ALBANY (The New York Times News Service) -- Buried deep in the state Department of Health website lives a document that lists the number of open-heart surgeries each New York cardiac surgeon performs, and how many patients die. The report also discloses the doctors' names. Most patients have never heard of the annual study, but going under the knife in New York is safer because of it.

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) -- The Department of Justice is seeking a permanent injunction against the nation's largest organic peanut butter plant, an eastern New Mexico facility that has been linked to a salmonella outbreak that has sickened 42 people in 20 states this fall.

(USA TODAY) -- The nation's most elite fighting forces -- celebrated this year in film and best-selling books -- are under more emotional strain after a decade of war than commanders realized, according to the senior non-commissioned officer for special operations.

WASHINGTON (Canadian Press) -- Some U.S. Republicans now say they're willing to discuss the politically treacherous issue of gun control, along with mental health issues and violent video games, while formerly pro-gun Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, a Democrat, says it's time to place gun control on the table in the wake of last week's Connecticut school shooting.

ALAMO, Texas (AP) -- For years, Sonia Limas would drag her daughters to the emergency room whenever they fell sick. As an illegal immigrant, she had no health insurance, and the only place she knew to seek treatment was the hospital -- the most expensive setting for those covering the cost.

BRUSSELS (Deutsche Presse-Agentur) -- Smoking is to become a less attractive proposition in the European Union, according to proposals on the design of cigarette boxes that the bloc's executive in Brussels is expected to unveil next week.

WASHINGTON (AP) -- Accusing the NFL players' union of "trying to back out" of an August 2011 agreement to start checking for human growth hormone, a congressman worried aloud Wednesday that the league will head into next season without a test for the banned drug.

WASHINGTON (AP) -- Your medical plan is facing an unexpected expense, so you probably are, too. It's a new, $63-per-head fee to cushion the cost of covering people with pre-existing conditions under President Barack Obama's health care overhaul.

WASHINGTON (AP) -- Native American military veterans will be able to access health care closer to home thanks to an agreement between the U.S. Department of Veteran Affairs and the Indian Health Service.

WASHINGTON(The New York Times News Service) -- The ad opens with a gray-haired woman grocery shopping, an older man working in an auto repair shop and two little girls running to hug their grandmother. While these people go about their everyday lives, politicians in Washington are once again deciding the fate of Medicare, a program more important to seniors than almost any other.

WASHINGTON (AP) -- A new study says basic prescription drug coverage could vary dramatically from state to state under President Barack Obama's health care overhaul.

AUSTIN, Texas (AP) -- Eight Planned Parenthood organizations sued Texas on Wednesday for excluding them from participating in a program that provides contraception and check-ups to women, saying the new rule violates their constitutional rights to freedom of speech and association.