Environment

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Tornado damage is seen from a bird's-eye view in Tuscaloosa, Ala., on May 7. America's wild weather year hit a new high: a devastating dozen billion-dollar disasters.

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Hundreds of cars are seen stranded on Lake Shore Drive in Chicago on Feb. 2 after a blizzard of epic proportions incapacitated the Windy City. Incomplete damage estimates on a pre-Halloween Northeast snowstorm currently stand at $750 million. (Associated Press)

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Greenery referred to as a "holiday tree" by Gov. Lincoln Chafee is lit Tuesday in the statehouse in Providence, R.I. Mr. Chafee and Republican state Rep. Doreen Costa battled over whether to call the official spruce a "holiday" tree or a "Christmas" tree. (Associated Press)

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Rhode Island Gov. Lincoln Chafee defends his "Holiday Tree" declaration by saying it simply honors the state's origins as a sanctuary for religious diversity. "Use of the term 'holiday tree' is a continuation of past practice," he said. (Associated Press)

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Rep. Lee Terry, Nebraska Republican, talks about the Keystone XL pipeline and its environmental impact on his state during an interview Tuesday with reporters and editors at The Washington Times. He favors the proposed pipeline extension through his state. (J.M. Eddins Jr./The Washington Times)

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Afghan policemen pick up debris after a motorcycle bomb Tuesday in Kandahar killed a civilian. Unlike other explosions Tuesday, police said this one did not target Shiites. (Associated Press)

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Vials of H5N1 flu vaccine by Beijing-based drugmaker Sinovac Biotech Ltd. come off the production line at the company's facilities in Beijing. After years of supplying its own market, China's vaccine makers are gearing up to push exports. (Associated Press)

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Keith Curo of Pasadena, Calif., stops to look over the damage caused by a fallen tree at a Shell gas station on Thursday, Dec. 1, 2011, in Pasadena. Some of the worst winds in years blasted through California overnight, with gusts up to 97 mph. (AP Photo/Bret Hartman)

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Miller and Smith is building 60 single-family homes on 5,084-square-foot sites at the Manor Homes at Madison Crescent in Gainesville. The Sydney model, with 2,765 square feet, is priced from $374,990.

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"I am confident that we will supply the information you have requested," Gary Mead of ICE told the House's immigration subcommittee. (Associated Press)

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"There are a number of statements that are either inaccurate or simply not well-considered" in the report on the postal "Alaska Bypass" program, said Sen. Lisa Murkowski, Alaska Republican. (Associated Press)

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A local operator reports security information into the Early Warning Radio Network, which supplies radios to remote jungle villages in Congo, Central African Republic and South Sudan so villagers can report attacks by the brutal Lord's Resistance Army. (Invisible Children via Associated Press)