NTSB Says Vehicle Battery Fires Pose Risks to 1st Responders
Electric vehicle fires pose safety risks to first responders and guidelines from manufacturers about how to deal with them have been inadequate, according to U.S. investigators.
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regulation
Building Safety
When it entered into a company creating the Delaware River Joint Toll Bridge Commission in 1935, the Pennsylvania Department of Labor ceded its authority to enforce building safety regulations at the commission’s new administration building in Bucks County, the Third CIrcuit ruled.
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Justices Reinstate Medication Abortion Rule Lifted During Pandemic
The Supreme Court on Tuesday granted the Trump administration ‘s request to reinstate a rule requiring women to visit a medical center to get an abortion drug, after a lower court lifted the regulation in light of the Covid-19 pandemic.
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States Say Federal Rules Allow Proliferation of Ghost Guns
Twenty-one states claim new federal rules governing 3D-printed guns will allow unchecked sharing of computer files that let users easily create untraceable plastic weapons.
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White House Readies New Lame-Duck Gut of Endangered Species Rules
The change allows agencies to duck environmental compliance reviews for projects on federal land even when there’s evidence the project will harm endangered species.
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Car Dealers Challenge Minnesota’s Proposed Emissions Standards
Minnesota car dealers took to federal court Wednesday to fight proposed changes to the state’s emissions rules for new automobiles, saying that the state’s ongoing rulemaking is preempted by federal environmental laws.
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Regulatory Shift Favoring Payday Lenders Challenged by 8 Attorneys General
Standing up for vulnerable Americans whom the Covid-19 pandemic has brought to the brink, seven attorneys general joined New York’s top prosecutor Tuesday in a court challenge of interest rates that President Trump has allowed to go sky high, a boon for predatory payday lenders.
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Virginia Officials Hear Debate Over Stricter Labor Rules
A battle between labor and industry groups played out before a Virginia regulatory board on Tuesday morning as the state’s emergency, coronavirus-driven workplace regulations near their expiration.
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UK Pet Owners Have Bone to Pick With Post-Brexit Travel Rules
Vets, pet owners and others in Britain are bracing for new and potentially costly bureaucracy from Friday, when the U.K. ends participation in the EU passport scheme for cats and dogs.
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New Covid-19 Vaccine With Easier Storage Approved for UK Rollout
Authorizing its second Covid-19 vaccine, Britain became the first country to give the green light to an affordable, easy-to-store vaccine made by Oxford University and AstraZeneca Wednesday.
Read moreDeath Doulas
A federal court in California granted a preliminary injunction to a group of “end of life doulas” in their lawsuit challenging the California Cemetery and Funeral Bureau’s demands they become licensed funeral directors. The doulas, associated with the nonprofit the Full Circle of LIving and Dying, offer “advice, counseling and other services to families and loved ones of those who are dying.”
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Major Rail-Safety Technology Installed Before Deadline
The railroad industry has installed an automatic braking system on nearly 58,000 miles of track where it is required ahead of a yearend deadline, federal regulators said Tuesday.
Read moreFAA Outlines New Rules for Drones and Their Operators
Federal officials say they will allow operators to fly small drones over people and at night, potentially giving a boost to commercial use of the machines.
Read moreGrizzly Bears
A federal court in Montana ruled against the Center for Biological Diversity on its claims that the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service did not properly address the center’s 2014 petition for an update to a recovery plan for grizzly bears.
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Gun Use in US Suicides Kept Secret With 2nd Circuit Ruling
The U.S. government need not release statistics on guns used in suicides or attempted suicides, the Second Circuit ruled Wednesday, reversing what had been a victory for gun-regulation advocates.
Read moreAsylum Rules
In two separate lawsuits, a group of nonprofit organizations that serve LGBTQ immigrants and a group of other organizations that serve immigrants challenge the U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s changes to the asylum process that are set to go into effect on Jan. 11.
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EU Regulator Gives Conditional Approval to Covid-19 Vaccine
The European Medicines Agency recommended conditional approval Monday for a coronavirus vaccine developed by BioNTech and Pfizer to be used across the European Union, weeks after the shot was first authorized in Britain and the United States.
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Facing Widespread Opposition, Feds Withdraw Nuke Waste Plan
Federal regulators are withdrawing a nuclear waste proposal that had prompted an unusually widespread chorus of opposition, including from those who worried the plan could have led to toxic waste being shipped to local landfills across the U.S.
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Shrinking Population Forces Shutdown of Oyster Harvesting in Florida Bay
Florida officials voted Wednesday to shut down oyster harvesting in Apalachicola Bay, a major source of the nation’s supply, due to a diminished population caused by low freshwater flows.
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EU Takes on Big Tech Again, This Time With Tough Laws
Under new proposed European Union rules, tech giants like Facebook and Google could face massive fines if they repeatedly fail to take down content deemed dangerous and break fair competition practices.
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