WTF Just Happened Today

Wednesday, March 20, 2024

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1/ A federal appeals court blocked a Texas law allowing state police to arrest people suspected of illegally crossing the Texas-Mexico border — hours after the Supreme Court had allowed it to go into effect. The appeals court judges are now considering whether the law should remain on hold while its constitutionality is being challenged in court. A district court ruled last month that the measure conflicts with federal immigration law. The law, known as Senate Bill 4, was signed by Republican Gov. Greg Abbott in December and allows law enforcement to arrest and deport migrants if they’re suspected of crossing the border illegally. However, Mexico’s government said it would not “under any circumstances” accept the return of any migrants from Texas. Those who reenter illegally after a deportation could face felony charges and a 10-to-20-year prison sentence. (New York Times / Washington Post / Texas Tribune / Associated Press / CNN / NBC News / Politico / Bloomberg / Wall Street Journal)

2/ The Biden administration issued the strictest-ever rules for tailpipe emissions to ensure that the majority of new passenger cars and light trucks sold in the U.S. are all-electric or hybrids by 2032. The new standards require automakers to reduce emissions by over two-thirds by 2032 – limits so stringent they’ll compel automakers to rapidly boost sales of electric and plug-in hybrid vehicles. In 2023, EVs made up about 7.6% of new car sales, but the new rule is targeting 35% to 56% for EVs in 2032, and 13% to 36% for plug-in hybrids. The rule will prevent 7.2 billion metric tons of carbon emissions from entering the atmosphere through 2055 – roughly four times the total emissions of the transportation sector as of 2021. “Three years ago, I set an ambitious target: that half of all new cars and trucks sold in 2030 would be zero-emission,” Biden said. “Together, we’ve made historic progress. Hundreds of new expanded factories across the country. Hundreds of billions in private investment and thousands of good-paying union jobs. And we’ll meet my goal for 2030 and race forward in the years ahead.” (New York Times / CNN / Politico / Bloomberg / CBS News / The Verge /