JOHN SCHWARTZ

A sting operation by the environmental group Greenpeace suggests that some researchers who dispute mainstream sscience on climate change are willing to conceal the sources of payment for their research.

The dangerously muggy summer conditions predicted for places near the warm waters of the Gulf could overwhelm the ability of the human body to reduce its temperature through sweating and ventilation. That threatens anyone without air-conditioning — including the poor, but also those who work outdoors in professions like agriculture and construction.

BP had successfully argued last year that the accounting methods that determined claims payments were too generous, and earlier this year, the judge ordered the office that processes claims to adopt an accounting procedure more to the company’s liking.

President Barack Obama on Thursday called for an end to the violence here, denouncing actions by both the police and protesters. Hours later, Missouri Gov. Jay Nixon ordered the state highway patrol to take over security from local law enforcement.

After disasters like the Oso landslide in Washington state, a common question is why people are allowed to live in such dangerous places.

In a setback for BP as it deals with the aftermath of the 2010 Gulf of Mexico oil spill, a U.S. appeals court ruled Monday that the company would have to stick to its agreement and pay some gulf businesses for economic damage without their having to prove it was caused by the spill.

Snowy owls are popping up in territory far from their usual habitat near the Arctic Circle.

For six decades, Americans have tended to drive more every year. But in the middle of the last decade, the number of miles driven -- both overall and per capita -- began to drop, notes a report to be published Tuesday by U.S. PIRG, a nonprofit advocacy organization.

Cruise industry officials point out that seaborne vacations are extremely safe and that some 20 million people go on cruises annually, with few problems. But successes also underscore what most travelers do not realize when they book cruises: Nearly all ships lack backup systems because it would have cost operators more money to install them.