National (U.S.)

"Research has proven that infants and toddlers, who spend more time on the floor and experience the world with their hands and mouths, are not merely in closer contact with many indoor pollutants2 but also more sensitive to them. Yet environmental health standards in child care settings nationwide—which can include not just centers but also private homes, workplaces, universities, and places of worship—still lag behind those of schools, where children are older, larger, and somewhat less susceptible to environmental exposures. Unlike with more uniformly regulated schools, child care licensing, permitting, and oversight occur on a variety of levels, resulting in a fractured regulatory landscape."

"The founders never expected to live in the desert; the Constitution's primary mechanism for divvying up shared water doesn't work."

"Tesla joins Nissan Leaf and Chevy Volt in the race for electric car sales. After a recording-breaking March for the Nissan Leaf, sales of electric cars dipped in April."

"WASHINGTON, DC -- Multiple factors are responsible for the steep decline in honey bees across the United States, including parasites and disease, genetics, poor nutrition and pesticide exposure, federal government officials reported today, releasing a new scientific consensus on honey bee health."

"Three Los Angeles council members want the city to pull pension money from the investment firms that own Tribune if they sell the Los Angeles Times to buyers who don’t support 'professional and objective journalism.' Councilman Bill Rosendahl says: 'Frankly what I hear about the Koch brothers, if it’s true, it’s the end of journalism.'"

"The Texas fertilizer plant that blew up on April 17, killing at least 15 people, appears to have been claiming an arcane exemption that allowed it to avoid targeted workplace inspections and safety requirements and enter a 'streamlined prevention program' with environmental regulators, a government spokesman confirmed."

"Lipstick may brighten your face but may not be good for the rest of you, a study today suggests. Testing of 32 commonly sold lipsticks and lip glosses found they contain lead, cadmium, chromium, aluminum and five other metals — some at potentially toxic levels, according to researchers at the University of California-Berkeley's School of Public Health."

Pilots will soon launch an effort to fly a solar-powered airplane across the United States.

"BOISE, Idaho -- Two small but unseasonably early fires burning in northern California's wine country and another wind-whipped blaze farther south likely are a harbinger of a nasty summer fire season across the West."

A new analysis says federal crop insurance not only allowed corn and soybean farmers to survive last summer's drought, it also allowed them to make higher profits than in a normal year -- at taxpayer expense.