"DALLAS -- Environmental groups have notified the Energy Futures Holdings Corp. and its subsidiary, Luminant Generation Company, that they intend to sue the company for more than 38,000 alleged violations of the Clean Air Act at two Texas coal-fired power plants."

"House Democratic leaders asked their members yesterday to pledge in writing to vote 'no' on spending bills that contain controversial policy riders, warning that by bringing such legislation to the floor Republicans would be courting a government shutdown."

"After a celebrated comeback from abysmal water conditions and high pollution levels in the 1970s, Lake Erie is regressing to the highest levels of phosphorous contamination in 40 years, a Great Lakes expert said on Thursday."

"The top U.S. environmental regulator on Thursday said her agency would soon comment on the proposed $7 billion Canada-to-Texas Keystone XL oil sands pipeline, adding she was concerned about emissions and potential leaks that could result from the project."

"The Army Corps of Engineers says it desperately needs about $1 billion to repair the damage from this year's catastrophic flooding in the Missouri and Mississippi basins."

"Opponents of Monsanto's new genetically modified sweet corn are petitioning national food retailers and processors to ban the biotech corn, which is not labeled as being genetically altered from conventional corn. A coalition of health, food safety and environmental organizations said they have collected more than 264,000 petition signatures from consumers who do not want to buy the corn."

Ten years after the anthrax attacks that followed 9/11, the nation has spent some $60 billion trying to put together a biodefense program. One reason Americans do not know the scale of the government's failure is the extreme secrecy with which the programs are conducted. Profits, politics, and the manipulation of public fears may be making the nation's vulnerability to the worst public health threats even  worse.

[26]

"The world's governments and relief agencies need to plan now to resettle millions of people expected to be displaced by climate change, an international panel of experts said on Thursday."

"SINGAPORE -- Oil prices jumped above $92 a barrel Thursday in Asia after European leaders agreed on a plan to reduce Greece's debt burden."

"SAN DIEGO -- In the first case to apply the slavery amendment of the U.S. Constitution to non-human creatures, animal rights and marine mammal advocates today asked a federal court to declare that five orcas are being held as slaves by SeaWorld Parks & Entertainment."