decision Archives

Supreme Court declines challenge to Virginia transgender bathroom decision

June 28, 2021 [email protected]_84 bathroom, Challenge, Court, decision, declines, Supreme, transgender, Virginia

The Supreme Court declined to hear a challenge on Monday to a Virginia appeals court decision allowing students to use school bathrooms according to their gender identity rather than biological sex.

The challenge was a response to a case originally brought forward by Gavin Grimm, a Virginia teenager born a female but identifying as a male who said that the Gloucester County, Virginia, school system was discriminatory in its bathroom policies. Grimm won that case last year. The Supreme Court shut down the challenge in an unsigned order, but Justices Samuel Alito and Clarence Thomas added that they would have heard it.

TENNESSEE GOVERNOR SIGNS BATHROOM BILL INTO LAW

The court’s decision means that Grimm’s victory will remain intact.

Grimm’s case was one of several legal battles involving transgender bathroom use that played out at about the same time that the Supreme Court was weighing whether or not to legalize gay marriage. In this one, the school was initially lenient but soon changed its policy, claiming that bathroom use was “limited to the corresponding biological genders.”

When lawyers for the school appealed to the Supreme Court last year, Grimm’s attorneys at the American Civil Liberties Union responded by urging the court not to take the case, arguing that it was a Title IX violation to deny any student the bathroom use of his or her choice.

CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER

The appeals court decision favoring Grimm came down shortly after the Supreme Court decided another case involving gay and transgender discrimination, Bostock v. Clayton County. In that case, the court found that discriminating against gay and transgender employees is a violation of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act.

Judge Henry Floyd, who wrote the majority opinion in Grimm’s case, said that the logic of Bostock could easily be applied to bathroom disputes. Although Bostock “expressly” excluded a discussion of how bathroom cases should be decided, the landmark Supreme Court case, Floyd said, could easily be used to interpret Title IX, which prevents sexual discrimination in schools.

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house

Meadows: Decision expected later Monday on Trump return to White House

October 5, 2020 [email protected]_84 decision, Expected, house, Meadows, Monday, Return, Trump, White

White House chief of staff Mark MeadowsMark Randall MeadowsWhite House Correspondents’ Association: ‘Outrageous’ for Trump to leave hospital without informing pool Trump sought to keep COVID-19 diagnosis secret Thursday as he awaited second test result: WSJ Photo of Mark Meadows rubbing his head during update on Trump’s health goes viral MORE on Monday said President TrumpDonald John TrumpQuestions remain unanswered as White House casts upbeat outlook on Trump’s COVID-19 fight White House staffers get email saying to stay home if they experience coronavirus symptoms White House says ‘appropriate precautions’ were taken for Trump’s outing to see supporters MORE is ready to return to a “normal work schedule” as he deals with COVID-19 and that a decision is expected later in the day on whether the president can return to the White House from a nearby hospital.

“That determination has not been made yet. Obviously, he continued to improve overnight and his health continues to improve,” Meadows said during a call to “Fox & Friends” from Walter Reed National Military Medical Center.

“The doctors will actually have an evaluation sometime late morning and then the president, in consultation with the doctors, will make a decision on whether to discharge him later today,” Meadows added. “We’re still optimistic that based on his unbelievable progress and how strong he’s been in terms of his fight against this COVID-19 disease that he will be released, but that decision will not be made until later today.”

The comments echo those of the White House physician a day earlier, who told reporters on Sunday that Trump could return to the White House as early as Monday.

The president’s oxygen level dropped on Friday and Saturday, however, and he was given dexamethasone, a steroid typically used to treat severe cases of COVID-19, calling into question how serious Trump’s health problems are. Experts have noted that symptoms can flare up days after a person has contracted the virus and questioned the possibility Trump could leave the hospital in Bethesda, Md., so quickly.

“Obviously, this is an important day,” Meadows said on Monday. “The president continues to improve and is ready to get back to a normal work schedule.”

Trump was taken to Walter Reed on Friday evening, roughly 18 hours after he first disclosed to the public that he and the first lady had tested positive for the coronavirus. The president was given supplemental oxygen at the White House on Friday.

The White House has given conflicting messages about Trump’s state, eroding its credibility as the president deals with the virus. White House physician Sean Conley said Saturday the president was doing very well, but Meadows quickly contradicted him by acknowledging that Trump’s vitals were concerning on Friday and that he was not yet out of the woods.

National security adviser Robert O’BrienRobert O’BrienNational security adviser says Trump will stay a Walter Reed for ‘another period of time’ Trump aide Hope Hicks tests positive for COVID-19 CIA letting less intelligence on Russia reach Trump: report

kitchen

The Block stars Jimmy and Tam defend decision to spend $5000 on high-end WINE during kitchen week

October 1, 2020 [email protected]_84 block, decision, defend, HighEnd, Jimmy, kitchen, Spend, Stars, Tam, week, Wine

The Block stars Jimmy and Tam defend decision to spend $5000 on high-end WINE during kitchen week

By Candice Jackson For Daily Mail Australia

Published: 02:42 EDT, 1 October 2020 | Updated: 02:43 EDT, 1 October 2020

The Block’s Jimmy and Tam spent a whopping $5000 on high-end wine to hopefully tempt prospective buyers come auction day.

On Wednesday’s episode, bar manager Tam, 31, shocked foreman Dan by announcing that she’d splashed the large amount of cash on the luxury booze.

Speaking to 9Entertainment, Tam explained why the wine will only add further value to their $200,000 kitchen.

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The Block stars Jimmy and Tam (pictured) have defended their decision to spend $5000 on high-end WINE to hopefully tempt prospective buyers come auction day

Judge Shaynna Blake initially suggested Tam invest in a rare art piece for their house as a ‘game changer’ for auction day, but Tam instead spent $5000 on rare wines for their state-of-the-art bar fridge.

‘I knew we had this amazing Gaggenau wine fridge and I wanted something that was pretty high end to go in the fridge to meet the standards,’ she said.

‘The wine that has been selected, it’s actually from the most prestigious real estate areas around the world,’ explained Tam, adding: ‘Anyone who knows wine, when they see what’s in the wine selection, they’re blown away.’

‘Anyone who knows wine will be blown away’: Speaking to 9Entertainment , Tam claimed the wine will only add further value to their $200,000 kitchen

Bold move: Judge Shaynna Blake (pictured) suggested Tam invest in a rare art piece for their house as a ‘game changer’ for auction day, but Tam instead spent $5000 on rare wines

Tam claims the wine is both a luxury good and an investment for whoever decided to purchase the finished Block property at auction.

She believes the curated wine that was purchased during filming will appreciate by 10 per cent each year.

There are 55 bottles of wine in the collection, with the most expensive in the assortment being a $278 Massolino Barolo MAGNUM 2015.

‘It’s [the bar fridge] actually got three different sections in it. There’s a white wine, a red wine and a champagne. So each section can run at different temperatures and the temperature is perfect for that sort of wine, which is next level,’ said Tam.

INSIDE JIMMY AND TAM’S $5000 WINE FRIDGE ON THE BLOCK

Henschke Mt Edelston Shiraz 2010* ($180.00 ea.) x 2 | $360.00

Henri Boillot Bourgogne Blanc 2018* ($56.00 ea.) x 6 | $336.00

Penfolds St Henri Shiraz 1996* ($150.00 ea.) x 2 | $300.00

Penfolds St Henri Shiraz 1998* ($145.00 ea.) x 2 | $290.00

Penfolds St Henri Shiraz 2005* ($105.00 ea) x 2 | $210.00

Massolino Barolo 2015* ($80.00 ea.) x 7 | $560.00

Mount Mary Chardonnay* ($88.00 ea.) x 6 | $528.00

Duplessis AC Chablis 2018* ($50.00 ea.) x 6 | $300.00

Donhoff GG Riesling* ($110.00 ea.) x 3 | $330.00

Donnhoff Tonschiefer Reisling 2016* ($40.00

garden

PMC garden department against re-opening public gardens as residents question decision – pune news

September 28, 2020 [email protected]_84 decision, Department, garden, gardens, News, PMC, Public, pune, Question, Reopening, residents

Despite a growing demand to re-open the public gardens across the city, the Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) is firm on keeping it shut as a preventive measure in light of the Covid-19 pandemic.

PMC garden department head Ashok Ghorpade said, “Mainly senior citizens and children visit gardens. Both are vulnerable age groups in the current Covid-19 situation. Two months ago, the PMC opened 13 gardens for exercise, but the experience was bad. Considering the present situation, it is not possible to open public gardens.”

According to Ghorpade, the state government’s government resolution (GR) is very clear and it has banned the opening of the public gardens.

“No other municipal corporation in Maharashtra, including Mumbai, has opened public gardens yet,” Ghorpade said.

“If gardens reopen, it could become hotspots as people will begin using the benches, play with toys and also use the exercise equipment in open gyms.

Activities like yoga and laughing clubs are carried out in gardens, where social distance is not followed,” he added.

The PMC opened 13 gardens on a pilot basis in Pune for exercise purposes in June. Residents began using open gym equipment, visiting gardens without masks and did not maintain social distance.

Against this background, there is no preparedness by the garden department to reopen the gardens.

Ravindra Joshi, a resident of Sahakanagar said, “Hundreds of people are visiting Taljai hill and other areas. If citizens are allowed to exercise on the hills, what is the problem in opening the public gardens?”

Another citizen, Ratnamala Shah said, “Due to the Covid situation, citizens are sitting at home and are bored. If they would go in the open air and do some exercise it would help. It is true that citizens did not follow the rules, but garden employees can warn them to use masks all the time while they are present in the garden. In any case, citizens are walking on busy roads, instead, they would use the garden.”

Avinash Kute, a resident said, “I used to go to the garden every morning. Now I am missing it. As everything is opening up, the garden should also open for the public but it should be strictly kept open for exercise and walking purposes.”

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house

Pelosi rallies U.S. House Democrats on possible presidential election decision

September 28, 2020 [email protected]_84 decision, Democrats, election, house, Pelosi, Presidential, rallies

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – U.S. House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi is rallying Democrats to prepare for a once-in-a-century election scenario requiring Congress to decide the outcome of the presidential race if neither Democrat Joe Biden nor President Donald Trump wins outright.

FILE PHOTO: U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) speaks during a news conference on Capitol Hill in Washington, U.S., September 18, 2020. REUTERS/Al Drago

In a campaign letter to colleagues, Pelosi told her fellow House Democrats that recent comments by Trump demonstrate that he could ask the House to decide the race if it is not clear which of the two candidates had received the minimum 270 Electoral College votes in the Nov. 3 presidential election needed to gain office.

Trump repeatedly has questioned the security of mail-in ballots, which could take a while to tabulate given the high number of voters likely to use them this year due to the pandemic.

Democrats fear that the president could attempt to have the count of those votes cut short in an attempt to have the election outcome determined by the House.

Under the U.S. Constitution, the House would vote by state delegation to settle such a contest, with each state casting a single vote. While Democrats control the chamber by 232 seats to 198, Republicans control a majority of 26 state delegations versus 22 for Democrats. Pennsylvania’s delegation is tied, while Michigan has a 7-6 split between Democrats and Republicans and an additional seat held by a Libertarian.

The House has not determined the outcome of a presidential election since 1876.

Pelosi called on Democrats for “an all out effort” to capture additional Republican-held House seats, which they might need if a decision on the presidential election spills over into next year. She also urged Democrats to marshal resources to support the House Majority PAC, a political action committee committed to promoting Democratic candidates for the House.

“Because we cannot leave anything to chance, House Majority PAC is doing everything it can to win more delegations for Democrats,” Pelosi wrote.

A spokesman for the National Republican Congressional Committee (NRCC), the campaign arm of the House Republican caucus, said Pelosi was trying to “meddle” in the presidential election.

“We welcome any opportunity to highlight San Francisco liberal Nancy Pelosi’s efforts to meddle in elections. Pelosi is the most unpopular politician in America,” NRCC spokesman Michael McAdams said in a statement.

Reporting by David Morgan and Susan Heavey; editing by Richard Cowan, Alistair Bell and Bill Berkrot

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house

Pelosi Rallies U.S. House Democrats on Possible Presidential Election Decision | Top News

September 28, 2020 [email protected]_84 decision, Democrats, election, house, News, Pelosi, Presidential, rallies, Top

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – U.S. House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi is rallying Democrats to prepare for a once-in-a-century election scenario requiring Congress to decide the outcome of the presidential race, if neither Democrat Joe Biden nor President Donald Trump wins outright.

In a campaign letter to colleagues, Pelosi told her fellow House Democrats that recent comments by Trump demonstrate that he could ask the House to decide the race if it is not clear which of the two had received the minimum 270 Electoral College votes in the Nov. 3 presidential election to gain office.

Trump repeatedly has questioned the security of mail-in ballots, which could take a while to tabulate given the high number of voters likely to opt for using them this year.

Democrats fear that the president could attempt to have the count of those votes cut short in an attempt to have the election outcome determined by the House.

Under the U.S. Constitution, the House would vote by state delegation to settle such a contest, with each state casting a single vote. While Democrats control the chamber by 232 seats to 198, Republicans control a majority of 26 state delegations, vs. 22 for Democrats. Pennsylvania’s delegation is tied, while Michigan has a 7-6 split between Democrats and Republicans and an additional seat held by a Libertarian.

The House has not determined the outcome of a presidential election since 1876.

“Because we cannot leave anything to chance, House Majority PAC is doing everything it can to win more delegations for Democrats,” Pelosi wrote.

House Republicans and their aides were not immediately available for comment. Like Democrats, they too have political operations aimed at expanding their numbers in the House.

(Reporting by David Morgan and Susan Heavey; editing by Richard Cowan and Alistair Bell)

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house

Pelosi begins mustering Democrats for possible House decision on presidency

September 27, 2020 [email protected]_84 begins, decision, Democrats, house, mustering, Pelosi, Presidency

Pelosi, in a Sunday letter to House Democrats, urged them to consider whether the House might be pulled into deciding who is president when determining where to focus resources on winning seats in November. This could lead to more concerted efforts by Democrats to win in states such as Montana and Alaska — typically Republican turf but where Democrats have been competitive statewide. In these states, Democratic victories could flip an entire delegation with a single upset House victory.

“The Constitution says that a candidate must receive a majority of the state delegations to win,” Pelosi wrote. “We must achieve that majority of delegations or keep the Republicans from doing so.”

Pelosi has also raised the issue repeatedly in recent weeks with her leadership team. Other senior House Democrats told POLITICO they’d heard about these concerns from colleagues in recent weeks.

“We’re trying to win every seat in America, but there are obviously some places where a congressional district is even more important than just getting the member into the U.S. House of Representatives,” said Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-Md.), a constitutional lawyer.

Trump, too, has taken notice of the obscure constitutional resolution to a deadlocked Electoral College, both in public and private.

“And I don’t want to end up in the Supreme Court and I don’t want to go back to Congress either, even though we have an advantage if we go back to Congress — does everyone understand that?” Trump said at a rally in Pennsylvania on Saturday. “I think it’s 26 to 22 or something because it’s counted one vote per state, so we actually have an advantage. Oh, they’re going to be thrilled to hear that.”

In private, Trump has discussed the possibility of the presidential race being thrown into the House as well, raising the issue with GOP lawmakers, according to Republican sources.

Under the Constitution, the winner of the presidential election isn’t officially chosen until Congress certifies the Electoral College vote total on Jan. 6, 2021. That vote comes several days after the newly elected Congress is sworn in, meaning the delegation totals will change to reflect the winners of House races in November.

If neither Biden nor Trump has secured the 270 electoral votes required to win, the newly seated House delegations will then cast votes to determine a winner. States whose delegations reach a tie vote are not counted.

But it’s more than a math equation. If the House is asked to resolve an Electoral College stalemate, the country will be witnessing one of harshest exercises of raw power in history. If Democrats retain control of the House, they could opt against seating potential members whose elections remain contested, even if state officials say otherwise.

An informal whip count has already begun. Democrats hold a one- or two-vote seat edge in seven states that are expected to feature at least one sharply contested House race: Arizona, Iowa, Maine, Michigan, Minnesota, Nevada and New Hampshire. Republicans hold a similarly tenuous edge in Florida. The

house

Tensions rise in the house as Tyler makes a HUGE decision

September 10, 2020 [email protected]_84 decision, house, huge, rise, Tensions, Tyler

CBS

If you’ve been keeping up with the live feeds at all, you know it’s been a tumultuous, tension-filled few days in the Big Brother house. Things were already a little heated when Christmas nominated Bayleigh and Da’Vonne to go home — Bayleigh in particular felt betrayed because she thought they had a good relationship, but there’s also the tension that comes with more POC players being targeted and picked off by a big group, which has happened in multiple seasons. But tensions started boiling over after the POV competition, when a number of things happened to create a combustible situation. I’ll be talking plenty about the live feeds, most of which will probably be in tomorrow’s recap because that’s when most of the controversial stuff goes down, but for now let’s dig into what we see in the episode, including the POV competition, and how that leads to a rather uncomfortable house.

After the nomination ceremony, Bayleigh is pretty upset. She tells Da’Vonne she’s ready to go home. It seems like she and Christmas connected on a game and personal level, so she feels betrayed. She’s sick of it all, and especially sick of battling against the main group for a shred of power. So, Bayleigh goes to talk to Christmas about why she was put up, and Christmas is in tears, super-emotional about the whole thing. Things get very complicated later, in terms of emotions and motivations and optics, but this is the beginning. Christmas playing victim rubs Bayleigh the wrong way; she’s frustrated that she thought she had an ally and now she has to comfort her when she’s the one on the block and possibly going home.

This is where Tyler gets tossed into the mix, and he’ll be important to a lot of the drama later. He’s very clearly been playing with everyone in the house, much like he did on his previous season, and now it’s starting to cost him. He’s stretched thin trying to keep everyone happy, and people are starting to catch on that he has some sort of deal with everyone. So Da’Vonne tells Dani and Nicole about Tyler throwing Dani under the bus and saying she wanted to target Bayleigh and Da’Vonne, which sends Dani to Christmas to suggest that Tyler is trying to make sure the girls all hate each other and don’t form an alliance against the guys controlling the game. As always, there’s a ton of half-truths and faux loyalty here. All this talk will eventually lead to something happening because the Committee members will have to turn on each other at some point, but for now they’re in control and it doesn’t look like much is changing.

That brings us to the veto competition. Christmas, Bayleigh, Da’Vonne, Dani, and Nicole all line up to start, while Ian, who was chosen to play, has to sit out for medical reasons. The players are gathered at a makeshift track. They must get into a runner’s starting

interior

IHC issues stay order on Interior Ministry’s decision

September 7, 2020 [email protected]_84 decision, IHC, interior, Issues, ministrys, Order, Stay

Cynthia Ritchie had challenged interior ministry’s decision to deny her an extension and ordering her to leave the country within 15 days in the IHC on Saturday. Photo: File

ISLAMABAD: The Islamabad High Court (IHC) on Monday issued a stay order on US national Cynthia D Ritchie’s plea against the Interior Ministry’s decision to turn down a visa extension for the blogger.

Ritchie had petitioned the IHC on Saturday, challenging the interior ministry’s decision to deny her an extension and ordering her to leave the country within 15 days.

In the petition, the US national has nominated the interior secretary, deputy secretary and the director-general of the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) as respondents to the case.

She has argued that she fulfilled all legal obligations required of her in her visa application to ensure her continued stay in Pakistan, yet was turned down without explanation.

After hearing her arguments, IHC Chief Justice Athar Minallah stopped the Interior Ministry from deporting Ritchie and issued notices to the home ministry, the DG FIA and others.

The court also ordered the blogger to submit an affidavit detailing her allegations in the document.

“Visas of Pakistanis are denied every day and no reason is provided,” Justice Minallah remarked. He assured that the petitioner gets complete justice in the case.

The ministry, in an earlier response to the IHC, had stated that the American citizen’s visa had been extended twice during 2018-19 against the law.

It had mentioned that the blogger had applied for an extension in her work visa twice, but was instead given a business visa by the authority against the visa policy even though her company was not registered in Pakistan.

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interior

Cynthia moves IHC against interior ministry’s decision to reject visa extension

September 5, 2020 [email protected]_84 Cynthia, decision, extension, IHC, interior, ministrys, moves, reject, visa

In its response to the IHC a day ago, the ministry stated that the American citizen’s visa had been extended twice during 2018-19 which was against the law — File photo

US Blogger Cynthia D Ritchie has submitted a petition in the Islamabad High Court (IHC) on Saturday, challenging the interior ministry’s decision to deny her a visa extension.

In the petition, Ritchie made the interior secretary, deputy secretary, and director-general Federal Investigation Agency parties to the case, stating that she had fulfilled all the legal obligations required of her — in her visa application — to ensure her continued stay in Pakistan.

Ritchie accused the interior ministry of denying her visa without any solid reason, her petition mentioning that rejecting her visa extension was a violation of the General Clauses Act and the country’s visa policy.

Interior ministry asks Cynthia Ritchie to leave Pakistan within 15 days

Earlier this week, the ministry had rejected Ritchie’s visa extension application and asked her to exit the country within 15 days.

In its response to the IHC a day ago, the ministry stated that the American citizen’s visa had been extended twice during 2018-19 which was against the law.

It mentioned that the blogger had applied for her work visa extension two times, but she was given a business visa by the authority against the visa policy, adding that her company was not registered in Pakistan either.

The interior ministry on Friday had also submitted its comments to the High court in Cynthia D Ritchie’s case, stating that the American blogger should be stopped from making controversial statements that go against the basic rights of citizens.

The response came after the IHC expressed displeasure over the ministry’s comments at the previous hearing, instructing it to provide relevant records of its business visa policy.

Ritchie accuses PPP leadership of ‘harassment’ and ‘manhandling’

In a video broadcast live on Facebook in May, Ritchie had alleged that a senior PPP leader had raped her while two others had ‘manhandled’ her at a separate occasion.

She had stated that the incidents occurred in 2011 during the PPP tenure, when the individual she accused of rape had been a senior minister.

Ritchie had further alleged that two other senior party leaders — a federal minister and former prime minister Yousuf Raza Gillani (who publicly responded to the allegation) — had “physically manhandled” her when the latter “was staying the President House”.

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