Public

"Russia's record hot summer of forest fires and resulting air pollution has left the reputations of its politicians badly scorched. Public anger is mounting at state neglect that allowed the fires to spread and at a cover-up of the number of resultant deaths from heatstroke."

"The Obama administration is preparing to issue new fuel economy standards and the first-ever greenhouse gas limits for large trucks and buses."

"EDGARTOWN, Mass. — Standing alongside the 13th green at the Vineyard Golf Club on Martha’s Vineyard, Jeff Carlson spotted a small broadleaf weed between his feet. As the superintendent charged with maintaining the club grounds, he instinctively bent to pluck it, then stopped."

"'Monkey see, monkey do' is about to be put to the test. Seems some cooped-up orangutans, finally moved into more spacious outdoor digs at a Dutch zoo, have forgotten how to swing through the trees. So the zoo, Ouwehands Dierenpark Rhenen, is bringing in Olympic gymnast Epke Zonderland to re-teach them."

"Former House majority leader Tom DeLay  (R-Tex.) was both defiant and ebullient on Monday after hearing that the Justice Department had dropped its six-year investigation of his interactions with lobbyist Jack Abramoff and a host of other political contributors for whom he allegedly did political favors."

"Tom Donohue scares millions of dollars out of corporations and Republicans. But is his U.S. Chamber of Commerce good for business?"

"Researchers at the University of Georgia said Monday that more than three-quarters of the oil spilled in the Gulf of Mexico following the Deepwater Horizon drilling-rig explosion could still be in the Gulf threatening fisheries and marine life, disputing government statements that much of the oil had been safely dispersed."

"Perhaps the most striking thing about Monday's opening of the fall inshore shrimp season was how much remained closed."