National (U.S.)

"U.S. senators are fighting over the details of an approximately $13 billion disaster aid package to help these states and Puerto Rico, a U.S. territory. But congressional feuding over disaster aid is unlikely to stop even after the current impasse is resolved. In a typical year, taxpayer spending on the federal disaster relief fund is almost 10 times higher than it was three decades ago, even after adjusting for inflation, according to a Washington Post analysis of federal data."

"A federal appeals court has overturned a U.S. District Court's dismissal of a lawsuit by environmental groups challenging a federal agency's killing of wolves in Idaho."

"The new Starbucks coffee cup lid, which is being rolled out with great green fanfare in six cities this summer, was supposed be an environmental milestone. Starbucks promised that its latest design innovation, a “clear, recyclable” plastic drink cap that funnels liquid through a slightly raised area, would soon replace more than a billion plastic straws each year."

"AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka said yesterday that the largest group of U.S. unions does not support the Green New Deal in its current form, a potential blow for activists hoping to get labor on board with the progressive climate plan."

"A continental divide of geography, language, culture and tradition separates the Gullah/Geechee Nation of the south Atlantic coast and the U.S.-Mexico border city of Imperial Beach, Calif. But their elected leaders are bound by a common cause. They are trying to keep rising seas from destroying their ways of life."

"Three years after demonstrations over an oil pipeline in Standing Rock, N.D., made national headlines, some states are moving to limit protests."

"EPA has decided to continue excluding oil and gas waste from federal hazardous waste rules, agreeing with industry that states are already doing the job adequately."

"Joe Biden is betting a blue-collar campaign can win over a Democratic Party that's grown more green than ever."

"California's reign as the U.S. state with the worst air pollution continues, with Los Angeles again the nation's smoggiest metro area, according to a new report released Wednesday."

"Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Andrew Wheeler left a former lobbying client off of his financial disclosure documents, according to a new letter from House Oversight and Reform Committee Chairman Elijah Cummings (D-Md.)."