In Berkeley, California, the City Council voted to ban natural gas hookups inside new buildings in an effort to reduce emissions. But an appeals court has ruled the city doesn’t have the right to enact such a ban because federal legislation trumps any local ordinance. The ban on natural gas hookups essentially banned all natural…

Seattle has become the first city in the United States to ban caste discrimination and add it to the city’s anti-discrimination laws after a vote by the city council. The measure that passed by a 6-1 vote was proposed by Kshama Sawant, a City Council member originally from India who believed that current anti-discrimination laws…

The NFL’s Walter Payton Man of the Year Award was established to recognize players who have had a “significant positive impact” on their community. In 2020, the league honored then-Seattle Seahawks quarterback Russell Wilson with the award, citing the work his charity, the Why Not You Foundation, had been doing to empower disadvantaged children. A six…

Seattle, Washington, defunded its police budget by nearly 17% in 2021. In the year following those cuts, homicides in the city surged 24%. Seattle’s budget cut is the latest example of how defunding the police has had a negative impact on a Democrat-led city. Homicides have spiked, and rapes and aggravated assaults have also increased.…

The House Speaker McCarthy plans to take a trip to Taiwan; the FDA suggests an annual COVID-19 vaccine; and more Big Tech layoffs. These stories and more highlight the daily midday rundown for Jan. 23, 2023.  Potential McCarthy trip to Taiwan The Pentagon is in the process of planning the places House Speaker Kevin McCarthy…

As consumers enjoy the convenience of Amazon’s fast deliveries, federal safety investigators have uncovered working conditions at three of the company’s warehouses that they say are unacceptable. The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has cited the company for putting workers at a high risk of back injuries and musculoskeletal disorders. OSHA announced the citations…

Seattle Public Schools filed a lawsuit late last week against the Big Tech companies operating TikTok, Instagram, Facebook, SnapChat and YouTube. The school district described the lawsuit as “the first step towards holding social media companies accountable for the harm they have wreaked on the social, emotional, and mental health of its students.” “Students in…

A deadly shooting in Paris killed 3, inflation has slowed and thousands of flights have been canceled thanks to the historic winter storm. These stories and more highlight Straight Arrow News’ midday rundown for Friday, Dec. 23, 2022.  Shooting in Paris leaves three dead A shooting inside a Kurdish cultural center in Paris is being…

The power is back on in Moore County, North Carolina. Residents there went without electricity for five days after attacks on two electrical substations. According to the Department of Energy, the attacks in Moore County were just two of the dozens of intentional attacks reported on the U.S. power grid this year. According to Moore…

Opioid addiction has led to an epidemic of overdose-related deaths in the United States. Drug overdose deaths now surpass those from car crashes and guns, according to the CDC. Companies like Purdue Pharma have had to pay billions of dollars in fines for their role in sparking the opioid epidemic in America. But what about…