Bake sale ban in Massachusetts sparks outcries over 'food police'

A cookie crackdown? A brownie ban? The time-honored bake sale falls under a new Massachusetts law that limits students' access to junk food before and after school. Aim is to fight obesity, but critics decry a nanny state of 'food police.'

Researchers tinker with bird flu: Are enough safeguards in place?

A new study and one to be published soon on Asian bird flu have prompted debate about safeguards during research and how much access others should have to research details.

Tanning Mom: Behind the Bad Mother witch hunt; even Snooki snipes

Tanning Mom: Commentators - including the toasted Snooki - are outraged that a young girl would be in a tanning salon, but have you checked out advertisements for children’s clothes recently? A lot of the white girls are tan. Unnaturally so.

Teens drinking hand sanitizer - though underage drinking is down

Teens drinking hand sanitizer to get drunk is a new trend noticed by California authorities. While overall underage drinking has been going down in the past decade, 72 percent of teens who do report having had an alcoholic drink apparently were able to get it without resorting to the gooey gel.

Mad cow: US 'confident' beef is safe, food-safety experts aren't sure

This week's incident of 'mad cow' disease presents no threat to human health, USDA officials say. But it does put a spotlight on beef safety practices, including how many cattle are inspected.

Fatal accident rate for US children and teens plunges since 2000

Nationwide, the rate of unintentional deaths for children and teenagers fell 30 percent between 2000 and 2009, a recent report finds. Biggest reason: fewer fatalities per capita due to auto accidents.

Nebraska approves prenatal care for illegal immigrants

Nebraska Gov. Dave Heineman (R) has worried that the bill will make Nebraska a ‘sanctuary’ for illegal immigrants, since it will become the only state in the Midwest to provide that benefit.

Synthetic marijuana on the rise: looks like pot, but 'far worse'

Synthetic marijuana is marketed as a cheap way to get a legal marijuana-like high. But health experts say it is 'way more' than marijuana and is 'very dangerous.'

CDC says child injury deaths down; prescription drug overdose up

Child injury deaths dropped 30 percent between 2000 and 2009, the CDC reports. But more teens are dying from prescription drug overdose.