Oct 25, 2017

EPA readying delay of Obama's methane rule

Amy Harder, author of Generate

Trump looks on as EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt speaks. Photo: Susan Walsh / AP

The Environmental Protection Agency is set to soon announce a two-year delay of an Obama-era rule setting new standards for methane, a potent greenhouse gas, from oil and gas wells not yet drilled, according to an EPA official and public filings.

Driving the news: The White House recently completed its review of a proposal that stays the rule, which President Obama's EPA finalized in May 2016. A senior EPA official told Axios Tuesday the goal was to release the proposal next week, and that it's unlikely to be released this week.

One level deeper: The two-year delay is aimed at giving the agency time to decide to what degree it replaces the rule, according to the EPA official. The oil and gas industry has to varying degrees addressed methane emissions, making this a messier regulatory issue than some others.

Go deeper

: Check out a

my column

from earlier this year delving into how industry is urging President Trump to not to wholly repeal too many environmental regulations.

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Barak Ravid
Updated 4 mins ago - World

Scoop: Decisive meeting could lead to Israeli-Sudanese normalization

Lt. Gen. Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, Sudan's head of the Sovereign Council, meets with Bahraini aid officials in Khartoum, Sept. 15. Photo: Mazen Mahdi/AFP via Getty Images

U.S., Emirati and Sudanese officials will hold a decisive meeting in Abu Dhabi on Monday on a possible normalization agreement between Sudan and Israel, Sudanese sources told me.

Why it matters: If the U.S. and the United Arab Emirates accommodate Sudan’s requests for economic aid, an announcement on a normalization agreement with Israel similar to the ones struck with the UAE and Bahrain could be made within days, sources briefed on the process tell me.

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Axios
Updated 2 hours ago - Politics & Policy

Coronavirus dashboard

Illustration: Sarah Grillo/Axios

  1. Global: Total confirmed cases as of 12:45 p.m. ET: 30,838,610 — Total deaths: 958,090— Total recoveries: 21,088,552 — Map.
  2. U.S.: Total confirmed cases as of 12:45 p.m. ET: 6,777,026 — Total deaths: 199,352 — Total recoveries: 2,577,446 — Total tests: 94,211,463 — Map.
  3. Politics: Testing czar on Trump's CDC contradictions: "Everybody is right" — Trump's health secretary asserts control over all new rules.
  4. Education: What we overlooked in the switch to remote learning
  5. Health: The dwindling chances of eliminating COVID-19.
  6. World: Guatemalan president tests positive for COVID-19 — The countries painting their pandemic recoveries green.
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Orion Rummler
Updated 2 hours ago - Health

7 states set single-day coronavirus case records last week

Data: Compiled by Axios; Map: Danielle Alberti/Axios

Seven states set new highs last week for coronavirus infections recorded in a single day, according to the COVID Tracking Project and state health departments. Wisconsin and Nebraska surpassed records set the previous week.

Why it matters: Problem spots are sticking in the Midwest, although the U.S. is moving in the right direction overall after massive infection spikes this summer.

Go deeper (1 min. read)Arrow