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Medical schools plug holes in conflict-of-interest policies

Charles Ornstein, Tracy Weber and Dan Nguyen, ProPublica — Mon, 23 May 2011 20:30:47 +0000

The University of Colorado School of Medicine approved new rules explicitly prohibiting physicians from participating in drug company's speaker's bureaus. With ample wiggle room for "research and educational opportunities."

Scientific study links flammable drinking water to fracking

Abrahm Lustgarten, ProPublica — Wed, 11 May 2011 06:08:19 +0000

For the first time, a scientific study has linked natural gas drilling and hydraulic fracturing with a pattern of drinking water contamination so severe that some faucets can be lit on fire.

Financial ties bind medical societies to drug and device makers

Charles Ornstein, Tracy Weber and Dan Nguyen, ProPublica — Mon, 09 May 2011 18:39:15 +0000

From the time they arrived to the moment they laid their heads on hotel pillows, the thousands of cardiologists attending this week's Heart Rhythm Society conference have been bombarded with pitches for drugs and medical devices.

Should a ‘green’ state ship coal to China?

Stateline — Thu, 21 Apr 2011 16:24:59 +0000

A new Columbia River port terminal to ship coal overseas has environmentalists, energy sector lobbyists and government officials questioning its global-political implications.

Medicaid block grants explained

Stateline — Thu, 21 Apr 2011 15:58:58 +0000

One of the most controversial ideas in Washington right now is to turn Medicaid into a block grant program. Republicans vow it will lower the deficit. Democrats say it will gut the social safety net.

Utah on immigration: We aren’t Arizona

Stateline — Fri, 08 Apr 2011 04:40:59 +0000

Less than a year ago, Utah business leaders worried that their state would follow in Arizona’s controversial footsteps by passing tough new laws to crack down on illegal immigration.

Japan’s nuclear tragedy a lesson for U.S. energy sector

Suvendrini Kakuchi, IPS Inter Press Service — Thu, 07 Apr 2011 19:23:28 +0000

My decision to visit Fukushima — the area worst hit by the massive quake, tsunami and nuclear power accident on Mar. 11 — was taken one afternoon last week after a long meeting with scientists.

Aftershock: The Blast That Shook Psycho Platoon

T. Christian Miller, ProPublica, and Daniel Zwerdling, NPR — Tue, 22 Mar 2011 20:15:04 +0000

At 8:20 p.m. on Sept. 21, 2010, Iraq veteran Brock Savelkoul decided it was time to die.

Hydrofracked? One man’s mystery leads to a backlash against natural gas drilling

Abrahm Lustgarten, ProPublica — Fri, 25 Feb 2011 19:54:37 +0000

There are few things a family needs to survive more than fresh drinking water.

Idaho schools chief moves to rework teacher contracts

Stateline — Fri, 25 Feb 2011 18:16:18 +0000

For the past three weeks, Idaho teachers and their…