National (U.S.)

"A federal judge in Massachusetts ruled Thursday that the Trump administration could not unilaterally cancel a Federal Emergency Management Agency grant program that states used for disaster preparation, imposing a potential hurdle in the administration’s efforts to tighten FEMA’s purse strings."

"An environmental group on Wednesday filed a lawsuit challenging the National Park Service’s plan to emblazon President Trump’s face on some annual passes to national parks starting Jan. 1."

"Fewer inspections, weaker enforcement and less oversight: Deep cuts to state budgets and at the Environmental Protection Agency are preventing regulators from fully protecting the public from pollution, according to a report released today by the Environmental Integrity Project."

"The nonprofit said in a new report that pipeline company Energy Transfer reported hundreds of oil spills to federal regulators in recent years, among other incidents."

"The Trump administration is set to unveil its plan this week to reform the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), a proposal that is sure to be contentious but is not expected to go as far as earlier calls to eliminate the agency completely."

"Scientists have issued an urgent warning that some of the synthetic chemicals that help underpin the current food system are driving increased rates of cancer, neurodevelopmental conditions and infertility, while degrading the foundations of global agriculture."

"Lawmakers’ bid to slow the closure of the department’s largest research facility rests on iffy legal ground but waves a yellow flag at the Trump administration."

"EPA has set out new guidelines for its staff interacting with polluters, championing quick compliance for violators of the law before turning to tough enforcement."

"Karen Budd-Falen, a top official at the Department of the Interior, has financial ties to the controversial Thacker Pass lithium mine in northern Nevada — a project that the Trump administration worked to fast-track during its first term. In recent months, the administration took an equity stake in the mine and the mine’s parent company."

"President Donald Trump said Wednesday that the United States has seized an oil tanker off the coast of Venezuela as tensions mount with the government of President Nicolás Maduro."