AFP - President Barack Obama's signature drive to remake US health care was on track to clear a key Senate hurdle Saturday, as the last wavering Democrats agreed to vote to formally open debate on the bill.

Reuters - A broad healthcare overhaul was poised to clear its first Senate hurdle on Saturday as the last wavering senators said they would vote to begin debate on the legislation, giving Democrats the 60 votes they need.

AFP - Swine flu vaccines are still effective despite reported cases of mutations in the A(H1N1) virus, health experts in Europe and North America said Saturday.

AFP - President Barack Obama's signature drive to remake US health care was on track to clear a key Senate hurdle Saturday, as the last wavering Democrats agreed to vote to formally open debate on the bill.

AFP - President Barack Obama's signature drive to remake US health care strode closer to clearing a key Senate hurdle Saturday as the last two wavering Democrats agreed to vote to formally start debate on the bill.

AFP - President Barack Obama's signature drive to remake US health care strode closer to clearing a key Senate hurdle Saturday as the last two wavering Democrats agreed to vote to formally start debate on the bill.

AFP - Days before a forecast three million Muslim pilgrims pack Mecca to begin the holy ritual of the hajj, the spectre of a possible outbreak of swine flu seems to be fazing few of them.

HealthDay - SATURDAY, Nov. 21 (HealthDay News) -- Anyone who has witnessed a modern cheerleading competition will not be surprised to learn that a new study has found that stunts cause 60 percent of cheerleading injuries in the United States.

HealthDay - SATURDAY, Nov. 21 (HealthDay News) -- Sleep-deprived people may put themselves and others at risk when they need to make split-second decisions, U.S. researchers have found.

AFP - President Barack Obama's signature drive to remake US health care faced a critical Senate test vote Saturday, amid bitter 11th-hour debate and behind-the-scenes wrangling on a century-old policy feud.

Reuters - Eight years after a U.S.-led invasion ousted the Taliban from power in Afghanistan, the war-ravaged state is the most dangerous place in the world for a child to be born, the United Nations said on Thursday.

AP - Babies squirmed and wailed as needles plunged into their chubby thighs at a public health clinic on the outskirts of Hanoi on Friday. Like little ones everywhere, the reaction to the sting was never pretty.

AP - Most women in their 20s can have a Pap smear every two years instead of annually, say new guidelines that conclude that's enough to catch slow-growing cervical cancer.

AP - Two days before shipping off to war, Marine Pfc. Jesse Sheets sat inside a trailer in the Mojave Desert, his gaze fixed on a computer that flashed a rhythmic pulse of contrasting images.

AFP - China has ordered more accurate reporting of swine flu fatalities after a doctor renowned for helping expose the scale of the 2003 SARS outbreak said deaths were being deliberately underplayed.

Reuters - China has promised severe punishment for officials caught concealing deaths from H1N1 swine flu after a medical expert said suspect cases may have been held back by local governments.

Reuters - A Florida jury on Thursday ordered cigarette maker Philip Morris USA to pay $300 million in damages to a 61-year-old ex-smoker named Cindy Naugle who is wheelchair-bound by emphysema.

Reuters - New electronic record systems installed in thousands of U.S. hospitals have done little to rein in skyrocketing healthcare costs, Harvard University researchers said in a study released on Friday.

AP - China's health ministry said it will punish officials who underreport cases of swine flu after a doctor famous for exposing the extent of the 2003 SARS epidemic said he believes the true number of swine flu deaths is being covered up.

AFP - A second Bangladeshi twin began returning to consciousness on Friday, three days after being separated from her conjoined sister in a landmark operation in Australia, the hospital said.