Author: Reporter

Saving the planet is so 2024. Clean energy leaders across the globe are now tailoring their messages to emphasize the greener side of green: wealth-building. It is an idea that sells far better in the new world of nationalism and tycoon leaders. Messaging from the U.S. renewable energy industry and the United Nations on climate change has typically focused on the urgent need to cut greenhouse gas emissions for the sake of environmental and human health. To bolster the argument, they cite record-shattering heat around the world, the frequent climate disasters costing billions of dollars and the human toll...

With the promise of newer, cheaper nuclear power on the horizon, U.S. states are vying to position themselves to build and supply the industry’s next generation as policymakers consider expanding subsidies and paving over regulatory obstacles. Advanced reactor designs from competing firms are filling up the federal government’s regulatory pipeline as the industry touts them as a reliable, climate-friendly way to meet electricity demands from tech giants desperate to power their fast-growing artificial intelligence platforms. The reactors could be operational as early as 2030, giving states a short runway to roll out the red carpet, and they face lingering...

Drones have harassed airports and bedeviled local police. They have trespassed over nuclear plants and prisons. On the battlefield, they can kill. But aside from shooting down the devices, which may create further danger, there is often not much anyone can do to stop drones when they pose a threat or wander where they are not welcome. That is beginning to change. Cheap and easily modified, unmanned aerial vehicles have become a part of daily life as well as a tool for governments and bad actors alike — used for intelligence gathering, surveillance, sabotage, terrorism and more. Concerns about...

South African oligarch Elon Musk is leaving Washington after a short but brutal and toxic stint in government. He will be getting back to his numerous other businesses, each with their own set of issues for the billionaire to address. On May 30 in the Oval Office, Trump credited Musk with “a colossal change in the old ways of doing business in Washington” and said some of his staff would remain in the administration. Musk has left a searing mark on the federal government, including thousands of employees who were illegally fired or pushed out. Some government functions were...

The U.S. House on April 10 approved legislation requiring documentary proof of U.S. citizenship for anyone registering to vote, something voting rights groups warn will disenfranchise millions of Americans, and practically strip them of the right to vote. The requirement has been a top election-related priority for Donald Trump and House Republicans, who falsely argue it is needed to eliminate instances of noncitizen voting, which is already rare and, as numerous state cases have shown, is typically a mistake rather than part of a coordinated attempt to subvert an election. It is already illegal under federal law for people...