U.S.

GOP Lawmakers Face Political Risks In Supporting Unpopular Health Care Bill

5:18pm June 30, 2017

by Susan Davis

Congressional Republicans say the political risks of failing to make good on their promise to dismantle the Affordable Care Act outweigh the risks of passing an unpopular bill.

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Government Researchers Plan Response To Rising Rates Of Black Lung Disease

5:18pm June 30, 2017

by Howard Berkes

Government researchers met in West Virginia this week in response to an NPR investigation and federal study showing much higher rates of the most serious stages of the coal miners' disease black lung.

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Week In Politics: GOP Health Care Bill, Travel Ban

4:33pm June 30, 2017

NPR's Robert Siegel speaks with Eugene Robinson of The Washington Post, and Yuval Levin, editor for National Affairs about the health care bill, the president's attack on two news show hosts and the travel ban.

Kentucky Secretary Of State Denies White House Request For Voter Information

4:33pm June 30, 2017

NPR's Ari Shapiro speaks with Alison Lundergan Grimes, the Democratic secretary of state for Kentucky, about resisting the Presidential Election Commission's requests for voter data from the states.

Voting Commissioner Kris Kobach Defends U.S. Request For Voter Information

4:33pm June 30, 2017

Kris Kobach is the vice chairman of a White House commission on voting and elections and the secretary of state of Kansas. He spoke to NPR's Ari Shapiro and defended the commission's request for voter information from across the country.

Music News: Jay-Z Releases New Album, '4:44'

4:33pm June 30, 2017

by Jacob Ganz

NPR's Ari Shapiro talks to NPR Music Editor Jacob Ganz about the week in music news, including a new album from Jay Z.

Two plaintiffs had challenged the extension of Houston's taxpayer-subsidized benefits policy to married same-sex couples.

National

Texas Supreme Court Rules Against Benefits For Same-Sex Couples

4:26pm June 30, 2017

by Amita Kelly

At issue is the city of Houston's benefits policy, which is taxpayer-subsidized and had been extended to married same-sex couples.

Babies exposed to opioids in utero may experience withdrawal symptoms at birth, but these symptoms are treatable. Typically, the babies can go home after a few days or a couple weeks.

For Newborns Exposed To Opioids, Health Issues May Be The Least Of Their Problems

4:12pm June 30, 2017

Dr. Joshua Sharfstein says worry less about the short-term withdrawal symptoms of babies exposed to opioids in the womb, and much more about the lives and mothers they go home to.

Doctors, nurses, patients and activists listen as Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer speaks at Bellevue Hospital in New York last week, just after the Senate Republicans released their health care bill to the public.

Obamacare Has Problems. The Senate Health Care Bill Doesn't Solve Them, Experts Say

3:02pm June 30, 2017

by Danielle Kurtzleben

We asked top health care experts to tell us America's biggest health care problems. Then we asked: Does the current Republican plan fix them? For the most part, the answer was no.

Lt. Bryan Oliver says calls for fires are rare, but his station responds to several overdoses each day.

As Opioid Overdoses Bleed City's Budget, Councilman Proposes Stopping Treatment

2:55pm June 30, 2017

by Esther Honig

"If we don't do anything, the city's going to run out of money," Middletown City Councilman Dan Picard says. The epidemic costs the city 10 percent of its annual tax revenue.

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