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Associated Press
Michael Biesecker is an environmental and energy reporter for Associated Press.
PROFILE
Michael Biesecker
Guest
FROM Michael Biesecker
To the Point
Will coal miners get jobs back without the Paris Accord? After President Trump's controversial decision yesterday to pull out of the Paris Climate Agreement, EPA administrator Scott Pruitt took the podium today at the White House briefing room. He called the President's decision "courageous" and was combative with the press. When one reporter said researchers claim Trump misunderstands studies on rising temperatures, Pruitt responded, "The environmental left was very critical of Paris. In fact, James Hansen is an individual who said it was a fake and a fraud, and the head of the Sierra Club said the same thing." Michael Biesecker, energy and environment reporter for the Associated Press , has more on the response to President Trump's decision.
To the Point
Dow asks EPA to stop effort to protect endangered species Research by the Obama Administration showed that a pesticide made by Dow Chemical was linked to brain damage, but the EPA's new director, Scott Pruitt, has refused to ban it. Now Dow wants to delay restrictions on use of the same substance planned by the Obama Administration, which also found that chlorpyrifos is harmful to 1800 endangered species. Michael Biesecker, who covers the environment and energy for the Associated Press , says Dow wants to kill the rick study and begin anew, which would delay implementation of regulations by several years.
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The Asian American voter in OC In Orange County the population is changing. While the numbers of most ethnic groups have grown slowly over the past 10 years, the number of Asian Americans is up 41 percent since 2010. And don't think the politicos haven't noticed. What kind of impact will Asian American voters have on Orange County's representation in Congress? Will they help keep the county Republican, or could they turn Orange County blue?
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Questions for Coal Country People in California want to know: "Do West Virginians really believe that coal is coming back?"
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Is a ‘Red State Democrat’ Even a Democrat? Democrats and progressives were scratching their heads last week when West Virginia’s senator broke with the Democratic Party. We get their reaction.
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What you need to know about the Gas Tax Last year, California legislators increased California’s gas tax by 12 cents a gallon. The revenue raised from the increases, over $5 billion a year, is supposed to be spent on improving transportation in the state. But there’s been a backlash to the gas tax increase, resulting in Proposition 6 on the November ballot. If passed, it would roll back the tax and require all future fuel tax increases to get voter approval.