News and Issues

The First Lady dunks with the Miami Heat. Perhaps she'll join her brother, Craig, coaching basketball as well teaching preparation of healthy meals. First Lady Michelle Obama and daughters Sasha and Malia also prepared burritos while volunteering at the DC Central Kitchen in Washington, DC, on Martin Luther King Day more »

Jeff Gerth and T. Christian Miller: As documented in a ProPublica series last year, the FDA has delayed for decades enacting tougher rules on acetaminophen. While generally considered safe when taken as recommended, relatively small overdoses have been shown to cause liver damage and even death. Ninfa Redmond, a toxicologist who helped carry out the 1977 panel’s exhaustive, three-year study, said she was surprised that such big doses continued to be sold 40 years later. more »

Pamela Prah writes: After four years of a fragile and uneven recovery, the US job machine is likely to kick into high gear in 2014. Even recession-battered states such as Arizona and Florida are expected to generate jobs at a healthier clip. Overall, the economy is projected to generate 2.6 million jobs in 2014 year, up from 2.2 million last year, largely on the strength of the country’s booming health care, energy and high-tech sectors. more »

Dr. Susan Wood, director, Jacobs Institute of Women’s Health, School of Public Health and Health Services, George Washington University, testified about the impact of [H.R. 7] on the private insurance market. "It is the nature of health insurance that insurers may no longer provide plans that include coverage which would come with burdensome regulatory requirements such as proposed in H.R. 7. Since approximately 60 percent of women of reproductive age, or 37 million women, get their health coverage through private insurance, this legislation could have a profound effect." On January 9, the House Judiciary Subcommittee on the Constitution and Civil Justice held a hearing on the “No Taxpayer Funding for Abortion Act” (H.R. 7). Speaking in support… more »