North Carolina

NC Democratic lawmakers file new version of maternal health care bill

Published

8 months ago

April 21, 2025

NC Democratic lawmakers file new version of maternal health care bill

A state senator hopes that the third time is the charm for a bill aimed at improving maternal care for North Carolina mothers.

Sen. Natalie Murdock, NC-Chatham, along with her Democratic colleagues in the NC House, filed Senate Bill 571/House Bill 725, known as the MOMnibus Act.

The bill, if passed, would establish grants for community-based organizations, provide implicit bias training for maternal care professionals, fund lactation consultant training programs at historically Black colleges, establish a perinatal education grant program and create the “Mom-nibus” initiative, which seeks to bring care to mothers and babies in areas without access care access.

Charity Watkins, an assistant professor of social work at North Carolina Central University, and Gabriel Scott, an MPA with the North Carolina State Coalition of the National Council of Negro Women, both said they experienced the issues many other women of color could face if the bill is not passed.

“I’m highly educated [and] I am able to advocate for myself,” Watkins said. “Yet, I was dismissed, and my symptoms could have easily resulted in me losing my life.”

“I was telling the nurses and the staff, ‘Hey, I’m in full-blown labor. I need some medication, please, for pain management,’ I actually was ignored,” Scott said.

Murdock said one goal of the bill is to make situations like Watkins and Scott’s far less common.

“The data shows us Black women continue to be three to four times more likely to die from childbirth, even with education,” Murdock said.

This is the fourth time Murdock has introduced the MOMnibus. She first sponsored the bill as SB 632/HB 507 in 2021, HB 552/SB 467 in 2023 and SB 838 in 2024.

Dr. Michelle Benoit-Wilson, an OBGYN in the state, said the MOMnibus bill is exactly the kind of legislation the state needs.

“We need to stop using politics as a bouncing ball, as opposed to recognizing the core problem, which is that women are dying, and they shouldn’t be,” Benoit-Wilson said.

The current version has no Republican sponsors, who control both chambers of the state legislature. In all previous iterations, the bill didn’t make it out of the committee in either chamber.

The latest bill is unlikely to pass during the 2025 legislative session, but NC Rep. Julie von Haefen, D-Wake, said getting the messaging out is just as important.

“Even if we can’t get the bill passed in the General Assembly right now, we need to build the momentum so that when we finally are in a position to get some of these things passed, we have the advocates,” von Haefen said.

WRAL New on Friday reached out to State Senate Pro Tem Phil Berger and House Speaker Destin Hall, both Republicans, for comment on the bill and are waiting to hear back.

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North Carolina

Lower gas prices and open roads create ideal holiday travel conditions for NC travelers

Published

10 hours ago

December 22, 2025

Press Room

Lower gas prices and open roads create ideal holiday travel conditions for NC travelers

ASHEVILLE, N.C. (WLOS0 — Nearly 3.7 million North Carolinians are expected to travel at least 50 miles from home over the 13-day year-end holiday period that started on Saturday, Dec. 20.

Thaissa Braga, a Florida resident who traveled by car to spend the holidays in Asheville.

WHITE CHRISTMAS UNLIKELY FOR MANY IN U.S. WITH WARM TEMPERATURES IN HOLIDAY FORECAST

“We thought we needed snow tires for the wheels and stuff, but it wasn’t anything like that. It was smooth sailing, not many accidents along the way. We did leave at 4:30 in the morning, so that was a little crazy, but it was worth it,” Braga said.

One plus for anyone traveling by car to their holiday destination this year is that gas prices are lower than they were last year, with the national average dipping below $3 per gallon for the first time in four years.

According to the same AAA report, which anticipates nearly 3.7 million North Carolinians traveling over the year-end holiday period, it also says that most of them travel by car.

DEC. 21, 2025 – Nearly 3.7 million North Carolinians are expected to travel at least 50 miles from home over the 13-day year-end holiday period that started on Saturday, Dec. 20. (Photo: WLOS Staff)

To help drivers get to their destinations safely and on time, the North Carolina Department of Transportation removed all lane closures where possible across the state through Jan. 2.

However, David Uchiyama with NCDOT says there are some areas in western North Carolina where the lane closures must remain in place, like the stretch of Interstate 40 going through the Pigeon River Gorge.

“It’s open with one lane in each direction, a 35-mile-an-hour speed limit, narrow shoulders,” said David Uchiyama, the Western Communications Manager with NCDOT.

Uchiyama is reminding drivers to plan their trips ahead of time, and he says one helpful resource is drivenc.gov.

DEC. 21, 2025 - Nearly 3.7 million North Carolinians are expected to travel at least 50 miles from home over the 13-day year-end holiday period that started on Saturday, Dec. 20. (Photo: WLOS Staff)

One person who planned for her trip is Asheville resident Emily Lamb; however, she’s flying instead of driving to visit her family in Ohio.

“Preparing for this trip looked like calculating my PTO for one. And then really comparing plane ticket prices and timing of things. And overall, just being intentional with any gifts I take home,” Lamb said.

According to the AAA report, over 200,000 of the North Carolina Holiday travelers will travel by plane.

ASHEVILLE REGIONAL AIRPORT SHARES HOLIDAY TRAVEL TIPS AMID ONGOING RENOVATIONS

The Asheville Airport published holiday travel tips online, telling people to make a parking plan before arriving at the airport.

A helpful resource is their website, which has a map of their parking areas.

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North Carolina

Life-threatening injuries reported after shooting on I-73 South near Wendover Avenue, Greensboro police say

Published

22 hours ago

December 21, 2025

Press Room

Life-threatening injuries reported after shooting on I-73 South near Wendover Avenue, Greensboro police say

GREENSBORO, N.C. (WGHP) — One person was left with life-threatening injuries in an overnight shooting Sunday, according to the Greensboro Police Department.

At 12:52 a.m., officers responded to a man down call at Interstate 73 South just before the Wendover Avenue exit and found one shooting victim with life-threatening injuries. They were taken to a local hospital.

I-73 South at Wendover Avenue was closed following the shooting. As of 10:22 a.m. Sunday, the road is still closed.

No suspect information was available.

The investigation is ongoing.

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North Carolina

Seth Trimble returns to lead No. 12 North Carolina past Ohio State 71-70

Published

1 day ago

December 21, 2025

Press Room

Seth Trimble returns to lead No. 12 North Carolina past Ohio State 71-70

ATLANTA (AP) — Henri Veesaar scored the winning basket on a dunk with 7.2 seconds remaining off a pass from a stumbling Seth Trimble, and No. 12 North Carolina held off Ohio State 71-70 on Saturday.

Trimble, playing his first game since breaking his left forearm in a Nov. 9 training mishap, wanted to shoot but tripped as he spun into the lane. As the senior guard was falling, he dished the ball to Veesaar, who slipped past his defender for the emphatic slam.

Ohio State had two chances to pull off the upset.

John Mobley Jr. missed a 3-point try, only to have Devin Royal grab the offensive rebound under the basket. He went back up ahead of the horn, but Caleb Wilson blocked the shot to preserve the win for the Tar Heels.

Trimble, who played with a wrap covering much of his left arm, and Veesaar both finished with 17 points. Wilson led North Carolina (11-1) with 20.

Trimble also did a stellar defensive job on Ohio State star Bruce Thornton, who was held to 16 points on 7-of-16 shooting. He came into the game hitting 60.2% from the field.

Royal led the Buckeyes (8-3) with 18 points.

Mobley put Ohio State ahead on a 3-pointer with 48.7 seconds to go, also drawing a foul that made it a four-point play for a 70-67 lead.

Trimble hit a drive in the lane to cut the margin, and Jarin Stevenson made a steal as Ohio State tried to get the ball into the frontcourt to set up the winning basket.

It was the second game of the CBS Sports Classic at State Farm Arena in Atlanta. Kentucky defeated No. 22 St. John’s 78-66 in the opener.

Up next

Ohio State hosts Grambling State on Tuesday.

North Carolina is back in Chapel Hill to face East Carolina on Monday.

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