Aug 3, 2018 - Energy & Environment

Trade battle with China spreads to U.S. gas exports

The LNG storage facility for China Resource Gas in Xiangyang. Photo: Wang Hu/VCG

Liquified natural gas (LNG) is on the list of products targeted by planned retaliatory tariffs on $60 billion worth of U.S. goods announced by China on Friday morning, Reuters reports.

Why it matters: Hitting U.S. LNG exports is one of China's "last major weapons from its energy and commodities arsenal" in the escalating trade war with President Donald Trump, they report.

The big picture: China is an important destination for the expanding U.S. LNG industry. Last year it was the third-largest buyer of U.S. cargoes, according to the federal Energy Information Administration.

Companies like Cheniere Energy have been exploring opening additional terminals in China for shipment, Bloomberg reports; this development leaves "[b]illions of U.S. dollars" in question.
Other products included in China's planned tariffs are beef, coffee, some aircraft, and more.

Go deeper: China will soon be the world's largest natural gas importer.

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Updated 6 hours ago - Politics & Policy

Coronavirus dashboard

Illustration: Eniola Odetunde/Axios

Global: Total confirmed cases as of 10 p.m. ET: 12,009,301 — Total deaths: 548,799 — Total recoveries — 6,561,969 — Map.
U.S.: Total confirmed cases as of 10 p.m. ET: 3,053,328 — Total deaths: 132,256 — Total recoveries: 953,420 — Total tested: 37,532,612 — Map.
Public health: Houston mayor cancels Republican convention over coronavirus concerns — Deaths are rising in hotspots — Déjà vu sets in as testing issues rise and PPE dwindles.
Travel: United warns employees it may furlough 45% of U.S. workforce — How the pandemic changed mobility habits, by state.
Education: New York City schools will not fully reopen in fall — Harvard and MIT sue Trump administration over rule barring foreign students from online classes.
🎧 Podcast: A misinformation "infodemic" is here.

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9 hours ago - Politics & Policy

Transcripts show George Floyd told police "I can't breathe" over 20 times

Photo: Gary Coronado/Los Angeles Times via Getty Images

Newly released transcripts of bodycam footage from the Minneapolis Police Department show that George Floyd told officers he could not breathe more than 20 times in the moments leading up to his death.

Why it matters: Floyd's killing sparked a national wave of Black Lives Matter protests and an ongoing reckoning over systemic racism in the United States. The transcripts "offer one the most thorough and dramatic accounts" before Floyd's death, The New York Times writes.

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11 hours ago - Health

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Illustration: Sarah Grillo/Axios

An "infodemic" of misinformation and disinformation has helped cripple the response to the novel coronavirus.

Why it matters: High-powered social media accelerates the spread of lies and political polarization that motivates people to believe them. Unless the public health sphere can effectively counter misinformation, not even an effective vaccine may be enough to end the pandemic.

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