Pope calls on African leaders to end conflict, injustice (AFP via Yahoo! News) Pope Benedict XVI called on African leaders Thursday to end conflict and injustice on the continent, ahead of a trip to Cameroon and Angola in March.

Toxic coal ash piling up in ponds in 32 states (AP via Yahoo! News) Millions of tons of toxic coal ash is piling up in power plant ponds in 32 states, a situation the government has long recognized as a risk to human health and the environment but has done nothing about.