"A former chemical-industry executive who fought against stronger regulations under the first Trump administration is returning to take a critical role at the Environmental Protection Agency, two people with knowledge of the appointment said, raising concerns of corporate influence on chemical safety regulations."
"The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is moving to withdraw its interim regulatory decision on paraquat, announcing that it needs more time to examine the potential health effects of the weed killing chemical that has been widely used in agriculture for decades, but also linked for years to the incurable brain ailment known as Parkinson’s disease."
"To the extent that X ever was the “public square” of the internet, it is clearly no longer such a place. The platform — known as Twitter until it was rechristened in 2023 by Elon Musk — has become an echo chamber for extremist conspiracy theories and hate speech — or, depending on what you’re looking for, a porn site."
"At the height of the Los Angeles County wildfires, atmospheric concentrations of lead, a neurotoxin, reached 100 times average levels even miles from the flames, according to early detailed measurements obtained by The New York Times. Levels of chlorine, which is also toxic at low concentrations, reached 40 times the average."
"President Donald Trump ordered his administration to consider eliminating subsidies and other policies that favor electric vehicles, laying the groundwork for moves that risk slowing adoption of cleaner cars in the US."
"The Trump administration has ordered federal agencies to “immediately pause the disbursement of funds” under the landmark federal climate and energy laws passed during the Biden administration, a move that will throw tens of billions of dollars of lawfully designated federal funding into limbo — and one that is likely to be challenged in court."
"During his first day in office, U.S. President Donald Trump issued a flurry of executive orders that could bolster the fossil fuel industry amid mounting losses from the climate crisis."
"The Trump administration has instructed federal health agencies to pause all external communications, such as health advisories, weekly scientific reports, updates to websites and social media posts, according to nearly a dozen current and former officials and other people familiar with the matter."
"Former Trump administration officials and allies of President-elect Donald Trump’s nominee to lead EPA have popped up in that agency’s online staff directory as political appointees."
"Agencies and unions have put in place new guardrails designed to limit political interference in government research."
