Environment

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Flood debris awaits pickup in front of a Christmas manger scene Wednesday at a West Pittston, Pa., home. Months after a tropical storm caused Susquehanna River flooding, many will be out of their homes for Christmas. (Associated Press)

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** FILE ** Droplets of rain cover the handle of a shopping cart outside a Wal-Mart store. (AP Photo/Amy Sancetta)

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PIZZA PARLOR POLITICIAN: Former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney, a Republican presidential contender, shakes hands with patrons while campaigning at Village Pizza in Newport, N.H. (Associated Press)

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PIZZA PARLOR POLITICIAN: Former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney, a Republican presidential contender, shakes hands with patrons while campaigning at Village Pizza in Newport, N.H. (Associated Press)

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EPA Administrator Lisa P. Jackson said the agency's new rule that will limit toxic pollutants released by coal- and oil-fired power plants is the Obama administration's "biggest clean-air action yet." (Associated Press)

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River guide Andy Andrzejewski hoists a bass taken from the Occoquan River. (Gene Mueller/The Washington Times)

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Claire Laubach has 100 international games under her belt and has earned three NCAA Division I national championships at Wake Forest. (Denis Poroy/Special to The Washington Times)

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Tokyo Electric Power Co. President Toshio Nishizawa, right, looks up as Japan's Nuclear Crisis Minister Goshi Hosono, left, speaks during a press conference at the headquarters of TEPCO, the operator of the tsunami-damaged Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear power plant, in Tokyo Friday, Dec. 16, 2011, shortly after Japan's prime minister announced that the nuclear plant has achieved a stable state of "cold shutdown," a crucial step toward the eventual lifting of evacuation orders and closing of the plant. (AP Photo/Hiro Komae)

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Interior Secretary Kenneth L. Salazar said his department has approved a solar farm in Arizona and a wind farm in Southern California as part of the Obama administration's drive to support renewable energy projects. (Associated Press)

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GOP presidential hopeful Rick Santorum has seen his polling numbers rise in the weeks leading up to the Iowa caucuses.

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** FILE ** In this Sept. 14, 2009 photo, Encana Corp. placed two 2400 gallon water containers inside this unit on Louis Meeks' property in Pavillion, Wyo. The ranking Republican on the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee — Oklahoma Sen. James Inhofe — is asking the head of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency for more information about an EPA investigation into groundwater contamination in a Wyoming gas field. (AP Photo/Casper Star-Tribune, Kerry Huller)

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George Mason senior guard Andre Cornelius was suspended 10 games for pleading guilty to misdemeanor credit card fraud in November. (Associated Press)

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Paul Locke, chairman of the committee that wrote a National Academy of Sciences report on the safety of mining uranium in Virginia, says "there are still many unknowns" about the safety of lifting a ban on mining the radioactive material. (Associated Press)

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Former Maryland Gov. Harry Hughes (center) joins Gov. Martin O'Malley (left) and former Gov. Parris N. Glendening on Monday in Annapolis to mark the submission of PlanMaryland, a long-range plan for sustainable growth, to Mr. O'Malley after four years of work on the plan by state officials. (Associated Press)

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In this Dec. 15, 2011 photo, Michael Reed fills his gas tank at a station in Charlotte, N.C. The retail price of gasoline averaged more than $3.50 per gallon for the year, a record. Drivers cut back where they could, driving less and switching to more fuel efficient cars. (AP Photo/Chuck Burton)

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Commuters ride a crowded bus in July. Lima has a new rapid transit bus system powered by natural gas, but an older fleet of buses spewing air pollution hasn't gone out of service yet. Air pollution in the capital exceeds World Health Organization limits ninefold. (Associated Press)

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Soldiers and health workers carry the body of a flash-flood victim in preparation for a mass burial at a public cemetery on Monday in Iligan city, southern Philippines. Tropical storm Washi blew away Monday after devastating the southern Philippines with flash floods that killed hundreds of people as they slept and turned two coastal cities into a muddy wasteland filled with overturned cars and uprooted trees. (Associated Press)

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A National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration satellite image taken on Monday, Dec. 19, 2011, at 12:45 a.m. EST shows cloud cover over the Southwest as low pressure over the region kicks up a mix of rain, freezing rain and snow. (AP Photo/Weather Underground)

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Conservators examine a portion of the Dead Sea Scrolls containing the Ten Commandments before the scrolls' installation at Discovery Times Square in New York for a 10-day exhibition. (Associated Press)