Louisiana cancels $3 billion coastal restoration project
Louisiana is officially canceling a $3 billion coastal restoration project funded by the Deepwater Horizon oil spill settlement. The Mid-Barataria Sediment Diversion Project aimed to rebuild over 20 square miles of land in southeast Louisiana to combat erosion and sea level rise. Conservation groups supported the project as a science-based solution to climate change. However, Republican Gov. Jeff Landry opposed it, citing harm to local oystermen and the fishing industry. On Thursday, a coalition of federal agencies overseeing the settlement funds declared the project "no longer viable" because of litigation and a suspended federal permit after the state halted work.
RFK Jr. ousts ACIP group that advises CDC on vaccines
Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has removed every member of a scientific committee that advises the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on how to use vaccines. He is pledging to replace them with his own picks. The 17-member Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices had been in a state of flux since Kennedy took over. He recently took the unusual step of changing COVID-19 recommendations without first consulting the panel. Kennedy says the committee members had too many conflicts of interest.
Supreme Court seems likely to OK $8 billion phone and internet subsidy for rural, low-income areas
The Supreme Court seems likely to preserve the $8 billion a year the government spends to subsidize phone and internet services in schools, libraries and rural areas. The justices heard nearly three hours of arguments Wednesday as they reviewed a ruling that struck down as unconstitutional the Universal Service Fund. The tax has been added to phone bills for nearly 30 years. Liberal and conservative justices alike voiced concern about potentially devastating consequences of eliminating the fund that has benefited millions of Americans. A decision is expected by late June.
Federal judge blocks Louisiana law that requires classrooms to display Ten Commandments
Louisiana Attorney General Elizabeth Murrill says the state will ask a federal appeals court to quickly stay a lower court's order declaring unconstitutional a law requiring that the Ten Commandments be displayed in every public classroom by Jan. 1. U.S. District Judge John W. deGravelles on Tuesday said the law had an unconstitutional “overtly religious” purpose. He ordered state education officials to notify all 72 local school boards of his finding. Murrill contends that his ruling only applies to five local school boards named as defendants in the case. However, she acknowledged that deGravelles’ order could have a “chilling effect” on any local board’s decision to enforce the law.
US port strike: Over 45,000 dockworkers from Maine to Texas hit picket lines
Dockworkers at ports from Maine to Texas have started walking picket lines in a strike over wages and automation that could reignite inflation and cause shortages of goods if it goes on more than a few weeks. The contract between the ports and about 45,000 members of the International Longshoremen’s Association expired at midnight, and even though progress was reported in talks on Monday, the workers went on strike early Tuesday. The strike is affecting 36 ports. The U.S. Maritime Alliance, which represents the ports, said Monday evening that both sides had moved off of their previous wage offers, but when picket lines went up just after midnight, it was apparent there was no deal.
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