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<ul class="summary-list"><li>Iran is believed to have weaponized pharmaceutical agents to kill or incapacitate.</li><li>These chemical weapons affect a victim's central nervous system.</li></ul>Iran has developed <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/nerve-agents-chemical-weapons-how-they-work-2018-3">chemical weapons</a> based on synthetic opioids such as fentanyl, warns a US expert, powerful agents that could incapacitate soldiers or civilians when added to grenades or artillery.Pharmaceutical-based agents, or PBA, are essentially weaponized medicines that incapacitate or kill their victims depending on the exposure. Iran may have given PBA to its proxies such as <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/who-is-naim-qassem-longtime-deputy-now-leading-hezbollah-2024-10">Hezbollah</a>, which could use them to kidnap Israeli troops and civilians."At a time of growing regional instability in the Middle East, largely the result of the militancy of Iranian proxies, the threats posed by Iran's weaponized PBA program can no longer be overlooked," wrote Matthew Levitt in an <a target="_blank" href="https://ctc.westpoint.edu/tehrans-tactical-knockout-weaponized-pharmaceutical-based-agents/">article</a> for the Combatting Terrorism Center at West Point.The U.S. Government Accountability Office defines PBAs as "chemicals based on pharmaceutical compounds, which may or may not have legitimate medical uses, and can cause severe illness or death when misused." They include opioids such as fentanyl and tranquilizers for animals.These drugs affect a victim's central nervous system. "Once inhaled, these agents cause victims to lose full consciousness and enable the forces deploying them to advance quickly and quietly and/or take captive the unconscious victims," Levitt wrote.Iran was a victim of <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/russia-uses-chemical-weapons-against-ukraine-cause-panic-war-report-2024-4">chemical warfare</a> during the Iran-Iraq War in the 1980s, when Iraqi chemical attacks — including <a target="_blank" href="https://thebulletin.org/2024/07/iraq-once-devasted-iran-with-chemical-weapons-as-the-world-stood-by-governments-still-struggle-to-respond-to-chemical-warfare/">nerve gases</a> such as Sarin, and mustard gas — contributed to as many as 1 million Iranian casualties. But Iran employed its own mustard gas on a few occasions during the war. Israel believes Iran used PBAs against rebels in the <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/drones-usher-in-a-brutal-new-phase-syrian-civil-war-2024-3">Syrian Civil War</a>, while there are reports that pro-Iranian militias in Iraq may have unleashed them against anti-government protestors."The problem is that Iran is right when they said they've been victims of chemical weapons in terrible ways during the Iran-Iraq war," Levitt, a senior fellow at the Washington Institute think tank, told Business Insider. "But the reality is they themselves have been using these as well."The US and its allies have <a target="_blank" href="https://www.elysee.fr/admin/upload/default/0001/05/2ffa826926cd72354b90a05f7de765bfcc9908b6.pdf">warned</a> for years that Iran is developing pharmaceutical-based weapons in breach of the 1997 Chemical Weapons Convention, which bans the manufacture and use of "toxic chemicals," defined as "chemical action on life processes [that] can cause death, temporary incapacitation or permanent harm to humans or animals." Treaty signatories — including Iran — are obligated to destroy existing stockpiles.Still, evidence suggests Iran is pursuing PBAs. "In 2014, Iran's Chemistry Department of IHU [Imam Hossein University] sought kilogram quantities of medetomidine — a [veterinary] sedative it has researched as an aerosolized incapacitant — from Chinese exporters, according to a 2023 US State Department's <a target="_blank" href="https://www.state.gov/2023-condition-10c-annual-report-on-compliance-with-the-chemical-weapons-convention-cwc/">report</a>. "The Chemistry Department has little history of veterinary or even medical research, and the quantities sought (over 10,000 effective doses) were inconsistent with the reported end use of research."In September 2023, Iranian anti-government hackers "posted confidential documents detailing an Iranian military university's development of grenades meant to disseminate medetomidine," the State Department said.Of particular concern were references in Iranian literature to the 2002 <a target="_blank" href="https://www.history.com/news/opioid-chemical-weapons-moscow-theater-hostage-crisis">Dubrovka incident</a>, when Russian security forces pumped pharmaceutical-based gas — probably fentanyl or <a target="_blank" href="https://www.dea.gov/sites/default/files/2018-07/hq092216_attach.pdf">carfentanyl</a>, another synthetic opioid vastly more potent — into a crowded Moscow theater to subdue Chechen rebels who had taken almost a thousand hostages. Commandos then stormed the building and killed the incapacitated rebels — but the gas also killed more than 130 hostages.Yet restricting PBAs is difficult because they overlap with products used for legitimate law enforcement and medical purposes. For example, <a target="_blank" href="https://www.vox.com/2020/6/3/21277995/police-tear-gas-protests-history-effects-violence">tear gas</a> has been used by law enforcement as a riot control agent since the First World War, while US troops used it in the <a target="_blank" href="https://www.thenmusa.org/articles/tunnel-rats-of-the-vietnam-war/">Vietnam War</a> to smoke out enemy tunnels. Tear gas is still legal when employed for riot control, but not as a battlefield weapon.Stopping nations from manufacturing PBAs is " very, very difficult, which is why you've seen such a focus on diplomatic efforts, sanctions and some law enforcement actions," said Levitt.Iranian PBAs are a particular problem if Tehran has supplied them to proxies such as Hezbollah. "Deploying weapons produced with dual-use items, and then providing said weapons to proxies, provides Iran with multiple layers of cover and reasonable deniability for having done so at all," the CTC article noted.Israel feared that Hezbollah would use PBA weapons as part of an alleged plan to seize the Galilee region of northern Israel and <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/gaza-israels-special-forces-rescue-woman-on-a-motorbike-hostage-and-3-others-2024-6">kidnap Israeli citizens</a>. "Maybe you just use them to incapacitate the border guards and reach the now unprotected civilians," Levitt said. "Or, you actually target and incapacitate the soldiers so you can kidnap or capture them."Israel's recent military <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/israel-launches-ground-offensive-into-lebanon-destroy-hezbollah-targets-2024-9">offensives in Lebanon</a> have badly hurt Hezbollah, including its huge arsenal of missiles. But PBAs can be added to hand grenades and mortar shells, of which Hezbollah still has ample stocks. And there remains a possibility that US forces could clash with Iran and its allies and encounter pharmaceutical-based agents. (The US, in contrast, completed the destruction of its chemical weapons in 2023.)However, Levitt emphasizes that PBAs are not in the same league as <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/rangers-are-training-to-neutralize-enemy-nuclear-sites-2024-11">weapons of mass destruction</a> such as nerve gas, which is potent enough to kill widely across exposure areas. "This is not a strategic threat. It is a tactical weapon."Nonetheless, chemical weapons do have a frightening aura, even if fentanyl gas is nowhere near as deadly as nerve gas. "I think that many, many people would see it that way because you're talking about chemical weapons," Levitt said.Michael Peck is a defense writer whose work has appeared in Forbes, Defense News, Foreign Policy magazine, and other publications. He holds an MA in political science from Rutgers Univ. Follow him on <a target="_blank" href="https://www.twitter.com/@mipeck1">Twitter</a> and <a target="_blank" href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/mipeck/">LinkedIn</a>.

Iran has developed fentanyl-based chemical weapons

Climate Action 15: 2024's top global innovators powering green solutions

<ul class="summary-list"><li>GM's new EV charging hubs look exactly like gas stations.</li><li>The joint venture with EVgo will produce 400 new charging stalls nationwide.</li></ul>GM Energy and EVgo are deploying a new network of fast-charging hubs designed to fit in on the <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/ev-charging-needs-to-improve-amenities-offerings-stores-2024-6">classic American road trip</a>.Several large hubs of roughly 20 fast chargers each are being installed in major metropolitan areas in Arizona, California, Florida, Georgia, Michigan, New York, and Texas, for a total of 400 new charging stalls.These pull-through stalls will be protected by a lit canopy and built near retail locations and convenience stores with bathrooms and <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/ev-electric-car-charging-station-need-better-amenities-bathrooms-food-2023-8">other amenities</a>, according to GM Energy Vice President Wade Sheffer.If all of that sounds familiar, that's the idea. You might not even clock one of these<a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/gm-rivals-tesla-enabling-americans-energy-storage-evs-power-home-2022-10"> GM Energy</a>-EVgo hubs from the road as anything other than another gas station."If you're going on a longer trip — maybe you're out doing some shopping or thighs of that nature — we're offering ease, comfort, and reduction of that anxiety," Sheffer said in an interview with Business Insider. "You see it, you know it, you understand it."The first GM-EVgo flagship charging station is expected to open in 2025, the companies said in their Thursday announcement. This new project builds on the existing relationship between GM and the charging company, which has already resulted in more than <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.evgo.com/press-release/evgo-and-general-motors-open-1-000th-dc-fast-charging-stall-as-part-of-metropolitan-charging-collaboration/">1,000 fast-charging stalls</a> nationwide.<h2 id="4b153d4a-4628-4f70-8054-e3b604684075">Solving the charging problem</h2>Charging outside the home has long been a pain point for EV drivers. There simply aren't enough places to plug in when you're far from home, which can lead to the <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/ev-charging-range-improving-americans-still-dont-want-electric-cars-2024-9">dreaded range anxiety</a>.Efforts to patch holes in US charging infrastructure have resulted in a proliferation of plugs in the last several years. Since 2020, the number of charging stations in the US has more than doubled, and the Biden Administration has set aside $7.5 billion to fund 500,000 new EV charging stations by 2030.But the very existence of a plug only solves about half of the problem.Stalls are often tucked away in inconvenient places, many are not well-maintained, and the speed of charging fluctuates based on external factors like weather and battery technology.In fact, the charging experience has become so bad that some EV drivers are even considering <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/ev-charging-is-so-bad-its-driving-owners-back-to-gas-2024-6">returning to gas-powered cars</a>.Early adopters in the EV segment were more willing to endure the charging challenges, but a new crop of more <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/electric-vehicle-misconceptions-about-the-ev-transition-market-sales-2024-5">practical electric car shoppers</a> will be less patient. These drivers are looking for a charging experience that more closely mirrors a stop at the gas station.The idea is to give EV drivers a safe and easy "charging in the wild" experience, Sheffer said."We're taking every opportunity to provide to our customers the most convenient, the safest and most simplistic way to all-in on the EV lifestyle," Sheffer said.

GM's new EV charging hubs look exactly like gas stations 

As many as seven <keyword id="19955648" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="Adani-group" source="keywords">Adani group</keyword> stocks ended lower on Friday as the Swiss authorities froze USD 311 million (Rs 2,610 crore) held by a Taiwanese resident in multiple Swiss bank accounts as part of a money laundering probe, suspecting he may be a frontman from the group -- a charge the conglomerate vehemently denied. Shares of <keyword id="19934911" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="Adani-Power" source="keywords">Adani Power</keyword> dropped 2.73 per cent, Adani Energy Solutions declined 2.42 per cent, Adani Ports slipped 1.37 per cent, Adani Green Energy went lower by 1.17 per cent, Adani Enterprises dipped 0.76 per cent, Adani Total Gas (0.55 per cent) and Adani Wilmar (0.37 per cent) on the BSE. However, three group firms managed to settle in the green. The stock of <keyword id="19963163" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="ACC" source="keywords" meta.keywordsubtype="org" meta.entityname="ACC" meta.hostid="261" meta.entityid="ACC">ACC</keyword> jumped 1.94 per cent, NDTV climbed 1.01 per cent and <keyword id="20057393" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="Ambuja-Cements" source="keywords" meta.keywordsubtype="org" meta.entityname="Ambuja Cements" meta.hostid="261" meta.entityid="Ambuja Cements">Ambuja Cements</keyword> (0.01 per cent). During the day, shares of Adani Power tumbled 3.20 per cent, Adani Energy dived 2.75 per cent, Adani Green declined 1.53 per cent, Adani Ports went down by 1.51 per cent, Adani Enterprises fell 1.18 per cent, Adani Wilmar (1.07 per cent), Adani Total (0.89 per cent), NDTV (0.57 per cent), Ambuja Cements (0.54 per cent) and ACC (0.46 per cent). Swiss authorities have frozen USD 311 million (Rs 2,610 crore) held by a Taiwanese resident in multiple Swiss bank accounts as part of money laundering probe, suspecting he may be a frontman from the Adani group -- a charge the conglomerate vehemently denied saying it was neither involved in any Swiss court proceedings nor any of its accounts are subject to sequestration. US-based short-seller <keyword id="20016892" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="Hindenburg-Research" source="keywords" meta.keywordsubtype="org" meta.entityname="Hindenburg Research" meta.hostid="261" meta.entityid="Hindenburg Research">Hindenburg Research</keyword>, which had last year targeted the Adani group in a damning report that led to wiping away of USD 150 billion in market value of listed firms of the conglomerate in the following weeks, in a post on X cited "newly released Swiss criminal records reported by Swiss media outlet" to state that "Swiss authorities have frozen more than $310 million in funds across multiple Swiss bank accounts as part of a money laundering and securities forgery investigation into Adani, dating back as early as 2021." "Prosecutors detailed how an Adani frontman invested in opaque BVI/Mauritius &amp; Bermuda funds that almost exclusively owned <keyword id="20372802" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="Adani-stocks" source="keywords">Adani stocks</keyword>," it said citing the report. Adani group rejected the allegations as baseless, saying it had no involvement in any Swiss court proceedings. "We unequivocally reject and deny the baseless allegations presented. The Adani Group has no involvement in any Swiss court proceedings, nor have any of our company accounts been subject to sequestration by any authority," it said. The Swiss media outlet Gotham City in its report stated that a ruling by the Federal Criminal Court (FCC) reveals that the Geneva Public Prosecutor's Office was investigating alleged wrongdoing and more than USD 310 million belonging to an alleged frontman for billionaire <keyword id="19929098" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="Gautam-Adani" source="keywords">Gautam Adani</keyword> have been sequestered in five Swiss banks over the last three years. The Swiss investigators suspect that the associate, Chang Chung-Ling, is not the ultimate beneficial owner (UBO) of the company under investigation, but a mere front. The Adani Group, however, said that the court order was not linked to them and they have not been mentioned in it. SEE ALSO: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/stock-market/webstories/western-carriers-ipo-price-band-to-risk-factors-all-you-need-to-know/slidelist/113312196.cms">Western Carriers IPO – Price band to risk factors, all you need to know</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/stock-market/news/pn-gadgil-jewellers-ipo-allotment-how-to-check-allotment-ipo-gmp-listing-date-and-more/articleshow/113302533.cms">PN Gadgil Jewellers IPO allotment – How to check allotment, IPO GMP, listing date and more</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/tech/mobile/news/iphone-16-pro-is-already-cheaper-than-the-iphone-15-pro-in-india-but-you-can-get-it-for-up-to-30000-cheaper/articleshow/113220789.cms">iPhone 16 Pro is already cheaper than the iPhone 15 Pro in India, but you can get it for up to ₹30,000 cheaper</a>

Majority of Adani group stocks settle lower; Adani Power drops nearly 3%

<ul class="summary-list"><li><keyword id="22852732" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="Yuliia-Kuzmina" source="keywords">Yuliia Kuzmina</keyword>, a Ukrainian Army veteran, is training to be an <keyword id="20676967" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="electrician" source="keywords">electrician</keyword>.</li><li>Kuzmina now works at a <keyword id="20171004" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="power-substation" source="keywords">power substation</keyword>, many of which are under constant Russian attack.</li></ul>Yuliia Kuzmina's way of supporting her country is working at a power grid. Kuzmina, 32, is training to be an electrician in Kamianske, a city in eastern <keyword id="19895162" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="Ukraine" source="keywords">Ukraine</keyword>. "It's a hard job," she told Business Insider. "You are responsible for the lives of people who work there. Before issuing a work order, you have to carefully work out everything and make sure there is no live voltage in the line." Kuzmina is one of many women joining essential services as the <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/russia-have-to-scale-back-assaults-six-weeks-losses-ukraine-2024-7">war against Russia progresses</a>. Between January and May, the number of employed women rose from about 45,000 to nearly 48,000. Those numbers could jump: The number of women undergoing vocational training, like Kuzmina, rose 75% over the same period, to nearly 17,000, according to a <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://visitukraine.today/blog/4224/ukrainian-women-began-to-learn-male-professions-due-to-mobilization-how-the-labour-market-is-changing-against-the-backdrop-of-the-war#who-is-needed-at-kyiv-enterprises">state website.</a> Because of worker shortages in fields like driving, mechanical work, and road work, the Ukrainian government <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://visitukraine.today/blog/4224/ukrainian-women-began-to-learn-male-professions-due-to-mobilization-how-the-labour-market-is-changing-against-the-backdrop-of-the-war#who-is-needed-at-kyiv-enterprises">launched a program</a> that provides women with training vouchers. It allows them to receive free training in educational institutes or directly with an employer in their chosen profession.But Ukrainian women must still contend with employers and even family members who aren't always on board with more women taking traditionally male jobs. <h2>Serving in the Army</h2>Kuzmina is no stranger to difficult jobs. She served in the Ukrainian Army for two years. She joined the military in 2020 as a desk clerk, after studying accounting and bookkeeping. She later became a grenade launcher at the 46th separate assault, or the Donbas Battalion. But soon after <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/ukraine-war-four-regions-russia-lose-1-million-troops-walker-2024-7">Russia invaded Ukraine</a> in February 2022, Kuzmina's commander disbanded the unit because of a lack of resources. "We had nothing — no ammunition, nothing to defend ourselves with," she said. Her unit commander "told the battalion commander that: 'I am not going to waste my people as cannon fodder.'" She also had personal obligations. Heavy <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/russia-have-to-scale-back-assaults-six-weeks-losses-ukraine-2024-7">military operations</a> in her hometown, Torestsk, made it impossible for her ill father to receive treatment. She moved him to a different town and discharged herself from the military to focus on caregiving. <div type="image" title="Ukrainian soldier holding rifle" height="810" width="1080" msid="112455162" hostid="261"></div>In May, she wanted another way to actively support <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/trumps-running-mate-jd-vance-ukraine-worst-nightmare-analysis-2024-7">Ukraine's war</a> efforts and decided to join a local power substation. "Working in the electricity supply network is important to me because this highly critical infrastructure is currently under constant shelling," she said, about <keyword id="20049806" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="Russian-attacks" source="keywords">Russian attacks</keyword> on power facilities. "The enemy is attacking us from all sides. They are trying to bend us under their will." Attacks on Ukrainian energy facilities are part of the Russian campaign <a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-68976135" target="_blank">aimed at introducing blackouts</a> across the country. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said in June that Russia had damaged or destroyed more than half of Ukraine's power generation. There have been <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/russian-attacks-that-have-pounded-ukraines-power-facilities-2024-06-14/">11 sets of missile and drone attacks</a> on power and gas stations in 2024 alone, per Reuters. Locals are concerned about how the infrastructure will hold up in colder months, when energy is required for heating. Ukraine, too, <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/ukrainian-drone-attacks-russian-oil-refineries-infrastructure-2024-06-18/#:~:text=April%201%20%2D%20A%20drone%20struck,processed%2073%2C700%20bpd%20of%20oil.">targets Russian refineries</a> and oil terminals to <a target="_blank" href="https://apnews.com/article/russia-ukraine-war-attacks-power-grid-oil-f117d1493f690d2192c9f6c60cbcf32d">weaken the Kremlin's</a> military capability. <h2>Employment gap</h2>In its third year, the conflict has created a big need for workers. Tens of thousands volunteered to join the military, while <a href="https://www.bbc.com/ukrainian/articles/cd1px4z922wo" target="_blank">650,000 men</a> of conscription age had left Ukraine for European Union countries, Switzerland, Liechtenstein, and Norway by November, Eurostat estimated. The <a href="https://reporting.unhcr.org/operational/situations/ukraine-situation" target="_blank">United Nations</a> estimated that by the end of 2023, about 6.3 million people, mostly women and children, had left Ukraine as refugees, and 3.7 million people were internally displaced, creating a large gap in young, skilled workers. "It would be fair to say that there are both blue-collar and white-collar vacancies that are affected," said Yana Lukashuk, head of recruitment at Lobby X, a Kyiv-based job agency. "Men who joined the Army and women with or without children who fled the country from all domains have formed a huge talent gap on the market." Kuzmina, is one of two female employees at her power station, but is one of several women stepping up to fill blue-collar jobs that are now vacant because they were primarily occupied by men. "More and more female candidates are becoming factory workers, technicians, drivers, et cetera as they can do nothing else but to fill many important vacant jobs in some regions where men are lacking," Lukashuk told BI. <h2>Effects of a Soviet-era law</h2>One expert told BI that the trend is an especially notable feat because of a Soviet-era law that prohibited women from a list of about 450 occupations. Ukraine repealed the law in 2017, but its effects are still ingrained in society, said Olga Kupets, a labor economics professor at theKyiv School of Economics. There is still some legal debate over whether the restrictions remain, and some coaches and lecturers in the vocational education system are not ready to train women yet, Kupets said. Even if those two issues can be overcome, there is strong pushback from society, according to Kupets. "On one hand, there is a lack of people, lack of men, and there is official willingness from the government to help women work in these previously male areas," she said, about government training programs that have been introduced this year. "But at the very low level, we see this huge opposition and resistance from employers." There have been cases of companies opening up roles for everyone, but bosses discouraged women from applying, Kupets said. "This discrimination in the labor market comes from stereotypes, not only from men but also from women like mothers or mothers-in-law," Kupets said. Still, Kuzmina, the electrician, said she sees women working around her, and on social media. "I was in the army but I realized that I could not be useful there anymore," Kuzmina said. "But I want to help our country, our Ukraine. I could not just sit around." If you are from Ukraine and have a story to share about the war and how it has impacted your career, please reach out at: shubhangigoel@insider.com Correction: August 12, 2024 — An earlier version of this story misstated when Zelenskyy said Russia had damaged or destroyed more than half of Ukraine's power generation. It was in June, not last month. It also overstated what is known about Eurostat's estimate of 650,000 men having left Ukraine. That figure referred to men of conscription age but did not specify the reason all of those men left the country.

She grew up in Ukraine, studied accounting, and joined the army. But since Russia invaded, she did a hard career pivot — twice.

<ul class="summary-list"><li>Several important Supreme Court decisions this term dealt with questions of executive power.</li><li>In two rulings, SCOTUS expanded presidential power and limited the rest of the executive branch.</li></ul>With its rulings this term, the Supreme Court created a perfect storm for the lower courts to be inundated with legal challenges on everything from the applications of <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/biden-climate-policy-supreme-court-chevron-doctrine-federal-regulations-2024-6">regulatory laws</a> to the scope of the presidency's power.In doing so, the high court has set up a political chessboard through which the judicial branch can claw power away from the established executive authority.Meanwhile, some members of lower courts — such as US District Judge Aileen Cannon, in her Monday decision to <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/donald-trump-mar-a-lago-classified-documents-case-dismissed-judge-2024-7">toss out Donald Trump's classified documents case</a> — are, intentionally or not, creating ways to assist SCOTUS in methodically shrinking the executive branch's power.<h2 id="297304dc-86ee-4c7b-bd78-2c06bdda177a">The Supreme Court's attack on executive power</h2>Taken together, two specific Supreme Court decisions this term — on Loper Bright Enterprises v. Raimondo and Corner Post, Inc. v. Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System — combined to create a window for an array of new lawsuits to challenge once-settled law and be reinterpreted by a deeply polarized court. And in the cunning way the high court's conservative majority phrased its decisions, the justices kept the power to clean up the mess for themselves.In a ruling on June 28, the court overturned 40 years of precedent and rolled back the <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/scotus-chevron-doctrine-bidens-climate-policies-at-risk-2024-6">Chevron doctrine</a>. Once considered a victory among conservative lawmakers because it had upheld a deregulatory interpretation of policy by the Reagan administration, the Chevron doctrine gave the Environmental Protection Agency — and federal agencies more broadly — the power to interpret ambiguous regulatory language in laws enacted by Congress, as long as the agency's interpretation was reasonable.By rolling Chevron back, the Court decided it should no longer defer to <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/aoc-says-biden-isnt-using-his-executive-powers-enough-2022-2">executive branch</a> interpretations of the laws involving its agencies. It has now limited the power of presidentially appointed officials to determine how their agencies should be run under existing laws."So that is, in theory, taking power away from unelected officials," Justin Crowe, a professor of political science at Williams University who researches the Supreme Court, told Business Insider. "But, where is that power going? It's not exactly going to the people or to elected officials. In some roundabout sense it might be going to Congress, but in reality, it's going to courts and judges, and giving courts and judges the ability to second-guess agency decisions."Under the new rules, federal agencies wouldn't be the authority on the regulations they enforce. That means a plaintiff could challenge regulatory rules and enforcement methods by agencies like the EPA, <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/personal-finance/securities-and-exchange-commission">Securities Exchange Commission</a>, or Department of Health and Human Service, and the Court would be allowed to interpret the legal regulations, potentially siphoning even more power from the executive branch.<h2 id="b2822377-27ec-4a45-a744-9026d8f1498d">A one-two punch against regulation</h2>Corner Post was decided on July 1, receiving less media attention than Loper did several days prior. But, when combined with the outcome of the Loper decision, Corner Post "almost encourages the targets of administrative regulation to sue," according to Jonathan Entin, a retired constitutional law professor at Case Western Reserve University."Loper says no deference to the agency; the courts are supposed to interpret regulations. But the Corner Post case, which was a challenge to a <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/personal-finance/what-is-the-federal-reserve">Federal Reserve Board</a> regulation about card swiping fees, may encourage loads of legal challenges," Entin, who clerked for former Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg while she was in the DC Circuit, said.In the Corner Post case, Entin told BI, the Court expanded the six-year time limit for plaintiffs to bring lawsuits against <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/supreme-court-decisions-chevron-sec-federal-government-regulations-2024-6">federal agencies</a> over their regulatory rules. The new limitations are no longer based on when the rule was implemented, as a lower court had determined. Instead, the high court decided the countdown begins when a plaintiff says they were injured by the rule — which "opens up every rule for renewed challenges by just anybody," Entin said.This means that a plaintiff could sue over a rule enacted decades ago if they can make a case that they were hurt by the regulation within the last six years — like a newly created gas station suing over emissions regulations that it claims hinder its business, giving the current court a window to reinterpret old law.With Corner Post, Entin said, the <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/colorado-rules-trump-disqualified-from-2024-primary-ballot-2023-12">Supreme Court</a> created a statute of limitations that, from the standpoint of federal agencies, never really expires.<h2 id="35a4e83c-8788-4d29-b479-5fd7ca8a9ed0">A 'tsunami of lawsuits'</h2>In her dissent in the Corner Post case, <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/justice-jackson-trump-immunity-oval-office-criminial-activity-supreme-court-2024-4">Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson</a> noted that taken together, the Loper and Corner Post decisions would open up a "tsunami of lawsuits" from plaintiffs who have grievances with various federal regulations — from the Federal Reserve Board's fees for debit card processing to the Environmental Protection Agency's Clean Air Act and beyond. Those inevitable legal challenges will offer the Court ample opportunities to weigh in — and flex its power — in the future.But the Court didn't stop at giving itself the reins to interpret regulations that federal agencies are beholden to.The most striking example might be the Supreme Court's ruling in <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/supreme-court-trump-immunity-january-6-election-ruling-decision-2024-5">Trump v. United States</a>, in which the court granted widespread immunity to sitting presidents for official actions taken in office. But an insidious element of the Trump case is that it gave the judiciary the power to decide what exactly constitutes an official, protected, action, compared to an unofficial — and thereby unprotected — one.In the Trump case, the Supreme Court offered Trump broad immunity for some of his acts concerning his January 6 <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/law-review-brett-kavanaugh-clue-scotus-trump-immunity-2024-4">election interference case</a>. It also kicked some decisions back down to DC District Judge Tanya Chutkan to determine whether other elements of the charges against the former president would be protected by the "official act" immunity or if he could still be prosecuted for them.Additional challenges from the Trump camp on Chutkan's decisions could land the case back on the Supreme Court's desk for more specific interpretation.Similarly, Judge Cannon's Monday decision to toss out the former president's classified documents case will almost certainly find its way to the Supreme Court after appeal.Cannon, who was appointed by Trump, ruled that the appointment of <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/cannon-suggests-special-counsel-should-have-taken-her-more-seriously-2024-7">Special Counsel Jack Smith</a> to prosecute the former president was unconstitutional because Smith was not approved by Congress to fill the role like other legal officers of the US who have the power to impanel grand juries and bring indictments.Smith was assigned to the job by Attorney General Merrick Garland — a presidentially appointed position. Special counsels have historically been used for major cases in which Justice Department officials may have a conflict of interest, such as the Ronald Reagan-era Iran-Contra affair, Bill Clinton's Whitewater controversy, and the <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/hunter-biden-may-lose-trial-politics-appeals-2024-6">criminal investigation into Hunter Biden</a>.Clarence Thomas signaled in his opinion in the Supreme Court's immunity case ruling this month that he believes many types of special counsels are unconstitutional. It was only weeks after Thomas's opinion that Cannon made her ruling.While other conservative justices have not so clearly stated their opinion on special counsels, a future ruling preventing their use would erode the right of the Attorney General's office to appoint special prosecutors, removing that power from the executive branch.The pattern is not limited to the immunity case or those involving business regulations — it's part of a trend of the Supreme Court <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/supreme-court-decisions-chevron-sec-federal-government-regulations-2024-6">dismantling</a> the non-presidential powers of the executive branch, rolling back laws, and reversing lower court rulings involving <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/supreme-court-tosses-ban-bump-stocks-guns-alito-congress-2024-6">guns</a>, emergency <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/scotus-opinion-allowing-emergency-abortions-in-idaho-was-posted-early-2024-6">abortions</a>, and where <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/supreme-court-homeless-camp-removal-without-adequate-shelter-beds-2024-6">homeless people are allowed to sleep</a>.In the July 6 episode of Slate's Supreme Court analysis podcast "Amicus with Dahlia Lithwick," Senior Court Reporter Mark Joseph Stern said the Court spent this term expanding its power and "restructuring representative democracy to make it less representative and less democratic."And it can keep happening no matter who is in the White House."It strikes me that this is a court that does not have a modest view of its own role," Entin told BI. "It has reached out to decide things that it didn't necessarily have to decide, and by doing so, it encourages other potential litigants to try to swing for the fences. And whether the court got these cases right or not, I think we're going to see more cases raising these sorts of issues come along."

The Supreme Court is sending some mixed signals about executive power

<ul class="summary-list"><li>Data centers and large commercial buildings waste a lot of heat.</li><li>The utility Con Edison plans to capture the heat to help power underground thermal energy networks.</li></ul>Less than a block from the bustling Chelsea Market on the west side of Manhattan, data centers hum 24 hours a day in a nondescript building.All that computing power generates an enormous amount of heat, which has to be removed to keep the equipment cool and prevent outages. That heat becomes wasted energy when it's vented out the roof.All that computing power generates an enormous amount of heat, which has to be removed to keep the equipment cool and prevent outages. That heat becomes wasted energy when it's vented out the roof.The utility Con Edison wants to capture the heat and pipe it to a nearby affordable-housing complex, in a system known as a thermal energy network. A closed-loop network of water pipes and electric heat pumps circulates energy through buildings, creating an efficient heating and cooling system that avoids burning fossil fuels in residents' homes.The pilot could be one of three that ConEd builds in and around New York City to test a cleaner way of delivering energy to customers. The proposals are in the design phase and likely won't be fully approved by regulators until late 2025, Gregory Koumoullos, ConEd's department manager of thermal energy networks, said. But the intention is to eventually scale the networks to help New York achieve its climate goals, because burning fossil fuels in buildings accounts for 32% of the state's greenhouse-gas emissions — the largest single source.The pilot could be one of three that ConEd builds in and around New York City to test a cleaner way of delivering energy to customers. The proposals are in the design phase and likely won't be fully approved by regulators until late 2025, Gregory Koumoullos, ConEd's department manager of thermal energy networks, said. But the intention is to scale up the networks to help New York achieve its climate goals, because burning fossil fuels in buildings accounts for 32% of the state's greenhouse-gas emissions — the largest single source.If the pilots go well, they could prove a business model for other gas utilities to follow to decarbonize entire neighborhoods, and potentially lower energy bills along the way."These pilots are just the first phase," Koumoullos said. "The larger the network you have, the lower the cost is because you can connect more customers with less infrastructure and they are sharing more waste heat. Thermal networks really bloom at a larger scale."The technology isn't new. But ConEd is among the first utilities in the country to propose thermal energy networks after New York enacted a law two years ago requiring the utility to try it. Six other states, including Colorado and Massachusetts, have enacted similar laws either allowing or mandating pilots. Gas utilities have legal mandates to sell gas, so states have to pass laws allowing them to expand into new systems.In Framingham, Massachusetts, the utility Eversource is leading the way. The utility already connected dozens of residential and commercial buildings to a geothermal network for a two-year pilot, <a target="_blank" href="https://www.wbur.org/news/2024/03/08/networked-geothermal-eversource-framingham-pilot-project-decarbonization">WBUR reported</a>. The project involved drilling boreholes hundreds of feet below ground, where the temperature is usually a constant 55 degrees Fahrenheit. Water pipes are connected to ground-source electric heat pumps in buildings, which exchange and push energy around the system.ConEd is proposing its own geothermal network for Mount Vernon, a suburban neighborhood north of New York City where up to 76 buildings, including homes, apartment complexes, churches, and fire stations, could be hooked up. But drilling boreholes isn't always feasible in densely packed cities, which is why capturing waste heat from data centers and other buildings is being tested. Rockefeller Center in NYC is the other proposed site.<h2 id="7f12dc53-e013-48cb-ae17-f381e823311d">High upfront costs, but long-term benefits</h2>Retrofitting buildings and laying new pipes is expensive. The estimated price tag of all three pilots combined is $255 million, which would be spread across ConEd's customer base, Koumoullos said. For those participating in the pilots, ConEd would guarantee that energy costs won't go up during a 5-year test period. The utility is also looking at tax breaks under the Inflation Reduction Act to offset the cost to customers. ConEd would use the pilots to find out the actual costs of building thermal energy systems and test different ways to charge customers.The high up-front costs are a barrier to wider adoption. But climate advocates point out that an increasing amount of money is also being spent on replacing old gas lines every year. Between 2011 and 2022, gas utilities' capital expenditures on distribution infrastructure tripled from $7 billion a year to nearly $21 billion, according to a report by HEET, <a target="_blank" href="https://assets-global.website-files.com/649aeb5aaa8188e00cea66bb/663a27270c0fa4fffcfe447d_Leaked-and-Combusted-May-2024.pdf">a climate-solutions nonprofit</a> that spearheaded the push for thermal energy networks.Whether utility-scale projects can recoup the upfront costs in energy savings remains to be seen. That was the case at Colorado Mesa University, which built a geothermal network in 2008. Kent Marsh, the university's vice president for capital planning sustainability and campus operations, said switching to geothermal saved $1.5 million a year. The system paid for itself within about 11 years.Morgan Hood, the manager of new product development at Vermont Gas, told Business Insider that some utilities are looking for new business models. Vermont Gas aims to be net zero by 2050, so is considering community geothermal as a way to get there. Hood helped launch the Utility Networked Geothermal Collaborative, which now includes 27 gas utilities in North America that serve about half the customers in the US, so they can keep tabs on pilot projects and share information."All eyes are on New York, in large part because it will show how these systems can be regulated within a utility environment," she said.

How New York City's data centers and Rockefeller Center could help power a climate solution.

Chennai, Tamil Nadu's ruling <keyword id="19897149" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="dmk" source="keywords">DMK</keyword>, a key constituent of the INDIA bloc, in its manifesto released on Wednesday promised to repeal the Citizenship Amendment Act, 2019 if the opposition alliance wins the <keyword id="19895394" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="lok-sabha" source="keywords">Lok Sabha</keyword> polls. Restoration of statehood to Jammu and Kashmir and holding polls there, scrapping the New Education Policy 2020, slashing fuel prices, annulling Article 361 of the Constitution that provides protection to governors from legal action and appointment of Governors following consultation with Chief Ministers, were among the key promises made by the DMK. The recommendations of the M S Swaminathan committee will be adopted to ensure that MSP for agricultural products "is set at total production cost plus 50 per cent," the DMK said. Also, it announced that if voted to power, the INDIA bloc will withdraw the Agnipath scheme and reintroduce "permanent recruitment service" in the Indian Armed forces. "From now on, population census, including caste-wise census and census concerning people below the poverty line, will be conducted by the Union government once every five years simultaneously." The DMK will firmly insist on the removal of Article 356, which allows the dismissal of duly elected state governments and imposition of President's rule. The Congress party's ally in Tamil Nadu said that "new constraints" on States' borrowing capacity, imposed by the union government beyond the limits in each state's FRBM-equivalent Act will be eliminated. "A recommendation to share cess revenues with states will be made. It will be proposed that the Finance Commission increase the horizontal devolution of tax revenue (to all States together) from 42 per cent to 50 per cent." The Union government's financial contributions to states will be based on the income tax and GST collected in those states. Thus, financial contributions will be assured based on the taxes collected within each state. The finance provided to states will be permanently determined based on the 1971 population. A 33 per cent reservation for women in Parliament and legislative assemblies will be implemented immediately. "DMK will insist that the Union government enact a law providing menstrual leave to women, emphasizing the journey towards gender equality." Petrol and diesel prices "will be set at Rs 75, Rs 65 (per litre)" and cooking gas cylinders shall be made available at Rs 500 (per cylinder). "The introduction of the Uniform Civil Code will be strictly prevented" to preserve India's secular nature as stated in the Constitution's preamble. "The 2019 CAA law will be repealed, and all minorities will be treated equally without any discrimination. The recommendations of the Sachar Committee for the improvement of the lives of Muslims and other minority communities will be implemented." Facilitation will be provided for <keyword id="21027983" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="sri-lankan-tamil" source="keywords">Sri Lankan Tamil</keyword> refugees to get Indian citizenship. Assistance will be provided to those who wish to return to Sri Lanka. Also, the manifesto said efforts will be made to implement reservation for minorities at the all-India level, similar to Tamil Nadu. "The financial assistance previously provided to minority educational institutions has now been stopped. Action will be taken to resume this assistance." For "political" reasons, funding from foreign countries to non-governmental organisations (NGOs) has currently been stopped. "The Foreign Exchange Regulation Act will be properly amended, and measures will be taken to ensure these financial aids continue to reach NGOs without any problems." The proposal of 'One Nation, One Election' will be abandoned, and for the allocation of Lok Sabha seats to states, the current practice, based on the 1971 census will continue. All "people-unfriendly" laws introduced by the BJP government over the last 10 years will be reviewed immediately by the INDIA alliance government. The "labour-hostile laws" introduced by the BJP government will be "reformed." Through the Employees' Provident Fund (EPF), the Union government will ensure a minimum pension of Rs 5,000 per month. The number of working days under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act will be increased from 100 to 150 days. "A wage of Rs 400 will be provided across states/ union territories nationwide." Disbanding the current NITI Aayog, set up by the BJP regime and establishing again the Planning Commission to draft plans based on the requests of state governments is another assurance the DMK has made. "Measures will be taken to reclaim Kachchatheevu to ensure India's security and to protect the welfare of the fishermen." A mandatory "cooling-off period" of 2 years will be introduced for retired judges and secretaries before they could join private companies or political parties, the manifesto said. Waiving loans and interests for farmers in nationalised and scheduled banks, waiver of educational loans for students, monthly entitlement of Rs 1,000 for all women in every state and formation of <keyword id="21027984" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="state-development-council" source="keywords">State Development Council</keyword> by including Chief Ministers were among the promises made by the DMK. Exemption for Tamil Nadu from the NEET exam and complete removal of toll booths on national highways, forms part of poll promises of the Dravidian party. Further, the DMK said amendments will be made to relevant laws to ensure that state governments, elected by the people, appoint Vice-Chancellors to state-run universities, rather than Governors. Stopping government's divestment from public sector enterprises, implementing the Sethusamudram project, law to ban online gambling, setting up a <keyword id="19895345" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="supreme-court" source="keywords">Supreme Court</keyword> branch in Chennai, providing statehood for <keyword id="19901639" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="puducherry" source="keywords">Puducherry</keyword>, equal funding for all state languages including Tamil, were among the host of other promises made by the DMK. Establishment of Tamil departments in varsities and stopping construction of <keyword id="19950851" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="mekedatu" source="keywords">Mekedatu</keyword> dam were also promised by the DMK. "The <keyword id="19996334" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="vishwakarma-scheme" source="keywords">Vishwakarma Scheme</keyword>, introduced by the BJP government to encourage caste-based occupations, will be restructured on the basis of social justice."

DMK vows to repeal CAA if INDIA bloc is voted to power

<ul class="summary-list"><li>There's a persistent myth that electric vehicles are somehow worse for the planet than regular cars. </li><li>Studies show that EVs produce significantly fewer emissions over their lifetimes than combustion engines. </li></ul><a href="https://nypost.com/2022/11/08/face-it-electric-cars-dont-do-much-of-anything-for-the-environment/?sp_amp_linker=1*5mlft0*amp_id*YW1Qc08zYkZpamFWXzJTaUJqeXRWcVdvVWdxTzl1cHVBanp6VVFOejlSSlVZZDhZeFdpR1pQMVJyRmw5Y201VQ..">Conservative pundits</a> and other skeptics love to claim that electric cars are just as bad for the planet as regular old combustion engines, if not worse. After all, Teslas fill up on electricity generated by dirty power plants, and mining the materials for their batteries takes a huge toll on the environment, so the argument goes. But the science tells a different story. Studies comparing lifetime emissions of electric and gas-powered cars — from manufacturing through disposal — show that, by and large, driving a battery-powered vehicle is a massive win for the environment. That conclusion holds even when you consider that most electricity in the US currently comes from carbon-producing coal and natural gas and that making an EV isn't exactly a clean process. <h2>Building an EV isn't great for the planet</h2>Lithium-ion batteries are central to EVs themselves and to the auto industry's broader electric reinvention. But mining the necessary cobalt, refining the lithium, and packaging it all into little cells that fit neatly in a larger pack creates significant greenhouse gas emissions.That means, perhaps counterintuitively, that "green" cars begin life with a heftier carbon footprint than their "dirty" counterparts. A medium-sized electric car leaves the factory responsible for 33%-57% greater emissions than a comparable internal combustion engine (ICE) one, the <a href="https://www.iea.org/data-and-statistics/charts/comparative-life-cycle-greenhouse-gas-emissions-of-a-mid-size-bev-and-ice-vehicle">International Energy Agency says</a>. But since EVs are <a href="https://afdc.energy.gov/vehicles/electric_emissions.html">significantly cleaner to operate</a>, their environmental debt goes away relatively quickly once they hit the road.(Battery manufacturing, particularly mining, can have other <a href="https://www.wired.co.uk/article/lithium-batteries-environment-impact">damaging environmental impacts</a>, but we're sticking to greenhouse gases here. Transportation <a href="https://www.epa.gov/greenvehicles/fast-facts-transportation-greenhouse-gas-emissions">creates 27% of the country's climate-changing emissions</a>, and cars and trucks account for most of that.)<h2>EVs are still cleaner overall</h2>The Union of Concerned Scientists (UCS) <a href="https://www.ucsusa.org/sites/default/files/2022-09/driving-cleaner-report.pdf">analyzed</a> how much pollution an electric car with average efficiency and a 300-mile range would generate over its lifetime if it charged using the 2020 US electrical grid, which was far from 100% renewable. It found that trading in a conventional, 32-mpg sedan for an electric one would slash greenhouse-gas emissions by 52%. "While there are emissions from making and using electric vehicles, when you take into account all the factors they are much, much cleaner than a gasoline vehicle," David Reichmuth, a senior engineer at the UCS, told Insider. "They're not perfect. They're just much, much better."The International Council on Clean Transportation (ICCT) estimates that a medium-sized EV registered in the US in 2021 will <a href="https://theicct.org/sites/default/files/publications/Global-LCA-passenger-cars-jul2021_0.pdf">pollute 60-68% less over its life</a> than a comparable model burning fossil fuels. Its analysis assumed that EVs will use increasingly clean electricity over time. The wide gap in emissions is in part a matter of efficiency. While a combustion engine loses 70% of the energy you feed it to heat, leaving only 30% for forward motion, electric motors exhibit 90% energy efficiency, Georg Bieker, a researcher at the ICCT, told Insider. So how long does it take for an EV to shed the baggage of manufacturing and become cleaner than an ICE vehicle? Not all that long, actually. The UCS's analysis puts the tipping point at 21,300 miles (for the aforementioned electric car and sedan), less than two years of driving for the typical American. A recent Ford-funded <a href="https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.1088/1748-9326/ac7cfc/pdf">University of Michigan study</a> drew a similar conclusion: 1.4–1.5 years for sedans, 1.6 years for pickup trucks, and 1.6–1.9 years for SUVs. <h2>Where your energy comes from matters</h2>Although non-renewable energy sources (excluding nuclear) <a href="https://www.epa.gov/egrid/power-profiler#/">account for 60.9%</a> of the US's electricity generation, most Americans are in good shape to benefit the environment by going electric. Per the UCS, more than 90% of the US population lives in an area where driving the average EV yields lower emissions than a 59-mpg ICE vehicle, the most fuel-efficient one available. Based on where electric cars have been sold historically, the average EV on US roads today is roughly as polluting as a theoretical 91-mpg gas car, the organization estimates.But zooming in on specific regions reveals how vastly EV emissions vary across the country. In upstate New York, where three-quarters of power comes from nuclear or renewable sources, the only way to match an average EV's emissions would be to buy a 247-mpg ICE vehicle. In parts of Hawaii that rely heavily on oil the magic number is 37 mpg. <h2>EVs will get a lot cleaner over time; ICE cars won't</h2>Crucially, EVs' environmental impact will shrink over time as renewables like solar and wind claim a growing share of the country's electricity use. And this trend is already well underway. Electric cars that hit American roads in 2030 could have a 76% greener lifespan than gas counterparts if the US builds an electrical grid in line with the Paris Agreement's goals, according to the ICCT. The UCS reckons that in a future America powered by 95% renewable energy sources, an EV will pollute as much as an ICE vehicle rated at an astronomical 500 mpg. That is to say, very little. "As we clean up the grid, that's going to make these vehicles have even lower emissions as they're driven over the next 10, 15, or 20 years," Reichmuth said. "I think that's the really important part."

Yes, electric vehicles are greener than gas cars — even when they use dirty power

<ul><li><keyword id="128682" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="netflix" source="Orion">Netflix</keyword> joined hands with <keyword id="36603" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="yash-raj-films" source="Orion">Yash Raj Films</keyword> for a multi-year creative partnership.</li><li>Their first project is <keyword id="12652644" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="the-railway-men" source="Orion">The Railway Men</keyword>, a series based on the Bhopal deadly gas leak.</li><li>India has 1.4 billion stories to tell the world, says Yash Raj Films. </li></ul>Foreign OTT (over the top) players in India are looking at ways and means to increase their viewership, which currently is in the region of 50 million. After <keyword id="2189512" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="prime-video" source="Orion">Prime Video</keyword> deepened its partnership with <keyword id="62161" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="dharma-productions" source="Orion">Dharma Productions</keyword>, Netflix has decided to join hands with Yash Raj Films (YRF) for a new multi-year creative partnership. The two iconic entertainers will collaborate to create films and series to bring defining stories to audiences in India and across the world. The first project to come out of this partnership is the character-driven thriller, The Railway Men, a four-part series starring R Madhavan, Kay Kay Menon, Divyendu Sharma and Babil Khan, which is directed by debutant director Shiv Rawail. The second project is titled Maharaj, which is a film marking the debut of actor Junaid Khan and also stars Jaideep Ahlawat, Sharvari and Shalini Pandey. The film has been directed by Siddharth P Malhotra, whose last film Hichki was a global hit. Monika Shergill, VP, Content, Netflix India, said, “We are passionate about serving our broad audiences with series and films that they connect with and love, and we want to do more of this. Yash Raj Films have defined the essence of Indian film-making. They are one of the most respected storytellers in the industry. From Kabhi Kabhie to Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge, War to Pathaan, their signature stories have been part of our lives and continue to fuel the zeitgeist. Together, we are confident that we can entertain the world with quality films and series like never before.” Inspired by true stories, The Railway Men is a show based on the deadly gas leak in the central Indian city of Bhopal. A cloud of toxic gas escaped from a pesticide plant, on the night of December 2, 1984, in the city of Bhopal that injured and claimed thousands of lives. This is the untold story of the unsung heroes, who rose to the occasion that night to save the city and its people. This is the story of their courage, their sense of duty and their humanity. Also inspired by true events, Maharaj, is an incredible David vs Goliath story set in the 1800s, about how a regular man, journalist by profession, takes on a powerful role-model of society, hailed by many as a messiah for the masses. The fearless reporter uncovers a series of incidents that shake the very foundation of society. Akshaye Widhani, CEO, Yash Raj Films said, “YRF’s mission is to create entertaining, inspiring and extraordinary stories from India for the world. Netflix is the biggest streamer in the world and offers us an opportunity to tell our stories in over 190 countries. Their belief in the ‘content-first’ approach, is noteworthy and synergistic with our ethos. This partnership will certainly push YRF as a storyteller to new audiences and allow them to consume Indian stories in their own languages too. India is a young and aspirational country. We have 1.4 billion stories to tell the world. We want to showcase our content, as well as provide a platform for our brilliant homegrown talent to a global audience.” In December 2022, Prime announced that Prime Video today announced that it would co-produce a new movie for theatrical release with Dharma Productions and Leo Media Collective. The firm would be available for streaming across more than 240 countries and territories, after its theatrical release. Other than films, Dharmatic Productions is also working on web series that will be streamed on Prime.

Watch out for YRF’s The Railway Men on Netflix

<ul class="summary-list"><li>Trying to defeat this tribal movement could be a nightmare for the US, as Egypt learned.</li><li>70,000 Egyptian soldiers and relentless bombing failed to suppress the Houthis in the 1960s.</li></ul>As the Houthis in Yemen continue to attack international shipping, and the US and its allies respond with airstrikes, there are calls in the West for more forceful military action.But while the US enjoys overwhelming military superiority over the Houthis, defeating this tribal movement would be a nightmare. Case in point: Egypt tried to suppress the Houthis in the 1960s. Yet despite sending 70,000 soldiers to Yemen and even using poison gas, the Egyptians under President Gamal Abdel Nasser withdrew in humiliation after losing 10,000 men."Some people refer to it as Nasser's Vietnam," Jesse Ferris, author of <a target="_blank" href="https://affiliate.insider.com?h=dca69eacc6a9cee6898379c710562f55ae8eac5311fc17a320dfa16d68e6d1a5&amp;postID=65c3f644bf98cb3c6dcecba1&amp;postSlug=the-us-risks-joining-powers-that-failed-to-stop-houthis-2024-2&amp;site=bi&amp;u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.amazon.com%2FNassers-Gamble-Intervention-Six-Day-Egyptian%2Fdp%2F069116343X">"Nasser's Gamble: How Intervention in Yemen Caused the Six-Day War and the Decline of Egyptian Power,"</a> told Business Insider.Like a Broadway theater company, the actors in the Yemen drama remain the same, but their roles change. Even choosing where to begin the story is difficult. Since Biblical times, <a target="_blank" href="https://www.yca-sandwell.org.uk/history-of-yemen/">Yemen has been contested</a> by Romans, Arabs, Turks, British and anyone else with an interest in a poor, mountainous nation that happens to be a nexus for sea and land trade routes. The common denominator is any outsider who fought in Yemen came to regret it."I sent a company to Yemen and had to reinforce it with 70,000 soldiers," Nasser, the late Egyptian leader, complained in 1967.Nasser's lament is the prologue to today's crisis. The Egyptian quagmire began in 1962, when Yemen's monarchy – based on the Zaidi branch of Shia Islam – <a target="_blank" href="https://www.globalsecurity.org/military/world/war/yemen.htm">was overthrown</a> by army officers infatuated with Nasser's vision of a unified Arab world under secular leadership. The so-called Royalists responded by launching a civil war to topple the new Yemen republic."Some of the same tribes that are behind the Houthi movement — and that are now in power in Yemen — were the same tribes that Nasser was fighting," said Ferris, who is vice president of strategy at the Israel Democracy Institute.A few perceptive Egyptian officers warned against Egyptian military intelligence's plan that sending "a limited number of commando teams and paratroopers" armed with "megaphones, smoke-generators and firecrackers" would be sufficient to intimidate the tribes, Ferris wrote in his book.Instead, from 1962 to 1967, Yemen became an ulcer for Egypt. Egypt entered the war to assist Yemen's military rulers with crushing the Royalist uprising. But even with firepower from tanks, Soviet-made Tu-16 bombers and <a target="_blank" href="https://wcfia.harvard.edu/publications/forgotten-gas-attacks-yemen-haunt-syria-crisis">poison gas</a> – Egypt still couldn't suppress the rebellion. The insurgents lacked arms, but had no shortage of desolate mountains as sanctuaries. Airpower became Egypt's favored weapon, but as Russia and America discovered in Afghanistan, aerial bombardment could not compel tough tribesmen to lay down their arms."These are very warlike, independent tribes that are very resistant to foreign intervention and to centralized rule," said Ferris.<div type="image" title="Thousands of Houthi supporters demonstrate to show solidarity for Palestine against the ongoing Israeli attacks on Gaza and in protest against the US and UK airstrikes on Yemen on February 7." height="1366" width="2000" msid="107506877" hostid="261" sizebytes="132362"></div>The political alignments between 1963 and 2023 are like a world turned upside down. To derail Nasser's secular Pan-Arabism, Saudi Arabia's fundamentalist monarchy supported the Houthi-dominated Royalists, as did <a target="_blank" href="https://www.declassifieduk.org/britains-covert-war-in-yemen/">Britain</a>, who feared for its waning empire. Fast forward to 2015 and after, and it is the Houthis who are rebelling against the Yemeni government, while being bombed by <a target="_blank" href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/mar/26/saudi-arabia-begins-airstrikes-against-houthi-in-yemen">Saudi</a> and British aircraft.The biggest irony of all? Today's Houthis are attacking ships in the Red Sea – and hurling <a target="_blank" href="https://www.timesofisrael.com/israels-arrow-knocks-down-apparent-houthi-ballistic-missile-headed-for-eilat/">ballistic missiles at Israel</a> – ostensibly in response to Israel's military operations in Gaza. Yet Israel supported the Houthi-dominated rebels in the 1960s."One of the incredible things I discovered is that at one point, the Israelis were parachuting supplies to the Royalists in Yemen," said Ferris. "The idea was, pin down Nasser's forces in Yemen." Indeed the rebellion eased Israel's lightning victory in the 1967 Six-Day War, a fact that the Houthis have chosen not to publicize.Yemen's history is a kaleidoscope, but it still provides clues to solving today's crisis. In the 19th Century, the Turks were frustrated that committing several divisions couldn't pacify the tribes. So they switched to a more fruitful strategy of buying off tribal leaders with money and government jobs. Later, in the 20th Century, desperate Egyptian officers even turned to "reading about Lawrence of Arabia's techniques [from the First World War] for pacifying and mobilizing the tribes," Ferris said.For now, Western bombardment won't coerce the Houthis, while Western boots on the ground would mean an endless and fruitless war in the mountains. Nor does the fact that much of the Yemeni population is starving and dependent on international food aid seem likely to sway the Houthi leadership and their Iranian sponsors. Yet even Iran doesn't have total control over its stubborn ally.Ultimately, the West's best strategy may be to deal with Yemeni tribal leaders, Ferris said. And, to let nature take its course in a naturally fractious nation where even the Zaydi community is split over supporting the current Houthi leadership, with its <a target="_blank" href="https://www.wilsoncenter.org/article/who-are-yemens-houthis">incoherent ideology</a> and chants of "Death to America! Death to Israel!" The Houthis will likely discover that it's easier to fight against a government than become one."Sooner or later, the Houthis will probably face their own internal rebellion," Ferris said.Michael Peck is a defense writer whose work has appeared in Forbes, Defense News, Foreign Policy magazine, and other publications. He holds a master's in political science. Follow him on <a target="_blank" href="https://www.twitter.com/@mipeck1">Twitter</a> and <a target="_blank" href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/mipeck/">LinkedIn</a>.

The US risks joining a long list of powers that tried and failed to stop the Houthis 

<ul class="summary-list"><li>The US and China are in a race to develop the most advanced submarines. </li><li>Chinese researchers say they have made a breakthrough in laser propulsion technology that could one day be used on submarines and missiles.</li></ul>Submarines have long been known as the silent hunters of the deep, lurking undetected under the surface.But as sonar systems have improved, minimizing sound on all on board components has become crucial to avoiding detection — not least the mechanical noises of propellers, generators, and nuclear reactor coolant systems that help propel submarines forward.A team of engineers at China's Harbin University claim to have taken a step forward in developing technology that could make submarines almost silent and ultrafast, the <a target="_blank" href="https://www.scmp.com/news/china/science/article/3259875/chinese-scientists-close-laser-propulsion-superfast-silent-submarines">South China Morning Post</a> reported.Rather than relying on nuclear or battery power, the scientists say they have found a way to use lasers to propel submarines — known as underwater laser propulsion.Theoretically, submarines could be coated in a web of minuscule optical fibers that emit laser pulses, the scientists wrote in the journal <a target="_blank" href=" https://m.researching.cn/articles/OJe5f22f467839a111">Acta Optica Sinica</a>.The small laser pulses emitted by the fibers would vaporize seawater and generate <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/image-first-supermassive-black-hole-spews-jets-of-plasma-2023-4">plasma</a>, the substance created when gas is heated.In turn, the plasma would expand, creating a detonation wave that would act as an opposite force to the submarine, propelling it forward.<div type="image" title="Lasers submarines propulsion" height="373" width="1049" msid="109665819" hostid="261" sizebytes="15166"></div>A large number of high-powered laser beams positioned around the submarine at various angles could produce nearly 70,000 newtons of thrust and would drive it forward at speeds almost as fast as a commercial jet, according to SCMP.Ge Yang, the leading researcher on the project, said the technology could also be used on underwater missiles or torpedoes, "significantly increasing the underwater range," the outlet reported.<h2>Stealth and speed</h2>The team of scientists say this process would deliver not just speed but enhanced stealth as well.Using lasers may also induce a process known as "supercavitation" — a coating of bubbles forms around an object in water, reducing drag resistance and making it travel faster.This technology has already been used in Russian Shkval torpedoes since the 1970s, using rocket exhaust rather than laser power.<div type="image" title="Submarine shooting missile" height="3001" width="4000" msid="109665821" hostid="261" sizebytes="57048"></div>But Professor Andrew Higgins, who leads a team at McGill University developing laser propulsion technology for space travel, doesn't believe that lasers could be powerful enough to induce this "bubble" effect around torpedos, let alone submarines."Cavitation can be induced on the front of the torpedo by a spike or forward-facing rocket exhaust. I am doubtful a torpedo can carry enough of a power supply to power a laser that would continuously perform this operation," he told Business Insider.And for a laser to produce enough thrust to propel an entire submarine?"I am even more skeptical," Higgins said. "The average overall thrust is low and the jet power cannot exceed the power supply of the laser.""Even with the high efficiencies of today's lasers, this approach would never be as efficient as a propeller, so there is no net propulsive gain."As the SCMP notes, Japanese researchers first proposed this sort of laser propulsion methodology 20 years ago, but for decades the technology has only been able to produce thrust powers of one-millionth of a newton thrust.Controlling the direction of the plasma detonation wave to steer the submarine is another issue.The Chinese researchers say the unique design of the microcavities in the optical fibers has increased the efficiency of thrust and channels the direction of force, according to SCMP.<div type="image" title="Advanced space transportation concepts, such as antimatter, laser propulsion, solar sails and fusion-driven vehicles as shown in this artist's concept could lead to human exploration of the Solar System and beyond." height="1680" width="2100" msid="109665823" hostid="261" sizebytes="65900"></div>However, they admit there are many challenges to overcome before the technology can be applied to submarines.Higgins says they also avoid a key issue in their claim that the technology would reduce noise — cavitation is an "acoustic dead giveaway.""It would not be feasible or desirable to propel a nuclear submarine in this way.""For nuclear submarines, acoustic stealth is the entire purpose, and great effort is expended in avoiding cavitation."<h2>Race to advance military capabilities</h2>While laser propulsion technologies for submarines remain in the theoretical stage for now, the US is locked in a race with China to develop advanced military capabilities.Harbin University, where the researchers are based, is a hub of Chinese military development and is listed as "very high risk/top secret" in Australia's <a target="_blank" href="https://www.aspi.org.au/report/china-defence-universities-tracker">China Defense Universities Tracker</a>.According to the tracker, 52% of the university's total research budget was spent on defense research in 2018.China currently operates 60 submarines, compared to the 67 operated by the US. But while US numbers are stagnating, China's submarine count is expected to rise to 80 by 2035.China's navy is numerically the largest in the world, but analysts say it is <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/us-navy-shrinking-china-biggest-fleet-shipbuilding-taiwan-2024-4">not as technologically advanced</a> and lacks experience compared to the US.

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