Errors were made but there was no criminal conduct by National Park Service scientists assessing the environmental impact of a disputed oyster farm in Northern California, a federal investigation has found.The Interior Department's Solicitor's Office said the scientists made mistakes that eroded public confidence when studying whether the operation of Drakes Bay Oyster Co. hurt…

a preferred form of renewable energy among environmentalists — has animal rights advocates concerned about the hundreds of thousands of birds killed by wind turbines.On Tuesday an international bird watchdog group based in Spain, Save the Eagles International (STEI), warned that the expected construction of 3.5 million wind turbines worldwide will result in the extinction…

s Outlaw Arch into become the 12th-largest arch on Earth.The recently discovered Hazarchishma Natural Bridge is also nearly 10,000 feet (3,000 m) above sea level, making it one of the highestin the world.Researchers from the Wildlife Conservation Society stumbled across the geological colossus in late 2010 while conducting wildlife surveys along Afghanistan's Bamyan plateau, home…

Less than a week ahead of a meeting of the Group of 20 rich and developing nations in China, former U.K. Prime Minister Gordon Brown has urged the world's most powerful economies to seal a "global growth pact" to fight unemployment.Brown was joined on Saturday by other top economic policymakers in his call for a…

Washington, D.C.’s well-to-do residents have armed themselves at a greater rate than residents of poorer, more crime-ridden areas in the two years sincethe Supreme Court ended D.C.’s ban on handguns.According to D.C. police data, more than 1,400 firearms have been registered since the Court’s ruling in June 2008, and most of these in the western…

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) – J. Paul Getty III, oil baron J. Paul Getty's grandson whose life was marked by kidnapping and a tragic stroke that left him handicapped, has died at his home in Buckinghamshire, England, age 54.His son, actor Balthazar Getty, said in a statement from Los Angeles on Tuesday that his father was…

BRIDGEPORT, Conn. – Justin Robinson led all five Rider starters in double figures with 26 points in a 96-87 win over Fairfield Sunday.Novar Gadson added 21 points, Mike Ringgold 17, Jonathon Thompson 13 and Danny Stewart 11 for the Broncs (17-8, 9-4 Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference).Rider, the conference leader in field-goal percentage (47.3), shot 48.4…

FORT WORTH, Texas – Steelers center Maurkice Pouncey got treatment for his sprained left ankle while his teammates practiced Thursday for the Super Bowl.Pouncey's availability is in question because of the injury sustained in the AFC championship."It's getting to be the witching hour for Maurkice," coach Mike Tomlin told a pool reporter after practice. "He's…

JUNEAU, Alaska – Alaska's attorney general is granting state officials' request for an extension until May 31 to release potentially thousands of e-mails that Sarah Palin sent and received while she was governor.But John Burns says this comes with the "unequivocal expectation" that all records that aren't privileged will be released by then. Already, public…

NEW YORK (Reuters) – The Dow and S&P were little changed on Thursday as disappointing labor market data offset strong results from Caterpillar, but a strong outlook from Qualcomm lifted the Nasdaq.Initial jobless claims surged to 454,000 in the latest week, rising to the highest level since late October, the government said.Three Dow components posted…