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Thursday June 04, 2026
NEW YORK (AP) — Elon Musk’s space exploration company has filed preliminary paperwork to sell shares to the public, according to two sources familiar with the filing, a blockbuster offering that would likely rank as the biggest ever and could make its founder the world’s first trillionaire.
A SpaceX IPO promises to be one of the biggest Wall Street events of the year, with several investment banks lining up to help raise tens of billions to fund Musk’s ambitions to set up a base on the moon, put datacenters the size of several football fields in orbit and possibly one day send a man to Mars.
The sources spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to talk publicly about the confidential registration with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
SpaceX did not respond immediately to a request for comment.
Exactly how much SpaceX plans to raise has not been disclosed but the figure is reportedly as much as $75 billion. At that level, the offering would easily eclipse the $29 billion that Saudi Aramco raised in its IPO in 2019.
The offering, coming possibly in June, could value all the shares of SpaceX at $1.5 trillion, nearly double what the company was valued in December when some minority owners sold their stakes, according to research firm Pitchbook, before an acquisition that increased its size.
Musk owns 42% of the SpaceX now, according to Pitchbook, though that figure will change with the IPO when new owners are issued shares. In any case, he is likely to pierce the trillion dollar mark because he is already close. Forbes magazine estimates Musk’s net worth at roughly $823 billion.
In addition to making reusable rockets to hurl astronauts and hardware into orbit, SpaceX owns Starlink, the world’s largest satellite communications company. The company also recently brought under its roof two other Musk businesses, social media platform X, formerly Twitter, and artificial intelligence business, xAI, in a controversial transaction because both the seller and the buyer were controlled by him.
SpaceX has become the biggest commercial launch company in its industry, responsible for sending payloads into orbit for customers across the globe, but has also benefited from big taxpayer spending. That has raised conflicts of interest issues given that Musk was the biggest donor to President Donald Trump’s campaign and is still a big backer.
In the past five years, SpaceX won $6 billion in contracts from NASA, the Defense Department and other U.S. government agencies, according to USAspending.gov.
Among current SpaceX owners is Donald Trump Jr, the president’s oldest son. He owns a shares through 1789 Capital. That venture capital firm made him a partner shortly after his father won the presidency for a second time and has been buying up federal contractors seeking to win taxpayer money ever since.
The White House and Trump himself have repeatedly denied there are any conflicts of interest between his role as president and his family’s businesses.
NACOGDOCHES, Texas (KETK) — A data security incident earlier this year at the Nacogdoches Memorial Hospital (NMH) may have disclosed patients’ personal information to an unauthorized party, the hospital reports.
Nacogdoches High School names new head football coach
According to the hospital, a cyber-attack on Jan. 31 compromised its computer network and information systems. Law enforcement was immediately notified and an investigation began, determining that an unauthorized party may have had access to personal patient information.
The following patient information may have been accessed:
Name
Address
Phone number
Email address
Social security number
Date of Birth
Medical record number
Medical account number
Health beneficiary number
Possible photograph image, if taken
The hospital reports that it is not aware of the misuse of anyone’s information from the incident, as of Tuesday.
Following the re-securing of the computer network, the hospital reinforced and enhanced its security.
“NMH takes the security of all information in its systems very seriously and wants to assure its patients that it has taken steps to prevent a similar event from occurring in the future,” the hospital said. “This includes implementation of remediation measures to prevent recurrence, to strengthen NMH’s network security, enhancing NMH’s cyber preparedness through additional awareness training, and updating NMH’s procedures.”
The hospital notified its patients by mail, including information on steps to protect their information. Anyone looking for additional information or recommendations on protecting personal information should visit the NMH website at nacmem.org, the hospital advises.
“We sincerely regret any concern or inconvenience that this matter may cause its patients and remain dedicated to protecting patients’ personal information,” the hospital said.
(AP) – As climate change intensifies droughts, disrupts rainfall patterns and fuels wildfires, more regions are turning to the sea for drinking water.
Desalination, which is the process of removing salt from seawater, offers a way to produce freshwater in regions that lack sufficient rain, rivers or groundwater to meet demand. Today, it supplies water to hundreds of millions of people worldwide, from the Middle East to the U.S., and its use is growing as water scarcity deepens.
How it works
Most modern desalination plants rely on a process known as reverse osmosis. Seawater is forced at high pressure through a semi-permeable membrane that allows water molecules to pass through while blocking most salts and other impurities. The result is freshwater on one side and a highly concentrated salt solution, known as brine, on the other.
Before the water reaches the membrane, the seawater is typically filtered to remove debris and microorganisms that could clog equipment. Afterward, the freshwater is treated again to meet drinking water standards, often including the addition of minerals.
An older method, thermal desalination, involves heating seawater until it evaporates, then condensing the vapor back into liquid, leaving the salt behind. While still used in some regions, it is generally more energy intensive.
Where it’s most commonly used
Carlsbad desalination plant’s intake lagoon is visible on the right and the discharge canal on the left, Dec. 2, 2025, in Carlsbad, Calif. (AP Photo/Annika Hammerschlag, File)
Carlsbad desalination plant’s intake lagoon is visible on the right and the discharge canal on the left, Dec. 2, 2025, in Carlsbad, Calif. (AP Photo/Annika Hammerschlag, File)
In the Middle East, countries such as Kuwait and Oman source more than 85% of their drinking water from desalination, according to a 2022 report by the French Institute of International Relations think tank.
It’s also widely used in parts of Africa and Australia, as well as in the U.S., particularly in drought prone coastal areas like California and Texas. In some Pacific Island nations, where rising seas have contaminated groundwater with salt, desalination is becoming an increasingly important source of freshwater.
More than 20,000 desalination plants now operate worldwide, and the industry has been expanding at about 7% annually since 2010, according to the International Desalination and Reuse Association.
The process is energy intensive, with plants worldwide producing between 500 and 850 million tons of carbon emissions annually, according to a 2025 study published in the journal Water Research. That’s nearing the roughly 880 million tons emitted by the entire global aviation industry, an estimate from industry group Air Transport Action Group.
The byproduct of desalination, highly concentrated brine, is typically discharged back into the ocean, where it can harm seafloor habitats and coral reefs by increasing salinity and introducing chemicals used during treatment. Meanwhile, intake systems can trap and kill fish larvae, plankton and other organisms at the base of the marine food web — losses that can ripple outward, reducing populations of fish and larger predators that depend on them.
Efforts to reduce environmental impacts
Some companies are powering plants with renewable energy, while others are developing more efficient membrane technology to reduce energy consumption. Others are experimenting with moving the process into the deep sea, where natural ocean pressure can help drive reverse osmosis, lowering the need for additional energy.
Many experts say water recycling and conservation should come first, noting wastewater purification typically uses far less energy than seawater desalination and can substantially reduce impacts on marine life.
environmental coverage, visit https://apnews.com/hub/climate-and-environment
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Department of Homeland Security is pausing the purchase of new warehouses intended to house immigrants as it scrutinizes all contracts signed under former Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, according to a senior Homeland Security official.
The development comes just days after the new Homeland Security Secretary, Markwayne Mullin, was sworn in last week to lead a department that was steeped in controversy during Noem’s tenure but also central to President Trump’s mass deportation agenda.
The official spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak publicly on the matter. News of the pause was first reported by NBC News.
The official also said that warehouse purchases that were already made are also being scrutinized.
When asked about reports of the pause, the Department of Homeland Security said in a statement that “as with any transition, we are reviewing agency policies and proposals.”
The Department also noted that Mullin said during his confirmation hearing that he wanted to “work with community leaders” and “be good partners.”
Mullin inherited a $38.3 billion plan to boost detention capacity to 92,000 beds by acquiring eight large-scale detention centers, capable of housing 7,000 to 10,000 detainees each, and 16 smaller regional processing centers.
The plan was hatched during Noem’ s tenure but immediately ran into intense opposition around the country by residents and communities opposed to such large Immigration and Customs Enforcement facilities in their neighborhoods.
Many objected on moral grounds to ICE’s presence in their neighborhoods, while others questioned whether the facilities would be a drain on local resources, such as sewer and water systems.
So far, 11 warehouses have been purchased in Arizona, Georgia, Maryland, Michigan, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Texas and Utah, with the federal government spending a combined $1.074 billion.
But lawsuits are pending in three of the states. Meanwhile, the capacity of at least one warehouse has been scaled back. Plans initially called for a warehouse in the Phoenix suburb of Surprise to be used as a 1,500-bed processing site, but Homeland Security now plans to cap occupied beds at 542, Surprise Mayor Kevin Sarter said during a news conference on Monday.
In many cases, mayors, county commissioners, governors and members of Congress learned about ICE’s ambitions only after the agency bought or leased space for detainees, leading to shock and frustration even in areas that have backed Trump.
The warehouse plan ran into challenges from the start. Eight deals were scuttled in places like Kansas City, Missouri, when owners decided not to sell.
Pressed on the lack of information during his confirmation hearing, Mullin acknowledged there had been issues.
“We’ve got to protect the homeland and we’re going to do that,” Mullin said. “But obviously we want to work with community leaders.”
Mullin, who took over and expanded his family’s plumbing business before representing Oklahoma in the U.S House and Senate, said that “one thing I do know is construction.”
He noted that most municipalities don’t have the capacity in their infrastructure for waste and water.
“So, it’s important that we’re talking to the communities and if we’re having additional needs, we can work with the cities,” he said at his confirmation hearing earlier this month.
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Hollingsworth reported from Kansas City, Missouri.
A federal appeals court has denied a request from dozens of families to reopen a criminal case against Boeing over two fatal 737 Max crashes more than seven years ago.
Lawyers for the families had argued that the U.S. Department of Justice failed to properly consult them before reaching a deal last year with Boeing that led a lower court to dismiss a criminal conspiracy charge against the company. The charge stemmed from allegations that Boeing misled federal regulators about a flight-control system linked to the crashes, which killed 346 people.
In a unanimous decision released Tuesday, a three-judge panel of the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals said it disagreed with the families’ claims that federal prosecutors had violated their rights under the Crime Victims’ Rights Act and therefore could not revive the case.
Paul Cassell, a lawyer for the families, called the ruling “badly flawed.”
“The victims’ families were never given a meaningful opportunity to shape the negotiations between the Justice Department and Boeing, dating back to 2020,” Cassell said in a statement.
The aircraft manufacturer declined to comment, but at a hearing last month in New Orleans before the appellate court, Boeing attorney Paul Clement said more than 60 other families “affirmatively supported” the deal and dozens more did not oppose it.
“Boeing deeply regrets” the tragic crashes, Clement had said, and “has taken extraordinary steps to improve its internal processes and has paid substantial compensation” to the victims’ families.
The deal allowed Boeing to avoid prosecution in exchange for paying or investing an additional $1.1 billion in fines, compensation to victims’ families, and internal safety and quality measures.
At the same hearing, federal prosecutors told the judges that the government has, for years, “solicited and weighed the views of the crash victims’ families as it’s decided whether and how to prosecute the Boeing Company.”
All passengers and crew died when the 737 Max jets crashed less than five months apart in 2018 and 2019 — a Lion Air flight that plunged into the sea off the coast of Indonesia and an Ethiopian Airlines flight that crashed into a field shortly after takeoff.
Catherine Berthet, whose daughter Camille Geoffroy was among the 157 killed in the second crash, said she is “sad and outraged” by the court’s decision. The ruling, she said in a statement, highlights the criminal justice system’s “inability to see where the public’s and passengers’ best interests truly lie.”
The case had taken many twists and turns. The Justice Department first charged Boeing in 2021 with defrauding the government but agreed not to prosecute if the company paid a settlement and took steps to comply with anti-fraud laws.
Federal prosecutors later determined in 2024 that Boeing had violated that agreement, and the company agreed to plead guilty to the charge. But U.S. District Judge Reed O’Connor in Texas, who oversaw the case for years, rejected the plea deal and directed the two sides to resume negotiations.
The Justice Department returned last May with the new deal and a request to withdraw the criminal charge altogether, which O’Connor approved in November. Prosecutors argued that going to trial carried the risk that a jury might acquit Boeing entirely.
In dismissing the case, O’Connor said prosecutors hadn’t acted in bad faith and had explained their decision and met their obligations under the Crime Victims’ Rights Act.
O’Connor also said that case law prevented him from blocking the dismissal simply because he disagreed with the government’s view that the new deal with Boeing served the public interest.
The case centered around a software system that Boeing developed for the 737 Max, which airlines began flying in 2017. Boeing billed it as an update to its 737 family that wouldn’t require much additional pilot training.
But the Max did include significant changes — most notably, the addition of an automated flight-control system designed to help account for the plane’s larger engines. Investigators found that Boeing did not inform key Federal Aviation Administration personnel about changes it had made to the software before regulators set pilot training requirements for the Max and certified it for flight.
In both of the fatal crashes, that software pitched the nose of the plane down repeatedly based on faulty readings from a single sensor, and the pilots were unable to regain control.
“One can only hope that another Boeing crash won’t be the outcome of this badly flawed ruling,” Cassell, the lawyer for the families, said Tuesday.
LIVINGSTON, Texas (KETK) — Three people were arrested in Livingston after law enforcement stopped their vehicle and reported finding methamphetamine, drug paraphernalia and a stolen welding machine inside.
The Livingston Police Department said officers located a car near Dairy Queen that was connected to a person with active warrants. The car stopped in a parking lot and spoke with the driver, identified as Ivy Donaghue, 43, of Madisonville, who then ran from officers and was caught quickly.
While Donaghue was running, a passenger, identified as 30-year-old Jo Groze of Woodville, moved into the driver’s seat and drove away. The vehicle was later found on U.S. Highway 190 East and stopped by a Polk County deputy and a DPS trooper.
In the vehicle, they found methamphetamine and drug paraphernalia, alongside a stolen welding machine that had been reported stolen out of Robertson County.
A second passenger, 34-year-old Christopher Andrews of Woodville, was also in the car.
All three suspects are now charges of evading, manufacture or delivery of a controlled substance, and theft of property between $2,500 and $30,000.
MORRIS COUNTY, Texas (KETK) — An out-of-state corporation recently broke ground in Naples as the start of a large-scale natural gas-based generation facility that encompasses over 100 acres of Morris County.
The Arkansas Electric Cooperative Corporation (AECC) is set to begin construction of its 850-megawatt facility in the summer as a two-turbine plant, with full operation expected by 2029.
According to the corporation, it evaluated potential sites in Arkansas before selecting the Morris County location. The AECC’s President and CEO Vernon Hasten said Morris County’s proximity to natural gas pipelines and transmission is its “primary factor” in location selection.
“The facility in Morris County, Texas, is crucial to maintaining reliable energy resources,” Hasten said. “AECC continues to develop proven, readily dispatchable power generation technologies to provide our members with reliable, affordable electricity.”
The facility is part of the AECC’s plan to address the company’s wholesale generation needs.
The plant’s location within the Southwest Power Pool regional transmission organization’s footprint accordingly supports reliability, according to the AECC.
“This new state-of-the-art asset will be one of the lowest-emitting and most efficient simple cycle natural gas generation stations in AECC’s fleet,” the AECC said.
The AECC provides services to more than 1 million members, including those in upper East Texas counties such as Bowie County.
HOPKINS COUNTY, Texas (KETK)– Miller Grove ISD Superintendent Dr. Linda Rankin announced on Tuesday that she will be resigning from her position at the end of the current school year.
During her time at Miller Grove, Rankin has helped the district improve its finances, increasing its fund balance from $2.07 million to $3.01 million, and securing a $1.2 million grant to acquire three air-conditioned buses, according to the board of trustees.
Under her leadership, Rankin oversaw the construction of an additional agriculture classroom and the installation of a new greenhouse facility while also prioritizing campus safety by strengthening security protocols and training initiatives.
Rankin said she will remain fully committed to supporting the district’s students, staff and community over the final few months of her tenure. Rankin also said she will work closely with the board of trustees to ensure a successful transition for the next superintendent.
“Serving the Miller Grove ISD community has been one of the greatest honors of my career,” Rankin said. “Our students have always been at the heart of every decision I’ve made. They mean so much to me, and it has been a privilege to watch them grow, achieve, and succeed. I will always cherish the time I’ve spent with them and will continue to be one of their biggest supporters in all they do.”
Rankin’s final day with the district will be July 1.
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — A Tennessee library board has fired the county’s top librarian for refusing to comply with its vote to move more than 100 LGBTQ books from the children’s to the adult section over its claims that they promote “gender confusion.”
The Rutherford County Library Board voted 8-3 on Monday evening to fire library system director Luanne James. James has previously said that relocating the books would violate her and county residents’ First Amendment rights and compromise her professional obligation against government-mandated viewpoint discrimination.
The case establishes the county southeast of Nashville as another focal point in the yearslong national fight over library content, often centering on racial and LGBTQ themes.
“Her story will echo from the Courthouse in Murfreesboro, TN, across the county, as emblematic of the fight against censorship and suppression,” said Kasey Meehan, director of the Freedom to Read program for PEN America, which advocates for freedom of expression on behalf of writers.
Last fall, a former Wyoming library director won $700,000 to settle a lawsuit after her firing. Terri Lesley was removed during an uproar over books with sexual content and LGBTQ themes that some people sought their removal from youth shelves, though Campbell County officials contended that only her performance played a role in her firing.
Additionally, in December, the U.S. Supreme Court declined to hear an appeal on a Texas free speech case that allowed local officials to remove books deemed objectionable from public libraries.
The Tennessee decision stems from a March 16 vote by the board to relocate the books to the adult section in county libraries. During that meeting, board Chairman Cody York said it is dangerous and inaccurate to tell children, particularly those going through puberty, that boys can be girls and girls can be boys.
Two days later, James emailed the board and said she would not move the books. The meeting Monday was peppered with cheers and boos from the audience. When it was James’ turn to speak, she said, “I stand by my decision and I will not change my mind.” After the board voted to fire her, James’ attorney read a statement from her in which she said she thought the firing was an unlawful act of viewpoint discrimination.
“Librarians should not be used as a filter for political agendas,” the statement said. “I stood up for the right to read, standing for the citizens of Rutherford County.”
Rutherford County school board member Caleb Tidwell, meanwhile, spoke in favor of moving the books out of the section for youth readers.
“Follow the law,” said Tidwell, who started his public comments with a prayer. “Protect the children. Hold the line.”
Last year, the Tennessee Secretary of State’s office sent letters to library systems across the state requesting immediate reviews of what was in their children’s sections. They say libraries that receive federal and state funding have to comply with applicable laws, and mentioned Trump’s executive order about gender ideology.
James was appointed as the county library director in July 2025. She has worked for more than 25 years in public library roles, including directorships in Texas and South Carolina.
OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — The founder of a Texas megachurch who pleaded guilty to sexually abusing a child in the 1980s was released Tuesday after serving six months in an Oklahoma jail.
Robert Preston Morris, 64, was released just after midnight, said Osage County Sheriff’s Capt. Matt Clark.
Morris pleaded guilty last year to five counts of lewd or indecent acts with a child as part of a plea agreement under which he received a 10-year suspended sentence with the first six months to be served in the Osage County Jail.
The abuse began in 1982 when the victim was 12 and Morris was a traveling evangelist staying in Hominy, Oklahoma, with her family, according to Oklahoma Attorney General Gentner Drummond, whose office prosecuted the case.
Morris was the senior pastor of Gateway Church in the Dallas-Fort Worth suburb of Southlake, where he led one of the nation’s largest megachurches until June 2024 when — faced with the victim’s allegations — he resigned. He was indicted last year by an Oklahoma grand jury.
Morris must register as a sex offender and will be supervised by Texas authorities via interstate compact. He also was ordered to pay his costs of incarceration, including any medical expenses, and restitution to the victim.
The victim, Cindy Clemishire, who is now in her 50s, did not immediately respond Tuesday to a request for comment, but said in a statement when Morris was sentenced that “justice has finally been served, and the man who manipulated, groomed and abused me as a 12-year-old innocent girl is finally going to be behind bars.” The Associated Press typically does not name people who say they have been sexually assaulted unless they come forward publicly, as Clemishire did.
In a statement released Tuesday by one of Morris’ attorneys, Bill Mateja, Morris apologized to Clemishire and her family and praised them for coming forward.
“What I did to Cindy decades ago was wrong. There is no other word for it, and there is no excuse for it. I am deeply sorry,” Morris said. “I have carried the weight of that wrong for a very long time, and I am grateful — genuinely grateful — that the Clemishires had the courage to bring this into the light.
“Many years ago, I sought their forgiveness privately, and as Cindy’s father recently noted, he extended that grace to me — a grace I did not deserve and have never taken for granted.”
Gateway Church was founded by Morris in 2000. He has been politically active and formerly served on President Donald Trump’s evangelical advisory board. The church hosted Trump on its Dallas campus in 2020 for a discussion on race relations and the economy.
YUMA, Az. (AP) – Antonio Bustamante has kept a watercolor of labor leader César Chavez for more than 35 years, hanging it on the wall of his law office in Yuma, Arizona. As a young man, he was moved by Chavez and helped organize workers before joining his security team.
Like many others, Bustamante must now wrestle with reconciling the man he adored with the allegations Chavez groomed and sexually abused women and young girls.
“I’m trying to figure out how emotionally and intellectually I’ll be able to understand my perception of him as an extremely good man,” Bustamante said, his voice heavy with emotion, “compared to these things that are said he did.”
Chavez built a national reputation organizing in the fields. With Dolores Huerta — also one of his victims — he co-founded the United Farm Workers union, led a hunger strike, a grape boycott with Filipino farmworkers, and eventually pressured growers to negotiate better wages and working conditions for Mexican American farmworkers.
Nearly two weeks after a New York Times report detailing allegations of sexual abuse, communities and rights groups across the country are still figuring out how he should be remembered. His name and image have already been erased from monuments, streets and murals around the country.
Reckoning with a legacy
Bustamante said he learned of the allegations when an old friend called to tell him about the upcoming report. What flashed through his mind, he said, were the faces of others who had known and admired Chavez, and “how their eyes would be devastated.”
“We were looked down upon by society, we were Mexicans,” Bustamante said, recalling the first time he saw Chavez speak outside the Arizona Capitol in 1972 as he launched a hunger strike. He “gave us worth, and for young people that was everything.”
Now, some of Bustamante’s friends have taken down images of Chavez. In his community, Bustamante likened it to denouncing Catholicism and removing photos of the pope.
For many, it’s an example of why movements should not be tied to a single leader.
Teresa Romero, president of United Farm Workers, said the contradiction between the Chavez’s legacy and the allegations is unavoidable.
“We have in one hand César Chavez, the man who committed horrible acts that we’re not going to justify,” Romero said. “On the other hand, we have César Chavez, the organizer who brought thousands and thousands of people together to be able to work for farm workers, and improve their lives and working conditions.”
Unfortunately, both of those things came from the same person, Romero said.
Sehila Mota Casper, executive director of Latinos in Heritage Conservation, said the farmworker movement was always driven by collective effort.
“The rights and protections that came from it belongs to the people that built it,” she said. “It wasn’t just one individual.”
That perspective, she said, offers a way to move forward: recognizing Chavez’s role without letting it overshadow the contributions of others, including Huerta, and the challenges they faced.
Advocacy groups like the nonprofit Voto Latino took a similar stance, saying, “The women who organized, marched, and sacrificed alongside farmworkers carried this movement on their backs.”
Dismantling a man, preserving history
The allegations also prompted swift public action. Within days, statues were removed and celebrations cancelled or renamed, including events tied to the federal César Chavez Day on March 31.
Political leaders from both parties have condemned the alleged abuse. Some Republicans, including Texas Gov. Greg Abbott, cited it as part of a broader criticism of Chavez’s progressive legacy.
Abbot said Texas — a state with dozens of Confederate monuments — would no longer celebrate César Chavez Day, saying the allegations “undermine the narrative that elevated Chavez as a figure worthy of official state celebration.”
At the same time, groups like the nonpartisan Latino Victory Project, which focuses on developing Hispanic political leadership, said this current moment should not distract from the still-ongoing civil rights battles.
“Those legacies are unchanged,” said Paul Ortiz, a labor history professor at Cornell University and director of graduate studies for Latino Studies. “And those legacies are all about people power.”
What seems inevitable, Bustamante said, is that there will always be an asterisk next to Chavez’s name.
“Does that take away the greatness of what his accomplishments were, the meaning of them? No, it doesn’t,” he said. “But can we look past that to honor him? That’s the tough part.”
GALVESTON (AP) – One of the world’s rarest whales lives in only one place: the Gulf of Mexico, where the Trump administration wants to expand oil and gas drilling that scientists fear could push the giant mammal to extinction.
Endangered Rice’s whales live their entire lives in the gulf, where they’re vulnerable to vessel strikes, noise pollution, oil spills and climate change — all of which could increase with more drilling, scientists said. Other animals, including threatened manatees and endangered sea turtles, also could be put at risk, experts said.
As the Iran war pushes energy prices sharply higher, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth invoked national security in seeking an exemption from endangered species laws, which make it illegal to harm or kill species on a protected list. The seldom-used Endangered Species Committee granted that request on Tuesday.
What is known about the Rice’s whale?
It’s the only whale species that lives year-round in the Gulf of Mexico, where there are fewer than 100 — and possibly fewer than 50 — left, scientists said.
Recognized as a distinct species in 2021, the Rice’s whale is usually found in a narrow area in the northeastern part of the Gulf, in waters 100 to 400 meters (328 to 1,312 feet) deep.
Many climate change impacts are “baked in,” meaning they will persist even if fossil fuels were eliminated today, said Letise LaFeir, chief of conservation and stewardship at the New England Aquarium.
But the Trump administration proposal “is just compounding the immediate risks locally and the longer-term risks,” LaFeir said.
What about other species?
Although a government filing specifically mentions Rice’s whales, other threatened and endangered animals also could be harmed by oil spills or other dangers, scientists said.
“The ocean is connected, so when there is this kind of action somewhere else, it does have implications across the waters,” LaFeir said.
For example, hundreds of sea turtles — including endangered Kemp’s Ridley and loggerheads — are rescued and rehabilitated every year before they are released into the Atlantic Ocean and swim for their nesting grounds in the Gulf, she said.
Michael Jasny, director of the Natural Resources Defense Council’s marine mammal protection project, said consequences could be far-reaching.
“It’s … sea turtles, it’s manatees, it’s whooping cranes, it’s various seabirds, it’s Rice’s whales, it’s sperm whales, it is endangered corals,” he said. “It is every endangered or threatened species in the Gulf of Mexico.”
What is the ‘God Squad?’
It was established in 1978 as a way to exempt projects from Endangered Species Act protections if a cost-benefit analysis concluded it was the only way to achieve net economic benefits in the national or regional interest.
The seven-member committee is led by the secretary of the Interior, with five other federal officials and with affected states getting one shared vote. Five votes are required for an exemption.
Before Tuesday, the committee had only issued exemptions twice. The first was for construction of a dam on a section of the Platte River considered critical habitat for whooping cranes, though a negotiated settlement won significant protections that led to overall ecosystem improvements. The second was for logging in northern spotted owl habitat, but the request was withdrawn after environmental groups sued, arguing that the committee’s decision was political and violated legal procedures.
Jasny fears the Trump administration wants to eliminate rigorous scrutiny of future exemptions and “turn this … into a thing that could be invoked at any time, almost for any purpose.”
If it can be done for drilling in the Gulf, he said, “why not California? Why not Alaska?”
“If you can declare an emergency to just kill sea turtles and manatees and whales in the Gulf, you know no species is safe.”
The advanced systems that allow drivers to take their hands off the wheel while going down the road will be scrutinized again by federal investigators on Tuesday in connection with two fatal crashes involving Ford’s Blue Cruise system.
The National Transportation Safety Board is expected to recommend ways to improve these partially automated driving systems as it wraps up its investigation into the 2024 crashes in Texas and Pennsylvania that killed three people when the Ford Mustang Mach-E cars slammed into vehicles that were stopped.
The NTSB has previously investigated a number of other crashes involving similar systems, including Tesla’s autopilot system.
Ford and other automakers emphasize that these systems are not designed to replace the human drivers sitting behind the wheel, who have to be ready to take control at any time. The NTSB has said their investigation is examining the effectiveness of these systems and how well they monitor driver engagement.
But Missy Cummings, a professor of engineering and computing at George Mason University, said these crashes highlight some of the dangers of partially autonomous driving systems that allow people to disengage.
“Allowing people to take their hands off the wheel will also mean they will likely take their minds off the driving task,” Cummings said.
Ford’s Blue Cruise system does allow drivers to take their hands off the steering wheel while it handles steering, braking and acceleration on highways. The company says the system isn’t fully autonomous and it monitors drivers to make sure they pay attention to the road.
There are no fully autonomous vehicles for sale to the public in the U.S.
One of the crashes occurred in San Antonio, Texas, killing one person, while the other happened in Philadelphia in which two people died. The driver in the Philadelphia crash was later charged with DUI homicide. That criminal case is still pending with no trial date set.
The Texas crash occurred on Interstate 10 in San Antonio. The NTSB report says the Mach E struck the rear of a 1999 Honda CR-V that was stopped in the middle of three lanes around 9:50 p.m. The 56-year-old driver of the CR-V was killed.
Another driver who was able to avoid the CR-V told investigators that neither its tail lights nor hazards were working at the time.
The other crash involving a Mach E killed two people around 3:20 a.m. March 3 in the northbound lanes of Interstate 95 in Philadelphia. The Pennsylvania State Police said the Ford was in the left lane when it struck a stationary Hyundai Elantra that earlier had collided with a Toyota Prius.
During the crash, the driver of the Prius, who was outside of his vehicle, also was struck and thrown into the southbound lanes. A person from the Hyundai also was on the roadway and was hit. Both young men died.
WASHINGTON (AP) — About 100 of the nation’s most contaminated toxic waste sites are in areas prone to flooding and wildfires, a potential public health threat to millions of Americans in surrounding communities, the internal watchdog at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has found.
The EPA’s Office of Inspector General issued a trio of reports last week assessing the weather-related vulnerabilities of the 157 federal Superfund sites prioritized for cleanup due to the serious risk they pose to public health and the environment. About 3 million Americans live within a mile of a Superfund site, while 13 million people live within 3 miles (4.8 kilometers).
Some of the Superfund sites were found to be at risk from multiple natural-disaster threats. The studies found 49 in coastal areas are at risk from sea-level rise or storm surge from hurricanes, with many located near highly populated areas and important ecological locales like Chesapeake Bay. Another 47 are in low-lying sites prone specifically to inland flooding from heavy rain. The review also found 31 sites in areas at high risk for wildfires.
Despite these risks, the five-year plans governing the expensive and time-consuming cleanups at the sites often failed to account for damage posed by flooding from sea-level rise and more frequent storms and wildfire, the IG’s review found.
“That is a big problem because it means the site managers are not planning mitigation measures,” said Betsy Southerland, a former director of the agency’s water protection division who spent over 30 years at the EPA.
“The communities living near those sites should be made aware of this planning failure and should insist on robust plans,” she said.
At locations with little or no planning for floods, contaminants could be released into surrounding communities and taxpayer dollars already invested in remediation could be wasted, the review found.
The EPA said it is reviewing the IG’s findings and that the Superfund program does factor “the impacts of extreme weather events and other hazards as a standard operating practice in the development and implementation of cleanup projects.”
Last year, President Donald Trump fired EPA Inspector General Sean O’Donnell at the beginning of Trump’s second term, and the office’s new review makes no mention of climate change, a term the Republican administration has scrubbed from federal websites. But the new reports issued by the IG’s remaining staff still lay out the risks posed by a warming planet to the nation’s most dangerous toxic waste sites.
Lara J. Cushing, a professor at the University of California, Los Angeles who has studied the effects of a changing climate on the nation’s toxic waste sites, petrochemical plants and other hazardous areas, called the new reports “noteworthy and important.”
“Although President Trump may wish to ignore it, the fact is the climate is changing and we need to be proactive in responding to rising seas and more extreme weather or face the consequences of increasingly frequent cascading natural-technological disasters that poison communities and local?ecosystems,” said Cushing.
The inspector general’s findings echo a 2017 investigation by The Associated Press that found 327 Superfund sites vulnerable to flooding driven by climate change. The AP’s review was launched following Hurricane Harvey, which caused extensive flooding in parts of Houston that included seven Superfund sites and triggered spills from tanks holding cancer-causing toxic waste.
The EPA’s new report said that during Harvey, dioxin chemicals were carried by flooding into neighboring streets, yards and homes close to the San Jacinto River, an area highlighted by AP’s reporting.
At the time, the EPA under the first Trump administration criticized AP’s reporting as fear-mongering “yellow journalism.” Trump has called climate change a hoax, blocked renewable energy projects and sought to boost the burning of planet-warming fossil fuels.
“This series shines a light on potential threats to federal facility Superfund sites and the critical role of five-year reviews in addressing them,” said Kim Wheeler, the spokesperson for the Inspector General’s office. “By identifying sites at risk from these weather-related events, we aimed to raise awareness and encourage forward looking planning.”
TEXARKANA – Authorities have discovered a DNA match for a person who has been missing since January of last year, nearly eight months after human remains were discovered in a Texarkana creek bed.
Amber French, 43, is the identified victim discovered near Waggoner Creek in August 2025, according to a statement released by the Texarkana Police Department on Monday. Our news partners at KETK report that the remains, which were thought to be bones, were initially discovered on August 1, 2025, by someone strolling along a creek bed. The police department verified that they were human and that began an investigation.
More bones were discovered when Texarkana detectives, Texas Game and Fish officers, and a K-9 unit were dispatched to the scene. Officials could only conclude at the time that the body had decayed because the bones were old enough. After that, a medical examiner in Dallas received the bones. According to the police department, DNA revealed that they belonged to French, who was reported missing in May 2025 after her family had not heard from her since January. PIO Shawn Vaughn of the Texarkana Police Department told KETK News on Monday that while foul play is “not necessarily suspected,” it is also not ruled out. The investigation is still ongoing.