NC House to take up medical marijuana bill, after weeks of uncertainty
The North Carolina House will consider a medical marijuana legalization proposal on Tuesday morning, more than 12 weeks after the Senate passed the bill with bipartisan support.
On Wednesday, the “Compassionate Care Act,” the very first bill filed in the N.C. Senate this session, was added to the House’s calendar for 10 a.m. on Tuesday, May 30. It is set for discussion only, meaning no votes will be taken that day.
The bill allows medical marijuana use statewide for people who have cancer, ALS, Parkinson’s disease, epilepsy, post-traumatic stress disorder and other ailments. It does not allow recreational use and does not cover ailments such as chronic pain. It also has limited permits and new regulations.
Last year, the bill passed the Senate but died in the House. This made its future this session uncertain, accentuated recently by the lack of movement in the House, where it has not yet been heard in any committees or gotten any votes and previously had not been placed on any calendar.
Earlier this year, House Speaker Tim Moore said that the Senate’s medical marijuana bill had “decent prospects of passage” and that there had been a shift in opinion in the House.
—The Charlotte Observer
Walmart to pay fine for selling illegal brass knuckles to Californians
LOS ANGELES -- Walmart has agreed to pay $500,000 to settle allegations that it illegally sold brass knuckles to Californians through its website, according to state Attorney General Rob Bonta.
Bonta announced in a news release Tuesday that Walmart will be required to pay the California Department of Justice and the Merced County, Ventura County and Yolo County district attorneys' offices $125,000 each in civil penalties.
The retailer is also prohibited from selling brass knuckles on its website and will be required to stop third-party sellers from selling illegal weapons on its platform.
Walmart's website serves as an e-commerce platform for third-party sellers and allows the retailers to sell products to consumers directly.
"Illegal weapons have no place in California," Bonta said. "The settlement we have reached with Walmart makes crystal clear that online retailers are responsible for what they are allowing to be offered for sale in our state."
According to the attorney general's complaint, about 250 brass knuckles were sold through Walmart's website, with 60% of the products sold directly by Walmart and the rest through third-party sellers.
—Los Angeles Times
Retired Chicago police officer shot while trying to stop a carjacking
A retired 78-year-old Chicago police officer was shot early Wednesday morning while trying to stop a carjacking in the Austin neighborhood on the West Side, Chicago police said.
Around 1:45 a.m., the retired officer saw his neighbor getting carjacked in the 300 block of North Mayfield Avenue. When the carjacker began firing at his neighbor he exchanged gunfire with the offender, police said.
At some point, the carjacker fled north on Mayfield in the neighbor’s black Jeep, and crashed into a parked car in the 600 block of North Waller Avenue. A weapon was recovered from the original scene.
The retired officer suffered a graze wound to the thumb and was taken to a hospital where he was listed in good condition. The neighbor, 52, was not injured during the carjacking.
Detectives are investigating.
—Chicago Tribune
Israel passes budget with big grants to ultra-Orthodox
Israel’s parliament passed a national two-year budget that includes billions of dollars in funding for West Bank settlements and religious programs, stabilizing Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s right-wing coalition. The shekel weakened as critics warned the plan would suppress rather than spur economic growth.
Under the Likud party’s agreements with its governing partners, the cabinet approved an unprecedented 13.7 billion shekels ($3.7 billion) in discretionary spending. Much of the outlay — which exceeds the total 2023 budget for public hospitals or state-funded higher education — will finance programs prized by ultra-Orthodox Jews. A smaller amount was earmarked for settlements on land the Palestinians want for their own state.
The shekel fell against the US dollar for a third day Wednesday, reaching a three-year low, amid concern the new spending plan could harm economic growth and statements by senior defense officials that Israel is preparing for a possible conflict with Iran. The currency, which stood out in the previous decade by gaining against the dollar, is one of the worst performers in emerging markets this year, having lost 5.6%. Options traders boosted bets on further losses, sending one-month risk reversals up by the most since March.
—Bloomberg News
