CHARGING FORWARD: President Obama visited Elkhart, Ind., Wednesday to tell blue-collar America that the stimulus is working — and to throw a little more into the pot. The visit was part of a nationwide rollout of $2.4 billion in federal grants aimed at boosting U.S. electric-car production, which saw Vice President Biden and four cabinet members fan out across the country to announce various aspects of the new grants. General Motors took the biggest haul, receiving a total of $241 million to help it produce battery packs for its Chevy Volt, provide a test fleet of the electric car, and build factories in Maryland and Michigan. Ford got $93 million for its electric endeavors, Chrysler took in $70 million, and a smattering of smaller manufacturers and nonprofits were also included. In his fourth visit to Elkhart in 15 months, Obama awarded $39 million to Navistar International, a truck maker. "I believe our ability to recover — and to prosper — as a nation depends on what happens in communities just like this one," he said. (Sources: Los Angeles Times, New York Times)

 

CASH FOR CLUNKERS: The Senate will most likely vote today to refuel the popular but sputtering "cash for clunkers" program, tossing it $2 billion that should keep it running until Labor Day. Senate leaders have been pushing to approve the extra money before they break for their monthlong August recess this weekend, and debate is expected to begin today after the Senate's confirmation vote for Supreme Court nominee Sonia Sotomayor. Democrats and Republicans have said they expect the additional funding to pass. (Sources: Reuters, CNNMoney) 

 

SINKING FEELING: The threat of rising sea levels feels very different when you only have about 10 feet to spare. The Pacific Islands Forum tried to convey that feeling today, as Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd closed the three-day conference, warning that the swelling sea "is not just a matter of importance, it is not just a matter of urgency, for many of them it is a matter of national survival." Leaders of various South Pacific islands and atolls — many of which are already seeing saltwater invade their beaches, streams and crops — asked all nations to pledge a 50 percent cut in their greenhouse-gas emissions by 2050 when they convene at this December's U.N. climate-change summit in Denmark. (Source: Associated Press)

 

LETTER RIP: U.S. lawmakers received a total of 12 forged letters this summer, the Washington Post reports, all seemingly sent by community groups concerned about the costs of the climate bill. But they were actually sent by a D.C. lobbying firm, according to the coal-advocacy group that hired them. The American Coalition for Clean Coal Electricity had hired Bonner and Associates to help find more mouths to spread its message of costly climate regulations — the lobbying firm touts its skills at grassroots lobbying, but in this case it apparently just brought in some sod. ACCE has since denounced Bonner and Associates, whose president and founder blames the forgery campaign on a single, temporary employee who he says was fired the same day the fraud was discovered. (Source: Washington Post)

 

A KLEEN SLATE: Paper-goods powerhouse Kimberly-Clark announced Wednesday that it will cut back on the amount of old-growth forest it uses to make its Kleenex and toilet paper. The company will now use "environmentally responsible" lumber operations for 40 percent of the wood it uses in tissue and paper products sold in North America. Greenpeace helped motivate the move, and as part of an agreement between it and Kimberly-Clark, the environmental group will end its "Kleercut" campaign, which drew attention to the destruction of old-growth forests. (Source: Washington Post)

 

SAM THE KOALA: After surviving second- and third-degree burns in February's apocalyptic Australian bush fires — and memorably drinking from a firefighter's water bottle amid the devastation (see video below) — Sam the Koala's life is once again in peril, the Huffington Post reports. She's having surgery today in an attempt to save her from a type of abdominal cysts that plagues up to half of Australia's koala population and can be deadly. The prospects for her surviving the surgery aren't good. "We're telling the public to brace for the worst-case scenario," a shelter spokeswoman says, adding that Sam's outlook will be known by Friday. (Source: Huffington Post)

 

UPDATE (11:22 a.m.): Sam the koala died during surgery today. The 4-year-old koala was euthanized after veterinarians found that her life-threatening cysts were inoperable. "It means something to everyone," said David Tree, the volunteer firefighter who rescued Sam in February. "The focus was never meant to be ... on a firefighter. It's simply about our wildlife and just how precious it is." (Source: AP)

 

 

— Russell McLendon