U.S. court blocks Trump administration's relaxation of migratory bird safeguards

(Reuters) - A federal judge in New York on Tuesday sided with environmental groups in striking down a Trump administration decision to roll back U.S. government protections for migratory birds that made it illegal for nearly 50 years to inadvertently kill them.

In a 31-page ruling that began by invoking the famed novel "To Kill a Mockingbird," U.S. District Judge Valerie Caproni of Manhattan upheld a longstanding interpretation of the century-old Migratory Bird Treaty Act that energy companies and other businesses have opposed as too broad.