The Nation in Brief

The University of North Carolina System’s board discusses Friday the rejection of a plan to build a $5.3 million structure to house a Confederate monument.
The University of North Carolina System’s board discusses Friday the rejection of a plan to build a $5.3 million structure to house a Confederate monument.

School rejects Rebel-statue site plan

CHAPEL HILL, N.C. -- North Carolina's public university system rejected a proposal Friday to build a $5.3 million structure to house a toppled Confederate statue, opting instead to "go back to the drawing board" to figure out what to do with the monument.

University of North Carolina System Chairman Harry Smith said cost was a primary concern in turning down the proposal to move the statue known as Silent Sam into a new building on the outskirts of the Chapel Hill flagship campus. The statewide board of governors passed a resolution Friday to have several of its members work on a new plan that's due in March.

A proposal to build a history center to house the statue was approved in early December by the trustees of the Chapel Hill campus. The plan drew sharp criticism for its cost and because it would return Silent Sam to the grounds of the university -- sparking a demonstration by hundreds on the night after it was announced.

Silent Sam had stood on a main campus quad from 1913 until it was torn down in August by protesters who decried its origins, including a racist speech by a former Confederate when it was dedicated.

Ohio lawmakers pass 2 abortion bills

COLUMBUS, Ohio -- Ohio's Republican-led Legislature sent Gov. John Kasich a pair of new abortion restrictions Friday, including legislation banning terminations at the first detectable fetal heartbeat, something he's vowed to veto.

After marathon lame-duck votes that lasted into the wee hours, lawmakers left open the possibility of returning to override any vetoes. However, the so-called heartbeat bill didn't get the 60 House votes Friday that would be needed.

It was the second time in two years that lawmakers have sent the heartbeat bill to Kasich's desk. He vetoed a similar measure in December 2016. The final legislation specifies that a transvaginal ultrasound isn't required. That would mean detection of the heartbeat would be possible at around 10 weeks, rather than six weeks.

The other bill, approved during a Thursday session that continued overnight, bans dilation and evacuation abortions, one of the most common methods for the procedure.

After the approval of the heartbeat bill, Faith2Action President Janet Porter, who authored the legislation, urged supporters to "Pray!" and to respectfully push Kasich to change his mind.

Planned Parenthood, other abortion-rights groups and the American Civil Liberties Union of Ohio condemned both bills as part of a strategy to overturn the U.S. Supreme Court's landmark Roe v. Wade decision, which effectively legalized abortion before viability.

Once he receives the bill, Kasich has 10 days, excluding Sundays, to act.

N.C. voter-ID law vetoed by governor

RALEIGH, N.C. -- Gov. Roy Cooper on Friday vetoed legislation implementing a voter photo identification mandate that was added to the state's constitution in a recent referendum, teeing up a likely veto override by Republican lawmakers.

Cooper, a Democrat, has repeatedly opposed voter-ID legislation over the years, saying it was unnecessary and would prevent many poor and minority-group voters from exercising their right to cast ballots. He vetoed the measure even though more than 55 percent of voters approved a constitutional amendment last month requiring in-person voter photo ID.

"Instead, the real election problem is votes harvested illegally through absentee ballots, which this proposal fails to fix," he said, referring to an investigation of alleged absentee ballot fraud in the 9th Congressional District in November's election.

An override vote could occur next week. Republicans are acting now because they won't have supermajorities starting in January because of Democratic legislative gains on Election Day.

Democratic legislators acknowledge that voter-ID rules are necessary because of the referendum, but they say the details are being rushed, are complex, and will prevent some minority-group members and poor people from voting.

Maine GOP hopeful drops recount bid

PORTLAND, Maine -- A Republican incumbent dropped his request for a recount Friday in the first congressional race in U.S. history held under a system by which voters rank candidates in order of preference.

The announcement by U.S. Rep. Bruce Poliquin came a day after a federal judge tossed out his challenge of Maine's ranked-choice voting system.

Poliquin lost his re-election bid to Democratic state Rep. Jared Golden in November.

But on Friday, Poliquin tweeted that he believes it's important to end the recount, in part because of the coming holidays. He also said he's still evaluating whether to appeal the judge's decision on the constitutionality of the candidate-ranking system.

While neither candidate got more than 50 percent of the total vote on Election Day, Poliquin held a first-round lead of more than 2,000 votes over Golden. Golden emerged as the victor with a slim majority after two independents were eliminated and the votes were reallocated under the ranking system.

-- Compiled by Democrat-Gazette staff from wire reports

photo

AP/MATT ROURKE

Marvella McDaniel, whose son was slain, lights a candle during a vigil Friday in Philadelphia for gun-violence victims. Friday was the sixth anniversary of the massacre at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Connecticut.

A Section on 12/15/2018

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