Environment

Refinery Fire_Live.jpg

**FILE** A man pumps gas at a Chevron gas station in San Francisco on Aug. 7, 2012. (Associated Press)

20120809-202439-pic-46806503.jpg

Bryce Harper has made noticeable strides for the Nationals this season, but he’s still trying to adjust to major league strike zones. (Associated Press)

20120809-183552-pic-707076910.jpg

With their normal diet shriveled by summer heat and drought, hungry bears search for sustenance evertwhere from garbage to homes’ porches to cars. (Associated Press)

Michael Watkins, MSL mission manager at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, answers questions Aug. 9, 2012, during a news conference on Curiosity Mars Rover at the laboratory in Pasadena, Calif. (Associated Press)

Antarctica Evacuation_Lea.jpg

An Airbus A319 of the Australian Antarctic Division taxis on the runway at the McMurdo base in Antarctica in this undated photo. (AP Photo/Australian Antarctic Division)

20120808-170010-pic-677411787.jpg

Jason Bateman (center) and Michael Cera (right) are returning to “Arrested Development” for a fourth season of the show, which ran on Fox for three seasons from 2003 to 2006 before being canceled. The show resumed production Tuesday. (Associated Press)

APTOPIX Mideast Syria_Live.jpg

Syrians on motorcycles look Aug. 8, 2012, at the damage of a destroyed house after it was hit by an airstrike that killed six Syrians in the town of Tal Rifat, Syria. (Associated Press)

Shocking Billboard Ve_Live.jpg

A billboard with a mannequin dangling from a hangman's noose near the Strip in Las Vegas. Authorities said calls began coming in early Aug. 8, 2012, from drivers worried the dummy along Interstate 15 near was a real person. A Nevada Highway Patrol spokesman said the sign is a publicity stunt done in bad taste. (Associated Press/KVVU)

20120807-213517-pic-625486899.jpg

associated press Taoufik Makhloufi celebrates his gold medal in the 1,500 meters Tuesday. The Algerian had been kicked out of the Olympics for not trying hard enough in another event, but he was reinstated when a doctor said he was injured.

20120807-210812-pic-433715013.jpg

Smoke and flames shoot up Monday from a crude oil unit at the Chevron refinery in Richmond, Calif. The facility makes high-quality products that include gasoline, jet fuel, diesel fuel and lubricants, as well as chemicals used in manufacturing. (Associated Press)