CLIMATE STRANGE

Anxiety and fear are stalking the halls of the EPA, as Donald Trump lays siege to the environmental agency — and clamps down on dissent.

• These are difficult times to work for the Environmental Protection Agency, the American headquarters for the fight to protect the environment and, until recently, to slow down climate change. President Donald Trump’s team sees the agency differently. He wants to turn the agency into a kind of business accelerator, and seems to think that rolling back environmental protections will supercharge the economy.

• “We are driving a dagger straight into the heart of the climate change religion,” EPA Administrator Zeldin recently declared. The agency’s new goals, he said, are “to drive down cost of living for American families, unleash American energy, [and] bring auto jobs back to the U.S.”

• Some agency staffers are speaking out against these changes — and paying the price. More than 600 EPA employees signed a letter accusing Zeldin of “recklessly undermining” the agency’s mission, ignoring science and promoting a “culture of fear.” In response, almost 140 were put on leave for two months. The EPA dissolved its research arm, in a move that one employee described as “lobotomizing our agency.” It has deregulated the auto industry, and attempted to permanently curtail the agency’s authority to fight climate change.

• A stunning crackdown took place in a closed town hall last month. One of Trump’s political appointees told employees that they won’t tolerate “a culture of criticizing or questioning the policies,” two employees with knowledge of the meeting told What A Day, paraphrasing the appointee’s comments.

• Suspicion is also running rampant in the agency. During another recent private meeting, a senior official accused employees of leaking to the press about a pause in enforcing violations against fossil fuel companies, an employee in attendance told What A Day. But the policy had previously been disclosed on a huge work call and was widely known.

• “It’s things like that exacerbating the environment of paranoia, fear and anger,” the employee said.

• When asked for comment, the EPA provided a boilerplate response, that still managed to take on a menacing tone: “The Environmental Protection Agency has a zero-tolerance policy for career bureaucrats unlawfully undermining, sabotaging, and undercutting the administration’s agenda as voted for by the great people of this country last November.”

Trump’s fight to transform the EPA comes at a dangerous time for the climate.

• Trump wants to ignore the reality of climate change. But the environment, of course, doesn’t care what he thinks. Higher temperatures are making powerful storms more common, more destructive and more deadly.

• Just look at Hurricane Erin, which is cruising up the U.S. eastern coastline right now. While it’s not projected to make landfall, the storm is so strong that it poses a serious danger to the East Coast, thanks to the massive waves it may unleash.

• Hurricane Erin’s “extreme rapid intensification” over the weekend happened as the storm traveled over “unusually warm ocean waters that were made up to 100 times more likely by human-caused climate change,” according to the nonprofit Climate Central. It’s also the first storm of the hurricane season in the Atlantic — starting as a Category 1 before becoming a Category 5, then weakening again. That’s not normal!!!

And, obviously, climate change won’t go away just because Trump ignores it.

WHAT ELSE?

Gazillionaire weirdo Elon Musk might use his vast fortune to fund Vice President JD Vance’s likely run for president in 2028, according to the Wall Street Journal. That’s one reason Musk hasn’t followed through on his pledge to launch a new political party yet. Can you imagine a Vance-Musk ticket in ‘28? If so, you may be entitled to financial compensation.

Unearthed text messages show that multiple Fox News hosts — including D.C. Attorney General Jeanine Pirro — aimed to bolster Donald Trump before and after the 2020 election. “Think about how incredible our ratings would be if Fox went ALL in on STOP THE STEAL,” Jesse Watters wrote in one text. Reminder: Fox News is not like all the others!

Speaking of Pirro, she’s got a wack-a-doo new plan to make sure there are more guns floating around in Washington D.C. — ie, the place Trump calls a dangerous criminal cesspool. Her office will no longer pursue criminal felony charges against people carrying rifles or shotguns in the city. So the big plan to fight crime involves… letting people have shotguns?

Trump complained that the Smithsonian museums put too much emphasis on “how bad slavery was.” (Good lord, I feel gross even just reporting this comment.) Trump’s team will review several Smithsonian museums for exhibits that they believe portray the U.S. in a negative light, the Guardian reports. That could include an exhibit that links Benjamin Franklin’s achievements to enslaved people, and a film about George Floyd’s death.

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth’s personal security is so hardcore that it’s costing taxpayers millions. The effort includes protecting his homes in Minnesota, Tennessee and D.C. — and sometimes the homes of his ex-wives. “I’ve never seen this many security teams for one guy,” one Army official told the Washington Post. “Nobody has.”

Add another stupid detention center name to the books! The Department of Homeland Security plans to set up the state-run “Cornhusker Clink” in Nebraska. That follows Indiana’s “Speedway Slammer” and Florida’s “Alligator Alcatraz.” Trump recently mused that his odds of getting into heaven don’t look so good. I’m starting to think he might be right.

Trump’s Education Department quietly rescinded guidance that called on schools to accommodate children who don’t speak English. Some 5 million kids in this country don’t speak fluent English. This move is part of a broader, xenophobic initiative: The Department of Housing and Urban Development also announced that it will only offer materials in English now.

Light at the End of the Email…

Community members in the Columbia Heights neighborhood of D.C. followed ICE agents around and chanted at them until the agents left the scene, according to a video account posted on social media. “This is what we mean when we say community is important. We are stronger when we are united,” the account noted.

Gov. Gavin Newsom (D-CA) has been trolling Donald Trump’s allies online with AI-generated photos. Naturally, right-wing snowflake Kid Rock got triggered: “The only support Gavin Newscum will ever get out of me is from DEEZ NUTZ,” Mr. Rock tweeted. The response from Newsom’s press account emulated Trump’s style: “I HATE KID ROCK !!! — GCN.”

McDonald’s is lowering the price of its combo meals after customers complained that they were getting way too expensive. Protesting works, even over greasy burgers and floppy french fries!

A wildly bright meteor known as a fireball lit up the skies across western Japan overnight. Unlike normal meteors, this one lit up the sky for a few seconds and was pretty much impossible to miss. Not gonna lie, I would’ve been so freaked out watching this in person!

Workers at an animal sanctuary in Massachusetts made a motorized wheelchair for Kiki, a disabled sheep — and she freakin’ loves it. “She’s like a crazy teenager; she wants to go very fast,” the president of the sanctuary said, noting Kiki’s passion for pushing the joystick to max speed. Here’s an adorable video about Kiki’s situation.

A 23-year-old farmer in Ohio planted his wedding proposal in a corn field, with 75-foot-long letters spelling, “Will you marry me, Caroline?” Then, he flew a small plane with his girlfriend over the field, and she said yes. “It’s kind of corny, but, you know … it’s what we live, it’s what we breathe,” the groom-to-be said. If he wanted to he would, ladies!!!