NEWPORT NEWS – Nansemond River reached the Class 5 Region B baseball tournament as the No. 6 and final seed thanks to the fifth tie-breaker – a higher winning percentage against Class 5 schools than Woodside. The Warriors will begin the Class 5 state tournament at home as region champs.

The Warriors completed their three-game sweep of the region tournament with a 4-2 win over No. 4 Gloucester in nine innings on Friday at War Memorial Stadium. The Dukes (17-4) will join the Warriors (15-8) – who host First Colonial in the state quarterfinals on Tuesday – in the state tournament, but will play their quarterfinal on the road Tuesday at Cox.

Sly Clarke was the hero for the Warriors. He had two hits and three RBIs, and his two-run single to center field in the top of the ninth inning gave the Warriors their winning runs.

“It was great,” Clarke said of his game-winning hit. “Everything I do is for my team.”

The game was scoreless until the seventh inning as Warriors starting pitcher Cam Boswell and Dukes hurler Camden Richardson were brilliant. Boswell allowed just one hit and struck out seven over the first six innings, while Richardson also allowed only a hit during that span.

“Our pitcher had a pretty good day, but the reality is we weren’t putting the ball in play enough,” Gloucester coach Gus Morande said.

The tone changed in the top of the seventh, when Nansemond River’s Caden Mintz doubled to the right field fence with one out. Clarke drove him in with a two-out single, advancing to third on an outfield error by the Dukes. Clarke scored to make it 2-0 when Jason Aguilar, who walked, stayed alive long enough in a rundown after breaking from first for Clarke to run home.

The Dukes’ bats finally came to life in the bottom of the seventh and they scored twice to tie the score at 2-2. Hank Hardaway began the inning with a walk and moved to second on Austin Shackelford’s single that ended Boswell’s afternoon on the mound. Braden Hudgins scored them both with his two-out two-run single up the middle that sent the game into extra innings.

Richardson exited after eight innings and Nansemond River was able to get to the Dukes’ two relievers. Boswell walked to begin the top of the ninth, before Aden Judge was hit by a pitch with one out. Clarke followed with his single to give the Warriors a two-run lead.

Reliever William Bennett ended a solid relief stint of 22/3 innings, allowing two hits but no runs, as the Warriors celebrated a region title after almost not even making the tournament.

“It feels great to be playing at home (in the state quarters),” Clarke said. “It will give us a different type of energy.

“We’ve had a lot of controversy this year but we’ve kept fighting and we will continue to fight.”

By SCOTT McFETRIDGE and HANNAH FINGERHUT (Associated Press)

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — An Iowa task force has completed its search for survivors at the site of a partially collapsed Davenport apartment building without finding three missing people who are feared dead, authorities said Friday. The focus has shifted to shoring up the structure so recovery efforts can begin.

The remains of the six-story apartment building were constantly in motion in the first 24 to 36 hours after it collapsed on Sunday, which officials said posed a risk to rescuers who were trying to search for survivors.

“We do what the building tells us to do,” Rick Halleran, the task force’s Cedar Rapids division chief, said of the delay in searching the building.

City officials earlier this week said that Branden Colvin, 42; Ryan Hitchcock, 51; and Daniel Prien, 60, were unaccounted for and had “high probability of being home at the time of the collapse.” All three have since been listed in the National Database of Missing Persons.

The state task force was mobilized and on site to first search for survivors and then secure the structure, Halleran said. He said the search for survivors was completed Thursday evening after electrical equipment connected to the building was controlled. The state’s search and rescue team, search dogs and cameras were used in the search Thursday.

Officials fear the unstable building will eventually collapse on its own. Adding to the challenge is a giant pile of brick and steel at the base of the building that is helping to hold up the structure but also may contain the remains of people killed in the collapse.

“We are doing the best we can to balance the building conditions and the safety of our responders,” Fire Chief Mike Carlsten said. Conditions have forced a response that may take “days and weeks” instead of what ideally would have been minutes or hours after the collapse, he said.

Mayor Mike Matson has said the debris pile “could be a place of rest for some of the unaccounted” and stressed the city would be sensitive about those remains, comparing work at the site to an archeological dig.

Work to bring down the building comes amid questions about why neither the owner nor city officials warned residents about potential danger even after a structural engineer’s report issued last week indicated a wall of the century-old building was at imminent risk of crumbling.

Documents released Wednesday night show city officials and the building’s owner were warned for months that parts of the building were unstable.

Current and former residents speaking with The Associated Press described concerns about interior cracks on the wall that ultimately collapsed that were reported to building management.

The day before the collapse, the operations director of Downtown Davenport Partnership, an organization affiliated with the city’s chamber of commerce, called 911 to report concerns that a local contractor had relayed, the Quad City Times reported. The newspaper reported that fire officials who responded to the emergency call spent less than five minutes at the scene.

“Do I have regrets about this tragedy and about people potentially losing their lives? Hell yeah. Do I think about this every moment? Hell yeah,” Matson said Thursday. “I have regrets about a lot of things. Believe me, we’re going to look at that.”

City officials said Thursday that they did not order an evacuation because they relied on the engineer’s assurances that the building remained safe. Matson promised to improve inspections and to investigate what happened.

Scott County prosecutor Kelly Cunningham cautioned Friday against assuming a criminal prosecution is appropriate, saying an independent investigation needs to be conducted into the cause of the building’s structural failure, and right now it’s in the city’s jurisdiction.

The building collapsed shortly before 5 p.m. Sunday. Rescue crews pulled seven people from the building in their initial response and escorted out 12 others who could walk on their own. Later, two more people were rescued, including a woman who was removed from the fourth floor hours after authorities said they were going to begin setting up for demolition.

Davenport Police Chief Jeff Bladel said transient people also often entered the building but there was no indication anyone else was inside and missing. Asked at a news conference Friday if any human remains have been found in the building, Matson said, “We can’t disclose that yet.”

The Red Cross is hosting an event Saturday for displaced residents to get assistance. Each household will be eligible for a $6,000 grant from the city, and those meeting certain income requirements could get state payments of $5,000. Businesses that were in the building, as well as residents and businesses in nearby buildings that are at risk, will also be eligible for grants.

On Friday, Gov. Kim Reynolds waived fees associated with obtaining substitute driver’s licenses for affected residents.

Andrew Wold, the building’s owner, released a statement dated Tuesday saying “our thoughts and prayers are with our tenants.” He has made no statement since then, and efforts to reach him, his company and a man believed to be his attorney have been unsuccessful.

County records show Davenport Hotel L.L.C. acquired the building in a 2021 deal worth $4.2 million.

Tenants had complained to the city in recent years about a host of problems they say were ignored by property managers, including no heat or hot water for weeks or even months at a time, as well as mold and water leakage from ceilings and toilets. While city officials tried to address some complaints and gave vacate orders to individual apartments, a broader evacuation was never ordered, records show.

City officials ordered repairs after they found seven fire code violations on Feb. 6. However, they were told three weeks later by building maintenance officials that “none of the work was completed,” records show.

Rich Oswald, the city’s director of development and neighborhood services, said Thursday that the city’s chief building official, Trishna Pradhan, voluntarily resigned after the collapse.

Pradhan had visited the building on May 25, and erroneously reported it had “passed” an inspection in notes in the city’s online permitting system, Oswald said. She attempted to change the inspection result to “incomplete” on Tuesday — after the collapse — but a technical glitch instead listed the outcome as “failed,” he said, adding that the “incomplete” status is correct since the repair work was unfinished.

Calls and text messages to Pradhan were not immediately returned.

Assistant City Attorney Brian Heyer said he doesn’t know whether the city had considered earlier civil enforcement action to protect residents. Only after the collapse did the city file a civil infraction seeking a $300 fine against Wold for failing to maintain the structure in a safe manner. He will be required to pay for the cost of demolition, Heyer said.

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Associated Press reporters Ryan J. Foley contributed from Iowa City and Summer Ballentine contributed from Jefferson City, Missouri.

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This story has been corrected to fix the spelling of Branden Colvin’s name. His first name is spelled Branden, not Brandon.

By ZEKE MILLER and CHRIS MEGERIAN (Associated Press)

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden celebrated a “crisis averted” in his first speech to the nation from the Oval Office Friday evening, ready to sign a budget agreement that eliminates the potential for an unprecedented government default that he said would have been catastrophic for the U.S. and global economies.

The bipartisan measure was approved by the Senate late Thursday night after passing the House in yet another late session the night before. Biden is set to sign it at the White House on Saturday with just two days to spare until the Treasury Department has warned the U.S. wouldn’t be able to meet its obligations.

“Passing this budget agreement was critical. The stakes could not have been higher,” Biden said. “Nothing would have been more catastrophic,” he said, than defaulting on the country’s debt.

The agreement was hashed out by Biden and House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, giving Republicans some of their demanded federal spending cuts but holding the line on major Democratic priorities. It raises the debt limit until 2025 — after the 2024 presidential election — and gives legislators budget targets for the next two years, in hopes of assuring fiscal stability as the political season heats up.

“No one got everything they wanted but the American people got what they needed,” Biden said, highlighting the “compromise and consensus” in the deal. “We averted an economic crisis and an economic collapse.”

Biden used the opportunity to itemize the achievements of his first term as he runs for reelection, including support for high-tech manufacturing, infrastructure investments and financial incentives for fighting climate change.

“We’re cutting spending and bringing deficits down at the same time,” Biden said. “We’re protecting important priorities from Social Security to Medicare to Medicaid to veterans to our transformational investments in infrastructure and clean energy.”

Biden also made a renewed pitch for his governing style, which he described as less shouting and lower temperatures after four years of President Donald Trump.

“I know bipartisanship is hard,” he said. “And unity is hard. But we can never stop trying.”

Even as he pledged to continue working with Republicans, Biden also drew contrasts with the opposing party, particularly when it comes to raising taxes on the wealthy, something the Democratic president has sought.

It’s something he suggested may need to wait until a second term.

“I’m going to be coming back,” he said. “With your help, I’m going to win.”

Biden’s remarks were the most detailed comments from the Democratic president on the compromise he and his staff negotiated. He largely remained quiet publicly during the high-stakes talks, a decision that frustrated some members of his party but was intended to give space for both sides to reach a deal and for lawmakers to vote it to his desk.

White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said Friday that Biden was using the occasion to deliver his first address to the nation from behind the Resolute Desk in the Oval Office because “he just wanted to make sure that the American people understood how important it was to get this done, how important it was to do this in a bipartisan way.”

Biden praised McCarthy and his negotiators for operating in good faith, and all congressional leaders for ensuring swift passage of the legislation. “They acted responsibly, and put the good of the country ahead of politics,” he said.

Overall, the 99-page bill restricts spending for the next two years and changes some policies, including imposing new work requirements for older Americans receiving food aid and greenlighting an Appalachian natural gas pipeline that many Democrats oppose. Some environmental rules were modified to help streamline approvals for infrastructure and energy projects — a move long sought by moderates in Congress.

The Congressional Budget Office estimates it could actually expand total eligibility for federal food assistance, with the elimination of work requirements for veterans, homeless people and young people leaving foster care.

The legislation also bolsters funds for defense and veterans, cuts back some new money for Internal Revenue Service and rejects Biden’s call to roll back Trump-era tax breaks on corporations and the wealthy to help cover the nation’s deficits. But the White House said the IRS’ plans to step up enforcement of tax laws for high-income earners and corporations would continue.

The agreement also imposes an automatic overall 1% cut to spending programs if Congress fails approve its annual spending bills — a measure designed to pressure lawmakers of both parties to reach consensus before the end of the fiscal year in September.

In both chambers, more Democrats backed the legislation than Republicans, but both parties were critical to its passage. In the Senate the tally was 63-36 including 46 Democrats and independents and 17 Republicans in favor, 31 Republicans along with four Democrats and one independent who caucuses with the Democrats opposed.

The vote in the House was 314-117.

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AP Congressional Correspondent Lisa Mascaro contributed to this report.

By KEN SWEET (AP Business Writer)

NEW YORK (AP) — Customers of Chase’s online banking services saw double transactions, fees and payments in their accounts on Friday, in a glitch that was not fixed until late in the day.

Numerous Chase customers had posted on social media that their rent or bill payments were taken out of their accounts twice and reported hold times with customer service approaching more than an hour. The New York-based bank is one of the country’s largest financial institutions with millions of online customers.

Transactions over Zelle, the bank’s own peer-to-peer payment service, were also impacted with Chase customers.

Chase said late Friday that the bank had “resolved the underlying issue” and was in the process of issuing refunds or reversing transactions for customers.

Online banking services, while usually reliable, sometimes spectacularly fail or have temporary outages that tend to spook their customers. Banks typically will resolve an error in their services within hours, and no customer is liable for any errors in their accounts that occur when these happen.

Virginia Beach School Superintendent Aaron Spence will resign to take the same position with the Loudoun County school division in Northern Virginia.

The announcement came after the Loudoun County School Board formally voted on the matter Friday evening.

“It is a great professional opportunity,” Spence said. “I think some of the things I have learned here and helped lead Virginia Beach through will help me go up there and really work with their community to kind of find common purpose and really celebrate and lift up their schools and provide great opportunities for their kids.”

The Loudoun County School Board approved Spence becoming the next school board chair in a 6-2 vote. Board Chair Ian Serotkin said Spence “fit the bill perfectly.”

The School Board fired superintendent Scott Ziegler in December following the unsealing of a report by a special grand jury looking into how the division’s administration handled two sexual assaults by the same student, according to Loudoun Now reporting.

Spence said he believes Loudoun County Public Schools has faced challenges, much like other school divisions, and this includes his predecessor’s departure. As a leader, he said he plans to “look through the windshield, not the review mirror,” and help the community and division move forward. To do so, he said his goal is to help rebuild a culture of trust, transparency and collaboration.

The Loudoun County school division has become one of the focal points in debates about social issues. In his campaign, Gov. Glenn Youngkin frequently criticized the division. On his first day in office, he signed an executive order authorizing the attorney general to investigate the sexual assaults.

The father of one of the girls who were sexually assaulted in a high school bathroom was arrested in June 2022 during a meeting, and he is now attempting to appeal his conviction for disorderly conduct, according to Loudoun Now reporting.

Spence has been with the Virginia Beach school system since June 2014. Prior to taking the helm of the largest school system in the region, he was superintendent for Moore County Schools in North Carolina and chief high schools officer in Houston.

Coming to Virginia Beach was a homecoming for the Green Run High School alumnus. Spence said this decision is “very bittersweet” and was difficult to make to grow in his profession and “accept new challenges,” but after nine years with the Virginia Beach school division, it “feels right for me and my family.”

Spence was named the 2018 Virginia Superintendent of the Year by the Virginia Association of School Superintendents. According to the VBCPS website, all 86 schools have been accredited for four consecutive years under his leadership.

Though Spence said there is much to be proud of over the last nine years, a few accomplishments he noted included the implementation of all-day kindergarten, the development of the Environment Studies Program and the Entrepreneurship and Business Academy.

He also implemented the student and teacher advisory committees and said he expanded the division’s family and community engagement efforts to hear from families on “how to better support them.

“I feel tremendously proud of the work that I’ve done here, and I feel like Virginia Beach Public Schools is one of the top school divisions in the nation because of it,” Spence said. “I feel like I’m leaving it in a great place.”

Decisions on how the division moves forward following Spence’s announcement have not been shared. The Virginia Beach School Board is set to meet Tuesday in a special meeting to discuss the superintendent’s contract.

“Loudoun County is incredibly lucky to have such a visionary, dynamic, caring and thoughtful educational leader at the helm,” VBCPS School Board Chairwoman Trenace Riggs said in a press release. “Our loss is their gain.”

Kelsey Kendall, [email protected]

By KIMBERLEE KRUESI and JONATHAN MATTISE (Associated Press)

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee’s administration accused the National Rifle Association of wanting to use involuntary commitment laws “to round up mentally ill people and deprive them of other liberties,” according to documents drafted by the Republican’s staffers as part of their initial attempt to pass a gun control proposal earlier this year.

The memos, provided by Lee’s office as part of a public records request, reveal a rare criticism of the powerful gun lobby made by the Republican governor. Lee has previously praised the NRA’s efforts to protect the Second Amendment. But he has since faced opposition from the group as he works to pass gun control legislation in response to a deadly Nashville school shooting that took place in late March.

So far, Lee has proposed keeping firearms away from people who could harm themselves or others. He is currently facing pushback from both the GOP-dominant General Assembly and firearms rights advocacy groups, including the NRA, that are wary of increasing gun restrictions in ruby red Tennessee. The NRA’s opposition is particularly notable because the group was a crucial player in Lee’s successful push in 2021 to pass a law that allows people 21 and older to carry handguns without a permit in Tennessee.

That means Lee has been forced to go on the defensive, arguing that what he has proposed is not, in fact, a so-called red flag law like those adopted by other states in the wake of tragedies. Instead, the talking points show he is attempting to sell his proposal as “the most conservative in the nation” and the best plan for “Second Amendment advocates.” He also is taking aim at advocates who want to focus on Tennessee laws that allow committing people without their permission if they pose “a substantial likelihood of serious harm” due to a “mental illness or serious emotional disturbance.”

“Not only is the NRA’s proposal impractical — it would drastically expand the scope of government,” one of the memos reads.

In announcing his plan publicly in April, Lee acknowledged the proponents of involuntary commitment, but did not name the NRA.

“Some advocates of the Second Amendment say something called ‘involuntary commitment’ is the answer, but that would restrict all kinds of constitutional rights, including the Second Amendment,” Lee said at the time. “It’s not the best way.”

Speaking with reporters on Wednesday, House Speaker Cameron Sexton further lowered expectations that Lee’s proposal has a chance to pass, saying he doesn’t think he and fellow Republican lawmakers support red-flag-esque laws. He said some other areas of policy could be considered: involuntary commitment, more mental health in-patient beds, better database updating for background checks, a new state-level offense beyond the federal law prohibiting felons from having a certain amount of ammunition, and broadening state law so more types of violent threats could be considered a crime.

“When you look at what the NRA is saying, is you currently have laws on the books — emergency, involuntary commitment,” Sexton told The Associated Press on Wednesday. “And so, use what you have.”

The governor initially unveiled his legislation just weeks after six people — including three young children — were killed in a Nashville school shooting. Lee’s wife, Maria, was friends with the head of the school and a substitute teacher who were among those killed.

Despite Lee’s urging for lawmakers to pass his proposal, GOP leaders have resisted. The Legislature adjourned without taking up the issue in April, but Lee has since called them to come back to address the matter in late August.

The documents reviewed by AP show that Lee’s administration drafted the talking points in April. They tout the governor’s proposal as “more targeted and more limited” than what the NRA currently supports. It’s unclear where the memos were circulated or how many people outside Lee’s office received them.

In the memo, Lee’s office wrote that the NRA’s plan “does not get at the heart of the problem, as it fails to address unstable individuals who suffer from mental health issues but do not qualify for involuntary commitment to a facility.”

“Gov. Lee believes the best path forward is practical, thoughtful solutions to keep communities safe and protect constitutional rights,” his spokesperson, Jade Byers, said in an emailed statement. “He looks forward to speaking with key stakeholders, including the NRA, and working with legislators on proposals in the months ahead.”

In an April memo, the NRA’s lobbying arm urged its supporters to oppose Lee’s plan. The group noted that “Tennessee already has broad civil commitment laws” and added that the state could improve access to emergency mental health services.

Asked about the governor’s office talking points about their group, NRA spokesperson Amy Hunter didn’t address the claims, saying in a statement that the group is focused on “preserving and advancing the rights of law-abiding gun owners in Tennessee.”

Cox girl’s faced Maury and Hickory boy’s faced Maury in the Class 5 tennis quarterfinals at the Old Dominion University tennis complex in Norfolk, Va. on Friday, June 2, 2023.

Virginia State Police are investigating a shooting that led to a car crash Thursday night on Interstate 64 in Hampton.

State Police spokeswoman Michelle Anaya said the drivers of two cars, a 2013 Dodge Charger and a 2020 Chrysler 300, “were involved in the initial altercation and shooting” as the cars traveled in the westbound lanes of 64, near the exit ramp for Neil Armstrong Parkway, formerly Magruder Boulevard.

The shooting caused the Charger to strike a Nissan Rogue from behind, disabling the Nissan. The driver of the Chrysler was “injured in the shooting,” Anaya said. That Chrysler then “spun out of control” and “came to rest on the left shoulder, against the jersey wall.”

The male driver of the Chrysler was taken to a hospital with a gunshot wound that wasn’t considered life-threatening, Anaya said. Another male was hospitalized with non-life-threatening injuries from the crash.

Anaya didn’t say how many rounds were fired in total, saying Friday that’s still under investigation. The ensuing probe backed up traffic for miles, according to TV news footage.

The State Police Bureau of Criminal Investigation is investigating the case. Though Anaya termed the shooting an “isolated incident,” she asked that anyone who saw anything — including before, during or after the crash — call the State Police at 757-424-6800 or to email them at [email protected].

MOSCOW (AP) — Imprisoned Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny released excerpts of his correspondence with prison administrators Friday, detailing his sarcastic demands for things like a bottle of moonshine, a balalaika and even a kangaroo. His requests were denied.

Responses from prison officials, posted on his social media account apparently by his team, came after he has spent almost 180 days in solitary confinement since last summer at Penal Colony No. 6 in the Vladimir region east of Moscow.

Navalny, 46, is serving a nine-year sentence after being convicted of fraud and contempt of court — charges he says were trumped up for his efforts to expose official corruption and organize anti-Kremlin protests. He was arrested in January 2021 upon returning to Moscow after recuperating in Germany from nerve-agent poisoning that he blamed on the Kremlin.

“When you are sitting in a punishment isolation cell and have little entertainment, you can have fun with correspondence with the administration,” wrote Navalny.

Among his denied requests: a megaphone to be given to the prisoner in a nearby cell “so he can yell even louder,” and to award another inmate who “killed a man with his bare hands” with the highest rank in karate.

He also was turned down for his requests of moonshine, tobacco for rolling cigarettes and the balalaika. But Navalny expressed particular mock outrage at the administrators’ refusal to allow him to keep a kangaroo in his cell. The politician said inmates can have a pet if the prison administration allows it.

“I will continue to fight for my inalienable right to own a kangaroo,” Navalny wrote sarcastically in his social media post.

Navalny will mark his 47th birthday on Sunday, and there have been calls by his team for protests to support him.

A Moscow court has set a June 6 date for a hearing for a new trial for Navalny on a charge of extremism, which could keep him in prison for 30 years. He also said an investigator told him that he also would face a separate military court trial on terrorism charges that potentially carry a life sentence.

The new charges come as Russian authorities are conducting an intensified crackdown on dissent amid the fighting in Ukraine, which Navalny has harshly criticized.

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Associated Press writer Elise Morton in London contributed.

By HANNAH SCHOENBAUM (Associated Press/Report for America)

FORT LIBERTY, N.C. (AP) — Fort Bragg shed its Confederate namesake Friday to become Fort Liberty in a ceremony some veterans said was a small but important step in making the U.S. Army more welcoming to current and prospective Black service members.

The change was part of a broad Department of Defense initiative, motivated by the 2020 George Floyd protests, to rename military installations that had been named after confederate soldiers.

The Black Lives Matter demonstrations that erupted nationwide after Floyd’s killing by a white police officer, coupled with ongoing efforts to remove Confederate monuments, turned the spotlight on the Army installations. A naming commission created by Congress visited the bases and met with members of the surrounding communities for input.

“We were given a mission, we accomplished that mission and we made ourselves better,” Lt. Gen. Christopher Donahue, the commanding general of the XVIII Airborne Corps and Fort Liberty, told reporters after the ceremony that made the name change official.

While other bases are being renamed for Black soldiers, U.S. presidents and trailblazing women, the North Carolina military installation is the only one not renamed after a person. Retired U.S. Army Brig. Gen. Ty Seidule said at a commission meeting last year that the new name was chosen because “liberty remains the greatest American value.”

“Fayetteville in 1775 signed one of the first accords declaring our willingness to fight for liberty and freedom from Great Britain,” said Donahue, referring to the city adjacent to the base. “Liberty has always been ingrained in this area.”

The cost to rename Fort Bragg — one of the largest military installations in the world by population — will total about $8 million, Col. John Wilcox said Friday. Most front-facing signage has been changed but the process is ongoing.

“The name changes, the mission does not change,” base spokesperson Cheryle Rivas said Friday.

Fort Polk in Louisiana will be the next installation to change its name June 13 to Fort Johnson, in honor of Sgt. William Henry Johnson. The naming commission’s proposed changes must be implemented by Jan. 1.

The North Carolina base was originally named in 1918 for Gen. Braxton Bragg, a Confederate general from Warrenton, North Carolina, who was known for owning slaves and losing key Civil War battles that contributed to the Confederacy’s downfall.

Several military bases were named after Confederate soldiers during World War I and World War II as part of a “demonstration of reconciliation” with white southerners amid a broader effort to rally the nation to fight as one, said Nina Silber, a historian at Boston University.

“It was kind of a gesture of, ‘Yes, we acknowledge your patriotism,’ which is kind of absurd to acknowledge the patriotism of people who rebelled against a country,” she said.

The original naming process involved members of local communities, although Black residents were left out of the conversations. Bases were named after soldiers born or raised nearby, no matter how effectively they performed their duties. Bragg is widely regarded among historians as a poor leader who did not have the respect of his troops, Silber said.

For Isiah James, senior policy officer at the Black Veterans Project, the base renamings are a “long overdue” change he hopes will lead to more substantial improvements for Black service members.

“America should not have vestiges of slavery and secessionism and celebrate them,” he said. “We should not laud them and hold them up and venerate them to where every time a Black soldier goes onto the base, they get the message that this base Bragg is named after someone who wanted to keep you as human property.”

At last week’s “All American Week,” a celebration of the 82nd Airborne Division and one of the last major events under the Fort Bragg name, several veterans expressed mixed feelings about the name change.

Gregory Patterson, 64, a former member of the 82nd Airborne, who served in the Army from 1977 to 1999, joined scores of veterans for the celebration. Patterson said he understood why they changed the name, but in his mind, the name is associated with the place, not the person — and specifically as the home of the 82nd Airborne.

“I’m still gonna call it Bragg, even though the person that they named it after wasn’t a good person,” he said.

Mark Melancon, 63, who served from 1983 to 1990, wore a t-shirt that read “Born at Benning, Raised at Bragg.” Fort Benning, in Georgia, was renamed Fort Moore last month.

Asked about the change to Fort Liberty, Melancon replied: “We’re not thrilled about that. It’s always gonna be Bragg, the way we look at it.”

The Bragg name, Melancon said, conjured up strong feelings and memories. “Home. The camaraderie that we had. The brotherhood.”

Staff Sgt. James Fannin of the 82nd Airborne Division said the new name doesn’t change anything for the paratroopers who volunteer to jump out of a “perfectly good airplane” behind enemy lines at any time.

“Changes at the base have no effect. All that matters is the patch on my left shoulder,” he said when asked about the change.

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Hannah Schoenbaum is a corps member for the Associated Press/Report for America Statehouse News Initiative. Report for America is a nonprofit national service program that places journalists in local newsrooms to report on undercovered issues.

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Associated Press writers Jason Dearen and Michelle Smith contributed to this report.