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President Trump’s declaration last week that his administration is pushing “beautiful, clean coal” has reignited a debate about whether such a fuel truly exists, with environmentalists and other critics — even including some industry leaders — charging that “clean coal” often is a misnomer and little more than a political catchphrase. The term itself, usually used when talking about technology that allows coal plants to capture carbon pollution rather than release it into the air, remains a key bone of contention in the “energy versus environment” debate. Mr. Trump said in his State of the Union address that he’s ended the war on clean coal, though that, too, is a stretch; the Obama administration funneled billions of dollars into clean-coal research, and its most severe environmental regulations applied to traditional coal-fired power plants and other facilities. Former President Barack Obama often talked highly of “clean coal,” though at the same time his administration instit

The release of a declassified memo on FBI surveillance abuses against the Trump campaign prompted calls Friday for Deputy Attorney General   Rod Rosenstein   to explain his involvement to   Congress   or resign. The memo from Republicans on the House Intelligence Committee shows that at least one questionable surveillance warrant application was signed by   Mr. Rosenstein , who already had a difficult relationship with President Trump. The memo said information supporting the application was obtained from a partisan anti-Trump dossier funded by Hillary Clinton’s campaign and the Democratic Party. Rep. Ron DeSantis, Florida Republican, said   Mr. Rosenstein   will likely have to appear before   Congress   to explain his actions regarding the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) warrants for members of the Trump campaign.“I think   Rosenstein   is going to have to come to the   Congress   and explain his role in extending it,” Mr. DeSantis said on Fox News. “I mean, did he

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says the resignation of its director will not disrupt efforts to combat a severe flu season that’s killed more than 50 children and is on pace to break hospitalization records. Brenda Fitzgerald, who took the helm in July, resigned Wednesday amid reports she added a tobacco company to her stock portfolio. Already, financial conflicts of interest had forced her to recuse herself from a swath of agency business. “Despite recent leadership changes, CDC remains committed to our 24-7 mission to protect the health, safety and security of Americans,” said acting CDC Director   Anne Schuchat . “And that mission will not falter.” The CDC is battling a particularly dreadful flu season, driven in large part by a H3N2 strain that’s been resistant to this year’s vaccine. People older than 65 and younger than 5 are at the most risk. Officials recorded 16 more pediatric deaths from flu last week, meaning this flu season has killed a total of

President   Trump   didn’t roll out big new initiatives in his State of the Union address but called for help clearing the decks of several popular and bipartisan goals that have been stuck in   Congress   for years. Beyond immigration and infrastructure plans that dominate the 2018 agenda,   Mr. Trump   sought to break the Capitol Hill logjam on paid family leave, job training and a “right to try” bill to give terminally ill patients access to experimental drugs and treatments. He also vowed action to lower the sky-high prescription drug prices Americans pay compared to what people in other countries pay for the same drugs. The efforts will include the administration,   Congress   and state governments, said White House officials. However, the White House faces the same obstacles that blocked many of these ideas in the past, including legislative gridlock that has intensified under   Mr. Trump . The president reached across the aisle with a proposal for paid family leave,

A Republican member of the House Intelligence Committee on Sunday said the release of a   GOP   memo detailing how the FBI used Democrat-funded information to snoop on one of President Trump’s campaign aides is about government oversight — not “vindication” for a White House besieged by probes into possible ties with Russia. “I think this is a separate issue,”   Rep. Brad Wenstrup , Ohio Republican, told CNN’s State of the Union. House Republicans released a memo Friday that details the FBI’s decision to rely in part on material compiled by former British spy Christopher Steele — an investigator paid by Democrats and the Hillary Clinton campaign — to apply in October 2016 for a secret surveillance warrant against Carter Page, a former adviser to the Trump campaign. Republicans say the Clinton connection shows extreme bias and was concealed from the court. On Twitter, the president said the memo “totally vindicates ‘Trump’ in probe.” Yet   Mr. Wenstrup   and top-ranking R

The House’s top investigator on Sunday said the   FBI   failed to notify a surveillance court that it was relying on material backed by the   Democratic National Committee   and the Hillary Clinton campaign when it asked to snoop on a former adviser to the Trump campaign. Rep. Trey Gowdy , South Carolina Republican, also said judges wouldn’t have authorized and repeatedly renewed a warrant to spy on the former campaign aide,   Carter Page , if it hadn’t been for the material in that very dossier, compiled by former British spy   Christopher Steele . The revelations shouldn’t upend investigations into Russian meddling in the 2016 election, the congressman said, but he thinks the   FBI   erred by failing to disclose their sources’ anti- Trump   agenda in a footnote on their evidence.“They could have easily said it was the   DNC   and   Hillary Clinton . That would have been really easy,”   Mr. Gowdy   told CBS’s “Face the Nation.” “It took longer to explain it the way they did

The subject of several consolidated Freedom of Information Act lawsuit filed by news outlets and non-profit organizations in 2017, U.S. District Judge James Boasberg ruled that releasing the memos written by Mr. Comey memorializing his conversations with   Mr. Trump   would likely interfere with special counsel Robert Mueller’s ongoing investigation into the 2016 presidential race. “As it prevails here, the Comey Memos, at least for now, will remain in the hands of the Special Counsel and not the public,” Judge Boasberg ruled from D.C. District Court. The Russian government interfered in the 2016 White House race in hopes of helping elect   Mr. Trump , the U.S. intelligence community previously concluded, and Mr. Comey was in the midst of probing Moscow’s involvement in the election when he was abruptly fired by   Mr. Trump   last May. The Justice Department subsequently appointed Mr. Mueller, Mr. Comey’s predecessor, to serve as special counsel overseeing the FBI’s Russia pro