The Biden administration has introduced new Title IX regulations to ensure transgender athletes have a place in school sports. Two state House Democrats in Tennessee have been expelled from the chamber, an action only enforced a handful of times since the Civil War. These stories and more highlight the daily rundown for Friday, April 7, 2023.
New rule to stop trans athlete bans
The Biden administration is proposing new rules to stop schools and colleges across the country from enacting outright bans on transgender athletes. The rules will update Title IX, which ensures students aren’t discriminated against based on sex.
The proposal does have some exceptions. It allows K-12 schools and universities to restrict the participation of a transgender student in cases where the fairness on the field would be undermined or where participation could lead to injuries.
The legislation comes in response to 20 states enacting bans on trans athletes from participating in women’s and girls sports. Kansas being the latest state to do so after overriding the Democratic governor’s veto this week.
Tennessee expels House reps over protest
The Tennessee state House voted to expel two Democratic lawmakers over their roles in gun reform protests that interrupted proceedings last week. The rare move has happened to only eight lawmakers since the Civil War.
The GOP-led House voted to expel state Reps. Justin Jones and Justin Pearson for disorderly behavior and “dishonor” after leading chants with gun control protesters last week from the House floor.
Rep. Gloria Johnson, who was also part of the protest, was not expelled over her participation.
The protests came just days after the deadly Nashville school shooting.
The ousted representatives will still be able to run for their seats when a special election is held. President Joe Biden took to Twitter, calling the decision shocking, un-democratic and without precedent.
Israel launches rare strikes in Lebanon
The Israeli military launched rare airstrikes into Lebanon the morning of April 7, just hours after it struck opposition targets in Gaza.
Both series of strikes were in retaliation to Palestinian militants in Gaza who fired rockets into southern Israel and to a series of rockets fired from Lebanon into northern Israel. The latest Israeli airstrikes into Lebanon are sparking fears of a broader conflict.
This week’s escalation is seen as the most serious violence since Israel’s war with Lebanon militants in 2006.
IRS to add agents, increase audits
The IRS has announced what the agency plans to do with the $80 billion allocation from the Democrats’ Inflation Reduction Act that was signed by President Biden last summer.
The IRS plans to hire nearly 30,000 new employees over the next two years.
The new funding will go toward two top objectives: improving customer service and investing in more tax audits on the wealthy. Sixty percent of the $80 billion will go toward expanding these enforcement efforts.
Republicans have called the new hires an army of agents to increase tax audits. There is discussion on Capitol Hill to repeal the IRS funding as part of the GOP’s negotiations for raising the debt ceiling.
Coolio died of fentanyl overdose
The Los Angeles County Medical Examiner has determined rapper Coolio died from an accidental fentanyl overdose. The rapper died at a friend’s home in Los Angeles in September. He was found on the bathroom floor.
According to the coroner, Coolio had fentanyl, heroin and meth in his system. According to the CDC, fentanyl overdoses are the cause of 150 deaths every day in the U.S.
West Coast salmon fishing ban
A federal regulatory group has voted to officially close king salmon fishing season along much of the West Coast after near-record low numbers of the fish returned to California’s rivers last year.
The closure of the 2023 season will impact all commercial and most recreational salmon fishing along the coast. The fishing ban marked only the second time in state history that California had canceled its salmon fishing season, with the last ban taking place between 2008 and 2009, also due to drought conditions.
Biologists say the salmon population has been in dramatic decline after years of drought.
