The House yesterday took a step toward regulating tobacco products, as the Energy and Commerce Committee voted 32-12 in favor of giving oversight authority to the Food and Drug Administration.

An investigation by the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel examines a little-known EPA program which is supposed to study the effects of common chemicals on children's health. Journal Sentinel reporters Susanne Rust and Meg Kissinger found major flaws. Among other things, the investigation finds the program (the Voluntary Children's Chemical Evaluation Program) is relying on advisory panels stacked with industry scientists, has had little luck in getting chemical makers to cooperate with requests for data, and has been broke since August.

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the White House Office of Management and Budget (OMB) have put the freeze on the agency's budding efforts to regulate greenhouse gas emissions. As Reg•Watch recently reported, EPA staff had drafted preliminary documents describing the dangers associated with greenhouse gas emissions. This so-called endangerment finding would set in motion a series of regulatory actions.

Wall Street Journal reporter Joseph Pereira writes today about state government efforts to limit the presence of certain substances in children's toys, particularly lead. Both the U.S. Congress and U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) have been unable to quickly enact policies to respond to public concern over toy safety.