(C) Daily Kos This story was originally published by Daily Kos and is unaltered. . . . . . . . . . . Overnight News Digest for January 11, 2023 (Bye bye Beck edition) [1] ['This Content Is Not Subject To Review Daily Kos Staff Prior To Publication.', 'Backgroundurl Avatar_Large', 'Nickname', 'Joined', 'Created_At', 'Story Count', 'N_Stories', 'Comment Count', 'N_Comments', 'Popular Tags'] Date: 2023-01-11 Welcome to the Overnight News Digest with a crew consisting of founder Magnifico, regular editors side pocket, maggiejean, Chitown Kev, eeff, Magnifico, annetteboardman, Besame, jck, and JeremyBloom. Alumni editors include (but not limited to) Interceptor 7, Man Oh Man, wader, Neon Vincent, palantir, Patriot Daily News Clearinghouse (RIP), ek hornbeck (RIP), rfall, ScottyUrb, Doctor RJ, BentLiberal, Oke (RIP) and jlms qkw. OND is a regular community feature on Daily Kos, consisting of news stories from around the world, sometimes coupled with a daily theme, original research or commentary. Editors of OND impart their own presentation styles and content choices, typically publishing each day near 12:00 AM Eastern Time. Climate disasters continue… in California they have gone from profound drought to way too MUCH water: Gov. Gavin Newsom, who declared a state of emergency for the state last week in response to a succession of storms fueled by atmospheric rivers of moisture, connected the dots Tuesday between climate change and the storms that have so far been blamed in the deaths of at least 17 people and are expected to result in damages of close to $1 billion. x Megadroughts. Wildfires. Historic floods and atmospheric rivers. This whiplash weather is not an anomaly. California is proof that the climate crisis is real and we have to take it seriously. pic.twitter.com/XWd35aWOOj — Gavin Newsom (@GavinNewsom) January 11, 2023 Using historical data, statistics, climate models and comparisons of atmospheric greenhouse-gas concentrations, climate scientists have already begun examining how climate change has affected the storms that have unloaded half of California's annual rainfall average in just 16 days. But Gleick stressed that the current body of scientific knowledge already points to certain conclusions about what California is now enduring. “We know that temperatures are going up around the world and we know that a warmer atmosphere holds more water. We know that the Arctic is being severely disrupted by climate change and the ice is disappearing and that is influencing the jet stream and the pressure systems in the Pacific [Ocean],” he said. “All of those factors make storms more extreme. So when I say that I’m confident that the current storms we’re seeing are influenced by climate change, it’s because I’m confident that all weather today is influenced by climate change. I’m not saying climate change is causing these storms, but it is certainly influencing them.” x Managed, intentional flooding of the Yolo Bypass in Sacramento Valley relieves pressure on levees, reducing flood risk, while creating huge areas of productive floodplain habitat https://t.co/JlFycDwIMt — Jeff Opperman💧🐟🎸 (@jjopperman) January 11, 2023 x 23rd and P St. in midtown Sacramento. I’m having a hard time finding the words to describe the destruction in Sacramento following last night’s storm. pic.twitter.com/hdXJYn7WS0 — Sam Stanton is also on Mastadon and Post (@StantonSam) January 8, 2023 Meanwhile, there’s a mixed bag of news on the clean energy front: x As we ring in the new year, we are also ringing in a new era in the clean energy revolution. There’s now a treasure trove of the IRA’s tax credits available to people in every community across the United States. Check out more from our latest #IRAirl ⬇️@EvergreenAction pic.twitter.com/Cmoavdb2kI — Elizabeth Cavalieri🌲🕰️ (@EMCavalieri) January 11, 2023 Why nuclear isn’t the clean energy future its proponents want us to believe in: Startup of the first of two new reactors at the Vogtle nuclear plant in Georgia is being pushed back to at least April, one month after officials with Georgia Power had planned to start generating electricity from the unit. Georgia Power, part of Atlanta-based Southern Co., announced the latest setback for the oft-delayed two-unit expansion project at Plant Vogtle in Waynesboro, Georgia. The company on Jan. 11 said startup will be delayed due to a vibrating pipe in the cooling system, which was noted during recent testing of the Unit 3 reactor. … The Vogtle expansion project was approved by state regulators in 2012. The first of the two new reactors was supposed to begin operating in 2016, but numerous delays have pushed the startup date back several times. Delays also have contributed to cost overruns; the expected original cost of $14 billion has more than doubled to more than $30 billion. x . Georgia Public Service Commission is Getting Ready to Reward Georgia Power by allowing costs of Vogtle Venture mistakes into the rate base where GP will garner over 10% profit on the mistakes. SWEEEEEeeet! Are they captives of Georgia Power? I think so. pic.twitter.com/tBtO0FygXi — Robert Searfoss (@Rleeatlga) January 8, 2023 So of course, the GOP is doubling down on nuclear: House Energy and Commerce Committee Chairwoman Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-Wash.) on Wednesday signaled the committee will move on a larger energy legislative package under her leadership. “There’s a lot in these packages, but I’d say it’s focused on securing American resources, it is [focused] on permitting reform, it is [focused] on modernizing energy infrastructure, [liquefied natural gas] exports … we need to be promoting carbon capture and sequestration, promoting renewables, promoting nuclear power, American needs to lead on next-generation nuclear energy,” Rodgers said Wednesday, speaking at the American Petroleum Institute’s State of American Energy event in Washington, D.C. … Nuclear energy as a fuel source was broadly phased out in the late 20th century amid opposition by environmentalists and fears after the Chernobyl nuclear disaster. Nuclear energy proponents have called for a reevaluation as a renewable source in recent years, specifically pointing to Europe’s energy crisis following the Russian invasion of Ukraine and the domestic energy supply nuclear power could potentially have provided. The first new nuclear units in the U.S. in more than 30 years moved closer to operation while the sector is receiving a boost from the Inflation Reduction Act and bipartisan infrastructure law. ...Nuclear power is increasingly viewed as an important component to achieving ambitious decarbonization goals and in some areas, maintaining grid reliability. But the sector has been buffeted in recent years by competition from renewables and natural gas. PG&E’s Diablo Canyon units 1 and 2, scheduled to be decommissioned in 2024 and 2025, respectively, are in line to receive $1.1 billion from the Department of Energy to stay in operation, part of the agency’s $6 billion Civil Nuclear Credit Program. Meanwhile, “natural” gas and propane are fighting back against their own extinction (never mind if it results in extinction for the rest of the planet) The Propane Education and Research Council, or PERC, which is funded by propane providers across the country, has spent millions of dollars on “provocative anti-electrification messaging” for TV, print and social media, using influencers like Mr. Blashaw, according to the group’s internal documents viewed by The New York Times. As a federally-sanctioned trade association, PERC is allowed to collect fees on propane sales, which helps fund its marketing campaigns. But according to the law that created this system, that money is supposed to be used for things like research and safety. ...A 1996 law authorized the creation of PERC and allowed it to collect a half-cent fee on every gallon of propane it sells, an example of what is known as a federal “checkoff program” designed to support specific industry sectors, typically agricultural commodities. Those fees are supposed to be used for safety and consumer education, training, or research and development projects. x The Propane Research and Education Council (PERC) has a war chest of over $40 million a year thanks to a law passed by Congress in 1996 that permits the propane industry to add a fee on every gallon of propane sold in the US. What's it spending those funds on? pic.twitter.com/B20y8rXKUj — Charlie Spatz (@ccspatz) January 11, 2023 Yep, good ol, reliable nuclear and natural gas… not intermittent like wind and solar… or ARE THEY? x The evidence keeps piling up. "Reliability" of fossil fuels like fracked gas is a myth. Fossil fuels are now building an impressive track record of failing across the country exactly when demand peaks. Always buckling under pressure. There's no future in gas. https://t.co/R1wdU5Ccbm — Anshul Gupta (@gptnshl) January 11, 2023 Katie Porter announced her bid for California’s Senate seat. She’d be a VERY different Senator than Diane Feinstein: x California needs a warrior in the Senate—to stand up to special interests, fight the dangerous imbalance in our economy, and hold so-called leaders like Mitch McConnell accountable for rigging our democracy. Today, I'm proud to announce my candidacy for the U.S. Senate in 2024. pic.twitter.com/X1CSE8T12B — Katie Porter (@katieporteroc) January 10, 2023 Meanwhile, here in NY, Kathy Hochul just won re-election by mobilizing progressives. She then turned around and nominated the most conservative anti-choice/anti-labor/anti-environment judge she could to lead NY State’s Supreme Court. It’s not going over well: Despite growing opposition to her Court of Appeals chief judge pick, Gov. Kathy Hochul has continued to vehemently defend Justice Hector LaSalle. But her unwavering position has pitted her against some of her strongest allies in labor. Leaders of three unions rallied in the Capitol on Monday to let the governor know that if she doesn’t make things right, she can’t count on their support. LaSalle, a former prosecutor who would be the first Latino to lead the state’s highest court, initially faced opposition from a coalition of progressive groups called The Court New York Deserves. Since his nomination, 14 state senators have spoken out against him. ...Labor representatives had a clear message for the governor on Monday: LaSalle’s nomination represents a betrayal after unions helped her over the finish line in November. Hochul won the closest gubernatorial race in decades – former Rep. Lee Zeldin came within 7 points. Many political observers credited organizing by unions and progressive groups with Hochul’s narrow victory. “We were promised a seat at the table,” said James Mahoney, general vice president at the Ironworkers Union, adding that Hochul called labor incessantly asking for their support during the tough election. “She put us on the menu.” x The fact that Hochul is still defending LaSalle, and saying his critics are being unfair to him, is really indefensible at this point.https://t.co/c6cpBnekwE — Peter F. Martin (@peter_f_martin) January 9, 2023 And over on the GOP side, you’ll be shocked — SHOCKED! — to learn that… there are bigots. And then there’s this: ...The focus on Dhillon’s faith hasn’t just come from people supporting McDaniel. In an email sent to an RNC member on Sunday, a purported supporter of “MyPillow” CEO Mike Lindell, who is also running for committee chair, brought up Dhillon’s religion as an issue. The copy of the email, which was provided to POLITICO with the sender’s name redacted, urged the recipient to support Lindell, an “ardent Christian conservative.” “She is an Indian Sikh by birth and heritage, Not of Judeo-Christian worldview,” the emailer wrote of Dhillon. “None of these core character positions aligns with the Republican Party Platform, planks, or conservatism in general.” Reached for comment, Lindell told POLITICO to “shove it.” RIP Jeff Beck: Jeff Beck, among the most innovative and certainly the most unpredictable of ’60s guitar heroes, died on Tuesday. He was 78. x On behalf of his family, it is with deep and profound sadness that we share the news of Jeff Beck’s passing. After suddenly contracting bacterial meningitis, he peacefully passed away yesterday. His family ask for privacy while they process this tremendous loss. pic.twitter.com/4dvt5aGzlv — Jeff Beck (@jeffbeckmusic) January 11, 2023 … A fleet, imaginative soloist, Beck brought formidable instrumental firepower to British band the Yardbirds, which he joined in 1965 as a replacement for Eric Clapton. Entirely at home with the group’s blues roots, he burnished their pop hits with an adventurous and virtually unprecedented use of feedback, sustain and fuzz. After a precipitous exit from the Yardbirds — where he had been joined by another future guitar star, Jimmy Page — he established his own band, the Jeff Beck Group, which was fronted by vocalist Rod Stewart, soon to become a solo star... Who are you missing tonight? Tell us in the comments. 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