Politics

North Carolina revenue predictions fall with recession risk

RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — North Carolina officials have downgraded anticipated state revenue collections compared to their recent forecast. Wednesday’s adjustments agreed upon by economists working in Democratic Gov. Josh Stein’s budget office and at the General Assembly are in large part the result of higher economic uncertainty and the risks of a recession. The changes from the February forecast keep front and center competing tax-cutting plans passed by the Republican-controlled House and Senate. The updated forecast still envisions lower year-over-year revenues because of expected income tax rate reductions. Democratic Gov. Josh Stein wants to stop those rate cuts.… Continue Reading

Trump administration sues North Carolina over its voter registration records

RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — The Trump administration has accused North Carolina’s election board of violating federal law by failing to ensure that registration records of some applicants contained identifying numbers. It wants a judge to force board officials to create a prompt method to obtain such numbers. The Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division sued in federal court on Tuesday alleging violations of the Help America Vote Act. The lawsuit is about the collection of a registrant’s driver’s license number or partial Social Security number. The department says it’s carrying out a recent executive order from President Donald Trump on elections. Registrant records were also an issue in a state Supreme Court race last year.… Continue Reading

NPR sues Trump administration over executive order to cut federal funding to public media

NEW YORK (AP) — National Public Radio and three local stations are suing President Donald Trump, arguing that an executive order aimed at cutting federal funding for the organization is illegal. The lawsuit was filed in federal court in Washington by NPR, Colorado Public Radio, Aspen Public Radio and KUTE, Inc. It argues that Trump’s executive order to slash public subsidies to PBS and NPR violates the First Amendment. Trump issued the executive order earlier this month that instructs the Corporation for Public Broadcasting and other federal agencies “to cease Federal funding for NPR and PBS” and requires that they work to root out indirect sources of public financing for the news organizations.… Continue Reading

Trump administration moves to cut $100 million in federal contracts for Harvard

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Trump administration is asking federal agencies to cancel contracts with Harvard University worth about $100 million. The move intensifies the president’s clash with the nation’s oldest and wealthiest university. The government already has canceled more than $2.6 billion in federal research grants for the Ivy League school, which has pushed back on the administration’s demands for changes to several of its policies. A letter sent Tuesday from the General Services Administration directed agencies to review contracts with the university and seek alternate vendors. President Donald Trump has railed against Harvard, calling it a hotbed of liberalism and antisemitism. The school filed a lawsuit over the administration’s calls for changes to the university.… Continue Reading

North Carolina’s high court says elections board shift can continue while appeals carry on

RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — The North Carolina Supreme Court has confirmed it was OK for a new law that shifted the power to appoint State Board of Elections members away from the Democratic governor to start being enforced earlier this month. The court’s Republican majority declined or dismissed requests Friday that Gov. Josh Stein made three weeks ago to block for now the enforcement of the Republican law shifting authority to State Auditor Dave Boliek while Stein seeks to overturn it. But the court didn’t immediately act, so Boliek made his appointments May 1. The old Democratic-majority board now has a Republican majority. Appeals over the law’s constitutionality can continue.… Continue Reading

Federal judge blocks Trump administration decision to bar foreign student enrollment at Harvard

WASHINGTON (AP) — A federal judge has blocked a Trump administration decision to revoke Harvard University’s ability to enroll international students. The temporary restraining order stops the government from pulling Harvard’s certification in the Student and Exchange Visitor Program, which allows the school to sponsor international students as they obtain visas to study in the U.S. Harvard filed the lawsuit in U.S. District Court in Massachusetts earlier Friday.… Continue Reading

Judge blocks Trump’s order to dismantle the Education Department and fire employees

WASHINGTON (AP) — A federal judge has blocked President Donald Trump’s executive order to dismantle the Education Department and ordered the agency to reinstate employees who were fired in mass layoffs. U.S. District Judge Myong Joun in Boston granted a preliminary injunction Thursday stopping the Trump administration from carrying out two plans announced in March that sought to work toward Trump’s goal to dismantle the department. It marks a setback to one of the Republican president’s campaign promises. The ruling came in two consolidated lawsuits that said Trump’s plan amounted to an illegal closure of the Education Department.… Continue Reading

House Republicans pass Trump’s big bill of tax breaks and program cuts after all-night session

WASHINGTON (AP) — House Republicans stayed up all night to pass their multitrillion-dollar tax breaks package. Speaker Mike Johnson defied the skeptics within his ranks and muscled President Donald Trump’s priority bill to approval Thursday. Last-minute concessions and a stern warning from Trump appeared to win over the hold outs to salvage what he calls the “big, beautiful bill.” The outcome caps an intense time on Capitol Hill, with days of private negotiations and public committee hearings. Democrats, without the votes to stop Trump’s package, tried to stall it. The Congressional Budget Office says the tax provisions would add $3.8 trillion to federal deficits.… Continue Reading

Taxes, salaries, vacancy cuts make plain differences over rival North Carolina GOP budgets

RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — The North Carolina House’s state budget proposal makes plain differences on taxes, salaries and job cuts between Republicans who control both General Assembly chambers. The House gave preliminary approval Wednesday to its plan to spend $32.6 billion in the year beginning July 1 and $33.3 billion the next year. The Senate approved its two-year plan last month. The chambers are soon expected to start negotiating a final measure to present to Democratic Gov. Josh Stein. The House plan appears more cautious on permitting future tax rate reductions compared to the Senate. One national conservative group warned of political consequences for House members who voted for the plan.… Continue Reading

Trump announces he’s selected final ‘Golden Dome’ space missile defenses that would cost billions

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump has announced the concept he wants for his future Golden Dome missile defense program — a multilayered system that for the first time will put U.S. weapons in space. Speaking Tuesday in the Oval Office, Trump said the system would cost $175 billion. He expects it will be “fully operational before the end of my term,” which ends in 2029, and have the capability of intercepting missiles “even if they are launched from space.” It’s likelier that the complex system may have some initial capability by that point, a U.S. official familiar with the program said.… Continue Reading

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