Citing German privacy laws, Volkswagen has refused to provide emails or other communications among its executives to attorneys general in the United States, impeding American investigations into the company’s emissions-cheating scandal. [The NY Times]

Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack today awarded $46 million in assistance to the Vermont Energy Investment Corporation to support energy efficiency and renewable energy improvements in rural areas across the state. [USDA]

On top of a fiscal crisis and dropping oil prices and production, Alaska is on track for its first year of job losses in seven years, according to an economic trends report released Thursday. [Alaska Dispatch News]