NEW YORK (AP) — The start of New Jersey Sen. Bob Menendez’s bribery trial was pushed back a week to mid-May on Friday after lawyers agreed the extra days would aid trial preparation.

U.S. District Judge Sidney H. Stein changed from May 6 to May 13 the start of jury selection during a pretrial hearing in Manhattan. Menendez was allowed to participate in the conference by telephone after his lawyers said a late night in the U.S. Senate on Thursday made it impossible for him to attend the Friday morning hearing.

Menendez and two New Jersey businessmen have pleaded not guilty to charges that cash, gold bars and a luxury car were given to Menendez and his wife since 2017 in return for the Democratic senator carrying out political favors.

Menendez’s wife, Nadine, who also has pleaded not guilty, will not go on trial until July, at the earliest, because she faces medical issues.

A third businessman, Jose Uribe, has pleaded guilty to bribery charges and agreed to testify against the others at trial.

The criminal case last fall forced Menendez to give up his powerful role as chair of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.

Earlier this week, lawyers for Menendez indicated in a court filing that they may seek exoneration at trial by claiming that he lacked criminal intent since his wife didn’t disclose anything illegal to him about her dealings with New Jersey businessmen.

___

Follow the AP’s coverage of Sen. Bob Menendez at https://apnews.com/hub/robert-menendez.

MECHANICSBURG, Pa. (AP) — A Pennsylvania school board’s cancellation of an upcoming appearance by actor and children’s book author Maulik Pancholy was ill-advised and sends a hurtful message, especially to the LGBTQ+ community, education officials said.

A member of Cumberland Valley School District’s board cited concerns about what he described as Pancholy’s activism and “lifestyle” before the board voted unanimously Monday to cancel his appearance at a May 22 assembly at the Mountain View Middle School. Pancholy, who is gay, was scheduled to speak against bullying.

Besides their concerns about Pancholy, some board members also noted the district’s policy about not hosting overtly political events, news outlets reported. The policy was enacted after the district was criticized for hosting a rally by Donald Trump during his 2016 campaign for president.

District Superintendent Mark Blanchard and nine other senior leaders — including assistant superintendents and district-level directors of technology, curriculum, legal affairs, human resources, student services and special education — sent a letter to the board, faculty and staff on Thursday asserting that Pancholy’s speech should have been allowed. Pancholy’s representatives shared a copy of the letter with The Associated Press.

The education officials said they were not given “a real opportunity” to answer questions or provide guidance about the event, which they said was aimed at reinforcing the importance of treating all people equally.

The administrators added that the school board’s decision had “significant ramifications for our school community, especially for our students and staff who are members of the LGBTQ+ community.” They also noted that the actor’s sexual identity was cited as a factor in the decision, meaning “Mr. Pancholy’s personhood was reduced to a single aspect, and his ability to communicate a message of anti-bullying and hate was discredited.”

The Associated Press sent emails to individual school board members seeking comment Friday.

Pancholy, 48, is an award-winning actor, including for his roles on the television shows “30 Rock” and “Weeds,” and as the voice of Baljeet in the Disney animated series, “Phineas & Ferb.” He also has written children’s books and in 2014 was named by then-President Barack Obama to serve on the President’s Advisory Commission on Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders, where he co-founded a campaign to combat AAPI bullying.

Pancholy’s appearance was scheduled by the school’s leadership team, which each year selects an author to present a “unique educational experience for students,” according to the district.

The school board’s vote to cancel Pancholy’s appearance also sparked criticism from several parents, students and community members, who called the decision “homophobic.” Some have started online petitions urging that Pancholy’s appearance be reinstated.

In a statement posted on social media this week, Pancholy said his school visits are meant “to let all young people know that they’re seen.”

“To let them know that they matter.”

He also said that one of the reasons he became an author was because as a child he never saw himself represented in stories.

“That’s the power of books. They build empathy,” Pancholy wrote. “I wonder why a school board is so afraid of that?”

WASHINGTON (AP) — With rare bipartisan momentum, the House pushed ahead Friday on a foreign aid package of $95 billion for Ukraine, Israel, Taiwan and humanitarian support as a robust coalition of lawmakers helped it clear a procedural hurdle to reach final votes this weekend. Friday’s vote produced a seldom-seen outcome in the typically hyper-partisan House, with Democrats helping Republican Speaker Mike Johnson’s plan advance overwhelmingly 316-94. Final House approval could come this weekend, when the package would be sent to the Senate.

It was a victory for the strategy Speaker Mike Johnson set in motion this week after he agonized for two months over the legislation. Still, Johnson has had to spend the past 24 hours making the rounds on conservative media working to salvage support for the wartime funding, particularly for Ukraine as it faces a critical moment battling Russia, but also for his own job as the restless right flank threatens to oust him over the effort.

“There’s a lot of misinformation about what we’re doing here and why,” Johnson told the conservative host of The Mark Levin Show.

“Ukrainians desperately need lethal aid right now. … We cannot allow Vladimir Putin to roll through another country and take it,” he said about the Russian president’s invasion of Ukraine. “These are very serious matters with global implications.”

After months of delay, the House worked slowly but deliberately once Johnson made up his mind this week to plough ahead. President Joe Biden sent a swift endorsement of the speaker’s plan and, in a rare moment, Donald Trump, the Republican presumed presidential nominee who opposes most overseas aid for Ukraine, has not derailed the speaker’s work.

“The world is watching what the Congress does,” the White House said in a statement. “Passing this legislation would send a powerful message about the strength of American leadership at a pivotal moment.”

In an extremely rare step, the members of the House Rules Committee joined forces late Thursday in a near midnight vote, the four Democrats giving their support on a procedural step, to push past the Republican majority’s three hardline holdouts to send the package to the House floor for debate on a 9-3 vote. It was a moment unseen in recent House memory.

Johnson will need to rely on Democrats again Friday to clear the next procedural vote and turn back amendments Republicans have offered that could kill the package. One from hardline Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene would reduce spending for Ukraine to zero.

Greene has filed the “motion to vacate” the speaker from office, and has drawn at least one other Republican, Rep. Thomas Massie of Kentucky as a co-sponsor. It could launch a bid to evict Johnson from the speaker’s office, should she call it up for a vote, much the way Republicans booted Kevin McCarthy from the position last fall.

With one of the most narrow House majorities in modern times, Johnson can only afford to lose a single vote or two from his Republican ranks to pass any bill. That dynamic has thrust him into the arms of Democrats as he searches for votes to pass the package.

Without his Republican majority fully behind him, Johnson cannot shape the package as the ultra-conservatives demand lest he lose Democratic backing. It has forced him to leave behind tough security measures to clamp down on migrants at the U.S.-Mexico border and other priorities.

At best, Johnson has been able to carve up a Senate-passed version of the bill into separate parts, as is the preference among House Republicans, and the final votes will be on distinct measures — for Ukraine, Israel and Indo-Pacific allies.

The package would also include a fourth provision that includes many Republican priorities that Democrats endorse, or at least are willing to accept. Those include proposals that allow the U.S. to seize frozen Russian central bank assets to rebuild Ukraine; impose sanctions on Iran, Russia, China and criminal organizations that traffic fentanyl, and potentially ban the video app TikTok if its China-based owner doesn’t sell its stake within a year.

Republicans, even those who supported the process, were severely disappointed it had come to this.

“I’m concerned,” said Rep. Ryan Zinke, R-Mont., who voted for the procedural step but, was nevertheless displease with the process. “This is reflective of the controversy in the country: How much aid?”

Passing each bill, in votes expected Saturday, will require Johnson to form complicated bipartisan coalitions on each, with Democrats for example ensuring Ukraine aid is approved, but some left-leaning progressives refusing to back military aid for Israel over the destruction of Gaza.

The components would then be automatically stitched back together into a single package sent to the Senate where hardliners there are also planning procedural moves to stall final approval.

By Gram Slattery

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Donald Trump’s campaign and the Republican National Committee launched a program on Friday to combat voter fraud in the lead-up to the November election, even as voting irregularities have proven extremely rare in the United States.

The RNC and the Trump campaign said they were preparing to deploy more than 100,000 attorneys and volunteers across the states that are expected to be competitive in the presidential race.

The Republican Party and the Trump campaign said in a statement that they plan to recruit an army of poll watchers, who will monitor individual polling sites for irregularities.

Attorneys, meanwhile, will be stationed at “Republican Party War Rooms” in competitive states, where they will staff an “Election Integrity Hotline” to answer calls from poll watchers and voters who have observed possible irregularities.

“Having the right people to count the ballots is just as important as turning out voters on Election Day,” Trump said in a statement.

“Republicans are now working together to protect the vote and ensure a big win on November 5th!”

The RNC ran a voter integrity program during the 2022 congressional elections, though the 2024 effort appears to represent a significant step up in terms of its scope and ambition.

During this election cycle, the RNC has already engaged in 82 lawsuits in 25 states related to election integrity, the committee said in the Friday statement.

Since launching his reelection campaign in late 2022, Trump has continued to falsely claim he lost the 2020 election due to widespread voter fraud, despite a lack of supporting evidence and dozens of failed lawsuits seeking to establish foul play.

Echoed by many of his allies in Congress, Trump’s false claims about voter fraud have been absorbed broadly by the Republican electorate, a majority of which does not believe Biden was legitimately elected, according to opinion polls.

On the campaign trail, Trump has sought to portray Democratic voters as chronic cheaters who cannot be trusted.

During a speech in Iowa in December he told supporters to be ready to “guard the vote” in Democratic-run cities, and more recently he has demanded his backers vote in such large numbers as to render the election “too big to rig” by the Democrats.

The Biden campaign did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Friday.

While most Republican poll watchers have conducted themselves peacefully, there have been many reports of alleged intimidation by poll watchers in recent elections that have drawn the attention of election officials in competitive states, including North Carolina, Arizona and Nevada.

(Reporting by Gram Slattery in Washington; Additional reporting by Nathan Layne; Editing by Jonathan Oatis)

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The U.S. Federal Aviation Administration will require 10 hours off between shifts for air traffic controllers, and 12 hours off before a midnight shift, effective in 90 days, the agency’s head said on Friday.

“In my first few months at the helm of the FAA, I toured air traffic control facilities around the country — and heard concerns about schedules that do not always allow controllers to get enough rest,” FAA Administrator Mike Whitaker said in a statement.

“With the safety of our controllers and national airspace always top of mind for FAA, I took this very seriously – and we’re taking action.”

The FAA in 2023 commissioned an independent panel to assess the risks of controller fatigue and provide recommendations, which included between 10 and 12 hours off between shifts.To alleviate pressure on the workforce, Whitaker said the FAA had ramped up recruitment and was on track to meet a 2024 goal of hiring 1,800 air traffic controllers, up from 1,500 last year.”I understand this lengthened rest period will be an adjustment for thousands of our air traffic controllers,” Whitaker said in the statement.

(Reporting by David Ljungren and Ismail Shakil; writing by Paul Grant; Editing by Caitlin Webber)

ARLINGTON, Va. (AP) — The Federal Aviation Administration will investigate after a flight at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport was instructed to cross a runway where another flight was starting its takeoff, the agency said.

A JetBlue flight was starting its takeoff roll on runway 4 at the airport in Arlington, Virginia, just outside Washington, D.C., around 7:41 a.m. Thursday, when an air traffic controller instructed a Southwest Airlines flight to cross the same runway, the FAA said in a statement. The agency will investigate the event.

Southwest Airlines Flight 2937, which was bound for Orlando, Florida, took off from the airport at 7:47 a.m., according to FlightAware, which tracks flight activity. JetBlue flight 1554 was bound for Boston and according to FlightAware, the flight took off from Reagan National at 1:48 p.m.

JetBlue said in a statement that the flight aborted takeoff because of another aircraft trying to cross the runway, but no injuries were reported. The aircraft was inspected before it left for Boston and JetBlue said it will “work closely with federal officials as this event is fully investigated.” Southwest said in a statement that it was aware of the incident and was “working with the FAA to fully understand the circumstances.”

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Biden administration on Friday imposed sanctions on two entities accused of fundraising for extremist Israel settlers already sanctioned, as well as the founder of an organization whose members regularly assault Palestinians.

The Treasury Department announcement comes as the West Bank has seen some of its worst violence perpetrated by extremist settlers against Palestinians since the war in nearby Gaza began.

There is also friction between President Joe Biden and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, whose far-right government has reacted angrily to previous sanctions imposed against West Bank settlers.

Included in the Friday sanctions are two entities — Mount Hebron Fund and Shlom Asiraich — accused of raising funds for sanctioned settlers Yinon Levi and David Chai Chasdai.

Both men were previously sanctioned by the Biden administration for violently attacking Palestinians in the West Bank.

The penalties aim to block them from using the U.S. financial system and bar American citizens from dealing with them.

The fundraising campaigns established by Mount Hebron Fund for Levi and by Shlom Asiraich for Chasdai generated the equivalent of $140,000 and $31,000, respectively, according to U.S. Treasury.

In Levi’s case, the fund now sanctioned by the Biden administration is linked to the settler council in the area, a body that receives state money. The Biden order Friday stopped short of sanctioning the settler council itself.

Rights groups say that the expansion of illegal settler outposts in the West Bank is enthusiastically supported by the local settler councils and nudged along by Israel’s current national government — the most far-right in the country’s history.

The Biden order also skirted sanctioning crowdfunding websites where funds were raised, GiveChak and New York-based Charidy.

In Chasdai’s case, the fundraiser on Charidy was organized by Shlom Asiraich, which raises money for imprisoned Jewish extremists.

Both online fundraisers have now been taken down. But at least one fundraiser linked to a settler previously sanctioned by the Biden administration, Moshe Sharvit, remains online. As of Friday, the page on GiveChak had raised the equivalent of over $879,000.

Additionally, the State Department is designating Ben-Zion Gopstein, the founder and leader of Lehava, an organization whose members have assaulted Palestinian civilians.

Treasury Deputy Secretary Wally Adeyemo said the organizations “undermine the peace, security, and stability of the West Bank. We will continue to use our tools to hold those responsible accountable.”

In February, Biden issued an executive order that targets Israeli settlers in the West Bank who have been accused of attacking Palestinians and Israeli peace activists in the occupied territory.

Israel’s long-term credit rating is being downgraded by S&P, which cited the risk of military escalation with Iran. It is the second major U.S. credit ratings agency to do so.

There was an apparent drone attack at a major air base and a nuclear site near the central city of Isfahan early Friday, which is suspected of being part of an Israeli retaliation for Tehran’s unprecedented drone-and-missile assault on the country days ago.

S&P’s downgrade was issued shortly before the strike in Iran, and almost three months after Moody’s, another major U.S. credit agency, downgraded Israel’s rating due to the “ongoing military conflict with Hamas.”

S&P Global Ratings lowered its long-term foreign and local currency sovereign credit ratings on Israel to ‘A+’ from ‘AA-’ and the short-term ratings to ‘A-1’ from ‘A-1+.’

The long-term downgrade means Israel’s credit rating has moved from a “very strong capacity to meet financial commitments,” to “a strong capacity to meet financial commitments, but somewhat susceptible to adverse economic conditions and changes in circumstances,” according to S&P.

“In our view, the recent increase in confrontation with Iran heightens already elevated geopolitical risks for Israel,” the credit ratings agency said. “We expect a wider regional conflict will be avoided, but the Israel-Hamas war and the confrontation with Hezbollah appear set to continue throughout 2024–versus our previous assumption of military activity not lasting more than six months.”

S&P’s outlook on Israel’s long-term ratings is negative.

The cost of the war is a major drain on Israel’s budget and all three U.S. credit ratings agencies, Moody’s, S&P, and Fitch, which also has offices in London, have issued warnings on Israel’s credit standing since the surprise attack on the country by the ruling Hamas militant group.

S&P typically issues sovereign credit ratings on scheduled dates, but does break with that practice if events merit. S&P’s will issue another ratings review for the country on the date it was originally scheduled to do so, on May 10.

No Iranian official directly acknowledged the possibility that Israel attacked, and the Israeli military did not respond to a request for comment. However, tensions have been high since the Saturday assault on Israel amid its war on Hamas in the Gaza Strip and its own strikes targeting Iran in Syria.

NEW YORK (AP) — Lawyers in former President Donald Trump ‘s hush money case shifted their attention Friday to picking alternates as jury selection resumed for a fourth day. The proceedings began again with the questionnaire phase of jury selection and 22 possible jurors were brought in. As many as five alternate jurors must be picked.

Thursday’s proceedings demonstrated unpredictability in the selection process, with two jurors who had been seated a day earlier being dismissed from the panel. A total of 12 jurors and one alternate were ultimately sworn in.

The judge has suggested that opening statements could begin as early as Monday, before prosecutors begin laying out their case alleging a scheme to cover up negative stories Trump feared would hurt his 2016 presidential campaign.

The hush money case is the first of Trump’s four indictments to reach trial.

At the heart of the allegations is a $130,000 payment made to porn actor Stormy Daniels by Michael Cohen, Trump’s former lawyer and personal fixer, to prevent her claims of a sexual encounter with Trump from becoming public in the final days of the 2016 race.

Prosecutors say Trump obscured the true nature of such payments in internal business documents. Trump has said none of the alleged sexual encounters occurred. He has pleaded not guilty to 34 felony counts of falsifying business records.

Currently:

— The hush money case is just one of Trump’s legal cases. See the others here

— Judge in Trump case orders media not to report where potential jurors work

— Social media searches play central role in jury selection for Trump’s trial

— Only 1 in 3 US adults think Trump acted illegally in New York hush money case, AP-NORC poll shows

Here’s the latest:

A section of the questionnaire asking would-be jurors in Donald Trump’s hush money trial what they like to do in their spare time has revealed an eclectic array of hobbies and passions.

During the week, the court has been introduced to Manhattanites who enjoy metalworking, scuba diving and seeing the New York Philharmonic. There were also several yogis, hikers and one man who said he cleans his local dog park as “meditation.”

One woman said she takes her kids to Rubik’s Cube competitions and another said she used to be an amateur boxer, though noted that “black eyes were frowned upon” in her profession. Earlier in the week, a different prospective juror joked that he had no spare time, adding later, “I guess my hobby is my family.”

New York is the most populous city in the U.S., but Donald Trump’s hush money trial has shown that it can also feel a lot like a small town.

One prospective juror said she had connections to not one but two people who’ve been in Trump’s orbit: the former president’s ex-lawyer and fixer Michael Cohen and former New Jersey Governor Chris Christie, who backed Trump in 2020 but later ran against him.

The woman disclosed that she works at the same company as a Cohen relative — though they’ve never crossed paths — and that someone in her family is friends with Christie. Despite that, she assured the court that she could be fair and impartial.

The latest questionnaire round in jury selection in Donald Trump’s hush money trial began Friday with a prospective juror saying she has anxiety and isn’t sure she can serve. She said that she takes medication for the condition and that as more days pass, “I don’t think I will be able to be completely fair” and focused on the trial.

Judge Juan M. Merchan excused her.

Because 22 jurors are being questioned, Merchan granted a prosecutor’s request for five extra minutes of questioning. Instead of 20 minutes, prosecutors will have 25 questions to inquire of the group.

Another potential juror, a woman with adult children, said she doesn’t believe in watching the news. She added that her husband sends her news that seems important and that she has no strong opinions on Trump.

As potential jurors ran through the questionnaire, Trump appeared to lean over at the defense table, scribbling on some papers and occasionally exchanging notes with his lawyers.

But when another potential juror mentioned that he follows the White House Instagram account, including when Trump was in office, the former president looked up and toward the jury box.

Donald Trump shuffled through papers at the defense table Friday morning after walking into Manhattan court for the fourth day of jury selection in his hush money trial.

He turned stoic and stern as news photographers came in to snap pictures of him, as is the daily custom before court resumes.

Twenty-two possible jurors are being brought in as jury selection is set to resume. As many as five alternate jurors must be selected before jury selection is over. One alternate was already sworn in at the end of the day Thursday.

Donald Trump lost a bid Thursday to pause a string of lawsuits accusing him of inciting the U.S. Capitol attack, while the former president fights his 2020 election interference criminal case in Washington.

U.S. District Judge Amit Mehta in Washington denied defense lawyers’ request to put the civil cases seeking to hold Trump responsible for the Jan. 6, 2021, riot on hold while a separate criminal case accusing him of conspiring to overturn his election defeat to President Joe Biden plays out.

The lawsuits brought by Democratic lawmakers and police officers who defended the Capitol on Jan. 6 seek civil damages for harm they say they suffered during the attack, which aimed to stop Congress’ certification of Biden’s victory.

Speaking to reporters inside the lower Manhattan courthouse, former President Donald Trump once again railed against his hush money trial, demanding Judge Juan M. Merchan lift a gag order limiting what he can say publicly about witnesses.

“The gag order has to come off. People are allowed to speak about me and I have a gag order,” he said.

Prosecutors with the Manhattan district attorney’s office are currently looking to fine Trump over violating his gag order after disparaging witnesses in the case on social media. A hearing is set for next week.

Donald Trump raised his right fist as he headed to his motorcade while leaving Trump Tower on Friday.

Soon afterward, the former president arrived at the court in Manhattan where more potential jurors will be questioned in his hush money case.

A third panel of potential jurors will be questioned Friday in Donald Trump’s hush money case, drawing jury selection a step closer to completion.

After a jury of 12 New Yorkers was seated Thursday, lawyers were expected to turn their attention to picking remaining alternates who can vow to set aside their personal views and impartially judge the presumptive Republican presidential nominee.

Judge Juan M. Merchan has suggested that opening statements in the criminal trial could begin as early as Monday.

Trump has pleaded not guilty.

The trial will place Trump in a Manhattan courtroom for weeks, forcing him to juggle his dual role as criminal defendant and political candidate against the backdrop of his hotly contested race against President Joe Biden.

Jury selection in Donald Trump’s hush money case proceeded at a plodding pace Thursday when two of the initial seven seated jurors were dismissed.

But late in the day, lawyers settled on the remaining seven in quick succession, along with one alternate. Judge Juan M. Merchan has said his goal is to have five additional alternates.

Even with the roster of 12 jurors set, it’s still possible that the lineup may change as proceedings continue Friday.

Judge Juan M. Merchan was expected to hold a hearing Friday to consider a request from prosecutors to bring up Donald Trump’s prior legal entanglements if he takes the stand in the hush money case.

Manhattan prosecutors have said they want to question Trump about his recent civil fraud trial that resulted in a $454 million judgment after a judge found Trump had lied about his wealth for years. He is appealing that verdict.

Trump says he did nothing wrong and has cast himself as the victim of a politically motivated justice system bent on keeping him out of the White House. He has lashed out on social media about the judge, prosecutors and potential witnesses, prompting the district attorneys to seek sanctions for possible violations of a gag order in the criminal case.

After Thursday’s court proceedings, Trump complained to reporters that he should have been out campaigning but was in court instead for what he said was a “very unfair trial.”

“Everybody’s outraged by it,” he said. “You know the whole world’s watching this New York scam.”

By Clark Mindock

(Reuters) – The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency on Friday designated a pair of widely used industrial chemicals as hazardous substances under the country’s Superfund program, accelerating a crackdown on toxic compounds known as “forever chemicals.”

The rule will require companies to report leaks of two of the most commonly used per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, or PFAS, and help pay to clean up existing contamination.

The EPA last week announced its first drinking water standards to guard against PFAS pollution.

PFAS are a family of thousands of chemicals used in consumer and commercial products like firefighting foams, nonstick pans and stain resistant fabrics. They have been linked to cancer and other health concerns, and are often called forever chemicals because they do not easily break down in the human body or the environment.

The new rule targets contamination from two PFAS known as PFOA and PFOS. It does not ban the chemicals.

The Superfund designations will ensure that those responsible “pay for the costs to clean up pollution threatening the health of communities,” EPA Administrator Michael Regan said in a statement.

The Comprehensive Environmental Response Compensation and Liability Act, known as the Superfund law, allows the EPA and state regulators to undertake or order remediation of hazardous sites and seek reimbursement from site owners, hazardous waste generators, waste transporters and others.

The EPA said on Friday it would prioritize enforcement against significant contributors to the release of PFAS, such as federal facilities and manufacturers.

The American Chemistry Council, a leading industry trade association, called the rule “severely flawed” on Friday and said the chemicals have not been produced in the United States in nearly a decade.

The Superfund program “is an expensive, ineffective and unworkable means to achieve remediation for these chemicals,” the group said in a statement.

Environmental groups praised the EPA’s move.

“These designations will give PFAS-contaminated sites the attention they deserve,” Earthjustice attorney Jonathan Kalmuss-Katz said in a statement.

The new rule, one of the most aggressive moves yet by the Biden administration to regulate PFAS, also makes public funds available for remediation.

The regulation could spur additional litigation over liability for PFAS cleanup efforts.

Lawsuits filed by public water systems and others accusing major chemical companies of polluting U.S. drinking water with PFAS chemicals led to more than $11 billion in settlements last year.

(Reporting by Clark Mindock; Editing by David Bario, Jamie Freed and Richard Chang)