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North Carolina lawmakers send governor last-minute changes to state’s recently passed abortion law | CNN Politics

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North Carolina lawmakers send governor last-minute changes to state’s recently passed abortion law | CNN Politics




CNN
 — 

The North Carolina General Assembly on Tuesday gave final approval to a bill that includes some last-minute changes to the state’s recently passed abortion law.

The Republican-controlled legislature sent the bill to the Democratic governor’s desk, just a day before a federal judge is set to hear a motion seeking a temporary restraining order to prevent the abortion law from taking effect. The new law, which bans most abortions after 12 weeks, is set to go into effect on July 1.

CNN has reached out to Gov. Roy Cooper’s office about his plans for the bill.

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The surprise amendment, which makes significant tweaks to the new abortion law, was added to House Bill 190, an unrelated measure focusing on the Department of Health and Human Services late last week in the state Senate.

In a Tuesday filing in opposition to granting the temporary restraining order, on behalf of Republican House Speaker Tim Moore and Senate leader Phil Berger, attorneys admitted that the changes contained in the amendment were addressing issues raised by the lawsuit.

“The Legislative Leaders respectfully request that the Court deny the Motion for Temporary Restraining Order (‘TRO’), and permit normal briefing on preliminary injunction issues, if any, that may remain,” wrote W. Ellis Boyle, an attorney for Moore and Berger. “The General Assembly is working to pass and enact, with or without the Governor’s signature, a technical and conforming bill to make changes to clarify and address most, if not all, aspects of Plaintiffs’ claims about the Act.”

The lawsuit filed earlier this month by Planned Parenthood South Atlantic, along with other organizations and an OB/GYN, claims the legislation contains several inconsistencies and vague language that could potentially violate constitutional rights.

For example, the lawsuit questions whether a provision stating it is unlawful “after the twelfth week of a woman’s pregnancy to advise, procure, or cause a miscarriage or abortion” would prevent a person from legally providing information about how to obtain a legal, out-of-state abortion – something the lawsuit says would be a First Amendment violation. The new amendment would remove the word “advise” from that portion of the law’s text.

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Another measure that has been repeatedly highlighted in debate is language that regulates medication abortion. CNN has reported that while the law bans most abortions after 12 weeks into a pregnancy, it adds a separate, 10-week deadline for medication abortion in one section.

The lawsuit notes that instructions for physicians providing medication abortions are contradictory. “In one section, the Act states that abortion is lawful ‘during the first 12 weeks of a woman’s pregnancy when a medical abortion is procured,’ but in another section, it requires physicians who provide medication abortion to ‘verify the probable gestational age of the unborn child is no more than 70 days,’ or ten weeks.” The amendment would strike the “70-days” language from the law.

State Attorney General Josh Stein is named as the lead defendant in the lawsuit, due to his role representing the state in challenges to state laws. However, Stein – a Democrat who is running for governor – said last week his office will not defend parts of the new law that he has determined are unconstitutional.

In a weekend filing, Stein reiterated that he agreed with the plaintiffs that the law was unconstitutional, and referenced the recently passed amendments as evidence.

“S.B. 20 cannot satisfy this standard—and the General Assembly has effectively conceded as much. Last week, the legislature introduced a series of amendments designed to revise many of the unconstitutional provisions identified in this lawsuit,” wrote Stein in the filing.

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“If those amendments are passed, they may remedy some of the constitutional violations that Plaintiffs allege. But unless and until the current law is repealed or significantly amended, immediate injunctive relief is necessary to avoid a due-process violation,” he continued. “Moreover, even if the legislature’s proposed amendments do pass, at least one constitutional problem with S.B. 20 will remain: even the currently proposed revisions to S.B. 20 fail to make clear that doctors in North Carolina can help their patients obtain abortions out of state.”

District Judge Catherine Eagles is set to hear the motion for the temporary restraining order Wednesday morning in Greensboro.

Cooper has 10 days to take action on the amended House Bill 190. There are no line item vetoes in North Carolina, so to veto the amendment, he would have to veto the whole bill.





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North Carolina

Proposed federal whale rule that would have devastated NC businesses has been withdrawn

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Proposed federal whale rule that would have devastated NC businesses has been withdrawn


A federal rule proposed by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Association (NOAA) that would have dealt a devastating blow to businesses and tourism along the East Coast, from Massachusetts to Florida, including North Carolina, has been withdrawn by the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS).



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Apex father of 3 represents North Carolina in 2025 Presidential Inauguration

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Apex father of 3 represents North Carolina in 2025 Presidential Inauguration


APEX, N.C. (WTVD) — Colonel Josh McConkey has spent more than two decades serving our country, in both the Army and Air Force Reserve. He’s now a Commander at Andrews Air Force Base of the 459th Aeromedical Staging Squadron.

“I’ve got to do some pretty special things. I spent time with combat search and rescue. I’ve flown as a flight surgeon, spent time in Rwanda with the State Department,” Col. McConkey told ABC11.

On Monday though, he’ll get to do something that will mark a first for the decorated servicemember, leading the Air Force Reserve delegation at the 2025 Presidential Inauguration.

“I marched a lot when I was a kid and grown up in marching band. So, this is a lot of fun for me, but being able to take part in something like this, being a part of history is pretty special,” Col. McConkey said.

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He leaves Thursday to head to Washington DC with months of preparation leading up to this once-in-a-lifetime moment.

ALSO SEE: Biden, in farewell address, warns about dangers of unchecked power in wealthy

“A lot of logistics and security: we received a 108-page PowerPoint presentation just to go over. There’s a lot of history behind that, a lot of procedure and then the security concerns alone. So, you know, things have been very tight lipped on that, but the practices we’ve done three or four practices and you’re marching out in the cold and the snow. Hopefully it’s going to be above freezing on Inauguration Day,” McConkey said.

When not serving in the Air Force Reserve, Col. McConkey is an ER doctor in the Triangle, an author, the founder of a non-profit organization – and his proudest titles: husband and father of three.

He’s excited to represent North Carolina next week.

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“I grew up in a very small town in rural Nebraska and always looked up to military veterans,” he said. “Just to be a part and represent the military and something this historic is, you know, for me is pretty special.”

Copyright © 2025 WTVD-TV. All Rights Reserved.



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Sources: Belichick adds 2 veteran coaches to staff

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Sources: Belichick adds 2 veteran coaches to staff


Bill Belichick’s first coaching staff at North Carolina continues to come together.

Longtime NFL special teams coach Mike Priefer and veteran SEC offensive line coach Will Friend are expected to finalize deals to join Belichick’s staff, sources told ESPN.

After coaching for nearly a decade in college, Priefer started in the NFL in 2002 and was a special teams coordinator in the NFL from 2006 to 2022. He is noted in Browns history as serving as the head coach in a January 2021 wild-card victory over the Pittsburgh Steelers, which is the franchise’s only postseason win since the 1994 season. Priefer stepped in for Kevin Stefanski, who watched the game at home with COVID.

Priefer was the special teams coordinator for the Chiefs (2006-08), Broncos (2009-10), Vikings (2011-18) and Browns (2019-22). He brings ties to the Naval Academy, something he shares with Belichick and his family. Priefer is a Navy graduate and served as a graduate assistant there.

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Friend worked last season as Western Kentucky’s offensive coordinator. He brings strong recruiting ties in the South, having worked at Georgia, Tennessee, Auburn and Mississippi State as the offensive line coach. He has also worked as the offensive coordinator at Colorado State and WKU.

Friend has a long history of developing linemen for the NFL.

With Priefer and Friend, there are six known members of Belichick’s staff, which includes longtime NFL coach Freddie Kitchens as the offensive coordinator and veteran NFL coach Stephen Belichick as the defensive coordinator.

The hires line up the objectives of Belichick, who has stressed that he wants to run the Tar Heels like a pro program.

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Before taking the UNC job, Belichick told ESPN’s Pat McAfee that if he were to run a college program, it would be a “pipeline to the NFL for the players that had the ability to play in the NFL.”

He added: “It would be a professional program. Training, nutrition, scheme, coaching, techniques that would transfer to the NFL. It would be an NFL program at a college level and an education that would get the players ready for their career after football.”



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