Nation & world News – At a Glance for Thursday, April 13, 2023

EPA Lays Out Rules to Turbocharge Sales of Electric Cars and Trucks

The Biden administration Wednesday proposed the nation’s most ambitious climate regulations to date, two plans designed to ensure two-thirds of new passenger cars and one-quarter of new heavy trucks sold in the United States are all-electric by 2032. Nearly all major automakers have already invested billions in producing electric vehicles as they continue to manufacture the conventional vehicles powered by gasoline, which deliver their profits. The proposed regulations would require them to invest more heavily and reorient their processes in ways that would essentially spell the end of the internal combustion engine. The proposed regulations will surely face legal challenges from those who see them as government overreach.

Legal Abortions Fell by 6% in the Six Months After Dobbs, New Data Shows

The number of legal abortions in the United States decreased just over 6% in the six months after the Supreme Court ended the right to abortion in June, according to a report released Tuesday, the most comprehensive and up-to-date count of abortions nationwide. The overall decline exceeds what was estimated by some researchers before the Supreme Court ruling. The data goes through Dec. 31, by which point 13 states had banned abortion with almost no exceptions. Legal abortions in the states with total bans fell to nearly zero — an average decrease of around 7,300 abortions a month compared with April and May.

Trump Says He Won’t Drop Presidential Bid if Criminally Convicted

Former President Donald Trump said Tuesday that he would continue campaigning for the White House even if convicted of a crime. In his first national media interview since pleading not guilty last week to 34 felony charges related to a hush-money scandal during his 2016 White House bid, Trump complimented the strongmen leaders of several other countries; attacked “sick, radical” Democrats; and indicated that not even a prison sentence would keep him from running for president. “I’d never drop out. It’s not my thing,” Trump said when asked on Fox News about a potential conviction.

Juul Reaches $462 Million Settlement With New York, California and Other States

New York, California and several other states announced a $462 million settlement with Juul Labs on Wednesday, resolving lawsuits claiming that the company aggressively marketed its e-cigarettes to young people and fueled a vaping crisis. The agreement brings many of the company’s legal woes to a conclusion, with settlements reached with 47 states and territories, and 5,000 individuals and local governments. The latest settlement resolved the claims of New York, California, Colorado, the District of Columbia, Illinois, Massachusetts and New Mexico. It follows other lawsuit settlements that took Juul to task for failing to warn young users that the high levels of nicotine in their e-cigarettes would prove addictive.

Fire With Toxic Fumes Could Burn for Days in Indiana, Officials Warn

Plumes of black, toxic smoke billowed out over eastern Indiana on Wednesday from an industrial fire that was expected to burn for days, authorities said, a day after more than 2,000 residents were ordered to evacuate. Residents within a half-mile radius of a plastics recycling plant in Richmond, Indiana, were ordered to evacuate after the fire broke out around 2 p.m. Tuesday. Schools were also closed, and shelters were being set up around the city, which is about 70 miles east of Indianapolis. Officials believe the fire started Tuesday afternoon after a semitrailer caught on fire on the property.

Second Expelled Democrat Is Sent Back to Tennessee House

Local officials unanimously voted Wednesday to send Justin J. Pearson, one of two Black Democratic representatives ousted from the Tennessee House of Representatives after a gun control protest on the House floor, back to his seat in the state legislature. The vote came less than a week after Pearson of Memphis and state Rep. Justin Jones of Nashville were expelled from the legislature. Angered by the disruption of the protest and the disregard for House rules, Republicans quickly moved to expel the pair. Jones has already returned to the state Capitol, after the Metropolitan Council of Nashville and Davidson County unanimously voted to name him as an interim representative.

Biden Celebrates a Northern Ireland ‘Made Whole by Peace’ as Tensions Persist

President Joe Biden on Wednesday tried to push Protestants and Catholics to resolve their differences and embrace the possibility of economic prosperity in a territory that had been “made whole by peace” since the Good Friday Agreement brought an end to decades of sectarian violence a quarter-century ago. During his short stay in Belfast ​​— a whirlwind stop before several days of Biden family-related excursions — the president and his advisers generally tried to avoid thorny questions surrounding politics in Northern Ireland. His visit comes amid a flare-up of political violence. Biden met with Prime Minister Rishi Sunak of Britain before the speech.

Ukraine Persists in Bloody Stand for Bakhmut

Ukrainian soldiers are defending a shrinking half-circle of ruins about 20 blocks wide in a western neighborhood of Bakhmut. As Ukraine’s army is pushed into this ever-smaller corner of the 16-square-mile city some allies have quietly questioned the rationale for fighting block by block, sustaining significant casualties. A visit this week showed Ukraine had lost ground inside the city, although an access road remained passable, allowing resupply and evacuation of wounded. Each side claims that the battle for Bakhmut, which has resulted in tens of thousands of casualties over 10 months, has been vital for weakening the other.

After Months of Turmoil, Israel’s President Sees Hope for Judicial Compromise

Since Israel’s government announced plans in January to overhaul the judiciary, the country has been gripped by growing turmoil. But now President Isaac Herzog, who is overseeing negotiations to find a compromise, has a more hopeful message. Herzog said this week that his negotiations were gaining momentum and that consensus was possible. He even hopes for a compromise that could resolve other constitutional ambiguities that have gone unsolved since 1948, when Israel’s founders established the state without writing a formal constitution. High-level delegations from both sides have met several times at Herzog’s official residence. Both sides have publicly stated their willingness to reach a consensus. More talks are scheduled for next week.

Prince Harry Will Attend King Charles’ Coronation Without Meghan, Palace Says

Prince Harry will attend his father’s May 6 coronation in London, Buckingham Palace said Wednesday, ending speculation over whether his strained familial relations would stain one of the biggest royal events in a generation. Harry’s wife, Meghan, and their two children will not attend, the palace said. Since Harry and Meghan withdrew from royal duties in 2020 and moved to the United States, the Duke of Sussex has attended a few royal events. But the news of Harry’s brief return to the royal fold comes just a month after he and Meghan were asked to move out of the house they still kept on the grounds of Windsor Castle.

Miscommunication Nearly Led to Russian Jet Shooting Down British Spy Plane, U.S. Officials Say

A Russian fighter jet fired a missile at a manned British surveillance aircraft flying over the Black Sea in September but the munition malfunctioned, according to U.S. defense officials and a recently leaked classified U.S. intelligence report. According to officials, the Russian pilot misinterpreted what a radar operator was saying and thought he had permission to fire. In October, British Defense Secretary Ben Wallace described the close call in a briefing to Parliament members as “potentially dangerous.” But one of the leaked documents said the Sept. 29 event was a “near-shootdown.” The British RC-135 was in international airspace off the coast of Russian-occupied Crimea.

U.S. Won’t File Charges in Death of American Woman in Mexico

Federal prosecutors said Wednesday that they did not have enough evidence to bring charges in connection with the death of an American woman last fall in Mexico. Shanquella Robinson, 25, had been vacationing with friends when she was found unconscious at a home near Cabo San Lucas, according to Mexican authorities. A video that appeared to show Robinson being punched in the head and kicked by a woman during the trip prompted suspicions about her death and triggered an FBI investigation. The investigation and autopsy found that “the available evidence does not support a federal prosecution,” the U.S. attorney’s office said in a statement.

By wire sources