What started as a feeling of tempered excitement as the weekend began, finished with a hollow acceptance that the world had changed, and Australian sport was not immune, writes Quentin Hull.

It's a difficult time for all footy clubs and everyone involved with suspended seasons — but if you're a holder of a club membership who wants a refund, you might be left disappointed.

Jo Brigden-Jones was planning to retire after the Tokyo Games, but with her Olympic farewell delayed, she is back on the frontline as a paramedic with NSW Ambulance.

The cries of football fans demanding players return to the field under any circumstances have become shrill as the craving for lockdown distraction turns from stoical whimsy to rank desperation, writes Richard Hinds.

When the "The Avengers" was released eight years ago, there was no guarantee it would be the huge hit it became and boost the Marvel franchise's fortunes.

Matt Wolf's latest documentary, "Spaceship Earth," is a layered and absorbing account of a widely dismissed but remarkable scientific study.

Used in balloons and industry, gas is hard to capture and supplies are diminishing and its price rising. Researchers think it may be found under ground.

The new White House communications team is scrambling to keep Trump on TV but limit his ability to offer dangerous medical advice. The goal is to show him as a leader and push his reelection message. The problem is that Trump almost certainly will sabotage the plan.

The Salford comic applied for a job at the Aldery Road Express store in Wilmslow

Iceland has put in a job offer for the Salford comic after Tesco didn't hire him

Soldier Scott Ratcliffe says was screened for COVID-19 as he returned from tour in Afghanistan

Experts react to role of distributors, legislation in opioid crisis

Experts discuss recent cancellation of first-in-class drug

Today, Chairs of the House Committees that oversee the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) voiced their strong opposition to a harmful Trump Administration rule that would roll back Affordable Care Act (ACA) nondiscrimination protections. In a letter, House Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman Frank Pallone, Jr. (D-NJ), House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Richard E. Neal (D-MA), House Education and Labor Committee Chairman Bobby Scott (D-VA), and House Oversight and Reform Committee Chairwoman Carolyn B. Maloney (D-NY) urged HHS Secretary Alex Azar not to finalize this troubling rule and to instead focus on responding to the COVID-19 pandemic. The rule would overturn core protections for marginalized communities including LGBTQ+ people, women, individuals with limited English proficiency, and individuals with disabilities, and eliminate many health care programs and activities from coverage of the Affordable Care Act’s nondiscrimination requirements. “At a time when the United States is grappling with the 2019 coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic and access to health care services is so critical, we are disappointed that this Administration is once again taking steps to limit access to health care and embolden discrimination against some of the most vulnerable among us,” the Chairs wrote. “If finalized, this dangerous rule would open the door to discrimination against patients in express contradiction to the plain language and intent of the law, and would therefore be illegal. Undermining protections for marginalized individuals at any time is unacceptable, but it is particularly egregious to do so during the worst global pandemic in over a century.” Read the full letter to Secretary Azar HERE. ###

The genetic mutations that cause epilepsy don’t stop there. Praxis Precision Medicines CEO Marcio Souza says research also links these genes to other neurological conditions. The biotech startup is turning that research into new neuro drugs and it’s coming out of stealth to share details about its science and its pipeline, which already has two […]

This was the first time in a long time that I’ve renewed my nursing license with the thought that I might need it — that I might be needed.

The post Preparing to Go Back to the Bedside During COVID-19: A Nurse-Turned-Bioethicist Reflects appeared first on Bill of Health.

NICE has recommended Janssen’s Stelara (ustekinumab) for the treatment of moderately to severely active ulcerative colitis (UC), a move which rows back on the Institute’s decision to reject the drug last year.

The US Food and Drug Administration has granted accelerated approval for Retevmo (selpercatinib) capsules…

After his surprise removal from HHS’ Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority—a key agency partnered with pharma companies on COVID-19 drugs, vaccines and diagnostics—former Director Rick Bright is alleging whistleblower retaliation by HHS leadership. 

Unlike its first U.K. reimbursement negotiations, Roche’s HER2 antibody-drug conjugate has won quick National Institute for Health and Care Excellence backing for routine NHS coverage to prevent HER2-positive breast cancer from returning after surgery in the so-called adjuvant setting.

The United States has recovered more than $19 million from AMEC Construction Management Inc. (ACMI) to resolve allegations of fraud, false claims and kickbacks on four General Services Administration (GSA) construction contracts, as well as litigation over claims by the GSA for excess re-procurement costs incurred by GSA after it terminated ACMI’s contract to build the Thomas F. Eagleton United States Courthouse in St. Louis, Missouri. ACMI was formerly known as Morse Diesel International Inc.

Novo Nordisk A/S (Novo), a Danish corporation based in Bagsvaerd, Denmark, has agreed to pay a $9 million penalty for illegal kickbacks paid to the former Iraqi government.

An employee of a Sewell, N.J., sub-contractor that provided temporary electrical services was sentenced today to serve 20 months in jail for his role in a kickback and fraud scheme at an Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)-designated Superfund site in New Jersey. The sub-contractor was also ordered to pay $154,597 in restitution to the EPA, jointly and severally with his co-conspirators.

A Canadian citizen has been charged in an indictment unsealed yesterday for his alleged participation in an eight-year conspiracy to defraud the United Nations Oil for Food Program (OFFP) and to bribe Iraqi government officials in connection with the sale of a chemical additive used in the refining of leaded fuel.

Dynamics Research Corporation (DRC), a defense contractor based in Andover, Mass., has agreed to pay the United States $15 million plus interest to settle allegations that two of its former executives engaged in a fraudulent kickback scheme in connection with two technical services contracts with the Air Force.

An Oklahoma man pleaded guilty today for his role in a scheme to solicit kickbacks in connection with the award of a private security services subcontract to protect U.S. government personnel and contractors in Afghanistan. Bryan Lee Burrows, 42, of Wagoner, Okla., pleaded guilty today before U.S. District Court Judge Leonie M. Brinkema in the Eastern District of Virginia to one count of conspiracy to solicit a kickback.

“Today’s settlement reflects the Justice Department’s ongoing commitment to protect the integrity of the doctor-patient relationship,” said Tony West, Assistant Attorney General for the Civil Division.

“It is critical that Medicare providers base their DME purchasing decisions on what is in the best interests of their patients,” stated Tony West, Assistant Attorney General for the Civil Division.

Ryan Scott McMonigle, 37, of Ponca City, Okla., was indicted today for his alleged role in a scheme to solicit kickbacks in connection with the award of a security services subcontract to protect U.S. government personnel and contractors in Afghanistan.

Scott Anthony Walker, 36, of Australia, pleaded guilty in the Eastern District of Virginia to one count of conspiracy to solicit a kickback.

The Kerlan Jobe Orthopaedic Clinic, a sports medicine clinic in Los Angeles, has agreed to pay the United States $3 million to settle allegations that it received illegal kickbacks from HealthSouth Corporation.

Bryan Lee Burrows admitted that he conspired with others to solicit kickbacks from private security vendors in return for favorable treatment for those potential bidders in connection with the award of a subcontract.

Ryan Scott McMonigle, of Ponca City, Okla., pleaded guilty for his role in a scheme to solicit a kickback in connection with the award of a private security services subcontract to protect U.S. government personnel and contractors in Afghanistan.

“Today’s extradition brings a criminal to justice and paves the way forward in our law enforcement partnership with El Salvador,” said Assistant Attorney General Lanny A. Breuer of the Criminal Division.

I have every expectation that our criminal defense system can, and will, be a source of tremendous national pride. And I know that achieving this requires the best that we, as a profession and as a people, have to offer.

James E. Haas Jr., a former representative of a New Jersey subcontractor, pleaded guilty in October 2009, to an indictment charging that he engaged in a kickback and fraud conspiracy at the Federal Creosote Superfund site in Manville, N.J.

Houston-area residents Doris Vinitski and John Lachman pleaded guilty today in connection with their roles in a durable medical equipment Medicare fraud scheme.

The Department has intervened in a whistleblower lawsuit against Kellogg Brown & Root (KBR), Panalpina Inc. and others that alleges that employees of two freight forwarders doing business with the companies provided unlawful kickbacks to KBR transportation department employees.

Houston-area residents Basil Kalu and Ju-Ying Qian, and Louisiana resident Darnell Willis pleaded guilty today in connection with their roles in a durable medical equipment Medicare fraud scheme.

The Health Alliance of Greater Cincinnati and one of its former member hospitals, The Christ Hospital, have agreed to pay the United States $108 million to settle claims that they violated the Anti-Kickback Statute and the False Claims Act by paying unlawful remuneration to doctors in exchange for referring cardiac patients to The Christ Hospital in a pay-to-play scheme.

Chicago attorney and Certified Public Accountant John B. Ohle III and Louisiana attorney William Bradley were found guilty Wednesday in Manhattan federal court of wire and tax fraud conspiracy charges stemming from a scheme to fraudulently obtain referral fees relating to a tax shelter sold by Ohle’s employer, Bank One, and thereafter failing to accurately report those fees to the IRS and pay the appropriate taxes due.

Canadian/Lebanese dual national Ousama M. Naaman pleaded guilty today to participating in an eight-year conspiracy to defraud the United Nations Oil for Food Program (OFFP) and to bribe Iraqi government officials in connection with the sale of a chemical additive used in the refining of leaded fuel.

A U.S. District Court in Montgomery, Ala., granted judgment in favor of the United States yesterday in a lawsuit brought to enforce the Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act against the Alabama Department of Mental Health.

Swiss-based freight forwarder Panalpina Inc. has agreed to pay the United States $375,000 to settle allegations that the company paid kickbacks to employees of Kellogg Brown & Root Inc. (KBR).

The Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) and government, community, public health and law enforcement partners today announced a nationwide prescription drug “Take-Back” initiative that seeks to prevent increased pill abuse and theft.

Novartis Pharmaceuticals Corporation has agreed to pay $422.5 million to resolve criminal and civil liability arising from the illegal marketing of certain pharmaceutical products.

Brooklyn-area resident Yefim Drakhler pleaded guilty today in U.S. District Court in Brooklyn for his participation in a Medicare fraud scheme operated out of the Solstice Wellness Center, a Brooklyn-area clinic purportedly providing physical therapy and various diagnostic services.

Kos Pharmaceuticals, a subsidiary of Abbott Laboratories, has agreed to pay more than $41 million to resolve criminal and civil liability arising from conduct relating to its drugs Advicor and Niaspan.

St. Jude Medical Inc. of St. Paul, Minn., has agreed to pay the United States $16 million to resolve allegations that the company used post-market studies and a registry to pay kickbacks to induce physicians to implant the company’s pacemakers and defibrillators, the Justice Department announced today.

In response to a pending lawsuit from Kellogg Brown & Root Services Inc. (KBR) in the U.S. Court of Federal Claims, the Department of Justice has filed counterclaims alleging that KBR managers had received kickbacks from a dining facility subcontractor in violation of the False Claims Act and the Anti-Kickback Act.