HONOLULU (AP) - Hawaii has awarded eight licenses for medical marijuana dispensaries - but not to Woody Harrelson.
The actor was among nearly 60 Hawaii residents who applied in January to open the state's first medical marijuana dispensaries.
The awards were announced Friday by the Hawaii Department of Health.
Hawaii awards licenses for medical pot but not to actorHONOLULU (AP) - Hawaii awards 8 licenses for medical marijuana dispensaries but not to actor Woody Harrelson.
Hawaii awards 8 licenses for medical marijuana dispensaries but not to actor Woody HarrelsonBALTIMORE (AP) - A man who died after a struggle with Baltimore police officers in 2013 died because he couldn't breathe, and not because of a heart condition as the department's independent review board concluded, according to a new forensic review of his autopsy.
The man's family hopes it will prompt the city's top prosecutor to reopen his case.
Report: Heart condition didn't cause man's death in custodyWASHINGTON (AP) - The first commercial test for the Zika virus has been cleared for emergency use in the U.S. and could be available by next week.
The Food and Drug Administration granted the authorization Thursday to the test's developer, Quest Diagnostics, which said it would make it widely available to doctors for patient testing.
First widely available Zika test OK'd for emergency useNORFOLK, Va. (AP) - Passengers on a cruise ship docked in Virginia have been sickened with norovirus.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says the Balmoral, which is docked Friday in Norfolk, reports 159 crew and passengers have reported being sick. The ship operated by Fred. Olsen Cruise Lines left Britain April 16.
Norovirus sickens 159 on cruise ship docked in NorfolkALBANY, N.Y. (AP) - New York's governor is seeking federal approval to extend Medicaid coverage to inmates who face serious health challenges immediately before they're released from prison.
Andrew Cuomo's office announced Friday that the state is the first in the nation to make such a request.
New York governor: Give Medicaid to inmates before releaseMIAMI (AP) - The makeup industry is trying to convince women that looking good on the outside starts from within - but it's unclear whether the products they're trying to hawk are safe and effective.
Big-name beauty companies and retailers including Sephora and Urban Outfitters are rolling out everything pills and drinkable liquids loaded with exotic herbs, vitamins, seeds, berries and substances such as collagen.
Are you ready to replace your moisturizer with a pill?Valeant Pharmaceuticals on Friday filed its long-overdue U.S. financial report for 2015, plus restated results for several quarters, resolving its default on some of its $30 billion in debt and averting other problems. The badly tarnished Canadian drugmaker also announced a slate of mostly new nominees for elections to its board in June.
Valeant files overdue financial report, ending debt defaultSTANFORD -- The union that represents thousands of nurses from Stanford Health Care and Lucile Packard Children's Hospital Stanford said Thursday it has reached a tentative three-year agreement on benefits and wages that will make its members the highest paid nurses in the Bay Area.
The agreement, which must be ratified next month by 3,300 members of the Committee for Recognition of Nursing Achievement, appears to avert a possible strike the nurses had said they were prepared to call after negotiations between both sides broke down.
Nurses, Stanford Hospitals, reach tentative dealBOSTON (AP) - A Boston teacher born with cystic fibrosis is running a 5K road race this weekend - six months to the day after undergoing a life-saving double lung transplant.
Eamonn Kelly, a science teacher at St. Columbkille Partnership School in the city's Brighton neighborhood, could run for just about 15 seconds at a time when he first started training soon after the operation.
Teacher to run 5K race 6 months after double lung transplantCHICAGO (AP) - Prince's final days and unexpected death at age 57 raise questions among experts familiar with prescription painkiller overdoses. It's possible the innovative musician's demise represents one of the most public tragedies in an overdose crisis now gripping America.
A law enforcement official told The Associated Press on Thursday that investigators are looking into whether Prince died from an overdose and whether a doctor was prescribing him drugs in the weeks before he was found dead at his home in suburban Minneapolis.
Death raises questions: Did Prince die of an overdose?STANFORD -- The union that represents thousands of nurses from Stanford Health Care and Lucile Packard Children's Hospital Stanford said Thursday it has reached a tentative three-year agreement on benefits and wages that will make its members the highest paid nurses in the Bay Area.
The agreement, which must be ratified next month by 3,300 members of the Committee for Recognition of Nursing Achievement, appears to avert a possible strike the nurses had said they were prepared to call after negotiations between both sides broke down.
Nurses, Stanford Hospitals, reach tentative dealSTANFORD -- The union that represents thousands of nurses from Stanford Health Care and Lucile Packard Children's Hospital Stanford said Thursday it has reached a tentative three-year agreement on benefits and wages that will make its members the highest paid nurses in the Bay Area.
The agreement, which must be ratified next month by 3,300 members of the Committee for Recognition of Nursing Achievement, appears to avert a possible strike the nurses had said they were prepared to call after negotiations between both sides broke down.
Nurses, Stanford Hospitals, reach tentative dealCHICAGO (AP) - Prince's final days and unexpected death at age 57 raise questions among experts familiar with prescription painkiller overdoses. It's possible the innovative musician's demise represents one of the most public tragedies in an overdose crisis now gripping America.
A law enforcement official told The Associated Press on Thursday that investigators are looking into whether Prince died from an overdose and whether a doctor was prescribing him drugs in the weeks before he was found dead at his home in suburban Minneapolis.
Death raises questions: Did Prince die of an overdose?HONOLULU (AP) - State lawmakers are poised to make Hawaii one of a handful of states that allow psychologists to prescribe medication in hopes of increasing access to mental health services.
The Hawaii bill would allow psychologists to prescribe medication if they undergo special training. It sets requirements including 400 hours of training, supervision of 100 patients and passing an exam created by the American Psychological Association.
Hawaii looks to allow psychologists to prescribe drugsSTANFORD -- The union that represents thousands of nurses from Stanford Health Care and Lucile Packard Children's Hospital Stanford said Thursday it has reached a tentative three-year agreement on benefits and wages that will make its members the highest paid nurses in the Bay Area.
The agreement, which must be ratified next month by 3,300 members of the Committee for Recognition of Nursing Achievement, appears to avert a possible strike the nurses had said they were prepared to call after negotiations between both sides broke down.
Nurses, Stanford Hospitals, reach tentative dealFLAGSTAFF, Ariz. (AP) - Federal investigators say access to health care for American Indians is difficult to gauge because the agency that oversees it does a poor job of tracking patient wait times.
A U.S. Government Accountability Office report released Thursday says long wait times are a known problem at Indian Health Service facilities.
GAO: Health care access hard to measure for Native AmericansSIOUX FALLS, S.D. (AP) - A Native American tribe in South Dakota sued the federal government Thursday over the nearly five-month closure of the only emergency room on its reservation.
The federal lawsuit filed Thursday by the Rosebud Sioux Tribe asks that federal officials be forced to re-open the emergency room at the hospital administered by the Indian Health Service.
APNewsBreak: South Dakota tribe sues feds over ER closureBOSTON (AP) - The Massachusetts Senate voted overwhelmingly Thursday to raise the minimum age for purchasing cigarettes and other tobacco products across the state, which could make it the second to raise its threshold to 21 years old.
The higher age is already in effect in Boston and more than 100 other cities and towns, covering about half the state's population.
Massachusetts Senate approves under-21 ban on tobacco salesBALTIMORE (AP) - The Latest on a man shot by police after he walked into a Baltimore TV station dressed in an animal costume and claiming to have a bomb: (all times local):
5 p.m.
A man wearing a full animal costume and surgical mask and displaying what appeared to be an explosive device on his chest has been taken away in an ambulance after being shot by a police sniper outside a Baltimore TV station.
The Latest: Man who said he had bomb taken away in ambulanceFOSTER CITY, Calif. (AP) - Gilead Science Inc.'s earnings tumbled 17 percent in first quarter as sales of its blockbuster hepatitis C franchise slowed faster than expected, missing Wall Street estimates.
The maker of Harvoni, the first once-daily, single-pill regimen for hepatitis C, said sales of the best-selling drug fell 15 percent to $3 billion in the quarter, with the steepest drop-off in the U.
Gilead 1Q profit tumbles on slower hepatitis C drug salesAmgen beat and then raised profit expectations after surging sales of its medicines, tight cost controls and other factors lifted the biologic drugmaker's first-quarter profit by 17 percent.
The maker of osteoporosis drug Prolia on Thursday reported net income of $1.9 billion, or $2.50 per share, trouncing forecasts for the sixth straight quarter.
Amgen posts 1Q sales, profit jumps, raises profit forecastsBALTIMORE (AP) - Baltimore police say a department sniper shot a man who walked into a TV station lobby wearing a full animal costume and surgical mask and displaying what appeared to be an explosive device on his chest.
Department spokesman T.J. Smith said the man is alive and conscious and communicating with authorities through a robot designed to detect explosives.
Police sniper shoots man who says he has bomb at TV stationPHILADELPHIA (AP) - Critics of the proposed $1 billion settlement of NFL concussion claims want a full U.S. appeals court in Philadelphia to review a recent court decision that upheld the deal.
The challengers believe the lead players' lawyers negotiated away compensation for the key complaint in the original lawsuit, a brain disease known as chronic traumatic encephalopathy, because the science is still being developed.
Critics of $1 billion NFL concussion deal seek court reviewNEW YORK (AP) - Birth rates are falling dramatically for blacks and Hispanics teenagers, but they continue to be much higher than the birth rate for white teens.
The Hispanic teen birth rate fell by half over about eight years, and the black teen birth rate dropped nearly that much. But even with those declines, the white teen birth rate is still only half as high, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported Thursday.
CDC: Teen birth rates plunge, but racial disparities persistSanta Hernandez knew her two granddaughters needed glasses well before she made an appointment with a local clinic to get their vision checked.
But after waiting several months for their appointment date to arrive, she set up another one for the two preschoolers -- this time with See Well to Learn, a Prevent Blindness Northern California program that made a stop last week at Helen Turner Children's Center in Hayward, where the girls go to school.
Hayward preschoolers screened for vision problemsNEW YORK (AP) - Abbott is spending $19B on heart device maker St. Jude Medical.
Abbott is spending $19B on heart device maker St. Jude MedicalPARIS (AP) - Drug maker Sanofi says it has made a $9.3 billion bid for San Francisco pharmaceutical firm Medivation, part of the firm's effort to expand its portfolio of cancer treatments.
Medivation Inc. has so far resisted overtures from Paris-based Sanofi, which is seeking to compete with the likes of America's Bristol-Myers Squibb, Switzerland's Roche and Britain's AstraZeneca, all three of whom have poured money into cancer drug research.
Sanofi makes $9.3 billion bid for American firm MedivationCUPERTINO, California (AP) - Apple is edging its way a little further into health care with the release of new iPhone apps that patients can use to manage their own medical conditions - from diabetes to pregnancy and even depression.
While there are hundreds of health-related apps on the market, Apple wants to put its stamp on a new ecosystem of treatment programs.
Smartphone health: Apple releases software for medical appsHONOLULU (AP) - Hawaii officials say they have reached a milestone in controlling the state's dengue fever outbreak now that 30 days have passed since the last known infected person was contagious.
"As we celebrate this milestone today, I think it's critical that everyone understand this is not the end," said Virginia Pressler, director of the state Department of Health.
Hawaii reaches milestone in fighting dengue fever outbreakMay 3 is Give Local Solano Day, declares the Solano County Board of Supervisors and the mayors of all seven of its cities. Organizers say they hope the day improves the county's last-place ranking in regional charitable giving.
At $3 per capita, the level of charitable donations in Solano County is the lowest of all the nine Bay Area counties, Solano Community Foundation CEO Connie Harris, said.
Solano participating in Give Local Day on May 3REDONDO BEACH, Calif. (AP) - Former wrestling star Chyna died of an accidental overdose of a prescription sleeping pill and a tranquilizer, her manager said Wednesday.
"It's a 98 percent certainty and 2 percent speculation," Anthony Anzaldo said.
Anzaldo, who lived nearby, discovered the 46-year-old ex-WWE star dead on April 20 in her bed at her Redondo Beach home.
Manager says Chyna's death may be accidental overdoseBrine spills from oil development in western North Dakota are releasing toxins into soils and waterways, sometimes at levels exceeding federal water quality standards, scientists reported Wednesday.
Samples taken from surface waters affected by waste spills in recent years in the state's Bakken oilfield region turned up high levels of lead, ammonium, selenium and other contaminants, Duke University researchers said.
Scientists say oilfield wastewater spills release toxinsURBANA, Ill. (AP) - A Labrador mix dog that had been shot and tied to an Illinois bridge with his mouth taped closed so he wouldn't bark was starting to show signs of recovery from a long list of injuries, a veterinarian said Wednesday.
The dog, known as Bear, has a broken jaw, wounds from shotgun pellets and infected eyes, among other problems.
Dog rescued after he was shot, tied up and mouth taped shutPLEASANT GROVE, Utah (AP) - Utah-based essential oil company doTERRA is warning customers and distributors that their personal information may have been compromised in a data breach in March.
In a letter released last week, the company said intruders may have accessed information like names, Social Security numbers, payment information, birthdates and more through a third-party vendor that provides doTERRA with data hosting and software services.
Utah essential oil company announces third-party data breachBOSTON (AP) - Harvard University is launching a new center to study the connection between happiness and health.
It's founded with a $21 million donation from the Lee Kum Kee family, which runs two international companies that sell food and health products.
The center's primary goal will be to answer whether happiness makes people healthier, a question that has split scientists.
At Harvard's newest center, researchers look for happinessNEW YORK (AP) - Doctors Without Borders protested the price of pneumonia vaccines Wednesday by leading a march through midtown Manhattan and delivering a crib filled with flowers to a pharmaceutical company.
About 70 people walked silently and in single file to Pfizer's headquarters, where they placed 2,500 flowers in a crib as though laying tribute on a coffin.
Advocates hold NYC protest over price of pneumonia vaccineHealth insurer Anthem aims to pull a small profit this year from the Affordable Care Act's public insurance exchanges, and its CEO said Wednesday he's "really glad" to be serving nearly 1 million people in this still-developing market.
The Blue Cross-Blue Shield carrier's message arrived about a week after rival UnitedHealth Group said it was bleeding money on the exchanges and slashing its presence down to a handful of states.
Anthem voices optimism on ACA exchange growth prospectsBOSTON (AP) - Federal prosecutors say drugmaker Pfizer Inc. has agreed to pay nearly $785 million to resolve allegations that one of its companies failed to give Medicaid the same discounts it provided to private purchasers of a heartburn treatment.
The deal reached tentatively in February and finalized on Wednesday centered on Wyeth's practices related to rebates on Protonix sales between 2001 and 2006.
Pfizer agrees to $785M settlement in drug discount casePOMPANO BEACH, Fla. (AP) - Authorities have identified the people injured when a small plane crashed as a South Florida flight instructor and his two international students.
The twin-engine plane crashed Monday and exploded in the backyard of a Pompano Beach home. The Sun Sentinel (http://bit.
Flight instructor, 2 international students survive crashSAN DIEGO (AP) - The San Diego City Council has called for a study on ways to prevent suicides on the landmark San Diego-Coronado Bridge.
The San Diego Union-Tribune (http://bit.ly/1T3heol ) says the council on Tuesday endorsed a study to determine whether the state could install barriers or nets on the two-mile span, which soars over San Diego Bay.
San Diego council endorses anti-suicide study for bridgeHONOLULU (AP) - Insurance companies would not be allowed to discriminate against transgender patients under a bill passed by the Hawaii Legislature.
The bill passed Tuesday by the House of Representatives prohibits denying, canceling or limiting coverage based on a person's gender identity. The bill was already passed by the Senate, so it now goes to Gov.
Hawaii bill bans discrimination against transgender patientsSolano County's seniors and disabled need good caregivers, and the Department of Health and Social Services, In-Home Support Services (IHSS) Public Authority "is looking for a few good men and women to become paid caregivers for seniors and the disabled here in Solano County," officials said.
The Public Authority uses a customized database to match the needs of Solano County IHSS clients with pre-qualified Registry Home Care Providers, they said.
Solano County seeks paid care-givers for elderly, disabledSAN FRANCISCO (AP) - At least a dozen people in the Sacramento, California, area have fatally overdosed on a pill disguised as a popular painkiller, and now the drug has turned up in the San Francisco Bay Area.
Bay Area hospitals have treated seven patients who ingested what they thought was the painkiller Norco in recent weeks, according to a report released Tuesday by the U.
Dozen people fatally overdose on 'painkiller' in CaliforniaWACO, Texas (AP) - Pilgrim's Pride has ordered a massive recall of cooked chicken products after consumers and federal meat inspectors found contamination by such foreign material as wood, plastic, rubber and metal.
The recall of more than 4.5 million pounds of fully cooked chicken products announced Tuesday is an expansion of a recall of almost 41,000 pounds of cooked chicken nugget products announced April 7.
Foreign-matter contamination prompts Pilgrim's Pride recallSutter Health and its Valley Area -- which includes Vallejo's Sutter Solano Medical Center -- was named this week among the country's top-performing health systems, by Truven Health Analytics, Sutter officials announced.
In its 15 Top Health Systems study, Truven recognized Sutter Health and its Valley Area as two of the nation's top five performers among large health care systems, they said.
Sutter Health named among top U.S. health systemsFederal regulators are recommending that an Illinois city provide bottled water or filters to residents affected by high levels of lead in their drinking water.
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is also urging Galesburg, Illinois, to pay for additional lead testing for customers who request it and provide more public education about health risks.
US urges Illinois city to give customers bottled waterFree Healthier Living workshops, like those being offered throughout Solano County, provide ways to improve quality of life for adults with chronic health conditions, county officials said.
Several new, free workshops are scheduled throughout the summer in Solano County. They offer ways to improve the lives of adults with chronic conditions like high blood pressure, arthritis, respiratory and heart disease.
Free Healthier Living workshops set throughout Solano CountyCAMBRIDGE, Mass. (AP) - A mumps outbreak at Harvard University has affected 40 members of the school community in the last two months.
Boston.com reports (http://bit.ly/1SNorPk) that nearly a dozen students were in isolation as of Monday evening.
Harvard first announced in March there were two confirmed cases of mumps at the school.
Harvard students isolated amid mumps outbreakCOLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) - Anti-abortion activists packed a hearing to determine the fate of an Ohio abortion clinic's license on Tuesday as the facility's operators argued they are meeting emergency requirements laid out in a 2013 law that has contributed to clinic closures around the state.
Women's Medical Center of Dayton has been grappling with Ohio's evolving licensing requirements for abortion providers for more than a decade.
Activists pack license hearing for Ohio abortion clinicATLANTA (AP) - Georgia can give state money to "pregnancy resource centers" that offer medical and other services to pregnant women while discouraging them from getting abortions, under legislation signed by Republican Gov. Nathan Deal.
The governor signed the bill Tuesday in a private ceremony and didn't release a statement on it.
Georgia governor OKs state funds for anti-abortion centersNEW YORK (AP) - U.S. stocks are mostly lower Tuesday morning as health care stocks fall on continued scrutiny of drug prices. Energy companies are rising with the price of oil. Earnings reports are driving much of the action.
KEEPING SCORE: The Dow Jones industrial average lost 25 points, or 0.
US stock indexes are mostly lower as drugmakers slipCONCORD, N.H. (AP) - The growing number of patients who claim marijuana helped them drop their painkiller habit has intrigued lawmakers and emboldened advocates, who are pushing for cannabis as a treatment for the abuse of opioids and illegal narcotics like heroin, as well as an alternative to painkillers.
Could marijuana help treat painkiller and heroin addiction?ANN ARBOR, Mich. (AP) - Specially trained simulation instructors at the University of Michigan's nursing school are using mannequins to teach students how to respond to real-life medical situations, including emergencies.
The high-fidelity mannequins are housed in six simulation rooms set up inside the Ann Arbor school's new Clinical Learning Center building.
Michigan nursing school uses mannequins for medical lessonsLANSING, Mich. (AP) - A 16-year-old boy and his disabled younger brother finished a 111-mile walk Monday, reaching the steps of the Michigan Capitol after the teen carried his sibling on his back for all but the last half-mile.
It was the third and longest journey for Hunter Gandee and 9-year-old Braden Gandee, who has cerebral palsy.
On 6th day, teen carrying brother reaches Michigan CapitolLOS ANGELES (AP) - The husband-and-wife owners of a Los Angeles County nutritional supplement company have been sentenced to home detention and probation for illegally importing so-called royal jelly from China under deceptive labels.
A federal judge sentenced Lynn Leung to one year of home detention Monday.
Couple get home detention in supplement misbranding caseAMERICAN CANYON >> An eagerly anticipated Farmers Market makes its debut from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Sunday in the Phillip West Aquatic Center parking lot, organizers said.
Specifically, the market will be set up in the parking lot between Community Park 2 and the Phillip West Aquatics Center, 100 Benton Way.
AmCan's new Farmers Market kicks off SundaySACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) - The California Assembly on Monday approved banning tobacco use on all California State University and community college campuses, building on a package of restrictions already awaiting Gov. Jerry Brown's signature.
Assemblyman Kevin McCarty's proposal for tobacco-free campuses received just enough votes to clear the lower legislative chamber, passing 41-23.
California Assembly approves tobacco-free college campusesBLOOMINGTON, Minn. (AP) - The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has decided against designating any caves, mines or forests as critical habitat for the northern long-eared bat, the agency said Monday.
The service designated the bat as threatened last year because it's been hard hit by white-nose syndrome, a fungal disease that's deadly to cave-dwelling bats.
Feds won't designate critical habitat for threatened batOKLAHOMA CITY (AP) - Of the pieces of anti-abortion legislation that Oklahoma lawmakers have considered this session, one that would strip doctors of their license to practice has abortion rights activists and the state's medical association balking.
The bill would prohibit any physician who performs abortions, deemed "unprofessional conduct" in the measure, from obtaining a license to practice medicine.
Oklahoma bill tying abortions to doctor licenses criticizedHARTFORD, Conn. (AP) - Cigarette manufacturers aren't immune to lawsuits by smokers who get sick, the state's highest court ruled Monday in a decision that bolsters the case of a smoker who was stricken with laryngeal cancer and won a $28 million judgment against R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Co.
Justices said an exemption in liability law doesn't prohibit lawsuits in Connecticut against cigarette makers.
Court: Law doesn't bar suits against cigarette manufacturersLANSING, Mich. (AP) - The head of Michigan's health agency says there was an eight-month gap between when he was made aware of an investigation into a Legionnaires' disease outbreak in the Flint area and when the issue rose to his level again.
Department of Health and Human Services Director Nick Lyon said he then waited another four months to tell Gov.
Health chief: Months-long gap between Legionnaires' updatesNEW ORLEANS (AP) - More Louisiana residents and visitors could be exposed to food borne illnesses if lawmakers approve a budget proposed by Gov. John Bel Edwards for next year calling for fewer inspections of the retail food industry.
The Department of Health and Hospitals is planning for a possible staff reduction of up to 16 sanitarian staff members.
Proposed Louisiana food inspection cuts may pose health riskSTANFORD, Calif. (AP) - A rare "domino" transplant in Stanford has provided new organs to two women.
KPIX-TV reports (http://cbsloc.al/1TsNjJg ) that 52-year-old Linda Karr received 51-year-old Tammy Griffin's heart after Griffin received the heart and lungs of a deceased donor.
Griffin had cystic fibrosis and needed new lungs.
Double transplant in Stanford gives women new organsBenjamin Alexander, the first student with nonverbal autism to attend Tulane University in New Orleans, is an English major and a writer who's had essays published locally. He uses a form of facilitated communication, or supported typing, and hopes to educate others about living with autism.
Here are some questions and answers about nonverbal autism and facilitated communication.
Q&A: A look at nonverbal autism, facilitated communicationMETAIRIE, La. (AP) - Though he cannot speak, Benjamin Alexander has much to say, one typed word at a time.
Ben was diagnosed with nonverbal autism and epilepsy a few months before his third birthday. Now 22, he is a writer and a student at Tulane University in New Orleans with a GPA of 3.7. In his essays, he returns repeatedly to the "fiend" that tried to silence him, the condition he sarcastically calls his "gift.
'I am here' - Silenced by autism, young man finds his voiceBOISE, Idaho (AP) - Two Idaho families seeking relief from the U.S. Department of Agriculture over pesticide that contaminated their fields must now consider their next steps after the agency rejected their claims.
Here's a look at their support and the pesticide, methyl bromide, which was used to eradicate a pest threatening Idaho's $900 million dollar potato industry.
Things to know: Families claim against USDA over pesticideBOISE, Idaho (AP) - The U.S. Department of Agriculture has refused to pay claims filed by two Idaho families who contend its pesticide treatment contaminated their crops and poisoned a cattle herd.
Instead, USDA told the families to file a lawsuit - a costly endeavor that could bankrupt the farms and risk the $70 million potato pest eradication program in Idaho.
USDA declines to pay for cows, crops poisoned by pesticideMETAIRIE, La. (AP) - Though he cannot speak, Benjamin Alexander has much to say, one typed word at a time.
Ben was diagnosed with nonverbal autism and epilepsy a few months before his third birthday. Now 22, he is a writer and a student at Tulane University in New Orleans with a GPA of 3.7. In his essays, he returns repeatedly to the "fiend" that tried to silence him, the condition he sarcastically calls his "gift.
'I am here' - Silenced by autism, young man finds his voiceMETAIRIE, La. (AP) - Benjamin Alexander cannot speak, but he is determined to be heard. He cannot type without a hand to support his, and yet he writes and writes, his inner voice shouting out his thoughts. He returns repeatedly to the "fiend" that tried to silence him, the autism he sarcastically calls his "gift.
'I am here' - Silenced by autism, young man finds his voiceBenjamin Alexander, the first student with nonverbal autism to attend Tulane University in New Orleans, is an English major and a writer who's had essays published locally. He uses a form of facilitated communication, or supported typing, and hopes to educate others about living with autism.
Here are some questions and answers about nonverbal autism and facilitated communication.
Q&A: A look at nonverbal autism, facilitated communicationBALTIMORE (AP) - About 2,000 women who claim a Maryland gynecologist secretly recorded them during pelvic exams have been told to provide more information to participate in a $190 million lawsuit settlement.
The women are among nearly 9,600 who said they were victimized by Dr. Nikita Levy at a Johns Hopkins-affiliated clinic in Baltimore.
More info sought from Md. women in class-action lawsuitTRENTON, N.J. (AP) - Seven years after U.S. regulators slapped their strictest warning on two popular smoking-cessation medicines citing risks of suicidal behavior, a large international study found no such risk.
Now Chantix maker Pfizer and Zyban maker GlaxoSmithKline hope the Food and Drug Administration, which ordered them to do the study, will remove the so-called "black box warnings" put on their prescription drugs due to anecdotal patient reports of serious psychiatric side effects.
Study: No suicide risk for anti-smoking pills Chantix, ZybanTRENTON, N.J. (AP) - Seven years after U.S. regulators slapped their strictest warning on two popular smoking-cessation medicines citing risks of suicidal behavior, a large international study found no such risk.
Now Chantix maker Pfizer and Zyban maker GlaxoSmithKline hope the Food and Drug Administration, which ordered them to do the study, will remove the so-called "black box warnings" put on their prescription drugs due to anecdotal patient reports of serious psychiatric side effects.
Study: No suicide risk for anti-smoking pills Chantix, ZybanNEW YORK (AP) - Flu season is winding down, and it's been a relatively mild one.
It's not over - flu is still widespread in 14 states, mostly in the Northeast.
But health officials on Friday said the season peaked in early March and reports of flu are steadily declining.
This season is in stark contrast to the last three, when illnesses peaked by late December.
Mild flu season winding down, still widespread in NortheastMINNEAPOLIS (AP) - Despite his debauched stage presence and erotically charged music, Prince had a reputation for clean living and an ability to put on shows that were electrifying in their athleticism.
But after his death at 57, following a series of canceled shows, a reported emergency plane landing for medical treatment and a subdued hometown appearance, questions are being raised about whether he was hiding health problems from his fans.
Prince's death raises numerous questions about his healthLOS ANGELES (AP) - The AIDS Healthcare Foundation, better known for its efforts to put condoms on porn actors, is suing Los Angeles to stop a high-rise development that would go next door to its Hollywood headquarters.
The suit, filed Thursday in Superior Court, also names the Pallidum Project's developers.
AIDS Healthcare Foundation sues LA over planned high-riseIn recent years, the rates of respiratory allergies among United States citizens have been higher than any other allergy type. Though many attribute this prevalence to the "hygiene hypothesis" - the idea that keeping children too clean can increase their risk for later illnesses - others blame
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) - The Latest on the death of pop superstar Prince (all times local):
10 a.m.
Prince's former percussionist says the music star had a history of hip injuries, and Prince himself talked of having epilepsy as a child.
Sheila E. spoke with ABC's "Good Morning America" on Friday, a day after Price died at his home in suburban Minneapolis.
The Latest: Sheila E. says Prince had hip problemsCOLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) - Police are seeking an Ohio man who's accused of stealing more than $2,500 in teeth whitening kits, and so far, has made a clean getaway.
Officials say the 46-yeary-old suspect is accused of taking only Crest-brand teeth whitening strips in numerous thefts over the past two months.
Ohio police seek suspect in theft of teeth whitening kitsNEW YORK (AP) - Middle-aged white people now account for a third of all suicides in the U.S., a new government report shows.
Suicide is the nation's 10th leading cause of death, and the overall rate rose 24 percent in 15 years, according to the report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Report: Third of suicides in US are among middle-aged whitesSolano County residents have a new way to save money on prescription medications and other medical needs, with a card called Coast2CoastRx.
An official launch is planned for noon Tuesday in Fairfield, but the card is active and available online now, company spokesman Martin Dettelback said Thursday.
New, free Rx savings card available to Solano residentsVallejo's House of Acts holds its graduation ceremonies on May 21, for some 20 people who have completed the program, organizers said.
The House of Acts is a nonprofit, faith-based substance abuse treatment program in a transitional housing setting for men, women and youth. The organization also operates a thrift shop called Hidden Treasures Boutique's, at 940 Tennessee St.
Longtime local substance abuse treatment agency holds graduationLOS ANGELES (AP) - A fourth Los Angeles-area hospital in less than three years has settled a lawsuit over a chronic problem in the nation's second-largest city - turning homeless patients out on the streets after they have been discharged, sometimes while still needing medical attention.
Without acknowledging fault, Good Samaritan Hospital near downtown Los Angeles settled for $450,000 and agreed to follow protocols to properly release homeless patients, City Attorney Mike Feuer said Thursday.
Los Angeles hospital settles over leaving patient on streetPALMETTO, Fla. (AP) - A retired K-9 in Florida is recovering after being bitten by an alligator that so far is eluding capture.
Chris Leister tells the Bradenton Herald (http://bit.ly/1MJlZak ) that his 7-year-old Belgian Malinois named Arek was playing near the water behind his Palmetto home when he was bitten Tuesday.
Alligator bites retired police dog _ who probably bit backMIAMI (AP) - Players from the Miami Marlins and Pittsburgh Pirates have expressed concerns about playing their two-game series next month in Puerto Rico because of the Zika virus.
Officials with Major League Baseball, the Marlins and Pirates expect the games to be played as scheduled May 30-31, they said Thursday.
Worried about Zika, MLB players question Puerto Rico gamesBOSTON (AP) - A Massachusetts native who has tracked lions in the African bush and gathered wild plants to eat to slow the onset of multiple sclerosis leads the cast of a new History Channel reality show.
Nicole Apelian (uh-PEL'-ee-uhn) appears in Season 2 of "Alone," which premieres at 9 p.
Lion tracker with MS leads cast of History Channel's 'Alone'FAYETTEVILLE, N.C. (AP) - The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs is conducting a $12 million study to see if service dogs help post-traumatic stress sufferers get better, or just feel better.
The VA says it lacks clinical evidence that dogs help in healing. But some, like Rick Yount of Warrior Canine Connection, say the study is built around tasks that could further isolate vets.
VA study of service dogs for vets with PTSD faces questionsSAN JOSE, Calif. (AP) - Prosecutors have cleared a Santa Clara County sheriff's deputy in the 2013 fatal shooting of a mentally ill man outside a Saratoga tech company.
The San Jose Mercury News reports (http://bayareane.ws/1WGM0Jl) the District Attorney's Office found Deputy Aldo Groba had reason to believe 43-year-old Brandon Marshall was armed with a potentially deadly weapon when he shot him once after Marshall hit him with a kubotan - a spikelike weapon.
Deputy cleared in fatal 2013 shooting of mentally ill manMarijuana is illegal for any reason under federal law, but states have boldly experimented with allowing its use anyway, starting with California 20 years ago.
Some states have made the drug legal for medical purposes; others have removed jail sentences for carrying small amounts; and some let adults 21 and older use it for any reason.
A look at marijuana laws around the US and the globeTEMPERANCE, Mich. (AP) - A Michigan teen who has made annual treks carrying his younger brother on his back to raise awareness about cerebral palsy on Wednesday started a 111-mile walk that's expected to be his last.
Hunter Gandee, 16, set out from Temperance in southeastern Michigan while carrying his 70-pound brother, 9-year-old Braden, who has cerebral palsy and can't walk without assistance.
Michigan teen begins 111-mile walk with brother on backRICHMOND, Va. (AP) - Virginia's Republican-controlled General Assembly approved a proposal backed by Gov. Terry McAuliffe on Wednesday that will allow the state to obtain execution drugs from pharmacies whose identities will remain secret.
The contentious proposal reflects growing concern in states across the country about the ability to maintain a steady supply of lethal injection drugs.
Virginia to shield identities of execution drug suppliersNEW YORK (AP) - Owen Suskind had largely retreated into silence in the years after his autism began to manifest, around age 3. Three painfully mute years later, and after countless rapt hours spent watching Disney animated movies, a word broke through.
"Juicervose!"
His parents, Ron (a Pulitzer Prize winning journalist) and Cornelia, initially thought he was asking for juice.
Documentary turns Disney-loving autistic man into a starCOLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) - If women have to wait 24 hours in South Carolina to get an abortion, men should have to do the same before they can get Viagra or other drugs to help them have sex, according to a tongue-in-cheek proposal discussed Wednesday.
Lawmakers cracked jokes about the bill - which also requires a sworn statement from a partner detailing their man's problems - but sponsor Rep.
Want Viagra? Come back tomorrow with a note, lawmaker saysPROVIDENCE, R.I. (AP) - A man who sold an illegal diet drug on eBay to a Rhode Island resident who later died is scheduled to plead guilty on Thursday to a misdemeanor in a federal court in California.
The person died in 2013 after taking the drug known as DNP - or 2,4-Dinitrophenol (DEYE'-neye-troh-FEE'-nahl).
Man who sold deadly diet drug on eBay to plead guiltyLINCOLN, Neb. (AP) - Nebraska lawmakers overrode their Republican governor's veto on Wednesday to approve a law allowing certain immigrants brought to the U.S. illegally as children to work in health care, education and dozens of other professions that require state licenses.
Senators took the vote on the last day of their legislative session, five days after Gov.
Nebraska OKs professional licenses for certain immigrantsWICHITA, Kan. (AP) - A judge has spurned a last-ditch effort to throw out a lawsuit against an abortion opponent accused of sending a letter to a Wichita doctor saying someone might place an explosive under her car.
U.S. District Judge J. Thomas Marten on Wednesday rejected claims by anti-abortion activist Angel Dillard that a law guaranteeing access to abortion clinics is unconstitutional.
Wichita abortion opponent faces trial in threat caseLANSING, Mich. (AP) - Michigan's attorney general will announce criminal charges Wednesday against two state regulators and a Flint employee, alleging wrongdoing related to the city's lead-tainted water crisis, according to government officials familiar with the investigation.
The charges - the first levied in a probe that is expected to broaden - will be filed against a pair of state Department of Environmental Quality officials and a local water treatment plant supervisor, two officials told The Associated Press late Tuesday.
Government officials: 3 to be charged in Flint water crisisOAK LAWN, Ill. (AP) - It happens every day to the most vulnerable infants in hospital intensive care units: fragile babies born way too soon are poked, prodded and jabbed as part of medical care meant to help them survive - and it can be heart-wrenching to watch.
Heel sticks for blood tests, inserting IV tubes, adjusting breathing machines - even the gentlest jostling to remove a bandage from translucent skin can cause kittenlike whimpers and tiny arms and legs to suddenly jerk.
Better preemie pain relief sought amid new call for actionLANSING, Mich. (AP) - Michigan's attorney general will announce criminal charges Wednesday against two state regulators and a Flint employee, alleging wrongdoing related to the city's lead-tainted water crisis, according to government officials familiar with the investigation.
The charges - the first levied in a probe that is expected to broaden - will be filed against a pair of state Department of Environmental Quality officials and a local water treatment plant supervisor, two officials told The Associated Press late Tuesday.
Officials: 3 to be charged in Flint water crisisNEW YORK (AP) - Life expectancy for white women has fallen a little, according to a new government report.
White women lost about five weeks from their predicted lifespan in 2014, compared to 2013, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported Wednesday.
Life expectancy held steady for black women and white men, and increased for black men, Hispanic men and Hispanic women.
Report: Life expectancy dipped a bit for white women in USRICHMOND, Va. (AP) - Virginia's attorney general says he doesn't believe a proposal to allow the state to obtain lethal injection drugs from anonymous compounding pharmacies would violate federal law.
Republican Del. Jackson Miller had asked Attorney General Mark Herring for an opinion before lawmakers reconvene Wednesday to consider Gov.
Virginia AG backs legality of governor's execution planSALT LAKE CITY (AP) - The family of a 66-year-old Mormon missionary who suffered severe burns on more than a third of his body in the Brussels airport bombing said Tuesday he faces a long recovery but is happy to be back in Utah and improving slowly.
Pam Norby said they find joy in even the small milestones of her husband Richard Norby's recovery.
Last Mormon missionary hurt in Brussels bombing back in UtahDENVER (AP) - Pot-infused lemon drops and other marijuana edibles that resemble fruits could be coming off Colorado shelves, the latest front in a battle by lawmakers to eradicate retail pot products that could appeal to kids.
The bill up for its first hearing in the state House of Representatives on Tuesday also would ban infused edibles shaped like animals or people.
Colorado lawmakers target edible pot in fruit, animal shapesAUGUSTA, Maine (AP) - Maine could become the first state to add addiction to opioid prescriptions and illegal narcotics like heroin to its list of conditions that qualify for medical marijuana.
Nearly 30 medical marijuana caregivers and patients told state regulators at a public hearing on Tuesday that marijuana eases the symptoms of opioid withdrawal and offers a healthier alternative to the prescription painkillers that can lead to addiction.
Maine could be 1st state to OK medical pot to treat addictsNEW YORK (AP) - New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo says conductors and engineers with two commuter railroads will need to undergo testing for sleep apnea (AP'-nee-uh) after a deadly 2013 derailment caused by a sleeping engineer.
Cuomo says Tuesday the testing will be required at the Long Island Rail Road and the Metro-North.
NY governor: Commuter RR workers must get sleep apnea testsHOUSTON (AP) - The Latest on heavy rains and flooding in the Houston area, plus other parts of Texas (all times local):
1:45 p.m.
A heavy-duty truck has been used to evacuate elderly and other residents from a Houston-area assisted living facility that's surrounded by floodwaters.
Several dozen people were being moved Tuesday from the Atria Cypresswood facility in Spring.
The Latest: People evacuated from assisted-living facilityNEW YORK (AP) - Troubled blood-testing startup Theranos acknowledged that it is under investigation by several regulators and agencies.
The investigations and inspections come after a series of articles by The Wall Street Journal in which former employees said the company's blood tests, which use a few drops of blood, were unreliable.
Blood-testing startup Theranos says it is being investigatedUnitedHealth, the nation's biggest health insurer, will cut its participation in public health insurance exchanges to only a handful of states next year after expanding to nearly three dozen for this year.
CEO Stephen Hemsley said Tuesday that the company expects losses from its exchange business to total more than $1 billion for this year and last.
UnitedHealth to trim ACA exchanges to 'handful' of statesHELENA, Mont. (AP) - The first time Jason Ebert needed an air ambulance, it saved his life. The second time, it nearly broke the bank.
Both times, Montana doctors ordered Ebert flown 150 miles from Bozeman to Billings for treatment. But while insurance covered the first flight, the hospital called a for-profit service the second time, and Ebert got stuck with a more than $27,000 bill.
States seek ways to regulate steep air-ambulance costsThe 2016 Pulitzer Prize winners:
JOURNALISM
Public Service:
The Associated Press, for a series of articles documenting the use of slave labor in the commercial seafood industry in Indonesia and Thailand. More than 2,000 enslaved fishermen were freed after officials took action as a result of the AP's reporting.
2016 Pulitzer winners and finalists in journalism and artsDENVER (AP) - Colorado kids are not smoking more pot since the drug became legal - but their older siblings and parents certainly are, according to a long-awaited report giving the most comprehensive data yet on the effects of the state's 2012 recreational marijuana law.
The state released a report Monday detailing changes in everything from pot arrests to tax collections to calls to Poison Control.
Colorado pot report: More adults using drug, but not kidsExcerpts from the 3-0 federal appeals court ruling that upheld a potential $1 billion plan by the NFL to settle thousands of concussion lawsuits filed by former players:
___
ON NFL ACKNOWLEDGEMENT OF A LINK BETWEEN FOOTBALL AND CTE, CHRONIC TRAUMATIC ENCEPHALOPATHY
"The NFL's statement is an important development because it is the first time, as far as we can tell, that the NFL has publicly acknowledged a connection between football and CTE.
'Not perfect' but 'fair:' excerpts of NFL concussion rulingPHILADELPHIA (AP) - A federal appeals court has upheld an estimated $1 billion plan by the NFL to settle thousands of concussion lawsuits filed by former players, potentially ending a troubled chapter in league history.
The decision released Monday comes nearly a year after a district judge approved the revised settlement and weeks after an NFL official speaking to Congress acknowledged for the first time a link between football and chronic traumatic encephalopathy, the brain decay found in dozens of former players after their deaths.
Appeals court upholds $1B NFL concussion settlementSALT LAKE CITY (AP) - A Mormon missionary severely injured in the Brussels airport bombing arrived back home in Utah over the weekend, his family said.
Relatives of Richard Norby said in a statement that the 66-year-old, accompanied by his wife, flew back to the U.S. on Saturday. Norby was then admitted to the University of Utah Medical Center in Salt Lake City.
Mormon missionary injured in Brussels attack returns to UtahHARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) - Pennsylvania has become the 24th state to legalize a comprehensive medical marijuana program.
Democratic Gov. Tom Wolf signed the bill into law Sunday afternoon surrounded by a jubilant crowd of supporters at the Capitol building in Harrisburg.
"Marijuana is medicine and it's coming to Pennsylvania," said Democratic Sen.
Pennsylvania launches 24th US medical marijuana programBEVERLY HILLS, Calif. (AP) - Shoulder surgery has prevented Paul Stanley from performing an intimate show with KISS.
Gene Simmons, Ace Frehley and Peter Criss donned their classic stage makeup and costumes to play a four-song set Friday to benefit multiple sclerosis research. KISS was the headlining act at the 23rd annual Race to Erase MS fundraising gala held at the Beverly Hilton Hotel.
Shoulder surgery keeps Paul Stanley from KISS benefit showAUGUSTA, Maine (AP) - President Barack Obama's administration is working to head off Sweden's push to ban imports of American lobsters to Europe.
In an April 12 letter to Maine's congressional delegation, the U.S. State Department says the administration is in close contact with officials in the European Union to ensure that U.
US urges Europe to keep importing American lobstersJACKSON, Miss. (AP) - Mississippi's governor has signed into law a ban on a commonly used second-trimester abortion procedure, setting the state up for a possible legal challenge.
Gov. Phil Bryant signed the law Friday that outlaws a procedure called "dilation and evacuation" unless it is necessary to prevent a woman's irreversible physical impairment.
Bryant signs bill banning second-trimester abortion methodDENVER (AP) - Researchers who studied a river in Colorado after a massive mine spill say runoff from fall storms kicked up the levels of some contaminants in the water but not others.
A report released Friday by the Environmental Protection Agency may offer clues about what will happen this year when melting mountain snow makes the Animas River run higher, potentially stirring up pollutants that settled to the bottom.
Storms raised some pollutants from mine spill, not othersNEW YORK (AP) - The tightening of restrictions on abortion clinics in many states has emboldened some abortion rights advocates to launch an outreach effort, reminding women they have relatively safe and effective means of ending a pregnancy on their own through use of a miscarriage-inducing drug.
As clinic access tightens, group touts pregnancy-ending drugNEW YORK (AP) - The tightening of restrictions on abortion clinics in many states has emboldened some abortion rights advocates to launch an outreach effort, reminding women they have relatively safe and effective means of ending a pregnancy on their own through use of a miscarriage-inducing drug.
As clinic access tightens, group touts pregnancy-ending drugWhen Elena Sablina's daughter Alina was killed in a car crash in Moscow two years ago, she was devastated.
One month later, Sablina accidentally discovered from a forensic report that six of her 19-year-old daughter's organs, including her heart and kidneys, had been removed for transplant.
"I was shocked that organs were taken from my child without my permission," Sablina told The Associated Press.
Woman fights Russian law on organ removal without consentJEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) - Missouri lawmakers in a rare move Thursday voted to summon the CEO of a regional Planned Parenthood to explain why she should not be held in contempt of the state Senate for defying a subpoena that demanded documents on how the organization handles fetal remains.
The 24-8 party-line Senate vote follows Republican outcry over undercover videos released last summer that purported to show Planned Parenthood officials discussing the sale of aborted fetal body parts.
Senators summon Planned Parenthood CEO over subpoenaWASHINGTON (AP) - When it comes to Zika funding, President Barack Obama and Republicans agree on one point: It's the other guy's fault.
Growing concerns over the virus left Washington pointing fingers on Thursday about why Congress has yet to approve any of the dollars Obama has requested. The White House charged that GOP lawmakers "frittered away" a chance to deal with a looming crisis, while Republicans said Obama had dropped the ball on key details Congress needs to properly consider his request.
Capitol Hill Buzz: As Zika fears grow, DC points fingersROCHESTER, N.Y. (AP) - Officials say nearly 90 people at a private university in western New York have fallen ill with symptoms linked to norovirus.
The University of Rochester says one student is hospitalized in stable condition with a confirmed case of norovirus and 87 other people show symptoms, including nausea, vomiting and diarrhea.
88 people at NY college fall ill with norovirus symptomsOAKLAND -- For almost two years, Colette Walker has lived in the San Pablo Avenue Corridor, a gritty stretch of gas stations, warehouses, mom-and-pop shops and vacant lots between downtown Oakland and Emeryville.
But she's luckier than many other low-income Oakland residents who cannot afford housing in the country's fourth most expensive rental market.
Renovated historic Oakland hotel a refuge for the homelessTRENTON, N.J. (AP) - U.S. spending on prescription drugs rose 8.5 percent last year, slightly less than in 2014, driven mainly by growing use of ultra-expensive new drugs and price hikes on other medicines.
A report from data firm IMS Health estimates patients, insurers, government programs and other payers spent a combined $309.
Report: US medicine spending up 8.5 percent 2015NEW YORK (AP) - The downtown Tribeca Film Festival kicked off with a bit of uptown style.
The 15th annual festival was to open Wednesday with the premiere of Andrew Rossi's "The First Monday in May," a behind-the-scenes documentary about the mounting of an ambitious fashion exhibit at the Metropolitan Museum of Art and the museum's annual star-studded Met Gala.
Following vaccine controversy, Tribeca rolls out red carpetMore than half of California adults have diabetes or pre-diabetes, a recent UCLA study shows, and a Touro University study hopes to prove that they may not be safe on the road.
It's one of the diabetes-related efforts being undertaken by Touro's Jay Shubrook, a diabetiologist who has also implemented Diabetes Prevention and Diabetes Education programs in Vallejo.
Diabetes expert, now at Touro University, launches studies, programsOKLAHOMA CITY (AP) - A former Oklahoma oral surgeon whose filthy clinics led to thousands of patients being tested for HIV and hepatitis pleaded guilty to money laundering Wednesday tied to allegations that he deposited at least $15,000 of fraudulent Medicaid billings into a personal account.
Wayne Scott Harrington, who had previously pleaded not guilty to the same charge, could face up to 10 years in prison and a fine of up to $250,000 at a sentencing hearing scheduled for July 14.
Oklahoma ex-dentist admits to money laundering in plea dealCONCORD, N.H. (AP) - New Hampshire says emissions of a chemical used to make Teflon coatings may be the source behind the contamination of more than 40 wells in several towns.
The company behind those emissions, Saint-Gobain Performance Plastics, has said it's too early to say whether it's responsible for contaminating wells in Merrimack, Litchfield and Manchester.
New Hampshire suspects chemical emissions tainted wellsIOWA CITY, Iowa (AP) - A congresswoman is calling on officials in one Illinois city to replace lead service lines that have tainted the drinking water and contributed to high rates of childhood lead poisoning.
Democratic Rep. Cheri Bustos said in a floor speech Wednesday that she is "deeply disturbed" by recent lead levels in Galesburg that were above the federal action level.
Congresswoman: Illinois city should replace lead water linesHARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) - Pennsylvania is set to become the latest state to legalize medical marijuana as the Legislature sent a bill to the governor on Wednesday, after parents of children suffering from debilitating seizures circulated the Capitol urging lawmakers to act.
The House voted, 149-46, capping several years of door-to-door lobbying by parents and more than a year-and-a-half since the state Senate first approved a medical marijuana bill in 2014.
Pennsylvania set to OK medical pot; Ohio could follow soonNEW YORK -- Confirming the worst fears of many pregnant women in the United States and Latin America, U.S. health officials said Wednesday there is no longer any doubt the Zika virus causes babies to be born with abnormally small heads and other severe brain defects.
Since last year, doctors in Brazil have been linking Zika infections in pregnant women to a rise in newborns with microcephaly, or an unusually small skull.
CDC: Zika definitely causes severe birth defectsNEW YORK -- Confirming the worst fears of many pregnant women in the United States and Latin America, U.S. health officials said Wednesday there is no longer any doubt the Zika virus causes babies to be born with abnormally small heads and other severe brain defects.
Since last year, doctors in Brazil have been linking Zika infections in pregnant women to a rise in newborns with microcephaly, or an unusually small skull.
CDC: Zika definitely causes severe birth defectsNEW YORK (AP) - Confirming the worst fears of many pregnant women in the United States and Latin America, U.S. health officials said Wednesday there is no longer any doubt the Zika virus causes babies to be born with abnormally small heads and other severe brain defects.
Since last year, doctors in Brazil have been linking Zika infections in pregnant women to a rise in newborns with microcephaly, or an unusually small skull.
CDC: Zika definitely causes severe birth defectsOAKLAND -- For almost two years, Colette Walker has lived in the San Pablo Avenue Corridor, a gritty stretch of gas stations, warehouses, mom-and-pop shops and vacant lots between downtown Oakland and Emeryville.
But she's luckier than many other low-income Oakland residents who cannot afford housing in the country's fourth most expensive rental market.
Renovated historic Oakland hotel a refuge for the homelessBAY CITY, Mich. (AP) - A war veteran seeking to avoid a U.S. Border Patrol assignment in Texas because of post-traumatic stress disorder has won a key ruling from a federal judge in Michigan.
Anthony Gazvoda says the culture and environment in Laredo, Texas, reminds him of his time in Afghanistan while with the Army and triggers PTSD.
Judge stops Border Patrol from putting war vet in TexasNEW YORK (AP) - A paralyzed 24-year-old man has regained some use of his right hand, controlling it with signals relayed from electronic sensors in his brain.
Ian Burkhart of Dublin, Ohio, can grasp a bottle, pour its contents into a jar, pick up a stick and stir the liquid. He can grab a credit card and swipe it through a reader.
Study: Brain implant lets paralyzed man regain use of handSOLVANG, Calif. (AP) - Animal rescuers in Southern California were surprised when X-rays revealed that an emaciated coyote found at the bottom of an empty reservoir was pregnant.
They were even more surprised when the coyote - blinded by a bullet and near death when it was discovered in February - gave birth a month later to a litter of five healthy puppies.
Rescued coyote blinded by bullet gives birth to healthy pupsThe chief executive of embattled Valeant Pharmaceuticals has agreed to be deposed by a Senate committee investigating soaring prescription medicine prices.
Meanwhile, the Canadian drugmaker has received a notice of default from some bond holders because it hasn't filed its 2015 financial report, which was due in March.
Valeant CEO agrees to be deposed in Senate drug price probeOLYMPIA, Wash. (AP) - A troubled Washington state psychiatric hospital will have new leadership after a man accused of torturing a woman to death escaped from the facility last week.
Gov. Jay Inslee on Tuesday fired Western State Chief Executive Officer Ron Adler. Inslee said he would be replaced by Cheryl Strange, effective April 25.
Washington governor fires hospital chief following escapeTRENTON, N.J. (AP) - A project to speed development of cancer-fighting drugs that harness the immune system has academic and drug industry researchers collaborating and sharing their findings like never before.
The newly created Parker Institute for Cancer Immunotherapy is being funded by a $250 million grant from Sean Parker, the co-founder of the file-sharing site Napster and Facebook's first president.
Collaborative institute aims to speed cancer drug creationCORPUS CHRISTI, Texas (AP) - Surgery has started in Texas to separate two 10-month-old sisters born conjoined below the waist.
Driscoll Children's Hospital spokesman Jeff Salzgeber says the hourslong operation began Tuesday morning.
Ximena (huh-MEE-nuh) and Scarlett Hernandez-Torres share a colon and bladders that will be reconstructed.
Surgery begins to separate infant conjoined twins in TexasTULSA, Okla. (AP) - A former Oklahoma oral surgeon whose filthy clinics led to thousands of patients being tested for HIV and hepatitis has been charged in federal court with money laundering.
Federal prosecutors announced Tuesday that W. Scott Harrington is accused of laundering money by fraudulently billing Medicaid and Medicare while he practiced dentistry in 2012.
Former Oklahoma dentist charged with money launderingATLANTIC CITY, N.J. (AP) - Seashells, sandcastles and seaweed are typical items found at the Jersey shore. And beachgoers left some odd items behind in the sand and surf last year, too, including a beer keg, birth control pills, and a rubber brain.
The Clean Ocean Action environmental group released its most recent findings Tuesday of items either left by beachgoers, washed ashore after being tossed from boats, or beached after sewer system overflows.
Rubber brain, birth control pills, keg among NJ beach trashFLINT, Mich. (AP) - As Flint deals with a lead-tainted water crisis, the overworked county health department is getting help from nursing faculty and students.
Thousands of Flint parents have had their children tested at free clinics run by the Genesee County Health Department since residents became aware that their water had become contaminated with lead after the city began drawing water from the Flint River to save money.
Health workers get lead-test help from Flint student nursesDENVER (AP) - Planned Parenthood shooter told police he idolized abortion foe who killed doctor at Florida clinic decades ago.
Planned Parenthood shooter told police he idolized abortion foe who killed doctor at Florida clinic decades agoU.S. Navy Capt. Thomas R. Buchanan said he partially credits his years at Vallejo's St. Patrick-St. Vincent High School with preparing him for his job helping prevent a nuclear attack against the United States as the newly named Commander of the United States Navy Submarine Squadron 20.
A change-of-command ceremony was at the chapel aboard Naval Submarine Base Kings Bay on March 24, Navy officials announced.
St. Pat's grad assumes command of nuke attack deterrent U.S. Navy submarine squadronDENVER (AP) - The Latest on a bill that would allow students to use medical marijuana at public schools. (all times local):
4:30 p.m.
Colorado schools would be forced to allow students to use medical pot under a bill that has cleared its first hurdle at the state Legislature.
The bill updates a new law that gives school districts the power to permit medical marijuana treatments for students under certain conditions.
The Latest: Pot-in-schools bill clears legislative hurdleATLANTA (AP) - The Latest on the clemency request from a Georgia death row inmate scheduled to die this week (all times local):
7:15 p.m.
The State Board of Pardons and Paroles has declined to grant clemency for a Georgia death row inmate scheduled to die this week.
The parole board held a clemency hearing Monday for Kenneth Fults.
The Latest: Panel denies clemency for death row inmateHARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) - A legislative proposal to place new limits on abortion in the state was left in limbo Monday after Republican House leaders pulled it from a final vote amid a veto warning from the Democratic governor.
The measure would ban elective abortions after 20 weeks, compared with 24 weeks in current law, and outlaw procedures that abort fetuses by removing body parts.
Bill that would limit Pennsylvania abortions left in limboNEW YORK (AP) - The teenage actress who voices Nickelodeon's spunky "Dora the Explorer" character was given special treatment after she was caught vaping in a private high school bathroom, according to a lawsuit filed Monday by another student's parents.
The parents of a 14-year-old former student at Manhattan's Avenues: The World School, identified as M.
Lawsuit: High school gave 'Dora' actress a pass over vapingPHOENIX (AP) - A fight is intensifying in the Arizona Legislature over the Senate leader's refusal to restore a program providing health insurance to poor children, a decision that would maintain the state's position as the only one in the nation that doesn't participate in the plan.
Advocates who want the program restarted rallied at the Capitol on Monday in a last-ditch effort.
Backers fight for children's health insurance in ArizonaTRENTON, N.J. (AP) - The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has approved a new drug targeting a subset of leukemia patients with a genetic abnormality that makes the cancer harder to treat.
It approved sales of Venclexta (VEHN'-clecks-tah) for patients with chronic lymphocytic leukemia who relapsed or weren't helped by a prior treatment and are missing the part of chromosome 17 that kills cancer cells.
FDA approves drug for tough-to-treat type of leukemiaSAN FRANCISCO (AP) - Talk about a loyal employee: Elena Griffing has just celebrated her 70th year working for the same San Francisco Bay Area hospital and she has no plans to retire anytime soon.
Sutter Health Alta Bates Summit Medical Center spokeswoman Carolyn Kemp says the company marked Griffing's milestone employment and her recent 90th birthday.
California woman marks 70 years working for same hospitalCHICAGO (AP) - A major study says the richest Americans live at least 10 years longer on average than the poorest, but the gap isn't as wide in many communities, especially affluent, highly educated cities.
The research emphasizes that income plus where you live help determine life expectancy.
Richest live longer but gap not as dismal in some US citiesLANSING, Mich. (AP) - Michigan health officials have found two more fatal cases of Legionnaires' disease in the Flint area amid an outbreak some experts have linked to the city's water crisis.
The Michigan Department of Health and Human Services said Monday the respiratory disease deaths last year are among 12 detected in Genesee County in 2014 and 2015.
Michigan finds 2 more Legionnaires' deaths in Flint areaTOPEKA, Kan. (AP) - A Kansas appellate court says five children of a Navy veteran and his wife were taken into state custody because of suspected drug use and neglect, not because of his use of medical marijuana.
The Topeka Capital-Journal says (http://bit.ly/1UVzUfV ) a Kansas Court of Appeals panel determined Friday the children don't feel safe returning to Raymond and Amelia Schwab.
Kansas couple to appeal custody ruling; drug use suspectedLAUDERDALE-BY-THE-SEA, Fla. (AP) - A Florida doctor who oversaw a medical clinic where a hyperbaric chamber caught fire and killed a 4-year-old Italian boy and his grandmother has lost his medical license.
Health News Florida (http://bit.ly/1Yphwdh ) reported Monday that the Florida Board of Medicine voted unanimously last week to revoke the license of Dr.
Doctor loses license over oxygen chamber fire that killed 2UNITY, N.H. (AP) - An 80-year-old New Hampshire legislator with a lung problem has been told not to bring his portable oxygen concentrator with him to the Statehouse because it creates a safety hazard.
The Valley News reports (http://bit.ly/1Q2Lxth ) Rep. Ernie Bridge, a Unity Republican, says he's required to be on a concentrator 24 hours a day after suffering a small "leak" in his lung in January.
Legislator barred from bringing oxygen tank to House chamberATLANTA (AP) - A Georgia death row inmate scheduled to die this week was neglected and mistreated as a child and has substantial intellectual impairments that have affected his ability to act appropriately, his lawyers wrote in a clemency petition.
Kenneth Fults, 47, is set to be put to death Tuesday by injection of the barbiturate pentobarbital at the state prison in Jackson.
Panel to hold clemency hearing for Georgia death row inmateIt's widely known that your chances of surviving cancer are better if you're married.
But a new California-based study released today reports that the benefits of being married also vary by sex, race, ethnicity and birthplace, with white bachelors and white single women in the Golden State doing worse than their married counterparts.
Cancer survival in California: Marriage helps, but benefit varies with demographicsDENVER (AP) - A new Colorado law allowing medical marijuana use at public schools is getting a second look Monday in a House committee.
The current law allows students who need medical marijuana to use edible pot at public schools - as long as the school districts agree.
No school districts currently does, so patient advocates are pushing the bill to make Colorado the second state to require schools to allow nurses or parents to administer medical pot.
Pot-in-schools debate returns to ColoradoSEATTLE (AP) - When pondering how to keep low-level drug offenders out of jail, officials in Albany, New York, faced a challenge: How could they pay for a case manager to coax addicts onto the straight and narrow, sometimes by tracking them down on the streets?
The money turned up in a previously untapped source: President Barack Obama's health care law, which by expanding Medicaid in some states has made repeat drug offenders eligible for coverage, including many who are homeless or mentally ill and have never been covered before.
Low-level drug offenders find new source of addiction helpBARTLETT, Tenn. (AP) - Jackie Hughes longs to grieve over her sister's death in simple ways: visit her grave, lay out flowers, and pour a can of Bud Light - her sister's favorite - on the spot. But three years after Tawana Hillard's death, Hughes hasn't been able to spill a drop.
Hillard is missing.
2 years after cemetery shutdown, families still seek answersBARTLETT, Tenn. (AP) - Jackie Hughes longs to grieve over her sister's death in simple ways: visit her grave, lay out flowers, and pour a can of Bud Light - her sister's favorite - on the spot. But three years after Tawana Hillard's death, Hughes hasn't been able to spill a drop.
Hillard is missing.
2 years after cemetery shutdown, families still seek answersWomen in California no longer need their ob-gyn to prescribe the pill, the patch or other popular forms of birth control.
As of Friday, a visit to the pharmacist will do.
A 2013 law that allows California pharmacists to directly provide prescription contraceptives quietly went into effect, providing a significant new alternative for women but raising concerns among critics who worry the new law sends the wrong message to young teens.
California pharmacists can now provide birth control to women