Bloomberg News

The California State Teachers’ Retirement System’s $73 billion unfunded liability may be the state’s “most difficult fiscal challenge” and lawmakers should increase funding for the second-largest U.S. pension, the Legislative Analyst’s Office has reported.

A rising number of injuries linked to robotic surgery has been reported to Massachusetts health officials, spurring the state to call for better oversight on training and more disclosure to patients on potential risks.

Illinois teachers would be asked to choose between pension increase and retiree health under a measure that was adopted by the state’s senate this week. The bill’s impact is a matter of dispute. Illinois’ pension system is the most under-funded state system in the country.

About 2% of American school children were diagnosed with autism disorders in 2011 and 2012, a 72 percent increase from the previous five years, according to a report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Caffeine levels should be reduced in energy drinks because of health risks, particularly to children, doctors wrote the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.

Funding for Alzheimer’s has lagged behind other medical issues, advocates say, and the disease is now the sixth-leading cause of death in the United States. Without breakthroughs, the number of those affected aged 65 and older will double by 2050.

International rules designed to make derivative transactions safer by increasing collateral requirements may lead pension plans to take unnecessary risks, according to the National Association of Pension Funds

Mayor Michael Bloomberg called for legislation to make New York the first U.S. city to require stores to conceal tobacco products, a week after a court struck down his ban on the sale of large sugary beverages.

Labor groups applauded the nomination of Thomas Perez, saying he has been a champion for working people who sought to eliminate discrimination in housing, provide access to education and health care, and crack down on employers who try to avoid paying fair wages.

President Barack Obama named Thomas Perez, an assistant U.S. attorney general, as his choice for labor secretary in his second term. Perez would replace Hilda Solis, ensuring that the Labor Department is led again by a Hispanic, helping the president maintain diversity in his cabinet. Solis resigned in January.

A federal judge has issued a preliminary injunction on PPACA’s contraception requirement, saying an employer’s First Amendment rights could be irreparably harmed if the mandate was enforced while a lawsuit was pending.

Ford Motor Co., while moving to close a growing deficit in its pension, will shift more of its plan’s assets to fixed income to shield against changes in interest rates.

California should force state workers to use up their vacation time rather than bank it until retirement, the Legislative Analyst’s Office said after finding the cost to taxpayers has reached a historic high.

The Los Angeles Fire and Police Pension System, with about $15.7 billion in assets, is allocating about $785 million for commodities, its first investment in the asset class.

Governors who refuse to expand their Medicaid programs for the poor may cost employers in their states as much as $1.3 billion in federal fines, according to a new study.

Air Canada stock gained the most in a week after the carrier reached an agreement with the Canadian federal government to extend a cap on pension funding by seven years, vividly demonstrating the impact of pension obligations and the price of publicly traded sponsor’s common stock shares.

New Jersey’s public pension deficit swelled 13% to $47.2 billion in fiscal 2012 as the state continued to make partial contributions to its retirement plans.

Older U.S. adults may get too many colonoscopies, costing Medicare an estimated $500 million a year and putting patients at an increased risk of side effects such as bleeding, researchers found.

Illinois became the second state to settle with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission over charges it misled investors about a growing shortfall in its employee pension funds as it sold $2.2 billion in bonds.

If a new potential therapy for slowing the onset of Alzheimer’s disease is successful, the use of PET scans — which cost $1,500 to $3,500 apiece — “will explode,” says one scientist involved in the research.