"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."

"President Donald Trump on Wednesday nominated Andrew Wheeler as administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency, setting him up to permanently fill a position the former coal lobbyist has held in an acting role since July."

"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."

"Two Democratic representatives from the San Francisco Bay Area on Tuesday delivered to the White House trash they picked up from national parks as they urged President Trump to end the partial government shutdown."

"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."

"Sen. Cory Booker has a green new way for dealing with his critics. Booker (D-N.J.), a potential candidate for president, is betting that a heavy emphasis on environmental justice will resonate with primary voters."

"The last time Democrats were in charge of the House, the first iPad had just been released and the Deepwater Horizon oil spill was fresh on everyone's minds.

Since then, there has been significant turnover, not the least of which was the 40-seat blue wave that propelled Democrats into the majority this Congress.

New chairmen and chairwomen are taking the gavels controlling the legislative and oversight agendas for the next two years, at least."

"House Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman Frank Pallone (D-N.J.) on Tuesday rejected the call for Democratic energy committee members to shun contributions from fossil fuel companies and other industries as too extreme."

"State lawmakers from nine states introduced bills Jan. 8 aimed at blocking oil and gas drilling off their coasts, and a group of House Democrats meanwhile unveiled measures that would ban drilling in federal waters off much of the country."