Repeal or retain? Election opens final act for ‘Obamacare’
WASHINGTON (AP) — Election Day 2016 will raise the curtain on the final act in the nation's long-running political drama over President Barack Obama's health care overhaul.
Up to 270 microcephaly cases expected in Puerto Rico due to Zika: officials
By Julie Steenhuysen CHICAGO (Reuters) – U.S. health experts estimate that as many as 270 babies in Puerto Rico may be born with the severe birth defect known as microcephaly caused by Zika infections in their mothers during pregnancy. The estimate is the first to project the potential impact of Zika on Puerto Rico, a U.S. territory located in the Caribbean that has borne the brunt of the outbreak in the United States. Puerto Rico had 10,690 laboratory-confirmed cases of Zika, including 1,035 pregnant women, as of Aug. 12.
Australian PM orders inquiry after teenage prisoners teargassed, stripped naked
By Matt Siegel and Tom Westbrook SYDNEY (Reuters) – Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull on Tuesday ordered an inquiry into the treatment of children in detention after the airing of video showing prison guards teargassing teenage inmates and strapping a half-naked, hooded-boy to a chair. The Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) aired CCTV footage late Monday of inmates in a Northern Territory juvenile detention center also being stripped naked, thrown by the neck into a cell, and held for long periods in solitary confinement. “Like all Australians, I've been deeply shocked – shocked and appalled by the images of mistreatment of children,” Turnbull said on ABC radio as he announced a Royal Commission, Australia's most powerful, state sanctioned inquiry.
The easiest thing to win at Rio Games? A ticket
By Joshua Schneyer NEW YORK (Reuters) – Over the past few weeks, one U.S. marketing executive's phone has been ringing hot with offers that many sports fans could only dream of: an all-expenses-paid trip to watch the Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro next month. The marketing executive, speaking on condition of anonymity to avoid harming business relationships, said he had turned down Rio due to prior commitments. “And when you have a souring market, which Brazil has become, the concept of entertaining at a high-profile event can also go sour.” For the host city, corporate entertainment is an important part of its plan to recoup part of its $12 billion (9.15 billion pound) in Games investment.
Alaska parental notification abortion law struck down
JUNEAU, Alaska (AP) — The Alaska Supreme Court on Friday struck down a state law requiring parental notification for girls under age 18 seeking abortions, agreeing with pro-abortion rights advocates that the mandate approved by voters in 2010 was unconstitutional.
Roche receives blood cancer drug blow after Gazyva trial fails to meet endpoint
Swiss drugmaker Roche said trials showed its new blood cancer drug Gazyva failed to deliver significant improvements over an older medicine in people with an aggressive type of blood cancer, a blow in its fight against competition from biosimilars. Gazyva did not significantly reduce the risk of disease worsening or death for people with previously untreated diffuse large B-cell lymphoma, over current drug Rituxan in a phase III GOYA study, Roche said on Monday. Diffuse large B-cell lymphoma is the most common form of non-Hodgkin's lymphoma.
UN health agency confirms 3 Zika cases in Guinea Bissau
GENEVA (AP) — The U.N. health agency says it and national authorities are investigating whether three cases of the Zika virus discovered in Guinea Bissau are of the same strain as the one behind outbreaks linked to head and brain abnormalities in Brazil and elsewhere.
EPA warns Flint, Michigan of long-term threats to water supply
(Reuters) – The city of Flint faces multiple long-term threats to its water supply, even though short-term progress has been made in reducing lead contamination in the drinking water, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has warned the city and the state of Michigan. The poor water quality became a crisis last year when, after months of citizen complaints in the largely poor and African-American city, officials acknowledged a problem and began corrective measures. EPA administrator Gina McCarthy outlined at least five areas that would require additional funding and attention to ensure a safe and sustainable drinking water supply in a letter sent to Flint Mayor Karen Weaver and Michigan Governor Rick Snyder.
UK’s Cameron warns health services, pensions could face cuts post-Brexit
Pensions and the publicly funded National Health Service could face cuts if Britons vote to leave the European Union, Prime Minister David Cameron told a Sunday newspaper, seeking to win support from some of the most pro-Brexit members of the public. Polls, which show Britons are evenly divided ahead of a June 23 referendum on EU membership, also indicate the elderly are among the most likely to turn out on polling day and are also among the most eurosceptic voters.
Marriage quality has differing effects on diabetes risks for men and women
By Kathryn Doyle (Reuters Health) – Marriage has been linked to health benefits, especially happy marriage, but when it comes to developing or controlling type 2 diabetes, marriage quality seems to have opposite effects on men and women, according to a U.S. study. For women, a happier marriage meant lower risk of developing diabetes over a five-year period, but for men, declining marriage quality was tied to lower risk of diabetes and better control of the condition for those who had it, researchers found. “The results for men suggesting that an increase in negative marital quality is related to lower risk of developing diabetes and higher chance of controlling diabetes are surprising,” said lead author Hui Liu of the department of sociology at Michigan State University in East Lansing.