Latest Health News

Morning sickness? Prenatal check-ups? What to know about new rights for pregnant workers

Apr. 20, 2024 09:06 AM EDT

Pregnant employees have the right to a wide range of accommodations under new federal regulations for enforcing the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act that supporters say could change workplace culture for millions of people. The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, the agency in...

BNSF Railway says it didn't know about asbestos that's killed hundreds in Montana town

Apr. 19, 2024 20:10 PM EDT

HELENA, Mont. (AP) — BNSF Railway attorneys told a Montana jury Friday that the railroad should not be held liable for the lung cancer deaths of two former residents of an asbestos-contaminated Montana town, one of the deadliest sites in the federal Superfund pollution program. ...

4/20 grew from humble roots to marijuana's high holiday

Apr. 19, 2024 19:58 PM EDT

SEATTLE (AP) — Saturday marks marijuana culture’s high holiday, 4/20, when college students gather — at 4:20 p.m. — in clouds of smoke on campus quads and pot shops in legal-weed states thank their customers with discounts. This year’s edition provides an occasion for...

Kansas has a new anti-DEI law, but the governor has vetoed bills on abortion and even police dogs

Apr. 19, 2024 19:25 PM EDT

TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Kansas' Democratic governor on Friday vetoed proposed tax breaks for anti-abortion counseling centers while allowing restrictions on college diversity initiatives approved by the Republican-controlled Legislature to become law without her signature. Gov. Laura...

Idaho group says it is exploring a ballot initiative for abortion rights and reproductive care

Apr. 19, 2024 19:07 PM EDT

BOISE, Idaho (AP) — A new Idaho organization says it will ask voters to restore abortion access and other reproductive health care rights in the state after lawmakers let a second legislative session end without modifying strict abortion bans that have been blamed for a recent exodus of health...

A convicted rapist is charged with murder in the killing of a Connecticut visiting nurse

Apr. 19, 2024 17:04 PM EDT

A convicted rapist was charged with murder and attempted sexual assault Friday in the killing of a visiting nurse at a Connecticut halfway house for sex offenders in October — a crime that spurred calls for better safety measures for home health care workers. Authorities added the...

Emergency rooms refused to treat pregnant women, leaving one to miscarry in a lobby restroom

Apr. 19, 2024 16:42 PM EDT

WASHINGTON (AP) — One woman miscarried in the lobby restroom of a Texas emergency room as front desk staff refused to check her in. Another woman learned that her fetus had no heartbeat at a Florida hospital, the day after a security guard turned her away from the facility. And in North Carolina,...

How to get rid of NYC rats without brutality? Birth control is one idea

Apr. 19, 2024 14:08 PM EDT

New York lawmakers are proposing rules to humanely drive down the population of rats and other rodents, eyeing contraception and a ban on glue traps as alternatives to poison or a slow, brutal death. Politicians have long come up with creative ways to battle the rodents, but some...

Once praised, settlement to help sickened BP oil spill workers leaves most with nearly nothing

Apr. 19, 2024 12:07 PM EDT

When a deadly explosion destroyed BP’s Deepwater Horizon drilling rig in the Gulf of Mexico, 134 million gallons of crude erupted into the sea over the next three months — and tens of thousands of ordinary people were hired to help clean up environmental devastation from the biggest offshore...

French athletes at Paris Olympics will receive better mental health protection

Apr. 19, 2024 09:28 AM EDT

PARIS (AP) — French athletes at the Paris Olympics will be offered better protection for their mental health, with priority given to curbing online harassment and cyberbullying. France’s Sports Minister Amélie Oudéa-Castéra and Secretary of State for Digital Affairs Marina...