The huge power company National Grid unveiled a venture capital arm Thursday and announced the first wave of what's slated to be $250 million worth of investments over the next two to three years.
Why it matters: The launch of Silicon Valley-based National Grid Partners signals how a big, traditional utility hopes to benefit from technologies that will shake up how power is provided and consumed in the future. That's a better path than sitting back and then getting undercut in the future.
At least 7 new members of Congress elected Tuesday have STEM backgrounds — an unusually large number that comes in part due to a concerted effort to recruit candidates with science backgrounds.
Why it matters: Typically, there are just a handful of House members who have science, medicine, or engineering backgrounds. Having a larger crop of members who understand complex scientific topics, from climate change to nuclear engineering, could result in legislation that better incorporates scientific information.
Tesla has appointed Robyn Denholm as the new chairman of its board, where she's been an independent member since 2014, to replace Elon Musk. She will leave her job as finance chief of Telstra to focus full-time on Tesla.
Why it matters: This is a welcome change in corporate governance for Tesla investors who have become concerned about Musk's workload since he's also CEO of SpaceX. The move is part of a settlement with the SEC over Musk's tweet that he had secured funding to take the company private.
A high-profile, science-based environmental nonprofit is calling for financially struggling nuclear power plants to remain open, citing their benefits to tackling climate change.
Why it matters: In a new report, the Union of Concerned Scientists is joining a growing number of environmental leaders to back existing nuclear power because of climate reasons, despite continued concerns about the technology’s safety and radioactive waste. The increased support could help keep open some power plants.
On Wednesday, House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi explained that as Democrats have now secured the majority in the House of Representatives for the next Congress, she expects Democrats to stand their ground when compromise is not possible, but that they will "seek common ground where we can."
The intrigue: Per Bloomberg, Trump indicated Wednesday he thinks House Democrats will need to decide between investigating Trump and seeking compromise: "You can't do them simultaneously, by the way. ... Because if they're doing that, we're not doing the other."
Ford Motor Co. has agreed to buy electric scooter startup Spin, Axios has learned from multiple sources.
The deal is worth close to $100 million, according to two sources, though another earlier put the price tag in the range of $40 million, which is around where Spin was valued after its Series A funding last year.
Why it matters: Ford had already dipped its toes into scooters with the recent roll out of its Jelly service on the campus of Purdue University, which also happens to be Spin CEO Derrick Ko's alma mater.
Editor's note: The story has been updated to note that two new sources told Axios after publication that the acquisition was worth close to $100 million rather than $40 million.
The oil industry and a big utility fended off three ballot initiatives that would have been bad for their businesses after pouring millions of dollars into separate efforts across a trio of Western states.
Why it matters: The industry wins are stark examples of how money-fueled negative messaging can persuade voters. It also shows how fights over energy policy have moved to the states as the issue remains mostly off the table in Washington.
With a new Democratic House majority,the Trump White House is bracing for a caravan of subpoenas covering everything from Russia to business deals that will soon be headed their way.
What they're saying: House Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi said in her victory speech: "Today is more than about Democrats and Republicans. It’s about restoring the Constitution’s checks and balances to the Trump administration."
Republican Rep. Carlos Curbelo of Florida lost re-election Tuesday to his Democrat challenger, Debbie Mucarsel-Powell.
Why it matters: Curbelo, a two-term Republican, was a top target for the Democrats from the get-go and considered a bellwether of a blue wave. The outcome also represents a loss for the Climate Solutions Caucus, a bipartisan House caucus Curbelo founded in 2016.
