Overnight Energy: Lawmakers say Russia tried to disrupt energy markets through Twitter | EPA rule gives states new power over coal ash disposal | Exxon pushes back on climate criticism

View in your browser     RUSSIA SOUGHT US ENERGY MARKET INFLUENCE THROUGH SOCIAL MEDIA: Russia used several American social media accounts in an attempt to disrupt U.S. energy markets, according to a House committee report released Thursday. The report from the House Committee on Science, Space and Technology concluded that Russia exploited social media platforms Twitter, Facebook and Instagram in an effort to influence the United States' domestic energy policies, sometimes taking conservative positions to stir up tensions. Looking at information provided to them by U.S. social media companies, the committee found that between 2015 and 2017 there were about 9,097 Russian posts or tweets about U.S. energy policy and events on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter. During the same time period, the report found an estimated 4,334 accounts linked to the Internet Research Agency (IRA), a company established by the Russian government that engages in online influence operations for the Russian government and businesses. The Internet Research Agency posts and tweets specifically targeted pipelines, fossil fuels and climate change, the report found. The committee surmised that the disinformation campaign on social media is connected to Russian fears that a strong U.S. energy economy could negatively impact Russia's oil and natural gas economy. Eastern and central European countries currently get about 75 percent of their natural gas from Russia, with southeastern European countries receiving nearly all of their natural gas from Moscow. However, those numbers are slowly changing. For example, Poland recently signed a five-year deal with the U.S. to import liquefied natural gas to decrease dependency on Russian energy supplies, according to the report. "Russia benefits from stirring up controversy about U.S. energy production. U.S. energy exports to European countries are increasing, which means they will have less reason to rely upon Russia for their energy needs. This, in turn, will reduce Russia's influence on Europe to Russia's detriment and Europe's benefit," the committee's chairman, Rep. Lamar Smith (R-Texas), said in a statement. "That's why Russian agents attempted to manipulate Americans' opinions about pipelines, fossil fuels, fracking and climate change. The American people deserve to know if what they see on social media is the creation of a foreign power seeking to undermine our domestic energy policy." The U.S. embrace of fracking technology is another issue that has Russia on edge, the report found. Read more here.   IN OTHER RUSSIA NEWS: Exxon Mobil Corp. is exiting some of its joint ventures with Russia's state-owned oil company, citing sanctions first imposed in 2014. Exxon had originally tried to fight the sanctions, which were imposed in retaliation for Russia's annexation of Crimea, internationally recognized as part of Ukraine. The United States's largest oil company reached the deals with Rosneft starting in 2012 under the leadership of former Exxon chief Rex Tillerson, who is now secretary of State under President Trump. But it told investors late Wednesday that its position had changed. One joint project off the eastern coast of Russia will not be affected by the exit, spokesmen for both companies told Reuters. Read more here.     EPA RULE GIVES STATES FLEXIBILITY ON COAL ASH DISPOSAL: The Trump administration announced a new Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) rule Thursday aimed at giving states the independence to determine how to best dispose of coal ash, the toxic metal left from burning coal. The EPA said that the deregulations would save utilities nearly $100 million per year in compliance costs and the regulated community between $31 million and $100 million per year. "Today's coal ash proposal embodies EPA's commitment to our state partners by providing them with the ability to incorporate flexibilities into their coal ash permit programs based on the needs of their states," EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt said in a statement. "We are also providing clarification and an opportunity for public comment – something that is much-needed following the public reaction to the 2015 coal ash rule." More than 110 million tons of coal ash are produced annually by coal-fired power plants, according to the EPA. The move is a sharp departure from the Obama administration, which sought to better regulate disposal of the toxic metal. In 2015, following a number of coal ash leaks that led to severely clogged waterways, the Obama administration proposed regulations that would increase inspections and monitoring as well as impose new requirements for storage liners. They would have also required companies to conduct water quality tests. The rule met significant opposition from utility industry groups and was never implemented. Litigation against the regulations remains pending. Pruitt announced in September that the Trump administration would be reconsidering the rule. Read more here.   EXXON PUSHES BACK AT #EXXONKNEW STUDY: Exxon pushed back in a report released Thursday against claims from a study last year on its public statements on climate change. The August study from two Harvard University -- one of whom, Naomi Oreskes, is an outspoken Exxon critic -- used content analysis on decades of Exxon advertisements and statements to conclude that it misled the public about climate change. But Exxon retained Kimberley Neuendorf, a Cleveland State University content analysis expert, to rebut the conclusions. "I have concluded that [the authors'] content analysis does not support the study's conclusions because of a variety of fundamental errors in their analysis. [The authors' content analysis lacks reliability, validity, objectivity, generalizability, and replicability," she said. "These basic standards of scientific inquiry are vital for a proper content analysis, but they are not satisfied by the [authors'] study." Neuendorf wrote the book that laid out the methods that the Harvard researchers cited. In her report for Exxon, Neuendorf argues that the study suffered problems with sampling, coding, consensus measurement, lack of disclosure and other issues. Read the study here.   AROUND THE WEB: Microsoft is buying rooftop solar energy in Singapore to power its operations, CNN Money reports. British Columbia, Canada, is moving forward with its plans to create a new oil spill response program, CBC News reports. South Korean officials are considering whether to replant a forest it bulldozed for the Olympic Games, the Associated Press reports.   FROM THE HILL'S OPINION SECTION: Mike Carr of New Energy America says Trump's policies, like cuts to clean energy programs, are an attack on American workers. Former Labor Department official Seth Harris says the fight over the renewable fuel standard is about far more jobs than those at Philadelphia Energy Solutions.   IN CASE YOU MISSED IT: Check out Thursday's stories ... -New EPA rule gives states power to determine coal ash disposal -Energy companies warn about effect of steel tariff on US industry -Regulators to consider allowing private nuclear waste site -House panel: Russia aimed to disrupt US energy markets using social media -Exxon to end Russia joint ventures -Pruitt: My next flight will be coach     Join The Hill on Wednesday, March 21, for Leadership in Action: The Hill's Newsmaker Series featuring Sen. Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.) and Reps. Nanette Barragán (D-Calif.), and Joe Crowley (D-N.Y.). RSVP Here     Please send tips and comments to Timothy Cama, tcama@thehill.com; and Devin Henry, dhenry@thehill.com. Follow us on Twitter: @Timothy_Cama, @dhenry, @thehill         Did a friend forward you this email? Sign up for Energy Newsletters     Forward Energy Newsletters       Privacy Policy  |  Manage Subscriptions  |  Unsubscribe  |  Email to a friend  |  Sign Up for Other Newsletters   The Hill 1625 K Street, NW 9th Floor, Washington DC 20006 ©2016 Capitol Hill Publishing Corp., a subsidiary of News Communications, Inc.

Overnight Tech: Trump to discuss school violence with video game execs | Equifax finds new breach victims | Twitter looks to improve its 'health' | Facebook drops newsfeed experiment

View in your browser     TRUMP TO MEET VIDEO GAME EXECS: President Trump will meet with executives of the video games industry next week to discuss school violence in response to the deadly shooting in Parkland, Fla., the White House announced on Thursday. "Next week he'll also be meeting with members of the video game industry to see what they can do on that front as well," White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders told reporters at Thursday's briefing. "This is going to be an ongoing process and something that we don't expect to happen overnight. But something that we're going to be engaged in and continue to look for the best ways possible to make sure we're doing everything we can to protect schools across the country," she said. At a recent meeting at the White House with lawmakers and administration officials, Trump raised concern about the influence of violence in movies and video games. He floated the idea of launching a ratings system, which already exists for both games and films in the United States. "I'm hearing more and more people say the level of violence on video games is really shaping young people's thoughts. And you go one further step and that's the movies. ... Maybe they have to put a rating system for that," Trump said at last week's White House meeting. The president additionally met with a group of lawmakers from both parties at the White House on Wednesday where he called on Congress to pass a host of gun restrictions, putting him at odds with most Republicans and the National Rifle Association. Read more here.     Please send your tips, comments and compliments to Ali Breland (abreland@thehill.com) and Harper Neidig (hneidig@thehill.com) and follow us on Twitter: @alibreland and @hneidig. We're also on Signal and WhatsApp. Email or DM us for our numbers.   EQUIFAX FINDS NEW VICTIMS OF 2017 BREACH: Equifax has identified 2.4 million victims of its massive 2017 data breach that were not previously counted in the number of people affected by the hack, the credit bureau announced Thursday. The company says hackers stole partial driver's license information from the newly identified group. Equifax said that in the vast majority of these cases, the breach did not expose home addresses, the states in which the licenses were issued or expiration and issuance dates. The company said these victims had not been identified previously because the forensic investigation had focused on stolen Social Security numbers. "This is not about newly discovered stolen data," Paulino do Rego Barros Jr., Equifax's interim CEO, said in a statement. "It's about sifting through the previously identified stolen data, analyzing other information in our databases that was not taken by the attackers, and making connections that enabled us to identify additional individuals." Read more here.   REPORT FINDS RUSSIA USED SOCIAL MEDIA TO INFLUENCE ENERGY MARKETS: Russia used several American social media accounts in an attempt to disrupt U.S. energy markets, according to a House committee report released Thursday. The report from the House Committee on Science, Space and Technology concluded that Russia exploited social media platforms Twitter, Facebook and Instagram in an effort to influence the United States' domestic energy policies, sometimes taking conservative positions to stir up tensions. Looking at information provided to them by U.S. social media companies, the committee found that between 2015 and 2017 there were about 9,097 Russian posts or tweets about U.S. energy policy and events on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter. Read more here.   TWITTER PUTS OUT CALL FOR IDEAS TO IMPROVE HEALTH OF PLATFORM: Twitter is soliciting submissions for ideas to help the company create a measure of the "health" of conversations on its platform. In a post, the company said that it believes that having such metrics will help make Twitter better. "Twitter's health will be built and measured by how we help encourage more healthy debate, conversations, and critical thinking; conversely, abuse, spam and manipulation will detract from it," it said in its call to action. Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey elaborated on the goals of the new project in a Twitter thread. Read more here.   IBM CALLS ON LAWMAKERS TO CRACK DOWN ON INTERNET PLATFORMS: IBM is calling for lawmakers to crack down on internet platforms, arguing that companies like Google and Facebook face little regulation and enjoy broad legal immunity over what happens on their services. Christopher Padilla, IBM's vice president for government affairs, argued in a blog post on Thursday that internet companies need to be held in check by the government in the same way firms in other industries are. "Over the last year, it has become increasingly clear that something is out of balance in that equation," Padilla wrote. "Governments, advertisers, and even ordinary users are demanding that companies take more responsibility for the societal effects their services can have on children, on civic dialogue, on elections, or in facilitating criminal or terrorist activity. Read more here.   FACEBOOK DROPS NEWSFEED EXPERIMENT: Facebook is ending an experiment where it placed publisher's news content in a separate feed after criticism that it led to a rise in misinformation. "In surveys, people told us they were less satisfied with the posts they were seeing, and having two separate feeds didn't actually help them connect more with friends and family," said Adam Mosseri, the head of News Feed at Facebook, in a statement Thursday announcing the decision. "We also received feedback that we made it harder for people in the test countries to access important information, and that we didn't communicate the test clearly," he added. Read more here.   IN CASE YOU MISSED IT: Op-ed: Do we really need a new constitutional amendment to protect privacy online? TechCrunch: Uber launches Uber Health, a ride-hailing platform for healthcare The Guardian: EU gives Facebook and Google three months to tackle extremist content The Wall Street Journal: Pushed from the U.S., they find hope in Mexico's 'Silicon Valley' Bloomberg: Google sued by ex-recruiter over alleged anti-white, Asian bias     Join The Hill on Wednesday, March 21, for Leadership in Action: The Hill's Newsmaker Series featuring Sen. Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.) and Reps. Nanette Barragán (D-Calif.), and Joe Crowley (D-N.Y.). RSVP Here         Did a friend forward you this email? Sign up for Technology Newsletters     Forward Technology Newsletters       Privacy Policy  |  Manage Subscriptions  |  Unsubscribe  |  Email to a friend  |  Sign Up for Other Newsletters   The Hill 1625 K Street, NW 9th Floor, Washington DC 20006 ©2016 Capitol Hill Publishing Corp., a subsidiary of News Communications, Inc.

Overnight Regulation: Senate Dems unveil gun control plan | McConnell shelving gun bills | Senators push Fed chief on easing bank rules | IRS looks to close hedge-fund carried interest loophole

View in your browser     Welcome to Overnight Regulations, your daily rundown of news from the federal agencies, Capitol Hill and the courts. It's Thursday evening here in Washington where Trump called for "very strong" penalties for drug dealers.  Peter Sullivan has the latest on that here.    THE BIG STORY Senate Minority Leader Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) unveiled his caucus' three-part plan for gun control in the wake of the deadly school shooting that killed 17 people in Florida last week.  Here's what Democrats want: An assault weapons ban to be debated on the Senate floor.  Background checks for guns sold over the internet and at gun shows. Protective orders that allow law enforcement or family members to get a court order to block an individual deemed dangerous from getting a gun. In announcing the plan Senate Minority Leader Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) urged President Trump to support the assault weapons ban, the most controversial of the three proposals.  "Today I am strongly urging the president to follow through on his comments yesterday by endorsing these proposals and pushing Republican leaders in Congress to once and for all buck the NRA," he said. "If the president can get some Republicans to vote for the assault weapons ban ... we can pass it soon," he said.  Jordain Carney has that story here.    But the Senate won't be voting on any gun control measures next week.  Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell is instead focusing next week's floor action on banking reform and legislation to address sex trafficking. McConnell is blaming Democrats for holding up a proposal, sponsored by Senate Republican Whip John Cornyn (R-Texas) and Democratic Sen. Chris Murphy (Conn.), to strengthen background checks for firearms purchases.  "We tried to get it cleared yesterday, but the Democratic leader objected," McConnell said. Democrats, however, say conservatives led by Sen. Mike Lee (R-Utah) are objecting to moving the Cornyn-Murphy bill not them.  Alex Bolton and Sylvan Lane have that story here.      REG ROUNDUP Finance: Senators backing a bill to exempt dozens of banks from strict federal oversight pushed the chairman of the Federal Reserve Thursday to bolster their case. Members of the Senate Banking Committee sought confirmation from Fed chairman Jerome Powell that a bipartisan bill to roll back parts of the Dodd-Frank Act would benefit the economy. Powell, a Republican who has previously supported several provisions of the bill, signaled support for much of the measure without explicitly endorsing it. "I think it gives us the tools that we need to continue to protect financial stability," Powell said of the bill. "We have broad safety and soundness authority." Republicans and moderate Democrats backing the bill sought to dispel a wave of liberal criticism that the measure goes too far to deregulate major banks. Sylvan Lane again with the story here.    Taxes: The Treasury Department and IRS on Thursday issued a notice aimed at preventing investment-fund managers from avoiding new limits on the carried interest tax break. Carried interest is the profits interest that investment-fund managers receive, and it is generally taxed at capital gains rates rather than the higher ordinary income rates. Under a provision in the new tax law, investment-fund managers have to hold investments for at least three years in order to qualify for the carried-interest tax break, up from one year under the old tax code. But investments held by corporations are exempt from being subject to the three-year holding requirement. That reportedly led some hedge fund managers to set up S corporations -- which are pass-through businesses rather than traditional C corporations -- in order to avoid the requirement. Treasury and the IRS said in their notice that they plan to issue regulations that prevent investments held by S corporations from being exempt from the three-year requirement. Naomi Jagoda has the story here.   Environment: The Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) said it is considering a private company's application to build a nuclear waste site. Holtec International wants a 40-year license to store up to 8,680 metric tons of nuclear waste at a facility in southeastern New Mexico. It would be an interim storage site, so the nuclear fuel would have to be moved out at some point. If built, the site would be the first nuclear waste storage facility in the United States other than the nuclear plants and other locations themselves. Timothy Cama has the story here.    States: State legislatures across the country are considering new restrictions or expansions of gun rights in the aftermath of the mass shooting at a Parkland, Fla., high school in February, setting a frenetic pace in a debate that appears stymied in status quo in Washington. Even in states overwhelmingly controlled by one party or the other, debates over gun control or gun rights routinely rank among the most contentious and ponderous of the legislative session. But in the weeks after the shooting that left 17 students and faculty members dead, states from Alaska to Florida have virtually raced to complete work on measures that address gun violence -- many in vastly different ways, ranging from "red flag" laws to legislation to arm educators. Reid Wilson has the story here.    Courts: Two liberal advocacy groups are suing the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) and the Justice Department for documents they say show agency officials are quietly making policy decisions that harm LGBT people. People for the American Way and Right Wing Watch (RWW) say in the 10-page lawsuit, filed with the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, that the agencies have failed to respond to their Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests within the law's applicable time-frame. RWW asked HUD to produce documents following a New York magazine report that the agency quietly removed materials from its website that helped train homeless shelters to provide equal access to transgender people, canceled a survey of pilot programs designed to decrease LGBT homelessness in Cincinnati and Houston, and directed a department division to dissociate itself with a study it funded on LGBT housing discrimination. RWW asked the Justice Department for documents related to reports that it removed multiple references to "lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and questioning youth" from its 2017 annual solicitation for the Mentoring for Child Victims of Commercial Sexual Exploitation and Domestic Sex Trafficking Initiative. Read the story here.    Tech: IBM is calling for lawmakers to crack down on internet platforms, arguing that companies like Google and Facebook face little regulation and enjoy broad legal immunity over what happens on their services. Christopher Padilla, IBM's vice president for government affairs, argued in a blog post on Thursday that internet companies need to be held in check by the government in the same way firms in other industries are. "Over the last year, it has become increasingly clear that something is out of balance in that equation," Padilla wrote. "Governments, advertisers, and even ordinary users are demanding that companies take more responsibility for the societal effects their services can have on children, on civic dialogue, on elections, or in facilitating criminal or terrorist activity." Harper Neidig has the story here.   Finance: The acting director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) said Thursday he thinks he could remain in charge of the agency for as long as another six months while waiting for President Trump to nominate and the Senate to confirm a new director. Mick Mulvaney, the Office of Management and Budget director, said he has "no idea" how much longer he'll be the CFPB acting chief. He was appointed to lead the agency in November under the Federal Vacancies Act as a temporary replacement. Mulvaney said at a U.S. Chamber of Commerce event, "The statute allows me to stay until the end of June, but if the president nominates someone before then, the statute allows me to stay until they're confirmed." Trump has not nominated a new director for the CFPB, an agency Republicans have indicated they would prefer to eliminate. Read more from Sylvan Lane here.   IN OTHER NEWS For cosmetics industry, a regulatory makeover awaits – The Wall Street Journal Trump's tumultuous Cabinet ranked – The Washington Post  Trump wants to arm teachers. These schools already do – The New York Times  GOP bill would lower minimum age for buying a handgun – The Washington Examiner  State Department likely to extend cuts to U.S. Embassy in Cuba – ProPublica    Got a hot tip? Send it my way - lwheeler@thehill.com. Follow my tweets too @WheelerLydia.      Join The Hill on Wednesday, March 21, for Leadership in Action: The Hill's Newsmaker Series featuring Sen. Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.) and Reps. Nanette Barragán (D-Calif.), and Joe Crowley (D-N.Y.). RSVP Here         Did a friend forward you this email? Sign up for Regulation Newsletters     Forward Regulation Newsletters       Privacy Policy  |  Manage Subscriptions  |  Unsubscribe  |  Email to a friend  |  Sign Up for Other Newsletters   The Hill 1625 K Street, NW 9th Floor, Washington DC 20006 ©2016 Capitol Hill Publishing Corp., a subsidiary of News Communications, Inc.