(AP) -- The leader of the North Carolina Senate says there's no change in the political faceoff with Democratic Gov. Beverly Perdue over extending unemployment benefits for the long-term jobless.
Republican Senate leader Phil Berger of Rockingham County said Tuesday there's no movement on restoring the benefits nearly a month after they were cut off.
Berger says he hopes Perdue changes her mind after vetoing the General Assembly's move to extend the benefits only if the governor accepts double-digit cuts before budget negotiations begin in earnest. Perdue called the linkage "extortion."
Minority Democrats have been unable to force a vote on a measure that simply changes the formula that would allow the unemployed to keep receiving benefits from the federal government for up to 99 weeks.
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