill board of trustees, co-founder of the Duke University Management Company (DUMAC, Inc.) cofounder, and a BlackRock Inc. managing director. With over   $10 trillion in assets under management, BlackRock is the world's largest asset management company. Six other Q3 donors have strong links to the financial sector as banking executives, bank board members, asset managers, major investors, etc.   Meta Platforms Inc., the parent company of Facebook, donated $1,000 to Foushee for Congress. The corporation is controlled by Mark Zuckerberg, one of the wealthiest U.S. oligarchs. His net worth is estimated at $220 billion by Bloomberg . Zuckerberg has strong ties to the second Trump administration. The president’s inaugural fund received $1 million from Meta, more than from any other corporation. Meta has complied with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement requests to remove content that document the agency’s human rights abuses [ 5 ].   Zuckerberg has announced plans to spend $600 billion on an enormous network of energy-guzzling data centers through 2028 [ 6 ]. To gain access and cooperation from the government, Meta has hired former Trump advisors such as Dina McCormick. Foushee was appointed as co-chair of the House Democratic Commission on Artificial Intelligence despite taking donations from Meta, Google, Garmin Ltd., and other technology companies.   In September 2025, David Steinglass gave $1,000 to Foushee. Steinglass is a co-founder of Northlane Capital Partners, a Maryland private equity firm. He and his wife have given more than $5 million to support Democratic political causes. Through the Patriots Run Project, Steinglass has engaged in the risky practice of donating to far-right candidates in hopes of providing easier opponents for Democratic candidates in the general election. One of these candidates was Thomas Leager, whose close associates included men charged in the 2020 scheme to kidnap Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer.   Work Cited   Foushee for Congress . (n.d.). FEC.gov . https://www.fec.gov/data/receipts/?committee_id=C00794727&two_year_transaction_period=2026&data_type=processed Energy for a Better Future - 2024 Performance Report. (2024). Entergy .  https://www.entergy.com/wp-content/uploads/08/2024-Performance-Report.pdf Advanced Manufacturing - Company Highlight - Caterpillar . (2026). Research Triangle Regional Partnership.  https://researchtriangle.org/industries/advanced-manufacturing/#:~:text=Company%20Highlight-,Caterpillar,nearby%20community%20colleges%20and%20universities Edwards, Sarah (2025, October 13).  Burning Coal Theatre produces powerful series of “My name is Rachel Corrie” readings across ten months . INDY Week.  https://indyweek.com/news/culture/burning-coal-theatre-my-name-is-rachel-corrie/ Meta Removes Facebook Group That Shared Information on ICE Agents. (2025, October 15).  New York Times .  https://www.nytimes.com/2025/10/15/technology/meta-removes-ice-facebook-page.html Meta plans $600 billion US spend as AI data centers expand. (2025, November 7).  Reuters .  https://www.reuters.com/business/meta-plans-600-billion-us-spend-ai-data-centers-expand-2025-11-07/

Sheraton Imperial Hotel @ RTP. Image credit: Discover Durham On Jan. 9, House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries, Rep. Valerie Foushee, and Rep. Deborah Ross hosted a fundraiser for the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC), the party’s congressional campaign arm [ 1 ]. The event was held at the Sheraton Imperial Hotel in Research Triangle Park. Rep. Foushee is facing a competitive primary against Durham County Commissioner Nida Allam. Tickets cost between $1,000 and $44,300, the maximum donation that can be given to a party committee's general fund . The tiers were: General Reception Level: $1,000 for general admission $2,500 for “Friend” $5,000 for “Supporter” VIP Reception Levels: $10,000 for “Chairwoman’s Council” $25,000 for “Host” $44,300 for “Leader’s Circle” At DCCC fundraisers, more expensive tickets typically provide greater access to top politicians and strategists.  A “Chairwoman Council” ticket includes an invitation to the “Weekend and Issues Conference” hosted by DCCC Chair Suzan DelBene in Seattle in March 2026, plus future regional events. Tickets in the “Leader’s Circle” come with access to DCCC events nationwide, an invitation to the “Leader’s Circle Issues Conference and Weekend” with Leader Jeffries in Torrey Pines in August 2026, and access to DCCC strategy meetings. “Leader’s Circle” donors can also contribute to the DCCC Legal Fund, which supports voting rights and redistricting efforts, or the Building Fund, which funds infrastructure and staff in key races. Those who give over $150,000 are welcomed into the Jeffries150 Club, while donors who reach the limit of $310,000 for all party committee accounts are welcomed into the Jeffries300 Club. Though officially a fundraiser for the DCCC, the Jan. 9 event gave Rep. Foushee and Rep. Ross a chance to connect with the party's national donor network. DCCC fundraisers can be used to informally “push” donations to vulnerable or favored incumbents. In a rematch of her 2022 primary, Rep. Foushee will face Nida Allam in the Democratic primary. Allam has been endorsed by Sen. Bernie Sanders, the Working Families Party, Sunrise Movement, and several other progressive groups. She refuses to accept corporate PAC money. Foushee has accepted donations from corporate PACs in various industries including weapons, railroads, pharmaceuticals, and fossil fuels [ 2 ]. In the 2022 race, Rep. Foushee was criticized for benefiting from millions in outside spending by pro-Israel groups and a PAC funded by cryptocurrency billionare Sam Bankman-Fried, who is now imprisoned for fraud. The contest became the most expensive Democratic primary in state history. Rep. Foushee said in Aug. 2025 that she would refuse donations from AIPAC. The shift followed the global outcry against the Israeli genocide of Palestinian people in Gaza. Without such support, she needs to find other donors to compete against Allam. The Jan. 9 fundraiser for the DCCC could assist Rep. Foushee by connecting her with a wider donor network.

On January 3, around 100 demonstrators gathered in Raleigh’s Moore Square to protest the aggressive acts against Venezuela by the Trump administration. The action was organized by several groups including the Triangle chapter of the Party for Socialism and Liberation (PSL), which has held frequent protests at Moore Square against the Israeli genocide of the Palestinian people in Gaza.   The Events Leading up to the Attack   Emily-Rose Gaeta with Code Pink gave the first speech, which covered the militaristic and aggressive actions of the Trump administration that led up to the January 3 attack. Amid widespread bombing of Caracas, a huge raid managed to abduct President Nicholas Maduro and First Lady Cilia Flores.   “The US has seized two tankers containing over 1.8 million barrels of Venezuelan oil. Trump claims it is ours, but it is theirs,” said Gaeta.   US strikes on small boats in the Caribbean and the Pacific have killed at least 115 people since September 2025.   A Call for Unity   The second speech was given by Paola Dávila Uzcátegui, a PSL member. She spoke with emotion, shaken by the recent attacks on her family's country.    “Unity is what’s going to keep us going. We don’t want more people dead. When have bombs, when have US invasions ever in history ever been freedom, when has it been peace?” asked Uzcátegui.   “Never!” the crowd replied.   Paola had a message for Venezuelans living in the US. She said, " How is [Trump] treating Venezuelans here in the United States? Why did I have to spend New Y ear’s with family stuck because ICE was down the street? Why? Because of Trump . What do we have to do? Do we really want to go behind the person that is making us feel like that here? Is that what we want? How will that translate to a country?"   Why Did the US Attack Venezuela?   The third speech was given by Tristan Bavol-Marques , a member of Triangle Democratic Socialists of America (DSA). He said that Triangle DSA sees three reasons behind the US war in Venezuela.   ●      “The first is oil … the largest proven oil reserves in the world are in Venezuela.” ●      “The second most important reason is this so-called Trump Corollary to the Monroe Doctrine. The US Empire realizes its failing and its fading, and it has decided to retreat and retrench. It does not want to do things so much in the Indo-Pacific or the Middle East. They want to focus on the Americas, because they view the Americas as being their backyard.” ●      “The third reason … is because the United States cannot abide a positive example of a different path of development.”   Bavol-Marques also said Triangle DSA’s position is that the results of the recent US aggression should be reversed - that Maduro and Flores should be returned to Venezuela. He asked rallygoers to contact members of Congress to press that course of action. Many corporate-backed Democrats have shown approval for the results of Trump’s raid, while professing disapproval or unease about the methods. What Does Venezuelan and Palestinian Solidarity Have in Common?   Omar with Palestinian Youth Movement described similarities between imperial attacks on Venezuela and Palestine:      “Venezuela sits on the largest oil reserves on earth. Palestine sits on land that has always been strategically valuable, politically symbolic, and inconvenient to domination. And in both cases, the people standing in the way are treated as obstacles, not as human beings. First come the sanctions, sanctions that don’t punish governments but punish civilians. Sanctions that quietly strangle economies while politicians pretend they are a humane alternative to war. In Venezuela, sanctions cut off the ability to sell most of the country's oil. Not because the oil disappeared but because the global system was weaponized to block it. In Palestine, an entire population is blockaded, surveilled, and deprived under the language of defense. Differing methods, same result. Economic suffocations, humanitarian collapse, and then blaming the victims for the conditions imposed on them.” March Through Downtown Raleigh   Protesters marched through downtown Raleigh after the speeches concluded. Marshals guided the crowd safely along its route while volunteer medics stood by.   Attendees waved signs that read, “US Out of the Caribbean”, “ICE Out of NC”, “Stop Bombing Venezuela”, “No War on Venezuela”, “No More Oil War”, and “Hands Off Venezuela.”   CBS17  and the News and Observer covered Saturday’s rally [ 1 , 2 ]. A news helicopter and drones buzzed above the marchers. The action was organized the same day of the attack. PSL organized the Venezuela events so fast and in so many cities that the yellow press accused the crowds of being astroturfed. The truth is simple - there have been so many US wars recently that peace activists have become more efficient in organizing rallies on short notice.   The grey, rainy weather matched the somber, determined mood of the anti-war action. Returning to Moore Square, marchers chanted to the beat of drums - “money for jobs and education, not for war and occupation!” The cost of two Lockheed Martin F-35 fighter jets is approximately the same as the annual budget of Durham Public Schools.   Organized labor attended the protest, including members of NDWA, UE Local 150, and IBEW.   Join an Organization   Victor Urquiza with PSL emceed the January 3 event. He exhorted attendees to join a political group, recommending the organizations that sponsored the protests – PSL, Code Pink, DSA, and Palestinian Youth Movement. Historical Context The US has maintained an imperial system over the Caribbean states since the late nineteenth century, and the rest of Latin America since the early twentieth century. Capturing Latin American heads of state is a semi-regular feature of US hegemony in the region. Similar events in recent decades include the abduction of Panamanian leader Manuel Noriega in 1989 and the kidnapping of Haitian leader Jean Bertrand Aristide in 2004. Aristide was Haiti's first democratically-elected president. His Lavalas movement swept to power due to the organizing efforts of peasants and slum-dwellers. The US has a century-long record of supporting dictators in Venezuela. Juan Vicente Gómez, nicknamed "The Catfish", seized power in 1908 with the help of the US Navy. During his 27-year reign, the dictator allowed American firms like Standard Oil and British-Dutch interests like Shell to exploit Venezuela's oil resources. The second US-backed dictator of Venezuela was Marcos Pérez Jiménez, who ran a military regime from 1948 to 1958. He received substantial political, economic, and security backing from the US to safeguard its oil interests. The secret police carried out widespread torture, assassinations, and disappearances during the Jimenez period.   Carl Hintz is Triangle Free Press contributing editor and Triangle DSA Solar Bond Campaign Committee co-chair.    Work Cited   https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F_6vsW2YCag https://www.newsobserver.com/news/local/article314149927.html

Watch at bit.ly/MC12-18recording . In spite of it being a cold, rainy night the Thursday before winter break, DPS workers, parents, and community supporters again filled the chairs at our third Meet & Confer negotiation of the school year, the last of 2025. We presented our 25-26 Meet & Confer priorities petition with over 2,500 worker signatures during a press conference beforehand, with signatures from the majority of DPS workers and from all 64 worksites. We saw some positive movement from DPS leadership on our collective grievance policy proposal, including alignment on: DPS workers' right to representation during the grievance process. A standardization of the grievance process, with a universal and accessible grievance form. The ability to bring grievances collectively. More details need to be finalized next session. We returned to discussion of classified staff pay and DPS leadership committed to: A $19.22 per hour starting minimum wage Bringing cost projections for 1% and 2% step increases However, in spite of saying at our first Meet & Confer session that they would prioritize a $25 per hour starting minimum wage for classified staff over admin raises, they are still including raises for admin in their cost projections. This is unacceptable. The district also said that they are not allowed to provide workers with paid bereavement leave, claiming that it is illegal to provide public school workers with additional types of leave days. We will be taking this dubious claim back to our lawyers. Finally, the district shared that they are unable to compute the number of extra duties that staff are currently compensated for, and the stipends received, because of their current computer equipment - "That data was too much and we need a more robust computer." Sigh. DPS workers, parents, and community members are aligned on what our schools need. Only through the combined pressure of hundreds of us continuing to show up, in person, to our Meet & Confer negotiations this year will we be able to win the changes that students, staff, and families so deeply need. This article was first published by Durham Association of Educators .

A draft plan that determines how development happens in Durham brought plenty of residents out to a public meeting in November 2025. But many left disappointed the city is not doing much to protect the environment, according to Neuse Riverkeeper Samantha Krop. Durham’s Unified Development Ordinance is currently being rewritten, a process the encourages public input. Phase 3, which focuses on environmental protections required by the city for new developments, was presented. “UDO rewrites provide a rare opportunity to pass policies that can protect Durham’s waterways and environmental resources and communities. But Durham is not making a lot of changes in its environmental protection section. That was the focus of this meeting, and there isn’t a lot there in terms of policy changes or rule changes,” Samantha said. “Given the abundance of evidence we have that Durham waterways are experiencing a sediment crisis caused by development, you would think that the city would take this opportunity to require that developers do more to protect its waterways.” Rather than updating the UDO to raise the bar and require developers to do more to protect water quality, Phase 3 provides developers a choice: do less and have more stringent housing density requirement; do more and be allowed to build more houses, according to Samantha. “They get more density — that’s the bonus. But no one is required to do it,” she said. “We see that as a major shortcoming. This is a rare opportunity, and the city is allowing developers to simply choose whether they want to do more for environmental protection.” The public comment period is currently open. Those wishing to comment can do so by emailing NewUDO@DurhamNC.gov. The draft text of Durham’s Module 3 of the UDO can be found here . “I think it’s important that people comment,” Samantha said. “We should ask Durham to do more to protect its waterways, not leave it up to developers to choose to do more.” For three years, Samantha has been working to stop Durham’s sediment crisis. Read about a recent win to stop a developer from polluting Lick Creek, a tributary of Raleigh drinking-water source Falls Lake. Like the work your Riverkeeper is doing to protect your waterways? We love it! Donate today to support the fight for clean water in Durham! This article was first published by Sound Rivers .

Image credit: CBS 17 The N.C. Public Service Workers Union, which represents state employees who work for the NC Department of Health and Human Services, held a press conference on November 20 and delivered a letter demanding a meeting with DHHS management regarding chronic understaffing, high turnover, workplace safety concerns, and low wages. UE150 has sent several communications to DHHS requesting a meeting over the last six months, receiving no response. The press conference was held at DHHS headquarters in Raleigh. “We are here today because DHHS employees are tired of being dismissed, devalued, and ignored,” stated healthcare technician Charles Owens, Vice President of the UE150 Union at Cherry Hospital in Goldsboro. Owens continued, “We endure physical, mental, and verbal abuse the likes of which a person outside this field could not imagine. Then we come right back the next day to continue delivering the best treatment and care this state can offer.” “It is a shame that they don’t care about their worker or even the individuals we serve,” stated Peggy Briggins, developmental technician and President of UE150 chapter at Caswell Center in Kinston. Briggins continued, “We stood with them from the beginning, through the pandemic and we are still standing with them. They have gotten what they want and thrown us away. They don’t fight for us. We are still paid the lowest wages.” UE150 union members are employed at the 13 state-operated health facilities, which include the state psychiatric hospitals, neuro-medical treatment centers, alcohol and drug treatment centers, and facilities for individuals with intellectual disabilities. NC patients and families continue to desperately need the quality care that only these facilities can provide. Multiple attempts to contact DSOHF Director Karen Burkes, Nicki Ashmont, and others have resulted only in a failure to reply, a failure to carry out the basic duties of their positions. UE150 demands collective bargaining rights for public-sector workers, a minimum wage of $25 an hour, improved physical safety on the job, and an end to the management culture of fear and retaliation. “If the crisis of unsustainably high nursing staff vacancy rates continues to worsen, the DSOHF will be forced to keep closing beds, closing units, and eventually closing entire hospitals,” stated Rakesh Patel, medical doctor at Central Regional Hospital and President of the UE150 Butner Chapter. Patel continued, “Nurses (both RNs and LPNs), CNAs, dietary staff, and housekeeping staff are the backbone of every hospital. They are the essential employees. Even without a state budget, DHHS officials can take immediate action to address these concerns.” This article was first published by UE 150 .

Nida Allam, the vice chair of the Durham Board of County Commissioners (BOCC), has announced her campaign for the North Carolina's Fourth Congressional District on December 11, 2025. Her opponent will be Rep. Valerie Foushee, a corporate-backed Democratic incumbent. The race between Allam and Foushee is a rematch of the 2022 primary, which Foushee won. This article lays out a timeline of events related to the Fourth District and both candidates that have occurred in the three and a half years since the initial contest. May 2022: I’ll Buy the First Round In May 2022, Valerie Foushee won the Democratic primary for North Carolina’s Fourth District against Nida Allam. The race determined that Foushee would succeed Rep. David Price, who held the seat for 30 years. Foushee prevailed in Orange, Alamance, Person, and Granville counties. Allam won in Durham County and the town of Chapel Hill [ 1 ]. Allam had endorsements from Sen. Bernie Sanders, Sen. Elizabeth Warren, Rep. Ilhan Omar, and Rep. Rashida Tlaib. As a result, the race was seen as part of the larger competition between the progressive and establishment wings of the Democratic Party. The cryptocurrency billionaire Sam Bankman-Fried, as well as pro-Israel organizations such as AIPAC and DMFI, spent around $3.5 million to support Foushee. That made the Democratic primary the most expensive in North Carolina history. In the last weeks of the race, money from Foushee’s sponsors poured into television ads, digital ads, and printed mailers in Alamance, Granville, and Person counties. January 2023: Exit SBF Sam Bankman-Fried provided Foushee with about $1 million in outside spending during the 2022 primary. Now imprisoned in California, Bankman-Fried was the billionaire owner of a cryptocurrency exchange company called FTX. Using Protect Our Future PAC and other entities, Bankman-Fried gave around $100 million to Democrats and Republicans during the 2022 election cycle. He was seeking support for FTX in particular and the cryptocurrency sector in general. Ads purchased by Bankman-Fried appeared on screens across the Fourth District. A soothing voice let the viewer know that, “We can trust Valerie Foushee to stand up for us in Congress, because that’s what she’s always done” [ 2 ]. The Assembly interviewed Ray La Raja, a political scientist, o n Bankman-Fried’s approach in donating to Democrats. La Raja said, “If you want to do well with the [Democratic Party] leadership, form a super PAC and make sure that people they like get elected” [ 3 ]. Bankman-Fried was arrested in January 2023 after FTX was exposed as a massive fraud. Prosecutors uncovered that he used $8 billion in customer deposits as a slush fund for risky investments, luxurious living, and political donations. Foushee’s donor was eventually sentenced to 25 years in prison. September 2023: Sanitation Workers Stand Down City workers in Durham dealt with real terms pay cuts for two years after COVID struck . In September 2023, solid waste workers organized with UE 150 responded with a ‘stand down’ action that lasted several days. The dispute ended when the Durham city council paid out $6.5 million in bonuses, marking a period of increased political strength for the union. City workers did not lose their momentum after the stand down. Gaining support through political activism and public appeals, UE 150 went on to emerge 2024 and 2025 budget cycles with significant raises for city workers [ 4 , 5 ]. However, the workers still have unmet demands. In 2025, UE 150 could not get the votes to reclassify solid waste workers, modify the Living Wage Ordinance to pay workers at least $25 per hour, or calculate annual steps in a fairer way for lower paid employees. If Allam is able to sway one of her allies on Durham city council - Javiera Caballero, Matt Kopac, and Carl Rist - to back the union’s demands in 2026, it could win support from city workers. It could also spark pro-Allam enthusiasm among many University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill graduate workers, who are also organized with UE 150. November 2023: JVP Blocks the Freeway The Israeli genocide of the Palestinian people in the Gaza Strip had been underway for a month when Jewish Voice for Peace (JVP) blocked the Durham Freeway on November 4. The goal was to get Foushee on the phone. The Jewish activists wanted to hear the word ‘ceasefire’. Protestors sat on the road during rush hour for more than two hours while a larger crowd of supporters watched from the Mangum Street overpass. Durham police eventually arrested four of the activists but did not escalate tensions or endanger the protestors. Then-Lieutenant Governor Mark Robinson said that he viewed the Jewish activists as “human speed bumps” who were “protesting for terrorists” [ 6 ]. Many months later, Robinson was found to have identified himself in online spaces as a Nazi. By the time JVP blocked the Durham Freeway, Israeli airstrikes had already killed 9,000 Palestinians, including 3,500 children. Six thousand more people would be killed by Israel before Foushee signed onto a letter calling for a ceasefire on December 1. Months earlier, in an October 20 Indyweek op-ed, Allam had written , "It's time to call for an immediate ceasefire, and an end to the military occupation of Gaza and the West Bank". March 2024: Visit With Bibi Foushee traveled to Israel in March 2024 as part of an AIPAC delegation to meet with Israeli leader Benjamin Netanyahu. She was joined by former Rep. Kathy Manning, now DMFI board chair, and several other members of Congress. AIPAC and DMFI spent around $2.5 million to support Foushee in the 2022 primary. During the meeting, Netanyahu thanked the “long-time friends of Israel” for their support and discussed his intentions to bomb Palestine, Lebanon, Syria, Iraq, Iran, and Yemen. In a segment of the meeting posted to YouTube, the Prime Minister assures Foushee and the other lawmakers of the toughness of Israeli soldiers, telling an anecdote about how he met amputee soldiers in the hospital who were eager to return to service in the Gaza [ 7, timestamp 3:00 ]. In November 2024, eight months after Foushee’s visit, Netanyahu was indicted by the International Criminal Court (ICC), accused of war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza. The indictment alleged that the Prime Minister had used starvation as a weapon of war and intentionally targeted a civilian population. September 2024: Payment in Lieu of Taxes The ‘Duke Respect Durham’ campaign launched on September 14 to pressure Duke University to make payment in lieu of taxes (PILOT) to the local community. As an educational intuition, Duke is exempt from paying most property taxes, despite its $12.3 billion endowment. The Duke Respect Durham kickoff included speeches from Keith Bullard from the Union of Southern Service Workers, Donald Quick from UE 150, Christy Patterson from the Durham Association of Educators, Nate Baker from Durham city council, and Nida Allam from the BOCC [ 8 ]. All Ivy League universities make some form of PILOT to their local communities in order to improve what are often extremely unequal ‘town-gown’ relationships. For example, the University of Pennsylvania has agreed to make annual payments of $10 million to Philadelphia public schools for a period of ten years. The Duke Respect Durham launch was a rare collaboration between Allam and Baker, who belong to rival progressive blocs in city politics. The factions arose, in part, from city council disputes over annexation and rezoning votes as well as treatment of Durham city workers. In May 2025, Duke Respect Durham morphed into a larger campaign called ‘Durham Rising’. Three of the five proposals made by the new initiative call for a PILOT agreement. Durham Rising added new partner organizations such as Duke Graduate Student Union, Siembra NC, and Durham for All. Durham’s PILOT campaigns have begun to bear fruit. The Duke Chronicle published an article in Oct. 2025 with the headline “ Duke plans more investment in Durham, distances efforts from Durham Rising campaign ”. December 2024: Carrboro Sues On December 4, the town of Carrboro sued Duke Energy, the North Carolina utility monopoly, alleging that the company’s decades-long campaign of deception about climate change has caused millions of dollars in damage from floods and other extreme weather. According to the  Greenhouse 100 Polluters Index, Duke Energy is the third-worst emitter of greenhouse gases in the United States. Carrboro’s lawsuit claims that Duke Energy has known about the threat of climate change since 1968, when the issue was spotlighted at an industry conference [ 9 ]. “For far too long, corporations like Duke Energy have prioritized their executives’ personal fortunes at the expense of our communities, our planet, and our collective wellbeing,” said Carrboro Mayor Pro Tem Danny Nowell during a press conference about the lawsuit [ 10 ]. Nowell is a two-term town councilor in Carrboro and was endorsed by Triangle Democratic Socialists of America (DSA) in both of his races. The only other DSA-endorsed official in the Triangle is Nate Baker, a member of the Durham city council. Allam may seek the endorsement of Triangle DSA in the Fourth District primary, although the group is known to be selective with endorsements. Foushee is too corporate-aligned to be considered. January 2025: Cop City On January 13, the BOCC in Durham voted 3 to 2 to approve an $18 million expansion of the sheriff’s training center on Electra Road. The funds will renovate an existing firing range and add a new 10,000-square-foot building to the site. The sheriff’s project was on track to pass unanimously until a small group of activists brought the issue to public notice. On November 12, around 30 protesters interrupted a BOCC meeting to oppose the 'cop city'. Nida Allam, the board chair, delayed discussion of the issue to a January 6 work session. There had not been a single newspaper article about the $18 million project before the November 12 protest. Groups such as 'Durham Stop Cop City' wanted an expansion of Holistic Empathetic Assistance Response Teams (HEART) instead of the training center. Established by Durham city government in 2022, HEART sends unarmed social work specialists to some 911 calls. On January 2, the People’s Alliance said it would be “premature” to approve the sheriff's project without also expanding the HEART program to Durham County and Durham Public Schools (DPS) [ 11 ] . When the BOCC approved the funds for ‘cop city’ on January 13, HEART expansion was not included. Allam voted against the training center, citing the upswell of community opposition. April 2025: Pittsboro Town Hall Foushee held her first in-person town hall more than two years in Congress. Seventy attendees were admitted to the Pittsboro event, despite additional space in the venue and a long wait list. In the Chatham County Courthouse on April 22, Foushee discussed how right-wing authoritarians are seeking to “target our rights, gut governmental protections, defund public education, criminalize immigrants and asylum seekers, weaken worker protections, and slash social safety net programs” [ 12 ]. She was joined by Rep. Robert Reives. The minority leader of the NC House of Representatives showed a keener eye for the nation’s crisis when he said, “There’s one group of people in the entire country who are trying to stop everybody else from achieving an American dream, and that are the wealthy billionaires that have taken over your government … Somehow, they have convinced themselves that, God help us, if you get an education, if you’re healthy and you get a chance to work, that somehow they’re going to lose that billion dollars before they die.” In the first half of 2025, Foushee took campaign donations from corporations owned by centibillionaires such as Warren Buffett (Norfolk Southern), Jeff Bezos (Blue Origin), and the Walton family (Walmart). August 2025: Carrboro Town Hall Foushee held another town hall on August 5 in Carrboro. A constituent asked about her March 2024 meeting with Netanyahu. In part, Foushee said, “ We also shared that, at that time, Congress had the ability to appropriate or not appropriate funds — and I think we made it very clear that, at least the representatives in that room, would not vote for any more appropriation to go out” [ 13 ]. In April 2024, Foushee voted for the Israel Security Supplemental Appropriations Act, which sent around $15 billion in direct military assistance to Israel. All the other representatives who went on the trip also voted in favor. Foushee also said, “ You’ll find in my record that I have not voted against the people of Gaza, or the people of Ukraine, or the people of Sudan - which I never hear any of you speak about.” Sudan activism in the Triangle is led by anti-imperialist groups that are also supportive of Palestine. For example, the Triangle chapter Party for Socialism and Liberation (PSL) often discusses Sudan, Congo, and other conflicts at peace rallies at Raleigh’s Moore Square. In May 2025, PSL and Green Door Garden put together a 5K in Wake Forest and donated the proceeds to Hope and Haven Refugees, a nonprofit that serves Sudanese refugees [ 14 ]. August 2025: Heritage Square Rezoning The Sterling Bay development company withdrew a request to rezone the vacant Heritage Square shopping mall on August 4.  The company had proposed a high-rise building with luxury apartments, lab space, and retail. Many residents of Hayti district, which is historically Black, wanted more input into Sterling Bay’s plans and feared that the project would lead to gentrification. On August 5, the advocacy group Hayti Reborn said in a statement, “ We’ve said it before, and we’ll keep saying it: Hayti is not opposed to development. We’re opposed to any development that excludes, exploits, or erases us ”. In an interview with ABC11 , Rev. Julian Pridgen, pastor at St. Mark AME Zion Church, sounded a similar note. He said, "It is just difficult for me to accept rezoning this property for more luxury apartments when we have homeless people sleeping on our front porch" [ 15 ] . In the early 20th century, the Hayti district in Durham a robust, self-sufficient economy. The district was home hundreds of Black-owned businesses, including the NC Mutual Life Insurance Company. Durham labelled Hayti as “blighted” in 1958. Federal laws and funding were then used to demolish about 4,000 houses and 500 businesses. Across a 200-acre area, about 95 percent of buildings were destroyed. Over the course of a 14-year period, the Black population in the area was reduced by half. By 1974, the Durham Freeway had been built over Hayti’s northern section. In Durham, about  31 percent  of households are ‘housing cost-burdened’,  spending more than 30 percent of their income on housing costs.  Among renters earning less than 50 percent AMI, the figure jumps to 77 percent. Local governments have a difficult time solving the housing crisis due to lack of capital, the influence of the real estate and construction sectors, and laws such as North Carolina's rent control ban, the state's Umstead Act, and the federal Faircloth Amendment. The August 4 city council meeting on the Heritage Square rezoning began with an interruption. An audience member yelled “anybody seen ICE lately?” to target council member Javiera Caballero, a Chilean immigrant with US citizenship [ 16, timestamp 0:00:45 ]. The racist heckler, Victoria Peterson, was admonished by mayor Leonardo Williams but not asked to leave. September 2025: Kopac Endorsement Allam endorsed Matt Kopac for Durham city council in September 2025. He went on to raise three times more money than his opponent, incumbent DeDreana Freeman. Kopac secured endorsements from the People’s Alliance and Indyweek . He won the election with 52 percent of the vote, while Freeman took 48 percent. Freeman had served Ward 1 on Durham city council since 2017, accumulating a strong base of supporters due to progressive stances on annexation and rezoning cases, treatment of city workers, and a Gaza ceasefire resolution. Before the election of Kopac, who replaced Freeman, and Shanetta Burris, who replaced Mark Antony-Middleton, the sharpest division on the Durham city council was the 4 to 3 split on development cases. Middleton, Javiera Caballero, Carl Rist, and Leonardo Williams voted to approve virtually all requests by property developers for zoning changes and consolidated annexations. Freeman, Nate Baker, and Chelsea Cook were less inclined to approve such requests, voting ‘yes’ around two-thirds of the time. Kopac is expected to lean more towards the Caballero-Rist-Williams group, while Burris is expected to lean toward the Baker-Cook group. The day after Peterson’s racist outburst on August 4, the People’s Alliance held a candidate mixer on August 5 that resulted in a dispute between Allam and Freeman. When pressed by Freeman's husband on why Allam had endorsed Kopac instead of Freeman, Allam said that Freeman associated with “unnamed people [who] used divisive rhetoric”, according to the News and Observer . When Freeman heard that accusation, she confronted Allam and “repeatedly jabbed her in the arm” [ 17 ]. Based on social media activity, Freeman will be supporting Foushee in the Fourth District primary. October 2025: Redistricting On October 22, the Republican Party gerrymandered the North Carolina congressional map and removed Alamance, Person, and Granville counties from the Fourth District. The district now includes northern Chatham County, including Pittsboro, and western Wake County, including Apex. Foushee won the areas that have been removed (Alamance, Person, and Granville counties) with lopsided margins in the 2022 primary. Allam is the daughter of Indian and Pakistani immigrants. Apex is home to more than 11,000 AAPI residents, making them the second-largest ethnic group after Whites. December 2025: Round Two Allam announced that she would run for Congress on December 11. She was quickly endorsed by Sen. Bernie Sanders, Working Families Party, Leaders We Deserve, and Sunrise Movement. Foushee has garnered reflexive support from Democratic establishment in North Carolina, including the endorsements of Gov. Josh Stein, former Gov. Roy Cooper, former Rep. David Price, and many others. In his endorsement statement, Sen. Sanders said Allam has spent her life “standing up to the billionaire class and fighting for working people … Raising wages for county workers, pushing for relief from rising costs, and standing up to the special interests who think they can buy our democracy … At a moment when the oligarchs are tightening their grip on government, we need leaders like Nida; leaders who answer to working families, not the billionaire class.” Work Cited 05/17/2022 OFFICIAL PRIMARY ELECTION RESULTS - ORANGE: US HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES DISTRICT 04 - DEM . North Carolina State Board of Elections.  https://er.ncsbe.gov/contest_details.html?election_dt=05/17/2022&county_id=68&contest_id=2099 Team Punchbowl News. (2022, April 29).  Protect Our Future ad backing Valerie Foushee . YouTube.  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ak0d6ygLGlE Billman, J. (2025, December 11). Buying a Blue Seat.  The Assembly NC .  https://www.theassemblync.com/politics/buying-a-blue-seat-4th-district/ Durham and Charlotte chapters of local 150 win largest wage increases . (n.d.). UE.  https://www.ueunion.org/ue-news/2024/durham-and-charlotte-chapters-of-local-150-win-largest-wage-increases-in-years City Worker Action wins $24 per hour. (2025). In  UE Local 150 .  https://ue150.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/UE150-Summer-2025-Newsletter-ACTUAL-11-x-14-in-1.pdf Anderson, A. (2023, November 9).  ‘Human Speed Bumps’: NC Lt. Gov. Mark Robinson on Durham Freeway Protesters calling for Gaza ceasefire . CBS 17.  https://www.cbs17.com/news/political-news/human-speed-bumps-nc-lt-gov-mark-robinson-on-durham-freeway-calling-for-gaza-ceasefire/ Prime Minister Netanyahu to AIPAC delegation of Democratic Congressmen: "We must win - there is no substitute for victory". (2024, March 27). https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JrGI_9FDGR4 With strong backing from Labor, “Duke Respect Durham” campaign holds kickoff event. (2025, December 16).  Durham Dispatch .  https://www.durhamdispatch.com/post/with-strong-backing-from-labor-duke-respect-durham-campaign-holds-kickoff-event Penn, I., & Zraick, K. (2024, December 4). North Carolina Town Sues Duke Energy Over Climate Change.  New York Times .  https://www.nytimes.com/2024/12/04/business/energy-environment/duke-energy-climate-change-lawsuit.html Drugmand, D. (2024, December 5).  Carrboro, NC sues Duke Energy in first climate deception case targeting an electric utility . Climate in the Courts.  https://www.climateinthecourts.com/carrboro-nc-sues-duke-energy-in-first-climate-deception-case-targeting-an-electric-utility PA Statement for HEART expansion and 911 consolidation . (2025, January 2). People’s Alliance.  https://www.durhampa.org/pa_statement Kingdollar, B. (2025, April 23). At Pittsboro town hall, US Rep. Valerie Foushee warns of “constitutional crisis” facing America.  NC Newsline .  https://ncnewsline.com/2025/04/23/pittsboro-town-hall-rep-valerie-foushee-constitutional-crisis-facing-america/ McConnell, B. (2025, August 11).  U.S. Rep. Valerie Foushee took voters’ questions at a Carrboro town hall. Here are some highlights . Chapelboro.com .  https://chapelboro.com/news/national/u-s-rep-valerie-foushee-took-voters-questions-at-a-carrboro-town-hall-here-are-some-highlights 5K for Sudan Held in Wake Forest. (2025, June 16).  Durham Dispatch .  https://www.durhamdispatch.com/post/5k-for-sudan-held-in-wake-forest Price, J., Davis, A., & Coffey, S. (2025, August 5). Developer pulls request to rezone, build major project in Durham’s Hayti District.  ABC11 Raleigh-Durham .  https://abc11.com/post/hayti-district-durham-city-council-vote-rezoning-request-historic-area/17429773/ Durham City Council August 4, 2025 . (2025, August 5). [Video]. YouTube.  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VKtFfZqM1s0 Johnson, K. (2025, August 15). Durham City Council member pokes county commissioner at political mixer.  News & Observer .  https://www.newsobserver.com/news/local/counties/durham-county/article311708525.htm l

Keith Bullard, a USSW member, served as emcee. On September 14th, around ninety people gathered at Asbury United Methodist Church to launch a campaign urging Duke University to make payments in lieu of taxes (PILOT) to local government. The Duke Respect Durham campaign is backed by a coalition of labor and advocacy groups such as UE Local 150, the Union of Southern Service Workers (USSW), the Durham Association of Educators (DAE).   According to the campaign, Duke University would owe an estimated $50 million in annual property taxes without its educational tax-exempt status. The coalition also claims that the university owns 10 percent of land in Durham, making it the city's largest landowner [ 1 ]. The school should pay a PILOT, the campaign says, since “Duke University benefits significantly from city and county resources, including public schools, transit, parks, infrastructure, and other public services and facilities.”   Saturday's kickoff event began at 2 p.m. on the lawn of Asbury Church, located just north of Duke East Campus. Durham city councilor Nate Baker, an early backer of Duke Respect Durham, greeted newcomers and directed them to a sign-up table, snacks, and an informational poster about PILOT campaigns.   USSW members in their trademark red shirts mingled with people who just moved to Durham and were looking to get involved in the community. Older community members chatted with young activists from Democratic Socialists of America (DSA) and Sunrise Movement. Duke Respect Durham comes in the wake of successful campaigns for PILOT at elite universities across the country. Brown University, Harvard University, and the University of Pennsylvania all currently make voluntary payments of $10 million or more to their local governments. In 2021, a campaign called “Yale Respect New Haven” pressured the university to increase its annual PILOT to $23 million [ 2 ].   At 2:30 p.m., the kickoff event moved into the sanctuary of Asbury Church to hear speeches from union leaders, an archivist, local politicians, and others. Bathed in light from stained-glass windows, Duke Respect Durham yard signs sat perched on chairs in front of the altar.   Keith Bullard, a member of USSW, warmed up the audience. “I need everyone to dream really quick”, he said, “What could we do with $50 million dollars?”   A few of the crowd’s proposals were outside the purview of local government, such as a raised minimum wage and universal healthcare. Other suggestions, such as increased funding for Durham Public Schools and Durham Housing Authority, were firmly within the power of city and county authorities. Christy Patterson, vice president of Durham Association of Educators “If we can get this money, we can do some things with it. We can do the right things with it”, said Donald Quick, treasurer of UE Local 150, “We need this for our city workers. You know, a lot of us can’t afford to live in Durham.”   After COVID struck, the annual raises given to Durham city workers were lower than the inflation rate for at least two years. Since wages were already low, the real-terms cuts were devastating to the workers and their departments [ 3 ]. After conducting a “stand down” action in 2023 and rallying the public, UE Local 150 won a major victory in June 2024 when the city council approved $28.5 million in raises [ 4 ]. The union continues to urge that all city workers be paid at least $25 per hour.   A speech by Christy Patterson, vice president of DAE, electrified the crowd in Asbury Church. She recapped the recent issues faced by Durham school employees – a bitter payroll dispute with the school board, loss of staff due to low pay, defunding by state government, and more [ 5 ] [ 6 ].   The audience roared its approval as Patterson described how DAE fought back in 2024. A major organizing drive lifted union membership from 15 percent to over 50 percent, the second highest of any teacher’s union in the state. Simultaneously, the union challenged a proposed school budget of $13 million. A campaign by DAE sent over 1,000 letters to the county commission and secured a record-high $26 million budget for Durham Public Schools [ 7 ].   “The way that we won that budget was we asked the people of Durham to pay up,” said Patterson, in reference to a 4.7 percent property tax increase, “So Duke, it’s your turn. Time is up. Duke, you have skated under the radar for too long and we won’t stand for it no longer!” Patterson’s thundering address was followed by mild-mannered remarks from J.T. Tabron. He is the county’s Assistant Register of Deeds and also participates in a project called Hacking Into History, which works to uncover Durham’s history of exclusionary housing practices. Tabron pointed out that, given Duke University’s past usage of racially restrictive covenants, a PILOT could serve as a form of reparations for the city's Black community.   “Duke has been the second largest purveyor and user of these restrictive covenants in Durham,” said Tabron, “In Duke Forest alone there are over 300 of these that we have found in the public record filed between the early 1900s and the early 1970s”.   A scanned image of a restrictive covenant appeared on the church screens. The crowd fell silent as Tabron recited the legal clauses used to forbid selling a home to anyone with a single drop of “Negro blood”. The lawyers had made sure to clarify that Black servants were allowed on the premises.   The next image popped on the screen. The photo showed that one of the Duke Forest homes had sold in the 1960s for less than $30,000 but was now worth more than $800,000. Along with other Jim Crow measures, restrictive covenants blocked the accumulation of generational wealth in the Black community. Image credit: Duke Respect Durham During his speech, Nate Baker prepared the coalition for the counterarguments that the PILOT campaign would face from Duke University. The city councilor predicted that Duke University would argue that it was a key economic driver for Durham and therefore deserved its tax-exempt status.   Baker responded, “Duke provides some benefits to the community, it’s true. But so do you, so do all of us. Working class people across our city are deeply engaged in making our community better. They run mutual aid groups, community fridges, they donate time and money to important causes … and they also pay property taxes.”   Nida Allam was the final speaker at the September 14th rally. Currently serving as a county commissioner, she is the first Muslim woman ever elected to public office in North Carolina. Allam is a leader of the People’s Alliance faction in Durham politics, which represents an affluent, liberal, and mostly White constituency.   She said, “We need Duke to understand that our residents and our neighbors are stepping up to the plate paying for these [property tax] increases that we need desperately for our students and our families. We need them to come to the table.”   Allam’s speech was the first instance of an influential figure in the People’s Alliance supporting Duke Respect Durham. The campaign hopes that her support is a sign of things to come. City councilor Javiera Caballero and school board member Natalie Beyer, both endorsed by the People’s Alliance, sat at the back of the sanctuary and listened to the speeches. If the PILOT campaign gains momentum, they may be tempted to sign on.   Work Cited   “Homepage.” Duke Respect Durham , www.dukerespectdurham.org . Rayala, Sai. “City and University Officials Announce Six-year Commitment, Increases to Yale’s Voluntary Contribution.”  Yale Daily News , 19 Nov. 2021,  www.yaledailynews.com/blog/2021/11/17/city-and-university-officials-announce-six-year-commitment-increases-yales-voluntary-contribution . Elk, Mike. “Durham Public Works Employees ‘Illegally’ Strike for 1st Time.” Payday Report , 6 Sept. 2023, www.paydayreport.com/durham-public-works-employees-illegally-strike-for-1st-time . Moore, Mary Helen. “Durham Workers Rally for Better Pay, With City’s Minimum Wage Rising to $19.58 an Hour” News and Observer , 7 June 2024, www.newsobserver.com/news/local/counties/durham-county/article288952676.html . Moske, Nina. “Chronology of a Crisis: A Timeline of the DPS Salary Dispute.” IndyWeek , 9 Feb. 2024, indyweek.com/news/durham/chronology-of-a-crisis-a-timeline-of-the-dps-salary-dispute . Vaughan, Dawn Baumgartner. “NC Senate Passes Bill to Fund Private-school-voucher Backlog, but No New Teacher Raises.” News and Observer , 9 Sept. 2024, www.newsobserver.com/news/politics-government/article292173605.html . Moore, Mary Helen. “‘Big Win for Our Children’: Durham Budget Will Help Schools Increase Teacher, Staff Pay.” News and Observer , 11 June 2024, www.newsobserver.com/news/local/education/article289072999.html .

Artistic rendering of NuScale small modular reactor (SMR) project in Idaho. The SMR was canceled in November 2023 due to rising costs. Image credit: NuScale Power Despite cancelling 18 past reactors prior to completion, thus wasting billions of customer dollars , and while quietly loading a regulatory filing with 65 cautions of complexities that risk even more failures, Duke Energy plans a massive, 16 gigawatt construction scheme for “advanced” nuclear reactors in the Carolinas . The corporation will proceed only if our politicians keep allowing Duke officials to force the financial risks onto the backs of taxpayers and monopoly-captive electric ratepayers. In a letter sent today , NC WARN presses NC Governor Josh Stein to use his public voice and authority to challenge this latest climate-wrecking rip-off by one of the world’s worst polluters, and to demand that corporate stockholders must bear the risks of its executive gamblers. We appreciate the Governor’s somewhat muted October criticism of Duke’s latest plans to further expand gas-fired power, extend coal-fired power and suppress renewables. Curiously however, he also criticized Duke leaders for delaying until 2037 their ambition to begin operating new nuclear reactors. Today’s letter outlines the enormous financial, safety and climate risks posed by gambling on experimental nuclear reactors, including the deceptively named “small” modular reactors (SMRs) and the full-sized AP1000 reactor that is stained with a track record of project failures that bankrupted its manufacturer, Westinghouse, in the previous decade. NC WARN and allies prevailed against Duke Energy’s ill-fated 2005-2017 gamble to build six AP1000s, along with more than 20 “advanced reactors” attempted by other Southeast utilities. That extended debacle was but the latest chapter of Duke Energy and now-subsidiaries failing 18 times while trying to build reactors since the 1970s, costing monopoly-captive customers billions of dollars while failing to generate a single kilowatt of electricity. Pro-Duke North Carolina regulators already approved over $400 million in exploratory spending by Duke, and the Charlotte-based giant plans to soon commit billions on an “early site permit” near Winston-Salem. Duke officials admit that before starting reactor construction, they will wait to see if other corporations can actually finalize any new reactor designs and build the highly complex plants. Without political leadership, Duke will spend billions of customer dollars, and raise power bills, year after year as they wait to see if other utilities might be able to wade through the quicksand of complications. All the while, they will keep suppressing solar, wind, energy-saving programs and other climate solutions. The letter to Stein includes multiple quotes from Duke Energy’s filing that point to the giant gamble. In Duke’s own words , “without continued federal support, the financial risk of nuclear construction could deter development, slowing, delaying, or eliminating progress.” Duke is relying on past and future Department of Energy (DOE) subsidies, plus at least four pots of new federal money recently enacted. Even so, Duke Energy says it “continues to work with policymakers to secure additional support … such as increased funding for grant programs or potential construction cost overrun protection.”  Moreover, if allowed to continue, Duke Energy’s plans to try yet again to build AP1000s at the Shearon Harris, NC and Lee, SC sites hinge on a DOE guarantee of up to 80% of total project costs ( p. 19 ).  The roughly 10% profit on capital investments granted to electric monopolies is precisely intended to account for risk. And a 70-year-old technology should not require any public subsidy; Duke and others are demanding near-total subsidization exactly because they are best-positioned to realize that their high-stakes bet is likely to fail yet again. Only with monopoly control over state government and electricity users could a super-rich corporation, run by dozens of millionaire executives and board members, hope to build 16 GW of high-risk nuclear power plants. That’s equal to the power of some 20 Shearon Harris nuclear plants, which now generates 900 MW near Raleigh. Ironically, Duke and subsidiaries have failed in 5 out of 6 previous attempts to build reactors at Shearon Harris. Yet they want public backing to try again at Harris, as well as at the Belews Creek Power Station in Stokes County, NC and the Lee plant in Gaffney, SC. Due to multiple hazards to public safety, the ongoing, highly deceptive hype about new reactors, and the industry’s demand that taxpayers and electric ratepayers absorb the high risk of repeated project failures, NC WARN and allies will again contest Duke’s multi-billion dollar gamble of our climate and economic future. Much of the world is transitioning to renewables paired with battery storage, a far cheaper and fairer alternative to nuclear and fracked gas. But the climate crisis continues to accelerate due to rich corporations and nations digging in against change. We’ve seen Duke Energy’s nuclear horror movie repeatedly over the years. Gov. Josh Stein must challenge the shameless leaders of this state-sanctioned monopoly. This article was first published by NC WARN .

Watch at bit.ly/MC11-19recording Over 250 DPS workers, parents, and community supporters came out to our second Meet & Confer negotiation - so many that the district turned people away, saying that the Staff Development Center was at capacity. Next Meet & Confer negotiation, on Thursday Dec. 18, we are planning to have an overflow room. Due to ongoing organizing, and many of you packing the room with us, we won the following commitments from DPS leadership: Providing red 'Know Your Rights' cards in the front office of all school buildings and on every bus. Providing in-person anti-bullying training with an emphasis on bullying around immigration status and national origin to all staff this year, and ongoing. No timeline was committed to. Researching next steps for implementing paid bereavement leave, and bringing a counterproposal to December's Meet & Confer #3 . Providing contracts for all employees, specific to their roles, with clearly defined duties and pay. No timeline was committed to. DPS administration made no commitment to brief and train all DPS staff on protocol if ICE comes to campus or the bus stop. This is unacceptable. It is not enough for DPS leadership to simply inform or remind principals and front office staff of the protocol. All staff, from bus drivers to IAs to classroom teachers, need to be trained and on the same page about the protocol, in the same way we are all trained on what to do in the event of a tornado or a lockdown. DPS workers, parents, and community members are aligned on what our schools need. Only through the combined pressure of hundreds of us continuing to show up, in person, to our Meet & Confer negotiations this year will we be able to win the changes that students, staff, and families so deeply need. This article was first published by Durham Association of Educators .

In his November 13 presentation, independent auditor Dr. Howard Bunsis (Professor of Accounting, Eastern Michigan University) posed the question to everyone in the audience, “Why is a university with a AAA bond rating and billions in reserves considering layoffs and cutting budgets?” UNC Chapel Hill learned this week that all three independent bond rating agencies, Moodys, S&P, and Fitch, gave it an outstanding AAA bond rating, placing it in a small minority of universities at the top rank. Not only that, the University currently has $1.9 billion in unrestricted reserves, and $1 billion cash on hand. Bunsis made it clear that one of the things the University is dedicated to is spending its money on high-level administrators and their salaries. From 2016-2024, the number of administrators in Chapel Hill has increased by 51.1%, but the full-time faculty by only 10.8%, and the staff has been shrunk by 5.3%. Over the same period, administrators’ salaries in the UNC budget have increased by 106%, but the instructional budget only by 36.2%, and research budget by 41.7%. Yet the Chapel Hill administration and its Board of Trustees are seeking to implement Service First, with a $70 million austerity cut inflicted on its staff members by centralizing administrative services and making them supposedly “more efficient.” Robert Ward, a member of The Workers Union at UNC observed, "The audit results show that by any metric, UNC is in a solid financial position that would allow it to invest in its core mission. The Board of Trustees is endangering this mission by continuing to push for program and personnel cuts, and by continuing to underpay their academic workforce. These efforts are harmful to the university, carry human costs, and as the audit shows, are based on ideology rather than facts." Michael Palm, President of the AAUP chapter, UNC Chapel Hill, stated: “This audit lays bare the truth: any cuts to programs or personnel at UNC-Chapel Hill are the result of political pressure, not financial constraints. UNC’s budgeting decisions must be transparent and inclusive of students, faculty, and staff as well as accountants, lawyers, and administrators.” Pragya Upreti of the student organization TransparUNCy commented, “Dr. Bunsis’s analysis reaffirms what TransparUNCy has firmly believed: that we're in a manufactured ‘fiscal crisis,’ that our institution’s resources are fundamentally misallocated, and that this university is being run like a corporation, chasing returns on investment and treating students as ‘customers’.” Background In response to an announced $70 million budget in cuts at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, The Workers Union at UNC (UE150), the UNC Chapel Hill Chapter of the AAUP (UNC-AAUP), and TransparUNCy co-sponsored a public presentation of findings from Dr. Howard Bunsis, an independent auditor of UNC Chapel Hill’s budget. The sponsoring organizations hired Dr. Howard Bunsis, an accounting professor at Eastern Michigan University and expert on university finances with extensive experience conducting financial analyses of academic institutions, to conduct an independent audit of UNC-Chapel Hill’s finances and examine the administration’s alleged need for austerity and personnel adjustment. Dr. Bunsis shared these findings in a two-hour presentation, followed by a Q&A session. UE 150 started fundraising for the audit last year, in part to bolster efforts to increase stipends for graduate students. UNC-AAUP covered the remaining cost of the audit, and TransparUNCy has joined the event as a co-sponsor. Why did these three organizations call for an independent audit of UNC-Chapel Hill’s public financial statements? This audit of its finances provides an accurate and unbiased understanding of the University’s financial state. This article was first published by UE 150, AAUP, and TransparUNCy .

On November 22, as Donald Trump continues his cruel and illegal escalation against communities across the United States, young people marched outside the Krome Detention Facility in Miami-Dade County to demand the federal government shut down the facility and release unlawfully detained community members. Police arrested thirty one of the peaceful protestors, in addition to a journalist who was present to document the action. Protesters held photos of people who had been killed in ICE detention facilities and signs reading "ICE kidnapped my neighbor”. They spoke of the inhumane treatment of community members by ICE in such facilities. “ICE is a criminal organization that is terrifying everyday people on behalf of fascist billionaires. They have no right to kidnap our neighbors, and it's time for every single American to stand up to their intimidation tactics,” said Sunrise Movement Organizer Carly Shaffer. Historically, 'disappearing' people, abducting them without any notice of their whereabouts to loved ones and denying them due process, has been a smoking gun of fascism. No one is above the law in a republic, and yet ICE is given immunity to deny beloved community members their most basic legal rights and kidnap them in broad daylight. “My dreams are not illegal,” said organizer Artivista Karlin, a student at Duke University and Florida native, “and yet, right here, an hour away from my home, the Trump administration has built a concentration camp for immigrants… for people who are here with dreams, like my family… dreams of building better lives for their kids.” Karlin denounced the paranoia that ICE aggression has created across the country, even causing children to miss school out of fear of deportation. “ICE [is] disappearing our neighbors… our friends, our families, our communities… simply for being a different skin color, for being born in a different country.” She discussed ICE activity in Durham, NC, where she studies at Duke University. From Florida to the Carolinas, Karlin explained, ICE has a universal effect: fear and disruption. Karlin was among the 30 individuals detained for exercising their constitutional right to peacefully protest. It seems, though, that the sun is rising; people like her will continue the fight to protect their immigrant neighbors and return them to their homes and the lives they have built right here in the United States.