The House approved three bills Thursday setting up federal grants and taking other steps to battle the drug epidemic, the last of 18 measures on the issue the chamber overwhelmingly passed this week. Members of both parties hailed the measures, though Democrats complained that none provided any money for the programs and anti-drug advocates called the bills a needed but modest first step.   read more

Despite Monsanto’s claim that its Roundup weed-killer is “safe enough to drink,” four Nebraska farmers say the widely used herbicide gave them non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma. All four of the plaintiffs say they were diagnosed with non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma after being exposed to Roundup year after year. They claim, among other things, that Monsanto mislabeled the product, in defiance of the “body of recognized scientific evidence linking the disease to exposure to Roundup.”   read more

The former detainees sued CACI in 2008. They claim employees of the company, which was hired to conduct interrogations at the U.S. prison in Iraq, conspired to have soldiers torture them. The plaintiffs say they were subjected to electrical shocks, sexual violence and forced nudity, and were deprived of food, water and oxygen. In the appeals hearing, Judge Keenan asked O'Connor why the private contractor should get more protection than the military for clear violations of laws against torture.   read more

"My interest, first and foremost, is transparency," said Leopold. "My case before the District Court was the best chance of ensuring this information would be revealed. That's a fact. It's too bad the ACLU didn't agree. Ultimately, it's the public who ends up shortchanged." Said ACLU's Jaffer: "We have invested more than five years in this suit, and in two related suits in New York, because we continue to believe that the government owes the public a fuller account of its drone policies."   read more

Three transgender rights advocates called on the department to abandon its proposed changes. Only Idaho, Ohio and Tennessee have legal policies against changing gender listings on birth certificates. "It really stands against where most of the country is on updating identity documents to accurately reflect who people are," said Arli Christian. Stephanie Mott predicted that the changes will cause more transgender youth to attempt suicide because the state will be rejecting their identities.   read more

The defense lawyers said they were not permitted to say what the evidence was, or what exactly happened to it, because the underlying issue was classified. But they characterized it as “favorable” to the defendants and “important or even critical” to any eventual trial. The defense said it was informed that Pohl had approved a plan by the government to give the defendants a government-prepared “summary of a substitute” for the original, classified evidence that is no longer available.   read more

The move to rethink "healthy" comes as dietary trends have shifted, with more people expressing concern about sugar and questioning low-fat or low-calorie diets. But any change in the term's regulatory definition could take years. The FDA's final rule on gluten-free labeling, for instance, took more than six years to complete. In a statement Tuesday, the FDA also noted that foods that do not meet all the current regulatory criteria for the term "healthy" are not necessarily unhealthy.   read more

The unusual case involves whether two lawyers should be held in criminal contempt for revealing details about the role of Felix Sater, a former Trump business associate, in orchestrating a Mafia-linked stock fraud scheme. The AP reported that, even after learning about Sater's criminal background, Trump tapped Sater to prospect for business on his behalf, giving Sater the title of senior adviser and an office in the Trump Organization's headquarters near to his own.   read more

The vans can drive alongside cars or buildings to find drugs or explosives that may be hidden inside. But because they use X-rays, which bounce back from the target, they may expose unknowing people to ionizing radiation, which can increase the risk of cancer. The vans are similar to airport body scanners that were removed by TSA in 2013. The NYPD has refused to release any records about how it uses the vans and what it does to protect people who may be in the vicinity.   read more

Government authorities have for years argued that allowing some legal hunting can help reduce the illegal killing of wolves and grizzly bears. Their theory — though there has been little scientific research to support it — has been that legalizing hunting helps reduce resentment among landowners, increase support for conservation and decrease poaching. But the new study offers the first evidence that government authorization of any legal killing of wolves appears to increase illegal killing.   read more

"A law against driving with THC in your bloodstream is not a law you can know you are obeying except by never smoking marijuana or never driving," said Kleinman. Rather than switching to a new kind of law as AAA recommends, states should consider simply making it a traffic violation, he suggests. Studies show using marijuana and driving roughly doubles the risk of a crash. By comparison, talking on a hands-free cellphone while driving — legal in all states — quadruples crash risk.   read more

The Justice Dept. warned Gov. McCrory that the law violates civil rights protections against sex discrimination in education and employment. Margaret Spellings, former Education Secretary to President George W. Bush, has found her leadership tested as she steers the UNC system between the conservatives who just appointed her and the federal agency she once led. She was criticized by LGBT student groups for not doing more to lobby against the law before it was approved.   read more

While Republican lawmakers have fought to protect coal-fired power plants, data show their home states are often the ones benefiting most from the nation's shift to renewable energy. Leading the way in new wind projects are GOP strongholds Texas, Oklahoma and Kansas, home to some of the leading critics of climate science and renewable energy. Nearly all the states that have sued to stop the Clean Power Plan have GOP governors.   read more

The ACLU found 85 out of 110 incidents in which police prolonged "routine stops far beyond the time reasonably required to resolve the underlying issue, solely to pursue investigations of immigration status or wait for immigration officials to respond," Lyall wrote. "In many of these cases, officers are going out of their way to transfer custody to U.S. Border Patrol, regardless of the delay that results." Often, legal residents and/or citizens were detained because of false information.   read more

At the heart of the controversy is the gesture the women chose: Did it represent a divisive political statement, a matter of free speech, or just a case of students showing their sense of accomplishment as graduation draws near? Iraq vet John Burk said the women were identifying with Black Lives Matter activists “known for inflicting violent protest." But others said it's often a pop culture symbol. “For them it’s...a sign that means unity and pride and sisterhood," said Iraq vet Mary Tobin.   read more

FDA says only 37,500 physicians had completed voluntary training programs by March 2015, less than half the targeted 80,000. Surveys showed 40% of prescribers were unaware of the programs more than a half-year after launch. Prescription opioid overdoses have been rising steadily for well over a decade, reaching nearly 19,000 in 2014 — the highest number on record. Total opioid overdoses exceeded 28,600 that year when combined with heroin, which many switch to after being hooked on painkillers.   read more