A Pentagon study has found high rates of cancer among military pilots and, for the first time, shows that ground crews who fuel, maintain and launch those aircraft are also getting sick. The data had long been sought by retired military aviators who have raised alarms for years about the number of those they knew who had cancer. In its yearlong study of almost 900,000 service members who flew on or worked on military aircraft between 1992 and 2017, the Pentagon found significantly higher rates of melanoma, thyroid, brain, prostate and breast cancers. The findings now require an even larger review to try to identify the causes.

U.S. health advisers are backing the continued use of Pfizer’s COVID-19 pill Paxlovid, saying it remains an important option for adults at high risk of severe illness. The panel of Food and Drug Administration experts agreed Thursday that the drug is safe and effective for preventing severe COVID-19 in adults with health risks. The medication has been used by millions of Americans since the FDA  granted it emergency use authorization more than two years ago. Pfizer is asking the FDA to grant the drug full approval to remain on the market. The agency is expected to make a decision by May.

Twenty years ago the U.S. invaded Iraq amid blinding explosions of shock and awe. American forces remain in the country, a small but consistent presence to ensure an ongoing relationship with a key military and diplomatic partner in the Middle East. The roughly 2,500 U.S. troops are scattered around the country, largely in military installations in Baghdad and in the north. It is a far cry from the more than 170,000 U.S. forces in Iraq at the peak of the war in 2007. But U.S. officials say the limited — but continued — troop level is critical as a show of commitment to the region and a hedge against Iranian influence and weapons trafficking.

President Joe Biden is set to pay tribute to the heroes of “Bloody Sunday” in Selma, Alabama. He'll be joining thousands for the annual commemoration later Sunday of the seminal moment in the civil rights movement that led to passage of landmark voting rights legislation nearly 60 years ago. Biden's visit to Selma also is an an opportunity to speak directly to the current generation of activists. Many feel dejected because Biden has been unable to make good on a campaign pledge to bolster voting rights and they're eager to see his administration keep the issue in the spotlight.

Former U.S. Rep. Steve Buyer of Indiana has gone on trial on insider trading charges. He's accused of illegally garnering stock windfalls by exploiting his consulting clients’ corporate secrets years after he left Congress. Buyer's lawyers counter that he was a stock market buff who did his research, made some profitable trades and didn’t even know about his clients’ private plans when he made the purchases that came under prosecutors’ scrutiny. The Republican served in Congress from 1993 to 2011. He chaired the House Veterans’ Affairs committee for a time and served as one of the House prosecutors during former President Bill Clinton’s 1998 impeachment trial.