"Federal regulators overseeing West Coast fisheries have effectively called off California’s entire 2023 ocean salmon fishing season, in an effort to protect fish populations that have dwindled during the ongoing drought."

"Mandatory water restrictions are being lifted for nearly 7 million people across Southern California following winter storms that have boosted reservoirs and eased the severe shortage that emerged during the state’s driest three-year period on record."

"A cancer-causing chemical that is widely used to degrease aviation components and heavy machinery could also be linked to Parkinson’s disease, according to a new research paper that recommends increased scrutiny of areas long contaminated by the compound."

"The Biden administration on Wednesday finalized a rule forcing factories and power plants in 23 Western and Midwestern states to sharply cut smog-causing pollution that is released from their smokestacks and fouls the air in Eastern states."

"Few spiders in the United States have a more fearsome reputation than black widows. But throughout the South, the bulbous arachnids with red hourglasses on their bellies are engaged in a lethal competition with the brown widow, a relative from abroad — and they’re losing."

"Nike said it will stop using kangaroo skins for its shoes this year, weeks after a similar step from German rival Puma, which would end a highly controversial practice that has drawn ire from consumers and animal rights activists."

"The largest corruption case in Ohio history culminated last week with guilty verdicts for ex-House Speaker Larry Householder and lobbyist Matt Borges, the former head of the Republican Party. But the state’s attorney general said it’s “only the beginning of accountability” for the now-tainted $1 billion bailout of two aging nuclear power plants."

"The devastating Tropical Cyclone Freddy which has ripped through southern Africa in a rare second landfall has killed at least 219 people in Malawi and Mozambique since Saturday night, with the death toll expected to rise."

"House Republicans on Tuesday officially unveiled the text of their planned energy and permitting package set to hit the House floor by the end of this month."