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CHICAGO (AP) — Our food was a little less safe, our workplaces a little more dangerous. The risk of getting sick was a bit higher, our kids' homework tougher to complete. The federal government shutdown may have seemed like a frustrating squabble in far-off Washington, but it crept into our lives in small, subtle ways — from missed vegetable inspections to inaccessible federal websites. The "feds" always are there in the background, setting the standards by which we live, providing funds to research cures for our kids' illnesses, watching over our food supply and work environment.

FBI Washington field office just confirmed gunman was NOT armed with AR15. Spokesperson says 1 shotgun and 2 pistols recovered— Pamela Brown (@PamelaBrownCNN) September 17, 2013

IF YOU’RE A FAN OF THE LONG-RUNNING “Glee” or have been swept into the new “Orange istheNew Black” serieson Netflix,you arelikely becoming more intimate with the complex issues and emotions transgender people face.... Coming out Transgender,” penned by Kristin Beck, who transitioned from Chris Beck after earning a Purple Heart and Bronze Star during a 20- year stint as a SEAL that included seven combat deployments... In Southwest Florida, many who are coming out are seeking Laura Streyffeler, PhD., a Fort Myers licensed mental health counselor and trauma and domestic and sexual violence expert. She has been practicing for 25...

The industry of medical tourism is growing quickly all around the world in response to the ever-climbing price of US healthcare bills. Outraged patients have been warming to the idea of overseas provision of surgery and treatment over the past seven years, says the Medical Tourism Association; an operation that works towards helping Americans find suitable healthcare in other countries. Europe is emerging as a key player in the medical tourism industry based on its competitive prices and well-respected medical reputation. Prices there are kept down by strict government regulation that stipulates a national maximum on specific operational cost, full...

Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius rebuffed an appeal from Rep. Lou Barletta on behalf of a girl who needs a lung transplant but can’t get one because of a federal regulation that prevents her from qualifying for a transplant. “Please, suspend the rules until we look at this policy,” Barletta, a Pennsylvania Republican, asked Sebelius during a House hearing Tuesday on behalf of Sarah Murnaghan, a 10-year-old girl who needs a lung transplant. She can’t qualify for an adult lung transplant until the age of 12, according to federal regulations, but Sebelius has the authority to waive that...

Advances in cancer treatment are saving lives and cutting health-care costs. But because many health-insurance plans haven’t caught up with the times, nearly half of all cancer patients are forced to choose between the treatment that could save their lives — or one that’s paid for. John Rykert had been battling advanced basal-cell carcinoma for two decades by cutting out the tumors as they appeared. In 2009, after 20 surgeries lasting 10 hours each, Rykert’s doctor said that the cancer had spread so far that the only option left would be to carve out half his face. But then Rykert...

Full title - "'You deserve to rot in hell for what you have done to me': Daughter's twitter outburst about mom who has resurfaced after being missing for ELEVEN years" The teenage daughter of a woman who secretly left her family 11 years ago says she's angry and doesn't want to have a relationship with her. Morgan Heist said Thursday that she's still trying to sort out why Brenda Heist would have decided to abandon her and her brother in Pennsylvania in 2002 and hitchhike with strangers to Florida. Morgan Heist is now a 19-year-old freshman at a community college...

Israeli tourists visiting a shrine in Bangkok were shocked when a child, dressed in an orange Buddhist monk's robe, approached them and began speaking in perfect Hebrew. The 12-year-old Israeli boy has been staying in a monastery in northern Thailand, and has no idea until when he will remain there. When asked whether he wanted to be taken back home, he answered: "I told everyone already, it's fine, I'm used to it." The story was revealed on Tuesday by Israel's Channel 2 TV, which aired the tourists' conversation with the child. According to an inquiry by the Foreign Ministry, the...

A transgender high school student who applied to prestigious, private, all-female Smith College has been rejected because the school only accepts women. Smith returned Calliope Wong’s application — and application fee — earlier this month, reports The Advocate. “As you may remember from our previous correspondence, Smith is a women’s college, which means that undergraduate applicants to Smith must be female at the time of admission,” admissions dean Debra Shaver wrote in a letter to Wong, The Advocate says. Wong has identified as female for several years, according to the Keystone Student Voice. However, on the FAFSA (Free Application for...

FReeper Rogle, former New Mexico State Representative Rory Ogle, will be removed from life support this morning. He is not expected to live.

FReeper Rogle (New Mexico) needs prayers

Abstract: Recently, many jurisdictions have implemented bans or imposed taxes upon plastic grocery bags on environmental grounds. San Francisco County was the first major US jurisdiction to enact such a regulation, implementing a ban in 2007. There is evidence, however, that reusable grocery bags, a common substitute for plastic bags, contain potentially harmful bacteria. We examine emergency room admissions related to these bacteria in the wake of the San Francisco ban. We find that ER visits spiked when the ban went into effect. Relative to other counties, ER admissions increase by at least one fourth, and deaths exhibit a similar...

New York’s new gun law requires that mental health professionals report any person they consider “likely to engage in conduct that would result in serious harm to self or others.” If they don’t report this concern, and if something happens involving this person such as a shooting, the mental health professional could face charges for not reporting the person’s behavior to law enforcement. Obviously, this will lead to over-reporting, which is fine by state officials, because that means that’s more people they get to bar from ever owning a gun. The other effect however is that gun-owners will be refusing...

LATEST UPDATE: 12/31/12 4:54PM EST -- DATELINE NEW YORK -- A rep for hospitalized Secretary of State HILLARY CLINTON confirms the blood clot is lodged near her brain confirming The NATIONAL ENQUIRER's special reports on her condition. Doctors said the clot is located in the vein in the space between the brain and the skull behind the right ear.

My mom went in for a check-up and she's not doing well. She is 80 and a two-time cancer survivor. Please pray for her, my family, my sister & her family. Thank you.

John Patrick on an Unnoticed Transformation of the Cause of Disease If you want to elicit a startled response from a group of physicians, try asking the following questions: "Those of you with more than thirty years of medical practice, think back to the beginning of your practice. What proportion of your patients came to you because of what might be described as an act of God or nature, such as an ordinary bacterial infection? What proportion came to you with a disease for which they were responsible?" The usual answers will be that 70 percent of all patients came...

New 'Heartland' Virus Discovered In Sick Missouri Farmers Aug 29, 2012 5:00 PM ET Rachael Rettner, MyHealthNewsDaily Staff WriterTwo men in Missouri who became severely ill after sustaining tick bites were found to be infected with a new type of virus, according to a study from the Centers of Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Both men were admitted to hospitals after experiencing high fevers, fatigue, diarrhea and loss of appetite. They were originally thought to be suffering from a bacterial infection, but doubts arose when they didn't improve after being treated with antibiotics. Further tests revealed their blood contained a...

The federal government Friday called for all baby boomers to be tested for hepatitis C, which kills more Americans each year than AIDS and is the leading reason for liver transplants. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention made the recommendation to find hundreds of thousands of people who don't realize that they have the infection, which greatly increases their chances of developing cirrhosis and liver cancer. The hepatitis C virus is transmitted by blood, usually through intravenous drug use or transfusions. A blood test for it became widely available in 1992. Extremely small amounts of the virus are able...

Former Democratic presidential candidate George McGovern was being treated at a hospital in South Dakota after falling and hitting his head on the pavement outside a library bearing his name.

Please pray for my wife as she struggles to recover from all the medical issues she's suffered with this month. She needs the strength that only the Lord can provide.