"CONGAREE NATIONAL PARK, S.C. — Rising possibly 175 feet above the floodplain, propped up by a trunk 15 feet around at its base, America’s tallest loblolly pine dwarfed the veteran state biologist standing beneath it."
"Public health officials in Omaha, Nebraska, say not enough kids who live near the country’s largest residential lead cleanup site are tested for the metal. Faced with similar crises or concerns, 13 states have passed laws requiring all kids to get a blood test for lead early in life."
"After Canadian wildfires brought extremely poor air quality to Detroit in the summers of 2023 and 2025, Michigan is updating how it communicates air quality risks to residents this year."
"The global wildlife trade is driving the spread of disease from animals to people, according to a new study of thousands of wild mammal species and 40 years of international trade records."
"The industry group pays politicians to convince voters that natural gas is the “most affordable and reliable energy source.”"
"Federal fishery managers voted Sunday to open waters off the coast of California to commercial salmon fishing for the first time since 2022, with the population rebounding after wet winters ended a long drought."
"For two decades, Nick Pehle's grapes, pressed and distilled, have filled glasses at wineries across Missouri. ... Last year was different. In May, before the vines could bloom, their leaves started curling into the shape of small bowls."
"Two deer tested positive for Chronic Wasting Disease at Catoctin Mountain Park in Maryland during recent white-tailed deer reduction operations and subsequent disease sampling. This is the first CWD-positive detection at Catoctin Mountain Park."
"In places like Indonesia, plastic refuse is often burned in unregulated low-tech furnaces that pose grave health risks."
"Trump administration rolled back clean-air rules to support AI-driven electricity demand. St. Louis faces poor air quality and high health costs as coal plants remain online."
