National (U.S.)

"If the victims of contaminated Chinese drywall have a hope of relief, it is likely U.S. District Court Judge Eldon E. Fallon."

"During a warm spell this fall, vandals hauled 18 decrepit televisions and computers down a narrow gravel road in Utah's picturesque Skull Valley, dumped them on a hillside, blasted them with guns and left them for dead."

"Sen. Max Baucus, one of Montana's two senators and a chief figure in the federal government's attempt to pass health care reform, added a provision to the U.S. Senate version of the bill that would expand Medicare coverage to 'individuals exposed to environmental health hazards.'"

The practices of feeding farm animals low doses of antibiotics is helping breed lethal new super-bacteria that are resistant to treatment when they infect humans.

"A $93 million court settlement requiring Duke Energy, one of the America's largest electric power companies, to eliminate sulfur dioxide emissions from a coal-fired plant in Indiana, was reached Tuesday, state and federal officials said."

"The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency [Tuesday] finalized a rule setting stricter exhaust emission standards and cleaner fuel standards for large marine diesel engines on large U.S.-flagged ships, a part of the agency’s long-term strategy to reduce harmful marine diesel emissions."

"A proposal to move large amounts of wind and solar power out of the Southwest by linking the three separate North American electricity grids with state-of-the-art switching terminals and superconducting cables is now in hands of federal regulators."

The nuclear industry may get a shot in the arm -- as the Energy Department is set to announce $18.5 billion in new loan guarantees.

After a perceived shortage of gasoline refineries a few years ago, five U.S. refineries have shut down this year. Refiners seem convinced that -- even after the economy recovers -- demand will not grow much.