Year: 2013
Canadian PM agrees to pay more heed to native demands
OTTAWA (Reuters) – Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper agreed in a meeting with native leaders on Friday to pay more attention to their demands, trying to mollify an aboriginal protest movement that has threatened to blockade roads and railways across the country. Faced with a seemingly intractable situation that has confronted successive governments, Harper agreed to a high-level dialogue with the natives and to have his office take increased responsibility for their issues, Aboriginal Affairs Minister John Duncan said. …
Key Things to Know About This Flu Season
CDC: Flu Outbreak Could Be Waning
CDC data shows that that flu activity could be waning, but numbers may have been artificially deflated because of the holiday season.
Flu more widespread in US; eases off in some areas
NEW YORK (AP) — Flu is now widespread in all but three states as the nation grapples with an earlier-than-normal season. But there was one bit of good news Friday: The number of hard-hit areas declined.
Judge keeps Planned Parenthood out of Texas program
AUSTIN, Texas (Reuters) – A Texas judge on Friday denied a Planned Parenthood request to be allowed to offer health services to low-income women through a state program. Texas now excludes abortion providers and affiliates from the program and Planned Parenthood has been fighting to become a provider again. State District Judge Stephen Yelenosky, who issued a temporary ruling in favor of Planned Parenthood in November, said on Friday it was unlikely Planned Parenthood would succeed at trial. …
Ore., Calif., require transgender health coverage
SALEM, Ore. (AP) — Regulators in Oregon and California have quietly directed some health insurance companies to stop denying coverage for transgender patients because of their gender identity.
Senior Obama aide DeParle leaving White House: source
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Nancy-Anne DeParle, a top aide to President Barack Obama, is leaving the White House, a source familiar with the matter said on Friday, marking the latest departure of a woman from a senior post in the administration. DeParle, 56, a White House deputy chief of staff, was Obama's point person on his signature healthcare overhaul in 2010. She was also a healthcare adviser to former President Bill Clinton and headed the agency that administers Medicare and Medicaid from 1997-2000. DeParle's departure is for personal reasons after nearly four years at the White House. …
Canada natives block Harper’s office, threaten unrest
OTTAWA (Reuters) – Aboriginal protesters blocked the main entrance to a building where Canada's prime minister was preparing to meet some native leaders on Friday, highlighting a deep divide within the country's First Nations on how to push Ottawa to heed their demands. The noisy blockade, which lasted about an hour, ended just before Prime Minister Stephen Harper and his aides met with about 20 native chiefs, even as other leaders opted to boycott the session. …
Flu season puts businesses and employees in a bind
WASHINGTON (AP) — Nearly half the 70 employees at a Ford dealership in Clarksville, Ind., have been out sick at some point in the past month. It didn't have to be that way, the boss says.
Judge keeps Planned Parenthood out of Texas health program
AUSTIN, Texas (Reuters) – A Texas judge on Friday denied a Planned Parenthood request to be allowed to offer health services to low income women under a state program. Texas decided to enforce a law already on the books that bars funding for abortion providers and affiliates, and Planned Parenthood has been fighting its exclusion. State District Judge Stephen Yelenosky said it was unlikely that Planned Parenthood would succeed at trial, though a trial may still occur. The Women’s Health Program provides family planning services and preventive health care. …
Flu reaches epidemic level in U.S., says CDC
(Reuters) – Influenza has officially reached epidemic proportions in the United States, with 7.3 percent of deaths last week caused by pneumonia and the flu, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said on Friday. The early start and fast spread of flu this season – especially after 2011-2012's very mild outbreak – has overwhelmed doctors' offices and hospitals, forcing some patients to wait through the night to be seen in emergency departments. Nine of the 10 U.S. …