Environment

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Former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin at Chick-fil-A in the Woodlands, Texas, with her husband Todd Palin. (Facebook)

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Erin Hodges and her fiance John Hopewell of Falls Church get around the destruction in the front yard of Mike Wolfe on North Virginia Avenue in Falls Church, two days after the derecho brought down trees and left more than 1 million people in the Washington area without power. The health of trees is often a clue to their vulnerability to high winds, but not always. (Rod Lamkey Jr./The Washington Times)

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Residents wait on the roof of a flooded building in Anju City, South Phyongan province, North Korea on Monday. Officials said 1,000 houses and buildings were destroyed and 5,683 acres of farmland were completely submerged in the city. (Associated Press)

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This artists rendering provided by NASA shows Curiosity, the Mars Rover. After traveling 8½ months and 352 million miles, Curiosity will attempt a landing on Mars Aug. 5, 2012. (Associated Press/NASA)

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Traffic is a solid line of headlights and taillights along Interstate 75 against in Atlanta, which has some of the worst traffic in the United States. On Tuesday, voters in 12 areas of the state will decide whether a 1 cent increase in the state sales tax is worth it to make the going smoother. (Associated Press)