A weeks-old wildfire has burned well over half the 400,000-acre Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge that straddles the Georgia-Florida border. Here is a look at this and other stories that CNN plans to follow this week:

Wildfire in Okefenokee refuge

The Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge will be closed to the public indefinitely  until authorities, likely with major help from the weather, get a raging wildfire under control.

But the weather has yet to cooperate, according to authorities on the ground.

"Mother Nature is in charge, with both the cause of the fire and the resolution to it," said Jason Curry, a spokesman for the federal Incident Management Team.

Lightning first sparked a fire on April 28 and it has been burning, in some form, ever since - consuming about 268,000 of the refuge's 402,000 acres.

"We are looking forward to dry conditions, with relative humidity near 30 to 35% (and) temperatures slightly above normal at 95 degrees," said meteorologist Coleen Decker, of the upcoming forecast for the region. "We are not expecting significant precipitation until Tuesday," she said.

Minnesota government shutdown might last days

The government shutdown in Minnesota could drag on for days after lawmakers failed to reach a budget agreement before a midnight Thursday deadline.

A spokeswoman for Gov. Mark Dayton said talks probably won't happen until after the July 4 holiday.

"I do not expect formal meetings to resume before Tuesday," Katharine Tinucci said in a weekend e-mail.

The Minnesota government was forced to shut down Friday for the second time in six years, leaving thousands of people without jobs to go. State parks, the Minnesota Zoo and more than 80 rest stops are among the places shuttered.

DSK case expected to continue

Prosecutors in the sexual assault case against former International Monetary Fund leader Dominique Strauss-Kahn are expected to press on, but not with the same momentum, after the accuser's credibility drew intense fire over the weekend.

Less than two days after the alleged victim said the attack occurred, she spoke over the phone with a boyfriend in an Arizona jail in a recorded conversation.

A source with knowledge of the investigation told CNN that she said that "she's fine and this person is rich and there's money to be made," as originally reported by The New York Times.

"She was getting deposits of several thousands of dollars at a time from people she knew, potentially involved in drug dealing," the source told CNN.

The 32-year-old housekeeper admitted to prosecutors that she lied about the specifics of her whereabouts following the alleged attack, the details of an asylum application and information she put on tax forms, according to documents filed in court Friday by prosecutors.

A New York judge released Strauss-Kahn from house arrest Friday amid the revelations about that the accuser.

But many questions remain: Is this a woman who is being tarnished by an expensive legal machine's clever PR? Is she a woman with a criminal past with monetary motives? Or is she simply a woman with an unstable and unsavory life, with less than high motives, who was nevertheless a victim?

Oil leak at Yellowstone River under investigation

Investigators are expected to continue their search for the cause of an ExxonMobil pipeline leak in Montana that led to an evacuation of up to 300 people over the weekend.

An undetermined amount of crude oil seeped into the Yellowstone River near Billings, Montana, late Friday, prompting a burgeoning cleanup effort the following day, officials said.

"It's significant. People are concerned," said Duane Winslow, director of disaster and emergency services in Yellowstone County.

"We deeply regret this incident has happened," said ExxonMobil spokesman Kevin Allexon. "The magnitude of this response will reflect that."

ExxonMobil Pipeline Co., a subsidiary that operates the line, established a claims phone number for those affected by the pipeline rupture, which happened under the river.

Royals tour Canada then on to the USA

After several days in North America, Prince William and his wife, Catherine, were scheduled to head to Prince Edward Island for the next leg of their four-province, nine-day tour of Canada.

The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge have been met by both cheers and jeers. In Montreal, the royal couple were the target of a small group by demonstrators - carrying signs and chanting slogans - who opposed the newlyweds' tour and the British monarchy they represent.

Canada is part of the Commonwealth of Nations, a loose association of countries that were once part of the British Empire.

After the couple finishes up in Vancouver, they'll head to California for the duchess' first visit to the United States.

Hearing expected in John Edwards case

Former Democratic vice presidential nominee John Edwards is scheduled to appear in court Tuesday for a hearing in his federal criminal case.

A grand jury has been investigating whether money given to support Edwards' mistress, Rielle Hunter, by benefactors of Edwards should have been considered campaign donations. Edwards' lawyers have disputed the claim.

Edwards, a former U.S. senator and two-time presidential candidate, has pleaded not guilty to conspiracy and campaign law violations.

James 'Whitey' Bulger on court docket

Reputed mobster James "Whitey" Bulger is due in court Wednesday  for arraignment on murder charges.

Bulger, 81, was arrested last week after 16 years on the lam. The alleged East Coast mobster, who was on the FBI's Top Ten Most Wanted list, faces charges in 19 mob-related murders.

Prosecutors say Bulger was the boss of South Boston's Irish mob before he fled an impending racketeering indictment in 1995. At the same time, he was an FBI informant whose handler tipped him off about the charges - a tale that became the basis for the Oscar-winning crime drama "The Departed."

Space shuttle cleared for one last takeoff

Space Shuttle Atlantis is scheduled for liftoff Friday for a 12-day mission to the international space station, marking the final flight for the shuttle program.

But fret not space lovers.

NASA Administrator Charles Bolden says that America's foray into space will not end with the retirement of the shuttle program. Instead, the space agency plans to refocus its efforts from lower-orbit vehicles to deeper space probes.

"Today NASA and the nation want to touch an asteroid and eventually send humans to Mars," he told a luncheon crowd at the National Press Club on Friday.

Fourth of July festivities and more

The UFO festival in Roswell, New Mexico, will continue Monday after three days of live entertainment, costume contests, games, a parade and maybe even an alien or two.

Also wrapping up Monday will be the 10th annual Chicken Wing Cook-off in Reno, Nevada.

Looking for a tea party? The Boston Harborfest just might be the place to be Monday.

Music lovers have options Monday as well: the Montreax Jazz Fest and the Montreal Jazz Fest, to name a couple.