VOLUME 4 ISSUE 40
SPORTS
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WWW.NSJONLINE.COM |
WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 27, 2019
NC State looks to derail UNC’s bowl hopes
SUSAN WALSH | AP HOTO
Deck the halls!
First lady Melania Trump poses with the 2019 White House Christmas tree as it is delivered to the White House in Washington, Monday, Nov. 25, 2019. The Douglas fir is approximately 23 feet tall and was grown by Larry and Joanne Snyder at Mahantongo Valley Farms in Pennsylvania. Since 1966, the National Christmas Tree Association has held a contest that awards its winner with the honor of presenting their tree to the first family which will serve as a centerpiece for Christmas decorations in the Blue Room of the White House.
the Wednesday
NEWS BRIEFING
Ocracoke to reopen to visitors Dec. 2 Hurricane-ravaged Ocracoke Island will reopen to visitors on Dec. 2. The island was supposed to open to visitors last week, but a more recent storm delayed the reopening of the main highway. The Atlantic Ocean had breached dunes and washed over the recently repaired N.C. 12. An evacuation order has been in effect for the island since Sept. 4, when Hurricane Dorian approached. It struck the island two days later. Debris removal and reconstruction will continue, and visitors are warned to be wary of obstacles during their visit. Officials also note that food service, gas availability and lodging are limited on the island.
Homeland Security chief, ICE director visit NC The Trump administration’s leaders on immigration enforcement say several N.C. sheriffs care more about politics than public safety by refusing to cooperate with federal agents looking for defendants believed to be in the country unlawfully. Acting Department of Homeland Security Secretary Chad Wolf and acting Immigration and Customs Enforcement Director Matt Albence visited Raleigh on Monday for a meeting with state and local officials and lawmakers to talk about the dangers of refusing ICE detainers. They also heard from individuals who say their family members were killed by people who were not supposed to be in the country. State legislation approved by Republicans this summer but vetoed by Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper would have required sheriffs to recognize immigration detainers. Several Democratic sheriffs don’t comply with those requests.
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Corey Lewandowski stumps for Trump in North Carolina May put U.S. Senate bid on hold to focus on president’s reelection By David Larson North State Journal RALEIGH — President Donald Trump’s 2020 campaign team is getting an early start to the general election, sending 2016 campaign manager and 2020 senior campaign adviser Corey Lewandowski to key battleground states, including North Carolina. According to N.C. GOP Chairman Michael Whatley, Lewandowski made stops across N.C. last week, including an event in Chapel Hill for college Republicans. Lewandowski made himself available to media at the N.C. GOP headquarters on Hillsborough Street in Raleigh and told NSJ that, despite rumors, he was not committing to run for a U.S. Senate for his home state of New Hampshire unless it would be helpful to the president’s overall mission. “I have to ask myself if that’s the highest and best use of my time, which is going to Washington, D.C., to deal with some of the beauties down there,” Lewandowski said. “And I haven’t made my decision, and it’s partially based on family responsibilities and it’s also partially based on the fact that I’m a senior adviser to both the vice president and to the president’s reelection campaign. So I want to make sure my priority is on ensuring that the Trump-Pence ticket is reelected.” Lewandowski said he believes the GOP in New Hampshire lost both the presidential race and the U.S. Senate race in 2020 because Kelly Ayotte, the incumbent Republican senator at the time, refused to endorse Trump. “The reason Donald Trump lost that race was See LEWANDOWSKI page A2
“In the last three months, I’ve probably been in 30 states. And as I travel the country a lot, I see only strength and the Trump phenomenon stronger today than it was in 2016.” Corey Lewandowski, Trump 2020 senior campaign adviser
Investigators say Cooper improperly used his office to get pipeline money Report says criminal violations may have occurred By A.P. Dillon North State Journal RALEIGH — A report on the Cooper administration’s handling of the Atlantic Coast Pipeline, released on Nov. 20 by Eagle Intel Services, concluded that the governor “improperly used the authority and influence of his Office with regard to a $57.8 million ‘mitigation fund.’” The report also says that “criminal violations may have occurred.” Eagle Intel Services is the independent investigative firm hired by the General Assembly through a bipartisan vote by the Joint Legislative Commission on Governmental Operations. The governor’s office denies Cooper leveraged the mitigation fund or permit process and maintains that the fund was established independently of DEQ’s permit process. The report’s findings, however, underscore lawmaker concerns that Cooper was more involved than he claimed to be with regard to both the permitting process and the mitigation fund. During a press event on the day the report was released, Cooper said that this is “a partisan General Assembly that is distorting facts. I know this, that the facts are on our side.” The summary and report state that while the governor did not personally benefit from the deal, that Cooper “while acting in his official capacity, affected the outcome and process of matters concerning Duke Energy a North Carolina based company.” “The report is wrong, and it is full of inaccuracies and contradictions that clearly ignore inconvenient facts,” said a press release from the governor’s office, which also characterizes the report as “conspiracy theories.” Although the report’s conclusion did not name what potential criminal charges might be filed,
the report says that an “investigative agency with the authority to compel cooperation and the production of documents” would be able to identify any criminal violations. The day following the report’s release, Lt. Gov. Dan Forest called for the FBI’s Public Corruption Unit to investigate. “Governor Cooper’s top aide left an email and text trail that shows the Cooper administration lied. The CEO of Duke Energy says she met face-to-face, alone, with the Governor; the Governor denies such a meeting took place. Someone is lying,” said Forest. Investigators found that Cooper and Duke Energy CEO Lynn Good had a private meeting in NoSee PIPELINE, page A2