Budget talks stall. NC targets forever chemicals, gas station heroin

North Carolina state lawmakers begin working to outlaw tianeptine, a drug marketed as a mood enhancer or diet supplement that critics call gas station heroin. Predatory roofers and towing companies may face stricter state scrutiny soon, and a bill to force polluters to pay for cleaning up PFAS chemicals from local drinking water supplies also gets a warm reception in the state House. The state budget is on thin ice, with the House and Senate engaging in a rare public fight over how, or whether, to spend a $1 billion surplus that could be used on state worker raises, child care aid or nothing at all. Plus the elections are heating up, with legal fights over gerrymandering and Democrats continuing to focus on abortion, birth control and IVF.