Environment

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Van Metre Homes is building 14 homes from its Marquis Custom Estate Collection on sites of 3 to 8 acres at Fox Knoll of Middleburg. The Avery model is base-priced from $729,990.

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As planes take off from Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport, lawmakers on nearby Capitol Hill are arguing for an Article 84 court challenge against EU fees for carbon emissions. (Associated Press)

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Duke guard Austin Rivers is just the fourth player to leave for the NBA after one season in Mike Krzyzewski's 32 seasons at the Durham, N.C., school. Rivers' father, Doc Rivers, coaches the Boston Celtics. (Associated Press)

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This map, released by the Federal Emergency Management Agency, shows the likely effects from a 10-kiloton nuclear device set off a few blocks north of the White House. (AP Photo/FEMA)

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Delta Brogden pumps gas at a station in Atlanta earlier this month. The nationwide average for a gallon of gas reached $3.90 on Monday, which is now less than 10 cents away from last year's high. (Associated Press)

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**FILE** Henry Rice, of Atlanta, pumps gas March 16, 2012, at a station in Atlanta. (Associated Press)

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This map, released by the Federal Emergency Management Agency, is contained in a report from a study that analyzed the likely effects from terrorists setting off a 10-kiloton nuclear device a few blocks north of the White House. The map shows a summary of severe, moderate and light damage zones, and types of damage or injuries likely to be encountered by responders. (AP Photo/FEMA)

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Maryland Gov. Martin O'Malley is pushing for an offshore wind energy bill after a similar measure failed last year because of bipartisan concerns over the likelihood that its implementation would drive up energy prices. (Rod Lamkey Jr./The Washington Times)

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The Deepsea Challenger submersible with James Cameron inside is moved into place to begin its descent 7 miles below the surface of the Pacific Ocean to the Mariana Trench. The movie director spent more than three hours inside the trench. (National Geographic via Associated Press)

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An oil container, a bucket and a bag of trash litter a gully near Highway 85, a key route for truckers in North Dakota's oil country. Some of the industrial rubbish blows from unsecured truckloads, but the most frustrating trash is discarded urine. (Associated Press)

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A commercial billboard welcoming Pope Benedict XVI stands near Bicentennial Park. (AP Photo/Gregorio Borgia)

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**FILE** Tugboats pull the crippled tanker Exxon Valdez towards Naked Island in Prince William Sound, Alaska, on April 5, 1989, after the ship was pulled from Bligh Reef. (Associated Press)

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EYA is building 112 town homes at the Townhomes at Mosaic District in Fairfax. The homes have 1,848 to 2,566 finished square feet, with base prices from $597,400 to the $800,000s.

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** FILE ** In this Oct. 14, 2011, file photo, Mike and Chantell Sackett of Priest Lake, Idaho, pose for a photo in front of the Supreme Court in Washington. The Supreme Court ruled unanimously Wednesday that property owners have a right to prompt review by a judge of an important tool used by the Environmental Protection Agency to address water pollution. (AP Photo/Haraz N. Ghanbari, File)

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** FILE ** A Taiwanese soldier stands at attention in front of a Patriot missile air defense system near the northern coastal town of Wanli, Taiwan, in October 2004. (AP Photo/Wally Santana)

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New X-ray research has shown that "Still Life With Meadow Flowers and Roses" really is by Vincent van Gogh. (Associated Press)

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FILE - In this April 10, 2010 file photo, U.S. actor Sean Penn carries the belongings of a person displaced by the earthquake as people are relocated from the Petion ville Golf Club to a new camp, Corail-Cesselesse, in Port-au-Prince, Haiti. Penn is being honored by a group of Nobel laureates for his relief work in Haiti following the country's devastating January 2010 earthquake. Penn is to receive the 2012 Peace Summit Award at the 12th World Summit of Nobel Peace Laureates at an event in Chicago in April 2012 and is expected to draw such luminaries as Poland's Lech Walesa and the Dalai Lama. (AP Photo/Ramon Espinosa, File)