Historic Floodwaters Begin To Recede In Minot, N.D.

The Souris River is slowly retreating in Minot, N.D., where the river peaked early Sunday at levels not seen in more than a century. About 4,000 homes are flooded and a quarter of the town’s 40-thousand residents are displaced. There is a constant stream of dump trucks crossing the main bridge in downtown Minot. Construction [...]

In Old Age, Illness And Dying Can Be Postponed

Gerontologist and commentator Mark Lachs says research in aging shows that once people reach a certain age, rates of disease, disability, and death start to decline. I have a 98-year-old patient who’s not only independent but rather dashing. He recently asked a series of questions that reminded me of one of the most intriguing scientific [...]

Russian Women Prove It’s Hip To Be A Babushka

In Russian culture, one iconic image is the elderly woman — in Russian, you call her a “babushka” — sitting on a roadside, selling vegetables from her garden. One group of babushkas from the village of Buranovo, 600 miles east of Moscow, is blowing up that stereotype. The dozen or so women – mostly in [...]

Egypt’s State TV Has New Masters, But Old Habits

When Egyptian protesters clamored for the ouster of President Hosni Mubarak in February, State TV journalist Shahira Amin took a bold move: She quit her job, joined the demonstrators and denounced her network’s coverage. Mubarak fled his presidential compound in Cairo on Feb. 11, and Amin and many others believed it would usher in a [...]

Japanese Ask: What Kind Of Changes Do We Want?

At a hospital in northern Japan, two high-school girls drag a muddy bed outside, puffing with exertion, before throwing it onto a huge trash heap. Other kids push wheelbarrows brimming with a brown sludge made of mud and seawater. The whole high school class is cleaning up the waterlogged Minami-hama Chuo Hospital, near the northeastern [...]

Pro- And Anti-Gay Marriage Take Heart From NY Vote

New York’s annual Gay Pride Parade became a rolling victory party Sunday, two days after the state became the second largest in the country to legalize same-sex marriage. One of those celebrating, Lindsey Katt, said she felt “a great sense of joy,” although she added with a laugh, “there is a resounding feeling of ‘we’ve [...]

The Parkinson’s Doctor Will Video Chat With You Now

People with chronic medical problems like Parkinson’s disease can have a hard time finding a specialist who can help them manage the disease. Some patients are turning to doctors hundreds of miles away to get the care they need. But they’re not driving to get to the doctor. They’re doing the medical version of telecommuting, [...]

In New York, A Celebration Of Gay-Marriage Law

Hundreds of thousands of people lined Fifth Avenue from Midtown all the way down to Greenwich Village on Sunday for the one of the world’s oldest and largest gay-pride parades. The parade took place less than two days after Gov. Andrew Cuomo signed the state’s new marriage-equality law, making New York the sixth state, along [...]

Tipping Point For The European Union?

When European Union leaders met in Brussels last week, they faced some difficult decisions. For the past year, the EU has continually bailed out its debt-ridden member countries to keep the bloc and its currency afloat. Despite this assistance, Greece may yet default on its obligations, plunging Europe and much of the world into another [...]

Water Level Appears To Fall In Flooded N.D. Town

The Souris River appears to be starting a slow decline at Minot, N.D., where efforts to hold off further flood damage are successful so far. The river’s level dropped in four straight hourly readings through midday Sunday, though by just a few hundredths of an inch. National Weather Service meteorologist Ken Simosko says the Souris [...]