Consumer

"Deputy Secretary of Health and Human Services Jim O’Neill is expected to serve as acting director of the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, according to an administration official and another person familiar with the matter."

"The White House on Wednesday fired Susan Monarez as director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention after she refused to resign amid pressure to change vaccine policy, which sparked the resignation of other senior CDC officials and a showdown over whether she could be removed."

"On the heels of its move to block a major project off the coast of Rhode Island, court filings indicate the Interior Department plans to block another off the coast of Maryland."

"More than two billion people worldwide still lack access to safely managed drinking water, the United Nations said Tuesday, warning that progress toward universal coverage was moving nowhere near quickly enough."

'Robb Rynd and his brother grew up farming and wanted to do more of it outside their day jobs, so they went in together on what’s now a little over 200 acres of corn, soybeans, wheat and sorghum. Last year was a good year, and Rynd said he enjoyed walking the fields with his kids to see how the corn was doing. This year is a different story.'

"This deadly bacteria, which hits low-income people the hardest, was once an “only in New York” problem. Extreme heat is now increasing its prevalence."

"Solar power is having a bumper year as developers race to complete installations before Trump’s policy changes pull the rug out from under the industry."

"A task force formed by an influential advisory committee to review the safety of Covid vaccines will be led by a panel member who has described the shots as “the most failing medical product in the history of medical products.”

"With electricity prices rising at more than twice the rate of inflation, President Donald Trump has lashed out at renewable energy sources such as wind and solar power, blaming them for skyrocketing energy costs. ... Energy analysts say renewable sources have little to do with recent price hikes, which are based on increased demand, aging infrastructure and increasingly extreme weather events such as wildfires that are exacerbated by climate change."

"The Interior Department is deputizing federal border agents and sending them to National Park Service sites amid the federal law enforcement takeover of Washington, D.C., Interior Secretary Doug Burgum said Wednesday."