Morning News Briefs: Wednesday, January 25th, 2017

Lawmakers, Governor Ready For Showdown In Divided NC

North Carolina legislators begin a new session amid rancor with a new governor and skepticism about whether they can reach consensus on big issues or will remain stuck in a political quagmire.

Lawmakers return to Raleigh on Wednesday, two weeks after meeting briefly to choose their leaders.

In the last month, the GOP-controlled General Assembly and Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper have filed dueling lawsuits. Distrust killed an apparent pre-Christmas deal to repeal a law that limits LGBT rights and directs which public bathrooms transgender people must use.

NC Voter Registrations Through Gov't Agencies Soar

More North Carolina residents are registering to vote or updating registrations when they visit government agencies to obtain driver's licenses or seek food stamps or Medicaid coverage.

The State Board of Elections said the number of those registrations more than doubled from 2012 to 2016, reaching a record 715,000.

The elections board says the number of registrants increased 81 percent last year at Division of Motor Vehicles offices, where an online system has helped implement registration requests.

The numbers were released as state officials remain defendants in a lawsuit filed by individuals and groups alleging DMV was not submitting registration information and North Carolina's health agency failed to register public assistance clients.

North Carolina Unemployment Rate Edged Upward In December

The latest jobless numbers from the N.C. Department of Commerce show the state's unemployment rate edged slightly higher in December.

Figures announced Tuesday show the state's seasonally adjusted rate for December was 5.1 percent, an increase 0.1 of a percentage point from November's revised rate. The rate was also 0.5 of a percentage point lower than at the same time one year ago.

Judge: Release Video In Charlotte Police Shooting Of Suspect

A North Carolina judge has ordered the release of video showing a fatal shooting by Charlotte-Mecklenburg police in 2012.

The Charlotte Observer reports that the ruling Monday is the second time a judge has ordered the release of video of a Charlotte police shooting under a new state law.

Mecklenburg County Superior Judge Lisa Bell ruled the police department must release to the newspaper the footage in the killing of 28-year-old Michael Laney, whose family and police give conflicting accounts of what happened.

Lawsuit Contends NC Sex Offender Law Goes Too Far

Convicted sex offenders are pushing back against North Carolina laws they say deprive them of constitutional rights without increasing protection for children as the laws originally intended.

A Raleigh-based national nonprofit and two anonymous sex offenders sued the state on Monday, saying it's unconstitutional to ban them from churches, colleges and the Legislature's building. The lawsuit also contends the U.S. Constitution forbids changes to the law that add penalties after conviction and sentencing.

The U.S. Supreme Court next month reviews North Carolina's law banning sex offenders from using social networking sites like Facebook that minors can join.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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