National (U.S.)

"Just when companies have finally stepped up hiring, rising oil prices are threatening to halt the U.S. economy's gains."

"Will the next Farm Bill, scheduled for passage in 2012, put public policy in service of a food system that works for farmers, eaters, and the environment?" Under the GOP's slash-and-burn budget assault, it is not currently looking that way.

"A Virginia state lawmaker caused a stir in February when he admitted that his resolution declaring U.S. EPA's effort to curb greenhouse gas emissions a 'regulatory train wreck' was written by the coal industry."

"The U.S. government lashed out at companies at the heart of last year's Gulf oil spill on Monday, denying reports it had negotiated a deal with BP to resume drilling."

"A year after the worst coal mining accident in decades took the lives of 29 workers, prompting urgent calls to revamp oversight of one of the country's most dangerous jobs, not much has changed in the lives of those who toil deep underground."

""U.S. water utilities have known about the prevalence of a likely carcinogen in water sources for seven years and have failed to share that information with the public, according to an advocacy group, which released today a 2004 industry study of hexavalent chromium."

Two employees of Transocean, owner of the rig that exploded, killed 11, and fouled the Gulf, are refusing to testify on the incident in a federal hearing. Transocean says it is powerless to make them do so. Citing a "best" year in safety despite the 11 deaths, Transocean awarded bonuses to executives.

"The Government Accountability Office is preparing to issue a report that rebukes the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention for saying in 2004 that elevated levels of lead in the District’s tap water did not pose a public health threat and for failing to quickly clarify its findings as complaints mounted."

"In the last 150 years, prospectors and energy companies have drilled as many as 12 million holes across the U.S. in search of oil and gas. Many were plugged after they dried up. But hundreds of thousands were simply abandoned and forgotten, often leaving no records of their existence. Government reports have warned for decades that abandoned wells can provide pathways for oil, gas or brine-laden water to contaminate groundwater supplies or to travel up to the surface."

"BP is in talks with the Interior Department about permits that would allow it to resume deep-water drilling in the Gulf of Mexico, according to two sources familiar with the discussions. The company hopes that it can restart several projects sometime this summer."