National

North Dakota and western Canada are producing crude oil faster than rail cars and pipelines can take it to refineries. Now, one company wants to ship it by barge across the Great Lakes. That worries environmentalists, who say a 2010 tar sands oil spill near Lake Michigan has yet to be fully cleaned up.

Scientists and growers are in a bitter fight against citrus greening, a disease that has devastated Florida's orange and grapefruit crops. They fear that unless scientists find a cure for greening soon, it's just a matter of time before economic realities and the disease force growers out of business.

It's been seven months since an F5 tornado plowed through Moore, Okla., killing 24 people — including 7 children — and destroying more than 1,100 homes. These super tornadoes leave many kinds of destruction in their wake, but the worst damage may not be visible.

Two decades after NAFTA created a giant North American free trade zone, the U.S. is negotiating more big trade deals that would span the Atlantic and Pacific oceans. President Obama has embraced the potential agreements as a way to improve the U.S. economy.

Utah's surprise decision to legalize same-sex marriage caps a landmark year for gay rights. The last 12 months saw a huge string of victories, from state legislatures, to Congress, to the Supreme Court.

In order to get the North American Free Trade Agreement signed 20 years ago, a specific trade-off was made. The trade-off would not protect U.S. jobs from moving overseas.

More than 38 percent of the U.S. population lives in a state in which same-sex marriage is legal. That's a much more revealing number than the figure usually discussed: 18 states plus Washington D.C. In the coming years, that number is expected to increase dramatically.

Refugees from Iraq, Nepal and the Congo are being introduced to the way Americans celebrate the holidays — and the way Americans consume electricity.

Stores and families keep putting up their Christmas decorations earlier and earlier each year. But some people still hold out for decorating on Christmas Eve. Martin Kaste has this audio postcard about the difficulties faced in trying to keep Christmas at bay until Christmas.

Gay marriages will continue in Utah, for the time being. A federal judge denied a request on Monday to stay his decision that said the state's ban on same-sex marriage is unconstitutional. The state says it will appeal the ruling to a higher court. Gay couples have been flooding county clerks' offices since the original ruling came down Friday afternoon.