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Legal Battle Continues Over Confederate Monument In Winston-Salem
A Confederate monument lawsuit that drew a standing-room-only crowd to a Forsyth County courthouse Monday will continue for at least another day. A follow-up hearing is scheduled for Tuesday.
Superior Court Judge Eric Morgan said he needed more time to hear motions from both sides.
One of the motions is a request to dismiss the case. That came from the city and another defendant, Winston Courthouse LLC, a private company that now owns the property where the statue once stood.
City officials removed the monument in March, but some question whether the city had the right to do that.
The United Daughters of the Confederacy says Forsyth County might have the final say, since the monument was excluded in the sale of the former courthouse. If so, the statue could be protected by a 2015 state law.
City officials say it's a public nuisance and a safety concern.
North Carolina Conservatives Urge Override For Abortion Bill
Anti-abortion groups say North Carolina legislators will be on history's right side if they override Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper's veto of a measure they say ensures newborns delivered during unsuccessful abortions are cared for like any other baby.
Leaders of socially conservative organizations spoke Monday outside the Legislative Building for the "Born-Alive Abortion Survivors" bill, which Cooper vetoed this month. They also announced a rally next week for the measure and other anti-abortion legislation.
The Republican-controlled Senate plans an override vote on Tuesday.
Republicans Discount Lawsuit Over GOP Benefits
A spokesman for North Carolina's Republican Party is discounting a lawsuit by a congressional candidate barred from GOP debates and access to internal party data.
State GOP spokesman Jeff Hauser said Monday that candidate Chris Anglin's lawsuit seeking access to the party's resources is nothing more than a publicity stunt.
Anglin's state lawsuit seeks to force the state GOP to give him access to benefits provided to nine others in the 9th congressional district field.
Republicans call him a Democratic plant. Anglin was a registered Democrat until weeks before running for state Supreme Court as a Republican.
Voters Choosing Nominees To Succeed Late NC Rep. Jones
More than two dozen candidates seeking to succeed the late North Carolina Rep. Walter Jones Jr. first must win their parties' nominations.
Voters go to the polls Tuesday in the 3rd Congressional District primaries. Seventeen Republicans, six Democrats and two Libertarians are on ballots. Democratic and GOP party runoffs are possible in July if leading candidates fail to get over 30 percent of the vote.
Jones died in February after serving 24 years in the House as a Republican in the eastern North Carolina district.
Bill To Prevent Future Rape Kit Delays OK'd By House Panel
New processes to test thousands of sexual assault kits held by local North Carolina law enforcement agencies are advancing in the House.
A bill approved by the House judiciary committee on Monday seeks to prevent future backlogs of sometimes-forgotten rape kits held in police storage lockers around the state.
The measure directs police and sheriff departments starting this summer to submit new, completed kits for testing to the State Crime Lab, an approved third-party lab or the Department of Public Safety within 45 days of receiving them. It also directs local law enforcement to create panels that review sexual assault kits and prioritize which should be tested first.
Fire Blamed On Abandoned Campfire Reported In Linville Gorge
Forestry officials say an abandoned campfire is the suspected cause of a wildfire in Linville Gorge.
The U.S. Forest Service says that the Brushy Ridge Fire was reported Sunday afternoon and is in a remote area near the Linville River at the end of the Brushy Ridge Trail on the northeast side of the gorge.
Forest service spokeswoman Lisa Jennings says firefighters hiked into the area on April 27 after the fire was first reported to assess the blaze and determine how to put it out.
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