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West Virginia treasurer warns new banks of ESG-based blacklisting

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West Virginia treasurer warns new banks of ESG-based blacklisting


West Virginia State Treasurer Riley Moore warned six more financial institutions that they may be placed on the state’s “Restricted Financial Institution List” if they are found to be “boycotting” the fossil fuels industry.

The blacklist is authorized in a 2022 state law authorizing the State Treasury to restrict financial institutions that “have publicly stated they will refuse, terminate or limit doing business with coal, oil or natural gas companies” without a reasonable business purpose.

The treasurer can disqualify a restricted financial institution from the competitive bidding process or from any other official selection process; refuse to enter into a banking contract with a restricted financial institution based on its restricted status; and require an agreement by the financial institution not to engage in boycott of energy companies for the duration of the contract.

“We must remain vigilant to ensure we do not entrust state funds to banks that are engaged in coordinated political efforts to destroy our state’s critical industries,” says West Virginia State Treasurer Riley Moore.

West Virginia State Treasury

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The Treasurer’s Office has made an initial determination that the six institutions appear to be engaged in boycotts of fossil fuel companies as defined under state law. The determination was based on a review of each institution’s environmental, social and governance policies and other available statements, Moore said in a statement.

The financial institutions, which were not named by Moore, received notices of potential inclusion on the list last Friday.

However, the Washington Times reported that according to notices it obtained through a public records request, the institutions include Citibank, TD Bank, BMO Bank, Fifth Third Bank, Northern Trust and HSBC Holdings.

The institutions now have 30 days to submit a response. Unless the firms show to the treasurer’s office they are not engaged in a boycott of fossil fuel companies they will officially be placed on the list in 45 days.

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One of the firms listed by the Times, HSBC, told the Washington Times it rejected the assertion it is a fossil-fuel “boycotter.”

The restrictions don’t apply to municipal bond issuances by the state because the Treasurer’s Office does not handle bond issuances. They mainly apply to the banking and cash handling functions of the office, which see about $20 billion in inflows and outflows a year. It also does not apply to state pension funds.

Under the 2022 law, the treasurer may exclude banks on the list from eligibility for contracts for state banking services.

It follows a many GOP-run states have copied in a coordinated effort to put state limits on private corporations’ freedom to make investment decisions.

The first West Virginia list was published in July 2022 when Moore determined five financial institutions were engaged in boycotts as defined by state law. The five firms were BlackRock Inc., Goldman Sachs Group Inc., J.P. Morgan Chase & Co., Morgan Stanley and Wells Fargo & Co. No updates have been made since then.

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Moore says the blacklist protects the traditional extraction industries of West Virginia.

The natural resources industry represents about 3% of West Virginia jobs, according to the West Virginia University’s most recent , in a state where overall employment lags 2005 numbers, and the population between 2010 and 2020.

“While the environmental, social and governance or ESG movement might be politically popular in California or in New York, financial institutions need to understand their practices are hurting people across West Virginia,” Moore said at the time.

Last week, Moore praised JPMorgan Asset Management and State Street Global Advisors for their choice to withdraw from Climate Action 100+, an investor-led initiative that aims to make large corporate greenhouse gas emitters take action on climate change.

“This is a step in the right direction and significant victory in our states’ fight against the international corporate collusion targeting the coal, oil and natural gas industries,” Moore said.

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In January, Moore applauded the New York Stock Exchange’s decision to curtail the decision making freedom of private sector investors by withdrawing its proposal filed to Securities and Exchange Commission that would have allowed the public listing of Natural Asset Companies, climate-focused corporations designed to convert natural assets into financial capital by taking over land owned by private entities and individuals and the federal, state and local government.

Under the NYSE proposal, NACs would have had “the authority to manage the areas for conservation, restoration or sustainable management” and are prohibited from engaging in fossil fuel-related developments.”

In December, Moore blasted President Joe Biden’s ESG policies after his special climate envoy John Kerry pledged at the 28th United Nations Climate Change Conference that the U.S. would begin a phase-out of all existing coal-based power plants and urged that coal use be eliminated worldwide. Moore urged Congress to use its authority to block the agreements made at the summit.

“West Virginia and our coalition of states have been fighting for years against these efforts to boycott and curtail capital to our critical energy industries and diminish important economic activity and revenue for our states. This is a sign our efforts are making an impact,” Moore said Monday.

Last month, South Carolina Gov. Henry McMaster signed the ESG Pension Protection Act — which requires the state pension fund’s decisions be based on maximizing returns — in a ceremony at the governor’s office.

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The bill, H.3690, went into effect on Feb. 9.

It directs that all investment decisions made by the South Carolina Retirement System Investment Commission be based solely on maximizing the highest rate of return and not on ESG factors.

Anti-ESG bills have made a comeback in Arizona and Oklahoma while Texas continued to cull underwriters from its municipal bond syndicate groups.

Other Republican-run states have followed Texas’ lead and enacted laws that have led to underwriter bans. Last year, the Oklahoma Treasurer’s Office produced a list of fossil fuel boycotters.

In Missouri, a trial over the state’s first-of-their-kind ESG investment rules will go ahead after a federal judge rejected the state’s motion to dismiss.

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Leaders in GOP states have also battled what they like to call “woke culture” in other areas as well. Wokeness, according to court testimony by an official in anti-ESG leader Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis’ administration, is defined as “the belief there are systemic injustices in American society and the need to address them,” and has become a GOP shorthand attack on liberals and liberal policies.

Last year, DeSantis signed a bill that restructured and renamed the Reedy Creek Improvement District the Central Florida Tourism Oversight District, which ended the governance of the special district by Walt Disney Co.

The Florida Legislature approved a bill in 2022 to dissolve all independent special districts created before 1968. The bill’s authors and DeSantis made it clear it was intended to punish Disney, which had voiced strong political opposition on behalf of its employees to the state’s Parental Rights in Education Act, which critics called the “Don’t Say Gay” bill. The law bans public school instruction about sexual orientation or gender identity for children through the third grade.

Last week, DeSantis unveiled a report about the former Reedy Creek district, commissioned in the newly restructured district.

“The district’s recent audit report justified our shared concerns: Disney was acting as a law unto itself,” DeSantis said. “Since our reforms, the new district has taken bold action to increase transparency, community engagement, and fiscal responsibility, and has saved taxpayers $18.4 million.”

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The CFTOD has implemented safety inspections by the Florida Department of Transportation, he said, for the Disney monorail system, saying it had lacked FDOT oversight before.



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WVU loses Hansberry, beats Mercyhurst in non-conference finale

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WVU loses Hansberry, beats Mercyhurst in non-conference finale


Still without Tucker DeVries, Sunday’s game against Mercyhurst would be West Virginia’s final opportunity to figure things out ahead of their holiday break, followed by the gauntlet that is the Big 12.

While the Mountaineers would ease past the Lakers, they couldn’t do it without suffering another injury. Starting center Amani Hansberry was injured in the opening minute and did not return as West Virginia beat Mercyhurst 67-46 at the WVU Coliseum to close non-conference play.

The Mountaineers persevered the early departure of Hansberry by getting inside on the Lakers. After a Jonathan Powell 3-pointer, eight of WVU’s next 13 points came at the rim as they took a 16-7 lead in the opening eight minutes of action.

While the Lakers would be able to keep the West Virginia lead in single digits, a late 11-3 run helped West Virginia into halftime with a 35-22 lead.

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While West Virginia shot 50 percent from the field in the first half, the second half would have a much different feel to it.

West Virginia made only one basket, and that came on a score from Eduardo Andre just a minute into the second half. After that, though, West Virginia’s offense went silent, and it allowed the Lakers to get back into the game.

Mercyhurst went on an 8-0 run from the 17:23 mark until the 14:46 mark of the second half, as West Virginia’s lead was cut to 38-30. The Mountaineers would respond appropriately, though, going on a 16-0 run themselves, pushing the lead to 24 with 8:13 to play.

During the run, it was a plethora of players who got involved for the Mountaineers. Five different players scored during the run, including Javon Small, who scored on a fastbreak dunk after a steal from Joe Yesufu. The dunk would be Small’s 1,000th career point.

Mercyhurst countered with a 5-0 run, but that didn’t faze the Mountaineers in the slightest. West Virginia scored the next nine points as they continued to lock down on defense.

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Mercyhurst would score only 11 points in the final 14:45 of the game, shooting 22 percent from the field in the second half and 28 percent from the field on the afternoon. West Virginia held Mercyhurst to shoot only 5-for-17 from beyond the arc.

The Mountaineers shot 48 percent from the field despite struggling mightly from three as they shot 5-for-19 from beyond the arc. Small led West Virginia with 19 points on the afternoon.

West Virginia now will be off until Dec. 31, when they open Big 12 play on the road against No. 8 Kansas.



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Virginia woman falls victim to bitcoin scam, loses more than $30,000 – WTOP News

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Virginia woman falls victim to bitcoin scam, loses more than ,000 – WTOP News


A Richmond, Virginia, woman lost more than $30,000 after police say she fell victim to a scam.

Click here for updates on this story

RICHMOND, Virginia (WTVR) — A Richmond, Virginia, woman lost more than $30,000 after police say she fell victim to a scam.

CBS 6 Crime Insider Jon Burkett spoke to Frank Oley, her financial adviser and Greg Wade, a Richmond detective about how this happened.

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The woman got an email which appeared to be from PayPal.

“It was about the purchase of some type of malware and if you didn’t want it to call a certain number,” Wade said.

She then called the number and got swindled.

“After the transaction was done, he said, ‘You added too many zeroes,’ and, ‘Oh, my God, I’m going to lose my job, it’s Christmas time and I have kids,’ laid it on thick to her. This client being such a nice, honest and decent person felt sorry for this guy,” Wade explained.

The woman felt so bad she withdrew a total of $34,300 from two banks in an effort to pay for what she thought was her mistake.

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The scammer instructed her to load the cash into a bitcoin machine along Azalea Avenue. It took her two hours and 873 separate transactions to do.

Detective Wade got a search warrant and told the store to shut the machine down. A representative came to open it, and the woman’s money was still there.

Her money is being held as evidence for now, but she will get it all back.

“The good news is with George, the Richmond City Police Department, we got the money back,” Oley said.

Wade says the scammer was traced to a location outside the United States.

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East Carolina CB Isaiah Brown-Murray Commits To Virginia Tech

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East Carolina CB Isaiah Brown-Murray Commits To Virginia Tech


East Carolina cornerback Isaiah Brown-Murray (26) committed to Virginia Tech on Saturday night. (East Carolina athletics)

Isaiah Brown-Murray 
Cornerback 
East Carolina 
5-10, 191 
2 years remaining (r-Jr.) 

Virginia Tech received a commitment from East Carolina cornerback Isaiah Brown-Murray on Saturday night.

The Charlotte, N.C, native tallied 63 tackles and 1.5 tackles for loss in three seasons with the Pirates. He deflected 11 passes over that span, intercepting one, while forcing a fumble and recovering one.

He led ECU’s defense with 830 snaps this season, per PFF. He graded out well, too: 74.0 overall, 74.1 in run defense, 80.4 in tackling and 73.2 in coverage. Those marks ranked 13th, 12th, sixth and 13th at his position in the AAC, respectively.

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For comparison, here’s where his grades stack up against Hokies cornerbacks Dorian Strong and Mansoor Delane:

In some ways, he’s a mix of Strong (coverage) and Delane (run defense, tackling). More than anything, though, he’s played 1,246 snaps in his career and is immediately the most experienced player in Tech’s cornerback room. With Strong and Delane gone, Dante Lovett has the most returning career snaps with 244.

Brown-Murray slid into ECU’s No. 1 cornerback role in Week 4 at Liberty after Shavon Revel, a projected first-round NFL Draft pick, tore his ACL in the third game of the season. The redshirt sophomore notched his first career interception against the Flames and returned it 34 yards, and he also forced his first career fumble that game. In the next outing vs. UTSA, he recovered a fumble for the first time.

A product of Hough High School in Cornelius, N.C., Brown-Murray was a three-star recruit in the 2022 class and a top-40 prospect in the state. He held Power Four offers from Arkansas, Louisville and Kansas while being heavily pursued from Group of Five schools like Appalachian State, Coastal Carolina, Liberty, Marshall and Old Dominion. He showed his versatility as a senior by scoring five all-purpose touchdowns: one interception return, two punt returns and two kickoff returns.

With the addition of Brown-Murray, the Hokies have eight scholarship cornerbacks for the 2025 season. He’ll slot in alongside Lovett and ahead of a young trio of Thomas Williams (r-So.), Krystian Williams (r-So.) and Joshua Clarke (r-Fr.). They’re all expected to see time in the Duke’s Mayo Bowl vs. Minnesota on Jan. 3. Tech also has three incoming freshmen at that position in Knahlij Harrell, Jordan Crim and Jahmari DeLoatch.

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He’s the fifth transfer portal addition of the offseason for the Hokies, joining Clemson safety Sherrod Covil Jr., Bowling Green running back Terion Stewart, Central Missouri running back Marcellous Hawkins and Hampton defensive tackle Jahzari Priester.

For more information on Virginia Tech’s comings and goings in the portal, click here for Tech Sideline’s roster management page.

Isaiah Brown-Murray links: 

247Sports 
East Carolina bio 
ESPN 



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