The Interior Department on Friday bolstered offshore wind energy by revoking a legal opinion issued during the Trump administration that gave more weight to fishing concerns about that kind of energy development. 

Robert Anderson, the Interior Department’s principal deputy solicitor, issued an opinion that reversed the Trump-era solicitor Daniel Jorjani’s December opinion that the department should err “on the side of less interference rather than more interference” in fishing when it comes to offshore wind activities

Anderson, in his new legal opinion, said instead that the Interior secretary should seek to “strike a rational balance” between various interests. 

ADVERTISEMENT

At issue is a section of the law that aims for “prevention of interference with reasonable uses” of the ocean. 

Jorjani’s interpretation followed another memo that similarly interpreted the same section of the law.

Click Here: Geelong Cats Guernsey

Jorjani argued that this memo’s interpretation of the law was too narrow and only preventing interference with the legal right to fish. 

But Anderson argued that Jorjani’s opinion “failed to note” that the law also says that the “interference with reasonable uses” is followed by the phrase “(as determined by the Secretary),” which he argued gives the secretary discretion to decide.

The difference in opinions comes as the Biden administration seeks to boost renewable energy as part of its transition to net-zero emissions. The Interior Department has recently moved closer to approving a major offshore wind project. 

President BidenJoe BidenBiden taps California workplace safety leader to head up OSHA Romney blasts end of filibuster, expansion of SCOTUS US mulling cash payments to help curb migration MORE recently said he’ll nominated Anderson to be Interior’s top lawyer.

India reported a daily record of over 145,000 new coronavirus infections on Saturday.

The nation reported reported 145,384 new coronavirus infections over the past 24 hours and 794 deaths, breaking 100,000 coronavirus cases for the fifth time this week, according to Reuters.

India recorded over 100,000 daily coronavirus infections for the first time on Monday, according to Reuters.  The news outlet reported on Friday that India reported 131,968 cases and 780 deaths.

ADVERTISEMENT

India has recorded 13,205,926 cumulative coronavirus infections since the pandemic began and 168,436 deaths, according to John Hopkins University.

Click Here: Bape Women 1st Camo Busy Works tee

India trails behind Brazil, which has logged over 13.4 million infections, and the U.S. which has logged over 31 million infections.

The record comes as India deals with a surge of coronavirus infections in the country. The New York Times reported that India, which enforced a strict lockdown when the virus surged last year, is now becoming a global hot spot. 

Several states in the South Asian country are imposing new lockdowns to deal withe surge. Maharashtra, which has the highest number of cases, ordered a weekend lockdown that will end on Monday, Reuters reported.

Meanwhile, The Hindustan Times reported that India became the third country to administer 100 million doses of a coronavirus vaccine on Saturday. The nation administered 101.3 million shots to 88.6 million people.

According to the news outlet, it took India 85 days to cross the milestone, compared to 89 days for the U.S. and 103 days for China.

Norwegian Prime Minister Erna Solberg has been fined for violating social distancing guidelines in the country amid the coronavirus pandemic. 

Police Chief Ole Saeverud said at a news conference that Solberg was fined $2,325 for hosting a dinner with 13 people for her birthday in violation of guidelines that limit gatherings to no more than 10, Reuters reported.

Solberg hosted the February event at a mountain resort for her 60th birthday.

ADVERTISEMENT

“Though the law is the same for all, all are not equal in front of the law,” Saeverud said when explaining why the prime minister was the only one involved who was fined.

Most people are not issued fines in such cases, but according to Reuters police said it was important to set an example with Solberg especially since she has been advocating for the strict guidelines. 

“It is therefore correct to issue a fine in order to uphold the general public’s trust in the rules on social restrictions,” Saeverund said.

“Solberg is the country’s leader and she has been at the forefront of the restrictions imposed to limit the spread of the virus,” he added.

Norway has had more than 100,000 reported cases of the coronavirus and more than 650 deaths.

Click Here: manly sea eagles team jersey

Facebook and Instagram both appeared to go down temporarily Thursday evening, with thousands of people reporting outages.

Both platforms were back online a little after 6 p.m. EDT.

“Earlier today, a configuration change caused Facebook services to be unavailable to some people. We quickly investigated and resolved the issue. We apologize for any inconvenience,” a Facebook company spokesperson told The Hill.

The social media giant’s products went offline last month as well, which the company chalked up to a “technical issue.”

-Updated 6:52 p.m.

Click Here: nrl merchandise

Four men believed to have ties to a far-right militia group were indicted on charges of destroying evidence in a federal investigation over the shootings of two police officers.

The Justice Department announced Friday that Jessie Alexander Rush, 29, Robert Jesus Blancas, 33, Simon Sage Ybarra, 23, and Kenny Matthew Miksch, 21 were charged with conspiracy to destroy records, destruction of records and obstruction of official proceedings.

Prosecutors allege the four men are members of the far-right extremist “Grizzly” militia, which has ties to the “boogaloo” movement, which advocates for a politically-motivated civil war or uprising against the government.

Click Here: new zealand warriors shirt

ADVERTISEMENT

The indictment against the four men references two shootings, one on May 29, 2020 and one days later on June 6. Two federal Protective Security Officers (PSOs) where shot in the first incident, in which one of the PSOs died, and two Santa Cruz sheriff’s deputies were shot in the second incident. One deputy also died in the second shooting.

The indictment says U.S. Air Force Staff Sgt. Steven Carrillo, a member of the Grizzly Scouts, texted a WhatsApp group with other Grizzly Scouts saying he was going to fire at law enforcement.

“Dudes i offed a fed,” authorities said Carrillo texted just before the Santa Cruz shooting.

Rush then instructed the members of the group to scrub the evidence of the text from their phones.

Subsequently, “Blancas deleted files related to the Grizzly Scouts from a Dropbox account. Further, within hours of the shooting, members of the Grizzly Scouts including Rush, Blancas, Ybarra, and Miksch allegedly began to reconnect on an alternative communications application,” the DOJ said. 

The DOJ also said “the four defendants each deleted records of the WhatsApp group communications from their phones, including the prior discussions regarding violence against law enforcement.”

The four men each face a maximum of 20 years in prison if convicted.

A group of 20 attorneys general filed an amicus brief in a case challenging a Tennessee law that requires women to have two in-person appointments at least 48 hours apart before having an abortion.

In their filing, the coalition called on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 6th Circuit to uphold a lower court ruling that found the law “provides no appreciable benefit” to women’s health as state officials have argued. 

The attorneys general from California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont, Virginia, Washington state and Washington, D.C., filed the brief in support of a group of Tennessee abortion providers. 

ADVERTISEMENT

“Time and again, various states have passed laws that seek to limit reproductive choices and control women’s bodies,” New York Attorney General Letitia James said in a statement. “This latest law by Tennessee not only does that, but does so while placing women’s health at risk. Our coalition will continue to fight to protect women’s bodies, their freedoms, and their choices.”

The attorneys general assert that many states do not require women who want abortions to go through “lengthy and onerous waiting periods” and trust physicians to get informed consent like in any other procedure. 

They also said the state has not provided evidence that women do not make informed decisions about the procedure without the period. 

“There is no evidence that women in these States fail to make informed decisions about their medical needs, or that waiting-period laws improve women’s decision-making process,” the attorneys general wrote. “The challenged law thus is not reasonably related to Tennessee’s stated aim of ensuring informed consent.”

The coalition sides with the plaintiffs in the case who have also argued that the waiting period increases the risks for women who seek abortions. 

The attorneys general cite a 1992 Supreme Court decision that determined states can limit women’s right to an abortion if the restrictions are related to the state’s interest, such as for the women’s safety, and do not create a “substantial obstacle.”

A Tennessee district court previously ruled against the law in September 2019, saying it “imposes numerous burdens that, taken together, place women’s physical and physiological health and well-being at risk.”

Click Here: International football tracksuit

The Supreme Court late Friday said that California must lift its coronavirus-era restrictions on in-home prayer meetings and other forms of home-based religious gatherings. 

In an order from the court, five conservative justices wrote against rules in most parts of the state that limit indoor social gatherings to no more than three households, while different restrictions apply to places such as schools and churches. 

“California treats some comparable secular activities more favorably than at-home religious exercise, permitting hair salons, retail stores, personal care services, movie theaters, private suites at sporting events and concerts, and indoor restaurants to bring together more than three households at a time,” the justices said. 

ADVERTISEMENT

Additionally, the justices noted that a lower court in its ruling “did not conclude that those activities pose a lesser risk of transmission than applicants’ proposed religious exercise at home.” 

While California has announced changes to its coronavirus safety restrictions, including policies on gatherings, the high court wrote Friday that “the previous restrictions remain in place until April 15th, and officials with a track record of ‘moving the goalposts’ retain authority to reinstate those heightened restrictions at any time.”

Friday’s order indicated that Chief Justice John Roberts would have denied the application for the case to be considered by the court, while Justice Elena KaganElena KaganProgressive group ramps up pressure on Justice Breyer to retire Supreme Court sides with Google in copyright fight against Oracle Supreme Court seems wary of NCAA limits on student-athlete compensation MORE wrote for herself and Justices Stephen BreyerStephen BreyerBiden will let Breyer decide when to retire, aide says Progressive group ramps up pressure on Justice Breyer to retire Surprising ways code-copying meets ‘fair use’ threshold MORE and Sonia SotomayorSonia SotomayorProgressive group ramps up pressure on Justice Breyer to retire Supreme Court sides with Google in copyright fight against Oracle Supreme Court rules Facebook text alerts not akin to robocalls MORE in dissenting. 

Kagan on behalf of the liberal justices argued, “If the State also limits all secular gatherings in homes to three households, it has complied with the First Amendment.” 

“And the State does exactly that: It has adopted a blanket restriction on at-home gatherings of all kinds, religious and secular alike,” she continued. “California need not … treat at-home religious gatherings the same as hardware stores and hair salons.” 

ADVERTISEMENT

Kagan went on to say that “the law does not require that the State equally treat apples and watermelons.”

The order in favor of at-home religious gatherings provides an additional win to religious groups, which have argued that they have been unfairly targeted by coronavirus-related safety restrictions in several states. 

In a February 6-3 decision, the Supreme Court ruled that California could not ban indoor worship but could cap gatherings at 25 percent capacity. 

California had barred indoor worship services and other indoor activities such as dining in areas designated as “Tier 1” amid a wave of coronavirus infections. 

In November, the court ruled 5-4 against New York coronavirus restrictions on gatherings in churches and synagogues. 

The justice in the unsigned majority opinion sided with the Roman Catholic Diocese of Brooklyn and Agudath Israel of America, which had argued that New York’s restrictions on the number of people who could attend services in areas designated as coronavirus hot spots were more restrictive than limits on other groups, therefore violating the Free Exercise Clause of the First Amendment.

Click Here: Sevilla soccer tracksuit

A group backed by George Soros has pledged $20 million to help rally support from progressives around President BidenJoe BidenIran espionage-linked ship attacked at sea Biden exceeds expectations on vaccines — so far Jill Biden to visit Alabama with actress Jennifer Garner MORE‘s $2.2 trillion infrastructure and social welfare proposals.

The Open Society Foundations pledged the $20 million as a start to raise as much as $100 million for the campaign, Axios reported.

“Every initiative proposed by President Biden has broad public support,” said Tom Perriello, the executive director of Open Society Foundations. “But we’ve seen popular reforms get demonized before by partisans and special interests, and we are not going to let that happen.”

ADVERTISEMENT

The initial $20 million will come from Soros’ main foundation and would go toward grassroots organizing instead of paid advertising.

“We hope this effort on the part of organizers and donors will give the Biden administration and Congress the assurance that they need to go as big, bold and fast as possible,” Leah Hunt-Hendrix, who co-founded progressive network Way to Win, said.

Click Here: France National Team soccer tracksuit

A new survey shows a strong partisan divide on whether Americans are willing to acknowledge the impacts that humans have on climate change.

The Gallup poll, published Monday, found that 88 percent of Democrats believe that increases in the planet’s temperature are primarily caused by human activities, while just 32 percent of Republicans said the same. 

Overall, 64 percent of U.S. adults acknowledge the scientific consensus that human activities are causing climate change. 

ADVERTISEMENT

The numbers have been trending in opposing directions: In 2003, just 68 percent of Democrats — but 52 percent of Republicans — believed in human-caused climate change.

The new survey found similar divides over the impacts of climate change, with 82 percent of Democrats saying that climate change’s effects have already started and 67 percent saying it will pose a serious threat in their lifetime. 

Just 29 percent of Republicans said the impacts had already begun and 11 percent said it would pose a serious threat in their lifetimes. 

Researchers surveyed 1,010 U.S. adults between March 1 and March 15, and the margin of sampling error for results based on the entire sample is plus or minus 4 percentage points.

Click Here: cheap puma shoes

The Biden administration slapped additional sanctions on Myanmar Thursday over the military junta’s February coup. 

The Treasury Department said in a statement that its Office of Foreign Assets Control is instituting penalties on Myanma Gems Enterprise (MGE), a government-owned firm that oversees all gemstone activities in the country, a lucrative industry that helps fund the military regime.

“Today’s action highlights Treasury’s commitment to denying the Burmese military sources of funding, including from key state-owned enterprises throughout Burma,” said Andrea Gacki, director of the Office of the Foreign Assets Control.

ADVERTISEMENT

“The United States will continue to work tirelessly, including with partners throughout the region and the world, to support the restoration of democracy and rule of law in Burma and to bring accountability to those who seek to undermine these values.”

MGE’s property and other assets in the U.S. are blocked and must be reported to the Treasury Department as a result of the sanctions. Americans are also now prohibited from doing business with MGE. 

The U.S. has already sanctioned generals who participated in the coup, as well as some of their family members.

The new round of sanctions targets a key part of the military’s coffers given that the country is the world’s main source of jade and a top producer of rubies and other sought-after gems. 

It is the latest effort to penalize Myanmar over its Feb. 1 coup in which the junta overthrew the civilian-led government headed by Aung San Suu Kyi. More than 2,800 people have been arrested since the protests began, and almost 600 have been killed, according to the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners, which has been tracking the developments in Myanmar. 

Click Here: cheap nike air jordan shoes

“The Burmese military regime has ignored the will of the people of Burma to restore the country’s path toward democracy and has continued to commit lethal attacks against protesters in addition to random attacks on bystanders,” Secretary of State Antony BlinkenAntony BlinkenUS restores 5 million in humanitarian assistance to Palestinians blocked by Trump In departure from Trump, State affirms editorial freedom of Voice of America Biden’s policy shift in Yemen courts environmental disaster MORE said in a statement.

“By imposing targeted sanctions on this entity, we are sending a clear signal to the military that the United States will keep increasing pressure on the regime’s revenue streams until it ceases its violence, releases all those unjustly detained, lifts martial law and the nationwide state of emergency, removes telecommunications restrictions, and restores Burma to the path of democracy.”