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NC GOP Leader Promises No Action On Anti-Gay Marriage Bill
One of North Carolina's leading Republican politicians says there will never be a hearing for proposed legislation aimed at countering the U.S. Supreme Court decision legalizing gay marriage.
House Speaker Tim Moore of Kings Mountain said in a statement Wednesday that the bill introduced this week won't be considered because the nation's highest court "has firmly ruled on the issue."
A bill introduced Tuesday claims that the nation's highest court overstepped its authority with its 2015 gay-marriage ruling.
North Carolina Legislator Compares Lincoln To Hitler
A North Carolina legislator used his Facebook campaign page to compare President Abraham Lincoln to Adolf Hitler.
Cabarrus County Republican Rep. Larry Pittman posted the comment on Wednesday in response to a torrent of criticism over legislation he and two others sponsored in the General Assembly to restore a state ban on same-sex marriage.
In the post, Pittman said, "And if Hitler had won, should the world just get over it? Lincoln was the same sort of tyrant."
Pittman wrote that Lincoln was "personally responsible for the deaths of 800,000 Americans in a war that was unnecessary and unconstitutional."
California Keeps Travel Ban Despite 'Bathroom Bill' Repeal
California's attorney general says North Carolina's repeal of a strongly criticized "bathroom bill" doesn't protect LGBT people from discrimination. Consequently, he says the country's most-populous state will continue its ban on taxpayer-funded travel to North Carolina.
Attorney General Xavier Becerra announced the decision in a statement Wednesday.
A California law went into effect in January barring state-funded travel or other spending in states with laws that discriminate against LGBT people. The law leaves it up to Becerra to keep a list of which states are banned.
Bill Would Force Schools To Leave Leagues That Boycott State
Some lawmakers want to make North Carolina's public colleges leave their athletic conferences if those leagues boycott the state.
A House bill filed this week and sponsored by four Republicans would require schools in the University of North Carolina system to begin the withdrawal process from their conferences if the organizations enact a future boycott.
Both North Carolina and N.C. State are charter members of the Atlantic Coast Conference. That league pulled 10 neutral-site championships from the state for the 2016-17 academic year in response to a law that limited protections for LGBT people.
US Judge To Check On Man Forcibly Medicated In Terror Case
A federal judge is checking whether a mentally ill North Carolina man accused of trying to join al-Qaida-linked fighters in Syria has improved after nearly a year of forced medication.
U.S. District Judge Terrence Boyle wants to see Basit Sheikh on Thursday. An appeals court ruled in June that Sheikh should be forcibly injected with anti-psychotic medication so he can be made competent to defend himself against prosecution.
Sheikh is from suburban Raleigh and has been described as suffering from schizophrenia.
Wake's John Collins To Remain In NBA Draft
Wake Forest big man John Collins is staying in the NBA draft.
The school said on Twitter on Wednesday night that Collins will not return for his junior season.
His final decision came about a month after he first said he would explore his NBA options without hiring an agent.
Collins is a 6-foot-10 forward who as a sophomore blossomed into one of the best big men in the Atlantic Coast Conference and was voted to the Associated Press all-ACC team.
His progression was a big reason why the Demon Deacons earned their first NCAA Tournament berth since 2010. Kansas State beat Wake Forest in the First Four.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.