By KIM CHANDLER

MONTGOMERY, Ala. (AP) — Some Republican legislators are looking to restrict their state’s ability to set environmental regulations, a move that comes as President Donald Trump ’s administration pushes to roll back environmental rules on power plants, water and greenhouse gases.

The Alabama Legislature on Tuesday approved legislation backed by business groups that would prevent state agencies from setting restrictions on pollutants and hazardous substances exceeding those set by the federal government. In areas where no federal standard exists, the state could adopt new rules only if there is a “direct causal link” between exposure to harmful emissions and “manifest bodily harm” to humans.

Related Articles

Public health, green groups sue EPA over repeal of rule supporting climate protections

Many Democrats are still down on the Democratic Party, a new AP-NORC poll finds

Late-night host Stephen Colbert isn’t backing down from public dispute with CBS bosses

Judge blocks deportation of Palestinian activist who led protests at Columbia

Trump administration backs Kalshi, Polymarket as states move to ban prediction markets

Supporters said the Alabama measure would ground standards in “sound science” and prevent regulatory overreach. Environmental groups said it would cripple the state’s ability to respond to environmental or health risks, including a group of chemicals known as PFAS, or forever chemicals, that has contaminated swaths of the South.

Sarah Stokes, a senior attorney with the Southern Environmental Law Center, said the bill sets an “impossible hurdle” for state regulations since the bill specifies that an “increased risk of disease” is not enough to demonstrate harm to humans.

“It’s a blank check to businesses. We’re basically sacrificing human health for businesses,” Stokes said. “That doesn’t seem like the best calculation for our citizens.”

The U.S. Chamber of Commerce and business groups supported the legislation, and the bill’s sponsor, Republican Sen. Donnie Chesteen, told a legislative committee this month that his bill is a “pro-business” piece of legislation.

“If we’re going to be able to compete with states in the Southeast to attract and bring some of these businesses in, then we need to have these standards adopted so that it’s clearly defined what our companies are working with,” Chesteen said. Supporters also argued the bill follows Trump’s deregulatory agenda.

“This does not remove the use of sound science and legitimate science,” Republican Rep. Troy Stubbs said during debate. “What it does is protect Alabama and the people of Alabama from runaway government that can become overly burdensome and regulatory to a point that it drives the cost of living way up.”

Stubbs disputed that it would weaken existing rules, saying current state regulations would stay in place. However, the environmental lawyer Stokes said she is concerned that businesses could use it as a basis to challenge existing rules.

The measure is the latest effort to restrict state-level environmental regulations. Indiana Gov. Mike Braun signed an executive order last year saying Indiana can’t have new environmental rules stricter than federal ones unless deemed necessary by state law or the governor. Tennessee lawmakers last year passed legislation requiring any regulations that are more stringent than federal regulations to be based on links to “manifest bodily harm in humans.”

Stokes said the Alabama proposal goes farther than the Tennessee law. A similar bill has been introduced in Utah.

FILE – Industrial development is seen along the Mobile River near Mobile, Ala., on Jan. 29, 2019. (AP Photo/Julie Bennett, File)

Stokes said the Alabama legislation was introduced after advocacy groups persuaded the Alabama Environmental Management Commission to consider updating state standards for arsenic and cyanide and 11 other toxic pollutants.

Cara Horowitz, an environmental law professor and executive director of the Emmett Institute on Climate Change and the Environment at UCLA School of Law, said the legislation would prevent state agencies from making “independent decisions about how much to protect public health from things like water pollution, air pollution, and toxics.”

“Alabama could adopt its own pollution standard only where the state’s rationale for doing so relies on a very particular kind of science,” Horowitz wrote in an email. “Alabama could not rely, for example, on studies showing a correlation between pollution exposure and an increased risk of disease.”

The bill also bars agencies from using the EPA’s Integrated Risk Information System, which characterizes the health hazards of chemicals found in the environment, as the default basis for water quality standards. A lobbying group for the chemical industry has criticized the system as overly burdensome and scientifically flawed.

Democrats in the Alabama Legislature spoke against the bill for two hours until GOP lawmakers voted to end debate and force a vote.

Democratic Rep. Chris England said the bill turns Alabama residents into test subjects. “We are a petri dish for businesses to do as they will until they kill people,” England said.

Rep. Neil Rafferty, also a Democrat, said the bill is “defining sound science just to gut our ability to use it to drive science-based and data-driven policy.”

The state House of Representatives voted 88-34 for the bill, which now goes to Republican Gov. Kay Ivey. Her office did not immediately respond to an email seeking comment.

By COLLEEN NEWVINE

If you daydream about getting a break from work, you might picture two weeks of vacation or a long weekend getaway. But some people dare to imagine something bigger and find ways to get a substantial breather from stress or their day-to-day routines.

Mini-sabbaticals. Adult gap years. Micro-retirement. Extended career breaks go by many names and take many forms, from using the time between jobs to explore or taking an employer-approved leave to becoming a digital nomad or saving up for a monthslong adventure. Creating space for a reset, whether mental, physical or spiritual, is the common thread.

Cost, personal responsibilities and fears of being judged by colleagues, friends and family members are some of the obstacles that prevent people from hitting pause on their work lives and setting out in search of new perspectives, according to sabbatical experts and people who have taken sabbaticals.

The idea of taking more than a two-week vacation from work to recover from burnout or rethink life is slowly gaining supporters in the United States. (AP Illustration / Peter Hamlin)

No longer just for academics

American attitudes toward taking time off are different from the ones in much of Europe, where free time and rest are prioritized, said Kira Schrabram, an assistant professor of management at the University of Washington’s business school who studies meaningful and sustainable work. In the European Union, workers are entitled by law to at least 20 days of paid vacation a year.

But more companies are allowing weeks or months of paid or unpaid leave as a way to retain valued employees, according to Schrabram. Seven years ago, she brought her experience researching burnout to the Sabbatical Project, an initiative founded by Harvard Business School Senior Lecturer DJ DiDonna that promotes sabbaticals as “a sacred human ritual” to which more people should have access.

Schrabram, DiDonna and University of Notre Dame Professor Emeritus Matt Bloom interviewed 50 U.S. professionals who took an extended break from non-academic jobs. From the responses, they identified three types of sabbaticals: working holidays that involved pursuing a passion project; “free dives” that combined exciting adventures with periods of rest; and quests undertaken by burned-out people who engaged in life-changing explorations once they had recovered sufficiently.

More than half of the interview subjects self-funded their hiatuses. In an article for the Harvard Business Review, the researchers made a case for sabbaticals as a tool employers could use to recruit, keep and foster talented workers. But since extended paid leaves are not common, “we’re really pushing back on the idea that a sabbatical needs to be sponsored by an employer,” Schrabram said of the Sabbatical Project, which created a network of coaches and mentors to encourage the sabbatical-curious.

Leading by example

Roshida Dowe was 39 years old and working as a corporate lawyer in California when she got laid off in 2018. Instead of seeking a new job right away, she decided to spend a year traveling. Struck by how many how many people asked how she managed it, Dowe decided to decided to try working as an online career-break coach.

Related Articles

Here’s why the Apostle Islands ice caves closed a day after opening

‘Adopt a Statue’ program for Milan’s iconic Duomo restores centuries-old marbles

A day after opening, Apostle Islands ice caves close (for now) for incoming storm

Vatican expands visitor experience at St. Peter’s Basilica to mark 400th anniversary

A sentimental journey to Scotland

She and Stephanie Perry, a former pharmacy technician who also took a gap year to travel and found a calling in coaching, co-founded ExodUS Summit, a virtual conference for Black women to talk about taking a sabbatical or moving abroad. Speakers at the event discuss both practical considerations like finances, safety and health care, and more philosophical topics like the value of rest and breaking free of intergenerational trauma.

Showcasing women who set off to see the world is powerful because “a lot of us aren’t open to possibilities we haven’t been shown before,” said Dowe, who moved to Mexico City as part of her own reinvention.

“When I coach women who are looking to take a sabbatical, the main thing they’re looking for is permission,” she said.

For Perry, a 2014 vacation in Brazil served as a catalyst for when she met people staying in her hostel who were traveling for months, not days. She researched budget travel and found people making it work on $40 a day.

Prior to that, “I thought for sure people who traveled long term were all trust fund babies,” she said.

Funding the dream

Cost is a common obstacle for people considering a break. There are creative ways around that, said Perry, who has legal residency in Mexico and an apartment in Bogota, Colombia.

“Housesitting is the reason I can work very little and travel a lot,” she said.

Perry, who has a YouTube channel where she posts videos about traveling or becoming an expat as a Black American, raises money through her subscribers to sponsor Black women on sabbaticals.

When Ashley Graham took a break from her work at a nonprofit in Washington, D.C., she mapped out a road trip that included visiting friends with whom she could stay for free.

“It was a great way to connect with my past life,” said Graham, who subsequently relocated to New Orleans after loving the city during her sabbatical travels.

Taylor Anderson, is a certified financial planner based in Vancouver, Washington, specializes in helping clients plan for sabbaticals. She said many of the same principles apply to saving up for one as they do to saving for retirement. Both require financial discipline as well as a willingness to recognize when it’s safe to spend.

“We talk about money breathing. Sometimes it’s inhaling, sometimes it’s exhaling,” Anderson, who has experienced the benefits of a sabbatical reboot herself, said. “Often we find that people do have money saved, but they’re afraid to spend it.”

“The question of ‘What is enough?’ is really difficult,” she added.

Can everyone afford to take a month or more without a paycheck? Of course not. But for those who have built up a nest egg, “the cost is actually less than you might assume,” she said.

Risks and rewards

Artists Eric Rewitzer and Annie Galvin put two employees in charge of their San Francisco gallery in 2018 to spend the summer in France and Ireland.

“It was terrifying,” said Rewitzer, who described himself as having been a workaholic and control freak. “It was a huge exercise in trust.”

When they returned to San Francisco, Rewitzer saw the city differently. He felt his life had been out of balance — too much work and too little time in nature.

That shift in perspective led the couple to buy what they thought would be a weekend home in the Sierra Nevada. It turned into their full-time home when they shut down their gallery during the COVID-19 pandemic.

“It all comes back to that same place of being willing to take chances,” Rewitzer said.

A way of life

Taking a break from college to be a ski bum in Vail, Colorado, set Gregory Du Bois on a path of taking mini-sabbaticals throughout his corporate IT career. Each time he took a new job, he negotiated for extended time off, explaining to his managers that to perform at his best, he needed breaks to recharge.

“It’s such a way of life that I almost don’t think of it as sabbaticals,” said Du Bois, who retired from tech and began working as a life coach in Sedona, Arizona. “For me, it’s a spiritual regeneration.”

Colleen Newvine is the product manager of the AP Stylebook at The Associated Press. She is also a life and career coach, and the author of “Your Mini Sabbatical.” She and her husband have lived temporarily in New Orleans, San Francisco and Costa Rica’s Nicoya Peninsula, among other mini sabbatical locales.

By Jackie Varriano, The Seattle Times

SEATTLE — If your social media feeds are anything like mine, they’ve been filled with videos, memes and more about “Heated Rivalry,” the hit show based on the second book of the same name in Rachel Reid’s hockey romance series “Game Changers.” “Heated Rivalry” follows star hockey players Shane Hollander and Ilya Rozanov, who go on a yearslong journey from rivals to lovers.

I know I’m not alone, because Kate Sellers, technical and collections services manager for The Seattle Public Library, said “Heated Rivalry” has undergone a sharp uptick in hold requests since the show premiered on Nov. 28.

When we spoke, the e-book version had 1,183 holds on 163 copies. The audiobook is in the library’s Always Available collection, meaning patrons can get it at any time. There were also 134 holds on the paper book, but Sellers said they’ve been waiting on additional copies to be shipped from a vendor to help meet demand.

But never fear, if you’re looking to delve further into the world of hockey romance, there are plenty of books beyond the “Game Changers” series to explore. Read on to find seven books that will help further fuel any burgeoning hockey romance obsession. (P.S. If you just can’t get enough of Shane and Ilya, the show was renewed for a second season, and Reid announced a third installment featuring those characters, titled “Unrivaled,” due this fall.)

For readers who love a TV adaptation

“The Deal” by Elle Kennedy. First published in 2015, Kennedy’s “The Deal” is in production with a May 2026 release date on Prime Video. The book is the first in Kennedy’s “Off-Campus” series and centers on college hockey captain Garrett Graham and music major Hannah Wells at the fictional Briar University.

The “deal” comes in when Garrett seeks tutoring help from Hannah. In exchange, he’ll help her snag the attention of her crush. This is a cute friends-to-lovers story with great character development. Garrett is no one-note dumb jock, and there’s more to Hannah than her prim exterior. While both characters are battling past demons, the way they come together in support of one another is swoon-worthy.

This book has a few explicit open-door scenes, ranking it between a three and four out of five on the chili pepper scale, but “The Deal” is fairly tame in the world of Kennedy’s level of spice.

For readers glued to the Winter Olympics

On New Year’s Eve, Ari Shumba, the newly appointed women’s ice hockey captain for Team Great Britain, meets aspiring photographer Drew Dlamini at a party just minutes before the ball drops. (Flatiron Books/TNS)

“Skate It Till You Make It” by Rufaro Faith Mazarura. On New Year’s Eve, Ari Shumba — the newly appointed women’s ice hockey captain for Team Great Britain — meets aspiring photographer Drew Dlamini at a party just minutes before the ball drops. Thinking they’ll never see each other again, the two spill all their red flags, being more honest with a stranger than they’ve been with friends or family, and sharing a passionate kiss at midnight.

Months later, Ari is on the ice at the Winter Olympics while Drew is there taking photos, and fate throws them together again. Even though they had already agreed a romance between them wouldn’t work when they first met on New Year’s Eve, this sweet, closed-door (0 on the chili pepper scale) romance takes readers on a journey that shows good things can happen when you lay your cards on the table and let people in.

For readers who like hockey as a vehicle for storytelling, but not as a main plot point

“The Wild Card” is Archer’s fifth book in her “Vancouver Storm” series. Each installment centers on a player from the fictional Vancouver, B.C., pro hockey team and their love interest. Book five pairs head coach Tate Ward with Jordan Hathaway, a fiery bartender who also happens to be the estranged daughter of the Storm’s owner. (Dell/TNS)

“The Wild Card” by Stephanie Archer. “Wild Card” is Archer’s fifth book in her “Vancouver Storm” series. Each installment centers on a player from the fictional Vancouver, B.C., pro hockey team and their love interest. Book five pairs head coach Tate Ward with Jordan Hathaway, a fiery bartender who also happens to be the estranged daughter of the Storm’s owner. When Jordan’s dad threatens to sell the team, Tate recruits Jordan — who, despite her rocky relationship with her dad, still loves the team — as the team’s general manager in an effort to stop the sale.

Both characters are intensely private, and they’ve both made huge (incorrect) assumptions about each other. Watching them have to work together while unraveling those assumptions proves to be downright delightful. This slow-burn book rates between a two and a three on the spice scale.

For readers looking for a queer sports romance

It’s too simple to say “Wake Up, Nat & Darcy” is merely the sapphic version of “Heated Rivalry.” Yes, we’re dealing with former hockey teammates turned adversaries in Darcy LaCroix and Natalie Carpenter, but other than hockey and the Olympics as a backdrop, the only other thing these two books share is a spotlight on how miscommunication and assumptions can change everything. (Carina Adores/TNS)

“Wake Up, Nat & Darcy” by Kate Cochrane. It’s too simple to say “Wake Up, Nat & Darcy” is merely the sapphic version of “Heated Rivalry.” Yes, we’re dealing with former hockey teammates turned adversaries in Darcy LaCroix and Natalie Carpenter — but other than hockey and the Olympics as a backdrop, the only other thing these two books share is a spotlight on how miscommunication and assumptions can change everything.

Darcy is a three-time Olympic gold-winning Canadian women’s hockey player turned broadcast journalist, while Natalie was just cut from the U.S. women’s hockey team, leaving her dreams of another Olympic medal in the dust. When a guest hosting gig at Darcy’s network comes up, the duo is paired in a series of athletic stunts with Olympic athletes, and sparks fly. However, it’s not immediately apparent if those sparks will end up burning down everything Darcy has worked for or if the flames will turn into something more romantic.

Fans of miscommunication will love the heated banter between Darcy and Natalie. This book rates a high two on the chili pepper scale with mild open-door scenes.

For readers who appreciate mental illness representation

“Unbound” by Peyton Corinne. Set for an April 7 release, “Unbound” is the third book in “The Undone” series. Like the first two in the series (“Unsteady,” “Unloved”), “Unbound” follows a college hockey phenom at the fictional East Coast college Waterfell.

Meet Bennett Reiner, the team’s neurodivergent goalie struggling to maintain control over his OCD, anxiety and autism. His love interest, the guarded Paloma Blake, is also hiding some deep trauma behind her party girl exterior. Corinne uses flashbacks to take readers on a trip through Paloma and Bennett’s three-year relationship, showing us where they started and how they arrived at a messy present.

This is an emotionally turbulent story with hockey at its periphery and steamy, open-door scenes sprinkled throughout (3.5 on the chili pepper scale). There are also a fair amount of trigger warnings in the book to pay attention to for readers sensitive to compulsive behaviors, panic attacks and childhood trauma.

For readers who want a heavier dose of hockey

“Thrown for a Loop” by Sarina Bowen. Zoe Carson and Chase Merritt have history. Now, Zoe is a recent divorcee and recovering Olympic figure skater looking for a new start as a skating coach for the fictional NHL New York Legends team. Chase is a player who has lost his mojo on the ice. But 10 years ago? They were skating camp counselors deeply in love for one fleeting summer.

Related Articles

‘Infinite Jest’ at 30: Why its editor says it’s ‘more valuable than ever’

Gisèle Pelicot’s memoir launches in 22 languages, turning horror into hope for survivors

Readers and writers: Exploring the idea of ‘community’

Literary calendar for week of Feb. 15

9 romance novel recommendations to spice up your Valentine’s Day

Zoe is on the hunt not only to get a full-time contract with the Legends, but to mend fences with the boy who broke her heart all those years ago. This book drills down on skating technique and mechanics while still being fun and fresh. It ranks as a three on the chili pepper scale with a few open-door love scenes and some moderately spicy language.

“Evening the Score” by Lexi LaFleur Brown. Scheduled for a May 26 release, “Evening the Score” will have you laughing out loud at the banter and shenanigans between star NHL player Brody Parker and (temporary) team mascot/former college hockey player Olivia Hinckley.

Olivia’s former NHL player dad, Kevin, lost his contract in the league because of a CTE-causing concussion from a dirty hit. Brody’s dad, Erik Parker, was the cocky player who delivered the blow. Now, seven years after Kevin’s death, Brody signs a contract with Kevin’s former team, the Minnesota Freeze, and Olivia decides to launch a plan for revenge.

This hilarious secret identity, fake dating, enemies-to-lovers romance has plenty of hockey stats and hockey-related banter alongside good queer and Indigenous representation, chef’s kiss character growth and a couple open-door steamy scenes that place it at a solid three on the chili pepper scale.

© 2026 The Seattle Times. Visit www.seattletimes.com. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.

By MARYCLAIRE DALE

PHILADELPHIA (AP) — The Trump administration will appeal a federal judge’s order to restore a Philadelphia exhibit on the nine people enslaved by George Washington at his former home on Independence Mall.

Related Articles

Public health, green groups sue EPA over repeal of rule supporting climate protections

Many Democrats are still down on the Democratic Party, a new AP-NORC poll finds

Late-night host Stephen Colbert isn’t backing down from public dispute with CBS bosses

Judge blocks deportation of Palestinian activist who led protests at Columbia

Trump administration backs Kalshi, Polymarket as states move to ban prediction markets

The Justice Department insists the administration alone can decide what stories are told at National Park Service properties. Park service workers last month abruptly removed exhibits from the Philadelphia site, prompting the city and other supporters of the exhibit to sue.

U.S. Senior Judge Cynthia M. Rufe on Monday granted an injunction ordering that the materials be restored while the lawsuit proceeds and barring Trump officials from creating new interpretations of the site’s history. The administration on Tuesday filed a notice of appeal with the 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, also based in Philadelphia.

Rufe, an appointee of Republican President George W. Bush, compared the President Donald Trump’s administration to the totalitarian regime in the dystopian novel “1984,” which revised historical records to align with its narrative.

“As if the Ministry of Truth in George Orwell’s 1984 now existed, with its motto ‘Ignorance is Strength,’ this Court is now asked to determine whether the federal government has the power it claims — to dissemble and disassemble historical truths when it has some domain over historical facts,” Rufe wrote. “It does not.”

Millions of people are expected to visit Philadelphia, the nation’s birthplace, this year for the 250th anniversary of the country’s founding in 1776.

The historical site is among several where the administration has quietly removed content about the history of enslaved people, LGBTQ+ people and Native Americans.