Texas Is Bracing for the First Named Storm of Hurricane Season

Current conditions: Heat records are falling across the Midwest and Northeast while parts of the Pacific Northwest are seeing late-season snow • Wildfires in New Mexico have burned more than 20,000 acres • Nighttime temperatures remained near 100 degrees Fahrenheit in northern India.

THE TOP FIVE

1. Tropical storm takes aim at Texas

A weather system churning in the Gulf of Mexico could become the first named storm in what is expected to be a very busy hurricane season. Tropical Storm One , as it’s currently known, is “ large but disorganized ,” but is forecast to coalesce into Tropical Storm Alberto sometime today as it moves toward the coasts of Mexico and Texas and makes landfall tonight or tomorrow morning. A tropical storm warning was already issued for the Texas coast, indicating that high winds are on the way. Flash flooding is also very likely, especially across South Texas, where six to 10 inches of rain could fall.

NOAA

2. Senate passes bill that boosts development of advanced nuclear reactors

The ADVANCE Act , which would reform the nuclear regulatory policy to encourage the development of advanced nuclear reactors, passed the Senate yesterday by a vote of 88-2, preparing it for an almost certain presidential signature. The bill is just one of a flurry of legislative and executive actions to support the nuclear energy industry. It is designed to align the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) around so-called “advanced” nuclear reactors, a catch-all term that covers a number of designs and concepts that are typically smaller than the existing light water reactor fleet and would, ideally, be largely factory-built to reduce costs. The ADVANCE Act would eliminate some fees for applicants going through the NRC approval process; instruct the NRC to develop specific rules for “microreactors,” which might only have 20 or so megawatts of capacity and could be used for single sites or rural areas; establish prizes for advanced reactors; and “streamline” the NRC process for advanced nuclear reactors.

3. Hajj death toll climbs as Mecca hits 125 degrees

Reports suggest that more than 550 people have died from extreme heat exposure during this year’s Hajj, the pilgrimage to Mecca in Saudi Arabia. Updated death tolls are trickling in from various national news outlets , and haven’t been independently verified, but temperatures on Monday hit 125.2 degrees Fahrenheit in the shade at the Grand Mosque in Mecca and Saudi authorities said they had treated more than 2,000 people for heat stress. Nearly 2 million pilgrims were expected to take part in the Hajj this year. The event, which began last Friday, comes to a close today.

4. Fisker files for bankruptcy

Struggling electric vehicle startup Fisker declared bankruptcy yesterday. The announcement wasn’t hugely surprising given the company’s financial troubles and layoffs in recent months, but it serves as a cautionary tale to other EV startups about how a “lack of preparedness” for what happens after a company gets a new car out on the road can cause major problems, as Sean O’Kane at TechCrunch put it . Fisker’s electric Ocean SUV was plagued with a laundry list of problems – electrical failures, braking issues, software glitches – and staff couldn’t keep up while also trying to sell more vehicles, O’Kane wrote, adding: “Fisker wasn’t ready to grapple with bringing a flawed car to market.”

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5. GE Aerospace, NASA developing hybrid electric jet engines

NASA is working with GE Aerospace to develop hybrid electric engines for jets, “like a Toyota Prius of the skies,” Reuters reported . The engines are still in the early stages of development, but the goal is to eventually use them to power single-aisle jets, which are responsible for half of the aviation industry’s carbon emissions. “Our collaborations with industry partners like GE Aerospace are paving the way for U.S. leadership in hybrid electric commercial transport aircraft,” said Anthony Nerone , a project manager with NASA’s Glenn research center.

THE KICKER

The Biden administration started swearing in the first cohort of the American Climate Corps this week, and expects to enroll 9,000 young people in the program by the end of the month.

Read more: This Is How You Die of Extreme Heat