In its long-awaited decision on the dangers of bisphenol-A (BPA) exposure, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) announced that it believes there is some concern about the effects of BPA on children. This is a shift from the agency's recent position that BPA is safe. The agency says its ability to regulate the chemical, however, is limited by FDA's outdated regulatory authority.

Transparency is integral to a responsive, accountable, and ultimately functioning government, but it is also a vital component of a functioning economy. Indeed, a number of federal institutions exist to ensure that depositors, lenders, and borrowers have access to relevant financial data that allows them to engage in mutually beneficial transactions. The Obama administration's financial regulatory reform proposal acknowledges the important role that transparency plays in the economy's financial sector and contains a number of measures to increase transparency in the notoriously opaque financial system.