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the Islamic militant Hamas group has severe money problems and needs the alliance with the Western-backed president.
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EPA seeks to cut earth-warming pollution from nation's power plants by 30 percent by 2030
• WASHINGTON (AP) -- The Environmental Protection Agency on Monday will roll out a plan to cut carbon dioxide emissions from power plants by 30 percent by 2030, setting the first national limits on the chief gas linked to global warming.
• The rule, which is expected to be final next year, is a centerpiece of President Barack Obama's plans to reduce the pollution linked to global warming, a step that the administration hopes will get other countries to act when negotiations on a new international treaty resume next year.
• Despite concluding in 2009 that greenhouse gases endanger human health and welfare, a finding that triggered their regulation under the 1970 Clean Air Act, it has taken years for the administration to take on the nation's fleet of power plants. In December 2010, the Obama administration announced a "modest pace" for setting greenhouse gas standards for power plants, setting a May 2012 deadline.
• Obama put them on the fast track last summer when he announced his climate action plan and a renewed commitment to climate change after the issue went dormant during his re-election campaign.
• "The purpose of this rule is to really close the loophole on carbon pollution, reduce emissions as we've done with lead, arsenic and mercury and improve the health of the American people and unleash a new economic opportunity," said Frances Beinecke, president of the Natural Resources Defense Council, which has drafted a plan that informed the EPA proposal.
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Russian military exercise set to involve missile launches
• MOSCOW (AP) -- The Russian Defense Ministry says it has launched a military exercise involving the launch of high-precision missiles. The war games are taking place amid the backdrop of violence in eastern Ukraine.
• In a statement Monday, the ministry said the maneuvers of the Western Military District will continue through Thursday and will involve the deployment of Iskander surface-to-surface missiles. It said the Iskander missiles, which are capable of hit (Continued on page 28)
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