Administration

The Justice Department violated its own regulations in its leak investigation, the president of The Associated Press charged Wednesday.

The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) is reviewing a petition to reopen its investigation of a 1996 plane crash, officials with the agency confirmed on Wednesday.

The petition asks the agency to revisit its ruling that the crash of now-defunct TWA Airlines Flight 800 in July 1996 was caused by a mid-flight explosion en route from New York to Paris that was sparked by a wiring failure. 

The petition is reportedly being filed by the makers of a new documentary film about the accident and former regulators who were involved in the initial investigation, which killed 230 people.  

Vice President Biden is pointing to progress on 21 of 23 executive actions announced in January to stem the tide of gun violence, and renewed the White House’s call for Congress to pass gun control legislation, RegWatch reports.

Regulators in New York are fining the government consulting firm Deloitte $10 million, a move that comes in stark contrast to the Federal Reserve’s treatment of a consulting industry that some view as a “shadow regulator,” according to The New York Times.

Chrysler has struck a truce with regulators following a flap over whether the automaker should recall 2.7 million Jeeps over a possible fire risk in collisions, Bloomberg Businessweek reports.

Starbucks will begin posting calorie counts on its menu boards ahead of federal regulations that would require chains with more than 20 locations to do so, The Associated Press reports. 

House Republicans joined industry officials in urging the administration to pull back the new rules.

The address is intended to demonstrate that the White House is prioritizing gun control despite congressional inaction.

In a letter, McCain criticizes policy that allows Cabinet members to keep private email accounts for official business.

The Department of Homeland Security on Monday issued new regulations that will allow more Syrian refugees to temporarily settle in the United States.

The department estimates that about 9,000 people will be eligible to come to America under the 18-month extension to March 2015 of the Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for Syrians. Another 2,600 or so Syrians already here will be able to apply to renew their status. The Obama administration first gave TPS designation to Syrian citizens and residents last year, and the status was set to expire on Sept. 30.

“The extension of the current Syria TPS designation and re-designation is due to the continued disruption of living conditions in the country that are a result of the extraordinary and temporary conditions that led to the initial TPS designation of Syria in 2012,” the Homeland Security Department said. “The extension is based on ongoing armed conflict in that region and the continued deterioration of country conditions.”

Previously, the Social Security Administration required documentation of specific surgeries.

President Obama on Saturday urged Congress to build on the action by approving the Senate immigration bill.

The Obama administration on Wednesday made it legal for Americans to sell technology and buy oil from the Syrian rebels.

The country has come under an increasing number of sanctions since the uprising against Syrian President Bashar Assad began more than two years ago. Wednesday's waivers aim to give the U.S.-backed opposition a boost as Assad's regime is gaining ground in the western part of the country.

“Through the Departments of State, Commerce, and Treasury, the Administration is taking several significant steps to ease U.S. economic sanctions, enable additional relief and reconstruction activities in opposition-controlled areas of Syria, and support the Syrian opposition and the people of Syria,” the State Department said in a statement.