The United States is one of only a handful of countries that allows companies to hold patents on plant varieties. As a result, a small number of corporations can – and do – suppress competition in the seed industry, stifle innovation and turn taxpayer subsidies intended for farmers into corporate profits.

The U.S. Department of ...Read more

Most people know that heat waves can be dangerous. What they may not realize is that the heat indoors can be much worse than outdoors.

When the power goes out and air conditioning stops, a house starts to function like a greenhouse. Heat enters through windows and walls and has nowhere to go. Air stagnates.

Within hours, ...Read more

“Namaste,” a common greeting in India and South Asia, has become a global cultural phenomenon – the word appears everywhere, from wellness retreats to political events to pop culture.

In many yoga classes in North America and Europe, it is a ritual to end practice by saying “namaste,” which means, in global yoga culture, ...Read more

Melatonin – a go-to sleep aid for kids and adults alike in many households in America – continues to create media buzz, with conflicting messages that leave people uncertain about its safety.

Some headlines point to melatonin’s supposed immunity boosting power, while others point to unestablished links between melatonin and ...Read more

Roughly two-thirds of Americans end their pregnancies by taking two abortion medications – misoprostol and mifepristone. Because these safe, effective medications can be prescribed via telehealth, without an in-office visit, they are how most patients terminate pregnancies in states that ban abortion.

In recent years, anti-abortion ...Read more

Kenyan Health Secretary Aden Duale has frozen the construction of an Ebola isolation facility for U.S. citizens, after he was found guilty of contempt for ignoring a court directive to halt the work.

“I have directed the immediate and complete cessation of any intended construction site preparations or related activities concerning the ...Read more

Sweating under a powerful afternoon sun, the crowd slapped their chests in time with the chanter's cry, his mournful refrain echoing over the abandoned, rubble-lined streets of this wounded city that has been the focus of Israel's latest attacks in Lebanon.

"Karbala, O Karbala!" the chanter called.

"This is the tragedy of Karbala," the crowd ...Read more

CHRISTIAN COUNTY, Ill. — By James Myers’ estimate, it’s been at least 10 years since the four oil wells on his farmland were abandoned.

That’s 10 years of farming around idle pump jacks and tabulating acres damaged by fluid leaks. Ten years of finding dead animals — birds and, once, a deer — in the open concrete pit the company dug...Read more

NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Four years ago, Tennessee became the first state to allow adults to buy the antiparasitic drug ivermectin from a pharmacy without first seeing a doctor. Pharmacies can use a pre-written, blanket prescription to sell to just about anyone who walks through their doors.

The drug is now marketed and sold across the state in ...Read more

DENTON, Texas — The Rev. Reginald Logan, 78, stands on East Prairie Street next to Oakwood Cemetery in southeast Denton on a Thursday afternoon. He leans against a black fence on the north side of the cemetery as he scans the cut grass and headstones.

As a child, the cemetery was his park. There, he and his friends played football and hide-...Read more

A new memoir by an ex-U.S. ambassador in Mexico — who wrote that former president Andrés Manuel López Obrador feared that a drug kingpin arrested by the FBI would "spill the beans" on corrupt Mexican officials — has ignited a media firestorm in Mexico.

In his book, Ken Salazar, the former U.S. envoy to Mexico City, said that the July ...Read more

U.S. Sen. Mitch McConnell will not vote in the Senate this week and is working “closely” with staff as his health continues to recover, spokesperson Stephanie Penn said Monday.

McConnell, 84, was hospitalized June 14, but his staff did not give details about his condition other than he was receiving “excellent care.”

Penn said in a ...Read more

A popular hiking and biking area near Golden was closed Monday after a bear attacked a hiker the night before — Colorado’s first reported attack of the year, according to state wildlife officials.

Jefferson County Parks and Open Space announced the closure of Apex Park shortly before 6:15 a.m. Monday. The park will reopen “when it is safe...Read more

California's effort to shield the decisions of transgender students in public schools from the eyes of prying parents remains on hold this week after the U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals found a state law designed to protect them was likely unconstitutional.

The U.S. Supreme Court previously upheld a temporary block on the law after it was ...Read more

With the Boyle Heights fire burning for a sixth straight day, here is an update on the latest conditions:

When do officials hope to have the fire contained?

Los Angeles Fire Chief Jaime Moore said he was hopeful that crews would extinguish the stubborn blaze burning inside a cold storage facility by the middle of the week and return the ...Read more

The Senate passed a sweeping housing bill on Monday, bringing Washington one step closer to enacting the most significant housing legislation in a generation.

The package — which passed in a 85-to-5 vote — would curb institutional investors’ influence in the housing market while streamlining rules to unlock supply.

The House and Senate ...Read more