January 27, 2018

The Daily Show: Between the Scenes - The Larry Nassar Verdict

Trevor applauds the sexual assault victims who spoke out at Larry Nassar's sentencing hearing and proposes a way to make everyone more accountable.

January 26, 2018

Chemical Safety Board launches Oklahoma rig explosion investigation

The U.S. Chemical Safety Board said Thursday it will launch a full investigation into the Oklahoma rig explosion that killed five people this week as Oklahoma authorities suggested that an equipment failure might have contributed to the tragedy.

The Chemical Safety Board, an independent federal agency charged with investigating industrial chemical accidents, typically only gets involved in the largest, deadliest industrial disasters. The board averages about six investigations a year.

The well fire, which swept through a drilling rig owned by the Houston company Patterson-UTI, was the deadliest U.S. accident in the oil and gas industry since the 2010 Deepwater Horizon tragedy in the Gulf of Mexico killed 11 people. Oklahoma regulators said their initial findings suggest that the failure of the blowout preventer -- the same type of equipment that failed in the Deepwater Horizon accident -- may have led to the explosion at a drilling site near Quinton, Okla., about 100 miles southeast of Tulsa.

A blowout preventer is equipment at the wellhead designed to control and monitor the well. It's the last line of defense to seal the well and prevent an uncontrollable release of oil or gas.

The initial report from the Oklahoma Corporation Commission, which regulates oil and industry in the state, said an uncontrolled gas release from the well led workers at the drilling site to engage the blowout preventer to shut off the well, but the blind rams -- two heavy steel blocks that meet in the middle of the wellbore to seal a well -- failed to close.


More: http://www.chron.com/business/energy/article/Chemical-Safety-Board-launches-Oklahoma-rig-12525773.php



Oklahoma regulators say early findings suggest that a blowout preventer's failure may have led to the blast in eastern Oklahoma.

January 26, 2018

Trump tariffs will cost American jobs

Combine simplistic political promises with complex international economics and all you get are unintended consequences.

President Donald Trump imposed tariffs Tuesday on foreign-made washing machines and solar panels, raising prices on those goods by 30 percent, helping two foreign-owned companies and taking away jobs from thousands of Americans.

The president fired the first salvo in his long-promised global trade war, but as in any battle, the costs will likely outweigh the benefits.

Trump's order imposed a 20 percent tariff on the first 1.2 million residential washing machines imported annually, and a 50 percent tariff on any imported after that. More distressing, he levied a 50 percent tariff on washer parts.

Whirlpool, which filed the complaint with the International Trade Commission, said it would hire 200 workers to boost domestic manufacturing. The move, though, will likely cost more American jobs.


Much more: http://www.houstonchronicle.com/business/columnists/tomlinson/article/Trump-takes-first-hard-line-on-trade-more-to-come-12518418.php



Solar developers and environmentalists have grown increasingly worried as President Donald Trump reviews a series of trade and energy policies.

January 26, 2018

Texas solar developers assess the damage from Trump tariff

Trump's import charge leaves Texas developers refiguring costs

WASHINGTON - A day after President Donald Trump announced a 30-percent tariff on foreign-made solar panels, solar developers across Texas and the rest of the country raced to figure out how big a financial hit they would take, and how the costs would affect the growth of an industry playing an ever increasing role in the nation's energy mix.

With developers rushing to build utility-scale farms in West Texas and rooftop solar systems gaining some traction in Austin and San Antonio, the tariff announcement comes at a critical moment for the Texas solar industry. Analysts said the impact of the tariffs would be felt most acutely in less established solar markets like Texas and the Southeast, which lack subsidies offered by states like California.

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The falling price of solar panels, driven by cheap imports from China and other countries, has fueled the rapid growth of solar power, which accounts for about 2 percent of the nation's electricity production capacity, up from virtually nothing at the beginning of the decade, according to the Energy Department.

Since 2010, solar power installations have increased an average rate of 72 percent a year - faster than any other generating technology.

The tariffs apply to solar cells, which convert sunlight to electricity, and their components, as well as solar panels and other products that contain solar cells. Industry officials and analysts conceded that the tariffs were not good news, but many were expecting it to be worse since the manufacturers that petitioned for the tariffs had sought a 50 percent price hike to slow a rush of imports from China, Taiwan and Southeast Asia.

More: http://www.houstonchronicle.com/business/article/Texas-solar-developers-assess-the-damage-from-12519897.php?utm_campaign=chron&utm_source=article&utm_medium=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.chron.com%2Fbusiness%2Fenergy%2Farticle%2FPerry-announces-3-million-prize-to-boost-solar-12521304.php



Workers install solar panels on a home in Katy. Rooftop systems are gaining traction in Texas.

January 26, 2018

Stephen Colbert - Monologue and Opening - 1/25/18

Trump Is Up For 'Doing It Under Oath' With Mueller



President Trump told reporters he was 'looking forward' to his interview with Robert Mueller. Same.



The Secretive FBI Secret Society Is No Longer A Secret



Newly released text messages between FBI agents show an elaborate plan to joke about creating a secret society.



A Member Of The FBI's 'Secret Society' Speaks Out



One brave FBI agent was willing to speak on camera about the top-secret group that encompasses the majority of Americans.

January 26, 2018

Seth Meyers - Trump Goes to Davos While Congress Debates Immigration: A Closer Look

Seth takes a closer look at Trump meeting with financial elites in Davos while the lives of nearly 800,000 undocumented immigrants are in limbo.

January 26, 2018

Seth Meyers: Guest Van Jones Promises Real Moments on The Van Jones Show

Van Jones talks about the Van Jones Show, the limits of empathy and the issues that can unite all Americans.



Van Jones Reveals How He Stays Optimistic



Van Jones explains why he has hope in local politics and how he stays so optimistic a year into Trump's presidency.

January 26, 2018

Seth Meyers - Donald Trump's Tax Lawyer, Elton John Retires from Touring - Monologue - 1/24/18

The Tiny Voice in the Back of Donald Trump's Head: "Let Me Out of This Elaborate Charade"



Seth shows off some new technology that can hear the tiny voice in the back of Donald Trump's head.

January 26, 2018

The Daily Show - Trump vs. The FBI: Republicans Investigate the Investigation

Conservatives push a conspiracy theory that FBI agents have a "secret society" trying to bring down President Trump under the guise of investigating his Russian ties.



Live After The State of the Union: The Daily Show & The Opposition



The Daily Show and The Opposition will be LIVE after the State of the Union next Tuesday, January 30, starting at 11/10C.

January 25, 2018

Feeling hopeless about climate change? Theres a class for that (at UW Bothell)

BOTHELL, Wash. — A new class aims to give hope and comfort to scientists, educators, and activists feeling utterly depressed about climate change.

The University of Washington Bothell is offering “Environmental Grief & Climate Anxiety,” a class for those who feel “increasingly hopeless about mass extinctions, melting ice sheets and dying oceans.”

The class will teach ways to cope with depression and anxiety related to climate change, as well as develop a “climate survival kit” to help with the emotions.

As the ice caps continue to melt and temperatures heat up, climate change anxiety has been on the rise worldwide, according to a new study. There are stories of young adults refusing to drink water in hopes it would help the climate, and scientists not returning to past worksites, out of fear of how drastically they’ve changed.

Near-term human extinction support groups have even popped up around the Puget Sound, lending ears for people who feel the human race will be gone in a few decades due to drastic habitat loss.


More: http://q13fox.com/2018/01/24/feeling-hopeless-about-climate-change-theres-a-class-for-that-at-uw-bothell/



a cloud of pollution released by an industry.