|
VOLUME 2 ISSUE 3
www.NSJONLINE.com | WednesDAY, March 8, 2017
Cold water Ojai Mansour, 17, a senior at Sanderson High School, reacts as he comes up for air after jumping in the pool with fellow members of Sanderson’s PALS (Passing Along Lifelong Smiles) Club during the Special Olympics Wake County Polar Plunge at the North Hills Club in Raleigh, March 4, 2017. The club raised more than $1,300 for the Special Olympics and was one a few groups to raise almost $5,000 and jump into the cold pool. Check for more photos at nsjonline.com. eamon queeney | North State Journal
the Wednesday
News BRIEFing
U.S. top court throws out ruling favoring transgender student from Virginia Washington, D.C. The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday scrapped plans to hear a major transgender rights case and threw out a lower court’s ruling in favor of a transgender Virginia student after President Donald Trump rescinded a policy protecting such youths under federal law. The justices sent the case involving transgender high school student Gavin Grimm back to the same U.S. appeals court that last year ruled in Grimm’s favor. The action came after Trump’s administration retracted a directive by former President Barack Obama’s administration threatening to pull federal funding for public schools that did not let transgender students use the multi-stalled bathrooms matching their gender identity.
Gold mine reopens over N.C. border Lancaster County, S.C. The historic Haile Gold Mine is back in business near the Charlotte border. Once drawing from one of the largest producing veins of gold until the California Gold Rush, Haile resumed operations in January anticipating more than $5.7 billion in pure gold is just below the surface. The mine closed in 1990 and the company invested $300 million to reopen it. The project is expected to bring $70 million in revenue for surrounding counties. The first substantial gold discovery in the U.S. was in 1799 in Cabarrus County, N.C.
U.S. strike in Yemen kills former Guantanamo Bay detainee Washington, D.C. The Pentagon said on Monday a March 2 strike against al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula in Yemen killed a former detainee from the U.S. detention center at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. “We can confirm the death of a former Guantanamo Bay detainee, Yasir al Silmi,” said Navy Capt. Jeff Davis, a Pentagon spokesman.
NORTH
Republicans unveil plan to dismantle Affordable Care Act
JOURNaL
Legislation would end Obamacare insurance mandate; some legislators concerned about cost, Medicaid rollback
STATE ELEVATE THE CONVERSATION
By Donna King North State Journal HOUSTON — North Carolina Lt. Gov. Dan Forest appeared at press conference with his Texas counterpart, Dan Patrick, in Houston Monday. Forest was there to meet with the Texas Senate to give his perspective on the impact of H.B. 2 on North Carolina. The bill limited access to multi-stalled bathrooms in publicly owned buildings to the sex listed on an individual’s birth certificate. The bill put N.C. at the center of the debate over transgender
Jones & Blount Page 5
5
20177 52016 $2.00
8
See OBamacare , page A3
Rep. G.K. Butterfield (D-N.C.)
Former Gov. Pat McCrory
Former Gov. McCrory looks toward the future
By Donna King North State Journal
Expanded coverage of the North Carolina political scene
See Forest, page A8
“North Carolinians have better health coverage and care thanks to the Affordable Care Act. I remain steadfastly committed to protecting access to affordable health care and Medicaid from Republicans who are working to take it away.”
“It is definitely still an option for me down the road and I’d be foolish not to consider it down the road because it was a job I loved for the state I love.”
As he receives the Excellence in Leadership Award, former governor looks back at his journey and makes new plans
INSIDE
access to multi-stalled restrooms, and Texas may be wading into the issue with pending legislation, the Texas Privacy Act, which would limit restroom access to a single biological sex. The bill is being championed by Lt. Gov. Patrick, a Republican and conservative. Like H.B. 2, the Texas bill allows private companies and venues to make their own policies on bathroom access, while government buildings, schools and universities will have access set by state law based on the biological sex on one’s current birth certificate. Also like H.B. 2, it says that individual schools may create their own policies on a case-by-case basis in use of single-stalled restrooms. Critics contend the bill infringes on the civil rights of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender
WASHINGTON, D.C. — Long-awaited legislation to dismantle the Affordable Care Act was unwrapped on Monday by Republicans, who called for ending health insurance mandates and rolling back extra health care funding for the poor in a package that drew immediate fire from Democrats. In a battle waged since the 2010 passage of the Affordable Care Act (ACA), Democratic President Barack Obama’s signature domestic policy achievement often called Obamacare, Republicans including President Donald Trump have long vowed to repeal and replace the law. But they failed for years to coalesce around an alternative. “We are at a crossroads right now when it comes to our nation’s health care,” Rep. Virginia Foxx (R-N.C.) said on March 1. “When people — through no fault of their own — are experiencing pain and havoc created by the Obamacare death spiral, the only responsible thing to do is provide relief.” With a proposal now on the table, the fate of the plan is uncertain even with Republican majorities in both chambers. Also unclear is where Trump stands on many of the details. “Today marks an important step toward restoring health care choices and affordability back to the American people,” the White House said in a statement, adding Trump looked forward to working with Congress on replacing ACA. Republicans condemn Obamacare as government overreach, and Trump has called it a “disaster.” Critics complained about the penalty the law charged those who refused to buy insurance. The Republican proposal would repeal that penalty immediately. Congressional Democrats denounced the Republican plan, saying it would hurt Americans by requiring them to pay more for health care, to the benefit of insurers. ACA has brought health insurance coverage to about 20 million previously uninsured Americans, although premium increases have angered many. About half those people gained coverage through
Forest speaks to Texas legislature, urges single sex bathroom law N.C.’s lieutenant governor traveled to Houston Monday and urged lawmakers there to pass Texas Privacy Act
By Susan Cornwell and Yasmeen Abutaleb Reuters
CHARLOTTE — At Tuesday’s Rotary Club meeting in Charlotte, former Gov. Pat McCrory was honored with the Excellence in Leadership Award. The Rotarian honor recognizes excellence in industry and public service leaders with high ethical standards who see their role as a contribution to society and their community. McCrory is first public official to win the award. “If you really look at Pat McCrory’s impact on this city, it’s hard to think it took this long to
recognize his leadership,” said Charlotte Rotarian John Lassiter, a close friend of McCrory. “He was a seven-term mayor of Charlotte who led in large part a lot of what made Charlotte the city it is today. He was instrumental in building the infrastructure here, in recruiting, he was key to helping bring professional sports to this town, and he’s been a leader in the policy arena. It’s hard to look out of any window in this town and not find something that is part of his legacy.” In comments to North State Journal ahead of the ceremony, McCrory said he has not ruled out another run at N.C.’s Executive Mansion. “Over the next two to two-andhalf years I will do an evaluation of whether to run again or not, but it is definitely an option,” said See Mccrory page A8
Eamon Queeney | North State Journal
North Carolina governor Pat McCrory reacts as he takes the stage during a Donald Trump campaign event at the J.S. Dorton Arena on the North Carolina State Fairgrounds in Raleigh, Nov. 7, 2016.