Author: Matthew Daly
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Ukraine war upends Biden’s agenda on energy, climate change
WASHINGTON • As Russian troops move deeper into Ukraine, President Joe Biden is taking steps to rein in rising energy costs even if those moves run counter to his agenda for addressing climate change. Biden announced on Tuesday that he is releasing 30 million barrels of oil from U.S. strategic reserves as part of a…
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EPA acts to curb pollution in poor communities
WASHINGTON • The Environmental Protection Agency announced a series of enforcement actions Wednesday to address air pollution, unsafe drinking water and other problems afflicting minority communities in three Gulf Coast states, following a “Journey to Justice” tour by Administrator Michael Regan last fall. The agency will conduct unannounced inspections of chemical plants, refineries and other…
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EPA moves to crack down on dangerous coal ash storage ponds
WASHINGTON • The Environmental Protection Agency is taking its first major action to address toxic wastewater from coal-burning power plants, ordering utilities to stop dumping waste into unlined storage ponds and speed up plans to close leaking or otherwise dangerous coal ash sites. Plants in four states will have to close the coal ash ponds…
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Biden administration acts to restore clean-water safeguards
WASHINGTON • The Biden administration took action Thursday to restore federal protections for hundreds of thousands of small streams, wetlands and other waterways, undoing a Trump-era rule that was considered one of that administration’s hallmark environmental rollbacks. At issue is a regulation sometimes referred to as “waters of the United States,” or WOTUS, that defines…
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White House eyes new climate change strategies in Biden bill
WASHINGTON • The White House is zeroing in on a package of clean energy strategies for President Joe Biden’s big domestic policy bill that officials believe could reach similar greenhouse gas emission reduction goals as an initial proposal that was quashed by opposition from a centrist Democrat. The Biden administration discussed the proposals Monday at…
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Biden suspends oil leases in Alaska’s Arctic refuge
WASHINGTON • The Biden administration on Tuesday suspended oil and gas leases in Alaska’s Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, reversing a drilling program approved by the Trump administration and reviving a political fight over a remote region that is home to polar bears and other wildlife — and a rich reserve of oil. The Interior Department…
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Intel chiefs brief congressional leaders on Russia bounties
WASHINGTON • The U.S. intelligence chiefs conducted classified briefings Thursday for congressional leaders who have demanded more answers about intelligence assessments that Russia offered bounties for killing U.S. troops in Afghanistan. President Donald Trump has called news reports about the assessments a “hoax,” but hasn’t directly addressed their substance or whether the U.S. has or…
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House OKs $1.5T plan to fix infrastructure
WASHINGTON • The Democratic-controlled House approved a $1.5 trillion plan Wednesday to rebuild the nation’s crumbling infrastructure, pouring hundreds of billions of dollars into projects to fix roads and bridges, upgrade transit systems, expand interstate railways and dredge harbors, ports and channels. The bill also authorizes more than $100 billion to expand internet access for…
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Dem climate plan would end greenhouse gas emissions by 2050
WASHINGTON • House Democrats on Tuesday unveiled a plan to address climate change that would set a goal of net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050, while pushing renewable energy such as wind and solar power and addressing environmental contamination that disproportionately harms low-income and minority communities. The election-year plan backed by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi…
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Graham to probe origins of Russia inquiry
WASHINGTON • Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Lindsey Graham said Thursday his committee is opening a wide-ranging investigation into the origins of the Russia investigation, but rejected President Donald Trump’s call to bring in former President Barack Obama to testify. “I am greatly concerned about the precedent that would be set by calling a former president…