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"RALEIGH, N.C. --  Duke Energy said Tuesday it plans to begin dredging coal ash out of a North Carolina river as the state's environmental agency moved to scuttle a previously proposed settlement with the company over pollution leaking from waste dumps at its power plants."

"RALEIGH, N.C. - North Carolina's environmental agency said Sunday it wrongly declared all test results for the arsenic levels in the Dan River as safe for people after a massive coal ash spill."

"EDEN, N.C. – An environmental group Thursday challenged Duke Energy’s assurances that drinking water from the Dan River in North Carolina and Virginia remained safe despite a massive spill of toxic coal ash that released a deluge of murky gray sludge into the river Sunday."

"EDEN, N.C. -- A pipe under a coal ash pond broke in northern North Carolina, releasing an unknown amount of coal ash into the Dan River, Duke Energy Corp. said Monday."

"Duke Energy said Monday that 50,000 to 82,000 tons of coal ash and up to 27 million gallons of water were released from a pond at its retired power plant in Eden [N.C.] into the Dan River, and were still flowing."

"FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. — More than 90 whales have become stranded on Florida beaches in the past two months, almost three times the average, baffling marine biologists and making them wonder if a deadly common denominator is at play."

"A rare blast of snow, sleet and ice hit the U.S. South on Tuesday, prompting five states to declare a state of emergency, closing the New Orleans airport and causing chaos on roads for drivers unaccustomed to the dangerously slick conditions."

"Looking overseas for profits, industry giants are building shipping terminals that pollute nearby communities."

"The neat, modest homes of Cannon's Campground and Bellview Acres conceal tales of frustration and heartbreak."

"Environmentalists say swaths of Southeastern woodlands are being cut down for 'green' energy efforts across Atlantic."