CANNON BALL, N.D. — The company building a $3.8 billion oil pipeline sought a federal judge's permission Tuesday to circumvent President Barack Obama's administration and move ahead with a disputed section of the project in North Dakota, as opponents held protests across the country urging it to be rejected.

Dallas-based Energy Transfer Partners and a subsidiary asked the court to let them lay pipe under a Missouri River reservoir, a plan the Standing Rock Sioux tribe says threatens its drinking water and cultural sites. The Army Corps of Engineers said Monday it needs more time to study the impact of the plan.

While President-elect Donald Trump, a pipeline supporter, likely would greenlight the project when he takes office in January, the company is trying to win federal approval — or a court order — to allow it to go forward now. The delay has already cost nearly $100 million, the company said in court documents, “and further delay in the consideration of this case would add millions of dollars more each month in costs which cannot be recovered.”

In a statement Tuesday, the company blamed the Obama administration for “political interference” in the pipeline review process.

Protests were held Tuesday across the country, from California to Vermont. Activists called for demonstrations at Army Corps of Engineers offices and at banks financing the pipeline construction.

Twenty-eight protesters were arrested near Mandan after a group of about 400 protesters put a truck and tree branches on BNSF Railway tracks near a pipeline work staging area and tried to set it on fire, Morton County sheriff's spokesman Rob Keller said.

U.K. government rejects report claiming it has no Brexit plan

LONDON — The British government on Tuesday rejected claims in a leaked report that it is divided over leaving the European Union and has no coherent plan to extricate the U.K. from the 28-nation bloc.

The Times of London newspaper published a memo, written by a staffer at accountancy firm Deloitte, claiming splits within Prime Minister Theresa May's team have delayed development of a negotiating strategy with the European Union.

The government says it will trigger two years of formal exit talks by March 31.

But the memo says “it may be six months before there is a view on priorities/negotiation strategy as the political situation in the U.K. and the EU evolves.”

The prime minister's office said “this is not a government report and we don't recognize the claims made in it.”

U.S. finalizes rule to limit gas ‘flaring' at some drilling sites

WASHINGTON — With two months left in President Barack Obama's term, his administration issued a rule Tuesday intended to clamp down on oil companies that burn off natural gas on public lands.

The new rule seeks to reduce waste and harmful methane emissions as part of a strategy to address climate change.

Energy companies frequently “flare” or burn off vast supplies of natural gas at drilling sites because it makes less money than oil. A government report said an estimated 40 percent of the gas being flared or vented could be captured economically and sold.

Interior Secretary Sally Jewell said the new rule updates 30-year-old drilling regulations to ensure that natural gas is used to power the economy. The rule is set to take effect in mid-January — days before Obama leaves office.

Hong Kong court ousts two lawmakers in oath protest

A Hong Kong court removed two pro-independence activists elected to the city legislature in September, handing the Chinese government a win in its campaign to quash separatist sentiment in the former British colony.

Sixtus Leung, 30, and Yau Wai-ching, 25, disqualified themselves from the Legislative Council on Oct. 12 after altering their oaths of office to include insults against China, Justice Thomas Au said in the ruling. Tuesday's decision in the Court of First Instance vacated the seats of the two “localists” and barred them from acting as lawmakers.

The judge ruled in favor of Hong Kong's China-backed chief executive, Leung Chun-ying, who had asked the court to block a second swearing-in ceremony in a case that sparked concerns about judicial independence.

Safety group releases list of toys it says are unsafe

BOSTON — A plush elephant pillow that could suffocate a baby, a plastic hammer with the potential to cause head injuries and a slingshot-like device that shoots balls of slime that could cause eye injuries were singled out Tuesday by a child safety group as among 10 dangerous toys for sale this holiday season.

The list issued by Boston-based World Against Toys Causing Harm includes toys with small pieces that pose a choking hazard and pointy parts that it says could cause puncture wounds.

The Toy Industry Association, a trade group representing toy makers and sellers, countered that the U.S. has among the strictest toy-safety standards in the world. The association said in a statement that “year after year these lists have ... shown to be full of false claims that needlessly frighten parents and caregivers.”

Denver first U.S. city to OK pot in bars and restaurants

DENVER — Denver has approved a first-in-the-nation law allowing people to use marijuana in bars, restaurants and other public spaces, such as art galleries or yoga studios.

The catch: those places would have to seek neighbors' approval, and patrons wouldn't be allowed to smoke inside.

Denver voters approved Proposition 300 as eight other states legalized marijuana for medical or recreational purposes last week. The Denver vote was so close that it took a week for supporters to claim victory and opponents to concede.

The city law takes effect immediately, but has caveats. Patrons would have to bring their own weed, to comply with state law banning sales of both pot and food or drink. Patrons could use pot inside as long as it isn't smoked, with the possibility of outside smoking areas.

Egyptian ruling: An Egyptian court on Tuesday struck down the death sentence passed by a lower tribunal against ousted Islamist President Mohammed Morsi for his part in a mass prison break during the country's 2011 uprising. The ruling means Morsi and five other leaders of his banned group will be given new trials.

Quake rescue: A fleet of international warships is heading to Kaikoura on New Zealand's South Island on Wednesday to help rescue hundreds of tourists, who are stranded after an earthquake blocked roads to the coastal town. The vessels from the U.S., Australia and Canada will accompany New Zealand naval ships to the area.