Environment

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Closer study by scientists of the gashed surface of the asteroid Vesta between Mars and Jupiter determined two massive overlapping craters on the surface were likely caused by smaller objects, possibly other asteroids, hitting Vesta. (Associated Press)

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Tomari Nuclear Power Plant is located in northern Japan. Its No. 3 unit, Japan's last operating commercial nuclear reactor, went offline Saturday night for mandatory maintenance. The earthquake-triggered Fukushima nuclear plant crisis 14 months ago has prompted Japan to consider shifting to solar, hydro and wind power sources. (Associated Press)

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A demonstrator shows her approval of the shutdown of Tomari Nuclear Power Plant during a protest rally last Sunday in Tokyo. Japan is now without electricity produced by nuclear power for the first time in four decades. (Associated Press)

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The Institute for Science and International Security (ISIS), a nonprofit that monitors the Iranian nuclear program, published May 9, 2012, on its website this satellite photo of Iran's Parchin military base. (Courtesy of isis-online.org)

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**FILE** Children waiting for adoptions are seen June 12, 2006, in a house held by a lawyer specialized in adoptions in Guatemala City, Guatemala. (Associated Press)

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Mid-Atlantic Builders is building 566 single-family homes on sites of a quarter-acre or larger at the Villages of Savannah in Brandywine. The Somerset model, with 3,421 square feet, is priced from $454,990.

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After being told a word, an orangutan points to that object on an iPad at Jungle Island in Miami. Experts who work with primates have long used sign language and other methods to communicate with them, but iPads take it to a new level. (Associated Press)

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Power-line towers in South Africa belong to Eskom, which is Africa's biggest power utility. It accounts for more than 60 percent of all the electricity generated on the continent, according to the World Bank. It also exports across southern Africa. Critics and even supporters say Eskom should have started its move toward renewable sources of energy earlier, and now needs to set its ambitions higher. (AP Photo/Denis Farrell)

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South Africa's Koeberg nuclear power station (left) is located on the outskirts of Cape Town. The country's plans to increase it's nuclear reactor capacity are drawing attention from energy companies around the world. Power-line towers in South Africa belong to Eskom, which is the state electricity utility. The company accounts for more than 60 percent of all the electricity generated on the African continent, according to the World Bank. (Associated Press)

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South African Energy Minister Dipuo Peters (left), here with former South African President Thabo Mbeki (center) in 2005, says new nuclear technology is safe. (Associated Press)

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Former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney, the presumptive GOP presidential nominee, speaks at a campaign stop at KP Kauffman Co., an oil and gas production and drilling company, in Fort Lupton, Colo., on Wednesday, May 9, 2012. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)

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A U.S. Customs and Border Protection agent (standing) monitors a Predator B unmanned aircraft at the Naval Air Station in Corpus Christi, Texas. The agency is expanding its use of drone aircraft outfitted with powerful infrared cameras and sensitive radar to patrol U.S. borders. (Associated Press)