NOAA chief of staff Laura Grimm is now the agency's acting administrator after the Commerce Department on Tuesday moved Nancy Hann back to her career position.
Why it matters: This move — confirmed to Axios by current and former NOAA staff — puts a political appointee in charge of the weather, climate and oceans agency.
A Commerce Department requirement to have Secretary Howard Lutnick approve many NOAA contracts or extensions is slowing the agency's operations to a crawl, current and former NOAA staff tell Axios.
Why it matters: The requirement of Lutnick's approval on contracts and extensions over $100,000 also is having ripple effects for contractors around the country as some contracts expire or are canceled because the time to review them has elapsed.
More than one-third of U.S. adults say they've been affected by an extreme weather event in the past two years, with larger increases in the West and South, a new Gallup poll shows.
The nationwide increase from two prior surveys — from 33% to 37% — is within the poll's margin of error.
Why it matters: Climate change is making certain types of extreme weather events more severe and frequent, exposing more Americans to significant disruptions to their lives.
Rainstorms are getting more intense in many U.S. cities amid human-driven climate change, a new analysis finds.
Why it matters: More intense precipitation events can cause flash-flooding, landslides, dangerous driving conditions and other potentially deadly hazards.
Tesla's Q1 delivery total is landing this week and will bring fresh signs that CEO Elon Musk's politics and job in Trump 2.0 are turning off more buyers than they attract.
Why it matters: Even Tesla optimists say the pioneering EV brand has an image problem.
BlackRock CEO Larry Fink reassures investors that this moment of economic anxiety will pass in his annual letter out Monday morning.
Why it matters: Fink runs the world's biggest asset manager and is hugely influential — his widely read letter typically reflects the business trends of the current moment.
