North State Journal — Vol. 2., Issue 20

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VOLUME 2 ISSUE 20

www.NSJONLINE.com |

Wednesday, May 17, 2017

Inside Exclusive Kevin Keatts interview, Sports

Eamon Queeney | NORTH STATE JOURNAL

Sen. Richard Burr speaks during The Jesse Helms Center Foundation’s 30th Anniversary Lecture Dinner at the Sheraton in downtown Raleigh. The Jesse Helms Center Foundation was founded in 1988 to maintain the collection of professional and personal papers of Sen. Jesse Helms as well as promote free enterprise and principled leadership.

the Wednesday

News BRIEFing

Trump releases slate of judicial nominees Washington, D.C. In what is expected to be a series of appointments to fill 120 vacancies on lower federal courts, President Donald Trump nominated 10 judges this week, several from the short list of Supreme Court consideration. The White House called the conservative judges part of the Trump’s commitment to “principled jurists to the federal bench who will enforce the Constitution’s limits.”

Private investigator says murdered DNC staffer had links to WikiLeaks Washington, D.C. Rod Wheeler, a private investigator and former homicide detective, claims that he has seen evidence a young DNC staffer shot dead in the summer of 2016 on a street in Washington, D.C., was in contact with WikiLeaks. Seth Rich was shot and killed at around 4 a.m. on July 10, 2016, in what police have called an attempted robbery, although Rich was found with his watch, wallet and cell phone still on his body. On July 22 WikiLeaks released a series of emails from within the DNC that showed top political aides conspiring against primary candidate Sen. Bernie Sanders. DNC Chairwoman Debbie Wasserman Shultz resigned soon after. One month after his murder, WikiLeaks announced a $20,000 reward for information leading to a conviction. A spokesman for Rich’s family said Wheeler was not authorized to speak for the family and called assertions Seth Rich sent emails to WikiLeaks “unsubstantiated.”

NORTH

STATE

JOURNaL ELEVATE THE CONVERSATION

U.S. top court rejects appeal of NC voter ID law Chief Justice Roberts warns it doesn’t indicate the court’s opinion citing a “blizzard” of filings By Donna King North State Journal WASHINGTON, D.C. — The U.S. Supreme Court has rejected an appeal filed by Republican legislators to overturn a lower court ruling that voiced the state’s voter I.D. law. The court cited what they called a “blizzard” of filings that created confusion over who was authorized to represent the state in the case. The decision leaves in place a July 2016 ruling by the Richmond, Va.-based 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals that ruled the law passed by a Republican-controlled legislature and signed by former N.C. Gov. Pat McCrory was discriminatory.

N.C.’s current Gov. Roy Cooper and Democratic Attorney General Josh Stein had told the justices they wanted to drop the state’s appeal of the 4th Circuit ruling. But the Republican-led state legislature said it should be able to intervene in the case to defend the law. Chief Justice John Roberts, citing a “blizzard of filings over who is and who is not authorized to seek review in this court under North Carolina law,” wrote a twopage statement noting that the confusion over who represents the state was a reason not to hear the dispute. “It is unconscionable that Roy Cooper and Josh Stein — who ignored state law and flouted their conflicts of interest to kill voter ID in North Carolina — have now caused the vast majority of voters who support voter ID to be denied See SCOTUS, page A3

RALEIGH — The Jesse Helms Center hosted an event Friday in conjunction with The John William Pope Foundation featuring speakers from North Carolina’s congressional delegation. The all-day event, Foreign Policy And Trade Challenges In The Age Of Trump, attracted policy wonks and conservative donors from across the Old North State as they sought the perspectives of the influential speakers on issues of national security and the direction of U.S. trade policy. “I don’t think that you can talk about national security any longer without talking about homeland security,” said U.S. Sen. Thom Tillis during lunchtime remarks. On the threat of Islamist terrorists, Tillis revealed the extent of threats right here at home based on his conversations with former FBI Director James Comey, while also cautioning against reductions in foreign aid that could hurt diplomatic efforts abroad. "[Comey] said there are 1,000 active investigations for what they consider to be homegrown terrorists, legitimate threats that did not appear to have any nexus with any Middle Eastern or terrorist organizations,” said Tillis. “He then went on to say there’s at least another 1,000 or more that do seem to have their roots in some sort of association or inspiration from the Middle East, and 300 of them are people who came to this country through the refugee program. So we have to recognize that threat is real.” Tillis also cautioned against reductions in foreign aid because it could hurt diplomatic efforts abroad and create more work for our military. “I also believe a very important part of improv-

EAMON QUEENEY | NORTH STATE JOURNAL

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“I can’t just focus my efforts on an investigation into Russia’s involvement in our elections because the globe is a very unstable place as it relates to security today.” — U.S. Sen. Richard Burr (R-N.C.), chairman U.S. Senate Select Committee on Intelligence

See FOREIGN POLICY, page A8

By Mollie Young North State Journal

Jones & Blount

$2.00

By Jeff Moore North State Journal

Complaint filed one week after failed negotiations with distributors

County Commissioners travel to Raleigh for 2017 Assembly Day

20177 52016

U.S. Sens. Thom Tillis and Richard Burr, along with U.S. Rep. Richard Hudson, spoke at the Jesse Helms Center 30th anniversary event Friday on foreign policy and trade under President Donald Trump

Craft breweries file suit against state’s 25,000-barrel limit

INSIDE

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NC congressional delegates talk foreign policy, trade in Raleigh

Red Oak Brewery owner Bill Sherrill poses inside the brewery in Whitsett, N.C. Sherrill, owner of one of North Carolina’s oldest craft breweries, has fought to change state law with the Craft Freedom legislation.

RALEIGH — After several failed attempts at finding compromise through legislation and private negotiations, North Carolina craft breweries have turned to the courts to resolve state limits that that they say are a constitutional infringement on their businesses. Craft Freedom, along with founding Charlotte-based brewing companies NoDa and Olde Mecklenburg (OMB), filed a complaint in Wake County Superior Court on Monday challenging a current

law that requires brewers to use a third-party distributor if they exceed a 25,000 annual barrel limit. The motion argues that the law, “punishes craft breweries for their own success by forcing them to hand over the rights to distribute their own beer.” The barrel limit was established in 2003, prior to the craft beer boom in North Carolina. Today, the state hosts more than 200 breweries, many of which were established in the last several years. NoDa and OMB say that they have been forced to ignore demand and restrict sales in order to avoid losing meaningful control over company sales, brand and distribution. See Breweries, page A8


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