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Newsweek
3 days ago
- Politics
- Newsweek
Texas Pushes LGBTQ+ School Club Ban as Pride Month Kicks Off
Based on facts, either observed and verified firsthand by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources. Newsweek AI is in beta. Translations may contain inaccuracies—please refer to the original content. Texas lawmakers have advanced legislation that bans public K-12 schools from sponsoring student clubs based on sexual orientation or gender identity, drawing sharp criticism from Democratic legislators and LGBTQ+ advocates. Senate Bill 12, sponsored by Senator Brandon Creighton, passed its final hurdle in the Texas House on Saturday and is now poised for the governor's signature. Newsweek has contacted Senator Brandon Creighton via email for comment. Why It Matters The bill's passage marks a significant escalation in Texas' ongoing campaign against what conservatives describe as ideological indoctrination in education, however critics argue the ban endangers children and strips them of their dignity. The legislation would specifically bar schools from authorizing or sponsoring LGBTQ+ student clubs and is part of a broader legislative push that has also targeted diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) initiatives in K-12 settings. File photo: a pride flag is seen ahead of pride month. File photo: a pride flag is seen ahead of pride month. Aaron Schwartz/Sipa via AP What To Know Alongside banning LGBTQ+ school clubs, Senate Bill 12, often dubbed the "Parental Bill of Rights," gives parents expanded authority over what clubs their children can join. The bill emphasizes that parents have a fundamental right to direct their child's education and upbringing, including decisions on moral, religious, medical, and psychological matters. It prohibits public schools from "infringing" on those rights unless required to serve a compelling state interest. The bill bans instruction, programming, or activities related to sexual orientation or gender identity in all grades, pre-K through 12. Schools are barred from allowing third-party groups to deliver such content as well. SB 12 also explicitly bans any diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) responsibilities for school employees unless mandated by state or federal law. It defines DEI broadly to include hiring practices, training programs, or any special treatment based on race, gender identity, or sexual orientation. What People Are Saying State Senator Brandon Creighton said in a statement: "Passing the Texas Education Freedom Act sends a message to all of Texas. It tells the next generation of Texas leaders: your path should fit your purpose—your ambition is greater than any system. It tells our educators that innovation and excellence will be encouraged—not limited by ZIP code. And it tells every parent in Texas: you are trusted, you are respected, and you are in charge." "The future of Texas begins in the classroom. Too often, we get lost in the debates about systems and budgets and programs. Not today—today, we are focused on the child at the center of it all. The one who needs a hand up, a better fit, or simply a chance." Democratic State Representative Gene Wu said during the debate, according to The Texas Tribune: "The real monsters are not kids trying to figure out who they are. The monsters are not the teachers who love them and encourage them and support them. They are not the books that provide them with some amount of comfort and information. The real monsters are here." Democratic State Representative Rafael Anchía, said, according to The Texas Tribune: "It wasn't a sex club. They'd get together and they'd watch movies. They'd color. They'd go to musicals. It was about a kid who felt weird who found her people and everything about it was good. I don't know why grown-ups in this body are so triggered with my daughter getting together with her classmates in a school-sponsored activity." Democratic State Representative Jolanda Jones, said, according to The Texas Tribune: "We've passed bill after bill about access to care, about youth suicide, about prevention and treatment. But this bill makes kids sicker, sadder, more alone. This bill doesn't protect children. It endangers them. It doesn't give parents more rights. It strips children of their dignity." What Happens Next Passed by both chambers, the bill awaits the signature of Governor Greg Abbott. If enacted, the rules would take effect from September 1, 2025, and Texas would join a growing number of Republican-led states that have passed similar restrictions on school activities and curriculum related to LGBTQ+ identities.
Yahoo
16-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
The Clean Energy Tax Debate Will Shape America's Economic Future
The U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C. on May 10 ahead of the beginning of the legislative push for President Donald Trump's massive tax package. Credit - Aaron Schwartz/Bloomberg—Getty Images As Republicans look to broker a sweeping budget deal, top GOP leadership in the House of Representatives unveiled a series of cuts this week to the provisions of the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) aimed at tackling climate change. This includes proposing to curtail tax credits for clean electricity generation and domestic clean technology manufacturing. To enact the proposed language would deal a swift blow to U.S. efforts to cut emissions and transition to cleaner energy sources. It would also stifle a surge in manufacturing investment that has swept much of the country. 'It will come to a screeching halt without the credits,' says George Strobel, co-CEO at Monarch Private Capital, which finances solar projects. 'That's just the way it is.' Since the language was announced on May 12, many Senate Republicans, who would need to approve the measure before it becomes law, have balked, fearing that such a pullback would kill jobs in their home states and harm American businesses. For that reason, they say, the language should represent a starting point, certain to be revised in the lengthy negotiations necessary to approve the changes. 'Anything that comes over from the House, almost by law, we've got to redo,' Alaska GOP Senator Lisa Murkowski told reporters. The debate on the fate of the clean technology tax incentives is likely to center on immediate concerns: on one side jobs and the implications for American businesses and, on the other, simple number crunching to fund other priorities including a continuation of broad corporate tax cuts. But jobs in congressional districts and U.S. carbon emissions represent just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to the massive implications of a U.S. pullback from clean technology. The U.S. is already behind in developing an economy around mature technologies—namely wind, solar, and electric vehicles. To nix IRA incentives without a considered replacement would effectively wave the white flag, acknowledging that the U.S. has no plausible way to catch up. Perhaps more significantly, abandoning the incentives would make it even more difficult for the U.S. to capture the market of early-stage technologies where the country can still compete—think of geothermal, advanced forms of nuclear energy, and hydrogen, to name a few. All of this is of significant consequence for the shape of the global economy. China already dominates manufacturing in technologies like electric vehicles and, with an absent U.S., could do the same with future tech, too. All of which is to say: these negotiations will matter for decades to come. 'To some extent, I think it's hanging in the balance,' says Greg Bertelsen, CEO of the Climate Leadership Council, a non-profit that works at the intersection of climate and economic policy. 'This is a critical period of time.' To understand what enacting the proposed changes to tax incentives would mean, it's helpful to sit with some numbers. In a research note Tuesday, the Rhodium Group said that the cuts would risk 'a meaningful amount' of the $522 billion clean technology manufacturing investment already in the pipeline in the U.S. It could result in a greater than 70% decline in domestic clean energy deployment through 2035—and higher electricity prices for consumers and industry alike. The clean technologies in question are part of a global market expected to total more than $100 trillion by 2050, according to a 2022 report from the Boston Consulting Group. And the ripples extend beyond clean tech: higher energy prices would make the U.S. a less attractive place for AI and manufacturing investments. In the past, a U.S. pullback might have been enough to derail this global clean tech momentum. The U.S. is, after all, the world's largest economy. But, in 2025, the rest of the world is less likely to shift gears in response to one administration. A big reason for that is China. The country has become a manufacturing hub for a wide range of clean technologies and has facilitated their export around the world. And, in many cases, the clean technologies manufactured there have simply become better than traditional alternatives. Chinese electric vehicles, for example, are widely thought to offer a better experience at a lower price point than anything coming out of the U.S. or Europe. (Indeed, they're quickly expanding not just in China but around the world.) More broadly, in parts of the developing world, solar power has become cheap enough that it's the fastest and simplest way to rapidly electrify. Since President Trump took office, I've spent much of my time outside of Washington, talking to policymakers and business leaders from around the world. As shocked as many have been by the Trump Administration's assault on climate policy, few have expressed interest in following suit and instead continue to see opportunity in green investments. And so the question for members of Congress is how much, if any, of that $100 trillion market they want to capture. The text proposed by GOP House leadership is just the start of the discussion and unlikely to become law in its current form, but for those looking to capture a share of the future of energy technologies it isn't an encouraging one. To get this story in your inbox, subscribe to the TIME CO2 Leadership Report newsletter here. Write to Justin Worland at
Newsweek
09-05-2025
- Politics
- Newsweek
Catholic Bishops Defy New US State Law to Report Child Abuse
Based on facts, either observed and verified firsthand by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources. Newsweek AI is in beta. Translations may contain inaccuracies—please refer to the original content. Catholic bishops in Washington state are rejecting a new law that requires clergy to report child sexual abuse revealed during the sacrament of confession — setting up a constitutional clash between church doctrine and state law. The law requires clergy of all faiths and traditions throughout Washington to come forward about child abuse, including priests who are told about abuse during confession. However, a priest who reveals anything told to him during confession will be excommunicated from the Church, even when it comes to a crime being committed within their congregation. The Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception is seen adorned with an American flag in Washington, D.C., on May 8, 2025, as a new law in Washington state generates controversy. The Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception is seen adorned with an American flag in Washington, D.C., on May 8, 2025, as a new law in Washington state generates controversy. Aaron Schwartz/Sipa via AP Images) Why It Matters The law raises significant First Amendment questions and could reshape how religious confidentiality is handled across the U.S. While clergy are mandated reporters in most states, the majority still protect confessions as privileged communication. Washington is set to become one of the few states to explicitly deny such an exemption. The Department of Justice (DOJ) has launched a civil rights investigation into the law, with Assistant Attorney General Harmeet Dhillon stating that it "demands that Catholic Priests violate their deeply held faith." What To Know The new statute — signed by Governor Bob Ferguson and set to take effect July 27 — mandates clergy report suspected child abuse within 48 hours, aligning them with existing reporting laws for police officers, nurses and teachers. The law's sponsor, State senator Noel Frame, wrote the law in part due to practices within the Jehovah's Witness church that were preventing information on child abuse from coming out. Jehovah's Witnesses have an internal review process which is entirely secretive. When taken to court for this, following an investigation into their church, the Jehovah's Witnesses likened their approach to secrecy to Catholic confession. Speaking to the New York Times, former Jehovah's Witness Marino Hardin said: "Leaving an exception in for the confessional when it comes to mandatory reporting would allow any religious group that had a mandate for secrecy to say, 'We don't have to report anything.'" State senator Frame also spoke to her experience as a survivor, saying: "This is about making sure we, the state, have the information we need to go make sure that kid is OK," she told lawmakers. Bishops Thomas Daly of Spokane and Paul Etienne of Seattle have publicly stated that they will not comply with the law in cases where abuse is revealed during the sacrament of confession. "Shepherds, bishops and priests, are committed to keeping the seal of confession – even to the point of going to jail," Daly said in a statement. Archbishop Etienne echoed that stance, warning that priests who break the seal of confession face automatic excommunication. "All Catholics must know and be assured that their confessions remain sacred, secure, confidential, and protected by the law of the Church," he wrote. The Spokesman-Review reported that although prior to this law clergy in Washington State were not mandatory reporters, according to Etienne, current internal church policies already designate priests as mandatory reporters for information given outside of confession. This lawsuit over the reporting law comes after the DOJ launched its task force to "Eradicate Anti-Christian Bias." This task force is set up to prosecute cases on behalf of Christians who feel they have been targeted by the government for their faith. This lawsuit also comes amid the election of the first American pope. Pope Leo XIV, originally from Chicago, weighed in on American politics prior to his appointment. However, it is unclear whether he will get involved in this case. The Vatican did speak out against a similar bill which was proposed in California in 2019, saying that the secrecy of confession was an "intrinsic requirement" of the sacrament. That bill was withdrawn before it became law. State senator Frame has said the Washington law is not anti-Catholic because it applies to all clergy in the state, including imams, rabbis, and other spiritual leaders. Pope Leo XIV, left, formerly Cardinal Robert Prevost, appears on the central loggia of St. Peter's Basilica at the Vatican shortly after his election to become the 267th pontiff of the Roman Catholic Church on... Pope Leo XIV, left, formerly Cardinal Robert Prevost, appears on the central loggia of St. Peter's Basilica at the Vatican shortly after his election to become the 267th pontiff of the Roman Catholic Church on May 8, 2025. More Domenico Stinellis/AP Photo What People Are Saying Washington Governor Bob Ferguson said in a statement on Wednesday: "We look forward to protecting Washington kids from sexual abuse in the face of this 'investigation' from the Trump Administration." The Reverend Bryan Pham, an assistant professor at Gonzaga University School of Law in Spokane, Washington, told The New York Times: "The law has good intentions, but it's really misguided." Archbishop Paul D. Etienne of Seattle said: "This law is a clear intrusion into the practice of our Catholic faith. The state is now intruding into the practice of religion, and if they're allowed to get away with that, where do we draw the line?" What Happens Next Unless blocked, the law takes effect July 27. Catholic leaders say they will defy the law, as their choice is either jail time for ignoring the law or excommunication for following it. The DOJ's ongoing review could determine whether the measure stands or is deemed unconstitutional.
