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VOLUME 3 ISSUE 15
WWW.NSJONLINE.COM |
WEDNESDAY, JUNE 6, 2018
Inside Duke, UNC advance to Super Regionals, Sports
RICK WILKING | REUTERS | FILE
Baker Jack Phillips, decorates a cake in his Masterpiece Cakeshop in Lakewood, Colorado, on Sept. 21.
the Wednesday
NEWS BRIEFING
Raleigh could be home to new Army Futures Command Raleigh N.C.’s capital city is on the extra-short list to headquarter the Army’s new Futures Command. Raleigh’s high-tech environment, low cost of living and university talent pipeline is drawing attention as one of five cities to top the list of possible sites for the command. Five members of an Army site selection team are visiting the city this week. The Army Futures Command will focus on using technology to predict and counter future threats to the nation. A site decision is expected by June 30. For more on this story, turn to page A3.
Toll rises after volcano, quake ravage Guatemala Escuintla, Guatemala A 5.2 magnitude earthquake shook the Guatemala coast Monday morning, according to the U.S. Geological Survey, a day after a major volcanic eruption hit the Central American nation. The quake struck in the Pacific Ocean at a depth of 6.2 miles, USGS said. The tremor came after Guatemala’s Fuego volcano violently erupted on Sunday, killing at least 38 people and injuring about 300, according to preliminary government figures.
NC awarded $147M infrastructure grant Washington, D.C. N.C. will get a $147 million grant from the U.S. Department of Transportation for infrastructure projects in eastern N.C. Sens. Richard Burr (R-N.C.) and Thom Tillis (R-N.C.) worked to secure the grant and announced its award on Tuesday which will be the largest infrastructure project in the state, widening up to 25 miles of road along I-95, upgrading the remaining sections of U.S. 70, and providing 300 miles of broadband backbone to connect eastern N.C. to telecom access.
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State employee raises passed in NCGA budget Gov. Roy Cooper has until next week to sign or veto the $23.9 billion state budget that gives long-awaited raises to troopers and other state employees By David Larson for the North State Journal RALEIGH — The short session adjustments to the 2017-18 biennial budget, passed by both chambers of the N.C. legislature last week, included significant raises for state employees. All state employees received at least a 2 percent boost in salary with many others given much more. Troopers from the North Carolina State Highway Patrol have of-
ten complained they were not getting the same kind of attention from budget writers as teachers, who have received 19 percent average raises over the last five years. This year, however, state troopers will receive larger raises, at about 8 percent on average, than teachers do at 6.5 percent. In addition, the entry-level base pay for state troopers will rise from $39,000 per year to $44,000. The most dramatic raises were directed toward state employees making the lowest salaries. The current floor, or minimum salary given to state workers, is $24,332. This floor is being raised to $31,200, an almost 30 percent increase. The State Employees Association of North Carolina See RAISES, page A2
Supreme Court hands win to baker over gay couple dispute Justices said the case showed impermissible hostility toward religion By Lawrence Hurley Reuters WASHINGTON, D.C. — The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday handed a 7-2 victory to a Colorado Christian baker who refused for religious reasons to make a wedding cake for a gay couple, stopping short of setting a major precedent allowing people to claim exemptions from anti-discrimination laws based on religious beliefs. The justices said the Colorado Civil Rights Commission showed an impermissible hostility toward religion when it found that baker Jack Phillips violated the state’s anti-discrimination law by rebuffing gay couple David Mullins and Charlie Craig in 2012. The state law bars businesses from refusing service based on race, sex, marital status or sexual orientation. The ruling concluded that the commission violated Phillips’ religious rights under the U.S. Constitution’s First Amendment. But the court did not issue a definitive ruling on the circumstances under which people can seek exemptions from anti-discrimination laws based on their religious views. The decision also did not address several of the claims raised in the case, including whether baking a cake is a kind of expressive act protected by the Constitution’s guaran-
U.S. House Democrats close to forcing a vote on DACA Three N.C. members of Congress signed the petition to bypass leadership By Susan Cornwell Reuters WASHINGTON, D.C. — Three members of N.C.’s congressional delegation, Rep. Alma Adams, Rep. David Price, and Rep. G.K. Butter-
field, are among the 215 members of the U.S. House to sign a petition to force a vote on four immigration bills written to address the fate of recipients of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrival program (DACA), often called “dreamers” by Democrats. Called a “discharge petition,” the rare parliamentary procedure bypasses the authority of House Speaker Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) and demands
a debate on four bills that would protect illegal immigrants from deportation. Trump signed an executive order last year that made the program sunset on March 5. The petition, which needs 218 signatures, was launched last month by centrist Republicans who say they are tired of inaction on immigration in Congress. The issue has bitSee IMMIGRATION, page A2
tee of free speech. Two of the court’s four liberals, Stephen Breyer and Elena Kagan, joined the five conservative justices in the ruling authored by Justice Anthony Kennedy. “The commission’s hostility was inconsistent with the First Amendment’s guarantee that our laws be applied in a manner that is neutral toward religion,” Kennedy wrote. “The outcome of cases like this in other circumstances must await further elaboration in the courts, all in the context of recognizing that these disputes must be resolved with tolerance, without undue disrespect to sincere religious beliefs, and without subjecting gay persons to indignities when they seek goods and services in an open market,” Kennedy said. Of the 50 states, 21 including Colorado have anti-discrimination laws protecting gay people. The closely watched case before the Supreme Court, which in 2015 legalized same-sex marriage nationwide, pitted gay rights against religious liberty. President Donald Trump’s administration intervened in the case in support of Phillips. The outcome of the case hinged on the actions of the Colorado commission. In one exchange at a 2014 hearing cited by Kennedy, former commissioner Diann Rice said that “freedom of religion, and religion, has been used to justify all kinds of discrimination throughout history, whether it be slavery, whether it be See COURT, page A2
INSIDE New numbers indicate improvement in the battle against opioid addiction. Jones & Blount