The Migrants Texas Sent to New York City

As part of a stunt to protest the Biden administration’s immigration policies, the governors of Texas and Arizona have been sending bus-loads of migrants to DC and New York without any support. Immigrant advocate groups are scrambling to take care of these people, who were vulnerable well before being used as political props.

Guest: Murad Awawdeh, executive director at New York Immigration Coalition and NYIC Action

POLITICAL WRAP: Biden Inauguration; Tight Security in Washington

CHARLOTTE, N.C. – It’s been 12 years since Joe Biden took the Oath of Office for Vice President of the United States.

Things will look much different on Wednesday as Biden takes the Presidential Oath, amid a pandemic, and security concerns in Washington and across the country.

Mary C. Curtis: Calls for Police Reform

CHARLOTTE, NC — Calls for police reform continue to grow in the wake of George Floyd’s death in Minneapolis two weeks ago.

WCCB political contributor Mary C. Curtis discusses the changes happening on the local level and across the country.

In her congressional goodbye, Katie Hill worried about letting down young girls. Now that’s a change

OPINION — Katie Hill said, “I’m sorry,” a lot. In a speech that was not quite seven and a half minutes long, that stood out.

With a public impeachment inquiry now underway and a torrent of names and made-for-TV characters moving in and out of the spotlight, few remember that one of the votes approving this step was the last cast by Hill. The freshman congresswoman resigned her seat as she was about to face an ethics investigation after accusations that she was having a sexual relationship with a congressional aide. She denied that, though she admitted to one with a campaign staffer that she said was inappropriate though not rule-breaking.

A Controversial Fourth of July Celebration

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Even an all-American holiday doesn’t mean a break from political polarization. The annual WashingtonD.C., party and fireworks celebration this year will also feature an exhibit of military might, with tanks, flyovers and a speech by the president. With the Republican National Committee handing out VIP tickets, is the event more campaign rally or public salute to the country? Depends on what side you’re on.

Michael Cohen and Paul Manafort, and What’s Next?

CHARLOTTE. NC — On Tuesday, former Trump lawyer/fixer Michael Cohen pleaded guilty to eight charges in federal court in New York, including campaign finance violations for payoffs to influence the 2016 election on behalf of a candidate – not identified, though widely assumed to be Donald Trump. Meanwhile, in a Virginia courtroom, Trump’s former campaign manager Paul Manafort was found guilty on eight of 18 counts: five counts of filing false tax returns, one count of not filing a report on a foreign bank account and two bank fraud counts.

Opinion: Is It Too Early for North Carolina Democrats to Get Their Hopes Up, Again?

In 2008, Barack Obama’s slim North Carolina victory in his first presidential run had Democrats in the state celebrating in the present and dreaming of a blue future in what had been considered a (relatively) progressive Southern state. Boy, were those dreams premature.

But 10 years later — after new redistricting and voting rules solidified GOP control in both the state and U.S. House delegations and a bill on LGBT rights made the state a poster child for conservative social policies — Democrats are again seeing light at the end of a deep-red tunnel.

How Mueller’s Probe Affects GOP Agenda

CHARLOTTE, NC — While President Trump is preparing for a major Asia trip, plans to name a new Federal Reserve chair and tries to get a tax reform bill passed, along with Republican lawmakers, news coming out of Washington has derailed that plan.

Special counsel Robert Mueller has charged a former campaign manager and his deputy with a list of financial crimes and foreign connections – and a former foreign policy adviser has admitted lying to the FBI about trying to connect the campaign with the Russians to get dirt on Hillary Clinton.

What does that do to the GOP agenda? WCCB Political Contributor Mary C. Curtis weighs in.

“Charlotte Talks”: Friday News Round Up

This week, the Charlotte City Council and County Commission both considered spending on a Major League Soccer stadium- with very different results.  Former Governor Pat McCrory is heckled in Washington D.C. and South Carolina’s Nikki Haley is headed to New York.  Host Mike Collins and our panel of reporters tackle those stories and more on the Charlotte Talks local news round up.

Washington Politics: A Hint of Compromise or North Carolina-Style Dysfunction?

Though the year has just begun, there are already signs that the partisan power struggle in Washington will not benefit from a fresh start or optimistic resolutions of renewal.

“I want to say to the American people: We hear you. We will do right by you. And we will deliver,” said re-elected House Speaker Paul Ryan, as he no doubt relished uniting with President-elect Donald Trump and a Republican-controlled Washington to celebrate the consolidation of power by undoing President Barack Obama’s actions of the last eight years.

But is he listening to all of the American people when his party is deciding what exactly it will deliver? Does a president elected by an electoral- but not popular-vote majority present the best evidence of a mandate to completely change course?

The Republican majority in Washington might look south as a warning of what could happen when you believe you’re not only right, but good, and those who disagree don’t matter. It’s a charge that was lobbed at Democrats and President Obama during their years in power, but irony is in short supply when the tables are turned. It certainly did not matter in North Carolina, a state almost evenly split in party and political sentiment, where one party, nonetheless, is more interested in ruling than governing.