"SACRAMENTO, Calif. -- An undercover video that showed California cows struggling to stand as they were prodded to slaughter by forklifts led to the largest meat recall in U.S. history. In Vermont, a video of veal calves skinned alive and tossed like sacks of potatoes ended with the plant's closure and criminal convictions."

"Now in a pushback led by the meat and poultry industries, state legislators across the country are introducing laws making it harder for animal welfare advocates to investigate cruelty and food safety cases.

"WASHINGTON, DC -- Hunters and anglers from across the United States are concerned about the impact of climate change on wildlife and natural resources and also on the U.S. hunting and angling economy, worth roughly $120 billion a year."

"If the Obama administration has its way, $2 billion in new revenue from offshore oil drilling will fund research into how to wean American drivers off imported oil."

"The Obama administration is leaning toward revising its landmark proposal to regulate greenhouse gas emissions from new power plants, according to several individuals briefed on the matter, a move that would delay tougher restrictions and could anger many environmentalists."

"Partly driven by an oversupply of cheaper panels from China, the domestic solar market had its best year in 2012, with the growth in installations outpacing that of the global market, according to an annual report to be released Thursday."

"President Barack Obama is preparing to tell all federal agencies for the first time that they have to consider the impact on global warming before approving major projects, from pipelines to highways."

"NEW ORLEANS -- BP's cement contractor on the Deepwater Horizon rig has discovered cement samples possibly tied to the ill-fated drilling project that weren't turned over to the Justice Department after the 2010 oil spill, a lawyer for the contractor said Thursday."

"WASHINGTON -- The Shell Oil Company must provide a detailed plan addressing numerous safety and operational issues that plagued its efforts to extract oil beneath the Arctic Ocean last year if it wants to resume drilling off the coast of Alaska, the Interior Department said Thursday."

"Republican lawmakers pressed President Barack Obama on the Keystone XL pipeline in a meeting on Wednesday. Initial reports suggested Obama would approve the pipeline, but he did not offer a definitive answer."

"U.S. EPA will head to court [Thursday] to defend its authority under the Clean Water Act to revoke a strip mining permit issued by the Army Corps of Engineers."