Nation & World Glance
RALEIGH, N.C. — North Carolina rolled back its “bathroom bill” Thursday in a bid to end the yearlong backlash over transgender rights that has cost the state dearly in business projects, conventions and basketball tournaments.
The compromise plan, announced Wednesday night by the Democratic governor and leaders of the Republican-controlled legislature, was worked out under mounting pressure from the NCAA, which threatened to take away more sporting events from the basketballobsessed state as long as the law, also known as House Bill 2, remained on the books.
The new measure cleared the House and Senate and was signed by Gov. Roy Cooper in a matter of hours.
Among other things, it repeals the best-known provision of HB2: a requirement that transgender people use public restrooms that correspond to the sex on their birth certificate.
Massive fire crumbles Atlanta interstate bridge; none hurt
ATLANTA — A massive fire caused an interstate bridge to collapse during rush hour Thursday in Atlanta, just minutes after witnesses said police halted traffic and turned cars away from the crumbling overpass. However, officials said no one was hurt despite dramatic images of massive flames and towering plumes of smoke.
The Atlanta JournalConstitution reports the fire burned for more than an hour under I-85 northbound near Piedmont Road, spewing large plumes of black smoke skyward. The interstate — a major artery for the U.S. South that runs through the heart of Atlanta — was closed indefinitely.
The impact on traffic long-term was not immediately known, but traffic was bumper to bumper on nearby surface streets Thursday night as people scrambled to find alternate routes.
Capt. Mark Perry of the Georgia State Patrol told the newspaper that the agency doesn’t know what started the fire but that terrorism is not suspected.
Trump appeals Hawaii judge’s new ruling blocking travel ban
HONOLULU — President Donald Trump’s administration on Thursday appealed the latest court ruling against his revised travel ban to the same court that refused to reinstate the original version.
A day earlier, U.S. District Judge Derrick Watson in Hawaii handed the government its latest defeat by issuing a longer-lasting hold on Trump’s executive order.
The administration says the executive order falls within the president’s power to protect national security and will ultimately succeed, while Hawaii Attorney General Douglas Chin likened the revised ban to a neon sign flashing “Muslim ban” that the government hasn’t turned off.