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N.C. Senate passes Medicaid expansion 44-2

Expanding Medicaid in North Carolina passed a hurdle Wednesday afternoon as the N.C. Senate voted 44 to 2 to pass H.B. 149 Expanding Access to Healthcare. “What we are going to do is monumental,” said Sen. Mike Woodard, D-Durham. In addition to Medicaid expansion, the bill contains the partial repeal of some Certificate of Need or CON laws and the SAVE Act.

Theresa Opeka
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What is Internet stacking? How Musk’s Twitter buy impacts online speech

Elon Musk is expected to be named interim CEO after his deal to purchase the platform for $44 billion is finalized, CNBC is reporting. “Free speech is the bedrock of a functioning democracy, the Tesla and SpaceX CEO said earlier this week. “Twitter is the digital town square where matters vital to the future of...

Theresa Opeka
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N.C.’s Right to Work law turns 75, experts weigh in on workers’ rights

North Carolina on Friday, March 18, will celebrate the 75th anniversary of its Right to Work law.  The purpose and meaning of Right to Work are explained in a new report, “Pro-Worker, Pro-Growth Making Right-to-Work Permanent in North Carolina,” by F. Vincent Vernuccio and available on the website of the John Locke Foundation, which commissioned...

John Trump
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Medical marijuana, expanding Medicaid on agenda when lawmakers return for 2022 short session this spring 

The 2021 session of the General Assembly began in January, as the world was entering its second year of the pandemic. The hope was the COVID fog would lift, allowing a return to normalcy, at least in a relative sense, and that lawmakers could go about business as usual.  Much was on the legislative agenda,...

John Trump

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Small businesses, like Ashworth’s in Fuquay-Varina, struggling with inflation

Ashworth’s Clothing in Fuquay-Varina opened in 1937. It survived through some trying times, such as World War II, the Vietnam War, and the Great Recession. Owner Steve Ashworth says the current state of the world economy offers some unique challenges, too. “This is unusual, especially the government’s lockdown in 2020, which impacted us,” he told...

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UNC-Chapel Hill affirmative action case heads to U.S. Supreme Court

The U.S. Supreme Court is poised to make what could be a landmark ruling on the constitutionality of affirmative action after justices decided Monday, Jan. 24, to take up cases arising from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and Harvard University. The cases originated in 2014 when the nonprofit Students for Fair Admissions...

David N. Bass
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In curious reversal, Cooper proclaims Jan. 23-29 N.C. National School Choice Week

Gov. Roy Cooper has been a stalwart opponent of school choice since securing the governor’s office in 2016. That makes a proclamation from his office declaring Jan. 23-29 National School Choice Week in the Tar Heel State all the more surprising. The proclamation affirms that North Carolina is “home to a multitude of high-quality public...

David N. Bass
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North Carolina sets record for new business creation

North Carolina set another record for new business creation in 2021.  Roughly 178,300 new businesses were legally created across the state last year, up 40% from the year before — which was itself a record, according to the Secretary of State’s office. The figure is double the pace of new business filings from 2017. “The...

Andrew Dunn
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McCrory tops Budd in GOP primary poll of 2022 U.S. Senate race

Former N.C. Gov. Pat McCrory is the preferred choice for the state’s U.S. Senate seat in 2022, according to a Civitas Poll of likely GOP primary voters released Thursday, Jan. 13. McCrory, a Republican, leads the primary field with 24% of the vote, compared to 19% for 13th congressional district Rep. Ted Budd and 7%...

David N. Bass
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Survey: More than half of parents explored alternative school options during pandemic

A new survey from the nonprofit organization National School Choice Week shows that 52% of parents said they were considering — or considered in the past year — choosing a new or different school for their children. Education quality and pandemic disruptions were the topic reasons cited for finding another school: 36% of parents wanted...

David N. Bass