North State Journal — Vol 1 , Issue 47

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VOLUME 1 ISSUE 47

www.NSJONLINE.com |

SUNDAY, JANUARY 15, 2017

72°

From ice to nice

(high)

On Friday highs in the 70s across the state, 73 in Charlotte and 75 in Fayetteville, had people shedding their winter coats to enjoy a brief taste of spring before temperatures plunged again.

9° (low)

Winter storm had painted a swath of snow and ice across central N.C. Forsyth, Davidson and Guilford counties got the most with up to 10 inches of white stuff and temperatures near 100-year lows.

PHOTOS BY EAMON QUEENEY | NORTH STATE JOURNAL

the Sunday News Briefing Baxter to pay $18 million over mold at North Carolina plant Marion, N.C. Baxter International has agreed to pay $18 million to resolve its criminal and civil liability over claims its unit ignored mold in air filters at a plant where sterile intravenous solutions were made, the U.S. Justice Department said on Thursday. The resolution includes a deferred prosecution agreement and penalties and forfeiture totaling $16 million and a civil settlement under the False Claims Act with the federal government totaling approximately $2.158 million, the Justice Department said in a statement. The government charged that managers at Baxter Healthcare Corp’s North Cove plant in Marion ignored an employee’s warning that mold was found in air filters in the ceiling of the room where sterile intravenous solutions were manufactured. There was no evidence, however, that the mold affected the quality of the IV solutions, which were manufactured from July 2011 to November 2012, the department said.

U.S. Supreme Court temporarily blocks lower court call for special 2017 NC elections Raleigh The U.S. Supreme Court on Tuesday temporarily blocked a lower court’s mandate that N.C. hold special 2017 elections after a redraw of state legislative districts.The lower court had ruled the state’s latest Republican-led redistricting efforts represented racial gerrymandering and ordered select districts redrawn and new snap elections to be held. Republican state lawmakers challenged that ruling, and requested a stay from the higher court by filing an emergency petition, maintaining that the districts were legal and fair. The district maps were previously approved by the Obama administration and U.S. Department of Justice under Attorney General Eric Holder.

NORTH

STATE

JOURNaL

Lawmakers ask judge to stop Cooper’s Medicaid expansion By Donna King North State Journal WASHINGTON, D.C. — The Republican-led U.S. Congress, under pressure from President-elect Donald Trump to move quickly, took its first step toward dismantling the Affordable Care Act this week as both chambers passed a bill instructing key committees to draft legislation to repeal it. The move came the same day N.C. lawmakers filed a complaint in the Eastern District asking judges to stop Gov. Roy Cooper from expanding the state’s Medicaid program under the Affordable Care Act. A request sent from Cooper this week to add 500,000 people onto the Medicaid rolls sits before the federal Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS). It also coincides with Cooper announcing the appointment of Mandy Cohen, chief operating officer and chief of staff of CMS, to be the new secretary of the N.C. Department of Health and Human Services. Cohen was instrumental in setting up the Affordable Care Act, also known as Obamacare, and was likely to be replaced by the incoming Trump administration. Instead, Cohen will be headed south to run NCDHHS for Cooper. “I’m thrilled to welcome Dr. Cohen to our team,” said Cooper in a statement. “Her background as a doctor and common-sense problem solver make her the right person for the job at the right time.” Cohen will likely serve out the last week of President Barack Obama’s tenure, during which CMS is expected to approve Cooper’s request to unilaterally expand Medicaid without legislative approval. However, in 2013 the N.C. General Assembly passed a law that forbid any government agen-

See GEN. ASSEMBLY, page A2

billion

current cost of Medicaid (per year)

$600 million

cost of Medicaid expansion (per year)

19

states

did not expand Medicaid

31

states

did expand Medicaid

the good life, Page C1 Why Mitch Trubisky left UNC

Page B1

CHRISTINE T. NGUYEN | NORTH STATE JOURNAL

8

RALEIGH — The North Carolina General Assembly commenced it’s 2017 legislative session Wednesday to administer the oath of office to members, elect officers and clerks, and make select committee assignments in a largely ceremonial episode on Jones Street. While the the day’s business was mostly perfunctory, Republican legislative leaders gave overture to the policy agenda that begins in ear-

nest when the lawmakers reconvene January 25. Retiring Principal Clerk of the N.C. House Denise Weeks presided over the opening of the session preceding the election of House Speaker. It was the last time Weeks will perform the honors after a distinguished tenure of more than two decades in the role. Her deputy, James White, was chosen unanimously by the body to serve as the new principal clerk.

$14

A delicious anniversary celebration at Videri Chocolate Factory

$2.00

N.C. House and Senate re-elected Speaker, President pro tem posts, welcomed new members to Republican-controlled legislature as policy focus was teased By Jeff Moore North State Journal

INSIDE

20177 52016

Lawmakers take oath, set direction on first day of 2017 session

ELEVATE THE CONVERSATION

See OBAMACARE, page A8

5

general assembly

Gov. Roy Cooper speaks during the annual economic forecast event on Jan. 4. Cooper urged attendees to support his plans to expand Medicaid and repeal H.B. 2 during his speech.

MADELINE GRAY | NORTH STATE JOURNAL

Republican members of the North Carolina House of Representatives head to their chambers during the opening day of the 2017 legislative session on Jan. 11.

trump confirmations

Wilbur Ross, Commerce, may be a unique voice for protectionism By Donna King North State Journal WASHINGTON, D.C. — President-elect Donald Trump’s picks to head federal agencies paraded through Senate confirmation hearings this week drawing tough questions, praise and protesters. Secretary of State nominee Rex Tillerson, CIA head nominee Mike Pompeo, Defense Secretary nominee retired Marine Gen. James Mattis, and Dr. Ben Carson, nominee for Housing and Urban Development, all captured headlines talking about everything from Russia to a national minimum wage. However Trump’s pick for Commerce secretary, billionaire investor Wilbur Ross, and Education nominee Betsy DeVos, had their confirmation hearings rescheduled as ethics officials delve into their financial disclosures and ethics agreement paperwork, searching for potential conflicts of interest. The review is standard protocol for nominees. Ross, whose testimony was rescheduled for Jan. 18, may not

make big headlines, but economists say his role could be one of the most impactful in the administration. When Ross salvaged two North Carolina textile mills, Cone and Burlington, from bankruptcy in 2003 and 2004 when the rest of the textile industry was crumbling, one of the first things he did was head to Washington to immerse himself in trade law and policy. China’s accession to the World Trade Organization had unleashed a flood of textile imports across U.S. borders, and Ross took an unusual hands-on approach, advocating for “safeguard” tariffs to help the ravaged domestic industry. “He was not the first outside investor to come into the industry and buy a major asset,” said Auggie Tantillo, who has lobbied for textile makers in Washington for almost 40 years. “He was the first, and to my knowledge only, major outside investor who took on that same sort of attitude that the more See TRUMP, page A2


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