"Robert Carlyle Byrd, the longest-serving member of Congress in United States history, who spent much of his career as a conservative Democrat and ended it by fiercely opposing the war in Iraq and questioning the state's powerful coal industry, died Monday. He was 92."

"The sun is about to get a lot more active, which could have ill effects on Earth. So to prepare, top sun scientists met Tuesday to discuss the best ways to protect Earth's satellites and other vital systems from the coming solar storms."

"The Upper Big Branch mine in West Virginia was plagued by persistent problems with airflow in the weeks and months before a massive and deadly explosion in April, an NPR News investigation has found. NPR has also learned that the FBI is focused both on the airflow problems and on possible tampering with safety monitors as part of its criminal probe."

"It's the latest twist in American college ratings: How green is your campus? Dormitories at Chico State hold competitions to see which one can save the most energy, with the winning students awarded a pizza party."

A former laborer at several nuclear power plants in the U.S. is now being held in Yemen as a suspected member of the same branch of al-Qaida that is linked to the failed Christmas bombing of a jet to Detroit.

Bedbug-sniffing dogs can locate a single live bug or egg with 96 percent accuracy. The bugs were mostly eradicated in the U.S. by now-banned pesticides like DDT, and are now making a comeback.

"PARIS -- An event based around hundreds of fashionistas flying in from all over the world was never going to be a convincing platform for environmental campaigning, but designers in Paris haven't let that stop them."

"As the controversial law takes effect Monday, critics argue it could increase wildlife poaching, violence between visitors and against rangers, and destruction of historic and cultural monuments."

"A new Office of Sustainable Communities is being created within the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to help communities take an integrated approach to making environmental, housing and transportation decisions."