Month: October 2013

BOSTON (AP) — Fertility clinics have put a new twist on how to make babies: A "two-mom" approach that lets female same-sex couples share the biological role. One woman's eggs are mixed in a lab dish with donor sperm, then implanted in the other woman, who carries the pregnancy.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – A key panel that was scheduled to debate a U.S. House of Representatives bill to temporarily raise the debt limit and fund federal agencies has postponed its meeting, according to a committee aide. The panel is normally the last step before legislation is sent to the House floor for debate and passage. It was not clear when the panel would reschedule the hearing or why it was postponed. (Reporting By Amanda Becker; Editing by Sandra Maler)

By David Ljunggren OTTAWA (Reuters) – Canada is not doing enough to tackle the social and economic ills facing its large aboriginal population, which is beset by poverty, poor housing and high unemployment, a United Nations official said on Tuesday. In a rare international rebuke to Canada, James Anaya, the U.N. special rapporteur on the rights of indigenous peoples, said Ottawa was taking some measures to address problems that have bedeviled the native population for many decades. …

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Heritage Action For America, an influential conservative group, on Tuesday urged House of Representatives Republicans to vote against their leaders’ latest bill to fund the government and raise U.S. borrowing authority. The private group said that the legislation, which was scheduled to be voted on late on Tuesday, fails to “stop Obamacare’s massive new entitlements from taking root. …

WASHINGTON (AP) — Where seniors live makes a difference not only in how much health care they receive but also the medications they’re prescribed — as some miss out on key treatments while others get risky ones, new research shows.

By Karen Brooks AUSTIN, Texas (Reuters) – A Texas high school student shot himself to death in the courtyard of his public school during the lunch hour on Tuesday, school officials said. The student, whose name and age were not released, died at 12:04 p.m. local time (5:04 p.m. GMT) after shooting himself at Lanier High School in Austin, said Tiffany Young, a spokeswoman for the Austin Independent School District. No other students were harmed, officials said. “We are saddened by this tragic loss,” Young said. “Our thoughts are with the family. …

By Andrew M. Seaman NEW YORK (Reuters Health) – Watching a favorite television show may feel relaxing, but in a new study, the longer 30-somethings spent in front of the TV, the stiffer their arteries – a sign of likely heart disease in the future. “The fact that your arteries aren’t elastic, it predisposes you to develop hypertension in later age and cardiovascular disease,” Isabel Ferreira, senior epidemiologist at Maastricht University in the Netherlands, said. …

By Adam Jourdan SHANGHAI (Reuters) – A crackdown on corruption in China's infant milk formula sector has made sales representatives and hospital doctors fearful of talking to each other, putting a brake on marketing and possibly hitting revenue growth for foreign firms. Chinese media have repeatedly accused foreign milk powder makers, notably France's Danone SA , of paying bribes to medical staff in return for recommending their brands to new and expectant mothers. …

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Republicans in the House of Representatives will try to pass a revised fiscal plan late on Tuesday to lift the federal debt limit and reopen shuttered government agencies, Representative Devin Nunes said. Nunes told reporters after leaving a meeting in House Speaker John Boehner’s office that the Republican plan would not require the formation of a negotiating panel to work on a longer-term budget solution. A proposal being negotiated by Senate leaders would require such a panel to report recommendations by December 15. …