A Los Angeles jury has awarded $40 million to two women who claim Johnson & Johnson’s talcum powder caused their ovarian cancer. The company plans to appeal the verdict. This is part of an ongoing legal battle over the alleged link between talc in Johnson’s Baby Powder and cancer.

Johnson & Johnson stopped selling talc-based powder globally in 2023. In October, another jury ordered the company to pay $966 million in a similar case. Johnson & Johnson argues that scientific evaluations confirm talc is safe and plans to challenge the verdict.

Treasury rachets up investigations targeting Minnesota’s Somali community for fraud

The Treasury Department is targeting businesses used to send money abroad as President Donald Trump’s administration ramps up investigations into fraud within Minnesota’s Somali community.

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent announced Friday that money wire services sending funds to Somalia will need to submit additional verification.

The new action was prompted in part by a series of fraud cases, including a nonprofit called Feeding Our Future accused of stealing pandemic aid meant for school meals. Prosecutors have put the losses from that case at $300 million.

Bessent has pointed to a report by conservative news outlet City Journal, which claimed that taxpayer dollars from defrauded government programs flowed to al-Shabab, an al-Qaida-linked militant group that controls parts of Somalia. The report cites unnamed sources and the allegations have not been substantiated.