A coalition of Democrats and fiscally conservative Republicans joined forces yesterday to squeak through an amendment eliminating funding for oil shale research just before the House passed its version of the fiscal 2013 energy and water development spending bill. Approval of a Democratic amendment to eliminate $25 million for oil shale research and development came as a surprise to supporters of the practice, who blamed a combination of Democrats worried about the environmental consequences of the energy extraction process and Republicans committed to reducing government spending. Go to story #1