Environmentalist fight back
Environmental groups have filed a lawsuit against President Donald Trump’s administration just days after it lifted protections for endangered species in the Gulf. WFIT’s Terri Wright reports.
The lawsuit alleges the federal government bypassed required public hearings and failed to allow for public comment before issuing the decision. The Endangered Species Committee convened for the first time in 34 years after Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth cited potential threats to “national security” from disruptions to oil and gas drilling and pushed to exempt offshore drilling operations in the Gulf on those grounds. The meeting lasted less than 30 minutes. In contrast, past decisions by the committee have involved months of public hearings.
Environmentalists are particularly concerned for the future of the Rice’s whale. There are estimated to be only about 50 left, mostly in the northeastern Gulf.
Lunar flyby for Artemiss II
After the successful Artemis II launch from the previous week, the four astronauts are set to have their lunar fly by this afternoon today at 2:45pm, and will roughly last seven hours. NASA will be holding a live broadcast starting today at 1pm and can be streamed on YouTube, Netflix, Amazon Prime, Peacock and NASA+. Here are a few NASA flyby highlights:
- Far-side lunar features never seen with unaided eyes will include the full Orientale basin (an impact crater three times as wide as Massachusetts) and the smaller Pierazzo and Ohm craters.
- The crew will also observe a solar eclipse. Lasting for nearly an hour toward the end of the flyby, the eclipse will let the astronauts view the solar corona, or the sun's outer atmosphere.
The last time humans have ventured past the Earth's orbit was in 1972, during the Apollo 17 mission.
DeSantis signs an election bill into Florida law.
Gov. DeSantis has signed an election bill that requires proof of citizenship in order to vote in Florida. WFIT’s Rick Glasby has details:
The biggest change is requiring verification of citizenship of registered voters. The new law also reduces the kinds of identification people can show at the polls to prove who they are. Student IDs and retirement-center IDs will no longer be allowed. Voting-rights advocates warned those two provisions — among a long list of changes in state election law — could prevent thousands of citizens who are legitimate Florida voters from casting ballots. The American Civil Liberties Union immediately filed a federal lawsuit challenging the new law.
Alligator Alcatraz violates detainee rights.
A US judge has criticized Florida’s defense of detainee rights as “absurd.” The judge ordered changes to how detainees access legal counsel at the "Alligator Alcatraz" immigration site. Officials must now provide confidential legal calls, one phone per 25 detainees, and publish policies in multiple languages. US District Judge Sheri Chapell found that current practices at the facility likely violate detainees' First Amendment rights.