NEW YORK (AP) - New research shows more U.S. adults are using marijuana, using it more often and far fewer think it's risky.
That's understandable, experts say, as dozens of states now allow medical marijuana and four states have recently legalized pot for recreational use.
More than a half million U.
Survey: More US adults use marijuana, don't think it's riskyTALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) - Thanks to a college football player's small gesture of kindness, it could be a long time before a mother will have to worry again about her autistic son eating lunch alone.
Tears streamed down the face of Leah Paske when she saw the photo of Florida State University wide receiver Travis Rudolph sharing a cafeteria table with her sixth-grader.
FSU player eats lunch with autistic student sitting alonePHILADELPHIA (AP) - A last-minute appeal in the NFL concussion case, filed by the son of an all-star and civil rights activist, has sent the proposed settlement to the U.S. Supreme Court and delays payouts for at least several months.
The family of the late Buffalo Bills fullback Carlton "Cookie" Gilchrist asked the high court Tuesday to review whether the judge should have approved the settlement without a full challenge to the scientific evidence presented jointly by both sides.
Late appeal moves NFL concussion case to Supreme CourtPROVIDENCE, R.I. (AP) - The nation's top housing official is proposing lowering the level of lead that must be detected in children's blood before triggering federal action to clean up the homes where they live.
U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development Secretary Julian Castro made the announcement Wednesday after touring Rhode Island homes where lead paint hazards were cleaned up using federal funds.
Housing boss proposes lowering kids' acceptable lead levelSAN FRANCISCO (AP) - A federal appeals court has upheld the government's ban on the sale of guns to medical marijuana card holders.
The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals said Wednesday the ban does not violate the 2nd Amendment.
The ruling applies to the nine Western states that fall under the court's jurisdiction, including California, Washington and Oregon.
US court upholds ban on gun sales to marijuana card holdersNEW YORK (AP) - More than 90 historic buildings and landmarks across the United States and Canada are being illuminated in colors representing a big cancer fundraiser.
They include Niagara Falls and The Peace Bridge connecting Buffalo, New York, and Fort Erie, Ontario.
Other landmark locations include New York City, Toronto, Chicago, Washington, Los Angeles and Philadelphia.
US, Canadian buildings to be illuminate for cancer eventSAN FRANCISCO (AP) - US court: Ban on gun sales to medical marijuana cardholders does not violate 2nd Amendment.
US court: Ban on gun sales to medical marijuana cardholders does not violate 2nd AmendmentSANTA ANA, Calif. (AP) - Los Angeles-based rapper The Game is the latest celebrity to become a player in the marijuana industry.
The Orange County Register reported Tuesday (http://bit.ly/2bEBlet ) that the hip-hop artist whose real name is Jayceon Taylor has become part owner of The Reserve, one of 10 licensed medical marijuana dispensaries in Santa Ana.
Rapper The Game buys stake in California pot dispensaryPORTLAND, Maine (AP) - Scientists say the ability of an endangered whale species to recover is jeopardized by increasing rates of entanglement in fishing gear and a resultant drop in birth rates.
The population of North Atlantic right whales has slowly crept up from about 300 in 1992 to about 500 in 2010.
Rare whale's recovery hurt by entanglements, scientists sayCOLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) - A study suggests Ohio's restrictions on the so-called abortion pill led to a higher rate of side effects, more doctor visits and additional medical treatment for patients.
The law took effect in 2011 after a series of legal disputes.
It initially required providers to follow outdated protocols that federal regulators approved for the drug mifepristone.
Study: Ohio's abortion pill law led to worse health outcomesMARTINSBURG, W.Va. (AP) - A hepatitis A outbreak linked to Egyptian strawberries has grown to more than 50 cases in four states.
A health official in West Virginia says three confirmed cases in the state's Eastern Panhandle are linked to frozen berries used at a Tropical Smoothie Cafe in Martinsburg, and another case is under investigation.
Hepatitis A from Egyptian berries infects 50 in 4 statesHOUSTON (AP) - The son of TNT basketball broadcaster Craig Sager says his father is set to undergo a third bone marrow and stem cell transplant Wednesday as he continues his cancer fight.
Craig Sager II announced the procedure on Twitter on Tuesday, saying the marrow will be provided by an anonymous donor.
TNT broadcaster Craig Sager to undergo 3rd marrow transplantMENDOTA, Calif. (AP) - Many California farmworkers who make up the backbone of the nation's No. 1 agricultural state were praising historic legislation that brings them closer to receiving the same overtime pay as the rest of the state's workers who are paid by the hour.
If signed into law by Gov.
California farmworkers on edge over historic overtime billLOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) - Public health officials in Louisville are warning of a spike in heroin overdoses in the city.
According to WDRB-TV (http://bit.ly/2bHwJWA ), officials at Norton Hospital say there were at least 24 confirmed overdose cases in Louisville on Tuesday.
Dr. Robert Couch, an emergency physician at Norton, said at a news conference that he saw eight overdose patients within five hours.
24 heroin overdoses reported in 1 day in LouisvilleEDEN PRAIRIE, Minn. (AP) - Minnesota Vikings quarterback Teddy Bridgewater is expected to miss at least the next season while recovering from a dislocated left knee and torn anterior cruciate ligament after a freak practice injury on Tuesday.
Bridgewater was taken by ambulance to a hospital after crumpling to the turf during practice, and the team announced hours later that his knee also had "other structural damage" that will need to be repaired in a surgery that will be scheduled in the coming days.
Vikings: QB Bridgewater has dislocated knee, torn ACLTEMECULA, Calif. (AP) - The bodies of five people were found after a fire gutted a board-and-care home for developmentally disabled people southeast of Los Angeles, authorities said Tuesday.
Remains of the five adults were discovered Monday morning after firefighters put out a fire at the home, said a statement from the Riverside County Sheriff's Department.
5 bodies found in burned California care home for disabledBISMARCK, N.D. (AP) - Trinity Health and its hospital in Minot have agreed in principal on a legal settlement with 21 victims of the largest hepatitis C outbreak in recent U.S. history, though Trinity's legal fight with a nursing home where most people were sickened will continue.
Trinity attorneys filed a request asking state Judge Todd Cresap to dismiss the lawsuit, saying Trinity recently reached a confidential settlement resolving the plaintiffs' claims.
Hospital, hepatitis C outbreak victims reach settlementSACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) - The Latest on action by the California Legislature (all times local):
3:40 p.m.
Lawmakers are asking Democratic Gov. Jerry Brown to expand California's ban on smoking in public places to include beaches, parks and college campuses.
Senators voted 26-10 to pass SB1333.
The Latest: Bills would ban smoking at colleges, parksEAST CHICAGO, Ind. (AP) - An attorney for families in an Indiana public housing complex slated to be demolished because of lead contamination says he's investigating whether public officials knew about the problem and allowed children to be "poisoned."
Officials in East Chicago notified some 1,000 residents about the soil contamination this summer.
Lawyer investigating lead at Indiana housing complexSAN DIEGO (AP) - A California judge has ruled that a former NPR producer who had a traumatic brain injury has failed to demonstrate he is qualified to vote despite a new state law that makes it easier for people with developmental disabilities to keep and restore the right.
The judge held out the possibility that David Rector can still vote in the November presidential election but said his conservator had to provide more information to prove that is what he wants.
Judge rejects disabled man's petition to vote _ for nowU.S. regulators have approved the first near-copy of Enbrel, drugmaker Amgen's pricey biologic medicine for treating rheumatoid arthritis and other immune system disorders.
The follow-up version of Enbrel, dubbed Erelzi, was developed by Swiss drug giant Novartis, which would not disclose the planned list price for Erelzi.
Novartis wins US OK for biosimilar version of Amgen's EnbrelLAS VEGAS (AP) - The Latest on a heart attack suffered by a Nevada congressman (all times local):
2 p.m. U.S. Rep. Cresent Hardy says doctors repaired a collapsed artery in his heart before it worsened to the point where it could have been fatal.
Hardy appeared healthy at a roundtable discussion Tuesday in Las Vegas and said he felt better than he did before the episode, which happened Sunday.
The Latest: Congressman says doctors repaired heart arteryHOUSTON (AP) - A Texas death row inmate may have faked mental illness to avoid execution for the fatal shooting of his ex-girlfriend and her daughter 23 years ago in Houston, a federal appeals court said.
The 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruling late Monday agrees with a lower court and moves Gerald Eldridge, 52, a step closer to execution, despite his claim of mental illness.
Court: Texas death row inmate may have faked mental illnessHOOSICK FALLS, N.Y. (AP) - A man who helped uncover drinking water contamination in an upstate New York village has given an emotional account of his father's death from cancer.
The contamination in Hoosick Falls was revealed in 2014 by lab tests paid for by Michael Hickey, who was looking for answers after his father died of kidney cancer.
Village residents with contaminated water speak at hearingNEW YORK (AP) - Alicia Keys is paying tribute to the record executive who offered her a recording contract more than 15 years ago at her charity's annual black-tie event.
Music mogul Clive Davis will receive the humanitarian award at the 13th annual Black Ball on Oct. 19 in New York. The event is an extension of Keys' charity, Keep a Child Alive, which launched in 2003 and supports HIV and AIDS victims in Africa and India.
Alicia Keys to pay tribute to Clive Davis during Black BallRICHMOND, Va. (AP) - Virginia health officials say there are now 40 confirmed cases of Hepatitis A that are connected to frozen strawberries used at Tropical Smoothie Cafe locations across the state, up from 28 cases less than a week ago.
The Virginia Department of Health said in a news release Monday that about 55 percent of the infected residents have been hospitalized.
40 Virginia cases of Hepatitis A now linked to smoothiesCARSON CITY, Nev. (AP) - A spokesman says U.S. Rep. Cresent Hardy of Nevada is recovering after suffering a heart attack.
Larry Farnsworth says the Republican underwent a routine medical procedure after the Monday night incident and remains hospitalized.
Farnsworth says in a news release that Hardy is expected to return to a full schedule later this week.
Nevada congressman hospitalized after heart attackA Vallejo teenager was in stable condition on Monday, after being shot Saturday night, a Vallejo Police Department spokesman said.
Police responded to reports of shots fired around 8:15 p.m. Saturday at Florida and Amador streets, Lt. Kent Tribble said.
"At the scene, a silver, four-door vehicle was found stopped on Amador, just south of Florida, near the tennis courts, and near the car, officers located the victim, a 19-year-old Hispanic male, with a gunshot wound to his upper torso," Tribble said.
Vallejo teen stable after shooting Saturday nightWICHITA, Kan. (AP) - Newly released medical records show a former Marine who ambushed and killed three Baton Rouge law enforcement officers last month never saw combat in Iraq, but told doctors he suffered from post-traumatic stress disorder because a buddy showed him videos of maimed and decapitated bodies.
VA: Ex-Marine who killed 3 in Baton Rouge did not have PTSDDETROIT (AP) - Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan says officials have spent $2.5 million on school repairs and cite significant progress on conditions a week before doors open for the new academic year.
Duggan had ordered inspections of roughly 100 Detroit Public Schools buildings after complaints about mice, mold and cold classrooms were made by teachers during sick-outs last winter.
Detroit mayor cites progress in school health, safety fixesLOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) - U.S. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell predicts the federal health care overhaul is likely to undergo changes next year, regardless of who wins the presidency and which party has the upper hand in Congress.
The Kentucky Republican has long advocated for the repeal of President Barack Obama's health care law.
McConnell: Federal health care overhaul is 'crashing'ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) - Orlando's major theme parks are now offering free bug repellant to visitors as concerns about mosquito-transmitted Zika virus mount in Florida.
Walt Disney World, Universal Orlando Resort and SeaWorld Orlando on Sunday began offering the mosquito spray and lotion free of charge at their parks.
Orlando theme parks give free bug spray to ease Zika worriesBALTIMORE (AP) - A Michael Phelps fan who has autism has become an inspiration on his own after sharing his dream of competing in the Olympics one day on the swimmer's Facebook page.
Austin Levingston's Aug. 16 post congratulating Phelps on his Olympic performance has received more than 3,000 likes.
Facebook post from Michael Phelps fan with autism inspiresNEW YORK (AP) - Mylan says it will make available a generic version of its EpiPen, as criticism continued to mount over the price of its injectable medicine.
The company said Monday that its U.S. subsidiary will put out a generic version of the EpiPen that will have a list price of $300 for a two-pack.
Mylan launching generic version of EpiPenPet parenting has changed since the days of Fido and his trusty dog tags.
For one thing, no one called it pet parenting back then, opting instead for pet ownership. But it's more than that.
The development of various technologies has both simplified and complicated pet ownership, along with just about everything else in the modern world.
Front and Center: High tech can help or hinder lost pet searchingThe Habit Burger Grill has partnered with No Kid Hungry to help feed America's hungry children, company officials announced.
Through the end of September, The Habit, including its Vallejo location, is raising funds to help children in need with nutritious meals, they said.
Guests who donate $2 or more to No Kid Hungry will receive a coupon for a free charburger with cheese, good on a return visit, officials said.
Vallejo restaurant raises funds for hungry children through SeptemberMONTPELIER, Vt. (AP) - Five years after flooding from Tropical Storm Irene forced the closing of the Vermont State Hospital in Waterbury, much of the system has been rebuilt, but challenges remain.
Most of the 54 beds available to the most severely mentally ill that were lost in the closing of the state hospital have been replaced.
After Irene forces reckoning, mental health care rebuiltLOS ANGELES (AP) - Max Ritvo, a poet who chronicled his long battle with cancer in works that were both humorous and searing, has died. He was 25.
Ritvo died Tuesday morning at his home in the Brentwood area of Los Angeles, his mother, Ariella Ritvo-Slifka, said Friday.
Ritvo was diagnosed at 16 with Ewing's sarcoma, a rare cancer that affects bones and soft tissue in children and young adults.
Max Ritvo, poet who chronicled cancer battle, dies at 25HONOLULU (AP) - Hawaii humpback whale experts are reporting the sighting of a sickly humpback whale off Maui.
Hawaiian Islands Humpback Whale National Marine Sanctuary Superintendent Malia Chow said Friday the animal is emaciated and covered in whale lice. At least four sharks were following the whale.
Sickly humpback whale spotted in Hawaii watersLOS ANGELES (AP) - In a Feb. 20, 2015 story about an antibiotic-resistant "superbug" outbreak at Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center, The Associated Press mischaracterized a statement an expert made about proving the cause of an infection. Lawrence Muscarella, a health care and sterilization expert, said he was suggesting an argument hospitals might use when he said, "Proving causation is impossible.
Correction: Hospital Superbug Outbreak storyNEW YORK (AP) - How long can people survive in the rubble of an earthquake?
A week or more under the best circumstances, some experts say. That means the trapped victims aren't seriously injured, they have air to breathe and the weather isn't too hot or too cold.
In Italy, more than 200 people have been rescued since a strong earthquake hit Wednesday, and rescue efforts are continuing.
Survival of quake victims depends on many factorsSAN DIEGO (AP) - A federal judge won't immediately block a California law that requires all schoolchildren to be vaccinated and is one of the strictest in the nation for eliminating exemptions based on religious and personal beliefs.
The ruling Friday by U.S. District Judge Dana Sabraw in San Diego comes as the law faces its first test with the end of summer break.
Judge won't block California's strict child vaccination lawSAN DIEGO (AP) - Federal judge won't immediately block California vaccination law for schoolchildren, one of strictest in US for eliminating exemptions based on religious, personal beliefs.
Federal judge won't immediately block California vaccination law for schoolchildren, one of strictest in US for eliminating exemptions based on religious, personal beliefsRALEIGH, N.C. (AP) - Fresh-cut vegetables are being recalled from grocery, discount and convenience stores across the Southeast because the food may be contaminated with potentially fatal Listeria bacteria.
Conroe, Texas-based Country Fresh Inc. said Friday that the recall involves its vegetable products shipped to retailers in Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee and Virginia.
Maker recalls fresh-cut vegetables from stores in SoutheastCINCINNATI (AP) - Officials in several states are scrambling to deal with a series of heroin overdose outbreaks affecting dozens of people and involving at least six deaths.
The spikes in Indiana, Kentucky, Ohio and West Virginia over the past few days have seen rescue workers rushing from scene to scene to provide overdose antidote drugs.
Dozens treated as heroin overdose spikes hit several statesMAYFIELD, Ky. (AP) - At least two people have reported finding worms in food from McDonald's restaurants in two Kentucky communities.
Mayfield resident Madison Stephens tells WPSD-TV (http://bit.ly/2bMKi9l) that she visited the local McDonald's on Sunday and purchased food for her and her 1-year-old son.
Worms found in burgers at 2 Kentucky McDonald's restaurantsCINCINNATI (AP) - The Latest on a surge in heroin overdoses in several states (all times local):
4:20 p.m.
Officials in several states are scrambling to deal with a series of heroin overdose outbreaks affecting dozens of people and involving at least six deaths.
The spikes in Indiana, Kentucky, Ohio and West Virginia over the past few days have seen rescue workers rushing from scene to scene to provide overdose antidote drugs.
Dozens treated as heroin overdose spikes hit several statesANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) - The bird flu strain that wiped out millions of turkeys and chickens in the Midwest last year has been found in Alaska for the first time.
State health officials say a positive sample of a highly pathogenic H5N2 strain of avian flu came from a mallard duck. It was among wild bird samples collected during a banding project at a Fairbanks area waterfowl refuge earlier this month.
Alaska identifies first case of H5N2 bird fluRICHMOND, Va. (AP) - There are now 28 confirmed cases of hepatitis A in Virginia linked to Egyptian strawberries used by Tropical Smoothie Cafe franchises, and lawsuits are being filed.
The Virginia Department of Health traced the source of the hepatitis A virus to frozen strawberries imported from Egypt and consumed in July or early August.
Tropical Smoothie Cafe sued: Hepatitis A in Egyptian berriesWASHINGTON (AP) - The government told all U.S. blood banks Friday to start screening for Zika, a major expansion intended to protect the nation's blood supply from the mosquito-borne virus.
Previously, blood testing was mostly limited to parts of Florida and Puerto Rico, where there is local transmission.
FDA expands Zika screening to all US blood centersSAN DIEGO (AP) - A California judge has rejected a request by physicians to immediately suspend a new state law allowing terminally ill people to end their lives.
Riverside County Superior Court Judge Daniel A. Ottolia ruled Friday that the law will remain in effect for now as the physicians pursue their lawsuit claiming it lacks safeguards to protect against abuse.
Judge refuses to suspend California's assisted death lawSACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) - The Latest on action in the California Legislature (all times local):
11 a.m.
Gov. Jerry Brown will decide whether California women should be able pick up a 12-month supply of hormonal birth control in one trip to the pharmacy.
Insurance companies generally cover 30 or 90 days of birth control at one time.
The Latest: 12-month birth control bill goes to governorNEW YORK (AP) - U.S. health officials are reporting the first case of Zika spread through sex by a man with no symptoms of the disease.
In earlier cases of sexual transmission, the virus was spread by someone who at some point had symptoms.
Zika is mainly spread by mosquitoes, and causes only a mild illness in most people.
Officials: Zika spread through sex by man with no symptomsATLANTA (AP) - An American woman treated for the Ebola virus at Emory University Hospital says the 21 nurses involved "went far beyond the line of duty."
Nancy Writebol spoke Friday to nursing students on the school's campus just outside Atlanta, telling them to be compassionate and brave.
Writebol challenged students to "be the best of the best.
Ebola survivor to nurse students: "Be the best of the best"LAKELAND, Fla. (AP) - Kyle Cook can't decide whether he's really unlucky or incredibly fortunate.
In the last four years, the 31-year-old Florida man has been struck by lightning, bitten by a venomous spider and - most recently - attacked by an Eastern diamondback rattlesnake in his backyard in Lakeland.
Florida man survives lightning strike, spider, snake bitesLAKELAND, Fla. (AP) - Lightning, a spider and now a snake. A central Florida man is proving to be a survivor.
In the last four years, 31-year-old Kyle Cook has been struck by lightning, bitten by a venomous spider and - most recently - attacked by an Eastern diamondback rattlesnake in his backyard in Lakeland.
Florida man survives lightning strike, spider, snake bitesMINNEAPOLIS (AP) - The union representing about 4,800 nurses at five Allina hospitals in the Twin Cities area has notified the company it will begin a strike on Labor Day.
The Minnesota Nurses Association is required to give 10 days of notice to Allina so it can make arrangements to maintain patient care.
Allina nurses in Minnesota to begin strike on Labor DayA car reported stolen nearly a year ago was found ablaze on a Vallejo street early Thursday, Vallejo Police Department Lt. Kent Tribble said.
"Vallejo Fire crews put out a vehicle fire at about 5:45 a.m. in the 100 block of Deborah Street," he said. "The fully engulfed Lexus was found to be reported stolen out of Oakland on October 31, 2015.
Lexus -- stolen from Oakland 10 months ago -- found burning in Vallejo early ThursdayEmployers and payroll professionals who want to learn more about their pivotal role in child support services are invited to attend a free workshop from 8:30 a.m. to 12 p.m. on Wednesday, Aug. 31 at the California Endowment Center, 1111 Broadway, 7th floor in Oakland, produced by the Departments of Child Support Services for the counties of Solano, Alameda, Contra Costa, Marin, San Francisco, San Mateo and Santa Clara, officials announced.
Free workshop on payroll's role in child supportSAN FRANCISCO (AP) - A California state district engineer approved $3.9 million in payments to the firm that employed the worker's spouse and the state public health department improperly reimbursed an official $75,000 for driving to work, according to an audit released Thursday.
The findings are the result of whistleblower tips investigated within the first six months of the year.
California audit identifies state government waste, misuseNEW YORK (AP) - Health officials warn that electronic cigarettes and other vaping devices are poisoning kids with nicotine. But new research suggests that most teens aren't vaping nicotine at all but using sweet and fruity flavors like strawberry, chocolate cake and bubble gum.
Only a fraction of young vapers were inhaling nicotine, a nationwide survey showed.
Study finds most teens vaping fruity flavors, not nicotineNEW YORK (AP) - Saying she is "disappointed, saddened and deeply concerned" by the price hike of the EpiPen, actress Sarah Jessica Parker has cut ties with the company that makes the emergency allergy treatment.
Parker, whose 13-year-old son James has severe peanut and hazelnut allergies, was part of a short campaign with pharmaceutical giant Mylan N.
Sarah Jessica Parker cuts ties with EpiPen after price hikeBATON ROUGE, La. (AP) - The Latest on Louisiana flooding (all times local):
4 p.m.
It's not what you want to hear in the summer in Louisiana, but the state health department says that if your house or business flooded and has mold in it, keep the air conditioner off until the mold is gone.
The Latest: Health department has advice on post-flood moldNEW YORK (AP) - A New York judge has thrown out a defamation lawsuit that two pioneers in the anti-aging movement brought against a Quackwatch website.
Manhattan federal Judge Paul Gardephe ruled Wednesday that Dr. Robert Goldman and Dr. Ronald Klatz failed to allege in their lawsuit that a website article about them was false.
Judge rejects doctors' lawsuit against Quackwatch websiteCOLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) - The Latest on the Ohio's new record drug overdose death toll (all times local):
2 p.m.
Ohio's governor sees progress in the state's anti-drug efforts, despite a new report that shows another record death toll from accidental overdoses.
Accidental drug overdoses killed a record 3,050 people in Ohio last year.
The Latest: Ohio governor sees progress, despite drug tollST. LOUIS (AP) - The nonprofit Catholic organization SSM Health will provide birth control pills at the 26 clinics inside St. Louis-area Walgreens stores that it began operating Thursday, an SSM spokesman said.
Four groups, led by the American Civil Liberties Union, wrote letters to SSM and Walgreens on Aug.
Walgreens clinics run by SSM to include birth controlCOLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) - A doctors group that seeks alternatives to using animals in medical education and research says the emergency medicine training program at the University of South Carolina School of Medicine violates federal law by using live animals.
The Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine wrote Thursday to the U.
Docs ask feds to probe use of live animals at USC med schoolNASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) - Private prison operator Corrections Corporation of America wants to seal from public view documents in a lawsuit that claims female visitors to a Tennessee prison were forced to undergo strip searches to prove they were menstruating.
Three women have accused the company of violating their rights by forcing them to expose their genitals to guards.
Prison company fights to seal documents about strip searchesCOLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) - Accidental drug overdoses killed 3,050 people in Ohio last year, an average of eight per day, as deaths blamed on the powerful painkiller fentanyl again rose sharply and pushed the total overdose fatalities to a record high, the state reported Thursday.
Over one-third of those deaths - 1,155 - were fentanyl-related, which more than doubled from the previous year and increased from just 75 in 2012.
Accidental overdoses killed 8 people a day in Ohio last yearNEW YORK (AP) - Mylan, in the face of heated criticism over price hikes for its EpiPen emergency allergy treatment, is bulking up programs that help patients pay for the drug.
The generic drugmaker laid out a plan on Thursday to expand its patient assistance program and offer $300 savings cards for its EpiPen 2-Pak.
Mylan says it will expand programs that lower EpiPen costsNEW YORK (AP) - Mylan, in crosshairs for spiking cost of EpiPen, says it will expand savings program to cover up to $300, of out of pocket costs.
Mylan, in crosshairs for spiking cost of EpiPen, says it will expand savings program to cover up to $300, of out of pocket costsLAKE WORTH, Fla. (AP) - Officials say a second person in Palm Beach County, Florida, has contracted the Zika virus through a local mosquito.
Florida's Department of Health said in a statement Wednesday that a 24-year-old Lake Worth woman has been confirmed to have contracted the virus.
Officials say the woman was hospitalized last week with classic Zika symptoms that included fever, rash, eye redness and joint pain, but a final diagnosis did not come until Tuesday.
New case of Zika through a local mosquito in Florida countyORLANDO, Fla. (AP) - The Orlando hospitals that treated dozens of people injured in the Pulse nightclub massacre are not billing survivors for out-of-pocket medical expenses.
News outlets report Orlando Regional Medical Center, which treated most of the survivors of the June 12 attack, announced Wednesday that it would seek payment from other resources such as insurance plans and a victims' fund established by city officials.
2 Orlando hospitals won't bill nightclub shooting victimsORLANDO, Fla. (AP) - The Orlando hospitals that treated dozens of people injured in the Pulse nightclub massacre are not billing survivors for out-of-pocket medical expenses.
News outlets report Orlando Regional Medical Center, which treated most of the survivors of the June 12 attack, announced Wednesday that it would seek payment from other resources such as insurance plans and a victims' fund established by city officials.
2 Orlando hospitals won't bill nightclub shooting victimsDENVER (AP) - A sheriff in rural Colorado was arrested after being accused of taking a developmentally delayed inmate to his home, sexually assaulting her and threatening to put her in prison for the rest of her life if she told anyone, according to an arrest affidavit released Wednesday.
Sedgwick County Sheriff Tom Hanna, 43, was taken into custody Tuesday at his office, and bail was set at $250,000.
Colorado sheriff accused of sexually assaulting inmateBRIGHTON, Mich. (AP) - U.S. ski team physician Dr. Jeffrey Kutcher has opened The Sports Neurology Clinic at The CORE Institute.
The director of the clinic says Wednesday his goal is to help as many athletes as possible with their neurological health at the 7,000-square foot facility about 35 miles west of Detroit.
US ski team doctor opens clinic to protect athletes' brainsNewly released documents show that the Army reservist who shot and killed five Dallas police officers last month showed symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder after returning home from Afghanistan in 2014.
Doctors concluded that Micah Johnson posed no significant risk to himself or others after he sought treatment for anxiety, depression and hallucinations.
Soldier who killed 5 Dallas officers showed PTSD symptomsSTERLING, Colo. (AP) - The Latest on a rural Colorado sheriff accused of sexually assaulting a developmentally delayed inmate (all times local):
4:40 p.m.
An arrest affidavit says a rural Colorado sheriff is accused of taking a developmentally delayed inmate to his home, sexually assaulting her and threatening to put her in prison for the rest of her life if she told anyone.
The Latest: Colorado sheriff accused of inmate sex assaultCHARLESTON, W.Va. (AP) - U.S. Sen. Joe Manchin remained mum Wednesday as a pharmaceutical company run by his daughter faced mounting criticism for hiking prices on life-saving allergy injection pens.
The Democratic West Virginia senator's daughter, Heather Bresch, is CEO of Mylan, the manufacturer of EpiPens.
Sen. Manchin mum on EpiPen hikes by daughter's drug companySACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) - The Latest on action by the California Legislature (all times local):
3:05 p.m.
California women who take birth control could face fewer trips to the pharmacy under a bill moving through the Legislature.
SB999 would require insurers to cover up to a 12-month contraception supply at one time, rather than 30- or 90-day amounts.
The Latest: Lawmakers OK year's supply of birth controlDUNCAN, S.C. (AP) - A South Carolina coroner says a woman with cerebral palsy who was found dead in her home last year had been strangled.
Spartanburg County Coroner Rusty Clevenger said Tuesday he ruled Brittany Foster's death a homicide after getting the pathologist's autopsy results Aug. 3.
Nearly 1 year after woman's death, coroner rules it homicideNEW YORK (AP) - A Mississippi firefighter who received the world's most extensive face transplant after a burning building collapsed on him said Wednesday that he feels like "a normal guy" for the first time in 15 years.
Patrick Hardison, 42, said he can now eat, see, hear and breathe normally, thanks to last year's surgery.
Burned firefighter feels normal again after face transplantHELENA, Mont. (AP) - The sponsor of a proposed initiative to repeal Montana's medical marijuana law said Wednesday he won't appeal a judge's refusal to place the measure on November's ballot, but instead will focus on defeating a separate initiative to expand medical pot distribution.
Billings car dealer Steve Zabawa told The Associated Press in an interview that there isn't enough time for him to appeal to the Montana Supreme Court before Secretary of State Linda McCulloch's office certifies the ballots and sends them for printing.
Anti-pot initiative sponsor gives up Montana ballot effortHOUSTON (AP) - Black women face the greatest risk for pregnancy-related death in Texas, according to a state health report.
The report released last week found that cardiac events, overdose by legal or illegal prescription drugs, and high blood pressure disorders are the leading causes of maternal death.
Blacks in Texas face greatest pregnancy-related death riskATLANTA (AP) - An American woman treated for the Ebola virus at Emory University Hospital in Atlanta plans to speak to new nursing students there this week.
Nancy Writebol will share her experiences working with a missionary group in Liberia and being treated at Emory. Emory University's School of Nursing Dean Linda McCauley says Friday's convocation welcomes incoming nursing students and faculty to the campus in Atlanta.
Missionary treated for Ebola to speak with nursing studentsCINCINNATI (AP) - State Supreme Court justices and other high-ranking officials huddled Wednesday to discuss ways to coordinate efforts to battle the drug abuse epidemic in a judicial summit involving some of the hardest-hit states.
Ohio Chief Justice Maureen O'Connor stressed the need for improving collaboration across borders and jurisdictions at the opening of the three-day, nine-state conference in Cincinnati.
Summit focuses on coordinating efforts to fight drug abuseWASHINGTON (AP) - The Latest on the U.S. presidential race (all times EDT):
8:25 a.m.
A son of Donald Trump says it would be foolish for his father to release his tax returns.
The Republican presidential nominee has broken with precedent by refusing to release them. He says they are being audited and he can't release them until the audit is complete.
The Latest: Trump son defends not releasing tax returnsLAGUNA BEACH, Calif. (AP) - As the Zika virus continues to spread, Hillary Clinton is proposing a new fund to improve the federal government's response to major public health crises.
The Democratic presidential nominee says the U.S. is failing to sufficiently invest in public health preparedness, not only for Zika, but health threats from potentially pandemic diseases, climate change and possible bioterrorism.
Clinton proposes new federal fund to combat Zika virusHARTFORD, Conn. (AP) - Connecticut officials are joining other states in educating local farmers about how to mitigate public health risks as more people visit their farms.
State and federal officials are holding a conference Wednesday in Hartford to discuss topics ranging from preventing E.
Farm safety top priority with farm tourism on the riseBALTIMORE (AP) - Bryce Harper's many talents now include hat designer.
The Washington Nationals outfielder has created a limited edition baseball cap that will go on sale Wednesday. Proceeds will go to Harper's Heroes - a charity for children battling cancer - as well as the Leukemia & Lymphoma society.
Nationals OF Harper designs cap to raise money for charityTRENTON, N.J. (AP) - Sky-high price hikes for EpiPen, the injected emergency medicine for severe allergic reactions to foods and bug bites, have made its maker the latest target for patients and politicians infuriated by soaring drug prices.
The company, Mylan, has a virtual monopoly on epinephrine injectors, potentially life-saving devices used to stop a runaway allergic reaction.
How EpiPen's maker raised prices, and hackles, so muchINDIANAPOLIS (AP) - The attorney for an Indiana woman whose feticide conviction for a self-induced abortion was overturned said Tuesday he's pleased the state's attorney general decided not to appeal that ruling and hopes she's freed soon from prison.
A deadline for the attorney general's office to ask the Indiana Supreme Court to take up the state Court of Appeals ruling that reversed Purvi Patel's feticide conviction passed Monday without such a request.
No appeal in Indiana woman's overturned feticide convictionSACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) - The Latest on action by the California Legislature (all times local):
4:00 p.m.
California lawmakers are sending a measure to Gov. Jerry Brown to remove the state sales tax on tampons and other feminine hygiene products.
AB1561 would abolish the so-called "tampon tax," making tampons, pads, menstrual cups and menstrual sponges exempt from the state's 7.
The Latest: California sends 'tampon tax' bill to governorThe 10th Annual Classic for Kids Charity Golf Tournament, a fund-raising event for the Solano Kids Insurance Program (SKIP), has been scheduled for Friday, Sept. 23 at American Canyon's Eagle Vines Golf Club, organizers announced.
A program of the Solano Coalition for Better Health, SKIP helps connect Solano County children from low income families with free or low-cost health insurance and medical services.
Golf tournament for children's health insurance charity in American CanyonSAN DIEGO (AP) - The Latest on an effort to have voting rights restored in California for people with developmental disabilities:
1 p.m.
A former producer at National Public Radio who was disqualified from voting after suffering severe brain trauma has asked a California judge to restore his right to cast a ballot under a new state law.
The Latest: Disabled man asks judge to restore voting rightSAN DIEGO (AP) - The Latest on an effort to have voting rights restored in California for people with developmental disabilities:
1 p.m.
A former producer at National Public Radio who was disqualified from voting after suffering severe brain trauma has asked a California judge to restore his right to cast a ballot under a new state law.
The Latest: Disabled man asks judge to restore voting rightST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (AP) - Florida Gov. Rick Scott on Tuesday announced a non-travel-related case of Zika in the Tampa Bay region.
It's the first in the state outside the Miami area, but Scott said there wasn't enough evidence to date to declare a new zone of local transmission.
If Department of Health officials conclude mosquitoes have transmitted the disease to people in the Tampa Bay area of Pinellas County, it would the third such area in the continental U.
Florida: 5 new Zika cases including 1 in the Tampa Bay areaORLANDO, Fla. (AP) - A South Florida boy has survived a rare brain-eating amoeba that kills most people, aided in part because a hard-to-get drug to fight the infection is made by a company based in Orlando where he was hospitalized, doctors said Tuesday.
Sebastian DeLeon came to the hospital two weeks ago with sensitivity to light and a headache so severe the 16-year-old couldn't tolerate anyone touching him, doctors at Florida Hospital for Children said at a news conference.
Teen survives rare amoeba infection that kills most peoplePHILADELPHIA (AP) - It's been just over a year since now-9-year-old Zion Harvey received a double-hand transplant - and now he can throw a ball, zip his clothes and write in his journal.
The suburban Baltimore boy is talking about his progress Tuesday in a briefing at Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, where he underwent the 10-hour surgery in July 2015.
Boy shows off new hands a year after double-hand transplantAUSTIN, Texas (AP) - Texas and four other Republican-led states filed another lawsuit Tuesday seeking to roll back the Obama administration's efforts to strengthen transgender rights, saying new federal nondiscrimination health rules could force doctors to act contrary to their medical judgment or religious beliefs.
States file another lawsuit over Obama transgender rulesNEW YORK (AP) - With government officials now warning pregnant women to avoid Miami Beach in addition to Puerto Rico, some sun seekers are desperately scrambling for a Zika-free vacation.
And that has left other tourist destinations to capitalize - quietly.
Travel experts say families worried about Zika are now looking to Arizona and Southern California to get some sun, along with cooler weather locales such as New England and Canada.
Some vacation spots quietly benefit as travelers avoid ZikaMINNEAPOLIS (AP) - The Minnesota Nurses Association and Allina Health are returning to the bargaining table.
The union representing about 4,800 nurses at five Allina hospitals in the Twin Cities area rejected a labor contract offer last week and authorized an open-ended strike, just two months after a weeklong strike ended without a deal.
Minnesota nurses resume contract talks with Allina HealthST. LOUIS (AP) - A Missouri woman who was beaten to death outside the Illinois hospital residence where she was being treated for breast cancer will be buried Tuesday.
Police say Shannon Vincel, of Springfield, Missouri, was hit over the head Aug. 15 as she sat outside the Cancer Treatment Centers of America facility in Zion, Illinois.
Funeral planned for cancer patient who was fatally beatenCHICAGO (AP) - Debilitating brain injuries from repeated head blows can happen in football, but mounting evidence says they can happen in domestic violence too.
Experts believe many cases go untreated in abused women, and that can make them vulnerable to problems with thinking, mood and behavior.
Fists not football: Brain injuries seen in domestic assaultsSAN DIEGO (AP) - An advocacy group is seeking to have voting rights restored in California for people with developmental disabilities.
The Spectrum Institute plans to file a complaint Tuesday with the U.S. Justice Department asking that California be required to notify people with disabilities of a new California law that makes it easier to keep and regain the right to vote.
Restored voting rights sought for California disabled peopleJACKSON, Miss. (AP) - Two men from north Mississippi say that more than 26 years after their father, stepmother and younger half-siblings were killed, it's time for the state to execute the men convicted of the crime.
Dean Parker and Scott Parker of Batesville said Monday that they're upset the Mississippi Supreme Court recently told a circuit judge to review an intellectual-disability claim by Anthony Carr, one of the two men convicted in the 1990 slayings.
Sons: Mississippi needs to execute 2 men for 1990 killingsSALEM, Ore. (AP) - Oregon has processed $25.5 million in tax payments from recreational marijuana from January through the end of July.
The state's Department of Revenue says medical marijuana dispensaries were required to file their second-quarter returns for recreational marijuana by Aug. 1.
A pot of money: Oregon collects $25.5M in marijuana taxesLOS ANGELES (AP) - Paramedics responded Monday to another rash of illness among a group of people in the Skid Row area of Los Angeles, where police have attributed similar incidents to use of a synthetic form of marijuana known as Spice.
Firefighters evaluated 18 patients and took 14 of them to hospitals for doctors to determine the cause of the symptoms, said Fire Department spokeswoman Margaret Stewart.
More sicknesses reported on Skid Row in downtown Los AngelesBILLINGS, Mont. (AP) - Wildlife workers will conduct tests on fish from additional areas of Montana to determine the extent of a disease blamed in a massive fish kill along the Yellowstone River, officials said Monday.
The state closed a 183-mile stretch of the river to all recreational activities on Friday after thousands of dead fish washed up along the river's banks in the Paradise Valley area north of Yellowstone National Park.
More tests set for Yellowstone, tributaries after fish killBATON ROUGE, La. (AP) - Storm victims spill out of the waiting rooms, some clutching water-stained documents, others with the long stare of those stricken by disaster, each with a story of personal tragedy about the Louisiana flood's devastation to their homes and their lives.
The line for the makeshift Federal Emergency Management Agency recovery center started to gather before the facility opened Monday at a substance abuse treatment site run by a local Baptist church.
Long, hard recovery slog begins in flood-ravaged LouisianaGAINESVILLE, Fla. (AP) - A new study finds that the drier, warmer autumn weather we see more of due to climate change may extend summer smog well into the fall in the Southeast United States.
Research published Monday in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences also suggests a culprit for the smog that many people might not expect: It's the lush woodlands that give much of the South a lovely green canopy.
Study: Global warming means smoggier autumns in US SoutheastThe American epidemiologist whose unwavering leadership resulted in the eradication nearly 40 years ago of smallpox, one of the world's most feared contagious diseases, has died.
Dr. Donald "D.A." Henderson was 87 when he died Friday at a hospice care facility in Towson, Maryland, from complications following a hip fracture, Johns Hopkins University said in a statement.
Researcher who led fight to eradicate smallpox dies at 87SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) - Incoming freshmen at a recent orientation at California State University, Sacramento were greeted with a "Class of 2020" welcoming banner and administrators wearing green-and-white buttons reading: "Ask me how to finish in four."
The buttons represent a mission aimed at improving dismal four-year completion rates not just at that campus but throughout the California State University system.
Cal State system pushing students to graduate in 4 yearsMIAMI BEACH, Fla. (AP) - U.S. Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz and Miami Beach Mayor Philip Levine asked for more federal resources Monday to combat the spread of the Zika virus in South Florida.
The mayor said "we need the federal government to step up" at a news conference Monday.
President Barack Obama requested $1.
Congresswoman, mayor say more resources needed to stop ZikaCOLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) - An anti-abortion leader who heads Ohio's medical board says he will recuse himself from voting on a complaint involving three abortion providers he has publicly criticized.
Ohio Right to Life President Mike Gonidakis (gawn-ih-DAW'-kis) says his decision to sit out the pending Dayton Right to Life case came before groups representing doctors, consumers and women wrote Friday seeking his removal as board president.
Anti-abortion boss to recuse self from case at medical boardPfizer will pay about $14 billion to buy cancer drug developer Medivation in a cash deal aimed at fortifying its hold in one of the hottest and most lucrative areas of medicine.
The New York drugmaker said Monday that the acquisition will stock its product portfolio with leading treatments for the most common cancers in men and women by adding Medivation's pricey prostate cancer treatment Xtandi to a lineup that already includes the breast cancer drug Ibrance.
Pfizer spends $14B on Medivation in cancer fightGOOSE CREEK, S.C. (AP) - Some mosquitoes captured at the Charleston Naval Weapons Station in South Carolina have tested positive for the West Nile virus.
Officials at Joint Base Charleston announced Monday that tests confirmed some recent samples were positive. No cases of the illness in humans have been reported.
South Carolina Navy complex: West Nile in some mosquitoesNEW YORK (AP) - Valeant Pharmaceuticals replaced Robert Rosiello as chief financial officer as the embattled company attempts to normalize operations amid a host of investigations and class action lawsuits.
The Canadian company named Paul Herendeen, former Zoetis chief financial officer, to fill the post immediately on Monday.
Valeant, attempting to normalize operations, names new CFOMINNEAPOLIS (AP) - Some of the pills taken from Prince's estate in Paisley Park after his death were counterfeit drugs that actually contained fentanyl - a synthetic opioid 50 times more powerful than heroin, an official close to the investigation said.
The official, who spoke to The Associated Press Sunday on condition of anonymity because of the ongoing investigation, said nearly two dozen pills found in one Aleve bottle were falsely labeled as "Watson 385.
Official: Pills found at Prince's estate contained fentanylPrince died of an overdose of the powerful opioid fentanyl, according to autopsy results released in June. Among the questions investigators were reviewing was whether Prince had a prescription for painkillers before his death.
A person close to the investigation of Prince's death told The Associated Press on Sunday that pills found in Prince's home marked as acetaminophen-hydrocodone actually contained fentanyl, suggesting they were counterfeit pills obtained illegally.
Facts and background about fentanylNEW YORK (AP) - Pfizer will pay about $14 billion to acquire the cancer drug company Medivation.
Pfizer will pay about $14 billion to acquire the cancer drug company MedivationPrince died of an overdose of the powerful opioid fentanyl, according to autopsy results released in June. Among the questions investigators were reviewing was whether Prince had a prescription for painkillers before his death.
A person close to the investigation of Prince's death told The Associated Press on Sunday that pills found in Prince's home marked as acetaminophen-hydrocodone actually contained fentanyl, suggesting they were counterfeit pills obtained illegally.
Facts and background about fentanylMIAMI (AP) - A National Institutes of Health official said Sunday that the Zika virus could "hang around" the United States for a year or two.
Dr. Anthony Fauci told ABC's "This Week" that other Gulf Coast states, besides Florida, are most vulnerable to the spread of the disease.
"I would not be surprised if we see cases in Texas and Louisiana, particularly now where you have the situation with flooding in Louisiana," said Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases.
Health official: Gulf Coast states most vulnerable to ZikaEDGARTOWN, Mass. (AP) - President Barack Obama is returning from vacation rested and ready for a busy fall, including pressing Congress for money to protect against the Zika virus and fending off lawmakers' attacks over the administration's $400 million "leverage" payment to Iran.
Obama also is expected to campaign doggedly to help elect Democrat Hillary Clinton as president.
Obama returning from summer vacation ready for busy fallDALLAS (AP) - Freestanding emergency centers have sprouted in recent years across the suburban landscape, taking root in affluent neighborhoods and directly challenging nearby medical clinics and hospitals.
Five years ago there were a couple dozen stand-alone emergency centers in Texas, and now there are more than 200.
As the number of freestanding ERs grows, so does scrutinySTANFORD, Calif. (AP) - Joyce Carol Thomas, a prize-winning children's author and champion of multiculturalism, has died. She was 78.
Thomas died Aug. 13 at Stanford University Medical Center in California of cirrhosis of the liver stemming from a bad blood transfusion decades ago, according to her sister, Flora Krasnovsky.
Prize-winning author Joyce Carol Thomas dead at 78LOS ANGELES (AP) - Four years ago photographer Andrew George approached the medical director of a Los Angeles hospital with an unusual request: He wanted to meet and take photographs of people about to die.
There was nothing macabre about the request, George says. He simply wanted to learn of and reflect the wisdom these people had gained in the hope that others could discover how to lead better, more fulfilling lives.
LA art exhibition look at dying through words, photosMina Schultz figured she'd be OK without health insurance during the months between finishing graduate school and joining the Peace Corps.
But a few weeks after graduation, she was diagnosed with osteosarcoma, a bone cancer more common in children.
All her plans changed. Instead of working for several months on a Montana ranch, she was living at age 25 with her father and stepmother in Columbia, Missouri, and going through a year of chemotherapy plus a knee replacement.
Popular 'Obamacare' provision gives young adults coverageMINNEAPOLIS (AP) - Chickens, turkeys, ducks and geese are flocking back to state fairs across the country after a one-year absence due to a historic bird flu outbreak that forced a ban on live poultry exhibitions in several states.
The outbreak of the highly pathogenic H5N2 avian influenza was regarded as the worst livestock disease disaster to ever hit the country, costing farmers nearly 50 million birds by the time it ended in June 2015.
Chickens flock back to state fairs after bird flu outbreakFORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. (AP) - The tanning salon industry is feeling burned by "Obamacare."
Business owners around the country say the little-noticed 10 percent tax on tanning in the health care overhaul has crippled the industry, forcing the closing of nearly 10,000 of the more than 18,000 tanning salons in the U.
Tanning industry blames 10,000 salon closings on 'Obamacare'MIAMI (AP) - Bruce Bradford is a longtime Republican who dislikes big government and government handouts. But he acknowledges that he's been saved by insurance obtained under President Barack Obama's health care overhaul.
Bradford injured his knee, missing weeks of work at a time, and was ultimately fired from his job as a federal police officer.
Man who owes insurance to 'Obamacare' still voting for TrumpWith a household income too high for a federal subsidy, Bruce Mainzer and Beth Shadur are bracing for higher health insurance premiums in 2017.
As in other states, many insurers in Illinois have requested double-digit rate increases. Americans ineligible for the government subsidies that help cover their premiums will be hit hardest.
Without a subsidy, couple faces higher insurance premiumsHealth care will be on Rebecca Esparza's mind in the voting booth this fall.
The two-time cancer survivor from Corpus Christi, Texas, said repealing the Affordable Care Act, as Republicans have tried to do dozens of times, could make her uninsurable.
"I realize this is something that could happen," she said.
Cancer patient could not get coverage before 'Obamacare'MIAMI (AP) - The discovery of Zika-carrying mosquitoes in South Florida certainly isn't ideal for tourism, but local officials and business leaders are confident the long-term impact on the tourism industry will be minor.
Transmission of the virus via mosquito has been confirmed in two sites in Miami-Dade County, but Miami Beach Mayor Philip Levine said in a news conference Friday he is confident in the city's efforts to combat it.
Officials: Zika won't hurt South Florida tourism in long runSAN FRANCISCO (AP) - The messy legal battle over Sumner Redstone's media empire appears to have come to an end.
According to an internal memo provided by Viacom on Friday, CEO Philippe Dauman will step down, making Thomas E. Dooley, currently chief operating officer, acting chief executive. The move is part of a settlement the Viacom board approved with National Amusements, a private company owned by the 93-year-old Redstone that holds controlling stakes in both Viacom and CBS.
Viacom CEO is out as the company settles Redstone lawsuitsHARTFORD, Conn. (AP) - Former Travelers Group insurance company chief executive Jay Fishman, who became a national advocate for research into Lou Gehrig's disease after being diagnosed with it, died at his home in New Jersey on Friday. He was 63.
Fishman became CEO of Travelers' predecessor company in 1998 and assumed the same title after the merger of The St.
Former Travelers CEO Jay Fishman dies at 63 after ALS battleBILLINGS, Mont. (AP) - Montana wildlife officials indefinitely closed a 183-mile stretch of the Yellowstone River and hundreds of miles of other waterways Friday, barring all fishing, rafting and other activities to prevent the spread of a parasite believed to have killed tens of thousands of fish.
Popular Yellowstone River closes after thousands of fish dieJEFFERSONVILLE, Ind. (AP) - A cash-strapped southern Indiana county has ended talks with a nonprofit foundation to finance and operate a needle-exchange program aimed at slowing the spread of HIV and other diseases among intravenous drug users.
Clark County health officer Dr. Kevin Burke said the county has stopped working with the Los Angeles-based AIDS Healthcare Foundation.
Clark County stops talks with foundation for needle exchangeANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) - The Latest on two cruise ship wilderness guides mauled by a bear in Alaska (all times local):
___
10:50 a.m.
Alaska State Troopers say a brown bear that mauled two wilderness guides who were leading cruise ship passengers on a hiking excursion went on the attack after the group came between the female animal and her cub.
The Latest: Troopers say 2 mauled by bear with cub in AlaskaHARTFORD, Conn. (AP) - A Connecticut state worker fired after he was caught smoking marijuana on the job was punished too harshly and should get his job back, the state Supreme Court ruled Friday.
Gregory Linhoff was fired from his maintenance job at the University of Connecticut Health Center in Farmington in 2012 after a police officer caught him smoking pot in a state-owned vehicle.
High court sides with employee fired for smoking pot at workMIAMI BEACH, Fla. (AP) - The Latest on Zika infections in Florida (all times local):
12:45 p.m.
Florida Gov. Rick Scott says officials have identified a second area of Zika transmission on the U.S. mainland.
Scott told reporters Friday that five Zika infections have been linked to an area that encompasses most of tourist-friendly South Beach.
The Latest: South Beach 2nd area of Zika transmissionMIAMI BEACH, Fla. (AP) - A Miami Beach official says there's been no confirmation that mosquitoes have spread the Zika virus in the tourism-dependent city.
In a statement emailed late Thursday, City Manager Jimmy Morales said Florida's Department of Health is investigating Zika cases in Miami Beach, but none have been confirmed.
Miami Beach official: No confirmation of Zika spreadingSANDY SPRINGS, Ga. (AP) - A woman outside Atlanta has been charged after leaving her toddler inside a car while she took a nursing exam.
Sandy Springs police Sgt. Forrest Bohannon tells WSB-TV (http://2wsb.tv/2bCfTbt) that the 18-month-old boy had been alone for 15 minutes when a security officer found him crying in the unlocked car in the nursing school parking lot.
Mother leaves toddler inside car to take nursing testMINNEAPOLIS (AP) - Nearly 5,000 nurses at five Twin Cities hospitals have voted to authorize an indefinite strike amid a dispute over a new contract.
The workers represented by the Minnesota Nurse's Association voted Thursday to authorize an open-ended walkout at the Allina Health hospitals just two months after a weeklong strike ended without a deal.
5,000 nurses at 5 Twin Cities hospitals vote for new strikeHONOLULU (AP) - U.S. Food and Drug Administration tests found hepatitis A in scallops from the Philippines, which have been identified as the likely source of an outbreak of the virus in Hawaii.
The Hawaii Department of Health announced Thursday the FDA laboratory test results of frozen Sea Port Bay Scallops.
FDA tests confirm hepatitis A in scallops from PhilippinesAn armed man was caught on video robbing a Vallejo gas station Wednesday night, police said.
At about 9 p.m., a man walked into the Sage Street Chevron station, produced a black handgun and demanded money, Lt. Kent Tribble said.
"The clerk cooperated, handing over an unknown amount of cash from the till," he said.
Armed man caught on video robbing Vallejo gas stationLOS ANGELES (AP) - Tom Holland swung into a children's hospital in his Spidey suit.
The actor posted a photo of himself Thursday on Instagram smiling in costume at the Egleston Children's Hospital in Atlanta, where "Spider-Man: Homecoming" is currently in production. He debuted as the latest rendition of the web-slinger earlier this year in "Captain America: Civil War.
Tom Holland visits children's hospital in Spider-Man costumeATLANTA (AP) - Zoo Atlanta officials believe the giant panda Lun Lun is pregnant.
The zoo said Thursday that veterinarians found an image of a fetus while performing an ultrasound Tuesday. The zoo expects Lun Lun to give birth in three weeks, but says there is a possibility the panda could miscarry.
Zoo Atlanta announces pregnancy of giant panda Lun LunHONOLULU (AP) - A Texas couple is suing footwear maker Crocs and a Waikiki resort after their 2-year-old son's foot got caught in an escalator while the family visited Hawaii for an oral surgeon convention.
The lawsuit says the Crocs shoes were "negligently and improperly designed," while the Hilton Hawaiian Village was also negligent in maintaining the escalator's safety.
Crocs, Waikiki resort sued over kid's escalator injuriesCHICAGO (AP) - Four groups led by the American Civil Liberties Union are asking Walgreens for reassurance that its partnership with a Catholic health care system to run in-store clinics in the St. Louis area won't limit women's access to birth control.
The drugstore giant announced in April that SSM Health, a St.
Groups press Walgreens on religious restrictions in clinicsJOPLIN, Mo. (AP) - The father of a southwest Missouri man charged in weekend shootings that left six people and two dogs wounded says he believes his son was suffering a psychotic episode.
The Joplin Globe (http://bit.ly/2bg4Oi9 ) reports that Tom Mourning Sr. says his son, 26-year-old Tom Mourning II, has had mental health issues.
Joplin shooting suspect has mental health issues, dad saysThe U.S. Air Force is changing the foam it uses to fight fires because of concerns the substance has contaminated groundwater and spread to drinking water at some military sites.
The Air Force said it awarded a $6.2 million contract on Monday to replace the firefighting foam with an "environmentally responsible foam" to reduce the risk of possible contamination of soil and groundwater.
US Air Force to change fire foam due to water contaminationA Vallejo man was in custody in the hospital early Wednesday after allegedly leading police on a chase that ended with his apprehension by a K9 officer, Lt. Kent Tribble said.
The call came in at about 4:45 a.m. about a 24-year-old man who had been smoking methamphetamine for several days, fighting with family members in the 200 block of Mississippi Street, Tribble said.
Meth-smoking Vallejo man caught by K9 after assaulting family membersNAPA >> Queen of the Valley Medical Center's Registered Nurses -- unionized in 2013 -- voted by an overwhelming 97 percent, to ratify their first negotiated contract, California Nurses Association officials announced Wednesday.
Both (CNA) union officials and management say they're pleased with the outcome of the protracted, sometimes contentious, nearly three years of negotiations.
Napa's Queen of the Valley's nurses ratify first union contractBATON ROUGE, La. (AP) - The Latest on flooding in the Deep South (all times local):
5:50 p.m.
Authorities say the death toll from Louisiana's massive flooding has risen to 12.
Livingston Parish Sheriff Jason Ard says the state Fire Marshal's Office took a team into the South Point subdivision, where water had receded, to check homes, and a man's body was discovered in a wooded area where water had risen to about 5 feet at one time.
The Latest: Sheriff: Louisiana flood death toll rises to 12DENVER (AP) - The Latest on water contamination near an Air Force base in Colorado (all times local):
4:20 p.m.
Colorado health officials say it's highly likely that trace amounts of toxic chemicals found in three drinking water systems came from firefighting foam used at a nearby Air Force base.
The Latest: Colorado: Water pollution likely came from baseTRENTON, N.J. (AP) - A cheaper version of Johnson & Johnson's top-selling drug, the rheumatoid arthritis treatment Remicade, could be available in the U.S. two years early after a federal judge ruled a key patent on the drug invalid.
J&J, based in New Brunswick, New Jersey, said Wednesday it plans to appeal the ruling.
Patent for J&J's Remicade invalidated, cheaper version loomsSACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) - A California lawmaker says he's dropping a bill that would have required advance notice before drug companies could raise their prices more than 10 percent.
Democratic Sen. Ed Hernandez of West Covina said Wednesday that changes made in the Assembly made the legislation too weak.
California lawmaker gives up on drug price transparency billDENVER (AP) - The military has identified six places on an Air Force base in Colorado where firefighting foam containing toxic chemicals may have escaped into the environment and made its way into drinking water in two nearby communities.
Officials on Wednesday recommended a follow-up investigation at Peterson Air Force Base, where the foam was used in firefighting drills and equipment tests.
Military: Colorado air base may have released toxic chemicalNEW YORK (AP) - A huge catalog of human DNA is helping researchers find tiny glitches that cause disease, in part by pointing out some false leads.
The database, with genetic codes from more than 60,000 people, is aimed at researching rare diseases that are generally caused by a single malfunctioning gene.
Study: Catalog of DNA variations helps find roots of diseaseSTAMFORD, Conn. (AP) - Two people in a recording booth deep inside a Connecticut office park are helping millions of blind Americans feel part of the Olympics like never before.
For the first time in the U.S., NBC is airing the Olympics in prime time with additional narrators who simply report what's happening on screen - a sort of closed captioning for the visually impaired.
How do the blind watch the Olympics? NBC helps them hear itHOUSTON (AP) - A lawyer for a Houston mother accused of drowning her two children in a bathtub says the woman has a history of mental illness, including schizophrenia and bipolar disorder.
Attorney Alvin Nunnery says Sheborah Thomas did not appear at a court hearing Wednesday because she is still undergoing a mental health evaluation.
Lawyer: Mom accused in drownings dealt with mental illnessMany U.S. medical schools are seeing a surge in the number of people leaving their bodies to science, a trend attributed to rising funeral costs and growing acceptance of a practice long seen by some as ghoulish.
The increase has been a boon to medical students and researchers, who dissect cadavers in anatomy class or use them to practice surgical techniques or test new devices and procedures.
Body donations on the rise at US medical schoolsCOLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) - Backers of a proposal aimed at controlling prescription drug prices are asking the Ohio Supreme Court to reconsider requiring their issue to be re-submitted to the Legislature after adequate signatures are collected.
Supporters of the Drug Price Relief Act, who include the California-based AIDS Healthcare Foundation, say the requirement imposed in a Monday ruling would be unconstitutional and result in "extreme prejudice.
Backers seek second look at Ohio drug-price rulingLAKE CLEAR, N.Y. (AP) - The National Transportation Safety Board says a fiery plane crash that killed four people last year in the Adirondack Mountains occurred after the pilot became incapacitated by heart problems.
The Rochester Democrat and Chronicle reports (http://on.rocne.ws/2bcGrkC ) the NTSB concluded that the probable cause of the crash was the pilot's loss of airplane control following a heart attack.
NTSB: Pilot's heart attack led to plane crash that killed 4HONOLULU (AP) - Hawaii authorities are urging diners to be aware of the risks of eating raw and undercooked food after they traced a hepatitis A outbreak to frozen scallops served raw at a sushi restaurant chain.
State Department of Health Sanitation Branch Chief Peter Oshiro said Tuesday he and others in Hawaii like to eat food raw.
Hawaii authorities urge awareness of raw food riskHONOLULU (AP) - The Latest on a hepatitis A outbreak in Hawaii (all times local):
4 p.m.
Hawaii authorities are urging diners to be aware of the risks of eating raw and undercooked food after they traced a hepatitis A outbreak to frozen scallops served raw at a sushi restaurant chain.
State Department of Health Sanitation Branch Chief Peter Oshiro said Tuesday people need to understand they can get sick by eating undercooked or raw food.
The Latest: Hawaii officials urge awareness of raw food riskNEWARK, N.J. (AP) - His son's first fainting episode happened two years ago in June, Rene Del Grosso remembers. His concern grew with each recurrence, heightened by the fact doctors couldn't pinpoint a cause.
It took four months for tests to reveal it was a form of endocarditis, an often slow-developing inflammation of the inside lining of the heart chambers and heart valves.
Report: 15 of Morris dentist's patients sickened, 1 diedHONOLULU (AP) - A conveyor belt sushi restaurant chain in Hawaii is throwing out food and scrubbing its counters after state authorities identified its raw scallops as the probable source of a hepatitis A outbreak.
Hawaii State Department of Health Sanitation Branch Chief Peter Oshiro said Tuesday that Genki Sushi is being ordered to close its 10 restaurants on Oahu and one on Kauai.
Hawaii conveyor belt sushi chain hit by hepatitis A outbreakSTATELINE, Nev. (AP) - The Latest on a tourist cruise boat that was ablaze on Lake Tahoe (all times local):
2:30 p.m.
The U.S. Coast Guard has arrived at the scene of a fire at Lake Tahoe that ripped through a docked tourist cruise boat under repair, severely damaging the popular paddle wheeler and injuring two workers on board.
The Latest: 2 minor injuries in Tahoe cruise boat fireNEW YORK (AP) - The law that bans federal funding for Medicaid coverage of most abortions is now in the spotlight some 40 years after it was passed by Congress, emerging as an election issue in the national debate over the procedure.
First approved in 1976, and renewed annually ever since as part of the congressional appropriations process, the Hyde Amendment makes exceptions in cases of rape or incest, or when a pregnancy endangers a women's life.
Democrats seek reversal of ban on federal abortion fundingPORTLAND, Maine (AP) - Regulators say they need to get a firmer handle on how many horseshoe crabs die as part of their harvest for biomedical use.
The crabs are harvested for their blue blood, which is used to make sure medical products aren't contaminated. Their blood contains coagulogen, a chemical that can be used to detect bacteria.
Questions about horseshoe crab survival in medical harvestSAN FRANCISCO (AP) - A federal appeals court has banned the Justice Department from prosecuting medical marijuana cases that comply with state laws.
A three-judge panel of the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals on Tuesday ordered the DOJ to show that 10 pending cases in California and Washington violated medical marijuana laws in those states before continuing with federal criminal prosecutions.
Court bars feds from prosecuting medical pot casesFALLS CHURCH, Va. (AP) - The Latest on a fatal shooting by a sheriff's deputy near a hospital (all times local):
11:20 a.m.
An official at a northern Virginia hospital says a man fatally shot by a sheriff's deputy in a confrontation near the hospital was a patient.
Inova Fairfax Hospital spokeswoman Tracy Connell declined to comment in an email because the man involved was a patient, citing privacy laws.
The Latest: Hospital: Man shot by deputy was patientAetna will become the latest health insurer to chop its participation in the Affordable Care Act's public exchanges when it trims its presence to four states for 2017, from 15 this year.
The nation's third-largest insurer said late Monday that a second-quarter pre-tax loss of $200 million from its individual insurance coverage helped it decide to limit exposure to the exchanges, which also have generated losses for UnitedHealth Group and Anthem, among other carriers.
Insurer Aetna slashes ACA exchange participation to 4 statesHONOLULU (AP) - Hawaii health officials have ordered several sushi restaurants closed immediately after citing them as a possible source of a Hepatitis A outbreak.
The Hawaii State Department of Health said late Monday that the disease outbreak "is likely due to imported frozen scallops served raw at Genki Sushi Restaurants on Oahu and Kauai.
Hawaii officials: Restaurants as likely Hepatitis A sourceDENVER (AP) - Colorado voters this fall will decide whether terminally ill people should be allowed to receive prescriptions for drugs to end their own lives.
The "Medical Aid in Dying" measure was certified Monday as having enough petition signatures to make ballots this fall.
Five other states have some law allowing the terminally ill to end their lives.
Colorado voters to consider suicide drugs for terminally illAUSTIN, Texas (AP) - Health officials say a Texas resident who recently traveled to an area of Miami where local Zika transmission occurred has tested positive for the virus.
The Texas Department of State Health Services said Monday that it's the first Texas case to be linked to travel within the continental U.
Texas resident's Zika case linked to Miami travelHARTFORD, Conn. (AP) - A couple whose two young sons were taken away by the state for several months in 2000 over a doctor's disputed abuse opinion lost a bid on Monday to reinstate a lawsuit against the state child welfare agency.
The state Appellate Court rejected an appeal by former Newtown residents Michele and Craig Sienkiewicz, whose baby son had multiple bone fractures.
Couple whose 2 sons were briefly taken by state lose appealBRISTOL, Conn. (AP) - ESPN college football analyst Rod Gilmore says he has been diagnosed with blood cancer, but the "prognosis is good." And he hinted that he will be working the opening week of the season.
Gilmore released a statement Monday through ESPN. He says he has multiple myeloma and it was discovered during an annual physical.
ESPN college football analyst Gilmore has blood cancerWEST COVINA, Calif. (AP) - Authorities say West Nile virus has been detected in mosquitoes and birds throughout the San Gabriel Valley east of Los Angeles.
The valley's Mosquito and Vector Control District said Monday that 23 West Nile virus-positive mosquito samples have been collected in Arcadia, Azusa, Pomona, San Gabriel and West Covina.
West Nile virus detected throughout San Gabriel ValleyTUSCALOOSA, Ala. (AP) - Six people from Oxford, Mississippi, are dead following a plane crash in Tuscaloosa, Alabama.
Friends, relatives and officials identify the dead as dentists Jason Farese and Lea Farese; dentist Michael Perry and his wife, Kim Perry, a nurse practitioner at the University of Mississippi; and dentist Austin Poole and his wife, Angie Poole.
Alabama plane crash kills 3 married couples from MississippiMETHUEN, Mass. (AP) - An 86-year-old Massachusetts woman needed to be rescued over the weekend after she was left behind at a dialysis clinic in Methuen that had closed for the day.
Fire Chief Scott Sullivan says rescuers came to the aid of Maureen Perry just before 4 p.m. Saturday. The Wilmington woman was taken for treatment to the Fresenius Dialysis Center, where she remained three hours after it closed.
Woman left behind at Methuen dialysis clinic after it closedFaced with an alarming increase in opioid addiction, a growing number of prosecutors are charging dealers not just for selling but for the deaths of customers who overdose on heroin or fentanyl. Here are some questions and answers about opioid abuse and this approach to pursuing dealers.
__
HOW MANY AMERICANS DIE OF OPIOID OVERDOSES?
There were 28,647 opioid overdose deaths in 2014, including heroin, according to the U.
What's behind growing push to punish dealers in fatal ODs?BERLIN (AP) - Pharmaceutical supplier Lonza of Switzerland says it is buying InterHealth Nutraceuticals, Inc., a California-based company that makes ingredients for use in dietary supplements, in a deal worth up to $300 million.
InterHealth, a portfolio company of Kainos Capital, is based in Benicia, California.
Swiss Lonza buys US diet supplement supplier InterHealthMILWAUKEE (AP) - Wisconsin's governor put the National Guard on alert Sunday in case of another outbreak of violence in Milwaukee, after a deadly police shooting touched off a night of arson and rock-throwing in a mostly black neighborhood.
At least four businesses were burned and one police officer was hurt by a thrown brick in the unrest that erupted on the city's north side Saturday night a few hours after the killing of a man authorities say was armed and fleeing a traffic stop.
National Guard put on standby after violence in MilwaukeeSACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) - California women who take birth control would have to make fewer trips to the pharmacy under a bill that would require insurers to cover up to a 12-month supply at one time.
Supporters say for birth control to be most effective, it must be taken consistently and argue the longer-term supply would reduce the potential for skipped doses and would lower instances of unintended pregnancy.
Bill would allow women to get year's worth of birth controlTRENTON, N.J. (AP) - A federal lawsuit brought by a New Jersey lesbian couple who want to have a baby may mean expanded insurance coverage for women who currently don't meet the state's definition of infertile.
Erin Krupa was denied insurance coverage for infertility treatments essentially because she failed to show she couldn't get pregnant by having sex with a man.
New Jersey proposal expands infertility coverage to lesbiansSALT LAKE CITY (AP) - Scientists spent this week studying how nutrient levels contribute to algae blooms on the heels of this summer's massive outbreak that closed Utah Lake, sickened people and left farmers scrambling for clean water during some of the hottest days of the year.
The goal of the study on the waters of Utah Lake and the Great Salt Lake is to determine how to predict outbreaks before they happen, said Christopher Shope, a research hydrologist with the U.
US agency studies how to detect algae bloom outbreaksANNAPOLIS, Md. (AP) - Plenty of states have rolled out medical marijuana operations before Maryland, but as the state prepares to announce its top candidates for licenses to grow and process the drug, it's determined not to repeat the mistakes of others.
Maryland takes one of the more liberal approaches toward medical marijuana access, and that's caught the notice of businesses that flooded regulators with more than 1,000 applications.
Access is central to Maryland medical marijuana programATLANTA (AP) - Most fireworks became legal in Georgia in 2015 but state officials can't say whether the number of injuries has changed - echoing a nationwide pattern in which experts believe fireworks injuries go underreported.
The federal Consumer Product Safety Commission reported at least 11 deaths from fireworks in 2015 and 11,900 injuries requiring treatment, saying data is obtained voluntarily from coroners and hospitals in states including Georgia.
Counting fireworks injuries a struggle in Georgia, elsewhereSolano County Fair attendance and revenues crept higher for the second consecutive year, organizers announced.
"Play It Again, Solano! -- the theme of the 2016 fair -- repeated last year's positive trend," spokeswoman Debbie Egidio said. Attendance over the fair's five-day run was 40,455 -- a 2.
2016 Solano County Fair numbers up for the second straight yearST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) - Minnesota's two licensed medical marijuana manufacturers posted millions of dollars in losses in their first full year of operations, according to financial documents obtained by The Associated Press.
Minnesota Medical Solutions posted a $3 million loss in 2015, a period that saw the rush to build up facilities, the growing and cultivating of the plants and the first six months of legal medical marijuana sales.
APNewsBreak: Big losses for Minnesota medical pot providersMIAMI (AP) - Florida health officials say they're investigating a new Zika case outside a Miami neighborhood where mosquitoes have spread the virus to over two dozen people.
The Florida Department of Health released a statement Friday announcing that its Zika caseload has risen to 28, with three new cases in Miami-Dade County.
State investigates new Zika case outside Miami neighborhoodDES MOINES, Iowa (AP) - The Iowa Board of Psychology has decided against adopting a policy that bans Iowa-licensed psychologists from counseling gay, lesbian, bisexual or transgender children to change their sexual orientation in a practice known as conversion therapy.
The board on Friday denied a petition that would have prohibited state-licensed mental health providers from trying to reverse a patient's sexual orientation.
Iowa medical, psychology boards mull conversion therapy ruleDOVER, Del. (AP) - A fishing crew apparently pulled up unexploded ordnance while clamming, leading to a fisherman being hospitalized with second-degree burns and the destruction of more than 700 cases of chowder, officials said.
It's unclear what the ordnance was, but fishing vessels along the Atlantic Coast routinely dredge up munitions, including mustard agent, that was dumped at sea decades ago when environmental laws were far more lax.
Clammer is injured dredging up old bomb, chowder gets tossedLOS ANGELES (AP) - Southern California sunshine means sparkling beach weather, but this summer it's contributing to a return of a traditional nemesis: smog.
The enormous region that stretches from the Pacific Ocean to the Mojave Desert is having its worst summer air quality since 2009, regulators said Thursday.
Southern California having smoggiest summer since 2009COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) - A federal judge has blocked an Ohio law that diverts public money from Planned Parenthood.
U.S. District Judge Michael Barrett in Cincinnati sided with Planned Parenthood Friday in granting a permanent injunction. The law was initially set to take effect in May, though court orders have suspended it.
Judge blocks Ohio law to divert Planned Parenthood moneyCOLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) - Federal judge sides with Planned Parenthood, blocks Ohio law that diverts public money from group .
Federal judge sides with Planned Parenthood, blocks Ohio law that diverts public money from groupALBANY, Ga. (AP) - A federal judge later this fall could finalize ConAgra Foods' $11.2 million settlement of a criminal case stemming from the sale of Peter Pan peanut butter tainted with salmonella.
Court records show U.S. District Court Judge W. Louis Sands told attorneys Thursday to submit possible dates for a plea hearing after Oct.
Judge pushes ConAgra salmonella hearing into fallQUINCY, Ill. (AP) - State officials have confirmed a third new case of Legionnaires' disease at a western Illinois veterans' home since an outbreak there last year killed 12 people and sickened 54.
The directors of the Illinois departments of veterans' affairs and public health said in a statement Thursday that three residents have tested positive for the disease at the Illinois Veterans Home in Quincy, Illinois, including two who state officials announced were sickened last month.
3rd new Legionnaires case confirmed at Illinois veteran homeBOCA RATON, Fla. (AP) - A former NFL player with a history of mental illness has been charged with assaulting a woman and her daughter outside a Florida hotel.
Palm Beach County court documents show that 42-year-old Barret Robbins is facing two felony battery counts. Authorities say Robbins allegedly approached the woman and her daughter randomly outside the hotel Monday and began punching them repeatedly.
Ex-NFL player charged with assaulting woman, daughterA tentative agreement for its first-ever union contract with Napa's Queen of the Valley Medical Center was announced earlier this week, but it only came after a lengthy dispute, nurses union officials said.
A first-time tentative agreement was also reached with Redwood Memorial Hospital in Fortuna as were new agreements with St.
Napa's Queen of the Valley's first nurses union wins its first contract, after three years tryingSACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) - The Latest on action at the California Legislature (all times local):
4 p.m.
A California bill that would have levied taxes on medical marijuana growers appears dead.
The Senate Appropriations Committee did not approve AB2243 ahead of a deadline on Thursday.
The Latest: California lawmakers decline to tax pot farmersKaiser Permanente Medicare Advantage members ranked it highest in user satisfaction for the second consecutive year, Kaiser officials announced.
It's members are, they said, "once again, more satisfied than members of any other Medicare Advantage health plan in the nation, according to J.D. Power.
Kaiser Permanente earns high marks in latest JD Power studySAN DIEGO (AP) - The Latest on terminally ill woman who held a party before ending her life. (all times local):
3:15 p.m.
The sister of a terminally ill woman who held a party before ending her life with a dose of prescribed drugs says Betsy Davis was cremated.
Kelly Davis said the guests at the party in the California mountain town of Ojai will meet again next year on June 6 in the desert town of Joshua Tree to celebrate the birthday of Betsy Davis and scatter her ashes.
The Latest: Woman with ALS holds party before ending lifeJACKSON, Miss. (AP) - A Justice Department lawsuit says Mississippi is violating the Americans With Disabilities Act by "unnecessarily and illegally" making mentally ill people go into state-run psychiatric hospitals.
The federal suit, filed Thursday, says the state has failed to provide community-based services that would allow people with mental illnesses to have meaningful interaction with friends and family and to make decisions about work and daily life.
Justice Department sues Mississippi over mental health careNEW ORLEANS (AP) - The National Institutes of Health says its last chimpanzees should be moved from Texas and New Mexico to a sanctuary in Louisiana by fall 2026.
A retirement plan announced Thursday for about 360 chimps still in federal custody said the moves could be completed in 2023 if Chimp Haven can expand fast enough.
NIH: Last federal chimps to head to sanctuary by fall 2026SAN DIEGO (AP) - A California woman with ALS, or Lou Gehrig's disease, held a two-day party for her friends and relatives to say goodbye before taking her life with a dose of prescribed drugs.
Betsy Davis, 41, became one of the first Californians to make use a new state law allowing doctor-assisted suicide.
California woman holds party before killing herselfLOS ANGELES (AP) - Not long ago, foxes native to the Channel Islands off the California coast teetered on the edge of extinction.
They have rebounded to the point where U.S. wildlife officials on Thursday removed three subspecies of island fox from the roster of federally endangered species, hailing their comeback as the fastest recovery of any mammal listed under the Endangered Species Act.
California island foxes removed from endangered species listNEW YORK (AP) - A new government study says gay, lesbian and bisexual high school students are far more likely than their classmates to be raped or assaulted in a dating situation.
The research also found gay teens were far more likely to have attempted suicide, taken illegal drugs and engaged in other risky behaviors.
Gay students raped, attacked more often than straight peersMIAMI (AP) - Kids returning to school in a Miami neighborhood linked to Zika infections will be allowed to wear pants and long-sleeved shirts that don't match their school uniforms, but still can't bring mosquito repellant to campus.
The Miami Herald reports (http://hrld.us/2b7TVfU ) that at a school board meeting Wednesday, Miami-Dade County Public Schools Superintendent Alberto Carvalho said "aggressive application" of repellent should be done at home, not at school where some students may be allergic to the spray.
Miami students in Zika zone can't bring repellant to schoolDORAL, Fla. (AP) - In stories Aug. 4 and Aug. 8 about Zika infections in Florida, The Associated Press reported erroneously the size of the area where the infections occurred, based on statements made at an Aug. 4 news conference by the director of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Correction: Zika-Florida storyThe family of dirt-track racer Bryan Clauson says his organs have been donated to five other people.
Clauson died after a crash in a Kansas race last weekend.
In a statement posted on the Twitter account of Bryan Clauson Racing on Wednesday, Clauson's family members say they knew as they were saying their last goodbyes "that five families were also sitting in a hospital room somewhere, comforting their loved one and each other while praying for a miracle that Bryan ultimately delivered for them.
Killed racer's family says his organs donated to 5 othersCHARLESTON, W.Va. (AP) - A Florida doctor is returning a long-overdue book that the checked out from a West Virginia library and donating $500.
WCHS-TV reports (http://bit.ly/2b72He2) that as a child in the mid-1970s, Dr. Michael Kelly checked out "So You Want To Be a Doctor" from the Kanawha County Library.
Doctor to return library book overdue from the 1970sSandra Hack of Vallejo said she wants to help make looking in the mirror a more pleasant experience for clients of her new business, "Ageless Wonder," at 1100 Marin Street in this city.
A Baby Boomer with two grown children, Hack said she understands what Bonnie Raitt meant in her song "Nick of Time" when she wrote, "No matter how you tell yourself it's what we all go through, those lines are pretty hard to take when they're staring back at you.
New skin care business on Marin Street in VallejoRALEIGH, N.C. (AP) - The Latest on the fallout over the safety of drinking from North Carolina water wells near Duke Energy coal ash pits found to contain a cancer-causing chemical. (all times local):
6:10 p.m.
A North Carolina epidemiologist is quitting her state job because she says health agency officials are trying to mislead the public about warnings concerning well water near Duke Energy coal ash pits containing a cancer-causing chemical.
The Latest: Health official resigns in cancer warnings flapAug. 9
Mercury News on legislation addressing the overmedication of foster children:
Since 2014, this newspaper has been working to expose the harm done to foster children by doctors' improper use of powerful antipsychotic drugs to control their patients' behavior.
Progress has been made, but as investigative stories Sunday and Monday by Karen de Sa and Tracy Seipel reveal, much work remains to provide proper oversight.
California Editorial RoundupRALEIGH, N.C. (AP) - Officials in North Carolina Gov. Pat McCrory's administration are telling a string of misleading half-truths about the safety of well water containing a cancer-causing chemical near Duke Energy coal ash pits, a veteran state toxicologist said Wednesday, and he charged that they are the ones responsible for any resulting fear and confusion.
Toxicologist on cancer warnings: State acted despite scienceMOUNT GRETNA, Pa. (AP) - Police are searching for an 18-year-old Pennsylvania man accused of threatening two nurses at gunpoint so he could take his girlfriend from a secure mental health care facility.
Cornwall Borough Police said Wednesday they'd obtained an arrest warrant for Elliott Ravert, of Narvon, charging him with robbery, aggravated assault and terroristic threats.
Police seek armed man accused of taking patient at gunpointNASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) - The Latest on the accident in which three children fell from an eastern Tennessee Ferris wheel on Monday (all times local):
9 a.m.
Police are citing a mechanical failure in the accident that dumped three children from a Ferris wheel at Tennessee's Greene County Fair.
The Latest: Police cite 'mechanical failure' in Ferris fallPHILADELPHIA (AP) - Amtrak has started settling lawsuits with victims of last year's deadly derailment in Philadelphia, and lawyers involved in the process say a strict confidentiality provision prevents them and their clients from talking about how they're doing or how much money they've received.
APNewsBreak: Amtrak settlements silencing crash victimsUPPER MARLBORO, Md. (AP) - A Maryland hospital confirms that three neonatal intensive care unit patients have tested positive for potentially deadly bacteria, leading the hospital to shut down the unit and transfer infants to other hospitals.
Prince George's Hospital Center said Tuesday that nine NICU patients have been transferred to other hospitals while officials investigate.
3 babies test positive for bacteria at Maryland hospitalMIAMI (AP) - The Latest on Zika infections in Miami (all times local):
4 p.m.
Florida's governor has announced four new cases of Zika virus infection that health officials believe were spread by mosquitoes in a Miami neighborhood.
Florida now has 21 people who contracted the virus locally.
The Latest: Governor announces 4 new Zika cases in MiamiWASHINGTON (AP) - Moving beyond "Obamacare," political activists are looking to state ballot questions to refocus the nation's long-running debate over government's role in health care.
This fall, California voters will decide whether to lower some prescription drug prices, while Coloradans will vote on a state version of a "single-payer" government-run health system, similar to what Vermont Sen.
Beyond 'Obamacare': State initiatives refocus health debateGREENEVILLE, Tenn. (AP) - The Latest on an investigation into how three people fell from a Ferris wheel at a county fair in Tennessee (all times local):
12:45 am
A doctor says one of three girls who fell from a Ferris wheel during a county fair in Tennessee suffered a traumatic brain injury and remains in critical condition.
The Latest: 1 critical, 2 stable after Ferris wheel fall