| I'm Thomas Black, and this is Bloomberg Opinion Today, an eclectic compilation of Bloomberg Opinion's opinions. Sign up here. After the first hailstorm this spring season came early last night to my home in a northern suburb of Dallas, this headline caught my attention: "Years of Climate Action Demolished In Days: A Timeline" from a project by my colleagues Mark Gongloff and Elaine He.
 Hail and tornadoes have been around forever in North Texas, but judging by personal anecdotes — we've re-roofed our house three times and sent one hail-damaged vehicle to the repair shop since 2012 — the weather is getting more intense. For sure, the increased cost of storms is showing up in my ever-rising home and auto insurance bills.
That's why Mark and Elaine's project, which is packed with charts and a useful list of all the steps taken so far by government agencies, is especially timely. I'm fresh off my mad scramble last night to throw a homemade cover over our vehicle while barefoot and with hail pellets thumping off my bicycle helmet. (If you have to choose between putting on shoes and the helmet in a hailstorm, always go with the latter!)
The upshot is that the government is not only abandoning climate action, the Trump administration is leading an all-out assault on green policies. In all, my colleagues tallied 82 actions to roll back climate initiatives across 20 government agencies since Trump's Jan. 20 inauguration. There's no doubt that the US is abdicating its role as a global climate leader.  There's mounting evidence that the planet is warming and there's data and anecdotes that attest to weather patterns becoming more extreme. How is it possible to accept this premise and still not embrace heavy spending to reduce carbon emissions?
That's possible if one believes that the rise of China's military prowess and the coalition it has built with Russia, Iran and North Korea – detailed by Andreas Kluth here, is a much more immediate threat. The reason is that China has positioned itself to benefit from the push toward renewable energy with its dominance on producing solar panels, batteries and wind turbines. The argument goes that if the US ditches fossil fuel, the nation will become dependent on China to supply our energy-generation capacity. This gets at the heart of Trump's claim that abandoning these green initiatives is a matter of national security. Then there's the cost argument. Although renewable energy, such as wind and solar, produce electricity cheaper when the wind blows and sun shines, the cost is still higher because these energy sources don't operate 24-7. For those whose mantra is only drill, baby, drill, it may take more out-of-season, fierce storms to make them wake up to the fact that, yes, we are doing damage to the planet and need to change.  In the hot seat. Photographer: Andrew Harnik/Getty Images North America The fallout continues from the Trump administration's Signalgate. The reckless conversation about war plans shared among national security officials over a commercial messaging app that inadvertently included a journalist is too big to just sweep under the rug, writes Nia-Malika Henderson.
Although Trump and his acolytes tried to heap blame on Jeffrey Goldberg, the Atlantic magazine editor who was surprised to be included in the messaging group that discussed details on military strikes against the Houthis in Yemen, the flimsy cover story isn't sticking. The fall guy may end up being National Security Adviser Mike Waltz, who reportedly started the group chat and accidently included Goldberg. Trump so far has stood by him.
The Atlantic's release of the transcript show Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth detailed the timing of the strikes, targets and the weapons to be used. Still, Hegseth maintains that none of the information was classified.
Democrats pounced during scheduled hearings with intelligence officials, including CIA Director John Ratcliffe and Tulsi Gabbard, the Director of National Intelligence, but the tough questions were met by deflection and denial.
"It's a situation made even more dangerous by the pretense that there is nothing to see here and by attempts to make this just another partisan battle with the usual talking points," Nia writes. Are there more shoes to drop on this shocking national security failure?
Bonus Reading: Nationwide injunctions are becoming more of a problem with a significant uptick in the last 20 years as the country becomes more polarized into red and blue camps – Barbara McQuade. The Beverly Hillbillies, the goofy sitcom from the 1960s, marked an era when people flocked to California to seek opportunity. Now, folks are moving from the Golden State to Florida to escape the high cost of living. That influx, though, is causing the some of the same headaches now in the Sunshine State, says Jonathan Levin. Good thing that Congress is there to check presidential power, which has been growing. Whoops, it's just the opposite, says David M. Drucker. We know this because presidents don't wield the veto power much against increasingly compliant legislators.
Donald Trump wants to make it harder to prove citizenship to vote. — Noah Feldman This is how public company mergers really work. — Matt Levine Was that written by ChatGPT or a human? The em dash may be a clue. — Dave Lee
The health of Americans is a bipartisan affair. — Adrian Wooldridge
Holders of US assets are beginning to look worryingly overexposed. — John Authers Four US soldiers go missing near Belarus border in Lithuania. Los Angeles defies Trump with new sanctuary city protections. Thousands in Gaza protest Hamas in rare call to end group's rule. Marvel announces cast for Avengers: Doomsday.
Quarterback Russell Wilson is heading to New York Giants.
Travelers mix up their San Joses.
Notes: Please send quips and comments to Thomas Black at tblack@bloomberg.net. Sign up here and find us on Bluesky, TikTok, Instagram, LinkedIn and Threads. | 
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