NEWS OF THE DAY

1 Security costs: The Environmental Protection Agency had no proper justification for spending more than $3.5 million on round-the-clock security for former head Scott Pruitt, including nearly $1 million in travel costs for his bodyguards, the agency’s internal watchdog concluded on Tuesday. The EPA allowed Pruitt and his team to increase the security detail from six agents for Pruitt’s predecessor to 19 for Pruitt without proving the need, “an undocumented decision (that) represents an inefficient use of agency resources,” the EPA Office of the Inspector General concluded. According to the EPA inspector general’s report, Pruitt’s security costs were more than double those of his predecessor, Gina McCarthy, during her last year.

2 McCain replacement: Former Sen Jon Kyl has only agreed to a brief appointment filling the late John McCain’s senate seat. That could help another Arizona Republican who is currently trying to join the U.S. Senate — Rep. Martha McSally. McSally is running against Democratic Rep. Kyrsten Sinema for an open senate seat in November. Analysts rate the contest as a toss-up. If McSally loses, she’d be out of a job just in time for Kyl’s appointment to end on Jan. 3. Arizona’s governor would be required by state law to appoint another Republican before the 2020 election.

3 No third term: In a stunning decision, Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel announced Tuesday morning that he will no longer seek a third term in office, signaling the end to what has been a tumultuous — and at times transformative — eight years in office. Emanuel’s decision marks a dramatic political reversal, as for the better part of the last year he had said he would run for a third term. The mayor, long a prolific fundraiser, had already reeled in more than $10 million toward a bid for a third term. But he also has been saddled with unpopularity, particularly among African American voters, for his handling of the Laquan McDonald police shooting controversy, which led to a federal civil rights investigation of the police department, accusations of a City Hall cover-up and weeks of street protests that called for Emanuel’s resignation.

4 Polar bear tourism: A tiny Alaska Native village has experienced a boom in tourism in recent years as polar bears spend more time on land than on diminishing Arctic sea ice. More than 2,000 people visited the northern Alaska village of Kaktovik on the Beaufort Sea last year to see polar bears in the wild, Alaska’s Energy Desk reported Monday. The village had less than 50 visitors annually before 2011, said Jennifer Reed, of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. Polar bears have always been a common sight on sea ice near Kaktovik, but residents started noticing a change in the mid-1990s. More bears seemed to stay on land, and researchers began taking note of more female bears making dens in the snow on land instead of on the ice.