WCNC Charlotte, this is flashpoint.
Thanks for joining us here on what
is a special edition of Flashpoint.
I'm Ben Thompson.
This week we are looking back at the
Big year in politics from investigation
into Charlotte City staff to a
historic election across the country.
Over the next 30 minutes,
we'll share with you some of the
news making moments from here on
Flashpoint and from the dedicated
reporting of our WCNC Charlotte team.
First up this upcoming week,
senator elect Ted Budd will take office.
We sat down with him.
Back in October,
as he was fighting to keep
North Carolina Senate seat red.
What would your plan be to help?
Decrease inflation.
While acknowledging this is not a
US specific problem, the inflation
is a worldwide problem right now.
So you have essentially
two sides of the equation.
You have the interest rate side,
which of course the Fed is
going to chase that until they
slow down the economy enough.
But go back to the definition of what
inflation is from Milton Friedman.
Too much money chasing too few goods.
And so the Fed's going to do what
they can on the interest rate
side to slow down the demand.
But you have to fix the supply
side and that's energy.
A lot of that is the hostile
environment that Joe Biden has created
towards American energy production,
including on day one killing
the Keystone Pipeline.
Not only did that kill 10,000
jobs and more after that,
it created a mismatch between the
supply that they have of energy in
Canada and our refining capacity in the US,
which would have gone right
out to people's gas tanks.
It would have lowered the cost of fuel.
It would have allowed groceries
to get to store cheaper.
It would allow farmers to plant less
expensively and get food to to to
market even less, less expensively.
So again,
we've got to get back to Pro Energy.
We've got to allow people to get
back to work and not discourage work.
And then again, you can't.
Overrate regulate businesses
like the Biden administration is
doing because it makes it hard on
the small businesses out there.
Not so much as the big businesses,
but the small businesses that are
just trying to make ends meet.
As the congressman you Co sponsored
a bill that would ban abortions
nationwide after 15 weeks.
I want to get some some clarity here.
What does your ideal abortion law look like?
Well,
if the Democrats are going to do
something as extreme as the so-called
Women's Health Protection Act,
and don't be deceived by the name of that.
That's the most radical abortion.
Bill in history.
So if they're gonna do something federal,
I'm gonna counter that federally,
such as the bill that you're referring to.
But I'd much rather it be like what
the Supreme Court said that it needs
to go back to the states in the
exceptions for life of mother rape.
I've always looked.
I'm pro-life and I have been long
before politics and I've always
been about supporting life,
including the life of the mother
exception for rape about the
life of the mother
made a lot of news with that interview.
Ted Budd is not the only one
heading to Washington this week.
Charlotte congressman alma.
Times returning to the House for
her fifth term back in June,
we spoke to the congresswoman about one
of the biggest stories of this past year.
At the time, the US Supreme Court
had just overturned Roe V Wade.
She shared with us her thoughts
on what it means for the country.
How? How comfortable,
how confident are you that abortion
will remain legal in North Carolina?
Well, I'm, I, I I just believe that the
women are going to stand up people,
men and women. So I mean I, you know,
a lot of it's going to depend on,
I guess who's in the legislature.
That's always the case.
You know, I tell folks you don't change
policy until you change policymakers,
change their minds or, you know,
we have another way of changing them.
But I'm hoping that we will be
able to appeal to our state and
that it will still remain legal.
But you know,
but I think if people continue to speak out.
And speak up that we get folks prepared for
this fight because it is going to be one.
Hopefully we'll be able to maintain
it. What's this mean for maternal health?
You've come on this show talking about
maternal health for for four years.
What changed in the last week?
Well, that means that black and brown women
are those who will be impacted the hardest.
I I believe those who live in rural areas,
those who have lower incomes and
can't afford to cross state lines
to care young people, LGBTQ people,
and and women in abusive relationships.
But we know that we already
have concerns about.
Black women and the fact that that
we're dying at higher rates in
terms of giving birth etcetera,
this is going to exacerbate problems.
So I'm concerned about that as well.
You know if you if you have the funds
if you can travel and and that kind
of thing but you don't have to worry.
But so many people don't have
that and won't have it and so it's
going to impact them.
These women probably at greater.
Degrees and others.
Again, the Congress went back
in June of this past year.
Well, this weekend,
another interim Superintendent
getting ready to take charge of
CMS after yet again another big
shake up throughout this year.
You might remember back in April,
the school board fired Ernest Winston
and chose former Hugh Hattabaugh
as a temporary replacement.
As WCNC Charlotte Shmarya Morrison explains,
now it's time for another
temporary leader to take over,
and this time it's Crystal Hill.
Hill will start in her role as
interim Superintendent on January 1st.
I've always been laser focused on doing
my very best and whatever role I was
in and that's what I plan to do today
as I was named interim Superintendent.
There was a lot of work that
needs to be done. He'll replace
his current interim Superintendent,
Hugh Hattabaugh.
He's stepping down at the end of the
month to take care of his sick father.
He was supposed to serve
through June of next year.
Hill has worked closely with Hattabaugh
and was hired under his tenure.
She's been working really side
by side with Doctor Hattabaugh
to take the board's goals and
guardrails and really operationalize
them throughout the district.
Before coming to CMS,
Hill was at Cabarrus County Schools,
where she was the assistant Superintendent
of curriculum and instruction.
And when you look at her academic
background and her resume,
she's, you know,
she brings a really strong skill set.
But most importantly,
what she's shown us in her work is.
Is has just been a tremendous
ability to take the vision and
the values that we've put out
there and carry them from the
boardroom to the classroom,
hill says. Like Hattabaugh,
her job is to make the time between now
and hiring a Superintendent smoother.
There are so much work that needs to be done.
We'll be recommending our budget.
There's a bond referendum.
The comprehensive student Assignment
Hills contract will run through June 30th.
She'll be paid about $21,000.
Each month, the district says it's still
working to find a permanent Superintendent.
Shmarya Morrison, WCNC, Charlotte.
The election is proving big
for North Carolina Republicans,
state leaders now planning
their 2023 agenda.
That's coming up next,
right here on Flashpoint.