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Experts rip 'triple crown of bad regs' as Biden admin posts gas stove rule it denied was a ban

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Experts rip 'triple crown of bad regs' as Biden admin posts gas stove rule it denied was a ban

After repeatedly denying that it wants to formally ban natural gas-powered stoves, the Energy Department posted to the Federal Register its finalized regulation targeting kitchen appliances.

Critics from Congress to energy advocacy groups slammed the new rule, which administration officials have long denied would constitute a ban.

But American Energy Alliance president Tom Pyle said it nonetheless wins the “Triple Crown for bad regulations.”

“It’s ineffective, unnecessary, and likely illegal,” Pyle said, going on to acknowledge that the administration had watered down the original 2023-drafted policy.

BIDEN ADMIN BACKS OFF GAS STOVE CRACKDOWN AFTER WIDESPREAD PUSHBACK

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Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm. (Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images)

“After receiving severe backlash for moving to ban gas stoves, the Biden-Harris administration settled for this rule, which they claim would lower costs for families. Of course, what they don’t tell you is their so-called savings is a mere 21 cents a year.”

Pyle said that if Democrats continue to hold power, the rule will be a “mere down payment” on future regulatory overreach that will try to control other mundane aspects of daily life like cooking.

“American consumers [are] fully capable of choosing the appliances that best suit their needs,” he said.

The Department of Energy, however, defended the regulation — including against claims that it had waffled on the matter.

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A spokesman said the rule posted to the Federal Register mirrors the regulation devised earlier in the year, and that this final rule has the support of groups like the Association of Home Appliance Manufacturers.

A spokesman for the Energy Department it is “building on decades-long efforts with industry to ensure our appliances work more efficiently and save Americans money.”

“When you look past misleading rhetoric, you’ll see that our appliance standards actions are intended for nothing more than promoting innovation and increasing energy efficiency without sacrificing the reliability and performance that Americans have come to expect and rely on,” they said.

However, lawmakers who have tried to blunt “bans” or regulations on home appliances and other implements that require fossil fuel power were not convinced of the new rule’s benefits.

In 2023, Rep. Dan Newhouse, R-Wash., successfully drafted an amendment to an energy bill that would prohibit Secretary Jennifer Granholm’s department from implementing the original energy standard for cooktops.

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“If this draconian rule were carried out, it would eliminate anywhere between 50-95% of today’s gas appliances,” Newhouse said at the time.

WHITE HOUSE FINALIZES RULE INCREASING CLEAN ENERGY SUBSIDIES FIVEFOLD IN BID TO SUPPORT GREEN JOBS

President Biden. (Getty Images)

“Gas appliances are at the center of American households. They power our stoves, furnaces, water heaters and fireplaces,” he said, calling natural gas “affordable, reliable and safe.”

On Thursday, a spokesman for Newhouse said the lawmaker’s efforts were a “leading factor” in having the original rule rescinded and revised to its current form.

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“While this new rule will still require strenuous federal oversight by Congress, it does prevent states like California and Washington from implementing sweeping, radical rules that are completely unreasonable for consumers and producers and will only pave the way for other states to follow,” the spokesman said.

Rep. Kelly Armstrong, R-N.D., whose Gas Stove Protection & Freedom Act passed the House but has languished in the Senate for a year, called the new rule being posted “incredibly frustrating and out of touch.”

“Americans are concerned about the fentanyl crisis that is crippling communities, and many Americans are worried about being able to provide for their families and put food on the table. Instead of considering the immediate needs of many Americans, the administration has chosen to prioritize attacking gas stoves to appease climate extremists,” Armstrong said, adding that it shows that the administration wants to control every aspect of life.

Heritage Action for America Vice President Ryan Walker said the Department of Energy is “villanizing natural gas” despite its affordability and clean-burning qualities.

“After insisting they had no plans to ban gas stoves, the Biden-Harris administration just plowed ahead with its new rule that may price the hugely popular appliances out of existence,” Walker said, adding, “The Left only cares about virtue signaling and pandering to their extreme base, not the hardworking Americans trying to make ends meet and put food on the table. The next conservative administration can and should reverse the Biden-Harris appliance crackdown.”

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Democrats who were either vociferously opposed to Republican efforts to blunt regulations or in favor of such rules did not offer reaction to the news.

Rep. Dan Newhouse, R-Washington. (Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images)

Rep. Frank Pallone Jr., D-N.J., the ranking member on the House Energy & Commerce Committee, said of 2023 efforts to stop such regulation, “House Republicans are once again putting polluters over people.”

Pallone did not respond to a request for comment. 

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Neither did Rep. Mary Gay Scanlon, D-Pa., who previously called cost-related concerns about forcing Americans off natural gas a “conspiracy theory cooked up to embroil Congress in culture wars that shed more heat than light on the issues facing our nation.”

The Philadelphia lawmaker said in 2023 the rule proposed at the time would save consumers $1.7 billion collectively.

One longtime Democrat did, however, speak out against the original 2023 draft of the rule, as Sen. Joe Manchin, I-W.V., said the feds “have no business telling American families how to cook their dinner.”

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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Oregon

Oregon Lottery Pick 4 results for May 7

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The Oregon Lottery offers several draw games for those aiming to win big.

Here’s a look at May 7, 2026, results for each game:

Winning Pick 4 numbers from May 7 drawing

1PM: 3-4-3-4

4PM: 3-9-2-9

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7PM: 6-6-4-2

10PM: 7-1-1-8

Check Pick 4 payouts and previous drawings here.

Feeling lucky? Explore the latest lottery news & results

When are the Oregon Lottery drawings held?

  • Powerball: 7:59 p.m. on Monday, Wednesday and Saturday.
  • Mega Millions: 7:59 p.m. on Tuesday and Friday.
  • Pick 4: 1 p.m., 4 p.m., 7 p.m. and 10 p.m. daily.
  • Win for Life: 7:30 p.m. on Monday, Wednesday, and Saturday.
  • Megabucks: 7:29 p.m. on Monday, Wednesday, and Saturday.

This results page was generated automatically using information from TinBu and a template written and reviewed by an Oregon editor. You can send feedback using this form.



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Utah

Man arrested in Wyoming wanted for rape, domestic violence in Utah

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Man arrested in Wyoming wanted for rape, domestic violence in Utah


A man wanted for alleged rape and domestic violence in Utah was arrested in Wyoming.

He is “behind bars thanks to the work of eagle-eyed troopers with the Wyoming Highway Patrol,” WHP said on social media.

Troopers were alerted to a Be On The Look Out (BOLO) call at approximately 7 a.m. on Thursday for a suspect in a white Chrysler Seabreeze.

MORE | Crime

Troopers in Rawlins, Wyoming, spotted the vehicle just after 8:30 a.m.

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The suspect was arrested without incident and transported to the Carbon County Jail.

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Washington

Washington looking for solutions to looming water challenges | Cascadia Daily News

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Washington looking for solutions to looming water challenges | Cascadia Daily News


WOODINVILLE — For four straight years, at least parts of Washington have been in a drought, as snowpack has failed to meet historical norms amid climate change. 

This year, all of Washington is experiencing drought, after a wet winter scuttled by warmer temperatures, according to state officials.

Washington state leaders are looking for ways to deal with the ongoing water challenges, which state Ecology Director Casey Sixkiller calls “our new normal.” 

A new initiative, called Washington’s Water Future, will lead roundtable discussions across the state this summer, with recommendations delivered to Gov. Bob Ferguson before the 2027 legislative session begins in January. Local and tribal governments, utilities, industry leaders, environmental groups and community organizations will be at the table.

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Officials announced the effort Wednesday at King County’s Brightwater Treatment Plant near Woodinville.

“It’s clear we need to take steps to protect our water supply,” Ferguson said in a pre-recorded video. “We need secure water supplies so we can grow our economy, support our agriculture industry, protect healthy fish runs and preserve tribal resources.”

Sixkiller said the work is about whether Washington will shape the future of water in the state, or just react to it. 

“Washington is a water state,” Sixkiller said. “Water shapes our landscapes, our communities, our economy, and for many a way of life passed down through generations. We all know that where there’s water, there’s life, but these days, we don’t have to look very hard to see that our relationship with water is changing.”

Climate change is causing precipitation in the winter to fall more as rain than snow, with less stored naturally in the mountains for the summer, when farms and fish are competing for the dwindling resource. This system, dependent on snowpack, is becoming less reliable, Sixkiller said.

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By 2080, the Puget Sound region is expected to get less than half of its normal snowpack, with wintertime stream flows increasing by half and a corresponding drop in the summertime, the agency director said.

“The cost of inaction is already showing up in drought emergencies, flood damage, stressed salmon runs and uncertainty for communities trying to plan their future,” Sixkiller said.

Last year, the Department of Ecology took the unprecedented step to curtail surface water usage in the Yakima River Basin, where the effects of drought are more severe. The move has drawn accusations of mismanagement against the state. 

In an interview, Sixkiller said it’s too soon to say whether his agency will need to do the same this year, but noted the state declared a drought earlier than usual to give water managers in the area more time to prepare.

The statewide drought declaration last month unlocked $3 million in grants to respond to the effects.

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The harms already

The Yakima-Tieton Irrigation District, which serves 28,000 acres, is bracing for its canal system to “blow out” after a wildfire burned it in 2024, and subsequent flooding and debris slides further damaged it, said Jon DeVaney, president of the Washington State Tree Fruit Association.

“This is a clear example of the need to, not only plan long term, but be prepared to see that hole that we’re already in get a little bit deeper,” DeVaney said.

The low flows and higher temperatures are treacherous for Washington’s salmon. And fish hatcheries are grappling with dwindling water. The Suquamish Tribe, for example, hasn’t been able to expand a hatchery because of the lack of water, Chairman Leonard Forsman said.

Forsman, also president of the Affiliated Tribes of Northwest Indians, acknowledged the priorities when thinking about the future of water availability are “people and farms, and then fish habitat comes in later.”

“And we need to try to balance that,” he said. 

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Meanwhile, data centers the tech sector is building to support artificial intelligence and other technologies are also driving demand for water.

Some of the ideas

In responding to the state’s water needs, Sixkiller said “all solutions and all ideas are on the table.”

He was responding to a question about desalination, a process turning salt water into potable water that communities in more arid climates have turned to in addressing water shortages. Arizona, for one, is pursuing the idea. Sixkiller called the water scarcity in the American southwest a “very big red flag of what could happen here.”

The city of Lynden in Whatcom County has grown rapidly over the past 15 years, Mayor Scott Korthuis said. So the city, located along the Nooksack River, has had to find innovative approaches to securing water.

For one, the city now recycles discharged water from the local Darigold dairy plant into the river, as a source of drinking water.

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The city is also working on an aquifer recharge project to take water from the river during high flows and store it underground until it’s needed later. Sixkiller cited this type of work as an idea to be explored in the Washington’s Water Future roundtable discussions.

“There are a range of untapped solutions from different areas, from different ways to store water and to recycling,” Korthuis said, noting financial, legal and regulatory obstacles.

Aging water infrastructure that will need to be replaced or upgraded provides an opportunity for innovative solutions, Sixkiller said.

King County Councilmember Claudia Balducci noted the new initiative’s acronym matches that of the World Wrestling Federation, saying there will be some “smackdowns” in these discussions. The tongue-in-cheek comment worried state Rep. Davina Duerr, D-Bothell.

“I’m afraid it’ll be a smackdown on the Legislature for funding, and whatever else,” she said.

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Washington State Standard is part of States Newsroom, the nation’s largest state-focused nonprofit news organization.



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