By MATTHEW BROWN, Associated Press

BILLINGS, Mont. (AP) — Interior Secretary Doug Burgum on Wednesday proposed canceling a public land management rule that put conservation on equal footing with development, as President Donald Trump’s administration seeks to open more taxpayer-owned tracts to drilling, logging, mining and grazing.

The rule was a key part of efforts under former President Joe Biden to refocus the Interior Department’s Bureau of Land Management, which oversees about 10% of land in the U.S. Adopted last year, it allowed public property to be leased for restoration in the same way that oil companies lease land for drilling.

Industry and agriculture groups were bitterly opposed to the Biden rule and lobbied Republicans to reverse it. States including North Dakota, where Burgum served as governor before joining Trump’s Cabinet, pursued a lawsuit hoping to block the rule.

Wednesday’s announcement comes amid a flurry of actions since Trump took office aimed at boosting energy production from the federal government’s vast land holdings, which are concentrated in Western states including Alaska, California, Nevada, New Mexico, Utah and Wyoming.

Interior officials said the Biden rule had sidelined people who depend on public lands for their livelihoods and imposed unneeded restrictions.

Burgum said in a statement that it would have prevented thousands of acres from being used for energy and mineral productions, grazing and recreation. Overturning it “protects our American way of life and gives our communities a voice in the land that they depend on,” Burgum said.

“The previous administration’s Public Lands Rule had the potential to block access to hundreds of thousands of acres of multiple-use land – preventing energy and mineral production, timber management, grazing and recreation across the West,” Burgum said.

FILE – Cattle graze along a section of the Missouri River that includes the Upper Missouri River Breaks National Monument near Fort Benton, Mont., on Sept. 19, 2011. (AP Photo/Matthew Brown, File)

Environmentalists had largely embraced the rule that was finalized in April 2024. Supporters argued that conservation was a long-neglected facet of the land bureau’s mission under the 1976 Federal Lands Policy Management Act.

“The administration cannot simply overthrow that statutory authority because they would prefer to let drilling and mining companies call the shots,” said Alison Flint, senior legal director at The Wilderness Society.

While the bureau previously issued leases for conservation purposes in limited cases, it never had a dedicated program for it.

Critics said the change under Biden violated the “multiple use” mandate for Interior Department lands, by catapulting the “non-use” of federal lands — meaning restoration leases — to a position of prominence.

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National Mining Association CEO Rich Nolan said Burgum’s proposal would ensure the nation’s natural resources are available to address rising energy demands and supply important minerals.

“This is a welcome change from the prior clear disregard for the legal obligation to balance multiple uses on federal lands,” Nolan said.

The rule also promoted the designation of more “areas of critical environmental concern” — a special status that can restrict development. It’s given to land with historic or cultural significance or that’s important for wildlife conservation.

In addition to its surface land holdings, the land bureau regulates publicly-owned underground mineral reserves — such as coal for power plants and lithium for renewable energy — across more than 1 million square miles (2.5 million square kilometers). The bureau has a history of industry-friendly policies and for more than a century has sold grazing permits and oil and gas leases.

The pending publication of Burgum’s proposal will kick off a 60-day public comment period.

House Republicans last week repealed land management plans adopted in the closing days of former President Joe Biden’s administration that restricted development in large areas of Alaska, Montana and North Dakota. Interior officials also announced a proposal aimed at increasing mining and drilling in Western states with populations of greater sage grouse. Biden administration officials proposed limits on development and prohibitions against mining to help protect the grouse.

By CHRISTOPHER RUGABER, Associated Press Economics Writer

WASHINGTON (AP) — A Senate committee on Wednesday approved the nomination of White House economic adviser Stephen Miran to the Fed’s board of governors, setting up a likely approval by the full Senate, which would make Miran the third Trump appointee to the seven-member board.

The White House has pushed for an expedited Senate approval of Miran, who was nominated by President Donald Trump to replace former Fed governor Adriana Kugler, who stepped down Aug. 1. Miran would, if approved, simply finish her term, which expires in January. He may be approved in time for the Fed’s meeting next week, when it is widely expected to reduce its key short-term interest rate.

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The committee voted to approve Miran on partisan lines, 13-11, with all Democrats voting against confirmation.

Miran’s nomination has raised concerns about the Fed’s independence from day-to-day politics, particularly since he said during a hearing last week that he would keep his job as head of the White House’s Council of Economic Advisers while on the Fed’s board, a historically unusual arrangement. Presidents have nominated members of their staffs to the Fed’s board before, but the nominees have always given up their White House jobs.

The vote comes a day after a federal court blocked Trump’s effort to fire Fed governor Lisa Cook, who he has accused of mortgage fraud.

“The Federal Reserve was designed to make decisions free from political interference, guided by data and the long-term stability of our economy, not the political agenda of any one president,” Sen. Mark Warner, a Democrat from Virginia, said in a statement before the vote. “Donald Trump has made clear he wants to tear down that independence, just as he has with so many of the institutions that have kept our democracy and our economy strong.”

Miran said he would step down from his White House position if he is chosen for a longer term. Yet he can remain on the board after Kugler’s term ends in January, if no replacement is named. He has said in that case he would consider keeping his White House job even if he remains on the board after January, sparking fresh criticism from Democrats.

By TERRY CHEA, Associated Press

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — When Ryan Lee first played mahjong two years ago, he got hooked. He dug out sets of the classic Chinese tile game from his parents’ house and brought them to San Francisco, where he started hosting mahjong nights in his apartment.

The gatherings became so popular that the 25-year-old Chinese American began hosting pop-up mahjong parties in restaurants, bars and nightclubs around San Francisco.

Mahjong, invented in 19th century China, is gaining popularity with a new generation of players looking to get off their phones and socialize in the real world.

Lee’s Youth Luck Leisure (YLL) Mahjong Club now hosts bimonthly parties with up to 30 tables and 200 guests. They attract a diverse, young crowd drawn to the festive atmosphere, live DJs, custom cocktails and chance to meet new friends. Instructors are on hand to teach novices.

“A lot of people are just really intrigued even though they don’t really know how to play,” Lee said. “There’s a cultural component they’re trying to connect with. It’s kind of like a cultural nostalgia.”

Eventbrite reports there was a 179% increase in U.S. mahjong events on its platform from 2023 to 2024.

There’s been a 179% increase in mahjong events in the U.S. from 2023 to 2024, according to Eventbrite, a popular ticketing app. The event platform says Gen Z is also showing a growing interest in other “grannycore” activities such as baking workshops and needlework circles that happen offline.

In mahjong, four players draw and discard tiles with different suits, numbers and Chinese characters. The object is to build a winning hand of four sets of three and one pair.

“It’s a really tactile game, and it’s really a social game. It really easily builds community among people,” said Nicole Wong, a writer and audio producer in Oakland. “It’s a good way to unplug and not just be on your phone.”

Wong learned how to play when she visited her Chinese grandparents in New Zealand in 2009. Several years ago she found her parents’ mahjong table and game sets, and started hosting mahjong nights with her friends.

In 2019, she launched The Mahjong Project, an instructional guide and oral history project inspired by her family’s love of the game. That led her to publish “Mahjong: House Rules from Across the Asian Diaspora,” an illustrated book that explores the game’s history, strategies, traditions and styles of play.

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“For the Asian American community, I think there’s interest in connecting to your heritage and your culture in a way that was not the case when I was growing up,” Wong said.

YLL Mahjong Club has held nearly 20 events in San Francisco since it started last year. Lee said it’s an opportunity to introduce people to the game as well as bring business to local restaurants, bars and food vendors. Lee’s sister started hosting similar events in Los Angeles. There are plans to expand to other U.S. cities.

“The demand is rising,” said Lee, a management consultant in business school. “It’s not just an interest to learn how to play mahjong, but to find a third space or another community to do things with.”

Joyce Yam, YLL Mahjong Club’s sponsorship manager, helps manage the San Francisco events, which sell out fast and have long waiting lists.

“We welcome people who have no experience at mahjong at all, and we have TA’s who teach the people how to play the game. And they love it so much that they keep coming back,” Yam said.

Ethan Vuong, a Florida native who lives in San Francisco, started playing with friends a couple years ago. He saw it as a way to connect with his Chinese heritage and make new friends. He’s a regular at Oakland’s Baba House and YLL Mahjong Club events, where he volunteers to teach newcomers.

“It’s not just a skill or mechanics-based game, it’s an expression of your personality,” Vuong said. “I just keep playing because I have this goal that I’m going to beat my grandma one day.”

At University Avenue and Wheeler Street, the Midway YMCA is sporting a new name and will soon welcome children and parents to a new stand-alone family center.

Built in 1949, the two-story building that previously housed the YMCA’s programs for school-aged children looked every bit its 76 years, according to YMCA officials, up until the day this spring when it was demolished.

“It was showing some age,” quipped Michelle Edgerton, the chief advancement officer for the YMCA of the North, in a phone interview Tuesday.

A new building sporting 12 classrooms, a small gym, a rooftop learning environment and services for parents, kids and tiny tots is expected to open by next fall, finally allowing all of the Midway YMCA’s family programming to land under one roof. Edgerton said the building, which will be located at 530 North Wheeler St., directly across the street from the YMCA parking lot, represents a $19 million, donor-driven investment in St. Paul’s Midway neighborhood and the families living along the Green Line corridor.

Well-wishers on Monday attended a groundbreaking for the future Peter J. King Family Foundation Center for Child and Family Wellbeing, which is named after the Golden Valley-based foundation that contributed $5 million toward its construction.

Spanning 27,000 square feet, the center will host dedicated space for arts and culture programming, STEM and healthy living classes. It will serve 2,000 children and 6,000 family members annually, and offer teaching opportunities for student teachers enrolled in institutions of higher education.

Visitors on Monday also took in another rare site — the renaming of the entire Midway YMCA campus after longtime donor Richard Schulze, the founder and former chief executive officer of Best Buy.

Schulze, who grew up in the Midway going to the YMCA and graduating from nearby Central High School, was on hand to help unveil new exterior signage marking the Richard M. Schulze Family Foundation Midway YMCA. In recent years, his foundation has donated $17 million of philanthropic support to YMCAs across the country, including financial gifts to support the new Peter J. King Family Center and another YMCA in South Florida.

“They have been involved for over 25 years, and in that time have just contributed wonderfully to the Y,” said Edgerton, who attended the dual renaming and groundbreaking on Monday alongside YMCA of the North President Glen Gunderson. “He really spoke wonderfully of the importance of the Y in his life, his family’s life and for the community.”

The YMCA of the North had once hoped to open a new facility in downtown St. Paul, but plans fell through during the pandemic.

“Since COVID, that was no longer an option,” Edgerton said. “We asked Mr. Schulze to transfer that support to the Midway Y. He did give some funding toward the building and the programming that takes place in the building, and offered up a match.”

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