Morning News Briefs: Thursday, January 26th, 2017

Voter ID Lawsuits Live On Despite Likely Trump Policy Shift

Attorneys challenging tough voter ID laws in Texas and North Carolina say they'll keep pressing their lawsuits without the support of President Donald Trump's Justice Department if necessary.

Former President Obama's White House had argued that laws in Texas and North Carolina discriminate against minorities.

Civil rights lawyer Gerry Hebert represents plaintiffs in the Texas case. He says there is now "great concern" the new administration will scrap those legal challenges to laws that require photo identification at the ballot box.

HB2, Medicaid, Teacher Pay On Democrats' List

Democrats in the General Assembly remain the minority party but are more optimistic their agenda this year can pass now that fellow Democrat Gov. Roy Cooper is in office.

House and Senate Democrats rolled out their priorities in a news conference Wednesday as lawmakers began their session in earnest.

On their list is the repeal of the law limiting LGBT rights and directing which bathrooms transgender people can use, known as House Bill 2. They also want significant teacher pay raises, tax relief for small businesses and working families, expansion of Medicaid to more of the working poor and additional relief funds following Hurricane Matthew.

Altria Buys Nat Sherman Parent Company

Altria Group has bought the parent company of Nat Sherman, a maker of super-premium cigarettes.

The sale of Sherman Group Holdings to Altria gives the company a potential rival to R.J. Reynolds Tobacco in the super-premium category.

The Winston-Salem Journal reports the deal was completed last week, but terms have not been disclosed.

Nat Sherman manufactures its cigarettes in a plant near Piedmont Triad International Airport. Its Dominican premium cigars are packaged in Greensboro.

Altria leads the market in traditional cigarettes with its Marlboro brand, but has lacked a super-premium cigarette to compete with Reynolds' Native American Spirit.

Decades After Killings, 'Fatal Vision' Case Back In Court

A former Army surgeon convicted of killing his pregnant wife and their two daughters nearly five decades ago is getting another chance to argue that he's innocent.

A three-judge panel of the 4th U.S. Circuit of Appeals will hear arguments Thursday in the case of Jeffrey MacDonald, who inspired the book and television miniseries "Fatal Vision." The 73-year-old has long maintained that the killings were committed by drug-crazed hippies who broke into his North Carolina apartment.

MacDonald's attorneys are challenging a 2014 district court judge's decision denying his bid to have his convictions thrown out. They say evidence uncovered since his 1979 trial proves he's innocent.

UNC-Chapel Hill Art Museum Receives $25 Million Gift

Officials at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill say its Ackland Art Museum has received its largest gift ever.

A statement from the school's news bureau says alumnus Sheldon Peck and his wife Leena made a donation valued at $25 million. The commitment includes an $8 million endowment to support a new curator and future acquisitions and an art gift of 134 primarily 17th-century European masterworks, valued at $17 million, including seven works by Rembrandt van Rijn.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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