Trump administration officials are exempting oil and gas drilling in the Gulf of Mexico from the Endangered Species Act. The exemption was requested by Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, who cited lawsuits from environmental groups as a threat to the nation's energy production. Critics say Tuesday's move could doom Gulf populations of endangered Rice's whales. It comes amid global oil shocks and soaring energy prices brought on by the U.S.-Iran war. The Gulf of Mexico is one of the top oil-producing regions in the U.S. Republican President Donald Trump has made increased fossil fuel production a central focus of his second term.

Ugandan wildlife authorities reintroduced rhinos into a remote protected area where the large mammals once were poached into extinction. On Tuesday, two southern white rhinos from a private ranch were reintroduced into Kidepo Valley Conservation Area in the country’s northeast. Two more rhinos arrived on Thursday, wildlife authorities said. There have been no rhinos in Kidepo since 1983, the result of poaching. But a private ranch in central Uganda – the Ziwa Rhino Sanctuary – has been breeding individuals since 2005. That program has succeeded over the years.