Bills

Climate experts and advocates warn House and Senate bills will protect polluters at the cost of the climate Republican lawmakers are attempting to shield big oil from having to pay for its contributions to the climate crisis, alarming environmental advocates.New House and Senate bills, led by Harriet Hageman, a Wyoming representative, and Ted Cruz, a Texas senator, respectively, would give oil and gas companies broad legal immunity from policies and lawsuits aimed at holding the industry accountable for damages caused by its emissions. Continue reading...

Prime minister explicitly blames US president for British consumers’ higher bills as he concludes tour of Gulf statesGood morning. Keir Starmer is wrapping up his three-day tour of Gulf states today, and we are starting some conclusions. What we have not got is any sort of plan for a resolution of the Iran war; Starmer is not one of the main protagonists in this conflict, what he has said publicly about his talks with Gulf leaders has consisted largely of platitudes, we still have no idea about when, if or how the strait of Hormuz will fully open, and the outcome will be determined by Iran and a rash and unpredictable US president.But Starmer has been giving some thought to how the UK should respond to the era of global uncertainty we now find ourselves in and he has set out some of his thinking in an article for the Guardian. The full piece is here. Continue reading...

Companies using heating oil have already begun rationing their fuel use, says Federation of Small BusinessesMiddle East crisis – live updatesThousands of independent businesses across the UK are braced for their energy bills to more than double owing to the sharp rise in heating oil costs as the war in Iran pushed Europe’s fuel market prices to fresh record highs.About 7% of all small and medium-sized companies warm their properties and provide hot water using heating oil, which in some cases has more than doubled in recent weeks. Continue reading...

• West Virginia lawmakers completed 306 bills (153 House, 153 Senate) out of 2,777 introduced in the 2026 session, with Senate Bill 1 launching the First Small Business Growth Act via Commerce Department incentives. • Senate Bill 104 grants $5,000 salary increases to all state mine inspectors effective July 1, 2026, covering electrical, underground, and surface specialists. • Additional measures include Senate Bill 44 regulating cottage foods and Senate Bill 137 raising second-degree murder sentences to 15-60 years with 15-year parole minimum.

Chancellor says the government is looking at ways they can support people based on household income Good morning. Keir Starmer is giving a press conference this morning where, according to No 10, he will discuss the Iran war, and how the government is supporting people at home. Now we are in April, the new financial year is starting, and the government is highlighting measures it has introduced that will help people with the cost of living. The Conservatives have an alternative list, and they are claiming this morning that “Keir Starmer and his chancellor have piled on extra costs leaving families almost £1,000 worse off this year”.The chancellor, Rachel Reeves, has been doing her own media too. She is on the Jeremy Vine show later, but she has already given an interview to BBC Breakfast in which she gave a marginally clearer idea of what she is planning to do to help people with energy bills than she did when she made a statement to MPs last week.From July to September, gas usage, especially by families and pensioners, is the lowest of any months of the year because it is the summer months …It will be really from the autumn onwards that people’s gas usage starts increasing. So at the moment we are working on a range of contingencies. And we are looking at more targeted measures. We are looking at ways we can support people based on their household income.I want to learn the lessons of the past because when Russia invaded Ukraine, the richest, the best-off third of households got more than a third of the support. That makes no sense at all. Continue reading...

Consumers brace for ‘awful April’ and Iran war cost hikes, which have pushed UK’s gas market past three-year highs Households in Great Britain could see their energy bills increase by about £290 a year to almost £2,000 from this summer in a “tough pill to swallow” for consumers already braced for a volley of “awful April” cost hikes from Wednesday.A typical gas and electricity bill is now forecast to reach £1,929 a year from July under the industry regulator Ofgem’s quarterly price cap, according to analysis by the energy consultancy Cornwall Insight. Continue reading...

• On March 26, 2026, President Trump signed H.R. 3377 authorizing Medal of Honor for Marine James Capers, Jr. for Vietnam War valor. • H.R. 7194, the Nicholas Dockery Medal of Honor Act, authorizes award for Army soldier Nicholas Dockery's Afghanistan service heroism. • H.R. 7211 authorizes Medal of Honor for John W. Ripley for Vietnam War acts, marking rare posthumous or delayed recognitions.