'Chicago officials say ICE denied entry at elementary school'

 Chicago Public Schools officials said in a press conference Friday that Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents showed up at an elementary school in the city but were denied entry.  

The principal of Hamline Elementary School said Friday morning that multiple ICE agents came to the school but were not allowed in by administrators.  

The federal agency and local police officials did not give any details on the incident. 

“This was not an U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement encounter,” a spokesperson for ICE said. 

The Chicago Police Department said it “did not receive any calls for service at that location.” 

School officials said they followed protocol that does not allow ICE agents in their buildings unless a warrant is present.  

Natasha Ortega, principal of Hamline Elementary, said that due to training on the issue, they were “able to ensure the safety of our school and all of our students.” 

“We will not open our door for ICE, and we are here to protect our children,” Ortega said. 

Chicago Teachers Union President Stacy Davis Gates said the arrival of agents was “unprecedented,” but officials emphasized all students and staff are safe.  

Among other sweeping immigration actions in his first week in office, President Trump lifted the directive that previously kept ICE agents away from schools and places of worship.  

Asked about the Chicago incident on Fox News, deputy White House chief of staff Stephen Miller, a key architect of Trump’s immigration crackdown, said “there’s no sanctuary for criminal aliens in this country.”

“ICE officers will take the actions necessary to protect the lives and safety of our children and to identify individuals who are involved in the smuggling and trafficking of our children,” Miller said.

School districts around the country are preparing for potential immigration enforcement action. Denver Public Schools, for example, has told administrators that if ICE agents show up to use an “intercom to communicate” and put in place a “secure perimeter” so they “do not allow entry into the building.”

https://thehill.com/homenews/education/5105781-chicago-ice-denied-entry-elementary-school-trump-immigration-crackdown/

'Trump cites voter ID, water flow as conditions for LA wildfire aid'

 President Trump on Friday said he wanted to see two actions taken in California before he offered federal support for Los Angeles as it grapples with wildfires.

“I want to see two things in Los Angeles. Voter ID, so that the people have a chance to vote, and I want to see the water be released and come down into Los Angeles and throughout the state,” Trump told reporters in North Carolina, where he was touring hurricane recovery efforts. 

“Those are the two things. After that, I will be the greatest president that California has ever seen,” he added.

Trump is slated to visit Los Angeles later Friday to view damage from the fires and meet with local officials.

California Gov. Gavin Newsom’s (D) office responded to Trump’s comments about its voting laws, noting several other states do not require voter ID. Newsom’s office also said it is currently able to pump as much water as it could under Trump’s first-term policies.

“Conditioning aid for American citizens is wrong,” the governor’s office posted on social media.

Lawmakers in Congress are debating how to proceed with federal assistance to Los Angeles, where wildfires have killed dozens of people and destroyed communities.

Republicans have floated tying aid to a debt ceiling increase or changes to California’s fire-mitigation policies. Democrats have vehemently opposed placing conditions on federal assistance to Los Angeles, arguing it would set a dangerous precedent.

Trump has stressed that California officials could provide additional water flow to Los Angeles from the northern part of the state by simply switching on a valve. But experts have pushed back, arguing the state’s water supply issues are not that simple, and that fire hydrants ran dry in recent weeks because of a surge in demand.

The president has also for years pushed for the implementation of voter identification laws amid unproven claims of widespread fraud in elections.

California passed legislation that would take effect in 2026 that blocks municipalities from requiring voter ID in elections, a move made in response to one city passing a voter ID requirement.

https://thehill.com/homenews/administration/5105004-trump-demands-voter-id-water-aid/

Trump administration halts environmental litigation, sidelines lawyers, sources say

  U.S. President Donald Trump's administration has halted all pending environmental litigation and reassigned four career Justice Department attorneys focused on environmental issues, three sources familiar with the matter told Reuters on Friday.

The decision to move the four officials, who are not political appointees, from overseeing the natural resources, environmental enforcement, appellate and environmental crimes sections is the latest in a string of similar actions as the new Republican administration shakes up the federal government's 2.2 million-strong workforce.

The department's Environment and Natural Resources Division is responsible for bringing criminal and civil cases related to air and water pollution, animal welfare and public safety, as well as defending in court government agencies such as the Department of the Interior and the Department of Energy.

The four section chiefs were told in an email late Thursday they have 15 days to accept the new assignment to a newly created Sanctuary City Working Group or face adverse consequences, the sources told Reuters.

A Justice Department spokesperson declined to comment.

The sources were granted anonymity because they are not authorized to speak to the media. The sources said the reassigned officials have not been provided further details about their new assignments.

Trump has long dismissed climate change as a "hoax," vowed to cut regulation and in his first day in office withdrew the U.S. from the Paris climate treaty.

Four other Justice Department employees who worked on environmental justice issues were also placed on paid administrative leave this week, four sources familiar with the matter said.

The four officials placed on leave include Cynthia Ferguson, who led the environmental justice office, and Lana Pettus, a prosecutor who worked on some high-profile cases such as the 2015 criminal Clean Water Act case against Duke Energy.

The Trump administration this week ordered anyone in the federal government on diversity, equity and inclusion issues to be placed on leave, and also called for the elimination of any office or position involving environmental justice.

Ferguson and Pettus could not be immediately reached for comment.

The order to freeze all pending environmental regulation was issued to employees on Thursday morning, the sources said.

It is similar to another memo issued earlier in the week to the Civil Rights Division which also halted all litigation, including efforts to finalize court-approved settlements with Minneapolis and Louisville to address civil rights abuses by the police.

https://www.usnews.com/news/world/articles/2025-01-24/trump-administration-halts-environmental-litigation-sidelines-lawyers-sources-say

Trump administration asks Supreme Court to pause cases as it reconsiders policy

 President Donald Trump's administration asked the U.S. Supreme Court on Friday to put on hold planned arguments in a bid by fuel producers to challenge California's standards for vehicle emissions and electric cars under a federal air pollution law. 

The new Republican administration also made similar requests in three other cases involving the actions of federal agencies, giving an early indication that it will take a fresh look at a number of legal issues before the court and potentially change positions from Trump's Democratic predecessor Joe Biden. 

The expected changes in the government's position may be a closer ideological fit for the Supreme Court's 6-3 conservative majority, which includes three justices appointed by Trump.

The dispute over California vehicle standards centers on an exception granted to that state in 2022 by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency during Biden's presidency to national vehicle emission standards set by the agency under the landmark Clean Air Act anti-pollution law. 

Though states and municipalities are generally preempted from enacting their own limits, Congress let the EPA waive the preemption rule to allow California to set certain regulations that are stricter than federal standards. 

In asking the Supreme Court to pause the case, Acting Solicitor General Sarah Harris said in a filing, "After the change in administration, EPA's acting administrator has determined that the agency should reassess the basis for and soundness of the 2022 reinstatement decision."

The EPA's action reinstated a waiver for California to set its own tailpipe emissions limits and zero-emission vehicle mandate through 2025, reversing a 2019 decision during Trump's first term in office rescinding the waiver.

Valero's Diamond Alternative Energy and related groups challenged the reinstatement of California's waiver, arguing that the decision exceeded the EPA's power under the Clean Air Act and inflicted harm on their bottom line by lowering demand for liquid fuels. 

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit threw out the lawsuits, finding that Valero and the states lacked the necessary legal standing to bring their claims. 

Harrison told the Supreme Court that the EPA's reassessment of the matter "could obviate the need for this court to determine" whether the challengers have legal standing. 

The Supreme Court has taken a skeptical view toward expansive authority for federal regulatory agencies, and has restricted the powers of the EPA in some important rulings in recent years. 

In June, the court blocked the EPA's "Good Neighbor" rule aimed at reducing ozone emissions that may worsen air pollution in neighboring states. In 2023, the court hobbled the EPA's power to protect wetlands and fight water pollution. In 2022, it imposed limits on the agency's authority under the Clean Air Act to reduce coal- and gas-fired power plant carbon emissions.

On Monday, his first day back in office, Trump said in an executive order that he was seeking the repeal of a new waiver granted to California in December by the EPA allowing the state to end the sale of gasoline-only vehicles by 2035. That rule has been adopted by 11 other states.

Trump said the EPA should terminate "where appropriate, state emissions waivers that function to limit sales of gasoline-powered automobiles."

https://www.marketscreener.com/quote/stock/VALERO-ENERGY-CORPORATION-14811/news/Trump-administration-asks-Supreme-Court-to-pause-cases-as-it-reconsiders-policy-48867226/

DHS greenlights swift deportation for migrants Biden allowed in temporarily

 The acting head of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is allowing immigration enforcement agents to swiftly deport those who came to the U.S. under multiple pathways established under the Biden administration.

An internal DHS memo this week obtained by The Hill puts at risk nearly 1.5 million migrants who came to the U.S. under parole programs that allowed their entry on a temporary basis if they could secure a financial sponsor.

The Biden administration used the programs widely, opening the option to those seeking to flee Haiti, Cuba, Nicaragua and Venezuela amid unrest in an effort to deter them from illegally crossing the border.

Similar parole programs were also used for Afghan evacuees as well as those fleeing Ukraine following the invasion by Russia, allowing them to work in the country for two years.

The late Thursday order was first reported by The New York Times.

The order comes after acting DHS Secretary Benjamine Huffman also vastly expanded immigration agents’ ability to use expedited removal proceedings, allowing migrants to be quickly removed with little review.

While expedited removals were previously only allowed within 100 miles of the border for those who entered the country within two weeks, the process may now be used nationwide and for those who cannot prove they’ve been in the U.S. for more than two years.

The pair of directives are the latest effort under President Trump to go after temporary statuses used by the Biden administration.

While the parole programs only allowed recipients to remain in the country for two years, the Trump administration has argued they were an abuse of the law, a dramatic expansion of a program designed to waive immigration requirements only on a case-by-case basis.

Immigration advocates were particularly alarmed by the focus on those already in the country who received the status due to unstable conditions in their home country.

“It’s one thing to shut down a pathway going forward, but it’s worrisome to focus enforcement efforts on people who are here because they followed an orderly legal process,” said Krish O’Mara Vignarajah, the president and CEO of Global Refuge, which helps resettle refugees.

“These are families who have U.S.-based sponsors who came forward to petition on their behalf. These are families who risk being returned to dire circumstances in deeply destabilized countries like Haiti and Venezuela.”

https://thehill.com/policy/national-security/5105206-dhs-deportations-migrant-parole-southern-border-immigration-trump-biden/

Amazon Willing to Discuss Quebec Shutdown With Canadian Officials

 Amazon.com said it is open to talks with officials from the Canadian and Quebec governments about the company's decision to shut down operations in the country's French-speaking province, which would lead to 1,700 people losing their jobs.

The company's overture comes after Canadian Industry Minister Francois-Philippe Champagne warned Amazon Chief Executive Andy Jassy in a letter that the federal government would review its business ties with Amazon's cloud-computing arm, Amazon Web Services, or AWS. The unit has secured over $50 million in work from various federal departments since 2020, according to a database of awarded government contracts.

"We regularly have discussions with officials across Canada to discuss matters of interest," an Amazon spokesman said. "We're happy to discuss this matter further with Minister Champagne and other officials in Quebec and Canada."

Amazon, however, gave no indication that it would reverse course on its Quebec decision to shut down warehouses in the province in the next two months, and return to a third-party delivery model. Amazon said that decision was made after a thorough review of operations in the province.

Local labor organizations allege Amazon's withdrawal from Quebec is linked to efforts by company workers to unionize. The company has denied that labor issues were a factor.

Champagne, in the letter to Jassy that the minister posted on social media, criticized Amazon, saying the shutdown of Quebec operations "is inconsistent with your expressed interest in being a leader and strategic partner within Canada's industrial economy." Champagne asked that Amazon management reconsider its decision.

On Friday, Champagne said he has received praise from constituents and other Canadians for trying to confront Amazon. "Amazon is not used to that kind of response from Canada," Champagne said. "We have to stand up for Canada and its workers. This is about treating Canada with respect."

https://www.morningstar.com/news/dow-jones/202501247660/amazon-willing-to-discuss-quebec-shutdown-with-canadian-officials-3rd-update

US offshore wind farms in service, in construction and under development

 U.S. President Donald Trump suspended new federal offshore wind leasing on his first day back in the Oval Office on Jan. 20, pending an environmental and economic review.

On the same day, Danish energy company Orsted, the world's biggest offshore wind firm, posted another impairment charge on delays to a U.S. offshore project.

Those are just the latest blows for the offshore wind industry that former President Joe Biden and several states considered key to meeting federal and state clean energy targets.

“Halting offshore wind represents a huge step backward in our efforts to advance a clean energy future and damages the state’s economic opportunities," North Carolina Governor Josh Stein, a Democrat, told Reuters in an email.

"Investors have signed leases and invested significant resources. They deserve certainty," Governor Stein said.

In California, where offshore wind is in early stages of development, Adam Stern, Executive Director of Offshore Wind California, an industry trade group, said most of the work was happening at the state level.

"As an industry, we're focused and moving forward with what is advancing offshore wind in California, and right now most of that is occurring at the state level." That includes approved spending of roughly $475 million to upgrade ports and $4.6 billion to upgrade power transmission lines to prepare for future offshore wind projects.

In 2023 and 2024, several offshore wind companies, including Orsted, took billions in write-offs, impairments and other cancellation fees after they determined they could no longer complete projects profitably due to rocketing construction costs, higher interest rates and supply chain snags.

In New Jersey, which has seen its share of offshore wind project delays, Governor Phil Murphy, a Democrat, told Reuters in an email that he remains committed to clean energy.

"New Jersey will explore all available options to protect the health of our environment and residents while bolstering energy independence, creating good-paying American jobs, lowering energy bills, and growing New Jersey’s innovation economy," Governor Murphy said.

There are currently four offshore wind projects operating in the U.S., but one - Vineyard Wind 1 - was shut for part of 2024 after a blade fractured and fell into the ocean in July.

There are also four offshore wind projects under construction and several more in development.

The following factbox lists the projects in service and those under construction and in advanced development that were expected to continue despite Trump's review:

In Service State(s) Company Start First Power Size (MW)

Construction

Project

Block Island RI Orsted 2016 29

Coastal Virginia Offshore Wind Pilot VA Dominion 2020 12

South Fork RI, MA Orsted (50%) and Global Infrastructure Partners (GIP) Skyborn Renewables unit (50%) Feb 2022 Dec 2023 132

Vineyard Wind 1 MA Iberdrola/Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners Nov 2021 Jan 2024 806

Under Construction State(s) Company Start First Power Size (MW)

Construction (Estimated) Estimated

(Estimated)

Revolution Wind RI, MA Orsted (50%) and Global Infrastructure Partners (GIP) Skyborn Renewables unit (50%) 2023 2026 704

Coastal Virginia Offshore Wind (Commercial) VA Dominion (50%)/Stonepeak (50%) Nov 2023 2026 2,587

Empire Wind 1 NY Equinor May 2024 ***2027 810

Sunrise Wind RI, MA Orsted Jul 2024 2026 924

Under Development State(s) Company Start First Power Size (MW)

Construction (Estimated) Estimated

(Estimated)

New England Wind 1 MA Iberdrola 2025 2029 791

SouthCoast Wind 1 MA Ocean Winds (EDP/Engie) late 2025 2030 1,287

Community Offshore Wind 1 NY, NJ RWE/National Grid 2027 2030 1,314

MarWin MD US Wind owned by Toto Holding's Renexia 270

Atlantic Shores South 1 NJ EDF/Shell 1,510

Momentum Wind MD US Wind owned by Toto Holding's Renexia 809

Excelsior Wind NY, NJ Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners' Vineyard Offshore 1,314

Leading Light NY, NJ Invenergy/energyRE 2,400

Vineyard Wind 2 MA Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners' Vineyard Offshore 1,200

Community Offshore Wind 2 NY, NJ RWE/National Grid 1,300

New England Wind 2 MA Iberdrola 1,080

*** Empire Wind 1 - 2027 is estimated time of commercial power instead of first power

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/factbox-us-offshore-wind-farms-203906458.html