Brad Plumer

2 weeks ago | nytimes.com | Brad Plumer

Across the country, companies have been installing giant batteries that help them use more wind and solar power. That’s about to get much harder.

2 weeks ago | nytimes.com | Max Bearak |Brad Plumer |Somini Sengupta

Tariffs are the latest blow in a the shift to renewable energy. The U.S. relies largely on imported technology from Europe and Asia. First came President Trump's freezing of federal support for many renewable energy projects, coupled with cries of "drill, baby, drill."Then came the tariffs.

3 weeks ago | nytimes.com | Joe Rennison |Danielle Kaye |Ana Swanson |Tony Romm |River Akira Davis |Martin Fackler | +11 more

The S&P 500 fell almost 5 percent on Thursday, its worst drop since June 2020, as allies and adversaries alike criticized President Trump’s action and weighed their responses.

3 weeks ago | seattletimes.com | Brad Plumer

WASHINGTON — The Trump administration has abruptly laid off the entire staff running a $4.1 billion program to help low-income households across the United States pay their heating and cooling bills. The firings threaten to paralyze the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program, which was created by Congress in 1981 and helps to offset high utility bills for roughly 6.2 million people from Maine to Texas during frigid winters and hot summers.

3 weeks ago | nytimes.com | Brad Plumer

Congress had approved $4.1 billion for the program for fiscal year 2025, and about 90 percent of that money had already been sent to states in October to help households struggling with high heating costs. There is still about $378 million left to assist with summer cooling as households crank up their air-conditioners. Heat waves in the United States are growing more intense and lasting longer as a result of climate change.