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ByMatthewDaly The Associated Press WASHINGTON TheObama administration is blocking new oil and gas drilling in the Arctic Ocean, handing a victory to environmental- ists who say industrial ac- tivity in the icy waters will harm whales, walruses and other wildlife and exacer- bate global warming. A five-year offshore drill- ing plan announced on Fri- day blocks the planned sale of new oil and gas drill- ing rights in the Chukchi and Beaufort seas north of Alaska. The plan allows drilling to go forward in Alaska's Cook Inlet south- west of Anchorage. The blueprint for drilling from 2017 to 2022 can be re- written by President-elect Donald Trump, in a process that could take months or years. Besides Cook Inlet, the plan also allows drilling in the Gulf of Mexico, long the center of U.S. offshore oil production. Ten of the 11 lease sales proposed in the five-year plan are in the Gulf, mostly off the coasts of Mississippi, Louisiana, Texas and Alabama. Confirming a decision announced this spring, the five-year plan also bars drilling in the Atlantic Ocean. "The plan focuses lease sales in the best places — those with the highest re- source potential, lowest conflict and established in- frastructure — and removes regions that are simply not right to lease," said Interior Secretary Sally Jewell. "Given the unique and challenging Arctic envi- ronment and industry's de- clining interest in the area, forgoing lease sales in the Arctic is the right path for- ward," Jewell said. The decision follows an announcement last year by Royal Dutch Shell PLC, the only company in the last de- cade to drill in federal wa- ters, that it would cease exploration in the Chuk- chi and Beaufort seas af- ter spending upward of $7 billion. The company cited disappointing results from a well drilled in the Chuk- chi and the unpredictable federal regulatory environ- ment. Despite that, industry representatives reacted bit- terly to the latest announce- ment, calling the decision political and not supported by the facts. "The arrogance of the de- cision is unfathomable, but unfortunately not surpris- ing," said Randall Luthi, president of the National Ocean Industries Associa- tion, an industry group. "Once again, we see the attitude that Washington knows best — an attitude that contributed to last week's election results," Luthi said, referring to Trump's victory over Dem- ocrat Hillary Clinton. As he prepares to leave office in two months, Obama has worked to build an environmen- tal legacy that includes a global agreement to curb climate change and an am- bitious plan to reduce car- bon pollution from coal- fired power plants. He also has imposed stricter lim- its on smog-causing pollu- tion linked to asthma and rejected the Keystone XL oil pipeline from Canada. ENVIRONMENT On his way out, Obama blocks new oil, gas drilling in Arctic Ocean By David Mchugh The Associated Press FRANKFURT, GERMANY Volkswagen announced plans Friday to cut 30,000 jobs in a wide-ranging re- structuring of its name- sake brand as it tries to re- cover from a scandal over cars rigged to cheat on die- sel emissions tests. The German company said the job cuts, which ac- count to around 5 percent of its global workforce, are part of a long-term plan to improve profitability and shift resources and invest- ment to electric-powered ve- hicles and digital services. At a news conference at Volkswagen's headquarters in Wolfsburg, company offi- cials said 23,000 of the job cuts will be in Germany and that the measures will save some3.7billioneuros($4bil- lion) a year from 2020. Volk- swagen employs around 120,000 people at its name- sake brand in Germany. The company also said it would be hiring for some 9,000 new positions related to new technology, and that some of those jobs could go to current employees. CEO Matthias Mueller said it was "the biggest re- form package in the history of our core brand." In ad- dition to Volkswagen, the company also makes cars under other brands includ- ing Porsche, Audi, SEAT, Skoda and Lamborghini. The announcement caps a difficult year for Volkswa- gen, which has been em- broiled in an emissions-rig- ging scandal that damaged the company's reputation and cost it billions. In response, Volkswagen has agreed to pay $15 bil- lion to U.S. authorities and owners of some 500,000 vehicles with software that turned off emissions con- trols. Around 11 million cars worldwide have the decep- tive software. AU TO MAK ER Volkswagen plans to cut 30,000 jobs ankyou www.facebook.com/rbdailynews Facebook Fans 6,000+ Facebook Likes SATURDAY,NOVEMBER19,2016 REDBLUFFDAILYNEWS.COM | NEWS | 3 B