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Here are some of the other stories catching our attention.

B of A Joins List Of Companies Calling For Repeal Of HB 2

bank of america sign
MoneyBlogNewz
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Charlotte-based Bank of America is one of more than 80 companies now calling on the General Assembly to repeal the law passed by a special session last week.

In a letter sent to Governor Pat McCrory, the companies said they were concerned about House Bill 2 which "overturned protections for LGBT people and sanctioned discrimination across North Carolina." And urged the state legislature "to repeal House Bill 2 in the upcoming legislative session."

Joining Bank of America as signatories are firms like tech giants Microsoft, Yahoo and Google. Hotel chain Marriott and rival Airbnb. Social Media sites Facebook, Tumblr, Pinterest and Twitter, financial firms PayPal and Spark Capital.

Speaking at a press conference at the Government Center in Charlotte, Human Rights Campaign President Chad Griffin said these companies aren't usually political, "These are not lefty companies, these are mainstream American companies."

In the letter, the companies said the bill was bad for business and would make it far more challenging for them to recruit and retain the nation’s best and brightest workers to the state. Griffin said it would also make bringing jobs to North Carolina more difficult. "What would happen today if one of those CEOs made the decision, now that this legislation is in place, to move a corporate headquarters here, to open up a manufacturing facility or a call center." Griffin added his belief, "That company or that CEO couldn’t survive the backlash that she or he would receive from their own employees, from their customers, and from the media."

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H3dKWx0IVZ0&feature=youtu.be

Governor McCrory has yet to respond directly to the letter. But he has said this is a media created controversy.  Yesterday, he released a video defending his signing of the bill. But it also may signal a willingness to change the legislation. "This is not about demonizing one group of people. Let’s put aside our differences, the political rhetoric and yes, hypocrisy, and work on solutions that will make this bill better in the future."

But any changes to House Bill 2 would need support from Republican leaders in the General Assembly, something they have not yet signaled a willingness to do.

Tom Bullock decided to trade the khaki clad masses and traffic of Washington DC for Charlotte in 2014. Before joining WFAE, Tom spent 15 years working for NPR. Over that time he served as everything from an intern to senior producer of NPR’s Election Unit. Tom also spent five years as the senior producer of NPR’s Foreign Desk where he produced and reported from Iraq, Afghanistan, Yemen, Haiti, Egypt, Libya, Lebanon among others. Tom is looking forward to finally convincing his young daughter, Charlotte, that her new hometown was not, in fact, named after her.