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Senate Votes To Give FDA Regulatory Power Over Tobacco [1]

"The tobacco-control movement celebrated another milestone yesterday as the U.S. Senate easily passed a bill giving the government unprecedented power over the making and marketing of tobacco products."
Health [2]
Public [3]
National (U.S.) [4]
Source: Philadelphia Inquirer [5], 06/12/2009
March 27, 2026

DEADLINE: Kovler Prize for Trust in Life Science Journalism [6]

This award recognizes reporters who make complex science-related topics digestible for the public. This work is crucial in building trust to support informed healthcare decision-making. Journalists who work in print, video, digital, or broadcast media are eligible. Entries will be accepted through March 27 at 5 p.m. ET.

Awards and Grants [7]
Visibility: 
Public [3]
Topics on the Beat: 
Environmental Health [8]
Health [2]
Journalism & Media [9]
Science [10]
Region: 
National (U.S.) [4]

After One Scientist Questions New Microplastics Findings, Others Fire Back [11]

"A prominent scientist criticized microplastics research methods. Others are defending the work."

Chemicals [12]
Energy & Fuel [13]
Environmental Health [8]
Food [14]
Health [2]
People & Population [15]
Pollution [16]
Science [10]
Water & Oceans [17]
Public [3]
National (U.S.) [4]
International [18]
Source: NYTimes [19], 01/20/2026

"No Link Between Acetaminophen in Pregnancy and Autism, a New Study Finds" [20]

"A scientific review of 43 studies on acetaminophen use during pregnancy concluded that there was no evidence that the painkiller increased the risk of autism or other neurodevelopmental disorders."

Chemicals [12]
Consumer [21]
Environmental Health [8]
Health [2]
Science [10]
Public [3]
National (U.S.) [4]
Source: NYTimes [22], 01/20/2026

Solutions Stories a Compass for Readers [23]

Get more Voices of Environmental Justice in 2026, as we increase column frequency to bimonthly. And for her first contribution of the year, writer Yessenia Funes calls on climate reporters to offer audiences a sense of hope by leaning into solutions narratives, hard-hitting and data-driven stories that hold the powerful accountable. Expert advice on how to make solutions journalism work.

SEJ Publication Types: 
Voices of Environmental Justice [24]
Topics on the Beat: 
Climate Change [25]
Disasters [26]
Economy & Business [27]
Environmental Studies [28]
Health [2]
Journalism & Media [9]
Region: 
National (U.S.) [4]
California [29]
International [18]
Visibility: 
Public [3]

Spring Is Coming. How Silent Will It Be? [30]

Bird populations remain in steep decline, mostly due to human activity. But as the latest TipSheet reports, reporting on the disappearance of our avian residents can lead journalists to some bread-and-butter environmental stories: whether about local ecosystems, climate change, chemicals, land disturbance and more. Read on for more, including nearly a dozen-and-a-half story ideas and reporting resources.

SEJ Publication Types: 
TipSheet [31]
Topics on the Beat: 
Biodiversity [32]
Chemicals [12]
Climate Change [25]
Environmental Health [8]
Environmental Studies [28]
Health [2]
Wildlife [33]
Region: 
National (U.S.) [4]
International [18]
Canada [34]
Visibility: 
Public [3]

"EPA to Stop Considering Lives Saved When Setting Rules on Air Pollution" [35]

"In a reversal, the agency plans to calculate only the cost to industry when setting pollution limits, and not the monetary value of saving human lives, documents show."

Chemicals [12]
Climate Change [25]
Consumer [21]
Economy & Business [27]
Environmental Health [8]
Environmental Justice [36]
Environmental Politics [37]
Environmental Studies [28]
Health [2]
Laws & Regulations [38]
People & Population [15]
Pollution [16]
Science [10]
Public [3]
National (U.S.) [4]
Source: NYTimes [39], 01/13/2026

Between the Lines — Writing Nature Through Illness and Disability [40]

Writers with disabilities and chronic illnesses explore perspectives on nature and environment in a unique anthology, “Moving Mountains.” Editor Louise Kenward discusses the recent volume with contributor William Allen in a new BookShelf “Between the Lines” Q&A — the connection between climate change and disability, the benefits of learning to rest, the value of engaging with different perspectives and more. 

SEJ Publication Types: 
BookShelf [41]
Topics on the Beat: 
Climate Change [25]
Disasters [26]
Diversity [42]
Environmental Justice [36]
Environmental Politics [37]
Health [2]
Journalism & Media [9]
People & Population [15]
Policy [43]
Region: 
National (U.S.) [4]
International [18]
Visibility: 
Public [3]

"New Dietary Guidance Pushes Whole Milk, Warns Against Processed Food" [44]

"The Trump administration released new dietary guidelines Wednesday that call for Americans to limit highly processed foods, such as those high in added sugars and sodium, and that endorse products that had once been discouraged by many nutritionists, such as whole milk, butter and red meat."

Agriculture [45]
Chemicals [12]
Consumer [21]
Environmental Health [8]
Environmental Politics [37]
Food [14]
Health [2]
Public [3]
National (U.S.) [4]
Source: Washington Post [46], 01/08/2026

"U.S. Overhauls Childhood Vaccine Schedule, Recommends Fewer Shots" [47]

"The Trump administration is overhauling the list of routine shots recommended for all babies and children in the United States, bypassing the government’s typical process for recommending vaccines and delivering on Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s long-standing goals to upend the nation’s pediatric vaccine schedule."

Activism [48]
Consumer [21]
Environmental Health [8]
Environmental Politics [37]
Health [2]
Laws & Regulations [38]
People & Population [15]
Science [10]
Public [3]
National (U.S.) [4]
Source: Washington Post [49], 01/06/2026

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Links
[1] https://www.sej.org/headlines/senate-votes-to-give-fda-regulatory-power-over-tobacco [2] https://www.sej.org/category/topics-beat/health [3] https://www.sej.org/taxonomy/term/81 [4] https://www.sej.org/category/region/national [5] http://www.philly.com/inquirer/business/20090612_Senate_bill_gives_FDA_power_over_tobacco.html [6] https://www.sej.org/calendar/deadline-kovler-prize-trust-life-science-journalism [7] https://www.sej.org/category/event-type/awards [8] https://www.sej.org/category/topics-beat/environmental-health [9] https://www.sej.org/category/topics-beat/journalism/media [10] https://www.sej.org/category/topics-beat/science [11] https://www.sej.org/headlines/after-one-scientist-questions-new-microplastics-findings-others-fire-back [12] https://www.sej.org/category/topics-beat/chemicals/toxics [13] https://www.sej.org/category/topics-beat/energy [14] https://www.sej.org/category/topics-beat/food [15] https://www.sej.org/category/topics-beat/people-population [16] https://www.sej.org/category/topics-beat/pollution [17] https://www.sej.org/category/topics-beat/water [18] https://www.sej.org/category/region/international [19] https://www.nytimes.com/2026/01/15/technology/personaltech/gmail-gemini-ai-email-inbox.html [20] https://www.sej.org/headlines/no-link-between-acetaminophen-pregnancy-and-autism-new-study-finds [21] https://www.sej.org/category/topics-beat/consumer [22] https://www.nytimes.com/2026/01/16/health/tylenol-autism-acetaminophen-study.html [23] https://www.sej.org/publications/voices-environmental-justice/solutions-stories-compass-readers [24] https://www.sej.org/category/sej-publication-types/voices-environmental-justice [25] https://www.sej.org/category/topics-beat/climate-change [26] https://www.sej.org/category/topics-beat/disaster [27] https://www.sej.org/category/topics-beat/business [28] https://www.sej.org/category/topics-beat/environmentalists [29] https://www.sej.org/category/region/national/california [30] https://www.sej.org/publications/tipsheet/spring-coming-how-silent-will-it-be [31] https://www.sej.org/category/sej-publication/tipsheet [32] https://www.sej.org/category/topics-beat/biodiversity-1 [33] https://www.sej.org/category/topics-beat/wildlife [34] https://www.sej.org/category/region/international/canada [35] https://www.sej.org/headlines/epa-stop-considering-lives-saved-when-setting-rules-air-pollution [36] https://www.sej.org/category/topics-beat/environmental-justice [37] https://www.sej.org/category/topics-beat/environmental-politics [38] https://www.sej.org/category/topics-beat/laws [39] https://www.nytimes.com/2026/01/12/climate/trump-epa-air-pollution.html?unlocked_article_code=1.EFA.P6ui.qWj_RPRUhvnw&smid=url-share [40] https://www.sej.org/publications/bookshelf/between-lines-writing-nature-through-illness-and-disability [41] https://www.sej.org/category/sej-publication-types/bookshelf [42] https://www.sej.org/category/topics-beat/diversity [43] https://www.sej.org/category/topics-beat/policy [44] https://www.sej.org/headlines/new-dietary-guidance-pushes-whole-milk-warns-against-processed-food [45] https://www.sej.org/category/topics-beat/agriculture [46] https://wapo.st/44ZF2Zy [47] https://www.sej.org/headlines/us-overhauls-childhood-vaccine-schedule-recommends-fewer-shots [48] https://www.sej.org/category/topics-beat/activism [49] https://wapo.st/4joGue1 [50] https://www.sej.org/category/topics-beat/health?page=1 [51] https://www.sej.org/category/topics-beat/health?page=2 [52] https://www.sej.org/category/topics-beat/health?page=3 [53] https://www.sej.org/category/topics-beat/health?page=4 [54] https://www.sej.org/category/topics-beat/health?page=5 [55] https://www.sej.org/category/topics-beat/health?page=6 [56] https://www.sej.org/category/topics-beat/health?page=7 [57] https://www.sej.org/category/topics-beat/health?page=8 [58] https://www.sej.org/category/topics-beat/health?page=126