Public

"The top predator prowling the seas during the age of the dinosaurs 100 million years ago may have been the octopus."

"When Ann McDonald went kayaking several weeks after a 2024 rainstorm, she thought the water in the Alewife Brook just outside Boston was safe. Even though sewage discharges into the brook during heavy storms, public health officials recommended waiting just 48 hours after rain for bacteria levels to drop — so when McDonald’s kayak got stuck in debris, she wasn’t concerned about dipping her arms into the water to free herself. Later that afternoon, she fell sick with diarrhea."

"Sweeping changes underway at the federal agency tasked with protecting the nation’s forests could result in the loss of more than a century of critical historical documents, conservationists warn."

"Republican allies of the oil and gas industry question the objectivity of an independent report from the nation’s top science advisers on the harms of human-caused climate change."

"Overshadowed by the fight over Big Bend, the White House’s wall expansion could degrade some of the few public hunting opportunities in Texas."

"Daylight hadn’t yet slipped from the sky above Port Arthur when the residents felt the ground shake. They quickly moved inside, shut windows and closed doors, sheltering in place until they got word that the explosion at the Valero Port Arthur Refinery was under control."

"More than 50 countries will gather in Colombia to try to develop real-world timetables to phase out oil and gas amid global energy shocks and petrostate stalling."

"On Monday, the justices will hear arguments over whether a state court rightfully awarded a $1.25 million verdict to a Missouri man who said the maker of the popular Roundup weedkiller failed to caution users about the product’s cancer risk — even as federal environmental regulators have repeatedly concluded that a warning is not required."

"One of two large wildfires in southeastern Georgia continues to grow and now exceeds 31 square miles (80 square kilometers), officials reported Sunday. The Highway 82 Fire has been burning since April 20 and as of Saturday had destroyed at least 87 homes. On Sunday morning, officials said it was only 7% contained."

"House Republicans had big plans for Earth Day this year: They would pass a bill to narrow protections for endangered species that they had long seen as federal overreach. It didn’t work out that way."