Environment

Space Asteroid Mining_Live.jpg

This computer-generated image provided by Planetary Resources, a group of high-tech tycoons that wants to mine nearby asteroids, shows a conceptual rendering of satellites prospecting a water-rich, near-Earth asteroid. (Associated Press/Planetary Resources)

20120423-174113-pic-732685099.jpg

ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTOGRAPHS Actor Sean Penn (left) was in Haiti helping the displaced find shelter shortly after the massive 2010 earthquake that destroyed much of the country. He since has become a major figure in the effort to rebuild. Among his contributions is a clinic for women (above) at the Petionville Golf Club in Port-au-Prince set up by Mr. Penn's J/P Haitian Relief Organization.

20120423-174113-pic-350623962.jpg

Mr. Penn, with Haitian President Michel Martelly, was named ambassador-at-large for Haiti in recognition of his humanitarian work since the earthquake. "My job is to help people get the future they want to have," Mr. Penn says.

20120422-203322-pic-276895061.jpg

Afghan officials watch in June 2007 as opium products are burned on Kabul's outskirts. Afghanistan is the world's top heroin producer, and poppies are a $1.4 billion cash crop, but a program to encourage other crops has had significant success. (Associated Press)

20120422-203322-pic-748824469.jpg

An Afghan National Army solider destroys poppies in Nangarhar province in 2007. Since then, opium production has decreased significantly as farmers are encouraged to grow alternative cash crops. (Associated Press)

20120422-200402-pic-740766137.jpg

A giant goldfish is released back into the Anacostia River. The goldfish is one of the non-native species of fish found in the river. (Barbara L. Salisbury/The Washington Times)

20120422-195417-pic-120316958.jpg

Umbrellas were everywhere in New York's Times Square on Sunday as a spring nor'easter brought consistent rain to a rain-starved East Coast. (Associated Press)

20120419-173151-pic-317731387.jpg

Vehicles transporting North Korean missiles on display over the weekend were made or designed by China, analysts say. Meanwhile, a propaganda billboard in Pyongyang translates as "Let's raise the spirits of winners and build a strong and prosperous nation!" North Korea has yet to launch a multistage missile successfully. (Associated Press)