Court throws out EPA emissions regulations, SEC adopts rules on conflict minerals, and more.
- A U.S. appeals court struck down a key Obama administration Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) rule to reduce harmful emissions from coal-burning power plants.
- The chair of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), Mary Schapiro, called off a highly anticipated vote on proposed money market reforms after three commissioners declared their opposition.
- Companies will now be required to disclose if they rely on minerals from war-stricken parts of Africa under a new rule adopted by the SEC.
- In its eighth annual broadband report, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) reported that 19 million Americans still do not have access to wired broadband.
- The FCC put the brakes on its deregulation of the special access market for connections that link commercial users (such as those in major office buildings) to main telecommunications lines.
- New Department of Agriculture (USDA) guidelines for school lunches took effect, including the first national calorie and sodium limits.
- The Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) set up a new website for swap data registrants.
- The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) announced that it closed its investigation of Facebook’s acquisition of Instagram.
- A federal court ruled in favor of Texas in a case involving a challenge to the state decision to cut off funding to Planned Parenthood, the largest provider in the Texas Women’s Health Program.
- The South Korean Constitutional Court ruled that the Korean government could not require real names to be used online.
- A survey found broad public support in the United States for certain federal government programs and regulatory functions.
