"Robert F. Kennedy Jr. was pressed to clarify his views on vaccines, abortion and public health priorities in the first of two Senate hearings as he tries to make the case to become President Donald Trump’s health secretary."

"Shipments of uranium ore from a revived mining operation just south of the Grand Canyon are expected to resume in February after the Navajo Nation reached a settlement with the mining company, clearing the way for trucks to transport the ore across the largest Native American reservation in the U.S."

"The Republican-controlled Senate on Wednesday confirmed Lee Zeldin to lead the Environmental Protection Agency, a key role to help President Donald Trump fulfill his pledge to roll back major environmental regulations, including those aimed at slowing climate change and encouraging use of electric vehicles."

"President Trump’s pick to lead the Commerce Department assured senators on Wednesday he won’t try to dismantle the nation’s climate, oceans and weather science agency during a largely genial confirmation hearing."

"Hours after being sworn in as the new U.S. Secretary of Transportation, Sean Duffy took aim at the main way the federal government regulates miles per gallon for cars and pickup trucks — also a principal way that it regulates air pollution and addresses climate change. Duffy ordered the federal agency in charge of fuel economy standards to reverse them as soon as possible. The standards have been in place since the 1970s energy crisis and were intended to conserve fuel and save consumers money at the gas pump."

"Acting EPA Administrator James Payne has ousted all members of two of the agency’s most influential science advisory panels, giving President Donald Trump’s administration the opportunity to reshape them with its own appointees."

"One of 17 government watchdogs ousted by President Trump said that the move was “a potentially existential threat” to a crucial government oversight tool."

"The Florida mayor said the threat of legal challenges and other expenses made building a new waste-to-energy facility too difficult. She now recommends landfilling to meet long-term capacity needs."

"A sudden pause in federal assistance is sowing disarray and outrage across the country, throwing into doubt a wide range of programs that help protect Americans from disasters, provide access to clean drinking water and affordable energy and help protect ecosystems, among many other issues."

"For years, the fossil fuel industry and its allies have tried to overturn one of the most important federal rulings in the history of climate policy: the one that requires the government to limit greenhouse gases. They lobbied. They sued. And so far they’ve failed."