THE INFLUENCE GAME: Victims' families persuasive (AP)

AP - Congress is on the verge of passing far-reaching airline safety legislation, and a lot of the credit goes to an unlikely band of lobbyists: the families and friends of the 50 people who died in a regional airline crash in western New York more than a year ago.

SPIN METER: Regional air safety gains questioned (AP)

AP - A year after the fiery crash of a regional airliner killed 50 people near Buffalo, N.Y., regulators have missed their own deadlines for pilot-fatigue regulations for the smaller carriers and are still rewriting rules to improve crew training. They also haven't done anything to address tiring long-distance commutes by regional companies' pilots.