March 11, 2010
Deforestation conference to turn plans to action (AP)
AP - French President Nicolas Sarkozy will open a daylong conference Thursday of some 40 nations to start turning plans into action to save the world's forests and help rein in the noxious gases blamed for climate change.
March 11, 2010
Independent body to review climate panel (AFP)
AFP - A respected international scientific body will review the UN's Nobel prize-winning climate panel, under fire for errors in a key report on global warming, UN chief Ban Ki-moon has said.
March 10, 2010
World's largest meat-eating plant prefers to eat... small animal poo
The largest meat-eating plant in the world is designed not to eat small animals, but small animal poo, scientists discover.
March 10, 2010
Scientists to review climate body
The UN Secretary-General asks the world's leading science academies to review the UN's climate science body.
Congress Sending Obama Bill To Tighten Credit Card Regulation
(CQPolitics.com)
| Riding a wave of public anger, the House was poised Wednesday to clear legislation that would curb a number of credit card practices that the White House and consumer advocates have denounced as abusive. President Obama has urged lawmakers to send him the bill (HR 627) before they start their Memorial Day recess at the end of this week. He is expected to sign it swiftly. The Senate passed an amended version of the measure Tuesday by 90-5. The House was preparing to accept the Senate amendments Wednesday afternoon, thus sending the bill to the White House. The bill would generally bar interest rate increases on existing balances unless a card-holder has failed to make even a minimum payment for 60 days. It would outlaw double-cycle billing, require 45 days' notice before any interest rate increase and prohibit interest rate increases anytime in the first year that an account is activated. The legislation also would require card companies to apply a consumer's monthly payment to the debt with the highest interest rate, or to all debts equally. Before clearing the bill, the House planned a separate vote to concur in a Senate amendment that would allow people to carry firearms in national parks and wildlife refuges if allowed by state law. Many Democrats opposed that provision, but not enough to block its adoption. Rep. Carolyn B. Maloney, D-N.Y., chief sponsor of the credit card bill, said she was opposed to the gun amendment but did not want to see it hold up the underlying legislation, which she has tried to pass for several years. "This is one credit card bill that the American people cannot afford to have become past due," she said. Rep. Jeb Hensarling, R-Texas, speaking for GOP critics of the measure, warned that it would have "unintended consequences." He cited reports that credit card companies, to make up for the revenues they expect to lose as a result of the crackdown, would target customers who pay off their balances in full every month. Card companies, he said, are likely to revive annual fees, limit cash-back and other rewards for use of their cards and even start assessing interest charges from the moment of purchase, instead of giving a grace period. By limiting the ability of card companies to charge fees and high interest rates to riskier customers, Congress is punishing responsible consumers, he said. "This is yet another piece of bailout legislation" for those who failed to manage their finances well, Hensarling charged. |