Obama finalizes call for protected area in Arctic refuge

The Obama administration on Friday finalized its recommendation to expand protected areas of Alaska's Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, calling on Congress to block about 12 million acres (5 million hectares) from oil and gas drilling. U.S. President Barack Obama, in a letter to House Speaker John Boehner released by the White House, stood by his administration's earlier recommendation to preserve the state's Arctic refuge, setting up a likely battle with the Republican-led Congress over the oil-