Jul 19, 2018

Judge tosses out New York's global warming suit against oil companies

Getty Images

A federal judge on Thursday tossed out a New York lawsuit against five major oil companies, seeking to collect billions of dollars in damages to protect the city from climate change.

Why it matters, per Axios' Ben Geman: This comes after a California federal judge dismissed a similar case. Together, the two rulings suggest that cities and states face an uphill battle in trying to use federal courts to get money from oil companies to help pay for the effects of global warming on their regions, such as sea-level rise.

The details: U.S. District Judge John Keenan wrote that "Global warming and solutions thereto must be addressed by the two other branches of government," not by the judicial system.

What to watch: Separate from the lawsuit filed by New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio, New York State's attorney general is also investigating whether Exxon Mobil misled shareholders and the public about climate change risks.

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Miriam Kramer

Updated 12 mins ago - Science

Live updates: SpaceX attempts to launch NASA astronauts Saturday

SpaceX's Falcon 9 rocket on the launch pad. Photo: NASA/Joel Kowsky

At 3:22 p.m. ET today, SpaceX is expected to launch NASA astronauts Bob Behnken and Doug Hurley to the International Space Station for the first time.

Why it matters: The liftoff — should it go off without a hitch — will be the first time a private company has launched people to orbit. It will also bring crewed launches back to the U.S. for the first time in nine years, since the end of the space shuttle program.

Follow along below for live updates throughout the day...

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Rashaan Ayesh, Sarah Grillo

36 mins ago - Politics & Policy

In photos: We've seen images like the protests in Minneapolis before

Photo: Kerem Yucel/AFP/MPI/Getty Images

The photos of protests around the country following the death of George Floyd during an encounter with Minneapolis police are hauntingly familiar. We’ve seen them many times before, going back decades.

Why it matters: "What is also unmistakable in the bitter protests in Minneapolis and around the country is the sense that the state is either complicit or incapable of effecting substantive change," Keeanga-Yamahtta Taylor, an assistant professor of African-American studies at Princeton University writes in the New York Times. The images that follow make all too clear how little has changed since the modern Civil Rights Movement began in the 1950s.

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Axios

Updated 36 mins ago - Politics & Policy

Coronavirus dashboard

Illustration: Aïda Amer/Axios

Global: Total confirmed cases as of 11 a.m. ET: 5,968,693— Total deaths: 365,796 — Total recoveries — 2,520,587 — Map.
U.S.: Total confirmed cases as of 11 a.m. ET: 1,749,846 — Total deaths: 102,900 — Total recoveries: 406,446 — Total tested: 16,099,515 — Map.
Economy: The future of mobility in the post-pandemic world — George Floyd's killing and economic calamity are both part of America's unfinished business.
Supreme Court: Chief Justice Roberts sides with liberals in denying challenge to California's pandemic worship rules.
Public health: Hydroxychloroquine prescription fills exploded in March.
2020: North Carolina asks RNC if convention will honor Trump's wish for no masks or social distancing.
Business: Fed chair Powell says coronavirus is "great increaser" of income inequality.

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