"Things are starting to look up for the US’s flock of nearly 300 million egg-laying hens. Right now, approximately 96% of those chickens live in cages, with only about 67 to 86 square inches (170 to 220 cm) of usable space per bird. But that may soon change.

"Coal ash sitting dormant in an unlined portion of the landfill near the Cayuga Power Plant has been seeping into groundwater for nearly 30 years and has flowed into nearby Milliken Creek, potentially contaminating drinking water, a geologist said in a meeting with Tompkins County officials Wednesday afternoon."

"Officials at the Pilgrim Nuclear Power Station are considering whether they can afford the multimillion-dollar safety improvements and other reforms required by federal officials. If not, they say, they might close the plant."

"Rich western countries and the world’s leading developing nations are spending up to $200bn (£130bn) a year subsidising fossil fuels, according to a report from the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development."

"A long-simmering debate in the American West over an imperiled ground-dwelling bird was headed for climax on Tuesday with the Obama administration expected to unveil a conservation plan lacking Endangered Species Act protections."

"For more than a year, Volkswagen executives told the Environmental Protection Agency that discrepancies between the formal air-quality tests on its diesel cars and the much higher pollution levels out on the road were the result of technical issues, not a deliberate attempt to deceive Washington officials."

"As Pope Francis visits the United States for the first time, a new CNN/ORC Poll finds the head of the Catholic Church is largely viewed favorably nationwide and that most Catholics approve of his comments even on controversial issues."

"President Barack Obama’s nominee to lead the nation’s rail safety agency told lawmakers Thursday that the agency would hold railroads to a year-end deadline to install collision-avoidance technology even if it meant that freight and passengers could be left stranded."

"Regulators have been slow to act on paint strippers, other products containing methylene chloride".

"More than half the members of the U.S. Senate are urging chamber leadership to pass a bill reauthorizing a federal conservation program before it expires at the end of the month."