States sue to undo Biden pause on US oil & gas lease sales

(AP) — Missouri and a dozen other states are suing the Biden administration to end a suspension of oil and gas leasing on federal lands and waters. The suit also seeks a court order that the government go ahead with two offshore lease sales that had been set for this year. One in the Gulf of Mexico had been set for March 17 until the administration canceled it. Another had been planned this year for Alaska's Cook Inlet. Alabama, Alaska, Arkansas, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, Montana, Nebraska, Oklahoma, Texas, Utah, and West Virginia are the other plaintiff states.