Rice's whales are one of the rarest whale species on Earth. They're endemic to the Gulf of Mexico and only about 50 individuals remain. These majestic creatures are protected under the Endangered Species Act but now stand in the way of President Trump's oil-industry cronies. So, for the first time in more than 30 years, the Department of the Interior is convening a meeting of a panel of high-ranking government officials called the Endangered Species Committee — but it's much better described as the Extinction Committee. The goal: eliminate essential protections to fast-track oil drilling in the Gulf of Mexico — condemning Rice's whales, Kemp's ridley sea turtles, and other rare wildlife to extinction while padding the coffers of massive corporate polluters. And to make matters worse, the group is violating the requirements of the Endangered Species Act by withholding key documents and meeting via livestream only, despite the law's clear requirements for an open and transparent p...