Source: Gizmodo

When the city of Berkeley, California passed the country’s first ban on the use of natural gas in new buildings in the summer of 2019, environmental advocates celebrated the move as an important precedent for other cities to follow. And follow they did: There are now at least 99 similar ordinances in place across the country, the vast majority of which require appliances like stoves and heaters to be electric. But on Monday, a federal appeals court threw many of those bans into question.

A three-judge panel of the Ninth U.S Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco ruled that Berkeley’s ban is preempted by a federal law, and is therefore illegal. The decision marks a victory for the California Restaurant Association, the organization that sued the city shortly after it passed the ordinance banning the use of natural gas in new construction, claiming that such a measure would damage the restaurant industry.

“Many restaurants will be faced with the inability to make many of their products which require the use of specialized gas appliances to prepare, including for example flame-seared meats, charred vegetables, or the use of intense heat from a flame under a wok,” the lawsuit read.

But advocates argue that those concerns are dwarfed by a growing body of research that has found natural gas use in buildings not only releases huge quantities of greenhouse gasses, but also threatens people’s health. Studies have found that gas stoves are responsible for approximately 13 percent of childhood asthma cases in the U.S.; they also leak the potent greenhouse gas methane and the cancer-causing chemical benzene even when they’re turned off.

Read more: https://gizmodo.com/the-first-natural-gas-ban-in-the-u-s-just-got-shot-dow-1850352032

Source: CNN

(CNN)Robert F. Kennedy Jr., the anti-vaccine activist and environmental lawyer, described himself as a truth-teller who will "end the division" as he launched his bid for the 2024 Democratic presidential nomination on Wednesday in Boston.

Kennedy used his campaign launch speech to lambast school and business closures during the coronavirus pandemic and to insist that government and media "lie to us."

"My mission over the next 18 months of this campaign and throughout my presidency," he said, "will be to end the corrupt merger of state and corporate power that is threatening now -- threatening now -- to impose a new kind of corporate feudalism in our country; to commoditize our children, our purple mountain's majesty; to poison our children and our people with chemicals and pharmaceutical drugs; to strip-mine our assets; to hollow out the middle class and keep us in a constant state of war."

The 69-year-old Kennedy is the nephew of former President John F. Kennedy and son of former US attorney general and assassinated 1968 presidential candidate Robert Kennedy.

Read more: https://www.google.com/amp/s/amp.cnn.com/cnn/2023/04/19/politics/robert-f-kennedy-jr-2024-announcement/index.html

Source: The Daily Beast

A key figure in the pro-Trump “Stop the Steal” campaign has apologized after being accused of asking teenage boys for sexual pictures.

Ali Alexander has become one of the most ubiquitous figures in the MAGA movement. Trump himself reportedly requested that Alexander speak at his rally before the riot, with his appearance only quashed by a last-minute intervention from Trump’s aides. But this week, Alexander stands at the center of a scandal that raises questions about how powerful men in the far-right treat their younger acolytes.

“This is so gay,” Alexander said in a statement issued Friday night that addressed the allegations in broad terms.

Alexander, who has described himself as bisexual in the past, added that he was “battling with same-sex attraction.”

Read more: https://www.thedailybeast.com/stop-the-steal-organizer-ali-alexander-apologizes-after-being-accused-of-asking-teen-boys-for-sexual-pics

Source: ABC News

The Federal Reserve's staff is more worried about the U.S. economy tipping into a recession after the recent banking crisis, the minutes from the central bank's meeting in March reveal.

Economists at the Federal Reserve said they expect a "mild" recession later this year, an escalation from their previous assessment.

"Given their assessment of the potential economic effects of the recent banking-sector developments, the staff's projection at the time of the March meeting included a mild recession starting later this year, with a recovery over the subsequent two years," according to the publicly posted minutes from the meeting, which took place over March 21-22 right after the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank and Signature Bank.

The comments from economists on staff within the Federal Reserve reflect a dimmer outlook than public statements from Chairman Jerome Powell, who said after that March meeting "we don't know" whether there will be a recession.

Read more: https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/fed-staff-expects-banking-crisis-cause-recession-year/story?id=98540661

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As far as politics goes, it is better to have a recession this year rather than next year when President Biden is up for reelection.

The Florida law that led to the arrest of a Navarre teen who deputies say threatened to “shoot up” a school on social media doesn’t consider whether the threat was actually carried out. Putting threats in writing where people can see them is enough to warrant arrest.

The 13-year-old son of former congressional candidate and state data scientist Rebekah Jones was arrested by the Santa Rosa County Sheriff’s Office last week and charged with making written, electronic threat of a mass shooting/terrorism act. Deputies say the boy made multiple threats about shooting and killing people at Holley Navarre Middle School on different social media sites and that a number of other teens saw and received the messages from his account.

According to deputies, the teen had been a student at the school, but had recently left and was homeschooled at the time of the alleged threats.

An incident report alleges that the 13-year-old made repeated threats to shoot up Holley Navarre Middle School and to stab students who angered him.

More: https://www.pnj.com/story/news/local/escambia-county/2023/04/12/rebekah-jones-son-charged-in-florida-under-law-making-online-threats-a-crime/70099211007/

Embattled former state of Florida employee Rebekah Jones announced on Twitter Wednesday night that her 13-year-old son had been arrested in Santa Rosa County for “digital threats of terrorism.”

According to the tweets, Jones said an officer told her a warrant had been issued for her son’s arrest after authorities received an anonymous report about messages her son shared in a Snapchat group.

Jones says that someone claiming to be a cousin of one of her son’s classmates joined their private Snapchat group. She says the person recorded the conversations and reported them to the police after her son shared a popular internet meme criticizing police.

More: https://www.pnj.com/story/news/crime/2023/04/06/rebekah-jones-son-arrested-in-florida-what-we-know-about-digital-threat-allegations/70088634007/

Source: The Hill

A federal judge temporarily blocked a Tennessee law restricting drag shows on Friday, the day before it was set to go into effect.

U.S. District Judge Thomas Parker granted a temporary restraining order blocking enforcement of the law for two weeks, finding that it was “likely both vague and overly-broad.”

The law, signed by Gov. Bill Lee (R) last month, criminalized drag shows that take place in public or where they could be seen by children.

Parker agreed with Friends of George’s, the Memphis-based LGBTQ theater group contesting the law, that “this language could mean just about anywhere.”

Read more: https://thehill.com/regulation/court-battles/3929140-federal-judge-blocks-tennessee-law-restricting-drag-shows/

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Bonus info: The judge was appointed by Trump.