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Tenn. high court reverses Judd death investigation order

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Tennessee's high court on Thursday vacated a ruling that required police to publicly release their investigation of country singer Naomi Judd's death. The state Supreme Court did not rule on whether the records can be released, but sent the case back to the lower court for another hearing. Judd's family filed a petition in Williamson County Chancery Court in August, saying the police records contain video and audio interviews with relatives in the immediate aftermath of Judd's death. Releasing such details would inflict "significant trauma and irreparable ...

County has shortage of long-term care advocates

October is Residents’ Rights Month, which focuses on finding volunteer ombudsmen, who educate residents, families and long-term care staff on residents’ rights. Before the COVID-19 pandemic, Minnesota’s Office of Ombudsman for Long-Term Care had 33 certified ombudsman volunteers statewide. But by the fall of 2022, there are only 14 volunteer ombudsmen serving nearly 2,500 nursing care and assisted living facilities across Minnesota. Addressing the ombudsman volunteer shortage is one focus of Residents’ Rights Month. There are currently 14 regions in the state without any ...

US outlines plan for long-term baby formula imports

WASHINGTON (AP) — U.S. regulators on Friday unveiled their plan to allow foreign baby formula manufacturers to stay on the market long term, an effort to diversify the nation's tightly concentrated industry and prevent future shortages. The Food and Drug Administration said recent entrants to the U.S. market will have until October 2025 to make sure their formulas comply with federal standards for nutrition, labeling and manufacturing. The agency noted that some companies should be able to meet those requirements sooner. The U.S. has been forced to turn to foreign manufacturers to ...

Katie Couric says she’s been treated for breast cancer

NEW YORK (AP) — Katie Couric said Wednesday that she'd been diagnosed with breast cancer, and underwent surgery and radiation treatment this summer to treat the tumor. Couric, who memorably was tested for colon cancer on the "Today" show in 2000, announced her diagnosis in an essay on her website, saying she hoped it would encourage other women to be tested. Couric, 65, was diagnosed on the first day of summer and wrote that she had her final radiation treatment on Tuesday. "My left breast does feel like I've been sunbathing topless, but other than that, I've felt fine," she ...

Trucking regs waived to fight avian flu outbreak

ST. PAUL — In an attempt to protect the state’s poultry industry and prevent the spread of avian influenza, Gov. Tim Walz waived trucking regulations in an executive order on Wednesday. The order is part of the continued efforts to control and contain the current outbreak of H5N1 highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) in Minnesota. The outbreak poses a high risk to poultry but a low risk to the public, and there is no food safety concern for consumers. “We are taking swift action to contain the spread of avian influenza and support Minnesota’s poultry farmers and ...

Vaccine appears to protect against monkeypox, CDC says

WASHINGTON (AP) — At-risk people who received a single dose of the monkeypox vaccine in U.S. efforts against the virus appeared to be significantly less likely to get sick, public health officials announced Wednesday, even as they urged a second dose for full protection. It was the first look public health officials have offered into how the Jynneos vaccine is affecting monkeypox, a virus that is primarily spread among men who have sex with infected men. "These new data provide us with a level of cautious optimism that the vaccine is working as intended," Rochelle Walensky, ...