Latest news with #DavidHale
Bloomberg
3 days ago
- Business
- Bloomberg
Amb. Hale: Maximize Pressure While Iran is Weakest
David Hale, former US Ambassador to Lebanon and Jordan, discusses progress made in nuclear talks between the US and Iran. Hale says he's "skeptical" a deal can be reached because the US rushed into the negotiations, giving Iran "a breathe of fresh air" to delay the process. He speaks with Kailey Leinz and Joe Mathieu on the late edition of Bloomberg's "Balance of Power." (Source: Bloomberg)
USA Today
24-05-2025
- Sport
- USA Today
ESPN makes \
ESPN makes "wild prediction", has Georgia missing the College Football Playoff With the 2025 college football season less than 100 days away, the Georgia Bulldogs are expected to be near the top of the college football world again after winning the SEC championship in 2024. However, some predict that Georgia won't get anywhere close. In fact, according to a recent ESPN article with a few hot takes and crazy predictions, ESPN doesn't believe that Georgia will make the College Football Playoff. "For the better part of three seasons, the Bulldogs seemed invincible," said David Hale. "Only an injury-plagued one-score loss to Alabama in the 2023 SEC title game might have prevented Georgia from winning three straight national championships." Georgia enters the 2025 season with more modest expectations after losing a combined 36 players to the transfer portal and NFL draft this offseason. "And yet, by the end of 2024, it was clear some of the shine was off the once-dominant program. Carson Beck struggled without much help from his skill positions. The Dawgs lost to Alabama, were whooped by Ole Miss, and nearly fell to Georgia Tech before escaping in eight overtimes," continued Hale. Georgia's season ended with a rough loss to Notre Dame in the Sugar Bowl. The Bulldogs will look to regroup in 2025, but will have to do so with Gunner Stockton at quarterback and have to replace a ton of departing talent in the trenches. Georgia had a daunting schedule in 2024, with almost all of the marquee matchups taking place on the road, which something Kirby Smart called out after the SEC championship game. Now, almost all of those top-ranked rematches take place in Athens, but it's still a tough schedule nonetheless. Georgia plays five teams in Joel Klatt's top 25 (No. 2 Texas, No. 9 Alabama, No. 13 Florida, No. 20 Ole Miss and No. 22 Auburn), showing how tough their schedule is expected to be. With the transition at quarterback and the amount of defensive talent Georgia lost from last year, Georgia could be heading towards a rebuilding year. Then again, there's a reason why it's a hot take. Georgia won against three teams (Clemson, Texas (twice), Tennessee) that made the CFP last year, and their two regular season losses came against teams that barely missed (Alabama, Ole Miss). They also won the SEC despite playing down to competition against Kentucky, Mississippi State, Florida, and Georgia Tech. ESPN's Heather Dinich also puts Georgia as No. 5 in the section of the "10 projected first-round bye teams" in the same article, so it is clear that they're playing both sides of the argument. However, there's definitely mixed preseason expectations for Georgia this fall.
Yahoo
13-03-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
Ban on Medicaid paying for gender-affirming care added to conversion therapy bill
Rep. David Hale amended his bill to ban Kentucky Medicaid from paying for some gender-affirming care. (Kentucky Lantern photo by Liam Niemeyer) This story mentions suicide. If you or someone you know is contemplating suicide, please call or text the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 988. An advancing bill seeking to cancel Democratic Gov. Andy Beshear's restrictions on conversion therapy would now also prohibit Medicaid from paying for some forms of gender-affirming medical care. A lobbyist for a conservative policy group argued the additions to House Bill 495 were to ensure the government isn't paying for elective care for transgender people. A coalition of advocates representing the LGBTQ community and professional associations for social workers and psychologists denounced the additions as attacks on health care for transgender Kentuckians. HB 495 sponsor Rep. David Hale, R-Wellington, agreed to changes in the bill by the Senate Health Services Committee that restrict the Department for Medicaid Services and Medicaid managed care organizations from issuing payments for: Cross-sex hormones in amounts greater than would normally be produced endogenously in a healthy person of the same age and sex. Gender reassignment surgery to alter or remove physical or anatomical characteristics or features that are typical for and characteristic of a person's biological sex. Almost 1 in 3 Kentuckians are covered by the federal-state Medicaid program. The bill's original provisions remained in the legislation, seeking to cancel an executive order issued by Beshear last year restricting the controversial practice of conversion therapy. Hale on the House floor had previously said he believed Beshear's executive order infringed on the First Amendment rights of parents to seek whatever therapy they felt appropriate for their children. The amended HB 495 advanced from the Senate committee by a 6-3 vote with Sen. Danny Carroll, R-Paducah, joining the two Democrats on the committee in opposition. The amended bill still needs passage by the Senate. The House would need to concur with the changes before it would be sent to Beshear's desk for his consideration. Hale didn't address the additions in the bill in testimony before the committee. Nick Spencer, the director of policy at the conservative group The Family Foundation, told lawmakers when asked about the provisions that 'the government has no business spending tax dollars on elective surgeries and elective procedures for people with transgender feelings.' 'There are many medical procedures that the government does not cover, and the government has no business covering those services,' Spencer said. 'Now, if someone who is an adult wants to pursue that course of treatment on their own dime, I would disagree with that course of action, but that is their right to do so.' A coalition of advocates representing the Kentucky Psychological Association, the Kentucky chapter of the National Association of Social Workers and the LGBTQ rights advocacy group The Fairness Campaign all spoke strongly against the new provisions in the bill. The groups were also opposed to the original version of HB 495, a bill that's changed twice moving through the legislature. 'Language is being inserted into this bill denying health care to transgender people. It's hard for me to put into words how much access to hormone therapy has helped me,' said Serenity Johnson, a transgender Kentuckian living in Hardin County. Johnson said the prohibition on Medicaid paying gender-affirming hormonal therapy or surgery wouldn't directly impact her because she has insurance through her employment. But for Kentuckians with Medicaid seeking such treatment, she said, refusing them 'necessary health care' is a 'cruel denial.' Chris Hartman, the executive director of the Fairness Campaign, condemned the additions to the bill as a 'sneak attack on our transgender community.' Sen. Stephen Meredith, R-Leitchfield, at one point during Hartman's testimony threatened to have Hartman removed from the testimony table for 'inflammatory remarks' directed at the committee. 'This is a disrespectful subversion of the legislative process,' Hartman said. 'You will cost lives.' Gender-affirming care covered by Medicaid varies from state to state, according to a survey published in 2022 by the health policy nonprofit Kaiser Family Foundation. A Cabinet for Health and Family Services spokesperson Kendra Steele in an email said Kentucky Medicaid covers services that are deemed 'medically necessary' for a person by a provider unless specifically prohibited by law. Steele referenced current state law that bans gender-affirming care for minors. Other advocates spoke out against other provisions of HB 495 seeking to cancel Beshear's executive order restricting conversion therapy. Conversion therapy attempts to alter a young person's gender expression or sexual attractions. The American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry (AACAP) is among the medical and psychological organizations that have condemned conversion therapy. AACAP has stated conversion therapies 'lack scientific credibility and clinical utility' and that there is 'evidence that such interventions are harmful.' The American Psychological Association has stated people who have undergone 'sexual orientation change efforts' are significantly more likely to be depressed and suicidal. The National Suicide Prevention Lifeline is 988. Former Republican State Sen. Alice Forgy Kerr told lawmakers she considered conversion therapy to be not only ineffective but 'very, very dangerous.' She spoke to lawmakers while her son, who she said was gay, sat in the audience. 'That's not just my opinion as a mother. That's the overwhelming consensus of medical experts, mental health professionals and those who have survived the trauma of conversion therapy — or torture, as I call it. The science is clear,' Kerr said. Spencer, the policy director for the conservative group, told lawmakers counselors who physically abuse or expose sexually explicit material to minors should be held accountable. But he considered talk therapy to be 'morally permissible.' 'From my perspective, those who counsel against homosexual and transgender feelings are expressing love for an individual,' Spencer said. Democrats on the committee in voting against the legislation echoed concerns from the groups who spoke against the bill. Berg, speaking to Hale, said she appreciated the lengths the bill sponsor has gone to work on the original provisions of the bill. But she took issue with the new additions. 'You added the second part of this bill where literally adults who know who they are, whose medical treatment — contrary to your lobbyist back there — almost exclusively, is either a shot or a pill, and we're going to deny them that,' Berg said.
Yahoo
27-02-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
GOP bill shielding conversion therapy clears committee on party line vote
Rep. David Hale, listens to questions from lawmakers about HB 495. In an interview with the Lantern, Hale mentioned Gov. Andy Beshear's order banning conversion therapy as part of his rationale for sponsoring the bill. (Kentucky Lantern photo by Liam Niemeyer) This story mentions suicide. If you or someone you know is contemplating suicide, please call or text the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 988. FRANKFORT — Kentucky lawmakers would endanger vulnerable minors by approving a bill to protect conversion therapy, warned a coalition representing psychologists, social workers and the LGBTQ community during a committee hearing Thursday. Democratic Gov. Andy Beshear banned the controversial practice last year but House Bill 495 would appear to override the governor's executive order. Rep. David Hale, R-Wellington, the bill's primary sponsor, dismissed opponents' arguments, including personal testimony from speakers who told stories of experiencing abuse and harm from conversion therapy themselves. Hale told lawmakers on the House State Government Committee he wanted to protect counselors, therapists and pastors providing therapy to minors from discriminatory actions by the government, empowering parents to make choices on what kind of therapist a minor sees. The bill specifically protects mental health services seeking to relieve 'discomfort or distress caused by an individual's sex or romantic or sexual attraction.' 'The parents, in my opinion, have the right and the privilege of seeking whatever help they feel is best, necessary for that child,' Hale told lawmakers. Hale didn't specifically mention conversion therapy in his testimony. In a Lantern interview after the committee approved the bill 15-4 on party lines, Hale mentioned Democrat Beshear's executive order as a part of his reasoning for filing the bill. He said he worked with a couple of organizations to craft the bill's language but declined to name those organizations. Calling it a 'dangerous' practice,' Beshear last year issued an executive order banning conversion therapy. He was slammed by Republicans who said he was constitutionally overreaching and pushing a far-left agenda. Conversion therapy attempts to alter a young person's gender expression or sexual attractions. The American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry (AACAP) is among the medical and psychological organizations that have condemned conversion therapy. AACAP has stated conversion therapies 'lack scientific credibility and clinical utility' and there's 'evidence that such interventions are harmful.' The American Psychological Association has stated people who have undergone 'sexual orientation change efforts' are significantly more likely to be depressed and suicidal. The National Suicide Prevention Lifeline is 988. Eric Gunn, the executive director of the Kentucky Psychological Association and a licensed clinical psychologist, said HB 495 'directly threatens the trust between a mental health provider and our clients' by protecting those who practice conversion therapy, something that is 'widely discredited' and had no place in the mental health care of LGBTQ youth. The Rev. Brandon Long, an ordained minister from Fort Thomas who spoke against the bill, recounted his experience as a survivor of conversion therapy. After he had shared with others that he was gay, he said he was told in secular and religious settings that his same sex attraction was caused by childhood trauma, poor parenting and 'demonic influence.' 'I do believe in forgiveness and repentance, but conversion therapy weaponizes these sacred pastoral practices,' Long said. 'Because this is not pastoral care. It is spiritual and psychological abuse. Religious liberty is not absolute. It ends where harm begins. That's why we do not allow human sacrifice or child marriage in worship.' Brenda Rosen, the executive director of the Kentucky chapter of the National Association of Social Workers, urged lawmakers to work together to help minors with the mental health challenges they face through an approach based on 'acceptance and support.' Chris Hartman, the executive director of the LGBTQ-rights group Fairness Campaign, questioned why HB 495 was being heard in a committee dealing with state government when he said the bill deals with mental health services. 'Few practices destroy families and hurt LGBTQ youth more than what's considered conversion therapy, which is defined in a positive light in this bill,' Hartman said. The minority of Democrats on the committee strongly condemned the legislation and echoed the concerns of the opponents. Rep. Joshua Watkins, D-Louisville, mentioned his Christian faith in explaining his opposition, pointing to Bible scripture about loving oneself. 'I am an absolutely, firmly, resounding 'no' on this bill because to me, it breaches all of the things that my faith teaches me,' Watkins said. Some Republicans on the committee suggested the bill offers broad protection for counselors going beyond conversion therapy. Rep. Susan Witten, R-Louisville, argued the bill would also include protections for 'mental health care professionals that would be pro-LGBTQ therapy, or gender-affirming care.' 'I don't see anywhere in here where it would choose a type of therapy,' said Rep. Jennifer Decker, R-Waddy. 'I don't think it prohibits affirming care. It doesn't authorize conversion therapy.' Hale had said to lawmakers he believed the testimony from opponents was 'not correct.' When asked by the Lantern about opponents' personal testimony, Hale said he had found 'no evidence' in his research to substantiate the types of personal testimony shared by opponents. After the bill passed the committee on party lines, Hale got up from his seat to shake hands with some of the bill's opponents. Long refused to shake hands with Hale, telling him 'you don't believe I exist.' 'He's looking at us telling our stories, to then frame on the record that, 'I do not believe these individuals,'' Long said. 'In other words, they are lying. And that is of the utmost disrespect for ourselves, for our lives, for our experiences coming and putting it forth on the record.' SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE
USA Today
30-01-2025
- Business
- USA Today
ESPN picks up option to broadcast ACC sports
ESPN picks up option to broadcast ACC sports ESPN is sticking with the ACC. According to a report from ESPN's David Hale and Andrea Aldelson, the network has picked up its option to continue broadcasting ACC sporting events through 2036. ESPN had until Feb. 1 to pick up the option or their contract would have ended after the 2027 season. Up next for the conference is working on settling the lawsuits from Florida State and Clemson. The sides are discussing a new revenue distribution model, which would benefit the bigger brands like FSU. According to the report, some of the ACC's television revenue would be put into a "brand" fund, and that money would then be distributed to schools that "annually generate the most revenue for the conference in football and men's and women's basketball." The report named FSU, Clemson, North Carolina, and Miami as schools to likely top the list. Clemson and FSU would be expected to drop their lawsuits against the ACC if the agreement is adopted. FSU and Clemson are asking the conference to"reduce penalties" for exiting the grant of rights after 2031, according to the report. That is when TV contracts for the Big Ten, SEC, and Big 12 are set to expire and another round of conference realignment will likely occur. Contact/Follow us @FSUWire on X (Twitter), and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of FSU news, notes, and opinions. You can also follow JD on Twitter @jdmccarthy15
