Biden Issues Executive Order to Strengthen Gun Background Checks

President Joe Biden on Tuesday traveled to Monterey Park, California, where a gunman killed 11 people in January at the Star Ballroom Dance Studio, to announce a handful of steps designed to improve enforcement of existing gun laws. Biden’s new executive order directs the attorney general to make sure gun dealers are complying with background check laws. It seeks to improve reporting of guns and ammunition that are lost or stolen while in transit. It calls for better transparency about gun dealers who are cited for violations. And it directs agencies to work with the National Integrated Ballistics Information Network to improve investigations into gun crimes.

Ohio Attorney General Sues Norfolk Southern Over Derailment

The Ohio attorney general filed a 58-count federal lawsuit against Norfolk Southern on Tuesday, charging that the derailment of a train carrying hazardous chemicals on Feb. 3 in the village of East Palestine was a product of negligence and recklessness, posing serious health risks to people in the area and causing “substantial damage to the regional economy.” The suit, filed in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Ohio, accuses Norfolk Southern of numerous violations of state and federal environmental laws. It seeks to force the company to pay civil penalties, costs and damages to reimburse the state for economic losses and harm to natural resources.

Biden Voids Trump-Era Deal to Open Alaskan Wildlife Area

The Biden administration said Tuesday that it was withdrawing a land swap deal that would have helped to clear the way for construction of a road through a wildlife refuge in Alaska. The land swap to create a road through Izembek National Wildlife Refuge was approved under the Trump administration to link King Cove with an airport in nearby Cold Bay. Interior Secretary Deb Haaland said the Interior Department would reconsider an older land swap developed in 2013 that would allow for a road with more restricted use but would still enable Native and other community members in the remote area to access emergency medical care. .

Late-Winter Snowstorm Sweeps Into the Northeast

A late-winter storm dumped heavy, wet snow in parts of the Northeast on Tuesday, causing widespread power outages. The brunt of the storm appeared to be affecting a broad area in upstate New York, southern Vermont and northwestern Massachusetts, where 28 inches of snow had been recorded in Windsor, according to the National Weather Service. In Pittsfield, Massachusetts, southwest of Windsor, the police said there were downed power lines and felled trees throughout the area. More than 251,000 customers were without power as of Tuesday afternoon in five states, according to PowerOutage.us. Dozens of flights were delayed or canceled Tuesday at airports across the Northeast.

More Flooding Is Feared as Latest Storm Pummels California

California, already reeling from previous waves of heavy rain and snow, faced another drenching on Tuesday as the latest “atmospheric river” stormed in, wreaking havoc with high winds and flooding that closed roads and schools, knocked out power and prompted evacuations in vulnerable areas. The storm was expected to create significant flooding as it spread across the Central Valley and into the Sierra Nevada foothills, the National Weather Service said. In Oceano, a neighborhood under an evacuation warning in San Luis Obispo County, residents said they were worried that a nearby levee could fail, as one on the Pajaro River did on Saturday.

In Florida, Invasive Pythons Make Their Way North

So much for all the efforts to slow the proliferation of Burmese pythons in the Florida Everglades over the last two decades, including with paid contractors, trained volunteers and an annual hunt that has drawn participants from as far as Latvia: The giant snakes have been making their way north, reaching West Palm Beach and Fort Myers and threatening ever-larger stretches of the ecosystem. That was one of the conclusions in a comprehensive review published last month by the U.S. Geological Survey. More than 18,000 have been removed since 2000, including 2,500 in 2022, according to the state Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission.

As Russian Shelling Intensifies, True Liberation Eludes Ukrainian City

Three months after Ukrainians celebrated expulsion of Russian forces from the city of Kherson, it is free of occupation but hardly at peace, a nebulous status that never seemed more clear than Tuesday as Moscow suddenly stepped up its shelling there. Ukrainian officials said Russian forces had bombarded towns and villages on the west bank of the Dnieper River, the front line between the warring sides in the southern Kherson region, pounding them with hundreds of shells from tanks and artillery and dropping explosives from drones. At least one person was killed and six more wounded over the past 24 hours, Ukrainian officials said Tuesday.

By wire sources