* Clare Giesen, head of the National Women's Political Caucus, will speak to members of the N.C. chapter in Charlotte on Feb. 26.

* Sen. Steve Goss now says he was inspired to write a blog libel bill after reading about the cyberbullying conviction of a Missouri woman.

* Sen. Harry Reid's spokesman says Rep. Heath Shuler's criticism about his "failed" bipartisanship comes from a guy who threw too many interceptions. 

* Recount finds transfer tax failed by just 35 votes in Avery County, the latest in a string of defeats for counties looking for an alternative.

Gov. Beverly Perdue's pro-choice promise will soon face its first test.

While speaking to a feminist group at a fundraiser breakfast in Raleigh this morning, Perdue pledged to be strongly pro-choice.

At the same time, she released a list of proposed cuts given to her by different agency officials that includes eliminating the state's fund to help poor women afford abortions.

The move would save about $50,000 a year.

The state abortion fund used to be much larger. But during the 1995 budget session, then state Sen. Perdue, one of the chief budget writers, helped slash it from $1.2 million to $50,000 — a 96 percent reduction.

During the Democratic gubernatorial primary, then-Treasurer Richard Moore criticized Perdue for the cut, even creating a YouTube clip of an uncomfortable interview on the subject, while Perdue defended her record on abortion.

Though NARAL Pro-Choice North Carolina remained neutral in the primary, Perdue was endorsed by EMILY's List, which backs pro-choice Democratic women, and received the support of the Central North Carolina chapter of Planned Parenthood in the general election.

Update: Perdue was also endorsed by the N.C. Women's Political Caucus, the state chapter of a bipartisan group that endorses pro-choice women candidates.

Correction: An earlier version may have given the impression that Perdue had taken a stance on the specific cuts. She has not.

Democratic gubernatorial candidate Richard Moore's latest TV ad attacks rival Beverly Perdue over a gun bill she worked on in the legislature, Ben Niolet reports.

What the ad says: Moore: "I'm Richard Moore, candidate for governor and I sponsored this ad." Announcer: "Decisions say a lot about character. Like the time Bev Perdue fought against a law to keep guns out of our schools. Newspapers said she was lending the gun lobby a hand, choosing the gun industry over our kids. And then there’s Perdue's vote to restrict a woman's right to choose. The Charlotte Observer said she let politics, not principle govern her performance. Is Bev Perdue a Democrat we can trust?"

The background: In 1993, the legislature was considering a bill to toughen penalties for bringing a gun to school. A House version of the bill made it a crime for a parent to not have a gun locked up. The National Rifle Association supported toughening the penalties for bringing a gun to school, but opposed requiring gun owners to keep firearms locked.

Perdue, then a state senator, consulted with NRA lobbyists and offered an amendment to the Senate’s version of the bill to replace the locked storage requirement with a provision that made it a crime for gun owners to have "reckless possession of firearms."

Supporters of the original bill said the new provision was toothless and the locked storage requriement would save lives. The law that ultimately passed made it a crime for a gun owner to allow a child to get hold of a gun and to use it unlawfully. Perdue voted for the law.

Editorials in The News & Observer, The Charlotte Observer and The News & Record of Greensboro supported the locked storage provision and criticized Perdue’s amendment.

The ad's claim about a vote to restrict a woman's right to choose refers to the state's fiscal 1996 budget. Perdue was one of the Senate's chief budget writers that year and the $9.5 billion spending plan cut by 96 percent a state fund that paid for abortions for poor women. Perdue voted for the budget.

At the time, North Carolina was the only Southern state to fund abortions for poor women, taking over that responsibility after Congress ended abortion funding for Medicaid recipients. Republicans took control of the N.C. House in 1995 and vowed to end tax-financed abortions.

A Charlotte Observer editorial criticized Perdue for the vote, saying it was not in keeping with her long record of supporting abortion rights. In the race for governor, Perdue has been endorsed by pro-choice organizations such as EMILY'S List, the National Women's Political Caucus, NOW and the Women's Campaign Forum.

Is the ad accurate? Not entirely.

Perdue voted for a bill that toughened penalties for bringing guns to schools. She introduced an amendment in the Senate that weakened the bill, but it’s a stretch to say she "fought against a law to keep guns out of our schools."

The 1996 state budget cut state-funded abortions in North Carolina by 96 percent and made it tougher for poor women to have an abortion. But the ad's claim could be interpreted by some viewers to mean that Perdue does not support abortion rights when she has the support of pro-choice organizations.

The National Women’s Political Caucus announced today that it is endorsing Lt. Gov. Beverly Perdue in her bid for the Democratic nomination for governor.

“We are pleased to support Bev Perdue in this historic election,” NWPC President Lulu Flores said in a statement released by the Perdue campaign. “There have only been two female Governors from the South and it is time for North Carolina to make history and elect its first woman Governor!"