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Greenpeace Hit With $667M Pipeline Penalty

Greenpeace Hit With $667M Pipeline Penalty

Your unbiased daily news brief

James Kratch
March 20, 2025

Good Thursday morning. A 15-year-old boy in New Zealand just became the youngest person to run a sub-four-minute mile. Have a great day.

In Today’s Brief

CIA: Barricade incident
Turkey: Mayor detained
Murkowski: GOP fears
Powell: Two cuts
Coyote vs. Acme: Film saved

... and more

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1) Seeing green

A North Dakota jury hammered a prominent environmental group in a lawsuit verdict.

The news: Greenpeace was ordered to pay over $660M in damages to a Texas-based oil pipeline company and its subsidiary in the state. The nine-person panel found the organization liable for defamation and other plaintiff claims. Most of the damages are against the group's domestic wing, but also the international operation and its funding arm. Greenpeace plans to appeal.
Catch up: The organization protested against the Dakota Access Pipeline in 2016 and 2017; the demonstrations drew national attention and saw protesters clash with police. Energy Transfer, the Dallas-based firm that constructed the pipeline, alleged a Greenpeace conspiracy to stop construction and claimed the group's activities cost the company at least $300M. Greenpeace denies the claims and asserts it had a minor role in protests led by nearby Native American groups; a small portion of the pipeline runs under a Missouri River reservoir near the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe's reservation.
Big picture: The nearly $4B pipeline has been operational since 2017 after the protests caused delays. Greenpeace claims its participation in protests was protected by the First Amendment, while Energy Transfer argued the group's tactics broke the law. Greenpeace said the verdict could bankrupt it.

2) A proposal

A war-torn African nation wants to make a deal with President Donald Trump.

What happened: The Democratic Republic of the Congo has reportedly offered to give the U.S. access to its rare earth minerals in return for military support. Congo President Felix Tshisekedi has asked Trump for a "formal security pact" as his government struggles with a rebel group backed by neighboring Rwanda.
Catch up: Ethnic Hutus slaughtered at least 500K Tutsis during Rwanda's civil war in 1994; many Hutu radicals then fled to eastern Congo after being defeated by the Tutsis. M23 -- a mainly Tutsi militia -- has routed Congolese forces in recent weeks and seized several cities in the country's mineral-rich regions. The international consensus is that Rwanda supports the militia, but the Rwandan government denies it.
Big picture: Texas Rep. Ronny Jackson, a Trump confidant, recently visited Congo. Trump has sought a high-profile rare earth deal to continue aiding Ukraine in its war with Russia. The White House has not commented on specific military requests Congo has made.

3) Political violence

A New Mexico man was convicted of hiring people to shoot at the homes of local Democratic leaders after he lost a run for office as a Republican.

The news: Solomon Pena was found guilty on a slew of charges, including solicitation to commit a crime of violence, in Albuquerque federal court. The 41-year-old faces life in prison.
The story: Pena lost his 2022 bid for the state legislature by almost 50 points. But prosecutors said he believed the election was rigged against him and responded by hiring people to shoot at the homes of four elected officials in December 2022 and January 2023. No one was injured in the incidents, but bullets did fly through a child's bedroom in one shooting.
Big picture: Pena's attorneys blasted the verdict, calling it a "travesty." They allege Pena had nothing to do with the shootings and prosecutors were relying on the testimony of two involved men who took plea deals that pointed the finger at their client. The attorneys also said Pena was persecuted for believing President Trump won the 2020 election.

Quick Tips

U.S. News

An armed man surrendered after a "barricade incident" outside CIA headquarters in Langley, Virginia. No one was injured; the suspect reportedly pointed a gun at his head during the hours-long standoff (More)
An Iowa man believed to be the last person to see a missing college student returned home from the Dominican Republic. The U.S. Consulate gave Joshua Riibe a new passport after a judge said he was free to leave the country; he had alleged he was being unlawfully detained (More)
A small airplane involved in a fatal Alaska crash was too heavy for weather conditions, according to a preliminary National Transportation Safety Board report. All 10 people aboard a Bering Air flight died in the Feb. 6 incident while traveling from Unalakleet to Nome (More)

World News

Turkish police detained Istanbul Mayor Ekrem Imamoglu amid President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's crackdown on his political opposition. Imagoglu's arrest sparked major protests; he is considered the strongman's chief rival ahead of the 2028 presidential election (More)
Russia and Ukraine agreed in principle to a limited ceasefire. But many details remain unclear, including the implementation timeline and what targets will be considered off-limits from attacks (More)
Pope Francis' condition continues to improve, the Vatican said. The pontiff remains hospitalized but no longer needs non-invasive mechanical ventilation to assist his breathing at night (More)

Political News

Alaska Sen. Lisa Murkowski said fellow Senate Republicans are too scared to criticize President Trump and adviser Elon Musk. "They're The centrist and frequent Trump critic alleged colleagues are "afraid they're going to be taken down" and face GOP primary challengers (More)
Trump will sign an executive order winding down the Education Department today. He has long pledged to shut the agency down, but Congress must approve his plans to dismantle it; the department has seen significant spending and staff cuts in recent weeks (More)
The Democratic National Committee is pushing residents in GOP-held congressional districts to call for town halls with elected officials. The party will install billboards in some areas after DNC Chairman Ken Martin called Republicans "cowards" for avoiding meetings with constituents (More)

Business & Markets

Major indexes closed higher yesterday after Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell said he expects two interest rate cuts later this year after holding rates steady (Dow +0.92%, Nasdaq +1.41%, S&P 500 +1.08%).
Amtrak CEO Stephen Gardner was forced to resign by the White House. The quasi-public passenger railroad is aiming to double ridership nationwide by 2040; DOGE head Elon Musk recently called for its privatization (More)
SoftBank will acquire chip designer Ampere for $6.5B. The firm will maintain its California headquarters and operate as an independent subsidiary of the Japanese holding company (More)

Entertainment & Sports

Ketchup Entertainment is expected to land Coyote vs. Acme distribution rights for $50M. Warner Bros. infamously scrapped the fully completed Looney Tunes-inspired film in 2023 for a $30M tax write-off (More)
A Georgia man who transported stolen Augusta National Golf Club memorabilia will serve a year in federal prison. Richard Globensky lifted Masters-related items from the warehouse he worked at and gave them to online sellers in Florida (More)
Penn had $175M in federal funding suspended over allowing Lia Thomas to compete for its women's swimming team. Thomas became the first openly transgender athlete to win an NCAA Division-1 title; Penn's program is already under an Education Department investigation (More)

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