U.S. environmental chief to recuse himself from court cases

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency chief Scott Pruitt has recused himself from several court cases that he pursued against the agency when he was Oklahoma attorney general, according to a recusal statement.Pruitt, who had sued the environmental agency more than a dozen times when he was the oil- and gas-producing state's top legal officer, had pledged during his Senate confirmation that he would step aside from ongoing cases if the agency's ethics panel required it.Environmental groups have co