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NC Legislature Goes Home, Still Without Budget Resolution
The North Carolina General Assembly has gone home for a brief respite still without a final two-year budget and Medicaid deals after nine months of legislating.
The legislature adjourned its session late Thursday, but lawmakers will come back in two weeks for congressional redistricting and possible negotiations between House and Senate Republicans and Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper.
Cooper vetoed the GOP's two-year budget bill in June.
NC Legislators Pass Bill To Close Sexual Assault Loopholes
North Carolina legislators have approved a wide-ranging sexual abuse bill that closes two loopholes involving assault brought about by years-old court decisions.
Both the Senate and House on Wednesday unanimously approved a bill that closes loopholes involving revocation of consent and sex with a person incapacitated by drugs or alcohol. The bill now goes to Gov. Roy Cooper for his signature.
Advocates said North Carolina is the only state in the country where a woman can't revoke consent to have sex once sex has begun. They also said North Carolina is one of fewer than 10 states where sexual assault laws don't recognize people who were incapacitated because of their own action as victims.
NC Court May Void Constitutional Changes Over Gerrymandering Concerns
The state Court of Appeals may invalidate changes to the state constitution voters approved last year.
The changes set up a requirement for voter IDs and made limits on income tax rates virtually permanent.
The NAACP is asking the court to void those measures, saying the state's political boundaries were so racially gerrymandered that the Republican-controlled legislature that put them on the ballot lacked validity.
Attorneys for legislative leaders say if the lawsuit succeeds any law passed by the General Assembly for years could be challenged.
A lawyer for the NAACP argues that the GOP lawmakers knew their legislative districts cheated black voters and would be overturned.
Prosecutors Announce Guilty Plea In $9M Medicaid Fraud
Federal prosecutors say a man has pleaded guilty to a scheme that defrauded North Carolina Medicaid of at least $9.4 million through businesses claiming to help at-risk youth.
The Charlotte-based U.S. Attorney's Office says in a news release that 39-year-old Tony Garrett Taylor pleaded guilty Thursday to health care fraud conspiracy and tax evasion.
The news release says that Taylor conspired with others from 2015 to 2017 to submit fraudulent reimbursement claims for services that were never provided. Prosecutors say they used a series of entities purporting to offer behavioral health to at-risk youth. Three others have pleaded guilty in the scheme and a fourth is awaiting trial.
NC Teacher Accused Of Asking Students About God Suspended
A North Carolina school district is investigating complaints that a teacher asked students about their beliefs in God.
Johnston County Public Schools Superintendent Jim Causby said the teacher is suspended with pay while the district looks into the reports. He didn't provide additional detail on the circumstances surrounding the complaints.
The incident happened at a high school about 30 miles from Raleigh.
Federal laws prevent students from being required to answer questions about religious practices.
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