"IOWA CITY -- Republican presidential hopeful Herman Cain has cast himself as the outsider, the pizza magnate with real-world experience who will bring fresh ideas to the nation's capital. But Cain's economic ideas, support and organization have close ties to two billionaire brothers who bankroll right-leaning causes through their group Americans for Prosperity."
The Keystone XL pipeline that would bring petroleum from Canada's tar sands to US terminals in Houston is proving a political headache for President Obama. It pits many of his erstwhile allies -- such as unions and environmentalists -- against each other.
"House Republicans pushed through legislation Friday that gives the states the power to regulate coal ash from power plants as if it were municipal garbage, pre-empting pending federal regulations that could be much tougher."
"As legislation to limit U.S. EPA's power to regulate coal ash hits the House floor this week, environmental advocates see industry footprints all over the bill's language. They say millions of dollars spent in lobbying and campaign contributions have yielded another congressional proposal to block Obama administration environmental oversight -- and have allowed the industry to frame the debate."
"Energy Department career employees admonished and occasionally ignored the Obama fundraiser who managed DOE’s public rollout of Solyndra's loan guarantee, according to internal Obama administration emails that POLITICO reviewed on Wednesday."
"U.S. lawmakers will urge Secretary of State Hillary Clinton on Friday to reject the proposed route of the Keystone XL oil sands pipeline, saying they are concerned the approval process has been tainted by alleged conflicts of interest."
"BP will be allowed to participate in an upcoming U.S. offshore oil and gas lease sale despite its role in the largest offshore oil spill in U.S. history, a top government regulator said on Thursday."
The Obama White House issued a strong statement Wednesday opposing a bill by Rep. David McKinley (R-WV) that would prevent the Environmental Protection Agency from regulating the disposal of coal ash. A 2008 failure of a TVA coal-ash in Kingston, Tennessee, caused major property and environmental damage. EPA administrator Lisa Jackson took office vowing to regulate coal-ash pollution, but has delayed action under White House and industry pressure.
"A nationwide poll conducted by Hart Research and GS Strategy Group, sponsored by Ceres .... found -- like so many polls before it -- that the public overwhelmingly supports clean air protections across demographic and party lines."
"When President Obama retreated from a tougher stance on smog last month, his Environmental Protection Agency chief had formally concluded that the existing standard endangered thousands of Americans, including children and people with respiratory ailments."
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