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We turn our attention to Washington, D.C. once again this morning as the shutdown stallmate has officially dragged on in the Senate and ended late Monday night. As we covered yesterday morning as we learned information over the weekend, Congress is now on the path to reopen the federal government within the next couple of days. Senators advanced a bipartisan funding package to end the government shutdown after a group of Senate Democrats broke from their colleagues and joined Republicans in their bid to reopen the government. The same eight that voted in a procedural vote on Sunday stuck with those Republican members on Monday and provided the critical votes needed to send the Reopening package to the House, which is exactly what happened yesterday as the votes went deep into Monday night on the shutdown's 41st day and resulted in an updated continuing resolution being combined with a trio of spending bills in a minibus package that is now officially headed over to House Speaker Mike Johnson and the Republican, I'll note Slim, but Republican majority in the House.
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, the Democrat from New York and his caucus, demanded throughout the entirety of the last 42 days that they would only vote to reopen the government if they received an ironclad deal on expiring Obamacare subsidies.
However, for the eight that broke with Schumer and the rest of the Democrats in the Senate, they did not get that, including a major, the number two individual in the United States Senate for Democrats, Dick Durbin, one of the eight from Illinois voting. With Republicans to reopen the federal government, a guarantee to vote on the legislation and some of those subsidies apparently is a handshake deal that is going to come forth before the end of the year. But just because a vote is scheduled to take place, obviously does not mean that there is any guarantee that it will pass, especially if it is a Democrat-only backed bill. As you look at the math in the Senate and in the House, Democrats do not have the majority in either and would need Republican support in both chambers, of course, plus a signature from Republican President Donald Trump to move forward with any sort of additional subsidies for expiring ACA or Obamacare benefits coming up at the end of this calendar year and as we flip the calendar over to 2026.
So, what we are expecting here before the end of the week is that the House is set to be back in session, quote, immediately, according To House Speaker Mike Johnson. He told House Republicans on a lawmaker-only call that he anticipated a vote in their chamber midweek at the earliest.
So we're looking at the Wednesday, Thursday timeframe in all likelihood for the House to reconvene for all members of the House. To make their way back to Washington, D.C. to deal with this vote after it passes the House. If it does pass the House, which at this point we believe that that is the case, we will see it pass there and then make it to the president's desk for a signature. We will continue with our coverage over at CarolinaJournal.com and, of course, continued coverage throughout the day right here on News Talk 1110 and 99.3 WBT.
In some other news, this morning, after being ranked 9th in the 2024 rankings and 12th in the 2025 rankings, North Carolina has slipped to 13th place in the 2026 State Competitive Tax Index that is conducted each year by the Tax Foundation. While this reverses earlier progress in the rankings, North Carolina is still among the top 50% of states across all. Five various pieces of information that are evaluated in the countrywide index. The yearly ranking evaluates the tax structure of all 50 states and the District of Columbia and ranks them according to their relative relative competitiveness. Additionally, states are ranked in five narrower categories.
They are corporate tax, individual income tax, sales tax, property tax, and unemployment insurance tax. In addition to being still in the top 50 in the overall rank, North Carolina performed pretty well across all five major categories assessed by the index. North Carolina placed third in corporate taxes, 22nd in individual income tax. As many states have rolled that back completely, it's hard to be competitive with any sort of income tax. 15th in sales tax, 21st in property tax, and 7th in unemployment insurance.
insurance tax. The index credits North Carolina's high performance to its low income tax rate with a flat 4.25% personal income tax rate and a corporate tax rate of just 2.25%, which is set to progressively decline to 0% by 2030. As well as its relatively competitive property and sales tax system. It goes on to attribute the state's ability to maintain these low rates to its decision to forego many non-neutral and distortive business tax credits, as well as North Carolina's commitment to broad bases and low rates. Despite North Carolina's high, again, above 50% rank across the board, the index maintains that there is still a lot of room for the state to improve.
Specifically, in regard to business net operating losses, or NOLs, North Carolina maintains a low bonus depreciation allowance of 15%, which the index notes is quote, substantially lower than the federal allowance and restricts the net operating loss carry forwards to just 15 years.
Furthermore, the state levies an unusually aggressive franchise tax. You've heard us talk about that here before on the Carolina Journal News Hour on the value of a company instead of their profits, which the ranking cites as the largest impediment on North Carolina's tax competitiveness. This yields a tax levied without regard of the ability to pay. And in combination with North Carolina's other problematic NOL policies, it disenfranchises investment in the state. The index recommends that North Carolina take steps to rectify its adverse treatment of investment.
Specifically, it advises dropping, advises adopting, I should say, permanent, full, expansive, and raising its Section 179 expensing limit from $25,000 to come more in line with the federal allowance. Additionally, the single largest barrier to the state's tax competitiveness. Competitiveness, the index encourages reforming North Carolina's franchise tax, which we have which we just talked about. Although North Carolina did not break the top 10, this year's index nevertheless holds North Carolina on high praise. Out of all of the states levying all major taxes, North Carolina ranked among the highest performers, with only five others ranking above it.
Additionally, of the top 10 states, seven forego one of the major taxes, such as individual or corporate income tax. which they compensate by leading harder into other taxes or relying on natural resources among other solutions. This result in the tax structure is that something that many other states cannot replicate. The North Carolina by model, by contrast, is cited in the index as other states can and should follow. The index's authors note that in their foreword to the tax report, while not only a factor involved in a strong economy, are an important part of the mix when positioning a state for economic growth, and that, quote, every state can benefit from a simple, neutral, transparent pro-tax structure.
You can read the 2026 State Tax Competitive Index report and view the full ranking. We've got a link to that over on our website this morning. CarolinaJournal.com, the headline, NC drops to 13th in tax foundation rankings. You can, again, read those details at CarolinaJournal.com. And as I noted, it's hard to be in that top 10 when you've got seven out of the top 10 states that either don't have an income tax for personal properties or for corporations.
Hard to be competitive with those.
However, North Carolina does continue ranking 13th in those tax foundation rankings. Blinds.com. It's not just about window treatments. It's about you, your style, your space, your way. Whether you DIY or want the pros to handle it all, you'll have the confidence of knowing it's done right.
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Welcome back to the Carolina Journal News Hour, News Talk 1110-993 WBT. Happy Veterans Day. And we will start off this morning or continue this morning with some news on the veterans front. North Carolina's more than 600,000 veterans and their families will now have expanded access to services, including health care providers, housing assistance, schools, and other support services. The North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services, that's NCDHS, announced extended hours for the NC Serves program, as well as the launch of Ask Me NC.
This is all announced in a press release from Governor Josh Stein's office on Monday, the governor saying, quote, North Carolina's veterans have given of themselves selflessness in service of our country. When you've spent all of your career helping, it can be challenging asking for help. I applaud these initiatives, which will better connect veterans to health care, peer support, and more. This is incredibly relevant across the Tar Heel State as North Carolina has the fourth largest veteran population in the country and the second largest rural veteran population across the nation. NC Serves has delivered over 150,000 service members, services rather, to nearly 70,000 veteran households across North Carolina since this program kicked off a little more than a decade ago in 2014.
And at the time, it marked the nation's first statewide coordinated care network for veterans and their families. It works with another program called NC Care 360 to provide assistance through various resources, including government agencies, nonprofit organizations, and community partners. Partners. All of that to streamline access to essential services such as clothing, housing, employment, education, legal aid, transportation, money management, healthcare services, and VA benefits. And beginning today on Veterans Day, the NC Serves Call Line and Coordination Center, which is managed by the Asheville Bunkum Community Christian Ministry, the acronym for that, ABCCM, Veterans Services of the Carolinas program, and in partnership with Via Health, will offer extended hours, including evenings and weekends.
The goal of that to make it easier for veterans and their families to connect to care when they might need it most. The ABCM Veteran Services of the Carolinas program anticipates with some of these changes, again, those evening and weekend hours, they will serve an additional two thousand veterans in the first year. Veterans, service members, and their families in need of housing, transportation, physical or mental health care, employment services, or other resources are encouraged to call the phone number 855-962-8387. That's 855-962-8387 or visit the website ncserves.org. That's NCServes, plural with an S dot org.
Brandon Wilson, who is the chief operating officer for ABCCM, noted, quote, this marks another milestone in the evolution of NC Serves and how North Carolina continues to raise the standard in serving our veterans and their families. This expansion reflects what's possible when more than 5,000 community-based organizations work together with support from our state with purpose. This intentional community in action is a powerful Example of how coordination and compassion can directly transform lives across our state. The Ask Me NC initiative and website also serves as another access point for many of the same services and uses the existing NC Service coordination system to connect users with trusted community-based providers from the mountains to the coast and from the Virginia to South Carolina border. It also serves as a digital hub for a wide range of additional services.
The press release emphasizes that the increased services come at a pivotal time, noting that the 2023 VA Healthcare Community Network review and HUD's annual homeless assessment report indicate that veterans often face hardships due to being disconnected from vital services. Those reports said that nearly one in three veterans experience homelessness. Reportedly being unable to access services due to long wait times or lack of coordination. And according to the U.S. Department of Veterans Affair 2024 National Suicide Prevention Annual Report, nearly two-thirds of veterans who die by suicide were not actively engaged in benefits or care from the VA.
The release also cites a 2024 report from the National Center on Homelessness Among Veterans, which states that veterans engaged in coordinated services are 40% more likely to secure stable housing and 50% more likely to sustain employment within 12 months. That's compared to those navigating those services independently. Jocelyn Manty said in a press release, who is North Carolina's Department of Military and Veterans Affairs Secretary, quote, Increasing access to care is a critical part of honoring our veterans beyond words of gratitude. When state agencies, community partners, and care providers work together, we build a network that meets veterans and their families where they are. Ensuring that no one who has served this nation has to navigate life's challenges alone.
The North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services recently launched the Connections Act in partnership with Chess Health, which is a free digital resource designed to support veterans' mental health and recovery through access to trained peers, moderated online communities, daily check-ins, and proven coping tools. They are also sponsoring the North Carolina Institute of Medicine's Task Force on Veterans' Health, which focuses on supporting the provisions and navigation of care, developing the health workforce, and addressing behavioral health care needs for veterans. The 988 Lifeline chat and text and 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline also offer targeted resources for veterans and is available free and confidential to Everybody across the state, regardless of whether you are a veteran or not, 24-7 by call, text, or chat. We have got a lot of additional detail this morning on the expansion of the NC Serve program on this Veterans Day morning. You can read some of those additional details over at our website, CarolinaJournal.com.
The headline there, NC expands access to care services for 600,000 plus veterans families. Or you can reach out directly to NC Serves, the phone number 855-962-8387-855-962-8387, or the website NCServes.org. This is the story of the one. As a maintenance supervisor at a manufacturing facility, he knows keeping the line up and running is a top priority. That's why he chooses Granger.
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It's 536. Welcome back to the Carolina Journal News Hour, News Talk 1110-993 WBT. I'm Nick Craig. Good morning to you. Losing your job over social media posts, then suing a member of Congress.
That is one of the legal challenges that we are tracking this morning on the Carolina Journal News Hour. To walk us through that, Mitch Kokai from the John Locke Foundation joins us on the news hour. Mitch, this is an interesting liable lawsuit, which for folks that are not familiar with liable tends to be a pretty hard thing to have play out in the courtrooms. Doesn't matter whether you're talking about something federally or locally. It's a pretty tough claim.
What are you tracking this morning?
Well, an interesting development in this lawsuit that was filed against Congressman Pat Harrigan, and probably a little bit of background would help. This all stems from the assassination of Charlie Kirk. Shortly after that happened, an athletic trainer at Wake Forest University who works with the women's soccer team, a woman named Bridget Sullivan, posted, as did many other people, unfortunately, some comments sort of saying this was a good thing. And I think the line was something like: he had it coming. And she wrote that someone else, we don't know who, it's an anonymous post, took.
That information combined it with her information about her employment at Wake Forest University, and then did a social media post saying, Look at what this person who works at Wake Forest said about the Charlie Kirk assassination. Pat Harrigan on his official X slash Twitter account posted something saying. This is terrible. I'm going to contact Wake Forest, and anything less than firing is unacceptable.
Now, after the initial post, there was some Concern about safety and threats that resulted from this initial post by Bridget Sullivan. And at some point, within just a couple of days of the initial social media account really having nothing to do with what Pat Harrigan wrote, the decision was made that Bridget Sullivan was no longer going to work at Wake Forest.
Now, the way that it's described in the complaint that she filed against Pat Harrigan eventually was that it was a mutual decision, no dismissal, no firing. She and the university mutually agreed to part ways.
Well, after that happened, Pat Harrigan had another post on his official account saying, Something like success after I complained to Wake Forest, they fired her. And then, so not too about several weeks or a month after that happened, Sullivan files this libel lawsuit in Forsyth County Superior Court saying, I was never fired. This is libel. It's caused severe distress to me. No one ever told Pat Harrigan that I was fired.
And now there have been all these media reports based on his false statement that I've been fired.
Well, that was a libel suit. Whether it had any likelihood of success is up for debate. But the most interesting development is that the U.S. Attorney's Office stepped in. and did several things.
First of all, the U.S. Attorney's Office Removed the case from Forsyth County Superior Court, the state court system, and moved it into federal court. Then the next thing that the U.S. attorney did was say, let's substitute. as the defendant in this case, for Pat Harrigan, the United States of America.
Because what Pat Harrigan was doing was part of his official business. And you're not really suing him, you are suing the United States. And so that was the second step. And then the third step. was Once you make the United States the defendant rather than Congressman Harrigan, the case should be dismissed because the plaintiff in this case, Bridget Sullivan, didn't do what she was supposed to do if you're going to make a libel complaint against a member of Congress or any other employee of the federal government doing their official business, all of the procedure of which is spelled out in the Federal Torque Claims Act.
So basically the argument is If you're going to sue a member of Congress based on something that he or she did as part of their official business, and the argument from the U.S. Attorney is writing something on your ex. Or Twitter account is part of your official business, then you can't just sue in a state-level court. You would have to go through the procedure that's spelled out in the Federal Tort Claims Act, and even then, You wouldn't win because this is not something that you're going to be able to get any kind of punitive damages for.
So that's the most interesting development. That was the latest thing that's happened. We have not seen anything yet, either from Bridget Sullivan and her attorneys trying to get the case moved back to state court or anything from the judge about what should happen next. But at this point, a case that probably already was going to be a bit of a long shot. becomes even more of a long shot because it's moved to federal court and the U.
S. attorney, who presumably didn't even have to have anything to do with this case, could have just let it play out, decided to step in and turn it into as they say, turn it into a federal case. Mitch, it's interesting. I mentioned at the open libel, and you've talked about libel. It's normally we see this kind of the other way around.
Members of Congress, elected officials, people in the public, whether they're on television, maybe they write for a newspaper, they're in the media. You go on social media, you will find a litany of posts of people saying the most horrific, terrible, awful things about them. It's really hard, however, to take those individuals to court and claim libel. A lot of that has to do with being somewhat of a public figure.
However, this one is kind of flipped on the other side where you've got seemingly a private individual, yes, working for a public institution, but a private individual suing the member of Congress who would be that public figure. It's kind of an interesting spin on what we normally see. Yeah, it is a flip. And of course, Wake Forest is not a public university, so even less of a public stance for this plaintiff in the case. But yes, this is different from what you see in a lot of libel cases where it's the official who is claiming to be libeled.
In this case, it is the official who is claimed to be the person who is doing the libeling. But for me, one of the most interesting pieces of this is the U.S. Attorney stepping into this and saying that these posts that Congressman Harrigan put on Social media were part of official business. It's long been true. That a member of Congress cannot be sued for libel for something they say on the floor or as part of official government business.
So if a member of Congress gets on the floor and says the most outlandish thing, They can't be sued for libel. And one of the reasons is you want to protect the open flow of debate. during congressional business. But To have that also extended to what the person says on an official.
Social media account tied to his office is an interesting twist. I'm not sure what the case law says about that. I'm sure there have been cases where someone has been sued, a member of Congress, for something they've posted or written or reposted on X or Twitter or Facebook or Instagram. But in this case, the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Middle District in North Carolina is definitely suggesting.
that anything that Pat Harrigan wrote on the his social media account is officially transacted government business. And that's why they're saying in that in those court filings that He shouldn't be the defendant in this case. The United States of America should be the defendant in this case. And if this plaintiff is going to go forward with this case, there would have to be something done as part of the Federal Tort Claims Act. Also, there was some mention made in the court filings of going to the U.S.
House and filing a complaint there, which the plaintiff didn't do. Basically, what Bridget Sullivan did was file a run-of-the-mill libel suit in state court. And the U.S. Attorney's Office is saying, no, a member of Congress with their official social media account, you've got to go through a much different process and it needs to play out in federal court. Oh, and by the way, the defendant isn't the Congressman.
The defendant is the United States of America. And, Mitch, you know, it is interesting when you bring up the social media accounts. I can't speak explicitly for Pat Harrigan, but for a lot of other members of Congress, you'll see from time to time that they do hold two different social media accounts. Typically, they'll have an official rep, ex, whatever the name is, congressman or congresswoman, and then they'll have kind of a separate account that is not officially affiliated with their work. Typically, they'll use that for campaigning.
I think some of that probably has to do with FEC regulations or in the state of North Carolina, some NCSBE regulations. But it is pretty common that they will have an official account and an unofficial account to maybe get around some of this. It's pretty interesting. It is interesting. And, you know, some officials, I think, will split between the account that is used for sort of the politicking and the account that's used for the official business.
In this case, this is the type of thing that you would see more as being the politicking. Basically, saying, look, you know, this is an egregious statement that this Wake Forest University employee made, and Wake should do something about it. And then the follow-up was, well, they did do something about it. They fired her. And that's good news.
That's the type of thing you would expect to see from a politician on the campaign trail, not something that someone would post saying, you know, we secured a million and a half dollar grant for a new water and sewer system in this town or something of that sort. Or, you know, come to my town hall and speak to me about the issues on your mind.
So it is interesting that these social media accounts are being tied so closely to what's being viewed as official government business. And it'll be interesting to see where this case goes, if at all. I mean, it may be the case that the plaintiff just decides it's not worth it. But if it does play out, we'll have to see whether a judge at the federal level, at the trial court level, or even the Fourth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals gets involved and says anything more about whether what Pat Harrigan said on social media opens him up at all to any legal liability.
Mitch, final question for you. You talk about this bount being sucked into the federal court system. Do you think there's maybe an attempt here to set some precedent going forward and other claims that could take effect against congressmen or women, not just here in the state of North Carolina, but anywhere across the country?
Well, certainly in this case, we're just talking about something that's happening in one federal district court.
So for it to become a precedent, it would have to go beyond just the trial level in this case. My guess is that the U.S. Attorney who's working on this was not attempting to make some sort of Play for some type of precedent that would occur and take effect nationwide or even throughout the Fourth Circuit. But I do think. that if there are other similar lawsuits like this in the future, that if news of this gets out, if it circles through the legal opinions and people see that it's successful for Congressman Harrigan, that I could see other attempts to do a similar thing in other parts of the country.
You can read some additional details on this legal challenge. We've got some of the background and history on this over on our website, CarolinaJournal.com. We appreciate the information this morning. Mitch Kokai from the John Locke Foundation joins us on the Carolina Journal News Hour. It's 554.
Good morning again. Welcome back to the Carolina Journal News Hour, News Talk 1110, 99.3 WBT. Turning our attention back to Washington, D.C. this morning.
Some major movement in the United States Senate late last night. Has the federal government on track to reopen within the next couple of days? The same eight Senate Democratic members that voted with Republicans over the weekend did, in fact, vote again officially late Monday night to approve a new continuing resolution, pass it officially through the United States Senate, and send it to the United States House. House Speaker Mike Johnson is eyeing Wednesday or Thursday for a vote within the House to end the government shutdown. If that vote is to pass the House, it will make its way to President Donald Trump's desk for a signature.
Today is the 42nd day of the federal government shutdown, with delays at major international airports still continuing to take Place. Paychecks for federal employees continuing to be zero as they approach another pay period. We'll keep you up to date with the coverage over on our website, CarolinaJournal.com, and continued coverage throughout the day right here on News Talk 1110 and 99.3 WBT. On this Veterans Day, North Carolina and more than 600,000 veterans and their families will now have access to extended services, including health care providers, housing assistance, schools, and other support services. The North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services announced extended hours for the NC Serves program as well as the launch of Ask Me NC.
Governor Josh Stein's office said in a Monday press release, North Carolina's veterans have given of themselves selflessness in service of our country. When you've spent all of your career helping, it can be challenging to ask for help. I applaud these initiatives, which will better connect veterans to health care, peer support, and more. This is incredibly relevant in North Carolina as it has the fourth largest veteran population in the country and the second largest rural veteran population. NC Serves has already delivered over 150,000 services to nearly 70,000 veteran households across the state of North Carolina since that program started in 2014 when it marked the nation's first statewide coordinated care network for veterans and their families.
It works with a group called NC Care 360 to provide assistance through various resources, including government agencies, nonprofit organizations, and community partners. All of that to streamline access to essential services such as clothing, housing, employment, education, legal aid, transportation, money management, healthcare services, and VA benefits. So, beginning today, the NCServes call line and coordination center will have extended hours in which folks can reach out. You can do that by 6-2-8387 or visit ncserves.org. That's 855-962-8387 or ncserves.org.
Now, it looks like trying to get out here a little early on a Tuesday morning. That's going to do it for the Carolina Journal News Hour. WBT News is next, followed by Good Morning BT. We're back with you tomorrow morning, 5 to 6, right here on News Talk 1110 and 99.3 WBT. You know that big bargain detergent jug is 80% water, right?
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