Consumer

"A large body of science has linked phthalates to a variety of serious health conditions, including premature birth and infertility."

"The Trump administration is expected on Wednesday to propose weakening automobile fuel efficiency standards that were set under President Joseph R. Biden Jr. to spur the sale of electric vehicles, according to three people familiar with the plan."

"News deserts are widening. Newspaper closures continue unabated. Independent publishers are calling it quits at an alarming rate. Yet local digital-only news sites are multiplying. Many are even thriving."

"A new legal petition filed by a dozen public health and farm worker groups demands the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) stop allowing farms to spray antibiotics on food crops in the US because they are probably causing superbugs to flourish and sickening farm workers."

"Environmentalists and former agency employees warn of increased workloads for park employees at a time when park staffing is already low." "U.S. citizenship will determine how expensive it is to access America’s national parks beginning next year, the Interior Department announced yesterday."

"The scores aimed to predict a property’s risk from a fires, floods and storms, but some in the real estate industry as well as homeowners have called them inaccurate."

UPDATE: As of Dec. 1, NPR reports funding for USDA's Beltsville, Md., research center has been resored. No link available. 

"Industry groups and scientists have urged the Trump administration to reconsider its plan to close a renowned Agriculture Department center in Maryland and disperse its work around the country."

"The Trump administration is withdrawing a proposal to require cosmetic companies to test their talc-containing products for asbestos, according to a public notice Tuesday."

"The World Health Organization’s cancer research agency has classified atrazine – the second most widely used herbicide in the United States – as “probably carcinogenic to humans,” adding to growing concerns about toxic exposures in the nation’s farm belt."

"Advocates say a recent settlement is a win in the fight to hold industrial ag giants accountable."