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Podesta’s net worth has skyrocketed since his time in the Obama administration, financial disclosures show ... John Podesta, the powerful Democrat consultant who Joe Biden tapped to oversee a multibillion-dollar climate investment fund, discussed those investments with an environmental group that had him on the payroll just months before, according to a new financial disclosure. Galvanize Climate Solutions, a green energy investment firm founded by billionaire Tom Steyer, participated in an Oct. 31 meeting with Podesta and Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen to discuss how to best use the $369 billion in federal funds. Galvanize paid Podesta $84,000 in advisory fees...

Recently-appointed White House clean energy czar John Podesta has hired several officials who have advocated in favor of far-left energy and climate policies to join his team. Podesta, who founded the progressive Washington, D.C.-based think tank Center for American Progress (CAP), has hired Kristina Costa, Alison Cassady and Joshua Peck to serve in the White House Office of Clean Energy Innovation and Implementation. The three officials have previously worked in private and public sector roles pushing climate policies and have past ties to Podesta. Podesta, who founded the progressive Washington, D.C.-based think tank Center for American Progress (CAP), has hired...

China has opened up its latest secret "overseas police service centers" in Chinese restaurants and shops throughout the United Kingdom, the Telegraph reported Wednesday. The Chinese Communist Party runs 54 police centers outside of China, 36 in Europe alone. One of the two in London claims to be a real estate company, while one in Glasgow operates in a Chinese restaurant. The expansion of these overseas police stations comes as human rights activists warn that China is harassing political dissidents on foreign soil. Some political exiles say China is misusing Interpol to bring back dissidents, including foreign nationals, the Telegraph...

Carol Browner is leaving her position as White House "energy czar," and a staff shake-up is likely to eliminate her post altogether, according to Democrats familiar with events. The czar position, and Ms. Browner herself, have been lightning rods for critics of the president's environmental-policy agenda and a reassurance to its supporters, who liked having a top official in the White House devoted to their priorities. The White House health czar position may also be eliminated, said people familiar with the process. Ms. Browner led the administration's effort to gather votes in Congress for legislation to limit emissions of greenhouse...

Gulf Coast residents have plenty of reasons to be furious at the Obama administration's ham-handed, job-killing responses to last spring's BP oil spill. A new report by the Interior Department's inspector general further roils the waters. Interior IG Mary L. Kendall reported last week that the staff of White House energy czar Carol M. Browner improperly edited a report on how to improve safety in deep-sea drilling. The effect was to indicate falsely that there was scientific support for President Obama's decision to impose a six-month moratorium on such energy production. The truth was that seven scientists and industry experts...

It’s a measure of Carol Browner’s growing influence in the West Wing that she’s been given the coveted key to the taupe-accented kingdom — President Barack Obama’s personal BlackBerry e-mail address. The administration’s so-called energy czar is just about the only high-ranking official to emerge from the BP oil disaster with an enhanced reputation — making her, some say, the most powerful woman in the White House next to Obama’s longtime friend Valerie Jarrett. Yet even as Browner’s stock rises, her rationale for remaining by Obama’s side is declining. The collapse of the administration’s comprehensive climate change effort — a...

Barack Obama’s energy czar appeared on Fox & Friends this morning to discuss the cap-and-tax bill passed by the House last week on a razor-thin margin. Carol Browner got stumped by Fox’s Steve Doocy while questioning her ability to speak to the subject, which prompted her to declare Doocy “unfair” for blindsiding her. You be the judge — should Doocy have wondered whether Browner had bothered to read the bill she was promoting on national TV, or is that “unfair”?

December 12, 2008, 0:00 a.m. Down on BrownerRegression we can’t afford. By Michelle Malkin Yet another Clintonite has been wheeled out of the political morgue to serve in the Obama administration. Carol Browner, a neon-green radical who headed the Environmental Protection Agency from 1993-2000, is widely rumored to be the president-elect’s choice for “energy czar.” But an ethical cloud still hangs over Browner’s EPA legacy. It doesn’t take a team of Ivy League lawyers to figure out that this is one more headache the Hope and Change crew doesn’t need. In the spirit of reaching across the aisle, let...

Today, Barack Obama is meeting with John McCain. Jonathan Martin and Jake Tapper seem confident that a Cabinet position is not in the offing. They're probably right. But why not? Specifically, I could see McCain as Energy Secretary, tasked with playing a major role in helping Obama pass legislation to deal with global warming. If Obama is going to do something on this front, he'll absolutely need bipartisan help, given the pain and dislocations it would entail. Getting a high-profile Republican to lead the charge would be smart, possibly even essential. And McCain likes both bipartisanship and big, crazy-sounding gambits....

California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger says he'd say yes if Barack Obama is elected president and offers him a position in his administration. "I'm always ready to help in any way I can the United States," Schwarzenegger said Sunday on ABC's "This Week." "Because as you know, I've committed myself to be a public servant, because this country has given me everything. And so this is my time now." Schwarzenegger has endorsed fellow Republican John McCain for president, but he said he'd "take [Obama's] call now and I'd take his call when he's president, anytime. Remember, no matter who is president,...

Schwarzenegger: I'd be Obama energy czar By MIKE ALLEN | 7/13/08 10:23 AM EST California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger said in an interview aired Sunday that he would be open to the idea of serving as energy czar in a Barack Obama administration. Regardless of whether he takes that particular job, Schwarzenegger, a Republican, added on ABC’s “This Week” that he’s now committed to continuing public service even after he leaves Sacramento. Schwarzenegger endorsed John McCain at the end of January, and McCain has appeared with “the Governator” to praise his efforts to deal with climate change. A Schwarzenegger appointment would...

Willie Nelson Cited for Drug Possession Sep 18 1:06 PM US/Eastern Willie Nelson and several members of his band were issued misdemeanor citations for drug possession early today during a traffic stop in Saint Martin Parish. The traffic stop was conducted on Interstate 10 near Breaux Bridge. Trooper Willie Williams says troopers smelled a strong odor of marijuana when the driver opened the bus door. During a search of the bus, Williams say approximately 1 1/2 pounds of marijuana and approximately 2/10 of a pound of mushrooms were located on the bus. The 73-year-old Nelson of Spicewood, Texas; 59-year-old Tony...