2025-12-12 20:21

Rain-swollen Skagit River crests at all-time high Entire town of Burlington under evacuation order 100,000 people statewide urged to seek higher ground National Guard assists in evacuations, food deliveries BURLINGTON, Washington, Dec 12 (Reuters) - Residents and emergency crews in towns along the rain-engorged Skagit River in western Washington state braced on Friday for potential levee failures while National Guard troops assisted in evacuations after days of severe flooding in the Pacific Northwest. The entire town of Burlington, a community of about 9,200 people near Puget Sound, was ordered evacuated early on Friday as the river crested to an all-time high of nearly 38 feet (11.6 meters), well above major flood stage, in the city of Mount Vernon just downstream. Sign up here. "We haven't seen flooding like this ever," said Karina Shagren, a spokesperson for the state's emergency management division. So far there were no reports of casualties or missing people, she said. The Burlington-Mount Vernon area in Skagit County, north of Seattle, remained an epicenter of widespread flooding caused by days of torrential downpours extending from northern Oregon north through western Washington state and into British Columbia. The rains were spawned by a string of atmospheric river storms, vast airborne currents of dense moisture siphoned from the ocean, that swept inland over the Pacific Northwest, including parts of northern Idaho and western Montana. MONTH'S WORTH OF RAINFALL Rainfall totals varied widely, but much of the region received 6 to 20 inches of rain over the past seven days, according to the U.S. Weather Prediction Center in Maryland. "That's easily a month's worth of rain that's fallen in just a week," said Rich Otto, a meteorologist at the center. Even before Burlington residents were forced to flee, the Skagit River flood plain as a whole, home to about 78,000 people, was already under a Level 3 evacuation notice urging residents to immediately seek higher ground. Evacuation notices covered an estimated 100,000 people statewide. National Guard troops and sheriff's deputies went door to door to facilitate the evacuation, and some were seen paddling stranded Burlington residents to safety in inflatable river rafts through muddy floodwaters. Flood control levees appeared to be holding firm immediately following the river's historic crest, testing their strength for the first time since repairs to the earthen embankments were made following the last major flood in that area in 2021, state officials said. 'NOT OVER YET' Rains abated Friday. But the National Weather Service posted a flash-flood watch for the river basin downstream to the mouth of the Skagit, where it drains into Puget Sound, citing the potential for levee failures under heavy pressure from the high water. "It's not over yet," U.S. Senator Maria Cantwell said at a news briefing with Governor Bob Ferguson and others announcing that President Donald Trump, acting at their request, had signed an expedited federal emergency declaration for the flood zone. Cantwell said the declaration would hasten federal support in clearing roads, removing debris, assisting in evacuations and providing emergency shelters for evacuees. Forecasts called for a lull in precipitation going into the weekend, with another atmospheric river expected to produce another wave of showers Sunday night into Monday, Otto said, renewing flood hazards. A levee failure would greatly magnify widespread flooding already occurring across much of western Washington state. Aerial footage broadcast by CNN showed communities inundated in deep, brown water with many homes submerged almost to their rooftops. South of Skagit County, National Guard troops also were dispatched to deliver food and check on stranded residents in a number of communities isolated by flooding in adjacent Snohomish County, Shagren said. Two towns were likewise transformed into islands in neighboring King County, where dozens of flood victims were rescued over the past two days, some from the tops of cars, or from trees or from homes, officials said. King County Executive Girmay Zahilay told reporters an overnight flood patrol team discovered a sinkhole at the edge of one levee, and "got it immediately filled," averting a potential collapse. The flooding washed out or forced the closure of dozens of roads throughout the region, including most of the Canadian highways leading to the British Columbia port city of Vancouver. Several lengthy stretches of the BNSF Railway, a major freight line serving the Pacific Northwest, were also shut down on Thursday. (This story has been corrected to fix range of rainfall totals to 6 to 20 inches, not 6 to 60 inches, in paragraph 6) https://www.reuters.com/sustainability/climate-energy/flood-stricken-towns-washington-state-brace-potential-levee-failures-2025-12-12/

2025-12-12 19:56

Dec 12 (Reuters) - Harbour Energy (HBR.L) , opens new tab said on Friday it had agreed to acquire all the subsidiaries of Waldorf Energy Partners and Waldorf Production in the UK North Sea fields, currently in administration, for $170 million, sending its shares up nearly 6%. The deal will increase Harbour's interest in its operated Catcher field to 90% and add a 29.5% non-operated interest in the Kraken oil field, with the acquisition expected to be completed in the second quarter of 2026. Sign up here. British oil and gas producer Capricorn Energy (CNE.L) , opens new tab separately said it signed a lock-up agreement backing the deal and that it will settle its unsecured claims against Waldorf for about $4 million to $5 million. Shares of Harbour climbed 5.8% and Capricorn rose 1.6% in the morning trade. Capricorn has been pursuing unpaid consideration from Waldorf after a 2023 settlement of contingent payments tied to the sale of its UK North Sea assets. Waldorf fell into financial difficulty in 2024, leaving the London-listed firm as an unsecured creditor with a total claim of $29.5 million. Capricorn will keep the right to share in any additional recoveries if further claims arise, it said on Friday. https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/harbour-energy-acquire-north-sea-assets-170-million-shares-rise-6-2025-12-12/

2025-12-12 19:40

EPA still reviewing comments; no end-of-year decision expected Delay folds quotas into broader oil-agriculture policy talks Uncertainty complicates contracts, hedging, and investment decisions Dec 12 (Reuters) - The Trump administration is not expected to finalize 2026 biofuel-blending quotas before the end of this year, according to three sources familiar with the situation, extending uncertainty over a policy closely watched by the rival oil and agricultural sectors. The slowdown would throw one of the administration's most consequential energy policy choices into next year and folds the highly anticipated quotas into a growing cluster of interlocking decisions the White House is weighing on biofuels policy. Sign up here. Together, the moves have raised expectations the administration may look to strike a broader - albeit elusive - agreement between rival oil and agricultural interests. The Environmental Protection Agency, which administers biofuels policy, has scheduled meetings with stakeholders on the quota rule early next, two sources told Reuters, a sign that the issue will be pushed into next year. A third source also said the EPA's decision was unlikely by the end of this year. The sources spoke about the matter on condition of anonymity. The EPA told Reuters it was still reviewing public comments on the volume requirements and declined to offer any guidance on timing. The volume mandates are administered under the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS), the federal program that mandates the blending of biofuels such as ethanol and biodiesel into the U.S. fuel supply. A delay in finalizing the mandates is important because fuel makers, farmers and commodity traders use them to lock in supply contracts, hedge volatile crop and energy markets, and justify investments in new production capacity. Without clarity on next year's quotas, companies say they are forced to hold back on deals and delay spending decisions that shape biofuel output and margins. WHITE HOUSE LOOKS FOR COMMON GROUND Earlier this year, the EPA proposed raising total renewable fuel requirements for 2026 and 2027, significantly increasing targets for advanced biofuels and biomass-based diesel targets while tightening rules on the use of imported biofuels. The EPA had initially been expected to finalize the proposal by the end of October. The quotas have increasingly been swept into a broader set of critical energy and agricultural policy decisions the administration is weighing in the coming weeks - issues that appear separate on their own but could be linked as part of a wider bargain between rival oil and agricultural interests, the sources said. Those issues include legislative efforts to allow year-round sales of gasoline containing higher blends of ethanol, a proposal to penalize imported biofuels and feedstocks, and unresolved questions over whether and how larger refiners could be required to make up for gallons exempted from the RFS. The White House has held several meetings in recent weeks with oil and agricultural groups in hopes of finding common ground. Asked whether these issues are becoming increasingly connected, the EPA said it is "committed to strengthening American energy security and supporting American farmers." https://www.reuters.com/sustainability/climate-energy/trump-administration-unlikely-finalize-2026-biofuel-quotas-this-year-sources-say-2025-12-12/

2025-12-12 18:33

Dec 12 (Reuters) - Crypto giants including Ripple and Circle on Friday received preliminary approval from a top U.S. banking regulator to establish national trust banks, in a major move that could further integrate digital assets into the banking system. The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency conditionally approved two new national trust bank charters from Circle and Ripple, and conditionally approved applications from BitGo, Paxos and Fidelity Digital Assets to convert state trust bank charters to national charters, allowing them to operate across the country. Sign up here. The regulator still has to sign off with a final stamp of approval before each of the trust banks can begin to operate. If finalized, the national trust bank charters would allow the companies to manage and hold assets on behalf of customers and settle payments faster. The license does not, however, allow the companies to take cash deposits or make loans. Crypto platform Anchorage Digital is currently the only digital asset company with a national trust bank charter. The OCC supervises a total of 60 national trust banks. “New entrants into the federal banking sector are good for consumers, the banking industry and the economy,” said Comptroller of the Currency Jonathan Gould. The banking industry had urged the OCC to reject several of the applications, arguing the charters would allow crypto companies to opt for a lighter regulatory touch and heighten systemic risk. In a statement, the Bank Policy Institute said the decision to grant conditional approvals "leaves substantial unanswered questions", including whether requirements for the companies will be tailored to their risks. U.S. President Donald Trump has sought to broadly overhaul U.S. cryptocurrency policies after courting cash from the industry on the campaign trail. https://www.reuters.com/sustainability/boards-policy-regulation/us-regulator-grants-crypto-firms-initial-approval-launch-trust-banks-2025-12-12/

2025-12-12 12:52

HEIDELBERG, Germany, Dec 12 (Reuters) - The European Commission on Tuesday will propose rule changes that reverse previous plans for an effective ban on selling new cars with combustion engines in the 27-nation bloc from 2035, a senior EU lawmaker said on Friday. The comments, which still need to be confirmed by Brussels in an announcement slated for December 16, mark a key victory for Germany, the bloc's top economy, in its efforts to protect its most important industry, which has come under intense pressure due to growing competition and trade barriers. Sign up here. "Next Tuesday, the European Commission will be putting forward a clear proposal to abolish the ban on combustion engines," Manfred Weber, president of the largest party in the European Parliament, EPP, said at a press conference in Heidelberg, Germany. He added it should be left to markets and consumers how climate targets are achieved. German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, who also attended the press conference, said that electric mobility remained the main path but that there would be other technologies, such as synthetic fuels, towards carbon neutrality. "And that is precisely what we mean by technological openness. This now gives the industry real planning security," Merz said. https://www.reuters.com/sustainability/climate-energy/eu-commission-reverse-effective-2035-combustion-engine-ban-epps-weber-says-2025-12-12/

2025-12-12 12:50

Opposition leader defied travel ban to go to Oslo Machado won Nobel Peace Prize in October Trump has campaigned for Maduro's ouster Large-scale US military build-up in Southern Caribbean OSLO, Dec 12 (Reuters) - Nobel Peace Prize winner Maria Corina Machado said on Friday that Venezuela's President Nicolas Maduro would leave power, whether there was a negotiated changeover or not, adding that she was focused on achieving a peaceful transition. The Venezuelan opposition leader arrived in Oslo early on Thursday, defying a decade-long travel ban imposed by authorities in her home country, after spending more than a year in hiding. Sign up here. "Maduro will leave power, whether it is negotiated or not negotiated," Machado, speaking in Spanish, told a press conference in the Norwegian capital. "I am focused on an orderly and peaceful transition." Venezuela's Ministry of Information did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Machado's remarks. U.S. MILITARY BUILD-UP Her appearance in Norway comes as the U.S. executes a large-scale military build-up in the southern Caribbean and as U.S. President Donald Trump campaigns for Maduro's ouster. On Wednesday, Trump said the U.S. had seized a sanctioned oil tanker off the coast of Venezuela. Machado was barred from running in the presidential election last year, despite having won the opposition's primary by a landslide. She went into hiding that year after authorities expanded arrests of opposition figures following the disputed vote. The electoral authority and top court declared President Nicolas Maduro the winner, but international observers and the opposition say its candidate handily won and the opposition has published ballot box-level tallies as evidence of its victory. "I have confidence that the immense majority of the Venezuelan armed forces and the police are going, in the instant that the transition begins, to obey orders, guidelines, instructions from the superiors who will be designated by the civil authority duly elected by Venezuelans," she said. ALIGNED WITH TRUMP When Machado won the Nobel Peace Prize in October, she dedicated it in part to Trump, who has said he himself deserved the honour. She has aligned herself with hawks close to Trump who argue that Maduro has links to criminal gangs that pose a direct threat to U.S. national security, despite doubts raised by the U.S. intelligence community. Trump has repeatedly raised the possibility of military intervention in Venezuela, accusing it of sending narcotics to the United States. The U.S. has already carried out more than 20 strikes against suspected drug vessels, which have raised concerns among lawmakers and legal experts. "I believe that it has become very clear that... the Venezuelan conflict is absolutely a priority in matters of national security of the United States and in matters of hemispheric security," Machado said on Friday. Maduro and his government have always denied any involvement in crime and have accused the U.S. of seeking regime change out of a desire to control Venezuela's natural resources, especially its vast oil reserves. https://www.reuters.com/world/americas/venezuelas-machado-aims-peaceful-transition-after-maduro-2025-12-12/