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A recent survey of men with diabetes revealed an interesting tidbit of information: Men may not be as irresponsible and cavalier as they sometimes seem when it comes to their health--it's just that we need a little extra info to understand how to be healthy.

Many recent election polls have shown Barack Obama leading John McCain on the issue of healthcare. But a survey released this week found that, when the question is rephrased, that gap narrows dramatically.

Amid all the uncertainty on Wall Street because of the burgeoning financial crisis, there have been growing concerns about the potential fallout for emerging industries like renewable energy.

Renewed calls for building new nuclear reactors to cope with a worrisome energy future have become a popular theme on the campaign trail for candidates like John McCain, but any effort faces a serious obstacle--the moribund state of the nation's nuclear manufacturing industry.

Although the politically popular goal of financial aid simplification is getting more and more lip service lately, the reality is that financial aid applications and programs are likely to get only more complicated and frustrating, at least in the near future.

JERUSALEM--Lame-duck Prime Minister Ehud Olmert raised a lot of eyebrows by saying that in return for peace, Israel will have to give up virtually all the land it conquered in the 1967 Six Day War.

A bowl of cereal can be less healthful than a doughnut, according to a new ranking of kids' breakfast cereals published by Consumer Reports. Eleven cereals ranked by the venerable group had more sugar than a glazed Dunkin' Donut. The culprits include Kellogg's Honey Smacks (nee Sugar Smacks) and Post Golden Crisp, both of which get almost 60 percent of their calories from sugar. Talk about a sugar high!

Gen. David McKiernan, the commander of NATO forces in Afghanistan, offered a grim assessment of the conflict this morning during a visit to Washington, saying that he doesn't yet see progress in large swaths of Afghanistan.

Democrats in Congress are proposing legislation to limit the authority of customs agents to search and duplicate Americans' laptops, PDAs, and other electronic devices at border crossings.

MOSCOW--A new chill is spreading among Russian bloggers following the death of the journalist-owner of an opposition website.

Though President Bush and Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice have been visiting the United Nations in recent days--with meetings continuing this week for Rice--for their usual, intensive annual round of diplomacy, the behind-the-scenes buzz at the world body is focused on the relative decline of U.S. power in world affairs.

Years in the making, a new Medicare rule that takes effect at midnight tonight should make hospital care a little safer. Here's how: If the cost of treating a Medicare patient is pushed up because one of a defined set of avoidable problems happened on the hospital's watch--such as a fall, bedsore, or urinary tract infection that occurred or arose after the patient was admitted--the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services will no longer reimburse the hospital for the additional expense. ...

The campaigns of Barack Obama and John McCain are furiously spinning their own versions of the first presidential debate to make the case that their man won. But the initial polls suggest that Obama made the best impression and did the most for his candidacy, at least temporarily.

Amid questions over how much public opinion polls on the race between John McCain and Barack Obama are being affected by racial prejudice and the unpredictability of new-voter turnout, a new study on the youth vote and cellphones suggests there could be another gap in traditional opinion polls--one that could mean Obama has more support than other surveys estimate.

Stroke afflicts 700,000 people each year, but treatments available are far from ideal. TPA, a clot-busting drug, is the best bet so far, but it doesn't work for everybody. Here's the need-to-know on the latest options for stroke treatment and how to reduce your risk of stroke.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention unleashed a PR blitzkrieg this week to urge about 85 percent of Americans to get vaccinated against the flu. The agency expanded its recommendations to include yearly shots for all children ages 6 months to 18 years and also calls for pregnant women to be vaccinated, along with healthcare workers and those over 50. A spate of news stories with headlines like "Flu shots: What's your excuse?" and "Time for flu shots, now for 6-month-olds too" tells me that journalists swallowed the CDC's recommendations hook, line, and sinker. ...

The nation's ongoing financial crisis has thrown the presidential campaign into a combination of chaos and limbo, with John McCain and Barack Obama scrambling to show leadership, judgment, and political cunning even while they try to gain an advantage in the race for the White House.

Imagine you're a college student and you'll be voting for the first time in November. You hear from some that you're able to register to vote at your university address. You are warned by others that if you do, you could lose a scholarship, or health or car insurance, and you'll have to get a new driver's license, too. You consider voting absentee, only to be told by get-out-the-vote volunteers that your absentee ballot really counts only if the election is close.

Families dealing with a loved one's mental health problem (that means just about every American family, since 1 in 4 people has a diagnosable mental disorder) got one step closer to getting help with the high cost of treatment, thanks to congressional action on a long-stalled mental health parity law.

Republican presidential nominee John McCain's campaign this morning pushed back hard against a new Washington Post-ABC News national poll that shows Democratic nominee Barack Obama leading McCain by 52 percent to 43 percent, a substantial shift from the dead heat the poll found two weeks ago.

SAN FRANCISCO--Whew, it's finally over. After a record 85-day impasse, California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger signed the state's budget yesterday, ending a bitter partisan deadlock over how to close the state's $15.2 billion deficit--but raising the specter of another battle when next year's budget negotiations begin.

UNITED NATIONS--President Bush made his final appearance before the United Nations General Assembly Tuesday in New York, concluding on the same theme he began with seven years ago just after 9/11: the fight against terrorism. He also highlighted another favorite theme: promoting democracy and freedom.

MEDIA, Pa.--On a cigarette break outside the Seven Stones coffee house yesterday, Ashleigh Piazza, 23, did not hesitate when asked how Democratic nominee Barack Obama's race could affect his success here in southeastern Pennsylvania.

A report by a group of influential experts recommends that colleges re-examine their admissions and merit aid policies and consider admitting students without the use of scores from standardized tests such as the SAT and ACT.

UNITED NATIONS--Call it the (international) education of Sarah Palin, as the Alaska governor and Republican vice presidential candidate spends today and tomorrow in an extraordinary series of meetings with world leaders, a former secretary of state, and the antipoverty activist and rock star Bono on the sidelines of the opening of this year's United Nations General Assembly.

Lawmakers closed in on a massive $700 billion rescue deal for the nation's troubled financial sector even as many lawmakers greeted the proposal with anger and skepticism, criticizing both its substance--a "cash for trash" scheme to buy troubled investments is how one put it--and the warp speed at which they're being expected to act.

About 1 in 3 adults has high blood pressure, but many people don't do a good job of controlling the problem because medications can be pricey. And doctors may not be doing all they can, either. According to new research, released last week during the annual meeting of the American Heart Association's Council for High Blood Pressure Research, many doctors fail to follow national guidelines that call for treating people above the 120/80 level. ...

JERUSALEM--Israeli Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni begins her climb to the prime ministership unexpectedly hobbled--and badly so.