National News at a Glance

Fatal Tesla Crash Raises New Questions About Autopilot System

Tesla’s semiautonomous driving system is coming under scrutiny after the company disclosed late Friday that a fatal crash on March 23 in California occurred while Autopilot was engaged. The company said the driver, Wei Huang, 38, had received several visual and audible warnings to put his hands back on the steering wheel but had failed to do so, even though his Model X had a modified version of the software. His hands were not detected on the wheel for six seconds before the SUV slammed into a concrete divider, and neither Huang nor the Autopilot activated the brakes.

Massachusetts, a Health Pioneer, Turns Its Focus to Drug Prices

Massachusetts, which led the nation in expanding health insurance coverage, now wants to rein in the growth of prescription drug spending for low-income people on Medicaid. The state has asked the Trump administration for permission to limit the number of drugs that will be covered in its Medicaid program, seeking to exclude “drugs with limited or inadequate evidence of clinical efficacy.” Consumer advocates and drug companies have mobilized a campaign against the state’s request for a Medicaid waiver, which could set a national precedent if it is approved.

California Governor Pardons 5 Ex-Convicts Facing Deportation, Provoking Trump

Gov. Jerry Brown of California on Friday pardoned five ex-convicts facing possible deportation, drawing criticism from President Donald Trump and heightening continued tensions between Washington, D.C., and California. The five immigrants were among 56 pardons and 14 commutations Brown granted on Friday to those who have been out of custody for at least 10 years and have exhibited “exemplary behavior” after their convictions, the governor’s press office said. On Saturday morning Trump tweeted a list of crimes that he linked to the five who were pardoned and asked, “Is this really what the great people of California want?”

Ingraham Takes a Week Off as Advertisers Drop Her Show

Fox News host Laura Ingraham announced Friday that she was taking a week off following the decision of several companies to pull advertising from her show after she ridiculed a student survivor of the Parkland, Florida, school shooting. “I’ll be off next week for Easter break with my kids,” Ingraham said on her show, “The Ingraham Angle.” In response to an email, Fox News said that Ingraham’s break was a “preplanned vacation with her kids.” Ingraham had shared an article about how David Hogg, 17, had been rejected from several colleges, and she accused him of whining about it.

Is Newly Found Tissue an Organ? Maybe. A Conduit for Cancer? It Seems Likely.

Researchers have made new discoveries about the in-between spaces in the human body, and some say it’s time to rewrite the anatomy books. A study published in Scientific Reports described a fluid-filled, 3-D latticework of collagen and elastin connective tissue all over the body, in or near our lungs, skin, digestive tracts and arteries. Images captured by transmission electron microscopy show blobs of collagen bundles and long, snaky cells. It also seems to be a conduit for fluids to enter the lymphatic system, which means it could spread diseases through the body — including by helping cancers to metastasize.

In New York Budget, a Fusillade Against de Blasio

In his ceremonial unveiling of the new New York state budget Friday, Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo presented the $168 billion blockbuster as a rebuttal to Washington, a thrust of the chin at President Donald Trump. But another of the bill’s targets could be found closer to home. Cuomo made it clear he intended to lay a heavy hand on matters concerning New York City, and, by extension, on matters concerning his intraparty rival, Mayor Bill de Blasio. The examples included a directive to force the city to pay $418 million for emergency subway repairs, a measure de Blasio has resisted.