Federal judge voids permits for major Alaska oil project
19 August 2021
A federal judge on Wednesday voided the permits for a ConocoPhillips oil project in Alaska's North Slope.
Why it matters: The ruling deals a blow to the Willow oil project, which could produce up to 160,000 barrels of oil per day, after the Trump administration approved drilling for it. The government's support for the project continued into Biden's presidency.
- President Biden has pledged to move away from fossil fuels.
- Environmental groups sued the government in 2020 to halt the project, arguing that it didn't take into account climate change considerations and that it underestimated how much harm the plan would cause to wildlife.
- They argued that the Willow drilling project in part of the National Petroleum Reserve would have on wildlife and climate-change, a
The bottom line: U.S. District Judge Sharon Gleason wrote in the 110-page ruling that the Bureau of Land Management and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service incorrectly approved the project, after failing to consider its impact on foreign greenhouse gas emissions and disregarding alternative development plans.
What they're saying: Alaska Gov. Mike Dunleavy (R), whose state joined in the lawsuit to defend the permits, issued a statement calling the ruling "a horrible decision."
- "The Willow project would power America with 160,000 barrels a day, provide 1000s of family-supporting jobs, and greatly benefit the people of Alaska," he said.
- The Department of the Interior declined to comment on the matter.
Transcripts show George Floyd told police "I can't breathe" over 20 times
Section2Newly released transcripts of bodycam footage from the Minneapolis Police Department show that George Floyd told officers he could not breathe more than 20 times in the moments leading up to his death.
Why it matters: Floyd's killing sparked a national wave of Black Lives Matter protests and an ongoing reckoning over systemic racism in the United States. The transcripts "offer one the most thorough and dramatic accounts" before Floyd's death, The New York Times writes.
The state of play: The transcripts were released as former officer Thomas Lane seeks to have the charges that he aided in Floyd's death thrown out in court, per the Times. He is one of four officers who have been charged.
- The filings also include a 60-page transcript of an interview with Lane. He said he "felt maybe that something was going on" when asked if he believed that Floyd was having a medical emergency at the time.
What the transcripts say:
- Floyd told the officers he was claustrophobic as they tried to get him into the squad car.
- The transcripts also show Floyd saying, "Momma, I love you. Tell my kids I love them. I'm dead."
- Former officer Derek Chauvin, who had his knee on Floyd's neck for over eight minutes, told Floyd, "Then stop talking, stop yelling, it takes a heck of a lot of oxygen to talk."
Read the transcripts via DocumentCloud.