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Former President Obama renewed calls for tougher gun laws in the wake of mass shootings in Georgia and Colorado in the span of a week.

Obama lamented the "familiar outrage" that has come to accompany the frequent gun violence in the U.S. while offering condolences to the families of victims in Atlanta and Boulder.

"It is long past time for those with the power to fight this epidemic of gun violence to do so. It will take time to root out the disaffection, racism and misogyny that fuels so many of these senseless acts of violence," Obama said in a statement Tuesday.

"But we can make it harder for those with hate in their hearts to buy weapons of war. We can overcome opposition by cowardly politicians and the pressure of a gun lobby that opposes any limit on the ability of anyone to assemble an arsenal. We can, and we must," he continued.

"A once-in-a-century pandemic cannot be the only thing that slows mass shootings in this country," he added. "We shouldnt have to choose between one type of tragedy and another. Its time for leaders everywhere to listen to the American people when they say enough is enoughbecause this is a normal we can no longer afford."

Obama noted in Tuesday's statement that life for many Americans may soon return to a sense of normalcy as coronavirus cases decrease and vaccinations increase. But he expressed concern that the return to large gatherings and in-person learning could also mean a rise in gun violence.

"We should be able to go to school, or go out with our friends, or worship together without mentally planning our escape if someone shows up with a gun. We should be able to live our lives without wondering if the next trip outside our home could be our last," Obama said.

"We should. But in America, we cant."

Obama issued a statement after 10 people, including a police officer, were killed in a shooting at a grocery store in Boulder on Monday night. Police have arrested the suspect, a 21-year-old, and charged him with 10 counts of first-degree murder. The victims range in age from 20 to 65, police said.

The Boulder shooting comes one week after a gunman killed eight people in the Atlanta area, most of whom were Asian women. Those killings put a spotlight on the sharp rise in violence and discrimination against Asian Americans over the past year, which coincided with the start of the pandemic.

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Obama rips lack of action on guns: Shouldn't take pandemic to curb shootings | TheHill - The Hill

The Fox News host slams the former president for his comments on gun violence

Tucker Carlson has never been a fan of Barack Obama but this week the Fox News host accused the former president of being a racial arsonist during his broadcast, due to comments he made about the recent shootings in Atlanta, Georgia, and Boulder, Colorado.

READ MORE: Keyon Harold Jr.s family to file lawsuit against hotel, woman who falsely accused teen

Tuesday evening, during the opening monologue for his show, Carlson responded to Obamas public statements on Mondays mass shooting in Colorado that left 10 people dead. He opined that Obama took a break from becoming one of the richest men in the world to weigh in on the tragedy and characterized the former president as someone seeking to use discussions of race as a way to divide the nation.

More than any other contemporary American leader, Barack Obama is a racial arsonist, said Carlson. He emerges at our most vulnerable moments to deepen the wounds that divide us. He sows hate.

He then asked his audience, Why does Barack Obama do this? Well, it would take a psychiatrist to answer that question fully, though it seems obvious that deep loathing of some kind plays a role. It must play a role.

He then concluded by alleging that Obama managed to divide Americans a little more than they were yesterday, and so from his perspective, mission accomplished.

Carlson, and many conservative talking heads are upset because Tuesday, Obama who was often critiqued by the Black community for not speaking about race more radically during his presidency issued a statement about the Colorado shooting that very pointedly called out both racism and misogyny for emboldening the violent attacks.

As theGrio previously reported, the former president took to Twitter to release a copy of his statement with a caption, reading, A once-in-a-century pandemic cannot be the only thing that slows mass shootings in this country. Its time for leaders everywhere to listen to the American people when they say enough is enough.

Story continues

In the statement, Obama shares that he and wife Michelle are grieving with the families of the victims, along with the families of the people killed in Atlanta the week before.

Read More: Biden senior advisor Cedric Richmond on how American Rescue Plan benefits Black communities

The statement goes on to say, Because in addition to grief we are feeling a deep and familiar outrage that we as a nation continue to tolerate this kind of random acts day in and day out without taking any significant action.

In so many ways, our lives may soon start to return to normal after a long, difficult year filled with so much loss. But in a normal life, we should be able to buy groceries without fear. We should be able to go to school, or go out with friends, or worship together without mentally planning our escape if someone shows up with a gun, Obama continues.

He adds, We should be able to live our lives without wondering if the next trip outside our home will be our last. We should. But in America, we cant.

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Tucker Carlson slams Barack Obama for saying recent shootings were motivated by racism and misogyny - Yahoo News

White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki on Monday said that President Biden maintains "regular" communication with Barack Obama on a number of issues.

Psaki was asked by a reporter whether Obama had visited the White House and how often the two speak, to which she responded that Obama and Biden have a relationship that is not defined as president and vice president instead, they are "friends."

"They consult and talk about a range of issues and I would expect that continues through the course of President Bidens presidency," Psaki said. "That can be done over the phone it turns out, and I think if President Obama had been here, you would all know."

Psaki declined to give an exact number of times that the powerful pair had spoken, but said they "keep in regular touch" and their respective teams also were in regular touch "about a range of issues."

JEN PSAKI DODGES QUESTION ABOUT WHETHER BIDEN SAW DOCTOR AFTER FALL

Psaki added that given Obamas work on the Affordable Care Act, which Biden has committed to strengthening and expanding, that is one issue they will talk about.

She pointed questions as to what else Obama would specifically be involved in to his team.

Biden has tapped a number of individuals who previously served in the Obama administration to join his team, including chief of staff Ron Klain, National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan, U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen and Secretary of State Antony Blinken.

Despite the longstanding friendship, Obama drew interest from the media after he waited until late in the campaign cycle to formally endorse Biden

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Meanwhile, Biden drew criticism throughout the campaign from Democratic contenders who accused him of running on Obamas legacy.

During one 2019 debate, for example, Julin Castro, who served as Obamas housing secretary, said Biden wanted to take credit for the Obama administrations victories but did not want to answer for any potential shortcomings.

"My problem with Vice President Biden every time something good about Barack Obama comes up, he says, Oh, I was there, I was there, I was there, thats me, too," Castro said. "And then every time somebody questions part of the administration that we were both part of, he says, Well, that was the president. I mean, he wants to take credit for Obama's work, but not have to answer to any questions."

Biden responded at the time that he stood with Obama over the eight years of his term.

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Biden regularly consults with Barack Obama on a 'range of issues,' Psaki says - Fox News

Entrepreneurs from the six ventures selected for the inaugural 2019-20 Housing Lab cohort in effort ... [+] to break through barriers to housing affordability and equity.

A funny-but-unfair potshot the American housing industry gets is this: Its a 200-year-old industry undeterred by progress. Thats the glib narrative, and its at least part-true. What the one-liner belies, however, is that invention and progress have sent shivers of light, excitement, and possibility through U.S. housing and constructions $3-trillion-a-year firmament, especially of late.

Three vaunted examples:

And these sweeping shifts dont even take into consideration an accelerating flow of materials science applications, the role of artificial intelligence in design and construction, the explosive power of building information modeling, a still-barely tapped digital thread linking a household to his, her, or their future home and community.

The trouble is this.

Who specifically does all of this real-world, real-time innovationoccurring at every turn in geographical nooks and crannies and cracks and crevices of residential real estate and constructionultimately impact? Factories, distribution centers, job sites, white board conference rooms, research and development labs, innovators among lenders, financiers, marketers, builders, planners, developers, architects, materials suppliers, etc.housing teems with change-agents, young, middle-aged, and older.

Innovation promises, but does it deliver on those promises? Whether an innovation bends the cost curve, improves productivity, or expands the credit box, reduces friction, adds inventory, lowers regulatory barriers, etc., they all beg the same questions. Are fewer people housing burdened? Are more properties safe from natural hazard harm or destruction? Do more homes operate at net carbon positive levels that will, possibly lower risk of climate collapse?

The answer is yes and no. Innovations tend to do one of the three big jobs they need to, but not the other two. As a result, housings familiar whack-a-mole phenomenon of solving for an issue and either worsening or ignoring two equally compelling challenges.

Certainly, the innovations mentioned above all claim beneficiaries and create new value. Still, can the effort and investment in housings most scientifically, strategically, and financially innovative work apply brilliance and ingenuity where housing needs it most of all? Solutions to crisis challenges in housing affordability, sustainability, and resiliency at a time needespecially among societys most vulnerable peopleis non-negotiable across all three spheres.

Carol Galante, the I. Donald Terner Professor in Affordable Housing and Urban Planning, and founder ... [+] and faculty director of the Terner Center for Housing Innovation at Berkeley.

In both the private sector and among earnest and enlightened people working in the public sector, were seeing active efforts to stretch out of the past into the future, says former Obama Administration housing official Carol Galante, who is I. Donald Terner Professor in Affordable Housing and Urban Planning and founder-faculty director of the Terner Center for Housing Innovation at University of California at Berkeley.

Were not going to get to the solutions we need unless we marry policy change with innovations in practice and innovations in the way we finance projects and community development, and in how we define ownership and stakeholder-ship, Galante says. Were seeing great strides of progress everywhere in how we build housing, how we get it approved, and how we get it financed, and we have to work to apply these innovative techniques to create results where housing can be a solution for where the crises hit the hardest.

Galantelike many of housings pantheon of experts and leadersnotes that a day almost never goes by that does not come with it revelation of some unprecedented height of unparalleled achievement, unrivaled capability, breakthrough processes, material, integration, designs, engineered impact on structure, systems, and livability. Game-changing uses of technology, data, machine learning, robotics, match-making, process engineering, etc. dazzle the mind in ways few could have imagined a decade ago.

But when it comes to keepersdisruptive innovations that gain sector-wide, transformative traction, at least near-universal adoption, and implementation in housingmany of even the most necessary and ingenious of todays initiatives fall short of the kind of impact housing needs most urgently right now.

Its always a challenge for policyparticularly local land-use policyto keep pace with building technologies advances, and, lately financial ones, Galante notes. If anything good can come out of the enormous distress the pandemic has created its what Id call an emerging coalition of the willing on the policy front that have both been exposed more profoundly to wealth and income disparities among people of color and societys most vulnerable populations, and experienced, first-hand, a sense of possibility around whats achievable.

Galante and her colleagues at Terner Centers Housing Lab accelerator program are accepting applications through April 7, 2021 for a second cohort of new ventures whose strategies, operational models, and impact would promote an equitable economic recovery from the current pandemic shock and economic disruption.

We are looking for innovators with creative solutions that are responsive to the unique circumstances of the current moment, while also being responsive to the housing market failures that existed long before COVID-19, a Housing Lab challenge reads.

For year two, the Housing Lab will support ventures accepted into its 2021 cohort with a $100,000 grant, a dedicated business coach, capital structure advice, and access to the Terner Centers ecosystem of builders, policy makers, nonprofits, and entrepreneurs. In 2020, six new venturesDigs, Dweller, ESuSu, Hurry Home, Padsplit, and PrefabADU were selected from nearly 140 applications from all fifty U.S. states. Within six months of graduation, two ventures completed their next funding rounds and one was acquired, despite graduating into the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic. Participating entrepreneurs rated the Lab with a Net Promoter Score of 100. All six companies are still in operation and on a path towards scale.

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Obama-Era Official: Housing Crisis Impact Hinges On These 3 Must-Have Solutions - Forbes

HAPPY SPRING TO THOSE WHO CELEBRATE. Welcome to Overnight Energy, your source for the days energy and environment news.

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SEND THE MARINES: Supreme Court declines to hear challenge to Obama marine monument designation

The Supreme Court has declined to hear a challenge to former President Obamas designation of a national monument 130 miles off the coast of Cape Cod, Mass.

Chief Justice John Roberts wrote in a statement issued Monday that despite concerns about the designation of the Northeast Canyons and Seamounts Marine National Monument, the lawsuit does not satisfy our usual criteria for reviewing cases.

Roberts explains his ruling: To date, petitioners have not suggested what this critical statutory phrase means or what standard might guide our review of the Presidents actions in this area, Roberts wrote.

His decision upholds a 2019 appeals court ruling in favor of the monument.

Obama established the monument in 2016 to protect deep sea environments and marine life.

Read more about the ruling.

MISSOURI BUSINESS: Interior reverses course on tribal ownership of portion of Missouri river

The Interior Department has reversed a Trump administration decision determining that a portion of the Missouri River was under the jurisdiction of the state of North Dakota rather than a Native American reservation.

Trump officials had concluded a part of the river that flows through the Berthold Indian Reservation was within the states jurisdiction rather than that of the Mandan, Hidatsa and Arikara Nation, the reservations three affiliated tribes.

Interesting timing:The opinion comes days after Interior Secretary Deb HaalandDeb Haaland Bald eagle population has quadrupled in last decade White House withdraws deputy Interior secretary amid reported pushback from Murkowski OVERNIGHT ENERGY: Supreme Court declines to hear challenge to Obama marine monument designation | Interior reverses course on tribal ownership of portion of Missouri river | White House climate adviser meets with oil and gas companies MORE became the first Native American Cabinet secretary. Native groups have expressed hope that Haalands confirmation will mean they have an ally in the department on issues affecting tribes.

The previous administrations M-Opinion overturned decades of existing precedent holding that the Missouri riverbed belonged to the Mandan, Hidatsa, and Arikara (MHA) Nation, an Interior spokesperson said in a statement. Todays action will allow us to review the matter and ensure the Interior Department is upholding its trust and treaty obligations in accordance with the law.

The origins of the dispute: The earlier opinion is the subject of a legal challenge by the tribe in the District Court for the District of Columbia, according to the department. The court has granted the Interior Department a stay to review that opinion.

North Dakota has maintained the state owns the mineral rights to the portion of the river while the tribes have asserted legal precedent dating back to 1936 that gives them ownership.

Read more about the case here.

GRID YOUR TEETH: Moniz says Texas blackouts show need to protect infrastructure against climate change

Former Energy Secretary Ernest MonizErnest Jeffrey MonizOVERNIGHT ENERGY: Supreme Court declines to hear challenge to Obama marine monument designation | Interior reverses course on tribal ownership of portion of Missouri river | White House climate adviser meets with oil and gas companies Moniz: Texas blackouts show need to protect infrastructure against climate change The Hill's Morning Report - Biden: Back to the future on immigration, Afghanistan, Iran MORE on Monday told lawmakers that recent extreme weather events in Texas underscored the need to better incorporate climate change risks into energy infrastructure.

Climate change means that the weather patterns of the past are not adequate to inform those of the future, Moniz said at a hearing hosted by the House Energy and Commerce Committee.

Advice for the future: Research, development, and demonstration of grid resilience technologies will be critically important to preserving reliability, an essential role of the federal government, he added.

Moniz, who served during the Obama administration, noted that both the failure of the Texas grid and rolling blackouts in parts of California were indicative of the need to protect energy infrastructure from extreme climate events.

Read more about Monizs testimony here.

FRIENDS OR FRENEMIES: White House climate adviser meets with oil and gas companies

National climate adviser Gina McCarthyGina McCarthyOVERNIGHT ENERGY: Supreme Court declines to hear challenge to Obama marine monument designation | Interior reverses course on tribal ownership of portion of Missouri river | White House climate adviser meets with oil and gas companies White House climate adviser meets with oil and gas companies Three things Biden can do to unleash state and local climate action MORE on Monday met virtually with leadership from oil and gas companies to discuss shared priorities, according to a readout from the White House.

The readout, which did not specify which companies or individuals participated, said that these priorities included climate change, protecting and creating jobs and ensuring that the U.S. is a leader on clean energy.

McCarthy made clear that the Administration is not fighting the oil and gas sector, but fighting to create union jobs, deploy emission reduction technologies, strengthen American manufacturing, and fuel the American economy, according to the White House.

The background on the meeting: The meeting comes amid tensions between the White House and some in the industry over moves like putting a temporary pause on new leases for oil and gas drilling on public lands.

That pause is pending a review from the administration of its oil and gas program, and the Interior Department will hold a forum this week where groups representing industry, tribal and environmental viewpoints will speak.

Read more about the meeting here.

FORUM ME, NOT FOR THEE: Senate GOP pushes back on list of participants in oil and gas leasing forum

Republicans on the Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources are raising objections to the Interior Departments list of participants for a forum on federal oil and gas leases.

In a letter sent Monday, Republicans on the panel accused the department of deliberately excluding Republican governors of energy-producing states. The forum, set for March 25, will review the Biden administrations moratorium on new oil and gas leases on federal lands.

We believe that you have intentionally limited the right for the public to participate, including state-wide elected officials, namely the governors of our states, says the letter.

GOP senators signing the letter included Sen. John BarrassoJohn Anthony BarrassoOvernight Energy: Senate confirms David Turk as deputy Energy secretary | 14 states sue Biden administration over leasing pause for public lands drilling | Regulator knocks Texas for failing to winterize power equipment Senate confirms David Turk as deputy Energy secretary OVERNIGHT ENERGY: Supreme Court declines to hear challenge to Obama marine monument designation | Interior reverses course on tribal ownership of portion of Missouri river | White House climate adviser meets with oil and gas companies MORE (Wyo.), the panel's ranking member, as well as Sens. Cynthia LummisCynthia Marie LummisOVERNIGHT ENERGY: Supreme Court declines to hear challenge to Obama marine monument designation | Interior reverses course on tribal ownership of portion of Missouri river | White House climate adviser meets with oil and gas companies Senate GOP pushes back on list of participants in oil and gas leasing forum Small cities fret over feds redefining metro areas MORE (Wyo.), Steve DainesSteven (Steve) David DainesOVERNIGHT ENERGY: Supreme Court declines to hear challenge to Obama marine monument designation | Interior reverses course on tribal ownership of portion of Missouri river | White House climate adviser meets with oil and gas companies Senate GOP pushes back on list of participants in oil and gas leasing forum Democrats, Republicans recommend more input, detail on Biden conservation goals MORE (Mt.), Bill CassidyBill CassidyVivek Murthy confirmed as surgeon general OVERNIGHT ENERGY: Supreme Court declines to hear challenge to Obama marine monument designation | Interior reverses course on tribal ownership of portion of Missouri river | White House climate adviser meets with oil and gas companies Senate GOP pushes back on list of participants in oil and gas leasing forum MORE (La.), Jim RischJim Elroy RischOVERNIGHT ENERGY: Supreme Court declines to hear challenge to Obama marine monument designation | Interior reverses course on tribal ownership of portion of Missouri river | White House climate adviser meets with oil and gas companies Senate GOP pushes back on list of participants in oil and gas leasing forum Murkowski votes with Senate panel to advance Haaland nomination MORE (Idaho), John HoevenJohn Henry HoevenOVERNIGHT ENERGY: Supreme Court declines to hear challenge to Obama marine monument designation | Interior reverses course on tribal ownership of portion of Missouri river | White House climate adviser meets with oil and gas companies Senate GOP pushes back on list of participants in oil and gas leasing forum Small cities fret over feds redefining metro areas MORE (N.D.), John CornynJohn CornynDemocrats divided on gun control strategy Senate panel ties on embattled Pentagon nominee OVERNIGHT ENERGY: Supreme Court declines to hear challenge to Obama marine monument designation | Interior reverses course on tribal ownership of portion of Missouri river | White House climate adviser meets with oil and gas companies MORE (Texas), and Kevin CramerKevin John CramerOVERNIGHT ENERGY: Supreme Court declines to hear challenge to Obama marine monument designation | Interior reverses course on tribal ownership of portion of Missouri river | White House climate adviser meets with oil and gas companies Senate GOP pushes back on list of participants in oil and gas leasing forum Small cities fret over feds redefining metro areas MORE (N.D.).

Read more about the letter here.

IS IT INFRASTRUCTURE WEEK YET? The New York Times and The Washington Post on Monday reported that the White House is preparing a $3 trillion infrastructure and jobs package that could have major investments in the fight against climate change.

Specifically, The Post reported that the proposal devotes $400 billion to preventing climate change, including: $60 billion for green transit infrastructure, $46 billion for climate-related R&D. It also reportedly aims to boost the availability of electric vehicle charging stations.

ON TAP TOMORROW:

WHAT WERE READING:

FOIA docs raise questions about interference in wind project, E&E News reports

Federal regulators in some cases dont know for sure whether California oil companies are obeying the law, The Desert Sun and ProPublica report

A Colorado county may have a model for the nations conservation efforts, The Denver Post reports

EPA deal with Ala. polluter undercuts Biden equity pledge, E&E News reports

ICYMI: Stories from Monday and the weekend

Senate GOP pushes back on list of participants in oil and gas leasing forum

Moniz: Texas blackouts show need to protect infrastructure against climate change

Interior reverses course on tribal ownership of portion of Missouri River

Supreme Court declines to hear challenge to Obama marine monument designation

Japan issues tsunami warning after major quake rocks country

FROM THE HILLS OPINION PAGES

Why the US should care about the China-India 'blackout war' by Peter Pry of the Task Force on National and Homeland Security

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OVERNIGHT ENERGY: Supreme Court declines to hear challenge to Obama marine monument designation | Interior reverses course on tribal ownership of...