News Clips

Federal Worker Fired After Hanging Trans Flag at Yosemite Sues Government

by PEER | February 23, 2026
To determine whether an employee’s speech is protected, there is often a balancing test between an individual’s rights and disruption to agency operations. The speech also must be made in the employee’s capacity as a private citizen on a matter of public concern, which Joslin’s ...

Enforcement of laws against polluters nearly non-existent in US, analysis finds

by Cornershop Creative | February 13, 2026
The EPA’s enforcement program “is dying on the vine, and that’s intentional”, said Tim Whitehouse, Peer’s executive director and a former EPA attorney. “Without an adequate enforcement program that provides deterrence to polluters, the laws become voluntary, and when laws ...

Critics: Trump’s Freedom250 is ‘pay-for-play,’ lacks transparency

by PEER | February 12, 2026
Tim Whitehouse, the executive director of the group Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility, said during the congressional hearing that he’s concerned about the way Freedom 250 accepts donations. “The issue is there’s no accountability. There’s no transparency ...

Potential conflicts over celebrating America’s 250th anniversary spill out in congressional hearing

by PEER | February 10, 2026
A source familiar with the funding for America250, who was not authorized to speak publicly about it, said that the anticipated amount dropped to $50 million and that so far the organization has received just $25 million. Federal funding cuts last year already had led some communities to ...

What’s needed to protect sage grouse? Less grazing.

by Cornershop Creative | February 6, 2026
Science has found that grazing can both harm and help sage grouse habitat, but “it’s a question of how it’s managed,” said Nada Wolff Culver, the BLM’s former principal deputy director during the Biden administration. But for decades, the BLM has lacked the staffing to adequately ...

Under Trump, EPA Enforcement Environmental Laws Collapses, Report Finds

by PEER | February 5, 2026
The findings echo two recent analyses from the nonprofits Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility and Earthjustice, which both documented dwindling environmental enforcement under Trump. From day one of Trump’s second term, the administration has pursued an aggressive ...
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