"The White House and Democrats are pressuring congressional Republicans to act on President Barack Obama's demands for money to combat Zika, but even the onset of mosquito season that probably will spread the virus has failed to create a sense of urgency."

"The evidence linking pesticide exposure to childhood cancers and learning and behavioral problems has grown increasingly strong."

"Pregnant women who’ve traveled to Latin America and the Caribbean are advised to be tested for the Zika virus afterward. But medical researchers have discovered there’s a problem with that advice: Some diagnostic tests will return positive results even when a person hasn’t contracted Zika."

"The two leading senators working to reform the country’s 40-year-old toxic chemicals law say they’ve come to an initial agreement on how to move forward."

"Young starfish are staging a comeback in Oregon and Northern California, after a virus that melts the animal devastated adult populations along the northern West Coast starting in 2013."

"The federal government on Thursday banned the sale of e-cigarettes to anyone under the age of 18 and required manufacturers to disclose their ingredients and submit their products to the government for approval."

"The chairman of the House Science, Space and Technology Committee yesterday questioned why U.S. EPA posted -- then suddenly removed -- a study on its website showing that exposure to the herbicide glyphosate doesn't appear to cause cancer."

"Aedes aegypti, the exotically named mosquito that transmits the Zika virus, defies almost everything Americans think they know about mosquitoes, which means that even experts know very little about how to control them."

"President Barack Obama’s assurances Wednesday that Flint’s water is safe to drink from faucet filters was met with skepticism among residents of this predominately African-American city beset by fears of lead lingering in their pipes."

"President Barack Obama arrives in Flint Wednesday to witness first-hand a 2-year-old contaminated drinking water crisis amid growing calls for a stronger federal role in fixing the man-made catastrophe."