Short Takes – 9-4-25

How Trump is helping China extend its massive lead in clean energy. TechnologyReview.com commentary. Pull quote: “And now the US seems determined to repeat the mistake. In its quest to prop up aging fossil-fuel industries, the Trump administration has slashed federal support for the emerging cleantech sector, handing his nation’s chief economic rival the most generous of gifts: an unobstructed path to locking in its control of emerging energy technologies, and a leg up in inventing the industries of the future.”

GOP lurches toward shutdown as Democrats vow they won’t be rolled. TheHill.com article. Pull quote: “So far, Collins and Murray agree they would like to include the bipartisan Senate-passed bills funding military construction, veterans’ affairs, the Department of Agriculture and the legislative branch into the continuing resolution.”

First valence electron measurements capture fleeting reaction process. ChemistryWorld.com article. Pull quote: “The scientists recorded the changes in angle of x-ray beams scattered by ammonia molecules. From that they could work out where the electrons keeping the atoms in the molecule together as it changes from a pyramidal to a planar shape were, before a hydrogen breaks off.”

Was Von Der Leyen's Plane the Target of a GPS Jamming Attack? (II). LinkedIn.com article. Ruben Santamarta continues his analysis with updated information. Pull quote: “As usual, conspiracy theories should be the last resort for anyone genuinely interested in seriously analyzing events. Regardless of who previously owned the aircraft, as it has been reported that Gazprom was the previous owner, installing a persistent backdoor in the avionics of a Falcon 900LX is not impossible, but at this point, I find it hard to believe that anything even close to that could have happened.”