News in brief

By The Associated Press

Judge strikes down North Carolina abortion restriction but upholds another

RALEIGH, N.C. | A federal judge ruled Friday that a provision in North Carolina’s abortion laws requiring doctors to document the location of a pregnancy before prescribing abortion pills should be blocked permanently, affirming that it was too vague to be enforced reasonably.

The implementation of that requirement was already halted last year by U.S. District Judge Catherine Eagles until a lawsuit challenging portions of the abortion law enacted by the Republican-dominated General Assembly in 2023 was litigated further. Eagles now says a permanent injunction would be issued at some point.

But Eagles on Friday restored enforcement of another provision that she had previously blocked that required abortions after 12 weeks of pregnancy to be performed in hospitals. In light of the 2022 U.S. Supreme Court decision that overturned Roe v. Wade, she wrote, the lawmakers “need only offer rational speculation for its legislative decisions regulating abortion.”

Nevada AG appeals to state high court to revive fake electors case

LAS VEGAS | The top prosecutor in Nevada is asking the state Supreme Court to uphold the indictments of six Republicans charged with submitting a bogus certificate to Congress that declared Donald Trump the winner of the presidential battleground’s 2020 election.

Officials have said it was part of a larger scheme across seven battleground states to keep the former president in the White House after losing to Democrat Joe Biden. Criminal cases have also been brought in Michigan, Georgia and Arizona.

Meanwhile, the fate of Nevada’s so-called fake electors case hangs in the balance.

Arizona judge rejects wording for state abortion ballot measure

PHOENIX | A judge on Friday rejected an effort by GOP lawmakers to use the term “unborn human being” to refer to a fetus in the pamphlet that Arizona voters would use to weigh a ballot measure that would expand abortion access in the state.

Maricopa County Superior Court Judge Christopher Whitten said the wording the state legislative council suggested is “packed with emotion and partisan meaning” and asked for what he called more “neutral” language. The measure aims to expand abortion access from 15 weeks to 24 weeks, the point at which a fetus can survive outside the womb.

It would allow exemptions to save the woman’s life or to protect her physical or mental health. It would also prevent the state from adopting or enforcing laws that would forbid access to the procedure.

Recall of Boar’s Head deli meats announced

NEW YORK | U.S. health officials have announced a recall of some Boar’s Head liverwurst and other deli meats as they investigate a listeria outbreak. The outbreak has sickened nearly three dozen people and caused two deaths since late May.

The Agriculture Department said Friday that a tainted sample of Boar Head’s liverwurst was found at a Maryland store as part of the investigation. The company is recalling liverwurst made at a Virginia plant as well as other deli meats made the same day in June as the tainted sample.

Testing is underway to determine whether the company’s products are linked to the outbreak.

—From AP reports