Mar 28 2023 — Michael Biesecker, The Associated Press — The Canadian Press — WASHINGTON (AP) — Two Texas companies have resolved Clean Air Act violations with the Environmental Protection Agency by agreeing to reduce emissions of planet-warming methane and other harmful pollutants wafting from the nation's largest oil and gas p...
Nov 20 2022 — Michael Biesecker, The Associated Press — The Canadian Press — The operator of a natural gas storage well in Western Pennsylvania says workers have successfully plugged a leak that had been spewing massive amounts of planet-warming methane into the atmosphere for two weeks. Equitrans Midstream said t...
Mar 6 2022 — Michael Biesecker, The Associated Press — The Canadian Press — WASHINGTON (AP) — The massive superyacht Dilbar stretches one-and-a-half football fields in length, about as long as a World War I dreadnought. It boasts two helipads, berths for more than 130 people and a 25-meter swimming pool long enough to accommodate another whole superyacht. Dilbar was launched in 2016 at a reported cost of more […]
Jan 3 2022 — Michael Biesecker, The Associated Press — The Canadian Press — WASHINGTON (AP) — The first time Celeste Norris laid eyes on Ashli Babbitt, the future insurrectionist had just rammed her vehicle three times with an SUV and was pounding on the window, challenging her to a fight. Norris says the bad blood between them began in 2015, when Babbitt engaged in a monthslong extramarital affair […]
Jan 3 2022 — Michael Biesecker, The Associated Press — The Canadian Press — WASHINGTON (AP) — The first time Celeste Norris laid eyes on Ashli Babbitt, the future insurrectionist had just rammed her vehicle three times with an SUV and was pounding on the window, challenging her to a fight. Norris says the bad blood between them began in 2015, when Babbitt engaged in a monthslong extramarital affair […]
Aug 18 2021 — Michael Biesecker, The Associated Press — WASHINGTON (AP) — Longtime American foreign correspondent Joseph L. Galloway, best known for his book recounting a pivotal battle in the Vietnam War that was made into a Hollywood movie, has died. He was 79. A native of Refugio, Texas, Galloway spent 22 years as a war correspondent and bureau chief for United Press International, […]
Jan 31 2020 — Michael Biesecker, The Associated Press — WASHINGTON — Jay Sekulow, one of President Donald Trump’s lead attorneys during the impeachment trial, is being paid for his legal work through a rented $80-a-month mailbox a block away from the White House. The Pennsylvania Avenue box appears to be the sole physical location of the constitutional Litigation and Advocacy Group, a for-profit corporation […]
Sep 17 2019 — Michael Biesecker, The Associated Press — WASHINGTON — The Trump administration is poised to revoke California's authority to set auto mileage standards, asserting that only the federal government has the power to regulate greenhouse gas emissions and fuel economy. Conservative and free-market groups have been asked to attend a formal announcement of the rollback set for Wednesday afternoon at Environmental Protection […]
Apr 9 2018 — Michael Biesecker, The Associated Press — WASHINGTON — Several new and expanded probes are underway into Environmental Protection Agency chief Scott Pruitt's conduct. EPA Inspector General Arthur Elkins is now conducting at least five investigative audits related to Pruitt, including a previously undisclosed probe into outsized spending and alleged timesheet abuse by his swollen security detail. The Associated Press reported Friday […]
Apr 5 2018 — Michael Biesecker, The Associated Press — The Canadian Press — WASHINGTON — White House officials sounded increasingly doubtful Thursday about the future of embattled Environmental Protection Agency chief Scott Pruitt, even as President Donald Trump appeared to throw him a public lifeline. Trump, asked if he still has confidence in Pruitt while boarding Air Force One, responded: "I do." That was contrasted by more tepid […]
Apr 3 2018 — Michael Biesecker, The Associated Press — The Canadian Press — WASHINGTON — An agency ethics official at the Environmental Protection Agency says Administrator Scott Pruitt's lease of a Capitol Hill condo tied to a prominent fossil-fuels lobbyist didn't violate federal ethics rules. A memo signed by Kevin Minoli contends that Pruitt's $50-a-night rental payments constitute a fair market rate. The memo was dated March 30, […]
Mar 7 2018 — Michael Biesecker, The Associated Press — WASHINGTON — The Trump administration has quietly decided once again to allow Americans to import the body parts of African elephants shot for sport, despite presidential tweets decrying the practice as a "horror show." President Donald Trump personally intervened in November when the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service first said it would lift an Obama-era […]
Nov 2 2017 — Michael Biesecker, The Associated Press — WASHINGTON — The Trump administration announced Thursday it will hold a public hearing in West Virginia on its plan to nullify an Obama-era plan to limit planet-warming carbon emissions. The state is economically dependent on coal mining. The Environmental Protection Agency will take comments on its proposed repeal of the Clean Power Plan in Charleston, […]
Oct 31 2017 — Michael Biesecker, The Associated Press — WASHINGTON — The head of the Environmental Protection Agency said Tuesday he intends to replace the outside experts that advise him on science and public health issues with new board members holding more diverse views. In announcing the changes, EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt suggested many previously appointed to the panels were potentially biased because they […]
Oct 31 2017 — Michael Biesecker, The Associated Press — WASHINGTON — Key dates related to the investigation of the Trump campaign's alleged ties to Russia: — 2006: Paul Manafort and Rick Gates begin work as consultants for the Party of Regions, a pro-Russian political party in Ukraine led by Victor Yanukovych, the country's former prime minister. Manafort is a veteran Republican political operative who […]