Health/Science
150,000 uncounted COVID-19 deaths occurred early in the pandemic Dozens of boys are dying in South Africa's traditional circumcision rites Uganda reintroduces rhinos into protected area where they had been extinct Jehovah's Witnesses ease policy on transfusions, allowing one's own blood Records shattered as summer heat hits Southwest in March
New study challenges how humans got to the Americas
Making menstrual leave official: 2 paid days off a month for period pain
RFK Jr. makes food sound like a miracle drug
American Airlines and Google say AI helped reduce contrails that trap heat
What Americans are giving up to afford ACA health insurance
NEW YORK (AP) – Lately, Priscilla Brown has had to choose between properly managing her Type 2 diabetes and affording other necessities, like gas in her car. Some days, she takes half or a third of her prescribed insulin dose – just to stretch it out longer.
Scientists make breakthrough in the study of whale sounds

PORTLAND, Maine (AP) – Researchers on Cape Cod, Massachusetts, recently discovered the oldest known recordings of whale sounds and believe the discovery could help understand how the animals communicate.

Scream your way to happiness? Maybe not, but scream clubs promise relief

With a gut-wrenching wail that rippled from her body, Amber Walcker joined about a dozen screaming people in West Seattle who let their frustrations float away over the Puget Sound. It was just the start. The two group screams that followed, each one longer and more intense, released the pain from Walcker’s recent job loss.

World Happiness Report highlights social media's negative impact

HELSINKI (AP) – Heavy social media use contributes to a stark decline in well-being among young people, with the effects particularly worrying in teenage girls in English-speaking countries and Western Europe, according to the World Happiness Report 2026 published Thursday. The report found that Finland is the happiest land in the world for the ninth year in a row.

Flu vaccines didn't work that well in the US, officials find

NEW YORK (AP) – As the U.S. flu season winds down, health officials say the flu vaccine didn’t work very well, with one of its worst effectiveness rates in more than a decade. A new strain that dominated the early winter was not well matched to the vaccine, leading to an intense early onslaught of flu.

 

Oldest known whale recording could unlock mysteries of the ocean

PORTLAND, Maine (AP) – A haunting whale song discovered on decades-old audio equipment could open up a new understanding of how the huge animals communicate, according to researchers who say it’s the oldest such recording known.

Judge blocks US government from slimming down vaccine recommendations

A federal judge on Monday temporarily blocked federal health officials from cutting the number of vaccines recommended for every child, and said U.S. Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. likely violated federal procedures in revamping a key vaccine advisory committee.

See how mezcal is made in Mexico

SANTA MARIA ZOQUITLAN, Mexico (AP) – Mexico’s agave spirit mezcal is still produced much as it has been for generations. The work is slow and physical, guided by knowledge passed down within Indigenous families.

From rockets to cancer research, here's how pi is embedded in our lives

LOS ANGELES (AP) – Math nerds and dessert enthusiasts unite to celebrate Pi Day every March 14, the date that represents the first three digits of the mathematical constant pi. Representing the ratio of a circle’s circumference to its diameter, pi is approximately equal to 3.14159 – but its digits go on forever.

Stair climbers love their exercise, which draws attention of security guards

NEW YORK (AP) – Tom McGee began climbing stairs for exercise 20 years ago as part of an effort to stay off cigarettes. It hasn’t always been easy: His climbs in hotel stairwells sometimes draw the attention of security guards.

White House chief of staff Susie Wiles has breast cancer but will keep working
After attacks on Iran's oil facilities, toxic black rain endangers the public
Raucous bird tornado as snow geese make annual flight to Arctic