Laws criminalizing consensual gay sex have been scrapped in about 25 countries in the last 20 years, but more than 70 nations still have such prohibitions, a U.N. expert said Friday in a first-of-its-kind report at the General Assembly. …
The Trump administration Friday proposed new health insurance regulations that could affect basic benefits required by the Affordable Care Act, but not for a couple of years. Loosening “Obamacare” benefit requirements was a major sticking point for congressional Republicans in …
A major health care system serving the upper Midwest said this week that the number of opioid pills it prescribes has fallen by almost a quarter as it works to respond to America’s opioid epidemic. South Dakota-headquartered Sanford Health started …
Since the 2016 U.S. presidential election nearly a year ago, there has been increasing scrutiny of how Russian-backed operatives used accounts on Facebook, Google and Twitter to try to influence its outcome. Executives from those companies appear before at least …
U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions on Friday welcomed President Donald Trump’s declaration of the opioid epidemic as a public health emergency, saying he agreed with Trump that the war on addiction was “winnable.” Trump on Thursday directed the U.S. Department …
The U.S. economy expanded at a three percent annual pace in July, August and September, about the same pace as the prior quarter. Friday’s Commerce Department data surprised economists, who thought damage from two hurricanes would cut growth to a …
In 2015, 92 million Americans used prescription opioids to alleviate or manage pain, with 11.5 million reporting they misused them. Now more than ever, patients are seeking alternative treatments to avoid using potentially addictive pain pills. VOA’s Elizabeth Cherneff introduces …
Paul Coles’ journey to becoming one of the 2.5 million Americans addicted to prescription opioids began with painkillers prescribed for injuries suffered during an IED attack in Iraq. The physical scars healed, but emotionally Coles suffered. He had Post Traumatic …
American drug courts are taking a public health approach to help those addicted to prescription opioids and heroin. The goal is long-term recovery and allowing people to have their felony drug charges erased from their records if they complete the …
More than 10,000 mainly Syrian refugees who escaped fighting in their country are living on five Greek islands. About 2,500 of them are crowded into camps on the island of Samos, even though there is only room for about 800. …
Automakers from around the world take the stage this weekend at the 45th annual Tokyo Motor Show. Designers will showcase electronic cars with advanced artificial intelligence and at least one concept car with safety features for the world around it. …
Facebook, Google and Twitter are heading to Washington to answer questions about how their services were used by Russia-based operatives to influence the 2016 U.S. presidential election. In Silicon Valley, there’s concern that the scrutiny may bring new regulations, as …
President Trump says he is “very close” to picking a person for the most important economic post in the country: the head of the US Federal Reserve. Current Chair Janet Yellen, whose term expires early next year, is one of …
U.S. public health advocates welcomed President Donald Trump’s decision to declare the U.S. opioid epidemic a national public health emergency, but say the crisis needs additional funds to be addressed. The 90-day order enables states to use federal emergency funds …
Police in Hawaii will ticket people who get caught looking at digital devices while crossing a street in the state capital, Honolulu. The law, passed in July, came into effect this week, making Honolulu the first major city in the …
The United States has announced changes to its nonimmigrant work visa policies that are expected to make renewals more difficult. In the past, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services would generally approve the renewals unless the visa holder had committed a …
President Donald Trump says he is “very close” to picking a person for the most important economic post in the United States, the head of the Federal Reserve. Current Chair Janet Yellen’s term expires early next year and she is …
More than four decades after selling 1,000 Volvos to North Korea, Sweden is still trying to get paid for the cars. The vehicles were part of a $131 million trade package delivered to North Korea in 1974, during a period …
When kids go back to school, they usually talk about what they did during their summer vacation. The 15 and 16-year-olds who joined Summer RISE in Montgomery County, Maryland, have some unique stories about work in fire departments, non-profits, private …
The U.S. House of Representatives Thursday approved a $4 trillion fiscal 2018 budget blueprint, a major step forward toward the introduction of a Republican tax cut bill. The measure narrowly passed (216-212) despite last-minute resistance from the ranks of Republicans. …
Twitter is reporting a loss of $21.1 million in its third quarter, but turned in a better-than-expected profit when one-time charges and benefits are removed. Shares of Twitter Inc. soared almost 9 percent before the opening bell Thursday. …
Twitter is enacting new policies around hate, abuse and ads, but creating new rules is only half the battle – the easy half. The bigger problem is enforcement, and there the company has had some high-profile bungles recently. That includes …
What looks like clean drinking water can contain harmful chemicals, like lead, and there is no easy, reliable way to detect it. So, a young scientist invented one, in the process, winning the 2017 Discovery Education 3M Young Scientist Challenge. …
The extent to which organ transplants can allow recipients to not only survive but thrive was on display this week at a medical conference in the U.S. A former opera singer who received a double lung transplant five years ago …