"Joe Biden has selected Judge Merrick Garland to serve as his attorney general, according to two people with knowledge of the decision."

"President-elect Joseph R. Biden Jr. has promised to help communities prepare for the effects of climate change. A new demand for tougher building standards could test that commitment."

"The impending power shift in the Senate means Congress will once again turn to the Congressional Review Act to scrap a bevy of regulations."

"In a blow to the Trump administration’s efforts to open the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge to fossil fuel development, only half of the oil and gas leases offered for sale Wednesday received bids, and all but two of those came from the state of Alaska itself."

"Democrats improved their chances to legislate on climate change and an array of other progressive priorities last night, as they looked poised to win both Georgia runoff elections."

"A federal judge in Alaska ruled late on Tuesday that the Trump administration’s planned auction of oil drilling leases in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR) could proceed as planned on Wednesday morning."

With razor-thin margins and the last votes still being counted, Democrats appear to have taken control of the U.S. Senate. This would enable the incoming Biden administration to pass aggressive climate legislation and reverse many environmental deregulatory actions of the Trump administration.

"The Trump administration on Monday finalized plans to open more than 80 percent of Alaska’s National Petroleum Reserve (NPRA) to oil drilling, pushing ahead over objections from environmentalists who have already challenged the plans in court."

"U.S. President Donald Trump’s outgoing administration plans to approve a controversial land swap needed for Rio Tinto Ltd and partners to build an Arizona copper mining project that Native American tribes say will destroy sites of cultural and religious value."