A federal appeals court judge has reversed a decision in a lawsuit over allegations of air pollution in western North Carolina emanating from Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) power plants. Carolina Journal reporter David Bass explains why the ruling is a major blow to North Carolina Attorney General Roy Cooper, questions over Cooper’s data, how much state money has spent on the suit, and whether or not Cooper is likely to appeal. Then we turn to K-12 education. North Carolina public school advocates tout early-college programs as an important tool in the fight against the state’s high dropout rate. You’ll hear highlights from a recent presentation touting early-college options, including remarks from Lt. Gov. Walter Dalton. Skeptics warn that the early-college option remains unproven. Terry Stoops, John Locke Foundation Director of Education Studies, will share his concerns. Continuing on the education front, we hear a discussion about changes to a longstanding state law. In the past, North Carolina public school teacher on the verge of being fired for misconduct could choose to resign his post and not have that misconduct appear on records available to other public school systems. That meant the teacher could move to a job in another school district without raising any red flags. Rep. Dale Folwell, R-Forsyth, explains that the new Safe Schools Act changes the law to make it easier for school districts to spot these bad apples when they apply for teaching jobs. That’s followed by a look at the global warming movement. Some people believe global warming constitutes a huge threat to our future, while others believe the climate change debate has been overblown. Richard Stroup, adjunct professor of economics at N.C. State University, explains the biases that help convince global warming alarmists that their cause deserves so much attention. And finally, John Locke Foundation Vice President for Research Roy Cordato delves into the ongoing debate over how to reform the state’s sales tax system. Current discussion focuses on expanding the tax to include services, but Cordato says that sound principles of tax reform require a different course of action. He lays out his recommendations.