Here's the latest news from around the nation!
Texas Abbott Urges Churches to Back 'Bathroom Bill'
(AP) A pastor at a Dallas-area megachurch says Texas Gov. Greg Abbott contacted him and leaders at nine other churches, urging them to drum up support for a hotly debated "bathroom bill" currently bottled up in the Legislature.
Robert Morris, of Gateway Church in Southlake, instructed his congregation over the weekend to pressure state lawmakers to advance a bill prohibiting schools and local communities from creating ordinances designed to protect transgender Texans using public bathrooms.
Morris said the measure is "being held up right now" by Republican House Speaker Joe Straus, who opposes it.
Senators passed a bill requiring transgender people to use public restrooms corresponding to their birth-certificate sex. A separate House version hasn't reached a floor vote.
Morris was part of Donald Trump's presidential campaign's evangelical advisory board.
Clinton-Appointed Judges to Decide Hawaii Travel Ban Appeal
(AP) Three judges appointed by President Bill Clinton will hear the appeal of Hawaii's challenge to President Trump's travel ban targeting six predominantly Muslim countries.
The San Francisco-based 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals will hear arguments in its Seattle courthouse on May 15.
The 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Virginia is considering a similar ruling on Monday.
The U.S. Supreme Court could take up the issue if the appeals courts issue contradictory decisions.
The three 9th Circuit judges are:
Michael Daly Hawkins, 72.
Clinton, a Democrat, appointed Hawkins in 1994 after Hawkins served as Arizona's top federal prosecutor from 1977 to 1980 and as a U.S. Marine Corps judge deciding court martials from 1973 to 1976.
Hawkins was in private practice for 14 years before Clinton appointed him.
Ronald Gould, 70.
Clinton appointed Gould in 1999. After clerking for U.S. Supreme Court Judge Potter Stewart from 1974 to 1975, Gould joined the prominent law firm Perkins Coie, where he remained until his appointment to the bench.
Gould listens to oral arguments electronically from his Seattle court because of multiple sclerosis.
Richard Paez, 70.
Clinton elevated Paez to the appeals court from federal district court in Los Angeles in 1999. Clinton had appointed Paez to the district court five years earlier after Paez spent 13 years as a state judge in California.
Mass. Cops Say Bank Robber Used Gay Pride Parade as Cover for Heist
(AP) Police say the suspect in weekend bank robbery in Northampton may have used the city's gay pride parade as cover for the heist.
Police say 37-year-old Jennifer Brumer was arrested Saturday about 15 minutes after a TD Bank branch was robbed of less than $1,000 in cash.
Officers say Brumer was wearing clothes that matched a description of the suspect. Most of the money was recovered.
The annual Northampton Pride Parade was winding down at the time of the robbery and Detective Lt. Alan Borowski says Brumer may have used the parade as an excuse to wear a "masked costume" in public.
Brumer is scheduled to be arraigned Monday. It could not be determined if she has a lawyer.
