National (U.S.)

"Hurricane Milton was upgraded back to a Category 5 storm as it churns toward Florida’s west coast. The Tampa Bay area, home to more than 3.3 million people, faced the possibility of widespread destruction after avoiding direct hits from major hurricanes for more than a century."

"Black residents of Louisiana’s St. James Parish asked a federal appeals court on Monday to overturn a lower court ruling and give them the opportunity to argue at trial that local land-use policies are racist and have concentrated polluting industrial plants in their neighborhoods."

"Rodent studies given to US regulators by insecticide makers close to 20 years ago revealed the chemicals could be harmful to the animals’ brain development – data worrisome for humans exposed to the popular pesticides but not properly accounted for by regulators, according to a new research report published this week."

"Climate activists are calling out incumbents' poor environmental records in a coordinated drive to flip the House to Democratic control."

"The cash-strapped US Federal Emergency Management Agency is set to be tested by back-to-back major disasters as Hurricane Milton barrels toward Florida’s Gulf Coast less than two weeks after Helene devastated the Southeast."

"About a decade after the Flint water crisis, the Biden administration is requiring the removal of most of the nation’s lead-contaminated water pipes within 10 years."

"Over 9 million people in Florida are under a hurricane warning as Hurricane Milton approaches, posing a dangerous, life-threatening threat. The warning encompasses some of Florida's most populated cities, including Tampa, Orlando, and St. Petersburg, as well as coastal communities from Cedar Key to Cape Coral."

"New research shows how toxic chemicals hitch a ride with seabirds flying from southern latitudes to the Arctic."