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| Wall Street rises on Yellen; S&P on track for modest first quarter gain Monday, Mar 31, 2014 11:48 AM PDT  By Ryan Vlastelica NEW YORK (Reuters) - U.S. stocks rose on Monday, with the S&P 500 on track to end the first quarter of 2014 with slight gains, after Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen calmed concerns about a rate hike coming earlier than expected. Gains were broad, with nine of the S&P 500's 10 primary sectors rising on the day. Full Story | Top |
| Smokers may show heart disease much younger than nonsmokers Monday, Mar 31, 2014 11:44 AM PDT  By Krystnell Storr NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - A smoker's coronary artery disease is likely to be as advanced as that of a non-smoker who is 10 years older when both show up at the hospital with a heart attack, according to a new study. Researchers looked at nearly 14,000 patients hospitalized with blockages in arteries supplying the heart muscle and found smokers were more likely than nonsmokers to die within a year. Despite their being younger, and otherwise healthier, the smokers' heart arteries were in a condition similar to those of nonsmokers 10 years older. "We saw smokers presenting the disease at age 55 and nonsmokers presenting the same disease at 65," said Dr. Alexandra Lansky, a researcher on the study. Full Story | Top |
| Six killed in blast in Kenyan capital: emergency services Monday, Mar 31, 2014 11:12 AM PDT  An explosion in an area of Kenya's capital Nairobi that is popular with Somalis killed six people and wounded several others on Monday, the National Disaster Operations Centre said. In the past, such attacks in the Eastleigh area of Nairobi have been blamed on Somalia's al Shabaab Islamist group, which attacked a Nairobi shopping mall in September and killed at least 67 people. "Police are securing the area for emergency response services," the disaster organization said on its official Twitter site. Nairobi's police commander Benson Kibui told Reuters the incident might have involved twin blasts. Full Story | Top |
| White House sees Obamacare sign-ups 'substantially larger' than six million Monday, Mar 31, 2014 10:56 AM PDT WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The White House said on Monday that it expects final enrollment numbers for private health care insurance under Obamacare in 2014 to be "substantially larger" than 6 million after a busy final weekend of in-person and online signups. "Here on the last day of enrollment, we're looking at a number substantially larger than 6 million people enrolled," White House spokesman Jay Carney told reporters, noting he was not sure when the government would be able to release its final enrollment figures. (Reporting by Roberta Rampton and Jeff Mason; Editing by Doina Chiacu) Full Story | Top |
| U.S. soda sales decline worsened in 2013: Beverage Digest Monday, Mar 31, 2014 10:54 AM PDT  NEW YORK (Reuters) - The decline in U.S. sales of carbonated soft drinks accelerated in 2013, according to a leading beverage industry newsletter. Total sales volume fell 3 percent in 2013 to 8.9 billion cases, the ninth straight year of decline, according to Beverage Digest. That compares with declines of 1.2 percent in 2012 and 1 percent in 2011. By company, Coca-Cola Co and Dr Pepper Snapple Group Inc each gained market share, according to Beverage Digest, while PepsiCo Inc's lost market share. (Reporting by Phil Wahba in New York; Editing by David Gregorio) Full Story | Top |
| U.S. administration says midday HealthCare.gov glitch resolved Monday, Mar 31, 2014 10:45 AM PDT WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Obama administration said on Monday that it has resolved a glitch affecting HealthCare.gov that temporarily prevented new users from accessing application and enrollment tools around midday, as website traffic volumes surged hours before a midnight deadline to enroll in private health insurance. (Reporting by David Morgan; Editing by Meredith Mazzilli) Full Story | Top |
| U.S. says HealthCare.gov functions unavailable to new users Monday, Mar 31, 2014 10:35 AM PDT WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. administration said key segments of its Obamacare website, HealthCare.gov, were unavailable to new users for a second time on Monday, as record numbers of people tried to access the site hours before the enrollment deadline for health insurance. The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, which is responsible for implementing the healthcare law, said new users were unable to access HealthCare.gov's application end enrollment tools around midday. People already in the system were able to complete the enrollment process, officials said. ... Full Story | Top |
| Weight loss surgery helps many reverse type 2 diabetes: study Monday, Mar 31, 2014 10:31 AM PDT  By Bill Berkrot and Ransdell Pierson WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Bariatric weight loss surgery on obese patients with type 2 diabetes helped many get their blood sugar to healthy levels and to no longer require any diabetes medicines, including insulin, three years after the procedure, according to data presented at a major medical meeting on Monday. The study called Stampede, which involved 150 obese patients who had poorly controlled type 2 diabetes for at least eight years, was conducted by Cleveland Clinic researchers. It compared two types of weight loss surgery against weight loss attained by diet and exercise along with nutrition counseling and, for some, additional diabetes medicines that can help promote weight loss, such as Victoza from Novo Nordisk. Full Story | Top |
| ‘Spring Allergy Capitals' report released for 2014; Louisville, Kentucky tops list Monday, Mar 31, 2014 10:25 AM PDT By Bridgett Novak NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - The 12th annual "Spring Allergy Capitals" report was released today by the Asthma and Allergy Foundation of America (AAFA). "We should point out that even Colorado Springs, Colorado, which came in last at 100, is considered bad for allergies," noted Mike Tringale, Senior Vice President of External Affairs for AAFA. "There are 320 metropolitan areas in the country and these are the 100 that have the right mix of factors to be considered 'allergy capitals' - i.e., the most challenging for certain allergy sufferers." The factors that go into the rankings are the area's pollen score, allergy medicine utilization and the number of board-certified allergists. The pollen score, which is provided to AAFA by IMS Health, reflects recorded pollen/mold spore levels, the predicted prevalence for certain types of pollens/molds over the most recent spring season and the duration of the peak season for the most allergenic pollen types. Full Story | Top |
| Virginia voters back gay marriage as court hearing nears: poll Monday, Mar 31, 2014 10:13 AM PDT A majority of Virginia voters support gay marriage, according to a poll released on Monday, which comes as a lawsuit to strike down the state's ban on same-sex unions is headed to federal appeals court. Some 50 percent of voters in Virginia backed gay marriage, while 42 percent opposed it, a Quinnipiac University poll said. The strongest support is from young people, with 69 percent of Virginia voters aged 18 to 29 backing gay marriage and 25 percent opposing it, according to the Quinnipiac poll. Full Story | Top |
| Steroids shown to hurt, not help, patients in bypass surgery Monday, Mar 31, 2014 10:09 AM PDT By Ransdell Pierson and Bill Berkrot WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A longstanding practice of giving steroids to patients during cardiopulmonary bypass surgery to reduce inflammation failed to help patients and actually increased the risk of heart attacks, according to results of a large clinical trial. "This study shows that administering steroids during cardiac surgery requiring bypass can cause harm," said Dr. Richard Whitlock, a cardiologist with McMaster University in Hamilton, Ontario, who led the international trial. "Based on these results, we suggest that steroids should not be used prophylactically during cardiac surgeries that require the use of cardiopulmonary bypass." Whitlock, who presented his findings on Monday at the annual scientific sessions of the American College of Cardiology in Washington, estimated that 25 percent of patients undergoing open heart surgery in the North America are given steroids. Full Story | Top |
| Obamacare website stalls briefly ahead of enrollment deadline Monday, Mar 31, 2014 09:04 AM PDT The website for people to enroll in U.S. private health insurance faced some delays early Monday morning, just hours before the deadline for the first year of enrollment under the healthcare law. The HealthCare.gov technology team has begun bringing the site back on line gradually after it found a software bug during their monitoring of the site and fixed it during the regular maintenance window, representatives for the Department of Health and Human Services said in a statement. It worked intermittently until a technology overhaul had it working relatively smoothly by December. Americans have until midnight on Monday to obtain health insurance under President Barack Obama's healthcare law known as Obamacare or else face fines. Full Story | Top |
| Ugandan president dismisses aid cuts at rally against gays Monday, Mar 31, 2014 08:55 AM PDT  By Elias Biryabarema KAMPALA (Reuters) - President Yoweri Museveni told a rally of religious leaders, politicians and thousands of supporters on Monday that Uganda could live without aid that Western donors suspended or diverted in protest at an anti-gay bill that became law in February. Western donors have halted or re-directed about $118 million in aid since Museveni signed the law, which toughened existing rules against gays and prescribed life in jail for what it called "aggravated homosexuality", such as sex with a minor. Despite the Western outcry, the thousands who turned out at Monday's rally in a square in Kampala underlined public support for the law. Uganda now has of some of the toughest codes, yet it is only one of 37 African nations that outlaw homosexuality. Full Story | Top |
| New York state joins New York City in suing FedEx over untaxed cigarettes Monday, Mar 31, 2014 08:38 AM PDT  (Reuters) - New York state joined New York City in suing FedEx Corp for allegedly violating state and federal laws by delivering untaxed cigarettes, but the company said customer privacy prevented it from checking packages without reason. New York City accused FedEx of creating a "public nuisance" through its partnership with Shinnecock Smoke Shop to ship untaxed cigarettes to homes. An amended complaint filed on Sunday included New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman among the plaintiffs seeking more than $239 million in damages and penalties. "Not only has FedEx cheated the state out of millions in tax dollars - but many of these cigarettes may have ended up in the hands of teenagers, who are particularly vulnerable to low-priced cigarettes," Schneiderman said in a statement. Full Story | Top |
| Behavior changes can help new diabetics lower heart risk Monday, Mar 31, 2014 08:27 AM PDT By Shereen Jegtvig NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Adopting healthier behaviors after a diabetes diagnosis may do as much as medication to prevent heart problems, according to a new study from the UK. People newly-diagnosed with type 2 diabetes were four times more likely to have a heart attack, stroke or other cardiac "event" if they changed nothing about their habits compared to people who adopted three or four healthier behaviors, like cutting out alcohol and getting regular exercise. "We wanted to produce information that would be useful for patients and practitioners and could contribute to the advice that patients are given after they have been diagnosed," said Grainne Long, who led the new study. "Having demonstrated the importance of diet (including alcohol consumption) and physical activity we want to motivate patients and practitioners to focus on lifestyle change as an important element of the management of type 2 diabetes," she told Reuters Health in an email. Full Story | Top |
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