Overdose deaths jump in past 5 years and other top stories.

• Overdose deaths jump in past 5 years

  

  CONCORD, N.H. – Drug overdose deaths have increased by 33 percent in the past five years across the country, with some states seeing jumps of nearly 200 percent.According to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 30 states saw increases in overdose deaths resulting from the abuse of heroin and prescription painkillers, a class of drugs known as opioids. New Hampshire saw a 191 percent increase while North Dakota, Massachusetts, Connecticut and Maine had death rates jump by ov..

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• South Korea, Japan step up poultry cull to contain bird flu

  

  SEOUL South Korea and Japan have ordered fresh culls of poultry stocks to contain outbreaks of avian flu, authorities in the two countries said.The South Korean Agriculture Ministry said on Monday it had ordered the cull of an additional 2.4 million birds, taking the total number to a record 18.4 million since the first outbreak of avian flu was reported at a farm on Nov. 18.It has called the outbreak of the highly pathogenic H5N6 strain of bird flu more severe than the H5N8 strain that spread..

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• Deadline for ACA Health Insurance extended till December 19 citing heavy rush

  

  Dec 19, 2016 01:55 AM EST This October 25, 2016 photo shows a woman looking at the Healthcare.gov internet site in Washington, DC. Americans will see Obamacare health insurance costs jump an average of 25 percent next year, adding fuel to the US political firestorm over the system that Republicans have repeatedly tried to overturn. The big increase will be seen in the 38 states with federally-managed health care exchanges, according to a report released late October 24, 2016 by the Departmen..

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• West Virginia: How the Bluest State Became the Reddest

  

  CHARLESTON, W.V. — The American political landscape has changed a lot over the past 25 years but there is no more dramatic shift than the one that has pushed this state from deep blue to ruby red. In the 1992 presidential election, Democrat Bill Clinton won West Virginia by a solid 13 percentage points. In November, Republican President-elect Donald Trump captured the state in a walk — winning it by more than 40 percentage points. The forces behind that turnaround are complex. The decline ..

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• 33 dead in Siberia after drinking bath essence

  

  Moscow (AFP) - Thirty-three people have died in Siberia after drinking bath essence containing methanol, a toxic substance used in anti-freeze, Russian authorities said Monday.The Investigative Committee has launched a probe into the deaths caused by drinking a liquid labelled as hawthorn-scented bath essence, and has detained two people.Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev ordered his cabinet to "sort out" the counterfeit alcohol issue, calling the widespread sale of such liquids through vending mach..

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• The Latest: Senator: Exploding e-cigs need federal look

  

  FILE - In this Nov. 29, 2016, file photo, Sen. Charles Schumer, D-N.Y., speaks to the media on Capitol Hill in Washington. Schumer is increasing the heat on the federal government to consider recalling e-cigarette batteries and devices that explode and catch fire, injuring users. The New York Democrat calls e-cigarettes “ticking time bombs.” (Molly Riley, File/Associated Press) By Associated Press December 18 at 2:03 PM NEW YORK — The Latest on Sen. Charles Schumer saying the federal gov..

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• Salmonella in a food powder plant adds up to 13 recalls (so far) of popular products

  

  When Publix recalled some of its pancake and waffle mix varieties over salmonella concerns from a powder supplier earlier this month, the Miami Herald warned it could be the first of many such recalls.As of Sunday morning, that recall count stands at 13.Pancake and waffle mix. Mac and cheese. Potato chips. Monkey bread mix. All among the 1.2 national food recalls per day since Dec. 7 because of possible salmonella contamination at food powder supplier Valley Milk Products.Salmonella’s annually ..

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• Dr. Heimlich, The Man Behind The Life-Saving Maneuver, Dies

  

  Dr. Henry Heimlich has died in Ohio at age 96. He's seen here in 2014, holding a copy of his memoir at his home in Cincinnati. Al Behrman/AP. He's credited with saving thousands of people from choking to death, thanks to the method he popularized in 1974.

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