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North Carolina Congressional Map For 2020 Weighed In Court
North Carolina voters asking state judges to block the use of the current congressional district boundaries next year say it's obvious the lines are illegally tainted by partisan bias favoring Republicans.
A three-judge panel heard arguments on Thursday on the request by plaintiffs in a partisan gerrymandering lawsuit filed last month. The court didn't rule immediately.
The voters are suing to overturn the map based on a recent ruling by the same three judges, who determined General Assembly districts violated the state constitution. A voters' attorney said there's uncontroverted evidence Republican legislators used partisanship to ensure the 2016 maps would elect 10 Republicans in 13 congressional districts.
But the lawyer for GOP lawmakers says it's too late to redraw the maps five weeks before candidate filing begins.
NC House Committee Holds Rare Debate On Redistricting Reform
Proposed changes on how to draw North Carolina's legislative and congressional districts are getting their first significant debate by lawmakers in years.
A House committee on Thursday discussed three reform bills filed this year. No votes were taken, and there are no guarantees legislation will advance, let alone become law.
All three bills would put map-drawing in the hands of someone besides legislators, but the General Assembly would ultimately approve the final product. One proposal requires amending the state constitution
With Budget Impasse, Minimal Teacher Raises Clear NC Senate
Legislation allowing North Carolina public school teachers only seniority pay raises already on the books has cleared one General Assembly chamber despite complaints from Gov. Roy Cooper and other Democrats that they're insufficient.
The Senate agreed to the Republican measure on Thursday in a near party-line vote. The legislation would ensure that teachers move up the current salary scale this fall based on another year of being on the job. Salaries listed in the scale wouldn't change in the bill now heading to the House.
The minimal raises are the result of an extended budget impasse between Republicans and Cooper, who vetoed the state budget passed by the GOP in June.
Health Officials Report NC's 1st Flu-Related Death Of Season
North Carolina health officials say they've received the first report of a flu-related death of this season.
Officials with the state Department of Health and Human Services say an adult living in the central part of North Carolina died of flu-related causes in the first week of October. They released no other details about the person who died.
Scientists Develop New Tool To Help Identify Coal Ash In Soil, Water
Researchers at Duke University and UNC Chapel Hill have developed a new technique to track the footprint of coal ash in the environment.
The new forensic tracer uses lead isotopes to detect coal fly ash in dust and other solids, including soil and sediments.
It was used to analyze dozens of samples collected from 12 U.S. coal-fired power plants between 2004 and 2013.
Tests show it can distinguish between the chemical signature of lead that comes from coal ash and lead that comes from other sources, including leaded gasoline and lead paint.
Coal ash contains toxic substances and heavy metals, which can leach into groundwater. It's often recycled to make concrete and other products and applied on the soil as fill for projects.
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