"A U.S. appeals court said on Tuesday Obama administration regulations limiting emissions of mercury and other toxic pollutants can remain in effect while the government revises the rules in response to a recent Supreme Court ruling."

"Lawmakers have agreed to lift the four-decade-old ban on crude oil exports as part of a spending and tax package announced by congressional leadership on Tuesday night, according to a GOP lawmaker. In exchange, Republicans agreed to extend a series of expired or expiring renewable energy tax breaks."

"Kathryn Sullivan has helped U.S. Navy sailors navigate — literally — through rough seas as an oceanographer in the Navy Reserves. As a NASA astronaut, she’s walked in space, the first American woman to step outside a spacecraft, 140 miles above Earth. These challenges are a world apart from what she’s now confronting in Washington as she leads an agency of federal scientists in the crosshairs of a powerful member of Congress."

"A deal on limiting carbon dioxide emissions from aviation will likely be reached next year, no matter the outcome of this week's climate change talks in Paris, a senior official from the International Air Transport Association (IATA) said on Thursday."