Coal

In Pennsylvania's 46th Senate District, a coal- and gas-reliant region, independent candidate Jodi Borello is challenging Republican incumbent Camera Bartolotta after the Democratic nominee withdrew, leaving Borello as the sole challenger. Borello, a former organizer for the Center for Coalfield Justice who campaigned against fracking, now runs as a "Trump-voting" small-business owner opposed to corporations and data centers, without emphasizing her anti-fossil-fuel record. Her former employer's political arm, Coalfield Justice Action, has spent at least $10,500 on ads against Bartolotta and was pitched to national climate donors as a $300,050 "Investing in Elections for Climate" project. No coordination with Borello's campaign has been proven, but the funding sources behind the messaging remain largely undisclosed ahead of the November 3 election.

Democrat Amy Acton and Republican Vivek Ramaswamy are courting rural Ohio voters ahead of the Nov. 3 governor's race to succeed term-limited Mike DeWine, with the Cook Political Report ranking the contest a toss-up. In Marietta, Acton proposed a three-year moratorium on new fracking injection wells over groundwater fears, winning praise from a local Republican official. Both candidates have also targeted data centers, with Ramaswamy pushing a plan requiring tech companies to cover residents' electricity bills, halt non-disclosure agreements, and build only on pre-zoned industrial land rather than farmland, while Acton wants data center projects to prove they can cover utility costs and use union labor before proceeding.

The race has grown notably hostile, including an incident in which an armed man charged toward Acton at a campaign stop, injuring bystanders. Acton has refused to debate Ramaswamy, accusing him of lying and attacking her family, though she remains open to forums. Early voting began Oct. 6, with polling showing Acton holding a narrow lead. Other close Ohio contests include U.S. House races in the 7th and 9th districts.

Gov. Gavin Newsom signed a package of energy and environmental bills closing out California's 2026 legislative session, reshaping how the state's power system is run and financed. Senate Bill 913 directs the Public Utilities Commission to create a pathway by June 30, 2027, for aggregating home batteries, solar panels, EV chargers and smart thermostats into "virtual power plants" that can export electricity to relieve grid strain. SB 905 requires the CPUC to consider lowering utility profit margins on lower-risk investments, such as undergrounding lines, and pushes utilities to disclose unused grid capacity. PG&E and Southern California Edison opposed SB 905, warning it could discourage needed infrastructure investment, while remaining neutral on the virtual power plant measure. A related law from Sen. Scott Wiener eases permitting for small "balcony solar" systems aimed at renters.

Newsom also signed measures countering federal fossil-fuel expansion, including new environmental review requirements for coal facilities tied to a planned Oakland export terminal, and a ban on using state waters to support new federal offshore oil leases. He vetoed bills on community solar and industrial siting reforms, and signed a $7.5 billion science and health research bond for the 2028 ballot.

More than two dozen states and cities, including Colorado, have sued the Trump administration over the EPA's repeal of a Biden-era rule limiting greenhouse gas emissions from coal- and gas-fired power plants. The coalition, led by New York and including Colorado, Arizona, California, Illinois, and others, along with Denver, Chicago, New York City, and Washington, D.C., is petitioning the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia to strike down the repeal, arguing the EPA unlawfully abandoned the limits without properly weighing alternatives or the health and climate costs of increased pollution.

New York Attorney General Letitia James and Colorado Attorney General Phil Weiser both criticized the move, framing it as prioritizing industry profits over public health. The EPA, which does not comment on pending litigation, has said the repeal will save industry over $300 billion and give utilities more flexibility on plant operations. The coalition also plans to sue separately over EPA's failure to regulate emissions from many gas-fired plants, as the agency pursues a related rule that could bar future administrations from regulating power plant greenhouse gases.

A coalition of 25 states and cities, led by New York Attorney General Letitia James, has filed suit against the Environmental Protection Agency over its repeal of the 2024 Carbon Pollution Standards, which required power plants to cut greenhouse gas emissions using carbon capture technology. Michigan, California, and other states joined the petition filed in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit, arguing the EPA rescinded the rule without weighing reasonable alternatives or the health and climate costs of increased pollution.

Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel said the repeal would worsen extreme weather risks already facing the state, including heat, storms, flooding, and wildfire smoke. Power plants are the second-largest source of U.S. greenhouse gas emissions after vehicles, accounting for roughly a quarter of the country's carbon dioxide output. The coalition also notified the EPA that it intends to sue separately over the agency's failure to regulate emissions from existing natural gas power plants, signaling further legal battles ahead over the Trump administration's environmental rollback efforts.

The Sept. 23-25 state visit of Chinese President Xi Jinping to Washington produced several concrete agreements, following up on momentum from President Trump's May visit to China. The two countries launched the U.S.-China Board of Trade and Board of Investment, bodies agreed upon in May, and announced tariff relief on $30 billion worth of non-sensitive goods in each direction. A new working group will target barriers in agriculture and other sectors, while China committed to importing at least 10 million metric tons of U.S. coal annually in 2027 and 2028.

On counternarcotics, China agreed to restrict a class of dangerous drugs and limit exports of fentanyl precursor chemicals, building on law enforcement cooperation that led to drug-trafficking arrests of Chinese nationals in August. No joint military statement was issued, though China's Foreign Ministry said both militaries agreed to prioritize a new crisis-communication mechanism. Unlike in May, Trump indicated Taiwan was not a major topic this time, even as tensions and Chinese military activity near the island continue.

Small-town police departments in Pennsylvania's Schuylkill County have become major participants in federal immigration enforcement through ICE's 287(g) program, which pays local agencies to help arrest and detain immigrants. Fourteen departments in the county have collected more than $1.5 million in federal funds and assisted in over 100 arrests, helping push Pennsylvania to fourth among states nationally with more than 1,200 such arrests this year. Critics note that more than two-thirds of those arrested through the state's participating agencies had no criminal record, and some cases have involved U.S. citizens mistakenly swept up.

The trend contrasts with neighboring New York and Maryland, which have barred local police from partnering with ICE. Pennsylvania Democrats have proposed similar restrictions, but the Republican-controlled state Senate makes passage unlikely. Gov. Josh Shapiro's administration says it limits state police cooperation with ICE, though it has left local police and sheriff policies to individual agencies. Shapiro previously blocked plans to expand federal detention capacity in the region by denying utility access to proposed facilities.