Latest news with #AndrewHarnik
Yahoo
5 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
SCOTUS Eases Path for 'Reverse Discrimination' Lawsuits
An exterior view of the Supreme Court in Washington, D.C., on June 20, 2024. Credit - Andrew Harnik—Getty Images Lawsuits for 'reverse discrimination' will face an easier path after the U.S. Supreme Court unanimously sided on Thursday with a woman who argued that she was passed over for a promotion and later demoted because she is straight. The court's ruling is a departure from previous court decisions that have set a higher bar in cases where people who are part of a majority group, such as those who are white and straight, filed lawsuits alleging discrimination under federal civil rights law. But the Supreme Court said in its ruling that Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which prohibits employment discrimination based on race and sexual orientation, among other characteristics, 'draws no distinctions between majority-group plaintiffs and minority-group plaintiffs. Rather, the provision makes it unlawful 'to fail or refuse to hire or to discharge any individual, or otherwise to discriminate against any individual with respect to his compensation, terms, conditions, or privileges of employment, because of such individual's race, color, religion, sex, or national origin.'' 'By establishing the same protections for every 'individual'—without regard to that individual's membership in a minority or majority group—Congress left no room for courts to impose special requirements on majority-group plaintiffs alone,' Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson wrote for the court. The case was brought by Marlean Ames against the Ohio Department of Youth Services, where she started working in 2004. In 2019, she applied for a promotion, but was turned down and a colleague with less seniority—who was a lesbian woman—received the promotion instead. Ames was later demoted and her previous role was given to another colleague who had less seniority, a gay man. She sued under Title VII, alleging in her lawsuit that she was denied the promotion and then demoted due to her sexual orientation. Her supervisors, however, said Ames was passed over for the promotion because she didn't have the vision and leadership skills needed for the role and demoted because they had concerns about her leadership skills. Lower courts had previously ruled against Ames, saying her lawsuit failed to demonstrate 'background circumstances to support the suspicion that the defendant is that unusual employer who discriminates against the majority.' But the Supreme Court ruled that requirement was 'not consistent with Title VII's text or our case law construing the statute.' Contact us at letters@
Yahoo
6 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Some in GOP Push to Save Biden Programs in ‘Big Beautiful Bill'
Senate Majority Leader John Thune, far right, accompanied by other Republican Senators, speaks to reporters following a weekly GOP policy luncheon at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, DC, on June 3, 2025. Credit - Andrew Harnik—Getty Images This article is part of The D.C. Brief, TIME's politics newsletter. Sign up here to get stories like this sent to your inbox. It's been three years since Democrats passed the Inflation Reduction Act without the support of any Republicans. That includes the 14 House Republicans who signed a letter last month asking GOP leadership to please tweak plans to kill the IRA's clean-energy incentives in the mega-bill they are shepherding for Donald Trump. While much of the talk in Washington right now is about pitfalls aplenty in Trump's One Big Beautiful Bill, the rollback of Biden-era clean-energy efforts is getting scant attention. Yet many voters are likely to notice the fallout from those changes, particularly in swing districts that will decide control of the House next year. Take the districts those 14 House Republicans represent. Thirteen of them voted for the House bill (Rep. Andrew Garbarino of New York missed the vote) despite provisions that could mean the loss of $40 billion in investment and 43,000 jobs in their districts collectively, according to a report from the nonpartisan Rhodium Group, which publishes quarterly updates on green jobs. Nationally, the rollbacks threaten 830,000 jobs connected to clean-energy projects. Despite the economic downsides, GOP leaders are moving ahead with a tax-and-spending bill that would wind down tax credits for cleaner cars like electric vehicles by the end of this year, scrap incentives for battery makers by 2028, and levy a new annual fee on drivers who opt into lower-emission vehicles (purportedly to replace lost gasoline taxes). At the same time, clean-energy manufacturers would see their tax credits go dark by 2031, and lower-emissions energy projects like wind, nuclear, and solar would lose their incentives in 2032. Across the country, job-creating projects currently in development would no longer make economic sense. While Elon Musk, the billionaire former White House budget adviser, is complaining about the bill's price tag—calling it 'a disgusting abomination'—less-MAGA conversant Republicans are quietly raising their own parochial worries. The numbers are real. For instance, in Rep. Jen Kiggans' Virginia district, which is based in the Hampton Roads region, about $11.3 billion in funding is at risk. That means about 2,005 jobs, an estimate based on announced projects that were not yet online as of March 31, the end of the first quarter of the year. Kiggans has been out front urging changes to the work her fellow Republicans have been doing, organizing the letter to colleagues asking they tweak their repeal language to give more flexibility on projects. 'We appreciate the Ways and Means Committee putting America first by investing in American energy dominance, but the last thing any of us want is to provoke an energy crisis or cause higher energy bills for working families,' they wrote on May 14. These lawmakers have already seen the upside from the three-year-old incentives. In Rep. Mark Amodei's Nevada district, constituents were expecting a total of $15.2 billion in clean-energy investments, but $7.6 billion of that is pending and now at risk. In Rep. Dan Newhouse's Washington district, the expected $5.4 billion in clean investments could be $4.5 billion less under the new proposal. And the list goes on for district after district, from coast to coast. The full House passed Trump's tax cuts on May 22, and the White House is pushing the Senate to follow suit before the July 4 holiday. But Senate Republicans have signaled that they're going to shave off some of the parts of the House version they don't love, and there are plenty of signs that it's in more trouble than Trump appreciates. The sticking points drawing the most heat include work requirements and deep cuts to Medicaid, and the expected addition of trillions to the national debt. Democrats, for their part, are laying the groundwork to see Republicans blamed for any downsides, including an economic hit from the US opting out of a green energy boom. 'The clean-energy credits that were part of the Inflation Reduction Act actually have had a significant benefit in terms of economic activity all across the country, particularly in red states and congressional districts represented by Republicans,' Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries said on Tuesday during his weekly session with Hill reporters. 'Standing up a clean-energy economy lowers energy costs, helps to protect the environment, and combats the climate crisis with the fierce urgency of now that is necessary, while at the same period of time creating jobs and generating economic activity. Republicans decided that they want to detonate these clean-energy credits.' So far, it's been a message that has started to reach some corners of Washington, which only now is starting to grasp what all was in Trump's One Big Beautiful Bill. The more lawmakers are looking, the more they're realizing their quest to unspool parts of the Biden legacy is threatening policies that might have been called 'pro-business' by some Trump allies—if only those ideas had originated with Republicans. Make sense of what matters in Washington. Sign up for the D.C. Brief newsletter. Write to Philip Elliott at
Japan Today
31-05-2025
- Health
- Japan Today
FDA approves Moderna's new lower-dose COVID-19 vaccine
FILE - The U.S. Food and Drug Administration campus in Silver Spring, Md., is photographed on Oct. 14, 2015. (AP Photo/Andrew Harnik, File) The U.S. approved a new COVID-19 vaccine made by Moderna late Friday but with limits on who can use it — not a replacement for the company's existing shot, but a second option. The new vaccine, mNexspike, is a step toward next-generation coronavirus vaccines. It's made in a way that allows for a lower dose — a fifth of the dose of its current COVID-19 vaccine, Spikevax — by refining its immune target. The approval 'adds an important new tool to help protect people at high risk of severe disease from COVID-19,' Stephane Bancel, Moderna's CEO, said in a statement Saturday. The Food and Drug Administration approved the new vaccine for use in all adults 65 and older, and for people age 12 to 64 who have a least one health condition that puts them at increased risk from the coronavirus. That's the same limit that the FDA set in licensing another COVID-19 vaccine option from competitor Novavax. Those restrictions are a departure from how the U.S. has handled COVID-19 vaccines until now, reflecting skepticism about vaccines from Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and other Trump officials. Moderna's existing vaccine doesn't face those limits and has long been used for anyone ages 6 months and older. The company said it expected to offer both options this fall. The FDA's approval was based on a study of 11,400 people age 12 and older that compared the new low-dose vaccine with Moderna's existing vaccine. It found the new vaccine was safe and was at least as effective — and more by some measures — than the original shot, the company said. The news came just days after the Trump administration canceled funding for Moderna to develop a vaccine against potential pandemic flu viruses, including the H5N1 bird flu, despite promising early study results. © Copyright 2025 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.
Black America Web
13-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Black America Web
Of Course Trump Is Set To Accept $400M Luxury Jet From Qatar
Source: Andrew Harnik / Getty Back in my younger years, I once wrote a story about youngsters mixing Red Bull energy drink with liquor. It was a new thing. This is back when I was a cub reporter still trying to get my feet wet, and it seemed like something fun that the Washington Post readers would love. I called Red Bull to speak with them, and they were mysterious about everything because they loved the marketing. When the story ran, Red Bull sent over a case of drinks and a note saying how much they loved the story. Before I could even make it back to my seat from the mailroom, a senior reporter stopped me and pointed out that I couldn't keep those. I was puzzled. She noted that reporters don't take gifts under any circumstances because it could cloud our impartiality. I was annoyed and thirsty when I turned them over to the boss, who pointed out that they would be donated. The point is I couldn't even keep a case of Red Bulls, and the president of the United States is about to take a whole plane from a foreign country and make it Air Force One. Because President Trump has no problem being openly courted as an agent working against American interests, the royal family of Qatar is gifting Orange Hitler a super luxury Boeing 747-8 jumbo jet that the Trump administration wants to turn into his personal Uber. According to ABC News, the workaround, so it doesn't seem as if it's going straight to Trump, is that once it's handed over to the administration, ownership of the wildly expensive jet will be given to the Trump library. All of this was supposed to happen next week when Trump is supposed to visit Qatar, but Trump officials are now saying that the gift won't be given to the president while he's in Qatar. Source: SAUL LOEB / Getty From ABC News: In a social media post Sunday night, Trump confirmed his administration was preparing to accept the aircraft, calling it a 'very public and transparent transaction' with the Defense Department. Trump had previously toured the plane, which is so opulently configured it is known as 'a flying palace,' while it was parked at the West Palm Beach International Airport in February. The highly unusual — unprecedented — arrangement is sure to raise questions about whether it is legal for the Trump administration, and ultimately, the Trump presidential library foundation, to accept such a valuable gift from a foreign power. Anticipating those questions, sources told ABC News that lawyers for the White House counsel's office and the Department of Justice drafted an analysis for Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth concluding that is legal for the Department of Defense to accept the aircraft as a gift and later turn it over to the Trump library, and that it does not violate laws against bribery or the Constitution's prohibition (the emoluments clause) of any U.S. government official accepting gifts 'from any King, Prince or foreign State.' Sources told ABC News that Attorney General Pam Bondi and Trump's top White House lawyer David Warrington concluded it would be 'legally permissible' for the donation of the aircraft to be conditioned on transferring its ownership to Trump's presidential library before the end of his term, according to sources familiar with their determination. Source: The Washington Post / Getty And in case you had any trouble following any of the above commentary just know that all of the people that Trump appointed from Fox News, you know those people who worship the ground that he walks on, don't see anything wrong with the president of the United States taking a massive gift from a foreign leader and making it his personal plane. In fact, Bondi and her staff have gone out of their way to find legalese to explain why all of this is totally above board. 'Any gift given by a foreign government is always accepted in full compliance with all applicable laws,' White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said in a statement to ABC News. 'President Trump's administration is committed to full transparency,' Leavitt added. That's because the White House believes that if they tell you they are doing something that is totally ridiculous and against everything that any upstanding moral citizen would do then they aren't in fact breaking the laws. Not to mention any one of us that has ever seen 24, Breaking Bad, or any of the Law and Orders knows that the jet is going to be wired up and down. I can't believe that any of this is even being seriously considered, yet, here we are. Also, I want my Red Bulls back. SEE ALSO: Trump's 2nd Surgeon General Nominee Is Grossly Underqualified Trump Administration's Push To Suspend Habeas Corpus Is Fascist SEE ALSO Of Course Trump Is Set To Accept $400M Luxury Jet From Qatar was originally published on Black America Web Featured Video CLOSE
Toronto Sun
28-04-2025
- Politics
- Toronto Sun
Commanders and Washington agree to a deal to build at RFK Stadium site
Published Apr 28, 2025 • 1 minute read FILE - RFK Stadium is visible from Air Force One as it takes off from Andrews Air Force Base, Md., Nov. 29, 2017. Photo by Andrew Harnik / AP WASHINGTON (AP) — Washington's NFL franchise is set to return to the nation's capital as part of an agreement between the organization and the District of Columbia government to build on the site of the old RFK Stadium. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. THIS CONTENT IS RESERVED FOR SUBSCRIBERS ONLY Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada. Unlimited online access to articles from across Canada with one account. Get exclusive access to the Toronto Sun ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition that you can share, download and comment on. Enjoy insights and behind-the-scenes analysis from our award-winning journalists. Support local journalists and the next generation of journalists. Daily puzzles including the New York Times Crossword. SUBSCRIBE TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLES Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada. Unlimited online access to articles from across Canada with one account. Get exclusive access to the Toronto Sun ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition that you can share, download and comment on. Enjoy insights and behind-the-scenes analysis from our award-winning journalists. Support local journalists and the next generation of journalists. Daily puzzles including the New York Times Crossword. REGISTER / SIGN IN TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLES Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience. Access articles from across Canada with one account. Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments. Enjoy additional articles per month. Get email updates from your favourite authors. THIS ARTICLE IS FREE TO READ REGISTER TO UNLOCK. Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience. Access articles from across Canada with one account Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments Enjoy additional articles per month Get email updates from your favourite authors Don't have an account? Create Account Mayor Muriel Bowser said Monday the District of Columbia and the Commanders reached an agreement to construct a new home for the football team in the city at the place the franchise called home for more than three decades. The agreement is pending D.C. City Council approval. The team and the mayor announced the move in a video posted on social media, narrated by Super Bowl-winning quarterback Joe Theismann, who spoke about his experience playing at RFK Stadium and how the new one will benefit the city. 'The time is now,' Theismann said. 'Let's bring Washington back to D.C.' Further details on timing and funding are expected later in the day. Bowser and team officials are scheduled to hold a news conference at 11 a.m. EDT. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. Commanders ownership, led by Josh Harris, has been considering places in Washington, Maryland and Virginia since buying the team from Dan Snyder in 2022. The most recent progress came when congress passed a bill transferring the RFK Stadium land to D.C. that was signed by former President Joe Biden in early January, after lobbying on Capitol Hill by Harris and NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell late last year. Washington has played in Landover, Maryland, since moving there in 1997. The Commanders' lease at Northwest Stadium in Landover runs through 2027. Harris has called 2030 a 'reasonable target' for a new stadium. The team played at RFK Stadium, 2 miles (3.22 kilometres) east of the U.S. Capitol, from 1961-96 before moving to Maryland. Harris and several co-owners, including Mitch Rales and Mark Ein, grew up as Washington football fans during that era, which included the glory days of three Super Bowl championships from 1982-91. Sunshine Girls Sunshine Girls Toronto Maple Leafs Canada World
