Month: July 2014

The U.S. Senate on Tuesday unanimously confirmed Bob McDonald as the next Veterans Affairs secretary, pinning Washington's hopes on the former Procter & Gamble Co chief executive to launch a massive turnaround effort at the troubled agency. McDonald, 61, replaces retired Army general Eric Shinseki, who resigned in late May amid a scandal over cover-ups of long waiting times for health-care appointments at VA hospitals and clinics across the country. The 97-0 vote to confirm McDonald comes a week after he pledged to bring corporate-style discipline and accountability to the agency, refocusing its 341,000 employees on serving veterans. "In the wake of the biggest scandal in the history of the Department of Veterans Affairs, Bob McDonald certainly has his work cut out for him," House Veterans Affairs Committee Chairman Jeff Miller said after the Senate vote.

(Corrects amount of NFL settlement) By Mary Wisniewski CHICAGO, July 29 (Reuters) – The NCAA has agreed to settle a head injury lawsuit by providing $70 million for concussion testing and diagnosis of current and former student athletes in a move expected to change the way such injuries are handled at colleges nationwide, according to court documents filed on Tuesday. The class-action agreement, if approved by a federal judge and class members, applies to student athletes in all sports who have played at schools regulated by the National Collegiate Athletic Association at any time in the past until 50 years in the future. The settlement does not include bodily injury claims, which plaintiff’s attorney Steve Berman said should be handled on an individual basis. He said the settlement is aimed at protecting student athletes on the field.

The Senate on Tuesday unanimously confirmed former Procter & Gamble CEO Robert McDonald as the new Veterans Affairs secretary, with a mission to overhaul an agency beleaguered by long veterans' waits for health care and VA workers falsifying records to cover up delays.

By Daniel Wallis DENVER (Reuters) – U.S. senators from Colorado and Washington, seeking clarity on federal rules that may affect legal marijuana businesses in their states, are urging the Obama administration to ensure federal agencies take a consistent approach to enforcement. The first pot retailers opened in Colorado at the start of this year, and in Washington earlier this month. While the federal government has said it will take a hands-off approach, assuming certain conditions are met, many would-be investors say they are put off by uncertainty over the status of marijuana businesses under federal law. In a letter to White House Chief of Staff Denis McDonough and Attorney General Eric Holder, Senators Patty Murray and Maria Cantwell of Washington and Mark Udall and Michael Bennet of Colorado said the federal government should support their efforts to establish a successful regulatory framework.

By Trinna Leong KUALA LUMPUR (Reuters) – Muslim tourists have long chosen Malaysia, its beaches and its malls as a holiday destination thanks to cultural affinity. Now the Southeast Asian country, where Muslims make up about 60 percent of the population, wants to parlay its visitor dividend into a bid to overtake its neighbors for the world's medical tourism crown. Malaysia is a new player in the market, competing with experienced, branded names. Most foreigners don't need to fill in a landing form." The number of foreigners seeking care in Malaysia more than doubled over five years to 770,134 in 2013.

By John Clarke ANNAPOLIS Md. (Reuters) – A Maryland man who nearly lost a leg and his life to a flesh-eating bacterial infection he contracted in Chesapeake Bay, has been released from hospital, a spokeswoman said on Tuesday. Rodney Donald, 66, was crabbing, swimming and kayaking in the Chesapeake Bay this month when a scrape became infected with vibrio vulnificus, an aggressive bacteria that feeds on flesh, a hospital spokeswoman said. Donald was taken to a hospital on July 11 when his right leg swelled up.