The war in Afghanistan claimed the life of a Vermont soldier while a new general took command of allied forces in the nearly 9-year-old war. In Washington, the Environmental Protection Agency took steps to curb pollution from coal-fired power plants. In the slow-motion disaster in the Gulf of Mexico, an oil leak that has gone unchecked since an April 20 explosion continued to foul beaches, wreck the economy and the fragile coastal ecosystem. Meanwhile, Congress, away from Washington for an Independence Day recess, escaped a heat wave that baked cities and towns up and down the East Coast from Virginia to Vermont.

The Longest War Gen. David Petraeus assumed command of the 130,000-strong international force in Afghanistan on Sunday.  Amid rising casualties, the body of Spc. Ryan Grady, 25, was flown to the United States.  The soldier from West Burke, Vt., was the first casualty among 1,500 Vermont guard troops mid-way through a year-long deployment. Four soldiers from the same unit returned home for treatment of injuries they suffered in the same roadside bombing near Bagram Air Base outside Kabul.

Clean Air The Obama administration proposed new air-quality rules on Tuesday for coal-burning power plants. Officials said the changes would bring major reductions in smoggy and dangerous haze during heat waves.  For three straight days this past week, temperatures in Vermont topped 90 degrees while Washington, D.C., broiled through thermometer readings that climbed into triple digits.

Community Health Centers A city development board unanimously approved a new building for the Community Health Center of Burlington. The health center received $10.9 million in federal stimulus money under a program Sanders promoted. The green light for the construction project came only a few days after a George Washington University study was released that said an $11 billion funding boost for community health centers will produce at least $180 billion in health care savings by 2019, largely by avoiding expensive hospital stays.