A magnitude 6.7 earthquake rumbled off the coast of Alaska last night, prompting many to fear a Pacific-wide tsunami, but all worries were quickly called off when it was determined not to be any threat.

The House of Representatives approved an overhaul of the National Flood Insurance Program late this week, after a long delay that made many in the Gulf region nervous during what is expected to be a busier than normal hurricane season.

The legislation approves operation of the program for five years, allowing for some premium and deductible increases in order to make the fund more solvent. The insurance program was left $18.75 billion in the red in 2005 after Hurricane Katrina hit New Orleans. The new bill authorizes a raise in the annual limit of premium increases from 10 to 20 percent, raises annual deductibles and increases maximum limits to $335,000 for residences and $670,000 for businesses.

Residents of the Washington DC area awoke to quite a shock at 5:04 this morning, when an earthquake struck Montgomery County, Maryland. The U.S. Geological Survey said that the rare 3.6 magnitude quake was centered in the Germantown-Gaithersburg area near the junction of Interstate 270 and Route 119.

Hundreds phoned 911 during or immediately after the rumble, unsure of what was going on. Germantown resident Carroll Ripley told the Washington Post that the earthquake caused her considerable panic.

BP has announced that it has finally stopped the flow of oil into the Gulf of Mexico.

It's been 85 days, 16 hours, and 25 minutes since the Deepwater Horizon oil rig exploded, killed 11 people and started an environmental disaster unlike any the United States has ever seen.