Today's Globe: Tufts doctor under fire, stolen rings, colon polyp disparity, VA brain injury payments, tainted milk, Tarceva warning, unapproved drugs, Tarceva warning

A US senator known for ferreting out conflicts of interest in medical research yesterday accused Dr. Marvin Konstam, a prominent Tufts University heart specialist, of crossing an ethical line by working simultaneously for the federal government, Tufts Medical Center, and a private heart-device company.

Caritas Good Samaritan Medical Center is investigating the apparent theft of an 89-year-old woman's wedding and engagement rings after her death two weeks ago.

Blacks are more likely than whites to have large colon polyps, and their tumors tend to be located higher in the colon where they are harder to detect, US researchers said yesterday.

The government is more than quadrupling monthly payments to some veterans suffering brain injuries, as the number of such war wounds mounts from the roadside bombings of Iraq and Afghanistan.

In the two weeks since China began piecemeal reporting about contamination of the milk supply, a picture has emerged of official indifference, greed, and government dysfunction.

The Food and Drug Administration told companies to stop selling two unapproved drugs used to irrigate eyes during surgery and to treat lesions such as diabetic ulcers, saying dangerous side effects were associated with the products.

OSI Pharmaceuticals and Genentech Inc. have added toxicity warnings to the label of their cancer drug Tarceva after two patients died of liver damage while taking the medication (sixth item).