National News

Sleep deprivation may make for funny sight gags on sitcoms (think baggy eyes, messy hair, zombie kitchen coffee marches), but in the real world, it's no laughing matter. Just ask any of the three-dozen passengers aboard the Chicago Transit Authority subway train that crashed into an escalator at O'Hare International Airport last month. The train's operator had nodded off in the control booth, investigators from the National Transport Safety Board found last week. As a result, she lost control of the eight cars she was in charge of, causing the train to plow through a barrier and hop up a station platform before coming to a final stop atop the escalator. It took cleanup crews nearly four days to remove the train from the scene, and damage is estimated at $6 million. The most troubling a...

The quest for affordable dental care leads many to search outside the United States for a better price on some procedures. And lately, more and more Americans are heading south to find a great dental deal. Mexico is seeing a resurgence of patients lately. Many Americans had been shying away from our southern neighbor due to an escalation in drug-related violence. As the violence declines, the number of bargain-seeking dental patients is once again on the rise. The American public has long bemoaned the high cost of dental care in this country. And the passage of the Affordable Care Act and its notable lack of dental coverage has only added fuel to the fire. If a better deal is to be had within driving distance of home, patients are likely to take advantage of it. But there's more on th...

If you mentioned how this past winter was particularly dark, exceptionally gloomy and incredibly snowy, no one in America would argue. Even the folks in the most tropical of paradises -- namely, Florida and California -- saw snow and brisker temperatures, which means no one was truly safe from the wrath of the winter. But now, spring is officially here, and so far, that's meant good news for the real estate, retail and automotive industries. According to the latest reports from the Institute for Supply Management (ISM), there's plenty to celebrate in the manufacturing industry as well. Earlier this week, the ISM released its newest numbers for the month of March, which found manufacturing growth in the United States was up to 53.7%, up slightly from its 53.2% February number. This expa...

On December 3, three-year-old Finley Puleo Boyle of Hawaii had a heart attack while visiting the dentist fell into a coma, and died a month later. As the toddler had no underlying problems with her heart, the medical examiner ruled that the sedatives she received before her root canals and cavity fillings were what most likely killed her, causing her heart attack. "Immediately following the lidocaine injection, the decedent became unresponsive and went into cardiopulmonary arrest," wrote Dr. Christopher Happy, the Chief Medical Examiner. According to Dr. Happy, Boyle received five different drugs prior to her dental procedures, which included laughing gas, a local anesthetic, amongst a few others. However, dental sedation has caused the death of at least 31 children over the past...

Bill Truax, a retired Fort Meyers dentist, is on a mission to educate the medical community and the public about the growing need for quality dental care among the uninsured. Truax and 40 other Fort Meyers-area dentists and staffers are seeking to publicize the Florida Mission of Mercy event at the Florida State Fairgrounds on March 28th and 29th. The event provides dental care to uninsured patients. Organizers expect to reach almost 2,000 patients. Patients attending the event can receive tooth extractions, root canals, and denture work. Also available is more routine dental care, such as cleanings, exams, and even fillings. Patients can receive tooth-colored fillings or the more traditional amalgam (metal) fillings, all at no cost whatsoever to the patients. Last month a report wa...

Hair growth and hair replacement supplements do not work, Medical Daily reported Thursday. According to publication, at least one-third of women suffer with hair loss and/or thinning hair. Women often struggle with the condition -- called androgenetic alopecia or female patterned baldness -- in secret and in silence; most are ashamed and unwilling to openly discuss it. "It can often lead to lowered self-esteem and depression," Medical Daily adds.  Many medical and pharmaceutical companies continue to respond by putting out supplements, vitamins, and natural products promising to regrow hair. The products, Medical Daily continues, are a sham. "There are no specific vitamins that grow hair,” Dr. Zoe Diana Draelos, dermatology professor at Duke University, told The New York Times. That does ...

"But first, let me take a selfie," go the lyrics in the runaway hit song, #SELFIE, by the Chainsmokers. Selfies have been making the rounds in social media for quite some time -- celebrities and so-called normal people alike have been taking selfies of themselves doing everything from hanging out in pajamas, to getting arrested. According to a new study, though, the selfie might be having a greater impact on Americans than just clogging our Facebook feeds. One interesting and unexpected result of the "selfie craze" is that cases of head lice are on the rise. Why? Among young people, it's popular to pull in a friend for the selfie photograph. Hair in close contact means that any critters along for the ride are getting a free highway system from head to head. Another, more serious impact of...

American workers are increasingly confident about retirement prospects, the 2014 Retirement Confidence Survey reveals. The Employee Benefits Research Institute released the results of the survey earlier this week on March 18. Experts warn that Americans should not necessarily take heart from the results. Retirees' confidence and positive outlook may, in fact, be unfounded. "This increased level of confidence does not appear to be founded on improved retirement preparations. In the aggregate, worker savings remain low, and only a minority appear to be taking basic steps to prepare for retirement," the report explained. USA Today adds that 36% of Americans saved less than $1,000 for retirement and 60% admitted they had less than $25,000 set aside for retirement, also according to a recent E...

Moore, Oklahoma has been ravaged by EF5 tornadoes that leveled the entire community not once, but twice. Many residents still remember the devastation of a May 3, 1999 tornado, and the city is still trying to recover from one that touched down on May 20 of last year. In an attempt to limit the damage caused by tornadoes, Moore City Council members unanimously approved new, strict residential building codes that will make homes better able to withstand the treacherous weather. The 14 changes approved by the council make it the first city in the United States to take such action, so it is an historic move. The list of changes will include hurricane clips or framing anchors, continuous plywood bracing, wind-resistant garage doors, and fortifications that will allow homes to withstand winds o...

WaterAid Nepal launched two reports on Tuesday that found that the lack of handicap accessible sanitation infrastructure in public places has deprived differently-abled persons of their right to proper sanitation and water. According to the reports, people with disabilities don't enjoy the same right to water and sanitation as other because of the inaccessibility of taps and toilets in private homes, housing colonies, and public places like governmental offices, schools, malls, amongst others. Of the 61 public toilets in the Kathmandu Valley, not a single one is handicap accessible. The reason why the issue is so problematic is because most of the people with disabilities live in rural areas, where the access to proper sanitation is even worse due to remoteness, lack of safe water, and...