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Authorities Didn't Have Enough For Hate Charges
An attorney who has worked with the families of three Muslim students gunned down in February 2015 says federal authorities decided they did not have a strong enough case to pursue hate-crime charges against their killer.
Joe Cheshire said at a news conference Wednesday that federal authorities could not satisfy themselves that 50-year-old Craig Hicks' actions met all the required conditions of bringing a successful hate crime prosecution. He says they couldn't discount Hicks' initial explanation that the violence was provoked by a dispute over parking spaces.
Hicks pleaded guilty Wednesday to three counts of first-degree murder in the slayings of 23-year-old Deah Barakat; his wife, Yusor Abu-Salha, 21; and Abu-Salha's 19-year-old sister Razan Abu-Salha. He was sentenced to three consecutive life terms in prison without parole.
Retooled Immigration Directive Wins Over NC Sheriffs' Group
North Carolina Republicans have retooled legislation designed to counter recent decisions by some new sheriffs who are refusing to comply with written requests by federal immigration agents to hold criminal defendants.
The amended measure eases somewhat a directive in the version that the House approved in April. That version would have forced sheriffs to fulfill Immigration and Customs Enforcement detainers.
The alternative debated by the Senate Judiciary Committee on Wednesday lets a judge or magistrate decide whether to hold an inmate for ICE. The changes were enough for the North Carolina Sheriffs' Association to now back the measure.
Lawmaker Wants Unlimited Handgun Purchases On Single Permit
A state Senate Republican has proposed that North Carolina sheriffs be able to issue handgun permits that allow for unlimited purchases rather than requiring a permit for each firearm.
Sen. Danny Britt of Robeson County says his bill that was before the Senate Judiciary Committee on Wednesday would eliminate the requirement that sheriffs issue a permit for each firearm purchased. Instead, a buyer would be allowed unlimited purchases on a single five-year permit.
Britt says the change would make the process easier for law-abiding citizens. It has the backing of the North Carolina Sheriffs' Association, which considers it an efficiency step.
North Carolina Fights Rising Hepatitis C Infections
A multi-million dollar initiative to fight hepatitis C infections is launching in North Carolina after the opioid crisis caused a dramatic spike in statewide infections.
HepConnect is holding a launch event in the state capitol on Thursday following similar launches in states like Kentucky, Tennessee, West Virginia and Indiana.
The state Department of Health and Human Services estimates there are over 100,000 North Carolinians living with hepatitis C. The virus can spread through sharing needles and can cause severe liver damage, or in some cases, death. The initiative aims to increase access to care for those infected with the virus.
BB&T, Suntrust To Become Truist In Merger
The name of the nation's newest mega bank is Truist Bank.
Southern regional banking giants BB&T and SunTrust said Wednesday that the two would adopt the name for their merged institution.
The two banks announced their merger earlier this year creating the nation's sixth-largest bank by assets at $440 billion. The merged banks are poised to geographically dominate the South, where they are based.
While Truist will be headquartered in Charlotte, it will maintain a community-banking division in Winston-Salem.
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