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| U.S. drops charges against Mississippi man in ricin letters case Tuesday, Apr 23, 2013 07:33 PM PDT  By Robbie Ward TUPELO, Mississippi (Reuters) - U.S. prosecutors dropped charges on Tuesday against a Mississippi man accused of sending ricin-laced letters to President Barack Obama, a U.S. senator and a state judge, according to court documents. The surprise decision came hours after Paul Kevin Curtis was released from a Mississippi jail on bond. Prosecutors said the "ongoing investigation has revealed new information," but provided no additional details, according to the court order dismissing the charges. Curtis told reporters he respected Obama. ... Full Story | Top |
| Arkansas governor signs private insurance option into law Tuesday, Apr 23, 2013 06:49 PM PDT  By Suzi Parker LITTLE ROCK, Arkansas (Reuters) - Arkansas's Democratic governor signed into law on Tuesday a plan to extend health insurance to more of the state's low-income residents in a move that could offer a model for other states wrestling with opposition to the federal government's Medicaid expansion plan. The Arkansas law uses federal Medicaid funds to buy private insurance for about 250,000 state residents who earn up to 133 percent of the poverty line, or $15,415 per year. ... Full Story | Top |
| U.S. sues Novartis, alleging kickbacks to pharmacies Tuesday, Apr 23, 2013 06:02 PM PDT  By Bernard Vaughan and Jonathan Stempel (Reuters) - The U.S. government filed a civil fraud lawsuit against Novartis AG on Tuesday, accusing a unit of the Swiss drug maker of causing the Medicare and Medicaid programs to pay tens of millions of dollars in reimbursements based on fraudulent, kickback-tainted claims. U.S. ... Full Story | Top |
| UK review warns on cosmetic injections, urges tougher rules Tuesday, Apr 23, 2013 04:45 PM PDT LONDON (Reuters) - Cosmetic treatment needs tougher regulation, particularly over the use of injectable anti-wrinkle fillers, which are a "crisis waiting to happen", according to a British review of the multibillion-dollar sector. An independent panel, commissioned by the government in the wake of the PIP breast implant scandal last year, said on Wednesday that dermal fillers should always need a prescription and only qualified people be allowed to use them. ... Full Story | Top |
| U.S. soldier accused of Afghan killings faces deadline for mental defense Tuesday, Apr 23, 2013 04:04 PM PDT  By Eric M. Johnson TACOMA, Washington (Reuters) - Attorneys for a U.S. soldier accused of killing 16 Afghan civilians in two rampages from his Army post last year must advise military prosecutors next month if they plan to pursue a mental health defense, a judge ruled on Tuesday. Prosecutors are seeking the death penalty against Robert Bales, a decorated veteran of four combat tours in Iraq and Afghanistan accused of gunning down villagers, mostly women and children, in attacks on their family compounds in Kandahar province in March 2012. ... Full Story | Top |
| Yum profit beats even as bird flu batters China sales Tuesday, Apr 23, 2013 03:32 PM PDT  (Reuters) - KFC parent Yum Brands Inc on Tuesday reported that quarterly profit fell less than Wall Street expected, despite a sharp drop in sales in its top China market, sending the company's shares up nearly 6 percent. The Louisville, Kentucky-based fast-food company also repeated its earnings forecast for the year, based on the better-than-expected first-quarter results. ... Full Story | Top |
| Three murder charges dismissed against Pa. abortion doctor Tuesday, Apr 23, 2013 03:31 PM PDT By Dave Warner PHILADELPHIA (Reuters) - A Pennsylvania judge dismissed three murder charges on Tuesday against a Philadelphia abortion doctor accused in a high-profile case of killing babies in what was described as a squalid clinic serving low-income women. Dr. Kermit Gosnell, 72, still faces charges of killing four infants and a woman who underwent an abortion and died at a nearby hospital after the procedure at his Women's Medical Society clinic in urban West Philadelphia. He could face the death penalty if convicted. ... Full Story | Top |
| George W. Bush to dedicate his presidential library Tuesday, Apr 23, 2013 02:43 PM PDT By Marice Richter DALLAS (Reuters) - Former President George W. Bush will step back into the spotlight on Thursday to dedicate his presidential library, along with President Barack Obama and former U.S. presidents Jimmy Carter, Bill Clinton and George H.W. Bush. The dedication will be the first meeting of the five living presidents since January 2009. First Lady Michelle Obama, former First Lady and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and former First Lady Barbara Bush, wife of George H.W. Bush and mother of George W. Bush, are expected to attend. ... Full Story | Top |
| Epilepsy drug in pregnancy tied to autism risk Tuesday, Apr 23, 2013 01:53 PM PDT By Genevra Pittman NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Women who take the epilepsy drug valproate during pregnancy are three times more likely to have a child with an autism spectrum disorder, suggests new research based on close to 700,000 babies born in Denmark. Previous studies have found more birth defects and lower intelligence among children of mothers who took valproate, but the new work represents the "strongest evidence to date" of a link between the drug and autism, according to an editorial published with the study on Tuesday. ... Full Story | Top |
| Childhood meningitis tied to lower achievement Tuesday, Apr 23, 2013 01:52 PM PDT By Genevra Pittman NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Kids who have had bacterial meningitis are less likely to finish high school and to be economically self-sufficient as adults, a new study suggests. The findings are consistent with past research showing that meningitis - inflammation around the brain and spinal cord - increases long-term risks of mental retardation and other disabilities stemming from brain tissue damage. But the results are unique in that researchers were able to track patients' educational and economic achievements into adulthood, according to Dr. ... Full Story | Top |
| Psychiatric insurance approval takes time in ERs Tuesday, Apr 23, 2013 01:51 PM PDT By Andrew M. Seaman NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Doctors spend about 40 minutes getting approvals from insurance companies to get a psychiatric patient from the emergency room to a hospital bed, according to a new study. In some cases, the researchers found the approval process took more than an hour, which the study's senior author said results in patients being kept in ERs longer and doctors taken away from other duties. "For anyone who works in mental health, this is nothing new," said Dr. J. Wesley Boyd, from the Cambridge Health Alliance and Boston's Harvard Medical School. ... Full Story | Top |
| Same-day discharge after angioplasty seems safe Tuesday, Apr 23, 2013 01:03 PM PDT By Andrew M. Seaman NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - After angioplasty to improve blood flow to the heart, some patients may be able to go home from the hospital the same day without raising their risk of complications, according to a new review. Based on data from 37 previous studies, researchers found no differences in the number of deaths, heart attacks, serious bleeding or other complications among otherwise healthy people discharged the same day as their angioplasty procedure and those observed overnight at the hospital. ... Full Story | Top |
| Catholic Church withdraws subpoena to Obama on birth control Tuesday, Apr 23, 2013 11:47 AM PDT WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Scaling down a legal fight with the White House, the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of New York has agreed to drop a request for documents about the government's requirement of insurance coverage for birth control, a court filing on Monday said. The archdiocese sent a subpoena to President Barack Obama's administration in February asking for documents from White House staff, including Obama himself, for use in a church lawsuit against the contraception mandate. ... Full Story | Top |
| Senate panel backs Obama nominee for Medicare/Medicaid chief Tuesday, Apr 23, 2013 09:55 AM PDT  By David Morgan WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Barack Obama's nominee to oversee Medicare and Medicaid won the backing of a Senate panel on Tuesday, clearing the way for a vote by the full Senate that could make Marilyn Tavenner the programs' first official administrator since 2006. The Senate Finance Committee voted unanimously to endorse Tavenner as head of the U.S. Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS). ... Full Story | Top |
| Malaria turns comedy's Richard Curtis from laughter to tears Tuesday, Apr 23, 2013 06:57 AM PDT  By Barbara Lewis BRUSSELS (Reuters) - Brussels and Washington are the two great lobbying capitals of the world, where campaigners talk themselves hoarse trying to shift the political dial. Some of them have had the fortune to recruit British director and screenwriter Richard Curtis, whose powers of persuasion move hearts as well as minds. Known for his romantic comedies, such as "Four Weddings and a Funeral" and "Notting Hill", Curtis has turned his hand to a didactic tragedy - "Mary and Martha" - being screened across the globe to coincide with world malaria day on April 25. ... Full Story | Top |
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