Nikola Corp. announced that the company is no longer developing an electric garbage truck with waste management firm Republic Services.
Why it matters: It's the latest of several setbacks in recent months for Nikola, the once high-flying battery electric and hydrogen fuel cell truck company that went public mid-year in a reverse merger. Republican had placed a preliminary order for at least 2,500 vehicles in August.
The COVID-19 relief and spending deal is Capitol Hill's "most significant action on climate and energy in over a decade," according to analysis from the Rhodium Group, an emissions research firm.
Why it matters: The package now heading for President Trump's signature would phase down a potent greenhouse gases called hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs) used in air conditioning and refrigeration.
Officials are warning residents of Big Island, Hawaii, to shelter after the Kilauea volcano, one of the most active in the world, erupted and triggered hazardous gas plumes.
The big picture: Sunday's eruption within the Halema'uma'u crater shot lava more than 165 feet into the air. USGS officials have since described the now-stable crater as a "growing lava lake." The Kilauea volcano's last sequence of eruptions lasted for a month in 2018 and wiped out more than 700 homes, per the National Park Services.
