GREENSBORO, N.C. — Attorney General Josh Stein joined WFMY News 2 and discussed a number of topics Thursday night.
ABORTION
Abortion rights have now been handed over to state law makers, after the Supreme Court ruled to overturn Roe v. Wade.
Right now abortion is legal in North Carolina up to the viability of the fetus, normally 23 weeks.
Republican lawmakers have now called on Attorney General Josh Stein to re-instate an old North Carolina law on any abortion after 20 weeks.
A federal judge had struck down that law citing Roe v. Wade.
Now that Roe v. Wade is no more, it would take a federal judge to reinstate the 20 week ban.
"There is a federal court injunction against the 20 week ban...that issue my lawyers are looking at, a judge has asked for comments, by the state by the parties about whether that injunction remains viable and they're looking at that as we speak," said Attorney General Josh Stein.
SEXUAL ASSAULT KITS
Attorney General Josh Stein announced a new milestone in the effort to test a backlog of sexual assault kits.
The state has now recorded a record number of hits in the CODIS DNA database: 1,211 hits.
That is a nearly 18% increase state leaders say is thanks to increased testing, which allows law enforcement to move forward.
Attorney General Stein launched a statewide sexual assault kit tracking dashboard at www.ncdoj.gov/testthekits. The online dashboard provides up-to-date information about testing progress.
STUDENT LOANS
Student loan debt is a big talker and while federal leaders weigh options for anyone with a student loan, thousands of North Carolinians saw their student debt wiped out.
The U.S. Department of Education got rid of remaining federal student loans for students who attended any school run by Corinthian Colleges.
In North Carolina, that means 12,470 borrowers will receive a total of $142.1 million in loan relief.
More relief is possible.
Anyone who works in public service, like for the state or county, can apply for a federal program to get their student loans forgiven.
You have to fill out a form by October 31, 2022 and you can find more information on how to do that at this website: https://studentaid.gov/pslf/
DOOR-TO-DOOR SCAMS
The Attorney General's Office has received reports of scammers going door-to-door in neighborhoods, posing as maintenance workers or salespeople.
Here is advice on how to avoid a scam:
- Don’t open the door if you don’t know the visitor
- Don’t pay upfront for work being completed or goods being purchased.
- Don’t feel pressured to hire someone or buy something.
- Remember, in North Carolina the buyer has the right to cancel a home-solicitation sale three business days after the purchase.
If you believe that you have been the victim of a scam, contact our office’s Consumer Protection Division at https://ncdoj.gov/file-a-complaint or 1-877-5-NO-SCAM.
