National News at a Glance

Many People Taking Antidepressants Discover They Cannot Quit

Long-term use of antidepressants is surging in the United States, according to an analysis of federal data by The New York Times. Some 15.5 million Americans have been taking the medications for at least five years. The rate has almost doubled since 2010. Many who try to quit say they cannot because of withdrawal symptoms they were never warned about. In a recent survey of 250 long-term users of psychiatric drugs — most commonly antidepressants — about half who wound down their prescriptions rated the withdrawal as severe. Nearly half who tried to quit could not because of these symptoms.

U.S. Seizes Backpage.com, a Site Accused of Enabling Prostitution

Federal officials have taken down Backpage.com, a classified advertising website that has been repeatedly accused of enabling prostitution and sex trafficking of minors. Backpage has been under increasing pressure in part because it featured ads that included what child advocates said were code words for underage girls. In January 2017, the site shuttered its “adult services listings” section under mounting criticism from law enforcement groups and senators. But many of the adult listings were simply rerouted to sections of the site dedicated to dating. The site’s founders have said that Backpage notifies law enforcement officials whenever it becomes aware of illegal activity.

Risks for Pruitt in Rush to Kill Obama Rules

Legal experts and White House officials say that, in his haste to undo government rules, Environmental Protection Agency administrator Scott Pruitt has often been less than rigorous in following important procedures, leading to poorly crafted legal efforts that risk being undercut or reversed. Six of Pruitt’s efforts to delay or roll back Obama-era regulations — on issues including pesticides, lead paint and renewable-fuel requirements — have been struck down by the courts. Pruitt also backed down on a proposal to delay implementing smog regulations and another to withdraw a regulation on mercury pollution.

Farmers Tense and Republicans Torn Over Trade War

As President Donald Trump moves to fulfill one of the central promises of his campaign — to get tough on China — he faces a potential rebellion from a core constituency: farmers and agricultural producers who could suffer losses in a trade war. Trump’s threat to impose tariffs on Chinese goods has injected damaging uncertainty into the economy. With farmers worried as China vows to retaliate, many Republicans find themselves torn between loyalty to a president who remains popular in rural states and the demands of constituents, especially farmers, to oppose his tariffs. Nearly two-thirds of U.S. soybean exports go to China.

Zuckerberg Gets a Crash Course in Charm. Will Congress Care?

For Facebook, Tuesday is being seen as a kind of dreaded final exam. That’s when Mark Zuckerberg, the company’s chief executive, will embark on a two-day marathon of testimony on Capitol Hill. His goal? To apologize for Facebook’s missteps, reassure Congress that Facebook intends to stop foreign powers from using its service to meddle in American elections and detail the company’s plans to better protect its users’ privacy. Facebook has spent the past couple of weeks trying to transform its public image from a defiant, secretive behemoth into a contrite paragon of openness, announcing a string of new privacy and anti-abuse measures and making company executives available for numerous interviews.

Helicopter Pilots Warned Bosses of Dangers Long Before Fatal Crash

For months before an open-sided helicopter capsized in the East River in New York on March 11, drowning five passengers who had been strapped inside, pilots for the company that operated the flight warned their bosses about dangerous conditions, including equipment that could make escape difficult. The pilots repeatedly requested more suitable safety gear, with one pilot writing in an email to company management that “we are setting ourselves up for failure” by using sometimes poorly fitting harnesses. The internal documents reviewed by The New York Times indicate that executives for the company, FlyNYON, bristled at the pilots’ concerns, insisting that the operation was safe.