Daily Rounds: A Convict's Kidney; One Month For Immigrants; Polluted Classrooms; Money For Medicaid

Sisters’ Release Requires Kidney Donation - NYTimes.com "Two Mississippi sisters serving double life sentences for their roles in an $11 armed robbery will be released, but only on the condition that the younger sibling donate her kidney to her sister, whose organs are failing, state officials said Thursday. The campaign for the release of Jamie and Gladys Scott from a Mississippi prison included a march on Sept. 15 in Jackson. Gov. Haley Barbour signed orders suspending the prison terms of Jamie and Gladys Scott after a long campaign of online petitions, blogs, Facebook pages and Internet radio programs rallied support for the sisters’ release." (nytimes.com)

Health care plan for immigrants given a lifeline - The Boston Globe "Despite administration warnings that a health coverage program that serves about 22,000 legal immigrants would run out of money by the end of December, Governor Deval Patrick now says funding exists to keep the program alive through January." (Boston Globe)

EPA Warns of PCB Risks in Schools - WSJ.com "In nonbinding recommendations released Wednesday, the Environmental Protection Agency says many schools built before 1979 use light fixtures that contain polychlorinated biphenyls, a manmade chemical that can affect the immune system and reproductive system and can cause cancer if they build up in the human body." (Wall Street Journal)

"Mass. Lawmakers Approve $330M Supplemental Budget | WBUR "The bulk of the spending, more than 80 percent, is slated to help cover higher than expected Medicaid costs." (WBUR | 90.9 FM)