National (U.S.)

"The Department of Energy is formally launching its initiative aimed at establishing a disposal site for spent nuclear fuel."

"Final exams and winter break loom large for students at Columbia University, but at the upper echelons of the university's administration, new calls for transparency about the funding of a university affiliated center are likely to create plenty of homework as well."

"An 18-year-old killer whale has died at the SeaWorld park in San Antonio, the park said on Tuesday, raising concern among animal groups that have criticized the company for years over its treatment of captive marine mammals."

"Researchers point to concerns over pesticides as diseases as bee numbers drop while farmland requiring the pollinators increases"

"With California working to list atrazine as toxic to the reproductive system, three of the United States' most-widely used pesticides are under fire for adverse health effects."

"The American Petroleum Institute together with the nation's largest oil companies ran a task force to monitor and share climate research between 1979 and 1983, indicating that the oil industry, not just Exxon alone, was aware of its possible impact on the world's climate far earlier than previously known."

"The National League of Cities, which represents over 19,000 U.S. cities, filed a motion in a federal court Tuesday to support the Obama administration's push to curb carbon emissions against legal challenges."

"A majority of U.S. Republicans who had heard of the international climate deal in Paris said they support working with other countries to curb global warming and were willing to take steps to do so, according to a Reuters/Ipsos poll on Tuesday."

"A century ago American chestnut trees dominated the eastern woodlands from Georgia to Maine. Growing straight and tall they were prized for timber. Wildlife depended on the nuts they provided every year."

"Eighty-five percent of male smallmouth bass tested in or nearby 19 National Wildlife Refuges in the U.S. Northeast had signs of female reproductive parts, according to a new federal study."