White House: Trump picks DHS leader

White House: Trump picks DHS leader

WASHINGTON

President Donald Trump will nominate his deputy chief of staff, Kirstjen Nielsen, as his next secretary of Homeland Security, the White House said Wednesday.

Nielsen formerly served as John Kelly’s chief of staff when he held the position of Trump’s first DHS secretary. She moved with Kelly to the White House when Trump tapped him to serve as his own chief of staff, and was quickly named principal deputy.

Nielsen, an expert in homeland and national security policy, served as a special assistant to former President George W. Bush and worked for the Transportation Security Administration.

Judge lets pipeline continue to run

BISMARCK, N.D.

A federal judge ruled Wednesday that the Dakota Access oil pipeline can continue operating while a study is completed to assess its environmental impact on an American Indian tribe.

U.S. District Judge James Boasberg’s decision will come as a blow to the Standing Rock Sioux, who have argued that an oil spill from the pipeline under Lake Oahe – from which the tribe draws its water – could have a detrimental effect on the tribal community.

Boasberg found that it is likely the Army Corps of Engineers will be able to justify previous decisions made while permitting the pipeline.

Hurricane Ophelia no land threat

MIAMI

Forecasters say Ophelia has become the 10th hurricane of the 2017 Atlantic season, churning far out at sea and posing no immediate threat to land.

The U.S. National Hurricane Center said in an advisory Wednesday afternoon that Ophelia gained hurricane status as its top sustained winds reached 75 mph. The core of Ophelia is about 760 miles southwest of the Azores and the storm is moving east at 3 mph.

EPA announces $115M cleanup

houston

The Environmental Protection Agency approved a plan to remove sediments laced with highly toxic dioxin from a partially submerged Superfund site near Houston damaged during Hurricane Harvey, officials announced Wednesday.

The announcement comes two weeks after the federal agency said an unknown amount of dioxins – which have been linked to birth defects and cancer – may have washed downriver from the San Jacinto Waste Pits after floodwaters jarred loose a protective cap of fabric and rock designed to keep them from spreading.

The EPA planned to excavate 212,000 cubic yards of contaminated material from the site along the San Jacinto River that was a paper mill in the 1960s. It estimated the cost at $115 million.

Dems against Iran nuke deal urge Trump to keep pact

WASHINGTON

Several congressional Democrats who split with President Barack Obama to oppose the nuclear agreement with Iran are now urging President Donald Trump to uphold the international accord, arguing that robust enforcement is the best way to counter Tehran’s malign behavior in the Middle East.

The reversal underscores deep concerns among lawmakers that Trump will inform Congress that the landmark 2015 agreement with Iran is contrary to America’s national security interests. That declaration could lead to an unraveling of the seven-nation pact and leave the U.S., not Iran, as the country that balked at honoring its commitments.

Rep. Eliot Engel, D-N.Y., who voted against the agreement two years ago, said at a hearing Wednesday U.S. interests are best served by keeping the deal and aggressively policing the agreement to ensure Iran doesn’t violate the terms.

Associated Press