Published: 2020-06-26 03:50:00Updated: 2020-06-29 19:39:32NC CapitolTags:By Travis Fain, WRAL statehouse reporter — Back-and-forth talks over just what to do with North Carolina's anti-mask law broke down early Friday morning at the legislature, leaving an odd status quo in place.For now, masks are legal, with the state's anti-mask law temporarily suspended because of the coronavirus pandemic.But that runs out Aug 1. Come then, it will be against the law for adults to wear a face mask in North Carolina, despite an order from Gov. Roy Cooper requiring them to wear face coverings in a wide...…Published: 2020-06-26 03:50:00Updated: 2020-06-29 19:39:32NC CapitolTags:By Travis Fain, WRAL statehouse reporter — Back-and-forth talks over just what to do with North Carolina's anti-mask law broke down early Friday morning at the legislature, leaving an odd status quo in place.For now, masks are legal, with the state's anti-mask law temporarily suspended because of the coronavirus pandemic.But that runs out Aug 1. Come then, it will be against the law for adults to wear a face mask in North Carolina, despite an order from Gov. Roy Cooper requiring them to wear face coverings in a wide...WW…

Published: 2020-06-25 15:23:00Updated: 2020-06-25 17:06:36NC CapitolTags:By Matthew Burns, WRAL.com senior producer/politics editor, & Travis Fain, WRAL statehouse reporter — Lt. Gov. Dan Forest said Thursday that he plans to sue Gov. Roy Cooper over alleged violations of the state Emergency Management Act during the coronavirus pandemic."The governor has repeatedly ignored the law, enacting mandates that selectively target the businesses and citizens of North Carolina without concurrence from a majority of the Council of State," Forest said in a statement.Forest is running against...…Published: 2020-06-25 15:23:00Updated: 2020-06-25 17:06:36NC CapitolTags:By Matthew Burns, WRAL.com senior producer/politics editor, & Travis Fain, WRAL statehouse reporter — Lt. Gov. Dan Forest said Thursday that he plans to sue Gov. Roy Cooper over alleged violations of the state Emergency Management Act during the coronavirus pandemic."The governor has repeatedly ignored the law, enacting mandates that selectively target the businesses and citizens of North Carolina without concurrence from a majority of the Council of State," Forest said in a statement.Forest is running against...WW…

Published: 2020-06-22 19:12:00Updated: 2020-06-22 20:43:23NC CapitolTags:By Travis Fain, WRAL statehouse reporter — House leaders pressed the pause button Monday on a $4 million plan to build monuments to African-American heritage in downtown Raleigh, saying they're reconsidering after protesters took down Confederate statues over the weekend.Several members of the chamber's Republican leadership said they're not sure the state should spend money on new statues if monuments are going to be torn down.There was also to add "contextual signage" to Confederate monuments outside the State...…Published: 2020-06-22 19:12:00Updated: 2020-06-22 20:43:23NC CapitolTags:By Travis Fain, WRAL statehouse reporter — House leaders pressed the pause button Monday on a $4 million plan to build monuments to African-American heritage in downtown Raleigh, saying they're reconsidering after protesters took down Confederate statues over the weekend.Several members of the chamber's Republican leadership said they're not sure the state should spend money on new statues if monuments are going to be torn down.There was also to add "contextual signage" to Confederate monuments outside the State...WW…

Published: 2020-06-26 03:10:00Updated: 2020-06-26 03:37:18NC CapitolTags:By Laura Leslie, WRAL Capitol Bureau chief, & Travis Fain, WRAL statehouse reporter — Wrapping up their work for this year's regular session early Friday morning, lawmakers sent yet another reopening bill to the governor as they headed for the exits. But several others were abandoned amid tensions between the House and the Senate as the night wore on.The one bill that survived the end of session would reopen gyms and fitness centers.Gov. Roy Cooper vetoed a bill containing similar language last Friday, citing a...…Published: 2020-06-26 03:10:00Updated: 2020-06-26 03:37:18NC CapitolTags:By Laura Leslie, WRAL Capitol Bureau chief, & Travis Fain, WRAL statehouse reporter — Wrapping up their work for this year's regular session early Friday morning, lawmakers sent yet another reopening bill to the governor as they headed for the exits. But several others were abandoned amid tensions between the House and the Senate as the night wore on.The one bill that survived the end of session would reopen gyms and fitness centers.Gov. Roy Cooper vetoed a bill containing similar language last Friday, citing a...WW…

Published: 2020-06-01 19:50:14Updated: 2020-06-01 19:50:14Local NewsTags:By Travis Fain, WRAL statehouse reporterRaleigh's new Police Advisory Board should be up and running within a few months after years of discussion and a false start in recent months, when only a handful of people put in for the board.But this won't be a group of citizens empowered to investigate complaints against police officers, as some had hoped. It will only advise on department policy, and work to bridge gaps between the department, and the community.The board's website is explicit about what the new body won't...…Published: 2020-06-01 19:50:14Updated: 2020-06-01 19:50:14Local NewsTags:By Travis Fain, WRAL statehouse reporterRaleigh's new Police Advisory Board should be up and running within a few months after years of discussion and a false start in recent months, when only a handful of people put in for the board.But this won't be a group of citizens empowered to investigate complaints against police officers, as some had hoped. It will only advise on department policy, and work to bridge gaps between the department, and the community.The board's website is explicit about what the new body won't...WW…

Published: 2020-06-15 19:05:00Updated: 2020-06-16 20:08:04NC CapitolTags:By Travis Fain, WRAL statehouse reporter, & Laura Leslie, WRAL Capitol Bureau chief — Bowling alleys and skating rinks could reopen despite pandemic restrictions under a bill that won preliminary approval in the House Tuesday, setting the General Assembly's Republican majority once again on a legislative collision course with Gov. Roy Cooper.The measure, pasted into Senate Bill 599 on Monday, comes with capacity caps: Bowling alleys and skating rinks could let in only 50 percent of the crowd normally allowed under...…Published: 2020-06-15 19:05:00Updated: 2020-06-16 20:08:04NC CapitolTags:By Travis Fain, WRAL statehouse reporter, & Laura Leslie, WRAL Capitol Bureau chief — Bowling alleys and skating rinks could reopen despite pandemic restrictions under a bill that won preliminary approval in the House Tuesday, setting the General Assembly's Republican majority once again on a legislative collision course with Gov. Roy Cooper.The measure, pasted into Senate Bill 599 on Monday, comes with capacity caps: Bowling alleys and skating rinks could let in only 50 percent of the crowd normally allowed under...WW…

Published: 2020-05-27 10:36:00Updated: 2020-05-27 19:19:50NC CapitolTags:By Travis Fain,WRAL statehouse reporter, & Cullen Browder, WRAL anchor/reporter — Gov. Roy Cooper's administration changed out the top leader in the state's unemployment office Wednesday in a surprise announcement.Assistant Secretary for the Division of Employment Security Lockhart Taylor, a career employee at DES, is out. Pryor Gibson, a former lawmaker who had been directing a rural development program for the administration, is the new assistant secretary, effective immediately.Taylor will "assume a different...…Published: 2020-05-27 10:36:00Updated: 2020-05-27 19:19:50NC CapitolTags:By Travis Fain,WRAL statehouse reporter, & Cullen Browder, WRAL anchor/reporter — Gov. Roy Cooper's administration changed out the top leader in the state's unemployment office Wednesday in a surprise announcement.Assistant Secretary for the Division of Employment Security Lockhart Taylor, a career employee at DES, is out. Pryor Gibson, a former lawmaker who had been directing a rural development program for the administration, is the new assistant secretary, effective immediately.Taylor will "assume a different...WW…

Published: 2020-06-05 09:00:00Updated: 2020-06-08 18:38:54NC CapitolTags:By Travis Fain, WRAL statehouse reporter and Laura Leslie, WRAL Capitol Bureau chief — House Republicans have delayed unveiling legislation that would let the Republican National Convention go forward in Charlotte with "capacity attendance," explicitly banning local and state officials from requiring masks or social distancing without written agreement from the RNC.The bill attempts to circumvent Gov. Roy Cooper's administration, which has declined to promise that it will let 19,000 people gather in the Spectrum Center...…Published: 2020-06-05 09:00:00Updated: 2020-06-08 18:38:54NC CapitolTags:By Travis Fain, WRAL statehouse reporter and Laura Leslie, WRAL Capitol Bureau chief — House Republicans have delayed unveiling legislation that would let the Republican National Convention go forward in Charlotte with "capacity attendance," explicitly banning local and state officials from requiring masks or social distancing without written agreement from the RNC.The bill attempts to circumvent Gov. Roy Cooper's administration, which has declined to promise that it will let 19,000 people gather in the Spectrum Center...WW…

Published: 2020-06-11 13:27:00Updated: 2020-06-12 09:04:18NC CapitolTags:By Travis Fain, WRAL statehouse reporter — Secretary of Health and Human Services Dr. Mandy Cohen said this week that the state will do a round of proactive COVID-19 testing at every nursing home in North Carolina.Friends of Residents, an advocacy group for nursing home and assisted living residents in the state, has been pushing Cohen's department for a month to require these tests for staff and residents. The group's executive director said as recently as Thursday that the department hadn't responded.But Cohen told...…Published: 2020-06-11 13:27:00Updated: 2020-06-12 09:04:18NC CapitolTags:By Travis Fain, WRAL statehouse reporter — Secretary of Health and Human Services Dr. Mandy Cohen said this week that the state will do a round of proactive COVID-19 testing at every nursing home in North Carolina.Friends of Residents, an advocacy group for nursing home and assisted living residents in the state, has been pushing Cohen's department for a month to require these tests for staff and residents. The group's executive director said as recently as Thursday that the department hadn't responded.But Cohen told...WW…

Published: 2020-05-15 18:40:00Updated: 2020-05-15 19:58:00NC CapitolTags:By Travis Fain, WRAL statehouse reporter — Lt. Gov. Dan Forest told Christian pastors in a video conference Thursday that the political left is using COVID-19 restrictions to hurt the church and that the last chance to fight back is rapidly approaching.Forest, a Republican running this year for governor, cast stay-at-home restrictions limiting indoor church gatherings in North Carolina as part of a larger, escalating culture war against religious freedom."There is no doubt that there are people that are on the left...…Published: 2020-05-15 18:40:00Updated: 2020-05-15 19:58:00NC CapitolTags:By Travis Fain, WRAL statehouse reporter — Lt. Gov. Dan Forest told Christian pastors in a video conference Thursday that the political left is using COVID-19 restrictions to hurt the church and that the last chance to fight back is rapidly approaching.Forest, a Republican running this year for governor, cast stay-at-home restrictions limiting indoor church gatherings in North Carolina as part of a larger, escalating culture war against religious freedom."There is no doubt that there are people that are on the left...WW…