EJToday: Top Headlines

"President Joe Biden’s bold spending proposal for the EPA and climate programs could sway skeptical Republicans if it can be framed as a way of juicing the economy, some environmentalists and energy analysts said Friday."

"Two South Korean industrial giants have reached a last-minute, $1.8 billion global settlement of a trade secrets case that will allow a pair of new plants in Commerce, Ga., to move ahead with plans to supply batteries for Ford and Volkswagen electric vehicles."

"Lawyers suing Swiss chemical company Syngenta are asking a U.S. judicial panel to consolidate more than a dozen similar lawsuits under the oversight of a federal judge in California."

"California’s shrinking Salton Sea is getting a closer look scientifically with the state, local air districts, and community groups examining air, water, and even dust from the parched shoreline where water was once plentiful."

"After the worst fire season in California history and as drought conditions raise fears of what’s to come, Gov. Gavin Newsom and legislative leaders unveiled a $536-million proposal Thursday to boost efforts at firefighting and a variety of prevention measures, including vegetation management and the construction of fire-resistant structures across the state."

"A new report from the U.S. intelligence community paints a bleak picture of what Americans can expect over the next 20 years, warning of a planet that will be ravaged by pandemics and climate change."

"When parents first serve solid foods to their babies, they often turn to infant rice cereal. The iron-fortified mix is nutritious and relatively easy to feed babies unaccustomed to spoons or strong flavors. But the Food and Drug Administration allows 10 times as much arsenic in this favored first food as it does in other products, like bottled water and apple juice — despite the fact that, as a neurotoxin, arsenic can have an outsize impact on babies, whose brains are still developing."