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Miss Spain's Angela Ponce is blazing a trail as the first transgender contestant in Miss Universe's 66-year history. Carrying a bold message of inclusion, transgender rights and a sharp rebuke to US President Donald Trump, Miss Spain's Angela Ponce is blazing a trail as the first transgender contestant in Miss Universe's 66-year history. The willowy beauty is making history since the pageant reversed a longstanding policy in 2012 that participants must be "naturally born" women. Explaining her broad appeal the plain-speaking 27-year-old says "who hasn't suffered from prejudice? Who hasn't had to deal with bullying?" Outside the walls of Miss...

Vietnamese President Tran Dai Quang, one of three top leaders in the Southeast Asian country, has died at age 61, according to state media, which says he suffered from a "serious illness." Quang was sworn in as president in 2016 and served in the largely ceremonial post alongside Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc and secretary-general of the Vietnamese Communist Party, Nguyen Phu Trong, who experts believe wields the bulk of the power in the country's leadership triumvirate. Quang died in a military hospital in Hanoi from a "serious illness despite efforts by domestic and international doctors and professors," according to...

A tiny tortie kitten was left in a cardboard box on the steps of a shelter in New Jersey. She was in need of foster care, so the Union County animal hospital took her in until they could find her a forever home.She was named after Storm from X-Men because of her eyes. TracyTracy and Derek found little Storm on the animal hospital's Facebook page. "We instantly fell in love. We knew she would need special care because she appeared to be blind," Tracy told Love Meow. "We didn't care. We had to make her part of our family."...

Full Headline: CDC Investigating After Multiple Passengers Fall Ill On Separate International Flights Coming Into Philadelphia International Airport Officials say 12 passengers arriving at the airport on American Airlines flights from Paris and Munich experienced flu-like symptoms. Multiple ambulances were dispatched to the airport.

Kraft Heinz has recalled around 7,000 cases of cheese dip that could potentially lead to botulism. Taco Bell Salsa Con Queso Mild Cheese Dip has shown signs that it could allow for the growth of the bacteria that causes botulism. The potentially fatal form of food poisoning, can cause weakness, dizziness, double vision, and trouble speaking or swallowing. The recall affects 15 oz. jars with “best when used by” dates ranging from October 31, 2018 to January 23, 2019. Consumers who purchased the product should return them to the store for an exchange or refund. No illnesses have been reported.

After two recent botched U.S. executions of inmates with compromised veins, a convicted murderer and rapist is arguing he is too ill to be put to death by lethal injection in Texas later this month. Lawyers for Danny Bible, a 66-year-old inmate set to be executed on June 27, said in a federal court filing in June that his health and vein access were worse than inmates in Alabama and Ohio whose executions were called off after IV placements failed. The cases have capital punishment critics questioning whether justice is served by executing a person convicted of horrific crimes but...

GUANGZHOU, China — A crisis over a mysterious ailment sickening American diplomats and their families — which began in Cuba and recently appeared in China — widened on Wednesday. The State Department evacuated at least two more Americans who fell ill in China after hearing strange noises, officials said. Many other employees at the American Consulate in the southern Chinese city of Guangzhou and their family members are also being tested by a State Department medical team that has been flown in, officials said. It is unclear how many of them are exhibiting symptoms, but officials expect more American personnel...

There are those who believe he should never have been allowed to be born. He came into this world prematurely with severe spina bifida, Chiari II malformation, hydrocephalus, autonomic dysreflexia, central sleep apnea, dysphagia, hypotonia and paralyzed vocal cords. He would develop chronic lung disease, anemia, kyphosis, knee contractures, osteopenia and so much more. In layman's terms, he was paralyzed, except for partial movement of his arms. He couldn't speak because his vocal cords were paralyzed, nor could he eat or even breathe on his own. His own family can't remember how many times the ambulance raced him to the...

Hi all, just a follow-up on a post I made here about 3 weeks regarding a MRI I had attempted and bailed/panic buttoned on. Well, without issue, I ended up doing the MRI in the open type machine this past Easter morning to try to find out why I've been experiencing bad headaches for the last 2-3 weeks. I get into work the next morning(Monday) and my Dr calls me with the results and tells me to go to the emergency room. "I say, when?" He says, "now!" Turns out I have a partial tear in my right neck artery...better...

need advice. I have an adolescent with sever behavioral issues. Suicidal thoughts, violent behavior, bursts of emotion, anger and very drastic mood swings. Like you see in the movies about crazy people, but from a 12 year old. we have tried all sorts of therapy but nothing seems to move the needle. The last evaluation mentioned posbile hospitalization and medications. Does anyone have experience with this?

Texas teacher named Heather Holland, aged 38, died of complications from the flu after she decided to give up medical treatment because she considered the 116 dollar Tamiflu "too expensive." The complications from flu-like disease led a 38-year-old teacher to the hospital where she died after a septic shock. The cost of the medicine that was prescribed is $116. Heather Holland, of Weatherford, Texas, reportedly fell ill last Monday and two days later was diagnosed with the flu. According to Fox News, doctors prescribed Tamiflu, an antiviral drug that costs approximately $116. However, according to a statement by Holland's husband...

A strong rally in cannabis-related stocks this week to mark the start of sales of recreational marijuana in California came to a screeching halt Thursday, on a report that the Justice Department is about to throw a spanner in the works for the nascent weed industry. U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions, a longtime marijuana opponent, is expected to rescind an Obama-era policy that gave protections to states that have legalized marijuana as long as they abide by a series of guidelines, the Associated Press reported, citing unnamed sources. An announcement that will scrap what is known as the Cole Memo...

During the five-night cruise, 332 cases of the illness were reported, Owen Torres, a spokesman for Royal Caribbean told CNN in a statement. He stressed that it was a small percentage — 5.99 percent — of the more than 5,000 passengers and crew onboard the ship, Independence of the Seas. “Those affected by the short-lived illness were treated by our ship’s doctors with over-the-counter medication,” Torres said, “and we hope all our guests feel better quickly.” It is not known what caused the illness. “It was just terrifying,” Tracy Flores, a passenger whose 15-year-old son came down with the illness,...

Chronic cannabis users are at risk of experiencing a horrifying new condition that is being reported at hospitals across the country. 'Scromiting,' doctors say, is becoming an all-too-familiar site at emergency rooms, with patients 'screaming and vomiting' as they turn up for help...'I've screamed out for death,' Chalfonte LeNee Queen, 48, told NPR after experiencing the terrifying illness. 'I've cried out for my mom, who's been dead for 20 years, mentally not realizing she can't come to me.'

Mom With MS Finds Nasty Note After Parking In Handicapped Spot By Shannon Antinori, Patch National Staff | Nov 15, 2017 Updated Nov 15, 2017 "You need to think twice before judging someone," the Plainfield mom said. " You have no idea what they've been through." By Shannon Antinori, Patch National Staff | Nov 15, 2017 2:22 pm ET | Updated Nov 15, 2017 11:50 pm ET PLAINFIELD, IL — From all outward appearances, Michele Clarke, 39, looks young and healthy. But 16 years ago, the Plainfield mom was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis. Since then she has had to battle...

Hillary Clinton today called on mental health professionals to create a standardized curriculum to teach middle and high school students nationwide about anxiety and depression. Mental health experts “need to come forward with a curriculum to the boards of education and the administration of school districts and just lobby like crazy to get those into teacher training, into school programming,” Clinton said. She was a panelist at a discussion at the Paley Center for Media in Manhattan hosted by the Child Mind Institute, a city-based nonprofit focused on adolescent mental health issues. In New York mental health education is already...

As much joy as a pet can bring to the life of its human, when a beloved dog or cat falls ill, the emotional toll can be high. In fact, caring for an ailing animal often ends up placing a significant "caregiver burden" on its owner, new research finds. "Think of the phrase, 'Giving until it hurts,'" said study author Mary Beth Spitznagel. Essentially, it's the heavy emotional burden one can experience when the act of caring stretches a person's physical, emotional or even financial capacities to the breaking point. "We found that individuals with a chronically or terminally ill...

A female employee at Fremont Middle School in Las Vegas died of tuberculosis in mid-July after potentially exposing more than 100 people to the highly contagious disease, school and public health officials said Monday. Ann Schiller, the school’s principal, sent a phone message to parents on July 11 saying that “an individual at our school” had recently been diagnosed with an active case of tuberculosis. It said that public health officials would contact families “within the next few days” if their kids needed to be tested. Lynn Row, the chief nurse for the Clark County School District, said she could...

Fellow FREEPers, I am NOT trying to be morbid or tactless, but given the recent development with Senator McCain, I want to RESPECTFULLY ask the question. We recall how, on national TV, Obama told a woman whose mother had a terminal condition that might be treated she would probably get a painkiller: http://hotair.com/archives/2009/07/21/video-let-them-eat-painkillers/ So, with this fresh sad case in mind, does any enterprising REAL NEWS people to find out how OBAMACARE treats someone with Senator McCain's sickness.

During an interview on the BBC with host Victoria Derbyshire, transgender advocate Caitlyn Jenner said she was considering running for office to promote LGBT issues from within the Republican Party. When asked about going into politics, Jenner said, “I have been asked that question quite a bit, to be honest with you over the next year I’m looking into it."" I want to know, and I have to be very smart about this—where can I do a better job for my community, in bringing the Republican Party around when it comes to all LGBT issues? Is it from the outside?"...