Just in time for the 50th anniversary of the original Freedom of Information Act, President Obama June 30, 2016, signed into law a package of amendments to strengthen it. The bill codifies the "presumption of openness."
"Lead-contaminated water in the drinking fountains at a U.S. Capitol office building has prompted officials to offer blood testing to lawmakers and staff, according to information provided to congressional offices."
"Congress is barreling toward a frenetic finish this week that could see action on a genetically modified organisms bill in the Senate and House work on spending legislation before lawmakers leave for a seven-week summer break July 15."
"As recently as two weeks ago, the food industry was preparing to place labels on food products that contain genetically modified ingredients. But if a bi-partisan deal cobbled together last Thursday in the Senate Agriculture Committee gets signed into law, widespread labeling likely won't come to pass."
"Hillary Clinton, courting young voters and the broader Democratic base, has promised to one-up President Obama on climate change, vowing to produce a third of the nation’s electricity from renewable sources by 2027, three years faster than Mr. Obama, while spending billions of dollars to transform the energy economy."
"As the EU member States meet today to discuss their position on whether to ban the ivory trade, a delegation of the African Elephant Coalition, representing 29 African countries, is calling urgently on the European Union and the European Commission to grasp a historic opportunity and follow through on their commitments to ban the ivory trade."
"A coalition of state wildlife regulators today announced that the population of lesser prairie chickens in the wild has fallen by more than 13 percent since the last annual aerial survey -- a troubling outcome the Obama administration predicted earlier this year."
"Virginia Gov. Terry McAuliffe (D) has issued an executive order aimed at finding a way of cutting carbon dioxide pollution in the state that does not require approval from the state’s Republican-controlled General Assembly."
"Californians this summer are starting to see a new warning at checkout lines of grocery stores, pharmacies and convenience markets that the products on their shelves may include a dangerous chemical. But there's one problem: The signs don't tell them which products."
"Enbridge Inc. and its oil industry partners have seen their faint hope for the Northern Gateway pipeline project dealt a major blow Thursday as the Federal Court of Appeal quashed the permit issued by the federal cabinet two years ago."
