"The Obama administration announced a $760 million settlement  Tuesday to resolve charges by thousands of Native American farmers and ranchers who say that for decades the Agriculture Department discriminated against them in loan programs."
 

"The crude has stopped gushing and coastlines are largely clear of the thick goo that washed ashore for months, but the impact of the worst offshore oil spill in U.S. history will no doubt linger for years."

"Lake Mead sank to its lowest level in nearly 75 years on Sunday, a stark reminder of how drought and growing water demands have sapped the Colorado River and its huge reservoirs."

"Children who sleep in bedrooms with fumes from water-based paints and solvents are two to four times more likely to suffer allergies or asthma, according to a new scientific study."

The Consumer Product Safety Commission did an about-face and announced that it will not regulate cadmium -- a toxic metal found in consumer products that is known to damage kidneys and bones. "Instead, the agency will defer to an independent, private-sector group that has been drafting voluntary limits for several months."

"A secretive network of Republican donors is heading to the Palm Springs area for a long weekend in January, but it will not be to relax after a hard-fought election — it will be to plan for the next one."

"The Chinese flag is being raised in states around the country -- in campaign attack ads warning voters that Congress is creating renewable energy jobs within the borders of America's biggest rival."

Hoaxers are using Chevron's new green-sounding ad campaign to urge the company to live up to its vows.

Sudden aspen decline, a disease that has killed many aspens in the mountain West, seems to be slowing enough that some stands can hold their own.

"Six months after the rig explosion that led to the largest offshore oil spill in U.S. history, damage to the Gulf of Mexico can be measured more in increments than extinctions, say scientists polled by The Associated Press."