Mar 30, 2018

Judge tosses Exxon lawsuit seeking to halt climate change probes

Khorri Atkinson

Logo on the ExxonMobil Building in Houston, Texas. Photo: James Leynse / Corbis via Getty Images

A federal judge in New York Thursday dismissed a lawsuit by ExxonMobil seeking to halt a probe by New York and Massachusetts into whether the oil and gas giant had lied to investors and the public about its knowledge of climate change. The company sued the states in 2016 after they subpoenaed documents regarding Exxon's research into fossil fuels' role in climate change.

Why it matters, per Axios’ Amy Harder: This move likely ensures there will eventually be discovery in the lawsuit where Exxon documents are disclosed, which would shed a lot of light—and headlines—on what Exxon really knew about climate change over the past decades.

The AP reports that Exxon says it's reviewing ruling and evaluating its next steps.

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Axios

Coronavirus updates: New global case numbers surpass China's

Data: The Center for Systems Science and Engineering at Johns Hopkins, the CDC, and China's Health Ministry. Note: China numbers are for the mainland only and U.S. numbers include repatriated citizens.

The novel coronavirus is now affecting every continent but Antarctica and the WHO said Wednesday the number of new cases reported outside China has exceeded those inside the country for the first time.

The big picture: COVID-19 has killed more than 2,800 people and infected over 82,000 others in some 50 countries and territories. As Denmark and Estonia reported their first cases Thursday, Scott Morrison, prime minister of Australia — which has 23 confirmed infections — told a news conference, "The risk of a global pandemic is very much upon us."

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Orion Rummler

Mass shooting in Milwaukee: What we know so far

Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett in 2012. Photo: John Gress/Corbis via Getty Images

Six people died in a shooting at the Molson Coors Brewing Company in Milwaukee Molson Coors on Wednesday, including the 51-year-old gunman, Mayor Tom Barrett told reporters at an evening press conference with local police.

Details: All of the victims worked at the brewery complex, as did the shooter who died of "an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound, police confirmed in a statement late Wednesday.

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Rebecca Falconer

WHO official leads criticism of Trump's coronavirus response

President Trump with members of the new coronavirus task force, including Vice President Mike Pence at the White House on Wednesday. Photo: Tasos Katopodis/Getty Images

Dr. Ezekiel Emanuel, special advisor to the director general of the World Health Organization, told MSNBC Wednesday he found "most" of what President Trump said at his briefing on the novel coronavirus "incoherent."

The big picture: As the number of confirmed cases reaches 60 in the U.S., the top health professional — who was a health policy adviser in the Obama administration — is among several leading figures, in particular, Democrats, to criticize the president for his response to the outbreak.

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