Ruling May Be Weeks Away On North Carolina Voter ID Mandate
A federal judge signaled he is at least weeks away from a decision in a lawsuit over North Carolina's photo ID mandate for voters. That makes it likely that the new legal requirement will remain in place when early in-person voting begins March 3.
The trial ended Monday in multiple lawsuits over the new statute, which is supposed to be implemented for the first time during the March 15 primary.
The requirement, first approved by Republican elected officials in 2013 but eased somewhat last summer, makes North Carolina one of more than 30 states with some kind of voter ID requirement now in force. But the U.S. Justice Department, state NAACP and others challenged the requirement in a state with a history of racial discrimination and racially polarized voting.
Their lawsuits also challenged other provisions in the 2013 law that scaled back early voting and ended same-day registration during the early-vote period. Only voter ID was considered during the six-day trial. The trial judge had refused before the trial to block voter ID from taking effect on schedule.
Greensboro Mayor To Lead LGBT Advocacy Group
Greensboro Mayor Nancy Vaughan is taking the reigns at a local LGBT advocacy foundation.
Vaughan will become executive director at the Guilford Green Foundation. The nonprofit distributes money to LGBT-friendly organizations throughout the county.
A statement from Guilford Green applauds Vaughan's community leadership in the last decade. She's served on the Greensboro City Council and is in her second term as mayor.
Vaughan will continue to lead the city as she takes on this new role.
According to the foundation, one of her first projects will be the development of a Greensboro LGBT Center.
The city recently received high marks from the Human Rights Campaign for the inclusiveness of its municipal policies.
Event Aims To Promote Understanding Of Muslim Faith
An event in Greensboro Tuesday promotes dialogue and understanding across different faiths.The ongoing “Ask A Muslim Anything!” series aims to answer even some of the most basic questions about Islam.
It's in part a response to recent heated political rhetoric. At Ask A Muslim Anything! the topics can range from the practical… like how do you pray? To the theoretical, like what constitutes Islamic law?
The event is a collaboration between Scuppernong books and organizer Deonna Kelli Sayed. She says this takes the conversation outside of academia and brings it to the community.
The open-to-the-public event will feature a Muslim chaplain, university professors, and community leaders. Sayed says another is scheduled for March, with the possibility of more in the future.
Analytics Software Maker SAS Puts 2015 Revenue At Near $3.2 Billion
One of the world's largest privately owned software companies says it's earnings have gone up for the 40th straight year.
Cary-based SAS Institute Inc. said Tuesday its revenues were almost $3.2 billion in 2015. That was 2 percent more than 2014.
The company started by a pair of billionaire former North Carolina State University statisticians doesn't report bottom-line profits. SAS reinvests a quarter of incoming revenue in ongoing research, about twice the industry average.
The company's software helps analyze fraud and security threats for customers including Bank of America and government organizations including the Delaware State Police. Banks made up a quarter of the company's software revenue last year. Government agencies make up about 15 percent.
Winter Weather's Length? Sir Walter Wally To Have His Say
North Carolina's own weather-forecasting groundhog gets his big day in the spotlight.
The North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences in Raleigh holds its 19th annual Groundhog Day celebration on Tuesday. That's when the groundhog called Sir Walter Wally offers its view on how long winter will linger.
The state museum in Raleigh says Wally has been right about the length of winter 55 percent of the time since 1998, much better than Pennsylvania's more famous Punxsutawney Phil.
Legend holds that if the groundhog sees its shadow on February 2, another six weeks of winter lie ahead.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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