VOLUME 6 ISSUE 7
|
WWW.NSJONLINE.COM
|
WEDNESDAY, APRIL 14, 2021
the Wednesday
NEWS BRIEFING
CDC, FDA recommend ‘pause’ for J&J vaccine Washington, D.C. The U.S. recommended a “pause” in using the single-dose Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccine to investigate reports of rare but potentially dangerous blood clots. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Food and Drug Administration announced that they were investigating unusual clots that occurred 6 to 13 days after vaccination. The FDA commissioner said she expected the pause to last a matter of days. “I’d like to stress these events appear to be extremely rare. However COVID-19 vaccine safety is a top priority,” acting FDA Commissioner Janet Woodcock said. THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
Biden proposes U.S.Russia summit Washington, D.C. President Joe Biden spoke Tuesday with Russian President Vladimir Putin to discuss arms control, emerging security issues and the extension of the New START Treaty. President Biden said the United States will “act firmly in defense of its national interests in response to Russia’s actions” on issues such as cyber intrusions and election interference. President Biden also brought up Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity, voicing concerns over the Russian military build-up along the country’s borders. The proposed summit would occur in a third country in the coming months to discuss the full range of issues facing the U.S. and Russia, a readout from the White House states. NSJ STAFF
Voter ID trial expert witness didn’t read bill, according to trial transcript Raleigh North Carolina’s law requiring photo identification to cast ballots went on trial on Monday, with attorneys challenging the mandate arguing it still disproportionately prevents black residents from voting. Emory University professor Carol Anderson, who was called to testify by the plaintiffs, was asked if she had reviewed the bill’s text, to which she replied, “not the text,” but she instead said she listened to the legislative audio. Senate Leader Phil Berger said of the exchange, “The antivoter ID ‘expert witness’ that the plaintiffs called admitted she didn’t even read the bill and didn’t know that an African American Democrat sponsored the bill, or that Republicans accepted multiple amendments offered by Democrats.” NSJ STAFF
North Carolina K-12 schools receive Purple Star awards Raleigh The N.C. Department of Public Instruction acknowledged scores of schools from around 13 state education districts in the state as part of the Purple Star Award Designation initiative which began in 2019. The Purple Star award is given to applying schools which demonstrate both military-friendly practices and a commitment to military students and families. North Carolina is home to the thirdlargest military population in the country with over 790,000 military veterans currently living in state. According to DPI, 288 schools, including five charter schools and seven Department of Defense Education Agency schools, will receive the Purple Star award for the 2020-2021 school year. A virtual ceremony will be held on April 14 to honor those receiving the award. A.P. DILLON
ORVIL SAMUEL | AP PHOTO
Volcano rocks Caribbean paradise Ash rises into the air as La Soufriere volcano erupts on the eastern Caribbean island of St. Vincent, Tuesday, April 13, 2021.
NORTH
STATE
JOURNaL ELEVATE THE CONVERSATION
Bill banning certain transgender treatments for minors filed in NC Senate By David Larson North State Journal
sex to another sex,” Fitzgerald said. When pressed on the term “experimental,” Fitzgerald said, “There are no long-term studies showing the efficacy of surgery, hormone-blockers or cross-sex hormones. These are experimental procedures, and they push children down a one-way street which leads to permanent sterility and a lifetime of medical intervention.” EqualityNC, a LGBTQ advocacy group for the state, came out strongly against S.B. 514, saying in a statement on social media, “This horrific bill, like so many others across the country, is a direct attack on trans and gender-nonconforming young people. Decisions about a child’s medical welfare should be made between that child, their doctor and their parents or guardians — not lawmakers.” In North Carolina, there are a few providers that provide these treatments: Duke Health’s Center for Child and Adolescent Gender Care, UNC Health’s Pediatric and Adolescent Clinic for Gender Wellness, Atrium Health’s Levine’s Children Center for Gender Health, as well as multiple Planned Parenthood locations across the state that offer hormone treatments, counseling and referrals for other treatments. NSJ reached out to all four of these providers and only received comment back from UNC Health in time for publication. “We don’t want to speculate on the outcome of this bill,” Tom Hughes, communications specialist for UNC Health, told NSJ when asked how the bill would affect treatments they provide for transgender patients. “Between the UNC Transgender Health Program (THP) and the specific subset of the Pediatric and Adolescent Clinic for Gender Well-
RALEIGH — Three top Republicans in the N.C. Senate filed a bill on April 6 to restrict medical treatments given to minors seeking gender transition. The bill, Senate Bill 514, called “Youth Health Protection Act,” would ban surgeries and hormone treatments commonly used by health providers for those suffering from gender dysphoria, a condition where one feels their biological sex and inner-sense of gender do not match. The bill says, “the cause of the individual’s impression of discordance between sex and identity is unknown, and the diagnosis is based exclusively on the individual’s self-report of feelings and beliefs,” and that “this internal sense of discordance is not permanent or fixed, but to the contrary, numerous studies have shown that a substantial majority of children who experience discordance between their sex and identity will outgrow the discordance once they go through puberty and will eventually have an identity that aligns with their sex.” Four types of medical practices would be prohibited by the bill: those that sterilize or castrate by surgery, mastectomies (the removal of the breasts) for healthy children, hormone treatments, and any other treatment that removes “otherwise healthy or nondiseased body part or tissue.” Tami Fitzgerald, executive director of the North Carolina Values Coalition, spoke to NSJ about the bill on April 12, saying she “provided guidance and advice on the bill to Sen. Ralph Hise,” S.B. 514’s lead sponsor. “Basically, the bill would limit the medical treatment for minors by banning the use of hormones or puberty blockers or experimental surgical procedures that would conform a person of one See TRANS MINORS, page A2
Lawmakers seek long-term limit on governors’ emergency power By David A. Lieb The Associated Press AS GOVERNORS loosen long-lasting coronavirus restrictions, state lawmakers across the U.S. are taking actions to significantly limit the power they could wield in future emergencies. The legislative measures are aimed not simply at undoing mask mandates and capacity limits that have been common during the pandemic. Many proposals seek to fundamentally shift power away from
governors and toward lawmakers the next time there is a virus outbreak, terrorist attack or natural disaster. “The COVID pandemic has been an impetus for a re-examination of balancing of legislative power with executive powers,” said Pam Greenberg, a policy researcher at the National Conference of State Legislatures. Lawmakers in 45 states have proposed more than 300 measures See LIMIT, page A2
Bill would allow sheriffs to issue pistol permits for neighboring counties By A.P. Dillon North State Journal RALEIGH — A House bill filed near the end of March would allow North Carolina sheriffs to issue pistol permits to resident of neighboring counties. House Bill 398 would grant a sheriff the authority to issue a pistol-purchase permit to “a resident of any contiguous county” if the current permit requirements are met. The bill’s primary sponsors are Reps. Jay Adams (R-Catawba), George Cleveland (R-Onslow), Edward Goodwin (R-Chowan), and Bobby Hanig (R-Currituck). The bill would also let a sheriff decline to issue a permit to a resident of a contiguous county for any reason other than one prohibited by law. In the event a sheriff does decline, they must issue written notice including all reasons for declining to issue the permit. The refusal letter must be sent within seven days, and a sheriff can’t decline on the basis that the person applying is not resident of their county. Grassroots North Carolina, North Carolina’s largest firearm advocacy group, has mounted a letter-writing campaign in support of the bill, which is currently waiting to be heard in the House Committee on Judiciary. Permit request have been on the rise for years, with record-breaking numbers for firearm sales, background checks and permits in 2020, both in North Carolina and nationwide. Last week, President Joe Biden announced he would take executive actions on firearms, none of which seem to reference concealed
carry. The White House produced a fact sheet of Biden’s six “initial actions”: See SHERIFFS, page A2