In brief Broadcasting heads fired

The new chief of US-funded international broadcasting, Global Media CEO Michael Pack, has fired the heads of at least two outlets he oversees and replaced their boards with allies, in a move likely to raise fears that he intends to turn the Voice of America and its sister outlets into Trump administration propaganda machines. A congressional aide said that among those removed from their positions were the heads of Radio Free Asia and Radio Liberty/Radio Free Europe and that the head of the Middle East Broadcasting Network was also expected to be ousted. The director and deputy director of the Voice of America had resigned from their positions on Tuesday. Pack is a conservative film-maker and associate of Steve Bannon.

Fireworks toxin limits rejected

The Trump administration yesterday rejected imposing federal drinkingwater limits for a chemical used in fireworks and linked to brain damage in newborns, opting to override Obama administration findings that the neurotoxin was contaminating the drinking water of millions of Americans. The contaminant is perchlorate, a component in rocket fuel, ammunition and other explosives, including fireworks. A 2016 US Geological Survey report tied high levels of perchlorate in the water at Mount Rushmore national memorial in South Dakota with fireworks displays there. The pyrotechnics are scheduled to resume this Independence Day at the urging of President Donald Trump, who plans to attend the festivities.