Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) sent messages to all members of Congress terminating their positions, stating “Your performance has not been adequate to justify further employment.” All Democratic and independent members of Congress, as well as two Republicans, found themselves locked out of their offices after everything inside had been confiscated.   read more

Emergency rooms find themselves at the front lines of the addiction epidemic. "It is unique that they're going to do a variety of measures to avoid" using opioids, Kolodny said of St. Joseph's. "In many cases, we're exposing people to opioids when we don't need to be." Other U.S. hospitals have worked to reduce the use of opioids, including chronic pain policies that limit their use, using prescription monitoring programs, and educating physicians to use non-opioid alternatives.   read more

Mike Glasgow,says he asked district engineer Mike Prysby how often staffers would need to check the water for proper levels of phosphate, a chemical to prevent lead corrosion from the pipes. Prysby's response: "You don't need to monitor phosphate because you're not required to add it." Glasgow said he was taken aback by the remark; treating drinking water was routine practice. "That one meeting was the difference between this city being poisoned and not being poisoned," said Lee-Anne Walters.   read more

Parts of Oklahoma now match northern California for the nation's most shake prone. Overall, 7 million people live in areas where the risk has dramatically jumped for earthquakes caused by disposal of wastewater, a byproduct of drilling for oil and gas. In a first-of-its-kind effort, the U.S. Geological Survey on Monday released a map for risks of damaging quakes in the current year. Past efforts looked at 50-year risks and didn't include man-made quakes.   read more

Advertising by Ascension Health will urge veterans to call about Veterans Choice, the cornerstone of the VA overhaul. Vets are wary of proposals to privatize the VA health system and fear that draining off patients and dollars could hurt the VA. Ascension estimates its efforts could lead to 24,000 veterans a year getting care, helping the VA reduce its backlog of cases. Some veterans groups are skeptical, however, about whether Ascension can live up to its marketing.   read more

The FTC's action is the latest blow to VW, which also faces more than $20 billion in potential fines for violating U.S. clean air regulations. "For years Volkswagen's ads touted the company's 'Clean Diesel' cars even though it now appears Volkswagen rigged the cars with devices designed to defeat emissions tests," said FTC Chairwoman Edith Ramirez. "Our lawsuit seeks compensation for the consumers who bought affected cars based on Volkswagen's deceptive and unfair practices."   read more

Attorneys general in the U.S. Virgin Islands and Massachusetts are investigating whether Exxon Mobil deceived the public about the effects of climate change. The investigations came as nearly two dozen state attorneys general said they'd formed a coalition to explore legal ways to combat global warming by filing lawsuits and briefs or by opening environmental, consumer or financial probes. Former VP Al Gore likened the approach to how states took on the tobacco industry decades ago.   read more

The years of delays have come as supermarkets, convenience stores and other retailers that never wanted to be part of the law have fiercely lobbied against them. The move will leave the final step to a new president, despite the Obama administration's staunch support of menu labeling and other food policy to help Americans eat more healthfully. And it will give opponents more time to gather support for legislation that would roll back some of the requirements.   read more

A recent study commissioned by the county concluded that Turkey Point’s old cooling canal system was leaking polluted water into Biscayne Bay. This has raised alarm among county officials and environmentalists that the plant, which sits on the coastline, is polluting the bay’s surface waters and its fragile ecosystem. Samples of the water at various depths and sites around the power plant showed elevated levels of salt, ammonia, phosphorous and tritium, a radioactive isotope.   read more

The law appeared to be aimed at Planned Parenthood, which said on Friday that it could mean the end of birth control, cancer screenings, tests for diseases and other services for thousands of low-income women in Florida. Cecile Richards, the president of Planned Parenthood Federation of America, said in a statement that the new law seemed “designed to rip health care away from those most at risk.”   read more

In a letter to the heads of the Dept of Health and Human Services and the National Institutes of Health, Reps. Lloyd Doggett and Peter Welch and Sen. Bernie Sanders urged the agencies to step in to cut prices for Xtandi, saying it costs four times more in the U.S. than in some other developed countries. They want the NIH to consider overriding Xtandi's patent, which would allow for Xtandi's price to be reduced.   read more

Republicans' bid to defund Planned Parenthood was vetoed by President Obama, but anti-abortion politicians are achieving their goal with an aggressive state-by-state strategy. Funding cutbacks are forcing Planned Parenthood to drop health screenings serving thousands of low-income women. "It's been a non-stop assault — with devastating consequences," said the group's VP, Dawn Laguens. "At what point do you hit a tipping point where it has same impact as if a federal bill had passed?"   read more

Federal inspectors found violations that exposed children to potential electrocution, poisoning and other injuries. Examples included kitchen knives and cleaning chemicals left in places where children could get them; peeling paint; a leaking ceiling; a blocked emergency exit; a broken toilet seat; and an unlocked gate allowing children access to a high-voltage circuit box. Many facilities also lacked required paperwork showing that employees had been screened for criminal records.   read more

The systems collect data on high-risk drugs that can be viewed by doctors and officials to spot suspicious patterns. The aim is to stop "doctor shopping," where patients rack up multiple prescriptions from different doctors, either to satisfy their own drug addiction or to sell on the black market. The White House has sent letters to all 50 U.S. governors recommending that they require doctors to check the databases and require pharmacists to upload drug dispensing data on a daily basis.   read more

The recent terrorist attacks have pushed many Europeans to favor greater powers for law enforcement over privacy. But opponents say such measures should not undermine the region’s tough data protection rules. Major countries in the region have landed on opposite sides of the debate. A series of European proposals, if approved, would give intelligence agencies renewed powers to compel the likes of Apple, Google and Facebook to hand over encrypted information.   read more

Colorado, New Mexico and Utah joined with the Navajo and Ute Mountain tribes — whose land is crossed by the rivers — to compile a plan to monitor the waterways. They will also test the sediment in the delta where the San Juan empties into Lake Powell. They will share their data and will train first-responders and water users about what to do in the event of a flood or other emergency. Separately, the EPA released an updated plan for its own water-quality monitoring.   read more

The sheer number of restrictions in Indiana’s legislation made it distinct. It holds doctors liable if a woman has an abortion solely because of objections to the fetus’ race, sex or a disability. It also restricts fetal tissue donation and requires doctors to have admitting privileges at a hospital or to have an agreement with a doctor who does. Law professor Dawn Johnsen said the legislation was “a clear attempt to interfere and harm and chill doctors’ willingness to perform abortions.”   read more