** A 19-year-old who was a quarter mile away from a fiery butane tank explosion outside of Detroit, Michigan was struck and killed by a canister that flew into the air from the blast, according to fire officials.
** Climate envoy John Kerry will be leaving his Biden administration role this week. Wednesday will be his last day as the special presidential envoy for climate, a spokesperson confirmed to The Hill. The spokesperson declined to provide additional information on Kerry’s next steps.
** The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) will vote Wednesday on whether to adopt a contentious rule that would require publicly traded companies to disclose climate change-related information to investors — though the rule could be significantly scaled back compared with what the agency proposed in 2022.
** A California man has become the first person in the United States charged with illegally smuggling greenhouse gases into the country, officials said Monday. Michael Hart of San Diego was arrested under the American Innovation and Manufacturing Act of 2020, which prohibits the importation of hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs) without proper permits from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
** A federal agency is asserting legal rights to waters that feed the Okefenokee Swamp and its vast wildlife refuge, setting up a new battle with a mining company seeking permits to withdraw more than 1.4 million gallons daily for a project that critics say could irreparably harm one of America’s natural treasures.
** Ford Motor Co on Monday reported a 10.5% rise in U.S. sales for February, helped by sustained demand for family crossover SUVs, pickup trucks and hybrid vehicles.
** Florida-based NextEra Energy is fighting legal battles to block construction of a transmission line in New England, which critics say is an attempt by the company to retain its monopoly on clean power in the area.
** A photojournalist loses her case against North Dakota officials that claimed her First, Fourth and Fourteenth Amendment rights were violated while covering Dakota Access pipeline protests in 2017.
World
** Three cables under the Red Sea that provide global internet and telecommunications have been cut as the waterway remains a target of Yemen’s Houthi rebels, officials said Monday. Meanwhile, a Houthi missile attack set a ship ablaze in the Gulf of Aden, but caused no injuries.
** Private Indian firms have expressed interest in building at least 10 gigawatts (GW) of coal-fired power capacity over a decade, four sources familiar with the matter said, ending a six-year drought in significant private involvement in the sector.
** Women who run farms and rural households in poor countries suffer more from climate change and are discriminated against as they try to adapt to other sources of income in times of crises, the United Nations warned Tuesday.
** Africa will be $2.5 trillion short of the finance it needs to cope with climate change by 2030, a U.N. official said on Monday, adding that the continent has contributed the least to greenhouse gas emissions while seeing some of the worst impacts.