News
State Supreme Court revisits redistricting rulings it issued in just months ago
A Democratic court majority struck down maps as unconstitutional partisan gerrymanders, but a new GOP majority has been asked to do an about-face. State Republican legislators Tuesday brought their argument that courts cannot bar partisan redistricting to a friendlier state Supreme Court than the one that ruled against them last year.
Biden Administration launches pardon app for low-level marijuana convictions
The Biden Administration has opened pardon applications for people convicted of low-level federal marijuana possession. President Joe Biden announced in October that he would issue pardons for people convicted of simple possession of marijuana, affecting about 6,500 people convicted of the federal crime between 1992 and 2021. A person can be charged with simple possession, […]
House committee advances bill to erase language in law describing minor offenses that lead to school suspensions
A bill stripping language from current law that provides examples of student conduct that’s not serious enough for suspension or expulsion received a favorable hearing Tuesday before the House Standing Committee on Education – K-12. House Bill 188 removes from state law the use of inappropriate or disrespectful language, noncompliance with a staff directive, dress […]
EPA proposes new rule to crack down on PFAS, forever chemicals in our water
The EPA today announced its proposed maximum contaminant levels — MCLs — for six types of toxic PFAS in drinking water and acknowledged that no amount of these compounds is safe. “EPA anticipates if fully implemented the rule will prevent tens of thousands of serious PFAS-attributable illnesses or deaths,” the agency wrote in a slide […]
Trump criticizes DeSantis, calls for national ‘school choice’ at first 2023 Iowa event
DAVENPORT, IOWA — Former President Donald Trump, in his first Iowa stop as an official presidential candidate, took aim at a potential rival, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis. Trump said if DeSantis joins the 2024 presidential race, his track record on ethanol and Social Security could cost him the Iowa caucuses. “I don’t think you’re gonna be […]
GOP lawmakers plan to ban more college majors in FL like ethnic studies, ‘radical’ feminist theory
State has been a frequent model for NC Republicans Republican lawmakers are proposing to expand legislation that would further limit majors and minors available to Florida university students, which would exacerbate concerns from faculty and other opponents of the bill that has already shaken up higher education in the state. The legislation also would further […]
NC Supreme Court to rehear elections cases this week
The state Supreme Court this week is going to take the rare step to re-hear two recently decided elections cases – one on redistricting and the other on voter photo identification. The redistricting case will be heard on Tuesday and the voter ID case on Wednesday. These cases were decided in December, when Democrats held […]
Monday numbers: Nearly 19,000 children in NC have a parent who’s imprisoned
Data obtained through a records request illustrates how many parents are in North Carolina prisons — and how many kids have parents behind bars Almost 10,000 people in North Carolina prisons are the parent of a child younger than 18 years old. And at least 18,800 children across the state have a parent who is […]
Congress unanimously votes to require declassified information on COVID-19 origins
WASHINGTON — The divided 118th Congress approved its first bill Friday, after lawmakers in both the House and Senate voted unanimously to send President Joe Biden legislation that would require declassification of intelligence on the origins of COVID-19. The four-page bill, which the House voted 419-0 to clear, would require the Director of National Intelligence […]
U.S. House votes to roll back Biden’s WOTUS rule
The U.S. House voted Thursday to undo a Biden administration definition of wetlands that allows for regulations on private lands. The chamber approved, 227-198, a resolution to roll back the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s broader definition of what qualifies as “waters of the United States,” or WOTUS, for the purposes of federal regulation under the […]
Weekend reads: What’s owed NC’s school children, making school boards partisan, and families harmed by fentanyl have their say
In this issue: 1. The Medicaid expansion celebrations are premature North Carolina has witnessed a spate of glowing and upbeat news reports and commentaries in recent days after Republican legislative leaders announced last week that they had reached an agreement to expand the state’s Medicaid program. Multiple local and national outlets described the state as, […]
New Leandro judge sets hearing to determine what’s owed state’s school children
The judge overseeing the long running Leandro school funding lawsuit has given attorneys in the case until March 15 to file briefs on proposed funding amounts before deciding next steps in the case. Superior Court Judge James Ammons of Cumberland County was appointed to the nearly three-decades old case by Chief Justice Paul Newby in December. […]