Vox: “The anti-vaccine movement is gaining strength even after 1 million Americans have died of Covid-19. Paul Offit, director of the Vaccine Education Center at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, does not mince words when describing the scientific legacy of the Covid-19 vaccines: The mRNA shots, he said, are “the greatest scientific achievement in my… Continue Reading
Accurate, Focused Research on Law, Technology and Knowledge Discovery Since 2002
Category Archives: Legislation
Exploring gaps in city climate planning and the need for regional action
Brookings: “The growing threats from climate change leave the global population no choice: We must decarbonize human activity as soon as possible. That includes changing how we build, travel, generate power, and more to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. Achieving such transformative change will require a mix of policy reforms, new technologies, and significant capital… Continue Reading
Falling Behind: A Report Card on EPA’s Progress on 10 Important Power Sector Rules
“Analysis by Evergreen Action shows that EPA is falling behind on eight key climate change and air quality regulations for the power sector, with only two rules on track. After several delays and missed deadlines, EPA must go further, faster to finalize these rules during President Biden’s first term and keep our climate and environmental… Continue Reading
Chocolate Report Released regarding Lead and Cadmium
National Law Review: “As You Sow and the National Confectioners Association released a report on August 18, 2022 that determines the predominant sources of lead and cadmium in chocolate products and how best to reduce these levels. A multi-disciplinary panel of four experts have been investigating the matter for three years. The report is part of… Continue Reading
Algorithmic Accountability Act: Potential Coverage Gaps in the Healthcare Sector
ABA: “The proposed Algorithmic Accountability Act of 2022, H.R. 6580, 117th Cong. (2022), requires companies to implement assessments of their algorithmic decision tools to detect issues with privacy and discrimination among others. The Act would be enforced by the FTC, which may not have jurisdiction over some companies, such as non-profits and companies in the… Continue Reading
Social Security: What Would Happen If the Trust Funds Ran Out?
CRS Report – RL33514| Social Security: What Would Happen If the Trust Funds Ran Out?: “Federal Old-Age and Survivors Insurance (OASI) Trust Fund and the Federal Disability Insurance (DI) Trust Fund. Under their intermediate assumptions and undercurrent law, the Social Security trustees project that the OASI trust fund will become depleted in 2034 and the DI… Continue Reading
All 50 states get green light to build EV charging stations covering 75,000 miles of highways
National Alternative Fuels Corridors: “The U.S. Department of Transportation Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) designates a national network of plug-in electric vehicle (EV) charging and hydrogen, propane, and natural gas fueling infrastructure along national highway system corridors. To designate these Alternative Fuel Corridors (AFC), FHWA solicits nominations from state and local officials and works with other… Continue Reading
France sets delivery fee for online book sales to help stores compete with Amazon
Reuters: “France plans to impose a minimum delivery fee of 3 euros ($2.93) for online book orders of less than 35 euros to level the playing field for independent bookstores struggling to compete against e-commerce giants, the government said on Friday. A 2014 French law already prohibits free book deliveries, but Amazon and other vendors… Continue Reading
Book bans are spiking in the US
Quartz – Here are the most targeted titles: “This week, ALA is holding its annual Banned Books Week, from September 18-24, to advocate for open access to information. While in the past bans usually targeted one book at a time, advocacy groups are now going after multiple titles at once, according to the association. So far… Continue Reading
The Supreme Court’s new term could be even more consequential than its last one
Vox – The Republican justices who overruled Roe v. Wade are only getting started. “The headline of this piece is likely to turn a few heads. The Supreme Court’s last term, after all, was an orgy of conservative excess unlike any since the Court’s Great Depression-era attacks on the New Deal. And it culminated in… Continue Reading
Study: Americans Own More Than 415 Million Firearms
English, William, 2021 National Firearms Survey: Updated Analysis Including Types of Firearms Owned (May 13, 2022). Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=4109494 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.4109494 “This report summarizes the findings of a national survey of firearms ownership and use conducted between February 17th and March 23rd, 2021 by the professional survey firm Centiment. This survey, which is part… Continue Reading
House GOP Agenda Signals Push for Social Security and Medicare Cuts
Common Dreams – “House Republicans on [September 21, 2022] unveiled parts of a policy agenda that indicates the party would push for cuts to Social Security and Medicare if it retakes the majority in November. A one-page summary of the agenda that House Republicans, led by Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.), are expected to formally… Continue Reading
