Administration

The Environmental Protection Agency named 11 “grantmakers” today, universities and nonprofit organizations that will be in charge of doling out $600 million of federal funding to locally led environmental projects. It’s a new strategy aimed at making it easier for small grassroots groups — especially those burdened with the most pollution — to access funding. Those groups will be able to apply for subgrants from the EPA’s grantmakers, who’ve been assigned to oversee funds for certain regions. The 11 grantmakers include…

President Joe Biden speaks about protecting Social Security, Medicare, and lowering prescription drug costs, during a visit to OB Johnson Park and Community Center, in Hallandale Beach, Florida, on Nov. 1, 2022.Kevin Lamarque | ReutersThe Biden administration on Thursday asserted its authority to seize the patents of certain costly medications in a new push to slash high drug prices and promote more pharmaceutical competition.The administration unveiled a framework outlining the factors federal agencies should consider in…

The Biden administration is no longer communicating with Meta, the parent company of Facebook and Instagram, about foreign election interference, the tech giant revealed in its quarterly threat report released Thursday.   Meta said the federal government stopped sharing information about foreign meddling efforts in July, the same month that a federal judge blocked administration officials from communicating with social media companies about content removal or restrictions. The ruling, which was later…

Donald Trump is leading Joe Biden in several polls with the 2024 election now less than a year away. The former president reportedly has long planned to overhaul the government in his image should he win another term, and Axios reported on Monday that his team is busy screening thousands of loyalists in the hopes of installing an army of up to 54,000 MAGA diehards to expand the president’s power. Trump is clearly not happy with many of his key hires during his first term in office, regularly slamming former lackeys…

The Biden administration is moving forward with tightened energy efficiency standards for new residential water heaters, taking aim at what is the second-largest energy using appliances in most households.The Energy Department said their proposal, which would take affect in 2030, would save consumers some $11.4 billion in energy and water costs annually, while reducing hundreds of millions of tons of greenhouse gas emissions over the rules 30 year lifetime. Under the agency's proposal, the most commonly-used electric…

The Biden administration is working on modernizing the country’s oil and gas leasing program. Companies that want to drill on public lands will have to pay higher fees and will have to meet stricter requirements on where they can operate, according to a rule proposed by Department of the Interior onThursday.Why Banning TikTok Won’t Protect Our PrivacySince 1960, the price of lease bonds has been $10,000. The new rule proposes an increase of the minimum lease bond to $150,000, and the minimum statewide bond to $500,000.…

The Merrick Garland-led Department of Justice published 13 new guidelines it and the FTC will use to evaluate acquisitions and mergers. Image: Chip Somodevilla (Getty Images)In the wake of legal turmoil that has stalled—but not prevented—a merger between Microsoft and Activision, the Biden administration has opted to revisit the guidelines that the Justice Department and Federal Trade Commission will use to assess mergers and acquisitions under the lens of federal antitrust laws.Time to Tackle the Taylor Swift…

Pavlo Gonchar | LightRocket | Getty ImagesJohnson & Johnson on Tuesday sued the Biden administration over Medicare's new powers to slash drug prices, making it the third pharmaceutical company to challenge the controversial provision of the Inflation Reduction Act.  The lawsuit filed in federal district court in New Jersey argues the Medicare negotiations violate the First and Fifth Amendments of the U.S. Constitution.Earlier suits brought separately by Merck and Bristol Myers Squibb, as well as by the U.S. Chamber of…

The Special Adviser to the President on Energy, Olu Verheijen, said on Wednesday that the development of gas was a priority for the President Bola Tinubu administration. Ms Verheijen said this at the opening of the “Decade of Gas” secretariat in Abuja. “It has been a long journey with gas in this country,” she said. The “Decade of Gas” programme is a federal government project designed to ensure that Nigeria propagates the supply and distribution of gas as the main source of energy both to power- and gas-based…

Traders work on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange during morning trading on April 10, 2023 in New York City.Michael M. Santiago | Getty ImagesThe pharmaceutical industry's largest lobbying group and two other organizations on Wednesday sued the Biden Administration over Medicare's new powers to slash drug prices for seniors under the Inflation Reduction Act. Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America, along with the National Infusion Center Association and the Global Colon Cancer Association, argue that…