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North Carolina Lawmakers Return To Try To Wrap Up Session

 

Legislators still have many votes to take before what is expected to be the last week of this year's North Carolina General Assembly session.

The House and Senate return to Raleigh on Monday and will debate and vote on several bills. The House is ready to vote for a $2 billion bond package that cleared the Senate last week and requires a statewide referendum next year for the borrowing to occur.

The two chambers have reached a final compromise on the Republicans' annual bill that makes regulatory changes. They plan final votes on that proposal.

The Senate has votes on immigration and charter schools. The House plans to vote on tax and farm legislation.

Legislative leaders have talked about adjourning by Tuesday or Wednesday.

Republican Presidential Hopeful Carson Visiting N. Carolina

Republican presidential candidate Ben Carson is visiting North Carolina's Triad region.

The physician scheduled a visit Monday to the Victory Junction camp in Randolph County, designed for children with serious illnesses or disorders. The camp was built by the family of NASCAR champion Richard Petty in honor of his late grandson, driver Adam Petty.

The retired neurosurgeon plans to visit Berean Baptist Church in Winston-Salem on Tuesday. The socially conservative church is led by the Rev. Ron Baity, who is also founder of the Return America organization, which says it wants to return America to what it says were the country's Judeo-Christian values.

GOP Reaches Agreement On Choosing Delegates

 

North Carolina Republicans have made a decision on how presidential candidates will be awarded delegates in next year's primary. Party officials decided not to make a suggested change.

The decision means the winner of the state's GOP primary will not get all of the state's delegates. North Carolina is one of several states that awards delegates proportionally based on how well they do in the primary. In 2012, for example, primary winner Mitt Romney took the bulk of the state's delegates, but Rick Santorum, Newt Gingrich and Ron Paul also earned a handful.

There have been some suggestions among Republicans to join other states where the winner takes all. They argued the move would make the state more attractive to candidates.

The decision was made during a meeting this weekend in Greensboro. The state GOP was facing a deadline this week to tell the party how it would run the primary.

 

Swine Squabble: Duke Energy Criticized For Midwest Hog Waste

Members of North Carolina's hog industry have criticized Duke Energy for planning to use out-of-state swine waste at two of its power plants.

The Greensboro News & Record reports that the North Carolina Pork Council wants state officials to squelch the Charlotte-based utility's plan to rely on hog waste from the Midwest to meet the requirements of a state law calling on electric companies to use small amounts of swine-based fuel.

Duke Energy asked the state Utilities Commission this summer to designate their plants near Eden and Salisbury as "renewable energy facilities" allowed to burn biofuel from hog-waste refiners in Missouri and Oklahoma.

Duke Energy spokesman Randy Wheeless says the company would be happy to purchase biogas made from North Carolina swine waste, but the numbers don't add up financially.

Newton's 3 Tds Lead Panthers Past Saints 27-22

Cam Newton threw for 315 yards and a pair of touchdowns to tight end Greg Olsen and also ran for a score, and the Carolina Panthers defeated the New Orleans Saints 27-22 on Sunday.

Luke McCown, starting in place of the injured Drew Brees, completed 31 of 38 passes for 310 yards but it wasn't enough to save the Saints (0-3) from falling three games back in the NFC South.

It was the first game Brees has missed because of injury since joining the Saints in 2006.

Newton ran for a 13-yard TD on a bootleg as the Panthers started 3-0 for the first time since reaching the Super Bowl in the 2003 season.

Olsen had eight catches for a career-high 134 yards and had two 11-yard TD catches.

Panthers cornerback Josh Norman sealed the game with a leaping interception in the end zone with 1:09 remaining.

 

 

 

 

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