WASHINGTON — Last summer, Texas Republican Rep. John Ratcliffe withdrew himself from consideration to be the national intelligence director, just days after President Donald Trump nominated him for the job.  Key Senate Republicans appeared reluctant to fully embrace the nominee — who has a reputation as a conservative firebrand in the U.S. House — and Ratcliffe faced accusations that he embellished his resume from his time as a federal prosecutor. Trump revived the nomination again in February, calling Ratcliffe “an outstanding man of great talent!” on Twitter. 

U.S. House incumbents, vacant seat favorites also pile up big fundraising advantages WASHINGTON — Democrats are plowing cash into North Carolina congressional races in the hopes of sending a much bluer delegation to the U.S. Capitol next year.  Democratic donors — including Hollywood producers and influential politicians — helped U.S. Senate candidate Cal Cunningham to outraise North Carolina Republican Sen. Thom Tillis in the first quarter of this year. The race promises to be among the most closely watched and expensive political contests of 2020 as Democrats hope ousting Tillis will help them flip control of the upper chamber of Congress.

WASHINGTON — Sen. Richard Burr (R-N.C.), who’s facing a political firestorm for selling off stocks ahead of the COVID-19 pandemic, has asked for a Senate ethics investigation into his actions.  The Senate Select Committee on Ethics operates largely in secret, dismisses the vast majority of allegations it receives and involves senators policing their own colleagues. The public usually doesn’t know which complaints are before the panel or how they’re resolved. 

WASHINGTON — Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell doesn’t allow many bills to get floor votes these days, but he made an exception Tuesday for two bills intended to curb abortion access.  Two GOP-led anti-abortion bills failed on procedural votes Tuesday as expected. The politically charged bills have both failed during previous Senate floor votes and were widely viewed as Republican messaging bills intended to animate the GOP base and to force moderate Democrats to take difficult stances ahead of the November elections. 

WASHINGTON — Black mothers and babies are dying at staggering rates in North Carolina and throughout the country.   The national statistics are alarming: Black women are three to four times more likely to die from pregnancy-related issues than white women, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. American Indian women are also more than twice as likely to die due to pregnancy-related issues than white women. 

Most North Carolinians favor stricter gun laws, according to recent polling, but efforts to advance gun safety legislation have languished in the state General Assembly. 

National education policy divide on display as D's, R's spar over controversial education secretary WASHINGTON — When U.S. House Democrats berated Education Secretary Betsy DeVos on Thursday, North Carolina Republicans came to her defense.

A momentous clash over gun rights is headed to the U.S. Supreme Court. The high court is slated to hear oral arguments on Monday in a case over a New York City handgun regulation. It marks the first major gun control dispute to reach the Supreme Court since its ideological shift with the appointment of Justice Brett Kavanaugh, and legal observers are billing it as the biggest Second Amendment case to come before the high court in years.

North Carolina Republicans are using procedural arguments to dismiss the relevance of the U.S. House impeachment investigation against President Donald Trump.