INTERIOR DEPT. FOIA LOGS PUBLISHED ONLINE

October 31, 2007–The group Governmentattic.org has published on its Website the FOIA request logs for the Interior Department's Office of Surface Mining, U.S. Geological Survey, Bureau of Land Management, and Minerals Management Service through Oct. 2007.

WHITE HOUSE EDITS OF CLIMATE TESTIMONY CAUSE FLAP

October 31, 2007–White House edits of testimony delivered Oct. 24 to the Senate Environment Committee by Centers for Disease Control director Julie Gerberding have brought consternation from Democrats and environmentalists and a circling of wagons at the White House.

HOUSE PASSES SHIELD LAW 398-21; WHITE HOUSE THREATENS VETO

October 17, 2007–The U.S. House of Representatives passed a bill Oct. 16, 2007, to create a federal shield law which would offer limited protection for reporters from being compelled to disclose confidential sources.

INTERIOR PROPOSES FEE/PERMIT RULE FOR FILMING IN PARKS, REFUGES

October 17, 2007–The Interior Department has proposed codifying its rules on photography, filming, and sound-recording on public lands it administers. Some newsgatherers are worried that the rules would hurt their ability to do their jobs.

SCIENTIST FINALLY GIVES ATRAZINE TESTIMONY HE WAS FIRED OVER

October 17, 2007–Paul Wotzka, a hydrologist with the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency, who was fired shortly after he asked permission to testify before the Minnesota legislature on Atrazine pollution of water finally had his say.

JUDGE DENIES MEDIA ACCESS TO MSHA PROBE OF CRANDALL CANYON

October 17, 2007–Federal district judge Dee Benson ruled Oct. 9, 2007, that a group of news media companies could not have access to an investigation by the Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA) into the Crandall Canyon mine collapse in Utah Aug. 6, which killed six miners and three workers trying to rescue them.

TOLEDO BLADE COVERS DAVIS-BESSE NUCLEAR COVER-UP TRIAL

October 17, 2007–A federal jury in Toledo may soon be deciding whether some company officials engaged in a cover-up of safety problems at the Davis-Besse nuclear power plant. Although the story has gotten little national attention, the Toledo Blade's Tom Henry has covered the trial in detail.

VETERANS' HOSPITALS WON'T SHARE CANCER DATA

October 17, 2007–Cancer registries, which are part of the public health system help physicians collect statistics on cancer incidence and help pinpoint "cancer clusters" that may be caused by environmental factors. the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) runs a surveillance system, which has a registry of cancer cases in almost every state. But the hospitals in the federal Veterans Affairs (VA) system are now saying they will not share cancer data with state registries unless the states sign restrictive agreements.