Dan Boylan

Purdue-Sackler settlement on OxyContin called win over Big Pharma in opioid epidemic

Purdue Pharma and its billionaire owners, the Sackler family, reached a $270 million settlement with Oklahoma in its lawsuit over the drugmaker's production and marketing of the OxyContin painkiller, which the state blamed for driving America's deadly opioid crisis.

March 26, 2019

Midwest flooding costs skyrocket as Iowa announces $1.6 billion in damages

Flooding that has ravaged the Midwest since last week's 'bomb cyclone' storm has caused roughly $1.6 billion in damage in Iowa, Gov. Kim Reynolds said Friday, pushing total costs from the regional devastation beyond $3 billion.

March 22, 2019

Missouri River flooding forces more towns to evacuate

More towns in Missouri and Kansas are evacuating as the flooding Missouri River breaches levees Friday morning with further damage and flooding reported across several Midwest states.

March 22, 2019

200 million Americans at risk of flooding

More than 200 million Americans are at risk of some flooding, as spring weather brings even more water to the Plains, Midwest and Mississippi River basin, which just endured a wetter-than-average winter, a federal report predicts.

March 21, 2019

NASA wants dirt, gravel from the asteroid Bennu but its bumpy surface poses problems

NASA scientists said Tuesday they believe they can overcome a snag in the space agency's first-ever mission to collect dirt and gravel from an "active asteroid."

March 19, 2019

Missouri confirms case of measles

Missouri has become the 13th state to report a confirmed case of measles this year, which has seen the potentially deadly virus spread four times faster than last year, according to federal data.

March 17, 2019

Flooding in wake of ‘bomb cyclone’ threatens Nebraska nuclear plant

The late winter "bomb cyclone" that stunned more than 25 states with snow, rain and wind has caused flooding that is threatening the operational safety of a nuclear power plant in southeast Nebraska.

March 15, 2019

Historic ‘bomb cyclone’ storm pounds Rockies, Midwest

A history-making "bomb cyclone" on Thursday blasted communities near the Rockies with snow and drenched the Midwest with rain, causing one death, as forecasters predicted flooding will spread throughout the region over the weekend.

March 14, 2019

Census online headcount aimed at millennials likely to miss mark

The Census Bureau plans to conduct its first-ever online headcount, which it predicts will generate 60 percent of the total responses for 2020.

March 14, 2019

Advocates cheer FDA approval of anti-depressant nasal spray

Advocates for anti-depression therapies are applauding federal regulators for approving the first new treatment for depression in decades -- a medication derived from a notorious party drug.

March 6, 2019

VirTra V-300 judgmental training simulator used to ready police for shootings

Police departments across the country increasingly are turning to simulators as training tools to replicate real-world scenarios without real-world costs.

March 4, 2019

FCC rules on 5G cellphone upgrade spark antenna fight

A turf war between federal regulators and local jurisdictions is brewing over the installation of hundreds of thousands of cellphone towers to upgrade to 5G.

February 14, 2019

Uber, Lyft crushing bus and subway ridership in cities: Study

New research shows that ride-sharing companies are crushing urban mass transit ridership.

February 5, 2019

Idemia digital drivers licenses expose citizens to hackers, government abuse, critics say

The world's largest biometrics surveillance company wants to add your driver's license photo to its digital library, which already has collected and processed some 3 billion faces.

January 31, 2019

Private colleges close due to rising expenses, fix endowments

Small private colleges across the country are increasingly finding themselves trapped between ever-rising expenses and unchanging endowments, forcing administrators into hard decisions such as canceling courses, merging with other colleges and even closing schools.

January 23, 2019

Modern airships to play bigger role in U.S. skies

Miami Beach Police recently skirted a Florida ban on police drone surveillance by monitoring a crowd with a small, helium-filled blimp -- or what reconnaissance experts call a "tethered aerostat."

January 15, 2019

Winter storm blamed for five deaths in Mid-Atlantic region

A massive winter snowstorm that blanketed the Midwest and was blamed for at least five road deaths rolled over the Mid-Atlantic area on Sunday, paralyzing the District of Columbia and surrounding areas.

January 13, 2019

To prevent shooting tragedies, many state, local governments across U.S. debate arming teachers

Nearly a year after a shooting massacre at a Florida high school, state and local governments across the country are still wrestling over the idea of arming teachers to protect students.

January 10, 2019

Arizona city rolls out voluntary traffic reduction program — by tracking residents’ cellphone data

Amid concerns of Big Data tracking people's movements, an Arizona city has launched a program to track its residents' movements — in the name of reducing traffic congestion.

January 9, 2019

Air Force’s firefighting foam linked to contaminated water

The Air Force is wrestling with the toxic legacy of a firefighting foam it used for decades in training exercises that residents on and near bases across the country fear has contaminated their drinking water.

January 6, 2019