"Simmering turmoil over the future of the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts boiled over on Tuesday as the center abruptly closed to the public and President Trump threatened to cancel a planned $257 million renovation if his name was not returned to the front of the building."
"Chinese political leaders and commentators aligned with China’s government hit back at calls from U.S. artificial intelligence executives for companies to agree to slow down the development of the technology, complicating the prospects of such a pact being implemented."
"The judge said the plan, put together by DHS, appeared as if it was “pulled from thin air” and would impede FEMA’s ability to fulfill its legal obligations to respond to natural disasters."
"The Trump administration has blocked more than 130 projects in national parks across the country worth at least $25 million, according to internal documents reviewed by The Washington Post — funding that had already been secured for some of the most visited parks for work such as fire preparedness in California, prehistoric mound protection in Iowa and sled dog care in Alaska."
The Farm Bill — omnibus legislation that affects the food supply of millions of Americans, as well as their air, water and soil — is bogged down in hyperpartisan division. But as Backgrounder outlines, environmental journalists would be wise to track how Congress ultimately uses it to address matters like land and water conservation, rural water supply and pollution, pesticides and more.
"An official in Pennsylvania has confirmed the measles-related death of a 40-year-old woman. Jefferson County Coroner Greg Furlong told NPR that the woman, who died on Saturday, was unvaccinated."
"A former mining executive is playing a key role in the president’s campaign to build monuments and stage spectacles in the Capitol. His financial disclosure contains inconsistencies."
"Florida’s wildlife agency has proposed new rules to strengthen protections for sloths imported into the state, four months after an Inside Climate News investigation revealed dozens of wild sloths from South America died at a planned Orlando tourism attraction."
"Flood-hit Nepal will ask wealthier countries and global agencies for financial help this week, arguing they should contribute to the $5 billion needed for initial rebuilding as the disaster shows how climate change has hit poor countries that did little to cause it, officials said."
"The coming leadership transition at the Smithsonian Institution will give President Donald Trump his biggest opportunity yet to influence how it tells the story of America."
