bkingdc.bsky.social
Bob King
@bkingdc.bsky.social
1.7K followers 760 following 500 posts
Deputy managing editor at POLITICO, interested in climate change, energy, transportation, technology and cybersecurity. Pennsylvania native and displaced Floridian. https://www.politico.com
www.politico.com
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Reposted by Bob King
politico.com
Politico @politico.com · 23h
The Trump administration has blamed renewable energy for driving up electricity prices.

But our analysis of federal and industry data shows shows states that are growing their wind and solar power typically have lower power costs.
Green power is sometimes the cheapest power — despite what Trump says
The Trump administration has targeted renewable energy for driving up electricity prices, but POLITICO’s analysis shows states that are growing their wind and solar power typically have lower power co...
www.politico.com
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Reposted by Bob King
politico.com
Politico @politico.com · 23h
Green power is sometimes the cheapest power — despite what Trump says.

The Trump administration has targeted renewable energy for driving up electricity prices, but our analysis shows states that are growing their wind and solar power typically have lower power costs.
Green power is sometimes the cheapest power — despite what Trump says
The Trump administration has targeted renewable energy for driving up electricity prices, but POLITICO’s analysis shows states that are growing their wind and solar power typically have lower power co...
www.politico.com
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bkingdc.bsky.social
Bob King @bkingdc.bsky.social · 8d
Hans Kristensen of the Federation of American Scientists says this all appears to be happening without coordination with the Defense Department: "This is mainly a Department of Energy plan that is closely happening in collusion, essentially, with the nuclear power industry."
bkingdc.bsky.social
Bob King @bkingdc.bsky.social · 8d
A larger concern is that Congress has told DOE to produce MORE plutonium pits for the U.S. arsenal, and the department has been slow to ramp up. “So to make pit plutonium available [for civilian reactors] would be a huge shift, and I’d be shocked," an ex-official told Zack.
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bkingdc.bsky.social
Bob King @bkingdc.bsky.social · 8d
But an Oklo spokesperson said she doubts Wright is trying to aid the company. "I don’t imagine that he would ever play favorites. He’s not that kind of guy."
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Bob King @bkingdc.bsky.social · 8d
The plan could also help the nuclear startup Oklo, whose former board members include Energy Secretary Chris Wright.

Oklo has been vocal about its willingness to use plutonium, and hired lobbyists to work on "nuclear and plutonium recyclability and access to feedstock."
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Bob King @bkingdc.bsky.social · 8d
One beneficiary would be the AI industry, whose energy-hungry data centers need moar and moar electricity.
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bkingdc.bsky.social
Bob King @bkingdc.bsky.social · 8d
Scoop by @zcolman.bsky.social for @politico.com: A Trump administration plan to boost civilian nuclear power would harvest the plutonium "pits" manufactured for nuclear weapons — raising concerns about the impact to U.S. defenses:

www.politico.com/news/2025/09...
Trump’s nuclear power push stirs worries about US weapons stockpile
The scramble to build new reactors to supply power to AI data centers may include plutonium from the nation’s nuclear deterrent.
www.politico.com
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bkingdc.bsky.social
Bob King @bkingdc.bsky.social · 9d
The list of "words to avoid" also includes "green" and "decarbonization."
bkingdc.bsky.social
Bob King @bkingdc.bsky.social · 9d
“Please ensure that every member of your team is aware that this is the latest list of words to avoid — and continue to be conscientious about avoiding any terminology that you know to be misaligned with the Administration’s perspectives and priorities."

www.politico.com/news/2025/09...
Energy Dept. adds ‘climate change’ and ‘emissions’ to banned words list
It is the latest in a series of Trump administration efforts to dispute, silence or downplay climate change.
www.politico.com
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bkingdc.bsky.social
Bob King @bkingdc.bsky.social · 9d
Attorney General Pam Bondi explaining the scope of the Justice Department's criminal investigations: "...whether you’re a billionaire funding organizations to try to keep Donald Trump out of office, everything is on the table."

www.washingtonpost.com/national-sec...
Comey case raises question of who are Trump’s next political targets
Federal prosecutors across the country are facing increasing pressure to quickly produce results in other investigations targeting subjects of Trump’s scorn.
www.washingtonpost.com
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bkingdc.bsky.social
Bob King @bkingdc.bsky.social · 10d
‘It’s the threats that are the point’: How Brendan Carr exerts the FCC's (limited) power against Trump's enemies.

www.politico.com/news/2025/09...
‘It’s the threats that are the point’: How Brendan Carr exerts his FCC power
Trump’s FCC head has turned his agency into a machine for leverage. His critics fear the result.
www.politico.com
bkingdc.bsky.social
Bob King @bkingdc.bsky.social · 10d
The other fascinating thing about the DOE report is the way its reasonable-sounding rhetoric ("climate change is a challenge — not a catastrophe") clashes with Trump's claims that climate change is a "hoax" and "con job" pushed by "stupid people."

Which one represents administration policy?
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Reposted by Bob King
scottpwaldman.bsky.social
Scott Waldman @scottpwaldman.bsky.social · 10d
Ben Storrow, @chelseaeharvey.bsky.social and I are out with a different look at the misleading Trump administration climate science report. It's more than a fact check. We show the sleights of hand they employ - fake debates, manipulated data, fossil fuel-funded experts - to reach a desired outcome.
politico.com
Politico @politico.com · 10d
How a major DOE report hides the whole truth on climate change.
How a major DOE report hides the whole truth on climate change
www.politico.com
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bkingdc.bsky.social
Bob King @bkingdc.bsky.social · 10d
By my colleagues Ben Storrow,
@chelseaeharvey.bsky.social, @scottpwaldman.bsky.social and Paula Friedrich: A detailed, accessible deconstruction of the Energy Department report that the Trump administration is using to justify rolling back environmental regulations. politico.com/interactives/2…
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bkingdc.bsky.social
Bob King @bkingdc.bsky.social · 10d
How an Energy Department report on climate change cherrypicks research, uses partial quotes and leans on outdated studies to try to obscure the overwhelming consensus among scientists that the Earth is warming, humans are responsible and harm is occurring.

www.politico.com/interactives...
How a major DOE report hides the whole truth on climate change
www.politico.com
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bkingdc.bsky.social
Bob King @bkingdc.bsky.social · 11d
“The whole thing is just bizarro. … This case should never go to trial because it’s obvious from the four corners of the indictment that there’s no case.”

www.politico.com/news/2025/09...
Why the case against James Comey may end in humiliation for Trump’s DOJ
"This case should never go to trial," one former prosecutor said.
www.politico.com
bkingdc.bsky.social
Bob King @bkingdc.bsky.social · 15d
"That is cool."

Abraham Lincoln, February 27, 1860

www.abrahamlincolnonline.org/lincoln/spee...
Abraham Lincoln's Cooper Union Address
www.abrahamlincolnonline.org
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bkingdc.bsky.social
Bob King @bkingdc.bsky.social · 15d
"I'm no linguist, but I've been told that in the Russian language there isn't even a word for freedom."

Ronald Reagan, October 29, 1985

www.reaganlibrary.gov/archives/spe...
Interview With Brian Widlake of the British Broadcasting Corporation
Interview With Brian Widlake of the British Broadcasting Corporation
www.reaganlibrary.gov
bkingdc.bsky.social
Bob King @bkingdc.bsky.social · 15d
Trump implausibly announces that Uzbekistan is "purchasing 22,787 Dreamliners" from Boeing, as opposed to buying 22 Dreamliners (a plane also known as the 787).

At the Dreamliner's reported list price of $239 million, buying 22,787 would cost over $5 trillion.

truthsocial.com/@realDonaldT...
Truth Social
Truth Social is America's
truthsocial.com
bkingdc.bsky.social
Bob King @bkingdc.bsky.social · 15d
Trump's ICE crackdown in DC drives up the costs of child care, home improvements and food delivery for the middle class.

Though of course, billionaires will still be able to afford private islands, superyachts and mega mansions, especially after getting tax cuts.

www.politico.com/news/magazin...
The Bougie Fallout of ICE’s Crackdown in DC
It turns out that the services benefiting the well-to-do are most impacted by DC’s ICE crackdown.
www.politico.com
bkingdc.bsky.social
Bob King @bkingdc.bsky.social · 18d
"Hegseth in May further restricted access after he faced criticism for sharing sensitive details of U.S. military strikes in Yemen on a Signal group to which a journalist was inadvertently added."
bkingdc.bsky.social
Bob King @bkingdc.bsky.social · 18d
No access to Pentagon for journalists who publish info that hasn't been "approved for public release," Trump's Defense Department says.

www.politico.com/news/2025/09...
Pentagon to limit journalists’ access unless they agree not to publish certain information
The unprecedented move is the strongest action yet in restricting how reporters cover the country’s largest federal agency.
www.politico.com
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Bob King @bkingdc.bsky.social · 18d
Here's the optimistic take on the future of the United States as the nation nears its 250th birthday: "American democracy might be more resilient than you think."

www.politico.com/news/magazin...
American Democracy Might Be Stronger Than Donald Trump
Yes, Donald Trump is a threat to democracy. But the country has a few attributes that make it more resilient than you might think.
share.google
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bkingdc.bsky.social
Bob King @bkingdc.bsky.social · 20d
What's that rule about never demoing something live that you have not tried before?
shacknews.com
Shacknews @shacknews.com · 20d
LiveAI demo fails on the first prompt at Meta Connect 2025. #Meta #AI #LiveAI