Southwest (AZ NM OK TX)

"A grandmother and four of her grandchildren were killed and another person also died in floods in Texas caused by storms that unleashed tornadoes, damaging hail and torrential rains on several central U.S. states, officials said on Saturday."

"Hundreds of industrial facilities across Texas are illegally spewing millions of pounds of toxic pollutants into the air each year when they break down or perform maintenance, and state environmental regulators are not adequately policing the rogue emissions, according to a new report."

"Texas is one of the states leading the fight against the Clean Power Plan. If you ask almost any statewide office holder they'll tell you the plan is bad for the economy. ... It may come as a surprise then, that energy companies here are not as unanimous in their opposition. That's because Texas' energy sector is transforming rapidly."

"Once again the assault came under the cover of night, loud and impressive, and by the time daybreak arrived, Houston and its neighboring communities were literally awash in familiar scenes of misery."

"Among firs and cedars high in the Sierra Nevada, scientists are using an array of instruments to monitor the health of the forest, measure the snowpack and track the water that melts and seeps into the soil. As they collect data, they’re taking snapshots of a landscape in the midst of major changes."

"The federal government is cleaning up a long legacy of uranium mining within the Navajo Nation — some 27,000 square miles spread across Utah, New Mexico and Arizona that is home to more than 250,000 people."

"Oklahoma Gov. Mary Fallin has declared state of emergency in 10 new counties to aid local jurisdictions affected by wildfires."

"A federal judge in New Orleans has granted final approval to an estimated $20 billion settlement, resolving years of litigation over the 2010 BP oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico."