US News

An unusually early and long-lasting heat wave brought more triple-digit temperatures on Wednesday, June 16, 2021, to a large swath of the U.S. West, raising concerns that such extreme weather could become the new normal amid a decades-long drought.

The Biden administration’s suspension of new oil and gas leases on federal land and water was blocked on Tuesday, June 15, 2021, by a federal judge in Louisiana who ordered that plans continue for lease sales that were delayed for the Gulf of Mexico and Alaska waters “and all eligible onshore properties.”

Canada's cannabis industry, banking on the chance to expand into the United States, is nervously eyeing the American political calendar and the Biden administration's narrow legislative window to ease federal prohibitions on recreational marijuana.

Enbridge describes it as essential for reliable oil supplies in both nations, saying the plan has undergone rigorous environmental permitting and will boost Minnesota's economy. Opponents contend it endangers waterways, violates indigenous treaty rights and abets dependence on fossil fuels that will further overheat the planet.

The ouster of the three Exxon board members is another blow to fossil fuel companies facing growing pressure to refocus their businesses in light of a dangerously warming world.

U.S. District Judge James Boasberg made his decision after attorneys for the pipeline's Texas-based owner, Energy Transfer, argued that shuttering the pipeline would be a major economic blow to several entities, including North Dakota, and the Mandan, Hidatsa and Arikara Nation tribe, in the heart of the state’s oilpatch.

A U.S. lawmaker who has made a political crusade out of getting the border with Canada reopened is again pressing his case with President Joe Biden — and this time, he believes he has the Centers for Disease Control on his side.

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says people fully vaccinated against COVID-19 no longer need to wear masks outdoors and in most indoor settings, but one of Canada's top public health officials suggests a different approach would be taken here.

The Biden administration swung aggressively into action after a primary gasoline pipeline fell prey to a cyberattack — understanding that the situation posed a possible series of political and economic risks.

The Straits of Mackinac, a “sacred wellspring of Anishinaabe life and culture,” is part of an area ceded to the U.S. in 1836 only upon assurances that the right to hunt, fish and gather would be protected, tribal governments say.

The expansion of the Trans Mountain pipeline will stretch hundreds miles and is fiercely opposed by numerous groups — but despite repeated calls, the Canadian government has not forced the pipeline to reveal its insurers.

Canada’s new greenhouse gas reduction target under the Paris Agreement will be 40 to 45 per cent below 2005 levels by 2030.

U.S. President Joe Biden is also expected to call on major economies to join him in bold action at virtual summit of 40 world leaders, running April 22 and 23.

Summit Carbon Solutions says it is developing a US$2-billion pipeline project that will carry carbon dioxide captured from ethanol refineries scattered across the Midwest to a site in North Dakota where it will be pumped thousands of feet underground.

The White House’s discretionary budget request, released April 9, includes more than US$1.4 billion for environmental justice initiatives. Of that, US$936 million is earmarked for a new Accelerating Environmental and Economic Justice Initiative.