As more private equity firms acquire skilled nursing facilities, often homes that already have a low rating by federal regulators, the North Carolina lawsuit represents just one attempt made by frail elderly residents to fight back against deep-pocketed investors.
Attorney General Eric Holder has waged a litigation war against voter-ID laws as well as state efforts to reduce early-voting periods and eliminate same-day voter registration. These practical reforms, he huffs, are intended to suppress the votes of minorities. But the lawsuit filed by the Department of Justice and a number of civil-rights groups against North Carolina over such measures is unintentionally revealing. The filing makes it clear that these self-appointed champions of minorities have a thoroughly patronizing attitude toward black and Hispanic Americans.
WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. (AP) A North Carolina man has been sentenced to more than 16 years in prison for shooting a sheriff's deputy who was trying to execute a search warrant, the U.S. Department of Justice said Thursday.