On Sept. 29, the Trump administration announced a series of actions intended to boost coal mining and electricity generation, its latest move in a government-wide effort to reverse the fuel’s decline.

The announcements from the EPA, Energy and Interior departments are intended to bolster the domestic coal industry at a time of increasing electricity demand due in large part to artificial intelligence data centers. Administration officials and congressional Republicans said these changes are necessary to ensure U.S. competitiveness.

“Around the world, coal is still growing. People talk about peak coal, most consumption, but last year was the year that the most coal was used in the world, and of course we’re in a competition,” Interior Secretary Doug Burgum said, referring to the AI industry in China. “If we don’t lead in electrical production, we’re going to lose the AI arms race.”

The Energy Department will provide $625 million to subsidize and support coal-fired plants, including $350 million for retrofitting and recommissioning coal plants at or near their retirement dates and $175 million for coal power projects in rural communities.

The Interior Department said it will open more than 13 million acres of federal land for coal mining and streamline permitting the approval process for other mines. It will also implement a provision of the Republican reconciliation law that reduces the royalty rate for coal from 12.5 percent to 7%.

And the EPA announced regulatory changes that would favor coal-fired power plants. They include providing plants with more time to comply with existing effluent limitations guidelines, which govern coal ash wastewater pollution, and an advance notice of proposed rulemaking on changes to the Clean Air Act’s regional haze rule.

U.S. production of coal has declined for more than two decades across Republican and Democratic administrations, with this most carbon emissions-intensive fuel displaced by natural gas, wind and solar power.

However, the Trump administration has been critical of wind and solar energy, blocking projects on federal lands and waters. Officials argue these forms of energy, even when paired with batteries, remain too unreliable and cannot support AI and other industries. In addition, Energy Secretary Chris Wright and others have criticized wind and solar power subsidies, arguing they are evidence these renewables are not cost-effective.

Instead, they have called for increased efforts to preserve and expand forms of baseload power, including coal. Earlier in 2025, President Donald Trump signed an executive order to support the coal industry.

When addressing the United Nations, Trump reiterated his belief that climate change was a “hoax” and said European nations were on the “brink of destruction because of the green energy agenda.”

EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin said in a Sept. 25 Fox News interview that he agreed with Trump’s statements. Also last week, Wright characterized a network of scientists who agree about the severity of climate change and its impact as “activists.”

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California Governor Gavin Newsom has signed into law groundbreaking legislation requiring the world’s largest artificial intelligence companies to publicly disclose their safety protocols and report critical incidents, state lawmakers announced Monday.

Senate Bill 53 marks California’s most significant move yet to regulate Silicon Valley’s rapidly advancing AI industry while also maintaining its position as a global tech hub.

“With a technology as transformative as AI, we have a responsibility to support that innovation while putting in place commonsense guardrails,” State Senator Scott Wiener, the bill’s sponsor, said in a statement.

The new law represents a successful second attempt by Wiener to establish AI safety regulations after Newsom vetoed his previous bill, SB 1047, after furious pushback from the tech industry.

It also comes after a failed attempt by the Trump administration to prevent states from enacting AI regulations, under the argument that they would create regulatory chaos and slow US-made innovation in a race with China.

The new law says major AI companies have to publicly disclose their safety and security protocols in redacted form to protect intellectual property.

They must also report critical safety incidents—including model-enabled weapons threats, major cyber-attacks, or loss of model control—within 15 days to state officials.

The legislation also establishes whistleblower protections for employees who reveal evidence of dangers or violations.

According to Wiener, California’s approach differs from the European Union’s landmark AI Act, which requires private disclosures to government agencies.

SB 53, meanwhile, mandates public disclosure to ensure greater accountability.

In what advocates describe as a world-first provision, the law requires companies to report instances where AI systems engage in dangerous deceptive behavior during testing.

For example, if an AI system lies about the effectiveness of controls designed to prevent it from assisting in bioweapon construction, developers must disclose the incident if it materially increases catastrophic harm risks.

The working group behind the law was led by prominent experts including Stanford University’s Fei-Fei Li, known as the “godmother of AI.”

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As part of the health service’s 10-year plan, the NHS App is set to become the entry point to an online hospital that, by 2027, will start connecting patients digitally to expert clinicians anywhere in England.

Called NHS Online, the digital health service is being designed so patients can be seen faster and to enable NHS clinicians to triage them via the NHS App. NHS England said patients will also be able to book scans at local community diagnostic centres.

Since it was introduced in 2019, millions of patients have used the NHS App to manage their care. Through enhanced app functionality, when a patient has an appointment with their GP, they will have the option of being referred to the online hospital for their specialist care. They will then be able to book directly through the NHS App and have the option to see specialists from around the country online, without leaving their home or having to wait longer for a face-to-face appointment.

If a patient needs a scan, test or procedure, NHS England said the app will enable them to book this at a time that suits them at a community diagnostic centre close to home. They will be able to track their prescriptions and get advice on managing their condition without needing to travel.

NHS England said NHS Online will improve patient waiting times, delivering the equivalent of up to 8.5 million appointments and assessments in its first three years – four times more than an average trust – while enhancing patient choice and control over their care.

The service will initially be rolled out to cover a small number of planned treatment areas with the longest waits. Over time, NHS England said it will expand to more treatment areas.

The NHS 10-year health plan aims to shift the health service from analogue to digital, using technology to help deliver patient services.

The service builds on and scales the artificial intelligence (AI) and remote monitoring already in use across the NHS.

Discussing the new service, Jim Mackey, NHS chief executive, said: “The NHS can, must and will move forward to match other sectors in offering digital services that make services as personalised, convenient and flexible as possible for both staff and patients.”

Patients who choose to receive their treatment through the online hospital will benefit from us industrialising the latest technology and innovations, while the increased capacity will help to cut demand and slash waiting times