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A winter storm that caused multiple traffic collisions in Texas on Tuesday is heading toward the Mid-Atlantic and Northeast, where it could dump a half-foot of snow on the already snow-drenched region, news services reported.

WASHINGTON — The head of the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration told trucking industry leaders Tuesday the agency was within its rights to ban texting by commercial drivers through a reinterpretation of existing rules, but that more explicit bans were on the way.

Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood has unveiled sample legislation designed to help states write bans against texting while driving.

Tank trucks filled with gasoline could be the favored surface transportation weapon for terrorists seeking to attack U.S. targets, according to a new study of potential terrorist uses of highway-borne hazardous materials.

Clean Energy Fuels Corp. said Tuesday it will expand its network of liquefied natural gas stations in southern California in large cities and along major truck routes, with a goal to expand into the Southwest.

The Environmental Protection Agency has not yet said how it intends to require heavy trucks to curb greenhouse gas emissions, but a report on the agency’s Web site projects that an advanced notice of rulemaking could be posted as early as June.

Consumer confidence fell this month to its lowest level since April 2009, the New York-based Conference Board reported.

A year into the Obama administration, American Trucking Associations President Bill Graves said the trucking industry’s challenges are primarily regulatory, rather than legislative, because of the gridlock that has enveloped Congress since last year.