National (U.S.)

"Officials in the northern Caribbean warned Thursday of heavy rains and dangerous swells as Tropical Storm Erin approached the region."

"Debbie Blankenship’s wheelchair carved perfect lines in the grass as she rolled into her backyard garden, passing a wooden arch filled with small grapes, a bush with plump blueberries and yellow crates filled with sprouting potatoes. She stopped at a dirt patch with a burial marker for her beagle — the latest of her dogs to die of cancer."

"Companies such as SpaceX and Blue Origin may be able to forgo reviews required under National Environmental Policy Act" 

"Syngenta is another step closer to potentially putting an end to thousands of lawsuits brought by people blaming the company’s paraquat weed killer for causing Parkinson’s disease."

"On Aug. 6, 2012, a fire broke out at the Chevron refinery in Richmond. Liquid hydrocarbon spewed from a leaky pipe in the crude unit and ignited, sending smoke plumes into the air that could be seen across the Bay. Nearby residents struggled to breathe and reported headaches, chest pains and itchy eyes. More than 15,000 people sought medical help."

"Industry will have to wait longer for the report, which is expected to give the government’s response to childhood chronic diseases."

"The sun was barely up when the three-person medical team pulled into the parking lot of a Phoenix soup kitchen, but the temperature was already around 90 degrees, on its way to 111."

"Wildfires caused by arsonists or thunderstorms and fanned by a heatwave and strong winds wreaked destruction across southern Europe on Wednesday, burning homes and forcing thousands of residents and tourists to flee."

"Tropical Storm Erin has begun what’s expected to be a week-plus oceanic journey across the North Atlantic. As it looks now, much of that trek will be as a potent hurricane that bears close watching."