Author: Mike Stobbe
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US rate for gun deaths increases for second straight year
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NEW YORK — The U.S. rate for gun deaths has increased for the second straight year, following 15 years of no real change, a government report shows. Roughly two-thirds of gun deaths are suicides and those have been increasing for about 10 years. Until recently, that has been offset by a decline in people shot…
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Bystander rape-prevention programs face questions
STATE COLLEGE, Pa.— Training programs around the country are trying to teach bystanders to stop sexual assault, and now is when they have to be especially alert. Campus sexual assault reports are so common at the beginning of the fall semester, college administrators call this time of year the “red zone.” Penn State University sends…
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GOP health bill would cut CDC’s $1B disease fighting fund
NEW YORK — A proposal to replace the Obama health care law would cut out a pillar of funding for the nation’s lead public health agency, and experts say that would likely curtail programs across the country to prevent problems like lead poisoning and hospital infections. The Republican bill calls for the elimination of a…
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US life expectancy falls for the first time in 20 years
NEW YORK — A decades-long trend of rising life expectancy in the U.S. could be ending: It declined last year and it is no better than it was four years ago. In most of the years since World War II, life expectancy in the U.S. has inched up, thanks to medical advances, public health campaigns and better…
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Zika-caused birth defect may become clear only after birth
NEW YORK — Researchers say a severe birth defect caused by Zika infection may not be apparent at birth but develop months afterward, further confirmation that the virus can cause unseen damage to developing babies. The findings come from a study of 13 Brazilian babies whose heads all appeared normal at birth but then grew…
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Survey: More US adults use marijuana, don’t think it’s risky
NEW YORK — Marijuana use is becoming more accepted among U.S. adults as states loosen pot laws, new national survey data shows. More are using marijuana, using it more often and far fewer think it’s risky, the government survey found. That’s understandable, experts say, as dozens of states now allow medical marijuana and four states…
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Going to the Olympics? Some health risks to consider
NEW YORK — Traveling to the Olympics? Don’t let illnesses meddle with your fun. Roughly half a million people from around the world are expected to travel to the Olympics in Rio de Janeiro. And while Zika is in the spotlight, there are other bugs and health problems that Olympic athletes and spectators should keep…
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Things to know about respiratory bug plaguing kids
NEW YORK (AP) — A wave of severe respiratory illnesses has swept the country in the last two months, propelled by what was long considered an uncommon germ. The enterovirus 68 has caused serious breathing problems in many children, and now is being eyed as possible factor in at least four deaths, and muscle weakness…
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Study: Teens are drinking less, texting more
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NEW YORK — American teens are smoking less, drinking less and fighting less. But they’re texting behind the wheel and spending a lot of time on video games and computers, according to the government’s latest study of worrisome behavior. Generally speaking, the news is good. Most forms of drug use, weapons use and risky sex…
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Panel: Pregnant women, get whooping cough shot
ATLANTA (AP) — An expert panel is urging every expecting mother to get a shot preventing whooping cough, preferably in the last three months of her pregnancy to help protect her baby. The advice follows a frightening resurgence of the dreaded childhood disease. More than 32,000 cases, including 16 deaths, have been reported so far…