DAN MACREADY AND MARK HARRIS TRADE PUNCHES IN CONGRESSIONAL DEBATE: “His presence will be another vote for Nancy Pelosi,” said Harris. “Dan, Pelosi and the Democrats will wreck this economy.” McCready, a veteran, countered by turning the question back to the race at hand. “You’re not running against Nancy Pelosi, you’re running against a United States Marine,” McCready said. The race has attracted national attention and big spending, as Democrats try to flip a seat that’s been held by Republicans for more than five decades. The 9th District stretches from southeast Charlotte to Lumberton and Fayetteville. Along the way, the 9th District runs through conservative suburbs in Union County, small towns like Rockingham and rural counties such as Anson and Bladen.
https://www.newsobserver.com/news/politics-government/election/article219515655.html

PROSECUTOR REFERS SPEAKER TIM MOORE'S BUSINESS DEALINGS TO SBI FOR PROBE: Two years after then-House Rules Chairman Tim Moore’s legislation rescued a controversial south Durham mixed-use land project and boosted a high-end residential community next door, one of the developers took him on as his lawyer. And two years after that, the same developer, Neal Hunter, gave Moore a legal services contract for a Durham-based pharmaceutical company Hunter had recently co-founded, paying him $40,000 for four months of work largely related to how federal tax law treated such startups. Moore, a Cleveland County Republican who became House speaker in 2015, disclosed those details in an interview Friday about his private legal work. He was adamant he never mixed that work with his legislative duties. But a state prosecutor told The News & Observer she has asked the State Bureau of Investigation to look into concerns about Moore’s work for Hunter and a separate case where Moore’s private legal work preceded controversial state legislation involving bail agents.
https://www.newsobserver.com/news/local/article219586045.html

LEGISLATIVE CANDIDATES, ANSWER "YES" WHEN ASKED TO EXPAND MEDICAID: Failing to expand Medicaid carries a HUGE cost to North Carolina – both in the health of our citizens and to the state’s economy. Every month the toll increases. Since 2014: 2,115 to 6,346 North Carolinians have died for lack of needed medical care. 21,720 diabetics have had to go without medication. 56,233 women have gone without annual mammograms for breast cancer screening. $11.52 billion in federal funds have been lost. 67,160 jobs have not been created. The leadership of the North Carolina General Assembly -- specifically Senate leader Phil Berger, R-Rockingham and House Speaker Tim Moore, R-Cleveland -- could easily bring this neglect to an end. But their reflexive disdain for ANYTHING backed by former President Barack Obama prevents a change.
https://www.wral.com/editorial-legislative-candidates-answer-yes-when-asked-to-expand-medicaid/17894...

CROWD GATHERS IN RALEIGH TO OPPOSE KAVANAUGH NOMINATION: The rally Thursday was called to send a message to the Republican U.S. Senators from North Carolina, Thom Tillis and Richard Burr, to vote against Kavanaugh’s confirmation, but both senators appear ready to vote for him. Molly Rivera, ACLU North Carolina’s communications associate, urged the crowd of more than 100 people to keep calling Burr and Tillis and to sign a petition opposing Kavanaugh. The crowd was prompted to shout, “I believe survivors!” Many held anti-Kavanaugh signs. “Whatever happens in the coming days, this is a beginning not an end,” said Tara Romano, executive director of NARAL Pro-Choice NC. NARAL Pro-Choice NC, ACLU of North Carolina, and Planned Parenthood South Atlantic were among the rally sponsors. The rally came a week after gripping testimony from Christine Blasey Ford, a woman who accused Kavanaugh of sexually assaulting her when they were teenagers, and Kavanaugh’s fiery denials.
https://www.newsobserver.com/news/politics-government/article219512585.html

GENERAL ASSEMBLY ONLY DEDICATES $56.6 MILLION OUT OF $2 BILLION FOR FLORENCE: Legislators on Tuesday approved $50 million for immediate disaster relief efforts, plus $6.5 million to pay school employees who are out of work, saying that more will be coming in the future. However, that $50 million is a small percentage of the state’s $2 billion rainy day fund, and activists wanted more. The $2 billion in savings is a record amount, which legislators pushed for after Hurricane Matthew in 2016. “Now, I don’t know where you were,” Resea Willis of Brunswick County said on Tuesday. “But where I was, it rained almost 30 inches on us. So if there is a rainy day fund, I’m here to tell you that it’s already raining. We need your help.” There are legal limits on how much the state can spend from that fund in any given year, but activists like Willis said Tuesday leaders should waive those rules since the need is here and now. Going around the rules to exceed the spending cap would require the approval of two-thirds of lawmakers, The News & Observer has reported.
https://www.newsobserver.com/news/politics-government/article219360290.html