EXPLORER BECOMES LEGEND: British explorer, Henry Worsley, was 30 miles shy of achieving his goal of being the first person to cross Antarctica unassisted when, overcome by exhaustion and ill health, he had to call for help. After crossing more than 900 miles, Worsley was rescued and flown to a hospital in Punta Arenas in Southern Chile, where he died on Sunday. 

BUNDY BUNGLE: A key figure of the armed occupation of a federal wildlife refuge headquarters in Oregon, LaVoy Finicum, died on Tuesday in a shootout with federal agents.  Ammon Bundy, a protest leader, was also injured and is now in custody. The incident took place after the group was pulled over by law enforcement as they were headed to a community meeting arranged by local residents. 

TWO STEPS FORWARD...?: On Wednesday, the Senate began debating the first comprehensive energy legislation since 2007. The bill proposes modernizations for energy infrastructure and improvements in energy efficiency, but the Sierra Club has written a letter to the Senate, arguing that one section of the bill would actually roll back some existing efficiency standards. 

LEAKY SYSTEM: Local California air regulators are suing Southern California Gas Co. for the ongoing gas leak in Porter Ranch, a neighborhood of Los Angeles. The regulators are accusing the company of broad negligence throughout the design, construction, operation, and inspection of the well, which has been spewing methane into the air for several months and probably can’t be repaired until late February.

VIRTUOUS DRONES: Starting this month, drone-operators will be recruited by the Nature Conservancy to use their drones to record erosion along the California coastline, which is being damaged by El Niño storms. Scientists hope the geotagged images of storm surges and flooded beaches collected from this crowd-sourced project will give them a better idea of what rising sea levels will bring.