Political Scene

TRANSPORTATION

Tighter rules eyed on fuel efficiency

Tractor-trailers, school buses, delivery vans and other large vehicles will need to be more fuel-efficient under standards coming from the Obama administration.

The Environmental Protection Agency and the Transportation Department plan to release a proposal Monday for medium- and heavy-duty trucks, beginning with those sold in the 2014 model year and into the 2018 model year.

People familiar with the plan say it will seek about a 20 percent reduction in greenhouse gas emissions and fuel consumption from long-haul trucks. They spoke on the condition of anonymity because they didn’t want to speak publicly before the official announcement.

WHITE HOUSE

Obama takes break from campaign stump

President Obama had some time to recharge his batteries Sunday after wrapping up a five-state campaign swing, but he will be back at it Monday as he tries to help Democrats hold on to one or both houses of Congress.

At rallies and fundraisers from Oregon to Minnesota, the president told Democrats to shake off the midterm blues. He told voters that putting Republicans back in power would reprise the very policies that sent the economy reeling.

Polls suggest a number of the key races tightening, though they include races where Democrats had been running ahead.

Mr. Obama returns to the campaign trail Monday in Rhode Island and will spend the final weekend before Election Day barnstorming across Pennsylvania, Connecticut, Illinois and Ohio.

NEW YORK

Governor hopefuls push transparency

ALBANY | Republican candidate for governor Carl Paladino said he would eliminate New York’s notorious “three-men-in-a-room” practice used in negotiating any big deals, including the annual state budget.

It’s a rare, bold strike at the closed-door negotiations among the governor and Senate and Assembly leaders that have become key to substantial accomplishments but also are at the heart of Albany’s dysfunction and power politics.

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