S.B. 20, most of which goes into effect on July 1, prohibits abortion after 12 weeks of pregnancy and medication abortion after 10 weeks of pregnancy. Physicians who perform abortions said they are worried about how the law could impact medical decision-making and the wider healthcare field.
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If passed, House Bill 596, otherwise known as the Hate Crimes Prevention Act, would increase punishments for those who commit hate crimes, require additional training for law enforcement and prosecutors and mandate the establishment of a hate crimes statistics database.
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Republican lawmakers in the North Carolina House filed House Bill 673 on April 18, which would criminalize drag shows in the presence of minors statewide. The proposed bill makes a first offense a Class A1 misdemeanor and subsequent offenses Class I felonies, punishable by 3 to 12 months imprisonment.
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Lt. Gov. Mark Robinson announced today at Ace Speedway in Alamance County that he is running for North Carolina governor. Robinson has been hinting at a run for months and is widely viewed as the favorite to win the Republican nomination — setting up a potential showdown with Democratic frontrunner Attorney General Josh Stein.
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If passed, N.C. Senate Bill 458 would expand protections for individuals present at the scene of overdoses where medical assistance is called. Current North Carolina law lacks such immunity provisions for everyone at the scene of an overdose.
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On April 10, North Carolina Attorney General Josh Stein and two dozen other attorney generals filed an amicus brief in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit regarding the recent district court order that suspended the approval of mifepristone, an abortion pill. The district court's order will be paused until Wednesday, April 19 at 11:59 p.m. while the U.S. Supreme Court considers whether to grant the Biden administration’s emergency request to preserve the FDA’s approval. “Abortion is a deeply personal decision and is an issue that people have wide-ranging opinions. But, ultimately, that's a decision that women should have the freedom to make for themselves,” Stein said. “And that's why I'm in court fighting to ensure women can continue to access this medication.”
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The North Carolina Teaching Fellowship program accepted 132 applicants this year — the largest class of students since the program was reinstated by the N.C. General Assembly in 2017. The program is designed to recruit, prepare and support students attending North Carolina higher education institutions to become teachers in the high-need areas of science, mathematics and education of exceptional children.
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State Senators and Representatives filed Senate Bill 51 and House Bill 39, also known as "Kayla’s Act." S.B. 51 unanimously passed the state Senate and was sent to the House on March 29 and is currently in committees. If passed, the law will allow survivors of domestic violence to testify remotely, even if the defendant objects.
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In 2021, 64 percent of reviewed allegations against North Carolina juveniles were approved by a juvenile court counselor for court. Instead of sending youth who commit low-level, nonviolent offenses into the juvenile justice system, law enforcement can send them to the Youth Deflection Program, where students are further supported and connected with community resources.
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Orange County residents lead the state's average life expectancy by almost four years. According to the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation’s 2019 U.S. health map, the average life expectancy for a North Carolina resident is 78.2 years, while the average in Orange County is 82.1. Social determinants, such as health care access and housing, contribute to the higher life expectancy in Orange County.
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N.C. House Bill 304, a bill that would disallow the three-day grace period covering mail-in ballots that arrive after Election Day, has advanced in the state House as of April 4. A similar bill passed bicamerally in 2021, but was stopped by Gov. Roy Cooper's veto.
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The North Carolina Democratic Party held a press conference outside its headquarters this afternoon, only a few hours after Rep. Tricia Cotham (R-Mecklenburg) officially announced her departure from the Democratic party, where speakers urged Cotham to resign her office.
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N.C. Rep. Tricia Cotham (R-Mecklenburg) held a press conference this morning at the N.C. GOP Headquarters in Raleigh with state Republican leaders to announce her official defection from the Democratic Party. Cotham's switch gives Republicans a supermajority in both houses of the N.C. General Assembly, allowing them to push through policy more easily and override any of Democratic Governor Roy Cooper's vetoes.
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North Carolina House Bill 533, which bans abortions in North Carolina at conception unless to preserve the life of the mother, was filed on March 29. The "Human Life Protection Act of 2023" does not allow exceptions for abortions to occur in cases of rape or incest.
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Dreamville Festival, put on by rapper J. Cole’s record label of the same name, claims to be “one of the most anticipated annual events in the state of North Carolina," according to its website. The event drew a crowd of over 50,000 people to Raleigh's Dorothea Dix Park, where they got to see several popular rap, hip hop and R&B music acts including J. Cole, Drake and surprise guests like Lil Uzi Vert.
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