All posts tagged: punt

White House Title IX Regs Punt on Transgender Athletes After Betting Big on Student Debt Relief | National News

White House Title IX Regs Punt on Transgender Athletes After Betting Big on Student Debt Relief | National News

Published by skeptic

When the Biden administration published its long-delayed overhaul to Title IX, the 1972 law prohibiting sex discrimination, the new rules provided a sweeping expansion of coverage for LGBTQ+ students and survivors of campus sexual assault. But it fell silent on another issue entirely – that of transgender student athletes. The controversial topic, which has headlined GOP culture wars and splintered women’s sports advocacy, appeared too much for the White House to risk in the run-up to the 2024 presidential election, especially when Biden is already betting big on an entirely different hot-button topic: student loan cancellation. “They just made a decision that, politically, one of those things would help them and one of those things would put them in a harder situation than they are now, and they just can’t afford that,” says Lanae Erickson, senior vice president for social policy, education and politics at Third Way. “I think in general they are trying to figure out if there are things they can do with the pen and their phone that will activate base voters …

The Supreme Court could decide the future of content moderation — or it could punt

The Supreme Court could decide the future of content moderation — or it could punt

Published by skeptic

The Supreme Court is considering the fate of two state laws that limit how social media companies can moderate the content on their platforms. In oral arguments on Monday, the justices grappled with a thorny set of questions that could reshape the internet, from social networks like Facebook and TikTok to apps like Yelp and Etsy. In October, the Supreme Court decided to hear the two parallel cases, one in Florida (Moody v. NetChoice, LLC) and one in Texas (NetChoice, LLC v. Paxton). In both instances, signed into law by Republican governors, a new state law instructed social media companies to stop removing certain kinds of content. Florida’s Senate Bill 7072 prevents social media companies from banning political candidates or putting restrictions on their content. In Texas, House Bill 20 told social media companies that they could no longer remove or demonetize content based on the “viewpoint represented in the user’s expression.” In Florida, a federal appeals court mostly ruled in favor of the tech companies, but in Texas the appeals court sided with the …

The Supreme Court Shouldn’t Punt on This One

The Supreme Court Shouldn’t Punt on This One

Published by skeptic

The Court needs to give the country a clear, final answer on Donald Trump’s eligibility for office. Illustration by The Atlantic. Source: Getty. January 28, 2024, 6:30 AM ET For the most part, America’s governing institutions have thus far responded to the problem of Donald Trump’s authoritarian aspirations by punting—passing the ball to some other actor in our political system. The criminal prosecutor Robert Mueller decided that Congress, not the Department of Justice, where he was special counsel, should assess whether Trump had committed any crimes in the 2016 election. Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell publicly blamed Trump for January 6 but voted to acquit him in his Senate impeachment trial anyway, on the grounds that holding Trump accountable for his actions was the responsibility of the courts. Similarly, the overwhelming majority of state election officials who have considered whether Trump should be deemed ineligible to appear on ballots have concluded that such decisions are really best left “up to the courts.” If anything is clear from the voluminous briefs filed recently with the Supreme …

GM and Honda punt on plan to build millions of affordable EVs together

GM and Honda punt on plan to build millions of affordable EVs together

Published by skeptic

General Motors and long-time partner Honda have ended plans to build millions of affordable and smaller electric vehicles as the automakers come to terms with high interest rates and battery costs coupled with softening EV demand. The end to the EV partnership comes 18 months after the two companies announced plans to co-develop affordable electric vehicles. The partnership centered around GM’s Ultium EV platform and both automakers’ robust manufacturing capabilities. Under the partnership, the automakers had expected to bring these EVs — many of which were expected to be priced under $30,000 — to North America in 2027. “After extensive studies and analysis, we have come to a mutual decision to discontinue the program,” GM spokesperson Darryll Harrison said in an emailed statement, adding that each company remains committed to affordability in the EV market. “GM’s focus over the next two years will continue to be on scaling the Ultium Platform and battery cell capacity, expanding a robust domestic EV supply chain, and delivering a comprehensive portfolio of EVs across categories, including lower cost models.” The …