"Wealthy white Americans are still getting to breathe cleaner air than lower-income communities of color, despite significant nationwide reductions in pollution since the 1980s, according to a new study."

"The Trump administration is extending the life of giant pits of toxic coal sludge, a move critics say further risks contamination of nearby water sources."

"Earlier this month, when the Trump administration told hospitals to send crucial data about coronavirus cases and intensive care capacity to a new online system, it promised the change would be worth it. ... Instead, the public data hub created under the new system is updated erratically and is rife with inconsistencies and errors, data analysts say."

"The Trump administration appointed a coordinator for policy in the Arctic on Wednesday, as Washington prepares to compete with Russia and China on resource extraction in a region quickly melting due to climate change."

"Legislation authorizing the Army Corps of Engineers to boost the nation’s water infrastructure, protect waterways from emerging contaminants, and bolster coastal shorelines sailed through the House Wednesday."

"Conservative outside groups spent nearly a year airing ads in Michigan attacking Democratic Sen. Gary Peters and boosting his main Republican rival, John James. The attacks went virtually unanswered. Then the cavalry arrived."

"President Donald Trump sought to give a morale boost to the beleaguered Texas energy industry during a visit Wednesday to the Permian Basin, while also rallying oil and gas workers against Democrats ahead of the November election."

"Joseph R. Biden Jr. won over environmentalists and liberals when he announced a $2 trillion plan to promote electric vehicles, energy efficiency and other policies intended to address climate change." "Some energy executives are pleased that the former vice president is not calling for a fracking ban and said they could work with him."

"At separate congressional hearings on Tuesday, two Trump administration officials insisted that the violent police crackdown against protesters at Lafayette Park in Washington, D.C., on June 1 was about erecting a fence rather than making way for President Donald Trump to pose for photos outside a nearby church."

"In a backyard in the Bronx in the mid-1980s, a vine laden with sweet-smelling tomatoes came as a revelation to urban gardening guru Karen Washington. 'It was tomatoes that really got me hooked on growing food, because I hated tomatoes,' she said, laughing at the memory."