""President Barack Obama signed a proclamation Wednesday formally designating nearly half a million acres of land in Doña Ana County as a national monument — a move that comes after years of heated local debate over the proposal."

"Louisiana Republicans work to quash lawsuits seeking oil and gas industry funds to restore the coastline."

"President Barack Obama plans to announce a new national monument on Wednesday, protecting nearly half a million acres in southern New Mexico."

"Saying there’s a 'race against time,' an advocacy group said this week that climate change – leading to sea level rise and worsening wildfires – is putting some of the nation’s most significant historical sites at risk."

"TANGIER ISLAND, Va. — As in many places, conversations on this remote island in the Chesapeake Bay tend to steer toward the weather. But here it's not just small talk."

"New York has its Empire State Building, Paris has its Eiffel Tower and now, finally, Washington has its Monument back. The best view in the District and one of the city’s signature tourist draws returned to duty Monday when the obelisk reopened after $15 million in repairs following the 2011 earthquake."

"Mysterious holes that were discovered at an Indiana sand dune last year -- and which nearly swallowed a child -- will keep a Lake Michigan park closed indefinitely."

"Prominent Republicans and conservative news media outlets rallied in recent weeks around the cause of Nevada rancher Cliven Bundy, whose armed standoff with authorities over grazing rights on federal land had made him an instant folk hero on the right. But Bundy’s GOP defenders, including Sens. Dean Heller (Nev.) and Rand Paul (Ky.), rapidly abandoned him on Thursday following reports of incendiary remarks that the white rancher made about minorities. Bundy wondered aloud whether blacks would be better off as slaves picking cotton, and alleged that people of color are 'against us.'"