Southeast
19 state attorneys general challenge blue states' 'radical' climate policies impacting others
Alabama is spearheading a coalition of 18 Republican-led states in a federal lawsuit against five Democrat-run states, alleging the latter are trying to coerce the former into complying with strict climate-conscious policies that could imperil their residents’ access to affordable energy.
The filing was made at the U.S. Supreme Court on Wednesday as the plaintiffs argued that Democrat-led states California, Connecticut, Minnesota, New Jersey and Rhode Island are essentially forcing residents of politically opposed states to feel repercussions of their restrictions and, therefore, are dictating national energy policy.
“California and New Jersey and the defendant states are trying to make national energy policy through state laws,” said Kansas Attorney General Kris Kobach, one state official who is party to the lawsuit. “And if the Supreme Court does not step in, they may succeed.”
“If the defendant states’ laws have their desired effects, fossil fuel energy companies across the nation will either be hit with massive damages or have to change their policies directly. And, those defendant states will affect the availability of cheap, affordable energy in our states,” he said.
“One state does not have the right to control policy in another state.”
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Of criticisms that it may not be apropos to escalate such a case immediately to the Supreme Court, Kobach said this is a rare instance where it is needed. He said the high bench has always had jurisdiction over interstate quarrels and that the “opposing interests” in this filing are especially stark.
Alabama Attorney General Steve Marshall, who is leading the charge, told Fox News Digital he has the right to take the complaint directly to the Supreme Court because it has original jurisdiction over state action. He pointed to other cases in which one state takes legal action against another and makes its plea to the high court.
“When you have two sovereigns that are making claims against one another, it is the appropriate venue for those claims to be heard,” he said.
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Marshall said the crux of the matter is essentially that defendant states are crafting climate policies that will have an undue effect on Alabama and its fellow plaintiff states.
“I think one of the things that is so most objectionable is the fact they are using common law claims, plus the statutory Deceptive Trade Practices Act claims, as a vehicle to engage in climate policy,” he said.
“I think, broadly, the issue is how does this affect the constituents of our individual states? And so the legitimate question is: Why should we care in Alabama how California chooses to operate in the state courts themselves?”
“Well, if California prevails, they’re really going to be able to do two things. They’re going to be able to impose a tax on carbon because that’s what [legal] ‘damages’ truly are in these cases,” Marshall said.
He expressed hope the Supreme Court would agree that energy and climate policy is a federal issue and not one the states can dictate in a way that could affect others.
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The legal complaint reads in part: “Defendant States want a global carbon tax on the traditional energy industry” … “In their view, a small gas station in rural Alabama could owe damages to the people of Minnesota simply for selling a gallon of gas.”
The complaint cited API v. Minnesota, a case brought against energy firms for alleged harm caused by their contributions to global warming, among other things.
It also referenced a case from 1981 brought against West Virginia by bordering states who took issue with a policy that required Mountaineer natural gas producers to meet local needs before exporting their valuable energy source.
Kobach said this current multiparty lawsuit is one of a few qualified cases that should be heard first and ultimately by the Supreme Court:
“A relatively small number of cases can go directly to the Supreme Court because they are complex between one state and another or one group of states and another group of states,” Kobach said, adding that the high bench has at times declined to hear such cases.
Asked about what plaintiff states’ resources might be if New Jersey, California and the others are permitted to continue crafting policy with alleged wider-reaching effects than statutorily permitted, Kobach said Kansas, for example, has limited recourse.
“The second course of action would be [to] seek legislation in Congress, preempting what the defendant states have done, but that is a difficult process,” he said.
“It takes a long time, and it may come too late, depending on what happens in these defendant states.”
Kobach said the current suit is not the first of its kind. The Supreme Court previously upheld California’s sow housing law that plaintiffs said led to an avoidable spike in the cost of bacon and other pork products outside California.
Efforts to reach representatives for the defendant states in the case were unsuccessful.
Editor’s Note: This story originally reported 12 states had signed onto the lawsuit. Since its publication, that number has increased to 19.
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Lara Trump, President-elect Trump’s daughter-in-law, said Saturday she is removing herself from consideration for Florida Republican Marco Rubio’s seat in the U.S. Senate.
“After an incredible amount of thought, contemplation, and encouragement from so many, I have decided to remove my name from consideration for the United States Senate,” she wrote on X Saturday.
The president-elect has nominated Rubio to be secretary of state.
“I could not have been more honored to serve as RNC co-chair during the most high-stakes election of our lifetime and I’m truly humbled by the unbelievable support shown to me by the people of our country, and here in the great state of Florida,” Lara Trump added.
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Lara Trump, President-elect Trump’s daughter-in-law, said Saturday she is removing herself from consideration for Florida Republican Marco Rubio’s seat in the U.S. Senate. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci, File)
Trump, the wife of Eric Trump, the president-elect’s son, stepped down as co-chair of the Republican National Committee earlier this month.
” I have read so many of your kind messages and I cannot thank you enough,” Lara Trump said, adding she has a “big announcement that I’m excited to share in January.”
She said she remains “incredibly passionate about public service and (looks) forward to serving our country again sometime in the future. In the meantime, I wish Governor DeSantis the best of luck with this appointment.”
The president-elect had previously pressed DeSantis to name Lara as Rubio’s replacement, a source in his political orbit told Fox News Digital, but he later told reporters he didn’t necessarily expect him to select her.
The president-elect has nominated Sen. Marco Rubio to be secretary of state. (Victor J. Blue/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
CLICK HERE FOR THE LATEST FOX NEWS REPORTING ON THE TRUMP TRANSITION
“That’s his choice,” the president-elect added.
Rubio’s senate replacement will be appointed by Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis and will serve the remaining two years of Rubio’s term.
In 2026, the seat will be open for a full six-year term.
Lara Trump is married to President-elect Trump’s son, Eric Trump. (Eva Marie Uzcategui/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
Lara Trump had previously said she was “seriously considering” the position, although she wasn’t sure it was right for her.
DeSantis previously said he would make an appointment by early January.
Lara Trump did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment.
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Southeast
Florida driver hits student with her truck, covers license plate before fleeing, deputies say
A Florida woman was arrested after she allegedly struck a teenager who was crossing the road with her truck, covered her license plate and sped off.
Sarah Wright, 37, was arrested Thursday and charged with leaving the scene of a crash with injuries and driving with a suspended license.
The crash happened shortly before 4 p.m. at the intersection of Gage Avenue and Noah Street in Deltona, Florida, according to the Volusia County Sheriff’s Office.
The victim, a 16-year-old boy, was riding his scooter home from Pine Ridge High School when he was struck by a black Chevrolet Silverado as he was using the crosswalk, the sheriff’s office said.
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Sarah Wright, 37, is facing charges of leaving the scene of a crash with injuries and driving with a suspended license. (Flagler County Jail)
The teenager fell to the ground, resulting in a serious laceration to the back of his head as well as an arm injury, but he remained alert and conscious after the incident.
A witness reported that she was checking her mailbox nearby when she heard the crash. She told investigators that the suspect, later identified as Wright, exited her truck after the crash and checked on the boy before she went back to her vehicle and covered her license plate with paper and tape.
But the witness still managed to see the first character of her tag. A neighborhood Ring camera also captured the truck fleeing the scene.
A witness managed to see the first character on the truck’s tag and a neighborhood Ring camera captured the vehicle fleeing the scene. (Volusia County Sheriff’s Office)
The victim and the witness were also able to provide a detailed description of the suspect.
Officials were then able to locate a suspect vehicle captured on a nearby License Plate Reader camera within minutes.
Wright was found in Flagler County and taken into custody with assistance from Florida Highway Patrol and the Flagler County Sheriff’s Office.
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Sarah Wright was booked into the Flagler County Jail on a $3,500 bond. (iStock)
She was booked into the Flagler County Jail on a $3,500 bond.
The teenage victim required staples for the laceration and treatment for his arm injury, but he is expected to make a full recovery.
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A child was hospitalized on Saturday after being hit by a drone that was part of an Orlando, Florida holiday drone show.
According to the Orlando Fire Department, a 7-year-old boy was transported to the hospital because of injuries sustained from the falling drones, FOX 35 in Orlando reported.
In a video posted online by X user MosquitoCoFl, hundreds of drones being used as part of an aerial light show appeared to be flying into position before several started falling from the sky before slamming to the ground.
A man could be heard saying to children nearby, “Oh no! I don’t believe they’re supposed to be falling.”
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Several drones malfunctioned during a drone show in Orlando, Florida on Saturday, sending the unmanned aerial objects crashing to the ground. (Credit – X/MosquitoCoFL)
Geese also appear on the water, flapping their wings to try and get out of the way of the chaotic scene.
City officials told the station the holiday drone show was permitted by the FAA.
Still, after one drone show went wrong, the city chose to cancel the second that night at 8 p.m. due to “technical difficulties.”
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Several drones malfunctioned during a drone show in Orlando, Florida on Saturday, sending the unmanned aerial objects crashing to the ground. (Credit – X/MosquitoCoFL)
The FAA told Fox News Digital it will investigate the cause of the drone show malfunction.
“Several small drones collided and fell into a crowd during a holiday drone show over [Eola] Lake in Orlando, Florida,” the FAA said. “The incident occurred around 6:45 p.m. local time on Saturday, December 21.”
According to the agency, drone arrays and light shows are subject to FAA regulations and typically require a waiver to a regulation that prohibits operating more than one drone at a time.
For each drone show application, the FAA looks at things like the software controlling the drones, procedures for setting up safe and restricted areas to keep people a safe distance from the show, procedures if drones fail, and procedures for when an aircraft gets too close to the show.
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Several drones malfunctioned during a drone show in Orlando, Florida on Saturday, sending the unmanned aerial objects crashing to the ground. (Credit – X/MosquitoCoFL)
Additionally, the FAA reviews how the operator will keep the drones inside a confined area using Geofencing, and whether the operator has an adequate number of people to run the show.
For the second year, the City of Orlando used Sky Elements Drones as its vendor to operate the drones, the station reported.
Sky Elements Drones did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment on the matter.
In a statement to Fox 35, the vendor said, “Sky Elements Drones wants to extend our sincere hope for a full and speedy recovery to those impacted at our Lake Eola show in Orlando on Saturday, Dec. 21.
“The well-being of our audience is our utmost priority, and we regret any distress or inconvenience caused,” the company continued. “We are diligently working with the FAA and City of Orlando officials to determine the cause and are committed to establishing a clear picture of what transpired. Millions of people see our shows annually, and we are committed to maintaining the highest safety regulations set forth by the FAA.”
Read the full article from Here
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