(Reuters) – Tests showed music superstar Prince, who was found dead in his home in a Minneapolis suburb in late April, died of an opioid overdose, the Associated Press reported on Thursday, citing a law enforcement official. (Reporting by Megan Cassella in Washington; Editing by Mohammad Zargham)
WASHINGTON (AP) — Beg, borrow and steal: Zika preparation involves a bit of all three as federal, state and local health officials try to get a jump on the mosquito-borne virus while Congress haggles over how much money they really need.
Irish-born singer Sinead O'Connor turned up safe at an undisclosed location on Monday, hours after police in Illinois said she was missing, citing a concerned caller who told authorities she had failed to return from a bicycle ride. The brief scare surrounding the well-being of the firebrand performer unfolded after a series of Facebook posts in recent days in which she agonized over her 12-year-old son, whom she said had been left in the custody of child welfare authorities in Ireland. O'Connor, 49, who has acknowledged a history of bipolar disorder, made headlines six months ago when she said in a Facebook post that she had deliberately taken a drug overdose.
By Lisa Baertlein LOS ANGELES (Reuters) – The former Iowa science teacher and McDonald's Corp “brand ambassador,” who preached the virtues of walking and near-daily french fries in presentations to youth, is no longer visiting U.S. schools, the fast-food chain said on Friday. The program presented by John Cisna, author of the book “My McDonald's Diet: How I lost 37 pounds in 90 days and became a viral media sensation,” was sharply criticized by teachers, parents and public health advocates who accused McDonald's of trying to hook youngsters on unhealthy food. Cisna's program included a documentary and discussion guide edited by McDonald's, which hired him in 2015 and provides him with a stipend for time and travel related to his speaking engagements.
By Paul Carsten BEIJING (Reuters) – Chinese regulators imposed limits on the lucrative healthcare adverts carried by Baidu Inc on Monday following the death of a student who underwent experimental cancer treatment he found via China's biggest search engine. Baidu's shares fell by 5 percent in pre-market trading in New York following the move, as healthcare provides 20 to 30 percent of the company's search revenue, analysts at Nomura and Daiwa said. Baidu shares have fallen since the controversy over the death of student Wei Zexi erupted at the start of the month and had lost 10.5 percent of their value by last week's close.
By David Lawder WASHINGTON (Reuters) – A CSX freight train derailed in northeastern Washington, D.C. on Sunday, spilling hazardous material near a city subway station, and emergency workers were cleaning up the site after plugging the leak, officials and the railroad company said. The substance that leaked was sodium hydroxide, used to produce household products including paper, soap and detergent. The fumes should not cause you any problems,” District of Columbia Fire Department Deputy Chief John Donnelly said at a news conference.
Close to 50 starved and sick monkeys were rescued from filthy living conditions in a South African private zoo on Saturday, and were whisked away to a care facility, an international animal rights group said. International Primates Rescue (IPR) founder Sue Mousley said after failed attempts by the owner of Little Falls garden centre to improve the living conditions of the monkeys, the rescue team finally managed to get a court order allowing them to relocate the primates to IPR’s care facility.
By Magdalena Mis LONDON (Thomson Reuters Foundation) – Nobel-prize nominated Congolese gynaecologist Denis Mukwege, who treats war rape victims, was named by TIME magazine on Thursday as one of the 100 most influential people in the world. The 61-year-old doctor founded the Panzi Hospital in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo in 1999 to help women and girls who had been raped during the conflict then raging in the country. “The people on the list, each in their own way, have lessons to teach,” TIME editor Nancy Gibbs said in a statement accompanying the release of the 2016 TIME 100.
The number of people globally aged 65 and over is expected to more than double by 2050 as the world's senior population continues to rocket, a US study says. The global population is aging at an unprecedented rate with 8.5 percent of people worldwide — or more than 600 million — now aged 65 and over, said the US Census Bureau report. If the trend continues nearly 17 percent of the global population, or 1.6 billion people, will be in the 65-and-over age bracket by 2050.
More than 900 migrants were rescued in four separate operations in the Strait of Sicily on Saturday and emergency services recovered one corpse, Italy’s coast guard said. Now into the second year of its worst migration crisis since World War Two, Europe has seen more than 1.2 million people arrive since the beginning of 2015, most of them from Africa and the Middle East. Italy’s coast guard has continued to pick up migrants in trouble in the stretch of water between its southern coast and North Africa, although most people seeking a better life in Europe have taken less dangerous routes to Greece.