National security adviser: No ‘definitive answer’ on COVID lab leak

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EPA temporarily halts removal of contaminated waste from East Palestine derailment

The federal government has ordered a temporary halt to the shipment of contaminated waste from the site of the train derailment in eastern Ohio that has prompted environmental and public health concerns. Federal authorities paused shipments of waste out of East Palestine, Ohio, on Saturday. Norfolk Southern, the company that owns the train that derailed, had been responsible for relocating the waste. But other states raised concerns last week that they weren’t warned about receiving the waste, and the Environmental Protection Agency stepped in.  “Everyone wants this con

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How the Biden administration will try to save its student loan relief plan at the Supreme Court

President Biden's student loan relief plan faces a do-or-die moment on Tuesday as it reaches the Supreme Court for oral arguments.  The up to $20,000 in debt relief that could go to millions of Americans faces two challenges: one from six Republican-led states, Biden v. Nebraska, and another from two student loan borrowers, Department of Education v. Brown.  Biden’s plan to save one of his biggest campaign promises hinges on two arguments.  The administration says that Education Secretary Miguel Cardona had the authority to forgive the debt under

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Advocates say Biden's asylum rule is a Trump deja vu

The Biden administration is barreling towards a legal fight with immigration groups after rolling out a new asylum policy similar to a Trump-era directive already struck down by the courts.  The tussle between the administration and its would-be allies on immigration has been brewing for years, but it hit a head Tuesday, when the administration unveiled a proposed rule taking two big hits at the asylum system. The proposal from the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and the Department of Justice (DOJ) seeks to geographically contain asylum-seekers by pushing them

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EPA orders 'pause' of derailment contaminated waste removal

EAST PALESTINE, Ohio (AP) — Federal environmental authorities have ordered a temporary halt in the shipment of contaminated waste from the site of a fiery train derailment earlier this month in eastern Ohio near the Pennsylvania state line. Region 5 administrator Debra Shore of the Environmental Protection Agency said Saturday the agency ordered Norfolk Southern to “pause” shipments from the site of the Feb. 3 derailment in East Palestine but vowed that removal of the material would resume “very soon.” “Everyone wants this contamination gone from the community. They don’t wa

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