In a year with record-setting fires in the West and historic hurricane numbers in the East, climate change is top of mind for many people.
For just the second time in history, Atlantic storms are being named using the Greek alphabet after surpassing the annual list of names.
"As far as the hurricanes, there's a lot of scientific debate on the hurricanes," Andrew R. Wheeler, administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency, claimed today on Cheddar's Opening Bell.
Meanwhile, leaders in Western states have been raising concerns about climate change once again as devastating and deadly fires consume more land than ever before. Those leaders pressed President Trump on the issue last week after the administration blamed forest management for the fires. At the time, the president claimed that "it will get cooler soon."
Wheeler told Cheddar he does believe in climate change and humanity's contribution.
But Wheeler doubled-down on the administration's claims that forest management was behind California's increasingly destructive fires. "I do believe most of it is forest management issues because you don't have the same problems in other parts of the country," Wheeler said.
This week a group of former leaders of the EPA endorsed Joe Biden. The group was made up of EPA leaders who served under Democratic and Republican administrations. Christine Todd Whitman, a former Republican governor from New Jersey who ran the EPA under President George W. Bush, reiterated her stance Monday that the current administration was running a war against science.
Wheeler hit back today on Cheddar. "Yesterday's announcement was just pure politics," he said. "They had no facts to back up their statement."
Wheeler touted the agency's record on regulation enforcement and said he is "very proud of the fact that we have doubled the amount of both civil and criminal penalties by the Obama-Biden administration during the same time period." He went on to say the agency's foremost responsibility now is to enforce existing regulations as more and more environmental programs are delegated to the states.
The Biden administration has stopped taking mobile app appointments to admit asylum-seekers at a Texas border crossing that connects to a notoriously dangerous Mexican city after advocates warned U.S. authorities that migrants were being targeted there for extortion.
Donald Trump arrived in Florida on Monday ahead of a history-making federal court appearance on dozens of felony charges accusing him of illegally hoarding classified documents and thwarting the Justice Department's efforts to get them back.
The Supreme Court said Monday it won't review North Carolina's decision to stop issuing specialty license plates with the Confederate flag.
The Human Rights Campaign has declared a state of emergency for the lgbtq+ community. The unprecedented move comes after the passage of more than 75 anti-gay bills this year alone. Here with more is Cheddar News senior reporter Chloe Aiello.
President Joe Biden welcomed hundreds to the White House on Saturday for a delayed Pride Month celebration aimed at showing LGBTQ+ people that his administration has their back at a time when advocates are warning of a spike in discriminatory legislation, particularly aimed at the transgender community, sweeping through statehouses.
Silvio Berlusconi, the boastful billionaire media mogul who was Italy’s longest-serving premier despite scandals over his sex-fueled parties and allegations of corruption, died Monday. He was 86.
“Any consumer can tell you that online airline bookings are confusing enough," said William McGee, an aviation expert at the American Economic Liberties Project. "The last thing we need is to roll back an existing protection that provides effective transparency.”
Cheddar News checks in to see what to look out for Next Week on the Street as former president Donald Trump makes an appearance in federal court after being indicted. Investors will also keep an eye on the Federal Reserve meeting to see what comes out of that while earnings continue to pour in.
U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris announced Thursday that the U.S. is investing more than $100 million in the Caribbean region to crack down on weapons trafficking, help alleviate Haiti’s humanitarian crisis and support climate change initiatives.
It is arguably the most perilous of multiple legal threats against the former president as he seeks to reclaim the White House.
