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With Big Decisions Ahead, the Supreme Court Collides With a Testy Trump
President Trump has alternated between bullying the justices and cozying up to them as the court prepares to announce major decisions that will determine the fate of the key aspects of his agenda.
Fmr. attorney of courthouse shooting suspect said she had 'significant mental health issues'
Former attorney of 57-year-old Gwendolyn White, the woman accused of shooting two attorneys outside the Wake County Courthouse on Friday, said the suspect suffered from mental health issues for years.
GCU announces new pre-nursing associate of science degree
Grand Canyon University is expanding its healthcare pipeline with the launch of its first-ever associate degree program.
Commentary: Take a bow, Courtney Deifel
Deifel is the first to deflect praise for the Arkansas softball program’s ascent, but everyone around the program knows who built this.
Travis Kelce, Taylor Swift sit courtside for Knicks-Cavaliers game
Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce sat courtside for Game 3 of the Eastern Conference finals between the New York Knicks and Cleveland Cavaliers.
Federal judges’ responses vary to immigration authorities’ disregard of orders
Colorado’s U.S. District Court judges have responded in recent days to the government’s violations of or unclear compliance with their orders in immigration detention cases, resulting in directives to immediately free the petitioners. “I’m just struggling to understand how he was removed from the United States even though (the government acknowledges) he could not be […]
Spring sports surge: How to avoid foot and ankle injuries
One warm weekend — and suddenly everyone is back outside running, playing pickleball, or hitting the basketball court. But doctors say jumping into intense activity too quickly can lead to painful injuries that may keep you sidelined for weeks.
Appeals court reverses Albert Lea’s rejection of cannabis business
The court ruled that the council broke its own ordinance and arbitrarily rejected the application by the Smoking Tree, but the future of the business remains in question.
Turkey opposition vows to resist court ruling ousting leader as political crisis deepens
Analysts said the ruling, seen as a test of Turkey’s shaky balance between democracy and autocracy, could further prolong President Tayyip Erdogan’s 23-year rule.
Opinion | Court Cases About Money and Speech in Politics
Readers discuss court cases about campaign finance. Also: Computer science and the humanities.
Adaptive sports athletes test new courts at U.S. Soccer training center in metro Atlanta
Turkish court ousts leader of main opposition party
Ankara court overturns results of leadership election won by Republican People's Party head Ozgur Ozel.
Commentary: Arkansas women's spring sports are in a golden era
Golf's Shauna Taylor and softball's Courtney Deifel are putting together stellar, perhaps statue-worthy careers.
N.Y. state Court of Appeals hears social media hateful conduct case
The courts are weighing and analyzing the constitutionality behind reporting and enforcing hateful conduct online.
Elkhart business receives bomb threat Thursday morning
An Elkhart business was forced to evacuate after a bomb threat Thursday morning.Police say employees at Elkhart Indian Motorcycle on Brittany Court received the
Federal case alleges $30 million theft by health payment CEO
Patrick Alan Bucknum, 55, was charged with wire fraud May 7 in federal court in Spokane. Prosecutors say he embezzled money out of his firm to the tune of $24
Meta settles first U.S. case over school costs tied to youth mental health, court filing shows
The agreement fully resolves a lawsuit brought by a Kentucky school district following earlier settlements by co-defendants YouTube, Snap and TikTok.
Meta settles first US case over school costs tied to youth mental health, court filing shows
May 21 (Reuters) - Meta Platforms on Thursday reached a settlement in the first case set for trial seeking to make social media companies cover the costs that school districts say they have incurred
Meta settles first US case over school costs tied to youth mental health, court filing shows
Meta Platforms on Thursday reached a settlement in the first case set for trial in litigation seeking to make social media companies cover the costs school districts across the country say they have incurred to combat a youth mental health crisis allegedly fueled by their platforms.
Cannabis Business Leans on Schedule III Listing, Asks US Tax Court to Recognize 280E Refunds for Prior Years
The IRS can’t dispute that medical cannabis falls outside the meaning of Schedule I or II ‘without contradicting the president, the acting attorney general and HHS,’ the company says.
Iowa Appeals court upholds Waukon business owner’s arson, animal death offenses
The Iowa Court of Appeals agrees with the Allamakee County District Court that the convictions against a Waukon woman were reached fairly and will stand.
Supreme Court revives damages suit against cruise ship companies that docked in Cuba
The Supreme Court subjected the world’s largest cruise ship companies to a stiff headwind on Thursday, reviving a claim that alleged they trafficked in property confiscated by the Cuban government when they docked their ships in Havana.
Portland businesses hit hard by tariffs await refunds months after Supreme Court ruling
In February, the U.S. Supreme Court struck down tariffs imposed by President Trump under a 50-year-old statute. We hear from two CEOs in Portland about the impact the tariffs have had on their small businesses and the refunds they have applied for and are hoping to get.
Bonus 228: The $1.776B Political Question
Every so often a story comes along that is so brazen, so cleanly emblematic of the moment we are living through, that staying quiet about it feels like a kind of complicity unto itself. Monday’s announcement by the Department of Justice that the Acting Attorney General has unilaterally created a $1.776 billion “Anti-Weaponization Fund” to compensate so-called “victims of lawfare” is one of those stories. And the reason I want to write about it here, in a newsletter ostensibly devoted to the Supreme Court and the law and politics surrounding it, is that I’m increasingly worried that we’re asking the wrong institution to save us from one of the most offensive, alarming, and anti-constitutional things we’ve seen from any president in American history. As I explain below the fold, the Anti-Weaponization Fund is not principally a legal problem awaiting a judicial fix. It is a shockingly egregious political abuse—the President suing his own government, purporting to settle with himself, and routing nearly $2 billion from the Treasury to his own supporters as a not-so-subtle (and not-so-formal) reward, if not an incentive, for political violence. And the Constitution’s answer to political abuses of this kind and magnitude is a political remedy, not a legal one. In his majority opinion in NFIB v. Sebelius (the Affordable Care Act case from 2012), Chief Justice Roberts defended the Court’s endorsement of Congress’s power to adopt the individual mandate by noting that it is “not our job to protect the people from the consequences of their political choices.” As much of a judicial supremacist as I am, that sentiment is, for better or worse, an entirely correct (and, in the long term, normatively desirable) institutional assessment. One can believe in substantial judicial power without believing that literally every political dispute in our country can and should be resolved by unelected judges. The real upshot of this latest headline (among so, so many other similar headlines) is that it is past time to reinvigorate impeachment—not because conviction is realistic in this Senate, or even because impeachment itself is feasible in this House, but because forcing every member of Congress to vote on the record whether this brazen, corrosive, and affirmatively dangerous corruption is impeachable is itself a point worth fighting for (and fighting with our friends over). Assuming the courts will save us absolves our political leaders of both responsibility and accountability for allowing this kind of mischief to continue, and it absolves all of us of our responsibility to refuse to tolerate those who would just as quickly shrug their shoulders and move on. For those who aren’t paid subscribers, we’ll be back (no later than) Monday with our continuing coverage of the Supreme Court. For those who are, please read on.
e.l.f. Beauty plans price cuts to court price-sensitive shoppers
After the company cut the price of e.l.f.'s Halo Glow skin tint from $18 to $14, sales picked up nearly 40%.
Hawaii Pacific University 1st in state to add flag football as collegiate sport
NCAA classifies flag football as 'Emerging Sport'
‘A Jackie Robinson moment’: Jeffries echoes NAACP calls for college sports boycott over voting rights
The top US House Democrat called out SEC schools for their silence in the wake of a supreme court decision that has severely weakened the Voting Rights Act
Judge orders mental health evaluation for woman accused of attempting to murder Rihanna
A judge paused the prosecution of a woman charged with the attempted murder of Rihanna and sent the case to a mental health court that will determine whether she is competent to stand trial.
McCourt School Hosts 2026 DC Democratic Mayoral Primary Debate - McCourt School of Public Policy
The McCourt School's Institute of Politics and Public Service at Georgetown University hosted the 2026 DC democratic mayoral debate.
Even while courting moderates on voter ID, GOP leaders still push debunked fraud narrative
Republicans call their voter ID ballot measure ‘common sense’ to appeal to moderate voters, while alienating liberals with election conspiracy theories
Prep talk: Culver City volleyball finds succeeds without home court
Culver City won the Southern Section Division 6 boys' volleyball championship while playing all but two of its games on the road this season.
Election Year Politics Killed Oklahoma’s Eviction Reform Bills, Advocates Say
Oklahoma's tenant protection bills failed this legislative session, leaving renters without new legal remedies against problem landlords. House Bill 2015, which would have given courts power to hold landlords accountable for habitability failures, stalled, as did an eviction timeline extension bill. Advocates blame election-year politics and landlord influence at the Capitol.
‘Cockroach Janata Party’: Top Indian judge’s comment sparks satire, protest
Controversial remark by Supreme Court chief justice triggers a political movement, with thousands of Gen Z signing in.
Woman accused of shooting Rihanna's Beverly Hills home ordered to mental health evaluation
GOP voters overwhelmingly pick Woods over Lindemuth in the 98th District
Lancaster County Clerk of Courts Nicky Woods will move on to the November general election in the 98th House District after winning Tuesday’s Republican primary.
Judge orders mental health evaluation for the woman accused of attempting to murder Rihanna
LOS ANGELES (AP) — A judge on Tuesday paused the prosecution of a woman charged with the attempted murder of Rihanna and more than a dozen other felonies and sent the case to a mental health court that will determine whether she is competent to stand trial.
New leadership fight between Democrats grows in Brooklyn
An insurgent political group is trying to take over party leadership.
Nashville leaders weigh changes to home business rules after court ruling
Metro Council will consider easing restrictions on home-based businesses after a court ruled in favor of businesses, saying that some restrictions Metro has in place are unconstitutional.
Couple sues Maine health providers, accusing radiologist of overlooking warning sign of stroke
The lawsuit is the first known medical malpractice case filed in Maine's federal court against a non-governmental defendant since a landmark U.S. Supreme Court decision, attorney says.
The Supreme Court just handed down two surprisingly timid Voting Rights Act decisions
Why did a Court that hates the Voting Rights Act with the intensity of a thousand suns decide to stay its hand?
Ketanji Brown Jackson says Supreme Court risks being seen as political after voting rights decision
At a time when public confidence in the court is low, Jackson said the court must be careful to avoid being seen as political.
Central District Health announces new director, Kristin Ryan
The Central District Health (CDH) Board announced that Kristin Ryan was chosen as the agency's new director.CDH says Ryan most recently worked at the City of Bo
The great indoors: Travel Lane County seeks indoor sports venue
On this edition, we talk with Samara Phelps of Travel Lane County about its efforts to develop a large indoor court sports venue to both accommodate local teams and also attract out-of-town tournaments. We also talk with KLCC's Zac Ziegler about his story on Springfield Public Schools being found by the state to be non-compliant with certain curriculum.
ICYMI: State Leaders Attended NFIB’s 2026 Ohio Small Business Day
Small business owners heard from the Senate President, House Speaker, and Chief Just of the Supreme Court.
LOAM ENTERTAINMENT'S 'BAD COUNSELORS' ARRIVES IN THEATRES NATIONWIDE JULY 23-27 FROM FATHOM ENTERTAINMENT
/PRNewswire/ -- When two hard-partying fraternity brothers pose as Christian camp counselors to work off court-ordered community service, the summer quickly...
LOAM ENTERTAINMENT'S 'BAD COUNSELORS' ARRIVES IN THEATRES NATIONWIDE JULY 23-27 FROM FATHOM ENTERTAINMENT
When two hard-partying fraternity brothers pose as Christian camp counselors to work off court-ordered community service, the summer quickly becomes more than either of them bargained for. Loam Entertainment's irreverent fish-out-of-water comedy BAD COUNSELORS arrives in theatres nationwide for a limited engagement July 23-27, 2026, distributed by Fathom Entertainment, the leading specialty distributor of content to theatrical partners worldwide.
Court Rules for Small Businesses, Dismisses Case Threatening Disadvantaged Business Enterprise Program
Coalition of Minority- and Women-Owned Businesses and Trade Organizations Triumphs After Intervening to Defend Equity Department of Transportation Program
Justice Jackson criticizes Supreme Court’s handling of major voting case
Supreme Court Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson said the court's decision to expedite a ruling in a major voting rights case made it appear political.
Ketanji Brown Jackson says Supreme Court risks being seen as political after voting rights decision
Polling has shown public trust in the Supreme Court at historic lows in recent years.
Ketanji Brown Jackson says Supreme Court risks being seen as political after voting rights decision
Polling has shown public trust in the Supreme Court at historic lows in recent years.
Kasich aims to trade outrage for optimism with new SiriusXM show
Forget shouting matches and partisan sniping, John Kasich says he’s ready to tell political leaders to “knock it off, settle down and get things fixed.” Ohio’s former Republ…
Business Valuation in Divorce: Judicial Discretion Reigns
Alan Feigenbaum discusses how a recent New York divorce case involving the valuation of a family-owned construction business underscores the broad discretion courts have in determining business value and the importance of expert credibility and “economic reality” in equitable distribution disputes.
Powell: Courtroom chaos in Murdaugh case could spill into South Carolina politics
News that the South Carolina Supreme Court had overturned the murder convictions of Alex Murdaugh in the state’s “Trial of the Century” made headlines nationwide.
Ketanji Brown Jackson says Supreme Court risks being seen as political after voting rights decision
She spoke after writing a solo dissent from the court's decision allowing Louisiana to move quickly to use new maps.
Ketanji Brown Jackson says Supreme Court risks being seen as political after voting rights decision
Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson said Monday that the Supreme Court risks being seen as political in the wake of a major voting rights decision.
Ketanji Brown Jackson says Supreme Court risks being seen as political after voting rights decision
WASHINGTON (AP) — Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson said Monday that the Supreme Court risks being seen as political in the wake of a major voting rights decision.
Justice Jackson slams Supreme Court’s handling of rush appeal in Louisiana redistricting case
Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson offered a blistering critique Monday of the Supreme Court’s handling of a recent high-profile redistricting case, asserting that the court needed to be “really, really careful” in the churn of an election year to avoid appearing political and suggesting it had failed to do so in that case.
Political group sues Missouri officials over pressuring county clerks
People Not Politicians is seeking a court injunctive to stop state officials from pressuring county election authorities to use a gerrymandered congressional map.
Supreme Court deals blow to Big Pharma
Presented by Coalition to Strengthen America’s Healthcare{beacon} View Online Health Care Health Care PRESENTED BY The Big Story Supreme Court deals blow to pharma challenge …
New suit would force Missouri ruling on redistricting referendum
There is a new legal fight underway over Missouri’s newly-drawn congressional maps, less than a week after a pair of unanimous state supreme court rulings on the issue.
Iowa man sues Nintendo after being denied ‘Pokémon Professor’ status
An Iowa man is taking Nintendo and Pokémon Company International to federal court for allegedly refusing to grant him “Pokémon Professor” status.
Lone Star Politics: May 18, 2026
Early voting starts this week, Dallas sees a grudge match between Colin Allred and Julie Johnson. Then an update on congressional maps and the Supreme Courts decision.
Supreme Court sends closely watched Native American voting rights decision back to lower court
The Supreme Court has acted in a Voting Rights Act case brought by Native American tribes, saying a closely watched ruling needs to be reconsidered after the high court weakened the Civil Rights-era law.
Rendering of Louisville Sports Entertainment District
A rendering of the proposed Louisville Sports Entertainment District. (Courtesy of Louisville Business First and Louisville Metro Government.)
Murdaugh attorney SLAMMED after retrial ruling: ‘Bald-faced allegations of politics’
South Carolina Attorney General Alan Wilson discusses the state Supreme Court’s ruling in the Alex Murdaugh retrial case and criticism of defense attorney Dick Harpootlian’s past Democratic political leanings.
Appeals court reverses Albert Lea’s denial of cannabis business registration
The Minnesota Court of Appeals reversed the City of Albert Lea’s denial of Jacob Schlichter’s cannabis business registration, The Smoking Tree LLC, ruling the city violated its own ordinance requiring registrations to be issued on a first-come, first-served basis.
Federal jury delivers verdict on Musk's lawsuit against OpenAI
A jury in federal court reached a verdict in Elon Musk's lawsuit against OpenAI after Musk accused the maker of ChatGPT of violating its founding mission as a nonprofit.
Heart health screenings deliver lifesaving impact
Two weeks after her father suffered a stroke, Courtney Barclay, 46, jumped at the chance to get a free blood pressure check while grocery shopping in Carlisle. “With everything going on with my dad…
Children’s Colorado must resume care to transgender plaintiffs, state Supreme Court rules by 5-2
The Colorado Supreme Court, by a 5-2 vote, ordered Children’s Hospital Colorado on Monday to resume providing certain medical services to a group of transgender plaintiffs, which it had ceased in the face of funding threats from the federal government last year. The unusual appeal before the Supreme Court stemmed from a trial judge’s rejection […]
Philippines launches VP Duterte impeachment trial amid political division
Senate court established despite following House leadership changes and a shootout.
Austin FC fires sporting director Rodolfo Borrell, head coach Nico Estevez
Precourt fired sporting director Rodolfo Borrell and head coach Nico Estevez, he announced Monday. Davy Arnaud will take over as the interim head coach, and the search to fill both positions will b…
Expert explains the science, safety, and legal landscape around mifepristone used in abortions, miscarriage care
The U.S. Supreme Court has preserved access to mifepristone—the medication used in the majority of abortions in the United States and in some miscarriage care—for now. The action maintains current rules ...
Pickleball, dining and entertainment come together at the Crush Yard
The Crush Yard pickleball bar and lounge in Brentwood combines indoor pickleball with dining and entertainment, featuring eight courts and a full‑service restaurant.
Pickleball, dining and entertainment come together at the Crush Yard
The Crush Yard pickleball bar and lounge in Brentwood combines indoor pickleball with dining and entertainment, featuring eight courts and a full‑service restaurant.
Redistricting debate shifts to South Carolina as Republicans target Rep. Clyburn's seat
The Southern redistricting efforts come after a recent U.S. Supreme Court ruling that weakened Voting Rights Act protections for minority districts.
Supreme Court sends closely watched Native American voting rights decision back to lower court
The Supreme Court has acted in a Voting Rights Act case brought by Native American tribes, saying a closely watched ruling needs to be reconsidered after the high court weakened the Civil Rights-era law | KNSS Radio
Supreme Court sends closely watched Native American voting rights decision back to lower court
The Supreme Court has acted in a Voting Rights Act case brought by Native American tribes, saying a closely watched ruling needs to be reconsidered after the high court weakened the Civil Rights-era law | News-Talk 1380 WAOK
Trump moves to dismiss $10B suit over leak of tax returns
The disclosure was made in a filing in federal court in Florida, where the lawsuit was filed last year
Trump moves to dismiss $10B suit over leak of tax returns
The disclosure was made in a filing in federal court in Florida, where the lawsuit was filed last year
The ugly reality of racial politics in today’s Republican Party
The GOP is increasingly embracing racial politics, with many of its members either expressing racist views or playing along by ignoring them, as evidenced by the recent Supreme Court ruling that di…
Trump drops lawsuit against IRS amid talks of establishing a $1.8 billion fund for allies
President Donald Trump is dropping his $10 billion lawsuit against the Internal Revenue Service, according to court documents, a signal that the administration is preparing to go forward with a plan to set up $1.8 billion fund that would compensate those who believe they were subject to unfair investigations under previous administrations.
Supreme Court ruling throws Alabama politics into turmoil
A renewed redistricting fight deepened uncertainty over election maps, voting rights and Republican divisions, underscoring Alabama’s outsized role in national political battles.
Pop star Shakira is acquitted in a Spanish tax fraud case
A Spanish court acquitted Shakira in a tax fraud case, ordering the government to return more than $64 million in wrongly imposed fines.
Pop star Shakira is acquitted in a Spanish tax fraud case
A Spanish court has acquitted Shakira of tax fraud and ordered the government to return over 55 million euros in fines and interest. The decision, seen Monday by The Associated
The Supreme Court’s Voting Rights Decision Spurred Swift Action in Louisiana and Alabama
The timing brought the court into the middle of a fight to redraw voting maps across the South, even as some primaries were underway.
Trump’s MAGA Supreme Court lawyer breaks tradition, but the justices embrace it
Over the past year, US Solicitor General D. John Sauer has been pushing the boundaries of the law at the Supreme Court with a delivery that is quickfire, confrontational and imbued with MAGA attitude.
Philippine senate convenes as impeachment court to try vice president as political storm rages
MANILA, Philippines (AP) — The Philippine Senate convened an impeachment court Monday for the trial of Vice President Sara Duterte over criminal charges, in a time of deep divisions that erupted into an exchange of gunfire last week in the chamber.
Philippine senate convenes as impeachment court to try vice president as political storm rages
The Philippine Senate has convened an impeachment court for Vice President Sara Duterte over criminal charges.
Philippine senate convenes as impeachment court to try vice president as political storm rages
MANILA, Philippines (AP) — The Philippine Senate convened an impeachment court Monday for the trial of Vice President Sara Duterte over criminal charges, in a time of deep divisions that erupted in…
Philippine senate convenes as impeachment court to try vice president as political storm rages
The Philippine Senate has convened an impeachment court for Vice President Sara Duterte over criminal charges.
Zarna Garg is ready to make Las Vegas audiences laugh
The internet star performs at The Venetian Resort on May 23.
BTS takes over Las Vegas—in more ways than one
In addition to multiple dates by the South Korean septet at Allegiant Stadium, the city will come alive with activations, parties and more.
Cavaliers owner Dan Gilbert reportedly sent 25 bus loads of Cleveland fans to Detroit for Game 7 romp over Pistons
Gilbert is doing his best to mitigate Detroit's home-court advantage for Sunday's Game 7 against the Pistons.
Philippines to convene court for VP impeachment amid political turmoil
The Philippine Senate was due to convene as an impeachment court on Monday that could decide the future of Vice President Sara Duterte, with a heated battle between two rival political camps set to be front and centre in the trial.
How Nicki Minaj Became Trump’s ‘No. 1 Fan’
The rap superstar is throwing her weight behind the White House agenda after being courted by Trump’s 29-year-old celebrity whisperer.
Cavaliers owner Dan Gilbert reportedly sending 25 bus loads of Cleveland fans to Detroit for Game 7 vs. Pistons
Gilbert is doing his best to mitigate Detroit’s home-court advantage for Sunday’s Game 7 against the Pistons.
Village, Chelsea candidates call to cut red tape for small business
Six Democratic candidates for the Greenwich Village and Chelsea Assembly seat at a recent forum laid out measures to help small businesses.
A nurse was sued for $55K in student loans; how she's navigating it
A student-loan borrower who was sued by Sallie Mae is representing herself in court. What started as a "glitch" spiraled into a confusing legal maze.
Now What? With Carbon Pricing Eroded and Pipeline Politics Advancing, Here Are the Pathways for Climate Success
At the end of a whirlwind week of news on carbon pricing and electricity strategy, capping a madcap year of pretty much non-stop, dramatic change, the word across much of Canada’s climate and energy transition community is that climate policy in this country has been shredded. Eviscerated. Hit with a sledgehammer by policy rollbacks that have pushed the country’s 2050 net zero target “well out of reach”. That means it’s never been more important to look for the rays of hope and glimmers of possibility. To glimpse the seeds of the next set of strategies to get Canada’s climate pollution under control and the country into the accelerating global dash away from fossil fuels. And then, once we’ve spotted those possibilities, get on with the hard, day-to-day slog of trying to make them a reality. Nothing takes away from the frustration and the deep disappointment so many climate and energy hawks are expressing, the sense of betrayal by the author of Value(s) and the former UN special envoy for climate action and finance. But we knew two things as the week drew to a close. We’re looking at the world as it most definitely is. And we don’t get to give up finding the pathways to confront climate change and deliver faster, deeper carbon cuts that leave no one else behind. So really, the first question we all have to ask ourselves is: What’s next? Subscribe All the Oxygen in the Room The outpouring of anger and grief over the carbon pricing deal between Prime Minister Mark Carney and Alberta Premier Danielle Smith has been absolutely understandable. So much of the climate community poured years, more than a decade, into dragging the current federal pricing regime across the finish line, then defending it from a deluge of three-syllable rhymes after the Trudeau government proved utterly incapable of delivering its own message. The policy foisted on us by neo-classical economists took up all the oxygen in the room, burned through years of climate response time that we won’t get back, while cornering climate hawks into the position that the best response to the crisis of our lifetimes is a new tax…in an era of historic anti-tax sentiment. I mean, really—what could possibly have gone wrong? Against that history, let’s appreciate columnist Max Fawcett’s point that even a modest carbon pricing agreement with a government as off-the-wall libertarian/conspiracist as Danielle Smith’s—those adjectives are mine, not Max’s—is a win worth savouring (as long as Smith keeps her promises for a change). But part of living in the world as it is (no, I’m not letting that go) is to be clear-headed about what we can and can’t control. And one thing we get to decide, after seeing this week’s carbon price festivities take up all the oxygen yet again, is whether we want to keep letting that happen. Particularly when success down that road depends on a factor that no one with a climate agenda can control or influence—a provincial carbon pricing mechanism that has been manipulated and eroded beyond its lowest possible denominator. Thankfully, that’s not the way it has to go. Not when we have so many other powerful, practical tools at our disposal, including the ones still available to us through this abominable Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between Canada and Alberta. Tools In Our Toolbox When I started roughing out this list, I didn’t expect it to grow to nearly a dozen bullet points. It’s probably still incomplete. Some of the greatest hits in today’s climate solutions toolbox include: • No Carbon Capture, No Pipeline: On Friday, Prime Minister Mark Carney explicitly stated that there’s been no change to the MOU provision that there will be no West Coast pipeline without an industry commitment to build its massive, $16.5-billion carbon capture and storage (CCUS) hub in Northern Alberta, and vice versa. The two megaprojects were joined at the hip when the MOU was signed Nov. 27, and the implementation agreement this week affirmed that they still are. A parade of independent analysts have spent years pointing to the economic and technical flaws in CCUS, while the industry kept postponing its investment decision until it could arm-twist the government for more “clarity” (by which it meant even more lavish taxpayer subsidies) on the project. Now the industry itself is running away from the CCUS hub and insisting the pipeline should proceed without it, but Carney doesn’t seem to be budging from a central tenet of the MOU to which Smith has signed on. • No Subsidies, No Investors: Climate analysts and advocates have quite rightly been hammering away at Carney and his team, insisting that any new capacity the industry wants to build must proceed without new subsidies. The government has responded with a growing collection of funding and financing mechanisms for the very wide menu of industrial development and nation-building projects they say they want to take on, and that menu always includes fossil fuel infrastructure. But it’s hard to see how even the combined fiscal clout of the federal and supportive provincial governments will deliver the financial backing private investors would need when the business case for new fossil fuel development is evaporating before their eyes. Particularly when… • No Market, No Demand, No Investors: As our friend Markham Hislop at Energi Media (our apparently sleepless friend, given the massive volume of great material he’s been churning out) points out this morning, the biggest vulnerability in any pipeline deal is the assumption that Asian buyers will want the oil or liquefied natural ga that our fossil industry is so keen to send them. Hislop writes in part: Ottawa and Alberta are effectively betting that countries like China and India will continue increasing oil imports for decades as their economies grow and energy consumption rises. That assumption underpins the entire economic rationale for expanding oil sands production and building billions of dollars in new export infrastructure. But Asian energy systems are changing rapidly… China, India, South Korea, and other major hydrocarbon importers are now investing hundreds of billions of dollars into electricity systems built around wind, solar, batteries, nuclear, hydro, and expanded transmission infrastructure. Domestic “energy sovereignty” is increasingly replacing the old energy-security model based on stable oil and gas imports. Those investments are expected to sharply slow oil demand growth and eventually reverse it, even as overall energy consumption continues rising. There are also refining constraints. Many Asian refineries and petrochemical complexes are already optimized to process discounted heavy crude from the Middle East and Latin America. That raises serious questions about how much additional Canadian bitumen Asian markets can absorb at profitable prices. Small wonder that there’s still no private sector investor for the project, despite Smith’s government desperately beating the bushes to put together a deal. For now, Alberta is acting as proponent and covering early start-up costs for a pitch to the federal Major Projects Office, which could actually turn into the next tough hurdle for Smith and her pipeline to jump. • Canada Day Looms: How ironic that Canada’s birthday this year could become a major chokepoint for the provincial premier who’s been working so diligently to tear the country apart! The July 1 target date for Alberta’s pipeline proposal is baked into the MOU, was reaffirmed by the implementation plan, but it hadn’t dawned on me that it cuts both ways. As one very smart colleague wrote in an email yesterday, “they’ve thrown the ball into Alberta’s court to get the project proposal on the table really quickly and to have to do a whole pile of work to put together a massive, complicated project that would typically take years to assemble, and they’ve given them weeks to do it.” That makes July 1 a looming deadline that Smith won’t be able to run away from politically, especially with the separatists in her party and her caucus breathing down her neck. (See previous ref to off-the-wall.) But if Alberta comes in with a sloppy, incomplete submission, even after Carney bent over backwards to simplify the application process and the rules that govern it, it may be harder for the province or the industry to blame Ottawa and insist on the faster process they claim their investors are demanding. (Oh, wait—which investors would those be??) • We’ll See You In Court (Then We’ll See You Again): If Carney did cave, that would be just one more reason for Indigenous and other affected communities to take the government and the process to court—Just as Alberta First Nations did, successfully, in response to Smith’s half-baked separation referendum. Veterans of the Harper era have been warning that a shoddy process around fossil fuel infrastructure or other major projects will be a recipe for the very delays that process seeks to avoid. And now more than ever, with renewable energy and energy storage eating fossil fuels’ lunch in import markets around the world, a delayed pipeline or LNG terminal may be as good as a cancelled one. • Charged Up, Ready to Go: With its goal of doubling Canada’s electricity supply to meet a doubling of demand by 2050, the national electricity strategy that Carney unveiled Thursday has a lot to like. With its explicit language about speeding the shift from fuels to more efficient and affordable electricity, global investment and deployment patterns that already favour that shift, an emerging bidirectional power grid, the role of front-line options like rooftop solar and heat pumps, the emergence of electric vehicles as behind-the-meter energy storage, and the domestic jobs and manufacturing to make it all happen, the document doubles down on the essential cornerstone of a faster shift off fossil fuels. The strategy envisions a more prominent role for gas and nuclear power. But some of those provisions were already in the Clean Electricity Regulations that climate hawks are now fighting so hard to defend, inserted as a compromise in a futile attempt to mollify the industry and its political representatives in Alberta and Saskatchewan. But once again, gas will be a tougher sell when it’s more expensive and now so much more unpredictable than the clean alternatives. The new nuclear technologies are still speculative and deeply vulnerable to cost overruns. Increasingly, utilities, developers, and investors know it. Carney declared Thursday that “it doesn’t do us good to be sitting in court all the time with provinces. It doesn’t do us good to be talking past each other. What does do us good is to come together with specific projects.” There are no guarantees, but so much of the language and narrative-building in the electricity strategy suggests the lion’s share of those projects will be renewable. • The Party Has Already Started: The electricity strategy only rarely digs down to specific projects, but provinces representing three-quarters of Canada’s population are already embracing a faster transition. Hydro-Québec is working on a 10-year, $185-billion renewable energy and grid buildout by 2035. Ontario recently brought 10 provinces and territories together in a National Energy Corridor Agreement to boost interprovincial and -territorial transmission infrastructure. And the MOU implementation agreement commits Alberta to facilitate investment in renewable energy projects, a big step back from its continuing, punitive restrictions on renewables development. The electricity strategy envisions much of the financing and infrastructure that will be needed to pull those advances together into an integrated whole. • Delivering on Affordability: The MOU implementation plan has little or nothing to say about affordability (are you surprised?), but the electricity strategy does, with a top-line pledge to reduce home energy costs for seven out of 10 Canadian households by 2050, a total saving of $15 billion across the board. It’s just a start, but it puts affordability on the government’s narrative map. If they’re serious and deliberate about patching together a least-cost energy strategy, it’ll have little if any room for oil, gas, or nuclear—not with powerful evidence, for example, that electricity prices are higher when those prices are set by gas. • Smith Proves that Canada Works: By signing a deal that makes it harder to claim the federal government is blocking a new pipeline, Smith has helped prove Carney’s constant anti-separatist refrain that “Canada works”—incurring the rage, no doubt, of her own political base. Canada also needs to work for anyone who depends on a clean environment, healthy and thriving ecosystems, and safe, stable climate. But with Smith and her separatist constituents setting up as a fifth column for annexation by Donald Trump’s United States, let’s set aside any notion that 51st state status for Canada is a recipe for anything other than climate disaster (and so much else). Resisting and withstanding Trump (just 170 more sleeps until mid-term elections, which is a damn sight better than the 730 we started with) doesn’t mean a free pass for a pipeline, but we can still appreciate it that keeping Canada whole and sovereign is still Carney’s Job One. • The Words Not Spoken: Apart from a commitment to export a million barrels of “low-emission” Alberta bitumen per day (memo to Smith and Carney: You realize that that’s less than the industry is already exporting??), the MOU implementation plan says nothing about the international trade and economic sovereignty deals that Carney has been travelling the world to negotiate. It didn’t have to. Carney doesn’t need permission from Danielle Smith, her American enablers, or her separatist allies to continue building the alliances that will ratchet down our economic dependency on our unstable, unreliable neighbour to the south. But every connection he builds with countries outside North America helps align our economy and our future with a faster shift off fossil fuels. Little if any of this was on our bingo cards a year or two ago. But it’s the pathway that has opened up to us. And if it gives Canada any climate or energy gains at all in an era still dominated by Trump and his increasingly ridiculous tariffs, his loutish trade negotiations and his continuing annexation threats, we have to take the wins. Not least because they’ll be the point of departure for what we can achieve in 2027, 2029, and beyond, as Trump’s grip and this era begin to loosen and then fade. What is Carney Doing? If this line of thought is right—and it’s a possibility, not a prediction—it means that Carney’s actions and decisions are largely about buying time. Time for Trump’s power to wane. Time for Alberta’s separatist/conspiracist virus to spread, mutate, die out, or at least die back, with help from a vaccine of federal steadiness and calm (appropriate enough, for a movement populated largely by vaccine deniers) that no conspiracy theory can dismiss. And time for the government’s trade and investment agenda to deliver results—even knowing that some of those results will bring impacts that front-line communities will not and should not accept. In the immediate moment, none of this changes the way the wider climate community has to respond, from campaigners to investors to front-line practitioners. All of our voices are still essential. But those voices will be stronger and more confident if we have a clearer sense of the brutal game we’ve been pulled into, and a plausible path (or two it three) for playing it to the win we need. This conversation also underscores our biggest task for the remaining years of what was supposed to be the “decisive” decade for climate response: if we can shift the energy narrative in Canada, make it a mainstream view that the country’s preoccupation with oil and gas has us falling farther behind a changing world, we’ll see far better results in the 2030s and beyond. For many veteran climate advocates, taking on that part of the fight will begin with recognizing that most of our friends and family, neighbours and colleagues already understand that climate change is real and right in front of us: they’re looking away and staying silent because they don’t have what climate communicator Katharine Hayhoe calls “efficacy”. As Hayhoe recently pointed out in a feature interview with The Energy Mix, it amounts to science denial to keep hammering away at the dire news about global warming without also helping audiences understand what they can do about it, with multiple studies telling us why that won’t work. Far better to open those conversations with the dominant crises like energy security, food security, emergency preparedness and business continuity, affordability, and financial security that have knocked climate change far lower on the list of public priorities, and will likely keep it there. We Knew This Would Happen Climate hawks have always known this day would come. For decades, we warned that everyone had to pay attention to climate change right now, because it would be much tougher to respond once the crisis itself started affecting our daily lives. We were right, and here we are. But now, thanks to decades of hard work, communities and countries have an alternative to doubling down on fossil fuels. “In 10 years everyone will have ‘always known’ that solar and batteries were going to win,” Morgan Solar Executive Chair Mike Andrade writes on LinkedIn. With the disruption in the Strait of Hormuz roiling energy priorities around the world, Canada and the United States are among the shrinking number of countries that are still very keen on fossil fuel development. Understanding that gap is a first, essential step in spotting the opportunities ahead, and averting the deep economic as well as environmental and social risk we face if we don’t seize them. Thanks for reading The Energy Mix Weekender! Subscribe for free to receive new posts and support our work. Subscribe Mitchell Beer traces his background in renewable energy and energy efficiency back to 1977, in climate change to 1997. Now he and the rest of the Energy Mix team scan 1,200 news headlines a week to pull together The Energy Mix and The Energy Mix Weekender. Chart of the Week BYD Eyes 20 Dealership Locations After Canada Greenlights Chinese EV Imports ‘Sledgehammer’ Carbon Price Deal Boosts Emissions by 230Mt, Aims for Fall 2027 Pipeline Approval ‘Worse Than Harper’: Regulatory Rollback Would Stop Canada from Assessing Project Impacts, Critics Warn Electricity Strategy Aims for Doubling by 2050, Allows ‘Flexibility’ for Gas Power Plants Opposition Mounts as O’Leary’s Data Centre Approved in Drought-Stricken Utah Diluted Carbon Price Misses ‘Reality of the World We’re In’, Could Impede Diversified Trade: Climate Institute $200B in Clean Energy Investment Will Need On-Time Delivery, Reliable Policies, Trade Association Says ‘Sovereign Pipeline’: CEO Pitches to Keep Trans Mountain in Government Hands What a Supercharged El Niño Could Mean for Canada Canada’s future is electric, and here’s how a power grid superhighway would get us there (Toronto Star) The Perilous Waters of Hecate Strait (Globe and Mail) Saudi Aramco profits jump despite conflict in Middle East (The Guardian) Farmers confront rising cost of fertilizer and fuel as spring seeding under way (Canadian Broadcasting Corporation) Clarkson forecasts 24% decline in offshore oil, gas capital expenditures (Oil & Gas Journal) Pipe Dreams: How Oil and Gas Fail to Deliver Economic Development in Africa (Oil Change International) Developing countries must hold the pen to script the fossil fuel transition (Climate Home News) Iran war threatens the dream of a post-oil economy in the Gulf (Washington Post) U.S. Oil, Gas Work Force Hits Lowest Level Since 2022 (Rigzone) Why Polestar Is Doubling Down on Net Zero as Rivals Pull Back on EVs (Bloomberg) Why this Michigan utility plans to sell its hydro dams for $13 (E&E News/Politico) Levees can no longer save New Orleans (Vox)