The Association of Health Care Journalists and other journalism groups have co-signed a letter to the Food and Drug Administration's Transparency Task Force, calling for FDA to "end these harmful practices and restore the free flow of information."
Federal legislation to protect reporters from having to reveal confidential sources may be back on track. A markup in the Senate Judiciary Committee, possibly November 5, 2009, could tell.
"A House subcommittee endorsed Tuesday a bill to ban importing foreign, low-level radioactive waste — which would block an EnergySolutions proposal to import 20,000 tons of it from Italy, process it in Tennessee and dump it in Utah's western desert."
"A coalition of advocacy groups launched a campaign [Tuesday] opposing President Obama's choice of a pesticide industry official to represent U.S. interests in agricultural trade negotiations."
Billionaire investor Warren Buffet is planning to buy the Burlington Northern Santa Fe railroad. Observers say this is a bet on the future of coal in the U.S. energy mix.
"A partisan standoff over Senate global warming legislation clouded the start of the Environment and Public Works Committee's markup of the sweeping proposal today with just one Republican in attendance."
"Senate Environment and Public Works Committee Chairman Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.) will go ahead and mark up climate legislation in her committee Tuesday, she announced Monday morning, even if the Republicans try to block her."
"Protection for polar bears' shrinking icy habitat is the subject of a proposed rule sent to the White House by the Interior Department."
"The Energy Department must reconsider California's energy- and water-saving standards for residential washing machines, a federal court ruled [last] week."
"The Interior Department will leave in place George W. Bush-era changes to a rule designed to protect streams from mountaintop-removal coal mining until 2011, according to court documents filed by the Obama administration Friday."
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