A massive EF-4 tornado touched down south of Lawrence, Kansas about 6:15 pm local time and carved a 32-mile path of destruction toward Kansas City, causing heavy damage and prompting the National Weather Service to declare a "tornado emergency" for several counties in the Kansas City metro area.
Details: The NWS reported debris from the tornado fell from the sky ahead of the storm along I-70 to the north and northeast of Edwardsville. LMH Health said 12 people were being treated in hospital in Douglas County for injuries after the tornado hit, with 1 person in surgery Tuesday night. The tornado caused Kansas City International Airport to temporarily suspend flights and send workers and travelers into shelter.
General Motors and Bechtel, the country's largest construction company, are forming a new venture that will build thousands of electric vehicle charging stations around the country.
Why it matters: EVs account for just 1% of vehicle sales in the U.S., partly because consumers are concerned about whether there will be enough places to charge them.
A new report has good news and bad news for anyone hoping that the U.S. can steeply cut greenhouse gas emissions in the coming decades.
Driving the news: The nonprofit Center for Climate and Energy Solutions has released a set of 3 pathways for how the U.S. could cut economy-wide emissions by 80% (relative to 2005 levels) by mid-century.
A plan from Workhorse, a little-known electric vehicle company, to launch production at the shuttered GM plant in Lordstown, Ohio is hardly a sure thing, the New York Times reports.
Why it matters: The plan, announced in early May with few details, is bound up in the politics of GM's controversial restructuring and layoffs. President Trump raised the deal's profile by tweeting about it, getting ahead of GM's disclosure of plans to sell the plant to an entity that includes Workhorse as a minority owner.
ExxonMobil and Chevron, the biggest U.S.-based global oil giants, will face pressure to do more on climate change at their annual shareholders meetings today.
Why it matters: Investors have been pushing for climate-related commitments on the industry overall, but Exxon and Chevron have been less willing than European counterparts like Shell and BP.
A tense situation is unfolding in Tulsa, Oklahoma, where officials are hoping that 70-year-old levees will withstand an unprecedented, prolonged test to keep back the swollen Arkansas River, which has risen to an all-time record high after weeks of heavy rain.
Why it matters: The flooding that has gripped the nation's heartland will eventually affect the price of food, as farmers cope with fields that have turned into lakes at a time of year when staple crops such as corn and wheat should be planted already. In addition, the damage from the floods, which started in the Upper Midwest earlier this year and now stretch all the way down the Mississippi River, likely exceeds $1 billion in individual states alone, with a far higher aggregate cost.
A series of tornadoes swept across Indiana and Ohio overnight, packed so tightly that one may have crossed the path carved by another, AP reports, as severe weather continues to hammer the Central U.S.
Details: A "large and dangerous" tornado struck the Dayton, Ohio, suburb of Trotwood just after 11pm Monday. At least one person was killed by the tornadoes in Celina, about 60 miles north of Dayton. The National Weather Service said it was notified about multiple tornadoes, with reports of injuries and widespread damage. Power outages affected 5 million people in Ohio, it said, in part due to widespread straight-line winds that downed trees and power lines. Flash flood warnings were also in place.
The island of Great Britain is nearing 11 days without using coal in its electricity mix, by far the longest stretch since 1882, according to power system operator National Grid and other tracking services.
Why it matters: The new stretch, which beats the previous record of about a week without coal from early May, signals the region's relatively fast movement away from the fuel.
A huge story coming out of the weekend's European Parliament voting results was the strong performance of Green parties in northern and western Europe.
The big picture: "Green parties’ surprisingly strong showing in elections for the 751-seat European Parliament raised hopes — particularly among young voters — that global warming and other environmental issues will get more serious consideration on the continent," the AP reports.
