A chemical leak at a silver recovery business in Institute, West Virginia, killed two people and injured about 30 others. One person is in serious condition. Shelter-in-place order was issued for the surrounding area, but it was lifted five hours later. The owner of Catalyst Refiners promises to work with local, state and federal officials.
California Senate Bill 982 would make fossil fuel companies pay for climate-driven insurance problems. It was advanced by the Senate Judiciary Committee on Tuesday. The bill would create a fund to pay for the damages caused by climate change. It would also create a grant program to help communities reinforce their homes to better withstand extreme weather and climate disasters. Industry groups oppose the bill.
PepsiCo will remove the purple color from PURPLE Gatorade because of RFK Jr.'s health crusade. Michael Jordan plays pickleball and he is worried that without it he will be forced to choose lesser, "natural" sports drinks.
The Strait of Hormuz has been closed since late February. The Persian Gulf accounts for more than half of all global ocean sulphur exports. Global port loadings reached just 5.9m tonnes in the first quarter of 2026. The world has relied on the Persian Gulf for around 53% of annual seaborne sulphur loadings. In March, regional export volumes collapsed to around 400,000 tonnes.
The Environmental Protection Agency released a list of 374 drugs that states and counties should monitor. The list does not include mifepristone, the main abortion pill, but it does include misoprostol and methotrexate, two drugs used for medication abortions and other health issues, several forms of daily birth control pills and the NuvaRing. Sen. Ron Wyden (Ore.) wrote a letter to the EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin, accusing him of trying to restrict women’s access to reproductive health care.
Cocaine is a stimulant that may trigger negative experiences, tremors, seizures and death. About 292 million people are estimated to have taken illegal drugs in 2022. Almost a tenth of them are thought to have used cocaine. Slow-release cocaine implants were inserted into smolts of wild Atlantic salmon in Sweden's Lake Vattern. They found traces of cocaine and its metabolite.
Some MAHA moms went to the White House earlier this month to air their grievances with the Trump administration. The alliance between MAHA and MAGA was always unlikely as Kennedy was a Democrat before his independent presidential run in 2023. MAHA supporters were infuriated when Trump signed an executive order in February that could give liability protection to manufacturers of Roundup weed killer.
Okinawa prefecture's groundwater survey found elevated PFAS levels at 28 of 40 sites near Marine Corps Air Station Futenma in Ginowan city. The highest level of PFAS was measured at 3,000 parts per trillion at Ijunga, an underground spring downstream of the airfield. U.S. Forces Japan incinerated the last of its stockpiles of firefighting foam containing PFAS.
The energy tax on diesel and gasoline will be temporarily reduced by 17 cents. The farmers' association is pushing for further relief because of the high energy and fertilizer prices. Minister Alois Rainer wants to put together a package at European level because of high fertilizer prices, which includes tariff relief for imported fertilizer. He also wants to relieve farmers of bureaucracy and prevent new ones. Rainer is not a fan of the sugar tax.
Cambodia and Thailand blame each other for reviving a dormant dispute last year over where their 800km (500-mile) border lies. The land border was closed to goods and people, but sea smuggling is on the rise. Cambodia's economy is taking a hit from the oil crisis, which has pushed pump prices up by 25% and forced the government to spend tens of millions of dollars on importing fuel. The public is boycotting Thai products and brands.