In brief: Army general will decide if Bergdahl is charged

The Army has referred its findings on the disappearance of Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl to a senior official who will determine whether Bergdahl will face criminal charges, it was announced Monday.

The case is being sent to a general courts-martial convening authority, Gen. Mark Milley, commanding general of Forces Command. Milley will determine the next step in the case, which could include convening a court-martial to taking no further action against the soldier.

Bergdahl disappeared June 30, 2009, reportedly walking away from his unit after expressing misgivings about the U.S. military’s role in Afghanistan. He was captured by the Taliban. On May 31, Bergdahl was handed over to U.S. special forces in Afghanistan in exchange for five top Taliban commanders who had been imprisoned at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.

An initial Army investigation concluded that Bergdahl, now 28, left his remote base in eastern Afghanistan without permission.

North Carolina abortion law unconstitutional, court rules

RICHMOND, Va. – A federal appeals court Monday ruled that a North Carolina abortion law requiring doctors to perform ultrasounds and describe sonogram images to women is unconstitutional because it violates free speech rights.

The 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals struck down a 2011 law passed by a Republican-dominated Legislature. The panel upheld a federal judge’s ruling that doctors cannot be compelled to deliver the anti-abortion views of lawmakers.

A provision in the Women’s Right to Know Act requires doctors to display sonogram images of fetuses and to describe them to women at least four hours before an abortion procedure.