Obama meets Pope Francis, invites him to White House
VATICAN CITY (Reuters) – Calling himself “a great admirer”, President Barack Obama held nearly an hour of private talks about the global situation with Pope Francis on Thursday and invited the pontiff to visit the White House.
Tumbleweeds plague drought-stricken American West
DENVER (Reuters) – Forty-eight hours after a recent windstorm blew a wall of tumbleweeds into his community on the high plains of Colorado, Robert McClintock and his neighbors were still working to clear away heaps of the spiny plant.
GSK recalls weight-loss drug Alli in U.S. on tampering concerns
LONDON (Reuters) – GlaxoSmithKline is recalling all supplies of its non-prescription weight-loss drug Alli in the United States and Puerto Rico after customers reported finding other pills and tablets in some bottles.
New abortion clinic planned for Texas as law closes facilities
DALLAS (Reuters) – Planned Parenthood will open a $5 million surgical abortion facility in San Antonio in a few months as other providers have been forced to close because of stringent restrictions passed by Texas lawmakers last year.
Database for tracking Medicaid frauds falls short, auditor says
(Reuters) – A federal data-sharing system meant to prevent healthcare providers banned from one state’s Medicaid program from billing another state’s program isn’t working as intended, according to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Offic…
Mississippi could execute its first female prisoner in 70 years
JACKSON, Mississippi (Reuters) – A Mississippi woman convicted of murder could become the first female prisoner executed in the state in 70 years, as defense attorneys on Thursday pressed for a last-minute reprieve arguing her son has repeatedly confes…
Hospital ratings show sharp differences in safety, chance of dying
NEW YORK (Reuters) – An analysis of government data on hospital safety, including how likely patients are to die of avoidable surgical complications, shows that hospitals vary markedly on these measures and that patients are at higher risk in some nati…
Thousand-mile relay to bring donations to Boston Marathon victims
NASHVILLE (Reuters) – For many first-time marathoners, the idea of covering 26.2 miles on foot is a daunting one.
Investigators probe cause of Boston blaze that killed two firefighters
BOSTON (Reuters) – Investigators continued on Thursday to probe the cause of a nine-alarm fire in a four-story apartment building in Boston’s historic Back Bay neighborhood that killed two firefighters a day earlier.
California case challenges teacher job protection laws
(Reuters) – Closing arguments were set to begin Thursday in a closely watched California legal case that could change the way public school teachers are hired and fired in the most populous U.S. state.
