The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has warned consumers that romaine lettuce from the Salinas Valley, a major agricultural region in California, may be contaminated with E. coli bacteria.
Why it matters: Maryland health officials tested the strain of E. coli that is "closely related genetically" to the type found in sick people in the latest outbreak, per the CDC. As of Tuesday, 67 people in 19 states have been infected
Manhattan is expected to become the largest U.S. city to ban all vaping flavors except tobacco, after its city council voted on Tuesday in favor of the ban, as Mayor Bill de Blasio is anticipated to pass the bill into law, CNBC reports.
The big picture: There are 2,290 confirmed and probable cases of lung injury in 49 states, the District of Columbia and two U.S. territories and 47 deaths associated with e-cigarette use as of Nov. 20, according to the Centers for Disease and Control and Prevention.
More evidence supports the theory that vitamin E acetate in vaping products may be causing thousands of lung injuries and dozens of deaths among Americans.
Driving the news: Illegal THC-containing e-cigarette or vape products from 11 out of 12 patients in Minnesota with lung injuries also contained vitamin E acetate, according to a report from the CDC on Tuesday.
Federal proposals that would require hospitals and health plans to publish their secretly negotiated prices may not do much to change individual behaviors, but companies that offer health insurance to employees could use that information to bargain for better rates and lower their health care expenses.
Where it stands: Employer groups are divided over the proposals, despite the potential upside.
Several companies that manufacture generic drugs are talking with the Department of Justice to avoid indictments for allegedly colluding to raise their prices. They would pay fines and admit that some allegations are true, Bloomberg reports.
The big picture: These potential "deferred prosecution agreements" would only cover the federal probe, not the state-led antitrust investigation, but it could shed light on any price fixing that occurred in the generic drug marketplace.
The Trump administration is pushing ahead with its drug pricing agenda even as impeachment sucks up all the political oxygen, with plans to advance some of its most ambitious regulations and to work with Congress on legislation.
Why it matters: Drug pricing remains a huge issue that both parties want to run on in 2020. For Trump, there's a lot of pressure: His most ambitious proposals have either been tabled, are tied up in the courts or have yet to be implemented.
