Online Features
Health & Wellness
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Scratching the right itch: Does your pet have seasonal allergies?
(BPT) - Humans may sneeze and sniffle when trees and flowers start to bud in the spring, but many pet owners wouldn’t know if their pet was suffering from treatable allergy symptoms, which are likely to occur at the same time of year. According to the Pet Allergy Worldwide Survey (PAWS) sponsored by Novartis Animal Hea...
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Salty snacks reduce stress
(BPT) - Stress affects everyone and can cause problems at work, home and with health. Researchers have found that stress is a leading cause of illness, affecting as much as 20 percent of the population. Economic factors, such as a recession, have also been shown to significantly increase population-wide stress levels. ...
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Free birth control gives women more choice
(BPT) - Thanks to the Affordable Care Act (ACA) also known as “Obama Care,” an estimated 47 million women are gaining access to all FDA-approved methods of birth control free of charge. This new law provides access to birth control methods that may have been too expensive for many women with private health insurance p...
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What is weighing us down? [Infographic]
Obesity is one of the most challenging health issues in the U.S. One of the primary contributors to obesity and being overweight is calorie imbalance, or when people consume more calories from food and beverages, than they burn through physical activity. This graphic is intended to provide information about where calories are coming from in the American diet and why physical activity has declined. It shows that managing weight is all about balancing calories in with calories out.
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The impact of rare diseases on patients and caregivers in the United States [Infographic]
The first-of-its-kind Rare Disease Impact Report, commissioned by Shire HGT, uncovers the health, psycho-social and economic impact of rare diseases in patient and medical communities. Based on survey responses from a multi-stakeholder sample of more than 1,000 patients, caregivers, physicians, payors and thought leaders, the report shows that the patient journey to diagnosis can take up to seven-plus years in the United States. While on this journey, a patient typically visits up to eight d...
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Rare Disease Impact Report quantifies patient and caregiver challenges on journey to diagnosis and beyond
(BPT) - Getting a diagnosis is just the first of many challenges patients with rare diseases – and their caregivers – face. “We went through a number of specialists until we found a team that finally looked at my daughter, Hannah, as a patient with unique needs,” says Carrie Ostrea of Las Vegas, Nev. “The process was f...
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What is the 'Obamacare' Bronze Plan?
The open enrollment period begins for the new health plans created by the Affordable Care Act (a.k.a. Obamacare) on Oct. 1, yet most Americans couldn’t name one of the new health plans let alone describe all the services they cover. The Bronze Plan is the entry-level option of these new health plans. It is a private ...
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Baby boomers and driving vision - maintaining safety and independence
(BPT) - Baby boomers, those born between 1946 and 1964, are aging differently than any generation in U.S. history. Today, older Americans remain more active later in life, working longer and engaging in hobbies and recreational activities. It is estimated that by 2030, nearly one in five adults will be 65 and older. In...
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A 'not-so-rare' story in the journey of a rare disease diagnosis
(BPT) - In the year 2000, Lisa Wollman, a young, vibrant woman in the prime of her life, was pregnant with her second child, and like many expectant mothers, was experiencing changes in her mood and body. However, she knew something was not quite right. Lisa started experiencing anxiety and insomnia, which had not occ...
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Listen up: For better hearing, work with an audiologist
(BPT) - When it comes to startling health statistics, here are several you may not have heard: 36 million American have a hearing loss, yet only one out of every four people who could benefit from a hearing aid actually wears one, according to the National Institutes of Health’s National Information Center on Deafness a...
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Expecting dinner guests? Tips for managing different diets
(BPT) - With food allergies and gluten intolerance on the rise, it takes more than seating flexibility and a vegetarian option to host a successful dinner party these days. Hosts today need to be able to accommodate a variety of dietary needs, from providing kosher foods to gluten and nut-free items. “For many people, ...
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How to host a healthier happy hour
(BPT) - Going out with co-workers or friends after work is a great way to relax, but when you host a happy hour at home, you have full control over the guest list, atmosphere, music and, most importantly, the menu. Use these simple tips to entertain your friends, and your home may just become the new happy hour hot spot...
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national news
WikiLeaks trial focuses on whether Tweets meet evidence standards

U.S. Army Private First Class Manning enters the courtroom for day four of his court martial at Fort MeadeBy Medina Roshan FORT MEADE, Maryland (Reuters) - The court-martial of the U.S. soldier accused of providing reams of classified documents to WikiLeaks in a case illustrating the challenge of keeping secrets in the digital age must decide whether tweets and Web pages can be admitted as evidence. Lawyers for Private First Class Bradley Manning, 25, who is accused with providing more than 700,000 files to the anti-secrecy website in the biggest breach of classified U.S. data in the nation's history, argued on Tuesday that Twitter postings offered by prosecutors do not meet the court's standards. ...


2013-06-18 14:52:17 -0500
ICRC says opening its Guantanamo files would set dangerous precedent

The flag over a war crimes courtroom in Camp Justice at US Naval Base Guantanamo Bay in CubaBy Jane Sutton GUANTANAMO BAY U.S. NAVAL BASE, Cuba (Reuters) - No court in the world has ever ordered the International Committee of the Red Cross to open its confidential files on prisoner visits and the U.S. Guantanamo war crimes tribunal would set a dangerous precedent if it becomes the first to do so, a lawyer for the humanitarian group said on Tuesday. ...


2013-06-18 15:11:09 -0500
Gravestone of late Mayor Koch had birth date wrong
By Jonathan Allen NEW YORK (Reuters) - Former Mayor Ed Koch was 88 years old when he died in February, despite what his gravestone said. A worker at the Trinity Cemetery in Manhattan noticed last week that the gravestone's inscription shaved 18 years off the mayor's life after a stonecutter transposed two digits in his birth year, a Trinity spokeswoman said on Tuesday. The correct year of 1924 was mistakenly carved as 1942, she said. "It was a simple human mistake," said Tommy Flynn, owner of Flynn Funeral & Cremation Memorial Centers, which worked with Koch to create his funeral monument. ...
2013-06-18 15:19:17 -0500
Stranded teens rescued by helicopter from atop cliff
A pair of California teens were rescued by helicopter from atop an 8,600-foot cliff after they became stranded and were unable to climb down, CNN reports. The California Highway Patrol dispatched a helicopter and a small plane to retrieve them. With winds gusting up to 30 mph and the teenage boys, 16 and 17, perched [...]
2013-06-18 12:51:46 -0500