Morning Headlines: Thursday, April 14, 2016

Democrats Plan To Introduce Bill To Repeal Law

Democratic legislators opposed to the law limiting LGBT protections approved by Republicans are floating bills they'll file to repeal the law or scale it back.

Rep. Billy Richardson said Wednesday he would introduce a bill that would give local governments the ability to set their anti-discrimination protections and would extend a new statewide non-discrimination policy to cover sexual orientation, gender identity and veterans.

Democratic Rep. Darren Jackson tweeted Wednesday an image of draft legislation he's sponsoring with other Democrats that would repeal the law altogether.

Ringo Cancels Show Over HB2

Ringo Starr has joined Bruce Springsteen in taking action against House Bill 2. The former Beatle has cancelled his June 18th concert in Cary. 

Starr said in a statement Wednesday that he was sorry to disappoint fans, "but we need to take a stand against this hatred." 

Several musicians and entertainers have protested laws and legislation in several states that opponents say is discriminatory toward gay, bisexual and transgender people.

A joint statement on Wednesday from the Recording Industry Association of America, a trade group representing music labels, and the Music Business Association, representing music retailers and services, condemned similar legislation in Tennessee.

Judge Dismisses Duke From Lawsuit Over Parking Incident

A Durham County judge is dismissing Duke University from a lawsuit that helped spark a student sit-in that lasted a week.

WRAL reports the judge on Wednesday dismissed the Durham university from the lawsuit alleging campus executive vice president Tallman Trask hit a parking attendant with his car and called her a racial slur in 2014.

Parking attendant Shelvia Underwood's lawsuit had argued the university and its police department conspired with Trask to thwart a fair investigation into the incident.

Longtime Charlotte Police Official Nominated To Lead SBI

Governor Pat McCrory has nominated a longtime officer and leader in Charlotte's police department to be the next director of the State Bureau of Investigation.

The governor announced Wednesday that he's chosen Robert Schurmeier for the post, pending confirmation by the General Assembly.

Schurmeier served for three decades with the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department. He retired in 2004 as deputy chief over investigations. Since then he served as president of a security consulting and private investigation firm.

2 In Winston-Salem Accused Of Taking $3 Million From Job

Two people have been indicted on charges of taking $3 million from a Winston-Salem businessman.

The Winston-Salem Journal reports that a Forsyth County grand jury this week indicted two former employees of Slate Marketing Inc. and La Casa Real Estate and Investment LLC.

A former bookkeeper, 56-year-old Rhonda Lea Byrd of Davidson County and 52-year-old Charles Dewayne Washington of Winston-Salem have been charged with taking the money.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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