Print edition: 
PORTLAND, Maine — The federal government advises throwing most unused or expired medications into the trash instead of down the drain, but they can end up in the water anyway, a study from Maine suggests.
Tiny amounts of discarded drugs have been found in water at three landfills in the state, confirming suspicions that pharmaceuticals thrown into household trash are ending up in water that drains through waste, according to a survey by the state's environmental agency. That landfill water eventually ends up in rivers.
The results of the survey are being made known as lawmakers in Maine consider a bill, among the first of its kind in the nation, that would require drug manufacturers to develop and pay for a program to collect unused prescription and over- the-counter drugs from residents and dispose of them.
Snow shuts down federal offices
WASHINGTON — Federal agencies will be closed today in Washington as the region continues to dig out from a weekend storm that dumped more than two feet of snow in the nation's capital.
Spokeswoman Sedelta Verble says the Office of Personnel Management made the decision to close around 5 p.m. Sunday. Federal workers were told to stay home for safety reasons.
The decision affects some 230,000 government employees who work inside the Washington Beltway. It costs the government roughly $100 million to close for the day. Essential services will continue.
Shuttle scheduled for early morning blastoff
CAPE CANAVERAL, Florida — Despite more clouds on the horizon, NASA fueled Endeavour for the second straight night Sunday in hopes of sending the shuttle on the last big space station construction mission.
Endeavour and its crew of six were scheduled to blast off at 4:14 a.m. today with a new room and observation deck for the International Space Station.
