Early In-Person Voting Getting Underway In North Carolina
Candidates, interest groups and the public are gearing up for the start of early in-person voting in North Carolina.
The early-voting period begins Thursday, with at least one site open in each of the 100 counties. The early-voting period covers 17 days until Nov. 5. It grew by a week after a federal court struck down a 2013 law scaling back the number of days.
Appeals Court Denies More Early Voting Time In NC
A group of North Carolina voters that wants to expand early in-person voting in the state has lost its case before a federal appeals court.
A three-judge panel on the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals on Wednesday denied the emergency motion focused on five counties that include the cities of Charlotte, Greensboro, Winston-Salem and Wilmington. A trial court judge refused the same request last week.
Federal Appeal Seeks To Halt North Carolina Restroom Law
A federal judge ruled weeks ago that the University of North Carolina must allow three transgender people to use bathrooms matching their gender identity. Now those plaintiffs want an appeals court to expand that preliminary ruling to cover everyone, in any restroom subject to North Carolina's House Bill 2.
HB 2 requires people to use restrooms matching their birth certificates in schools and many public buildings, and excludes gender identity and sexual orientation from statewide antidiscrimination protections.
The judge said two students and an employee at UNC will likely win on Title IX grounds requiring equal treatment in schools.
The plaintiffs want the preliminary injunction expanded to protect constitutional rights as well. Governor Pat McCrory and legislative leaders want the appeal dismissed.
Conservationists, Regulators Dispute Size Of Coal Ash Spill
Conservationists and regulators are at odds over how much coal ash was swept away by flooding during Hurricane Matthew.
State inspectors say it would fit in the bed of a pickup truck, while a watchdog group argues it's a much larger spill.
Waterkeeper Alliance said it took its boats down the Neuse River earlier this week, collected samples and photographed thick gray muck in the water near the H.F. Lee plant near Goldsboro. They said it appears to be fly ash and is evidence of a large coal ash spill.
Duke Energy acknowledged that the material is a coal-burning byproduct carried off by the floodwaters that flowed over three inactive coal ash basins, but said it's a safe form of the residue.
McCrory Outlines Plans For Recovery From Hurricane Matthew
Gov. Pat McCrory has announced a plan to help eastern North Carolina recover from Hurricane Matthew.
McCrory told a briefing on Wednesday that he is forming a recovery committee to help families and businesses rebuild.
The governor also said he has signed an executive order asking legislators to provide flexibility on the calendar for schools that closed because of Matthew. He asked school boards in affected areas not to reschedule lost days until the legislature acts.
In addition, McCrory said the state has approved disaster food stamp benefits and unemployment assistance for people put out of work by Matthew. He also said the tax filing deadline has been extended and the late penalty waived for storm victims.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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