Politics

Joe Biden and Kamala Harris are being sworn in Wednesday as the president and vice president of the United States.

Sen. Richard Burr said Tuesday that the Justice Department has told him it will not prosecute him over stock sales made during the coronavirus pandemic, ending an insider trading investigation that led him to at least temporarily step aside from a powerful committee chairmanship last year.

The 2020 election was like no other — the first in modern memory during a deadly pandemic. Election officials had to prepare for record-breaking turnout and adjust for social distancing and changes in how people would cast their ballot.

As partisan rancor flared in Washington during congressional debate over the second impeachment of President Donald Trump, state lawmakers in Raleigh sounded a note of cooperation at the start of this year's North Carolina General Assembly session.

The U.S. House of Representatives is taking up a resolution that would call on Vice President Pence to invoke the 25th Amendment and take over President Trump's duties. The effort comes as the House is also pursuing a second impeachment against the president over the insurrection at the Capitol on Jan. 6. Watch the House proceedings live. 

You can also listen to NPR's live special coverage on WUNC radio starting at 6 p.m. Tuesday.

Updated at 5:20 p.m.

The hiring of a new top administrator of North Carolina's court system is one of several significant personnel changes in a shake-up atop the state Judicial Branch since Chief Justice Paul Newby was sworn in this month.

A recently defeated state legislator and a small-town mayor were formally appointed on Monday to fill vacancies at the North Carolina General Assembly just before the new session convenes this week.

Starting his second term, North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper on Saturday called on residents to learn from the state's recent triumphs and trials and to commit to shared goals for education, health care and racial equality, and to "cherish our democracy."

Updated at 8:15 p.m.

In a Tweet issued Wednesday afternoon, North Carolina Governor Roy Cooper called for President Donald Trump to either step down or be removed from office. The Tweet was personally signed, indicating that it came directly from Cooper and not a member of his staff. 

President-elect Joe Biden is formally introducing his nominee for attorney general, Merrick Garland, Thursday afternoon.

Updated at 11:45 a.m.

All but one of North Carolina's Republican delegates to the U.S. House had said publicly that they planned to object to electoral college votes before the chaos that interrupted the certification of Joe Biden's presidential victory Wednesday.

Members of Congress are formally counting the Electoral College votes from the 2020 Presidental Election on Wednesday.

Georgians are voting in two Senate runoff elections on Tuesday. Incumbent Republican Sens. Kelly Loeffler and David Perdue face Democratic challengers Raphael Warnock and Jon Ossoff. The races were too close to call in November and now their outcome determines the balance of power in the Senate. Follow the results live below.

A top Democrat in the North Carolina House of Representatives has been appointed to the North Carolina Court of Appeals by Gov. Roy Cooper.

The Raleigh News & Observer reported Wednesday that Darren Jackson will resign his seat. Jackson has served as House Minority Leader and represents parts of Wake County.

Former state Senator Marc Basnight, an Outer Banks Democrat who became one of North Carolina's most powerful leaders while serving a record 18 years as Senate leader, died on Monday, a family spokesperson said. He was 73.

Basnight, who had been ill for years with what was later diagnosed as amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, died on Monday afternoon at his Manteo home, according to Amy Fulk, who served as Basnight's chief of staff while he had the chamber's top job.

North Carolina's final outstanding November election was resolved Friday when state officials certified results showing that Paul Newby received the most votes for Supreme Court chief justice.