The Environmental Protection Agency on Thursday put on administrative leave 139 employees who signed a "declaration of dissent" against its policies, accusing them of "unlawfully undermining" the Trump administration's agenda. In a letter made public Monday, the employees wrote that the agency is no longer living up to its mission to protect human health and the environment, reports the AP. The letter represented rare public criticism from agency employees who knew they could face blowback for speaking out against a weakening of funding and federal support for climate, environmental, and health science. More: