Health & Safety

A judge's ruling allows nearly all of North Carolina's revised 12-week abortion law to take effect

5:31pm June 30, 2023

by Gary D. Robertson, Associated Press

A federal judge ruled on Friday that nearly all of North Carolina's revised 12-week abortion law scheduled to begin this weekend can take effect, while temporarily blocking one rule that doctors feared could expose them to criminal penalties.

State health secretary talks health disparities in the LGBTQ+ community as Pride month closes

2:35pm June 30, 2023

by April Laissle

North Carolina public health leaders met this week to discuss health disparities in the LGBTQ+ community.

Brian Wallach and Sandra Abrevaya at their home in suburban Chicago.

He was diagnosed with ALS. Then they changed the face of medical advocacy

12:08pm June 30, 2023

After Brian Wallach was diagnosed with ALS, he and his wife Sandra Abrevaya threw themselves into advocating for patients. Everyone up to President Biden took notice.

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A nurse treats a man's skin wounds in a community outreach storefront in the Kensington neighborhood of Philadelphia in May. Xylazine, a powerful animal sedative that's moving through the illicit drug supply in the U.S., is causing gruesome skin wounds and scrambling longstanding methods for treating addiction and reversing overdoses.

Overdose deaths involving street xylazine surged years earlier than reported

8:28am June 30, 2023

by Brian Mann

A new report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention found U.S. deaths involving xylazine, known on the street as Tranq, had already risen 35-fold by 2021.

Hepatitis C can cause severe liver damage and leads to about 15,000 deaths in the U.S. each year.

Health & Safety

Hepatitis C can be cured. So why aren't more people getting treatment?

6:35pm June 29, 2023

by Pien Huang

A new CDC report finds that just a third of those diagnosed with hepatitis C have cleared the virus — a decade after a cure was made available.

Chicago pneumologist talks side effects of wildfire smoke on the lungs

5:34pm June 29, 2023

NPR's Mary Louise Kelly talks with Dr. Kalhan, a pulmonologist at Northwestern Medicine, about the impact of wildfire smoke in Chicago, which claimed the world's worst air quality earlier this week.

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Opioids are not the best way to treat short-term back pain, study finds

5:34pm June 29, 2023

by Will Stone

A carefully conducted study of treatments for short-term back pain finds that opioids aren't the best approach. The results throw into question current guidelines.

A pedestrian walks past bullet holes in the window of a store front on South Street in Philadelphia on June 5, 2022.

Is gun violence an epidemic in the U.S.? Experts and history say it is

2:49pm June 29, 2023

by Destinee Adams

Deaths and injuries from guns in the U.S. have increased for years, mirroring the 1990s - the last time gun violence was considered an epidemic.

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Morning news brief

5:48am June 29, 2023

A Ukrainian general talks about Russia and the counteroffensive. Smoke and heat create unhealthy air in many U.S. areas. Protests in France after police killed a teen during a traffic stop.

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Health & Safety

Heat and smoke can be a health hazard — combined it's worse

5:05am June 29, 2023

Canadian wildfire smoke is causing poor air quality in the U.S. while hot temperatures are spreading in the South.