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WHITE HOUSE
Traffic fatalities on the rise Deaths rose 5.6 percent last year By Joan Lowy A S S OCIAT E D PRE SS
WASHINGTON — Traffic fatalities rose 5.6 percent last year, with the biggest spikes in pedestrian and motorcyclist deaths, the government said Friday. There were 37,461 people killed on U.S. roads in 2016 as Americans continue to drive more, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration said. That’s the highest number of deaths since 2007. The fatality rate was 1.18 deaths per 100 million vehicle miles traveled, a 2.6 percent increase from the previous year. Traffic deaths have been increasing since late 2014, as gas prices have fallen and people started driving more. In 2016, the total number of miles driven in the U.S. rose 2.2 percent. Last year’s increase in deaths follows an 8.4 percent surge in deaths in 2015. The last time the U.S. had similar back-to-back increases of that magnitude was more than five decades ago. Pedestrian deaths last year hit their highest level since 1990, with 5,987 people killed. That figure represents a 9 percent increase from the previous year. Motorcyclist deaths were up 5.1 percent, reaching their highest level — 5,286 killed — since 2008. Together, they accounted for more than a third of the increase in fatalities compared with 2015. Pedestrians “are unprotected and, in most cases, outnumbered,” said Deborah Hersman, CEO of the National Safety Council. “We must not forget that the risks we are all facing extend to the sidewalks, too,” she said. “Everyone deserves safe passage, and these numbers are yet another indication that we must do more to keep each other safe.” Bicycle deaths increased only slightly, 1.3 percent, but were at their highest number — 840 killed — since 1991. Deaths related to distracted and drowsy driving declined. Those declines were more than offset by other dangerous beTraffic continues on A10
Trump celebrates Hispanics Addressed his love, support for Puerto Rico ASSOCIATED PRE SS
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump on Friday played with the pronunciation of Puerto Rico as he saluted Hispanic Heritage Month at the White House. Trump drew out the name in an accented fashion three times — “Pueeeeerto Rico” — telling the crowd, “We love Pueeeeerto Rico.” Then he said it without any accent: “And we also love Puerto Rico.” That got a laugh from the crowd of Hispanic leaders gathered in the East Room of the
White House, and Trump’ s other statements of support for the recovering U.S. territories drew cheers. Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands were walloped last month by Hurricane Maria and are struggling to recover. Trump visited Puerto Rico this week, and Vice President Mike Pence toured St. Croix on Friday and was headed for Puerto Rico as well. Trump has rankled Hispanics with his tough immigration policies, including building a border wall between the United Hispanics continues on A10
Mark Wilson / Getty Images
U.S. President Donald Trump is flanked by Labor Secretary Alex Acosta, left, and first lady Melania Trump, right, as he speaks to guests gathered in the East Room to celebrate Hispanic Heritage Month, on Friday in Washington, D.C.
ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
OBAMA-ERA PLAN TO SLOW GLOBAL WARMING RESCINDED
Branden Camp / AP
In this June 3 photo, the coal-fired Plant Scherer, one of the nation's top carbon dioxide emitters, stands in the distance in Juliette, Georgia. The Trump administration intends to roll back the centerpiece of former President Barack Obama’s efforts to slow global warming, seeking to ease restrictions on greenhouse gas emissions from coal-fired power plants.
EPA’s new proposal to be made public within days By Matthew Daly ASSOCIATED PRE SS
WASHINGTON — The Trump administration is moving to roll back the centerpiece of President Barack Obama’s efforts to slow global warming, seeking to ease restrictions on
greenhouse gas emissions from coal-fired power plants. In a plan expected to be made public in coming days, the Environmental Protection Agency declared the Obamaera rule exceeded federal law by setting emissions standards that power plants could not
reasonably meet. The Associated Press obtained a copy of the 43-page document, which underscored President Donald Trump’s bid to revive the struggling coal industry. The EPA’s new proposal would make good on Trump’s
campaign pledge to unravel Obama’s efforts to curb global warming and follows Trump’s promise to pull the United States out of the landmark Paris climate agreement. Nearly 200 countries have committed to combat global warming EPA continues on A10
HEALTH CARE
Employers may opt out of providing birth control By Ricardo Alonso-Zaldivar and David Crary A S S OCIAT E D PRE SS
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump is allowing more employers to opt out of providing no-cost birth control to women by claiming religious or moral objections, issuing new rules Friday that take another step in rolling back the Obama
health care law. Employers with religious or moral qualms will also be able to cover some birth control methods, and not others. Experts said that could interfere with efforts to promote modern longacting implantable contraceptives, such as IUDs, which are more expensive. The new policy was a long-anticipated revision
to Affordable Care Act requirements that most companies cover birth control as preventive care for women, at no additional cost. That Obamaera requirement applies to all FDA-approved methods, including the morning-after pill, which some religious conservatives call an abortion drug, though scientists say it has no effect on women who are already
pregnant. As a result of the ACA, most women no longer pay for contraceptives. Several advocacy groups immediately announced plans to try to block the Trump administration rule. “We are preparing to see the government in court,” said Brigitte Amiri, a senior attorney for the ACLU. Catholic bishops called the administration’s move
a “return to common sense.” Trump’s religious and moral exemption is expected to galvanize both his opponents and religious conservatives who back him, but it seems unlikely to have a major impact on America’s largely secular workplaces. “I can’t imagine that many employers are going to be willing to certify
that they have a moral objection to standard birth control methods,” said Dan Mendelson, president of the consulting firm Avalere Health. That said, Mendelson said he worries the new rule will set a precedent for weakening ACA requirements that basic benefits be covered. “If you look at it as a public health issue, it is a step in Health continues on A10