Month: October 2013

PARIS (Reuters) – French parliamentarians voted for a new tax on energy drinks containing caffeine and the amino acid taurine on Thursday, a second attempt to impose a charge on the products after the first was overturned in court. Dubbed the Red Bull amendment in local media after the world’s most popular energy drink, members of parliament voted to approve a tax of one euro per liter from next year on drinks that contain at least 0.22 grams of caffeine per liter, or 0.3 grams of taurine. …

SYDNEY (Reuters) – A plane dousing wildfires in bushland south of Australia's biggest city, Sydney, crashed into a national park on Thursday, killing the pilot and sparking a new fire to add to 55 still burning across the state of New South Wales. The accident happened as more dry, windy conditions caused a flare-up in huge fires burning for a week in mountains to the west of Sydney, closing roads and entering a valley running down towards the metropolitan area. "It's hard to definitely say that (the worst is over) at this stage," said Rural Fire Service spokeswoman Natalie Sanders. …

Getting a flu shot won't only help you ward off a case of the flu — it may also reduce your risk of heart attack, a new study finds.

The CDC looked back at the fungal outbreak. Here’s what they learned this year.