"An intense heat wave broke records in more than a dozen states on Friday, and spawned one of the most damaging severe thunderstorm events seen in years. At least 3 million Americans, mainly in areas from Indiana Southeast to Virginia, were facing the prospect of another day of triple-digit heat heat without the benefit of air conditioning on Saturday, after the storms knocked out power. The severe weather also killed at least 13 people, including two young boys who were killed by a falling tree as they camped with their family in southern New Jersey."

"Sockeye salmon -- great table fare, but not good biters on sport gear -- are streaming up the Columbia River in massive numbers and appear likely to be a record return this year."

"Abound Solar, a solar panel maker that received a $400 million loan guarantee from the federal government, announced on Thursday that it would file for bankruptcy amid plummeting prices and intense competition from Chinese manufacturers in the solar equipment market."

"The House Appropriations Committee on Thursday sent a bill slashing funding for the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to the House floor for consideration on a 26-19 vote."

"Two years after the worst offshore oil spill in U.S. history, Congress is poised to steer a large chunk of the fines that will be paid by BP - up to $21 billion by one estimate - to the Gulf Coast to help restore coastal ecosystems and rebuild economies in the region."

"U.S. oil companies will be allowed to drill in more areas of the Gulf of Mexico but won only limited access to the Arctic under the final version of the Obama Administration's five year drilling plan that was slammed by industry and some environmentalists."

"The devastating wildfires in Colorado have provided a showcase for the latest technology in mapping and tracking emergencies. ESRI and Google Maps are presenting maps of the fires that the two companies continuously update, demonstrating an increasingly popular method for disseminating emergency information."

"This last week, record temperatures and wildfires have scorched the western United States. The National Climate Data Center reports that 41 heat records (at various of 6,027 weather stations around the country) have been broken or tied since Sunday, mostly in Colorado, Kansas and Nebraska, which is quite unusual for this time of year."

"When Pennsylvania passed a state law that stripped local authority over where potentially hazardous natural gas wells could be drilled, cities and townships decided to take matters into their own hands."

"The 2010 BP oil spill accelerated the loss of Louisiana’s delicate marshlands, which were already rapidly disappearing before the largest oil spill in U.S. history, a new study reports."