On the cover

• Opportunity Lost? The education empire strikes back at school choice

 

News

• Health department approves move in COVID-19 testing, Page 2

• Quick Takes, Pages 3, 9

• UNC President-elect Peter Hans’ performance-based pay could set national example, experts say, Page 4

• U.S. Supreme Court gives school choice supporters a big win, Page 4

• COVID-19 shutdowns swell ranks of the uninsured, and Medicaid expansion offers no immediate relief, Page 5

• Legal scuffle over bowling alleys highlights importance of judicial elections, experts say, Page 6

• Cooper’s proposed unemployment rule could force parents to choose between job and kids’ schooling, Page 7

• N.C. GOP calls out Cooper over lack of transparency, absence of in-person briefings, Page 8

• Face masks appearing in court, Page 8

• Governor launches job search website, Page 8

• Follow the money, the saying goes, Page 11

• Tuition and fees will stay the same at UNC schools despite possible disruptions from COVID-19, Page 12

• N.C.’s obsolete death reporting system keeps public in a fog, Page 13

• Trump visits RTP, vows COVID-19 vaccine in record time, Page 14

 

Features

• Polls, Page 2

• Q&A with Robert Whaples: Political debates ignore distinctions between good, bad inequality, Page 15

• Cartoons, Page 20

 

Opinion

• Amy Cooke commentary: Children, parents must have opportunity to choose, Page 2

• Terry Stoops commentary: A new era for school choice in North Carolina, Page 16

• Jenna A. Robinson commentary: Can higher education be saved?, Page 17

• Megan Zogby commentary: Full uncertainty: College leaders leave students, professors in dark, Page 17

• Becki Gray commentary: The impending creep of unionization into North Carolina, Page 18

• Mitch Kokai commentary: New telling of Perry Mason’s tale makes case against licensing burdens, Page 19

• John Trump commentary: Clear science, complete data? Governor, we’re tired of waiting, Page 22

• Andy Taylor commentary: The thorny issue of slavery reparations, Page 23

• Michael Walden commentary: Can good things come from bad times?, Page 23

• Jordan Roberts commentary: Can more price transparency reduce health care costs?, Page 24

 

Commentary by John Hood

• State shouldn’t play favorites, Page 2

• Goverment’s basic tasks need doing, Page 21

• Pipeline demise won’t halt natural gas, Page 21