Reuters: California on Thursday adopted a first-ever rule to slash carbon emissions in automotive fuels, and spur the market for cleaner gasoline alternatives, after a last-ditch appeal to ethanol advocates who fought the plan. The low-carbon fuel standard approved by the state’s influential air-quality regulators was hailed by backers as an historic initiative that the rest of the United States and other countries were likely to emulate. It marks the first attempt by government …