Midday Roundup: Springsteen boycotts N.C. over restroom bill

No-show. Bruce Springsteen fans in Greensboro, N.C., were disappointed this weekend after “The Boss” canceled a concert to protest a new state law. The measure protects public establishments from being forced to allow biological males and females to have access to restrooms and locker rooms of the gender with which they identify. Several companies, including PayPal, have announced plans to limit or cease doing business in the state. Michael Wolfe owns a corporate consulting firm in North Carolina. He said the politically correct backlash against what many are calling a common sense law is an old strategy: “Badger and belittle company owners and others into submission and once that is achieved, it will be used to open further doors for deeper changes and along the way, at each step, freedom of speech loses at every turn.” Musician Bryan Adams is following suit by canceling a concert in Mississippi, which just passed a law protecting the religious liberty of business owners, including those who sincerely believe that marriage should be between one man and one woman and don’t want to participate in the unions of same-sex couples.

Hindsight. President Barack Obama called the chaotic aftermath of Libyan leader Muammar Qaddafi’s death the biggest mistake of his administration. After a NATO-led attack on Qaddafi in 2011, Obama failed “to plan for the day after,” he said in an interview on Fox News Sunday. Since Qaddafi’s death, terror groups have established strongholds in Libya in the absence of a strong government. The U.S. Army estimates there could be 6,000 Islamic State (ISIS) fighters in Libya.

Masters Meltdown. Englishman Danny Willett won the Masters golf tournament Sunday, but second-place finisher Jordan Spieth was the day’s biggest story. Spieth, the defending champion and favorite to win again this year, lost the lead with a quadruple bogey on the short but treacherous par-3 12th hole during Sunday’s final round. The 22-year-old’s collapse stunned not only the golf world, but also Spieth himself, who said, “Big picture: This one will hurt.”

Temple tragedy. A botched fireworks display set off an explosion and fire at a Hindu temple in India that killed 106 people and injured nearly 400 others. Thousands had gathered at the temple to watch the display, but the festival turned into a nightmare when a rocket fell onto a stockpile of fireworks. Many died when a building at the temple collapsed. It took firefighters hours to extinguish the blaze. Authorities in the state of Kerala said the fireworks were unauthorized and detained five men who worked at the temple.

Gunned down. Former pro-football player Will Smith of the New Orleans Saints was shot and killed Saturday, calling attention to the problem of gun violence in the city. “The problem is New Orleans perennially is way up in these homicides statistically,” Saints quarterback Drew Brees told MMQB’s Peter King. “We become desensitized to it.” The shooting happened after a late-night fender bender between Smith and the suspect, Cardell Hayes, who is charged with second-degree murder. Police are investigating whether the incident was a case of road rage or something more premeditated.

WORLD Radio’s Jim Henry contributed to this report.