State and National News

Updated at 5:28 p.m. ET

Four U.S. senators told the head of the nation's top consumer protection agency Thursday that they want her to launch examinations into serious problems with a program designed to offer loan forgiveness to public service workers.

As a teenager, Katie Gruman was prescribed one mental health drug after another. None seemed to help her manage symptoms of anxiety and bipolar disorder, so she self-medicated with alcohol and illicit drugs.

It would take five years, and trying more than 15 different medications, before she found meds that actually helped.

Now 28 and in recovery, Gruman has been on the same drugs for years. But when a clinician recommended a genetic test to see which drugs work best for her, she took it.

Representative Elijah E. Cummings, 68, died this morning. From a Baltimore lawyer to Maryland delegate to the chairman of the House Oversight and Reform Committee, Cummings led a life dedicated to the public good. He was respected both on the Hill and in his home town of Baltimore, which he represented. Here & Now‘s Tonya Mosley speaks to Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton (@EleanorNorton) about the Cummings’ legacy.

A protest by environmental activist group Extinction Rebellion sparked violence and disruption at a train station on Thursday. Before the sun had come up, some trains were at a standstill. Protesters had climbed atop the railcars; at least one grandfather had glued his hand to one.

Should juveniles convicted of murder ever receive life in prison without the possibility of parole? The Supreme Court looks at the case of the D.C. Sniper, and raises the question of sentencing reform in juvenile justice.