Obama pushing urgently for bill to fight global warming on eve of historic House vote

WASHINGTON — President Barack Obama pushed urgently Thursday for passage of legislation to confront global warming, billing it as a job-creating machine rather than the costly “job killer” Republicans denounced. He telephoning wavering Democrats on the eve of what could be a historic House vote.

Colo court fight by woman who says Easter decorations got her evicted from apartment

BOULDER, Colo. — A woman is going to court claiming she was wrongly evicted from her apartment because she kept her Easter decorations on her door for two weeks after the holiday.

Former Iraq ambassador Ryan Crocker building home in Spokane Valley

SPOKANE VALLEY, Wash. — Former U.S. Ambassador to Iraq Ryan Crocker says he’s enjoying a much quieter life in the Spokane Valley.

Army Corps of Engineers takes on bold task: Moving flood-prone Ky. town to higher ground

MARTIN, Ky. — The trucks have come again to haul away soaked sofas and waterlogged mattresses. Cars that weren’t moved soon enough have been towed away, their engines and interiors fouled.

Fifth-graders join first lady in harvesting White House vegetable garden

WASHINGTON — First lady Michelle Obama welcomed fifth-graders back to the White House garden Tuesday to pick the lettuce and peas they helped plant in the spring.

Temporary closure of Harry Truman home beginning in August

INDEPENDENCE, Mo. — If you’re a Harry Truman fan, you have until Aug. 2 to visit his home in Independence before it closes for renovations.

Gardening nudists claim say landlord is discriminating against them by asking them to cover up

BOULDER, Colo. — A couple of nudists claim their landlord is wrongly discriminating by trying to get them to cover up while gardening. Robert and Catharine Pierce have been accused by their landlord of being a nuisance by gardening wearing only thong underwear, plus pasties for Catharine Pierce. Neighbors complained to police about the Pierces’ scanty clothing. But police say the Pierces are not violating the law as long as their genitals are covered.

Nonprofit urban reforestation project aims to restore green canopy to Motor City

DETROIT — A batch of trees soon to be planted on a wild, overgrown patch of land near a Detroit neighborhood is expected to be a step toward bringing back a vibrant, green canopy to the Motor City.

Global meltdown pushes India’s textile workers back into poverty, threatens future generation

COIMBATORE, India — The trouble began far away from the leaky concrete house and stand of banana trees that Sakunthala Radhakrishnan calls home.

Michelle Obama says White House garden is ‘blooming,’ visits students who helped her plant it

WASHINGTON — It was time for Michelle Obama to return the favor.

Michelle Obama helps students plant peppers, cucumbers; says White House garden is ‘blooming’

WASHINGTON — The White House garden is blooming and bursting.

4 simple ways to save pennies and get your house ready for summer

CHICAGO — Flowers are blooming and the sun’s rays are streaming through your windows — making clear by the streaks on the glass and dust in the air just how dirty the house really is.

UK opposition leader orders party leader to pay back excessive expenses

LONDON — Britain’s primary opposition leader banned members of his party Tuesday from filing expense claims for food and household items amid public outrage after lawmakers sought reimbursements for items such as swimming pool construction and tennis court upkeep.

After the water runs, sand remains: ND, Minn. officials ponder future of 6 million sandbags

FARGO, N.D. — Millions of bags filled with sand were used to battle record flood crests in Fargo and neighboring Moorhead, Minn. But now that the flood risk is over, city leaders wonder: Where will the sand go?

Gazans build mud-brick homes as Israel refuses to allow materials into blockaded strip

RAFAH, Gaza Strip — The dirt under Yousef Hamida’s feet has become an unlikely resource: He is using it to build a home, a result of Israel’s refusal to allow construction materials into the Gaza Strip.

Construction creaks into gear as Sochi begins preparations for Vladimir Putin’s 2014 Olympics

SOCHI, Russia — A dumptruck decorated with a Russian flag rattles down a dirt track on a massive fenced-in field, kicking up a plume of dust.

The Edge’s plan to build 5 eco-friendly homes in Malibu riles residents

MALIBU, Calif. — A few years ago, U2 guitarist The Edge went for a hike, and there in the golden hills overlooking Malibu’s cerulean waters, he finally found what he was looking for.

Nourishing leftovers: Gleaning bears fruit for food banks, poor families hurt by recession

RIVERSIDE, Calif. — A growing army of needy people and volunteers are descending on farms, fields and backyards across the nation in search of leftover produce that might otherwise go to waste.

Oregon’s Portland Rose Festival Web site is beckoning you to a vacation visit

Travel season is upon us and the Northwest is beckoning, especially that scenic area of Oregon where the Columbia River approaches the sea and the city of Portland offers hospitality and attractions that include the nation’s largest rose show.

World famous but nearly unknown, Nazareth offers more than churches

NAZARETH, Israel — When Pope Benedict XVI pays a visit next month to the town where Jesus grew up, he will bring brief attention to a Holy Land destination that is at once world famous and unjustly overlooked.

Belatedly, White House aide at center of NYC probe pays architect for home renovation job

NEW YORK — A New York City politician now with the Obama administration is trying to defuse suggestions that he took favors from an architect who needed city approval for a development project.

Women bear largest burden in hunger crisis raging in Africa and across developing world

BULAWAYO, Swaziland — Phetsile Ndwandwe, short, skinny and 23 years old, accepts an apple from a development worker and nibbles at it, stripping the peel with her teeth before handing the fruit to Siphokazi, her baby daughter.