Former U.S. President Donald Trump appears ahead of the start of jury selection at Manhattan Criminal Court on April 15, 2024 in New York City. Former President Donald Trump faces 34 felony counts of falsifying business records in the first of his criminal cases to go to trial. (Photo by Jabin Botsford-Pool/Getty Images) Many years ago, a friend overheard me grouse about being called to jury duty. Not to worry, he said, offering his “foolproof plan for evading civic responsibility.” His advice was…interesting. “When they start asking you questions, just sit there in the jury box and appear to ..read more

Panelists at Wednesday's Moms for Liberty in Raleigh - Photo: Ahmed Jallow At a town hall meeting in Raleigh on Wednesday night sponsored by the organization Moms for Liberty, national and local leaders of the conservative group blamed unsafe schools, among other reasons, as the cause for North Carolina teachers leaving the profession, rather than low pay. Roughly 50 people attended the event, which featured the group’s co-founder Tiffany Justice and panelists, including local Moms for Liberty organizers and supporters. The North Carolina Republican Party’s nominee for Superintendent of Publi ..read more

Research indicates that Black women will suffer the worst effects if North Carolina enacts legislation to dramatically limit access to abortion care. (Photo: Getty Images) Black women working to improve Black maternal health assessed recent successes and new roadblocks to lowering the rate of pregnancy related death at an event in Durham this week.  The discussion took place at a roundtable organized by the Biden-Harris campaign to mark Black Maternal Health Week. The event put a focus on the systemic forces that result in Black women dying of pregnancy-related causes at three times the ..read more

The U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C., on Thursday, April 18, 2024. (Photo by Jennifer Shutt/States Newsroom) WASHINGTON — The U.S. House on Friday moved one step closer to approving billions in military and humanitarian assistance for Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan, with Democrats providing crucial support to Republican leaders after defections by their hard-right members. Lawmakers in the broadly bipartisan 316-94 vote approved a rule that sets up the procedure for debating a handful of amendments and passage of the three separate bills on Saturday, in a rare weekend session. That rule also sets ..read more

EPA Administrator Michael Regan (Photo: Lisa Sorg) Industries that discharge toxic PFOA and PFOS compounds into the environment will now be held legally and financially responsible for the contamination, according to a final rule issued by the EPA today. The Department of Defense is also subject to the new requirements. PFOA and PFOS are now classified as hazardous substances under Superfund law, which authorizes the EPA to use its enforcement powers to require polluters pay for and clean up the contamination. The designation also mandates new reporting requirements for facilities that releas ..read more

Former U.S. President Donald Trump attends a pre-trial hearing at Manhattan Criminal Court on Feb. 15, 2024, in New York City. Trump was charged with 34 counts of falsifying business records last year, which prosecutors say was an effort to hide a potential sex scandal, both before and after the 2016 presidential election. (Photo by Brendan McDermid-Pool/Getty Images) The post Trump’s legal problems continue to mount appeared first on NC Newsline ..read more

Members of the NC House and Senate convene April 24th for the 2024 legislative session. (Photo: Clayton Henkel) Members of the North Carolina House and Senate return to Raleigh next Wednesday, April 24th for the 2024 legislative “short session,” and it may well be one that’s defined by three P’s: people, pay, and persistence. For weeks now, legislative committees have been hearing about state agency needs, and a recurring theme is the critical shortages of workers. PEOPLE Mark Benton, chief deputy secretary for health with the state Department of Health and Human Services, told lawmakers earl ..read more

(Getty Images) WASHINGTON — The U.S. Department of Education on Friday announced a final rule that will update Title IX regulations governing how schools respond to sexual misconduct, undoing changes made under the Trump administration and former Education Secretary Betsy DeVos. “For more than 50 years, Title IX has promised an equal opportunity to learn and thrive in our nation’s schools free from sex discrimination,” Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona said on a call with reporters on Thursday night. “These final regulations build on the legacy of Title IX by clarifying that all our natio ..read more

Georgia Republican U.S. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene speaks with reporters on the steps of the U.S. Capitol on Thursday, April 18, 2024. (Photo by Jennifer Shutt/States Newsroom) WASHINGTON — U.S. House Democrats on Thursday began coalescing behind Republican Speaker Mike Johnson’s plan to provide assistance for Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan through a series of three bills, though far-right members of his own party grew increasingly frustrated with the Louisianan’s bipartisan streak. Georgia Republican Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, who is leading an effort to remove Johnson as speaker, told report ..read more

Deep-seated racial and ethnic health disparities persist according to a new study by the Commonwealth Fund. (Photo: Getty Images) Health care access for North Carolina’s Latino residents is among the worst in the nation, according to a Commonwealth Fund report on racial health care disparities.  The report measures the ability of people of different races and ethnicities to obtain health care, the quality of the care they receive, and how healthy they are. It uses 25 indicators to detail racial disparities in health care systems in each state.  In North Carolina and most states, hea ..read more