NATIONAL BRIEFS

WASHINGTON: EPA chief's emails probed

The agency's inspector general is looking into Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Lisa Jackson's use of alias email accounts in official business. The audit will determine whether EPA officials followed federal laws and regulations in using secondary email accounts the public didn't know about. The EPA has said such accounts are standard practice, but their use raised concerns that the accounts could be used to skirt record-keeping and transparency requirements. Republicans on the House Science Committee, led by Chairman Ralph Hall of Texas, requested a review in November following reports that Jackson used a secondary account under the name "Richard Windsor." An EPA spokeswoman said Wednesday the agency welcomes the audit and has nothing to hide.

Wrangle over voting tactics

Senate Democrats and Republicans sparred Wednesday over whether voter ID laws, attempts to purge voter rolls and restricted early voting were legitimate efforts to stop fraud or mainly Republican strategies to hold down Democratic votes. Sen. Bill Nelson (D-Fla.) and former Florida Gov. Charlie Crist, who recently turned Democrat, said the state GOP aimed its efforts at Hispanics and African-Americans. At a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing, Sen. Chuck Grassley of Iowa defended the efforts to clear the rolls of ineligible voters. Sen. Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) had sharp exchanges with two Republican secretaries of state over attempts to find ineligible voters.

COLORADO: Storm poses travel delays

A storm bearing down on the Rocky Mountain region brought high winds and heavy snowfall, leaving crews in Denver and elsewhere to hurriedly clear roads as many people prepared for holiday travels. The storm has already caused difficult driving conditions in western Colorado that prompted the closing of Colorado 65 over the 11,333-foot Grand Mesa, near Grand Junction.