Laws & Regulations

The Court is scheduled to hear oral arguments on Dec. 2, 2009. The case, which started with legal action in 2004, involves a dispute over restoration of a stretch of Florida panhandle beaches damaged by storms.

A federal law protecting reporters who maintain the confidentiality of their sources is currently stalled in the Senate Judiciary Committee as Obama breaks campaign promise.

Some justices skeptically questioned a 10-year-old law, intended to outlaw "crush videos," making it a criminal offense to possess or publish many depictions of cruelty to animals.

Flat-screen TVs can be stunningly energy-inefficient. New California standards could shift manufacturing processes significantly.

A de facto filibuster by several Republicans, plus quibbling by some Democrats, caused a long-awaited markup of bill S 448 to end with no action.

Several media organizations have joined the case of a Puget Sound resident denied information, under the "law enforcement" exemption to FOIA, that would identify the locations and potential blast ranges of explosive ordnance stored in the area.

EPA has been working on regulations designed to protect drinking water from impacts of underground carbon sequestration, but new data and concerns have spurred the agency to open a short new public comment period.

Current law has no disclosure requirements for fake grass-roots lobbying — such as that of a coal industry campaign to stop climate legislation which sent forged letters to members of Congress, pretending to be from minority and community organizations.