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Climate

How Hurricane Idalia Swamped Florida, in 9 Striking Photos

The region faces a long road to recovery.

While it appears that Hurricane Idalia may not have been as destructive as initally feared, the storm still incurred plenty of damage, with heavy rains and flash flooding stretching from Florida’s Gulf Coast to eastern North Carolina. Nearly 300,000 customers have been left without power, scores of homes were lost, and as these photos show, the region will face a long road to recovery.

Flooded Tarpon Springs.A fire burns as flood waters inundate downtown Tarpon Springs, Florida, after Hurricane Idalia. Joe Raedle/Getty Images

A woman and her dog walking through floodwaters.A woman and her dog walk through floodwaters in Tarpon Springs.Joe Raedle/Getty Images

A man walking his bike through floodwaters.A man walks his bike past his flooded apartment in Crystal River, Florida.Joe Raedle/Getty Images

People kayaking through flooded streets.People kayak through flooded streets in Crystal River.Joe Raedle/Getty Images

A submerged car.A car that crashed after hitting a fallen tree sits in a gully in Perry, Florida.Sean Rayford/Getty Images

A storm-damaged gas station.A storm-damaged gas station in Perry.Sean Rayford/Getty Images

A storm-damaged Dollar Tree.A storm-damaged Dollar Tree store in Perry.Sean Rayford/Getty Images

A storm-damaged McDonald's sign.A storm-damaged McDonald's sign in Perry.Sean Rayford/Getty Images

People working to clear Interstate 10 of fallen trees.People work to clear Interstate 10 of fallen trees near Madison, Florida.Sean Rayford/Getty Images

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Energy

The Pentagon’s Rare Earths Deal Is Making Former Biden Officials Jealous

The multi-faceted investment is defense-oriented, but could also support domestic clean energy.

A rare earths mine.
Heatmap Illustration/MP Materials, Getty Images

MP Materials is the national champion of American rare earths, and now the federal government is taking a stake.

The complex deal, announced Thursday, involves the federal government acting as a guaranteed purchaser of MP Materials’ output, a lender, and also an investor in the company. In addition, the Department of Defense agreed to a price floor for neodymium-praseodymium products of $110 per kilogram, about $50 above its current spot price.

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Economy

AM Briefing: A Second Wind for Lava Ridge?

On a new plan for an old site, tariffs on Canada, and the Grain Belt Express

Site of Idaho’s Lava Ridge Wind Project May Be Used for SMRs
Heatmap Illustration/Getty Images

Current conditions: Phoenix will “cool” to 108 degrees Fahrenheit today after hitting 118 degrees on Thursday, its hottest day of the year so farAn extreme wildfire warning is in place through the weekend in ScotlandUniversity of Colorado forecasters decreased their outlook for the 2025 hurricane season to 16 named storms, eight hurricanes, and three major hurricanes after a quiet June and July.

THE TOP FIVE

1. Trump threatens 35% tariff on Canada

President Trump threatened a 35% tariff on Canadian imports on Thursday, giving Prime Minister Mark Carney a deadline of August 1 before the levies would go into effect. The move follows months of on-again, off-again threats against Canada, with former Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau having successfully staved off the tariffs during talks in February. Despite those earlier negotiations, Trump held firm on his 50% tariff on steel and aluminum, which will have significant implications for green manufacturing.

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Climate Tech

The Software That Could Save the Grid

Or at least the team at Emerald AI is going to try.

Technology and power.
Heatmap Illustration/Getty Images, Emerald AI

Everyone’s worried about the ravenous energy needs of AI data centers, which the International Energy Agency projects will help catalyze nearly 4% growth in global electricity demand this year and next, hitting the U.S. power sector particularly hard. On Monday, the Department of Energy released a report adding fuel to that fire, warning that blackouts in the U.S. could become 100 times more common by 2030 in large part due to data centers for AI.

The report stirred controversy among clean energy advocates, who cast doubt on that topline number and thus the paper’s justification for a significant fossil fuel buildout. But no matter how the AI revolution is powered, there’s widespread agreement that it’s going to require major infrastructure development of some form or another.

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