climate

A massive multi-hazard storm system is battering the eastern United States, bringing tornadoes, severe thunderstorms, and blizzard conditions that have placed over 34 million people under tornado watches and millions more under winter storm warnings. The system has already dumped nearly three feet of snow across Minnesota, Wisconsin, and northern Michigan, while simultaneously threatening severe weather from Florida to New Jersey. The storm's impact has been far-reaching, causing nearly 4,600 flight cancellations, leaving over 406,000 customers without electricity, and prompting emergency declarations and school closures across multiple states. Meanwhile, the western United States faces an opposite extreme with dangerous heat waves and wildfire conditions expected in California, Arizona, and Nevada, making this potentially one of the most significant multi-faceted weather events of the year affecting approximately 200 million Americans.

The Supreme Court heard extended oral arguments in a case challenging Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act, which could fundamentally alter electoral politics in the American South. The case began as a lawsuit by Black Louisiana voters seeking a second majority-Black congressional district but expanded when the court decided to consider whether the Act's requirement to create "opportunity districts" for minorities is constitutional. If successful, the challenge could lead to congressional redistricting across southern states, potentially flipping more than a dozen seats from Democratic to Republican control and giving Republicans a decisive advantage in the House of Representatives. During arguments, the conservative-leaning court appeared potentially open to reinterpreting or limiting the landmark civil rights law, with Justice Kavanaugh expressing concerns about indefinite racial considerations in districting.

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) under Trump-appointed Administrator Lee Zeldin has secured a significant court victory allowing it to freeze $20 billion from the Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund established by the Inflation Reduction Act. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit ruled 2-1 in favor of the EPA, with two Trump-appointed judges framing the issue as a contract dispute that belongs in federal claims court. This decision affects funds that were originally earmarked for low-income and disadvantaged communities, with 70% intended for these areas. The ruling overturns a previous court decision that had required Citibank to release the frozen funds to the nonprofit organizations to which they had been awarded.