Public

"Blocked roads and severed communications in the southern Philippines frustrated rescuers on Wednesday as teams searched for hundreds of people missing after the strongest typhoon this year killed at least 283 people."

"The Obama administration is getting more push-back from House Republicans about federal research aimed at assessing the health risks associated with a booming natural gas industry."

"NEW ORLEANS -- A federal judge presiding over litigation spawned by the massive Gulf of Mexico oil spill has dismissed all claims against the manufacturer of a chemical dispersant that was used to break up crude gushing from BP's blown-out well."

"Extreme weather is the new normal and poses a threat to the human race, U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said on Tuesday, as he sought to revive deadlocked global climate change talks."

"The Natural Resources Defense Council thinks it has the perfect solution to regulating planet-warming emissions from existing power plants. But can the group sell the Obama administration Environmental Protection Agency on it?"

"SWARTHMORE, Pa. -- A group of Swarthmore College students is asking the school administration to take a seemingly simple step to combat pollution and climate change: sell off the endowment’s holdings in large fossil fuel companies. For months, they have been getting a simple answer: no."

"Activists step up pressure on president to turn vague promises made since re-election into concrete policies for the future."

Did the White House Office of Management and Budget put public health at risk to make President Obama's reelection a safer bet? Working in deep secrecy for the past year, OMB blew off legal deadlines to hold up new Congressionally passed food safety rules that even the food industry supported. Now the Food and Drug Administratiion is seeking to dismiss a lawsuit by consumer advocates over the delay.

"Eric Cantor is rarely shy about his position on disaster relief aid. Even before Hurricane Irene made landfall last year, the House majority whip's office said extra spending on recovery efforts should be balanced by spending cuts elsewhere. But in the wake of Hurricane Sandy, Cantor and many of his conservative colleagues have suddenly gone mostly silent on such disaster relief 'offsets' -- even though New York and New Jersey are collectively asking for a whopping $79 billion in federal aid."