North State Journal Vol. 4, Issue 47

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VOLUME 4 ISSUE 46

SPORTS

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WWW.NSJONLINE.COM |

WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 15, 2020

UNC women get signature win for Banghart

ROBERT CLARK | NORTH STATE JOURNAL

Senate Leader Phil Berger (R-Eden) speaks during a press conference at the N.C. General Assembly on Tuesday, January 14, 2020.

the Wednesday

NEWS BRIEFING

NC surfer suffers shark bite off OBX A North Carolina man taking advantage of unseasonably warm weather was bitten by a shark while surfing off the coast Monday. A 26-year-old was taken to the Outer Banks Hospital with injuries that weren’t considered life-threatening, Boone Vandzura, chief ranger with Cape Hatteras National Seashore, said. The bite victim was identified as Samuel Horne from Manteo. Horne was paddling in the surf near Sudie Payne Road in Rodanthe when he was bitten on the foot and will need stitches or staples to repair the injury.

Chemical plant explosion kills 1, injures at least 6 in Spain A massive explosion at a petrochemical plant in northeastern Spain killed one person and gravely injured at least six others Tuesday, regional authorities said. A local government spokesman for the port city of Tarragona, where the plant is located, said a preliminary investigation indicated the force of the blast killed an individual in a nearby neighborhood. The interior minister of Spain’s Catalonia region, Miquel Buch, tweeted that the explosion caused one death and left six people injured while one person remained missing.

15 states oppose natural gas shipments by rail Attorneys general of 15 states said this week that they oppose a Trump administration proposal to allow rail shipments of liquefied natural gas, arguing the trains will share tracks with passenger trains and travel through congested areas. The protesting states included Pennsylvania and New Jersey, where the Trump administration issued a special permit in December to ship LNG by rail. The rulemaking by the U.S. Pipeline and Hazardous Material Safety Administration stems from Trump signing an executive order in April that, in addition to seeking to speed up oil and gas pipeline projects, directed the transportation secretary to propose a rule allowing liquefied natural gas to be shipped in approved rail tank cars. Crude oil, ethanol and biodiesel are already moved by rail in large volumes throughout the U.S.

NORTH

STATE

JOURNaL ELEVATE THE CONVERSATION

Iranians protest after regime admits to shooting down Ukrainian passenger plane By Nasser Karimi The Associated Press RICHMOND, Va. — A permit needed to build a nTEHRAN, Iran — Iran said Tuesday that authorities have made arrests after the Revolutionary Guard shot down a Ukrainian passenger plane, killing all 176 people on board and igniting protests in the country demanding accountability after officials initially denied shooting down the plane. Iran’s Judiciary spokesman Gholamhossein Esmaili said “some individuals” were arrested after “extensive investigations.” His statement on the judiciary’s website did not say how many people had been detained or name those arrested. Iran at first denied allegations that a missile had brought down the plane, but in the face of mounting evidence, officials acknowledged on Saturday — three days after — that its Revolutionary Guard had shot down the plane as the force braced for a possible military confrontation with the United States. The plane, en route from Tehran to the Ukrainian capital of Kyiv, was carrying 167 passengers and nine crew members from several countries, including 82 Iranians and 57 Canadians, many of whom were Iranians with dual citizenship. There were several children among the passengers, including an infant. Iran’s president on Tuesday called for a special court with “a ranking judge and dozens of experts” to be set up to probe the incident.

“The responsibility falls on more than just one person,” President Hassan Rouhani said in a televised speech, adding that those found culpable “should be punished.” “There are others, too, and I want that this issue is expressed honestly,” he said, without elaborating. Rouhani called the incident “a painful and unforgivable” mistake and promised that his administration would pursue the case “by all means.” “This is not an ordinary case. The entire the world will be watching this court,” he said. Tensions have been escalating since President Donald Trump pulled the U.S. out of Iran’s 2015 nuclear deal with world powers and reimposed sanctions that had been lifted under the accord. The deal has quickly unraveled since then, with Iran steadily breaking away from limits on its nuclear program and Europe unable to find ways to keep Tehran committed. The U.S. sanctions have devastated Iran’s economy. On Tuesday, Britain, France and Germany triggered the socalled “dispute mechanism” action that paves way for possible further sanctions in response to Iran’s moves. Tensions sharply escalated further after on Jan. 3, when a U.S. airstrike killed Iran’s most powerful commander, Revolutionary Guard Gen. Qassem Soleimani, in Baghdad. In response, Iran launched See IRAN, page A2

Senate Democrats maintain Cooper veto of teacher pay bill By A.P. Dillon North State Journal RALEIGH — The N.C. Senate was in session Tuesday, and the agenda included consideration of three outstanding vetoes, including the state budget and a bill that would give teachers a pay increase. “This is on the table now, that you can give the teachers [raises], or not. It’s just that simple,” said Senate Majority Leader Harry Brown (R-Onslow). But all 21 Senate Democrats voted no to the teacher pay raise,

maintaining Cooper’s veto of the bill, Senate Bill 354. Democrats remained united in upholding Cooper’s veto of SB 553, the Regulatory Reform Act of 2019. The override of the governor’s budget veto was removed from the calendar. SB 354 would have raised teacher pay 3.9% in year one and an additional 4.4% in year two, with a contingency that Senate Democrats joined in overriding of the governor’s budget veto. On July 9, Cooper announced a See NC SENATE page A2

Impeachment trial will rely on Clinton precedent By Andrew Taylor The Associated Press WASHINGTON, D.C. — Speaker Nancy Pelosi said Tuesday that the U.S. House will vote on Wednesday to send two articles of impeachment to the Senate. In a statement, Pelosi said the House vote will also include the naming of House impeachment managers. Following Pelosi’s announcement, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) said the Senate trial could begin as soon as next Tuesday. At a press event Tuesday, McConnell said that if the House votes to send the articles and names the managers, then his chamber will be able to start the trial process. McConnell’s recent statements indicate that the Senate will operate according to many of procedural precedents set in the 1998 impeachment trial of President Bill Clinton. There’s every chance that the impeachment trial of Donald Trump will look much like Clinton’s did 21 years ago. There’s little chance the Senate See IMPEACHMENT page A2


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