The Obama administration and Congress are weighing the safety of technological advances that seem ripped from science fiction.

Congressional Republicans charge the Environmental Protection Agency gives preference to environmental groups on information requests.

The Federal Communications Commission voted unanimously on Friday to lift 126 requirements on phone companies that it said had become outdated.

The regulatory rollback came on Chairman Julius Genachowski's last day in office.

The FCC scrapped a requirement that phone companies keep paper records in addition to digital copies and a rule for prepaid calling card companies that required 15,000 hours of compliance work annually, the commission said. One rule required certain companies to label and track every piece of central office equipment, no matter how small.

The Obama administration is lifting sanctions on an Iraqi bank previously accused of aiding Iran.

Officials say the bank has since changed its ways.

In July, the Treasury Department declared that Elaf Islamic Bank provided financial services for the Export Development Bank of Iran, an institution sanctioned by both the U.S. and European Union.

MetroPCS dropped its lawsuit challenging the Federal Communications Commission's net neutrality regulations on Friday, leaving Verizon to continue the legal battle against the rules on its own.

T-Mobile, which was not challenging the rules, acquired MetroPCS earlier this month. 

The FCC's rules require wireline broadband providers to treat all Internet traffic equally. Cellphone carriers are prohibited from blocking any apps or services. 

Under the bill, the SEC would have to ensure the benefits of new rules outweigh their costs. 

A federal safety agency wants rules to protect children from stroller accidents.

The Consumer Product Safety Commission, an independent agency that safeguards consumer products, is proposing a a federal safety standard for strollers.

Between 2008 and 2012, four children have died and 359 have been injured in stroller accidents. Many of the incidents stem from infants who trap their heads, brakes that do not work and issues with broken wheels.

A federal judge in Arizona declined to reconsider an earlier ruling affirming the Interior Department’s authority to block new hard-rock mining on public lands.

U.S. District Judge David Campbell shut down a request for a rehearing by mining industry groups on Thursday. They’re protesting whether the federal government can unilaterally withdraw public lands from mining claims, according to The Associated Press.

At issue is an action by former Interior Secretary Ken Salazar in which the ex-Interior chief banned mining on more than 1 million acres of uranium-rich land near the Grand Canyon.

The House on Friday morning took a step toward passing a bill that would require the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to conduct strict cost-benefit analyses of its regulations.

Members approved a rule for H.R. 1062, the SEC Regulatory Accountability Act, in a 223-180 vote. Passage of the rule will let the House approve the bill later Friday.