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The Trump administration aims to remove degradation of habitat from its definition of “harm” to endangered species, proposing Wednesday a rule change that would open the door to human activity in ecologically sensitive environments.The US Fish and Wildlife Service and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration said  the definition of “harm” in the Endangered Species Act should exclude “actions that impair the habitat of protected species.”Environmental groups said the rule change would allow timber, oil and mining activity, as well as other activities by individuals and the government, to destroy the habitats of endangered animals.”For 50 years, the ESA has saved numerous species — including iconic American species like bald eagles, gray wolves, Florida manatees, and humpback whales — from extinction,” environmental law organization Earthjustice said.”One key to this success has been its definition of harm, which recognizes the common-sense concept that destroying a forest, beach, river, or wetland that a species relies on for survival constitutes harm to that species,” it said, adding that the group was prepared to challenge the proposal in court.”There’s just no way to protect animals and plants from extinction without protecting the places they live, yet the Trump administration is opening the flood gates to immeasurable habitat destruction,” said Noah Greenwald, codirector of endangered species at the Center for Biological Diversity. “Without a prohibition on habitat destruction, spotted owls, sea turtles, salmon and so many more imperiled animals won’t stand a chance,” said Greenwald. “Trump is trying to drive a knife through the heart of the Endangered Species Act.”The proposal will now be open to public comment for 30 days.Since its 1973 enactment, the Endangered Species Act has been credited with saving iconic species such as the gray wolf, bald eagle and grizzly bear from extinction.President Donald Trump ran on a platform that promised to roll back environmental regulations that crimp economic development.In February, Interior Secretary Doug Burgum issued a call for proposals to unleash US energy, potentially opening up fragile landscapes from the Arctic to the Grand Canyon and even national monuments for exploitation.Days later, Trump said his administration aimed to cut about 65 percent of staff at the Environmental Protection Agency.

Russian President Vladimir Putin praised Elon Musk on Wednesday, telling university students he was a pioneer comparable to legendary Soviet rocket engineer Sergei Korolev.The comments came as Russia and the United States forged closer ties under President Donald Trump’s administration, of which billionaire SpaceX founder Musk is a key figure.”You know, there’s a man — he lives in the States — Musk, who, you could say, raves about Mars,” Putin told students on a visit to Bauman University, a Moscow college that specialises in science and engineering.”These are the kind of people who don’t often appear in the human population, charged-up with a certain idea.””If it seems incredible even today, such ideas often come to fruition after a while. Just like the ideas of Korolev, our pioneers, came about in due time,” Putin added.Korolev is considered the father of the Soviet space programme, developing the first satellite Sputnik as well as Vostok 1, which carried first cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin into orbit in 1961.Musk, the world’s richest man and Trump’s most powerful advisor, is the head of SpaceX — a US company that launches rockets for NASA and owns the Starlink satellite internet network.Musk has been a frequent critic of Ukraine, which is currently battling a three-year Russian offensive.The billionaire accused Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky last month of wanting a “forever war”, and in February said Kyiv had gone “too far” in the conflict.

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio will meet French leaders in Paris on Thursday to discuss the war in Ukraine, his office said, amid flailing efforts to persuade Russia to agree to a ceasefire.Rubio and US presidential envoy Steve Witkoff would also discuss tensions over Iran’s nuclear programme and Middle East trouble spots, in talks with France’s President Emmanuel Macron and Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot, according to a French diplomatic source.No specific proposals for the talks have been made public, but Witkoff met with Russian President Vladimir Putin last week in a bid to press US President Donald Trump’s efforts for a ceasefire.Trump pledged before taking office that he would quickly end the war raging since Russia’s February 2022 invasion of neighbouring Ukraine, and he has voiced frustration at Moscow’s tactics.Witkoff said this week, however, after his third meeting with Putin, that he still sees a peace deal “emerging”.Rubio will be on his third trip to Europe since becoming the top US diplomat, having already attended the Munich Security Conference and a NATO meeting in February and March.For Europe, Ukraine has become more critical following Russia’s recent missile strikes on two Ukrainian cities that left dozens of civilians dead. Barrot said on Wednesday that Putin “has again showed that his cruelty is limitless and that he has no intention of starting a ceasefire” as proposed by the United States and Ukraine last month.France, Britain and Germany were surprised by Trump opening talks on improving ties with Russia, but have sought a coordinated European response to protecting Ukraine, during the conflict and in any ceasefire.Britain and France have proposed a mainly European “reassurance” force prepared to go to Ukraine if a ceasefire starts. However, many European leaders say it would need US support.The State Department said only that Rubio and Witkoff would meet European officials to discuss Trump’s efforts to “advance” the goal of stopping the Ukraine war.A French diplomatic source said Rubio and Barrot would discuss “the war in Ukraine, the situation in the Middle East and the Iranian nuclear file”.The United States and Iran are to hold a second round of indirect talks on Iran’s nuclear programme in Rome on Saturday.The talks have become more important after Rafael Grossi, head of the United Nations’ nuclear watchdog, warned on Wednesday that Iran was “not far” from possessing a nuclear bomb.Talks to end the Gaza war have also stalled, with Israel blocking humanitarian aid from entering the Palestinian territory. The UN says Gaza now faces its worst humanitarian crisis since the start of the war in October 2023, after the Hamas attacks.Separately, French Defence Minister Sebastien Lecornu will travel to Washington on Thursday.He was set to meet with US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, for talks also dominated by Ukraine, Iran and Gaza.Lecornu was also expected to meet with National Intelligence director Tulsi Gabbard and Keith Kellogg, Trump’s Ukraine envoy.burs/tw/rjm

Harvey Weinstein’s lawyers asked Wednesday he be allowed to spend the night in the hospital during his retrial on rape charges, saying the movie mogul’s health was deteriorating rapidly because of “mistreatment” in New York’s notorious Rikers prison.In papers filed with the court, a lawyer said 73-year-old Weinstein had received lacking care in prison while suffering from a number of “serious medical conditions,” including leukemia, diabetes, thyroid problems, obesity, back pain, sciatica and other health woes.”He is consistently mistreated for serious infections, medication is given incorrectly, or not at all, he is experiencing unhealthy and atypical weight gain, and he is forced to endure freezing temperatures while not even being provided clean clothing,” said lawyer Imran Ansari.All this justifies transferring Weinstein for observation to Bellevue Hospital where he has already been taken in recent months for urgent health care, the attorney said.Weinstein is back in court because his 2020 conviction by a jury was overturned last year by an appeals court that ruled that the way witnesses were handled in the original New York trial was unlawful.The voiding of the jury’s verdict by the New York Court of Appeals was a setback to survivors of the #MeToo movement against sexual violence and the promotion of justice for them.Looking feeble, Weinstein is attending the retrial from a wheelchair and his lawyers have complained repeatedly that in prison he does not get proper medical care.Situated in the East River between the Bronx and Queens boroughs, Rikers Island prison has long had a reputation for overcrowding, unsanitary conditions and violence.High profile prisoners have included John Lennon’s killer Mark David Chapman, rapper Tupac Shakur, Sex Pistols musician Sid Vicious and ex-IMF chief Dominique Strauss-Kahn.- Conviction overturned -The onetime Miramax studio boss was charged with the sexual assault of former production assistant Mimi Haleyi in 2006, the rape of aspiring actress Jessica Mann in 2013, and a new count for an alleged sexual assault in 2006 at a hotel in Manhattan. In 2020, a jury of New Yorkers found Weinstein guilty of two out of five charges — the sexual assault of Haleyi and the rape of Mann.But the conviction and the 23-year prison sentence were overturned in April 2024.In a hotly debated four-to-three decision, New York’s appeals court ruled that jurors should not have heard testimonies of victims about sexual assaults for which Harvey Weinstein was not indicted.Since his downfall, Weinstein has been accused of harassment, sexual assault or rape by more than 80 women, including actors Angelina Jolie, Gwyneth Paltrow, Lupita Nyong’o and Ashley Judd. Weinstein has never acknowledged any wrongdoing and has always maintained that the encounters were consensual.Accusers describe the movie mogul as a predator who used his perch atop the cinema industry to pressure actors and assistants for sexual favors, often in hotel rooms.By Wednesday, nine jurors had been selected out of the required 12, not including the six alternates also needed.Several dozen prospective jurors have indicated they could not give Weinstein a fair trial because of what they know about the case. Judge Curtis Farber said he hopes to conclude jury selection this week, allowing the trial to get fully underway next Monday or Tuesday.

Meta chief executive Mark Zuckerberg on Wednesday denied in court that his company bought rival services Instagram and WhatsApp to neutralize them, as his testimony in a landmark antitrust case came to a close.The case could see the Facebook owner forced to divest itself of the two apps, which have grown into global powerhouses since their buyouts.During his third and final day on the stand in a federal courtroom in Washington, Zuckerberg took aim at the Federal Trade Commission’s main argument — that Facebook, since renamed Meta, devoured what it saw as competitive threats.The co-founder of Facebook responded “No” when asked by Meta attorney Mark Hansen if his intent was to eliminate rivals with the purchases of photo sharing app Instagram and messaging service WhatsApp.He explained that Instagram, purchased in 2012, was attractive for “its camera and photo sharing experience” but added that he “didn’t view it as a broad network really competitive with where we were.”As for WhatsApp, bought two years later, Zuckerberg testified that he saw the app as technically impressive but its founders as “unambitious” in terms of “maximizing the impact that they could potentially have.””I basically ended up pushing to add things,” he told the court.Zuckerberg testified that Facebook put its scale and resources to work building Instagram and WhatsApp into apps now used by billions of people.Former Meta chief operating officer Sheryl Sandberg testified after Zuckerberg, echoing much of what he told the court.Meta has had to take on an array of rivals including internet colossus Google as internet competition has become increasingly competitive, according to Sandberg.”Every time you go on your computer or phone, you have a choice of what you spend your time on,” Sandberg said.”That’s what all these producers are competing for: your time and attention.”- TikTok as new threat -A key part of the courtroom battle is how the Federal Trade Commission convincingly defines Meta’s market for the judge.The US government argues that Facebook and Instagram are dominant players in apps that provide a way to connect with family and friends, a category that does not include TikTok and YouTube.Meta’s defense attorneys counter that substantial investments transformed these acquisitions into the blockbusters they are today. They also highlight that Meta’s apps are free for users and face fierce competition.The case was originally filed in December 2020, in the last days of President Donald Trump’s first administration.Zuckerberg, the world’s third-richest person, has made repeated visits to the White House as he has tried to persuade the president to choose settlement instead of fighting the trial.As part of his lobbying efforts, Zuckerberg contributed to Trump’s inauguration fund and overhauled content moderation policies. He also purchased a $23 million mansion in Washington in what was seen as a bid to spend more time close to the center of political power.Zuckerberg wrapped some 12 hours of testimony on Wednesday with an assessment of TikTok, which he said has emerged as perhaps the biggest competitive threat for Instagram and Facebook.Meta has seen the growth of its apps slow as the China-based video-snippet sharing sensation has boomed, so the US tech titan added a TikTok-like Reels feature to fire back in the marketplace, according to Zuckerberg.”That said, TikTok is still bigger than either Facebook or Instagram, and I don’t like it when our competitors do better than us,” he told the court.And as video has evolved into a favorite form of online media, particularly on smartphones, YouTube has become serious competition for Meta, the chief executive testified.

A US judge said Wednesday he had found “probable cause” to hold President Donald Trump’s administration in contempt in a deportation case, raising the stakes in the White House’s confrontation with the justice system.The White House said it planned an “immediate” appeal to the decision by District Judge James Boasberg, who had ordered the government to halt flights of more than 200 alleged gang Venezuelan members to El Salvador.Boasberg issued a temporary restraining order on March 15 to halt the deportations, which were carried out under an obscure wartime law, the 1798 Alien Enemies Act, which strips away the usual legal due process.In a written opinion, the judge cited evidence that the government had engaged in “deliberate or reckless disregard” of his order when it proceeded with the flights.”Defendants provide no convincing reason to avoid the conclusion that appears obvious… that they deliberately flouted this Court’s written Order and, separately, its oral command that explicitly delineated what compliance entailed,” he wrote.The administration’s actions were “sufficient for the court to conclude that probable cause exists to find the government in criminal contempt,” Boasberg wrote.The judge said the government would be offered a final chance to “purge such contempt” or face further court action.Since his return to the White House in January, Trump has flirted with open defiance of the judiciary following setbacks to his right-wing agenda, with deportation cases taking center stage.”We plan to seek immediate appellate relief,” White House Communications Director Steven Cheung said in a statement after the judge’s ruling.”The President is 100 percent committed to ensuring that terrorists and criminal illegal migrants are no longer a threat to Americans and their communities across the country.”- ‘Administrative error’ -In invoking the Alien Enemies Act — which had only been used previously during the War of 1812, World War I and World War II — Trump said he was targeting transnational gangs he had declared foreign terrorist organizations.That included the Venezuelan group Tren de Aragua, but lawyers for several of the deported Venezuelans have said that their clients were not gang members, had committed no crimes and were targeted largely on the basis of their tattoos.Trump has routinely criticized rulings that curb his policies and power, and attacked the judges who issued them, including Boasberg.The Republican president said Wednesday that US courts are “totally out of control,” writing on his Truth Social platform: “They seem to hate ‘TRUMP’ so much, that anything goes!”His administration is also under fire over its admission that Kilmar Abrego Garcia, who was living in the eastern state of Maryland and married to a US citizen, was deported to a notorious prison in El Salvador due to an “administrative error.”A judge has ordered Trump to “facilitate” his return, an order upheld by the Supreme Court, but his government has said the court did not have the authority to order it to have him returned.Trump has alleged that Abrego Garcia is “an MS-13 Gang Member and Foreign Terrorist from El Salvador,” while Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt claimed that he was “engaged in human trafficking.” The man has never been charged with any crimes.

A Democratic senator said Wednesday that El Salvador had denied his request to release a US resident whose wrongful deportation triggered a political firestorm over President Donald Trump’s hard-line immigration policies.Chris Van Hollen said he had also been refused a visit or phone call with Kilmar Abrego Garcia, who is imprisoned in his native country despite a US federal judge’s order, backed by the Supreme Court, for his return to the United States.The White House condemned Van Hollen’s trip to the Central American country and invited the mother of a woman killed by another migrant from El Salvador — but in an unrelated case —  to speak as a “special guest” at a hastily arranged news briefing.Van Hollen said he had asked Vice President Felix Ulloa when they met why Abrego Garcia was still locked up in the notorious Terrorism Confinement Center (CECOT) if he had committed no crime and El Salvador had no evidence that he was a member of street gang MS-13.”His answer was that the Trump administration is paying El Salvador, the government of El Salvador, to keep him at CECOT,” Van Hollen, who represents Abrego Garcia’s home state of Maryland, told reporters during a visit to the Central American nation.The Trump administration has paid President Nayib Bukele’s administration several million dollars to keep deportees in detention.”I’m asking President Bukele… to do the right thing and allow Mr Abrego Garcia to walk out of prison, a man who’s charged with no crime, convicted of no crime, and who was illegally abducted from the United States,” Van Hollen said.A legal US resident, Abrego Garcia was protected by a 2019 court order determining that he could not be deported to El Salvador, but he was sent there around a month ago.The Trump administration has admitted an “administrative error” and has been ordered by the Supreme Court to “facilitate” the 29-year-old father’s return.But the White House — pressed on what action it was taking to remedy its error in lower court hearings — has not announced any efforts toward Abrego Garcia’s return.Bukele said during a White House visit on Monday he did not have the power to return Abrego Garcia to the United States. – ‘Protecting our children’ -The Trump administration has mounted an increasingly aggressive pushback, accusing Abrego Garcia of gang links and domestic violence without providing any conclusive evidence.White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt on Wednesday brought out Patty Morin of Maryland — whose daughter Rachel was beaten, raped and strangled in an unrelated 2023 case in which the Salvadoran murderer had been deported three times — to speak at a briefing.”This is about protecting our children. It’s more than just politics or votes or just anything,” Morin told journalists. Leavitt slammed the “appalling and sad” visit by the Democratic senator and accused him and the media of prioritizing Abrego Garcia’s case over that of Rachel Morin’s.US Attorney General Pam Bondi meanwhile released what she called “additional information” including a police report that said his Chicago Bulls baseball cap indicated he was an MS-13 member.He denies gang membership and has never been charged with crimes in either country.But Trump’s critics have warned that his defiance of the courts has placed the country on the cusp of a constitutional crisis.”It’s a short road from there to tyranny,” Van Hollen said earlier.The issue has become a growing policial football.West Virginia Republican congressman Riley Moore posted on X Tuesday that he had also traveled to El Salvador to see the prison where immigrants deported by the Trump administration are being held.He declared himself supportive of Trump’s actions, however.Another Democratic senator, Cory Booker, and two Democratic members of the House of Representatives are also mulling a trip to the country.burs-dk/tgb

Concern over the economic fallout from US President Donald Trump’s global tariffs mounted Wednesday, with Fed Chair Jerome Powell’s warning of higher inflation sending stock markets tumbling.Trump remained upbeat, posting on social media that there’d been “Big Progress!” in talks with Japan on a trade deal.He is banking that his strategy, in which tariffs are meant to lead to multiple individual country agreements, will lower barriers to US products and shift global manufacturing to the United States.But those negotiations are running parallel to a deepening confrontation with top US economic rival China — and concern over widespread disruption.Powell said tariffs are “highly likely” to provoke a temporary rise in prices and could prompt “more persistent” increases.He also noted the “volatility” on the markets in a “time of high uncertainty.”That volatility was visible on Wall Street where the Nasdaq at one point plummeted more than four percent, the S&P more than three percent and the Dow Jones more than two.Leading the downward charge was Nvidia, which momentarily dropped more than 10 percent after disclosing major costs due to new US export restrictions on semiconductors imposed as part of Trump’s tussle with China.World Bank chief Ajay Banga echoed Powell, telling reporters that, “uncertainty and volatility are undoubtedly contributing to a more cautious economic and business environment.”- China says ‘no winner’ -While the rest of the world has been slapped with a blanket 10 percent tariff, China faces levies of up to 145 percent on many products. Beijing has responded with duties of 125 percent on US goods.”If the US really wants to resolve the issue through dialogue and negotiation, it should stop exerting extreme pressure, stop threatening and blackmailing, and talk to China on the basis of equality, respect and mutual benefit,” Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Lin Jian said.”There is no winner in a tariff war or a trade war,” Lin said, adding: “China does not want to fight, but it is not afraid to fight.”China said on Wednesday that it saw a forecast-beating 5.4 percent jump in growth in the first quarter as exporters rushed to get goods out of factory gates ahead of the US levies.But Heron Lim from Moody’s Analytics told AFP the impact would be felt in the second quarter, as tariffs begin “impeding Chinese exports and slamming the brakes on investment.”World Trade Organization head Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala said the uncertainty brought by the tariffs “threatens to act as a brake on global growth, with severe negative consequences for the world, the most vulnerable economies in particular.”- Japan test case? -Ahead of the Japan talks, Trump posted on his Truth Social platform that he hoped “something can be worked out which is good (GREAT!) for Japan and the USA!”Japan’s envoy said he was optimistic of a “win-win” outcome for both countries.South Korea, a major semiconductor and auto exporter, said Finance Minister Choi Sang-mok would meet US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent next week.”The current priority is to use negotiations… to delay the imposition of reciprocal tariffs as much as possible and to minimize uncertainty for Korean companies operating not only in the US but also in global markets,” Choi said on Tuesday.But Stephen Innes at SPI Asset Management called the discussions with Japan the “canary in the tariff coal mine.””If Japan secures a deal — even a half-baked one — the template is set. If they walk away empty-handed, brace yourself. Other nations will start pricing in confrontation, not cooperation,” he wrote in a newsletter.The Daiwa Institute of Research warned on Wednesday that Trump’s reciprocal tariffs could cause a decline of 1.8 percent in Japan’s real GDP by 2029.Although popular among Republicans, the tariffs war is politically risky for Trump at home. California Democratic Governor Gavin Newsom announced he was launching a new court challenge against Trump’s “authority to unilaterally enact tariffs, which have created economic chaos, driven up prices, and harmed the state, families, and businesses.”burs-sms/dw

California is suing the federal government over Donald Trump’s on-again-off-again tariffs, the governor and attorney general said Wednesday, claiming the American president does not have the right to impose them.The move marks the strongest pushback yet against a tariff roll-out that has sent global stock markets into meltdown, and left businesses across the US fretting about uncertainty.”It’s the worst own-goal in the history of this country,” California Governor Gavin Newsom said. “One of the most self-destructive things that we’ve experienced in modern American history.”With 40 million people and a large, outward-facing economy that accounts for 14 percent of US GDP, California looks set to bear the brunt of the economic damage forecasters expect from recent gyrations.Newsom’s office says California — which would be the world’s fifth-largest economy if it were an independent country — could lose billions of dollars in revenue if Trump’s tariff policies shrink international trade.Trump has long prized tariffs as a tool to achieve what he says is the urgent need to rebalance America’s trading relationships, and pledged on the campaign trail that he would hit imports with extra levies.Initial punitive tariffs against Mexico and Canada were built on with his self-declared “Liberation Day,” which saw onerous charges imposed on scores of countries, including allies and partners.Many of those duties have since been paused, but their chaotic announcement sent global stock markets into spasms, wiping out trillions of dollars of value.Newsom said Trump’s economic mismanagement was costing everyday Americans — including many who voted for Trump — dearly, all while feathering the nests of billionaire donors and friends.The United States, he said, has gone in a matter of weeks “from free capitalism to crony capitalism, just like that.””This is the personification of corruption…this is smash-mouth, in-your-face, every minute of every day, every hour.”How in the hell are we sitting by and allowing this to happen?” said Newsom, who is widely expected to put himself forward as a candidate for the presidency in 2028.The legal action launched Wednesday argues that the International Emergency Economic Powers Act, which Trump has used to impose levies as high as 145 percent, does not grant him the authority to impose tariffs on goods coming into the United States.”We’re asking the court to rein in the president…and uphold the Constitution,” Attorney General Rob Bonta told reporters.”The president is yet again acting as if he’s above the law, he isn’t.”Bonta said the power to impose tariffs rests with Congress, and the suit sought to ensure his actions were rolled back.”It’s simple, Trump does not have the authority to impose these tariffs. He must be stopped.”The case is the latest of more than a dozen lawsuits that California has filed against the Trump administration.

US President Donald Trump’s tariffs will likely push up prices and constrain growth, and could put the Federal Reserve in the unenviable position of having to choose between tackling inflation and unemployment, the central bank’s chair said Wednesday.US financial markets fell following Jerome Powell’s remarks, with all three major Wall Street indices ending the day in the red as investors dumped tech stocks. “Tariffs are highly likely to generate at least a temporary rise in inflation,” Powell told the Economic Club of Chicago, warning that the inflationary effects “could also be more persistent.””Avoiding that outcome will depend on the size of the effects, on how long it takes for them to pass through fully to prices, and, ultimately, on keeping longer-term inflation expectations well anchored,” he added, echoing similar remarks earlier this month. Unlike some other central banks, the US Fed has a dual mandate from Congress to ensure both stable prices and maximum sustainable employment over time.It keeps those twin objectives in balance by lowering or raising interest rates, which act as either a throttle or a brake for demand in the world’s largest economy.Powell said that while the Fed’s employment and inflation goals were largely in balance, policymakers could find themselves in the “challenging scenario in which our dual-mandate goals are in tension.”- ‘Continued volatility’ -Trump’s stop-start tariff policy has unnerved investors and trading partners unsure about the long-term strategy, and what it might mean for international trade. Amid the rollout of the tariffs, global financial markets spiraled, pushing volatility to heights not seen since the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic.  “You’ll probably see continued volatility,” Powell said Wednesday. “But I wouldn’t try to be definitive about exactly what’s causing that.””I would just say markets are orderly and they’re functioning kind of as you would expect them to in this time of high uncertainty,” he added. Most economists have warned that tariffs will push up prices — at least temporarily — while acting as a drag on growth.The Trump administration has insisted that the levies are just one part of an overall economic agenda including tax cuts and deregulation designed to stimulate supply, boost growth, temper inflation, and return manufacturing jobs to the United States.Tariffs would be “likely to move us away from our goals,” Powell said, referring to the Fed’s dual mandate.Futures traders currently see a roughly 85 percent chance that the Fed will vote to pause again at the next interest rate decision in May, according to data from CME Group.