Appeals court rejects Trump EPA bid to abandon rule restricting deadly soot pollution

A federal appeals court rejected the Trump administration's attempt to invalidate a Biden-era EPA rule that tightens soot pollution standards. The court upheld the 2024 rule, which reduces annual fine particle pollution limits from 12 to 9 micrograms per cubic meter of air, despite the EPA's argument that it exceeded statutory authority and ignored economic costs. Environmental groups praised the decision as a public health victory.