Green Tape: President Obama today took climate change into his own hands when the EPA announced new regulations to cut carbon pollution from American power plants 30 percent by the year 2030. The regulations target the country’s 600 coal-fired power plants and could force the closure of many that can’t meet the standard. If the regulations survive expected legal and legislative assaults, they could shift the way power is generated in the US.

The Swap: Hailey, Idaho is preparing to welcome home former prisoner of war Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl even whilea swell of anger and resentment has arisen over the prisoner exchange that brought his freedom after nearly five years of captivity in Afghanistan.

Bergdahl’s Army mates believe he walked away from his remote post and was captured after becoming disillusioned with the war. An entire US military division with Afghan support was used to search for him and some involved said they resented the increased risk to their lives. Some think Bergdahl should be tried for desertion.

On the political side, members of Congress from both parties have said the swap sets a bad precedent that America is willing to negotiate over prisoners. The five members of the Taliban released in exchange for Bergdahl were all high level commanders.

Nation: The Solar Impulse 2, a solar powered airplane built to fly around the world, made its first flight in Switzerland yesterday. The plane with a wingspan of 236 feet has 17,000 solar cells and four electric engines. The plane is designed to store enough electricity to fly through the night.

World: Spain’s King Juan Carlos, 76, announced that he is abdicating after nearly 40 years and handing over the throne to his son, Crown Prince Felipe. The king said it’s time for a new generation. Juan Carlos is credited with playing a large part in returning Spain to democracy after the death of the military dictator Gen. Francisco Franco.

Hockey, eh?: The Los Angeles Kings beat the defending champion Chicago Blackhawks 5-4 in overtime to enter the Stanley Cup finals for the second time in three years. In a relentlessly contested game, the Kings never had the lead until they scored the winning goal. They had squandered a 3-1 lead in the series to force themselves into a nail-biting final. The Kings, who won the cup two years ago, meet the NY Rangers in the first game of the Stanley Cup finals, Wednesday in Los Angeles. Eighty-four degrees and palm trees. Must be hockey season.

The Obit Page:Japanese-American civil rights activist Yuri Kochiyama has died in Berkeley, Calif. at age 93. Kochiyama spent two years in an internment camp for Japanese Americans during World War II. In New York after the war she became active in causes and was an ally of Malcolm X. She was present when he was assassinated and cradled his head as he lay on the floor. In the 1980s she was active in the successful push for reparations for the Japanese Americans sent to camps during the war.

>Ann Davis, the cheerful, wisecracking maid Alice on “The Brady Bunch” television series from 1969 to 1974 died in San Antonio at age 88. She had fallen in the bathtub, hit her head, and slipped into a coma. Going way back to the 50s she had played “Shultzy” the spinster secretary on “The Bob Cummings Show.”

Literary License: Despite William Shakespeare’s description of him as a “foul bunch-back’d toad,” King Richard III had curvature of the spine, but was not a hunchback, according to scientists who made a 3-D reconstruction of the king’s spine. They diagnosed Richard with severe scoliosis, a curvature with a twist. Richard was killed in battle at age 32 defending his crown in 1485. His bones were found nearly two years ago under a parking lot in Leicester.

Family Feud:In the continuing family custody fight over the ailing former DJ Kasey Kasem, things have gotten a little raw. The 82-year-old Kasem, famous for his “America’s Top 40” countdown of hits, has advanced dementia. Kasem’s daughters have had trouble getting access to their father, who is guarded by his 59-year-old wife Jean. When daughter Kerri arrived with an ambulance to take Kasem to the hospital, Jean threw a pound of raw meat at her. Jean told NBC News, “In the name of King David, I threw a piece of raw meat into the street in exchange for my husband to the wild rabid dogs.”Okay, that’s one way of going about it.

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