National (U.S.)

In every Congressional district - including yours - there are dozens of "pork barrel" politics stories.

"'If you're going to start taking pictures of me, you're liable to get shot,' the chairman of one of the country's biggest coal mining companies, Don Blankenship of Massey Energy, told an ABC News reporter before grabbing the reporter's camera,"

Under industry pressure, the U.S. Agriculture Department is considering hiding from consumers information about which retailers might be selling the tainted meat recalled because of health and safety risks.

"Attorney General Michael Mukasey and three other top Bush administration officials are weighing in against legislation that would allow reporters to protect the identities of confidential sources..."

Environmental reporters who want to keep track of accidents on their beats may want to know about these useful tools and resources.

The heads of Obama administration Congressional committees and subcommittees will likely be in the spotlight in the coming months. This overview will help you get a feel for who these people are, or who will soon be chosen.

The Southern Environmental Law Center's top 10 places in America's South that face "immediate, potentially irreparable threats in 2009" represent a cross-section of the major environmental issues facing these states.

A US House Oversight Committee report released in January 2009 found that federal agencies frequently ignore the findings and recommendations of their inspectors general.

In one of many last-minute actions, the Bush administration delayed a decision on a drinking water standard for the contaminant perchlorate (used in rocket fuel, explosives, fireworks, and many other industrial products, and also occurs naturally), but issued a temporary advisory recommendation. This has immediate implications for at least 31 large US utilities, and perhaps hundreds more.