"Senate Democrats are sounding the alarm that acting EPA Administrator Andrew Wheeler may be tapping furloughed workers to help prepare for his confirmation hearing."

"A federal judge on Wednesday struck down an Iowa law that made it illegal to get a job at a livestock farm to conduct an animal cruelty undercover investigation, finding the law violated the constitutional right to free speech."

"Joshua Tree National Park will remain open during the government shutdown after officials moved to use park fees to avert the planned closure."

"Fiat Chrysler Automobiles agreed Thursday to a settlement with U.S. regulators and other plaintiffs that could cost the automaker roughly $800 million to resolve allegations that it cheated on emissions tests."

"In a rare rebuke, the United Nations has instructed Canada to suspend construction of the Site C dam on B.C.’s Peace River until the project obtains the “free, prior and informed consent” of Indigenous peoples."

"The Food and Drug Administration has stopped routine food safety inspections of seafood, fruits, vegetables and many other foods at high risk of contamination because of the federal government’s shutdown, Dr. Scott Gottlieb, the agency’s commissioner, said on Wednesday."

"U.S. President Donald Trump cannot withhold disaster relief once an emergency has been declared, federal statutes show, despite the Republican’s tweet on Wednesday that he had ordered the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to cease helping victims of last year’s California wildfires."

"Big-box retailers such as Lowe’s and Home Depot have already dropped it amid a public outcry over fatalities".

"The two-week-old shutdown has halted one of the federal government’s most important public health activities, the inspections of chemical factories, power plants, oil refineries, water treatment plants, and thousands of other industrial sites for pollution violations."

"At the spot where a rugged chain of islands breaks away from the Alaska Peninsula, a secluded national refuge protects millions of seabirds, grizzly bears and caribou."