Former President Donald Trump – days after being heavily criticized by a leading anti-abortion group – spotlighted his past and potentially future efforts to restrict abortions, as he addressed an influential crowd of social conservative leaders and activists in Iowa, the state that leads off the GOP presidential nominating calendar.

Former Vice President Mike Pence spoke his mind about the upcoming 2024 presidential elections, saying that “serious” candidates would need “to be in this contest by June,” in an interview with CBS News.  “I think that anyone that would be serious about seeking the Republican nomination would need to be in this contest by June,” he told CBS News’s “Face the Nation” in an interview clip that will air on Sunday, April 23.

The Biden administration is reportedly finalizing a proposal that would force fossil fuel-fired power plants to substantially curb emissions or utilize costly carbon capture technology.

A Montana state representative condemned a transgender legislator’s “hate-filled remarks” to Fox News Digital, accusing the representative of “seeking media attention.” The controversy stems from comments made by State Rep. Zooey Zephyr during a Tuesday debate about a bill that would ban gender-affirming care for minors. Zephyr accused the bill’s supporters of being complicit in the deaths of transgender youths.

The Biden administration is pushing full steam ahead to massively expand offshore wind development across millions of acres of federal waters, actions that critics warn would have dire ecological and economic impacts. Days after taking office, President Biden issued an executive action ordering his administration to expand opportunities for the offshore wind industry as part of his aggressive climate agenda to curb greenhouse gas emissions and stop global warming.

The rise of artificial intelligence is entrenching more economic and political power in the hands of Big Tech companies, according to researchers at New York University (NYU) who argue AI must undergo more scrutiny and regulation. AI Now, a research institute at NYU, released a new report detailing how major tech companies wield significant control over AI, arguing such influence must be addressed now before the situation gets too out of hand.

Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg dropped an appeal he filed after a federal judge ruled that an ex-prosecutor in his office can be subpoenaed by House Judiciary Committee Chairman Rep. Jim Jordan (R-Ohio). Bragg dropped the appeal Friday, after the parties came to an agreement on a testimony from former prosecutor Mark Pomerantz to the House Judiciary Committee. The agreement stipulates that a lawyer from Bragg’s office will be present at the testimony who can make objections.

The acting head of the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) announced he will resign from the agency this summer.  Acting administrator Billy Nolen made the announcement on Friday after a year of service in his current position. He previously worked for the FAA as an associate administrator in January 2022. Nolen’s farewell letter is a blow to the FAA, which has not had a Senate-appointed administrator since April 2022.

The Maine Department of Environmental Protection is taking Canadian Pacific Kansas City to task over the cleanup following a freight train derailment and fire. Commissioner Melanie Loyzim sent a letter Thursday telling the railroad that its good faith efforts have failed to meet the agency’s expectations with regard to response and timing “to effectively mitigate impacts to the environment and public health.

North Dakota House lawmakers passed three bills Friday that would restrict transgender people’s access to bathrooms, remove sexually explicit materials from the children’s section of libraries, and expand child care assistance in the hopes of combating the state’s workforce shortage. The trans bill and sexual materials bill passed the House and Senate with veto-proof majorities, so the bills could become law without Republican Gov. Doug Burgum’s approval.