National (U.S.)

"With little notice, more than two dozen state legislatures have passed “seed-preemption laws” designed to block counties and cities from adopting their own rules on the use of seeds, including bans on GMOs. Opponents say that there’s nothing more fundamental than a seed, and that now, in many parts of the country, decisions about what can be grown have been taken out of local control and put solely in the hands of the state."

"When Tony Tooke became regional forester for 13 Southern states in 2015, he made a promise that's shaped his reputation at the Forest Service: He wanted to meet soon with every state forester in the region."

"A rush study on the reliability of the nation's electric grid ordered by Secretary of Energy Rick Perry concedes that the rapid increase of clean, cheap solar and wind power hasn't thrown the power network out of kilter."

"The number of U.S. EPA cops on the beat has declined dramatically over the last dozen years, according to data released today by a watchdog group."

"BEARS EARS NATIONAL MONUMENT, Utah — Parts of this sprawling region of red-rock canyons and at least three other national monuments would lose their strict protection and could be reopened for new mining or drilling under proposals submitted to President Trump by Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke on Thursday, according to congressional aides and others who have been briefed on the report."

"The term ‘climate change’ was changed to simply ‘climate’ on website of the National Institutes of Health".

"Nine eastern states announced Wednesday that they have agreed on a proposal to cut global-warming pollution from the region's power plants an additional 30 percent between 2020 and 2030."

"The Southern Environmental Law Center (SELC) is suing the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) for allegedly failing to respond to the group’s request for documents pertaining to its regulatory reform task force."

"The National Park Service has several big problems with NRA-backed legislation that would restrict the agency from regulating hunting and fishing within park boundaries. But according to a leaked memo obtained by McClatchy, the Trump administration has so far prevented the parks from voicing such concerns."

"A federal jury in Las Vegas did not return any guilty verdicts Tuesday against four men accused of taking up arms against federal agents during the Bundy Ranch standoff in 2014."