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LONDON, June 27 (Reuters) - A portrait of an unnamed woman by Austrian artist Gustav Klimt sold for 85.3 million pounds ($108.4 million) on Tuesday, setting a new record price for any work of art sold at an auction in Europe, London-based auction house Sotheby's said. The fall of the hammer at 74 million pounds broke the tension, triggering a collective exhalation in the room and a round of applause. The painting sold to a Hong Kong-based art advisory firm, bidding on behalf of a collector based there. It is now the most expensive Klimt artwork sold at auction anywhere in the world. It was last offered for sale nearly 30 years ago, when it was acquired by the family of the present owner for $11.6 million, according to the auction house.

Persons: Gustav Klimt, Sotheby's, Helena Newman, Newman, Claude Monet's, Alberto Giacometti's, Farouq Suleiman, Marie, Louise Gumuchian, Rosalba O'Brien Organizations: Thomson Locations: Austrian, Europe, London, Hong Kong

☆ Remains found in California mountains where actor Julian Sands went missing
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-25 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

June 25 (Reuters) - Hikers have found human remains in Southern California's Mount Baldy wilderness, the mountainous area where British-born film actor Julian Sands went missing in January, local authorities said late on Saturday. Sands was reported missing on Jan. 13 after he had gone hiking alone in the Baldy Bowl area of the San Gabriel Mountains, about 50 miles (80 km) northeast of Los Angeles. The Baldy Bowl, a large sloping area below the crest of the Mount Baldy ski area, is a popular destination for skiers, climbers and backpackers. Sands was believed to be an experienced hiker, officials said at the time of his disappearance. He also starred as the son of Satan in the 1989 supernatural thriller "Warlock" and its sequel "Warlock: The Armageddon".

Persons: Julian Sands, Sands, Helena Bonham Carter, Satan, Jyoti Narayan, Helen Popper Our Organizations: Fontana, San, San Bernardino County Sheriff's Department, Thomson Locations: Southern, Baldy, British, San Bernardino County, San Gabriel, Los Angeles, England, California, Bengaluru

☆ Klimt portrait 'Lady with a Fan' headed to auction with $80 million price tag
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-23 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

LONDON, June 23 (Reuters) - The last-ever portrait Austrian artist Gustav Klimt painted before he died is headed for auction next week, with a price estimate of $80 million. "Dame mit Fächer" ("Lady with a Fan") - a portrait of an unnamed woman - was still on an easel in Klimt's studio when the painter died in February 1918. It leads Sotheby's Modern & Contemporary Evening Auction on June 27 in London, with a price estimate of around 65 million pounds ($80 million). That price tag makes it "the most valuable ever to have been offered at auction in Europe," according to Sotheby's. "It’s very rare for a Klimt painting of this quality and caliber of a portrait of a woman to come to auction."

Persons: Gustav Klimt, Klimt, Helena Newman, Lucian Freud’s, Penelope Cuthbertson, Leonor Fini, Alberto Giacometti, Buste, Diego, Will Russell, Marie, Louise Gumuchian, Matthew Lewis Organizations: Sotheby’s, Reuters, Thomson Locations: London, Europe, Asia, Sotheby’s Europe

☆ Dozens of Migrants Bound for Canary Islands Feared Dead as Boat Sinks
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-21 | by ( Constant Méheut | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: 1 min

Thirty-six migrants were feared dead after an inflatable boat en route to the Canary Islands, a Spanish archipelago off northwestern Africa, sank on Wednesday, according to an aid group. At least one body, belonging to a child, has been recovered, according to the aid group, Caminando Fronteras, a nongovernmental organization that tracks the deaths of migrants. The group said that 24 people had been rescued, but that dozens remained missing of the 61 people who had been on the vessel. According to a Twitter post from Helena Maleno Garzón, who founded Caminando Fronteras, “The inflatable had been begging for rescue in Spanish waters for more than twelve hours.”Maritime Rescue, Spain’s sea search-and-rescue agency, did not immediately respond to several requests for comment.

Persons: Caminando, Helena Maleno Garzón Locations: Canary, Spanish, Africa

☆ Montana youth ask judge for historic order in climate trial
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-20 | by ( Clark Mindock | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

“This case has received national attention because it has been billed or perceived as a referendum on climate change generally,” he said. Attorneys for the state said during the trial that the youth had failed to target a specific policy upon which real relief could be granted. They said the primary policy targeted by the lawsuit, the Montana Environmental Policy Act, is a “procedural” law that does not mandate specific outcomes. The trial included testimony from the youth plaintiffs who claimed the state’s policies are contributing to extreme heat and drought, shrinking the state’s famed glaciers and worsening wildfires. The case is Held v. Montana, Montana First Judicial District Court, No.

Persons: Kathy Seeley, Nate Bellinger, Seeley, Michael Russell, hadn't, ”, Claire Vlases, Julia Olson, Roger Sullivan, Melissa Hornbein, Michael Russell of, Mark Stermitz, Crowley Fleck, Clark Mindock Organizations: U.S, Montana Department of, McGarvey, Western Environmental Law, Montana Department of Justice, Montana Youth, Thomson Locations: State, Montana, Helena, . Montana , Montana, Hawaii

☆ 16 young people are suing the state of Montana over the climate crisis — one resident says the wildfire smoke makes him want to lie in bed and cry
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-15 | by ( Tim Paradis | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

In Montana, 16 young residents are suing the state over its support of the fossil-fuel industry. They argue Montana is violating their right to a clean environment as laid out in its constitution. The suit is the first constitutional case on climate change to go to trial in the US. The Montana suit, Held v. Montana, is remarkable for being the first constitutional case on climate change to reach trial in the US. It's highlighting the effect that climate change has on young people."

Persons: Busse, Michael Gerrard, William Campbell, Gerrard, Columbia's Sabin, Mica Kantor Organizations: Service, Columbia Law School, Climate Change Locations: Montana, Helena, . Montana, Missoula

☆ A historic youth climate trial is happening in Montana. Here’s what to know
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-15 | by ( Ella Nilsen | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

CNN —A landmark youth climate trial is playing out in Montana, as more than a dozen young plaintiffs aged 5 to 22 said they are already being hurt by climate change-fueled wildfires, drought, reduced snowpack and impacts to wildlife. It is the first youth climate case to make it to trial in the United States, even as several others are working their way through the court system. Still, the ruling could set an important legal precedent for upcoming youth climate cases in various stages. The Montana plaintiffs first filed their case three years ago, while the Juliana case was first filed in 2015. “I know that climate change is a global issue, but Montana needs to take responsibility for our part of that,” plaintiff Rikki Held, 22, testified.

Persons: ”, Michael Russell, Sariel Sandoval, Kathy Seeley’s, Seeley, Juliana, general’s, Rikki Held Organizations: CNN, United Locations: Montana, United States, Helena , Montana, ” Montana, Bitterroot, Upper Pend d’Oreille, Diné

☆ Klimt’s ‘last masterpiece’ poised to fetch $80 million at Sotheby’s auction
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-14 | by ( Oscar Holland | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +5 min

Depicting an unidentified female subject, “Dame mit Fächer” (Lady with a Fan) was one of two paintings found at the Austrian artist’s studio upon his death in 1918, according to Sotheby’s auction house. Started in 1917, “Dame mit Fächer” is rendered in Klimt’s characteristically rich, expressive style. Sotheby's said it expects the painting the fetch "in the region of" $80 million when it goes under the hammer this month. Klimt’s “Portrait of Adele Bloch-Bauer I” was meanwhile bought by US businessman Ronald Lauder for a reported $135 million in 2006. “Dame mit Fächer” is the star lot in Sotheby’s modern and contemporary art summer auction, which takes place on June 27.

Persons: Gustav Klimt, Fächer ”, Sotheby’s, Thomas Boyd Bowman, ”, “, —, De Agostini, Klimt, Helena Newman, Newman, Erwin Böhle, Rudolf Leopold, Sotheby's, Paul G, Allen, Dmitry Rybolovlev, Yves Bouvier, Adele Bloch, Bauer, Ronald Lauder, Oprah Winfrey, Alberto Giacometti, Edvard Munch Organizations: CNN, Austrian, De Agostini Editorial, “, Microsoft, Financial Times, Bloomberg, UBS, Art Locations: London, Klimt's Vienna, Viennese, Sotheby’s, Austrian, “ Birch, Covid

☆ Klimt’s ‘last masterpiece’ sells for record-breaking $108.4 million
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-14 | by ( Oscar Holland | Jacquelyn Palumbo | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +5 min

“Dame mit Fächer” was one of two paintings found at the Austrian artist’s studio upon his death in 1918, according to Sotheby’s. A work the artist had started a year prior, in 1917, “Dame mit Fächer” is rendered in Klimt’s characteristically rich, expressive style. "Dame mit Fächer" (right) pictured in Klimt's Vienna studio in 1918. "Dame mit Fächer" became Klimt's highest-selling artwork at auction. Klimt’s “Portrait of Adele Bloch-Bauer I” was meanwhile bought by US businessman Ronald Lauder for a reported $135 million in 2006.

Persons: Gustav Klimt, Fächer ”, Klimt, Paul G, Allen, “, —, Sotheby’s, Thomas Boyd Bowman, ”, De Agostini, Helena Newman, Newman, Erwin Böhle, Rudolf Leopold, Dmitry Rybolovlev, Yves Bouvier, Adele Bloch, Bauer, Ronald Lauder, Oprah Winfrey, Alberto Giacometti, Edvard Munch Organizations: CNN, Microsoft, Austrian, De Agostini Editorial, Financial Times, Bloomberg, UBS, Art Locations: London, Birch, Hong Kong, Klimt's Vienna, Viennese, Sotheby’s, Austrian, Covid

☆ Climate change trial pits youths against Montana
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-12 | by ( Clark Mindock | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

They hope that would set an important precedent and encourage lawmakers in the state capital to take greater action to fight climate change, according to their lawyers. Lead plaintiff Rikki Held, 22, testified that climate change has already led to severe conditions on her family's ranch in eastern Montana. And the youth are not challenging policies that would, if invalidated, meaningfully change the state's impact on the climate, Stermitz said. Attorneys for the state had repeatedly attempted to have the case tossed before trial, arguing climate change is an issue best addressed through the political process, not in courtrooms. The case is among several constitutional climate cases on behalf of youth plaintiffs across the U.S., and is the first of those to head to trial.

Persons: Roger Sullivan, Kathy Seeley, Sullivan, Rikki Held, Mark Stermitz, Stermitz, Seeley, Clark Mindock, Alexia Garamfalvi, Bill Berkrot Organizations: Thomson Locations: Montana, Helena, U.S

☆ A lawsuit brought by kids in Montana could determine if the state has a constitutional duty to protect its residents from climate change
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-11 | by ( Associated Press | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +9 min

A lawsuit brought against the state of Montana by a group of kids heads to trial on Monday. The outcome has the potential to set an important precedent in the fight against climate change. "We've seen repeatedly over the last few years what the Montana state Legislature is choosing," Gibson-Snyder said. He argued climate change could ultimately benefit Montana with longer growing seasons and the potential to produce more valuable crops. A ruling in favor of the Montana plaintiffs could have ripple effects, according to Philip Gregory, Our Children's Trust attorney.

Persons: Grace Gibson, Snyder, she's, We've, Gibson, Austin Knudsen, Kathy Seeley, Seeley, Jim Huffman, Huffman, Terry Anderson, Anderson, Philip Gregory, Gregory said, John Roberts, Julia Olson, Jonathan Adler, Adler, I've Organizations: Service, Republican, Gibson, Montana's Constitution, Montana Attorney, Lewis & Clark Law School, Trust, U.S, Supreme, Lawmakers, Case Western Reserve University, Yale University Locations: Montana, U.S, Missoula, Montana's, Pennsylvania, Massachusetts, New York, Portland , Oregon, Helena, Hawaii, Oregon, Montana and Oregon, Cleveland, New Haven , Connecticut

CNN —Theodore “Ted” Kaczynski, the Harvard-trained math professor who unleashed a deadly bombing campaign from a shack in rural Montana and became known as the “Unabomber,” has died, according to the Federal Bureau of Prisons. In 2021, Kaczynski was moved to the federal medical center in North Carolina, according to the bureau. Elaine Thompson/APPortrayed by prosecutors as a vengeful loner, Kaczynski published 30,000-word treatise that became known as the Unabomber Manifesto. “Justice has been done, and Theodore Kaczynski will never threaten anyone again,” Attorney General Janet Reno said in a statement at the time. Its similarity to letters he sent to his family alerted his brother, who made the decision to turn Kaczynski in.

Persons: Theodore “ Ted ” Kaczynski, ”, Kaczynski, “, ” Kaczynski, Ted Kaczynski's, Elaine Thompson, David, Michael Macor, Sally Johnson, Johnson, Judge Garland Burrell Jr, Theodore Kaczynski, ” Burrell, Susan Mosser, Burrell, he’ll, Thomas, Kelly, Hugh Scrutton, Gilbert Murray, Charles Epstein, David Gelernter, Janet Reno, ” David Kaczynski, ” Ted Kaczynski Organizations: CNN, Harvard, Federal Bureau of Prisons, Federal Medical Center, “ Staff, FMC Butner, San Francisco Chronicle, Getty, Prosecutors, University of California, Time Locations: Montana, Butner , North Carolina, North Carolina, Supermax, Florence , Colorado, Lincoln , Montana, Helena , Montana, New Jersey, Berkeley

☆ Factbox: Companies invest in EV battery factories in Europe
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-31 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +6 min

Below are recent investments announced by companies:GERMANYSweden's Northvolt said on May 13 it will invest 3-5 billion euros ($3.3-5.5 billion) in an EV battery plant in Heide in the northern state of Schleswig-Holstein as long as subsidies are approved. Volkswagen (VOWG_p.DE) plans to build six battery factories in Europe totalling 240 gigawatt (GWh) of capacity by 2030. Production at its first battery plant, "SalzGiga", in Salzgitter in the Lower Saxony region will start in 2025. Slovakian battery manufacturer InoBat said last October it had signed a declaration of intent with the Spanish government to set up an EV battery factory in central Spain's city Valladolid, expected to cost 3 billion euros. POLANDLG Chem EV battery in Wroclaw started production in the second half of 2017, with a capacity of 100,000 batteries per year.

Persons: Helena Soderpalm, GERMANY Sweden's Northvolt, China's CATL, Germany's, Mercedes Benz, Elon Musk, Berclau, Taiwan's ProLogium, Jean, Luc Monfort, Mata, BASQUEVOLT, InoBat, China's BYD, AEHRA, Poland's, Alessandro Parodi, Tiago Brandao, Matteo Allievi, Barbara Lewis, Milla Nissi Organizations: REUTERS, Volkswagen, EV, Germany's BASF, Automotive Cells Company, ACC, Stellantis, Tesla, FRANCE Joint, France, Renault, Basque Country, Spanish, India's Tata Group, ITALY Joint, POLAND LG, European Commission, SWEDEN Northvolt's Skelleftea, Thomson Locations: Vasteras, Sweden, Europe, Asia, United States, GERMANY, Heide, Schleswig, Holstein, Salzgitter, Lower Saxony, China, Erfurt, Thuringia, Schwarzheide, Brandenburg ., Ludwigsfelde, Berlin, Kaiserslautern, Rhineland, Palatinate, Gigafactory, FRANCE, Billy, France, Dunkirk, Douai, Ruitz, Ergué, Quimper, Montreal, SPAIN Spain, Europe's, Germany, Navalmoral de, Extremadura, Sagunto, Valencia, Spain, Basque, Slovakian, Spain's, Valladolid, Britain, ITALY, Termoli, POLAND, Wroclaw, HUNGARY

☆ Get Lost in Clay, Even if It’s Just for the Weekend
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-31 | by ( Ainara Tiefenthäler | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +2 min

Summer clay workshops generally last between four and 12 days, during which participants live on the 420-acre campus, and focus on a range of functional and decorative aspects of pottery. A three-hour drive east, the town of Seagrove, which has one of the highest concentrations of working potters in the country, advertises itself as America’s pottery capital. Among its residents, Seagrove counts eighth- and ninth-generation potters, as well as a growing number of young apprentices and clay artists. Nearly three-quarters of a century after the Bray was founded, the world appears ready for its contemporary take on clay. For those interested in exploring, the Bray offers two-hour experience classes open to the public in July and August.

Persons: —, Archie Bray, Bray, ”, Rebecca Harvey Organizations: Penland, of Craft, North Carolina —, Carolina Pottery, Archie Bray Foundation, Ceramic Arts, Metropolitan Museum of Art, Bray Locations: North Carolina, Seagrove, Helena, Mont

☆ Some climate-tech startups want you to believe AI tools can save the planet — but it's not that simple
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-24 | by ( Aaron Mok | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +9 min

AMP Robotics is just one of more than 44,500 climate tech startups that have emerged since 2010. Last year investors poured $70.1 billion into climate tech, an 89% rise compared with 2021, according to HolonIQ Global Impact Intelligence. While AI tools like Horowitz's waste-sorting robots have been around for years, the advent of generative-AI tools like OpenAI's ChatGPT has reignited conversations around deploying AI to address societal issues. PersefoniBut researchers warn AI may do more harm than goodResearchers, activists, and climate tech execs agree that AI can't single-handedly cool the planet. AMP RoboticsEven AI climate tech executives see limits to their impactEven climate tech executives believe there are limitations to AI.

Persons: Matanya Horowitz, Horowitz, ChatGPT, Carling Spelhaug, Sasha Luccioni, Luccioni, David Rolnick, Banks, James Newsome, Newsome, Rolnick, Bill McKibben, McKibben, Helena Norberg, Hodge, Norberg, OpenAI's ChatGPT Organizations: AMP Robotics, Caltech, Global, Intelligence, Carling, UN, McGill University, Research, Tech, Greenpeace, AMP Locations: Colorado, Africa, South America

☆ TikTok creators just filed a lawsuit to fight Montana's ban on the app. They say it tramples their rights.
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-19 | by ( Aaron Mcdade | Associated Press | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

A group of TikTok creators have filed the first lawsuit against Montana's ban on the app. — Five TikTok content creators have filed a lawsuit seeking to overturn Montana's first-in-the-nation ban on the video sharing app, arguing the law is an unconstitutional violation of free speech rights. Opponents say Montana residents could easily circumvent the ban by using a virtual private network. President Joe Biden's administration initially shelved those plans, but more recently threatened to ban the app if the company's Chinese owners don't sell their stakes. TikTok's parent company, ByteDance, has also released another so-called "sister app" to TikTok across the globe as talks of bans have mounted, called Lemon8.

☆ A photo of women snickering at trans lawmaker Zooey Zephyr in Montana looks a lot like the photos of white people snickering at Black people in the 1950s
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-02 | by ( Katie Balevic | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

The vote meant Zephyr could no longer enter the House chamber, so she worked from a public bench in the hallway outside. State Rep. Zooey Zephyr sits on a bench just outside the main chamber of the House on April 27 in Helena, Montana. The censure prevents Zephyr from entering the House floor, so she has instead been working from a public bench outside the chamber. Photos from the time show authorities in different cities escorting Black children to school through throngs of glaring white protestors. Similarly, a group of supporters on Tuesday managed to hold Zephyr's seat outside the chamber for her, the lawmaker said.

☆ Montana transgender legislator loses court bid to return to floor
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-02 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

[1/5] Montana State Representative Zooey Zephyr, who was barred from accessing the House chamber, works remotely from a bench outside of the House chamber at the Montana State Capitol in Helena, Montana, U.S. May 2, 2023. NO ARCHIVESMay 2 (Reuters) - Censured Montana transgender Representative Zooey Zephyr on Tuesday lost a last-minute legal attempt to rejoin debate on the House floor, as a Montana judge rejected her attempt to overturn the legislature's punishment that silenced her. The censure was punishment for breaking decorum during debates on transgender bills including one that would deny healthcare treatment for transgender youth. District Court Judge Mike Menahan found the court's authority was limited due to the constitutional separation of powers between the legislative and judicial branches. Montana's governor signed the bill denying gender-affirming care to minors into law on Friday, two days after the House voted to censure Zephyr.

CNN —From statehouses to the presidential campaign trail, Republicans are escalating their political attacks on transgender people – a reflection of what they see as a cultural fight their base is eager to wage. And in recent days, those attacks have turned into new forms of mockery and political retribution, as Republicans seek to turn transgender rights into a flashpoint by seizing on social media controversies and exercising their rule-making power in statehouses where they hold large majorities. “A lot of young trans people are worried that their medication is going to get pulled,” she said of legislation targeting health insurance coverage for gender-affirming care. Transgender rights activists protest outside the House chamber at the Oklahoma State Capitol in Oklahoma City on February 6, 2023. That is not a transgender person,” Haley said of Mulvaney as the crowd nodded.

☆ World record crowd watches England complete Grand Slam against France in Women’s Six Nations
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-29 | by ( Issy Ronald | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +2 min

CNN —When England’s women first played at Twickenham in 2003, the crowd was scattered about the vast stadium, almost imperceptible in the pictures taken that day. Twenty years later, in the latest historic occasion for women’s rugby, a world record crowd of 58,498 supporters watched England win the Women’s Six Nations by defeating France 38-33 in a thrilling finale at Twickenham, the home of English rugby union. The previous record for a women’s game was 42,579, set at the 2022 women’s rugby World Cup final in New Zealand. To produce a game like that on a stage like this is everything that is good about the game. Ultimately, however, it was too little too late – France’s last try arrived as the clock ticked into the red – and England clung on for victory.

☆ Montana Governor Signs Law Banning Transgender Care for Minors
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-28 | by ( Jim Robbins | Jacey Fortin | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: 1 min

HELENA, Mont. — The Republican governor of Montana, Greg Gianforte, signed a bill into law on Friday to restrict transition care for transgender minors, joining about a dozen states that have adopted similar laws since the beginning of the year. The bill, which prohibits transitional hormone treatments and surgeries for transgender people under 18, led to a standoff this month with Representative Zooey Zephyr, one of the Legislature’s only transgender lawmakers. In a speech on the House floor last week, Ms. Zephyr told her conservative colleagues that the ban would put “blood on your hands,” and that denying transition care would be “tantamount to torture.” For days after, House leadership refused to call on Ms. Zephyr during discussion of any bill up for consideration before the House.

HELENA, Mont. — As Montana lawmakers entered the critical final days of their legislative session on Thursday, one of the state’s only transgender lawmakers, Zooey Zephyr, was left exiled from the House chamber, monitoring the debate and casting votes on a laptop as she sat on a hallway bench near a bustling snack stand. Even as her Republican peers sought to isolate her in the wake of her impassioned comments against a proposed ban on what doctors call gender-affirming medical care for children, Ms. Zephyr said she would not remain idle. She spent much of the day on the bench, working with headphones in her ears to block the sound of chattering lobbyists, the hiss of a milk foamer and the voices of lawmakers ordering coffee. “I am here working on behalf of my constituents as best I can given the undemocratic circumstances,” Ms. Zephyr said on Twitter.

☆ Tech powers Nasdaq gains; recession fears weigh on cyclicals, dollar
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-26 | by ( Stephen Culp | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

[1/3] Traders work on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) in New York City, U.S., April 14, 2023. "(Recession) is still out there as a pretty significant risk, but handicapping the timing of it is difficult." Upbeat earnings from Microsoft (MSFT.O), Alphabet Inc (GOOGL.O) and Boeing Co (BA.N) took the sting out of some disappointing economic data, which suggested weakening corporate expenditures on core capital goods. Emerging market stocks rose 0.23%. The dollar index fell 0.35%, with the euro up 0.57% to $1.1034.

☆ Techs lift the S&P 500, dollar softens
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-26 | by ( Stephen Culp | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

SINGAPORE, April 26 (Reuters) - The S&P 500 inched higher on Wednesday and the dollar weakened as investors weighed solid company earnings against weaker-than-expected economic data and ongoing wrangling in Washington on raising the debt ceiling. "Megacaps are doing well based on strong earnings," said Bill Northey, senior investment director at U.S. Bancorp in Helena, Montana. The Dow Jones Industrial Average (.DJI) fell 42.01 points, or 0.13%, to 33,488.82, and the S&P 500 (.SPX) gained 8.73 points, or 0.21%, to 4,080.36. The U.S. dollar softened against a basket of major world currencies as the previous session's flight to safety faded and the euro gained strengthThe dollar index fell 0.46%, with the euro up 0.68% to $1.1047. Crude prices extended their losses as weak economic data further fueled fears of an economic downturn.

— The Montana House of Representatives took the extraordinary step of blocking the state’s only transgender lawmaker from the House floor for the remainder of the legislative session on Wednesday after an escalating standoff over her ability to speak in the House led to heated protests and arrests on Monday and the abrupt cancellation of Tuesday’s session. The barred lawmaker, Representative Zooey Zephyr, will still be allowed to cast votes during House proceedings for the remainder of session, which concludes on May 5, but must do so remotely. The move is the culmination of a weeklong battle between House leadership and Ms. Zephyr, who was prohibited from participating in deliberations on the House floor after she made impassioned comments during debate over a bill that would prohibit hormone treatments and surgical care for transgender minors. It was one of a half-dozen similar bills targeting transgender youth that the Legislature had considered in the last week alone. And it comes amid an avalanche of similar legislation in Republican-controlled legislatures across the country.

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