A leading House Democrat urged Vice President Biden Friday not to ignore mental health issues as his panel grapples with U.S. gun violence.

Rep. Henry Waxman (D-Calif.), the top Democrat on the Energy and Commerce Committee, wrote to Biden recommending better gun-safety standards, more research applying a public-health perspective to gun violence and greater mental health coverage for people in the United States.

"Experts agree: the prevalence of guns and gun violence in our society is not just a criminal justice problem; it is also a public health and safety problem," Waxman wrote in a letter Friday. 

Read more...

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported that nine of the 10 U.S. regions are experiencing "elevated" flu activity.

A majority of small businesses think the economy is on the wrong track, with most of the uncertainty coming from concern over the implementation of the healthcare law, according to a survey by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. 

Despite the recent congressional agreement on some tax and spending policies, businesses say uncertainty is being churned up over concerns about the economy, debt and deficit issues, as well as implementation of the healthcare law, according to the Chamber's fourth-quarter poll of small businesses released Friday. 

In response to those concerns, more than half (53 percent) of small businesses have not hired in the past year, and 64 percent say they plan to keep the same number of employees this year.

Rep. Phil Gingrey (R-Ga.), an OB-GYN, said a rush of adrenaline can prevent the female body from ovulating.

A pair of Senate Democrats on Friday pressed Vice President Biden to include expanded access to mental-health services in his recommendations for addressing gun violence.

The lawmakers want the White House to issue final rules implementing the Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act, which Congress passed four years ago but has not been fully implemented.

Sens. Al Franken (D-Minn.) and Tom Harkin (D-Iowa) called for Biden to include mental-health parity in his recommendations to curb gun violence.

Planned Parenthood Virginia PAC slammed the state's attorney general Friday after he said going to jail would be an effective way to protest President Obama's birth-control mandate.

Ken Cuccinelli, a conservative Catholic who opposes the mandate, made the remark late Wednesday on an Iowa radio program.

"My local bishop said he told a group, 'Well, you know, I told a group I’m ready to go to jail.' And I told him, 'Bishop ... you need to go to jail,'" Cuccinelli said.

Jack Lew's nomination to Treasury secretary will likely elevate one of the Obama administration's most adamant supporters of Medicaid.

Lew has been a staunch advocate for Medicaid in his role as President Obama's chief of staff, and the program's outside supporters are excited that Lew will now play a bigger role.

"I'm thrilled. We're gaining even a stronger voice in the Treasury Department, and Jack is undoubtedly going to play a pivotal role in many of the future budget negotiations," Families USA Executive Director Ron Pollack said.

House Oversight Committee leaders praised Major League Baseball's decision to introduce in-season tests for human growth hormone (HGH) for players.

The announcement, made by Commissioner Bud Selig on Thursday, sends a "strong message to young people everywhere that performance-enhancing drugs are dangerous and unacceptable," Oversight leaders said.

Voters failed to elect anyone to the National Baseball Hall of Fame this year. Several candidates failed because of concerns over steroid use. 

Sens. Tom Carper (D-Del.), Tom Coburn (R-Okla.), Max Baucus (D-Mont.) and Orrin Hatch (R-Utah) on Thursday questioned the effectiveness of anti-waste and fraud-prevention efforts for Medicare. 

“Budgets are tight and we can’t afford to lose taxpayer dollars to waste and fraud,” Baucus said in a statement Thursday. “Medicare’s efforts to crack down must deliver results.”