"EPA offered a steady defense today [Tuesday] of Obama-era ozone standards the agency previously considered scrapping.

During long-awaited oral arguments at the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, government lawyers defended the agency's 2015 thresholds for the air pollutant as "forward progress" aimed at protecting vulnerable people.

"The revised ozone standards here represent notable forward progress in protecting the health of all Americans across this country," Justice Department attorney Justin Heminger told a three-judge panel this morning."

"Greg Kelly's grandson, Caden, scampers to the tree-shaded creek behind his grandfather's house to catch crawdads, as Kelly shuffles along, trying to keep up. Kelly's small day pack holds an oxygen tank with a clear tube clipped to his nose. He has chairs spaced out on the short route so he can stop every few minutes, sit down and catch his breath, until he has enough wind and strength to start out again for the creek.

"While dismal farm economics — and shrinking conservation funds — make it hard to find the funds, a growing number of farmers are ready to make critical changes."

"Potentially billions of dollars in damages are at stake in more than a hundred lawsuits against chemical companies, manufacturers, the U.S. military, and others for contaminating water supplies with toxic per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, a class of more than 4,000 man-made chemicals known collectively as PFASs."

"At least half a dozen names are already circulating as President Trump prepares to name a successor for outgoing Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke."

"Congress doesn't have a deal for averting a federal shutdown later this week that could send thousands of Interior Department and EPA workers home early for the holidays."

"As the result of a Freedom of Information suit brought by The Guardian, the FBI has revealed it maintained an open investigation of 350.org — the climate activism group founded by Bill McKibben — and its members as part of an ongoing anti-terrorism campaign."

"Today’s black lung rates are higher than 50 years ago, affecting men as young as their 30s, and in Kentucky their right to decent healthcare is being curtailed".

"Interior Department Secretary Ryan Zinke submitted his resignation to the White House on Saturday, facing intense pressure to step down because of multiple probes tied to his real estate dealings in his home state of Montana and his conduct in office."