"When the full story of the 6 January storming of the US Capitol building is told, historians will have to make sense of what might seem an odd footnote. The two most prominent rightwing militia groups that participated in the mob onslaught on Congress – the Three Percenters, based in Idaho, and the Oath Keepers, based in Nevada – cut their teeth in obscure corners of the American west, where for close to a decade they have threatened violence against federal employees and institutions that steward the nation’s public lands."

"Federal and state wildlife officials are investigating who wrote the name “Trump” on the back of a manatee that was spotted in a popular wintering spot for the threatened creatures.

The agencies don’t think the manatee was hurt — the letters appear to have been formed by scraping away algae that often coats the backs of the slow-moving mammals — but the prank appears to be a clear violation of laws against harassing them.

"Washington, Oregon and British Columbia pledged to slash greenhouse gas emissions. In a decade full of big talk and some epic battles, they all failed."

"Dozens of frogs, fish, orchids and other species — many unseen for decades — may no longer exist due to humanity’s destructive effects on the planet."

"A string of explosions involving little-regulated petroleum and chemical storage tanks have lawmakers and regulators talking about new rules as the Legislature prepares to convene this month."

"Insect populations are suffering “death by a thousand cuts”, with many falling at “frightening” rates that are “tearing apart the tapestry of life”, according to scientists behind a new volume of studies."

"Joe Biden could mark his first day as president with one or more executive orders announcing plans to rejoin the Paris Agreement, submit a global deal on refrigerants for ratification and deliver on the sweeping climate pledges he made on the campaign trail."

"The Democratic takeover in the Senate increases the likelihood that lawmakers will seek to curb climate-related financial risks, according to observers. That has a lot to do with Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio), a longtime Wall Street critic who is set to become chairman of the Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs Committee."

Interior Secretary David Bernhardt quietly signed a directive last month that could have significant impacts on how the Bureau of Land Management's law enforcement rangers protect federal lands."

"Particulate matter pollution in India, Pakistan, and Bangladesh could be behind hundreds of thousands of stillbirths and miscarriages annually, according to a new study."

"More than 349,000 lost pregnancies each year in South Asia are linked to excessive air pollution, according to a new study in The Lancet Planetary Health journal.