WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Black farmers involved in a decades-old discrimination case are questioning why the Obama administration has promised to hasten aid for some large-scale farmers in the South while their case is held up in political wrangling.

The administration pledged last week to find $1.5 billion to help farmers hit by natural disasters after it appeared unlikely the Senate would promptly fund the package.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – A Republican senator blocked a measure on Thursday that would have compensated black farmers in one of the largest civil rights settlements in U.S. history, again delaying action on a decades-old bias lawsuit.

The settlement, agreed to in February, would provide $1.25 billion to compensate black farmers who were left out of federal farm loan and assistance programs for years due to racism.

WASHINGTON, Aug 5 (Reuters) – The U.S. Postal Service
reported a quarterly net loss of $3.5 billion on Thursday and
said it will likely have a cash shortfall going into 2011.

The agency, which delivers nearly half the world’s mail,
has reported net losses in 14 of the last 16 fiscal quarters.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The United States and dozens of other countries have pledged hundreds of millions of dollars toward clean energy initiatives to help battle climate change, U.S. Energy Secretary Stephen Chu said on Tuesday.

Meeting in Washington, D.C., for a two-day conference, delegations from 24 countries representing 80 percent of global energy consumption promised 11 initiatives that would mean building fewer power plants and using more clean energy.

WASHINGTON, July 6 (Reuters) – The U.S Postal Service
proposed on Tuesday to raise the price of first-class stamps to
46 cents as part of a package of increases to soften a nearly
$7 billion deficit projected for the next fiscal year.

If approved by the Postal Regulatory Commission, the 2-cent
increase would take effect Jan. 2, 2011. Postcards would cost
30 cents to mail, up from 28 cents.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – A congressional committee has asked the operator of the Deepwater Horizon oil rig to clarify staffing logs that suggest an absence of key personnel on board prior to the explosion that triggered the Gulf of Mexico oil spill.

“There appear to have been fewer people at work on the rig the night of the explosion than at any time in the preceding two weeks,” Representative Nick Rahall, chairman of the U.S. House Committee on Natural Resources, said in his letter which cited reports obtained by his committee’s investigators.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid criticized Republicans on Friday for blocking a measure that would compensate black farmers engaged in a decades-old discrimination suit against the U.S. Agriculture Department.

The measure, included as part of an amendment to a disaster assistance bill, would have appropriated $1.15 billion to uphold one of the largest civil rights settlements in history.

WASHINGTON, May 6 (Reuters) – The U.S. Postal Service said
on Thursday it posted a loss of $1.9 billion in the first half
of fiscal 2010, and renewed pleas for regulatory changes that
it believes will save the agency billions of dollars.

The Postal Service, which delivers nearly half the world’s
mail, was hit by the global recession that led to unprecedented
drops in mail volume. But the increased popularity of email and
competition from FedEx <FDX.N>, United Parcel Service <UPS.N>
and other delivery services have long been adding to the
agency’s financial challenges.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Federal inspectors are conducting fewer reviews of food manufacturing plants, with many facilities going more than five years without being checked, a government investigator said on Wednesday.

The drop in inspections could make an outbreak of foodborne disease more likely, putting the public at risk, according to a report from the Department of Health and Human Services’ inspector general.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Black farmers engaged in a discrimination suit against the U.S. government will give Congress more time to approve funds to compensate them for years of mistreatment but they have not set any hard deadlines, an advocate for the group said on Thursday.

If the process drags on too long, the farmers could decide to take the case to court or go back to the negotiating table to hash out a new settlement as they originally sought $2.5 billion.