(The Center Square) – American taxpayers may provide a loan of more than $7.5 billion to a joint venture involving automaker Chrysler that plans to build electric vehicle batteries in Indiana. On Monday, the U.S. Department of Energy’s Loan Program Office revealed that StarPlus Energy has received a “conditional commitment” for the multi-billion dollar loan. If approved, teh money would help the collaboration between FCA US and Samsung SDI Co. construct two lithium-ion battery plants in the Kokomo 50 miles north of Indianapolis. The loan announcement comes after the Indiana Economic Development Corp. pledged hundreds of millions of dollars in state tax credits and incentives to the project. Stellantis, FCA’s parent company, and Samsung first announced plans to build an electric vehicle battery plant in Kokomo in May 2022. Then, in October 2023, the partners announced they would construct a second plant. According to Monday’s announcement, the project is expected to create up to 3,200 construction jobs as well as 2,800 plant jobs. The batteries built in Kokomo are forecasted to power about 670,000 electric cars each year. Stellantis would purchase the batteries for the vehicles marketed in the United States. An Energy Department fact sheet indicates that the interest rate for the loan would be the “applicable U.S. Treasury rate for the term of the loan with no credit spread.” No details on the term were immediately available. “This project reinforces President Biden’s Investing in America agenda to onshore and reshore domestic manufacturing technologies,” the Energy Department’s statement said. The loan would come through the federal government’s Advanced Technology Vehicles Manufacturing Loan Program, which was first established through the Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007. It would be the second Indiana plant to receive program funds. Last month, the Biden administration announced the finalization of a $1.3 billion loan to ENTEK, which is constructing a factory in Terre Haute to make separators used in lithium-ion batteries. The Biden administration and StarPlus must still complete some requirements before the loan can be finalized. Among them, StarPlus must create a Community Benefits Plan that demonstrates how the company will work with local officials and labor groups. The battery plants are being built using workers from local trade unions. Administration officials are also expecting StarPlus to participate in the Justice40 Initiative, which calls for 40% of the benefits produced from the government’s investment to boost communities that are considered underinvested “and overburdened by pollution.”US prosecutors have decided to drop two criminal cases against president-elect Donald Trump. Special prosecutor Jack Smith has told courts in Washington DC and Florida he is discontinuing the cases, which related to alleged election interference and mishandling of classified documents. In a motion filed in Washington, he cited a longstanding Department of Justice (DOJ) policy not to prosecute a sitting president. "The government's position on the merits of the defendant's prosecution has not changed," the motion says. "But the circumstances have." What was Trump charged with? Last year, Mr Smith brought two criminal cases against Trump. In one, he alleged that Trump had conspired to defraud the US through an illegal scheme to overturn Joe Biden's 2020 election win, and cling on to power himself. The prosecution argued Trump used "pervasive and destabilising lies" to try to convince the public the election had been rigged. He was also accused of using fraudulent electors to manipulate the electoral college system, and to sign up his vice-president, Mike Pence, to help carry out the scheme. Trump pleaded not guilty in August last year, a couple of weeks after the charges were brought. In the second case, in Florida, Mr Smith had attempted to prosecute Trump for illegally retaining classified documents after his time in the White House. Trump allegedly kept the documents, which contained sensitive national security information, at his Mar-a-Lago estate, and then obstructed government efforts to retrieve them. A Trump-appointed judge dismissed that case in July , finding that Mr Smith had been unlawfully appointed. Mr Smith had initially appealed that decision, but has now decided not to pursue that appeal. After Mr Smith's motions were filed today, Trump used social media to attack the cases as "empty and lawless" and say they "should never have been brought". "Over $100 million dollars of taxpayer dollars [sic] has been wasted in the Democrat Party's fight against their political opponent, me," he wrote. "Nothing like this has ever happened in our country before." Why have the charges been dropped? Mr Smith's motion to dismiss the election interference case said the decision did "not turn on the gravity of the crimes charged, the strength of the government's proof, or the merits of the prosecution, which the government stands fully behind". It instead points to the DOJ's long-held belief that the Constitution does not allow a president to be prosecuted: "It has long been the position of the Department of Justice that the United States Constitution forbids the federal indictment and subsequent criminal prosecution of a sitting president. "But the department and the country have never faced the circumstance here, where a federal indictment against a private citizen has been returned by a grand jury and a criminal prosecution is already underway when the defendant is elected president. "Confronted with this unprecedented situation, the Special Counsel's Office consulted with the Department's Office of Legal Counsel (OLC), whose interpretation of constitutional questions such as those raised here is binding on department prosecutors. "After careful consideration, the department has determined that OLC's prior opinions concerning the Constitution's prohibition on federal indictment and prosecution of a sitting president apply to this situation and that as a result this prosecution must be dismissed before the defendant is inaugurated." Trump will return to the White House early next year after a decisive win in the US presidential election this month. His inauguration will be on January 20. What about the other cases against Trump? As well as these federal cases, Trump was charged under state law in two separate cases last year. One of those cases, in Georgia, also related to alleged election interference. In that state, Trump and 18 of his associates were charged under anti-racketeering laws that are usually directed at outlaw gangs or mafia-style organised crime networks . That case remains alive, and four of Trump's co-defendants have already pleaded guilty. But it's been in limbo while Trump's lawyers fight to have District Attorney Fani Willis removed from the case, because she had an "inappropriate" relationship with a lawyer who was contracted to work on it with her . A hearing set for December 5 was last week cancelled until further notice. Ms Willis has indicated she intended to continue pursuing the case. The other case, in New York, related to "hush money" paid to porn star Stormy Daniels while Trump was campaigning to win the 2016 election. In May, a jury found Trump guilty of 34 felony counts of falsifying business records . That verdict stands, but sentencing has been delayed. Judge Juan Merchan is considering whether to postpone sentencing until after Trump serves his four-year term as president. Trump's lawyers have indicated they would fight to have the case dismissed completely. They have until December 2 to file their arguments to the New York court.
None
VANCOUVER — A family of killer whales has made a rare trip into waters off downtown Vancouver for what an expert says was likely a "grocery shopping" hunt for harbour seals. Video shared on social media by False Creek Ferries shows the whales cruising past highrise towers at the entrance to False Creek on Sunday. Andrew Trites, director of the University of British Columbia's marine mammal research unit, has identified the whales as a family group of transient orcas consisting of a mother and her three offspring. Trites said the video shows the whales moving quietly like "ghosts" to avoid alerting their prey. The larger orcas appear bigger than the diminutive ferry, which measures about 20 feet long. "They're on the hunt, and so they don't want to make a big splash about it. They want to come in very stealthy-like, as though they weren't even there," said Trites. "I'm sure there were hundreds of people walking along the seawall that day and they didn't even notice and these people aboard the boat, they had a very special moment they will remember for the rest of their lives." He said it's the first time the 26-year-old mother orca, known as T35A, has shown up in downtown Vancouver with her children aged six, 11 and 14. Trites said the well documented family has previously been seen by marine researchers from Alaska to the Strait of Juan de Fuca south of Vancouver Island. He attributes the pod's surprising downtown appearance to seals also changing their habits as they hide from orcas, forcing killer whales to hunt in backwater areas like False Creek. Killer whales have previously been spotted in False Creek, including in 2019, and in 2010 a grey whale swam all the way to the end of the inlet, near Science World. Trites said researchers are hearing more reports of killer whales being seen in places where they've never been seen before. He said the behaviour captured on the video suggests the whales didn't catch anything. Trites said the sighting was an indication of the recovered health of the Salish Sea, saying it was "in a state that we haven’t seen it for over a century." He likened it to living next to Tanzania's Serengeti National Park. “It's a very healthy, vibrant system ... we've seen humpback whales come back. We've seen our seal numbers recover and stabilize," he said. "We see killer whales here every single day now and when I first came to B.C., I hardly ever saw a seal, never saw killer whales in here and it's all changed." In 2021, the B.C. government estimated there were 206 "mature" transient orcas in the province's coastal waters, while U.S. authorities have put the total population at about 350. The species is designated as threatened, meaning they are likely to become endangered without interventions. But Trites said the population was growing, in association with the recovery of prey species, such as the Steller sea lion. As a marine researcher who has been through many encounters with killer whales, Trites said those aboard the ferry should feel privileged. "They are magical experiences," he said. This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 25, 2024. Nono Shen, The Canadian PressPercentages: FG 50.000, FT .676. 3-Point Goals: 5-14, .357 (Peterson 3-9, Rodriguez 1-3, Yancy 1-1, Castagne 0-1) Blocked Shots: 4 (Akot 1, Brown 1, Ngodu 1, Yancy 1) Turnovers: 17 (Peterson 4, Akot 3, Brown 3, Rodriguez 3, Castagne 2, Gusters 1, Yancy 1) Steals: 9 (Peterson 3, Brown 2, Yancy 2, Gusters 1, Rodriguez 1) Technical Fouls: None Percentages: FG 32.787, FT .667. 3-Point Goals: 5-14, .357 (McEvans 2-4, Purifoy 1-2, Alexander 1-3, Griffin 1-2, Subirats 0-3) Blocked Shots: 2 (Sharp 2) Turnovers: 22 (Hendrix 5, Purifoy 5, Delancy 3, Ellis 3, Sharp 2, Griffin 1, Gueye 1, Subirats 1, Team 1) Steals: 5 (McEvans 2, Ellis 1, Purifoy 1, Sharp 1) Technical Fouls: None A_1,187 Officials_Natasha Brown, Kristen Bell, Brian Hall
‘Something strange is going on’: Trump calls for more information on N.J. drone sightingsMilitant group claims responsibility for pipeline attacks in Delta
Dialogue held to advance Chongqing's integration into green and low-carbon development of BRI
December 16, 2024 This article has been reviewed according to Science X's editorial process and policies . Editors have highlightedthe following attributes while ensuring the content's credibility: fact-checked peer-reviewed publication trusted source proofread by Leiden University Using biomethane to produce ammonia, a crucial chemical in agriculture, could drastically reduce the climate impact of the process. In a study published in One Earth , researcher Robert Istrate shows it's even possible to make ammonia production net-zero or carbon negative. Ammonia is a chemical more essential than many realize. It forms the basis of synthetic fertilizers used in agriculture worldwide, meaning billions of people depend on it. Unfortunately, ammonia production comes with a significant drawback: its substantial carbon footprint that contributes to the climate crisis. Ammonia is made from nitrogen and hydrogen, with the hydrogen typically derived from natural gas. "Natural gas contains both carbon and hydrogen, but you only need the hydrogen for ammonia. As a result, a lot of carbon is released during the production process ," Istrate explains. One potential solution to reduce ammonia's climate impact is to produce hydrogen through electrolysis, using renewable energy. "But that's an expensive option," Istrate says, "and it's not very well established yet." As a result, only a small fraction of ammonia is currently produced this way. Biomethane has the same chemical structure as natural gas Istrate, an environmental engineer, proposed an alternative idea. While exploring ways to decarbonize chemical processes , he noticed the advantages of biomethane for producing ammonia. Biomethane has the same chemical structure as natural gas (CH4), "which means existing ammonia production facilities can be used." However, the two have a crucial difference: natural gas is a fossil fuel, while biomethane is derived from biomass, such as food waste or agricultural residues. When biomethane is used, the carbon released into the atmosphere was recently captured during biomass growth via photosynthesis: in plants as they grew. "That achieves a balance," Istrate explains. In contrast, using natural gas releases extra CO 2 into the atmosphere, CO 2 that has been stored underground for millions of years. Capturing the carbon and storing it permanently "This already represents an advantage over natural gas," Istrate says. But there's more. "If, instead of emitting this carbon, you capture and store it permanently, then you can start thinking about net-zero emissions or even carbon negativity." In other words, ammonia production could actively remove CO 2 from the atmosphere. Capturing the carbon doesn't require much extra effort because separating CO 2 is inherent to the biomethane and ammonia production processes. "That's a key advantage of ammonia. It already requires separating the CO 2 ", Istrate notes. "So no new technologies need to be developed for that." In his research, Istrate compared the full lifecycle of conventional ammonia production methods, electrolysis, and biomethane-based production. He found that when ammonia is produced entirely from biomethane combined with carbon capture and storage (CCS), the process can indeed become carbon negative. What about a 'more realistic' scenario? The researcher also examined a more realistic scenario where natural gas is blended with biomethane. He concluded that to achieve carbon neutrality, on average, 44% biomethane must be blended with 56% natural gas , while capturing the released carbon. According to the study, biomethane can be economically competitive—at least when the cost of achieving carbon neutrality via CO 2 removal is factored into all scenarios. A significant reason is the high gas prices, partly driven by the Russian invasion of Ukraine. And Direct Air Carbon Capture and Storage (DACCS), an alternative to removing CO 2 directly from the air, is expensive and inefficient. "You don't need complex technology like DACCS. There are often simpler solutions that can have an immediate impact," Istrate says. Introducing biomethane into ammonia production could be one of these "simple solutions." More information: Robert Istrate et al, One-tenth of the EU's sustainable biomethane coupled with carbon capture and storage can enable net-zero ammonia production, One Earth (2024). DOI: 10.1016/j.oneear.2024.11.005 Journal information: One Earth Provided by Leiden UniversityThe standard Lorem Ipsum passage, used since the 1500s "Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam, quis nostrud exercitation ullamco laboris nisi ut aliquip ex ea commodo consequat. Duis aute irure dolor in reprehenderit in voluptate velit esse cillum dolore eu fugiat nulla pariatur. Excepteur sint occaecat cupidatat non proident, sunt in culpa qui officia deserunt mollit anim id est laborum." Section 1.10.32 of "de Finibus Bonorum et Malorum", written by Cicero in 45 BC "Sed ut perspiciatis unde omnis iste natus error sit voluptatem accusantium doloremque laudantium, totam rem aperiam, eaque ipsa quae ab illo inventore veritatis et quasi architecto beatae vitae dicta sunt explicabo. Nemo enim ipsam voluptatem quia voluptas sit aspernatur aut odit aut fugit, sed quia consequuntur magni dolores eos qui ratione voluptatem sequi nesciunt. Neque porro quisquam est, qui dolorem ipsum quia dolor sit amet, consectetur, adipisci velit, sed quia non numquam eius modi tempora incidunt ut labore et dolore magnam aliquam quaerat voluptatem. Ut enim ad minima veniam, quis nostrum exercitationem ullam corporis suscipit laboriosam, nisi ut aliquid ex ea commodi consequatur? Quis autem vel eum iure reprehenderit qui in ea voluptate velit esse quam nihil molestiae consequatur, vel illum qui dolorem eum fugiat quo voluptas nulla pariatur?" To keep reading, please log in to your account, create a free account, or simply fill out the form below.