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| South Africa's Mandela discharged from hospital: government Wednesday, Dec 26, 2012 06:05 PM PST  JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) - Former South African President Nelson Mandela has been discharged from hospital, ending a nearly three-week stay during which he was treated for a lung infection and had surgery to remove gallstones, the government said on Wednesday. The 94-year-old anti-apartheid leader and Nobel Peace Prize laureate has been moved to his Johannesburg home. He has been in frail health for several years. "He will undergo home-based high care at his ... home until he recovers fully," the government said in a statement issued by the presidency. ... Full Story | Top |
| Shanghai to enact strict new food safety law - Xinhua Wednesday, Dec 26, 2012 05:26 PM PST  SHANGHAI (Reuters) - Shanghai will introduce tough new laws to blacklist firms that flout food safety laws, the official Xinhua news agency reported, a significant move in China's consumer hub to end the food scandals that in recent years have killed children. Under the proposed law, firms caught using banned substances in food, producing food from inedible ingredients, or illegally making, selling or using banned food additives, will be banned from operating in Shanghai, Xinhua reported late on Wednesday quoting city officials. China's food safety record is abysmal. ... Full Story | Top |
| Justice Sotomayor refuses to block contraceptives mandate Wednesday, Dec 26, 2012 05:03 PM PST (Reuters) - U.S. Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor has refused to block enforcement starting next week of a requirement in President Barack Obama's 2010 healthcare overhaul that some companies provide insurance coverage for contraceptive drugs and devices. In an order issued on Wednesday, Sotomayor said two for-profit companies controlled by Oklahoma City billionaire David Green and his family did not qualify for an injunction while they challenge the requirement in court. ... Full Story | Top |
| Ex-U.S. President George H.W. Bush in intensive care Wednesday, Dec 26, 2012 04:46 PM PST  AUSTIN, Texas (Reuters) - Former President George H.W. Bush is in the intensive care unit of a Houston hospital and is in "guarded condition," family spokesman Jim McGrath said Wednesday. "The president is alert and conversing with medical staff, and is surrounded by family," McGrath said in a statement. "Following a series of setbacks including a persistent fever, President Bush was admitted to the intensive care unit at Methodist Hospital on Sunday where he remains in guarded condition," McGrath said. ... Full Story | Top |
| Washington stirs for "fiscal cliff" talks as Obama heads home Wednesday, Dec 26, 2012 04:30 PM PST  WASHINGTON/HONOLULU (Reuters) - Efforts to prevent the U.S. economy from going over a "fiscal cliff" stirred back to life on Wednesday with less than a week to go before potentially disastrous tax hikes and spending cuts kick in at the New Year. In a sign that there may be a way through deadlock in Congress, Republican House of Representatives Speaker John Boehner urged the Democrat-controlled Senate to act to pull back from the cliff and offered to at least consider any bill the upper chamber produced. ... Full Story | Top |
| Former President George H.W. Bush in intensive care: spokesman Wednesday, Dec 26, 2012 03:52 PM PST AUSTIN, Texas (Reuters) - Former President George H.W. Bush is in the intensive care unit of a Houston hospital and is in "guarded condition," family spokesman Jim McGrath said Wednesday. "The President is alert and conversing with medical staff, and is surrounded by family," McGrath said in a statement. Bush was admitted to the intensive care unit on Sunday, McGrath said. (Reporting By Corrie MacLaggan; Editing by Paul Thomasch) Full Story | Top |
| Meningitis, West Nile occupy U.S. health officials in 2012 Wednesday, Dec 26, 2012 02:38 PM PST  NEW YORK (Reuters) - The year started in the United States with a mild flu season but ended up being marked by deadly outbreaks of fungal meningitis, West Nile virus and Hantavirus. Tainted steroid medication has been cited as the cause of the meningitis outbreak that killed 39 people. Weather contributed to the worst outbreak of West Nile virus since 2003 and an unusual outbreak of Hantavirus in California's Yosemite National Park. Transmitted by infected mice, Hantavirus is a severe, sometimes fatal syndrome that affects the lungs. ... Full Story | Top |
| Nicaragua volcano spews ash cloud, residents evacuated Wednesday, Dec 26, 2012 02:29 PM PST  MANAGUA (Reuters) - Nicaragua's tallest volcano has belched an ash cloud hundreds of meters (feet) into the sky in the latest bout of sporadic activity, prompting the evacuation of nearby residents, the government said on Wednesday. The 5,725-foot (1,745-meter) San Cristobal volcano, which sits around 85 miles north of the capital Managua in the country's northwest, has been active in recent years, and went through a similar episode in September. The latest activity began late on Tuesday. Government spokeswoman Rosario Murillo called on residents who live within a 1. ... Full Story | Top |
| Congress awaits Obama's return for late push on "fiscal cliff" Wednesday, Dec 26, 2012 01:38 PM PST WASHINGTON/HONOLULU (Reuters) - The United States on Wednesday edged closer to the "fiscal cliff" as Congress waited for President Barack Obama to return from vacation in Hawaii and make one final attempt to avoid huge tax hikes and spending cuts in the New Year. In the absence of Obama, there was no sign of either side in Congress making an effort to strike a deal. The corridors of the Capitol building were empty except for an occasional police officer, and members' office doors stayed locked. ... Full Story | Top |
| Some cancer docs say their income tied to treatments Wednesday, Dec 26, 2012 01:16 PM PST NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - A survey of cancer doctors finds that some believe they get paid more when they administer their patients' chemotherapy and other drugs, raising concerns about conflict of interest and the potential for overtreatment. Researchers found that oncologists, surgeons and other cancer specialists who get paid based on the number of services they provide were seven times more likely to say their pay increases when they oversee their patients' chemotherapy treatments, compared to doctors who are paid a flat rate or salary. ... Full Story | Top |
| Web-based info may not increase cancer screening Wednesday, Dec 26, 2012 11:51 AM PST NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Offering women information on colon cancer screening via the web does not get them to take up screening any more effectively than printed materials, according to a new study. "It's disappointing that the web didn't have more effect," said Dr. David Weinberg of Fox Chase Cancer Center in Philadelphia, the report's lead author. Although the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force recommends that adults between ages 50 and 75 get screened regularly for colorectal cancer, about 40 percent of people don't follow those guidelines. ... Full Story | Top |
| Study finds spiritual care still rare at end of life Wednesday, Dec 26, 2012 11:09 AM PST NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Physicians and nurses at four Boston medical centers cited a lack of training to explain why they rarely provide spiritual care for terminally ill cancer patients - although most considered it an important part of treatment at the end of life. "I was quite surprised that it was really just lack of training that dominated the reasons why," senior author Dr. Tracy Balboni, a radiation oncologist at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute in Boston, told Reuters Health. Current U.S. ... Full Story | Top |
| Covidien to acquire CV Ingenuity Wednesday, Dec 26, 2012 05:04 AM PST (Reuters) - Medical device and products maker Covidien Plc on Wednesday said it has a definitive agreement to acquire CV Ingenuity, a privately-held company focusing on treatments for peripheral arterial disease. Financial terms of the deal, expected to close in the first quarter of 2013, were not disclosed. Fremont, California-based CV Ingenuity's core technology is a drug-coated balloon system that is still in the investigational phase. Covidien said it does not expect the CV technology to receive U.S. regulatory approval until fiscal 2017. ... Full Story | Top |
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