THREE MILE ISLAND, Pa. — Next year will mark 40 years since America’s worst nuclear-energy accident unfolded here in a partial radioactive meltdown. The reactor still operating next to the defunct one is set to close next year, 15 years sooner than planned.
Why it matters: As we found during a visit for "Axios on HBO," this power plant represents everything good and bad about America’s nuclear power. With climate change worsening, calls are growing to keep plants like this one open despite financial strains because they emit no heat-trapping gases. Yet fear persists about safety and what to do with the radioactive waste.
Everyone's waiting for the "Mueller Report." But it turns out that special counsel Robert Mueller is writing a "report" in real time, before our eyes, through his cinematic indictments and plea agreements.
The big picture: One of the least-noticed elements of the special counsel's approach is that all along, he has been making his case bit by bit, in public, since his very first court filing. With his major court filings so far, Mueller has already written more than 290 pages of the "Mueller Report." And there are still lots of loose ends in those documents — breadcrumbs Mueller is apparently leaving for later.
Royal Dutch Shell, under pressure from activist investors, said Monday it will begin setting short-term carbon emissions goals for its products and link the targets to executive pay.
Why it matters: The yet-to-be-determined targets represent new, nearer-term pledges from Shell, which has previously laid out non-binding, long-term goals to cut net emissions in half by 2050 and by 20% by 2035.
The White House is making the case that several big countries are having doubts about the Paris climate deal — even as the weekend brought a stark sign of U.S. isolation.
Why it matters: The administration's claims of Saudi Arabia, Turkey and Russia having second thoughts about the Paris deal came just ahead of a UN summit kicking off in Poland this week focused on implementing the 2015 agreement.
Details: The missing count has been halved since Friday when 49 people were listed as missing, according to a statement from the Butte County Sheriff Department. And, as the L.A. Times reported last month, the missing list was filled with duplicates and misspellings at its peak. The death toll from the fire, which is now contained, stands at 88.
President Trump's status as one of the last holdouts on climate change has been decades in the making. And now the world is seeing the results.
What's happening: When the G20 leaders put out their statement Saturday reaffirming their commitment to the Paris climate accord, the United States was the only nation that didn't sign it. Trump has said he will withdraw from the deal, but he technically can’t until 2020 — in fact, the day after the presidential election. And Trump and his top aides have been disputing their own government’s report on climate change to a remarkable degree.
