Diesel spikes + Trump admin relaxes endangered species protections + Column: Idaho is prepared for new nuclear era

By Christina Lords | Editor-in-Chief

“Tensions are running high, and until conditions improve, there is little reason to think that the crude oil market will settle down. Our trucking friends are feeling it too, with Idaho diesel currently selling for around $6.47 per gallon, up from $3.83 just one year ago. For now, we’ll continue to feel the pain when fueling up, boarding a plan or shipping a package.” - AAA of Idaho spokesman Matthew Conde

U.S. Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, is urging President Donald Trump to embargo diesel fuel exports as rising costs impact farmers in his largely agricultural state. (Screenshot from committee webcast)

GROWTH + AFFORDABILITY

Diesel prices shoot upward as top farm-state GOP senator begs Trump for export embargo

By Ashley Murray

Diesel prices hit a record average of $6.51 a gallon Monday, and some in President Donald Trump’s own party are breaking their support for the ongoing war in Iran that has driven fuel prices to staggering levels in the United States and across the globe.

Already House Republicans locked in tight races as the November midterms approach have distanced themselves from the president’s conflict and his administration’s stagnant negotiations with Iran over reopening the Strait of Hormuz, a vital passage for global petroleum products. Another major vote on Iran support is expected later this week in the U.S. Senate.

Grizzly bears in the lower 48 states are federally protected as a threatened species. A new memo from U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Director Brian Nesvik says that endangered animals may be killed as long as the action was not “intentionally directed at a particular animal or animals.” (Photo courtesy of Terry Tollefsbol/U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service)

ENVIRONMENT

Trump administration says developers, loggers can kill endangered species

By Alex Brown

The Trump administration’s top wildlife official issued a directive last week that expands a recent rollback of endangered species protections much further than the feds had told the public.

Individuals and industries may kill endangered animals in the course of logging projects, developments and other activities, it said — so long as the activity’s purpose isn’t killing species.

Two men work at the Irradiated Materials Characterization Laboratory at the Idaho National Laboratory’s Materials and Fuels Complex. (Photo courtesy of the Idaho National Laboratory)

COMMENTARY

Idaho is built to lead our country’s next big energy transition

By Christi Gilchrist

We are one of the only places in the U.S. with the highly skilled nuclear workforce, infrastructure and institutional knowledge to lead in the next era of American energy, writes guest columnist Christi Gilchrist.

MORE REGIONAL AND NATIONAL NEWS FROM US

Oregon, 11 other states reach settlement with Paramount, Warner Bros. over merger | Mia Maldonado
Judge orders immigration officials to release 24 people unlawfully detained in Montana | Keila Szpaller
CNN, MS Now, Politico sue Trump over White House ban | Jennifer Shutt

ICYMI

Shining a light on other Idaho politics reporting

Note: Some links may lead to stories behind a news organization's paywall

BoiseDev: Huge data center proposed on federal land south of Boise. It could dwarf Meta’s.
Coeur d’Alene Press: Cd'A School District declines emergency levy
East Idaho News: Idaho congressman is only Republican publicly opposing Trump’s White House media ban
Idaho EdNews: Blaine County imposes contract terms after deadlock with teachers’ union
KMVT: Carey Flock camera to be removed after concerns over public input
Local News 8: Southeastern Idaho Public Health offers free STD testing through September

Thanks for reading The Sunrise. Did you know our weekend digest is also free? Sign up here. And if you enjoyed today’s edition, please forward to a friend. Increasing our readership helps us cover more news.