The original content of Democracy Now! Headlines appears under the Creative Commons BY-NC-ND 3.0 License (United States). For more, including their other shows and media, visit www.democracynow.org. February 20, 2013 North Carolina Cuts Jobless Benefits, Rejects Federal Aid ---------------------------------------------------------- North Carolina has enacted a new law imposing major cuts to aid for the unemployed. Jobless benefits will be slashed by nearly one-third and recipients will have less time to collect them. In addition to gutting state benefits, the bill also rejects millions of dollars in additional federal aid. North Carolina currently has the nation's fifth-highest official unemployment rate, at 9.2 percent. The measure takes effect on July 1. In a statement, the North Carolina Justice Center denounced Republican Gov. Pat Mc Crory and state lawmakers, saying: "Hundreds of thousands of jobless workers thrown out of work through no fault of their own will face deepening poverty as a result of this decision." .