National (U.S.)

"Democrats put climate change back on the forefront of their governing agenda Thursday, portraying the issue as an "existential threat" even as the caucus remains split over how forcefully to respond."

"Alexandra Dunn was confirmed by the Senate Jan. 2 to lead the EPA’s chemicals office."

"Xcel is leading the pack, with a pledge to go 100% zero carbon by 2050. Other major electricity providers are trading coal for wind and solar sooner than planned. "

"David Bernhardt, the Interior Department’s No. 2 official and a former fossil fuel lobbyist, took over Wednesday as acting secretary after the resignation of scandal-plagued agency chief Ryan Zinke."

"The Washington governor believes his focus on the environment will resonate with voters. But can he persuade enough Americans to pay attention to him?"

"House Democrats are sweeping into power this week on a campaign promise of improving government for ordinary Americans. But first, they’ll have to get government reopened from the partial shutdown."

"Senator Elizabeth Warren broadly supports the "idea" of a "Green New Deal," one of her Senate aides told Axios."

"Kay Behrensmeyer was supposed to be preparing for a three-week expedition to look for evidence of ancient humans in Kenya. Instead, she spent Thursday packing her research permits, her fossil-collecting supplies, and maps she’d spent weeks compiling and annotating by hand into a FedEx box, which she shipped to a junior colleague on the project. Behrensmeyer, curator of vertebrate paleontology at the National Museum of Natural History, wasn’t going anywhere. The federal government was shut down."

"How an Undercover Oil Industry Mercenary Tricked Pipeline Opponents Into Believing He Was One of Them." "A former Marine working for the private security firm TigerSwan infiltrated an array of anti-Dakota Access pipeline groups at Standing Rock and beyond."