In a surprise move, Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius overruled her own drug regulators Wednesday and said young teenagers cannot buy the Plan B morning-after pill without a prescription.
Her decision means the Plan B One-Step emergency contraceptive will remain behind pharmacy counters, as it is sold today -- available without a prescription only to those 17 and older who can prove their age.
Sebelius said she was concerned very young girls could not properly understand how to use the pill without guidance from an adult.
The Food and Drug Administration was preparing to lift the age limit Wednesday and allow younger teens to buy it without a prescription. That would have made Plan B the nation's first over-the-counter emergency contraceptive, a pill that can prevent pregnancy if taken soon enough after unprotected sex.
More troop remains dumped in landfill
The remains of many more troops were dumped in a landfill than the military originally acknowledged, before halting the practice three years ago, The Washington Post reported.
The incinerated partial remains of at least 274 U.S. troops were sent to a Virginia landfill, the Post said. The report was based on information at the Dover Air Force Base mortuary in Delaware, where the remains of most war dead return. The families of the dead authorized the military to dispose of the remains respectfully. They were unaware of the landfill dumping, the Post said.
Traffic fatalities hit record low in 2010
Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood urged Congress to enact a national law against texting and handheld cellphone use while driving, saying Congress must help "get people to understand that this is very, very dangerous behavior." Thirty-five states and the District of Columbia ban texting while driving.
LaHood will announce today that updated data show there were 32,885 traffic fatalities in 2010, the lowest level since 1949. --Larry Copeland
Billion-dollar disasters set record
The USA has endured 12 billion-dollar weather and climate disasters in 2011, breaking the record of nine set in 2008, the National Climatic Data Center said. Center climatologist Adam Smith said damage from the 12 events totaled about $52billion. He said 2011 will probably end up the third-costliest year ever, after 2005 (Hurricane Katrina) and 1988 (extreme drought, heat wave).
More than 1,000 people died from weather and climate events this year, National Weather Service Director Jack Hayes said. The 12 disasters: six severe weather/tornado outbreaks; the spring and summer flooding along the Missouri and Mississippi Rivers; the ongoing Southern drought; the February blizzard in the Central and Eastern U.S.; Hurricane Irene in August; and the Southwestern wildfires.--Doyle Rice
Arrest made in Georgia child's death
A maintenance worker was arrested in the beating death of a 7-year-old Georgia girl who was abducted and killed at an apartment complex and left in a trash bin, authorities said.
Ryan Brunn, 20, lived and worked at the complex, Georgia Bureau of Investigation chief Vernon Keenan said. Jorelys Rivera was last seen Friday walking home from a playground. Keenan said she was taken to an empty apartment, sexually assaulted, stabbed and beaten.
Also
LAS VEGAS -- A helicopter on a luxury sunset tour of the Las Vegas Strip and Hoover Dam crashed into a mountainside, killing the pilot and all four passengers, the National Park Service said.
WASHINGTON -- At least 62 protesters upset about what they call corporate greed were arrested after shutting down K Street, home to many lobbying firms, and snarling midday traffic, police said. The arrests came hours after police swept through a protest camp in San Francisco, arresting 85 people and removing 100 tents.
A salute to Pearl Harbor survivors
Veterans from Pearl Harbor observed the 70th anniversary of the attack with a solemn ceremony at the site of the Japanese bombing, then announced they will disband their association at the end of the month.
"It was time. Some of the requirements became a burden," William Muehleib, president of the Pearl Harbor Survivors Association, said. He also cited poor health among the 2,700 members.
Survivors of the Japanese attack on Dec. 7, 1941, can attend future commemorations on their own. About 3,000 people attended this year's anniversary at a site overlooking the sunken USS Arizona. Muehleib said there are an estimated 7,000 to 8,000 Pearl Harbor survivors.
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