KAMALA HARRIS-NC VISIT
Harris pitches $2.3T spending plan on trip to North Carolina
JAMESTOWN, N.C. (AP) — Vice President Kamala Harris visited central North Carolina to pitch the Biden administration’s $2.3 trillion infrastructure and jobs plan. Monday’s trip marked Harris’ first visit to the state since getting sworn in to office. She spoke at Guilford Technical Community College’s Advanced Manufacturing Campus and later toured a Thomas Built Buses plant in High Point. Harris said the proposal is a “once-in-a-lifetime, once-in-a-generation” investment in America’s future. She highlighted many items in the plan beyond the proposed transportation infrastructure. She emphasized spending for workforce training, getting rid of lead drinking pipes and building up child care capacity.
ELECTION 2022-SENATE-NORTH CAROLINA
N. Carolina lieutenant governor won’t run for Senate in 2022
RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — North Carolina Lt. Gov. Mark Robinson says he won’t seek the Republican U.S. Senate nomination in 2022. Robinson made his announcement late Monday, days after he said in a video he was taking a “serious look” at a bid to succeed retiring Sen. Richard Burr. He was just elected in November to a lieutenant governor’s term that runs through 2024. He said in a news release that he “will strive to honor” his responsibilities and keep his promises. His decision means that former Gov. Pat McCrory and ex-U.S. Rep. Mark Walker remain the top announced candidates in the GOP field.
RUSSELL WILSON-COMMENCEMENT SPEAKER
Seahawks QB Russell Wilson will speak at NC State graduation
RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — NFL quarterback and N.C. State University alumnus Russell Wilson will return to the school this spring as a commencement speaker for the 2021 graduation ceremonies. A news release from the university on Monday said Wilson will attend two in-person ceremonies scheduled on May 14 and 15. Both ceremonies will also be streamed live. Wilson earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in communication from the university in 2010. He led the Wolfpack to two bowl games and became one of the top passers in school history. Wilson was drafted to the Seattle Seahawks and has started every game since he joined the NFL in 2012.
PREGNANT INMATES
Effort to keep pregnant NC prisoners healthy limits shackles
RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — There’s a bipartisan effort to better care for pregnant North Carolina prisoners and jail inmates before and after they deliver their babies. State legislators scheduled a Tuesday news conference to unveil a proposal that has support from the American Civil Liberties Union, the North Carolina Sheriffs’ Association and OB-GYNs. The bill would severely limit the handcuffing and shackling of pregnant women who are incarcerated and seek to ensure newborns and their mothers are cared for well. Shackling often involves chaining both wrists and ankles. Over 30 states have passed legislation limiting the shackling of pregnant women behind bars.
CIVIL RIGHTS-REFLECTIONS
Nashville civil rights veterans see hope for future
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Some of the Black college students who integrated downtown Nashville in 1960 went on to play integral roles in nearly every major campaign of the civil rights era. What they had in common was intensive nonviolence training from workshops run by the Rev. James Lawson. The Associated Press hosted a video call recently with Lawson and three of the former students. They see a direct connection between their work and today’s justice movements. They also say that the Black Lives Matter movement and efforts to expand voting rights in Georgia and other states give them hope for the future.
STATE OF THE STATE
Legislature inviting NC Gov. Cooper to give biennial address
RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper will give his “State of the State” speech to a joint session of the General Assembly next week. Spokespeople for Cooper and top Republican legislative leaders confirmed on Monday that plans are in place for the governor to deliver the biennial address at 7 p.m. April 26 in the House chamber. The address is usually given in February or March of odd-numbered years, but things are different this year due to concerns about the COVID-19 pandemic. This will mark Cooper’s third State of the State address and first since he got reelected in November.
VIRUS OUTBREAK-NORTH CAROLINA
Walgreens pharmacy distributes saline, not vaccine, to 22
RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — A Walgreens pharmacy in a North Carolina town gave a small number of people an injection of saline instead of a COVID-19 vaccine last month. Spokesperson Erin Loverher says 22 people were affected by the mix-up at the pharmacy in Monroe. She noted pharmacists sometimes use saline during training and that there is no reason to believe anyone injected was harmed. All impacted patients were contacted and then given the vaccine once they returned to the pharmacy. Walgreens is investigating what happened says it’s working to prevent similar incidents from occurring in the future. Monroe is 26 miles (41 kilometers) southeast of Charlotte.
HARRIS-GREENSBORO FOUR
VP Harris sits at counter where Greensboro Four made history
Vice President Kamala Harris took a detour while visiting North Carolina to sit at the same lunch counter where four Black college students known as the Greensboro Four conducted a peaceful sit-in 61 years ago that became a defining moment in the civil rights movement. Harris was in North Carolina on Monday to plug President Joe Biden’s $2.3 trillion infrastructure plan and made an unscheduled visit to the International Civil Rights Center & Museum in Greensboro. The nation’s first female Black vice president sat down at a “whites only” Woolworth’s counter where the Black students staged their historic sit-in.
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