Free Republic

Biden energy loan czar Jigar Shah was a major investor in a struggling green energy company that is in advanced talks to receive a $1.5 billion loan from his office. The Department of Energy’s loan office, where Shah serves as director, is working to fast-track the funding to Plug Power, a hydrogen fuel company on the brink of bankruptcy. But the ties between Plug Power and Shah could add to concerns from lawmakers about conflicts of interest in the federal loan program. Securities and Exchange Commission records detail a long-standing financial relationship between Plug Power and Generate Capital, an investment...

The suspect in the shooting deaths of six people at a July 4th parade in the affluent Highland Park suburb of Chicago has been identified as 22-year-old Robert 'Bobby' Crimo III also known as Awake the Rapper. The shooter - who remains at large - is said to have opened fire from the roof of what was an outdoor outfitting store, picking off people in the crowd who at first confused the sound of gunshots with Independence Day fireworks. Crimo is from of the Highland Park area. He is believed to be driving a 2010 silver Honda Fit with Illinois...

SACRAMENTO (AP) - California's new greenhouse gas emission standards can be met largely by using existing auto technologies and will generate consumer savings by improving gas mileage, a state regulator said Monday. "We're not talking about exotic technologies here," said Chuck Shulock, manager of the state Air Resources Board's greenhouse gas reduction program. "Significant reductions can be achieved simply by taking existing technologies and applying them very broadly across the (vehicle) fleet." Shulock testified at a hearing held by the Assembly Transportation Committee to determine if regulations approved by the ARB last September comply with 2002 legislation that made California...

SACRAMENTO (AP) - The state's real estate portfolio includes 38 high-value and underutilized properties scattered throughout California that could fetch nearly $1 billion on the open market, according to an administration analysis released Thursday. Another 12 higher-profile properties - such as San Quentin State Prison and fair grounds in Del Mar and Napa County - are worth nearly $4 billion and should also be reviewed for possible sale. The report comes in response to an executive order from Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger issued in May directing state departments and agencies to catalogue property they control, evaluate the need to keep that...