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2:11 pm
Mon July 9, 2012

Texas Rejects Medicaid Expansion In Health Law

Originally published on Mon July 9, 2012 3:38 pm

Transcript

MELISSA BLOCK, HOST:

Texas is saying no to key parts of the federal health care law. Today, Governor Rick Perry said Texas will not create a state exchange for people to buy health insurance and will not expand Medicaid. In a letter to Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius, Governor Perry called both provisions a power grab, brazen intrusions into the sovereignty of our state.

Here's Governor Perry today on Fox News.

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Shots - Health Blog
2:06 pm
Mon July 9, 2012

Why Silk May Someday Be Added To Vaccines

Credit Fiorenzo Omenetto / Tufts University
Soft to the touch, silk may also help preserve vaccines and drugs someday.

Originally published on Mon July 9, 2012 2:36 pm

Silk is in neckties, scarves and some fancy underwear and pajamas. Before too long, it might just help keep people from getting sick with measles or polio.

Vaccines play an important role in health, but can be tricky to transport to the far corners of the world. Many vaccines and some other drugs require constant refrigeration — from the factories where they're made to the places where they're ultimately injected into people.

That's where silk comes in.

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It's All Politics
2:03 pm
Mon July 9, 2012

Who 'Owns' The Bush Tax Cuts?

Originally published on Mon July 9, 2012 2:53 pm

They're called the Bush tax cuts for a reason. And when they were passed in the early 2000s, most Democrats opposed them.

Cut to a decade later: President Obama is calling for a second extension in as many years of the "temporary" cuts, but it won't come without a fight from congressional Republicans.

Given the apparent role reversal, who owns the George W. Bush-era tax cuts now: Democrats or Republicans?

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Judging The Health Care Law
1:15 pm
Mon July 9, 2012

Congress' Big Stick Just Got a Little Shorter

Credit Kris Connor / Getty Images
Susan Clark (left) argues with another protester about the Affordable Care Act outside the U.S. Supreme Court. Chief Justice John Roberts likened the law's Medicaid expansion provision to "a gun to the head" of states.

Originally published on Thu April 4, 2013 11:58 am

Nothing breeds lawsuits like uncertainty. That being the case, the Supreme Court's landmark health care ruling is almost certain to open the door to lawsuits challenging the federal government's authority.

The court ruled the federal government can't force states to participate in a major expansion of Medicaid or else risk losing existing Medicaid funds from Washington. That threat amounted to unconstitutional coercion.

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The Two-Way
1:14 pm
Mon July 9, 2012

Four More Charged In Border Patrol Killing Linked To 'Fast And Furious'

Credit Ross D. Franklin / AP
With wanted posters off to the side, James L. Turgal, Jr., right, FBI Special Agent in Charge, listens as Laura E. Duffy, United States Attorney Southern District of California, announces the indictments on five suspects involved in the death of U.S. Border Patrol agent Brian Terry on Monday.

The Justice Department has unsealed criminal charges against four more people it says are connected to the death of U.S. Border Patrol Agent Brian Terry, as the FBI offered a $1 million reward for information leading to the capture of the fugitives.

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World Cafe
1:01 pm
Mon July 9, 2012

Next: Family Band

Credit Andrea Gentl
Family Band.
  • Hear two new songs by Family Band
AIDS: A Turning Point
12:37 pm
Mon July 9, 2012

Teen Years Pose New Risks For Kids Born With HIV

Credit Jason Beaubien / NPR
A boy waits to get his anti-AIDS drugs from pharmacist Rajesh Chandra at the Botswana-Baylor Children's Clinical Center of Excellence in Gaborone.

Originally published on Mon July 9, 2012 9:33 pm

The southern African nation of Botswana is grappling with a relatively new problem in the evolving AIDS pandemic: It now has a large group of HIV-positive adolescents.

The teenagers were infected at birth before Botswana managed to almost wipe out mother-to-child transmission of the virus. These children have survived because of a public health system that provides nearly universal access to powerful anti-AIDS drugs.

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The Two-Way
12:33 pm
Mon July 9, 2012

PHOTO: A New Panoramic View Of Mars

Credit NASA
NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity took this panoramic view of the planet between Dec. 2011 and May.

NASA has released a new, stunning panoramic image of Mars. The scene is stitched from 817 images taken by NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity from Dec. 2011 to May.

To do the image justice, you have to download the hi-resolution version, but be warned it's close to 14 MB.

Here's how NASA describes the scene:

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Shots - Health Blog
12:11 pm
Mon July 9, 2012

Texas Gov. Perry Says No To Medicaid Expansion

Credit Wikimedia Commons

Originally published on Tue July 10, 2012 2:31 pm

Any doubt, and there probably wasn't much, that Texas would reject an expansion of Medicaid under the big federal health law was dispelled today.

The Supreme Court decision on the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act allows states to opt out of the expansion without losing all federal Medicaid funding. Only the federal money that would have gone toward the expansion is affected.

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The Two-Way
12:10 pm
Mon July 9, 2012

2.97 Million And Counting; '66 Volvo Is Nearing Its 3 Millionth Mile

"It's just a car I enjoy driving."

That's for sure.

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The Salt
11:44 am
Mon July 9, 2012

Part Science, Part Art, Pollinator Pathway Connects Seattle Green Spaces

Credit Jim, the Photographer
This tiger swallowtail butterfly is a pollinator that could benefit from a little more green space.

Originally published on Tue July 10, 2012 12:34 pm

When we think about improving urban food systems, we tend think about growing more vegetables — densely planted backyard plots and community gardens, with tiny tomatoes ripening in the sun. But according to some experts, we should start thinking smaller — way smaller — as in bugs.

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The Two-Way
11:21 am
Mon July 9, 2012

Lance Armstrong Sues To Block U.S. Anti-Doping Hearing

Credit Arnulfo Franco / AP
Lance Armstrong competes in the Ironman Panama 70.3. triathlon in Panama City, Panama.

Originally published on Mon July 9, 2012 4:05 pm

Update at 5:58 p.m. ET. Lawsuit Dismissed:

A federal judge dismissed a lawsuit filed by Lance Armstrong that sought to stop a USADA hearing into accusations of doping. The AP reports:

"U.S. District Judge Sam Sparks ruled just hours later. He criticized Armstrong's attorneys for filing an 80-page complaint the judge says seems more intended to whip up public opinion for his case than focus on the legal argument.

"Sparks, however, did not decide on the merits of Armstrong's case and said he can refile his lawsuit."

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The Two-Way
10:14 am
Mon July 9, 2012

Libya May Buck Arab Spring Trend And Elect Moderate Prime Minister

Credit Manu Brabo / AP
Mahmoud Jibril speaks to in Tripoli, Libya on Sunday.

Originally published on Mon July 9, 2012 10:17 am

Over the weekend, about 1.7 million Libyans cast a ballot to choose a prime minister. Like Tunisia and Egypt before it, these elections are the first free elections since a revolution toppled the country's dictator.

Moammar Gadhafi ruled since 1969. As Reuters reports, while there were some violent incidents and anti-vote protests, international observers gave the election process a thumbs up.

Reuters reports:

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