UnitedHealth CEO Andrew Witty is stepping down for personal reasons and the nation's largest health insurer suspended its full-year financial outlook due to higher-than-expected medical costs. Chairman Stephen Hemsley will become CEO, effective immediately, the Minnesota company said. Hemsley was UnitedHealth Group CEO from 2006 to 2017. He will remain...
FDA and RFK Jr. Aim to Remove Ingestible Fluoride Products Used to Protect Kids’ Teeth
WASHINGTON — U.S. health regulators announced plans Tuesday to phase out ingestible fluoride supplements sometimes used to strengthen children's teeth, opening a new front in Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s effort against a mainstay of dental care. The Food and Drug Administration said it will conduct a scientific review...
Caltrans’ Response to Homeless Encampments Is Lagging, Cities Complain
This story was originally published by CalMatters. Sign up for their newsletters. Gov. Gavin Newsom ordered state agencies to clear homeless encampments from their properties last summer, holding up the California Department of Transportation as an example of how it should be done. But in the more than nine months...
Democrats Seeking California Governorship Strut Their Stuff for Union Leaders
This commentary was originally published by CalMatters. Sign up for their newsletters. Given California’s daunting — even existential — array of social, economic and fiscal crises, it’s remarkable that anyone would volunteer to become its governor. However, Gavin Newsom will vacate the office 19 months hence, with most of those...
Israeli Strike on Gaza Hospital Kills Wounded Journalist
CAIRO/GAZA (Reuters) - An Israeli airstrike on the Gaza Strip on Tuesday killed a well-known Palestinian journalist whom it accused of working with Hamas and was recovering in hospital from an earlier strike, the territory's health ministry said. Israel accused Hassan Aslih, who has hundreds of thousands of followers on...
Republicans Face Internal Disagreements Over Trump Tax Cut Package
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Republicans in the U.S. House of Representatives on Tuesday will kick off public debate on major pillars of President Donald Trump's tax cut and budget legislation, navigating choices that may strain their narrow majority. The plan, which would extend tax cuts passed during Trump's first term, could...
Netanyahu Says There Is ‘No Way’ Israel Halts the War in Gaza Until Hamas Is Defeated
TEL AVIV, Israel — Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says there is "no way" Israel will halt its war in Gaza, even if a deal is reached to release more hostages. His comments are likely to complicate talks on a new ceasefire that had seemed to gain momentum after Hamas...
Cassie Testifies in Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs Sex Trafficking Trial. What to Know About the Star Witness
NEW YORK — Casandra Ventura, the R&B singer and actor known simply as Cassie, began testifying Tuesday in Sean "Diddy" Combs ' sex trafficking trial. The music mogul is charged with using his status as a powerful executive to coerce women — including Cassie — into abusive sexual encounters and...
Once in Sync, Trump and Netanyahu Now Show Signs of Division
JERUSALEM — When Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu met U.S. President Donald Trump at the White House in February, the two men could not have been more in sync. The president had designated Houthi militants in Yemen as a terrorist organization. They both spoke of stopping Iran from acquiring a...
Has the California Dream Become a Mirage?
LOS ANGELES — California eclipsed Japan in 2024 to become the fourth-largest economy in the world. Gov. Gavin Newsom announced earlier this month that the state’s population increased for the second year in a row. Tourism has hit record levels, as Los Angeles prepares to step onto the world stage...