In the News

Four World War II veterans were presented with long-overdue World War II Victory medals and service lapel pins on Friday during a Veterans Day ceremony in Fayetteville.

And one of the veterans, retired Army Tech. 4 James W. Kennedy, was also awarded the Bronze Star for his actions during battle in Germany in April 1945.

“I remember that day,” Kennedy, 95, said in an interview. “It was a tough day. From start to finish.”

He said he did “the best I could” during the combat.

WASHINGTON — America’s recent mass shootings have increased pressure from gun-rights advocates to pass the National Rifle Association’s top legislative priority: a bill to make it easier to carry concealed weapons across state lines, the bill’s author said Thursday.

Bipartisanship may be on life support in Washington these days, but two North Carolina congressmen were able to revive it in the ambulance.

Rep. G.K. Butterfield, a Wilson Democrat, and Rep. Richard Hudson, a Concord Republican, are heralding the passage of House Bill 304, the Protecting Patient Access to Emergency Medications Act.

Republicans lined up a vote next week in the House on making it easier for gun owners to legally carry concealed weapons across state lines, the first gun-related legislation since mass shootings in Nevada and Texas killed more than 80 people.

The bill is a top priority of the National Rifle Association, which calls it an important step to expand the right of gun owners to travel freely between states without worrying about conflicting state laws or civil suits.

Law enforcement agencies across Moore County teamed up to collect 564 pounds of medication as part of a national campaign to curtail prescription drug abuse.

Organized locally by the Moore County Sheriff’s Office, the National Take Back Initiative gives residents a chance to rid their medicine cabinets of unused or unwanted prescription drugs. Sheriff Neil Godfrey called this year’s initiative, which included events on April 29 and Oct. 28, a “huge success.”

HOPE MILLS, N.C. — Republicans in Congress are looking to deliver pro-growth tax reform before the end of 2017. The Trump Administration, the House Committee on Ways and Means, and the Senate Committee on Finance are banning together to develop a framework for a 21st century tax code.

HOPE MILLS — On Thursday John Buie accompanied the management team from JEB Designs to a trade show in Charlotte to inspect a $60,000 machine for his small screen-printing/embroidery company.

The next day Buie, the firm’s chief financial officer, hosted Republican U.S. Reps. Richard Hudson of North Carolina’s 8th Congressional District and Cathy McMorris Rodgers of Washington to hear about federal tax reform that could let his company buy that machine, and add jobs.

A fledgling company based in Southern Pines believes it might have a solution to part of the country’s ongoing opioid epidemic — and it only costs $1.50.

DisposeRx Inc. says it has developed a compound that can, when combined with water, seal unused and unwanted prescription drugs in a biodegradable goo that makes them impossible to use and can be thrown in the trash.

John Holaday, the company’s co-founder, said he drew his inspiration from the small packet of plant food that often comes with store-bought flowers and is added to water to make the flowers last longer.