A federal appeals court on Tuesday rejected a challenge from U.S. oil companies and refiners against the Environmental Protection Agency for retroactively imposing ethanol blending levels and volume requirements for gasoline sales.

Federal law requires the EPA to set by November 30 each year the amount of ethanol that must make up U.S. gasoline sales for the following year.

The U.S. electric grid is outdated and needs a major overhaul if it is to carry electricity generated by renewable energy sources, a senior official with Southern California Edison told Congress on Thursday.

An environmental group on Wednesday asked U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton to deny permits for pipelines that would bring oil from Canada's oil sands to the United States.

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