DIRS.INFO The most relevant business & tech news

☆ Columbia University protests: Trump-appointed judges say they’ll boycott Columbia grads over university’s handling of student dissent
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-07 | by ( Gloria Pazmino | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

New York CNN —A group of 13 conservative US federal judges are vowing to not hire Columbia University law students or undergraduates because of how the school has handled pro-Palestinian demonstrations on its campus in recent weeks. “As judges who hire law clerks every year to serve in the federal judiciary, we have lost confidence in Columbia as an institution of higher education. CNN has reached out to Columbia University for comment. They typically hire law school graduates for clerkships that can eventually lead to high-paying and prestigious jobs. If not, employers are forced to assume the risk that anyone they hire from Columbia may be one of these disruptive and hateful students,” the judges wrote.

Persons: Minouche Shafik, Gillian Lester, Judge James C, Elizabeth L, Matthew H, Solomson, Donald Trump, Matthew Kacsmaryk Organizations: New, New York CNN, Columbia, . ” Columbia University, New York Police Department, Police, CNN, U.S ., Appeals, Fifth Circuit, Eleventh Circuit, U.S . Court, Federal, Columbia University, Northern District of, Hamilton Hall Locations: New York, Manhattan, Gaza, Columbia, Texas, Northern District, Northern District of Texas, Amarillo

☆ Eleia Maria Torres: A missing New Mexico infant has been found and a suspect in her disappearance is in custody, FBI says
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-06 | by ( Paradise Afshar | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +2 min

CNN —A 10-month-girl police said was abducted from a New Mexico park Friday after the death of her mother and another woman has been found and a suspect is in custody, the FBI announced Monday morning. The bureau did not provide further details on Eleia Maria Torres’ condition and the suspect was not immediately named. The women, both 23, were found with “apparent gunshot wounds” on the ground near a minivan, the police statement said. At the scene, officers also discovered “an infant car seat, an infant stroller and a small baby bottle at the scene,” and began searching for a young child, police said. “Through interviews with family members, investigators learned Samantha Cisneros was the mother to the young female child found at the scene and was also the mother to a 10-month-old child, Eleia Maria Torres,” the news release said.

Persons: Eleia Maria Torres, Samantha Cisneros, Eleia’s, Taryn Allen, stroller, ”, “, Clovis, ” Raul Bujanda, CNN’s Christine Sever Organizations: CNN, FBI, Eleia, Sunday . Police, FBI Albuquerque Division Locations: New Mexico, Covis, Albuquerque, Amarillo , Texas

☆ How former Slack and Twitter executive April Underwood used angel investing to create a career in venture capital
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-06 | by ( Leena Rao | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

That entrepreneurial, technology-focused spirit has driven Underwood to an illustrious career at some of the industry's biggest companies, including Google, X, Slack, and Intel. As she built products at these tech giants, Underwood quietly invested in over 50 startups, including the genetics-testing unicorn Color and the cap-table giant Carta. Underwood began investing while at X, then called Twitter, where she was the company's director of product. Shortly after, #Angels was born, the investment collective cofounded by Underwood, Verrilli, Jana Messerschmidt, Chloe Sladden, Katie Stanton, and Vijaya Gadde. Since 2015, the group has backed over 100 startups, including Forward, Clubhouse, Instacart, Material Security, and Airtable.

Persons: Underwood, she'd, Slack, Jessica Verrilli, who'd, Stewart Butterfield, Cal Henderson, Ev Williams, Jack Dorsey, Verrilli, Jana Messerschmidt, Chloe Sladden, Katie Stanton, Vijaya Gadde, you've, I've, they've Organizations: Amarillo College, Business, Google, Intel, GV, Cue, Twitter, Health, Security, Slack Locations: Amarillo , Texas, Amarillo, Termina, San Francisco

☆ Families of the Columbia crew members keep their memories alive
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-12 | by ( Ashley Strickland | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +12 min

Editor’s Note: The CNN Original Series “Space Shuttle Columbia: The Final Flight” uncovers the events that ultimately led to disaster. After work, the crew members and their families would gather for cookouts and laser tag at one another’s homes. The STS-107 mission crew included five men and two women of diverse backgrounds, religions, interests and hobbies. They were the Columbia crew. Jonathan Clark met his future wife, Mission Specialist Laurel B. Clark, at US Navy diving school in 1989.

Persons: ”, Michael P, Anderson, David M, Brown, Kalpana Chawla, Laurel B, Clark, Rick D, William C, Willie ” McCool, Ilan Ramon, Laura Husband, Rick Husband, “, ” Laura, Rick, Laurel, Rosalind Hobgood, Jonathan Clark, Jonathan, Jonathan said, ” Laurel, Iain Clark, ” Jonathan, “ It’s, ” Jonathan Clark, Iain, Jonathan Clark “, “ God, Evelyn, Matthew, Laura, Evelyn Husband, Faith, ” Evelyn, it’s, Evelyn Husband “, Tal Ramon, Tal Organizations: CNN, Shuttle Columbia, Sunday, Columbia, NASA, Israeli Space Agency, US Navy, Training, Johnson Space Center, Texas Tech University, Dallas Cowboys, ” Locations: Wyoming, Columbia, Texas, Panama City , Florida, Laurel, Houston, Amarillo , Texas

Although the heaviest snow has ended, several more inches of snow are expected across large swaths of Maine and New Hampshire, according to the National Weather Service. “Low pressure in the Gulf of Maine will continue to bring accumulating snow through this evening along with gusty northeast winds,” the National Weather Service said. “Winds will also remain gusty and may result in additional downed branches and limbs due to the weight of freshly fallen snow,” the weather service added. Winter storm warnings and advisories have been extended for parts of New England through Friday morning, according to the National Weather Service. “Frost and freeze conditions will kill crops and other sensitive vegetation and possibly damage unprotected outdoor plumbing,” the weather service notes.

Persons: nor’easter, Janet Mills, “, Thursday’s, ”, Ed Warren, “ Frost Organizations: CNN, ”, National Weather Service, Westbrook School Department, Gorham School, WMUR, East, East Kingston Fire Department, Southern and, Storm Prediction, Colorado ., Storm Prediction Center Locations: Maine, New Hampshire, ” Maine, New England, Moretown , Vermont, Shapleigh , Maine, Gulf, Gulf of Maine, York County, State, Gorham, East Kingston , New Hampshire, East Kingston, East Coast, Vermont, New York, Central Plains , Ohio, Central Plains, Ohio, Missouri, Jefferson City , Columbia, Hannibal, Kansas, Arkansas, Springfield, Branson, Indiana, Kentucky, Indianapolis, Cincinnati, Louisville, Southern, Central, Southern and Central High Plains, Texas, New Mexico, Colorado, Colorado . Cities, Denver, Amarillo, Roswell

☆ Opinion: Conservatives game the system to drag Supreme Court further into culture war
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-01 | by ( Steve Vladeck | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +8 min

He is the author of the “One First” Supreme Court newsletter. Both cases were filed in federal district courts in which the plaintiffs could literally hand-pick the specific federal judge who would be assigned to hear the dispute. Indeed, the Supreme Court granted emergency relief in both the social media and mifepristone cases. But the Supreme Court is another matter. For once, the Supreme Court is the victim of right-wing litigation behavior, not the culprit.

Persons: Steve Vladeck, Stephen I, Biden, they’ve, Terry Doughty, Donald Trump, Matthew Kacsmaryk, Trump, —, Neil Gorsuch, Gorsuch Organizations: CNN, University of Texas School of Law, Monroe Division, Court, Western, Western District of, Amarillo Division, Northern, Northern District of, Appeals, Fifth, Fifth Circuit, Democratic, Ninth Circuit, Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, Securities, Exchange, Conference, United, Northern District of Texas, Judicial, Federal, FDA Locations: Murthy v . Missouri, Monroe, Western District, Western District of Louisiana, Amarillo, Northern District, Northern District of Texas, Orleans, Texas, Austin, West Coast, United States

☆ Texas federal court district rebuffs effort to curb ‘judge-shopping’ tactic
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-01 | by ( Tierney Sneed | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

Judge-shopping is the practice of strategically filing cases in courthouses where the lawsuits are almost guaranteed to be heard by judges perceived to be sympathetic to the litigants. Texas has other US district courts with single-judge divisions, in addition to Amarillo, where challenges to the Biden administration agenda are frequently funneled through. The Judicial Conference announced after an early March meeting that it was seeking to curb the practice of judge-shopping with the new case assignment policy. The announcement prompted blowback from Republican senators, including Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, who argued that any mandated policy would run afoul of a statute passed by Congress that gives each district court the discretion to design its case assignment protocols. When the Judicial Conference released the formal guidance days later, it indicated that the districtwide assignment policy was recommended, but optional.

Persons: David Godbey, Chuck Schumer, Matthew Kacsmaryk, Donald Trump, Joe Biden’s, Kacsmaryk, Biden, George W, Bush, Schumer, Godbey, ”, “, ” Schumer, Mitch McConnell Organizations: CNN, US, Court, Northern, Northern District of, New, New York Democrat, Amarillo Division, Judicial Conference, Law360, Judicial, Congress Locations: Texas, Northern District, Northern District of Texas, New York, Northern Texas, Amarillo, “

☆ Demonstrators Make Themselves Heard on Abortion Pill Case
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-26 | by ( Linda Qiu | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: 1 min

Bearing colorful signs and banners that read “Doctors Not Doctrine” and “Abortion is Health Care,” hundreds of activists chanted, marched and rallied for hours outside the Supreme Court starting Tuesday morning, before the justices weighed the availability of a commonly used abortion pill. Supporters of abortion rights outnumbered those opposing abortion, but the two factions occasionally sparred with rallying calls, including over the safety of the pill, mifepristone. (Studies show that is, in fact, safe for terminating a pregnancy.) Courtney Brown, a coffee shop owner who helped found an abortion rights group in Amarillo, Texas, where the case originated, described her town as “ground zero” in the fight over abortion. She added, “I’m just ready to fight back because we’re so tired of having those rights stripped away.”

Persons: Courtney Brown, “ I’m, ” Organizations: Health Locations: Amarillo , Texas

CNN —A majority of Supreme Court justices appeared skeptical Tuesday of the idea of a nationwide ban or new limits on mifepristone, the primary drug used for medication abortions. At issue in the case are lower-court rulings that would have rolled back recent Food and Drug Administration decisions to ease access to the mifepristone. “What the court did … is enter sweeping nationwide relief that restricts access to mifepristone for every single woman in this country. Some anti-abortion activists see the law as an avenue to end medication abortion, and perhaps all kinds of abortions. Danco’s attorney said that this case was not an appropriate venue for the court to weigh the reach of the Comstock Act.

Persons: Roe, Wade, John Roberts, Neil Gorsuch, ” Roberts, Erin Hawley, interjected, Franklin Delano Roosevelt’s, ”, ” Gorsuch, Biden, …, Elizabeth Prelogar, Brett Kavanaugh, ” Kavanaugh, Prelogar, Ketanji Brown Jackson, “, Jackson, ” Jackson, Amy Coney Barrett, Barrett, Alito, Thomas, Samuel Alito, Clarence Thomas, ” Alito, Mifepristone, Comstock, mifepristone, Matthew Kacsmaryk –, Trump, –, Kacsmaryk Organizations: CNN, Drug Administration, Conservative, FDA, Justice Department, Amarillo Division, Court, Northern, Northern District of, US, US Judicial Locations: mifepristone, FDA’s, Amarillo, Northern District, Northern District of Texas

☆ Federal judiciary clamps down on ‘judge-shopping’ tactics that have helped Texas block Biden and liberal policies
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-12 | by ( Tierney Sneed | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

CNN —The policy-making body of the federal judiciary is clamping down on the system that conservatives have successfully used in recent years to hamstring President Joe Biden’s agenda and other federal policies, including those concerning reproductive rights. The new policy seeks to curb “judge-shopping,” the strategy where litigants strategically file lawsuits in courthouses where the cases will be guaranteed to be heard by judges perceived to be sympathetic to their arguments. While the strategy has long been used in patent cases, there been a concerted uptick for politically charged, wide-reaching cases that have been filed in Texas by Republican state attorneys general or conservative, private-sector parties. Under the new policy, such cases seeking nationwide or state-wide orders will go into the lottery system used by the entire district. “The current issue relates to nationwide injunctions or statewide injunctions,” Sutton said at a news conference Tuesday.

Persons: Joe Biden’s, mifepristone, Matthew Kacsmaryk –, Donald Trump, –, ”, Steve Vladeck, Jeffrey Sutton, ” Sutton, it’s Organizations: CNN, Republican, Food, Judicial, United States, Amarillo Division, Court, Northern, Northern District of, University of Texas School of Law Locations: Texas, Amarillo, Northern District, Northern District of Texas

☆ Opinion | The Fires Sweeping Across Texas Offer a Terrifying Warning
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-02 | by ( John Vaillant | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

The snowstorm has passed, but the fire — one among several major blazes active in Texas — keeps burning. As of Friday, the Smokehouse Creek Fire had affected more than a million acres, making it the largest wildfire in Texas history, and one of the biggest in the history of the country. Texans know that fires aren’t uncommon in the Panhandle this time of year, and neither is snow. But huge, lethal fires like Smokehouse Creek represent something different. Two weeks before the Smokehouse Fire broke out, I flew to Seattle from Cincinnati over a landscape I know well.

Organizations: Texas Panhandle, Texans, Rockies Locations: Great, Amarillo, Texas, Oklahoma, Seattle, Cincinnati, Ohio

CNN —The wildfire in Texas has already killed two people, demolished hundreds of structures and obliterated thousands of cattle as it became the biggest blaze in the state’s history. Some 8 million people across the Central Plains are under “red flag” warnings and temperatures are above normal in the Texas Panhandle. So far, the Smokehouse Creek Fire has spread across more than 1 million acres and has become the biggest Texas wildfire on record. And the fire is just one of five blazes currently scorching the Texas Panhandle, destroying as many as 500 structures. Sunday’s fire weather threat will be greatest for the Texas Panhandle and western Texas, according to the Storm Prediction Center.

Persons: Cindy Owen, Jennifer Mitchell, Owen’s, Joyce Blankenship, “, ”, Nathan Blankenship, could’ve, Sid Miller, GoFundMe, Greg Abbott, he’d, Sammy Schafer, Leah Millis, ” Abbott, it’s, there’s, Miller, Shane Pennington, Pennington, “ It’s, they’re, ” Pennington, he’s, “ We’ve, ” Miller, We’ve, ” CNN’s Gene Norman, Rebekah Riess, Sara Tonks, Eric Zerkel, Sarah Davis Organizations: CNN, Texas Panhandle, Storm Prediction Center, Storm Prediction, Texas, M, Service, Texans, Connect, Services, Texas Panhandle Gov, Reuters Locations: Texas, Plains, South Dakota, Denver, Colorado Springs, Colorado, Lubbock, Amarillo, Oklahoma, Central, Amarillo , Midland, Odessa, Moore County, Gray County, Oldham County, Hutchinson County, Pampa , Texas, Hemphill County, Fritch, Canadian , Texas

☆ Climate Change Is Raising Texas’ Already High Wildfire Risks
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-29 | by ( Delger Erdenesanaa | Christopher Flavelle | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: 1 min

Climate change is increasing the risk of wildfires in Texas, a danger made real this week as the Smokehouse Creek fire, the largest in state history, burns out of control across the Panhandle region. And that growing fire risk is beginning to affect the insurance market in Texas, raising premiums for homeowners and causing some insurers to withdraw from parts of the state. For the Smokehouse Creek fire to grow so big so quickly, three weather conditions had to align: high temperatures, low relative humidity and strong winds, said John Nielsen-Gammon, the Texas state climatologist and a professor of atmospheric science at Texas A&M University. On Monday, as the Smokehouse Creek fire began to spread, it was 82 degrees Fahrenheit in Amarillo. The city’s average daytime high temperature in February is 54 degrees, according to the National Weather Service.

Persons: John Nielsen, Gammon Organizations: Texas, M University, National Weather Service Locations: Texas, Panhandle, Amarillo .

☆ Second largest wildfire in Texas history has scorched 850,000 acres
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-29 | by ( Joe Sutton | Steve Almasy | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +6 min

A satellite image shows Fritch, Texas in August 2023. Maxar Technologies Satellite images show homes in Fritch, Texas, before the wildfire (in August 2023), and after (on Wednesday). Maxar Technologies Satellite images show homes in Fritch, Texas, before the fire (in August 2023), and after (on Wednesday). A sudden shift of wind direction in the Texas panhandle this week contributed to the explosion in size of the Smokehouse Creek wildfire. Latest developments* The Smokehouse Creek Fire grew from 500,000 acres to 850,000 on Wednesday, according to fire officials.

Persons: Joyce Blankenship, Fritch, ” Frank Probst, ”, “, Adam Turner, Snow, Andy Holloway, Greg Abbott, Kevin Stitt, ” Hutchinson, Tyler McCain, Fritch’s, McCain, Addison, Addison can’t, ” McCain, Windy Deuce, Probst, CNN’s Caroll Alvarado, Amanada Jackson, Monica Garrett, Sharif Paget, Sara Tonks, Lucy Kafanov, Andi Babineau Organizations: CNN, Maxar, M Forest Service, AgriLife, Texas, Oklahoma Gov, Amarillo National Bank, Panhandle Disaster Relief Locations: Texas, Rhode, state’s, Oklahoma, Stinnett ., , Texas, Fritch , Texas, Hemphill, Hemphill County, Canadian, Amarillo, Amarillo ., Hutchinson County, Stinnett, Borger, Fritch

FORT MYERS, Fla. (AP) — A woman accused of threatening to kill a federal judge in Texas who suspended approval of the abortion drug mifepristone earlier this year was arrested Wednesday in Florida, court records. Alice Marie Pence made her initial appearance in Fort Myers federal court after her arrest, according to court records. Her next hearing is scheduled for Nov. 22 in Dallas federal court. According to an indictment, Pence called the chambers of a federal judge in Amarillo, Texas, in March and threatened to kill him. The indictment doesn't name the judge, but the only federal judge in Amarillo is U.S. District Judge Matthew Kacsmaryk.

Persons: —, Alice Marie Pence, Pence, Matthew Kacsmaryk, Donald Trump, Roe, Wade, Joe Biden's Organizations: District, U.S, Supreme Locations: MYERS, Fla, Texas, Florida, Fort Myers federal, Dallas, Amarillo , Texas, Amarillo, U.S, Kacsmaryk

☆ In Texas, Local Laws to Prevent Travel for Abortions Gain Momentum
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-24 | by ( J. David Goodman | More About J. David Goodman | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

In recent months, abortion opponents in Texas have succeeded in passing a growing number of local ordinances to prevent people from helping women travel to have abortions in nearby states that still allow the procedure. On Monday, Lubbock County, a conservative hub of more than 300,000 residents near the border with New Mexico, became the largest county yet to enact such a ban. The county commissioners court, after a public meeting that drew occasionally impassioned testimony, voted to make it illegal for anyone to transport a pregnant woman through the county, or pay for her travel, for the purpose of seeking an abortion. The county, which includes the city of Lubbock and Texas Tech University, joined three other far smaller counties — one along the New Mexico border and two others in the middle of the state — in passing ordinances that were drafted in part by the architect of Texas’s six-week abortion ban, adopted in 2021 even before the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade last year. The city of Amarillo, in the Texas Panhandle, on Tuesday was set to consider a similar ordinance, which would apply to a network of roads and highways that pass through the city of 200,000 and lead toward New Mexico and Colorado, states where many Texas women have traveled for procedures.

Persons: Roe, Wade Organizations: Lubbock and Texas Tech University, U.S, Supreme, Texas Panhandle Locations: Texas, Lubbock County, New Mexico, Lubbock, Amarillo, Colorado

☆ Planned Parenthood Must Face Trial Over Texas Medicaid Fraud Claims
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-23 | by ( Oct. | At P.M. | ) www.usnews.com time to read: +5 min

At issue is billing by Planned Parenthood after Texas announced its decision to terminate the organization as a provider under its Medicaid insurance programs for low-income people. However, he did not rule on exactly how much it must return, or whether Planned Parenthood knowingly broke the law. Both Planned Parenthood and the office of Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton did not immediately respond to requests for comment. Planned Parenthood has said the videos were heavily edited and misleading, and denied wrongdoing. Planned Parenthood, as a leading abortion provider, has long drawn the ire of abortion opponents, who have called for cutting off its government funding.

Persons: Brendan Pierson, Nate Raymond, Matthew Kacsmaryk, Kacsmaryk, Ken Paxton, Paxton, Donald Trump, Roe, Wade, Will Dunham, Alexia Garamfalvi, Leslie Adler Organizations: Reuters, Republican, Texas, U.S, District, Supreme Locations: Texas, Amarillo, Louisiana, State, U.S, New York

☆ Fight over Texas anti-abortion transport bans reaches biggest battlegrounds yet
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-23 | by ( Julia Harte | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

A few hours north, the Amarillo City Council on Tuesday will weigh its own such law, which could lead to a future council or city-wide vote. He took that approach in Odessa's city elections in 2022 after the council initially blocked one of his "sanctuary city for the unborn" proposals. Not all backers of abortion restrictions support Dickson's transport bans, however. The debates over the transport bans are spurring new shows of support for abortion access. Abortion rights supporters, including four abortion funds in Texas, said they expected the transport bans to backfire on the anti-abortion movement by galvanizing political participation from abortion rights advocates in the lead-up to next year's presidential election.

Persons: Evelyn Hockstein, Roe, Mark Lee Dickson, Dickson, Jason Corley, Corley, Amarillo Mayor Cole Stanley, Kimberleigh Gonzalez, Gonzalez, Rachel O'Leary Carmona, Julia Harte, Colleen Jenkins, Leslie Adler Organizations: Alamo Women's Clinic, REUTERS, Supreme, Amarillo City, federal, Constitutionalist, Amarillo, Thomson Locations: Albuquerque , New Mexico, U.S, Texas, Wade, Lubbock County, Amarillo, Lubbock, New Mexico, Odessa's, Odessa

☆ ‘Monster Fracks’ Are Getting Far Bigger. And Far Thirstier.
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-25 | by ( Hiroko Tabuchi | Blacki Migliozzi | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +23 min

Dallas TEXAS Austin Houston San Antonio Dallas TEXAS Austin Houston San Antonio TEXAS TEXAS Amarillo Lubbock Dallas El Paso TEXAS Austin Houston San Antonio Corpus Christi UNCHARTED WATERS ‘Monster Fracks’ Are Getting Far Bigger. Water wells that supply fracking Nationwide, fracking has used up nearly 1.5 trillion gallons of water since 2011. Now they account for almost two out of every three fracking wells in Texas, the Times analysis found. ‘Monster fracks’ take off in Texas Proportion of fracks Source: FracFocus chemical disclosure database as of Aug. 1, 2023. In 2020, New Mexico halted sales of water supplies to oil and gas companies fracking on state land.

U.S. District Judge Matthew Kacsmaryk in Amarillo, Texas, declined to block the rule, which took effect Jan. 30. The judge granted a petition by President Joe Biden's administration to dismiss the Republican-led states' lawsuit claiming the rule will jeopardize millions of Americans' retirement savings. Kacsmaryk in a 14-page opinion rejected the states' claim that the rule violates the federal law governing retirement plans. The rule still requires that financial considerations come first, and does not create "an overarching regulatory bias in favor of ESG strategies," the judge wrote. Kacsmaryk, a Trump appointee, in March rejected the Biden administration's claim that the states were improperly "judge shopping" by filing the lawsuit in Amarillo, where Kacsmaryk is the only judge.

Persons: Joe Biden, Kevin Lamarque, Matthew Kacsmaryk, Joe Biden's, Biden, Donald Trump's, Trump, Daniel Wiessner, Dan Whitcomb, David Gregorio, Lincoln Organizations: Major Economies, White, REUTERS, Companies Liberty Energy, Biden, U.S, District, Republican, U.S . Department of Justice, Liberty Energy Inc, Democrat, Trump, Thomson Locations: Energy, Washington , U.S, Texas, Amarillo , Texas, Utah, New Orleans, Amarillo

A federal judge has ruled that a university in the Texas Panhandle did not violate the constitutional right to free speech when the school's president canceled a drag show earlier this year. Notably, federal courts have blocked drag show bans in Florida, Montana, Tennessee and a separate federal judge in Texas from being implemented. Yet in his decision, Kacsmaryk argued that drag shows are “sexualized content” and therefore can be more regulated than other forms of free speech. The ruling sparked a legal firestorm, but didn't go into effect because a separate federal judge essentially ordered the opposite in a different case in Washington. Meanwhile, drag shows across the country continue to be targeted by right-wing activists and politicians, with Republican lawmakers in several states, including Texas, proposing restrictions.

Persons: Matthew Kacsmaryk, Kacsmaryk, ” Kacsmaryk, Walter Wendrell, —, Trevor, WT, wasn't, “, ”, JT Morris, Spokespeople, Donald Trump, didn't Organizations: Texas Panhandle, U.S, District, West Texas, M University, WT, Foundation, Rights, FIRE, Republican Locations: United States, Florida , Montana , Tennessee, Texas, Canyon, Amarillo, Washington

☆ U.S. Judge Denies States’ Bid to Block Biden Rule on E.S.G.
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-21 | by ( Benjamin Mullin | More About Benjamin Mullin | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

A Biden administration rule that allows employee retirement plans to consider environmental, social and governance issues in investment decisions survived a legal challenge by 26 states on Thursday. Judge Matthew J. Kacsmaryk of U.S. District Court in Amarillo, Texas, said in a 14-page opinion that he would not block the rule, part of the so-called E.S.G. investment trend that places emphasis on companies’ records on labor issues, social justice and environmental factors. Judge Kacsmaryk’s opinion found fault with the lawsuit, filed in January by Republican-led states claiming that the rule violated the federal law governing retirement plans. investing generally or ultimately agree with the rule to reach this conclusion,” Judge Kacsmaryk wrote.

Persons: Biden, Judge Matthew J, Kacsmaryk, hadn’t, ” Judge Kacsmaryk Organizations: Republican Locations: U.S, Amarillo , Texas

President Joe Biden's administration has said it plans to appeal the 5th Circuit's decision as well. The 5th Circuit's decision partially sided with the anti-abortion groups and doctors who challenged mifepristone. In April, the Supreme Court granted emergency requests by the Justice Department and the pill's manufacturer Danco Laboratories to put on hold Kacsmaryk's order while litigation continued. Mifepristone is taken with another drug called misoprostol to perform medication abortion, which accounts for more than half of all U.S. abortions. Since last year's Supreme Court decision, at least 14 U.S. states have put in place outright abortion bans while many others prohibit abortion after a certain length of pregnancy.

Persons: Evelyn Hockstein, mifepristone, Joe Biden's, Jessica Ellsworth, Circuit upended, Matthew Kacsmaryk, Roe, Wade, Andrew Chung, Will Dunham Organizations: Alamo Women's, REUTERS, U.S, Supreme, Danco Laboratories, New, Circuit, U.S . Food, Drug Administration, FDA, Justice Department, mifepristone, Republican, Alliance for Hippocratic Medicine, Defending, Thomson Locations: Carbondale , Illinois, U.S, New Orleans, Amarillo , Texas, New York

HOUSTON (AP) — Texas’ power grid manager on Thursday again asked residents to cut their electricity use as the state endures another stretch of sizzling summer heat. Operating reserves fell as demand surged amid the heat, and power from wind and solar energy sources proved insufficient, according to ERCOT. On Thursday, ERCOT asked residents to conserve power from 5 p.m. to 9 p.m. CDT as reserves were again expected to be low. Political Cartoons View All 1148 Images“We request Texas businesses & residents conserve electricity use, if safe to do so,” ERCOT said in a tweet. Texas is not connected to the rest of the country's power grid, unlike other U.S. states, leaving few options to pull power from elsewhere amid shortages or failures.

Persons: ERCOT, ” ERCOT, Greg Abbott, Abbott, Juan, Lozano Organizations: HOUSTON, Electric, of Texas, Twitter, Republican Gov, Texans Locations: Texas, Austin, Amarillo, Dallas, El Paso

Boxes of Mifepristone, the first pill in a medical abortion, are seen at Alamo Women's Clinic in Carbondale, Illinois, U.S., April 20, 2023. Circuit Court of Appeals means for doctors and patients:CAN PATIENTS STILL GET THE ABORTION PILL? WHAT IS MEDICATION ABORTION? Medication abortion is a two-drug regimen consisting of mifepristone followed by misoprostol used to terminate a pregnancy within the first 10 weeks. If the ruling is upheld, doctors could still prescribe the abortion pill, but with restrictions.

Persons: Evelyn Hockstein, mifepristone, misoprostol, Wade, Matthew Kacsmaryk, Danco, GenBioPro, Brendan Pierson, Noeleen Walder, Lisa Shumaker Organizations: Alamo Women's, REUTERS, New, Circuit, U.S, Supreme, Danco Laboratories, FDA, Hippocratic Medicine, U.S . Food, Drug Administration, District, Thomson Locations: Carbondale , Illinois, U.S, New Orleans, United States, Texas, Amarillo , Texas

Search resuls for: "Amarillo"

25 mentions found