"The federal government can be sued for negligence in the Flint water crisis, a judge said Wednesday, citing the failure of regulators to timely act as good Samaritans and blow the whistle on lead in the water supply."

"A Los Angeles utility said Wednesday that one of its natural gas plants is leaking globe-warming methane, prompting calls from environmentalists to abandon plans to extend the life of other California facilities like it."

"An abrupt shift this week in government testing guidelines for Americans exposed to the novel coronavirus was directed by the White House’s coronavirus task force, alarming outside public health experts who warn the change could hasten the disease’s spread."

"With great fanfare, the Environmental Protection Agency on Monday gave emergency approval to a disinfectant it said would kill the coronavirus on surfaces for up to a week. ... But health and chemical experts say the cleanser might actually harm passengers and flight attendants and do little to protect against the virus, which is mainly transmitted through the air in closed spaces."

"With hurricane season in full swing, the Trump administration's public sidelining of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention during the coronavirus pandemic could stoke fears about the safety of hurricane shelters, experts worry."

"The top U.S. infectious diseases expert is warning that distributing a COVID-19 vaccine under special emergency use guidelines before it has been proved safe and effective in large trials is a bad idea that could have a chilling effect on the testing of other vaccines."

"STOCKTON, Calif — Work began in the dark. At 4 a.m., Briseida Flores could make out a fire burning in the distance. Floodlights illuminated the fields. And shoulder to shoulder with dozens of others, Ms. Flores pushed into the rows of corn. Swiftly, they plucked. One after the other. First under the lights, then by the first rays of daylight."

"PFAS Contamination Divides an Alabama Town".

"Shashawnda Campbell became an environmental activist at 15, when she learned that a company had proposed building the country's largest waste-to-energy incinerator less than a mile from her high school, in the Curtis Bay section of Baltimore."

"In the 1930s, federal officials redlined these neighborhoods in Richmond, Va., marking them as risky investments because residents were Black. Today, they are some of the hottest parts of town in the summer, with few trees and an abundance of heat-trapping pavement."