President Biden is restoring the environmental protections around the largest national forest in the US after they were removed by the Trump administration.

The Tongass National Forest in Alaska had previously been known as the "lungs of America", the Independent reports, and is one of the world's largest intact temperate rain forests that soaks up about 8% of all carbon emissions in the US.

"While tropical rainforests are the lungs of the planet, the Tongass is the lungs of North America," Dominick DellaSala, chief scientist with the Earth Island Institute’s Wild Heritage project, told PBS. "It's America's last climate sanctuary."

While logging, mining, and other developments were banned back in 2001 under a roadless rule policy, the Trump administration opened up nine million acres of the forest - more than half - to both logging and road construction.

The New York Times reports that this week, the Biden administration vowed to "repeal or replace" Trump's ruling in order to protect the forest.

The new policy will be formally published in August and put into action over the next two years.

Reacting to the news on Twitter, the Centre for Biodiversity wrote: "Biden plans to restore roadless rule protections in the Tongass National Forest. This is a step in the right direction, but restoring full protections to roadless areas in this ancient rainforest is crucial for wildlife and our climate."

Biden's plan to restore the protections, however, was slammed by Republican Senator Lisa Murkowski who said it will "cost jobs, diminish income, keep energy prices high, and cripple the ability of the communities in the region to develop a sustainable, year-round economy."

She continued: "The Trump administration, through the Forest Service and USDA, put considerable work and effort into the final rule and now the Biden administration is literally throwing it all away.

"We need to end this 'yo-yo effect' as the lives of Alaskans who live and work in the Tongass are upended every time we have a new president. This has to end."

Biden's decision, meanwhile, has been praised by environmentalists including Ellen Montgomery, director of public lands campaigns for Environment America, who said she hopes it "will be a swift process to restore full roadless rule protections to the Tongass National Forest," as per the New York Times.

It's not yet known if Biden plans to completely restore the roadless rule protections in the area, or if he plans to protect some areas while maintaining development opportunities in others.

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Joe Biden's administration is being sued by 21 states after the President signed an executive order revoking the $9 billion Keystone XL pipeline permit.

The president revoked the 1,179-mile pipeline in an executive order on his first day in office, preventing the movement of 830,000 barrels of crude oil from Alberta province in Canada to Illinois, Oklahoma, and Texas.

In the lawsuit, the president is accused of overreaching with his powers by Ken Paxton of Texas and Austin Knudsen of Montana, with the cooperation of Alabama, Arkansas, Georgia, Kentucky, Indiana, Louisiana, North Dakota, Oklahoma, South Carolina, South Dakota, Utah, and Wyoming.

The complaint explains: "Revocation of the Keystone XL pipeline permit is a regulation of interstate and international commerce, which can only be accomplished as any other statute can: through the process of bicameralism and presentment.

"The president lacks the power to enact his 'ambitious plan' to reshape the economy in defiance of Congress's unwillingness to do so."

It continues: "To the extent that Congress had delegated such authority, it would violate the non-delegation doctrine. But Congress has not delegated such authority: it set specific rules regarding what actions the president can take about Keystone XL and when.

"The president, together with various senior executive officials, violated those rules."

CBS News reports that Paxton claims Biden had acted "with complete disregard for the constitutional limits on his power."

The president's actions have resulted in the TC Energy Corporation, the company that designed the pipeline, having to lay off almost 1,000 employees.

Biden revoked the pipeline because he said it would not serve the national interest and argued the U.S. should prioritize "the development of a clean energy economy, which will, in turn, create good jobs."

As per the White House, citing analysis about climate change, Biden said of his order effectively putting an end to the pipeline:

"Approval of the proposed pipeline would undermine US climate leadership by undercutting the credibility and influence of the United States in urging other countries to take ambitious climate action."

While the Obama administration had denied the pipeline's permits, they were approved by the Trump administration in 2019, and work on the pipeline began in 2020.

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Joe Biden is taking steps to restore clean-water safeguards in the US after they were ended by ex-POTUS Donald Trump.

Per Associated Press, the Biden administration conducted a review that found that Trump's actions significantly reduced the availability of clean water in states like New Mexico and Arizona.

The agency said that at least 33 projects which would have previously required Clean Water permits can now go ahead without federal approval.

The Trump administration removed protections surrounding important sources of drinking water, including Lake Keowee in South Carolina, which provides water for over 400,000 people, per advocacy group Southern Environmental Law Center.

The EPA said in a statement that "Today's action reflects the agencies' intent to initiate a new rulemaking process that restores the protections in place prior to the 2015 WOTUS implementation, and anticipates developing a new rule to establish what waters are under federal jurisdiction.

"We are committed to establishing a durable definition of 'waters of the United States' based on Supreme Court precedent and drawing from current and previous regulations ... so we can better protect our nation’s waters, foster economic growth and support thriving communities."

The Army and EPA "will develop a rule that is informed by our technical expertise, is straightforward to implement by our agencies ... and is shaped by the lived experience of local communities," said Jaime Pinkham, acting assistant Army secretary for civil works.

Biden is pictured below on a tour of a water plant in New Orleans.

Biden's decision to reverse Trump's has been praised by environmental groups, the AP has reported.

Madeleine Foote, the deputy legislative director for the League of Conservation Voters, said: "Every day this harmful (Trump-era) rule is in effect, it endangers the waterways our communities depend on. That is unacceptable and must stop now."

North Dakota Sen. Kevin Cramer, a Republican, meanwhile, said it was "a shame the Biden administration wants to undo the good work of the Trump administration" in developing "a workable policy that falls within the confines of the law."

Cramer said that North Dakota is likely to challenge Biden on this issue "in the event of overreach."

Kevin Minoli, a former career lawyer at EPA, said the Biden administration is now casing the same problem as the previous two with regards to the longevity of the legislation.

"Now, the question becomes, 'Can they write a definition that will last beyond their time in office?'" he said.

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President Joe Biden is expected to announce a ban on imports of Russian oil into the US, sources informed NBC News.

It comes as the US government seeks to step up economic sanctions on the country over its invasion of Ukraine nearly two weeks ago. The move is likely to further increase energy prices.

President Joe Biden is set to deliver the address from the White House this morning to "announce actions to continue to hold Russia accountable for its unprovoked and unjustified war on Ukraine," the White House said.

As reported by ABC News, US lawmakers announced yesterday that they had reached a deal on bipartisan legislation that would penalize Russia for its invasion of Ukraine, by banning the import of Russian oil and other energy products - in addition to suspending the US' usual trade relations with Russia.

Earlier, Shell stated it would stop purchasing Russian crude oil effective immediately and would pull out of its involvement in all Russian hydrocarbons, including oil, natural gas, and petroleum products, "in a phased manner."

Ukrainian officials have urged the US to carry out stricter sanctions on Russia, including its energy products. On Monday, Dmytro Kuleba, Ukraine's foreign minister, penned in a Washington Post op-ed that among other measures, "countries must stop buying Russian oil, which is now tainted with Ukrainian blood."

The government had been hesitant to sanction Russian oil due to already high gas prices.

White House press secretary Jen Psaki revealed to reporters on Monday that internal discussions had taken place regarding the issue but a decision had not been made, adding that the US was speaking with European officials.

"I would note that what the president is most focused on is ensuring we are continuing to take steps to deliver punishing economic consequences on Putin while taking all action necessary to limit the impact to prices at the gas pump," she said.

According to the International Energy Agency, Russia, which is the world's largest oil exporter, exported almost 8mn barrels a day of crude and petroleum products at the end of last year.

Biden has said at his White House address: "We're banning all imports of Russian gas, oil, and energy. Russian oil will no longer be accepted at US ports. We will not be part of subsidizing Putin's war."

"We're going to continue to support the brave Ukrainian people as they fight for their country," he assured the American public.

The president said the move came after "close consultation with our allies, especially in Europe".

He continued: "We can take this step when others cannot, but we are working closely with Europe and our partners to develop a long-term strategy to reduce their dependency on Russian energy as well."

Biden went on to say: "This is a step that we're taking to inflict further pain on Putin, but there will be further cost as well here in the United States. I said I would level with the American people from the beginning.

"When I first spoke of this in the beginning, I said defending freedom is going to cost us as well in the United States. Republicans and Democrats alike understand that. Republicans and Democrats alike have been clear that we must do this."

Biden also warned that while it is understandable that prices will rise, the US energy industry should refrain from exploiting consumers with "excessive price increases".

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President Joe Biden prompted widespread confusion and concern when he appeared to say he has cancer during an address on climate change on Wednesday.

Now, White House officials have been forced to clear up the confusion, saying per The Telegraph that although the 79-year-old POTUS used the present tense, he had actually been referring to his previous treatment for skin cancer.

As reported by Bloomberg, "several small areas" of Biden's skin have been treated with liquid nitrogen cryotherapy, but doctors did not believe any were liable to produce skin cancer or that they needed biopsy.

Biden had reportedly had some localized skin cancers removed before he became president.

On Wednesday, he paid a visit to the Brayton Point power plant, an old coal-powered facility in Somerset, Massachusetts, which is making a shift to offshore wind manufacturing.

During his speech, the incumbent president spoke about his plans to take action on climate change.

"As president, I have a responsibility to act with urgency and resolve when our nation faces clear and present danger, and that's what climate change is about. It is literally, not figuratively, a clear and present danger," Biden said. "The health of our citizens and our communities is literally at stake."

However, one particular moment in his address saw the Democrat say that he has cancer. Biden said: “And guess what? The first frost, you know what was happening? You had to put on your windshield wipers to get literally the oil slick off the window.

"That’s why I and so damn many other people I grew up with have cancer and why for the longest time, Delaware had the highest cancer rate in the nation.”

In November 2021, Biden's personal physician confirmed that the POTUS was a "healthy, vigorous, 78 year old" who was fit to carry out his presidential duties, following  a full medical evaluation, which saw him temporarily transfer his power over to Vice President Kamala Harris so that he could undergo a colonoscopy.

The evaluation went on for over five hours and took place at the Walter Reed National Military Medical Center. The president underwent blood, physical, gastrointestinal, dental, vision and neurological examinations.

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