The United States Supreme Court received a petition Sept. 20 to hear a case that could potentially alter the interpretation of First Amendment rights for college and university newspapers.
The case, Hosty v. Carter, involves a group of students at Governors State University in Illinois who sued Dean of Student Affairs and Services Patricia Carter for censoring the student paper.
In June, the 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals overturned a lower court decision that ruled against Carter. Because of the confusing precedent on the issue, some legal specialists have speculated that the case has at least a moderate chance of reaching the nation's highest court.
Report reveals mayoral candidate's past
The News & Observer of Raleigh reported Sunday that mayoral candidate Vincent Brown has a more complex criminal history than had previously been revealed. The News & Observer reported that Brown has pled guilty to at least 46 misdemeanor charges and was convicted of multiple felonies.
Brown continues to deny that he has ever been arrested, even though court documents and police reports have since invalidated his claim. The candidate's history has been difficult to piece together because of his reported use of multiple aliases-including multiple dates of birth.
State records have also shown that Brown has spent time in state prison and been associated with over 100 charges in the past 15 years.
Easley picks head of lottery commission
Charles Sanders, former chair and chief executive officer of Glaxo Inc. in Research Triangle Park, was selected Thursday by Gov. Mike Easley to lead the state's new lottery commission. A Durham resident, Sanders is one of nine individuals who were selected to oversee the implementation of the lottery. Easley signed the lottery bill into law in late August.
N.C. approves parole for prison escapee
The state has approved a two-year parole term for a man who spent nearly 28 years living under an assumed name that hid his identity as a prison escapee.
Raymond Scully, who escaped from Pender Correctional Institution in 1977, was arrested in March after he was pulled over in Texas. He had lived nearly three decades as law-abiding Steve Johnson.
Scully, 53, received word this week that he will be paroled Oct. 6 from Pender Correctional Institution.
The decision by the North Carolina Post-Release Supervision and Parole Commission means Scully would be free to leave the Wilmington area upon completion of parole, which could be in one year if supervision is terminated early.
U.S. retail gas prices drop 20 cents
Retail gas prices dropped an average 20 cents in the past two weeks because of decreased demand and a comeback by Gulf Coast refineries that were hurt by Hurricane Katrina, according to a nationwide survey released Sunday.
The weighted average price for all three grades declined to $2.84 a gallon for the two weeks ending Sept. 23, said Trilby Lundberg, who publishes the semimonthly Lundberg Survey of 7,000 gas stations around the country.
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