News
Blue Cross NC deregulation bill could lead to higher premiums, Insurance Commissioner says
Changes to state law that Blue Cross NC wants could mean increased premiums for millions of health insurance policyholders, state Insurance Commissioner Mike Causey said Monday. Blue Cross Blue Shield of North Carolina, a nonprofit health insurer, disagreed with Causey’s assessment. In an email, company spokeswoman Sara Lang said the bill has been revised to […]
Legislation seeks to find out many people in NC are involuntarily committed for mental health treatment
A bill filed this week would require the state to track and report how many people are forced into psychiatric treatment. Involuntary commitments are increasing in the state, but it’s difficult to find out how many many times judges decide people are dangerous to themselves or others and force them into treatment. Rep. John Autry, […]
New push for a revised NC hate crimes law
Jewish and Muslim faith leaders and the director of an Asian Pacific Islander nonprofit joined House Democrats on Tuesday in highlighting the need for a revised hate crime law and a statewide tracking of hate crimes. House bill 596 would expand the law to add ethnicity, gender, disability, and sexual orientation. It creates a new […]
Weekend reads: NC’s new Teacher of the Year, UNC losing faculty and staff, and one word makes a big difference for NC’s environment
In this issue: 1. One-word change in Farm Act could increase greenhouse gas emissions from hog farms A one-word change in the Farm Act could allow hog farmers to capture methane from their waste lagoons, but choose not to use the gas for energy. Instead, the farmer could merely send the potent greenhouse gas through […]
NC Senate Republicans disagree with House counterparts on vouchers, tax cuts
Both Senate Republicans and House Republicans want tax cuts more spending on private school vouchers, but their ideas differ in the details. The differing tax and school voucher proposals could end up as points of conflict in the House and Senate budget proposals. Senate Republicans have lined up behind a universal school voucher program that […]
Judge’s ruling on abortion pill sows chaos
A federal judge’s decision to suspend FDA approval of an abortion pill has added to patient confusion over abortion laws and has doctors making contingency plans. Doctors at Duke are considering various scenarios for patient treatment if, in a few days, mifepristone becomes an unapproved drug. The FDA first approved mifepristone 23 years ago for […]
Weekend reads: Rep. Cotham’s big jump, absentee ballot restrictions, and what’s in the House budget
1. Rep. Tricia Cotham’s party switch gives the House GOP a veto-proof majority Rep. Tricia Cotham formally announced she is switching parties to become a Republican, giving the GOP a veto-proof majority in the state House. Cotham bashed Democrats at a news conference Wednesday morning where Republicans welcomed her to the GOP. Cotham said Democrats had […]
Biden administration appeals judge’s ruling ordering abortion pill off U.S. market
This story has been updated WASHINGTON — The U.S. Department of Justice launched an appeals process Friday that will likely put a landmark decision about access to medication abortion in front of the Supreme Court. The notice of appeal was filed less than three hours after a federal judge in Texas revoked the U.S. Food […]
Bobby Norfleet wasn’t the only elderly imprisoned person in NC eligible for parole
Earlier this week NC Newsline published an in-depth story about Bobby Norfleet, a 67-year-old man who was sentenced to life in prison in 1979. The story is about the myriad ways the justice system failed Norfleet, a poor and disabled Black man who grew up in a big, loving family in small Eastern North Carolina […]
Biden administration rolls out $585 million for Western water projects
The Biden administration will send $585 million to water projects in 11 Western states, Interior Department officials said Wednesday. The funding, provided in the 2021 bipartisan infrastructure law, will go toward 83 projects in Arizona, Colorado, Idaho, Montana, New Mexico, Nevada, Oregon, South Dakota, California, North Dakota and Washington. The law provided $8.3 billion for […]
NC House set to give final approval to its budget proposal today
The state House gave preliminary approval to its $29.8 billion budget Wednesday afternoon with a 78-37 vote. The budget won support from nine Democrats. The House budget includes average teacher raises of about 10% over two years. Most state employees would receive 7.5% raises over two years. The budget is a “fiscally responsible, well thought-out […]
Rep. Tricia Cotham’s party switch gives the House GOP a veto-proof majority
Rep. Tricia Cotham formally announced she is switching parties to become a Republican, giving the GOP a veto-proof majority in the state House. Cotham bashed Democrats at a news conference Wednesday morning where Republicans welcomed her to the GOP. Cotham said Democrats had bullied her, shunned her, tried to tell her what to do, and […]