"U.S. EPA announced Friday that it decided against a proposed rule that would have required contractors to test dust to prove the absence of lead following renovations."

"Powerful business and industry groups appealed to EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson Friday to pull back upcoming smog standards, calling the rules a test case of the White House's commitment to ensuring regulations don’t hinder U.S. competitiveness."

As cash-strapped local governments in Florida cut their mosquito-control budgets, the fight against a surge in mosquito populations is getting ugly -- and mosquitos may be threatening both health and economic well-being.

"As consensus mounts, and their states confront torrid heat, these politicians maintain global warming is a hoax."

"It's not yet lights out: Republicans have revived their effort to crush energy-saving lightbulbs, with a vote in the House of Representatives as early as Friday."

"The Republican-led House Appropriations Committee has approved a restrictive spending bill for Fiscal Year 2012 that allows uranium mining on public lands adjacent to the Grand Canyon, prohibits funding for the U.S. EPA to set greenhouse gas standards, and exempts oil and utility companies from the Clean Air Act."

"Everybody knows what the tea party members oppose. High taxes. Big government. Obama's health care plan. High-speed rail. Now, for at least some local tea party members, there's one more to add: manatee protection."

"The Bush White House played a role in the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's controversial 2008 decision not to regulate the drinking water contaminant perchlorate, according to a congressional watchdog agency."

"The Office of Management and Budget this week provided the House Energy and Commerce Committee access to some 1,400 pages of emails concerning the Department of Energy's controversial loan guarantee program and promised to provide additional updates by the end of the week."

"The Republican-controlled House passed a bill Wednesday that would sharply curtail the federal government's role in protecting waters from pollution by barring the Environmental Protection Agency from overruling state decisions on water quality."