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The latest on the Key Bridge collapse, New York puts forth legislation to get clean energy projects on the grid and Wisconsin and other states join a federal summer food program to help feed kids across the country.

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Republicans float conspiracy theories on the collapse of Baltimore's Key Bridge, South Carolina's congressional elections will use a map ruled unconstitutional, and the Senate schedules an impeachment trial for Homeland Secretary Mayorkas.

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Historic wildfires could create housing and health issues for rural Texans, a Kentucky program helps prison parolees start a new life, and descendants of Nicodemus, Kansas celebrate the Black settlers who journeyed across the 1870s plains seeking self-governance.

FCC Internet Ruling Could Impact Rural Nevadans

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Wednesday, May 14, 2014   

CARSON CITY, Nev. - The Federal Communications Commission is expected to vote Thursday on a proposal that could create an Internet "fast lane" and impact rural areas in Nevada and across the nation.

Basically, the FCC could approve action that would allow Internet service providers to sell faster Internet speeds to businesses that can afford it.

While the potential changes are "subtle," Dee Davis, founder and president of the Center for Rural Strategies, said he fears they would be another blow to areas of the nation still waiting for affordable high-speed service.

"Rural communities who haven't yet really gotten the full access to the power of the Internet are going to be left out when these rules shake down," he said.

Davis chairs the National Rural Assembly, a coalition of organizations with the goal of building a stronger, more vibrant rural America.

FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler has tried to mute criticism, claiming on the agency's website that there "is no turnaround in policy" and "behavior that harms consumers or competition will not be permitted." Still, Davis is concerned that changes to the rules will give big providers the chance to play favorites.

"What we're going to see is fewer start-ups, fewer mom-and-pop, rural, untethered, inner-city kinds of organizations being able to make their mark," he said.

The FCC is set to review proposed changes when it meets Thursday. The bottom line, Davis said, is that the FCC needs to keep the Internet "fair and open" - a concept that net neutrality has protected.


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