"Federal energy officials on Wednesday announced a record $26.5 billion loan to electric utilities in Georgia and Alabama, saying the loan will save customers money as the companies undertake a huge expansion driven by demand from computer data centers."

"President Trump, who has eyes on the nation’s 250th birthday this summer, says historical sites focus too much on the issue of slavery instead of the “success” of the country. His administration has been accused of whitewashing the history of slavery at Smithsonian Institution facilities and National Park Service sites, including recently the President’s House in Philadelphia."

"At least one Republican lawmaker is formally pushing back on President Trump’s effort to boost a controversial herbicide, glyphosate, that’s reviled by supporters of the “Make America Healthy Again” (MAHA) movement."

"A bill banning the pesticide paraquat died last week in the Virginia House of Delegates after the chamber’s Agriculture, Chesapeake and Natural Resources Committee voted 22-0, with little explanation, to carry the measure over to next year for consideration."

"The federal judge rejected the California Attorney General Rob Bonta’s request to dismiss Exxon Mobil’s lawsuit accusing Bonta of defamation for criticizing Exxon Mobil’s advanced plastics recycling initiatives."

"A top US regulatory official on Monday championed controversial chemical review reforms that critics say will support industry interests while weakening protections against toxic chemicals for the public."

"President Donald Trump will announce during his State of the Union speech Tuesday night that his administration has struck agreements with major tech companies to make them shoulder a greater share of the energy cost burden associated with data centers."

"The Virginia Senate’s Finance and Appropriations Committee approved budget legislation for the coming fiscal year that ends a tax exemption for data centers on January 1."

"President Donald Trump’s Interior Department is withholding key ethics disclosure information for Karen Budd-Falen, a high-ranking agency appointee who is facing calls for an investigation into her financial ties to a massive lithium mining project, Public Domain has learned."

"The International Energy Agency downplayed global warming this week amid U.S. pressure."