The Iranian government responded to gas price protests by shutting down the country's internet for a week. Dan digs in with Norman Roule, a 34-year CIA veteran who previously oversaw U.S. national intelligence policy and activities related to Iran.
Charles Cooper, an attorney who represents former national security adviser John Bolton and his deputy Charles Kupperman, argued Tuesday that a ruling that found former White House counsel Don McGahn must comply with a congressional subpoena does not apply to national security officials.
Why it matters: House Democrats had hoped that Bolton and other officials may use the ruling, which is being appealed, to justify cooperating with the impeachment inquiry.
The House Oversight Committee filed a federal lawsuit Tuesday against Attorney General Bill Barr and Secretary of Commerce Wilbur Ross for refusing to comply with subpoenas for documents related to the Trump administration’s efforts to add a citizenship question to the 2020 Census.
Why it matters: The White House had previously claimed its aides were "absolutely immune" from congressional subpoenas. On Monday, a federal judge ruled former White House counsel Don McGahn must testify under subpoena in the ongoing House impeachment inquiry, giving House Democrats a stronger hand to enforce its other oversight requests.
A climate technology investment group that counts Leonardo DiCaprio among its advisers yesterday announced the closing of its first funding round and says it exceeded targets.
Why it matters: Princeville Capital's Climate Technology Fund aims to invest over $300 million over the next four years in companies that will deploy "near-term climate solutions," the announcement states.
Analyses released ahead of the big United Nations climate meeting that opens next week in Madrid bring bad news for the planet.
The big picture: The reports show that despite increasing use of climate-friendly tech, especially surging deployment of solar and wind power, steep emissions cuts are nowhere on the horizon.
A couple dozen cities across the Bay Area in California could soon move forward with bans on natural gas in new buildings, San Jose Mayor Sam Liccardo said Monday.
Driving the news: San Jose is the largest city to pass such a measure in what’s quickly becoming a controversial trend in the Golden State designed to tackle climate change at a more local level.
Climate change is making home insurance unavailable or unaffordable in the riskiest areas for hurricanes, wildfires and flooding.
Why it matters: As insurance companies pay record amounts to homeowners who have suffered partial or total losses, they retreat from or raise premiums in places where claims are owed.
Atmospheric levels of the greenhouse gas carbon dioxide (CO2) reached the highest ever recorded in human history in 2018, the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) announced in a new report Monday.
Why it matters: If the trend continues, as predicted, the impact of climate change will become even more severe, the intergovernmental organization warns. "The last time the Earth experienced a comparable concentration of CO2 was 3-5 million years ago," WMO Secretary-General Petteri Taalas said in a statement accompanying the report.
