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US has lowest life expectancy among rich, English-speaking countries, study says

A new study has found that Americans have the lowest life expectancy of similar English-speaking countries. The researchers from Penn State University who conducted the study compared mortality rates from 1990 to 2019 from six English-speaking nations and found that people in Canada, Ireland, the U.K., Australia, and New Zealand all on average live longer than their American counterparts.

In the U.S., the average life expectancy for men is 76.5 while the average for women is about 81.5 years. In Australia, on the other hand, women lived nearly four more years and men five more years than men and women America.

The study also found that men and women in California and Hawaii lived longer than other Americans — though still not as long as Australians — while people in the Southeast’s life expectancy is well below the U.S. average (72.6 for women, 69.3 for men).

The study’s author attributes the lower rates to more young Americans dying from preventable deaths like drug overdoses, murder, and car accidents than in other countries, as well as middle-aged Americans having higher rates of death from cardiovascular disease.

—New York Daily News

Gen Z voters oppose social media limits, new study finds

American teens are generally against the idea of regulations that would place restrictions on their use of social media platforms, despite knowing the potential harms to mental and physical health, according to a poll of 430 first-time voters.

A study designed by the Stanford Deliberative Democracy Lab found that more than 60% of new voters oppose requiring kids under age 16 to seek parental consent to use social media. More than 85% of young people think there should be no time limits on when they can receive social media notifications, such as at night or during school hours.

Members of Generation Z — young people between the ages of 12 and 27 — are some of the most active users on social media services like Meta Platforms Inc.’s Instagram, ByteDance Ltd.’s TikTok and Snap Inc.’s Snapchat.

Parents, lawmakers, regulators and child safety advocates have spent years pushing for rules they say will ease the risks posed by heavy use of these services. But those just reaching voting age are starting to have more influence over who represents them, and the policies that they advance — including a crackdown on social media use.

—Bloomberg News

Bees sting man 200 times, kill 2 horses in frightening attack in Jurupa Valley

A man in Jurupa Valley survived an onslaught of aggressive bees despite being stung more than 200 times and experiencing a frightening allergic reaction. Two of his horses, however, were not so lucky.

Riverside County firefighters arrived at the 9500 block of 52nd Street Friday afternoon to find Antonio Moreno and his 12-year-old son suffering from a profusion of bee stings, inflicted while they were feeding their four horses in the 9500 block of 52nd Street, ABC7 reported.

Moreno did not know he was allergic to bee venom until he was attacked, he told the local television station in Spanish. "Everything began to close up, my throat closed up, and my heart felt like it was going to explode," Moreno said. "My chest hurt so much, everything hurt," he told ABC7.

Two of the four horses died in the attack. Moreno said at least 200 stingers were removed from his neck and arms. This time of year, bees can be more aggressive because the nectar in their hives can dry up. "Bees get hangry" just like humans, said Tyler Durboraw, a beekeeper and manager at Los Angeles County-based Bill's Bees.

—Los Angeles Times

Russia's Belgorod region in state of emergency after Ukraine attack

MOSCOW — The Russian border region of Belgorod declared a state of emergency on Wednesday as Ukrainian forces continue to advance on Russian territory.

Belgorod Governor Vyacheslav Gladkov described the situation as "extremely difficult and tense" as border areas come under drone and missile fire from Ukraine. The Russian Ministry of Defense said its forces repelled 117 drone attacks and destroyed four tactical missiles. Russian military airfields are also said to have been attacked.

Following the invasion of Ukrainian troops over a weed ago, the Kursk region declared a state of emergency of national importance, which is one level higher than was is now in effect in neighboring Belgorod.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Tuesday said his country's forces have seized dozens of Russian localities in Kursk region.

—dpa