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REUTERS/Hannah BeierJuly 3 (Reuters) - In state after state, conservative lawmakers this year have banned medical procedures for transgender youth. Now, a growing number of federal judges are blocking those laws from taking effect. The court rulings offer temporary relief from the recent rush of bills banning transgender youth from receiving treatments such as puberty blockers and hormone therapy. Democrats, LGBTQ advocacy groups and health providers say the bans unjustly target a vulnerable community for whom gender-affirming care can be life-saving. The judges also have said laws banning such care violate a parent's right to make healthcare decisions for their children.

Persons: Hannah Beier, Tobias Wolff, Kevin Jennings, Donald Trump, Cynthia Cheng, Wun Weaver, Matt Sharp, Sharp, Jay Richards, " Richards, Barack Obama, Daniel Trotta, Brendan Pierson, Colleen Jenkins, Diane Craft Organizations: REUTERS, University of Pennsylvania, Lambda, Republican, Human Rights, Alliance Defending, Foundation's, for Religion, Civil Society, American Academy of Pediatrics, World Professional Association for Transgender Health, Democratic, American Civil Liberties Union, Thomson Locations: Doylestown , Pennsylvania, U.S, Alabama , Arkansas, Florida , Indiana , Kentucky, Tennessee, Montana, Georgia, Oklahoma, United States, Arkansas

☆ John Roberts Is Harming the Institution He Wants to Protect - The New York Times
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-03 | by ( Jeff Shesol | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +3 min

In June 2012, at the end of a contentious Supreme Court term that decided, among other things, the fate of the Affordable Care Act, Chief Justice John Roberts prepared to leave for Malta, to teach a course on the court. Such circumstances would pain any chief justice, this one more than most. The chief justice is portrayed by some as a tragic figure, powerless to save his court from itself. But the tragedy of John Roberts is that he does have the power to restore some measure of the court’s reputation — he just hasn’t used it. This term will likely be remembered as the year the Supreme Court, led by its chief justice, ended race-conscious admissions at the nation’s colleges and universities.

Persons: John Roberts, “, ”, Walter Bagehot, Roberts, Samuel Alito, Neil Gorsuch, Clarence Thomas, —, Thomas’s, Virginia Thomas Organizations: Affordable, White, ProPublica, The New York Times Locations: Malta, “ Malta, “, Alabama, Congress

Harvard Admit rate: 4% 10k students Duke University Admit rate: 6% 7k students Amherst College Admit rate: 9% 2k students Carnegie Mellon University Admit rate: 14% 7k students University of California, Berkeley Admit rate: 14% 30k students Boston University Admit rate: 19% 20k students University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill Admit rate: 20% 20k students University of Texas, Austin Admit rate: 29% 40k students University of Florida Admit rate: 30% 30k students Bucknell University Admit rate: 35% 4k students San Diego State University Admit rate: 38% 30k students Binghamton University Admit rate: 44% 10k students University of California, Davis Admit rate: 49% 30k students Clemson University Admit rate: 49% 20k students Stevens Institute of Technology Admit rate: 53% 4k students University of Washington, Seattle Campus Admit rate: 54% 40k students Brigham Young University Admit rate: 59% 30k students CUNY Queens College Admit rate: 61% 20k students Texas A & M University, College Station Admit rate: 64% 60k students University of Pittsburgh Admit rate: 67% 20k students Texas Tech University Admit rate: 68% 30k students Ball State University Admit rate: 68% 10k students Rutgers University, New Brunswick Admit rate: 68% 40k students Purdue University Admit rate: 69% 40k students Louisiana State University Admit rate: 71% 30k students University of Delaware Admit rate: 72% 20k students University of Central Missouri Admit rate: 76% 8k students Mississippi State University Admit rate: 76% 20k students University of Wisconsin, Eau Claire Admit rate: 78% 10k students University of Alabama Admit rate: 79% 30k students University of North Carolina, Charlotte Admit rate: 79% 20k students University of Colorado Boulder Admit rate: 80% 30k students Drexel University Admit rate: 83% 10k students University of Arkansas Admit rate: 83% 20k students University of Cincinnati Admit rate: 85% 30k students University of Texas, Dallas Admit rate: 87% 20k students Suffolk University Admit rate: 88% 4k students Arizona State University Admit rate: 88% 60k students West Chester University of Pennsylvania Admit rate: 89% 10k students Grand Valley State University Admit rate: 92% 20k students University of Kansas Admit rate: 93% 20k students Utah State University Admit rate: 93% 20k students California State University, Sacramento Admit rate: 94% 30k students University of Utah Admit rate: 95% 30k students Kansas State University Admit rate: > 95% 20k students University of Wyoming Admit rate: > 95% 9k students 90% admission rate 80% admission rate 70% admission rate 60% admission rate 50% admission rate 40% admission rate 30% admission rate 20% admission rate 10% admission rate These are America’s major four-year colleges, arranged by their admission rates. Just 6 percent of all college students attend a school with an acceptance rate of 25 percent or less. 56 percent of these college students go to a school that admits at least three-quarters of its applicants. These statistics reveal a simple fact about affirmative action in higher education: It mattered very little for the majority of American college students. But because affirmative action only opened a tiny window of access to America’s most elite institutions, the ruling will make little difference for most college students.

Persons: Richard Arum, Mitchell, Stevens, Quoctrung Bui Mr, Arum, Davis, It’s, Lyndon B Organizations: University of California, Stanford Graduate School of Education, Harvard, Duke University, Amherst College, Carnegie Mellon University, Boston University, University of North, University of Texas, University of Florida, Bucknell University, San Diego State University, Binghamton University, Clemson University, Stevens Institute of Technology, University of Washington, Brigham Young University, CUNY Queens College, Texas, M University, College, University of Pittsburgh, Texas Tech University, Ball State University, Rutgers University, Rutgers University , New, Purdue University, Louisiana State University, University of Delaware, University of Central, Mississippi State University, University of Wisconsin, University of Alabama, University of Colorado Boulder, Drexel University, University of Arkansas, University of Cincinnati, Suffolk University, Arizona State University, West Chester University of Pennsylvania, Valley State University, University of Kansas, Utah State University, California State University, University of Utah, Kansas State University, University of Wyoming, Stanford, Black White, White Black, U.S . Department of Education, Pomona, San, California State University , Los, of California Locations: Irvine, Berkeley, University of North Carolina, Austin, Seattle, Rutgers University ,, Rutgers University , New Brunswick, University of Central Missouri, Eau Claire, Charlotte, Dallas, Sacramento, Cambridge, Palo Alto, America, California, San Francisco State, California State University , Los Angeles

☆ Sen. Tommy Tuberville's hold on military nominees in protest of the Pentagon's abortion policy is disrupting the succession of top military leadership as the US confronts multiple threats abroad
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-01 | by ( John L. Dorman | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

Sen. Tommy Tuberville's hold on military nominees is rippling throughout the Pentagon. But Tuberville continues to stand by his position, a protest against the Pentagon's new abortion policy. If the senator's hold on nominees stands in the coming weeks, though, the leaders of the Army, Navy, and Marine Corps — along with the chairman — won't have respective successors installed. The hold on nominees also comes as the US continues to navigate its diplomatic relationship with China. Arnold Punaro, a retired Marine Corps major general and former staffer on the Senate Armed Services Committee, told Politico that Tuberville is "taking the military nominees as political hostages."

Persons: Sen, Tommy Tuberville's, Staff Mark Milley, Tuberville, —, GOP Sen, Tommy Tuberville, Roe, Wade, Biden, Arnold Punaro Organizations: Pentagon, Joint Chiefs, Staff, Service, GOP, of Defense, Chiefs, Army, Navy, Marine Corps, Senate Armed Services Committee, Politico Locations: Alabama, Ukraine, Russian, China

☆ A woman who's just 5'3" says her mini Honda truck that cost $5,500 is 'perfect for me'
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-01 | by ( Ryan Hogg | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

An Alabama woman bought a Kei truck for her honey bee business. Cindy Bryant paid $5,500 for her Honda Acty, joining other Americans buying mini trucks. Sometimes, Kei truck owners are forced to take a leap of faith and buy from importers, not seeing the vehicle until it arrives. But Bryant spotted a Honda truck on Marketplace from a seller she'd dealt with before on the site. She uses the Kei truck to cater for her 18 hives, each housing at least 50,000 bees.

Persons: Cindy Bryant, Honda, Cindy Bryant's, Bryant, hadn't, Kei, she's, Honey, They're, Kei Car, Matthew Matusiak, She's Organizations: Ford, Facebook, General, Honda, Bee Association, Japan Locations: Alabama, Arley , Alabama, Smith

The liberal justices, including Biden's appointee Ketanji Brown Jackson, found themselves in the role of the dissenting minority in some of the nine-month term's biggest cases. The conservative justices invoked the "major questions" doctrine, a muscular judicial approach that gives judges broad discretion to invalidate executive agency actions of "vast economic and political significance" unless Congress clearly authorized them. In those cases, the conservative justices were unified in the majority and the liberal justices dissented. In that case, the liberal justices were joined by one conservative justice, Trump appointee Brett Kavanaugh, in dissenting on the new test. The justices on Friday agreed to decide whether a 1994 federal law that bars people under domestic violence restraining orders from possessing firearms violates the Constitution's Second Amendment.

Persons: Amy Coney Barrett, Neil M, Gorsuch, Brett M, Kavanaugh, Ketanji Brown Jackson, Sonia Sotomayor, Clarence Thomas, John G, Roberts, Jr, Samuel A, Alito, Elena Kagan, Read, Joe Biden's, Donald Trump's, Erwin Chemerinsky, Trump's, Chemerinsky, Trump, Brett Kavanaugh, Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Roe, Wade, Jackson, Justice Jackson, Adam Feldman, Biden's, John Kruzel, Andrew Chung, Will Dunham Organizations: Supreme, U.S, Republican, Harvard University, University of North, University of California Berkeley Law School, U.S . Environmental, Alabama, Senate, Consumer, Thomson Locations: Washington , U.S, WASHINGTON, University of North Carolina, U.S, Texas

☆ Conservatives are on a roll in their quest to remake America through the courts
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-30 | by ( Stephen Collinson | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +10 min

The Supreme Court’s gutting of affirmative action in college admissions on Thursday toppled another pillar of America’s liberal social infrastructure. The wider political battleThe court’s activism is being complimented by increasingly radical conservative legislatures in many states. The Supreme Court ruled that June that same-sex couples could marry in all 50 states and upheld the Affordable Care Act. And President Joe Biden’s view of the conservative majority on the bench could hardly be more dark. This allowed Trump to name Justice Neil Gorsuch as his first Supreme Court nominee in 2017.

Persons: CNN — Conservatives –, –, Franklin Roosevelt –, Roe, Wade, Ron DeSantis, Republicans –, Clarence Thomas ’, “, Dobbs, Matt Schlapp, Thomas, perversely, Barack Obama, ” Obama, Joe Biden’s, ” Biden, Obama, Donald Trump, Mitch McConnell, Merrick Garland, Biden, Trump, Neil Gorsuch, McConnell, Amy Coney Barrett Organizations: CNN — Conservatives, Biden, Trump, White, Senate, GOP, Republican, Florida Gov, House, Republicans, Political Action, thunderbolts, Democratic, Liberal, Supreme, Conservative, Republican Party, White House, Independent Locations: Colorado, America, –

June 30 (Reuters) - Four Georgia families sued the state in federal court on Friday to stop a law that bans transgender youth from receiving hormone therapy, joining a wave of challenges to similar laws across the United States. A host of Georgia state health officials and agencies are named as defendants. Unlike other states, Georgia does not also ban puberty blockers, typically the first medical intervention for transgender youth, who normally would next receive hormone therapy. Republican-led legislatures in 20 states have passed some type of ban on gender-affirming care for minors. Decisions on whether to block such bans in Montana and now Georgia are pending.

Persons: Carden Summers, Daniel Trotta, Jonathan Oatis Organizations: Georgia, Human Rights, American Civil Liberties Union, ACLU, Southern Poverty Law Center, Republican, Georgia Senate, Federal, Thomson Locations: United States, Georgia, Montana, Kentucky, Tennessee, Arkansas , Alabama, Florida, Indiana, Oklahoma

☆ Factbox: A look at the US Supreme Court's major rulings this year
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-30 | by ( Industry Insight | Corporate Attorneys Don T Want To Pay Law Firms For Chatgpt When They Could Use It Themselves | Zach Warren | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +7 min

Here is a look at some of the rulings issued by the court this term. STUDENT LOANSThe justices on June 30 blocked President Joe Biden's plan to cancel $430 billion in student loan debt. The court elected not to further roll back protections contained in the Voting Rights Act as it had done in two major rulings in the past decade. The ruling against Republican state legislators stemmed from a legal fight over their map of North Carolina's 14 U.S. House districts. The court ruled that state prosecutors had not shown that he was aware of the "threatening nature" of his statements.

Persons: Kevin Lamarque, Constitution's, Joe Biden's, Donald Trump, Biden, Joseph Percoco, Andrew Cuomo, Louis Ciminelli, John Kruzel, Andrew Chung, Will Dunham Organizations: U.S, Supreme, REUTERS, Harvard University, University of North, Harvard, UNC, Black, Republican, U.S . House, U.S . Environmental Protection Agency, EPA, Biden, Democratic, Postal Service, New, Thomson Locations: Washington , U.S, University of North Carolina, Alabama, U.S, Idaho, Texas, Louisiana, Washington, Colorado

☆ U.S. faces a wild weekend of weather, including extreme heat and severe storms
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-30 | by ( Denise Chow | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

In an update Friday, the National Weather Service said heat is building along the West Coast and is expected to bring hot and dry conditions to much of California this weekend. Across the central Plains and into the South, which have been baked by high temperatures for days, the heat is expected to persist. Texas, which has been sweltering under an intense, early-season heat wave for the past three weeks, is expected to cool slightly from triple-digit temperatures. As the ongoing heat dome expands deeper into the South, high heat and humidity are expected to blanket parts of Missouri, Arkansas, Louisiana, Tennessee, Mississippi and Alabama through the weekend. Thousands of flights have been disrupted or canceled since Wednesday, adding strain to what is anticipated to be a busy travel weekend.

Persons: Charles Newell, Newell Organizations: National Weather Service, Mexican Health Ministry, Reuters, Emergency Management, Homeland Security Agency, Prediction Center Locations: United States, West, Midwest, Northeast, California, Northern California, Missouri, Gulf, . Texas, Texas, Mexico, Missouri , Arkansas , Louisiana , Tennessee , Mississippi, Alabama, Memphis, Shelby, Mississippi, Tennessee, Canada

US homeowners pay a median of $2,690 each year in property taxes, according to US Census Bureau data. Effective property tax rates by state range from 0.29% in Hawaii to 2.47% in New Jersey. The median home price in the US is $244,900, and homeowners pay a median of $2,690 each year in property taxes. We can also look at the average tax bill charged to homeowners by using the average home value in the US. With an effective property tax rate of 1.10%, the average tax bill in the US is $3,803.

Persons: —, Zillow Organizations: Service, Census Bureau Locations: Hawaii, New Jersey . New York

☆ Christine King Farris, Last Sibling of Martin Luther King Jr., Dies at 95
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-29 | by ( Alex Traub | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: 1 min

Christine King Farris, the last living sibling of the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., died on Thursday. Her death was announced by her niece, the Rev. Ms. Farris, Dr. King’s older sister, supported him politically and personally. She joined him in 1965 for the March for Voting Rights in Alabama and in 1966 for the March Against Fear in Mississippi.

Persons: Christine King Farris, Martin Luther King Jr, Bernice King, Farris, Dr, Dr . King, Alfred Daniel King, Alberta King Organizations: Rights Locations: Alabama, Mississippi, Alberta

Now the Trump campaign is advocating for modifications in half a dozen additional states, his co-campaign manager told Reuters. LaCivita confirmed that Nevada - an early primary state with a Trump-friendly state Republican leadership - was one of the campaign's targets. A source close to the Nevada Republican Party told Reuters - prior to the lawsuit - that Trump's campaign was lobbying for a caucus. A source close to the Republican state party in Idaho told Reuters that Trump allies had been lobbying to hold a nominating contest before May. There are an estimated 2,467 delegates up for grabs in the 2024 Republican state-by-state nominating battle.

Persons: Donald Trump, Trump, Chris LaCivita, LaCivita, Joe Biden's shakeup, Biden, Jason Roe, Roe, DESANTIS, Ron DeSantis, You've, DeSantis, Tim Reid, Colleen Jenkins, Alistair Bell Organizations: Reuters, Republican, Trump, Nevada Republican Party, . Idaho Republicans, Democratic National Committee, Black, Republicans, Democratic Party, Republican National Committee, RNC, Florida, Thomson Locations: Michigan, Nevada, Idaho, Carolina, Georgia, Iowa, Virginia, Idaho , Nevada, Alabama, Missouri

☆ More than 100 U.S. political elites have family links to slavery
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-27 | by ( Reuters Graphic | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +46 min

Then the war came, and according to the family history, Union soldiers plundered Sessions’ 27-room house. About 48 years old at the time, he did not stand a chance to succeed without slavery, the family history suggests. ‘A Better Nation’Some historians and genealogists say there is a valuable reason for white leaders – and other white Americans – to explore their links to slavery. Nicka Sewell-Smith, a professional genealogist with the family history website Ancestry.com, said people frequently ask her what to do with such documents. The top Democrat on the House Foreign Affairs Committee, Meeks said in an interview that he has spent years trying to trace his family history back before 1870.

Persons: Black, Mitch McConnell, Lindsey Graham, Tom Cotton, James Lankford, Elizabeth Warren, Tammy Duckworth, Jeanne Shaheen, Maggie Hassan, Joe Biden, –, Donald Trump –, Jimmy Carter, George W, Bush, Bill Clinton, Barack Obama, Trump’s, Amy Coney Barrett, Neil Gorsuch –, Asa Hutchinson, Doug Burgum, Tim Scott, James Clyburn, Henry McMaster, ”, Henry Louis Gates Jr, Gates, ” “, ” Gates, enslavers, Tony Burroughs, Biden, Obama, McConnell, Burroughs, Joseph Maddox, Maddox, Sela, Rubin, James, Sal, Sam ”, Graham, Graham didn’t, Nancy Mace, Drucilla, Drucilla Mace, John Mace, Hector Godbolt, John Mace’s, Godbolt, “, ” Nancy Mace, Henry Coe, Duckworth, Coe, Margaret, Isaac, Warner, George …, Isaac Franklin –, “ There’s, ” Duckworth, George Floyd, Donald Trump, ” Biden, ‘, ’, Ben Affleck, ” Affleck, Independent Angus King, Mo Brooks, ” Brooks, Sean Kelley, Kelley, White, don’t, wasn’t, Richard Sessions, Pete Sessions, Richard’s, William Sessions, John Cowger, Tom Cotton of, ” Cotton’s, Cowger, Cotton, Archibald Crawford, Juneteenth, Shaheen, Pocahontas, Edmond Dillehay, Peter ”, Milly, Lankford, ” Lankford, Joe Wilson, Stephen H, Wilson, Boineau, General David Addison Weisiger, Wilson –, Addison Graves Wilson –, Weisiger “, ” Wilson, Daniel Weisiger, Daniel Weisiger’s, Samuel, Samuel Weisiger, Daniel, Julia Brownley, Jesse Brownley, Brownley, ” Brownley, Thomas Ferguson, Brooks, Manumission, Marie Jenkins Schwartz, ” “ It’s, Union General William Tecumseh Sherman, Harvard’s Gates, Sherman, Andrew Johnson, Abraham Lincoln, Nicka Sewell, Smith, Ancestry.com, ” Sewell, LaBrenda Garrett, Nelson, Garrett, Rick Larsen, John Wiggins, Larsen, – Gilbura, George, Agg –, ” Larsen, Gilbura, Agg, Gregory Meeks, Meeks, Jim Crow South, – Meeks, – “, ” Meeks, “ I’m, I’m, Tom Bergin, Makini Brice, Nicholas P, Brown, Donna Bryson, Lawrence Delevingne, Brad Heath, Andrea Januta, Gui Qing Koh, Tom Lasseter, Grant Smith, Maurice Tamman, Catherine Tai Design, John Emerson, Jane Ross, Emma Jehle, Jeremy Schultz, Blake Morrison Organizations: Reuters, Republicans, U.S, Supreme, Republican, Harvard University, PBS, United States Congress, Representative, WikiLeaks, Sony, Facebook, White, FedEx, National Museum of, 117th, Independent, University of Essex, Geographic, American Economic, Pete Sessions, Sessions, Federal Bureau of Investigation, Jeanne Shaheen U.S, CNN, Biden, Trump, ” Reuters, South, South Carolina General Assembly, Confederate, statehouse, Congressional, Chesterfield County, Mount Vernon College, George Washington University, Mo Brooks Former U.S, “, New York Times, United, Federal Government, Union, Black, Southern, Democrat, House Foreign Affairs, Klux Klan Locations: U.S, America, Confederate States, Arkansas, North Dakota, South Carolina, Congress, Black, Northern, Southern, Illinois, Virginia, Frederick County , Virginia, United States, Minnesota, ”, Mo Brooks of Alabama, American, Texas, Mississippi, Chicot County , Arkansas, Chicot County, Tom Cotton of Arkansas, Yell County, Yell County , Arkansas, New Hampshire, Oklahoma, Tulsa, Georgia, Pennsylvania, Michigan, Frankfurt, Germany, Chesterfield County , Virginia, California, Portsmouth , Virginia, Alabama, Haywood County , North Carolina, Antebellum, United States of America, Washington, Nicholas County , Kentucky, Queens , New York, New York, York County, Mende, Sierra Leone, Africa, Bunce

☆ Opinion: The Supreme Court justices picked by Trump were bad. DeSantis would be much worse.
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-27 | by ( Opinion Duncan Hosie | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +9 min

DeSantis has appointed far more extreme justices to the Florida Supreme Court than Trump did to the US Supreme Court. But DeSantis’ appointees to the Florida Supreme Court embrace the Thomas-Alito wing of the organization. DeSantis’ appointees, in contrast, have jumped at entrenching conservative electoral domination and curtailing Black political power. Imitating Thomas and Alito, DeSantis’ appointees have rushed into gratuitous political controversies, writing opinions heavy on theory and light on practicality. Thomas and Alito are in this vanguard, as are DeSantis’ appointees and some of Trump’s lower court appointees, with which DeSantis is aligned.

Persons: Duncan Hosie, Ron DeSantis, Donald Trump, Hugh Hewitt, DeSantis, Clarence, Thomas, Samuel, Alito, ” Duncan Hosie, –, Trump, Neil Gorsuch, Brett Kavanaugh, Amy Coney Barrett, George H.W, Bush, George W, Brackeen, Barrett, Kavanaugh, Gorsuch, decisis, – Thomas, Thomas ’, Wade, – Carlos Muñiz, John Couriel, Jamie Grosshans, Renatha Francis, Meredith Sasso, they’ve, Barrett aren’t, Roe, DeSantis playbook, DeSantis ’, Biden, Alito’s, Smith, He’s, ”, groupthink, It’s, Trump’s, haven’t Organizations: New York Times, Washington Post, Street, CNN, Florida Gov, Republican, Trump, Florida Supreme, Detroit, of Education, –, Oregon, Federalist Society, Covid, Employment, today’s, Federalist, Twitter Locations: Florida, Alabama, Black, City of Philadelphia, lockstep

[1/6] A general view of the Bank of America financial center in New York City, U.S., June 26, 2023. REUTERS/Brendan McDermidNEW YORK, June 27 (Reuters) - Bank of America Corp (BAC.N) is adding consumer branches in four new U.S. states, it said on Tuesday, bringing its national footprint closer to rival JPMorgan Chase & Co (JPM.N). Bank of America will open new financial centers in Nebraska, Wisconsin, Alabama and Louisiana as part of a four-year expansion across nine markets, including Louisville, Milwaukee and New Orleans. The openings will give BofA a retail presence in 39 states, compared with JPMorgan, the largest U.S. lender, which has branches in 49 states. Holly O'Neill, Bank of America's president of retail banking, said last month that she expects good performance for the unit in the second quarter.

Persons: Brendan McDermid, Brian Moynihan, Moynihan, Aron Levine, Holly O'Neill, Saeed Azhar, Lananh Nguyen, Deepa Babington Organizations: Bank of America, REUTERS, Bank of America Corp, JPMorgan Chase &, JPMorgan, Federal Reserve, Consumer, CNN, Reuters, Bank of, Thomson Locations: New York City, U.S, Nebraska , Wisconsin , Alabama, Louisiana, Louisville, Milwaukee, New Orleans

☆ Sen. Tommy Tuberville voted against a bill that just gave his state $1.4 billion for rural broadband. He's celebrating it anyway.
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-27 | by ( Bryan Metzger | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

The Biden administration announced Monday that Alabama will get $1.4 billion in broadband funding. Sen. Tommy Tuberville celebrated the news, calling the funding "crucial" for rural broadband. But he voted against the 2021 infrastructure bill that established the program he's now touting. "Coach voted against the infrastructure bill because it wasted Alabamians' tax dollars. He's advocated for including expanding rural broadband as part of an upcoming farm bill, and he introduced legislation earlier this year to shield broadband grants from being taxed as income.

Persons: Sen, Tommy Tuberville, —, Republican Sen, Tuberville, I've, Terri Sewell, Terri A, Sewell, Steven Stafford, Stafford, He's Organizations: Biden, Alabama, Service, Republican, Broadband Equity, Department of Commerce's National Telecommunications and Information Administration, Infrastructure Law, White House, Democratic, Agriculture, Rural Development, Energy Locations: Alabama

☆ Relentless heat wave scorches US South, air quality deteriorates over Midwest
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-27 | by ( Brendan O'Brien | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

Meanwhile, in Chicago, children, the elderly and people with respiratory diseases were being cautioned to stay indoors for a wholly different reason: polluted air. "It is essential to have a way to cool down and interrupt your heat exposure." The stationary high pressure system across the South that is trapping the heat and humidity, known as a heat dome, has been lingering for the last few weeks, causing the sweltering weather. The heat wave claimed the life of a 14-year-old boy who was hiking in the Big Bend National Park in Texas on Friday when the temperature reached 119 degrees. Reporting by Brendan O'Brien in Chicago; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama and Mark PorterOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Callaghan, LaToya Cantrell, Brendan O'Brien, Chizu Nomiyama, Mark Porter Organizations: U.S, National Weather Service, NWS, REUTERS, New, Big, Thomson Locations: Chicago, Arizona, Texas, Florida's, Dallas, New Orleans, Mobile , Alabama, Houston , Texas, U.S, Canada, United States, Arkansas , Tennessee, Oklahoma

☆ Bipartisan lawmakers visit Taiwan as Biden seeks to stabilize China relationship
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-27 | by ( Christina Wilkie | In | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

Taiwan is a self-ruling democracy, but China views Taiwan as a province of the Chinese mainland. The visit comes at a sensitive time for America's relationship with China, its largest trading partner and strategic competitor in political, economic and security arenas. WASHINGTON — A bipartisan congressional delegation led by House Armed Services Committee Chairman Mike Rogers landed in Taiwan on Tuesday for a three day visit, according to the American Institute in Taiwan. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen reportedly plans to visit China in July, Bloomberg News reported this week. But while visits by senior Biden administration officials to China may help normalize the U.S.-China relationship, visits like Rogers' delegation to Taiwan tend to have the opposite effect.

Persons: Mike Rogers, Tsai Ing, Adam Smith, WASHINGTON —, Rogers, Biden, Antony Blinken, Blinken, Janet Yellen Organizations: Republicans, U.S, Capitol, Taiwanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs, The Alabama Republican, House Armed Services, American Institute, Congressional, United, Bloomberg News, Treasury, Biden, ., National Security Council Locations: Afghanistan, Taiwan, Washington, Pacific, China, Beijing, WASHINGTON, Taipei, United States

☆ Should the U.S. government pay reparations for slavery and its legacy?
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-27 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +10 min

The poll found that 74% of Black Americans favor reparations compared to just 26% of white Americans. A divided America Views on whether the U.S. government should provide some form of reparations for slavery and its legacy are split along party and racial lines. They also say it’s wrong to have taxpayers finance reparations, given that no one alive today is responsible for slavery. In April 2021, Gohmert went on the attack by proposing an amendment calling for the Democratic Party to pay for reparations. In the slavery era, the Democratic Party supported slavery; the Republican Party, led by Abraham Lincoln, called for slavery’s restriction and eventually abolished it.

Persons: –, Elizabeth Warren, Chris Van Hollen, Lloyd Doggett, Tommy Tuberville, John N, Kennedy, Louie Gohmert, ”, Black, Robert Lindsay, Gohmert, Abraham Lincoln, Lindsay, Valentine, ” Tuberville, “, Tuberville, Valentine Brazil, Nathan Calhoun, ” Kennedy, Nathan Calhoun’s, Dabney P, Calhoun, John Crawford, ’ Warren, Warren, – Crawford, Crawford, ” Warren, Isaac Hollingsworth, ’, Van Hollen, ” Van Hollen, Miller Doggett, Doggett, ” Doggett, Jim Crow, Tom Bergin, Makini Brice, Nicholas P, Brown, Donna Bryson, Lawrence Delevingne, Brad Heath, Andrea Januta, Gui Qing Koh, Tom Lasseter, Grant Smith, Maurice Tamman, Catherine Tai Design, John Emerson, Jeremy Schultz, Blake Morrison Organizations: Black, Reuters, –, 117th, U.S ., Louie Gohmert Former U.S, Representative, Republican, Democratic Party, Republican Party, Vigilance, Kennedy U.S, Massachusetts Democrat, Senate, Chris Van Hollen U.S, Maryland, Lloyd Doggett U.S, H.R, Texas Democrat Locations: United States, America, U.S . Civil, Louie Gohmert Former, Texas, Europe, Bowie County , Texas, Boston, Bowie County, Alabama, Valentine Brazil, Nevada, Tuberville, Saline County , Arkansas, Brazil, Ouachita, Louisiana, Abbeville , South Carolina, Massachusetts, Dorchester County , Maryland, Maryland, Virginia, Tennessee

☆ The Donald Trump view of elections was just rejected again
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-27 | by ( Zachary B. Wolf | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +7 min

The news Tuesday is that the US Supreme Court squarely rejected the fringe legal theory by which far-right activists and supporters of Trump hoped to be able to ignore election outcomes. What exactly did the Supreme Court do? The case at hand – Moore v. Harper – had to do with a 2022 North Carolina congressional map rejected by the state’s Supreme Court. Trump supporters thought a riff on the independent state legislature theory, written by the former Trump lawyer John Eastman, could have kept him in office past 2020, even though he lost the election. “(Pence) should have put the votes back to the state legislatures and I think we would have had a different outcome.

Persons: Donald Trump, Trump, doesn’t, Jack Smith, Joe Biden, – Moore, Harper –, John Eastman, Eastman, Mike Pence, ”, John Roberts, Brett Kavanaugh, Amy Coney Barrett, Joan Biskupic, Roberts, ” Biskupic, ” Trump, CNN’s Kaitlan Collins, It’s, David Chalian, Roe, Wade Organizations: CNN, Justice Department, The Justice Department, Trump, Legislature, ”, Supreme, Eastman, Republican, Pentagon, White, Environmental Protection Agency Locations: North Carolina, California, Wisconsin , Pennsylvania, Georgia, Iran, United States, Alabama, Black

☆ Biden administration details plans for $42 bln investment in US internet access
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-26 | by ( Jarrett Renshaw | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

The $42 billion in federal funding under the Broadband Equity Access and Deployment Program is based on a newly released Federal Communications Commission coverage map that details gaps in access. Texas and California - the two most populous U.S. states - top the funding list at $3.1 billion and $1.9 billion, respectively. But other less populous states like Virginia, Alabama and Louisiana cracked the top 10 list for funding due to lack of broadband access. The administration estimates there are some 8.5 million locations in the U.S. that lack access to broadband connections. The lack of broadband access drew attention during COVID shutdowns that forced students into online schooling.

Persons: Joe Biden, Read, Joe Biden's, Jeff Zients, Zients, Franklin Roosevelt's, COVID, Biden, Anita Dunn, Mike Donilon, Jarrett Renshaw, Scott Malone, Chris Reese, Lisa Shumaker Organizations: Infrastructure Law, White, Broadband, Federal Communications, Congress, Verizon, Comcast, Charter Communications, Thomson Locations: Texas, California, U.S, Virginia , Alabama, Louisiana, America, Chicago

Circuit Court of Appeals "for review in the ordinary course and in advance of the 2024 congressional elections in Louisiana." Democrats have accused Republicans of exploiting state legislature majorities to draw electoral maps that dilute the clout of Black and other minority voters. The map was challenged by Black voters and civil rights groups in two lawsuits. The plaintiffs in court papers said that "stark racially polarized voting almost universally leads to the electoral defeat of Black-preferred candidates" in Louisiana. The Supreme Court in that ruling elected not to further roll back protections contained in the Voting Rights Act as it had done in two major decisions in the past decade.

Persons: Kyle Ardoin, Shelly Dick, Jon Bel Edwards, Black, Dick, Andrew Chung, Will Dunham Organizations: U.S . House, U.S, Supreme, Republican, Black, . House, Circuit, Republicans, Democratic, disenfranchising, The U.S, Thomson Locations: Louisiana, Alabama, Orleans, United States, Louisiana's, The, New York

The Australian scandal is the latest in a number the "big four" professional services firm has faced around the globe. Auditor PwC said it was unable to comment on client issues due to confidentiality clauses. Its auditor PwC and affiliates agreed to pay $33 million in fines and compensation to settle U.S. litigation in 2011. India's market regulator barred PwC's local affiliate from auditing listed companies for two years in 2018, but that was overturned the following year. ($1 = 1.4984 Australian dollars)Reporting by Lewis Jackson; Editing by Praveen Menon and Sonali PaulOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Kristin Stubbins, PwC, Lewis Jackson, Praveen Menon, Sonali Paul Organizations: SYDNEY, PricewaterhouseCoopers, International, Wyelands Bank, Colonial Bank ., Satyam, Enron, PwC, Thomson Locations: Australia, Brazil, Britain, Alabama, Colonial Bank . India

☆ Supreme Court Steps Aside in Fight Over Louisiana’s Congressional Maps
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-26 | by ( Emily Cochrane | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

The Supreme Court cleared the way on Monday for a challenge to Louisiana’s congressional map to advance, raising the chances that the state will soon be required to create a second district that empowers Black voters to select a representative. In lifting a nearly yearlong hold on the case, the justices said that a federal appeals court in New Orleans should review the case before the 2024 congressional elections in the state. By preventing a challenge to the map from advancing while it considered a similar case in Alabama, the Supreme Court had effectively allowed a Republican-drawn map to go into effect in Louisiana during the 2022 election cycle. Though Louisiana’s population is about 30 percent Black, the six-district map enacted by the state’s Republican-controlled Legislature has only one district with a majority of Black voters. It is now increasingly expected that challenges in Louisiana and other Southern states will end with redrawn maps that all but guarantee an additional district determined by Black voters.

Organizations: Black, Republican Locations: New Orleans, Alabama, Louisiana

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