Valeant CEO 'disappointed' in Allergan poison pill: CNBC
 

(Reuters) - The chief executive officer of Valeant Pharmaceuticals, which made a $47 billion unsolicited offer for competitor Allergan Inc on Tuesday, said during an interview on CNBC that he was "disappointed" with Allergan's so-called poison pill. Allergan on Tuesday night said its board of directors had adopted a one-year stockholder rights plan to give it more time to consider takeover proposals. The Valeant offer was made with Pershing Square Capital Management hedge fund, which built up a stake in the company. ...

Weight loss plan better than usual diet for diabetes patients
 By Andrew M. Seaman NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - A commercial diet plan that includes prepackaged foods, menu plans and access to counselors was better at helping people with type 2 diabetes shed pounds than a typical diet, according to a new study. What's more, people who took part in the commercial diet plan had better blood sugar control after a year. Jenny Craig, the diet program used in the new study, funded the research and consulted with researchers during the development of the study. Obesity is linked to a number of health conditions, including heart disease, stroke and type 2 diabetes.

Exclusive: FBI warns healthcare sector vulnerable to cyber attacks
 

By Jim Finkle BOSTON (Reuters) - The FBI has warned healthcare providers their cybersecurity systems are lax compared to other sectors, making them vulnerable to attacks by hackers searching for Americans' personal medical records and health insurance data. Health data is far more valuable to hackers on the black market than credit card numbers because it tends to contain details that can be used to access bank accounts or obtain prescriptions for controlled substances. "The healthcare industry is not as resilient to cyber intrusions compared to the financial and retail sectors, therefore the possibility of increased cyber intrusions is likely," the Federal Bureau of Investigation said in a private notice it has been distributing to healthcare providers, obtained by Reuters.

Study: Gene therapy may boost cochlear implants
 WASHINGTON (AP) — Australian researchers are trying a novel way to boost the power of cochlear implants: They used the technology to beam gene therapy into the ears of deaf animals and found the combination improved hearing.

Paramedics called to Canada PM Harper's home on Sunday
 

By Louise Egan OTTAWA (Reuters) - Paramedics were called to the residence of Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper on the weekend, police and municipal officials said on Wednesday, but circumstances of the emergency, which did not involve Harper or his family, were unclear. The Globe and Mail and other local media reported that an 18-year old girl was taken to the hospital for severe intoxication after a party at the residence, citing the Ottawa Paramedic Service. The Paramedic Service was not immediately available to confirm the reports and a spokeswoman for the City of Ottawa, which oversees the paramedics, said confidentiality prevented her from disclosing details. "We can confirm that Ottawa Paramedic Services responded to a call for service on Sussex Drive in the early morning of Sunday, April 20," the spokeswoman said, referring to the official residence.

U.S. soldier convicted in WikiLeaks case granted name change
 

Former U.S. soldier Bradley Manning, who is serving 35 years in prison for turning over classified files to WikiLeaks, can exchange the name Bradley for Chelsea to reflect her desire to be treated as a woman, a judge in Kansas ruled on Wednesday. Manning's name is legally changed to Chelsea Elizabeth Manning, according to the decision handed down by Leavenworth County District Judge David King. Manning will be issued a new birth certificate to reflect the name change.

Gates-backed TB drug to enter late-stage testing
 By Julie Steenhuysen CHICAGO (Reuters) - The first experimental drug that fights both conventional and drug-resistant forms of tuberculosis is advancing to late-stage clinical testing, researchers said on Wednesday, raising hope for a new way to stem the growing threat of drug-resistant TB. The trial, financed in part by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, will test the safety and effectiveness of a new three-drug cocktail known as PaMZ that in mid-stage testing helped to significantly reduce treatment times. In a statement announcing the trial, Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates, co-chair of the Gates Foundation, said the treatment could "reduce the time required to cure drug-resistant TB from two years to just six months" and sharply cut the cost of a cure in low-income countries. The World Health Organization estimates that 8.6 million people developed TB in 2012 and 1.3 million died from the disease.

France sees small increase in pot-related heart problems
 By Andrew M. Seaman NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - The number of heart complications attributed to marijuana use increased slightly in France between 2006 and 2010, according to a new study. The number of heart attacks and other cardiovascular problems blamed on marijuana increased from five events in 2006 to 11 events in 2010. "It is true that we don't have a lot of cases, but it is important to keep in mind that cannabis use may be harmful," Emilie Jouanjus told Reuters Health. Jouanjus is the study's lead author from Universite Toulouse III - Paul Sabatier in Toulouse, France.

TSX ends lower as Valeant pulls back
 

By Alastair Sharp TORONTO (Reuters) - Canada's main stock index edged lower on Wednesday, with gains from some big energy producers offset by dips in heavyweight banks and a pullback in Valeant Pharmaceuticals International Inc shares after an acquisition-backed bump. Suncor Energy Inc gained 2.6 percent to C$41.37 and Canadian Natural Resources Ltd added 0.7 percent to C$32.66 even as record U.S. crude inventories hurt oil prices. ...

Oregon investigates mysterious honeybee deaths along state highway
 By Shelby Sebens PORTLAND, Oregon (Reuters) - Oregon agriculture authorities are investigating the mysterious deaths of potentially thousands of honeybees along a highway, the second die-off of bees in the state in less than a year. Officials said on Wednesday that they did not reach the site along highway 99 in Sherwood, a small city southwest of Portland, in time to document the precise number of bees. "From what I've learned, when bees swarm, there can be anywhere from one to 10,000 in a swarm, so if that indeed was a case of a swarm of bees in the area, it could be in that range," said Oregon Department of Agriculture spokesman Bruce Pokarney.

California city sees spike in whooping cough cases
 A Southern California city has seen a spike in reported whooping cough cases so far this year, with the number of infections nearly tripling compared to all of last year, possibly due to a less potent vaccine or lower vaccination rates, officials said on Wednesday. Some 43 cases of whooping cough, or pertussis, have been documented since January in Long Beach, a city of about 470,000, up from 15 cases reported in all of 2013 and four cases reported in 2012, Long Beach Health Officer Michael Kushner said. Whooping cough is a highly contagious bacterial infection that often begins with cold-like symptoms and a mild cough, followed by severe coughing that can last for several weeks. Kushner said the rise in whooping cough cases in Long Beach was likely due to a drop in vaccinations or booster shots, a weakened vaccine or infections that are left untreated.

Wall Street snaps six-day run; Apple to split stock
 

By Chuck Mikolajczak NEW YORK (Reuters) - U.S. stocks dipped on Wednesday to snap a six-session winning streak as gains in Boeing and Gilead were offset by slides in AT&T and the wider biotech sector. AT&T Inc fell 3.8 percent to $34.92 a day after the Dow component reported earnings that beat expectations, offset by weak service revenue growth. Verizon Communications shed 1 percent to $47.43 while the S&P telecom sector index dropped 2.2 percent, easily making it the session's worst-performing sector. Biotech shares pulled the Nasdaq lower.

California county tries to ban pot farms as medical weed business thrives
 

By Sharon Bernstein SACRAMENTO, California (Reuters) - Citing marijuana fields springing up next to high schools and in abandoned barns, Sacramento County supervisors are set to declare pot gardens a public nuisance in the latest move by a local government to rein in California's cannabis industry. U.S. states are increasingly moving to drop curbs on marijuana following landmark voter initiatives in Colorado and Washington state in 2012 that legalized the drug for recreational use. But in California, where medical marijuana is legal but recreational use is not, state laws are hazy on who is allowed to grow and sell the drug, leading to a chaotic and largely unregulated marketplace of street-corner pot dispensaries, illegal cannabis farms and inappropriate prescribing by unethical doctors. Cities and counties have struggled to impose order on an piecemeal basis as the state wrestles with developing a regulatory framework for the thriving if messy medical marijuana industry.

Vermont lawmakers send GMO food-labeling law to governor
 A law that would make Vermont the first U.S. state to enact mandatory labeling of foods made with genetically modified organisms, or GMOs, received final approval from state lawmakers on Wednesday and now heads to the governor's desk. The Vermont House of Representative passed the bill 114-30. Last week, the Vermont Senate, by a vote of 28-2, approved the measure, which requires foods containing GMOs sold at retail outlets to be labeled as having been produced or partially produced with "genetic engineering." "Vermont's leading the nation on this, giving consumers basic information about the food that they are eating," said Falko Schilling, a spokesman for the Vermont Public Interest Research Group, which backed the bill. The Vermont bill also makes it illegal to describe any food product containing GMOs as "natural" or "all natural." Unlike bills passed last year in Maine and Connecticut, which require other states to pass GMO labeling laws before they can be enacted, Vermont's contains no such trigger clause.

Two 10-year-olds caught selling grandparents' pot at Colorado school
 By Keith Coffman DENVER (Reuters) - Two 10-year-old boys in Colorado were caught selling and swapping marijuana that they pilfered from their grandparents' supplies of legally purchased pot in separate incidents at the same school, a district official said on Wednesday. John Gates, director of safety and security for Weld County School District 6, said a fourth-grade boy at Monfort Elementary in Greeley brought a small amount of marijuana to school on Monday and sold it to three other classmates. That boy nibbled on the edible, but suffered no ill-effects, Gates said, adding that another student observed the incident and reported it to school authorities. Voters in Colorado approved the possession and use of small amounts of cannabis by adults for recreational purposes in 2012, and the first state-licensed retail pot stores opened in the state in January.

U.N. chief demands Security Council action on Syria
 By Michelle Nichols and Louis Charbonneau UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon demanded on Wednesday that the Security Council take action in Syria on violations of international law as he reported to the body that none of the warring parties was adhering to U.N. demands for aid access. In his second monthly report to the 15-member council on the implementation of a resolution demanding great humanitarian aid access in Syria, Ban said "none of the parties to the conflict have adhered to the demands of the Council." "The Security Council must take action to deal with these flagrant violations of the basic principles of international law," he wrote in the 21-page report. But diplomats said Russia was unlikely to agree to any action, such as sanctions, if Syria's government was found to be at fault.

Doctor convicted in Michael Jackson death denied latest appeal
 

The California Supreme Court on Wednesday refused to hear an appeal by Michael Jackson's personal physician, Conrad Murray, who was found guilty of involuntary manslaughter in the pop star's death. Murray was released from a Los Angeles jail in October after serving two years but wants to clear his name. The cardiologist's attorney, Valerie Wass, said Murray will likely attempt to overturn his conviction in federal court.

Oklahoma high court clears way for two inmates' executions
 By Heide Brandes OKLAHOMA CITY (Reuters) - The Oklahoma Supreme Court lifted a stay of execution on Wednesday for two murderers, put in place due to concerns over secrecy surrounding lethal injection drugs, clearing the way for them to be put to death next week. The court said their records indicate that the inmates have been provided with the identity and dosages of the drugs for the lethal injections and there were no pending secrecy concerns that would merit a further stay. The decision came a few hours after a member of the House of Representatives said he would start proceedings that could have led to impeachment proceedings in the state's legislature for court members. The two inmates, Clayton Lockett and Charles Warner, had been scheduled to be executed in March but had the death sentences put on hold after lower courts ruled that the state needed to provide more information on the drugs.

Herbalife punished 600 distributors for medical claims: ABC News
 

Herbalife, a weight loss and nutrition company being investigated for allegations of running a pyramid scheme, disciplined hundreds of distributors last year for making unsubstantiated medical claims about its products, ABC News reported on Wednesday. The network said the company disclosed the internal figures after an ABC News investigation found what it called "numerous examples of distributors boasting to potential customers that the company's products helped treat maladies ranging from diabetes to heart disease." In one case, an ABC reporter posing as a customer caught a Staten Island, New York, distributor on a hidden camera saying a woman overcame a brain tumor after using Herbalife products, the network said. Asked by ABC in a televised report if Herbalife cured brain tumors, Herbalife President Des Walsh said: "Absolutely not. ABC said that since the interview, Herbalife had told the network it disciplined almost 600 distributors last year for making such claims and stripped 12 of their distributorships.

Exclusive: Marubeni says Chinese authorities detain three staff at grain unit
 

By James Topham and Niu Shuping TOKYO/BEIJING (Reuters) - Three employees at one of Marubeni Corp's grain trading units in China have been detained by authorities, the Japanese trading house said on Thursday, a move industry sources said was prompted by allegations of tax evasion on soy bean imports. The employees worked at a Chinese unit of Marubeni's Columbia Grain, Inc, a spokesman at Marubeni said, adding he did not know why they had been detained. Japan's chief cabinet secretary, Yoshihide Suga, said none of the detained staff at the unit were Japanese citizens. The detentions come amid a wave of soybean defaults in China, where a combination of poor crushing margins and difficulty getting credit has led to a spike in rejected cargoes.

Technology group to decide Cover Oregon's future
 PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — After weeks of deliberation, a committee is poised to make a final recommendation Thursday on what to do with Oregon's botched health insurance exchange portal.

Managers mishandled radiation leak at New Mexico nuclear site -official
 Managers mishandled a radiation leak at a New Mexico nuclear waste dump in which 21 workers were exposed to airborne radioactive particles due in part to substandard equipment and safety systems, a U.S. investigator said on Wednesday. But the contamination from the underground salt mine in the Chihuahuan Desert - where radioactive waste from U.S. nuclear labs and weapons facilities is deposited - was unlikely to have harmed the workers' health, inspectors said. Ted Wyka, chairman of a federal accident review board, said improperly placed or inoperative air monitors, a substandard ventilation system and mismanagement contributed to the February 14 leak of radioisotopes including plutonium. The preliminary findings by Wyka and other officials assembled by the U.S. Energy Department, which oversees the plant, came during a public meeting in Carlsbad, New Mexico on Wednesday.

FDA moves to ban sales of e-cigarettes to minors
 

By Toni Clarke WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. Food and Drug Administration proposed rules on Thursday that would ban the sale of e-cigarettes to anyone under 18, but would not restrict flavored products, online sales or advertising, which public health advocates say attract children. FDA Commissioner Margaret Hamburg said at a briefing that the proposal represented the first "foundational" step towards broader restrictions if scientific evidence shows they are needed to protect public health. Critics of e-cigarette advertising say it risks introducing a new generation of young people to conventional cigarettes when little is known about the long-term health impact of the products. "It's very disappointing because they don't do anything to rein in the wild-west marketing that is targeting kids," said Stanton Glantz, a professor at the Center of Tobacco Control Research and Education at the University of California San Francisco.

Saudi Arabia reports 2 more deaths from MERS virus
 

RIYADH, Saudi Arabia (AP) — Saudi Arabia's health ministry says two more patients who became infected with a Middle East virus related to SARS have died, and that 13 others have contracted the virus.

Mississippi sets 20-week limit on abortions
 (Reuters) - Mississippi will ban abortions after more than 20 weeks of pregnancy from July, joining other conservative U.S. states that have placed restrictions on the procedure. A handful of states have in recent years enacted laws that place restrictions on the procedure, especially on late-term abortions, citing hotly debated medical research that a fetus feels pain at 20 weeks of gestation, halfway through a full-term pregnancy. "Today is an important day for protecting the unborn and the health and safety of women in Mississippi," Governor Phil Bryant said in a statement after signing the bill, which becomes law on July 1. In Mississippi, abortions would be legal after 20 weeks if a woman's life was in danger or if the fetus suffers "from fetal abnormalities so great that life outside the womb is not viable," said Bryant, a Republican.

Watch: FDA Wants Warning Label on E-Cigarettes, Ban on Sales to Minors
 The agency proposes to regulate the fast-growing industry as tobacco products.

Exclusive: Three employees at Marubeni's grain unit in China detained
 

By James Topham and Niu Shuping TOKYO/BEIJING (Reuters) - Three employees at one of Marubeni Corp's grain trading unit in China have been detained, Chinese customs said on Thursday, a move prompted by allegations of tax evasion on soybean imports. The three local staff worked at a Chinese unit of Marubeni's Columbia Grain, Inc, the Japanese trading house and Chinese customs in the port city of Qingdao said. The detentions could add to recent pressure on soybean prices after a wave of soybean cargo defaults in China, where a combination of poor crushing margins and difficulty getting credit has led to a spike in rejected cargoes. U.S. soybean futures hit their lowest since April 14 on Thursday, on concerns about defaults by top buyer China, which buys more than 60 percent of global imports.

Lilly posts sales below estimates, trims profit forecast
 

(Reuters) - U.S. drugmaker Eli Lilly and Co reported lower-than-expected quarterly revenue on Thursday, hurt by disappointing sales of its cancer and diabetes drugs, and trimmed its 2014 profit forecast. Lilly said it earned $728 million, or 68 cents per share, in the first quarter. It had profit of $1.55 billion, or $1.42 per share, a year earlier, when Lilly posted special gains from transferring rights to a diabetes drug. Excluding special items, Lilly earned 70 cents per share, matching the average estimate of analysts, as compiled by Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S. Revenue fell 16 percent to ...

Three Americans killed in Kabul hospital attack
 

Three Americans were killed on Thursday when a security guard opened fire at a Kabul hospital funded by a U.S. Christian charity, in the latest of a spate of attacks on foreign civilians in Afghanistan. A fourth American was wounded, the Afghan Health Ministry said. The attacker, a policeman employed as a security guard at the Cure Hospital, was captured, the ministry said. The Taliban have claimed responsibility for similar attacks this year, but made no comment about Thursday's shooting.

TSX set to open higher after results from Apple, Facebook
 

April 24 - Canadian stock index futures inched higher on Thursday as upbeat earnings from heavyweights such as Apple and Facebook outweighed weak results from Potash Corp . June futures on the S&P TSX index were up 0.06 percent at 0715 ET. No major economic events are scheduled in Canada. The Toronto Stock Exchange's S&P/TSX composite index eased on Wednesday, with gains from some big energy producers offset by weakness in banks and a pullback in Valeant Pharmaceuticals' shares. Dow Jones Industrial Average futures were up 0.3 percent at 0715 ET, S&P 500 futures were up 0. ...

Futures gain on tech results, Apple soars in premarket
 

By Ryan Vlastelica NEW YORK (Reuters) - U.S. stock index futures were higher on Thursday, with Nasdaq futures jumping more than 1 percent following a pair of blowout results from technology stalwarts Apple and Facebook. * Apple Inc in particular will be in focus a day after the most valuable U.S. company by market capitalization posted revenue that far outpaced expectations, helped by strong iPhone sales. Shares rose 7.7 percent to $565 in heavy premarket trading. * Social media giant Facebook Inc posted a 72 percent jump in first-quarter revenue, lifted by its mobile advertising business.

Zimmer to buy Biomet in $13.35 billion deal
 (Reuters) - Medical device maker Zimmer Holdings Inc said it would buy orthopedic products company Biomet Inc in a deal valued at about $13.35 billion to broaden its portfolio of products that treat bone and joint-related disorders. Zimmer will pay $10.35 billion in cash and issue $3 billion in shares to Biomet shareholders. Biomet was taken private for $11.4 billion in 2007 by a private equity consortium including affiliates of Blackstone Group, Goldman Sachs Capital Partners, Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co and TPG. Biomet was advised by BofA Merrill Lynch, Goldman Sachs, Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton LLP and Weil, Gotshal & Manges LLP.

Alstom shares jump on report of GE bid
 

By Natalie Huet PARIS (Reuters) - Shares in Alstom jumped more than 14 percent on Thursday after a report that U.S. conglomerate General Electric was in talks to buy the struggling French turbine and train maker for about $13 billion. If confirmed, a takeover offer from a foreign company would raise eyebrows among politicians and unions in France, where Alstom employs around 18,000 staff, or 20 percent of its global workforce. A deal, which would be GE's biggest ever and would hand it control of Alstom's high-speed TGV trains and rail-signal technology, has the support of Bouygues , Alstom's biggest shareholder with a 29 percent stake, the report said. Alstom, which has put its transport division up for sale in an attempt to fill a hole in its balance sheet, said on Thursday it was "not informed of any potential public tender offer for the shares of the company" and promised an update on its options when it releases annual results on May 7.

AstraZeneca plans spin-offs as cancer progress fuels bid talk
 By Ben Hirschler LONDON (Reuters) - AstraZeneca announced faster-than-expected progress of its experimental cancer drugs and plans to spin off billions of dollars of non-core assets as it staked a claim for independence following reports of bid interest from Pfizer. The British firm declined to comment on Thursday about a weekend newspaper report it had spurned a 60 billion pound $101 billion (60 billion pounds) bid approach from Pfizer earlier this year. Instead, Chief Executive Pascal Soriot said he remained focused on sharpening AstraZeneca's portfolio, and as part of that unveiled plans to sell or partner infection and neuroscience units with combined sales of $3.5 billion in 2013. The drugs sector is in the grip of a wave of deal-making as firms strive to build up their best businesses and exit weaker ones, as highlighted by a multibillion-dollar asset swap between Novartis and GlaxoSmithKline.

Ebola death toll in West Africa rises to 147
 DAKAR, Senegal (AP) — The World Health Organization says 147 people have died from the Ebola virus outbreak in West Africa.

Michigan man among 1st in US to get 'bionic eye'
 

ANN ARBOR, Mich. (AP) — A degenerative eye disease slowly robbed Roger Pontz of his vision.

Vermont leading US in GMO labeling campaign
 MONTPELIER, Vt. (AP) — Vermont could likely be the first state in the country to require labels on genetically modified foods, under a bill approved by both legislative chambers and favored by the governor.

PTSD from your ZIP code
 Nightly gunshots wake Veronica Morris.

New brain maps released
 Two brain map studies released Wednesday in the journal Nature describe the brain in different ways.

Think your thoughts are private?
 Scientists have made significant strides in being able to decode thoughts based on brain activity.