Politics

COLUMBIA, S.C. — Calling it the "most significant criminal justice reform in many generations," President Donald Trump revisited a signature bipartisan legislative achievement Friday at a South Carolina conference that will include weekend appearances from some of his Democratic presidential challengers.

RALEIGH — A final showdown on the vetoed North Carolina state budget could come next week.

Senate Republicans on Friday filed the parliamentary notice necessary to give them the option to bring up the vetoed budget for an override vote on Monday.

WASHINGTON — A leading Senate ally of President Donald Trump introduced a resolution Thursday condemning the Democratic-run House for pursuing an "illegitimate impeachment inquiry" and demanding that Republicans be given more chances to question witnesses.

RALEIGH — Evidence is so strong that Republicans carved North Carolina's congressional districts for a specific — and illegal — partisan advantage that those lines must be barred now from use, a lawyer representing voters told judges on Thursday.

Two loopholes in North Carolina’s sexual assault laws could close as legislators hammer out last-minute changes to three bills in a bipartisan conference committee this week.

LANCASTER, S.C. — Longtime Republican South Carolina Sen. Greg Gregory says he will not seek reelection in 2020.

RALEIGH — A judge has quickly dismissed an effort by Republican leaders at the North Carolina legislature to move a lawsuit challenging the congressional map they drew in 2016 from state court to federal court.

COLUMBIA, S.C. — A South Carolina Senate subcommittee has stripped protections for women who become pregnant from rape or incest from a bill that would outlaw abortions in that state after about six weeks of pregnancy.

RALEIGH — Republicans leading the North Carolina Senate are advancing two additional tax-related bills largely gleaned from the vetoed state budget. Only one got full bipartisan support.

U.S. Attorney Andrew Murray testified in a Senate hearing Tuesday that so-called sanctuary city policies are "reckless," citing cases of people in the country illegally committing violent crimes after being released from jail in Charlotte.

The North Carolina General Assembly could soon be done wrestling with legislation this year, but that doesn't mean they'll pin down a broad budget law or path forward on Medicaid expansion.

NEW YORK — Basking in loud chants of "Bernie's back," Democratic presidential candidate Bernie Sanders resumed campaigning weeks after being sidelined by a heart attack and told supporters he was ready to resume "the epic struggle" for the White House.

A developing technology called “blockchain” has gotten attention from election officials, startups and even Democratic presidential candidate Andrew Yang as a potential way to boost voter turnout and public trust in election results.

President Donald Trump will deliver the keynote address at a criminal justice reform forum in Columbia, South Carolina, next Friday, a White House official confirmed.

Trump will share billing at the event with a handful of some of the top Democrats attempting to replace him in 2020, including Joe Biden, Elizabeth Warren and Bernie Sanders. The Democrats will speak Saturday and Sunday.

RALEIGH — Gov. Roy Cooper's disaster declaration for more than a dozen eastern North Carolina counties following Hurricane Dorian means individuals harmed most by the winds and flooding can get financial help from state government.

RALEIGH — Countering any voter anxieties about the integrity of the ballot box, North Carolina officials embarked Thursday on a public campaign to highlight current safeguards and strategies against interference entering the 2020 elections.

In Pineville, four candidates are running for town council. None of the candidates are incumbents. 

Two candidates are running for mayor of Matthews, including the incumbent.

Three candidates are running for Mint Hill Mayor.

Two people are running for mayor of North Carolina's largest city, including the incumbent.

It's election season in Charlotte region. WFAE reached out to candidates in Mecklenburg County cities and towns, asking them questions on some topics important to voters. At the links below, you'll find the answers from the candidates in each of these races. 

Seven candidates are running for the Davidson Board of Commissioners.

In the race for Huntersville mayor, incumbent John Aneralla is being challenged by Rob Kidwell.

There are five seats on the Mint Hill Board of Commissioners. Six people are running for open positions, including two incumbents. 

Nine people are running to represent Huntersville on the town's Board of Commissioners.

There are eight candidates running for the Cornelius Board of Commissioners. There's also a mayoral election, but incumbent Mayor Woody Washam is unopposed.