HARRISBURG — Pennsylvania state senators passed legislation to require physician approval before dispensing alternatives to patented biological medicines over the protests of insurance companies and pharmacists.

The Senate voted 44-6 for the bill. It is supported by the Biotechnology Industry Organization, which represents major pharmaceutical makers. The sponsor, Sen. Pat Vance, called it a patient safety bill.

It would require a pharmacist to notify the prescribing physician before dispensing what is called a biosimilar medication.

Drugmakers say the notification is essential because biosimilars aren't identical to the biological medication they'd replace.

But the Insurance Federation of Pennsylvania and Pennsylvania Pharmacists Association say the extra steps would undermine the use and development of biosimilars, which are less expensive than brand-name drugs.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration hasn't approved any biosimilar medications yet.

PORTLAND, Ore. — The U.S. government offers no adequate method for people to challenge their placement on its no-fly list, a federal judge ruled Tuesday in a case involving 13 Muslims who believe they're on the list.U.S. District Court Judge Anna Brown found people lack a meaningful way to challenge their placement on the list, which bars them from flying to or within the United States. She also said the 13 people who sued the government have been unconstitutionally deprived of their right to fly.

WASHINGTON — The Internal Revenue Service did not follow the law when it failed to report the loss of records belonging to a senior IRS executive, the nation's top archivist told Congress on Tuesday, in the latest development in the congressional probe of the agency's targeting of conservative groups seeking tax-exempt status.In June 2011, IRS executive Lois Lerner's computer crashed, resulting in the loss of records that are sought in investigations into the agency's actions. At the time, the agency tried to recover Lerner's records, but with no success.When it was determined later in the summer of 2011 that the records on the hard drive were gone forever, the IRS should have notified the National Archives and Records Administration, U.S. Archivist David Ferriero told members of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee. But Ferriero learned of the lost records on June 13 when the IRS notified Congress.