WBEZ 91.5 Chicago

For decades, the city of El Paso, in far West Texas, defied the look of most desert communities, with neighborhoods boasting lush, green lawns and residents freely running their sprinklers.Then a study came out in 1979 that showed just how close El Paso was to a crisis: At its rate of water use, the

The unfolding calamity that is the Texas drought has thrown nature out of balance. Many of the wild things that live in this state are suffering.Sections of major rivers — like the Brazos, the Guadalupe, the Blanco, Llano and Pedernales — have dried up.

In the cattle town of Emory in East Texas, the worst drought in state history is threatening a way of life. Scorching temperatures and no rain have forced many ranchers to sell off their stock.Normally before being brought to market, cattle are penned in a rancher's best pasture to be fattened.

Thousands of same-sex married couples now have hopes of staying together in the U.S. thanks to a change in deportation policy.

Hurricane Irene was poised to cause major destruction along the Mid-Atlantic and Northeast over the weekend, and thousands of people Thursday were leaving North Carolina's exposed coast in preparation for the storm's likely first U.S. strike."

Even though the Virginia-centered earthquake on Tuesday only resulted in mild damage, it did open up a good-sized, good-natured national chasm – between the East Coast and West Coast of the United States."Really all this excitement over a 5.8 quake???