VOLUME 4 ISSUE 39
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WWW.NSJONLINE.COM |
WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 20, 2019
SPORTS Pack leads the way among NC’s ACC women’s teams
ANDREW HARNIK | AP PHOTO
Jennifer Williams, an aide to Vice President Mike Pence, left, and National Security Council aide Lt. Col. Alexander Vindman, are sworn in to testify before the House Intelligence Committee on Capitol Hill in Washington, Tuesday, Nov. 19, 2019, during a public impeachment hearing of President Donald Trump.
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NEWS BRIEFING
Great white sharks show up near coast Several great white sharks have appeared near the N.C. coast, including two that are about 12 feet long. Tracking shows five sharks are near the Outer Banks. It’s unclear why so many sharks are swimming near shore in the same region, but researchers say the area is a key spot in the shark’s migration.
Federal Reserve approves merger of BB&T, SunTrust The Federal Reserve has approved the $66 billion merger between BB&T and SunTrust, clearing the last hurdle in creating the sixthlargest bank in the U.S. The combination of WinstonSalem-based BB&T and Atlanta-based SunTrust is the largest bank merger since the Great Recession. The new institution will be called Truist Bank, which will have more than $425 billion in assets. The Federal Reserve required BB&T and SunTrust to sell 30 branches and divest $2.4 billion in assets as a condition of the merger.
Lawmakers adjourn session, will return in January The N.C. General Assembly has ended its brief return visit to Raleigh. The Senate and House adjourned on Friday, two days after reconvening. The Senate finalized a replacement map for the state’s congressional districts and elected Greensboro construction firm owner Dwight Stone to a vacancy on the University of North Carolina’s governing board. Now the full legislature isn’t scheduled back until Jan. 14.
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Findings of Atlantic Coast Pipeline investigation anticipated Missing testimony could result in subpoenas
By A.P. Dillon North State Journal RALEIGH — The N.C. General Assembly’s Atlantic Coast Pipeline Subcommittee met on Nov. 8 to wrap up interviews with members of Gov. Roy Cooper’s staff while signaling more hearings may be necessary. In a letter dated Oct. 21, the ACP co-chairs requested testimony from the governor and three high-level members of his staff. Cooper’s senior adviser, Ken Eudy, and deputy chief of staff Julia White were both in attendance at the meeting, however the governor and his chief legal counsel, William McKinney, were both absent. Those absences could result in subpoenas being issued to compel testimony before the committee. The testimony by Eudy and White lasted about an hour and did not reveal any new information. Eudy said the Cooper administration’s desire to announce the mitigation fund and a deal on solar energy at the same time as the pipeline permit was intended to console environmentalists who they believed would be upset that the pipeline permits were being allowed. In 2018, there was some speculation about the powers of a legislative committee to issue
subpoenas after a press release from the chairmen of the House Rules Committee and the Senate Rules Committee stated they had “statutory authority to compel testimony and obtain public and private records when necessary and when they are not voluntarily given.” State statute grants legislative committees the ability to compel testimony “relevant to any bill, resolution or other matter properly before the committee.” Witnesses can be examined under oath, and failure to appear will be held in contempt. A subpoena can only be issued by the chairman of a committee, but authorization from General Assembly leadership and a majority vote by the committee involved is required. Until this recent meeting, the governor’s office had been unwilling to allow investigators from Eagle Intel Services to question staff. Cooper’s office relented after a back-and-forth exchange of letters with the ACP subcommittee co-chairs. Senate Majority Leader Harry Brown (R-Onslow) and Rep. Dean Arp (R-Union) sent a letter on Oct. 11 to Cooper informing him the independently conducted interviews were almost complete. The letter stated that Cooper’s remaining staff had three options: speak directly with the investigators, testify before the ACP subcommittee voluntarily or be subpoenaed to testify. See PIPELINE, page A2
Impeachment inquiry continues Testimony features two staffers who listened in on July 25 call that sparked Democrat impeachment push By Colleen Long The Associated Press WASHINGTON, D.C. — The second week of the U.S. House impeachment inquiry hearings started with testimony by two national security council officials, a career foreign service official and a former special envoy to Ukraine. Kurt Volker, the former special envoy to Ukraine, said in public testimony before the House impeachment inquiry Tuesday that thanks to hindsight and the testimony of other witnesses, that he believes Trump was using the aid
to pressure Ukraine to investigate Biden’s son, Hunter, and his role on the board of a Ukrainian gas company, Burisma. But Volker insisted he did not know of the push at the time, despite his deep involvement with Ukrainian officials on a statement — never released — that would have committed the country to investigating Burisma and the 2016 U.S. election. Nor did he make the connection after Rudy Giuliani, Trump’s personal lawyer, mentioned the allegations against Joe Biden during a July 19 breakfast, Volker said. “In retrospect I should have seen that connection differently, and had I done so, I would have raised my own objections,” Volker said Tuesday in his opening stateSee TRUMP page A2
Student groups attempt to shut down conservative event at NC State University allows event to go forward
By A.P. Dillon North State Journal RALEIGH — Both the Young Democrat Socialists of America and an Antifa-offshoot called Smash Racism Raleigh protested an event on the NC State University campus last week. Days before the event, the two groups were also involved in an incident that led to a conservative student, son of U.S. Congressman Dan Bishop (R-N.C.), being hit in the face with spray paint. The event, called “Culture Wars,” featured Lara Trump and was sponsored by Turning Point USA, a nonprofit founded by conservative Charlie Kirk in 2012. The mission of the organization is to “combat liberalism” on college campuses and to “identify, educate, train, and organize students to promote See NC STATE page A2