Drinking water may be ubiquitous in the United States, but that doesn’t mean it’s always safe. To report the answer in your community, the latest Reporter’s Toolbox suggests exploring the Safe Drinking Water Information System, a federal government database mandated by the Safe Drinking Water Act. Here’s how to use it to identify whether your local systems meet its standards.
For years, state-sponsored programs have helped California farmworkers get much-needed access to clean water. But many immigrants now shun these services, afraid of exposure to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents. As Circle of Blue intern Anahita Banerjee dug into this story, she discovered that their fear extended to speaking with journalists — and that ICE activities threatened her own safety.
"The Trump administration directed staff to open wildlife refuges to hunters even as many national parks and other government services close."
"With trade threats from President Donald Trump, the U.S. derailed the world’s first global carbon fee on shipping as an international maritime meeting adjourned Friday without adopting regulations."
"The Department of Interior is preparing mass layoffs beginning Monday despite a federal judge’s order prohibiting firings due to the shutdown, a federal employee union said Thursday."
"A federal judge in New York last month struck down the state’s Save the Hudson Act, a law that aimed to prevent Holtec International, the owner of the decommissioned Indian Point nuclear plant, from dumping over a million gallons of radioactive wastewater into the Hudson River."
"Colorado oil and gas companies used toxic chemicals prohibited under state law in operations involving dozens of wells on either side of the Rocky Mountains over at least the last 18 months, a Capital & Main investigation found."
"Only about one-fifth of applicants for federal disaster assistance from Kerr County have been deemed eligible to get financial help so far, leaving hundreds without governmental aid more than three months after deadly floods ravaged the county on July 4."
"A new law in Ohio will fast-track energy projects in places that are hard to argue with: former coal mines and brownfields."
"In a rare example of continuity on energy policy, Trump’s DOE finalized the Biden-era loan to upgrade 5,000 miles of power lines across the Midwest."
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