A model of a billboard from the AIDS Healthcare Foundation, shown in 2018.

Sexually transmitted diseases in Minnesota are down, but HIV and newborn syphilis cases are up

Rises in HIV cases among Hispanic Minnesotans, and syphilis cases among women, suggest an emerging front in fight against sexually transmitted diseases.

Minneapolis approves $15 minimum for cigarette packs, highest in U.S.

12:29pm
The city's tobacco crackdown allows existing limited "sampling" inside cigar lounge.

US births fell last year, marking an end to the late pandemic rebound, experts say

April 24
U.S. births fell last year, resuming a long national slide.
Business
2:52pm

Minneapolis smokers to pay some of the highest cigarette prices in US with a $15 per-pack minimum

Smokers in Minneapolis will pay some of the highest cigarette prices in the country after the City Council voted unanimously Thursday to impose a minimum retail price of $15 per pack to promote public health.
Nation
2:09pm

Planned Parenthood announces $10 million voter campaign in North Carolina for 2024 election

Abortion continues to be a key part of Democrats' election playbook in North Carolina, which for 2024 will include what abortion-rights advocates call an unprecedented investment in get-out-the-vote efforts.
Nation
1:53pm
Singer-songwriter Aloe Blacc speaks, right, speaks during an event on the White House complex in Washington, Tuesday, April 23, 2024, with notable sui

Correction: Emhoff-Ashley Judd-Suicide Prevention story

In a story published April 23, 2024, about suicide prevention, The Associated Press erroneously reported that Shelby Rowe is executive director of the Suicide Prevention Research Center. Rowe is executive director of the Suicide Prevention Resource Center.
Variety
12:59pm

New York City to require warning labels for sugary foods and drinks in chain restaurants

New York City residents may soon see warning labels next to sugary foods and drinks in chain restaurants and coffee shops, under a law set to go into effect later this year.
World
9:28am

Venezuela broke its HPV vaccine promises, and there's barely any sex ed. Experts say it's a problem

Some of the 10 women and teenage girls who recently came to a medical clinic in eastern Venezuela for free contraceptives fidgeted a bit when a community health worker taught them how to use an IUD, condoms and birth control pills correctly.
Business
8:06am
FILE - The Marshall Steam Station coal power plant operates March 3, 2024, near Mooresville, N.C. A rule issued April 24, 2024, by the Environmental P

Tough new EPA rules would force coal-fired power plants to capture emissions or shut down

Coal-fired power plants would be forced to capture smokestack emissions or shut down under a rule issued Thursday by the Environmental Protection Agency.
World
7:07am

UN report says 282 million people faced acute hunger in 2023, with the worst famine in Gaza

Nearly 282 million people in 59 countries suffered from acute hunger in 2023, with war-torn Gaza as the territory with the largest number of people facing famine, according to the Global Report on Food Crises released Wednesday.
Business
4:53am

What do weight loss drugs mean for a diet industry built on eating less and exercising more?

Ever since college, Brad Jobling struggled with his weight, fluctuating between a low of 155 pounds when he was in his 30s to as high as 220. He spent a decade tracking calories on WeightWatchers, but the pounds he dropped always crept back onto his 5-foot-5-inch frame.
World
April 25

Malaria is still killing people in Kenya, but a vaccine and local drug production may help

As the coffin bearing the body of Rosebella Awuor was lowered into the grave, heart-wrenching sobs from mourners filled the air. Her sister Winnie Akinyi, the guardian to Awuor's orphaned son, fell to the ground, wailing.
World
April 25

Climate change is bringing malaria to new areas. In Africa, it never left

When a small number of cases of locally transmitted malaria were found in the United States last year, it was a reminder that climate change is reviving or migrating the threat of some diseases. But across the African continent malaria has never left, killing or sickening millions of people.
Nation
April 24

US abortion battle rages on with moves to repeal Arizona ban and a Supreme Court case

Action in courts and state capitals around the U.S. this week have made it clear again: The overturning of Roe v. Wade and the nationwide right to abortion did not settle the issue.
Nation
April 24

Gov. Gavin Newsom wants to let Arizona doctors provide abortions in California

Arizona doctors could give their patients abortions in California under a proposal announced Wednesday by Gov. Gavin Newsom to circumvent a ban on nearly all abortions in the neighboring state.
Business
April 24

New California rule aims to limit health care cost increases to 3% annually

Doctors, hospitals and health insurance companies in California will be limited to annual price increases of 3% starting in 2029 under a new rule state regulators approved Wednesday in the latest attempt to corral the ever-increasing costs of medical care in the United States.
Nation
April 24

Relatives of those who died waiting for livers at now halted Houston transplant program seek answers

Several relatives of patients who died while waiting for a new liver said Wednesday they want to know if their loved ones were wrongfully denied a transplant by a Houston doctor accused of manipulating the waitlist to make some patients ineligible to receive a new organ.
Nation
April 24

Key moments in the Supreme Court's latest abortion case that could change how women get care

The U.S. Supreme Court heard its first test on Wednesday of state abortion bans that have been enacted since the court upended the Roe v. Wade constitutional right to abortion. While the current case involves an Idaho abortion ban, the court's ruling could have implications beyond that state.
Nation
April 24

Tennessee lawmakers join movement allowing some teachers to take guns into schools

Some public school teachers in Tennessee could gain new powers to carry concealed guns into the classroom, a year after a deadly school shooting in the state's capital city stirred impassioned debate about the best ways to curb such violence.
Business
April 24

More cows are being tested and tracked for bird flu. Here's what that means

and stop — the growing outbreak.
Nation
April 24

More doctors can prescribe a leading addiction treatment. Why aren't more people getting help?

It's easier than ever for doctors to prescribe a key medicine for opioid addiction since the U.S. government lifted an obstacle last year. But despite the looser restrictions and the ongoing overdose crisis, a new study finds little change in the number of people taking the medication.
Business
April 24

Missouri House backs legal shield for weedkiller maker facing thousands of cancer-related lawsuits

The manufacturer of a popular weedkiller won support Wednesday from the Missouri House for a proposal that could shield it from costly lawsuits alleging it failed to warn customers its product could cause cancer.
Nation
April 24

Jill Biden launches bike ride for wounded service members, stresses need to support vets

Jill Biden on Wednesday sounded a red horn to start the Wounded Warrior Project's annual Soldier Ride from the White House lawn, using the launch of the multiday bike ride to stress the importance of supporting service members.

Health news

Latest news and features coverage of health care in Minnesota and elsewhere.