In a bill that makes total sense yet for some reason took decades to even come to a vote, the Senate passed a bill that will require television commercials to play at the same volume as the shows they interrupt. The Commercial Advertisement Loudness Mitigation Act (CALM) (get it?) originally passed the House in December of last year and will need to go back there one last time before going to the president’s desk. As part of the bill, the FCC will have to devise regulation that aligns with international standards for digital tv, and if broadcasters or other video content providers can prove those new FCC regs are bad for them, they’ll be able to apply for a waiver and keep the commercials they’ve got loud. The bill was opposed by the United Federation of Monster Truck Show Marketers. (not really).