National (U.S.)

"An arctic blast has brought extreme cold, heavy snow and intense wind across much of the U.S. — just in time for the holidays."

"The U.S. government on Friday received just a single bid, from Hilcorp Alaska, for oil and gas drilling rights off the coast of Alaska the first federal auction in the region in more than five years."

"A new rule revives an older set of protections for rivers, marshes and waterways, setting aside changes in the Obama and Trump administrations that led to years of legal wrangling." "The Biden administration is working to complete a clean water regulation before a Supreme Court ruling that could complicate the government’s ability to protect wetlands and other waters."

"Federal environmental enforcement, as measured by Environmental Protection Agency civil cases closed against polluters, hit a two-decade low in 2022, per a report released last week by a national environmental group that blames budget cuts, staff shortages and the U.S. Senate’s failure to confirm key leaders."

"Richard Revesz will take over as the long-awaited head of the Biden administration’s rulemaking review office, a confirmation that gives hope for rule-watchers looking ahead to more stringent environmental standards."

"[New Mexico] officials on Tuesday released a draft permit that includes tougher provisions for the U.S. government to meet if it wants to continue dumping radioactive waste from decades of nuclear research and bomb-making in the New Mexico desert."

"Environmental groups on Wednesday sued the Biden administration over next week’s planned lease sale in Alaska’s Cook Inlet, saying the sale, mandated by Congress, is based on a faulty environmental review."

"EPA failed to properly consider the environmental impacts of a controversial pesticide, according to an appeals court decision that faulted the agency over a Trump-era decision that drew outrage from environmental groups."

"Congress has released a $1.7 trillion bill to fund the government for fiscal 2023. ... The mammoth funding package includes boosts to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and billions in natural disaster aid, among other provisions."

"Dangerously cold Arctic air is blasting to the southeast across the central states ahead of the development of an intense winter storm poised to unleash blizzard conditions in portions of the Midwest, Great Lakes and interior Northeast. Temperatures are plummeting as the Arctic front plunges south, by as much as 40 degrees in an hour."