A blowout at a natural gas well that gushed uncontrollably for 16 weeks and drove thousands of residents from their Los Angeles homes was plugged on Thursday, a utility said. [The Guardian]

Environmentalists are challenging in court a surprise deal in which North Carolina regulators settle decades of suspected groundwater pollution at Duke Energy’s coal ash pits for $7 million. [ABC/AP]

The skid in oil prices is pulling the recycling industry down with it, given the drop in all commodity prices. [The NY Times]