Supreme Court seeks Biden administration's views in major climate change lawsuits
CBSN
Washington — The Supreme Court on Monday asked the Biden administration to share its views in a pair of cases involving the city of Honolulu's efforts to hold major oil and gas companies accountable for the impacts of climate change.
The one-lined order from the court invites the solicitor general to submit a brief in two appeals of a Hawaii Supreme Court decision brought by the energy industry. Justice Samuel Alito did not participate in the consideration of the cases. Though he did not provide an explanation, it is likely because Alito owned stock in ConocoPhillips, one of the companies named in the suits.
The legal battle brought by Honolulu and pursued in Hawaii state court is similar to others filed against the nation's largest energy companies by state and local governments in their courts. Honolulu claims that the oil and gas industry engaged in a deceptive campaign and misled the public about the dangers of their fossil fuel products and the environmental impacts.
Washington — The Supreme Court on Friday said it will consider the constitutionality of the Federal Communications Commission's Universal Service Fund, agreeing to review a lower court decision that upended the mechanism for funding programs that provide communications services to rural areas, low-income communities and schools, libraries and hospitals.
Jeff Bezos' Blue Origin launched six space tourists on a high-speed dash to the edge of space and back Friday, giving the passengers — including a husband and wife making their second flight — about three minutes of weightlessness and an out-of-this world view before the capsule made a parachute descent to touchdown at the company's west Texas flight facility.