"People and businesses seeking a lump-sum settlement from BP’s  $20 billion oil spill compensation fund  will most likely have to waive their right to sue not only BP, but also all the other major defendants involved with the spill, according to internal documents from the lawyers handling the fund."

"The company that owned the oil rig that exploded in the Gulf of Mexico is accusing BP of withholding critical evidence needed to investigate the cause of the worst offshore oil spill in U.S. history, according to a confidential document obtained by The Associated Press. BP called the claims a publicity stunt."

"A Virginia Circuit Court is hearing oral arguments today in the fight between Virginia's Attorney General and the University of Virginia over the records of a former professor."

"A 22-mile-long invisible mist of oil is meandering far below the surface of the Gulf of Mexico, where it will probably loiter for months or more, scientists reported Thursday in the first conclusive evidence of an underwater plume from the BP spill."

"White House claims that the worst of the BP oil spill was over were undermined [Thursday] when a senior government scientist said three-quarters of the oil was still in the Gulf environment and a research study detected a 22-mile plume of oil in the ocean depths."

"Citing the Gulf oil spill, the senator says the Republican's stance could threaten the jobs of 400,000 workers. Analysts say oil drilling is one of her most effective wedge issues."

"The Obama administration has decided to spend $1 billion in Recovery Act funds to build FutureGen 2.0, a clean coal repowering program and carbon dioxide storage network, in Illinois."

"The potential human health risks of chemicals widely used in dyes, flame retardants, and industrial laundry detergents have prompted the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to study and potentially ban their manufacture and use."

"For reasons still unknown, bedbugs  really seem to like the state of Ohio. The problem is so dire in Cincinnati that some people with infested apartments have resorted to sleeping on the streets."

"BPA, a toxic compound found in everything from store receipts to water bottles, has been a hot topic as of late. That's because most industries have been slow to adopt alternatives to the petroleum-based estrogenic compound, which is used in the plastic manufacturing process, among other things. Enter isosorbide, a corn-based industrial ingredient that the Archer Daniels Midland Company is touting as a safe, renewable alternative to BPA."