An abuse of public trust in North Carolina

Roy Cooper greets supporters during an election party hosted by the North Carolina Democratic Party at the Raleigh Marriott City Center in downtown Raleigh, N.C., on Tuesday, Nov. 8, 2016. Roy Cooper greets supporters during an election party hosted by the North Carolina Democratic Party at the Raleigh Marriott City Center in downtown Raleigh, N.C., on Tuesday, Nov. 8, 2016.

Seek Solace on Home Video

Get ready to enter the mind of a madman! And it doesn’t hurt that Sir Anthony Hopkins is along for the ride you’re about to take. If you missed Solace in theatres, don’t fret! You’ll soon be able to catch it in the comfort of your own home.

Blumenthal joins Simmons to call for improved safety at Stonington rail crossings

To continue reading up to 10 premium articles, you must register , or sign up and take advantage of this exclusive offer: U.S. Senator Richard Blumenthal and First Selectman Rob Simmons discuss safety improvements they say are urgently needed at two rail crossings in town during a meeting in Stonington Town Hall Monday afternoon. Stonington — Twice this fall First Selectman Rob Simmons wrote letters to Amtrak President Charles W. Moorman IV urging him to make safety improvements at the Elihu Island and Walker’s Dock rail crossings before someone is injured or killed.

NJ presidential electors cast their votes

NJ presidential electors cast their votes NJ Electoral College voters meet amid efforts to convince Republican electors elsewhere to withdraw support of Donald Trump Check out this story on mycentraljersey.com: http://on.app.com/2i8Fivp Trump won more than the necessary 270 electoral votes in November. Some groups had been pressuring Republican electors in other states to not vote for him but there was little indication of a significant rebellion.

President Obama hands out 78 pardons and 153 shortened sentences

President Barack Obama has pardoned 78 people and shortened the sentence of 153 others convicted of federal crimes, the greatest number of individual clemencies in a single day by any president, the White House said Monday. Obama has been granting commutations at rapid-fire pace in his final months in office, but he has focused primarily on shortening sentences of those convicted of drug offenses rather than giving pardons.

Obama sets rule to protect streams near coal mines

The Obama administration on Monday set final rules designed to reduce the environmental impact of coal mining on the nation’s streams, a long-anticipated move that met quick resistance from Republicans who vowed to overturn it under President-elect Donald Trump. The Interior Department said the new rule will protect 6,000 miles of streams and 52,000 acres of forests, preventing debris from coal mining from being dumped into nearby waters.

The Latest: McCrory says he’ll call session to undo HB2

North Carolina’s outgoing Republican Gov. Pat McCrory says he will call a special session so that legislators can repeal a law limiting protections for LGBT people. McCrory issued a statement Monday not long after the state’s incoming governor, Democrat Roy Cooper, said that legislators plan to come back Tuesday for a special session to repeal the law.

Wisconsin protesters brave cold to oppose Trump

Protesters braved sub-zero wind chills outside Wisconsin’s state Capitol on Monday to protest against Donald Trump and urge 10 Republican Electoral College members to “vote your conscience” and cast a ballot against the president-elect. The protests, both inside the Capitol and outside where the temperature hovered around zero, came hours before Wisconsin’s presidential electors were to gather in a fourth floor hearing room to officially award the state’s 10 electoral votes to Trump.

Protesters rally in advance of Connecticut electoral vote

Connecticut’s seven electors are expected to formally cast votes at noon Monday for Hillary Clinton, winner of the statewide election for president. But the protesters say they still felt the need to brave the cold and take a public stand, worried about Republican Donald Trump’s suitability to become the next president of the U.S., as well as the alleged Russian interference with the election.

Slideshow: Most sinful cities

The meeting of Presidential Electors will be held at 10 a.m. on Monday at the Capitol in Mississippi. The electors will case their electoral votes in the 2016 General Election or President and Vice President of the United States.

The Latest: SC win gives Trump 44 of 270 electoral votes

Graphic shows disparities between population and electoral votes among states; 4c x 5 inches; 195.7 mm x 127 mm; WASHINGTON – The Latest on the Electoral College meeting Monday to formally elect Donald Trump the nation’s 45th president : With a win in South Carolina, Donald Trump now has won 44 electoral votes of the 270 he needs to formally win the presidency. Clinton won the popular vote in the Nov. 8 election.

Villanova still No. 1 in AP Top 25 men’s hoops; UCLA at 2

The Latest on the Electoral College meeting Monday to formally elect Donald Trump the nation’s 45th president : The Latest on the Electoral College meeting Monday to formally elect Donald Trump the nation’s 45th president : U.S. women are increasingly using pot during pregnancy, sometimes for morning sickness. That’s according to an analysis of annual U.S. government drug surveys.

Donald Trump thinks his supporters, whom he just called a violenta and …

President-elect Donald Trump speaks at the USA Thank You Tour 2016 at the Giant Center on Dec. 15 in Hershey, Pa. If my many supporters acted and threatened people like those who lost the election are doing, they would be scorned & called terrible names! Trump said Friday at a rally in Orlando that his supporters had been both of those things during the campaign, but that they had toned it down since he won.

House Republicans shut down investigation into Flint water crisis, blame EPA instead

As President Obama signed a bill Friday authorizing $170 million to address lead in the drinking water in Flint , Michigan, Republicans in the House quietly closed a nearly yearlong investigation into the disaster before receiving crucial information from Republican Gov. Rick Snyder. Utah Republican Jason Chaffetz, chairman of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, sent a pair of letters late Friday afternoon offering no new information and essentially summarizing what was already revealed about the crisis during several high-profile hearings earlier this year to announce the end of his investigation.

North Carolina governor-elect says lawmakers will call session to repeal bathroom bill

The city of Charlotte on Monday abandoned a nondiscrimination ordinance that helped spark North Carolina’s controversial “bathroom bill,” potentially clearing the way for legislators to drop the highly-criticized measure that prompted lawsuits and cost the state jobs and tourism dollars. North Carolina’s governor-elect Roy Cooper said Monday he has been told that due to Charlotte’s actions, state lawmakers would call a special session Tuesday to vote on repealing the measure known as House Bill 2 .

Gov-elect: North Carolina will repeal LGBT law on Tuesday

In this June 24, 2016, file photo, North Carolina Attorney General Roy Cooper speaks during a forum in Charlotte, N.C. North Carolina legislators will repeal the contentious HB2 law that limited protections for LGBT people and led to an economic backlash, the state’s incoming governor, Roy, said Monday, Dec. 19. less FILE – In this June 24, 2016, file photo, North Carolina Attorney General Roy Cooper speaks during a forum in Charlotte, N.C. North Carolina legislators will repeal the contentious HB2 law that limited … more FILE – In this Monday, April 25, 2016, file photo, protesters head into the Legislative building for a sit-in against House Bill 2 in Raleigh, N.C. North Carolina legislators will repeal the contentious HB2 law that limited protections for LGBT people and led to an economic backlash, the state’s Gov.-elect Roy Cooper said Monday, Dec. 19, 2016.

As alliance wavers, U.S. says gave Philippines big annual defense aid boost

The United States provided the Philippines with $127 million in security assistance in the 12 months ended in September, the biggest sum in about 15 years, overlapping with a stream of angry threats from President Rodrigo Duterte to sever their defense alliance. The U.S. embassy in Manila on Friday confirmed its longtime Asian ally had received a 154 percent increase in military assistance from the 2014-2015 period, the biggest sum since American forces returned to the Philippines in 2002.

Donald Trump blames terrorists for killings in Turkey, Germany

Jumping ahead of investigators, President-elect Donald Trump is blaming Islamic terrorists for deadly violence in Turkey and Germany and vowing anew to eradicate their regional and global networks. Authorities in both countries were still investigating Monday when Trump issued a pair of statements condemning the attacks, the same day the Electoral College formally awarded him the presidency.

Mount Washington wind chill hits 87 below zero

New England’s highest peak is notorious for its winds. Combine those whipping winds with an air temperature of 35 below zero and you get a wind chill of minus 87. A West Lebanon woman survived a close call Saturday after she was dragged underneath a tractor trailer in a White River Junction parking lot.

Immigrant Activists and Pols Tell Donald Trump That They’re ‘Here to Stay’

Public Advocate Letitia James and Council Speaker Melissa Mark-Viverito participated in the “March for Immigrant New York” today organized by the New York Immigration Coalition. Immigrants, activists and top New York Democrats marched to Trump Tower on Sunday in a display of defiance against President-elect Donald Trump’s proposals to deport two million or more undocumented individuals living in the United States The 1,000-plus marchers, officially called the “March for Immigrant New York,” traveled from the Dag Hammerskjold Plaza near the United Nations to Trump Tower.

Jackie Evancho is a performer with talent and class

PG columnist Tony Norman’s slight regarding Jackie Evancho’s selection to sing the national anthem at the 2017 presidential inauguration is laughable . Donald Trump couldn’t get Beyonce or Katie Perry? Quite possibly the new administration simply chose to have a performer who arguably may be the best pure singing talent today.

Three suspected illegal immigrants arrested in takeaway search

THREE suspected illegal immigrants working at a takeaway were arrested as police searched for perpetrators, and victims, of child sexual exploitation. Officers from the Castle Point and Rochford community policing team, backed by Rochford District Council, carried out the intensive checks at several fast food outlets across Rayleigh in an effort to find any vulnerable children.