US births in 2022 didn’t return to pre-pandemic levels
June 1, 2023 GMTNEW YORK (AP) — U.S. births were flat last year, as the nation saw fewer babies born than it did before the pandemic, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported Thursday.
Births to moms 35 and older continued to rise, with the highest rates in that age group since the 1960s.
Researchers link death in gene-editing study to a virus used to deliver the treatment, not CRISPR
May 31, 2023 GMTThe lone volunteer in a gene-editing study targeting a rare form of Duchenne muscular dystrophy likely died after having a reaction to the virus that delivered the therapy in his body, researchers concluded in an early study.
Sweden close to becoming first ‘smoke free’ country in Europe as daily use of cigarettes dwindles
June 1, 2023 GMTSTOCKHOLM (AP) — Summer is in the air, cigarette smoke is not, in Sweden's outdoor bars and restaurants.
As the World Health Organization marks “World No Tobacco Day” on Wednesday, Sweden, which has the lowest rate of smoking in the Europe Union, is close to declaring itself “smoke free” — defined as having fewer than 5% daily smokers in the population.
TORONTO (AP) — Canada will soon become the first country in the world where warning labels must appear on individual cigarettes.
The move was first announced last year by Health Canada and is aimed at helping people quit the habit.
Former Connecticut lawmaker gets 27 months in prison for stealing over $1 million in coronavirus aid
May 31, 2023 GMTHARTFORD, Conn. (AP) — A former Connecticut state representative was sentenced to 27 months in prison on Wednesday for stealing more than $1.2 million from the city of West Haven — most of it in federal coronavirus-related aid — and using a good chunk of it to fuel his gambling addiction.
Food workers who showed up while sick or contagious were linked to about 40% of restaurant food poisoning outbreaks with a known cause between 2017 and 2019, federal health officials said Tuesday.
Norovirus and salmonella, germs that can cause severe illness, were the most common cause of 800 outbreaks, which encompassed 875 restaurants and were reported by 25 state and local health departments.
UK government fights demand to hand over Boris Johnson’s messages to COVID-19 inquiry
May 30, 2023 GMTLONDON (AP) — As Britain’s prime minister, Boris Johnson established an independent public inquiry into his government’s handling of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Humanitarian group MSF calls for support for refugees in Kenya affected by cholera crisis
May 30, 2023 GMTNAIROBI, Kenya (AP) — Hundreds of refugees in Kenya’s Dadaab camps have been affected by a cholera outbreak as the population in the facilities grows rapidly, a humanitarian charity said Tuesday.
Sackler family, the maker of OxyContin, will be shielded from lawsuits as part of $6B settlement
May 30, 2023 GMTA federal appeals court cleared the way for the maker of OxyContin to settle thousands of legal claims tied to the opioid epidemic while shielding the wealthy owners of Purdue Pharma, the Sackler family, from future lawsuits.
LOS ANGELES (AP) — Pro soccer player Jess McDonald was traded across six teams in her first five years as a single parent, making it difficult to find, let alone afford, child care in new cities.
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — A missing emergency room doctor from Missouri was found dead in Arkansas from an apparent gunshot wound, authorities confirmed Wednesday. But they are still investigating what happened in the week since he was last seen.
SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — California lawmakers have advanced more than a dozen bills aiming to address the fentanyl crisis, including some that would impose harsher prison sentences for dealers, ahead of a critical deadline this week.
Oklahoma high court strikes down 2 abortion bans; procedure remains illegal in most cases
May 31, 2023 GMTOKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — The Oklahoma Supreme Court ruled on Wednesday that two state laws banning abortion are unconstitutional, but the procedure remains illegal in the state in nearly all cases except life-threatening situations.
ATLANTA (AP) — Georgia's highest court has ruled that a law that requires people who provide lactation care and services to be licensed by the state and only allows people who have obtained a specific certification to obtain a license violates the state Constitution.
Police shoot man suspected of stabbing 1 person, punching others near California park
May 31, 2023 GMTLONG BEACH, Calif. (AP) — Police shot and wounded a man suspected of stabbing one person with a screwdriver and punching several others, including someone carrying a small child, in areas around a Southern California park, officials said.
Redo of federal plane evacuation tests sought as passengers squeeze into smaller spaces
May 31, 2023 GMTLawmakers who want tougher standards for evacuating aircraft in an emergency have criticized the Federal Aviation Administration for what they consider unrealistic simulations, and now they are calling for a do-over of current evacuation tests.
Pakistani police say gunmen kill 1 soldier and wound another in attack on polio workers
May 31, 2023 GMTMIR ALI, Pakistan (AP) — Gunmen killed one soldier and wounded another Wednesday when they opened fire on security forces escorting a team of polio workers during a door-to-door inoculation campaign in a former Pakistani Taliban stronghold near the Afghan border, police said.
CARSON CITY, Nev. (AP) — Nevada's Joe Lombardo on Tuesday became one of the first Republican governors to enshrine protections for out-of-state abortion patients and in-state providers, adding the western swing state to the list of those passing new laws to solidify their status as safe havens for abortion patients.
KHUZAA, Gaza Strip (AP) — Locals call it “watermelon salad.” But this delicacy popular in the southern Gaza Strip at this time of year is far from the sweet, refreshing taste the name evokes.
“Lasima,” “Ajar,” or “Qursa” are different names for the hot, savory meal that takes hours to prepare.
The body of a Missouri emergency room doctor who has been missing for more than a week has been found in northwest Arkansas, his brother told The Associated Press on Tuesday.
Dr. John Forsyth was last heard from in text messages around 7 a.m.
Colorado tackles eating disorders by limiting use of BMI and diet pill sales to kids
May 30, 2023 GMTDENVER (AP) — In the midst of a surge in eating disorders across the country, Colorado's acting governor signed bills Tuesday that will create a state program dedicated to addressing the mental illness, limit the use of body mass index in determining treatment and restrict the sale of diet pills to minors.
ACLU sues to block new hybrid Nebraska law restricting abortion, gender-affirming care for minors
May 30, 2023 GMTLINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — As promised, the American Civil Liberties Union is suing to block the Nebraska Legislature’s most controversial measure combining an abortion ban with restrictions on gender-affirming care for minors, just days after it was signed into law.
Wisconsin Republicans introduce bill that clarifies procedures that don’t qualify as abortion
May 30, 2023 GMTMADISON, Wis. (AP) — Wisconsin Republicans released a package of legislation Tuesday that would tweak the state's abortion ban by specifying medical procedures to save a mother's life that don't qualify as abortion.
North Carolina senator pushing medical marijuana bill describes smoking pot during cancer fight
May 30, 2023 GMTRALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — The North Carolina General Assembly's chief advocate for legalizing medical marijuana in the state revealed publicly on Tuesday how he smoked pot over 20 years ago to withstand discomforts of intense chemotherapy during a fight with cancer.
ATLANTA (AP) — Former first lady Rosalynn Carter has dementia, her family announced Tuesday.
Carter, now 95, remains at home with former President Jimmy Carter, 98, who has been at home receiving hospice care since early this year.
ALBANY, N.Y. (AP) — New York marijuana regulators voted Tuesday to settle a federal lawsuit that has blocked them from granting dispensary licenses in the Finger Lakes region.
The settlement reviewed at a meeting of the Cannabis Control Board would remove a legal impediment that has slowed the growth of New York's fledgling marijuana market.
Teenager walks at brain injury event weeks after getting shot in head for knocking on wrong door
May 30, 2023 GMTKANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Ralph Yarl — a Black teenager who was shot in the head and arm after mistakenly ringing the wrong doorbell — walked at a brain injury awareness event in his first major public appearance since the shooting.
Authorities in Thailand seize more than a ton of crystal methamphetamine thought bound for Australia
May 29, 2023 GMTBANGKOK (AP) — Law enforcement officials in Thailand said Monday they seized more than a ton of crystal methamphetamine in a southern province last week that they believed was bound for Australia.
Officials from police and the Narcotics Control Board announced that the 1.2 metric tons (2,646 pounds) of the drug, also known as “ice,” likely came from Thailand’s northern border region, which is part of the Golden Triangle where the borders of Myanmar, Laos and Thailand meet.
NEW ORLEANS (AP) — The mpox health emergency has ended, but U.S. health officials are aiming to prevent a repeat of last year’s outbreaks.
Mpox infections exploded early in the summer of 2022 in the wake of Pride gatherings.
Rugby league player Corey Harawira-Naera out of hospital after on-field collapse, seizure
May 28, 2023 GMTSYDNEY (AP) — New Zealand-born rugby league player Corey Harawira-Naera has been released from Sydney’s Westmead Hospital after collapsing during a match Saturday in Australia’s National Rugby League.
2 horses die from injuries at Churchill Downs, bringing total to 12 at home of Kentucky Derby
May 28, 2023 GMTLOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) — Two horses have died the past two days following injuries at Churchill Downs, the 11th and 12th fatalities over the past month at the home of the Kentucky Derby.
Mare Kimberley Dream was euthanized after sustaining a distal sesamodean ligament rupture to her front leg during Saturday’s first race.
VATICAN CITY (AP) — Pope Francis resumed regular appointments on Saturday, one day after canceling his schedule due to a fever.
NEW YORK (AP) — New York City Mayor Eric Adams signed legislation Friday that will ban discrimination based on body size by adding weight and height to the list of protected categories such as race, sex and religion.
Rockies RHP Feltner slowly recovering from fractured skull, hopes to pitch again this year
May 26, 2023 GMTDENVER (AP) — Colorado Rockies right-hander Ryan Feltner is slowly recovering from a concussion and fractured skull. He doesn’t know if he can pitch again this year, but he hasn’t ruled it out.
Feltner spoke publicly for the first time Friday since getting hit in the head by a line drive off the bat of Philadelphia’s Nick Castellanos on May 13.
Court monitor warned of medical care issues at Border Patrol stations before girl’s death
May 26, 2023 GMTMcALLEN, Texas (AP) — A court-appointed monitor said in January that child migrants held in medical isolation may be overlooked when Border Patrol stations get too crowded, a warning issued five months before an 8-year-old girl with a heart condition died in custody during an unusually busy period in the same Texas region he inspected.
Oregon, awash in treatment funds after decriminalizing drugs, now must follow the money
May 26, 2023 GMTFunding for drug treatment centers in Oregon, financed by the state's pioneering drug decriminalization policy, stood at over a quarter-billion dollars Friday as officials called for closer monitoring of where the money goes.
Judge halts South Carolina’s new stricter abortion law until state Supreme Court review
May 26, 2023 GMTCOLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) — A judge put South Carolina’s new law banning most abortions around six weeks of pregnancy on hold Friday until the state Supreme Court can review the measure, giving providers a temporary reprieve in a region that has enacted strict limits on the procedure.
After yearslong delay, DEA revokes license of drug distributor over opioid crisis failures
May 26, 2023 GMTThe U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration stripped one of the nation's largest drug distributors of its license to sell highly addictive painkillers Friday after determining it failed to flag thousands of suspicious orders at the height of the opioid crisis.
Parents described as ‘monsters’ in horrific abuse that killed 10-month-old in England
May 26, 2023 GMTLONDON (AP) — An English couple who fought to get their baby son back from child services and then abused him so severely the 10-month-old was dead just over a month later were sentenced to life in prison for murder Friday in what a judge described as a case of “unimaginable cruelty."
PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — A man died while waiting over a half-hour for an ambulance after being struck by a hit-and-run driver last month, according to emergency dispatch logs, an incident that Portland firefighters say highlights their frustration at a lack of available ambulances to respond to emergency calls.
Doctor’s supporters, hospital at odds with Indiana penalty for talking about 10-year-old’s abortion
May 26, 2023 GMTINDIANAPOLIS (AP) — Supporters of an Indianapolis doctor voiced frustration Friday with the Indiana medical board’s decision that she violated patient privacy laws when she talked with a newspaper reporter about providing an abortion to a 10-year-old Ohio rape victim.
Elon Musk’s brain implant company Neuralink says it has US approval to begin trials in people
May 26, 2023 GMTElon Musk’s brain implant company Neuralink says it's gotten permission from U.S. regulators to begin testing its device in people.
The company made the announcement on Twitter Thursday evening but has provided no details about a potential study, which was not listed on the U.S.
Iowa law limits gender identity instruction, removes books depicting sex acts from school libraries
May 26, 2023 GMTDES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Iowa teachers will be banned from raising gender identity and sexual orientation issues with students through grade six, and all books depicting sex acts will be removed from school libraries, under a bill Republican Iowa Gov.
Céline Dion has canceled all her scheduled tour dates through April 2024 as she continues treatment for a rare neurological disorder.
“I’m so sorry to disappoint all of you once again," the singer said in a statement on social media. "I’m working really hard to build back my strength, but touring can be very difficult even when you’re 100%.
Indiana doctor who talked publicly about a 10-year-old rape victim’s abortion is fined
May 26, 2023 GMTA hearing on whether an Indianapolis doctor should face disciplinary action after she spoke publicly about providing an abortion to a 10-year-old rape victim from neighboring Ohio opened with finger pointing over how the case became a political flashpoint.
US study finds 1 in 10 get long COVID after omicron, starts identifying key symptoms
May 26, 2023 GMTWASHINGTON (AP) — About 10% of people appear to suffer long COVID after an omicron infection, a lower estimate than earlier in the pandemic, according to a study of nearly 10,000 Americans that aims to help unravel the mysterious condition.
Kiwi golfer Michael Hendry receiving treatment for leukemia
May 26, 2023 GMTWELLINGTON, New Zealand (AP) — New Zealand golfer Michael Hendry will miss this year’s British Open while receiving treatment for leukemia.
Hendry, who has won tournaments on the Australian and Japan tours and most recently won the Vic Open in Australia in February, was diagnosed with leukemia in April.
Minnesota governor signs paid family and medical leave act to give workers up to 20 weeks off
May 25, 2023 GMTST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) — Minnesota workers will be entitled to paid time off when they're seriously ill or to care for newborns and loved ones starting in 2026 under a bill that Democratic Gov.
7-year-old child charged with arson of family home
May 25, 2023 GMTRIPLEY, W.Va. (AP) — A 7-year-old West Virginia child has been charged with first-degree arson after intentionally setting the family home on fire while the child's parents were asleep inside, officials said.
Wisconsin lawmaker says his bar where overdose victims bought drugs isn’t ‘bad establishment’
May 25, 2023 GMTMADISON, Wis. (AP) — Police in Wisconsin say the fentanyl-laced drugs that killed one person and caused three more to overdose in a village north of Milwaukee were bought at a state lawmaker's tavern that has been the subject of multiple calls to police in recent years.
America aged rapidly in the last decade as baby boomers grew older and births dropped
May 25, 2023 GMTThe United States grew older, faster, last decade.
The share of residents 65 or older grew by more than a third from 2010 to 2020 and at the fastest rate of any decade in 130 years, while the share of children declined, according to new figures from the most recent census.
Colorado embraces broad law requiring patient consent for pelvic exams while sedated
May 25, 2023 GMTDENVER (AP) — Colorado medical providers will need to get patients' prior consent before medical students can perform pelvic exams on them while they are unconscious for a procedure under a bill signed into law Thursday.