Arizona is one of more than two dozen states, counties and cities suing the Trump administration for rescinding the endangerment finding, the key scientific basis that allowed the Environmental Protection Agency to put limits on carbon pollution.
The Trump administration in February said that eliminating the endangerment finding would reduce regulations and lower energy costs.
“This decisive action dismantles the flawed 2009 determination that Democrats weaponized to justify over $1.3 trillion in burdensome regulations on American families, businesses, and consumers,” a White House press release said.
Arizona and the other states and cities on Thursday filed a petition for the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia to review the EPA’s action.
The petitioners argue the U.S. Supreme Court gave the EPA the authority to regulate greenhouse gas emissions that endanger public health. They say the Trump administration’s attempt to roll back regulations ignores decades of scientific research confirming the reality and severity of climate change.
Arizona Attorney General Kris Mayes noted hundreds of Arizonans die each year because of heat exposure and said human-caused carbon pollution is driving even more extreme temperatures in the state.
“On the day we file this lawsuit, much of Arizona is under an extreme heat warning due to an unprecedented early heat wave that has spiked temperatures over 20 degrees above normal,” Mayes said in a press release. “The decision by the Trump administration to rescind the Endangerment Finding will only accelerate climate change. Putting the profits of the fossil fuel industry over the future of our planet is a failure of historic proportions and we will fight it with every tool we have.”
The American Public Health Association, American Lung Association and several environmental groups have already filed a separate lawsuit in response to the EPA’s rescission of the endangerment finding.
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The Perseids are active from July 17 through almost the end of August, but Aug. 12 and 13 are considered the peak of the shower, because it's when Earth passes through the densest part of the tail. -
![Navajo Nation President Buu Nygren [left] Gov. Katie Hobbs and Hopi Chairman Lamar Keevama sign a memorandum of understanding for coal-impacted communities at the Desert Botanical Garden on Aug. 11, 2026.](https://npr.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/7ad88d7/2147483647/strip/true/crop/4158x2317+0+505/resize/280x156!/quality/90/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fnpr-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fa5%2F46%2F67ddb3664347bcd872157bbfffaf%2Fnavajo-hopi-az-agreement-cg-20260811.JPG)
The six-page MOU is being touted as a blueprint for cooperation between the Navajo Nation, Hopi Tribe and the state of Arizona — all of which are “vulnerable to future coal mine and generating station closures.” -
Senate Democrats say the examination undermines Congress' role in identifying wilderness areas for protection. -
A new study says the tiny alpine streams that feed rivers like the Colorado are seeing less groundwater-fed streamflow. That could have a cascading effect. -
Leadership clarified that non-members — including employees or residents, guests of tribal members, travelers on public roadways and vendors tied to the Tohono O’odham Gaming Enterprise — may still travel freely “without any restrictions.”
![Navajo Nation President Buu Nygren [left] Gov. Katie Hobbs and Hopi Chairman Lamar Keevama sign a memorandum of understanding for coal-impacted communities at the Desert Botanical Garden on Aug. 11, 2026.](https://npr.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/bcf9baa/2147483647/strip/true/crop/4158x2317+0+505/resize/560x312!/format/webp/quality/90/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fnpr-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fa5%2F46%2F67ddb3664347bcd872157bbfffaf%2Fnavajo-hopi-az-agreement-cg-20260811.JPG)
