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Marcin Okupniak/Dreamstime/TNS

Baltimore City school system sues drug companies over allegedly inflated price of insulin

Current News / News & Features /

BALTIMORE — The Baltimore City Board of School Commissioners is suing Eli Lilly and Co., UnitedHealth Group, CVS and several other drug manufacturers for allegedly colluding to inflate the cost of insulin.

Baltimore City Schools offers health insurance to more than 9,000 employees and their dependents, and one of the benefits is paying a “...Read more

Katja Ridderbusch/KFF Health News/TNS

Beyond hard hats: Mental struggles become the deadliest construction industry danger

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If you or someone you know may be experiencing a mental health crisis, contact the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline by dialing or texting “988.”

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BIRMINGHAM, Ala. — Frank Wampol had a dark realization when he came across some alarming data a few years ago: More than 5,000 male construction workers die from suicide annually — five ...Read more

Megan Jelinger/AFP/GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA/TNS

Voters backed abortion rights but state judges have final say

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In November, Montana voters safeguarded the right to abortion in the state’s constitution. They also elected a new chief justice to the Montana Supreme Court who was endorsed by anti-abortion advocates.

That seeming contradiction is slated to come to a head this year. People on polar sides of the abortion debate are preparing to fight over ...Read more

Nick Oxford/AFP/Getty Images North America/TNS

Maternal death reviews get political as state officials intrude

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Every state has a committee of medical and public health experts tasked with investigating deaths that occur during and after pregnancy.

But as data paints a clearer picture of the impact that state policies such as abortion bans and Medicaid expansion can have on maternal health, leaders in some states are rushing to limit their review ...Read more

Terrence Antonio James/Chicago Tribune/TNS

Donald Trump's mass deportation pledge could test Chicago's immigrant protections

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CHICAGO — President-elect Donald Trump’s vow to enact mass deportations — and his famous antipathy toward Chicago — have girded local immigration activists for the immediate aftermath of his inauguration.

But how would such an effort, which has not happened before in modern U.S. history, actually unfold? And how real are Trump’s ...Read more

DREAMSTIME/TNS

1 in 10 new dads face postpartum depression. Here's what to know

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While postpartum depression is often associated with mothers, research shows fathers also face significant mental health challenges after welcoming a new baby.

A new study published in the Journal of Affective Disorders found about one in 10 men experience depression during the postnatal period, shedding light on an often-overlooked aspect of ...Read more

Courtesy Jessie Mazar/KFF Health News/TNS

Midwives blame California rules for hampering birth centers amid maternity care crisis

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Jessie Mazar squeezed the grab handle in her husband’s pickup and groaned as contractions struck her during the 90-minute drive from her home in rural northeastern California to the closest hospital with a maternity unit.

She could have reached Plumas District Hospital, in Quincy, in just seven minutes. But it no longer delivers babies.

...Read more

Mark Capelli/NOAA Fisheries/TNS

Palisades fire threatens last population of steelhead trout in the Santa Monica Mountains

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Rain might bring relief from wildfires searing Los Angeles County but could spell disaster for the only known population of Southern California steelhead trout in the Santa Monica Mountains.

The destructive Palisades fire appears to have scorched the entirety of the state and federally endangered trout’s accessible habitat in Topanga Creek, a...Read more

Gaza ceasefire and hostage deal: Why now and what next?

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A much-anticipated Gaza ceasefire and hostage deal is set to take effect on Jan. 19, 2025 – subject to an Israeli government vote on the package scheduled for the morning of Jan. 16.

The breakthrough comes 15 months into the bloody conflict sparked by an Oct. 7 2023, attack by Hamas gunmen in which about 1,200 Israelis were killed ...Read more

Biden’s move to remove Cuba from terror list continues ‘yo-yo’ policy likely to be reversed by Trump

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The Biden administration has signaled to Congress its intention to remove Cuba’s designation as a state sponsor of terrorism.

But here’s the twist: The move will only become legal upon the publication of a Federal Register notice – and that will likely happen under President Joe Biden’s successor, Donald Trump, who looks set ...Read more

Luiz C. Ribeiro/New York Daily News/TNS

Trump's Environmental Protection Agency pick worked for Musk-backed advocacy group

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WASHINGTON — Lee Zeldin, President-elect Donald Trump’s choice to run the Environmental Protection Agency, has been a consultant to a wide swath of conservative organizations, including one of Elon Musk’s preferred dark money advocacy groups, according to new ethics disclosures.

Zeldin’s work for the Musk-backed group and others, ...Read more

Myung J. Chun/Los Angeles Times/TNS

Altadena winds were not powerful enough to shut off transmission lines before fire, Edison CEO asserts

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LOS ANGELES — The head of Southern California Edison said Wednesday that winds blowing in Eaton Canyon on Jan. 7 were not strong enough to merit de-energizing a powerful transmission electrical line that is now being investigated as a possible ignition point for a fire that devastated a large swath of Altadena.

Residents who live near Eaton ...Read more

Christina House/Los Angeles Times/TNS

Frustration grows as LA fire victims demand to get back into their decimated neighborhoods

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LOS ANGELES — As winds began to die down Wednesday, there was growing despair and frustration in the vast fire zones among residents who were demanding to get back into their neighborhoods.

A brigade of firefighters spent the day reinforcing containment lines and cooling hot spots in the Palisades and Eaton fires to lessen the risk that ...Read more

Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images North America/TNS

Speaker Johnson removes Ohio's Turner as head of House Intelligence Committee

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WASHINGTON — Representative Mike Turner, a longtime defense hawk, has been removed as chairman of the powerful House Intelligence Committee, House Speaker Mike Johnson said.

The abrupt demotion, particularly so close to an inauguration, was highly unusual. Johnson said he had nothing bad to say about the veteran Ohio congressman. “It’s ...Read more

Dreamstime/Dreamstime/TNS

Georgia student suffers self-inflicted gunshot wound at middle school

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ATLANTA — A Cobb County student is in critical condition after she suffered an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound at Lindley Middle School in Mableton, Ga., on Wednesday afternoon, officials said.

“This afternoon, a student at Lindley Middle School tragically used a firearm to commit self-harm, prompting a code red,” the Cobb County ...Read more

Attorney General Bob Ferguson/TNS

In inaugural address, Washington's new Gov. Bob Ferguson says he's 'here to reform' government

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Washington has a new governor for the first time in a dozen years. And Gov. Bob Ferguson made clear in his inaugural address on Wednesday that he’s ready to bolster bipartisanship and buck the status quo.

His speech came during a joint legislative session in the House chamber just after noon Wednesday, Jan. 15, the day after predecessor Jay ...Read more

Dominic Gwinn/Getty Images North America/TNS

Democrats: Treasury nominee Scott Bessent avoided Medicare tax on hedge fund earnings

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WASHINGTON — Senate Democrats are gearing up for a fight against Scott Bessent, President-elect Donald Trump’s pick for Treasury secretary, with questions about his fitness to hold the office based on a review of his tax returns.

The billionaire hedge fund manager has largely flown under the radar among a field of more controversial ...Read more

Pool/Getty Images North America/TNS

Analysis: President Biden's farewell speech comes too late for many Americans

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President Joe Biden’s farewell speech Wednesday night came too late for many Americans, including members of his Democratic Party who wanted him to step aside before the primary.

The doggedness that marked Biden’s early congressional career, with him becoming known as a widowed dad traveling home every night on Amtrak to be with his sons, ...Read more

Pool/Getty Images North America/TNS

Biden cites threat from 'extreme wealth' in farewell address

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WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden warned Americans of a “dangerous concentration of power” in the hands of a “very few ultrawealthy people” and the impact he feared it would have on the country’s democracy as he delivered a farewell address Wednesday from the Oval Office.

“Today an oligarchy is taking shape in America — of ...Read more

News briefs

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Trump blames Newsom for Los Angeles wildfires. How has California governor responded?

President-elect Donald Trump is treating California Gov. Gavin Newsom “as his punching bag,” triggering an extraordinary battle between an incoming president and a governor at a time when thousands are suffering and dozens are dying from the wildfires that...Read more