National (U.S.)

"The Biden administration this week restored Obama-era farmworker protections from pesticides that were rolled back under the Trump administration."

"In a novel lawsuit brought early last year, a trio of Louisiana challengers laid out a sweeping narrative that traced a direct line between the oppressive legacy of slavery and allegedly discriminatory air pollution exposure. But their bid to upend one parish’s land-use practices faltered when a federal judge threw out the suit eight months later on prosaic procedural grounds. Now, those plaintiffs are regrouping for a rematch before the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals."

"The amount of rain that Tropical Storm Helene unleashed over North Carolina was so intense, no amount of preparation could have entirely prevented the destruction that ensued. But decisions made by state officials in the years leading up to Helene most likely made some of that damage worse, according to experts in building standards and disaster resilience."

"As residents of western North Carolina piece together their lives following Hurricane Helene, few will be able to rely on federal flood insurance to help them rebuild."

"Voting started Wednesday in the annual Fat Bear Week contest at Alaska’s Katmai National Park and Preserve, with viewers picking their favorite among a dozen brown bears fattened up to survive the winter."

"President Biden on Wednesday signed legislation exempting semiconductor manufacturing facilities from environmental reviews — despite objections from some Democrats and green activists who have expressed concerns about the potential for toxic waste."

"Urban populations in Southern Californian are facing chronic exposure to toxic airborne “plasticizer” compounds — two of which have already been banned from children’s products, a new study has found."

"As flooding hammered Appalachia in the aftermath of Hurricane Helene, residents became intimately familiar with a new norm in the US’s post-storm script: dams at imminent risk of failing."

"Democrats are deploying climate arguments against Republican Rick Scott in the state’s contentious Senate race."

"JD Vance and Tim Walz on Tuesday both avoided talking about the main cause of global warming that is powering the kind of violent weather that struck the Southeast this week: the burning of fossil fuels."