TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) - A federal judge late Thursday put on hold key portions of a new Florida law that would block public funding for Planned Parenthood and greatly increase inspection requirements for abortion clinics.
U.S. District Judge Robert Hinkle issued his ruling just hours before the law passed by the Republican-controlled Florida Legislature was due to take effect.
Federal judge blocks new Florida abortion lawMONTPELIER, Vt. (AP) - Vermont's new law requiring genetically modified food to be labeled as such is set to take effect Friday, but it might soon be erased from the books by federal action.
Family-owned and chain grocery stores, co-ops and food companies say they're ready to comply with the law.
Uncertainties loom as Vermont GMO law takes effectLOS ANGELES (AP) - Authorities say two men were injured by falling equipment on a filming set in downtown Los Angeles.
City fire spokesman Brian Humphrey says one worker suffered head trauma and the other a leg injury at the location on Spring Street near 7th Street on Thursday night.
The equipment was apparently a ventilation fan.
2 workers injured on downtown Los Angeles filming locationALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) - The New Mexico Supreme Court has ruled that terminally ill patients cannot end their lives with help from doctors.
In a 5-0 opinion issued Thursday, the high court overturned a previous district court decision that doctors could not be prosecuted under the state's assisted suicide law, which classifies helping with suicide as a fourth-degree felony.
New Mexico high court: Doctors can't help patients end livesAUSTIN, Texas (AP) - Abortions in Texas plummeted about 15 percent during the first year after it passed tough restrictions that the U.S. Supreme Court has since struck down - a decline that activists say shows how hard it had become to get an abortion in America's second-largest state.
The health department released the statistics Thursday, after lengthy delays it blamed on finalizing the data.
Texas abortions fell sharply under law Supreme Court voidedSEATTLE (AP) - Washington state's Department of Agriculture says it has found traces of undisclosed pesticides in many of the marijuana-growing fertilizers and other products it tested recently.
Inspectors tested 39 products. Spokesman Hector Castro said Thursday that of the 27 tests for which it has results so far, 15 had residues of pesticides that weren't on the product's label.
State finds undisclosed pesticides in pot growing productsSACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) - The California Legislature on Thursday sent Gov. Jerry Brown 12 gun-control measures as Democratic lawmakers try a last-ditch effort to convince Lt. Gov. Gavin Newsom to drop a proposed ballot initiative.
Legislative leaders hailed the move as the nation's most aggressive gun control effort and proof that firearm restrictions are politically viable.
California Democrats rush to approve gun-control measuresJEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) - Planned Parenthood facilities in Missouri will continue to receive government funding for women's health services for a while, despite a new budget provision attempting to stop it.
Democratic Gov. Jay Nixon said Thursday that state officials will eventually implement the budget's ban on Medicaid money going to organizations that provide abortions.
Missouri won't immediately halt Planned Parenthood fundingBATON ROUGE, La. (AP) - Louisiana is becoming the first state in the Republican-dominated Deep South to expand its Medicaid program, with more than 233,000 people already enrolled in the government-financed insurance coverage that begins Friday.
Medicaid expansion fulfills one of Democratic Gov.
Louisiana 1st state in Deep South to expand MedicaidBesides barbecues and fireworks, the July 4 weekend typically means an average of 15 children dying in drowning accidents, U.S. Consumer Products Safety Commission officials said in a statement.
The commission's Pool Safely campaign urges parents and children to follow a few simple steps to stay safer when spending time around the water.
Commission seeks to prevent child drownings over July 4 holidayNEW YORK (AP) - Planned Parenthood says it will work with its abortion-rights allies in eight states to repeal laws that may be vulnerable following the recent U.S. Supreme Court ruling that struck down tough abortion restrictions in Texas.
The repeal campaign, announced Thursday, will initially target laws in Arizona, Florida, Michigan, Missouri, Pennsylvania, Tennessee and Virginia, as well as measures in Texas that were not directly addressed by the Supreme Court ruling.
Planned Parenthood seeks repeal of abortion laws in 8 statesPHOENIX (AP) - Thousands of signatures to get an initiative legalizing marijuana in Arizona on the November ballot were submitted Thursday, likely making the state one of several seeking to relax laws surrounding pot.
Representatives of the Arizona Secretary of State's Office began inspecting dozens of boxes with signed petitions collected by the Campaign to Regulate Marijuana Like Alcohol.
Arizona pot legalization supporters to submit petitionATLANTA (AP) - Lawyers for a Georgia inmate with an execution date looming are asking a judge to let a jury determine whether the man is ineligible for execution because of intellectual disability.
John Wayne Conner, 60, is scheduled to be put to death July 14 at the state prison in Jackson.
Lawyers ask judge to halt execution for Georgia inmateLOS ANGELES (AP) - California is again testing how much democracy is too much.
Voters will face up to 18 ballot questions in November that could end the death penalty, cut into the cost of prescription drugs and free marijuana smokers to legally light up in the nation's most populous state.
The cascade of proposals is certain to create confusion at the ballot box, along with fresh criticism that the state's system of direct democracy has run amok.
California voters will confront crowded November ballotABINGDON, Va. (AP) - Opioid addiction in Appalachia was the subject of a town hall Thursday featuring Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack and the governors of Virginia and Tennessee.
They discussed how treatment, education, monitoring and economic opportunities can help, and Vilsack repeated President Obama's call for another $1.
Vilsack, McAuliffe, Haslam convene on drug abuse issueNEW YORK (AP) - In a study of suicide rates by occupation, the workers that killed themselves most often were farmers, lumberjacks and fishermen.
Researchers found the highest suicide rates in manual laborers who work in isolation and face unsteady employment. High rates were also seen in carpenters, miners, electricians and people who work in construction.
Suicide rates highest in farmers, lumberjacks, fishermenINDIANAPOLIS (AP) - A federal judge blocked an Indiana law Thursday that would have banned abortions sought because of a fetus' genetic abnormalities, saying that the state does not have the authority to limit a woman's reasons for ending a pregnancy.
U.S. District Court Judge Tanya Walton Pratt granted a preliminary injunction sought by Planned Parenthood of Indiana and Kentucky, which argued that the law was unconstitutional and violated women's privacy rights.
Judge blocks Indiana genetic abnormality abortion lawINDIANAPOLIS (AP) - The Latest on a judge blocking Indiana's law banning abortions sought because of a fetus' genetic abnormalities (all times local):
1:30 p.m.
A federal judge says she decided to block an Indiana law prohibiting abortions sought because of a fetus' genetic abnormalities because the state doesn't have the authority to limit a woman's reasons for ending a pregnancy.
The Latest: Judge says Indiana abortion law went too farRALEIGH, N.C. (AP) - Defenders of a former Army sergeant say he truly believed he was fighting the Taliban bomber who blew off his friend's limbs when he emptied 24 rounds from his 9 mm handgun at police and firefighters who were responding to a fire in his apartment.
Psychologists testified that Joshua Eisenhauer returned from Afghanistan with post-traumatic stress that made him a paranoid, hyper-vigilant insomniac, and so delusional that he drew his weapon whenever anyone came to his door in Fayetteville, North Carolina.
Laws encourage alternatives to prison for veterans with PTSDOMAHA, Neb. (AP) - Kacey Oberlander is missing her dogs back home, and she's more than a little stressed competing in the high-pressure environment at the U.S. Olympic swimming trials.
That's where Holly comes in.
The adorable, 4-year-old Havanese is available for petting and furry hugs.
US swimmers using therapy dogs to relax before racesHOUSTON (AP) - The poorest parts of Houston remind Dr. Peter Hotez of some of the neighborhoods in Latin America hardest hit by Zika.
Broken window screens. Limited air conditioning. Trash piles that seem to re-appear even after they're cleaned up.
On a hot, humid day this month, Hotez pointed at one pile that included old tires and a smashed-in television with water pooling inside.
Zika virus a concern for poor urban areas along Gulf CoastLAUGHLIN, Nev. (AP) - An autistic woman is dead after police say her father left her and her twin sister in a hot RV while he stayed at a hotel in Nevada last week.
Fifty-one-year old Roger Carter Killam is scheduled to appear in court Thursday on two counts of neglecting a vulnerable person.
Police: Man left autistic adult daughter to die in hot RVDENVER (AP) - A hospital surgery technician accused of stealing painkiller syringes in Colorado, possibly exposing patients to HIV, plans to plead guilty.
Rocky Allen's lawyer filed a document Wednesday in federal court in Denver notifying a judge that he plans to change his plea without a deal with prosecutors.
Colorado surgery tech to plead guilty in painkiller theftBALTIMORE (AP) - The news tore across Twitter: A beloved Baltimore rapper was gunned down in broad daylight, moments after promoting peace on the streets at a charity fundraiser.
Hundreds of inner-city youths - the people most exposed to Baltimore's pernicious gun violence - have mourned Tyriece "Lor Scoota" Watson as one of their heroes since his untimely death on Saturday.
#RIP Lor Scoota, Baltimore rapper who tried to stop violenceLANSING, Mich. (AP) - Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder signed a $38.6 billion budget bill Wednesday that will more than triple state spending on the water emergency in Flint.
Expenditures on the lead-tainted water crisis will total at least $240 million. That is about $165 million more than the $75 million previously approved by the governor and lawmakers, according to a legislative fiscal analysis.
Michigan governor signs budget with $165M more for FlintThe Latest on the Olympics ahead of the Rio Games (all times local to Rio):
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2:10 p.m.
International Olympic Committee President Thomas Bach has met for the first time with the team of doctors, coaches and officials who will work with the Olympic refugee team in Rio.
Bach says "we want to offer them (refugees) the same opportunity as all the other athletes of the world.
The Latest: IOC's Bach meets with refugee team support staffHunting for the right health insurance plan outside the workplace used to involve a much lower risk of losing hair - from tearing it out in frustration.
If a shopper could get coverage, the chain of events was often straightforward: Pick a plan, see a doctor and then wait for the insurer to eat most of the bill for that visit.
HMO, EPO, PPO, OMG! How to navigate insurance plansCHARLESTON, W.Va. (AP) - As President Barack Obama's administration prods Congress to pump $1.1 billion more into substance abuse treatment, Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack is heading to Appalachia on Thursday to discuss how opioid addiction is devastating the region.
Vilsack will be in Abingdon, Virginia, for an afternoon event on drug abuse featuring Democratic Virginia Gov.
Agriculture secretary to talk opioid abuse in AppalachiaHOUSTON (AP) - Public health officials in Texas have spent months preparing for what they are certain will be at least some locally transmitted cases of mosquito-borne Zika.
Major Texas cities have sophisticated mosquito screening programs and years of dealing with other mosquito-borne illnesses like dengue and West Nile virus.
Health officials preparing for any locally transmitted ZikaSTERLING, Va. (AP) - With his teacher's help, a northern Virginia student has used a 3-D printer to make a prosthetic hand for his younger brother.
Media outlets report 16-year-old Gabriel Filippini approached Kurt O'Connor, a technology teacher at Loudoun County's Park View High School, with the idea of using the classroom 3-D printer to build the hand for 6-year-old Lucas Filippini, who was born without a left hand.
Teen makes 3-D printed hand for brother with teacher's helpNEW YORK (AP) - Ask many mothers and they'll tell you, pumping sucks in more than one sense of the word.
"It feels like you are a cow. You are hooked up to a machine - it's the opposite of breastfeeding," says Nina Emlen, who works full-time in college admissions and pumps milk twice a day for her son, Asher.
It sucks _ startups look to redesign the breast pumpNEW 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 starOLYMPIA, Wash. (AP) - The U.S. Supreme Court on Tuesday declined to hear an appeal from Washington state pharmacists who said they have religious objections to dispensing Plan B or other emergency contraceptives.
The justices' order leaves in place rules first adopted in 2007 following reports that some women had been denied access to emergency contraceptives that are effective when taken within a few days of unprotected sex.
Supreme Court rejects pharmacists' religious rights appealCalifornia voters will decide whether to legalize recreational marijuana after Secretary of State Alex Padilla said Tuesday that initiative proponents turned in more than enough signatures to place the question on the November ballot.
A successful vote in California would mean one in every six Americans lives in a state with legal marijuana sales, including the entire West Coast.
Voters to decide whether to legalize recreational marijuanaSIOUX FALLS, S.D. (AP) - The federal agency that provides health care to Native Americans will award up to $1 million in grants to tribes and organizations across the country in an effort to improve HIV prevention and care outcomes among tribal populations.
The funding from the Indian Health Service will come in the form of up to five awards together totaling no more than $200,000 a year for five years.
Funds available for HIV prevention, care of Native AmericansJACKSON, Miss. (AP) - A state representative told a Mississippi woman she should earn money for the insulin and insulin pump supplies that her diabetic 8-year-old daughter needs to survive instead of asking for state help.
Nicole Nichols of Richland told The Clarion-Ledger (http://on.thec-l.
Lawmaker to woman: Buy kid's meds yourself; don't ask stateRENO, Nev. (AP) - The Reno-based health care network Renown Health has announced a new partnership with several medical facilities affiliated with Stanford University.
Renown Health president and CEO Tony Slonim announced the deal Tuesday that he says will reduce the need for patients to travel to different centers in various states for high-level care.
Reno-based Renown Health inks new partnership with StanfordGORMAN, Calif. (AP) - The Latest on a deadly wreck on a highway north of Los Angeles (all times local):
1 p.m.
Two men who had to be held back as their wives and children died in a fiery minivan wreck outside Los Angeles have been identified as northern California residents.
The California Highway Patrol identified the men as 34-year-old Aaron Hon Wing Ng of San Francisco and 45-year-old Wei Xiong Li of Daly City.
The Latest: Men whose wives, 4 kids killed in wreck ID'dDES MOINES, Iowa (AP) - Four scientists credited with creating food that's fortified with essential nutrients and vitamins and has helped an estimated 10 million people avoid starvation and disease were awarded this year's World Food Prize on Tuesday.
Drs. Maria Andrade, Robert Mwanga, Jan Low and Howarth Bouis were announced as the 2016 laureates during a ceremony at the U.
Developers of fortified food staple awarded World Food PrizeWASHINGTON (AP) - Federal health officials have approved the first pill to treat all major forms of hepatitis C, the latest in a series of drug approvals that have reshaped treatment of the liver-destroying virus.
The Food and Drug Administration approved the combination pill from Gilead Sciences for patients with and without liver damage.
FDA approves first pill to treat all forms of hepatitis CTALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) - Health officials have confirmed the first Zika-related case of microcephaly in a child born in Florida.
The Florida Department of Health released a statement Tuesday saying the child's mother contracted the virus outside the U.S. Officials say the mother is a citizen of Haiti who came to Florida to give birth.
Florida confirms birth defects after mom gets Zika abroadAKRON, Ohio (AP) - Jason Day is not going to the Olympics because of the Zika virus, costing golf its No. 1 player as it returns from a century-long absence at the games.
The sport has lost two of its biggest stars in the last week. Rory McIlroy, a four-time major champion, also said Zika will keep him from competing in Rio de Janeiro.
Jason Day says Zika fears will keep him out of Rio OlympicsJACKSONVILLE, Fla. (AP) - When a man suffered an apparent heart attack on a flight from Atlanta to Phoenix, Tim Tebow emerged from the first-class section and helped comfort his family.
Erik Dellenbach, executive director of the Tim Tebow Foundation, tells the Florida Times-Union (http://bit.
Tim Tebow comforts family when man has apparent heart attackOAKLAND, Calif. (AP) - The Oakland City Council voted unanimously to kill a plan to use a proposed marine terminal to transport Utah coal to Asia, calling such shipments public health and safety hazards. Backers argued the project would bring needed jobs to an impoverished part of town.
Monday's night's vote - which prompted environmental activists still in council chambers after four hours to break into applause - approved an ordinance that bans the transport, handling and storage of coal and petroleum coke at bulk material facilities or terminals in Oakland.
Oakland votes to ban coal shipments, citing health risksNEW YORK (AP) - By striking down tough abortion restrictions in Texas, the U.S. Supreme Court has emboldened abortion-rights activists nationwide and imperiled a range of anti-abortion laws in numerous states.
Many anti-abortion leaders were openly disappointed, bracing for the demise of restrictions that they had worked vigorously to enact over the past few years.
Supreme Court ruling imperils abortion laws in many statesOAKLAND, Calif. (AP) - The Oakland City Council voted unanimously Monday night to kill a plan to use a proposed marine terminal to transport Utah coal to Asia, calling such shipments public health and safety hazards. Backers argued the project would bring needed jobs to an impoverished part of town.
Oakland council bans coal shipments, citing health risksWORCESTER, Mass. (AP) - Many U.S. medical schools are expanding their training to help students fight opioid abuse.
New training programs at many schools teach students to prescribe opioid painkillers only as a last resort, and to evaluate all patients for signs of drug abuse.
Schools are taking action after critics said that they have contributed to addiction problems.
US medical schools expand training to curb painkiller abuseSACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) - California senators have approved a $2 billion bond to build permanent housing for mentally ill homeless people.
The plan senators passed would use money from an existing fund for mental health care financed by a tax on millionaires that voters approved in 2004.
It requires counties to provide supportive services for people housed with state aid.
California lawmakers approve $2 billion for homeless housingOAKLAND, Calif. (AP) - The Latest on a plan to ship coal through Oakland (all times local):
5:15 p.m.
An Oakland city council hearing to determine whether rail shipments of coal would pose a public health hazard is underway.
The chamber for the Oakland City Council's Monday meeting is packed with supporters and opponents of a plan to ship Utah coal to Asia through a proposed marine terminal.
The Latest: Oakland council hearing over coal underwaySEATTLE (AP) - The physician who used a non-FDA-approved bone cement during a woman's spinal surgery and the company that ran an illegal test market to promote the dangerous product should be held accountable for her death, a lawyer for the woman's daughter told a jury Monday.
Reba Golden was vibrant and healthy when she agreed to let Dr.
Trial begins in lawsuit over spinal bone cementHARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) - An Iraq War veteran claims in a federal lawsuit that she was unlawfully denied aquatic therapy at an orthopedic hospital in Pennsylvania because she has the virus that causes AIDS.
The lawsuit against OSS Health in York Township seeks a declaratory judgment stating that the alleged denial constitutes discrimination under the Americans with Disabilities Act.
Veteran: Therapy wrongly denied because she is HIV-positiveAUSTIN, Texas (AP) - Abortion providers celebrating the U.S. Supreme Court striking down major Texas abortion restrictions Monday also begrudgingly acknowledged a daunting reality: The damage is done, and no time soon are women likely to see new clinics replacing about 20 abortion facilities lost since 2013.
Abortion ruling may not open door for new Texas clinicsWith Solano County weathering a heat wave this week, experts say there are some things you can do to prevent negative impacts.
The National Weather Service reports temperatures in the high 80s to low 90s in Vallejo over the next couple of days, and in the mid-to-upper-90s and into triple digits in the more northern parts of Solano County.
There are ways to survive the heat waveWith Solano County weathering a heat wave this week, experts say there are some things you can do to prevent negative impacts.
The National Weather Service reports temperatures in the high 80s to low 90s in Vallejo over the next couple of days, and in the mid-to-upper-90s and into triple digits in the more northern parts of Solano County.
There are ways to survive the heat waveCONCORD, N.H. (AP) - The mother of a 19-year-old Michigan man shot by police in New Hampshire says she is still struggling to understand just how her son was killed.
Lane Lesko, of Ann Arbor, Michigan, died of a single gunshot wound June 21 in Peterborough in rural New Hampshire.
The New Hampshire attorney general's office has released scant information in its investigation, saying only that the shooting followed a brief pursuit along Route 136.
Mother of man killed by New Hampshire police wants answersMINNEAPOLIS (AP) - Allina Health says it's offering a new contract proposal to its union nurses who staff five hospitals in the Twin Cities area.
The company has asked the Minnesota Nurses Association to come back to the bargaining table. The union said Monday it will review the proposal.
The nurses returned to work Sunday following a seven-day strike.
Allina Health offers new contract proposal to union nursesNEW YORK (AP) - Chipotle is introducing a temporary loyalty program intended to get customers back into its stores following a series of food scares.
Already, the Mexican food chain has given away millions of burritos through coupons for entrees to fill up empty locations after an E. coli outbreak and norovirus cases last year sent sales plunging.
Chipotle looks to recover with temporary loyalty programAUSTIN, Texas (AP) - The Latest on the Supreme Court's decision striking down Texas' strict regulation of abortion clinics (all times local):
11:40 a.m.
Former state Sen. Wendy Davis says the Supreme Court striking down Texas' abortion law validates a 2013 filibuster she staged against it.
The Latest: Davis says ruling makes filibuster 'worth it'AUSTIN, Texas (AP) - The U.S. Supreme Court ruled 5-3 on Monday that Texas' sweeping anti-abortion law is unconstitutional. Here are details about the ruling and the law, known as HB2:
'BEYOND RATIONAL BELIEF' THAT TEXAS LAW PROTECTED WOMEN'S HEALTH
So wrote Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, who added in a concurring opinion that women "may resort to unlicensed rogue practitioners" when states limit access to abortion.
What to know about Supreme Court tossing Texas abortion lawALBANY, N.Y. (AP) - New York is expanding access to breast cancer screening by requiring hospitals to extend hours for mammograms and eliminating insurance costs for the procedure.
Democratic Gov. Andrew Cuomo signed the measure into law Monday at a ceremony on Long Island. He was joined by longtime girlfriend Sandra Lee.
NY Gov. Cuomo signs bill expanding breast cancer screeningTOMS RIVER, N.J. (AP) - A New Jersey woman battling lung cancer has received an unforgettable surprise from one of the state's most famous rockers, Jon Bon Jovi.
Rosie Skripkunis says her mother, Carol Cesario, is a lifelong fan of Bon Jovi and has always wanted to meet him.
Last month, Skripkunis shared a sign on social media asking the singer to visit her mother.
Jon Bon Jovi surprises cancer-stricken fan with guitar, kissSEABROOK, N.H. (AP) - The cod isn't just a fish to David Goethel. It's his identity, his ticket to middle-class life, his link to a historic industry.
"I paid for my education, my wife's education, my house, my kids' education; my slice of America was paid for on cod," said Goethel, a 30-year veteran of these waters that once teemed with New England's signature fish.
Fading fishermen: A historic industry faces a warming worldMINNEAPOLIS (AP) - Thousands of nurses returned to work Sunday at five Allina Health hospitals in the Minneapolis area following a seven-day strike mainly over the cost of their health insurance.
The Minnesota Nurses Association and its 4,800 members began their strike June 19 after failing to negotiate a new three-year contract with Allina Health.
Minneapolis area nurses back to work following strikeKNOXVILLE, Tenn. (AP) - The family of Pat Summitt says the last few days have been difficult for the former Tennessee women's basketball coach as her Alzheimer's disease progresses.
Amid reports of Summitt's failing health, her family issued a statement Sunday asking for prayers and saying that the 64-year-old Summitt is surrounded by the people who mean the most to her.
Past few days 'difficult' for former Tennessee coach SummittCOLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) - Until a new law was passed this spring, it was against the law in Ohio - along with many other states - for firefighters or paramedics to provide basic first aid to dogs and cats rescued from house fires, car accidents or other crisis situations. Only licensed veterinarians could do that.
New law supports first responders who treat injured petsNEW YORK (AP) - New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo will hit the road alongside music icon Billy Joel in a statewide motorcycle ride to raise awareness about breast cancer.
Cuomo will begin the ride Monday morning in Kings Park, on Long Island.
Along the way, the Democratic governor is poised to sign legislation that expands access to breast cancer screenings.
Billy Joel to join Cuomo on NY breast cancer motorcycle rideWhether or not a proposed resort development in the Napa County Airport Industrial Area would put too much of a strain on the city's water supplies is set for discussion at a special American Canyon City Council meeting at 6:30 p.m. Tuesday at City Hall.
While Napa County is the project's land use agency, its site is within the city's water service area and the city would provide its water.
Special council meeting in American Canyon on TuesdayPORSMOUTH, Va. (AP) - Officials at a Virginia jail where a mentally ill inmate died last year dismissed allegations Friday that the man was abused in their custody and pushed back against claims of mistreatment made by other inmates.
The family of 24-year-old Jamycheal Mitchell filed $60 million wrongful death lawsuit last month claiming correctional officers at the Hampton Roads regional jail physically abused and withheld food from him.
Virginia jail pushes back against claims of mistreatmentBISMARCK, N.D. (AP) - North Dakota spent $491,016 in legal costs defending an ill-fated law passed by the state's Republican-led Legislature three years ago that attempted to ban abortions when a fetal heartbeat is detected, records obtained by The Associated Press show.
The sum was finalized this week and includes billing by state-contracted attorneys and expert witnesses, as well as a $245,000 settlement paid in April to lawyers representing the state's lone abortion clinic in Fargo.
North Dakota spent $491K on fetal heartbeat abortion lawWe all experience stress in our lives. The causes of stress range from common frustrations, such as a traffic jam to a looming deadline, to traumatic experiences such as divorce or losing your job. Stress response allows our bodies to mobilize to either confront the danger or run away. Short-term stressors can sharpen attention and memory, and can even boost the level of cells involved in fighting off infections.
Solano Coalition for Better Health: Coping with stressful life eventsDALLAS (AP) - More than 30 people who attended an event with motivational speaker Tony Robbins have been treated for burns after Robbins encouraged them to walk on hot coals as a way of conquering their fears, Dallas fire officials said.
Five people were taken to a hospital Thursday night, while the rest were treated at the scene for burns to their feet and lower extremities, Dallas Fire-Rescue spokesman Jason Evans said.
Motivational speaker Robbins' coal walk burns more than 30LOS ANGELES (AP) - What does it take to get an Oscar-nominated documentarian to direct a music video?
A call from Glenn Close.
That's how Liz Garbus, director of "What Happened, Miss Simone?" came to make the video for "Ghost Story," which is being released Friday in association with Close's mental health advocacy organization, Bring Change 2 Mind .
Oscar-nominated documentarian Liz Garbus makes a music videoLOS ANGELES (AP) - The California Department of Public Health has issued a health advisory in Southern California linked to an outbreak of invasive meningococcal disease, primarily among adult gay and bisexual men.
Meningococcal disease is caused by a bacteria and can cause meningitis and bloodstream infections, known as sepsis.
Department of public health warns of meningococcal diseaseDETROIT (AP) - A Michigan veterinarian who saved the life of a dog on a reality TV show has been cleared of misconduct.
Jan Pol has a TV show on Nat Geo Wild called "The Incredible Dr. Pol."
The 73-year-old Pol was fined $500 and placed on probation after a Kentucky viewer complained to state regulators that he wasn't wearing a mask, didn't provide IV therapy to Mr.
Court bites back, exonerates Michigan TV vet who saved dogStephanie Rodenberg-Lewis wasn't happy with her insulin pump and finally switched two years ago to another brand. Now her health insurer is pushing her to go back.
UnitedHealth Group Inc. has made a deal with device maker Medtronic that will slash options for diabetics who use the portable pumps, which costs thousands of dollars.
Health insurer's limit on insulin pumps worries patientsThe nation's largest health insurer is slashing the options diabetics will have for insulin pumps in a push to cut costs and steer customers toward good products. But the move has angered patients who say choice is extremely important.
Starting July 1, patients on many of UnitedHealth Group's plans will be limited to three pump choices instead of nine due to a deal with device maker Medtronic.
Health insurer's limit on insulin pumps worries patientsDETROIT (AP) - Blood-lead levels in Flint children under the age of 6 were significantly higher after the city switched its water in 2014 in a cost-saving move, according to report released Friday by U.S. disease experts.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said the likelihood a child would have a concerning blood-lead level - at least 5 micrograms of lead per deciliter of blood - was about 50 percent higher after the April 2014 switch from Detroit's water system to the Flint River.
Report: Lead levels higher in Flint kids after water switchA Vallejo firefighter used his life-saving skills last week to save a woman from downing during a family vacation in Hawaii.
Ramon Villanueva was at a lagoon in Oahu when he noticed a 60- to 70-year-old woman face down in the water and not moving, said Vallejo Fire Department Public Information Officer Anthony Shair-Ali.
Off-duty Vallejo firefighter saves woman's life in HawaiiThe U.S. Forest Service's third annual Visions of the Wild Festival doesn't start until September, but this isn't stopping its partners from hosting several events in advance, agency officials said.
The first two, designed to continue connecting the community with nature and culture, include:
• June 25, 7 to 10 p.
Visions of the Wild kicks off early this year with Cuba, osprey events this weekendLOS ANGELES (AP) - A Los Angeles hospital has agreed to pay $1 million to settle allegations that it discharged a mentally ill patient without telling her family, who lost track of her for days.
Pacifica Hospital of the Valley is one of nearly a half-dozen hospitals that have settled so-called "patient dumping" lawsuits with the city attorney's office.
Los Angeles hospital settles patient-dumping suit for $1MThe Food Bank of Contra Costa and Solano was honored this week as the 2016 Nonprofit of the Year for the 4th Assembly District, it was announced.
This is the first year the Legislature has held a California Nonprofits Day Celebration at the Capitol, officials said.
The Food Bank joined other nonprofit leaders from across the state who were also honored at the inaugural California Nonprofits Day event, agency officials said.
Local food bank honored as area's nonprofit of the yearCHICAGO (AP) - A struggling Illinois health insurance co-op is suing the federal government, claiming it is being shortchanged $72.8 million in promised payments under the Affordable Care Act.
Chicago-based Land of Lincoln Health filed the lawsuit Thursday in the U.S. Court of Federal Claims in Washington, D.
Illinois insurance co-op sues feds over health law paymentsRENO, Nev. (AP) - The U.S. Forest Service has closed a popular campground near Lake Tahoe after health officials found plague at the site.
The Reno Gazette-Journal reports (http://on.rgj.com/28PwpSj ) that the Fallen Leaf Campground will be closed from June 27 until July 1. While the area is closed, workers will use pesticides to minimize the risk of future plague.
Tahoe-area campground closes due to plague threatHARTFORD, Conn. (AP) - Soaring numbers of overdose deaths are adding to woes already plaguing medical examiner and coroner offices, resulting in a shortage of spots to store bodies and long delays in autopsies and toxicology testing.
The Connecticut medical examiner's office has considered renting a refrigerated truck to store extra bodies because its storage area has neared capacity at times.
Overdose deaths overwhelm medical examiner, coroner officesHOUSTON (AP) - A Houston-area woman's accent sounds completely different since she underwent jaw surgery in December, and doctors say she might have a neurological condition called foreign accent syndrome.
In a KTRK-TV (http://abc13.co/28Q4OkZ ) video posted online, Lisa Alamia's (al-uh-MEE'-uh) accent swings between various British accents and a faint Australian twang.
Texas woman has foreign accent syndrome after jaw surgerySAN JOSE, Calif. (AP) - Like many autistic children, Julian Brown has trouble reading emotions in people's faces, one of the biggest challenges for people with the neurological disorder.
Now the 10-year-old San Jose boy is getting help from "autism glass" - an experimental device that records and analyzes faces in real time and alerts him to the emotions they're expressing.
Can Google Glass help autistic children read faces?For Mark Barber, not commuting from Vallejo to Petaluma -- as he has done every working day for 37 years -- is going to take some getting used to.
But after selling his family's 50-year-old Vallejo sign company, getting used to that big change is exactly what Barber plans on doing.
Barber sold what is believed to be the longest established sign business in the region to Walter and Karen Perlic, owners of the American Canyon FastSigns franchise.
Weekly Biz Buzz: After 50 years, Vallejo's Barber Sign Co. becomes FastSigns, as Barber retiresWith more than the usual amount of attention focused on healthy eating in Vallejo recently, officials of the Food Bank of Contra Costa & Solano remind readers that its Community Produce Program gives away fresh fruits and vegetables at various times and places around town, program manager Shelee Loughmiller said.
Free healthy fruits and veggies available around VallejoExcerpts from recent editorials in the United States and abroad:
____
June 23
The Khaleej Times on space revolution in India:
India is witnessing a space revolution of sorts with satellites being launched every other month. On Wednesday, it placed 20 satellites in their designated orbits, including one for Google.
Editorial Roundup: Excerpts from recent editorialsNEW YORK (AP) - Online requests for abortion pills spiked dramatically this year in Brazil, Ecuador and some other Latin American countries that ban abortions, an indication that women may be choosing to end pregnancies rather than risk birth defects stemming from a Zika virus outbreak.
Researchers reported the trend after trying to understand how pregnant women are responding to the threat of Zika-related birth defects in countries where abortion is banned but the government is warning women to avoid pregnancy because of Zika outbreaks.
Abortion pill requests spike in Zika outbreak countriesDENVER (AP) - DENVER (AP) - As he raced to the hospital with his injured son in his car, a Colorado father called 911 to let emergency room staff know to prepare for something unusual.
"I am driving from Lower River Road to (the) emergency room. My 5-year-old has got attacked by (a) mountain lion," Val Loboda told the dispatcher, speaking quickly but calmly.
911: Son attacked by mountain lion, dad tells ER to prepareNEW YORK (AP) - Government researchers say the nasal spray version of the annual flu vaccine didn't protect kids this past flu season.
Health officials reported Wednesday that the spray performed dismally for the third straight year, while the traditional flu shot - the one that stings - worked reasonably well this winter.
Ouch! Flu spray fails again, flu shots work betterRALEIGH, N.C. (AP) - The Latest on the death of an Ohio woman after a visit to the U.S. National Whitewater Center in Charlotte, North Carolina: (all times local):
1:30 p.m.
A spokesman says the U.S. National Whitewater Center in Charlotte is operating as usual Wednesday despite the death of a visitor from Ohio who became infected after contact with water.
The Latest: Whitewater Center open after Ohio teen's deathNearly one-third of U.S. Medicare beneficiaries received at least one prescription for commonly abused opioids last year with a striking variation in use from state to state, according to a federal report released Wednesday. The proportion of beneficiaries getting opioids varied from 21 percent in New York and Hawaii to 42 percent in Alabama.
Opioid use by Medicare patients varies by stateRALEIGH, N.C. (AP) - A Ohio woman who went whitewater rafting in North Carolina has died of an infection after being exposed to an amoeba that is naturally present in warm fresh water.
North Carolina's Department of Health and Human Services said the U.S. Centers for Disease Control suspects Naegleria fowleri (nuh-GLEER'-ee-uh FOW'-lur-ee), a one-celled organism that can cause primary amebic meningoencephalitis.
Whitewater rafter dies from amoebic infection after NC tripALBANY, N.Y. (AP) - New York is limiting opioid drug prescriptions to seven days of painkillers following a patient's initial visit to a doctor.
Gov. Andrew Cuomo, signing the new law Wednesday, says it's among four significant measures that he and state lawmakers are enacting to address the opioid and heroin addiction crisis.
New York sets 7-day limit on initial opioid prescriptionsCHICAGO (AP) - Nearly 12 million Medicare beneficiaries received at least one prescription for an opioid painkiller last year at a cost of $4.1 billion, according to a federal report that shows how common the addictive drugs are in many older Americans' medicine cabinets.
With an overdose epidemic worsening, nearly one-third of Medicare beneficiaries received at least one prescription for commonly abused opioids such as OxyContin and fentanyl in 2015.
Nearly 1 in 3 on Medicare got commonly abused opioidsGolfer Rory McIlroy became one of the most high-profile sports stars to opt out of the Rio de Janeiro Olympics because of concerns about the Zika virus, saying Wednesday it is "a risk I am unwilling to take."
"After speaking with those closest to me, I've come to realize that my health and my family's health comes before anything else," the four-time major winner said in a statement released by his management company.
McIlroy opts out of Rio Olympics over Zika concernsNORTH MYRTLE BEACH, S.C. (AP) - A 42-year-old Delaware man is being treated after he says he was bitten by a shark off the South Carolina coast.
A spokesman for the city of North Myrtle Beach, Pat Dowling, tells news outlets the man was bitten on the foot Tuesday afternoon by what the man said was a shark between 3 feet and 5 feet long.
Man says shark bit him off South Carolina coastBOISE, Idaho (AP) - For-profit medical schools are starting to pop up around the country, promising to create new family doctors for underserved rural regions.
Rural states like Idaho need more general practitioners, with the baby boom generation aging and expanded insurance coverage under the Affordable Care Act making health care more accessible.
New for-profit medical schools springing up across USSACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) - President Barack Obama's administration says California did not violate a religious freedom law when it ordered health insurance companies to pay for elective abortions.
The decision Tuesday by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services upholds California's 2014 order requiring seven insurance companies to rescind policies that did not cover elective abortions.
Federal agency upholds California abortion coverage mandateRENO, Nev. (AP) - Nevada's prisons are discriminating against inmates with HIV under illegal segregation policies that deny them access to work programs where other prisoners earn credits to reduce the length of their sentences, the U.S. Justice Department has concluded.
Justice Department lawyers warned Nevada's attorney general this week they may sue the state under the Americans with Disabilities Act if it doesn't change the policies based largely on unfounded fears about the transmission of HIV.
Justice Department: Nevada discriminates against HIV inmatesNEW YORK, N.Y. (AP) - Neil Cavuto, an anchor for Fox News Channel and Fox Business Network, is recovering from open heart surgery.
In a statement, Fox News said that Cavuto had the operation Monday at a New York City hospital and came through with "flying colors."
The journalist was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis in 1997.
Fox TV anchor Neil Cavuto recovering from open heart surgeryA bill by Rep. Mike Thompson (D- St. Helena) that would allow small businesses to continue offering their employees Health Reimbursement Arrangements, heads to the Senate after passing the House of Representatives Tuesday, Thompson's office announced.
The Small Business Healthcare Relief Act (H.
Thompson's small business health care bill passes HouseLAS VEGAS (AP) - A British man accused of telling authorities that he wanted to kill Donald Trump at a rally was unemployed, living out of his car and had been treated in the past for obsessive compulsive disorder and anorexia, authorities and others say.
Court statements and accounts Tuesday from a family friend in England offered a complex picture of 20-year-old suspect Michael Steven Sandford, who was arrested Saturday in a Las Vegas casino where the Republican candidate was speaking.
Fuller picture emerges of man arrested at Trump rallyNEW YORK (AP) - New York City lawmakers have passed what advocates call a pioneering requirement for free tampons and sanitary pads in public schools, homeless shelters and jails.
The City Council voted Tuesday. Democratic Mayor Bill de Blasio hasn't said whether he'll sign it, but his administration supports it.
NYC lawmakers pass a novel requirement for free tamponsFORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. (AP) - The Obama administration is aggressively targeting young people to help boost health insurance enrollment.
The administration said Tuesday it would comb tax records to find 18-34-year-olds who paid a penalty for not buying health insurance and reach out to them through emails and ad buys.
Feds will use tax penalty data to find uninsured millennialsSPOKANE, Wash. (AP) - Federal prosecutors say they will not file charges against three police officers in Pasco, Washington, who shot and killed a mentally ill man last year, sparking weeks of protests.
U.S. Attorney Michael Ormsby said Tuesday there was insufficient evidence that the officers violated the civil rights of 35-year-old Antonio Zambrano-Montes when they fired 17 bullets at him on Feb.
Feds won't file charges in killing by policeATLANTA (AP) - As a national debate rages on gun rights and gun control, a federal appeals court is mulling a Florida law that restricts doctors from talking about gun ownership with patients.
The 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals on Tuesday heard arguments on a legal challenge to the 2011 law that requires doctors to have a legitimate safety concern before they start asking a patient about guns.
Court mulls law limiting docs' talk with patients about gunsWEST POINT, N.Y. (AP) - William Reynolds breezed past the finish line first in his 100-meter race at West Point, down the hill from where he once marched as a cadet and a dozen years since the attack in Iraq that cost him part of his left leg.
Reynolds, 35, is a competitor in the Warrior Games, the military's annual adaptive sports competition, held this year through Tuesday at the U.
Warrior Games: West Point grad, amputee returns to competeA Vallejo man was unable to escape police after injuring himself Sunday in a crash with a stolen car, Vallejo Police Dept. Lt. Sid DeJesus said Monday.
"Officers responded to an injury accident at Admiral Callaghan Lane at Plaza Drive," at about 1:30 p.m., DeJesus said. "One of the vehicles involved, a white Toyota, that was reported stolen, had rear-ended an SUV.
Vallejo man injured in crash with stolen car, tries but fails to flee sceneFerry rides will cost more starting July, 1, as the San Francisco Bay Ferry implemented approved fare hikes, officials announced.
The ferry service will implement a scheduled fare change on July 1 -- the second of a five-year fare program approved by the WETA Board of Directors in September 2014, designed to offset projected operating cost increases, they said.
Ferry fares to rise July 1The federal government has declined a petition to lower the price of a prostate cancer drug developed with taxpayer money.
The public interest group Knowledge Ecology International petitioned the National Institutes of Health in January to reduce the $129,000-a year list price of Xtandi (ex-TAN'-dee), made by the Japanese drugmaker Astellas Pharma.
NIH won't cut price of taxpayer-funded prostate cancer drugLOS ANGELES (AP) - The growing problem of homelessness can be seen in every corner of California, from small towns that ring the state's redwood forests to the sands separating the Pacific Ocean from the most prosperous beachfront communities.
More than 115,000 homeless Californians were counted last year and one in four had a serious mental illness, according to the most recent tally from the U.
California nears $2 billion plan to house its homelessCHICAGO (AP) - As little as one free meal from a drug company can influence which medicines doctors prescribe for Medicare patients. That's according to a study using Medicare records and recently released data from the health care law's Open Payments program.
The study highlights the subtle ways doctors may feel inclined to prescribe a drug after receiving just a small gift, even if the drug is more costly for patients and their insurance plans, the study authors said.
Rx pizza: 1 free meal can sway doctor prescribingBISMARCK, N.D. (AP) - The U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration says a man died and three others were seriously injured in an oil well explosion in western North Dakota.
OSHA Area Director Eric Brooks says a 52-year-old Wyoming man died Sunday from injuries he suffered Saturday morning at a well site operated by XTO Energy Inc.
1 killed, 3 hurt in oil well fire in western North DakotaBECKLEY, W.Va. (AP) - More cases involving patients possibly exposed to hepatitis at a heart clinic in West Virginia have emerged.
Attorney Stephen New tells WVVA-TV (http://bit.ly/28IYvDF ) that his firm has 60 clients who he believes contracted hepatitis from the Raleigh Heart Clinic in Beckley.
New cases of possible hepatitis exposure at heart clinicIn this photo by Mahesh Kumar A., a child reacts in pain as she is given a shot of polio vaccine in Hyderabad, India. The city of nearly 7 million people started a vaccination campaign after an active strain of the virus was found recently in samples of sewage water. About 350,000 children aged 6 weeks to 3 years old will be vaccinated this week in Hyderabad and the neighboring Ranga Reddy district in the state of Telangana.
Image of Asia: Getting the polio vaccine in HyderabadHOUSTON (AP) - Saron Wyatt pointed to the secluded end of her small street in Houston's impoverished Fifth Ward, where a mound of old tires keeps popping up.
Always a trashy nuisance, it's now a growing danger. Tires collect water and become prime breeding grounds for mosquitoes - especially the ones that spread Zika virus disease and other tropical mosquito-borne illnesses.
As Zika looms, US health officials worry about the neighborsCHICAGO (AP) - As many as 2 million concussions from sports or play activities occur in U.S. children and teens each year and many receive no treatment, a new study suggests.
The estimate is based on 2013 data from emergency room visits, hospitalizations, doctor visits, concussion reports made to high school athletic trainers, and information from previous concussion studies.
US kids get 2 million concussions a year from sports, playSHEBOYGAN, Wis. (AP) - A Wisconsin convenience store owner who said he has lost more than 30 customers to overdoses is speaking out against the heroin epidemic by posting signs on his store warning of the dangers of drugs.
Dick Hiers said he posted the signs to raise awareness about the problem, Sheboygan Press Media (http://shebpr.
Store owner who lost customers to overdoses warns on drugsMONTPELIER, Vt. (AP) - Northeast dairy farmers have been strapped for months by low milk prices. They say a voluntary insurance program promoted as a safety net when the margin between milk prices and feed costs fell below a certain amount is not helping.
An oversupply of milk in the U.S. and around the world has caused milk prices paid to farmers to fall below production costs for months.
Dairy farmers say safety net on milk prices is not helpingNIANTIC, Conn. (AP) - An Alabama couple hopes two horses seized by Connecticut officials in an animal abuse investigation will help veterans suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder.
Dan and Amy Thomas bought the Friesians through an auction held by the state. Last week, they picked up the animals at the Department of Agriculture's large animal rehabilitation facility at York Correctional Center in Niantic.
Abused horses now rehabbed to help veterans with PTSDCONCORD, N.H. (AP) - As New Hampshire stares down a heroin and opioid crisis, corrections officials and lawmakers are seeking new ways to keep drugs out of jail cells as visitors and inmates continually find ways to smuggle them in.
While drugs in jails have always been an issue, officials say the present crisis is bringing new challenges and, at some facilities, a higher volume of drugs.
Keeping the drugs out: Jails, prisons find a steep challengeMADISON, Wis. (AP) - High schools for teens recovering from addiction are on the rise as the U.S. works to cope with the spike in opioid abuse.
There are about 36 recovery high schools nationwide and seven more are planning to open in five states - Florida, Illinois, Colorado, Minnesota and Washington.
Recovery schools for addicted teens on the riseMINNEAPOLIS (AP) - Both sides say a strike by about 4,800 nurses appears inevitable at five hospitals in the Minneapolis area.
Members of the Minnesota Nurses Association members plan to walk out at 7 a.m. Sunday at hospitals operated by Allina Health - Abbott Northwestern in Minneapolis, Mercy in Coon Rapids, United in St.
4,800 nurses set to strike Sunday at 5 Twin Cities hospitalsNEW YORK (AP) - Dozens or hundreds of babies in Puerto Rico could develop severe birth defects because of Zika, based on how an outbreak is playing out there, a top U.S. health official said Friday.
The island territory has been screening blood donations for the virus since April. Last month's results suggest there's been a rapid increase in infections, and officials expect cases to increase through the summer.
CDC: Puerto Rico may see hundreds of Zika birth defectsDUNN, N.C. (AP) - Even seasonal agriculture workers are required to have health insurance, but reaching them can be an uphill battle.
These workers are in the United States legally, through the H-2A visa program. They often live in cinder block homes built by employers in isolated areas. They work long days, and often seven days a week.
Uphill battle to get seasonal farmworkers health insuranceBOULDER, Colo. (AP) - The Boulder County Justice Center allows service animals into the building, but security guards drew the line when someone tried to sneak his pet iguana through the X-ray machine.
Sheriff's spokeswoman Carrie Haverfield tells The Daily Camera (http://goo.gl/2DHbzG ) that security staff caught the reptile as it passed through the machine Friday.
X-ray machine foils attempt to sneak iguana into courthouseSACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) - Counties will get another $270 million for jail construction under the budget approved by California lawmakers this week, even though opponents say the money could be better spent on rehabilitation programs.
The state has provided $2.2 billion to build jails since 2007, including $1 billion since California began keeping lower-level offenders in county lockups instead of state prisons in 2011.
Budget has $270 million to upgrade California county jailsSAN DIEGO (AP) - An elderly giant panda at the San Diego Zoo has been diagnosed with an incurable heart problem.
The zoo says Gao Gao (Gow Gow) had a medical checkup on Tuesday and was found to have pulmonic stenosis, a narrowing of the pulmonary heart valve.
Gao Gao was put on medication and is responding well to the treatment but the condition is progressive.
San Diego Zoo panda has incurable heart problemMINNEAPOLIS (AP) - Around 4,800 nurses are preparing to launch a one-week strike at five hospitals in the Minneapolis-St. Paul area in a dispute over health insurance.
Minnesota Nurses Association members plan to walk out at 7 a.m. Sunday at hospitals operated by Allina Health - Abbott Northwestern in Minneapolis, Mercy in Coon Rapids, United in St.
4,800 nurses will strike Sunday at 5 Twin Cities hospitalsSome of Vallejo's neediest residents don't have the access they need to healthy food, a new study shows.
The full results of the Food Empowerment Project's study will be released and explained at a special event -- the Vallejo Healthy Food Fest -- 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sunday, June 26 at the Dan Foley Cultural Center, organizers said.
Healthy food access not equitable in Vallejo, study finds; free food event plannedNAPA >> The Napa County Board of Supervisors this week unanimously appointed Leanne Link as County Executive Officer (CEO), county officials announced.
Link has served as assistant CEO since December 2013. She replaces Nancy Watt, who announced last week that she will be leaving the position this summer.
Napa County appoints new CEOORLANDO, Fla. (AP) - The Latest on the killing of a 2-year-old boy by an alligator at Walt Disney World (all times local):
4:45 p.m.
The medical examiner's office in Orlando says a 2-year-old Nebraska boy died from drowning and traumatic injuries after being grabbed by an alligator at Walt Disney World.
The Latest: Officials: Boy grabbed by gator died by drowningSACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) - The Latest on the California budget (all times local):
1:30 p.m.
Republican lawmakers are objecting to a California budget provision that gives water to medical marijuana growers.
Republicans say a budget bill approved Thursday in the state Assembly gives pot farmers preferential treatment over the rest of the agriculture industry.
The Latest: California lawmakers OK water for pot growersNEW YORK (AP) - The government is reporting that three babies have been born in the U.S. with birth defects caused by the Zika virus.
Birth defects from Zika were also seen in three other pregnancies that ended.
Thursday's report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is the first accounting of pregnancy outcomes in the U.
CDC: 3 babies born in US with birth defects caused by ZikaPHILADELPHIA (AP) - Philadelphia was set to become the first major American city with a soda tax on Thursday despite a multimillion-dollar campaign by the beverage industry to block it.
The City Council was expected to give final approval to a 1.5 cent-per-ounce tax on sugary and diet beverages.
Philadelphia set to OK soda tax despite industry oppositionPITTSBURGH (AP) - A woman says she was denied service at a Pittsburgh nail salon because she's legally blind.
Arzella Stewart-McCauley tells WTAE-TV (http://bit.ly/1ZSEN8D) the owner of the nail salon "Le Nails" sent her away last Friday saying she was too busy and it would take too long to help Stewart-McCauley through the process.
Pittsburgh nail salon: Woman denied service due to blindnessLOS ANGELES (AP) - Bradley Cooper is throwing his weight behind the fifth annual Stand Up To Cancer telecast.
Cooper will serve as executive producer of the fundraiser airing in September.
In a statement Wednesday, Cooper said he's proud to be part of Stand Up To Cancer's effort to get lifesaving treatment to patients more quickly through collaborative research.
Bradley Cooper to produce Stand Up To Cancer telecastHONOLULU (AP) - The fight over regulating genetically engineered crops in three Hawaii counties was back in a federal courtroom as some agricultural giants look to protect their farms from bans against modified food.
The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals heard oral arguments in Honolulu Wednesday on ordinances that seek to regulate or outlaw genetically engineered crops in Hawaii, Kauai and Maui counties.
Rules on GMO crops in Hawaii heads to US appeals courtSOUTH BEND, Ind. (AP) - The founder of an organization that has installed boxes where mothers can leave unwanted infants is undeterred by a warning from Indiana that they are illegal and intends to make sure more mothers have protected access to them.
Safe Haven Baby Boxes founder Monica Kelsey said she will create a legal fund to defend women the state says could face child abandonment charges for using the devices, two of which have been installed in northern Indiana.
Baby box founder undeterred by warning, plans defense fundLOS ANGELES (AP) - The revelry at the Electronic Entertainment Expo temporarily paused Wednesday afternoon after an unidentified man fell down an escalator at the Los Angeles Convention Center.
The entrance leading down to the venue's South Hall lobby was closed off as emergency personnel assisted the wounded E3 attendee.
E3 interrupted after attendee injured on escalatorKaiser Permanente's Vallejo Medical Center will mark National Cancer Survivors Day on Saturday, June 25 with the 3rd Annual Celebrate Life event - a day of learning, wellness and living after cancer, organizers said.
Everyone is welcome; no need to be a Kaiser Permanente member or a cancer survivor, they said.
Kaiser holds free Celebrate Life event June 25Vallejo native Tirzah Love is all about helping people eat healthy and enjoy it.
The Benicia resident is already a popular caterer with a growing clientele and now she's trying to open an eatery in downtown Vallejo. She'll call it Tirzah's Kitchen, she said.
The deli inside 301 Georgia St.
Weekly Biz Buzz: Local woman hopes to open healthy food restaurant in downtown VallejoLAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. (AP) - The Latest on search for boy dragged away by alligator (all times local):
5:20 p.m.
A medical examiner now has custody of the body of Lane Graves, the 2-year-old killed by an alligator at Walt Disney World, and an autopsy will be performed.
Orange County Sheriff Jerry Demings said "it was a tough message to deliver" to Matt and Melissa Graves, that their child is dead.
The Latest: Sheriff: 5 gators caught, 1 probably the killerNEW YORK (AP) - A study of women who were infected with the Zika virus late in pregnancy found that none had babies with apparent birth defects.
The study, published in the New England Journal of Medicine online Wednesday, seems to confirm that the greatest risk to infants comes early in pregnancy.
Zika infections late in pregnancy led to no defects in studyMANASQUAN, N.J. (AP) - Two New Jersey men have been found guilty of endangering the welfare of an incompetent person by coaxing a man with autism to jump into a freezing ocean in a prank posted online.
A judge found 22-year-old Nicholas Formica and 21-year-old Christopher Tilton guilty on Tuesday.
2 guilty of endangering man with autism in ocean-jump prankDENVER (AP) - New data on air pollution from fracking wells in Colorado will be a big help in assessing whether the emissions are harmful to human health, state officials say.
A three-year study released Tuesday measured methane - a greenhouse gas - and ozone-causing compounds that were released from new natural gas wells in western Colorado.
New data will help Colorado study health effects of frackingA Vacaville man was robbed of his wallet at gunpoint outside a Vallejo restaurant Monday night, Vallejo Police Dept. Lt. Sid DeJesus said.
The 47-year-old man finished his meal at the Jack in the Box on Lewis Brown Road, at about 5:19 p.m., and as he walked out and toward the rear of the restaurant, he was approached by a light-complected Black man in his mid-20s; about 5-foot-9 inches tall, weighing about 160 pounds, he said.
Vacaville man robbed at gunpoint outside Vallejo restaurantNEWARK, N.J. (AP) - Two emergency medical technicians who were caught live-streaming themselves as they ignored a call for help while in the drive-thru line of a New Jersey fast-food restaurant have resigned.
University Hospital spokeswoman Stacie Newton tells NJ.com the two EMTs resigned "as a result of their inappropriate conduct," which violated several of the Newark hospital's policies.
EMTs caught ignoring dispatch call in fast-food line resignALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) - U.S. Surgeon General Vivek Murthy is calling for more investment in addressing the nation's opioid epidemic, saying only half of the 2 million people who need drug treatment in the country have access to it.
Murthy's comments Tuesday come after his tour of a substance abuse center in New Mexico, a state that federal data show had one of the nation's highest overdose death rates in 2014.
Surgeon general calls for greater investment in opioid fightNEW YORK (AP) - The government has come up with a plan in case mosquitoes start spreading Zika in the U.S.
Health officials aren't expecting big outbreaks like in Latin America and the Caribbean. But they do think some local cases in the U.S. are likely.
States can call on a special team from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to help out under the plan issued Tuesday.
CDC posts plan for dealing with any Zika outbreaks in USKANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) - Kansas is abandoning plans to block 11 people who have provided services to Planned Parenthood from participation in its Medicaid program, though the state still intends to cut those funds from the organization's regional affiliates.
A lawyer for the state's health department announced the move in a letter filed Monday with a Kansas City, Kansas, federal judge weighing two Planned Parenthood affiliates' request to scuttle any halting of Medicaid reimbursements.
Kansas drops Planned Parenthood providers from funds cutoffMass shooters from Aurora, Colorado, to Orlando, Florida, have sometimes obtained guns by exploiting limited weapons laws and blind spots in the background-check process.
The shooters at Sandy Hook Elementary School and San Bernardino, California, used weapons purchased by others, shielding them from background checks.
Shooters sometimes exploit limited weapons laws, blind spotsCHICAGO (AP) - Accidental overdoses aren't the only deadly risk from using powerful prescription painkillers - the drugs may also contribute to heart-related deaths and other fatalities, new research suggests.
Among more than 45,000 patients in the study, those using opioid painkillers had a 64 percent higher risk of dying within six months of starting treatment compared to patients taking other prescription pain medicine.
Opioids linked with deaths other than overdoses, study saysDES MOINES, Iowa (AP) - The shooting at a gay nightclub in Orlando shines a new light on the gulf separating presidential hopefuls Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton on guns.
The presumptive Democratic nominee on Monday restated her support for banning certain military-style weapons, like the one authorities say 29-year-old Omar Mateen used to kill 49 people in a weekend rampage.
Shootings highlights chasm between Trump, Clinton on gunsTALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) - As in mass shootings elsewhere, the massacre of 49 people at an Orlando nightclub is raising questions about access to guns - assault rifles, in particular.
In Florida, buying one is no problem as long as you're 18, a legal resident of the United States, aren't a felon or a domestic abuser and have no documented mental health or substance abuse issues.
Want to buy an assault rifle in Florida? No problemMINNEAPOLIS (AP) - Negotiators have returned to the bargaining table but report no progress in contract talks to avoid a strike by nearly 5,000 nurses at five hospitals in the Minneapolis area.
Representatives from the Minnesota Nurses Association and Allina Health met Monday at the request of a federal mediator.
No progress in talks to avoid Twin Cities nurses strikeJACKSON, Miss. (AP) - Fifteen federal prisoners remain hospitalized after a botulism outbreak traced to inmate-brewed alcohol.
Liz Sharlott, a spokeswoman for the Mississippi State Department of Health, said Monday that inmates in the medium-security section of Federal Correctional Institution Yazoo City began getting sick last week after sharing homebrew typically made from fruit and vegetable scraps, sugar and water.
Botulism traced to prison hooch sickens federal inmatesHARTFORD, Conn. (AP) - Two people died and two others survived what was supposed to a short boating trip after their kayak and paddleboard got blown far off the Connecticut coast by strong winds.
The boaters left Hammonasset Beach State Park in Madison at about 6 p.m. Sunday. A woman and her young daughter who were in the kayak were found Monday morning on a beach across Long Island Sound in New York.
Evening kayak trip turns fatal as boaters blown across soundDETROIT (AP) - A Chicago activist convicted of lying to get U.S. citizenship has returned to a Detroit court for the first time since a judge was ordered to take another look at her claims of post-traumatic stress disorder from her time in an Israeli prison.
Rasmieh Odeh's conviction could be thrown out if federal Judge Gershwin Drain says testimony by a PTSD expert is reliable.
Chicago activist back in Detroit court in immigration caseHARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) - Pennsylvania's governor is undergoing an outpatient procedure for prostate cancer and will be out of the office for a few days.
A spokesman for Gov. Tom Wolf announced the unspecified procedure in a news release issued Monday. He's expected to remain at his home in Mount Wolf until Thursday.
Pennsylvania governor undergoing prostate cancer treatmentALBANY, N.Y. (AP) - New York is poised to expand access to breast cancer screening under an agreement reached by top state lawmakers and Democratic Gov. Andrew Cuomo, who made combating the cancer a priority after the successful cancer treatment of his girlfriend, Food Network star Sandra Lee.
Under the deal, the state will order 210 hospitals to expand hours when mammograms are offered and require insurance companies to eliminate deductibles and co-pays for the screening and some other diagnostic tests.
New York poised to expand access to breast cancer screeningPITTSFORD, N.Y. (AP) - Syracuse coach Jim Boeheim has received the American Cancer Society's Circle of Honor Award in recognition of his fundraising for cancer research.
Boeheim was honored at a dinner Sunday night at Oak Hill Country Club in the Rochester suburb of Pittsford, site of this year's Coaches vs.
Syracuse coach Jim Boeheim receives award for cancer workNEW YORK (AP) - Teva Pharmaceutical says it will stop selling its migraine patch treatment Zecuity after users reported burns and scars where it was applied.
The company says anyone who has a patch should not use it.
Zecuity is a disposable battery-powered patch that is applied to the upper arm or thigh to ease migraine headaches.
Teva stops selling migraine patch after reports of burnsSANTA ROSA, Calif. (AP) - A group of conservationists and hunters is suing Mendocino County after it loosened restrictions on the cultivation of medical marijuana.
The Press Democrat reports (http://bit.ly/25XfOog ) that an interim county ordinance allows permitted growers to have up to 99 marijuana plants on a 10-acre parcel.
Hunters, conservationists sue over Mendocino marijuana lawsTroubled blood-testing startup Theranos says it will continue serving customers through independent retail locations a day after the nation's largest drugstore chain severed ties with the company.
Walgreens said Sunday that it will immediately close all 40 Theranos Wellness Centers at the drugstore chain's Arizona locations.
Walgreens cuts ties to blood-testing company TheranosCHICAGO (AP) - Parental warning: Don't lose sleep over new guidelines on how much shut-eye your kids should be getting.
The recommendations range from up to 16 hours daily for babies to at least eight hours for teens. They come from a panel of experts and give parents fresh ammunition for when kids blame them for strict bedtimes.
Kids' sleep guidelines spell out shut-eye guidance by ageSYRACUSE, N.Y. (AP) - A New York woman convicted of fatally poisoning her husband with antifreeze and trying to kill her daughter in similar fashion has died in prison.
The Onondaga County district attorney's office says 48-year-old Stacey Castor died Saturday morning. Castor was serving 51 years to life at Bedford Hills Correctional Facility for Women in Westchester County.
Woman convicted of fatally poisoning husband dies in prisonSAN FRANCISCO (AP) - Two giants - the U.S. government and FedEx - are set to do battle in a federal court over the explosive claim that the shipping company knowingly delivered illegal prescription drugs such as Ambien from pill mills to dealers and addicts, some of whom died.
Fedex has denied the charges and says it only shipped what it believed were legal drugs from licensed pharmacies.
Drug trafficking allegations against FedEx head to trialORLANDO, Fla. (AP) - The Latest on the shooting at an Orlando nightclub (all times local):
9:00 p.m.
The ex-wife of the Orlando nightclub gunman says he was "mentally unstable and mentally ill."
Sitora Yusifiy, speaking to reporters in Boulder, Colorado, says Omar Mateen was bipolar and also had a history with steroids.
The Latest: Ex-wife of club gunman says he was mentally illBATON ROUGE, La. (AP) - LSU veterinarian David Baker says the lemon-sized swelling that had nearly closed one eye of the school's tiger mascot has gone down completely since his radiation therapy at a human hospital.
He tells The Advocate (http://bit.ly/1PUQkUG ) that a week or two later might have been too late to treat Mike VI.
LSU Vet: Mascot tiger back from brink of cancer deathMIAMI (AP) - Hundreds lined up to give blood Sunday in Orlando to help the victims of the massacre at a gay nightclub, but major restrictions remain for gay men wanting to give blood themselves.
The response overwhelmed OneBlood donation centers, where officials asked donors to make appointments and continue donating over the next several days.
Gay men limited as blood donors for Orlando club victimsINDIANAPOLIS (AP) - A federal judge will hold a hearing this week to consider a bid to block Indiana's new abortion law from taking effect on July 1. The law, which conservative Republican Gov. Mike Pence signed off on in March, includes a provision banning abortions sought because of a fetus' genetic abnormalities.
A look at the attempt to block Indiana's new abortion lawTravel costs that could dissuade potential kidney donors from volunteering for life-saving transplants will be reimbursed by the nation's biggest insurer starting next year in a move designed to encourage more donations.
UnitedHealth Group says that it will pay back up to $5,000, not counting lost wages from missed work, becoming the latest insurer to reimburse people who donate for an organ transplant.
Travel costs for kidney donors to be reimbursed by insurerSANTA ANA, Calif. (AP) - A new report says the Orange County jail system has become the "primary treatment facility" for the county's mentally ill but can't properly house and treat them.
The county grand jury report says there aren't enough dedicated beds, psychiatrists or therapy and education programs for the estimated 1 in 5 inmates that have mental health issues.
Report: OC jail failing to properly treat mentally illCHICAGO (AP) - The sister of a Chicago businessman who authorities say was poisoned with cyanide after winning the lottery four years says police have done nothing to solve the case.
Meraj Khan took exception to a statement police provided The Associated Press on Friday that said the probe into Urooj Khan's death remains "very much an open and active investigation.
Sister of cyanide victim says police have done 'nothing'MINNEAPOLIS (AP) - Contract talks are set to resume in the hopes of avoiding a strike by nearly 5,000 nurses at five hospitals in the Minneapolis area.
Negotiators from the Minnesota Nurses Association and Allina Health on Friday agreed to a federal mediator's request to resume negotiations, which they'll do on Monday.
Talks set after nurses set strike at 5 Twin Cities hospitalsOne doctor delivered test results to Prince's home. Another sent his son, who wasn't a physician, on a cross-country flight to bring medication to the music star.
It's not clear if any doctor could have averted the fentanyl overdose that killed the singer in April. But his death may offer evidence for how the special treatment often afforded the rich and famous can result in worse health care than ordinary Americans receive.
When stars seek medical care, risk of 'VIP Syndrome' loomsSAN FRANCISCO (AP) - The city of San Francisco is enduring an epidemic of auto burglaries.
Police took a record 26,500 reports of vehicle break-ins last year. That's the most in the country on a per capita basis.
Police and prosecutors blame each other for the surge.
Police say a new state law helped written by the San Francisco district attorney that reduced felony crimes to misdemeanors is at fault.
San Francisco battles epidemic of auto burglaries"Having kids at home over the summer can add as much as $300 to a family's monthly food budget," said Tammy Anderson-Wise, CEO of Dairy Council of California. "Missing out on balanced meals normally provided at school can put health and academic achievement in jeopardy."
Luckily, USDA's Summer Food Service Program, coordinated by the California Department of Education, ensures all children 18 and under can enjoy free healthy meals with milk while school is out.
Keep eating right after school lets outEAST HANOVER, N.J. (AP) - A high school senior with cerebral palsy went to prom with a former Rutgers University football player who was paralyzed after suffering a spinal cord injury in a game.
Eric LeGrand accompanied Gianna Brunini to Hanover Park High School's prom on Thursday night, NJ.
Paralyzed ex-football player accompanies senior to her promCHICAGO (AP) - With his departure from office this week, a county medical examiner leaves behind a beguiling mystery set in motion more than three years ago with his sensational declaration that a Chicago businessman who had just won a $1 million lottery prize was poisoned by cyanide.
Cook County Medical Examiner Stephen Cina's finding that Urooj Khan's death was a homicide led to the exhumation of his body, divided his family and drew flocks of international reporters to Chicago to cover the story.
Puzzling cliff-hanger in case of poisoned lottery winnerDOYLESTOWN, Pa. (AP) - Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Wolf has called on the military to fund blood tests for nearly 70,000 residents in suburban Philadelphia who might have been exposed to contaminated water.
The Democratic governor wrote a letter to the secretaries of the Navy and Air Force on Thursday issuing the request to fund tests for residents in Warminster, Warrington and Horsham.
Governor to military: Fund blood tests over tainted waterDETROIT (AP) - Victims of a Detroit-area cancer doctor who put hundreds of patients through needless treatments can now start filing claims seeking reimbursement for medical costs and other expenses.
U.S. Attorney Barbara McQuade announced Thursday that a restitution fund of $11.7 million has been set aside for victims of oncologist Farid Fata and that they can begin filing their claims through a new website.
Restitution website set up for Detroit-area doctor's victimsSOUTH BEND, Ind. (AP) - Indiana child welfare officials have warned an organization that installed two baby boxes at firehouses where mothers can drop off unwanted newborns anonymously to remove them, saying they question their safety and whether women who use them could face child abandonment charges.
APNewsBreak: Indiana wants group to stop using baby boxesA Fairfield restaurant is being investigated by Solano County health officials as the possible source of an outbreak of campylobacteriosis, county public health and environmental health officials announced Thursday.
Campylobacteriosis is among the most common causes of diarrhea in the United States, they said.
Foodborn illness outbreak in Solano CountyKENILWORTH, N.J. (AP) - Drugmaker Merck is buying Afferent Pharmaceuticals, a privately held biotechnology company developing a chronic cough medication.
Merck & Co., based in Kenilworth, New Jersey, says it's agreed to pay $500 million up front for Afferent, and up to $750 million more if the company meets goals for approval and eventual sales of medicines in development.
Merck to buy biotech drug developer Afferent PharmaceuticalsANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) - Three Alaska groups sued the Environmental Protection Agency on Thursday to force a decision on cleaning up chronic air pollution in Fairbanks, the state's second-largest community.
Sites within the borough had the highest episodes of fine particulate pollution in the nation, according to data compiled by the EPA.
Alaska groups sue over inaction on Fairbanks air pollutionNEW YORK (AP) - The University of Pittsburgh says one of its researchers became infected with the Zika virus in a lab accident.
The scientist accidentally stuck herself with a needle last month during a Zika experiment. She developed Zika symptoms last week and lab tests confirmed the infection.
Pittsburgh researcher infected with Zika in lab accidentCONCORD, N.H. (AP) - The company that makes the painkiller OxyContin is the target of a New Hampshire Attorney General's probe focused on whether the drugmaker downplays the risks of addiction.
Connecticut-based Purdue Pharma is refusing to comply with a subpoena for documents about its opioid sales and marketing of chronic pain pills in New Hampshire.
State probes whether drugmaker downplays addiction riskCOLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) - The brother of two-time Ohio State Heisman Trophy winner Archie Griffin is one of the plaintiffs in the latest batch of lawsuits against the NCAA filed by former college players who say they suffer the effects of concussions.
Ray Griffin's lawsuit, filed Wednesday in Illinois, names the NCAA and the Big Ten.
Archie Griffin's brother, others file suits over concussionsBOSTON (AP) - A chicken claw. An FDR pin. A crucifix. A toy sheriff's star.
Those are some of the weird items that have been removed from kids' throats, nostrils and ears by doctors at Boston Children's Hospital and are included in a macabre, yet important, display.
A visitor's first reaction might be to laugh at the framed collection of dozens of items that dates to 1918 and hangs at the entrance to the hospital's ear, nose and throat department, but it's also a reminder to the parents who walk past it every day to remain vigilant.
Yuck! The weird things kids swallow or stuff go on displayNEW YORK (AP) - Teens are having less sex - a lot less, according to a government survey of risky youth behaviors.
The survey found 41 percent of high school kids said they had ever had sex, down from around 47 percent over much of the last decade. It also found marked declines last year in the proportion of students who said had sex recently, had sex before they were 13, and had four or more partners.
Not doing it: Fewer high school kids are having sexCOLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) - Republican Gov. John Kasich signed a bill Wednesday legalizing medical marijuana in Ohio, though patients shouldn't expect to get it from dispensaries here anytime soon.
The bill lays out a number of steps that must happen first to set up the state's medical marijuana program, which is expected to be fully operational in about two years.
Ohio becomes latest state to legalize medical marijuanaCLEVELAND (AP) - The Latest on Game 3 of the NBA Finals between the Golden State Warriors and the Cleveland Cavaliers (all times local):
11:40 p.m.
LeBron James had 32 points, 11 rebounds and six assists to help power the desperate Cleveland Cavaliers to a 120-90 victory over the Golden State Warriors in Game 3 of the NBA Finals on Wednesday night.
The Latest: James leads Cavs to 120-90 win vs. WarriorsA first-ever Solano Family Justice Center Elder Abuse Forum, open to the public, is set for 10 a.m. to noon on Wednesday, June 15, at the County Administration Center board chambers, 675 Texas St., Fairfield, organizers announced.
The Solano County District Attorney's Office and Solano County Senior Coalition, which are organizing the event, say they plan to hold the forum annually.
Solano elder abuse forum planned for June 15BURLINGTON, Vt. (AP) - A man whose fishing job was featured on the reality television show "Wicked Tuna" while he was receiving government disability benefits was sentenced on Wednesday to spend four years on probation and pay a $5,000 fine.
Paul Hebert, of Gloucester, Massachusetts, must also pay more than $53,600 in restitution as part of a plea agreement with prosecutors.
Star of reality show 'Wicked Tuna' gets 4 years of probationLOS ANGELES (AP) - Smokers have to be 21 and older to buy tobacco products in California under a new law that takes effect Thursday.
Gov. Jerry Brown last month signed a series of tobacco-related legislation that increases the state's minimum age to buy tobacco from 18 to 21, regulates electronic cigarettes and restricts tobacco use in other ways.
New smoking age to take effect in CaliforniaPORTLAND, Oregon (AP) - After months of public hearings with pot growers, lawmen, public health officials and others, an Oregon commission is racing to finalize recreational marijuana regulations and issue licenses to hundreds of businesses within a few months.
But those who aim to produce souped-up coffee and other niche products might have to wait a bit longer.
Oregon races to finalize rules for marijuana, issue licensesSAN DIEGO (AP) - Largely Latino California is the first minority-majority state to allow the terminally ill to hasten their deaths - the biggest test yet of the practice that has raised concerns by communities of color.
African American and Latino leaders worry that poor people with serious illnesses could be pressured to take the lethal drugs as a cheaper option to long-term care.
Largely Latino California to put aid-in-dying law to testJune 6
Orange County Register on low-performing schools:
A couple of big decisions are coming up for California students in the state's worst-performing schools. First, the California Supreme Court will decide in the coming weeks whether to hear an appeal in Vergara v. California.
In Vergara, nine plaintiffs contended state statutes were biased against poor students because "last-in, first-out" teacher layoffs mean that, during a budget crunch, talented young teachers, who are more likely to be assigned to low-income areas, are laid off before less capable teachers with more seniority.
California Editorial RoundupSOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. (AP) - California officials say a flea found on a yellow chipmunk in the Lake Tahoe area has tested positive for plague.
The California Department of Public Health says the flea was found on a rodent in Fallen Leaf Campground. Warning signs have been posted in the area.
Health officials find plague in Lake Tahoe-area fleaSALT LAKE CITY (AP) - The Latest on a leopard that escaped at a Salt Lake City zoo (all times local):
9:40 a.m.
A leopard that was tranquilized after it got loose at a Salt Lake City zoo is awake and doing well.
Hogle Zoo spokeswoman Erica Hansen said Wednesday that staff members tested the Amur leopard's blood and have determined that it is in good health.
The Latest: Leopard healthy after escaping in Utah zooNEW YORK (AP) - New York City is moving forward with efforts to control the overpopulation of deer on Staten Island with vasectomies.
The Staten Island Advance (http://bit.ly/1Y8YLwQ ) reports Comptroller Scott Stringer is allowing the city to fast-track the contracting process on a $2 million study.
New York City moves forward with plan for deer vasectomiesNEW YORK (AP) - Freddie Roach's tilted neck and the slight tremor of his hands were obvious to the onlookers at Mendez Gym, as the boxing trainer walked through the ropes and into the center of the ring,
But as the 56-year-old former boxer picked up his pink and blue mitts and started pad work with Chinese Olympian Zou Shiming, Roach's Parkinson's symptoms came to a noticeable halt.
After 3 decades with Parkinson's, Roach fights onPHILADELPHIA (AP) - Philadelphia could soon become the first major U.S. city to adopt a tax on sugary drinks.
Mayor Jim Kenney proposed a 3-cent-an-ounce tax on soda and other sugary beverages to pay for universal prekindergarten, community schools and park improvements.
The City Council is scheduled to take a key vote Wednesday on what is expected to be a compromise measure.
Philadelphia could become 1st major US city with soda taxPITTSBURGH (AP) - A man says in a lawsuit that a security guard's metal detector caused his pacemaker to fail as he entered Pittsburgh Municipal Court.
Vince Kelly filed a lawsuit Tuesday against the city and Allegheny County, who jointly control the courts building, which is connected to the county jail.
Lawsuit: Guard's metal detector caused pacemaker to failLOS ANGELES (AP) - Los Angeles County authorities say the owner of a medical marijuana dispensary shot and wounded two armed men during an attempted robbery.
Sheriff's officials say the would-be robbers were hospitalized in unknown condition following the shootings late Tuesday in the Walnut Park area.
LA County dispensary owner shoots 2 would-be robbersThailand has become the first country in Asia to eliminate mother-to-child transmission of HIV and syphilis, the World Health Organization announced Tuesday.
The milestone is another step in Thailand's aggressive campaign to reduce new cases of the AIDS virus, but experts warn many other problems still exist - including a rising rate of new HIV infections among gay men and transgender people.
Thailand, Belarus, Armenia eliminate mother-child HIV spreadToxic chemicals used in everyday products such as household cleaners, clothing and furniture have been linked to serious illnesses, including cancer, infertility, diabetes and Parkinson's disease. Under current law, only a small fraction of chemicals used in these products have been reviewed for safety.
Congress backs bill to put chemicals under federal scrutinyCLEVELAND (AP) - Not even Zika worries will deter Klay Thompson from playing in the Olympics if asked.
The Golden State guard, while he and other potential Olympians in these NBA Finals acknowledged having some concerns about the Zika virus, made clear Tuesday he would accept any invitation that comes his way to represent USA Basketball at the Olympics in Rio de Janeiro.
Thompson acknowledges Zika concern, but wants to play in RioNEW YORK (AP) - Gay, transgender and other groups blocked from participating in a high-level U.N. meeting on AIDS represent the populations most affected by the disease and should take center-stage at the event, advocates said Tuesday.
Nearly two dozen civil society organizations from five continents that provide services for LGBT communities, intravenous drug users and others have been denied access to the three-day General Assembly meeting starting Wednesday at the request of Russia, Cameroon, Tanzania and 51 Muslim countries.
Excluded groups say they should be part of UN AIDS meetingNEW YORK (AP) - Savannah Guthrie of the "Today" show put a public face Tuesday on what NBC says is a "small handful" of employees who will not travel to Rio de Janeiro this summer for Olympics coverage because of concern over the Zika virus.
The co-host of the morning news show, who is 44, announced she was pregnant with her second child.
Zika and her pregnancy keep NBC's Guthrie out of BrazilNEW YORK (AP) - The nation's obesity epidemic continues to grow, led by an alarming increase among women. For the first time, more than 4 in 10 U.S. women are obese, according to new government health statistics.
Obesity rates for men and women in the U.S. had been roughly the same for about a decade.
For the first time, more than 4 in 10 US women are obeseNEW YORK (AP) - Hall of Fame jockey Kent Desormeaux returned from a short stay in a drug and alcohol rehab center and was aboard Preakness winner Exaggerator for a morning workout before Saturday's Belmont Stakes.
The 46-year-old rider on Tuesday acknowledged those who are helping him through his struggles with alcohol.
Kent Desormeaux out of alcohol rehab, ready for BelmontNEW YORK (AP) - U.S. stocks continue to rise Tuesday as the price of oil inches higher. Energy companies are gaining the most, while a drop in bond yields is sending high-dividend phone company stocks higher. Drug companies are tumbling on disappointing results from clinical studies.
KEEPING SCORE: The Dow Jones industrial average rose 71 points, or 0.
US stocks keep rising as oil prices inch upwardCOLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) - Eighty-five students are facing disciplinary action over a cheating conspiracy at Ohio State University's nationally prominent veterinary school.
The Columbus Dispatch (http://bit.ly/1tee6B0 ) reports an investigation began in February after university officials received claims that students at the College of Veterinary Medicine were sharing answers on online take-home tests.
85 face discipline over cheating at Ohio State vet schoolNEW YORK (AP) - "Today" show co-host Savannah Guthrie says she's pregnant and will be skipping the upcoming Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro because of the Zika virus.
Guthrie made the announcement on the NBC program Tuesday morning. She cited doctors' advice in deciding to skip the Olympics.
'Today' host Savannah Guthrie pregnant, skips Rio OlympicsKANSAS CITY, Kan. (AP) - Planned Parenthood attorneys are asking a federal judge to prevent Kansas from cutting off Medicaid funding for the organization, arguing that the state is attempting to punish its affiliates for providing abortions.
U.S. District Judge Julie Robinson was having a hearing Tuesday in a lawsuit filed last month by two Planned Parenthood affiliates against the state health department's top administrator.
Planned Parenthood seeks to block Medicaid cutoff in KansasSAN FRANCISCO (AP) - Federal prosecutors in San Francisco say Genentech and OSI Pharmaceuticals have agreed to pay $67 million to settle allegations they misled doctors about the effectiveness of a cancer drug.
The U.S. attorney's office in Northern California announced the settlement on Monday.
Genentech, OSI to pay $67M over cancer drug allegationsLOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) - The Latest on the plans for Muhammad Ali's funeral in Louisville, Kentucky, this week (all times local):
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7:10 p.m.
It's not every day that a king and a president get bumped from giving speeches. But it's happened for Muhammad Ali's memorial service in Louisville, Kentucky, on Friday.
The Latest: King, president bumped from speaking at serviceFAIRFIELD, Ala. (AP) - An ex-Marine and combat veteran who was killed when he ran into traffic on Interstate-20 had Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder and he thought he was under attack when it happened, his mother says.
The Jefferson County coroner's office says Samuel Wayton, 27, of Bessemer, Alabama, died Friday near Fairfield, according to multiple news organzations.
Mother: Ex-Marine had PTSD attack when killed on InterstatePHOENIX (AP) - Muhammad Ali and his family never seriously thought of donating his brain for research, according to the doctor who treated the boxing great.
"Not really," was Dr. Abe Lieberman's answer when he was asked Monday if submitting the brain for research was considered.
Lieberman said he didn't think boxing contributed to Ali contracting Parkinson's disease but he couldn't be "a hundred percent" certain.
Doctor says Ali didn't consider donating brain for researchKANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) - A new synthetic drug that can be purchased online and could be connected to at least 50 deaths nationwide has several states scrambling to contain its spread, with Kansas law enforcement agencies seeking an emergency ban.
At least three other states - Ohio, Wyoming and Georgia - already have taken action to ban U-47700 after it was connected to overdoses.
New synthetic drug U-47700 has states rushing to stop spread