The Treasury Department's launch of a new advisory committee on racial equity is just one of dozens of ways in which the federal government is working to advance President Biden's sweeping diversity, equity, inclusion and accessibility (DEIA) agenda.
"We know that we need to do all we can to build a fairer economy, and that’s why we have put racial equity at the forefront of our agenda at Treasury and across the Biden administration," Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said Tuesday as she announced the equity committee.
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OSLO, Oct 6 (Reuters) - Norway's centre-left government said on Thursday it planned to raise taxes on the country's oil and gas industry by 2 billion Norwegian crowns ($191 million) in 2023 by partly reversing an incentive package introduced during the coronavirus pandemic.
The adjustment to the temporary rules follows a surge in oil and gas prices, the government said.
"When aggregated over the years in which the temporary rules will apply, central government revenues are estimated to increase by 11 billion crowns," Finance Minister Trygve Slagsvold Vedum said in a statement.
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Norway, Europe's number one gas supplier and a major global crude producer, pumps around 4 million barrels of oil equivalent per day, ensuring big financial gains from the spike in energy prices.
The proposal reduces the so-called uplift rate, a special tax deduction, to 12.4% from 17.69%, the finance ministry said.
"With the government's proposal, all profitable investments before special tax will also remain profitable after tax," said Vedum, who leads the rural-oriented Centre Party.
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The left-leaning minority government of Labour and Centre said it plans to cut spending in 2023 by the $1.2 trillion sovereign wealth fund, the world's largest, while raising taxes to help combat rampant inflation.
The government proposed withdrawing 316.8 billion crowns from the wealth fund next year, down from a revised 335.1 billion crowns in 2022, and must now negotiate with the Socialist Left Party to pass the budget.
The Treasury committee is a natural extension of the administration’s broad effort to promote "equity" that started with an executive order on advancing racial equity that Biden issued on his first day in office. Yellen said the administration has pursued that goal in bills like the American Rescue Plan, which aspires to build a foundation for an "equitable economic recovery," and the infrastructure bill, which she said will boost investment in communities "that have often been ignored or overlooked."
HERSCHEL WALKER, WHO has vehemently opposed reproductive rights throughout his senatorial campaign in Georgia, denied he had paid for a woman’s abortion in 2009 and also denied he knew who she was. Thing is, she apparently shares a child with him, according to The Daily Beast who first broke the story on Monday about the abortion payment claim.
The White House is unveiling a series of reports on Thursday detailing agencies’ progress in steeling federal government facilities, programs and operations in the face of climate change.
The progress reports come a year after more than 20 agencies released plans to ensure federal facilities and programs are resilient against the climate crisis, including initiatives bumping pay to federal firefighters, electrifying vehicle fleets and pinpointing which military bases are most at risk to climate hazards. The reports were requested by President Joe Biden on his first day in office.
Now, the White House is highlighting examples of progress made across the federal government to ensure climate readiness, CNN has learned. This includes the fortification of federal facilities, the expansion of climate education and training within agency staff, the hiring of climate-focused personnel, the expansion of climate data access, the bolstering of supply chains in preparation for climate disasters and the incorporation of environmental justice into federal adaption efforts.
The Department of Defense, for example, “expanded the number of major installations and sites using the DOD Climate Assessment Tool from 157 to over 1,900,” a White House fact sheet provided to CNN said. The tool “rigorously identifies climate hazards, allows officials to prioritize where best to invest resources and how to mitigate potential harm and security impacts through adaptive solutions.”
Florida’s Tyndall Air Force Base, which suffered billions of dollars in damages when Hurricane Michael struck in 2018, is using the assessment tool to build what the Defense Department calls the “Installation of the Future” that is “resilient to climate change impacts.” The White House says the General Services Administration has also incorporated climate risk requirements into several major federal government contract opportunities “with an approximate combined spending of more than $400 million.”
A large concern, the White House’s federal chief sustainability officer Andrew Mayock told CNN, is understanding how supply chains will still deliver for the US government’s needs amid “hurricanes like Ian and other impacts across the United States.”
On Wednesday, the outlet said they had agreed to not share certain details about the woman’s identity to protect her privacy and over safety concerns. Then, Walker told Fox News host Brian Kilmeade he had “no clue about” her identity and denied the accusation and said it was an attack by “desperate” Democrats looking to keep the senate seat. Some in the GOP have continued to defend him.
“They see me as a big threat, and I know that and I knew it when I got into this race. But they don’t realize that I think they came for the wrong one. They energized me,” Walker said. “They energized me, because I know how they really want to try to keep this seat.
Treasury is one of several federal agencies taking its cue from the White House. In the run-up to the midterm elections, the White House has put up a series of posts about equity as it relates to federal grant funding, federally funded research, stopping the spread of monkeypox and access to infrastructure contracts.
BIDEN ADMINISTRATION WANTS FEDERAL GOVERNMENT TO BE DIVERSITY, EQUITY MODEL FOR THE NATION
Between Biden's executive order and the drumbeat of attention to diversity and equity created by the White House, other major federal departments have taken their own steps to advance DEIA. (Getty Images)
DEIA has also attached itself to other Biden administration priorities, such as climate change. Just last week, Vice President Harris caused a stir when she said assistance to climate-ravaged areas of the country must be distributed with "equity" in mind, which many Republicans interpreted as a sign that relief for Hurricane Ian in Florida might be doled out according to race.
The White House later clarified that Harris was not talking about relief specific to Hurricane Ian when she said low-income communities and communities of color are most vulnerable to climate change, and that the government needs to "address this in a way that is about giving resources based on equity."
VICE CHAIR OF TREASURY DEPT'S NEW RACIAL EQUITY COMMITTEE WANTS TO DEFUND THE POLICE, ‘CENTER RACE’ IN ALL POLICY
Between Biden's executive order and the drumbeat of attention to diversity and equity created by the White House, other major federal departments have taken their own steps to advance DEIA:
Agriculture
The U.S. Department of Agriculture launched an Equity Commission at the start of 2022 to advise the secretary on how programs and practices within the department "contribute to barriers to inclusion or access, systemic discrimination, or exacerbate or perpetuate racial, economic, health and social disparities." USDA says the commission will confront the "hard reality of past discrimination and its lingering harm." The group last met in late September, and it hopes to submit a final report on its findings next year.
Commerce
Assistant Commissioner Gough said the man was not suspected of being the individual responsible for the Optus breach but allegedly tried to financially benefit from the 10,200 stolen records that were dumped on an online forum.
She has warned people impacted by the breach to be suspicious of text messages, and not to click on links claiming to be from Optus, banks, police or other organisations offering to help with the data leak.
Assistant Commissioner Gough said the man was the first person who had been arrested under Operation Guardian and suspected it would not be the last.
"We are doing whatever we can working around the clock to protect Australians whose details have been released," she said.Optus given temporary power to share data with banks following hack
She took the opportunity to warn scammers against using the data leaked in the breach.
"Do not test the capability or dedication of law enforcement. The AFP, our state partners and industry are relentlessly scouring forums and other online sites for criminal activity linked to this breach.
"Just because there has been one arrest does not mean there won’t be more.
"Be really, really conscious about suspicious and unexpected messages and activities across online platforms."
woman who said Herschel Walker paid for her 2009 abortion is the mother of one of his children, according to a new report Wednesday, undercutting the Georgia Republican Senate candidate’s claims that he didn’t know who she was.
The Daily Beast, which first reported Monday on the abortion, said it had agreed not to reveal details of the woman’s identity to protect her privacy. But Walker, who has expressed support for a national abortion ban without exceptions, vehemently denied the story, calling the abortion allegation a “flat-out lie,” threatening a lawsuit against the outlet he has yet to file and saying he had no idea who the woman might be.
So on Wednesday night, The Daily Beast revealed that the woman — who was not named — was so well known to Walker that, according to her, they conceived another child years after the abortion. She decided to continue on with the later pregnancy, though she noted that Walker, as he had during the earlier pregnancy, expressed that it wasn’t a convenient time for him, the outlet reported.
The Daily Beast said the Walker campaign declined to comment on Wednesday’s story. Walker is scheduled to make a public appearance Thursday morning in Wadley, Georgia, as part of his Unite Georgia Bus Stop tour across the state.
The latest reporting ensures that abortion will continue to be a central issue in the Georgia race, one of the most competitive Senate contests in the country. Walker and Democratic Sen. Raphael Warnock are locked in a tight contest that is key to the balance of power in the U.S. Senate.
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It adds to a series of stories about the football legend’s past that have shaken Walker’s campaign. Walker has been accused of repeatedly threatening his ex-wife’s life, exaggerating claims of financial success and overstating his role in a for-profit program that is alleged to have preyed upon veterans and service members while defrauding the government.
Earlier this year, after a story by The Daily Beast, Walker acknowledged the existence of three children he had not previously talked about publicly.
The woman told The Daily Beast for Wednesday’s story that Walker’s denial of the abortion was somewhat surprising to her.
“Sure, I was stunned, but I guess it also doesn’t shock me, that maybe there are just so many of us that he truly doesn’t remember,” the woman said. “But then again, if he really forgot about it, that says something, too.”
In The Daily Beast report published late Monday, the news outlet said it reviewed a receipt showing her payment for the procedure, along with a get-well card from Walker and her bank deposit records showing the image of a $700 personal check from Walker dated five days after the abortion receipt.
During the Republican Senate primary, Walker openly backed a national ban on abortions with no exceptions for cases involving rape, incest or a woman’s health being at risk — particularly notable at a time when the 1973 Roe v. Wade Supreme Court precedent had been overturned and Democrats in Congress had been discussing codifying abortion rights into federal law.
“I’m for life,” Walker has said repeatedly as he campaigns. When asked about whether he’d allow for any exceptions, he has said there are “no excuses” for the procedure.
As the Republican nominee, Walker has sometimes sidestepped questions about his earlier support for a national abortion ban, a tacit nod to the fact that most voters, including many Republicans, want at least some legal access to abortion
The Commerce Department released a 20-page "Equity Action Plan" in April that says officials will work to build "innovation ecosystems in historically underserved communities," expand assistance to minority businesses and make DOC resources more available to underserved communities.
Defense
In late September, the Pentagon announced a new defense advisory committee on diversity and inclusion, which will provide advice and recommendations on "matters and policies relating to the improvement of racial/ethnic diversity, inclusion and equal opportunity within the department." A week later, DOD released a 37-page plan to promote DEIA.
Parts of the Ukrainian government authorised a car bomb which killed the daughter of a key ally of Vladimir Putin in Moscow, the US believes.
Kyiv has always denied responsibility for the attack of Darya Dugina, the daughter of a prominent Russian nationalist, in August.
But US intelligence agencies have now concluded that the explosion was sanctioned by parts of the Ukrainian government in a closely held assessment shared within the US government last week, according to the New York Times.
US officials insisted Washington had no advance knowledge of the attack, nor did it provide intelligence or other assistance that led to it, according to the paper.
In fact, American officials admonished their Ukrainian counterparts in the wake of the assassination.
It is unclear if Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky had signed off on the attack or who in the Ukrainian government America rebuked over the incident.
Ukraine: ‘Someone like Dugina is not a target for us’
A spokesman repeated the Ukrainian government's denial to The New York Times on Tuesday.
Asked about the US intelligence assessment, Mykhailo Podolyak said: “Someone like Dugina is not a tactical or a strategic target for Ukraine."
US officials have speculated that the real target of the assassination was Dugina's father, Aleksandr Dugin, a leading cheerleader of Russia's war in Ukraine known to wield significant influence with Mr Putin.
Mr Dugin was supposed to drive into Moscow with his daughter, but decided at the last minute to travel back in another car.
Ukraine’s security services have proved adept at conducting sabotage operations within Russian territory from the start of the seven-month conflict.
But the assassination of Dugina still represents one of the boldest operations of the war to date, and appears to demonstrate Ukraine's ability to reach prominent Russians.
US fears attack could escalate Russian invasion
The attack is one element of a covert campaign by Ukraine that US officials fear could escalate Russia's invasion.
American officials have reportedly been frustrated with Kyiv's lack of transparency over both its battlefield and covert plans, in particular those actioned on Russian territory.
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