National

Up Next For Joe Biden, A Busy Year — And A Choice

4:24pm December 28, 2013

by Brian Naylor

As the vice president enters his sixth year as President Obama's second-in-command, there comes the natural question: What's next? A long-time senator, Biden has run for president before, and is making some moves that suggest he may do so one last time.

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A Scientist's New Job: Keeping The Polar Bears' Plight Public

3:43pm December 28, 2013

by Elizabeth Shogren

Global warming is pushing species like the polar bear to the brink of extinction. It's not a typical conservation problem, so one government biologist discovered the best way he could help save the great white bears was to quit his job.

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After Major Comeback, Is The Gray Wolf Still Endangered?

7:15pm December 27, 2013

by Elizabeth Shogren

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is proposing to take the gray wolf off the endangered species list. The wolf had been extirpated from the West and had dwindled most other places in the U.S. The great canine has rebounded since it was reintroduced to the northern Rockies in the 1990s and is continuing to spread into the Pacific Northwest. But biologists warn that if these wolves loses federal protection, they will not be able to return to some places, such as Colorado, where the ecosystem sorely needs them.

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Energy companies are adding workers, but fatal accidents are on the rise, too.

On-The-Job Deaths Spiking As Oil Drilling Quickly Expands

7:15pm December 27, 2013

As baby boomers retire and drilling increases, energy companies are hiring, adding 23 percent more workers between 2009 and 2012. But the hiring spree has come with a terrible price: Last year, 138 workers were killed on the job, twice as many as in 2009.

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Oil Company Looks To Great Lakes As Shipping Demand Booms

7:15pm December 27, 2013

by David Schaper

North Dakota and western Canada are producing crude oil faster than rail cars and pipelines can take it to refineries. Now, one company wants to ship it by barge across the Great Lakes. That worries environmentalists, who say a 2010 tar sands oil spill near Lake Michigan has yet to be fully cleaned up.

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Ripening fruit in a grove in Plant City, Fla., this month. Florida citrus growers are worried about citrus greening, which causes bacteria to grow on the leaf and fruit, eventually killing the tree.

Time Is Running Out To Save Florida's Oranges

7:15pm December 27, 2013

by Greg Allen

Scientists and growers are in a bitter fight against citrus greening, a disease that has devastated Florida's orange and grapefruit crops. They fear that unless scientists find a cure for greening soon, it's just a matter of time before economic realities and the disease force growers out of business.

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National

After Okla. Tornado's Devastation, A Search For Safety And Shelter

10:29am December 27, 2013

by Wade Goodwyn

It's been seven months since an F5 tornado plowed through Moore, Okla., killing 24 people — including 7 children — and destroying more than 1,100 homes. These super tornadoes leave many kinds of destruction in their wake, but the worst damage may not be visible.

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Obama's Position On Free Trade Marks Subtle Evolution

8:06am December 27, 2013

by Scott Horsley

Two decades after NAFTA created a giant North American free trade zone, the U.S. is negotiating more big trade deals that would span the Atlantic and Pacific oceans. President Obama has embraced the potential agreements as a way to improve the U.S. economy.

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How 2013 Became The 'Gayest Year Ever'

4:36pm December 26, 2013

by Ari Shapiro

Utah's surprise decision to legalize same-sex marriage caps a landmark year for gay rights. The last 12 months saw a huge string of victories, from state legislatures, to Congress, to the Supreme Court.

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The Secret Protectionism Buried Inside NAFTA

7:49am December 26, 2013

by Zoe Chace

In order to get the North American Free Trade Agreement signed 20 years ago, a specific trade-off was made. The trade-off would not protect U.S. jobs from moving overseas.

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