Health and Public Safety
March 29, 2012 -
A by-the-numbers look at what Americans stand to lose if the high court strikes down the Affordable Care Act.
March 28, 2012 -
The discussion about the Affordable Care Act has focused on whether the federal government can compel people to buy insurance, but the law's expansion of Medicaid to cover millions of low-income people is also being challenged. If this is upended, the courts could be flooded with challenges on everything from environmental protection to civil rights laws.
March 27, 2012 -
As North Carolina considers lifting its ban on the controversial natural-gas drilling technique known as hydraulic fracturing or "fracking," a growing body of evidence documents serious public-health threats due to air pollution from such operations, which have already been linked to water contamination.
March 22, 2012 -
As President Obama pushes to speed construction of the southern tier of a controversial oil pipeline leading to refineries on the Texas Gulf Coast, nearby residents speak out against worsening the disproportionate toxic burden they already bear.
March 15, 2012 -
Scientists at East Carolina University have found oil bearing the specific fingerprint of crude from BP's Gulf oil spill in tiny creatures known as zooplankton that form the base of the marine food chain.
March 7, 2012 -
Watchdog groups want answers as to why the company told the public that chemical dispersants used during the Gulf oil disaster were not dangerous when its own manual for cleanup workers said they were.
March 5, 2012 -
However, Gulf residents who experienced health problems in the spill's wake remain distrustful that they will be fairly compensated for their pain and suffering.
