Health & Safety

Police officers search a suspect for heroin on March 14, in New London, Conn. Police say an increasing number of suburban addicts are coming into the city to buy the drug, which is much cheaper than opioid painkillers.

Legalize All Drugs? The 'Risks Are Tremendous' Without Defining The Problem

10:29am March 27, 2016

by NPR Staff

In his Harper's piece, Dan Baum digs into the country's war on drugs. He says we have a long history of instating drug laws to demonize certain minority groups, but "Nixon brought it to a high art."

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Windy Farrell is a jazz singer from California.

It Don't Mean A Thing If It Ain't Got That Senegalese Swing

8:39am March 27, 2016

by Ofeibea Quist-Arcton

As a teenager in Senegal, Amadou Koly Niang fell in love with jazz. Over 40 years later, he's started a jazz festival to bring the music to his countrymen — with a Senegalese twist, of course.

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In November 2014, a worker stands by dividers to separate patients in an Ebola treatment facility under construction in the Port Loko district of Sierra Leone.

Health & Safety

Ebola: We May Have Won The Battle But We Haven't Won The War

7:00am March 27, 2016

by Karin Huster

A health worker who spent a year in West Africa during the epidemic shares lessons from the field. Good things did happen. But a lot went wrong.

When An Autism Diagnosis Comes In Adulthood

6:00am March 27, 2016

Growing up, they knew something was different, but nobody put a name to it. For many, it took years to get a diagnosis: autism. Finally hearing that word can be a relief.

Eduardo Martinez shares a picture of himself as Samantha (in the blond wig).

Health & Safety

Love, Loss And Beauty Pageants: Inside A Cuban HIV Sanitarium

5:57pm March 26, 2016

by Rebecca Sananes

The "Christian Dior Of Cuba" looks back on bittersweet memories from his time living in a housing facility for people with HIV.

Carolyn Rossi, a registered nurse at the Hospital of Central Connecticut, says the opioid epidemic has required nurses who used to specialize in care for infants gain insights into caring for addicted mothers, as well.

To Help Newborns Dependent On Opioids, Hospitals Rethink Mom's Role

2:00pm March 26, 2016

by Jeff Cohen

When a woman addicted to opioids gives birth, she is too often dismissed as an obstacle to her infant's health. A Connecticut hospital is challenging that attitude — and the culture of care.

A 'Forgotten Disease' Is Suddenly Causing New Worries

5:50pm March 25, 2016

by Nurith Aizenman

Yellow fever is spreading in Angola. Experts are afraid it could spread further in Africa and Asia. This couldn't come at a worse time.

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Doctors are trying to slowly wean Lexi from her dependence on methadone. She's just 2 weeks old. Under a doctor's advice, her mom took methadone while pregnant, to help kick a heroin habit.

Tiny Opioid Patients Need Help Easing Into Life

4:07pm March 25, 2016

by Kristin Gourlay

More babies are being born dependent on opioids. The good news is they can safely be weaned from the drug. But there is little research on which medical treatment is best, or on the long-term effects.

There are about 1,000 genetically engineered mosquitoes in each pot. Guilherme Trivellato of the biotech company Oxitec prepares to release them in Piracicaba, Brazil, in the hope of reducing the spread of Zika and other viruses.

How Could Releasing More Mosquitoes Help Fight Zika?

11:16am March 25, 2016

by Rob Stein

A biotech company says its genetically engineered mosquitoes could help Brazil and other countries fight the Aedes aegypti mosquitoes, which spread Zika and other viruses.

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Salimata Sylla, a mother of three, visits Grand Bassam with her family to show she's not afraid of terrorists. On March 13, al-Qaida gunmen killed some 19 people at the beachfront town.

A Day At The Beach Is A Way Of Saying 'We're Not Afraid' Of Terrorists

6:59pm March 24, 2016

by Ofeibea Quist-Arcton

A mother in Ivory Coast defiantly brings her children to the resort town where al-Qaida terrorists killed 19 people on March 13. A new music video reinforces her stand.

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