National (U.S.)

Pilots will soon launch an effort to fly a solar-powered airplane across the United States.

"BOISE, Idaho -- Two small but unseasonably early fires burning in northern California's wine country and another wind-whipped blaze farther south likely are a harbinger of a nasty summer fire season across the West."

A new analysis says federal crop insurance not only allowed corn and soybean farmers to survive last summer's drought, it also allowed them to make higher profits than in a normal year -- at taxpayer expense.

"An independent study co-published by the Faulkner County Citizens Advisory Group and Global Community Monitor reveals that, in the aftermath of ExxonMobil's Pegasus tar sands pipeline spill of over 500,000 gallons of diluted bitumen (dilbit) into Mayflower, AR, air quality in the area surrounding the spill has been affected by high levels of cancer-causing chemicals."

"More than 50,000 high-polluting diesel engines have been cleaned up or removed from U.S. roads in a federal program designed to reduce smog and greenhouse gases, according to a new Environmental Protection Agency report to Congress. While industry and environmental officials call the program a landmark success, it is now threatened with a 70 percent cut in funding under the Obama Administration’s new budget."

"A little-noticed change in U.S. EPA air policy has turned a national pollution-monitoring network that has been providing data to researchers for 22 years into a regulatory tool, leaving states scrambling to figure out the implications."

"Six months after Superstorm Sandy plowed through the Northeast, restoration efforts continue to move forward. New Jersey's Seaside Heights boardwalk is set to reopen Memorial Day, and some of the homes that were destroyed are starting to be rebuilt."

"Senator Barbara Boxer said on Tuesday she plans to investigate the explosion at a Texas fertilizer plant earlier this month that killed 15 people and injured scores more."

"Scientists say waste-treatment plants must follow subways and power stations in being protected against climate change."

"More than 5,000 products, including clothing, toys and bedding, contain toxic chemicals that could be dangerous for children’s health, yet stores still stock them and consumers know little about their content, an advocacy group reported this week."