NEWS BRIEFING
Official: Trump to challenge California mileage authority
The Environmental Protection Agency was preparing paperwork for the White House for the move, meant to help the administration set a single, less rigorous mileage standard enforceable nationwide, according to the official, who is familiar with the regulatory process and spoke on condition of anonymity because the plan has not been made public.
President Donald Trump has pushed for months to weaken Obama-era mileage standards nationwide and has targeted California’s decades-old power to set its own mileage standards as part of that effort.
Administration moves to rescind authority that Congress granted probably would end up in court. When President George W. Bush challenged California’s greenhouse gas emissions and mileage-setting ability, California fought it. The Obama administration subsequently dropped the Bush effort.
The mileage move would target California’s half-century-old authority under the Clean Air Act to set its own, tough tailpipe emission standards.
California’s long struggles with smog mean the state has been setting its own standards since before the 1970 law was written. Congress allowed California to seek waivers from the national standards for that reason.
Official: Feds search home for link to gun in Texas shooting
The official said federal agents are investigating whether the Lubbock man has been manufacturing firearms but that there have been no arrests.
Spokesmen for the FBI and Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives confirmed the agencies conducted “law enforcement operations” Wednesday in a residential part of Lubbock but declined to elaborate.
Seven people were killed and around two dozen were injured in the shooting that spanned from Midland to Odessa.
Turkey threatens to open gates for Syrian refugees to go west
Recep Tayyip Erdogan, in a speech to his ruling party officials, lamented what he described as Turkey being left to shoulder the burden of Syrian refugees alone.
Turkey is determined to create the safe zone inside Syria, along its border with the war-torn country, and was ready to do it alone before the end of the month if there is no agreement with the United States.
Turkey opened its borders to Syrians in April 2011 and is home to 3.6 million who fled the civil war, now in its ninth year.
Woman with baby in carry-on charged with human trafficking
An American woman was charged with human trafficking after authorities in the Philippines accused her of trying to smuggle a baby out of the country.
Officials with the country’s National Bureau of Investigation presented Jennifer Talbot, 43, at a news conference Thursday, a day after she was detained at Ninoy Aquino International Airport in Manila with a 6-day-old baby she allegedly tried to conceal in her sling bag.
The NBI said Talbot presented an affidavit at the airport, allegedly from the baby’s mother, identified as Maricris Dulap, giving consent for the baby to travel to the U.S., but it had not been signed by the mother. .
Officials said no government travel approval had been issued, prompting them to file human trafficking charges.
Ex-aide drops misconduct suit against Trump
A federal judge dismissed Alva Johnson’s lawsuit in June, calling it a “political statement,” but said she could file a revised complaint accusing Trump of simple battery. Johnson said in a statement Thursday that she will not pursue the case, saying the president has “unlimited resources and a judicial system that has so far refused to hold him accountable.”
In the lawsuit, Johnson accused Trump of grabbing her hand and leaning in to kiss her on the lips as he exited an RV outside a campaign rally in Tampa on Aug. 24, 2016. Johnson said she turned her head and the kiss landed on the side of her mouth, and also described feeling anguish.
Marijuana use in college at highest rate since 1983
About 43% of full-time college students said they used some form of pot at least once in the past year, up from 38%, a University of Michigan survey found. About 25% said they did so in the previous month, up from 21%.
The latest figures are the highest levels seen in the annual survey since 1983.
About 6% of college students said they used marijuana 20 or more times in the past month. For adults the same age who weren’t enrolled in college, the figure was 11%.
College-age adults are the biggest users of marijuana of any age group. Use among high school students has been flat for a few years.
The Government Accountability Office reviewed actions by the Interior Department in December and January, when a budget battle between President Donald Trump and Congress shut down many government offices and furloughed hundreds of thousands of workers.
The Interior Department stirred controversy by using park fees to reopen and staff national parks. The GAO says that violated federal law that prohibits spending not authorized by Congress.