"DAVENPORT, Iowa — The Mississippi River, which gushed into downtown Davenport at record levels two weeks ago, has finally retreated toward its banks. Left behind: A truck-size hole in the temporary flood barrier, dead fish on mud-caked Pershing Avenue, and an urgent conversation about how to shield the city from the next flood."

"New York’s Suffolk County had a trash problem. Facing brimming landfills and public pressure, legislators took a first-in-the-nation step: They banned plastic bags. But what the county saw as part of the solution, the plastics industry took as a threat."

"The U.S. Coast Guard said Thursday that it is finally containing and collecting oil from a massive 14-year spill in the Gulf of Mexico, the longest offshore disaster in U.S. history."

"Gerard Braud has no plans to leave his handsome Creole-style house with its 15-foot-high front porch on the north shore of Lake Pontchartrain, a short drive from New Orleans. “Peacefulness and tranquility” is how he explains the appeal of living here."

"Dozens of gray whales have been found dead along the U.S. West Coast in recent weeks and some scientists believe the cause lies far to the north, in the heated-up Arctic waters off Alaska."

"Ice losses are rapidly spreading deep into the interior of the Antarctic, new analysis of satellite data shows."

"Interior Secretary David Bernhardt indicated yesterday he's not inclined to move ahead with the administration's offshore drilling proposal before the matter is hashed out in court."

"House lawmakers on Wednesday reviewed over a dozen pieces of legislation regarding the spread of harmful nonstick chemicals in drinking water, exposing the lack of agreement on how to deal with the problem."

"The federal Bureau of Land Management on Wednesday renewed mineral rights leases for a proposed Twin Metals copper-nickel mine in northeastern Minnesota, a project that environmentalists fear would spoil the pristine Boundary Waters Canoe Area."

"Lawmakers have been laying the groundwork for months to come up with solutions to a growing headache for water providers in all corners of the U.S.

House members are meeting today to discuss a strategy for moving through Congress over a dozen bills on pollution from poly- and perfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS)—chemicals linked to thyroid and liver problems, cancer, and immune system deficiencies.

The problem is enormous.