Trump administration fast tracks approval process for oil and gas projects
WASHINGTON (NEXSTAR) – The Trump administration is working to speed up the approval process for oil and gas projects.
Interior Secretary Doug Burgum is leading the effort. He praised the president during his cabinet meeting this week.
'Your first day in office, you wisely declared a national energy emergency,' Burgum said.
That declaration, Secretary Burgum says, has let his department fast-track oil, gas and mining projects on public lands. Reviews that could take up to two years are now expected to take a matter of weeks.
'We're treating our natural resources like the American balance sheet they are,' Burgum said.
The expedited approvals don't apply to energy sources like solar or wind projects. Burgum says the tax credits connected to them incentivize less reliable energy.
'…which have created a dangerous situation for our national power grid,' Burgum said last week at Semafor's 2025 World Economy Summit.
Congressman Jared Huffman (D-Calif.) pushed back on the plan.
'This is outrageous. I mean, my God, the climate crisis is not going away,' Huffman said. 'This is a naked giveaway to fossil fuel. And it's all done under the guise of an energy emergency, which is fake.'
Burgum says the emergency is not having enough power to compete with adversaries.
'We need more of it immediately. We need more electricity to win the AI arms race against China,' Burgum said.
Burgum says he views America's energy resources as assets that could ultimately pay down the national debt.
'That saves everybody that's listening and their children and their children's children,' Burgum said.
Huffman says future generations need a clean planet.
'These folks are playing with the livability of our planet for our kids and our grandkids,' Huffman said.
He expects the plan won't hold up in court.
'They will be sued, and they will lose,' Huffman said.
Burgum says he thinks it will hold up, 'We're very confident.'
Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
17 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Analysts unveil bold forecast for Alphabet stock despite ChatGPT threat
Analysts unveil bold forecast for Alphabet stock despite ChatGPT threat originally appeared on TheStreet. You typed in a question and clicked a few links, and Google could get paid if you landed on an ad. For years, that simple cycle helped turn Google into a trillion-dollar titan. But now, that model is under threat. 💵💰💰💵 AI-powered chatbots like OpenAI's ChatGPT are rapidly changing how people find answers. Instead of browsing through links, users are getting direct summaries on AI. These 'zero-click' searches quietly erode the economics that built the modern internet. The number of users is growing fast. OpenAI CEO Sam Altman said in April that ChatGPT already has 'something like 10% of the world" in terms of users, pegging the number closer to 800 million, Forbes reported. Even Google seems to know it. It's giving AI answers, called AI Overviews, right at the top of the page. "What's changing is not that fewer people are searching the that more and more the answers to Google are being answered right on Google's page. That AI box at the top of Google is now absorbing that content that would have gone to the original content creators," Cloudflare CEO Matthew Prince said in a CNBC interview. Alphabet () , Google's parent company, isn't showing any cracks just yet. In April, the company posted first-quarter revenue of $90.23 billion, topping Wall Street expectations. Earnings per share came in at $2.81, far above the forecasted $ the backbone of Google's business, brought in $66.89 billion, accounting for nearly three-quarters of total revenue. Its 'Search and other' segment rose almost 10% year over year, hitting $50.7 billion. Meanwhile, Google's own AI tools are starting to show traction. AI Overviews now has 1.5 billion users per month, up from 1 billion in October, the company said. So far, the numbers suggest that AI isn't cannibalizing Google's business yet. Bank of America remains bullish on Alphabet stock. The firm reiterated a buy rating and a price target of $200, which implies a potential 15% upside from current levels, according to a recent research report. The firm said in May, Google's global average daily web visits held steady at 2.7 billion, unchanged from the previous month and down 2% from a year earlier. ChatGPT, meanwhile, saw a 3% month-over-month increase to 182 million, marking a 105% jump the U.S., Google traffic slipped 2% year-over-year to 524 million daily visits, while ChatGPT surged 112% over the same period to 26 million. Although Google has highlighted the growing reach of its AI Overviews, analysts are uncertain whether it's translating into more traffic. 'So far, we are not seeing a lift in Google traffic from AI Overviews expansion, though we think the search experience is much improved,' the analysts wrote. The competition is real. Google's global search share also edged down in May, falling 8 basis points month-over-month and 123 basis points year-over-year to 89.6%, according to Statcounter. Still, Bank of America analysts remain optimistic on Alphabet stock. "While ChatGPT's traffic continues to grow rapidly, we think Google remains well-positioned given its scale, multi-product reach, data assets, and robust monetization infrastructure," the analysts said. "AI can expand overall search monetization by better understanding the intent behind complex and long-tail queries that were previously hard to monetize," they added. Morningstar's Malik Ahmed Khan echoed that sentiment, saying Alphabet's diverse revenue streams and global exposure should cushion any hits, even as regulatory and AI risks mount, according to a May research report. Alphabet stock closed at $174.92 on June 6. The stock is down 8% unveil bold forecast for Alphabet stock despite ChatGPT threat first appeared on TheStreet on Jun 6, 2025 This story was originally reported by TheStreet on Jun 6, 2025, where it first appeared. Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
Yahoo
21 minutes ago
- Yahoo
SmartRent Enhances Its Platform with AI Intelligence and Energy-Saving Features
SmartRent, Inc. (NYSE:SMRT), a top provider of smart community and operations solutions for the rental housing sector, has announced a major upgrade to its platform by adding an AI-powered intelligence layer and improved energy management tools. These enhancements are designed to help operators make better decisions that reduce utility waste, lower costs, and support environmental, social, and governance (ESG) objectives. A builder wearing a hard hat admiring a newly constructed smart home. The latest innovation, SMRT IQ, uses real-time data from connected devices to give teams comprehensive insights across their entire property portfolio, enabling quicker and smarter operational decisions. This update represents a significant shift for SmartRent, Inc. (NYSE:SMRT), moving beyond simple automation to delivering intelligent solutions that simplify data access and interpretation, allowing operators to take immediate action. Isaiah DeRose-Wilson, Chief Technology Officer at SmartRent, Inc. (NYSE:SMRT), made the following comment: "SMRT IQ marks a significant milestone in SmartRent's evolution. It delivers constant, real-time IoT-device level data and visibility into all aspects of property performance, enabling the decision-making process with insights that just weren't possible before. By combining that data with conversational AI, we're helping teams make smarter decisions faster and act with confidence at scale. It's further connecting teams to their communities, saving them time and improving business agility across the board." Unlike others that offer partial solutions, SmartRent, Inc. (NYSE:SMRT) provides a complete property operations platform tailored for rental housing. It integrates connected hardware, digital workflows, and built-in intelligence to automate tasks for owners, operators, and site teams, helping reduce operating costs while enhancing the resident experience within one unified system. While we acknowledge the potential of SMRT as an investment, our conviction lies in the belief that some AI stocks hold greater promise for delivering higher returns and have limited downside risk. If you are looking for an extremely cheap AI stock that is also a major beneficiary of Trump tariffs and onshoring, see our free report on the best short-term AI stock. READ NEXT: and Disclosure. None. Sign in to access your portfolio
The Hill
29 minutes ago
- The Hill
Can an American pope apply US-style fundraising and standards to fix troubled Vatican finances?
VATICAN CITY (AP) — As a bishop in Peru, Robert Prevost was often on the lookout for used cars that he could buy cheap and fix up himself for use in parishes around his diocese. With cars that were really broken down, he'd watch YouTube videos to learn how to fix them. That kind of make-do-with-less, fix-it-yourself mentality could serve Pope Leo XIV well as he addresses one of the greatest challenges facing him as pope: The Holy See's chronic, 50 million to 60 million euro ($57-68 million) structural deficit, 1 billion euro ($1.14 billion) pension fund shortfall and declining donations that together pose something of an existential threat to the central government of the 1.4-billion strong Catholic Church. As a Chicago-born math major, canon lawyer and two-time superior of his global Augustinian religious order, the 69-year-old pope presumably can read a balance sheet and make sense of the Vatican's complicated finances, which have long been mired in scandal. Whether he can change the financial culture of the Holy See, consolidate reforms Pope Francis started and convince donors that their money is going to good use is another matter. Leo already has one thing going for him: his American-ness. U.S. donors have long been the economic life support system of the Holy See, financing everything from papal charity projects abroad to restorations of St. Peter's Basilica at home. Leo's election as the first American pope has sent a jolt of excitement through U.S. Catholics, some of whom had soured on donating to the Vatican after years of unrelenting stories of mismanagement, corruption and scandal, according to interviews with top Catholic fundraisers, philanthropists and church management experts. 'I think the election of an American is going to give greater confidence that any money given is going to be cared for by American principles, especially of stewardship and transparency,' said the Rev. Roger Landry, director of the Vatican's main missionary fundraising operation in the U.S., the Pontifical Mission Societies. 'So there will be great hope that American generosity is first going to be appreciated and then secondly is going to be well handled,' he said. 'That hasn't always been the circumstance, especially lately.' Pope Francis was elected in 2013 on a mandate to reform the Vatican's opaque finances and made progress during his 12-year pontificate, mostly on the regulatory front. With help from the late Australian Cardinal George Pell, Francis created an economy ministry and council made up of clergy and lay experts to supervise Vatican finances, and he wrestled the Italian-dominated bureaucracy into conforming to international accounting and budgetary standards. He authorized a landmark, if deeply problematic, corruption trial over a botched London property investment that convicted a once-powerful Italian cardinal. And he punished the Vatican's Secretariat of State that had allowed the London deal to go through by stripping it of its ability to manage its own assets. But Francis left unfinished business and his overall record, at least according to some in the donor community, is less than positive. Critics cite Pell's frustrated reform efforts and the firing of the Holy See's first-ever auditor general, who says he was ousted because he had uncovered too much financial wrongdoing. Despite imposing years of belt-tightening and hiring freezes, Francis left the Vatican in somewhat dire financial straits: The main stopgap bucket of money that funds budgetary shortfalls, known as the Peter's Pence, is nearly exhausted, officials say. The 1 billion euro ($1.14 billion) pension fund shortfall that Pell warned about a decade ago remains unaddressed, though Francis had planned reforms. And the structural deficit continues, with the Holy See logging an 83.5 million euro ($95 million) deficit in 2023, according to its latest financial report. As Francis' health worsened, there were signs that his efforts to reform the Vatican's medieval financial culture hadn't really stuck, either. The very same Secretariat of State that Francis had punished for losing tens of millions of euros in the scandalous London property deal somehow ended up heading up a new papal fundraising commission that was announced while Francis was in the hospital. According to its founding charter and statutes, the commission is led by the Secretariat of State's assessor, is composed entirely of Italian Vatican officials with no professional fundraising expertise and has no required external financial oversight. To some Vatican watchers, the commission smacks of the Italian-led Secretariat of State taking advantage of a sick pope to announce a new flow of unchecked donations into its coffers after its 600 million euro ($684 million) sovereign wealth fund was taken away and given to another office to manage as punishment for the London fiasco. 'There are no Americans on the commission. I think it would be good if there were representatives of Europe and Asia and Africa and the United States on the commission,' said Ward Fitzgerald, president of the U.S.-based Papal Foundation. It is made up of wealthy American Catholics that since 1990 has provided over $250 million (219 million euros) in grants and scholarships to the pope's global charitable initiatives. Fitzgerald, who spent his career in real estate private equity, said American donors — especially the younger generation — expect transparency and accountability from recipients of their money, and know they can find non-Vatican Catholic charities that meet those expectations. 'We would expect transparency before we would start to solve the problem,' he said. That said, Fitzgerald said he hadn't seen any significant let-up in donor willingness to fund the Papal Foundation's project-specific donations during the Francis pontificate. Indeed, U.S. donations to the Vatican overall have remained more or less consistent even as other countries' offerings declined, with U.S. bishops and individual Catholics contributing more than any other country in the two main channels to donate to papal causes. Francis moved Prevost to take over the diocese of Chiclayo, Peru, in 2014. Residents and fellow priests say he consistently rallied funds, food and other life-saving goods for the neediest — experience that suggests he knows well how to raise money when times are tight and how to spend wisely. He bolstered the local Caritas charity in Chiclayo, with parishes creating food banks that worked with local businesses to distribute donated food, said the Rev. Fidel Purisaca Vigil, a diocesan spokesperson. In 2019, Prevost inaugurated a shelter on the outskirts of Chiclayo, Villa San Vicente de Paul, to house desperate Venezuelan migrants who had fled their country's economic crisis. The migrants remember him still, not only for helping give them and their children shelter, but for bringing live chickens obtained from a donor. During the COVID-19 pandemic, Prevost launched a campaign to raise funds to build two oxygen plants to provide hard-hit residents with life-saving oxygen. In 2023, when massive rains flooded the region, he personally brought food to the flood-struck zone. Within hours of his May 8 election, videos went viral on social media of Prevost, wearing rubber boots and standing in a flooded street, pitching a solidarity campaign, 'Peru Give a Hand,' to raise money for flood victims. The Rev. Jorge Millán, who lived with Prevost and eight other priests for nearly a decade in Chiclayo, said he had a 'mathematical' mentality and knew how to get the job done. Prevost would always be on the lookout for used cars to buy for use around the diocese, Millán said, noting that the bishop often had to drive long distances to reach all of his flock or get to Lima, the capital. Prevost liked to fix them up himself, and if he didn't know what to do, 'he'd look up solutions on YouTube and very often he'd find them,' Millán told The Associated Press. Before going to Peru, Prevost served two terms as prior general, or superior, of the global Augustinian order. While the order's local provinces are financially independent, Prevost was responsible for reviewing their balance sheets and oversaw the budgeting and investment strategy of the order's headquarters in Rome, said the Rev. Franz Klein, the order's Rome-based economist who worked with Prevost. The Augustinian campus sits on prime real estate just outside St. Peter's Square and supplements revenue by renting out its picturesque terrace to media organizations (including the AP) for major Vatican events, including the conclave that elected Leo pope. But even Prevost saw the need for better fundraising, especially to help out poorer provinces. Toward the end of his 12-year term and with his support, a committee proposed creation of a foundation, Augustinians in the World. At the end of 2023, it had 994,000 euros ($1.13 million) in assets and was helping fund self-sustaining projects across Africa, including a center to rehabilitate former child soldiers in Congo. 'He has a very good interest and also a very good feeling for numbers,' Klein said. 'I have no worry about the finances of the Vatican in these years because he is very, very clever.' ___ Franklin Briceño contributed from Lima, Peru. ___ Associated Press religion coverage receives support through the AP's collaboration with The Conversation US, with funding from Lilly Endowment Inc. The AP is solely responsible for this content.
