Archive July 29, 2025

The EPA has announced that it intends to revoke a landmark scientific finding on climate change that served as the foundation for important environmental and pollution laws.

The EPA, which will take over the 2009 “endangerment finding,” which links car emissions to climate change and negative health effects, was revealed in an interview on Tuesday.

Zeldin continued, “Those who want to reduce carbon emissions only highlight the negative effects.”

“They’ll say carbon dioxide is a pollutant and that’s the end of it,” they say in response to the endangering finding. In a right-wing podcast called Ruthless, Zeldin stated that they never acknowledge any kind of benefit or need for carbon dioxide.

It’s crucial to bear in mind how significant it is for the planet, even if they don’t.

The “endangerment finding” has played a significant role in the development of regulations for greenhouse gas emissions, including those relating to automobile emissions standards.

Conservative lawmakers and fossil fuel companies, who have sought its repeal, have become increasingly critical of the finding, which was released under Democratic President Barack Obama.

The “endangerment finding” has withstanded a number of court challenges, though.

In order to boost the economy, the Trump administration would continue to push back against environmental protections and slash regulations.

The EPA plans to revoke all regulations for light-, medium-, and heavy-duty vehicles, according to a report from Reuters last week.

Zeldin also cited the benefit of the “endangerment finding” in Tuesday’s interview.

According to Zeldin, “there are people who are willing to bankrupt the country in the name of climate change.”

They “made this endangered finding,” and they now have the authority to impose all these rules on vehicles, planes, and stationary sources, basically regulating out of existence, in many cases, many different sectors of our economy.

Zeldin also referred to the finding’s revocation as the “largest deregulatory action” in US history and a potential fatal blow to efforts to combat climate change.

According to Zeldin, “This has been described as basically kicking a dagger into the climate change religion.”

A decrease in vehicle emissions, according to a study from Harvard University’s TH Chan School of Public Health, helped lower the number of fatalities attributed to air pollution from 27,700 in 2008 to 19,800 in 2017.

The researchers attribute that decline to a combination of technological advancements and federal regulations.

They also pointed out that if emissions had remained at their 2008 levels, there would not have been any more deaths than 48 and 200 by 2017.

Supporters believe that regulations regulating air pollution are essential to reducing harmful health effects and limiting climate change.

Trump, however, has called climate change a “hoax” and defied scientific consensus.

Instead, he has pushed for the US to increase its use of fossil fuels, which are viewed as the main cause of climate change.

His energy secretary, Chris Wright, claimed that climate change is a “byproduct of progress” rather than an existential crisis in a column for The Economist magazine earlier this month.

For this legacy of human advancement, Wright wrote, “I’m willing to accept the modest negative trade-off.”

The merger of Norfolk Southern and Union Pacific’s smaller rival, Norfolk Southern, would establish the first coast-to-coast freight rail operator in the US and reshape the flow of goods between grains and autos across the US.

The proposed $85 billion deal was made public on Tuesday by the Omaha, Nebraska-based railroad giant.

The largest buyout in the railroad industry has ever been proposed, and if the merger is approved, it would be that deal.

With Norfolk’s 31, 382 km (19, 500-mile) network, which primarily spans 22 eastern states, Union Pacific has a stronghold in the western two-thirds of the US.

According to the companies, the two railroads are anticipated to have combined enterprise values of $250 billion and generate annualized synergies of about $ 2.75 billion.

From the close of the merger on July 17 when the first details of the merger were reported, the $ 320 per share price implies an 18.6% premium for Norfolk.

The businesses announced last week on Thursday that they were in advanced discussions of possible mergers.

In light of union concerns about potential rate increases, service disruptions, and job losses, the agreement will face stringent regulatory scrutiny. The Southwest’s temporary congestion and delays had been caused by the union Pacific and Southern Pacific merger in 1996.

Under US President Donald Trump’s administration, antitrust enforcement has changed with the agreement. mergers that were previously thought to be unlikely have been made possible thanks to executive orders that were issued to remove the obstacles to consolidation.

In response to his January appointment as chairman of the Surface Transportation Board, Patrick Fuchs has urged faster preliminary reviews and a more flexible approach to merger conditions.

According to a person who participated in the discussions, the review could take 19 to 22 months even with an expedited process.

Major railroad organizations have long opposed consolidation, contending that such mergers could threaten employment and cause disruption to rail service.

After the two businesses announced advanced discussions last week, SMART-TD union president Jeremy Ferguson said, “We will weigh in with the STB [regulator] and with the Trump administration in every way possible.”

He claimed that “this merger is not beneficial for labor, the rail shipper/customer, or the general public.”

Within six months, the businesses said they would submit their applications to the STB.

With more than 1,800 railroad yardmasters, the transportation division of the SMART-TD union is the largest railroad operating union in North America.

The North American rail industry has been dealing with fluctuating freight volumes, rising labor costs, and growing shipper pressure over service reliability, all of which could make the merger more difficult.

Consolidation of the industry

According to people with knowledge of the situation, the proposed deal has also spurred rivals BNSF, which is owned by Berkshire Hathaway, and CSX to look into possible mergers.

According to a source close to the discussions, STB agents are already preparing for the possibility of receiving not just one, but two megamerger proposals, according to a source with knowledge of the situation.

The consolidation of important freight routes and increased pricing authority for the industry would reduce to four from six if both mergers are approved, resulting in a decrease in Class I railroads in North America.

The $ 31 billion merger of Canadian Pacific and Kansas City Southern, which established the first and only single-line rail network connecting Canada, the US, and Mexico, was the last significant deal in the sector.

That agreement, which was finalized in 2023, received a lot of regulatory opposition because it was concerned it would stifle competition, cause jobs, and cause service disruption, but it was ultimately accepted.

According to LSEG data, Norfolk Southern has a market capitalization of about $65 billion, while Union Pacific is valued at nearly $ 136 billion.

Washington, DC – A right-wing ally of US President Donald Trump’s administration, Marjorie Taylor Greene, has suggested that Israel is staging a genocide against Palestinians in Gaza, igniting a growing rift in the Republican Party.

More than 120 people have been killed in Gaza as a result of an Israeli-imposed hunger crisis, according to Greene’s condemnation of the dire situation in a social media post this week.

She also criticized Randy Fine, who has openly praised the displacement of Palestinians.

According to Greene, “Oct 7th in Israel was horrific and all hostages must be returned, as is the genocide, humanitarian crisis, and starvation taking place in Gaza.”

Her words echoe those of influential UN and human rights organizations, who argued that Israel’s actions in Gaza were equivalent to genocide.

One of the most grave war crimes is a genocide, as defined by the UN as “acts committed with the intention to destroy, in whole or in part, a national, ethnical, racial, or religious group.”

More than 60, 000 people have been killed by the Israeli military in Gaza so far, and the majority of it has been destroyed.

Greene’s remarks are even more remarkable because only a select few US lawmakers have charged Israel with genocide.

The political left has dominated the US legislatures, making up the majority of the opposition to Israel’s occupation of Gaza. However, Greene is one of Trump’s right-wing Make America Great Again (MAGA) supporters.

The Israeli blockade of Gaza, which has restricted access to basic supplies, has remained under increasing international pressure.

In recent days, Israel’s image in the US political landscape has become more polarized due to images of Palestinian children who are malnourished and reports of widespread hunger in Gaza.

Democrats’ representative John Garamendi also made the suggestion that Israel’s policies constitute genocide last week.

“It’s impossible to ignore the starvation brought on by Israel’s dangerous and willful failure to provide humanitarian aid,” Garamendi said.

Israel receives a raft of billions of dollars in military aid from the US, as well as diplomatic support at international conferences. Despite its atrocities and blocking of Gaza, the Trump administration has not been particularly open to criticism.

Last week, Fine, a further Trump ally, sparked outrage when he appeared to support Israel’s starvation campaign in Gaza while also labeling it as “Muslim terror propaganda.”

He wrote in a social media post earlier this week, “Release the hostages.” “Until then, starve yourself.”

Fine, who won the support of the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC), has a history of anti-Palestinian and Islamophobic views, and was elected to Congress earlier this year with Trump’s support.

For instance, in 2021, a commenter emailed Fine a photo of a dead Palestinian child and inquired about his way of sleeping. He glibly responded, “Quite well, actually! ” I appreciate the picture!

He also made an appearance in September of last year to applaud the Israeli military’s fatal shooting of US activist Aysenur Ezgi Eygi in the occupied West Bank.

“Give rocks, and get shot.” #MuslimTerror is one less. #FireAway, Fine wrote in a similar social media post at the time.

In response to the House of Representatives’ earlier in July’s attack on Muslim American Congresswoman Ilhan Omar on social media, Fine was described as “unhinged, racist, and Islamophobic.”

Omar had criticized Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s visit to Washington, DC, saying, “I’m sure it’s difficult to see us welcome the murder of so many of your fellow Muslim terrorists.”

Even for some of Israel’s steadfastest supporters, the Republican congressman’s recent remarks about the starvation in Gaza seem to have gone too far.

Last week, Fine’s remarks were criticized by the American Jewish Committee (AJC), an organization that supports Israel.

In response to Fine’s post, AJC wrote, “Implying that starvation is a legitimate tactic is unacceptable.”

“All people should be given humanitarian aid as soon as possible in order to avoid harm.” Our leaders must concentrate on carrying out their duties rather than on winning political victories.

If Israel doesn’t take more steps, including agreeing to a ceasefire, then the United Kingdom will recognize a Palestinian state in September, according to Prime Minister Keir Starmer.