COURT: DEA CAN LOOK AT DRUG DATABASE

portland, ore.» The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled Monday that the U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency does not need a court order to subpoena a prescription drug database kept by the state of Oregon, but the ruling did not specify whether those subpoenas would violate constitutional protections.

The ruling reverses a 2014 judge’s ruling finding that the agency must obtain warrants to access the database, which Oregon uses to help healthcare providers identify abuse. The appeals panel, however, said nothing prevents Oregon from challenging individual warrantless subpoenas in court “in light of the particularly important privacy interest implicated here.”

The ruling did not resolve the question of whether the DEA’s administrative subpoenas violate constitutional protections against unreasonable search and seizure outlined in the Fourth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution protecting people against unreasonable searches and seizures.

College loan forgiveness taking time ● New federal data

boston» suggest no new student loan forgiveness applications have been approved out of more than 64,000 pending applications. Thousands of former students of failed for-profit colleges were promised forgiveness by the Obama administration. Borrower advocates say the process to get loans canceled appears to have slowed since President Donald Trump took office.

Google removing medical records from searches. Google just went

under the knife with its removal policies. The search engine added private medical records to its small list of things that it won’t include in its search results, according to Bloomberg News. While the company has yet to release a statement on the decision, “confidential medical records of private people” is now listed under the search engine’s Removal Policies page, which confirms the decision.

BMW expanding S.C. plant.

BMW plans to invest an additional $600 million in its South Carolina plant and create 1,000 more jobs over the next four years. CEO Harald Krueger’s announcement Monday coincides with the German automaker celebrating 25 years of manufacturing in South Carolina.

Apple partners with Hertz.

Apple is leasing a small fleet of Lexus RX450h sport utility vehicles from Hertz Global Holdings to test self-driving technology, an agreement that echoes a larger deal between competitors Alphabet Inc. and Avis Budget Group Inc.

Bezos company to build rocket engine ●

huntsville, ala.» A private spaceflight company owned by Amazon founder Jeff Bezos plans to build a powerful new rocket engine in Alabama for space flight, the company and state officials announced Monday.

Blue Origin president Robert Meyerson said his company is seeking a production contract with United Launch Alliance, a private company that provides satellite launches for the U.S. government and others.

Airline vet to lead Amtrak

● washington» America’s railroad is counting on an airline industry veteran to lead it through a summer of reckoning for congestion and crumbling infrastructure at its busiest station. Amtrak on Monday named former Delta chairman Richard Anderson as its new president and CEO. He will take charge of the government-owned railroad July 12, as it rushes to make repairs at New York’s Penn Station.