Friends of the Earth

A federal judge in San Francisco narrowed a lawsuit against the U.S. Coast Guard, dismissing claims that its 2023 Pacific Coast Port Access Route Study (PAC PARS) violated environmental laws by failing to complete required consultations under the Endangered Species Act and an environmental assessment. However, the judge allowed claims to proceed regarding the Coast Guard's alleged delay in rulemaking for the study and its failure to complete past Endangered Species Act consultations for shipping corridors in 2011.

Analysis by Friends of the Earth shows that Reform UK would have retained only 15% of its £26.7m donations last year under a proposed £100,000 cap on political donations. The party's average registered donation was £137,496, nearly six times higher than that of Labour or the Conservatives.

California schools now offer plant-based milk alternatives like soy milk to accommodate students with lactose intolerance or dietary preferences. The federal Whole Milk for Healthy Kids Act allows this change, but soy milk costs 75 cents more per carton than cow’s milk due to federal subsidies. California’s new budget allocates $400 million to improve school kitchen infrastructure and support sustainable food procurement, including plant-based beverages.

Congressional disagreements over the farm bill have stalled its reauthorization, with the Senate excluding the Save Our Bacon Act from its draft while the House included it. The Act aims to override state laws like California’s Prop 12, which restricts pork from extreme animal confinement. Advocacy groups and industry groups oppose each other’s positions on these regulations.

Data center opposition has intensified in 2026, with construction setbacks in the first quarter exceeding 2025's total. At least 75 projects worth over $130 billion were delayed or canceled, driven by community protests and new state moratoriums. Active opposition groups grew from 396 to 833 across 49 states, supported by national organizations like Greenpeace and the NAACP.

The Justice Department seeks to dismiss a lawsuit by environmental groups alleging the U.S. Coast Guard and National Marine Fisheries Service failed to prevent whale strikes in California shipping lanes. The DOJ argues the Pacific Coast Port Access Route Study (PAC PARS) is not final agency action, while plaintiffs counter it is legally binding and has real-world consequences for endangered whales.

A study reveals that over half of former Labour voters who switched to center or left-wing parties cited Israel's actions in Gaza as a factor. The poll found 40.7% shifted to the Green Party and 29.6% to the Liberal Democrats, with Gaza-related concerns most pronounced among younger voters and Green Party supporters.