In other news from Washington, the Senate has advanced a long-delayed effort to overhaul the nation’s food safety system. On Wednesday, the Senate voted 74 to 25 to begin debate on a measure that would expand the regulatory authority of the Food and Drug Administration and impose new restrictions on farmers and food companies. The bill would allow the FDA to order recalls, instead of leaving it up to corporations to voluntarily do so. The bill would also require mandatory safety plans, increase FDA oversight, and make it easier to determine the source of contamination. The House approved its version of the measure more than a year ago. More than a dozen people have died and thousands have been sickened in national outbreaks of food-borne illness due to contamination over the past several years.