U.S.: Clean-air rules for parks may be eased White House is on the verge of implementing new air quality rules that will make it easier to build power plants near national parks and wilderness areas, say scientists and park managers who oppose the plan. 5/15/2008 8:52:21 PM

Vitamin D may help curb breast cancer Breast cancer patients with low levels of vitamin D were much more likely to die of the disease or have it spread than patients getting enough of the nutrient, a study found — adding to evidence the "sunshine vitamin" has anti-cancer benefits. 5/15/2008 8:35:10 PM

Warning about Trophic's Kelp product Health Canada has issued a warning to consumers about the Trophic brand natural health product labelled "Kelp and Glutamic Acid HCI" because of high levels of iodine. 5/15/2008 4:55:11 PM

Morning-after pill now over-the-counter in Canada The emergency contraceptive pill Plan B will now be sold on the front shelves of Canadian pharmacies without any medical consultation after a landmark decision came down Thursday to make the drug more accessible. This is effective immediately in all provinces except B.C., Quebec and Newfoundland. 5/15/2008 3:57:25 PM

California lifts gay marriage ban California's top court has ruled that a state law banning marriage between same-sex couples is unconstitutional. California's legislature has twice passed laws to make gay marriage legal but the state governor has vetoed them. 5/15/2008 11:32:40 AM

Swan family halts city rush-hour Tyneside's rush-hour traffic was briefly brought to a standstill when two swans and their cygnets wandered across a busy road. Passers-by rushed to stop cars as the six birds tried to cross the busy Claremont Road roundabout. 5/15/2008 7:49:25 AM

E. coli scare sparks beef Recall in B.C. The Canadian Food Inspection Agency has issued a public warning telling consumers that ground beef products sold at certain retail outlets in southwestern B.C. may be contaminated with E. coli bacteria. 5/15/2008 3:44:50 PM

Marijuana popular among educated, middle-class Canadians A variety of educated, middle-class Canadians are "making a conscious but careful choice to use marijuana" to relax or focus on leisure activities, say researchers behind a new study spotlighting pot smoking behind the nation's picket fences. A nationwide poll released this week showed 53 per cent of Canadians support the legalization of marijuana. 5/15/2008 2:47:41 PM

'I want justice,' sobbing mom says The mother of Polish immigrant Robert Dziekanski told a public inquiry Thursday that her son would still be alive were he not zapped with a Taser. "I want justice," Zofia Cisowski told the inquiry. "I know my son would not die if he was not Tasered." 5/15/2008 2:42:57 PM

O.K., Avatar, Work With Me When Nintendo released the Wii 18 months ago, it upended the notion of what video games could be. Moving beyond the sunlight-deprived young men at gaming’s core, Nintendo appealed to the rest. Now Nintendo’s latest, Wii Fit, could send similar ripples through the home-fitness market. 5/15/2008 11:46:41 AM

U.S.: Tax-free hypocrisy from higher education There is an industry in this country that is making billions in profit while average Americans are struggling to fill up their gas tanks. It's an industry that made an average profit of nearly 17 percent in 2007. It's an industry whose members paid a grand total of zero dollars in tax. 5/15/2008 9:37:14 AM

Heavy drinking bad for the heart Heavy drinking causes high blood pressure, stiff arteries and rigid heart muscles in men and enlarged hearts in women, boosting their risk of having heart attacks and strokes, researchers said yesterday. 5/15/2008 9:05:52 AM

Bicycle-makers ride high on surging oil prices The row of gleaming bicycles being assembled on the factory floor of Giant Manufacturing, one of the world's biggest bicycle-makers, will soon hit streets from Seattle to Sydney, Amsterdam and even Beijing. 5/15/2008 8:57:05 AM

9-year-old girl's twin is found inside her stomach A 9-year-old girl who went to hospital in central Greece suffering from stomach pains was found to be carrying her embryonic twin, doctors said Thursday. 5/15/2008 8:27:42 AM

My mother hated all women By Julia Pascal: The biggest taboo is the estrangement between a mother and her daughter. I didn't see my mother for more than 20 years. She was beautiful and intelligent but hated all women. She saw them as a threat. This included her mother, her sisters, her son's girlfriends and wife. And of course, her own daughter. 5/15/2008 7:57:53 AM

Couple didn't plan on how many children Eighteen roses fill a vase in Livia Ionce's living room -- one red flower for each of her 17 children, and one for the baby she's expecting in July. The birth will make her B.C.'s most prolific mother in the past 20 years. 5/15/2008 6:22:32 AM

5 mistakes women make at the doctor's For 10 years, Barbara's gut told her she needed to get a new doctor for her daughter, and for 10 years, she didn't listen, even as her daughter got sicker and sicker. 5/15/2008 5:30:57 AM

911 dispatcher fired for cursing caller A Nashville, Tennessee, 911 operator has been fired after he was recorded saying that he didn't "give a s---" about what happened to a woman who had just called to report her ex-boyfriend was threatening her. It took police three hours to reach the scene after the first call. 5/15/2008 5:26:44 AM

High-protein diet helps keep weight off A high-protein diet may be better for keeping weight off once it's been lost. The findings seem to indicate that the high-protein Atkins or Zone diets are better for weight loss than newer, trendier options. 5/15/2008 5:02:35 AM

Protesters want MP to keep injection site open Protesters carried large placards and stacked wooden crosses on the steps leading to MP Stockwell Day‘s Penticton office Wednesday to pressure the federal government to keep North America‘s only safe injection site open. 5/15/2008 4:57:47 AM

Canadian study 'will change heart surgery' A massive Canadian study that caused a popular heart surgery drug to be pulled from the shelves last November has shown it increased the risk of death by 50 per cent over two rival medications. 5/14/2008 6:26:35 PM

Drowning in hydration We're flooded with advice about fluids. Athletes have been urged to swallow oceans of sports drinks to replace salt and fluid lost in sweat and urine. There was a time when I would tell endurance athletes, "If you wait until you're thirsty, it's too late." That advice was all wet. 5/14/2008 5:08:50 PM

Ford recalls 50,000 Ford F-150 trucks Ford Motor Co. is recalling about 50,000 Ford F-150 and Lincoln Mark LT pickup trucks in Canada to fix a hose that could affect the vehicles' braking power. 5/14/2008 3:24:59 PM

Tiny Smart car gets tops in crash tests The smallest car for sale in the U.S. market has earned the highest rating in front-end and side-impact testing by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety. 5/14/2008 11:43:24 AM

Park Wardens losing hats, badges Parks Canada wardens are being stripped of their revered wide-brim hats and other insignia and could be confused with law enforcement. "I think it's pretty safe to say there are some people really not very happy about it." 5/14/2008 10:03:14 AM

Schools at risk in any B.C. earthquake: NDP As buildings shook and then finally collapsed, it was the workers and the school children who were in the most danger. The death toll in China keeps climbing. 5/14/2008 8:40:28 AM

Kelowna puts contract out on Bunnies An unknown number of rabbits will be killed under a controversial bunny-control program approved Monday by Kelowna city council. Council awarded a $54,000, one-year contract for a rabbit-control plan that includes both culling and live trapping. 5/14/2008 6:31:01 AM

Organ donor relay arrives in Penticton Pen-Hi student Richard Young, whose 10-year-old cousin is awaiting a kidney transplant, was chosen as the Penticton “torch champion” for the cross-Canada Step by Step torch relay, organized by George Marcello of Toronto to raise awareness of the need for organ donors. 5/14/2008 6:15:33 AM

Disabled man wants gov't to subsidize pet therapy In his struggle with mental illness, Jerry L'Homme's best therapy is his cat, Mocha. Now he'd like the B.C. government to help him pay Mocha's medical bills. The 57-year-old Vancouver man has been bipolar since childhood. 5/14/2008 5:47:01 AM

Penticton 'Stepped it up' on H Last Saturday May 10 was 'Inte 5/13/2008 1:50:10 PM

Penticton: May is Get Moving M The Penticton Steps Out walkin 5/13/2008 8:38:54 AM

OSNS Fat Boy winner's name Upd Another very successful Slack 5/13/2008 6:57:04 AM

Organ donor relay arrives in P Richard Young couldn‘t help bu 5/13/2008 5:01:02 AM