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Tag: Government regulations

  • Federal workplace safety regulators penalize businesses over 6 deaths at Colorado dairy

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    Federal workplace safety regulators have issued citations and fines against three businesses for violations in the deaths of six people last year at a Colorado dairy.

    The U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration on Tuesday announced fines including penalties for failing to protect workers against hazardous gases against the dairy owner and a dairy service provider. The deaths of five men and a teenager on Aug. 20, 2025, sent shockwaves through the rural communities in and around Keenesburg, 35 miles (55 kilometers) northeast of Denver.

    Previously, the Weld County coroner’s office determined from autopsies and toxicology tests that all the people who died were exposed to hydrogen sulfide gas.

    Those autopsy reports gave little indication of the circumstances of the deaths, describing only an industrial accident in a confined space at a dairy farm.

    In August 2025, federal regulators opened initial investigations of the dairy, owned by Prospect Ranch as well as Johnstown, Colorado-based Fiske Inc, whose subsidiary High Plains Robotics services dairy equipment and employed some of those who died.

    The hazards of confined spaces on farms and dairies are a well-known and persistent cause of death in agriculture across the U.S. — often from exposure to odorless and colorless noxious gases, or due to asphyxiation in closed spaces where oxygen has been depleted.

    First responders from a rural fire district in Weld County were dispatched around 6 p.m. on Aug. 20 to Prospect Ranch and took their own safety precautions as they entered a confined space.

    All those who died in Colorado were Latino, ranging in age from 17 to 50. Four of them, including the teenage high school student, were from the same extended family.

    Alejandro Espinoza Cruz, of Nunn, was found dead along with his 17-year-old son Oscar Espinoza Leos and a second son, 29-year-old Carlos Espinoza Prado.

    The Espinozas are related by marriage to a 36-year-old from Greeley who died — Jorge Sanchez Pena, according to the Weld County coroner’s office.

    The other two men — Ricardo Gomez Galvan, 40, and Noe Montañez Casañas, 32 — lived in Keenesburg.

    The remains of Montañez Casañas, a veterinarian who was employed under a U.S. visa, were repatriated to the central Mexican state of Hidalgo, according to the Mexican consulate in Denver.

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    Lee reported from Santa Fe, New Mexico.

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  • Shein faces EU investigation over illegal products and addictive design features

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    LONDON — European Union regulators are investigating Shein over concerns the online retailer hasn’t done enough to limit the sale of illegal products or protect users from the platform’s allegedly addictive design.

    The 27-nation bloc’s executive arm said Tuesday that it opened formal investigation under the bloc’s sweeping rulebook known as the Digital Services Act, which requires the biggest online platforms to take extra steps to protect internet users from dodgy products.

    Shein may be required to alter its actions, or pay a hefty fine if a so-called non-compliance decision is reached following an in-depth investigation, the European Commission said.

    One area its investigation is focusing on is whether Shein has the proper safeguards in place to limit the sale of products that are illegal in the EU, the commission said, including items that amount to child sexual abuse material such as “child-like sex dolls.”

    The the fast-fashion giant came under fire last year in France, where authorities found illegal weapons including firearms, knives and machetes as well as child-like sex dolls for sale on its website. The French government sought to suspend access to the Shein site in France. A court blocked that action and asked the commission to investigate under the bloc’s Digital Services Act.

    The commission says it will also determine whether Shein has systems to mitigate risks related to what it says is the platform’s addictive design, which includes giving users points or rewards “for engagement.”

    And regulators are also targeting the transparency of Shein’s recommendation systems that suggest more products to consumers. They’re concerned that the company doesn’t clearly explain to users why they’re being recommended specific products.

    Shein said it takes its obligations seriously and will continue to cooperate with the commission.

    The company said it has invested significantly in strengthening compliance with the DSA. The measures “comprehensive systemic-risk assessments and mitigation frameworks, enhanced protections for younger users, and ongoing work to design our services in ways that promote a safe and trusted user experience.”

    “Protecting minors and reducing the risk of harmful content and behaviours are central to how we develop and operate our platform,” the company said in a press statement.

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  • Shein faces EU investigation over illegal products and addictive design features

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    LONDON — European Union regulators are investigating Shein over concerns the online retailer hasn’t done enough to limit the sale of illegal products or protect users from the platform’s allegedly addictive design.

    The 27-nation bloc’s executive arm said Tuesday that it opened formal investigation under the bloc’s sweeping rulebook known as the Digital Services Act, which requires the biggest online platforms to take extra steps to protect internet users from dodgy products.

    Shein may be required to alter its actions, or pay a hefty fine if a so-called non-compliance decision is reached following an in-depth investigation, the European Commission said.

    One area its investigation is focusing on is whether Shein has the proper safeguards in place to limit the sale of products that are illegal in the EU, the commission said, including items that amount to child sexual abuse material such as “child-like sex dolls.”

    The the fast-fashion giant came under fire last year in France, where authorities found illegal weapons including firearms, knives and machetes as well as child-like sex dolls for sale on its website. The French government sought to suspend access to the Shein site in France. A court blocked that action and asked the commission to investigate under the bloc’s Digital Services Act.

    The commission says it will also determine whether Shein has systems to mitigate risks related to what it says is the platform’s addictive design, which includes giving users points or rewards “for engagement.”

    And regulators are also targeting the transparency of Shein’s recommendation systems that suggest more products to consumers. They’re concerned that the company doesn’t clearly explain to users why they’re being recommended specific products.

    Shein said it takes its obligations seriously and will continue to cooperate with the commission.

    The company said it has invested significantly in strengthening compliance with the DSA. The measures “comprehensive systemic-risk assessments and mitigation frameworks, enhanced protections for younger users, and ongoing work to design our services in ways that promote a safe and trusted user experience.”

    “Protecting minors and reducing the risk of harmful content and behaviours are central to how we develop and operate our platform,” the company said in a press statement.

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  • EU accuses TikTok of ‘addictive design’ and seeks changes to protect users

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    LONDON — The European Union on Friday accused TikTok of breaching the bloc’s digital rules with “addictive design” features including autoplay and infinite scroll, in preliminary charges that strike at the heart of the popular video sharing app’s operating model.

    EU regulators said their investigation found that TikTok hasn’t done enough to assess how its features could harm the physical and mental health of users, including children and “vulnerable adults.”

    The European Commission said it believes TikTok should change the “basic design” of its service. The commission is the EU’s executive arm and enforcer of the 27-nation bloc’s Digital Services Act, a sweeping rulebook that requires social media companies to clean up their platforms and protect users, under threat of hefty fines.

    TikTok denied the accusations.

    “The Commission’s preliminary findings present a categorically false and entirely meritless depiction of our platform, and we will take whatever steps are necessary to challenge these findings through every means available to us,” the company said in a statement.

    TikTok now has a chance to reply to the commission’s findings, which could lead to a so-called non-compliance decision and possible fine worth up to 6% of the company’s total annual revenue.

    “Social media addiction can have detrimental effects on the developing minds of children and teens,” Henna Virkkunen, the commission’s executive vice-president for tech sovereignty, security and democracy, said in a press statement. “The Digital Services Act makes platforms responsible for the effects they can have on their users. In Europe, we enforce our legislation to protect our children and our citizens online.”

    The preliminary findings from Brussels are the latest example of pressure that TikTok and other social media platforms are facing over youth addiction.

    Australia has banned social media for under-16s while governments in Spain, France, and Denmark want to introduce similar measures. In the U.S., TikTok last month settled a landmark social media addiction lawsuit while two other companies named in the suit — Meta’s Instagram and Google’s YouTube — still face claims that their platforms deliberately addict and harm children.

    The commission said that TikTok fuels the urge to keep scrolling because it constantly rewards users with new content, leading to reduced self control.

    It said TikTok ignores signs that someone is compulsively using the app, such as the amount of time that minors spend on it at night, and how often the app is opened.

    The company has failed to put in place “reasonable, proportionate and effective” measures to offset the risks, it said.

    The commission said TikTok’s existing time management controls are easy to dismiss and “introduce limited friction,” while parental tools need “additional time and skills” from parents.

    Changes that the commission wants TikTok to make include disabling features like infinite scroll; putting in more effective breaks for screen time, including at night; and changing its “highly personalized” recommender system, which feeds users an endless stream of video shorts based on their preferences.

    TikTok says it has numerous tools, such as custom screen time limits and sleep reminders, that let users make “intentional decisions” about how they spend their time on the app.

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  • School violated civil rights law in ‘Thunderbirds’ to ‘T-Birds’ name change, US says

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    BOHEMIA, N.Y. — A New York school district is “erasing its Native American heritage” and violating civil rights law by changing its team name from the “Thunderbirds” to the “T-Birds,” federal education officials say.

    The U.S. Department of Education said Thursday that the Connetquot Central School District can voluntarily resolve the federal law violation by restoring the “rightful” Thunderbirds’ name.

    The Long Island district, like others in the state, changed its team name in order to comply with state regulations banning Native American sports names and mascots.

    But federal education officials argue the state mandate violates civil rights law because it allows schools to continue using names derived from other racial or ethnic groups, such as the “Dutchmen” and “Huguenots.”

    “We will not allow ideologues to decide that some mascots based on national origin are acceptable while others are banned,” said Kimberly Richey, who heads the Education Department’s civil rights office. “The Trump Administration will not relent in ensuring that every community is treated equally under the law.”

    The school district said it is reviewing the federal finding, but state education officials excoriated it, saying the conclusion “makes a mockery” of the nation’s civil rights laws.

    “USDOE has offered no explanation as to whose civil rights were violated by changing a team name from Thunderbirds to T-birds,” JP O’Hare, spokesperson for the agency, said in a statement Friday. “NYSED remains committed to ending the use of harmful, outdated, and offensive depictions of Indigenous people.”

    The state education department and the school district reached an agreement last year in which Connetquot would be allowed to use the “T-Birds” name and related imagery such as an eagle, thunderbolt or lightning bolt, in exchange for dropping its legal challenge to the state’s Native American mascot ban.

    Native American advocates say the “Thunderbird” is a mythical creature often depicted as a powerful spirit and benevolent protector in many indigenous traditions.

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  • Climate activist predicts high electricity prices and Trump’s attacks on green energy will hurt GOP

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    RIPTON, Vermont — At a time when the Trump administration rolled back numerous environmental regulations while global temperatures and U.S. carbon pollution spiked, longtime climate activist Bill McKibben finds hope in something that didn’t seem that strong on a recent single-digit-temperature day: the sun.

    That sun has provided him cheap power for 25 years, and this month he installed his fourth iteration of solar panels on his Vermont home. In an interview after he set up the new system, he said President Donald Trump’s stance against solar and other cheap green energy will hurt the GOP in this year’s elections as electricity bills rise.

    After the Biden and Obama administrations subsidized and championed solar, wind and other green power as answers to fight climate change, Trump has tried to dampen those and turn to older and dirtier fossil fuels. The Trump administration froze five big offshore wind projects last month but judges this week allowed three of the projects to resume. Federal clean energy tax incentives expired on Dec. 31 that include installing home solar panels.

    Meanwhile, electricity prices are rising in the United States, and McKibben is counting on that to trigger political change.

    “I think you’re starting to see that have a big political impact in the U.S. right now. My prediction would be that electric prices are going to be to the 2026 election what egg prices were to the 2024 election,” said McKibben, an author and founder of multiple environmental and activist groups. Everyday inflation hurt Democrats in the last presidential race, analysts said.

    The Trump administration and a bipartisan group of governors on Friday tried to step up pressure on the operator of the nation’s largest electric grid to take urgent steps to boost power supplies in the mid-Atlantic and keep electricity bills from rising even higher.

    “Ensuring the American people have reliable and affordable electricity is one of President Trump’s top priorities,” said White House spokesperson Taylor Rogers.

    Globally, the price of wind and solar power is plummeting to the point that they are cheaper than fossil fuels, the United Nations found. And China leads the world in renewable energy technology, with one of its electric car companies passing Tesla in annual sales.

    “We can’t economically compete in a world where China gets a lot of cheap energy and we have to pay for really expensive energy,” McKibben told The Associated Press, just after he installed a new type of solar panels that can hang on balconies with little fuss.

    When Trump took office in January 2025, the national average electricity cost was 15.94 cents per kilowatt-hour. By September it was up to 18.07 cents and then down slightly to 17.98 cents in October, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration.

    That’s a 12.8% increase in 10 months. It rose more in 10 months than the previous two years. People in Maryland, New Jersey and Maine have seen electricity prices rise at a rate three times higher than the national average since October 2024.

    At 900 kilowatt-hours per month, that means the average monthly electricity bill is about $18 more than in January 2025.

    This week, Democrats on Capitol Hill blamed rising electric bills on Trump and his dislike of renewable energy.

    “From his first day in office, he’s made it his mission to limit American’s access to cheap energy, all in the name of increasing profits for his friends in the fossil fuel industry. As a result, energy bills across the country have skyrocketed,” Illinois Rep. Sean Casten said at a Wednesday news conference.

    “Donald Trump is the first president to intentionally raise the price of something that we all need,” Hawaii Sen. Brian Schatz, also a Democrat, said Wednesday on the Senate floor. “Nobody should be enthused about paying more for electricity, and this national solar ban is making everybody pay more. Clean is cheap and cheap is clean.”

    McKibben has been sending excess electricity from his solar panels to the Vermont grid for years. Now he’s sending more.

    As his dog, Birke, stood watch, McKibben, who refers to his home nestled in the Green Mountains of Vermont as a “museum of solar technology” got his new panels up and running in about 10 minutes. This type of panel from the California-based firm Bright Saver is often referred to as plug-in solar. Though it’s not yet widely available in the U.S., McKibben pointed to the style’s popularity in Europe and Australia.

    “Americans spend three or four times as much money as Australians or Europeans to put solar panels on the roof. We have an absurdly overcomplicated permitting system that’s unlike anything else on the rest of the planet,” McKibben said.

    McKibben said Australians can obtain three hours of free electricity each day through a government program because the country has built so many solar panels.

    “And I’m almost certain that that’s an argument that every single person in America would understand,” he said. “I don’t know anyone who wouldn’t say: ‘I’d like three free hours of electricity.’”

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    Swinhart reported from Vermont. Borenstein reported from Washington. Matthew Daly contributed to this report from Washington.

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    The Associated Press’ climate and environmental coverage receives financial support from multiple private foundations. AP is solely responsible for all content. Find AP’s standards for working with philanthropies, a list of supporters and funded coverage areas at AP.org.

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  • Popular weight-loss drugs shouldn’t carry suicide warnings, FDA says

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    Federal regulators on Tuesday told drugmakers Novo Nordisk and Eli Lilly to remove label warnings about potential suicidal thoughts and behaviors from their blockbuster weight-loss medications.

    The U.S. Food and Drug Administration said a comprehensive review “found no increased” risk related to suicide among users of the GLP-1 drugs for obesity, including Novo Nordisk’s Wegovy and Saxenda and Eli Lilly’s Zepbound.

    A preliminary review in January 2024 showed no link between the drugs and suicidal thought or actions, the FDA said. At that time, however, officials said they could not rule out that “a small risk may exist.” The new analysis puts those concerns to rest.

    Labeling for other drugs known as GLP-1 receptor agonists approved to treat diabetes carried no such warnings, the agency noted.

    “Today’s FDA action will ensure consistent messaging across the labeling for all FDA-approved GLP-1 RA medications,” officials said.

    ___

    The Associated Press Health and Science Department receives support from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute’s Department of Science Education and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. The AP is solely responsible for all content.

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  • EU warns of possible action after the US bars 5 Europeans accused of censorship

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    BRUSSELS — France, Germany, the European Union and the United Kingdom on Wednesday hit out at a U.S. decision to impose travel bans on five Europeans the Trump administration accuses of pressuring tech firms to censor or suppress American views.

    The EU’s executive branch, the European Commission, which supervises tech regulation in Europe, warned that it would take action against any “unjustified measures.” It said it had requested clarification from the U.S. State Department, which announced the bans on Tuesday.

    The five Europeans were characterized by U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio as “radical” activists and “weaponized” nongovernmental organizations. They include the former EU commissioner responsible for supervising social media rules, Thierry Breton.

    Breton, a businessman and former French finance minister, clashed last year on social media with tech billionaire Elon Musk over broadcasting an online interview with Donald Trump in the months leading up to the U.S. election.

    Rubio wrote in an X post on Tuesday that “for far too long, ideologues in Europe have led organized efforts to coerce American platforms to punish American viewpoints they oppose.”

    “The Trump Administration will no longer tolerate these egregious acts of extraterritorial censorship,” he posted.

    The European Commission countered that “the EU is an open, rules-based single market, with the sovereign right to regulate economic activity in line with our democratic values and international commitments.”

    “Our digital rules ensure a safe, fair, and level playing field for all companies, applied fairly and without discrimination,” it said.

    French President Emmanuel Macron said on X that he had spoken to Breton about the U.S. move. “We will stand firm against pressure and will protect Europeans,” Macron posted.

    Macron said the EU’s digital rules were adopted by “a democratic and sovereign process” involving all member countries and the European Parliament. He said the rules “ensure fair competition among platforms, without targeting any third country.”

    He underlined that “the rules governing the European Union’s digital space are not meant to be determined outside Europe.”

    The four other Europeans banned by the U.S. are Imran Ahmed, chief executive of the Center for Countering Digital Hate; Josephine Ballon and Anna-Lena von Hodenberg, leaders of HateAid, a German organization; and Clare Melford, who runs the Global Disinformation Index.

    German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul said on X the entry bans, including on the leaders of HateAid, were “not acceptable.” He said Germany intended to address the U.S. “interpretation” of the EU’s digital rules with Washington “in order to strengthen our partnership.”

    EU Council President António Costa also called the U.S. bans “unacceptable between allies, partners, and friends.”

    “The EU stands firm in its defense of freedom of expression, fair digital rules, and its regulatory sovereignty,” Costa posted on X.

    The U.K. government said, “While every country has the right to set its own visa rules, we support the laws and institutions which are working to keep the Internet free from the most harmful content.”

    The Europeans fell afoul of a new visa policy announced in May to restrict the entry of foreigners deemed responsible for censorship of protected speech in the United States.

    Rubio said the five had advanced foreign government censorship campaigns against Americans and U.S. companies, which he said created “potentially serious adverse foreign policy consequences” for the United States.

    The action to bar them from the U.S. is part of a Trump administration campaign against foreign influence over online speech, using immigration law rather than platform regulations or penalties.

    In a post on X on Tuesday, Sarah Rogers, the U.S. under secretary of state for public diplomacy, called Breton the “mastermind” behind the EU’s Digital Services Act, which imposes a set of strict requirements designed to keep internet users safe online. This includes flagging harmful or illegal content like hate speech.

    Breton responded on X by noting that all 27 EU member countries voted for the Digital Services Act in 2022. “To our American friends: ‘Censorship isn’t where you think it is,’” he wrote.

    ___

    Angela Charlton contributed to this report from Paris.

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  • Farmers and politics threaten to put EU’s free-trade deal with South America on ice

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    BRUSSELS — France is throwing up a last-minute obstacle to a massive trans-Atlantic trade deal between the 27-country European Union and the five South American nations of the Mercosur bloc that’s taken a quarter-century to negotiate.

    Angry European farmers fearing new competition from the EU-Mercosur pact are marching on Brussels, and European negotiators who thought they would finally wrap up the deal this year are facing a tough week.

    The deal between the EU and the five Mercosur countries — Brazil, Argentina, Uruguay, Paraguay and Bolivia — would progressively remove duties on almost all goods traded between the two blocs over the next 15 years. Provided it is ratified by both blocs, the accord would cover a market of 780 million people and a quarter of the globe’s gross domestic product.

    Negotiators agreed on the EU-Mercosur deal a year ago, but it now must be approved by all 27 EU countries, as well as the European Parliament.

    Both the European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and European Council President António Costa are scheduled to sign the deal in Brazil on Dec. 20 — if aggrieved farmers marching on Brussels and vocal opposition from key EU nations don’t derail their plans.

    In the run-up to what many expected to be the final stretch, French Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu said on Sunday that the current EU-Mercosur deal was “unacceptable,” and that conditions for a vote of EU heads of state and government on Thursday “have not been met.” He requested a delay, which would push the vote to 2026 or beyond.

    While commending recent measures taken by the European Commission to both protect farmers and increase inspections of agricultural imports for food safety violations like pesticides banned in the EU, Lecornu said that France has not been fully placated.

    “It is clear in this context that the conditions are not in place for any vote by the EU Council on authorizing the signing of the agreement,” he said.

    Poland, Austria, the Netherlands and France are concerned that Mercosur exporters could undercut EU products made with stronger labor and sanitary regulations like pesticide restrictions, said Alicia Gracia-Herrero, a senior fellow at the Brussels-based Bruegel Institute. France has failed to get Mercosur to agree to “mirror” those regulations.

    She said that the deal reflects limits on the EU’s geopolitical strength, political unity and capability.

    “If we cannot get this done even with (U.S. President Donald) Trump’s pressure, what can you expect from the EU?” she said. “I hope France cannot fully torpedo this because the EU cannot afford a further delay in Mercosur if it wants to be credible with other ongoing trade deals, such as Indonesia and, even more so, India.”

    In the wake of Trump’s tariff blitzkrieg earlier this year, when Washington imposed levies of 15% on most imports from the EU, the bloc has sought bilateral trade deals to help weather with aggressive trade tactics from both the U.S. and China, its historical top trading partners.

    European Commission spokesperson Olof Gill said that Brussels would push to have the Mercosur deal signed by the end of the year because it puts the EU’s geopolitical credibility on the line.

    “We’re talking about bringing together two of the world’s biggest trading blocs. And in so doing, in a time of rising geopolitical uncertainty, we create a platform based on trust, based on rules, where we can work with Mercosur on the big challenges at global level of our time. We’re talking climate, economic security, reform of the global rules-based order, and so on,” he said.

    From Spanish ham and Italian wine to Dutch dairy and Greek olives, agriculture is central to the European Union’s budget, economy, culture and politics. The EU exported 235.4 billion euros ($272 billion) worth of agricultural goods in 2024.

    Many farmers loathe the Mercosur deal, but its proponents in Brussels say it would save businesses some $4.26 billion in duties each year, streamline sales, and remove tariffs on products like French wine, Argentinian soybeans, Brazilian rare earth minerals, and German pharmaceuticals.

    Its critics in France, the Netherlands and other countries with big dairy and beef industries say the pact would subject local farmers to unfair competition and cause environmental damage.

    Such opposition has prompted Brussels to propose new protections for the EU’s agricultural sector.

    Last year, the European Commission vowed to slash red tape for farmers and more equitably distribute annual agricultural subsidies of 50 billion euros ($58 billion) across bloc.

    In October, the commission set up new mechanisms allowing farmers to trigger investigations if the prices of imports from Mercosur are at least 10% lower than the prices of the same or competing EU products. Serious violators could get their preferential tariffs temporarily withdrawn.

    In December, the commission proposed to ratchet up border inspections to check if imported agricultural goods were produced with pesticides banned in the EU.

    But those moves have not soothed French fears nor the anxieties of farmers.

    Agricultural unions are once again planning demonstrations in Brussels as leaders and diplomats meet for the European Council on Thursday.

    Disgruntled farmers used tractors to paralyze many European capitals as part of a campaign lionized by the far right in the run-up to their successful showing in EU-wide elections in 2024. ——— Associated Press writer Sylvie Corbet contributed from Paris.

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  • Trump administration delays decision on federal protections for monarch butterflies

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    MADISON, Wis. — President Donald Trump’s administration has delayed a decision on whether to extend federal protections to monarch butterflies indefinitely despite years of warnings from conservationists that populations are shrinking.

    The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service announced during the waning days of then-President Joe Biden’s term in December 2024 that the agency planned to add the beloved backyard pollinator to the threatened species list by the end of 2025, calling the insect “iconic” and “cherished across North America.”

    But the Trump administration quietly listed the effort as a “long-term action” in a September report on the status of federal regulatory initiatives from the Office of Management and Budget. The designation does not mean the administration has blocked the fish and wildlife service from making the decision, only that it will not come within the year that began in September.

    “The administration remains committed to a regulatory approach that is transparent, predictable and grounded in sound science,” an agency spokesperson wrote in an email to The Associated Press on Friday. “Any listing must follow the (Endangered Species Act’s) statutory requirement that determinations be based on the best scientific and commercial data available. At the same time, the administration continues to emphasize voluntary, locally driven conservation as a proven tool for supporting species and reducing the need for additional federal regulation.”

    No one at the agency immediately returned follow-up emails inquiring about the specific rationale for the delay. The first Trump administration named the monarch a candidate for listing in December 2020. His second administration has made oil and gas production a centerpiece and has been working to strip away environmental regulations that impede development.

    His administration moved in November to roll back blanket protections for threatened animals and plants, requiring government agencies to instead craft species-specific rules, a potentially lengthy process. Other proposals call for bypassing species protections for logging in national forests and on public lands.

    The Center for Biological Diversity and other conservation groups started pushing for federal protections for the butterfly in 2014, petitioning the fish and wildlife service to list the insect. The center sued in 2022 to force the agency to make a listing decision.

    Tierra Curry, the center’s endangered species co-director, said Friday that she’s not surprised the Trump administration has delayed the decision. She said it can take more than a decade to get a species listed. For example, she said, the Miami Blue Butterfly was finally listed as endangered in 2012 after waiting on the candidate list since 1984. The Dakota Skipper butterfly became a candidate in 1984 but was not listed as threatened until 2014, she added.

    The long-term action designation doesn’t mean the end for monarch protections but it does place them in “bureaucratic limbo,” she said.

    “It’s absolutely disappointing because monarchs need all the help they can get,” Curry said.

    Monarchs are found across North America. Known for their distinctive orange-and-black wings, they’re a symbol of sunny summer days.

    But environmentalists have warned that monarch populations are shrinking due to climate change and rural development. Fish and wildlife service experts said when they announced in December 2024 that they planned to list the butterfly that monarchs east of the Rocky Mountains face a 57% to 74% probability of extinction by 2080. Monarchs west of the Rockies have a 95% chance of becoming extinct by then.

    The monarch listing proposal would generally prohibit people from killing or transporting the butterfly. People and farmers could continue to remove milkweed, a key food source for monarch caterpillars, from their gardens, backyards and fields but would be barred from making changes that would make the land permanently unusable for the species.

    People could continue to transport fewer than 250 monarchs and could continue to use them for educational purposes.

    The proposal also would designate as critical habitat 4,395 acres (1,779 hectares) in seven coastal California counties where monarchs west of the Rocky Mountains migrate for winter. The designation would prohibit federal agencies from destroying or modifying that habitat. The designation doesn’t prohibit all development, but landowners who need a federal license or permit for a project would have to work with the wildlife service to mitigate damage.

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  • Airlines adopt software fix for Airbus A320 after plane has sudden altitude drop

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    An aircraft heavily used by commercial airlines around the world needs a software fix to address an issue that contributed to a sudden drop in altitude of a JetBlue plane last month, the manufacturer and European aviation safety regulators said Friday.

    The step may result in some flight delays as U.S. travelers return home from the Thanksgiving holidays.

    Airbus said an analysis of the JetBlue incident revealed intense solar radiation may corrupt data critical to the functioning of flight controls on the A320 family of aircraft.

    The European Union Aviation Safety Agency issued a directive requiring operators of the A320 to address the issue. The agency said this may cause “short-term disruption” to flight schedules.

    American Airlines has about 480 planes from the A320 family, of which 209 are affected. The fix should take about two hours for many aircraft and updates should be completed for the overwhelming majority on Friday, the airline said. A handful will be finished Saturday.

    American Airlines expects some delays but it said it’s focused on limiting cancellations as customers return home from Thanksgiving holiday travel. It said safety would be its overriding priority.

    Delta said it expected the issue to affect less than 50 of its A321neo aircraft. United said six planes in its fleet are affected and it expects minor disruptions to a few flights. Hawaiian Airlines said it wasn’t affected.

    Mike Stengel, a partner with the aerospace industry management consulting firm AeroDynamic Advisory, said the fix could be addressed between flights or on overnight plane checks.

    “Definitely not ideal for this to be happening on a very ubiquitous aircraft on a busy holiday weekend,” Stengel said. “Although again the silver lining being that it only should take a few hours to update the software.”

    At least 15 JetBlue passengers were injured and taken to the hospital after the Oct. 30 incident on board the flight from Cancun, Mexico, to Newark, New Jersey. The plane was diverted to Tampa, Florida.

    Airbus is registered in the Netherlands but has its main headquarters in France.

    It’s one of the world’s biggest airplane manufacturers alongside Boeing.

    The A320 is the primary competitor to Boeing’s 737, Stengel said. Airbus updated its engine in the mid-2010s and planes in this category are called A320neo, he said.

    The A320 is the world’s best-selling single-aisle aircraft family, Airbus’ website said.

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  • What a federal ban on THC-infused drinks and snacks could mean for the hemp industry

    [ad_1]

    MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — The production lines at Indeed Brewing moved quickly, the cans filling not with beer, but with THC-infused seltzer. The product, which features the compound that gets cannabis users high, has been a lifeline at Indeed and other craft breweries as alcohol sales have fallen in recent years.

    But that boom looks set to come to a crashing halt. Buried in the bill that ended the federal government shutdown this month was a provision to ban those drinks, along with other impairing beverages and snacks made from hemp, which have proliferated across the country in recent years. Now the $24 billion hemp industry is scrambling to save itself before the provision takes effect in November 2026.

    “It’s a big deal,” said Ryan Bandy, Indeed’s chief business officer. “It would be a mess for our breweries, for our industry, and obviously for a lot of people who like these things.”

    Ryan Bandy, chief business officer at Indeed Brewing in Minneapolis, stands near a pallet of six-packs of seltzer containing THC, the active ingredient in marijuana, in his brewery on Thursday, Nov. 20, 2025. (AP Photo/Steve Karnowski)

    Here’s what to know about the looming ban on impairing products derived from hemp.

    Congress opened the door in 2018

    Marijuana and hemp are the same species. Marijuana is cultivated for high levels of THC in its flowers. Low-THC hemp is grown for its sturdy fibers, food or wellness products. “Rope, not dope” was long the motto of farmers who supported legalizing hemp.

    After states began legalizing marijuana for adult use over a decade ago, hemp advocates saw an opening at the federal level. As part of the 2018 farm bill, Congress legalized the cultivation of industrial hemp to give farmers, including in Republican Sen. Mitch McConnell’s home state of Kentucky, a new cash crop.

    Stay up to date with the news and the best of AP by following our WhatsApp channel.


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    But the way that law defined hemp — as having less than 0.3% of a specific type of THC, called delta-9 — opened a huge loophole. Beverages or bags of snacks could meet that threshold and still contain more than enough THC to get people high. Businesses could further exploit the law by extracting a non-impairing compound, called CBD, and chemically changing it into other types of impairing THC, such as delta-8 or delta-10.

    The result? Vape oil, gummy candies, chips, cookies, sodas and other unregulated, untested products laden with hemp-derived THC spread around the country. In many places, they have been available at gas stations or convenience stores, even to teens. In legal marijuana states, they undercut heavily taxed and regulated products. In others, they evaded the prohibition on recreational use of weed.

    Some states, including Indiana, have reported spikes in calls to poison-control centers for pediatric exposure to THC.

    Cans of seltzer containing THC, the active ingredient in marijuana, are shown in a cooler at the Indeed Brewery taproom in Minneapolis on Thursday, Nov. 20, 2025. (AP Photo/Steve Karnowski)

    Cans of seltzer containing THC, the active ingredient in marijuana, are shown in a cooler at the Indeed Brewery taproom in Minneapolis on Thursday, Nov. 20, 2025. (AP Photo/Steve Karnowski)

    A patchwork of state regulations

    Dozens of states have since taken steps to regulate or ban impairing hemp products. In October, Democratic California Gov. Gavin Newsom signed a bill banning the sale of intoxicating hemp products outside the state’s legal marijuana system.

    Texas, which has a massive hemp market, is moving to regulate sales of impairing hemp, such as by restricting them to those over 21. In Nebraska, lawmakers have instead considered a bill to criminalize the sale and possession of products containing hemp-based THC.

    Washington state adopted a program to regulate hemp growing. But the number of licensed growers has cratered since the state banned intoxicating hemp products outside of the regulated cannabis market in 2023. Five years ago, there were 220, said Trecia Ehrlich, cannabis program manager with the state agriculture department. This year, there were 42, and with a federal ban looming, she expects that number to drop by about half next year.

    Minnesota made infused beverages and foods legal in 2022 for people 21 and older. The products, which must be derived from legally certified hemp, have become so popular that Target is now offering THC drinks at some of its stores in the state.

    They’ve also been a boon to liquor stores and to small Minneapolis brewers like Indeed, where THC drinks make up close to one-quarter of the business, Bandy said. At Bauhaus Brew Labs, a few blocks away, THC drinks account for 26% of their revenues from distributed products and 11% of revenues at the brewery’s taproom.

    A powerful senator moves to close the loophole

    None of that was what McConnell intended when he helped craft the 2018 farm bill. He finally closed the loophole by inserting a federal hemp THC ban in the measure to end the 43-day federal government shutdown, approved by the Senate on Nov. 10.

    “It will keep these dangerous products out of the hands of children, while preserving the hemp industry for farmers,” McConnell said. “Industrial hemp and CBD will remain legal for industrial applications.”

    Some in the legal marijuana industry celebrated, as the ban would end what they consider unfair competition.

    They were joined by prohibitionists. “There’s really no good argument for allowing these dangerous products to be sold in our country,” said Kevin Sabet, president and CEO of Smart Approaches to Marijuana.

    But the ban doesn’t take effect for a year. That has given the industry hope that there is still time to pass regulations that will improve the hemp THC industry — such as by banning synthetically derived THC, requiring age restrictions on sales, and prohibiting marketing to children — rather than eradicate it.

    “We are very hopeful that cooler heads will prevail,” said Jonathan Miller, general counsel of the industry group U.S. Hemp Roundtable. “If they really thought there was a health emergency, there would be no year-long period.”

    The federal ban would jeopardize more than 300,000 jobs while costing states $1.5 billion in lost tax money, the group says.

    Drew Hurst, president and chief operating officer at Bauhaus Brew Labs, has no doubt his company would be among the casualties.

    “If this goes through as written currently, I don’t see a way at all that Bauhaus could stay in business,” Hurst said.

    Drew Hurst, president and chief operating officer of Bauhaus Brew Labs in Minneapolis, stands outside a cooler for cans of seltzer containing THC, the active ingredient in marijuana, in his brewery's taproom on Thursday, Nov. 20, 2025. (AP Photo/Steve Karnowski)

    Drew Hurst, president and chief operating officer of Bauhaus Brew Labs in Minneapolis, stands outside a cooler for cans of seltzer containing THC, the active ingredient in marijuana, in his brewery’s taproom on Thursday, Nov. 20, 2025. (AP Photo/Steve Karnowski)

    What comes next?

    A number of lawmakers say they will push for regulation of the hemp THC industry. Kentucky’s second senator, Republican Rand Paul, introduced an amendment to strip McConnell’s hemp language from the crucial government-funding bill, but it failed on a lopsided 76-24 vote.

    Minnesota’s Democratic U.S. senators, Amy Klobuchar and Tina Smith, are among those strategizing to save the industry. Klobuchar noted at a recent news conference that the ban was inserted into the unrelated shutdown bill without a hearing. She suggested the federal government could allow states to develop their own regulatory frameworks, or that Minnesota’s strict regulations could be used as a national model.

    Kevin Hilliard, co-founder of Insight Brewing in Minneapolis, said the hemp industry needs a solution before planting time next spring.

    “If a farmer has uncertainty, they’re not going to plant,” Hilliard said.

    ___

    Johnson reported from Seattle. AP congressional reporter Kevin Freking contributed from Washington, D.C.

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  • Fleet of UPS planes grounded after deadly crash expected to miss peak delivery season

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    A fleet of planes that UPS grounded after a deadly crash isn’t expected to be back in service during the peak holiday season due to inspections and possible repairs, the company said Wednesday in an internal memo.

    The airline expects it will be several months before its McDonnell Douglas MD-11 fleet returns to service as it works to meet Federal Aviation Administration guidelines, said the memo from UPS Airlines president Bill Moore to employees. The process was originally estimated to take weeks but is now expected to take several months.

    A fiery MD-11 plane crash on Nov. 4 in Louisville, Kentucky, killed 14 people and injured at least 23 when the left engine detached during takeoff. Cargo carriers grounded their McDonnell Douglas MD-11 fleets shortly after, ahead of a directive from the FAA.

    “Regarding the MD-11 fleet, Boeing’s ongoing evaluation shows that inspections and potential repairs will be more extensive than initially expected,” Moore wrote in the memo.

    A UPS spokesperson said in a statement that the company will rely on contingency plans to deliver for customers throughout the peak season, and it “will take the time needed to ensure that every aircraft is safe.”

    The 109 remaining MD-11 airliners, averaging more than 30 years old, are exclusively used to haul cargo for package delivery companies. MD-11s make up about 9% of the UPS airline fleet and 4% of the FedEx fleet.

    Boeing, which took over as the manufacturer of MD-11s since merging with McDonnell Douglas in 1997, said in a statement that it is “working diligently to provide instructions and technical support to operators” so that they can meet the FAA’s requirements.

    The FAA said Boeing will develop the procedures for inspections and any corrective actions, pending approval from the FAA.

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  • What to know about federal ban threatening market for THC-infused drinks and snacks

    [ad_1]

    MINNEAPOLIS — The production lines at Indeed Brewing moved quickly, the cans filling not with beer, but with THC-infused seltzer. The product, which features the compound that gets cannabis users high, has been a lifeline at Indeed and other craft breweries as alcohol sales have fallen in recent years.

    But that boom looks set to come to a crashing halt. Buried in the bill that ended the federal government shutdown this month was a provision to ban those drinks, along with other impairing beverages and snacks made from hemp, which have proliferated across the country in recent years. Now the $24 billion hemp industry is scrambling to save itself before the provision takes effect in November 2026.

    “It’s a big deal,” said Ryan Bandy, Indeed’s chief business officer. “It would be a mess for our breweries, for our industry, and obviously for a lot of people who like these things.”

    Here’s what to know about the looming ban on impairing products derived from hemp.

    Marijuana and hemp are the same species. Marijuana is cultivated for high levels of THC in its flowers. Low-THC hemp is grown for its sturdy fibers, food or wellness products. “Rope, not dope” was long the motto of farmers who supported legalizing hemp.

    After states began legalizing marijuana for adult use over a decade ago, hemp advocates saw an opening at the federal level. As part of the 2018 farm bill, Congress legalized the cultivation of industrial hemp to give farmers, including in Republican Sen. Mitch McConnell’s home state of Kentucky, a new cash crop.

    But the way that law defined hemp — as having less than 0.3% of a specific type of THC, called delta-9 — opened a huge loophole. Beverages or bags of snacks could meet that threshold and still contain more than enough THC to get people high. Businesses could further exploit the law by extracting a non-impairing compound, called CBD, and chemically changing it into other types of impairing THC, such as delta-8 or delta-10.

    The result? Vape oil, gummy candies, chips, cookies, sodas and other unregulated, untested products laden with hemp-derived THC spread around the country. In many places, they have been available at gas stations or convenience stores, even to teens. In legal marijuana states, they undercut heavily taxed and regulated products. In others, they evaded the prohibition on recreational use of weed.

    Some states, including Indiana, have reported spikes in calls to poison-control centers for pediatric exposure to THC.

    Dozens of states have since taken steps to regulate or ban impairing hemp products. In October, Democratic California Gov. Gavin Newsom signed a bill banning the sale of intoxicating hemp products outside the state’s legal marijuana system.

    Texas, which has a massive hemp market, is moving to regulate sales of impairing hemp, such as by restricting them to those over 21. In Nebraska, lawmakers have instead considered a bill to criminalize the sale and possession of products containing hemp-based THC.

    Washington state adopted a program to regulate hemp growing. But the number of licensed growers has cratered since the state banned intoxicating hemp products outside of the regulated cannabis market in 2023. Five years ago, there were 220, said Trecia Ehrlich, cannabis program manager with the state agriculture department. This year, there were 42, and with a federal ban looming, she expects that number to drop by about half next year.

    Minnesota made infused beverages and foods legal in 2022 for people 21 and older. The products, which must be derived from legally certified hemp, have become so popular that Target is now offering THC drinks at some of its stores in the state.

    They’ve also been a boon to liquor stores and to small Minneapolis brewers like Indeed, where THC drinks make up close to one-quarter of the business, Bandy said. At Bauhaus Brew Labs, a few blocks away, THC drinks account for 26% of their revenues from distributed products and 11% of revenues at the brewery’s taproom.

    None of that was what McConnell intended when he helped craft the 2018 farm bill. He finally closed the loophole by inserting a federal hemp THC ban in the measure to end the 43-day federal government shutdown, approved by the Senate on Nov. 10.

    “It will keep these dangerous products out of the hands of children, while preserving the hemp industry for farmers,” McConnell said. “Industrial hemp and CBD will remain legal for industrial applications.”

    Some in the legal marijuana industry celebrated, as the ban would end what they consider unfair competition.

    They were joined by prohibitionists. “There’s really no good argument for allowing these dangerous products to be sold in our country,” said Kevin Sabet, president and CEO of Smart Approaches to Marijuana.

    But the ban doesn’t take effect for a year. That has given the industry hope that there is still time to pass regulations that will improve the hemp THC industry — such as by banning synthetically derived THC, requiring age restrictions on sales, and prohibiting marketing to children — rather than eradicate it.

    “We are very hopeful that cooler heads will prevail,” said Jonathan Miller, general counsel of the industry group U.S. Hemp Roundtable. “If they really thought there was a health emergency, there would be no year-long period.”

    The federal ban would jeopardize more than 300,000 jobs while costing states $1.5 billion in lost tax money, the group says.

    Drew Hurst, president and chief operating officer at Bauhaus Brew Labs, has no doubt his company would be among the casualties.

    “If this goes through as written currently, I don’t see a way at all that Bauhaus could stay in business,” Hurst said.

    A number of lawmakers say they will push for regulation of the hemp THC industry. Kentucky’s second senator, Republican Rand Paul, introduced an amendment to strip McConnell’s hemp language from the crucial government-funding bill, but it failed on a lopsided 76-24 vote.

    Minnesota’s Democratic U.S. senators, Amy Klobuchar and Tina Smith, are among those strategizing to save the industry. Klobuchar noted at a recent news conference that the ban was inserted into the unrelated shutdown bill without a hearing. She suggested the federal government could allow states to develop their own regulatory frameworks, or that Minnesota’s strict regulations could be used as a national model.

    Kevin Hilliard, co-founder of Insight Brewing in Minneapolis, said the hemp industry needs a solution before planting time next spring.

    “If a farmer has uncertainty, they’re not going to plant,” Hilliard said.

    ___

    Johnson reported from Seattle. AP congressional reporter Kevin Freking contributed from Washington, D.C.

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    Source link

  • Here’s what to know about the federal ban threatening the market for THC-infused drinks and snacks

    [ad_1]

    MINNEAPOLIS — The production lines at Indeed Brewing moved quickly, the cans filling not with beer, but with THC-infused seltzer. The product, which features the compound that gets cannabis users high, has been a lifeline at Indeed and other craft breweries as alcohol sales have fallen in recent years.

    But that boom looks set to come to a crashing halt. Buried in the bill that ended the federal government shutdown this month was a provision to ban those drinks, along with other impairing beverages and snacks made from hemp, which have proliferated across the country in recent years. Now the $24 billion hemp industry is scrambling to save itself before the provision takes effect in November 2026.

    “It’s a big deal,” said Ryan Bandy, Indeed’s chief business officer. “It would be a mess for our breweries, for our industry, and obviously for a lot of people who like these things.”

    Here’s what to know about the looming ban on impairing products derived from hemp.

    Marijuana and hemp are the same species. Marijuana is cultivated for high levels of THC in its flowers. Low-THC hemp is grown for its sturdy fibers, food or wellness products. “Rope, not dope” was long the motto of farmers who supported legalizing hemp.

    After states began legalizing marijuana for adult use over a decade ago, hemp advocates saw an opening at the federal level. As part of the 2018 farm bill, Congress legalized the cultivation of industrial hemp to give farmers, including in Republican Sen. Mitch McConnell’s home state of Kentucky, a new cash crop.

    But the way that law defined hemp — as having less than 0.3% of a specific type of THC, called delta-9 — opened a huge loophole. Beverages or bags of snacks could meet that threshold and still contain more than enough THC to get people high. Businesses could further exploit the law by extracting a non-impairing compound, called CBD, and chemically changing it into other types of impairing THC, such as delta-8 or delta-10.

    The result? Vape oil, gummy candies, chips, cookies, sodas and other unregulated, untested products laden with hemp-derived THC spread around the country. In many places, they have been available at gas stations or convenience stores, even to teens. In legal marijuana states, they undercut heavily taxed and regulated products. In others, they evaded the prohibition on recreational use of weed.

    Some states, including Indiana, have reported spikes in calls to poison-control centers for pediatric exposure to THC.

    Dozens of states have since taken steps to regulate or ban impairing hemp products. In October, Democratic California Gov. Gavin Newsom signed a bill banning the sale of intoxicating hemp products outside the state’s legal marijuana system.

    Texas, which has a massive hemp market, is moving to regulate sales of impairing hemp, such as by restricting them to those over 21. In Nebraska, lawmakers have instead considered a bill to criminalize the sale and possession of products containing hemp-based THC.

    Washington state adopted a program to regulate hemp growing. But the number of licensed growers has cratered since the state banned intoxicating hemp products outside of the regulated cannabis market in 2023. Five years ago, there were 220, said Trecia Ehrlich, cannabis program manager with the state agriculture department. This year, there were 42, and with a federal ban looming, she expects that number to drop by about half next year.

    Minnesota made infused beverages and foods legal in 2022 for people 21 and older. The products, which must be derived from legally certified hemp, have become so popular that Target is now offering THC drinks at some of its stores in the state.

    They’ve also been a boon to liquor stores and to small Minneapolis brewers like Indeed, where THC drinks make up close to one-quarter of the business, Bandy said. At Bauhaus Brew Labs, a few blocks away, THC drinks account for 26% of their revenues from distributed products and 11% of revenues at the brewery’s taproom.

    None of that was what McConnell intended when he helped craft the 2018 farm bill. He finally closed the loophole by inserting a federal hemp THC ban in the measure to end the 43-day federal government shutdown, approved by the Senate on Nov. 10.

    “It will keep these dangerous products out of the hands of children, while preserving the hemp industry for farmers,” McConnell said. “Industrial hemp and CBD will remain legal for industrial applications.”

    Some in the legal marijuana industry celebrated, as the ban would end what they consider unfair competition.

    They were joined by prohibitionists. “There’s really no good argument for allowing these dangerous products to be sold in our country,” said Kevin Sabet, president and CEO of Smart Approaches to Marijuana.

    But the ban doesn’t take effect for a year. That has given the industry hope that there is still time to pass regulations that will improve the hemp THC industry — such as by banning synthetically derived THC, requiring age restrictions on sales, and prohibiting marketing to children — rather than eradicate it.

    “We are very hopeful that cooler heads will prevail,” said Jonathan Miller, general counsel of the industry group U.S. Hemp Roundtable. “If they really thought there was a health emergency, there would be no year-long period.”

    The federal ban would jeopardize more than 300,000 jobs while costing states $1.5 billion in lost tax money, the group says.

    Drew Hurst, president and chief operating officer at Bauhaus Brew Labs, has no doubt his company would be among the casualties.

    “If this goes through as written currently, I don’t see a way at all that Bauhaus could stay in business,” Hurst said.

    A number of lawmakers say they will push for regulation of the hemp THC industry. Kentucky’s second senator, Republican Rand Paul, introduced an amendment to strip McConnell’s hemp language from the crucial government-funding bill, but it failed on a lopsided 76-24 vote.

    Minnesota’s Democratic U.S. senators, Amy Klobuchar and Tina Smith, are among those strategizing to save the industry. Klobuchar noted at a recent news conference that the ban was inserted into the unrelated shutdown bill without a hearing. She suggested the federal government could allow states to develop their own regulatory frameworks, or that Minnesota’s strict regulations could be used as a national model.

    Kevin Hilliard, co-founder of Insight Brewing in Minneapolis, said the hemp industry needs a solution before planting time next spring.

    “If a farmer has uncertainty, they’re not going to plant,” Hilliard said.

    ___

    Johnson reported from Seattle. AP congressional reporter Kevin Freking contributed from Washington, D.C.

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  • Fleet of UPS planes grounded after deadly crash expected to miss peak delivery season

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    A fleet of planes that UPS grounded after a deadly crash isn’t expected to be back in service during the peak holiday season due to inspections and possible repairs, the company said Wednesday in an internal memo.

    The airline expects it will be several months before its McDonnell Douglas MD-11 fleet returns to service as it works to meet Federal Aviation Administration guidelines, said the memo from UPS Airlines president Bill Moore to employees. The process was originally estimated to take weeks but is now expected to take several months.

    A fiery MD-11 plane crash on Nov. 4 in Louisville, Kentucky, killed 14 people and injured at least 23 when the left engine detached during takeoff. Cargo carriers grounded their McDonnell Douglas MD-11 fleets shortly after, ahead of a directive from the FAA.

    “Regarding the MD-11 fleet, Boeing’s ongoing evaluation shows that inspections and potential repairs will be more extensive than initially expected,” Moore wrote in the memo.

    A UPS spokesperson said in a statement that the company will rely on contingency plans to deliver for customers throughout the peak season, and it “will take the time needed to ensure that every aircraft is safe.”

    The 109 remaining MD-11 airliners, averaging more than 30 years old, are exclusively used to haul cargo for package delivery companies. MD-11s make up about 9% of the UPS airline fleet and 4% of the FedEx fleet.

    Boeing, which took over as the manufacturer of MD-11s since merging with McDonnell Douglas in 1997, said in a statement that it is “working diligently to provide instructions and technical support to operators” so that they can meet the FAA’s requirements.

    The FAA said Boeing will develop the procedures for inspections and any corrective actions, pending approval from the FAA.

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  • What to know about Trump’s draft proposal to curtail state AI regulations

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    President Donald Trump is considering pressuring states to stop regulating artificial intelligence in a draft executive order obtained Thursday by The Associated Press, as some in Congress also consider whether to temporarily block states from regulating AI.

    Trump and some Republicans argue that the limited regulations already enacted by states, and others that might follow, will dampen innovation and growth for the technology.

    Critics from both political parties — as well as civil liberties and consumer rights groups — worry that banning state regulation would amount to a favor for big AI companies who enjoy little to no oversight.

    While the draft executive order could change, here’s what to know about states’ AI regulations and what Trump is proposing.

    What state-level regulations exist and why

    Four states — Colorado, California, Utah and Texas — have passed laws that set some rules for AI across the private sector, according to the International Association of Privacy Professionals.

    Those laws include limiting the collection of certain personal information and requiring more transparency from companies.

    The laws are in response to AI that already pervades everyday life. The technology helps make consequential decisions for Americans, including who gets a job interview, an apartment lease, a home loan and even certain medical care. But research has shown that it can make mistakes in those decisions, including by prioritizing a particular gender or race.

    “It’s not a matter of AI makes mistakes and humans never do,” said Calli Schroeder, director of the AI & Human Rights Program at the public interest group EPIC.

    “With a human, I can say, ‘Hey, explain, how did you come to that conclusion, what factors did you consider?’” she continued. “With an AI, I can’t ask any of that, and I can’t find that out. And frankly, half the time the programmers of the AI couldn’t answer that question.”

    States’ more ambitious AI regulation proposals require private companies to provide transparency and assess the possible risks of discrimination from their AI programs.

    Beyond those more sweeping rules, many states have regulated parts of AI: barring the use of deepfakes in elections and to create nonconsensual porn, for example, or putting rules in place around the government’s own use of AI.

    What Trump and some Republicans want to do

    The draft executive order would direct federal agencies to identify burdensome state AI regulations and pressure states to not enact them, including by withholding federal funding or challenging the state laws in court.

    It would also begin a process to develop a lighter-touch regulatory framework for the whole country that would override state AI laws.

    Trump’s argument is that the patchwork of regulations across 50 states impedes AI companies’ growth, and allows China to catch up to the U.S. in the AI race. The president has also said state regulations are producing “Woke AI.”

    The draft executive order that was leaked could change and should not be taken as final, said a senior Trump administration official who requested anonymity to describe internal White House discussions.

    The official said the tentative plan is for Trump to sign the order Friday.

    Separately, House Republican leadership is already discussing a proposal to temporarily block states from regulating AI, the chamber’s majority leader, Steve Scalise, told Punchbowl News this week.

    It’s yet unclear what that proposal would look like, or which AI regulations it would override.

    TechNet, which advocates for tech companies including Google and Amazon, has previously argued that pausing state regulations would benefit smaller AI companies still getting on their feet and allow time for lawmakers develop a country-wide regulatory framework that “balances innovation with accountability.”

    Why attempts at federal regulation have failed

    Some Republicans in Congress have previously tried and failed to ban states from regulating AI.

    Part of the challenge is that opposition is coming from their party’s own ranks.

    Florida’s Republican governor, Ron DeSantis, said a federal law barring state regulation of AI was “Not acceptable” in a post on X this week.

    DeSantis argued that the move would be a “subsidy to Big Tech” and would stop states from protecting against a list of things, including “predatory applications that target children” and “online censorship of political speech.”

    A federal ban on states regulating AI is also unpopular, said Cody Venzke, senior policy council at the ACLU’s National Political Advocacy Department.

    “The American people do not want AI to be discriminatory, to be unsafe, to be hallucinatory,” he said. “So I don’t think anyone is interested in winning the AI race if it means AI that is not trustworthy.”

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  • Millions of Floridians’ utility bills will soon go up. Here’s what to know

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    TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — Millions of electricity customers in President Donald Trump’s adopted home state of Florida will see their bills rise, after a regulatory board approved what environmental advocates say is one of the largest utility rate increases in the state’s history.

    The price hike will affect an estimated 12 million Floridians — roughly half the state’s population — at a time when voters are citing economic concerns as a top issue, and as Democrats and Republicans brace for a debate over affordability in the intensifying midterm battle to control Congress.

    The Florida Public Service Commission approved the rate increase Thursday for Florida Power & Light, the state’s largest power company, over the strong objections of advocates for the elderly, conservation groups, and the state-appointed advocate for Florida ratepayers, who called the proposal “disproportionately favorable” to corporate interests.

    In a statement, FPL said the rate increase is needed to make “smart, necessary investments in the grid to power Florida’s growth,” while keeping customers’ bills “well below the national average.”

    Here’s what to know.

    The new rates will kick in Jan. 1 and run through 2029. According to FPL, the monthly bill for a typical residential customer in most of Florida will go up by $2.50 a month, from about $134.14 to $136.64. Following other rate hikes in recent years, the average FPL customer will pay hundreds of dollars more each year than they did in 2021, when the typical monthly bill was $101.70, according to legal filings in the case.

    Across the south Atlantic region, which includes Florida, the average monthly electric bill cost residential customers $152.04 in 2024, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration.

    Nationally, household electric bills are rising more rapidly than wages and inflation, according to a recent analysis by the National Energy Assistance Directors’ Association, with prices increasing by more than 10.5% between January and August of this year.

    Combined with higher consumer prices and higher energy costs caused by extreme weather events, lower income families are hit hardest by the increases, which advocates say are forcing some to choose whether to “eat or heat.”

    “Even modest rate increases can force painful trade-offs between paying energy bills and covering essentials such as food, rent, or medicine,” reads the NEADA analysis.

    FPL maintains that the rate increases are necessary to power the growing and hurricane-prone state. The Florida Public Service Commission, a state board appointed by Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis, approved the rate hike, instead of a counterproposal from the Florida Office of Public Counsel.

    A coalition of environmental conservation groups and consumer advocates opposed the rate hikes for months.

    “FPL should not be allowed to pad their profits on the backs of residential customers like me,” reads a petition circulated by AARP Florida. “Please consider the impact to residential customers and put our needs above corporate profits.”

    A bipartisan group of more than two dozen state and local elected officials also signed a joint letter to oppose the increase. Meanwhile, an influential Republican state senator has been calling for broader changes to the state agency responsible for regulating the utilities.

    Already, Trump is signaling that he’ll focus on affordability next year as he and Republicans try to maintain their slim congressional majorities, while Democrats are blaming Trump for rising household costs.

    Electricity costs were a key issue in this month’s elections for governor in New Jersey and Virginia, a data center hot spot, and in Georgia, where Democrats ousted two Republican incumbents for seats on the state’s utility regulatory commission.

    Voters in New Jersey, Virginia, California and New York City all cited economic concerns as the top issue. Rising electricity costs aren’t expected to ease and many Americans could see an increase on their monthly bills in the middle of next year’s campaigns.

    A recent analysis of consumer data found that more people are falling behind on paying their bills to keep on the lights and heat their homes — a warning sign for the U.S. economy that could drive voters’ decision making next year.

    ___

    Kate Payne is a corps member for The Associated Press/Report for America Statehouse News Initiative. Report for America is a nonprofit national service program that places journalists in local newsrooms to report on undercovered issues.

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  • Meta prevails in historic FTC antitrust case, won’t have to break off WhatsApp, Instagram

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    SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Meta has prevailed over an existential challenge to its business that could have forced the tech giant to spin off Instagram and WhatsApp after a judge ruled that the company does not hold a monopoly in social networking.

    U.S. District Judge James Boasberg issued his ruling Tuesday after the historic antitrust trial wrapped up in late May. His decision runs in sharp contrast to two separate rulings that branded Google an illegal monopoly in both search and online advertising, dealing regulatory blows to the tech industry that for years enjoyed nearly unbridled growth.

    The Federal Trade Commission “continues to insist that Meta competes with the same old rivals it has for the last decade, that the company holds a monopoly among that small set, and that it maintained that monopoly through anticompetitive acquisitions,” Boasberg wrote in his ruling. “Whether or not Meta enjoyed monopoly power in the past, though, the agency must show that it continues to hold such power now. The Court’s verdict today determines that the FTC has not done so.”

    The federal agency had argued that Meta maintained a monopoly by pursuing an expression CEO Mark Zuckerberg made in 2008: “‘It is better to buy than compete.’ True to that maxim, Facebook has systematically tracked potential rivals and acquired companies that it viewed as serious competitive threats.”

    During his April testimony, Zuckerberg pushed back against claims that Facebook bought Instagram to neutralize a threat. In his line of questioning, FTC attorney Daniel Matheson repeatedly brought up emails — many of them more than a decade old — written by Zuckerberg and his associates before and after the acquisition of Instagram.

    While acknowledging the documents, Zuckerberg has often sought to downplay the contents, saying he wrote the emails early in the acquisition process and that the notes did not fully capture the scope of his interest in the company. But the case was not about the acquisitions of Instagram and WhatsApp more than a decade ago, which the FTC approved at the time, but about whether Meta holds a monopoly now. Prosecutors, Boasberg wrote in the ruling, could only win if they proved “current or imminent legal violation.”

    The FTC’s complaint said Facebook also enacted policies designed to make it difficult for smaller rivals to enter the market and “neutralize perceived competitive threats,” just as the world shifted its attention to mobile devices from desktop computers.

    Meta said Tuesday’s decision “recognizes that Meta faces fierce competition.”

    “Our products are beneficial for people and businesses and exemplify American innovation and economic growth. We look forward to continuing to partner with the Administration and to invest in America,” said Jennifer Newstead, chief legal officer, in a statement.

    The social media landscape has changed so much since the FTC filed its lawsuit in 2020, Boasberg wrote, that each time the court examined Meta’s apps and competition, they changed. Two opinions to dismiss the case — filed in 2021 and 2022 — didn’t even mention popular social video platform TikTok. Today, it “holds center stage as Meta’s fiercest rival.”

    Quoting the Greek philosopher Heraclitus, “that no man can ever step into the same river twice,” Boasberg said the same is true for the online world of social media as well.

    “The landscape that existed only five years ago when the Federal Trade Commission brought this antitrust suit has changed markedly. While it once might have made sense to partition apps into separate markets of social networking and social media, that wall has since broken down,” he wrote.

    Emarketer analyst Minda Smiley said Meta’s win “is not necessarily surprising considering the lengths it’s gone to in recent years to keep up with TikTok.”

    “But from a regulatory standpoint, Meta is far from out of the woods: next year, major social networks will face landmark trials in the US regarding children’s mental health,” she added. “Still, today’s win is surely a boost for the company as it battles criticism and questions over how its massive AI spending will ultimately benefit Meta in the long run.”

    Facebook bought Instagram — then a scrappy photo-sharing app with no ads and a small cult following — in 2012. The $1 billion cash and stock purchase price was eye-popping at the time, though the deal’s value fell to $750 million after Facebook’s stock price dipped following its initial public offering in May 2012.

    Instagram was the first company Facebook bought and kept running as a separate app. Up until then, Facebook was known for smaller “acqui-hires” — a type of popular Silicon Valley deal in which a company purchases a startup as a way to hire its talented workers, then shuts the acquired company down. Two years later, it did it again with the messaging app WhatsApp, which it purchased for $22 billion.

    WhatsApp and Instagram helped Facebook move its business from desktop computers to mobile devices, and to remain popular with younger generations as rivals like Snapchat (which it also tried, but failed, to buy) and TikTok emerged. However, the FTC has a narrow definition of Meta’s competitive market, excluding companies like TikTok, YouTube and Apple’s messaging service from being considered rivals to Instagram and WhatsApp.

    Investors didn’t appear surprised at the ruling. Shares of the Menlo Park, California-based company were down $1.52 at $600.49 in afternoon trading Tuesday, in line with broader market trends.

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  • These are the 37 donors helping pay for Trump’s $300 million White House ballroom

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    WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump says his $300 million White House ballroom will be paid for “100% by me and some friends of mine.”

    The White House released a list of 37 donors, including crypto billionaires, charitable organizations, sports team owners, powerful financiers, tech and tobacco giants, media companies, longtime supporters of Republican causes and several of the president’s neighbors in Palm Beach, Florida.

    It’s incomplete. Among others, the list doesn’t include Carrier Group, which offered to donate an HVAC system for the ballroom, and artificial intelligence chipmaker Nvidia, whose CEO, Jensen Huang, publicly discussed its donation.

    The White House hasn’t said how much each donor is giving, and almost none was willing to divulge that. Very few commented on their contributions when contacted by The Associated Press.

    A senior White House official said the list has grown since it was first released in October, but some companies don’t want to be publicly named until required to do so by financial disclosure regulations. No foreign individuals or entities were among the donors, according to the official who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss details that haven’t been made public.

    Here’s a look at the divulged donors:

    Tech giants (8):

    Amazon Background: Trump was once highly critical of company founder Jeff Bezos, who also owns The Washington Post, but has been much less so lately. Amazon donated $1 million to Trump’s inauguration, an event attended by Bezos. Its video streaming service paid $40 million to license a documentary about first lady Melania Trump. Its cloud-based computing operation, Amazon Web Services, is a major government contractor.

    Apple Background: After an up-and-down relationship during Trump’s first term, CEO Tim Cook has sought to improve his standing with the president this time. Before returning to the White House, Trump hosted Cook at his Palm Beach estate, Mar-a-Lago, and said he had spoken with Cook about the company’s long-running tax battles with the European Union. Cook also donated $1 million to Trump’s inauguration fund. In the spring, Trump threatened the computing giant with tariffs after Apple announced plans to build manufacturing facilities in India. In August, Cook presented the president with a customized glass plaque with a gold base as the CEO announced plans to bring Apple’s total investment commitment in U.S. manufacturing over four years to $600 billion.

    Google Background: During his first term, Trump’s administration sued Google for antitrust violations. While a candidate last year, Trump suggested he might seek to break up the search engine behemoth. Once Trump won the election, Google donated $1 million to his inauguration, and its CEO, Sundar Pichai, joined other major tech executives in attending the ceremony. Google’s subsidiary, YouTube, agreed in September to pay $24.5 million to settle a lawsuit with Trump after it suspended his account following the Jan. 6 riot at the U.S. Capitol. According to court filings, $22 million of that went to the Trust for the National Mall, which can help pay for ballroom construction.

    HP Background: An original Silicon Valley stalwart, the company donated to Trump’s inaugural fund. HP ‘s CEO, Enrique Lores, participated in a White House roundtable event in September. Lores also previously met with President Joe Biden at the White House on multiple occasions as top CEOs endorsed that administration’s economic plans.

    Meta Background: Founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg had been critical of Trump going back to 2016, and Facebook suspended Trump for years after the Jan. 6 insurrection. This time around, Meta contributed $1 million to Trump’s inauguration, and Zuckerberg attended.

    Micron Technology Background: The producer of advanced memory computer chips announced an April 2024 agreement with the Biden administration to provide $6.1 billion in government support for Micron to make chips domestically. Then, in June, Micron pledged $200 billion for U.S. memory chip manufacturing expansion under Trump. But at least $120 billion of that involved holdovers first announced during Biden’s administration.

    Microsoft Background: The company donated $1 million to Trump’s inauguration, twice what it spent for Biden’s or for Trump’s first inauguration. CEO Satya Nadella has also met with Trump numerous times, as Microsoft has supported the administration’s relaxation of regulations on artificial intelligence. He met previously with Biden, too. Trump has called for Microsoft’s president of global affairs, Lisa Monaco, to be fired because she was a deputy attorney general under Biden when the Justice Department led several investigations against Trump.

    Palantir Technologies Background: Co-founded by billionaire libertarian Peter Thiel, the firm concentrates on artificial intelligence and machine learning. It has seen profits soar thanks to lucrative defense and other federal contracts.

    Crypto (5):

    Coinbase Background: The major cryptocurrency exchange was founded by Brian Armstrong, a top donor to a political action committee that helped Trump and other pro-crypto candidates in 2024. Armstrong attended the first crypto summit at the White House in March. Coinbase also hired Trump’s co-campaign manager, Chris LaCivita, to its Global Advisory Council.

    Ripple Background: In March, the Securities and Exchange Commission dropped a lawsuit filed during Trump’s first term, which accused the company of violating securities laws by selling XRP crypto coins without a securities registration. In his second term, Trump has eased regulations on digital assets, repealing an SEC accounting rule and a previous presidential executive order mandating more federal study and proposed changes to crypto regulations.

    Tether Background: A cryptocurrency company and major stablecoin issuer, Tether paid fines for misleading investors. CEO Paolo Ardoino has been to Trump’s White House, and, in April, the company hired former Trump administration crypto policy official Bo Hines to lead its domestic expansion efforts.

    Cameron Winklevoss and Tyler Winklevoss Background: Each Winklevoss twin is listed as a separate donor. Best known as Zuckerberg’s chief antagonists in “The Social Network,” the brothers founded the Gemini cryptocurrency exchange. Biden’s SEC sued Gemini for selling unregistered securities, but the case has been paused under Trump.

    Energy and industrial (4):

    Caterpillar Background: The equipment maker ‘s PAC has donated to candidates from both parties, but given more to Republicans. It has also said publicly that Trump’s tariffs, some of which the administration has now eased, could increase its costs and hurt earnings.

    NextEra Energy Background: NextEra is the world’s largest electric utility holding company. Trump says he’ll work to ensure tech giants can secure their own sources of electricity to power data centers, especially as they expand energy-hogging artificial intelligence operations. Google recently entered into an agreement to buy power from a shuttered nuclear power plant in Iowa owned by NextEra, which the company plans to bring back online in 2029.

    Paolo Tiramani Background: An American industrial designer who has donated to Trump’s political campaigns. Tiramani, with his son, runs BOXABL, a firm specializing in modular, prefabricated homes.

    Union Pacific Background: Trump has endorsed the company’s proposed $85 billion acquisition of Norfolk Southern, which would be the largest-ever rail merger. It also will be up to the president to appoint two more Republican members of the Surface Transportation Board, who will ultimately decide whether to approve the merger. In August, Trump fired one of the two Democratic members of the board.

    Philanthropy (3):

    Adelson Family Foundation Background: Founded to strengthen the state of Israel and the Jewish people, the foundation was created by Miriam Adelson, the majority owner of the NBA’s Dallas Mavericks, close Trump ally and longtime GOP megadonor. She’s also the widow of Sheldon Adelson, the billionaire founder and owner of Las Vegas Sands.

    Betty Wold Johnson Foundation Background: Based in Palm Beach, the foundation supports health, arts and culture initiatives, as well as environmental and educational programs. It’s named in honor of the mother of New York Jets owner Woody Johnson, who served as Trump’s ambassador to the United Kingdom during his first term.

    Laura & Isaac Perlmutter Foundation Background: The nonprofit based in Lake Worth Beach, near Palm Beach, focuses on promoting health care, social justice, the arts and community initiatives. Isaac is an Israeli American businessman and financier and former chair of Marvel Entertainment. He and his wife have donated to Trump’s presidential campaigns and affiliated PACs.

    Trump administration officials (3):

    Benjamin Leon Jr. Background: The Cuban American founder of Miami-based Leon Medical Centers is Trump’s nominee for U.S. ambassador to Spain.

    Kelly Loeffler and Jeffrey Sprecher Background: A former Republican senator from Georgia, Loeffler heads Trump’s Small Business Administration. Her husband is CEO of the energy market Intercontinental Exchange Inc. and chairs the New York Stock Exchange. The couple faced scrutiny in 2020 for dumping substantial portions of their portfolio and purchasing new stocks, including in firms making protective equipment, after Congress received briefings on the severity of the coming coronavirus pandemic.

    Lutnick Family Background: Howard Lutnick is Trump’s commerce secretary. A crypto enthusiast, he once headed the brokerage and investment bank Cantor Fitzgerald.

    Communications/entertainment (3):

    Comcast Background: The mass media and telecom conglomerate has often been criticized by Trump, including in April, when the president posted that Comcast was a “disgrace to the integrity of broadcasting.” The company owns NBC and is spinning off MSNBC. It could be interested in acquiring Warner Bros. Discover, and that would leave Comcast looking for government approval.

    Hard Rock International Background: A Florida-based gaming and tourism concern owned by the Seminole Tribe, the company operates a number of casinos, including the former Trump Taj Mahal casino in Atlantic City, New Jersey. Trump has for decades criticized federal exemptions allowing tribes to operate casinos.

    T-Mobile Background: The wireless carrier is indirectly linked to Trump Mobile, which the president’s family controls and offers gold phones and cell service in a licensing deal. Trump Mobile uses Liberty Mobile Wireless, a small, Florida-based network that T-Mobile says runs its operations on T-Mobile’s network. T-Mobile says that is unrelated to its decision to donate to Trump’s ballroom, which it says is meant to “restore and enrich the historic landmarks that define our nation’s capital.”

    Big Tobacco (2):

    Altria Group Background: The tobacco giant controls Philip Morris USA, maker of Marlboro. It has pressed for federal crackdowns on counterfeit and illegal vaping products. The company donated $50,000 to Trump’s inauguration.

    Reynolds American Background: With brands including Lucky Strike and Camel, the company has been active in lobbying to steer the Trump administration away from a Biden-proposed ban on menthol cigarettes.

    Defense/national security (2):

    Booz Allen Hamilton Background: A major defense and national security technology firm with extensive government contracts, it paid fines to settle lawsuits with the Justice Department under Biden. Booz Allen Hamilton agreed to pay more than $377 million in 2023 to settle allegations that it improperly billing costs to its government contracts. In January, it paid nearly $16 million to settle allegations that it submitted fraudulent claims in connection with government contracts.

    Lockheed Martin Corporation Background: The massive defense contractor has huge government contracts. It said in a statement that it “is grateful for the opportunity to help bring the President’s vision to reality and make this addition to the People’s House.”

    Individuals (7):

    Stefan E. Brodie Background: A biotech entrepreneur and co-founder of the chemical manufacturing company Purolite, Brodie and his family donated to Trump’s 2024 presidential campaign and affiliated committees. Brodie and his brother, Donald, were convicted in 2002 of circumventing U.S. sanctions on Cuba.

    Charles and Marissa Cascarilla Background: Charles Cascarilla is co‑founder of the blockchain firm Paxos. He and his wife are philanthropists who have advocated for financial technology sector deregulation.

    J. Pepe and Emilia Fanjul Background: Longtime Republican donors and Palm Beach residents, the couple controls U.S. sugar refining interests that includes the Domino brand.

    Edward and Shari Glazer Background: Members of the family that owns the NFL’s Tampa Bay Buccaneers and has a controlling stake in the Manchester United football club, the couple donated to Trump’s campaign. Edward is the founder and CEO of US Property Trust, which operates shopping centers, and the car dealership company US Auto Trust.

    Harold Hamm Background: The billionaire oil tycoon and pioneer of hydraulic fracturing heads the oil producer Continental Resources. He’s praised the Trump administration for aggressively moving to purchase oil to replenish the Strategic Petroleum Reserve stockpile.

    Stephen A. Schwarzman Background: A Palm Beach resident and chair and CEO of the Blackstone Group, a global private equity firm he helped establish in 1985. Schwarzman has donated to Trump and his PACs previously and led his first-term President’s Strategic and Policy Forum.

    Konstantin Sokolov Background: Born in Russia, he immigrated to the U.S. and now heads the Chicago-based private equity firm IJS Investments. Sokolov has donated to many educational and charitable causes in the past, and to Trump’s political campaigns.

    ___

    Associated Press writer Darlene Superville contributed to this report.

    ___

    This story has been updated to correct the first name of an individual who donated to the White House ballroom. He is Harold Hamm, not Howard Hamm.

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