The FDA found one blood test to detect ovarian cancer wasn’t effective, yet medical professionals continued to rely on it, resulting in “unnecessary surgery to remove healthy ovaries.” Other women have had abortions after being told possibly inaccurate tests showed abnormalities in the fetus. “The problems are more prevalent than people want to recognize,” said FDA's Dr. Jeffrey E. Shuren. “Doctors and patients rely on these tests... If they get inaccurate results...people get hurt as a result.”   read more

Texas faces the greatest threat from drought and wildfires by 2050 and the second-greatest threat from extreme heat, with 115 dangerous heat days per year. However, the state has done little to prepare for the threat. Arkansas faces a high risk of wildfires coupled with an extreme flooding threat. That state has done virtually nothing to prepare for either catastrophe. Nevada’s prospects for drought aren’t too bad, but it has done nothing to prepare for it, according to the report.   read more

Smith, a formerly homeless ex-convict with a learning disability, was fired after he was interrogated by three security managers and told to sign a statement, which he could not read because he did not have his glasses with him. He signed it anyway because he did not want to argue and risk violating his parole. The controversy has resulted in “a groundswell of indignation spurred an online petition, calls for action against the retailer and hundreds of angry comments on social media.”   read more

This prohibition, which is unique among states that have adopted medical marijuana laws, is being challenged in court by two Libertarian candidates running for office. Claire Ball and Scott Schluter sued Attorney General Lisa Madigan and eight members of the Illinois Board of Elections in federal court, claiming the state’s prohibition on medical cannabis cultivators and dispensaries from making campaign contributions violates their First Amendment rights.   read more

A new report from the Department of Housing and Urban Development says the number of those living without proper housing has gone down every year since 2010. Last year, for example, the number of homeless in the U.S. dropped by 2%, or 11,742 individuals. Homelessness among youth and veterans declined even faster, according to ThinkProgress. Still, the number of homeless exceeds 560,000, with 69% of those people staying in shelters.   read more

U.S. law prohibits domestic abusers, drug addicts, fugitives and felons from buying guns, but not suspected terrorists. There are about 700,000 people on the terrorist watch list, and none of them are prohibited from buying a gun as a consequence of being on that list. “The majority of the victims in Paris were shot with Kalashnikov rifles, which are sold at...gun shows across this country. There is simply no excuse for Congress to not close this dangerous loophole,” said Sen. Feinstein.   read more

Experts said the rules don’t go far enough to really impact corporate inversions. For example, in response to the proposed regulations, Pfizer has reportedly begun to structure its purchase so that Allergan would technically be the buyer, even though Pfizer is making the purchase. Such a maneuver would, Pfizer believes, prevent the deal from being classified as an inversion and cause it to fall outside the scope of new federal rules.   read more

Since 1964 the fund has provided money for parks and conservation projects in every county in the U.S. But Bishop's goal is to turn the fund into a gift for oil and gas drillers. His bill not only would gut the LWCF, but would earmark 20% of its revenues to return to the energy industry to help finance oil and gas exploration. It would also severely hamper LWCF’s ability to purchase land and make it nearly impossible to do so in the West, an area particularly attractive to fossil fuel producers.   read more

“I have now seen firsthand how devastating profiling can be - written on the face of a member of my team,” Rosenbaum said. “This is, in my view, exactly what our profiling laws are meant to prevent. Black Lives Matter is a social and political movement, protected by the First Amendment. Association with Black Lives Matter does not create violence and does not deserve intrusion by the state.”   read more

The Bible calls on Christians to “welcome the stranger,” and Matthew 25:41-43 says “we cannot say to those in need, ‘you are not our problem.’” But governors such as Bobby Jindal of Louisiana and Pete Ricketts of Nebraska have essentially said the Syrians fleeing their war-torn land are not their problem. “The anti-refugee position has struck many observers as hypocritical," wrote Lee, since before the attacks they had "invoked their Christian faith...calling for tolerance."   read more

Consumer advocates have blasted Williams for his proposal. "His amendment benefits nobody but car dealers. And he’s a car dealer,” said CARS' Rosemary Shahan. Williams claimed cars shouldn’t be idled for minor fixes such as a safety sticker peeling off or other minor issues. “This is ridiculous," said Rep. Lois Capps. "(National Highway and Traffic Safety Administration) does not issue frivolous recalls. All safety recalls pose serious safety risks and should be fixed as soon as possible.”   read more

The surveys found that self-induced abortions were more common among women who had difficulty finding or getting to clinics that perform the procedure.The news comes in the wake of Texas’ new law that forced the closure of most of the states’ abortion clinics, which went from 41 in number three years ago to 17 today. Still more are likely to close, bringing the total down to 10 clinics unless the U.S. Supreme Court, which has agreed to review the law, overturns it.   read more

Some former inmates have pay-to-stay bills totaling tens of thousands of dollars. David Mahoney owes $21,000 for his stay in the Marion, Ohio, jail on drug charges. He’s now out of jail and is clean, but has a huge bill staring him in the face. “People that end up in jail are usually down on their luck anyway," he said. "They’re going through some trials and tribulations in life. Why focus on the people who are already struggling?”   read more

More than 300 veterans are awaiting execution on America's death rows, according to a new study. Veterans make up nearly 10% of the death row population in the U.S. Some fought in wars from Southeast Asia to Afghanistan, the Christian Science Monitor noted, before coming home and killing civilians in a “troubling contradiction to the traditionally valorous picture of returning soldiers.”   read more

Statistics show the gender pay gap ranges from 1.3% between women and men in the real estate industry to 5.4% in mining, quarrying, and oil and gas, even when controlled for factors such as job and tenure. Overall, the average woman will make just 79% of what a man does, according to a two-year survey of about 1.4 million full-time employees.   read more

The NFL franchise has been fighting a losing battle over the past two years with federal officials, including the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, which cancelled the team’s trademark use of Redskins on grounds that it disparaged Native Americans. In its appeal to the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals, the team cited numerous other trademarks that have not been cancelled despite their own provocative, if not offensive nature.   read more