skip to main content
skip to newscasts

Thursday, March 28, 2024

Public News Service Logo
facebook instagram linkedin reddit youtube twitter
view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

Pulling back the curtains on wage-theft enforcement in MN; Trump's latest attack is on RFK, Jr; NM LGBTQ+ equality group endorses 2024 'Rock Star' candidates; Michigan's youth justice reforms: Expanded diversion, no fees.

view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg says rebuilding Baltimore's Key Bridge will be challenging and expensive. An Alabama Democrat flips a state legislature seat and former Connecticut senator Joe Lieberman dies at 82.

view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

Historic wildfires could create housing and health issues for rural Texans, a Kentucky program helps prison parolees start a new life, and descendants of Nicodemus, Kansas celebrate the Black settlers who journeyed across the 1870s plains seeking self-governance.

New Twist in Keystone XL Debate: Call for State Dept. to Step Aside

play audio
Play

Wednesday, October 5, 2011   

HELENA, Mont. - Several environmental groups are calling on President Obama to remove the U.S. State Department from the decision on whether the Keystone XL pipeline is in the "national best interest" because of allegations of bias and cozy relations with the lobbyist for a Canadian company.

The groups have acquired e-mails they say show that the State Department has granted special treatment to TransCanada, which is proposing the pipeline - set to run through Montana on its way from Alberta to Texas.

Sierra Club Executive Director Michael Brune signed a letter to Obama, asking that the State Department be removed from making pipeline decisions.

"The State Department has demonstrated a deep, pro-industry bias in its environmental assessment and decision-making. The growing body of evidence against the State Department for mismanagement is broad and overwhelming."

Brune claims that lobbyist ties to State Department officials resulted in TransCanada being "coached" when submitting paperwork. The pipeline is promoted as a way to help reduce U.S. dependence on foreign oil, although Brune and others have pointed out that the Canadian company selling oil has made no promise that the product will remain stateside.

Tom Goldtooth, executive director of the Indigenous Environmental Network, also signed the letter to the president.

"As native nations, as Indian Country, we are demanding fair dealings - honesty, integrity and the opportunity for tribes to meet with the administration and have honesty."

Physicians for Social Responsibility, the Center for Biological Diversity, Greenpeace and Friends of the Earth also signed the letter.


get more stories like this via email

more stories
A report from the Tennessee HealthCare Campaign recommended the federal government needs to strengthen 340B drug pricing and other federal negotiation mechanisms to make needed medicines more readily available and less expensive for hospitals to purchase and administer. (Spotmatikphoto/AdobeStock)

Health and Wellness

play sound

A recent report examined how some rural Tennessee hospitals have managed to stay afloat despite financial challenges. The report includes interviews …


Social Issues

play sound

Earlier this month, a new Arizona Public Service rate hike went into effect and one senior advocacy group said those on a fixed income may struggle …

Social Issues

play sound

Michigan recently implemented a significant juvenile justice reform package following recommendations from a task force made up of prosecutors…


Nearly 13 million Americans receive health coverage through unique plans under both Medicare and Medicaid. They are known as Dual-Eligible Special Needs Plans. (Adobe Stock)

Health and Wellness

play sound

Medicare and Medicaid are key sources of health coverage for many Americans and some people qualify for assistance under both programs. With lagging …

Social Issues

play sound

A mix of policy updates and staffing boosts has helped to put wage theft enforcement on the radar in Minnesota, and officials leading the efforts are …

More than six in 10 Americans favor keeping the abortion pill mifepristone available in the U.S. as a prescription drug, while over a third are opposed, according to a Gallup poll. (Adobe Stock)

Social Issues

play sound

New research shows more than six in 10 abortions in the U.S. last year were medically induced, and U.S. Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto - D-NV - is …

Social Issues

play sound

Colorado is working to boost the state's agricultural communities by getting more fresh, nutritious foods into school cafeterias - and a new online …

Social Issues

play sound

Missouri lawmakers are concerned with protecting people from the potential risks of the increasing accessibility of AI-generated images and videos…

 

Phone: 303.448.9105 Toll Free: 888.891.9416 Fax: 208.247.1830 Your trusted member- and audience-supported news source since 1996 Copyright © 2021