Free Republic

The president will direct agencies to boost coal leasing, mining and exports. But these steps are unlikely to usher in a coal renaissance.President Donald Trump plans to sign an executive order Tuesday aimed at boosting the struggling U.S. coal industry, according to White House officials.Flanked by coal miners wearing hard hats at the White House, Trump will direct federal agencies to loosen various restrictions on coal mining, leasing and exports. He will instruct the Interior Department to resume coal leasing on millions of acres of public lands, and he will order the Energy Department and other agencies to study whether...

Lawmakers in the West Virginia Senate passed a bill Tuesday that would impose civil and criminal penalties upon individuals who violate the state’s law prohibiting abortion pill distribution. Senate Bill 85 adds the penalties to the current law by making it a felony to mail or distribute abortion pills, including from outside jurisdictions. Nearly all preborn children are protected from abortion in the state. The bill passed the Senate with a vote of 28 to 5, with one member absent. “This important legislation is designed to protect life in West Virginia and stop the practice of abortifacients being sent and...

CV NEWS FEED // Congressman Riley Moore, R-W.Va., has introduced the Respect Parents’ Childcare Choices Act to the House of Representatives, which would increase funding to help low-income and working class parents cover the cost of childcare. The legislation would provide vouchers for childcare, not only for third-party childcare options but also for relatives and stay-at-home mothers or fathers, according to a March 24 article from the Daily Wire. “For decades, conservatives have rallied around being pro-life, but far too often, the policy framework that came with it lacked strong, substantive ideas to reduce the burden on American families,” Moore...

West Virginia and Wyoming took major steps toward securing their elections by passing prohibitions on the use of ranked-choice voting (RCV). On Tuesday, West Virginia Gov. Patrick Morrisey signed into law SB 490, which stipulates that “[n]o state, county, or local elections office may use ranked choice voting or instant runoff voting to conduct an election or nomination of any candidate in this state for any local government, statewide, or federal elective office.” Any “existing or future ordinance” adopted by a local government promoting the use of such a system would be declared void under the measure.Often referred to as...

West Virginia has become the latest state to prohibit trans-identified males from using sex-segregated spaces designated for women by enacting a measure seen as “common sense” by supporters while denounced by opponents as “an attempt to force trans people back into the closet.” On Wednesday, West Virginia’s Republican Gov. Patrick Morrisey signed the Riley Gaines Act into law. The measure is named after Riley Gaines, a prominent former female swimmer who spoke out against having to compete against and share a locker room with a trans-identified male swimmer. Gaines, who was present when Morrisey signed the legislation that bears her...

West Virginia House members have introduced a bill to remove rape and incest exceptions in the state’s pro-life law. State law currently protects most preborn children from abortion, but House Bill 2712 would extend those protections. Under the bill, an induced abortion — the direct and intentional killing of a preborn child — would not be allowed unless a licensed medical professional determines the “embryo or fetus is nonviable,” “the pregnancy is ectopic,” or a “medical emergency exists.” West Virginia law defines abortion as “the use of any instrument, medicine, drug, or any other substance or device with intent to...

A new bill introduced in the West Virginia House of Delegates could bring back corporal punishment in public schools, reversing a long-standing prohibition. House Bill 2545 aims to permit school principals to administer moderate corporal punishment under specific policies set by the State Board of Education and county boards. If passed, the bill would amend the Code of West Virginia to include the following provisions: Authorization for Principals: School principals would be allowed to administer corporal punishment, provided they follow policies established by state and local education boards. Parental Involvement and Alternatives: The bill encourages county boards to consider alternative...

On CNN This Morning, Jonathan Kott, a DC lobbyist and former aide to senators Chris Coons (D-Del.) and Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.), predicted that Trump supporters will give him six to eight months, but then "turn quickly" on him when the improvements in their lives he promised don't materialize. That's soothing speculation for CNN's base, but Kott's powers of prognostication have a questionable track record. Less than two months before the 2024 election, here's what Kott, in a Fox News appearance, predicted: "I think voters are still getting to know Kamala Harris. And she's introducing herself. And the more she does,...

Liberty Daily posted a Climate Depot article about a congressional report in 2018 detailing “Russian attempts to influence” and fund environmental groups to oppose fracking in Europe and the U.S. The reason is obvious since Russia relies on oil and gas exports for its very survival. There is more to this story. George Soros gives to the same groups surreptitiously. We reported this in 2018 after The Daily Signal summarized the involvement of Russia and George Soros, who now has operatives employed in the White House. Russia funneled money to a corporation that funds radical environmental groups that are vehemently...

Outgoing Sen. Joe Manchin (I-WV) wrote a scathing tweet about President Joe Biden after he granted clemency to 37 prisoners on federal death row who received life sentences without the potential for parole. He called it “horribly misguided and insulting,” especially regarding the two men convicted of murdering a student at Marshall University. The Democrat-turned-Independent said he felt a moral obligation to speak out against the outgoing president on behalf of the parents of Samantha Burns, a 19-year-old girl who was killed in November 2002. However, her remains were never found. Manchin said her family wrote letters to Biden pleading...

Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has pledged to tackle high rates of chronic diseases such as diabetes and obesity as President-elect Donald Trump’s pick to lead the US Department of Health and Human Services. They’re goals that many in the public health world find themselves agreeing with — despite fearing what else the infamous anti-vaccine activist may do in the post. Just don’t suggest that he tackle those goals with medications like Ozempic.

Gov. Jim Justice told press during his Tuesday, Nov. 26, 2024 briefing that he's been taking the weight-loss drug Ozempic, and supports expansion of access. (Screenshot from Gov. Jim Justice’s briefing) West Virginia Gov. and Senator-elect Jim Justice said Tuesday he supports a plan by President Joe Biden’s administration to expand access to costly weight-loss drugs like Ozempic and Wegovy, but acknowledged that their prices might be a concern.

A few years ago, West Virginia, which has the highest obesity rate in the nation, quietly began a small and unusual pilot program that would touch hundreds of lives: It started covering obesity drugs for state employees—even as many other insurers balked at what they considered expensive “vanity” drugs. The program was, by health measures, a success. Patients shed as much as 120 pounds, their cholesterol dropped, their prediabetes faded, and they cut down on blood-pressure meds. As word began to spread, more patients wanted to join. A school nurse told me her weight loss inspired at least six other...

Chuck Schumer is trying to ram through Dem activist Lauren McFerran for another term chairing the National Labor Relations Board—a very big deal. If successful, we will have a Dem Chair of the NLRB for the first 2 YEARS of Trump's Presidency. We need every GOP Senator to show up and block her ... enSchumer just FILED CLOTURE on the nominations of Lauren McFerran and Joshua Ditelberg to be members of the National Labor Relations Board ... Senate Republicans must show up and vote NO. We’re watching you ... Chuck Schumer is doing everything he can to sabotage Trump's presidency...

Senator Joe Manchin just walked onto the Senate floor as the deciding vote to DENY Democrats' left-wing selection for the National Labor Relations Board, Lauren McFerran. This now means Republicans could gain a majority on the NLRB when Trump takes office. ... The GOP can now confirm two nominees to the board. If this happens, Republicans will have a one-seat majority ... This was made possible by JD Vance RUSHING to D.C. all the way from Mar-a-Lago today to vote against Lauren McFerran .. He got on a plane to Washington specifically to be in the Senate for this vote."...

WEST VIRGINIA — Former West Virginia Delegate Derrick Evans has formally announced his intention to run for West Virginia Senator Shelley Moore Capito’s seat in the U.S. Senate in the 2026 election. In his candidacy announcement, he called Capito a RINO (Republican In Name Only), stating that she stayed silent during a “secret vote” for Senate Majority Leader John Thune. Evans said that Thune is a career politician and that he is poised to delay or obstruct President Trump’s future cabinet appointments. Evans has thrown his vote behind Matt Gaetz for Attorney General, stating, “he’s one of us.” Evans was...

In a historic precedent, West Virginian voters passed Amendment 1. Amendment 1 bars doctors, health care providers or and others from participating in assisted suicide, euthanasia or mercy killing. Mary H. Tillman, JD, Legislative Coordinator for the West Virgina Alliance for Ethical Health Care, said, “The WV Alliance for Ethical Health Care, West Virginians for Life, and organizations that advocate for the rights of persons living with disabilities celebrate the successful passage of Amendment 1.” “Following the strong example of our legislators who voted by overwhelming majorities, the voters of West Virginia have now also shown their belief that all...

While abortion dominated the ballot measure landscape, pro-life Americans won another victory in West Virginia. West Virginians narrowly approved a constitutional amendment to explicitly prohibit killing patients and elderly people in assisted suicide. Voters approved the measure on a narrow 50.5-49.5 margin, but enough for a pro-life victory. The explanation provided on ballots was that “The purpose of this amendment is to protect West Virginians against medically-assisted suicide.” The amendment would add a section to the state Constitution to say, “No person, physician, or health care provider in the State of West Virginia shall participate in the practice of medically...

This election season, voters in West Virginia will consider a constitutional amendment to ban physician-assisted suicide. Joint Resolution 28, which passed 88 to 10 with similar margins in the state senate, will ask voters on November 5th whether to amend the state constitution to make physician-assisted suicide illegal. According to the text of the proposed Amendment 1, “No physician or health care provider in the State of West Virginia shall participate in the practice of medically-assisted suicide, euthanasia, or mercy killing.” The amendment goes on to protect palliative care and other normal end-of-life care, while being explicit about assisted suicide....

“I feel more concerned today than I did two years ago about resource adequacy,” he said Monday. “Load is growing much faster than we had projected then, which even back then was an eye-popping set of numbers.” PJM’s recent capacity auction, in which PJM secures commitments from generators to provide electricity in the future, produced higher than usual prices. Those prices have thus far served their purpose of incentivizing some generators to delay retirement and others to consider investments in new generation. “I haven’t seen any forecast of load that allows me to rest and say we’re good,” he said...