Oct. 7
The Sacramento Bee on abolishing the death penalty:
Californians face a life-or-death choice on Nov. 8: Pass an initiative that promises to make capital punishment more efficient, or join the march of human history by abolishing the death penalty.
We urge abolition. Although Proposition 62 would end the death penalty in California, a "yes" vote would not imply a scintilla of sympathy for the 747 condemned murderers in California.
California Editorial RoundupLOS ANGELES (AP) - A fire at a high-rise home for the elderly in Los Angeles left five people with burns and smoke-inhalation injuries.
City fire spokesman Erik Scott says three of the injured are in critical condition and two are in serious condition after the Monday night blaze at the 15-story building.
5 injured, 3 critical in fire at senior home in Los AngelesBRENHAM, Texas (AP) - Blue Bell Creameries is recalling all of its ice cream products that contain cookie dough from an Iowa-based supplier.
The move announced Monday night comes after Aspen Hills recalled cookie dough supplied to ice cream makers after finding potential listeria bacteria contamination.
Blue Bell recalls all ice creams with suspect cookie doughGARNER, Iowa (AP) - An Iowa company is recalling the cookie dough it sold to Blue Bell Creameries and other food companies because it may be contaminated with listeria bacteria.
Dough-maker Aspen Hills notified customers about the recall on Sunday, but it wasn't immediately clear whether any of this cookie dough had reached consumers because the Garner, Iowa, based company doesn't sell directly to consumers.
Iowa company recalls cookie dough sold to other firmsENGLEWOOD, Colo. (AP) - Joe DeCamillis stepped up to the podium Monday after GM John Elway named him interim head coach and was instantly met with a welcome-to-the-show question:
"Who's your quarterback?"
The Denver Broncos' 51-year-old special teams coordinator dodged the inquiry, declining to say whether Trevor Siemian or Paxton Lynch would be under center when the Broncos (4-1) visit the Chargers (1-4) Thursday night.
Broncos' Kubiak to take a week off after migraine diagnosisIf you're angry or upset, you might want to simmer down before heading out for an intense run or gym workout. A large, international study ties heavy exertion while stressed or mad to a tripled risk of having a heart attack within an hour.
Regular exercise is a healthy antidote to stress and can help prevent heart disease - the biggest problem is that too many people get too little of it.
Beware extremes: Exercise, anger may trigger heart attackHARTFORD, Conn. (AP) - Connecticut officials are looking for ways to keep new doctors from leaving to practice in other states.
A 2015 report shows just 1 in 5 medical school graduates in Connecticut decided to remain in the state, ranking it 41 out of 50 states in new-graduate retention.
House Majority Leader Joe Aresimowicz (ehr-eh-SIM'-oh-wits), next year's expected Speaker of the House, says he and other legislators expect to convene a working group of experts in January to review issues surrounding doctor retention and ways to help the medical industry.
Connecticut wants to hold on to doctors trained in the statePOST FALLS, Idaho (AP) - A 35-year-old breast cancer patient says she felt humiliated when she was handcuffed and questioned after being mistaken for a Missouri teen wanted in her infant daughter's death.
The Coeur d'Alene Press newspaper reports (http://bit.ly/2dFGlGr ) that Erin Peters says she was stopped Friday at an Idaho Walmart and questioned for 45 minutes after being mistaken for 18-year-old Whitley Evenson, of Independence, Mo.
Breast cancer patient says she was mistaken for fugitiveCONESTOGA, Pa. (AP) - Turkey Hill is recalling some mislabeled packages of ice cream.
The Conestoga, Pennsylvania-based dairy says some of its 48-ounce containers of Dutch Chocolate Premium Ice Cream actually contain Rocky Road Premium Ice Cream instead.
Rocky Road contains almond and egg ingredients that could pose problems for people with allergies.
Turkey Hill recalls some mislabeled packages of ice creamNEW YORK (AP) - Brooklyn District Attorney Kenneth Thompson, whose career included internationally high-profile cases in private practice as well as a stint as federal prosecutor, died Sunday after a battle with cancer, just days after announcing he would be undergoing treatment. He was 50.
Thompson's family said he died at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center.
Brooklyn DA Kenneth Thompson dies at 50 from cancerNEW ORLEANS (AP) - A climbing obstacle with more than 20 people on it collapsed during a 5K obstacle race near Baton Rouge, and four people - including a 10-year-old child - remained hospitalized Sunday, the State Fire Marshal's Office said.
"We don't know exactly how many were injured," but do know 12 were taken to hospitals by ambulance or helicopter, Chief Deputy State Fire Marshal Brant Thompson said Sunday.
'Warrior Dash' climbing obstacle collapses; 4 hospitalizedNEW HYDE PARK, N.Y. (AP) - Dozens of people were injured Saturday when a commuter train hit a work train east of New York City and derailed, officials said.
The eastbound Long Island Rail Road train derailed east of New Hyde Park just after 9 p.m., a spokesman for the railroad said.
A spokesman for New York Gov.
Train derails east of NYC; dozens suffer injuriesSALT LAKE CITY (AP) - A collection of photos, stories and maps showing the effects in Utah from nuclear testing done in Nevada in the 1950s and '60s opened this week at a University of Utah library.
The Downwinders of Utah Archive at the university's J. Marriott Library in Salt Lake City includes recorded stories from people impacted, maps and statistics and gripping historical photographs showing crowds of people watching huge mushroom clouds of smoke in the distance from the nuclear tests done in Nevada.
Utah exhibit shows nuclear testing's downwind effectsSAN DIEGO (AP) - After 10 years of unsuccessful efforts to raise cigarette taxes, anti-smoking activists are trying a new approach - a ballot initiative that would not only steeply increase taxes on tobacco products but also add them to previously untaxed electronic cigarettes.
If voters pass Proposition 56 in November, California would become only the fifth state to tax e-cigarettes, following Kansas, Louisiana, Minnesota and North Carolina.
Californians consider taxing e-cigarettesLOS ANGELES (AP) - The national furor over rising drug prices is moving to the ballot box in California, where voters will decide how the state negotiates for prescription medications.
The stakes are high: How trendsetting California votes could spill over to other states.
That possibility is not lost on the pharmaceutical industry, which has faced withering criticism for its huge profits and examples of massive price hikes, such as Turing Pharmaceuticals raising by 5,000 percent the cost of a drug for a life-threatening parasitic infection and Mylan's popular EpiPens costing $608 for a two-pack, an increase of more than 500 percent since 2007.
Big pharma spending big dollars to defeat California measureSAN FRANCISCO (AP) - For the second time in six years, California voters will consider legalizing recreational use of marijuana.
This time, supporters of the move have much more financial backing and professional campaign help than they did in 2010.
And polls show Proposition 64 with more than the 50 percent of voter support needed to pass.
California voters once again eye legalizing recreational potPeople were lined up for information about cancer screenings, taking turns getting their blood-pressure checked and kneading fake breasts to see what a lump feels like, at Kaiser Permanente Vallejo Medical Center's special cancer awareness event Friday.
They were also picking up information about domestic violence, prostate cancer and second-hand smoke, along with a slew of other life-saving information, at the event that was open even to non-Kaiser members and which organizers said looked like it brought even more than the 200 to 500 people they were expecting.
Kaiser Vallejo's free cancer awareness clinic a successSIOUX FALLS, S.D. (AP) - The internal watchdog of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services says the often-substandard quality of care at hospitals serving Native Americans is the result of outdated equipment and technology, lack of resources and difficulty attracting and keeping skilled staff.
Watchdog: Staff issues affect care at reservation hospitalsDrugmaker Mylan will pay $465 million to settle allegations that it overbilled Medicaid for its life-saving EpiPen, ending one of the controversies over the soaring price of the emergency allergy injection.
The settlement with the Department of Justice follows news that EpiPen has been incorrectly classified since late 1997 as a generic product under the Medicaid health program for the poor and disabled.
Mylan to pay $465M settlement over Medicaid EpiPen rebatesPROVIDENCE, R.I. (AP) - Algae blooms are forcing the closure of shellfish beds around New England, including most of Narragansett Bay in Rhode Island and much of the coast of Maine.
It's the first time harmful algae has prompted a shellfishing closure in Rhode Island, the state Department of Environmental Management said Friday.
Harmful algae forces shellfish ban in parts of New EnglandFRESNO, Calif. (AP) - Officials say a high school student in Central California has been diagnosed with an infectious disease that affects the lungs and spreads through the air.
The Fresno County Department of Public Health said Friday that the student has been diagnosed with an active case of tuberculosis.
Central California student diagnosed with tuberculosisIn honor of this special month, the Solano County Maternal, Child and Adolescent Health Bureau would like to dispel some myths about SIDS in order to educate parents and caregivers about how to ensure their infants sleep safely every night.
• Myth No. 1: Babies "catch" SIDS.
Fact: Unlike the common cold, SIDS cannot be caught!
• Myth No.
Solano Coalition for Better Health: The many myths of SIDSNEW YORK (AP) - An egg industry group's discussions about thwarting the sale of an eggless vegan spread were inappropriate, a yearlong investigation by the U.S. Department of Agriculture has found.
The investigation also determined that the American Egg Board, which is responsible for the "Incredible, Edible Egg" slogan, should not have paid for pro-egg ads to appear online when people searched for Hampton Creek's Just Mayo.
USDA: Egg group inappropriately targeted vegan spreadBATON ROUGE, La. (AP) - Federal prosecutors say four men are accused of scheming to sell stolen HIV medication.
U.S. Attorney Walt Green said in a statement Thursday the medication was taken from the Washington, D.C. Department of Health Pharmacy Warehouse.
Green said one of those charged, Alvin Watts III, of Addis, Louisiana, is a pharmacist who operated a pharmacy in Louisiana.
4 men indicted in stolen HIV medication schemeNeedy children in Solano County are getting short shrift compared to children elsewhere in the Bay Area, and a group of women are trying to change that, one organizer said.
Kim Thomas, the now retired head of the Children's Network of Solano County for two decades, is one of the women behind two ballot measures aimed at righting what they consider a systemic wrong.
Ballot measures seek to bring spending on Solano County kids up to normFRESNO, Calif. (AP) - California will tighten rules on how much farmers can use a common pesticide listed by the nation's most productive agricultural state as a chemical known to cause cancer, regulators said Thursday.
The change doesn't ban the pesticide Telone but creates a uniform rule for its application each year.
California tightens rule on popular pesticide, citing healthThe first human cases of West Nile Virus in Solano County this year were confirmed this week officials announced Thursday.
Solano Public Health received confirmation of cases of West Nile Virus infections from the California Department of Public Health, they said.
"We received confirmation of West Nile Virus infection in three people this week," county deputy health officer Michael Stacey said in the announcement.
First human West Nile Virus case in Solano County this yearNORFOLK, Va. (AP) - White Virginia police officer acquitted of manslaughter in shooting death of a mentally ill black man with a knife.
White Virginia police officer acquitted of manslaughter in shooting death of a mentally ill black man with a knifeNEW YORK (AP) - The latest on developments in global financial markets (all times local):
4:00 p.m.
Stocks are ending mostly lower after clawing back much of an early loss.
Health care and phone companies took losses Thursday, while makers of basic materials and some technology companies posted gains.
Markets Right Now: Stocks erase most of an early lossSACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) - Many police departments have specially trained officers and mental health professionals whose job is to help defuse the sometimes-volatile "5150" calls that involve people in the throes of mental illness.
But those officers are in short supply, and often they are unavailable in a crisis, as happened in Sacramento and the San Diego suburb of El Cajon, where police encountered men with mental problems and ended up shooting them to death.
Officers trained to deal with mental illness in short supplySAN FRANCISCO (AP) - Bruce Springsteen credits his music with helping him navigate depression and says playing marathon shows until he was exhausted helped chase away the blues.
Springsteen spoke to a sold-out crowd in San Francisco on Wednesday night in a one-hour, 20-minute on-stage interview as part of a nationwide tour for his new autobiography "Born To Run.
Bruce Springsteen talks depression, family and new memoirLANSING, Mich. (AP) - Michigan's attorney general is investigating allegations of sex abuse involving former USA Gymnastics team physician Dr. Larry Nassar, who is accused of sexually abusing at least two gymnasts.
Bill Schuette's office said Thursday that it was asked by Michigan State University's campus police to review the allegations against Nassar, who had taught at the school and worked in its sports medicine clinic.
Michigan AG reviews sex abuse claims vs. gymnastics doctorTwo women's college basketball tournaments in Puerto Rico have been moved because of concerns about the Zika outbreak.
The San Juan Shootout held during Thanksgiving weekend will be played in Daytona, Florida. The Puerto Rico Classic will move to Las Vegas on Dec. 19-21.
"This is not an easy decision for us in light of our decades of relationships with our Puerto Rican partners," Sport Tours president Lee Frederick, whose company runs the events, said in a statement.
Women's hoops tourneys in Puerto Rico moved because of ZikaEven the federal government is apparently paying too much for EpiPens, along with angry patients and insurers.
The skyrocketing price of the life-saving allergy shot, which has triggered a storm of criticism, is only part of the problem. Now the federal government, responding to Congressional inquiries, says Medicaid has for years been paying too much for EpiPens because the emergency shot is classified incorrectly as a generic medicine.
Federal government: Mylan has been overcharging for EpiPensSAN DIEGO (AP) - A bald eagle that was found nearly dead by a California hiker has tested positive for West Nile Disease.
The San Diego Union-Tribune reports (http://bit.ly/2dxulTK ) that the eagle, which was found Sept. 19, was confirmed to have the disease but is recovering and has regained the ability to fly.
Eagle found by California hiker confirmed to have West NilePALO ALTO, Calif. (AP) - Embattled blood testing company Theranos says it will shut down its clinical labs and wellness centers and lay off more than 40 percent of its full-time employees.
In an open letter released late Wednesday, Theranos CEO Elizabeth Holmes says the shutdowns "will impact approximately 340 employees in Arizona, California, and Pennsylvania.
Theranos closing labs, laying off 340 following sanctionsSEQUIM, Wash. (AP) - Americans consume more than half of the global production of quinoa, but the trendy South American grain barely has a foothold in U.S. agriculture.
Some farmers and researchers are working to change that.
A California-based company, Lundberg Family Farms, and its network of contracted farmers along the West Coast hope to harvest 2 million pounds of quinoa this year.
AP PHOTOS: Trendy quinoa sprouts up along West CoastSEQUIM, Wash. (AP) - To the south of Nash Huber's farm fields are the Olympic Mountains, peaking at nearly 8,000 feet. Due north is the end of a channel of Pacific Ocean waters that separate the United States from Canada.
Yet in this corner of the country is where the 75-year-old Huber hopes the South American grain quinoa takes root.
US farmers make foray into quinoa as demand for grain growsVallejo's Touro University California wants to be the "go-to" place for diabetes clinicians to get the most up-to-date information on disease management, so it's hosting a diabetes conference next month, Touro officials announced.
National diabetes speakers will headline Touro's inaugural diabetes conference in November, offering practical tools and strategies to effectively manage patients with diabetes, they said.
Vallejo's Touro offers latest in diabetes management tools class for doctorsAmerican Canyon >> This city's Fire Protection District and Police Department invites the public to their annual open house from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Sunday, Oct. 16, at the Public Safety Building, 911 Donaldson Way East.
This is likely the 10th year of this community event, which is timed to coincide with Fire Prevention Week, Fire Executive Assistant/Office Administrator Martha Banuelos said.
American Canyon public safety open house set for Oct. 16Going to the right hospital for heart attack care could add a year to your life, a new study suggests.
Using Medicare records, researchers found that roughly 17 years after a heart attack, average life expectancy was 9 to 14 months longer for patients who had been treated at hospitals that do best on widely used quality measures than for those treated at low-rated ones.
Study: Good heart attack care could add a year to your lifeSEATTLE (AP) - An expert panel says a dart tag deployed on an endangered Puget Sound orca by federal biologists was the source of a fungal infection that contributed to its death.
NOAA Fisheries on Wednesday released the findings into the death of a 20-year-old whale named L95 found dead off Vancouver Island in March.
Tagging source of infection that contributed to orca's deathSALT LAKE CITY (AP) - Ryan Grassley discovered a perplexing charge on a hospital bill for the recent birth of his son: Nearly $40 for "skin to skin" contact after his wife gave birth via cesarean section.
Amused by the bill, he posted a picture of it on Reddit this week and commented: "I had to pay $39.
Utah man charged $40 for 'skin-to-skin' contact with newbornLOS ANGELES (AP) - How long can we live? New research suggests there may be a limit to our life span.
The record for the world's oldest person is 122 years. Researchers say the odds of breaking that record set in 1997 are slim. They think the human life span more likely maxes out at 115 years.
How long can people live? New study suggests there's a limitBATON ROUGE, La. (AP) - The Latest on the condition of Louisiana State University's live tiger mascot (all times local):
11:15 a.m.
Louisiana State University's live tiger mascot has terminal cancer that has spread across its body.
LSU Veterinarian David Baker said at a news conference Wednesday that Mike VI has at best another one to two months to live.
The Latest: LSU: Live tiger mascot's cancer has spreadBATON ROUGE, La. (AP) - Cancer found in the skull of Louisiana State University's live tiger mascot has spread.
The LSU School of Veterinary Medicine announced that a CT scan and physical exam of the tiger, Mike VI, shows the tumor in his skull has grown and his cancer has spread. The school scheduled a press briefing Wednesday to discuss the tiger's prognosis.
LSU: Live tiger mascot's cancer has spreadTexas doctors have done the first womb transplants using live donors in the United States.
Four women who had been born without a uterus received one in operations last month at Baylor University Medical Center at Dallas.
Three of the wombs have had to be removed because of poor blood flow, but a hospital statement says the fourth recipient still has hers and is showing no signs of rejection.
Texas hospital does 4 uterus transplants from live donorsBOSTON (AP) - A Boston hospital has successfully performed a double arm transplant on a former Marine who lost his limbs in an explosion in Afghanistan.
Sgt. John Peck is scheduled to speak at a news conference Wednesday at Brigham and Women's Hospital along with key members of the medical team that performed the surgery.
Boston hospital performs double arm transplant on MarineNEW YORK (AP) - The campaign to give workers paid time off when they're sick is picking up momentum.
A bill that would give workers for the Illinois county that includes Chicago one hour of paid sick time for each 40 hours they work was up for a vote Wednesday. Sick leave referendums are on the November ballot in Arizona and Washington state.
Campaign to give workers paid sick leave gains momentumATLANTA (AP) - The cost of expanding Medicaid under President Barack Obama's health care overhaul is rising faster than expected in many states, causing budget anxieties and political misgivings.
Far more people than projected are signing up under the new, more relaxed eligibility requirements, and their health care costs are running higher than anticipated, in part because the new enrollees are apparently sicker than expected.
Rising cost of Medicaid expansion is unnerving some statesMERCED, Calif. (AP) - A Merced City Council candidate has been accused of 17 criminal charges including possession of more than one pound of marijuana for sale and tax code violations in connection to a medical marijuana dispensary.
The Fresno Bee reports (http://bit.ly/2dvdLUv ) that Lakisha Jenkins was arrested Tuesday on a felony warrant in Stanislaus County just hours after taking part in a candidates forum.
Merced City Council candidate accused of possessionWARMINSTER, Pa. (AP) - A Pennsylvania man is recovering after he was stung by a scorpion that somehow got into his backpack while he was on vacation in the Caribbean.
The 22-year-old Warminster resident had returned home from St. Thomas and reached into the pack to get his computer when he was stung.
Stowaway scorpion stings Pennsylvania man after vacationSACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) - The family of a 13-year-old girl with a peanut allergy who died after eating a snack at a camp operated by the city of Sacramento has reached a multimillion-dollar settlement.
The Sacramento Bee reports (http://bit.ly/2d1YJ9B) Roger Dreyer, the lawyer for Natalie Giorgi's family, announced the settlement Tuesday in a prepared statement but didn't provide details.
Parents of teen who died at Camp Sacramento reach settlementFRIDAY HARBOR, Wash. (AP) - A Michigan woman who decided to take a cross-country RV trip instead of undergoing cancer treatment has died at the age of 91.
More than 400,000 people have followed Norma Jean Bauerschmidt's journey with her son and daughter-in-law on her "Driving Miss Norma" Facebook page.
Woman who opted for RV trip over cancer treatment dies at 91BOSTON (AP) - The same court that paved the way for same-sex marriage in the United States ruled Tuesday that an unmarried gay woman whose former girlfriend gave birth to two children through artificial insemination has the same parental rights as their biological mother.
The Supreme Judicial Court issued its decision Tuesday in a complicated case about the parental rights of a once-partnered, but unmarried, gay couple.
Court grants full parental rights to unmarried gay womanMillions of Americans who bought individual health insurance outside the Affordable Care Act's public exchanges may be leaving government help on the table if they skip those marketplaces again in picking 2017 coverage, a new report says.
The Department of Health and Human Services estimates that 2.
Report: Millions may be skipping help with insurance billsMINNEAPOLIS (AP) - The union that represents thousands of nurses in the Twin Cities metro who are on strike is ready to go back to the bargaining table after rejecting Allina Health's latest contract offer.
Minnesota Nurses Association spokesman Rick Fuentes says no date has been set to resume negotiations.
Nurses, Allina Health ready to negotiate againAs the investigation into Prince's death homes in on the source of the fatal fentanyl, some observers are suggesting that the United States explore a lifesaving strategy used in Europe: services that check addicts' drug supplies to see if they are safe.
In Spain, the Netherlands and a handful of other countries, users voluntarily turn in drug samples for chemical analysis and are alerted if dangerous additives are found.
Could drug checking have prevented Prince's overdose death?ALAMEDA, Calif. (AP) - The Raiders are expected be without tight end Lee Smith and former starting middle linebacker Ben Heeney for the rest of the season after both players were injured during Sunday's win in Baltimore.
Neither player has been placed on injured reserve yet and both were continuing to be evaluated by the team's medical staff but Oakland coach Jack Del Rio was not optimistic about either Smith or Heeney returning this season.
Raiders likely to place Smith, Heeney on injured reserveBOSTON (AP) - A police chief who was honored by the White House for his pioneering approach to heroin addiction but later was accused of misleading investigators looking into allegations of improper behavior with two women was fired on Monday.
Gloucester Mayor Sefatia Romeo Theken said she lost confidence in police Chief Leonard Campanello after he destroyed cellphone evidence and took other steps to deceive investigators looking into the complaints.
Police chief prominent in heroin addiction debate firedA man ran off with an unknown number of rings after robbing the Kaiser Pernamente Vallejo Medical Center gift shop Saturday, a Vallejo Police Department spokesman said.
"At about noon, a guy came into the gift shop and told the clerk he wanted to look at some rings, and as the clerk was showing them to him, he pushed the clerk away, took the rings and fled on foot," Lt.
Man robs Kaiser Vallejo gift store, runs with a handful of ringsTUCSON, Ariz. (AP) - The U.S. Supreme Court's refusal to hear Arizona's appeal of a lower court ruling that overturned a convicted murderer's death sentence has opened the door for about 25 death row inmates to challenge their sentences.
The justices on Monday let stand the ruling that said Arizona unconstitutionally excluded evidence about James McKinney's troubled childhood and post-traumatic stress disorder that might have led to a lesser punishment.
US Supreme Court won't hear Arizona death sentence caseFRESNO, Calif. (AP) - A native California frog once on the brink of extinction is making an encouraging comeback in Yosemite National Park, raising hopes for amphibians like it worldwide that are dying off at an alarming rate, researchers said Monday.
The Sierra Nevada yellow-legged frog - little more than 3 inches long and known for the coloring under its hind legs - was once the most abundant amphibian in the mountain range.
Scientists: Endangered frog rebounding in Yosemite parkNEW YORK (AP) - Like a busy city, a cell works better if it can dispose of and recycle its garbage. Now a Japanese scientist has won the Nobel Prize in medicine for showing how that happens.
The research may pay off in treatments for diseases such as cancer, Parkinson's and Type 2 diabetes.
Yoshinori Ohsumi, 71, of the Tokyo Institute of Technology, was cited Monday for "brilliant experiments" that illuminated autophagy, in which cells gobble up damaged or worn-out pieces of themselves.
Japanese scientist wins Nobel for study of cell recyclingCONCORD, N.H. (AP) - Republican U.S. Sen. Kelly Ayotte's campaign is highlighting a birth control bill she sponsored by handing out free condoms on New Hampshire college campuses.
The campaign recently distributed signs to students promoting her campaign that say "FREE CONDOMS" in bold letters.
Sen. Ayotte's campaign hands out condoms at college campusesMINNEAPOLIS (AP) - Thousands of nurses on strike at five Allina Health hospitals in Minnesota are voting on the company's latest proposal to get them back to work.
In two previous votes this summer, union negotiators recommended that members reject Allina's offer. Union leaders haven't directed its 4,800 members on how to vote Monday.
Striking Minnesota nurses vote on Allina's latest proposalMIAMI BEACH, Fla. (AP) - Until recently, Miami Beach Botanical Garden was home to over 2,000 colorful bromeliads.
But officials ordered the city-owned garden to uproot the plants, which were identified as breeding grounds for mosquitoes with Zika. Miami Beach residents have been encouraged to follow suit in their own yards.
Growers: Bromeliads aren't to blame for Zika in Miami BeachCHICAGO (AP) - Forget the pink ribbons. Spitting in a tube for science is what unites a growing group of breast cancer patients taking part in a unique project to advance treatment for the deadliest form of the disease.
For many of the 150,000-plus patients nationwide whose tumors have spread to bones, brains, lungs or other distant organs, the hue heralding breast cancer awareness and survival each October is a little too rosy.
Crowdsourcing effort takes aim at deadliest breast cancersORLANDO, Fla. (AP) - Police say a teenage girl riding a Universal Orlando amusement park ride suffered burns when an electronic cigarette belonging to another rider exploded and shot a fireball at her.
Police told the Orlando Sentinel (http://bit.ly/2cVI0o5 ) the 14-year-old from Tennessee was riding the Hogwarts Express train Saturday with her family when an e-cigarette belonging to a rider in another group blew up in his pocket and the fireball hit her in the face and elsewhere.
E-cigarette explosion injures girl at Orlando theme parkDr. Steve Miller, the chief medical officer of Express Scripts, sits at the center of the storm over rising drug prices.
His company runs prescription plans for employers and insurers that cover around 85 million people. It buys enough drugs to fill more than 1 billion prescriptions a year.
Miller has watched super-sized drug prices infuriate patients and strain the health care system with growing frequency, starting when a new hepatitis C drug hit the market at $84,000 for a course of treatment and continuing through the recent revelation that the price of Mylan's EpiPen rose more than 500 percent since 2007.
Insider Q&A: A front-row seat for the drug pricing battleALEXANDRIA, Va. (AP) - Like many transgender teens, Jenn Brewer faced bullying when she came out. Some classmates called her "tranny," and a few teachers refused to address the 13-year-old by anything other than her male birth name, she said.
But she and her family found that the biggest difficulty came from her father's employer: the U.
Hope, relief for transgender military families in new policyA Solano Countywide Prescription Drug Take-Back event is planned from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 22 at various locations, organizers announced.
The Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA), in partnership with the Solano County Department of Resource Management, Environmental Services, will host the event at eight locations throughout Solano County, and all Solano County residents are "encouraged to bring their unwanted, unneeded or expired prescription drugs for free, safe and convenient disposal," they said.
Solano County holds prescription drug take-back eventNEW YORK (AP) - An explosion that destroyed a New York City home and killed a firefighter has drawn attention to marijuana-making methods that are legal in many states - but can also be lethal.
A New York fire battalion chief died responding to the blast Tuesday in a Bronx home that authorities say had been converted into an indoor marijuana farm.
Marijuana labs spawn lethal explosions across the countryATLANTA (AP) - Authorities say a rare tree frog - the last known living member of the species in captivity - has died at the Atlanta Botanical Garden.
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports (http://on-ajc.com/2d8qTPQ) that the dead Rabbs' fringe-limbed tree frog was found dead in its enclosure during a routine daily inspection on Monday.
Species likely extinct after rare frog dies in AtlantaLEWISTON, Maine (AP) - Patrick Dempsey is in Maine for a cancer fundraiser after releasing a new movie.
The "Dempsey Challenge" is a fundraiser for The Patrick Dempsey Center for Cancer Hope & Healing. The Maine-born actor and his sisters created the center in 2008 in partnership with the Central Maine Medical Center in Lewiston.
Patrick Dempsey returns to Maine for cancer fundraiser