$500 Million For Nassar’s Victims; A Year of Mueller; 25 Seconds Early

Top Stories for Thursday, May 17, 2018 [NPR]( Daily Headlines Thursday, May 17, 2018 FIRST UP: What you need to know now [The Senate vote to overturn FCC’s net neutrality repeal is mostly symbolic.]( The Senate voted 52-47 to nullify the Federal Communications Commission’s net neutrality rollback, but the outcome is unlikely to derail the repeal of Obama-era rules that banned Internet service providers from blocking or slowing down websites or apps. The House is likely to let the FCC’s repeal pass, but Democrats are planning to carry the political fight over Internet access into the 2018 midterms. [Find out how.]( [332: That’s how many victims of Larry Nassar will receive part of a $500 million settlement from Michigan State University.]( MSU has agreed to pay $425 million to those 332 victims of the disgraced sports doctor, with $75 million set aside in a trust fund for any future claimants who allege sexual abuse by Nassar. The agreement is not yet final, but MSU is the only organization to settle so far. USA Gymnastics, the United States Olympic Committee and Twistars gymnastics club, located in Michigan, are also named in the lawsuit. [Read more.]( [It might surprise you that the Koch brothers are praising Democrats on immigration.]( The billionaire brothers Charles and David Koch are known for their political network that funds, almost exclusively, Republican candidates with libertarian platforms. But recently, the LIBRE Initiative — the Hispanic outreach arm of the Koch network — is putting money behind efforts to praise Democrats on the federal level, and it’s doing so with control of Congress on the line in the midterm elections. [Read why.]( IN THE NEWS: Digging deeper Alex Wong/Getty Images Thursday marks one year since the appointment of Justice Department special counsel Robert Mueller. Whether you love him or hate him, has there ever been so much said about a man who has said so little? It’s hard to predict where his special investigation will end up, but after one year of investigations, prosecutions and plea agreements, [he’s given us a few clues](. - Mueller is running both the counterintelligence investigation he inherited from the FBI (following the connection of Russian agents to junior Trump campaign adviser George Papadopoulos) and a conventional criminal investigation (like the prosecution of former Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort for white-collar crimes). - He commands an astonishing breadth and depth of information. From tracked changes on a Word document to emails and expense reports, Mueller seems to have eyes everywhere. - No one knows how long this will take. You could read this as good for the Trump administration — there have been no conspiracy charges tying campaign aides to Russian active measures even after all this time. However, prosecutors are putting a lot of pressure on Trump’s circle, like Michael Cohen, and big chunks of what is known about the Russian attempt on to effect the 2016 election still haven’t been addressed by the special counsel's office. Could more indictments be coming? Some brand name drug companies have figured out how to game the system to prevent the competition, and it’s costing consumers. Celgene Corp. has kept generic competition at bay by constructing a fortress of patents and grants of market exclusivity around drugs like Revlimid (which treats a form of blood cancer), while also taking steps to ensure that generic competitors can't get their hands on enough of the drugs to develop viable alternatives. This prolongs the period of exclusivity for years and and allows the companies to jack up prices, [essentially creating a legal monopoly on the drug](. "By preventing generic entry, Celgene has been able to continue reaping as much as ... $430 per dose for Revlimid, or more than ... $4 billion annually for Revlimid," said a 2014 lawsuit by the generic drugmaker Mylan. What is the government doing about it? The FDA is expected to launch a website on Thursday naming the companies accused by generic drug makers of blocking them from getting the drug samples they need to test their medications against their brand-name counterparts. And members of Congress have taken notice, introducing legislation to stop it. BEFORE YOU GO Courtesy of Christopher C. Austin/LSU 💚 It ain’t easy being green. Unless, of course, you’re [a lizard with naturally green blood](. 🚄 Wait, what? This Japanese rail operator apologizes for [leaving the station 25 seconds]( early. 💬“These aren't people. These are animals," [the president said]( of some unauthorized immigrants. 👂 Look, we don’t want to talk about it anymore either, but here’s the [“yanny” vs. “laurel”]( debate, explained. You received this message because you're subscribed to our News emails. | [Unsubscribe]( | [Privacy Policy]( | NPR 1111 N. CAPITOL ST. NE WASHINGTON DC 20002 [NPR]