Release of search warrant affidavit: The Justice Department today was facing a court-imposed noon deadline for releasing the redacted version of the affidavit that was used to convince a judge that evidence of crimes would be found at Donald Trump”™s Mar-A-Lago residence. The affidavit provided factual material that was used to support the request for a search warrant. The FBI used the warrant to search Mar-A-Lago and seize boxes of government property that included classified documents. The Justice Department blacked out certain information in the public version of the affidavit that would expose the names of informants, law enforcement agents and methods used in obtaining information.
British energy bills climb: A British government official says energy bills for 2022 are expected to be 80% higher than they were last year because of Russia cutting supplies of natural gas and petroleum as retaliation against Western European countries that are supporting Ukraine. A nationwide price cap is being imposed on natural gas in Great Britain.
EPA acts on PFOA, PFOS chemicals: The Environmental Protection Agency has decided to classify chemicals known as PFOA and PFOS that are used in nonstick cookware, carpeting and firefighting foam as hazardous substances that if released into the environment in significant quantities would have to be reported to government agencies. The PFOA and PFOS chemicals do not degrade and while their use has diminished since being introduced in the 1940s they still are being manufactured.
Moderna sues Pfizer, BioNTech: Moderna this morning filed a lawsuit against Pfizer and BioNTech charging that they infringed on Moderna”™s patents when they created their Covid-19 vaccine. While Moderna acknowledged that it had pledged not to enforce patents in connection with Covid-19 vaccines used in poor countries, it said that Pfizer and BioNTech should have obtained licenses from Moderna in order to market their vaccine in countries other than poor ones.
Power back at nuclear plant: Ukrainian President Zelenskyy says that the Russians disconnected the largest nuclear power plant in Europe that”™s located in Ukraine from the electric power grid, risking a shutdown of cooling systems needed to prevent a nuclear meltdown. Zelenskyy says that backup diesel generators did turn on as they were supposed to when power from the electric grid was turned off. That allowed the reactor cooling systems at the power plant to keep operating. Ukrainian workers now have reconnected the power plant to the electric grid.
Panasonic”™s battery plants: The Wall Street Journal reports that Panasonic plans to build a $4 billion plant, probably in Oklahoma, where batteries would be built for use in Tesla vehicles. Panasonic already has a battery plant with Tesla in Nevada and has received approvals to build a second plant in Kansas.
Photo by Stefan Schweihofer from Pixabay
