"Only about one-fifth of applicants for federal disaster assistance from Kerr County have been deemed eligible to get financial help so far, leaving hundreds without governmental aid more than three months after deadly floods ravaged the county on July 4."

"In California, as wolf numbers grow — a remarkable return after a century — livestock producers are increasingly worried as these predators occasionally take down cattle."

"President Trump has said he wants to eventually shift the burden of disaster relief and recovery onto states. It’s already happening."

"More than 1,100 incarcerated firefighters were sent to Southern California in January to fight four different wildfires. As the Palisades Fire ran up a hillside, one strike team saved the life of a resident who was still at his home."

"California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) vetoed a bill that would have banned the use of “forever chemicals” in cookware and other products in California."

"Five months before catastrophic floods swept through the Alaska Native village of Kipnuk on Sunday, tearing many houses off their foundations, the Trump administration canceled a $20 million grant intended to protect the community from such extreme flooding."

"The United Nations warned that mercury contamination from illegal gold mining in Colombia’s Atrato River basin has created a “serious and ongoing human rights crisis,” threatening the health and survival of Indigenous and Afro-descendant communities who depend on the river for food, water and culture."

"A federal judge in California has temporarily barred the Trump administration from using the government shutdown as the basis for layoffs at EPA, the Energy Department and other agencies."

"Another round of terminations, combined with previous layoffs and departures, has reduced the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention workforce by about 3,000 people since January."

"Southern California air regulators issued violations to two foundries in southeast Los Angeles County after air sampling revealed elevated levels of a highly toxic metal near the facilities."