TV News LIES

The Department of Energy has told employees to avoid using certain words, including "climate change," "green" and "sustainable," according to an internal email sent to staff and obtained by NPR.

The details of the email were first reported by Politico. It was sent to employees of the Energy Department's Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy, which is the largest federal funder of clean energy technology. The office supports research about how to build homes and cars more efficiently, and it helps fund research about renewable energy, including solar and wind power, hydrogen fuel cell technology and geothermal energy. It had a budget of $3.46 billion in fiscal year 2023.

The Energy Department denies that its employees were told to avoid using specific terms. "There is no directive at the Energy Department instructing employees to avoid using phrases such as 'climate change' or 'emissions.' President Trump and Secretary Wright remain committed to transparency and fostering an open, honest dialogue about climate science," Department of Energy press secretary Ben Dietderich wrote in response to questions from NPR.

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On a quiet street near the marsh in Charleston, South Carolina’s Rosemont neighborhood, Luvenia Brown watches the weather reports more than she used to. She’s lost lawn mowers, bikes and outdoor furniture to the rising waters that have repeatedly crept into her yard.

Brown’s home is elevated, so the water hasn’t reached the interior. Not yet. But she’s deeply worried about what the future will bring.

“If the water continues rising the way it is, I don’t want to be here,” said Brown, 58, who works as a medical driver. “I love my area. But I think my life is more important.”

Just a half mile to the south, a massive new development – expected to bring stores, offices and 4,000 homes – is springing up. Brown worries that all the new concrete and pavement will only make flooding where she lives worse.

Charleston is one of the nation’s fastest-growing cities – and one of the most flood-prone. As climate change prompts sea levels to rise and storms to grow more intense, this historic city has become a warning bell for what’s to come along America’s coasts: Some neighborhoods will retreat and others will be protected, and still others – often lower-income communities – may be left behind.

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The National Hurricane Center is tracking systems in both the Atlantic and Pacific oceans on Saturday, Sept. 6.

Hurricane Kiko is holding its own in the Central Pacific Ocean, but a tropical wave moving westward across the Atlantic Ocean continues to look less and less impressive.

Hurricane Kiko – maintaining sustained winds of 140-mph – is expected to begin weakening over the weekend but could still retain hurricane strength on Sept. 8 as it approaches waters to the north of the Hawaiian Islands, the National Hurricane Center said.

The state of Hawaii issued an emergency declaration on Sept. 5, an administrative action government agencies often take before tropical storms, hurricanes and other impending weather disasters. Such declarations pave the way for emergency measures and resources that allow officials to respond quickly during emergencies.

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Hexavalent chromium nanoparticles were found in air samples gathered by researchers over the course of several days in the spring as they drove through and around the Eaton and Palisades fire burn areas.

The heavy metal — also known as chromium-6 and brought to public consciousness by environmentalist Erin Brockovich in the 1990s — is a known carcinogen. But researchers aren’t yet sure what the public health implications are.

“ We think that there's hotspots in the cities, but we don't have a way to quantify that yet with what we've measured so far,” said Michael Kleeman, professor of civil and environmental engineering at UC Davis.

Kleeman was the lead author of a paper that’s been submitted to the journal Nature’s Communications Earth and Environment for peer review and published online as a preprint. The researchers are part of the L.A. Fire Health Study, a group of universities working together to investigate the health effects of the January fires.

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A powerful storm kicked up a towering wall of dust that rolled through the city of Phoenix, Arizona, on Monday, darkening the sky, blinding drivers, knocking out power and damaging one of the nation’s busiest airports.

The dust storm, known as a haboob, is pushed by the wind and produced by a weather front or thunderstorm. It typically occurs in flat, arid areas. The storm came from the south-east, and was followed by heavy rain, wind and lightning.

Bernae Boykin Hitesman was driving her son and daughter, ages nine and 11, home from school when the storm arrived late in the afternoon in Arizona City, about 60 miles (95km) south-east of Phoenix.

She had to quickly pull over as the storm engulfed her car. “I couldn’t see my hand in front of my face if I put my hand outside,” she said.

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The Democratic governors of Rhode Island and Connecticut promised on Saturday to fight a Trump administration order halting work on a nearly complete wind farm off their coasts that was expected to be operational next year.

The Revolution Wind project was about 80% complete, with 45 of its 65 turbines already installed, according to the Danish wind farm developer Ørsted, when the US Bureau of Ocean Energy Management sent the firm a letter on Friday ordering it to “halt all ongoing activities”.

The Democratic governors of Rhode Island and Connecticut promised on Saturday to fight a Trump administration order halting work on a nearly complete wind farm off their coasts that was expected to be operational next year.

The Revolution Wind project was about 80% complete, with 45 of its 65 turbines already installed, according to the Danish wind farm developer Ørsted, when the US Bureau of Ocean Energy Management sent the firm a letter on Friday ordering it to “halt all ongoing activities”.

“In particular, BOEM is seeking to address concerns related to the protection of national security interests in the United States,” wrote Matt Giacona, the agency’s acting director, adding that Ørsted “may not resume activities” until the agency has completed a review of the project.

Giacona said that the project, which had already cleared years of federal and state reviews, now needs to be re-examined in light of Donald Trump’s order, on the first day of his second term, to consider “terminating or amending any existing wind energy leases”.

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Multiple wildfires have ignited across California as the state continues to scorch in a multi-day heatwave that is expected to last through the weekend.

The largest this week, named the Pickett fire, exploded in size on Thursday as it burned in a remote area of Napa county, and covered more than 3,200 acres (850 hectares) by Friday afternoon. Evacuation orders and warnings have been issued on Thursday for hundreds of residents around Calistoga, a small city in the region known for its wine, as firefighters faced challenging conditions, working through dangerously high temperatures and rugged terrain. The fire’s perimeter is just 5% contained.

“Firefighter safety will be an emphasis once again Friday, with temperatures expected to reach into the upper 90s,” analysts with the state fire agency known as CalFire wrote in an update issued on Friday.

Bob Todeschini, the battalion chief on the Pickett fire, said there had been no injuries or structures damaged, in a video shared on social media on Thursday night. “We’d like to remind everyone to be vigilant and have a plan as we continue with suppression efforts,” he said.

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North Carolina's Outer Banks are already feeling the impact of Hurricane Erin as the storm moves north, hundreds of miles off of the East Coast.

Parts of Highway 12, the main highway through the Outer Banks, were already being flooded by Wednesday afternoon. And the window to evacuate has now closed for vulnerable areas, as officials warn that the evening's high tides will bring some of the storm's biggest impacts. Those remaining should shelter in place, they said.

Mandatory evacuations are in place for Hatteras and Ocracoke islands.

The massive storm was roughly 295 miles from Cape Hatteras, N.C., as of 5 p.m. ET, according to the National Hurricane Center. The National Weather Service office in Newport/Morehead City called it a "large and dangerous hurricane."

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