EPA Auto Pollution Limits

Katherine Zickel

On April 12, 2023, the EPA (Environmental Protection Agency) announced new federal vehicle emission standards to help combat climate change.

According to CBS news, President Biden signed an executive order that stated 54% of all new vehicles sold in the U.S. by 2030 will be electric, with as many as 2/3 by 2032. 

According to CNBC, electric vehicle sales only made up 5.8% of the 13.8 million new cars sold in the country last year. 

The EPA Press Office stated that the new proposals would avoid sending nearly 10 billion tons of CO2 emissions into the atmosphere, equivalent to more than twice the total U.S. CO2 emissions in 2022. They would also help to reduce America’s reliance on approximately 20 billion barrels of oil imports.

The EPA added that since 2020, there has been a 40% increase in the number of electric vehicle chargers, with over 130,000 public chargers now in the country. The Biden Administration plans to increase this number to 500,000 by 2030, CNBC reported. 

Pentagon Secrets Leak Over Discord Chat Rooms

Cameron Tomaino

As of last week, government and official media have confirmed that sensitive documents have been circulated to tens of thousands of users of the Discord App, a social messaging platform. These documents were from early March, detailing the composition of the Ukrainian Armed Forces, NATO deployments, and several ongoing intelligence operations. The leak exposed weaknesses in the Ukrainian Armed Forces to Russian observers, has created a string of diplomatic incidents, and has dangerously exposed the U.S. spy network’s operations in several enemy countries.

Jack Teixeira, 21 and a member of the Air National Guard, was taken into custody by law enforcement. According to reporting done by the New York Times, which includes interviews with members of the close circle that Teixeira originally shared the documents to, the man is not a whistleblower. Unlike previous huge leaks of information, outrage about wrongdoing or government policies does not appear to have been a factor. Instead the leaks were done to inform a close circle of friends, Teixeria having grown close to members of the Discor5d community over the pandemic.

One member within Teixeira’s Discord social group spread the information to more public forums. Where only a dozen people knew before, now thousands of people have access to this information, and it has now spread even further. The American Government has drawn criticism for allowing such a low ranking national guardsman access to these materials, and already are reviewing the policies and workplace culture that allowed for such a massive leak to occur.