California Adds Five States to Travel Ban Over Anti-LGBTQ+ Laws
In a rebuke of state governments that have passed anti-LGBTQ+ legislation, California officials announced that they will add five states to the list of places where state-funded travel is prohibited on account of discriminatory policies, according to CBS News San Francisco. Adopted in 2016, California’s Assembly Bill 1887 requires state lawmakers to act on behalf …
Federal Judge Dismisses Government Lawsuit Against Facebook
On Monday, a federal judge dismissed antitrust lawsuits that had been filed against Facebook Inc. by the Federal Trade Commission and 46 states late last year. The FTC accused Facebook of social media monopolization, claiming that the company has maintained control over more than 60 percent of the market for at least a decade, according …
Britain Bans Binance
Britain’s Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has banned the affiliate firm Binance Markets Limited (BML) from operating in the United Kingdom, according to Reuters. The Cayman Islands-based cryptocurrency exchange is among the largest in the world. News of it follows a similar trend of crypto crackdowns in other major global markets. Binance was already in the …
Senate Poised to Block Debate on Voting Rights Bill
The Senate is expected to block a voting rights bill on Tuesday that President Biden and the Democrats have described as a vital measure to protect democracy, according to The New York Times. Known as the For the People Act, the legislation is designed to strengthen voting rights by enacting automatic voter registration and expanding …
Supreme Court Sides With College Athletes
The Supreme Court unanimously sided with college athletes on Monday in the landmark antitrust case National Collegiate Athletic Association v. Alston et al., ruling that the NCAA’s restrictions on players’ education-related compensation violate national antitrust laws, according to CNBC. As a result of the decision, students who play Division I basketball and football will now …
HBCUs to Receive $50 Million Grant from Google
This week Google announced its plans to award a total of $50 million in grant money to 10 historically Black colleges and universities (HBCUs). Company executives say the grants are meant to address the diversity gap in tech, according to CNET. The schools slated to receive funds are: Claflin University, Clark Atlanta, Florida A&M, Howard, …
Biden Signs Juneteenth Into Law as a Federal Holiday
President Joe Biden signed the Juneteenth National Independence Day Act into law today as the first new federal holiday in nearly four decades. He described the signing as one of the “greatest honors” of his presidency, according to CNN. June 19 commemorates the end of slavery in the U.S., marking the 1865 date when the …
Airbnb to Halt Listings Where Tenants Have Been Evicted
Airbnb will temporarily block landlords from renting properties flagged as new to the market due to a former occupant’s failure to pay rent after the Center for Disease Control’s eviction moratorium ends on June 30, according to Gizmodo. The policy went into effect yesterday and will remain in place through the end of the year. …
Energy Conservation Alert Issued in Texas Amid Heat Wave
As Texans endure a string of days topping 90 degrees, the state’s main power grid is struggling to keep up with demand, according to Reuters. The Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT) is now asking residents across the state to cut back on their use of air conditioning and conserve electricity until Friday, according to …
Tech Companies Push SEC to Make Climate Reports Mandatory
Seven tech companies are appealing to the Securities and Exchange Commission to force companies to regularly release issues related to their climate policies to their shareholders, according to CNBC. Executives at Amazon, Facebook, Intel, Salesforce, Autodesk, eBay, and Google’s parent company Alphabet are teaming up for the effort. Leaders collaborated on a letter sent last …
