Donald Trump has previously called the climate crisis a “hoax” and dismissed those concerned by its worsening impacts as “climate lunatics”, but now the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has gone even further under his authority, issuing an extraordinary cavalcade of pollution rule rollbacks.
The so-called endangerment finding, which followed a supreme court ruling that the EPA could regulate greenhouse gases, provides the underpinning for all rules aimed at cutting the pollution that scientists have unequivocally found is worsening the climate crisis.
Trump officials to reconsider whether greenhouse gases cause harm
The Trump administration is to reconsider the official finding that greenhouse gases are harmful to public health, a move that threatens to rip apart the foundation of the US’s climate laws, amid a stunning barrage of actions to weaken or repeal a host of pollution limits upon power plants, cars and waterways.
Lee Zeldin, the EPA administrator, said the agency would reconsider the endangerment finding due to concerns that it had spawned “an agenda that throttles our industries, our mobility, and our consumer choice while benefiting adversaries overseas”.
Trump hints at financial repercussions if Russia rejects Ukraine ceasefire
Donald Trump has suggested he could target Russia financially as Ukraine’s president, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, urged him to take strong steps if Moscow failed to support the 30-day ceasefire proposal.
The US president’s threat came as the French defence minister, Sébastien Lecornu, told a press conference in Paris that a ceasefire announcement could come as soon as Thursday and that Europe would have to be prepared to help enforce it.
Analysis: What leverage does Trump have over Putin in Ukraine negotiations?
Ukraine’s agreement to support a US proposal for a 30-day ceasefire in its war against Russia’s invasion has focused attention on what Moscow may or may not agree to, and what pressure can be brought to bear on Vladimir Putin by the Trump administration.
While the question has frequently been asked over the last few years as to what leverage Putin might have over Trump, the question here is what leverage Trump might have to persuade Putin.
US trying to use obscure law to deport Palestinian activist Mahmoud Khalil
The US government is relying on a rarely used provision of the law to try to deport a prominent Palestinian activist who recently completed his graduate studies at Columbia University, where he was a leader in last year’s campus protests.
Lawyers for Mahmoud Khalil, a green-card holder being held in a Louisiana detention centre, suggested he was being punished for using his free speech, saying the provision was not “intended … to be used to silence dissent”.
Read More: Trump administration briefing: landmark climate ruling in jeopardy | Trump
