Biden administration restores threatened species protections dropped by Trump

BILLINGS, Mont. (AP) — The Biden administration has restored rules to protect imperiled plants and animals that had been rolled back under former President Donald Trump. Among the changes announced Thursday, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service will reinstate a decades-old regulation that mandates blanket protections for species newly classified as threatened. The blanket protections regulation was dropped in 2019 as part of a suite of changes to the application of the species law under Trump. Those changes came as extinctions accelerate globally due to habitat loss and other pressures.

US tuberculosis cases were at their the highest level in a decade in 2023

NEW YORK (AP) — The U.S. saw the most tuberculosis illnesses in a decade in 2023. That’s according to a new report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention that was published Thursday. More than 9,600 cases were reported, which is a 16% increase from 2022. Forty states reported an increase, and rates were up among all age groups. Cases declined sharply at the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic but have been rising since. The 2023 count was the highest reported since 2013.

Johnson will send Mayorkas impeachment to the Senate next month

WASHINGTON (AP) — House Speaker Mike Johnson will send articles of impeachment against Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas to the Senate shortly after Congress returns to Washington next month. The Republican speaker said Thursday he would send the two articles on April 10. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer plans to swear in senators as jurors in the trial the next day, according to his office. The House impeached Mayorkas on a razor-thin party-line vote in February, but Johnson had delayed sending the articles of impeachment to the Senate while Congress addressed funding for the federal government

Harris says US agencies must show their AI tools aren’t harming people’s safety

(AP) — U.S. federal agencies must show that their artificial intelligence tools aren’t harming the public, or stop using them, under new rules unveiled by the White House. Vice President Kamala Harris says government agencies that use AI tools will be required to verify that those tools do not endanger the rights and safety of the American people. After Thursday’s announcement, each agency by December must have a set of concrete safeguards that guide everything from facial recognition screenings at airports to AI tools that help control the electric grid or determine mortgages and home insurance.

WH expects about 40,000 at its ‘egg-ucation’-themed Easter egg roll

(AP) — The White House says it’s getting ready to welcome 40,000 people to its annual Easter Egg Roll. The egg-stravaganza was first held on the lawn in 1878. Guests this year will include thousands of military and veteran families, their caregivers and survivors. Members of the general public claimed tickets through an online public lottery. Monday’s events will be held on the South Lawn and the Ellipse and will have an “egg-ucation” component to fit with Jill Biden’s theme.