The U.S. Supreme Court has refused to hear a case involving North Carolina’s 2013 election law. That decision leaves intact an Appeals Court ruling striking down the law. It also means North Carolina will not require voters to show a photo ID at the polls. Rick Henderson, Carolina Journal editor-in-chief, assesses the significance of the ruling. Some pundits and politicians worry about the American trade deficit. Donald Boudreaux, professor of economics at George Mason University, says those worries are misplaced. Boudreaux addresses common myths surrounding trade and the desirability of surpluses rather than deficits. Some state lawmakers want to make it easier for public charter schools to fund transportation for their students. The state offers no charter transportation funding now, but a proposed grant program would help schools serving students from low-income families to cover up to 65 percent of their transportation costs. You’ll hear from the proposal’s supporters. North Carolina voters could be asked to amend the state constitution to add more protection of crime victims’ rights. It’s part of a national campaign dubbed “Marsy’s Law.” Supporters in the N.C. General Assembly says the amendment would ensure that crime victims play a greater role in the judicial process. The idea cleared the N.C. House in April with a 98-17 vote. A proposed federal border-adjustment tax could boost N.C. property-casualty insurance premiums by $800 million over a decade. That’s the key finding in a new report from the John Locke Foundation and R Street Institute. Report co-author Lawrence Powell of the Alabama Center for Insurance Information and Research at the University of Alabama explains why North Carolina would be especially susceptible to higher costs associated with a tax that could raise the cost of reinsurance from companies based outside the United States.