Latest Public health News

Wisconsin Gov. Evers finally appoints new DNR secretary after yearlong search

Dec. 23, 2024 17:08 PM EST

MADISON, Wis. (AP) — Democratic Gov. Tony Evers has finally picked a new leader for the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources. The governor announced Monday that he has appointed Karen Hyun as the agency's secretary. Hyun has worked as chief of staff of the National Oceanic and...

Syrian soldiers distance themselves from Assad in return for promised amnesty

Dec. 21, 2024 09:09 AM EST

DAMASCUS, Syria (AP) — Hundreds of former Syrian soldiers on Saturday reported to the country's new rulers for the first time since Bashar Assad was ousted to answer questions about whether they may have been involved in crimes against civilians in exchange for a promised amnesty and return to...

EPA head Regan, who championed environmental justice, to leave office Dec. 31

Dec. 20, 2024 15:20 PM EST

WASHINGTON (AP) — Michael Regan, who championed environmental justice as administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency, will leave the agency Dec. 31, three weeks before the end of President Joe Biden's term. In a letter Friday to agency employees, Regan said he was proud of...

Fentanyl fuels record homeless deaths in Oregon's Multnomah County, home to Portland

Dec. 20, 2024 14:20 PM EST

PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — Fentanyl fueled a record number of homeless deaths last year in Oregon's Multnomah County, home to Portland, according to an annual county report released Friday that officials described as showing the peak of the fentanyl crisis in the area. The report found...

Ontario's premier says Trump's tariffs would be a disaster for US markets

Dec. 18, 2024 14:44 PM EST

TORONTO (AP) — The premier of Canada's most populous province said Tuesday President-elect Donald Trump's plan to impose sweeping 25% tariffs on all Canadian products would be a "disaster" that would hurt U.S. stock markets. Ontario Premier Doug Ford also said in an interview with...

RFK Jr. meets with senators as questions swirl about Trump's pick to lead health agency

Dec. 16, 2024 19:11 PM EST

WASHINGTON (AP) — Robert F. Kennedy Jr. swept onto Capitol Hill late Monday as the anti-vaccine health guru from the famous political family reintroduced himself to senators, this time as President-elect Donald Trump's pick to lead the nation's Health and Human Services Department. ...

Owner of thermometer factory gets probation for exposing workers to mercury

Dec. 13, 2024 16:39 PM EST

WEST BABYLON, N.Y. (AP) — The owner of a New York thermometer factory was sentenced Friday to three years of probation for failing to protect workers who were exposed to hazardous levels of mercury after a spill at his plant. Robert Peyser, 66, of Bellmore on Long Island, and his...

New Mexico governor seeks funding to recycle fracking water, expand preschool, treat mental health

Dec. 12, 2024 19:57 PM EST

SANTA FE, N.M. (AP) — New Mexico would make major new investments in early childhood education, industrial water recycling, and drug addiction and mental health programs linked to concerns about crime under an annual spending proposal from Democratic Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham. ...

Arizona AG sues Saudi firm over 'excessive' groundwater pumping, saying it's a public nuisance

Dec. 11, 2024 20:07 PM EST

PHOENIX (AP) — Arizona Attorney General Kris Mayes announced Wednesday she's suing a Saudi Arabian agribusiness for allegedly violating a public nuisance law, contending that its groundwater pumping threatens the public health, safety and infrastructure of local communities in a rural western...

Death toll from contaminated infant IV feeding bags in Mexico rises to 17

Dec. 10, 2024 11:08 AM EST

MEXICO CITY (AP) — Authorities in Mexico said Tuesday that a total of 17 children have died in central Mexico from suspected contamination of IV feeding bags after four more deaths were confirmed. David Kershenobich, the country’s public health secretary, said 16 of the victims...