Nov 7 (Reuters) - Twitter Inc stock soared 92 percent in their first day of trading on Thursday on the New York Stock Exchange as investors snapped up shares in the microblogging site, pushing its market value to a heady $25 billion.
The shares opened at $45.10 a share, up from the initial public offering price of $26 set on Wednesday, then added to those gains, hitting a high of $50.
Sources said the flotation had drawn strong demand, with investors asking for 30 times the number of shares on offer as they bet on potential growth at the money-losing social media company.
The opening price valued the shares at about 22 times forecast 2014 sales, nearly double that multiple at social media rivals Facebook Inc and LinkedIn Corp.
Twitter executives including Chief Executive Dick Costolo and founder Jack Dorsey thronged to the floor of the New York Stock Exchange to witness the IPO. The Big Board snatched the offering away from Nasdaq after the normally tech-focused Nasdaq stumbled with the larger Facebook flotation last year.
"Facebook was so overhyped people felt like they couldn't miss out," said Kenneth Polcari, a senior floor official at O'Neil Securities Inc. "Twitter isn't like that, though you can feel the excitement."
British actor Patrick Stewart rang the opening bell at the exchange together with 9-year-old Vivienne Harr, who started a charity to end childhood slavery using the microblogging site.
"I guess I represent the poster boy for Twitter," Stewart said, adding that he had only been tweeting for about a year and wasn't buying Twitter stock today.
Twitter's building staff opened its offices in San Francisco extra early, at 5:30 a.m. on Thursday. By 7:30 a.m., hundreds of employees had flocked to their 9th floor cafeteria to watch Stewart ring the opening bell on TV.
The microblogging network priced its 70 million shares at above the targeted range of $23 to $25, which had been raised once before. The IPO values Twitter at $14.1 billion, with the potential to reach $14.4 billion if underwriters exercise an overallotment option.
If the full overallotment is exercised, as expected, Twitter could raise $2.1 billion, making it the second largest Internet offering in the United States behind Facebook Inc's $16 billion IPO last year and ahead of Google Inc's 2004 IPO, according to Thomson Reuters data.
Twitter boasts 230 million global users, including heads of state and celebrities, but it lost $65 million in its most recent quarter and questions remained about long-term prospects.
It also lacks the ubiquity of Facebook or the "stickiness" factor that keeps people checking the No. 1 social network on a daily basis.
A Reuters-Ipsos poll last month showed that 36 percent of people who signed up for a Twitter account say they do not use it.
Today, just over 100 years after the advent of trans fats, the FDA has announced that it's taking the first steps toward banning them outright, removing them from the "Generally Recognized As Safe" list and out of the American food supply. It's about time.
Checking some items off her to-do list, Jennifer Garner stepped out in Santa Monica on Thursday (November 7).
Accompanied by her adorable son Samuel Affleck, the "Elektra" actress rocked a casual ensemble as she ran a few errands.
Miss Garner recently wrapped up on the set of her upcoming film "Imagine."
Per the synopsis, "Imagine" is about "an old letter written to him by John Lennon and Yoko Ono inspires an aging musician to live life differently, and he sets out to reconnect with his biological son."
Starring alongside side Jennifer are A-list stars including Al Pacino, Josh Peck and Brian Smith. The film is slated to hit theaters in 2014.
Researchers advocate for climate adaptation science
PUBLIC RELEASE DATE:
7-Nov-2013
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Contact: Phil Mote pmote@coas.oregonstate.edu 541-737-5694 Oregon State University
CORVALLIS, Ore. An international team of researchers says in a new paper that climate science needs to advance to a new realm more practical applications for dealing with the myriad impacts of climate variability.
The scientific capability already exists as does much of the organizational structure, they say, to begin responding to emerging climate-related issues ranging from declining snowpack, to severe storms, to sea level rise. What is missing is better engagement between the scientific community and the stakeholders they are seeking to inform.
Their paper is being published on Friday in the Policy Forum section of the journal Science.
"Adaptation is required in virtually all sectors of the economy and regions of the globe," they wrote. "However, without the appropriate science delivered in a decision-relevant context, it will become increasingly difficult if not impossible to prepare adequately."
Philip Mote, an Oregon State University climate scientist and co-author on the paper, said climate adaptation science involves trans-disciplinary research to understand the challenges and opportunities of climate change and how best to respond to them.
"What we need is more visibility to gain more inclusiveness to bring into play the private sector, resource managers, universities and a host of decision-makers and other stakeholders," said Mote, who directs the Oregon Climate Change Research Institute at Oregon State. "The stakeholders need to know our scientific capabilities, and we need to better understand their priorities and decision-making processes."
Oregon State is among the national leaders in climate adaptation science. In addition to the Oregon Climate Change Research Institute, the university has two regional climate centers one established by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration to work with municipalities, utilities, emergency management organizations and state and federal agencies; the other by the Department of the Interior to work primarily with federal and state agencies, and non-governmental organizations.
Mote, who is involved with all three centers, said work with stakeholders is gaining traction, but the gap that exists between scientists and decision-makers is still too large.
"The centers here and elsewhere around the country are driven by stakeholder demands, but that needs to reach deeper into the research enterprise," Mote said. "We're working with some water districts, forest managers and community leaders on a variety of issues, but that's just the tip of the iceberg."
Richard Moss, a senior scientist with the U.S. Department of Energy's Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, said the Science article grew out of a NASA-funded workshop held in 2012 at the Aspen Global Change Institute in Colorado, which focused on how to improve support for decision-making in the face of a changing climate.
"Traditionally, we think that what society needs is better predictions," said Moss, who was lead author on the Science article. "But at this workshop, all of us climate and social scientists alike recognized the need to consider how decisions get implemented and that climate is only one of many factors that will determine how people will adapt."
OSU's Mote said examples abound of issues that need the marriage of stakeholders and climate scientists. Changing snowmelt runoff is creating concerns for late-season urban water supplies, irrigation for agriculture, and migration of fish. An increasing number of plant and animal species are becoming stressed by climate change, including the white bark pine and the sage grouse. Rising sea levels and more intense storms threaten the infrastructure of coastal communities, which need to examine water and sewer systems, as well as placement of hospitals, schools and nursing homes.
Mote, Moss and their colleagues outline a comprehensive approach to research in the social, physical, environmental, engineering and other sciences. Among their recommendations for improvement:
Understand decision processes and knowledge requirements;
Identify vulnerabilities to climate change;
Improve foresight about exposure to climate hazards and other stressors;
Broaden the range of adaptation options and promote learning;
Provide examples of adaptation science in application;
Develop measures to establish adaptation science.
One such measure could be the development of a national institution of climate preparedness in the United States comprised of centers for adaptation science aimed at priority sectors.
"More broadly," the authors wrote in Science, "support for sustained, use-inspired, fundamental research on adaptation needs to be increased at research agencies. A particular challenge is to develop effective approaches to learn from adaptation practice as well as published research. Universities could provide support for sustained, trans-disciplinary interactions. Progress will require making a virtue of demonstrating tangible benefits for society by connecting research and applications."
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Researchers advocate for climate adaptation science
PUBLIC RELEASE DATE:
7-Nov-2013
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Contact: Phil Mote pmote@coas.oregonstate.edu 541-737-5694 Oregon State University
CORVALLIS, Ore. An international team of researchers says in a new paper that climate science needs to advance to a new realm more practical applications for dealing with the myriad impacts of climate variability.
The scientific capability already exists as does much of the organizational structure, they say, to begin responding to emerging climate-related issues ranging from declining snowpack, to severe storms, to sea level rise. What is missing is better engagement between the scientific community and the stakeholders they are seeking to inform.
Their paper is being published on Friday in the Policy Forum section of the journal Science.
"Adaptation is required in virtually all sectors of the economy and regions of the globe," they wrote. "However, without the appropriate science delivered in a decision-relevant context, it will become increasingly difficult if not impossible to prepare adequately."
Philip Mote, an Oregon State University climate scientist and co-author on the paper, said climate adaptation science involves trans-disciplinary research to understand the challenges and opportunities of climate change and how best to respond to them.
"What we need is more visibility to gain more inclusiveness to bring into play the private sector, resource managers, universities and a host of decision-makers and other stakeholders," said Mote, who directs the Oregon Climate Change Research Institute at Oregon State. "The stakeholders need to know our scientific capabilities, and we need to better understand their priorities and decision-making processes."
Oregon State is among the national leaders in climate adaptation science. In addition to the Oregon Climate Change Research Institute, the university has two regional climate centers one established by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration to work with municipalities, utilities, emergency management organizations and state and federal agencies; the other by the Department of the Interior to work primarily with federal and state agencies, and non-governmental organizations.
Mote, who is involved with all three centers, said work with stakeholders is gaining traction, but the gap that exists between scientists and decision-makers is still too large.
"The centers here and elsewhere around the country are driven by stakeholder demands, but that needs to reach deeper into the research enterprise," Mote said. "We're working with some water districts, forest managers and community leaders on a variety of issues, but that's just the tip of the iceberg."
Richard Moss, a senior scientist with the U.S. Department of Energy's Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, said the Science article grew out of a NASA-funded workshop held in 2012 at the Aspen Global Change Institute in Colorado, which focused on how to improve support for decision-making in the face of a changing climate.
"Traditionally, we think that what society needs is better predictions," said Moss, who was lead author on the Science article. "But at this workshop, all of us climate and social scientists alike recognized the need to consider how decisions get implemented and that climate is only one of many factors that will determine how people will adapt."
OSU's Mote said examples abound of issues that need the marriage of stakeholders and climate scientists. Changing snowmelt runoff is creating concerns for late-season urban water supplies, irrigation for agriculture, and migration of fish. An increasing number of plant and animal species are becoming stressed by climate change, including the white bark pine and the sage grouse. Rising sea levels and more intense storms threaten the infrastructure of coastal communities, which need to examine water and sewer systems, as well as placement of hospitals, schools and nursing homes.
Mote, Moss and their colleagues outline a comprehensive approach to research in the social, physical, environmental, engineering and other sciences. Among their recommendations for improvement:
Understand decision processes and knowledge requirements;
Identify vulnerabilities to climate change;
Improve foresight about exposure to climate hazards and other stressors;
Broaden the range of adaptation options and promote learning;
Provide examples of adaptation science in application;
Develop measures to establish adaptation science.
One such measure could be the development of a national institution of climate preparedness in the United States comprised of centers for adaptation science aimed at priority sectors.
"More broadly," the authors wrote in Science, "support for sustained, use-inspired, fundamental research on adaptation needs to be increased at research agencies. A particular challenge is to develop effective approaches to learn from adaptation practice as well as published research. Universities could provide support for sustained, trans-disciplinary interactions. Progress will require making a virtue of demonstrating tangible benefits for society by connecting research and applications."
###
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UT Southwestern researchers identify how body clock affects inflammation
PUBLIC RELEASE DATE:
7-Nov-2013
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Contact: Deborah Wormser deborah.wormser@utsouthwestern.edu 214-648-3404 UT Southwestern Medical Center
DALLAS Nov. 7, 2013 UT Southwestern Medical Center researchers report that disrupting the light-dark cycle of mice increased their susceptibility to inflammatory disease, indicating that the production of a key immune cell is controlled by the body's circadian clock.
The study published in the Nov. 8 edition of Science identifies a previously hidden pathway by which the body's circadian clock controls the numbers of key inflammatory cells called interleukin-17-producing CD4+ T helper cells (TH17). The work could lead to new ways to rev up the body's immune response to infection or dampen that response in the case of autoimmune diseases in which the body attacks its own tissues, said senior author Dr. Lora Hooper, Professor of Immunology and Microbiology and a Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI) Investigator.
Co-authors include Neuroscience Chair and HHMI Investigator Dr. Joseph Takahashi, whose discovery of the mouse and human clock genes led to a description of a conserved circadian clock mechanism in animals. The lead author is Xiaofei Yu, an Immunology student in the UT Southwestern Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences.
"Virtually all life forms on Earth undergo physiological and behavioral changes on a 24-hour daily, or circadian, cycle in accordance with the changes in natural light. Human beings are no exception. Many of our physiological processes, such as eating and sleeping, vary dramatically between day and night. Such processes are controlled by a group of proteins, collectively termed the 'circadian clock,' which function together in individual cells, capturing light cues from the visual and nervous systems and using these cues to regulate gene expression," explained Dr. Hooper, who holds appointments in the Center for the Genetics of Host Defense and the Cancer Immunobiology Center.
Although the circadian clock is known to regulate metabolism and sleep-wake cycles, little was known about whether the circadian clock also regulates the immune system, the body's defense against infectious viruses and bacteria, she said.
Using a mouse model, the researchers identified a gene called Nfil3, which guides the development of the TH17 cells that patrol mucosal surfaces like the intestinal lining and protect against bacterial and fungal infections.
"However, if their numbers are not controlled properly, TH17 cells can produce too much friendly fire and lead to inflammatory diseases such as inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), which afflicts about 600,000 Americans each year," Dr. Hooper said.
"We found that Nfil3 regulates TH17 development by controlling the cellular supply of a protein in T cells called Rorγt that directs the cells to develop into TH17 cells. In mice, the amount of Rorγt in T cells changes during the day-night cycle and is higher at noon than at midnight. This fluctuation causes more TH17 cells to develop at noon when the mice are sleeping," she said.
Mice are nocturnal, meaning their sleep-wake times are the opposite of those in humans.
"When we disrupted the normal day-night light cycles of mice, essentially giving them jet lag, we found that too many TH17 cells developed and accumulated in the intestines. As a result, these mice were more prone to develop an IBD-like disease, due to friendly fire from the overabundance of those inflammatory TH17 cells," she said, adding that it took more than a single day's disruption to change the TH17 concentrations.
Dr. Hooper stressed that it is too soon to tell if the same thing is happening in people, but the possibility is worth studying.
The researchers point out that modern life often involves chronic circadian disruptions, such as night-shift work or jet lag, that other research studies have linked to human inflammatory disease.
"Our findings suggest that the pathologic consequences of circadian disruption may be due in part to direct interactions between the circadian clock and the pathways that regulate proinflammatory immune cell development," the researchers conclude.
###
Others UT Southwestern researchers involved include Dr. Carla Green, Professor of Neuroscience, and Jeremy Stubblefield, a Neuroscience student in the UT Southwestern Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences. Funding was provided by the National Institutes of Health, the Burroughs Wellcome Foundation, and the Howard Hughes Medical Institute.
About UT Southwestern Medical Center
UT Southwestern, one of the premier academic medical centers in the nation, integrates pioneering biomedical research with exceptional clinical care and education. The institution's faculty includes many distinguished members, including five who have been awarded Nobel Prizes since 1985. Numbering more than 2,700, the faculty is responsible for groundbreaking medical advances and is committed to translating science-driven research quickly to new clinical treatments. UT Southwestern physicians provide medical care in 40 specialties to nearly 90,000 hospitalized patients and oversee more than 1.9 million outpatient visits a year.
This news release is available on our home page at utsouthwestern.edu/home/news/index.html
To automatically receive news releases from UT Southwestern via email, subscribe at utsouthwestern.edu/receivenews
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UT Southwestern researchers identify how body clock affects inflammation
PUBLIC RELEASE DATE:
7-Nov-2013
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Contact: Deborah Wormser deborah.wormser@utsouthwestern.edu 214-648-3404 UT Southwestern Medical Center
DALLAS Nov. 7, 2013 UT Southwestern Medical Center researchers report that disrupting the light-dark cycle of mice increased their susceptibility to inflammatory disease, indicating that the production of a key immune cell is controlled by the body's circadian clock.
The study published in the Nov. 8 edition of Science identifies a previously hidden pathway by which the body's circadian clock controls the numbers of key inflammatory cells called interleukin-17-producing CD4+ T helper cells (TH17). The work could lead to new ways to rev up the body's immune response to infection or dampen that response in the case of autoimmune diseases in which the body attacks its own tissues, said senior author Dr. Lora Hooper, Professor of Immunology and Microbiology and a Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI) Investigator.
Co-authors include Neuroscience Chair and HHMI Investigator Dr. Joseph Takahashi, whose discovery of the mouse and human clock genes led to a description of a conserved circadian clock mechanism in animals. The lead author is Xiaofei Yu, an Immunology student in the UT Southwestern Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences.
"Virtually all life forms on Earth undergo physiological and behavioral changes on a 24-hour daily, or circadian, cycle in accordance with the changes in natural light. Human beings are no exception. Many of our physiological processes, such as eating and sleeping, vary dramatically between day and night. Such processes are controlled by a group of proteins, collectively termed the 'circadian clock,' which function together in individual cells, capturing light cues from the visual and nervous systems and using these cues to regulate gene expression," explained Dr. Hooper, who holds appointments in the Center for the Genetics of Host Defense and the Cancer Immunobiology Center.
Although the circadian clock is known to regulate metabolism and sleep-wake cycles, little was known about whether the circadian clock also regulates the immune system, the body's defense against infectious viruses and bacteria, she said.
Using a mouse model, the researchers identified a gene called Nfil3, which guides the development of the TH17 cells that patrol mucosal surfaces like the intestinal lining and protect against bacterial and fungal infections.
"However, if their numbers are not controlled properly, TH17 cells can produce too much friendly fire and lead to inflammatory diseases such as inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), which afflicts about 600,000 Americans each year," Dr. Hooper said.
"We found that Nfil3 regulates TH17 development by controlling the cellular supply of a protein in T cells called Rorγt that directs the cells to develop into TH17 cells. In mice, the amount of Rorγt in T cells changes during the day-night cycle and is higher at noon than at midnight. This fluctuation causes more TH17 cells to develop at noon when the mice are sleeping," she said.
Mice are nocturnal, meaning their sleep-wake times are the opposite of those in humans.
"When we disrupted the normal day-night light cycles of mice, essentially giving them jet lag, we found that too many TH17 cells developed and accumulated in the intestines. As a result, these mice were more prone to develop an IBD-like disease, due to friendly fire from the overabundance of those inflammatory TH17 cells," she said, adding that it took more than a single day's disruption to change the TH17 concentrations.
Dr. Hooper stressed that it is too soon to tell if the same thing is happening in people, but the possibility is worth studying.
The researchers point out that modern life often involves chronic circadian disruptions, such as night-shift work or jet lag, that other research studies have linked to human inflammatory disease.
"Our findings suggest that the pathologic consequences of circadian disruption may be due in part to direct interactions between the circadian clock and the pathways that regulate proinflammatory immune cell development," the researchers conclude.
###
Others UT Southwestern researchers involved include Dr. Carla Green, Professor of Neuroscience, and Jeremy Stubblefield, a Neuroscience student in the UT Southwestern Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences. Funding was provided by the National Institutes of Health, the Burroughs Wellcome Foundation, and the Howard Hughes Medical Institute.
About UT Southwestern Medical Center
UT Southwestern, one of the premier academic medical centers in the nation, integrates pioneering biomedical research with exceptional clinical care and education. The institution's faculty includes many distinguished members, including five who have been awarded Nobel Prizes since 1985. Numbering more than 2,700, the faculty is responsible for groundbreaking medical advances and is committed to translating science-driven research quickly to new clinical treatments. UT Southwestern physicians provide medical care in 40 specialties to nearly 90,000 hospitalized patients and oversee more than 1.9 million outpatient visits a year.
This news release is available on our home page at utsouthwestern.edu/home/news/index.html
To automatically receive news releases from UT Southwestern via email, subscribe at utsouthwestern.edu/receivenews
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AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.
Sen. Tom Harkin, D-Iowa, chairman of the Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee, talks to reporters after the Senate cleared a major hurdle and agreed to proceed to debate a bill that would prohibit workplace discrimination against gay, bisexual and transgender Americans, at the Capitol in Washington, Monday, Nov. 4, 2013. The bipartisan vote increases the chances that the Senate will pass the bill by week's end, but its prospects in the Republican-led House are dimmer. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)
Sen. Tom Harkin, D-Iowa, chairman of the Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee, talks to reporters after the Senate cleared a major hurdle and agreed to proceed to debate a bill that would prohibit workplace discrimination against gay, bisexual and transgender Americans, at the Capitol in Washington, Monday, Nov. 4, 2013. The bipartisan vote increases the chances that the Senate will pass the bill by week's end, but its prospects in the Republican-led House are dimmer. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Senate approved legislation outlawing workplace discrimination against gay, bisexual and transgender Americans, demonstrating the nation's quickly evolving attitude toward gay rights nearly two decades after Congress rejected same-sex marriage.
Fifty-four members of the Democratic majority and 10 Republicans voted Thursday for the first major gay rights bill since Congress repealed the ban on gays in the military three years ago. The vote in favor of the Employment Non-Discrimination Act was 64-32.
Two opponents of a similar measure 17 years ago, Arizona Republican Sen. John McCain, the presidential nominee in 2008, and Republican Sen. Orrin Hatch of Utah, backed the measure this time.
"We are about to make history in this chamber," Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine and a chief sponsor of the bill, said shortly before the vote.
The enthusiasm of the bill's supporters was tempered by the reality that the Republican-led House, where conservatives have a firm grip on the agenda, is unlikely to even vote on the legislation. Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, maintains his longstanding opposition to the measure, arguing that it is unnecessary and certain to create costly, frivolous lawsuits for businesses.
Outside conservative groups have cast the bill as anti-family.
President Barack Obama welcomed the vote and urged the House to act.
"One party in one house of Congress should not stand in the way of millions of Americans who want to go to work each day and simply be judged by the job they do," Obama said in a statement. "Now is the time to end this kind of discrimination in the workplace, not enable it."
Gay rights advocates hailed Senate passage as a major victory in a momentous year for the issue. The Supreme Court in June granted federal benefits to legally married same-sex couples, though it avoided a sweeping ruling that would have paved the way for same-sex unions nationwide. Illinois is on the verge of becoming the 15th state to legalize gay marriage along with the District of Columbia.
Supporters called the bill the final step in a long congressional tradition of trying to stop discrimination, coming nearly 50 years after enactment of the Civil Rights Act and 23 years after the Americans with Disabilities Act.
"Now we've finished the trilogy," Sen. Tom Harkin, D-Iowa, a chief sponsor of the disabilities law, said at a Capitol Hill news conference.
The first openly gay senator, Democrat Tammy Baldwin of Wisconsin, called the vote a "tremendous milestone" that she will always remember throughout her time in the Senate.
Democrats echoed Obama in pushing for the House to act, with Sen. Dick Durbin of Illinois reminding the GOP leader of the history of his party.
"The Republican Party in the United States of America came into being in the 1980s over the issue of slavery, and the man who embodied the ideals of that Republican Party was none other than Abraham Lincoln, who gave his life for his country to end discrimination," Durbin said. "Keep that proud Republican tradition alive."
In the Senate, opponents of the legislation remained mute through three days of debate, with no lawmaker speaking out. That changed on Thursday, as Republican Sen. Dan Coats of Indiana said the legislation would force employers to violate their religious beliefs, a direct counter to rights embodied in the Constitution.
"There's two types of discrimination here we're dealing with, and one of those goes to the very fundamental right granted to every American through our Constitution, a cherished value of freedom of expression and religion," Coats said.
The Senate rejected an amendment sponsored by Republican Sen. Pat Toomey of Pennsylvania that would have expanded the number of groups that are covered under the religious exemption. Opponents argued that it would undermine the core bill.
If the House fails to act on the bill, gay rights advocates are likely to press Obama to act unilaterally and issue an executive order barring anti-gay workplace discrimination by federal contractors.
Backers of the bill repeatedly described it as an issue of fairness.
"It is well past time that we, as elected representatives, ensure that our laws protect against discrimination in the workplace for all individuals, that we ensure ... some protections for those within the LGBT community," said Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, who described the diversity in her state.
Murkowski's support underscored the generational shift. Seventeen years ago, when a bill dealing with discrimination based on sexual orientation failed by one vote in the Senate, the senator's father, Frank, voted against it. That was the same year that Congress passed and President Bill Clinton signed the Defense of Marriage Act.
Current federal law prohibits discrimination on the basis of sex, race and national origin. But it doesn't stop an employer from firing or refusing to hire workers because they are gay, lesbian, bisexual or transgender.
The bill would bar employers with 15 or more workers from using a person's sexual orientation or gender identity as the basis for making employment decisions, including hiring, firing, compensation or promotion. It would exempt religious institutions and the military.
By voice vote Wednesday, the Senate approved an amendment from Republican Sens. Rob Portman of Ohio and Kelly Ayotte of New Hampshire that would prevent federal, state and local governments from retaliating against religious groups that are exempt from the law.
Likely Senate approval of the overall bill reflects the nation's growing tolerance of gays and the GOP's political calculation as it looks for support beyond its core base of older voters. A Pew Research survey in June found that more Americans said homosexuality should be accepted rather than discouraged by society by a margin of 60 percent to 31 percent. Opinions were more evenly divided 10 years ago.
Twenty-two states and the District of Columbia have approved laws banning workplace discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation, and 17 of those also prohibit employers from discriminating based on gender identity.
About 88 percent of Fortune 500 companies have adopted nondiscrimination policies that include sexual orientation, according to the Human Rights Campaign. About 57 percent of those companies include gender identity.
Sens. Bob Casey, D-Pa., Tom Coburn, R-Okla., and Jeff Sessions, R-Ala., did not vote.
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