Good morning, y’all. Here is some news.
1. Donald Trump all but clinched the Republican presidential nomination last night. He won Indiana, and Cruz dropped out of the race. Reince Priebus called Trump “the presumptive GOP nominee.” Well—here we go. This is about to get really real.
Bernie Sanders won the Democratic primary in Indiana. He says he still has a path to the Democratic nomination. The delegate math suggests otherwise. But if Trump can become the Republican nominee for president, who can say anything with certainty anymore?
2. McCrory opens about his HB 2 feelings. The governor appeared on
The Big Show with John Boy and Billy to discuss all the injustices that have been visited upon him as a result of HB 2. Roy Cooper’s campaign rushed out a transcript of the interview because of how nuts McCrory sounds. Here’s a taste:
MCCRORY: And then I got companies, I got a company like PayPal, that was going to open up a call center here in Charlotte, 300 or 400 employees, and all of a sudden they said we’re not coming anymore because you passed this anti-equal rights bill. And I said no we didn’t, we passed a privacy bill. And by the way in our government buildings we still encourage other restrooms or showers, make exceptions, we’ll provide, look at alternatives way we can deal with this new thing.
HOST: They could’ve done something like that!
MCCRORY: Right. But PayPal, whose headquarters are in Singapore—
HOST: And how do they treat these—?
MCCRORY: Not too good. And who do business in China.
HOST: Uh-huh. How’s that?
MCCRORY: Not too good. And who do business in Sudan. You know, they cut your head off for being a gay and lesbian, and yet they can’t do business in North Carolina. And by the way, PayPal is still doing business. About every day I get something from PayPal on my iPhone. My iPhone made in China. I mean the hypocrisy.
HOST: It really is
He also called the Human Rights Commission “Machiavellian” and trotted out his bad line, first uttered on Meet the Press, about it being more powerful than the NRA. Listen to the full deal here.
3. Beyonce in Raleigh was kind of a shit-show. Huge traffic delays on the way to the stadium. A late start. Then a weather delay that many thought was a cancelation. Then Beyonce came back to perform at 11:30 p.m. Not good. From WRAL:
North Carolina State University’s Carter-Finley Stadium, the outdoor venue for Beyonce’s Formation World Tour, was scheduled to open at 5:30 p.m. but fans were asked to wait in their vehicles for over an hour until it was safe to enter the stadium.
Some fans who paid hundreds of dollars to see Beyonce sat in traffic hours after the show was scheduled to start, trying to get to the stadium.
Many abandoned their cars along Interstate 40 and walked to the stadium, but authorities said vehicles would not be towed as long as they were not blocking the roadway.
Pretty good roundup of this misery from WNCN here. Also from this Twitter account.
4. Fayetteville basketball coach picked up for sexual abuse. From WNCN:
Fayetteville police said they have been bombarded with calls since a former volunteer school coach and current AAU basketball coach was charged with sex crimes with children.
Lt. John Somerindyke said calls have been pouring in regarding sexual assault accusations against Rodney Scott, who still leads an AAU basketball team in Fayetteville.
“It’s too many to count, investigative detective bombarded with calls on his cell phone and it’s continuing today,” said Lt. Somerindyke.
Some of the accusations date back as many as 20 years involving both male and female victims. Four detectives have been assigned to work solely on this case.
Dude has worked in Cumberland County Schools on and off for the last nineteen years. “Coach Scott,” the kids call him. Coach Scott has a $100,000 bond.
5. Orange County snake hoarding! Guy gets bit by a king cobra snake, animal services goes to his house, find a shitload more snakes. From Chapelboro:
Orange County Animal Services director Bob Marotto confirmed on Tuesday afternoon that Ali Iyoob was in the Intensive Care Unit at UNC receiving treatment for the bite.
Marotto said the king cobra was not the only reptile in the residence.
“We have a sense that there are a large number of snakes, more than 20,” Marotto said, “and that they include venomous snakes, constrictive snakes and then other garden-variety snakes, if you will, that are neither constrictive nor venomous.”
Terrifying. Just terrifying. Enjoy your day.
