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  May 15, 2013, 11:38 am

Ethics office cracks down on lavish agency junkets

By Ben Goad

The U.S. Office of Government Ethics (OGE) issued new guidance Wednesday designed to cut down on exorbitant spending on annual conferences.

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Archived under: Administration
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  May 15, 2013, 11:12 am

UAE financial firms hit with sanctions for aiding Iranian banks

By Julian Hattem

Two financial services companies based in the United Arab Emirates will be frozen out of the U.S. financial market for helping Iran to evade economic sanctions.

The Treasury Department on Wednesday imposed sanctions on an exchange house and a trading company for ignoring sanctions on Iranian banks and helping them access foreign currency.

According to the department, the financial service companies conducted millions of dollars of transactions with the Iranian banks.

“As Iran’s access to the international banking sector comes under increasing pressure, we have seen it turn increasingly to exchange houses and trading companies in its attempts to evade international sanctions and maintain its access to foreign exchange,” said Under Secretary for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence David Cohen in a statement. 

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Archived under: Finance
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  May 15, 2013, 10:39 am

Thursday's meeting announcements: Coordinating legal services

By Julian Hattem

A whole host of agencies and their advisory boards will hold public meetings in coming weeks. Here are the new announcements:

The board of directors of the Legal Services Corporation, which funds legal aid for low-income Americans, is holding a conference call on May 21 to discuss an upcoming report to Congress. 

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Archived under: Other
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  May 15, 2013, 10:07 am

New regs for Thursday: Brandy labels

By Julian Hattem

A bunch of new regulations and guidances will come out in Thursday's Federal Register, covering everything from liquor to radioactive material. Here are the highlights:

Food and Drugs:
The Treasury Department is issuing standards requiring that only Peru- or Chile-manufactured pisco, a type of brandy, can be labeled as such in the United States. 

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Archived under: Pending Regs
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  May 15, 2013, 7:50 am

News bites: Regs on the rise under Obama

By Ben Goad

A new government-issued report finds hundreds more final rules were published in President Obama’s first term than were issued in George W. Bush’s second, RegWatch reports.

Regulators have seized their 13th bank this year, according to The Washington Post reports. The number represents a huge drop from 2010, when bank failures related to the Great Recession peaked at 157.

Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel is ordering the military to re-train tens of thousands of military recruiters amid widespread reports of sexual assaults, the Post reports.

Sen. Bill Nelson (D-Fla.) is pressing regulators to fix a housing sector quirk that brands some short sales of under water homes as foreclosures, a “kiss of death” for the sellers, according to The Tampa Bay Times.

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Archived under: Administration
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  May 14, 2013, 8:15 pm

Government report finds regulations have spiked under Obama

By Ben Goad

The administration published more “major" rules in its first term than the George W. Bush administration did in its second.

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Archived under: Administration
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  May 14, 2013, 5:02 pm

Organic industry finds support from lawmakers, regulators

By Julian Hattem

Legislators and regulators pledged to increase their support for the organic food industry on Tuesday, as representatives from the sector pushed for friendly policies.

As members of the House and Senate mark up the farm bill, organic farmers, handlers and manufacturers came to Washington to make their case for the burgeoning industry at the annual Washington policy conference of the Organic Trade Association, which represents the sector.

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Archived under: Other
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  May 14, 2013, 3:03 pm

Court: 'No merit' to environmental challenge of nuclear plant

By Megan R. Wilson

An appeals court on Tuesday denied complaints from environmental groups that said federal regulators are ignoring the lessons from Japan’s Fukushima meltdown when approving the first U.S. nuclear construction project since 1978.

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Archived under: E2-Wire, Court Battles
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  May 14, 2013, 11:41 am

Drug smuggler for Los Zetas sanctioned after arrest in Mexico

By Julian Hattem

The Treasury Department on Tuesday imposed sanctions on an imprisoned Mexican drug trafficker who smuggled tons of drugs into the United States on behalf of the Los Zetas cartel.

Alfredo Andrade Parra, 39, is responsible for bringing thousands of pounds of cocaine and marijuana into the country from Mexico every month, the department alleges, and is also wanted in Texas for multiple counts of trafficking and money laundering.

He was arrested by Mexican authorities in April.

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Archived under: Americas, Other
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  May 14, 2013, 10:07 am

Wednesday's meeting announcements: Reviewing energy companies

By Julian Hattem

Ten advisory councils and committees will announce their upcoming meetings in Wednesday's issue of the Federal Register. The meetings and dates are below:

The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission is holding a meeting on May 16 to review a number of energy corporations

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Archived under: Other
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