Charlotte Approves LGBT Protections
North Carolina's largest city has passed a law allowing transgender people to choose public bathrooms that correspond to their gender identity. Governor Pat McCrory has called this a threat to public safety and warned that the General Assembly may step in.
The Charlotte City Council voted 7-4 Monday to expand protections based on sexual orientation and gender identity, making it the latest frontier in a national debate on how businesses treat gay, lesbian and transgender customers. One of the revisions to the city's nondiscrimination ordinance allows people to choose restrooms corresponding to the gender with which they identify.
Charlotte Mayor Jennifer Roberts says she's pleased the city has sent a signal that they'll treat people with dignity and respect.
But Gov. McCrory — a former mayor of Charlotte - said in an email Sunday that changing the policy on restrooms could "create major public safety issues."
Poll: Majority Wants Obama To Nominate SCOTUS Justice; Trump Leads Among Republicans
A majority of North Carolinians say President Barack Obama should nominate the next Supreme Court justice.
That's according to the latest Elon University poll, which took place shortly after Justice Antonin Scalia died.
According to the poll, 57 percent of respondents want the president to nominate a new justice now, while about a third want the next president to do so.
While the majority of North Carolina Democrats and Independents favor an immediate nomination, the majority of Republicans want to wait.
President Obama has said he will nominate a candidate, which leaders in the U-S Senate have said they will block.
The poll also shows presidential candidate Donald Trump retains a strong lead over his rivals.
Trump leads Ted Cruz by nine points, and he's beating Marco Rubio by twelve.
Voters Want Judges To Review Quickly New Congress Lines
Voters who successfully sued so far in striking down North Carolina congressional districts want a federal court to quickly review the new map approved last week by the General Assembly to determine if it's legal.
The voters' attorneys filed a motion Monday laying out a proposed schedule for the three-judge panel to review the boundaries. They want the map's validity decided by March 18.
The judges this month threw out the 1st and 12th Districts as illegal racial gerrymanders and stopped elections under the contested lines. GOP lawmakers say they didn't consider race in drawing the new lines.
State Sen. Brock Is Candidate For New 13th District
A North Carolina Republican state senator says he'll run to represent the reshaped 13th Congressional District in which he now lives.
Seven-term Sen. Andrew Brock of Davie County announced his candidacy on Monday. The legislature approved a new map last week with a Republican-leaning 13th that covers all of his home county and Davidson County, as well as portions of Iredell, Rowan and Guilford counties.
Democratic 12th District Rep. Alma Adams lives in the new 13th, but Adams says she'll run in the reconfigured 12th, which is now in Mecklenburg County. Brock joined the Senate in 2003 at age 28.
The Latest: Regulators Size $1B Duke Energy Gas Plant Impact
North Carolina electricity regulators are deliberating whether to allow a $1 billion Duke Energy conversion of an Asheville coal-burning power plant to burn cleaner natural gas.
The North Carolina Utilities Commission on Monday heard details of the project. Duke Energy would pass along the costs plus a profit margin to its customers.
Environmental groups say Duke Energy is overstating the future electricity need in the North Carolina mountains to get the plant built.
Duke Energy says it's forecasting regional electricity demand to grow by 17 percent in the next decade. The company says protests that stopped a 45-mile power line across the mountains of North Carolina and South Carolina last year means not enough electricity can be brought in from other places to meet likely demand.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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