Public

"U.S. President Barack Obama plans to personally unveil proposed carbon-emissions rules for power plants, elevating climate change policy as a top tier issue for his final two years in office, according to two people familiar with White House strategy."

"The Veterans Affairs Department has long resisted disability claims from service members who said chemical residue left in Vietnam War-era planes that were used to spray defoliants over Southeast Asia caused them severe illnesses, including cancer. This summer, a panel of independent scientists will try to determine whether those veterans could have been exposed to the toxins in defoliants, including Agent Orange, at a level that would be dangerous to their health."

"People in heavily populated Pacific and Indian Ocean coastal regions beyond the tropics should take heed, U.S. scientists said on Wednesday, because tropical cyclones increasingly are packing their biggest punch farther from the equator."

"Depletion of groundwater in California's Central Valley for agriculture and other uses could be contributing to an increase in small earthquakes along the famed San Andreas fault, a scientific study published on Wednesday said."

"A Senate committee on Wednesday questioned a panel of specialists about the safety and security of nuclear reactors that have been retired or forced out of business."

"The Los Angeles Fire Department says a ruptured oil pipe near the suburb of Glendale has spilled about 50,000 gallons of crude oil onto streets."

San Diego County is hoping for a break Thursday -- a day after wildfires ravaged the landscape, threatening homes, universities, a military base and a nuclear power plant.