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The Justice Department told a lawmaker this week that it had stopped defending a federal prohibition on female genital mutilation because of flaws in the law, two weeks after it also began fighting the Affordable Care Act in court rather than defend it. The department “reluctantly determined” that it could not appeal a federal judge’s decision to throw out a female circumcision case because the statute outlawing the practice needed to be rewritten, the solicitor general, Noel J. Francisco, wrote in a letter to Senator Dianne Feinstein of California, the top Democrat on the Senate Judiciary Committee. (Benner, 4/12)

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said Friday that E. coli-contaminated ground beef was the suspected culprit in an outbreak that infected at least 109 people in six states. Investigators are a step closer to tracking down the source of contamination that has perplexed them since health officials in Kentucky and Georgia notified them on March 28. The CDC said 17 people have been hospitalized, though no deaths have been reported. (Horton, Brice-Saddler and Sun, 4/12)

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) said on Friday it has sent letters to Walmart Inc, Kroger Co and 10 other convenience store chains for selling tobacco products to minors. In the letters, dated April 5, the FDA asked the companies to submit a plan of action within 30 days, describing how they will address and mitigate illegal sales to minors. (4/13)