Health News

(NEW YORK) -- Just 100 cigarettes over the course of someone's life may be enough to raise their risk of heart disease and death, a new study suggests.Researchers at Johns Hopkins University, who looked at the smoking habits of more than 300,000 adults for almost 20 years, found that men and women who smoked as few as two cigarettes daily had a 60% increased risk of death from any cause […]

(COLUMBIA, S.C.) -- A few South Carolina lawmakers are holding a hearing on Tuesday to discuss a near-total abortion ban that removes exceptions and could send anyone involved with termination of a pregnancy to prison for decades.Currently, the state has a six-week abortion ban, signed into law in May 2023, with limited exceptions for rape and incest up to 12 weeks, for fetal anomalies and to save the life of […]

(WASHINGTON) -- Just as SNAP benefits were reinstated for millions of Americans following the reopening of the federal government, many are now set to permanently lose them.Nearly 42 million Americans, including low-income families and vulnerable households, rely on SNAP, or the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, to help pay for groceries or other household essentials.The U.S. Department of Agriculture has been directing states to implement new guidance as part of President […]

(WASHINGTON) -- As the federal government shutdown enters its tenth day, one major health care issue has continued to be a sticking point: insurance subsidies.The Affordable Care Act (ACA) subsidies, or premium tax credits, help lower or eliminate the out-of-pocket cost of monthly premiums for those who purchase insurance through the health insurance marketplace.Eligibility for the subsidies can include factors such as household income and geographic location.The subsidies were part […]

(NEW YORK) -- A New Jersey man is believed to be the first documented death from alpha-gal syndrome, a meat allergy triggered by tick bites.The man, a 47-year-old airline pilot, was otherwise healthy, according to a case study from researchers at the University of Virginia School of Medicine and Hackensack Meridian Health in New Jersey.In summer 2024, he went camping with his wife and children. A few hours after eating […]

(NEW YORK) -- Food banks and pantries have been experiencing historic demand since SNAP benefits halted on Nov. 1 for many Americans due to the federal government shutdown.That halt affected nearly 42 million Americans, many of whom are older or low-income, and use benefits to help pay for groceries and other essentials.President Donald Trump late Wednesday night signed a funding bill to end the longest government shutdown in U.S. history, […]

(WASHINGTON) -- The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) hit back at an op-ed written by the most recent six surgeons general, who said they wanted to warn the U.S. about the dangers of Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.The op-ed, published in The Washington Post on Tuesday, called the health secretary’s policies and positions an "immediate and unprecedented" threat to the nation’s health.In a statement to ABC News, HHS spokesperson Andrew […]

(NEW YORK) -- A fast-rising form of breast cancer that's harder to detect on mammograms now makes up more than one in ten cases in the United States, according to a new report from the American Cancer Society (ACS). Invasive lobular carcinoma, the second most common breast cancer type, is increasing about 3% each year, more than triple the rate of other breast cancers, the report, published on Tuesday morning, found.About […]

Detail of vials and syringe containing a COVID-19 vaccination by Pfizer at Kaiser Permanente Venice Medical Office Building in Culver City Tuesday, Sept. 23, 2025. (Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times via Getty Images) (NEW YORK) -- The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) updated its immunization schedule on Monday, dropping the universal COVID-19 vaccine recommendation and recommending that toddlers receive the chickenpox shot separately from the measles, […]