First Drip (8/28/15): Driver's ed to drop from CMS programs next week

by

comment
Driver's education will no longer be offered to CMS students through the school system when the temporary school budget expires next week. The law currently requires 16- and 17-year-old kids to take driver's ed to get a license, but the Senate budget would only require 85 hours of driving with a licensed adult and a score of at least 85 percent on the written DMV test. Gov. Pat McCrory has spoke in support of privatizing driver's ed, saying that if someone can't afford driver's education courses, they probably can't afford a car. CMS students currently pay $55 for driver's ed, but a course reportedly runs between $300 and $400. 

Attorneys for Randall Kerrick met with media yesterday and called on the attorney general's office not to pursue a retrial in the voluntary manslaughter case of his client for the shooting death of Jonathan Ferrell. Kerrick is still charged in the case, but prosecutors have not yet said whether they plan to retry him. 

The father of slain Roanoke, Virginia journalist Alison Parker appeared on Fox News' "The Kelly File" last night and spoke about the last time he had heard from his daughter. Andy Parker also vowed to become an activist for tougher gun laws, saying he wanted to do something about crazy people getting guns. "I'm going to do something, whatever it takes, to get gun legislation; to shame people, to shame legislators into doing something about closing loopholes and background checks and making sure crazy people don't get guns," Parker said. "This is not the last you've heard of me. This is something that is Alison's legacy that I want to make happen."

The economy grew at a 1.4-percent faster rate in the second quarter of 2015 than originally reported, according to reports. Original reports from the Commerce Department in July put the economy's growth at 2.3 percent, but no reports based on increased corporate spending put the number at 3.7 percent.