The Patriot Act faced serious challenges recently from Congress and the courts in what some are calling a turning point in the debate over the controversial law. Meanwhile, after running into attacks for Patriot II, Attorney General John Ashcroft plans a roadshow to gather support for Patriot III, legislation being prepared by Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-UT) that would further expand the federal government's powers.

The Forest Service recently issued standards allowing timber projects to eschew environmental assessments and impact statements -- normally required under the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) -- provided that the affected area poses a risk of wildfire or contains insect-infested or diseased trees. The measures outline three categorical NEPA exemptions that would allow the harvesting of up to 70 acres of live trees (up from 50 in the proposal), the removal of up to 250 acres of dead or dying trees, and the removal of up to 250 acres of insect-infested or diseased areas.

The chemical revolution over the last 50 years has brought great benefits; it has also exposed us to unknown risks from thousands of untested chemicals that now circulate around us and inside of us.

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) recently finished receiving public comments on its proposed rule for the handling of Critical Infrastructure Information (CII). While the June 16th deadline for comments was over a month ago, DHS is still not providing access to the public comments it received, nor has the agency announced any plans to do so.