"Oil and gas producers might have a harder time breaking even in shale plays containing federally controlled land, but that may have little to do with the regulatory and permitting burdens associated with extracting hydrocarbons from public acreage, energy researchers say."

"A former banker who is now U.S. EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt's point man for Superfund has been fined $125,000 by federal banking regulators and barred from banking activity."

"The U.S. EPA inspector general is planning to audit Administrator Scott Pruitt's travel back home to Oklahoma."

"Hurricane Harvey is strengthening as it approaches the Texas coast, and the massive storm is underscoring another big disturbance on the way: the battle over President Donald Trump’s proposed cuts to the National Weather Service."

"The catastrophic floods brought by Hurricane Harvey to southeastern Texas will pose an immediate test for the White House and Congress, pressing policymakers to approve billions of dollars in recovery funds even though they haven’t agreed on much else this year."

"Regularly inundated by floodwaters ever since its settlement in the mid-1800s, Houston looked on warily even before Harvey roared ashore. In Houston, the chronic deluges that have repeatedly swamped its neighborhoods are getting worse and more costly — not just for locals, but for federal taxpayers."

"Citing 'shift in priorities,' agency cancels multi-year grant for 27-year-old nonprofit news outlet covering the Chesapeake".

"When Tony Tooke became regional forester for 13 Southern states in 2015, he made a promise that's shaped his reputation at the Forest Service: He wanted to meet soon with every state forester in the region."

"A rush study on the reliability of the nation's electric grid ordered by Secretary of Energy Rick Perry concedes that the rapid increase of clean, cheap solar and wind power hasn't thrown the power network out of kilter."

"The number of U.S. EPA cops on the beat has declined dramatically over the last dozen years, according to data released today by a watchdog group."