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NC Judges: Some GOP Laws Against Governor Unconstitutional

A North Carolina judicial panel says some laws enacted by Republican legislators to undercut the new Democratic governor's powers are unconstitutional.

But the three-judge panel also ruled Friday that one law subjecting Gov. Roy Cooper's Cabinet secretaries to confirmation by the Senate was justified.

Cooper's attorneys said in court this month that the laws enacted two weeks before he took office should be invalidated because they skew the balance of powers among government branches and made it harder for Cooper to carry out his gubernatorial duties in the state Constitution.

The judges agreed with Cooper on throwing out laws that shifted his powers in carrying out elections to the legislature and that gave civil service protections to hundreds of former Republican Gov. Pat McCrory's political appointees.

Former NC Police Chief Detained At JFK For 90 Minutes

A former North Carolina police chief who now works as a law enforcement consultant says he's disappointed with his country of 42 years after he was detained at John F. Kennedy International Airport.

Former Greenville police Chief Hassan Aden of Alexandria, Virginia, says he was detained March 13 on a return trip from Paris. He says he supports the officers of the U.S. Customs and Border Patrol, but he believes his 90-minute detention was unreasonable.

In a Facebook post, he says a customs officer told him that his name "was used as an alias by someone on some watch list."

The 52-year-old Aden says he became a naturalized U.S. citizen at the age of 10 when he was an Italian citizen.

Civil Rights Pioneer Receives Top North Carolina Honor

A North Carolina civil rights pioneer has received one of the state's highest honors in a formal ceremony in Greensboro.

The News and Record of Greensboro reports Clarence Henderson received the Order of the Long Leaf Pine award Friday at the old Guilford County Courthouse.

Henderson was a sit-in participant about 60 years ago at a segregated North Carolina lunch counter.

He was an 18-year-old student at North Carolina A&T State University when he joined four lunch counter protesters on the second day of their protest. They were arrested but they added momentum to a wave of nonviolent protests against racist policies.

For Many Older Americans, Costs Rise Under GOP Health Plan

Older Americans who have not yet reached Medicare age are among the groups hardest hit by the Republican plan to replace the Affordable Care Act.

An analysis by The Associated Press shows that many of those who buy their own health insurance stand to pay thousands of dollars more.

That is especially true for the nearly 3.4 million older Americans who have enrolled through the government marketplaces, many of whom receive generous federal subsidies through the health care law enacted under former President Barack Obama.

The Republican plan replaces those subsidies with a flat tax credit that does not take into account income or local insurance prices. The plan is still evolving, and many GOP lawmakers have said they want to see changes that reduce the impact on older consumers.

NC Teen Dies Month After Fall At Hanging Rock State Park

A North Carolina teenager who slipped and fell more than 50 feet at Hanging Rock State Park last month has died.

17-year-old Jason Messer of Stokesdale died Friday at Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center in Winston-Salem.

Messer was hiking with three friends on Feb. 18 when he fell from a ledge, breaking several bones and suffering a traumatic brain injury.

Daniel Gumprecht, associate pastor of Twin City Bible Church, said Messer passed away peacefully.

Funeral arrangements are pending.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.