Childhood vaccines at all-time high, but access not yet equitable
Recent News
$1 billion minimum required annually to reach children still at risk.
WASHINGTON, DC | GENEVA -- Reversing a downward trend, immunization rates are now at their highest ever and vaccine development worldwide is booming, according to a new assessment released today by the World Health Organizati...
Barely nine months into office, President Barack Obama has won the Nobel Peace Prize, substantially boosting his prestige and standing in the United States and internationally.
The Nobel Committee said the President won the award for his "extraordinary efforts to strengthen international diploma...
More than 400 of the nation's most respected health care leaders issued a joint Open Letter to Congress declaring that the health care system is in crisis and is unsustainable and calling on Congress to act now on meaningful reforms. They state that Congress has a moral and ethical obligation to imp...
Speaking to a joint session of Congress last night, President Obama gave a clear, inspiring and unusually detailed explanation of our nationīs health care crisis and his plan to address it.
The President outlined the two key goals of health care reform: safety and security for those already insu...
Stay in school and take personal responsibility are two messages President Barack Obama delivered to U.S. school children.
Obama's speech to the nation's school children Tuesday encouraged them to do the best they can.
"(At) the end of the day, we can have the most dedicated teachers, the most...
The number of people hit by deadly floods across West Africa has now topped 600,000, and the heavy rains have also destroyed crops and infrastructure in a region already hard hit by poverty, the United Nations humanitarian arm reported today.
The rains that began in June have claimed nearly 160 l...
GENEVA -- Monitoring of outbreaks from different parts of the world provides sufficient information to make some tentative conclusions about how the influenza pandemic might evolve in the coming months.
WHO is advising countries in the northern hemisphere to prepare for a second wave of pandemic ...
A strong earthquake struck Indonesia Wednesday, killing at least 13 people, injuring 18 others and damaging several older buildings, witnesses said.
The earthquake, centered about 150 miles from Jakarta, initially was categorized at 7.4 magnitude before being downgraded to 7 by geological official...
By William M. Welch
LOS ANGELES -- Two firefighters died in a wildfire Sunday in the San Gabriel Mountains that threatened more than 10,000 homes and the century-old Mount Wilson Observatory.
Los Angeles County Deputy Fire Chief Mike Bryant said the two firefighters died in the Angeles Nationa...
Praise for the long political career of U.S. Sen. Edward Kennedy, D-Mass., began coming in early Wednesday as word of his death was reported.
The Kennedy family released a brief statement announcing the death and thanking those who cared for the senator in his last months.
"He loved this count...
U.S. Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke told assembled bankers and policymakers in Wyoming Friday to expect the U.S. economy to grow soon.
"Fears of financial collapse have receded substantially," Bernanke said at the Fed's annual retreat in Jackson Hole.
"After contracting sharply over the...
A tropical storm warning was issued Sunday for Florida and Alabama as a tropical depression organized off the Gulf Coast, meteorologists said.
The depression, on the brink of becoming Tropical Storm Claudette, was located about 125 miles south-southeast of Apalachicola and moving toward the Florid...
By Karen Jeffrey, Cape Cod Times, Hyannis, Mass.
HYANNIS -- Eunice Kennedy Shriver, 88, an internationally acclaimed advocate for people with physical and development disabilities, died early this morning at Cape Cod Hospital, according to a statement from the family.
Born into the privilege...
Former Democratic President achieves diplomatic coup.
By Matt Williams
Two American reporters were freed from North Korea's notorious labour camps after former President Bill Clinton flew in for talks. Clinton met Kim Jong-il yesterday during a surprise visit to the secretive Asian state.
...
Inspectors General fault Bush-Era surveillance tactics for questionable effectiveness and circumvention of legal safeguards.
Top federal investigators from the Department of Justice, Department of Defense, CIA, Directorate of National Intelligence, and the National Security Agency issued a detai...
AVE MARIAH FOR MICHAEL; STARS FLOCK TO MEMORIAL AS 17,000 FANS FIND OUT OF THEY'VE GOT A TICKET
By Keith McLeod
Mariah Carey will sing the Jackson Five's classic I'll Be There as Tinseltown pays tribute to the King of Pop today.
Maria, who had a hit with the haunting ballad in 1992, is o...
Protesters hit the streets of Tehran again Tuesday to express anger over election results they say were manipulated to keep Mahmoud Ahmadinejad in power.
The government has begun cracking down harder on the demonstrations that have turned deadly, while reaction from world leaders remains subdued, ...
By Marie McCullough, The Philadelphia Inquirer
The tobacco-control movement celebrated another milestone yesterday as the U.S. Senate easily passed a bill giving the government unprecedented power over the making and marketing of tobacco products.
Supporters say the law will enable the Food ...
By PAUL KANE; JOBY WARRICK
FORMER US vice-president Dick Cheney personally oversaw at least four briefings with senior members of Congress about controversial interrogation programmes, part of a secretive and forceful defence he mounted throughout 2005 in an effort to maintain support for the hars...
WASHINGTON - President Barack Obama has nominated federal judge Sonia Sotomayor of New York for the U.S. Supreme Court positioning the longtime federal jurist to become the first Hispanic member of the nation's high court.
Sotomayor, a former federal prosecutor who first was appointed to the fed...
North Korea claimed Monday it had "successfully" conducted a nuclear test, its second since October 2006, to "bolster its nuclear deterrent for self-defense."
South Korea's Yonhap news agency reported the testing comes in the wake of the Communist country's warning last month about its nuclear pla...
Poor weather conditions prevented the the U.S. space shuttle Atlantis from landing at Kennedy Space Center in Florida, NASA said Friday.
The landing was rescheduled for Saturday.
Two landings were waved off at the center because weather conditions wouldn't permit a safe landing, the space agen...
Los Angeles - Kobe Bryant scored 40 points, sank six free throws in the final 30.5 seconds and came up with the game-sealing rebound in the final seconds, as the Lakers rallied to beat Denver, 105-103, in the opener of the Western Conference finals.
Bryant had 18 of his points in the fourth quarte...
By Tom Troy, The Blade, Toledo, Ohio
SOUTH BEND, Ind. - Notre Dame University gave a thunderous welcome during Sunday's graduation ceremony to President Obama and cheered him throughout the program despite stark differences on abortion that prompted protests on the Catholic campus.
Mr. Obama w...
Pope Benedict XVI, in Israel on his Middle East tour, called for a solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict that would lead to a homeland for both sides.
The pontiff said, "I plead with all those responsible to explore every possible avenue in the search for a just resolution of the outstandin...
By Bangor Daily News, Maine
AUGUSTA, Maine - Gov. John Baldacci on Wednesday signed a gay marriage bill passed just hours before by the Maine Legislature.
Baldacci made his announcement within an hour of the Maine Senate giving its final approval to LD 1020. The Senate voted 21-13 in favor o...
Washington During a debate on hate crimes legislation taking place last week in the well of the United States House of Representatives, Rep. Virginia Foxx (R-NC) claimed that Matthew Shepard's murder and torture were "a hoax."
While Matthew's mother, Judy Shepard looked on from above in the H...
By DENIS STAUNTON
US SUPREME court justice David Souter is set to retire this summer, offering President Barack Obama his first opportunity to shape the court after almost a decade of conservative government.
Mr Obama yesterday declined to comment on Mr Souter's decision, which had yet to be m...
By ADAM THOMSON
Governments and health authorities worldwide went on the alert over the weekend for a possible influenza pandemic as the death toll from a new strain of swine flu in Mexico reached 81.
Janet Napolitano, US homeland security secretary, yesterday declared a "public health emergen...
By Sandy Bauers and John Shiffman, The Philadelphia Inquirer
WASHINGTON -- In a landmark move that countered eight years of inaction by the Bush administration, the Environmental Protection Agency determined yesterday that greenhouse gases threaten public health and welfare because they contribu...
By Rachel Stassen-Berger, Pioneer Press
Democrat Al Franken won last year's U.S. Senate race, three judges decided Monday.
The decision comes after a tough and testy two-year campaign, a two-month statewide hand recount and a detailed seven-week trial.
In the cool spring evening Monday, F...
Pope Benedict XVI began the Easter Vigil late Saturday at St. Peter's in Rome, celebrating the mass that opens the holiest day of the Christian calendar.
The service began in darkness, the BBC reported. After Benedict lit a candle to mark the resurrection of Jesus Christ, he was joined by thousand...
Vote to override Governor's veto makes Vermont first state to recognize marriage for lesbian and gay couples through legislative process. Vermont becomes the fourth state to recognize gay marriage.
Momentum in favor of same-sex marriages increases following similar victory for marriage equality ...
By Rod Boshart, The Gazette, Cedar Rapids, Iowa
In a precedent-setting ruling, the Iowa Supreme Court Friday upheld a lower court decision legalizing same-sex marriages in Iowa.
The unanimous landmark decision is expected to carry national implications as Iowa becomes the first Midwest state...
By Erica Werner, The Associated Press
WASHINGTON - The House is poised to thrust tobacco companies under government control after years of attempts in legislatures and the courts to tame one of the country's signature industries.
"We cannot and we must not wait a moment longer to protect our...
By Vanessa Gera, The Associated Press
BONN, Germany - From an Antarctic research base to the Great Pyramids of Egypt and beyond, the world switched off the lights Saturday for Earth Hour, dimming skyscrapers, city streets and some of the world's most recognizable monuments for 60 minutes to high...
By Ben Feller, Associated Press
CAMP LEJEUNE, N.C. -- President Barack Obama consigned the Iraq war to history Friday, declaring he will end combat operations within 18 months and open a new era of diplomacy in the Middle East.
"Let me say this as plainly as I can: By August 31, 2010, our comb...
Chinese President Hu Jintao met with U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton in Beijing Saturday amid calls for closer ties between the nations, officials said.
Hu and Clinton said the need to deepen and develop ties between China and the United States is becoming ever more important, Xinhua, the ...
WASHINGTON - Barack Hussein Obama became the 44th president of the United States on Tuesday, a confident young leader ushering in a new era with a promise of bold action to lift the country out of the worst economic crisis since the Great Depression.
Taking the oath on the steps of a Capitol built...
At 12:00 noon today, Barack Obama takes the oath of office as the 44th President of the United States of America.
With the economy in a shambles, a war raging in Iraq, and another war in Afghanistan, the newly minted President faces challenges unlike any newly inaugurated President since Frankli...
Top Headlines
Phil Mickelson had three birdies over his last five holes Saturday and owns the lead heading to the final round of the HSBC Champions tournament in Shanghai.
A proposal for Iran to send semi-enriched uranium out of the country to be processed into nuclear fuel rods has been called off, an Iranian politician says.
Anti-abortion Democrats are being given the opportunity to amend the healthcare reform bill in the U.S. House of Representatives, political sources say.
SHANGHAI, China - Phil Mickelson has taken the 54-hole lead in the HSBC Champions with a 5-under 67, setting up a Sunday matchup with Tiger Woods in the final World Golf Championship of the year.
Nov. 7--Michael Pearson was 21, an Army private first class from Bolingbrook who joined the service about a year ago.
Local Muslims are bracing themselves for possible reprisals following the deadly shootings at Fort Hood, Texas.
Nov. 7--FORT HOOD, Texas -- It was a battlefield the combat engineers of Fort Hood never thought they would have to survive.
Nov. 7--GALVESTON -- Royce Clyde Zeigler II stood stoically Friday as he heard the verdict finding him guilty of capital murder in the slaying of his 2-year-old stepdaughter, who became known as Baby Grace, but it hit his mother like a thunderbolt.
Nov. 7--KILLEEN -- Neighbors who lived in the same apartment complex as Maj. Nidal Malik Hasan say he was friendly and generous -- a far different portrait of a man who authorities say gunned down 13 people in cold blood at Fort Hood on Thursday.
Nov. 7--NEW YORK: LeBron James said the only thing occupying his thoughts Friday was winning at Madison Square Garden.
RUSTON, La. _ Boise State football coach Chris Petersen told his team all week to expect a dogfight Friday night at Louisiana Tech.
AS Fort Hood observed a day of mourning, investigators continued to search for reasons why a military psychiatrist at the US base went on a gun rampage killing 13 and injuring dozens more.
THE EFFORT by British prime minister Gordon Brown to ease growing public concern about the UK's involvement in Afghanistan has been seriously undermined by scathing attacks from three former senior military chiefs.
RUSTON, La. _ Boise State football coach Chris Petersen told his team all week to expect a dogfight Friday night at Louisiana Tech.
Two fourth-quarter touchdowns Friday kept No.
Business
NEW YORK, Nov. 7, 2009 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Kohlberg Capital Corporation (Nasdaq:KCAP) today announced that it will delay its investor conference call previously scheduled for Monday November 9, 2009 at 8:30am.
Sri lanka, Nov. 6 -- Criminal charges have been filed in the US against 14 individuals linked to the alleged insider dealing scheme involving billionaire hedge fund manager Raj Rajaratnam, the Sri Lanka-born philanthropist who has been let out on $100m (Pounds 60m) bail.
Nov. 7--A chance to rein in speculative investments that could be pushing up energy prices appears to be fading in Washington.
Fred's Inc. sales slid slightly in October to $128.1 million, down from $128.4 million last October.
A man involved in a pyramid scheme that accumulated losses of over [euro]500,000 has been given more time to raise money to compensate the victims.
NEW YORK, Nov. 6 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Capital Gold (TSX: CGC; OTC Bulletin Board: CGLD) announced today that gross proceeds were approximately $11.7 million on 11,733 ounces of gold sold in the first fiscal quarter of 2010 (ended October 31, 2009) at its El Chanate mine in Sonora, Mexico.
Nov. 6--Shareholders of the fitness operator California WOW Xperience Plc have rejected plans to raise capital by issuing 150 million new shares.
The Counterfeit Goods Bill seeks to prohibit trade in goods that ostensibly infringe intellectual property rights.
A trader nicknamed "Octopussy" was among nine people charged with insider trading yesterday as the feds expanded their crackdown on Wall Street.
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Providence Service Corp., a Tucson-based social services provider, achieved a third-quarter profit on a 24 percent increase in revenue and a one-time tax benefit.
VANCOUVER, Nov. 6 /CNW/ -- Lion Energy Corp. ("Lion") (TSX-V: LEO), a Canadian exploration company focused on acquiring, exploring and developing oil and gas reserves in Central and East Africa, Southern Star Energy Inc. ("Southern") (OTC Bulletin Board: SSEY), a U.S.- based oil and gas exploration company with lease acreage properties in Louisiana, and Gold Star Resources Corp. ("Gold Star")(TSX-V: GXX), a Canadian resource exploration company focused on the strategic acquisition and advancement of prospective oil and gas projects in West Africa, are pleased to announce that they have signed a non-binding letter of intent to complete a proposed business combination (the "Transaction").
Nov. 5--PlainsCapital Corp. has postponed its initial public offering, the Dallas-based financial services company said Wednesday.
TSX: PFN OTCBB: PAWEF Frankfurt: P7J.F
ST. ANDREWS, Scotland - British Prime Minister Gordon Brown has called for serious consideration of a levy on financial activity to help insure the banking system from another crisis.
Axial Vector Energy Corporation ("AVEC") announced its Petro Avec joint venture has been awarded the '2009 Best Innovation in Refining Technology' category by World Finance Magazine.
NEW YORK - STR Holdings Inc. shares jumped Friday after the solar products company launched its initial public offering, but shares priced below expectations on the New York Stock Exchange.
Sports
Nov. 7--PETERSBURG -- A Petersburg High School student has received a distinction awarded to fewer than 1 in 10,000 high school football players each year.
Nov. 7--DALTON -- No Wahconah football fan thought the Warriors would be in the position they were in Friday night.
Nov. 7--Defending state Division II boys' soccer champion Mount Greylock earned its second consecutive No.
Nov. 7--n Pittsfield gets ranked fifth in the Division II girls' field, and will play Taconic.
ARCADIA, Calif. - Bring on the boys.
Nov. 7--A Ridgeland player's helmet rolled across the ground, tossed in frustration from the northwest end zone where the Jaguars were gathered.
Nov. 7--NAPA -- The Redwood High football team saw its win slip away -- quite literally.
The Washington Redskins will put their new play-calling arrangement into action for the second time tomorrow when they visit the Atlanta Falcons, and they won't change much because they believe it worked well in its debut two weeks ago.
Nov. 7--KNOXVILLE -- Lane Kiffin had to keep reminding himself last week that his Tennessee football team had just defeated No.
Nov. 7--Playing their regional volleyball tournaments at home may provide some relief for Valley and Eaton.
When Danielle Higgins was running for junior college powerhouse Central Arizona, she remembered being impressed by the talent and camaraderie of rival Pima College.
Nov. 7--DAYTON, Tenn. -- The Grace Christian Cavaliers went to the National Association of Christian Athletes Tournament looking for a national championship.
Nov. 7--ARCADIA, Calif. -- The sentimental choice in the $5 million Breeders' Cup Classic Saturday afternoon at Santa Anita is, of course, Zenyatta.
Nov. 7--On Dec. 22, 2006, the day he was introduced as Air Force's new coach, Troy Calhoun talked about offensive balance, being "very effective in the passing game" and forcing a defense "to defend the entire field."
Nov. 7--OMAHA, Neb. -- The top-seeded Illinois State women's soccer team moved into Sunday's Missouri Valley Conference Tournament championship game with a 1-0 semifinal win over Drake on Friday at Morrison Stadium in Omaha, Neb.
Nov. 7--The Drake High girls volleyball team had a few obstacles to overcome Friday night in the MCAL tournament championship.
Nov. 7--With a charged-up crowd of more than 3,000 at Spry Stadium the Wake Forest men's soccer team lit up Duke 3-0 last night.