Zika-infected couples advised to postpone pregnancy

Zika-infected couples advised to postpone pregnancy

NEW YORK

Federal health officials on Friday issued first-time guidance for couples planning a pregnancy if either partner may have been exposed to Zika, the tropical disease linked to birth defects.

The disease is mainly spread through mosquito bites, but authorities have come to realize that it also can be transmitted sexually. That Centers for Disease Control and Prevention previously had said that when a woman is pregnant, a couple should abstain from sex or use condoms during the entire pregnancy if the man may have been infected with Zika.

Now the CDC says a couple who are trying to conceive should use condoms every time or abstain for six months if the man had confirmed illness or Zika symptoms and was in an outbreak area.

Man who poured boiled water on gay men indicted

ATLANTA

Prosecutors say a man accused of pouring boiled water on two gay men inside a suburban Atlanta apartment has been indicted.

Fulton County District Attorney Paul Howard announced the indictment of 48-year-old Martin Blackwell on Friday. Authorities say Blackwell told investigators he was disgusted with Anthony Gooden’s relationship with Marquez Tolbert and poured “a little hot water on them” last month. Blackwell is the boyfriend of Gooden’s mother.

Howard said Tolbert was hospitalized for 10 days and had to undergo surgery. He said Gooden was released from a hospital two weeks ago.

Detained American says he was spying on North Korea

SEOUL, South Korea

An American detained in North Korea said he had spied against the country and asked for forgiveness at a media presentation Friday, nine days after a U.S. tourist was sentenced to 15 years in prison with hard labor for subversion.

Kim Tong Chol told a press conference in Pyongyang that he had collaborated with and spied for South Korean intelligence authorities in a plot to bring down the North’s leadership and tried to spread religious ideas among North Koreans.

Describing his acts as “shameful and ineffaceable,” Kim said he feels sorry for his crime and appealed to North Korean authorities to show him mercy by forgiving him.

Private-sector health system woos veterans in ads

CHICAGO

A leading hospital system in the U.S. is courting military veterans with a multimillion-dollar ad campaign, raising concerns from some veterans groups that private-sector marketing could weaken the Department of Veterans Affairs health care system.

The campaign tag lines – “Veterans have a choice in healthcare” and “You honored your oath, and so do we” – emphasize consumer preference and the shared values of medical professionals and the military.

Starting Monday, TV, radio, print and online ads by St. Louis-based Ascension Health’s will urge veterans to call a toll-free number for information about Veterans Choice, the cornerstone of the VA overhaul approved in 2014, which makes it easier for veterans to receive federally paid medical care from local doctors.

Associated Press