** The National Weather Service has warned that a “reinforcing shot” of cold air from Canada could cause more snowfall across the Great Plains and Midwest this week, and the eastern half of the country would remain in a deep freeze. In Erie County — which includes Buffalo, N.Y. — the death toll jumped to 27 on Monday reported The Hill.
** At least 55 people have died in weather-related incidents across the country since late last week, according to an NBC News tally. The deaths were recorded in 12 states: Colorado, Illinois, Kansas, Kentucky, Michigan, Missouri, Nebraska, New York, Ohio, Oklahoma, Tennessee and Wisconsin.
** The U.S. Senate Finance Committee has asked eight major automakers, including General Motors, Tesla and Ford Motor, to disclose whether any of their components are linked to alleged forced labor use in China, according to letters made public.
** A movement by financial firms and activists to challenge companies over their efforts on climate change and social inequality faced organised and growing push-back in 2022, led by Republican U.S. politicians.
** More than a year in the making, the N.C. Carbon Plan that state regulators must issue by Dec. 31 will set out broad outlines of the path Duke Energy Corp. will be expected to follow to meet state requirements for net-zero carbon emissions by 2050.
** Mark Lashier, President and CEO of Phillips 66, and other Executive Leadership Team members will participate in a fireside chat at the Goldman Sachs Global Energy and Clean Technology Conference on Thursday, Jan. 5, 2023, at 11 a.m. ET.
World
** Swedish authorities leading a criminal investigation into the September incident at the Nord Stream gas pipeline have concluded that a state actor was most likely responsible for the blast that ripped through the pipes, saying that explosives were probably dropped from ships or planted on the seafloor using submarines or divers.
** At a time when countries, especially those in the European Union, are scrambling to find affordable energy sources to offset the loss of Russian natural gas and oil, the leftward shift of several Latin American countries will probably reduce the available supply of fossil fuels, exacerbating world shortages.
** A miner that plans to produce enough lithium to help fuel the UK’s electric car boom hopes to raise up to £40m next year to advance its plans.
**Argentina’s booming shale production in Vaca Muerta, a formation that rivals the United States’ Permian Basin, is at risk of running out of road as infrastructure to handle the oil and gas nears capacity, threatening to put the brakes on rapid growth.
** Japan agreed to purchase more liquefied natural gas from the US and Oman in the latest move to secure fuel supplies and avoid future shortages.
** The Japanese government has asked insurers to take on additional risks to continue providing marine war insurance for liquefied natural gas (LNG) shippers in Russian waters, a senior official at the industry ministry said.