Latest news with #bill
Yahoo
a day ago
- Business
- Yahoo
‘Pretty crazy;' Family sees electric bill nearly double, AES Ohio asking for rate increase
A local family said their AES Ohio bill has nearly doubled. [DOWNLOAD: Free WHIO-TV News app for alerts as news breaks] Amanda Collins, who lives in a two-bedroom house, reported that her electricity bill rose from just under $200 to nearly $400. 'That was pretty crazy for us,' Collins said. TRENDING STORIES: Local BBQ restaurant struck by lightning New surveys rank Dayton as one of the worst bed bug-infested cities in the U.S. Local YMCA branch to permanently close She mentioned that her grandmother turned off her air conditioning to cope with the high electric bills, choosing to endure the heat instead. Mary-Ann Kabel, a spokesperson for AES Ohio, explained that increased air conditioning usage during hotter months contributes to higher bills. AES Ohio has requested a rate increase, which could lead to higher costs depending on individual usage. Kabel suggested using high electricity devices like dryers, ovens, and dishwashers at night to help reduce costs. Collins found a solution by using third-party companies to negotiate her electricity rates, which helped cut her bill in half. 'It's usually about every three months I'm going on there and changing, like the third-party provider on their rates,' Collins said. On Aug. 7 and Aug. 14, the Public Utilities Commission of Ohio has scheduled public hearings regarding AES Ohio's application to increase electric rates. [SIGN UP: WHIO-TV Daily Headlines Newsletter] Solve the daily Crossword
The Independent
a day ago
- Entertainment
- The Independent
First the Melania Opera House now the world: Republicans looks to rename entire Kennedy Center after Trump
Republicans have proposed a bill to rename the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts after President Donald Trump. Republican Representative Bob Onder of Missouri introduced the bill on Wednesday, which would rename the iconic Washington, D.C. institution to the 'Donald J. Trump Center for the Performing Arts.' The center is currently named for former President John F. Kennedy, who served in the White House from 1961 to 1963, when he was assassinated. The bill is called the 'Make Entertainment Great Again Act,' in a spin on Trump's campaign slogan, 'Make America Great Again.' Onder described Trump as 'a patron of the arts and a staple of the pop-culture landscape' in a statement announcing the bill. 'You would be hard pressed to find a more significant cultural icon in the past 40 years than President Trump,' Onder said. 'President Trump's love and mastery of entertainment has stood the test of time and allowed him to capture Americans' attention for decades.' The Kennedy Center is made up of several stages, including the Concert Hall, the Opera House and the Eisenhower Theater. The Concert Hall and Opera House both seat more than 2,000 people. The Independent has contacted the Kennedy Center for comment. This bill comes after Republican Representative Mike Simpson of Idaho introduced an amendment to a funding bill that would rename the Kennedy Center's Opera House after First Lady Melania Trump. The measure, voted on by the House Appropriations Committee on July 22, passed 33-25. 'This is an excellent way to recognize [Melania Trump's] support and commitment to promoting the arts, and I would encourage members to vote for this Republican en bloc amendment,' Simpson said last week. The Opera House is known for hosting the annual Kennedy Center Honors. The event is typically attended by high-profile celebrities and politicians, including the president. The First Lady also serves as the honorary chair of the Kennedy Center. In February, Trump fired members of the Kennedy Center's board who were hired by President Joe Biden and replaced them with his picks. The board then elected him as the new chair. 'We took over the Kennedy Center,' Trump said at the time. 'We didn't like what they were showing and various other things.' 'I'm going to be chairman of it, and we're going to make sure that it's good and it's not going to be woke,' he added. Kennedy's grandson Jack Schlossberg, a vocal critic of Trump, denounced the Opera House amendment last week. 'Trump is obsessed with being bigger than JFK, with minimizing the many heroes of our past, as if that elevates him,' Schlossberg said. 'It doesn't.' The Trumps attended a performance of the musical Les Misérables alongside Vice President JD Vance and Second Lady Usha Vance at the Kennedy Center last month. They were met with a mix of boos and cheers from the audience as they sat down. Multiple cabinet members, including Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, also attended.
ABC News
2 days ago
- Health
- ABC News
Government introduces bill to facilitate cheaper medicines
This week the government introduces a new bill lowering the cost of prescription medicines. The Health Minister Mark Butler speaks to Sarah Ferguson.
Washington Post
2 days ago
- Business
- Washington Post
Vice President JD Vance is on the road again to sell the Republicans' big new tax law
COLUMBUS, Ohio — Vice President JD Vance is hitting his home state on Monday to continue promoting the GOP's sweeping tax-and-border bill. He will be in Canton, Ohio, to talk about the bill's 'benefits for hardworking American families and businesses,' according to his office. Aides offered little detail in advance about the visit, but NBC News reported that his remarks will take place at a steel plant in Canton, located about 60 miles south of Cleveland.
Yahoo
7 days ago
- Politics
- Yahoo
Protests in Ukraine after Zelensky approves bill curbing autonomy of anti-corruption agencies
Hundreds of people gathered in Ukraine's capital Kyiv to lodge their protest with the Volodymyr Zelensky's administration for passing a controversial bill tightening restrictions on its anti-corruption agencies, presenting the war-hit nation with its biggest domestic turmoil since the Russian invasion in February 2022. Ukraine's parliament on Tuesday passed amendments to allow the country's general prosecutor, appointed by the president, strict control over two anti-corruption bodies – the National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine (Nabu) and the Specialised Anti-Corruption Prosecutor's Office (Sapo). President Zelensky, whose party holds a majority in parliament, approved the amendments late on Tuesday. The changes would allow the general prosecutor to transfer cases from the agencies and reassign prosecutors. The move has alarmed the country as this could result in granting more power to Ukraine's chief prosecutor Ruslan Kravchenko, also seen as a Zelensky loyalist, to reassign corruption probes to investigators of their preference. Shortly after the bill was cleared in parliament, hundreds of people gathered in Kyiv carried placards to protest. Protests also broke out in other cities like Dnipro, Lviv and Odesa. 'We chose Europe, not autocracy,' read one placard by a demonstrator. Another read: 'My father did not die for this.' The vote was denounced on social media as a betrayal of Ukraine's decade-long geopolitical ambition. The protests echoed the long-standing sentiment of fighting corruption in Ukraine as critical to erasing a legacy of Russian rule. Large protest in Kyiv tonight, the first signs of public dissent against Zelenskyy's government since the full scale invasion, as demonstrators rally against the passing of a bill stripping anti-corruption bodies of their powers — Oz Katerji (@OzKaterji) July 22, 2025 Vladyslava Kirstyuk, 18, said memories of her childhood in occupied eastern Ukraine, after Russia's covert invasion in 2014, left a strong impression. "I know what it means for one person to have all the power, when nothing is transparent and everything is working against you," she said. "I don't want it to be the same for us here." Mr Zelensky also said he had spoken to Nabu chief Semen Kryvonos and other top prosecutors. Mr Kryvonos had urged the Ukrainian president to not sign the fast-tracked bill, which he called an attempt to "destroy" Ukraine's anti-corruption infrastructure. The two agencies – Nabu and Sapo were set up in the country after the 2014 Maidan revolution toppled a pro-Russian president and set Kyiv on a Western course. They are credited for their work to tackle corruption and graft in Ukraine during the war, levelling charges against lawmakers, ministers and a former deputy head of Zelensky's administration. Happening now: The largest protest of wartime Ukraine is underway in central Kyiv over President Zelensky's push to dismantle the country's independent anticorruption agencies. Thousands of protesters and more pouring in. Chants of 'Shame!' among others. They demand Zelensky veto… — Christopher Miller (@ChristopherJM) July 22, 2025 'Last week, we ran an editorial warning of an anti-democratic backslide in Ukraine. Today, it's happening in plain sight. This isn't what our people have been fighting and dying for, and it's devastatingly unfair to them,' said Olga Rudenko, the chief editor of Ukrainian publication The Kyiv Independent. Ukraine is also facing backlash from anti-graft campaigners who have been alarmed since the government charged a top anti-corruption activist this month with fraud and evading military service. The move has been dubbed as political retribution by authorities for exposing corrupt officials. Rooting out endemic corruption and graft is critical for Ukraine to join the European Union and also a key condition to receive western aid at a time the country is battered by war. The European Union enlargement commissioner Marta Kos said she was "seriously concerned" by Tuesday's vote. "The dismantling of key safeguards protecting NABU's independence is a serious step back," she said, adding that rule of law was at "the very centre" of EU accession talks.
