Former NCDHHS secretary Cohen tapped for director of CDC
Former North Carolina Health and Human Services Secretary Mandy Cohen is reportedly slated to become the next director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
The 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals has ordered a new prison sentence for a felon convicted of scamming the federal government out of $143,000 in COVID-19 relief funds. Appellate judges agreed that the trial judge in Byron Jones’ case made an error in setting the conditions for his eventual release from prison.
Republican Congressman Dan Bishop was in the spotlight yesterday not only for his opposition to the debt ceiling agreement reached by Republican House Speaker Kevin McCarthy and President Joe Biden but also for McCarthy remaining in his position.
Unaffiliated voters challenging the partisan makeup of the N.C. State Board of Elections are asking a federal judge to reject the latest request from Gov. Roy Cooper. The governor filed paperwork earlier this month seeking dismissal of the unaffiliated voters’ lawsuit.
The U.S. Supreme Court will review two cases next month with N.C. ties. Either case could return the Tar Heel State to national headlines when the nation’s highest court starts its next term in the fall. Justices have set June 15 as the date to consider whether to take up Quad Graphics v. N.C. Department of Revenue and Diaz-Tomas v. North Carolina.
A former top N.C. political donor will likely face a federal retrial on bribery charges before he heads to court in a separate case dealing with his insurance businesses. Greg Lindberg is scheduled to go to trial in July in connection with a 13-count federal indictment. Charges include wire fraud, money-laundering conspiracy, and false entries about insurance business finances. But Lindberg’s lawyers filed a motion Friday to delay the trial until no earlier than February 2024.
Top N.C. legislative leaders are renewing their plea for a federal judge to dismiss a lawsuit against the state’s abortion pill restrictions. Legislators’ attorneys responded Friday to arguments from lawsuit plaintiffs.
A business owner from North Carolina can move forward with his lawsuit seeking a 10-year-old federal tax refund. The 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals rejected government objections Friday and ruled that the case of Stephen Pond v. United States can proceed. At the same time, the court ruled that Pond cannot rely on a “common-law mailbox rule” to boost his case.
Twenty-one state attorneys general have asked the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals to accept a friend-of-the-court brief supporting N.C. State Treasurer Dale Folwell and the State Health Plan. Folwell and the health plan are defendants in a case involving transgender health care. Participating states include three of North Carolina’s four neighbors.
The 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals has tossed out a requirement that a felon from North Carolina should undergo warrantless computer searches after serving a prison sentence on gun charges. Appellate judges agreed Wednesday that the trial judge did not explain why defendant Roger Bryant Locklear should face the computer searches during his post-release supervision.
A current controversy in the nation's capital reminds this observer of North Carolina's latest Leandro education funding fight.
The N.C. Farm Bureau Federation detailed concerns in a court filing Monday about a “sue-and-settle” scheme that could have influenced new state animal waste regulations. The N.C. Court of Appeals is scheduled to address the Farm Bureau’s complaint in the coming months.