National (U.S.)

"AMES, Iowa -- As the car pulled into the parking lot of a Starbucks, William Sanford Nye unknotted his trademark bow tie and slipped it off."

"The Senate Natural Resources Committee has approved a one-year extension of the Secure Rural Schools Act."

"NEW ORLEANS -- Scientists in Michigan and Louisiana are predicting a big summer 'dead zone' in the Gulf of Mexico unless a tropical storm hits the area shortly before or during the annual measurement. In the Chesapeake Bay, scientists expect a smaller-than-average area where there's too little oxygen to support fish, shellfish and other aquatic life."

"Women who live in areas with polluted air are up to twice as likely to have an autistic child than those living in communities with cleaner air, according to a new study."

"The White House on Monday threatened to veto the farm bill coming to the House this week."

"An official with the Army Corps of Engineers told a Congressional committee Tuesday it doesn't plan a broad environmental study on exporting coal from the western United States."

"As the Environmental Protection Agency seeks public comment on how to gauge the environmental impact of a proposed gold and copper mine in the Bristol Bay watershed, hundreds of thousands of Americans have weighed in on one side or another."

"DAMASCUS, Va. -- This is a heck of a bad time for the hellbender."

"TransCanada Corp., which says Keystone XL will be the safest pipeline ever built, isn’t planning to use infrared sensors or fiber-optic cables to detect spills along the system’s 2,000-mile (3,200-kilometer) path to Texas refineries from fields in Alberta."

"The latest domestic energy boom is sweeping through some of the nation's driest pockets, drawing millions of gallons of water to unlock oil and gas reserves from beneath the Earth's surface."