Standardization

The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission Thursday approved first-ever reliability rules for the nation's wholesale electricity grid, closing a chapter that started with the August 2003 blackout that left 50 million people in the dark. The agency approved 83 separate standards that had been proposed by the North American Electric Reliability Corp., which the agency tapped last year to propose rules that it would enforce under the regulators' oversight.

California's olive oil police have been pulled over. An industry panel that for five years has certified the quality of California's olive oil -- discerning virgin from extra virgin oil -- has flunked an international taste test. The failure comes as the U.S. Department of Agriculture mulls over new olive oil grading standards. The agency's guidelines date to 1948 and don't even include the term "extra virgin olive oil." The lack of stringent U.S.

U.S. military officials unveiled a plan Monday to combat chronic problems with renegade Iraqi security forces by creating Iraqi-led inspection boards and standardized uniforms. The boards will conduct battalion-level reviews of police leadership and accountability, said Army Maj. Gen. Joseph Peterson, the top U.S. police trainer in Iraq. Battalions will be judged on how well they can track weapons and vehicles -- a response to the widespread use of equipment for criminal activities. U.S.