
-
Brazil binman finds newborn baby on garbage route
-
US senator smashes record with marathon anti-Trump speech
-
Trump advisor Waltz faces new pressure over Gmail usage
-
Niger junta frees ministers of overthrown government
-
Trump set to unleash 'Liberation Day' tariffs
-
Boeing chief to acknowledge 'serious missteps' at US Senate hearing
-
Real Madrid hold Real Sociedad in eight-goal thriller to reach Copa del Rey final
-
Nuno salutes 'special' Elanga after stunning strike fires Forest
-
PSG survive scare against Dunkerque to reach French Cup final
-
Sundowns edge Esperance as crowd violence mars quarter-final
-
Nottingham Forest beat Man Utd, Saka scores on Arsenal return
-
Elanga wonder-goal sinks Man Utd as Forest eye Champions League berth
-
Stock markets mostly advance ahead of Trump tariffs deadline
-
US movie theaters urge 45-day 'baseline' before films hit streaming
-
Saka scores on return as Arsenal beat Fulham
-
Third-division Bielefeld shock holders Leverkusen in German Cup
-
Ball-blasting 'Torpedo bats' making waves across MLB opening weekend
-
Newsmax shares surge more than 2,000% in days after IPO
-
Thousands of Hungarians protest against Pride ban law
-
GM leads first quarter US auto sales as tariffs loom
-
Tesla sales tumble in Europe in the first quarter
-
No 'eye for an eye' approach to US tariffs: Mexico
-
NFL club owners back dynamic kickoffs, delay tush push vote
-
Trump 'perfecting' new tariffs as nervous world braces
-
Trump nominee says to press UK on Israel arms
-
French court says Le Pen appeal ruling could come before presidential vote
-
The battle to control assets behind Bosnia crisis
-
Prabhsimran powers Punjab to IPL win over Lucknow
-
Mass layoffs targeting 10,000 jobs hit US health agencies
-
Tiger's April Foolishness: plan to play Masters just a joke
-
Myanmar quake toll passes 2,700, nation halts to honour victims
-
Turkish fans, artists urge Muse to cancel Istanbul gig
-
US seeks death penalty for accused killer of insurance CEO
-
UK govt moves to block sentencing guidelines for minority defendants
-
Trump puts world on edge as 'Liberation Day' tariffs loom
-
Swedish journalist jailed in Turkey kept 'isolated': employer
-
Stock markets advance ahead of Trump tariffs deadline
-
Gulf between Everton and Liverpool has never been bigger, says Moyes
-
Finland to withdraw from anti-personnel mine ban treaty
-
UK vows £20 million to boost drone and 'flying taxi' services
-
Ford's US auto sales dip in first quarter as tariffs loom
-
Digging for box office gold, 'A Minecraft Movie' hits cinemas
-
Southampton boss Juric desperate to avoid Premier League 'worst team' tag
-
Thailand rescue dogs double as emotional support
-
Five takeaways from Marine Le Pen verdict
-
Stock markets split ahead of Trump tariffs deadline
-
Turkish fans, artists urge Muse to cancel Istanbul gig over protest dispute
-
Former captain Edwards named new England women's cricket coach
-
Haaland ruled out for up to seven weeks: Man City boss Guardiola
-
UK Supreme Court opens car loans hearing as banks risk huge bill

Montana court rules for young people in landmark US climate trial
In a landmark climate trial, a Montana court on Monday ruled in favor of a group of youths who accused the western US state of violating their rights to a clean environment.
District Court Judge Kathy Seeley said a state law preventing agencies from considering the impacts of greenhouse gases when issuing permits for fossil fuel development was unconstitutional.
The case, Held v. State of Montana -- brought by plaintiffs ranging in age from five to 22 -- has been closely watched because it could bolster similar litigation that has been filed across the country.
"By prohibiting analysis of GHG0 (greenhouse gas) emissions and corresponding impacts to the climate... the MEPA (Montana Environmental Policy Act) Limitation violates Youth Plaintiffs' right to a clean and healthful environment and is unconstitutional on its face," Seeley wrote.
"Plaintiffs have a fundamental constitutional right to a clean and healthful environment, which includes climate as part of the environmental life-support system," Seeley added in her more than 100-page ruling.
The case was the first involving a constitutional claim against a state and also represented a rare instance in which climate experts were questioned on the witness stand.
Julia Olson, executive director of the nonprofit Our Children's Trust, which represented the plaintiffs, welcomed the ruling as a "huge win for Montana, for youth, for democracy, and for our climate."
"Today, for the first time in US history, a court ruled on the merits of a case that the government violated the constitutional rights of children through laws and actions that promote fossil fuels, ignore climate change, and disproportionately imperil young people," Olson said in a statement.
"As fires rage in the West, fueled by fossil fuel pollution, today's ruling in Montana is a game-changer that marks a turning point in this generation's efforts to save the planet from the devastating effects of human-caused climate chaos."
- 'Dystopian movie' -
At the heart of the case was a provision within the fossil fuel-friendly state's constitution that says: "The state and each person shall maintain and improve a clean and healthful environment in Montana for present and future generations."
The youths said they had been harmed by the "dangerous impacts of fossil fuels and the climate crisis," with children "uniquely vulnerable" to its worsening impacts.
During closing arguments, Nate Bellinger of Our Children's Trust said his clients were asking "that their government embrace its constitutional responsibility to alleviate the harms of its own conduct."
"The plaintiffs acknowledge that the work to stop and reverse climate change will be a lifetime journey, but they are asking this court for help," he said.
Montana Assistant Attorney General Michael Russell on the other hand argued that energy policy should be decided by the people through their representatives in the legislature.
"This case has received national attention in part because it has been billed or at least perceived as a sort of referendum on climate change," he said.
Russell said that while the state accepted that man-made emissions were responsible for warming, expert witnesses had not been able to quantify the extent to which Montana's laws were responsible for impacts on the ground.
The trial began on June 12 and concluded a few days earlier than expected after Montana declined to call to the stand several experts, including its only climate scientist, Judith Curry.
Over the course of the proceedings, the court heard testimony from the plaintiffs about ways their health, emotional wellbeing, family finances and cultural traditions had been impacted.
Lead plaintiff Rikki Held, 22, whose family runs a ranch in Montana, said that their livelihoods and quality of life had been increasingly impacted by wildfires, extreme temperatures and drought.
Claire Vlases, 20, said: "When I think about summer, I think about smoke. It sounds like a dystopian movie, but it's real life."
S.F.Warren--AMWN