Archive by Author

Abbott schedule shows he hasn't attended funerals of Uvalde victims: report

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott’s (R) schedule shows that he did not attend the funerals of victims of the mass shooting that occurred in Uvalde, Texas, according to documents obtained by a local ABC News station.

Abbott has not been to Uvalde since June 5, according to his schedule, when he met with Uvalde District Attorney Christina Busbee and attended a worship event.

The schedule, made public through a records request by the local ABC News affiliate, spans from May 25 to June 15, and includes three other visits to Uvalde.

Family members of the victims of the Uvalde shooting, which killed 19 children and two teachers, have criticized Abbott and other Texas lawmakers for their absence in communicating with them.

“For everyone out there getting ready to vote…Since this has happened, Governor Abbott has yet to reach out. Ted Cruz has yet to reach out,” said Angel Garza, the father of 10-year-old shooting victim Amerie Jo Garza, the network reported.

“These guys don’t have compassion for us. They don’t care,” he added.

Abbott said at a press conference on Thursday that he plans to return to Uvalde “many more times,” especially to supervise work on a mental health facility being built there.

“I’ve been there multiple times to Uvalde for multiple purposes,” he said. “Sometimes for public presentations, sometimes for grieving events and different things like that, and I will be going many more times.”

A spokeswoman for Abbott told The Houston Chronicle that the governor had visited “every family who requested a meeting.”

“Many families requested private funerals, and the Governor and First Lady instead sent flowers and condolences to let the loved ones know they remain in their prayers,” the spokesperson added.

The Hill has reached out to Abbott’s office for comment.

Representatives for Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) told the TV network that the senator had planned to speak to some of the victim’s families but that a meeting had been canceled.

Garza had praise, however, for Democratic gubernatorial candidate Beto O’Rourke and state Sen. Roland Gutierrez, a Democrat who represents the district that includes Uvalde, “means something to us.”

“This isn’t some, some little plot or anything,” said Garza. “This is real life. This is hurting all of us. We are not living a normal life right now.”

Abbott held a press conference in Uvalde on May 25, a day after the shooting, and a second on May 27.

Abbott also met President Biden and first lady Jill Biden in Uvalde on May 29, where they met with Busbee and a group of first responders.

Source: TEST FEED1

House approves resolution supporting Finland, Sweden joining NATO; 18 Republicans vote ‘no’

The House approved a resolution on Monday that expressed support for Finland and Sweden joining NATO, exactly two months after the pair of Nordic countries submitted applications to become part of the military alliance amid Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

The resolution cleared the House in a 394-18 vote, with only Republicans voting in opposition. Two Democrats and 17 Republicans did not vote.

The group of GOP lawmakers who voted “no” included Reps. Andy Biggs (Ariz.), Dan Bishop (N.C.), Lauren Boebert (Colo.), Madison Cawthorn (N.C.), Ben Cline (Va.), Michael Cloud (Texas), Warren Davidson (Ohio), Matt Gaetz (Fla.), Bob Good (Va.), Marjorie Taylor Greene (Ga.), Morgan Griffith (Va.), Thomas Massie (Ky.), Tom McClintock (Calif.), Mary Miller (Ill.), Ralph Norman (S.C.), Matt Rosendale (Mont.), Chip Roy (Texas) and Jeff Van Drew (N.J.).

The measure, which has bipartisan sponsorship, expresses support for Finland and Sweden’s “historic decision” to apply to NATO, and calls on member states to formally support them joining the military alliance.

It also opposes any efforts by the Russian Federation to adversely respond to Finland and Sweden’s decision to join the alliance, and urges NATO members to satisfy the two percent defense spending pledge that countries signed on to at the 2014 Wales Summit. That declaration said that NATO allies currently spending at least two percent of their GDP on defense would try and continue to do so.

The House passed the resolution exactly two months after Finland and Sweden submitted their applications to become members of NATO. On June 29, the military alliance officially invited the two Nordic countries to join the group.

Even before then, however, on June 9, the Senate Foreign Relations Committee approved a resolution by voice vote that called on NATO to quickly grant membership to Finland and Sweden.

The push for Finland and Sweden to join NATO gained steam this year, particularly after Russia launched its invasion of Ukraine on Feb. 24 — which is still ongoing. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky recently said the war can come to an end by the conclusion of this year.

House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-Md.) expressed support for the resolution during debate on the House floor Monday, saying “two extraordinary new members” will be added to the European community, and underscoring the value the pair of countries will bring to the alliance.

“Together, Finland and Sweden will add substantial capabilities to NATO’s collective defense and make the Baltic region much more secure against Russian aggression. But much more than that, they will add value because of their values to our alliance,” Hoyer said.

Hoyer also called for Russia’s “strategic defeat” in the war, emphasizing the international signfiicance of a victory for Kyiv.

“Vladimir Putin must not win this war. Not only for the sake of the Ukrainians and their extraordinary bravery, and the bravery and leadership of Mr. Zelensky, their President, but because the free world needs to send a very strong and clear and unmistakable message that tyranny will not prevail,” he said.

“We must send a message to dictators around the world that this action is unacceptable and will be opposed to victory by the free world. We must defend the hard-won principle in international laws and norms that a nation cannot simply invade and seek to conquer territory from a neighbor by force,” he added.

Rep. Michael Turner (R-Ohio), the ranking member of the House Intelligence Committee and a sponsor of the resolution, said Finland and Sweden will be “significant security providers for NATO.”

“Finland and Sweden’s strategic location in Northern Europe, advanced militaries and decades of fighting alongside the U.S. and NATO mean that their accession will immediately strengthen the transatlantic security,” he said during debate on the House floor.

“Finland and Sweden have well-trained armed forces, sophisticated modern weapon systems and have committed to allocating two percent of their gross domestic product to defense spending. Both militaries are highly interoperable with NATO forces, having participated in numerous NATO-led operations from Afghanistan, Iraq, Bosnia and Herzegovina to Kosovo,” he added.

Source: TEST FEED1

US debt held by China drops to lowest in 12 years

The total U.S. debt held by China has reportedly dropped to its lowest rate in twelve years, according to data released by the Department of Treasury. 

The data published Monday found that China’s holding of U.S. debt dropped to $980.8 billion in May, down $23 billion since April. 

As of now, Japan is the leading holder of U.S. debt with $1.2 trillion, data noted. 

CNBC reported that this is the first time since 2010 when China’s debt holding has fallen below the $1 trillion mark. The news outlet added that the drop can be attributed to China’s government working on issues to diversity its foreign debt portfolio. 

The new data release comes as the Federal Reserve has been raising interest rates in the past months to curb the rise of inflation in the U.S. 

Last month, the Fed issued an 0.75 percentage hike in interest rates, the largest increase in nearly 30 years. 

Speaking at a Senate Banking Committee hearing, Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell acknowledged that the recent battle with inflation could potentially tip the country into another recession.

Source: TEST FEED1

Who is Sarah Matthews, the Trump White House aide testifying to Jan. 6 panel?

Sarah Matthews is set to testify at Thursday’s prime-time hearing of the House committee investigating the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol attack, according to Monday evening reports.

Matthews, who served as the former deputy press secretary in the Trump administration, resigned hours after the insurrection at the Capitol, where a pro-Trump mob sought to stop Congress from certifying the 2020 presidential election results. 

The Associated Press and CNN reported Monday that she and Matthew Pottinger, former deputy national security adviser, will testify Thursday at the last currently scheduled Jan. 6 hearing, which is set to focus on Trump’s actions — or lack thereof — during the Capitol riot.

Here’s what we know about Matthews.

Who is Matthews?

Prior to her role at the White House in 2020, Matthews worked as a spokeswoman for Trump’s reelection campaign. 

The Kent State University graduate said in an interview in 2020 that she met the Trump campaign’s then-national press secretary, Kayleigh McEnany, through that job.

She added that McEnany took Matthews with her when she left the campaign to become the White House press secretary.

The 27-year-old is currently the communications director for Republicans on the House Select Committee on the Climate Crisis, a position she has held since February 2021.

Matthews, who had previously been supportive of the Trump administration’s work during the former president’s term, took to Twitter in January to comment on the one-year anniversary of the insurrection, calling it “one of the darkest days in American history.”

“Make no mistake, the events on the 6th were a coup attempt, a term we’d use had they happened in any other country, and former President Trump failed to meet the moment,” Matthews wrote in a Twitter thread.

“While it might be easier to ignore or whitewash the events of that day for political expediency — if we’re going to be morally consistent — we need to acknowledge these hard truths,” she added.

She resigned on Jan. 6

Matthews was among the Trump White House staffers who resigned in the immediate aftermath of the Capitol attack.

“I was honored to serve in the Trump administration and proud of the policies we enacted. As someone who worked in the halls of Congress I was deeply disturbed by what I saw today,” she said in a statement at the time.

“I’ll be stepping down from my role, effective immediately. Our nation needs a peaceful transfer of power,” she said.

Matthews has expressed support for ex-White House aide Cassidy Hutchinson

Matthews also expressed her support for Hutchinson’s testimony before the House select committee investigating the riot last month, defending her former colleague amid criticism over her blockbuster testimony.

She tweeted that “anyone downplaying Cassidy Hutchinson’s role or her access in the West Wing either doesn’t understand how the Trump [White House] worked or is attempting to discredit her because they’re scared of how damning this testimony is.”

She has previously testified before the Jan. 6 panel

Matthews appeared voluntarily before the House select committee in February.

A source familiar confirmed to The Hill that Matthews was asked by the committee about the White House’s activities on the day of the attack.

The committee on June 16 also played a clip from Matthews’s testimony in which she commented on Trump’s 2:24 p.m. tweet that targeted his vice president directly.

Trump tweeted, “Mike Pence didn’t have the courage to do what should have been done,” which according to Matthews, was like “pouring gasoline on the fire.”

“The situation was already bad, and so it felt like he was pouring gasoline on the fire by tweeting that,” Matthews said in the video clip.

Source: TEST FEED1

Two New Yorkers charged in investment scheme off Trump fundraisers

A man and woman were charged on Monday with multiple counts of fraud after allegedly breaking campaign finance laws to sell Chinese contacts access to events featuring former President Trump.

Sherry Xue Li and Lianbo Wang were arrested and charged in a New York court with wire fraud conspiracy, money laundering conspiracy and conspiracy to defraud the United States, as well as obstructing Federal Election Commission laws.

“We allege Li and Wang promised investors green cards, access to political figures, and dividends on their money. Tens of millions of dollars came in from investors and straw donors, who expected their money would bear fruit,” said FBI Assistant Director-in-Charge Michael J. Driscoll of the case.

Li and Wang, both naturalized American citizens, allegedly contributed the money of their Chinese business contacts to the Trump campaign in exchange for gaining them access to the former president’s exclusive fundraising events.

The FBI, Department of Homeland Security and U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services worked together to investigate the foreign financial interactions.

“This Office is committed to protecting our democratic process from those who would expose it to unlawful foreign influence, and investors from the predatory fraudsters who would steal their money Citizenship and Immigration Services,” said U.S. Attorney Breon Peace.

Wang denies taking part in the conspiracies of which he is accused, according to the Associated Press.

Source: TEST FEED1

Trump blasts ‘Shutdown RINO’ Larry Hogan ahead of Maryland governor primary

Former President Trump denounced Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan as a Republican in name only on the eve of the state’s Tuesday gubernatorial primary, when GOP officials backed by each man will vie for the party’s nomination to succeed Hogan.

Trump referred to Hogan, who has hit his two-term limit, as a “Shutdown RINO” due to his implementing statewide lockdowns during the coronavirus pandemic. 

“Maryland, tomorrow is a big day. Get out and vote for Dan Cox for Governor,” Trump said in a statement. “Get rid of Shutdown RINO Larry Hogan who is trying to get another RINO into office, Kelly Schulz.” 

“Dan Cox will be a great Governor,” Trump concluded. “Tomorrow is the day. Get out and vote!” 

Cox, a state delegate who has backed Trump’s baseless claims of 2020 election fraud, has previously butted heads with Hogan, filing a lawsuit against him over the state’s pandemic stay-at-home order and also filing an resolution of impeachment, accusing the governor of violating the rights of residents during the pandemic, The Associated Press reported.  

Schulz is a longtime ally of Hogan, having served as both his Labor and Commerce secretary after having previously served as a state delegate.

She and Cox are joined in the Republican gubernatorial primary by former Maryland state Del. Robin Ficker.

Hogan, who has flirted with the idea of running for president in 2024, said on NBC’s “Meet the Press” earlier this month that the GOP is slowly pulling back from its support for Trump.

“I’ve been talking about this for years now, and I felt like I was on a lifeboat all by myself. But now we need a bigger boat because more and more people are speaking out every day,” Hogan told moderator Chuck Todd. “I said Trump’s influence on the party was going to diminish over time. It hasn’t happened rapidly, but it has diminished dramatically.”

“It’s just taking longer than it should,” Hogan added.

Source: TEST FEED1

Iran sanctions dozens of Democratic and Republican US officials

Iran announced it has sanctioned dozens of current and former American officials on Saturday over claims they support an organization Tehran has deemed a terrorist group.

The 61 political figures, both Republicans and Democrats, included former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, former National Security Adviser John Bolton and Rudy Giuliani, an attorney for former President Trump.

Eleven senators and 19 House members are also included on the list.

They include Sens. Cory Booker (D-N.J.), Roy Blunt (R-Mo.), Maggie Hassan (D-N.H.), Joni Ernst (R-Iowa), John Boozman (R-Ark.), Ted Cruz (R-Texas), John Cornyn (R-Texas), Thom Tillis (R-N.C.), Rick Scott (R-Fla.), Jeanne Shaheen (D-N.H.) and Bob Menendez (D-N.J.), who serves as the chair of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.

The Iranian Ministry of Foreign Affairs said that the government was sanctioning the individuals for supporting the Mujahedin, also known as Monafeghin, an organization determined to be a “terrorist group” by the Iranian ministry.

The Mojahedin organization opposes the Iranian government and advocates for “democratic regime change” in the country.

“Despite the terrorist nature and atrocious terrorist acts of Monafeghin as well as its violent terrorist and military activities, the United States government continues to support this terrorist group and has maintained its double standards and hypocrisy in this regard,” the Iranian ministry wrote when announcing the sanctions.

The foreign affairs ministry claimed that the 61 Americans sanctioned had supported the Mojahedin by participating in one of the group’s gatherings, “acknowledging their terrorist acts and causes as well as providing political and propaganda support to the group.”

The announcement of sanctions was made the same day President Biden was returning from a trip to the Middle East, in which he assured Israeli officials that the U.S. is committed to its security and preventing a nuclear Iran.

Talks with the Biden administration over reentering a nuclear deal with Iran have stalled after Trump withdrew the U.S. from it in 2018.

Iran sanctioned a smaller group of 24 American figures, including Giuliani and Pompeo, for “financing and supporting terrorist groups and terrorist acts” in April.

Trump, his son-in-law Jared Kushner and his administration’s U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley were also on the list of sanctioned Americans.

Source: TEST FEED1

America's lost history: The thwarting of the Freedom of Information Act

July 2022 not only marks the 246th anniversary of America’s Declaration of Independence, it’s also the 56th year that the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) has been in existence. The Department of Justice (DoJ), the federal agency charged with ensuring FOIA is implemented across the executive branch, issued a press release commemorating FOIA’s enactment, drawing on the lofty language from then-Attorney General Ramsey Clark’s 1967 FOIA implementation memo.

“If the government is to be truly of, by, and for the people,” Clark wrote, “the people must know in detail the activities of government. Nothing so diminishes democracy as secrecy. Self-government, the maximum participation of the citizenry in affairs of state, is meaningful only with an informed public.”

Indeed, Clark’s words have more often than not reflected an aspiration for FOIA, not the day-to-day reality of federal departments and agencies continuing to withhold literally millions of pages of records on key figures and events. Since 2017, the Cato Institute alone has filed nearly 30 FOIA lawsuits against the Departments of Defense, Homeland Security, Justice, and Transportation, among others. But there is another, perhaps even more troubling problem with making FOIA work: government agencies destroying or even losing key records. One of the key offenders is the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI).

Over the last three years and in response to multiple Cato FOIA requests, the FBI admitted on over 30 occasions to having destroyed potentially or known responsive records on subjects of interest to Cato, and on at least 18 occasions outright lost the records at issue. Because of the FBI’s actions, historians and the public will know less about FBI surveillance of key historical figures and groups, from prominent anti-interventionists like the late Sen. Gerald Nye (R-N.D.) to religious organizations like the American Life League to the FBI’s infamous Counterintelligence Program or COINTELPRO.

To be clear, federal law does allow agencies and departments to dispose of certain kinds of federal records, including setting specific retention periods. But the destruction or loss through carelessness of things like FBI investigative records on individual Americans or groups is another matter entirely.

The problem is so severe, across the entire federal government, that the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) maintains a webpage devoted to “unauthorized disposition” incidents. It makes for quite the read, such as the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (BATFE) illegally shredding case files spanning the years 1976-1991. Or the former FBI analyst who took home reports on Al Qaeda and kept them for over a decade. And of course, there was the CIA’s unlawful destruction of the “Torture Tapes” during the so-called rendition, detention, and interrogation (RDI) program.

The unlawful destruction or loss of federal records by agencies and departments is bad enough, but when a sitting American president does so, it immediately evokes memories of Watergate and a president out of control. Indeed, it was Richard Nixon’s effort to claim the power to destroy his own records that spurred the creation of the Presidential Records Act (PRA), as noted by John Langford, Justin Florence, and Erica Newland on Lawfare earlier this year.

The trio used reports of President Trump’s apparent document destruction frenzies to call for major reforms to the PRA, including banning future chief executives from destroying records while in office. The fact that the PRA currently allows a president to destroy records he or she deems — on their own volition — to “no longer have administrative, historical, informational, or evidentiary value” is flabbergasting. The fact that the law has such a loophole may allow President Trump to evade a criminal charge of destroying federal records.

And while that fact may not seem as damning as the evidence presented thus far by the House January 6 Select Committee on Trump’s potential direction of the effort to illegally keep him in office, it should be noted that it remains unclear whether White House records relevant to the committee’s investigation have, in fact, been destroyed. If such records have been destroyed, it will only underscore the need to change the law to include a “duty to report” requirement on all future White House staff to inform the Justice Department and Congress of any illegal document destruction in real time. No federal official, especially the President of the United States, should be above the law.

Former House senior policy advisor Patrick Eddington is a senior fellow at the Cato Institute.

Source: TEST FEED1

Energy & Environment — Newsom positions himself as climate leader

California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) has emerged as a national climate leader, spurring some presidential chatter.

Today we’ll also take a look at Europe as it braces for extreme heat. 

This is Overnight Energy & Environment, your source for the latest news focused on energy, the environment and beyond. For The Hill, we’re Rachel Frazin and Zack Budryk. Someone forward you this newsletter? Subscribe here. 

Newsom plants flag on climate, stirring 2024 talk

California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) is positioning himself and his state as a national leader on climate issues amid speculation of a possible 2024 White House bid. 

Newsom, even as the Biden administration is increasingly stymied by the Supreme Court and Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.), hopes to show how the Golden State can lead the way on tackling climate change while Washington is in a quagmire. 

• Newsom’s history on climate: Newsom’s state budget package, unveiled in January, included $22.5 billion to combat climate change. In May, he revised the proposal to add another $9.5 billion. 
• Newsom also stood up for the state’s tailpipe emissions standards during a legal standoff with the Trump administration, which attempted to repeal a federal waiver allowing the rules. The waiver was restored by Biden-appointed Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Michael Regan in 2022.  

California leading the way on green issues is nothing new, but Newsom, at a time when Democrats are increasingly looking for choices beyond Biden, has a unique chance to carve out a role for himself. 

The story so far: “Under previous governor Jerry Brown [D], California was a beacon of climate leadership at a time when we lacked it at the national level under the previous administration,” Michael Mann, director of the Earth System Science Center at Pennsylvania State University, told The Hill in an email. “Here Newsom is working with the administration to advance the cause of climate action, and the California tailpipe emissions standards are a good example of that. California is setting an example that other states will hopefully follow.”  

A number of states have voluntarily adopted California’s tougher emissions standards, most recently Virginia under then-Gov. Ralph Northam (D).   

Newsom also has been one of the most public Democratic critics of the Supreme Court’s decision in West Virginia vs. EPA, in which the high court ruled the Obama-era Clean Power Plan was not legally authorized as a method of regulating power plant emissions.   

• California has “historically been the one that responds most aggressively” among the states on climate issues, Severin Borenstein, faculty director of the Energy Institute at Haas at the University of California, Berkeley, told The Hill in an interview.   
• Under Newsom, “we’re doing it again with everything from grid decarbonization to electric vehicles, to decarbonizing buildings,” Borenstein said, as well as local initiatives like moving to ban natural gas hookups.  

Since the Supreme Court’s decision, Newsom has increasingly framed his state as a bulwark against inaction at the federal level. 

Read more about some of Newsom’s moves here. 

UK, France brace for ‘heat apocalypse’  

British and French authorities are preparing for intense heat this week as the countries brace for what they call a “heat apocalypse,” which could lead to record-breaking temperatures. 

• In the United Kingdom, temperatures were forecasted to reach 41 degrees Celsius, or 106 F, for the first time, with British authorities issuing a “red extreme” heat warning in a large part of England. If those temperatures are reached it would break England’s record-setting 38.7 Celsius (101.7 F), which was set in 2019.
• Meanwhile, across the channel: France also issued its highest possible alert level along its Atlantic coast, with French authorities warning of a “heat apocalypse.” Temperatures are predicted to top 40 degrees Celsius or 104 F and the heat is expected to last until Tuesday.  

“Climate change has already influenced the likelihood of temperature extremes in the U.K.,” Nikos Christidis, a climate attribution researcher at the U.K.’s Met Office, said in a statement. “The chances of seeing 40°C days in the UK could be as much as 10 times more likely in the current climate than under a natural climate unaffected by human influence.” 

He noted that the possibility of exceeding 40 degrees Celsius in the U.K. in a given year had rapidly increased. 

The heat has been detrimental in other areas of Europe, with rapidly spreading wildfires in France, as well as Spain and Portugal, leading to mass evacuations. In response to the fires, France’s Interior Ministry deployed additional firefighters and water-bomber planes to the most severely hit regions. 

Read more from The Hill’s Rachel Scully. 

WYDEN: LEGISLATION IS ‘BEST OPTION’ FOR CLIMATE ACTION  

Senate Finance Committee Chairman Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) on Monday called legislation the “best option” to tackle climate change as President Biden has said he will take it on through regulation. 

On Friday, Biden urged the passage of a health care-only reconciliation package, saying he’d handle climate change through strong executive action. 

• Wyden said, however, that these actions are vulnerable to legal challenges. 
• “While I strongly support additional executive action by President Biden, we know a flood of Republican lawsuits will follow. Legislation continues to be the best option here.” 

And, the senator called for the continuation of climate talks in Congress as key swing vote Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va) said he didn’t want to immediately move forward with climate legislation. 

Wyden, whose panel controls tax legislation, emphasized the importance of clean energy tax incentives that would have been restored in a new statement.  

He said that without the certainty provided by the credits Democrats have been discussing, “investment in clean domestic energy will fall far short of what is necessary to reduce carbon emissions and secure lower prices for American consumers.” 

Read more about his comments here.  

HAALAND BREAKS LEG IN VIRGINIA NATIONAL PARK 

Interior Secretary Deb Haaland broke her leg Sunday while hiking in Shenandoah National Park, the Department of the Interior said Monday.  

The department said that the break to Haaland’s left fibula was confirmed during a medical evaluation on Monday morning. She was expected to work virtually Monday afternoon.

“She is grateful to Park staff, the U.S. Park Police, and the team at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center for their excellent care,” the department said.  

The Interior department oversees the National Park Service, and Shenandoah is among the 63 national parks administered by the service. 

Haaland had tested positive for COVID-19 last month. When her positive test was announced, her department said she was experiencing mild symptoms. 

Read more here. 

ON TAP TOMORROW

The Senate Energy Committee will hold a hearing to examine federal regulatory authorities governing the development of interstate hydrogen pipelines, storage, import, and export facilities. 

WHAT WE’RE READING

• ‘Things Are Going to Break’: Texas Power Plants Are Running Nonstop (Bloomberg) 
• A shale well met an abandoned well a mile away. How did it happen? (Pittsburgh Post-Gazette) 
• Russia’s Gazprom tells Europe gas halt beyond its control (Reuters) 
• Fed up with net-zero climate goals, activists call for ‘real zero’ (ABC News) 
  EPA knocks Colorado’s system for issuing air quality permits to minor polluters like drilling sites, gold mines (The Denver Post) 

   🍉 Lighter click: Staying cool

That’s it for today, thanks for reading. Check out The Hill’s Energy & Environment page for the latest news and coverage. We’ll see you tomorrow.  

VIEW FULL VERSION HERE

Source: TEST FEED1