> Eli Lilly announced last night that it will pay $690 million to settle about 8,000 class-action suits filed by people who say they developed diabetes and suffered from other health problems after taking the company's schizophrenia drug Zyprexa. The drug remains on the market, although sales fell about 8 percent last year. Story
> In a move guaranteed to incense critics, government lawyers said they will drop their demand that tobacco companies pay for smoking cessation programs. Story
> An article in Washington Monthly by Stanford's Victor Fuchs and partner Ezekiel Emmanuel offers up universal healthcare vouchers as a solution to the nation's healthcare crisis. Story
> A new survey by Hewitt and Associates finds proposed HMO rate increases are at their lowest levels in five years. Story
> Talks in dispute over Southern California hospital site continue. Story
> In New York, an effort to save troubled Westchester Medical Center. Story
> Shares of ImClone rose nearly 17 percent as Wall Street cheered the news that its cancer drug Erbitux is effective against head and neck cancers. Story (Wall Street Journal sub. req.)
> Two senators say they are studying links between drug companies and the people who run Medicaid and Medicare purchasing programs. Story
> Controversy over Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's plan to reform healthcare in California. Story
> Nine years after a feud separated the two companies, UnitedHealthcare and Wisconsin's Aurora Health ink a 15-year contract. Story
And Finally... Child welfare officials in Texas removed a 12-year-old girl with cancer from her home after her parents refused to continue her chemotherapy treatment. Story