Axios

The embattled nuclear power industry is circulating an analysis in Washington that makes a rather blunt political point: regions with nuclear plants are a "critical element" of the coalition that elected President Trump.

Their case: The Nuclear Energy Institute memo and maps overlays the location of nuclear power plants with county-level results in the 2016 elections.

• Trump carried 45 of the 61 counties that have reactors in the general election, and won all but 13 of them in the GOP primaries, according to NEI.

Their warning: "Given the razor-thin popular vote margin in the states that delivered the Electoral College to President Trump, these are voters he can ill-afford to lose."

• There are 22 reactors in six battleground states that flipped from Obama to Trump in 2016, the group said.

Why it matters: The nuclear industry wants help from the federal government. It has been stuck in neutral for years, with very few new projects getting off the ground and a number of existing reactors facing potential closure. It has set a series of policy goals at several agencies, including the Energy Department, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, and the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.

To be sure: The 100,000 people directly employed by the industry is not make-or-break for the economy in the big picture (the economy added 235,000 total jobs in February alone, for instance). But the memo argues that the industry is a vital economic driver in counties with nuclear plants through workers and their families, supporting other types of businesses, and providing a big chunk of the local tax base.

Seven & i Holdings Co, the 7-Eleven operator, said Thursday it would be buying convenience stores and petrol stations from Sunoco LP, the major gasoline refiner, according to AP. Sunoco is reportedly aiming to focus more on its fuel supply business.

The deal: The deal totals about $3.3 billion, and includes an agreement that Seven & i will buy gasoline from Sunoco for 15 years. 7-Eleven will be getting about 1,100 stores along the East Coast and in Texas. Sunoco shares have soared since the sale. The sale is expected to close by Q4.

Why it's happening: Two reasons. First, the bulk of Seven & i's operating profit comes from convenience stores, or about 3.29 billion USD (364.4 billion yen) in the year through February, and the Japanese retailer sees "opportunities" in potential growth in the convenience store market. Second, Seven & i has said it wants to increase its number of stores in the U.S. to 10,000 by the end of 2019.

Why it matters: The deal would be the biggest for Seven & i, which most recently acquired 79 stores from CST Brands Inc.

Data: U.S. Energy Information Administration Monthly Energy Review; Chart: Lazaro Gamio / Axios

Want the high-level view on U.S. energy consumption? The U.S. Energy Information Administration has you covered. It's out with data showing total consumption ticked up slightly last year.

• Fossil fuels: They still rule the roost, accounting for 81 percent of total consumption in 2016, which is slightly less than 2015 and down from 86 percent in 2005. Petroleum and natural gas consumption both climbed last year, but that was more than offset by coal's decline.
• Renewables: They saw the largest boost in consumption last year as wind power generation rose by nearly 20 percent and solar output climbed a lot as well.
• Nuclear: Consumption of nuclear energy rose 1 percent last year.

Want a really, really high-level view? Axios pulled years worth of EIA data into the chart above on U.S. energy consumption going back a quarter century. That downward staircase at the bottom illustrates how coal has lost market share at the expense of gas and renewables.