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North Carolina Gov. Cooper vetoes bill that would have required more juveniles to be tried as adults

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North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper, a Democrat, vetoed a bill Friday that would have mandated that more minors accused of serious crimes automatically be tried as an adult in court.

As it currently stands, some criminal cases involving youth defendants may remain in juvenile proceedings.

House Bill 834 passed the House and Senate with significant bipartisan support before the veto from Cooper, who sided with critics of the measure who warned the changes scale back the provisions of the 2019 “Raise the Age” law that ended a mandate that children of ages 16 and 17 be tried in the adult criminal justice system.

The opposition to automatically prosecuting children in adult court was considered a way to help more young people avoid public, lifetime criminal records for one-time mistakes, while also giving them access to youth-centered resources within the juvenile system, which does not make records public.

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North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper vetoed a bill that would have mandated that more minors accused of serious crimes automatically be tried in adult court. (Sean Rayford/Getty Images)

“I remain concerned that this new law would keep some children from getting treatment they need while making communities less safe,” Cooper wrote in his veto message.

The American Civil Liberties Union wrote in a letter to the governor ahead of his veto that prosecuting children as adults “causes significant harm to young people and does nothing to address the underlying causes of youth crime.”

“The juvenile justice system requires far more accountability, counseling, education, and family involvement than the adult system and it works better,” the letter reads. “Recidivism is significantly higher when children go through the adult system rather than receive the services and punishment from the juvenile system.”

Republican Sen. Danny Britt, who spearheaded the bill, said lawmakers worked to change the law to reflect the reality that young people charged with serious felonies ultimately ended up in adult court and that the legal efforts to move them there from juvenile court were clogging up prosecutors’ juvenile caseloads.

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“From a practical standpoint this process improves efficiency in our courts,” Britt told The Associated Press, adding that he supported the “Raise the Age” legislation and still believes it was the correct move.

North Carolina Governor Roy Cooper speaks at a press conference in Charlotte

House Bill 834 passed the House and Senate with significant bipartisan support before the veto from the governor. (AP Photo/Nell Redmond)

The bill now returns to the General Assembly, where lawmakers will attempt to override the governor’s veto. Eighteen Democrats in the House and Senate combined voted with all Republicans except one in favor of the legislation.

Republicans hold veto-proof majorities in the General Assembly, and overrode all 19 of Cooper’s vetoes last year. A bill that the governor vetoed earlier this year has not yet had a vote to override the veto.

According to juvenile justice law, cases of children ages 16 and 17 accused of the most serious felonies must be moved to adult court after a notice of an indictment or when a hearing determines there is probable cause that a crime was committed. Prosecutors have discretion not to try in adult court children these ages accused of some lower-grade felonies.

H.B. 834 would have ended the transfer requirement for most of these high-level felonies, but instead placed the cases of these minors in adult court automatically.

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North Carolina was the last state where minors of ages 16 and 17 were automatically prosecuted as adults when “Raise the Age” was enacted. Children these ages are still being tried in adult court for vehicle-related crimes.

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Roy Cooper makes speech

The bill now returns to the General Assembly, where lawmakers will attempt to override the governor’s veto. (Nick Ut/Getty Images)

“Most violent crimes, even when committed by teenagers, should be handled in adult court,” Cooper said. “However, there are cases where sentences would be more effective and appropriate to the severity of the crime for teenagers if they were handled in juvenile court, making communities safer. This bill makes this important option highly unlikely.”

The bill would also have established a new process in which a case could be moved from Superior Court to juvenile court if the prosecutor and the defendant’s attorney agree to the transfer, and the adult records would be deleted.

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Children ages 13 through 15 who are accused of first-degree murder will still be automatically transferred to adult court after an indictment or hearing that determines probable cause.

The legislation would also have raised penalties for adults who solicit a minor to commit a crime.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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Southeast

Kentucky nightclub shooting leaves 1 dead, 7 hospitalized

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An early morning shooting at a Louisville, Kentucky, nightclub Saturday left one man dead and seven others hospitalized, police confirmed to Fox News Digital, adding that there are no suspects.

The man was suffering from gunshot wounds when first responders arrived, the Louisville Metro Police Department said in a release, and was pronounced dead at the scene. 

The deceased was identified as Joseph D. Bowers of Indianapolis, The Associated Press reported. 

Another adult who was shot was taken to the hospital with critical and life-threatening wounds following the 12:47 a.m. shooting. 

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An early morning shooting at a Louisville, Kentucky, nightclub Saturday left one man dead and seven others hospitalized, police confirmed to Fox News Digital. (WDRB)

Six other victims with non-life-threatening injuries had also taken themselves to the hospital.

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crime scene tape at shooting scene

Louisville police said they have no suspects in the early Saturday shooting. (WDRB)

The H20 club, located at 25th and Broadway, decided to close after the shooting, the Louisville Courier Journal reported, citing a statement from the Louisville Metro Alcoholic Beverage Control. 

police at the scene

The shooting happened at a nightclub called H20. (WDRB)

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“This decision, made in light of our shared concerns for public safety, allows them time to mourn the tragic loss of their employee while ensuring the community’s well-being,” the statement stated. “The relationship of the victims, if any, is not known at this time.”

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NASCAR's Daniel Suarez, from Mexico, becomes American citizen: 'I did it my way'

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NASCAR driver Daniel Suarez is now an American citizen.

Suarez, from Mexico, took the oath at the field office of U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services in Charlotte, North Carolina.

It wasn’t just the nearly 50 people becoming citizens there for the special day – even NASCAR president Steve Phelps was there, along with members of the rackhouse Racing team, as well as his fiancee.

All of that took Suarez by surprise.

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NASCAR driver Daniel Suarez waves an American flag during a naturalization ceremony, June 18, 2024, in Charlotte, North Carolina. (Noah Watts/Daylon Barr Photography, Trackhouse Racing via AP)

“The most special part of everything was, you see so many people there,” Suarez said Saturday at New Hampshire Motor Speedway. “I was not expecting it. I was not expecting to see so many people.”

“I didn’t think many people were going to really care about it,” Suarez said. “A lot of people really did.”

Suarez’s parents had actually thought about traveling to the United States for his birth, but it wound up being too expensive.

“It’s really funny how my parents, they had that thought before I was born, about being born in the United States, I guess to have more opportunities. They didn’t do it,” he said. “And now, I guess I did it my way.”

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Daniel Suarez taking oath

NASCAR driver Daniel Suarez stands for the “oath of allegiance” during a naturalization ceremony, June 18, 2024, in Charlotte. (Noah Watts/Daylon Barr Photography, Trackhouse Racing via AP)

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Suarez admitted that becoming a citizen wasn’t originally a thought.

“It wasn’t a dream of mine,” Suarez said. “I came to this country to race and compete. I had been working really hard to try and go to the next step and be more competitive. In a blink of an eye, I’ve been already here 12 years.”

He learned, and dedicated himself to, the process of becoming a citizen about six years ago – his team even quizzed him in April in Dover ahead of his citizenship test.

“I felt like it was the right time to start this process. Slowly, I’m getting more and more responsibilities in my life. It was the right time to feel more secure; that I belong here.” 

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Daniel Suarez pre-race

Daniel Suarez walks the grid during qualifying for the NASCAR Cup Series Toyota/Save Mart 350 at Sonoma Raceway on June 8, 2024, in California. (Logan Riely/Getty Images)

Suarez has two career Cup wins – including the closest finish ever at Atlanta Motor Speedway.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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On this day in history, June 23, 1948, Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas is born in Georgia

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Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas was born in Pin Point, Georgia on this day in history, June 23, 1948. 

His entire family grappled with extreme poverty. His parents divorced when he was a toddler; Thomas’ father left the family when young Clarence was only two years old. 

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Eventually, Clarence Thomas was sent to live with his maternal grandfather following a house fire, multiple sources note. 

Thomas’ grandfather had a profound impact on his life: Thomas even titled his 2008 memoir “My Grandfather’s Son.” 

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“I even called him Daddy,” wrote Thomas in his book, “because that was what my mother called him … He was dark, strong, proud and determined to mold me in his image … He was the one hero in my life.”

Said Thomas in a September 2021 speech at the University of Notre Dame, “The single biggest event in my early life was going to live with my grandparents in 1955.”

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Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas was born on June 23, 1948, in Pin Point, Georgia. In his personal memoir, he wrote that his maternal grandfather was “the one hero in my life.” (Drew Angerer/Getty Images)

As a young child, Thomas attended segregated Catholic schools for Black children.

He became the first Black student to be admitted to St. John Vianney, a Catholic minor seminary, said the website Oyez. 

“My nuns and my grandparents lived out their sacred vocation in a time of stark racial animus, and did so with pride with dignity and with honor,” said Thomas at Notre Dame. 

“To this day I revere, admire and love my nuns. They were devout, courageous and principled women,” he said. 

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Despite his academic success at St. John Vianney, Thomas was the recipient of racially charged bullying, said Oyez. 

Following graduation from St. John Vianney, Thomas intended on becoming a Catholic priest. He entered Immaculate Conception Seminary from 1967 to 1968.

He left seminary after again experiencing racism from classmates — and transferred to the College of the Holy Cross in Worcester, Massachusetts. 

Clarence Thomas official portrait

Justice Clarence Thomas, appointed by President George H. W. Bush, took his seat on the Supreme Court on Oct. 23, 1991. (AP Images)

He graduated cum laude in 1971, said Oyez. 

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In 1974, he graduated from Yale Law School and was admitted to law practice in Missouri of that same year, the Supreme Court’s website notes. 

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Thomas worked in various roles throughout the 1970s and 1980s, including doing a stint as assistant secretary for civil rights at the U.S. Department of Education and as chairman of the U.S. Equal Opportunity Commission from 1982 until 1990. 

In 1990 until 1991, Thomas was a judge on the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit. 

Clarence and Ginni Thomas laugh

Clarence Thomas and his wife, Virginia “Ginni” Thomas. Thomas was born on this day in history, June 23, 1948. (Drew Angerer/Getty Images)

President George H. W. Bush appointed Thomas as an associate Supreme Court justice following the retirement of Justice Thurgood Marshall. 

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Marshall was the first Black member of the Supreme Court; Thomas was the second. 

After a highly contentious confirmation hearing, the Senate voted 52-48 to approve Clarence Thomas to the high court, History.com noted.

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He was seated at the court on Oct. 23, 1991, at age 43. 

During his time on the Supreme Court, Thomas has typically associated with the court’s conservative wing. 

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Group picture of the members of the Supreme Court

Members of the Supreme Court pose for a photo in Washington, D.C., on April 23, 2021. Seated, second from left, is Associate Justice Clarence Thomas.  (Erin Schaff-Pool/Getty Images)

Thomas’ Martin-Quinn score — (or MQ score, referring to metrics used to gauge the ideology of Supreme Court justices based on their voting record) — of 3.05 during the 2021-2022 term was the most conservative of anyone on the court, the website Ballotpedia noted.

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Thomas is married to Virginia “Ginni” Thomas. 

He has one son, Jamal, from a previous marriage, said Oyez.

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Mark Paoletta, an attorney, close friend and co-author of the 2022 book, “Created Equal: Clarence Thomas in His Own Words,” told Fox News Digital two years ago of Thomas, “I think he is going to be considered one of our greatest justices. And he’s an originalist who had the courage to apply the Constitution and be faithful to the Constitution into the text of statute, come what may.”

He added, “His legacy is a courageous justice who faithfully applied the Constitution.”

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