"Marty Makary Out as FDA Commissioner"
"While running the FDA, Makary led efforts to get companies to ditch food dyes and was popular among followers of the MAHA movement."
Source: Civil Eats, 05/13/2026
EJToday: Top Headlines
EJToday is a daily weekday digest of top environment/energy news and information of interest to environmental journalists, independently curated by Editor Joseph A. Davis. Sign up below to receive in your inbox. For queries, email EJToday@SEJ.org. For more info, read an EJToday FAQ. Plus, follow EJToday on social media at @EJTodayNews, and flag stories of note by including the @EJTodayNews handle on your posts. And tell us how to make EJToday even better by taking this brief survey.
Want to join the EJToday team? Volunteer time commitments can vary from just an hour a month up to a daily contribution, and would involve helping to curate content of interest. To learn more, reach out to the director of publications, Adam Glenn, at sejournaleditor@sej.org.
Note: Members have additional options to choose from (you'll need your log-in info).
Wall St. Journal Got Subpoenas For Reporters’ Records in DOJ Leak Probe
"The Wall Street Journal received grand jury subpoenas for reporters’ records as part of a Justice Department leak investigation, as the outlet said that they would oppose the effort. The Journal reported Monday evening that the subpoenas, dated March 4, came after President Donald Trump complained about leaks tied to the war in Iran."
Source: Deadline, 05/13/2026"Can MAHA Change the Way Medical Schools Teach Nutrition?"
"In early March, in the lobby of the Department of Health and Human Services, Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. stood alongside medical leaders and other cabinet members to make an announcement. The administration had secured agreements with over 50 medical schools to provide at least 40 hours of nutrition education as part of a medical-school degree, Kennedy said—nearly a third of the roughly 160 accredited medical schools in the United States.
Source: Civil Eats, 05/13/2026Trump Says He’ll Move To Suspend US Gasoline Tax, But He Needs Congress
"President Donald Trump said Monday he will move to suspend the federal tax on gasoline to help Americans shoulder surging fuel prices caused by the Iran war. The president cannot suspend the federal tax on his own. Congress would have to approve the move."
Source: AP, 05/12/2026"As Coal Rebounds, More Toxic Mercury Is in the Air"
"Coal-fired power plants across the country released more mercury last year as power demand surged, reversing a yearslong downward trend in the emissions of a toxic metal that impairs brain development."
Source: New York Times, 05/12/2026Nonprofit Sues To Stop Trump Changes To Reflecting Pool, A Historic Site
"A Washington-area nonprofit Monday asked a federal court to halt President Donald Trump’s efforts to resurface the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool, saying that the president failed to undergo required federal reviews before applying a blue color to the basin."
Source: Washington Post, 05/12/2026Health Advocates Warn FDA Claims Of Baby Formula Safety Contradict Data
"The Trump administration announced earlier this month that hundreds of baby formula samples it tested for toxic chemicals “meet a high safety standard”, but public health advocates warn this claim contradicts data showing a majority were contaminated with dangerous substances, such as Pfas or phthalates."
Source: Guardian, 05/12/2026"Trump Nominates Ousted FEMA Leader to Run the Agency Again"
"President Trump chose Cameron Hamilton to direct federal disaster response. As acting head of FEMA last year, he had opposed abolishing the agency and was ousted."
Source: New York Times, 05/12/2026Trump DOI Cancels Rule That Made Conservation A ‘Use’ Of Public Lands
"The Interior Department is canceling a rule that put conservation on equal footing with development, as President Donald Trump’s administration eases restrictions on industries and seeks to boost drilling, logging, mining and grazing on taxpayer-owned land."
Source: AP, 05/12/2026RFK Jr. Driving a Vast Inquiry Into Vaccines, Despite His Public Silence
"Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has said little publicly about vaccines in recent months, at the behest of a White House worried that his unpopular stance will hurt Republicans in November’s midterm elections. But he has not abandoned his quest for evidence that they are unsafe."
Source: New York Times, 05/12/2026Why This Tribe Is Buying Up 100s Of Acres Of Farmland — And Flooding It
"Scott Boyd walks through deep mud where the Stillaguamish River empties into Puget Sound, an arm of the Pacific Ocean."
Source: NPR, 05/12/2026New U.S. Wildland Fire Service Prepares For Extreme Fire Season
"Across the country, wildland firefighters are staring down what could be one of the most severe fire seasons in recent history. Among those figuring out how to prepare is the U.S. Wildland Fire Service, a brand new agency created by the Trump administration."
Source: NPR, 05/12/2026Scientists In Turmoil As Devils Hole Pupfish Reach Crisis Point
"The Devils Hole pupfish, a critically-endangered species and an icon of conservation, ekes out a precarious existence in Death Valley National Park. There, in the scorching desert, guarded by fences and video surveillance, this fish swims around in a sunken fishbowl made of rock that's been its only natural home for millennia."
Source: NPR, 05/12/2026"Trump Panel Seeks To Weaken Disaster Response Amid Climate Crisis"
"Sweeping changes may be in store at the Federal Emergency Management Agency (Fema), the nation’s frontline emergency response coordinator, that experts warned could further erode US capacity to handle disasters as the risks of extreme weather fueled by the climate crisis continue to rise."
Source: Guardian, 05/11/2026EPA Will Propose Weakening Some Biden-Era PFAS Limits, Official Says
"The Trump administration will soon propose softening Biden-era limits on “forever chemicals” in drinking water, delaying but keeping tough standards for two common types and rescinding limits on some rarer forms of the substance, according to an EPA official."
Source: AP, 05/11/2026
