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Shots - Health Blog
1:32 pm
Fri June 29, 2012

Fast Tests Are Latest Weapons Against Infections

Credit Janice Carr / CDC
A new lab test could quickly detect methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus, or MRSA, bacteria like these in the blood.

Originally published on Fri June 29, 2012 5:42 pm

Show up at the emergency room or your doctor's office with symptoms of a serious infection, and there's a good chance you'll get an antibiotic. You might even get a few.

But antibiotics don't work on viruses. And a particular antibiotic may be suited for one kind of germ, but not another.

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Around the Nation
1:25 pm
Fri June 29, 2012

Obama Visits Colorado In Wake Of Fires

Originally published on Fri June 29, 2012 7:26 pm

President Obama visited Colorado Springs on Friday to survey the damage caused by the Waldo Canyon fire, which burned more than 300 homes.

Animals
1:17 pm
Fri June 29, 2012

Wild Mustangs Give Patrol Horsepower On The Border

Originally published on Fri June 29, 2012 7:26 pm

It's all new for Achilles: his name, his horseshoes, the surroundings at his home near Nogales, Ariz.

"To break 'em from what they're focusing on, you want to turn 'em from one side to the next," Border Patrol agent Luis Navarro says as he carefully leads Achilles into a round training arena.

Navarro holds the mustang by a short lead, and teaches it commands to trot and to slow down.

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Health Care
1:17 pm
Fri June 29, 2012

How Health Law's Taxes, Penalties Will Be Enforced

Originally published on Fri June 29, 2012 7:26 pm

Transcript

MELISSA BLOCK, HOST:

We're going to try to break down now just what those penalties will be for those who don't buy health insurance. The Congressional Budget Office projects in the year 2016 four million people will pay the penalty. I'm joined now by Timothy Jost. He's law professor at Washington and Lee University in Lexington, Virginia, and he's been looking into these numbers. We should say, Professor Jost, first off, you are also a supporter of the Affordable Care Act, right?

TIMOTHY JOST: That's correct, yes.

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It's All Politics
1:05 pm
Fri June 29, 2012

'Tax' Designation That Saved Health Care Law Being Used To Fight Obama

Credit Chip Somodevilla / Getty Images
President Obama waves after signing the Affordable Care Act at the White House on March 23, 2010.

Originally published on Tue July 3, 2012 8:39 am

In 2009, as President Obama was trying to convince Congress to pass his health care legislation, he stridently refused to characterize as a "tax" the penalty that would be imposed for not obtaining insurance under the law's individual mandate.

On Thursday, Chief Justice John Roberts begged to differ — while using the tax classification to save Obama's signature domestic accomplishment by a single Supreme Court vote.

And Republicans pounced.

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The Two-Way
1:01 pm
Fri June 29, 2012

Justice Will Not Prosecute Holder For Contempt Of Congress

Credit Gerardo Mora / Getty Images
U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder.

The United States Justice Department said it will not prosecute Attorney General Eric Holder for contempt of Congress.

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Health
12:44 pm
Fri June 29, 2012

Sole Abortion Clinic In Miss. Fights Law To Stay Open

Credit Rogelio V. Solis / AP
Abortion opponents demonstrate outside Mississippi's only abortion clinic in Jackson.

Originally published on Fri June 29, 2012 7:26 pm

A new Mississippi law requires doctors who perform abortions in the state to be board-certified OB-GYNs. They also must have privileges to admit patients at a local hospital.

The law is regulatory in nature, but at a bill-signing ceremony in April, Mississippi Lt. Gov. Tate Reeves was clear about the intent.

"We have an opportunity today with the signing of this bill to end abortion in Mississippi," he said.

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Asia
11:34 am
Fri June 29, 2012

A Portrait Of Chinese Corruption, In Rosy Pink

Originally published on Fri June 29, 2012 7:26 pm

Corruption is usually thought to be a bad thing. But in China, the answer is no longer crystal clear.

For decades, the country's Communist Party has declared that corruption threatens its very survival. But there are signs that this is changing. Recently, the state-run media have begun arguing that corruption can't be stamped out, so it should be contained to acceptable levels. And some corruption appears to be tacitly condoned.

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The Two-Way
10:31 am
Fri June 29, 2012

House Passes Bill That Will Keep Student Loans Interests From Rising

Originally published on Fri June 29, 2012 11:19 am

By a vote of 373-52, the House passed a massive bill that among other things keeps the interest rate on student loans from doubling on July 1.

"The U.S. House of Representatives passed a massive bill on Friday combining funding for transportation programs, low-interest student loans, and the National Flood Insurance Program," the Reuters reports.

The Washington Post reports:

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The Two-Way
10:31 am
Fri June 29, 2012

Chief Justice's Critics Don't Understand What Judges Do, Gonzales Says

Credit Win McNamee / Getty Images
Sept. 29, 2005: Then-Attorney General Alberto Gonzales, at lower right, watches as Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts speaks after being sworn in.

Conservative critics who say that Chief Justice John Roberts is some kind of traitor to their movement because he was the deciding vote in favor of upholding the Obama administration's Affordable Care Act "don't understand how these judges are supposed to discharge their responsibilities," Bush-era Attorney General Alberto Gonzales told NPR this morning.

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