The U.S. Treasury Department said Tuesday it has closed loans with seven major airlines, and Secretary Steven Mnuchin urged Congress to extend additional aid to the industry to help airlines weather the coronavirus pandemic.

Why it matters: Tens of thousands of workers face layoffs starting Thursday, when an existing federal payroll support program expires. While Democrats and Republicans have voiced support for helping the airline industry, they've been deadlocked in negotiations on a broader package of economic relief.

EPA is making its opening moves against California's plan to phase out sales of new gasoline-powered cars by 2035 — the latest front in the battle between the White House and the state over climate policy.

Driving the news: Via The Wall Street Journal, EPA boss Andrew Wheeler sent California Gov. Gavin Newsom a letter attacking the plan and arguing it would require EPA approval.

Electric vehicle sales have taken off over the last decade, and full electrics have overtaken plug-in hybrids over the last five years, according to the Energy Department's handy transportation "fact of the week" series.

Why it matters: Electric vehicles are growing, but still represent a tiny share of the roughly 17 million-plus passenger vehicles sold annually in the U.S. (a number dropping this year because of the pandemic).

Polaris plans to electrify its popular lineup of off-road vehicles and snowmobiles through a new 10-year technology partnership with Zero Motorcycles.

Why it matters: People who want to enjoy the Great Outdoors don't have to worry about polluting the environment or disturbing the wilderness when they're riding on a nearly-silent, zero-emission machine.

Airlines could soon have another tool to help disinfect their airplanes and protect passengers from the coronavirus.

Why it matters: Air travel remains severely depressed since the beginning of the coronavirus pandemic. The industry won't recover until passengers feel confident they won't be infected in flight by fellow travelers.

Gasoline-powered cars may be going the way of the woolly mammoth, even if it will take decades to replace them and seems hard to fathom today.

The big picture: Internal combustion engines (ICEs) have powered automobiles for more than 100 years. But the shift to electric vehicles, slow to materialize at first, is now accelerating due to tightening government policies, falling costs and a societal reckoning about climate change.

My latest ride is the 2020 Land Rover Defender 110 SE, an SUV with a tough-looking stance for our times.

The big picture: The original Defender is a cult vehicle for off-road enthusiasts, having been sold in the U.S. for just four years in the mid-1990s. Now it's back, rounding out the Land Rover lineup.

One upside of the global pandemic is that airports are a lot more pleasant these days.

The big picture: A year ago, overcrowding and construction led to delays and confusion for travelers at many major airports.

Recurrent, a new Seattle-based startup, aims to answer the most commonly asked question by people considering a used electric vehicle: "How much battery life is left?"

Why it matters: You can get a decent idea of how long a traditional used car will last by knowing how many miles are on the odometer. But longevity in an electric vehicle is harder to predict and depends on many factors, including how and where the vehicle was driven and the battery's charging history.

The fate of California's aggressive moves to wring carbon emissions out of transportation could depend heavily on the election and the shape of the Supreme Court.

Why it matters: California is the country's largest auto market and transportation is the country's largest source of CO2.