"BAKERSFIELD, Calif. — In 36 years with the Los Angeles police, Sgt. Irwin Klorman faced many dangerous situations, including one routine call that ended with Uzi fire and a bullet-riddled body sprawled on the living room floor. But his most life-threatening encounter has been with coccidioidomycosis, or valley fever, for which he is being treated here."

"VESTAL, N.Y. -- Big energy companies have been trying for five years to tap the riches of the Marcellus Shale in southern New York, promising thousands of new jobs, economic salvation for a depressed region, and a cheap, abundant, clean-burning source of fuel close to power-hungry cities. But for all its political clout and financial prowess, the industry hasn't been able to get its foot in the door."

"Hours before Americans celebrated their nation's birthday by reveling in fireworks, one of its most iconic symbols -- Lady Liberty -- reopened to the huddled masses eager to see it up close."

"The coal industry is worried about environmental threats. Not threats like climate change, superstorms, or wildfires. Threats posed by environmentalists."

"Listen to Harvey Gebhard talk about grilling and you can almost smell the smoke. Gebhard is the CEO of the Lone Star Barbecue Society, a group that organizes charity cook-offs."

"James “Randy” Udall, the brother of Sen. Mark Udall (D-Colo.) and an avid hiker who had gone missing in Wyoming, was found dead by a search and rescue team Wednesday, the family announced. He was 61."

"Pepsi-Cola is still using caramel coloring containing a chemical linked to cancer in rodents, a report released on Wednesday showed, more than a year after the beverage maker promised to phase it out."

"Just a year after Congress imposed significant changes in the government's oft-criticized flood insurance program, howls of protest from homeowners facing higher premiums have coastal lawmakers pressing for delays that would preserve below-cost rates for hundreds of thousands of people in flood-risk areas."

"When the Environmental Protection Agency abruptly retreated on its multimillion-dollar investigation into water contamination in a central Wyoming natural gas field last month, it shocked environmentalists and energy industry supporters alike."

"Babies whose mothers consume nitrates in drinking water have a higher risk of spina bifida, cleft palate and other birth defects, according to a large study of children in Texas and Iowa. Used as fertilizers on crops, nitrates are one of the most widespread chemical contaminants in aquifers around the world. The study is the first to compare birth defects in kids to their mothers’ consumption of nitrates-tainted drinking water during pregnancy."