Medical experts are discussing whether one dose of the HPV vaccine may be enough to protect preteens instead of the current two. This potential change comes amid disagreements between federal officials and doctors' organizations over how vaccination guidelines are updated. HPV is linked to thousands of cancer cases each year, and the vaccine has been effective in reducing infections and precancerous lesions. While some studies show promising results for a single dose, experts currently advise two shots. The discussion continues as researchers explore the best approach to prevent HPV-related cancers.
FILE - A patient receives a vaccine protecting against human papillomavirus (HPV) at a pharmacy in Miami, Sept. 9, 2025. (AP Photo/Rebecca Blackwell, File)
A drug task force in Mississippi is urging people to avoid kratom after authorities found packages of the substance while investigating the deaths of two University of Mississippi students. Lafayette County Metro Narcotics issued the warning Tuesday, though it said it had no “confirmed information” that kratom contributed to either death. Kratom has come under increasing scrutiny over the past decade from U.S. health officials and states. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration recommends against using it. An industry group says the FDA and states that have banned kratom are conflating the natural product with synthetic and chemically manipulated ones.
A coroner’s report notes that actor Hayden Panettiere had been in rehabilitation just weeks before she died from an accidental drug overdose. Although the details of her care are unknown, people addicted to drugs face a high risk of fatal overdose immediately after a period of sobriety. Experts say they may not realize their tolerance has dropped after stopping the drugs. And if they take the same amount of drugs they took before, it could overwhelm the body. Preliminary government data released in May showed about 70,000 Americans died of drug overdoses last year, down about 14% from the previous year.
The practice of allowing a doctor to help terminally ill patients end their lives with medication has been legalized in recent years in several countries worldwide. In the U.S., Illinois and New York have become the latest states to join an accelerating pace in legislation approving medically assisted dying. Pope Leo XIV says he’s “very disappointed” that his home state of Illinois approved the law that’s condemned by the Catholic Church. But polls show that most Americans — across different faiths — don’t have moral objections to medical aid in dying.
Kate Koubek, foreground, pauses after talking about her wife's terminal illness in front of a pill organizer containing medications for Deb Robertson, right, in the living room of their home in Lombard, Ill., on Tuesday, Sept. 8, 2026. (AP Photo/Luis Andres Henao)
Hayden Panettiere died from an overdose involving fentanyl. She had just gone to rehab, coroner says
A coroner has determined that actor Hayden Panettiere died from an accidental overdose of several drugs including fentanyl. A report later released Tuesday to The Associated Press says the 36-year-old actor had been to drug rehab in Malibu, California, a few weeks before her death. Panettiere was found unresponsive in an apartment in Greenville, South Carolina, on Aug. 16. The Greenville County Coroner’s Office says a combination of fentanyl and its chemical byproduct, as well as the anti-anxiety medication alprazolam, was found in Panettiere’s system. Her father told the coroner's office she was going to spend her birthday five days later in Greenville, then fly to Ukraine to see her daughter.
Coroner rules Hayden Panettiere's death an accident, stemming from a combination of several drugs including fentanyl.
A patient recently came to me for help after a family tragedy. The tragedy had changed this patient fundamentally. She was struggling. She did…
America is the land of possibility and the land of cockamamie schemes. Our enduring belief that anything is possible has helped the nation become the world’s largest economy, but it has also led us to fall head over heels for hucksters and charlatans. The terms “snake oil” and “Ponzi scheme” come from famous American frauds, and experts say social media influencers are making us more vulnerable than ever. But experts say it's not because we are stupid. We are desperate to live longer and feel better, and believing that things could get better, even if they are unlikely to, can be beneficial.
