nc general assembly

October 25, 2013 - Saying they hope to ease the pain from the federal government shutdown, Gov. Pat McCrory this week announced he was sending turnip greens from the state prison farm to food banks, while state budget director Art Pope's foundation said it would contribute $185,000 to various charities. But can such alms-giving make up for policies that weaken public assistance programs?

October 18, 2013 - A redistricting lawsuit has landed in the N.C. Supreme Court, where plaintiffs are seeking the recusal of Justice Paul Newby because his 2012 re-election campaign got much of its support from the same GOP group involved in drawing the new political maps. They cite a similar case out of West Virginia that went all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court, which ruled for recusal.

October 14, 2013 - Environmental advocates call North Carolina's 2013 legislative session one of "heartbreak," with an unprecedented number of lawmakers earning zeros on an annual scorecard. The governor also got graded for the first time, earning an F on his budget and a D- overall.

October 10, 2013 - A student at a historically black North Carolina college who had his right to run for office challenged has won a city council seat, and students at another of the state's HBCUs marched to the polls en masse in a local election that represented a repudiation of right-wing attacks on public schools.

October 9, 2013 - Under fire for using his personal fortune to buy elections, North Carolina's leading conservative financier denies giving money to super PACs -- but campaign finance watchdogs say his denial amounts to playing word games while he's building a "government of the obscenely rich, by the obscenely rich, and for the obscenely rich."

October 1, 2013 - The Justice Department wants to subject the entire state to preapproval for any elections changes under Section Three of the Voting Rights Act -- not just the 40 counties previously covered under the law's now-defunct Section Five.

September 24, 2013 - Activists across the country are looking to duplicate the energy and politics of North Carolina's remarkable Moral Mondays movement.