As Jet Stream Moved North, Deadly Moist Air Barreled Into Plains
"Until an outbreak of tornadoes in the past week, this year had been a relatively quiet one for twisters in the Midwest and Plains states."
Source: NY Times, 05/23/2013
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"Public Employees Sue Over ‘Political Deals’ Behind Wolf Delisting"
"WASHINGTON, DC -- The Obama Administration’s plan to remove the gray wolf from the protections of the Endangered Species Act, as detailed in a draft Federal Register notice released today by Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility, PEER, is temporarily on hold."
Source: ENS, 05/23/2013
"Bipartisan Senate Bill Would Give EPA Power To Ban Dangerous Chemicals"
"In a rare display of bipartisanship on Capitol Hill, a group of key senators unveiled legislation Wednesday that would require chemical companies to provide more health and safety information about their products and give regulators more power to force harmful compounds off the market."
Source: Chicago Tribune, 05/23/2013
"Irish Potato Famine Pathogen Identified"
"Scientists have used plant samples collected in the mid-19th Century to identify the pathogen that caused the Irish potato famine."
Source: BBC, 05/23/2013
"House Votes To Force Approval of Keystone Pipeline"
"The House of Representatives approved a bill as expected on Wednesday declaring that a presidential permit was not needed to approve the Canada-to-Nebraska leg of the Keystone XL oil pipeline, a move that would take a decision on the project away from the Obama administration."
Source: Reuters, 05/23/2013
"Schools, Hospitals and People Near Ammonium Nitrate Storage"
"At least 800,000 people across the United States live near hundreds of sites that store large amounts of potentially explosive ammonium nitrate, which investigators are blaming as the source of last month's deadly blast at a fertilizer plant in West, Texas, a Reuters analysis shows."
Source: Reuters, 05/23/2013
State 'Ag-Gag' Laws Spreading, Protect Misdeeds from Scrutiny
While a Tennessee governor vetoed "ag-gag" legislation in that state, bills criminalizing the collection of information about abuses in livestock operations are still being pushed in other states — and the mechanism may be extended to stifle reporting on other environmental abuses.
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Canadian Info Watchdog Probes Harper Govt's Muzzling of Scientists
Canada's Information Commissioner Suzanne Legault will be investigating the muzzling of Canadian scientists — a perennial complaint of SEJ's Canadian members who can not freely interview tax-funded scientists about subjects like climate. SEJ has twice urged Environment Canada to end such media policies, receiving no answer.
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Secret White House Review Paralyzes Chemical Safety
An EPA initiative to protect American consumers from toxic chemicals, especially endocrine disruptors, has run into a brick wall put up by the Obama White House three years ago due to secret urging of the chemical industry — even though the law requires information and arguments on which federal regulations are based to be open and on the record.
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Obama Admin Says It Won't Charge Reporters with Conspiracy to Commit Journalism
In the wake of the Justice Department's chilling seizure of AP phone records, the Department asserted that a Fox reporter violated the law by reporting the news. The unprecedented assertion was made by FBI agent Reginald B. Reyes in a search warrant application that was ultimately approved by a judge, allowing Reyes to snoop through the phone records of Fox News correspondent James Rosen.
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