Opinion Roundup: Aug. 10, 2016 -- Trump in N.C., coal ash and clean water, voting, HB2 and more

Further into the muck with Mr. Trump (New York Times editorial) -- Three months from the presidential election, and one day after his running mate promised “specific policy proposals for how we rebuild this country at home and abroad,” Americans find themselves asking whether Donald Trump has called for the assassination of Hillary Clinton.

Tom Reeder & Randall Williams: Believe us, N.C. is protecting drinking water (Salisbury Post column) –Recent media stories and editorials have given support to the questionable and inconsistent scientific conclusions reached by toxicologist Ken Rudo and have created unnecessary fear and confusion among North Carolinians who are concerned about the safety of their drinking water. Scientists do and should continuously question the status quo, and disagreement among them is to be expected. But both media and scientists should also be expected to recognize facts.

Long voting lines may be coming, courtesy of the GOP (Charlotte Observer) -- Early voting hours may be on the chopping block in North Carolina despite a federal court ruling aimed at making voting easier.

Paychecks reveal the real toll of HB2 (Charlotte Observer column) – To say that economic devastation due to HB2 is a “false narrative” reveals that N.C. Budget Director Andrew Heath may be good at balancing the books, but inept at financial analysis.

ALLEN JOHNSON: McCrory's formula for success based on lowest common denominator (Greensboro News & Record column) -- Here’s hoping someone is actually reading them before these emails go out. A case on point is a ranting Breitbart opinion piece about HB 2 from the McCrory campaign that popped up this afternoon and seems to suggest that, without the governor's infamous bathroom law, civilization as we know it would crumble. Also, in case you didn't know, it's a vast left-wing conspiracy.

ECU's campus speech codes hamstring students’ growth (Wilson Times) -- Students at East Carolina University are having a rough time transitioning from adolescence to adulthood, with many finding themselves ill-equipped for the rigors of undergrad life.

TILLIS: Our right on the Supreme Court (USA Today) -- Voters, not a lame-duck president, should decide the composition of the highest court in the land.