Southwest (AZ NM OK TX)

"FORT WORTH, Texas -- A Wise County couple who sued Plano-based Aruba Petroleum, claiming that natural gas operations near their 40-acre ranch made them sick, has won a $2.9 million award from a Dallas jury."

"Pastor Bob McCartney of First Baptist Church tries to love his neighbor as himself. He’s just not thrilled that Wichita Falls will soon have him drinking water that once swirled down his neighbor’s toilet."

"A study by a University of Texas at Austin researcher raises concerns about whether current gas drilling regulations protect public health and questions a state study that found no link between cancer rates and gas drilling in Flower Mound."

"Less than a week after an oil spill in the Houston Ship Channel, environmentalists say there has been limited damage to nearby bird sanctuaries, but it is too soon to know whether there will be long-term problems to wildlife."

"U.S. authorities expected a 'tapered' re-opening of the Houston Ship Channel, but gave no timeline on Monday of when vessels could start moving again after an oil barge spill shut the waterway for a third day, forcing the nation's second-largest refinery to curb production."

"TEXAS CITY, Texas -- The cleanup of an unknown amount of thick, sticky oil that spilled into the Galveston Bay blocked the movement Sunday of about 60 ships, including three cruise ships, between the Gulf of Mexico and one of the world's busiest petrochemical transportation waterways."

"Federal efforts to recover wolf population expose bitter tension between anti-government and environmentalist activists."