Archives: Morning Breakouts

"A generation of babies could be born free of AIDS if the international community stepped up efforts to provide universal access to HIV prevention, treatment and social protection, the United Nations said on Tuesday," Reuters reports. The declaration came on the eve of World AIDS Day, as U.N. leaders released a new report (.pdf), which found "millions of women and children, particularly in poor countries, fall through the cracks of HIV services either due to their gender, social or economic status, location or education," according to the news service (Kelland, 11/30).

A report from the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation (IHME) finds that the recent global economic downturn "hasn't quelled generous government and private donors from giving record amounts to improve global health," but the analysis also revealed "that growth in funding is beginning to taper off, cut by more than half between 2008 and 2010," the Seattle Times' "The Business of Giving" blog reports (Heim, 11/30).

In its annual appeal, the U.N. on Tuesday asked "governments and private donors for a record $7.4 billion next year to provide 50 million people worldwide with food, clothing and other urgent humanitarian aid," the Associated Press/Washington Post reports (11/30).

"Ten months after the magnitude-7 earthquake that killed 230,000 people and destroyed at least 60% of Haiti's capital city, Port-au-Prince, some relief agencies have not spent the bulk of the donations they raised after the disaster. They say they want to use the rest for the country's long-term recovery, but they can't get rolling because roads are torn up, government agencies aren't functioning, and the economy is at a standstill. Agencies are also working to contain a rapid-spreading cholera outbreak," USA Today writes in an article examining aid to Haiti since the quake.

The court ruled that the new law falls within congressional authority to regulate interstate trade. It is one of multiple lawsuits challenging the law.

Republicans are fighting over the gavel to head the Energy and Commerce committee as their agenda's outline becomes sharper in anticipation of the new session of Congress.

Since Nov. 16, the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Florida has received 14 friend-of-the-court briefs from state senators, representatives, governors, and attorneys general.

A new report finds that retirees still need to pay hundreds of thousands of dollars to pay for medical expenses.

Some say the legislation represents a fundamental shift in the Food and Drug Administration food safety program.

The U.S. Supreme Court is considering an order requiring California prisons to release 40,000 inmates because overcrowding has limited access to health care.