While we here at The Pump Handle have been focusing on popcorn problems (the big story is here, the latest installment here), other bloggers have been keeping tabs on public health issues in Congress:

• At RH Reality Check, Anika Rahman and Tod Preston explain the Global Gag Rule and why it’s a good thing that Congress has voted to repeal it.
• Lisa Codispodi at Womenstake adds up the numbers behind the State Children’s Health Insurance Program, and Merrill Goozner at GoozNews reports on the financial wrangling behind this important legislation.
• Joseph Romm at Gristmill prepares us for the Energy Bill House vs. Senate Smackdown.
• Benjamin Cohen at The World’s Fair finds Farm Bill insight in a scrawled public comment.

(And, if you haven’t read Susan Wood’s post here on drug safety and the prescription drug bill Congress is in the process of reauthorizing, you should check that out, too.)

Elsewhere in the blogosphere:

Ed Silverman at Pharmalot reports on a settlement between Eli Lilly and an expert witness who provided the New York Times with sealed documents showing the drugmaker hid harmful side effects of its antipsychotic drug Zyprexa; TortsProfBlog has more details. (For more backstory, see David Michaels’s post on the Zyprexa case.)

Tara C. Smith at Aetiology reminds us that refusing vaccinations can have serious consequences, like those currently occurring in Britain.

Revere at Effect Measure explains the new flu findings from a slum in Bangladesh.

JLowe at Impact Analysis laments the sad state of environmental health policy in the U.S.

Chris H at denialism blog mocks a Wall Street Journal op-ed on fuel economy standards.

And, for a change, a few pieces of good news:
Peter Etnoyer at Deep Sea News reports that sea turtles are rebounding in the Gulf of Mexico.

Abel Pharmboy at Terra Sigillata praises informational FDA videos.

Chris O’Brien at Beer Activist explains how craft breweries can be forest-friendly.

* Actually the Saturday blog roundup, because I screwed up the timestamp.