EJToday: Top Headlines

Trump Says He’ll Move To Suspend US Gasoline Tax, But He Needs Congress [9]

"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."

Climate Change [10]
Consumer [11]
Energy & Fuel [12]
Environmental Politics [13]
Laws & Regulations [14]
Transportation [15]
Public [16]
National (U.S.) [17]
Source: AP [18], 05/12/2026
- Read more about Trump Says He’ll Move To Suspend US Gasoline Tax, But He Needs Congress [9]
"As Coal Rebounds, More Toxic Mercury Is in the Air" [19]

"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."

Air [20]
Chemicals [21]
Consumer [11]
Energy & Fuel [12]
Environmental Health [22]
Laws & Regulations [14]
Pollution [23]
Public [16]
National (U.S.) [17]
Source: New York Times [24], 05/12/2026
- Read more about "As Coal Rebounds, More Toxic Mercury Is in the Air" [19]
Nonprofit Sues To Stop Trump Changes To Reflecting Pool, A Historic Site [25]

"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."

Environmental Politics [13]
Infrastructure [26]
Laws & Regulations [14]
Public [16]
National (U.S.) [17]
Source: Washington Post [27], 05/12/2026
- Read more about Nonprofit Sues To Stop Trump Changes To Reflecting Pool, A Historic Site [25]
Health Advocates Warn FDA Claims Of Baby Formula Safety Contradict Data [28]

"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."

Chemicals [21]
Consumer [11]
Environmental Health [22]
Food [29]
People & Population [30]
Pollution [23]
Public [16]
National (U.S.) [17]
Source: Guardian [31], 05/12/2026
- Read more about Health Advocates Warn FDA Claims Of Baby Formula Safety Contradict Data [28]
"Trump Nominates Ousted FEMA Leader to Run the Agency Again" [32]

"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."

Disasters [33]
Environmental Health [22]
Environmental Politics [13]
People & Population [30]
Water & Oceans [34]
Public [16]
National (U.S.) [17]
Source: New York Times [35], 05/12/2026
- Read more about "Trump Nominates Ousted FEMA Leader to Run the Agency Again" [32]
Trump DOI Cancels Rule That Made Conservation A ‘Use’ Of Public Lands [36]

"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."

Activism [37]
Environmental Politics [13]
Government [38]
Laws & Regulations [14]
Natural Resources [39]
People & Population [30]
Public [16]
National (U.S.) [17]
Source: AP [40], 05/12/2026
- Read more about Trump DOI Cancels Rule That Made Conservation A ‘Use’ Of Public Lands [36]
RFK Jr. Driving a Vast Inquiry Into Vaccines, Despite His Public Silence [41]

"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."

Activism [37]
Consumer [11]
Environmental Health [22]
Environmental Politics [13]
People & Population [30]
Technology [42]
Public [16]
National (U.S.) [17]
Source: New York Times [43], 05/12/2026
- Read more about RFK Jr. Driving a Vast Inquiry Into Vaccines, Despite His Public Silence [41]
Why This Tribe Is Buying Up 100s Of Acres Of Farmland — And Flooding It [44]

"Scott Boyd walks through deep mud where the Stillaguamish River empties into Puget Sound, an arm of the Pacific Ocean."

Agriculture [45]
Biodiversity [46]
Environmental Politics [13]
Fish & Fisheries [47]
Natural Resources [39]
People & Population [30]
Water & Oceans [34]
Public [16]
Northwest (OR WA) [48]
Source: NPR [49], 05/12/2026
- Read more about Why This Tribe Is Buying Up 100s Of Acres Of Farmland — And Flooding It [44]
New U.S. Wildland Fire Service Prepares For Extreme Fire Season [50]

"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."

Climate Change [10]
Disasters [33]
Environmental Politics [13]
Forests [51]
Government [38]
People & Population [30]
Public [16]
National (U.S.) [17]
Source: NPR [52], 05/12/2026
- Read more about New U.S. Wildland Fire Service Prepares For Extreme Fire Season [50]
Scientists In Turmoil As Devils Hole Pupfish Reach Crisis Point [53]

"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."

Biodiversity [46]
Climate Change [10]
Fish & Fisheries [47]
Water & Oceans [34]
Public [16]
National (U.S.) [17]
California [54]
Source: NPR [55], 05/12/2026
- Read more about Scientists In Turmoil As Devils Hole Pupfish Reach Crisis Point [53]
"Trump Panel Seeks To Weaken Disaster Response Amid Climate Crisis" [56]

"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."

Climate Change [10]
Disasters [33]
Economy & Business [57]
Environmental Health [22]
Environmental Justice [58]
Environmental Politics [13]
Government [38]
People & Population [30]
Water & Oceans [34]
Public [16]
National (U.S.) [17]
Source: Guardian [59], 05/11/2026
- Read more about "Trump Panel Seeks To Weaken Disaster Response Amid Climate Crisis" [56]
EPA Will Propose Weakening Some Biden-Era PFAS Limits, Official Says [60]

"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."

Chemicals [21]
Consumer [11]
Environmental Health [22]
Environmental Justice [58]
Environmental Politics [13]
Infrastructure [26]
Laws & Regulations [14]
People & Population [30]
Pollution [23]
Technology [42]
Water & Oceans [34]
Public [16]
National (U.S.) [17]
Source: AP [61], 05/11/2026
- Read more about EPA Will Propose Weakening Some Biden-Era PFAS Limits, Official Says [60]
"These Blue States Aren’t Getting Fire Prevention Money From Trump" [62]

"FEMA slowed grants intended to help states such as California and Colorado prepare for and prevent wildfires, a Washington Post analysis shows."

Climate Change [10]
Disasters [33]
Environmental Politics [13]
Forests [51]
People & Population [30]
Planning & Growth [63]
Water & Oceans [34]
Public [16]
National (U.S.) [17]
California [54]
Source: Washington Post [64], 05/11/2026
- Read more about "These Blue States Aren’t Getting Fire Prevention Money From Trump" [62]
"Opinion: Youth Media and the Future of News" [65]

"Media organizations and funders should proactively involve young people in journalism. There are some stories best told by young people, and youth media programs can help teenagers recognize themselves as important contributors to the news ecosystem, not simply as content consumers. If we don’t invest in building a community that involves the next generation of news creators and consumers, we can’t act surprised if there isn't one."

Consumer [11]
Journalism & Media [66]
People & Population [30]
Public [16]
National (U.S.) [17]
Source: Nieman Reports [67], 05/11/2026
- Read more about "Opinion: Youth Media and the Future of News" [65]
The Rebuilding Of Milwaukee’s Lead Program – And How It Could Change Lives [68]

"Thousands of Milwaukee children are growing up with poison in their blood. It courses through their veins, cements in their bones and threatens to rob them of impulse control, learning ability and physical health."

Chemicals [21]
Consumer [11]
Environmental Health [22]
Environmental Justice [58]
People & Population [30]
Pollution [23]
Public [16]
National (U.S.) [17]
Great Lakes (IL IN MI MN OH WI) [69]
Source: Milwaukee Journal Sentinel [70], 05/11/2026
- Read more about The Rebuilding Of Milwaukee’s Lead Program – And How It Could Change Lives [68]

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