Recent Studies Show EPA Air Rules Do Not Threaten Electric Reliability, Committee on Energy and Commerce, Democratic Staff, November 2011. “In November 2011, the North American Electric Reliability Corporation (NERC) and M.J. Bradley and Associates each released updated studies evaluating the effects of existing and upcoming EPA regulations to control pollution from power plants. These… Continue Reading
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Monthly Archives: November 2011
Facebook Settles FTC Charges That It Deceived Consumers By Failing To Keep Privacy Promises
News release: “The social networking service Facebook has agreed to settle Federal Trade Commission charges that it deceived consumers by telling them they could keep their information on Facebook private, and then repeatedly allowing it to be shared and made public. The proposed settlement requires Facebook to take several steps to make sure it lives… Continue Reading
Whats So Hard About Regulating Supreme Court Justices Ethics? A Lot
Whats So Hard About Regulating Supreme Court Justices Ethics? – A Lot, Russell Wheeler, Visiting Fellow, Governance Studies, The Brookings Institution “The Supreme Courts decision to hear a challenge to the health care law is renewing calls for recusal, described here and here and here. Some, mainly Democrats, charge that Justice Thomas (and his wife)… Continue Reading
Cost Estimate for S. 1867, National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2012
Cost Estimate for S. 1867, National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2012, November 29, 2011 “S. 1867 would authorize appropriations totaling $662 billion for fiscal year 2012 for the military functions of the Department of Defense (DoD), for certain activities of the Department of Energy (DOE), and for other purposes. That total includes $117… Continue Reading
FCC Dismissal Without Prejudice of AT&T's Applications for Transfer of Control of T-Mobile USA, Inc.
“On March 21, 2011, AT&T Inc. (“AT&T”) and Deutsche Telekom AG (“Deutsche Telekom”) announced an agreement under which AT&T will acquire T-Mobile USA, Inc. (“T-Mobile USA”) from Deutsche Telekom. On April 21, 2011, the parties filed applications seeking the Commission’s consent to the transfer of control of the licenses and authorizations held by T-Mobile USA… Continue Reading
CDC Vital Signs: HIV Prevention Through Care and Treatment – United States
Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report(MMWR). Vital Signs: HIV Prevention Through Care and Treatment United States, Early Release November 29, 2011/60;1-6 “Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) causes a chronic infection that leads to a progressive disease. Without treatment, most persons with HIV develop acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) within 10 years of infection, which results in substantial… Continue Reading
Recent GAO Reports: Cybersecurity Human Capital, FHFA Audit, Next Gen Air Transport
Cybersecurity Human Capital: Initiatives Need Better Planning and Coordination, GAO-12-8, Nov 29, 2011 Financial Audit: Federal Housing Finance Agency’s Fiscal Years 2011 and 2010 Financial Statements [Reissued on November 29, 2011], GAO-12-161, Nov 15, 2011 Next Generation Air Transportation: Collaborative Efforts with European Union Generally Mirror Effective Practices, but Near-Term Challenges Could Delay Implementation, GAO-12-48,… Continue Reading
Housing Snapshot: Geographical Differences in Price Changes and Negative Equity
Housing Snapshot: Geographical Differences in Price Changes and Negative Equity, Ted Gayer, Co-Director, Economic Studies – The Brookings Institution “Today saw the release of two housing-related data reports, both of which indicate the persistent weakness in the housing market. S&P/Case-Shiller released its monthly home price indices, which showed that September prices (which are a three-month… Continue Reading
CoreLogic 3rd Qtr Negative Equity Data Shows Slight Decline But Remains Elevated
News release: “CoreLogic today released negative equity data showing that 10.7 million, or 22.1 percent, of all residential properties with a mortgage were in negative equity at the end of the third quarter of 2011. This is down slightly from 10.9 million properties, or 22.5 percent, in the second quarter. An additional 2.4 million borrowers… Continue Reading
FHFA OIG – Compendium of Federal Single Family Mortgage Programs and Related Activities
Compendium of Federal Single Family Mortgage Programs and Related Activities, November 2011. The Federal Housing Inspectors General “This Compendium is intended to serve as a guide to federal housing programs and activities. It focuses primarily on single family mortgage programs and related activities, and contains content collected by the four Offices of Inspector General regarding… Continue Reading
Statistics Canada to make all online data free February 2012
“All of Statistics Canadas standard online products, including the census, socioeconomic and geographic data, will be offered to the public for free starting February 2012, Embassy has learned. While Statistics Canada has been working towards opening up more of its data for several years, it still currently charges for a portion of its online data,… Continue Reading
Report – How Politics Trumps Protection of Public Health, Worker Safety, and the Environment
Behind Closed Doors at the White House: How Politics Trumps Protection of Public Health, Worker Safety, and the Environment, by Center for Progressive Reform (CPR) Member Scholar Rena Steinzor, CPR Intern Michael Patoka, and CPR Policy Analyst James Goodwin “In preparing the report, CPR researchers compiled a comprehensive database of OIRAs [The White House Office… Continue Reading
