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On May 23, 2025, a coalition of leading environmental organizations—including the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC), Sierra Club, Earthjustice, and the Center for Biological Diversity—filed suit against the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), challenging its approval of the Calumet–Midwest Pipeline Expansion Project (hereafter “Calumet Expansion”). The expansion would add 85 miles of new 42-inch trunkline and uprate three compressor stations, traversing sensitive wetlands in the Mississippi Alluvial Plain and the Illinois River watershed. The plaintiffs argue that the agency violated its statutory obligations under the Clean Water Act (CWA) and the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), as well as the cooperative-federalism principles enshrined in the CWA’s Section 401 certification process.

4680 Battery Breakthrough: The electric vehicle (EV) industry stands at a pivotal juncture with Tesla’s May 23, 2025 announcement of a transformative advancement in battery technology. According to Bloomberg, Tesla’s new 4680 cell—featuring a tabless design and a proprietary dry-coating manufacturing process—promises to boost vehicle range by as much as 20 percent and extend battery longevity by 50 percent compared to the 2170 cells it replaces (Tesla unveils breakthrough in EV battery technology, Bloomberg). These gains portend not only enhanced consumer adoption but also profound legal and policy ramifications, as energy, environmental, and commercial statutes intersect with the accelerating pace of innovation.

The enduring challenge of ensuring equitable vaccine distribution across the United States has once again come to the forefront with the Biden Administration’s announcement of a federal initiative aimed explicitly at redressing disparities in COVID-19 vaccination rates among historically underserved communities. While overall vaccination coverage has climbed steadily since the first vaccines received Emergency Use Authorization in late 2020, significant gaps persist along lines of race, income, geography, and disability status. According to NPR, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reported that, as of May 2025, Black and Hispanic adults remain approximately 15 percent less likely to have received at least one COVID-19 booster dose compared to their White counterparts—a disparity starkly mirrored in rural regions and low-income urban neighborhoods .

The recent letter from 120 House Republicans to the Biden Administration, spearheaded by Sens. Mike Crapo (R-ID) and Ted Cruz (R-TX) alongside Rep. Tim Walberg (R-MI), demands an outright reversal of the administration’s stringent corporate average fuel economy (CAFE) and electric vehicle (EV) standards for model years 2027–2032. They argue that the regulations, finalized in April 2025, constitute a “de facto EV mandate” that would raise vehicle costs, constrain consumer choice, and exceed statutory authority.