US towns plunge into debates about fluoride in water

NEW YORK (AP) — For about 50 years, adding cavity-preventing fluoride to drinking water was a popular public health measure in Yorktown, a leafy town north of New York City. But in September, the town’s supervisor used his emergency powers to stop the practice. ...

Fights over fluoride in drinking water are cropping up as political pressure mounts and scientists assess possible risks

NEW YORK (AP) — Fights over fluoride in drinking water are cropping up as political pressure mounts and scientists assess possible risks.

Navy didn't understand well-documented risks posed by Hawaii fuel tanks, watchdog says

HONOLULU (AP) — Navy officials “lacked sufficient understanding” of the risks of maintaining massive fuel storage tanks on top of a drinking water well at Pearl Harbor where spilled jet fuel poisoned more than 6,000 people in 2021, a U.S. military watchdog said Thursday. That...

What to know about Robert F. Kennedy Jr., Trump's pick for health secretary

President-elect Donald Trump 's plan to appoint Robert F. Kennedy Jr., to lead the Health and Human Services Department will put a prominent vaccine skeptic at the helm of the nation's sprawling public health apparatus. A scion of a famous Democratic dynasty, Kennedy made a name in...

RFK Jr. says Trump would push to remove fluoride from drinking water. 'It's possible,' Trump says

PHOENIX (AP) — Robert F. Kennedy Jr., a prominent proponent of debunked public health claims whom Donald Trump has promised to put in charge of health initiatives, said Saturday that Trump would push to remove fluoride from drinking water on his first day in office if elected president. ...

Boil water advisories can be confusing. Here are some safety tips from experts

As a mother of two, Robin Funsten knows it’s impossible to bathe her 2-year-old without getting water in the toddler's mouth. But she's never had to worry about that until recently. A month after deadly Hurricane Helene devastated the U.S. Southeast, Funsten and more than 100,000...

Palau’s vibrant Helen Reef is a magnet for poachers. These rangers keep it safe

HELEN ISLAND, Palau (AP) — The handful of rangers who protect one of Earth's most remote and biologically diverse reefs have only each other for company for months at a time. They worry about running out of gas for boat patrols, their drinking water can get dangerously low and rising seas are...