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Long-stalled legislation to build the Keystone XL pipeline got new life on Wednesday after Senate Democrats suddenly abandoned efforts to block the measure in hopes of helping endangered Sen. Mary Landrieu keep her seat in energy-rich Louisiana.

Republicans responded swiftly to Landrieu's maneuvering, scheduling a vote in the House on Thursday on an identical bill sponsored by Rep. Bill Cassidy, Landrieu's Republican rival in a Dec. 6 runoff.

While the White House stopped short of directly threatening a veto, spokesman Josh Earnest said President Barack Obama takes a "dim view" of legislative efforts to force action on the project. Earnest reiterated Obama's preference for evaluating the pipeline through a long-stalled State Department review.

Republicans and several moderate Democrats insist that construction of the Canada-to-Texas pipeline would create tens of thousands of jobs. Environmentalists maintain that the project would have a negative impact and contribute to climate change.

"I believe that we should take the new majority leader at his word and stop blocking legislation that is broadly supported by the American public and has been for quite some time," Landrieu said in a speech on the Senate floor. "I want to say yes to majority leader — new majority leader Mitch McConnell. The time to start is now."

Landrieu cast herself as an independent willing to challenge Democrats and Republicans, hoping to shake up her Senate race.

"I've stood against my leadership," she told reporters, and added, "And I've stood up to the Republicans."

The back-and-forth came against the backdrop of a new political landscape and fresh calls for an end to Washington gridlock. Republicans rolled in midterm elections, seizing majority control of the Senate with a net gain of eight seats. A GOP victory in Louisiana would make it nine and Cassidy is heavily favored.

Come January, Republicans could have a 54-46 majority in the Senate if Cassidy wins, controlling the chamber and legislation for the first time in eight years.

McConnell said the election of a Republican Senate majority has already changed the dynamic.

"I hope this post-election conversion on Keystone signals Democrat cooperation on a whole host of other energy bills they have blocked, and whose passage would help to make America more energy-independent," he said in a statement.

Echoing Landrieu's plea for a vote were moderate Democrats from Republican states, who argued that the project that would carry oil from Canada south to the Gulf Coast. The southern leg of the pipeline between Oklahoma and Texas is already operational.

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., has moved in the past to prevent the Keystone measure from passing, giving credence to Republican claims that Landrieu is ineffective as chairman of the Energy and Natural Resources Committee.

The Republican sponsor of the bill, Sen. John Hoeven of North Dakota, said the measure has the support of all 45 Republicans and 11 Democrats. It will be incumbent upon Landrieu to persuade four more Democrats to back the measure to reach the 60-vote threshold.

One senior Senate Democratic aide said Reid would not attempt to defeat Landrieu's effort.

Asked if Obama would sign it, Landrieu told reporters: "I do not know."

Energy has been a central issue in the Senate race, and Keystone a frequent flashpoint with both Landrieu and Cassidy supporting the project. Cassidy has said Landrieu has been unable to deliver because of her party's leadership.

Landrieu has a strong alliance with the oil and gas industry and has pushed for an expansion of drilling in the U.S.

If elected, Cassidy would get a seat on the Energy panel. As a new senator, he would be low in the pecking order of panel members, and in the final two years of Obama's presidency, Cassidy and Louisiana's all-GOP congressional delegation would likely have little sway with the Democratic administration.

As Louisiana's last Democratic statewide elected official, Landrieu has a difficult path to victory in a state that overwhelmingly backed Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney in 2012. Fifty-eight percent of voters supported someone other than Landrieu in the primary last week.

Republican leaders are uniting behind Cassidy, a three-term congressman, while the national Democratic Party has decided against providing advertising support for Landrieu in the runoff.

Asked if she was a lost cause, Landrieu told reporters, "No, I don't believe that I am."

In a statement, Cassidy said it "is easy to wonder if the Senate is only considering this because of politics, even so, I hope the Senate and the president do the right thing and pass this legislation creating thousands of jobs."

In 2011, solar panel company Solyndra defaulted on a $535 million loan guaranteed by the Department of Energy. The agency had a few other high-profile bankruptcies, too — electric car company Fisker and solar company Abound among them. But now that loan program has started turning a profit.

Overall, the agency has loaned $34.2 billion to a variety of businesses, under a program designed to speed up development of clean-energy technology. Companies have defaulted on $780 million of that — a loss rate of 2.28 percent. The agency also has collected $810 million in interest payments, putting the program $30 million in the black.

When Congress created the loan program under the Energy Policy Act of 2005, it was never designed to be a moneymaker. In fact, Congress imagined there would be losses and set aside $10 billion to cover them.

Still, when the Solyndra case emerged, Republicans on Capitol Hill had pointed criticism for the Obama administration. Rep. Steve Scalise, R-La., called the Solyndra case "disgusting," and Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, labeled it "a colossal failure." The conservative group Americans for Prosperity produced a television ad accusing President Obama of paying back campaign contributors.

There was an FBI raid on Solyndra's headquarters and an investigation but, so far, no prosecutions. Now that the loan program is turning a profit, those critics are silent. They either declined or ignored NPR's requests for comment. And with that, Energy Secretary Ernest Moniz wants to change people's perception of his agency's loan program.

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"It literally kick-started the whole utility-scale photovoltaic industry," Moniz says. The program funded the first of five huge solar projects in the West. Moniz says before that, developers couldn't get money from private lenders. But now, with proven business models, they can.

The Energy Department actively monitors all the companies in its portfolio for potential default risks, "and when there are warning flags, then the disbursements are suspended — possibly ended," Moniz says.

But he says the Energy Department doesn't want to go too far in the direction of only lending to safe investments. "We have to be careful that we don't walk away from risk, because otherwise we're not really going to advance the marketplace," he says.

Moniz points to a small company called Beacon Power as an example. It got an Energy Department loan, went bankrupt and defaulted on about $14 million in debt. Today the company is back in business, providing a valuable service to electricity grids and repaying the rest of its loan.

In eastern Pennsylvania, one of Beacon's facilities sits on 4 acres in an industrial park. Underground are 200 black flywheels that each measure 7 feet tall and 3 feet around, and weigh 2,000 pounds. They spin faster when storing energy and slow down when releasing it.

"We're recycling excess energy that's on the power grid and then putting it back into the grid when it's needed," explains President and CEO Barry Brits. He says the flywheels are essentially mechanical batteries.

But unlike the battery in your cellphone, the flywheel doesn't wear out over time. "What's unique about the flywheel is that it really is unlimited in terms of the number of times it can charge and discharge," Brits says.

i i

Beacon Power's plant in Hazle Township, Pa., stores electricity for brief periods, making it easier for the local power grid to integrate intermittent forms of renewable generation, such as wind and solar. Flywheels located in the blue cylinders store energy and operate like a battery — pulling in power from the grid when there's too much and releasing it back out when there's not enough. Jeff Brady/NPR hide caption

itoggle caption Jeff Brady/NPR

Beacon Power's plant in Hazle Township, Pa., stores electricity for brief periods, making it easier for the local power grid to integrate intermittent forms of renewable generation, such as wind and solar. Flywheels located in the blue cylinders store energy and operate like a battery — pulling in power from the grid when there's too much and releasing it back out when there's not enough.

Jeff Brady/NPR

Being able to store electricity is important because wind and solar generators only produce power when the sun is shining and the wind is blowing. That can make life difficult for grid operators who must balance the amount of electricity produced with how much is used. Storing power — even for brief periods — gives them more flexibility and makes it easier to include intermittent forms of renewable generation on the grid.

Brits says the Department of Energy loan allowed his company to test and then improve its flywheels. "Our technology is now well-proven. We have over 7 million operating hours," he says, adding that building a plant costs half of what it did three years ago.

Despite early missteps, the Department of Energy is ready to invest in more projects that could advance clean energy technology in the U.S. Moniz says his agency has about $40 billion to lend in coming years.

Department of Energy

Solyndra

Long-stalled legislation to build the Keystone XL pipeline got new life on Wednesday after Senate Democrats suddenly abandoned efforts to block the measure in hopes of helping endangered Sen. Mary Landrieu keep her seat in energy-rich Louisiana.

Republicans responded swiftly to Landrieu's maneuvering, scheduling a vote in the House on Thursday on an identical bill sponsored by Rep. Bill Cassidy, Landrieu's Republican rival in a Dec. 6 runoff.

While the White House stopped short of directly threatening a veto, spokesman Josh Earnest said President Barack Obama takes a "dim view" of legislative efforts to force action on the project. Earnest reiterated Obama's preference for evaluating the pipeline through a long-stalled State Department review.

Republicans and several moderate Democrats insist that construction of the Canada-to-Texas pipeline would create tens of thousands of jobs. Environmentalists maintain that the project would have a negative impact and contribute to climate change.

"I believe that we should take the new majority leader at his word and stop blocking legislation that is broadly supported by the American public and has been for quite some time," Landrieu said in a speech on the Senate floor. "I want to say yes to majority leader — new majority leader Mitch McConnell. The time to start is now."

Landrieu cast herself as an independent willing to challenge Democrats and Republicans, hoping to shake up her Senate race.

"I've stood against my leadership," she told reporters, and added, "And I've stood up to the Republicans."

The back-and-forth came against the backdrop of a new political landscape and fresh calls for an end to Washington gridlock. Republicans rolled in midterm elections, seizing majority control of the Senate with a net gain of eight seats. A GOP victory in Louisiana would make it nine and Cassidy is heavily favored.

Come January, Republicans could have a 54-46 majority in the Senate if Cassidy wins, controlling the chamber and legislation for the first time in eight years.

McConnell said the election of a Republican Senate majority has already changed the dynamic.

"I hope this post-election conversion on Keystone signals Democrat cooperation on a whole host of other energy bills they have blocked, and whose passage would help to make America more energy-independent," he said in a statement.

Echoing Landrieu's plea for a vote were moderate Democrats from Republican states, who argued that the project that would carry oil from Canada south to the Gulf Coast. The southern leg of the pipeline between Oklahoma and Texas is already operational.

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., has moved in the past to prevent the Keystone measure from passing, giving credence to Republican claims that Landrieu is ineffective as chairman of the Energy and Natural Resources Committee.

The Republican sponsor of the bill, Sen. John Hoeven of North Dakota, said the measure has the support of all 45 Republicans and 11 Democrats. It will be incumbent upon Landrieu to persuade four more Democrats to back the measure to reach the 60-vote threshold.

One senior Senate Democratic aide said Reid would not attempt to defeat Landrieu's effort.

Asked if Obama would sign it, Landrieu told reporters: "I do not know."

Energy has been a central issue in the Senate race, and Keystone a frequent flashpoint with both Landrieu and Cassidy supporting the project. Cassidy has said Landrieu has been unable to deliver because of her party's leadership.

Landrieu has a strong alliance with the oil and gas industry and has pushed for an expansion of drilling in the U.S.

If elected, Cassidy would get a seat on the Energy panel. As a new senator, he would be low in the pecking order of panel members, and in the final two years of Obama's presidency, Cassidy and Louisiana's all-GOP congressional delegation would likely have little sway with the Democratic administration.

As Louisiana's last Democratic statewide elected official, Landrieu has a difficult path to victory in a state that overwhelmingly backed Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney in 2012. Fifty-eight percent of voters supported someone other than Landrieu in the primary last week.

Republican leaders are uniting behind Cassidy, a three-term congressman, while the national Democratic Party has decided against providing advertising support for Landrieu in the runoff.

Asked if she was a lost cause, Landrieu told reporters, "No, I don't believe that I am."

In a statement, Cassidy said it "is easy to wonder if the Senate is only considering this because of politics, even so, I hope the Senate and the president do the right thing and pass this legislation creating thousands of jobs."

It's a gray afternoon in Columbia, Mo., and Officer Cory Dawkins is escorting a man to jail — the suspect is charged with endangering a child. Dawkins pushes a button on his body camera to start recording, then exits his patrol car and walks the suspect inside the jailhouse.

The officer signs papers, talks shop with the guards, and returns to his vehicle.

While Dawkins didn't need his camera for this process, he's glad he has one. Especially after what happened in Ferguson, Mo., about an hour and a half away. When Officer Darren Wilson shot and killed 18-year-old Michael Brown in August, he was not wearing a body camera to record the incident.

"Unfortunately that officer in Ferguson did not have a body camera, or we might not be having this conversation," Dawkins says. "We might not have had all the mayhem that's happened in Ferguson if he had been wearing a body camera."

Sixteen days before the Ferguson shooting, Columbia's police department announced it was equipping all of its officers with body cameras made by Taser International.

The cost was about $130,000 up front for hardware and software, and then $40,000 every year after that for digital storage. Assistant Chief John Gordon says that while that's a lot of money, with a smaller force it's feasible.

"That's also for 100 officers," he says. "Well, St. Louis County, St. Louis city, I don't know how many officers those [have], but I mean that's huge. A huge investment."

i i

In its first earnings report since Ferguson, Taser International said bookings for camera and digital evidence storage nearly tripled from the same period last year. Taser International hide caption

itoggle caption Taser International

In its first earnings report since Ferguson, Taser International said bookings for camera and digital evidence storage nearly tripled from the same period last year.

Taser International

And Gordon worries that the attention generated by events in Ferguson may force other departments to make some difficult tradeoffs.

"Our fundamentals is to provide services to our taxpayers," Gordon says. "Our fundamentals is to protect our officers and our employees. And another one of our fundamentals is to make sure that we have a good trained staff, and those things should never be sacrificed for technology."

But more attention is a good thing for Dan Behrendt, chief financial officer at Taser International, the dominant player in the officer body camera market.

"It's a really exciting time for Taser and certainly all the momentum we're seeing in our wearable camera business is fun to talk about," Behrendt says.

In its first earnings report since Ferguson, Taser said bookings for camera and digital evidence storage nearly tripled from the same period last year.

Post-Ferguson, Behrendt says the number of agencies seeking out Taser cameras, something he calls inbound activity, is surging.

"The two weeks after Ferguson we saw about a [tenfold] increase in inbound activity and that sort of sustained at about [double] what the previous level was," he says.

Steve Dyer, an analyst at Craig-Hallum Capital in Minneapolis, says with about 1 million sworn police officers in the U.S., there are lots of sales opportunities.

"It's a bit of a land grab, and by that I mean that I think a lot of these deals, you know, will happen, will be won in the next 12 to 18 months," Dyer says.

Dyer says Taser is positioned well to expand quickly to match demand, in part because it already sells police departments the weapons that share its name.

All Tech Considered

Using Technology To Counter Police Mistrust Is Complicated

The new demand is also luring others into the market.

Law

Even Police Body Cameras Can Lose Sight Of The Truth

Gordon, the assistant chief, says in just the past few months, he's seen new companies introducing competing technology.

"We're on a 3-year contract with Taser," he says. "But in 2 to 2 1/2 years, we're going to start seeing what technology is out there."

And when the time comes to renew their contract, Gordon is hopeful that the new generation of cameras will be much cheaper.

body cameras

Ferguson, Mo.

Police