Trump's EPA revokes scientific finding that underpinned US fight against climate change
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Environmental Protection Agency has revoked a key scientific finding that supported U.S. regulations on greenhouse gas emissions. This decision rescinds a 2009 declaration that carbon dioxide and other gases endanger public health. EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin announced the move Thursday, calling it a major deregulatory action. Critics argue it undermines efforts to combat climate change and could lead to more pollution. Environmental groups are certain to challenge the action in court. The EPA also proposes delaying a Biden-era rule on vehicle emissions, which could impact the push for electric vehicles.
A look at false claims made by the Trump administration as it revokes a key scientific finding
While announcing that he was rolling back the Environmental Protection Agency’s 2009 endangerment finding, President Donald Trump and EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin made false claims regarding the government declaration, climate change and energy. For example, he said the finding has no basis in fact, but it followed a 2007 U.S. Supreme Court ruling that greenhouse gases are air pollutants that can be regulated under the Clean Air Act. Trump also made false claims about the effects of climate change, the cost of wind energy and the idea of an electric vehicle mandate.
Goldman Sachs' top lawyer Kathy Ruemmler to resign after emails show close ties to Jeffrey Epstein
NEW YORK (AP) — Goldman Sachs’ top lawyer Kathy Ruemmler is resigning after emails revealed she had a close relationship with Jeffrey Epstein. She described Epstein as “another older brother” and downplayed his sex crimes. Ruemmler had previously tried to distance herself from these emails. In a statement before her resignation, a Goldman Sachs spokesperson said Ruemmler “regrets ever knowing him.” Before joining Goldman in 2020, Ruemmler was White House counsel for President Barack Obama. During her private practice, she received expensive gifts from Epstein. Despite CEO David Solomon’s support in December, the controversy led to her resignation.
Border czar says Minnesota immigration crackdown is over, after angry protests and 2 fatal shootings
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — The Trump administration says it is ending its massive immigration crackdown in Minnesota after weeks of angry mass protests, thousands of arrests and two fatal shootings. Border czar Tom Homan said Thursday that the operation has been a success and that it has made the state safer. The sweep targeting the Minneapolis-St. Paul area has led to more than 4,000 arrests. Critics say officers swept up people with no criminal records, including children and U.S. citizens. Democratic Gov. Tim Walz says he's not ready to express gratitude for the end and that Washington must help with the recovery. Lawmakers continue to fight over Department of Homeland Security funding and Immigration and Customs Enforcement reforms.
Homeland Security shutdown seems certain as funding talks between White House and Democrats stall
WASHINGTON (AP) — A shutdown for the Department of Homeland Security appears certain. Lawmakers in the House and Senate are set to leave Washington for a 10-day break, while negotiations with the White House over Democrats’ demands for new restrictions have stalled. The White House and Democrats have traded offers in recent days. Democrats have said they want curbs on President Donald Trump’s broad campaign of immigration enforcement. They've demanded better identification for Immigration and Customs Enforcement and other federal law enforcement officers, a new code of conduct for those agencies and more use of judicial warrants, among their requests.
Search for Nancy Guthrie now seeks nearby security videos from the month before she vanished
TUCSON, Ariz. (AP) — Investigators in Arizona want residents near Nancy Guthrie’s home to share surveillance camera footage of suspicious cars or people in the month before the disappearance of “Today” show host Savannah Guthrie's mother. The 84-year-old has been missing from her Tucson-area home since Feb. 1. Investigators are asking residents in a 2-mile radius around Nancy Guthrie’s home to share videos that could be "important to our investigation.” The Pima County Sheriff’s Department says investigators are analyzing several pieces of evidence, including a pair of gloves.
Remote community grieves the 8 killed in Canada's deadliest attack in years
VANCOUVER, British Columbia (AP) — The families of the victims of the mass shooting in a remote Canadian town are grappling with unrelenting grief as details emerge about those killed in the country’s deadliest mass shooting in years. Authorities said Thursday that the 18-year-old shooter killed her 39-year-old mother, Jennifer Jacobs, and 11-year-old stepbrother, Emmett Jacobs, in their northern British Columbia home on Tuesday before heading to the nearby Tumbler Ridge Secondary School and opening fire, killing five children and a teacher before killing herself. The motive remains unclear. Among the dead was 12-year-old student Kylie Smith, whose family remembered her as “the light in our family.” The family of victim Zoey Benoit described her as “the strongest little girl you could meet.”
Judge blocks Pentagon from punishing Sen. Mark Kelly for call to resist unlawful orders
WASHINGTON (AP) — A federal judge has blocked the Pentagon from punishing Democratic Sen. Mark Kelly, a former U.S. Navy pilot, for participating in a video that called on troops to resist unlawful orders. U.S. District Judge Richard Leon ruled Thursday that Pentagon officials have violated Kelly’s First Amendment free speech rights. Kelly, who represents Arizona, sued in federal court to block his Jan. 5 censure from Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth. In November, Kelly and five other Democratic lawmakers appeared on a video in which they urged troops to uphold the Constitution and not to follow unlawful military directives from the Trump administration.
Virginia Supreme Court rules US Marine's adoption of an Afghan war orphan will stand
The Virginia Supreme Court has ruled that a U.S. Marine and his wife will keep an Afghan orphan they brought home in defiance of the U.S. government’s decision to reunite her with her Afghan family. The ruling likely ends a bitter, yearslong legal battle over the girl’s fate. Four justices on the Virginia Supreme Court on Thursday signed onto an opinion reversing two lower courts’ rulings that found the adoption was so flawed it was void from the moment it was issued. The justices wrote that a Virginia law that cements adoption orders after six months bars the child’s Afghan relatives from challenging the court, no matter how flawed its orders and even if the adoption was obtained by fraud.
Winter Olympics recap: Ukrainian athlete excluded, Kim falls short and Brignone completes comeback
MILAN (AP) — It was a day marked by a comeback and controversy at the Milan Cortina Olympics. Federica Brignone won a gold medal in the women's super-G to complete one of skiing's all-time great recoveries after badly breaking her leg a year ago. Vladyslav Heraskevych of Ukraine was excluded from the Olympics after refusing to give up his plan to race in a helmet commemorating athletes who have been killed since Russia invaded his country. The International Olympic Committee said the helmet broke its rules. Chloe Kim of the United States fell just short in her bid to become the first snowboarder to win three consecutive Olympic gold medals.
