"The Trump administration’s highly unusual deal to develop Venezuela’s vast oil resources would have the U.S. government collaborate with an influential and polarizing Venezuelan businessman."
"Construction on — or at least preparations for — a border wall through Texas’s Big Bend National Park and the larger Big Bend region have been halted through Sept. 15, and possibly longer, a federal judge said from the bench Friday."
"California sued the Trump administration and Golden State Wind over the federal government’s deal with the company to cancel an offshore wind project lease, alleging the transaction violated multiple federal laws."
The world may be your oyster, but if you’re an environmental journalist, the oyster may also be your story. The latest TipSheet points out (amid numerous tasty serving tips) that oysters say a great deal about the health of local waters … and of the humans who consume the mollusk. Get a dozen-plus oyster story ideas and reporting resources.
"Around 70,000 are expected be at the Nevada desert festival, with it urging attendees to treat “everyone affected by this emergency with patience and care.”"
"Many Venezuelans suspected that there was going to be a price to pay for President Trump’s brazen capture of their autocratic leader, Nicolás Maduro, who was arrested by U.S. forces in January. On Friday, that cost became clear when Mr. Trump announced that the U.S. would be taking majority control of a vast part of Venezuela’s oil reserves — national resources long considered by many in the country to be a birthright."
"For more than a year, the National Park Service has been quietly working to fulfill an unprecedented directive from Trump officials: Parcel off a corner of Yosemite National Park to give to a private developer."
"McDonald’s, Subway and Taco Bell are failing to keep up with pledges to reduce the use of antibiotics in their beef supply, according to a group of food safety advocates."
"As farmers balk at skyrocketing fertilizer costs and runoff threatens drinking water sources in Iowa, North American manufacturers are raking in cash." "The net earnings of North America’s top fertilizer producers raise questions about who benefits most from fertilizer use, an advocacy group says."
"The Interior Department will soon publish a “categorical exclusion” that will rubber stamp oil and gas development in Alaska’s remote National Petroleum Reserve."
