Midday Roundup: Seattle couple sues over missed chance to abort

A sad suit. Healthcare providers must pay a family $50 million in what is being called a "wrongful-birth" case. The Seattle Times reported the verdict against Valley Medical Center and Laboratory Corporation of America, which missed indications that Rhea and Brock Wuth’s unborn child had an unbalanced chromosome translocation causing severe mental and physical disabilities. The Wuths said they would have aborted their son if they had known he had the disease. Oliver Wuth, now 5½ years old, will require round-the-clock care for his lifetime. According to the Times, he is unable to run or walk upstairs, but he can speak a few dozen words that his parents can understand.

Rock on. The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame announced today it will induct Nirvana, Kiss, Peter Gabriel, Hall and Oates, Linda Ronstadt, and Cat Stevens (aka Yusuf Islam) on April 10 at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, N.Y. Artists are eligible for induction 25 years after their first release. Nirvana received a nomination in its first year of eligibility. This year also marked first-time nominations for Hall and Oates, Gabriel, and Ronstadt. Kiss and Stevens, who have been nominated in the past, made the cut after being absent from the list for several years. Notably absent from the list was the band Yes, which had support from the campaigning efforts of political strategists John Brabender and Tad Devine.

Take your chances. Lottery players are anxiously waiting to see whether the Mega Millions jackpot will reach $1 billion by Christmas Eve. The multistate lottery prize soared to $586 million this morning prior to Tuesday night’s Mega Millions drawing. Forty-three states participate in the lottery. The use of the proceeds from the lottery varies from state to state. Paula Otto, executive director of the Virginia Lottery and lead director for Mega Millions, said ticket sales are ahead of projections for Tuesday’s drawing, increasing the likelihood it could shatter the current record of $656 million, set in a March 2012 Mega Millions drawing. Mega Millions holds drawings Tuesday and Friday nights. Otto predicted the jackpot could surpass $1 billion if no one wins the next two drawings.

Washed out. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) warned yesterday that anti-bacterial soaps do no better than normal soap and water in killing germs. It called on companies who label their soaps as “anti-bacterial” to prove their worth or make changes by late 2016. The ruling applies only to soaps containing anti-bacterial chemicals such as triclosan, not to hand sanitizers that use alcohol as a germ-killing agent. The FDA cited concerns that triclosan can affect users’ hormones and increase bacteria’s resistance to antibiotics. An FDA analysis estimates it will cost companies $112.2 million to $368.8 million to comply with the new regulations, including reformulating some products and removing marketing claims from others. Companies have a year to respond to the ruling before it becomes final.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.