Time.com - So far, predictions of ecological catastrophe on the Gulf Coast following the BP oil spill seem overblown

AP - Even when the oily sheen starts fading from the surface of the Gulf of Mexico, it manages to become bad news for fishermen.

Reuters - Three months after the catastrophic oil rig explosion that sent millions of gallons of crude spewing into the Gulf of Mexico, the U.S. House of Representatives was poised on Friday to debate legislation clamping down on the industry's offshore drilling practices.

AP - A federal judge has ruled that the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service arbitrarily excluded "critical habitat" that could be occupied by the elusive Canada lynx.

LiveScience.com - Five thousand years ago, in North Africa, humans formed an alliance with the wild ancestors of the donkey, twice.

AP - A Canadian company whose pipeline leaked hundreds of thousands of gallons of oil into a Michigan river has experienced leaks, an explosion and dozens of regulatory violations in the past decade throughout the Great Lakes region and elsewhere in the U.S.

Reuters - More than 2,000 miles from the Gulf of Mexico shoreline, a panel of U.S. judges heard arguments from lawyers on Thursday on how piles of oil spill-related lawsuits against BP Plc should be merged.

Reuters - Oil giant BP Plc rejected a request from Texas for a $25 million cash advance to clean up shorelines sullied by the Gulf oil spill, and got a scathing response from top Texas officials, according to letters given to Reuters on Thursday.

AP - Even when the oily sheen starts fading from the surface of the Gulf of Mexico, it manages to become bad news for fishermen.

Reuters - The Senate plans to hold a procedural vote next Wednesday to test whether there is enough support to pass legislation clamping down on offshore oil drilling procedures and expanding alternative energy, a Democratic aide said on Thursday.

AFP - US spill chief Thad Allen failed Thursday to reassure desperate fishermen about their Gulf of Mexico oil clean-up jobs, while BP began the legal wrangling in a massive civil trial.

LiveScience.com - In a move that some are questioning, the Galapagos Islands have been removed from the World Heritage Committee's (WHC) list of Sites in Danger, a decision that came late Wednesday during the committee's annual meeting.

AP - Water gurgling from a well is flooding Craig Gautreaux's rice and crawfish fields, turning the farm into a wetland for migratory birds whose usual Gulf of Mexico wintering grounds are threatened by the oil spill.

AP - Partisan disagreements in the Senate will delay passage of legislation responding to the Gulf oil spill until at least September, when Congress returns from its summer recess.

LiveScience.com - For researchers, a key to studying any cancer is finding its "cell of origin." Now scientists at the University of California at Los Angeles say they've found just that -- a specific type of cell that gives rise to prostate cancer.

SPACE.com - After more than six years roaming the surface of Mars, NASA's Mars rover Opportunity has spotted its first dust devil on the red planet.

AP - A Canadian company whose pipeline leaked hundreds of thousands of gallons of oil into a Michigan river was warned by government regulators in January that its monitoring of corrosion in the pipeline was insufficient.

Reuters - Three months into the worst oil spill in U.S. history, most Californians oppose offshore drilling, marking a strong shift in opinion on the issue, a poll has found.

LiveScience.com - Exactly 100 days after an explosion on the Deepwater Horizon offshore oil rig sent an estimated 20,000 to 40,000 barrels of oil per day gushing into the Gulf of Mexico, officials say engineers are on the cusp of completing a final plug on the well.

Reuters - The U.S. Congress is poised to debate energy legislation designed to toughen offshore drilling practices in the aftermath of the devastating Gulf of Mexico oil spill.