DOJ: North Carolina LGBT law violates civil rights
RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — A North Carolina law limiting protections to LGBT people violates federal civil rights protections and can’t be enforced, The U.S. Justice Department said Wednesday, putting the state on notice that it is in danger of being sued and losing hundreds of millions of dollars in federal funding.
The law, which also requires transgender people to use public bathrooms that conform to the sex on their birth certificate, has been broadly condemned by gay-rights groups, businesses and entertainers, some of whom have relocated offices or canceled shows in the state. Several other states have proposed similar laws limiting LGBT protections in recent months.
In a letter to Gov. Pat McCrory, the Justice Department said federal officials view the state law as violating federal Civil Rights Act protections barring workplace discrimination based on sex. Provisions of the state law directed at transgender state employees violate their anti-discrimination protections, the letter said.
“The State is engaging in a pattern or practice of discrimination against transgender state employees and both you, in your official capacity, and the state are engaging in a pattern or practice of resistance” of their rights, the letter said.
McCrory’s spokesmen did not respond to email and text messages Wednesday. In the past, the governor has defended the law and said he didn’t think it would have any financial impact, either on the economy in general or on federal school funding in particular.
EU moves on visa offer to win Turkey’s help with migrants
BRUSSELS (AP) — The European Union pressed ahead Wednesday with efforts to persuade Turkey to stop asylum seekers from reaching Europe and take back thousands more by offering Turkish citizens the prospect of visa-free travel within the bloc.
Mindful of Turkey’s pivotal role in managing Europe’s refugee crisis, the European Commission said Ankara has met all but five of the 72 criteria needed to end visa requirements. It invited member states and EU lawmakers to endorse the move by June 30, even though some conditions remain to be fulfilled.
“There is still work to be done as a matter of urgency, but if Turkey sustains the progress made, they can meet the remaining benchmarks,” Commission Vice-President Frans Timmermans told reporters in Brussels.
Once endorsed, Turkish citizens would be able to travel for 90 days without a visa to all EU member countries — except for Britain and Ireland, which have provisions for opting out of such policies — and four members of the Schengen passport-free travel area: Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway and Switzerland.
Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu praised the move, describing it as “not just a turning point for visa-free travel, it is also a new page in relations with the European Union.”
Attorney: Prince arranged to meet addiction doctor
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — In his final weeks, Prince hid signs of trouble from his fans, stonewalling reports of an overdose that required an emergency landing and making a brief public appearance to reassure them. But privately, the superstar was in crisis, seeking help from a prominent addiction expert that ultimately came too late.
The day before he died, Prince’s representatives reached out to a prominent California doctor who specializes in treating addiction and set up an initial meeting between the two, the doctor’s Minneapolis attorney, William Mauzy, said Wednesday. He said the doctor, Howard Kornfeld, couldn’t leave right away so he sent his son, Andrew, who flew out that night.
It was Andrew Kornfeld who called 911 the next morning after he and two staffers found Prince unresponsive in an elevator at his Paisley Park studio complex, the lawyer said. Prince was declared dead shortly thereafter on April 21. He was 57.
The details about Prince’s death that emerged Wednesday raise questions about whether he received appropriate care and whether those who sought to provide it could face legal consequences for their actions.
Although autopsy results haven’t been released, Mauzy’s revelations, which were first reported by The Star Tribune, buttress reports that Prince had been fighting — and ultimately lost — a battle with prescription painkillers.
Residents evacuated as fires threaten Canada oil sands town
FORT MCMURRAY, Alberta (AP) — A raging wildfire emptied Canada’s main oil sands city, destroying entire neighborhoods of Fort McMurray, Alberta, where officials warned Wednesday that all efforts to suppress the fire have failed.
About 88,000 residents successfully evacuated as flames moved into the city surrounded by wilderness in the heart of Canada’s oil sands. No injuries have been reported.
Alberta Premier Rachel Notley said all 105 patients at the local hospital had been safely airlifted to other care centers. She said, so far, the fire had destroyed or damaged an estimated 1,600 structures.
Unseasonably hot temperatures combined with dry conditions have transformed the boreal forest in much of Alberta into a tinder box.
Danielle Larivee, Alberta’s Minister of Municipal Affairs, said the province has declared a state of emergency and said the fire is actively burning in residential areas. Over 200 firefighters are battling the blaze. Fatalities have been reported from a collision on a nearby highway but she was unaware if it was related to the evacuation.
