GOVERNOR COOPER VETOES MEDICAID "TRANSFORMATION" LEGISLATION: These mini budgets came to the governor's desk this week as the legislature's Republican majority explored ways around his June veto of the state's overall budget. The pay raises, covering state highway patrol, prison system employees, the State Bureau of Investigations and a long list of other state employees, moved through the General Assembly with bipartisan, unanimous support. But Medicaid transformation, long a GOP priority even though it fell to Gov. Roy Cooper's administration to implement, drew opposition from legislative Democrats. Cooper said in a statement that "passing mini-funding bills that simply divvy up the vetoed Republican budget is a tactic to avoid a comprehensive budget." "Health care is an area where North Carolina needs us to do more, and to do it comprehensively," Cooper said in his statement.
https://www.wral.com/cooper-signs-employee-raise-bills-vetoes-medicaid-transformation/18602048/

BIDEN & BETO MAKE PIT STOPS IN CHARLOTTE: Biden spoke at a fundraiser at the home of Erskine and Crandall Bowles. Erskine Bowles is the former UNC system president and served as President Bill Clinton’s White House chief of staff. Crandall Bowles was CEO at S.C.-based Springs Industries. Costs for attending the Charlotte fundraiser ranged from $1,000 to $2,800, the Observer reported in early August. O’Rourke met crowds at a town hall at Armored Cow Brewing in the University area. Biden is leading in national polls, with the support of 32% of Democratic and Democratic-leaning Independent voters surveyed in two different polls released Wednesday. O’Rourke trails with 1% support in the Quinnipiac University Poll, and 2% support in the USA Today Suffolk University Poll.
https://www.newsobserver.com/news/politics-government/election/article234440822.html

ARREST WARRANTS ISSUED FOR TWO HILLSBOROUGH KKK DEMONSTRATORS: Law enforcement authorities in Orange County said they have obtained warrants for the arrests of two people who allegedly had guns on them during a KKK rally Saturday night outside the Orange County Justice Facility, authorities said. Investigators from the Orange County Sheriff's Office and Hillsborough police reviewed photos and videos of protestors and counter protestors, which allowed them to conclude that the two participants had weapons. Authorities have not yet publicly identified the two suspects, and officials said they are trying to serve them with the arrest warrants. The KKK demonstration in Hillsborough at the justice complex, located on East Margaret Lane, caused a big stir Saturday in the town.
https://www.wral.com/orange-county-sheriff-plans-to-arrest-2-who-allegedly-brought-guns-to-kkk-rally...

NC SUPREME COURT SHOULD END RACIAL BIAS IN JURY SELECTION: North Carolina is one of very few states where appeals courts have never acknowledged discrimination against a juror of color and have allowed prosecutors to offer reasons for striking black jurors that are vague, suspect, and difficult to verify: the juror didn’t make eye contact, had an unusual hairstyle, or said “yeah” instead of “yes.” This week, North Carolina has a chance to confront a problem that has haunted the state for too long. The North Carolina Supreme Court will hear arguments on August 26 and 27 about the North Carolina Racial Justice Act (RJA). This groundbreaking law allowed people on death row to present evidence that racial bias played a role in their death sentences. After the law’s passage in 2009, a study of capital trials found that prosecutors removed qualified black jurors at more than twice the rate of white jurors. Thus, nearly half of North Carolina’s death row prisoners were tried by all-white juries or juries with only one person of color. If you doubt that the racial makeup of juries matters, remember that all-white juries have sent dozens of innocent black men to death row, including some of my clients.
https://www.newsobserver.com/opinion/article234076852.html

MCCREADY DINGS BISHOP OVER FAULTY HEALTH CARE PLAN: That’s what health policy experts say could happen under Bishop’s bill. While the ACA requires plans to cover 10 “essential benefits” — from prescription drugs and rehabilitative services to chronic disease management — association plans are subject to looser standards and aren’t required to cover those essential benefits, she said. “As a simple example, you could allow people who have cancer to buy into the plan, but the plan might cover (pay for) zero cancer care — in effect removing coverage for the preexisting condition despite nominally allowing the person to purchase the insurance plan,” Lewis said. The Winston-Salem Journal story points out that Bishop’s bill “does not include guarantees of the essential benefits. An amendment to add the essential benefits to SB86 was tabled by a 28-20 vote in the Senate,” with Bishop voting to table it.
https://www.newsobserver.com/news/politics-government/article234278602.html