DETROIT
Ruling favors employer
A judge on Thursday dismissed a lawsuit filed on behalf of a transgender embalmer who was fired by a Detroit-area funeral home after disclosing that she was transitioning from male to female and would dress as a woman. U.S. District Judge Sean Cox ruled that R.G. & G.R. Harris Funeral Home didn’t discriminate against Aimee Stephens. The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission sued the Garden City funeral home on behalf of Stephens, who was fired in 2013 after telling her employer she was transitioning. Cox concluded the business is entitled to a religious exemption from Title VII of the 1964 Civil Rights Act.
SANTA YNEZ, Calif.
Firefighters make progress
Firefighters in Southern California have made their biggest gains yet against a wildland blaze that raged out of control for much of the week. San Bernardino County fire officials say the fire is 22 percent contained on Thursday night, up from 4 percent at the beginning of the day. County fire spokesman Eric Sherwin says the new figure represents a big step forward in the firefight. The containment lines were established on the east side of the fire in an area where evacuees were already allowed to return in the afternoon, so it’s unlikely to lead to more canceled evacuations. The fire that broke out Tuesday in the Cajon Pass near Interstate 15 east of Los Angeles has now burned 56 square miles. Many homes have burned, but Sherwin says there are still no specific figures on how many.
NORTH LAS VEGAS, Nev.
Pilot treated after ejecting
A veteran pilot has been released from the hospital after he was hurt when a fighter jet went down after completing an exercise with a military weapons school at an Air Force base, officials say. The pilot had just finished a combat training exercise when he self-ejected Thursday as he was returning to Nellis Air Force Base, Draken International’s Scott Poteet said..
ROSSITER, Pa.
Amish buggy driver gets DUI
State police have charged an Amish man with driving his buggy while drunk as two of his four passengers rode on the roof. Police also have cited 18-year-old Robert Miller, of Punxsutawney, and his four friends who were riding with him with underage drinking. The four ranged in age from 16 to 20. The legal drinking age in Pennsylvania is 21. The charges, announced Wednesday, stem from the police stop July 8 in Canoe Township, Indiana County. Police say all five had been drinking and had alcoholic beverages with them.
Compiled from wire reports