Shots - Health Blog
2:50 pm
Wed March 7, 2012

1 In 3 Americans Is Having A Hard Time Paying Medical Bills

Credit / iStockphoto.com

While politicians and soon, the Supreme Court, are fighting about the fate of the Affordable Care Act, a new government study finds that a growing number of Americans are having difficulty coping with the high cost of health care.

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The Salt
2:35 pm
Wed March 7, 2012

Inhalable Caffeine Maker Gets Warning Letter From FDA

Credit Charles Krupa / AP
A woman holds an AeroShot inhalable caffeine device in Boston.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has sent a warning letter to the maker of a caffeine inhaler that's marketed around college campuses. The agency says it's concerned about misleading claims about the product and its safety.

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The Two-Way
1:31 pm
Wed March 7, 2012

Scientists Say They've 'Cornered' The Elusive 'God Particle'

Credit AP
Fermilab and the Tevatron sit in the Illinois countryside near Chicago.

Scientists from Fermilab say they've basically "cornered" the elusive Higgs boson — that's the particle that some have nicknamed the "God Particle," because it would fill in the final blank of Albert Einstein's theory of the universe.

This is complicated stuff, of course, but essentially the scientists at Fermilab say they found a bump in their data that suggests the existence of the particle. That bump corresponds to the evidence scientists at the Large Hadron Collider have found.

Here's a bit of explanation from the Fermilab press release:

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Around the Nation
1:24 pm
Wed March 7, 2012

'Les Bons Temps Rouler' To The Auction Block

Originally published on Wed March 7, 2012 4:08 pm

In New Orleans, the 2012 Mardi Gras is just a memory. But for those who collect Mardi Gras memorabilia, the celebration lasts all year.

Some of those collectors will be at the Kenner Mardi Gras Museum on Thursday. It's about a half-hour drive from the French Quarter — not a convenient trip for many tourists, and declining attendance is one reason it closed after two decades. Now its collection will be auctioned.

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The Two-Way
1:21 pm
Wed March 7, 2012

Brazil Moves To Ease Soccer Beer Ban, As World Cup Spat With FIFA Grows

Brazil took a step toward relaxing its strict ban on alcohol at soccer stadiums Tuesday, responding to World Cup organizers' concerns. The Federation International de Football Association is pushing for the change so it can make Budweiser the "Official Beer of the FIFA World Cup" when Brazil hosts the event in 2014.

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Middle East
1:18 pm
Wed March 7, 2012

Christians Provide Free Labor On Jewish Settlements

Credit Courtesy of Heather Meyers
Evangelical Christians from the U.S. are living and working at Jewish settlements in the West Bank for weeks at a time. The Christians see Jewish expansion in the area as fulfilling biblical prophecy, though the settlements are a contentious issue between Israelis and Palestinians. Here volunteers harvest grapes.

Originally published on Sun March 11, 2012 7:09 am

It's wet and windy day in Shilo, a Jewish settlement in the central part of the West Bank that has about 10,000 residents.

In addition to the settlers, there are a few extra people staying in Shilo on this day. They are Christian volunteers from the U.S. who have spent the morning pruning the grape vines. Now, with a winter storm beating down on the hills, the volunteers are stomping with their mud-splattered boots and North Face rain gear.

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National Security
1:00 pm
Wed March 7, 2012

Pentagon Defends U.S. Policy Toward Syria

Originally published on Wed March 7, 2012 4:08 pm

Key Senators pressed the head of the Pentagon on why the U.S. is not being more aggressive in trying to help rebels in Syria. But Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta and Joint Chiefs Chairman Martin Dempsey both insisted that Syrian air defenses make the prospect of airstrikes — like those used in Libya — very difficult. They also said the opposition in Syria is too fractured to risk sending in arms, which could end up in the hands of extremists.

Religion
1:00 pm
Wed March 7, 2012

Vatican Orders Cleveland Parishes Reopened

The Vatican is ordering the Diocese of Cleveland to open 13 parishes that had been closed. The decision might bode well for other parishes across the country that are appealing their closures.

The Two-Way
12:50 pm
Wed March 7, 2012

Limbaugh Says Business Is Fine; Maybe 28 Of 18,000 Advertisers Have Left

Credit Ethan Miller / Getty Images
Things are fine, Limbaugh says. (January 2010 file photo.)

Saying that "everything is fine on the business side" and that the number of advertisers who have left his show is akin to "losing a couple of french fries in the container when it's delivered to you at the drive-thru," conservative radio broadcaster Rush Limbaugh today took time to clear up what he says has been "misinformation" about the repercussions from his recent comments about Georgetown University law student Sandra Fluke.

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Shots - Health Blog
12:46 pm
Wed March 7, 2012

Here's Hoping You Never Get A Hotel Bill Like This One

Credit Costs Of Care
There are no standard rates. We can charge whatever we want.

Sit back and enjoy a video that will probably give you a chuckle, then might make you fume.

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