First Thing: White House gives major boost to electric vehicle charging points

Biden administration unveils $623m in funding amid concern that transition to zero-carbon transportation not keeping pace with climate crisis. Plus, Ai Weiwei on AI art

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Joe Biden's administration has unveiled $623m in funding to boost the number of electric vehicle charging points in the US, amid concerns that the transition to zero-carbon transportation is failing to keeping pace with goals to tackle the climate crisis.

How many electric charging points are there in the US? There are about 170,000 electric vehicle chargers in the US, a huge leap from a network that was barely visible before Biden took office. The White House has set a goal for 500,000 chargers to help support the shift away from gasoline and diesel.

What else has happened in the race? Chris Christie, Trump's most vociferous critic among the Republican contenders, announced yesterday that he was ending his bid for the presidency, after polling low ahead of the first primary in Iowa.

Who is left? Christie leaves Haley, DeSantis, Trump and Vivek Ramaswamy in the race for the Republican nomination.