The Trump administration is using emergency powers and subsidies to keep U.S. coal plants running. Market analysts believe no coal plant closures are likely during President Donald Trump's term. Interior Secretary Doug Burgum has acknowledged the goal is to avoid any shutdowns. The administration says coal helps electric reliability during extreme demand. Critics say keeping plants open will cost ratepayers and taxpayers and lock in more pollution. The emergency orders are being challenged by states and consumer groups. Meanwhile, the Trump administration has also rolled back clean energy incentives, environmental regulations and slowed new wind and solar permits.

Nevada's largest utility company says it may not meet its 2030 clean energy goals due to the demands from data centers. NV Energy, which serves 90% of the state, may need to build thermal fossil fuel energy to accommodate dozens of proposed data centers that would require more energy than three cities the size of Las Vegas. Nevada isn't alone; states across the country are struggling to meet their clean energy goals due to the increase in demand, but data centers say they're doing their part.

March has been the hottest month on record for the continental United States in 132 years, according to federal weather data. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration reports that March’s average temperature was 50.85 degrees Fahrenheit, which is 9.35 degrees above the 20th-century norm. This surpasses the previous record set in March 2012. Climate Central meteorologist Shel Winkley highlights the unprecedented nature of this heat, noting the sheer volume of records broken. More than 19,800 daily temperature records were shattered, and 2,200 places set monthly highs. Experts predict that a brewing El Nino could intensify global warmth.

Environmental groups have asked a federal appellate court panel to lift its temporary halt on closing an immigration detention center in the Florida Everglades. Known as “Alligator Alcatraz,” the center remains open due to arguments by Florida and the Trump administration. They claimed the state hadn't gotten federal reimbursement, so it wasn’t required to follow federal environmental law. On Tuesday, during a hearing in Miami, the judges questioned how much control the federal government had over the state-built facility. Florida was notified in late September of $608 million in federal funding approval. The environmental lawsuit was one of three federal challenges to the facility since it opened.

The Afghanistan Disaster Management Authority says widespread flooding, landslides and lightning strikes triggered by heavy rain and storms across the country have left 77 people dead and 137 injured over the past 10 days. More rain has been forecast for the coming days throughout Afghanistan, and the authority has warned the public to stay away from river banks and areas prone to flooding. So far this year, dozens of people have died due to extreme weather in Afghanistan, an impoverished country that is highly vulnerable to extreme weather events.

Scientists have discovered fossils in China that reveal a crucial transition from simple to complex life on Earth. These fossils, dating back 539 million years, show complex animals living three-dimensional lives, millions of years earlier than previously thought. This challenges the belief that such complexity only emerged during the Cambrian explosion. Experts say this finding provides a glimpse into how modern animal life developed. The study, published in Science, also helps settle the "rocks versus clocks" debate in paleontology, aligning fossil evidence with genetic data. Researchers are now exploring how and why this rapid evolution occurred.

U.S. egg prices have fallen 60% from last year’s record highs, making it easier for consumers to fill their Easter baskets and Passover Seder plates. Retail prices averaged $2.50 per dozen in February compared to $6.23 per dozen in March 2025. Bird flu was to blame for the spikes seen last year, and it’s a big reason prices are so much lower now. An outbreak forced farmers and commercial producers to slaughter entire broods of egg-laying hens, but cases ebbed in the second half of 2025. Egg supplies also have improved as farmers replenish poultry flocks they lost to bird flu.