Mexico’s Viva Signs Preliminary Deal for 90 Airbus A321 Jets
Mexico’s Grupo Viva Aerobus SAB signed a preliminary order for 90 Airbus SE A321 jets as the carrier
1970-01-01 08:00
Tennessee lawmaker raised $860k in campaign donations after Republican expulsion over gun control protest
State Representative Justin Pearson of Tennessee said he raised $860,000 after he was expelled from the state legislature after participating in a gun control protest on the House floor. Mr Pearson, who represents a district in Memphis, was one of three Democratic legislators who faced expolsion from the chamber after their participation in a protest sparked by a mass shooting that claimed six lives at a Nashville school in March. But the explosion of Mr Pearson and Rep Justin Jones seems to have backfired on the Republican majority in several ways. Mr Pearson and Mr Jones were both re-appointed to their seats, and now Mr Pearson has revealed the effect his brief expolsion from the chamber had on his fundraising. Mr Pearson recieved donations from more than 31,000 people, the majority of whom donated in the week between his expulsion and his reinstatement by a unanimous vote of the Shelby County Board of Commissioners. The amount of money Mr Pearson recieved is all the more notable because Tennessee legislators are barred from fundraising during legislative sessions. “To see so much support, particularly from these tens of thousands of small-dollar donations, is a testament to what I believe is a people-powered movement, which is that we all have something to contribute, and our little bits of contribution makes a lot,” Mr Pearson told the Associated Press. Now, however, Mr Pearson has the kind of money in his campaign coffers that some state legislators never amass. The 28-year-old graduate of Bowdoin College, only raised around $144,000 during his successful campaign for the state House earlier this year. The Associated Press reported that the entire Tennessee House Democratic Caucus only raised around $233,000 during the 2022 election year. But that was a long time ago. When Republicans singled out Mr Pearson, Mr Jones, and Rep Gloria Johnson for their participation in the gun control protest, they quickly elevated them to national stardom. Mr Pearson, Mr Jones, and Ms Johnson became consistent presences on national television, visited the White House, and made appearances outside of Tennessee. National Democrats like Sen Chris Murphy of Connecticut helped fundraise. Now, given his considerable profile and youth, Mr Pearson has been mentioned as a potential rising star in a Tennessee Democratic Party that has fallen on hard times in recent years. It’s a remarkable rise for an environmental activist who wasn’t even in elected office until January. Read More After expulsion and reinstatement, Tennessee Reps. Pearson, Jones advance past Democratic primaries In Tennessee, expulsions echo a decades-old protest movement
1970-01-01 08:00
Meta officially launches Twitter rival Threads
Facebook has tried to compete with Twitter in numerous ways over the years, including copying signature Twitter features such as hashtags and trending topics. But now Facebook's parent company is taking perhaps its biggest swipe at Twitter yet.
1970-01-01 08:00
Threads: Instagram owner launches Twitter-like app
The new app is now available to download in over 100 countries, though not in the European Union.
1970-01-01 08:00
Biden Administration to Appeal Ban on Social Media Contacts
The US Justice Department said it’s appealing a court ruling that would block federal agencies and officials from
1970-01-01 08:00
US Considers Limits on Cloud Computing For China
The US is considering restrictions on China’s access to computing over the Internet, or the cloud, as part
1970-01-01 08:00
Jefferies Taps SMBC Banker Josh Maio for Consumer Dealmaking
Jefferies Financial Group Inc. hired Josh Maio from SMBC Nikko Securities America Inc., adding to its consumer banking
1970-01-01 08:00
Ohio's showdown over abortion rights intensifies as group files signatures for ballot measure
Ohio is poised to become the next major abortion battleground after groups seeking to enshrine abortion rights in the state's constitution on Wednesday submitted hundreds of thousands of petition signatures to the secretary of state's office.
1970-01-01 08:00
Rivian CEO Eyes Production Ramp, New Partners After Supply Woes
Rivian Automotive Inc. is ready to take on more commercial partners beyond Amazon.com Inc. after a recent bout
1970-01-01 08:00
Florida schools remove books by John Milton and Toni Morrison and restrict Shakespeare under DeSantis rules
Over 150 books have been removed from a large, Orlando-area Florida school district, including classics like The Scarlet Letter, Paradise Lost, and The Invisible Man, as school officials review materials for sexual content under the state’s restrictive book ban laws. According to a teacher keeping track of books that have been temporarily pulled for review by the Orange County government, titles by Shakespeare have been restricted to only 10th through 12 graders, while other popular works like The Fault in Our Stars, Into the Wild, and Catch-22 have been put on the restricted list because of sexual material. One teacher told The Orlando Sentinel she was “gobsmacked” when she saw Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream was among the restricted works. She said she chooses works to study in class “to engage my students, to offer them literature that makes them think,” and that an accurate version of “the adolescent experience” in literature may contain some sexual themes, but still be valid for the classroom. “It’s just so frustrating and disheartening,” she said. The state’s book ban laws, passed under Republican governor Ron DeSantis, have caused empty shelves across Florida. “The books are sitting out on tables, they’re being boxed up and discarded,” Florida school librarian Keri Clark told The Independent earlier this year. “It’s just it’s a really sad sight. A lot of the kids keep looking through the window and it’s just it’s awful that I can’t let them come in and get books.” The Florida policyies are part of a nationwide surge of book bans. During the first half of the 2022-2023 school year, school officials tried to restrict at least 874 individual book titles, according to PEN America, a nearly 30 per cent spike from book challenges over the previous year. Overwhelmingly, the book ban attempts singled out works by and about people of colour and LGBT+ people, PEN found. At least 30 per cent of the impacted titles are books about race, racism, or feature characters of colour, and more than a quarter of all titles include LGBT+ characters or themes. Read More Biden condemns ‘hysterical’ threats to LGBT+ Americans as White House pushes back on book bans As conservatives target schools, LGBTQ+ kids and students of color feel less safe Florida mom who tried to ban Amanda Gorman’s book has ties to far-right groups
1970-01-01 08:00
Bank of America increases dividend by 9% after Fed stress test
NEW YORK Bank of America (BofA) said on Wednesday it planned to increase its quarterly common stock dividend
1970-01-01 08:00
Canada Port Strike Enters Fifth Day With Talks Deadlocked, Threatening Economy
Canadian dockworkers and their employers remained deadlocked as a strike crippling West Coast trade entered its fifth day,
1970-01-01 08:00
