EnviroPolitics Blog

Award of NJ Turnpike’s $1.73 billion E-ZPass deal raises questions

By Briana Vannozzi, NJ Spotlight News anchor

Several lawmakers are raising questions about the state’s new $1.73 billion E-ZPass deal, after a recent news report revealed the contract was awarded through a mostly closed-door process with virtually no public disclosure.

The report by investigative journalist Jeff Pillets of The Jersey Vindicator found the New Jersey Turnpike Authority selected a company named TransCore LP to run NJ E-ZPass operations, despite its bid being $250 million higher than the next-lowest qualified bidder and the company having alleged ties to the Chinese Communist Party.

The new contract comes as tolls on the Turnpike have shot up more than 40% over the past few years and amid broader concerns about government transparency.

“The Turnpike Authority said that they were chosen because they had the best experience and that they offered the best solutions to customer service that have plagued the Turnpike and E-ZPass for a long time now,” said Pillets in an interview with NJ Spotlight News. “But we found that there were questions about the background of this company, connecting it to security issues, connecting it to foreign governments, China in particular.

Read the full story here

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Trump escalates Canadian trade, doubling tariff on steel, aluminum

*The ArcelorMittal Dofasco steel production facility in Hamilton, Ontario. Canada is the United States’ biggest supplier of aluminum and steel.Credit…Carlos Osorio/Reuters*

From the New York Times

President Trump said in a social media post on Tuesday morning that he would impose an additional 25 percent tariff on Canadian steel and aluminum, doubling the levies he planned to put in place on Wednesday, and reiterated his notion that Canada should be part of the United States. He framed such an outcome as inevitable: “The artificial line of separation drawn many years ago will finally disappear,” he wrote.

Market uncertainty: Investors were struggling to understand Mr. Trump’s trade policies as he announced the heavier tariffs, which he described as a response to surcharges on electricity generated in Canada and used by U.S. customers. The S&P 500 was down again a day after Wall Street turned in its worst performance of 2025, spooked by Mr. Trump’s refusal to rule out the possibility his policies could trigger a recession.

This is a developing story. Expect updates

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Supreme Court nixes red states’ bid to quash climate cases

Two conservative justices said they would have allowed Republican state attorneys general to sue their Democratic counterparts for pursuing climate lawsuits against oil companies.

By Lesley Clark, E&E News

The Supreme Court has blocked an attempt by 19 red states to end a set of climate lawsuits against the oil and gas industry.

In an order issued Monday, the justices rejected a request by Republican state attorneys general to challenge five of their Democratic counterparts who have sued oil companies for compensation for the costs of rising tides, intensifying storms and other disasters worsened by climate change.

The Supreme Court is the first — and only — court to hear legal battles among states, although the justices are not obligated to take up such cases.

Justice Clarence Thomas, who has taken a more expansive view of the court’s obligation to look at state disputes, wrote a dissent from Monday’s order, which Justice Samuel Alito joined.

Thomas wrote that the red states allege that the climate liability lawsuits against oil companies violate the separation of powers and the federal government’s “exclusive authority over interstate emissions.” He said he would grant the states the right to proceed with their case.

He said the court’s assumption that it has the discretion to decline to review lawsuits between the states is “suspect at best” and a “modern invention that the Court has never persuasively justified.”

Thomas said the Supreme Court’s reluctance to accept jurisdiction in lawsuits between states is troubling because the court is the only one that can hear such cases.

Read the full story here

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U.S.-flagged oil tanker in flames after being rammed off UK coast

By John Konrad, gCaptain

Off the East Yorkshire coast, a grave incident is unfolding where the U.S.-flagged oil tanker MV Stena Immaculate loaded with jet fuel, a ship designated critical to US national security in the Department of Transportation’s Tanker Security Program (TSP), was struck while at anchor by the Portuguese-flagged containership MV Solong.

The collision has set both vessels ablaze, triggering extensive search and rescue operations. The crews have abandoned both ships. While initial reports suggest all U.S. Merchant Mariners are reportedly safe in lifeboats, one crew member from the Solong remains unaccounted for.

“It appears that Solong did not slow down or maneuver. It rammed straight into the side of Stena Immaculate,” said maritime historian Sal Mercogliano in a video analyzing the AIS ship tracks.

The Stena Immaculate is one of only ten vessels enrolled in the DOT’s TSP, which provides essential ships for the Department of Defense. Neither Secretary of Transportation Sean Duffy nor Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth has issued a statement. The vessel is one of three tankers operated in the TSP by Crowley-Stena Marine Solutions, a joint venture between US-based Crowley, which manages the vessel, and Stena Bulk USA.

The Stena Immaculate was anchored off the Humber Estuary when the Solong struck it at 9:48 a.m. on Monday. The UK Maritime and Coastguard Agency is coordinating the emergency response with search and rescue helicopters from Humberside and lifeboats from Skegness, Bridlington, Mablethorpe, and Cleethorpes. A fixed-wing aircraft and nearby vessels with firefighting capabilities are also supporting the operation.

Read the full story here

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Musk’s Political Activism Is Triggering a Backlash Worldwide

Protesters rally against Elon Musk's actions in the Trump administration at a Tesla showroom in New York last month. — Protesters rally against Elon Musk’s actions in the Trump administration at a Tesla showroom in New York last month. *Photographer: Stephanie Keith/Bloomberg*

First there was Tesla-Scham, German for the embarrassment of owning one of Elon Musk’s electric vehicles. Now a backlash is brewing against his satellite-internet system Starlink.

The billionaire’s abrasive interventions into politics and his outsized role in shaping US policy in his capacity as senior adviser to President Donald Trump is having a real-life impact on his businesses, prompting governments from Italy to Poland to reconsider their dependence on his technology.

Musk’s endorsement of the nationalist, anti-immigration Alternative for Germany party saw a collapse in Tesla sales in the country where they are made just outside Berlin.

In spite of her friendship with Musk, Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni is getting cold feet about a potential Starlink deal given how the US is pulling away from its commitment to European security.

Poland is not the only US ally feeling queasy after President Volodymyr Zelenskiy’s berating in the Oval Office. Warsaw pays for Ukraine’s Starlink terminals, and was offended by Musk’s weekend comments that the “entire front line would collapse” if his network was switched off. Foreign Minister Radoslaw Sikorski suggested an alternative supplier might be necessary.

Read the full story here

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Trump DOJ to climate nonprofits: Hand over info and come to court

The Justice Department is demanding documents from nonprofits that were awarded the money through the Inflation Reduction Act.

By Jean Chemnick, E&E News by Politico

The Trump administration has directed nonprofits involved in a $20 billion Biden-era climate initiative to turn over records to the FBI and appear in federal court later this month, according to two people who were granted anonymity for fear of reprisal.

The move marks an escalation in the administration’s effort to claw back the climate money following its assertions that the Environmental Protection Agency had sought to evade oversight by depositing the $20 billion in Citibank accounts in the waning days of President Joe Biden’s term.

The fight is part of a larger power struggle kicked off by President Donald Trump’s attempts to unravel his predecessor’s spending decisions — even when that runs afoul of the actions of previous Congresses and funding that agencies have contractually obligated.

At least two groups that had been awarded shares of the funding through EPA’s Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund received letters this week from acting U.S. Attorney Ed Martin in Washington, directing them to turn over the records to the FBI within two weeks, said the two people, who were familiar with the document demand.

Read the full story here

Trump DOJ to climate nonprofits: Hand over info and come to court Read More »

Award of NJ Turnpike’s $1.73 billion E-ZPass deal raises questions

Trump escalates Canadian trade, doubling tariff on steel, aluminum

Supreme Court nixes red states’ bid to quash climate cases

U.S.-flagged oil tanker in flames after being rammed off UK coast

Musk’s Political Activism Is Triggering a Backlash Worldwide

Trump DOJ to climate nonprofits: Hand over info and come to court

The Justice Department is demanding documents from nonprofits that were awarded the money through the Inflation Reduction Act.

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