Epidemic Hits Species Hailed for Revival, Then Weakened by Polluted Waters
A wasting disease that kills rockfish and can cause a severe skin infection in humans has spread to nearly three-quarters of the rockfish in the Chesapeake Bay, cradle of the mid-Atlantic’s most popular game fish.
The mycobacteriosis epidemic could carry profound implications for the rockfish, also known as striped bass. The fish fuel a $300 million industry in Maryland and Virginia, but because the bacteria kill slowly, effects on the stock are only now emerging.
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Employers Sharply Criticize Shift in Unionizing Method to Cards From Elections
In seeking to equate Mr. Raynor with foreign dictators, the business-backed group that ran the advertisement was trying to discredit the most successful strategy that unions have used to try to reverse a decades-long slide in membership.
That strategy is known as card checks, a process in which companies grant union recognition once a majority of workers sign cards saying they favor a union. Unions increasingly want to use this procedure to replace the traditional organizing method: secret-ballot elections overseen by the National Labor Relations Board.
Many businesses oppose card checks because they say the procedure makes it much easier for unions to secure majority support, often giving management little chance to present its case against unionization. But unions say companies often prevent fair elections by firing and intimidating union supporters.
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A Cancer Drug’s Big Price Rise Disturbs Doctors and Patients
On Feb. 3, Joyce Elkins filled a prescription for a two-week supply of nitrogen mustard, a decades-old cancer drug used to treat a rare form of lymphoma. The cost was $77.50.
On Feb. 17, Ms. Elkins, a 64-year-old retiree who lives in Georgetown, Tex., returned to her pharmacy for a refill. This time, following a huge increase in the wholesale price of the drug, the cost was $548.01.
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