RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — North Carolina Republicans managed just last fall to enact their long-sought policy ordering local sheriffs to cooperate with federal agents seeking to locate and deport certain jail inmates. Some GOP members already want it tightened further. The GOP-controlled state House approved a measure Tuesday that would subject people accused of more categories of crimes to inquiries about their immigration status. The bill also would make clear that jail officials must contact federal immigration agents if they’re holding someone. Vetoes by then-Gov. Roy Cooper meant Republicans took five years to pass the initial law. The proposed upgrade comes as President Donald Trump pushes an immigration enforcement crackdown nationally.

The Trump administration is expected to soon say whether it intends to stand by strict drinking water standards for forever chemicals set last year. The Environmental Protection Agency has said PFAS increases the risk of cardiovascular disease, certain cancers and babies being born with low birth weight. But reducing PFAS could be costly for thousands of water utilities. The Biden administration said those costs were worth it, but it’s unclear if current EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin will agree. He’s expressed concern about places with marginal amounts of PFAS that could incur high costs to reduce it. There are billions of dollars from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and lawsuits to help communities afford new treatments systems.

NEW ORLEANS (AP) — For hundreds of communities nationwide, plans to protect against natural disasters and climate change have been upended because of the Trump administration’s elimination of a federal grant program. Scrapped projects include relocating flood-damaged homes in Pennsylvania, protecting businesses from stormwater in North Carolina, and safeguarding water supply lines in Oklahoma’s Tornado Alley. The grants have been panned by the Republican White House as wasteful political spending. But those grants were seen by local officials and residents as a vital use of government resources to protect lives, infrastructure and economies with smart investments upfront.

ELIZABETH CITY, N.C. (AP) — A shooting at a small college in eastern North Carolina left one person dead and six others wounded and prompted a campus lockdown. The shooting early Sunday occurred in the center of Elizabeth City State University’s campus. It happened after the final event of the historically Black university’s weeklong Viking Fest celebration. The school says a 24-year-old man who was not a student was pronounced dead. Four people sustained gunshot wounds, including three students, while two other students were injured during the commotion. None of the injuries were considered life-threatening. The university is about 50 miles south of Norfolk, Virginia.

CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) — State and local election officials from around the country in North Carolina have questioned the leaders of a federal agency tasked by President Donald Trump with implementing parts of his sweeping election overhaul executive order, with some expressing concerns about the consequences for voters and the people in charge of voting. Whether the Republican president can order an independent agency to act and whether the commission has the authority to do what Trump wants will likely be settled in court. The commission is an independent federal agency and is at the center of Trump’s March 25 order that directs the commission to update the national voter registration form to include a proof-of-citizenship requirement and revise guidelines for voting systems.