skip to main content
skip to newscasts

Saturday, April 19, 2025

Public News Service Logo
facebook instagram linkedin reddit youtube twitter
view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

An Alabama man who spent more than 40 years behind bars speaks out, Florida natural habitats are disappearing, and spring allergies hit hard in Connecticut.

view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

After another campus shooting, President Trump says people, not guns, are the issue. Alaska Sen. Murkowski says Republicans fear Trump's retaliation, and voting rights groups sound the alarm over an executive order on elections.

view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

Money meant for schools in timber country is uncertain as Congress fails to reauthorize a rural program, farmers and others will see federal dollars for energy projects unlocked, and DOGE cuts threaten plant species needed for U.S. food security.

AZ groups file lawsuits to limit effects of Elon Musk's DOGE

play audio
Play

Friday, March 14, 2025   

The Sierra Club and other partners are suing Elon Musk and his Department of Government Efficiency over the mass firing of federal workers across multiple agencies. The groups contend the purge will have devastating impacts on Arizona's public lands and parks.

Sierra Club Managing Attorney Gloria Smith predicted that severe reductions in funding and staffing will affect visitor safety, wildlife protection, wildfire prevention and proper maintenance of lands.

"The trails are likely not to be maintained. There is a good chance campgrounds will not be cleaned up and cared for," she said. "There is a lot of work that goes into making a park presentable and safe for the high season, when millions and millions of people visit."

The U.S. Forest Service and Bureau of Land Management are two of the large federal employers responsible for hiring wildland firefighters. If hiring stalls, it could spell trouble for the 40% of public land in Arizona. U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Brooke Rollins has said she "will ensure critical services remain uninterrupted."

Smith said their legal complaint is similar to other efforts that argue Musk was appointed to his role illegally, and call for the court to stop firing federal employees. This week, U.S. District Court Judge Tanya Chutkan granted 14 states, including Arizona, the right to obtain critical documents and information on exactly what Musk's "DOGE" team is doing.

"Obviously, this is of the highest importance," she said. "People have lost their jobs. This is going to affect communities, people's families - they can't pay their rent or their mortgages - and so, we anticipate us doing what we can to move the case along, and we trust this judge will do the same."

The National Weather Service, part of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, has been the latest target for cuts. Smith said real-time weather service data is vital and should not receive the ax.

"For example, on a rafting trip, if there's a huge storm," she said, "then there are flash flood risks."

Disclosure: Sierra Club contributes to our fund for reporting on Climate Change/Air Quality, Energy Policy, Environment, Environmental Justice. If you would like to help support news in the public interest, click here.


get more stories like this via email
more stories
Congressional researchers said more than 25 million American households report forgoing food and medicine to pay their energy bills. (Adobe Stock)

Social Issues

play sound

A bipartisan group of lawmakers in Congress is joining advocates for energy assistance across the country to warn a dangerous situation is brewing for…


Environment

play sound

Teams of researchers and volunteers will fan out at dawn Friday with their smartphones and binoculars on the Florida Gulf Coast University campus for …

Environment

play sound

Environmental groups across Michigan are pushing back after the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers confirmed it will fast-track Enbridge's Line 5 tunnel …


The elimination of judgeships in 11 Indiana counties followed a weighted caseload study, which found some counties have more judges than needed to manage their current dockets. (Adobe Stock)

Social Issues

play sound

Indiana lawmakers approved a bill Tuesday to eliminate judgeships in eleven mostly rural counties as part of a statewide judicial reallocation…

play sound

For Minnesota households planning future college enrollment, there is a good chance tuition will cost more, as public campuses facing tighter budgets …

When cows eat plant cover faster than it can regrow, it erodes and degrades the soil beneath, making it more susceptible to runoff and other undesirable consequences. (Saed/Adobe Stock)

Environment

play sound

By Seth Millstein for Sentient Climate.Broadcast version by Isobel Charle for Washington News Service reporting for the Sentient-Public News Service C…

Environment

play sound

Communities in southern and eastern Montana were connected to passenger rail lines running from Chicago to Seattle until 1979. An effort to fund the …

Environment

play sound

By Jessica Scott-Reid for Sentient Climate.Broadcast version by Danielle Smith for Keystone State News Connection reporting for the Sentient-Public Ne…

 

Phone: 303.448.9105 Toll Free: 888.891.9416 Fax: 208.247.1830 Your trusted member- and audience-supported news source since 1996 Copyright © 2021