Year: 2014

By Bill Cotterrell TALLAHASSEE, Florida (Reuters) – Parents of children suffering from severe epilepsy and other illnesses got a sympathetic reaction on Thursday from Florida lawmakers considering the legalization of a new marijuana strain that shows promising results for controlling seizures. "We don't have time to wait," said Paige Figi, the mother of a 7-year-old girl for whom the strain "Charlotte's Web" is named. Figi, of Colorado Springs, Colorado, told lawmakers during a three-hour committee hearing that her daughter could not leave Colorado, where "Charlotte's Web" is legal, because of her dependence on the specialized strain, which does not get users high. Figi's appearance came as organizers in Florida work to put a proposed constitutional amendment to allow medical use of marijuana on state ballots during the November congressional election, the latest effort in a national campaign to reform laws banning the drug.

COMMENTARY | One month ago,13-year-old Jahi McMath went to the hospital for a routine tonsillectomy. Today, she is declared brain dead and connected to breathing and feeding tubes just to survive. Anyone who has been following Jahi’s case must feel for her family and the nightmare they are living. Whatever complications that occurred during her surgery have now forced Jahi’s family to make choices that no parent should have to make.

By Victoria Cavaliere TRENTON, New Jersey (Reuters) – New Jersey Governor Chris Christie on Thursday fired a top aide who apparently helped orchestrate massive traffic jams at a busy commuter bridge to settle a score, saying he had been blindsided in the scandal that threatened to tarnish his political image. As Christie apologized publicly for the abrupt lane closings seemingly ordered by some of his staff, and which he said he did not know about beforehand, the office of the U.S. Attorney in New Jersey said it was launching an investigation. Revelations that his staff may have had a hand in plotting the four-day lane closures at the George Washington Bridge in September, causing hours-long jams that stalled commuters, school buses and ambulances, come as Christie has emerged as a powerful figure in the Republican Party and a possible presidential contender. The controversy erupted with the release on Wednesday of emails showing Christie’s aide and allies appearing to plan lane closings in what critics said was a bid to punish the Democratic mayor of Fort Lee, at the New Jersey end of the bridge, because he had declined to endorse Christie’s re-election effort.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Some of the nation's largest food companies have cut daily calorie counts by an average of 78 per person, a new study says, more than four times the amount the industry pledged to slash by next year.

Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke on Thursday offered an optimistic view on the U.S. economy's prospects to Democratic senators, but warned that "tough decisions" were ahead on dealing with long-term budget deficits and healthcare costs, according to lawmakers present. Bernanke, whose term as chairman ends on January 31, told a private lunchtime meeting with senators that the reduction in federal budget deficits and the country's improving energy position were "all positives" contributing to a healthier U.S. economy, according to Senator Thomas Carper of Delaware. Carper added that Bernanke said that "the next several years are more encouraging, but we can't forget those long-term challenges and they involve among other things programs that are concerned with healthcare." An aging U.S. population will put increasing pressure on the federal government as it struggles to provide retirement and healthcare benefits to the elderly, poor and disabled.

By Andrew M. Seaman NEW YORK (Reuters Health) – A new U.S. study adds to growing evidence that nuts – once considered too fattening to be healthy – may in fact help keep weight down, in addition to offering other health benefits. Researchers found that study participants who ate the most tree nuts – such as almonds, Brazil nuts, pistachios and walnuts – were between 37 and 46 percent less likely to be obese than those who ate the fewest tree nuts. People who ate the most nuts were also less likely to have a suite of risk factors known as metabolic syndrome, which is tied to increased risk of heart disease and diabetes. “This is another study that shows there is an association between eating nuts and not being obese and having less tendency to have metabolic syndrome,” Dr. Joan Sabaté told Reuters Health.

(Reuters) – Frigid temperatures across a large swath of the United States this week followed by warmer conditions could aid the spread of a fatal pig disease now in 22 states, affecting hundreds of thousands of pigs, a swine veterinarian said on Thursday. “The virus likes cold, wet and cloudy days,” said Rodney Baker, a swine veterinarian at Iowa State University at Ames, Iowa, the top pork producing state in the United States. Porcine Epidemic Diarrhea virus (PEDv), which causes diarrhea, vomiting and severe dehydration in hogs, has spread quickly across the U.S. hog belt since its discovery in the United States in April 2013. California and Wyoming are the latest states to report confirmed cases of the deadly pig virus, bringing the number of states affected to 22, the U.S. Department of Agriculture said on Thursday.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Doctors are warning that if Congress cuts food stamps, the federal government could be socked with bigger health bills. Maybe not immediately, they say, but over time if the poor wind up in doctors' offices or hospitals as a result.

By Angela Moon NEW YORK (Reuters) – U.S. stocks ended little changed on Thursday in a choppy session ahead of Friday's payrolls report, which may provide insights into whether the Federal Reserve will announce another cut in quantitative easing at its meeting this month. The S&P retail sector index slipped 0.2 percent after a number of retailers, including Bed Bath & Beyond and Family Dollar , slashed their earnings forecasts. The S&P telecom services sector index fell 1.9 percent, pulled lower by AT&T and Verizon Communications, which were the top decliners in the Dow Jones industrial average.