200+ Pound Boy, 8, Put in Foster Care Over Obesity

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November 28, 2011

obesity, child health, foster care, reporting on healthChild Welfare: Social workers have placed an obese Cleveland boy in foster care after determining his mother wasn't following doctors' orders to control his weight, Rachel Dissell reports for the Cleveland Plain Dealer. The 8-year-old boy weighs more than 200 pounds.

Health Reform: Republicans are stepping up pressure on Supreme Court Justice Elena Kagan to recuse herself from the court's upcoming decision on the constitutionality of health reform because of her former position as U.S. Solicitor General, Robert Barnes reports for the Washington Post. 

Vaccines: In a development that worries public health officials, more than one in 20 kindergarteners in eight states aren't getting all the immunizations they need to attend school, Mike Stobbe reports for the Associated Press.

Quality of Life: Surprisingly, elderly patients with heart problems would rather live longer than have a higher quality of life, according to a new study, Linda Thrasybule reports for Reuters Health.

Charity Woes: Battered by the European and U.S. debt crises, the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria announced it will stop giving new grants until 2014, John Heilprin reports for the Associated Press. The Fund will continue its current programs, however. The Fund has been beset in recent years by allegations of mismanagement and fraud against some of its grant recipients.

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