By: Elena Vegso
In local news, Lees-McRae College in Banner Elk announces a panel discussing black history in local Appalachia. The Panel is titled ““The Black Experience in the High Country and at Lees-McRae” and will feature three key speakers involved in the local community, including a current student, an alumni, and a member of the historically black Junaluska community in Boone. The event will be held in the Evans Auditorium on Friday, February 25th from 7:30 to 9pm.
In national news, Associated Press reports that the megadrought in the Western region of the country has become the driest it has been in over 1200 years. The drought has gone on for over 20 years and a study reports that human made climate change is the cause for about 42% of it. After a wetter season in 2019, scientists hoped the drought was coming to an end, but the region dried up in late 2020 and 2021 and is now one of the driest years on record.
In world news, NPR reports that some in Beijing are discussing requiring a minimum age to compete in Olympic Figure Skating. The 15 year old Russian skater who finished first in her program has faced intense scrutiny in the past few weeks after a pre-game doping violation. Despite the violation, she was still allowed to compete, but has led to discussions about the lack of autonomy she has at such a young age in this setting and whether there need to be new rules in place to protect young athletes.
Today's weather is brought to you by BooneWeather.com. Expect a high of 40 and a low of 22. Light rain in the morning with skies clearing in the afternoon and northwest winds from 10 to 20 mph with gusts reaching up to 45 miles per hour.