California utility to pay $55M for massive wildfires
Pacific Gas & Electric, the nation’s largest utility, has agreed to pay more than $55 million to avoid criminal prosecution for two major wildfires sparked by its aging Northern California power lines and submit to five years of oversight in an attempt to prevent more deadly blazes. The company didn’t acknowledge any wrongdoing in the settlement announced Monday with prosecutors in six counties ravaged by last year’s Dixie Fire and the 2019 Kincade Fire. The utility still faces criminal charges for a 2020 wildfire in Shasta County that killed four people. The civil settlements are designed to accelerate payments to hundreds of people whose homes were destroyed so they can start rebuilding more quickly than those who suffered devastating losses in 2017 and 2018 blazes ignited by PG&E’s equipment. Those fires prompted the utility to negotiate settlements that included $13.5 billion earmarked for victims — money that still hasn’t been completely distributed.
Ex-officer convicted of storming Capitol to disrupt Congress
A federal jury on Monday convicted a former Virginia police officer of storming the U.S. Capitol with another off-duty officer to obstruct Congress from certifying President Joe Biden’s 2020 electoral victory. Jurors convicted former Rocky Mount police officer Thomas Robertson of all six counts he faced stemming from the Jan. 6, 2021, riot, including charges that he interfered with police officers at the Capitol and that he entered a restricted area with a dangerous weapon, a large wooden stick. His sentencing hearing wasn’t immediately scheduled.
Donors pledge $41M to monitor thawing Arctic permafrost
Climate scientists, policy experts and environmental justice advocates Monday announced a project to better understand the contribution of thawing permafrost to global warming and to help Arctic communities cope with its effects. Led by Massachusetts-based Woodwell Climate Research Center, the six-year, $41 million project will fill in gaps in monitoring across the Arctic of greenhouse gas emissions from thawing permafrost, currently a source of uncertainty in climate models. The project is financed by private donors, among them billionaire philanthropist Mackenzie Scott. The project will also develop policies to help mitigate the global impact of permafrost emissions and, in Alaska, assist Native communities that are struggling with thawing ground.
Sikhs sue Marine Corps over restrictions on beards
Sukhbir Singh Toor, a Marine artillery captain, has been on a mission to become the first Sikh in the corps allowed to practice his religion in uniform. Toor can now wear on duty the beard, long hair and turban required of a faithful Sikh. But recently, the corps refused to allow Sikhs to wear a beard on a combat deployment or during boot camp, saying beards would hinder the corps’ ability to function and would put lives at risk. On Monday, Toor and three other Sikhs sued the Marines, saying the corps’ refusal to grant religious waivers violates the constitutional right to free exercise of their religion.
Despite low turnout, Mexico voters back president to stay in office
Pitched by the president as a landmark exercise for Mexico’s democracy, Sunday’s recall referendum gave voters the chance to remove their head of state from office. But with President Andrés Manuel López Obrador’s popularity still high and the opposition largely boycotting the event, the results of the referendum were almost assured. Almost 18% of the electorate cast their ballot, far less than was needed for the result to become binding, making the outcome largely symbolic. But more than 90% of those who did turn out voted in favor of the president completing his six-year term, according to preliminary results from Mexico’s electoral watchdog.
Shehbaz Sharif becomes Pakistan’s interim prime minister amid turmoil
The Pakistani parliament selected opposition leader Shahbaz Sharif to become the country’s interim prime minister Monday, ushering in a new government after the ouster of Imran Khan and capping a week of political turmoil that pushed the fragile democracy to the brink. The vote came two days after Khan was removed from office in a no-confidence vote in parliament after he lost the support of top military leaders late last year. The political crisis escalated last week after Khan demonized the opposition as traitors and defied the constitution to dissolve parliament in an effort to block the vote.
By wire sources