Month: January 2019

AP Exclusive: UN health chief orders probe into misconduct

LONDON — The head of the World Health Organization has ordered an internal investigation into allegations the U.N. health agency is rife with racism, sexism and corruption, after a series of anonymous emails with the explosive charges were sent to top managers last year. Three emails addressed to […]

Researchers see possible link between opioids, birth defect

NEW YORK — Health officials are looking into a possible link between prescription opioids and a horrific birth defect. When a baby is born with its intestines hanging outside the stomach, due to a hole in the abdominal wall, it’s called gastroschisis. Most are repaired through surgery. Roughly […]

Dispute over rules riles California’s legal pot market

LOS ANGELES — California has finalized its rules governing the nation’s largest legal marijuana market, a milestone coming more than a year after the state broadly legalized cannabis sales for adults. But a dispute over home deliveries into communities that ban pot sales could end up in court. […]

Trump administration proposes higher ‘Obamacare’ premiums

WASHINGTON — The Trump administration on Thursday announced proposed rule changes that would lead to a modest premium increase next year under the Affordable Care Act, potentially handing Democrats a new presidential-year health care issue. The roughly 1 percent increase could feed into the Democratic argument that the […]

Facebook shuts hundreds of Russia-linked pages, accounts

LONDON  — Facebook said Thursday it removed hundreds of Russia-linked pages, groups and accounts that it says were part of two big disinformation operations targeting users outside the U.S. The social media company said its latest effort to fight misinformation came after it found two networks “that engaged […]

Police: Arizona officer kills teen boy with replica gun

PHOENIX — Police in a Phoenix suburb say a burglary suspect shot to death by an officer was a 14-year-old boy carrying a replica gun. Authorities say officers in the city of Tempe reported a suspect burglarizing a car Tuesday and that he ran away holding what appeared […]

Judge acquits 3 Chicago officers of Laquan McDonald cover-up

CHICAGO  — A judge on Thursday acquitted three Chicago officers of trying to cover up the 2014 shooting of Laquan McDonald, dismissing as just one perspective the shocking dashcam video of the black teenager’s death that led to protests, a federal investigation of the police department and the […]

Less beef, more beans. Experts say world needs a new diet

NEW YORK  — A hamburger a week, but no more — that’s about as much red meat people should eat to do what’s best for their health and the planet, according to a report seeking to overhaul the world’s diet. Eggs should be limited to fewer than about […]

In limbo: Leftover embryos challenge clinics, couples

FORT MYERS, Fla. — Tens of thousands of embryos are stuck in limbo in fertility clinics, leftovers from pregnancy attempts and broken dreams of parenthood. Some are outright abandoned by people who quit paying storage fees and can’t be found. In other cases, couples are struggling with tough […]

Trump, Pelosi feud heats up again

WASHINGTON — She imperiled his State of the Union address. He denied her a plane to visit troops abroad. The shutdown battle between President Donald Trump and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi is playing out as a surreal game of constitutional brinkmanship, with both flexing political powers from opposite […]

Headlines