Exxon Mobil's Q3 earnings jumped to $3.97 billion Friday, up 50% up from the $2.65 billion reported in Q3 last year, thanks to higher crude oil and natural gas prices.
Disaster impact: Exxon said Hurricane Harvey, which pummeled the Gulf Coast in August, undercut earnings by an estimated $160 million.
Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee chairwoman Lisa Murkowski has scheduled a hearing Thursday on opening the coastal plain of Alaska's Arctic National Wildlife Refuge to oil exploration.
Why it matters: The announcement came just hours after the House approved the Senate budget blueprint. The budget is important procedurally because it paves the way for Murkowski — an Alaska Republican who favors ANWR drilling — to write ANWR legislation that's immune from filibuster in the closely divided Senate.
Flashback: Yesterday we looked at why producing oil from ANWR is no sure thing even if legislation reaches the finish line.
Several immigrants displaced by the California wildfires are choosing not to submit applications seeking federal aid out of fear that the information they provide could make them easy deportation targets, per the San Francisco Chronicle.
What's next: Rep. Jared Huffman (D-CA) plans to send a letter to FEMA administrator Brock Long today that seeks clarification on the section of FEMA applications that states the information provided could be shared within the Department of Homeland Security, including the Bureau of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).
