"WASHINGTON — The Obama administration is retreating from previous demands of strong international environmental protections in order to reach agreement on a sweeping Pacific trade deal that is a pillar of President Obama’s strategic shift to Asia, according to documents obtained by WikiLeaks, environmentalists and people close to the contentious trade talks."

"WASHINGTON, D.C. - Negotiators between the House of Representatives and U.S. Senate on Monday night released a $1.012 trillion compromise 2014 spending bill that would restore Great Lakes cleanup money to last year's levels and also repeal a newly enacted cut to cost of living adjustments, or COLAs, for disabled military retirees and their survivors."

"FirstEnergy, one of the country’s largest electric companies, has agreed to work toward reducing its carbon emissions in response to pressure from shareholders including New York State and Connecticut pension funds, New York Comptroller Thomas P. DiNapoli said on Tuesday."

"A federal judge in Charlotte has delivered a startling victory for industries that are part of the country’s long-running asbestos-liability fight, cutting more than $1 billion from what a company owes to current and future victims."

"The omnibus spending bill unveiled by lawmakers Monday night blocks a number of key energy and climate regulations put forward by the Obama administration."

"The New Jersey agency charged with protecting the Pinelands, a vast and fragile expanse of sand pines, gnarled oaks and river deltas, narrowly defeated a proposal on Friday to run a 22-mile natural gas pipeline through it."

"The group 350.org, one of the loudest voices against the proposed Keystone XL oil pipeline from Canada, will boost its focus on natural gas and coal exports."

"A group of liberal Senate Democrats hopes to play political offense on climate change in 2014."

"WASHINGTON -- '60 Minutes' last Sunday ran a segment on what it described as the 'crash' of the clean tech industry, detailing perceived failures in government support for the development of clean energy and other advanced technology. That segment has been widely criticized for leaving out crucial information about the state of the clean tech sector and over-emphasizing governmental failures."

"The giants of the U.S. food industry who have spent millions fighting state-by-state efforts to mandate new labels for genetically modified organisms are taking a page from their opponents and pushing for a federal GMO law."