"The Senate narrowly defeated a controversial amendment Thursday that would have stripped funding for clean water protections and ensured defeat of a $37.5 billion energy and water spending bill."

"San Francisco today became the first major city in the country to approve legislation requiring solar panels on new buildings."

"Volkswagen AG and U.S. officials have reached a framework deal under which the automaker would offer to buy back almost 500,000 diesel cars that used sophisticated software to evade U.S. emission rules, two people briefed on the matter said on Wednesday."

"Three officials responsible for maintaining safe water in Flint tinkered with evidence, tweaked testing and misled county and federal officials, helping to set in motion the contamination of the city's drinking water with lead, according to criminal charges filed by Michigan's chief law enforcement official Wednesday."

"The Senate on Wednesday passed the first broad energy bill since the George W. Bush administration, a bipartisan measure to better align the nation’s oil, gas and electricity systems with the changing ways that power is produced in the United States."

"More than half of the US population lives amid potentially dangerous air pollution, with national efforts to improve air quality at risk of being reversed, a new report has warned."

"The House Appropriations Committee voted Tuesday to approve bills to fund the Agriculture and Energy departments and the Army Corps of Engineers."

"An as-yet-to-be-introduced bill that would extend a freeze on Ohio’s renewable-energy requirements for an additional three years is already drawing opposition."

"The Senate on Tuesday revived a bill that would promote a variety of energy sources, from renewables such as solar and wind power to natural gas, hydropower and geothermal energy."

"Michigan's attorney general will announce criminal charges Wednesday against two state regulators and a Flint employee, alleging wrongdoing related to the city's lead-tainted water crisis, according to government officials familiar with the investigation."