In The News

In what some are calling its most drastic cut in emissions to date, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced new rules for automakers to meet to reduce the emissions of new vehicles through 2032. The goal, as even President Joe Biden himself has said, is to get more people into electric vehicles and further decarbonize the transportation sector. As is usual when the EPA sets new, tighter standards, there already is a chorus of critics slamming various aspects of the... Read More

The interagency effort to stop drug distributors from sending opioids through the mail has too many loopholes and requires additional enforcement tools, according to a bipartisan pair of senators pushing new legislation.  The Synthetics Trafficking & Overdose Prevention (STOP) 2.0 Act would build on a measure President Trump signed into law in 2018 to require foreign countries to provide "advanced electronic data" on all international packages before they reached the... Read More

A federal judge has blocked a rule that took effect last month that expanded the definition of waters and wetlands drawing federal protection, responding to a West Virginia-led court challenge. Wednesday’s ruling blocks the Biden administration rule in West Virginia and 23 other Republican-led states that challenged the rule with support from farmer, home builder and mining trade groups. The ruling in the U.S. District Court for the District of North Dakota builds on a separate court... Read More

MORGANTOWN — In March, the state Legislature passed a bill (HB 2008) to prohibit sanctuary cities from springing up across the state. Now, Sen. Shelley Moore Capito has joined with other Senate Republicans to reintroduce a similar bill at the federal level. It’s called the Stop Dangerous Sanctuary Cities Act. It would allow local law enforcement to cooperate with federal immigration authorities and would pull taxpayer-funded grants to sanctuary cities. Capito said, “Our country... Read More

President Joe Biden’s climate agenda is finally showing some teeth. After more than a year of offering incentives for industries to invest in clean energy, the Biden administration on Wednesday announced what it called the most ambitious auto pollution rules in history, with the aim of accelerating automakers’ shift to electric vehicles. The standards could result in battery-powered cars and trucks making up two-thirds of new light-vehicle sales by 2032, the Environmental Protection... Read More

CHARLESTON — A coalition of natural gas and clean energy companies have taken the next steps in their plan to secure federal backing for a hydrogen hub project. Members of the West Virginia Hydrogen Hub Coalition including U.S. Sens. Joe Manchin, Shelley Moore Capito and Gov. Jim Justice announced Tuesday that the Appalachian Regional Clean Hydrogen Hub submitted an application to the U.S. Department of Energy’s Office of Clean Energy Demonstrations for the regional clean hydrogen... Read More

The Biden administration wants to jolt the electric vehicle market by putting the squeeze on automakers in the form of much tougher standards for greenhouse gas emissions. The standards proposed Wednesday by the EPA for light, medium and heavy-duty vehicles are by far the strictest ever proposed by the agency, which said they're attainable because of advances in automotive technology. It estimated that through 2055 the standards would avoid nearly 10 billion tons of carbon dioxide... Read More

A federal judge has blocked a rule that took effect last month that expanded the definition of waters and wetlands drawing federal protection, responding to a West Virginia-led court challenge. Wednesday’s ruling blocks the Biden administration rule in West Virginia and 23 other Republican-led states that challenged the rule with support from farmer, home builder and mining trade groups. The ruling in the U.S. District Court for the District of North Dakota builds on a separate court... Read More

U.S. Sens. Tim Scott (R-SC), Shelley Moore Capito (R-WV), Thom Tillis (R-NC), Mike Rounds (R-SD), and John Hoeven (R-ND) joined 15 of their GOP colleagues to introduce legislation that would end taxpayer-funded grants to sanctuary cities while also permitting local law enforcement and federal immigration authorities to cooperate on managing illegal, criminal aliens.  “Sanctuary cities have emboldened criminals and endangered American citizens and it is wrong that our taxpayers are... Read More

WASHINGTON, April 12 (Reuters) - The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) on Wednesday proposed sweeping emissions cuts for new cars and trucks through 2032, a move it says could mean two out of every three new vehicles automakers sell will be electric within a decade. The proposal, if finalized, represents the most aggressive U.S. vehicle emissions reduction plan to date, requiring 13% annual average pollution cuts and a 56% reduction in projected fleet average emissions over 2026... Read More

Several top Republican lawmakers and energy industry groups blasted the Biden administration Wednesday after it announced aggressive regulations cracking down on gas-powered car emissions. Critics of the sweeping emissions standards, unveiled Wednesday morning by the White House and Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), argued the announcement revealed President Biden is seeking to effectively ban traditional gas cars in favor of electric vehicles (EV). The White House said... Read More

Republican elected officials and the Missouri Farm Bureau are venting frustration with President Joe Biden's recent action on the Waters of the United States rule. Biden on April 6 vetoed a congressional resolution that would have overturned the WOTUS rule his administration issued last December. Biden had promised to veto the resolution before it arrived at his desk by a vote of 53-43 in the Senate and 227-198 in the House. Congressman Sam Graves, a Missouri Republican and chairman of the House... Read More

BUCKHANNON – For the first time in its history, the Upshur County Regional Airport has hired a full-time general manager who’s eager to help the entity spread its wings. In 2022, the Buckhannon-Upshur Airport Authority, which manages the airport, opted to hire general manager Jenny Powers, who’s working on marketing and promoting the airport. And although her position is new, Powers is no stranger to the Upshur Regional Airport. She began working as the airport’s... Read More

CHARLESTON, WV (WOWK)–Senator Shelley Moore Capito announced on Tuesday that the United States Department of Health and Human Services will fund $13,543,856 for four medical providers across the Mountain state. According to Shelley Moore Capito’s Office, Sen. Capito is the ranking member of the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies. The individual medical providers and the funding awarded are listed below: Valley... Read More

GHENT, WV (WVNS)– United States Senators Shelley Moore Capito (R) and Joe Manchin (D) announced more than $13.8 million for four separate health providers in West Virginia. According to the Senators, $13,888,775 in federal funding the US Department of Human Health and Human Services for medical care providers in West Virginia before the awards. The funding will go to: $7,678,870 – Valley Health Systems, Inc. $2,755,380 – Minnie Hamilton Health Care Center $1,582,239 –... Read More

WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Tim Scott (R-S.C.) has joined Senators Ted Cruz (R-Texas), John Cornyn (R-Texas), Shelley Moore Capito (R-W.Va.), Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa), Thom Tillis (R-N.C.), Mike Rounds (R-S.D.), John Hoeven (R-N.D.), Tommy Tuberville (R-Ala.), John Boozman (R-Ark.), Cindy Hyde-Smith (R-Miss.), and other Senate Republican colleagues in reintroducing the Stop Dangerous Sanctuary Cities Act. Often, sanctuary cities prohibit their law enforcement... Read More

POINT PLEASANT, W.Va. — The new Waterfront Farmers Market will open Saturday under temporary structures as construction for the new state-of-the-art permanent market will begin by summer of this year. The market season will run April to October, open on Wednesday and Saturday each week from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. “Produce isn’t quite ready yet,” said Main Street Point Pleasant Executive Director Chris Rizer, “but we hope to have several vendors selling things like... Read More

CHARLESTON — A $2.7 million sewer separation project in Rowlesburg moved towards funding after the West Virginia Infrastructure & Jobs Development Council acted on April 7. Rowlesburg has been plagued with sewer problems for a number of years. “The project will separate storm water and sewage,” Preston County Economic Development Agency Executive Director Robbie Baylor said. “It will also address issues in the park, especially where sewage goes into the... Read More

MORGANTOWN, W.Va. (WBOY) — One West Virginia University project that looks to improve treatment options for cancer has received some major funding. The National Science Foundation is giving $549,994 to support WVU’s critical research into using innovative artificial intelligence technology to determine optimal treatment options for cancer patients. “Once again, WVU is leading the way in research to hopefully create better treatments for patients battling... Read More

CHARLESTON, WV (LOOTPRESS) — U.S. Senator Shelley Moore Capito (R-W.Va.), a member of the Senate Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee and the Senate Appropriations Committee, today announced a $133,865 grant from the National Science Foundation (NSF) to West Virginia University (WVU) to study safer and more efficient ways of dealing with wastewater in small and rural communities. “I’m so proud of the good work produced by WVU, and today’s funding will only... Read More