"In a subcommittee hearing Tuesday, House Republicans sharply questioned the director of the National Museum of American History, Anthea Hartig. The GOP lawmakers' comments closely mirrored Trump administration's criticisms of the institution she leads as insufficiently patriotic."
"States have joined a growing legal fight against EPA’s May rule pushing back deadlines for the food industry to start buying climate-friendly refrigeration systems."
"The Trump administration is moving closer to opening up U.S. waters for deep-sea mining—a contentious and largely untested industry focused on extracting mineral-rich deposits from the ocean floor containing cobalt, copper, nickel and manganese." "If the sale moves forward, mining activities could begin in federal waters near American Samoa. The proposed site is directly adjacent to a national wildlife refuge."
"At the request of the Trump administration, a federal judge in Texas has stripped endangered species protections from a small lizard whose habitat overlaps with the largest oil-producing region in the United States." "The dunes sagebrush lizard, found only in the oil-rich Permian Basin, was classified as endangered two years ago."
"The Justice Department on Thursday withdrew the subpoenas that sought phone records and grand jury testimony from New York Times journalists who had reported on the security capabilities of President Trump’s new Qatari-donated Air Force One jet."
"New protections for endangered right whales in the North Atlantic would be postponed for nearly a decade under a plan that cleared a key hurdle in Washington last week with the full-throated support of the fishing and lobster industries."
"EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin promised to deliver for the coal industry Tuesday, as part of a broader push to reverse the sector’s fate. “Many of the items that were on your wish list are now done,” Zeldin told members of the National Coal Council gathered at the Willard hotel in Washington."
"U.S. lawmakers and Israeli officials have expressed opposition to such a plan, to be announced Wednesday, fearing that the kingdom could use a civilian nuclear project to develop nuclear weapons."
"The Trump administration was sued on Tuesday by 18 Democratic-led states, Washington, D.C. and New York City over a new federal rule they say would harm the climate by giving companies more time to stop using dangerous hydrofluorocarbons in commercial refrigeration equipment."
"The oil industry and its allies gained a major supporter in their yearslong effort to derail climate science programs at the National Academies: the president of the United States."
