Morning News Briefs: Friday, November 8th, 2019

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Democratic Presidential Candidate Senator Elizabeth Warren Speaks In Greensboro

Democratic presidential candidate Senator Elizabeth Warren spoke at North Carolina A&T State University Thursday. Warren was there for a live podcast with political analyst Angela Rye.

Warren opened with remarks that underscored the significance of historically black colleges and universities and outlined what she wants to invest in them.

“As one HBCU president said to me not very long ago, he says, 'We do the most with the least.' And it's true," she said. "Well, my view is it's time for America to recognize that and make a formal investment: $50 billion into our HBCUs. Let's invest in a whole generation.”

Warren said this would be funded by a wealth tax. 

She released a plan to assist Native Americans in August.

The candidate also spoke about the importance of election security, "Medicare for All," and her desire to eliminate student debt.

North Carolina No Longer An Outlier On Sex And Consent

Governor Roy Cooper has signed a sexual assault bill that says women can revoke consent during sex.

Cooper said in a news release Thursday that he had signed the bill, which undoes a 1979 court decision that made North Carolina the only state where women can't revoke consent.

The law also undoes a court ruling from 2008 that said sexual assault laws don't apply to people who were incapacitated because of their own actions as victims, such as by taking drugs or alcohol. It also increases penalties for child abusers.

The law goes into effect Dec. 1.

Activists Dispute Review Of 'Silent Sam' Protest Arrests

A group of students and faculty at the University of North Carolina in Chapel Hill have protested a review of campus police that says officers mostly acted appropriately when arresting students and other anti-racist activists.

The News & Observer reports the review released Tuesday was conducted by former FBI executive Chris Swecker, who investigated four incidents related to protests over the Confederate "Silent Sam" monument on campus. Members of the group that protested Wednesday afternoon say the review disparages students and unjustly defends campus police.

Greta Thunberg Plans To Join North Carolina Climate Strike

Sixteen-year-old environmental activist Greta Thunberg says she plans to attend a youth-led climate rally in North Carolina this week.

Thunberg tweeted Wednesday that she will join the strike Friday at the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Government Center. Thunberg gained international attention for a speech at the United Nations Climate Action Summit in September.

Today's protest is being organized by the student-led N.C. Climate Strike movement. Hundreds of people attended a rally the group hosted in September, the same day millions of people around the world skipped school and work to urge government action on climate change.

Highway Marker Describes 1898 Wilmington Violence As 'Coup'

The state of North Carolina is moving away from using the phrase "race riot" to describe the violent overthrow of the Wilmington government in 1898 and is instead using the word "coup" on the highway historical marker that will commemorate the dark event.

The heading on the marker reads "Wilmington Coup," but the originally approved text used referred to a "race riot," which eventually was deleted. The marker will be dedicated Friday in Wilmington.

Ansley Herring Wegner is the administrator of the North Carolina Highway Historical Marker Program. She says the term "race riot" is wrong because African Americans were being massacred, not rioting.