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Sun. Headlines: In S.C., Clinton Says She'd Break Up Banks, If Needed; Holiday Travel to Rise

Charlotte's roads are jammed, but the McCrory administration says the state's new road funding formula will help.
David Boraks
/
WFAE

Hillary Clinton says she would be willing to break up big financial institutions if the need arose.  The front runner for the Democratic presidential nomination spoke at a Democratic Party rally in North Charleston Saturday.  Meanwhile, more Carolinians are expected to travel this year for Thanksgiving, and they'll find much lower gas prices.

IN S.C., CLINTON SAYS SHE'S TOUGH ON WALL STREET

She says she has the "toughest" proposals for dealing with Wall Street, and would "break up the big banks" if necessary and hold top financial executives accountable.

The issue of Clinton's ties to Wall Street is getting a fresh look after last weekend's Democratic presidential debate. Both of her primary rivals back reinstating the law known as Glass-Steagall, which once separated commercial and investment banks. But Clinton and her advisers argue that Glass-Steagall would not have prevented the failure of large financial institutions, such as investment bank Lehman Brothers and insurer AIG, during the Great Recession.

SANDERS: I'D LOSE IF ELECTION WERE TODAY

Clinton’s main rival Bernie Sanders also was at the rally, where he acknowledged to reporters that he would lose the state Democratic primary if the election were held now.   The Vermont senator told reporters he feels confident that his campaign will continue to pick up steam here and in other places.    But Sanders said that he started with much lower name recognition than and is still introducing himself to voters. 

MORE TRAVELERS FOR THANKSGIVING

More Carolinians are expected to travel for the Thanksgiving holiday this year.   AAA estimates that about 1.3 million North Carolina residents will travel at least 50 miles from home during the holiday weekend – a modest increase over last year.   About 660-thousand South Carolinians are expected to do the same.  Gas prices in both states are about 70-cents lower than they were last Thanksgiving.

GOVERNOR PRESSES COOPER TO OPPOSE TRANSGENDER RULES

Governor Pat McCrory is calling on Attorney General Roy Cooper to join with South Carolina in opposing a lawsuit that seeks to allow transgender students to use school locker and bathrooms of the sex they identify with. McCrory, a Republican, wants North Carolina to join South Carolina in a friend-of-the-court brief in a Virginia case seeking to overturn local rules. McCrory calls the lawsuit by the federal government and the ACLU a “federal overreach,” and says transgender students shouldn’t be allowed to use bathrooms not of their biological sex.

Attorney General Cooper is a Democrat now running for governor. McCrory will be up for re-election next fall.  In the letter, McCrory tells Cooper he wants an answer by noon Nov. 25, or he will "take all  necessary and appropriate actions to see that North Carolina's interests are represented."

See the letter from McCrory to Cooperon the governor's website.  Find background on the case, G.G. v. Gloucester County School Board, on ACLU.org.

CRIME LAB DIRECTOR REPORTS A TURNAROUND

The director of North Carolina's once-maligned crime lab says the facility has cut its turnaround time by an average of 150 days, to under a year and it’s close to being fully staffed.  Attrition and funding remain major issues, but director John Byrd says the lab can no longer be the scapegoat for the state's criminal justice system.  Byrd updated the lab's status in a report last month to legislators. Some law enforcement agencies believe change isn't happening quickly enough and have taken matters into their own hands by building their own labs or outsourcing some types of analysis. And some defense attorneys remain skeptical of analysts' objectivity since the lab is under the auspices of the attorney general, the state's top prosecutor.

BIG SPORTS DAY

It's a big day for local sports fans. The undefeated Carolina Panthers hope to stay that way. They’re hosting the Washington Redskins at 1 o’clock at Bank of America Stadium.

Four drivers are in the running for NASCAR’s Sprint Cup championship. The title will be decided this afternoon at in Homestead, Florida. Jeff Gordon, Kevin Harvick, Kyle Bush and Martin Truex Jr. are the four remaining drivers … The 400 mile race starts at 3:15.  

The Charlotte Checkers are at San Antonio today … Game time against the Rampage is 5 o’clock.

BUESCHER WINS XFINITY TITLE

Chris Buescher won the Xfinity Series championship, helping offset the sting of an unsatisfying season in Sprint Cup for Roush Fenway Racing.  The 23-year-old Buescher won the title by finishing 11th Saturday in the season finale at Homestead-Miami Speedway, bringing home a fifth second-tier series crown for team owner Jack Roush.  Buescher was the last driver on the lead lap and finished 15.9 seconds behind race winner Kyle Larson.   Buescher needed to finish 13th or better without leading a lap to win the championship.

Larson had led most of the race early and cleared Austin Dillon for good with four laps left for his third career Xfinity win.  Dillon, the 2013 series champion, was second, followed by Truck Series champ Erik Jones, Brian Scott and Ryan Blaney.