Midday open thread: Activists to protest signing of Paris climate pact; Prince dead at 57

Today’s comic by Ruben Bolling is God-Man v Human-Man:

• UC Berkeley has a major sexual harassment problem:

According to a trove of documents released by the university this month—showing firings, resignations, and even transcripts of text messages related to its sexual-harassment investigations—at least 19 UC-Berkeley employees have been found to have violated the school's sexual-harassment policy since 2011. Meanwhile, over the past year, a vice chancellor, a famed astronomer, and a provost have all stepped down from their positions amid public outcry over the university's response to sexual-harassment claims—and the perception that the institution protected these powerful men instead of helping their accusers, some of whom were students.

• Immigrant women fight to improve the lot of domestic workers in Illinois:

Nannies, house cleaners and caregivers, who are largely women of color, are calling for legislation in several states that could help improve their working conditions and quality of life. In Illinois, workers are calling for lawmakers to support the Illinois Domestic Workers' Bill of Rights.

• Prince dead at 57: On April 15, the singer, whose full name was Prince Rogers Nelson, had a medical emergency requiring his private jet to make an emergency landing in Illinois. He nevertheless appeared at a concert the next day assured his fans he was okay. The media were told he was battling the flu. He had cancelled two shows previously.

It was 1984's Purple Rain—his first No. 1 album on the Billboard 200—released in conjunction with the film of the same name, that cemented him as one of the greatest artists of his generation, earning him two Grammys, and Oscar and a victory over Michael Jackson's Thriller for Favorite Pop/Rock Album at the 1985 American Music Awards. Along the way, he worked with several bands under a series of pseudonyms, including The Time, the New Power Generation and The Revolution, as both frontman and producer.

• Some activists will protest, not celebrate, the signing of Paris Climate Pact:

When establishment civil society groups and politicians gather Friday to cheer the signing of the Paris agreement as a “historic” achievement that will avert global catastrophe, a group of climate emergency protesters will stage a “mass death” and collapse scenario outside the United Nations to demonstrate the reality of the future the agreement locks in. [...]

“The Paris agreement is historic in the sense that the Munich Agreement was historic—a catastrophic act of appeasement meant to maintain business-as-usual arrangements,” said Climate Mobilization Deputy Director Ezra Silk. “Leading economists argue that climate change could cause at least as much destruction as World War II—and the non-binding Paris agreement paves the way for that future. It’s time to stop waiting for another climate ‘Pearl Harbor’ and to mobilize all available resources to save human civilization.”

• Check out Time’s 100 Most Influential People: Activists should come up with a list of the 100 Leading Resisters.

• U.S. approves attacks against ISIS that will mean more civilian deaths:

The Pentagon has approved airstrikes that risk more civilian casualties in order to destroy Islamic State targets as part of its increasingly aggressive fight against the militant group in Iraq and Syria, according to interviews with military officials and data.

Since last fall, the Pentagon has delegated more authority to the commander of the war, Army Lt. Gen. Sean MacFarland, to approve targets when there is the risk that civilians could be killed. Previously, authority for missions with the potential to kill innocents had been made by the higher headquarters of U.S. Central Command. Seeking approval from above takes time, and targets of fleeting opportunity can be missed.