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For more than a decade we’ve studied the problem exhaustively, we’ve talked about it almost incessantly, we’ve engaged the latest curriculum du jour, and have spent more than $50 million, yet we still can’t solve the mystery of our children’s reading proficiency. Our patience is wearing thin. Now the finger-pointing has begun. We want to know who to blame. Read moreTom Campbell: Get back to basics to make overdue reading improvements

State AP Stories

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First Citizens will acquire much of Silicon Valley Bank, the tech-focused financial institution that collapsed this month, setting off a chain reaction that caused a second bank to fail and tested faith in the global banking sector. The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. and other regulators had already taken extraordinary steps to head off a wider banking crisis by guaranteeing that depositors in SVB and failed Signature Bank would be able to access all of their money. While more than half of Silicon Valley’s assets will remain in U.S. receivership, the First Citizens deal announced late Sunday, at least initially, seemed to achieve what regulators have sought: a shoring up of trust in U.S. regional banks.

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North Carolina State Treasurer Dale Folwell says he'll run for governor in 2024. He'll likely be required to best Lt. Gov. Mark Robinson to earn the Republican nomination. Folwell announced his decision at Saturday’s Republican Party convention for Forsyth County. He told The Associated Press he would bring competence to operating government and look out for working people if elected. The state constitution prevents Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper from seeking a third consecutive term. Robinson has scheduled a rally next month to reveal his decision for 2024, but he's been leaning into a gubernatorial bid for some time. Democratic Attorney General Josh Stein announced a campaign for governor in January.

North Carolina Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper has vetoed Republican gun legislation that would no longer require sheriff approval before someone can purchase a handgun. His action Friday initiates his first showdown of the session with a GOP majority that is just one seat shy in the House of veto-proof margins. The bill would repeal the state’s long-standing pistol purchase permit requirement that directs sheriffs to evaluate each gun applicant's character. Cooper successfully blocked a similar proposal in 2021. Bill supporters say substantial updates to the national background check system have rendered the requirement duplicative. But Democrats warn that its repeal would create a dangerous loophole.

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The Republican-controlled North Carolina legislature has given final approval to a Medicaid expansion agreement. Thursday's state House vote reverses longstanding opposition to the measure, which now goes to expansion advocate and Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper for his signature. GOP legislative leaders reached a deal earlier this month, capping years of debate over whether the politically closely divided state should accept the federal government’s coverage for hundreds of thousands of low-income adults. North Carolina was one of 11 states that hadn't yet adopted expansion. The bill contains one caveat: A state budget law must be passed before expansion can be carried out.

National & World AP Stories

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Poverty is adding to the challenges of recovering from a massive tornado that pushed through Mississippi. The tornado killed 25 and injured dozens in Mississippi. Two of the counties hit by the Friday storm are Sharkey and Humphreys. They have only a few thousand residents in communities scattered across wide expanses of cotton, corn and soybean fields in the flatlands of the Delta. Many people live paycheck to paycheck working jobs in agriculture. Sharkey’s poverty rate is 35%, and Humphreys is 33%. That compares with about 19% for Mississippi and under 12% for the entire U.S.

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Tens of thousands of Israelis demonstrated outside parliament and workers launched a nationwide strike, part of a surging protest movement against Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s plan to overhaul the judiciary. Departing flights from the country’s main international airport were grounded Monday, large mall chains and universities shut their doors, and Israel’s largest trade union called for its 800,000 members to stop work. Diplomats walked off the job at foreign missions, and the main doctors union announced its members would also strike. The growing resistance to Netanyahu’s plan came hours after people burst into the streets to protest the prime minister’s decision to fire his defense minister.

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Stocks are rising on Wall Street Monday as battered banks show more strength, at least for now. The S&P 500 was 0.6% higher in early trading Monday. The Dow and the Nasdaq composite also rose. Markets have been in turmoil following the second-and third-largest U.S. bank failures in history earlier this month. Investors have been hunting for what banks could be next to fall as the system creaks under the pressure of much higher interest rates. First Citizens' stock soared after saying it would buy most of Silicon Valley Bank, whose failure sparked the industry’s furor earlier this month.