Date set for session to undo North Carolina ‘bathroom bill’
RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — North Carolina leaders struck a deal Monday to kill the state law widely derided as the “bathroom bill,” after it tarnished the state’s reputation, cost it scores of jobs and contributed to the Republican governor’s narrow loss.
Outgoing Gov. Pat McCrory announced he would call legislators back to the Capitol on Wednesday to repeal the law known as HB2, which excludes sexual orientation and gender identity from antidiscrimination protections. The law also requires transgender people to use restrooms corresponding with the sex on their birth certificate in many public buildings.
Undoing the law would be a step toward mending political divisions that remain raw well after Election Day. Just last week, lawmakers called a special session to strip Democratic Gov.-elect Cooper of some authority before he takes office next month.
The state’s Republican leaders confirmed they’re open to repealing HB2, but in a sign of lingering acrimony, they accused Cooper of taking too much credit for winning their cooperation.
The passage of HB2 in March thrust North Carolina into a national debate on transgender rights and harmed the state economically. The state missed out on new jobs as companies declined to expand in the state, while cancellations of concerts and conventions exacted a toll. The NBA moved its All-Star game to New Orleans, and in a huge symbolic blow to the college basketball-crazy state, the NCAA and ACC relocated events.
Aleppo girl whose tweets captured world attention evacuated
BEIRUT (AP) — A Syrian girl from eastern Aleppo whose tweets from the war zone captivated world attention was evacuated to safety Monday, part of an evacuation deal that saw the remaining residents of the former rebel enclave head to other parts of the country.
“I escaped from East #Aleppo,” she tweeted after arriving in Rashidin, an area west of Aleppo, after she and her mother were evacuated from the war-torn east of the city.
Seven-year-old Bana Alabed’s mother Fatemah set up and began operating the account in September, tweeting on her daughter’s behalf, they documented the horrors of living through the government’s assault on eastern Aleppo, which destroyed much of the city. Their account eventually garnered some 334,000 followers.
Speaking to the opposition-run Qasioun News Agency Monday, Fatemah, said she was glad to have finally reached safety but expressed regret that she was forced out of her home city, and said she did not want to become a refugee.
An English teacher, Fatema said she created the Twitter account to tell the world about the suffering of children and all residents of rebel-held eastern Aleppo.
IMF board: Lagarde can remain as chief despite conviction
WASHINGTON (AP) — Christine Lagarde can remain head of the International Monetary Fund despite her conviction Monday of negligence in a case dating to her tenure as France’s finance minister.
The IMF’s executive board announced that it “reaffirms its full confidence in the managing director’s ability to continue to effectively carry out her duties.” It praised her “outstanding leadership.”
After a weeklong trial, France’s Court of Justice of the Republic found Lagarde guilty of one count of negligence but spared her jail time and a criminal record.
The 60-year-old IMF leader had potentially faced a year of imprisonment and a fine for not seeking to block a fraudulent 2008 arbitration award to a politically connected tycoon when she was finance minister.
Brain changes seen in pregnancy, might help in preparing for baby
NEW YORK (AP) — Pregnancy affects not only a woman’s body: It changes parts of her brain too, a new study says.
When researchers compared brain scans of women before and after pregnancy, they spotted some differences in 11 locations. They also found hints that the alterations help women prepare for motherhood.
For example, they might help a mother understand the needs of her infant, Elseline Hoekzema, a study author at Leiden University in the Netherlands, explained via email.
The women were also given memory tests, and they showed no signs of decline.
Hoekzema, a neuroscientist, began working on the study while at the Autonomous University of Barcelona in Spain. She and colleagues present the results in a paper released Monday by the journal Nature Neuroscience.
