California aims to drop fossil fuels
SACRAMENTO, Calif. — California has set a goal of phasing out electricity produced by fossil fuels by 2045 under legislation signed Monday by Gov. Jerry Brown, who said the policy should serve as a model for other states and nations.
Brown, who has positioned California as a global leader in the effort to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, approved the measure as he prepares to host a summit in San Francisco of climate change leaders from around the world starting Wednesday.
The new law, along with an executive order Brown signed directing California to take as much carbon dioxide out of the air as it emits, represent the latest in a string of ambitious environmental initiatives as California seeks to fill a void left by President Donald Trump’s decision to withdraw from the Paris climate accord and his efforts to boost the coal industry.
Trump vents over White House leaks
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump vented over White House leaks Monday as a new tell-all book commands attention, an anonymous writer detailing “resistance” in the administration remains at large and a former staffer reveals more private recordings of the commander in chief.
But while Trump continues to insist privately that he wants leakers punished — in particular, the author of an unsigned New York Times opinion piece — it remained unclear if his administration would mete out any discipline. Spokeswoman Sarah Huckabee Sanders said no lie detectors were being used to smoke out the writer of the op-ed, though she insisted the West Wing would like to see an investigation.
Sanders said it’s up to the Justice Department to make that determination. “But someone actively trying to undermine the duly elected president and the entire executive branch of government, that seems quite problematic to me and something they should take a look at,” she said.
A White House official has said Trump was just venting over the essay and wasn’t ordering federal prosecutors to take action. It also doesn’t appear that the essay revealed any classified information, which would be a crucial bar to clear before a leak investigation could be considered. The Justice Department said it will not confirm or deny investigations.
Case against officer who killed neighbor to go to grand jury
DALLAS — The case against a white Dallas police officer who shot and killed a black neighbor will be presented to a grand jury, which could decide on more serious charges than manslaughter, the district attorney said Monday as an affidavit provided a fuller description of the officer’s account.
Lawyers for the victim’s family questioned why it took three days for officer Amber Guyger to be charged and why she was so quick to use deadly force in her encounter with 26-year-old Botham Jean, who lived in the apartment directly above hers. She told authorities she mistook the neighbor’s unit for her own.
By wire sources