TheWrap@NCCapitol

Medical marijuana, immigration, gambling updates and a $1 billion state budget surplus could come to dominate the new 2024 North Carolina legislative short session. Plus, Senate leader Phil Berger talks about the future of the ACC and what lawmakers could do to keep UNC and N.C. State together if one tries to leave. PolitiFact NC looks into the 13th District congressional runoff primary, and the NC State Health Plan makes national news with a Senate investigation led by Bernie Sanders.

WRAL Capitol Bureau Chief Laura Leslie wraps up the week on Jones Street, including an investigation into the nonprofit led by the wife of the lieutenant governor. Plus, good news for budget writers, and a look at the state’s take for the first month of sports betting.

Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida visits with Gov. Roy Cooper in Raleigh, and two members of North Carolina congressional delegation travel to Ukraine for meetings with President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. The North Carolina Supreme Court keeps busy with cases on charter schools, voter fraud and alleged racism in local government. Plus the latest updates from EPA Secretary Michael Regan's trip to Fayetteville to talk PFAS, and what NC House Speaker Tim Moore had to say about budget priorities as the legislature prepares to return to session.

WRAL Capitol Bureau Chief Laura Leslie and WRAL State Government Reporter Will Doran discuss a surge in teacher turnover in North Carolina public schools, and the end of coverage of weight-loss drugs by the State Health Plan. Plus, diversity, equity and inclusion in the UNC system could be in lawmakers' crosshairs this session.   

WRAL Capitol Bureau Chief Laura Leslie and WRAL State Government Reporter Will Doran talk about the terror watchlist suspect whose North Carolina arrest could turn into a referendum on immigration policy, plus the growing national attention on comments made by 2024 candidates Mark Robinson and Michele Morrow. They also discuss updates on the recount and election protests still delaying official results in a closely contested state legislative race.

Donald Trump leads Joe Biden in North Carolina their potential 2024 rematch for president, a new WRAL News poll found. But Republicans don't have the same lead in the race for governor, pitting Democratic nominee for governor Josh Stein against Republican nominee Mark Robinson. In a close primary for a state legislative seat, the Democratic incumbent who appears to have lost is now alleging political shenanigans and "irregularities" may be cause for further investigation. Michele Morrow is making national headlines. And while some of the closest primaries are going to runoffs to pick a winner, one won't: Trump hired Mark Walker to work on his presidential campaign, so that he'd drop his opportunity for a runoff against Trump-endorsed candidate Addison McDowell.

In Season 3 of A Brief History of Triangle Sports, Brian Murphy from WRAL News and Tim Donnelly from 99.9 The Fan explore the history of sports betting in North Carolina. Mobile sports betting is legal today but getting to this point wasn’t easy. Brian and Tim cover the legislative twists and turns on the road to legal sports gambling and how NC’s “new normal” will change sports and sports fans going forward.  All four episodes are available now. Find Season 3 of A Brief History of Triangle Sports in this podcast app. 

The week's primary elections brought a spate of upsets by populist conservatives, and that's got the North Carolina Chamber of Commerce concerned. WRAL Capitol Bureau Chief Laura Leslie and State Government Reporter Will Doran look at the biggest surprises and their potential repercussions in November.

WRAL Capitol Bureau Chief Laura Leslie and WRAL Sports Investigative Reporter Brian Murphy bring you a roundup of the week's crazy election stories, the go-live date for sports betting sites in North Carolina, and a rough week on Jones Street for a couple of Cooper administration leaders.

Dark money seeps into North Carolina primary races from some unexpected places. The decades-old Leandro public education lawsuit is back in court. And state historians unveil research into the enslaved people who built the state capitol building. WRAL Capitol Bureau Chief Laura Leslie and WRAL State Government Reporter Will Doran break down the week in North Carolina politics. 

President Joe Biden came to Raleigh to talk broadband internet investments and "Bidenomics" before grabbing a milkshake with Gov. Roy Cooper. WRAL Capitol Bureau Chief Laura Leslie and WRAL State Government Reporter Will Doran discuss how it foreshadows the messaging we'll be seeing from both sides in the 2024 presidential campaign. The GOP primaries for two wide-open congressional seats are also heating up. Plus, insurance companies are asking for a big hike to homeowners rates, and people are not happy. Could it impact the elections?

On this week's episode of The Wrap, WRAL Capitol Bureau Chief Laura Leslie and WRAL State Government Reporter Will Doran have the latest on the multiple lawsuits against the state's new voting maps. Plus: Lawmakers' latest attempts to rein in the power of HOAs, and a look at who's campaigning in North Carolina this week. 

With another year nearly over we ask: Who won 2023? WRAL Capitol Bureau Chief Laura Leslie and State Government Reporter Travis Fain have lots of thoughts, and now you're gonna hear about them! Plus: Another redistricting lawsuit, a candidacy challenge in Wake County and blowback on the push to keep former President Donald Trump off the ballot. We also turn our attention to 2024, predicting North Carolina's casino debate will return and that the state's child care shortage will demand attention.

The 2024 primaries are set, and several people surprised North Carolina political observers by opting not to run. Also: There's another Mark Robinson in North Carolina politics now, and this one's a Democrat. Plus: Out with the old and in with the new (again) in the UNC chancellor's office. WRAL state government reporters Travis Fain and Will Doran break down the week that was in state politics.

UNC Chancellor Kevin Guskiewicz is out at UNC-Chapel Hill, reopening North Carolina's long-running conversation on political meddling and fair governance in the state's university system. Plus: It's election filing season! Listen to WRAL Capitol Bureau Chief Laura Leslie and WRAL State Government Reporter Travis Fain read a long list of names as candidates sign up for key races. And: Is Jesus Christ going to bring down retribution on Lt. Gov. Mark Robinson's political opponents? Tune in.

North Carolina on Friday became the 40th state to expand Medicaid, opening the health insurance program to 600,000 people — many of them the working poor. It brings a multibillion-dollar infusion for the state's health care providers. Also: Gov. Roy Cooper tapped Democratic up-and-comer Jessica Holmes, a former Wake County commissioner, for state auditor's job, which opened after the current auditor decided to resign in the wake of a charge for misusing a state vehicle. WRAL state government reporters Travis Fain and Will Doran break down the week that was.

State Auditor Beth Wood was indicted this week, accused of using publicly owned vehicles for personal errands — a charge that grew out of the scrutiny she received after wrecking a state-owned car after a December holiday party. After Tuesday’s indictment, Wood, who at one point this year said she planned to run for reelection, announced that she'll resign instead, effective Dec. 15. Also: Democrats rolled in local elections, and new candidates have announced statewide runs ahead of next month's filing deadline. WRAL NCCapitol Bureau Chief Laura Leslie and State Government Reporter Travis Fain get you all caught up on The Wrap.

North Carolina lawmakers returned to the legislative building this week, maybe for the last time this year, and passed new election maps. Now we wait for the lawsuits. And speaking of lawsuits: A major one is in court next week as Gov. Roy Cooper fights to block the Republican legislative majority from taking away key state appointments. WRAL Capitol Bureau Chief Laura Leslie and State Government Reporter Travis Fain break down all that and more on this week's episode of The Wrap.

The political power play that is redistricting got underway again this week. North Carolina lawmakers will likely have fully approved maps by next week. WRAL state government reporters Travis Fain and Will Doran break down who wins, and who loses, under the newly proposed voting districts. Plus: More lawsuits, more forever chemicals coming to North Carolina, and a child care funding cliff.

Lawmakers gathered again in Raleigh Tuesday to override Gov. Roy Cooper's vetoes on five bills, taking the Republican supermajority's override record this year to 19-0. But a resolution on the conflict between Israel and Hamas that some North Carolina Democrats refused to sign dominated the discourse this week. Also: Lt. Gov. Mark Robinson's press conference supporting Israel forces him to address his past comments on the holocaust. And the 2024 game of musical chairs is getting underway as lawmakers work on new election maps. WRAL Capitol Bureau Chief Laura Leslie and WRAL State Government Reporter Travis Fain get you caught up.

The Wrap turns its attention to Washington, D.C., this week, where the U.S. House of Representatives deposed its speaker and a bow-tied, beer-brewing North Carolinian ended up with the gavel. Plus: The new state budget is law, state lawmakers gather next week for veto overrides and there's another elections lawsuit, with more sure to come. WRAL state government reporters Travis Fain and Will Doran break it down.

After months of closed-door talks, leaks and rumors, North Carolina has a new state budget packed with priorities backed by the legislature’s Republican majority. In the end, a long-discussed deal to legalize new casinos in the state fell apart. But stay tuned next year; that conversation is sure to return. WRAL state government reporters Travis Fain and Paul Specht walk through what’s in the budget, what’s not, some surprise bills that popped up this week — and why one lawmaker found himself in a supply closet.  

State budget talks — including negotiations over a heavily lobbied gambling expansion — broke down this week between the House and Senate. Senate leadership says the House broke its deal. House leadership says the Senate demands just won't pass. Everyone went to their corners for a while, and now that talks have resumed it's not clear when North Carolina will have a new state budget. Plus: Guns on college campuses, election bills and the first 2024 gubernatorial debate. WRAL state government reporters Travis Fain and Will Doran break it all down.

WRAL Capitol Bureau Chief Laura Leslie and WRAL Sports Investigative Reporter Brian Murphy talk about the push and pull over casinos and video slot machines in lawmakers' negotiations over the state budget. Will the fight over expanding gambling in North Carolina delay the budget another week? Plus, election changes and drama at the State Board of Education.

House Republicans plan to gather behind closed doors Tuesday for a meeting that may go a long way toward deciding whether North Carolina's General Assembly authorizes four new casinos and legalizes video poker machines. Plus: Accusations of bias at the state's highest court, lots of campaign donations flowing as lawmakers weigh gambling and medical marijuana bills, and lots of jockeying as political hopefuls mull 2024 political runs. WRAL state government reporters Travis Fain and Will Doran break it all down in this week's Wrap.

It sounds like state lawmakers are hammering out final budget details ahead of a vote during the week of Sept. 11. What does that mean for Medicaid expansion? WRAL reporters Travis Fain and Brian Murphy get into it. Also: More national coverage for Mark Robinson and his conspiracy theories, casino plans roll on, and why Democrats may soon have another candidate in the 2024 governor's race.

The North Carolina General Assembly continues to work in fits and starts, churning through veto overrides and a handful of other bills after weeks of calm. Now it looks we're in another dead period with few answers about the overdue state budget. Meanwhile, a fight looms over the continued push to add casinos and expand legal gambling in the state. WRAL state government reporters Will Doran and Travis Fain break down the week that was in North Carolina politics.

A clash over concealed weapons training, and why a national group's bid to get on the 2024 ballot in NC could be in trouble. WRAL Capitol Bureau Chief Laura Leslie and WRAL State Government Reporter Will Doran look at the week that was — get you up to speed on the week ahead — in North Carolina politics.

In the course of one legislative session, North Carolina may go from having heavy limits on gambling to allowing sports gambling on cell phones, slot-machine-style machines in restaurants and gas stations and four new casinos. WRAL News reporters Travis Fain and Brian Murphy break down the latest. Plus: state budget news, education policy, a roundup of 2024 political candidates. And are Republican lawmakers about to blow a $13 billion hole in the budget?

With North Carolina lawmakers deadlocked, and vacations looming, it looks like a state budget vote won't come until at least August at the General Assembly. Meanwhile, not much is moving, but we keep hearing about a major push to build new casinos in the state. WRAL Capitol Bureau Chief Laura Leslie and WRAL State Government Reporter Travis Fain break it all down in your weekly look at North Carolina politics.  

In terms of drama, North Carolina politics did not disappoint this week. A federal judge said most of North Carolina's new abortion law can go into effect. The legislature passed multiple LGBTQ bills. A powerful state senator pulled a parliamentary manuever to save his medical marijuana bill, the power struggle continues atop the SBI and the U.S. Supreme Court decided two major cases this week out of North Carolina.

Speaker of the House Tim Moore's love life — central to allegations in a new lawsuit against him — sucked a lot of the oxygen out of the room this week at the General Assembly. But the session kept on trucking. Republican lawmakers dropped a surprise abortion bill that looks like it's aimed at derailing a federal lawsuit. Major voting bills moved forward. So did bills limiting care for transgender teens and banning transgender girls and women from playing on female sports teams. The state budget is still in limbo, as is the medical marijuana bill. And now it's official: This General Assembly session will continue well into July.

The legislative session is rounding the final turn. Republican lawmakers moved a pair of major election bills forward. Lawmakers, meanwhile, are poised to pass a ban on transgender girls and women playing on female sports teams from middle school through college. The sports gambling bill has been signed (but you won't be able to bet for a while). Plus: Updates on a laundry list of significant bills and a preview of the line of attack against Lt. Gov. Mark Robinson's campaign, coming from a key Republican consultant.

North Carolina Republicans are holding their state convention this weekend in Greensboro and will hear from three presidential candidates. President Joe Biden visited North Carolina Friday. Budget negotiators are taking the weekend off, but chairs hope to have their work done Tuesday. Plus: Sports gambling, Blue Cross bills await the governor's signature and the General Assembly is about to fight an awful lot about election rules.

Plus: A new elections bill dropped this week, tinkering with state voting laws, and Blue Cross Blue Shield of North Carolina got a big bipartisan vote on its reorganization bill.

On this week's edition of the Wrap, WRAL Capitol Bureau Chief Laura Leslie and WRAL State Government Reporter Will Doran talk about a shake-up in the state House GOP leadership, the fight over the future of the state’s largest insurer, and Gov. Roy Cooper’s pivot to the bully pulpit.

Republicans in the North Carolina legislature made quick work of Gov. Roy Cooper's abortion bill override. And new restrictions are scheduled to go into effect July 1. Plus, there’s bipartisan support in the state Senate for a budget proposing lower raises for teachers and state employees than the House backed last month. And will that budget threaten every big city hospital in the state with closure? WRAL Capitol Bureau Chief Laura Leslie and WRAL State Government Reporter Travis Fain break it all down. 

The North Carolina General Assembly largely took this week off. The news did not. Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper tried to ramp up public pressure on a handful of key Republicans ahead of Saturday's abortion veto, and the state got three new State Board of Elections members. Also: North Carolina's first Black lieutenant governor has criticisms of the civil rights movement.

Emotional debate and personal stories filled the General Assembly this week as a long-anticipated abortion bill moved through the chambers. In the end, the bill passed along party lines, and it took less than 48 hours. Now we wait for Gov. Roy Cooper's veto and a Republican push to override and make these new restrictions law. Also: Partisan gerrymandering is legal again in North Carolina, and a major gun bill seems to be dead.

The North Carolina General Assembly remains on its rocket sled, churning through legislation, including the series of culture war bills dominating recent headlines. Plus: The Community College System named a new president, beating a push for the General Assembly to take more control of that process. And big money, big business bills to watch (including some likely to move next week). The new farm bill is rolling and ... does someone want to build casinos in some of North Carolina's poorer counties? WRAL's NCCapitol team gets you all caught up on The Wrap.  

Every week is a banger in North Carolina politics, but this one outdid itself. State Rep. Tricia Cotham dropped the biggest bombshell in legislative politics in 20 years. The House passed its budget. Half a dozen LGBTQ bills hit. Plus: Bills moved to limit voting by mail, to add a new tax on Uber and Lyft rides and to help the family of a police officer killed in a mass shooting. WRAL Capitol Bureau Chief Laura Leslie and WRAL State Government Reporter Travis Fain break it down in this episode of The Wrap.

The week in North Carolina politics started off in bipartisan bliss with a bill signing ceremony on Medicaid expansion. Then Republicans shut off debate and used a handful of key Democratic absences to override Gov. Roy Cooper's veto on a gun bill. Now it's budget time, and GOP lawmakers hold the cards, empowering them to to drop their policies into a crucial budget plan. It's an offer Democrats can hardly refuse.