Month: December 2013

By Sharon Bernstein SACRAMENTO, California (Reuters) – Public health officials in California said on Thursday they had sought permission from the federal government to use a vaccine not approved for use in the United States against an outbreak of meningococcal disease among students in a public university. The outbreak, which resulted in a student at the University of California, Santa Barbara, having his feet amputated, is similar to one that has stricken eight students at Princeton University in New Jersey, where students began receiving the European and Australian vaccine this week.

We've all known people who touted the merits of their best (perceived) traits without realizing that they carried them to such extremes that people found them off putting.

(Reuters) – The modest U.S. budget deal approved in the U.S. House of Representatives Thursday gives both Democrats and Republicans something to brag about. Democrats can say they found relief from forced spending cuts on education and other domestic spending programs, while avoiding major changes to Medicare and Social Security benefits for the elderly. But airline travelers, newly hired federal employees and some military retirees would lose out in the agreement to be presented to Congress for approval in the next two weeks. Here are the major components of the tentative agreement negotiated by Republican Representative Paul Ryan and Democratic Senator Patty Murray: AUTOMATIC “SEQUESTER” SPENDING CUTS It blunts the effect of the already enacted across-the-board cuts by allowing spending on federal agencies and discretionary programs to rise by $63 billion over scheduled levels – $45 billion in fiscal 2014, which began on October 1, and $18 billion in fiscal 2015.

By Kay Henderson DES MOINES, Iowa (Reuters) – Iowa has reached a tentative agreement with federal officials on a plan to expand the number of low-income state residents eligible for Medicaid under President Barack Obama's healthcare reform law, Iowa's governor said on Thursday. The two sides have been negotiating for months over the details of the "Iowa Health and Wellness Plan," which will eventually offer coverage to more than 150,000 residents. "This is an Iowa plan that fits the health needs of our state," Republican Governor Terry Branstad said in a statement.