05/09/2008

Flu vaccine makers to set new doses record for next season
Flu vaccine manufacturers expect to make a record number of doses for next flu season despite concerns that demand may drop because this year's vaccine was largely ineffective.

Suicide rate among doctors thought to be higher than that of general populus
An estimated 300 to 400 U.S. doctors kill themselves each year – a suicide rate thought to be higher than in the general population, although exact figures are hard to come by.

U.S. housing rebound is a long way off, industry leaders say
Economists and housing industry leaders meeting in Dallas this week predict it will be very late 2008 or into 2009 before the battered home market begins to recover.

05/06/2008

75 students arrested in San Diego State University drug bust
Dozens of San Diego State University students were arrested after a sweeping drug investigation found that some fraternity members openly dealt drugs and one even sent a mass text message advertising cocaine, authorities said Tuesday.

05/07/2008

Oregon parents hear Afghanistan gun battle on voice mail
OTIS, Ore. – A couple checking their voice mail found a frightening three-minute recording of their son caught in a battle in Afghanistan.

05/05/2008

Woman who challenged ban on interracial marriage dies
Mildred Loving, a black woman whose challenge to Virginia's ban on interracial marriage led to a landmark Supreme Court ruling striking down such laws nationwide, died Friday at age 68.

05/06/2008

Witnesses say Sox-Yankees spat preceded N.H. killing
NASHUA, N.H. – After a Red Sox-Yankees argument escalated outside a bar, a New York fan killed a man by hitting him with her car, authorities and witnesses said.

What do children read? Hint: Harry Potter's not No. 1
WASHINGTON – Children have welcomed the Harry Potter books in recent years like free ice cream in the cafeteria, but the nation's largest survey ever of youthful reading shows that the works of Dr. Seuss, E.B. White, Judy Blume, S.E. Hinton and Harper Lee are still the most read.

05/05/2008

Concern voiced about proposed new version of OxyContin
Purdue Pharma LP contends that adding a plastic-like coating to the tablets makes the drug sometimes called "hillbilly heroin" harder to crush and snort or inject. But advisers to the Food and Drug Administration called for more testing.

05/03/2008

Survivors search for belongings amid Arkansas tornado wreckage
Smoke rose from burning heaps of wreckage Saturday as residents of rural Arkansas cleaned up what was left of their homes after deadly tornadoes scoured a state that has been plagued by severe weather this year.

05/05/2008

FDA study finds risks with insulin pumps
CHICAGO – Insulin pumps, used by tens of thousands of teenagers and others with Type 1 diabetes, can be risky and have been linked to injuries and even deaths, a study by federal regulators found.

Faced with costly rebuilding, half of residents have left
GREENSBURG, Kan. – After this town was destroyed by a tornado a year ago, most of the 59 wounded made it to the hospital, which was also damaged.

Problems with imports include tainted seafood, banned drugs
WASHINGTON – In March, inspectors checking Chinese seafood arriving at U.S. ports made some unsettling discoveries: fish infected with salmonella in Baltimore and Seattle and shrimp with banned veterinary drugs in Florida.

WILDLIFE
ST. MARIES, Idaho – The eagle is named Beauty, although she is anything but.

Bush applauds town's resiliency
GREENSBURG, Kan. – A year after a deadly tornado nearly wiped this western Kansas prairie town off the map, Sunday's high school graduation ceremony went on with pomp and circumstance, and an unusual guest: President Bush.

05/03/2008

15 states consider crackdowns on toy guns
Among those 15 states, seven bills limiting fake guns are pending this year and 21 have been enacted since 1990, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures. Some states have enacted or are considering multiple measures. They range from prohibiting imitation firearms in vehicles to banning the toys from convenience stores.

Fed OKs plan to rein in unfair, deceptive credit cards
The Federal Reserve and other regulators initiated steps Friday to end "unfair and deceptive" credit card industry practices assailing consumers who are already struggling to cope in a bad economy.

Gates: Expanding US command in Afghanistan is possibility
The idea of giving the U.S. military more authority in areas of Afghanistan now under NATO command is "worth taking a look at," Defense Secretary Robert Gates said Friday.