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Concerts, Camps, Markets, and More — Here Is Your Weekend Go Guide

1 year ago
From high-energy concerts and family-friendly summer camps to one-of-a-kind markets and vibrant community festivals, the upcoming events promise something for everyone to enjoy throughout the region. For a complete listing of all the exciting happenings, visit https://www.riverbender.com/events/ and start planning your next adventure today! Featured GGCA Summer Camp invites children ages 3 to 12 to embark on an unforgettable adventure this summer at Greater Glory Christian Academy. The 2025 Summer Camp theme is "Bible Explorer: Trek through Truth!" and promises a fun-filled experience with outdoor and water games, crafts, weekly field trips to nearby attractions and the NCG Cinema in Alton, along with daily hot meals. Running from June 2nd to July 25th, the camp operates weekdays from 8:00 AM to 3:00 PM, with before and aftercare available. The cost is $90 per student per week, and CHASI is accepted. Spaces are limited, so interested parents are encouraged to call (618) 468-1068

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GOP senators warn mega-bill’s new Medicaid cuts will hurt rural hospitals

1 year ago
WASHINGTON — U.S. Senate Republican leaders expressed confidence Tuesday they’ll be able to tamp down opposition to various elements of the party’s “big, beautiful bill” in time to approve the measure before the Fourth of July, though they acknowledged there’s considerable work left to do.  GOP senators from across the political spectrum have debated the […]
Jennifer Shutt, Shauneen Miranda

Missouri Senate will hold hearing on MU Health, Anthem negotiations

1 year ago
A Missouri Senate committee will hold a public hearing at the end of the month focused on failed negotiations between MU Health Care and Anthem Blue Cross Blue Shield that has impacted the coverage of 90,000 people. The Missouri Senate Insurance and Banking Committee will convene for the hearing at 1 p.m. June 30. Senate […]
Jacob Richey

Surprise: Minnesota Killer Used Data Brokers To Target And Murder Politicians

1 year ago
For years we’ve noted how this country’s corrupt inability to protect consumer security, regulate data brokers, or pass even a baseline privacy law was going to have increasingly deadly consequences. Endless signs have been there; from stalkers abusing app and cell phone data to pursue their victims, to right wing extremists using data broker data […]
Karl Bode

No injuries reported in overnight Cahokia Heights house fire

1 year ago
ST. CLAIR COUNTY, Ill. - No injuries were reported after an overnight house fire in Cahokia Heights Wednesday morning. The fire broke out around 3:15 a.m. on Mildred Avenue. Flames engulfed most of the house at the time of the fire. About a dozen firefighters from five different departments helped put the fire out. An [...]
Nick Gladney

Missouri’s health system among worst-performing in the country, report finds

1 year ago
Missouri has among the highest rates of antipsychotic drug use in nursing home residents, contributing to the state’s health care system ranking near the bottom nationally in a report released Wednesday.  The report, published by The Commonwealth Fund, a private foundation focused on health care issues, used data from 2023 to measure every state’s health […]
Clara Bates

One more day to watch for storms, big heat for the weekend

1 year ago
ST. LOUIS - We had a high of 91 F on Tuesday. That’s the first time this year we’ve hit 90 F this year and the 17th latest first 90 F day ever for St. Louis. Thunderstorms will be to our west as many wake up early Wednesday morning. This energy should bring some scattered [...]
Angela Hutti

ProPublica Sued the FDA for Withholding Records About the Safety of Generic Drugs

1 year ago

We are still reporting. If you are a current or former FDA employee or someone in the industry with information about the agency, the safety of generic drugs, or the manufacturers that make them, our team wants to hear from you. Megan Rose can be reached on Signal or WhatsApp at 202-805-4865. Debbie Cenziper can be reached on Signal or WhatsApp at 301-222-3133. You can also email us at FDA@propublica.org.

ProPublica has sued the U.S. Food and Drug Administration in federal court in New York, accusing the agency of withholding information about the safety and availability of generic drugs critical to millions of Americans.

For years, Congress, watchdog groups, doctors and others have questioned the quality of generic drugs made in factories overseas. To better understand how the FDA regulates the industry and protects consumers, ProPublica submitted four records requests last year under the Freedom of Information Act.

The FDA declined to quickly release the documents, including records that would identify drugs made at some of the most troubled factories in India. Inspection reports that describe unsafe manufacturing conditions are public, but the FDA redacts the names of the medications made in those factories.

“Americans (including pharmacists, doctors, hospital systems, policy makers) cannot see for themselves which drugs may have been made in unsafe facilities,” the lawsuit said.

ProPublica requested the records as part of an ongoing investigation into the safety of America’s generic drug supply. ProPublica has reported that the FDA allowed some manufacturers to continue shipping their drugs to Americans even after the factories that made them were found in violation of quality standards and banned from the U.S. market. More than 150 drugs or their ingredients were given these little-known exemptions over the past dozen years.

In its response to ProPublica’s initial records request, the FDA said the news organization had not demonstrated “a compelling need” to expedite the release of documents. Since the lawsuit was filed in November, the agency has begun to turn over some of the requested records. The case is still active in federal court in New York.

ProPublica has argued the records will help inform American consumers, who increasingly rely on generic drugs made overseas. Quality concerns have dogged the industry for years: In 2023, four people died after using tainted eye drops made in India, and others had to have their eyeballs surgically removed.

“Every single one of us relies on the FDA to ensure that the medicines we take and give our loved ones are safe,” said ProPublica’s outside counsel, Jack Browning, a partner at Davis Wright Tremaine. “With the increasing prevalence of offshore manufacturing, it is imperative for organizations like ProPublica to ensure that safety violations are not being swept under the rug.”

The Department of Health and Human Services, which oversees the FDA, declined to comment on the case, citing the ongoing litigation.

This is the second time ProPublica has sued the FDA in recent years.

In 2023, the news outlet and the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette filed a lawsuit against the agency for withholding records related to the massive recall of breathing machines made by Philips Respironics. The agency ultimately provided the documents.

Dailey and Nguyen are with Northwestern University’s Medill Investigative Lab in Washington, D.C.

by Katherine Dailey and Jessie Nguyen, Medill Investigative Lab