PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — Five major hospitals in Portland, Oregon, and a nonprofit health care plan said Friday they will donate a combined $21.5 million toward the construction of nearly 400 housing units for the city’s burgeoning homeless and low-income population — a move hailed by national housing advocates as the largest private investment of … Continue reading
Author Archives: mgivers10
9 states to vote soon on expanding legal access to marijuana
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — From California, with its counterculture heritage, to the fishing ports and mill towns of Maine, millions of Americans in nine states have a chance to vote Nov. 8 on expanding legal access to marijuana. Collectively, the ballot measures amount to the closest the U.S. has come to a national referendum on … Continue reading
House OKs plan for $170 million to fix Flint water system
WASHINGTON (AP) — The House easily approved an election-year plan Wednesday to provide $170 million to help Flint, Michigan, rebuild its lead-poisoned water system, as Congress moved toward addressing a public health catastrophe that became an acrimonious partisan dispute. Wednesday’s vote was 284-141 and came nearly a year after Michigan officials declared a health emergency … Continue reading
Official: One-third of calls to VA suicide hotline roll over
WASHINGTON (AP) — More than one-third of calls to a suicide hotline for troubled veterans are not being answered by front-line staffers because of poor work habits and other problems at the Department of Veterans Affairs, according to the hotline’s former director. Some hotline workers handle fewer than five calls per day and leave before … Continue reading
The Latest: Family: Mall suspect has mental health issues
MOUNT VERNON, Wash. (AP) — The Latest on a deadly mall shooting in Washington state (all times local): 12 p.m. The stepfather of the suspect in the deadly Washington state mall shooting says his stepson has mental health issues. David Marshall and his wife attended Arcan Cetin’s initial court appearance Monday in Skagit County Superior … Continue reading
Gigi Hadid fends off man-handler between runway turns
MILAN (AP) — This was already Gigi Hadid’s season. She drew crowds outside the Max Mara shop on opening day of Milan Fashion Week, and indulged fans with selfies. Then she opened and closed the Max Mara show on the second day of womenswear previews for next spring and summer on Thursday, and took top … Continue reading
McConnell unveils stopgap spending bill, anti-Zika funds
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Senate’s top Republican on Thursday unveiled legislation to prevent a government shutdown next weekend and provide more than $1 billion to battle the Zika virus. It also would provide $500 million to help Louisiana rebuild from last month’s devastating floods. Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said the stopgap measure was “clean” … Continue reading
Colorado medical pot law poised to add PTSD as qualifier
DENVER (AP) — Marijuana pioneer Colorado is poised to add post-traumatic stress disorder to its medical marijuana program, joining 18 other states that consider PTSD a condition treatable by pot. A panel of state lawmakers voted 5-0 Wednesday to endorse the addition of PTSD to Colorado’s 2000 medical pot law. The vote doesn’t have … Continue reading
APNewsBreak: Report questions Louisiana fish safety testing
BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) — Gulf oil spill recovery money intended for testing to ensure fish caught off Louisiana were safe for consumers instead paid for unnecessary iPads, cameras, boats and now-missing fishing equipment, state auditors said, calling the safety program so mismanaged it couldn’t even declare if the catch was fit to eat. … Continue reading
FDA Oks 1st muscular dystrophy drug; awaits proof it works
WASHINGTON (AP) — Federal regulators on Monday granted tentative approval to the first drug for muscular dystrophy, following an intense public campaign from patients and doctors who pushed for the largely unproven medication. The approval came despite an internal dispute among Food and Drug Administration officials that ultimately had to be resolved by the agency’s … Continue reading
Va. man sues smoothie chain over hepatitis A outbreak
WOODBRIDGE, Va. (AP) — A Virginia man is suing a smoothie shop that he says sold him a beverage contaminated with hepatitis A. The lawsuit against Tropical Smoothie Cafe was filed Tuesday in Prince William County Circuit Court and is one of several legal complaints about the smoothie chain. Robert Daly alleges that he drank … Continue reading
Trump supports birth control without a prescription
WASHINGTON (AP) — Donald Trump says he believes women should be able to obtain birth control without a prescription. Speaking on an episode of “The Dr. Oz Show” airing Thursday, the Republican nominee suggested that, for many women, obtaining a prescription can be challenging. “I would say it should not be prescription,” he told the … Continue reading
The Latest: Kaine says Trump’s child care plan bad for women
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Latest on the U.S. presidential race (all times EDT): 1:46 p.m. Tim Kaine is decrying Donald Trump’s proposed child care plan as outdated, saying it could discourage employers from hiring women. Addressing a forum in Portsmouth, New Hampshire, on Thursday, the Virginia senator said the plan Trump recently unveiled has “kind … Continue reading
Official didn’t publicly report Flint-area disease outbreak
DETROIT (AP) — Michigan’s former state epidemiologist acknowledged in a plea deal Wednesday that she was aware of dozens of cases of Legionnaires’ disease in the Flint area around the same time the city changed its water source, but that she didn’t report it to the general public. Corrine Miller, the former director of disease … Continue reading
Florida Gov. Scott presses for Zika money, blasts Democrats
WASHINGTON (AP) — Florida GOP Gov. Rick Scott came to Washington on Tuesday to press for long-overdue money to fight the Zika virus, making his case for the money with top congressional Republicans like House Speaker Paul Ryan — while blasting away at the Obama administration and Democrats like three-term Florida Sen. Bill Nelson. “In … Continue reading
Clinton tries to blunt fallout from not disclosing pneumonia
WASHINGTON (AP) — When Hillary Clinton was diagnosed with pneumonia late last week, she informed a handful of her closest advisers, but pressed on with a busy campaign schedule and did not inform the public that she was sick. “I just didn’t think it was going to be that big a deal,” she said. Clinton’s … Continue reading
Clinton feels good, says she didn’t pass out during stumble
WHITE PLAINS, N.Y. (AP) — Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton said Monday that she’s feeling better since falling ill at a 9/11 memorial ceremony, but she never lost consciousness and didn’t think her pneumonia diagnosis was significant enough to disclose beforehand. “I just didn’t think it was going to be that big a deal,” she … Continue reading
Biden, Supreme Court nominee on Hill to pressure GOP
WASHINGTON (AP) — Judge Merrick Garland found himself back on Capitol Hill on Thursday in a familiar place — meeting with a Democratic senator who complained about Republicans’ inaction on President Barack Obama’s Supreme Court nominee. Garland’s appearance was part of a campaign-season effort by Democrats to call voters’ attention to issues they want the … Continue reading
Capitol Hill Buzz: Mosquitoes on the House floor
WASHINGTON (AP) — Most people are trying to avoid Florida mosquitoes, blamed for dozens of cases of the Zika virus. But Republican Rep. David Jolly decided to make a point Wednesday by bringing a container of them to the House floor. “The politics of Zika are garbage right now,” the Florida lawmaker said in a … Continue reading
Report sets research priorities for Biden’s cancer moonshot
WASHINGTON (AP) — A new report outlines a scientific roadmap for the White House’s cancer “moonshot” initiative — urging research to harness the power of immune-based therapy, and to better tailor treatment by helping more patients get their tumors genetically profiled. Those are among a list of recommendations issued Wednesday by a panel of cancer … Continue reading
Government survey shows health insurance gains slowing
WASHINGTON (AP) — The nation’s progress in getting more people covered by health insurance slowed significantly this year, the government confirmed Wednesday in a report that tempers a historic achievement of the Obama administration. About 1.3 million fewer people were uninsured the first three months of this year, driving the uninsured rate to a record … Continue reading
Japan’s ex-leader backs sick US sailors who blame radiation
TOKYO (AP) — Several hundred American service personnel who say they became sick from radiation after participating in relief operations for the 2011 tsunami that set off the Fukushima nuclear disaster are now getting high-profile support in Japan. Junichiro Koizumi, prime minister from 2001 to 2006, told reporters Wednesday he has set up a special … Continue reading
GOP faces choices on Zika, shutdown, impeaching IRS chief
WASHINGTON (AP) — Congress’ Republican leaders face decisions on averting a federal shutdown, containing the Zika virus and impeaching the head of the IRS, with approaching elections pressuring the GOP to avoid doing anything that could damage its standing with voters. House Republicans were meeting behind closed doors Wednesday to hash out strategy on those … Continue reading
40 Virginia cases of Hepatitis A now linked to smoothies
RICHMOND, Va. (AP) — Virginia health officials say there are now 40 confirmed cases of Hepatitis A that are connected to frozen strawberries used at Tropical Smoothie Cafe locations across the state, up from 28 cases less than a week ago. The Virginia Department of Health said in a news release Monday that about 55 … Continue reading
Judge rejects disabled man’s petition to vote _ for now
SAN DIEGO (AP) — A California judge ruled that a former NPR producer who had a traumatic brain injury has so far failed to demonstrate he is qualified to vote despite a new state law that makes it easier for people with developmental disabilities to keep and restore the right to cast a ballot. San … Continue reading
Spartan Echo 