Proposal Shakes Up NC Math Standards

North Carolina education officials have proposed a major revision of math standards, including changes to high school course requirements and to how math is taught across all grades, aiming to make instruction more relevant and combat student disengagement.

Created with the University of Texas at Austin’s Charles A. Dana Center, the plan responds to lagging U.S. math performance and North Carolina trends hovering around the national average, as well as local surveys showing that half of the state’s high schoolers feel disconnected from the subject.

Part of a push by more than 20 states to revamp math education, the overhaul would replace currently required Math 3 and Math 4 courses with new electives that include Mathematical and Statistical Modeling, Applied Statistics and Data Science, Applied Logic and Reasoning, AP Precalculus, AP Statistics, AP Calculus, and an approved International Baccalaureate or college math course.

A first draft was released in November. Public feedback will shape the revised version, with possible adoption and teacher training to follow.

AG Starts Phase 2 of Operation Robocall Roundup

North Carolina Attorney General Jeff Jackson announced on Dec. 3 the launch of Phase 2 of Operation Robocall Roundup, targeting four major voice providers: Inteliquent, Bandwidth, Lumen, and Peerless.

North Carolina is part of a bipartisan, multistate task force demanding that providers block suspected scam robocalls within 30 days or face legal action. The companies have allegedly routed billions of illegal calls since 2019, including scams impersonating Amazon, Apple, the IRS, and Social Security to prey on residents.

“We’re giving them thirty days to clean this up,” Jackson said in a news release. “If they don’t, we’re prepared to use every tool we have. The scale of this abuse is outrageous and we’re not going to tolerate it.”

North Carolinians receive roughly 200 million robocalls per month. Jackson urges residents to hang up and report suspicious calls to the N.C. Department of Justice.

5 NC Football Teams Go Bowling

Five North Carolina college football programs earned bowl berths following the Dec. 7 College Football Playoff selections, which omitted ACC champion Duke despite its overtime victory over Virginia in the conference title game.

Duke will instead face Arizona State in the Sun Bowl in El Paso, Texas, on Dec. 31 at 2 p.m.

Other bowl games involving North Carolina teams include NC State facing off against Memphis in the Gasparilla Bowl in Tampa on Dec. 19 at 2:30 p.m., East Carolina playing Pittsburgh in the Military Bowl in Annapolis on Dec. 27 at 11 a.m., Appalachian State facing Georgia Southern in the Birmingham Bowl on Dec. 29 at 1 p.m., and Wake Forest meeting Mississippi State in the Duke’s Mayo Bowl in Charlotte on Jan. 2 at 8 p.m.

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➤ Western NC: Mission Hospital in Asheville was verified as a Level I trauma center by the American College of Surgeons, making it the only center in the 18-county region and the seventh statewide to earn this level of verification. (More)

➤ Charlotte: President Trump responded to Friday’s light rail stabbing by previously deported immigrant Oscar Solarzano, posting: “Another stabbing by an Illegal Migrant in Charlotte, North Carolina. What’s going on in Charlotte?” (More)

➤ Triangle: U.S. Rep. Valerie Foushee, NC-04, is urging the Army to reconsider reclassifying the Duke-North Carolina Central University ROTC Bull City Battalion as an extension of UNC-Chapel Hill, warning it would double cadets’ travel, burden low-income students, increase attrition, and undermine diversity efforts. (More)

➤ Greensboro: Gov. Josh Stein addressed the North Carolina Farm Bureau convention Monday, highlighting the agriculture industry’s economic impact. He also volunteered at Second Harvest Food Bank of Northwest North Carolina in Winston-Salem, where he presented a donation on behalf of the state. (More)

➤ Topsail Island: Jean Beasley, founder of the Karen Beasley Sea Turtle Rescue and Rehabilitation Center in Surf City, died on Dec. 2 at age 90 after more than 50 years conserving sea turtles—more than 30 of which were in memory of her daughter, Karen. (More)

➤ Ocracoke Island: NCDOT is acquiring permits for a sandbag replacement project along a vulnerable stretch of N.C. Highway 12 with plans to complete the work in early 2026. (More)

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➤ Duke and UNC both climbed in this week’s men’s basketball AP poll—the Blue Devils jumped one spot to No. 3, while the Tar Heels moved up two spots to No. 14.  (See Poll)

➤ The Charlotte Hornets reportedly didn’t inform the Miami Heat that Terry Rozier was under investigation for suspicious betting activity when they traded him in 2024. (More)

➤ NC State men’s soccer beat Georgetown to advance to the NCAA College Cup semifinals in Cary. They’ll play Saint Louis on Friday with a chance to advance to the finals. (More)

➤ Yesterday’s Results: NFL | NBA | NHL | NCAAM | NCAAW | Soccer

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➤ Raleigh-Durham International Airport’s $2.5 billion capital improvement plan, which includes Terminal 2’s expansion, is entering a two-year internal construction phase in January to expand ticketing areas, add security checkpoint lanes, upgrade baggage handling, and reduce congestion. (More)

➤ New eateries are opening across the Triangle this month and next. Urban Olive in Raleigh and Sweetgreen in Chapel Hill are now open, BurgerFi and Sixty Vines will open in Raleigh soon, and Jean’s By The Sea will open in Durham in early 2026. (More)

➤ The Triad’s first Piggly Wiggly in Greensboro, originally slated to open on Thanksgiving, is delayed due to the federal shutdown stalling Small Business Administration loan approvals for the Freeman Mill Road site. The developer hopes to set a formal opening date soon. (More)

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➤ A Samaritan’s Purse pilot who safely thwarted an armed hijacking in South Sudan on Dec. 2 credited the peaceful resolution to sharing the Gospel with the attacker, who surrendered in tears upon landing in Wau. (More)

➤ Christmas-themed pop-up bars are reopening across North Carolina, featuring festive cocktails like the Snowball Fashioned and the Sugar Plum Mai Tai. (See Bar List)

➤ Celebrity chef Guy Fieri will host a meet-and-greet at the Leicester Highway ABC store in Asheville tomorrow from 5-6 p.m., where he’ll sign bottles of Santo Tequila to promote the Santo Spirits brand he co-founded with Rock and Roll Hall of Famer Sammy Hagar. (More)

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How far did you go with high school math?

1. The basics with some algebra
2. Algebra and geometry
3. Calculus and beyond
4. Other

Yesterday’s Results:

What’s your Christmas decorating strategy?

1. Classy with white lights: 30%
2. Somewhere in between: 27%
3. No decorations for me: 22%
4. Flashy with colorful lights: 21%

Which North Carolina university did Jean Beasley attend?

Show me the answer