A federal appeals court on Thursday declined to temporarily block a key Obama administration environmental rule to limit carbon emissions from power plants, rejecting requests by states and companies that wanted the regulation halted while they challenged it in court. More than two dozen states and an array of utilities, coal producers and business groups argued they faced immediate burdens from complying with the Environmental Protection Agency regulation, which the administration issued in August. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, in a brief written order, denied their requests to stay the regulation during the litigation. The court said the challengers “have not satisfied the stringent requirements” for a stay of a regulation pending the court’s review. The court’s action is an early victory for the EPA in what is likely to be a yearslong legal battle over a cornerstone of President Barack Obama ’s […]