LOS ANGELES — Researchers have found that each hour spent watching TV was linked with an 18 percent greater risk of dying from cardiovascular disease, an 11 percent greater risk of all causes of death, and a 9 percent increased risk of death from cancer.
The study, released Monday in Circulation: Journal of the American Heart Association, looked at health data among 8,800 men and women aged 25 years or older who were part of an Australian. Participants recorded their television viewing hours for a week.
People who watched more than four hours a day showed an 80 percent greater risk of death from cardiovascular disease and a 46 percent higher risk of all causes of death compared with those who watched less than two hours a day, suggesting that being sedentary could have general deleterious effects. The numbers were the same after the researchers controlled for smoking, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, an unhealthy diet and leisure-time exercise.
Trial over state bans on same-sex marriage begins
Two same-sex couples gave intimate accounts of their private and public lives Monday during the opening day of a federal trial in San Francisco to decide the constitutionality of state bans on gay marriage, at times tearfully testifying about moments of awkwardness, disappointment and shame that they said resulted from their inability to legally wed. Kristin Perry and her partner, Sandra Stier, and a gay couple from Los Angeles, Paul Katami and Jeffrey Zarrillo, were the first witnesses in a lawsuit seeking to overturn the voter initiative Proposition 8, which outlawed gay marriage in California. The trial is the first in a federal court on the question of whether the U.S. Constitution’s guarantee of equal treatment forbids prohibiting gays from getting married.
Bifocals better for children with myopia, study finds
For children diagnosed with worsening myopia, bifocals might be a better choice than standard lenses for nearsightedness, say researchers, who have found that the condition doesn’t seem to progress as rapidly among bifocal-wearing children. Myopia, in which near vision is clear but distance vision is blurry, is usually identified in childhood and worsens until late adolescence. After two years of study, researchers found the progression of myopia was most rapid among those who wore single-vision lenses. The slowest rate of progression was among children who wore prismatic bifocals. The study was released online Monday and will appear today in the Archives of Ophthalmology.
D.C.: More Nixon papers out
In newly released papers from his presidency, Richard Nixon directs a purge of Kennedy-era modern art — “these little uglies” — orders hostile journalists to be frozen out and fusses over White House guest lists to make sure political opponents don’t make it in. The Nixon Library, run by the National Archives, released about 280,000 pages of records Monday from his years in office, many touching on the early days of political spycraft and manipulation that would culminate in a presidency destroyed by the Watergate scandal. For more details on the papers visit the Nixon Library Web site at http://www.nixonlibrary.gov/.
New Jersey: Legislature OKs medical marijuana measure
The Legislature on Monday approved a bill that would make the state the 14th to allow chronically ill patients access to marijuana for medical reasons. Democratic Gov. Jon Corzine supports the legislation and could sign it before leaving office next week, making it law. The bill allows patients with ailments such as cancer, AIDS and multiple sclerosis to buy up to 2 ounces of marijuana a month at state-monitored dispensaries.
Wisconsin: Passenger carries shotgun shells on plane
A passenger inadvertently carried shotgun shells onto a Dallas-bound Midwest Airlines plane at Milwaukee’s airport on Monday before he realized his mistake and alerted flight attendants, authorities said. The man did not mean any harm, saying he had forgotten that the ammunition was in his carry-on bags when he boarded the flight, Transportation Security Administration spokesman Jim Fotenos said. He said the TSA is reviewing how the passenger got the ammunition through pre-boarding security searches.
Canada: Tiger kills owner
A 66-year-old Southwold, Ontario, man was mauled to death by his pet tiger — which weighed about 660 pounds — Sunday when he went into its cage to feed it, police said. The attack is not the first one to occur on Norman Buwalda’s property, which houses a number of exotic animals. In June 2004, a 10-year-old boy was attacked by a tiger that was led out of its cage on a leash so the child could take its picture.
From Herald news services
Talk to us
> Give us your news tips.
> Send us a letter to the editor.
> More Herald contact information.
