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The latest on the Key Bridge collapse, New York puts forth legislation to get clean energy projects on the grid and Wisconsin and other states join a federal summer food program to help feed kids across the country.

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Republicans float conspiracy theories on the collapse of Baltimore's Key Bridge, South Carolina's congressional elections will use a map ruled unconstitutional, and the Senate schedules an impeachment trial for Homeland Secretary Mayorkas.

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Historic wildfires could create housing and health issues for rural Texans, a Kentucky program helps prison parolees start a new life, and descendants of Nicodemus, Kansas celebrate the Black settlers who journeyed across the 1870s plains seeking self-governance.

Public Comment on Federal Gas Pipeline Rules Ends Today

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Thursday, July 7, 2016   

SACRAMENTO, Calif. - Today is the last day to put in your two cents about new regulations on gas pipelines, designed to prevent disasters like the fiery explosion that killed eight people and destroyed 38 homes in the Bay Area town of San Bruno, six years ago. The public-comment period ends today for rules proposed by the U.S. Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration. The changes would require more safety testing on 300,000 miles of existing transmission pipelines, and another 356,000 miles of gathering lines still to be built.

Holly Pearen, a senior attorney with the Environmental Defense Fund said, "The integrity assessments that are proposed would be incredibly helpful from a public safety standpoint and from an environmental standpoint. So the benefits of this rule are really tremendous."

By some estimates, gas lines leak almost 1.3 million tons of the greenhouse gas methane each year.

Pearen said better detection and repair would definitely help make a dent in climate change.

"More regular assessments will not only provide public safety benefits, from averting incidents like in San Bruno, but also, will help these operators curtail methane emissions," she added.

When operators test gas lines, they can vent large amounts of methane directly into the atmosphere. Pearen would like to see gas companies be required to install existing cost-effective capture technologies that she said can reduce those emissions by 90 percent.


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The U.S. Supreme Court heard arguments this week about the popular abortion pill Mifepristone and will weigh in on whether the U.S. Food and Drug Administration was correct in how it can be dosed and prescribed. (Ascannio/Adobe Stock)

Health and Wellness

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Missouri residents are worried about future access to birth control. The latest survey from The Right Time, an initiative based in Missouri…


Social Issues

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Wisconsin children from low-income families are now on track to get nutritious foods over the summer. Federal officials have approved the Badger …

Social Issues

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Almost 2,900 people are unsheltered on any given night in the Beehive State. Gov. Spencer Cox is celebrating signing nine bills he says are geared …


The U.S. teaching workforce remains primarily white while the percentage of Black teachers has declined. However, the percentage of Asian and Latinx teachers is rising.(WavebreakMediaMicro/Adobestock)

Social Issues

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Education advocates are calling on lawmakers to increase funding for programs to combat the teacher shortage. Around 37% of schools nationwide …

Environment

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New York's Legislature is considering a bill to get clean-energy projects connected to the grid faster. It's called the RAPID Act, for "Renewable …

Social Issues

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Earlier this month, a new Arizona Public Service rate hike went into effect and one senior advocacy group said those on a fixed income may struggle …

Social Issues

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Michigan recently implemented a significant juvenile justice reform package following recommendations from a task force made up of prosecutors…

 

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