Repeal of NC ‘bathroom bill’ fails

The fallout continues over HB2, which limits LGBT protections and prevents transgender people from using restrooms that correspond with their gender identity.

The NCAA relocated several college athletic championship events for the 2016-17 season over the bill and the association has implied four more years of tournaments are at stake if the law stands.

Republican leaders Sen. Phil Berger and Rep. Tim Moore called a news conference Tuesday to announce that a majority of Republican legislators had “agreed in principle” to a proposal from Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper to replace HB2.

Then, minutes before the news conference, the governor pulled out of the proposal, the Republican leaders told a packed room of reporters.

“The governor made a proposal late last week that we are prepared to agree to in principle,” Berger said. “We called the governor on the way down here to let him know we agreed, but he now denies that he ever made the proposal, and so we’ve got to figure out exactly where we are.

“I was taken aback that the governor disavowed ever having made the proposal,” Berger added. “We’re not sure exactly where we are right now, quite frankly.”

Here’s what the governor’s proposal included, according to GOP lawmakers:

• A repeal of HB2

• Regulation of multi-occupancy facilities falls under state’s control

• Local governments can pass employment and accommodation non-discrimination ordinances as long “they are consistent with federal employment and accommodation non-discrimination law”… except for bathroom regulations

• Lets citizens collect court costs and attorney fees if they successfully sue alleging a violation of their constitutional rights, similar to Indiana’s Religious Freedom Restoration Act.

Different version of events

A spokesman for Cooper, who has called for a full repeal, disputed the Republican leaders’ version of events.

“It’s frustrating that Republican leaders are more interested in political stunts than negotiating a compromise to repeal HB2. While Governor Cooper continues to work for a compromise, there are still issues to be worked out, and Republican leaders’ insistence on including an Indiana-style RFRA provision remains a deal-breaker,” spokesman Ford Porter said.

“Any compromise must work to end discrimination, repair our reputation, and bring back jobs and sports, and a RFRA is proven to do just the opposite.”

The proposal is the latest failed attempt to take HB2 off the books.

North Carolina House Minority leader Darren Jackson accused GOP lawmakers of failing to compromise, citing Tuesday’s flap and the death of a previous proposal, HB 186.

The proposed measure would have repealed HB2 while limiting the ability of local governments to pass non-discrimination ordinances without preventing them outright.

“House Bill 186, with the compromise written last week, had the sign off of everyone we needed to solve our problems in North Carolina,” Jackson said.

Jackson said the news conference preempted a scheduled meeting at the Governor’s mansion. He claimed to have never seen the four-point proposal.

“This was all about laying the blame and not fixing the problem. The rug was pulled out from under us again.

Tuesday’s back and forth came as a deadline approaches with implications for the state’s economy.

On March 23, one year after the bill was signed into law, the NCAA issued a statement that makes clear it will stand its ground as long as HB2 exists.

“Last year, the NCAA Board of Governors relocated NCAA championships scheduled in North Carolina because of the cumulative impact HB2 had on local communities’ ability to assure a safe, healthy, discrimination free atmosphere for all those watching and participating in our events. Absent any change in the law, our position remains the same regarding hosting current or future events in the state,” the statement said

CNN’s Jamiel Lynch contributed to this report.

Dear lupus, I want me back

It’s an autoimmune disease where the body’s immune system becomes hyperactive and attacks healthy tissue. It can cause damage to many parts of body such as joints, skin, kidneys, heart, lungs, blood vessels and the brain. Lupus is one of the most complicated and cruelest autoimmune diseases. Simply put: It’s difficult to diagnose, hard to live with and challenging to treat.

If I could write a letter to lupus, I would say “I want me back, I’ve had enough.”

As a junior at Kent State University, I felt like I was on top of the world. I went to a great school, I was doing exactly what I love (journalism), and then on September 11, 2001, I began to get unexplained illnesses one after another.

Eventually, I landed in a hospital bed with an IV pumping a cocktail of drugs meant to cure “a series of infections” ravaging my body. When I finally felt reasonable enough to go to class, I couldn’t remember things. My essays, as one professor told me, suddenly “read like ramblings.” I wasn’t me.

In April of 2014 Lauren Lee spent time in the hospital getting infusions to help deal with a flare up of Lupus. A flare is a period of heightened disease activity.

That semester, I ended up taking incompletes in all of my classes. My doctors and professors declared I was overwhelmed with catching up in my classes and the anxiety of it all consumed me. Little did I know that it would be a decade later before I would officially find out it was really systemic lupus erythematosus.

My diagnosis came as I was entering what I considered the magical part of my life. I had married, had a beautiful daughter and was working my dream job (CNN) and finally felt like I was walking in my purpose.

Abnormal levels of waste can build up in the blood, and edema is often the first sign of lupus nephritis.

I began to have horrific migraines, excruciating nerve pain down my left arm, and bruises and rashes started to appear more and more often. Initially, I thought I was just tired and it was the allergies and the bruises. I simply attributed it to being anemic.

This was until my esophagus began to feel as if it was closing up. I went to a physician, and he said I had a tumor on the shoulder and that must be causing everything I was feeling.

When I went to the surgical oncologist, she said “it’s not cancer” and referred me to an amazing internist.

I had already gone through the gamut of diagnoses: leukemia, thoracic outlet syndrome, sarcoidosis. I was completely over the diagnosis portion of the process. My life had become work, bed and repeat. They ran multiple tests. I remember the appointment like it was yesterday.

When I came back in for my follow-up, I was told I had lupus. A disease that has no cure. To me, that diagnosis was not a death sentence, but a sentence to feel the way that I felt at the moment for the rest of my life. I felt pain, I felt exhausted and I was not me.

Having lupus has been like having a horrific hangover while doing two-a-day workouts — #exhausting.

No one knows what is wrong unless you tell them. There is no escaping the pain, and the only way out is to sleep or die. I’ve felt like lupus at times has sucked the life out of me. It’s shifted my priorities, taken away many of the things I love because I’m stuck in a holding pattern just treating the symptoms. Never being cured.

Fighting this disease has been no easy ride.

The disease has affected my brain, GI system, lungs and heart. I take twelve medications to get through the day.

Those drugs include chemotherapy, an antimalarial, a beta-blocker, an anticonvulsant, chemotherapy and a monthly infusion of a biological drug. Only one of these drugs is specifically meant to treat lupus.

When people see me, they always say, “You don’t look sick.”

This has sort of been a gift and a curse for me. On one hand, I didn’t want people to look at me as if I had a disability. On the other, I wanted people to know what I’ve been able to accomplish in spite of the disease. It’s an invisible fight for me, but now is my time to make some noise so we can find a cure. If no one is aware of my struggle, we can’t get there.

I want me back, and I’ve realized that every breath I take is blessed with a responsibility. A responsibility to raise awareness about life with lupus and the need for a cure. Every day, this is what keeps me going.

Lupus is one of America’s least recognized major diseases, although 1.5 million Americans are living with it.

Research is not keeping pace with the research for other diseases of similar scope and devastation. A study conducted by the Lupus Foundation of America found 72% of Americans from 18 to 34 (those most at risk for lupus) have either not heard about lupus or know nothing more than the name.

In the past century, only one drug has been developed and approved to treat the disease. With the ebbs and flows of the economy, this disease has taken the backseat to research investment priorities.

The Lupus Foundation of America is the oldest and largest nonprofit organization focused on improving quality of life and finding a cure for lupus. To find out more information about the disease or to make a contribution, head over to lupus.org.

Hillary Clinton gives her most political speech since election

“There is no place I’d rather be than here with you,” Clinton said, before adding: “Other than the White House.”

During her keynote address at the annual conference hosted by the Professional BusinessWomen of California, Clinton spoke largely about women’s equality and peppered in criticism of President Donald Trump and the Republican Party.

“Obviously the outcome of the election wasn’t the one I hoped for, worked for, but I will never stop speaking out for common sense benefits that will allow moms and dads to stay on the job,” Clinton said.

Besides a few comments in public gatherings and tweets from her personal account, Clinton has largely laid low since the election. She was spotted after the election in the woods near her New York home and, along with her husband former President Bill Clinton, she attended Trump’s inauguration.

She called Republicans’ attempted replacement for the Affordable Care Act “a disastrous bill,” adding that the Trump administration has been “met with a wave of resistance” that indicates the protests against Trump’s policies are just getting started.

“People who had never been active in politics told their stories at town hall meetings.” Clinton said. “They were people who had something to say and were determined to be heard.”

During the question and answer portion of her appearance, she grew incredulous at the GOP health care debate.

“Really? Take away maternity care?” Clinton said. “Who do these people talk to?”

Clinton also focused on issues like inclusivity and diversity of women in the workplace and the need for the private sector to make better efforts to bring more women to the table.

“Advancing the rights and opportunities of women and girls is the great unfinished business of the 21st century,” she said, while noting that women’s representation in Washington is “the lowest it’s been in a generation.”

‘A lifetime of practice’

The former secretary of state also responded to racially charged incidents directed at two prominent black women today.

In one, White House press Secretary Sean Spicer told April Ryan, a longtime White House correspondent and one of the few black women journalists in the press briefing room, to “stop shaking your head” and accused her of being “hell-bent on trying to make sure that whatever image you want to tell about this White House stays.”

In another, Fox News host Bill O’Reilly came under fire for racist comments mocking Rep. Maxine Waters’ hair, saying her hair looked like a “James Brown wig.”

O’Reilly later apologized, but not after a slew of controversy. Tuesday, Clinton said Waters had been “taunted by a racist joke about her hair.”

Women of color, said Clinton, have “a lifetime of practice taking precisely these kinds of indignities in stride.”

‘Resist, insist’

On the policy front, Clinton criticized the US for still not having a national paid family leave policy and said those who do benefit from such policies are often among the highest income workers. Clinton called on the private sector to do more to help.

“You’re the people who figured out how to fit computers in the palms of our hands,” she said. “You have the power.”

But overall, Clinton offered an optimistic tone in the face of Trump’s victory.

“Where some see a dark vision of carnage, I see a light shining on creativity and opportunity,” she said, referencing the inaugural address.

She offered the audience her new mantra: “Resist, insist, persist, enlist.”

She encouraged the audience to “resist actions that go against our values as Americans,” insist on “putting people first,” “persist” like Sen. Elizabeth Warren did when she was prevented from reading a letter written by Coretta Scott King about Sen. Jeff Sessions, and “enlist” others by running for office or opening a business.

“I’ll be right there with you every step of the way,” she said.

It’s time for Devin Nunes to step down

Story highlights

  • Paul Callan: Democrats and others want intelligence committee chair to resign for odd late-night visit to White House
  • Callan: Nunes should do so; US has right to expect more circumspect behavior from head of committee in charge of America’s secrets

In the full technicolor version of this fantasy, the cuffs would next be fastened on Trump, ending the progressives’ enduring Trumpian nightmare.

It’s clear that a lot more information is required before anyone can fairly judge the propriety and legality of Nunes’ actions. What we do know is that shortly after this visit to view classified information, Nunes perhaps surprised even the President by requesting a meeting. He failed to tell the House Intelligence Committee about this meeting with the President, an action for which he recently apologized.

Nunes tried to explain all of this to Wolf Blitzer earlier today, fielding specific questions about the White House visit. The chairman hedged on some questions and flatly declined to answer other inquiries, invoking the need to protect “sources and methods” and still “classified” information.

As chairman of the intelligence committee, enjoying among the highest of security clearances, the chairman would clearly be committing a crime if he publicly disclosed classified information. Answers that appear to be specious and deceptive may fit that description or in fact just be an intelligence chairman trying to protect classified information as well as “sources and methods.” This can only be legally evaluated when more is known about the contents of the mysterious documents that are now causing such a controversy on Capitol Hill.

Many Democratic members of the House Intelligence Committee as well as others in Congress, including Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, are calling for Nunes’ resignation, or recusal from any further role in the House committee’s investigation of the Trump campaign’s contacts with the Russians and the issues relating to the President’s Twitter-announced claim that President Obama ordered wiretaps on Trump Tower.

Nunes should seriously consider stepping aside, as his own actions have now become the center of an ever-widening and distracting controversy.

Though at this point there is no evidence that the chairman acted illegally, the country has the right to expect far more circumspect behavior from the chairman of the House committee in charge of America’s secrets. It’s a little late for him to be learning that secrecy is paramount in the business of investigating the intelligence community.

The missteps of Nunes and the inappropriate tweets of the President appear to be drawing both men into the dark fantasies of Trump opponents across the country. One lesson they both should have learned by now is that the denizens of America’s spy apparatus are nicknamed “spooks” for good reason.

VSCO now has 30 million active users

VSCO, the company behind popular apps VSCO Cam, DSCO, and VSCO Film for Lightroom, announced today that it now has 30 million monthly active users across its platform. This is the first time that VSCO has revealed statistics of this sort, and the company says its number of accounts have grown 802 percent year over year. Images published to the platform are up 952 percent, and 5 billion images are viewed (or “consumed,” in VSCO parlance) each month. VSCO says that 80 percent of its userbase is international, and that it’s seen “explosive growth” in China in the past year.

Still, 30 million active users doesn’t compare too favorably to the 400 million Instagram, the app most often compared to VSCO, reported back in September of last year,…

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How Fujifilm’s cameras and lenses are Made in Japan

“Made in Japan.”

It’s seen as a badge of quality inside and outside the country, as well as an indicator that you’re probably paying a bit more. But what does it actually mean? When Fujifilm, a company that proudly etches “Made in Japan” onto almost all of its mirrorless cameras, invited me to its Taiwa factory in Sendai last week, that was the main thing I wanted to find out.

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SpaceX successfully tests parachutes that will help bring astronauts back to Earth

SpaceX has successfully tested four large parachutes that will eventually be used to help lower its crewed Dragon spacecraft back to Earth. NASA published a video of the drop test today, which shows the four large parachutes deploying and slowing a mock spacecraft beneath them.

NASA has been paying SpaceX to make cargo runs to and from the International Space Station since 2012. Despite one big loss, the contract has gone so well that NASA is going to use SpaceX (and Boeing) to shuttle astronauts to and from the space station in the coming years. SpaceX is building a crew-rated version of its Dragon spacecraft for this express purpose.

But before that can happen, the company has a long series of milestone tests it needs to pass,…

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