Environmental Health

"Hundreds of weather forecasters and other federal National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration employees on probationary status were fired Thursday, lawmakers and weather experts said. Federal workers who were not let go said the afternoon layoffs included meteorologists who do crucial local forecasts in National Weather Service offices across the country."

"A federal judge in San Francisco says the Trump administration's firing of thousands of probationary employees is illegal and should be stopped."

"More than half of the senior executives at a key US government regulatory body responsible for overseeing safety of the US pipeline system will depart the agency in the next three months, according to a memo seen by Bloomberg."

"President Donald Trump appears to welcome the EPA boss’ plan to cut most of the agency’s workforce."

"Democrats on Capitol Hill erupted at the news that Donald Trump’s EPA plans to scrap a landmark scientific finding that underpins U.S. climate policy."

"Jeffrey Bossert Clark, who led the Justice Department’s Environment and Natural Resources Division during President Donald Trump’s first term, is the expected pick to lead the White House regulatory review office."

"The Trump administration has begun firing employees at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, one of the world’s premier centers for climate science."

"The Trump administration has withdrawn a slate of proposed carbon dioxide safety regulations inspired by a pipeline failure that sent nearly 50 people to the hospital with “zombie”-like symptoms, and the new regulator overseeing these matters previously worked as a lobbyist for the pipeline industry."

"Utah could become the first state to ban fluoride in its drinking water, alarming public health experts and dentists who note the mineral’s role in reducing tooth decay across the nation. The Republican-controlled statehouse sent the legislation to Gov. Spencer Cox (R) last week after both chambers passed it largely along party lines."

"An unidentified illness has killed scores of people and infected hundreds in the Democratic Republic of Congo, the World Health Organization has reported, with preliminary investigations tracing the outbreak to three children who in January ate a bat and died."