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Session: Sanctuary Cities Allow Cover For Violent Gangs
U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions is suggesting that sanctuary cities contribute to problems with drugs and violent gangs, adding that cracking down on illegal immigrants is his priority.
Sessions spoke Thursday in Winston-Salem to several hundred law officers investigating gangs across the Carolinas.
Sessions said cities that shield people in the U.S. illegally are contributing to problems caused by violent gangs like MS-13.
Sessions cited the small North Carolina town of Hamlet, which cancelled its 4th of July celebration last month because of fears of gang violence.
NC Sen Burr Says Trump "Misguided" In Charlottesville Blame
U.S. Sen. Richard Burr of North Carolina says President Donald Trump was "misguided" for blaming both white supremacists and anti-fascist protesters for the deadly weekend violence in Charlottesville, Virginia.
Burr told WXII-TV he thinks "the president is misguided in his last statements" and that he wishes the commander in chief of the country's armed forces "would find a way to be a little more diplomatic in the choice of words that he uses."
Burr's comments make him one of only a handful of Republicans to criticize Trump specifically.
Top Senator Skeptical About Ending Monument Law
The North Carolina Senate's top leader is skeptical about scrapping a 2015 law that prohibits permanently removing Confederate monuments from public property, as Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper called for earlier this week.
Republican Senate leader Phil Berger wrote in a column released Thursday that "an impulsive decision" to pull down monuments wouldn't be wise. Berger says the legislation sought to reduce politics in decisions about monuments on government property.
Public Hearings On Expected Legislative Maps Set For Tuesday
North Carolina lawmakers have set the date for the public to comment on anticipated General Assembly district boundaries being redrawn under court orders.
House and Senate redistricting committees planned public hearings Tuesday in Raleigh and at six community college campuses in regions where maps are expected to change. Lines for several dozen seats are being redrawn because federal judges have struck down nearly 30 districts as illegal racial gerrymanders.
Legislative leaders have said they intend to release proposed House and Senate maps before the public hearings.
Cooper Announces Advisory Committee, Thanks Teachers
Gov. Roy Cooper has reconstituted a committee of current and former teachers and support staff to advise him on public education issues.
Cooper announced Thursday his signing of an executive order this week creating the Governor's Teacher Advisory Committee and identified 24 members. Previous governors — including predecessors Pat McCrory and Beverly Perdue — had similar panels.
Members on Cooper's panel include North Carolina Association of Educators President Mark Jewell and former state House budget-writer David Diamont, who is now a high school football coach.