National (U.S.)

"First update in 40 years to key law regulating chemicals in the US greeted with cautious optimism."

"SALT LAKE CITY — A Stockton man described by prosecutors as the "commander of a citizen militia group" was indicted Thursday after allegedly trying to blow up a Bureau of Land Management cabin in Arizona."

"Just a week before a Vermont law kicks in requiring labels on food containing genetically modified ingredients, U.S. Senate agriculture leaders announced a deal Thursday that takes the power out of states' hands — and sets a mandatory national system for GM disclosures on food products."

"Nearly two dozen environmental groups on Wednesday urged senators not to work with the House on an energy policy reform bill this session."

"Emergency financing to fight the mosquito-borne Zika virus appeared likely to be delayed until after Congress returns from its Fourth of July recess, as Democrats on Wednesday sharply criticized a new Republican proposal to provide $1.1 billion, but with $750 million redirected from other federal programs."

"President Obama signed into law [Wednesday] the first overhaul to the nation's chemical laws in nearly 40 years, a milestone in the history of environmental legislation and a feather in the caps of Democrats and Republicans alike."

"Surging wildfires on Tuesday forced new evacuations of hundreds of homes across the West, while firefighters began beating back a pair of big adjacent blazes looming over suburban Los Angeles."

"In some U.S. cities, at least one in seven kids have unsafe levels of lead in their blood, indicating exposure to a toxic metal that can lead to lifelong physical, mental and behavioral health problems, a recent study suggests."

"Local sheriffs would be a poor fit to replace Bureau of Land Management and Forest Service law enforcement officers, an Interior Department official said in a letter yesterday to House Natural Resources ranking member Raúl Grijalva (D-Ariz.)."

"A U.S. District Court judge in Wyoming has struck down a rule that would have governed fracking on federal lands."