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Year: 2024

Nearly all Fortune 500 companies still maintain corporate DEI commitments: report

Nearly all Fortune 500 companies still maintain corporate DEI commitments: report

FIRST ON FOX: A new report looked at company statements, annual reports and other publicly available documents from every Fortune 500 company and found that virtually all of them have maintained their commitments to “diversity, equity and inclusion” (DEI) despite a trend of private companies relinquishing these commitments amid growing criticism. Walmart, last week, became the latest major company to roll back its DEI commitments. The private sector’s move away from such commitments, which include race-based hiring practices or other preferential treatment provided based on someone’s immutable characteristics, has been strong enough that it spurred a cohort of 49 Democratic lawmakers in the House of Representatives to pen a letter several weeks ago to the country’s Fortune 1000 companies, urging them not to give in to pressure to dismantle their DEI commitments. The lawmakers argued that such commitments help provide for a fairer shot at the American Dream for “everyone.”  The effort to ensure that “everyone” is given a fair shot is a main reason why Walmart decided to begin rolling back some of its commitments. “Our purpose, to help people save money and live better, has been at our core since our founding 62 years ago and continues to guide us today,” Joe Pennington, the director of Walmart’s global press office, told Fox News Digital. “We’ve been on a journey and know we aren’t perfect, but every decision comes from a place of wanting to foster a sense of belonging, to open doors to opportunities for all our associates, customers and suppliers and to be a Walmart for everyone.”      While pressure on private companies to relinquish their DEI commitments has yielded some change, 485 of the country’s 500 largest companies continue to maintain some form of DEI commitment, according to a new report from the right-leaning Heritage Foundation. ‘THIS S— HAS TO STOP’: FORMER JILL BIDEN SPOX RIPS DEMS FOR ‘VILIFYING’ DEI CRITICS AS ‘WHITE SUPREMACISTS’ Researchers spent weeks combing through various documents and communications belonging to all of these companies, and developed a user-friendly database so that readers can see the commitments for themselves. Jonthan Butcher, the report’s lead author, told Fox News Digital that he thinks public pressure is very influential when it comes to getting private companies to relinquish what he described as discriminatory DEI commitments. Sources familiar with Walmart’s decision to roll back their DEI policies indicated that public pressure, in addition to feedback from customers and associates, was an aspect that spurred some of the company’s changes. “I think that when the pressure has been applied one by one … businesses recognize that when they’re called out, they don’t have any way to defend themselves and say, ‘Well, what we’re really doing is wholesome.’ No one has tried to say that,” Butcher said. “Instead, they’ve simply backed away. And appropriately so.” TRUMP’S CHOICE FOR FCC CHAIRMAN SAYS AGENCY ‘WILL END ITS PROMOTION OF DEI’ NEXT YEAR Some of the major companies highlighted in Butcher’s report include Nike and UnitedHealth Group.  Nike, for example, was found to have a page on its website about “representation and pay” that asserts, “NIKE is focused on its workforce representation, starting with women globally and racial and ethnic minorities in the United States.” Meanwhile, UnitedHealth Group states on its “People & Culture” webpage that the company strives to provide patients with “culturally relevant care” and seeks to “advance a diverse health care workforce.”  CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP Fox News Digital reached out to both Nike and UnithedHealth Group for comment but did not receive a response. Butcher ultimately said he believes Americans are waking up to the racially discriminatory elements of DEI practices, noting that the point of his research is to continue leveraging that momentum.

Five ways Trump could dismantle Biden’s climate agenda

Five ways Trump could dismantle Biden’s climate agenda

President-elect Donald Trump is expected to roll back several of President Joe Biden’s green energy policies and initiatives when he assumes office in 2024.  While on the campaign trail, Trump vowed to lift the Biden administration’s “war on energy” and “disastrous” energy policies. “They annihilated your steel mills, decimated your coal jobs, assaulted your oil and gas jobs and sold off your manufacturing jobs to China and other foreign nations all over the world,” Trump said of the current administration. Trump appointed North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum to head his newly formed National Energy Council, and former Rep. Lee Zeldin to head the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) – two pro-energy appointees who are expected to take aim at several of Biden’s policies. Here are five ways Trump could overturn several of those in short order: The Paris Agreement, established at the U.N. Climate Change Conference in 2015, is a legally binding treaty among nearly 195 parties who are committed to international cooperation on climate change. BIDEN BLOCKS NEW MINING IN REGION THAT PRODUCES ABOUT 40% OF NATION’S COAL: ‘IT’S A DISASTER’ Trump officially withdrew from the treaty in 2020, but Biden reinstated the U.S. to the climate agreement after taking office in 2021. The Trump campaign told Politico in June that the president-elect would be in favor of withdrawing the U.S. from the treaty for a second time if re-elected. The EPA announced a final rule in March under the Clean Air Act to set new emissions standards that would require up to two-thirds of new cars sold to be electric vehicles by 2032. The new standards would affect “light-duty vehicle manufacturers, independent commercial importers, alternative fuel converters, and manufacturers and converters of medium-duty vehicles,” according to the EPA’s final rule. House Republicans have taken steps to block the mandate, passing the Congressional Review Act (CRA) in September to block the “out-of-touch regulation” from being enacted. Biden is currently offering a tax credit of up to $7,500 to incentivize the purchase of greener vehicles.  However, sources with knowledge of the matter told Reuters that Trump plans to ax the tax credit as part of his sweep of Biden’s climate agenda. One of Trump’s strongest allies, Tesla CEO Elon Musk, revealed in July that he supports getting rid of the credit. “Take away the subsidies,” Musk posted to X, saying that “it will only help Tesla.” Companies that are financially sound, such as Tesla, could benefit if the playing field for electric vehicles is narrowed, while the smaller companies that rely on the tax credit for consumer affordability could face setbacks, analysts suggest. TRUMP’S ENERGY AGENDA CAN MAKE AMERICA AFFORDABLE AGAIN Biden’s Bureau of Land Management (BLM) recently approved an amendment to the Resource Management Plan (RMP) to ban new federal coal leases, essentially blocking any new federal mining leases in Wyoming’s Powder River Basin, the country’s largest coal-producing region, by 2041.  This region produces about 40% of the nation’s coal. BLM, however, will allow for existing coal leases to continue to be developed. Following the decision, Trump’s transition team reinforced the idea of the president-elect’s campaign promise to bolster American-made energy. “Families have suffered under the past four years’ war on American energy, which prompted the worst inflation crisis in a generation. Voters re-elected President Trump by a resounding margin, giving him a mandate to implement the promises he made on the campaign trail, including lowering energy costs for consumers,” Karoline Leavitt, Trump-Vance Transition spokeswoman, said in a statement to Fox News Digital. Biden’s EPA recently announced that it will try to “incentivize” the oil and gas industry to reduce methane emissions by imposing a Waste Emissions Charge, allowed under the Inflation Reduction Act.  EXPERT TOUTS TRUMP’S ENERGY SECTOR NOMINATIONS, OUTLINES HOPES FOR ADMINISTRATION AGENDA TO SPARK ENERGY BOOM Under the Biden administration’s new rule, certain oil and gas facilities would be charged $900 per metric ton of “wasteful” emissions in CY 2024, $1,200 for CY 2025 and $1,500 for CY 2026. Trump-supporting oil-advocacy groups and House lawmakers slammed the fee, with the American Petroleum Institute releasing a policy road map for the incoming Trump administration to hit back against the EPA’s final rule. “Energy was on the ballot” in the 2024 elections, American Petroleum Institute President and CEO Mike Sommers told Fox News Digital in a statement following Trump’s victory in November. In electing Trump, Sommers said that voters had “sent a clear signal that they want choices, not mandates, and an all-of-the-above approach that harnesses our nation’s resources and builds on the successes of his first term.”

Trump responds after rebels overtake Syria, ousting longtime dictator: ‘Assad is gone’

Trump responds after rebels overtake Syria, ousting longtime dictator: ‘Assad is gone’

President-elect Trump reacted Sunday morning to the news that Syrian dictator Bashar Assad had fled Syria after rebels stormed the capital city of Damascus. “Assad is gone,” Trump wrote on his social media platform Truth Social. “He has fled his country. His protector, Russia, Russia, Russia, led by Vladimir Putin, was not interested in protecting him any longer. There was no reason for Russia to be there in the first place. They lost all interest in Syria because of Ukraine, where close to 600,000 Russian soldiers lay wounded or dead, in a war that should never have started, and could go on forever.” “Russia and Iran are in a weakened state right now, one because of Ukraine and a bad economy, the other because of Israel and its fighting success,” his post continued. “Likewise, Zelenskyy and Ukraine would like to make a deal and stop the madness. They have ridiculously lost 400,000 soldiers, and many more civilians. There should be an immediate ceasefire and negotiations should begin.” SYRIAN DICTATOR BASHAR ASSAD FLEES INTO EXILE AS ISLAMIST REBELS CONQUER COUNTRY Trump added: “Too many lives are being so needlessly wasted, too many families destroyed, and if it keeps going, it can turn into something much bigger, and far worse. I know Vladimir well. This is his time to act. China can help. The World is waiting!” Assad, who used chemical weapons multiple times on his population, and his British-born wife, Asma al-Assad, fled with their three children, according to Syrian television reports, although it was not known where they were headed. A video statement from a group of men on Syrian state TV said that Assad had been overthrown and that all prisoners had been released. The man who read a statement said the Operations Room to Conquer Damascus is calling on all opposition fighters and citizens to preserve state institutions of “the free Syrian state.” “Long live the free Syrian state that is to all Syrians and all” their sects and ethnic groups, the statement said. Syrian Prime Minister Mohammad Ghazi al-Jalali said early Sunday he did not know where Assad was. ISLAMIST REBELS IN SYRIA CATCH ASSAD, PUTIN, IRAN REGIMES OFF GUARD GIVING US NEW MIDEAST HEADACHE Crowds of Syrians gathered in the central squares of Damascus to celebrate Assad’s departure. Syria has been embroiled in a bloody, nearly 14-year civil war as Islamist rebels sought to overthrow Assad and end more than 50 years of Assad family rule over the Syrian Arabian Republic. The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Biden administration announces $988M in aid to Ukraine on same day Trump meets with Zelenskyy in Paris

Biden administration announces 8M in aid to Ukraine on same day Trump meets with Zelenskyy in Paris

The Biden administration on Saturday announced a $988 million aid package to Ukraine to ensure it “has the tools it needs to prevail in its fight against Russian aggression.”  “This administration has made its choice. And so has a bipartisan coalition in Congress. The next administration must make its own choice,” Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said Saturday at the Reagan National Defense Forum in California. “But, from this library, from this podium, I am confident that President Reagan would have stood on the side of Ukraine, American security and human freedom.”  The aid package is provided through the Ukraine Security Assistance Initiative and “will provide Ukraine with munitions for rocket systems and unmanned aerial systems,” a release from the administration said. “This package also includes support for maintenance and repair programs to help Ukraine reconstitute its forces and build and sustain combat power.”  The announcement came as President-elect Trump met with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy while at a ceremony commemorating the reopening of the Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris on Saturday after a devastating fire there in 2019.  ZELENSKYY FEARS DANGER IF UKRAINE LOSES UNITY, DEFEAT IF US CUTS FUNDS, 1,000 DAYS AFTER WAR BEGAN  During the campaign, Trump and running mate JD Vance heavily criticized the Biden administration’s support for Ukraine after Russia’s 2022 invasion, and Trump said he would end the war before even entering office without offering further details.  Vance also suggested earlier this year that the best way to end the war was for Ukraine to cede the land Russia has seized and for a demilitarized zone to be established, a proposal Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy flatly rejected.  FLORIDA REP CALLS OUT DEMOCRATS FOR ‘ESCALATING’ CONFLICT IN UKRAINE Recently, Zelenskyy has said he is more open to negotiations in the war and has called for Ukraine to be allowed to join NATO.  The Biden administration has committed to giving Ukraine as much aid as possible before Trump takes office in January.  “In September, the president announced a surge in security assistance for Ukraine to put Ukrainian forces in the strongest possible position before he leaves office,” National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan said in a statement Monday while announcing $725 million in aid to Ukraine.  “Between now and mid-January, we will deliver hundreds of thousands of additional artillery rounds, thousands of additional rockets and other critical capabilities to help Ukraine defend its freedom and independence.”  Last month, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said, “President Biden has committed to making sure that every dollar we have at our disposal will be pushed out the door between now and Jan. 20.”  Saturday’s announcement marks the administration’s 22nd aid package through the Ukraine Security Assistance Initiative.  CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP This week, House Speaker Mike Johnson rejected a request by the administration for Congress to authorize $24 billion in additional funding. “It is not the place of Joe Biden to make that decision now,” Johnson said. “We have a newly elected president, and we’re going to wait and take the new commander in chief’s direction on all that. So, I don’t expect any Ukraine funding to come up now.”

Congress eyes 14.5% pay hike for junior troops, limits on transgender treatment in $895B defense bill

Congress eyes 14.5% pay hike for junior troops, limits on transgender treatment in 5B defense bill

Congressional leaders have agreed to terms for this year’s defense policy bill, with nearly $900 billion in spending, new limits on transgender-related medical care and a significant raise for young U.S. service members. Roughly 1,800 pages detailing the new National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), legislation that outlines U.S. defense and national security priorities each fiscal year, were released Saturday evening. The bill details policy for $895.2 billion in federal spending. Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., said the bill “refocuses our military on its core mission of defending America and its interests around the globe by supporting law enforcement operations and the deployment of the National Guard to the southwest border, expediting innovation and reducing the acquisition timeline for new weaponry, supporting our allies and strengthening our nuclear posture and missile defense programs.” DOZENS OF PROMINENT VETERANS SIGN ONTO LETTER SUPPORTING ‘OUTSTANDING’ HEGSETH NOMINATION AMID CONTROVERSIES It includes a 14.5% pay raise for junior enlisted troops, according to the Republican leader’s office. Another provision says “medical interventions for the treatment of gender dysphoria that could result in sterilization may not be provided to a child under the age of 18,” referring to the transgender children of U.S. service members. The measure sparked backlash from the Human Rights Council, which called it an “attack” on military families. “This cruel and hateful bill suddenly strips away access to medical care for families that members of our armed forces are counting on, and it could force service members to choose between staying in the military or providing health care for their children,” HRC President Kelley Robinson said in a statement. TRUMP FLOATS DESANTIS AS POTENTIAL DEFENSE SECRETARY REPLACEMENT IF HEGSETH FALTERS The bill also includes border security elements Republicans had previously pushed for, including a bipartisan initiative to create a Northern Border Mission Center under the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). According to Johnson’s office, it would also “fully support the deployment of National Guard at the southwest border to intercept illegal aliens and drugs.” House Armed Services Committee Chairman Mike Rogers, R-Ala., touted the significant pay raise for junior troops. He also said the NDAA “puts our service members first by boosting compensation, improving housing, supporting the spouses of service members, increasing access to child care and ensuring access to medical care.”  Other provisions also place limits on diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI)-based recruitment and the teaching of critical race theory in military-run schools. GOP TENNESSEE AG REACTS TO ORAL ARGUMENTS IN SUPREME COURT TRANSGENDER RIGHTS CASE: ‘FEEL REALLY GOOD’ The House is expected to vote on the NDAA next week. The policy bill traditionally has passed with wide bipartisan support, save for some progressives and conservatives who are normally critical of the U.S. defense industrial complex. However, it’s not immediately clear how many Democrats will be put off enough by its anti-DEI and anti-transgender medical care provisions to vote against the must-pass legislation.