Public Prayer Reviewed; 1st Case Since Supreme Court Ruling
A federal appeals court will consider whether county commissioners in North Carolina violated the Constitution by delivering Christian prayers at their meetings and inviting audience members to join.
A three-judge panel of the 4th Circuit Court of Appeals is scheduled on Wednesday to hear Rowan County's effort to overturn a federal judge's ruling that local officials ran afoul of constitutional requirements separating church and state.
The case marks the first time a federal appeals court has considered how local councils conduct prayers since the U.S. Supreme Court in 2014 upheld a New York town's use of predominantly Christian invocations at its meetings.
The appeals court in Richmond is expected to issue a written ruling sometime after this week's hearing.
Triad Business Leader Arrested
The former leader of a Triad economic development group is now facing felony charges.
David Powell was CEO of the Piedmont Triad Partnership for more than four years, stepping down in January 2015.
After he resigned, PTP officials said they became aware of some “financial irregularities” that cropped up during his tenure.
Now, Powell is facing two counts of embezzlement in excess of 100-thousand dollars, and two counts of obtaining property by false pretenses.
The Winston-Salem native was arrested Monday in Greensboro and posted a 100-thousand dollar cash bond.
If Powell is convicted, he could face more than ten years in prison on each felony charge.
Police Arrest 4 Protesting Incoming UNC President Spellings
Four people are facing charges after protesting the hiring of former U.S. Education Secretary Margaret Spellings to head the 17-campus University of North Carolina system.
A spokeswoman for North Carolina's public university board says all four were charged with disrupting an official meeting and resisting officers. Shouting demonstrators forced the UNC Board of Governors to pause their meeting in Chapel Hill.
The Service Employees International Union has supported a series of protests against the board and Spellings that have included students and university faculty. Protesters have objected to Spellings' work for President George W. Bush and with the parent company of the for-profit University of Phoenix.
In March, Spellings replaces Tom Ross, a Democrat who was lavishly praised but pushed out by the Republican-dominated governing board.
North Carolina Teachers' Group Defiant Disclosing Membership
The North Carolina Association of Educators isn't budging on providing membership totals so the state can determine whether group members can keep having dues removed from their payroll checks.
NCAE Executive Director Rachelle Johnson wrote State Controller Linda Combs on Tuesday and told her the group still had no plans to disclose that number despite previous state requests. The teacher lobbying group leader says the state's demand is "unnecessarily intrusive" and interferes with constitutional rights to freedom of assembly.
State law indicates a group like NCAE must show it has 40,000 members for dues checkoff. Johnson disagrees and says it can comply through another law setting a 2,000-member threshold.
A state auditor's review found 9,400 NCAE members get dues removed automatically.
Combs asked recently for NCAE totals by Feb. 1.
Advocacy Groups To Protest Recent Federal Immigration Raids
Advocacy groups will hold vigils in North Carolina and take other actions to protest the Department of Homeland Security's recent immigration raids.
Student Action with Farmworkers will hold a news conference Wednesday afternoon in Durham to protest the deportations of Central American families. Wednesday evening El Pueblo and other organizations will hold a vigil at the Wake County Detention Center in Raleigh to show solidarity with those who are detained.
At least 121 people have been detained in raids that began during the holiday season. Last week, 22 Democratic senators asked President Obama to halt the deportations, citing the threats of violence and death the mothers and children face when they're returned.
Administration officials cite an increase in the numbers of families and children as one reason for the raids.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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