Judge Strikes Down Obama Era Overtime-Pay Rule
Just days before Labor Day, a federal judge in Texas struck down a U.S. Department of Labor rule that would have made millions more employees eligible to receive overtime pay.
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White House to Expand Military-Grade Armament for Local Police
Promising more military-style equipment for local police departments, Attorney General Jeff Sessions announced the end Monday of limits instituted in the Obama era.
Read moreObama-Era Methane Rules Hurdle New Challenge
After blocking the Trump administration from pausing new methane-emissions regulations covering oil and natural gas wells, the D.C. Circuit refused Thursday to reconsider that July ruling.
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Hearing Loss of US Diplomats in Cuba Blamed on Covert Device
Offering insight into the soured diplomatic relations between the United States and Cuba, a spokeswoman for the State Department cited retaliation as the reason that two Cuban diplomats were expelled this past May from their Washington, D.C., embassy.
Read moreEPA Bows to States’ Pressure on Air-Quality Standards
The Environmental Protection Agency said it is moving forward with Obama-era smog regulations, after 15 states petitioned to challenge the Trump administration’s delay of rules reducing emissions of air pollutants.
Read moreDC Circuit Says EPA Can’t Keep Delaying Obama-Era Methane Rules
The D.C. Circuit on Monday struck down the EPA’s decision to pause an Obama-era rule regulating methane emissions from oil and natural gas wells.
Read morePhysicians Hear Echoes of Nuremberg in CIA Torture
Seven years after warning that the CIA’s brutal interrogations likely flouted bans on medical experimentation, human-rights physicians found evidence confirming their suspicion. The provocative title of their new report is “Nuremberg Betrayed.”
Read morePharma Firm Sued for Pulling Out of Tax-Inversion Deal
A Shire shareholder sued AbbVie for backing out of its proposed acquisition of the Irish drugmaker after the Obama administration strengthened the penalties for corporate inversions that avoid U.S. taxes.
Read moreTrump Hits Rewind on Historic US-Cuba Normalization
Canceling normalized U.S.-Cuban relations after than a half-century of hostility — “effective immediately,” he said — President Donald Trump rolled back the clock Friday at a theater named after the leader of a disastrous plot to overthrow Fidel Castro.
Read moreBuzzfeed Sues Feds for Details on Trump’s Wiretapping Claims
Online news outlet Buzzfeed sued several intelligence agencies including the CIA and FBI on Thursday, claiming they are withholding records linked to President Donald Trump’s claims that the Barack Obama administration wiretapped Trump Tower.
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Groups Sue to Keep Drilling Ban in Arctic, Atlantic Waters
Less than a week after President Donald Trump took steps to put U.S. Arctic and Atlantic waters back in play for offshore drilling, 10 environmental and Alaska Native groups sued Wednesday to maintain the ban on oil and gas exploration.
Read moreGroups Sue to Reinstate Coal-Cleanup Deadlines
Conservationists and public health groups brought a federal complaint Wednesday in an effort to halt Trump administration rollbacks of regulations governing coal power plant waste.
Read moreObama-Era Nutrition Guidelines Put on Ice
Rolling back Obama-era nutrition guidelines for school-lunch programs, the Trump administration moved to keep calorie-count displays largely optional until at least next year, and health initiatives by the former first lady are also on the chopping block.
Read moreFeds Grilled Over Climate Change Flip-Flop
With two weeks left in Barack Obama’s presidency, lawyers for the government acknowledged in a court filing that climate change is caused by humans and that its effects could be catastrophic. On Friday, the lawyer who authored that document couldn’t tell a judge whether the Trump administration would now reverse its position and deny that climate change is real.
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Comey Confirms Probe of Russian Meddling in Election
FBI director James Comey confirmed Monday before members of Congress that an investigation of Russian meddling in the 2016 presidential election is active and began in late July, more than three months before the election.
Read moreStill No Answer on Trump’s Wiretap Claims
Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham said Wednesday that FBI Director James Comey will hold a classified briefing to discuss an inquiry about President Donald Trump’s claims that the Obama administration surveilled his campaign.
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US Spent $36M in Records Lawsuits in Final Obama Year
The Obama administration in its final year in office spent a record $36.2 million on legal costs defending its refusal to turn over federal records under the Freedom of Information Act, according to an Associated Press analysis of new U.S. data.
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Justice Dept. Asks for More Time on Wiretapping Evidence
Facing a Monday deadline, the Justice Department asked lawmakers for more time to provide evidence backing up President Donald Trump’s unproven assertion that his predecessor wiretapped his New York skyscraper during the election. The request came as the White House appeared to soften Trump’s explosive allegation.
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Conway Widens Obama Surveillance Claims
Senior White House adviser Kellyanne Conway says she doesn’t have any evidence to support President Donald Trump’s claim that Barack Obama wiretapped Trump Tower phone lines during the election.
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