AFP - The United States has called for a review of international law to regulate the killing of whales for scientific research in an apparent bid to plug a loophole exploited by Japan, which is accused of slaughtering the creatures.

AFP - The seven astronauts of the US shuttle Discovery bid farewell Tuesday to their three colleagues at the International Space Station after a busy mission to install Japan's first space laboratory.

Reuters - Rising rivers and swollen reservoirs caused severe flooding across the U.S. Midwest on Tuesday as residents in the region braced for yet another drenching.

AP - Lesser prairie chickens have been reduced to a fraction of their population across five states, says a conservation group that is ratcheting up the pressure on the federal government to provide more protection for the rare bird.

AP - The astronauts aboard the orbiting shuttle and station complex shook hands and hugged goodbye Tuesday as the doors swung shut between their spacecraft on the eve of undocking.

AP - Long-tailed macaque monkeys have a reputation for knowing how to find food — whether it be grabbing fruit from jungle trees or snatching a banana from a startled tourist. Now, researchers say they have discovered groups of the silver-haired monkeys in Indonesia that fish.

AP - The United Nations environment agency unveiled a new atlas Tuesday that shows what the agency says are the dramatic effects of climate change on Africa.

AFP - Senate Democrats Tuesday failed to win passage of a bill they said would trim runaway energy prices by ending tax breaks for oil companies and forcing them to invest in "clean" technology.

AP - Nearly a month after China's devastating earthquake, the Wolong Nature Reserve held a funeral Tuesday for a panda that was crushed in the temblor.

AFP - A hi-tech telescope NASA plans to launch on Wednesday hopes to fling open a new window on the Universe, exploring extreme sources of gamma-rays that point to powerful and exotic phenomena.

AP - Lesser prairie chickens have been reduced to a fraction of their population across five states, says a conservation group that is ratcheting up the pressure on the federal government to provide more protection for the rare bird.