The Charlotte Observer

Top Republican leaders ask judge to dismiss lawsuit over NC abortion pill laws

RALEIGH, N.C. — North Carolina House Speaker Tim Moore and state Senate leader Phil Berger filed a motion Friday requesting dismissal of a lawsuit that would block restrictions on abortion pills. The lawsuit centers around a medication called mifepristone, the first part of a two-pill regimen to end a pregnancy. The plaintiff, Dr. Amy Bryant, argued that state restrictions on abortion pills conflict with the far more lenient federal regulations. Bryant, a Triangle abortion provider, said North Carolina’s laws prevent her from providing care according to her best medical judgment and limits pat...

North Carolina House GOP passes bill prohibiting 'critical race theory'; Democrats warn of ‘chilling effect’ on teachers

RALEIGH, N.C. — North Carolina House Republicans approved new rules on Wednesday limiting how racism and sexism can be taught but fell short of gaining any Democratic support to guarantee a veto override. The 68-49 vote went along party lines with all Republicans in support and all Democrats in opposition. Republicans would need at least one Democrat should Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper veto the bill again as he did in 2021. GOP lawmakers say the bill is designed to prevent schools from promoting "critical race theory." House Bill 187 has provisions such as one saying teachers shall not promote t...

Judge tosses suit from 36 North Carolina congregations looking to leave Methodist church

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — A lawsuit by dozens of conservative United Methodist churches in western North Carolina wishing to break away from their governing body was thrown out of court Tuesday by an N.C. judge. Superior Court Judge Richard Doughton of Iredell County tossed the complaint filed by 36 congregations after agreeing with a motion by the Western N.C. Conference of the United Methodist Church that the lawsuit violated the separation of church and state. “We are grateful for this ruling, which further sustains the separation of church and state,” Bishop Kenneth Carter, head of the conference,...

Why Clay Aiken is done with politics but can’t quit touring with ‘Idol’ pal Ruben Studdard

Ruben Studdard and Clay Aiken, who were 24 years old when they became two of “American Idol’s” biggest stars, are starting to sound an awful lot like a couple of old men. Or, at least, like a couple of middle-age men. It escalated quickly. As they settle onto a Zoom call — for an interview to promote their 20th-anniversary reunion concert tour — Aiken mentions that Studdard is squeezing this in between music courses he teaches at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga, where the former “Idol” champ is a full-time faculty member. So, one naturally has to ask Studdard if his students are awa...

Mother cries out in court after second-youngest defendant in Jan. 6 riot gets 3 1/2 years

A North Carolina man, the second youngest defendant in more than 1,000 arrests linked to the deadly riot at U.S. Capitol, will spend the next three years of his early adulthood behind bars. Aiden Bilyard of Cary was 18 when he sprayed chemical agents at police and broke out a window in the Capitol during the violent mob attack on Jan. 6, 2021, to keep Donald Trump in office. On Friday, U.S. District Judge Reggie Walton sentenced the now-21-year-old to 40 months in prison for assaulting police with a deadly or dangerous weapon. Bilyard, he said, had answered “the calls of a demagogue” and had t...

New CEO of failed Silicon Valley Bank was once fired from his Charlotte banking job

The new CEO of failed Silicon Valley Bank is a familiar name to many in Charlotte’s banking community — Tim Mayopoulos was fired as general counsel of Bank of America in 2008 in the midst of the financial crisis and escorted out of the office by an HR representative. The Silicon Valley Bank failure was the second-largest in U.S. history. The FDIC closed Silicon Valley Bank on March 10, started a new bank called Silicon Valley Bridge Bank, and named Mayopoulos as CEO on Monday. Silicon Valley Bank failed after numerous companies transferred their cash from the bank when it couldn’t raise more c...

Lowe’s wins COVID lawsuit over unmasked customer who spat repeatedly in store

A Lowe’s shopper in California lost his appeal this month of a court ruling that dismissed his claim that Lowe’s workers should have intervened when another shopper repeatedly spat in his face during the worst of the COVID-19 pandemic. Lawyer John Birke told The Charlotte Observer on Tuesday that he was “extremely disappointed” by the ruling of the California 2nd District Court of Appeal. Still, he contends, his lawsuit may have saved lives. That’s because a day after he sued in July 2020, Lowe’s announced it would make all customers wear masks in its U.S. stores, he said. “It’s a Pyrrhic vict...

New species found in ‘magical ecosystem’ in Ecuador gets name inspired by Tolkien

Often referred to as the father of modern fantasy, author J.R.R. Tolkien created a larger than life world inhabited by goblins, giant spiders and fire-breathing dragons. His namesake has now been given to a decidedly less terrifying creature, a l Zoo Keys. “It would seem that it lives in a universe of fantasies, like those created by Tolkien,” the researchers wrote in a news release. “The truth is that the tropical Andes are magical ecosystems where some of the most wonderful species of flora, funga, and fauna in the world are present.” Upon finding the frog, researchers named it Hyloscirtus t...

Protect gas stoves? NC bill would prevent local bans on natural gas hookups

Members of North Carolina’s House of Representatives are again seeking legislation that would prevent counties and municipal governments from banning the use of natural gas or any other form of energy to heat buildings or power appliances. At least 20 states have passed similar so-called “preemption laws.” In North Carolina, a bill failed in the 2021-22 session following a veto from Gov. Roy Cooper. That might not work this year, as House Bill 130 is co-sponsored by Rep. Michael Wray, a Northampton County Democrat. Republicans are one vote away from a veto-proof majority in the House, meaning ...

Turnover in NC Democratic Party leadership. 25-year-old defeats incumbent chair.

A 25-year-old activist has ousted an incumbent who had backing from the state’s top party leaders to become the new chair of the North Carolina Democratic Party. Anderson Clayton, the Person County Democratic Party chair and president of the state party chairs’ association, was elected Saturday to a two-year term as party chair by the N.C. Democratic Party’s Executive Committee, according to multiple sources in the party. Clayton had campaigned on the need for change following last fall’s Democratic losses in state races. Democrats lost control of the N.C. Supreme Court, were swept in the N.C....

FBI offers $25,000 rewards for information in recent attacks on NC power substations

RALEIGH, N.C. — Federal authorities are offering rewards of up to $25,000 for information that could help investigators identify and arrest the people responsible for two separate attacks on North Carolina electrical substations over the past two months. The FBI’s Charlotte Field Office announced Friday it will offer up to $25,000 in reward money for information that leads to the identification, arrest and conviction of the person or people who attacked two Duke Energy substations in Moore County in December, which left tens of thousands of households and businesses without power for multiple ...

‘I don’t get canceled, really’: John Waters on his career, conservatives and taboos

John Waters knows what makes a “John Waters movie,” but he isn’t sure movie critics do. “I hate those movies, because they just mean they’re gross, or they have one drag queen in it,” Waters tells me over the crackling receiver on his San Francisco landline. Waters has spent years creating universes where people are as bad as cable television cop shows and the latest conservative talking points would have you believe. You’ve almost certainly heard of him through “Hairspray,” his 1988 film staring Ricki Lake as Tracy Turnblad, an overweight teenage girl who helps integrate Baltimore public tele...

Alex Murdaugh defense ‘opened door’ to jury hearing about alleged financial crimes, South Carolina judge says

WALTERBORO, S.C. — Alex Murdaugh’s defense team has inadvertently opened the door for prosecutors to argue Murdaugh’s alleged financial crimes motivated him to kill his wife and son. Judge Clifton Newman on Thursday ruled that the state would be allowed to present evidence that Murdaugh stole millions of dollars from his law partners and clients, and that the threat of exposure motivated the murders of Maggie and Paul Murdaugh on June 7, 2021. The prosecution team led by Creighton Watersrests their case on the theory Murdaugh killed his wife and son as part of a scheme to distract from his fin...

Planning a flight with your pet? Here are some options airlines offer

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — A 14-year-old beagle is searching for a new home after it was surrendered recently at Charlotte Douglas International Airport. The dog, Baby Girl, was left at the airport because the crate she was in would not fit under her then-owner's seat on the plane, the former owner, who did not want to be identified, told WSOC. Since she didn’t have the money to pay cargo-transport fees, Baby Girl’s then-owner left her with FurBabies Animal Rescue, a Matthews nonprofit that works to find homes for abandoned, stray and neglected dogs. Many airlines do not allow larger pets to travel as ...

Record-low percentage of Americans are happy with health care quality, poll finds

For the first time in decades, a majority of Americans view health care quality as subpar, potentially a reflection of growing dissatisfaction with high costs and recent policy changes, new polling reveals. Forty-eight percent of those surveyed said health care quality was “excellent” or “good,” while a slight majority, 52%, said it was “only fair” or “poor,” according to Gallup’s annual Health and Healthcare survey, which has been administered since 2001. The poll of 1,020 adults was conducted Nov. 9-Dec. 2 with a margin of error of plus or minus 4 percentage points. The latest results fall w...