Pipeline to be approved?

WASHINGTON — The Trump administration will approve the Keystone XL pipeline on Friday, senior U.S. officials said, ending years of delay for a project that has served as a flashpoint in the national debate about climate change. The State Department will recommend the pipeline is in U.S. interests, clearing the way for the White House to grant a presidential permit to TransCanada to build the $8 billion pipeline, two officials said. It’s a sharp reversal from the Obama administration, which rejected the pipeline after deeming it contrary to national interests. The officials, who weren’t authorized to speak publicly on the matter and demanded anonymity, said the State Department’s recommendation and the White House’s final approval would occur Friday. The White House declined to comment.

Utah to lower DUI threshold:

SALT LAKE CITY — Utah’s governor signed legislation Thursday giving the predominantly Mormon state the strictest drunken driving threshold in the country, a change restaurant groups and representatives of the ski and snowboard industry say will hurt tourism. Republican Gov. Gary Herbert said lowering the blood alcohol limit for most drivers to 0.05 percent from 0.08 percent will save lives. Opponents had urged Herbert to veto the bill, saying it would punish responsible drinkers and burnish Utah’s reputation as unfriendly to those who drink alcohol.

Ex-IRA chief laid to rest:

DUBLIN — Martin McGuinness, the Irish Republican Army chieftain who turned away from violence to forge bonds with Northern Ireland’s Protestants, was laid to rest Thursday in a cross-community service that illustrated the new alliances forged by the region’s slow-blooming peace process. Two Protestant ministers and former U.S. President Bill Clinton took turns eulogizing a man who had long topped Britain’s list of terrorists. Clinton said McGuinness played a pivotal role in the IRA’s 27-year campaign of violence, led Sinn Fein’s negotiating team that shaped the Good Friday peace accord of 1998, became the top Irish Catholic in the region’s unity government — and noted the irony of it all. “After all the breath he expended cursing the British over the years, he worked with two prime ministers and shook hands with the queen,” Clinton said.

Ex-Russian lawmaker killed:

KIEV, Ukraine — A former Russian lawmaker who became a vociferous critic of Moscow after his recent move to Ukraine was shot and killed Thursday in Kiev, prompting harsh words between the two countries. Denis Voronenkov, who had testified to Ukrainian investigators and criticized Russian policies after his move to Kiev last fall, was shot by an unidentified gunman near an upscale hotel in the Ukrainian capital. Voronenkov’s bodyguard, a Ukrainian security services officer charged with protecting him, fired back during the attack and was also seriously wounded. Ukrainian officials said the gunman, who they claimed was a Ukrainian citizen, later died from wounds in his chest and head.