Latest North Carolina state government News

FILE - In this Wednesday, Dec. 19, 2018 file photo, North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper responds during an interview at the Governor's mansion in Raleigh, N.C. Many of North Carolina Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper's lasting achievements in 2019 stem from keeping Republican policies from ever getting implemented. During a year-end interview with The Associated Press on Wednesday, Dec. 18, 2019 Cooper cited successes in recruiting companies and jobs to the state, reducing the number of opioid deaths and moving the state toward cleaner energy during the third year of his term. (AP Photo/Gerry Broome, File)

N Carolina appeals court upholds lawfulness of 2016 session

Jan. 21, 2020 4:22 PM EST

RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — A North Carolina appeals court on Tuesday upheld the legality of a legislative session Republicans quickly called in December 2016 to push through laws that weakened the power of incoming Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper. The unanimous decision of three judges on the intermediate-level...

FILE - In this Aug. 2, 1999 file photo, N.C. Supreme Court Justice Henry Frye gets hugs from his granddaughters Whitney Frye, 13, left, Jordan Frye, 11, middle, and Endya,10 in Raleigh, N.C. In North Carolina's Supreme Court chamber hangs a towering painting of Chief Justice Thomas Ruffin, a 19th century slave owner and jurist who authored a notorious opinion about the “absolute” rights of slaveholders over the enslaved. Two African American chief justices have sat on the bench beneath Ruffin's stare: Frye who served as chief justice for about a year from 1999 to 2000 after 16 years as an associate justice; and Cheri Beasley, who was an associate justice for about seven years before she was appointed as chief justice in 2019. (Scott Sharpe/The News & Observer via AP)

Court portrait of writer of notorious slave ruling reviewed

Jan. 18, 2020 1:53 PM EST

RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — In North Carolina's Supreme Court chamber, above the seat held by the second African American chief justice, hangs a towering painting of a 19th century slave owner and jurist who authored a notorious opinion about the “absolute” rights of slaveholders over the enslaved. ...

FILE - In this Aug. 20, 2018, file photo, police officers stand guard after the Confederate statue known as Silent Sam was toppled by protesters on campus at the University of North Carolina in Chapel Hill, N.C. A national civil rights organization filed an appeal Tuesday, Jan. 14, 2020, on behalf of university students who want to intervene in the settlement that gives $2.5 million and a statue to a Confederate heritage group. (AP Photo/Gerry Broome, File)

Students back in court over Confederate statue case

Jan. 14, 2020 8:28 PM EST

RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — A national civil rights organization filed an appeal Tuesday on behalf of University of North Carolina students who want to intervene in a settlement that gives $2.5 million and a Civil War commemorative statue to a Confederate heritage group. The Lawyers’ Committee for Civil...

Ex-North Carolina trooper pleads guilty in arrest beating

Jan. 13, 2020 2:12 PM EST

RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — A former North Carolina State Highway Patrol trooper accused of involvement in a 2018 beating and K9 attack on a homeless man has been convicted of misdemeanor charges in the case. Michael Blake pleaded guilty to two counts of willful failure to discharge his duties, news outlets...

N Carolina GOP legislators make late pitch to keep photo ID

Jan. 10, 2020 2:03 PM EST

RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — North Carolina Republican lawmakers made a last-minute plea on Friday to a federal judge as they seek to save a photo identification requirement to vote that had been set to begin with the March primary. The GOP legislative leaders already have been turned away by U.S. District Judge...

FILE - In this Aug. 13, 2001, file frame from video provided by C-SPAN, Thomas Hofeller speaks during an event at the Republican National Committee in Washington. Thousands of formerly confidential documents and emails that influenced the outcome of a partisan gerrymandering lawsuit have been made public. A judge has yet to decide whether others should stay confidential. (C-SPAN via AP, File)

Daughter of late redistricting guru reveals more of his work

Jan. 6, 2020 6:53 PM EST

RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — Thousands of formerly confidential documents and emails that influenced the outcome of a partisan gerrymandering lawsuit have been made public. A judge has yet to decide whether others should stay confidential. The documents and emails belonging to the late Thomas Hofeller were placed...

The Rev. T. Anthony Spearman, president of the NC NAACP, crumples up a mailer that tells voters IDs are needed in the upcoming 2020 election during a press conference outside the Legislative Building in Raleigh, N.C., Friday, Dec. 27, 2019. The press conference was held after a federal judge in North Carolina said Thursday she would block the NC voter ID law, at least temporarily, as a lawsuit against the state continues. (Ethan Hyman/The News & Observer via AP)

NC will appeal ruling that blocked voter photo ID law

Jan. 2, 2020 5:54 PM EST

RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — North Carolina will appeal a federal judge’s ruling that blocks the state’s photo identification voting law but not before the March 3 primary, the state Department of Justice said Thursday. The office of Attorney General Josh Stein said in a news release that he will...

Federal judge to halt latest North Carolina voter ID mandate

Dec. 27, 2019 6:48 PM EST

RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — Republican attempts to require photo identification to vote in North Carolina are being thwarted again by judges hearing arguments that the mandate is tainted by bias that would deter black and Latino residents. A federal court announced that next week U.S. District Judge Loretta Biggs...

Weld, Walsh added to North Carolina GOP primary ballots

Dec. 20, 2019 2:13 PM EST

RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — North Carolina election supervisors on Friday added two candidates to the state's Republican presidential primary ballot, even though the state GOP had asked that Donald Trump be the only one listed. The State Board of Elections — composed of three Democrats and two...

FILE - In this Aug. 20, 2018 file photo, police stand guard after the confederate statue known as Silent Sam was toppled by protesters on campus at the University of North Carolina in Chapel Hill, N.C. A judge won't let students intervene in a settlement that gave a Confederate heritage group money to preserve a monument that protesters tore down at North Carolina's flagship public university. Judge Allen Baddour in Orange County ruled that the University of North Carolina students represented by the Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights Under Law lacked standing to force their way into the legal case, according to WRAL-TV. The students had sought to join the case and then convince the judge to reject the legal agreement that granted possession of the “Silent Sam” statue to the Sons of Confederate Veterans, along with $2.5 million in university money for its upkeep (AP Photo/Gerry Broome, File)

Judge blocks student effort to intervene in Confederate deal

Dec. 20, 2019 1:49 PM EST

HILLSBOROUGH, N.C. (AP) — A judge won't let students intervene in a settlement that gave a Confederate heritage group money to preserve a monument that protesters tore down at North Carolina's flagship public university. Judge Allen Baddour in Orange County ruled that the University of North Carolina...

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