First Edition: November 19, 2018
Today's early morning highlights from the major news organizations.
Kaiser Health News:
Hospitals Follow Big Pharma Into Direct-To-Consumer Advertising
The scene is shadowy, and the background music foreboding. On the TV screen, a stream of beleaguered humans stand in an unending line. “If you’re waiting patiently for a liver transplant, it could cost you your life,” warns the narrator.One man pulls another out of the queue, signaling an escape. Both smile. (Luthra, 11/19)
Kaiser Health News:
In Throes Of Turkey Salmonella Outbreak, Don’t Invite Illness To Your Table
Many who fell ill reported preparing or eating such products as ground turkey, turkey parts and whole birds. Some had pets who ate raw turkey pet food; others worked at turkey processing plants or lived with someone who did. Late Thursday, Jennie-O Turkey Store Sales LLC of Barron, Wis., recalled more than 91,000 pounds of raw ground turkey products that may be connected to the illnesses. (Aleccia, 11/19)
Kaiser Health News:
Gun Control Vs. Mental Health Care: Debate After Mass Shootings Obscures Murky Reality
After the recent mass shooting in Thousand Oaks, Calif., in which 11 people were killed at a country music bar, President Donald Trump struck a familiar refrain: “It’s a mental health problem,” he said of the gunman, Ian David Long. “He was a very sick puppy.” Similarly, after a school shooting in Parkland, Fla., that killed 17 students and staff members in February, Trump tweeted that there were “so many signs that the shooter was mentally disturbed.” (Waters, 11/19)
Kaiser Health News:
New Congress To Tackle Burning Health Care Issues, Including Drug Prices
Voters ranked health care as the top issue facing the country after the midterms, according to CBS News exit polling. KHN senior correspondent Sarah Jane Tribble joined “Red and Blue” anchor Elaine Quijano to discuss how Republicans and Democrats are responding to the American public’s call to action — with a focus on skyrocketing prescription drug prices. Tribble and Quijano also explored how the midterms bolstered Medicaid expansion in a handful of states. (11/16)
Politico:
Medicaid Expansion Supporters Already Looking Toward 2020 Ballots
The California union that provided major funding for successful ballot campaigns to expand Medicaid in three red states this year is already looking for where to strike next to expand Obamacare coverage in the Donald Trump era. Leaders of SEIU-United Healthcare Workers West declined to identify which states they might target in 2020. But the six remaining states where Medicaid could be expanded through the ballot are on the group's radar: Florida, Mississippi, Missouri, Oklahoma, South Dakota and Wyoming. (Ollstein, 11/16)
The Hill:
Dem Gains Put Sunbelt In Play For 2020
Democrats believe that replicating these wins in the Sunbelt region in 2020 could help offset Midwest states that appear to be slipping further from Democrats. Both [Sen.- elect Kyrsten] Sinema and Sen.-elect Jacky Rosen (D-Nev.) relentlessly focused their messaging on health care and protections for pre-existing conditions coverage, drawing sharp contrasts with Republican opponents who had backed GOP efforts to repeal the Affordable Care Act, also known as ObamaCare. (Hagen, 11/18)
The New York Times:
California Fire Hits ‘Rehab Riviera,’ Putting Addiction Care In Jeopardy
At Creative Care’s serene hilltop campus in Malibu, Calif., patients typically pay more than $35,000 a month to be treated for addiction and mental health problems against the backdrop of a spectacular Pacific Ocean view. On Friday, just a few hours after an early-morning evacuation order from the city, all anyone could see were flames. ... Malibu has one of the largest concentrations of addiction treatment centers and sober living homes in the United States, with at least one per square mile, according to data from the federal Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration. Luxury properties in the area, part of a coastal strip known as Rehab Riviera, often attract paparazzi hoping for a glimpse of wealthy clients like Ben Affleck and Britney Spears. (Hsu, 11/16)
The Associated Press:
In Smoldering Wildfire Ruins, Life Goes On For A Hardy Few
Brad Weldon lost his home to fire when he was a kid, so when a deadly wildland blaze came roaring toward his ranch house in the pines where he lives with his 89-year-old blind mother, he wasn’t going to let disaster strike twice. Weldon and his mother’s caregiver, armed only with a garden hose and buckets, successfully fought the flames for 24 hours. At times, they had to lie down in the dirt to “avoid burning up” as 60 mph (97 kph) winds drove flames through the forest. (11/18)
The Associated Press:
Rain Could Hinder Search For Victims Of California Wildfire
The search for remains of victims of the devastating Northern California wildfire has taken on new urgency as rain in the forecast could complicate those efforts while also bringing relief to firefighters on the front lines. Up to 400 people fanned out Sunday to search the ash and rubble where homes once stood before flames roared through the Sierra foothills town of Paradise and surrounding communities, killing at least 77 people in the deadliest U.S. wildfire in a century. (Thanawala, 11/19)
Los Angeles Times:
California Fires: Crews Boost Containment In Deadly Wildfires
By Sunday morning, the blaze was 60% contained. But forecasters expect gusty winds will bring in critical fire weather conditions across portions of the western slopes of the northern Sierra. Officials said smoke from the blaze would continue to bring poor air quality across the region through Tuesday. In Southern California, the Woolsey fire has charred 96,949 acres and destroyed about 1,452 structures. By Sunday night, it was 91% contained and Cal Fire said it expects full containment by Thursday. (Tchekmedyian, Alpert Reyes and Reyes-Velarde, 11/18)
The New York Times:
Air Quality In California: Devastating Fires Lead To A New Danger
The wildfires that have laid waste to vast parts of California are presenting residents with a new danger: air so thick with smoke it ranks among the dirtiest in the world. On Friday, residents of smog-choked Northern California woke to learn that their pollution levels now exceed those in cities in China and India that regularly rank among the worst. (Turkewitz and Richtel, 11/16)
The New York Times:
California’s Fires Wrecked Its Air Quality: Here’s How To Protect Yourself
The devastating wildfires that have ravaged parts of California brought with them plumes of smoke, shrouding some communities in a soupy black fog. Air pollution like that is full of tiny particles that can cause health problems, ranging from temporary discomfort to long-term heart and lung diseases. (Fortin, 11/17)
San Jose Mercury News:
Camp Fire: More Smoke Blowing Into Bay Area Before Rains
While there’s a strong chance shifting winds and rain will help clear out smoke in the Bay Area just in time for Thanksgiving Day, air quality here could get worse before it gets better. Residents of the area should continue to monitor air quality and take steps to protect their health, especially by staying indoors, officials say. “We’re expecting winds to bring more smoke into the Bay Area on top of what’s already here,” Kristine Roselius, a spokeswoman for the Bay Area Air Quality District, said Sunday. “Basically right now we’re seeing unhealthy air quality throughout most of the Bay Area.” (Geha, 11/18)
Los Angeles Times:
Trying To Get A Handle On California's Deadly Wildfires Has Lawmakers Flummoxed
This was going to be easy, I thought foolishly. Ask some legislators and experts for their ideas on how to control California’s deadly wildfire epidemic. What should state government do about it? But they basically didn’t have a clue. And who could fault them? It’s like asking how you stop hurricanes or tornadoes or earthquakes. It’s all part of nature. You try to prepare. (Skeoton, 11/19)
The Wall Street Journal:
Pfizer To Raise Prices On 41 Drugs In January
Pfizer Inc. plans to resume its practice of raising drug prices early next year after bowing to pressure from President Trump over the summer when the company rolled back some increases. Pfizer, among the world’s biggest drugmakers by sales, won’t be raising prices as much as it has in past years. It said it would raise the list prices of 41 of its prescription drugs, or 10% of its portfolio, in January. The price increases were first reported by The Wall Street Journal earlier Friday. (Rockoff and Hopkins, 11/16)
Politico:
Pfizer Raises Drug Prices Again, Rebuking Trump
Trump attacked Pfizer in July after the company raised prices, just weeks after he announced a drug pricing plan he claimed would result in "historic" price cuts. Trump accused the company of "taking advantage of the poor & others unable to defend themselves," and Pfizer a day later agreed to cancel the price increases. Pfizer at the time said the rollback would give Trump an opportunity to work on his administration's drug price plan. The company said it would reinstate price increases at the end of the year if the administration's drug pricing plan didn't take effect. (Karlin-Smith, 11/16)
Modern Healthcare:
Soaring Brand-Name Drug Prices More Than Offset Growing Generic Use
Cleveland Clinic implemented an entire supply chain and treatment protocol for one drug to ensure that it is not wasted. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved Biogen's Spinraza, the first drug it cleared to treat spinal muscular atrophy, about two years ago. The first year's supply of the potentially lifesaving therapy is about $750,000, and then $375,000 a year thereafter, said Jeffrey Rosner, senior director of pharmacy contracting and purchasing at Cleveland Clinic. (Kacik, 11/16)
Stat:
EpiPen May Have A Lot Of Value ... But Only If It Costs $24
In fact, the value of a twin-pack of the widely used allergy-relief device is just $24 a year, according to a new analysis based on cost effectiveness benchmarks. With the help of simulation models, the researchers reached this conclusion by assuming that EpiPen and similar devices could provide a 10-fold drop in the risk of dying from a peanut allergy, although their value would hit $36 if every prospective patient carried a device, which is unlikely. However, the value would climb to $264 by assuming the devices offered a 100-fold reduced risk of dying. (Silverman, 11/16)
Stat:
Gottlieb Pushes For Funding To Speed Gene Therapy Reviews
The Food and Drug Administration is working to increase its investment in reviewing gene therapy products, Commissioner Scott Gottlieb said Friday. ... Gottlieb said he has had internal discussions about trying to increase funding and staffing to review those products. An FDA spokesperson said Gottlieb is looking to increase the budget by $50 million so the agency can hire 60 additional reviewers. (Swetltiz, 11/16)
Cleveland Plain Dealer:
Drug Company Raised Opioid Treatment Price By 600 Percent To Capitalize On Crisis, Says New Report From Sen. Rob Portman
"The fact that one company dramatically raised the price of its naloxone drug and cost taxpayers tens of millions of dollars in increased drug costs, all during a national opioid crisis, no less, is simply outrageous," [Sen. Rob] Portman continued, pledging his subcommittee will "continue its efforts to protect taxpayers from drug manufacturers that are exploiting loopholes in the Medicare and Medicaid system in order to profit from a national opioid crisis." (Eaton, 11/18)
The Wall Street Journal:
Opioid Industry Takes New York To Court Over New Levy
Opioid makers and distributors are fighting a novel New York state law that aims to collect hundreds of millions of dollars from the industry to help defray costs of the opioid crisis, with some companies re-engineering their supply chain to avoid the new tax. Companies and trade groups have argued in three legal challenges filed in recent months that the law, which seeks $600 million over six years, is unconstitutional. They point to a lawsuit New York’s attorney general has already filed against major opioid industry players to recoup money for the state, and say the tax is an improper end-run around resolution of that case. (Randazzo, 11/19)
The Associated Press:
Virginia County Gets Approval To Open Needle Exchange
A county in Southwest Virginia plans to open the state’s third needle exchange. The Roanoke Times reports that the state has given Smyth County permission to open an exchange in Marion. State health department HIV prevention planner Bruce Taylor said an opening date hasn’t been set yet and local funding hasn’t yet been secured. (11/18)
The Hill:
FDA Tobacco Crackdown Draws Fire From Right
The Trump administration is under fire from GOP lawmakers and conservative groups over its proposed crackdown on e-cigarettes and menthol tobacco products. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) on Thursday proposed sweeping new restrictions on the sale of e-cigarettes in an effort to cut down on teenage vaping. The agency also said it would seek to ban menthol-flavored traditional cigarettes and flavored cigars. (Weixel, 11/17)
Los Angeles Times:
The FDA Is Taking Aim At Menthol And Other Tobacco Flavorings. Here’s Why That May Be Tricky
The Food & Drug Administration this week announced new initiatives aimed at stemming the increase in young Americans’ use of tobacco and its primary psychoactive agent, nicotine. The object of FDA Commissioner Scott Gottlieb’s ire was flavorings — those minty, sweet, nutty or even salty flavors that cigarette and e-cigarette manufacturers add to their products to make them more enticing. (Healy, 11/17)
The New York Times:
A Juul Case For $5,000?
Michael Saiger doesn’t smoke e-cigarettes, but many of his friends like Juul, so he began to tinker with designs to make it feel more elegant. “Back in the day, people used to have a beautiful Cartier lighter, or a really cool monogrammed lighter,” said Mr. Saiger, the founder and creative director of Miansai, a jewelry company known for men’s bracelets. “I wanted something that feels nostalgic paired to something that’s new and modern.” (Kurutz, 11/16)
The Associated Press:
Judge Allows Class-Action Lawsuit By Mentally Ill Veterans
Thousands of Navy and Marine Corps veterans of Iraq and Afghanistan who developed post-traumatic stress disorder but were denied Veterans Affairs health benefits have been given a green light to sue the military, under a ruling by a federal judge in Connecticut. Senior U.S. District Judge Charles Haight Jr. in New Haven on Thursday certified a class-action lawsuit against Navy Secretary Richard Spencer by veterans who say they were unfairly given less-than-honorable discharges for minor infractions linked to their untreated mental health problems. (Collins, 11/16)
ProPublica and The Southern Illinoisan:
'Pretty Much A Failure': HUD Inspections Pass Dangerous Apartments Filled With Rats, Roaches And Toxic Mold
Apartment complexes subsidized by HUD collectively house more than 2 million low-income families around the country. Some are run by public housing authorities and others are owned by private for-profit or nonprofit landlords. By law, the owners of such complexes must pass inspections demonstrating they are decent, safe and sanitary in exchange for millions of dollars in federal money each year. But as thousands of renters across the country have discovered, passing scores on HUD inspections often don’t match the reality of renters’ living conditions. The two-decade-old inspection system — the federal housing agency’s primary oversight tool — is failing low-income families, seniors and people with disabilities and undermining the agency’s oversight of billions of dollars in taxpayer-funded rental subsidies, an investigation by The Southern Illinoisan and ProPublica has found.(Parker, 11/16)
The Wall Street Journal:
‘I Was Hoping To Be Retired’: The Cost Of Supporting Parents And Adult Children
There is a growing number of baby boomers who find themselves caring for both their elderly parents and their adult children, rather than kicking back at retirement age. They face the strain of constant caregiving and derailed dreams, as well as added expenses. It’s one more reason why many Americans are entering their retirement years as unprepared financially as any generation in years. A 2014 study by the Pew Research Center found 52% of U.S. residents in their 60s—17.4 million people—are financially supporting either a parent or an adult child, up from 45% in 2005. Among them, about 1.2 million support both a parent and a child, more than double the number a decade earlier, according to an analysis of the Pew findings and census data. (Phillips and Gillers, 11/16)
NPR:
As Insurers Offer Discounts For Fitness Trackers, Wearers Should Step With Caution
When Kathy Klute-Nelson heads out a on neighborhood walk she often takes her two dogs — Kona, a boxer, and Max, a small white dog of questionable pedigree who barrels out the front door with barks of enthusiasm. The 64-year-old resident of Costa Mesa, Calif., says she was never one to engage in regular exercise – especially after a long day of work. But about three years ago, her employer, the Auto Club of Southern California, made her and her colleagues an offer she couldn't refuse: Wear a Fitbit, walk every day and get up to $300 off her yearly health insurance premiums. (O'Neill, 11/19)
The New York Times:
Tests Showed Children Were Exposed To Lead. The Official Response: Challenge The Tests
Mikaila Bonaparte has spent her entire life under the roof of the New York City Housing Authority, the oldest and largest public housing system in the country, where as a toddler she nibbled on paint chips that flaked to the floor. In the summer of 2016, when she was not quite 3 years old, a test by her doctor showed she had lead in her blood at levels rarely seen in modern New York. A retest two days later revealed an even higher level, one more commonly found in factory or construction workers and, in some cases, enough to cause irreversible brain damage. (Goodman, Baker and Glanz, 11/18)
The Associated Press:
Experts: Children At Risk Of Lead Poisoning In Chattanooga
Health experts are urging people living near a Chattanooga Superfund site to have their children tested for lead contamination. The Chattanooga Times Free Press reports the Environmental Protection Agency discussed its remediation plans at a Thursday community meeting after the Southside Chattanooga Lead Site was put on the Superfund National Priorities list in September. The EPA says full remediation could take five years and cost $26 million. (11/16)
The Associated Press:
Why A Salmonella Outbreak Shouldn't Ruin Your Thanksgiving
There's no reason to skip Thanksgiving dinner because of a salmonella outbreak linked to raw turkey. That's according to health officials who've been monitoring the year-old outbreak. But they say it's a reminder to properly prepare your holiday bird. Cooking kills salmonella. (11/18)
The Washington Post:
Salmonella Outbreak Continues In Turkey As Thanksgiving Approaches
Health officials say the investigation has been complex because the strain has been identified in a wide range of products, and investigators have been interviewing sick people to trace it back to a single source. Without a source or supplier of the product or products that are making people sick, officials say the best advice for consumers is to handle raw turkey carefully — including washing their hands, cutting boards and other utensils after touching raw turkey — and to cook it thoroughly to prevent illness. (Sun, 11/16)
The Wall Street Journal:
Experimental Drug Shows Promise Protecting Against Peanut Allergies
An experimental drug derived from peanuts protected some children and adolescents with life-threatening peanut allergies, according to a study, allowing the subjects to eat small amounts of peanuts without suffering a serious reaction. The drug, from a small California company, Aimmune Therapeutics, didn’t work for everyone, has some side effects and hasn’t been approved by regulators for sale. Yet the findings from the late-stage trial promise a potential new solution for peanut allergies, a growing concern. (Loftus, 11/18)
Stat:
Aimmune Peanut Allergy Treatment Is Effective, But Often Hard To Tolerate
Aimmune is trying to standardize a peanut allergy protection method already used on an ad hoc basis. AR101 is a capsule filled with a precise, measured quantity of peanut flour. The capsules are opened and mixed into food. The idea is simple: Expose people to small, escalating doses of ingestible peanut protein over time with the goal of desensitizing them enough to prevent severe reactions. (Feuerstein, 11/18)
The Washington Post:
Choosing Your Own Exit. For Some Who Are Terminally Ill, Hastening Their Own Death May Be The Answer.
Four months before he died, my father, a widower of six years and a hospice patient, asked me to discuss techniques for hastening his death, although he did not use that term: “I have lived too long. What can I do?” He was living in Wisconsin where medical aid-in-dying, which allows terminally ill patients to obtain a lethal dose of medicine from a physician, was not legal. At first, I was afraid that he was asking me, a physician, to go around the law and supply him with a lethal dose of sedatives. Fortunately, he was not. He was dying of lymphoma and geriatric “failure to thrive” (old age), but it was a slow and unpleasant process. What could he do, he wanted to know, to move things along? He was ready. (Harrington, 11/18)
The New York Times:
Rapid Cure Approved For Sleeping Sickness, A Horrific Illness
The first treatment for sleeping sickness that relies on pills alone was approved on Friday by Europe’s drug regulatory agency, paving the way for use in Africa, the last bastion of the horrific disease. With treatment radically simplified, sleeping sickness could become a candidate for elimination, experts said, because there are usually fewer than 2,000 cases in the world each year. (McNeil, 11/16)
Stat:
Ebola Response Suffers Another Setback, As WHO Evacuates Some Staff
The World Health Organization has evacuated 16 people working to contain the Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo following a rebel attack near the area where they were staying, Director General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said Saturday. The decision marks another violence-related setback for the response to the outbreak, but Tedros said in an interview with STAT that he hoped containment operations could resume as normal soon. (Branswell, 11/17)
The Washington Post:
What Should A Doctor Do When A Patient Gets Violent Or Assaults Them?
Violence from patients is a big problem in U.S. health care. According to the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, health-care and social assistance workers experience violent injuries that require days away from work at four times the rate of workers in the broader private sector. Assaults from patients can be particularly prevalent in high-risk settings, such as psychiatric units and emergency departments. The Bureau of Labor Statistics reports that psychiatric aides and technicians endure workplace violence at a rate 69 times greater than the national average. In a 2018 poll of more than 3,500 emergency physicians, 47 percent reported having been physically assaulted at work and 71 percent said they had witnessed another assault. After an assault from a patient, health-care workers face a complicated question: Should they press charges? (Morris, 11/18)
NPR:
Migrant Kids Reuniting With Parents In The U.S. Need Emotional Support To Thrive
For nearly a month, the two sisters — then ages 17 and 12 — traveled by road from their home in El Salvador to the southern border of the United States. They had no parent or relatives with them on that difficult journey in the fall of 2016 — just a group of strangers and their smugglers. Ericka and her younger sister Angeles started out in multiple cars, Ericka remembers. "In Mexico, it was buses. And we changed buses very often." (Chatterjee, 11/17)
The New York Times:
Why Standing Desks Are Overrated
We know that physical activity is good for us, and that being sedentary is not. Some have extrapolated this to mean that sitting, in general, is something to be avoided, even at work. Perhaps as a result, standing desks have become trendy and are promoted by some health officials as well as some countries. Research, however, suggests that warnings about sitting at work are overblown, and that standing desks are overrated as a way to improve health. (Carroll, 11/19)
The New York Times:
The Case Against Appendectomies
Pity the poor appendix, a 2- to 4-inch-long wormlike pouch dangling from the head of the cecum, where the large and small intestines meet. For most of its medical history — anatomists have known about it for well over five centuries — it was maligned as a mysterious, vestigial and seemingly useless organ that could only cause trouble if left to its own devices. (Brody, 11/19)
The Washington Post:
She Kept Having Nose Bleeds, And So Did Her Kids. The Reason Was Terrifying.
The night the nosebleed started, Zina Martinez, seven months pregnant with her second child, was sitting in the living room of her Las Vegas home, eating a bowl of ice cream. Martinez, 22, was used to nosebleeds. She’d had them nearly every day since she was 10, an annoying occurrence doctors had repeatedly dismissed as insignificant — a probable result of the bone-dry desert air. (Boodman, 11/17)
The Washington Post:
Easy Workouts Can Get You Started On Meeting New Guidelines
It’s that time again. The Department of Health and Human Services has released a new edition of the Physical Activity Guidelines for Americans. That sound you hear is Americans collectively sighing. Let’s be honest: Physical activity guidelines can be tough. As behavioral scientists with expertise in exercise motivation, we will be the first to admit that maintaining a physically active lifestyle isn’t easy. This is what we do, and we don’t even always hit the goal. Life is messy and often gets in the way of even the best intentions. Let’s take a deep breath, unwrap these new guidelines and talk strategy. (Conroy and Pagoto, 11/17)
The Washington Post:
Anti-Vaccination Stronghold In N.C. Hit With State’s Worst Chickenpox Outbreak In 2 Decades
Chickenpox has taken hold of a school in North Carolina where many families claim religious exemption from vaccines. Cases of chickenpox have been multiplying at the Asheville Waldorf School, which serves children from nursery school to sixth grade in Asheville, N.C. About a dozen infections grew to 28 at the beginning of the month. By Friday, there were 36, the Asheville Citizen-Times reported. (Stanley-Becker, 11/19)
The New York Times:
Ohio House Passes Bill To Criminalize Abortions Of Fetuses With A Heartbeat
The Ohio House of Representatives this week passed one of the most restrictive abortion bills in the country — one that would penalize doctors for performing an abortion when a fetal heartbeat can be detected and pose a potential challenge to Roe v. Wade. A fetal heartbeat can be detected by an ultrasound as early as six weeks into a pregnancy, a time during which most women are unaware they are pregnant. (Caren, 11/16)
Reuters:
Eleventh Child Dies From Viral Outbreak At New Jersey Facility
An 11th child has died in less than four weeks at a New Jersey rehabilitation center, one of 34 young patients with compromised immune systems to have been infected by a viral outbreak, state health officials said on Friday. The child, who died late Thursday, and the others at the Wanaque Center for Nursing and Rehabilitation in the town of Haskell, became ill with adenovirus between Sept. 26 and Nov. 12, the state's Department of Health said in a statement. (11/16)
Boston Globe:
Boston’s Transgender Community Gathers To Remember Rita Hester
The day after Thanksgiving in 1998, Rita Hester was murdered in Allston — just two days before her 35th birthday. Hester was — by all accounts — glamorous, brilliant, and driven. She was also a transgender woman. Her murder has yet to be solved. Twenty years later, roughly 300 people gathered inside the Cathedral Church of St. Paul in Downtown Crossing for the annual Transgender Day of Remembrance. The event started in Boston after Hester’s death, spread to San Francisco, and is now observed around the world. (Kilgannon, 11/18)
The Associated Press:
Texas Hospital System Accused Of Holding Patients Illegally
A Texas corporation that runs behavioral health hospitals is accused of illegally holding four patients, two of whom were voluntary patients who were allegedly prohibited from leaving. SAS Healthcare Inc. was indicted Wednesday on nine counts of violating the Texas Mental Health Code, the Fort Worth Star-Telegram reported. (11/16)
Reuters:
California Judge Orders Next Monsanto Weed-Killer Cancer Trial For March
A California judge on Thursday granted an expedited trial in the case of a California couple suffering from cancer who sued Bayer AG's Monsanto unit, alleging the company's glyphosate-containing weed killer Roundup caused their disease. The order by Superior Court Judge Ioana Petrou in Oakland, California, comes on the heels of a $289 million verdict in the first glyphosate trial in San Francisco, in which a jury found Monsanto liable for causing a school groundskeeper's cancer. (11/16)