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U.S. Department of Agriculture to spend $300M to boost climate data in farming, forestry
By: Jacob Fischler - July 12, 2023
The U.S. Department of Agriculture will spend $300 million to better measure the effectiveness of techniques to lower carbon emissions in farming and forestry, the department said Wednesday. The funding comes from a $20 billion allocation for climate-smart agriculture in the climate and social policy law Democrats in Congress passed along party lines and President […]
U.S. House Dems want data on impact of Supreme Court ruling on wetlands protection
By: Jacob Fischler - July 11, 2023
Top Democrats on the U.S. House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee asked federal agencies Monday to track possible negative effects from a recent U.S. Supreme Court ruling that limited federal authority to regulate clean water. Washington’s Rick Larsen, the ranking Democrat on the committee, and Water Resources and Environment Subcommittee ranking member Grace Napolitano of California, […]
Roads, bridges, trails, ports: White House awards $2.2B in transportation grants
By: Jacob Fischler - June 29, 2023
The U.S. Department of Transportation will send more than $2.2 billion in grants to state, tribal and local governments under a grant program that was expanded under the 2021 bipartisan infrastructure law. The $2.26 billion for 162 projects provides funds for each of the 50 states, two territories and the District of Columbia. It is […]
U.S. judge sets mid-August date for Trump trial in classified documents case
By: Jacob Fischler - June 21, 2023
Former President Donald Trump is set to face a jury trial on federal charges of mishandling classified information, after the Miami judge overseeing the case signed an order Tuesday scheduling the trial to begin Aug. 14. U.S. District Judge Aileen M. Cannon, whom Trump appointed to her seat on the federal bench in the Southern […]
Republicans from Western states attack public lands plan in heated U.S. House hearing
By: Jacob Fischler - June 16, 2023
U.S. House Republicans and GOP Govs. Kristi Noem of South Dakota and Mark Gordon of Wyoming teamed up Thursday to rail against the Bureau of Land Management’s proposed rule to allow conservation leases on federal lands. Noem and Gordon joined the U.S. House Natural Resources Committee for about half of a 4 1/2 hour hearing […]
Trump pleads not guilty in federal documents case, heads back out on campaign trail
By: Jacob Fischler - June 14, 2023
Former President Donald Trump pleaded not guilty in federal court in Miami on Tuesday to 37 felony counts of taking highly classified national security documents from his time in office and obstructing efforts to recover the documents, according to media reports from inside the courtroom. Trump, the first former president charged with a federal crime, […]
Questions and answers about Trump’s indictment on federal criminal charges
By: Jacob Fischler - June 12, 2023
A federal judge in Florida unsealed an indictment that accuses former President Donald Trump of hiding classified national security documents after he left the White House, improperly storing them and sharing sensitive information with people who lacked security clearance. Though he’s not the only former federal official to improperly take classified documents with him after […]
The indictment is unsealed: Trump faces 37 felony counts in classified documents probe
By: Jacob Fischler - June 9, 2023
Donald Trump has been indicted by a federal grand jury, making him the first former president to face federal criminal charges. The 37-count indictment in the Southern District of Florida, handed up by a grand jury there, was unsealed Friday. According to the indictment, Trump schemed with an aide to keep possession of top secret […]
On a record day in D.C. for smoke pollution, U.S. Senate panel debates wildfire strategy
By: Jacob Fischler - June 9, 2023
As smoke from Canadian wildfires caused the most hazardous air conditions on record in the Washington, D.C., area on Thursday, members of the U.S. Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee said that Congress should lift federal firefighter pay and encourage logging to reduce the risk of future blazes. “Smoke from the wildfires burning right now […]
U.S. Interior Department finalizes fossil fuel, mining ban near Chaco Canyon
By: Jacob Fischler - June 2, 2023
The federal government will not issue new oil and gas or mining leases on federal lands within 10 miles of Chaco Culture National Historical Park in New Mexico, the U.S. Interior Department said Friday. The public lands order from the department’s Bureau of Land Management will stay in effect for 20 years. The order said […]
Western lands fight erupts over Bureau of Land Management’s conservation proposal
By: Jacob Fischler - May 30, 2023
One thing opponents and proponents of a recently proposed U.S. Bureau of Land Management rule agree on: It would be a major shift in how the agency manages nearly 250 million acres of federal lands. The rule would allow for conservation leases, similar to how the agency auctions off parcels of land for mining, livestock […]
U.S. Supreme Court rejects Biden wetlands regulation, ruling for Idaho couple
By: Jacob Fischler - May 26, 2023
The U.S. Supreme Court in a major environmental decision on Thursday overturned the Environmental Protection Agency’s definition of wetlands that fall under the agency’s jurisdiction, siding with an Idaho couple who’d said they should not be required to obtain federal permits to build on their property that lacked any navigable water. All nine justices agreed […]