Judge temporarily blocks Pentagon from punishing Sen. Mark Kelly

WASHINGTON (AP) — A federal judge has temporarily blocked the Pentagon from punishing Democratic Sen. Mark Kelly, a former U.S. Navy pilot, for participating in a video that called on troops to resist unlawful orders. U.S. District Judge Richard Leon ruled Thursday that Pentagon officials have violated Kelly’s First Amendment free speech rights. Kelly, who represents Arizona, sued in federal court to block his Jan. 5 censure from Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth. In November, Kelly and five other Democratic lawmakers appeared on a video in which they urged troops to uphold the Constitution and not to follow unlawful military directives from the Trump administration.

Grieving families press Congress on aviation safety reforms after midair collision near DC

(AP) — Key senators and the families of the 67 people who died when an airliner and Army helicopter collided near Washington, D.C., are convinced advanced aircraft locator systems that experts have been recommending for decades would have prevented the crash. But it’s unclear if legislation to require them around busy airports will pass Congress. Senate Commerce Committee chairman Ted Cruz convened a hearing Thursday to advocate for a longstanding recommendation of the National Transportation Safety Board, that all aircraft be required to both broadcast their locations and receive the locations of nearby aircraft. Everyone aboard the American Airlines jet and the helicopter died in the January 2025 collision.

Trump’s EPA revokes scientific finding that underpinned US fight against climate change

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Environmental Protection Agency has revoked a key scientific finding that supported U.S. regulations on greenhouse gas emissions. This decision rescinds a 2009 declaration that carbon dioxide and other gases endanger public health. EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin announced the move Thursday, calling it a major deregulatory action. Critics argue it undermines efforts to combat climate change and could lead to more pollution. Environmental groups are certain to challenge the action in court. The EPA also proposes delaying a Biden-era rule on vehicle emissions, which could impact the push for electric vehicles.

Search for Nancy Guthrie now seeks security videos from the month before she vanished

TUCSON, Ariz. (AP) — Investigators in Arizona want residents near Nancy Guthrie ‘s home to share surveillance camera footage of suspicious cars or people they may have noticed in the month before she disappeared. The alert went across a 2-mile radius in neighborhoods close to where the mother of “Today” show host Savannah Guthrie went missing 12 days ago, the Pima County Sheriff’s Department said Thursday. It asked for video of “anything neighbors deem out of the ordinary or important to our investigation” since the beginning of January. Federal and local officers have been going door-to-door in Tucson neighborhoods around 84-year-old Nancy Guthrie’s house while also looking for clues around her other daughter’s nearby home, which she had visited just hours before disappearing.