By Juan Ortega |South Florida Sun Sentinel

MIAMI – After her grandmother died of heart disease, Davie seventh-grader Brooke Steinberg decided to do something to help save the life of another grandmother suffering from heart problems, a woman she didn't even know.

With help from her friends and family, Brooke started selling brownies, lemonade and wristbands in her neighborhood until she raised about $2,500.

...She decided to team up with the Larry King Cardiac Foundation, based in Washington, D.C., to raise money to help save the life of another grandmother suffering from heart problems.

The foundation funds heart operations for working-class people who don't have health insurance or can't afford the cost of such operations.

She said she wrote a letter to Larry King Jr., 47, president of the cardiac foundation and son of CNN show host Larry King. She told him how she wanted to help.

(Read More from Sun-Sentinel)

To learn more about the Larry King Cardiac Foundation, Visit Here

Filed under: Health • Larry King Live • Medical

By Steve Gorman/Reuters

LOS ANGELES – California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger said on Tuesday he welcomes a public debate on proposals to legalize and tax marijuana, which some suggest could provide a lucrative new revenue source for the cash-strapped state.

The Republican governor, whose term in office expires at the end of next year, was asked about the idea of treating pot like alcohol at an appearance in northern California to promote wildfire preparedness.

"No, I don't think it's time for that, but I think it's time for a debate," he said. "And I think we ought to study very carefully what other countries are doing that have legalized marijuana and other drugs, what affect it had on those countries, and are they happy with that decision."

(Read More)

Filed under: Larry King Live • Medical • Politics

via the cat channel.com

Cats and dogs do not appear to be at risk from becoming infected with the swine flu virus that’s in the news for making 91 people sick in the United States as of Wednesday.

Sharon Hietala, a professor at the California Animal Health and Food Safety Laboratory System, headquartered at University of California, Davis, said that the H1N1 influenza viruses “have never been shown to transmit to dogs and cats.”

Hietala, an expert in clinical immunology and diagnostic techniques for infectious diseases in animals, added that at this point, humans only need to be concerned about protecting themselves from the swine flu, but there’s no need to worry about their pets becoming ill.

“The novel H1N1 influenza virus in the news right now is being transmitted from human to human; there have been no findings of this virus in any animals,” Hietala said. “Pig populations often have H1N1 influenza viruses, but not the particular novel H1N1 flu strain that is currently in the news.”

(Read More)

Filed under: Larry King Live • Medical

by Eric Beech

LOS ANGELES – A mutant superhero is no match for the swine flu that has killed up to 149 people in Mexico.

Hollywood movie studio 20th Century Fox said on Monday it was scrapping plans to release "X-Men Origins: Wolverine," the first big movie of the summer, in Mexico this weekend.

A spokesman for the News Corp-owned studio said the Hugh Jackman action movie would probably be delayed by a couple of weeks.

The outbreak has forced Mexico's top movie-theater chains to shut down dozens of cinemas throughout the nation's capital, part of a push by authorities to limit large public gatherings that could facilitate the spread of the disease.

(Read More)

Filed under: Hollywood • Larry King Live • Medical

By Mark Gendreau, M.D./NY Times Blog

The novel infectious agent implicated in the current swine flu outbreak — comprised of genetic material from pigs, birds and humans — has shown the world once again the role air travel plays in rapidly spreading infectious outbreaks. The reported swine flu cases outside of Mexico likely came from infected tourists traveling home from Mexico on commercial aircraft or their close contacts. As Nobel Laureate Joshua Lederberg once wrote: “The microbe that felled one child in a distant continent yesterday can reach yours today and seed a global pandemic tomorrow.”

Are there ways to protect oneself against the spread of swine flu when flying?

Because the passenger cabin airflow is compartmentalized into several sections, risk of on-board transmission of infection is mainly restricted to individuals with either close personal contact with an infected and contagious passenger or seated within two rows of a contagious passenger. Unfortunately, we don’t always have the opportunity to select who we are going to be seated next to, so exposure is pure chance.

Here are some measures you can take to help protect yourself during air travel during this outbreak:

Postpone travel if you are sick. Although it is recommended you postpone travel until you are no longer infectious, in reality this recommendation is not commonly followed by passengers, especially since few travelers purchase travel insurance. In fact, it’s a good idea for all passengers to postpone any nonessential air travel during times of a national or international health emergency, such as the current swine flu outbreak, especially to countries where the outbreak is large.

(Read More)

Filed under: Larry King Live • Medical • Mexico

By Elyce Strong/LA Examiner

The argument to legalize marijuana is back in the news, after rock legend and Obama supporter Carlos Santana said that marijuana needs to be legalized, while also taking a hard swipe at California governor Arnold Schwarzenegger.

In a recent interview with the Associated Press, the Grammy-winning guitarist said, "I really believe that as soon as we legalize and decriminalize marijuana, we can actually afford a really good governor who won't keep taking money away from education and from teachers and send him back to Hollywood where he can do 'D' movies and we can get an 'A' governor."

Santana went on to give a heart-felt plea to President Obama, saying,  "Bring the brothers home, and sisters home now. Legalize marijuana and take all that money and invest it in teachers and in education. You will see a transformation in America."

Last week, President Obama acknowledged that the issue is a popular subject of debate at a town hall meeting at the White House, saying that many questions from his online audience came in about whether legalizing marijuana to stimulate the economy is a good idea.

Obama answered, “The answer is, no, I don't think that is a good strategy - (laughter) - to grow our economy."

(Read More)

Filed under: Larry King Live • Medical • Politics