DIRS.INFO The most relevant business & tech news

☆ Supreme Court Rejects West Virginia’s Emergency Request to Ban Transgender Girl From Girls’ Track Team
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-06 | by ( Jess Bravin | Louise Radnofsky | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Becky Pepper-Jackson runs on the girls’ cross-country and track teams at a middle school in Bridgeport, W.Va.WASHINGTON—The Supreme Court rejected West Virginia’s emergency request to immediately apply a law barring a 12-year-old transgender girl from competing on her middle school’s girls’ track team while litigation over the relevant state law proceeds in lower courts. The case is the first involving transgender athletes to reach the justices, and the court’s emergency order is far from its last word on the subject. About 20 states have passed laws restricting transgender girls from participating in female event categories.

April 6 (Reuters) - The U.S. Supreme Court on Thursday refused to let West Virginia enforce a state law banning transgender athletes from female sports teams at public schools, one of many Republican-backed measures across the country targeting LGBTQ rights. The justices denied West Virginia's request to lift an injunction against the law that a lower court had imposed while litigation continues over its legality in a challenge brought by a 12-year-old transgender girl, Becky Pepper-Jackson. West Virginia said in a court filing that it can lawfully assign athletic teams by sex rather than gender identity "where biological differences between males and females are the very reason those separate teams exist." Pepper-Jackson, who attends a middle school in the West Virginia city of Bridgeport, sued after being prohibited from trying out for the girls' cross-country and track teams. Reporting by Andrew Chung in New York; editing by Jonathan Oatis and Sandra MalerOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ 'You are loved,' White House press secretary tells LGBTQ youth
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-06 | by ( Nandita Bose | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

WASHINGTON, April 6 (Reuters) - A flurry of recent state bills targeting LGBTQ kids and gender affirming care for youth sets a dangerous precedent, the White House said Thursday, while encouraging protests. "We are so proud of the kids across this country who have organized protests and school walkouts to tell the politicians in their states to stop this legislative bullying," Karine Jean-Pierre, the first openly gay White House press secretary, said at the White House podium on Thursday. The U.S. Supreme Court on Thursday refused to let West Virginia enforce a state law banning transgender athletes from female sports teams at public schools. Republican lawmakers in Kentucky overrode a governor's veto last week, banning transgender youths from gender-affirming healthcare and restricting which toilets they use in public schools. Indiana's governor this week signed a bill banning all gender-affirming care for minors, joining about a dozen others states that have passed similar laws.

☆ Biden proposal limits bans on transgender athletes
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-06 | by ( Jarrett Renshaw | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

WASHINGTON, April 6 (Reuters) - The Biden administration on Thursday proposed a rule change that would prohibit schools from enacting outright bans on transgender athletes from teams that are consistent with their gender identities, but offered flexibility on exceptions for the highest levels of competition. The proposed change to Title IX is likely to revive debates about transgender rights, particularly in sports. Across the country, there has been a push by conservative U.S. lawmakers to prevent transgender women from participating in school sports. The proposal would also offer flexibility to K-12 schools and universities to limit the participation of transgender students when including them could undermine "fairness in competition" or potentially lead to sports-related injuries. Critics say transgender women who take part in women's sports are often bigger and stronger than their cisgender opponents and have an unfair advantage.

☆ The Supreme Court allowed a transgender girl to continue playing sports, but a Samuel Alito and Clarence Thomas dissent signals their willingness to review the hot-button issue
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-06 | by ( Oma Seddiq | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

The Supreme Court allowed a transgender girl to continue playing on her school's girls track team. Yet two conservative justices — Samuel Alito and Clarence Thomas — dissented from the decision, suggesting the court may soon wade into the Republican-led culture war over trans athletes. Her lawyers argued that the ban violated the Constitution's 14th Amendment, which guarantees equal protection, as well as Title IX, the 1972 federal law that prohibits sex-based discrimination. West Virginia then turned to the Supreme Court to lift that ruling. "Among other things, enforcement of the law at issue should not be forbidden by the federal courts without any explanation."

☆ GOP billionaire who funded Clarence Thomas's vacations has also given thousands of dollars to Kyrsten Sinema and Joe Manchin
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-06 | by ( Bryan Metzger | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

GOP megadonor Harlan Crow has been secretly funding lavish vacations for Justice Clarence Thomas. But he's also given thousands to Democrats who've stymied the party's agenda at various times. Joe Manchin and Kyrsten Sinema, as well as Reps. Josh Gottheimer and Henry Cuellar. According to federal campaign finance data, the Texas billionaire has given $16,800 to Rep. Josh Gottheimer of New Jersey since 2018, contributing thousands as recently as October 2022. For his part, Crow told ProPublica in a statement that he and his wife "have never sought to influence Justice Thomas on any legal or political issue."

Here is a snapshot of pending and passed legislation seeking to restrict or protect access in 2023. KANSAS: Although Kansans voted in favor of state abortion rights on a ballot measure last year, the Republican-led state Senate has passed a prohibition on prescribing abortion pills via telemedicine. The Republican-led state is currently enforcing a total abortion ban, with exceptions for rape, incest or the life of the mother. MONTANA: The Republican-led state Senate has passed a bill seeking to overturn a 1999 state Supreme Court ruling that found that the state constitution protected a right to abortion. SOUTH CAROLINA: Despite the fact that the state Supreme Court recently struck down a six-week abortion ban in a 3-2 vote, Republicans have introduced a near-total abortion ban and a six-week ban this year.

☆ Joe Manchin Gets Another Blow
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-05 | by ( The Editorial Board | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Joe Manchin must feel as afflicted as Job. As the Biden Administration undermines the provisions the West Virginia Senator negotiated in return for his vote last year for the Inflation Reduction Act, a Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals panel on Monday struck down another permit for the Mountain Valley Pipeline. The 304-mile pipeline has been stuck in regulatory and legal purgatory for several years. It aims to deliver natural gas from Appalachia’s Marcellus and Utica shale deposits to the mid- and south-Atlantic regions. Although the pipeline is more than 90% complete, a three-judge Fourth Circuit panel keeps blocking permits needed to finish it.

The boosted tax credit is central to the administration’s goal of ensuring areas long dependent on fossil fuels benefit from clean energy. "Communities like coal communities have the knowledge, infrastructure, resources and know-how to play a leading role in the move to a clean energy economy," U.S. Deputy Treasury Secretary Wally Adeyemo said. The bonus credit also is available to other "energy communities" - areas that have significant employment or local tax revenues from fossil fuels and higher than average unemployment. The Treasury said it will open project applications for the first round of coal and energy communities tax credits on May 31. Those minerals are crucial to producing clean energy technologies like batteries and solar panels.

WASHINGTON, April 4 (Reuters) - The White House said on Tuesday it was funneling hundreds of millions of dollars to help coal communities, including $450 million for clean energy projects on current and former mining areas. "This project will help strengthen American supply chains, revitalize energy communities, and reduce reliance on competitors like China," the White House said in a statement. The government action also includes putting 11 federal agencies to work in tandem on getting new resources into energy communities like former coal mining towns, it said. The Treasury Department and Internal Revenue Service will release guidance on Tuesday that will allow developers of clean energy projects and facilities to tap into billions of dollars in boneses, in addition to existing tax credits, it said. The funding for this initiative comes from the Inflation Reduction Act and the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, the White House said.

April 4 (Reuters) - The Biden administration on Tuesday will release final guidance on how clean energy companies can secure additional tax credits when investing in U.S. communities economically tied to fossil fuels like oil and coal. The boosted tax credit is central to the administration’s goal of ensuring areas long dependent on fossil fuels benefit from clean energy. It also helped secure West Virginia Democrat Joe Manchin's essential support for the bill. "Communities like coal communities have the knowledge, infrastructure, resources and know-how to play a leading role in the move to a clean energy economy," U.S. Deputy Treasury Secretary Wally Adeyemo said. Those minerals are crucial to producing clean energy technologies like batteries and solar panels.

☆ Biden administration pushes to revitalize coal communities with clean energy projects
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-04 | by ( Emma Kinery | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +5 min

The Biden administration is channeling hundreds of millions of dollars from recent legislation into its efforts to turn coal communities into clean energy hubs, the White House said Tuesday. The effort includes $450 million from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law that the Department of Energy will allocate to an array of new clean energy demonstration projects on former mine lands. Many of the initiatives are made possible through the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, Chips and Science Act and the Inflation Reduction Act. The administration touted the potential benefits of the Inflation Reduction Act, a bill passed by Democrats to spur clean energy investments last year. The Biden administration said the working group has funneled over $14.1 billion in federal investments into the select communities.

☆ Mountain Valley Pipeline's West Virginia water permit tossed by court
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-03 | by ( Clark Mindock | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

Circuit Court of Appeals found several defects in the review the West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection conducted before issuing the permit. They told the court the agency ignored Equitrans' history of violating state water regulations when it issued the permit under the Clean Water Act. A spokesperson for the West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection said they're reviewing the decision. The permit is one of the last remaining hurdles for the multi-billion dollar project, which would carry natural gas between West Virginia and Virginia. For West Virginia: Attorney General Patrick Morrisey, Michael Williams and Lindsay See of the state attorney general’s office and Jason Wandling of the West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection.

☆ EV tax credits: New rules could slash the number of eligible electric vehicles. Here's what you should know
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-31 | by ( Ella Nilsen | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +9 min

The new tax credit and the guidance are complex, and more information will be coming out in the coming weeks and months. The clearest impact on consumers will be the reduced number of vehicles eligible for credits starting April 18. Under the new rule, consumers can get up to $7,500 in tax credits on eligible cars. What is in the new EV tax credit rule and why is it complicated? New guidance from the Biden administration suggests fewer EVs will be eligible for tax credits starting April 18.

☆ Senate votes to roll back Biden administration clean water rule
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-30 | by ( Emma Newburger | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

The Senate has approved a resolution to overturn a Biden administration rule that would expand federal protections for the country's waterways, a measure Republicans have criticized as overbearing and burdensome to business. The vote comes after the Biden administration last year issued a rule that more broadly defined which types of waterways in the U.S. are eligible for federal water quality protections under the 1972 Clean Water Act. The White House said the revised rule is based on definitions that were in place before 2015, when the Obama administration sought to expand federal protections. The Biden administration argued that rolling back the rule would make federal regulations unclear for businesses and farmers and that increased uncertainty would threaten economic growth for agriculture, and local economies. However, a federal judge this month paused the Biden administration's waterway protections in Texas and Idaho, marking a victory for Republican challengers.

☆ Kentucky lawmakers override governor's veto of transgender bill
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-29 | by ( Andrew Hay | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

March 29 (Reuters) - Republican lawmakers in Kentucky on Wednesday overturned the governor's veto of a bill to ban transgender youths from gender-affirming healthcare and restrict which toilets they use in public schools, voting in line with a national conservative-led movement. Supporters of the bill said they passed the legislation to protect children from undergoing gender-affirming treatments they would regret later in life. The American Civil Liberties Union of Kentucky promised legal action to stop medical sections of the bill taking effect in about three months. Measures include bans on discussion of gender identity in schools, clampdowns on drag shows and blocking transgender participation in sports. West Virginia on Wednesday passed a law banning gender-affirming care for transgender youth after about 10 other states approved laws restricting or outlawing medical treatments for transgender minors.

☆ The 10 best—and worst—states for paying off your student loans
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-29 | by ( Kamaron Mcnair | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

Your income, your balance owed, your other financial obligations and more can all make it harder or easier for you to pay off your student debt no matter where you're living. Though the best states aren't clustered in any one region, they share other traits that can help borrowers get ahead. Though Florida and Vermont don't make the cut in the overall rankings, Vermont has the highest student borrower profile score, which considers how many residents have bachelors degrees, the average amount of student debt owed and the average delinquency rate. Borrowers in Mississippi have the highest default rate at 21.6% and the 12th highest debt burden — $37,396 on average — in the country. Overall, borrowers in Southern states may struggle to pay off their student loans, with six of the 10 worst states for student debt repayment in this region, according to Broke Scholar: Mississippi Arkansas West Virginia Delaware Ohio Louisiana Kentucky New Mexico Michigan IndianaTips for borrowers to manage their debt anywhere

☆ The 10 cheapest U.S. states to retire in—Florida barely makes the list
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-26 | by ( Cheyenne Devon | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Rather, Alabama is the most affordable state to retire in, according to WalletHub's "2023 Best States to Retire." The analysis compared all 50 states across three key categories: health care, quality of life and affordability. In Hawaii, a $1 million retirement fund would be empty in a little over 10 years — the fastest of any state, according to GoBankingRates. Despite ranking ninth in affordability, Florida came in at No. A $1 million retirement reserve would last about 18 years there, per GoBankingRates.

☆ Republicans are seeking wealthy, self-funding candidates to help the party win a Senate majority in 2024, report says
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-25 | by ( John L. Dorman | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

GOP leaders are seeking out wealthy Senate candidates to counter Democratic fundraising successes. In recent cycles, some GOP candidates have used outside spending to mitigate spending disparities. Last year, Democratic Senate nominees in the six most competitive races outraised their GOP counterparts by $288 million, per Politico. The well-known doctor poured $26.8 million of his own funds into his unsuccessful Senate campaign, according to OpenSecrets. Dolan, who put more than $10.5 million into his 2022 Senate bid, could face Democratic Sen. Sherrod Brown.

☆ Republican senators could be stuck in the minority 'for the rest of the decade' if GOP doesn't flip chamber in 2024, campaign chair warns
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-24 | by ( Bryan Metzger | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

The head of the Senate GOP's campaign arm spoke this week about the stakes of the 2024 Senate races. Sen. Steve Daines said his party could be in the minority for the "rest of the decade" if they don't win in 2024. "We either deliver a majority in '24, or we are in the minority as Republican Senate for the rest of the decade," said Daines. In addition to those states, the GOP has potential pick-up opportunities in swing states like Arizona, Wisconsin, Michigan, and Pennsylvania. Yet despite a general geographical advantage in the Senate, Republicans have struggled to attain a lasting majority.

☆ Wyoming abortion ban blocked due to Obamacare-era amendment
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-24 | by ( Annika Kim Constantino | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +5 min

Abortion is legal in Wyoming again, oddly enough as the result of a state constitutional amendment pushed by conservatives opposed to Obamacare more than a decade ago. Anti-abortion lawmakers in Wyoming have tried to work around the 2012 amendment in passing the ban on abortion. The state's sweeping ban, dubbed "Life is a Human Right Act," claims that abortion is not a form of health care. It's unclear whether the court will ultimately agree that the anti-Obamacare amendment prohibits a state abortion ban. For instance, a judge in Ohio in October temporarily blocked the state's abortion ban because of a constitutional provision adopted in 2011 as a backlash to Obamacare.

☆ Sinema privately trashed Senate Democrats to GOP lobbyists, saying they eat too much Jell-O and waste time
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-23 | by ( Brent D. Griffiths | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Sen. Kyrsten Sinema privately trashed her Democratic colleagues to GOP lobbyists. Sinema said she stopped attending party lunches because "old dudes are eating Jell-O" and it's a waste of time. Earlier this year, Sinema formally left the Democratic Party. Earlier this year, Sinema formally left the Democratic Party and became an independent, though she still caucuses with Democrats. An unnamed Senate Democrat once told Martin earlier this year that Sinema is "the biggest egomaniac in the Senate."

☆ A Biden Bait-and-Switch on Electric Vehicles
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-22 | by ( The Editorial Board | ) www.wsj.com time to read: +1 min

Sen. Joe Manchin, D-W.Va., asks questions during a Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Financial Services and General Government hearing to examine proposed budget estimates and justification for the 2024 fiscal year at the Capitol in Washington on Wednesday, March 22, 2023. (AP Photo/Amanda Andrade-Rhoades)We interrupt the latest Donald Trump melodrama for a word from Biden Administration regulators. While the world isn’t watching, and certainly the press corps isn’t, regulators on Friday announced they are essentially rewriting last year’s Inflation Reduction Act so more electric vehicles will qualify for subsidies. In return for his vote, West Virginia Sen. Joe Manchin insisted on numerous conditions for the IRA’s $7,500 EV tax credit. He wanted to encourage more U.S. manufacturing and ensure subsidies don’t go to the affluent.

☆ Alaska oil drilling protesters disrupt White House climate adviser appearance
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-21 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Companies Conocophillips FollowWASHINGTON, March 20 (Reuters) - Protesters criticizing President Joseph Biden's approval of an oil drilling project in Alaska on Monday blocked an administration official from delivering a speech about U.S. climate leadership. Ali Zaidi, White House climate adviser, was unable to address the event on the "Future of U.S. A dozen protesters holding a sign saying "End Fossil Fuels" chanted: "Keep your promise, no new drilling" for several minutes, preventing Zaidi from starting his remarks. Protesters believe the Willow decision may overshadow Biden's other climate achievements. The administration has been touting climate investments stemming from its signature climate law called the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA)and its bipartisan infrastructure law.

☆ Biden used first veto to save a 401(k) investment rule. Here's what it does
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-21 | by ( Greg Iacurci | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

watch nowFew 401(k) plans — about 5% — offer an ESG fund, according to PSCA survey data. The [Biden] rule doesn't force you to consider ESG. Under the Biden rule, employers must still consider ESG factors within the context of what is in investors' best interests. "The [Biden] rule doesn't force you to consider ESG," Chao said. The Biden administration issued the final text of its investment rule in November, shortly before Republicans assumed control of the House.

Search resuls for: "West Virginia"

25 mentions found