Obama Vows to Speed Building of Southern Part of Keystone Pipeline

President Barack Obama announced the administration would “cut through the red tape” for the southern leg of the Keystone XL pipeline — disappointing environmentalists who had counted it a victory when the president denied a permit for the project’s full, Canada-to-Texas version. At the same time, Obama incited the ire of some political opponents who called his late embrace of TransCanada’s oil pipeline disingenuous.