Christine Todd Whitman, the Bush administration’s former EPA chief, cannot be held liable for telling residents and workers that the air was safe to breathe after the attacks on the World Trade Center in 2001. A lawsuit by residents was dismissed by the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. The court found the EPA’s actions were “flawed” but ruled that legal remedies “are not always available for every instance of arguably deficient governmental performance.” Many residents and workers in New York City are suffering severe and chronic breathing ailments. With the Bush administration, “deficient governmental performance” seems to be a way of life, from Katrina to Iraq to the World Trade Center. I guess the official response could be summed up this way: “tough shit.”

Hillary Clinton, pundits said, had to win Pennsylvania by 10% to stay in the race. She won the Pennsylvania primary by 10%, beating Obama 55% to 45%.

McKinley High teacher is cleared by the state of an allegation she prepped students beforehand on an essay question for their Regents exam. Other McKinley High allegations made by an anonymous source are still under investigation, including video and computer equipment disappearing; athletes put in special ed classes so they could pass and remain on the basketball team; and friends and relatives of principal Crystal Barton being given jobs that amounted to running errands and hanging around the office.

Proposed Suspension Bridge designed by Christian Menn that was the choice of a 32-member design jury in 2005 (after years of fighting the PBA’s “twin span” concept) has been ruled out by state and federal environmental agencies because of a possible threat to some bird and fish species.