U.S.

A broken stormwater pipe in North Carolina has sent the waste into the Dan River, which flows through Virginia and out into the Atlantic. Officials say the drinking water is safe, but environmental questions linger.

In a warming world, extreme droughts are predicted to become more common. Amid the historic drought gripping California and much of the West Coast, scientists are studying how states can manage with a lot less water in the future.

Maria Vasquez-Rojas was thrilled when she learned she was pregnant. But soon afterward she was diagnosed with ovarian cancer — at the same time her brother Francisco was struggling with drug addiction. Maria's daughter's birth has transformed not just Maria's life, but Francisco's, too.

Heroin overdose deaths have increased significantly in the U.S. over the past five years. Experts point to aggressive prescribing of opioid drugs for pain about 15 years ago as a reason why. Heroin users often say their addiction began with exposure to painkillers like OxyContin.

Detroit's Belle Isle Aquarium is getting a little help from its friends in Washington, D.C. The National Aquarium closed late last year after more than 100 years. Thousands of dollars' worth of equipment went to the Motor City, where its own century-old aquarium is beautiful and historic — but starved for resources. Budget shortfalls forced its closure in 2005. But a scrappy team of volunteers has worked to open it to the public on a limited basis, and they hope the fake coral, fiberglass tank props, and other equipment from D.C. will help it regain some of its luster.

Rodney Scott's legendary South Carolina barbecue cookhouse went up in flames last year, so friends of the pit master cooked up a plan to help him rebuild. Scott is now making a comeback with his Bar-B-Que in Exile Tour and bringing people together with his whole hog barbecue.

From sodas to truffles to butter, foods infused with THC — the chemical in marijuana that gives you a high — are already for sale in Colorado. But the federal government still considers pot illegal, so the state has to create from scratch its own system to regulate these foods.

Some farming communities are struggling to find enough contestants for the pageants that crown monarchs like the Asparagus Queen and Beef Queen. So they are relaxing the pageant rules to spice up the competition.

The show was canceled last year in the wake of the killings in Newtown, Conn. Now, the Great American Outdoor Show is back on in Pennsylvania this week, and it's bigger than ever.

The oil fields of western North Dakota are bringing vast economic opportunity to a region that just 10 years ago was in decline. Yet, this vitality is rough around the edges and high art and culture are rare commodities. One organization is trying to change that by sending two professional writers into towns most impacted by the boom to conduct creative writing workshops.