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WASHINGTON - Federal law-enforcement and national-security authorities are on alert for counterfeit doses of H1N1 vaccine and anti-viral medications that they expect to surface in the United States, particularly as shortages of both continue to grow.

WASHINGTON - About the only consistent thing in this burg over 46 years of observation is that a whole lot of the politicians that run it never seem to learn from the past. When it comes to corruption, they just keep thinking they can beat the odds.

WASHINGTON - Samples of Chinese drywall have been found to contain significantly more sulfur-generating bacteria than comparable North American drywall, a finding scientists believe could provide a pathway to help desperate and furious homeowners.

WASHINGTON - Civil liberties advocates caution that mandatory vaccinations, forced quarantines and restricted interstate travel would not only endanger individual rights but also would be unlikely to prevent disease in the event of a severe H1N1 outbreak.

WASHINGTON - In a move that marks the first federal attempt to aid tens of thousands of homeowners with properties containing potentially toxic Chinese drywall, lawmakers have acted to make them eligible for the same low-interest loans available to disaster victims.

WASHINGTON - There's a huge clog in the American economy, one that is blocking a pipeline to innovation that has always set this country apart and fostered prosperity.

WASHINGTON - Federal officials Thursday identified two potentially harmful chemicals in homes built with Chinese drywall, but stopped far short of blaming the imported material on widespread health problems associated with it.

WASHINGTON - Wildlife experts believe the White Nose Syndrome epidemic that has killed more than a million bats isn't going away anytime soon, so Washington's National Zoo is creating an "insurance" population of bats to preserve one species and study the disease.

WASHINGTON - Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid keeps a copy of the Book of Mormon in his office just off the chamber floor on Capitol Hill. There's a second copy handy to give away to someone in need of spiritual guidance.

"I've had more than that," says the Nevada Democrat, pulling the extra edition from his desk drawer. "I have one left."

WASHINGTON - H1N1 has hit the Hill.

The first congressman came down with swine flu this past week. Rep. Greg Walden, a sixth-term Republican from rural Oregon, announced via Twitter that the virus had nailed him.

"Just diagnosed with likely H1N1. Ugh. Off to seclusion for awhile(cq)," the lawmaker, 52, tweeted Tuesday.