1. LOBBYING:
Industry group uses civil-rights theme in bid for expanded drilling

A rally on Capitol Hill on Tuesday revealed an unlikely alliance for energy extraction, as lobbyists, politicians and civil rights activists in black collars joined together in shouts of "Stop the War on the Poor!" Organizers described the event, held in a park near the Senate office buildings, as the kick-off to a campaign spearheaded by the pro-drilling group Americans for American Energy, along with the Congress of Racial Equality (CORE) and the High Impact Leadership Coalition, a conservative group led by Bishop Harry Jackson with a mission to "protect the moral compass of America." Go to story #1