Consumer

"In the most remote parts of Alaska, staying in touch can involve a bit more effort than sending a text. Cell service is spotty, highways are nonexistent, and the postal service remains a vital lifeline, delivering supplies and mail by plane. But for anyone who wants to broadcast a different kind of message — a reminder to pick up milk, for example, or birthday wishes — there’s always the Muktuk Telegram."

"A group of experts says Western states urgently need to cut water use to avert a deepening crisis on the Colorado River. The river’s major reservoirs are less than one-third full, and another dry winter would push reservoirs toward critically low levels."

"FDA leaders under President Donald Trump are moving to abandon a decades-old policy of asking outside experts to review drug applications, a move critics say would shield the agency’s decisions from public scrutiny."

"Cuts to SNAP and farm-to-school programs under the Trump administration risk worsening childhood disease, nutrition experts warn."

"A long-awaited and highly controversial report issued on Tuesday by the Trump administration’s “Make America Healthy Again” (MAHA) Commission provides a few “crumbs” for public and environmental health advocates, but big wins for powerful food and chemical industries seeking to skirt limits on their products and practices."

"A bill drastically reducing the scope of the Clean Water Act passed through committee in the U.S. House and will likely reach the floor for debate later this month. The legislation would narrow the definition of bodies of water that qualify for protection under the Clean Water Act and would remove laws requiring permits before discharging pesticides or manure-contaminated stormwater from factory farms into waterways."

"Transit agencies have been warning for years that the twin problems of diminished ridership and rising costs could send entire public transportation systems into a tailspin. Now, some worry that day has come."

"Despite MAHA promises to reduce chemical exposures, experts warn the Trump administration is approving a wave of ‘frightening’ pesticides."

"Fat Bear Week, an online vote conducted via a single-elimination bracket, will take place from Sept. 23 to 30, the National Park Service announced Thursday."

"As the US wrestles with how to deal with widespread PFAS pollution in drinking water supplies, most utilities are lacking advanced filtration systems that could protect public health from not just PFAS but an array of harmful contaminants, according to a new study."