Mallinckrodt Pharmaceuticals and Endo Inc. are exploring a potential merger that could be valued at about $7 billion, people with knowledge of the matter said.
The drugmakers, which both emerged from bankruptcies and faced litigation tied to the US opioid crisis in recent years, are discussing the terms of a transaction that would give each roughly 50% ownership of the combined entity, the people said.
The Trump administration has ended $20 billion in funding for greenhouse gas reduction projects in a move that climate advocates and Democrats say illegally seizes money allocated for clean energy and transportation for disadvantaged communities.
Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Lee Zeldin had publicized his campaign to claw back money from the Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund, which Congress appropriated under the Biden administration to kick-start projects aimed at curbing pollution.
“The funding process followed a centuries-old framework that is set out transparently in a contract between Citibank and the Department of the Treasury and was announced publicly in April 2024," Democratic Senator Sheldon Whitehouse said in a letter to Attorney General Pam Bondi and FBI Director Kash Patel.
Whitehouse, who is the top Democrat on the Senate Environment Committee and on a Senate Judiciary Subcommittee, said the officials did not have a "true basis to interfere with these properly appropriated and obligated funds."
The EPA said it would work to use the funds "with enhanced controls" within the law but did not say specifically what it would do with the money.
"EPA will be an exceptional steward of taxpayer dollars dedicated to our core mission of protecting human health and the environment, not a frivolous spender in the name of 'climate equity'," Zeldin said.
Congress appropriated the $20 billion through the 2022 Inflation Reduction Act under Democratic President Joe Biden. Under his successor, Republican Donald Trump, the EPA has sought to freeze funding related to climate change and environmental justice amid legal challenges.
Over the weekend, the Climate United Fund advocacy group sued the EPA and Citigroup's Citibank for withholding the funds and breaking what it called a legally-binding contractual agreement as an awardee, saying it and seven other recipients have been unable to access the money.
The U.S. District Court of D.C. will hold a hearing of this case on Wednesday.
ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE
Separately, the EPA announced in an internal memo on Tuesday that it will shutter the agency's Office of Environmental Justice and Civil Rights, which focus on minority and low-income communities that have been hard hit by air and water pollution, along with its 10 regional offices, as part of a broader reorganization of the agency.
The EPA had put staffers in that office on administrative leave last month.
"It needlessly endangers the health of our children, particularly in areas overburdened by pollution," said Stephanie Reese, a director at the Moms Clean Air Force environmental group, adding that it contradicts the EPA's mission.
https://www.yahoo.com/news/trump-administration-claws-back-20-122250077.html
The federal government has stopped the placement of unaccompanied migrant children in shelters operated by the Southwest Key Programs and moved all children there to other shelters, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services said Wednesday.
The move comes after the Department of Justice alleged in a July 2024 lawsuit that employees of the charity - which has operated 27 shelters in Texas, Arizona, and California - had subjected children in its care to unlawful sexual harassment and abuse, the department said in a statement.
Canada is being called out by lawmakers for allegedly evading the United States–Mexico–Canada Agreement and not allowing fair access to the market for U.S. dairy producers.
"Historically, Canada has failed to live up to its commitments to provide access to its market; this remains the case even with new provisions in the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA)," Sens. Tammy Baldwin, D-Wis., Roger Marshall, R-Kan., and Joni Ernst, R-Iowa, said in a bipartisan letter to Department of Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, Department of Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins and U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer.
According to the senators, Canada is going around guidelines outlined in the USMCA regarding protein exports at artificially low prices.
Bipartisan senators are asking Trump’s Cabinet to address possible USMCA guideline evasion by Canada in the dairy sector as tariffs begin and trade talks heat up. ( / Reuters)
"In upcoming negotiations with your Canadian counterparts, particularly those regarding USMCA, we ask that you address these long-standing issues that harm the United States’ ability to export dairy products," they urged.
The senators noted that the dairy sector in Canada operates under strict and predetermined circumstances. These include limits on production, pre-set prices, and restricted imports, in order to guard the country's supply management system.
Recent changes to the trade agreement were expected to improve this access to an extent, but the lawmakers claimed, "Canada is not fulfilling their commitments."
"By exploiting a loophole, Canada exports excessive quantities of dairy protein at an artificially low price, negatively impacting global markets the United States relies on," the letter said. The bipartisan group added that the "trade distorting behavior" has to be dealt with in order to keep dairy trade fair and support American producers.
"Canada continues to manipulate access to its dairy market by reserving the vast majority of shares of their Tariff Rate Quotas (TRQs) for Canadian processors, causing fill rates to remain low across several dairy product categories, including whey powder, milk powder, and cheese for industrial use," they said.
Wisconsin, where Baldwin hails from, was one of the top five milk-production states in 2023, according to the Department of Agriculture (USDA).
"For years, Canada has been skirting the rules and cheating American dairy farmers and businesses out of fair access to their market. We cannot miss this opportunity to help level the playing field, and I’m ready to work with President Trump to protect and grow Made in Wisconsin dairy and ensure fairness for our farmers," she told Fox News Digital in a statement.
Their request comes as a trade war continues to escalate between the two North American countries.
Baldwin represents Wisconsin, one of the top five dairy-producing states. (Jemal Countess/for JDRF / Getty Images)
On Wednesday, President Donald Trump's new 25% tariff increase on all steel and aluminum imports officially took effect. Tariffs had long been a part of his plan and were mentioned frequently on the campaign trail.
Initially, Trump planned to initiate blanket tariffs on Mexico and Canada, but delayed them after discussions with Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum.
Marshall and Baldwin accused Canada of evading the USMCA agreement. ( / Reuters)
In retaliation to the Wednesday tariffs, Canada unleashed its own multibillion-dollar markups. "Today, I am announcing that the government of Canada, following a dollar-for-dollar approach, will be imposing, as of 12:01 a.m. tomorrow, March 13, 2025, 25% reciprocal tariffs on an additional $29.8 billion of imports from the United States," said Canadian Finance Minister Dominic LeBlanc. "This includes steel products worth $12.6 billion and aluminum products worth $3 billion as well as additional imported U.S. goods worth $14.2 billion."
Representatives for the Canadian prime minister, Lutnick, Rollins, Greer and the White House did not provide comment to Fox News Digital in time for publication.
Update(1259ET): It's a major turning point in the conflict when the Chief Foreign-Affairs Correspondent for The Wall Street Journal declares that Ukrainian forces are now in a full-on withdrawal from Russia's Kursk amid rapid Russian gains...
Reuters too is reporting that Ukrainian forces are losing in Kursk:
Ukrainian troops appeared on the point of losing their hard-won foothold inside Russia's Kursk region on Wednesday as Moscow claimed further advances there and military bloggers on both sides said Kyiv's forces were withdrawing.
Ukraine sprang one of the biggest shocks of the war on August 6 last year by storming across the border and grabbing a chunk of land inside Russia, boosting citizens' morale and gaining a potential bargaining chip.
There are no more cards to play, as Trump put it last month while hosting Zelensky at the White House, and now this assessment proves truer than ever.
* * *
Ukraine is losing the little bit of leverage it might have had left amid discussions toward preparing negotiations with Moscow. Russia's Kursk is now fast being retaken, and Ukrainian forces are folding, as on Wednesday Russian troops raised their flags over the key town of Sudzha .
The central square of the town in the southwestern Kursk region was scene of where Russia’s Airborne Troops published a short aerial video showing soldiers unfurling a Russian flag as well as military unit banners. Other state media outlets subsequently featured the footage. Newsweek has underscored that Ukraine is fast "losing its trump card."
Moscow has been focusing its forces on to regaining control around Sudzha in recent days, having retaken 12 settlements in the border region earlier this week.
Fighting is said to still be ongoing, but Moscow forces have asserted control over the center. Ukrainian media also acknowledges the following:
Russian troops have launched an offensive on the Ukrainian-controlled town of Sudzha in Russia's Kursk Oblast, entering the settlement, the DeepState monitoring group, the Institute for the Study of War (ISW), and the Russian state news agency TASS claimed on March 12. Fighting in the town is reportedly ongoing.
...According to DeepState, Russian forces have entered the eastern part of Sudzha and are entrenching their positions. TASS published purported drone footage claiming that Russian troops had entered the town center and raised a Russian flag.
War bloggers have been closely monitoring the fight for control of Sudzha, with Ruslan Leviev of the war monitor Conflict Intelligence Team describing that Ukrainian troops have been in steady retreat from the entire region.
"We’ve seen that all the areas coming under Russian control have been taken with little to no resistance. The same goes for Sudzha," Leviev said. "Today, we’re seeing them on the opposite side [of the town]. And again, there are no images of any fighting."
"At this point, it’s fair to say that the entire city of Sudzha is now under Russian control," he described of the ground situation.
While months ago Ukrainian forces occupied several hundred square kilometers of Russian territory in Kursk region, as of Wednesday that control has shrunk to less than 200 square kilometers (77 square miles), according to the Ukraine-military linked DeepState war tracker.
Video said to be from on the ground in Russia's Sudzha, including interviews with elderly Russians that stayed the whole time:
Recall that in the late last month famous Oval Office blow-up involving Trump, Zelensky, and J.D. Vance - Trump told the Ukrainian leader: "You don't have the cards right now."
That now appears truer than ever, at a moment the Russians are studying the new US-Ukraine proposal for a 30-day truce in order to jump-start direct negotiations to end the war.
Border czar Tom Homan on Wednesday warned the feds could flood New York state with agents if Gov. Kathy Hochul doesn’t cooperate on immigration crackdowns – all while praising Mayor Eric Adams for his work with the administration.
Homan, standing alongside Albany Republicans in the state Capitol building, warned Hochul and state Democrats against defending sanctuary city policies.
“Sanctuary cities are going to get exactly what they don’t want: more ICE agents in your community,” he said.
“We’ll double the man-force if we have to. Rather than one officer arresting a bad guy, now I have to send a whole team.”
The bombastic border czar also offered a blistering defense of Adams, contending that the embattled mayor has made “great commitments” on immigration.
Homan denied being part of an alleged “quid pro quo” deal in which the Trump administration would drop Adams’ corruption case in exchange for help on the president’s immigration crackdown.
“I’ve been talking with him since November, I had nothing to do with that,” he said.
Homan also revealed that he will meet with Adams again this week, for what would be the pair’s third sit-down.
“He’s made great commitments, we’re working on some things I can’t share it all with you right now,” he said.
When Homan was asked if he will meet with Hochul while in Albany, he responded, “she knows my number.”
Homan’s comments came during a rally by Republican lawmakers pushing to repeal the state’s Green Light Law, which allows undocumented immigrants to get driver’s licenses, as well as pass the New York’s Laken Riley Act, which aims to undercut sanctuary city policies.
Editor’s note: In this Future View, students discuss young men and first-time voters shifting toward the Republican Party. Next we’ll ask: “President Donald Trump warned that the arrest and possible deportation of Mahmoud Khalil, a leader of anti-Israel activities at Columbia University, will be the first ‘of many to come.’ What do you make of the administration’s push to deport students it alleges support Hamas?” Students should click here to submit opinions of fewer than 250 words by March 17. The best responses will be published Tuesday night.
Young Men Left Behind
As a 21-year-old male first-time voter, I cast my ballot for President Trump—something I would have been reluctant to do 12 months prior. From the left, young men have only been told how bad we are. Strength, assertiveness and ambition are decried as “toxic masculinity.” Well-intentioned diversity initiatives discriminate against men. The American dream feels unachievable but not for illegal immigrants receiving housing, food and healthcare. Young men bear the cost of seemingly endless wars. Young men are more religious than young women, yet Kamala Harris told Christian protesters they’re “at the wrong rally.” Who’s surprised we’re turned off by the Democratic platform?
Contrast this with the Trump campaign. Front and center was the economy, which was the No. 1 issue among men. Mr. Trump campaigned in traditionally male spaces to exchange ideas, and he connected with our desire to be proud of our country. Finally, watching Mr. Trump take a bullet, just to get up and yell “fight, fight, fight!”—that strength spoke to every man I know.
Men want to compete, support their families and be rewarded for hard work and risk-taking. In 2024 those priorities aligned with the GOP. If the left continues to remain indifferent at best and hostile at worst to young men, this divide will grow.
—Timothy Humphries, Baylor University, finance and economics
We Need New Role Models
Gen Z was supposed to be the generation of change, and as a first-time Gen Z voter, I am disappointed with my generation. Young men have experienced the rebirth of toxic masculinity through social media, participating in online communities focused on inflating the male ego. The rise of incel culture and misogynistic niches of the internet has formed a new wave of right-leaning young men who otherwise wouldn’t identify as conservative.
The role models and social-media influencers young men revere—such as Andrew Tate—are setting back our society, especially when a man who has multiple sexual-assault allegations against him and makes intolerant remarks on national television is elected president. Our young men need better role models to make informed decisions and not doom society with extreme conservativeness.
—Yvonne Moreira-Andrade, Macalester College, biology
The Left’s Religious Fallout
A tyranny of leftist religion has weighed down Gen Z: in their classrooms, jobs and personal relationships. Instead of the Ten Commandments, the left’s credo consists of critical race theory and land acknowledgments. Complete with a denial of American values, the left rewrote the principles that govern reality. Gen Z has endured the ritual of cancel culture, stolen athletic competitions and the corruption of common sense.
After years of compelled speech, young voters rebelled. This turn to the right from Gen Z wasn’t a principled pivot. Young people aren’t chanting the value of free-market economics or organized religion. When the leftist religion disappears, so will the stimulus of Gen Z’s Republican shift.
—Ashley Dowdney, University of North Carolina, classics
The Politics of Disappointment
The politics of this decade can be expressed in one word: disappointment. Americans want well-paid jobs. They want to own a house and raise a family. These milestones of the American dream have become increasingly remote—wages keep stagnating, prices keep growing, and the U.S. has become more polarized. The Biden presidency failed to correct these problems, and Ms. Harris promised more of the same.
Mr. Trump promised uncertainty, so Americans chose to take a measured gamble. Rather than a sweeping mandate, the politics of disappointment gave Mr. Trump a narrow popular-vote plurality and a solid but not overwhelming electoral-vote majority.
Mr. Trump seems set on becoming the next disappointment. His foreign policy makes the U.S. look insecure and indecisive. The Department of Government Efficiency should be renamed the Department of Government Inefficiency, as all it seems to do is keep agencies from doing their jobs. Mr. Trump’s executive orders show contempt for the rule of law and balance of government powers. The Trump administration is creating uncertainty and barriers to commerce that seem to be leading the U.S. toward a recession.
Disappointed with Mr. Trump, don’t be surprised if those who voted for him this time will swing toward Democrats next election.
—Evan Carlisle, the University of Texas at Austin, law
A New Election Battlefield
The 2024 election was the first to use a new campaigning tool: long-form podcasts. Joe Rogan, Lex Fridman, Theo Von and many others interviewed Mr. Trump and gained millions of views. These podcasts were then cut into bite-size clips and siphoned off to TikTok, Instagram, X and other platforms. The long appearances allowed hundreds of creators to recycle the content for free. Mr. Trump and his constant barrage of comments and opinions placed a chokehold on social media—the main news source for my generation.
Mr. Trump has set the standard for how to run a platform on social media, and if Democrats don’t follow suit, they will fall behind. The days of focusing on physical rallies and undervaluing online platforms are over. Social media is the new battlefield, and Mr. Trump has set the blueprint.
—Alejandro Gonzalez-Betancourt, Georgia Institute of Technology, business administration
https://www.wsj.com/opinion/why-generation-z-embraced-donald-trump-young-voters-election-99c59054
