Latest news with #252
Yahoo
20-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
After joining movement to elect president by popular vote, Maine poised to undo decision
A voter walks by a ballot box outside Portland City Hall on Election Day, Nov. 5, 2024. (Photo by Lauren McCauley/ Maine Morning Star) The Maine Legislature is poised to undo a decision it made last year to join a pact that presents an eventual path to do away with the Electoral College. The Maine House of Representatives passed legislation, LD 252, on Tuesday that would repeal the decision, but did so after some Democratic members first attempted to buck a committee recommendation and reject it. While the bill is sponsored solely by Republicans, it has been backed by some Democrats in committee and floor votes. The bill now heads to the Senate. In 2024, the Legislature adopted something called the National Popular Vote Interstate Compact, which Gov. Janet Mills allowed to become law without her signature. States that are part of the compact pledge their Electoral College votes to the presidential candidate with the most overall votes across the country, but it would only take effect once states with a total of 270 Electoral College votes have joined. Including Maine, 17 states and the District of Columbia have ratified the agreement, giving the compact a total of 209 electoral votes. During floor speeches, lawmakers disagreed on which system would give more of a voice to Mainers. 'We were the first state in the nation to split our Electoral College votes by congressional district — a system that reflects our political diversity and values every voice, whether rural or urban,' said Rep. Barbara Bagshaw (R-Windham), the bill sponsor. Maine and Nebraska are the only states that split their electoral votes across candidates. Other states use a winner-take-all system where the candidate with the majority of the state's popular vote gets all of the state's electoral votes. 'By joining the National Popular Vote Compact,' Bagshaw said, 'we have undermined that.' However, Rep. Arthur Bell (D-Yarmouth), who sponsored the legislation to enter the pact last year, argued the Electoral College system results in candidates only paying attention to voters in swing states, which Maine is not. 'To me, it's as simple as every vote should be equal,' Bell said. Rep. Sean Faircloth (D-Bangor) said he is sympathetic to people who he hears say, 'My vote doesn't matter,' given that twice in this century a candidate who has lost the popular vote has become president. Others pointed to the founding intent behind the Electoral College when explaining their opposition. Rep. Adam Lee (D-Auburn), an attorney, pointed to Federalist Paper 68 when making the point that the Electoral College is based on the idea that regular citizens can't be trusted to elect the president. When the Electoral College was conceived, its design was intended to advance the political power of slave states, said Rep. Ambureen Rana (D-Bangor). Enslaved people were counted toward the electoral population of the states in which they were enslaved despite not having the right to vote. Subject matter aside, several Republicans took issue with procedure. Rep. Laura Supica (D-Bangor) made a motion to accept the minority report of the Veteran and Legal Affairs Committee, which would have preserved the agreement, though that motion failed 71-76 and was preceded by a half hour of floor debate. 'This is just poking the eye [of] the committee,' said Rep. Shelley Rudnicki (R-Fairfield). In April, the majority of the Veterans and Legal Affairs Committee voted in favor of LD 252, with eight legislators in support of the measure and five opposed, a breakdown that did not fall along party lines. While five of those in favor were Republicans — Reps. David Boyer, Quentin Chapman, Ann Fredericks, Benjamin Hymes and Sen. Jeff Timberlake — two are Democrats — Sens. Jill Duson and Craig Hickman — and one is unenrolled — Rep. Sharon Frost. However, the committee members who voted against its passage were all Democrats: Reps. Sean Faircloth, Anne Graham, Marc Malon, Parnell Terry, and Supica. The committee voted against legislation, LD 1356 sponsored by Lee, that seeks to change Maine's method of allocating electoral votes from the current district split to a winner-take-all system — but only if Nebraska also adopts winner-take-all. Lee's bill has yet to be heard on the floor. In April, the Nebraska Legislature killed a bill that sought to make this switch, after Republicans failed to secure enough votes to overcome a four-hour filibuster. SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE
TimesLIVE
20-05-2025
- Automotive
- TimesLIVE
Honda to scale back on EVs and concentrate on hybrids
Honda said on Tuesday it was scaling back its investment in electric vehicles, given slowing demand, and would focus on capturing growing demand for hybrids with new models. CEO Toshihiro Mibe told a press conference the automaker has lowered its planned investment in electrification and software through the 2030 business year to ¥7-trillion (R875,694,424,000) from ¥10-trillion (R1,252,332,000,000) previously. "Based on the current market slowdown, we expect EV sales in 2030 to fall below the 30% we previously targeted," Mibe said, adding battery-powered cars might make up only around 20% of the company's sales by then. Honda said it expects to sell 2.2-million to 2.3-million hybrid vehicles by 2030. It has not released a total sales target for that year. It plans to launch 13 next-generation hybrid models globally in the four years from 2027. It will also develop a hybrid system for large size models it plans to launch in the second half of the decade. Earlier this month, Honda announced it had put on hold for about two years a C$15-bn (R193,322,252,140) plan to build an EV production base in Ontario, Canada, due to slowing demand for electric cars. Honda said, however, it plans to have battery-powered and fuel-cell vehicles make up all its new car sales by 2040.
The Star
09-05-2025
- The Star
24,000 litres of smuggled diesel seized in Kuala Baram raid
MIRI: The Marine Police Region 5 seized 24,000 litres of illegal diesel in Kuala Baram during an operation targeting the smuggling of controlled goods. Its commander Asst Comm Ab Rahman Mat Hasan said the raid was conducted on Monday (May 5) under Ops Taring Landai by a team from the Marine Intelligence Unit and Region 5 Marine Police Force. 'The team conducted an inspection at the Million Line Tanker 1 Jetty operated by the Sarawak Rivers Board in Kuala Baram. "During the inspection, they found a tanker vessel transferring diesel to a tanker lorry,' he said in a statement on Friday (May 9) He said the ship's captain and the lorry driver, who are Malaysian citizens, failed to produce any documentation from the Domestic Trade and Cost of Living Ministry permitting them to possess, store or transport the diesel, a controlled item. "The team seized a ship, a tanker lorry and approximately 24,000 litres of diesel. The total value of the seizure is estimated at RM10,252,000," said ACP Ab Rahman. The case is being investigated under the Control of Supplies Act 1961, which carries penalties of imprisonment, fines, or both for unauthorised possession, storage, or transportation of controlled goods upon conviction. Additionally, the ship's captain is facing multiple charges under the Sarawak River Ordinance 1993 for operating without a qualified master and failing to produce a river transport permit during inspection. He is also being investigated under the Merchant Shipping Ordinance 1960 for operating the vessel without a valid boat licence or a certified engine driver. ACP Ab Rahman said the River Ordinance offences have been handed over to the Sarawak Rivers Authority, while those under the Merchant Shipping Ordinance have been referred to the relevant maritime authorities. He urged the public to continue reporting suspicious activities to the police. 'We welcome any form of cooperation and information. Public involvement is vital in eradicating crime,' he added.
The Star
05-05-2025
- Business
- The Star
Brunei charity walk raises over BND16,000 for children with autism
Participants in the Pasar Kitani Charity Brisk Walk, organised by the Ministry of Primary Resources and Tourism, at the Rimba Agribusiness Centre. - BB/ANN BANDAR SERI BEGAWAN: A total of BND16,252 (US$12495) was raised during the Pasar Kitani Charity Brisk Walk organised by the Ministry of Primary Resources and Tourism through the Department of Agriculture and Agrifood on Sunday (May 4). The funds were handed over to the Society for the Management of Autism Related issues in Training, Education and Resources Brunei and the Learning Ladders Society (which provides advocacy, public education, information and support for children with autism and their families) prior to the start of the walk. Minister of Primary Resources and Tourism Datuk Seri Setia Dr Abdul Manaf Metussin presented the contributions to representatives from both organisations. The charity walk, divided into 2.5-kilometre (km) and 4.5-km categories, also aimed to motivate farmers and agrifood entrepreneurs to boost their income through Pasar Kitani, while fostering market networking. The initiative encourages farmers to become successful and progressive agri-entrepreneurs. Pasar Kitani, held at the Rimba Agribusiness Centre every Saturday and Sunday from 6am to 2pm, features a variety of local agriculture and agrifood products. Members of the public are encouraged to visit and support local producers. The permanent secretary, deputy permanent secretaries, heads of department and officials from the ministry were also present. - Borneo Bulletin/ANN
New Indian Express
28-04-2025
- Politics
- New Indian Express
CM MK Stalin makes a slew of announcements; hikes DA for state govt employees by 2 percent
CHENNAI: With an eye on assembly elections scheduled for next year, Chief Minister MK Stalin on Monday made a slew of announcements, including a 2 percent hike in dearness allowance for the State government employees. The nine announcements made in the assembly would cost the state exchequer more than Rs 5,000 crores. The dearness allowance for the State government employees, Stalin said, would be hiked by 2% on par with the recent hike effected by the union government with retrospective effect from January 1, 2025. This would cost an additional expenditure of Rs.1,252 crore to the State exchequer and would benefit around 16 lakh government employees, teachers, pensioners and family pensioners. Stalin said that the ex-gratia given to C and D categories of pensioners-- all categories of family pensioners--would be hiked from Rs 500 to Rs 1,000. By this measure, 4.71 lakh pensioners and family pensioners would benefit, and this would cost an additional expenditure of Rs 24 crore. Further, the CM said that as announced in the 2025-'26 budget the Earned Leave Surrender System would be restored and the government employees could cash in by surrendering up to 15 days of earned leave from April 1, 2026. Now, considering the requests from the employees, this Earned Leave Surrender System will be enforced from October 1. The CM said this measure would benefit around eight lakh government employees and teachers, and it would cost the government exchequer Rs.3,561 crore per annum. The festival advance, Stalin added, to the government employees and teachers would be doubled (from Rs 10,000 to Rs 20,000), and this would benefit eight lakh employees and teachers. The education advance for government employees stands hiked from this year. The educational advance for children of government employees who seek to pursue vocational education, the advance has been increased to Rs one lakh. For those who seek to pursue polytechnic courses, the advance has been hiked to Rs 50,000. Stalin said so far, the male and female government employees were getting a marriage advance of Rs 6,000 and Rs 10,000 respectively. From now on, this would be hiked manifold. A sum of Rs five lakh would be granted as marriage expenses irrespective of the gender. The festival advance would be hiked from Rs. 4,000 to Rs. 6,000. This would benefit around 52,000 pensioners, and this measure would cost an additional expenditure of Rs 10 crore to the state exchequer, Stalin said. The CM also said at present, the period of maternity leave is not counted towards the probation period of the women employees and due to this, the promotion and service seniority of thousands of women employees have been affected. Henceforth, maternity leave will be counted towards the probation period. No assurance on old pension scheme Stalin however failed to give any assurance on reverting to the old pension scheme, which has been a vital demand of employees for the past many years. Instead, the CM, apparently, indicated that a decision on this issue will be taken within a few months by advancing the deadline for the committee headed by IAS officer Gagandeep Singh Bedi, which is studying the Old Pension Scheme, the Contributory Pension Scheme and the Unified Pension Scheme introduced by the union government. This committee, which was formed in February, has been directed to submit its report in nine months (by October). Now it will be directed to submit the report by September 30. The Tamil Nadu Secretariat Association (TANSA) welcomed the announcements made by the Chief Minister. When pointed out that there is no announcement about the reversal of the old pension scheme, TANSA president G Venkatesan told TNIE that since the government has set a deadline for the report of the committee, the government employees are expecting that their demand would be fulfilled.
