Free Republic

NEW YORK - Having a big belly in your 40s can boost your risk of getting Alzheimer's disease or other dementia decades later, a new study suggests. It's not just about your weight. While previous research has found evidence that obesity in middle age raises the chances of developing dementia later, the new work found a separate risk from storing a lot of fat in the abdomen. Even people who weren't overweight were susceptible. That abdominal fat, sometimes described as making people apple-shaped rather than pear-shaped, has already been linked to higher risk of developing diabetes, stroke and heart disease....

BATON ROUGE, La. -- Louisiana's hurricane reconstruction efforts are hampered by waits for new federal elevation standards for home building and could face further hindrances by the White House's refusal to back a key home buyout bill in Congress, Gov. Kathleen Blanco said Tuesday. The Federal Emergency Management Agency is developing a new set of recommended standards for rebuilding in hurricane- and flood-prone areas that likely will suggest damaged homes be rebuilt at higher elevations and with further protections against future flooding. The ability to keep or afford homeowners insurance may be linked to compliance with those elevation standards, which...