In Alaska's picturesque Bristol Bay region, developers are looking to build an enormous copper and gold mine. They promise the effort will be carried out in an environmentally responsible way — and provide area jobs. But fisherman, conservationists and native groups have joined efforts to thwart the mine, fearing it will pollute fish and wildlife. Melissa Block talks about the battle for Bristol Bay with reporter Daysha Eaton of member station KDLG in Dillingham, Alaska.

Many people who live close to gas drilling sites complain of serious illnesses. But there are few concrete data to help explain why they're getting sick. Investigative reporter Abrahm Lustgarten says weak industry regulations also make it hard to establish a clear connection between gas drilling and health effects.

This past weekend, wildlife officials in Texas came across a huge illegal fishing operation. They found about 3,000 dead sharks, tangled in miles of nets off the coast. Michele Norris talks with Sgt. James Dunks with the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department who found the sharks.

A rare, yellow hypergiant star has been photographed by researchers at the European Southern Observatory. The burning ball of gas is rapidly dying, just 13,000 light-years away from us.

In sub-Saharan Africa, where agricultural productivity is lowest and food shortages are most common, "huge volumes of rainwater are lost or never used," says Alain Vidal, director of the Challenge Program on Water and Food, which commissioned the studies.

Joseph Guillotin, Henry Shrapnel and Jules Leotard became immortal — by entering the English language. But when your entire life is reduced to a single definition, the results are sometimes upsetting.

The Park Service is undertaking a painstaking inspection of the Washington Monument to assess damage from the Aug. 23 earthquake that hit the area. The temblor opened up cracks in the 555-foot obelisk, and the Park Service says it will remain closed indefinitely while repairs are made. There are no serious structural problems, but concerns remain that debris could cause a safety hazard.

Japanese food chemists have found a way to explain how a chemical in miracle fruit makes sour flavors taste sweet. The fruit has inspired a small counterculture of flavor trippers as well as chefs who are experimenting with the chemical as a low-cal sweetener.