The Secretaries of Agriculture and Energy believe that rural America could have the most to gain from a strategy aimed at giving the U.S. energy independence.

National Public Radio's Howard Berkes is reporting that both Massey Coal Co. and the federal Mine Safety and Health Administration are under investigation by the FBI. 

Berkes reports: "Sources familiar with the investigation say the FBI is looking into possible bribery of officials of the Mine Safety and Health Administration, the federal agency that inspects and regulates mining.  The sources say FBI agents are also exploring potential criminal negligence on the part of Massey Energy, the owner of the Upper Big Branch mine.  Massey has been cited repeatedly for violations of federal safety regulations and unsubstantiated rumors have circulated for years that mine inspectors and other officials receive payoffs.  The FBI declines comment and neither confirms nor denies that an investigation is ongoing.

"In a statement to NPR, Massey Energy says it is not aware of the allegations, and is fully cooperating with any investigations taking place.  The Mine Safety and Health Administration has yet to respond to a request for comment." (Massey CEO Don Blankenship above.)

Update: Ken Ward updates this story here. Various sources are denying the NPR report, but NPR is sticking by its story.

Scientists have tried to tag grizzlies or don them with radio collars or collect their hair at traps baited with rotten fish, all to track the creatures as they roam about the Mountain West. None of the techniques were very happy, either for the bears or the people assigned to track them. Now Juliet Eilperin reports that scientists are simply taking bear hair from trees where the grizzlies have scratched their backs (photo above). By taking samples from bear rubs, scientist have found that grizzlies are better than researchers had originally estimated. 

Meanwhile, back east, Massey Energy, owner of the Upper Big Branch coal mine, is saying the federal mine safety agency required the company to change ventilation patterns in the mine against the advice of Massey engineers. The mine exploded when accumulations of coal dust or methane ignited and killed 29 men.  Ken Ward Jr. explains that Massey isn't suggesting the mine safety agency is at fault. The company did point out that no methane was found when the mine was fire bossed just before the explosion.

Former University of Texas dean Bobby Ray Inman continued to defend Massey, where he has served as a director for more than two decades. Inman continues to say a "big lie" about Massey began with union officials and has been picked up by President Obama — the lie being that Massey puts production ahead of safety. Read Ward to see how Inman responds under pressure. Read the Texas Tribune's interview with Inman to see how the Austin resident talks when he isn't being pressed by reporters at all. Inman said he didn't expect his teaching at the University of Texas to be affected by Massey's disaster. “I find it hard to believe that’s a valid outcome anywhere along the way," Inman said. "Let’s just say, all false modesty aside, I have a long waiting list for my classes.” 

The New York Times this morning reports that a foreman at Massey Energy's Upper Big Branch mine says miners were creating makeshift seals to block methane from being sucked from an abandoned shaft into the working sections of the mine. The Upper Big Branch mine exploded in early April, killing 29 miners, in a disaster thought to be caused by an accumulation of methane. The foreman said "rags and garbage were used to create a poor man’s sealant, which he said allowed methane to permeate the mine, displacing much-needed oxygen," according to Times reporters. “Every single day, the levels were double or triple what they were supposed to be,” said the foreman.  “I have had guys come to me and cry,” said the veteran foreman. “Grown men cried — because they are scared.” The foreman said he wanted to remain anonymous "because speaking out is not acceptable in the culture of his company, Massey Energy."

The Times also compares the safety records of Massey's mine to a mine near Hazard, Kentucky, that also has high levels of methane gas.

Massey, meanwhile, has hired an Austin, Texas, public relations firm close to Bobby Ray Inman, the longest-serving Massey board member.  Public Strategies is a high powered PR firm whose vice chairman is Mark McKinnon, who worked on George Bush's presidential campaigns. Inman is also a former dean of the LBJ School of Public Affairs at the University of Texas. Yesterday, Inman released a statement saying the board still supported Don Blankenship, Massey's CEO. The Charleston Gazette reported that several widows of miners who died in the explosion said miners were sent home days before the explosion because of "bad air," which could mean an accumulation of methane gas.