The Australian state of Victoria will lift some of its coronavirus pandemic restrictions after a surge in cases led to a renewed clampdown.

Victoria Premier Daniel Andrews said that restrictions will end for Victoria residents outside Melbourne, the state capital. Businesses will also be allowed to reopen, he added, according to The Associated Press.

Residents of Melbourne, the country’s second-biggest city, must get approval to leave the city, and police are set to ramp up security at checkpoints as the rest of the state reopens.

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Victoria officials declared a state of disaster in early August, with tighter restrictions on Melbourne residents. Residents of the city are only allowed to shop for essential goods within three miles of their homes during the day, ahead of an 8 p.m. curfew.

While Australia was hailed for its initial handling of the coronavirus pandemic, it saw what was at the time its deadliest single day in July after 10 people died in Victoria.

“That is a significant challenge, given, whilst we have overall capacity and we’ve worked very hard all throughout the year to grow the number of people that can be available for our fight against this virus in a clinical sense, whenever we have clinical staff and other critical health workers away, furloughed because they are a close contact or in fact as an active case, that does put some additional pressure on our system,” Andrews said at the time.

As of Tuesday, Australia has seen nearly 27,000 deaths from the virus and 816 deaths, according to data from Johns Hopkins University.

The Trump administration on Friday announced an additional $13 billion in assistance to help Puerto Rico rebuild its infrastructure in the aftermath of Hurricane Maria, which devastated the island in 2017.

The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) will award grants designed to bolster Puerto Rico’s electrical grid and spur recovery of its education system.

Roughly $9.6 billion in funding will be directed toward the Puerto Rico Electrical Power Authority to repair electrical substations, power generation systems and transmission lines. Another $2 billion will be used to restore school buildings and educational facilities.

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Puerto Rico Gov. Wanda Vázquez Garced thanked Trump and the White House in a tweet confirming the funding, which she hailed as the “largest approval in FEMA history.”

The White House touted the funding as evidence of the administration’s commitment to the island.

“Today’s grant announcements represent some of the largest awards in FEMA’s history for any single disaster recovery event and demonstrate the Federal Government’s continuing commitment to help rebuild the territory and support the citizens of Puerto Rico and their recovery goals,” press secretary Kayleigh McEnany said in a statement.

The recovery efforts in Puerto Rico have been slow and at times hampered by Trump, who has lashed out at criticism over his response to Hurricane Maria.

The storm crippled island infrastructure for months, and a government-commissioned study found that nearly 3,000 people died as a result of the hurricane.

Trump has questioned the death toll, claiming it was inflated to make him look bad. He has repeatedly gone after the mayor of San Juan and derided the island as “one of the most corrupt places on earth.”

Island officials have complained that aid has been slow to roll in from the administration. The Department of Housing and Urban Development earlier this year lifted a months-long hold on roughly $8 billion in disaster aid to help the island rebuild.

Residents of the United Kingdom who don’t self-quarantine after testing positive for the novel coronavirus could soon find themselves with $13,000 fines.

According to The Associated Press, government officials will be fining individuals up to $13,000, or 10,000 pounds, for not self-quarantining after testing positive under a new order set to take effect at the end of the month.

The rule would also apply to those who are exposed to infected individuals, the news agency reports.

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The news comes a day after protesters in London clashed with police during a rally opposing coronavirus restrictions.

The country recently implemented a measure barring social gatherings larger than six people in efforts to curb the spread of COVID-19, the disease caused by the novel coronavirus, amid an uptick in cases.

On Saturday, the United Kingdom recorded its highest number of daily cases of the disease since May, reporting over 4,420 cases. 

Amid the rising cases, The New York Times reports the country is looking at implementing a second shutdown to combat the flareup.

“There’s no question, as I’ve said for several weeks now, that we could expect and we are now seeing a second wave coming in,” Prime Minister Boris Johnson said on Friday.

“I don’t think anybody wants to go into a second lockdown, but clearly when you look at what is happening, you’ve got to wonder whether we need to go further than the rule of six that we brought in on Monday,” he also said.

The Trump administration has in principle approved a proposal from TikTok, Oracle and Walmart that will stop the short form video platform from being shutdown.

“I have given the deal my blessing,” President TrumpDonald John TrumpUS reimposes UN sanctions on Iran amid increasing tensions Jeff Flake: Republicans ‘should hold the same position’ on SCOTUS vacancy as 2016 Trump supporters chant ‘Fill that seat’ at North Carolina rally MORE told reporters Saturday. “If they get it done, that’s great, if they don’t, that’s okay, too. It’s a great deal for America.”

Shortly after the president’s comments, Oracle confirmed that it had been chosen as TikTok’s secure cloud provider. The deal would create a new TikTok Global entity that would be headquartered in the United States. Trump told reporters that it will likely be located in Texas.

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TikTok spokesperson Josh Gartner told The Hill that Oracle will be responsible for hosting all American user data and “associated computer systems” to address U.S. national security concerns.

“We are currently working with Walmart on a commercial partnership, as well,” Gartner added.

Oracle and Walmart will be able to take up to a 20 percent cumulative stake in the company, Gartner said. Oracle said in a press release Saturday that it will take a 12.5 percent cumulative stake in the new company.

The Treasury Department confirmed Saturday that the deal has been reviewed but is pending approval.

“Approval of the transaction is subject to a closing with Oracle and Walmart and necessary documentation and conditions to be approved by CFIUS,” spokesperson Monica Crowley said in a statement, referring to the interagency Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States.

TikTok’s China-based parent company ByteDance submitted a proposal to the Treasury last weekend, both TikTok and Oracle said.

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Reports emerged throughout the week about the contours of the deal, pointing to the size of American companies’ stake in TikTok as the main sticking point.

The new partnership comes just days before the deadline for divestiture set by an executive order signed by Trump last month.

The order argued that the wildly-popular apps’ ties to China posed a national security threat, based on a review by CFIUS.

The Department of Commerce on Friday issued an order against TikTok – as well as Chinese-owned messaging platform WeChat – which would have blocked it from being carried in American app stores starting Sunday and blocked all transactions with ByteDance entirely on Nov. 12.

It is unclear how the deal approved Saturday would address many of the national security concerns that were used to justify the executive order.

Many lawmakers, including Republican senators, raised concerns this week that the deal would still leave American’s data vulnerable because of the continued involvement of ByteDance.

Trump told reporters Saturday that TikTok will be “totally controlled by Oracle and Walmart.” A source familiar with the deal called that “definitely false,” pointing to the 20 percent stake ceiling that was outlined in TikTok’s statement.

If finalized, the deal would be a huge boon for Oracle; TikTok has been downloaded nearly 200 million times in the U.S., according to data provided to The Hill by SensorTower, and provides an entry point to the coveted youth market for Oracle.

Microsoft appeared in pole position to secure a deal when Trump’s executive order was first signed, but ultimately had its proposal rejected by ByteDance last Sunday.

Oracle and the administration have a number of close ties.

Oracle co-founder Larry Ellison, whom Trump called a “tremendous person” Tuesday, hosted a fundraiser for the president earlier this year.

Safra Catz, Oracle’s CEO, was part of Trump’s transition team in 2016 and was reportedly floated to join his cabinet.

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The company’s D.C. top lobbyist, Ken Glueck, was also on Trump’s transition team.

Beijing can still reject the agreement.

Shortly after Trump’s executive order, the Chinese Communist Party updated its export controls to include artificial intelligence technologies that likely include the TikTok algorithm, potentially giving Chinese officials the power to limit the algorithm’s use outside the country.

Trump said Saturday that as part of the deal, TikTok would “be making about a $5 billion contribution towards education. We’re going to be setting up a very large fund for the education of American youth.”

Neither TikTok nor Oracle’s statements included any mention of such a fund.

Trump had suggested earlier on in negotiations that the Treasury Department should collect a payment in any deal before ultimately backing down from that position this week, admitting that the administration had no authority to make that sort of demand.

Updated: 8:10 p.m.

President TrumpDonald John TrumpBarr criticizes DOJ in speech declaring all agency power ‘is invested in the attorney general’ Military leaders asked about using heat ray on protesters outside White House: report Powell warns failure to reach COVID-19 deal could ‘scar and damage’ economy MORE is pledging to keep politics out of decisionmaking involving the controversial Pebble Mine that has been proposed at the site of a prominent salmon fishery. 

“Don’t worry, wonderful & beautiful Alaska, there will be NO POLITICS in the Pebble Mine Review Process. I will do what is right for Alaska and our great Country!!!” he tweeted late Wednesday. 

The language of his tweet was similar to that used in advertising by Pebble Limited Partnership, the company behind the proposed mine, in favor of the project. 

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“President Trump, continue to stand tall and don’t let politics enter the Pebble Mine review process,” said an ad from the company. 

The proposed gold and copper mine has become a lightning rod among conservatives in recent weeks after prominent figures such as Donald Trump Jr. and Tucker CarlsonTucker CarlsonTrump tweets his people have all left Drudge Trump: Drudge no longer ‘hot’ Tucker Carlson: Climate change is ‘systemic racism in the sky’ MORE spoke out against it. 

Following this, Trump said he would look at “both sides” of the issue. Weeks later, the federal government notified Pebble that it would have to take extra steps to mitigate “unavoidable adverse impacts to aquatic resources.”

The notification, from the Army Corps of Engineers, came after the agency had already issued an environmental impacts assessment saying that the proposed project would not impact salmon harvests in the area, reversing an Obama-era determination that it would. 

Joel Reynolds, a senior attorney with the Natural Resources Defense Council, told The Hill at the time that he believed it was unusual for the government to require new mitigation measures this late in the process, saying that “these sorts of issues typically have been resolved by this stage.”

Environmentalists have argued that the initial assessment was flawed and part of an attempt to rush the mine through. 

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Asked about the president’s latest tweet, Pebble spokesperson Mike Heatwole said in an email: “We thank President Trump for keeping his word. All Pebble has asked for is a fair shake and we look forward to getting our Record of Decision this Fall.”

The Bristol Bay area where the mine would be located is the world’s largest commercial sockeye salmon-producing region, and opponents of the mine fear its discharges could contaminate local waters. 

Though it said it would not impact salmon harvests, the initial Army Corps assessment did say that wetlands and streams will see impacts from the mine. It’s expected to permanently affect between 2,226 and 2,261 acres of wetlands and other waters, including between 104.1 and 105.8 miles of streams.

The Environmental Protection Agency proposed under the Obama administration to preemptively veto a permit for the mine. The Trump administration reversed this action last year.

The Trump administration is pressing Russia on nuclear arms treaty concessions. 

The administration is threatening Russia with the possibility of extending one of its remaining nuclear weapons treaties between the countries if Moscow does not commit to U.S. demands before the Nov. 3 election, CNN reported.

Washington and Moscow have deliberated for months over negotiating the renewal of the New Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (New START), with Russia saying it wants a five-year renewal, while the U.S. is reluctant without additional commitments from the Kremlin.

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“What we have suggested to the Russians in terms of the way ahead is — in our view precisely that the Russians have a choice to make,” Marshall Billingslea, the top Trump administration nuclear negotiator, told CNN. “But they may find the price of admission goes up after November.”

While administration officials have expressed confidence in their negotiating strategy, some experts are unsure Russia would buckle under the pressure of Washington.

“The Trump administration is playing a risky game of chicken with the New START treaty, which has proven to be effective, which both sides are complying with and which is essential for U.S. and Russian national security,” said Daryl Kimball, the executive director of the Arms Control Association.

“They can see the polls,” Kimball said. “Why should they say yes to something right now when Trump may be out of office and they think they know the Biden administration will agree to an extension and follow on talks?”

Democrat Joe Biden is leading Trump in national and swing-state polls, though the margins in most swing states are tight.

Biden has said that he would sign the renewal of the New START if he is elected president.

The deadline for the extension is Feb. 5, 2021.

HAPPY TUESDAY! Welcome to Overnight Energy, The Hill’s roundup of the latest energy and environment news. Please send tips and comments to Rebecca Beitsch at rbeitsch@thehill.com. Follow her on Twitter: @rebeccabeitsch. Reach Rachel Frazin at rfrazin@thehill.com or follow her on Twitter: @RachelFrazin.

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TURBOCHARGED: House Majority Leader Steny HoyerSteny Hamilton HoyerCoons beats back progressive Senate primary challenger in Delaware Pelosi seeks to put pressure on GOP in COVID-19 relief battle OVERNIGHT ENERGY: House Democrats tee up vote on climate-focused energy bill next week | EPA reappoints controversial leader to air quality advisory committee | Coronavirus creates delay in Pentagon research for alternative to ‘forever chemicals’ MORE (D-Md.) says the chamber will vote next week on a more-than-900-page energy package billed as a response to climate change.

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The bill, unveiled Tuesday, has not had a hearing or gone through the regular legislative progress. It would funnel money toward research and development of a number of types of energy while promoting energy efficiency for homes, schools and other buildings.

It comes as the Senate last week resolved a roadblock that halted a spring vote on a similar energy bill proposed by Sens. Lisa MurkowskiLisa Ann MurkowskiGOP ramps up attacks on Democrats over talk of nixing filibuster OVERNIGHT ENERGY: House Democrats tee up vote on climate-focused energy bill next week | EPA reappoints controversial leader to air quality advisory committee | Coronavirus creates delay in Pentagon research for alternative to ‘forever chemicals’ House Democrats tee up vote on climate-focused energy bill next week MORE (R-Alaska) and Joe ManchinJoseph (Joe) ManchinOVERNIGHT ENERGY: House Democrats tee up vote on climate-focused energy bill next week | EPA reappoints controversial leader to air quality advisory committee | Coronavirus creates delay in Pentagon research for alternative to ‘forever chemicals’ Senate Democrats demand White House fire controversial head of public lands agency House Democrats tee up vote on climate-focused energy bill next week MORE (D-W.Va.).

Hoyer in a release said the bill “fulfills House Democrats’ promise to invest in the creation of high-paying jobs by making America a global leader in clean energy. Our climate is changing, and we not only need to take dramatic steps to slow the carbon pollution that has driven this climate crisis but we must also seize the economic opportunities that this challenge presents.”

Bringing the quickly drafted legislation to the floor leaves several other climate proposals from House committees by the wayside.

A bill from the Select Committee on the Climate Crisis billed as a road map for battling climate change was introduced in June. And in January, the House Energy and Commerce Committee laid out its own vision for transitioning to clean energy. Both bills would set strict timetables for decarbonizing the economy by 2050.

Tuesday’s bill, the Clean Economy Jobs and Innovation Act, doesn’t offer any similar targets, instead focusing on assisting the industries that could help the U.S. transition to a clean energy economy while seeking to close energy efficiency gaps in buildings across the country.

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“Energy is a big deal for us. We had a lot of bills that we wanted to do in the spring, that were energy bills, then obviously the spring fell apart, right? So we didn’t have a spring,” Hoyer told The Hill in a hallway interview, adding the measure was a result of putting “I think 40-plus bills together.”

The legislation would establish more rigorous building codes and bolster energy efficiency requirements and weatherization programs. It includes research and development programs for solar, wind, advanced geothermal energy, hydroelectric power and measures that would reduce carbon pollution at fossil-fuel generated sources. 

In the transportation sector, the bill seeks to expand the use of electric vehicles, starting an electric vehicle supply equipment rebate program and reauthorizing various clean diesel programs.

It also includes aspects of an earlier environmental justice package from the House Natural Resources Committee, which would add environmental claims to the Civil Rights Act. 

Read more about the legislation here.

SOME PERSONNEL NEWS:

Make a reappointment: The Environmental Protection Agency on Tuesday announced that Administrator Andrew WheelerAndrew WheelerOVERNIGHT ENERGY: House Democrats tee up vote on climate-focused energy bill next week | EPA reappoints controversial leader to air quality advisory committee | Coronavirus creates delay in Pentagon research for alternative to ‘forever chemicals’ EPA reappoints controversial leader to air quality advisory committee Mercedes-Benz settles with US over alleged emissions cheating MORE is reappointing a controversial official to lead an air quality advisory committee. 

Wheeler reappointed Louis Anthony “Tony” Cox, Jr. to a second three-year term leading the Clean Air Scientific Advisory Committee (CASAC), which advises the agency on the technical aspects of its national ambient air quality standards. 

Cox, who has done work for both the oil and chemical industries, was first appointed to lead CASAC in 2017.

In a statement, Wheeler praised Cox, as well as James Boylan, who he also reappointed, saying their “expertise and experience on the CASAC will continue to add value to this advisory committee, its deliberations, and its advice.”

However, critics raised concerns about whether Cox was committed to considering the impacts of pollution on public health. 

“He has shown he’s not interested in looking at the weight of the evidence on air pollution and health effects. He has shown…that he’s uninterested in following the careful science-based process that EPA has followed for decades to set science-based and health-protective air pollution standards,” said Gretchen Goldman, the research director for the Center for Science and Democracy at the Union of Concerned Scientists.

According to E&E News, prior to joining CASAC, Cox took funding from the American Petroleum Institute, a major oil lobbying group, for his own research into a type of pollution called particulate matter and allowed the group to copy edit the research before publication. 

Cox denied to the news outlet that the oil lobby provided meaningful edits. 

He has also reportedly denied the link between particulate matter, also called soot, and mortality. 

During Cox’s tenure, Wheeler disbanded a panel of scientists that was part of CASAC and tasked with reviewing how soot impacted human health. 

More recently, the EPA declined to tighten the air quality standard for soot, even though assessments have suggested that stricter standards could save lives. The agency also proposed not to tighten the standard for smog. 

Read more about the reappointment here.

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Pendley pressure: Senate Democrats continued their pressure campaign on the White House Tuesday, taking to the floor to ask President TrumpDonald John TrumpTrump says he doesn’t think he could’ve done more to stop virus spread Conservative activist Lauren Witzke wins GOP Senate primary in Delaware Trump defends claim coronavirus will disappear, citing ‘herd mentality’ MORE to immediately remove the controversial acting head of the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) from his post.

The speeches were focused on William Perry Pendley, the de-facto head of the public lands agency who has long opposed federal ownership of them.

Though his nomination was withdrawn earlier this month after a letter of opposition from the entire Democratic caucus showed Republicans they had little wiggle room for a vote, Pendley remains in office through a series of orders being challenged in two different lawsuits.

“Let’s get one thing straight. This title has no basis in law. He’s serving as acting BLM director under temporary appointments that the Secretary [of Interior] keeps renewing in a cynical ploy to evade the Constitution, the Federal Vacancies Reform Act and the judgment of the Senate,” said Sen. Tom UdallThomas (Tom) Stewart UdallOVERNIGHT ENERGY: House Democrats tee up vote on climate-focused energy bill next week | EPA reappoints controversial leader to air quality advisory committee | Coronavirus creates delay in Pentagon research for alternative to ‘forever chemicals’ Senate Democrats demand White House fire controversial head of public lands agency OVERNIGHT ENERGY: Trump extends Florida offshore drilling pause, expands it to Georgia, South Carolina | Democrats probe Park Service involvement in GOP convention | Sanders attacks ‘corporate welfare’ to coal industry included in relief package MORE (D-N.M.), a vocal critic of Pendley’s.

“Mr. Pendley’s record on conservation is so bad, so antithetical to the agency he oversees the Trump administration knew he wouldn’t survive a Senate confirmation. So instead, they’ve concocted this shell game,” Udall continued.

Pendley has come under fire for a number of comments and articles. He’s compared climate change to unicorns to highlight that he doesn’t believe it exists. He’s criticized the Black Lives Matter movement. He has a long history fighting federal government oversight of public lands, penning books with the titles “War on the West: Government Tyranny on America’s Frontier” and “Warriors for the West: Fighting Bureaucrats, Radical Groups, and Liberal Judges on America’s Frontier.” 

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Sen. Michael BennetMichael Farrand BennetOVERNIGHT ENERGY: House Democrats tee up vote on climate-focused energy bill next week | EPA reappoints controversial leader to air quality advisory committee | Coronavirus creates delay in Pentagon research for alternative to ‘forever chemicals’ Senate Democrats demand White House fire controversial head of public lands agency Next crisis, keep people working and give them raises MORE (D-Colo.) said “asking someone like that to manage our public lands… is like asking somebody be Secretary of Education who doesn’t believe in public education,” taking a jab at Education Secretary Betsy DeVosElizabeth (Betsy) Dee DeVosOVERNIGHT ENERGY: House Democrats tee up vote on climate-focused energy bill next week | EPA reappoints controversial leader to air quality advisory committee | Coronavirus creates delay in Pentagon research for alternative to ‘forever chemicals’ Senate Democrats demand White House fire controversial head of public lands agency Poll: Majority of teachers worried that school districts will reopen too quickly MORE.

Read more about the criticism here. 

Saying no to NOAA: Two House Democrats wrote a letter on Tuesday criticizing the recent hiring of a professor who’s questioned climate science to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). 

“Dr. Legates’ appointment is an extreme risk to the American public and an insult to the quality science and scientists at NOAA. This is yet another example of a disturbing trend in the infusion of a political agenda into science. Dr. Legates has gone on the record in opposition to sound science strictly for personal gain and the advancement of a political agenda. Such behaviors undermine the scientific integrity at NOAA and should not have a place in your agency,” wrote Reps. Raúl Grijalva (D-Ariz.) and Jared HuffmanJared William HuffmanOVERNIGHT ENERGY: House Democrats tee up vote on climate-focused energy bill next week | EPA reappoints controversial leader to air quality advisory committee | Coronavirus creates delay in Pentagon research for alternative to ‘forever chemicals’ COVID-19 complicates California’s record-setting wildfire season  Congress should investigate OAS actions in Bolivia MORE (D-Calif.) in a letter to top NOAA official Neil Jacobs. 

They also asked whether the newly created position given to David Legates, a University of Delaware professor of climatology, was a political one and said it was unclear if it would require Senate confirmation. 

FOREVER IS DELAYED: The coronavirus has caused a delay in researching alternatives to using cancer-linked chemicals in military firefighting foam, the director of the Defense Department’s Strategic Environment Research and Development Program said Tuesday.

Director Herb Nelson referenced the delay when asked by Rep. Mo BrooksMorris (Mo) Jackson BrooksOvernight Defense: Trump hosts Israel, UAE, Bahrain for historic signing l Air Force reveals it secretly built and flew new fighter jet l Coronavirus creates delay in Pentagon research for alternative to ‘forever chemicals’ OVERNIGHT ENERGY: House Democrats tee up vote on climate-focused energy bill next week | EPA reappoints controversial leader to air quality advisory committee | Coronavirus creates delay in Pentagon research for alternative to ‘forever chemicals’ Coronavirus creates delay in Pentagon research for alternative to ‘forever chemicals,’ official says MORE (R-Ala.) about whether the possible alternatives will be safer than the currently used chemicals called PFAS. 

“It’s too early to answer that question. We’re just getting started. Normally, on this day, I could give you some early indicators, but like everyone else on this Earth, they’ve really taken a delay because of the COVID situation,” Nelson said. 

“Many of the people are out of their laboratories, so maybe they’re six months further behind than we would expect them to be,” he added.

PFAS chemicals are a class of cancer-linked substances that are also sometimes called “forever chemicals” because of their persistence in the human body and in nature. They’re found in a variety of products, including firefighting foam that’s used by the military. 

However, the military will be prohibited from using foams containing PFAS after Oct. 1, 2024, due to a provision in a past National Defense Authorization Act bill.

Read more about House hearing where Nelson made the comments here. 

EMINENTLY QUOTABLE: “Climate change is like a pandemic with no masks or vaccines,” tweeted Andy Slavitt, acting head of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services under the Obama administration.

ON TAP TOMORROW:

• The Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee will examine the nominations of Allison Clements and Mark Christie to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission
• The Environment and Public Works Committee will hold a hearing to examine the Trump administration’s Navigable Waters Protection Rule, which limited the scope of the federal government to regulate water pollution. 
• The House Energy and Commerce Committee will hold a hearing titled “”Building a 100 percent clean economy: opportunities for an equitable, low-carbon recovery”
• The Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee’s Subcommittee on Public Lands, Forests, and Mining will hold a hearing on a series of bills

OUTSIDE (AND INSIDE) THE BELTWAY:

Scientists say two major Antarctic glaciers are tearing loose from their restraints, The Washington Post reports

The Trump Team has a plan to not fight climate change, Wired reports

Smoke in D.C.’s skies today traveled thousands of miles from the West Coast, The Washington Post reports

Portland, Seattle, LA among cities with world’s worst air quality as wildfires rage in Western states, we report

ICYMI: Stories from Tuesday (and Monday night)…

28 million Americans could experience megafires by 2070: analysis

‘Potentially historic’ flooding predicted from Hurricane Sally

Portland, Seattle, LA among cities with world’s worst air quality as wildfires rage in Western states

Trump tells Gulf Coast residents to prepare for ‘extremely dangerous’ Hurricane Sally

Democrat asks for probe of EPA’s use of politically appointed lawyers

Northern Hemisphere sees its hottest summer on record

As wildfires rage, Trump and Biden diverge on climate

EPA reappoints controversial leader to air quality advisory committee

House Democrats tee up vote on climate-focused energy bill next week

Coronavirus creates delay in Pentagon research for alternative to ‘forever chemicals,’ official says

Senate Dems demand White House fire controversial head of public lands agency

President TrumpDonald John TrumpObama calls on Senate not to fill Ginsburg’s vacancy until after election Planned Parenthood: ‘The fate of our rights’ depends on Ginsburg replacement Progressive group to spend M in ad campaign on Supreme Court vacancy MORE said Friday he’s “very happy” to allow TikTok to continue operations in the U.S. as long as security concerns over its ties to China are resolved.

Trump told reporters that he’s spoken with top executives at Oracle, Walmart and Microsoft about the prospect of them purchasing the video-sharing app as his administration mulls a proposition to give Oracle and Walmart ownership stakes in and greater control over the company while not completely cutting out China-based ByteDance, the current owner.

“We have some great options and maybe we can keep a lot of people happy but have the security that we need. We have to have the total security from China,” Trump said.

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The remark came after the White House announced it will ban WeChat and TikTok from U.S. app stores starting Sunday as it escalates its efforts to clamp down on the two Chinese-owned apps.

The Commerce Department’s restrictions bar companies from providing internet hosting, content delivery networks or peering services for WeChat or use any of the app’s code, functions or services within the U.S. as of Sunday. However, the same restrictions will not apply to TikTok until Nov. 12, giving the app time before the election to reach a deal and continue services to its expansive U.S. user base.

The order still bans TikTok from U.S. mobile app stores starting Sunday night.

“Today’s actions prove once again that President Trump will do everything in his power to guarantee our national security and protect Americans from the threats of the Chinese Communist Party,” Commerce Secretary Wilbur RossWilbur Louis RossTikTok, WeChat to be banned Sunday from US app stores The Hill’s Morning Report – Sponsored by National Industries for the Blind – Trump seeks to flip ‘Rage’ narrative; Dems block COVID-19 bill Judge orders Trump administration stop ‘winding down’ census collection, processing efforts MORE said in a statement. “At the President’s direction, we have taken significant action to combat China’s malicious collection of American citizens’ personal data, while promoting our national values, democratic rules-based norms, and aggressive enforcement of U.S. laws and regulations.”

White House economic adviser Larry KudlowLarry KudlowMORE said Thursday there was “no sector worse hurt than energy” during the economic downturn due to the coronavirus pandemic.

“The pandemic’s been brutal. And no sector worse hurt than energy. No question. At one point, no one would take delivery and we had negative prices, crazy stuff,” Kudlow said in apparent reference to the oil industry at an Energy Department symposium on natural gas.

His remarks don’t take into account many industries that make up the bulk of the nation’s high 2020 unemployment claims.

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In April, oil prices dropped into their lowest point ever, at one point trading at negative $37.63, the lowest level recorded since the New York Mercantile Exchange began trading oil futures in 1983. The price drop reflected the willingness of futures traders to pay someone to take physical possession of the oil.

Prices have since recovered to around $40, a break-even point for many oil companies, but still below the $50 range before the pandemic.

Though a historic moment that reflected the uncertainty of the markets, several different analyses of the economy suggest that oil and energy broadly are hardly the only industries reeling.

A March analysis from S&P Global Market Intelligence found airlines were the most likely to default, with the oil and gas industry taking the No. 2 spot after trailing the gaming and leisure industries for most of the month.

The energy industry accounts for a much smaller share of unemployment claims. A six-month outlook from the Bureau of Labor Statistics found leisure and hospitality accounted for the largest share of unemployment claims filed over the last six months, at 24 percent, followed by education and health services and professional and business services. Each of those areas has accounted for more unemployment claims over the last six months than every part of the energy sector combined.

The event largely served as a way for administration officials and industry representatives to bash environmental groups and Democrats for not doing more to promote natural gas. The discussion largely mirrored rhetoric used by the Trump campaign, broadly casting Democratic environmental policies as dangerous for the economy. 

“I don’t want to politicize this,” Kudlow said. “I just want to say that the other team, if you will, has some bizarre plans that would do great harm, to energy to the economy to jobs and so forth.”

Niv Elis contributed.

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Pope FrancisPope FrancisPope: No one should seek to profit from pandemic Priest tapped to be bishop by Pope Francis resigns after sexual abuse probe Pope plans first trip outside Rome since start of pandemic MORE voiced support for a new Vatican think tank that aims to prevent the Mafia and other organized crime groups from using the image of the Virgin Mary, the Vatican announced at a conference on Friday. 

The Associated Press reported that the Vatican’s Pontifical Marian Academy officially launched the think tank Friday at a conference titled “Liberating Mary from the Mafia.” The conference’s name is a reference to the historic connection between the Catholic Church and the Italian mob group, as well as mobsters’ popular displays of devotion to Mary. 

The conference, held at Rome’s Museum of Civilizations, started with the reading of a statement from the pope that said the image of the Virgin Mary “must be preserved in its original purity.”

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Francis added in the statement that any public displays of devotion to the Madonna must “conform to the message of the Gospel and the teachings of the church,” and that people participating in these devotions must be authentic Christians who look out for others, especially the poor.

The pope first expressed his support for the think tank in a letter last month to the Pontifical Marian Academy President, Father Stefano Cecchin.

Francis wrote that the new department, which does not yet appear to have an official name, will help Catholics “rediscover the religious and cultural heritage that we have all over the world, but especially in Italy – a heritage that we must re-evaluate and safeguard in its original piety.”

In 2018, Francis said Mafia members could not “believe in God and be Mafiosi” during an address at Palermo’s Piazza Europa. In the address, the pope paid homage to Father Giuseppe Puglisi, who was shot and killed by the mafia in Sicily in 1993.

According to AP, the Catholic Church in Italy has had historic ties with the Mafia, adding that while some Catholic priests have vocally opposed the organization, others have faced criticism for their celebration of funerals, weddings and other sacraments for mafia dons and acceptance of their donations. 

St. John Paul II in 1993 called on Mafia members to repent and change their ways during a visit to Sicily after mob killings of two anti-Mafia prosecutors.

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