One of the last Navajo Code Talkers from World War II dies at 107
One of the last remaining Navajo Code Talkers who transmitted messages during World War II using the tribe's native language has died. John Kinsel Sr. was 107. Navajo Nation officials in Window Rock, Arizona, announced Kinsel’s death on Saturday. Tribal President Buu Nygren has ordered all flags on the reservation to be flown at half-staff to honor Kinsel. Hundreds of Navajos were recruited by the Marines to serve as Code Talkers during the war, transmitting messages using a code based on their then-unwritten native language. Code Talkers participated in all assaults the Marines led in the Pacific from 1942 to 1945, including at Guadalcanal, Tarawa, Peleliu and Iwo Jima.
DOJ charges nearly 200 people in $2.7B health care fraud crackdown
The Justice Department has charged nearly 200 people in a sweeping crackdown on health care fraud schemes nationwide with false claims topping $2.7 billion. Attorney General Merrick Garland announced charges against doctors, nurse practitioners and others across the U.S. on Thursday. The people are accused of a variety of scams, including a $900 million scheme in Arizona targeting dying patients. Prosecutors accuse two owners of Arizona wound care companies of accepting $330 million in kickbacks in a scheme to fraudulently bill Medicare for wound dressings. Another case alleges a scheme in Florida to distribute misbranded HIV drugs. Garland says anyone profiting off the unlawful distribution of controlled substances "will be held accountable.”
Dozens of deaths reveal risks of sedating people restrained by police
An investigation led by The Associated Press has found that the practice of giving sedatives to people detained by police has spread quietly across the nation over the last 15 years, built on questionable science and backed by police-aligned experts. The injections are given by medical personnel during police encounters. The investigation shows how a strategy intended to reduce violence and save lives has resulted in some avoidable deaths. While sedatives were mentioned as a cause or contributing factor in a dozen official death rulings, authorities often didn’t even investigate whether injections were appropriate in the 94 deaths identified by the AP over a decade. About half of the 94 who died were Black.
Citizen scientist measured Rockies snowfall for 50 years. Two new hips help him keep going
As snow hydrologists fan across the western U.S. to measure peak snowpack this spring, citizen scientist Billy Barr will be measuring snow — as always — at 9,500 feet outside his cabin in the remote mountain town of Gothic in central Colorado. This is Barr’s 50th year logging snowfall amounts there. Researchers regularly reference his trove of data as they study a watershed that feeds the Colorado River. Two recent hip replacements let Barr carry on his field work longer than he expected. Now 73, he plans to keep measuring snowfall but is unsure who would fill his shoes when he retires.
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