States can cut off Medicaid funding to Planned Parenthood, the Supreme Court rules

States can cut off Medicaid funding to Planned Parenthood, the Supreme Court rules

By LINDSAY WHITEHURST Associated Press

WASHINGTON (AP) — A divided Supreme Court allowed states to cut off Medicaid money to Planned Parenthood in a ruling handed down Thursday amid a wider Republican-backed push to defund the country’s biggest abortion provider.

The 6-3 opinion comes in a case that wasn’t directly about abortion. It’s instead about Medicaid funding for other health care services Planned Parenthood provides, like contraception, cancer screenings and pregnancy testing.

The ruling authored by Justice Neil Gorsuch and joined by the rest of the court’s conservatives could have broader implications for Medicaid patients because it blocks them from suing to make sure they can visit the provider they choose.

Public health care money generally can’t be used to pay for abortions. Medicaid patients go to Planned Parenthood for other needs in part because it can be tough to find a doctor who takes the publicly funded insurance, the organization has said.

South Carolina’s Republican governor says no taxpayer money should go the organization. The budget bill backed by President Donald Trump in Congress would also cut Medicaid funding to Planned Parenthood. That could force the closure of about 200 centers, most of them in states where abortion is legal, the organization has said.

Gov. Henry McMaster first moved to cut off Medicaid funding to Planned Parenthood in 2018 but was blocked in court after a lawsuit from a patient named Julie Edwards. Edwards wanted to keep going there for birth control because her diabetes makes pregnancy potentially dangerous, so she sued over a provision in Medicaid law that allows patients to choose their own qualified provider.

South Carolina, though, argued that patients shouldn’t be able to file those lawsuits. The state pointed to lower courts that have been swayed by similar arguments and allowed states such as Texas to block Medicaid funding from Planned Parenthood.

The high court majority agreed. “Deciding whether to permit private enforcement poses delicate policy questions involving competing costs and benefits — decisions for elected representatives, not judges,” Gorsuch wrote.

In a dissent joined by her liberal colleagues, Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson said the ruling is “likely to result in tangible harm to real people.”

“It will strip those South Carolinians — and countless other Medicaid recipients around the country — of a deeply personal freedom: the ‘ability to decide who treats us at our most vulnerable,'” she wrote.

Public health groups like the American Cancer Society said in court papers that lawsuits are the only real way that Medicaid patients have been able to enforce their right to choose their own doctor. Losing that right would reduce access to health care for people on the program, which is estimated to include one-quarter of everyone in the country. Rural areas could be especially affected, advocates said in court papers.

In South Carolina, $90,000 in Medicaid funding goes to Planned Parenthood every year, a tiny fraction of the state’s total Medicaid spending. The state banned abortion at about six weeks’ gestation after the high court overturned it as a nationwide right in 2022. The state says other providers can fill a health care void left by Planned Parenthood’s removal from Medicaid.

KIX Kitties and K9s: Meet Mitzi!

KIX Kitties and K9s: Meet Mitzi!

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When she’s not soaking up attention, Mitzi enjoys lounging in her cat tree, batting around her toy mice, and giving her scratching post a good workout. She’s playful, affectionate, and happiest in a home where she isn’t left alone too long. And she thrives on human companionship.

She would prefer to be the only pet in your household, but if there is another cat, she’ll probably just keep to herself.

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Vegetarian French Onion Soup

Vegetarian French Onion Soup

Vegetarian French Onion Soup

Photo by Getty Images

Vegetarian French Onion Soup Recipe from Food With Feeling

Prep time: 15 minutes

Cooking time: 70 minutes

Serving size: 4 servings

Ingredients

  • 3 pounds yellow onions, about 5 large, peeled and sliced (I cut mine in half and then slice them into half moons)
  • 4 tablespoons olive oil
  • 2 tablespoons butter, use vegan where applicable
  • 1 teaspoon sugar, you can use coconut sugar here if you’d prefer
  • 1 ½ teaspoons salt
  • 4 cloves garlic, minced
  • 8 cups vegetable broth
  • ½ cup red wine
  • 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
  • 2 bay leaves
  • 1 tablespoon fresh thyme, can use dried if desired
  • ½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
  • 4 slices French bread, or something similar, cut into thick slices
  • 1 cup Gruyere cheese, freshly grated (optional or sub for vegan cheese)

Directions

  1. In a large pot, heat the olive over medium high heat. Once hot, add in the sliced onions and begin to caramelize. Cook, stirring often, until the onions start to soften, about 20 minutes.
  2. Add in the butter and continue to cook the onions until they begin to brown, about 15-20 additional minutes. Really watch it and adjust the heat if the onions are starting to burn at all. You want them to slowly cook so that they brown slowly.
  3. Stir in the sugar and salt and continue cooking for 15 more minutes until the onions become well browned. During the last couple of minutes, add in the garlic and continue to stir.
  4. Deglaze the pot by stirring in the red wine and use a wooden spoon to scrap any bits and flavor from the sides and bottom of the pot. Stir in the veggie broth, Worcestershire sauce, bay leaves, thyme, and black pepper. Bring the mixture to a simmer, cover, and cook for 30 minutes. Stir every few minutes.
  5. Pre-heat the oven to 400 degrees F. Brush or spray the slices of bread with oil or cooking spray and place on a baking sheet. Toast for 10 minutes, flipping halfway through. You want the bread to be lightly toasted. Once done, set aside.
  6. Season soup to taste with additional salt and pepper as needed. Ladle the soup into oven proof bowls, top with the toasted bread, and even sprinkle the cheese across the 4 bowls. Place the bowls on a large baking tray and broil in the oven until the cheese is melted and bubbling around the sides.
  7. Serve immediately.
Cooper Flagg the new Maine man for the Mavericks as the No. 1 pick in the NBA draft

Cooper Flagg the new Maine man for the Mavericks as the No. 1 pick in the NBA draft

By BRIAN MAHONEY AP Basketball Writer

NEW YORK (AP) — Cooper Flagg is the new Maine man in Dallas.

The Mavericks took the Duke forward with the No. 1 pick in the NBA draft Wednesday night, hoping they have found their next franchise superstar less than five months after trading one away.

Mavericks fans were furious when Dallas traded Luka Doncic to the Los Angeles Lakers on Feb. 1, some immediately threatening to end their support of the team.

But the ones who stuck around may quickly love Flagg, the college player of the year who averaged 19.2 points and 7.5 rebounds while leading Duke to the Final Four. The Mavericks quickly announced that Flagg would wear No. 32 in Dallas, where fellow Duke products Kyrie Irving and Dereck Lively II are on the roster.

“I’m really excited. I think I keep saying I’m excited to be a sponge, to get down there and just learn, be surrounded by Hall of Fame-caliber guys and just to be able to learn from them,” Flagg said. “It’s going to be an incredible experience.”

His selection — considered likely ever since Flagg showed off his considerable game last summer after being invited to the U.S. Olympic team’s training camp — was a daylong celebration in his home state for the 18-year-old forward from Newport, Maine.

“It means a lot to me to have the support of the whole state. I know how many people showed up today and supported me at some of the draft parties back home,” Flagg said. “It feels amazing knowing I can inspire younger kids. I was in their shoes really not that long ago, so just to know I can give those kids those feelings and have the whole state behind me, it means a lot.”

He joined Elton Brand, Irving, Zion Williamson and Paolo Banchero as Duke players drafted No. 1 since 1999, and he returned the draft to its longtime start with a one-and-done college player.

That’s the way the draft began every year from 2010 until Banchero’s selection in 2022, but the last two No. 1 picks, Victor Wembanyama and Zaccherie Risacher, are both from France.

Rutgers freshman Dylan Harper was taken by the Spurs with the No. 2 pick and will try to follow Wembanyama and Stephon Castle and give San Antonio a third straight NBA Rookie of the Year.

“It’s definitely a goal of mine to make it three in a row,” Harper said. “I think the coaching staff and the players are going to make it easy for me to go out there and showcase my talent, so definitely.”

The 76ers then took Baylor’s VJ Edgecombe, getting the first sustained burst of loud cheers of the draft from what seemed to be a number of Philadelphia fans who made the trip to Barclays Center in Brooklyn. The first two picks had long been expected, but the No. 3 spot was the first one where there was intrigue.

Kon Knueppel made it two Duke players in the first four picks when the Charlotte Hornets took him at No. 4. When big man Khaman Maluach went at No. 10 — a pick made by the Houston Rockets but headed to Phoenix as part of the trade for Kevin Durant that can’t become official until next month — it gave the Blue Devils three top-10 picks and 50 in the first round since 1989, moving past Kentucky (48) for most by any school.

“It was so emotional getting to see my teammates, my fellow freshmen getting drafted,” Maluach said. “I was so happy for them because they deserve everything they have. They worked hard for it, for that moment, too.”

Ace Bailey, Harper’s teammate with the Scarlet Knights who could have been in the mix to go third but declined to work out for the 76ers, ended up going at No. 5 to Utah to end a draft process in which he was criticized for how his camp handled it.

“I’m glad it’s over,” Bailey said. “I’m ready to play some basketball now.”

Then it was Tre Johnson of Texas to the Washington Wizards at No. 6 and Oklahoma’s Jeremiah Fears to New Orleans at No. 7, before the host Nets took BYU’s Egor Demin at No. 8, Brooklyn’s first of potentially five selections in the first round. Toronto took South Carolina’s Collin Murray-Boyles at No. 9.

The NBA champion Oklahoma City Thunder took Georgetown center Thomas Sorber at No. 15, their first of two picks in the first round.

One more sizzling hot day for the eastern US before temperatures plunge 30 degrees

One more sizzling hot day for the eastern US before temperatures plunge 30 degrees

By SETH BORENSTEIN AP Science Writer

NEW YORK (AP) — A record-smashing heat wave broiled the U.S. East for another day Wednesday, even as thermometers were forecast to soon plunge by as many as 30 degrees in the same areas.

The day’s heat wasn’t expected to be as intense as Tuesday, when at least 50 heat records were matched or broken and 21 places hit triple-digit temperatures. About 127 million Americans remained under National Weather Service heat advisories, down from the previous day. Sizzling temperatures sent utilities scrambling to keep the air conditioning and lights on amid massive demand for power.

“It’s still going to be, I think, pretty bad across the East,” meteorologist Bob Oravec of the Weather Prediction Center said Wednesday morning. ”I think today is probably the last day of widespread record potential. It might not be quite as hot as yesterday by a few degrees. But still, high temperatures are expected in the upper 90s across a good section of the East.”

The weather service warned of “extreme heat” for a stretch of the country from North Carolina to New York and west to West Virginia. Highs could approach triple digits from New York to Richmond, Oravec said.

Temperatures Wednesday morning were “a little bit warmer than expected” because of northwesterly winds bringing “warm leftovers from yesterday,” said former NOAA chief scientist Ryan Maue, a private meteorologist. Nantucket, Massachusetts, was above 90 degrees Fahrenheit (32 Celsius) when its forecast high was 82.

Weather whiplash

The high pressure heat dome that has baked the East was forecast to break. A cold front began moving south from New England, bringing with it clouds and cooler temperatures — not only cooler than 100 degrees Fahrenheit (38 Celsius), but cooler than normal.

That air mass drawing on cool ocean waters will send temperatures plummeting by the end of the week in Philadelphia, which hit a record high of 101 degrees Fahrenheit on Tuesday, said Ray Martin, meteorologist at the National Weather Service in Mount Holly, New Jersey. Air temperatures will be in the low 70s Fahrenheit (20s Celsius).

“It’s going to feel like a shock to the system, but it’s not anything particularly unusual,” said Martin.

Boston’s forecast high for Friday is 34 degrees lower than what it hit Tuesday.

“It’s going to feel like a different season,” Oravec said.

However, it won’t last. After one or two days, slightly hotter than normal temperatures are forecast, but not anywhere near the highs from earlier this week, Oravec said.

Weather whiplash from one extreme to another occurs more often as the world warms overall from burning fossil fuels such as coal, oil and natural gas, scientists said.

Records smashed

Tuesday was likely the peak of the heat, with Baltimore the king of swelter. The city’s high of 105 degrees Fahrenheit (40 Celsius) smashed a previous record by four degrees. At night, when the human body needs cooling, temperatures only dropped to 87 Fahrenheit (30 Celsius).

Baltimore was hardly alone. A dozen weather stations were 101 degrees or higher, including two New York airports. Boston hit 102, breaking its old record by seven degrees. Augusta, Maine’s 100-degrees also broke its old record by seven degrees.

Every coastal state from Maine to South Carolina hit 100 degrees somewhere, with Georgia and Florida clocking in at 99 on Tuesday.

As temperatures rise “things become less reliable and more unstable,” said Climate Central Chief Meteorologist Bernadette Woods Placky.

The heat meant more demand for power. The nation’s largest power grid operator, PJM Interconnection, on Monday recorded its highest demand since 2011, with only a slight drop off Tuesday and Wednesday, spokesman Dan Lockwood said.

“We have an aging grid infrastructure already in United States, so you can see the impacts of that heat on that infrastructure,” said Kate Guy, senior research fellow at the Columbia University Center on Global Energy Policy. The aging system is less capable of transmitting power at the voltages needed, she said. “At the same time, you’re seeing a really big spike in demand. This is what they (utilities) are increasingly experiencing because of climate change,” Guy said. “Frankly, with each year is increased, historic temperatures and that intense heat arriving earlier than ever, just putting an immense pressure on the electrical grid.”

Extreme heat caused the road to buckle in two locations on an interstate highway in northern New Jersey. State transportation officials say the impact on the concrete roadway in Morris County on Tuesday afternoon forced some lane closures as temporary repairs were made. Crews then began work to replace the damaged areas and repave those sections.

Some downtown Chicago streets will close Wednesday night to repair pavement that has buckled due to hot temperatures amid an ongoing heat wave in the city.

“Pavement failures or blowouts occur when prolonged high temperatures cause the road to expand and buckle up or blow out, resulting in uneven driving surfaces,” the Illinois Department of Transportation said in a statement.

In Chesapeake, Virginia, a heat-related malfunction prompted a bridge to remain stuck in the open position.

___

Isabella O’Malley in Philadelphia; Alexa St. John in Detroit; Patrick Whittle in Portland, Maine; Bruce Shipkowski in Trenton, New Jersey; and Christine Fernando contributed to this report.

___

The Associated Press’ climate and environmental coverage receives financial support from multiple private foundations. AP is solely responsible for all content. Find AP’s standards for working with philanthropies, a list of supporters and funded coverage areas at AP.org.

US stocks hang near their record as Wall Street takes a breath following two big days

US stocks hang near their record as Wall Street takes a breath following two big days

By STAN CHOE AP Business Writer

NEW YORK (AP) — U.S. stocks hung near their all-time high on Wednesday as financial markets caught a breath following two big days bolstered by hopes that the Israel-Iran war will not disrupt the global flow of crude oil.

The S&P 500 barely budged after drifting through a quiet day of trading and is sitting just 0.8% below its all-time high, which was set in February. The Dow Jones Industrial Average dipped 106 points, or 0.2%, and the Nasdaq composite rose 0.3%.

In the oil market, which has been the center of much of this week’s action, crude prices stabilized after plunging by roughly $10 per barrel in the last two days. Benchmark U.S. crude rose 55 cents to $64.92 per barrel, though it still remains below where it was before the fighting between Israel and Iran broke out nearly two weeks ago.

A fragile ceasefire between the two countries appears to be holding, at least for the moment.

On Wall Street, FedEx fell 3.3% despite reporting stronger profit and revenue for the latest quarter than analysts expected. It gave a forecast for profit in the current quarter that fell short of expectations.

General Mills, the company behind Pillsbury and Progresso soups, lost 5.1% after reporting weaker revenue for the latest quarter than analysts expected, though its profit topped forecasts. It also said an underlying measure of profit could fall by 10% to 15% this upcoming fiscal year.

On the winning side of Wall Street, Bumble jumped 25.1% after the online dating platform said it would cut about 30% of its workforce, or 240 jobs, to save up to $40 million in annual costs.

QuantumScape rallied 30.9% after announcing a breakthrough in its process for making solid-state batteries. Solid state battery technology promises to improve electric vehicle range, decrease charging times and minimize the risk of battery fires. But the batteries are expensive to research and difficult to manufacture at a large scale, giving them a reputation for being a Holy Grail for battery engineers all over the world.

Companies involved in the cryptocurrency industry, meanwhile, rose as the price of bitcoin continued to steam ahead with investors willing to take on more risk. Coinbase Global, the crypto exchange, climbed 3.1% as bitcoin topped $107,000.

All told, the S&P 500 edged down by 0.02 to 6,092.16 points. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 106.59 to 42,982.43, and the Nasdaq composite rose 61.02 to 19,973.55.

In the bond market, Treasury yields held relatively steady, and the yield on the 10-year Treasury eased to 4.28% from 4.30% late Tuesday.

Yields had dropped a day earlier after the chair of the Federal Reserve said it is waiting for the right moment to resume cutting interest rates. By lowering rates, the Fed could give the economy a boost, but it could also offer additional fuel for inflation.

Fed Chair Jerome Powell said again on Wednesday that he wants to wait and see how President Donald Trump’s tariffs affect the economy and inflation before committing to its next move. In testimony before a Senate committee, Powell echoed many of his statements from the day before, when he spoke at the House of Representatives, and he said, “For the time being, we are well positioned to wait to learn more about the likely course of the economy before considering any adjustments to our policy stance.”

In stock markets abroad, indexes fell modestly in Europe after rising across much of Asia.

Stocks jumped 1.2% in Hong Kong and 1% in Shanghai for two of the bigger moves.

“The world can now move on to face other difficult choices like tariffs and things like that,” said Frances Lun, CEO of GEO Securities in Hong Kong. “So I think the market is well on its way to rebound and could again reach new levels.”

___

AP Business Writers Matt Ott and Elaine Kurtenbach contributed.

Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs confirms he won’t testify and praises the trial judge for an ‘excellent job’

Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs confirms he won’t testify and praises the trial judge for an ‘excellent job’

By MICHAEL R. SISAK and LARRY NEUMEISTER Associated Press

NEW YORK (AP) — Sean “Diddy” Combs told the judge at his sex trafficking trial that he’s doing an “excellent job” as he confirmed Tuesday that he won’t testify.

Combs made the comment to U.S. District Judge Arun Subramanian after being asked about testifying.

The question was posed by the Manhattan jurist after the prosecution rested following a more than six-week-long presentation of evidence against the hip-hop maven. Later in the afternoon, the defense rested without calling any witnesses.

In a routine occurrence after prosecutors rest at criminal trials, Combs’ lawyers made arguments to toss out the charges, arguing the charges weren’t proven. The judge said he’ll rule at a later date.

Prosecutors have called 34 witnesses to try to prove sex trafficking and racketeering conspiracy charges that resulted in Combs’ September arrest, including two ex-girlfriends of Combs who testified they felt coerced into marathon sex events with male sex workers that were called “freak-offs” or “hotel nights.”

Defense lawyers, though, say they were consensual sexual encounters consistent with the swingers lifestyle.

Combs, 55, has pleaded not guilty and has remained incarcerated without bail in a federal lockup in Brooklyn after multiple judges concluded last fall that he was a danger to the community.

It is standard practice at federal criminal trials for the judge to directly question the defendant about the decision to testify or not, in part to ensure that the defendant knows it is his decision, regardless of what his lawyers have told him.

When it came time for Subramanian to question Combs after prosecutors rested, the judge asked him how he’s doing.

“I’m doing great, your honor,” the Bad Boy Entertainment founder answered, before volunteering a compliment to the judge before another question could be posed.

“I want to tell you thank you, you’re doing an excellent job,” Combs said.

Combs said he “thoroughly” discussed the matter with his lawyers before deciding not to testify.

“That is my decision, your honor,” Combs said, adding: “That is solely my decision.”

Prodded by the judge, he clarified further: “I mean, it’s my decision with my lawyers. … My decision to make. I’m making it.”

Since the trial began in early May, government witnesses have included former employees of Combs’ companies, but the bulk of its proof has come from the testimony of two former girlfriends: Casandra “Cassie” Ventura and a model and internet personality known to jurors only by the pseudonym “Jane.”

Ventura, 38, testified for four days during the trial’s first week, saying she felt pressured to engage in hundreds of “freak offs” because the encounters would enable her to be intimate with Combs after performing sexually with male sex workers while he watched them slather one another with baby oil and sometimes filmed the encounters.

Jane testified for six days about the sexual performances she labeled “hotel nights,” saying that she was putting them into perspective after beginning therapy three months ago. She said she felt coerced into engaging in them as recently as last August, but did so because she loved and still loves Combs.

Ventura was in a relationship with Combs from 2007 to 2018, while Jane was frequently with him from 2021 until his arrest, which canceled her plan to meet him at the New York hotel where he was taken into custody.

The Associated Press doesn’t generally identify people who say they are victims of sexual abuse unless they come forward publicly, as Cassie has done.

Throughout the trial, defense lawyers have made their case for exoneration through their questioning of witnesses, including several who testified reluctantly or only after they were granted immunity from any crimes they may have committed.

Combs has been active in his defense, writing notes to his lawyers and sometimes helping them decide when to stop questioning a witness.

He was admonished once by the judge for nodding enthusiastically toward jurors during a successful stretch of cross-examination by one of his lawyers. Prosecutors complained that his gestures were a form of testifying without being subject to cross-examination. The judge warned that he could be excluded from his trial if it happened again.

In the past week, prosecutors and defense lawyers have shown jurors over 40 minutes of recordings Combs made of the “freak offs” or “hotel nights.”

Several jurors occasionally seemed squeamish as they viewed and listened to audio of the encounters, but most did not seem to react.

In her opening statement, Geragos had called the videos “powerful evidence that the sexual conduct in this case was consensual and not based on coercion.”

Closing arguments were scheduled for Thursday.

Judge orders NASCAR teams to turn over financial data to stock car series, limits details

Judge orders NASCAR teams to turn over financial data to stock car series, limits details

By JENNA FRYER AP Auto Racing Writer

CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) — A federal judge on Wednesday ordered a dozen NASCAR teams to provide 11 years of financial data to the stock car series as part of an ongoing legal fight but sharply limited what they need to share.

A day after hearing arguments from both sides, U.S. District Judge Kenneth Bell of the Western District of North Carolina said the information will “allow NASCAR to have much of the arguably relevant substance of the requested information, while protecting the legitimate interests” of the 12 teams. They had raised concerns that the private financial details could end up being made public and would hurt competitive balance.

Under the decision, the teams must provide top-line data — total revenue, total costs, and net profits and losses — dating to 2014. The teams and NASCAR were ordered to settle on an independent accounting firm to handle the details by Friday, with that work paid for by NASCAR.

Earlier this week, attorneys for 12 of the 15 overall race teams argued against disclosing their financial records to become part of NASCAR’s antitrust lawsuit. They are not parties in the ongoing suit filed by 23XI Racing, which is owned by the NBA Hall Jordan and three-time Daytona 500 winner Denny Hamlin, and Front Row Motorsports, owned by entrepreneur Bob Jenkins.

23XI and Front Row are the only two organizations of the 15 that refused last September to sign take-it-or-leave offers on a new charter agreement. Charters are NASCAR’s version of a franchise model, with each charter guaranteeing entry to the lucrative Cup Series races and a stable revenue stream. Of the 13 teams that signed, only Kaulig Racing has submitted the financial documents NASCAR subpoenaed as part of discovery.

Teams have long argued that NASCAR is not financially viable and they need a greater revenue stream and a more permanent length on the charter agreements, which presently have expiration dates and can be revoked by NASCAR. Two years of negotiations ended last fall with 13 teams signing on and 23IX and FRM instead heading to court.

North Carolina judges issue mixed ruling on governor’s appointment powers

North Carolina judges issue mixed ruling on governor’s appointment powers

By GARY D. ROBERTSON Associated Press

RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — North Carolina trial judges issued a mixed ruling Tuesday for Democratic Gov. Josh Stein and Republican legislative leaders in Stein’s litigation over recent law changes that eroded the governor’s powers to appoint members to state boards and to fill appeals court vacancies.

A three-judge panel unanimously sided with Stein and struck down as unconstitutional a portion of a law that placed some limits on whom the governor could choose to fill vacancies on the seven-member state Supreme Court and 15-member intermediate-level Court of Appeals.

But the Superior Court judges let stand a pair of provisions that take away some of Stein’s appointments to the state Utilities Commission and Building Code Council.

In a brief order issued after two hours of arguments earlier in the day, Superior Court Judges James Ammons, Graham Shirley and Imelda Pate wrote that Stein “failed to demonstrate, beyond reasonable doubt,” that the alterations involving the two state boards were unconstitutional.

The order, which can be appealed, is the latest result from lawsuits that Stein or his fellow Democrat and predecessor Roy Cooper filed in recent years to attempt to counter measures approved by the Republican-controlled legislature that they say weaken gubernatorial control and the separation of powers between government branches. Several lawsuits have focused on the State Board of Elections.

The state constitution says the governor fills appellate court vacancies. Appointees must be licensed to practice law in North Carolina.

But the law approved last December directed the governor to fill such a vacancy from a list of three people offered by the political party with which the departing judge or justice was affiliated when elected. That limitation wouldn’t apply if the court judge was unaffiliated at the time, or if the party didn’t provide the list quickly.

Stein attorney Daniel Smith told the judges that legal scholars — among them the current chief justice — have said the governor has an “unfettered power of appointment” for these vacancies, which fill positions until the next statewide election.

Shirley pushed back on arguments by Noah Huffstetler — an attorney for House Speaker Destin Hall and Senate leader Phil Berger — that since the constitution doesn’t specifically forbid conditions on these appointments, the legislature can act to add some.

The panel declined to block the latest changes to the Utilities Commission, which regulates electricity, natural gas and other public utilities. Beginning next month, the commission will decrease to five members.

Without the December law, the retooled commission would be composed of three members appointed by the governor and two by the General Assembly. But the challenged law gave one of the governor’s three appointments to the elected state treasurer, currently Republican Brad Briner. His nominee is set to take his post in July.

Stein’s attorneys argued that the change would dilute the governor’s powers and prevent him from controlling the commission to make sure utilities regulations are enforced. But GOP leaders countered that they can assign duties to other statewide elected executive officials known as the Council of State.

Briner, who joined the case to help defend the law, said Tuesday’s decision affirms that “the governor does not have ultimate authority over other duly elected members of the Council of State to carry out their roles and responsibilities as members of the executive branch.”

The panel also let stand General Assembly changes to the Building Code Council, whose members have been appointed solely by the governor.

Under the new law, the governor still would appoint seven of the 13 members, with legislative leaders choosing six. Stein’s lawyers say he’ll lack sufficient control over the revised board because code changes and other action couldn’t be approved unless nine members agree.

Stein said late Tuesday on social platform X that the judges’ decision on judicial vacancies “maintains our state’s separation of powers.” Stein said he was disappointed that they failed to follow similar principles in ruling on the Utilities Commission and Building Code Council.

Pate is a registered Democrat, while Ammons is unaffiliated. Shirley ran unsuccessfully for another court term in 2024 as a Republican. He became a special Superior Court judge this year.

Just last week another three-judge panel dismissed a lawsuit filed by Stein that challenged another law from December directing that current State Highway Patrol Col. Freddy Johnson remain patrol commander until 2030.

Cooper Flagg is the prize player as the Mavericks hold the No. 1 pick in the NBA draft

Cooper Flagg is the prize player as the Mavericks hold the No. 1 pick in the NBA draft

By BRIAN MAHONEY AP Basketball Writer

NEW YORK (AP) — Cooper Flagg lived up to every expectation during one season at Duke and has the potential for NBA superstardom.

That’s why Mavericks fans can’t wait to get him to Dallas.

The Mavericks are expected to take Flagg with the No. 1 pick in the draft on Wednesday night, quickly adding another franchise-altering player after trading one away last season.

The Mavericks fell into the lottery after dealing Luka Doncic to the Los Angeles Lakers in February, though they had only a 1.8% chance of winning it. When they did, it gave them the opportunity to add an 18-year-old who was college basketball’s best player in 2024-25.

Flagg averaged 19.2 points and 7.5 rebounds and led Duke to the Final Four. The 6-foot-8 forward topped the Blue Devils in all five major statistical categories and already has proven he has a game that will more than hold up against the pros when he played well last summer during an invite to the U.S. Olympic team’s training camp.

If Flagg is the choice, it will end two straight years when an American college player was not the No. 1 pick in the draft, the first time that had happened. The San Antonio Spurs selected Victor Wembanyama in 2023 and the Atlanta Hawks took another French player, Zaccherie Risacher, last season.

The Spurs have the No. 2 pick this year. Then it’s Philadelphia, Charlotte and Utah.

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