Tammy Webber

Associated Press

In this March 31, 2020, file photo, City of Dallas code compliance officer Eldho Babu checks on businesses amid concerns of COVID-19 spreading in the Deep Ellum section of Dallas. Resident snitches are emerging as enthusiastic allies as cities, states and countries work to enforce directives meant to limit person-to-person contact amid the virus pandemic that already has claimed tens of thousands of lives worldwide.

Residents Report Businesses Amid Virus

They're phoning police and municipal hotlines, complaining to elected officials and shaming perceived scofflaws on social media.

In this Sunday, March 22, 2020 photo, Bill Purdue, left, cuts pieces of fabric while Mike Rice sews them into face masks in Rice's autobody and upholstery shop in Washington, Ind.

Volunteers Sew Masks for Workers Facing Shortages

On a normal day, Bill Purdue is waterproofing basements. Today is not a normal day.

In this May 10, 2019 photo, Brett Adams stands where the road to his flooded farm disappears under flood waters, with the farm buildings visible in the background, in Peru, Neb. Adams had thousands of acres under water, about 80 percent of his land, this year. The water split open his grain bins and submerged his parents' house and other buildings when the levee protecting the farm broke.

Flooded Farmers Face Growing Dilemma

Floods are the 'new normal.'

A plume of smoke from a petrochemical fire at the Intercontinental Terminals Company is shown over downtown Houston Monday, March 18, 2019. The large fire at the Houston-area petrochemicals terminal will likely burn for another two days, authorities said Monday, noting that air quality around the facility was testing within normal guidelines.

Officials Say Air Is Safe

There are no air-quality problems despite a huge black plume of smoke that could be seen for miles.

In this Sept. 21, 2017 photo, petroleum coke, the grainy black byproduct of refining Canadian tar sands oil, is visible at the BP Whiting refinery in East Chicago, Ind. The U.S. is the world's largest producer and exporter of 'petcoke,' with the largest share being shipped to India in recent years. The high-carbon, high-sulfur fuel is dirtier than coal, and has been burned unregulated in Indian factories and power plants, contributing to that nation's already-high air pollution levels.

U.S. Exports Dirty Fuel to India

Petroleum coke is cheaper and burns hotter than coal, but it contains far more heart- and lung-damaging sulfur.

In this Nov. 26, 2013 file photo, Karegnondi Water Authority CEO Jeff Wright, right, and Deputy CEO John O'Brien look inside a pipe that will be part of the Karegnondi Pipeline Project, in Worth Township, Mich. After months of national attention on lead-tainted drinking water in Flint, many are starting to ask questions about the 74-mile pipeline being built from Lake Huron to the struggling former auto manufacturing powerhouse.

Flint's $285M Project

So far, the project has received comparatively little notice in the scandal. But a governor's task force recently recommended a formal review of the pipeline's approval.