RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — Legislation much in line with President Donald Trump's political agenda on transgender rights squeezed through the North Carolina Senate this week, as state lawmakers prepare for their anticipated summer recess by the week's end.
A measure approved Tuesday — despite heightened tensions in the Senate — offers protections for women and minors in pornography but had various provisions related to transgender people tacked on in a Senate committee last week. In its original form, the bill passed unanimously through the House last month before the changes, which caused a stir among Democrats who have said the bill was hijacked.
“It didn't just distract from the problem, they made it impossible to solve,” Senate Democratic Leader Sydney Batch said on the chamber floor Tuesday.
The other bill passed Monday, entitled the Parents Protections Act, blocks certain abuse and neglect charges for parents raising transgender children. That bill was sent to Democratic Gov. Josh Stein's desk for his impending veto or approval. But the bill is on track to become law even if Stein vetoes it as previous Democratic support in the House will give Republicans the supermajority necessary to override a veto.
Among the many priorities unveiled by the Trump administration over the past six months, pressing back against the rights and recognition of transgender people has been at the forefront. The administration's policies include restricting passport sex markers for many transgender people, signing off on an executive order to recognize just two sexes and banning transgender troops — actions that had mixed approval from Americans as of last month.
The bills passed by the Senate reinforce the Trump administration's attitude toward transgender issues. But they are also an extension of legislation already approved in North Carolina. Last legislative session, the GOP-dominated General Assembly cleared bills that largely banned gender-affirming care for minors and transgender athletes from participating in women's sports at the middle school, high school and collegiate levels.
Tuesday's approved bill includes an array of provisions pertaining to transgender people, such as disallowing state-funded gender transition procedures or gender-affirming hormone therapy for prisoners. It also requires the state to officially attach a transgender person’s new birth certificate to their old one if they change their sex assigned at birth, as well as affirms Trump’s executive order recognizing only two sexes.
Republican Sen. Buck Newton said the reason for pushing the bill with new provisions was to address the issue of women being “systemically erased from our language." He referenced terms such as “pregnant person” as evidence of that.
In the bill’s original form that passed through the House, it solely focused on curbing sexual exploitation of women and minors by implementing age verification and consent requirements for people who appear on pornography websites. It also outlines a process to remove content from those websites if a performer requests it, regardless of age and consent.
While those provisions remain in the bill, many Senate Democrats expressed their dissatisfaction by sending forth a barrage of amendments and abstaining from voting while remaining in the chamber — a rare move used in protest. The parliamentary maneuvers caused discussion on the bill to last over two hours, but it ultimately passed.
Because the bill was changed in the Senate, it must now go back to House to approve of the alterations before it can go to the governor’s desk.
The Parents Protections Act would shield parents, guardians and caregivers from being cited for child abuse or neglect because they “raise a juvenile consistent with the juvenile's biological sex,” according to the legislation. That includes making reference to the child, as well as making mental health or medical decisions, based on their sex assigned at birth.
Adoptive agencies also wouldn't be permitted to deny someone from adopting a child because of their unwillingness to allow the child to transition.
Nine House Democrats voted in favor of the legislation last week, meaning a potential veto from Stein would easily be overridden if those margins remain and allow the bill to become law.
North Carolina Senate Democratic Leader Sydney Batch huddles with Democratic Sen. Michael Garrett, Sen. Val Applewhite and Sen. Jay Chaudhuri during a break in debating a bill on transgender issues in the North Carolina Senate chamber in Raleigh, N.C., on Tuesday, June 24, 2025. (AP Photo/Makiya Seminera)
Sen. Amy Galey speaks in favor of a bill that would shield parents from certain abuse and neglect charges for raising their transgender child in accordance with their sex assigned at birth on the North Carolina Senate floor in Raleigh, N.C., on Monday, June 23, 2025. (AP Photo/Makiya Seminera)
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — U.S. President Donald Trump said Iran wants to negotiate with Washington after his threat to strike the Islamic Republic over its bloody crackdown on protesters, a move coming as activists said Monday the death toll in the nationwide demonstrations rose to at least 544.
Iran had no immediate reaction to the news, which came after the foreign minister of Oman — long an interlocutor between Washington and Tehran — traveled to Iran this weekend. It also remains unclear just what Iran could promise, particularly as Trump has set strict demands over its nuclear program and its ballistic missile arsenal, which Tehran insists is crucial for its national defense.
Meanwhile Monday, Iran called for pro-government demonstrators to head to the streets in support of the theocracy, a show of force after days of protests directly challenging the rule of 86-year-old Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. Iranian state television aired chants from the crowd, who shouted “Death to America!” and “Death to Israel!”
Trump and his national security team have been weighing a range of potential responses against Iran including cyberattacks and direct strikes by the U.S. or Israel, according to two people familiar with internal White House discussions who were not authorized to comment publicly and spoke on condition of anonymity.
“The military is looking at it, and we’re looking at some very strong options,” Trump told reporters on Air Force One on Sunday night. Asked about Iran’s threats of retaliation, he said: “If they do that, we will hit them at levels that they’ve never been hit before.”
Trump said that his administration was in talks to set up a meeting with Tehran, but cautioned that he may have to act first as reports of the death toll in Iran mount and the government continues to arrest protesters.
“I think they’re tired of being beat up by the United States,” Trump said. “Iran wants to negotiate.”
He added: “The meeting is being set up, but we may have to act because of what’s happening before the meeting. But a meeting is being set up. Iran called, they want to negotiate.”
Iran through country's parliamentary speaker warned Sunday that the U.S. military and Israel would be “legitimate targets” if America uses force to protect demonstrators.
More than 10,600 people also have been detained over the two weeks of protests, said the U.S.-based Human Rights Activists News Agency, which has been accurate in previous unrest in recent years and gave the death toll. It relies on supporters in Iran crosschecking information. It said 496 of the dead were protesters and 48 were with security forces.
With the internet down in Iran and phone lines cut off, gauging the demonstrations from abroad has grown more difficult. The Associated Press has been unable to independently assess the toll. Iran’s government has not offered overall casualty figures.
Those abroad fear the information blackout is emboldening hard-liners within Iran’s security services to launch a bloody crackdown. Protesters flooded the streets in the country’s capital and its second-largest city on Saturday night into Sunday morning. Online videos purported to show more demonstrations Sunday night into Monday, with a Tehran official acknowledging them in state media.
In Tehran, a witness told the AP that the streets of the capital empty at the sunset call to prayers each night. By the Isha, or nighttime prayer, the streets are deserted.
Part of that stems from the fear of getting caught in the crackdown. Police sent the public a text message that warned: “Given the presence of terrorist groups and armed individuals in some gatherings last night and their plans to cause death, and the firm decision to not tolerate any appeasement and to deal decisively with the rioters, families are strongly advised to take care of their youth and teenagers.”
Another text, which claimed to come from the intelligence arm of the paramilitary Revolutionary Guard, also directly warned people not to take part in demonstrations.
“Dear parents, in view of the enemy’s plan to increase the level of naked violence and the decision to kill people, ... refrain from being on the streets and gathering in places involved in violence, and inform your children about the consequences of cooperating with terrorist mercenaries, which is an example of treason against the country,” the text warned.
The witness spoke to the AP on condition of anonymity due to the ongoing crackdown.
The demonstrations began Dec. 28 over the collapse of the Iranian rial currency, which trades at over 1.4 million to $1, as the country’s economy is squeezed by international sanctions in part levied over its nuclear program. The protests intensified and grew into calls directly challenging Iran’s theocracy.
Nikhinson reported from aboard Air Force One.
In this frame grab from video obtained by the AP outside Iran, a masked demonstrator holds a picture of Iran's Crown Prince Reza Pahlavi during a protest in Tehran, Iran, Friday, January. 9, 2026. (UGC via AP)
In this frame grab from footage circulating on social media from Iran shows protesters taking to the streets despite an intensifying crackdown as the Islamic Republic remains cut off from the rest of the world in Tehran, Iran, Friday, Jan. 9, 2026.(UGC via AP)
In this frame grab from footage circulating on social media from Iran showed protesters once again taking to the streets of Tehran despite an intensifying crackdown as the Islamic Republic remains cut off from the rest of the world in Tehran, Iran, Saturday Jan. 10, 2026. (UGC via AP)
