Associated Press - Randolph Record

21 Aug

Trump speaks in Asheboro at first outdoor rally since attempted assassination

Associated PressNews, Politics2024 elections, Asheboro, donald trump

Former President Donald Trump speaks Wednesday at the North Carolina Aviation Museum & Hall of Fame in Asheboro. (PJ Ward-Brown/Randolph Record) ASHEBORO — At his first outdoor rally since last month’s attempted assassination, Donald Trump spoke from behind bulletproof glass Wednesday in North Carolina at an event focused on national security. On politics, he called his predecessor Barack Obama “nasty” for his comments the night before at the Democratic National Convention. Trump blamed President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris for the deadly Afghanistan withdrawal and for wars in Ukraine and the Middle East while returning repeatedly in his remarks to the Democratic gathering…

06 Jul

Petty, ‘The King’ of NASCAR, says camp for seriously ill children is family’s true legacy

Associated PressFeatures, SportsRandleman, randolph county, Richard Petty, Stock car racing, Victory Junction Gang Camp

Richard Petty and his granddaughter Montgomery Lee Petty, then 14, take part in a 2000 news conference announcing the founding of Victory Junction Gang Camp. (The Associated Press) Richard Petty, with a record 200 Cup Series wins, seven championships and a first-ballot inductee into the Hall of Fame, is considered NASCAR’s greatest driver. He is spending the season celebrating 75 years of NASCAR participation by his famous family — basically since the inception of the stock car series in 1948 — and reflecting on the legacy that will be left behind. As he approached his 87th birthday, celebrated Tuesday ahead…

06 Sep

She said she killed her lover in self-defense. Court says jury properly saw her as the aggressor

Associated PressNewsNC Supreme Court

RALEIGH — The North Carolina Supreme Court upheld the murder conviction of a woman who fatally shot her lover in her bedroom, ruling Friday that the trial judge gave appropriate instructions to the jury about the legal limits for deadly force inside a home. Five of the seven justices agreed to overturn a unanimous appellate decision that had ordered a new trial for Wendy Dawn Lamb Hicks, who was convicted in the death of Caleb Adams. Evidence shows he was shot twice in the back in her bedroom doorway. The majority’s primary opinion said it was proper, based on evidence,…

08 Mar

Republican legislators reach Medicaid expansion deal

Associated PressNewsGOP, legislature, medicaid expansion, republican

RALEIGH — North Carolina legislative leaders announced last Thursday an agreement to expand Medicaid to hundreds of thousands of additional low-income adults through the Affordable Care Act. The deal, which likely won’t be voted on until later this month at the earliest, marks a milestone for Republican lawmakers, most of whom opposed expansion for a decade until recently. North Carolina has been one of 11 states that has not adopted Medicaid expansion. If the deal goes through, the state would start providing expansion coverage to people starting next January. “This is something that we can all be very proud of,”…

02 Nov

High stakes in NC Supreme Court races

Gary D. Robertson, The Associated PressNews2022 Elections, North Carolina Supreme Court

RALEIGH — The two North Carolina Supreme Court seats up for election in November have taken on extra significance as the outcome could flip the court’s partisan makeup during a period of political polarization. Registered Democrats hold a 4-3 advantage on the court, but Republicans would retake the majority for the first time since 2016 should they win at least one race. The seats carry eight-year terms, so barring unplanned retirements, Republicans would be assured of keeping the upper hand for at least 4 1/2 years if successful. Outside groups are spending big to influence the races. In the two…

02 Jun

Decade since NC governor win, McCrory trounced in Senate bid

Associated PressPoliticsgovernment, McCrory, U.S. Senate

RALEIGH — A decade ago, Pat McCrory was king in North Carolina’s Republican Party. The former Charlotte mayor became the first GOP governor in two decades when he won in 2012 by 11 percentage points. Today, the moderate has been tossed aside in state GOP politics, trounced by 34 percentage points in the U.S. Senate primary by Rep. Ted Budd, who was a little-known congressman outside his district until former President Donald Trump endorsed him last June. The Trump shift within the Republican Party is making casualties nationally out of politicians like McCrory, who says he supported many Trump policies…

01 Jun

Democrats voting in GOP primaries might have tilted results in some races

Associated PressBusinessdemocrats, GOP, primaries, voting

WASHINGTON, D.C. — An Associated Press analysis of early voting records found more than 37,000 people who voted in Georgia’s Democratic primary two years ago cast ballots in last week’s Republican primary, an unusually high number of so-called crossover voters. The data reveal crossover voters were consequential in defeating Donald Trump’s endorsed candidates for secretary of state and, to a lesser extent, governor in the Peach State. Gov. Brian Kemp did not ultimately need Democrats in his blowout victory against his Trump-backed opponent, but Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger probably did. The Republican secretary of state cleared the 50% threshold…

11 May

Abortion adds to Biden’s stalled to-do list

Associated PressGovernment, Nationabortion, Chuck Schumer, Joe Biden, White House

WASHINGTON, D.C. — President Joe Biden’s list of impossible tasks keeps getting longer. Despite lofty promises he’s made, from the campaign trail through his first year in office, he has made limited progress to enact his party’s agenda. It’s a disorienting and discouraging state of affairs for Democrats, who control both Congress and the White House for the first time in more than a decade. Biden’s pledge to codify Roe v. Wade into law seems destined for the same rocky shoals where other parts of his agenda, like tax credits for clean energy or legislation that would preempt state voting…

05 May

Sen. Rand Paul wants to investigate origins of COVID-19

Associated PressNation, Politicscovid-19, Sen. Rand Paul

SMITHFIELD, Ky. — U.S. Sen. Rand Paul promised Saturday to wage a vigorous review into the origins of the coronavirus if Republicans retake the Senate and he lands a committee chairmanship. Speaking to supporters at a campaign rally, the libertarian-leaning Kentucky Republican denounced what he sees as government overreach in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. He applauded a recent judge’s order that voided the federal mask mandate on planes and trains and in travel hubs. “Last week I was on an airplane for the first time in two years and didn’t have to wear a mask,” he said, drawing cheers…

05 May

Trump’s bid to shape GOP faces test with voters in May races

Associated PressNation, Politicsdonald trump, early voting, republicans, Selma

NEW YORK — Donald Trump ‘s post-presidency enters a new phase this month as voters across the U.S. begin weighing the candidates he elevated to pursue his vision of the Republican Party. “The month of May is going to be a critical window into where we are,” said Maryland Republican Gov. Larry Hogan, a Trump critic defending incumbent GOP governors in Georgia, Ohio and Idaho against Trump-backed challengers this month. “I’m just concerned that there are some people trying to tear the party apart or burn it down.” Few states may be a higher priority for Trump than Georgia, where…